Chapter Text
Commie stood in front of Ancap's door, the bag in her hand weighing pleasantly heavy on her fingers. She hadn't just brought soup, as she had previously planned, but also self-made bread on which Ancom had insisted on bake with her as soon as qi found out, she was really going to follow qis idea of checking on Ancap. In some weird way it bothered Commie that she had let Ancom win, but she did it out of the kindness of her heart, so she let qim have that small victory.
Commie had also included some fruits. Ancap didn't seem like a person who was very interested in eating fruits and vegetables, so little even that Commie was fully assuming no apple had ever touched her fingers.
Commie's eyes wandered down to the bell, not sure about what to do.
Getting here was easy. She had gotten Ancap's address from a friend of hers, a geography teacher as far as she knew, and had been surprised by the small distance between her place and Ancap's.
She felt something blocking her from ringing, insecurity rising in her chest. It confused her. She rarely ever felt like that, usually, while not outgoing, fairly confident in herself and her abilities.
Commie shook her head, finally pressing the button to make Ancap aware of her unsolicited arrival, her heart racing as if she hadn't walked in the most comfortable speed she was able to maintain but had sprinted to this place.
The perceived ages – in reality only about two to three minutes – , she had to wait, certainly didn't help that, the nervousness rushing quicker and quicker through her limbs with every second she spent standing in front of the perfectly in white paint coded door. It felt awkward having to stand here, the heavy bag in her hand marking her fingers with a red stripe, and to just… wait. She didn't even know if Ancap was here, the expensive seeming car maybe not even belonging to her.
This made Commie think. It just didn't seem realistic for Ancap to be able to buy all the expensive stuff she owned, with the salary they got. Maybe she had married rich? Commie tried to remember if she had seen a ring on her finger, her memories only blurry on that regard, though. And even then, though she didn't quite know Ancap's age, she seemed quite young, maybe even younger than her, and she wasn't even thinking about marrying soon, if ever.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door in front of her opening, tired eyes staring at her through the small slit, the person's face cold as ice. It takes Commie a second to realize that she is staring into Ancap's eyes. While she hadn't looked too healthy before, now the deep shadows under her eyes had deepened enough to make her seem like a different person, her skin somewhat looking like the grayish sheets of paper they had to use at work. Commie couldn't stop herself from thinking that Nazi would easily get jealous at it.
"What are you doing here?" The cold voice stripped her from her amusement, making her swallow deeply, chills crawling over her entire body.
She slightly shook her head to gain back control over her body, hoping that Ancap doesn't notice. "I brought you food." Commie tried maintaining eye contact, Ancap's eyes staring her down from several centimeters underneath her not making it easy for her.
"And what exactly made you think, I would want that?" Ancap's voice was sharp enough to cut diamonds, her (ringless) fingers visibly cramping around the shelf next to the entry, causing Commie to regret even having thought of coming here to be a possibility. She had already seen Ancap mad, of course she had, most of the conversations they'd had ended up in a fight, but this level of rage was new.
"I thought maybe you needed help. You never seemed like you ate enough." Commie was surprised at how confident she sounded, her pulse having achieved levels, she hadn't though would be possible without high amounts of physical activities.
"I'm doing perfectly fine without your help. Fuck off." Ancap's grip around the wooden shelf, strengthened again, this time not because of her anger though.
Commie breathed in and out slowly, her character coming back as she calmed down.
"Listen. You look like you're about to pass out right here, right now. At least take the food!" Her eyes narrowed, her voice strong and confident. She was glad her confidence had come back, its lacking not being great while talking to someone like Ancap.
Ancap opened her mouth to answer, probably something snappy, but was being interrupted by what seemed like stabbing pain. She pressed her eyes together, an airy 'fuck' leaving her lips, as she slumped a bit, luckily being able to hold herself up, though.
"Is everything fine?" Commie's eyes widen in shock. Yes, she had said, Ancap looked like she'd pass out, but she hadn't meant it that seriously.
Ancap's gaze rose to look up at Commie, her fingers cramping further around the wood. "I don't… need your-" She wasn't able to continue further, the last bit of color that had decorated her cheeks having vanished, her legs shaking.
