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Zoey would never, not in a million years, tell anyone she didn’t feel good. That was her thing. No matter what, she could be wherever someone needed her, even if it was inconvenient for her; she’d make it work, so they wouldn’t leave.
Mira and Rumi were constantly trying to show her that she didn’t need to think like that anymore, through the little and big things, since they’d come together 3 years ago. But it was kind of hard to change everything you’d had to learn in your entire childhood.
That is why Zoey now found herself, dizzy and not really sure if she was even conscious at this point, in front of the sink, slowly scrubbing dishes after dinner.
She watched the soap drain down the sink as she put the last plate away with a shaky hand, and swallowed, feeling the telltale sign of a sore throat coming in.
Mira was helping tidy up the kitchen while Rumi was out buying some snacks at the convenience store. And of course, she noticed the smaller girl looking like she’d seen a ghost, or she was sick.
“Zoey?”
Zoey closed the cabinet door and leaned on the counter, trying to stop the room from spinning. What would happen if I fell over right now? That would hurt, right?
“Zoey!” Mira tried again.
“Huh?”
Mira came up behind her. “Hey, are you okay? You seem kind of…” Mira tried to choose her words carefully, “tired?”
“Uhhh…no?”
“No, what? No, you’re not okay, or no, you’re not tired?”
“Both?” Zoey mentally smacked herself. What was she even saying?
“Baby, you’re not making any sense. Come sit down,”
Zoey let Mira guide her to the couch, latching on to her arm. She could barely think at this point; her head hurt, she was so dizzy, and the fact that it hurt to swallow was starting to drive her crazy. “Mira I think I’m dying,” she deadpanned.
“No, you’re not, baby, but I think you might be sick-” Zoey sneezed. “Or are definitely sick.”
“Noooo, I’m not,” she whined. Her brain hurt too much to be working as any sort of filter at this point. Mira rolled her eyes affectionately and reached for her phone to let Rumi know what was up. “Miraaa, please don’t tell Rumi!”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I told her…teach her…Fortnite…” Zoey mumbled, her eyes closed as she leaned almost completely on Mira now, her head tucked into her neck.
“Anyway…”
Zoey’s sick can u buy medicine?
Ru: Medicine? R u sure?
I don’t care what she says make her eat it
Ru: okay… how is she?
She’s…idk but u being here would help…
Ru: omw!
“Did you just text her…” Zoey said, practically whispering.
“Maybe. Let’s get you to bed though, I think you’re getting worse”
Zoey had no energy left to protest and accepted her fate of being lifted up by Mira and gently carried to their bed.
“You know I don’t like being carried,” Zoey groaned.
“Sorry, love, no other choice,” Mira said, worry sneaking into her voice.
She placed Zoey in their bed and covered her up in blankets making sure she was warm. Zoey winced, being sick always seemed to hurt more for her than it did for her girlfriends.
“Ughh..”
Her throat hurt so bad…maybe water would help? She looked up at Mira, who was sitting on the bed looking at her warily.
“What is it?”
Zoey hesitated for a second before saying “water? Um, can i have some water?”
“Of course, be right back,” Mira ran into the kitchen glad to have a concrete thing she could do for Zoey, beating a world record for water pouring (and water splashing out) and ran back in to Zoey who was laying in her bed staring at the ceiling.
“Here you go, Zo,” she helped Zoey sit up and take the water. “What were you looking at there?”
“What do you mean?” she said into the cup as she drank.
“Uh…nothing. Rumi’s going to be home soon.” Mira said, watching Zoey’s shoulders visibly relax. She knew Zoey had probably been sick at least 5 times in the last year that she never knew about, but she wanted to do her best to take care of the smaller girl now that she actually knew she was sick.
“I can’t be sick right now,” Zoey said suddenly, sitting up and fighting the wave of dizziness that reminded her it was still there. “I have things to do, and like I need to study, and just not be sick. And I can’t lay down it hurts when I lay down…” Zoey couldn’t think, she was suddenly feeling very overwhelmed by the idea of Mira and Rumi taking care of her tonight. She wanted to not be sick but she didn’t want to rest, to be honest she didn’t know what she wanted.
Mira gazed at her worriedly unsure of what to say when she heard the door opening and closing. Rumi was back.
