Part two of my gift one shot for my amazing friend Thatfrostybunnygirl , cause I know how much they love Tia and Veronica.
TW: Sickness, nausea, mention of fainting.
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"Hey, Kofi Bean? Are you awake, my lovely?" A soft voice spoke. Tia opened her eyes, only to be met with a blurry figure. She reached for it, before rubbing her eyes, blinking before looking up to find a very worried Veronica standing over her, a soft expression on her face.
"Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness. You gave me quite a scare. You're still at the venue, we're going to go home in a bit, lovely." Veronica spoke, easing Tia's nerves a small bit. She looked around to find herself on a black leather couch in the greenroom of the venue.
"R-Ronnie? W-What happened?" Tia spoke, letting out a whimper when speaking caused her throat to ache. Tia felt tears bubbling up in her eyes as she weakly grabbed Veronica's arm in her hands. Veronica grimaced, placing a hand on Tia's belly, rubbing it slowly to ease any pain.
"Do you not remember, lovely? You collapsed." Veronica reminded. Tia frowned at the memory, just as an angry Awhora entered the room with a scowl on her face, looking as if she was about to lecture Tia about how reckless she had acted. And Awhora proceeded to do just that.
"Tia Kofi! I thought I told you to go home and rest! But you didn't listen to me! And now look where that got you, you fainted!" Awhora ranted, her foot tapping angrily against the carpeted floor, a distinct glare in her icy blue eyes, and her arms crossed.
Tia let out a hiccup as she stared at Awhora. The glare in her eyes held an air of worry, anger, and fear. Tia didn't mean to make everybody worry. She most certainly didn't mean to make Awhora mad. She didn't want to break her promises to everyone, that's all.
Awhora continued to ramble angrily. About how she couldn't believe how careless Tia had acted, about how dangerous she acted, about how she warned Tia but she had to go and be reckless anyways, before Tia let out a quiet whimper, and her eyes started to fill with exhausted tears.
"I-I'm sorry, Rory..." Tia squeaked out, her lanky frame trembling with a worrying amount of intensity. Awhora paused before frowning, a look of empathy growing onto her face. She sighed and placed a hand on Tia's forehead, biting her lower lip in worry when feeling how warm she was.
"It's okay Tia. You just really scared me is all. You feel really warm and you're really red." Awhora observed, causing Veronica to stand up, taking Tia into her arms, allowing Tia's legs to dangle over her arm, while Tia wrapped her arms around Veronica's shoulders to keep herself stable.
"Right then. I'm going to take Tia home, and I'll make sure she rests. Thanks for your help, Awhora." Veronica spoke. Awhora smiled at Veronica to acknowledge her thanks, as Veronica headed back to her car, setting Tia in the passenger seat before driving her back to their shared flat.
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"Ronnie.." Tia murmured, her arms laying limp at her sides. Veronica gave an empathetic look as Tia groaned out in discomfort. She wasn't in pain, she just felt icky. Like when it's too hot. Car rides were never pleasant for Tia, but they were even worse when she felt sick.
Being on the uneven road gave her motion sickness. All the bumps and cracks in the asphalt were enough to make her want to throw up. The road isn't flat, which causes the cars to jolt and get caught in bumps. Not to mention the potholes, those were the worst.
Cars were always really hot, especially in the summertime. The heat outside felt like a warm, sticky surface was being pressed against Tia's skin and there was no way to make it stop. And when she got in the car, it felt even more claustrophobic. It made her wanna scream.
The seatbelts made her feel stuck, as if she couldn't move. She knew it was to keep her safe, but she hated it all the same. And cars were always really sticky.
Thinking about all this had made the car ride seem to take less time than it actually did. They were at the flat before Tia knew it. She was shaken back to reality when she felt Veronica pull into the familiar driveway and park the car.
"Okay, we're home. Do you want me to carry you in, lovely?" Veronica asked, looking in concern when Tia nodded with teary eyes, holding her shaking arms out for her. Veronica got out of the car and helped Tia out before lifting her up and carrying her inside the flat.
When they got inside, she carried Tia up to their room and setting her on their bed, going to the closet and getting some warm clothes and setting them out next to Tia, before kissing the top of her head gently. Tia tilted her head, surprised by the forehead kiss.
"You can change into these. These are much more comfortable and warmer than your stage clothes. I'm gonna make you some tea and something to eat, just let me know if you need anything, alright, Kofi Bean?" Veronica cooed, Tia nodding in understanding, before Veronica smiled and headed back downstairs.
When Veronica got downstairs, she grabbed the tea bags and a cup, putting some water in the kettle and boiling it. She then gathered the ingredients to make chicken noodle soup, as that always helped when Tia was sick. The ginger sighed, it seemed like this happened all too often.
Tia would get really sick, she would deny that she was sick, and continue to work, then she'd overwork herself, and then someone would lecture her, and then Veronica would take care of her. This had happened so many times before, that Veronica knew Tia's favorite tea recipe by heart.
