Work Text:
Jihyo stirs in the middle of the night, feeling the cold sheets beside her. The usual spot taken up by her girlfriend is empty and she frowns upon the absence. She pushes off the bed covers, the coldness of the air making her shiver. Jihyo reaches over for her (Sana’s) purple hoodie before she slides on some slippers and exits the room. It’s not the first night this week that she’s woken up without Sana by her side – who’s meant to be sleeping because it’s nearing three am in the morning and she has work in five hours.
The kitchen is filled with darkness and she stumbles through, feeling for the table before she stubs her toe. There’s a light down the hall and she walks towards it, knowing already that Sana is working late again.
And she is.
Jihyo leans against the frame of the door and observes her girlfriend. She’s still typing away furiously on her laptop, glasses perched at the bridge of her nose. She rubs her eyes every few minutes, probably trying to get rid of the sleep – not working that well, clearly. There’s a frown in the middle of her brows and she feels like it’ll become permanent with the amount of time she’s been doing it over the past week.
“Miss Minatozaki? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Jihyo raises her eyebrows.
Sana almost slams her laptop shut in surprise, resting a hand over her heart. It only takes one glance for Jihyo to notice how tired she looks. Her shoulders are drooping, her eyes are red and even her smile screams exhaustion. Jihyo sighs softly before walking towards her.
“Are you working on more reports?” Jihyo asks.
“I feel like I’m not even making a dent in the pile of them I need to do. If someone told me teaching would be this tiring, I don’t know if I would’ve decided to do this. But, I’m getting things done and I know I’ll be finished sooner or later. At least, I’m having progress getting through all of this stuff I need to do.” Sana sighs in defeat.
Jihyo shakes her head and crouches, holding on to Sana’s hands. She massages them lightly and intertwines them, pulling Sana off the chair. Sana looks like she wants to argue but Jihyo gives her a stern glare and she closes her mouth immediately. “Firstly, you’re an amazing teacher. Even if someone told you it would require this much work, you’d still do it because teaching is your passion. Secondly, you need to take breaks. If you work yourself like this, you’ll get sick. Your mom will kill you if she knew how hard you’ve been working yourself. And three, I don’t care what you say, but you’re coming to bed.”
This time, when Sana smiles, Jihyo sees the relief and the understanding – she accepts it and Jihyo feels a little less worried about Sana’s health.
Sana’s hands are already under Jihyo’s shirt when they climb into bed and Jihyo squeals because they’re ice cold. She lets Sana warm them up though, eventually growing numb to the coldness. Sana giggles beside her and Jihyo shakes her head, kissing her forehead softly. She hopes there won’t be many more days with Sana working herself like this but Jihyo knows that there will be, at least until the end of the week. After all, it’s nearing the conclusion of the school term and that means there’s a deadline for the reports and the assessments the students have done.
“Thank you, for taking care of me.” Sana mumbles, rubbing her nose against Jihyo’s neck as she snuggles a little more.
“Well, someone has to take care of you when you’re being stubborn about your health.” Jihyo points out, Sana groaning at her words.
“It’s once a term! Other than that, I’m completely fine.” Sana argues.
“Yeah, yeah. I just wish doing reports would be easier than it is. Do you get bullied into doing other teachers’ reports or something?” Jihyo decides to run her hands through Sana’s hair.
“I just have a lot of different classes. Do you really think they can bully me?” Sana scoffs.
Jihyo stays silent and Sana gasps, feeling betrayed.
“I am strong and independent. Nothing can stop me! No one can make me do anything I don’t want to do.” Sana grumbles.
“Other than me.” Jihyo points out.
Sana glares at her, but it’s true. She did just take her to bed when she hadn’t wanted to. They both know Jihyo had scary powers of submission.
“Now, sleep. Love you.” Jihyo sighs and kisses Sana’s head. She feels Sana’s grin against her neck and hears the I love you back too. Sana’s already dozing off minutes after and Jihyo is glad. She needs all the rest she can get.
Unfortunately for herself, Jihyo can’t fall asleep as easily. Worry about Sana is making her anxious and she contemplates her situation.
She thinks of something she can do to make Sana feel better. Her girlfriend rarely eats on time and spends hours in front of a laptop that’s definitely making her eyesight worse than it already is. And, her sleep is a whole problem on its own. Jihyo wishes she could give her all of her own energy so Sana wouldn’t be feeling so exhausted by the end of every night. There’s still another two more days – Jihyo had to keep an eye on her until then. She knows Sana doesn’t want to worry her about her work load, but it’s hard not to.
Jihyo thinks of an idea right before she drifts off to sleep. She has a few calls to make in the following few days and a little bit of traveling here and there. She wants to be able to give a treat to Sana that she knows she’ll enjoy.
(her mom’s cooking)
--
It takes some sneaking around, but Jihyo manages to call Sana’s mother between the times her girlfriend is doing her reports to discuss Sana’s favourite foods. Sana’s mother is pleasantly surprised by Jihyo’s initiative, finding it absolutely adorable. She doesn’t hesitate to help Jihyo out with what to cook, sending pictures of the recipes Jihyo needs to follow from her fading handed-down recipe book.
