Unwell [Fue/Moriko]

When she'd gone to homeroom that morning, Moriko had been in a daze and even more disheveled than usual. One of the girls she sits next to had actually noticed her off behavior and brought it to the teacher's attention. She'd been sent to the nurse, who had diagnosed her with a cold and a slight fever. The nurse sent her immediately to her room with medication, telling her to take the day off. Luckily it's a Friday, so she's not really missing anything too terribly important. Though now she can't enjoy the weekend like she'd been hoping to. Granted, she's not feeling up for much of anything at the moment.

Staggering unsteadily to her dorm, she'd kicked her shoes off untidily at the entrance. She'd shuffled her way to her room, dropping her bookbag at the foot of her desk. Then she'd taken off her blazer and haphazardly hung it on the back of the chair. Finally, she'd crawled under the gray covers, still fully clothed in her socks and the rest of school uniform, and promptly fell asleep. The medicine had done it's magic for most of the day, but it's effects have started to wear off and Moriko finds herself waking up.

With a low groan, Moriko listlessly rolls over in her bed, to where she's now facing the door of her room instead of the wall. Her body is one big ache. Her eyes burn, her throat hurts and her face has a faint flush to it. Despite all this, she feels more cold than hot. There's an intermittent sensation of what feels like a trickle of cold water slipping down her spine, causing a slight shiver each time. Sweat beads her brow, her disheveled hair sticking to the sides of her face and forehead. Her breath is faint and a bit labored. She's not feeling well. Not well at all.

How could this happen?? Back home she'd often been out and about in chill rain, icy snow and sudden shifts in temperature and weather. And not even a single sniffle to show from it. In fact, she was the person in her whole household who got sick the least. But now, for some unfathomable reason, she's fallen ill! Disgruntled thoughts muzzy from sleep and sickness, Moriko's gaze drifts around her dimly lit room.

The single small window near her bed has the blinds closed and dark gray blackout curtains drawn tight across it. It's still daylight outside, so some sunlight does leak through the top of the curtains and the sides. But that's the only light source. Outside of that, there's not much else to see. The walls are completely bare of any type of art or decoration. The rest of the room is equally plain. All her belongings fit easily in the small closet each room comes with, so she rarely leaves anything outside of it. The only furniture in her room is her desk and chair for studying, her bed, and her nightstand. In fact, the only sign that someone lives in this room, outside of her being in it, is the small mess she'd left on her desk. And what she's set up on her nightstand.

This is where Moriko finally finds her gaze resting, for this is where the only spec of any bright color resides. On her nightstand is a small oval picture frame, an unfinished wooden sculpture, and a tiny clear glass vase with two flowers sitting in it. The flowers are slightly wilted chrysanthemum, one a pale pink and one a soft white. A stray bit of sunlight illuminates the flowers, making them glow in the murky gloom. Unable to stop herself, Moriko's eyes fall onto the picture frame. It's hard to see in the low light, but she doesn't need to see it clearly to know what's in it.

Mood plummeting even farther, Moriko shifts until she's laying on her back. The movement makes her realize how uncomfortable she is in her sweat soaked and rumpled school uniform. It's become bunched and twisted from her tossing and turning. Closing her eyes, she raises her right arm and places it on her forehead, covering them. A familiar feeling of overwhelming guilt and loss rises in her. Swallowing, her throat sore and dry, she can feel the tears stinging her eyes. She bites her lower lip, sniffling as her nose begins to run. A few tears slip out, sliding down her face and soaking into the pillow her head rests on.

I hate this, she thinks miserably. Moriko rarely lets herself sit still for too long. Part of it is because she usually has a ton of energy that needs burning off. The other part is because if she's not actively engaged in something, then her mind wanders into places she doesn't want it to go. Memories she tries her best to stay away from.

Stop it! Angrily she wipes at her eyes, before more tears can fall, forcing them to stop. Falling still, she lies in bed, her arm still draped over her eyes. She tries focusing only on the sound of her breathing. Tries to relax, despite all the thoughts that try to take over in the silence of her room.

There was no other word to use, Fue was in an absolute tizzy.  The morning had started off wonderfully, well, as wonderfully as any morning did.  She'd woken up on time and in a fine mood, taken her photographs of the simple breakfast, and taken the photos of herself to send along to her parents.  It was a routine and nothing interfered with it to bring her mood down.  In fact, she was still riding quite high on the fact that she was now partnered up, she had gotten herself a girlfriend.  Even if she didn't entirely know how she had managed to make it happen, she could not be happier that she'd done it with only a little bit of advice from her parents.  

And what could be better than having somebody you could be close to?  Somebody you could share your days with, somebody you could share everything with?  And Fue wanted to share another day with Moriko, and then the whole weekend if the weather permitted.  She had considered some snacks and, if weather permitted, a short walk.  Well, short for Moriko.  Fue had put a lot of thought into figuring out what might be easy enough for her to manage without being too boring for Moriko.  Maybe they could do a picnic again, not quite as elaborate and well planned, but there was a magic to eating outside and even if it was just under a tree on the school grounds, that would be lovely.  

The two girls shared a year but did not share classes.  They had different focuses, of course, and they were unlucky enough not to share any of the core classes this semester.  At best, they could meet in the morning before classes began and walk together from the dorms, if they were less lucky, they wouldn't see each other until lunch.   It seemed as if it wouldn't be the lucky day as Fue got no response from Moriko's door.  Still, a slight damper wouldn't ruin her mood until lunch came around and Moriko wasn't there either.  That was less of a damper and more of a fire extinguisher.  Fue was suddenly quite worried.  Especially as her calls and texts weren't answered.  

Had she gotten in trouble and her phone confiscated?  That didn't sound like Moriko but anything could have happened.  And the trouble grew and Fue thought and realized they didn't really have any mutual friends she could ask.  She wasn't entirely sure which classes Moriko had at which times either.  So Fue fretted and worried all afternoon until she finally managed to snag an answer from a teacher's assistant who said that Moriko had gone back to the dorms because she had come down with a cold or something.  Well that wasn't good news but it was something.  Unfortunately, as classes seemed to go on for an eternity longer than Friday classes normally went, Fue grew more and more anxious again.  But they ended, finally, and Fue was out of the door like a shot.  She had stops to make.

