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“You ready?”
“I was born ready!” Akali replies from the passenger seat while lifting up her sleeve and slapping her deltoid.
“Hi there! Second dose, yeah?” greeted the technician. “Any severe side effects from the first one?”
“Nah, just a bit of a sore arm, but I felt fine.”
“Perfect. This second one is gonna make you feel some flu symptoms, but don’t worry, just take some Tylenol or Motrin and you’ll be all good within a day or two. Right then, you’re all set. Once the observation period is over we’ll let ya out of here!”
“Okay great thanks!”
Akali settles back into her seat and pulls her jacket back on. “Thanks for driving me again, Eve.” she says, giving a sidelong glance towards the driver’s seat.
“Of course, darling, I’m happy to be here. Did that hurt?”
“Mm, no. But I saw on TikTok that if I swing my arm like the Winter Soldier it won’t hurt as much later on.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works” Thunk . “Please stop.” Thunk. “At least wait until we get home.”
“But TikTok said so...” Akali says with pouty lips and hopeful eyes.
Evelynn blinks at Akali and raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow. Akali blinks back and acqueises after a moment, “Okay fine, maybe it’s not the most scientifically supported advice..”
———
“God dammit! Are you serious?? What are the odds?”
Three heads from the kitchen turn almost simultaneously towards the outcry. They make comical eye contact with each other before Kai’sa speaks out, “everything alright in there? You didn’t fall into the toilet did you?”
“No! What are the odds I get my period the same day as the vaccine? The first day is always the worst!” Akali laments as she trudges out of the bathroom and flops herself onto the couch. “Why can’t I just be like you guys?”
“Inhuman?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Have you tried windmilling your arm like a madman, TikTok said it helps,” Ahri unhelpfully suggests, “something about spreading the vaccine through your entire body.”
“What? Dude, no. That’s definitely not how that works” Kai’sa said, slightly affonted, “stop spreading false information.”
Akali slowly unfolds into a hunched over position and starts windmilling her right arm like rent was due tomorrow.
Ahri cackles, but someone, probably Kai’sa shouts, “Akali NO!”
“Guh. Fine. I’m just gonna go chill in bed or something” her arms winds down and she straightens out her back.
There is a worried frown on Eve’s face. Maybe she hasn’t ever gotten periods or sick, really, but she knew it couldn’t have been pleasant. Don’t people like to be held when they’re sick? Or something like that? Akali was normally fit as a fiddle, and Eve has never actually seen her sick before. “Are you sure you’ll be alright? Is there anything we can do?”
“Nah nah, I’ll be fine. I’m a big tough girl, I can handle a little pain.” She waves off the concern and slinks into her room. A resounding click of her bedroom door signals the end of that conversation.
“I’m gonna go to the store and buy some stuff to make her soup. Y’all wanna come with?” Kai’sa offered, loading their dishes into the washer.
“Oh oh! I’ll come! I’ve been craving some hot cheetos.”
“You coming Eve?”
“I think I’ll stay back in case Akali needs something.”
“Sure thing, though I have a feeling she’ll never let you see her like this.” Kai’sa says as she and Ahri leave the house.
Predictably, Akali did not let Eve enter her room whilst she was curled into a ball, clutching her lower abdomen. First days were the worst. She could feel a back ache coming along and her cramps were only getting worse. God, was her vaccine arm starting to get sore too? “Ugh.. honestly what are the fucking odds.” Akali mutters into her pillow.
By the time Bokkie had returned and carefully crafted some chicken noodle soup, Akali was reduced to a whimpering, sweaty mess. There was a soft knock on her door, “‘Kali? Kai’sa made some soup for you, can you come out? You should really eat something.”
Akali groans. “But I don’t wanna…” She wipes her sweat from her brows and quite literally rolls off her bed. She grumbles her way to the door and opens it just a crack. The light shining from the hallway breaks her eyes into a squint as she stares into the worried face of Evelynn.
“Oh darling. You look… rough.” Akali’s face was a bit paler than usual, her lips dried, and her eyes a little cloudy.
“No, I’m tough.” Her stomach lets out a meek growl. “And a little hungry I guess.” She adds sheepishly. She opens the door wider and gives Eve a mere second of warning through a look in her eyes and just falls forward into the crook of the taller woman’s neck. Eve takes the tackle in stride and winds her arms and lashers alike around Akali, practically holding up her entire weight.
“You feel like a wet noodle.” Grunt . “Do you want to change before eating?”
