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“Korra, you’re not supposed to be here,” Asami wheezed with a cough as she told her girlfriend for the second time that she was sick and that she couldn’t see her. The first time was over the phone when Korra called about a date and she hadn’t listened at all when Asami told her that she was sick and couldn’t go out or even see her because she was contagious. Asami was rarely sick, but when she was- she was really sick. “The doctor said-”
“Please,” Korra scoffed as she waved her hand dismissively. “I’m a way better doctor than whoever you paid to check on you.”
“You’re a healer,” Asami tried arguing- recognizing that Korra did have some medical background. The only problem was that Asami was sick- not injured. “I need medicine, not-” She cut herself off this time- coughing violently as she wheezed with congestion. When she finished her fit, she lay back in her pillows- feeling awful and tired in equal measure. Resting her eyes for a moment, she tried again, “I need-”
“You need someone to take care of you,” Korra insisted, coming to sit on the edge of the bed while holding a steaming cup of tea. “Drink this- it will help your throat.”
“Okay,” Asami partly conceded- her sore throat welcoming the soothing prospect of tea as she accepted the cup. A part of her even remembered to be jealous at how easy Korra’s life was- able to pull water from the sink and boil tea without having to actually move across the apartment to do either thing. Sipping the hot beverage and sighing with the relief it brought, Asami mustered the last of her strength to continue arguing. “But now you need to go. I’m contagious and I don’t want to get you sick.”
“You won’t get me sick,” Korra insisted, leaning forward to kiss Asami’s forehead- holding her lips there for one long moment. “You have a fever.” Korra announced as if Asami didn’t know that from her doctor checking her temperature himself when he had come by. “I’m going to make you soup.”
“No, you’re going to leave,” Asami insisted once again, pointing one slightly shaky finger toward the door.
“I’m staying to take care of you,” Korra promised, surprising Asami further by planting a soft kiss to her lips with no regard for her own well-being. “Now rest and drink your tea. I’ll get started on the soup.”
Asami wanted to protest, to insist that her girlfriend leave before she got sick too, but then Korra was laying a cool wet washcloth on her head before disappearing towards the kitchen. It took more than a few minutes for Asami to even piece her mind back together, as she lay wallowing in her own misery of feeling terrible, but when she did, she couldn’t deny how good it felt to have a cool cloth on her head or hot tea in her hand that she might sip on to ease some of the ache in her throat and congestion in her lungs.
Finishing the tea did make her sore throat feel substantially better and as if by magic, Korra returned just as she finished with a bowl of soup- trading out the empty teacup for the heavy bowl. “You don’t have to finish it all,” Korra assured her as she gently maneuvered Asami into a more upright position with Korra at her back as support. “But you do need to eat something.”
“I don’t want soup,” Asami protested at once- the sickness and the threat of nausea making the prospect truly unsavory.
“And you don’t want me here or to drink tea,” Korra teased playfully, leaning down around Asami to kiss her cheek. “Now eat, babe, it will help you feel better.”
“You’re going to get sick,” Asami protested weakly, even as she brought a carefully measured spoonful of soup to her mouth, finding it equally soothing to the tea and tasty despite her congestion.
“I’ve only been sick three times in my life,” Korra asserted proudly. “I think I’ll be fine taking care of you.”
“I don’t think you usually kiss your patients,” Asami teased, making the effort to hold back another cough while Korra planted kisses to her neck.
“Just checking your temperature,” Korra proclaimed, even as she kept her kisses going in a manner that made it substantially harder for Asami to eat her soup. “You are hot, babe,” Korra chuckled with those words, no longer assaulting Asami with kisses and instead moving to lightly rub her shoulders. “How are you feeling?”
“Like death,” Asami lamented, passing off her unfinished bowl of soup to Korra who set it aside on the nightstand.
“Rest then,” Korra offered, quickly cooling the washcloth on Asami’s head with her bending and moving out from behind her to help Asami lay down in bed. Asami stared up at her girlfriend though, not quite willing to sleep in the middle of the day despite how awful she felt. “Go to sleep, babe,” Korra encouraged her again, sitting on the bed and kissing Asami’s lips through her heavy mouth breathing. “Close your eyes and rest.”
“I’m cold,” Asami complained, feeling miserable in every sense of the word and easily finding something to complain about no matter what was offered to her.
“Alright, make room then,” Korra spoke while kicking off her boots and pulling her shirt over her head.
“What are you doing?” Asami asked, enjoying the view, but confused all the same.
“I’ll snuggle you to get you warm,” Korra explained, stripping off her pants and sliding under the covers to bring her almost unnaturally hot body into contact with Asami’s shivering form. “Now rest,” Korra insisted, kissing Asami again even as she coughed.
“You shouldn’t be so close or kissing me when I’m all sick and gross,” Asami objected yet again.
