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catboyfever · 1 year

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"The Love Bug" - Rabbit/Tigger Fluff

Tigger shows up at Rabbit's house sick as can be, convinced he's not got a cold but a "Love Bug" for Rabbit. Rabbit takes care of him as best he can while powering through Tigger's seemingly nonsensical ramblings. I had a lottt of fun writing this one, I'm an absolute sucker for scenarios like this. I hope you enjoy :3.

Windstorms were nothing new to the hundred acre wood. In fact, Rabbit treasured a good night inside. Alone, warm, safe from the winds. A pot of vegetable soup was simmering on the stove, he had a cup of black tea with just the perfect amount of sugar. He sat down in front of his fireplace, cup in hand, ready to unwind… when a dull knock at his door interrupted him. Rabbit sighed, set the cup of tea down on the ottoman in front of his chair. As he walked towards his door, he wondered who would be foolhardy enough to venture out in a storm like this. He opened the door and who stood in the doorway shivering like the leaves that flew off the trees? None other than Tigger.

“Tigger! What are you doing out in a storm like this?! Are you trying to catch a cold!?” Rabbit shouted.

Rabbit opened his mouth to start lecturing him again but stopped as he noticed something was amiss. He was still standing on his own two feet and Tigger hadn’t even tried to bounce him. In fact Tigger didn’t even reply to him at first. He took a long look at the tiger. His tail was dragging behind him on the ground, his cheeks were bright red and his eyes looked sunken in. He looked dreadful.

“Tigger… are you alright?” Rabbit asked, softening his tone of voice.

Tigger simply shuffled into the house. Rabbit closed the door gently behind him, leading him to the chair by the fireplace. Tigger sunk into the cushy chair, shivering even as the heat from the fire radiated onto him.

“My word… you’re sick as a dog. Why in the world did you walk all the way over here? Shouldn’t you be resting?” Rabbit asked as he stepped away to retrieve a blanket for the poor tiger.

“I’m n-not sick like I usually get, Ra-Ra.” Tigger finally spoke up, punctuating his sentence with a sneeze. “Yes, it’s much worse. I can see that.” Rabbit said. He spread the blanket out, neatly tucking the soft, fuzzy covers over Tigger as he warmed himself by the fire.

“No, no you got it all wrong! I’m not sick. I got b-bit by the love bug!” Tigger proclaimed.

Rabbit brought a hand to Tigger’s forehead and sighed. “You’re burning up, you can’t be thinking straight.”

“I mean it! I woke up this morning feeling something dreadful… absolutely miserabible. But all I could think about was you, all afternoon. S-So that’s why I had to come see ya!” Tigger sneezed again, prompting Rabbit to set a box of tissues on his lap.

Still unconvinced that anything Tigger said was genuine, Rabbit continued to make sure he had things in order to make Tigger comfortable. The soup was nearly done. Tigger’s timing was always impeccable one way or another.

“So you woke up feeling ill and you thought of me. What’s that supposed to prove? You probably knew I’d be the one best suited to help nurse you back to health is all.” Rabbit said.

Rabbit switched his stove off, ladling a healthy portion of the veggie soup into a bowl. He took a seat on the ottoman and sat facing Tigger. He kept staring at him with focus like he’d never seen before. He had a dreamy look in his eyes… Rabbit didn’t know what he could be thinking in that silly head of his.

“Do you think you can eat on your own?” Rabbit asked.

“Well, how am I supposed to eat if you tucked me in all snuglike?” Tigger asked.

Rabbit rolled his eyes. Even stricken will illness Tigger couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Rabbit gingerly raised a spoon to Tigger’s mouth, feeling a smile tug at his lips as the tiger ate and purred. He could imagine the soup was doing wonders to warm him up.

“You got real pretty eyes, Ra-Ra.” Tigger said as Rabbit drew the spoon back into the bowl.

Rabbit shrugged. “Yes, yes. You’re going to have to play up this whole ‘love bug’ act if you want me to believe a word of it.”

“I mean it! Usually I only get to see you looking kinda angry. You look sweeter than honey right now, doing all this for me.”

Rabbit’s face started to mirror Tigger’s as he looked down at the bowl.

“Oh! Look at that, empty. I better go wash this up.” Rabbit said before hastily walking back to the kitchen.

He’s totally out of it, don’t take what he says seriously. Rabbit thought to himself. Rabbit took his sweet time, really scrubbing the bowl as clean as he possibly could. Tigger had just eaten out of it after all! He had to be sure it was extra clean so he wouldn’t get sick. That’s what he told himself as he bought more time to regain his composure. Rabbit made his way back to Tigger who was gazing into the fire, his tail swaying lazily behind him.

“Alright, you’ve eaten. I’ll let you have the bed tonight, I’m not about to make you walk all the way home… However, if you’re going to be sleeping in my bed. I’m giving you a bath first.” Rabbit said.

He expected shouts of protest, bargaining, even a sudden surge in energy that led Tigger to bounce right back to his house. He never expected to hear:

“Okiedoke, Long Ears. It’s your bed after all.”

Rabbit’s eyes snapped to Tigger and studied him. He just had that dreamy look on his face, like his mind was a mile away. A mile away and full of thoughts about… him. He shook his head.

