Work Text
It was a lovely day in Multimedia, and Lumpy was doing some work at the Multimedia Burger Joint so he could earn some more money for himself. At the moment, he was wiping some of the tables clean, while SpongeBob was busy fulfilling one order after another."Here you go!" SpongeBob said, holding out a tray of food for the red-spotted, blue-vested Toad patron who had been waiting at the counter. "One double hamburger, one medium order of fries and a medium drink. That'll be four dollars!"Toad smiled, reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out four dollar bills. He handed them to SpongeBob, then took his tray. "Thanks!"He then headed over to one of the tables, which Lumpy happened to have cleaned less than a few minutes ago, and sat down to enjoy his lunch. As Lumpy kept cleaning the remainder of the tables, he heard the door open, and when he turned his head to look at it, he was a bit surprised to see Tootie heading into the burger joint. She made her way up to SpongeBob."Hey, Tootie!" SpongeBob greeted her with his usual friendly smile. "Can I take your order?""I'd like one order of chicken nuggets, a medium order of fries, and a small, unsweet ice tea, please," Tootie replied as she smiled in return, "for here."SpongeBob nodded in understanding, then headed into the kitchen. By the time Lumpy had run out of tables to clean, the hard-working sponge had returned with everything Tootie asked for, also on a tray."That'll be $3.75!" said SpongeBob.Tootie reached into her skirt, pulled out her wallet, removed four dollar bills from it and handed them to SpongeBob. Then she took her tray."Thank you, SpongeBob," said Tootie. "By the way, you can keep the change. You deserve it.""Thanks!" SpongeBob replied with a smile.Not long after Tootie had chosen her table to eat her lunch, SpongeBob noticed that all of the other tables had been cleaned. He went over to Lumpy to thank him, then handed him a mop and suggested that he mop the floors next.Lumpy got to work right away, making sure he didn't leave a single part of the floor unscrubbed. By the time he was almost done, however, he was close enough to Tootie's table to hear her comment on her lunch."Mmm, these are delicious," Tootie said to herself, referring to both her chicken nuggets and her French fries. "It's too bad Audrey, Dot and Lotta aren't here to eat lunch with me today, though.""They're not?" Lumpy asked aloud. He turned his head this way and that, but indeed, none of the Harvey Girls were at the burger joint. He turned to Tootie. "You're right, Tootie. I wonder where they are...""I tried texting them, but they told me they couldn't play with me today," Tootie stated."Why not?""They said they weren't feeling well. I haven't tried to visit them today, so I don't know what's wrong, but I think they may have caught a cold or something."Lumpy sulked as he frowned in sympathy. The thought of his three female friends being under the weather was enough to make him feel a pang of concern. "Aww. Those poor Harvey Girls... I hope they feel better soon.""Yeah, me, too," said Tootie. “It’s just not the same around here without them.”Lumpy got back to mopping the floors, but it wasn't long before he'd finished. Besides, continuing his day of work wasn't what he was worried about anymore. When SpongeBob thanked him for his hard work, Lumpy asked him something."Hey, SpongeBob, do you think you could let me go for the day, please?" Lumpy wanted to know. "I was thinking I could visit the Harvey Girls and help them feel better.""Sure, Lumpy! But first, I should pay you for a job well done." SpongeBob reached into his wallet, pulled out a five-dollar bill as well as three one-dollar bills, and handed them to Lumpy. "Here you go - five dollars for mopping the floors, and three dollars for cleaning the tables.""Thanks, SpongeBob," said Lumpy, a smile upon his face.He placed what was now his own money in his wallet and then made his way out of the burger joint, with SpongeBob waving goodbye to him as he watched him go. With the moose gone, SpongeBob went back to the register to serve the next customer.As Lumpy walked, he listened to the sounds of the chirping birds, and looked up at the white clouds in the blue sky. It was quite a nice day outside; a day this nice shouldn't be spent with a cold, Lumpy thought. That being said, he was glad he wasn't the one feeling sick - but that was the least of his concerns, anyway.After a few minutes of walking, Lumpy had arrived at Harvey Street, so he made his way up to the Harvey Girls' trailer. He stood at the front door and knocked on it three times. From the inside of the trailer, he could hear all three of the Harvey Girls saying something in unison, but he couldn't tell if they said "Coming," or "Come in."Just a few seconds later, however, he heard them inhaling, as though they were about to sneeze. "Aaaah... Haaaaah...!"Lumpy's eyes widened and