Imagine your OTP cuddling in a tent while going camping - Set after 11x11
He moves his arm, places it under his head, under his inflatable camping pillow. Nothing. He shifts his body then, moves it to the left, to the right. Again, unsuccessful. His neck is still hurting.
"Jackson? Can you please-"
He hears her sleepy voice. It sounds slightly irritated, like she's pleading him to stop. He knows she's been trying to sleep next to him, but he keeps moving, spoiling her attempts.
"Sorry." Jackson apologizes, turns around again, hits the cheap mattress with his back, and tries to adjust to the new position. Sleeping is hard in these conditions.
He turns his neck to the left, where she's lying next to him, glances over at his wife. Her eyes are closed, only her head is making an appearance from under her pink sleeping bag. How can she look so comfortable when he's feeling so miserable?
"I'm sweating." He says, raising one hand to his forehead as one single drop of sweat starts falling down his temple. The heat is overwhelming, and he feels like he can't breathe. Yet, she's completely covered, and, in all honesty, looking at her is starting to drive him insane. "I don't understand how you can be completely covered and wearing a hoodie."
"It gets chilly at night."
Jackson shakes his head, unzips his grey sleeping bag, and throws one leg above it. If it gets chilly at night, like she says it does, he's not feeling it at all.
He takes a deep breath, tries to stand still, in silence, because he knows if he makes another sound, she might ask him to go sleep in the car. Well, perhaps that could a good idea, since his body is itching too now.
"These damn mosquitoes!"
"There are no mosquitoes."
"I can hear them on my ears."
"You can't possibly hear them, because there aren't any inside the tent." April says, in a tone she usually uses when she's speaking to a very annoying patient.
"I think it's gonna rain, though. If it does-"
"I checked the weather forecast. It's not going to rain."
"Like that's reliable." He retorts, trying to find any plausible reason to excuse his discomfort.
They fall into another minute of silence, as he places one hand over his stomach. Maybe he's just hungry. He gets grumpy when he's hungry, or so she says. His mind goes back to the amazing dinner he could've cooked her back home. Leftovers sound like a delicacy right now. There is some old lasagna in the fridge. Oh how much he wished he could have that two day old lasagna right here and now?!
Quickly lifting up his head, he turns to her, as an alarming thought hits him. Food. What if they left food outside? "April, what about the bears?" Bears like food. They are attracted by food.
"There aren't any bears in here either!" She retorts, opens her eyes at last and looks at him with a fulminating stare "Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm not nervous. I just don't like this."
"This is called camping and we're doing it and it's going to be amazing if you just be quiet and let me sleep."
He hates this.Camping was never his thing, still isn't. She insisted they'd spend a nice, relaxing weekend away from the world, from the stress, from the city, from the hospital. No internet, no cellphones, no distractions. He only agreed because he read somewhere couples should make an effort to spend more time together and reconnect after a huge traumatic situation.
He hates it, though. He hates the woods, he hates the darkness, he hates the feeling of losing touch with civilization, he hates the hard floors he's sleeping in, he hates the tent, he even hates putting it together. He hates everything about camping, but he loves her. So, for her, and only her, he decided to do it.
Placing his head back down on the pillow, he takes another deep breath. "I'm not used to-" He pauses, shakes his head as another thought occurs to him.
For her. He needs to make an effort for her, because she loves this and he loves her.
"-Not used to sleeping this far away from you." It wasn't what he was going to say before, but it's what he needs to say now. It wasn't a lie, though. He likes to crawl into bed after her, stand behind her body and wrap his arm around her waist.
Jackson turns his body around to the left, rests it on his shoulder, and reaches for her body with one hand. A bright smile appears on her face, and he knows her heart is soften with his words.
He lets out laugh when she tries to move in her sleeping bag. "You look like a worm!"
"A worm? You're so romantic!" April sarcastically says, giving him a look. "Right!"
He pulls her close, covers her already completely covered body with one arm and gently throws one leg over sleeping bag.
She snuggles into him, as he rests his chin on the top of her head. They stay in silence for a while, and even though he's not yet comfortable, he finally closes his eyes.
"Do you hear that?" April asks, breaking the silence, after a while.
"Hear what?" He can't really hear anything, but the sound of crickets singing in the distance.
"Exactly!" She replies, closing her eyes and enjoying her husband's proximity and warmth. "Amazing, isn't it?"
He thinks about it for a second. If the silence feels amazing, it can only mean her mind has been too loud, too busy. Secretly, she's been going back to that day over and over again, and over and over again she keeps trying to forget it or simply ease the pain. Samuel is not here, she needs time to heal, to stop her mind from reliving that moment. So does he, and the silence feels good indeed.
"Babe?"
"What?"
"We can go hiking tomorrow."
She smiles against his chest, knowing he is willing to give this camping trip a chance. "Yes, we can."
"But babe?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't make me race you to the top."
"Because you know I would win?" She playfully asks, whispering as sleep starts to take the best of her.
Jackson kisses the top of her head, holds her tight, and she lets out a tired yawn.
Yes, because he knows how competitive she is, how much she likes to win, and how she probably would.
..
Requested bysafooa