Work Text:
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱ ♡ ⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Vi swears she is not someone who likes Valentine’s Day.
She had never seen the point in the holiday before, it always seemed like another topside frivolity that people in Zaun had no reason to participate in, let alone extra money to spend on useless things like flowers and stuffed animals.
And when she was in Stillwater, her focus had been simply on making it through each day – she hadn’t even thought of the concept of romance.
Yet, now here she is, carefully hanging chemtech-powered fairy lights from the rafters of the Kiramman greenhouse. Things have certainly changed.
She shakes her head and chuckles to herself as she balances carefully on the ladder, draping the lights around the beams. Although it feels unfamiliar, it also makes something warm and happy bubble up in her chest at the fact that she now has the time, space, and someone special to celebrate this cheesy holiday with.
Vi has been planning this surprise dinner for Caitlyn for a few weeks now. She knows Caitlyn isn’t expecting anything, seeing as how her girlfriend is not exactly one for sentimental holiday celebrations. But Vi felt like doing something for her anyway – a chance to celebrate their love, and their newfound peaceful lives together. After so much loss and pain, celebrating the tiny moments of joy in their lives feels more important than ever.
She’s planning on surprising Caitlyn with a romantic candlelight dinner in the greenhouse at the Kiramman Manor. It’s a small yet cozy space, and even though her girlfriend doesn’t garden, Vi knows Caitlyn loves coming in here to admire the flowers and plants that the groundskeeper and Tobias grow in here. Vi had already brought in a small table and two chairs, and had borrowed a ladder to hang lights to increase the ambiance. After getting the lights up, Vi is going to cook dinner, and everything should be ready by the time Caitlyn makes it home from work. It’s going to be perfect.
Well, almost perfect, Vi thinks, as she hastily wipes her nose on the sleeve of her jacket, then muffles a trio of sneezes into it that make her head pound stuffily. She had woken this morning with a scratchy throat that has progressed to an itchy, runny nose and incessant sneezing over the course of the day. She’s also started coughing a little, and there’s a headache pounding behind her eyes, but she’s doing her best to ignore all of it.
She can’t be sick. Today is about Caitlyn, and a romantic night for both of them, and Vi is definitely not going to ruin that with a cold. She’s powered through plenty of injuries, illnesses, broken ribs, and sprained joints before, so she figures she’ll just put it out of her mind and it won’t be a problem. Hopefully Caitlyn won’t notice.
The flowers in the greenhouse that Vi is definitely allergic to aren’t exactly helping her feel better either, but it’ll be fine. She can handle a few sniffles.
Although she teases Caitlyn for insisting on carrying a handkerchief with her everywhere, Vi has to admit she could desperately use one right now. She presses her nose firmly into the sleeve of her jacket, trying to stop it from running, but just manages to trigger another round of sneezing.
With a groan and a cough, Vi finishes hanging the last of the lights and carefully makes her way down the ladder. Her head is a little swimmy and the constant sneezing isn’t helping her balance either, so she’s glad to be back on solid ground.
She rubs her eyes with a fist, trying to get rid of the itch there. She’ll have to see if they have any more of those eye drops Caitlyn’s doctor had given Vi last spring, and maybe she’ll take an allergy pill too. She hates taking them because they make her drowsy, but she may have no choice if she wants to make it through dinner without sneezing every five seconds. Maybe she’ll have some coffee to keep herself awake.
Vi unfolds a linen tablecloth and fans it out over the small table situated in the middle of the greenhouse, then tops it with a few candles in glass jars of varying sizes, and puts a small, blooming pot of pink mini roses in the center of the table. She stands back to admire her work, sniffling into her sleeve again.
Her body may not be a fan of the flowers but it looks beautiful. Twilight is just starting to fall, casting the greenhouse in soft blue light, and the fairy lights hung from the rafters make the space feel magical. There are flowers blooming all around the space, green vines climbing the glass walls of the greenhouse, and Vi knows Caitlyn will absolutely love it.