pupils shrunk in fear. He knew what was going to happen, but decided to try taking a risk; he placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pushed the door open. The first thing he saw was Audrey, Dot and Lotta, all releasing a loud sneeze in unison as they sat on the couch close to the door."AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-TCHEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!"Lumpy cringed and put his hands to his ears - or where his ears would be, at least - as all three of the Girls doubled over with their sneezes. He could clearly see some mucus fire out of Audrey's nose, as well as saliva rushing out of Dot and Lotta's mouths."O-oh, my goodness..." Lumpy said to himself in worry. If anything, he was glad that none of the Girls sprayed him with their powerful sneezes.After a few seconds had gone by, the Harvey Girls recovered from their sneezes and rubbed their noses. Dot used a tissue she had in her hand, while Lotta used her arm, and Audrey used her forefinger."Bless you, Harvey Girls!" said Lumpy, though it may as well be an understatement."Thadk you..." Audrey and Lotta replied, both sniffling.Dot blew her nose loudly into her tissue, then continued to wipe her nose with it as she spoke."Thadk you, Lubpy..." Her voice sounded raspy and a bit congested. "Ad excuse be.""What's the matter, girls?" Although Lumpy remembered Tootie's assumption that the Harvey Girls had caught colds, he had to ask in order to be sure. “You look terrible…”"Yeah, ad I feel terrible, too..." Lotta replied. She sniffled quite audibly, but then gained a pre-sneeze face. What followed was a far quieter sneeze than the one she'd released with Audrey and Dot - in fact, it didn’t even have any visible saliva. "Aaah... Hah-tchyew!""I dod't kdow how it happened," Audrey mentioned as Lotta sulked, "but be, Dot ad Lotta have cobe dowd with the worst codes ever...""Yeah. I can tell," Lumpy replied. He made his way into the trailer, although it probably wasn’t a good idea. "We should get you girls to bed - you really shouldn't be up when you're feeling as bad as you are."Dot nodded in agreement, and then Lumpy headed over to them. He led the three red-nosed girls into the bedroom, where there were three beds waiting. One bed had a pink blanket, one bed had a blue blanket that was covered in polka dots, and the other bed was larger in size and had a light purple blanket that had a cute white bunny pattern. Dot and Lotta stepped into the second and third beds and pulled their respective covers over themselves.Before Audrey could even climb into the remaining bed, however, she felt another tickle in her nose, to her surprise."What the--?! Ah... AHH-CHOO!!" Audrey let out a sneeze so powerful that both of her feet left the floor, and when she landed she was suddenly in the bed she was climbing into. She then lay there, her forefinger underneath her nose. "Uugh...""Bless you, Audrey," said Lumpy. He approached her, seeing that there was a box of tissues on the end table next to her. He pulled out a tissue and handed it to Audrey - and before long, she was blowing her nose quite loudly into it."Thadks, Lubpy." Audrey wiped her nose with her tissue now that she'd lost her breath. She couldn’t help but wish blowing her nose was enough to cure her cold or stop her from sneezing for the rest of the day, even if neither effect made much sense.Lumpy placed his hand on Audrey's forehead, but it felt quite hot."I think you've got a fever with your cold, Audrey," said Lumpy. He turned to Dot and Lotta. "How about you girls? Do you feel hot?"Dot nodded. "Whed I took by tebperature this bordidg, it was about a huddred ad wud degrees Fahredheit." She coughed a bit, making sure to cover with her fist so she wouldn’t spread her cold to Lumpy."I didd't take by tebperature yet," Lotta mentioned, "but yeah, I'b a little... Tchyu! ...hot."Following her next sneeze, Lotta sniffled daintily, likely wanting to wait a bit before she rubbed her nose. That was when Lumpy placed his hand on her forehead for a moment. Indeed, it felt quite warm to the touch, and when he felt Dot's forehead with that same hand, it felt hot as well."We'll have to take your temperatures," said Lumpy. "But there's probably only one thermometer, so you'll have to share it..."The Harvey Girls looked equally dismayed, but otherwise didn't complain. Sometimes there was no choice in the matter. Lumpy went into the bathroom for a brief moment and came back with a thermometer. He wiped it clean with a tissue, and then placed the end underneath Lotta's tongue. A minute went by, and then he pulled out the thermometer and looked at it."Hmm, a hundred and two degrees," said Lumpy. "I'm afraid you do have a fever, Lotta.""That's what I was afraid you'd say." Lotta coughed a couple of times into her hand.Lumpy wiped the thermometer clean again, and then placed it underneath Dot's tongue. She sniffled