#and i know u didnt ask for her but i HAD to include some L/ouisa bc ofc i did

[waterfallofspace]

45 and 50, anything with F/rancis Fitzgerald. That man is so ridiculous. Also I'm on mobile, otherwise I would put these all in a single ask- so sorry for the multiple messages 😅😅 these are just so fun

No need for apologies, I'm having the best time filling these!! And yet again, thank you for the ask!!! I'm really enjoying the variety of characters I wouldn't normally write for!! It's such a fun challenge to me, and hopefully the results are adequate~~ (also, I adored your spellings for him in that ADORABLE comic you made, ~link here for anyone who wants to go check out Poni's incredible talent~ so I hope you don't mind that I based my own spelling off them~~) 1.5k words, prompts 45 and 50, story under the cut!! 45. “Your nose is literally twitching.” 50. “You sneezed ten times today.” “Thanks for counting.”

~~~~~~~

From the moment Louisa got to the office, she could tell something was wrong with her boss. His normally chipper personality seemed to be a performance this morning, complete with exaggerated smiles and strained tones. Despite this, it wasn’t her place to speak up. At least… she didn’t think it was.

But as the next ten minutes seem to take hours to pass, filled with suppressed coughing and thinly veiled sniffling from Francis, eventually she can’t take it anymore. As he finishes up his latest cluster of sneezes, she finds herself rising to her feet, and calling out.

“You sneezed ten times today, sir…”

Francis turns to her, tissues still pressed to his nose, sniffling weakly into them before attempting ‘and failing-’ to subtly clear his throat. 

“Thank you for counting.” 

A flash of heat makes itself at home in her cheeks as she feels her gaze start slipping back down to her papers. ‘No! Come on, Louisa, Mr. Fitzgerald needs you to speak up. He’s obviously not feeling well, but he cares about the mission, and about us, enough to try to work through it. I need to show him it’s okay to be sick!’

“I’ve been here for 20 minutes, sir.” 

“I noticed that, yes. Punctual as usual, Miss Louisa!” 

“M- Mr. Fitzgerald, I… I don’t think you’re understand-”

“hehHhh-! ‘Scuse me, do continue.”

“Oh right, yes, I was just saying I don’t think you’re quite understanding what I’m…”

She trails off as his face contorts once more, nose scrunching up as he seems to attempt to keep his eyes focused on her, despite the obvious tickle working its way through his sinuses. ‘Always so caring of my feelings. I’ll just wait for a minute, give him a chance to-’ 

“hH’YEHMMffshhhh’iee-! heHh-! yyiiffshhh’ieew-! heh’yitSHHH’iie-!”

“Blessings, sir. Three times over.”

“Thank you, Miss Louisa. Please excuse me, you were saying something?” 

Louisa weighs her options, watching Francis rub a finger roughly against the side of his nose. It becomes quite apparent that it’s not squashing the tickle, in fact, given the rapidly pinkening quality of said appendage, she’d wager it’s making it worse. ‘I could straight out say that I know he’s sick… but… he’s gotta know that I can tell… he’s not exactly great at hiding it… so maybe it’s not my place…’

“N- nothing. I was just wondering if uh… if you needed a new plan drawn up…?” 

“How wonderful of you to offer! I believe I am quite content with the ones you’ve already presen… presented- huhh’yiMMff’shhiee-!”

“Bless you, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

“Thank you again.”

Gesturing at her papers, Louisa waits for a nod from Francis before seating herself once more, eyes never leaving her boss’s quivering nose. ‘He’s not gonna be able to keep this up for long. The sneezes sound exhausting… I wonder if he has a headache… or a sore throat… maybe I should make him some tea…?’ 

“hEh’eeiiyyfff’hieew-! Excuse me.”  

“Blessings.”

“Thank you, Miss Louisa.” 

Starting to stand, Louisa watches as Francis ducks into himself with a strangled cough that is still clearly audible in the silent room. As it dies down he lifts a tissue to lightly dab at the wetness that had gathered in his eyes. Louisa feels a pain shoot through her chest, wishing more than anything she could just wrap him up in a blanket and send him home.

Instead, she settles on brewing a cup of tea, throwing blessings over her shoulder as Francis succumbs to another fit. ‘Maybe if I bless each one he’ll get the hint that I know something’s wrong…? It’s worth a shot, pointing out the number earlier didn’t work and… just speaking up… I’m not sure I could do that…’ 

“Eiiiyyiifffff’ieee-!” 

“Bless you.”

“heH’YYIFFFSHHH’iiew-!” 

“Blessings.” 

“aiyyMMFFFsshh’iiee-!”

“Bless you, sir.” 

“Th- thann… thankyou- yiTTSHHHffffieew-!”

“Blessings, again.” 

With a heady sniff, Francis manages to stall off the fit long enough to release a wet blow into the tissues, Louisa wincing at the way it seemed to have achieved nothing. Another chesty cough spills out, Francis turning away from her to try and muffle it into his arm. 

“Are you alright..?”

“P- perfectly fine- just something- stuck in my throat.” 

