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“Urgh! I can’t believe you, how could you be so stupid and reckless?” Jax uttered with a groan.
A raspy cough leaves your throat in response to Jax’s comment as you look up at him with a cold glare. After an adventure involving a snowball fight, it seems that you have fallen ill. Jax wasn’t wrong for calling you out on being reckless, you didn’t back out when you were showing clear signs of getting cold. However, you didn’t want to admit that as you were known to be pretty stubborn plus you wanted to win. Now, here you are in bed with the grade-A jerk of the circus at your bedside checking in on you. Which was odd but you were honestly too sick to put up much of a fight.
“What’s it to you? I didn’t listen now I’m suffering the consequences. Happy now?”You spoke in a low, growly voice.
“Happy? More like proud over the fact I was right and that you should have listened to me when I told you to back out” Jax spoke with a confident attitude.
You frowned at him and released a low growl “If you here to mock me then you should leave”
Jax looked down at you with a smug look “Nah I’m not going anywhere first I wanna enjoy this moment, proving to you I was right. Second, you can barely move and need someone to take care of you. Luckily I just happened to come bug you at the right time”
The way he spoke was a mix of a cocky attitude but a hint of sincerity and hearing that, made your chest feel tight. However, you quickly just passed that feeling off due to your illness. You looked away from his gaze feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration, yes he was right you were very sick, but Jax was the last person you wanted to take care of you. Mustering up your strength, you lifted yourself up and gave him a serious look.
“Thanks but I think I will be just fine on my own” you released a cough at the end of the sentence.
Jax looked at you with disbelief “Yeah right, you ain’t going nowhere toots”
A low hiss escaped your lips “Don’t call me that and you aren’t the boss of me” you said angrily.
As you were pulling back the covers and slowly making your way out of your bed, Jax stood up to block your path. You glared at him as you tried to pass, but he refused to back down. Reaching out at the side of his arm to physically move him out of the way, he quickly grabs your wrist to fight you back. It was a small battle only for him to win by pinning you down to your bed. The moment you opened your eyes to look at him, there was a glimmer of concern lingering within them and it caused your chest to tighten once again. Only this time, the sensation was slightly more intense and you could feel your breathing getting heavy.
“Listen, sweetheart, I’m not letting you walk around looking like this, I don’t want you collapsing and someone else finding you. Stay here while I get you some soup and a cold rag, you’re looking pretty flushed” Jax told you in a straightforward voice as he proceeded to get up and leave your room.
Leaving you there completely speechless, you didn’t know how to respond to Jax treating you like that. He has always been a cruel, sarcastic jerk from the moment you met him. Not to mention he seems to always be around you, whether it’s for a quick chat or pulling a prank on you. Either way, no matter where you were Jax seemed to just around the next corner trying to get under your skin. At this point, you were used to his crazy antics, but this was something new. Was he doing this to mess with you or does he genuinely care about your well-being?
The door to your room opens up a few minutes later and Jax comes walking in with a bowl of soup and a wet, cold rag. You adjust yourself and place the covers back over yourself. Once you were settled you could feel your fever starting to get worse, Jax placed the stuff down and put a hand on your head. His eyebrows raised and the look of concern in his eyes appeared once again.
“Jeez you’re burning up,” he said in a calm voice.
Jax reaches for the cold rag on your nightstand and gently places it on your forehead. The second it touches your burning skin, you feel a slight hint of relief. A small smile forms on the corners of your lips as you can feel your temperature going down. Jax looks down on you with a pleased grin. However, you were still a bit skeptical of his actions.
“Jax…why are you doing this? You must want something from me” you muttered as you looked at him with narrow eyes.
“I told you…the satisfaction of knowing I was right.” Jax answered so nonchalantly with that smug grin on his face.
You gave him a disapproving frown “Should’ve known” muttered annoyingly under your breath.
Jax was quiet for a moment but then he let out a sigh “Don’t tell the others but I want you to get better because among all these losers you’re the only one who I feel like talking to.”
The frown on your face faded, you had never heard Jax be so open like that. Normally it would be like pulling teeth to get someone like him to be vulnerable. It was very odd, you thought to yourself. The tightness in your chest got stronger and you could hear your heart beating rapidly, was your sickness getting worse or was this something else? All that you knew was Jax’s sudden shift to vulnerability was making you feel strange emotions toward him, and it was driving you mildly crazy. Once you had a moment to recollect your thoughts and while lifting yourself up your stomach released a loud growl. Embarrassed, you’re face beamed red and you turned away fully preparing for Jax to burst out laughing at you.
Jax chuckled softly “Well someone is hungry, I made the right call to bring this soup along” he reached for the bowl of soup and handed it to you, however, you were sceptical.
“Hold on, I’m not gonna let you fool me so easily” You narrowed your eyes at him.