a couple of times, but otherwise kept the thermometer still. A minute passed, and Lumpy pulled out the thermometer."Yeah, it's still at a hundred and one," he said. "You still have a fever."Dot sulked as she watched Lumpy clean off the thermometer a third time. Finally, he went over to Audrey and tucked the thermometer under her tongue. As they were waiting for her temperature to be taken, however, Audrey's nose began to twitch. Her eyes widened, and then her eyelids lowered as she whimpered a bit."What's the matter, Audrey? You need to sneeze?" Lumpy asked.Audrey nodded and began to inhale, somehow keeping her mouth shut. "Haaah... Aaah..."But before she could inhale any more, Lumpy placed his forefinger underneath her nose. She didn't sneeze, but the expression on her face told him it wouldn’t be long before it would happen. A few seconds passed, and Lumpy used his other hand to take the thermometer out of Audrey's mouth. When he looked at it, however, he made the mistake of pulling his hand away from Audrey's nose, after which she exploded. The sound of it caught Lumpy off-guard."HAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-TCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!""Bless YOU!" Lumpy said as Audrey rubbed her nose again with her forefinger.“Yeah, bless you!” Lotta agreed.Audrey gave a loud, deep sniffle, finger under nose. "Thadks. Sorry, Lubpy...""It's alright. I know you couldn't help it." Lumpy pulled out another tissue from the box and handed it to Audrey. "Here."As Audrey took the tissue and rubbed it against her nose, Lumpy looked at the reading of the thermometer in his hand."Looks like you have a fever of a hundred and two," Lumpy acknowledged. "We're gonna have to keep you girls in bed until your fevers go down."Audrey looked dismayed, but gave a nod of understanding. She didn’t feel like getting out of bed now that she’d lay down, anyway. She just blew her nose again, holding her tissue in both of her hands, before wiping her nose with the same tissue.As she did, Lotta suddenly sneezed again: “Hhhchew--!”“Hehhh-tchyuu!” And almost a second afterward, Dot let out another sneeze as well.“Bless you,” Lumpy said as Dot and Lotta rubbed their noses; Lotta used the side of her hand, while Dot used her forefinger. Seeing that their noses were running slightly, he handed each of them a tissue so they could wipe their noses.“Thadk you,” Dot said. As weak as she felt, she and her friends were clearly grateful that her thoughtful moose friend was caring for them."Hey, Lubpy?" Lotta asked with a sniffle. When Lumpy turned her head to look at her, she lowered her tissue from her face and asked, "Could you please bring be a bottle of water? I'b a little thirsty.""Oh, sure, Lotta," Lumpy replied.“Could I have sobe water, too?” Audrey asked before stifling a couple of coughs into her fist.“I’b a bit thirsty byself,” Dot mentioned. “Thed agaid, drinkidg pledty of liquids is ibportadt for recoveridg from illdess…” She gave a couple of coughs after that.“Sure, you two can have some water, too,” said Lumpy.He made his way out of the room for a moment, and then came back with three bottle of water. It had been in the refrigerator for a while - at least a few days, Lumpy guessed - so it was nice and cold. He handed one to Audrey, one to Dot, and one to Lotta."Thadk you." Lotta gently removed the lid from her water and began to drink. As she did, Audrey and Dot removed the lids from their water and drank some water as well. When Lotta’s bottle was about halfway empty, she pulled her lips away from the opening and sighed."Feeling better?" Lumpy asked."A little, yeah," Lotta said, although Lumpy wasn’t sure she was being sincere. She wiped her mouth with her hand, then put the lid back on the bottle, twisting it a bit to close it. She then put the bottle aside for later. By that point, Audrey had finished all of her water, but just as she’d placed the bottle aside as well, she could feel another tickle finding its way back to her nose.“Aaah, haaah… Aaaah-chooooo!!” Audrey released another sneeze, bringing her neck forward as she did so. She then sulked as she rubbed her nose again with her forefinger.“Gesundheit,” Dot said, pronouncing the word perfectly in spite of her stuffed up nose. She’d finished her water as well.“Yeah, Gesundheit,” Lumpy said in agreement, though he wasn’t sure if he was saying it right.“Thadk you,” Audrey replied. Lumpy handed her another tissue, and Audrey wiped her nose with it.“I think I know what you girls need for this cold. You could use some bowls of warm soup,” Lumpy stated. “Why don’t I go down to the kitchen and make some for you?”Lotta sniffled, but managed a little smile over the idea. “Oh, Lubpy, would you do that, please?”Audrey blew her nose again and then resumed wiping it. She managed a little smile, however. “Some soup oughta help us feel better.”