Disclaimer: Love Live not mine ^_^
"Okay, everyone. That's all for today. See you all on our next session!" I called out to my last class for the week and waved at them happily as they all filed out of the hall. As soon as everybody left, though, my shoulders dropped, my back slumped, my gaze became unsteady, and all I wanted to do at that moment was to just sleep all the exhaustion away.
My parents suddenly decided to go to the province for a few days to pay respect to our relatives. So, naturally, it was up to me to mind their classes for them on top of my own load. It'd been five straight days of non-stop classes, eight in the morning until eight in the evening, ranging from beginner to advanced lessons. It wasn't at all surprising if my body suddenly gave out from the physical stress it went through the past few days. Good thing it was the weekend and that my parents would be back the day after tomorrow in time to resume their classes the following week.
I trudged carefully out of the dance hall and made my way to my room. It was already past dinner time, and I hoped Maki didn't forget to eat while waiting for her shift to end in two hours, unless she would render overtime again, which had been the case for the past few days. I would normally have called to remind her, and that I also should have been getting ready to head out, but I was seriously too tired to even lift my head up properly.
"Umi-sama? Is there anything the matter?" I looked up and saw my old caretaker looking at me with worried eyes. I smiled weakly at her as she went up to help me inside my room.
"Just feeling under the weather, Sara-san. Father and Mother's classes aren't as easy to juggle at the same time as I thought," I said as Sara-san rushed to ready my bath. It had been too long since my caretaker attended to me like this since I moved away to live with Maki, and it brought back good memories from my childhood which made me feel a bit better.
"I assume you don't feel well, you're bathed in cold sweat. Why don't you stay here for tonight? I don't think it'll be good for you to drive back to your apartment in your condition," she suggested as she assisted me while I got cleaned up. I thought about it silently for a bit, and I guess one night wouldn't be too bad. I needed to rest, and I was sure Maki would say the same thing.
"Alright, Sara-san. I'll just give Maki a quick call. I'll be eating here tonight, then." My caretaker beamed at me then helped me to bed before saying that she'd be back with dinner and medicine. I settled under my blanket and inhaled deeply. I really missed sleeping here, just like old times. I took my phone and slowly dialed Maki's number.
"Yes, Umi, I already ate. You still at the dojo?" I weakly giggled at my partner's greeting then hummed sleepily in reply.
"Umi? What's wrong? You sound worn out." I guess she must've sensed something was not right with me before I could say anything. I smiled as I adjusted myself in bed to get more comfortable.
"Unfortunately, I seem to have come down with a slight fever. Before you react, I'm fine. Sara-san's tending to my needs, but I won't be able to come home tonight. I hope that's okay with you."
"Sigh. Can't be helped then. Keep yourself warm and eat something easy to swallow. I'll head straight there after my shift. You need anything?"
"No, I'm okay. Just really sleepy. I miss you, Maki," I said drowsily. I hadn't really been seeing enough of my lover ever since I took over the dojo for the past few days. It sucked, but, at least, we'd be going back to our usual schedule the following week.
"I know. I miss you, too, Umi. I'll be there as soon as I can."
I felt something light and soft massage my head, and I groggily opened my eyes to see my partner's beautiful amethysts gazing down at me, a warm smile on her face.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" she whispered as she bent down to kiss my forehead. I relished in her touch for a few seconds before trying to get up, but Maki just pressed my chest lightly to keep me down.
"Tired, but I'm happy you're here now. Did you just come in?" I said somewhat sluggishly. She shook her head as she tucked me back in then settled down beside me, her elbow propped up as she wiped my face with a towel.
"I arrived about two hours ago. Sara-san said you just fell asleep when I came in so I didn't bother you anymore. I'm sorry if I woke you up." I gave her a reassuring smile as I turned and swung my arm around her waist, hugging her to me. She kissed my forehead again as she hugged me back. Nothing could compare to the feeling of comfort being in Maki's arms. I sighed in bliss.
"I don't mind. I wanted to see you, anyway. How was work?" I asked sleepily. I felt her sigh as she burrowed her face in my hair.
