Jet Lag

Ralph had been struggling to adjust back to local time ever since he returned from his trip. He would be waking up around dinnertime and going to bed just before lunch every day. Any attempts to tire him out so he'd go to bed at a more reasonable time didn't work. Drugs weren't really an option to fix this either—it was just something he had to figure out.

I was already asleep one night when I felt the bed sink in on Ralph's side. I let out a small groan as I slowly opened my eyes to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Ralph... Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, everything's okay."

"Really? You sound uncertain about something."

"I just miss being able to be around you, ," he admitted. "You're asleep when I'm awake and vice versa."

I felt his hand over mine as he held it up to his mouth and gently kissed the back of it. I interlaced my fingers with his and brought his hand down to my chest, placing it over my heart.

"Lie down," I suggested. "Rest your head here."

"..."

Ralph brought his ear up close to my chest as I lazily played around with his hair in my fingers. I could feel his breathing rate starting to sync up with my heartbeat as I closed my eyes to try and get back to sleep.

"You hear that, right?" I asked him. "Whenever I need to calm down, I always rely on your heart to help."

"Yeah, I can hear it," he nodded. "I never knew your's sounded so soothing, ."

"Focus on it," I guided. "Your breathing will match mine in time."

I held him close to me as I drifted back into my slumber. When I woke up, I was shocked to find that not only was Ralph still in my arms, but he was asleep at the same time I was! He must've felt me wake up because he also let out a yawn as he opened his eyes.

"Good morning, ," he smiled.

"Ralph, did you manage to fall asleep at the same time I did?"

"Maybe," was his vague answer. "I did what you said and focused on your heartbeat. The next thing I knew, you had fallen asleep and my eyes couldn't stay open any longer."

"Do you still feel tired?" I worried.

"...No, not at all," he realized. "I feel... refreshed."

I couldn't help but tear up a little. "Ralph..."

He inched his head up to my pillow and kissed me tenderly. "Thank you, ."

"I didn't do anything," I laughed.

"You helped fix my Circadian rhythm for this timezone, which is something that even the doctors couldn't do," he pointed out. "I really miss getting breakfast food from a breakfast place at a normal time to eat breakfast. Are you up for accompanying me, ?"

"Of course," I agreed. "I miss being able to share our usual plates of French Toast and Eggs Benedict."