Akali sighs, “Nah, I’ll just shower after I eat.” She detaches herself from Evelynn and gives her a long stare. She pokes a finger right between Eve’s eyebrows in an awry attempt of smoothing out her frown, “I’ll be alright, please don’t worry. Maybe you can take this time to enjoy the peace and quiet,” she says with a grin.
They make their way to the dining room together and as Kai’sa catches sight of them she exclaims, “Ah she’s alive!”
“Gonna take a little bit more to take me down,” Akali says, while putting up her fists and throwing Bokkie a little one, two air punch. The two grapple haphazardly around the kitchen island until Kai’sa pulls Akali in a headlock and gives her a soft peck onto the crown of her head. “Though I suspect the worst is yet to come,” Akali says into her armpit, “I’ve only felt period pains so far, but I think the side effects from the vaccine will kick in soon.”
Kai’sa releases Akali from her hold and pats her on her head, “Well, you better eat up then, you’ll be needing the energy.”
After forcing down some sustenance, Akali began to overheat, either from her period or the shot, she doesn’t know and frankly she doesn’t care. She just wants to be in bed. She cracks out a small grin that turns out looking more manic than reassuring and says, “Back to hiding for me boys, thanks for the food Bokkie.”
She gives a quick two finger salute before trucking it back into her room. After lying down for a moment, letting her food digest, she grabs a clean shirt and heads to the bathroom to take a shower. Her sweat seems to have dried, leaving coldness in their wake. The shower is soothing on her skin, but the second she gets out of the shower, the chills really start to kick in, spreading from her back to the top of her neck, “ugh, nooooooo” she whimpers. She climbs into bed and turns herself into a burrito, just hoping it’ll pass quickly.
Barely an hour later, Akali awakes from her snooze, burning up a storm, and sweating through her thin shirt yet again. “Fuck it’s so hot” she kicks away her blankets and sucks in air like she just couldn’t get enough. Her skin feels prickly, not painful but so uncomfortable. She can’t seem to find a suitable position to lie in. Her cramps seem to have kicked it up a notch and her back pain was coming in full force. “Ugggggggggggggggggggh”
Despite her earlier assurances, Evelynn’s worries were not assuaged at all. She had done her research. Period pain and vaccine side effects were formidable to deal with alone, but coupled together? Most likely a very miserable experience. She had taken to pacing just outside the Rogue’s bedroom door. A little creepy? Maybe. But she had the biggest soft spot for the young fiery rapper for reasons she tried not to think too hard about. So when she hears a long drawn out groan from inside, she quickly makes up her mind. She rushes to the kitchen to brew up a cup of tea and fill up a water bottle. She lightly knocks on Akali’s door and when she hears no verbal reply, she opens it slightly to peek inside.
The blankets were strewn all across the bed, covering parts of Akali’s waist and legs, like she couldn’t decide if she was hot or cold. There was an arm thrown across her eyes like she was trying to block out the world. Her breathing was deep and erratic, body shifting constantly, trying to find a part of her that didn’t ache from one thing or another.
“Akali? Darling?”, she closes the door and slowly walks towards the edge of the bed and sits down. Akali lets out another soft groan and rolls her head towards the voice. Eve takes a careful hand and drags it through Akali’s scalp. The attention softens Akali and she scooches closer to the warmth. “I’m here baby, let me take care of you.”
At that, Akali’s dazed mind clears a little and she stiffens, flinching away from Eve’s hand. “I can take care of myself,” she mutters, flopping over to her side.
“Baby, I know you can take care of yourself. But you don’t have to.” Evelynn carefully places a cool hand on Akali’s back, between her shoulder blades, giving her a soothing stroke. Her touch is like balm on her heated back, Akali lets out a defeated sigh.
“I don’t want to be a burden,” she sniffles, “I’m sure you have better things to do than taking care of me.”
“Akali, no. You’re not a burden, okay? Let me take care of you, please?” Evelynn’s voice takes on a more desperate tone, urging Akali to accept her love and affection.
Slowly and painstakingly, Akali turns over again, her eyes cloudy and shameful, “you don’t have to.”
Evelynn smooths over the hairs plastered onto Akali’s forehead with a soft hand and brushes her thumbs across her eyebrows, “I want to. Will you let me?”
Akali leans and nuzzles into her palm and closes her eyes in contentment, “okay, if you’re sure”.
