🍎 caleb coming over to help you with executive dysfunction!!! (and even if you're having a rough day, he'll still help with whatever you can accomplish as you are.)
he extends a hand towards you, where you're curled up in bed, wiggling his fingers a bit and joking about his arm getting tired. you always end up taking his hand, allowing him to help pull you up and wrap an arm around your shoulders to guide you towards the bathroom.
even if you whine a bit and complain that you don't want to, he turns on the water and helps you step out of your clothes while it heats up. he strips his own clothes quickly and steps into the shower with you, keeping a point of contact with you at all times so that you don't feel so lost and alone.
he helps you wash yourself off, rewarding you for accepting his help with a scalp massage that has you melting into him as he takes care of your hair, always careful to be gentle. he's especially soft when he washes your face, his thumbs rubbing the soap into your features. sometimes his smile slips while he does so, replaced by a slightly furrowed brow as his gaze travels across your face alongside his fingers. you can't help but wonder what he's thinking about.
while he washes your body, his touches are chaste and affectionate, his hands warm and so big against your smaller form. he always lets you help him wash if you want to, kneeling down to help you reach his head and always laughing a little at your pout as he does so.
after the shower, you're quickly bundled up in a fluffy towel before caleb shakes his hair out like a dog, giving you a goofy grin if you protest being caught in the blast range. he coaxes you to brush your teeth on your own at first, but if you still fight him, he has no problem with doing it for you.
once you're all freshened up and feeling clean again, he makes sure to give you a break, scooping you up and curling you against him. sometimes you each do your own activities, but sometimes you just lie against him, your head resting on his chest, your eyes closed as you listen to the vibration of his voice, softened as he reads you a story.
and once he prompts you to get up to do work alongside him, he's always careful to gauge your reaction. if you start to tense up, your fists balling up in your shirt as you avert your gaze from his, he softens. he doesn't make you beg if he can tell that work is the last thing you want to do. he'd never make you beg, not for something like this.
before you can speak up in your wobbly voice to ask him if you could please, please not start work yet, he smothers your cheeks in kisses, catching your delicate little tears.
"pipsqueak, hey, hey. you don't need to beg. you never need to beg with me. let's make today a rest day, okay? don't beat yourself up for it. i'll still be here tomorrow. i'm not goin' anywhere, you know that. you've got time. and i'm proud of you for pushing through everything to take my hand. you don't have to earn my love, baby. you'll always have it. no matter what."
instead of work, he's happy to help you rest without the guilty ache that normally accompanies it.
and the next day, when you're feeling more prepared to get things done, he rewards you with kisses and snacks every step of the way. he's so, so proud of you for pushing through the haze to grip his lifeline.
