Work Text:
As soon as Maya had finally gotten off of a long, rough, 24 hour shift, she grabbed her phone and called her girlfriend who was probably just now getting up for work.
“Hey, babe,” Maya started as Carina answered and she pulled out of her parking spot.
“Buongiorno, bella,” Carina’s reply came mumbled through the phone. Maya could picture the other woman, her face still pressed into the bed and her phone was probably under a blanket.
“I miss you,” Maya said, she left the end hanging open and she heard Carina hum as things were being shuffled around. Part of her regrets calling this early when Carina is probably wearing nearly nothing and it makes her miss her girlfriend more, but she isn’t sure when they’ll be able to talk next if they don’t talk now.
“I miss you too.”
“I’m nearly home, I’m gonna skype you when I get there, if that works with your schedule.”
“Mm, depends,” Maya couldn’t see it, but she could hear the shrug with a hint of flirtation and playfulness in Carina’s voice.
“On?”
“What you’re wearing.”
“Carina,” Maya warned. Well, tried to warn. She wasn’t against phone sex, especially since it had been their new normal the last few months. It had been a hard three months. Sometimes all Maya wanted was to be in her girlfriend’s arms, something she’d missed the past three months.
“I’m joking, I go to work in about an hour so I can Skype for a while.”
“I love you,” Maya whispered softly.
“I love you too, is everything okay? That was random,” Carina pointed out.
“Yeah, shift was long though. I really need to see your face. I wish I could see it in person, butttt,” Maya trailed off. They had agreed that since they both work high risk jobs, quarantining together would put them both at even higher risk to get covid which neither necessarily wanted.
“Soon, amore mio,” Carina lied. They both knew it was a lie. It made Maya feel better but every time things in Seattle calmed down and it opened up a bit more, there was a new surge. Carina had said, about a week ago, that the rate things were going, quarantine would last the better part of a year. The calling everyday, and the Skype, and the phone sex was fine. It wasn’t the same as seeing one another. She missed feeling Carina’s body, but more than that she missed the doctor’s laugh not being cut off or muffled by bad internet. She missed looking into the warm eyes that always reassured her. She missed quiet dinners where they didn’t really talk but they didn’t need to because they were together and it was all that mattered.
“Hey, I’m pulling in, I will call you back on Skype in 5 minutes tops,” Maya mumbled into the phone before hanging up. She didn’t want to hear Carina’s response right now. She loved her girlfriend, but Carina would say something reassuring and perfect right now, and it made Maya feel bad about not being able to do the same. Carina was amazing at just being there for Maya. Truthfully, Carina was amazing at everything. Even something normal people would be challenged with at first. It had taken Maya much longer to adjust to the virtual relationship.
After getting into her apartment and taking her shirt off so she was only in her sports bra and shorts, she grabbed her laptop to call Carina. The brunette quickly answered; she was still in bed, her hair sticking out all over the place, wearing only a tank top, a mug of coffee in her hand while she sat up against the headboard, and the covers covering her legs. She rendered Maya breathless. It’s not like the outfit was anything she hadn’t seen before, but she looked so calm and sure. She looked so happy, even with the fact she had to leave for work in 50 minutes and her hair was still sticking up and out and just everywhere.
“Wow,” Maya started once she got her breath back, “Car, you look amazing.”
“Stop it, I have barely left bed this morning unless it’s for coffee,” Carina replied with a blush.
“I wish I was there.”
“I wish you are, too, Maya.”
“That’s not the correct grammar-”
“Once you can fluently speak two languages you can judge me on my grammar,” Carina cut Maya off with a frustrated huff. The adorable little pout on her face made it worth it. Maya giggled a little at her girlfriend’s frustration that she didn’t notice the pout turn into a smile until she opened her eyes again to see Carina staring at her. Even through the phone, Maya could feel the love in Carina’s eyes.
“When do you work next?” Carina asked as Maya readjusted her laptop a little so she could lie down facing it. The only problem with that is that she had forgotten about-
“What’s that?” Carina’s voice came out a little stern. Maya had forgotten about that . That, to be more specific, was the bandage on her shoulder that needed to be changed since some blood was starting to be visible through it again from the gash she had acquired on her shift.
“Nothing,” Maya’s voice cracked with the lie as she pulled the covers on her own bed over her shoulder.
“Liar! Maya, don’t make me call Vic or Travis. What. Happened.” Maya gulped at Carina’s stern voice. She could tell she wasn’t getting out of this. Sure, she could lie, but Carina would be able to tell and she would just call one of Maya’s coworkers anyways. She could tell the truth, but Carina would probably yell at her.
