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It was all a disaster. A mission gone wrong, a teammate injured and her team unaware.
(Y/N) was always eager to prove her worth. As a newer member of the team, she felt she'd been added purely to ensure a more even fight against large numbers, rather than a member of the team in her own right.
With the world watching and media documenting, (Y/N) knew she always had to be at her best or they'd tear her down. The others were used to the media, or else confident in their own skills, and lacked the under confidence (Y/N) hid so carefully behind a carefully sculpted personality of fearlessness and humour.
It was when she got injured, that this proved an issue.
A small bomb and a larger cut led originally to a bit of bleeding and not too much else. (Y/N) carefully bandaged it when her team was out of sight and assumed it could heal on its own.
It did not.
Not two hours later, safely back on the Quinjet, a dull but hot pain pulsed just above (Y/N)'s right hip. She adjusted her position carefully and allowed herself to check that the Avengers weren't paying attention. None of them were and (Y/N) allowed herself a small smile. Small and gone before even watchful Natasha could notice it. And Natasha noticed everything about (Y/N).
It was three hours after that, when they arrived at the Tower, that (Y/N) began to have misgivings about her course of action. Maybe hiding her wound hadn't been the best idea after all. Nevertheless, (Y/N) was determined not to be perceived as weak, as less than her teammates. She didn't want Natasha to think less of her.
(Y/N) followed her team for a quick debrief, filled with scalding remarks from Nick Fury, before finally getting into her own room.
In her private en-suite, (Y/N) discovered that her wound was no longer bleeding, but a mess of dried blood and puss which had stuck to her bandage and made it difficult to take off, even after she'd run it under warm water.
And when it was wet, it burned.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, (Y/N) dressed the wound and re-bandaged it, hoping that would be enough. She slept on her left side, her right covered only by her pyjama top and a thick bandage (the last one had been bled right through) as her thick quilt was too heavy to have without causing a burning sensation throughout (Y/N)'s entire being.
She would've simply used a thinner blanket but chills wracked through her body and (Y/N) was far too cold to even consider sacrificing some of her warmth.
———
(Y/N) woke to the sound of Jarvis asking if she'd join the other Avengers for training. The young woman quickly agreed, despite the warmth emanating from her cut. It was a shock to realise she was in bed alone, as it had been a long time since she'd returned from a mission and slept without Pepper or Natasha nearby.
Probably for the best, she thought when she discovered she'd bled through her entire bandage and onto the sheets.
"Miss (Y/N), you seem to be running a fever, if you'd like, you can withdraw from training or I could call Miss Potts-"
"No! No, no, it's fine Jarvis, I'm going to training. I'm fine," (Y/N) replied, forcing herself not to yell in her panic. The last thing she needed was Pepper worrying about her when she had a whole company to run!
———
(Y/N) arrived at training feeling slightly off balance. She was disappointed to remember that most of the other Avengers hadn't been in the field yesterday, as it had primarily been her job. Steve wouldn't go easy on them if no one else was worn out.
"Look who woke up! Good to see you Sleeping Beauty!" Tony called, that ridiculous grin on his face. He looked pretty cut up too, his face a patchwork of bruises and small cuts.
He's handling it, so you should be able to as well.
"I'm sure you were only up a minute before, Prince Charming," (Y/N) replied, rolling her eyes and shoulders, hoping the slight dizziness she was feeling would soon pass.
Before long, all the Avengers were warmed up and Steve deemed them fit for sparing. (Y/N) grimaced, inwardly, and allowed herself to be paired with Clint. Her balance was still slightly off, the instability not yet gone.
He swiped with his leg first, a feint (Y/N) didn't normally fall for but accidentally responded to today. A small crease in Clint's forehead told her she'd made a big mistake.
She jabbed, ducked under a roundhouse punch and while she was distracted by the pain bending brought to her cut, found herself flying through the air and onto her back, winded within seconds, the room spinning around her.
"(Y/N), you feeling all good?" Clint asked, offering a hand with worry lacing his tone.