“I’d buch rather have a bowl of soup thad have to take sobe code bedicide, adyway,” Dot mentioned.“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” said Lumpy.With that, he made his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Just as he was out of earshot, however, the Harvey Girls sneezed again, almost in perfect unison; Lotta’s sneeze was only slightly more audible than usual, though it was still a little hard to hear over Audrey and Dot’s releases. That being said, Dot and Lotta each pulled out another tissue from the box so they could wipe their noses again, while Audrey just rubbed her nose again with her forefinger.Soon Lumpy was in the kitchen, and he got to work making soup for the Harvey Girls. He placed a big pot on the stove and filled it with water, switching on the fire after he’d done that. Once the water had begun to boil, he added some soup flavoring and noodles as well as some pieces of fresh chicken. Then he began to stir, smiling as the sweet aroma of the cooking soup began to fill the room. Even if the Harvey Girls couldn’t smell it due to their stuffy noses, at least it would help them recover from their colds.A few minutes went by, and the soup was ready. Lumpy placed three bowls onto a tray, then filled each bowl almost to the top with the steaming warm soup. Three spoons were placed on the tray as well, and with his steady hands, he picked up the tray and brought it into the bedroom.“Ahh-chyew~!” Lotta gave another quiet sneeze, then blew her nose rather cutely into her tissue. It almost sounded like someone playing a high-pitched note on a plastic trumpet. She then sighed as she wiped her nose with her tissue. “Ugh, why cad’t blowidg by dose help be stop sdeezidg?”“If odly it did, ndobody would have to take ady of that yucky bedicide adybore,” Audrey lamented in agreement.Just as she finished, Lumpy came into the bedroom. The Harvey Girls smiled as they sat up, and Lumpy handed each of them a bowl of soup as well as a spoon.“Here you go, girls.”“Thadks, Lubpy,” the three thanked him one after the another - first Lotta, then Dot, and finally Audrey. From there they began to eat, one spoonful at a time.“So what do you think?” Lumpy wanted to know, though he could tell they were already satisfied.“I gotta say, Lubpy, this soup is pretty good,” Audrey said.“Yeah,” Lotta said in agreement.“Indeed, it is,” Dot agreed.Lotta gave a couple of sniffles, feeling like she could breathe again. “In fact, I think it’s helping my nose feel better.”“Now that you mention it,” Dot took a quick breath through her nose, wiping it gingerly with her hand, “I can feel it clearing my nasal passages as well.”“That’s good, and I’m glad you like it,” said Lumpy with a smile. “How about you, Audrey? Is your nose feeling better?”Audrey sniffled a couple of times. “Yeah, a little. That’s probably why we all like chicken soup, because it tastes good and it helps you feel better when you don’t feel good.”“Yeah, definitely not wrong there,” Lumpy replied, keeping his smile.He watched as the girls enjoyed their soup for the next few minutes, and when they were finished, he placed the now-empty bowls and spoons back on the tray. He took a minute to bring them back to the kitchen, and soon he was back in the bedroom.Lumpy tucked each of the Harvey Girls in, pulling the blankets up over them and gently pushing the corners underneath them. Lotta drank the last of her water from her bottle, then put the now-empty bottle aside.“Now all that’s left is making sure you get some rest,” said Lumpy. “How about you all take a nap?”“I guess it couldn’t hurt. Hah-choo!” Audrey sneezed again, putting her hand over her mouth at just the right moment, and then she rubbed her nose with her forefinger.“Bless you.” Lumpy patted her shoulder a bit, then looked over at Dot and Lotta. “Maybe I can play a lullaby for you on my phone to help you sleep. Would you like that?”“Yes, please,” Dot said. “It was thoughtful enough that-- Hhhcheww--” She let out another sneeze, but then wiped her nose with her arm before she resumed, “It was thoughtful enough that you made us some soup, but the idea of you helping us fall asleep is even more thoughtful.”Lumpy blushed a bit as he smiled, and then he turned to Lotta. “Would you like a lullaby, too, Lotta?”“Yes, please,” Lotta said, sniffling every now and again as she made herself comfortable in her bed.