A/N: I'm sick right now. So I wrote this.
Exams, exams, exams.
It was the only thing that mattered to Aki as she studied day in and out. She devoured dense medical texts and supplemental readings, her diet rounded off with tea and chocolate biscuits. Whenever Sherry would remind her to eat and rest properly, Aki foolishly pushed it off for "later", earning a further scolding from her friend.
"It'll catch up to you, eventually," Sherry warned, setting the bag of takeout on Aki's dorm room table.
Aki, who was still knee deep in a passage about renal heart failure, made a noise of disinterest. Sherry tapped an ice cold water bottle against Aki's cheek, the medical student flinching. "Seriously, take proper care of yourself. I can't have my favorite future doctor getting sick."
"Yeah, yeah," Aki grumbled, her cheeks pink from the words "my favorite future doctor". "I didn't ever get sick when I was studying to enter university. I don't think it'll be any different this time around."
It was different this time around. The day of a midterm, Aki woke up bleary eyed to her last minute alarm. Her vision blurred, the lines of her cell phone wobbling between her fingers. The redhead groaned, forcing herself to leave a somewhat delirious message to her professor about being sick and begging to take the exam on another day.
"I didn't ever think I'd get this sick," Aki thought, fumbling through her bathroom's medicine cabinet for her thermometer. She pointed it at her forehead and when it beeped, she took one look at the numbers and wanted to fling it out her window. 39.8 degrees. She coughed into her elbow while clumsily sticking a fever patch onto the back of her neck.
Even though Aki had craved this freedom from her parents for so long, being alone while sick only made her feel deeply isolated. She chugged two glasses of water, cursing her past self for not buying any fever medication, before collapsing back into bed and passing out.
It was evening when Aki woke up to the sound of her door unlocking and closing quietly. "Aki?" Sherry called out quietly.
"I'm here..." the student mumbled, burying herself under her covers. She didn't want to look sick in front of Sherry. She was sweaty and her thin pajamas were sticking to her skin. The sound of a canvas bag settling on her bed made her peek out curiously.
Sherry had pulled her long hair back into a tight ponytail and donned a disposable mask. She was taking off her coat and hanging it on the door when she noticed Aki peeking out from the covers. "Oh good, you're awake," the Frenchwoman said cheerfully. She knelt by Aki's side, the subtle scent of her floral cologne comforting Aki. "How do you feel?"
Aki sighed into the cool touch of Sherry's hand on her hot forehead, her amber eyes tracing the lines on Sherry's turtleneck sweater. "Sick," she said simply.
"Do you have a thermometer around here?" The redhead pointed at the device on her desk. "What was your temperature when you last checked?"
"Uhh... 39 point... something? I don't remember." Aki nestled deeper into her blankets. Sherry tested the temperature of her forehead. "I'll get better on my own..."
Sherry shook her head. "Absolutely not. You don't even have medicine." She popped several tablets out of a foil sheet while Aki, very hesitantly, sat up in bed. "Here, this should help break your fever."
Aki downed the pills with a bottle of water. "How'd you even know I was sick?" she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"You accidentally sent me a message intended for your professor," Sherry explained, showing her phone screen to Aki. The student groaned in frustration, shoving a pillow into her face. "Your German's getting a lot better, at least."
"How'd you get in...?"
"I broke in," Sherry answered nonchalantly, pulling a box of cooling patches out of her bag. Aki looked at her with an expression of disbelief. "It's quite easy if you have the right tools on hand."
"Are you hungry, by the way?" Sherry pulled out several konjac jelly drinks. "I wasn't sure if you could eat properly so I brought these."
"No, but I could really go for one of these," Aki admitted, cracking one of the pouches open. Sure, Aki wasn't hungry but she was certain that she'd be utterly starving in the morning if she didn't have one now. The cool, squishy jelly went down easily.
Sherry looked at her friend for a moment. "Do you mind taking off your shirt?"
Aki's already flushed face grew redder, her hand crushing the empty jelly pouch. "... what?" she finally asked after processing Sherry's request.
"It's so I can put these patches on your back." The blonde couldn't help looking a little smug. "Did you think I was trying to flirt with you?"
"Just shut up and put them on me." Aki pulled off her shirt and turned her back to Sherry, keeping her arms over her chest. The cool air felt really nice on her hot skin.
"If you'll excuse me." Sherry's hands felt like ice as they parted Aki's hair and politely moved her long fuchsia locks over her shoulder. "Your hair's gotten a lot longer. It suits you." Short fingernails lifted and peeled away the old patch on the back of Aki's neck. The med student sighed quietly as new patches were applied along her spine, her nose tingling from the menthol.
Aki inhaled sharply as Sherry pressed her hand firmly against her skin, sliding it up and down her back. Surely it was the fever making her face so hot. It couldn't be embarrassment or the very badly hidden attraction that Aki had for her friend. "Sorry, I had to make sure the patches were flush with your skin," Sherry apologized, withdrawing her hand. "Do you want to get changed?" Aki nodded.
A camisole and shorts were dug out of her dresser. When Aki stood up to change into them, she felt something like disappointment as Sherry averted her gaze. "I don't mind you looking," Aki said impulsively, peeling off her thin pants. "We're both women, after all."
Aki expected Sherry to reply flirtatiously, expected to roll her eyes in reply, expected the distance between them to be maintained. Instead, Sherry looked directly at her, the mask unable to hide the light blush on her face or the way her gaze lingered on Aki's body. "I feel really lightheaded. Maybe that's why I'm acting a little weird," Aki thought, changing into her clothes. "Maybe that's why Sherry's eyes are looking at me like that."
"Is there anything else you need?" Sherry asked quietly as Aki slid back under her covers. Aki shook her head and settled deeper into her blankets. "In that case, I'll visit you tomorrow to check on you again." Sherry stood up to get going when her friend grabbed her sweater sleeve.
"Actually, I could use a good night kiss," Aki requested, her heart beating in her ears. "It'll help me get better faster." She tugged on Sherry's sleeve, her feverish mind able to plead for what her sober one couldn't.
Sherry sat on Aki's bed and put her cool hands on both sides of the redhead's hot face, her thumbs gently caressing her skin. "I think we're both a little old for good night kisses," Sherry teased as she leaned forward. "It should be a partner kissing you, not me. But I'll give you one just because it's you, Aki." Aki's brain short circuited when Sherry's mask covered lips gently touched her naked ones. She could almost taste the light pink lip gloss Sherry always wore. Her fingers clawed at her sheets, fighting the urge to drag her friend down for more.
"Good night, Aki," Sherry said against Aki's mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow." She pulled away, her cool hands withdrawing as well, much to Aki's disappointment. Sherry picked up her empty canvas bag and left the dorm room, making sure to lock it behind her. The reality of what happened struck her like a bullet and she leaned against the door in disbelief.
"That was close..." Sherry muttered, her fingertips rubbing the spot on her mask where Aki's lips had touched. Her face was flushed pink, enough that she was sure an onlooker would assume she also had a fever. "I almost kissed her..."
