"Where the hell is Cap?" Tony asked exasperatedly. They'd been waiting for him for five minutes, which in normal time didn't seem that bad, but when the assemble alarm went off, it was an age. Truth be told, Natasha was worried by his lack of presence. He didn't just go awol with no reason. "I haven't seen him since this morning." She told them, because it was true. He was still asleep when she'd gotten up, which wasn't the strangest thing to happen. It was rare, but it happened, and she knew he'd worked hard the day before.

"Nat, can you go get him?" Clint asked, fiddling with his arrows, not really concentrating on the conversation.

"Sure. You guys go ahead, we'll catch you up." She told them, and the rest of the team took off through the doors and headed downtown. She sighed, jogging to the elevator, hitting the button for their floor. Steve didn't just ignore the Avengers alarm, which meant regardless of what was going on, it wasn't good.

The apartment was dark, and she would've assumed no one was home apart from the niggling sensation in the back of her brain telling her something was wrong. She opened the door to their bedroom, having ascertained that he wasn't anywhere else.

"Steve?" She asked, having to shout slightly over the blaring off the alarm. A pained whine came from the sheets, his form curling further into himself. A pillow was pressed over his head, presumably trying to block out the noise.

"Jarvis, turn the alarm off." She ordered, and the sound clicked off. She could instantly see Steve relax slightly as she sat on the bed next to him. Pulling the pillow off his head, she smoothed her hand over his hair. Her hand brushed over his skin, and she could feel a slight warmth radiating off him. Not enough to be overly concerned, but still slightly worrying.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently, frowning as he simultaneously tried to burrow into her touch and push himself away.

"M'graine." He slurred, lolling his head to the side to look at her, though she could tell the amount of pain it brought him. Natasha could see tears rolling down his face, and she wondered how long he was planning on struggling by himself.

"Hey, I'm here okay." She whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible now she knew what was wrong. She got up to get him a glass of water, knowing he'd hate her for it, but he needed to drink. "Honey, sit up for me." She said softly, sliding her hand behind his back to help him.

"N'tasha." He groaned, his body a dead weight as she tried to get him slightly upright. She gently forced his body into a half sitting position, rubbing her hand on his back.

"I know, I know. You need to drink something, it'll make you feel better." She told him, letting him settle before handing him the glass. He took a small sip before handing it back to her. "Honey, I know it hurts. I'm really sorry, but the more you drink, the better you'll get."

She tipped the glass to his lips, letting him sip slowly until he'd drank half the glass. As soon as she pulled away he flopped back down, burying his face in his pillow and letting a fresh tear escape his eye.

"I'll be back in a minute honey." She pressed a small kiss to his shoulder before going into the bathroom and looking in the medicine cabinet. She was hoping they had something in there that Steve could actually take without burning through it instantly, but they had nothing. She sighed, wetting a washcloth and wringing it out and returning to the bedroom. Steve had rolled over into the middle of the bed, hugging her pillow to his chest. She smiled, she knew that when she wasn't around he'd sleep on her side of the bed, he said he found it comforting, she imagined that's what was happening now. She sat crossed legged on the bed, stroking her hand along his arm softly to make sure he knew she was back. She dabbed the washcloth on his forehead, causing a small whine to escape him, but one she recognised as relief. She glanced at her phone to look at the time, seeing a message from Tony asking where the hell they were.

"Steve, I'm sorry. I have to go." She apologised, laying the cloth on his forehead and running her hand through his hair softly. "I love you so much and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Steve just made a small hum in acknowledgement, digging the heels of his palms into eyes to block out the light. She pressed a soft kiss to his wrist before grabbing her gun off the dresser and shutting the door quietly. "Jarvis? Tell me if anything changes with Steve."

"I am patched into your comms Agent Romanoff and will update you if Captain Rogers condition worsens." Jarvis said as she headed down to the garage, whilst simultaneously tracking the fight.

"Thank you."

"Widow? You and Cap gonna get here anytime soon?" Tony asked as soon as she patched in her comm, dodging and weaving her way through the traffic. "Yeah, we're getting out asses kicked out here." Clint added.

"Speak for yourself Barton." Tony snarked, and she could help but let out a loud laugh. "Sorry boys. Just me today. Our dear old Captain is feeling under the weather."

"Joy. I'm gonna call in spidey."

"I'm surprised he's not already there." Clint mused, and she was wondering the same thing. They were in the middle of Queens, Spiderman's stomping ground, and he wasn't here yet. "He had a date." Tony muttered, clearly reluctant to tell them. Presumably, Peter had sworn him to secrecy.

