Work Text:
The first thing I felt was pain, it felt horrible. Like my skull was crushing down on the rest of my face. I felt like someone was wrapping rope around my head, and then the glare hit me. Even just the sight of the sun caused it to worsen. I could barely hold myself up from the futon, I felt nasally and having my eyes open even a slight bit made my head feel even worse just from the light. Holding a hand up to my forehead and it was clear I was having a fever.
“Reimu, Reimu!” I heard Marisa come in calling my name, well I think I heard, frankly she could’ve been saying any word beginning in R, I couldn’t tell. I was lying face down on the futon, groaning with my eyes closed, not bathed or fed yet, just sitting there for 20 minutes in agony, waiting for it to pass.
Marisa put her hand to my forehead, “Oh you poor thing, you’re burning up!” I noticed that she wasn’t wearing her normal clothes… probably. She was just wearing an all white nightgown, which she slept in. Whenever she learned I was sick it seemed like she left without a second notice.
“Listen, I’m going to get you some nice tea and a thermometer, I will be right back!” Marisa said, exiting the room with a grin. I went back to lying down, now face up, but with my eyes closed. It still hurt and I felt like I was going to die. I wanted to bash my head into a wall to relieve the stress in it. Of course that wouldn't help, but it was relaxing to imagine me not having a migraine.
“Okay here you go Reimu…” Marisa said, putting the tea down next to me. “Let me check your temperature, okay?” She asked, I obliged by just nodding and she proceeded.
“Ohmygosh” Marisa said, all jumbled together, “You’re at 40 C, 104 degrees,”. She seemed panicked by it, but through some self-peptalk seemed to calm herself down.
“Alright Reimu, you sit tight and drink the tea as best you can, I’ll make a dish for us”, Marisa went off into the kitchen again, and I sat down, eyes closed, taking small sips at a time. The tea wasn’t especially good, Marisa was never great at making it, but her care seemed to emanate through the tea, in a way that made me feel warm. In the good way, not in the ‘made my headache worse’ way.
My nasally-ness seemed to clear the more I drank, and I could actually open my eyes without feeling intense pain. My head still hurt to chireidan and back, but I was feeling better. I sat all the way up and finished the rest of my tea.
“Heeeeee-re you go Reimu,” Marisa came into the room with two dishes, one for herself and one for me, “Some Okayu to hopefully make you feel better,”. Marisa smiled at me just before she began eating, even without the food or the tea, I felt like that smile alone would’ve been all I needed to help myself feel better. Her toothy grin and overwhelming confidence but still emanating empathy was one of my favorite parts about her.
I would’ve kept staring off into space at Marisa’s face if she didn’t solemnly ask “Hey, do you not like Okayu?” She was clearly worried she did something wrong, another part I adored about her, her incredible need to be a good person, and never trying to hurt someone.
“No no, it’s great,” I said, “Just was thinking about things,”.
We finished our Okayu and at the end I felt fully rejuvenated, I don’t know whether it was the food or just Marisa being there that made me better, but I was better anyway.
“I’m going to wash up and get dressed for the day” I said, putting away the cup I used.
Marisa looked down at herself, seemingly only now realizing she was in her white nightgown without any signature hat, “I should do the same shouldn’t I?”. We both laughed for a bit.
I probably want to be with Marisa more often, day and night.