Work Text:
Scarlet was sick.
And she hated it with her very soul.
Millions of years of human evolution, and she could still get the common cold.
This was fucking ridiculous.
Tanya noticed she was sick immediately - of course she did, Tanya noticed everything - and forced her to stay home and rest.
Scarlet only agreed because it was a Friday, and she was in no mood to sound like Elmo during an argument because of her congested nose.
She groaned in frustration, getting up from the bed.
She was bored as hell, and Tanya’d give her an earful and then some if she did even a hint of work.
She instantly regretted her decision, however, when her vision did that stupid pixilated thing, and she swayed precariously on her feet for a moment before steadying herself.
She grumbled curses of sheer hatred under her breath, running a hand through her long hair as she padded around the house, searching for something to quell that annoying itch for…well, Scarlet didn’t even know. And that pissed her off even more.
She shivered slightly, but huffed and continued on.
Tanya explicitly wanted her to get rest - and she was trying!
But she was too sick to sleep, and there was only so much Instantgram drama she could scroll through before the novelty wore off.
She went to the living room - there were no good shows to watch on the TV, and reading would probably give her a headache on top of anything else, she honestly didn’t know how her lover did it.
Then she made her way to the kitchen - Tanya promised to bring home dinner, and Scarlet was no chef.
She skipped the gym room - there was no way she was doing anything physically active in this state.
Finally, she was at their personal studies - again, Tanya seemed to have this sixth sense whenever she was working when she wasn’t supposed to, so she immediately dropped the idea.
With another, far more exaggerated groan, Scarlet made her way back to the bedrooms, resigning herself to rotting in her bed and attempting to sleep until her lover came.
…
But then she paused in the hallway, turning towards Tanya’s room.
She didn’t know what possessed her, but she made her way there instead.
She closed the door behind her, stepping into the room and adjusting herself to the space.
Even with her congested nose, Scarlet could recognize the scent of her lover’s perfume.
Tanya’s bedroom was the most organized place she’s ever seen.
Everything had a specific place in a specific order, and it was just so absurdly neat in so many individual ways.
It was like looking at an art composition.
Scarlet’s eyes drank in the scene, but they paused when she spotted something on Tanya’s bed.
Her home sweater.
One of her home sweaters, actually.
Because, of course, Tanya needed to have multiple.
Yes, there was apparently a sweater specifically for home and specifically for work, even though they were literally the exact style and only differed in colour.
Tanya’s work sweater was a classy navy blue and was part of her work uniform.
Tanya’s home sweater, on the other hand, was the exact same old, worn-out plum coloured one she’s had since sophomore year of college.
She kept all her clothes in very good condition, but its age was starting to show as the years went on.
Despite its faded colour and little stitched-together tears, Tanya stubbornly refused to part with it, much to her annoyance.
Scarlet could buy her hundreds of good-quality sweaters from the exact same brand!
But nooo, Tanya wanted the 5+ year old sweater with the faint tea stain on the collar.
She said that the little scrapes and such accumulated over time meant that it was ‘well used and loved’.
Whatever the hell that meant.
Scarlet scoffed, picking up the neatly folded garment with two fingers, letting it hang limply in the air like she was inspecting a dead animal.
Honestly, what was so special about it?
…
Okay.
Scarlet was cold, and admittedly curious.
She’d take it off immediately after, she just wanted to figure out what all the fuss was about.
With an exhale of deep regret and self-inflicted defeat, she pulled the stupid thing over her head, tugging the armholes through.
It was…surprisingly nice.
Well, nicer than she was expecting - which wasn’t much anyway.
She was expecting the comfort of a giant piece of lint.
Despite being worn out, it was admittedly good material, and Tanya’s unique scent was a little stronger now.
Soft and cozy, yet firm.
There was a sense of…warmth and familiarity that she couldn’t pinpoint, but it was a welcome relief from the feverish sorrows of her illness-induced suffering.
Scarlet couldn’t exactly explain to herself what she was doing, but she walked around the room for a little bit, before flopping on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Doing nothing was absolutely draining when you were sick, apparently.
This fucking sucked.
She’d get up in a few minutes, but for now, she let her limbs sink into the mattress, idly recalling moments when Tanya would wear this sweater.
She had a set schedule for which sweater she wore on what date.
It was one of those ridiculously odd habits her lover had that Scarlet unfortunately found amusing over the years.
At least it served a practical purpose - Scarlet only had to look at the colour of Tanya’s top to figure out what day of the week it was.
She blinked slowly, subconsciously curling into the bedsheets.
Tanya always had this grounding scent of musky jasmine and honeysuckle.
It wasn’t anything like Scarlet’s more intense and sensual perfumes, but she appreciated its subtly now as it seemed to lull her into calmness.
She wasn’t sniffling as often, and her coughing was less harsh than before. Those annoying shivers were gone too.
It was most likely some weird unintentional placebo effect, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain, reaching for the folded blanket by the pillows. Just for the purpose of staying warm.
Yeah.
She’d lay down for a little while and then go back to her room.
Maybe she could convince Tanya to get her coffee on the way back.
//
Tanya thankfully managed to beat Friday traffic and get home earlier than anticipated, resting the sushi containers on the counter as she went to check on her lover.
Except…Scarlet wasn’t where she was supposed to be.
Typical.
Of course.
What else was she expecting from her stubborn lover who didn’t believe in sick days?
Her room was empty, but curiously, her phone was still on the bed.
Tanya immediately checked the study - no Scarlet, to her relief. At least she hadn’t run off to play aspiring CEO.
However, the bathrooms were empty, and the house was oddly quiet.