"Just a little bruised from yesterday," (Y/N) said, accepting the hand and resisting the urge to rub her hip or shake her head to clear it. Clint accepted the lie with a small, slow nod, raising one eyebrow in question.
(Y/N) shrugged and before she could properly reply, he called out to Steve. "Oi! Cap! (Y/N)'s somewhat bruised from yesterday, I think she should take today off! She was the most in the field yesterday anyway."
Steve nodded and within minutes, (Y/N) found herself reheating pizza in the kitchen, leaning on the bench for balance. She chose only a small slice, her appetite gone, despite having not eaten in at least 18 hours.
"(Y/N)? Where are you? I haven't seen you in ages, love!" A feminine voice called through the halls, accompanied but the regular click of heels as (Y/N) lay on the couch, staring disdainfully at her half-eaten pizza.
"Kitchen, Pepper," (Y/N) called, grimacing inwardly when she realised Pepper would be another person she'd have to lie to.
You could just tell her. (Y/N) pushed the thought away.
Pepper's face lit up as she entered the kitchen and her eyes alighted on (Y/N). Pepper was always so much more open with her emotions, where (Y/N) was afraid of being to open and where Natasha held her's behind the impassive mask trained into her. They weren't even in a proper relationship but a small burst of pleasure filled (Y/N) when Pepper called her 'love'.
"How are you? Natasha said you had some bruising from yesterday, we should compress or ice it," Pepper said, ever searching for solutions. She plucked the pizza out of (Y/N)'s hand and smiled as she bit into it.
"Pepper, it's fine, I'm fine. I just need some rest."
"Let me see it?" Pepper asked, blue eyes filling with worry, and something else, gone too fast to identify.
(Y/N) recoiled at the thought of Pepper seeing her wound, infected as she was sure it was. "No! I mean- no, it's fine, it's just a bit of bruising."
The younger woman quickly pushed herself off the couch, ignoring the pain it brought, and made sure there were at least ten steps between her and the redhead.
Then, when Pepper seemed both disinclined to come closer and upset that (Y/N) wouldn't trust her, (Y/N) quickly walked out of the kitchen...
...right into the waiting arms of Thor. He grabbed the smaller woman in a massive bear hug, lifting her feet off the ground with only her toes just touching it.
A giggle shifted into a gasp of pain, "Thor, let me go!"
The giant shifted his grip slightly, increasing the pressure on (Y/N)'s right hip.
"You seem a little warm, Lady (Y/N)," he said. The knowing tone in his voice made (Y/N)'s head snap you to see a perfect look of innocence in his face.
"Really? Summer must finally be coming. Put me down, Thor," she replied, refusing to play his game.
"(Y/N/N), you need a medical checkup. Go with Brucie," Tony's voice cut in. It was extremely clear that she was running a fever, with her flushed cheeks and washed out skin. Why was she playing it off?
"Why? I'm fine," a small whine seeped into (Y/N)'s voice in a last-ditch attempt to prove she didn't need their help.
"No, you're not! You said you were bruised from yesterday," Bruce said, small creases in his forehead and eyes just a little more squinting than usual as he searched the woman for a weakness.
Thor increased the pressure on her hip and (Y/N) knew that they knew about her injury. She let out a gasp of pain as Thor set her hip on fire.
If you tell them, they'll have to waste time looking after you. Handle it on your own.
"I'm fine, alright? I just need a bit of rest." Thor finally released her and (Y/N) was suddenly very off-balance, her hip throbbing after the pressure Thor had just put on it. A shiver wracked her body and then (Y/N)'s weight was apparently too much for her legs and she was falling, her eyes closing. Something bright red darted towards her and (Y/N) found herself hoping it was Natasha.
———
It was dark and desperately cold when (Y/N) woke. A moment of panic ran through her as she felt something was restraining her, when she realised it was only an arm.