“Oh, I-I… I mean it! A really good scrubbing! I-It helps you get better faster, getting all the grime off of you.” Rabbit said.

Tigger was unfazed. “Well, sure! If it’ll help me feel better.”

Now Rabbit was truly worried. Rather he was far, far sicker than he was letting on or this… ridiculous notion of some sort of “Love Bug” was true. He couldn’t think of a world in which Tigger agreed to a bath. While Rabbit’s brain worked overtime trying to make sense of the situation Tigger was a lump on the couch, head in the clouds. Rabbit brought the washbasin into the living room and began to boil water for the bath. Once it was heated up, he poured the pots of hot water into the basin and filled the rest with cool water until a hot and steamy, but comfortable bath was filled. Once it was filled Tigger unwrapped the blankets from around himself and slowly got to his feet. A few shaky steps later, he was sinking into the tub. He let out a long, deep sigh as the hot water surrounded him.

Rabbit approached the tub like it would explode if he walked too fast. Some part of him expected Tigger to leap out of the tub at any moment, but he only seemed to grow more lax as he stood behind him and began to scrub the tiger’s fur with a soft brush. Beneath his gentle scrubbing, he felt Tigger’s muscles relaxing.

“You’d go and do all this for me… No wonder this ol’ love bug’s got me thinking of you.” Tigger mumbled.

Rabbit sighed. He’d never been so close to Tigger before. Well, not like this anyway. The tiger’s body was usually a blur of motion. To see him relax like this was a rare sight. As Rabbit scrubbed Tigger’s back, he seemed to tense up just a bit as he drew closer to his tail. Rabbit decided to get back at the silly tiger by teasing him some. He set the brush aside and stroke up the length of Tigger’s tail from the base to the black tip, eliciting a shaky sigh from him.

“C-Careful, Bunny Boy! My tail’s real sensitive ya know?” Tigger shuddered.

“Oh I’m just trying to get it clean! You dragged it on the ground the whole way over here.” Rabbit said.

He let his fingers run over the length of his tail one last time before he let Tigger have some reprieve. He was still sick after all, so he shouldn't push him so much.

Finally, Rabbit poured water over Tigger, rinsing off the bubbles. Tigger stood from the tub and Rabbit gently worked a towel into his damp fur until it was reasonably dry. While Rabbit rubbed the soft, warm towel over him, Tigger purred like a motorboat. With Tigger fed and clean, it was time to get him the rest he needed. Rabbit led Tigger to his bed.

“Well, there it is. I’ll be on the chair by the fireplace so don’t hesitate to yell if you need something.” Rabbit said.

Tigger slinked into the bed, sliding under the soft comforter and making himself comfy with one of Rabbit’s feather pillows. Rabbit turned to leave when Tigger suddenly called out.

“Wait!” Rabbit turned to face Tigger, raising his eyebrows.

“Can you… I mean… You’re not just gonna leave me alone, are ya?” Tigger asked.

“Tigger, you’re sick. If I spend the night here with you I’m certain to fall ill tomorrow.” Rabbit crossed his arms.

“Oh c’mon, Bunny Boy. Please? I can’t sleep without you around.” Tigger pleaded.

Rabbit stared at him. He knew if he got into that bed and lay with Tigger, he’d certainly get sick. He knew he should just ignore his pleas, go back to his chair and tomorrow Tigger would wake up with his senses about him. Yes, he should have just went back to his chair.

“...Fine.” Rabbit mumbled.

If Tigger was in good health he would’ve bounced right through the ceiling. Instead though, he saved what little strength he had left to cling to Rabbit the moment he slipped beneath the covers to join him. Rabbit sighed as he settled into the embrace. Tigger was holding onto him for dear life, like he was worried if he wasn’t hanging on, Rabbit would disappear. His body was like a radiator, warming the blanket and Rabbit himself as he lay there. Tigger was purring so hard it actually sent tiny vibrations through Rabbit’s body. He fell asleep quickly, almost forgetting why he was reluctant to lay with him in the first place.

The next morning the reminder of why he had hesitated so much hit him like a truck. Rabbit’s head was pounding, his body felt hot and heavy as molten iron and to make it all worse… a very energetic Tigger was standing over his bed with a plate of toast in hand.

“Mornin’, Long Ears! Man you were a lifesaver last night! I feel like a million buckaroos!” Tigger exclaimed

Rabbit glared at him and took a deep breath before screaming.

“TIGGER!!!!!!!!!”

Any smart resident of the woods would’ve been sent running. Ordinarily anyway. Tigger knew Rabbit needed his help, despite how upset he was. So he spent the entire day mirroring the care the Rabbit had given him. He cooked meals, cleaned up around the house, he even managed to reheat the soup from last night without burning the house down! By the time night came, and Rabbit was fast asleep in his bed, Tigger walked out of the house, gently closing Rabbit’s front door behind him. The memories of the night Rabbit cared for him were vivid in his mind. Though it was silly before, Tigger bounced away thinking to himself that now, maybe he really had caught the love bug for ol’ Long Ears.

#rabbit (wtp)#rabbit wtp #wtp rabbit #winnie the pooh #winnie the pooh rabbit #tigger #winnie the pooh tigger #rabger #rabbit/tigger #fanfic #fan fiction #fluff #This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now tbhh #I'm glad I got around to finally writing it

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