Spike glided through the front door of the castle, smiling wide. “Yo, Starlight! I’m home! I’ve got something to tell you!”

He pranced into the living room, expecting to see her curled up on the easy chair as per the usual, but much to his dismay, she was absent.

“Uh, Starlight?” he asked, darting his head to and fro. “Huh, she’s not here. Go figure.”

“She’s out with Trixie,” a voice said from behind him. “Something about ‘Great and Powerful Ice Cream’ or whatever.”

Spike turned around to see Twilight entering the room. “Oh, really? It’s not like her to have a social life. Ah, well. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Thanks for letting me kn—“ Spike finally slowed down enough to actually look at the mare before him. Her eyes were heavily bagged and there was a steady sound of sniffles coming from her muzzle. “Woah… you don’t look so good, Twi.”

She sniffled once more, moaning slightly due to the pure, unadulterated agony that can only come from having a cold. “Eh, I’m fine, Spike. Just a bit of a… of a… Achoo!”

Spike regretted being directly in her line of vision at that particular time considering he now found himself wiping off tidbits of Twilight snot from his scales. “Yeah, just fine. C’mon, Twi, lay down on the couch.”

Twilight hesitated for a brief moment as Spike gently led her toward the living area. “No, Spike, it’s okay. I have things to do and—“

“It’s a happening thing, Twilight,” he said. “The sooner you accept it, the happier you’ll be.”

With a half-hearted huff, Twilight gave in to her fate and let herself be practically carried over to the couch. Spike guided her over to the couch and gently helped her lay down. He grabbed a throw pillow and placed it under her head.

“Spike,” Twilight coughed out. “This really isn’t necessary.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” Spike looked around for a moment. “Hmm, hold on for just one second. I’m gonna go grab a blanket, alright?”

“But, Spike, I—” And he was gone.

As promised, he returned rapidly and gently placed the blanket over her, making sure to tuck in the edges into the cushions. Nopony liked it when every turn they make makes the blanket fall to the floor, after all. He also managed to return with a box of tissues he placed right next to the couch.

“There you go!” He said. “I think we’re set. Here in a bit I’ll make you some soup, too.”

Twilight let out a soft sigh. “I appreciate it, Spike. I promise, I really do. But I would’ve been more than capable of walking up to my room if I wanted to take a nap.”

"Pfft, nice try," he responded. "All your work supplies are up there. That's way too much temptation for you.. Down here, I can keep an eye on you to make sure you rest and start feeling better.”

Twilight rolled her eyes before burrowing into the blankets and smiling at him. “Okay, Spike, you win.” She drove the thought home by grabbing a tissue with her magic and blocking an especially large sneeze with it.

Spike travelled to the nearby easy chair and hopped in it, making himself comfortable. “So, Twi, I guess since we’re here now, let’s talk for a bit.” HIs train of thought was cut off by a ravenous sneeze coming from the mare. “That is, if you’re up to it.”

Twilight gently nodded. “Of course. I’m always up for talking with you. Just as long as I’m not out of town and such.”

“Obviously,” Spike replied with a smile. “I think I’ve already told you this, but I’m really glad you’ve started spending more time with me again. Starlight thinks the same thing, too. I mean, she’s not really the one for saying nice things, but deep down she appreciates it.”

Twilight took a moment to respond, seeming to stare off into space. She Scooched her head up the pillow, groaning as she did so due to an obviously massive headache. However, she was eventually able to get herself in a position to gaze up at Spike. “Thank you, Spike. I’m trying to get better about it. I’m glad you see it. Sometimes I just… I just get caught up in everything going on. And I, um, I kinda forget the important ponies in my—”

“Shh,” Spike said, waving a claw. “Don’t worry about all that heavy stuff right now.”

Spike could see the train of thought was upsetting her. It may have been from the cold she was victim to, but he was pretty sure those were tears welling up. And now was neither the time nor the place for this.

“Okay,” Twilight said. She took a few shallow breaths, trying to keep herself from causing any more tears roll down her cheeks. “I guess I’m just trying to say that I love you, Spike, no matter what. Even if I don’t always show it like I want to.”

Spike grinned at her. “I love you, too, Twi. Now, let’s change subjects before I start getting all emotional and whatnot. I am a dragon after all and I’m pretty sure crying is grounds for the death penalty in that culture.”

Twilight chuckled. “You’re probably right, hehe.”

“Now,” Spike said, “let’s talk a bit about you. I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk with you the past few days, Twi.”

“Okay,” Twilight replied. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“I dunno,” Spike said with a shrug. “How are things going in the world of Princess stuff? Oh, have you given any consideration to my idea about making daily showers mandatory? I was up in Manehattan the other day and let me tell you straight up, showers are not a high priority in that town.”

Twilight shook her head. “Sorry, Spike, but we can’t legally control the sanitation habits of the citizens… no matter how much I and the other Princesses wish we could.”

“Darn,” Spike said with a snap. “I suppose it was worth a try, though.”

“Yeah, but maybe someday,” Twilight said. “Now, Spike, tell me about what’s going on with you.”

“Me?” Spike asked, rubbing the back of his head. “Oh, you know, not a whole, whole lot. Just a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Maybe a little more that than this.”

“How are things going with you and Ditzy?” Twilight asked, earning a quizzical look from Spike.

“You mean Derpy?”

“Oh, yeah, Derpy. Sorry.” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m sick.”

“It’s cool, no worries,” Spike said. “But, to answer your question, things are going great! I really like her, Twi.”

“That’s great!” she responded, before interrupting herself with a fit of coughing. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“You alright there?” Spike asked, getting up from the chair. “You don’t sound too good.”

“No, it’s alright, just—” And another fit of coughing erupted.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna fly.” Spike began walking away, heading toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna get you some tea real quick. It’ll help the coughing or so they say.”

