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Julia couldn’t remember a time where she could breathe through her nose. She really wished that she hadn’t taken all of the time she wasn’t sick for granted. Quentin was always the one who usually had a cold every month and Julia would bring him soup and medicine like any good friend would. Yet when Julia got sick, Quentin wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and help her feel better. When Julia got sick, it was a mess for her and anyone who tried to help her. Constant coughing with trouble breathing through her nose. Tissues usually littered whatever room she had taken upon setting up as her sick room and half-drunken mugs of tea cluttered coffee tables. Quentin did his best to help out, he really did, but nothing ever really worked. Even after the two had gotten into Brakebills they never found successful spells to help them overcome colds. When they found one that showed some promise it usually turned out to only last a few minutes before the symptoms of their colds returned.
Julia had yet to catch a cold at Brakebills, that didn’t mean she didn’t get hurt or feel terrible. There were plenty of battle magic attempts that went wrong which eventually lead to her in the infirmary where she met Kady. Well, technically Julia met Kady as she cast a defensive spell against her that ended up sending the both of them flying backward and put them in their current situation. The two quickly made amends after Kady told Julia what she did wrong that sent her back as well. The two quickly bonded and become close, at first Julia would spend most of her time in the Physically kids’ cottage, as the library’s attic became a little lonely with no other Knowledge students to share it with. That ended when Kady broke up with Penny, who for some reason spent most of his time at the cottage than with the other Psychic kids. It led to undesired tension to anyone who was in the same room as the two ex-lovers. So Julia suggested that they start spending their time in the attic instead of an almost fight happening everytime the Penny and Kady saw each other.
Eventually, it became almost a routine for Kady to spend her nights with Julia in the attic and the two practicing magic that the professors would be hesitant to teach any student.
One night the two girls had drunk a few bottles of wine and started to dive into reading a few books when they came across sex magic. The two read quietly to themselves until Kady found a spell that she wanted to try, but only if Julia was up for it. With the alcohol coursing through her body she found no reason to say no. It didn’t help that Julia already had found the girl very attractive, both her body and her mind, or the fact that Julia had started to develop feelings that weren’t exactly friendly towards the other girl. So the two did the spell and shortly after fell asleep. That night led to a strange morning after where Julia woke up with Kady’s arms around her and only bedsheets covering the two of them. After a long discussion spoken through soft whispers despite no one else being around, the two decided that they would give the relationship a shot, and for the most part, it has been the best thing the two of them have had. Julia and Kady started hanging around the Physical kids again and most of them were happy for the two. Of course, they had their ups and downs, mostly about Kady still getting over Penny, but the two worked it out and their friends were glad to see them happy despite the lovely dovey bullshit the couple put them through.
After about two months of dating, Kady has gotten sick twice while Julia, on the other hand, had never been sick during her time dating Kady or even her time at Brakebills. That was until now where she is laying in her bed in the attic with a box of tissues on the pillow next to her and a bottle of cough syrup clutched in her hand. She was a mess and there was no way she would be able to make it to the class that day. Julia had already texted Quentin and asked if he could tell the professors why she wouldn’t be attending class today. Of course, that led to him telling her she should go to the infirmary to at least get something to help which she only refused and told him she would be fine. Quentin knew better then to fight with his best friend, especially when she was sick, so he told her to feel better and drink orange juice if she had a sore throat. Julia hung up as soon as she could and turned to set her phone on her bedside table. She grabbed the tv remote and quickly headed for Netflix to search for something to eventually fall asleep to. After choosing a movie that she had already seen, the brunette grabbed the bottle of Nyquil she kept on the table and took a long swig, not caring about measurements at the moment. Sleep soon overcame her and she fell asleep to the soft sound of the television playing.
