Luna's staring up at me while I sit on the bed, scrolling away at my laptop, waiting for Mikal to finish up in the bathroom and come take her spot next to me.
"You know, I fear your spot is in grave danger of being stolen by Luna if you don't claim it soon enough!" I shout, teasingly to her.
"Well I guess you'll just have to sleep on the floor if that happens!" she calls back.
"Wait a minute, why do I have to sleep on the floor?!"
Mikal opens the door a little wider than a crack and pokes her head out just long enough to answer. "Because she was here first!"
"Well why do I have to pay for that?!" I call through the shut door.
I place my laptop down on the floor to make sure I'm laying on my stomach across both our spots when she gets out and Luna makes the jump up to lay beside me.
"Because you just do, now both of you scoot!" she giggles.
Luna complies, moving to the foot of the bed, while I just sit and shake my head. "Make me."
She wrestles me til I'm pinned on my side of the bed, on my back, looking up at her.
"All right, all right! I give, I give!" I laugh, pulling her back toward my side to kiss her when she tries to move back to her side.
"Terrible, Zia" she mutters, trying to stifle another giggle.
"Mmmm, that's what you love about me though"
She kisses my hand after I put my arm around her shoulders. "That's up for debate."
"Ouch?" I chuckle, putting my hand to my chest.
She roughs up my hair, playfully. "You ask for it."
I smile back at her. "I know."
I reach for my laptop to continue what I was doing, until she finishes her reading for the night and turns the light on her nightstand off.
It's not that the light bothers me, I could go to sleep with it on if I really tried, I just really love watching her fall asleep before I do.
The next morning comes, and I wake up to what sounds like Mikal retching in the bathroom, for at least the third day in a row.
"Mikal?" I call, groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes still. "You alright in there?"
I force my still half awake self to sit up and toss the covers off me to go make my way over to the bathroom door to knock on it.
"I'm...I'm fine Zia, really."
"You don't sound fine, are you sure you don't wanna go see a doctor or something?"
The toilet flushes after she retches a few more times and she opens the door, still wiping her face. "I don't know, might just be some 72 hour bug or something."
"Right, well aren't 72 hour things usually consistent? I mean, it's kind of been on and off for 72 hours"
"You do have a point...I don't know, I'll think about it, I guess"
I nod. "Well I guess I'm up now. You want anything from downstairs?"
She lets herself plop down on the bed. "I mean, I probably shouldn't eat anything just yet."
"Yeah, I guess not" I chuckle. "Maybe some water, or juice then or something?"
"Juice would be great" she agrees.
I pick up her hand to kiss it. "Juice it is, then. I'll be right back."
She smiles as I walk away. "Thank you."
