A Fort-Night

Chapter 2

The kettle whistled loudly, interrupting the otherwise silent living room. Well, silent wouldn't really be the right word – there was a lot of hacking, coughing and groaning coming from the couch. But other than that, the rain and rumbling thunder, no other noises filled the air. Not even the tick tick ticking of a clock. But that's only because we didn't have a tick tick ticking clock anywhere in the apartment.

"Feeling better or worse out here?" I asked the big baby lying on the couch, throwing him a quick glance over my shoulder as I poured hot water into his giant pink mug. A loud 'ugh' followed by a mumbled, "Neither, same old same old."

"Oh, you poor baby," I cooed, letting the teabag sit for a bit as I made my way over to Josh. "Do you need me to do anything for you in the meantime?"

"Yes, please," he drawled out, lifting up both arms towards me, almost like a child asking to be picked up. But of course, well at least I hoped, that wasn't what he was asking of me. "I want kisses," he whined instead, bottom lip stuck out slightly in a pout.

"What, so you can get me sick too?" I teased, playfully rolling my eyes even as I did in fact lower myself on the couch to snuggle right next to him. His body heat seeped through the thick layers we both had on, warming me up even more. It was probably a really bad idea for him to wear so many layers of clothing while he was burning up, even if he was cold. Joshua was squirming around on the couch, trying to find a more comfortable position with me practically on top of him. "Take off your sweater and sweatpants."

His squirming immediately stilled as he sucked in a deep breath. Slowly, he let it out, his warm breath wafting over my face. "Uh – " he began, probably unsure what to say to me next, "Naked, in the – in the living room?" His voice was a teensy bit shaky and unsure, though with a hint of excitement hidden underneath.

I rolled my eyes, pinching his side. "No, you horny goofball. You're burning up, and wearing so many clothes will overheat you." A loud groan interrupted my very serious demand, followed by my own laughter. "Just your sweater and sweatpants."

Another loud groan, this one not one from pain but from pure stubbornness. "But it's so cold," he complained once more, drawling out the word cold as he pretended to shiver next to me.

"I know," I said sympathetically as my hand slipped under his sweater and shirt, rubbing soothing circles on his back, "But we can't have your body overheating either, sweetheart." Josh's hand skimmed over my hip and up my arm to cup the shoulder I was lying on, dragging me closer and closer and closer, until the whole upper part of my body was on top of him.

What a big baby. A big, goofy and cuddly baby. My big, goofy, cuddly baby. Looking at Joshua, you'd never imagine him like this – all cuddly, grumpy and baby-ish. But that's what happens when my big strong man gets sick – he turns into a big baby who likes to be babied. Not that I'm complaining though, absolutely not.

An almost inaudible sigh left my lips. "What do you want to do today, then?" I asked, still continuing to rub soothing circles on his back.

"I don't want to do anything, just sleep and cuddles and kisses, please," he mumbled against my hair.

"Okay, we can do that," I whispered against his chest, "But only if you take a cold shower and put on less clothes. Or just thinner ones."

Josh sighed in resignation, "Okay, I can do that," he paused to squeeze me against him one more time before he loosened me, "But what do you want to do today? Besides babysitting your favorite person of course."

I sat up on the couch, swinging my legs over the edge so he could stand up. I knew I was short, a bit below average is what people like to say, but every time Josh stands next to me, I'm reminded just how short I am and how tall he really is. Dwarfed, that's how I felt next to him. A prickly rose bush next to a towering sunflower. But that only meant that the hugs were better, his clothes comfier to wear compared to my own, my issues with higher shelves solved. As for him, he now had a portable arm rest, someone to grab things from the lowest of lower shelves and someone who literally and figuratively looks up to him. Egotistical much? Jokes, of course.

I scrunched up my face in mock thought, silent for a few seconds as I made it seem like I was actually thinking about what I wanted to do today. But I already knew, because I was already doing it. "How can I babysit my favorite person if I'm stuck here with you instead? Nia's at the family get-together," I voiced my thoughts out loud, a teasing lilt to my voice.

Josh groaned loudly, thunder rumbling loudly along with him as the rain pelted even more furiously on earth. "Babe," he growled, pulling me up by my hands and held tight against him, "Stop joking with me, I know I'm your favorite person."

Lifting my head to meet his gaze, I rested my chin on his chest, a goofy grin on my face, "I want to spend time with you, and I'm already doing that now."

"Well besides that, of course," he said matter-of-factly, "Maybe you wanted to do something fun, but now you're stuck nursing your baby back to health." Josh tightened his hold on me, his arms wound around my middle.

"Well, I did have a bungee jumping day planned for today," I joked, my voice as serious as possible, "But I guess that can wait."

A gust of warm breath fanned over my face as Josh laughed loudly, "Bungee jumping my ass. You can't even look out the window when you visit me at work."

"That's because the view is horrendous."

"It's the best view, you're just jealous."

I scoffed loudly, but he only chuckled in response, burying his nose in the crook of my neck as he breathed me in. He hummed in appreciation and pressed a delicate kiss on the soft spot behind my ear. "Movie night, then?" he suggested, pulling back from me to properly look me in the eyes.

"Movie night," I repeated, "Cold shower, less clothes and herbal tea first."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as a sweet smile replaced the pout he wore for most of theconversation. It was almost a reflex, really, when my hands cupped his jaws,his stubble rough under my skin. Sweet, sweet, sweet man. He turned his head to the side and coughed in the crook of his elbow, effectively ruining that cliché love-struck-staring-down moment we had going on.