It wasn't her style to rush into things.  Despite how fast she moved and how much of a hurry she felt, her methodical nature came to the front again.  And so it was that when she knocked and was let in by Moriko's roommate, Fue was fully prepared for a sick patient.  She wore soft and comfortable clothes, a face mask, and had replaced the cooking and camera supplies in her bag with simple food that could be microwaved, cleaning supplies, and extra tissues and cough drops.  Without more than a thank you, she made her way to Moriko's side of the dorm and knocked thrice before just walking in without waiting for any kind of reply.  As she had been told, there was Moriko and she didn't look great.

"Oh Moriko."  Fue didn't rush over, she walked halfway to her and then knelt down, opening her bag.  "This is my fault, I shouldn't have kept you out so late so often."  She began unpacking everything.  "I wish I could have been here sooner but don't worry, we're going to get you all better."  She walked on her knees over to Moriko's bed.  "How are you feeling?  Cough?  Runny nose?  Stomach?"  She placed the back of her hand against Moriko's forehead.  She hadn't done this before, but was mostly working off what she had seen in the past and what she could remember of her parents when she had been ill.  

The silence doesn't last for long. The sound of distant voices starts to rise, muffled by the walls. School must be done for the day, Moriko muses as she shifts uncomfortably under her covers. As if to confirm her thoughts she hears the sound of someone moving around the communal space of the dorm room. Must be Kyoko... Her roommate is a rather friendly individual and always seems to be busy with one thing or another. Unlike unsociable Moriko, she always seems to be surrounded by all sorts of people. So, she's probably getting ready for a club or plans to go out later tonight. Especially since it's a Friday.

Ignoring the sounds from beyond her door, Moriko drops the arm covering her eyes with a soft plop onto her bed and stares up blankly at the ceiling. She doesn't expect Kyoko to check in on her, for she suspects the other girl doesn't even know she's here. Most of the time, Moriko will pop by the dorms to drop off her school supplies, only to leave almost immediately. She usually returns only right before, or even right at, curfew. Her interactions with her roommate usually consists of greetings and good nights, if they happen to see each other in the morning or evening. Most of the time they tend to miss each other completely, due to their schedules being completely different. But they at least seem to get along. Kyoko is kind and clean and never treats her poorly. As far as roommate situations go, it's not been bad.

Licking her chapped lips, Moriko realizes how thirsty she is. Still, she doesn't feel like interacting with anyone, so she'll just wait until Kyoko leaves. Once it's been quiet for a while, she'll get up and grab something to drink. Immersed in her thoughts, she's not paying any attention to the sounds coming from beyond her door. At least, she isn't until three sharp raps shatters the quiet of her room. Jolting in surprise, Moriko turns on her side and hastily pushes herself up halfway as the door to her room swings open and in steps Fue.

Blinking at the light stabbing into the gloom, Moriko stares through the tears that spring to her eyes at the unexpected brightness.

"F-fue!?" she stutters out, her voice cracking on a high note. "What... you... here?" she manages to rasp out before a tickle in her throat sends her into a fit of coughing.

A flash of movement at her doorway briefly catches her attention. Her roommate shoots her a smile and a quick wave, before turning around and heading out of the dorm. Seems like she did have plans to go out after all. Now the two of them are alone. But that thought flees her mind as Fue suddenly shuffles her way over to her and places her hand against her forehead.

Face flaming in embarrassment, Moriko peers up at Fue, dark teals meeting worried browns.

"Uh ah..." she can't seem to find her words! What should she say?? Fue asked her some questions, but suddenly the world is spinning! And their faces are so close! Flushed, flustered and at a loss, she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

"How?"

Hmm, Moriko wasn’t very responsive, it seemed as if she had just woken up, or was just really groggy. Neither was particularly great as an option, but Fue was here and would have to just do what she could to make Moriko comfortable. Her forehead was burning up, that wasn’t a good sign either. Nothing but bad signs. At least she could croak out something, even if it was only a small question and it didn’t come out easily. “Your roommate let me in, Kyoko I think.” She assumed that Moriko was asking how Fue had gotten into the room more than anything else.

She looked around the room, it wasn’t in the best state at the moment. “Have you taken any medicine yet?” While there were a lot of details to see, what she wasn’t seeing were any dirty medicine cups, or empty bottles, or even tissues or anything. Moriko didn’t even have a garbage can next to her bed for ease or emergencies. Fue frowned behind her mask. Oh well, there was a lot to be done. “Just tell me what you need and I’ll take care of it, Moriko. Don’t worry about a thing. I’m here now.”

She pulled a small package of lotion tissues from her bag and tore open the package before setting it down beside Moriko’s shoulder. “Here, if you need to blow your nose, use these. It should help keep your nose from chafing too.” She glanced around again and then stepped to the school desk and grabbed the school provided waste basket. Fue slid it to sit at the head of the bed, within easy reach of Moriko.

She also pulled the chair away from the desk and set it beside the bed. Moriko’s blazer was still haphazardly hanging from it. Fue looked at it reproachfully. A rather annoying realization struck her. She looked back at Moriko. She did seem out of it, and probably had come straight from school back here. It hadn’t sounded like she was fully aware either. Fue picked up the blazer carefully and moved it to hang over the foot of the bed. She returned to sit on the chair and lean over her backpack.

She dug out a few small bottles and read the labels looking for the right match to the symptoms. Cough and fever were the obvious ones so that was the right place to start. Her mind was slightly preoccupied with whether or not Moriko had just crawled into bed still in her uniform. That would be no good, it was important to dress properly for bed and doubly so while sick. The school uniform was not going to cut it.

