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Soft curls of jasmine-scented steam rise from the warm bathwater. Mel brushes a damp curl away from her face, sinking further down into the deep bath with a small sigh.
It feels wonderful, of course. Her staff had carefully prepared the bath with jasmine oil and rose petals, sprinkled with a bit of epsom salt – the perfect remedy to soothe her aching muscles. Warmed towels are laid out on the counter for her, and her softest silk nightgown waits on a hanger on the door. And yet, she still finds herself not quite able to enjoy it.
She can’t completely relax, not even like this. She feels idle and self-indulgent, two things she was raised to never be. She still wishes to be working, even with the burning pain in her throat and the congestion in her head. She wouldn’t have left the council offices at all, if it weren’t for the other council members’ strong “encouragement” that she go home and rest. It’s true that she wouldn’t want to be around herself right now either, not with her continual coughing and irrepressible sneezing. But she still finds it so distasteful that something so small and inconsequential as a virus has the ability to knock her off her feet and disrupt her entire schedule. Surely she should be stronger than it.
But the return of her cough reminds her that she is not, in fact, able to out-will a head cold. She groans, taking a sip of water from the glass on the side of the black-marble tub. Perhaps someone should simply put her out of her misery. What use is she like this, anyway?
The sound of heavy boots on the tile interrupts her self-pity spiral. Sevika, still wrapped in her burgundy cloak, turns the corner of the large bathroom, spotting Mel soaking in the deep tub in the corner of the room. Sevika’s lips curve with a smirk, and she sheds her cloak in one smooth motion, revealing her impressive arms – one flesh, one metal – that Mel is so fond of.
“A bath in the middle of the day?” Sevika sits down on a small stool next to the bath, giving her a knowing look. “Either someone died or you’re sick.”
“I rather feel like I’m dying, if that counts,” Mel sighs, suppressing another cough.
Sevika chuckles, but her silvery eyes are soft. She starts stroking a hand through Mel’s steam-damp curls. “You wake up like this?”
“Mm, it’s been worsening over the day,” Mel says half-heartedly, lifting a shoulder. She tilts her head back to rest against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes. “I was the council earlier but Shoola managed to bully me into going home.”
Mel hums when Sevika’s soft lips press against her forehead, lingering. Checking for warmth in the same way she always does when Mel is unwell. It shouldn’t make Mel feel as fond as it does.
“And you didn’t call me because…?” Sevika asks, voice low and patient.
Mel cracks her eyes open. “Because it’s nothing. You had business in Zaun.”
“You runnin’ a fever isn’t nothing, baby.”
“It’s the warmth of the bath,” Mel dismisses, waving a hand. “I’m fine.”
Sevika lets out a deep sigh, giving Mel a searching look. Then she stands and wordlessly sheds her clothes, Mel admiring the impressive sight of the woman in front of her. She scoots up in the tub to make room, letting Sevika climb in and pull her in to rest against her bare chest. Even through her stuffy nose, Mel can smell Sevika’s familiar cigar-smoke scent, and it soothes something aching in her chest. The water splashes faintly around them, rose peltals brushing against their skin. Mel curls up into Sevika, head resting on her strong shoulder. Sevika traces gentle patterns on her thigh with her non-metal hand.
“Tell me,” Sevika commands, her voice a low rumble in Mel’s ear. She kisses her temple, then her hair, waiting.
Sometimes Mel wonders what it would be like if Sevika didn’t know her as well as she does. If she couldn’t read Mel like an open book, easily picking up on her shifting tides of emotions. If she didn’t note every pinch of Mel’s eyebrows, every twitch of her lips. She’s never felt so laid bare in her life. But as much as it terrifies her, it also feels like coming home.
Mel contemplates not saying anything. But then Sevika rubs her arm in a slow, soothing stroke, and just like that, all of her walls dissolve away like sand between her fingers.
“I don’t like being like this,” Mel admits, curling further into the woman holding her close.
“I know.” Sevika rubs her hip, silently encouraging her to continue.
“I feel as though I should be doing more. Being more, perhaps,” Mel sighs, then coughs into her shoulder. “It’s hard to imagine my mother laid up like this. I doubt she ever took a single sick day in her life.”
“You’re enough, doll.” Sevika kisses Mel’s temple again. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. You’re allowed to be human sometimes.”
“I don’t wish to be,” Mel turns to Sevika with a wistful smile. “There is still so much I want to do for Piltover, for Zaun. So many wrongs to right.”
Sevika tightens her arms around her, briefly nuzzling their noses together. “And you will. When you’re well. For now, you just rest and let me hold you. The city’s not gonna come crumbling down because you took a day off, baby.”
“It feels as though it might,” Mel huffs, sinking further into the other woman’s arms.
“Eh, there might be some minor chaos,” Sevika chuckles, reaching for the water glass when Mel coughs again. “A few mishaps. Some angry council members. But they’ll survive without you.”
“Maybe I’ll see if I’m up for some paperwork later,” Mel hums, after drinking some water. Then she sneezes, groaning afterward. “If my body will let me.”
“No, that’s not what you’re going to do.”
“Oh, it isn’t?” Mel turns to look at Sevika, raising an eyebrow. “What am I going to do, then?”
“You’re going to soak in this ridiculous bath until you go all pruney,” Sevika smiles, brushing a lock of hair out of Mel’s eyes. “You’re going to get all relaxed and sleepy and I’m going to carry you to bed. Then you’re going to let me take your temp and give you some medicine. And then you’re going to whine at me about how terrible your cold is for the rest of the night while I feed you soup and tea and hold you until you fall asleep in my arms.”
Mel laughs softly, placing a hand on Sevika’s jaw, brushing a thumb over her cheekbone. “You have this all planned out, apparently.”
“I do.” Sevika gives Mel a chaste kiss. “Let me take care of you, doll.”
Mel lets Sevika guide her head back down to her shoulder, softening. “Just for tonight,” she whispers, kissing Sevika’s sternum.
“For tonight,” Sevika echos with a grin, tucking Mel’s head under her chin.
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