Happy New Year everyone! I know I'm a bit late but still, it should be said. I hope this year is kind to everyone, even if it starts off a little bit bumpy.
I have been so sick for the past while. I'm not sure what I had but it sucked. I'm still not feeling 100% but I wanted to write something for you all.
Warnings: being sick and throwing up
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I knew the moment I went to sleep last night that I was going to wake up sick the next morning. I had been feeling off all day yesterday with my head being all fucked up and my stomach being even more fucked up. But it didn't come to a head until this morning when I woke up with a pounding headache, body aches, and a nauseated feeling that seemed to grow a temper every time I was either standing up or just sitting up in bed.
It sucked, because no one likes to be sick, and I had to call Wanda and tell her that I wouldn't be coming into the compound today. To top it all off, Yelena wasn't home and wouldn't be home until later this afternoon. She was off on some mission, but had only been gone for about two days. She was scheduled to come back this morning, but wouldn't be able to come back to our apartment until this afternoon thanks to all the debriefs that Steve and Fury required.
Thing was, I hadn't told Yelena that I was sick. Sure, I couldn't have told her while she was on mission since it was strictly no contact, but when she texted me this morning that she had made it back to the compound, I decided not to say anything. While I found mission debriefs just as tedious as Yelena, I knew they were an important part of being an Avenger. I didn't want to interrupt protocol because it would likely send Steve into a hissy fit. Plus, I didn't want to worry Yelena. I knew she would be tired from her mission, even if it was a short one. I just wanted to rest for what remaining hours I had left before she came home so I could be well enough to look after her. It was our routine whenever one of us would come home back from missions, the one who stayed home would help take care of the one who had been off saving the world because of course they would be tired and sore and just want to sleep.
Morning light was seeping in through the open curtains and was making my head hurt to an asinine degree. Every fiber of my being wanted to get up and close the curtains so I could rest in the dark and in peace, but my stomach didn't want peace. It had strictly chosen violence this morning. But after about ten minutes of just laying there, trying to make due with the situation, I just couldn't take it anymore.
Slowly, I threw the bed covers off and sat up, taking a moment to try and let my body adjust to the vertical position. It felt like my head was going to explode and I could slowly feel bile rising in my throat. Against my body's protests, I stood up and closed the curtains, the pressure in my head relieving a bit.
I settled back down in bed with a deep sigh. I hadn't thrown up and now the painful light was gone. Mission accomplished.
Getting comfortable in bed, I closed my eyes, deciding a bit of sleep could do me some good before Yelena came home.
Although, I guess in hindsight I miss judged just how sick and tired I was. I slept for hours, well into the afternoon, and didn't wake up until a certain blonde was shaking me awake with a wide smile on her face.
"'Lena!" I cheered a bit of a hoarse voice, instantly pulling her into me for a tight hug.
"I missed you." she mumbled, her face stuffed into the crook of my neck.
"I missed you more." I sighed, happy to have Yelena in my arms again. She might not have been gone for very long, but still, it felt like forever since I had last seen her.
We stayed like this for a while, just laying in bed and holding each other. I was honestly about to drift off to sleep when I heard Yelena's stomach growl.
"Have you eaten today?" I asked, pulling away from her slightly to get a good look at her.
"I had a few snacks while I was at the compound."
"Let me make you something. Go shower and get changed in the meantime." I smiled, feeling my body begin to protest at the idea of being upright and active.
The nap had managed to make some of my symptoms lessen, but the moment I untangled myself from Yelena and got out of bed, my headache came back at full force and I could feel the familiar nauseous feeling creep into my stomach.
I tried my best to not let it show as the room began to spin slightly as I started my trek through the apartment.
"I showered at the compound, so I'm just going to go change real quick." Yelena announced, getting up from the bed and moving over to our closet.
While she was distracted with changing, I took this chance to take some medicine for both my head and my nausea, praying that I would be able to keep it all down.
Trying to get my mind off of being sick, I took a box of mac n cheese out of the pantry and began working on Yelena's lunch.
I started to zone out while watching the water on the stove top, waiting for it to boil. Brain fog was starting to settle over me as I stood there, but I was brought back to reality when I felt Yelena wrap her arms around me.
"How was your day, детка?" she whispered, resting her head on my shoulder.
"It was okay. I just sorta took it easy while I waited for you to come home." I sighed, cursing myself a bit when I could hear a bit of my sickness creeping into my voice.
I could feel her frown as she stared at me for a moment.
"Are you feeling alright? You sound a bit off." she asked, bringing her hand to rest on my forehead to see if I had a fever, and thank god I didn't.