As her eyes adjusted, (Y/N) saw that the arm was lacking the muscles Natasha had, leaving it only to be Peppers'. Her hand was just bellow (Y/N)'s breasts (almost on them) which ordinarily would have freaked her out a little, but (Y/N) realised this was to prevent putting pressure on her wound.
(Y/N) shifted slightly and saw Natasha, sitting on the couch a couple of meters away, hunched over what (Y/N) assumed to be Pepper's work, a computer screen providing the only light in the room. She always works so hard, (Y/N) thought, leaning into Pepper a little more.
She was almost relaxed enough to fall asleep again, when a wave of nausea washed over her and a spike of adrenaline not a second later. (Y/N) pushed herself up, barely managing to get her head over the side of the bed before vomiting. Natasha was by her side in a second and hands (Y/N) assumed to be Pepper's were pulling back her hair.
Finally, it ended and Pepper pulled the younger Avenger back onto her cushions as she gasped for breath, taking in her pale features and the dark smudges under her eyes as well as the sheen of sweat that made her almost seem to glow in the darkness.
"I'm sorry." They were the last words Pepper wanted (Y/N) to say.
"It's fine, любовь, how about you get your breath back and stay with Pep while I get you some water?" (Y/N) gave a weak nod, pleased Natasha hadn't asked about her hip (although she was sure she knew about it).
Natasha slipped out the door into the darkened corridor. (Y/N), feeling drained and exhausted was sorely tempted to go to sleep, but the warmth that hadn't left her side the whole time suddenly moved.
(Y/N) let out a moan of sadness and fear, that she'd scared away both women who she'd admired and had the just smallest of crushes on for so long.
"Hold on (Y/N), I'll be just a minute," Pepper said, turning back to (Y/N) and giving her a small kiss on her forehead.
The lights lit up the ensuite as Pepper entered and (Y/N) allowed her eyes to close, only partially because she was so desperate to sleep and partially because the lights hurt her eyes.
Pepper came back with fever reducers and a thermometer in hand just as (Y/N) was resigning herself to the knowledge that she'd vomit again in a minute.
"Pepper?" She asked as the CEO placed her findings on the bedside table away from (Y/N)'s side and the puddle of vomit. The Avenger's eyes were open and watching the redhead.
"(Y/N)?"
"I think I'm going to be sick," (Y/N) said, guilt and shame filling her.
"That's alright," Pepper said, attempting to be comforting as she made her way towards the bin under the desk. She got it to (Y/N) not a moment too soon, allowing her to grasp it tightly before another onslaught started.
Natasha arrived in the middle of it all, finding (Y/N)'s eyes shut tight against seeing the half-digested food coming out of her and Peppers' wide with fear for the younger woman. Her head snapped towards Natasha as the door opened and she tried to signal to her that they'd need to get a look at (Y/N)'s wound. They'd been too afraid of betraying her trust while she was asleep and now both women were deeply regretting it.
(Y/N) retched, her body seizing once more, allowing the all too familiar burning sensation to lance through her, but it seemed her meagre diet over the past few days had left her with nothing more to get rid of. Pepper still had one hand around her hair and the other was making small, soothing movements around (Y/N)'s neck and back. Her hands were so cool and despite how cold (Y/N) was, they seemed to alleviate the pain. Finally, she stopped retching and was able to collapse back onto the pillows.
Natasha gave her the glass of water and revealed that she'd taken a while to get it because she was also fetching cleaning materials to get rid of the puddle by the side of the bed. Pepper took away the bin and emptied it in the bathroom after making (Y/N) rinse her mouth into the bucket.
(Y/N) felt extremely guilty for not helping either woman. As it was, all her energy was devoted to staying awake and breathing as her lungs had been deprived of air. Even though she was trying so hard, (Y/N) felt her mind drifting away from consciousness.
It had been mere minutes, but felt like hours, when Natasha gently shook her awake.
"Hi," the younger woman said with a small smile, as her eyes opened to Natasha looking down at her.
Despite the worry filling her entire being, Natasha couldn't help but smile in response, "hi."
