"Sick" Day fluff (for magpiemythos)

[alittlehinky]

Sex education in Franklin County in the 1920s was virtually nonexistent. Cricket is lucky he had a friend with an older brother who had been in the army and therefore had no filter, else he might not have known anything about it beyond the preacher's hellfire and brimstone proclamations and one or two of the more explicit bits in the Bible. He remembers a bit in the New Testament where a woman who'd had a "flow of blood" for years and years touched the hem of Jesus' robe and was made well. He pictured it as her bleeding out of her hands when he first read it, for whatever reason, like stigmata coming from beneath the fingernails, and he had to ask his Aunt Winnie a few awkward questions to clear up that misconception.

Now he has the basic idea, but when Loki decides to sit out a certain time of the month in female form for whatever reason, he realizes how little he understands about the female body and how to comfort her when she's in pain.

He has to fall back on his own ideas, what he does when his legs give him hell, and fortunately those are pretty good instincts. Lots of pillows and soft blankets, check. Sweet drinks, not liquor--he mixes up some chocolate milk, gets some coca-cola. Hot water bottles. And desserts, probably more than any one person needs. He makes some peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, and buys a dozen cupcakes from the store. It's almost fall and they have little sugar pumpkins on top.

He doesn't even question it when she asks him to bring a couple chickens inside for company and cuddles. Loki could ask him for just about anything and he'd do it.

Comments

[magpiemythos]

Typically, Loki would skip this part of the female experience. But it seemed this month she was feeling especially 'ladylike' because her default shape was stubbornly female. Not much to be done about it then. It was just a few days or so and Cricket was turning out to be so very sweetly attentive.

Loki certainly didn't mind this, as it meant she was comfortably ensconced in a nest of blankets and pillows with snacks in easy reach, a pair of especially fluffy and cuddly chickens in her arms, and both of their pokemon draped across her lap, Thori especially playing the role of tiny furry furnace. She was feeling so very spoiled and indulged, amused as she watched Cricket all but fluttering by to make sure everything was as she needed, scritching both Nugget and Pot Pie's feathers earning happy little clucks.

"Come on now Cricket, grab the remote and get over here, hm?" She'd relax much more with him settled in the nest with her after all.

[alittlehinky]

Cricket's not asking whether she's stuck or whether this is just something she has to do occasionally--hell, the details don't matter unless she wants them to. All he cares about is helping. (And trying not to think about what would happen if she got pregnant, because he's pretty sure she won't unless she wants a baby, but he's not sure he's ready to even have that discussion.)

"Is there room for me in all that?" He asks, the joke just slipping out as he views the cuddle pile they've set up between the two of them. He obeys, anyway, adjusting the television volume before sitting down. As an afterthought, he takes off his leg braces--less risk of bruising a person or pokemon that way, and squirms up close to her. "The other chickens are gonna be jealous. I'll have to get a couple pumpkins to feed 'em later. I gave 'em one the other day and there wasn't a scrap left by the next morning. Seeds and all."

[magpiemythos]

"There's always room for you." Loki replied, feeling quite pleased when Cricket settled in with her, nestling right back against him with a content little hum, head tilting back against his shoulder, as Nugget was contently preening a curl of dark hair while Pot Pie fixed her gaze on Cricket as if to ask 'Well? Where's my pets?'

As if she wasn't already getting pets from Loki, but one couldn't have too many.

Neither pokemon seemed willing to move too far, quite cozily cuddled on each other in Loki's lap, Thori's left ear flipped the wrong way not that he seemed overly upset by this.

"Well if they were as sweet and lovey as these two they could come get snuggles too. I've seen the way Stir Fry looks at me, that hen is a menace." Not that Loki was anything but amused by the willful bird.

[alittlehinky]

Cricket's in a bind here. Loki is the one he really wants to pet, but clearly Pot Pie isn't going to let him get away without cuddles, and if he starts petting her, Willie will protest for attention. He's only got two hands!

He opts to kiss the top of Loki's head, nuzzling into her hair, and gives Pot Pie a brief ruffle before scratching behind Willie's ears. "You know, I didn't set out planning to have this many animals around," he says with a snort of amusement. "But I know we're gonna end up with more Pokemon sooner or later."

"Stir Fry knows exactly what you named her after," he informs Loki. "That's why."

[magpiemythos]

"Well one never plans on this many animals." Loki pointed out with an amused chuckle, content for the moment with the nuzzles and kiss, what with all the animals mugging for attention from Cricket and his free hands. An extra problem- when he sees Willie getting pets? Thori will absolutely be perking up and snuffling at both Willie and the hand patting her.

"Well joke's on her because everyone loves stir fry."

[alittlehinky]

Oh no, so many cuddles to give and never enough time or hands! Loki pre-empts all the others, though, so they'll just have to compete over Cricket's free hand.

"I mean, I kinda planned on the chickens," he says, pauses, and amends, "I planned on about half as many chickens as we've got."

They're just so fun. It's not his fault they turned out to be friendlier than he expected. "I think they breed chickens smarter in the Nexus. I didn't expect 'em to have so much personality. Forrest's used to follow me around for food back home, but they weren't this smart."