Commie intuitively jumped forward, trying to catch the falling body, but was too slow, too far away, to make a difference. Ancap fell through her fingers, her head crashing into the surprisingly clean floor.
Fuck.
Commie didn't think twice, her brain on autopilot. She dropped the food filled bag and picked up Ancap, stumbling through the house in hope of finding a good place to put her down at. While Ancap was concerningly light and Commie a person who worked out regularly, it still was not an easy task to maneuver a fully grown body through an unknown house. Quiet groans reached her ears, Ancap slightly moving in her arms.
"Stay still," she ordered, finally noticing a couch in one of the rooms and heading in its direction.
"You can't tell me what to do." Ancap's voice was weak, all the sharpness that had basically defined it seconds before having vanished.
Another groan left her lips as Commie let her down, sighing as soon as her back touched the piece of furniture.
Commie kneeled down next to her, worry written all over her face.
"Don't look at me like this, you cunt." Ancap crossed her arms, still not being able to sound angry again yet, though. "Actually, don't look at me at all and fucking go away."
Commie rolled her eyes. Not even right now she was able to let this shit go.
"I'll go and get the food now. When I come back, you're ready to eat. Understood?" She didn't even wait for an answer, as she stood back up.
"I'm not a fucking child. Don't mother me." Ancap called after her – or at least Commie assumed, calling was what the brunette was going for instead of the pathetic whimpers that had actually left her lips.
The door to the kitchen was opened widely. Commie placed the bag onto a chair, taking out the thermos that included the soup she had made. She quickly found a fitting bowl and filled in the liquid, cut the bread into pieces, and brought both as well as a spoon over to Ancap, who stared at her with annoyance filled eyes, as she placed everything onto the low coffee table.
They stayed silent for a few second before Commie cleared her throat. "Should I call an ambulance?"
Ancap slowly shook her head as she grabbed the spoon. "Sometimes I faint. It's normal when I'm not feeling well. They can't do anything either, so why bother?" Now that her voice had gotten stronger again, Commie was able to hear the roughness. It hadn't been there before, had it?
"This just… happens?" Commie frowned, now even more worried than before.
"It doesn't have to. As long as I don't have to get up too much…," the gaze Ancap sent her was as sharp as a sword, guilt walling up in Commie's chest now, "…I don't have any problems.
Commie silently nodded, not exactly knowing what to do but to watch Ancap eat, not wanting her to pass out again and not being there to help her. She had to be really sick to not have made any 'communism equals no food' jokes yet. Better to be safe than sorry.
"How's the soup?" Commie awkwardly broke the silence, her fingers cramping into each other.
"It's okay… A bit salty maybe, but… eatable, I guess." Ancap didn't bother to look up as she took a bite out of the bread.
Commie was convinced Ancap didn't actually think that. She had no problems taking criticisms, but no one had ever told her, her soup was too salty. No one except Ancap, of course. A person who was highly critical of her.
They didn't talk much more, the only noise being the spoon occasionally scratching the bottom of the bowl.
"I think, I'll go now. Just contact me if you need help."
Ancap nodded, her eyes still only focused onto the empty bowl in front of her. "There will be no need."
"Fine…" Commie was sure, the annoyance in her voice was easy to hear. "Just so you know."
She turned around, quickly heading towards the door.
"Wait." She turned around slowly, Ancap's amber eyes finally looking at her again.
"What?" She raised an eyebrow.
Ancap quickly broke eye contact. "Thanks." It was quiet. Commie could have easily overheard it. She knew it had been hard for Ancap, it wouldn’t have been different with her, so she knew to appreciate it.
"No problem." She smiled as softly as she could, as she turned back around.
***
Commie could not stop the small smile spreading over her face when she heard the students in the room next to hers regaining the volume they usually had. Ancap was back.
If someone would have told her a month ago that she would be happy to hear the unbelievably loud sound of students under Ancap's control, she would have recommended that person to visit a psychiatrist, but here she was, glad to see that her colleague was doing better and not even able to complain about the noise.
