In the Home of Chat

Alya

Alya coughed after depositing her breakfast into the porcelain bowl of her toilet. Her body still attempted to go through the motions of heaving up anything, but to no avail, she had nothing left to give in her. With one last spit into the soupy substance below her, she reached around the side of the toilet to press down the handle and flush the evidence of her sickness away, watching as it began to be replaced by fresh water once again. With careful movements, she heaved her tired body up onto the seat and glanced down at the drawer in the counter by her. She knew that this habit of losing her breakfast every day could only mean one thing, but the box that rested in that drawer carried with it a burden that she didn't believe she was ready to carry just yet.

"Hey babe, you okay in there?" She jerked her head up to the door as a fresh wave of cold sick rolled up through her body. Nino, her husband of nearly a year, and the one who kept her going late at night when she wanted nothing more than to give up on a story and curl up in their bed for the foreseeable future, was worried about the recent developments in her daily routine. She knew that his worries would only grow the longer she waited to utilize what she had bought only the day before, but just thinking of testing made her body freeze in fear and her blood run cold. She wasn't ready.

"I'm fine now," she called out after taking a moment to catch her breath, "I- I gotta get ready. I'm needed in the office this morning." She stood as she finished her explanation to her husband and reached for the orange toothbrush waiting for her by the sink. She scrubbed away the foul taste in her mouth before pulling her long ombre brown and pink hair into a tight bun.

"You've been feeling sick all week now," the dark skinned amber eyed man had not waited any longer to open the door and make his way into the bathroom. He joined her at the sink and placed his hand against her forehead to feel for a temperature that she knew would not be there. He frowned at his findings, knowing his wife would not stay home, even if he asked her to, without a good reason to. He watched as she reached into her makeup case to retrieve the pallet for her face and felt himself frowning at the sight. She hummed a bit as she applied some deep browns to her eyelids before catching a glimpse of the look on his face in the mirror.

"Look, today is important, I'm cleaning up that Chat Noir piece which is front page stuff." She shrugged as she explained her plans to a still frowning Nino, "I promise that after today I will take it easy for a bit and even go out on that date we have been planning forever." She leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to apply her lipstick.

"I just want you to take better care of yourself love, you've been so stressed over this story and it seems to me like it's affecting you physically." He moved to wrap his arms around her waist as he spoke, and accentuated his words with a sweet lingering kiss on her temple.

"It's just temporary babe." She assured him as she turned in his arms to drape her own over his shoulders. She gave him a sweet as honey smile as she leaned in close to him, "I promise, you'll see." she gave him a playful wink before brushing her lips against his own in a chaste kiss. He groaned dramatically as she tried to pull away and held her a bit tighter against himself.

"How long do you have to work today anyways?" he asked in a voice almost high pitched enough to be a wine as she giggled in his arms.

"Well, at least until after lunch, I promised to eat with Mari on her first day of University." She answered as she continued her giggling fit, his fingers brushed along her most ticklish spots, not helping her situation at all.

"oh, yeah, today's her first day isn't it?" He asked as he finally ceased his attack on her sides. She snorted as his fingers stilled and rested her forehead against his chest.

"Yes, that's today. You can come if you want," She teased, knowing full well what his answer would be before the words even left his lips.

"Yeah, fuck that. I love you, and I love Mari, but when the two of you together it gets a bit trying. I'm not looking to swim in a sea of estrogen today." They both laughed joyously at his words as she slapped his chest playfully. After that moment they settled into their peaceful morning rituals. Nino styled his short afro carefully in the mirror of the bathroom while Alya laid out a few outfits on the foot of their bed to pick from. He threw on a loose fitting polo shirt and a pair of deep green trousers. While she chose an easy to manage classic orange sun dress that Marinette herself had made her for her birthday.