The computer screen turned blurry in front of your eyes. How many hours had you been at it now? When was the last time you got up to stretch? Based on the stiffness of your joints it had been hours. An email notification sound played and right as you went to read it, you heard the unmistakable sound of dishes rattling followed by a yelp and a thud.

Jumping to your feet, you raced to the kitchen and found your husband covered in soap bubbles. A quick glance would find more soap bubbles along the floor, the sink running, and a few dishes scattered but remarkably unscathed. Your husband, Leighton Farbridge, stared up at you with sheepish grey eyes and an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry my love…..I realized it had been a while since you ate so I went to make you a snack but then I realized we were out of plates and then I saw the sink full of dishes and thought I’d surprise you by cleaning the kitchen so I filled the sink with soap to help the dishes soak. Then it dawned on me that if you hadn’t eaten in a while you probably hadn’t drank anything in a while either so I got you some water-“

He gestures to a drinking glass that rests on its side, empty, from where he must have dropped it.

“but then I remembered what you said about leaving the water running when doing dishes so I whirled around to turn off the water and went to take a step and ended up here.”

It was hard to believe that the man sitting on the floor in front of you had been a prince who had given up his title to marry you. He was hopeless at house work, though he tried to help, but his strength in other matters more than balanced things out. That strength made itself known as a gentle hand, smattered with soap bubbles, cupped your cheek.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I’ll clean it up, but are you alright? Your eyes look tired and I know it’s been several hours since you came out of your office. Is everything going alright with work?”

Concerned eyes roamed over your face as he took in all the signs of stress on your face.