It had been three months since Haru had moved in with Ann and Makoto, and it had been everything she ever dreamed it could be. They all adopted their own cat, just as they always talked about, and got to share one big bed together. They took turns preparing meals, doing chores, and even helped each other with studying and homework. Though they were all in very different fields of study, they managed to make sure to spend as much time together as they could.
It was finally the weekend, and each girl didn't have any extra coursework to do, so they were all looking forward to spending a lot of time together. Haru was the first one home on a Friday, so she decided to have some quiet time in bed with her orange tabby, Freckles. Turning on her Kindle, Haru tucked herself in between sheets and a kitten. Freckles had started to purr already.
"Good boy!" she told him, gently patting his tiny head. Just as Haru started to read, she could feel a tiny lump in her throat. She tried to cough to make it go away, but it wouldn't budge. Trying to just ignore it, Haru continued reading. She ended up getting so engrossed in the material that she didn't notice herself gently drifting off to sleep.
---
When Haru awoke, she felt two warm bodies next to her.
Attempting to sit up, Haru suddenly felt a tight sting on her forehead. She was feeling very dizzy, and very warm. When she tried to sit up, she just ended up on her back again. She couldn't keep her eyes open.
"Haru?" she heard Ann's voice ask. The two bodies next to her suddenly rustled, moving slightly closer to her. She felt a gentle hand on her forehead.
Haru heard Makoto's voice this time. "She has a fever!"
Feeling the touch of someone grabbing one of her hands, Haru opened her eyes to see Ann holding onto her hand, a look of concern on her face. "Haru! Are you okay? What happened?"
Trying to find the strength to speak, Haru spoke with a hoarse to her voice. "I don't know... I just came home and started reading and I guess I fell asleep." She paused. "When I woke up, I suddenly felt like this."
"Well, that won't do at all," Makoto replied. She grabbed Haru's free hand. "We'll have to take care of you until you're better then."
Suddenly, Haru felt two warm, soft lips kiss each of her cheeks. She couldn't help but blush as she smiled. She didn't deserve these two.
"Thanks, you guys. I'll try to get better as soon as possible!"
"I'll go get a damp cloth for your head, so be a good girl for Ann while I'm gone," Makoto said in a gentle voice, before getting up and off of the bed to fetch a cloth from the bathroom.
"I'll wait until Makoto gets back to start cooking you some soup! So until then..." Ann trailed off, looking at Haru with a soft expression. She took her free hand and traced around the edges of Haru's chin, before leaning down and planting a delicate kiss on her lips.
"Ann, I'm sick! You shouldn't be kissing me on the lips..." Haru pleaded, worried about her girlfriend's health. Ann simply laughed.
"You're so cute, Haru! That's why I can't help but kiss you! But if you insist, I'll stick to smooching your cute cheeks."
Makoto returned, giving Ann a displeased look. "I can't believe you! Haru is sick, she needs to rest!" She folded the cloth she had in her hands. "Now move, I need to put this on Haru's forehead."
Accepting defeat, Ann moved off the bed and next to Makoto. Makoto gently placed the cloth on Haru's forehead, and helped her lay back down so she could be tucked in. Planting a small kiss on her nose, Makoto turned to Ann.
"We should let her rest now."
Ann nodded. "I'm gonna go cook up some soup then! I hope you're excited, Haru!"
Haru giggled. Despite not being able to see, she could picture the grin on Ann's face perfectly. "I look forward to it!"
Makoto sighed. "All right, we'll leave you alone until the soup is done. Rest well, darling."
Closing the door behind them, Ann and Makoto walked towards the kitchen to prepare some soup for poor, sick Haru.
---
"That's not how you make soup, Ann! You're going to poison Haru!"
"Who says you can't add garlic!?" Ann retorted.
Makoto rubbed her forehead. Maybe she was the one with the headache now. "Garlic is fine, but that's way too much!"
Offended, Ann replied, "There's no such thing as too much garlic!"
"Ughhhhh," was the only reply Makoto could muster. She took the garlic cloves that were in Ann's hands and put them on top of the fridge.
"There. Now leave them where they are and focus on cooking, not on adding so much garlic," Makoto said proudly.
Ann pouted. "You're so mean, Makoto..."
Makoto giggled. "If I'm so mean, would I offer to buy you a crepe in exchange for behaving?"
"You'd buy me one anyway! You love me!" Ann replied without a second thought.
"Maybe," Makoto said coyly.
"MEAN!" Ann yelled, titling around to face her, nearly spilling the soup on the stove.
"Ann! Watch the soup!"
"Oops, sorry..." Ann said, turning back around to face the soup.
Makoto sighed. "It's okay... Is it almost done?"
"Looks like it got ready while we argued over garlic," Ann replied, a nervous laugh escaping her.
"Let's get it ready for Haru then. I'll get some crackers."
Ann carefully poured the soup in a large bowl, and put it on a nearby tray. She picked out a spoon from the silverware drawer and placed it on the same tray. "Alright, it's ready!"
With crackers in her hand, Makoto smiled before walking over to Ann and kissing her cheek. "I'll buy you that crepe when Haru is feeling better, okay?"
Ann smiled, that big doofy grin she would get on her face when she was really happy. "You got yourself a deal! I'll be holding you to it, dearest!"
---
Back in Haru's room, it was all she could do to lie as still as she could. The damp cloth on her head felt really nice, but she didn't want to drift off to sleep until she had gotten the soup Ann promised her. She replayed so many scenarios in her head to try to stay awake. She tried picturing what Ann and Makoto were like when preparing the soup. She imagined Makoto would try to stop Ann from putting something bad in it, and Ann whining about that. She also imagined Makoto's cat Dexter getting underneath her feet as he always did, and causing chaos in the kitchen.
Before she could imagine any more scenarios, Haru heard the door creak open. It was Makoto who she heard first.
"Your soup is ready, my lady."
Feeling the two of them sit down on the bed, Haru removed the cloth from her head, and sat up. When she opened her eyes, she saw her two girlfriends looking at her with smiles on their faces.
"Haru, you'll never believe what Makoto did!" Ann started. "She wouldn't let me add extra garlic!"
Haru laughed. "Oh, that's too bad. I love garlic!"
Makoto sighed, glaring at Ann. "This would have been too much garlic, Haru. Thankfully I was able to save the soup before she poisoned it."
Haru giggled again. "It's okay Makoto, I would have been happy either way since you two took the time to prepare soup for me in the first place!"
They all laughed. Ann set the tray in front of Haru so that she could grab it and begin eating.
---
After Haru had finished eating, the three sat and chatted for a while. About school, mostly.
After some time, Haru started to feel a bit dizzy, and Ann was the first to notice.
"This time I'll go dampen the cloth! I'll be right back!" Ann exclaimed, rushing off to the bathroom.
Makoto took the tray and bowl and placed it on the bedside table. "Now, let's get you ready for rest again." She helped Haru lay down, gently placing her head on the pillow and tucking her in under the blankets. She then got underneath the blankets herself and cuddled up close to Haru.
Haru could only smile, feeling her girlfriend's warmth. "I hope this is okay... if you want me to leave you alone, just say so."
Haru shook her head. "No way, this is super comfy!"
Not long after, Ann came in and placed the damp cloth on Haru's head. "My turn!" she said, also getting herself under the covers and cuddling as close to Haru as she could.
The three of them were all smiling then, feeling the warmth of one another as they all drifted off to a peaceful sleep.