“Well…if you don’t want to lay down then should we go see Rumi?” Mira said the first thing she could think of. Zoey wiped the tears that had been welling up in her eyes and nodded, reaching out her arms for Mira to help her out of bed.
“I can walk myself,” she said quietly, as she leaned basically on her weight on the taller girl as they walked back out to the living room.
“Mhmm, I know you can”
Rumi set the plastic bags down on the counter and took in the sight in front of her. Zoey, pale and glassy-eyed hanging on to Mira like a little kid, and Mira herself looking just unprepared enough for Rumi to spring into action. “Ok first thing, and yes we are listening to me now, Zoey you are sitting down and not getting up till I say you can,”
Zoey looked up at her dejectedly as Rumi came up to her and brushed a stray tear from her cheek.
“But I have things to do..” Zoey whispered.
“And would it be easier to do them if you weren’t sick?”
Zoey pondered this for a moment while Mira and Rumi looked down at her slightly amused.
“Yes..?”
“Exactly. So you are going to sit and we are going to make you better!”
“Promise?” Zoey winced as her throat protested the use of her voice.
Her girlfriends practically melted at Zoey’s cuteness before Rumi nodded, “promise, now you- “she unlatched Zoey from Mira, brought her to the couch, and spread their weighted blanket over her- “sit here like a good girl and let us take care of things.”
Zoey nodded, starting to feel content to let Rumi and Mira handle things. She couldn’t do much but whatever they wanted right now anyway.
In the kitchen, Rumi got Mira started warming up water for tea, and she began unpacking her haul from the convenience store. “I got this fever reducer stuff, it’s new so hopefully it’ll convince her to take it,”
“Your job, not mine,” Mira said, raising her hands. “I’m not tryna fight a losing battle,”
Rumi rolled her eyes and went back to the living room, where a now half-asleep Zoey lay, taking shallow breaths and trying not to think about everything she should be doing at this moment.
“Zoey..? How you feeling?”
Zoey murmured a quiet “not good” without further elaboration as talking was not high on her to-do list at the moment.
“Can I take your temperature?” Rumi asked, holding up a thermometer.
Zoey hid her face under the blanket and reached and arm out from under, motioning for Rumi to hand it to her.
“Okay..” Rumi skeptical handed it to her and it disappeared into the fuzzy abyss under the blanket for a few seconds before she heard two small beeps and a hand held the the thermometer back out to her.
Rumi picked it up, trying not to laugh at how cute her girlfriend could be when she was sick, and her expression turned worried as she saw it said 101.7 degrees.
“Zoey, you have a fever. Take some medicine, it’ll help you feel better.”
Zoey threw the blanket off her face. “Medicine?!” She exclaimed as if Rumi had told her to drink rotten fish juice. “No way! You know, those medicines just make me feel more sick! My immune system will handle this just fine!”
Zoey shut her eyes as the outburst had her feeling nauseous now.
“Right… I know most of the pills you’ve tried you said it made you feel more sick, but I got a new one today!” Rumi held up the bottle she’d just bought. “How do you know this one isn’t the one that’ll actually work!”
Mira walked in with the tea, silently amazed at how well Rumi was doing with Zoey. Like a mother who knew exactly how to get their kid to budge.
Zoey looked back at them, again, weighing her options. She nodded at Rumi and Mira helped her sit up and take the pills from Rumi, washing it down with a sip of the chamomile tea Mira had just cooled down slightly. (Zoey wasn’t a fan of too hot and had burned her tongue far too many times)
“Good job Zoey,” Rumi cooed and thankfully Zoey was not in the headspace to be embarrassed and she smiled up at Rumi at the praise.
Rumi sat down on the couch next to her and pulled her in so Zoey was laying her head on Rumi’s lap while the older girl ran her fingers through her hair soothingly. She felt herself starting to get drowsier, blinking slower and eyes struggling to open now. Rumi pointed at Zoey and Mira got to work, dimming the lights and clearing away the tea and medicine. Zoey shifted a bit, getting more comfortable, and finally succumbed to sleep. This time it didn’t hurt as much as usual was the last thing she thought as she drifted, tethered by Mira and Rumi, free to float.