If she’s suspicious with her actions, Sana doesn’t seem to pick up on them. She doesn’t say anything about her random periods of disappearance. She doesn’t even notice the burnt smell hanging in the air of their apartment. The entire first day disappears with Jihyo attempting to cook something edible for the two of them. At the end, she just resorts to take out because she really wasn’t going to feed something that looked like it belonged in the dumpster.
The next day, however, Jihyo’s luck is a little bit better when Sana goes to school. She’s on video call with Sana’s mother throughout the time she’s cooking and it helps her keep her cool. There’s less burnt food in the trash and maybe, Jihyo feels like she’s doing a decent job with following the instructions this time.
(but then again, Sana’s mother is guiding her – she can’t take all of the credit)
“Aunt Minatozaki – am I really doing this right? It seems off to me.” Jihyo frowns when her dish looks nothing like described in the recipe given.
“What did I tell you about calling me Aunt? And go a little closer to the dish for me sweetheart.” Sana’s mother asks. She pauses for a moment and Jihyo feels like she’s screwed up the dish already. She shouldn’t have tried to make anything this complicated. “On the contrary, you’re doing a perfect job. All these years of cooking and my consistency has never been as smooth as that. You really have magic in your hands dear.”
Jihyo blushes with the compliments. She had been expecting to hear an earful of scolding for doing the wrong thing. It’s pleasing, though and it makes her night. “Thank you, Mom.”
When Sana comes home later, she greets Jihyo with a kiss but dives into her work straight away. Jihyo knows she probably won’t be coming out of her room anytime soon, so she leaves the food in the microwave. She does call Sana to dinner a few times but the girl says yes and never eats. Eventually, Jihyo resorts to leaving it on the table in Sana’s room.
A part of Jihyo is disappointed however, when she notices that Sana doesn’t eat what she’s made when she enters her room a few hours later. She’s left the food untouched for hours and her hand is itching to unplug her damn laptop from her charger, just to get her to eat. She doesn’t even care that she spent hours cooking for Sana – Jihyo cares more about the fact that Sana is neglecting her own wellbeing because she wants to get everything over and done with. As much as Jihyo loves the idea of her finishing her work, she doesn’t want Sana to get sick as a consequence.
“Sana.” Jihyo brings back Sana’s reheated dinner. “Take a break.”
“Just after I finish this report.” Sana holds up a finger to tell Jihyo to wait.
“That’s what you said an hour before.” Jihyo doesn’t back down just yet. She’s not leaving the room without Sana eating a single bite at least.
“Jihyo–” Sana stops as soon as she looks up at Jihyo. She doesn’t know why. “Fine, I’ll eat. But only if you feed me.”
There’s a huff of exasperation that escapes Jihyo’s mouth but she agrees because if it’s the only way Sana will eat, she’ll do it in a heartbeat. Sana’s eyes shine with glee when Jihyo nods and she smiles too, missing the sight. So, she sits by Sana’s side and spoons out bites of her dinner, blowing at least three times before letting her eat them. Her heart swells with overwhelming happiness when she sees the big grin on Sana’s face each time she savours the taste. Jihyo is glad she got the flavouring right. Perhaps her overthinking at night had led to one of the best ideas in a while. And, when Jihyo scrapes off that last bite, Sana thanks her with a kiss or two.
“So, Mom messaged me today.” Sana climbs into Jihyo’s lap when she returns from washing the dishes in the kitchen.
“Don’t you need to finish your reports now?” Jihyo tries to change the subject. She’s already on her way to being completely embarrassed by this conversation.
“I finished the last one before you started feeding me.” Sana grins at her cheekily. “It’s not like you asked back then.”
Jihyo rolls her eyes but she’s extremely happy that Sana is finally finished. “You worked hard. I’m glad you’re done.” She plays with their intertwined hands.
“You’re not getting out of the conversation with my Mom, you know.” Sana teases. “Thank you, for being the sweetest. I don’t know how I would get through these hell weeks without you with me, for sure. And, you even learnt how to cook for me?”
The pinkness spreads across Jihyo’s cheeks quickly as she hears the last sentence. She didn’t think Sana’s mother would tell her about it, but maybe that was just her wishful thinking.
“Maybe.” Jihyo shrugs it off.
“Hey.” Sana nudges her shoulder but Jihyo doesn’t turn around. She pokes again, and again, and again.
Eventually, Jihyo huffs and turns around, only to come face to face with Sana. Her girlfriend giggles and cups Jihyo’s face, peppering kisses all over. Jihyo whines, but Sana doesn’t stop. She covers every inch of Jihyo’s face, showering her with the love she deserves.
“Can you cook for me next time too?” Sana uses those pleading eyes on her and it’s not in Jihyo’s capabilities to say no.
“What do I get in return though?” Jihyo raises an eyebrow.
“Well, my love, of course. What else do you need?” Sana offers.
Jihyo laughs. It’s true.
What else does she need when all she truly needs is in her arms right now?