modern, sleep, fluff
The door rattles open, Charlie letting out a relieved sigh. He slouches in, followed by a beaming Thandi.
“We made it! Charlie, home at last!”
“I’m never doing that in a straight shot ever again,” he mumbles, dropping onto the couch, kicking off his shoes. “Are you feeling any better, dearest?”
“Leagues! Thanks for letting me sleep on the way!” Thandi moves to stand behind him, massaging his aching shoulders. “Oh, darling, you aren’t falling asleep on me, are you?”
“’M gonna be if… ykeep… massaging…” He yawns and lays his head backwards, staring up at her. Thandi giggles and gives him a peck.
“Well, give me one second, and we’ll get you to bed properly!”
“Mmm. Mmhm.” Charlie’s eyes flutter closed as Thandi hums to herself, brewing some chamomile tea in the kitchen. She hears him mumbling and sighs, taking the kettle off the heat.
Her husband is passed out where he sits, occasionally snoring lightly. It’s usually her who falls asleep first, so she straightens his hair and smiles down at him. It’s nice to see him relaxed, calm… peaceful. Vulnerable. He’s going to be impossible to move and twice as difficult to wake.
Thandi goes to the bedroom to change, grabs a blanket and a pillow. The smell of their home is so comforting and she’s glad that they decided to wash their sheets before they left. So fresh!
Carefully, Thandi readies everything for their morning.
A smile creeps across her face. Usually he takes care of all these little things, with the advantage of being able to lift her for bed. Unfortunately, he’s a bit… big. And she doesn’t quite have that much confidence in her strength. Certainly she’s strong, but not lift-her-husband-and-drop-him-in-bed strong. Maybe halfway there. At most. She laughs at the thought.
Thandi takes care to line up his pills for the morning and prep their mugs for a hot drink. She empties his pockets, unbuttons his shirt, considers trying to change him and shakes her head. If she tries, he’s going to grab her and then she’s going to be stuck.
There’s dozens of little things for her to do to occupy herself, but around eleven, she decides to call it. She flicks off all the lights but for one for her to read by and settles against him, pulling his arm around her shoulders. As predicted, he mumbles and pulls her close.
She gives his cheek a kiss and opens her book to lull herself to sleep.