Of Migraines and Massages
A Precursor to Love, Loss, Mistakes, Redemption, and Absolution
After the day that she's had Cosima has never been happier to see her front door. She promised Delphine she would cook today, but honestly, she couldn't stand any longer even if her life depended on it. So, she made sure to stop by Delphine's favorite restaurant to pick up dinner instead. The 5 bags she's carrying makes it a little difficult to open the door but she finally manages to. She's surprise when she sees Delphine's keys in the bowl.
"Babe," she calls out.
A displeased groan originating from the living room is returned to Cosima.
Cosima deposits the bags on the kitchen island and walks over to Delphine, who is lying on the couch in a contracted fetal position with her face buried in her arms. Cosima walks over and crouches in front of her wife.
"Babe, are you ok? What are you doing home so early?" Cosima asks as she strokes her hair.
"Migraine," Delphine replies.
"Aw." Cosima hates seeing her wife like this. Delphine has been pulling eighty hour work weeks for the past three months in anticipation of the impending merger. Her wife's perfectionism has always been charming but sometimes her relentless nature scares Cosima, especially when the consequences manifest so starkly on her health.
"Did you take any medication yet?" Cosima asks Delphine.
Delphine nods almost microscopically because any amount of noise or movement increases the pain exponentially.
"I'm gonna go run you a hot bath, ok?" Cosima says. She kisses Delphine's temple and goes their bedroom.
Cosima makes sure to turn the temperature hotter than usual in order for the steam to fill up the bathroom in hopes that it will alleviate some of the tension that's causing her wife's migraine. She returns to the living room and regains her crouching position in front of her wife; she speaks as softly as possible.
"Babe, your bath is ready."
Delphine moves slowly and deliberately off of the couch. Her face is now fully visible to Cosima, allowing the brunette to see the sheer discomfort her wife is experiencing. Delphine takes shallow breaths; as she sets her jaw and creases her forehead as the gripping pain in her temples beckons her to succumb. Her eyes remain close as they move through the apartment; any extra stimuli will exacerbate the pain which will surely cause her to through up. Cosima guides her to their dimly lit bathroom and helps her undress, then slowly helps her sink into the hot water. Delphine feels some relief immediately and although she cannot verbally express her gratitude right now, Cosima can clearly read it in her expression. Cosima then takes off her own clothes and slips behind Delphine. She ushers her to relaxes onto her body; then, the brunette starts to slowly massage her wife's temples and scalp. The sighs and breaths of relief she receives from Delphine alleviate her own tension concerning the blonde's ailment. Delphine dozes off about thirty minutes into her scalp massage. Cosima continues until she is sure that her wife is sleep. Delphine's weight against her body gives Cosima a comforting sense of security. She's missed this; them just being together. She kisses the top of Delphine's head and begins to scoop the warm water over her wife's body in intervals. They remain like this for a couple hours.
When Delphine wakes up, she finds that her migraine is mostly gone.
"Feeling better?" Cosima asks.
She turns her head slightly to look up at Cosima.
"Oui," she responds with a smile. Delphine extends her neck up slightly, cueing Cosima to bend down in order to kiss her. They break the kiss and just gaze at each other for a couple seconds.
"I've missed you," Cosima says to her.
"I know. I've missed you too." Delphine responds.
She turns her body fully around and straddles Cosima and begins to kiss her feverishly. A few moans and many orgasms later, they return to the living room having eaten, and now cuddling on the couch.
"Amour," Delphine says.
"Mhm?" Cosima responds.
"I know the long hours I've been working have caused me to neglect us; thank you for being so patient."
Cosima doesn't respond for a moment, she's taking in consideration the gravity of the words she wants to say to her wife. She moves to sit up, causing Delphine to do the same. They're facing each other now. Cosima takes Delphine's hands in hers.
"Babe, you know how proud of you I am…not just for this new position…but for the record, I am monumentally proud of how you've been kicking ass and taking names as the new CEO, but also because of how much progress you've made in how you care for yourself. And, yeah, the past few weeks how been a little difficult, but what has made it really hard was watching you neglect yourself. I'm not blaming you or accusing you, or trying to make you feel bad because I know how much stress you're under, that's why I waited so long to bring it up. But this migraine you had tonight…babe, I've never seen you like that before." Cosima takes a pause to make sure that what she's saying is getting through to her wife.
"I know," Delphine says. "I kept telling myself that I was going to get back to my routine, but the more work deadlines were added, the further I pushed my personal deadline away," Delphine admits.
"Well," Cosima says. "Maybe it's time for a new routine. Obviously, our lives have changed pace; maybe it's time we adjusted to it."
Delphine nods at the suggestion.
"I talked with Emma, she's going to start prepping meals for us three days a week, and I've hired a meal delivery company to deliver breakfast and lunch to us during the week, so no more skipping meals or empty calories. I also had Emma stock the pantry with an abundance of energy bars."
"So, you're not angry with me about working so much?" Delphine asks.
"No, babe," Cosima reassures. "I really understand, it's what you have to do right now—and yes, I know this pace is gonna continue probably for the next few months. If we have to bite the bullet, and endure for the time being, that's what we'll do. Just make sure that we have at least an hour a week to just be, even if it's just meeting up for coffee during the day. And lots of texts and emails; I don't want us to lose our connection during all of this."
Every day Cosima finds a way to remind her why she's the love of her life. "Thank you for being supportive," she says.
"My wife is innovating modern medicine, how can I not be?"
The compliment makes Delphine smile.
"It's getting late, wanna continue this cuddle session in bed?" Delphine asks.
"Yeah." They both get up, with Delphine leading the way to their bedroom.