Feel Better
Oneshot, 1.9k
You and your husband Eunwoo have very different approaches to taking care of a sick partner. Domestic fluff ensues. If you enjoy this and want more, you might also like this fic (pre-marriage) or this one (married)
It was an established rule that when your husband was sick, he was not allowed to sleep in the same bed as you. Eunwoo was not a fan of this rule but you weren't taking any chances. Last month, when he caught a cold, you'd offered the bed to him, your own arms full of blankets to set up on the couch. Eunwoo stopped you before you could leave the bedroom. He moved towards you as if to hold you, but you took a step back and held the stack of linens in front of you as a shield.
"I love you, but come any closer and I will use these as a weapon."
Eunwoo stopped in his tracks and gave you a weak smile. His voice was scratchy when he said, "Ok, ok, no need for violence. But give me the blankets, I'll take the couch."
"But you're sick. The bed will be more comf--"
"The couch is no place for you to sleep. If one of us has to sleep there, it should be me. I'm the one who's sick after all."
You looked skeptically at Eunwoo and tried to convince him to just take the bed, but he was being stubborn. So while Eunwoo set up his bed for the night in the living room, you went to the kitchen to make some homemade soup. When it was ready, you took it to the couch, where Eunwoo was stretched out, reading a worn book from the bookshelf.
Eunwoo grinned when he saw you. "What are you wearing?" he laughed.
"I'm not taking any chances," you said, sitting down on the edge of the couch and setting the soup and a mug of hot tea on the small table in front of you.
"So you're wearing a mask indoors? And rubber gloves?" Eunwoo asked.
You frowned at him in response, even though he could only really see your furrowed eyebrows.
"Does this mean I don't get a feel-better kiss?" he teased.
You swirled the spoon in the soup bowl before bringing a bite to Eunwoo's lips.
"If I get sick too," you said, "who's going to take care of you?"
Eunwoo blew and sipped delicately at the soup so he wouldn't burn his tongue. He gave you a long look before saying "I really wish I could touch you right now. I bet a single afternoon with you in my arms would cure me."
You rolled your eyes despite the fluttering in your chest.
"Let's just get you healthy first, okay my love?"
It took Eunwoo 5 days to feel better, which he mostly spent on the couch. Eunwoo was always helpful around the house when he was healthy, splitting all the chores with you. He liked doing a lot of the things you didn't and vice versa. But while Eunwoo was sick you happily took on all the chores for the house. It was tiring, but you were glad you had an opportunity to take care of your husband. Especially at a time when he really needed you. The one thing you couldn’t give him though, was your physical affection. You knew he was craving it, since he often commented that a hug would be the best medicine or joked that this experience would only make him more clingy once he felt better. You didn't give in; instead you gently reminded him that this was all for his benefit. A healthy partner is a better physician than a sick one. Besides, you really hated being sick.
Even so, one afternoon while Eunwoo was napping, you finished folding laundry sooner than you expected and crept over to the couch where he was. You crouched by him and watched him sleep for a long, tender moment. Gently, your hand reached out as if your entire body had a will of its own separate from your stubborn mind. You brushed some of his hair out of his face. He looked so calm. His skin no longer burned like it had the day before when his fever peaked. Finally your heart caught up to your hand.
"I miss you too, my love," you said, so quietly you barely heard your own voice.
Eunwoo stirred, grabbing your hand and holding it to his face as he turned to the other side, effectively trapping you.
"You've been awake the whole time, haven't you?" you said, exasperated and a little embarrassed.
Eunwoo just smiled and kissed your palm.
"I love you," he murmured into your skin.
"I love you too," you said quietly.
Eunwoo released you and you reluctantly left to wash your hands. He was almost back to normal, but you still couldn't risk any germs. Still, the imprint of his lips on your palm stayed long after you finished scrubbing and rinsing the soap away.
~***~
3 Days Later
Eunwoo comes home to find you on the couch, buried under a thick blanket. You have a box of tissues and the TV remote in your lap. Your head is too foggy to follow the plot of the crime drama you're watching, but it doesn't matter much because it's a rerun of an episode you've seen already anyway.
"What's wrong?" Eunwoo asks, immediately concerned. He doesn't even take off his shoes before rushing to your side.
"I think I'm coming down with something," you say miserably. Eunwoo frowns and puts his hand to your forehead. He doesn't even tell you if it feels hot or not, just springs into action. After shuffling out of his shoes and coat, he takes your temperature and asks if you've taken medicine yet.
