Kitten Sneezes
"Alright, says here that you have to take two tablespoons every four hours while symptoms last," Gray said, peeking at Juvia over the top of the bottle of Tylenol. She was perched on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket burrito, her wavy cerulean hair disheveled and her cheeks flushed. She sneezed, and Gray was reminded of a kitten. Shaking his head, he walked to the counter and opened the bottle.
"Juvia is only gonna take the medicine if it tastes good," she informed him, her speech slurred. Gray looked at her for a second before continuing to pour the blue liquid into a cup for her, noting how childish she acted when she was sick. He sank into the couch beside her and handed her the dose, her warm fingers brushing his.
She tentatively took a sip, and her nose immediately wrinkled. She practically threw it at him. He managed to catch it, thanking the Lord that none of it had spilled on his white couch.
"That stuff's disgusting! Juvia will NOT drink it! Ever!" She exclaimed, before suffering from a severe attack of kitten sneezes.
"Juvia," Gray tried to reason with her, "it's for your own good-"
"No!" She yelped, her eyebrows furrowed. She leapt off the couch and bolted to the other side of the room, her blanket flowing out behind her like a cape.
"Juvia!" Gray shouted exasperatedly. He set the medicine down on the counter before chasing after her. His hand wrapped around her wrist, but she quickly disentangled herself, squealing.
This went on for quite a while, but eventually they ended up on opposite sides of the counter, breathing heavily. Juvia glared at him, and wrapped the blanket defensively around her trembling body. Gray simply held his head in his hands, defeated.
That's when he got an idea. He peeked at her through his fingers, and she sneezed like a kitten.
"If you take this medicine, I'll go to the store and by some ice cream for you," he offered, and the guarded look in her navy blue eyes immediately faded away.
"... Ice cream?" She asked tentatively, as if she didn't completely believe him.
"Yeah, ice cream. Cookies and cream- that's your favorite, right?"
She watched him for a second, and he invitingly nudged the cup of medicine towards her. He could see her mind working in its foggy state, but he still flinched when she suddenly grabbed the dose and chugged it down. She squealed, her eyes shut tight and nose wrinkled due to the bitterness of the Tylenol, before handing the cup back to him. He smiled, and headed out to get her ice cream.
"Juvia! I'm home!" He exclaimed to her, but heard no response. Locking the door, he called out her name a second time, but once again, heard nothing in return. He turned around.
His dark eyes widened and he dropped his groceries, the quart of ice cream rolling out of the plastic bag.
Because her limp body was sprawled out on the carpet floor before him, the blanket tangled around her legs, her eyes closed.
Shouting her name, he darted to her, his heart hammering in his chest. How did this happen? He was only gone for fifteen minutes! He finally made it to her side.
To his relief, she was only sleeping. Her chest rose and fell with each small breath, and her eyelids fluttered as if she were dreaming.
"Geez, you gave me a heart attack," he murmured softly, "didn't you know there was a couch barely five feet away?" Despite the fact that he was scolding her, he smiled at her. He scooped her up bridal-style, her fragile body snuggling against him in her sleep.
He carefully laid her down in her bed, and pulled her blankets over her. He gazed at her for a moment, thinking that even if she was a pain sometimes, she was his pain, and that was the important part. He tenderly kissed her forehead before leaving the room, turning off the lights on his way out.