Fue decided on which medicine Moriko needed to take and broke the seal. She also pulled out a small wash cloth and a bottle of water. She shuffle-scooted the chair up closer to the head of Moriko’s bed. She twisted the lid off the water and poured some of it over the wash cloth before holding the water out to Moriko.“Do you think you can keep this down? I’m gonna have to ask you to try.” When Moriko sat up, maybe Fue would be able to spot the telltale shirt and she could decide what to do from there.

“Don’t drink too fast or you’ll definitely throw up.” Fue cautioned as she opened the small bottle of medicine. First water, then medicine, then water again. It looked like Moriko hadn’t drunk anything since there weren’t any cups around which means she might not have had any fluids since yesterday and her mouth probably tasted like mothballs. Then the medicine could help but Fue always wanted something to wash the flavor of medicine out of her mouth. As for the now wet wash cloth, Fue rolled it up. “Here, let’s hold this to your head and see if we can cool you down a little.”

Ah, well, that had been one part of her question, so at least that part was answered. The other part was how Fue had even known that she was sick. Especially since Moriko had completely forgotten to message her about it. Feeling guilty for forgetting such a thing, Moriko is shaken out of her thoughts when Fue bursts into a whirlwind of action.

Blinking slowly when Fue places the tissues next to her, Moriko finds her attention drawn to the movements of the other girl. Turning her head on her pillow, she bemusedly watches as Fue buzzes about her room. The other girl shifts a few things around and then starts to dig through the bag that she brought. Moriko decides not to interrupt Fue, electing to nod in response to the question about if she'd taken any medicine yet or not. Well she had taken it before she'd fallen asleep, but some time has passed since then. Maybe that's why she's feeling a bit worse now than when she'd passed out.

She starts to zone out again, her eyes unfocusing and eye-lids drooping, when suddenly the sound of the chair scraping across the floor breaks her out of it. Tensing up, her focus snaps towards the sound, only to find that Fue is now right next to her! Flinching in surprise, she stares blankly at the water bottle being held out to her. Then it dawns on her that Fue is handing it to her!

Struggling to rise, she manages to sit up, despite a slight dizzy spell that overtakes her. Thankfully it only lasts for a few moments. Her hair sticks up all over the place, the left side completely flattened to the side of her face. The white blouse of the school uniform is horribly wrinkled and twisted at an odd angle around her body. She tugs at it uncomfortably, but gives up without trying too hard, since Fue is still waiting for her to take the offered items. Leaning forward slightly, she reaches out and accepts the medicine and the water bottle. Sniffing the small cup of liquid medicine, she wrinkles her nose at the smell. But other than that, she doesn't complain. Wanting to get it over with, though, she ignores Fue's advice. In one quick motion, she tips her head back and takes the medicine in a single gulp.

Immediately the taste hits the back of her throat and she can't help sticking out her tongue in disgust. Hastily, she drinks the water, attempting to wash the taste out of her mouth. Letting out a soft "Ahh ~ " as she finishes her drink, she glances sideways at Fue as the other girl holds out a wet, rolled up washcloth. Setting the water bottle and empty medicine cup on her nightstand, and being careful to not knock over anything on it, she reaches out towards Fue with both hands.

Clasping Fue's hands in her own, Moriko leans forward. Face flushed and dark teals slightly hooded, she peers directly into Fue's eyes, a sleepy smile lighting up her features. The water from the washcloth drips onto her hands, but she takes no notice of it. She really wants Fue to know how she feels. How grateful and happy she is that Fue is here, right now, in this moment. But she can only think of a few words to say. And though they probably won't convey exactly how she feels, it's all that she can come up with right now. So she says them, her voice soft and croaky.

"Thank you, Fue."

Well she hadn’t immediately thrown up the water so Fae decided that was a good sign for Moriko. It also meant that she wouldn’t immediately have to clean up vomit which, let’s face, might be bad enough to set her off. It was so gross. Moriko obviously had a strong stomach, though Fue had sort of known that before, hadn’t she. Regardless, the medicine was taken and some water was drunk. A good first step on the road to recovery. If that wasn’t a problem for her, maybe the next step was some food. If Moriko hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday, her bottomless stomach might be an actual black hole now and would need some good nourishment to get that recovery kickstarted.

But that wasn’t the only thing. When Moriko sat up, Fue had seen that her girlfriend was still wearing her school uniform for sure. That was no good, something would have to be done. Moriko looked an absolute mess, was it just because she was sick or maybe she always looked like this in the mornings. Seeing her with her hair all disheveled and her school blouse all wrinkled was, well it was something and not entirely bad, Fue wasn’t sure what the word for it might be. But it also was not acceptable.

But before any scolding could happen, Moriko reached out and took Fue’s hands. It was amazing what those three words could do. What three words could have a greater effect on her? She couldn’t conceive of any others right that moment. Her heart beat faster and her face started turning red under the mask. “Y-yes, you’re welcome.” Fue stammered quickly. “That’s just part of being a girlfriend, you know.” She said as if she had any real idea. But she figured it was true and it was a good time to sound like she knew what she was talking about since she was taking charge.

Fue gave Moriko’s hands one more squeeze before she let go and stood up. “But you need to get out of those clothes. Put on something soft, like super comfortable. I don’t know if you have, like, sweats or lounge pants or something but you need to get changed.” Wait, Moriko was really sick, did she need help? No, don’t think about that. Fue’s face got redder. “I’ll get them out for you if you point to where they are and put them on the bed before I go.” That was it, a effect excuse to step out while that happened.

“I’m going to make you something to eat, no arguing. You need to eat if you’re going to get better.” She opened her bag and pulled out two different, and quite large, cans of something. “Do you prefer porridge or soup?” When Fue was sick, she liked soup because she could just sip at it and porridge was something you had to actually try to eat. But then, porridge seemed to be popular in this country and she could always feed Moriko. That sounded kind of nice too, actually.

With that answered and clothing pulled out, Fue turned and walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. It wouldn’t do to see Moriko undressed, even if they were both girls, they were girlfriends now and that sort of changed it. Made it more, well, different and not something to be done casually, right?

