This was written many years ago and posted on ao3. I only had 2 chapters then and never finished it, but I plan to now. This is just a short intro chapter and this fic takes place in 2020, when the covid outbreak just started happening. Cersei and Jaime are seventeen and one Saturday travel a few hours away to have a day out as a couple. They catch Corona. Jaime is asymptomatic, Cersei is not as lucky. Tywin orders them to quarantine at the family's lake cabin. This is just the into chapter, they caught it sometime on this day.
"This has been the worst date ever," Cersei complained. She stood in front of a large, highscale restaurant tapping her foot impatiently as they waited for the valet to bring their BMW to them.
"I told you we should have canceled our reservations and stayed home. We would have had a much better time, especially since father isn't home," replied Jaime
"We can hang around home anytime. Today may have just been our last meal out for quite some time. If our governor does as other states have, all the restaurants here will be shut down too," she said.
"Then you should have just let me offer them cash to leave," replied Jaime, just as the valet pulled up with his car.
" If you would have just listened to me earlier when I said that we needed to stop at the ATM perhaps we would have been able to. If they can afford to eat there they can't be bought for such a puny amount," she said as the valet opened the door for her.
Jaime slid into the passenger seat next to her, handing the valet a crisp one-hundred dollar bill for a tip. The very grateful valet thanked him profusely before shutting the door and Jaime put the key in the ignition and started the car before turning to address her. "Nine hundred dollars isn't puny to most people."
"To anybody who matters it is. Regardless, I just want to get home and forget this wretched day," she replied
It had indeed been a very disappointing day. They were driving away from an upscale seafood restaurant in a city two hours from home where nobody knew them. The food had been more than satisfactory, but seated behind them was a large Italian American family. Needless to say, dinner was neither quiet nor peaceful. When one of the children started banging on the table, she called the manager over. The manager was apologetic, but could not move them as the restaurant was full. Instead, he offered to give them twenty percent off their meal, which she found insulting. She demanded the family be kicked out, and the horrid manager refused, instead just asking the family to be quieter, which they barely were.
Earlier in the day things had not gone well for them either.
First, they had gone out for lunch and their hamburgers had been undercooked. She asked the waitress if she was colorblind or just stupid and told her that the burger was red and rare. The girl returned moments later with now overcooked burgers and Cersei couldn't believe the incompetence. She then informed the girl that she earned both no tip and a one-star review for the restaurant and the overly sensitive cow started crying. She refused to eat the food and whispered to Jaime that they should dine and dash to teach the waitress a lesson, but instead, he scolded her that it wasn't the waitress's fault as he left to go pay the bill.
They then walked to a pizza joint they had never been to before that happened to be on the same block. She tried to order a thin crust but to her horror they only sold traditional. Worse, she was unable to get her favorite topping of lobster bites as they didn't sell such a thing, in fact the waiter looked at her as though she was the crazy one for asking. She ended up forcing herself to eat the pizza regardless as she was very hungry, having not eaten anything for breakfast other than a slice of avocado toast.
After lunch, they went to the movies where their luck seemed to have improved some. They'd spent so much time making out that she could barely remember what movie they had seen. What she did recall was that during the good part, which she actually wanted to pay attention to, they had gotten caught sneaking in food. Of course, It wasn't that they couldn't afford the far overpriced movie food, She was just selective on her snacks and too many movie theaters didn't sell her favorite twix, which was the peanut butter one. They'd had to bribe the pimply-faced girl who nearly kicked them out with a bunch of twenties and still ended up missing what happened in the best part of the movie.
Next, they went to the beach where they had hoped they could have a romantic walk together before working on their tans and making out. However, the beach had been so crowded that they could barely maneuver around, let alone find a place to sun and make out. They tried to rent a boat to go out onto the water, but none were available. It seemed everyone else had the same idea they had, to spend what might be the last day they could for a while out in public. Defeated, they left the beach, and at her suggestion headed to a shopping mall. Which to her annoyance was also packed. They spent around an hour in the mall and after spending a mere two thousand on her credit card she couldn't bear to wait in any more lines, so they left. They then spent the rest of the time driving around until it was time for them to head to the restaurant from which they had just left.
Willing the memory of the terrible day out of her mind as Jaime pulled onto the highway she turned on the radio. As predicted it was an announcement that the governor had ordered all non-essential businesses closed starting the next day. She rolled her eyes. "So much overhype about something no worse than the common flu. It's not as though people like us even need to worry. Old people are the only ones in any danger from this," she said confidently.