“And you shouldn’t be such a difficult patient,” Korra teased back- making Asami humph her displeasure, which only made her choke again. “But for the record,” Korra whispered while rubbing Asami’s runny nose with her own. “I don’t think you’re gross at all. Even sick, you’re as beautiful as ever- since the very first day I saw you.”
“Don’t be charming when I don’t feel well enough to do something about it,” Asami objected yet again, even as she smiled and closed her eyes to give her girlfriend a lip locking kiss that promised she was loved and taken care of. The kiss ended as soon as it began- Asami was too congested and short of breath for it to linger. Despite her objections, Asami closed her eyes, feeling warmer and better with Korra pressed against her- promising she was taken care of, which allowed her to quickly fall asleep.
When Asami next awoke, she felt worse in every regard, despite Korra’s care. It wasn’t surprising that she felt more awful because sickness typically hit harder after it had some time to gestate and really flood her system. Still, before she even cracked her eyes open, a cool washcloth was being reapplied to her burning forehead and an extra blanket was tucked around her shivering body. “You’ve still got a fever,” Korra informed her, her voice as soft as the lips that pressed kisses to her cheeks and neck. “Try to keep resting for a while longer. I’ll make you more tea and soup.”
Asami was going to protest, to tell Korra that it wasn’t necessary and she could manage on her own, but simply moving her mouth to form words proved how sore her throat was and pulling in a breath revealed she was entirely congested. It was a slow burning agony- to at once have to breathe through her mouth with her nose stuffy, but her throat aching worse with every breath and dry swallow. She wasn’t a child anymore and she knew how to take care of herself, but just as she was managing the effort to open her eyes and set about proving she could take care of herself, Korra was back- looking simply radiant as she smiled down at where Asami lay in the bed.
“Let’s get you sitting up so you can drink,” Korra spoke, moving to effortlessly help Asami up while fluffing her pillows so she could lay back upright against them without having to leave bed at all. The washcloth fell off her forehead in the process, but the moment she was leaning back again, Korra placed it back- as cool and wet as ever, a result of Korra’s bending no doubt. “Sip on some tea.” Korra instructed, holding the steaming cup in front of Asami until she took it into her own hands. “It has honey to help your throat.”
“Thank you,” Asami whispered, trying not to agitate her sore throat anymore than necessary as she sipped her tea. “I really appreciate you being here and taking care of me.”
“What are girlfriends for?” Korra asked with a happy giggle, leaning in to kiss Asami’s lips again. “I’ll always be here for you- no matter what.”
“But I’m all sick and gross looking,” Asami protested weakly, knowing she had to have looked about as awful as she felt without any effort at all put into her appearance.
“I think you’re beautiful,” Korra promised, another kiss alighting on Asami’s cheek before Korra tipped the teacup back to her lips. “Now stop talking to me and drink your tea. I want you to feel better and you need your fluids.”
“Could you hold my hand while I rest after?” Asami asked, too touched to continue to fight against Korra’s endearing care, which was already making her congested chest light with love.
“Of course, I can,” Korra promised, taking Asami’s hand at once and watching her sip her honey tea with that signature crooked smile. It got easier after that, letting Korra bring her food (mostly soup) and tea. Stumbling only the short distance to the bathroom with Korra’s steady arm guiding her there and back, into an always remade bed just because of how good it felt to crawl into. It only took a few days for Asami to feel significantly better and she was on her feet, swaying to the radio while in Korra’s arms when the Avatar let loose one violent sneeze. “Excuse me,” She exclaimed, a dainty display of manners that made Asami smile. “I don’t know where that came from.”
“You probably got sick from kissing me,” Asami pointed out. “I told you that would happen.”
“Please,” Korra scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. “I’ve only been sick…”
“Four times in your life,” Asami told her girlfriend with a small smile- amused by the irony, even as she felt badly for how red and runny Korra’s nose was and how she coughed violently in bed. “I told you I was contagious and you shouldn’t take care of me or kiss me, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
“You were right, okay?” Korra admitted, sounding truly awful and pulling at Asami’s heartstrings. “Will you please bring me some tea?”
“I already have some right here,” Asami soothed her, resting a gentle hand on Korra’s shoulder and bringing the cup to her lips. “It has honey and I’ll bring you a cool washcloth for your head in just a minute.”
“Thanks,” Korra breathed the word, inhaling the steam of the tea to help her stuffy nose and sipping carefully as her sore throat struggled to swallow. Asami really did feel a pang of sympathy for her, having just recovered, she knew how awful being sick felt. Luckily for Korra, Asami was more than willing to repay the favor and dote on her for the next few days until she was better (and any kisses Asami might offer wouldn’t carry the risk of her getting sick again). “But for the record,” Korra spoke softly, her throat clearly hurting as she produced the words with a wry smile, “Kissing you was totally worth getting sick.”