Tia liked her tea to have three cups of milk, and three spoonfuls of sugar. Coincidentally, that was also how she liked her coffee. She had a really big sweet tooth, and really craved sugary things when she didn't feel well. It didn't help her sickness go away, but she didn't mind.
Veronica was able to make the tea with no issue. She then prepared the soup, which took just the smallest bit longer than the tea, but it didn't take that long. She poured the tea into Tia's favorite mug and proceeded to pour the soup into a bowl.
As she left the items to cool on the counter, she scurried into the living room, proceeding to pick up a pillow, and Tia's favorite stuffed animals, Ziggy and One One. She then realized she was going to have trouble carrying everything up. That was quite a predicament. She sighed.
She tucked the pillow under her arm, placing the stuffed animals on top of her head, the way they were made allowing them to stay on her head with no issue. She then proceeded to grab the cup of tea and bowl of soup, holding them carefully so nothing spilled.
She sighed, knowing deep down that she must've looked ridiculous right now. But that didn't matter to her. She made sure she turned everything off before slowly and carefully tip-toeing out of the kitchen, cautiously making her way to the stairs, but not before seeing herself in the mirror.
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Tia felt nauseous. She hoped Veronica would be back up soon, and she hoped that she could do something to get rid of her discomfort. She reached for her favorite fluffy blanket and pulled it on, wrapping herself up in it, putting a stop to her shivering.
Veronica could always make Tia feel better, no matter who or what was causing her discomfort, hurt or sadness. She had a way of making Tia feel at ease, of making Tia feel loved and cared for, and Tia really appreciated that, especially when she was sick.
Tia slowly rocked back and forth while she waited for Veronica to come up. She tell the soup that Veronica was making was chicken noodle soup, because of the familiar scent that wafted upstairs from the kitchen. Tia didn't feel like eating, but Veronica's cooking always made her feel better.
She hoped Veronica remembered her favorite tea recipe. Of course she did. She'd made it so many times that she knew it by heart. She remembered, Veronica wrote down the way Tia's favorite tea recipe, and she hasn't forgotten ever since. Veronica made sure she always had the ingredients ready.
Tia heard soft footsteps coming upstairs. Veronica must've been finished. That made Tia smile. She liked cuddling with Veronica when she was sick. Somehow, Veronica never got sick after taking care of her, even with Tia's cuddliness. But that's not to say Veronica's never gotten sick. Everyone gets sick sometimes.
"Hey there, Kofi Bean! Thanks for waiting, sorry for taking so long. I made your favorite tea and some chicken soup for you. And I got an extra pillow and your stuffed animals." Veronica smiled, looking up in confusion when Tia didn't respond right away. She sighed, knowing what was coming.
"You look ridiculous, Ronnie!" Tia flew into a fit of laughter upon seeing Veronica. She kicked her legs slightly as she squealed. Veronica appeared unamused on the outside, but on the inside, she was happy that Tia was laughing. She set the cup and bowl down, before she smiled.
"Haha! Sorry Ronnie, that just tickled me." Tia spoke, coming down from her laughing fit, before flying into a fit of coughing, the violent coughs racking her trembling body with an intensity that made Veronica gasp in worry. She set the stuffed animals and pillow down, running to Tia's side.
"Tia! Oh my god, are you alright?" Veronica blurted as the last few coughs escaped Tia's mouth. She ran downstairs, grabbing some medicine before running back upstairs, pouring some into the small cup, holding it up to Tia.
"Take it." Tia frowned, but complied, and she winced upon tasting it.
"Yuck, Ronnie, that was gross." Tia whined, grabbing her tea and taking a big sip, trying to wash away the foul taste of the medicine. Veronica frowned sheepishly before she started rubbing Tia's back, trying to offer any sort of comfort that she could. Thankfully, Tia calmed down soon enough.
"Sorry about that, Kofi Bean. I'll put on an episode of Doctor Who for you, okay?" Veronica offered, and Tia smiled, nodding as she finished drinking her tea. As Veronica put an episode on, Tia started eating her soup, relaxing a little bit while watching the TV. Veronica relaxed too.
"Thanks, Ronnie. I'm so sorry about all of this." Tia spoke sheepishly, finishing the soup and putting down the bowl, snuggling up under the blanket with her stuffed animals. Veronica smiled warmly at her, giving her a kiss on the top of her head, making Tia smile a little bit.
"Of course. And you've got nothing to apologize for, Kofi Bean." Veronica assured. She went back to watching the TV, chuckling and laying down when feeling Tia pull her down and snuggle her when she laid down. Tia always got cuddly when she was sick, so this didn't surprise her.
The show on TV served only as background noise, it would seem. Veronica smiled warmly when she had noticed Tia had fallen asleep midway through the episode. Veronica flicked off the TV, wrapping her arms around Tia, kissing her on the forehead.
So the two lay in each others arms. Something Veronica would've rolled her eyes at the thought of it all a few years ago. But as she lay here now, she felt her heart soar. Spending time with Tia and knowing they both loved each other was enough to make Veronica smile.
And it will always be enough.