ACOTAR One Shots

No... Don't Look At Me

Nesta had decided that she hated being sick. No, she didn't just hate it. She quite literally loathed it. She had decided that it was the worst possible thing that could happen to her, even as a Fae.

No, it was definitely worse as a Fae than it was as a human.

Her head was pounding, so much so that looking at any sort of light was a big no. Her nose was stuffy and kept running down her face. Her eyes were watery and itchy at the same time (a new feeling that Nesta wasn't sure was possible until now). Her body felt like it weighed twice its actual weight and she was constantly cold and sweaty simultaneously. Not to mention the sore throat and terrible wet cough that had started a day ago.

In other words, Nesta was in literal hell.

A quiet tap on the door drew Nesta's attention. It was so soft that if she wasn't Fae, she definitely would've missed it. However, she was thankful that whoever had decided to disrupt her was at least conscious of the fact that she felt like her head was about to explode. That didn't mean though that whoever had decided to brave the knock would be allowed in.

"Go away," Nesta rasped, trying to inject as much irritation and strength into her voice as possible. She wouldn't admit to herself that she failed at that particular task.

"Nes? Can I please come in?" a familiar voice called through the door. "I just want to check on you."

"Go away Cassian," Nesta tried again. She had already had a feeling who was at the door, but mate or not... Cassian was not coming into the room she had claimed as hers for the duration of her death.

"Come on, Nes. Don't be silly. Let me in," Cassian tried again. "I'm your mate, it's my job to take care of you."

"No," she grunted back at him. She was quickly losing the energy to debate with him and was hoping he would just go away soon and leave her to die in peace. Was that really too much to ask?

"Nes, quit being so stubborn and let me in," Cassian tried once more, and Nesta could hear his wings flutter in agitation.

She knew his mate instincts were likely driving him insane; instincts that Nesta still hadn't fully grasped the understanding of. But no matter what was going on in that male-territorial head of his, Nesta really just wanted to be left alone. She didn't need someone mother-henning over her (her sister, Feyre, was bad enough).

Apparently, Nesta was silent for too long because Cassian tapped on the door again, a little more forcefully this time. "Nesta, you're being ridiculous. Just let me in so I can check on you."

"No," she whined this time, stuffing her face into the pillow below her."Just leave me be, Cas. I'm fine. I just want to sleep."

"So, let me in so I can sleep with you."

"I don't really have the energy for that Cas," she quipped back without hesitation. Bantering with Cassian was second nature and she wasn't entirely shocked that even though she felt like Death had warmed over her, it was still her initial instinct to be sarcastic.

Nesta decided that she was going to be one of those people who, on their deathbed, still managed to be sarcastic. That brought a small quirk to her lips.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Cassian sputtered, and Nesta could almost see the blush that rose up his neck. "I meant like just holding you while you slept. Why'd you have to make it like that, Nes!" Cas nearly whined back at her, and Nesta had to cough back a laugh.

She would've kept arguing with him, or at the very least responded with another go away, but the coughs had taken over her body with a vengeance. The coughs rattled her chest so hard it hurt and brought tears to her eyes. She could hear Cas saying something but it all passed over her in a blur. Nesta tried to suck in a breath and gather her composure, but every attempt sent her into a worse fit.

A few more minutes of hacking (or seconds, she couldnt really tell for sure) and Nesta had decided that she wasn't going to be stopping any time soon. The coughing, however, had become extremely painful and she wasn't getting as much air in as she would have liked.

Then, a hand pressed to the center of her back and a cooling sensation spread through her back to her chest.

"Breathe, Nes," Cassian's soft voice said right by her ear, as his hand smoothed her sweaty, oily hair away from her face. "Just take a deep breath, love."

She did as she was told and took a shaky breath followed by another few coughs that were thankfully less severe. He told her to breathe once more and she followed his orders again... and again. In fact, Nesta listened to his voice telling her to breathe for so long she lost track of how long exactly he had been standing beside her and ordering her to breathe.

Once her breathing had settled back to normal, however, Cassian tipped her body to face him. His hands came up to grip the sides of her face gently and tilt her gaze towards his own. His hazel eyes stared at her radiating pure concern and critically assessing every single aspect of her. She could nearly see the checklist that he gathered together in the instant he looked at her.

Unwashed, tangled hair, check. Red, watery eyes, check. Runny nose, check. Pale, clammy skin, check. Nearly coughing to death, check. Overall appearance of death, check and double check.

Nesta weakly raised her hand up and pushed his head and gaze away from her. "No, don't look at me... I'm sick!" she protested, and tried to move away from his gentle but firm hold.

She could see him smirk as he moved her hand away from his face (the hand that she had forgotten to move on her own. Did she seriously still leave it there?). "I know, Nes. That's why I told you to let me in, sweetheart."

"Leave me to die alone," she groaned and let her head flop towards her chest. Cassian's hands were still placed on her cheeks, but he was warm so she didn't bother forcing him to move them.

Cassian snorted, "Don't be so dramatic. Come on, Nes. I'm already in here, just let me lay down with you and keep you warm. How does that sound?"

Nesta stopped her fussing for a few seconds to realize that sleeping next to Cassian sounded great. She could already nearly feel the heat that would warm her icy skin and the wings that would cocoon her entirely. Honestly, it sounded a bit like paradise compared to what she had been going through.

"Promise not to make fun of me?" she questioned, lip pouting just slightly as she tipped her face up to look at her mate.

Cassians gaze softened, "Promise. All I plan to do is cuddle my sick mate and make sure she gets some good rest. Deal?"

A small smile took over Nestas face, "Deal."

With that, Cas wasted no time in sliding over and around Nesta until he was settled firmly behind her. His arms came around either side of her body and pulled her close until she was tucked firmly against his chest, her own head tucked beneath his chin. Cassian tangled both their legs together before he slid his wing over the both of them, cocooning Nesta just as she wanted.

Nesta let out a sigh of relief as her mates body heat wrapped around her.

"See, isn't this better?" Cassian teased, sofly running his hands through the ends of Nesta's hair.

Nesta hummed, already feeling her eyes slide shut and her body relax.

"Hey, Nes?" Cassian said softly after a few moments of him simply laying beside her.

She hummed again, barely able to summon the energy to do even that. Her mate really did a great job of relaxing her.

"I love you," Cas whispered into her ear, pressing a gentle kiss to the spot just beneath.

A sleepy smile broke out across her face. "I love you too," she managed to reply back.

And with that, Nesta allowed herself to drift off into a dreamless sleep wrapped up in the arms of her mate.

*** Yay! I finally got something new posted. And then I realized that I totally wrote two sick prompts back to back. But I'm just such a sucker for whumpee and hurt/comfort type pieces. Sooooooo, ya'll just going to have to deal with it. Hopefully, I'll be able to post something new soon (much sooner than last time, lol). Again, thank you to every one who has been reading these, commenting, and voting on them. You guys are amazing and it means the world to me to see your guys' feedback. Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and let's hope I can get another one-shot posted soon. Love ya'll!