Bloom into Spring Chapter 6

"Primrose, are you okay!?"Malik yelled as he ran up to her,"I told you we should have stopped when it started raining." They had been hiking in the rain since daybreak and while they were both worst for wear Primrose looked way worst.

"I'm fine, I'm just struggling with the incline a little," Primrose said, taking a few more staggering steps before leaning on another tree.

"No, I'm struggling with this incline. I've never seen anyone as red in the face as you since I was caught by a whole congregation with the Lady Superior during mass." Malik said, laying a hand on her forehead," Plus, you're burning hot. We need to find a place to hunker down."

"We don't have time for that, Malik," Primrose panted," Also, ill have you know that I have on many occasions lead troops while way sicker than this."

"Then, your leader didn't care about your health. Come on, we passed some shallow caves a bit back." Malik said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him. It might have been the illness but Primrose didn't struggle anymore.

Malik found the same cave, and they made a quick camp. He couldn't find any dry wood, so there was no fire, so Malik piled all the blankets on Primrose.

Primrose struggled," I don't need all this. I'm fine." she said, but Malik wouldn't hear it. He just readjusted the blankets.

"Maybe if you take a nap. I'll think about continuing our journey." Malik said, going through their bags to see what he can make without a fire.

Primrose was quiet for such a long time that Malik thought she was asleep, then he heard a tiny voice come from the under the blankets, "You don't have to take care of me, you know." she said, hiding most of her face under the covers.

Malik smiled at her and patted her gently on her tummy," I know. Get some sleep, Prim."

Finally, Primrose eyelids fell, and she slept with a tiny smile on her face.

After she fell asleep, the rain stopped, and Malik was able to dry enough wood to get a small fire going in the cave. It wasn't big enough to cook soup like Malik wanted, but it would help them get dry and warm. It wasn't long before Malik found himself falling asleep leaning against the cave wall.

He awoke to a familiar pressure in his lap; it was a female's weight on his lap. Malik's eyes popped open, and he saw Primrose putting her face close to him. "You're breathing, right?" she said, sounding close to tears.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why would you be worried about me," Malik said.

Primrose started sobbing," You-you weren't moving," she said brokenly," and you didn't respond when I said your name."

Now that the initial shock faded, Malik could see that Primrose looked worst than before. She was red as a lobster, and her eyes, while full of tears, seemed listless and unfocused. She obviously had a high fever and wasn't in her right mind.

"Well, I'm okay, so you don't need to be sad," he said, wiping away her tears.

Primrose sniffed weakly," Promise?" she asked in a very childish tone.

"I promise," he said solemnly.

Primrose hugged him tightly," I'm so glad! You shouldn't worry me like that, Mal-Mal." she said, rubbing her face against him.

"Mal-Mal?"Malik asked in horror.

Primrose giggled," It's your new nickname! Do you like it? Do you do you?" she asked, bouncing up and down on his lap as she asked.

Malik quickly grabbed her waist and held her still," DON'T DO THAT!" he shouted, then feeling guilty when he saw the scared look she gave him, made an effort to soften his tone," Please stop Primrose."

Primrose tilted her head innocently at him," Why?" she asked.

"Cause it's dangerous," he said. Just Primrose's weight pressing against his crotch was already too much for him. It was taking all of his self-control just to sit still but Lil' Malik was reacting.

"Why?" Primrose said, drawing out the word in a way that was decidedly unchildlike especially when she accented the word with a roll of her hips.

Malik stared at her, but she just continued to look at him with those bright, innocent eyes. "Primrose, you have a fever. Why don't you go back to bed," he said.

Primrose let out a long whine," Noooo, it's cold over there. I want to be warm with you." she said, hugging him tightly. Malik had never noticed how nice Primrose's body was until this moment. Sure he was always flirting and teasing her, but he never really focused on her appearance. With her body pressed tightly against his, little Malik couldn't ignore it anymore. He knew she had broad shoulders and a lot of muscle, but he didn't expect her to be so soft in certain areas. His fingers sank into her hips, and the breast that was squashed against his chest was much bigger than he thought they would be.

All of a sudden, he felt wetness on his neck, it was Primrose's tongue, "Um Primrose!?"

She brought her mouth close to his ear,"Mal-Mal im so achy. Make it better pleaseeee."she drew out her plead and rolled her hips again making Malik dig his fingers deep into her hips.

There was an angel on one of his shoulders and a devil on the other and both of them wanted him to throw her down on the cave floor and not let her out before spring.

It was as he was contemplating the logistics of when they could find time to eat that Primrose had a violent coughing fit. Malik felt like scum, here he was thinking about her body, and she was seriously ill. He mustered up all her strength and picked her up and placed her back under the blankets.