“C’mere darling”, Evelynn sits fully onto the bed, back against the headboard. She opens up her arms, offering comfort in whatever way Akali needs it. Akali curls into Eve’s side like an affectionate cat, wrapping her arm around a plentiful thigh, cuddling her leg as if it were her lifeline. At this point it might as well be. She heaves out a tired sigh and sinks into the bed and into Evelynn’s warmth, seemingly finding comfort for the first time that day. “How are you feeling?” Eve asks tentatively. She lays her hand on Akali’s head, fingers stroking her temple. Her other hand lands onto her back, giving loving strokes up and down her spine.
“My stomach hurts like a bitch. And I can’t tell if I’m hot or cold.” Akali nuzzles into her side some more, intertwining her legs with Eve’s as if she were trying to mold them into a singular entity. “That feels nice”.
“Does your arm hurt?”
“Yeah, I can’t really lay on my right side anymore.”
“Maybe you didn’t swing your arm hard enough.” Evelynn jokes with a small smile. Akali gives a little snort. “I brought you some tea, it’s warm. Do you want to drink it?”
“Mmmf. No. Maybe later? This is nice” she mumbles “You’re so warm”.
“Okay baby, get some rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Evelynn looks down at the normal bright eyed and lively rapper, her heart growing heavy at the state of her now, wishing she could do anything to take the pain away. Maybe she has some self-evaluating to do when this is all over. Soon, Akali’s breathing falls steady to the strokes of Evelynn’s touch and eventually the siren's eyes fall shut as well, slumped over to the side, still leaning on the headboard.
Frantic breathing wakes her up. She eyes her surroundings in a panic, the unfamiliar layout adding to the confusion. To her side, Akali is squirming around, forehead beaded with sweat, and her breaths shallow and uneven. Her feet are kicking and her hands move clumsily, trying to rip her shirt off for some ventilation. Evelynn places a hand onto Akali’s forehead and gasps. “You’re burning up, darling.” She scrambles off the bed and into the bathroom to grab a towel, soaking it with cool water and wringing it dry. From the cabinet she grabs the bottle of Tylenol and brings it over to Akali. “Akali, wake up you need to take this.”
Akali huffs, her face pulled into a deep frown, “dun wanna”, she whimpers.
“You have a fever, you’re super hot right now.”
“No, dude, you’re super hot.” Akali slurs out, delirious.
“Oh boy. Yep you need to take this darling please, I promise you’ll feel better after.” Evelynn places the cold towel on Akali’s forehead, and the sick rapper lets out a filthy moan at the relieving coolness, so much so that it makes Eve fluster a bit. Impressive really.
“Lord help me.” she says with a fond eye roll. She starts patting the towel across her face, wiping the sweat from her brows and taking some heat off her overheated neck. “Alright, come on, up you get, take these and you can go right back to sleep.” She loops her elbows underneath Akali’s armpits and pulls her up so she’s slightly propped up on Eveylnn’s chest. “Say ahhhh.”
“Agh.” After popping the pills into Akali’s mouth, Evelynn softly cradles the sick woman’s jaw and brings the water up her mouth.
“Slowly now,” she says, tipping the bottle slightly, letting the water dribble into her mouth. After a mouthful, she lets off and Akali swallows. “More? You should stay hydrated, especially since you burnt up.” Akali grunts in agreement and brings her own two hands to hold them, covering Evelynn’s one hand. She polishes off a good half of the bottle, a testament of just how thirsty she was and slumps back into Evelynn’s chest, heaving a great big sigh.
“There we go, rest well darling,” Evelynn coos while wiping a stray droplet of water off the corner of Akali’s mouth. She places the water bottle back to the nightstand and moves to rewet the towel when a weak tug pulls her back in place.
“No, don’t go please,” she clutches feebly at Eve’s shirt, desperate to keep her source of warmth nearby, even if she was overheating a bit.
“I’ll be quick, the cold towel will make you feel better,” Evelynn tries to reason.
“You make me feel better. I already took the meds. I jus’ want cuddles.” A well timed pout and case of the grabby hands renders Evelynn defenseless and she quickly succumbs.
“You honestly have no reason being so cute, but whatever,” she grumbles as she lays down onto the bed and tucks Akali under her chin. She falls asleep to the sound of Akali’s uneven and labored breaths.
———-
Evelynn wakes up to the soft light shining and a slight chill in the morning air. Ah, it’s because Akali has kicked off the blankets into some unidentifiable shape again. As far as her limbs had flailed about, one hand had remained loyal to Evelynn’s hold. Her wrist laid comfortably in Eve’s hand, unmotivated to find freedom like the rest of its brethren. She detangles the blanket the best she can and lays it across Akali, brushing her wild tufts of hair out of her face. Akali rouses from her sleep, blinking bleary eyes at Evelynn, tugging a soft smile out of the normally stoic woman.
