Illness Nights out and Mornings in (MCU, Natasha, F/F)

[Selkie]

Hey don't mind me just posting an old fic I thought some of yall would like to see, this was written a good while ago and just copy/pasted here so please excuse any errors or anything :} 

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“This is really amazing” You exclaimed excitedly as you took in the sights around you, taking a deep breath and sighing contently as the sweet smell of pumpkins and cinnamon met your senses.

Natasha had just recently arrived home after a weeklong mission away in Finland, she had been tasked with gathering intel from an experimental Hydra operation and despite your protests that she should probably take it easy for a few days, Nat was insisting on taking you out for the holiday

The night was cool as yourself and Natasha wandered round the busy Halloween carnival.

Halloween was a guilty pleasure of hers and you were super happy that she made it back in time to celebrate the holiday with you. In seasonal spirit both yourself and Nat were wearing costumes, you found yourself hearing a thin-fabricated skeleton suit while she was wearing a cat suit combined with fluffy cat ears and a warm black hoodie.

The carnival was amazing. The pair of you spent hours roaming around, trying out new foods and playing games. Natasha had even expertly won you a pink snake plushie too which you carried around with you proudly.

Time seemed to fly by as the night went on. Though did you notice that Natasha had begun repeatedly clearing her throat before talking, she had even coughed quietly once as she finished her sentence. You had asked Natasha if she was okay but she had assured you she was fine and that the cool air was probably just making her throat dry. This was a reasonable response so you accepted it and suggested that you two of you go and get slushies without any further thoughts.

It was around 10pm when you sat down on a bench, sipping on your blue slushie whilst Nat drank her cherry one. You shivered as the cold slushie gave you a brainfreeze, resulting in a laugh from Nat as she draped her hoodie around your shoulders.

“Thank you, baby.” You kissed her, holding the back of her head as you pulled her towards you.

The moment seemed to last forever but eventually Natasha pulled away first, she sniffled lightly against her wrist as she laughed, “Ya know, people are going to wonder why our tongues are purple.”

It took you a moment to realise what she had meant, giggling as it finally hit you. “So let them wonder.” You replied with a smirk, only you looked up towards the sky confused when you felt a small droplet of water hit your head.

“I think it's starting to rain.” You voiced out loud, staring up at the dark cloudy sky.

Natasha held out her hand, letting out a gentle ‘tsk’ as a series of raindrops hit her, “I think your right dear, maybe we should start heading home now.” She replied, taking your hand as you stood, “It’s only drizzling so I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

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You were not fine. The ‘drizzle’ had quickly turned into a torrential downpour as the pair of you hurriedly jogged back to the compound. Luckily for you, the hoodie which Natasha had given you earlier was enough to keep the rain from completely soaking you. Unfortunately, it had meant the opposite for Nat. She was drenched. Her once elegant catsuit now clung to her skin uncomfortably and her hair fell in wet strands by her face.

Once you were in the safety of your shared room you turned to see Natasha shivering as she rubbed her arms down herself, trying to warm herself up.

“‘Tasha you should really get out of those clothes.” You said before suddenly dashing to the other side of the room as an idea struck you. You pulled out a fluffy towel from the drawer and said, “Go and jump in the shower and I’ll put the towel in the dryer so it's warm for when you get out.”

Nat’s heart fluttered as she gazed over at your beaming smile, she would’ve continued to stare at you for the rest of the night if her nose hadn’t of interrupted her.

“Hh’huhtsss!”

Her body bent forwards at the force of her sudden sneeze, though she had still managed to stifle it against her knuckles. Before she had the chance to look back up, she felt your arm slowly cup around her, pulling her towards the ensuit bathroom.

“Bless you dear,” You removed your hold on her to open the bathroom door, “Now go and shower, you’ll catch your death if you stand here shivering.” You mused as she kissed your cheek and stepped into the bathroom.

As promised, you were diligently waiting with a warm towel when Natasha had finished her shower, technically you had been waiting for 10 minutes before she had got out. Natasha usually only showered for around 15 minutes but it seemed she was taking her time that night.

Nat gratefully accepted the towel and wrapped it around herself, a look of relaxation blurring over her face as the warmth sank in.

“Thank you, this feels amazing.” Natasha spoke as you yawned tiredly. Maybe if you hadn’t of been so tired then you would had noticed the newly formed hoarseness in her voice or perhaps the slight tint of red which had formed around her cheeks.

