a/n: this story is confusing bc i wrote it at 3 am

They were at a fair.

With ferris wheels and carousels and cotton candy.

Right now, Cowardice was sticky and cranky, and Envy was tired. He just wanted to go home. Kindness and Rion, however, seem to be enjoying themselves.

"Envy," Cowardice whined, "it's hot."

He looked down and sighed. "Let's wipe off that sugar off your face first," he muttered, pulling out a pack of baby wipes from his backpack. The sun made his hair felt like it was on fire. Envy could feel a headache starting to form.

Cowardice looked up at him with her innocent blue eyes (eyes that reminded him of Mischievous) and all his anger dissipated. He yanked out a sheet of baby wipe and started cleaning her face. "How did it get everywhere?" he asked himself, pulling out another sheet for Cowardice to wipe her hands with.

After he finished wiping Cowardice's face clean, Envy took her to the place where they sold food and got her a spot in the shaded tables... and an ice cream. Which will probably make her face and hands sticky again, but he still had the baby wipes. It was worth it, and, besides, he wasn't sure if spirits can get heatstroke or not.

He won't risk it for Cowardice.

Envy glanced at his sister who was happily eating her ice cream and looked towards Kindness and Rion. They both look lively, dragging their mother to yet another ride. He wondered if they ever get tired.

By now, he could actually feel the headache. Envy sighed and walked back under the shade, staring at the ice cream and inwardly cursing himself for not getting another one. He felt like he was going to pass out from the heat. He resorted to watching Kindness play at the rides.

"I'm finished!" Cowardice's voice rang out. Envy looked back at her, then took out the baby wipes. Somehow, Cowardice managed not to stain her clothes at all. He pulled out a few sheets and wiped her face like he did before.

"Did you even eat any of the ice cream," Envy said, putting a sheet of baby wipe to Cowardice's hands, "or does it just stick all over your face?"

Cowardice giggled, albeit a bit muffled since Envy was wiping her mouth. He removed the baby wipe and stuffed all of the used sheets to a nearby trashcan. "I do eat it," Cowardice said when Envy returned. "It just goes everywhere in the process."

Envy managed to laugh at that. "That's a weird way of eating."

"Yeah, it is," Cowardice agreed. "Hey, do you want to go find the others?"

All of a sudden, his headache returned.

"Sure," Envy said. "I think they're at the ferris wheel."

They got up and walked towards the ferris wheel, where Kindness and Rion turned out to be. Kindness spotted Envy first. "We were looking for you!" she said, grinning.

Envy raised an eyebrow, letting Cowardice let go of his hand. "Doesn't seem like it."

Kindness grinned sheepishly. "Rion got distracted," she said. "But we found you!"

Silence ensued as they both trail off, not knowing what to say. They look at their smaller siblings running around.

A few minutes passed, then Kindness tugged at her bag. "Hey, let's take a selfie! Lust taught me how to add filters, it might be fun!" Kindness said cheerily.

Envy shrugged. "Whatever."

"Cool!" Kindness replied, smiling. She fiddled with her phone for a few seconds, then walked to where Envy was standing and pressed her cheek against his. "Say cheese!" she says, clicking the button.

Which was not what Envy had expected.

So, naturally, he turned bright red.

Kindness was blissfully ignorant of this. Then, probably because her cheek and fingers were sticking on Envy's face, she realized that Envy's face had turned into a tomato and it felt warmer than usual. She immediately pulled back and laid her hand on his forehead. "Are you sick?" she asked, worried.

"I'm-I'm not," Envy snapped, pulling back quickly from her touch. "I'm fine."

"Why are you bright red, then?" Kindness asked, confused. She didn't consider the possibility of him blushing. Never in a million years. "Maybe this place is too hot for you? I know your skill is ice-based..."

"I'm bright red!?" he asked, alarmed.

Kindness held out her phone, still puzzled. "Yeah, look," she said. In the picture, Kindness was posing and smiling sweetly, while Envy looked like he was surprised at the sudden event taking place, which he was.

Envy glanced at the picture, biting his lip. "Okay," he said, his voice tense. "I'm just gonna go."

"Wait, why?" Kindness asked, tilting her head in that adorable way that had his heart doing extreme sports.

Somehow, he managed to talk. "N-none of your business, dumb fox. I'll be back-I'll be back soon."

Kindness nodded and smiled, "Tell me if you actually do have a fever!"

God damn it. Who paid her to be that nice?

Envy managed to nod. He practically sprinted into the bathroom, panicking. This is all new to him. Why does a single touch from her drove him crazy?

Not with lust.

With something else Envy has never experienced before, and had hoped he would never had to experience.

My face is red. I have a red face. What the fuck is going on-

One look at the mirror confirmed Kindness' claim.

I can't be seen like this!

He splashed some water to his face. It didn't work. He tried the baby wipes. It didn't work either.

Miraculously, the bathroom was empty, even though the park was overflowing with visitors. He gripped the sides of a sink to (hopefully) calm himself down and return his face to its original color.

Envy was... panicking, for a lack of better words. This had happened a few times to him, and he knew what it's called, he just couldn't believe it.

Towards a virtue of all possible candidates. He was going crazy.

It was hard enough to admit Kindness was being nice to him. Now this?

Does the universe hate him?

He sighed and accepted that he wasn't able to get rid of the red tint on his face. Maybe he can play it off as being too hot. The sun was very bright today, so that may work.

Envy walked out of the bathroom and crashed into Cowardice. "Envy!" she said happily. "Kindness is worrying about you... she thinks you're sick because of the sun."

"Seriously?" Envy asked, letting Cowardice cling to him. "I told her I'm fine."

"I guess she's worried about you ever since we escaped." Cowardice said matter-of-factly. "You were bedridden for days. And I think you also oozed poison at one point."

He winced. "Let's not talk about those days," Envy said as they arrived at a table where the others were seated.

"Envy! Are you sure you're okay?" Kindness immediately greets him.

Rion looked up. "I think he's not very resistant to heat."

"In that case, we should head home," Rion's mom said. "It's getting too hot for you kids to play, too."

Kindness kept on fussing over Envy all the way home.

By the time he arrived home, he was sick of the fussing (even though he kind of liked the attention). "Kindness, I swear I'm fine," Envy insisted.

"At least let me check your temperature!" Kindness said.

He sighed, not even saying anything to the not-so-subtly laughing Rion and Cowardice. "Fine, but just that, okay?"

Kindness nodded, pulling out a thermometer, the kind that you put into your ear.

A few seconds later, it beeped. Envy took it out and read the temperature.

God damn it.

It read 39°C.

"I knew you were sick!"