She didn't like thinking about the connotations of this, didn't like admitting that she had warmed up to one of the most annoying capitalism simps – a term Ancom liked using on the regular, weirdly enough qi knew a lot more about the zoomers' 'culture' despite being several years older than Commie – to an extent at which she actually cared, not just about Ancap getting better in general, but also about the way she did and how she could help.
Commie watched her students closely as they wrote down the answers to the test she had made them write. Their last economics lesson, she hadn't been able to teach because she had to attend a meeting the principal had requested, one in which she was once again shown how little that woman liked her, and her students had decided to act up, the new substitute teacher being completely overwhelmed and having no idea what to do to get them under control. Commie couldn't but feel incredibly sorry for the poor guy.
She had been very disappointed in them when she found out, quickly creating a test about what they technically had to learn that lesson. The year was over in about a month, so they were very close to her having to register their final grades, which just made it worse for them having to write a test about a subject they didn't know much about, though the test wasn't very likely to worsen most of the students perfectly fine grades.
Ancom had tried changing her mind when she told qim, had tried to convince her that that would be a bad idea, but the decision was already made.
Surprisingly enough, there were a bunch of students who seemed to get through the questions with an ease Commie wouldn't have suspected for anyone in class, pride filling her chest with every student she saw having reached the end of the page.
It could be the case that they were just bullshitting the test, but that was nothing Commie was used to with her students. It was rare to see them not at least actually trying to get a decent answer.
"Time's up!" She said, it being quiet enough for her not to have to raise her voice. The eyes of thirty-two students lifted from their tests, some immediately, while others quickly finished their sentences or rushed to write down another answer. "Please hand your sheet to the person in front of you. If I have to walk to anyone but the students sitting in the first row to collect your tests, everyone will get more homework, and you will have to thank them."
She wasn't usually that strict with them, though certainly not soft either, but the disappointment in their self-control hadn't disappeared yet.
The students nodded, no one daring to speak up. Not after having heard her scold them heavily the first twenty minutes of their lesson, leaving most of them intimidated.
The Slavic woman picked up all the sheets that had been delivered to her. She skipped through them, counting exact thirty-two.
"Fantastic." Commie perceived several relieved breaths, causing her to amusedly shake her head. "As soon as the bell rings, you will be allowed to leave. Not a single second earlier." Her mouth formed a line, her eyes staring down at her students strictly. She wasn't as mad at them anymore, but it was important for them to understand who was in control here.
She sat down, packing up everything on her table, the tests quickly disappearing in a folder and leaned back, watching her students quietly talk to each other, more or less patiently waiting for the bell to ring. They tried hiding it from her, but of course she noticed. As a teacher, she had developed a sense for that.
The students basically jumped up as soon as the ringing sound filled the room, grabbing their bags and storming through the door, a few at least having the politeness to say goodbye to Commie.
She, too, grabbed her stuff and got up, leaving the room directly behind the last students and closing the door. She smiled as she realized, she would be free until afternoon.
Commie recognized Ancap only a few meters in front of her, making her wonder, if she should catch up with her. She would really like to know if everything was fine now, though it might seem weird, and she wasn't sure if Ancap wouldn't just send her away, everyone around them hearing it. The decision was being taken from her by a short woman, probably even shorter than Ancom, whom she was only able to recognize through the big hat decorating her head, everything else about her drowning in the mass of students around her. Libertarian, she thought, annoyance crawling onto her face. She had learned to get along with Ancap, yes, but that didn't mean, she could tolerate her stupid friends. Having to ask one of them for Ancap's address had been annoying at best and torturous at worst. It was more than she could take.
Luckily, she didn't have to think about them anymore when Ancom appeared next to her, making her notice qim by clearing qis throat a bit too close to her ear. Commie flinched, sending an unamused gaze down to Ancom, who giggled quietly. Qis next and last lesson was cancelled due to qis students being on a trip, so they could enjoy their free time together until Commie had to come back to teach a bunch of tired sixteen-year-olds who quite frankly didn't understand she didn't want to be there as much as they did.
"Where do we want to go?" Qis hands were buried in the big pockets of the black pants qi had purchased a long while ago (which was noticeable to say the least), qim not seeming to be willing to apologize for scaring Commie like this.