“We should probably get to bed. You must be tired by now ‘Tasha.” You mumbled as you pulled out a pair of matching pyjamas for the both of you, quickly pulling yours on.

“Guess so. Tonight's been fun though, thank you for spending Halloween with me.” Nat hugged you from behind after she finished drying herself off, accepting the pyjamas which you had offered out to her.

“I enjoyed it. We should do the same next year.” You kissed her cheek and climbed into bed as you spoke, watching curiously as Natasha pulled her hair into a low ponytail, “You're not going to dry your hair?” You asked somewhat confused.

Natasha usually wasn't a fan of going to bed with wet hair. According to her it ‘felt weird’ which is why you were puzzled when she climbed into bed.

“If you’re too tired, I can dry it for you baby?” You offered as Natasha got into a comfortable position beside you, (she was being the little spoon).

“It's okay. Let's just sleep, please?” You almost hadn’t heard her final word as she muffled her voice against the pillow.

“Sleep well sweetie.” You spoke softly into her neck as the pull of sleep slowly carried you away.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

░░

When you awoke that next morning, you awoke to the sun painting your room with a hazy ray of light shining from your curtains and the sleeping figure of your girlfriend still curled up beside you.

Strange. Usually, Natasha is up at the crack if of dawn, often going for long morning runs long before you even woke up. Still, you weren’t complaining, after all she had been gone for almost the whole week, some cuddle time was seriously overdue.

You stayed still beside her, your arm wrapped gently around her waist as she quietly snored, something which you hadn’t heard her do before. It was another 30 minutes before Nat began to stir. The quick yet silent bob of her of head was what caught your attention, she did this another two times before you even realised what it was.

“Bless you.” You whispered as Nat let out a sleepy moan, stretching her stiff limbs.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Nat questioned you sleepily, her voice sounding somewhat off. It was almost delicate.

“You didn’t sweetie.” You assured her as she tried to wake herself up properly, “You still tired Natty?” You asked as she yawned again and leant against you.

“Kinda.” She admitted with a small sniffle, scrubbing her nose with her knuckles. You couldn’t help but find her adorable in that moment until a thought finally clicked in your brain. Wait… Why was she sniffling?

Your curiosity got the better of you as you looked down to ask, “Natasha are you- “

“Hh’itsssh! Huh-tschiew! Hh’ITSchIEW!”

“Bless you, bless you, bless you sweetie!” You kindly blessed her every individual sneeze as Natasha sniffled thickly. There was a small box of tissues on the nightstand beside you so you reached over and swiped a-few before pressing them into Natasha’s surprisingly clammy hands.

“Thagk you.” Natasha accepted the tissues gratefully as audible congestion slurred her words. Nat blew her nose, trying to get some form of relief from the stuffiness which was currently occupying her sinuses, only the action only seemed to have the opposite effect as her nose twitched wildly afterwards.

“Hh’tshoo! Hh..huh’tshIEW!”

“Bless you, bless you. You sound like you might need these sweetheart,” Instead of taking a handful of tissues you instead just reached out and grabbed the box, placing it beside her.

“Your never usually this sneezy in the mornings.” You hummed, getting up from the bed. It was then that you were able to fully take in Natasha’s appearance. You hadn't realised it earlier but her eyes looked dark and tired; they were lacking their usual bright spark. Plus, her nose had taken on a rather pink tinge. You weren’t sure how to phrase it but she even looked stuffy, not to mention the fact that her cheeks were almost crimson in colour. The flush of her fever was only made more obvious as it was in contrast to her pale sickly skin.

You couldn’t hide your concern as a set of chills ran through her body, making her clutch the blankets for warmth only to weakly kick them off when she grew too hot a minute later.

“How did this even happen.” You lilted, looking over her worriedly.

You head Natasha sniffle slightly before quietly admitting, “I didn’t feel great yesterday.” Her voice trailed off, wincing as the words came from her raw throat, “It wasn't this ba- ..Hhh’ngXT!- It wasn’t this bad though.”

“Oh baby.” You sighed, instantly kneeling down at the side of Natasha, who had now slumped back beneath the covers despite the fact she was literally sweating, “Sweetie, I know you're not gonna like this but I need to feel your forehead please.” You encouraged her lightly. Knowing that were going to have to watch your words more carefully now though. You’d only ever seen Natasha sick once in the 4 years that you had been dating and the last time it had happened Nat had completely isolated herself, claiming she didn’t want to be a burden.

