#i am not sorry for this pile of fever induced trash

[kayluh1915]

A Little Cold

Paring(s): Javier Peña/Original Female Character

Words: 1,229

Warnings: None

Summary: Javier puts a hold on Peyton’s big "lifestyle-changing" plans when she comes down with something that he thinks is a bit more than a little cold and takes care of her the best he knows how.

I'm currently working on a 5k+ word self-indulgent A/B/O fic but I'm fucking sicker than shit and my fiance's at work and I just want some fucking cuddles and soup. So, enjoy this unedited, unbetaed, fever-induced indulgence that may or may not be inspired by real-life events.

Also using Javier for this one because I can’t get enough of soft Javi in that fuckin’ baby blue button down so hush and let have my fever dream, mkay? Mkay.

God, to be held by Pedro Pascal right now... *cries*

You know the drill, comments are welcomed and encouraged, yadda yadda, follow me on Twitter.

PS: It (thankfully) isn't Covid, but it is the flu. It still sucks either way and is making me unapologetically long for Pedro cuddles...

Enjoy

Read on AO3

My Masterlist

Today was the day.

It had taken countless weeks to get everything together with the memberships she had to pay, days off she had to request and even finding someone to watch her cat. But, it all came together beautifully and Payton was finally ready to get herself back on track.

Her plan started with waking up early and eating a good breakfast. She had been neglecting her sleep schedule and diet for months now, basically only powering herself with caffeine and sugary doughnuts that honestly did nothing but make her feel like shit 24/7.

After breakfast, she was taking her cat, Toby, to Connie so she could watch it while she cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom. Javi couldn’t get the full day off and still had to work half a shift, but she was glad that he still got to come home early. He’d be home just in time for lunch and he promised that he’d help her clean after they ate.

After their cleaning day, she and Javi were going to dedicate three days a week minimum to going to the gym. Javier was still pretty fit from his time chasing down drug lords in Columbia but noticed a fair drop in his stamina since returning to the states. Peyton herself wasn’t out of shape just yet, but she was getting there and she wanted to stop it before it went beyond the point of no return.

Peyton knew that she could technically start any day and didn’t need all of this prep work to start taking care of herself, but it helped her feel better and more prepared to succeed by starting off with a clean home, good sleep schedule, and cooked meals.

Today was the day…

… or was supposed to be at least.

When her alarm went off at 7 am, she expected to feel pretty horrendous. Her sleep schedule had been fucked up for months and suddenly attacking it by waking up much earlier than usual would make anyone feel awful, but this was different than the need to go back to bed.

She rose up from their sheets and padded to the bathroom. Her head was very heavy, her chest was tight, and her throat sore and scratchy begging her to cough. She refused it for a while, but the tickle in the back of her throat became too much as she washed her hands. Her cough sounded awful, wet, and came from the deepest part of her chest.

Of fucking course. All that planning just so she could get sick? Nope. Not happening. She had put too much work into making her “lifestyle change day” possible and she refused to let a little cold stop her.

So, she swallowed down another cough and got dressed, trying to ignore the weakness and dull ache in her head as she began to make breakfast.

When Javier came into the kitchen about an hour later wearing a baby blue button-down and his favorite pair of jeans, he knew that something was off with Peyton immediately.

“Morning, Cariño. Did you sleep okay?” Peyton looked up from the eggs she was making, trying to look as if she wasn’t feeling even worse than she did when she got up.

“Yeah, it just wasn’t enough.” Javier noticed the deep circles under her eyes and how pale she looked as she tried and failed to stifle a cough.

It was then when he realized why something wasn’t quite right.

Without even thinking, he took the spatula out of her hand and set it aside, turning off the stovetop and putting the pan of frying eggs on a cooled eye.

“Javi, what are yo-” She stopped herself as soon as his wrist went to her forehead and cheeks. She had tried her best to hide how shitty she was feeling, but she knew it was a longshot. You can hardly hide anything from the former DEA agent who assisted in taking down Escobar.

“I’m fine, Jav. I swear. It’s just a little cold.”

“You don’t run fevers with colds, Peyton.” She reached for the pan again, Javier grabbing her wrist to stop her.

“Javi, please. Just let me-”

“No, I’ll finish breakfast. You go lay back down.” Peyton was going to protest again, but a coughing fit struck her out of fucking nowhere. The damn thing lasted far longer than any fit should and left her throat sore and her chest achy, Javier looking on with concern as he gently rubbed her back throughout the entire thing.

Deep down, she knew that Javier was right. She was in pretty rough shape and needed rest… but all those plans… all that work she did only to get sick and fuck everything up.

Javier brought his hands up to Peyton’s flushed cheeks, holding her face in his hands as he looked into her exhausted eyes.

“Don’t do that.” Peyton gave a confused look.

“Do what?”

“Beat yourself up for not being able to keep your plans. I know you put a lot of work into everything, but you can’t help that you got sick. Your health is more important than the apartment. We can do our deep clean later, for now, go lay down. I’ll come to check on you in a minute.”

He knew her so fucking well.

As much as she wished she could go through with her plan, laying back down did sound pretty good right now. Finally, she just accepted her fate and nodded. Javier sighed in relief, pressing a kiss to her fevered forehead.

Peyton slept for what felt like two minutes when she awoke to Javier bringing her some medicine to help bring down her fever, a glass Sprite on ice with a straw, and a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup. She knew she’d been out much longer if he had time to run to the store and get all this fancy stuff.

“Wh-why aren’t you at work?” She asked, taking the medication with a small sip of Sprite.

“Called in. I didn’t want you to be alone.”

“But… you couldn’t get the day off.” Javier smiled, setting the steaming bowl on the nightstand.

“Not working just to clean is one thing, but when the woman I love is sick, I’ll move mountains to make sure you’re taken care of.” Peyton smiled at him, the steaming soup feeling heavenly as she swallowed a bite he fed her.

“You don’t have to feed me, Jav.” She said, but he didn’t listen to her, holding another spoonful out to her. She normally hated being doted on this much, but she was honestly too sick to care at this point.

She ate more than half of the soup before she pushed it away, laying back down with a pained groan. Javier took the bowl to the kitchen, coming back quickly and laying down next to Peyton. He pulled her as close as he could and brushed a few stray curls away from her flushed face.

“You okay?” He asked. Peyton groaned.

“...what do you think?” Javier chuckled.

“You know what I meant.” Peyton pointed to her head.

“...head hurts.” Javier hummed sadly, taking his hand to gently rub her temples and the space between her eyes. Peyton melted into his touch, letting his gentle caresses and occasional kisses lull her back to sleep.