Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Princess!” Kenji called out from the living room. “Are you coming or not? The movie is ready!”

You sat at the edge of the tub, hanging your head low. The throbbing headache you have been feeling since you woke up this morning had been killing you all day. However, you and Kenji already had made plans for today. Aaron was at work, and you certainly didn’t need to bother him either, especially that he has been stressed out with a lot of things. 

“I’m coming!” You yelled out, pinching the bridge of your nose. 

You couldn’t sleep well last night due to the fact that your stomach had been killing you. You couldn’t bear to let Aaron know because you knew he was going to be up early for work, and you didn’t need to disturb his sleep either. The cause of your headache was due to the lack of sleep and the fact that you were hungry, but you couldn’t even look at food right now without wanting to hurl. You knew you shouldn’t have eaten that sushi yesterday for lunch. It had been a while since you had some, and you just wanted to fill your cravings, especially that it was also your time of the month. 

Getting up from the edge of the tub, you splashed your face with some water from the sink and stared at yourself in the mirror. You looked pale . You slowly feel a fever coming in, but you had to go through with this. Besides, you would just be sitting on the sofa, watching a movie. You didn’t need to worry Kenji either. Walking out of the bathroom, you tried to balance yourself as you slowly walked down the hall and into the living room. 

“Popcorn?” Kenji smiled excitedly, handing you the bowl of popcorn.

You felt your stomach turned as you stared at it. You gave him a small fake smile and grabbed the bowl before settling yourself on the sofa. 

“What movie is this?” You asked. 

“Tangled.” Kenji replied, settling comfortably next to you. 

You slowly turned your head at Kenji, giving him a glare. This was the fifth time you both watched this movie, and you honestly weren’t in the mood for a happy sunshine kind of movie at the moment. 

“ No .” You stated sternly. “I’m not watching this again!” 

“I thought you liked it?” 

“Not for the fifth time.” You argued, reaching over for the remote.

As you bent over towards the coffee table, you felt your stomach turn again as you clasped a hand over your mouth. Kenji stared at you for a moment, brows furrowing. 

“Are you okay, Princess?” He asked.

“Y…Yeah. Sorry.” You said, grabbing the remote and as soon as you sat back on the sofa, your head started to spin.

Swallowing everything that was starting to come up in your throat, you focused your attention on the television screen, scrolling through the variety of movies. You forced your eyes to stay open, blinking a few times to wake yourself up. However, you felt Kenji’s stare burning at the side of your face, and you knew he was trying to figure out if you were actually telling him the truth or not. Picking out a horror movie, you settled comfortably on the sofa, using a pillow to support your head and forced yourself to eat the bowl of popcorn that was sitting on your lap. 

For a moment, Kenji focused his attention on the television and after fifteen minutes that passed by, you started to feel the sushi from yesterday coming up in your throat again. You reached for the glass of water and drank it slowly before putting down the bowl of untouched popcorn on the coffee table. You felt Kenji’s eyes shift at you again. He knew something was wrong because not only you weren’t eating the popcorn—which was your favorite — you weren’t also very talkative like you usually were. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kenji asked. 

“Fine.” You replied, running your fingers through your hair.

It was starting to feel hot . 

Your body was heating up, but your toes and fingers were ice cold. You couldn’t understand what you were feeling right now, and your head started to spin again as you slightly moved your body to find a comfortable position. Kenji moved closer to you, his eyes squinting as he stared at your flushed red ears. 

“You’re sick!” He exclaimed, a hand immediately rested on your forehead. “Oh my god! You’re burning up!”

“I’m fine, Kenji!” You swatted his hand away, moving your head away from his touch but that only made you more dizzy. 

“No, you’re not. You’re burning up!” 

You watched as Kenji got up from the sofa and panicked washed over him. He handed you the glass of water, asking you to drink the whole thing before running towards the kitchen to search for some medicine. You sighed and laid yourself on the sofa, rubbing your temples. The loud cluttering that was going on in the kitchen only made your head spin even more. You closed your eyes and exhaled sharply. You didn’t know how long Kenji had been in the kitchen, panicking and opening and closing the cupboards and drawers. Time seemed to freeze at the moment as you felt your stomach turn again as you set your hand over it. Kenji’s panic state wasn’t helping you at all . 

“Kenji.” You called out, but your voice was too weak. 

