Sick Day
Author Musachan
Series LazyTown

Rainy Sunday afternoons called for games and merriment to be held indoors. This was all well and good for most people, but Sportacus detested such days. It was not the rain that bothered him -- he, in fact, was rather fond of rain and enjoyed playing in it. No, it was the concerned parents of the small town that annoyed him. On wet, muggy days, their children were locked away indoors.

Who was he to play with if everyone was trapped inside, watching television or playing board games?

It was this very reason that he hated rainy days, and preferred the hours after a storm. During that time, he would run around, splashing in puddles, and Ziggy and Stingy would make mud pies. Stephanie and Pixel were a tad too clean for Trixie's tastes, and she ruined their cleanly fun with a barrage of mudballs.

He looked through his telescope and sighed. He caught a brief glimpse of Miss Busybody rushing down the street, but it was clear that she was heading home, to escape from the rain. He sat down on the open door, letting the water soak through him as he sighed heavily.

He had tried to busy himself with cleaning the airship, but that only worked for an hour or so. Afterwards, he became bored out of his skull. He needed someone -- anyone -- to keep him company, to at least chat with. But without a phone or a child on the streets, he was left alone.

It was around two in the afternoon when his crystal blared at him, interrupting him as he tidied up around the airship for the third or fourth time that afternoon. He felt terrible that he was genuinely excited that trouble was afoot, but he quickly ignored such a feeling. He had work to do.

"Ladder!" he shouted, and the airship did as it was commanded of it -- a ladder fell from the floor and he was on his way down. It took a mere moment for him to reach the crisis.

A familiar scowl looked up at him, its eyes blinking through the heavy downpour of rain.

"Are you going to help me up or not, Sportakook?" Robbie growled, immediately sneezing afterwards. He sat pathetically in a hole that was melting in a puddle of mud. Sportacus chuckled and bent down, reaching down to grab his hand. It took some effort, thanks to the mud making the ground slippery, but he pulled Robbie up all the same.

"What are you doing out in this weather?" Sportacus asked eagerly, excited to have someone to talk to. Robbie sneezed.

"If you must know," he growled lowly, as he rubbed his nose. He sneezed once more. "I'm going to get some cold medica-a-a--..."

He sneezed again, and sniffled loudly. "Medication."

He glared down at Sportacus, more irate than usual. Before he could continue, Sportacus placed a hand on Robbie's forehead.

"You have a fever!" he gasped, his tone flooded with concern. "Y... you shouldn't be outside, not like this!"

Robbie stared at him, face going a little red. He quickly got over the random act of kindness, and batted Sportacus' hand away. "Of course I have a fever. Why else would I be out to go get medicine!"

He gagged loudly at the very thought of taking the healthy stuff, just before he shivered violently.

"If you stay out here, you'll just get sicker," Sportacus scolded, his tone obviously worried. "I have some medicine in the airship -- and you can rest there until the weather lets up!"

Before Robbie even had the chance to protest -- which he had every intention of doing -- Sportacus grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street to where his ladder awaited him. Robbie followed hesitantly, but after making sure the ladder was safe, he started up it, just behind Sportacus.

"If that stupid blue elf acts like this just because I'm out in the rain, he'll have a fit if he knows my house is flooded," Robbie reasoned with himself. He had no other reason to go up the ladder --- not for free medicine, not for a place to rest.

Although, a warm, dry place to stay for a while sounded wonderful. Even his fluffy orange chair was soaked, taking away what few luxuries Robbie enjoyed.

It took him a while to make it up the ladder, but he managed. Once in the airship, he collapsed to his knees, out of breath and rather nauseous. Heights were not Robbie's friend, especially not when he was ill.

Sportacus wasted no time getting some medicine and a warm blanket to him. He knelt down and poured some of the medication into a spoon. Robbie wrinkled his nose -- he could smell the grape flavored liquid from a mile away, and it did not surprise him one bit. A Sports Candy flavored medicine suited the big blue elf perfectly.

The hero neglected to dry himself off, however, and it seemed that as soon as Robbie had swallowed the disgusting medication, Sportacus let out a sneeze.

