Work Text:
You had a mild flu. You partially blame the bad air, even though it was definitely from dousing yourself in heavy rainwater while dealing with commissions the other day. You thought you could hide it from him, you and your Rudolph-red nose, by tucking yourself in bed early, quilt covering you like a bundled little cabbage roll. You’ll fall asleep, you thought to yourself, then you wouldn’t need to worry him. He was busy most of the day anyways, following orders and surveying Dorman Port, it’ll be an easy little plan. But you’ve never forgotten that Lohen had always been an observant man, and you knew that well. Though even if he wasn’t, the pile of used tissue papers that slowly began to increase in size only helped confirm any of his suspicions.
When he reached home to find the living room empty, fear had him grip the hilt of his dagger from under his sleeve. But upon finding you taking cover in the bedroom, cozily tucked in, he let out a relieved exhale. He hadn’t said a word yet, only giving you a raised eyebrow as he watched your eyes follow him, darting across the darkened bedroom, occasionally reaching an arm out to pluck another tissue as he brushed off and readied for bed.
When he finally slotted himself beside you, you subconsciously moved to look at him, sheets dragged alongside and half of your face still stuck to the blanket. He smiled, a warm, gentle one, as his eyes glimmered faintly the colour of alexandrite, and poked at where your cheeks would have been if not shrouded by the sheets.
“Hey there,” he breathed out a whisper, voice as if beckoning a frightened creature to calm. “I won’t bite,” he said with a giggle. You instantly melted under his gaze, and the sheets suddenly felt unbearably warm, flushed heat radiating off your cheeks. It almost compelled you to kick the blanket off the bed entirely. But as another cold shiver ran down your spine, you remembered your goal, that you’d do anything to not let him see you in this state, nose puffy and breathing out your mouth like a sloppy guppy. No, you will not show weakness to this man, this man who happened to be the love of your life. Defiantly, you turned your body, your back like a wall as it hunched strongly against him, waiting for his chest to press into you, awaiting your routine cuddling session before drifting off to sleep.
Half of you were afraid that he’d be disgusted; as you blew your nose like an elephant from a circus attraction, loud and boisterous and defeaning. Yet again, it was Lohen. Why would he be? He still chose to coil his hands around you as always, despite your seemingly.. Cold exterior. Oh dear, your hands really were freezing. You don’t even have the energy to push him away even if you wanted to, as your body was so worn and weary from fighting that dastardly cold all day that the only thing that mattered to you now was that you had something to coddle up with to fight the monster that was your flu. He held the back of your hand with his palm, similar to how the two of you were chest against back, so you could see the way he held your fingers, digits standing upright as he gripped onto yours, steadily, reassuringly, fingers interlocking.
Grip, loosen. Grip, loosen. He repeated his motions and squeezed your hand in his, eliciting a soft sigh from you. He had always had a body temperature colder than average, but today, your body’s receptors seem to be functioning weirdly, as he felt, exceptionally and absolutely comfortably, warm. It tickled your skin, his alluring warmth all you could think of as he breathed into your hair, curled a strand between his fingers, and whispered sweet nothings that felt like everything to you.
You wanted to turn to face him again, to watch his beautiful eyes that shone so illuminatingly in the darkened night. But your eyelids felt so immensely heavy, a weight settling into the crevices of your mind, snuggled deep in you as a fog of drowsiness overtook you, so you settled with just listening to his soothing voice as your head dropped towards the crook of his neck.
“You trust me so much, Fox.” He mumbled, seemingly talking to himself. You quietly chuckled at his silly words, because, of course you did. You’ve been with this man for Shades know how long. You’ll never ever find anyone that's exactly like him. Protective, yet teasing. Sweet like gum, and never condescending, unless you let him be. And you were beholden that he trusts you enough to let his own guard down around you too, considering his struggles.
Mm. You snuggle further into his arms, trying to absorb every possible warmth he’s able to emit, and then you'll… You’ll…
You’ll make a soup tomorrow. Then you’ll feel better, then think of all the things you'll be able to do again once you're healed. For starters, give your Precious a big, fat, slobbering kiss…
~
Lohen had always been a morning person. At the break of dawn, you have since expected to find him already up and running, either sharpening his weapons, or practicing combat against an old tree. Whatever it was, he was always prone to make good use of the little mortal time he had left in his hands, making sure not to waste a single second. You were different. You like to extend your time spent with your bed as long as possible. You were already used to waking up alone, curled up and basking in the afternoon sun in your solitude.
So you were slightly alarmed when you finally slurred awake late in the day, the sun already high in the sky as per usual, but felt his body still pressed against yours, completely unmoved. You could even hear his gentle breathing, warm breaths fanning against your skin, his nose tucked into your neck, and the way his chest heaved and hoed against your back.
Blazing sunlight was spilling through the window, and yet your love was still tucked in bed, with you in his arms.
Strange. Isn’t it?
To be frank, you’ve never actually seen him asleep before. Well, you are technically facing away from him, not really looking at him, but point stands, he has always waited for you to fall asleep before drifting to sleep himself, in a way to watch over you, or maybe he doesn’t trust you to watch his sleeping form? Whatever it was, seeing him so relaxed and unconscious pulled at your heartstrings, after all, it was a sign that he’s putting even more trust into you, yeah?
“Bun,” you grogily slurred, calling out whilst trying to stifle a yawn, “Lohen.. Bunny.”
“..Yeah..?” You felt vibrations as he mumbled into your skin. He stretched his arms, adjusting his positions before his head snuggled into your back again. You raised an eyebrow. So he was sleeping in on purpose. That rules out the possibility of him oversleeping on accident I guess.
“..I thought you had work?” Or training. Or exercises to do. Or practically anything, anything that wasn't lazing around here with you. It was so unlike him. It was a given, you were never a morning person, the worms would have long ran away before you as a little bird would bother to catch any. But he definitely was, so what exactly was he doing in the middle of the day, still cuddling with you and seemingly unwilling to leave?
“Awe fox, you don’t want me here?” He teased, with a voice that tilted to something too pitiable and too sad for your liking.
You quickly refute. "Of course not," you really, really really wanted him here, actually. And he knew that, that’s why his arms slipped to wrap around you, tighter than ever before, turning you slowly to face his way, where a grin so full of adoration greeted you, and you find that your cold had long already been cured without you even noticing. “You were sick yesterday, yeah?” He held your shoulders firmly, hiding his confronting voice behind his coy smile.
Is that what this was? Your darling was just worried for you, but too afraid to directly ask you about it. You giggled, elated that your nose was no longer blocked, and drank in the feeling of having fresh air slipping straight to your esophagus once again, taking a large breath. “Not anymore, though,” you declared, pulling him to nuzzle his face into yours.
He chuckled, pulling you impossibly closer, “that’s great news. So that means you’ll be up for some friendly sparring now?” And he’s already kicked the blanket off the two of you with lightning speed, bouncing once again with bunny-like energy.