“Blegh.”
At this, the siren can’t help but let out a soft laugh. “There she is. Sleeping Beauty awakens. How do you feel, darling?”
“Erm ertttt,” she grumbles pathetically.
“What?”
“Ehd errttt,” Akali adds. Evelynn just stares, looking endearingly confused at the specimen before her.
“Erm erttt”, Akali wiggles her arm, “ehd ertttt,’ she knocks her noggin.
“Ah. I see. Tummy hurt?”
“Tummy ert…” she nods, head still smushed into a pillow.
The older woman moves slowly off the bed, and can’t help but snort when she turns around and looks at the state of the younger woman. Akali is starfished across the bed, face set in a deep grimace with bits of dried drool on the corner of her mouth. She finds Akali’s phone and opens up the Twitter app. Snapping a quick picture of the bed ridden rapper, she types a quick draft for Akali to approve of later:
“Day 2 of Moderna vaccine:
Curiously, the patient’s cognitive ability seems to have reverted to that of a cavewoman:
‘Erm erttttt’ (my arm hurts like a bitch)
‘Ehd ertttt’ (I have a fever and I need meds)
Will continue to monitor and update my findings.
-Evelynn”
With a giggle, she saves the tweet and places the phone back onto the nightstand.
“What’re you laughin’ about?” Akali asks, cracking an eye open. She squints into the morning light and reaches a hand out.
Those damn grabby hands. Evelynn feels soft and privileged being able to see the rapper so vulnerable and openly affectionate. The normally dangerous and fiercely independent maknae was never one to expose herself like this to anyone, and Evelynn wants to capture this moment and keep it forever. She bends over and places a hand into the proffered one and gives a gentle squeeze. “I’ll show you later. I’m gonna go get some soup, you can eat up and maybe take some Tylenol again?”
“Mmph. Okay.” Her hold lingers, making Evelynn give her another sweet smile. She jiggles their hands into a weird handshake, and finally Akali releases her hand with her own quirk of the lips.
When Evelynn returns Akali is propped up on her pillows, phone in hand. Her skin is still pale and eyes hazy, but overall, she looks much better than she did last night. “Was this what you were giggling at?” she asks, waving the phone in Evelynn’s face with the incriminating tweet of her on the screen.
Evelynn lets out another laugh and nods her head. “You’d make a very cute cavewoman,” she says with a smile. “Erm erttttt,” she teases.
“Hmph, you’re lucky I like you.” Akali makes a show of crossing her arms and looking annoyed. As Evelynn sits onto the edge of the bed, placing the bowl of soup to the nightstand, Akali looks over with shy eyes and a sheepish smile, “thanks for letting me see it first before posting.”
“You don’t need to thank me for human decency, ‘Kali, if anyone were to understand it would be me. It would be us,” Evelynn reassures, putting her hand on Akali’s wrist. She gives another light squeeze, “now, think you can feed yourself or do you need my help?”
Akali gets a devilish look in her eye and smirks, “Erm ert, need ‘elp” she says gruffly.
Evelynn barks out a laugh, expecting nothing else from the lively maknae, glad that she’s got some life back into her after the previous day threw her through the wringer. “Okay, scoot ya Crood.” She takes the bowl and starts spoon feeding Akali, mindful to catch any dribbles to keep her bed clean.
“Maybe I’ll post it on my private account. It’s a pretty funny tweet.” Akali says between bites, “though Ekko would probably never let me live it down.” she adds with a small laugh.
Evelynn hums in agreement, “you can post it wherever you want. You don’t have to post it at all if you don’t want to,” she offers with a comforting smile, “I took the picture for you. Thought you might be able to look back at it later on and laugh,” she says, nudging Akali’s shoulder.
“Heh, you’re not wrong,” Akali has a goofy smile on her face. She fiddles with her phone for a bit before her eyes start to droop again, the toll of being awake clearly draining what little energy she had.
“Do you think you’ll need to take some medicine before you go back to sleep?”
“Nuh uh, I just sleep now,” she slumps back down into her nest of pillows. Evelynn fixes her blanket and leaves her to rest.
————
After doing the very bare minimum that Evelynn could in regards to her managerial duties for K/DA and her own lines of work, she can’t help but slink back into Akali’s room to check and dote upon the rapper. She knocks softly and pokes her head into the room, finding the girl wrapped into a ball of blankets, a laptop laying on its side next to where she supposed was Akali’s head.