“Okay.”Lumpy reached into his pocket, pulled out his smartphone and typed something into it. Then he tapped the screen, and a beautiful piece of music began to play. It was Zelda’s Lullaby, a favorite song of his. As Audrey, Dot and Lotta listened, they could feel their eyelids growing heavy. Lumpy even saw Audrey yawn into her hand, and Lotta rubbing one of her eyes gently.And by the time the song had ended, all three of them had fallen asleep, breathing in and out peacefully.Lumpy placed his smartphone back in his pocket and tiptoed his way out of the bedroom, as well as out of the trailer. He could see the sky above begin to turn an orange shade - the sun was setting, and nighttime was about to begin. With a satisfied smile, Lumpy closed the door to the trailer, making sure to lock it so nobody would come inside by mistake before the girls awoke in the morning, and then he headed out of Harvey Street.As Lumpy walked through the neighborhoods and arrived at his house, he thought to himself about how his friends would feel in the morning. They would probably still be sneezing, but he had a feeling the soup he gave them would help them feel much better. By the time he’d arrived home, the sky was a dark blue with stars. He placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled the door open, and as he went inside, he could see Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff, Missie and Cupcake all waiting for him.“Hey, guys, I’m home,” Lumpy greeted them. He smiled as he let Missie rub against his legs, and bent over to pet Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff and Cupcake on the tops of their heads.“Maow?” Missie asked, wondering how his day had been.“I was working at the fast food place today to make some money. I didn’t stay as long as I usually did, though, because I heard Tootie mention that the Harvey Girls weren’t feeling well,” Lumpy explained. “So I went to visit them, and it turned out they’d all caught a cold. From there I took care of them. I blessed them a couple of times when they sneezed, brought them some water and tissues, and I made them some soup, too.”“I don’t know when they’re going to feel better, probably a few days from now, but I’m just glad I--“ Suddenly, a tickle found its way into Lumpy’s nose, and as it began to twitch, his nostrils began to flare a couple of times. He tried to finish his sentence, but he just couldn’t. “I… Aaah-chooo!”“Mrow,” Missie meowed, trying to bless him as Lumpy rubbed his nose with his forefinger.“Mew?” Cupcake tilted her head a bit, wondering if he was alright.“Excuse me,” Lumpy said, sniffling a couple of times as he continued to rub his nose. “I don’t know how that happened, but I hope I’m not catching a cold, too.”Although his Pokemon and cats were concerned about him, they were glad that they had taken the time to look after Audrey, Dot and Lotta. Considering how much time he’d spent with them over the years, it was understandable and thoughtful of him.Lumpy proceeded onto his bedtime routine, taking a shower to clean himself off and warm up. He then dried off with one of the softest towels he had, and then he brushed his teeth with his favorite toothbrush and preferred brand of toothpaste. Last, he headed into his bedroom to put on his favorite pajamas, which were a slightly lighter shade of blue than he was.As Lumpy headed to his bed, however, he felt another tickle in his nose. He looked down at his snout, seeing that it was wiggling around, and he lowered his eyelids as he tilted his neck backward.“Aaah… Haaah…” Lumpy inhaled, “HAAAHHHH-- CHOO!!!”The sound of his sneeze caused all five of his pets to cringe in surprise; Cupcake even found herself hiding behind Missie.“Ugh!” Lumpy then sulked as he rubbed his nose again with his forefinger. “Sorry, guys. Maybe I should blow my nose before bed, just to be safe.”He pulled out a tissue from the box on his end table, and with a deep breath the moose blew his nose loudly. It was quite audible, but it was worth it; any congestion that had been inside was almost instantly cleared.“Ah, that’s better.” Lumpy smiled as he wiped his nose with that same tissue. Then he balled it up and threw it into the trash can.Satisfied, Lumpy crawled into his bed, pulling the covers up over himself as he did. He watched as Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff hopped onto the bed to rest with him, while Missie and Cupcake headed into their cat bed so they could sleep there. With a few goodnight wishes punctuated by a few final rubs with his forefinger, Lumpy switched off the light, filling the room with darkness. Then he lay his head down upon his pillow and closed his eyes. For the rest of that night, Lumpy, his pets and the Harvey Girls could hear crickets chirping outside.At first Lumpy had been worried about whether he was catching the Harvey Girls’ cold or not, but in the end, he decided there wasn’t much to worry about. Even if he was coming down with a cold, at least he had plenty of tissues to sneeze into and wipe his nose with when he needed to. Not to mention, he had enough ingredients to make some more chicken soup for himself to eat, so that would help, too.One thing was for sure, though: the Harvey Girls were definitely going to feel better in the coming future, and he knew full well they were grateful for his help, care and support. Even as he drifted off to sleep, Lumpy had a feeling they were going to do something special for him once they were back on their feet.
