shirbert oneshots - awae

seasonal sniffles

Takes place after Season 3

~~~

Anne helplessly blew at her nose, soiling yet another tissue with her snot and tossing it to the side of her textbooks, which were covered in half-assed annotations and messy notes. Anne's handwriting had always been somewhat drab, but it was especially horrible now that she was sick. But final exams were coming up at Queens Academy and she was determined to push through. 

Her teaching vocation depended on it if she were to teach in Toronto, a city with many professionals. She was lucky to have qualified to teach at the an all-girls college, despite being so young, and she was determined to maintain her reputation with her perfect scores. A little sniffle was surely worth that.

"Anne," Diana said as she entered their dorm room. "You really must rest. Do you want me to get you anything? Tea? Honey? I could even get you some lotion for your nose..."

Anne scratched at the sensitive nub with yet another tissue, ungracefully shooting snot into it once again. She likely looked like a red-haired Rudolph -- very fitting for the upcoming holidays. Perhaps she had caught this dreadful illness from her day out in Charlottetown, when she had been buying Christmas presents for her friends and family. That would've done it, alright.

Then again, she had only herself to blame for her horrible state. Anne had a habit of forgetting to eat when she got excited about something. Marilla knew this and often kept her well-fed at home with multiple reminders and eventual pushing, but at Queens, Anne was an independent woman. An independent woman who could probably use a break to at least break out of her corset. At this point, it was probably the only thing holding her upright.

"I'm okay, Diana," Anne hoarsely whispered before breaking into a bout of coughing. "Actually, I don't want to get you sick. Is there any way you could stay with Ruby? Josie's out of town for a family..." Anne broke off to let out an earthquake-causing sneeze. "Maybe you could stay there?"

"And leave you to suffer a painful, sick death? I think not," Diana scoffed. "I'll stay here and make sure you go to bed at a sensible time." She shook her head. "And to think Aunt Josephine..." Her eyes widened. "Rats!"

"What?" Anne sniffled.

"I totally forgot that Aunt Josephine will be expecting me to attend the Summer Soiree this evening, since you can't come. Cole will be there and I do really want to see him." Diana winced. "But I don't want to leave you--"

"Go." Anne smiled tiredly. "You should go see Cole. I'm sure he'd love to see you and you're going to have a fabulous time at the soiree."

However, Diana Barry had been right to worry. In fact, her best friend instincts could not have been more spot-on. Anne was a strong woman. A fiery temper, strong mind, determined eyes. She did not give up on anything. So, when she finally put her damn fountain pen down and closed her textbook, satisfied with the amount of preparation she had worked in for her final exam, she stood up quickly, excited. That was her mistake. Or, perhaps she had been making far too many mistakes up until that moment. 

Anne stumbled. She coughed as her corset pushed against the walls of her stomach and all of a sudden felt too tight. Before she knew it, she had tripped over the wastebasket full of used tissues and crashed to the floor, asleep before she hit the ground.

~~~

See, Gilbert didn't like not being able to see Anne. He had only started courting her officially not too long ago, when he had managed to steal a break from the University of Toronto and hop on a train ride to Charlottetown. Seeing her had been better than any view in the Canadian city. Her hair was the fire that warmed his hearth at all times, her letters the words that beat in his soul... Anne Shirley-Cuthbert had consumed him, whether he liked it or not.