Work Text:
When Phee opened her eyes, she became aware of two things.
The first was that Tech was not beside her in their bed in their Pabu house. This wasn’t the most pleasant realization, but not unexpected. There were many days when Tech got up before her, due to restlessness or sudden inspiration or, most commonly now, nightmares. And no matter how many times she told him that it was okay to wake her if he was disturbed by something, he didn’t always.
The second thing was that she was very, very cold. Despite the layers of blankets the bed had, she felt herself shaking. And her head hurt too, now that she thought about it. She slowly sat up, rubbing her forehead with one hand, but if anything the movement made it throb worse.
She heard laughter and talking from just outside the window, and realized she was hearing people go about their days. How late was it? She glanced at the old clock they kept in the bedroom and realized it was midmorning already. No wonder Tech was no longer next to her— he had probably gotten up at a reasonable hour.
Crap. Hadn’t she been planning on doing something today? That’s right— she was going out boating and fishing with Tech and his family. She tossed the covers off, despite the shiver that wracked her body as soon as she did so, and got to her feet.
Too quickly, apparently.
The room tilted for a moment, and she was sure if it had been more than a moment she would have fallen. Thankfully, it stopped, and she took a steadying breath and proceeded to get ready for the day, slowly and carefully.
Maybe she was a little sick with something, but she had handled worse.
By the time she had made it to the kitchen table about twenty minutes later, she felt drained. And still very cold. And she wondered where Tech had gone. Had they left without her? She hoped not. That would really—
Her thoughts were cut off by the front door opening and Tech walking in, datapad in hand. He looked up when she turned, and seemed a bit surprised.
“Oh, you are awake.”
“Yeah,” she cleared her throat when it came out a bit hoarse, “Sorry, didn’t mean to sleep in like that.”
Tech nodded, “I went down to the docks to supervise the preparation, but we don’t depart for another hour, so there is still time.”
Phee felt a strange amount of relief at hearing that, and nodded. Tech walked over into the kitchen.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet,” she said, then shivered again, inwardly wincing at how much her body was aching. She had an hour, though, and the trip itself was only a few hours and nothing was really expected of her. She’d be fine. She always was.
“Are you feeling alright?”
She startled and met Tech’s eyes, surprised he had already picked up on something, “Yeah, why?”
“Well, you are shaking,” he stated, and then walked around the table to where she was sitting. He pressed his hand against her forehead, “And you are abnormally warm. I should check—”
“You should stay behind, Phee— your fever is too high.”
“I’m fine,” she said, pulling back from his touch. He lowered his hand, and she thought she saw hurt flash across his gaze for a moment. Guilt settled in her chest. She looked away, shivered again.
“You don’t have to go on the trip,” Tech began after a long moment, “There are other opportunities.”
“N-no,” she snapped, sudden emotion hitting her along with everything else, “I have to go.”
“That is illogical—”
“Not everything’s about plain logic, Tech!” She said, louder, and got up from her chair. Her head throbbed, “I have to go.”
Tech was confused, and hurt. She could see it in how stiff he was, the sorrow in his bright brown eyes. She should be comforting him. She knew that. He had been through more than she could ever imagine and she was being downright silly about this, but she just…. She just…
“I do not understand,” Tech eventually said, quietly.
“We’ll be back in a few hours, Phee.”
“It’s best if you stay back.”
“Do you… require a briefing?”
“I just… please don’t go,” she eventually said, feeling dizzy. The room was tilting again, and her head felt foggy, her whole body suddenly hot and uncomfortable. Tech was saying something, but it was muffled. She might’ve been falling. Her vision faded out.
Everything was dark and quiet and comfortable for a minute.
“Phee? Phee, wake up.”
She opened her eyes, hearing Tech’s voice. She became aware of all her unpleasant pains and sensations again, but she also became aware of solid warmth wrapped around her, an embrace holding her firmly and gently.
Her head was still spinning, and she was on the floor, but slowly her vision cleared and came into focus. Tech was kneeling and holding her somewhat upright against him. She guessed he had grabbed her when she fell. She turned her head slightly and saw the datapad abandoned on the ground nearby.
She then felt tears on her cheeks. She hadn’t even realized she was crying, and she looked back at Tech. He was looking down at her, eyes wide and… not angry in the slightest. Worried. She felt his thumb on her face, wiping away the tears with one hand.
“Phee,” he said again, sounding mildly alarmed, “Can you hear me?”
“Mhm,” she murmured, torn between closing her eyes and continuing to stare into his. Tears kept coming, silent and unbidden.
“I’ll stay and take care of you. I promise, I will not leave,” he said.
“Okay,” she said softly, giving into the exhaustion and closing her eyes, shivering again from feeling cold. She felt him lift her up, holding her carefully and not seeming to struggle in the slightest. He… was so much stronger than her. He had been having such a hard time, and here he was, taking care of her.
She pressed her face into his chest as he carried her. He was so warm, too. The perfect temperature compared to her feverish body.
She hoped, silently, he wouldn’t just stay, but he’d stay close to her.
All too soon she was back in their bed. She opened her eyes again as he pulled the covers over her. The tears had stopped, finally, but she still…
After he pulled the blankets over her, he seemed to walk away. She wondered where he had gone, hoped he would fulfill her silent wishes, wondered if that was too much to ask.
But then he returned a minute later, climbing into the bed on the opposite side. He came up under the covers and crawled close to her, and she turned and shifted closer to him. His arms wrapped around her, and she felt so… warm.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” she whispered as she felt herself giving into sleep once more, "And for being like this..."
“It is alright,” he replied, just as softly, and kissed her forehead, “You do not have to apologize. Just rest. Allow me to take it from here.”
And Phee knew that in this moment— just with him, just for now— she could let him.
So she slept. Feeling safe. And warm. And not alone or left behind.
Because she was with him.