Sneezing harshly again, she gathers up the ladder and quickly exits the greenhouse. Hopefully her nose will calm down once she’s inside, and has taken some medicine. She won’t let it get in the way of tonight.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱ ♡ ⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Vi splashes her face with cold water, drying it on a nearby towel, and then grimaces when she catches sight of her reflection. Her nose is flushed pink, her eyes are red and watery, and her skin looks dull. She has already taken an allergy pill and put in some eye drops, but it hasn’t seemed to do much besides make her feel drowsy. Her throat is even more painful than it was this morning, and now she’s coughing along with the annoying sneezing. She has to admit that maybe her romantic plans for this evening after dinner might not happen – she doesn’t want to get Caitlyn sick, after all. But she’s not letting this ruin their special greenhouse dinner.
Caitlyn’s due home any moment, so Vi gives her nose a hearty blow, hoping that will at least help her voice sound better. Then she heads to the kitchen to check on the food.
She brings the pasta and salad she had made out to the greenhouse, covering them, and then lights the candles on the table. Then she heads back inside to wait for her girlfriend.
When she hears Caitlyn’s key in the front door, Vi springs up from the couch she’d been resting on, coughing to clear her voice.
“Hi, baby,” she greets Caitlyn at the door with a smile and kiss, pulling her into a warm hug immediately. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Caitlyn pulls back to smile at her, but it quickly turns into a frown. “Love?” she asks, cupping a hand to Vi’s cheek. “You don’t look well. Are you ill?”
Vi shakes her head, pulling out Caitlyn’s grasp to lace their fingers together and tug her to the side door that leads to the gardens. “I’m fine, Cait,” Vi insists, cursing the telling stuffiness in her voice. “Follow me, cupcake. I have a surprise for you.”
Caitlyn misses nothing, of course. “You sound congested, darling,” she says worriedly from behind her, but Vi pretends she doesn’t hear her, leading her out the door and down the stone path to the greenhouse.
“Okay, surprise time,” Vi says once they’re close but not in sight of the greenhouse, turning to her girlfriend. “Close your eyes, baby.”
“I think you mean ‘eye’” Caitlyn jokes drily, and Vi chuckles, which turns into a small cough that she’s mostly able to hold back. Caitlyn frowns at her again, but Vi ignores it.
“Okay, ready?” She holds Caitlyn by the elbow, waiting for her to close her good eye, and then carefully leads her the rest of the way to the greenhouse.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” Vi says warmly once they’re inside, and Caitlyn opens her eye to look around in astonishment.
“Oh, love…” Caitlyn’s jaw drops, as she turns in a circle, taking in the lights wrapping them in warm light, the flowers and greenery all around them, and the table set for two. “You did all this for me?”
“Of course I did, Cait” Vi smiles, pulling her in for another kiss. “I wanted to make today special for you.”
“This is amazing,” Caitlyn says with a happy grin, and Vi can tell she means it. She’s just about to pull out a chair for Caitlyn to sit when her nose itches sharply, and she twists away into her elbow, sneezing roughly several times. She sniffles heavily afterward, resisting the urge to rub at her eyes.
“Goodness, bless you, darling,” Caitlyn frowns, placing a hand on her back and offering one of her signature handkerchiefs with her other hand. “Are you alright, Violet?”
“It’s just the flowers,” Vi sniffles, accepting the handkerchief and giving her nose a quick blow, which doesn’t seem to help her congestion much. “I’m fine.”
“Love, maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to be in here…” Caitlyn bites her lip, studying her worriedly.
“I took an allergy pill, it’s fine,” Vi repeats, wiping her nose on the handkerchief. Another cough escapes her, but she pushes it down as best she can. “C’mon cupcake, I made your favorite.”
“Fettuccine alfredo?”
“Mhm, and I even made brownies for dessert,” Vi smiles, pulling out the chair for Caitlyn, who sits down even though she’s still frowning at her.
Vi sits opposite her and starts dishing out the food for both of them, determined to see this dinner through.
It really is beautiful in the greenhouse, and Vi thinks the food is probably decent, she just can’t taste anything very well right now. But Caitlyn seems to enjoy it, and Vi listens to her tell her about her day as best she can through her clogged ears and slightly woozy head.