"I should be the one asking questions around here. I thought I told you to call off a few of those classes? Even I get to rest during my shift at the hospital. With all that load, you don't even get to take a break for more than ten minutes in between lessons," she reprimanded, and I just pouted as I looked up to see her frowning face. I reached up to flatten the crease in between her brows and smiled guiltily at her.
"I know, I'm sorry. But I didn't have the heart to cancel some of them and have them wait another week to resume," I said lamely, so I tried to give my lover my best puppy eyes to try and appease her.
"Stop that. You're not fighting fair." I giggled as she bopped me on the nose. At least I got to save that confrontation for another day. I felt her pull me closer as she gently patted my back and tried to lull me back to sleep.
"Good thing it's nothing serious. You have a fever but I'm hoping it'll pass in a day or two, so just rest, okay? I'm sorry if I won't be able to stay here all day with you tomorrow," she said regretfully, and I just snuggled into her more in reply.
"Just hold me tonight. I really missed you," I whispered softly as my mind started to drift away. I felt Maki kiss me one last time before sleep finally consumed me.
I woke up to see Maki and Sara-san talking quietly at the foot of my bed. I groaned a bit as I tried to get my bearings which instantly caught the attention of the other two. Maki quickly went to my side and helped me sit up, a look of concern on her pretty face. She was already dressed for work so I assumed she was just about to leave. She smiled at me as she felt my forehead.
"Good morning, Umi. You're still very warm. I left instructions with Sara-san, so please, please don't do anything even remotely stressful for today. Knowing you, you'll most likely get bored and train even if you're still unwell. We're going home later, so you need to rest up before then. I'll be back as soon as I can, so no funny business. Got it?" She warned, and I couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable she looked when she's using her stern face.
"Yes, Doctor. I'll try and not burden you incessantly. I really don't have anything else to do, anyway," I said as I caressed Maki's face. I really didn't want her to worry about me, so even if I did get bored, which I probably would, I'd just deal with it as best I could.
"I'll keep watch over her, Maki-sama. I'll make sure that she stays in her room until you come back," Sara-san added then took her leave, most likely to get my breakfast, as Maki thanked her. She turned her gaze back to me.
"I mean it, Umi. You're twice as stubborn when you are feeling indisposed. Bear with me for a bit, okay?" She kissed me tenderly for a few seconds as I nodded my assent. I took her hand and kissed it and smiled at her reassuringly as she stood up and got her bag.
"I won't be gone long. I love you!" she called out as she went out the door. I stared after her for a few seconds longer then took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a minute as I assessed my body. I felt uncomfortably warm, must be from the fever. My limbs were still a bit weary, and my head was getting heavier as the constant ache grew, but all in all it wasn't as bad as a full blown illness should feel like. I'd guess my body's just fatigued. It wasn't like this was my first time to be like this. I opened my eyes as I heard my door opening again.
"Maki-sama helped me make breakfast early this morning. She really wanted to stay so that she can take care of you, but you know how hospitals are," Sara-san said as she placed a tray of warm porridge, soup, and fruit on top of a small table and handed them to me.
"I understand. My being sick is quite sudden. And I don't really expect her to be able to stay with me the whole day. She did promise to come back as soon as possible, so I'll just wait for her then," I said as I started eating.
My caretaker accompanied me as I ate but cleaned up my mess soon after I finished because she still had work to do around the house. She gave me my medicine to drink and made sure I was back in bed before she left. I was feeling a bit drowsy so I closed my eyes and slept so that I could try and recuperate faster.
It wasn't long before I woke up from my nap when I heard something ringing beside me. I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I reached blindly for my phone and answered it without even looking at the caller.
"Umi?" My eyes widened a bit and I scrambled to sit up as I cleared my throat.
"M-mother, hi!" I mentally slapped myself for sounding like I was just caught doing something heinous. I cleared my throat again.
"Uh, I mean, good morning, mother. I hope you and father are well."
"Yes, we're fine, thank you. You sound off, dear. Is something wrong?" 'Crap!'
"No, nothing's wrong, mother. My throat's just parched. What can I do for you?"
"Are you sure? Well, I seem to have forgotten to update the student accounts before we left. I know it's your day off, but can you please do at least half of them? They're due day after tomorrow. I can work on the others when I get home."
"Of course, mother. I'll get right on it then send you a progress report after."
