There were two certainties in Yelena's world. The first of which was that sour cream and onion chips were the love of any normal human's life.
The second? Yelena Belova absolutely despised being sick.
The moment she had woken up that morning, she was colder than normal, and she noticed that she just had that cruddy feeling that generally came upon her as she started to get sick. She had actually managed to wake up before Natasha, which was something that she was immensely thankful for.
She had carefully eased out of the bed, intending to leave Natasha there for a while until she could hopefully contain her sickness. She knew precisely how Natasha would likely react, and she was hoping to put off that reaction for a while. After all, Natasha freaked out anytime that Yelena was even remotely injured, so Yelena could naturally imagine her precise reaction to sickness.
She had thrown on sweatpants and one of Natasha's hoodies. She knew that this attire would likely give herself away, but she was a little cold and she had to at least somewhat comfortably be able to exist with this chill.
She was starting to rummage through the cabinets for something good to eat that would hopefully make her feel better when she heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. She winced, really dreading the conversation that was no doubt about to ensue.
"Good morning," Natasha greeted, coming up beside her and bumping her shoulder slightly with her own. She reached for a mug in the cabinet, withdrawing a cup and filling it with coffee.
"Morning," Yelena replied, hoping and praying that she sounded at least halfway normal and not like the sick person that she knew she was.
Unfortunately, Natasha seemed to catch on quickly, because her gaze lingered as she passed Yelena and sat her mug on the kitchen table after getting a sip of it.
"Are you okay? You never wake up this early," Natasha pointed out, and Yelena just kept looking through the cabinets, not wanting to answer but knowing she had to think of something rather quickly.
"Yeah, I just happened to get up early today. I don't know," Yelena shrugged, trying to look more casual than she actually felt. She could feel Natasha's stare on her back.
"Why are you wearing a hoodie and sweatpants?" Natasha questioned, and Yelena chuckled a little, knowing she had been caught but refusing to admit it.
"Someone woke up and chose suspicion… It was cold earlier this morning," Yelena informed her, hoping that Natasha had not woken up when Yelena got out of the bed. If she had not, then she would not know just how early Yelena had awoken.
"You're never cold unless it's like forty-something degrees outside. What's going on?" Natasha asked, her voice more insistent, and Yelena shook her head, glancing back in Natasha's direction.
"Natashka, please. I am fine," Yelena assured her, halfheartedly waving away Natasha's concern. She was fine despite the fact that she did not feel so good and was a little bit chilly at the moment. Natasha was simply overreacting.
Yelena suddenly heard swift footsteps approaching her from behind. Yelena furrowed her brow, looking behind her, and she suddenly found her sister standing close to her and almost pinning her between her body and the counter. Yelena just looked at her as if she lost her mind, and Natasha reached her hand out to grab the back of Yelena's neck and pull her head against the redhead's lips. Natasha gently kissed her forehead, and Yelena closed her eyes, enjoying the affection despite her suspicion that it was for reasons more than just wanting to show love.
"You have a fever," Natasha acknowledged, speaking against Yelena's skin, and Yelena groaned, moving her head away from Natasha.
"Do not be ridiculous," Yelena replied, resuming her rummaging through the cabinets. She pursed her lips, aggravated with not finding any food there. She then moved to the refrigerator, opening it. As soon as the cold air came flushing out, she immediately shivered.
The moment that it happened, she knew that she should not have let that reaction show. She was not naïve enough to think that Natasha had not noticed, but she was certainly hoping she had not.
However, as soon as she felt warm arms pull her into an even warmer body, she knew the redhead had seen it. She almost whined as she realized that her skin hurt. She desperately wanted the contact that her sister was offering since she was indeed not feeling well, but the pain radiating where her clothes were brushing against her skin was less than pleasant.
"My skin hurts," Yelena murmured a little, reciprocating Natasha's embrace. Natasha immediately loosened her hold and started to let go of her. Yelena just clung onto her more tightly, and Natasha returned the hug hesitantly, her arms much gentler than before.
"Why don't you go get into bed?" Natasha asked softly, and Yelena shook her head, feeling a wave of irrational irritation wash over her. She did not need to go to bed, and she was perfectly fine.
"I am not that sick," Yelena informed her, her tone miffed as she pulled away from Natasha a little, a wave of pain washing over her from the shifting of her clothes. Natasha just quirked an eyebrow, staring at Yelena. Yelena just stubbornly stared back at her.
However, before she knew it, Natasha surged forward and threw her over her shoulder. Yelena immediately cried out in indignation as Natasha repositioned her slightly with a grunt. She then started to haul her across the house. Yelena immediately contemplated pulling a countermove to reground herself on the floor where she should have been, but she did not particularly have the energy to, so she settled for just yelling at Natasha.
