Work Text:
You awoke in the middle of the night to a searing headache throbbing behind your eyes. With a soft groan falling from your parted lips, you sat up in bed, the blankets falling off your shoulders and pooling into your lap. You slowly peeled your eyes open, squinting into the darkness as your headache grew worse, your pulse droning in your ears like the loud beat of a drum. You swallowed thickly, immediately regretting the decision as it felt like shards of broken glass were sliding down your throat, sticking like barbs as a horrible cough wracked your entire being. The bout made you groan again, head spinning as it felt like you were going to cough your lung up. Your stomach felt uneasy and the throb behind your eyes was telling you that you were going to throw up.
Your partner finally stirred beside you as a miserable whimper crawled out of your throat, nose starting to run and throat itching like you had been bitten by a thousand, angry fleas. Jing Yuan slowly sat up, hand blindly groping the night stand until the little bedside lamp flickered on. The light did little to soothe the terrible ache of your eyes, only making the strain worse as your eyes threatened to slip close. You felt the heat of his bare skin as his arm circled around your back, the palm of his hand coming to rest on your thigh as he rubbed along your leg.
"Dearest, what's wrong?" Jing Yuan asked, his voice raspy with sleep.
You sniffled, your nose already starting to clog up as your oncoming sickness started to get worse. The heat of Jing Yuan's body was almost stifling pressed against your side, your body heat coming to a slow simmer as your head continued to spin. You had to swallow the rising bile in your throat and it burned like Hell.
"I'm going to be sick" you said.
Jing Yuan yawned, blinking owlishly at you as a soft hum bubbled in his chest.
"Hm?"
You really needed to get to the bathroom. Without a second thought you threw the blankets off of you, untangling yourself from the sea of fluffy blankets as you stumbled your way to the bathroom. Jing Yuan was quick to jump to his feet when he realised that you were serious, his mind quickly turning and waking him up. You almost tripped over your own feet, managing to catch yourself on the door frame as you hung off of it. Jing Yuan was only a few steps behind you and you were quick to raise your hand and dismiss him.
"Don't come in" you warned.
You really didn't want Jing Yuan to witness what was about to occur. He held up his hands to placate you, a soft smile tugging on his lips.
“It's nothing I haven't seen before” he mentioned.
He had already seen many sides of you. This one would make no difference.
"You can check on me if I don't come back in a few minutes" you argued.
Jing Yuan didn't want to relent, but he yielded when he noticed the miserable look in your eyes and the way your nose scrunched up as you pleaded with him. A small sigh blew past his lips.
"Okay."
You offered him a small smile as you thanked him, letting yourself into the bathroom and shutting yourself inside. While you were in there, Jing Yuan decided to busy himself with fetching the pain medications and a glass of water. He found them in the usual spot, in the small cabinet in the kitchen above the fridge. Once he had fetched them and a glass of water he made his way back to your shared bedroom. By the time he had arrived back from his small journey, you were fumbling your way out of the bathroom. You really didn't look any better and the dark circles under your eyes made you look even more sickly. With a weary sigh you trudged your way back to the bed, collapsing back into the nest of blankets as you crawled under the sheets. Jing Yuan placed the items he was carrying on the bedside table and helped tuck you back in, your voice scratching your throat as you thanked him again for his help.
"Do you feel any better?" he asked.
You shook your head. "No."
Jing Yuan slid back into bed, coming to cuddle up to you as his strong body naturally curled protectively around you. Your sudden sickness had caught him by surprise. You were fine a few short hours ago when you both retired for the night. Perhaps a little more tired than you usually were, but nothing out of the ordinary. Jing Yuan made sure you had your medicine and that you were laying back down before he switched the lamp off. He settled in beside you, arm wrapped around your waist as he pulled you tight against him. The silence lasted for no more than ten seconds before you stirred again. You suddenly shot up in bed, a disgruntled noise rumbling in your chest as you shook your head.
"Nope, laying down hurts more" you said.
Jing Yuan rolled over and switched the lamp back on again. He slowly sat up as you started to rub your temples, eyes struggling to stay open as the tips of your fingers grew numb.
"Does sitting up feel better?" Jing Yuan asked.
You nodded. "Yeah, a little."
Without another word he started to stack the pillows behind you, moving himself until he was sitting directly behind you. You faintly heard the bedroom door creak as it was nudged open by a fluffy, white snout. Mimi’s nostrils twitched as she languidly strolled into the room, her bright eyes glowing in the dim light as she stalked closer to the bed. A soft meow stirred in her throat as Jing Yuan pulled your trembling body against his, wrapping both his arms around your waist as he held you close to his chest. You were now shaking like a wet leaf and you could just feel your flu symptoms getting worse. A soft smile tilted your lips as Mimi decided to pounce onto the bed, the mattress creaking in protest from her sudden weight.
"Mimi" Jing Yuan cooed. "Have you come to check on our sweet girl?"
A noise akin to a purr rumbled in the hollow of her throat as Mimi flopped down in front of you, spreading herself over your lap as she lay her head on your torso. You appreciated the gesture. Mimi always knew when you were sick and the lion would always come and check on you to make sure you were okay. You wrapped your arms around her thick neck as you buried your face in her soft fur, placing a gentle kiss to her head as you nuzzled your face between her ears. She eagerly lapped up the attention, tail flicking idly as Jing Yuan threaded his fingers through her wild mane and petted her. Jing Yuan nudged his nose against the nape of your neck, squeezing you around the waist as he continued to soothe you.
"Looks like we'll both have to take care of her, won't we?"
You didn't have the strength to argue with Jing Yuan. If he decided that you were sick enough that he needed to be by your side, then you were terribly sick. You were crushed further under Mimi's weight as she snuggled up to you, bunting her head into the warm touch of your hands as you placed another lazy kiss between her ears. You could feel sleep tug at the edges of your mind again as your eyes slipped close. Despite the awful feeling of being sick, you could feel the affection that both held for you and it was very comforting.
"Thank you."