"I hate being sick," Lauren complained as Joey brought the duvet from their bed to the couch, pulling it over his girlfriend.
He went into the kitchen where the kettle had finished boiling, and made her a cup of tea with some honey. He carried it carefully through into the living room, where she took the warm mug with a grateful smile.
"Thanks JoJo," she said, taking a long slow sip.
He picked his phone up from the coffee table and then slid under the duvet beside her, hitting the number he needed while Lauren looked at him quizzically.
"Hi, I'm really sorry but I'm not going to make it in today, I'm sick," Joey said into the phone, and Lauren shook her head, biting her cheeks to suppress a laugh.
Joey paused to listen to what his boss had to say. "Thank you. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow," he replied, before ending the call as Lauren just stared at him. He put the phone down and turned to her with a half smile on his face.
"What?" he asked defensively when Lauren was still staring at him.
"You're not sick," she said, eyebrows raised.
He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "If you're sick then I'm sick too."
She shook her head with a laugh, before she had to turn away and cough. Joey held a hand up to shield himself, but he clearly wasn't too bothered because he leaned forward to kiss her. She lingered for a second before pulling away. "You'll actually get sick if you kiss me," she pointed out.
Joey shrugged. "At least we'll be sick together."
Lauren rolled her eyes at him, snuggling into his chest as he pulled the duvet tighter around them, and letting her eyes close.
An hour later, Lauren woke up from a nap, still feeling rough but instantly comforted when she became aware of Joey gently stroking her shoulder. She shifted so that she could wrap her arms around him, and he smiled down at her.
"We should be sick more often," she murmured with a grin, stretching up to kiss him. Joey angled his head down to kiss her properly, and he thought that he'd take being sick any day if it meant he got to cuddle up with Lauren like this.
