CHAELISA One-shots

Her Sister's Keeper

**

Lisa Manoban could not remember a time when she’d felt more miserable than she did right now. A hundred tiny workmen with a hundred tiny drills were inexorably boring their way into her skull, which felt entirely too small for her brain. Her throat felt as though someone had poured a desert into her mouth and then put her in a dehydrator. Her limbs felt heavy and thick as tree trunks. And her ears, God, her ears were being assaulted by a disembodied voice that was steadily increasing in pitch, volume and hysteria to the point where she was genuinely concerned her head might split open from the vibrations.

Forcing her eyes open, she tried to locate the source of the noise so she could ask it nicely to please cease and desist. Her vision was bleary and she had to blink several times before the room came into focus. Flowery wallpaper, a sloped ceiling, pretty drapes over the window. Chaeyoung’s room. Which meant that –

“What do you mean she was ‘fine all night until she wasn’t’?” Her girlfriend’s voice cracked like a whip from downstairs. Whoever had designed the Park homestead had definitely not put much thought into soundproofing.

“Dude, she actually was fine until those last few shots-”

“The last few? Did you not think at some point that maybe she’d had enough? That maybe the average person can’t survive on your diet of whisky and endless cynicism?”

“She’s an adult, she could have stopped if she wanted to. Besides, you wanted us to bond, right? Girl, your girlfriend is so fun when she’s drunk. Not to mention an incredible dancer. No wonder you can’t keep your hands off her. I mean if I wasn’t worried about you shooting me in my sleep and if I wasn’t, you know, accelerated-cursed-pregnant, I might even consider-”

“Ugh! Just ugh! I don’t even know where to start with that. Here, make yourself useful and watch the eggs. I’m going to go check on her.”

The words had hardly arranged themselves into a coherent sentence in Lisa’s fuzzy brain when there were soft footfalls on the stairs and the door to Chaeyoung’s bedroom creaked open. Chaeyoung stepped quietly into the room, leaning against the doorjamb with her arms crossed and a stony expression on her face.

“Hi,” Lisa tried for upbeat and casual, but she could tell from Chaeyoung’s deepening frown that she was not entirely successful.

“So.”

“So.”

“You puked in one of my boots last night.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And my room smells like a cross between a candy-cane store and a distillery.”

“I’m sorry ‘bout that too.”

“You should probably get up. Your shift starts in twenty minutes.”

“Shit!” Lisa sat bolt upright, regretting it immediately when the head rush hit her like an eighteen-wheeler. She stared bleary-eyed around the room, looking for her uniform, her phone, her boots and her will to live.

“I’m just kidding. I called Jisoo for you, told her you were sick.” Chaeyoung was finally smiling, shaking her head gently as she perched herself on the edge of the bed beside Lisa.

Lisa groaned, flopping back onto her pillow. “Park Chaeyoung, you are going to be the death of me.”

“Not just yet, I hope.” Gentle fingers brushed the hair away from her face and Chaeyoung leaned down to press a soft kiss to her temple. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m never going to think of Christmas the same way again. I don’t even want to look at another peppermint shot again in my life.”

“So Alice really didn’t touch a drop of alcohol last night?”

“Nope. Beat her to it errytime,” Lisa said proudly.

The smile that Chaeyoung gave her in response to that made her stomach flip in the best possible way. “I can’t even stay mad at you for getting flaming drunk at a strip club with my sister.”

“But I puked in your boot.”

“It’s okay, I have a lot of those. But...I only have one dysfunctional sister and soon-to-be baby niece or nephew.”

“You’re going to be an aunty.” Lisa said, the realisation hitting her again and making her grin from ear to ear.

“Yes. Yes I am.” Chaeyoung laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling in that way Lisa loved. Then her expression turned serious and she leaned in close again, cradling Lisa’s face in both hands. “And so are you.”

Lisa inhaled sharply, losing herself in the intensity of Chaeyoung’s gaze and the warmth blooming in her chest. Her tongue felt heavy with the weight of the words she’d been wanting to say for weeks now; words that she’d swallowed countless times because the timing was never right, the moment never enough, her courage always failing at the last second.

“I love you,” Chaeyoung said fiercely, resting her forehead against Lisa’s and tangling her fingers in her hair.

Lisa laughed, feeling her head spin and her spirits soar. “God, I love you too, Park Chaeyoung. More than you can ever know.”

The moment was short-lived and ruined by a truly horrible smell wafting into the room. “Is someone burning socks?” Lisa asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust and feeling her stomach turn.

“I may have left Alice in charge of breakfast.”

“Ah.”

“Wait here? I’ll be right back.” Chaeyoung kissed her lightly on the tip of the nose.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Lisa smiled, meaning it.

**

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