Josh's P.O.V.
I jumped as Rob sprung up onto my back, his hands wrapping around my neck before falling back to the ground. He was giggling silently, his arms curling around my waist as I stood at the kitchen bench with an apple in hand. I turned.
"Yeah?" He just hugged me tighter, his head burying itself in my back. "Do you want to cuddle?"
He nodded, making grabby hands at me and I rolled my eyes fondly before taking his hand and pulling him down the hall towards the living room. No one else was up at that point, just past nine in the morning but that wasn't surprising, so the house was quiet.
He loved cuddles and was constantly asking for them but I was complaining. Rob was a very affectionate person even before the accident, but after it he seemed to have become almost clingy, rarely letting me out of his sight.
He settled down on my chest as I leaned over to turn the television on and opened Netflix, scrolling through the options to find a random show that seemed mildly interesting. Rob didn't even lift his head to watch whatever I put on, he just buried his face in my neck and clung onto my t-shirt.
"Did you get enough sleep last night? You didn't wake me up." He shook his head, automatically telling me that he probably got 3 hours of sleep at the most. If he was admitting it was a bad nights sleep then it was a really bad nights sleep. "You should have woken me up."
I heard a quiet no emit from his mouth and I smiled. He rarely talked so any speech was a good sign for me and as much as I tried to get him to talk, he most often refused to and stayed in silence for days.
It wasn't long before he was asleep or mostly asleep, his head tucked into my neck. I was rubbing my hand up and down his back for comfort, just letting know that I was there and he was safe because if he didn't know that he was safe he wouldn't sleep.
From my position just above him I could see the scar running from the middle of his forehead all the way down the left side of his face, over his eyelid and down his cheek. It was still an angry red with a thin white line over the top, making it stand out against skin.
It was healing well, it had been over a month since the accident, but it was still extremely visible and would never really fade. Rob was extremely self-conscious about it and had rarely been out after the accident because he couldn't bear people staring at him, especially children.
It wasn't the only scar, there was another huge one on the top of his head that was hidden by his hair and a fair few smaller ones on his chest and arms but they could easily be hidden by his shirt.
I knew he was sleeping peacefully after about half an hour, which also meant that I couldn't get up to grab my phone that I could see just out of my reach. If I moved he was wake which was honestly the last thing I wanted because he would probably kill me.
I turned my attention to the television, playing some sort of animal documentary narrated by David Attenborough and just waited, either for Rob to wake up or someone to come downstairs and help me out.
The latter occurred first when about an hour after Rob fell asleep, probably around half past 11, Simon clattered down the stairs and into the kitchen. I heard the jug being boiled but just before it finished I heard his feet coming down the hall and into the living room.
"You okay there?" He whispered, coming a little closer and check on Rob.
"Yeah we're fine, he didn't get much sleep last night and he was being a bit clingy, but that's not surprising." He nodded, looking around the room. His eyes found my phone and he handed it to me, grinning.
"Do you want a cup of tea or a hot chocolate or anything?" I nodded.
"A hot chocolate would be nice but I cant exactly sit up so..." Simon laughed, shaking his head.
"I'll hold him up for a few seconds and you can sit up if you want." I nodded and Simon stepped forwards, lifting Rob up by his armpits so I could shuffle into a sitting position. He didn't stir and I pulled up a pillow onto my legs so he could rest his head more comfortably.
"Thanks Simon but I'm still stuck here." He shrugged.
"I'll get you a hot chocolate okay, did you have anything to eat?" I shook my head.
"Rob interrupted me before I could eat, I was about to have an apple." He inclined his head before disappearing around the corner, his feet padding up the hallway again.
Rob was still firmly asleep, his breathing slow and heavy and his hands curled up in a fist. I would have to wake him up soon or he would never sleep that night but I decided to wait until I finished the hot chocolate that Simon had given me just a few minutes prior.
I started carding my hand through his hair gently, smiling to myself as he stirred slightly and leaned into my hand, wanting to get closer. I waited to finish my hot chocolate before gently shaking him awake and pulling him close.
"Hey Robby, you've gotta wake up now babe." He stirred, groaning and squinting in the bright light. He whined, attempting to bury his head back into the dark.
"Hey beautiful, you can't stay asleep forever." Even in his sleepy state I knew he heard me because his face turned a fiery red and he let out an almost silent giggle. "What? You are beautiful!"
He lifted his head, smiling shyly.
"Really?" His voice was immensely soft and as his perfect brown eye peered up at me, I smiled.
"Yes. You're beautiful and you're perfect and nothing's going to change that." He smiled again and I saw the scar move as he squinted, the empty eyelid becoming more prominent as his face moved.
"You-" I wrestled him into a huge hug, rolling over so he was right on my stomach. "Are-" I dug my fingers into his ribs, tickling him, and he shrieked with laughter. "Beautiful!"
I stopped for a few seconds, peppering his face with light kisses and deliberately tracing his scar. I wanted him to embrace it because there was no getting rid of it, especially as it permanently closed over his now empty left eye socket and he would have to live with it for the rest of his life.
"You're so beautiful and nothing is going to change that." I squeezed him tight. "I'm so freaking lucky to have you."
I giggled when I felt the tip of his nose, which was freezing cold, push into my neck where he rested himself again.
"Thank you Josh." His hand reached out to take mine, squeezing it lightly.
I leaned in gently and our lips connected in a slow and loving kiss. I saw his eye close and he relaxed into me with a small and blissful smile on his face, trying to curl up into a ball on top of me. I grinned to myself.
"I love you Robby." I almost didn't hear his practically silent reply.
"I love you too."
