Welcome to Parenthood (The New Normal - Bryan and David, m/m)

[Selene]

4 hours ago, angora48 said:

“David seriously, your poor dose.  I…” He clambered up, pulling the towel more tightly around himself, “…ab gudda go get the wastebasket, add that’s going to take ad udreasodably log tibe – pledty of tibe for sobewud to do whatever he bight deed to do id by absedce.”  With that, he shuffled out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him; David reached self-consciously for the Kleenex box.

 

David had already taken care of his nose by the time he heard Bryan calling from the bedroom, “I’be approachig the door, draggig this surprisingly-heavy wastebasket after be!  Leh- IHHHHHHH-shiiuhhhhhhh!  Ugh…”  David smiled – that man.  “Let be doh if it deeds to be evedd heavier than I thought it was!”

This part was so adorable! Made me laugh and melt away both at the same time

I really love watching those two nursing themselves back to health, but please take your time in making them feel better

[queenie]

Bryan is pretty smart about the bath water and the wastebasket! David is being so careful to help but he’s really not doing well, is he? Thanks for the update!

[angora48]

queenie, I like to think that Bryan is smarter than he sometimes gets credit for, and with David being so stubborn about actually letting himself feel bad, Bryan has to take matters into his own hands.  ;-)

Thanks for the comment, Selene!  I hate to disappoint, but while the colds aren't over, the story is.  This is the last part of "Welcome to Parenthood."  Thanks so much to everyone who read and commented - I really enjoyed playing with these characters, and I'm glad people like it!

Part 24:

 

The rest of the day was mostly low on demands.  Bryan kept the bathroom door open while David was taking his bath, figuring that a) their throats had gotten enough good use from the steam and their noses didn’t need any more (especially David’s) and if Bryan didn’t want to boil his husband, he’d better let a bit of air in.  At first, Bryan just sat on the floor in his towel beside David, appreciating the feel of the air on his bare skin, but after about ten minutes, he felt himself starting to shiver and had to get dressed.  He sat back down on the floor, toweling off his wet hair while he returned his attention to David.

Sawyer woke up from his nap just as David finished getting dressed after his bath, so David slipped away to see to the baby while Bryan shaved.  Then it was back downstairs to the living room floor.  Playing, basketball game, House Hunters.  Supper in the kitchen – leftover soup for Bryan and David, a jar of baby food for Sawyer.  Technically, Sawyer could’ve used a bath, too, but they decided they could skip it for the night, and they also decided that that didn’t make them horrible parents.  Just a diaper change, then jammies, then bed.  All day, they’d been using the song (played on their phones) as their first line of defense – David hadn’t complained about it once – and all day, thankfully, it had worked like a dream.

As Sawyer drifted off and they stole out of the nursery, Bryan slipped is hand into David’s and pulled his husband down the hall to the bedroom.  David fussed around with water, aspirin, and the thermometer as Bryan climbed into bed and then asked, “Deed sobe cobpaddy, hud?”  As if David wasn’t yawning behind his hand right that second.

But hey, when it came to David’s cold, Bryan was perfectly willing to be his husband’s fall guy.  “Stay with be,” he said, trying to sound pathetic in a cute way.

So David, smiling indulgently, like he was doing Bryan a big favor, crawled under the covers (well, the sheet, anyway,) putting an arm around Bryan.  “hehhhhhhhh-CHIIUHHHHHH!” he sneezed, covering his mouth with his hand.

Bryan tsked.  He turned to kiss David’s cheek, then nestled comfortably into David’s arms, rubbing his nose with a quiet sniffle.  “I’ll tell you a story,” he decided.

“Yeah – you do that,” David agreed.  He had that same indulgent smile (Bryan could hear it in his voice,) like he was just playing along for Bryan’s sake.  Whatever – David might be the doctor, but where David being sick was concerned, Bryan knew better than he did.

Coughing a little, Bryan began.  “Wudce upod a tibe,” he said fancifully (don’t knock a good cliché,) “there was a haddsobe pridce.”

“I like it already,” David remarked.  He cleared his throat, and Bryan put a hand on David’s chest, rubbing it lightly.

“He was sbart add fuddy, add very fashiod-forward,” Bryan went on.  “The whole kiggdob was pretty buch obsessed with hib.”

“I bet they were,” David said fondly.

“B- hehhhhhhhh…”  Bryan cupped his hands over his mouth.  “ahhhhhhhh-SHIOOOOO!  …EHHHHHHHHHH-shiiaaahhhhhhhhh!”  He moaned, sniffling hard; David gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head.  “But the pridce was strickedd by ad evil curse.”

“Strickedd?” David asked, lightly teasing.

“I said ‘strickedd,’ didded’t I?” Bryan retorted.  “It was a terrible curse that left hib weak add tired, add dot as haddsobe as he should be.”  His nose was starting to itch again, and he sneezed – “HAAHHHHHHH-ehhhhhhhh-shuhhhhhhh!” – into his fist.