"(Y/N), we need to take your temperature now and we need to check your wound, so we're going to turn up the lights a little, ok?" Pepper said from somewhere behind her.
Before (Y/N) could properly understand the sentence, she said "ok" and Jarvis began turning up the lights. Pepper pulled the younger Avenger's head against her so that she was sitting in a reclined position.
It was only as Pepper was sticking the thermometer in (Y/N)'s mouth that it occurred to her that they were going to see the injury.
"Wait!" (Y/N) cried, desperately trying to pull herself into a better sitting positing. Pepper didn't let her and placed her right arm on (Y/N)'s chest to prevent her moving. She'd been pulled into the middle of the king sized bed at some point and Pepper was on her left and Natasha, her right.
"What's wrong?" Pepper asked, all too innocently, the thermometer in her hand.
"You can't- I'm fine- you don't need to see it!"
"(Y/N), if you were fine, you wouldn't have slept through the day and you certainly wouldn't have just vomited. I need to see it now," Natasha said tightly, her cold, soothing hands running over the skin around the bandages.
"No, I- please. Don't look," (Y/N) pleaded, knowing she was far too weak to attempt to resist the spy.
"Sorry (Y/N/N). Just focus on Pepper, ok?" And (Y/N) felt her eyes filling with tears as she forced herself to look away from Natasha. Pepper gave her the thermometer again and ran her cool hands through (Y/N)'s hair as the younger woman's face heated up with anger and shame.
(Y/N) winced as Natasha ripped off the bandage and the cold air touched it, forcing the area to feel even more like it was on fire. The pain of it sent nausea through (Y/N)'s entire being, but she resisted it and didn't realise she'd tensed up until Pepper said, "you're going to be fine, (Y/N), just relax, ok?"
Natasha was still poking around when Pepper took the thermometer out of (Y/N)'s mouth.
"Nat. Nat," Natasha tore her eyes away from (Y/N) up to Pepper, "she's running a fever of 40°" (Celcius) Pepper was making a very obvious effort to push away her panic and hold a calm tone, if only for (Y/N)'s sake.
"Alright... we'll have to get her some fever reducers as well as antibiotics. This is looking pretty bad too."
"She is right here. I'm not dead yet," (Y/N) said, an amused tone seeping into her words. Surely she wasn't as bad as they were making out, right?
Pepper paled, "please don't joke about being dead!"
Guilt, once again, filled (Y/N) as she realised both women were greatly worried about her, "alright, but I think you're making this a bigger deal than it is."
"Or you're making it less of a big deal," Natasha replied ruefully, getting off the bed.
"Well Tony's handling his injuries fine. I don't see why I can't," (Y/N) said quietly, more to herself than anyone else.
"I- are you serious? Tony's been looked after by Bruce! And his are so much less severe than yours! Is that what this is coming from? My God- (Y/N) you- this is a million times worse than his and Bruce checked them all out right away! Even if this wasn't infected, I'd still want you to see a doctor! You're just lucky I happen to know how to treat this sort of thing or I'd be sending you- no I'd be calling Bruce up here this minute!" Natasha said, her voice a mix of amazed, anger and confusion.
(Y/N) shrank away from her and closer to Pepper. She'd never handled being told off very well and despite herself, she felt her eyes beginning to well with tears. The pain and the fear and now being told off was just too much, all she wanted was to sleep this whole thing away.
"Hey, hey, (Y/N) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just worried for you, that's all. Pepper and I love you very much, we just don't like seeing you so sick like this, ok?" Natasha had jumped back onto the bed, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look right into (Y/N)'s eyes as she leaned against Pepper.
"You love me?" (Y/N)'s eyes flickered between the two women.
"Of course!" Pepper said, accompanied by a nod and smile from Natasha.
"Oh." (Y/N) flushed and her now red cheeks were much too bright against her pale skin.
Natasha started and jumped off the bed again, "Oh! Medicine! Just stay here, alright (Y/N/N)? Pepper, don't leave her!"