At the sound, the ball of blankets shuffles and rolls about before a head of hair pops out at the top, bleary eyes peeking above the sheets. “How are you feeling?” Eve asks tenderly, hoping the laptop means good news.
“Cold, think I’ve moved back the chills now. Head a little floaty,” she says with a pout.
“Do you need anything? More soup?”
“Mmm, no, not much of an appetite right now,” she replies with a shake of her head. She stares off a little and rolls her lips inwards, as if building up the courage to ask, “D’you wanna come watch this with me?” she asks timidly. “It’s the Great British Bake Off.”
Evelynn gives a loving smile, she thinks she might have smiled like this more times in the past 24 hours than she has in the past 24 years. Not much can render a badass bitch like herself into a melted smiling piece of goop, but here she was, going goo goo eyes for the esteemed rapper. She settles against the headboard as she had all the other times, but this time Akali looks at her with a displeasing frown. “What?” Evelynn asks, with an amused smile.
Akali looks at the space between them with furrowed brows and slowly escapes her blanket prison. She closes the gap and nestles herself in Evelynn’s lap, head fitting right between her collarbones and her neck. She pulls the blanket up to her chin and puts the laptop on top of the blankets, all while sighing in content.
The now flesh pillow watches the events unfold, not even noticing that her lips had yet again quirked up into an endearing smile. Her lashers come out involuntarily and wrap themselves around Akali before she can even think to have her arms do the same. “Comfortable now?” she asks teasingly.
“You’re so warm. And your lashers are so cuddly!” she giggles, pressing play for the baking show. She runs her hands across the lashers, reveling in their velvety feel and warmth.
The show runs in low volume, with Akali laughing softly and mimicking the various accents every so often. During a lull in the episode, Evelynn breaks their silence and wonders outloud, “you don’t bake do you?” She probably would have noticed if she did but maybe it was a hidden talent of the rapper’s if she found comfort in watching baking shows like this one.
“No, I just like watching people bake. Plus this show is so wholesome. It’s also kinda funny to see them panic.”
“No soggy bottom!” Mary Berry cries out in the show. “Heh, soggy bottoms” Akali snickers to herself. “I would eat the fuck out of that cake. It looks so pretty.”
“Mm yeah it does look pretty good doesn’t it.”
“Looks really sweet though, I’ve never really had much of a sweet tooth.” Akali reasons.
“No? I actually have a bit of a sweet tooth,” she divulges, her guilty pleasures laid out in the open.
“Really? I never see you eating sweets.”
“I try not to indulge too often, it’s a bit addictive once you start. I always liked the sugar rush afterwards a little too much.” Evelynn admits, her guard broken down by the enticing treats on the screen and the warmth in her arms.
“Huh.” Akali swallows noisily, a sound not missed by the demoness.
“Are you drooling?”
“What? No! I was just thinking that maybe I can bake a cake someday.” she says, voice a little timid.
“I thought you said you didn’t bake.”
“I don’t but I would learn for you. Or force Bokkie to make one. Actually, I’m sure I can bake one, I mean how hard can it be? I watch this show all the time! I can bake one for you,” Akali brambles on, “you seem like a black forest typa gal, bet I could make you one of those.”
Evelynn hums into the side of Akali’s head and gives it a peck, “well aren’t you sweet.”
At this, Akali perks up and turns her head. “Just how you like em, huh?” she says wiggling her eyebrows with a glint in her eye.
Evelynn gives her a monumental eyeroll and spares a laugh, “just watch your show, darling” she says through her smile, nudging her head to turn Akali’s back towards the laptop. Akali giggles and turns her attention back to the screen.
The day passes by in similar fashion, the two engaging in bits of conversation throughout the show, enjoying each other's warmth and company. Evelynn soon finds herself dozing, not being able to resist, after sleeping so lightly the night before. She wakes up to a ticklish sensation in the hollow of her collarbone and realizes that it’s Akali burrowing into her, the laptop closed and tossed off to the side.
“Where are you digging to? That tickles,” she husks out, voice a little scuffed from her impromptu nap. Her hands reach up and stroke along Akali’s back, only now noticing that she is shivering despite being hot to the touch.
“Gonna crawl into ya, wanna live there. You so warm,” Akali grumbles weakly. A hand sneaks into her hair, massaging her scalp and brushing the rebellious tufts away from her face.
The girl has already wormed her way into her heart figurtively, but as much as she hopes, Evelynn knows that the rogue’s newfound affection and need for her only stems from her current incapacitated condition. Would it be so bad to hope they could something like this after all is said and done? Could she feel the same? Or is she just a warm body for a cold night?
