Stifled coughing caught his attention. Jiraiya looked over his shoulder to check on you. You are still bundled up. You have the sleeve of one of the kosodes he draped over you against your mouth to muffle your coughing. Your cheeks are flush and your complexion is grey. There's sweat and dampness all over your body. He sighs and reaches out his hand to pet your head and check your temperature.
"I'm fine." You automatically say. Your voice is raspy and weak.
"I know." Jiraiya learned long ago to not to argue with you.
He sighs. You are still very hot. Your fever hasn't gone down. You've been coughing until you are winded and on the verge of throwing up. Its been several days now. There's no sign of getting better. The weather isn't helping. It's been raining for days. The rain water has soaked practically everything. The only shelter was the one Jiraiya slapped together with fir branches and young tree logs. But he's no master at this. He may have been living very nomadically most of his life, but he spent the rainy days tucked snuggly against trees with good canopies. He always seemed to get caught in the rain when he's in the wilds. No humans or structures. None that are meant for sheltering anyways. Now that he's not alone, he had to come up with better solutions than curl up under a tree. He has you to take of now.
The fire in front of him popped. Even in this weather, he's managed to kindle a small fire. The roof of the shelter was doing it's job for the most part. It was a little leaky. Jiraiya was close to losing his damn mind last night when drops of water kept dripping onto his cheek. He turned back around and focused on keeping that flame going. The heat was trapped in the small area. Which helped as it was very cold out. He blew some air into it while tossing another damp log on top. It was smoky as the flames burned off the water.
A new coughing fit followed. You hold your side as it feels like you are coughing up a lung. Once it's over, you groan and cuddle up tighter under the clothing. Jiraiya had lovingly tossed all of the spare clothing on you to keep you warm and dry. In the meanwhile he looked like a drowned rat. His hair is soaked, it's plastered to his face and body. His clothing is no better. It's dark from the saturation and falling off of his shoulders and hips. It won't be long until he gets sick. But he's been an over dramatic goofball like always when it comes to you. He's been making some sacrifices to help your health. The dog pile of clothing, the leaky shelter he spent hours on, the more hours it took getting a fire going. He was the main hunter and gatherer. The food options out in the woods was limited to say the least. He was good at these skills. But he was too worried to leave you for long periods of time. It's like he expected you to suddenly stop breathing or something supernatural will take you out. No one is around. Just you and your husband.
Too bad you are sick. Or else it would have been sex in the rain. That would be lovely. The cold rain on your bare skin, along with his, as you rock your body against his. The cold pellets of water pecking your skin with its icy kisses as the heat of your body was offsetting the cold. The feeling of his warm wet lips on your neck while trails of cold rain follows sounded rather good. Same with how the rain would feel caressing your thighs as his fingers run down them. His skin having goosebumps from the cold and from how good the mix of sensations are. Watching his face as he turned it to the sky to cry out in pleasure. The sprinkling of drops flying off of his hair, nose, chin, and lips from the force of it. The contrast of the cold around you and the heat within you finally coming to an end as he floods your insides with his hot seed.
"Jiraiya~!" You coo at him.
He looks over his shoulder again. A brow raises. Are you really doing this? You rolled over onto your back. Your hair is tangled from tossing around under the clothing. Your still look ashen and sweaty. That smile on your face and they way you bite your lower lip looks a little drunk as you are a little hazy in your sickness. Your blinks become out of synch with grogginess. You toss off some of the layers over top of you. Your clothing is disheveled and half off of your shoulders. You pull on them further to reveal more in hopes to entice him.
Jiraiya just smiled. You aren't usually so... blatant. Then again, you are married to him. You help him write his stories though experience and experiments, as all good research materials do. Perhaps he's been a bad influence on you after years of being exposed to him. He turned around to face you. Now, as much as he enjoys seeing your naked body, it's not so sexy when you look like a corpse. He reached his arms over you to grab the makeshift blanket. It's best you don't get any wetter. You grab his arm and pull him down.
"Whoa!" He chucked a little.
"Come on, honey!" You try to sound flirty, but it more came out like you got a squeaky toy in your throat. You hook your other hand around the back of his neck to force him down all the way to meet you awaiting cracked lips.