Feeling the vomit coming up in your throat again, you clasped a hand over your mouth and quickly got up from the sofa. All Kenji heard was your footsteps running towards the bathroom and then the sound of you hurling out all the food that you ate yesterday. Your face flushed and so did your body. You felt your chest heaving as you groaned softly and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. You sat on the bathroom floor, closing your eyes and leaned back against the tub. 

Everything felt like shit. 

You didn’t know how long you were sitting there but suddenly, you heard rapid footsteps coming from down the hall and the bathroom door swung open. Opening your eyes, you saw Aaron walk in the door with his expression full of worry. 

“Love,” He murmured, immediately kneeling down in front of you. “What happened?” 

Your eyes shifted at Kenji, who stood behind Aaron by the doorway. 

“You called him?” You asked, your voice so low, but Kenji could hear the tone of frustration in your voice. 

“ I had to! ” Kenji shrugged, his eyes widened. “I didn’t know what was happening! Jesus Christ , Princess! I was so scared!” 

“I told you, I’m fine —” You couldn’t even finish your sentence as you went back on your knees and vomited on the toilet again. 

All you heard was Kenji groaning in disgusts as Aaron gently rubbed your back and held your hair back. You didn’t want both of them to see you like this. It was disgusting, and you felt disgusting. Your mouth tasted so foul at this point from all the vomit, and it made you even more nauseous.  Aaron handed you a towel to wipe your mouth as he continued to rub your back softly. You watched as Kenji handed Aaron the glass of water as Aaron helped you, holding the glass and slowly letting you drink it.

“Kenji, could you go to the store and get her some medicine? Also, some soup and gatorade.” Aaron said. “She needs some electrolytes.” 

“Yeah, I’m on it.” 

Just like that, Kenji was gone, and your back was against the wall, your head resting against it. You closed your eyes and tried to breathe slowly. You didn’t want Aaron to see you like this, so grotesque and repulsive. You also didn’t want to bother him either. He was already stressed. Once you feel better, you’re definitely going to kill Kenji for doing this to you. 

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, staring at Aaron.

He was silent for a moment, his piercing green eyes were full of worry as he stared at you. He then slowly shook his head and wiped your mouth one more time with the towel. His silence was killing you. You didn’t know what he was thinking, and all the possible thoughts that you thought he might be thinking right now was eating you up slowly. 

“Please say something.” You said. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, brushing a strand of hair away from your forehead. “How long have you been feeling like this?”

“Since last night.” You sighed. “I ate some bad sushi for lunch and ever since then, my stomach had been hurting and I got a throbbing headache because I couldn’t sleep last night, and I didn’t want to bother you because you’re all stressed and—”

Aaron repeatedly shook his head and said, “There’s nothing more important in this world than you, love.”

You stared at him. His words made your heart swell. It tugged on your heartstrings as he cupped your face with his hands. 

“Stress or not stress… Even if I’m sick myself or I’m a hundred miles away, I will always put you first.” 

“Aaron…”

“There’s nothing you could do for me to prioritize you first, always .” Aaron added. “No matter what the situation is, you’re my first priority, you understand?”

You nodded your head, leaning against his touch as he softly brushed your cheek with his fingers. He could feel the heat that was radiating through your body, and he stared at your pale lips for a moment, tracing the outline with his finger. 

“How did you get here so fast?” You asked.

“I was just around the corner when Kenji called. I was gonna go home early to surprise you, so we can have a nice dinner.” Aaron gave you a small smile. “I brought your favorite flowers. Pink peonies.”

You couldn’t help but give him a small weak smile. If it wasn’t for your breath being so disgusting and foul right now, you would have grabbed him already and kissed him for being so sweet. You couldn’t explain what it was when it came to him, but he always made you feel so safe and protected. Even if he was just standing there next to you, or his presence was just in the room. Aaron knew you could handle yourself pretty well without him but that didn’t stop him to still take care of you and put you first. 

“C’mon…” He whispered, getting up from the floor, scoping you up and carrying you in his arms. 

He gently set you down on the bed as your cold fingers touched his cheek. His eyes immediately went dim as soon as he felt your cold touch. He didn’t like seeing you sick and the fact that he couldn’t do anything to take your pain away was killing him. Taking your hands in his, he pressed a soft kiss on your fingers before rubbing them softly to keep them warm.

“You’re cold.” He said. 

“Mhmm…” You closed your eyes, marveling at his touch. 

“Get some rest, love.” Aaron pulled the duvet close to your chest before planting a soft kiss on your forehead. 