Twilight rose her hoof to protest but she got nowhere as another bit of coughing prevented words from coming out. She promptly put her hoof down and let Spike carry on with his insistent care giving.

He roamed around the kitchen, grabbing a packet of Twilight’s favorite tea and got some water boiling. It broke his heart to see Twilight in such a weakened state like this and although he was definitely growing up and living his own life, he never gave up the idea that he was her number one assistant.

He chuckled a bit after replaying that line in his head. He hadn’t heard it in awhile, that was for sure. But, somewhere along the line, he went from assistant to family and family takes care of each other, just like he was doing for Twilight.

The water reached its boiling point and Spike dropped the teabag in. It took all of a minute or so for the tea to be ready. He took but a moment to mix in some honey and lemon, just as she liked it before gently carrying it out to her.

She was curled up under the blankets, head snuggled into her pillow, looking even more miserable than when he left her.

“Alright, Twilight, here you go,” he said, setting it down. “Now be careful so you don’t spill it or burn yourself. Your magic isn’t quite as accurate when you’re sick.”

She nodded and sat up a bit, taking a sip. “Mmm, you remembered the lemon?”

“What can I say?” Spike said, hopping back in his chair. “I’m a saint, I know.”

Twilight snorted out a quick chuckle and took another sip before setting the mug down. “Of course you are, Spike. But thank you, I can already feel it helping my throat feel better.”

Spike smiled and giddily kicked his feet. No matter how old he got, hearing praise from Twilight always felt great. Some things never changed.

“So,” Twilight began, looking toward Spike. “When you came in you seemed super excited to tell Starlight something. If it’s not anything private between the two of you, maybe you could tell me, instead.”

“Huh?’ Spike asked. “You wanna hear about it? It’s nothing big, just some relationship stuff with Derpy.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to hear about it. How long have you guys been dating now? A couple weeks, right?”

“Close,” Spike said. “We’re officially over a month, but there was something there before that.” Spike blushed just thinking about it. “It’s been pretty great.”

“I really wish I could spend some more time with her,” Twilight said. “I’ve seen her a couple times and she always seemed really nice.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s great,” Spike said. “She’s a bit shy, but I’d really like to do stuff with the three of us more often. I’d bring Starlight around too, but I can’t help but be afraid she’d find a way to make things awkward and difficult… and she’d probably do it on purpose.”

“Yeah, I can’t even argue with you there,” Twilight said with a weak laugh. “But you know she cares about you, too.”

“You’re right,” Spike says. “That’s why we keep her around… even though she’s perfectly capable of earning her own living at this point. Speaking, of which, so do I. Eh, I won’t question it.”

The two shared a quick laugh together. That was something they hadn’t done in awhile and Spike loved it. He honestly missed having one on one time with Twilight.

“So, to answer your earlier question,” Spike said, “I was just gonna tell her that Derpy invited me over to her place for a surprise of some kind.”

Twilight’s eyes popped open. “Her house?... For a surprise?”

“Yep,” Spike said. “I’ve never actually been to her home. We just kinda meet in public for the most part. But, now I’ll be going over there tomorrow night and I have no idea what the surprise is. I’m really not sure what to expect.”

It took a few moments for Twilight to respond as she was processing what she was hearing. “So, you’re going over to her home… for a surprise. Wow. I never thought I’d really see the day.”

Spike frowned. “I love the vote of confidence there, Twilight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Spike,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn't mean it like that. It’s just, you’re really growing up. It’s kind of hard to understand.”

“Hey, it’s not easy for me, either,” he responded. “Growing up, having responsibility and the like… it’s a full-time job.”

“Well, you seem to be doing good so far,” she said. “But as for helping you with this surprise, yeah, I’ll leave that to Starlight. Just, you know, be careful… with stuff.”

“Oh gosh, let’s not do this, Twi,” Spike said, waving his claw. “I love you, but you already gave me ‘the talk’ when I was younger. Let’s not do that again.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight stated.

There was a quick moment of silence between the two of them before Twilight broke it up with another vicious fit of coughing. She took a swig of her tea and groaned, covering herself up with the blanked and wiggling her body back into a comfortable place.

“Okay, Twilight, enough talking. You need to get some sleep.” Spike wandered over to her and fixed up her blankets a bit more so she’d be comfortable.

“Easier said than done when you’re feeling like this,” Twilight said. All attempts at pretending she was okay were now thrown out the window. “But I’ll try, I guess.”

Spike rubbed his chin for a moment before pointing a claw up in the air. “I have an idea! I think I know what might help.”

He disappeared up the stairs and returned just as quickly, clutching a large book.

“Okay, so this works for the all the fillies and colts at the hospital who are sick, so maybe it’ll work for you.” Spike drug the easy chair across the floor a bit closer to the sofa and got comfortable into it.

“Are you going to read to me?” Twilight asked.

Spike responded with a nod. “Yep. The Adventures of Poptart and Note Pad. I’m thinking we’ll start at the beginning. That’s the best story, anyway.”

Twilight looked like a filly again, snuggled into her blankets and pillow, eyes closed and a soft smile adorning her face. She let out a quiet yawn. “Okay, Spike. That sounds wonderful.”

Spike smiled and popped the book open. He flipped through the opening pages and cleared his throat. “Alright, story number one: The Mystery of the Missing Muffin. It was a warm sunny day in the quiet town, but all was not as well as it appeared…”

Author's Notes:

I've been wanting to write a Twilight and Spike chapter for so long now, but I needed them to give me the opportunity. Hey, if giving Twilight a two-billion degree fever got it done, then so be it.

Just wanna do a quick shout-out to one of my besties, An Intricate Disguise for helping me get my ideas on paper for this chapter.