“I think it’s time for some medicine. You’ve gone a bit delirious, haven’t you.”
“Nooo,” she huffs out, “warm here.”
“Baby, you’re burning up again, and you’re shivering. You should take some medicine. It should be the last time, okay?”
Akali lifts her head out from the nook she had found herself and gives her a pitiful look before flopping forward again, tucking her chin onto Evelynn’s shoulder, their cheeks pressed together. “Okay,” she whispers, her breath sending shivers down Evelynn’s spine that the rapper doesn’t seem to notice in her fugued state. She clutches at her a little tighter before pulling away, allowing Evelynn to grab the medicine for Akali to take.
After the pills are swallowed, Evelynn figures she has some tough pills of her own to try and swallow, so she moves to leave, but the rapper does not seem to want to let go. “Darling, I have to go and see if there’s any soup left for you later on. Bokkie and Ahri are out on schedule and might not be back until late tonight, so I have to make sure there’s something for you if not. Is there anything you might want to eat?”
“Anything I want?” she perks up a little at the thought.
“Sure anything you want. Ramyun? I can get your favorite,” she baits.
“I could go for some ramen,” she grumbles, seemingly upset at losing out her source of warmth to the desire of her stomach, “hurry back?” Akali manages to ask as she’s on the edge of consciousness. A few muffled words and a kiss on her forehead is all she processes before the fatigue takes her away.
--------
Evelynn sits with her chin propped on her hand at the dining table, watching with equal parts disgust and endearment at the pace Akali is scarfing down her ramyun. Soup particles and slurping noises fill the air, and Evelynn is brought out of her daze when she sees a piece of pork belly dangling in front of her, hanging off the end of Akali’s chopsticks. Akali sports a cheeky smile, the sight of it pulling one out of Evelynn as well. She takes the pork belly delicately into her mouth, her eyes drifting up towards Akali’s face just in time to see the other woman’s gaze fixated on her mouth and her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Evelynn chews slowly, letting the flavor ruminate a bit in her mouth before swallowing, and Akali seems to stop herself from staring too hard to ask, “Good?”
“Mm, pretty good. I can see the appeal,” she affirms, as Akali polishes off the last of her dinner. Akali sits back and rubs her tummy, a dopey grin graces her face as she smacks her lips in content.
After a moment, Evelynn shoos her off so she could clean up, too preoccupied to notice the lingering look Akali gives her before walking off back into her room. With the dishes put away and the table wiped, Evelynn plops down onto the couch unceremoniously and leans her head back. She breathes heavily through her nose, wondering if she should check on the maknae again. She doesn’t want to crowd her, especially knowing how particular Akali is about her space and privacy, but she couldn’t help the pull in her heart no matter how hard she tried. She brews herself some tea and opens up her latest novel, opting to get some reading done instead of pining helplessly.
She’s just approaching the climax of the story, the thrilling page turner living up to its name, when she sees a figure standing in her peripheral. “Jesus fuck, Akali.” she gasps, her skin practically jumps and lashers whip out in alarm. Getting over her dramatics, she finally notices that Akali’s stance has a slight sway to it and her face is pinched in pain. “Oh darling, what’s wrong?” she throws her book haphazardly onto the coffee table and places her glasses down on top.
“My head really hurts…” she musters out with a wince. Their hands reach out for each other simultaneously, and Evelynn stands and pulls her into towards her chest, allowing the younger woman to nuzzle into her and find comfort in her touch. She leads her back into her room, tucking her into bed before grabbing some TigerBalm and sitting down at the edge of the bed. Her long nails make it harder than it should be but she somehow makes it work, applying the balm to the points of pain and massaging her temples.
“Do you want to try some painkillers?” she asks, giving tender strokes to her forehead.
“Had some earlier, don’t think it worked.” she whimpers, breathing heavy, the pain radiating from her head making all actions labored. She reaches up a clammy hand and wraps her fingers around Evelynn’s wrist, holding her hand in place, palm against her cheek. “Will you stay with me again?”
A bloom of warmth sets off in the depths of Evelynn’s heart at the implications of her words, but she quickly stamps them out, lest they grow into vines. “Let me shower first, then I’ll be right here okay?” she replies with a stroke to her cheekbone. Akali’s eyes flutter close, accepting her answer and nods off.
