Work Text:
“How many times have you blown your nose today, baby?”
Glancing from the tissue box clutched in your lap, up toward Gi-hun, you sniffle, trying to ignore the way the back of your throat itches. “Uh, not that many—”
Scoffing, your husband plops down on the sofa beside you, the cushions bouncing from his added weight. Before you can duck away, his palms against your forehead, gently pressing around your furrowed brows before trailing down to your jawline. Letting out a watery giggle at the way his touch tickles, you cringe at the heat you can feel radiating from your own skin, listening as Gi-hun sucks in a breath beside you.
“I’m not sick.” You immediately argue, holding up a trembling hand when Gi-hun opens his mouth to protest. “It’s just— It’s allergies. They get worse when the weather starts to change, it happens every year.”
“Hmm.” Still-frowning, Gi-hun cups your cheek in his hand, his dark eyes soft and warm. “I know, darling, I get them a little bit too. But this seems a lot worse than normal, for you.”
Your shrug, rubbing at your red nose with a new tissue before tossing it into the little trashcan next to the couch. “Nothing you can really do, unfortunately. Just gotta ride it out.”
“Have you taken anything today? It wasn’t this bad when I left for work—”
“Yeah, I took some Advil and stuff. I think, uh—” Glancing at the clock on the wall, you squint as your dry eyes burn, blinking a few times. “ — 4-ish-hours-ago. I had it with the ramen I made for lunch.”
Leaning forward, Gi-hun kisses at your forehead before carefully rising from the couch. It’s just then that you realize he’s still in his work clothes, his dark blue tie an almost exact color match with the bags you can feel forming under your eyes. Blinking up at him, Gi-hun coos, framing your face in his warm hands, his thumbs carefully brushing along your red cheekbones.
“I’m gonna go get cleaned up now, sweet girl. Do you wanna join me in the shower?”
You barely even have to think about it. “God, yes please.”
Chuckling, Gi-hun gently pulls you up from the couch, taking a second to gather you in his arms. Nuzzling underneath his chin, you inhale as much as your stuffy nose will allow, trying your hardest to ignore how the back of your throat aches. As suddenly as you’re on your feet, you’re in Gi-hun’s arms, cradled against his chest with his hands under your ass and you wiggle slightly, listening as your husband huffs.
“No, no, none of that.” Adjusting his grip, Gi-hun reaches up with one hand, quickly booping your nose before holding you closer. “You’re sick—”
“Not sick.”
“You don’t feel good, honey.”
“They’re just allergies.”
“Don’t pout, baby, I’m not trying to argue with you.”
Tucking your bottom lip in-between your teeth, you sigh as the two of you finally reach the bathroom, gathering your feet underneath you when your husband carefully sets you down. A sweet kiss is pressed against your cheek before Gi-hun’s turning away to get the shower ready and you take that few seconds to study yourself in the slowly fogging mirror.
Despite having worked the day-shift earlier, you look dead on your feet, your eyes red-rimmed and your nose peaked in irritation. Your hands tremble as you bring them up, rubbing at your aching shoulders and neck, the cough that’s been building up all day burning at your throat.
“Sweetheart?” Gi-hun’s own hands settle on your own, replacing them and you lean backwards against his chest, shivering. His eyes flicker in the mirror, going from your face down to where your work uniform buttons up. “Do you want help?”
“With—” You clear your throat when your voice cracks, watching as your husband’s brows furrow. “With what?”
“Your clothes, love. You can’t shower with them on.” Letting out a small, huffing laugh when all you do is blink up at him, Gi-hun carefully starts undoing your work shirt. “It’s okay, baby, I got it.”
“Yours are already off.” His skin’s so warm against your own that you sway closer, slightly hazy in your illness-fueled exhaustion. “That’s not-That’s not fair—”
“Shh, it’s okay, darling, just look at me while I take yours off, alright? Can you pull your arm out of your shirt for me, please? Good, good and the other one? Thank you, baby, you’re so good—”
Kissing your knuckles when you clutch at him with a whine, Gi-hun makes quick and gentle work of getting your slacks and undershirt off, brushing your hair back from your red face. The shower’s so warm now that the bathroom is filled with steam, so much of it that your nose starts to run again and you sniffle, blowing harshly into the face towel your husband holds up. Pulling back the shower curtain, Gi-hun steps into the tub before helping you in, gathering you against his chest under the water’s spray.
“That feel good, sweet love?”
All you can do is nod, already feeling the knots and headache that had formed during the day melting away. Lathering your hair with his own shampoo, Gi-hun scratches at your scalp, running his fingers along your roots over and over again in a rhythm that has you shivering.
“Oh my God—” You practically moan when his fingers gently dig into your shoulders, pressing against the tension-filled areas and you melt, going as limp against him as possible while still remaining standing. “F- Fuck —”
Holding you steady, Gi-hun chuckles, messaging down your neck and across your back, his palms warm and slick with soap. He’s taking his time, going slow and deep, clearly feeling the way your muscles unclench at his touch, his lips brushing across your cheeks and down your nose, catching against your lips a few times and you whimper.