“And I think we’re really making progress on –” Caitlyn says, but stops when Vi holds up a finger for her to wait, hastily pressing the now-damp handkerchief to her face. She shudders with a sneeze, then three more, which leave her throat feeling raw and her head pounding.
“Ugh, sorry,” Vi sniffles thickly, wiping her nose roughly against the cloth with a small groan and cough.
“ Bless you, sweetheart,” Caitlyn sighs, reaching for hand across the table and giving her a stern look. “Love. You’re not well.”
“I’m –”
“You are not fine, Violet,” Caitlyn cuts her off gently. “You’re miserable. Is this your allergies or are you catching a cold?”
“Um…” Vi sniffles again, pushing her nose against her wrist to try to abate the itch there. She sneezes again, then sighs in resignation. “Maybe a little of both?”
“Darling,” Caitlyn groans, standing and offering a hand to help her up. “You should be in bed. Let’s get you out of here.”
“But I wanted tonight to be special,” Vi protests, not moving from her chair. “I can push through, it’s barely a sniffle.”
Caitlyn lets out a long breath and crouches next to her chair, cupping her face in her hand and holding her gaze. “Love, it’s beautiful, thank you,” she says sincerely, rubbing her thumb over Vi’s tattoo on her cheekbone. “But I’m afraid I can’t enjoy it if you’re this miserable, Vi. I’d really like to take care of you now. Will you let me, please?”
Vi gives a sigh of her own, muffling another cough into her fist. “This is not how this was supposed to go.”
“It’s alright, darling,” Caitlyn soothes, gently tugging Vi to her feet and leading her out of the greenhouse with a protective hand on her back. “How about we get you cozy in bed, and I’ll bring us our dinner there?”
Vi sneezes sharply again, and Caitlyn chuckles, rubbing her back. “Bless, love. I’ll take that as a yes.”
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱ ♡ ⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Caitlyn insists they both take a shower to get any remaining pollen off them, and Vi has to admit she feels a little better afterwards, even if she spent most of their shared shower sniffling and coughing instead of enjoying her naked girlfriend the way she would like.
After Vi changes into pajamas, she lays down in bed, suddenly exhausted, and Caitlyn helps her get propped up with several pillows behind her back.
She sniffles, sneezes, and then coughs into her wrist and Caitlyn gives her a sympathetic frown.
“Poor love, you sound awful. Bless,” Caitlyn murmurs, sitting down on the side of her bed and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She hands over a stack of handkerchiefs she had procured from their wardrobe.
Vi takes one gratefully, not bothering to try to hide her congestion any more as she blows her nose for what feels like the umpteenth time, her sinuses still pounding stuffily afterward. She tosses it aside, leaning back against the pillows with another cough.
Caitlyn hums, pressing the back of her fingers to Vi’s forehead with a crease between her eyebrows. “I think you might be getting a little fever, darling. I’m going to get you some medicine, alright?”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Cait,” Vi groans, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “Some Valentine’s, huh?”
“Shh, it’s fine,” Caitlyn soothes, gently running her fingers through Vi’s hair. “I don’t mind. I just want to get you feeling better. I really wasn’t expecting anything at all tonight, love.”
“I know, that’s why I planned this,” Vi mumbles, still annoyed at herself for how this night has turned out. “It was going to be your best Valentine’s Day yet.”
“It still is, because I get to spend it with you,” Caitlyn smiles softly, pressing her lips to Vi’s forehead. “That’s all I need, darling. Fancy dinner or no, every night with you is special.”
“And you say you’re not sentimental,” Vi chuckles softly, gazing into Caitlyn’s shining blue eye.
“Only for you,” Caitlyn murmurs, lifting one of Vi’s hands and pressing a kiss to her knuckles with a small smile. “Now, rest, my love. I’ll be back with some tea and medicine.”
Vi settles back against the pillows, her head still aching and her nose still running, but with warmth spreading in her heart.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱ ♡ ⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