As you slowly fluttered your eyes closed, Aaron got up from the bed and grabbed the heating pad and quietly entered back in the bedroom. Carefully, he pulled the duvet away from your body and rested the heating pad on your stomach. He smiled softly as you stirred and a soft hum escaped from you. Gently tucking you back in, he walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him quietly. 

In the kitchen, he found Kenji just arriving back from the store. Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle softly from the image of Kenji in front of him. His face was flushed, and it looked like he ran a mile from the way he was breathing at the moment. 

“Did you drive or did you run to the store?” Aaron teased. 

“ Shut up .” Kenji rolled his eyes as he started taking out all the stuff from the grocery bag.

“You never had to take care of Nazeera when she’s sick?” Aaron asked, grabbing the can of soup from the kitchen counter.

Kenji shrugged and said, “That woman never gets sick. I… I got scared there for a moment.”

Aaron turned the stove on and started making the soup as he shook his head. His back was turned to Kenji, while Kenji stared at him for a moment. His mind was still running a million thoughts. He never saw you like this before, and it turned on his panic mode. He didn’t know what was wrong. He didn’t know what you needed to feel better. 

“I thought… nevermind.” Kenji bit his lower lip. 

“What?” Aaron looked over his shoulder, brows all furrowed. 

“Nothing.”

“Stop torturing me and just say what’s on your mind, Kishimoto.” Aaron shook his head as he looked back at the soup he was making on the stove. 

“I thought she was pregnant or something.”

Aaron immediately snapped his head back towards him, his green eyes wide in surprise, “ What? ”

Kenji saw the look that washed over Aaron’s face. It was a shock expression but at the same time, the idea of it didn’t make him afraid. It softened his green eyes even more. Relaxed his shoulders for the first time since Kenji has known him. He didn’t realize Aaron wasn't opposed to that idea, especially from the way Kenji had known him. Always cold and stiff. 

“I don’t know, man. I was panicking. She was vomiting, and I thought there’s something wrong. I mean don’t you vomit or something if you’re pregnant?”

Aaron couldn’t help but laugh. An actual laugh that Kenji never heard before. Dimples and everything. 

The man had dimples! 

“She has her period right now, you idiot .” Aaron’s voice sounded so amused. “It didn’t exactly help that she ate bad sushi yesterday.”

“ Oh .” That was all Kenji could manage as he leaned against the kitchen counter. 

For a moment, he watched Aaron prepare your soup and chopped up some vegetables and other things and cooked them. Kenji could smell the delicious aroma that started to fill up the kitchen. He didn’t even know that Aaron could cook . Not just cook. He could plate it really well too. All fancy and shit like the way they did in the restaurants. 

“Okay, chef .” Kenji teased. 

“One of the things my mother taught me.” Aaron murmured as he finished up your plate. 

Aaron gazed up at Kenji and slid a plate towards him. Kenji stared at the food in front of him for a moment and then gazed back up at Aaron. 

“I can’t eat this.” Kenji said. 

“You saw me cooking it. I didn’t poison it.” Aaron argued back.

“It looks too pretty to eat it.” Kenji commented.

“Don’t act like you’re not hungry.” Aaron rolled his eyes, brushing off the discreet compliment that Kenji gave him. “I know how you are with food. You eat like a wild animal.” 

Taking a piece of vegetable, Kenji took a bite of it and held in his smile. Aaron knew he liked it, and he was forcing himself to not show it in front of him. Picking up his fork, Kenji started eating the rest of the food as Aaron shook his head and started cleaning up the kitchen counters. 

“Thank you.” Aaron said as soon as he finished cleaning, looking back at Kenji.

The silence that was blanketing the room was slowly killing him. Kenji gazed up at him, processing what Aaron was trying to thank him for. Then, he saw the genuine in his eyes and realized that he was actually being serious. 

“Of course, I care about her. She’s literally my best friend.” Kenji nodded. 

Another silence blanketed between them until—

“Aaron?”

Both of their heads turned at the same time towards the direction of the bedroom as soon as they heard your voice. You were awake, and Aaron immediately dropped the towel and washed his hands. 

“I got the dishes.” Kenji offered as Aaron grabbed the plate of food that he made for you and placed it on a tray. 

