Work Text:
“Achoo!”
Vi heard as she turned the doorknob with one hand, carefully balancing a tray with a hot bowl of soup and a bottle of cold medicine on it in the other.
Pushing their bedroom door open, she found Caitlyn shivering slightly and hunched over the small desk in the corner of the room shuffling through some papers. Several used tissues littered the desk, spilling over onto the floor.
“I’m pretty sure I told you to stay in bed, cupcake.” Vi set the tray down on the nightstand.
Caitlyn jumped in her seat, clearly startled. “There were a f-few things I needed to get done.” She sounded nasally, sniffing.
“The only thing you need to do is get some sleep, work can wait.” She gently took the papers out of her sick girlfriend’s hands.
“Vi, ‘m fine. Give those back.” She half grumbled half whined, reaching to snatch them back.
Vi held them just out of her reach, “No, you’re sick. C’mon, let’s get you back to bed.”
“I have work to do, Vi. This is gonna start piling up.” She protested, weakly reaching for the papers again.
“You can afford to take a few sick days. Look, you can barely stand up.” She said, referring to Caitlyn’s pitiful attempts at retrieving her papers from her girlfriend. Vi was barely holding them out but Caitlyn struggled to reach them.
Caitlyn slumped down, sighing in defeat. “Kay, fine. You win,” she mumbled. She moved to stand up, but clearly being too weak in this state she wobbled, almost toppling over.
Vi caught her just in time, scooping Caitlyn up bridal style as the documents fluttered to the floor, forgotten.
“I would’ve been okay- ah achoo!” Caitlyn sneezes again, sniffing. Vi didn’t respond, only giving her a pointed look as she lowered her onto the bed. Caitlyn only humphed, crossing her arms and looking away.
“Aw, don't be like that cupcake. I even made you soup!” Vi retrieved the bowl from the nightstand, scooping up a spoonful and holding it out in front of Caitlyn’s mouth.
“Vi please, let me keep some of my dignity!” She protested again at being fed.
Vi shook her head. “Nope, you need to get used to being taken care of. Now open up. You don’t need me to do the whole airplane thing do you?” She teased.
Caitlyn huffed, realizing she wouldn’t be winning any of these battles. Eventually she broke, smiling fondly for a moment and opening her mouth to be fed.
As soon as the soup touched her tongue, she nearly moaned, eyes closing as she savored the taste. The soup was delicious.
“Wow, I know a lot of ways to make you do that, but I didn’t think this soup would be one of them.” Vi’s teasing broke her from her brief reverie.
“I- it- you!- it’s adequate.” She flushed, spluttering for a moment before putting up her annoyed front again.
“Right, right. So ‘adequate’ that you’re red as a tomato, huh.” Vi had on her signature shit-eating grin.
“You were the one who brought up how sick I am, it’s probably just my fever.” Caitlyn grumbled, looking away in pretend disagreeableness as she sniffled more. Side glancing at Vi she asked, “How did you- where did you learn to cook like that anyway?”
“Oh this?” Vi placed the spoon down in the bowl to scratch the back of her neck. “It’s nothing. Vander used to make this for us when we were sick. Taught me how to when I asked. I liked the idea of knowing how to take care of people. Like my sister.”
Caitlyn softened, “That’s so sweet of you, Vi.”
Vi shook her head slightly as if to pull herself from a daydream, “Anyway, let’s get this soup in you before it gets cold. You can eat it yourself if you want, I was only joking about the whole force feeding you bit.”
It was Caitlyn’s turn to tease. “Nope, you have to feed me. No getting out of this one- achoo!” The sudden sneeze startled Caitlyn as she jerked her face into her elbow to cover it.
Once the soup was finished, which was very quickly as Caitlyn devoured it, Vi set the bowl back down on the tray and grabbed the bottle of medicine. “Oh yeah, and I found this in the cabinet. Not sure what it is but it’s labeled cold medicine so I figured it might be good for you.”
“I don’t know how you haven’t poisoned yourself yet.” Caitlyn commented, but didn’t object.
Vi poured some of the goopy liquid into the spoon. “Oh haha, very funny babe. No say ahhh.”
Caitlyn gulped down the medicine, wincing. “You’d have thought with all our technological advancements someone would have found a way to make medicine taste better.”
“Alright, you need some rest.” Vi said as she helped Caitlyn lay down properly and tuck her in. “I have to take care of a couple work things, don’t you even think about getting up again or I’ll tie you to the bed.”
Caitlyn hummed, eyes closed as she started drifting off already under the warmth of the comforter. “Maybe some other time.” She missed Vi’s blush.
She turned just before slipping out of the room. “Get better soon, cupcake.” She whispered.
Caitlyn was already asleep.