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The heavy weight of a muscled arm over your waist, along with the heat of a furnace pressed up behind you making you incredibly uncomfortable began your day. You blinked the sleep out of your eyes, turning over to press your face into your boyfriend's neck, "Dickkk, you're burning me aliveeee," your voice was a sleepy whine, a pout forming on your lips as you drew your leg up over Dick's hip, pressing closer despite your complaints.
"Baby…Wake up…"
You pressed soft open-mouthed kisses up his neck, mouthing at the hinge of his jaw and neck, nose pressed into his warm skin, inhaling the soft scent of sleep and just pure him. Dick stirred a little, a small groan being dragged from his throat as you continued your ministrations, rolling him onto his back so you were essentially straddling him.
Thighs framing his hips, you pressed a hand to his chest, pushing yourself up a little, back arching as you peered down at your boyfriend. His brow was furrowed, a sheen of sweat making him shiny. You kissed his cheek, hand coming up to cup his cheek, thumb rubbing just under his eye, "Baby?"
Dick grumbled once, eyes opening with great restraint, as if he had to force them open, "G'mornin' love. Y'ur s'pretty kissing me, m'love you. " Concern started to course through you as you took in his glazed over eyes and the slurred quality to his speech as well as his confessions. You rubbed your nose against his in a gentle eskimo kiss, both hands cupping his cheeks.
"Hi…I think you're burning up baby. You're really hot."
A hint of a smirk tugged at Dick's lips, light flickering in his eyes as he fought to stay focused, but before he could say anything, you held a hand over his mouth, "Don't be a smartass and stay here. I'm going to get the thermometer." You climbed off of Dick, tuck the covers back over him and kissing his forehead before wandering off to search for the thermometer.
You came back a few minutes later, triumphant, thermometer in hand and a glass of water in the other, a pack of painkillers tucked into your pocket. You set the glass down on the nightstand, sitting next to Dick.
Reaching a hand out, you brushed his sweaty, sleep-matted curls off his face from where it was barely peeking out from the covers. He stirred once more, leaning instinctively into your touch, "Hey love..C'mon let me take your temperature and then you can go back to sleep, m'kay?" Dick pouted as you peeled the covers off him, begrudgingly accepting the proffered thermometer.
You kissed his cheek as you both waited for his temperature to be taken by the device, fingers lacing with his. You unceremoniously plucked the thermometer out his mouth when it beeped at you. Your eyes widened a little as you saw the reading, 100°F. You looked back at Dick's slightly glazed eyes and the exhaustion written all over his face. Shit.
You picked up the glass of water, holding up to his mouth, "Dickie, baby, can you drink some please? Don't want you getting dehydrated, you have a fever." Dick sipped slowly, eyes blinking slowly, cheeks flushed from the fever. "Bed rest for you. Take a nap, baby, I'll stay with you, m'kay?" You gently pushed him back down, tucking the covers firmly around him and smacking a kiss on his forehead,
You set the glass down, after tucking him in, tucking his hair behind his ear. Dick had nodded sluggishly at your words, eyes already sliding shut before you finished speaking. You smiled softly to yourself, picking up your phone to tell your boss that you wouldn't be in. Placing the phone back down you slid under the covers next to Dick, letting him wrap himself around you like an octopus.
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You awoke a few hours later, sleep clinging to you as well as your very ill boyfriend. Dick had his face pressed into the crook of you neck, blankets tangled around him. You wriggled out his grip, picking up your phone to check the time.
Dick whined, eyes still shut, as you left his grip, his hands still blindly reaching for you. You chuckled quietly, kissing his temple, whispering, "Don't get up, I'm gonna go get you something to eat, okay? Stay here, my love."
You wandered into the kitchen, pulling out dishes and your rice cooker. You were going to make Dick something nice and bland to eat so he wouldn't throw up all over your bed. You knew his stomach turned against him when he got sick, having had to deal with his throwing up the first time he got ill after you started dating.
Half an hour later, you were rummaging around for a bowl, the rice cooling in it's pan on the stove-top next to the pot of daal—made with your grandma's recipe for whenever you or your siblings got sick. You heard you name called from the bedroom, Dick's quiet whine making you hurry up a little. You knew how much he hated to be alone when he felt shitty like this.
Pushing the bedroom door open with your hip, you smile at your boyfriend, now sitting up, hair sticking in every angle. Dick pouted at you, sleep still lingering on his face, nose scrunching as the smell of food drifted over to him.
"You made food?"
You nodded, handing him the bowl as you settled next to him, legs tucked up under yourself. He picked up the spoon, face still flushed red, your frowned slightly, reaching up to press a hand to his cheek as he took a bite.
"You're still really warm. Drink some water after, okay? I'll bring you some ice lollies." Dick leaned into your touch, eagerly eating the bowl of rice, despite how plain it was. He nodded at your suggestion, eyes still heavy with exhaustion.
The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, the only noise the clink of metal on ceramic as Dick scraped the bowl empty. You smiled at him again and took the bowl, placing it down and going to reach for the glass of water from before. When you turned back, Dick looked a little dazed, a little green around the gills.
You frowned once more, assessing his state and going to reach fro him before he rocketed out of bed, dashing to the bathroom, the door slamming against the wall as he threw it open. You barely had time to get out of bed before you heard the sound of Dick throwing everything he just ate up, quiet whimpers mixed in with a pained groan. You rushed to him, dropping to his side and rubbing his back as he gagged over the toilet bowl, you other hand pushing his sweaty hair off his face so you could properly look at him.
