Sickness
I furrowed my brow; the noise was almost too small to hear. Scanning the room in confusion, trying to find the source, I saw Loki. He looked dreadful. In like, a terribly adorable way. His face was sunken and his nose red as he stared at the kettle on the stove with glossy eyes.
I twisted my face more, ‘did you just… sneeze?’ He looked at me like he hadn’t noticed that I had been sitting there, curled up against the table with my journal under my hands. I smirked, ‘I thought gods didn’t get colds.’
He tried to make himself look more present by fixing his hair and holding his shoulders back, lifting his chin slightly. Adorable. ‘Of course they don’t, I’m just not feeling all that well. Probably the weather.’
My smirk shifted into a smile, the weather had indeed been dreary, but knowing I was sick last week and that he refused to let me curl up in my room alone, he definitely caught my cold.
So I got up from my seat to gently walk towards him, bringing my hands to his face to tilt it down so that I could place a kiss on his forehead, ‘go rest, I’ll bring you your tea when it’s ready.’
I turned around to walk towards the kettle, but he pulled me in backwards. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he buried his face in the crook of my neck as he mumbled, ‘I’m not sick. I can take care of myself.’ I gave a light laugh; his voice was hoarse and sore from travelling up his throat.
I shouldn’t be so surprised, I was just as insistent when he wanted to take care of me.
‘Go away, you’re not supposed to see me like this.’ I groaned under a mountain of blankets in my bed. He laughed; he thought I was adorable; still protesting despite the ragged tole the sickness had taken on me.
He moved into the room, picking up the mug on my nightstand. ‘Love, coffee is not for when you’re sick. Let me make you some tea.’
‘I don’t need tea, I’ll be fine. It’s just a cold.’ I scrunched my face, pulling the blankets up further to bury myself in.
He was already out the door headed towards the kitchen.
I have to admit, it was nice being cared for. He changed my sheets while I showered so I came back to a clean downturned bed. When my eyes were too heavy to keep open, he read to me while I curled up against his chest with him absentmindedly running his hands through my hair. He made sure I ate, and my mug of tea was never empty. The few days we spent like that felt out of our reality; like time and responsibilities had never existed for us. I wished we could have stayed like that for the rest of our lives. Well, without me sneezing every five seconds.
It was my turn to be the overbearing protective partner, and his turn to comply with futile protests.
After a while I finally coaxed him back to his bed, and brought him the tea he started brewing. I found more blankets in my room to bury him under, and he pulled them up to his chest willingly. He was not someone who sat well for anything that didn't interest him. The only way I could keep him in his bed was to promise that I would stay there with him. Still, he squirmed against me, constantly repositioning himself and the blankets.
I had to hold back a giggle at his childish mannerisms, ‘stop fussing, here-‘ I pulled up the blankets and crawled in, tugging his arm to bring him close to me. After he settled with one arm around me and his head on my shoulder, I reached to the bedside table and picked up a nearby book. ‘Is this what you’re reading right now?’ I gently waved it in front of his face.
‘Mmhm’ he said, his voice was growing heavy. I looked down to see how tired and sunken his eyes were. The sickness was catching up to him, and he was slowly caving into it.
So, I opened the book and started reading. The novel read like a poem, dripping with vehemence and aching desire. I soon picked up that it was a romance novel, and that it was incredibly and ridiculously enamored. As I read, I wondered what drew him to it. I wondered if there was a version of him that either appreciated the beautiful writing style, or if he was secretly just a hopeless romantic. I wondered if he found something within the book that paralleled with something inside himself.
I thought about how he might have been thinking of me while reading this.
It didn’t take long for me to notice that he was fast asleep in my arms. There was something so ridiculous about a god, who had lived thousands of years and hundreds of lives, lightly snoring in the dizzy haze of affliction.
***
The next few days were a blur of me insisting he take ‘Midgardian medicine’ and him gently protesting any help or comfort I offered. He always caved in; despite the illusion of his independence, I was starting to get the impression that he enjoyed it.
When I told him I was going to get him more medicine, he groaned and pulled me in further into his arms, burying his head into my shoulder. I smiled softly, moving his hair away from his face to kiss his forehead, ‘Ill be right back.’
That was a lie, I was gone a lot longer than I expected to be. Loki eventually found me in the kitchen, ‘what are you doing?’ His brow was furrowed, and he shamelessly had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
‘It is Midgardian tradition to make someone soup when they’re sick. I’m almost done, I promise’ I waved the wooden spoon I was holding.
Loki kept his stature ridged and his face scrunched as he stepped further into the kitchen, eyeing the pot on the stove, ‘what’s in it?’
‘Its chicken noodle soup. But not just regular chicken noodle soup, its my chicken noodle soup. Which makes it the best soup you will ever have’ he watched me start to add spices and herbs from nine different containers to the pot.
He made a noise in what I hope was approval, before wrapping his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his blankets. I felt him nuzzle into the crook of my neck, ‘thank you for taking care of me,’ he said after a minute, before placing a kiss on my jaw.
I gave a light laugh, 'I never took you for the clingy type, I cant be gone more than five minutes before you wilt.'
He tightened his grip around me, 'It's your own fault. You've captivated me, love. I have half a mind to think that you've slipped a love potion into all the medicine you're feeding me.'
I smiled, 'no potion needed, I am just that charming.'
He breathed a laugh into my neck, 'I cant disagree with that.'