Robbie smirked. "So it can get sick," he commented dryly, amused -- if not shocked -- that even the great Sportacus was susceptible to the weather. The hero blushed slightly, and looked away.

"N...no, I'm fine," he lied, smiling over at Robbie weakly. He sneezed again, a blush running across his cheeks. "... th... that was just a coincidence."

Robbie had started to dry off with the blanket, still laughing cruelly at Sportacus' bad fortune. It was too funny, after all -- a superhero, catching a cold! Although this was very amusing, Robbie suddenly realized what had made Sportacus sick in the first place.

Him.

The blue elf was only trying to help him, and here Robbie was, laughing at him. He felt a tad guilty, but tried not to let it show. He stopped laughing --- just to be polite.

A few sneezes later, and Robbie was over his guilt and was sent right into irritation. The sound of the elf sneezing over and over drove him mad. He glared at Sportacus, and handed him the bottle of horrid medicine.

"Just take some already, you're giving me a headache," Robbie snapped -- not letting Sportacus think for a second that he was worried about him. Sportacus shook his head and smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, really, it's nothing," he laughed, as he attempted to stand up. But the sudden rush of getting to his feet proved to be too much for him, and he fell to his knees. He brought a hand to his head and groaned.

"Will you just take some!" Robbie demanded, as he opened the bottle and pulled out the spoon. He stared in shock when only a drop of medication came out of the bottle. He looked to the hero for an explination, but Sportacus looked away, face going red.

"I... I gave the last to you," he confessed quietly, unable to look Robbie in the eyes.

Robbie stared at him for a moment, trying to comprehend this. His mind eventually gave up trying to understand this kind gesture, so instead of being grateful he got angry.

"But you're sick! You need to dry off and get into bed right this second!" he demanded angrily, not realizing exactly what he had said. "Come on, get up."

The tall, lanky villain stood up and offered a hand down to Sportacus, who took in gratefully. The blue elf stood up with some difficulty, but Robbie did his best to help him steady himself. He could not carry the hero -- that was an impossible task -- but he could at least help him to his feet.

Sportacus smiled weakly, and pulled his hand away from Robbie's grip. "I... I'm fine, I'll be okay. Really. I... it's you who should res..."

He blinked and shook his head, an overwhelming feeling of dizziness overcoming him. Despite a valiant effort to keep to his feet, Sportacus fell forward, simply unable to stand on his own. Robbie caught him and kept him propped up on his feet, as best he could.

"Y...you idiot, you're sick," Robbie scolded. Sportacus responded with a chuckle, and he rested his head against Robbie's chest with a heavy sigh.

"You're right," he admitted quietly. He sighed and closed his eyes -- it hurt too much to keep them open. "I am sick. But ... but so are you. And I'm not resting until you're better."

"You moron! You're way sicker than I am," Robbie snarled. "You're going to bed now. The last thing I want a stupid sick sports elf taking care of me."

Sportacus shook his head with some difficulty. "I like to help people, Robbie. I'm not going to be happy unless you're..."

He was interrupted by a sneeze.

"... well."

Robbie growled and then sighed angrily -- he gave up.

"Fine then. You, sit down."

He pulled Sportacus to the bed and forced him to sit. He then sat down next to him.

"There? Happy?" Robbie snarled, sniffling a bit. "I'm resting. And so are you."

The villain shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Would it kill you be selfish for once!"

"But I like helping people, Robbie," Sportacus replied, smiling. He sneezed and shook his head. "I just ... like helping people."

"Well, you do a terrible job at it. You don't even feel for a temperature right," Robbie smirked, quite glad he finally had a reason to insult him.

"What do you mean?" the hero asked, clearly confused. "I ... I thought my way was right."

"You're supposed to use your lips," Robbie explained, as he tapped the hero's lips. "The skin there is most sensitive. Your hand is okay if the fever is high, but if it's slight ... you'd never even notice it. And then what?"

Robbie laughed and shook his head, as he pulled his hand away from his adversary's lips. "Honestly. You're a lousy excuse for a her--"

He was interrupted by the feeling of a pair of lips upon his own.

