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Hugging her from behind, Lili placed her chin on Chloe’s shoulder and asked, “So, what’re you cooking?”
In any other laboratory, and if she was a mere friend or far less, her gesture would’ve earned a swift reprimand - and perhaps, Chloe calling Bobby to remove Lili physically. But they were much more than coworkers as she rested her head against the crook of Chloe’s neck. She grinned as she peered at the assortment of tools on Chloe’s workstation, her lab in tip-top, pristine shape. The various machines and devices were gleaming under the cool light, but they remained untouched, and Lili was keen to note the lack of general whirring.
That brought her attention back to what Chloe had under her microscope. The petri dish was clear. In fact, it was set aside next to the microscope, which rang the alarm bells in Lili’s head.
“Chloe?”
Without an answer, Lili rounded to Chloe’s side, panic tugging at her expression.
And just as swiftly, Lili’s concern dropped.
Chloe was an enigma. Their colleagues often deemed her as an eccentric, excessive overachiever. She had been that way since she was a PSI cadet, dedicated to her craft. As much of a topic as she was around the water cooler, the younger agents flinching whenever Bobby cracked his knuckles at the mere sound of derision intermingling with her name, Lili thought she fully understood Chloe.
However, Lili was also a Psychonaut. She expected the unexpected. And Chloe always provided puzzles to solve.
Somehow, quite possibly because she may or may not have been alien, Chloe was sleeping while standing up. Her head started lolling to the side, and her breathing was gentle. Her chest rose and fell steadily, and ensuring her safety, Lili pressed her head to her heart, hearing a rhythmic beat.
Lili tutted. “Sleeping on the job, huh? In that case…”
The conclusion was simple. She was going to permit Chloe to keep dreaming as she swayed from side to side, a grumble rolling in her mouth. Lili pivoted Chloe, who slowly rolled forward and landed on Lili’s back. She scooped Chloe’s right leg around her waist and followed it with the other. As Chloe slumped on her back, her cheek squished to her skull, Lili clasped Chloe’s hands around her chest, mischievously snickering.
“Okay, your ass-” She adjusted Chloe, ensuring the piggyback ride would go smoothly. “-is going to the medical wing.”
But approximately three steps until she reached the door, a protest was supplied.
“Nooo.”
Chloe shifted, trying to slide off. Lili rolled her eyes and veered ahead, giggling at the yipe Chloe uttered. When she tightened her limbs around Lili, briefly constricting her, Lili squared herself and peered at Chloe over her shoulder, finding an adorable, but unconvincing, pout on her face.
“Babe, I caught you sleeping on your feet,” she stated, and she marched, exiting the lab. “Any longer? You might’ve slammed face-first into the table.”
“But my sample-”
“-wasn’t in the microscope or the petri dish, and you didn’t get a sample. Also? Your lab was way quieter because you didn’t start.”
Chloe groaned, but relinquished her fighting spirit. She sank into Lili’s hair and muffled her whining. Lili grinned from ear to ear as she carried Chloe through the Atrium and up to the second floor, her destination being the pure white and teal wing. The smell of cleaning products and antiseptics welcomed them and fueled a sigh from Chloe, Lili feeling her chin thudding against the top of her head with every step.
Hollis, sauntering behind the receptionist’s desk, greeted them as she changed her gloves. She spared them a single look before directing Lili to an open cot in an empty, single room. Lili was happy to oblige and trotted inside the hospitable boudoir, furnished more like a stay in a motel rather than an emergency room. Chloe continued her begrudging acceptance as Lili unceremoniously dumped her onto the thin mattress, the springs creaking and metal bed frame shifting.
“You work way too hard,” she insisted as she telekinetically tugged off Chloe’s sneakers and tossed them in a nearby bin. Pushing down on Chloe’s shoulder and tugging off her vest when Chloe tried rising, she raised the blanket and added, “Hold on. Quit squirming for a second. Were you pulling another all-nighter?”
Chloe stared at her, bright, deep green eyes unblinking. Then, her lips pursed until they were practically nonexistent.
Lili sneered, setting the garment on a nearby nightstand. She kicked off her own flats and threw off her coat, letting it sail over Chloe’s. She settled on the only course of action, after carefully considering every action Chloe could have taken by disregarding them.
Chloe’s hands moved toward the covers, a subtle sign of escape. Lili promptly flung them up to sprawl next to Chloe. As the blankets fluttered over them, Lili wreathed her arm around Chloe’s shoulder and gently coaxed her in. Chloe’s cheek rested against her forearm, Lili feeling a faint heat warming against her skin, and confirming the flush dusting Chloe’s face, she couldn’t help but grin.
Willful as she was, Chloe asked, “Don’t you have work?”
“I do, but I’m taking my mandatory mental health break-” Lili held her tight, smirking. “-and so are you. You’re overdue.”
Chloe gave a half-hearted sulk. But it lasted a mere moment before she curled into Lili, clinging to her shirt. Her eyelids fluttered, then slid shut.
Such a sight provided Lili with a unique stance.
“Seeing you sleeping on your feet, maybe you didn’t have the right picture as a kid,” Lili wondered, and Chloe immediately snapped open one eye. “I think you’re a vampire.”
Chloe leered at her, flummoxed. Then, she looked at the plain, patterned wall. She inhaled, held it, and mumbled, “I’ll have to test for any latent vampiric tendencies later. Perhaps you can provide valuable aid.”
“Oh, how?” Without an answer, Lili murmured, "Chloe?"
But she was already drifting to sleep, smiling, nestling into Lili as if she were an oversized teddy bear. Lili caressed through her short hair and was ready to join her.
“I believe I authorized bedrest for only Agent Barge.”
Lili flicked her head to the doorway, finding Hollis crossing her arms. She flashed the Second Head a bright, toothy grin and pointed at Chloe.
“Well, if I get up, we both know she’ll make a break for her lab.”
Hollis seemed to consider her argument. She narrowed her eyes on Chloe, humming. Then, she washed her hands of the matter, and Lili promptly nestled into the pillow with a triumphant laugh.