“Gesudheit,” David told him.

“Uh huh,” Bryan replied, stuffy.  He sniffled and wiped his nose.  “Well, everywud id the palace was at a total loss.  Doh wud could do addythig to lift the curse – they helped the pridce to his badchaber at the top of a tall tower, add there he lay.”

“If he’s so weak, why does he go to th-” David turned away, coughing into the crook of his arm, “-the top of a tower?”

“Dod’t worry about it,” Bryan told him.

“But-”

“I still have a fever,” Bryan pointed out.  “Whed you bake up a bedtibe story with a fever, I’be dot gudda ditpick stuff that’s just id there for bood addyway.”

“Sorry,” David said.  “G- go…” His breath hitched, and he twisted around to get a Kleenex from the box on his nightstand.  “huhhhhhhhh-IHHHHHH-shiiahhhhhhhh!  Ahhhhhhh-SHOOOOOO-ehhhhh!  HEHHHHHHHH-TSCHIIUHHHHH!”  At that last loud sneeze, Bryan could practically hear David blushing.  “…Go ahead.”

“See what you get for bakig fud of be?” Bryan said, teasing him gently.  He sniffled.  “Addyway, id the kiggdob, there also lived a haddsobe bagiciad.  He’d always loved the pridce frob afar, add whed he-” he broke off coughing.  David picked up his own water glass and handed it to Bryan, who took a few careful sips.  Sighing, Bryan continued.  “When he heard about the curse, he leapt odto his horse add rode hard across the kiggdob.  Id the drivig raid – it was pretty hot.”  David chuckled, stifling a cough.

“The bagiciad probably could’ve bed a dight if he’d wadted to,” Bryan added.  “He was all athletic add agile add everythig, but he liked bagic too buch.  He was derdy like that.”

“Should I be offedded?” David asked.

“Odly if you thih- thihhhhn… EHHHHHH-hihhhhh-CHOOOOOO!”  Bryan turned, sneezing into his fist.  “…If you thidk being both athletic add derdy is a bad thig.”

Reaching over David, Bryan grabbed a Kleenex and half sat up to blow his nose – David squeezed his shoulder sympathetically.  Bryan settled back into David’s arms and said, “Whed he reached the palace, the bagiciad jupped frob his horse, blasted the door oped with a burst of bagic, add rad all the way up the stairs to the top of the tower.  See?  Athhh… letic…”  He tried to stifle a yawn, and not very well.

The goal was for the person listening to the bedtime story to nod off, but that didn’t really work if the person telling it fell asleep first.  Bryan blinked a few times, rubbing his nose.  “He stepped idto the room,” he said, “add saw the pridce lagguishig od the bed.  Add evedd though he wasd’t as haddsobe as he should be, the bagiciad loved hib addyway.”

“Of course he did,” David noted.  He gave Bryan a loving squeeze.

Bryan coughed, wiping his nose.  “The bagiciad walked to the bed, add he took the pridce id his arbs.  He…” David drew in a sharp breath, and Bryan waited for him to sneeze.

“hehhhhhhh… ehhhhhhh… ahhhhhhh-HIHHHHHH-shooooooo!” David sneezed, burying his nose in a Kleenex.

Bryan slipped his arm around David and continued.  “He begad to perforb a powerful spell – he was really sbart, add that bade it sexy.”  He and David both chuckled at that, until they started coughing.  David reached for his water, but Bryan got to his first, making David take a drink before Bryan took one of his own.

“The spell started to draw the curse out of the pridce,” Bryan continued once they both got their breath back.  He placed a hand on his chest and then slowly pulled it back.  “But the curse was strogger thad the bagiciad dew, add as sood as he started pullig it frob the pridce-” he brought his hand to David’s chest, “-it latched itself od- odto… hib… ihhhhhhh…”  He covered his mouth.  “HAAHHHHHHHHH-ehhhhhhh-SHOOOOO-uhhhhhh!”  He stifled a moan but kept going.  “It hit hib hard, add bade hib weak add tired add-”

“Dot as haddsobe as he should be,” David added in stereo, smiling as he stroked Bryan’s cheek.

Bryan sniffled hard, rubbing his nose.  “But see, the curse wasd’t dud with the pridce yet, either.  The bagiciad didded’t get a chadce to fiddish perforbig his spell, so the curse was still cliggig to both of theb.”  He moved his hand between David and himself.  “They were kide of like tethered by it, add so whed the bagiciad was struck by the curse, it dropped hib to his dees, add-” he sniffed, “-the pridce was pulled dowd with him.”