Sportacus pulled away from the kiss after a second, still confused. "Are you sure? I can't tell you have a fever at all that way."

Robbie clapped his hands over his mouth, and blushed furiously -- not quite believing that the blue elf had done what he thought he had done. Sportacus stared at him, and bit his lip nervously.

"You're face is all red, maybe you're sicker than I thought," he piped up, nervously tugging on the end of his blanket. "Y... you okay?"

"Am I okay!" Robbie snarled, after he finally removed his hands from his mouth. The blush remained. "Am I okay! Of course I'm not okay, you just ki--"

He turned his head away and growled under his breath. "... kissed me."

"But you said that's how to check for a fever," Sportacus countered in his own defense. "You said lips."

"I meant on the forehead, you idiot!" he hissed in response. "You press your lips to the forehead to check for a fever! You don't just kiss someone out of the blue!"

Sportacus could only let out a sheepish 'oh' in response.

Robbie wiped his lips with the back of his hand, as if to remove any evidence of Sportacus' wretched mistake.

"...well, why not?" Sportacus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why not WHAT?" He refused to look at him.

"Why can't I just kiss someone if I feel like it? What's the big deal?"

Robbie's cheeks went red, and he turned his head to glare at Sportacus. "Are you stupid or something? You're only supposed to k...kiss people you like!"

"I like lots of people," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Robbie slapped his forehead at that. The naive little simpleton was not getting it.

"I don't mean as a friend, Sportakook. Kissing is ... special. You know, for when you really ... really like someone," he explained. Before Sportacus could say 'I really really like lots of people', Robbie had placed a finger on his lips, and continued. "As more than just a friend."

Once more, the hero's only response was a meek 'oh'.

"I'm leaving," Robbie announced after a few moments of awkward silence. It was killing him -- he normally adored the quiet, of course, but he knew that stupid blue elf's mind was still turning and questioning the events. He had to get out of there before things got out of hand.

"B-but you're sick!" Sportacus protested. He grabbed Robbie's wrist to keep him from walking off. The villain tugged at it, but it was clear that Sportacus was not going to let go.

"I'll be back. I'm going out to get you some medicine," Robbie explained dryly. He pulled on his wrist, but the hero still refused to let go. Robbie sighed. "I promise I'll come back, okay? Now let go."

It took a few seconds for Sportacus to finally loosen his grip, and once he did, Robbie jerked his hand away and headed down the ladder. Immediately he turned for home, but guilt gnawed on him. He stopped where he stood and started to question himself.

"Okay, Sportakook did save me from that ... stupid hole this morning. So I owe him, right?" He took one step into the direction of the grocery store and froze.

"But he kissed me."

He stopped, and turned around, but the guilt refused to go away.

"But ... he did help me dry off, and he ... did give me some medicine, right?" He nodded and turned around. He froze before taking another step forward.

"But he kissed me."

He turned around on his heel and growled.

"But I said I would get him some medicine, right? I mean ... I promised!" he snarled to himself. "I mean, I used the last of his, right? I owe him that much, right?"

He nodded, as if agreeing with someone else's point, before he turned on his heel once more. He took a few steps in the direction of the grocery store before he froze again.

"But he ... kissed me."

Robbie sighed and stood in the rain, pondering his dilemma. There were so many many reasons to just walk home and forget about this ever happening. Who cares if he lied to Sportacus? Certainly not Robbie Rotten! It was practically the man's job to lie to that silly sports elf.

But guilt continued to ravage Robbie's conscience, until the man sighed and gave up. He marched over to the grocery store and purchased the first fruit flavored cough medicine he could find. Cherry sounded fine -- cherry was a fruit, right? This fact made him question the credibility of cherry soda for a moment, before he shook the notion off. He just had to deliver the medicine, and then he would be worry free!

"Just get up there, and toss the stupid elf the bottle, and make a run for it," Robbie sighed, as he looked up at the ladder. He nodded and put a hand on the first rung, as his other hand slipped the bottle into his coat pocket. "If he says anything, ignore him. Just keep walking."

He started up the ladder.

"I mean, it was just a stupid kiss. He doesn't even know what it means."