Part of being a girlfriend? Moriko mulls over Fue's words as she stares into Fue's eyes. Her sleepy smile widens slightly, turning into more of a goofy grin. One that she's unaware of. She's just so happy! Despite still physically feeling like absolute dung, Moriko finds her morale lifted by just having Fue there.

Fue squeezes her hands before letting them go and standing up, leaving the wet washcloth in them. Glancing down at it, Moriko raises up her left hand and holds the washcloth to her forehead. Water slips past her temples and trickles down her neck, causing a small shiver to worm it's way through her. The coolness of it is a bit of a surprise, making her realize that her fever has probably returned. But she just took some medicine, so hopefully the fever will go down again, once it kicks in.

Then Fue mentions a change of clothes. Blinking slowly, Moriko points towards her closet. Outside of undergarments, socks and towels, Moriko tends to hang her clothes up in the closet. It cuts back on folding them and has the added bonus of reducing wrinkling. Not that it really matters, since by the end of most days her clothes are usually in disarray due to her various outdoor activities. But it's something her mother instilled in her so she's kept up the habit. Fue pulls out a navy blue long sleeved pajama set and places it at the foot of her bed. It's got little light blue stars all over it and is actually one of her favorites of her pajama sets.

Shifting until she's sitting on the edge of the bed, she follows Fue's movements with her eyes as the other girl starts to rifle through the bag she brought. Why would Fue need to make her eat something? She may be sick, but it's not the stomach kind of sickness. In fact, she's feeling pretty hungry, now that food has been mentioned. She hasn't eaten anything other than the light breakfast she'd had before classes started. And now classes are done. With a start, she realizes that she had slept almost the whole day away. AND she hasn't eaten for almost the whole day! As if on cue with her distressing realization, her stomach gives a low rumble. Man is she hungry!

At Fue's question about which she would prefer, Moriko looks up and sees the two cans. It doesn't take long for her to come to a decision.

"Porridge, please," she rasps out, trying not to strain her throat any more than is needed.

She could probably eat both of them, but she'd rather eat something that will feel like it actually sticks to her ribs first. If she's still hungry, maybe Fue would be kind enough to make her the soup next? Well, she'll ask if she feels like she really needs it. Choice made and pajamas taken out, Fue heads out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Glancing down at her severely wrinkled clothes, Moriko finds herself agreeing with Fue. She really does need to get out of these clothes. They are extremely uncomfortable. Setting the wet washcloth onto her nightstand, she rises unsteadily to her feet. Leaning against the bed, she slowly makes her way to the foot of it.

Since the blouse seems like a hassle, she decides to change into the pajama bottoms first. Taking her school uniform pants off is a bit tricky considering her current balance issues, but she manages to slide them off without too many issues. The socks and boy shorts are a bit easier. She lets all the removed clothes drop to the floor in an untidy heap. Pausing, she braces herself, and then slips her right leg into the pants of the pajama bottoms. As she's lifting her left leg, a sudden dizzy spell strikes her. Hastily, she manages to shove the leg in and pull the bottoms all the way up, before sitting down heavily on the bed.

Head spinning, she bows it and waits for the spell to pass. Grabbing the pajama top, she scoots over to the head of the bed, right in front of the chair that Fue had dragged over. A little breathless, she can feel her nose starting to run. Pulling out a few tissues, she blows her nose and drops it into the waste bin that Fue had thoughtfully brought closer.

"I hate this," she mutters irritably to herself. She feel's so weak right now! But she still needs to change into the top part of her pajama set. Luckily, she's not wearing a bra, so at least she doesn't have to worry about that. With the pajama top resting over her knees, Moriko starts trying to unbutton the twisted uniform blouse. Struggling a bit, she manages to get the top two buttons undone, but the third button becomes stuck.

Why does there have to be so many stupid buttons?? A short huff of annoyance escapes her. Narrowing her focus down, Moriko sticks out the tip of her tongue in concentration.

She's gonna beat this stupid shirt, even if it's the last thing she does!

The door shut with a click and Fue sighed. Moriko didn’t seem to be doing awful but it was obvious that her girlfriend was way out of sync. The normally energetic girl was so sluggish and lethargic and not herself. It was kind of a bummer. Fue looked down at the can of porridge in her hand. Well she had a job now and that job was porridge. Fue tossed the can in the air and caught it in one hand as she turned to look at the kitchen and made her way in. “Please excuse the intrusion.” she said politely.

Fue tossed the can in the air again as she looked around and dropped it, sending her scurrying after the can as it rolled away from her. After picking it up, she firmly places it on the counter where it won't be dropped or tossed or anything. Then she began the less than enviable task of trying to find where everything was in an unfamiliar kitchenette. At least it was small so there were only so many places things could be. But two people shared this place and that meant she could be using the roommate’s things. That would be unfortunate but it wasn’t as if there was anything to be done about that. She could just ask for forgiveness later on.

Fue allowed herself to disappear in thought as the porridge slowly began to warm up. Mostly she thought of her time back home. When she got sick, her mother's would take care of her, sometimes one or the other but it was almost always both. They would fuss and fawn. They didn’t do anything like the mask. She reached up and touched the soft fabric with two fingers. But no, this was better, she wouldn’t want to catch Moriko’s cold and then worry her. Better to stay strong and healthy and be the reliable one. Fue wondered who took care of Moriko when she got sick.

She slowly stirred the porridge and held the back of her hand near the surface. She didn’t want to burn it, in fact, she’d rather it just be on warmer side of cool. It was important that it heated up Moriko’s body from the inside, but it shouldn’t scald and it should be able to be eaten quickly. Hopefully that would hold true for porridge like it did for soup. Fue preferred to drink her soup out of a mug like a hot tea when she was sick. This stuff wasn’t going to be sippable at all.

Fue picked up the porridge carefully and gave it a sniff. It was so plain, which was probably good for a sick person but significantly less good to somebody who really, really, really enjoyed food. She wanted to splash some flavors into this thing, maybe some sliced fruit for color. But Fue wasn’t the one eating it so that was no good. And she had left most everything else behind. There weren’t really any fruits to add. And the flavors would get lost since Moriko’s nose would be in no state to smell anything.