"I'm just a little tired. I had a hard time sleeping while you were gone." This wasn't a complete lie, honestly. I did have a hard time while she was gone, I always did. She made me feel safe, and whenever she was gone I always felt a little thrown off, like something was missing. Of course, something was missing. I was missing my Yelena.
And while I was tired, I knew it was from me being sick. I just didn't want to tell her. She had been working so hard and I just wanted her to be able to relax and have no worries.
"Aww, my poor детка." she cooed, pouting for a moment before softly kissing my cheek. I could tell she wasn't totally buying my excuse, but she let it go for the moment. "We'll go to sleep early tonight so the both of us can get a good night's sleep."
The water was beginning to boil at this point so I poured in the pasta and waited for it to cook. Yelena and I stood there in silence, savoring each other's company to try and make up for lost time. If it didn't feel like I was about to either pass out or throw up my guts, then I'd actually enjoy the moment a bit more.
Soon enough though, Yelena's mac n cheese was made and ready. She decided that she just wanted to eat out of the pot, which I wasn't one to judge. I would have done the same thing.
Yelena insisted that I have some, but the idea of eating made my stomach churn. If I wanted to keep up this act that I was okay though, I should probably have some.
Hesitantly, I picked up my own fork and began eating. The dish was good, and would have been even better if I could have enjoyed it fully. I could only stomach about four bites before I had to bail out.
Yelena didn't say anything though. She just began pouring her hot sauce all over the dish and talking about her mission and how it went and how boring the mission debrief was when she got back this morning. Then she started going on tangent after tangent about the Avengers and how Tony was apparently having another party for god knows what reason. I think I started zoning out when she started talking about how her and Kate wanted to try and prank Steve and Clint. Don't get me wrong, I could listen to Yelena talk for days and never grow tired of her, but again I wasn't feeling well and I was just trying to keep from falling over.
When she was done eating, Yelena took the empty pot to the sink to be washed later before we started making our way to the couch for some prime relaxation.
I snuggled into Yelena as she wrapped her arms around me. It was nice to have her home and to finally be held by her. She was my safe space and it did relieve some of the icky feeling, knowing that she was here and safe at home.
The medicine I had taken earlier had done little to alleviate anything, and my head was beginning to pound in a painful rhythm. But finally laying with Yelena did help bring a new sense of peace that did make me feel better about being sick.
Of course, my body decided to have other ideas.
Yelena and were about to fall asleep when I felt it. My stomach was beginning to gurgle and I could feel a bit of acid begin to creep up my throat. As quick as I could, I untangled myself from Yelena and bolted for the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time for my stomach to empty its contents in the most unpleasant way possible.
Yelena was at my side in seconds, pulling my hair back as quickly as she could.
No one likes throwing up, especially yours truly. It's near painful and just the idea of it makes me cringe. But actually doing it makes me want to die just a little bit on the inside.
A few whimpers involuntarily left my mouth as I started to cry a little.
So much for the little mac n cheese I had eaten and the medicine I had taken earlier.
"Shhh, it's okay. Just let it out. You're okay." Yelena cooed, beginning to rub my back a little as I continued to gag and dry heave.
Eventually though, my body began to calm down as the nausea faded. I just sort of slumped to the ground and sat against the wall, groaning as I finally let the feeling of being sick wash over me.
Yelena flushed the toilet with a slight grimace before handing me a tissue so I could wipe my mouth.
"You're sick, aren't you?" Yelena asked softly, sitting down beside me on the bathroom floor.
"How could you tell?" I asked sarcastically while squeezing my eyes shut since the bright bathroom light was making my head hurt worse.
"Well, let's see here. You've been acting a bit off since I got home, you were napping earlier, which you never do, and you only had like three bits of mac n cheese. Obviously you were sick." I wasn't really surprised by the reasons she began listing off, because they were all true. "Oh, and also the obvious one." she finished, motioning towards the toilet.
"I don't know what I have though. I don't have a fever or a sore throat, just some nausea and the worst headache ever." I mumbled, leaning into Yelena a bit with my eyes still shut tight.
"It sounds like some kind of stomach bug." she deduced, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry. I wanted you to be able to relax when you got home. You had been working so hard on your mission that I didn't want you to have to worry about anything else." I sighed, slumping a little deeper into Yelena's side.
"Oh детка. I love you so much, and I will always want to look after you, no matter what. Just being with you makes me happy, I don't care if you're sick while I'm with you or not."
I just hummed, feeling fatigue begin to wash over me.
"Let's get you into bed." Yelena suggested while helping me up.
After I quickly brushed my teeth to get the bad taste of throw up out of my mouth, she helped lead me to bed, tucking me into several blankets before giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. "Get some rest."
I did exactly that. I fell asleep almost instantly.
Over the next few days, Yelena took care of me, and I did get better. It did turn out to be some weird stomach bug that passed on its own.