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The scientist groaned as his weight sank into the couch, head in his hands and massaging his strained temples while his brain fried itself to a crisp. His eyes squeezed shut in a useless attempt to not let them dry. The one seated on the other cushion curiously looked up from her page, moving the novel aside to better see her spouse. "Wilson?" She asked simply enough, all too used to seeing him at his worst. His bloodshot eyes could barely glance at her from behind the web of his hand. "Is everything alright?"
He was struck with the urge to laugh, one that only came out as a pitiful wheeze. "Nothing you need to worry about," he dismissed without any effort to seem truthful. "It's the same old song and dance. Don't let this weary scientist ruin your day."
"You say that as if I haven't fallen in love with that very man. Come here." She lowered her knees and opened her arms, laughing slightly at the tempted glances he gave her before giving in. He laid himself across the couch and against her chest, his wiry frame sat between her legs as his face found its way to her abdomen. She breathed a sigh of relief once they had settled in. "Now," she spoke with a smile, fingertips brushing to the back of his neck as she combed through his raven-black hair. Saying nothing of the strands of grey that began to show. "Isn't this much more comfortable?"
"Dangerously so," he muttered with a rapidly fading alertness. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his arms wrapped around her waist, face burying against her clothes and embracing her calming scent as if it he'd been kept from her for years. "As nice as this is, my love, I've still heaps of work to do..."
"And can you tell me in confidence that you'd truly get any of it done?" He couldn't say a single word and she only sighed as she stroked his hair. "I'd like to say I know you well," she mused while gazing at her ring, "and for as brilliant as you are, you've never been a good liar. You flinch and stumble at every push." He could feel his ears turn red as he went to prove both her points, lowering his head while she chuckled at his weak stutter. "It's alright to stay," she soothed through an amused smile. "Who am I to deny my husband his pillow?"
She continued to gently massage his scalp and pet down his unruly hair as he began to run out of steam. "I suppose... that it wouldn't hurt to rest my eyes."
"Not at all," she hummed while feeling his weight sink further into her. He mumbled another excuse that she couldn't catch before he drifted off. It drew another quiet laugh from between her lips as she lowered her head, pressing a kiss to the faint wrinkles of his brow. "Sweet dreams," she whispered as she held him in her arms, spending another moment smitten by her love before returning to her book.
Her fingers absentmindedly traced along his back, playing with his hair and occasionally flipping his white collar. She didn't mind the quiet snores. The awkward shifts of his posture, arms still attempting to hold on to the one he loved. She found it cute, if anything. Akin to a loyally trained pet. His warmth and weight were far more comforting than she expected when they sat down, treating him like a strangely shaped blanket and having to flip through her novel with just one hand.
The seconds and minutes ticked away until nearly two hours had passed. He blinked unevenly as he processed why he was partially in the dark. Her perfume still flooded his nose to the point he nearly fell asleep again. "Darling...?" He mumbled as he gradually regained his bearings, making her tilt her head and place a card in her book before setting it down.
"Finally awake, are you? How was your rest?"
"A bit too pleasant, I'm afraid..." He tried to stretch his arms beneath her as he looked up, feeling inexplicably flattered to see her smiling down at him. Her palm still held the back of his neck to keep him warm. "What time is it now?"
"Hm, about time for dinner. I should get started on that." She sighed as she let go of him, trying to do something about the stiffness forming in her legs. "Would you be a dear and get up first? I'm afraid my legs are still taking a nap."
"Ah... Just a moment." He sat up on his knees before reaching for one of her legs, sinking his thumbs into her calf and watching the way she tried not to wince. "It won't hurt for much longer, I promise."
She had to laugh at his concern, however endearing it was. "After the lives we've lived, do I really need soothing for a cramp?"
"I believe that you're still human like the rest of us. Subtle pains are painful nonetheless." He continued to massage her legs while she watched him with such affection, feeling for the thousandth time just how grateful she was to have married that man. He was completely oblivious to her honeyed gaze. "How are they now?" He asked with a proud little smile
She responded by moving her legs around his back, watching him grunt in surprise as he was brought back against her chest. His arms just barely kept him from lying on her. She only laughed at his caution as her arms looped around his neck. "Perfectly awake, my love. Thank you."
His expression soured with a habitually sheepish frown, one she found adorable in spite of those that saw the opposite. "I'm only doing as a husband should," he attempted to discredit.
"And I, a loyally devoted wife. Don't tell me I can't embrace my own beloved."
"I've told you nothing of the sort. I'm still a man after all, aren't I?" In spite of his embarrassment, he had grown to treasure their marriage as the best thing he had ever done. "I only ask that you give me a bit of grace, as things like this... They have the tendency to shake me, even after this much time."
"Percival..." She closed her eyes and brushed her lips to his forehead, bringing him further into her arms as he gratefully took the space to hide. "I know that well," she assured softly, "and I will give you all the time you could possibly need. It's enough for me that you accept my affections, however excessive they are."
"Excessive, perhaps, but perfect and precious all the same. What kind of person would I be if I rejected something so kind?"
"A man with boundaries, is all. It's perfectly alright to ask me to stop." He opened his mouth to refute her, only to shut it quite firmly as he realized how it would sound. She tilted her head in his silence, feeling his features press more closely to her neck. "...Wilson?" She prompted quietly.
"...Darling," he responded after a pause, a fluster creeping up his neck. "As pathetic of a man this may make me sound... Truly, anything you give me, I will be endlessly grateful for. I hope you don't believe I've been enduring when I've been treasuring each day spent by your side."
"Oh, I only meant..."
"I'm well aware, my love, I am." He had to take another moment, blushing quite deeply where he thought she couldn't see. "I'm only hoping that you know just how smitten I am with you."
And it was her turn to blush red, a vibrant, breathtaking sort of shade as her teeth sank into her lip. She looked away and at the floor as her heart rapidly gathered speed. "I'm aware as well," she reassured as smoothly as she could, "and I promise that I feel the same. The very same."
"Then I'm relieved." He held her waist and gave her another moment to catch her breath before looking up, giving her a quiet, knowing smile as they matched each other's complexion. "How foolish we are," he breathed as he moved her hair out of her face, cupping her cheek as it warmed beneath his weary palm. "How foolish we must look while flustering at our own spouse, and yet..." He leaned closer until his forehead touched to hers, meeting her gaze for confirmation before letting his drift shut. Their lips were soft, slow, purposeful to the point the feeling lingered as they pulled away. "...that foolishness," he continued while his lips brushed hers, "is what has brought me so much joy."
"I would much rather be a fool than not be yours." She kissed him again, carefully caressing his face before gently breaking away. "But I really must get started on dinner."
It took a moment for him to realize she was being literal before feeling his eyes go wide. "Yes, quite." He scrambled to get off of her and smooth out his clothes, a belated embarrassment flooding his mind as she laughed softly from behind him. "Forgive me for getting carried away..."
"Why should I?" She asked as her arms looped around his waist, face by his ear as he instinctively held her hands. "There's no need," she reminded with a quiet hum. "Even these sides of you have my heart."
"Ah... As do yours, my dear. I love you all the same."