What was good for a stuffy nose? Fue tried to think. Spicy food was a good way to clear the sinuses in no time flat but that would probably be a mistake right now. Maybe if it hung around for a few days. But there was another option. The tongue wasn’t dead, it was just crippled without the nose. And Fue did have a few things in her bag. She could surely work something out to turn the porridge from tasteless sludge to an acceptable sick meal.

She poured the porridge into a bowl and held her hand above it again. Lightly steaming, a bit of condensation, not so hot it burned, good enough. She wiped her hand on her pants and picked up the bowl. She carefully walked to Moriko’s door and stepped inside without knocking. It hadn’t occurred to her that Moriko might still be trying to change. Fue’s face turned red under the mask, but she didn’t turn away or rush out.

“Sorry, didn’t realize.” Fue noticed details, it wasn’t just that it had been some time and Moriko hadn’t finished, only a few buttons were undone, Moriko had started sweating again. She really wasn’t well at all. “Hold on.” Fue walked over to the desk and set the porridge on the table before turning to Moriko. This wasn’t girlfriend and girlfriend, Moriko needed help, it didn’t matter how close they were, Fue could help her and so she did.

Fue sat down on the bed and angled herself behind Moriko. “Here, please let me help.” She wrapped her arms around Moriko. This was nice, a special sort of closeness, but it was also as polite as Fue could be. This wasn’t the sort of situation she would want to be ‘seen’ for the first time either. With some care, she undid the last buttons on Moriko’s blouse and pulled it off of her. Her skin was lovely, the freckles from outdoor life, the kiss of the sun, Fue was jealous. But she was glad that she got to see them, even now. But there was something a bit more pressing than how cute the other girl’s bare shoulders were.

“Moriko, were you really going to school without a bra? You really should wear something, even if it's just a sports bra. It’s healthier.” Fue shook her head. She had no idea if Moriko was just that out of it that morning or if this was a common thing. She idly thought that she should look next time they met and then blushed at the thought. “Come on, put your arms through the shirt.” She ordered and helped Moriko slip into the pajama top. With her decency mostly saved, Fue stood up and walked to her bag. “Do you think you can eat yourself or do you want me to feed you?”

Secretly she wanted to do the feeding, but then Moriko was probably starved and Fue wasn’t exactly the fastest with a spoon. As she waited for an answer, she withdrew some special containers from her bag. One was a small bottle of amber liquid and the other was a plastic bag of dark reddish-brown powder. She split the bag opened and poured a generous bit of powder onto the porridge. “That should do it. This much cinnamon should be enough to wake your tongue up. And then just a touch of honey.” She twisted the lid off the jar and poured a little on the top.

Tongue still sticking out, Moriko struggles to grasp the button of her blouse. How wrinkled and twisted the top is, combined with the button being stuck, makes the whole thing rather frustrating. And it keeps slipping out of her fingers! She's so focused on this single task that she doesn't realize how much time has passed. It's only when Fue says something that she even becomes aware that the other girl has returned. Looking up at her girlfriend, who stands before her with a bowel in hand, she blinks in surprise. When did she get back? she wonders dazedly. Then Fue places the bowel on the nightstand and sits down on the bed beside her.

Confused, Moriko glances to the side and opens her mouth to ask Fue what she's doing. But before she can say anything, the other girl angles herself until she's more behind Moriko than beside her. The bed dips with the movement and Moriko can feel herself tilting backwards, right into the warm embrace of Fue. The heat of Fue's body seeps into her as her girlfriend wraps her arms around her and places her hands over her own. Hands dropping away, Moriko finds herself leaning into Fue, an odd craving for the other girl's touch filling her. It's not quite a full hug, but boy does it still feel nice!

Fue's legs press into her own as the other girl's quick fingers make easy work of freeing that trapped button. Those clever fingers move down to the next button, undoing it with no trouble. At each pinch and release, Fue's fingers flick out, sometimes brushing ever so slightly against Moriko's heated skin. As she works her way down the blouse, Fue has to lean forward to reach the lower buttons. And as she does so, her body presses into Moriko's back.

She's so soft! A blush so strong it burns her ears and the back of her neck sweeps across Moriko's face. Goosebumps are quick to follow, raising up on her shoulders and arms. A gentle scent drifts into her nose. It's clean with a muted hint of maple and brown sugar. Ah... she smells so nice...

Bowing her head, Moriko squeezes her eyes closed. She doesn't want Fue to see how her closeness is affecting her. This is the closest she's been to a person in a good while. This is the most a person has consistently touched her, in such a long time. And though she's not generally one to like people touching her, this time is different. It's a person she cares about. A person she wants to get closer to. A person who she wishes, with all her heart, to want to get closer to her as well.

Heart pounding in her ears, Moriko only barely hears the question about her bra. She's much too focused on Fue to answer it anyway.

Then Fue leans away from her, the comfort of her body heat still radiating against Moriko's back despite no longer touching her. There's a brief tugging at her blouse. Opening her eyes, she realizes that Fue's gotten it completely unbuttoned. Holding her arms out, she tries to make it easy for the other girl to remove. The shirt slides off her, exposing her entire upper body to the chill air of her room. A small shiver overtakes her as she hugs herself, trying to keep too much warmth from escaping. Thankfully, Fue is quick to grab the pajama top and tells her to lift her arms. Complying without complaint, Moriko raises her arms up and the cool cotton slides over her. Head popping out of the top, Moriko adjusts it until it rests comfortably on her thin frame. Once that's complete, Fue suddenly rises from the bed, leaving her behind.

Moriko bites back a protest, for she knows that she's being selfish in her desire to have Fue stay near her. It's already amazing enough that the other girl had shown up at all! And so prepared, too! Even as she thinks this, Fue is already digging through her bag for something. The question she asks, though, sparks excitement in Moriko.

Feed me?? Eyes widening in surprise, she watches as Fue pours cinnamon and honey into the bowel of oatmeal. This is another way for her to get closer to Fue! Anticipation and nervousness coloring her thoughts, Moriko looks up at Fue, her bright teals shining.