Kady was a little worried when she didn’t see Julia in class that since she had stayed at the Physically Kids cottage the night before and hadn’t spoken to her since she woke up. So after her classes, Kady headed to the library and made her way to the attic. She used the key Julia had given to her and set her stuff down on one of the sofas that were in the living room and took her shoes off before going to look for her girlfriend. The soft sounds of the TV could be heard from Julia’s room and Kady made her way to the room where she spent most of her time. She knocked on the door first just in case Julia hadn’t heard her come in. With no answer, Kady opened the door quietly which revealed a sleeping Julia surrounded by a few tissues and a bottle of cold medicine. The girl was buried under the large comforter which made it hard to spot Julia herself and instead Kady just saw a small lump under the blankets. Kady grabbed the small waste bin and started to clean up the tissues and a few other pieces of garbage that littered the room. She then set the cold medicine on the table and turned off the TV so it wouldn’t wake up Julia if there was a loud scene.
After the quick cleanup, Kady thought it was best if she found something to do while Julia slept. So she made her way back to the kitchen and started rummaging around for something that might make Julia feel better. She found a few cans of chicken broth, some vegetables, and a package of noodles and thought about attempting to make some soup for Julia. Kady didn’t have much experience cooking but she was willing to give it a shot. She washed her hands then started poured the broth into a large ban to bring to a boil before starting to chop up the carrots and celery that were in the fridge. She then put those in the pan as soon as she could then started boiling the noodles in another pan to save time.
After almost an hour the soup was done and Kady kept it on low heat until Julia woke up. Which happened shortly after Julia started to cough in her sleep which then woke her up. Kady ran to her room with a bottle of water and already had the cap off by the time she reached Julia. Julia gladly accepted the bottle and took a few drinks before the coughing subsided. Kady put a hand to Julia’s forehead after wiping the hair away from her face and was wondering how the girl could stay under the large blanket when she was burning up. Kady then went to the attached bathroom and ran a washcloth under cold water before returning and placing it in Julia’s forehead.
“Baby you’re burning up,” Kady said softly as she moved the washcloth to Julia’s neck to try and cool her down.
“Well, that’s bullshit because I’m freezing,” Julia replied and Kady could tell the other girl had trouble breathing through her nose.
“Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll set up in the living room so you have a change of scenery for a little while,” Kady suggested whole running circles on Julia’s back. The other girl nodded and got up slowly and headed for the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and a few seconds later Kady heard the water begin to run.
Getting out one of Julia’s old Columbia shirts, Kady changed into the shirt and a pair of sweatpants before leaving a change of clothes for Julia on the bed. She then left the room and headed towards the living room where she then proceeds to place blankets and pillows on the couch so it would be comfortable enough for the two of them. Next, she headed towards the kitchen and grabbed two bowls out of a cabinet and filled them with the soup she had made earlier along with a cup of tea for Julia.
Compared to the Physical Kids Cottage, the Knowledge Kids really we’re spoiled when it came to design and decor. Of course, that’s probably because the Dean was a Knowledge student and wanted the best for future students that belonged to his discipline. With that being said, Kady headed for the couch and started to scroll through her phone while she waited for Julia to finish up.
“Kady, you don’t have to stay here you can go to the cottage if you want. You might get sick too.” Julia stated as she walked into the room while she wrung the water out of her hair and into a towel.
“I know Jules, but you are sick and I wanna help make you feel better. Now sit down I made soup and then we can watch a movie or something.” Kady patted the seat next to her.
“You are too good to me Kady. If I wasn’t sick I would so kiss you right now.” Julia gave a soft smile to her girlfriend as Kady passed her a bowl of soup.
“Normally I wouldn’t care if you were sick, but you look terrible and I mean that in the best way, but I don’t want to get sick either.”
The two girls soon finished their soup and made small talk while they ate. Once they were finished Kady took the bowls to the sink and rinsed them out before returning to the couch and sat down. With Kady laying on the couch and Julia laying between her legs, Kady used the remote to search for something on Netflix. After choosing some superhero movie, Kady and Julia cuddled as close to each other as they could on the small couch. Kady ran her hands through Julia’s hair and slowly watched as she got sleepier as the movie went on.
“I love you, Kady,” Julia said just as she fell to sleep.
“I love you too, Jules.” Kady kisses the girls forehead and smiled, wondering how she got so lucky.