“Maya Bishop, I swear to-”
“I went-” Maya paused and bit her lip on how to best phrase it, she hadn’t expected her voice to raise 3 octaves when she started again, but alas, “into a building,” was extremely high-pitched. She continued hesitantly, but finished the sentence, “and someone made a mistake, and my shoulder was not very appreciative of it.”
Carina opened her mouth to kindly ask (except actually demand) more information, but Maya kept going, “A stick went through my shoulder.”
“A stick?” Carina was suddenly very confused.
“Yeah, someone had a stick collection. And he asked me to get it for him, and I didn’t want to say no. Then the building got unstable and I tripped and the sticks fell and by the power of God one was sticking straight up and I fell and it went through my shoulder,” There were so many reactions Maya had expected. The hysterical laughter was not one of them.
“Car- Babe! It’s not funny!” Maya exclaimed, growing increasingly flustered.
“It’s not, it’s really not, but bella it is such a thing 2020 would do,” Carina laughed at the irony before taking a deep breath, “Has it been checked out yet?”
“Ben said it’s probably not going through any major nerves or anything and it should be fine.”
“Maya, is it still- I’m sorry, is it still in your arm?” Carina was much more serious now.
“If the answer is yes, how mad would you be?”
“Mad enough I’d be on my way to pick you up and bring you to the hospital.”
“Then the answer is no-”
“Maya!”
“I was going to Grey-Sloan, but then we had a new call, so we just wrapped it up and then I forgot about it,” Maya defended herself.
“Maya Bishop, I swear to-”
“I will go to get it removed after we hang up, but I will not do it at Grey-Sloan because I don’t think I could keep my hands off of you if I’m that close,” Maya smiled and Carina sighed but gave up. The stick was tamponading most of the bleeding and she trusted Maya so she just sighed and agreed.
“A stick is a very stupid way to get injured.”
“Yeah, I know,” Maya mumbled.
The next day, Maya had called Carina as she was getting her little stick injury stitched up, so that the Italian knew it was happening. It wasn’t the same as being there, but neither minded. Well, actually, they both minded, but they also both accepted there was nothing they could do to change it.
Around a week later, Carina heard a knock on her door. She had no idea why, but she got to the door and looked through the peephole to see her girlfriend looking panicked. She opened the door without another thought and almost instantly felt Maya’s body wrapped around her own. The blonde hair pressed against her chin as Maya hugged her tightly. It took only moments for Carina to return the hug. She was confused, she knew it was a risk for them both, but she wrapped her arms tightly around Maya and decided she could learn more later.
She felt the sobs coming from the blonde before she heard them, suddenly ultra-aware they were standing outside her apartment, Carina slowly walked them inside and shut the door behind them.
“It’s okay, bella,” She whispered into Maya’s hair before kissing it softly, “It’s okay, I have you.” Maya, who had yet to speak, just tried to burrow herself further into Carina’s body. She knew this was irresponsible, that they weren’t supposed to come in contact with one another, but she had needed to see Carina today. Today had sucked.
She had seen her dad and it was- it was a lot. She had barely slept due to them having call after call after call. Then Andy got hurt in one of the calls and it had been Maya’s fault and- and the day had just been overwhelming. She hated crying and this- this was a dumb reason to cry, but after seeing the concern in Carina’s eyes when the Italian opened the door, she felt the tears starting to form.
The brunette walked them towards her couch and lied down, pulling the blonde on top of her and holding her close. After a while, Maya’s tears came to a stop.
“Are you okay- physically, are you hurt?” Carina asked, wanting to make sure she shouldn’t rush to the hospital. She got her answer in the form of Maya shaking her head against the doctor’s chest where it had been resting. They lied in silence for a while, an occasional sniffle from Maya while Carina rubbed her girlfriend’s back and peppered soft kisses on the top of her head.
“Do you need anything?” Carina asked after a little while, but once again Maya shook her head. This time, however, she did speak, “Can we just lay here a little while longer?” Her voice was quiet and raspy.
“Of course,” Carina dropped her volume to match Maya’s and pressed another kiss to the soft blonde hair.
After another 30 minutes, Maya finally spoke, “I’m sorry for coming over, it’s just- it’s just that today sucked. I needed to see you.”
“Never apologize bella. I love you and it’s perfectly fine with me. I missed you so much. I needed to see you too.”
That was the day they decided to fuck it. They moved in together, it seemed to be the best choice for their relationship. They had quickly learned that it was indeed the best choice, and neither regretted it, even when things got difficult.