"Wha-!" Jiraiya complained before his lips met yours. He pulled away right after. "Babe! What has gotten into you?"
You pout. You frown and puff your cheeks out. "What do you mean?! You're always horny!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!" You pull him back down.
He huffed but let you kiss him. He hasn't really touched you in a while. Touching your forehead and kissing it didn't really count. As nice as it felt to feel the love from those little gestures, it's not the same as his body over top yours. With his bare naked skin rubbing against yours. Your poor drowned rat won't even sleep next you. He sleeps on the other side of the shelter by the entrance. Where the chattering of his teeth keeps you up. He wakes up throughout the night to throw more wood onto the fire and check on you. He doesn't want to bother you by always shifting around to do these things. He hasn't been dry in a week. He deserves to take care of himself too!
The kiss broke when you began to cough. Jiraiya pulled back with a frown. Hm. Gross. You coughed right into his mouth. He was going to make a remark, but you wouldn't stop coughing. It was a fit that was longer and more violent than the ones before it. Your body his shaking. You have your arms braced around your ribs. You can't get a good breath in. Not wanting you to choke on whatever you are trying to cough up, Jiraiya rolled you onto your side. He held you there and rubbed your back as you coughed violently. It was like someone was crushing your lungs in their hands. You are shaking by the time it is over. The fluids you coughed up gathered in your throat. You spat it out. Gross.
"It's better than swallowing it." Jiraiya comforted you with a nonchalant shrug.
You roll over. You hold onto his hand. "Don't go, okay? I don't want you to leave."
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Not even for food." You grip him tighter. "Just stay here."
He hesitated. That's not the best idea. He's been going out everyday in search of anything. Your beloved husband is doing his best for you. That included stinging his hands on nettles to cook down into a natural cold remedy. Along with thyme and even chamomile. He was very proud to have made these finds out in the woods. But herbs are everywhere if one knows where to look. He's spent enough time outside to know what to look for. He thought the lessons were stupid as a kid, but he's grateful now that he paid enough attention to know what to do. Out in the wilds, even a cold can be deadly.
The food itself has been... meh. Even the animals are hiding from the rain. Hunting was rather difficult. The biggest thing Jiraiya managed to catch was a rabbit. The little thing didn't have a lot of meat on it, but it made a good enough meal. It's been berries and wild herbs ever since. Your belly growls at night. So does his.
"It'll be fine." You insist. "What's one more day?"
"It's not fine."
You frown at him. You pull on his hand to coax him into your little clothing bunker. He looks cold. He's a bit pale and shivery. There's goosebumps on his skin. The sun is going to go down soon. It's only going to get colder. You can already see his breath.
"Take your clothes off." You say.
"I'm not having sex with you while you're sick!"
"That's not what I meant!" You punch his leg. "Survival 101. Take your clothes off, hang them to dry over the fire and curl up with your fucking wife!"
Jiraiya crosses his arms and looks at you with a cocked brow. "Really? You want me to get naked just so I can lay in the mud next to you?"
"Yes. Why are you complaining? I figured you'd be all over this."
He lets out a long sigh. A visible shudder runs through his body. Well... it would be nice to be next to you. He doesn't mind getting some of your germs on him. And to be out of these soaked clothes would be lovely. He feels like all of him is pruned from the water.
Jiraiya starts with his outermost layer. You watch him with a smile. He's so nice to look at. He's all muscles. But they aren't too big or veiny. And underneath all his big loose layers was all of that for you to enjoy and love. To kiss and worship. You know it all so well. The spot on his lower neck that when you nibble on he squirms. The faint scar over his left peck that you like to trace and kiss. The punctures and cuts along his arms and thighs you often kiss and love. They are all defensive wounds from guarding himself in battle. They make him no less beautiful. He sometimes stares at them. They mark his past and he doesn't like that. It's the reason you kiss them. He always gives you a bashful smile when you pay attention to these marks.
