"Sanji-kun, could you pass me that big blanket?" Takono was curled up on their soft blue sofa. It was starting to get colder out again and she didnt want to accept it. A break from the harsh sun for a while was always good, but she knew the dead of winter all too well whenever the heater was broken.
"I'm coming..." Sanji sniffled aggravatingly. His feet were dragging and his swollen eyes were fighting to stay open. He had his thick brown vest on over his army green long-sleeved shirt, arms crossed to protect him from the cold.
Takono immediately looked over at him and crunched her eyebrows. "Are you okay?"
"I feel..." Sniff. "...awful." He coughed dryly and sniffed again. His cheeks and nose were a bright red. This was something else she knew all too well. He pulled himself to the sofa, against the opposite end of the couch, eyes half closed. "Fucking damn it." She narrowed her eyes. De-Ji probably would have told him off or at the very least give him a look for that, but honestly, Takono could not possibly care any less from what she's seeing right now. She silently apologized to herself while she watched and pouted at his condition. His eyes widened a bit. "Oh! The... The blanket!" His speech had slowed. He took a deep breath and tried to push himself onto his feet before his wife jumped to her feet and stopped him.
"Don't get up!" She said in a half-panicked voice. He raised a brow at her confusedly. Realizing her tone, she sighed and her voice softened. "I can get it..." She watched him intently until his shoulders relaxed before she went to get the blanket.
He had relaxed a bit, but he couldn't tell if the pressure it caused him to feel was from his swollen sinuses or from whatever made him feel this badly. His eyes were red, his breath was worse than usual, and he couldn't see straight. Whatever this was, he was probably overreacting. Or ate something really bad. But that's impossible, seeing as he's cooked his own food and bought his own ingredients for the past... How long? He couldn't remember. So he shook his head and she threw the other half of the wide blanket around his shoulders. His eyes widening in paranoia, he took the corner in his hand. "Takono-chan, you shouldn't come close to me. I don't want you to get sick." He couldn't believe he said that. He had never been sick before. Nonetheless, she didn't budge.
"Well, it already touched you." She closed it tighter around her and scooted towards him. "And besides, after all those times you stayed with me while I was sick? I definitely owe you."
He began to tense up again. "Takono, I couldn't ever forgive myself if you caught this. I never want you to suffer this much."
"It's not new, you know. I've felt that bad and even worse when you took care of me." As much as he knew what she meant, the words sounded differently than she had intended them to. "Besides, do you really think I could leave you to suffer like this?" He wanted to respond in a way that she would understand his side of things, but he sighed, seeing as he had been in her shoes more than enough times to know what she was feeling.
He couldn't help but smile. He wished she would find some other way to help him without putting her health at risk, but it was cute to see her take charge once in a while, even though he preferred to be the one to take risks. "Alright," he nodded. "But I don't want to infect our bed."
"I could take the couch." She scoffed.
"Well, it already touched me." He smirked. She gasped and smiled at him. He loved to tease her like that. Sometimes it annoyed her because it meant losing by her own words, but she didnt mind hearing it from him.
"Fine. But I want to cuddle." She smiled hard enough to let her cheeks glow. Before he could even protest she wrapped her arms around him under the blanket and smooched his cheek. "I love you, baby."
His smile took over. He couldn't keep arguing. "I love you too, my dar-!" He was interrupted by his coughing. It took her aback since it happened during a moment, but there was nothing either of them could do. He sighed deeply and exhaustively, and looked at her. "So what were you thinking?"
She lay her head on his shoulder and thought. "Not that there were any I had in mind, but I figured we could watch a movie or something." She tilted her head up towards him. "You know, for old times sake."
He watched her and put his arm around her shoulders. "If I kiss you, would you promise to take a shower right after?" She nodded. He smiled when he saw how her eyes stuck to him while she did and slowly, hesitantly closed in, the uncertainty of this kiss seeping away once his lips touched hers. They were sore, and he froze in fear of his nose dripping there and then, but it didnt. And it was perfect.