"Some sort of café. I'm dying to get a good coffee right now." She hadn't been able to sleep that night, had no idea why, but it made her incredibly tired.
"Oh god, yeah, me too," Ancom yawned. "Café it is, then."
***
It was late afternoon. Commie hadn't been able to come earlier than that, did feel kind of shitty about that, but she couldn't go back in time, could she?
She hadn't announced coming here over text, knowing Ancap would have stopped her immediately. But Commie wanted to help, wanted to know why Ancap was sick again just one week after coming back to work.
This time there was no nervousness behind her movements, her hand going straight to the bell, and ringing without second thought. Maybe Ancap would send her away this time – she had at least tried the last one – but it was worth a try.
Once again, she had to wait several minutes, the weigh of the bag in her hand slowly becoming uncomfortably heavy.
Finally, the door opened, the eyes looking through the slit not appearing to be as tired as the last time. "God, not you again." A deep sigh left Ancap's lips as she opened the door further to lean in the doorframe. "I'm fine. I don't need your help." Luckily, she didn't sound as mad as the last time, more annoyed than anything.
"I used less salt for the soup this time," Commie mentioned, not responding to Ancap's rejection.
The shorter woman rolled her eyes as she let Commie in, the door shutting loudly behind them. Ancap moved slowly, grabbing onto everything she could, trying not to fall. Commie cached up to her, holding an arm in her direction, hoping she would take the help. Annoyance filled Ancap's face as she held onto the Slavic woman's arm, slowly leading them towards the living room.
As soon as she was able to, she let Commie's arm go, dropping herself onto the couch with a deep sigh.
"I'll go and prepare the food," Commie said, turning around with the bag in her hand, happy to soon be able to put it down.
"I'm not hungry," Ancap stopped her, her arms crossed. "I can only repeat this. I. Do. Not. Need. Your. Help."
Commie didn't take No as an answer. Ancap seemed thinner than ever, and Commie would prefer it, if she didn't collapse another time due to lack of food.
"When was the last time you ate?" Commie raised an eyebrow, staring down at Ancap. If she already had to worry about Ancap, she could at least cooperate.
"None of your business." Ancap stared up with at least the same level of intensity, causing Commie to feel… weird. A bit dizzy, if you want. She hoped Ancap's sickness wasn't contagious.
Commie raised an eyebrow, not giving in.
"Lunch yesterday at work," Ancap sighed quietly, braking eye contact. "I haven't eaten anything since then… But I'm really not hungry, okay?"
Commie shook her head. "I'll prepare it, and you will eat it. I won't argue with you about that."
She once again didn't wait for an answer as she moved towards the room, which she vaguely remembered had to be the kitchen.
This time she had prepared much more soup, hoping, maybe Ancap would eat some more the next few days.
She placed everything she didn't need that moment in the fridge, filled a bowl with soup, and found some of the bread that Ancap apparently hadn't finished yet. It was relatively hard, but what better to eat hard bread with than soup? Definitely the better option next to throwing it away.
Quickly she got back to the living room, watching out not to let the soup drop over the edge of the bowl and onto the floor.
"Sit down," Ancap demanded after having taken the food resentfully, pointing next to herself without even looking at Commie. "It's awkward if you just stand there while I eat."
Following Ancap's words, Commie sat down, watching her swallow the still partially heated liquid in silence. They stayed like this for several minutes, no single word exchanged.
"I don't want you to pity me," Ancap breaks the silence, turning her head to look at Commie with a sharpness similar to the one of a dagger, eyebrows narrowing angrily.
"I don't." That was a lie. Of course she did. Who wouldn't pity Ancap in that situation?
"Don't lie to me. I can tell." Oh come on. Ancap dropped her spoon, crossing her arms.
"I'm not-" Ancap raised an eyebrow, her eyes staring at Commie with enough intensity to interrupt her. "Fine…"
Ancap nodded contently and turned back towards the bowl to finish her soup. "It's better this time. I like it." The small smile that forms on her lips is enough to send heat up Commie's face.
"Thanks." She bites the inner of her cheek, hoping Ancap doesn't look in her direction to notice any of this. She wasn't supposed to be made this happy by such a spoiled brat.