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The moment she woke up and struggled to open her eyes, Amelia Watson knew something was wrong; everything was too hot and too clammy, her body felt sluggish and heavy, yet she felt like her bones had the consistency of jelly.
“U-ugh,” Amelia raspily groans, attempting to open her itchy eyes as she tries to claw out of the stubborn embrace of sleep, flinching in pain once she manages to pry her eyes open with sheer force of will, “God, am I sick? Damn it, I really don’t need this right now.”
The blonde groans, throwing an arm over her face to cover her eyes as she mentally counts to three before she stiffens her legs and pushes back her shoulders in order to be able to sit upright; An action that causes her to heave as her vision swam from the effort of her exertion.
“Hurk,” she chokes, one hand clasping her mouth as the other pressed against her stomach, a woozy feeling overtaking her as she feels bile begin to crawl up her throat and-
“Oh god, I think I’m gonna hurl.” Amelia wheezes as she swallows and tries to keep her teeth gritted and shut, only to heave again as another wave of bile tries to rise out of her throat, causing the blonde to try and scramble out of her bed.
Only to find herself being pushed down as a hand firmly presses itself against her shoulder, preventing her from getting out of her bed.
“You really shouldn’t be moving,” Amelia hears a smooth, silky voice soothingly whisper as a blue bucket comes into her view, “Here, puke into this, Ame. Go ahead,” the voice continues as Amelia hunches over the bucket and lets loose the contents of her stomach into it, “Atta girl… Let it all out.”
“Ohh, urk, ugh… Thanks for that,” Amelia pants as she raises a hand to wipe her mouth with a sleeve, only to yelp in pain as a gloved hand slaps her hand before it reaches her mouth; “Hey! That hurt!” she sniffles, turning her head to weakly scowl at an unamused Ouro Kronii crouching beside her, who raises a brow at the blonde.
“And what you were going to do was disgusting,” the bluenette shoots back as she pulls a handkerchief from nowhere and wipes Amelia’s face with it, earning a shocked sputter from the blonde, “Not to mention unsanitary.”
Amelia feels her face redden as she pouts at the response, unable to refute it, “W-well,” she rasps, crossing her arms as she looks away from the bluenette’s judging gaze, offhandedly noticing the lack of a bucket on her lap, “I mean it’s not that bad, right? I-”
“Apupupup, No. You keep mum,” Kronii interrupts as Amelia sees her face twist into an annoyed expression before the bluenette pinches her fingers together and draws a line over Amelia’s mouth. “I don’t want to hear one more gross word out of you again, got it?”
“Honestly,” Kronii huffs, scowling as she gently adjusts Amelia’s position and props up the blonde’s pillows behind her, “I know for a fact that you know better, Amelia. As a time traveler, proper hygiene is a top priority. Else we’d get another extinction event like the dinosaurs….”
“...Okay, that’s fair,” Amelia croaks with a wince, sniffling and pinching her nose as it starts to clog before blinking as Kronii presses a box of tissues into her hands. “Thanks.”
“No need to thank me,” Kronii rolls her eyes as Amelia begins blowing her nose, “Though it is very appreciated,” the bluenette hums as she stands, brushing her palms against her skirt to straighten it as she does so, “Now, I’m going to get you some soup. Just stay here and get comfy, close your eyes and go back to sleep for a bit or whatever; it’ll take a while since I won’t manipulate time for top-tier soup.”
And, unable to give a response and after receiving a gentle headpat, Amelia watches as Kronii leaves the room with a wave before she lets out a yawn and slackly leans her pillows, letting her heavy eyes drift to a close as she falls back into the arms of sleep.
“Ame… Ame… Wake up, Amelia.”
Groggily rousing from her slumber as she feels herself being shaken, Amelia opens her eyes with a scratchy groan, rasping as she uses a palm to rub away the remaining traces of sleep.
“Mngh,” she grunts, blinking her eyes rapidly as her vision swims into focus with a sniffle, her eyes training themselves on a bowl of steaming chicken soup that was placed on a tray above her lap; “Oh, soup,” the blonde croaks as she reaches for the bowl, scooping up the meal and taking it into her mouth with no hesitation.
Amelia sighs in satisfaction, melting as the soothing taste of the warm soup spreads across her tongue and her sore throat, “Oh, this is good,” she sighs as she eagerly continues to take scoop after scoop of her soup.
“Naturally,” Kronii huffs, pride coloring her tone, “But don’t eat too quickly now,” the bluenette chides with a click of her tongue as Amelia continues to scarf down her meal; “Or else you won’t get the best out of every spoonful.”
“Sure, sure,” the blonde waves off in response as she swallows, still scarfing down her soup, albeit at a slower pace, “Still though, Kronii,” she whispers in between spoonfuls, “I really have to say thanks for the soup and for - Ack!”
Amelia coughs, her spoon clattering on her tray as she thumps at her chest in an attempt to clear her throat, helped along with steady thumps of Kronii’s palm on her back as she hunches over, wincing as her lungs burned from the effort from clearing her throat.