"A date?" Even though they couldn't see her, she raised her eyebrows. She knew he was interested in someone, but she hadn't realised he'd worked up the courage to ask her out. That didn't seem like the Peter Parker she knew.

"Don't tell him I told you." Tony said quickly, and she could tell he wished he could take it back. They all knew Peter would be pissed at him for telling them, but he'd forgive him. Hopefully.

"We would never." Clint said, and she could practically see him rolling his eyes.

"Back me up on this Nat." Tony begged. She saw him soar through the sky above her, and she whipped her head around as he fired a shot behind her. She hadn't even noticed that she'd gotten to the centre of the battle, but she pulled out her guns, firing them with accuracy and clearing the path in front of her. She smirked over the comms, bracing herself as she rolled off her bike. "Don't tease him about it Clint. I'll do it for you."

"Tasha!"

"Hey." Natasha's soft lilt echoed around in his brain, not enough to hurt, but enough that it was uncomfortable. But any noise was uncomfortable, and he figured he'd rather her gentle tone over anyone else's.

"You win?" He mumbled, feeling her weight dip down on the bed next to him.

"Course we did." She let out a soft chuckle, and he knew she was smirking, but just the thought of opening his eyes made him feel queasy. "You feeling any better?"

"No." One of his hands was curled in his hair, gripping the strands tightly as the other pressed into his forehead, his eyes buried in the crook of his elbow. Her hand came to rest on top of the one in his hair, gently prying his fingers so they relaxed.

His head was pounding so hard that he could barely concentrate on her actions or her words. The constant throbbing that was so relentless and never ending, he thought he heard Natasha say shower, but he had no idea whether she meant herself or him. Even trying to figure out which she meant made him feel even worse.

"Tasha." He groaned, tilting his head just enough so she could see his face. It had paled, a slight greenish tint to his skin. She knew what was about to happen, and she would prefer if it wasn't all over the bedroom. "Okay, come on. Up you get." She supported him as she pulled him out of bed, his eyes screwed shut, his balance completely off centre as she half dragged him into the bathroom. He was supporting his own weight, but he wasn't moving without any prompting, resulting in her having to pull him the short distance to the bathroom, trying to gently ease him to the ground in front of the toilet. She rubbed his back with one hand as he threw up, sending Bruce a text asking for some medicine, because seeing Steve like this hurt her. "You're okay honey." She cooed softly, letting him fall into her when he was done, his head buried in her neck. His whimpers were quiet, but she knew how much pain he was in, and as much as she wanted to get off the floor of the bathroom, she knew she wouldn't be able to get him back up.

"Hey Nat." Bruce's whisper came from the door to the bathroom, and she turned her head slightly, giving him a smile. "Hey."

"Need a hand?" He asked, kneeling down on the floor next to them. Steve had barely registered that Bruce had appeared, still moaning into her shoulder. She let out an audible sigh, giving Bruce a grateful smile.

"Steve, honey, we're gonna get you back into bed." She said softly, placing her hand on his back and gesturing for Bruce to help get him up. With a great deal of effort, they got him off the floor and back into their bed, and as they placed him onto the bed gently, he curled up into as small a ball as his massive frame would allow. "I know honey. I know." She sat next to him, brushing her hand over his shoulder. She looked over to Bruce, and he handed her a small pill.

"It'll help him. I promise." He smiled softly, giving her shoulder a squeeze before making his exit, leaving them alone.

"Steve, I need you to sit up." She kept her voice quiet, trying to coax him upright. He whined in response, curling into himself further. "I promise sweetheart, you can go to sleep after this."

He stretched his legs out slightly, giving her the indication that he was willing to move, so she manoeuvred him up, ignoring his little whines and groans. He looked at her through hooded lids as she got the glass of water off the nightstand. She handed him the pill, placing it into his hand and watching as he tossed it into his mouth, letting her tip the glass to his lips. He curled back into a ball when he was done, and she smiled softly at him.

"Go to sleep now Steve. I'm gonna have a shower." She pressed a kiss to his forehead before, getting up, fully intent on leaving him be for a while.

"Stay." His mumble was barely audible, but she heard it anyway. Letting out a soft chuckle, she sat back down on the bed and laid her hand over his. "I stink Steve."

"Tash." He moaned, and she couldn't refuse his sad little groan, so she walked around to the other side of the bed, crawling in and wrapping him in her arms. He buried his head into her chest, so she threaded her fingers through his hair, trying to lull him to sleep. His small little whimpers broke her heart as she held him close to her. "Sleep now Steve. I'll be here when you wake up."

AN: If you have any ideas that you desperately, or not so desperately want incorporated into this story, please let me know and I'll try to write them in. I hope you enjoyed, please follow, favourite and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated.