Work Text:
There was the loud sound of sneezing that caused Chloe to stir in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and it caused her a few seconds to realize that she was lying in their bed in their new apartment in Boston. Max was still sleeping and had her head pressed into the crook of Chloe’s neck. If she listened closely she could hear the sound of Max quietly sniffling.
"Max," Chloe gently said, not wanting to startle her. Still there wasn’t any response from her girlfriend so she gently shook her shoulders until she heard Max mutter some incoherence. "Are you alright?"
"I’m doing fine," Max replied, hoping to sound convincing.
"You don’t exactly look fine, Max," Chloe said as she took a closer look at her. Max wasn’t really able to fully open her eyes and there snot running down her nose and towards her chin. "You’re sick!"
"I’m not! You don’t have to worry about me," Max said but after a few seconds she jumped onto her feet and ran into the bathroom at a rapid pace. Chloe could hear her throwing up yesterday’s dinner into the toilet. When she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later she looked even worse and if someone had just hit her with a sledgehammer.
"You’re staying home today," Chloe firmly insisted. "There is no way that I’m allowing you to go to university when you’re feeling like that. I’m sure that you’ll pass out again soon. "
Max seemed to consider Chloe’s words for a few moments and realized that there was no way that her girlfriend would leave her out of her sight in this state. Her body was shivering uncontrollably and there was already a sheet of sweat on her skin. All that Max wanted at that moment was to return back to bed and to block out the rest of the world.
Chloe carefully aided her with getting back into their double bed and tugged her underneath the heavy covers. "I’m going to look after you, Max," she assured her, placing a soft kiss against her girlfriend’s forehead whose eyes had already fallen shut. Max didn’t reply to her and instead quietly muttered something underneath her breath.
The blue haired woman left the bedroom on the tip of her toes so that she wouldn’t accidentally startle Max and headed towards the small kitchen of their studio apartment. The kitchen was still slightly cluttered because they had tried to bake their own pizza together and had forgotten to clean up everything.
Chloe put on the kettle as she rummaged through the different cupboards to see if there was anything edible left.
"For fuck sake," she cursed as she closed the doors because there wasn’t any solid food that she could use. Chloe was determined to at least find something that she could give to Max should she be hungry later. That was the least thing that she could do for someone who meant the world to her. Only there wasn’t any food left that she could use for her girlfriend. Luckily an idea came to mind and Chloe went to grab her laptop from the counter where she went to the website of a nearby grocery store. With the technology of today it was easy to order the groceries that she needed online and they would be delivered shortly after she had payed for her order. This was the only way that Chloe could provide any sort of comfort to Max at this very moment and Chloe was desperate enough to do everything to put her to ease.
Chloe had already placed several cups of tea on the nightstand next to the bed where Max peacefully continued to sleep. She didn’t once wake up and whenever her tea went ice cold Chloe was there to replace it with a freshly poured one so that Max at least would have a new cup whenever she would wake up.
By the time the doorbell rang a few hours had passed. Chloe placed the delivered groceries on the counter as she put everything nicely into its place. Now that she at least had something edible that she could give to Max she began to bake some eggs and bacon for her girlfriend. It wasn’t anything special, but it would be enough to still her hunger if she had any.
When Chloe entered the bedroom shortly after that Max was still sound asleep in their bed and hadn’t even noticed Chloe’s presence. The blue haired girl placed the tray with food and another cup of tea on the nightstand as she sat down on the edge of the bed to press her hand against Max’s forehead which still felt hot against her skin.
"Do I smell bacon?" Max quietly uttered as her eyes slowly fluttered open to meet Chloe’s concerned gaze.
She flashed a sly smile. "Yeah, I thought you might like some should you become hungry."
"I’m not hungry. I’m too scared that I’ll throw it all in the toilet as soon as I’ve eaten something," Max replied as she sat up straight in their bed against the back. "I would like some tea."
Chloe almost immediately handed her the newest cup that she had just made. "It’s still pretty warm so be careful," she warned her, not refusing to look away from Max. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," Max said honestly. "I could still use some more sleep."
Chloe was about to stand up. "Then I’ll should leave you to it so you won’t be disturbed."
Max reached out with her other hand to grab Chloe’s wrist. "I would seriously appreciate it if you would stay with me," she pleaded, her voice cracking a little bit. There was still some snot running from her nose and Chloe’s heart broke slightly at the sight of her.
"Sure, she gave in. "I’ll stay with you. Finish your tea first."
Max was was only too glad to comply to her request and quickly downed her tea once it had cooled down a little, and the heat felt nice against her aching throat as if it soothed it somewhat. Chloe laid down next to pulling the heavy covers over both of them as Max snuggled closer against her girlfriend and took in her trusting scent. No matter what was happening Max always felt as if she was on the top of the world the moment she was in Chloe’s arms.
Chloe placed a gentle kiss against the top of Max’s hair. "Get some more sleep, Madmax. I’m not going anywhere, " she promised, running her hand up and down Max’s back in a soothing manner. "I love you, Caulfield."
"And I love you too, Price," Max quietly muttered as her eyes fell shut and she felt sleep settling in once more. Only this time she felt more secure than she had done earlier. It was all going to be alright.