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The rain beat down on Pelican Town as you stayed in bed, periodically rolling over and trying to make yourself comfortable despite the cramps absolutely draining every bit of energy you usually had. Staring longingly out the window, you lamented the fact that you wouldn't be able to go down to the docks and hang out with Sebastian like you usually did while it was raining, or, more importantly, catch the last remaining fish you were searching for to complete the fish tank in the community center. It was nearly the end of fall and it didn't look like it was going to rain again before the end of the season so the red snapper would be leaving until next summer. You knew it wasn't a particularly hard fish to catch, but luck simply hadn't been on your side this season. "Oh well," you muttered aloud to your cat curled up on your stomach, acting as an especially heavy, purring, heated blanket, "Maybe the traveling merchant will have one I can buy."
As you finally started to drift back off to sleep, you heard a knock at the front door. You rolled your eyes, "Who's there?"
"Hey, it's Sebastian." Your mood instantly brightened upon hearing his voice. "Not to sound like... Clingy, or anything, but I noticed you weren't down at the docks fishing, so I just wanted to stop by and check on you."
You tried to shift in bed, then realized with an angry chirrup from your cat that you were not to be going anywhere. "You can come in, my cat's holding me hostage."
He opened the door and while the phrase "dripping with good looks" was cheesy and corny, it did kinda describe him when it was raining. Which totally had nothing to do with the fact that you so often saw him while it was raining. Nah, certainly unrelated. When he noticed you, he tried to muster a smile but you must have looked sicker and more pitiful than you thought because concern filled his expression. "Obviously you're being held hostage but are you... okay? No offense but you look terrible."
"Well I mean, I've been better, but I'll live. Just in a bit of pain and mad that I can't go out fishing today, I was hoping this would be my chance to catch a red snapper. But it's fine, it can wait til next year." You smiled at him as he came over and gently held his hand out to your cat, and after a sniff of approval, softly pet him. His dark, almost black eyes seemed to sparkle in the flickering firelight, and he carefully tried to lean back so as to not drip rainwater on your bedding or more importantly the cat.
"Do you need me to go run to Harvey's and get you anything? I don't mind, I just don't want you to be in pain if you don't have to be." His compassion was sweet, but you didn't necessarily want to have to explain what was wrong so that he would explain it to Harvey and eventually the whole town knew.
"No, I'm fine really. Although a hot meal from the Saloon wouldn't be terrible since I'm hoping to talk to your mom and get a kitchen sometime next week once winter starts." It was always funny to watch as he rolled his eyes affectionately at the mention of his mom. One time while the two of you chatted down at the docks, he mentioned that apparently his mom had been very popular when she was younger, and that hardly stopped now that she was older either. A few times when she had taken Sebastian into Zazu city when he was younger, she'd ran into a few old friends of hers and the tension was weird and palpable as they realized the boy with her was not a nephew or anything but in fact her own actual son.
After his brief moment of awkwardness, he smiled. "Yeah I can totally grab you something from the saloon. Anything in particular you'd like? Or dealer's choice?"
"I trust you won't pick anything terrible," you winked at him. Your cat shifted on your stomach, seemingly tiring of Sebastian's attention, and settled directly onto your ovary like it was a sixth sense. You winced hard and slid your hands under the furry menace to gently scoot him aside. "Dude, can you settle anywhere else other than right there?" Of course he chose to stand, directing all of his weight onto the little paws searching out your liver and your kidneys. You rolled onto your side, unceremoniously tipping him off of you.
Still standing next to you, Sebastian just barely stifled a laugh. "Are you /sure/ you don't want anything from the clinic?"
Clutching your stomach, you glared up at him. "I wouldn't say no to an energy tonic. Now let me curl into a ball so tight I turn to dust," you groaned, and this time he let out a hearty laugh as he headed back toward the door. He as he headed out the door, he nearly tripped over the cat, giving you a cause to laugh at him as he stumbled through the doorway.