"Could... you feed me?" she quietly asks, her voice husky from the cold. Embarrassment causes her to fidget slightly, her freckles standing out against her flushed face.

Yet she doesn't look away as she peers up at Fue, her eyes wide and hopeful.

Even after leaving Moriko’s side, Fue could still feel the warmth of her body as a lingering presence against her body and hands. It was just her imagination, obviously, or the porridge, but it was there and Fue was willing to cherish it for as long as it might last. Hopefully Moriko would recover soon and they might be able to at least hold hands again, but she would cling to what few brief moments of physical contact she could until that time came again. Fue glanced at Moriko from the corner of her eye and saw that the girl was staring at her. At her, not the food which is what Fue might have assumed but herself.

Such intense scrutiny made Fue’s face start to tinge red around the cheeks and ears. She shifted and turned to face Moriko directly and was hit full force with Moriko’s quiet but hopeful voice asking to be fed. Her heart skipped a beat and then began to pound ten times as hard. It was what she wanted but to be asked, to hear those words. And that voice, so soft, so special, and in an atmosphere like this? There was no defense for her heart against that. “Y-yes. Of course I will.” Her face went cherry red and she picked up the porridge again.

Then she set the porridge down because she needed her hands. “H-here Moriko, let me fix this.” She stepped up to the bed and leaned over to prop up the pillows into something like a backrest. “You need to la down but not all the way so you choke.” She picked the bowl up and set it back down. “Actually here, let me help.” And she carefully and gently pushed Moriko down against the pillows and began wrapping the blankets up around her girlfriend. “Gotta get all snug. Snug snug snug.” She said. It was becoming more and more obvious that she couldn’t stop talking at the moment.

“Porridge is nice and warm, not hot, not not hot not.” She turned and picked up the bowl and set it down. “Napkins, gotta have napkins.” She also needed to calm down. If she didn’t, no amount of napkins were going to clean up the amount of porridge that would spill from her shaking hands. She dug in her big bag and pulled out a large stack of cloth napkins and turned to face Moriko’s intense gaze again. It was so powerful, every time she met those beautiful eyes her heart started beating faster. But she had to be strong, she had to be strong and make sure those eyes stayed bright every day.

Fue set down the napkins at Moriko’s side and picked up the bowl finally ready to do what she came here to do. She sat down on the bed, scooting up close enough to Moriko’s thighs and gave the bowl a slow stir. “Cinnamon is really strong so hopefully you can still taste it with your nose all messed up. And the heat ought to make your nose run a bit and clear up any stuffiness.” All the more reason for the napkins and tissues nearby. The honey wasn’t likely to be tasted at all but Fue couldn’t imagine porridge without it. That was just inhuman, besides, honey was healthy, right? She’d probably heard that somewhere and healthy things were good for sick people.

“Open up Moriko.” Fue said softly as she carefully scooped a small spoonful of the porridge onto the spoon. Moriko usually ate so much faster than this, she usually ate in big heaping spoonfuls, but Fue wasn’t going to allow that here today. No, it would be measured and maybe it would increase some, but it was better not to push too hard. She stared at Moriko’s face, at the open mouth. Her white teeth, her tongue. This was the mouth she had thought about so recently, the mouth she wanted to kiss. She very nearly forgot about the food entirely, but she didn’t and so she guided the spoonful of porridge into Moriko’s waiting mouth.

It went like that for a fair bit of time, Fue internally suspected it was the longest meal that Moriko had eaten in a long time, though it was relatively quick as far as Fue was concerned. The porridge just kept disappearing as they sat in near silence with only the sound of Moriko’s eating. Fue slowly found her rhythm and was able to keep it coming and the nervousness disappeared. It became less intense to meet the eyes every time and her heart had slowed down to almost normal rates. She was almost getting used to this situation of being so close as to be on the same bed and more. As long as she focused on the work and care part of it and less on the girlfriend part, she was going to be ok.

At her question, Fue's face turns super red. And that stutter! Cute... Blinking in surprise, Moriko finds her lips quirking up in a small smile. She's never really ever thought of a person as cute before. Wolf cubs, kittens, most other baby animals and stuffed animals, yes. But people, no. At least, not until she met Fue.

Her girlfriend picks up the porridge bowl, only to almost immediately place it back down on the nightstand. Tilting her head in curiosity, she watches as Fue moves closer and starts to fluff her pillows up for her. As the other girl leans over the bed, her arm occasionally bumps against Moriko's. The contact is oddly welcome, a surge of happiness spiking through her at each nudge. Nodding her head when Fue says that she needs to lie down, Moriko agrees with a soft "Okay." Then Fue once again picks up the bowl, only to set it back down a second time, insisting on helping her to lie down. In bemusement, she allows Fue to gently push her back into the pillows and then completely swaddle her in blankets.

The whole time Fue rambles, often repeating words. Several times she picks up the bowel of oatmeal, only to set it back down as she recalls something she needs to grab or do. Finally, though, she settles down into the chair and it seems like she's going stay in place. Fue scoots to the edge of the chair and leans forward. Her knees press into the mattress, causing the area near her thighs to dip just a tiny bit. Tilting slightly in that direction, Moriko turns her head to fully face Fue. The blankets wrapped around her shifts, the ones resting over her head sliding off to crumple around her shoulders. Her gaze drops down to the bowel that Fue now slowly stirs, her head nodding in agreement to the other girls words. Every now and then she lets out a soft "Un" at what she perceives as appropriate intervals, but she doesn't say anything else. She much prefers to listen to Fue and finds her girlfriend's unusual chatter rather endearing. Then Fue scoops up a spoonful of the porridge, holds the spoon out to her, and tells her to open up.

A soft thrill shoots through Moriko as she watches the spoon drift closer to her. When she was younger, the few times that she did get sick, her mother and grandmother would both feed her until she had the strength and will to do it herself. Those times were special moments in Moriko's mind. Those were the only moments in her life where she was completely alone with her mother. Where the only thing that her mother paid attention to, and cared about, was her. She knew, even back then, how selfish of a desire it was to have her mother completely to herself. Each time it happened, though, it always made her so happy. Despite the fact that she was sick.

