Paulie x Reader Heartstrings

T. L. C.

"ACHOO!" You sneezed almost violently, letting out a groan. "That one actually hurt..."

"I'm really, really sorry." Paulie held onto your hand, guilt on his face.

"It's alright Paul'... It's just a cold, I'll be fine." You sneezed again and he squeezed your hand.

"I still don't want you to be sick." He gently cupped your cheek in his hand, brushing your skin with his thumb.

"No, Paulie." You pushed him away before he could kiss you. "You'll get sick too."

"I don't care."

"Maybe not, but I do. Now go on, sweetie." You have his chest another small push and he reluctantly moved from your side.

"Um... I'll... Make you some dinner?"

"You can try, but with your skills I'll probably just get sicker."

"Don't say that!" He poked you on the forehead and you laughed, smiling at his back as he walked away.

~~~
"Here. Say, 'Ah'!" You obediently opened your mouth and let Paulie feed you soup. He hadn't made it, seeing as he had no skills. He'd had to go buy it.

He'd heated it up, though, and you were pretty proud of him for that.

Paulie gently rubbed your hair while he fed you, love in his blue eyes. A tickle started in your nose and your throat wouldn't let you swallow the soup in your mouth while a sneeze worked its way outward. 'Oh no.' You thought.

Then you sneezed.

Soup went everywhere, covering Paulie. He flinched, closing his eyes against the spray. "Oh, Kami, Paulie I'm sorry!"

"No... No, it's fine. I'll just go and..." He got up and hurried out, combing back with a towel and gently wiping you clean. "I guess I should go change."

"Yeah, probably."

He hurried away again, leaving you to regret everything.

~~~
You had to breathe through your mouth you were so clogged up with snot, your hair was a mess, and greasy too. But Paulie still kissed the back of your hand and told you you were beautiful.

"No I'm not..." You hid your face under the pillow, blushing.

"You are. The most beautiful woman in the world."

"Paulie..."

He rubbed your back and you sighed quietly. "Oh, (Y/N)..." He lifted the pillow off your face only to find that you'd fallen asleep. Chuckling, he leaned down and kissed your forehead. "Never mind."

~~~
"My head hurts!" You wailed, tugging the blanket tighter around your aching body. Paulie was at your side in a second. He brought a cup of tea to your lips and you sipped the hot liquid, managing to hold back a sneeze for long enough.

"ACHOO!" You burrowed down further in the blanket, giving a high-pitched whine.

Paulie sighed and gently rubbed your head. "Why are girls so whiny?"

"Because society never told us we'd be worthless if we did."

"Oh... Okay..."

You sneezed again and Paulie put a napkin to your nose. "Blow." You forced air out of your nose as hard as you could and Paulie made a face. "Yuck."

"Your fault..." You muttered.

~~~
"I feel better!" You stood on the table, less sick than you'd been two days before. "But not completely better..." You collapsed onto the couch, head throbbing. "Ouch..."

Paulie gently laid your head in his lap and ran his hand through your hair. "Can I kiss you yet?"

"Not yet, Paulie, be patient. If you get sick, you'll have to wait even longer." He pouted and you gave a weak chuckle. "You really are just a big baby, aren't you?"

"I am a man!"

"Sure, Blondike Bar."

~~~
You gave a prolonged whine of boredom, extremely lonely with Paulie at work. In the almost two months that you'd lived with him, you had never once been apart. You'd grown used to his constant company, to his steady warmth and gentle touches.

You missed him.

Time seemed to pass extra slowly and you kept finding yourself staring out the window, waiting for the sky to yellow with dusk so Paulie would come home.

You curled up on the bed with Paulie-the-stuffed-bear and sighed. You tried to sleep, but you couldn't manage that either.

Dragging yourself up again, you went to Paulie's drawers and pulled out one of his shirts and buried your face in the fabric, a shiver of happiness licking up your spine at the smell of him.

Yeah, you had it bad.

You went back to the bed and put the shirt over your face, only then being able to fall asleep.

Paulie walked carefully inside, shutting the door behind him and creaking forward. He nudged open the door to the bedroom and peeked around the door to see you, sprawled out on the bed, snoring softly, with his shirt over your head.

He smiled and turned away, shutting the door silently behind him.