Staring at the ceiling, you blinked your eyes a few times to get rid of the sleep. Your headache was slowly fading away, and you had forgotten the memory of how you got back in your bed. You were still in pain when it came to your stomach, and you could feel another round of vomit coming up. Then, you heard the door open to find Aaron holding a tray of food. A small smile tugged on his lips.

“Hey, love.” He sets the tray next to you before stroking your hair softly. “How are you feeling?”

“I… need…” You clasped a hand over your mouth and Aaron’s eyes widened as he quickly ran out to grab a bucket for you. 

It didn’t take long for him to come back as he held the bucket in front of you, one hand clutching on your hair, while you vomited again. Aaron set the bucket down on the floor as soon as you were finished, grabbing the fresh towel and wiping your mouth gently.

“God, I’m so sorry.” You whispered as Aaron gently helped you sit up on the bed, your back leaning against the headboard.

“Don’t apologize, love.” He murmured, “It’ll pass. I promise.”

He handed you a glass of water as you took a big sip of it. You sighed and closed your eyes for a moment, shaking your head. Your headache was slowly fading, but you were still dizzy, and you just wanted this feeling to be over. 

“I didn’t want you to worry or be such an inconvenience. You already have a lot on your plate.”

Aaron moved himself from the edge of the bed and scooted himself over next to you, his arm wrapping around your shoulders as he pulled you close to his chest. You exhaled a sharp breath, breathing him in. He smelled so fresh and nice, and his warm body was making you feel so sleepy. You felt warm and safe. 

You were home.

“Didn’t I tell you that you’re always my first priority, love?” Aaron murmured. “You’re never a nuisance to me. Ever .”

You pressed your face on his chest as you closed your eyes, your arm wrapping around his torso as you clung to him. You could stay in his arms forever. 

“Thank you.” You whispered. 

“I love you.” Aaron smiled, kissing your forehead. 

There was a comfortable silence for a moment as you slowly started falling back to sleep. Your breathing started to steady as Aaron rubbed your arm softly that made you even sleepier until you heard Kenji’s familiar voice that made you snap your eyes open.

“How is she?” Kenji asked.

Aaron felt your body jolt in surprise as you opened your eyes. You blinked a few times and saw Kenji standing by the doorway, sliding on his jacket. Aaron shook his head and gave Kenji a death glare for waking you up. 

“You never use your brain do you, Kishimoto?” Aaron said, irritation hinting at his voice.

“Sorry, I thought she was awake.” 

You lifted your head from Aaron’s chest, brows furrowing. You didn’t realize Kenji was still here . This whole time, he was here and Aaron was here, and the house didn’t burn down? That was impossible for your brain to comprehend even if you were sick. Did they have an actual conversation out there, or did they just stare at each other? For sure, you would have woken up if they had started beating each other up in the living room. 

“You’re still here?” You asked. 

“ Unfortunately .” Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Kenji gave Aaron a side eye before giving you a small smile and said, “Of course. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

You couldn’t help but smile at your best friend. He truly was the sweetest thing. Although, you didn’t mean to make him panic earlier. You saw his reaction, and he looked like a lost little puppy. 

“Thank you. I’ll be okay.” You said, giving him a small reassuring smile. “Even if I’m still upset with you for making that phone call.”

Kenji chuckled softly, “Whatever you say, Princess. I’ll get going. I’m sure Warner could handle it from here.”

You nodded your head as Kenji nodded his head at Aaron before walking away. You shifted your eyes at both men and saw the look on their faces. Almost like a silent understanding between them two, and you couldn’t help but wonder what happened between them when you were asleep. 

“I think he almost had a heart attack earlier.” You giggled softly, burying your face in Aaron’s neck.

“You should have seen him when he came back from the store.” Aaron laughed softly. 

You grinned and planted a soft kiss on his neck. Aaron felt your lashes tickle his neck as you closed your eyes. Being in his arms made you feel slightly better. It was almost like his presence was like a drug to you that you couldn't seem to understand, but you were so drunk in it. You just wanted this forever. You just wanted to stay in his arms like this forever.

“You should eat, love. I made you some food.” Aaron whispered.

However, you were struggling to keep your eyes open. You were exhausted from vomiting so much. The thought of food was still making you nauseous, and the heating pad that Aaron had set on your stomach had helped the pain to slowly fade away. Aaron rubbed your arm softly, and it gave you even more comfort. As he gazed down at you, he couldn’t help but smile when he found you asleep peacefully in his arms. 

“Sweet dreams, love.” He whispered, kissing your hair. “I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

The End.