Thankfully you’d both changed a lot since then, you were both more open about your feelings and emotions so you were praying that she’d be able to trust you enough and you’d be able to look after her properly. Because truly that's all you wanted to do, you wanted to lay by her side, attending to her every need until she felt well again.

A particularly loud set of harsh sneezes pulled you from your thoughts as you were snapped back to reality. You blessed Natasha and waited for her to finish blowing her nose before outstretching the back of your hand, waiting for a nod of approval before pressing it to her head.

Nat moaned lightly as your cool hand met her head, “Y/N that feels so good.” She croaked stuffily, her sore voice only just louder than a whisper. A small look of relaxation momentarily swept over her face and she fell further into your touch.

You on the other hand were not so relaxed. In fact you were struggling to keep your face straight as you kept your hand pressed to Natasha’s burning forehead, “I'm gonna fetch a thermometer.” You said only to pause when Natasha started to cough rather chestily into her elbow, the sound of her chest rattling made your heart ache, you kept your hand pressed to her head but rubbed small circles down her back with your free one.

“S-sorry. That was gross.” Natasha spluttered as she caught her breath.

“You could never be gross,” You corrected her as you stood up, taking your hands from her body, “You definitely need some medicine though.”

“But it tastes icky.” Nat whined as you went to search the cabinets of your ensuite. Luckily there was half a bottle of Dayquil and some paracetamol tablets. Grabbing both, you carefully poured a dose and handed it to Natasha along with 2 of the pills.

“You need to take these.” You said sternly, not taking no for an answer, “You could do with some fluids too. Water or juice?” You asked once she had swallowed the medicines.

“Do we have pineapple juice?” Nat asked, looking up at you hopefully, “If not, water is fi- Hh’tsshiew! H…hih’iTSCHIEW! S’cuse, if not then water is fine.”

“Bless you. I’ll go see what we have.” You leant down to kiss her head gently before leaving the room, making sure to close the door behind you.

It was then that you finally allowed yourself to sigh. You hadn’t noticed how worried you actually were about Natasha until you had left her alone in the room. You’d never seen her this sick or this open. You were positive that she probably had the flu. There was no way that just a cold could make her feel so shitty.

You tried hard not to think about her state of health as you hastily made your way down towards the shared compound kitchen. As you padded into the kitchen, you saw Wanda, standing over the kettle fixing herself a coffee.

“Hey.” You greeted her as you scanned the contents of the fridge, looking for the juice.

“Hey, you alright?” Wanda had seemed to notice your rather anxious tone of voice.

You spotted the juice and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, “I'm fine Wands… Can you keep a secret?” You turned to ask her, you desperately wanted to tell her what was wrong, just for your own sake if anything.

“Yeah of course.” Wanda replied rubbing her hand down your tense arm.

“Nat’s really sick. Like really sick. I think she has the flu but I'm guessing she's not gonna let me take her to the doctors to confirm it.” You began rambling, “And I’m just really worried because this has never happened before and what if she doesn’t get better and then what if-“

“Woah, slow down. Take a deep breath for me.“ Wanda spoke soothingly as you calmed down. “Now listen to me, Natasha is smart, she knows her limits, if something was seriously wrong, she’d know. All you need to do is make sure she’s comfortable, which it looks like you're already doing a good job at that.” She nodded towards the half-poured drink, “She’ll be okay, I promise.”

You exhaled the breath that you hadn’t even realised you were holding. Wanda’s words did seem to somewhat comfort you. You pulled her into a tight hug before finishing off the drink and you heated up a strawberry Poptart, “Thank you.” You thanked Wanda, and remembered to search the drawers for a thermometer.

Lucking you found the small instrument after a few seconds of looking later and when you turned, you were faced with Wanda kindly holding out a cup of coffee towards you, “Take it. You need to remember to look after yourself too.”

You accepted it graciously, thanking her again before you placed everything you prepared on a tray and carried it back towards your room.

When you entered you saw that Nat had fallen back asleep in a rather uncomfortable looking position, you placed the tray down on your drawers before gently kneeling by the side of the bed and lightly coaxing Nat to wake back up.