David coughed a little into the back of his hand.  Bryan tsked in sympathy, then said, “Dow, the pridce wasd’t athletic like the bagiciad, but he was strog too, just id a differedt way, add whed he saw the bagiciad sufferig for his sake, he dew he had to do sobethig.  So, evedd though the pridce was still strugglig udder the force of the curse hibself, he lifted his head, took the bagiciad’s hadd,” Bryan interlaced his fingers with David’s, “and helped hib back to his feet.”  David smiled.

“Aa- aaaaahhhhhhh…” Bryan turned and sneezed a “hehhhhhhhhh-CHIIOOOOOO!” into his shoulder.  “Add the pridce… s- sehhhhhh – ugh…”  His nose was still bothering him; he cupped his hands over his mouth.  “ehhhhhhhh-HAAHHHHHH-ihhhhhh-shuuhhhhhhhh!”

“Gesudheit,” David murmured, sniffling as he kissed Bryan’s forehead.

“The pridce,” Bryan pressed on, trying to get his momentum back, “said to the bagiciad, ‘Show be what to do.’  I bead, he wasd’t derdy-sbart like the bagiciad was, but he was a fast learder, add he dew he could figure out the spell.  The bagiciad argued, ‘Doh, your highdess, this is by task,’ add the pridce was like, ‘Bitch, please…’”  David chuckled at that – just a little, not enough to start coughing.  Bryan had known he would, and he grinned sleepily.

Bryan went on.  “ ‘You add I have both seed what this curse cad do,’ the pridce explained.  ‘If you draw it frob be, it will burrow idto you, add-’” he waited for David to sneeze – “EHHHHHHH-chioooooo!” – into the crook of his arm.  “Bless you, ‘-Add thed you’ll be too weak to save yourself, add I wod’t doh what to do.  If we’re to rid ourselves of this curse, it has t- to be… togehhhhh…’”

Bryan reached toward David’s Kleenex box; his husband leaned over to grab him a tissue.  “hihhhhhhhh-CHIIIAAHHHHHHH!” Bryan sneezed.  “Uhhh – you doh what I bead, right?”

David nodded, smiling.  “They have to do it together,” he supplied.

“Right,” Bryan agreed.  “So the bagiciad taught the pridce the words of the spell add showed hib which boshuds to perforb, add the pridce totally got it after bayb-” he coughed, “-baybe, like, three tries.  I told you he was a fast learder.”

“You did,” David said, sniffling.  He stretched a little and brushed Bryan’s bangs off his forehead.  “So thed?”

“The pridce add the bagiciad crossed to the widdow,” Bryan explained, “where they perforbed the spell together.”  He put one hand on his chest and the other on David’s, and he pulled them back in tandem.  “The curse was drawd out of theb add idto the air.  It was cobpletely evil, add it was all sliby add gross, too.”  He sniffled a few times, wriggling his nose. 

“HEHHHHHHHHHH-ihhhhhhhhh-shiuhhhhhhhh!” David sneezed into his hand, tensing.

Bryan kissed David’s neck.  “Bless you,” he said.  “It hovered there for a bobedt, thed bade to fly back at theb, but the bagiciad hit it with a burst of bagic, add it was destroyed id a cloud of sboke.”

David yawned.  “Souds like the bagiciad is a haddy guy to have aroud,” he commented sleepily.

“You doh it,” Bryan told him.  “Fidally free of the terrible curse, the pridce add the bagiciad looked deep idto each other’s eyes.  They fell idto each other’s arbs… add thed they did it right there od the floor, ‘cause there was doh tibe to go back to the bed.”

That made David laugh out loud, even through the hard coughs that followed; Bryan made him sit up and rubbed his back while he drank some water.  “Add they-” David sputtered a little, stifling another cough, “-they lived happily ever after…”

Smiling, sleepily but fondly, Bryan eased David back down onto the mattress and settled into his arms.  “Did you like it?” he asked.

“I loved it,” David replied.  “Sobe dight dext week, after we’re both feelig better, we should play that.”  Bryan grinned, squeezing him.

“You okay?” David asked, rubbing his nose.  “Deed bore covers?  Too baddy?  Aspirid?  Do you deed addythig else before y- AHHHHHHHHHHH-shiiiuuhhhhhhhhh!”  The sneeze snuck up on him, and he only just had time to bring a hand to his face.

“I’be good,” Bryan told him, coughing into the back of his hand as he snuggled closer to his husband.  “I dod’t deed addythig.  Just you.”

A drowsy smile spread across David’s face.  “By kide of beddicid…” he mused.  Together, slowly, amid sniffles and sneezes, they drifted off to sleep.

[Selene]

Well, it's like they say, all good things have to come to an end But it was a grea ending! So sweet and fluffy and *swoon*

10 hours ago, angora48 said:

add the pridce was like, ‘Bitch, please…’”

And this has to be my favourite line of the chapter, because it was just perfectly timed

Thank you again for sharing your story with us! (and for pushing all of my fluff-buttons )

Edited March 8, 2018 by Selene