After taking her fastest shower ever, Evelynn returns to Akali’s room, surprised to find the young rapper still awake. Akali watches her approach the bed groggily, the balm seemingly doing its job to stunt the pain, as her face no longer shows heavy signs of suffering. She waits for Eve to settle into the covers before latching onto her side like a human koala. Evelynn shifts slightly to accommodate the limbs and her lashes slither around Akali, holding her in a protective embrace. Akali presses her ear to Evelynn’s beating chest, letting the sound of her heart lull her to sleep.
———
Evelynn awakes to a cold bed and rumpled sheets. Her lashers move restlessly, anxious at the disappearance of their overnight charge. She stumbles out of bed with a bedhead and wrinkled pajamas, hoping to find her bedmate in the kitchen.
She is greeted with a snort instead. She’s rubbing at her eyes, physically trying to clear the brain fog when she’s met with a soft smile at the kitchen counter and a smug smile sitting at the island. “Mmph'' is all she has to offer, as she flicks at one of Ahri’s vulpine ears and falls over into a stool. “Thank you, darling,” she mumbles into the hot cup of coffee Kai’sa had placed in front of her.
Ahri momentarily behaves, deferring the opportunity to pounce onto the normally well kept woman, allowing her a few minutes of peace as she shakes off the last vestiges of sleep.
“There’s drool on your shirt, and your hair looks like a bird’s nest,” she snarks, right as Evelynn finishes the last drop of her coffee.
“UGHHHHH.” Evelynn fixes her with a withering glare, but after spending such close quarters with the girls, they are all practically immune to her false hostility at this point.
Kai’sa barks out a laugh that could be heard over the chopping sounds of whatever she’s cutting up. Ahri reaches over and pats down the worst of Eve’s nested hair. “You know, I didn’t take you for a drooler,” she teases.
“It’s not mine,” Eve grumbles, reminded of the fact that the maknae is still nowhere in sight.
“Oh? Did you guys have an eventful night?” Ahri presses forward, eyebrows shooting up, sporting a suggestive smirk.
Evelynn groans again, pushing the gumiho out of her face, “you’re actually the worst you know that. Where is she anyway?”
Kai’sa pops something into the oven and leans onto the island with her own cup of tea, “She left like 30 minutes ago. Said she wanted to get some fresh air or something. She looks better. A little finicky, but not sick or anything,” she offers, knowing that Ahri would continue to be unhelpful.
“She’s probably just at one of the outlooks she loves so much,” Ahri chimes in anyway, “you should go look for her.”
“What? Why? Did she say something?” Evelynn narrows her eyes. She’s a pinch suspicious, but it can’t be helped, Ahri always has been a sly little fox.
“Nope, just a feeling,” she says with a knowing smile. Evelynn looks over at Kai’sa, who merely shrugs, not even bothering to pretend she knows what goes on in the other woman’s mind.
“Ugh, fine.” She says with an eye roll.
Ahri’s smile breaks out into a wide grin, making Evelynn even more dubious of her intentions, but relents nonetheless. After she fixes herself up into something more presentable, she heads out towards the garage, Kai’sa calling after her, “We’ll save some brekkie for you two don’t worry!”
Driving along the winding roads of the mountain side, Evelynn spots a familiar motorcycle parked at an outlook, just as Ahri had predicted. She sees a figure sitting on one of the rocks, staring off towards the city. She pulls in as quietly as she can as to not disturb the peace, but it seems she was heard anyway.
Akali turns her head and gives Evelynn a tight smile, her eyebrows slanted downwards in contemplation. Her eyes are clear and cognizant, no sign of the haze she had been in during the last 48 hours. Evelynn sits on a neighboring rock, out of reach, but still in earshot.
“How’d you know I would be here?” It was an innocuous question. When she left earlier, she didn’t think they’d be able to find her. Maybe she was more predictable than she thought.
“Ahri thought you might be at one of these. Guess I just picked the right direction.” Evelynn says with a shrug. She looks at her object of affection, trying to see if there is any reaction to her encroaching on her personal quiet time, but for the first time in a long time, she can't get a read. Akali has a faraway look on her face, eyebrows drawn in, not in pain like they had been, but more so in deep thought. Akali suddenly turns and gives Evelynn a heavy look. Her eyes are dark and intense, swirling with such emotion that Evelynn can’t decipher it all in time before she panics and breaks the eye contact. “The weather’s nice today,” she blurts out instead. She’s seen multiple facets of Akali, but never this one. She doesn’t know what it means, doesn’t know what to make of it, and it scares her.