She let off after maybe half a minute and thought. She looked behind her and turned off the lights, pushing him slowly to his back and crawling over him. In a half smirk, she closed in on his lips, only to be stopped by his hand. "Oi, be careful. I really don't want you to catch my cold." Her blush grew slowly but intensely as she realized that he, her husband, the (although she wasn't sure if she could admit it) "ero cook", had been the one to tell her to slow down. Usually it was the other way around, or at least he was usually the one with greater intent.
"I just wanted to cuddle. Nothing more." She was a little embarrassed. And he could tell. Her embarrassment had ironically been the more contagious thing in the room than his cold. So he sat up and pulled her close. Her head found itself on his shoulder until he tilted her chin to angle her lips towards his. He regretted going against his words, but now that he thought about it, maybe this plague of a cold wasn't going to get in the way as long as he took care of her. Sensing how cold his nose was, she tilted her head slightly, pressing the side of her nose against his. While she was at it, she wanted to make him feel as good as possible. Her hand started to slide. From the back of his shoulder, around the arm and over his breast, carefully hooking her arm around his waist as best she could. He held her closer, warming up to what could be a little heated. Tempted to push the envelope, his hand slid from her back, carefully and slowly around her waist. It carefully slid up. As soon as he was about to let out a deep sigh, his sinuses stopped him. His throat swelled with an intense itch and instead of groping her the way he wanted to, he gripped her waist, pushing himself away from her. In a matter of seconds, his kiss had forced him to turn away and cover his mouth, coughing madly until he grew slightly nauseous. He couldn't even curse out the germs he was fighting. Takono's eyes widened. She wasnt used to seeing him this way. She got up and ran towards the kitchen. He could feel it from the way the floor shook, but he was too dizzy to even remember why she would need the kitchen.
She looked around frantically. "What would Sanji do?" She stood in the middle of her kitchen. Tea with lemon and honey or noodle soup? Then she had an idea. She opened the cabinets and smiled. Flax seeds.
This was unfair. For once, he had no control. If it were, god-forbid, her, he could have rushed into the kitchen, made her an entire course of everything warm and healthy in the most amazing way possible. He would have put her on the bed over specifically lined pillows to recline her comfortably. He would have taken her temperature, left a pitcher of water by her side, tucked her in under the blanket, given her breakfast, lunch and dinner on a tray, been the one to give her the medicine she needed periodically, kept her company, be the one to tell her that she would be okay. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy, and all he was doing was making her worry. What if she couldn't reach something? What if she's lonely? What if she needed him?
"Here you go!" She beamed a smile with a tray of food in her hands. He glanced at her and the way she walked. The little hope he had as a good husband started to grow. She hadn't had that confidence and poise before she fell in love with him. He would start to recall the times she would look away a lot in hopes that he wouldn't think she was staring too long or how she would never look into his eyes whenever they spoke... That is, until the first time they-"Woah!" She tripped on the carpet. Luckily, catching her balance with the tray, only a drop of water hit the rim of the glass and she continued her stride, chuckling. "That was way too close!" He started laughing, and the nasal tint in his voice made her snort.
She put the tray by him, handing the cup to him with ease (considering he was sick.) He took the glass and stopped, looking at her. "You can sit." And smiled. She wasn't going to be careful if it was only him, and he knew it. She blushed and next to him.
"Its boiled flax seeds. I had it growing up and I loved it for the gooeyness." He was confused, but decided to trust her, and took a sip.
"Oh, that's what you meant." The drink was mildly slimy, but it was soothing.
"Jackal always told me it was good for coughing, but that was already a bonus considering I loved the drink." He nearly choked on his sips when she mentioned him, but soon caught himself and sighed.
"Its... Delicious. Thank you." She was worried that he was only trying to be polite, considering the circumstances, but he gave her a reassuring look as he drank, and her heart had slowed. She had no idea it was racing. Either from nervousness of what she said or from being the one to care for him for once. "Why did you bring an entire tray for one glass?"
She slightly giggled. "Why not?" He sighed and pecked her temple. Perhaps being sick wasnt so bad in the right circumstances.
I have not gone on fanfiction for the longest time! ^_^;;; but writing this again was really heartwarming (even though I suck at writing lol. But maybe I just need practice?) But good thing I OPENED AN ENTIRE DRABBLES STORY YAY!