“Sorry sweetie. I know your tired, I know love.” You cooed as Natasha mumbled something incoherently, “I need to take your temp baby.”

You held the thermometer out to her, and looked at Nat in surprise when she actually took it from your hand. She was about to put it in her mouth willingly when a hazed expression grew across her face. With the same hand she was using to hold the thermometer, she held a single finger up almost as if to to stop you from interrupting.

“Hh’tsschiew! H.huh’tschiew! Hh…h’hitscHIEW! Hh-hITSSCHIEW!”

“Bless you, bless you! You really don’t sound well sweetie.” You sympathised as Natasha sniffled wetly before putting the thermometer under her tongue.

A single beep signalled it was done and you took it from her mouth, only to sigh when you read the numbers that it displayed.

“Is it low?” Natasha joked sarcastically before breaking off to muffle a cough into her elbow.

“It's not great sweetie.” You admitted, “39.4, that's a definite fever honey. A high one at that…”

Nat groaned as she heard the numbers. Well, there goes her chances of a miraculous recovery within a few hours. She felt dreadful and was deeply missing the days when she took the ability to breathe through her nose for granted.

“I got your juice.” You said, taking the glass and offering it out to her, “Its pineapple just like you wanted.”

“You're amazing, thank you.” Natasha said, her voice cracking through her sentence, “I sound like a pubescent teenage boy…” She added with a tone so serious it made you audibly cackle out loud.

“Sweetie I promise you; you don’t sound like that.” You replied in between your laughter, wiping away the tears that were forming in your eyes.

Nat smiled weakly at you as you giggled quietly, her statement replying in your mind, each time cracking you up more.

It was then that you noticed the familiar hazed look spread across Nat’s face. You knew what was about to happen and pulled a handful of tissues from her now almost empty box and pressed them to her hand.

“H’htSCHIEW! Hh…hi’TSCHIEW! H..Hh’eschiew!”

“Bless you, bless you, bless you.” You mumbled lightly, as Natasha blew her nose, cringing to herself at the sound she made.

“You feeling up to eating anything?” You asked as Natasha yawned, rubbing her tired eyes before shaking her head.

“That's okay, I’m gonna need you to try and eat something for me later on though, alright?” You compromised, telling Nat to lay back down in bed.

“Deal.” She mumbled tiredly as you carefully climbed back in bed beside her, slowly massaging her scalp as she nestled beside you.

Taking your chances, you laid your hand across her forehead like you had done earlier, humming contently as you realised that it wasn’t as hot as earlier. Thankfully the medicine from earlier was finally seemed to be kicking in.

You sighed to yourself and cuddled down next to your sickly girlfriend, resisting the urge to kiss her on the lips… Oh screw it.

You leant down and softly kissed Natasha on her lips, only to apply more pressure when she kissed you back harder. You tried to savour the moment but Natasha had to pull away first as her nose had started to twitch.

“Heh’txxnt! Hh’tssssnt!” She had to duck down into your shoulder, stifling harshly to avoid sneezing on you.

“That was gross… You're probably going to catch this now, sorry.” She sniffled her apology sheepishly, clearly embarrassed at her outburst.

“‘Tasha please look at me.” You held her chin up gently, looking down into her glassed-over eyes, “It's fine, it's not like you can control it.” You spoke softly as you rubbed your hand down her arm to meet her own, interlocking your fingers with hers.

“You could never be gross.” You reminded her of your earlier statement, “I don’t care if I catch this, Natasha. I just care about looking after you.” You smiled, reminiscing on your earlier kiss.

“I love you…” She murmured as she buried her face in your chest, longing for your comfort.

You kissed the top of her head and pulled her close, “I love you too Natty but you should try and get some more rest, you must be really tired-“

You hadn’t realised it but Natasha had already fallen asleep against you, her stuffy snoring became the only sound in the room as you kept her close. She was safe in your arms and there was no way you’d let anything harm her… Not even a silly little virus.

[SleepingPhlox]

This fic was absolute perfection - the setting, the description of her illness, the way you paint such a lovely picture with words.  And the whole NatXreader thing is such a guilty pleasure of mine - she is one of my forever character crushes. Please, post as many of your fics as you want here, they are freaking amazing.

[Selkie]

5 hours ago, SleepingPhlox said:

Please, post as many of your fics as you want here, they are freaking amazing.

I'm really glad you're enjoying them