Work Text:
Your alarm went off way too soon, but you sluggishly sat up anyway. As you sat there for a moment, you frowned at what felt like another headache coming on. You tried to shrug it off, telling yourself that if you ate some breakfast and drank some water, you'd be able to deal with it. After all, you were brought up with a strong work ethic; if you weren't puking up your guts or basically dying, you were well enough to go to work.
Taking a deep breath, you shoved the covers aside and swung your legs over the side of the bed to push yourself into getting up. However, the moment you stood to your feet, your head swam, and your stomach lurched. Before you realized it, you were falling backwards onto the bed. Your head barely grazed your boyfriend's leg before landing back onto the mattress.
Rafayel stirred and slowly turned over to face you.
"Uhh... you alive?" He asked groggily.
"Yeah... I just..." You tried to sit up slowly, but even as you moved, sharp pain shot up your neck and into your eyes. It was a migraine, not a headache, and it was one of the worst ones you'd had in a while. You could only slowly lower yourself back onto the bed.
"Hey..." Rafayel quickly sat up, more alert now. He laid a gentle, cool hand across your forehead.
"You don't look so good. Another migraine?"
"Yeah..." You began to nod, but even that slight movement made your head spin and your stomach churn. It felt like all the pain was focused on your forehead and right above your eyes.
"Okay. Where's your phone?"
"Nightstand." Is all you said. You pressed your head into the sheets.
"Pass code?" He asked after retrieving it from the table by your side of the bed.
You uttered the numbers through gritted teeth. It wasn't until you peered up at him and saw him making a call that you realized what he was doing.
"Hey, don't..."
He frowned at you. "Hush." He got up from the bed and leaned against the wall by the window.
“Hello, this is Rafayel.” You heard him talking to who you assumed was your boss.
“Yeah, she’s gravely ill, so she won’t be coming into work today… Right. Well, when she wakes up and is feeling up to talking, I’ll have her call to let you know how she’s doing. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.”
You frowned at him as he put the phone down and sat on the bed next to you.
“Hey, who said you could call off for me?” You grumbled. “I’m fine.”
He just gave you a Look. “Puhlease. If you’re fine like you say you are, why’d you flop down on the bed just now, like a fish washed up on the shore? I bet you can barely walk right now without falling over.”
You huffed. You knew he was right and you couldn’t argue with him. Seeing that you weren’t going to try and fight, he smiled and stroked your head.
“Hey, we both know you’re a hard worker. You hardly ever call off. One day staying at home because of a migraine won’t hurt. I’m sure they’ll understand at work too. You need your rest; that’s what’s important. Besides.”
His cool fingers caressed your warm cheek. “It’s obvious you don’t feel well, and I hate seeing you looking so tired and in pain.”
You wryly smiled. “What would I do without you, Raf?”
He let out a dramatic sigh. “I can’t even imagine. Wither away and die, probably.”
“Right. Well, could you be so kind as to take me to the couch? I don’t want to stay in bed at least.” You held out your arms towards him so he could pick you up.
“Fiiine..since you’re not feeling well.”
With a quiet laugh, he hoisted you up in his arms and carried you out of the bedroom to place you on his plush, blue couch. He then took one of his big, soft blankets and covered you with it. As you snuggled into the couch, Rafayel went over to the nearby window and opened it. You could feel the cool sea breeze on your cheeks and hear the ocean.
"There we go. Some natural ambience. It's kind of bright in here, though. You sure you wanna sit out here?" He wondered.
Your head was still aching and the pressure on your eyes still felt so heavy, you wanted to rip your eyeballs out of their sockets, but you shrugged. You just wanted a change of scenery.
"I'll survive."
He rolled his eyes. "Riiight. Why don't you wear this?" He tossed an eye mask onto your face. Pouting at him, you picked it up.
"Wow. Thanks."
"Don't mention it!" He said brightly. "Just relax. I'll get you some meds and something light to eat, 'kay?"
"Okay." You had nothing left in you to be snarky. You slipped the mask over your face and pulled the blanket up to your neck. You really wanted to take something now, but you knew you should eat something first, so you just lay on the couch hoping he'd bring something soon.
"Here, cutie. Drink some water."
Rafayel's voice was at your side a moment later and you peered up at him. He was holding a tall glass of water. You sat up slowly and took the glass.
"Drink it slowly. I made sure it wasn't too cold."
"Thank you."
He went back to the kitchen as you settled back in the couch, slowly sipping the water as he suggested. After a few minutes, you heard what sounded like glass clanking on a hard surface and the scraping of a chair against the floor. You groaned slightly and turned towards the noise. Lifting the mask slightly, you saw Rafayel sitting beside you in a chair. He had a bowl of steaming soup and you also spotted the bottle of painkillers on the coffee table.
"Soup should be okay, right? I wasn't sure how much your stomach could handle."
You weakly smiled. "It'll be fine. Thank you, Raf."
He smiled back and handed you the bowl. He watched as you ate and decided to pour out a couple of pills for you. Once it looked like you were done with the soup, he handed you the pills.
"I think I'll just veg out here for the rest of the day," you said after you downed the pills with water and nestled back in the couch.
Rafayel laughed a little. "Sure. I'll let you rest while I do some sketches. But what do you say to a nice, warm bath in a little bit? It'll be refreshing."
Your face lit up with a pleased smile as he pulled the mask back over your eyes. "Sounds awesome. You're the best, Rafayel."
"I know, I know." He teased. He leaned in to kiss your cheek. Then, before he got up, he said quietly,
"Close your eyes, listen to the sea, and just let your mind drift away. Your migraine will be gone in no time, cutie."
And with those sweet words of his, you fully believed it would.