During the witching hour, the man woke up.
His dark eyes cast a glance at the white ceiling above him. There were no lights on in the room. Only the soft light of the moon penetrated through the glass wall gleaming on the objects inside, pulling him away from the dreamland.
Ren let out a grunt. He finally remembered what happened a few hours before. A fever had decided to restrain his movement. He raised his right hand and placed it on his forehead. It seemed like his temperature had gone down for a bit.
Well, whenever he had a fever he never has any problem to overcome it overnight. He just needed extra rest to make sure it didn't come back.
As his mind became clearer, his ears caught the sound of faint breath from his right side. He turned his head, his gaze landed on the lady sleeping a distance away from him.
Her long black hair splayed on the white pillow. Her eyes closed shut yet her eyelashes would flutter occasionally in her sleep. With the moonlight cast on her sleeping figure in a white nightgown from the back, he could see a faint glow enveloping her entire body.
She seemed ethereal.
While he was silently admiring her, he finally looked at the object in her arms. His brows furrowed as clear displeasure glinted in his eyes.
That damn toy!
Tsubaki was sleeping so soundly while hugging the big toy. Her face was half-buried under the soft plushie, she looked so comfortable in her sleep.
Ren pursed his lips. Even though his fever had subsided a little but his body was still slightly hotter than usual. There was no way for him to bring her in his arms. With a begrudging look, he stared at the toy.
In the end, Ren scooted closer to where Tsubaki was sleeping. He comforted his lonely heart by rolled onto his side to face her.
A faint smile graced his pale face.
Tsubaki stirred from her sleep as dawn started lighting the horizon. She shook her head as she rubbed her eyes. After she blinked a few times, her sight was no longer blurry. She immediately sat up, wanting to check on her husband but, she was startled when she found him lying really close to her.
One of his hands loosely gripping her arm, as if he couldn't do without feeling her.
Tsubaki hummed softly. She carefully felt his forehead. A relief smile formed on her face. His body was still hot yet it wasn't as alarming as yesterday.
I should cook something, Tsubaki thought. He would be hungry by the time he wakes up.
Just as she wanted to slip out of the bed, a pair of strong arms wrapped her waist from behind. Tsubaki let out a surprised gasp, she quickly glanced back over her shoulder. She saw the man behind him had already opened his eyes albeit slightly.
"You're awake?" Tsubaki forwent her intention to go down to the kitchen. She leaned over to look at him carefully. "It's still early, darling. Go back to sleep. I'll cook you some breakfast first."
"En..." Ren muzzily shook his head. He couldn't open his eyes properly as he still felt sleepy. With a hoarse voice, he continued to speak, "Sleep with me for a bit... I want to hold you."
Seeing how he tightened his hold on her hand, Tsubaki couldn't help but smiled helplessly.
"Okay."
Tsubaki returned back to bed. Ren had already tossed the cat toy aside. The poor toy landed on the other side of the bed, falling on the marble floor. Tsubaki immediately snuggled inside his embrace. She let out a contented sigh as she encircled his waist.
"Do you have a headache?" She spoke so quietly, afraid of disturbing him.
Ren nodded. His eyes were still closed. "A bit."
"Sleep, you'll feel better soon," Tsubaki gently persuaded him, her slender fingers ran through his dark hair.
In a second, a faint snore filled the room.
It was not until the sun had finally peeked from the horizon did Tsubaki leave the bed. She grabbed the remote controller and let the curtains concealed the blinding light from slipped into the room. She adjusted the blanket and once again placed the cat toy beside him.
With a suppressed giggle, she looked at the toy. "Please accompany him for me. He didn't dislike you, okay? He's just... a bit childish?"
Tsubaki tied up her long hair into a loose bun as she walked down the stairs, heading to the kitchen. She had just stepped on the last stair when the landline rang suddenly. It was rare for someone to call the landline so she knew it must be the old house. Without delaying any longer, she went to pick up the call.
As expected, it was the old house. Grandma's anxious voice greeted her.
"Tsubaki! I heard Ren is sick! How is he?"
Tsubaki smiled softly. Grandma was so worried until she called them so early in the morning.
"He got a fever, Grandma. But, his temperature has dropped so don't worry. He's still sleeping upstairs. I'm going to cook him some breakfast," She carefully filled the old lady in with details, trying to calm her heart. It must be Toshiro who told Grandma since she didn't mention anything about Ren having a fever when she met Old Yuuzo briefly yesterday.
"Thank goodness you're with him, Tsubaki!" Grandma wailed at the other end of the line. "That boy could be so stubborn whenever he gets sick! It was hard to persuade him to rest so when Toshiro said he came willingly to the hospital yesterday Grandma felt like crying in joy!"
Tsubaki was baffled. It seemed like the rumor of how stubborn he was not an exaggeration.
