random contagion thought while washing dishes (pretty gross so scroll away if that's not your thing)
ok i went on a complete coldfucker tangent while imagining my gf btw. no promises it makes sense.
imagine a sickie with a really congested cold wiping her nose on the towel she needs to dry dishes with, but she's so out of it she doesn't even notice. she drags the towel under her dripping nose once, maybe twice, then goes back to drying plates. those plates sit on the very top of the stack, ready for her partner to use it for their next meal. if her cold is really messy, they might notice a part of the plate with some... residue on it, but they brush it off as just a spot that dried unevenly and place their lunch right on top. now even if she was so careful not to spread her cold- her partner has already caught it. it's no wonder their nose fills up two days later, dripping thick snot like their girlfriend.
let's be honest though if she's absentmindedly wiping her nose with the towel she's probably not being careful... their tiny apartment is likely already COVERED in her cold. it wouldn't be hard to notice the soaked tissues on nearly every surface. the bedside table was the first to fill up (of course) but in lieu of actually emptying the tiny trash bin, she piles them up on the coffee table and the bathroom counter. couldn't be bothered to throw them away after several wet blows in an attempt to empty her nose. it fails, but this doesn't stop her from finishing her makeup in the bathroom mirror and going to work. she knows it's probably the last day she can manage before she's too tired and stuffy to work tomorrow. she knows from experience how awkward it is to lead a meeting with a thick headcold. she knows said cold will be increasingly obvious as the day continues, as she can already feel it getting worse. her head feels stuffy, nose full and leaking, sneezing every couple minutes (always in doubles). it's no surprise her voice sounds super congested.
even with her lassiez faire attitude about spreading her cold, she does mostly keep it contained to her desk at work. but boy is this desk covered; it's a biohazard itself. with only a couple tissues left in the box on her desk, she can't waste them on covering every sneeze. her desk is constantly getting sprayed. at first she tries to keep them contained, but that effort quickly falls apart as her nose fills up. stifles become impossible and every attempt leads to mess pouring out of her nose, no air able to get past the thick snot. the first time this happens she needs to use one of her precious tissues... but oh shit that's not enough. it's completely soaked and she has no choice but to grab the last one. first to finish what the first started and catch the pools of mess dripping from her nose, and second to wipe off her hand- an unfortunate victim in an attempt to cover herself. it's too saturated to blow but her nose is still dripping... she has to sniffle it back up and hope that's enough.
it's only a few minutes later that she feels her nose tickle again. even on a good day she sneezes pretty often (around 8-10 times) so a cold makes it that much worse. she brings her elbow up to her nose as her breath hitches- the first sneeze manages to stay somewhat contained, but the second sends mess gushing out, landing mostly on her sleeve but some drips onto her desk, joining the rest of the germs from previous messy sneezes. at this point it's obvious she needs to go to the bathroom to clean herself up, so she speed-walks past the other cubicles, elbow still over her face. her coworkers aren't surprised. it would be hard to miss the countless sneezes plaguing the office these days. she finally locks herself in the bathroom and begins to clean herself, but thick snot sticks to the fabric of her dress shirt a little too well... and the spray still shows on the sheer fabric, leaving lots of evidence of her cold all over her sleeve. she blows her nose with a gurgling sound. then blows again. and again. she gingerly places her tissues on top of the private bathroom's trash, the newest addition to a growing pile of similarly sodden tissues. it hasn't been uncommon for everyone to rush off to the most private bathroom to blow their noses these past few weeks. she grabs a couple handfuls of tissues and stuffs her pockets full, hopefully that'll last her until the end of the day.
maybe when she stumbles in the door after work her partner has cooked dinner, she has a hot meal waiting for her. it's worth it even if it makes her nose run, dripping down her face as she eats. after interrupting dinner with near constant sniffles and sneezes, she gives her partner a thank you peck... then offers to do the dishes.
