Come Back to Bed
@smlgbtqweek day 1: sleep/awake ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66801466
summary: As Zena wakes up, she realizes her girlfriend never came to bed. ship: Ami Mizuno/Zena White (Zoisite) wordcount: 776 tags/warnings: fluff, sleep deprivation
Ami Mizuno tag | Zena White tag | Ami/Zena masterlist
Ah ah, when I was younger I, I should’ve known better And I can’t feel no remorse And you don’t feel nothing back
Zena groaned as she reached out and turned off the radio, rubbing her eyes with her other hand. She pulled her hand back, feeling behind her for her partner, but instead all she felt were cold sheets. She frowned, glancing back as if the lack of Ami’s body heat wasn’t indicative of her absence. She never left the spot warm for long after she left with her Mercurian biology, but there should have at least been something. And it wasn’t like Zena was an extraordinarily late riser or anything- the alarm was set for 6:00 on the weekdays- and Ami at least liked to stay in bed with her until they were both awake regardless
“Ami?” she called out to the apartment. No response. “Babe?”
“Out here!” her girlfriend’s voice finally called back from the living room. Her voice sounded strained, worn out, and Zena had a feeling she already knew why.
Reluctantly, she got out of bed, taking a moment to stretch her back before she moved to the living room. The coffee maker full, the warmer on but surely not the first pot of the day. And Ami, she sat at their little round breakfast table, three books and a mess of papers spread out before her. She kept her head propped up in her hand, and Zena didn’t need to look to know dark circles ringed her eyes.
Zena picked up the empty coffee cup on the table and carried it to the kitchen, filling it up and pulling out another mug for herself to do the same. She took a sip of her own and delivered Ami’s cup back to her before she sat down at the other side of the table. “Did you even come to bed last night?”
Ami shook her head, not bothering to look up from her notes. “Patient’s body is unable to retain fluid but his AVP levels are perfectly normal; if I can’t figure out what’s going on, he’ll be dead in two days.” Her voice never changed inflection, her mind too focused on the case to dedicate any energy to it.
“And what about three days from now, when you’ve got another case?” Zena asked, tilting her head to the side- her silent version of a challenge. “You gonna stay up until that one’s healed? And the next one? And the next?”
Still Ami didn’t look up from her notes, but at least her tired eyes stopped roving the page, pupils dilating as she unfocused them. Zena knew then that she had her.
“I don’t want you to work yourself into the ground, Mercy.” Zena reached out, placing a hand over Ami’s. Her hand was as cool as always, just a little too cold to be normal. It freaked most people out, but not Zena. Never Zena. To her, it was a comfort.
“What else can I do?” Ami asked, finally looking up. “I always thought the hard part of being a doctor would be the long hours during my residency. It never occurred to me that I would put myself on even worse hours after that was done, but if I’m not giving it my all, all the time… people could die.”
“Even more will die if you kill yourself via sleep deprivation, first,” Zena insisted. “Fall asleep driving, in surgery, any number of things could happen because you aren’t taking care of yourself. Then how many patients will you miss? How many diagnoses are you already missing because you’re exhausted and can’t focus?” She gave her hand a squeeze. “What about me, huh? How am I gonna get along without you? We didn’t go through everything we have just for one of us to die of our own stupidity.”
Ami chuckled a little at that, turning her hand palm up to hold her girlfriend’s. “Guess that would be kind of foolish,” she agreed. She let the pause settle for a moment before continuing, “I’ve got three hours ‘til I have to be in the hospital today… take me back to bed for two?”
Zena cracked a smile. “You know, you have to have gone to bed in the first place to go back.” She stood up, walking around the table to Ami and lifting her in her arms.
Ami let out a squeal of surprise, wrapping her legs around Zena’s waist and her arms around her neck. They stayed still for a second, both adjusting to the shift in their weight.
“But I suppose I can do my best.”