"I'm just helping him, Grandma. Ren too has always taken care of me," Tsubaki's smile widened as she was reminded of how he treated her all this time. Her head tilted slightly, her eyes were trained on a photo of them together placed on the cabinet below the landline. "Please rest assured, he's resting right now. I'll make sure he's back to good health."
"Thank you, Tsubaki," Grandma couldn't help but tear up. Her granddaughter-in-law was so nice! Some times she felt like it was a waste for her marrying her ungrateful grandson! "Grandma will send some nourishments today, alright? Take care of your health too. Recently there are so many cases of heatstroke."
"Alright, Grandma. You too, please don't spend too much time outside." She nodded slightly despite Grandma couldn't see her.
Tsubaki ended the call with a happy smile. Grandma was truly a nice person. She was blessed to be married into such a family.
For the breakfast, Tsubaki still prepared porridge as the main dish. His throat couldn't possibly be healed overnight. He still needed to eat easy-to-swallow food. But, to avoid him losing his appetite, she made mushroom-filled steamed dumplings as well as mixed vegetable salad.
The smell of the dishes spread in the kitchen. Tsubaki was still deep in her chores when suddenly she heard a cough coming from behind. She quickly turned around to look for it, she was almost startled to find her sick husband was leaning against the cabinet near the kitchen entrance.
"Why are you here?" Tsubaki asked anxiously. She left her work and immediately attended to the man. Her slender arms were supporting his weight by the waist. "You could just wait in the bedroom. Or have I missed hearing you calling for me?"
Ren shook his head. He lowered down his gaze as he looked at her worried face. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "I just didn't like waking up without you near me."
Tsubaki was speechless. Wasn't he had woken up without her for countless times already in the past?
Just forget it, she sighed inwardly. He's a sick man. I shouldn't argue with him.
"Let me bring you to the dining table," Tsubaki decided. The stools in the kitchen were cool and uncomfortable to sit for a long time unlike the comfy chairs for the dining table. She turned around, encouraging him to follow her.
Ren had just moved according to her steps. He placed his arms around her waist carefully as she led her to the table. His mind was still dizzy.
"Please wait for a minute, darling," Tsubaki smiled in relief as she felt the temperature of his forehead. It's getting better. "I'll bring the breakfast out, okay?"
Ren nodded. He became as passive as a child while he silently listening to her instructions.
Tsubaki laughed softly. She ran her fingers over his head. Seeing him so soft like this made her think of a puppy!
The husband and wife had breakfast in harmony. Tsubaki carefully kept watching when Ren was eating the porridge. She wanted to feed him but he refused, instead, he asked her to eat in order to replenish her body.
Ren took a pair of clean chopstick, he placed one of the steamed dumplings on the small plate near Tsubaki's porridge bowl. "Eat. You're eating for two now. Don't eat less."
Tsubaki obediently ate it. Why did it feel like she was the one who sick?
"Is your throat hurt so much?" She glanced at her husband who was biting on the salad. "I made honeyed daikon for you. Take some after this, okay?"
Ren curled up his lips. A faint smile radiated his pale face. He answered briefly, "Okay, sweetheart."
Tsubaki returned her smile. She continued eating.
"Your temperature has gone down," Tsubaki stared at the thermometer in her right hand. She had just taken his temperature after breakfast. "But, we still need to be careful. Please take a few days of rest, alright? Since Takuma is here, just give him all the remaining jobs."
Ren nodded, silently praying for Takuma's well-being.
If Takuma knew it was his wife who asked him to give him all the jobs, he would be surprised as Takuma thought Tsubaki as someone who wouldn't make things difficult for others.
Well, besides her husband, of course, she didn't mind putting a tight spot for someone else. Ren gloated inwardly as he thought of that. His mood got much better.
"You must be bored staying upstairs. Come, let's just sit in the living room," Tsubaki placed the thermometer on the table. She began to help him to stand up from the dining chair. "The weather is pretty good to look at. Here, darling. Let me help you."
Since he was so tall and sturdy, Tsubaki actually heaved quite an effort supporting Ren until they reached the long couch. She carefully lowered him down, letting him leaning against the soft cushion in comfort. After covering his lower body with a throw blanket, she sat beside him.
"Rest well, darling," Tsubaki gently played with his hair. She saw his eyelids had slowly drooped. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
Ren stared at her. He hadn't spoken much since he woke up and had breakfast yet she didn't fail to pamper him. It made his heart softened again and again.
"Sweetheart," Ren hovered his fingertips on her face. He couldn't help but smile in bliss as he looked at her. "Thank you."
Tsubaki laughed freely, she lightly pinched his right cheek. "I've said it last night, right? Please get well soon. I want you to continue pampering me. I do this for my own benefits."
Hearing her cheeky reply, Ren let out a laugh.
Under her gentle coaxing, he finally fell asleep with a small smile tugged on his face.