Work Text:
Miorine should've figured that when Suletta kept clearing her throat and went to bed early, that she was probably catching a cold.
But waking up to find the other half of their bed empty, and with no noise from the bathroom, she had hoped that she just wanted an early start to the day.
Only when she made her way to the station’s food centre did she find Suletta in a pitiful state.
Seated with a steaming mug nursed between her hands, Suletta's hair was still wild from sleep and her skin pallid, worse than Miorine's ever seen.
"You need to get back to bed," Chuchu had her hands on Suletta's shoulders, already trying to lead her back.
"No, no! I feel fine, it's just—" Suletta whips her face into the crook of her elbow and lets out a chestaching cough, the others grimacing at the sound.
Getting closer, Miorine could see the pronounced bags under her eyes and the sweat beading around her brow.
Clearly last night's sleep wasn’t enough.
The others circled around Suletta and tried to bribe her back to her bed with no success. Even when she reached their table, she still found Suletta protesting.
"Suletta," Miorine calls and sees the way Suletta jumps in her seat.
Leaning over, wide turquoise eyes meet platinum before shyly looking away. The silence is palpable and Suletta seems to sweat even more under her eyes.
"Um, good morning, Miorine-san," she says, in lieu of explaining why she was running around sick.
Miorine grimaces at how hoarse her voice was—clearly the tea wasn’t helping either.
"Miorine, can you try and get Suletta back to bed? She'll listen to you," Nika also stands behind Suletta now, who's quickly finding herself outnumbered.
"Please don't worry. I’m—" Suletta doesn't even finish that sentence before she's coughing again.
Miorine places her hand atop of Suletta's—so cold and unlike her sunny disposition—and the fight in Suletta dissipates.
"I was supposed to help you with your meeting today," Suletta tries once more.
Miorine feels the corner of her mouth quirk up. But Suletta barely looked like she could stay awake, nevermind work, and Miorine had to put her foot down.
"You need to rest. I know you want to keep going but please—just for today, at least."
Suletta's eyes start to glaze over and Miorine worries that she's about to pass out before she finally sighs, resting her head atop the table top.
"Fine," she whines, wetly sniffing.
The others escort them back to the living chambers before sending them off with some medication. The two thank their friends before slowly shuffling back to their room.
Suletta murmurs something and Miorine stops in her tracks when she realizes what she's just heard.
"You’re not useless." Miorine says, a bit more forceful than she intended. "Don’t apologize for being sick. I’ll never think you’re a burden, especially for something like this."
She feels her cheeks heating up, but she promised to be more open with Suetta—and she meant it.
Suletta's eyes get glassy and she bows her head, raising Miorine's hand to her forehead, "I really want to kiss you right now."
Suletta's voice is muffled behind her mask and Miorine finds it only adds to her charm.
"I'll give you a big one when you're better."
Suletta beams, and Miorine knows she's smiling behind her mask.
Miorine spends the rest of the day alternating between working from her small office and caring for Suletta.
Thankfully, she puts little fight up once her head hits her pillow, and evening has finally arrived by the time she’s coherent enough to stay awake.
“How’re you feeling?” Miorine asks, balancing a tray of soup and medication in her hands.
Bundled up in the sheets, Miorine finds Suletta extra cute, and resists the urge to go over and kiss her.
“Better,” she sniffles.
The two eat in comfortable silence before Suletta sets her spoon down. Curious, Miorine looks at Suletta as she watches her choose her next words.
“I know it’s kinda selfish, but I liked having you watch over me today,” Suletta smiles down at her lap and Miorine’s chest warms at that.
“Well, we all need to be a little selfish every once and awhile.”
"I didn't get sick often growing up. But whenever I did, it was always during the worst times." Suletta chuckles and it's too self-deprecating to Miorine’s liking. "It was either Mom being away or they needed Aerial for something. So… I'd just put a mask on and go about my day."
“To just be in bed all day and spoiled like this was nice.” Suletta finally looks up from her lap and startles at Miorine’s expression.
Unshed tears rest at the edge of her eyes and Suletta looks ready to throw herself off their bed to reach her.
"Miorine-san?" she chokes out while fighting with the sheets wrapped around her.
Miorine sets her plate down and walks over to their bed, sitting on the edge and brushing back Suletta's bangs.
Her forehead is still terribly hot, but Suletta presses further into her touch, sighing in relief.
“You’re not selfish for wanting to be cared for. Please, don’t forget that.”
Suletta sniffles, and Miorine knows it's not from her cold. Reaching down, Miorine envelopes Suletta in a hug and stays strong as trembling hands grasp onto her shirt.
It takes awhile for Suletta to calm down from that, but by then, she’s already dozing off.
Miorine hates unwrapping herself from Suletta and weighing her options, decides that screw it, she wasn’t done cuddling with her girlfriend.
Sliding into bed with her—clothes and all—Miorine shuffles closer to Suletta and smiles when she feels her close the gap.
Miorine knew she was going to wake up sick tomorrow, but for now, she let Suletta’s soft breathing lull her to sleep.