"Hey! Put me down! Don't I get a say in this?!" Yelena demanded, her accent growing thicker as she grew more incensed. Natasha just shook her head, patting Yelena's leg gently from where her hand was locked around it.
"No. So you might as well just get comfortable," Natasha replied, a steeliness in her voice that Yelena honestly did not really feel like challenging as she usually would have. Yelena just grumbled under her breath and tried to ignore how she liked being carried by her big sister and how it made her feel safe.
Natasha started to cross through the doorway to her bedroom and Yelena threw her hands out, grabbing onto the doorway with only a partial grip. Natasha paused for a moment before yanking at her hard and successfully dislodging Yelena's hold.
Yelena just sighed in resignation, looking around the redhead's room and the space that was so intensely populated by everything Natasha. She had to admit that it brought a strangely significant amount of comfort to her.
She was swiftly pulled away from this train of thought when she was unceremoniously dumped onto the bed. She blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes in a glare. Natasha just raised an eyebrow and just watched her as if she were just daring her to try to get off of the bed. If the mattress was not so comfortable and it did not smell so much like Natasha, she might have tried to give a little bit of a fight.
Yelena quickly felt another chill run through her as the coolness of the blankets seeped through her clothes. She crossed her arms, trying to avoid the shivers that were threatening to overtake her. Natasha bent down so she could hover over Yelena and press her forehead against the blonde's. Yelena closed her eyes, enjoying the contact.
"Stay here," Natasha told her in a manner that was more of a command than anything, and Yelena groaned, reopening her eyes. Natasha eyed her fondly before getting up and heading into the other room. Yelena frowned, realizing that she was even colder than before, and she curled into a ball.
After a moment of trying to collect warmth from that position, she finally managed to get enough motivation to crawl underneath the covers. She submerged herself so deeply into them that only her nose and eyes were poking out when she was through, and she somewhat painfully noted that the blankets did nothing good for her pained skin.
For a while, she impatiently waited on Natasha, her mind wondering what in the world could be taking Natasha so long. She aggravatedly stared at the door wishing that by willpower alone, she could drag her sister inside the room with her.
While Yelena would definitely deny it if asked— after all, she was not that sick yet— she definitely did not feel good at all and wanted Natasha there to just snuggle with her and keep her warm.
At some point, Yelena must have dozed off, because she suddenly opened her eyes and realized that Natasha was leaning over her, looking terribly concerned. Yelena also realized that she felt even colder, and she balled in on herself, trying to curl up more tightly.
"No, no, no, come on, sweet girl. I know you're cold, but we have to get this fever down," Natasha explained, and Yelena furrowed her brow, not liking the guilty tone Natasha was carrying in her voice.
Natasha peeled the covers off of her and Yelena immediately clung to herself tighter, trying to shield her body from the cold.
"Rooskaya, come on, we've got to change your clothes into something cooler," Natasha explained, and Yelena just opened her eyes barely to glare at her in the middle of her freezing fest. Natasha had a tank top in her hands and shorts, and Yelena's eyes widened as she realized precisely what getting the fever down entailed.
"Have you lost your mind?! I'm not wearing that! It is like tundra in here!" Yelena proclaimed somewhat hysterically, sputtering as her teeth chattered. Natasha shook her head, regret and pain in her gaze.
"Yelena, please. It's the least drastic way to try to get rid of the fever," Natasha told her, and Yelena shook her head, definitely not wanting to do it. Natasha sighed deeply before carefully yet forcefully pulling off Yelena's hoodie. Yelena almost whimpered in protest as she removed it and as soon as the cold air hit her bra-clad torso, she yelped.
She immediately felt Natasha's warm hand against the skin of her back in a comforting touch, and Natasha quickly pulled Yelena's sweatpants away. Yelena whined, and she could not even curse herself for sounding so pathetic because of the intense chill that was washing over her.
"Okay, raise your arms," Natasha gently told her, and Yelena painedly followed her sister's instructions, hating the way that the cold penetrated the undersides of her arms as she lifted. Natasha slid the tank top over her and quickly took her ankle, pulling her over so that she could start sliding the shorts on.
Once Natasha had helped her into the new outfit, Yelena was shivering uncontrollably. She was extremely thankful as soon as Natasha slid onto the bed next to her. She quickly scooted over next to Natasha, grabbing onto her tightly and trying to tuck herself against the heat source.
"Let's get under the blankets," Yelena pleaded, and Natasha shook her head.
"You've got to cool down first," Natasha answered, and Yelena could hear the guilt and pure sorrow in the older woman's voice. Natasha wrapped her arms around Yelena more fully, and Yelena pressed her head into Natasha's neck, trying to shield herself from the freezing air surrounding them.