Pepper leaned down and placed a small kiss on (Y/N)'s forehead as the younger woman watched Natasha leave the room. A few seconds later, Pepper began running her hands through (Y/N)'s hair, before settling on placing a hand on (Y/N)'s forehead, ensuring her sweaty hair wasn't touching it as the other sought out her phone.
After all, she'd just spent half the day catching up on sleep, there were no doubt emails she needed to send and things she needed to accept or reject, even if Natasha had done a fair bit of it already.
(Y/N) felt her eyes beginning to droop and was relaxing into Pepper when a chill ran through her. She shifted her eyes up to Pepper's, illuminated by her phone and opened her mouth to ask a question.
"Yes, (Y/N/N)?" Pepper asked, forestalling her without looking away from her phone.
(Y/N)'s mouth shut for a second in shock before she remembered, "oh, um, I was wondering if we could maybe pull up the blanket a little. I'm so cold," she added quietly.
"Uh- but with your fever-" Pepper was suddenly very aware that (Y/N) was actually shaking with cold, "alright. Just be careful not to hurt yourself."
———
(Y/N) was asleep, with her head in Pepper's lap and the blankets pulled around her in such a way that her wound was still exposed to the air when Natasha returned.
She approached quietly and gently shook (Y/N) awake. The sleepy woman sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and Pepper glared at Natasha for waking her when she'd looked so cute.
"Hey, (Y/N/N), I got you a better dressing and some tablets, ok?" (Y/N) gave a small nod, still rubbing her eyes.
Natasha pressed the glass into her hands, along with four tablets. (Y/N), on autopilot, put one in her mouth and took a large gulp of water to swallow it. Then the second and then the third one. She seemed surprised to find she'd run out of water for the fourth one.
Natasha grabbed the glass off the bedside table which was still half full of water from earlier and (Y/N) downed the final tablet and then drank the rest of the water.
"Alright. This is going to hurt, ok? I have to clean your injury before I dress it."
(Y/N) didn't seem to comprehend Natasha's words but nodded nonetheless. She was too focused on Pepper's cool hands pulling her head back onto her lap as Natasha began pulling out cloths and bandages and things.
Suddenly, it seemed that the whole wound had gone up in flames and (Y/N) gasped, jolting into a sitting position and cringing away from Natasha.
"What are you doing?" She yelled.
"I have to clean it, just watch Pepper and it'll be over soon, ok? I'm sorry, (Y/N)."
After what seemed like forever, Natasha was wiping something cool all over the burning patch of skin and (Y/N) was able to relax and began to fall asleep again. Natasha finished re-bandaging the wound and placed both of her hands on (Y/N)'s temples.
The young woman let out a quiet moan of pleasure before her eyes snapped open, her face flushing in embarrassment.
"(Y/N/N), sweetheart, it's fine. You're not an Avenger right now, you're just you. Relax, alright?" Pepper said gently, her hands running through (Y/N)'s hair again.
(Y/N) shifted slightly under their gazes, giving a small nod, before allowing a little of the tension to drain from her and quickly fell asleep. Soon, Natasha's hands were warming up against (Y/N)'s feverish skin so she took them away and began sitting up, a yawn escaping her.
She looked guiltily over to Pepper, who gave a small laugh as she caught both the yawn and the look, "go to sleep, Nat, you've had a rough day too. I'll do some of my paperwork."
Natasha gave a guilty nod, the smile on her face matching Pepper's, "alright, but make sure you sleep soon."
Pepper nodded and Natasha knew she wouldn't, but she settled down to sleep next to (Y/N) anyway. (Y/N) was still far too warm but shifted into Natasha's touch anyway.
———
The next week held a dreamlike quality as (Y/N) slept through night, dawn and day. Sometimes, she found she was alone but mostly, she found Natasha or Pepper nearby. They watched movies, mostly, or (Y/N) read while Pepper worked and under their care, it wasn't too long until the youngest Avenger was ready to train again. Only a small scar remained as a memoir of the mission that went so wrong.