W
L
T
Walt, why do you work out so much? Anubis whined.
To keep me healthy.
I keep you healthy! There is no need to torture me like this! He exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. I'd gone to lift some weights because I couldn't sleep and even after a hot shower, my shoulders were still throbbing. Anubis was whining because my shoulders hurt, which didn't even make sense. My shoulders were hurting. His shoulders were fine. What weirdo complained about somebody else's pain?
Your shoulders hurting makes my shoulders hurt, Anubis in exasperation. We are one person. How many times must I explain this to you-what the hell are you doing?!
"The only person I would want to listen to complaints from is Sadie," I muttered out loud as I raised my hand to knock on her door.
There was a groan and then the door opened.
Anubis's irritation faded and we both looked down at Sadie affectionately. She was in her pajamas (a tee shirt and pajama jeans) and her hair was down and she looked up at me drowsily, not fully awake.
She rubbed her eyes, "'s late. What's 'rong?"
"You don't usually go to sleep so early," I noticed, stepping inside her room. She yawned and closed the door behind me.
"Magic classes wore me out," Sadie said, her words slurred and sleepy. I imagined she'd been asleep for a few hours. It was near midnight.
Despite the pain in my shoulders, I bent down and swept her up. It killed my shoulders to move like that, and even Sadie's small amount of weight hurt me. I walked quickly and put her down on her bed before my arms could give up.
I wouldn't let you drop her, Anubis promised. She's breakable.
She's not a vase, or a tombstone, or whatever you have down there, I said, rolling my eyes. It was a small comfort, though, that Anubis was watching out for me-or Sadie, actually.
Sadie put her head on my arm when I sat down. "'s wrong?"
It hurt my shoulders to move, so I didn't pet her hair, but I did put my chin on her head. "I hurt my shoulders lifting weights."
Sadie frowned, still not entirely awake, "I 'an fix it." Her words were so tired and ran together that it took me a minute to figure out what she'd said.
I frowned, "Sadie, you can barely hold your head up, I don't think doing magic would be good for you-"
"Not magic, Sadie mumbled. She squirmed out of my side and stumbled off to her bathroom. When she came back, she was carrying a rag and a bowel of steaming water. I frowned and she crawled back on the bed and handed me the bowel of water.
What on Earth is she doing? Anubis wondered.
"Take off your shirt," Sadie said sleepily.
I frowned and shrugged my shirt off over my head. I cringed when my shoulders moved and Anubis squirmed in the back of my head.
Ouch, that hurts, he complained.
Sadie took the rag out of the bowel and squirmed behind me, her hands whispering down my back. I shifted. Her hands were warm, but they were butterfly-light on my skin. It felt really-
"Oh," I moaned. I nearly collapsed as she rubbed her hands into the knots in my back. The hot water on the soft rag she was using was heavenly.
Mm, Anubis whimpered. Gods, that feels good!
Sadie laughed tiredly and continued to very slowly work her way around my shoulder blades. Every now and then she would stop and re-soak the rag in the bowel I was holding.
Anubis and I were wrecks within minutes. The hot water felt so good on our muscles, and her hands were so skilled, that all we could do was moan. My hands were shaking and I eventually had to bend over and put my head in my hands and Sadie took the bowel away from me before I could drop it.
"Next time you decide to ruin your back, please do it when I'm not asleep," Sadie said, now mostly awake. I moaned again when she touched me. It felt so good.
Hey? Anubis, you still there? I asked, realizing my head had gotten suspiciously quiet. When he didn't immediately answer with some sarcastic comment, I looked into the Duat. Anubis was curled on his side, fast asleep.
"Sades, you knocked Anubis out," I chuckled. Sadie frowned and slipped her vision to see Anubis.
"He's cute when he's asleep," she said affectionately, her eyes taking on a loving look.
"Mm, thank you for fixing my back," I said gratefully, ignoring the minor spark of jealousy.
Sadie yawned and nodded, the sleepy look in her eyes ebbing back. She was still sitting behind me.
I smiled evilly and leaned back, so that I was laying on her. She squealed and squirmed, twisting in a futile attempt to escape.
"Walt!" She whined. "C'mon, let me up!"
I chuckled and snapped my fingers to turn off the lights. Once it was pitch black, I shifted so that Sadie could breathe again and I put my head on her chest, lying so close to her that she brushed against me when she inhaled. I could feel her warm breath on my head and her small arms wrap around my neck, holding me close to her.
After a few moments, her breathing evened out and her hands lost their grip on me. She was completely limp, fast asleep.
I smiled. My shoulders didn't hurt, my head was quiet, and my Sadie was asleep at my side.
Everything was perfect.