“You’re so tense, darling.” His voice is a deep vibration against your ear and you nuzzle closer, a yawn stretching your jaw so wide it aches. “And so warm.”
“Good thing we’re both—” You cut yourself off to cough, the sound burning against the back of your throat and Gi-hun cradles you closer. “We’re both off tomorrow.”
“No kidding.” Carefully turning you around, Gi-hun quickly washes himself off, shampooing his own hair so fast that you barely have time to let out a few more coughs. Once done, you’re immediately back in his arms, one of his hands brushing your wet hair from your face while his other wraps around your waist. “I think that water’s gonna get cold in a few minutes, sweetie, we should get out before it does—”
Shaking your head and turning your face toward the spray, a groan of annoyance escapes you when you do , in-fact, feel the heat of the water start to dim. Reaching up before the water becomes too chilly, you press your palms along your cheekbones, as though trying to clear your aching sinuses from sheer force-of-will alone.
A noise almost like a sob escapes you when it does nothing and Gi-hun coos, gently dragging you back and away from the faucet. “Shh, it’s okay, baby—”
“My head hurts.” Your voice comes out high, almost a whine but you can’t bring yourself to care. “And-And my cheeks hurt, my face hurts, Gi-hun, it aches so bad.”
“I know, sweetheart, I’m so sorry, shh—” Rumbling, your husband turns the water off once it actually starts to get cold, the chilly bathroom air sending goosebumps rising along your arms and you tremble. Lovingly extracting your grip on him, Gi-hun coos when you let out another sort-of-sob. “I gotta get us our towels, you’ll be colder without one.”
“I know, I—” You swallow, blinking. “I’m sorry—”
“Oh, baby—” Wrapping your towel around your shoulders and his own across his waist, Gi-hun gently lifts you from the tub, kissing at your forehead. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you cuddle closer, blinking stinging tears from your itchy, dry eyes. “What’re you sorry for, hm?”
“Being annoying.” Sighing, you gather your feet under you, standing on your own with your hands now resting against Gi-hun’s shoulders. You don’t meet his eyes, swallowing. “It really is just stupid fucking allergies, I swear, I’m not normally this-this—”
“Sick?”
“I was gonna say needy, but yeah, that too. Plus like, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna start my period soon, which just makes everything so much worse.”
“I’m glad the condom we used a few-weeks-ago worked, at least.”
Groaning, you lightly smack Gi-hun’s chest, pressing your lips against his skin after a second. “It’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing at you, honey, I promise.” Tutting, your husband leads you out of the bathroom and down the short hallway to your shared bedroom, pressing on your shoulders to get you to sit. The mattress dips under your weight and you watch as Gi-hun quickly grabs a pair of nightclothes for both him and you. “Are you still cold?”
Nodding, you grab his pillow from his side of the bed, cuddling it in your lap and smothering your face in the fabric, breathing in deeply before sighing. You listen as Gi-hun shuffles in-front of you, opening and closing what you can recognize as your winter-pajamas drawer. “Little bit, yeah.”
“Arms up, sweet girl.”
Humming when you lift your head and do as asked, Gi-hun speaks as he gets you dressed, his deep voice a bit muffled from the sweatshirt he carefully pulls over your head. It’s one of his old ones, the collar slightly stretched and the inside soft and warm.
“You aren’t annoying.” Holding up a hand when you go to interrupt, Gi-hun smiles gently, brushing a lock of still-wet hair from your face. “You aren’t, baby. You don’t feel good and you worked this morning? Honestly, I’d be grumpy too—”
“I’m not—” You sigh. “I don’t mean to be in a bad mood, not when you’re trying to help me.”
“You haven’t been in a bad mood to me, darling. Wait, that didn’t come out right.” Tisking at the watery giggle you let out, Gi-hun boops your nose, carefully sliding a pair of underwear and sweatpants on you before getting dressed himself, his wet curls ruffled from his own shirt. “You haven’t taken the fact that you feel shitty out on me. That’s what I meant.”
“I try not to, I promise.”
“I believe you.” Shushing you when you let out a cough, Gi-hun gently rubs at your back, taking a seat on the bed and gathering you into his arms. Nuzzling against his neck with a wheeze, you sniffle, clutching at his nightshirt with trembling fingers. “Okay, baby, alright, no more talking. God, you sound horrible—”
“Thanks—”
“I mean that in the most loving way, sweetheart. Do you want some chicken soup for dinner, hm? Might help your throat feel better, clear up your sinuses too.” Kissing at your temple, Gi-hun speaks against your skin, his lips soft. “Does that sound okay?”
“Can we watch a movie too, please? And-And cuddle?”
Gi-hun’s voice is warm, soft and safe and you melt. “Of course, anything my sweet love wants to do.”