It's hard to breath through all the congestion. You are getting tired. You throw the damp clothes over your body back just enough for him to slide in. He's naked and a shiver immediately runs through your body as his icy skin touches yours. It's through your clothing but you can feel the popsicle he became. Which was odd, because he's usually your personal space heater. His icicle hands settle on his favourite place on your butt. You can feel the wrinkles from his pruned fingers.
"You're so cold!" You are surprised. You nuzzle your face against his chest. You put a kiss on his chilly skin. "How can you stand to be so?"
"Meh." Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders. "I've slept in worse conditions."
"You don't have to." You nuzzle into him harder. You wrap your arms around him and keep him in a tight hug. "You don't ever have to with me around."
"I know."
His lips press against your head in a loving kiss. It was very comforting. Having him close was much better than having that wet lump that slunked around at night like a bog monster. It's nice to hold you. It's the one thing Jiraiya always loves to do. It's a sense of security that he hasn't had before he met you. That feeling at night where he knows he's not alone and can rest easy. It was actually rather hard to sleep away from you now. He's accustomed to holding you, he knows you are there. His hands tend to wander around him, looking for you to latch onto. Then when he can't find you, it forces his brain to wake up with the irrational fear that you are missing. A few times this gross rainy week, he gave in late at night when he couldn't fall back asleep. He just had to be near you. So he crawled up next to you and found a space to snuggle.
"I love you." You say with your cracky sick voice.
"I love you too." Jiraiya said very quietly.
You fall soon fall asleep. It was easy to since the sickness made you rather sleepy. It was the best sleep you've gotten in a while, since you had your husband next to you. The familiar things that help you rest were all there. The sound of his heartbeat, the feel of his body on yours, the smell, the feeling of his hair tickling your cheek. It was an easy lullaby to fall asleep to.
In the morning, it's the absent minded stroking of your hair that wakes you up. The first thing that's noticeable is that you can breath through your nose. The congestion isn't there anymore. Your throat doesn't hurt nearly as badly. The swishy feeling in your head was gone. You open your eyes and look up. Jiraiya was still waking up. His eyes were closed, but twitching as he debated going back to sleep. His fingers are playing with your hair as he thought. You make up his mind for him as you stretch your neck to kiss his chin. Then his neck. Then his collarbone.
"Hm..." He hummed and smiled. He opened his eyes and looked down to you. "Morning."
"Morning!" You say, your voice much better than the day before. You sound more like yourself.
His habit of kissing your forehead before your lips was alive and well as his lips gently press against your skin. He smiles right after.
"Your fever is down." He was relieved.
"I feel better."
"That's good."
Jiraiya feels better too. He's warm. He's finally dry. Your hands run up his sides and then down his front. You can't resist kissing down his chest before going back up to his lips. His hand slides along your thigh, pushing the clothing your wearing out of the way. You are rolled over onto your back as he is on top. You hold his face with your hands on his cheeks and fingertips scratching along his hairline. He stays there to continue to kiss you. His hands slide down your sides to grab the hem of your shirt.
Something caught your eye. You gasp and broke the kiss. Jiraiya pulled back to look you over wondering why you reacted like that. You are grinning from ear to ear. You point excitedly to the entrance of the shelter.
"It stopped raining!" You clarify your excitement.
He looked over his shoulder. The long awaited sun was out. It was morning, so it's not quite warm yet, but it's bright. The golden rays were long missed among the grey clouds. Above him hanging on the support of the shelter, his clothes were dry. The fire was still smouldering enough to rekindle. He freezes on instinct to be quiet. The head of a curious deer just poked into view. It looked well fed.
You exchange a smile with your husband. It seems luck had just turned in yours and his favour. Everything was in place for a good day. It was going to be warm and comfortable. With food and sun. Maybe even sex by the fire, if you can convince Jiraiya you are well enough. He seemed happy to get started with a good romp only a few minutes ago. He'll be reeling to go after a good hunt and hearty meal. He kissed you passionately before retreating to get a weapon. It seems he's going to hunt in the buff. He's too hungry and excited to throw on his pants. You watch him go as he sneaks out in full stealth mode.
Things are looking up! Soon, you'll be well fed. Soon, you will be healthy enough to travel. Soon, you'll have your husband back between your legs. It'll all be good. Everything will sort itself out for the better.