"Oh baby…"
Dick pouted at you, tears leaving a shiny sheen over his eyes. You rubbed his back soothingly, heart clenching at how exhausted he looked. "Dickie…I told you it was too much. I just…This is why I want you to rest baby. You've been overworking yourself recently. It's too much for one person to handle. Let the other help okay. You can let other in too y'know. You kissed his temple, holding him close, Dick burying his face in your chest, shoulders drawing up as he held back choking sobs.
The two of you sat on the bathroom floor until Dick's sobs petered off and he was slumped against you, fingers pulled tight against your shirt. You kissed the crown of his head, gently pulling him up, "C'mon baby, let's get you back to bed. I'll get you some medicine and then we can take a nap and cuddle, okay?" Dick just nodded, letting you pull him along, too tired to do much else.
You let him sit on the bed, grabbing some warmer clothes, the man shivering despite his raging fever. You helped him change his sweater, pulling the duvet up over him and kissing his cheek. "Stay awake for me, I'll get you some medicine."
You went to the bathroom, pulling open the cabinet and taking out some fever reducers and taking them back to Dick. He was curled up under the covers, Haley's warm little body pressed up against him. You hadn't even heard her come in, her nose snuffling at her owner, who was currently burying himself alive in a pile of blankets.
You stroked the puppy's back, her ear perking up as you did. You chuckled as she pressed her nose into your lap, turning to un-peel Dick from the covers.
"Baby, can you sit up please? You need to take these fever reducers..It'll make you feel better." Dick grumbled, but sat up, accepting the pills and the glass of water you handed him. He slid back under the covers, eyes shutting almost immediately as you got up. Haley returned to her position at his side when you went to leave the room, gently closing the door, knowing the little puppy would start barking if Dick's condition worsened.
You sighed, leaning your head back against the bedroom door, entirely drained. You had never seen Dick this bad, you knew it was a mixture of illness and the stress of being Nightwing. He had taken on more cases than he could handle and refused to let anymore help more than he thought was reasonable, which wasn't much. You had nagged him about it, but ultimately left it alone until it turned into this.
You sunk into the couch cushions, grabbing your phone to let the family know what was up with Dick, so there wasn't a panic when he didn't check in for patrol. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on your window. You blinked, not expecting anyone to come over.
Closing your laptop, you turned to the window, getting up, confusion written across your face. You unlocked the window, everything clicking when you saw Damian. You smiled down at him, "Hi sweetheart, you come to see Dick? Who dropped you off?"
The boy nodded, the slightest furrow in his brow exposing his concern, "Timothy dropped me off on the way to work." You let him in, ruffling his hair with a grin, "Okay, as long as you didn't come alone. You want something to eat? Dick's asleep. I wanna let him rest for a bit, mkay?" Damian nodded, letting you guide him into the living room.
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"Is he okay?"
You turned to Damian who was holding a mug of hot chocolate, staring into the depths of it, as if it held the answers to the universe. You tilted your head to the side, "Yeah, he's okay. Could be better. I think it's just from overworking."
Damian's face fell, almost imperceptibly. You reached out to cover his hand with your own, "Dami, he's just needs to rest." The younger boy, clenched his jaw, clearly unconvinced. You tilted his face up with your other hand, "Damian."
He frowned at you, eyes full of conflict, "If I had just-" You shushed him, pulling him against you chest, arms wrapped around him, "No. It's not your fault he got sick. It's no one's fault. Just bad luck." You kissed the top of his head, "Now, do you wanna see if he'd awake?" Damian nodded against your shoulder, letting you pick him up.
You brought him into the bedroom, Haley perking up at the door opened. Dick was still buried under the covers, only his mess of curls visible. You set Damian down, the boy beelining to his older brother/father figure.
You chuckle as you watch Dick pull the boy into his arms, the two cuddling, whispering to each other as you scratched behind Haley's ears, whispering to her, "Good girl, keeping Dickie company." You looked up at your boyfriend and his brother again, now fully sitting up.
You arched an eyebrow at him in silent question, Damian having buried his face in Dick's shoulder. He tilted his head to the side, a silent invitation. You smiled fondly at him, getting up to come sit at his other side, arm wrapping around your two boys.
You kissed the side of Dick's neck, eyelashes fluttering against his skin, "Feeling better?" He nodded, free hand settling on the curve of your ass as you settled under his arm. You smack his arm, reproachfully, eyes darting to Damian. Dick just smirked down at you, fingers gripping you.
You pouted at him, "Yeah you're definitely feeling better." Damian looked up at you and you just kisses his forehead, letting him go back to resting against Dick's chest. You pulled the covers up, Haley bounding up on the bed to settle in your lap. Your heart filled with warmth, your little family all together.
Dick kissed the top of your head, the two of you letting the quiet wash over you. Though he was still flushed and sweaty, he seemed content to have you, Damian and Haley cuddled up against him. You gently stroked Haley's head, her quiet snuffling filling the room. You sighed, maybe this was just what Dick needed, a nice day of quiet relaxation.
He seemed to agree, eyes already sliding shut once more, the warm weight of both you and Damian on top of him, acting as a weighted blanket, lulling him back into the depths of unconsciousness.