Caretaker Kankri: Kankri X Female!Reader

Part 7

The first thing you notice when you regain consciousness is the sound of rustling pages. Your ears twitch slightly at the quiet noise, trying to place the familiar sound in a thinkpan foggy with sleep and sickness. Opening your heavy eyes you spot the novel in front of you, but angled at ninety degrees. You squint, trying to understand why you would read it that way...

A graceful grey hand turns the page in front of you, despite the fact you had not yet read it. Perturbed you frown at the novel, trying to understand what, exactly, it was you were looking at. Wait, you know this story. It was one of your recent acquisitions, and a quick favorite from among your vast collection.

Hold on. You are not holding that book. What the—

Suddenly higher thought comes back to you, and you realize just whose stomach your head is resting on. Kankri is lying next to you on the couch, head propped up on the armrest of the sofa while he reads and an arm wrapped around your shoulders to keep you warm. At some point he had decided the blanket was not enough warmth for you, and had laid down to assist in keeping you comfortable. You, meanwhile, have managed to sleepily curl yourself around his torso and legs, effectively trapping the candy-blooded troll in the living snare of your body.

How mortifying.

You debate the pros and cons of pretending to still be asleep, but eventually your grumbling stomach decides for you. You feel your flushcrush pause beneath you.

"[Name]? Have y9u regained c9nci9usness yet?" You groan in response, earning a chuckle from the body underneath you. "C9me 9n, [Name]. The night is already half 9ver. Let me up s9 I can feed y9u pr9perly—unless y9u w9uld rather d9 s9 y9urself, 9f c9urse. I can understand if y9ur extended nap has left y9u with the desire t9 m9ve a69ut the hive." With a sigh you attempt to lift yourself up, and promptly collapse back down when a wave of dizziness and nausea hit you.

"[Name]? Are y9u 9kay?" You don't answer, too busy working on keeping your breathing steady to speak. "Here, all9w me t9 rise and 96tain a meal f9r y9u, alright? Y9u haven't eaten anything in alm9st twelve h9urs."

"Noooo..." you moan, your belly churning at the thought of food. "I don't..." You breathe in slowly... "feel very well, actually. I think we can skip the food for now." Kankri, very softly, extracts himself from your confinement, kneeling next to you and placing a hand to your cheek. His brow creases with worry as he guides you to face him, and he frowns in determination. You wince as your stomach cramps angrily.

"Will y9u at least try a little 6r9th? It will be light 9n y9ur st9mach, and may s99th it as well. Please, [Name], f9r me? Y9u need t9 eat s9mething, 9r y9u'll never get any 6etter." You moan your dissent, but somehow he gets you to agree to try whatever he makes for you. The scents of his promised broth assault your senses and cause your belly to growl like a wounded animal, unsure if the approaching figure was arriving to help it or not. As Kankri places the bowl on the table next to the couch you are sprawled on you glare at it warily, at once both loving the heavenly smell and blaming it for the discomfort you were in. Carefully Kankri helps you to sit up, holding you until the vertigo leaves you, and props you up with some of the numerous pillows which dotted your living area. And when he noticed you trembling from a mixture of weakness and discomfort, he held the broth in his own hands and lifted the bowl to your mouth after blowing on it to cool down. You place your fingers on the sides of the dish to guide it, but even you can tell you aren't holding it at all.

"C9me 9n, [Name]. Sip." You do so obediently, albeit cautiously. "That's a g99d girl." Kankri continues to coax you as you drink, murmuring softly into your hair as he holds you and the sustenance up. Amazingly the broth eases your cramping belly, soothing the hunger pangs without demanding too much from the weak stomach.