----
After Sebastian left, you didn't realize you'd fallen asleep until you woke up a few hours later. The sky was still cloudy and rainy, but from the few spare rays of the sun peeking through the clouds, you could tell the sun was just about setting. Your cat had resettled on top of you, seemingly over his earlier upendment, although this time he slept in the middle of your chest, pinning you to the bed. You looked around your small home as well as you could with the furry lump in your way, but didn't see Sebastian anywhere or any sign that he'd been back yet. Not that you minded, maybe he got caught up with Abigail and Sam or it was an extra busy night at the Saloon for a Thursday.
As if he'd sensed you were talking about him, the front door creaked open. And, expecting only a few items to be in hand, Sebastian held the door open with one foot as he dragged in a couple bags. Suddenly very awake and the pain in your abdomen having subsided somewhat (although not completely gone, especially with the sudden movement), you sat up, sending your cat running for the hills once again. "What did you get, Sebastian? Multiple chocolate cakes?"
He froze in the middle of pulling one of the bags in. "Was I... not supposed to?"
"Sebastian!"
He quickly broke into a wide smile - a rare sight from the man. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I swear. Although Abigail did manage to convince me to bring one along..."
A part of you filed that information away. The next time you found a particularly nice amethyst in the mines, you would be bringing it directly to her. Because while you didn't need a half a dozen, which it seemed like he must've gotten with how many bags he had, one would certainly be appreciated. As you ruminated on chocolate cake, a less pleasant and more fishy smell hit your nostrils. /Surely he didn't..../
Sebastian dragged in a bucket with some water and a fish splashing around in it. He kept it by the door. "I got some help from Willie, but we managed to snag a red snapper for you! Figured it would be better than having to wait until next summer to get the community center up and running." He grinned, then pointed to a few sodden paper bags that sat along the wall near a chest, filled with produce. "And I noticed you had a bunch of ripe crops, so I harvested them for you too. Well I mean... Not just me. A couple of them might be a little bit bruised, Jas and Vincent were playing outside by the community center so I asked them if they wanted to play a game to see who could find the most ripe yams."
"And who wound up winning?"
He hauled in a load of firewood for your fireplace, then turned to you with a smile. "Jas, actually. She got really into it. Marnie and Jodi were both very grateful for the chance to get their kids worn out, so if you ever need a pair of helping hands, I'm sure Jas and Vincent would be willing to do it again." He gestured to the stack of firewood he'd brought in. "My mom heard you weren't feeling well and sent me down with a cart." He dug in his pockets and pulled out a bottle of energy tonic. "As requested." He held it out to you and you took in all of the items he had brought with him in shock.
"Sebastian... Wh... How..."
As if suddenly realizing how much he'd done for you, a blush washed over his entire face, turning him as red as last season's tomatoes. He turned away and stepped closer to the fire, adding another log and rubbing his arms as he shivered. If he'd been running around in the rain all day, in the cold seeing as it was nearly winter, surely he was freezing. You uncapped the energy tonic and downed the liquid inside, instantly washing away some of the residual pain and making you feel infinitely better. You spotted pizza on the table and knew that it was going to amplify how much better you felt even more. You grabbed one of the chairs and dragged it over to behind Sebastian by the fire. Up close, you could definitely tell he was shivering, goosebumps rising up on his exposed skin. "Here, sit down, let me grab you an extra blanket."
You opened a trunk at the end of your bed and dug inside. "Oh don't worry about-" You cut him off by wrapping an old quilt around him. "Thank you," you heard, muffled by the fabric. He pulled his face free. "Energy tonic really helped, huh?"
You blushed, hoping it was hidden by the light of the fire. "You really didn't have to do all this, seriously. Also you're shivering, you're not supposed to get yourself sick to make me feel better." He sat down, and you brought over the other chair. You grabbed a couple of plates and set them down on the chair, then carefully dragged your table closer to the fire so that the two of you could dig into the pizza. There was a place in the city that you'd loved going to when you worked for JojaMart, and Gus always knocked it out of the park even better than they had. You took a slice and put it on one of the plates, handing it to Sebastian who was shivering far less now. You grabbed the other and sat down in your chair, scooting it next to Sebastian. You leaned your head on his quilt wrapped shoulder with a smile as you peered into the dancing flames of the fireplace. "Thank you - and don't worry, I'll go around and thank everyone else tomorrow."