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„Woah. someone‘s taking the Shadow thing a little too serious.“
The voice hit you like a hammer on the head, closely followed by the way too bright light on the ceiling being turned on. Nails were being hammered into your skull, you were sure of it.
„Phillip Graves, I swear to god. Turn off that fucking light or die.“
You caught a glimpse of his concerned expression before he complied and turned off the light. He was still wearing his full gear, probably just returned from the mission. Had you really been sleeping for that long? It felt like just minutes ago that he had left for the briefing.
„Full name, damn. Baby, am I in trouble?“
Despite the urge to send him right back out and let you suffer in peace, a part of you was glad that he was here. There was nothing you hated more than being sick; not being able to work or get anything done always somehow felt like it was your own fault, even though that was clearly not the case. And aside from being cocky and sometimes a little too full of himself, Graves could also act as a voice of reason from time to time, working against the one in your head in situations like this.
On top of everything, this was chronic. The headaches came and went, and after a blissfully long period of not being bothered by them, they had completely incapacitated you today. You had spent the whole day in bed, mainly napping, with a truly ungodly amount of aspirin coursing through you, just barely somewhere under the amount that would require a doctor to check on you afterwards.
Any kind of noise immediately felt like a bolt of lightning was drilling its way into your head. When Graves had left in the morning, you had clearly heard the small lecture he had given the Shadows outside, not to disturb you or make any loud noises around your room today. Besides the occasional embarrassing moments you had to endure when his jealousy was acting up, dating the boss really did have its perks.
Something cold hit your hand and you instinctively flinched away, just to notice that you had almost dozed off again. All you could make out in front of you was Graves‘ silhouette as he handed you something.
„You‘re probably dehydrated, drink.“
He was whispering, thank god.
Drinking enough water, or any water for that matter, hadn‘t really been your top priority today, but as soon as the cold liquid hit your lips it seemed like the content of that glass was everything you had ever wanted.
Fuck, that felt good.
It took just a few seconds until the glass was empty and Graves took it back with a chuckle. While you let yourself sink back into the mountain of pillows behind you, your eyes adjusted to the dark and you could see Graves stripping himself of his gear, carefully putting the pieces on the chair in the corner.
„Mission went well?“ you managed to whisper, immediately questioning if your voice even carried over to him. But apparently it was loud enough. Graves continued to unbutton his shirt while he started talking, still in a very headache-appropriate whispered tone.
„Yeah, everything worked out. No casualties, all Shadows safely tucked in their beds.“
He slipped out of the sleeves and hung the shirt over the back of the chair before turning to the bed, arms crossed in front of his chest. „And you? That much worse than this morning?“
You nodded, only realising that he couldn’t really see you after a few moments of silence. „Yeah, much worse.“
Graves took off his pants, folded them into a neat package and quickly made his way over to you.
„Before I join you in your nest, do you need anything else?“
You though about it for a second before weakly extending your arm in his direction. „Just some sympathy and cuddles.“
The mattress dipped slightly behind you, an arm curling around your side with the rest of Graves‘ body closely following. He adjusted the blanket and moved up towards the headboard a bit, in order to pull you into his arms, your head resting on his chest. His smell immediately managed to soothe some of the pain, a content smile tugging at your lips when Graves started planting kisses on the top of your head, whispering between pecks.
„I‘m sorry you had a shitty day - really missed you on the mission - not the same without my best Shadow at my side.“
With a sigh, you leaned into the touch. Not going on the mission today had been Graves‘ call, not yours. At the tiniest mention of a headache, he always immediately went into Commander mode, and you were sure that he would have strapped you to the bed if you had insisted on going on todays mission. A good call. Just minutes after they had left the base, the pain had immediately worsened.
„Can I do anything else for you? Help you, in any way?“
By now, the smile had fully formed on your lips and you tilted your head up to meet his in a gentle kiss.
„I just need to sleep and hope that it’ll get better tomorrow. Usually does.“
„Alright. But if it doesn’t, I‘ll get you the good stuff.“
He was referring to the prescription you had gotten from a specialist you‘s seen a while back. Not really something for every day use, but more than useful when your headache decided to overstay its welcome. (Not that it was ever welcome in the first place, but you could handle one day.)
Graves moved down, both arms still securely wrapped around you. Through the dark, you could make out that he was smiling.
„Night, Commander.“ you whispered and gave in to the urge to close you eyes. The complete darkness felt almost as comforting as the hug you were in.
After gently planting a last kiss on the bridge of your nose, Graves settled in next to you, one hand securely resting at the back of your head.
„Good night, baby.“