Oneshots [IdentityV]

Bad Cold [Fiona x Emily]

Modern AU ft. Elisop

___

Idiots never get sick. Something like that. Fiona didn't know if that was true or not, but perhaps she should be glad of it in this case given the state she was in. 

She wasn't really in a thinking mood to be honest. Her body was dying of heat one second and shivering from cold the next, not to mention her head right now. Her hair was so messy it could be mistaken for a bird's nest.

The young woman was lying on her bed under a multitude of blankets, a cold compress on her forehead. She was confined in bed on her girlfriend's orders after she almost collapsed from overworking herself trying to finish her assignments for the university. She didn't have the energy to do anything anyway, so her intervention was unnecessary.

Still, being sick had its share of ups and downs. On one hand, Fiona could laze around as much as she wanted, but on the other, she was terribly bored. Watching TV or reading a book was out of the question because it would give her a headache. And doing anything else took too much energy as well. It was like a vicious circle where no matter what the outcome, the result would be that her cold would only get worse.

As she was lamenting her fate, the doorbell of her apartment rang.

The young woman grunted as she wrapped her blanket around herself before dragging her feet to the door to open it.

"Who..."

"What are you doing up? You shouldn't get out of bed!" said a female voice.

"How do you expect me to open the door for you if I don't get up..." grumbled the redhead.

"I bought medicine for your cold, tissues, more cold compresses if needed..."

The list seemed to go on and on, and Fiona's ears were ringing from listening to it.

Emily Dyer, a medical student who also happened to be the one she was dating. Medical was the word to remember in all of this. She wasn't too sure if that was an inconvenience or not but the thing about being in a relationship with such an oddball was that she knew exactly what to do in that kind of situation but there was one problem with Emily.

"What did I say? Go back to bed before you wear yourself out again-"

"Ahhhhh!" interrupted Fiona, "Em', you're acting like a mother hen again..."

"W-What!?"

The young woman's face turned from embarrassment to red at these words. It was the pure truth nevertheless and that was surely the reason why she couldn't find anything to retort.

"W-What are you talking about..." she then whispered in a calmer tone than before. "A-Anyway, let's go inside. The others should be here any minute now, too."

The others? Fiona raised an eyebrow in confusion, but she didn't have time to rant as Emily urged her into the living room.

It didn't take long for her question to be answered however when the doorbell rang again. Before she could get up, however, Emily beat her to it, adding that a sick person should not move. So the young woman sat on her sofa, wrapped in her blanket like a newborn baby. 

Fiona waited in her living room in solitude for a moment before she heard familiar voices from the doorway.

"Hey, Fio'!"

"Hello..."

"It's you guys-"

"They were worried about you when I told them you were sick. I also sent them on some errands on the way."

Fiona looked at her two new guests with surprised eyes. On one side was Eli Clark, her cousin on her mother's side and on the other was Aesop Carl, the latter's boyfriend. She hadn't expected to see them here but it actually made her happy, though she wouldn't admit it out loud.

"You shouldn't have..." she said with pink cheeks.

"Don't say that come on, aunt Yidhra would lecture me if she found out I wasn't taking care of my precious cousin!" added Eli with a laugh.

"Tsk, I'm starting to wonder if you really came here for me."

Eli shrugged with a petty smile before lifting a plastic bag he held in his hands.

"I brought you your favorite tangerines. It'll give you back some vitamins, am I forgiven?"

"Hmmmm.... Give them to me..." replied Fiona with a slight pout.

"Yes yes, Aesop also took some stuff to make rice soup since I bet you don't have anything in your fridge as usual."

Fiona ignored his last remark before grabbing the bag of tangerines and pulling one out to peel, Eli watching her do so with a chuckle as he took a seat on the carpet next to the coffee table, also peeling a tangerine.

"I'll make the rice soup," Emily informed.

"Ah, let me help you."

"Thanks, Aesop!"

Emily and Aesop left the two cousins together in the living room and went into the kitchen to make rice soup.

A silence settled in the room for a moment before the red-haired one broke it by saying,

"I hope you don't take this opportunity to come and coo with your boyfriend in front of me..."

"What are you talking about, Emily's here too anyway." he replied, popping a piece of his tangerine into his mouth.

"If you say so..."

"Other than that, how are classes going?"

"You really want to talk about that now?" asked Fiona, frowning as she swallowed her tangerine at an almost mind-blowing rate.

"Haa! The missus is so grumpy when she's sick! I should go help in the kitchen if it's like that!"

Eli pretended to speak in an exaggerated tone before getting up to join the other two in the kitchen.

Fiona was now alone in her living room, continuing to eat the tangerines as if they were bread.

She could hear the faint sound of chatter and the rice pan cooking from the kitchen.

She wasn't used to the place being so busy unlike the background music that normally played in her apartment.

Nevertheless, having people in your home every now and then was nice.

So the day passed in a flash with the company of Emily and the two men. They all ate the rice soup they had prepared while talking about anything and everything.

They would have played a game if Fiona wasn't sick, but they could always postpone it for another time.