"Thank you, Umi. We'll see you when we get back. Take care, dear. Give our regards to Maki." I breathed a sigh of relief as I ended the call. I collapsed back in bed and covered my eyes with my pillow as my head ached again. I groaned.
'Maki is seriously going to kill me.'
"You really don't know how to listen, do you?" I let out a loud yelp as I was startled from my work. I slowly turned my head and gave my lover a sheepish smile, a look of frustration on her face as she leant on the doorway with her arms crossed.
"M-maki! I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon. It's not even dark out yet. Everything okay at the hospital?" She just raised an eyebrow at my poor attempt to change the topic. I hurriedly explained myself.
"Y-you see, Maki. My mother called and asked me to do some work, and I really couldn't say no to her, and - "
"Did you even tell her you're ill?" I nervously played with my fingers as I shook my head.
"I may have omitted that part." I watched her release a loud sigh as she gently massaged her temple and avoided looking at me. I felt guilty for breaking my promise to Maki, but I couldn't exactly ignore my responsibility to the dojo just because I was not feeling well. At least it wasn't training. I quickly gathered my documents that were scattered all over my bed. I ended up updating almost all the accounts, so it was wiser for me to just set them aside for today and have my mother finish them tomorrow.
I didn't hear Maki approach as I was too preoccupied in what I was doing until her hands shot out and took the files from my arms and placed them on the floor. I blushed as she got on the bed and slowly crawled towards me until she was on top of my legs, her arms trapping my sides, her face directly on mine. I squeaked as she suddenly kissed me, and it took me several seconds before I kissed back, my trembling hands caressing her neck before moving to her cheeks.
"What am I going to do with you?" she murmured against my lips, and I exhaled slowly as she rested her forehead on mine. She pulled away and stared at me again, my hands still cupping her face.
"You are such a terrible patient, you know that? You really should learn how to follow doctor's orders when you're told to rest." She took my hands then gently pushed me back so I was lying in bed as she pinned me down and hovered above me. She then kissed me again, and I whimpered as I savored her lips as much as I could before pulling back slightly to catch my breath, my eyes playful.
"You do know that we can be seen and heard from outside, right?" She just smirked at me but didn't let up and deftly trailed languid kisses from my neck to my ear as I tried to stifle a moan.
"Buzzkill," she whispered teasingly, and I chuckled as she kissed my temple then finally got off of me. I watched as she slid off the bed and started to organize my documents neatly on top of my desk.
"I'm really sorry, Maki." I said after a few minutes of silence. She ignored me as she continued to move about the room and started to pack my stuff. I pouted but stood up and carefully walked towards her. I hugged her from behind that made her stop what she was doing then nuzzled her neck as I apologized again. We stayed like that for a minute or two before she sighed then finally turned to face me. The look of disappointment she was giving me made me flinch, and I felt awful for causing her such distress on my behalf.
"I know you have a high sense of responsibility to the dojo, Umi, but you won't be able to do anything if you voluntarily keep pushing yourself to your limits. We talked about this before, remember? You got so weak then that I had to admit you. Your temperature hasn't even changed from this morning, and I can tell that you're overexerting yourself to even stand up as we speak. Is it really that hard for you to just put everything on hold for one day and rest?" I couldn't stand the look of disapproval she was giving me so I looked down and anxiously bit my lip. I really didn't have anything to say in my defense, so I just kept quiet. Maki cupped my face gently and I felt her thumb caress my lips to stop me from doing any more damage to it. She tilted my chin up so I had no choice but to stare at her again. I teared up as she smiled affectionately at me.
"Honestly, you're just as stubborn as me. I just want you to get better, bunny. At least now I have the remainder of the day and the whole of tomorrow to make sure you actually get to stay in bed. We can leave for the apartment when you're ready." I smiled and nodded and just embraced her tightly. I still felt bad for worrying her, but I had never felt luckier than at the moment to have such an amazing and an understanding partner as Maki.
A/N: been holding this story for a while.. this was supposed to be a companion piece for "The Sick Kitty," but I decided to just contribute this for umimaki month day 7 (catching a cold/fever) instead. I honestly want to make this just a wee bit longer, but what the heck. Tell me what you guys think! Thanks for reading! ^_^