She must have fallen asleep yet again because the next thing that she knew, she was being wiped down with an extremely cold washcloth that felt like it had ice in it. She scrunched her nose at the feeling and tried to pull back from Natasha's ministrations. However, she did notice that she was not as cold as before despite the fact that her skin was still somewhat sore and the washcloth itself was freezing.
"Your fever got worse, and you were out of it for a while. But your fever's mostly broken now," Natasha explained gently, and Yelena looked at her sluggishly, the sickness and her nap slowing her reactions down significantly.
"That is not the only thing broken here," Yelena indignantly declared, her voice slurring just a bit from her sleep and lacking its usual strength. Natasha glanced up at her with worry in her eyes, and Yelena huffed slightly.
"You have broken my spirit with your cruelty," Yelena informed her hoarsely, once again shrinking away from the rag that was drawing nearer to her. Natasha quickly narrowed her eyes, seemingly realizing that Yelena was just being dramatic.
"How do you feel?" Natasha finally questioned, taking away the rag and holding it in her hands as she eyed the blonde. Yelena groaned, trying to assess her current condition.
"Ugh… my skin is sore and I'm a little cold but it's not that bad," Yelena expressed, and Natasha seemed to accept this answer as she stood up carefully.
"You think you feel up to eating something?" Natasha asked, her eyes locked onto Yelena's, and Yelena shrugged with a small nod, figuring that it would be nice to have something in her stomach. Natasha nodded in reply, squeezing Yelena's knee gently before starting to head out of the room. She paused in the doorway for just a moment, her eyes carefully settled on Yelena's form, and she finally went out the door.
After a few moments, Natasha returned with a steaming bowl of soup. Yelena started to reach out for it, but Natasha clicked her tongue in a scold as she sat down on the edge of the bed and faced Yelena, the soup sitting carefully between her legs as she held it in place. Yelena gazed at her quizzically, wondering what Natasha was doing as she stirred the contents of the bowl.
To her pure surprise, Natasha withdrew a spoonful of the soup and held it out to Yelena. Yelena just stared at her incredulously.
"I can feed myself, you know," Yelena informed her, but the look in Natasha's eyes told Yelena that this was not going to be negotiable. Yelena sighed deeply before opening her mouth and accepting the spoon. Natasha gently took the spoon from her mouth, Yelena's lips sliding along it to rake any of the food off. Natasha then proceeded to ready another spoonful whenever Yelena was ready.
As much as Yelena loathed to admit it, it felt really nice to be pampered by her sister. She liked having her independence and freedom, but she also really reveled in the amount of care that Natasha was offering her. It made her feel loved and, most of all, safe.
"I… I was worried about you," Natasha admitted very quietly after several minutes of silence and multiple spoons fed to Yelena. Yelena's eyes immediately snapped to Natasha's face. Natasha was not looking at her and instead focusing on the soup bowl she had, stirring it as she readied another bit for Yelena to have. Yelena felt her heart melt and the smallest bits of tear prickling at her gaze. She somewhat weakly held out her hand, and Natasha looked up at her before quickly holding the appendage.
"I'm sorry," Yelena apologized somewhat thickly, and the weight of the words encompassed not just her sentiment about worrying her older sister, but also the pain in the butt that she had been when she had first gotten home earlier.
Natasha's eyes softened and she moved the bowl over to the nightstand nearby. She then crawled forward and placed her elbows on either side of Yelena to support herself. She then kissed Yelena's cheeks before resting her forehead on Yelena's shoulder. Her hands came up to gently squeeze the sides of Yelena's neck affectionately.
"Don't be sorry. I love you, and any time you're not feeling well, I get worried. It's not your fault," Natasha expressed, and Yelena let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of Natasha near her as she raised her arms and wrapped them around Natasha's waist. Her hold was loose at first, but she quickly tightened her grip and Natasha's weight dropped onto her. Natasha grunted a little in surprise, but went with it, not questioning it as she just allowed herself to embrace the younger woman more deeply.
"I love you, too," Yelena muttered under her breath, and Natasha pressed a kiss to Yelena's shoulder where her face was currently squished against the blonde. Yelena could not help but allow her entire body to relax, that feeling of safety washing over her.
She hated being sick, but she could get used to this feeling.
A/N: Dang, I love these girls way too much… Also, just some news for any of you that might not have seen the movie yet, Black Widow is now available on Disney+! Plus (no pun intended), now they have deleted scenes on there available for y'all to watch. I'm super excited, and I'm probably going to go watch those super soon :)
Thank y'all for reading, and please let me know what you guys thought of this one!