"This is your fault." Maria sniffled and snuffled against Natasha. The redhead simply chuckled at that statement and hiked the blanket higher over Maria's shoulders.
"I don't see how, I don't get sick." She said simply, wrapping her arm tighter around her girlfriend.
"You were a carrier. You were around Barton when he had the flu, and now I have the flu, and it's your fault." Her words were punctuated by a cough and Natasha shook her head.
"I'm astounded by your leap of logic. If anything it's Clint's fault for getting sick in the first place." The redhead adjusted the kindle on her knees and started to run her hair through Maria's hair. Maria grumbled and wiped her snotty nose on Natasha's shirt. "Ew. Don't do that or I'm not sleeping here with you." Natasha said, pulling away slightly and wrinkling her nose in disgust. "We have tissues right here." She dumped the box on Maria's legs.
"Revenge." The brunette muttered, scooting back against Natasha. Natasha just rolled her eyes and adjusted the cool compress on the back of Maria's neck.
"Honestly, you are the worst sick person ever. Hardass Hill pouts like a little kid when she's sick." The redhead smirked down at her girlfriend, but her arm tightening around the brunette belied her words.
"Don't call me that." Maria said, and Natasha had to laugh when she did actually pout. "Don't laugh." Maria coughed again and grabbed a tissue. The redhead settled for smirking. Maria cuddled up closer to Natasha and the redhead assumed she had dozed off while Natasha was reading on her kindle. The only sounds from her girlfriend were the constant sniffles and occasional coughs. But Maria shot straight up when the call to assemble came from JARVIS. Natasha sighed and glanced over at her girlfriend.
"I do need to go." She said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Maria's forehead. "Behave." She scolded, before shifting Maria and rolling out of bed. She tried not to laugh at the resulting pout as she set her kindle aside and hurried out towards her gear.
—
Natasha trudged back into her shared apartment with Maria, fully intent on dragging Maria out to the kitchen for them to both eat and then returning to their previous state of cuddling. But when she entered their bedroom, she didn't find Maria. Nor did she find her girlfriend anywhere else in the apartment, and she finally had to settle for asking JARVIS.
"JARVIS, where is my errant girlfriend?" She asked, sighing. She had kind of a hunch but she hoped she was wrong.
"Agent Hill is currently in the gym." Natasha sighed, she was right. She rolled her eyes and headed for the elevator.
"Thanks, JARVIS." She called, heading off to drag her stubborn girlfriend back to bed. When she got to the gym, she found the brunette doubled over on the bench coughing. Natasha just rolled her eyes again, seriously wondering if she could roll her eyes right out of her head if she did this enough, and marched up the Maria. Without even a word she snaked an arm around Maria's back and the other arm under her knees and scooped the much taller woman into her arms.
"I'm going to tie you creatively to the bed if you leave it for something stupid again." Natasha said, standing still until Maria stopped coughing.
"I felt fine." The brunette grumbled in her gravely voice and Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Of course you did, you have the good drugs in your system. That doesn't mean you can go work out, it means you get to feel less like death warmed over." Natasha said, her voice clearly exasperated. She hefted her girlfriend to make sure she had a good grip and then headed out of the gym.
"I can walk." Maria whined, actually whined, and Natasha rolled her eyes yet again. At this rate she'd be seeing the back of her skull.
"I'm sure you can, but you're not going to." The redhead said simply, making her way to the elevator. "We are going home, eating, and going back to bed." She said once they were in the elevator.
"I'm not hungry." Maria said petulantly and Natasha rolled her eyes yet again. This was getting ridiculous.
"You're eating." Natasha's voice brooked no argument as they rode the elevator. Maria shifted in her arms and Natasha tightened her grip. It was a bit awkward to carry someone six inches taller, but it wasn't the first time she'd done it. Maria just grumped and finally settled. The elevator reached their floor and Natasha strolled out, depositing Maria into one of their kitchen chairs.
"I don't want to eat." Maria grumped and Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes again.
"Steve made chicken noodle and brought it up earlier." She said, turning towards the fridge to pull out the container.
"Oh." Was all Maria said, and Natasha knew she had already won. She dished them both up soup and popped the bowls into the microwave. She grabbed a sleeve of crackers and set them on the small table with spoons. Fetching the bowls when they came out she deposited one in front of Maria and sat down with her own. It was a bit light for what she would usually eat right after a mission, but she didn't feel like cooking anything. Without Natasha having to push, Maria ate half of the bowl. Which more than satisfied the redhead. But she could also tell Maria was about to doze off. So she just left the bowls where they were and scooped up her drowsy girlfriend. She set Maria on the bed while she went to go fetch another compress, and then settled herself into bed. Maria naturally just curled around her, dropping her head in Natasha's lap.
"Sleep." Natasha told Maria, picking up her kindle and running her free hand through Maria's hair in a soothing gesture.