He manages to get out between the spasms, finally giving up with an eye roll as he allows the full harshness to slip out. Louisa can’t help but gasp at the sound, a faint rattling starting up as he inhales, a whistle note on the exhale. She finds herself behind his chair before she has time to process, gently rubbing his back.

“Exc- excuse me…”

Finally the cough eases, and Louisa notices just a second too late that her hand continued rubbing. Pulling away as a flush spreads to her ears, she mumbles an apology, one that Francis easily waves off.

“You have nothing to apologize for, you were simply assisting. I appreciate it. I appreciate you, Miss Louisa.” 

“Th- thank you, sir. That means… a lot…” 

A warm smile greets her, no performance in this one, just sincerity. She feels something swell deep inside her, a feeling she could only describe as home. It’s quickly replaced by something tinged with more concern though, as the smile is replaced by an open mouth, Francis’s eyes starting to flutter shut.

“hAHhh..-! Guhh.. ‘Scuse me, sorry, I thought I wa- oh wait… I am… s- sorry I have… I’m going to start… sn- sneezing again… heHhH-!” 

“I know, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

“hh’YYYITshhhiee-!”

“Blessings again, s-”

“eiiyyttfffshhh’iuh-yyiishhhmmmffff’ii-!” 

“Bless you twice over. Are you… finished..?” 

Francis meets her eyes, a far off look still haunting his own. Louisa finds herself drawn to it, unable to look away. Something curious inside her wants to dive into the feeling, get swept away in his tide. She’s drawn back into reality as his eyes crush shut, tissues pressed back to his nose as the remainder of the fit makes itself known. 

“yiieeddzshhhiiee-!” 

“Blessi-” 

“heH’YIESHHdjjuu-!”

“ings- and again. Are you quite alright?” 

Another deep blow into the tissues leaves Francis blushing, Louisa averting her eyes at the sight. ‘I want him to feel better, not to embarrass him… but… if that’s what it takes…’ Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the kettle, and she quickly busies herself with preparing the tea. Dropping an extra squeeze of lemon into it, she silently glides over, placing the cup of tea pointedly on his desk, and standing in front of his chair. 

“M- Miss Louisa..? Is there s-heHhh-! something I can help you with?” 

“Yes, actually, there is.”

Louisa doesn’t miss the distress in his gaze, though it takes her a second to place why it’s there. She notices the way his hand keeps finding its way up to his nose, pinching at it and rubbing the sides. His eyes dart past her, onto the desk, and following his line of sight she soon understands why. ‘I’m standing between him and the tissues. He’s going to have to admit he’s sick to get me to move, this is my chance!’ 

“W- well..? heHh-! gahh…” 

“I know you’re sick, Mr. Francis. Y- you should just admit it, it’s not doing you any good to stay here working when you’re ill.” 

He gives her a measured look, something sparkling in his eyes that she can’t quite seem to put her finger on. ‘Pride..? But it… feels more… more genuine… maybe… care..?’ 

“I assure you, I’m fine.” 

“Your nose is literally twitching.” 

It seems all he needed was a reminder to break the will he’d been so desperately clinging to, a gasp breaking free from his chest before he could stop it. Louisa offers him a kind smile, a hint of guilt seeping into it at the frantic look on his face.

“Okay, alright, you caught me, now please move, I… Ihavetosneeze-!”

“As you request, sir.”

She steps to the side as Francis lunges for the tissues, barely managing to press a handful to his face before the cascade of sneezes push their way out, impatient and quite irritated at being denied for so long. 

“yiiFFDJZSHII-! eiiyyDJJZSsshh’uu-!”

“Blessings, twice over, sir.”

“AIYYEMMFF’iee-! hEhH-! hEPF-! Guhh… Lost it. Oh- wait… hEh-! yiffttshhiieew-! yittshhh-aiiyyshhh-heH’YITTSHH’iie-!"

"Ble-"

"yIIDJZZshhiie-! Oh heavens… heHh-! Still n- not done..? yiisshhh’iie-! yyittfffshhh-yittshhh-aiiyyshhh’iuh-!” 

“Oh my- blessings again sir, I… lost count…”

Francis chuckles weakly through the tissues, congestion seeping through his voice as he manages a weak- 

“So did I, think nothing of it.”

-in response, before ducking into the pile of tissues to blow again. This time it sounds more productive, and Louisa lifts the mug from the desk, presenting it to him as he lets out a stuffy sigh, tossing the tissues into the garbage.

“Now… may I take over with business matters while you go lay down, at least for awhile..?”

“There’s no need, I’ve finished most of my work for the day. Thanks to your excellent plan, there’s simply no extra work needing to get done. A nap sounds wonderful, I believe I’ll do that. Thank you again, Miss Louisa. You’re truly too kind to me.”  “It- it’s nothing sir… I know you’d do the same for me.”

A smile cracks across Francis’s face, Louisa feeling a matching one bloom on her own.

“Yes, I would.”

#waterfallasks #waterfallwrites #thank you again!! #F/rancis was so fun to write #and i know u didnt ask for her but i HAD to include some L/ouisa bc ofc i did #i really enjoyed trying to get their dynamic before all the events went down and i hope i did okay at it!!! #as always thank you to aNYONE who reads this #and i hope you enjoy it~~ :D #snz #snzkink #b/sd #f/rancis f/itzgerald