Indigo Blues 🪼✔

15 - Jump Start

*JOHNSIE*

I hated when I accidentally drank too much. It sucks sometimes being a lightweight. I mean seriously, anything of really high alcohol content could knock me on my back if I even just took a sip or a whiff of it. Sake? Forget it. Scotch? Ha! And don't even get me started on straight up stuff like vodka or Jaegermeister or tequila. In essence, drinking was not my strongest asset. Bad thing about it though was that if it was something really strong, sometimes it stayed with me for a day or two.

Which is why when I got home from the labs and went to make sure that Delilah was alright, I thought I was still a little drunk. Rose had told me that she had gone home early because she felt I'll and so I bought some flowers and a bottle of NyQuil to appease her illness. I opened her door and smirked at what I saw there.
Though it was late at night, Delilah was fast asleep in the bed, Tannus sleeping contently next to her. Actually, he was spooned into the curve of her body (as best as his stomach would let them) and had his arm draped over her waist. I smiled at the civility of them. Now this is how it should be... I thought as I pulled out my phone. I snapped a picture of them and grinned manically. This would make a great blackmail picture...

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*TANNUS*
I woke up at Delilah moving beside me and I opened my eyes a little. She had turned over when I went to lay on my back and had wedged herself into my side, her head on my chest. Her mouth was open in the attempt her body was making to make up for lack of breath from her stuffed up nose, a soft snore coming from it. I hadn't intended to fall asleep in Delilah's bed but when I finally helped her into it, the task was so trying that I crawled into the bed and accidentally fell asleep. Then again, her bed was amazing. It was one of those expensive beds with the awesome foam and it made you feel like you were floating in a cloud or something.
Delilah stirred and coughed, grimacing a little. I looked down at her, moving my hand to check her forehead. It was wet with sweat but also warm from her body trying to break the fever. Her eyes opened a little and she looked at me with confusion.
"Tannus..." she seemed to mumble.
"Hey, how you feeling?"
"Terrible..." she croaked. "Why are you here?"
"Accidentally fell asleep in here. I'm going to get up though, so you can sleep a little better." I said, starting to get up.
"Mmm, no, stay..." she mumbled, pulling my shirt. "Don't go..."
I stared at her in surprise but she had fallen asleep again. She must have thought I was someone in her delirium. I was going to stay but I had to pee really bad and started scooting out of the bed again.
"No... Where are you going?" she asked, her blue eyes looking at me sadly.
"I have to pee. I'll be right back, I promise." I said, wondering why I felt the need to make sure she really believed me.
"Okay." she said quietly.
I got up and headed to the bathroom.

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Even though I promised Delilah that I would be coming back shortly,I was thirsty and snacky. Plus, I wanted to see if I could find some cold medicine around here. I opened the door and found Johnsie in the living room watching TV.
"How's Delilah?" he asked without looking at me.
"Surprisingly needy in her sick state. There any snacks in this joint?"
"Cupboard..."
"Have you seen any cold medicine around here?" I asked looking through the cupboards and deciding on a ho-ho.
"I bought some. It's in that bag right there." he directed with a point to the bag on the counter.
I nodded, looking in it and opening the bottle up. I grabbed a small glass of milk to drink with my ho-ho and then grabbed a bottle of water.
"Y'all are so cute together..." Johnsie said with a funny face at me.
I lifted an eyebrow at him and he grinned.
When I walked back into the room, Delilah was coughing pretty bad again and moaned. She threw her arm over her eyes and I turned the lamp on beside her.
"Yo, wake up." I said, shaking her slightly.
She opened a sleep laden eye at me and I gave her a smirk.
"What?"
"I've got some medicine for you to take if you want it."
She turned to me and I held up the bottle of NyQuil.
"Why're you being nice to me? This is usually when you point at me and tell me that I deserve to be sick." she pouted.
I laughed at her face (which was, by the way, adorable) and leaned on the bed, the baby waking up as she slid to the side. I earned a hardy kick from her.
"Well, I can say that if you like but I doubt it would do either of us any good. How about we call a truce for now until you're well enough to give back better comebacks, huh?"
She seemed to agree with that and I grabbed the thermometer I had snagged on the way back in. I stuck it in her mouth and waited for a minute. I took the stick out and grunted at the low grade fever.
"Well, Dr. Manchester, it seems you will live to see another sunrise. How about a shot of NyQuil to celebrate your road to recovery?"
Delilah smirked as I poured the correct dosage for her and she shot-glassed it quickly, shaking her head side to side at the taste. I put it on the side table and then crawled back into bed.
"Can I watch TV?"
"Sure." she said with a tired sigh. "I'll just lay back down here..."
I nodded, eating my ho-ho in silence.

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*DELILAH*
I didn't realize how delusional I was last night until I opened my eyes and found myself in the arms of the one person I never thought I'd see in my bed. At first I thought we had had sex but then I remembered being sick as I coughed harshly. When I did, Tannus' arm that was around me pulled me closer to him, trying to comfort me. I laid there in total confusion. What had happened? What did I say? Why was he just... allowing this?
I squirmed a little and finally shimmied myself from his grasp and went to the bathroom to use it and brush my teeth. I do remember vomiting everywhere and I'm sure my breath was rank. As I brushed my teeth, my stomach grumbled, hungry, but I didn't trust it. I decided maybe a light snack wouldn't hurt it and so I went to the kitchen.
Johnsie was fast asleep with a big bowl of popcorn in his lap, bare legs looking like frog legs wrapped around itl. He had the remote in one hand, dangerously close to falling and the other in the bowl. I chuckled at that and decided to take that as a snack. I took the remote softly from his grasp and turned the TV off and draped a blanket over him.
I went back to my room and sat on the other side of the bed, eating popcorn.
"Mmm, what is that noise?" Tannus asked softly, scaring me.
"You're awake?"
"Now..."
"I had the munchies." I said softly.
"Oh." he said with a tired sigh. "Well, if you're okay now I'm going to go back to my room."
"Okay... Um... Unless you just want to stay here..."
His eyes opened a little and looked at me sleepily/curiously.
"Which would you prefer I do?"
That was a tough question. I had always had a certain hatred for Tannus and my mind reminded me of that burning ire, but my heart was happy he was here. It felt the connection he had suddenly given me when he talked about fate in the kitchen. I wanted him to go but I so wanted him to stay.
"You can stay if you want."
He grunted but fell back asleep, his eyes just falling down slowly. I felt compelled suddenly to run my fingers through his hair but resisted it. I couldn't deny anymore that the man brought up old and buried feelings within me, resurrecting them like a zombie. They were decayed and old but hungering for that fresh start, a chance to try and exist in anyway they could. They could only lumber forward, hoping that they weren't shot down quick and easy.
I wanted so badly to hate him, but zombies are popular for a reason: no matter how many times you shoot, unless you get them I the head, they will never die. My emotions smelled love and wanted desperately to take a chunk of it.