“What do you mean?” Jax thought for a moment then his face lit up when he figured out what you meant. “You seriously think I put something in your soup?!” He exclaimed.
When you heard Jax express like that, a pit fell into your stomach that made you feel a bit guilty “Well…I mean…this you Jax. There is no way you would give me food without there being a catch”
Jax frowned at you “Wow I’m so offended right now. Look I wasn’t lying what I said earlier I do want you to get better. You know what I will prove it to you” he spoke in a genuine tone.
He took the bowl from your hands and took a spoon full of soup to eat it right in front of you. Proving that he didn’t do anything to your food. Once you heard his genuine tone and saw what he just did, you decided to swallow your pride and trust him. He hands you back the soup and begins to eat it and to your surprise it was delicious. Who knew Jax could make a great chicken noodle soup.
“I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have doubted you like that” you muttered.
“Ah no worries, honestly if the tables were turned I wouldn’t have trusted you too” he chuckles slightly.
You chuckled back at his comment as you handed a spoonful of soup in your hands. Not fully paying attention some soup spilled on the corner of your lips. You were about to reach for your blanket to wipe it off, however, Jax stopped you by placing his hand on your chin. The action caused you to look directly at him and the moment you locked eyes with him, a loud thump rang in your ears.
Jax used his thumb to wipe the soup dripping from the corner of your lips “Don’t worry I got it” he spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
This caused your chest to tighten up once again and make your body grow weaker than it already was. As you stared into his yellow eyes nothing could be heard but the sound of your own heartbeat and the heaviness of your breath. An overwhelming sense of calm filled the air once he flashed you a soft smile. For the first time, you felt safe and relaxed in his presence and you were unsure how to respond to this. All you could do was get lost in his eyes.
Jax broke the dreamy haze you were trapped in by removing his hand from your chin “You okay? Your breathing is getting heavy” he noticed.
“Oh! I’m getting a bit sleepy is all” you responded sheepishly hoping Jax would be none the wiser.
“Then get some rest sleepy head, I will go put your soup away and come back with a new cold rag, sound cool?”
“Y-yeah” you muttered quietly.
Without hesitation Jax grabbed the bowl of soup from your lap, the cold rag off your head, and got up to leave your room. Once he was out of sight you shuffled yourself under the covers, turned your body away from the door, and began to try to drift off to sleep. Which proved to be difficult because once you closed your eyes you couldn’t stop thinking about Jax. His smile, his unusual tenderness towards you, and the hint of care in his eyes. All of this was causing your heart to beat at a rate that made breathing next to impossible. You were trying your best to think of other subjects to distract you but it was no use, your mind would always go back to him.
Your thoughts were stopped abruptly when an idea popped into your head, if denying these emotions made you feel worse, what would happen if you were to accept them? With that in mind, you decided to try and see what would happen. Taking a deep breath you allowed these feelings to flow and suddenly you began to feel a lot better. Your chest was tight but not crushing, your breathing was under control, and your heart felt warm. A small smile formed as you were drifting off to sleep.
In the midst of this, you heard the door to your room open. You were too sleepy to turn around but you were awake enough to still hear. An unexpected shift on your bed reached you, making your back tilt slightly, was Jax sitting on your bed? More importantly, was he sitting so close to you?! Suddenly you felt a warm hand glide across the top of your head, moving your hair out of your face paired with a soft chuckle.
“Wow you didn’t take long to fall asleep, poor thing” Jax whispered.
There was a pause that left you in anticipation causing your train of thought to steer off its tracks.
“Listen sweetheart, you better get well soon because I can’t stand these losers. They are either crazy, buzzkills, or just downright boring. Not you though, you are different. You give me a challenge, I have no idea how to get under your skin. What’s even more interesting is that you fight back and do a pretty good job at it. So please don’t leave me hanging for long I’m already bored without you” Jax admitted.
Hearing Jax confess like that your body began to slightly shiver and your heart was racing faster than ever before. The pressure on the bed swiftly changed as you felt your back sinking deeper into the crease Jax was sitting in, it confused you on why this was happened. However shortly, you got your answer. Your body shifted towards the crease turning your face towards the sky, then you unexpectedly felt something soft and warm touch your lips. Wondering the cause of this unusual sensation, your eyes slowly blink open to revel a shocking discovery. This sarcastic, rude, smart@$$ rabbit let down his guard and revealed how he truly feels about you, by kissing you on the lips.
Completed baffled? Yes, you were, however knowing Jax you decided to close your eyes and return the kiss to enjoy this moment. Jax was startled by your reaction that he careful pulled away, only to see that you were still ‘asleep’. Realizing this, he hummed softly and began to lift himself off your bed, leaving you to rest.
“Sweet dreams toots, I will be back later” he whispered as he was walking towards your door to exit your room.
After that, getting any sleep was hopeless but it didn’t matter. It was nice to see a side of Jax that no one else got to see but you.
~THE END