He was a fourth of the way there.

"It was an accident, after all. He's just too naive."

He was now half way up.

"It's not like ... I care, or anything. He doesn't care, I don't care, so it's okay, right? It's nothing. It's not even nothing. It's less than nothing. It makes nothing look like something, that's how 'nothing' that kiss was."

He paused and nodded in agreement with himself. "Right."

He continued up the rest of the ladder in silence.

"I told you I'd be ba--" He stopped halfway through the hole in the floor and blinked. Sportacus was sleeping soundly on the bed, his back against the wall. Robbie just stared -- he had never actually seen that ... thing sleep before. It was odd to think that almighty and perfect Sportacus would be this afflicted by a mere illness. He pulled himself up into the airship, stood up and shook his head, thereby ridding his hair of the excess rain water.

"Wake up, Sportakook. I brought you some medicine, just like I said, so now we're even!" Robbie grunted, jabbing the hero with the pink and red bottle. Sportacus winced and blinked up at him tiredly.

"Hmm?"

"Medicine. I brought you some medicine," he repeated, his tone clearly irate. He twisted off the cap and grabbed a spoon. He shoved both items in Sportacus' face. "Here! Now get better!"

Sportacus stared in a tired daze for a second, before he reached up and took Robbie's kind gesture. His fingers briefly brushed against Robbie's when he grabbed for the spoon, which caused the villain to tense up and drop the utensil in shock. The hero glanced at up at him strangely, through half-closed eyes.

"A little clumsy today, Robbie?" he asked -- not trying to be cruel. It was an honest question. Nevertheless, Robbie took offense and snarled quietly before he bent down to retrieve the dropped item.

"Can it, Sportaloser. Geez, last time I do anything nice for you again," he grumbled, taking out a clothe from his pocket to wipe the spoon off. When he started to get up, he was frozen in place, having been met halfway up with Sportacus' lips. He immediately pulled away and fell backwards, staring up at Sportacus with an angry glare.

"WHAT the heck did I just get done telling you!" Robbie demanded, his face flushing bright red.

"I know," the hero laughed calmly. "You're only supposed to kiss people you really really like."

Before the villain could protest, he placed a finger on Robbie's lips and smiled. "As more than a friend."

Robbie stared for a second as his brain enveloped those words. Was Sportacus saying what he thought he was saying? No no no! He could not possible be suggesting that...

"I love you."

The hero smiled and seemed entirely calm about this announcement, and all Robbie could do was twitch.

"...you...what?"

"I love you," he repeated. He cupped his chin in his hand and titled Robbie's head up. The villain was frozen for a second before his brain finally registered what, exactly, Sportacus had just said. He jerked away and got to his feet, and he pretended to dust himself off.

"No you don't," Robbie said sternly, his back turned to him. "That's just the illness talking. Now take your stupid medicine and get better."

"But I do love you, Robbie, I really do," Sportacus protested, but he was interruped by a coughing fit. The villain turned around and gave him a smug look.

"You may THINK you're in love, but you're not. You're only lightheaded and blushing because you're sick," he sighed, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. Sportacus was confused for a second, but before the hero could respond, Robbie had done the unthinkable. He had kissed him. Sportacus practically melted into it, his mind somewhere between ecstatic and disbelieving. But the kiss was cut short -- Robbie broke it quickly.

"I don't love you," he said, looking him in the eyes. "A kiss doesn't really mean anything, you got that?"

Sportacus nodded dumbly, still a little shocked that it had happened at all. He brought his fingers to his lips and smiled thinly.

"...i... if you say so, Robbie," he sighed, a little wistfully. Robbie had said so himself -- kissing was special. The villain did not need to say anything -- and he could deny it all he wanted. But Sportacus knew that something was there.

"Now take your stupid medicine and let me get on with my life," Robbie snarled. He got up and marched over to the platform. Sportacus ordered it to go down, and it did as it was instructed. Robbie glared at him, but then looked away.

"Just ... get better soon, Sportacus."

And once that was said, the villain was gone. Sportacus sighed happily and looked out the window -- the rain had let up.

Maybe rainy days were not so bad after all.

-end-