Scarlet didn’t respond when she called her name.
It’s not like she would’ve gone anywhere without her phone, so where in the world was she..?
Tanya got her answer when she entered her own room, spotting that familiar dark hair flowing out from under the blanket.
She paused for a bit, and couldn’t help the crooked little smile that made its way onto her face, confused but also utterly endeared.
With soft steps, she set her bag down on the nightstand and took a moment to admire her lover.
Scarlet was curled into the weighted blanket, only her head poking out from the cocoon she wrapped herself in.
Her expression was relaxed, and she took soft, steady puffs of breath.
Tanya felt her heart do that annoying fuzzy giddy thing, but she’s gotten used to it over the years, instead kneeling down and gently pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She was less warm than when she checked before work, so that was a good sign of recovery.
Scarlet stirred slightly, groaning and shifting on the bed.
“Good afternoon, Scar~ Had a nice nap?”
Scarlet blinked for a moment, her eyes finding Tanya’s figure before her eyes widened and she scowled.
Even barely awake, that pink hue still found its way to Scarlet’s ears.
“Shut up..”
She grumbled halfheartedly, sitting up against the headboard.
The blanket slipped down to her waist and—
“…Is that…my sweater, Scar?”
Scarlet looked down like she was caught embezzling government funds, and that subtle blush became far more prominent as it spread to her cheeks.
She spluttered uselessly for a moment, every retort dying on her tongue at the obvious truth.
Tanya couldn’t help but take the opportunity to tease. Scarlet always had some smug, playful comment about Tanya’s wardrobe - especially about this particular sweater.
The irony was just too sweet.
“Awh…did you miss me? Hm, Scar~?”
Her lover scowled even harder, the intensity of it softened by the flush on her ears and cheeks.
“Wha—…shut the hell up, why don’t you?!”
“What? I can’t act surprised? I thought you hated this sweater, after all.”
Tanya grinned, lifting her eyes up in mock contemplation.
“What did you call it again? An ugly rag that would be better used for cleaning~?”
Scarlet didn’t have a rebuttal, her insistent and rather creative insults about Tanya’s wardrobe coming back to bite her in the ass with a vengeance.
Instead, she hissed unintelligible words mixed with very intelligible curses as she tried to furiously tug the sweater off, trying to save herself from as much humiliation as possible.
Tanya laughed softly at the attempt at course correction, playfully swatting her hands away and tugging the garment back down.
“Oh dear, it looks so cute on you. Why take it off?”
Scarlet let out an embarrassed sound of indignation, her hands beating frantically at her arms, but Tanya only hummed in amusement, pulling her lover into her lap.
“I missed you too, y’know.”
She murmured softly against Scarlet’s collarbone, her heart swelling in concealed elation when her lover immediately relaxed in her hold despite herself, sighing with annoyance.
“…You insufferable idiot.”
“Your insufferable idiot, considering the way you surrounded yourself with my things the moment I left.”
Scarlet huffed, rolling her eyes dramatically enough for Tanya to see.
“You’re exaggerating things.”
“Mn…sure~”
Tanya couldn’t explain it, but she loved Scarlet like this. The idea that her girlfriend missed her so much she put on her sweater and went to take a nap in her bed…
Well, it was undeniably cute.
She leaned up, pressing a kiss to Scarlet’s lips.
“T-Tanya!”
She was pushed back into the headboard, Scarlet’s tone chastising.
“I’m sick. Remember, dumdum?”
Tanya grinned again at Scarlet’s uncharacteristically flustered nature, but nodded simply.
That was a very good point.
She supposed she let herself get carried away.
“Alright, alright. I brought sushi, if you want to eat early.”
“Ugh, no. Wanna go back to bed.”
To add to her point, Scarlet slumped over like dead weight, nuzzling into Tanya and nipping her ear slightly.
Tanya chuckled, but complied to the unspoken request, slipping out of the bed and letting her settle into the sheets again.
It was only 4:30, she could let her rest for another hour.
Besides, the meds she had to take were drowsy, so she’d get her nighttime sleep regardless.
Scarlet stared at her with an odd expression, and she looked away when Tanya met her eyes.
They’ve been dating long enough for her to know what that means.
“…Would you like to tell me something, Scar~?”
Tanya prompted with a croon, underlying amusement present in her tone as her fingers idly traced her lover’s arm.
Scarlet seemed to be seriously contemplating for a moment, before her hands gripped the blanket tighter.
“I’m cold.”
“That’s fair. Would you like me to turn the heater on?”
…
“…Tanya?”
“Yes, Scar?”
“Shut the fuck up and come here.”
Tanya tried, rather unsuccessfully, to hide her amusement as she slipped into bed.
Scarlet threw the blanket over her, and promptly nuzzled into her neck, wrapping around her in a cuddly sort of way that was akin to perhaps a koala.
She was slightly warm from her cold, and it was a welcome relief from the crisp coolness of Tanya’s office.
Scarlet was never this needy despite being rather physically affectionate, and Tanya took the time to silently savour this rare moment, kissing her hair and soothingly scratching her scalp with her nails.
Scarlet groaned softly, already starting to go limp in her arms.
It was odd to see and feel her sweater on someone else, but certainly not unwelcome.
Tanya squeezed just slightly in wordless affection, her free hand rubbing her back in slow up and down motions.
Noticing that Scarlet was quickly drifting off, Tanya kissed her head again, her voice a low murmur.
“Love you, Scar.”
Her lover tried to scoff, although it sounded more like a yawn.
“Mhm…love ya too.”
Tanya felt the brush of lips against her neck, and then Scarlet was out cold again, breathing peacefully against her skin.