And now, in this moment, she has Fue all to herself. No one else is around. It's just the two of them, with Fue paying special attention to her and only her. She feels bad that Fue is worried about her, but also glad that she cares enough about her to actually take care of her. That odd familiar mix of complicated feelings rises within her. A mixture of guilt and of happiness.

So when the spoon drifts close enough, Moriko doesn't hesitate to lean forward, mouth open wide, and pops the spoonful of porridge right into her mouth. She's careful not to bite down too hard, so as not to knock the spoon out of Fue's hand. It's a simple matter from there for her to lean back slightly, the spoon sliding out of her mouth and slipping away from her lips. She chews the porridge left behind, her eyes falling closed as the flavor fills her mouth. Her taste is affected a bit by the cold, but the cinnamon and honey does a lovely job making the porridge much more palatable. Opening her eyes, she can't help the soft smile she directs at Fue. Instead of saying anything, she opens her mouth again in a silent request for more. In this way, time passes, until the entire bowel is empty.

Hunger sated, Moriko gives a soft sigh of contentment as she feels the porridge settling into her once empty stomach. The heat of it radiates from her center and seems to spread all throughout her body. Despite a single bowl normally not being enough, in this instance, it's just the right amount.

"Ah, that was perfect," she murmurs quietly, a lazy smile tugging at her lips. Bright eyes gazing into soft browns, she continues with, "Thank you Fue. It was delicious."

At this point, it seems like the cinnamon has done it's job, for Moriko's nose has started to run more freely. Sniffling, and trying desperately to not let her nose drip in front of Fue, Moriko shifts weakly underneath the blanket. She's trying to free at least one arm, so that she can grab the tissues and blow her nose, but it seems like Fue did a pretty good job at tucking her in. A few stray bits of porridge sticking to her cheeks, she gives up the struggle and instead directs an embarrassed smile the other girl's way.

"Um, Fue?" she asks, her face coloring as she once again snuffles. "I seem to be stuck in my blanket and I need to blow my nose..." she trails off, her self-consciousness getting the better of her. Even though she's eaten, it seems that she's still too low in energy to summon up the strength to escape her blanket cocoon.

The first spoonful was slow and careful. Fue had never fed anyone like this before, not seriously. Occasionally she’d held a spoonful out of something for somebody to try, but those were rare and usually a family member. She’d occasionally fed toys and dolls as a smaller child but that was a bit different too. Poking an immobile mouth was an easier target. Moriko could move all on her own, even if it wasn’t very well or quickly right now. The first spoonful went well, no mess, no trouble. Fue quickly got the next, she knew how fast Moriko could devour any kind of food, so she didn’t want her to wait too long when this was likely the first food she’d eaten since last night’s dinner.

But it wasn’t good to rush, and it seemed like Moriko was recognizing that sort of. She was, at least, chewing her food. Sometimes, when they sat down to eat together, Fue wasn’t entirely sure that Moriko didn’t just inhale the food whole. It was a bit funny, though not very cute. But that made the moments when Moriko savored something slower all the more special. It was proof that she really enjoyed it. Like the cake they’d shared on the night of the confession. That was a good memory for sure and it left a smile on her face.

But she had to stay focused. When she got too lost in thought or in Moriko’s face, the spoon might drift off center and make a mess. Fortunately, they got through the feeding without too much mess, and the bedding was still clean so that was an overall positive. But Moriko’s face was a mess, at least, in Fue’s eyes. That would have to be cleaned up before she let Moriko get some rest again. That train of thought was interrupted by Moriko asking for help blowing her nose. “Oh of course.” Fue said, finally breaking the silence they had shared during the meal.

She set the bowl down and picked up the pack of tissues. She snapped the package open and pulled out two tissues and half crumpled, half folded them together. She leaned in close to Moriko and held the tissue up to her nose. That was a little gross but it had to be done, and it wasn’t as if Fue minded. She dropped the used tissues into the garbage can. “Just a moment.” She said, getting off the bed and walking to her bag. Had she remembered? She’d remembered basically everything else, but had she forgotten something as simple as that?

Fue rummaged and was rewarded as she pulled out a plastic container of wet wipes. “Ah, here they are. Let’s clean up that mess real quick.” She walked back over and sat down beside Moriko again. With a bit of care and a little bit of roughness, she wiped off Moriko’s dirty face, getting all the remnants of the porridge. Then she took another tissue out just to make sure Moriko’s face was dry. “There we go, all clean.” That, too, went in the trash and Fue smiled. “Now, you should try and rest. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She reached down and lightly brushed Moriko’s side as reassuringly as she could.

Without hesitation, Fue agrees to help her blow her nose. With how smoothly the other girl feeds her, Moriko has a sneaking suspicion that her girlfriend may have some experience in helping out people in need. Maybe sick people, even? The only thing Moriko's done in regards to helping anything sick out was nursing a few of the animals on her family's land. Specifically the wolfdogs that they'd taken in over the years. But other humans? Not at all.

In fact, being the youngest, she was more often the one being taken care of than the caretaker. But again, she didn't get sick nearly as often as the other members of her family, so even those moments were far and few between. She had been more prone to getting hurt, though, so in the end it all balanced out.

Watching as Fue pulls out two tissues and carefully crumples and folds them, Moriko sniffles. She watches her girlfriends hands as they move so precisely, wishing she weren't feeling so sick. For some reason, she really wants to hold her hands, but the blanket and her lack of strength leave her own hands tied. Then Fue is holding the tissues up to her nose and Moriko feels her face flush a deeper red. It's still super embarrassing, so she closes her eyes as she blows, so that she doesn't accidentally meet Fue's eyes when she does. How mortifying that would be!