"I did," you confirm.
Eunwoo leaves to make dinner while you pick up any stray tissues that have fallen to the floor. In the kitchen, he finds a packet of instant miso and a bowl of microwave rice. Next to it are two cups of his favorite instant ramen. You had told him when he was still sick that you'd saved them for him to enjoy when he got better. He shook his head and smiled. You had been too tired to make the food, but you still put everything out on the counter to make it easier for him. He turned on the stove and set some water to boil.
That night, after you've finished your soup and taken another dose of medicine, you take some extra blankets and begin spreading them out on the couch. You want to have enough layers since this will be your bed tonight. You've just tucked yourself in when Eunwoo approaches, frowning down at you.
"What are you doing?" he says.
"I -- I'm sleeping here tonight. You take the bed. Keep my germs away from you," you explain with a smile.
"Absolutely not," Eunwoo says and moves to scoop you up, planning to carry you bridal style to the bedroom.
"Put me down! It's only fair. Whoever is sick sleeps on the couch. It's for safety! For health!"
"I already have the antibodies remember? I'm immune."
"You're going to trap us in an endless cycle of colds," you huff.
Eunwoo gently places you back on the couch and kneels beside you. He scrunches his eyes shut and pinches his nose for a moment before looking up.
"I really can't convince you to come to the bedroom with me?" he asks.
"Not tonight," you smile sadly. "Once I feel better I'm all yours again."
Eunwoo sighs heavily and fondly moves some of the hair from your face. He kisses your forehead and says goodnight. You watch him walk slowly down the hall to your bedroom. At the end of the hall he turns to look at you and laughs when he finds you already watching him. You blow him a kiss which he catches and presses to his heart.
The room is still dark when your eyes flutter open. Your cold must have made your sleep more fitful than usual because the stillness of the room made it seem like it was still the middle of the night. You turn your head to search for the glass of water you left on the coffee table only to be startled by a dark, lumpy shape on the ground. Looking closer, you realize it's your husband, sleeping on a mat.
"Eunwoo," you hiss, nudging him. He mumbles incomprehensibly. You try again to wake him and are more successful this time. He sits up, some of his hair sticking up adorably before floating back down in place.
"What?" he mumbles, "You okay?"
"What are you doing here?" you ask.
Eunwoo grins, still half asleep. He takes your hand and holds it tightly with both of his own. "You said the sick person sleeps on the couch. You didn't make any rules for the healthy person."
You roll your eyes, at a loss for words. If he wasn't being so adorable right now, and if you weren’t still sick, you'd be much angrier at this convenient twisting of your words. Eunwoo slumps back down, still holding your hand, which forces you to lay down too.
You peer down at him and whisper, "Go sleep in the bed. It's more comfortable."
He shakes his head. "Just let me stay with you. I'm a safe distance from you down here."
You hesitate for a moment before giving in.
"Ok. But if you get sick again I'm calling your mom to take care of you and going on vacation."
It's a completely hollow threat. You fall asleep still holding hands and after 4 more days of medicine and Eunwoo's living room sleepovers, you're healthy enough to go back to the clean sheets of your bedroom. Both of you are finally past your colds (Eunwoo had caught some sniffles from you but he was right -- he did still have enough residual antibodies that they subsided after a day). But as you finally lay in Eunwoo's arms, a new heaviness begins to settle in your chest.
You look up at him and ask, "Did you feel bad when I made you sleep alone? And I didn't join you in the living room?"
"What? No," your husband reassures you.
"But you stayed with me even when I was sick."
Eunwoo considers this for a moment, before saying "It's not a competition or a transaction. I love you for who you are, and I think we just express our love for each other in different ways. As long as we both feel loved at the end of the day, it's not a bad thing."
"Are you sure?"
"Well..." a mischievous smile plays on Eunwoo's lips, although you can't see it with your face still buried in his chest. "Maybe I am a little hurt. Do you want to make it up to me?" he asks.
You look up sharply. "Yes, of course!"
"Then I want to be the little spoon tonight."
You laugh, relieved Eunwoo was only teasing you. You agree immediately to his request and adjust to wrap yourself around him as best you can. His head is level with your chest, which he kisses chastely over your shirt before turning away and pulling your arms around him more tightly. You give him a squeeze and kiss the top of his head, feeling an overwhelming sense of love for every perfect strand there. You both drift off to sleep. As you sink into the world of dreams, you think that you would be the big spoon everyday if it meant Eunwoo knew just how much you love him.
