A World Full of Sunshine

A Little Bit of Sugar

Jacin had never felt more uncomfortable in a hospital—in all honesty, he had grown rather used to them throughout the years of working to become a doctor. But watching her, lying motionless in a bed tore at his heart.

She was fine; her procedure had been a simple one: a fix in her bioelectrical lock. She had broken it while playing with Scarlet's son on their last visit— Jacin had warned her not to jump on the trampoline, but of course, she had not listened to him.

To anyone else, he would have growled an "I told you so," but not to Winter. Watching her try to cover up the blinding pain from her broken lock had made everything within him ache.

He had taken her to the hospital straightaway, and they had told him that the surgery should be effective immediately, and Jacin had agreed. Bioelectrical locks had been around for enough time that any hospital could do maintenance on them.

But Winter had insisted that she was fine, and that she wanted to see the doctor that had put her lock in originally. She did not want to risk any complications.

So after Jacin had flown their pod all the way back to Luna just to see the surgeon, Winter had gone straight into the procedure. It hadn't been a long surgery, but because of the incisions that had to be made, Winter had been put under; and now, Jacin was waiting for her to wake up.

"Jacin?" croaked a voice, turning Jacin's attention directly down to Winter's face. Her eyes had fluttered open, but were crossed in a way that would have been comical to anyone other than himself.

"I'm here," Jacin said, reaching forward and grasping her hand. He interlaced her delicate fingers within his own calloused ones, rubbing his thumb across her forefinger.

"Oh," Winter sighed, taking him in with her unfocused eyes. "Oh," Winter dragged out the syllable, letting the 'h' run for a few seconds. "Well, you, Sir Clay, have very pretty eyes."

Jacin scowled despite the soft flutter of his heart. "Thank you, Winter, but-"

"Oh no no no," Winter giggled, the laughter more manic than sweet. "I have not yet finished describing the beauty of your face: the most beautiful face upon all the land," Winter exclaimed, bringing their intertwined fingers up to her mouth and placing a slobbery kiss on the back of Jacin's hand.

"No, Winter," Jacin sighed. "You're the one with the most beautiful face in all the land."

Winter mirrored his scowl, her lower lip jutting out. "Not to me," she growled. "At your face, I could stare for forever."

"Okay," Jacin said, this time bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss. "Then you can stare at it if it pleases you."

"Oh well, it most definitely does," Winter shot him a smile that was more than a little lopsided.

Jacin had seen Winter coming off the effects of drugs only once before— except that time she had cried and cried that she loved him. Well, him, and all the rest of the idiotic Rampion Crew. But in Jacin's memory, she was talking about how much she loved him, rather than her proclamations of love for more undesirable members like Wolf and Thorne.

Winter had a lot of love within her heart; but at the end of the day, she claimed that her love for him was the greatest that she had ever felt. And he was glad for that, because he had never loved any soul quite as greatly as he loved hers.

"Your eyes are very pretty," Winter cooed, bringing her other hand up to Jacin's face and nearly poking his eye out. Luckily, Jacin grabbed it gently before any damage could be done to his cornea.

"Thank you, Winter," Jacin replied, knowing that it would be futile to tell her that she had already proclaimed such a thing.

Winter giggled, scrunching up her nose. "Your nose is something special too," Winter teased, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. "It's as if it were crafted by that master sculptor— oh, what's his name? What's his name?"

"Michel-"

"Micky Mango!" Winter exclaimed, letting out a whoop as she recalled the name. "Oh yes, it was that Mitchy Angel, the sculptor. He created your most beautiful nose. I can tell. I have an excellent eye for masterful pieces of art."

"You most definitely do," Jacin said, his patience unending.

"But you know what I love most about that Malcolm Angle face?" Winter asked, bringing her fingers up to somewhat gently stroke his lips at the same time she nibbled on her bottom lip. "Those two pillows on your face."

Jacin closed his eyes for a brief second, before opening them to see Winter staring up at him, her crossed eyes holding a mischievous glint in them.

"Thank you, Winter," Jacin said, patting the back of her hand and giving her a confused smile.

"You're welcome, Sir Clay," Winter purred, trying to give him a wink but closing both her eyes instead. "How about you thank me by giving me a little bit of sugar— and not any Apple Petites."

"Perhaps later," Jacin said. "I cannot take advantage of your lips while you are under the influence of drugs."

Winter huffed, which was an unusual sound coming from her, and shook her head at him. "That is so so sooooo rude of you," Winter whined, pouting up at him. "All I want is one itty bitty teeny tiny baby kiss from you, my guard."

"One kiss and you won't ask for any more?" Jacin asked, scowling down at his girlfriend.

Winter nodded her head fast, her curly hair beginning to fall down from its complicated updo. "Pinky schminky swear, I swear."

Jacin leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss upon Winter's lips. She responded immediately, kissing him back with a sweetness that was not to be expected from a person on high-grade painkillers.

He let the kiss go on for longer than he had intended, but ended it within a matter of seconds, pulling back and sitting down in the cushioned waiting chair.

For a moment, there was silence, and Jacin wondered if she was finally coming down from the insanity state of the drugs. He glanced at Winter, gauging her reaction, and seeing that her eyes were closed. He hoped that she had fallen asleep— if she was asleep, she would at least sleep off the painkillers rather than continue her rampage.

Jacin watched her, smiling at the serenity her face held. She was so beautiful, whether she was awake or asleep. She was beautiful without her looks: a literal gift from heaven itself. He tilted his head, taking in the calmness of sleep, until one of her eyes popped open.

Immediately scowling, Jacin, crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at Winter. "I thought you had fallen asleep," he said, voice gruff.

"And I thought you were going to kiss me," Winter pouted, her eyes rounding.

Jacin let out a low chuckle, remembering the last time she had feigned sleep to gain a kiss from him. "No," he smirked. "I'm not falling for that one again."