The Magpie Emporium, Thursday (12/8)

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph had woken up with the kind of persistent headache that felt like her head was being clamped in a vise, and it hadn't gone away even after breakfast and coffee.

But here she was anyway, having dragged herself stubbornly into work, and never mind that if Vi or Graham did the same thing she'd tell them in no uncertain terms to go back to bed. She wasn't ridiculous enough to be climbing up on the stepladder, at least, so her work on decorating the store was on hold for the day, but she was still shuffling around restocking shelves.

And setting aside a few things as presents for people, shh.

At least the polar bears were being helpful, providing her with extra caffeine.

[OOC: Home sick with an utterly miserable cold so this is maybe slightly method RP and I'll probably keep dozing off. Open, though!]

Comments

[giveittoyoursister]

As if summoned by the narrative, Vi came by with lunch, the bag and cups still steaming. "Hey."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph looked over at her and smiled a little shakily, her eyes half shut from the headache.

"You continue to be the literal best," she said.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi frowned slightly and came over a touch quicker than she normally would. "Everything okay?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I'm fine," Steph insisted with more of a whine to her voice than she'd intended, as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Also, she really wasn't. "It's just a little bit of a headache, that's all."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Steph,” was all Vi said as she automatically went to press the back of her hand against Steph's forehead.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I'm not sick," Steph objected. Yes, she was well aware of her hypocrisy here, thank you, but she'd been hoping to add a whole bunch of decorations to the store today, damn it! "It's just a headache, Vi, I swear."

One that made the daylight kind of painful but details.

[giveittoyoursister]

"The kind of headache you've let me work with?"

It was almost like Vi didn't believe you, Steph.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"As if I let you work with a headache," retorted Steph, who would absolutely blame her own later for letting her walk right into that trap.

[giveittoyoursister]

"So you agree you're heading straight home to bed." Where Vi could hover over her.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"But I have a store to run," Steph protested -- faintly, because now that she thought about it, it would be kind of nice to just crawl under the covers and let Vi hover over her, wouldn't it?

Hell, even Little Bot was making shooing gestures at her.

[giveittoyoursister]

"Your health is more important," Vi said firmly. "And the sooner we get there the warmer lunch will be."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph made a show of rolling her eyes and sighing, but she was grinning the whole time.

"Yes, dear," she said with a good-natured sigh. Her inner meta Tyler Durden would agree, anyway. "I assume I'll be walking this time?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"That's for when you're well enough to enjoy it properly." Also Vi couldn't juggle her and lunch.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"The bouncing probably wouldn't be great for my head anyway," Steph conceded, as if she'd even been seriously considering it in the first place; it would have been ridiculous to expect Vi to carry her and lunch.

She sighed again and flipped the store sign to CLOSED, adding a little sticky note that said Failed my con save, sorry! at the bottom of it. Then another minute or two to close out the register and put away her craft supplies, before she finally moved to the door and offered her arm to Vi.

"Okay. Want to walk me home?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"You know I do," Vi said, coming over to take said arm.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph opened the door and stepped out into the street, ready to flip the lights off as soon as the door was shut behind them.

"You are, genuinely, the sweetest," she said. "But you know you're not obligated to -- I mean, I just want you to know I don't expect you to take care of me."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Of course I do," Vi said without a moment's hesitation. "Especially because I can here."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I know," Steph said, and leaned up to kiss her on the cheek. "I guess... I just want to make sure you know that I love you regardless of whether you take care of me. That's not, like, a requirement."

[giveittoyoursister]

"I know that," Vi said. "It's because I love you."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Look, it makes you happy, and I enjoy it, so I'm not going to stop you," Steph said after approximately 2.55 seconds of grinning like a giant dork. "Just as long as we're on the same page that it's not a full time job."

Because, you know. Really making an effort to not make that mistake again.

[giveittoyoursister]

"It's not." Vi grinned and kissed her temple. "It's just a kick up your butt when you need it."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Which, to be fair, has historically been often, but I'm working on that myself." Steph smiled at her.

A polar bear approached them, offering bottles of cola.

"Sure, why not?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"I mean, you're capable of feeding yourself now," Vi teased, then blinked. "What's with the bears?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

"One of the cuter established conventions of capitalism," Steph said dryly. "They've been using adorable polar bears in all their winter advertising since way before I was born. Big surprise, they can actually exist here."

And look, she wasn't arguing with free drinks.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi kind of preferred the women painted on walls from back home. "And they're just giving us free drinks?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

Yeah, Steph would kind of maybe prefer those as well. At least some part of her would.

"Basically," she said, accepting the bottles. "And you better believe I'm hoarding this shit. They've been trying to help me by offering me drinks all morning, so there's like a dozen in the drink cooler in the store."

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi would show Steph her collection of postcards that reminded her of them sometime.

"Those it do anything weird or is it normal?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Totally normal sodas, actually," Steph said with mild regret. "Probably just as well, they come up with enough weird fucking flavors I wouldn't want sprung on me without realizing it."