Thankfully, it's a short task, so it's only a matter of moments and the used tissues is tossed in the trash. Then Fue suddenly stands up and tells her to wait a moment. Eyes quietly tracking the other girl's movements, Moriko watches as she rummages once again through that magic bag of hers. Making her way back towards her, Fue sits down next to her again. Peering up at her girlfriend, her eyes widen slightly when Fue brings out a wet wipe and begins to roughly clean her face with it. She hadn't even noticed that oatmeal had gotten all over it. She takes the scrubbing silently, though she does scrunch up her nose a bit. It's a bit reminiscent of her grandmother wiping her dirty face when she was younger. Not unpleasant. Looking up into Fue's eyes, Moriko can't help the soft smile that takes hold of her.

"Thank you," she murmurs, her voice still hoarse.

After another tissue pats her face dry, and everything tossed into the trash, Fue gently begins to brush Moriko's side and asks if there's anything else she can do. An intense exhaustion suddenly hits Moriko as the medication, coupled with the warm food and comforting presence of her girlfriend, all combine into a single wonderful moment. Shifting deeper into the blanket surrounding her, she blinks sleepily up at Fue. What could make this moment even better? A thought his her and she wriggles her right arm until she's able to finally extract it from the blanket wrapped all around her. Peeking up through the slight hood that the blanket has made around her head, she asks, her tone shy and inquiring,

"Could we hold hands? Just until I fall asleep again?"

Fue averted her eyes from Moriko as the girl blew her nose. It was only polite, and it was kind of gross. Maybe it was better not to look at that kind of thing whenever possible. No, better to look away and let Moriko stay a little bit dignified, that dignity was about to suffer enough when Fue began washing her face. Undignified as it was, this was something that Fue enjoyed looking at. The way Moriko reacted was so cute. In some ways, it was like cleaning up the face of a small child. But Moriko was cuter than any kid Fue had ever seen.

The way her cute nose got all scrunched up and her cheeks squished in, it was enough to send Fue’s heart into a pounding mess. How could she have ever gotten so luck to have found a girl like Moriko? She took a few extra squeezes and wipes just to keep it going but it had to end, Moriko was clean and I'll and needed her rest to heal up so they could spend even more time together. Fue melted at Moriko’s smile and threw away the wipes.

As she did that, Moriko seemed to have gotten her arm and hand free of the blankets. That was no good, she needed to be all wrapped up like a roll of sushi, nice and tight so nothing could escape. But before Fue could admonish her or fix it back up, Moriko asked to hold her hand. Fue’s mouth opened and closed. Her face slowly turning as red as Moriko’s had been. Her girlfriend was too cute. Fue fought back a sound but a small squeak still escaped her throat as she took Moriko’s hand with both of her own. “Yes, yes of course, I’ll hold your hand for as long as you want. Forever even.”

Her soft hands curled around Moriko’s rougher hands and calluses. Moriko could be so tough, so adventurous, so outdoorsy. These hands were a sign of that. Fue didn’t have that sort of life, she never wanted it, not until now. Moriko had and could take care of herself. These hands were proof of that. But right now, she was relying on Fue, trusting Fue to help. She squeezed Moriko’s hand as reassuring as she could. This hand was the hand she wanted to hold on to forever, to take, to make her own. Fue lifted Moriko’s hand and leaned down, giving a small kiss to each knuckle.

“Sleep, Moriko. Don’t wait any longer. I’m taking care of you now.” Fue whispered softly. Fue briefly wished she knew some kind of lullaby or something, but she would have to make do with gently rubbing Moriko’s hand and whispering gentle words of encouragement. Moriko was going to be better soon, Fue would see to it.

At her request, Fue says yes and reaches out to her. Moriko feels the smoothness of her girlfriend's skin as her hand slides into her own rougher one. Fingers lightly interlocking, Moriko can't help the soft smile that she directs Fue's way. The heat of their combined hands is very welcome in the coolness of the dimly lit room.

"Thank you. Forever's a long time, though," she murmurs, her voice low but warm. "Just until I fall asleep is good."

Wriggling in the blanket that surrounds her, Moriko slides down until only her shoulders and head are supported by her pillows. Visibly relaxing, a sigh of relief escapes her. Lightly squeezing Fue's hand, she drowsily gazes up at her girlfriend.

"I'm glad you're here," she says as her eyelids begin to droop.

Head nodding forward, her chin tilts slightly into her chest.

"Now I can have good dreams..." voice fading, her eyes fall completely shut.

"... this time," is said on an exhale, the words so soft that they would have been easy to miss if the room hadn't been so quiet.

Moriko's breath slows, her chest rising and falling in a faintly wheezy rhythm. Her grip on Fue's hand relaxes as her head tilts slightly back and to the side, sinking into the pillow. The blanket hood shifts at the movement, crumpling onto her head and circling her face. Her whole body falls still, a stark difference to her usual fidgeting and ever movement.

At that, she slips into a deep sleep.

Fue held Moriko’s hand softly, not wanting to squeeze too hard or anything that could keep the sick girl from sleeping. “Forever goes a lot faster with you.” Fue whispered back. It was cheesy and hardly original, but it was what came into her head and felt like the right thing to say at that moment. But while she could be a pillar of support for her girlfriend at this very moment, something she said stuck like a splinter and she couldn’t help but pick at it.

What did Moriko mean by ‘this time’? Maybe she had bad dreams earlier that day when she was sleeping all by herself. Hopefully that’s all it was. Fue lightly rubbed her thumb against the back of Moriko’s palm. Well if it took staying around to make sure that Moriko slept soundly, that was an easy thing to do, barely a choice since it was what she wanted to do anyway. And if the bad dreams wanted to come around more often, well then that just meant she needed to be around more often to chase them away.

She sat silently, just holding on to Moriko’s hand and focusing on being there without being disruptive and breathing as quietly as possible. Fue watched as Moriko slowly stilled, her breathing slowed, and everything seemed to fall into a steady rhythm. With her free hand, Fue adjusted the blanket around Moriko’s face and carefully tucked her in as much as she could. But she wouldn’t let go, not yet, not until Moriko was sleeping deep, and had been for a long time. Not until Fue was sure that no bad dreams were coming.