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"This sucks, this is actually the worst.”
Even buried under every blanket he could get his hands on Clint felt cold, shivering and sniffling and looking about as miserable as a man could. He’d fallen ill after his last mission in Wannsee went south and ended with him taking a header off a roof into a large snowbank and couldn’t change out of his soaked uniform until after the long flight from Germany. Even sitting next to the human-shaped furnace that was Steve the entire length of the flight had only helped so much.
"Well, the flu’s rarely ever fun," Steve replied from his seat next to him on the couch, Lucky having taken to sprawling across his lap since Clint was rather… occupied at the moment, "but at least it hasn’t turned into pneumonia. That’s the actual worst.” Clint made a weak breathy laugh at that; if anyone knew how much it sucked to be sick it was Steve. He was grateful for his unwavering company and his serum-enhanced immune system, since now he wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally getting him sick.
"Point taken," Clint mumbled a bit, wiping at his nose with his sleeve before burrowing against Steve’s side, trying to soak up every bit of warmth, "y’know you didn’t have to stay over but I appreciate it. Least you won’t get sick from me sneezin’ on you and you’re better at conversation than the dog. ‘Sides that soup you whipped up is to die for; you gotta show me how to make it." Steve laughed quietly, though it was muffled due to him having his hearing aids out. At least with him tucked up under Steve’s arm and his ear pressed against his teammate’s ribs he could hear what he was saying clear enough to make sense of it. The moment Steve had heard about him having gotten sick on the mission he’d dropped his meetings and shown up at his Brooklyn apartment with a bag full of medicine, some extra blankets from his own place and everything he’d need to make chicken noodle soup.
"Years of practice; once you’re better I’d be happy to show you how to make it. It’s Mrs. Barnes’ special recipe and Bucky always made it for me when I got real sick in winter, ‘specially when I got stubborn and didn’t call off work selling papers even when the snow was really coming down. It should have you good as new in no time." Steve was still somewhat quiet about his past even after a year, especially about Barnes, but Clint didn’t blame him at all. For the longest time just talking about him would make his eyes go dark and his words soften and shake but now Steve spoke to him about his lost partner freely and Clint was happy to see his friend healing.
Clint hummed happily in response, throat hurting too much to properly reply. Sure he hated being sick but it was nice just spending time with Steve outside of the tower and away from the others for a bit. Not that he didn’t enjoy spending time with the team but he enjoyed peaceful moments like this and around the rest of the Avengers (or rather, Tony) peace was pretty rare. Steve, Natasha and Bruce all had keys and were welcome into his nest of an apartment whenever they happened to be around. They’d all spent a good deal of time visiting after the whole mess with the Chitari, especially Steve when he felt homesick for Brooklyn and Bruce when he wanted to escape the stress of SHIELD with his company for a while.
The television volume was turned down low as Clint was nursing a hell of a headache, the screen showing another episode of Dog Cops. He and Steve had started watching the season he’d recorded on his DVR as soon as they’d sat down and they’d made good progress on the episodes they missed due to missions. Even with Tony’s perpetually on talk switch he’d managed to avoid most of the spoilers so he was glad to actually enjoy the episodes.
"After this episode I’ll get you another bowl of soup and brew some of that herbal tea Bruce sent, sound good?" Clint just nodded against Steve’s side in answer, coughing quietly into one of the blankets. He hoped that he’d get better soon, but at the same time, he was content to just spend a few days curled up on the couch watching Dog Cops with Steve. The company of friends won out over dealing with SHIELD nonsense by a landslide every time, no matter the circumstances.