"You stay here," he said firmly and then tried to stand up, but Primrose clung onto him.

"No, you stay here!" she said, using an incredible amount of strength forced him to lie down next to her. Malik was smart enough to know that he couldn't fight her, so he decided to play along until she fell asleep.

"Okay, okay. Let's take a nice nap together, Prim," he said indulgently.

Primrose giggled, then her face fell," Am I being annoying?" she asked.

"What no way. Why would you say that?"Malik asked quizzically.

"Because I'm being so clingy and weak. I promise it's just for today. I won't do it again, so don't hate me too much." Primrose said sleepily. She looked like she was fighting her heavy lids.

"It's okay, Primrose. You don't need to worry about that. I'm happy I can help you out for once." he said.

"That would be nice If that was true," she said, burying her head into his chest.

"Why do you think I'm lying?"Malik asked.

"Primrose needs to be strong. She has to, or everyone leaves. She can't...I can't let go. I-" Primrose jumbled sentence trailed off as she finally fell asleep.

Malik stared at her sleeping face for a long time. He had this unavoidable feeling that he wasn't supposed to see this aspect of her, but he had an even stronger desire to be the only one who ever saw her like that. He had never felt possessive over someone before but before he could spend time inspecting this new feeling Primrose started gnawing on his shirt, so he had to focus so he gently pry open her mouth.

A few hours later, Primrose woke up with an achy head. She looked over to the other side of the cave and saw Malik string a small pot of rice porridge. He smiled when he saw her wake up," Hello there, how are you feeling now, Prim?" he asked.

Primrose groaned and sat up, "My head is killing me, and have this gross taste in my mouth."

"Heh poor thing. Here I made my world-famous invigorating porridge. One bowl of this and you'll have enough energy to plow through a whore house in one night." he said proudly presenting her a bowl.

Primrose shot him a disapproving look for his lewd joke but took the bowl," Did you put mushrooms on this?" she asked confused.

"Yep, freshly foraged from this very forest! It's a savory porridge I've eaten since I was a kid. It's guaranteed to satisfy. "He said.

Primrose ate a spoonful, and her eyebrows shot up. It had a warm spicy flavor with a weird citrus flavor that somehow all came together perfectly.

Malik laughed at her shocked expression," I see you've noticed the secret ingredient, dried ground ginger root. It's the ultimate anti-cold medication. I know the flavor can be a bit jarring but try to eat as much as you can."

Primrose wasn't listening; she was too busy scarfing down the bowl," This is incredible. Is there enough for seconds?" she asked when she was done.

Malik was pleasantly surprised but quickly made her another bowl.

"Did I say anything weird in my sleep or anything?" she asked.

"Um, I wouldn't say weird..."Malik thought about how to say minimize without lying, "You said your name a few times and moved around a lot. It took a while for you to calm down."

Primrose let out a relieved sigh," I was so worried. Usually, when a knight is too ill to work, you get sent back to a room with a day worth of food and medicine, so I have never been around other people when ill. I heard that people could say really humiliating things while they are sick, so I got scared."

"No need to be scared. I wouldn't tell anyone even if you said some embarrassing things," Malik said, pouring her a water cup.

Primrose gulped down the water, too," Well, thanks for watching out for me. It's nice knowing I have someone to watch my back for me." she said.

Malik blushed at her words," Ah yeah I got your back no matter what." he said way more seriously than she expected.

Primrose smiled back at him then looked at the rain from the mouth of their cave, "The storm is really not letting up, huh." she said lightly.

"It comes and goes, but the trail we've been taking has become really slippy and muddy," he said.

"So, we are stuck here till future notice?" Primrose asked.

"Yep. We can look for a new way up tomorrow, but you should rest more before we try anything."

This time Primrose didn't fight him. She just handed him the bowl back and laid back down. Malik thought she had fallen asleep, but then he heard her say in a small voice," Hey, once you get ready for bed, feel free to share the blankets with me," Primrose said, then quickly added," Back to back."

Malik stared at her in utter, surprised Primrose was curled in a tight ball, and from the strain in her voice, he could tell that it was difficult for her to say it. She was really concerned about him and made his voice extra soft as he responded," Yeah, I will. I really appreciate the offer."

She nodded her head a little. It was long after that that Malik heard her soft snoring. After he made sure she was deeply sleeping, he lay down next to her and took a bit of the blanket. Malik kept his word and turn his back to her. As he laid there staring at the cave wall, he realized that this was probably the first time he slept with another person. Really just sleep side by side with no expectation of it leading to more or having to earn a good rest. Malik twisted his head to look at Primrose; she was sleeping soundly, a trail of drool running down her cheek. Malik creaked a small smile before drifting off to sleep. He could get used to this.