“...I won’t say it, but you know what’s on my mind,” comes the mutter from her side as the bluenette begins to rub circles on her back, “You were saying something about how amazing I was, though? It would be a shame if you didn’t finish what you were doing to say….”
“Ah, yeah. Sure,” Amelia chuckles red-faced and with a roll of her eyes as she clears her throat with yet another cough and takes a lukewarm glass of water that suddenly appeared beside her nearly-empty bowl of soup. “I… would just like to say thanks, Kronii. For taking the time to take care of me, even though you probably have a lot to do… How did you know I was sick anyway?” the blonde questions, narrowing her gaze at Kronii, who shrugs.
“I use my time powers to look over all my friends,” the bluenette unashamedly responds, “As the Warden of Time, I can view the past and the future with ease,” she hums with a cross of her arms as another proud look flitters across her face, “It’s nothing big to take all the time I have to check on my friends, and nudging events along to have someone visit when they’re available.”
“Fortunately for you, though,” Kronii continues with a smirk, tapping her finger with her cheek, “No one was available today, so I had to personally step in to help. Isn’t it grand?” she preens with a spread of her arms.
To which Amelia gives a giggle in response, “Yeah,” the blonde answers, “I’d say I hit the jackpot… Shame you aren’t in a nurse outfit, though,” she croaks, continuing to giggle even as she erupts into a series of coughs as a red flush overtakes the bluenette’s face.
“Y-you… W-well now,” Kronii grumbles, regaining her composure with a fake cough as her lips twitch into an annoyed smile; “it looks like you’re feeling better already,” she grumpily says as she crosses her arms in false anger and shoots the laughing blonde an unheated glare, “should I leave then? It looks like you don’t need my help anymore.”
“N-no! No,” Amelia denies with a wheeze, shoulders shaking as she waves her arms at the bluenette, lips quivering as she stares at the other girl in the eyes, “I-it’s just that your face, Kronii! Your reaction was just too funny! I didn’t mean to be mean, h-honest!”
“Sure you didn’t,” comes the sarcastic response, ”And your lip quivering must just be because you’re still so hungry,” Kronii says with an exaggerated roll of her eyes before her gaze locks on to the nearly empty bowl sitting on the tray above Amelia’s lap.
“Speaking of, though…. Would you like a refill?”
Amelia smiles as she nods, holding out her bowl for the bluenette to take, “I would love some more, thanks,” the blonde says, clearing her throat and brushing her fingers against Kronii’s as the other girl takes her bowl. “I really do appreciate this, Kronii, really.”
“And like I said,” Kronii smirks, “It’s no biggie,” she hums with a gentle pat of the blonde’s hand; “Now, eat up,” the bluenette urges, placing down the, now steaming, bowl of soup down on Amelia’s tray, “There’s still a few more servings of soup left if you want them after this. And when you’re done, I can draw you a hot bath; I'm sure you can handle yourself from there….”
“But what if I can’t?” Amelia questions as she picks up her spoon and begins diving into her second serving, “Are you going to give me a sponge bath?” the blonde asks with a smirk.
Only to be answered with a nod from the bluenette, “Yes,” Kronii answers bluntly, grinning as Amelia flushes red and delighting in the backfired teasing from the blonde, “It’s not healthy to not bathe when you’re sick; so if you can’t wash yourself, then I’ll gladly bite the bullet and help you do it. I can’t have my agent get sicker than she already it, after all.”
“O-oh, th-that’s a relief,” Amelia coughs, nervously laughing at being put on the backfoot, turning her gaze down to focus on her soup and avoid Kronii’s smug gaze as her mind whirls, trying to think of something to say; “Then I guess I can rest at ease then, huh?” she says through a spoonful of soup, turning back towards the bluenette with a smile, “Knowing that you’ll be taking care of me?”
“While you’re still sick, yes,” Kronii nods as she takes a seat on a chair that was suddenly behind her, “Now stop delaying; your soup is getting cold,” the bluenette orders, causing Amelia to jump and quickly turn to focus her attention on eating her soup once more, occasionally letting out hums of satisfaction between each scoop.
A meal which she quickly finishes, letting out a happy sigh as she gently places down the spoon, “As tasty as the first time,” Amelia compliments with a grin, clearing her throat as she leans back against her pillows, “Thanks, Kronii… I think I’m all good on the soup,” she preempts, quickly noticing the tray vanishing from her lap as she sees Kronii nod, suddenly standing up beside her.
“Then I’ll go draw that bath for you,” the bluenette says with a smile as she pulls up Amelia’s blanket over her chest after pushing the blonde down to lie on her bed, “It’ll take a while, so go ahead and take another nap. I’ll take you up when it’s ready, ok?”
“Okay, Kronii,” Amelia whispers, letting out a yawn as she closes her eyes, turning her head to watch Kronii walk off with a wave before she drifts off into sleep, feeling her body go slack as her eyes flutter close and she goes out like a light for the third time.