Akali just hums in agreement and turns back to the scenery, and Evelynn balks. There is tension between them that hasn’t been there since their careers had first aligned. This was a bad idea, damn foxy. After a minute that feels like an eternity, Evelynn clears her throat and says, “Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I’ll see you back at the house.” She gets up and pats herself down, hoping Akali can still salvage her morning despite her disruption.
At that, Akali suddenly startles, so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t realize the older woman was sitting in turmoil, and now it’s her turn to panic, “no wait!” She swivels towards the retreating siren and grasps onto her hand before she can get far.
Evelynn stops and turns around, surprised at the outburst given that the rapper was so demure just seconds prior. She shows none of the calmness it did before, the emotions that were held in her eyes are slowly breaking out. Her feelings flickered across her face, shame and embarrassment are at the forefront and it confuses Evelynn. Akali looks a little cagey, the hold on her hand is a little tight and a little sweaty. She knows she’s working up to something and that something is giving her a lot of anxiety. Evelynn squats down so that they’re eye level, on equal grounds, she takes Akali’s hand in both of hers and gives a supportive squeeze.
Akali sighs, shoulders slumping, eyes resolved. “Thanks for putting up with me these past couple days,” she starts softly, “even though I was super dramatic and needy.” She chokes out a strangled laugh and her other hand pinches at her thigh. “And I know you probably had like a lot of stuff to do, but I made you watch some stupid baking show with me instead. I’m sorry I took up all your time, I know you have more important things to do than to take care of my clingy ass. And I-”
A rough tug shuts her up. She stumbles forward and is pulled up to her feet by an indignant Evelynn who looks pissed off at the world. Akali winces, thinking it was her fault, “I’m sorry!” she says instinctively, shoulders tight, eyes cast down.
Two lashers keep Akali in a loose hold as Evelynn’s hands travel up to cup Akali’s face, half on her the sides of her neck and half on her cheeks. They tilt her head upwards, and her unshed tears are caught in Evelynn’s piercing gaze.
“I don’t ever want to hear you talk about yourself and your needs like that ever again.” Her words are sharp but her expression is soft and caring. “You deserve to have your needs met, okay? You weren’t being needy or dramatic, you were sick and in pain, and you are so much more important than anything I will ever have on my agenda. I don’t ever want you to think that you’re not worth the time or the effort because you are, Akali. You’re worth it, and it’s important to me that you know that. Okay, darling?”
Akali’s tears fall, but Evelynn is quick to catch them before they make it down her cheeks. She falls into Eve’s shoulder with a quick nod and her shirt stifles a sob.
After a while, the tears subside, leaving just some sniffles, Evelynn asks, “Who told you all those things anyway?”, ready to square up.
“Mayym” Akali answers with a wince.
Evelynn huffs and pulls Akali back in for another hug, lashers and all, holding her tight as if she could physically remove those traumatic thoughts and habits by sheer will. “Yeah, well. She’s a fuck nut. And she can choke.”
Akali barks out a wet laugh and hugs back just as tight, so grateful that she had met this unmovable force of a woman, “Thank you. Thank you for being there for me.”
“I always will be. For as long as you’ll have me.” Evelynn confesses, hoping she knows her well enough to read in between the lines. Akali pulls her head back and gives her a heavy look, this one different from the one she had before. There’s a twinkle in her eyes and an unspoken understanding. She gives a teary smile, the wetness in her eyes making them sparkle even more than usual. Evelynn’s thumbs stroke across her cheekbones, brushing away any remnants of tears that her shirt might have missed. Her expression is soft and full of love, and she finds it mirrored on Akali’s face.
“We can talk about it when we get back.” Akali just nods, her smile turning giddy and bright. “Alright come on then, let’s go home and finish that season.” she offers, holding a hand out, fingers waggling.
“Really? You like the show?” It’s like she’s slowly coming back to life, being the lively force of nature she is known to be, no longer trapped under the traumas of her upbringing.
“I like you. ” Akali blushes. “And I guess I’m a little invested. I wanna see who wins.” Evelynn is smitten, and she knows it. But she also knows she’s not in it alone, looking at Akali who shines as bright as the sun. Any wider and her smile might actually blind a bitch.
“Okay!” Her excitement is palpable and visible. Akali starts to head off towards their rides, but she turns on a dime and dashes forward to give a quick, firm kiss to the corner of Evelynn’s mouth. “Race ya home!”
She runs off, with the sound of Evelynn’s laughter floating behind her, followed by quick steps of the siren. Dust soon fills the air, accompanied by the roaring engines of a muscle car and sport bike. They take off, wreaking havoc and flying down the road together, one never straying too far from the other.