Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Okay, sweetie, medicine time," Marc sat down on the side of the bed, uncapping the bottle and pouring a small amount of the artificial cherry flavoured syrup onto a spoon.
"Yes, I know it tastes funny, but it will make you feel better. Now say 'Ahhhh'"

A very weak and raspy 'ahhhh' followed as Marc administered the medicine, then handed over a glass of water to wash it down.

"Make sure to finish your water. I'll be back with some warm chicken soup for you for dinner, okay? Love you."

He leaned down to kiss the messy red hair tied up in a haphazard bun before tucking the blankets in and going back out of the room.

As he walked over to the kitchen to wash his hands, Marc caught a glimpse of his husband pacing back and forth in the living room.

"She's doing fine, Nath. Her fever has gone down and she's still making silly funny faces at the taste of the medicine."

Marc dried his hands on a nearby dish towel and quickly got to work making some tea for both of them.

He could hear Nathaniel mumbling things as he continued walking in circles. 'I should have kept her inside during the rain.' 'What if she misses that special story time next week. 'Maybe we can call the doctor back for another visit.'

The three minutes of brewing were agonisingly slow. If there was a rogue Butterfly Miraculous user still active, Marc was sure that Nathaniel would have been turned into a sanitising supervillain, dedicated to eliminating the 0.01% of germs that weren't killed by disinfectants.

"Nath, she'll be okay. It's just a cold going around."

Nathaniel finally stopped pacing as Marc handed him his tea. He took a deep breath before having a sip, ignoring how it was barely below boiling.

"I- I know. I just..."

"You're worried about our daughter. I understand."

Marc brought both of them to sit down on the sofa. He looked back at the door to Keshet's room. She wasn't coughing as loudly compared to two days ago.

"...I don't know what I'm meant to be doing," Nathaniel slumped down carefully, so as to not spill any of his husband's tea.
"Should I be doing work as normal? Should I be sitting by her bedside with some damp towels? How am I meant to know?"

"How would you treat me if I was sick like that?"

"I would... bring you soup and ask if there's anything you need, and make sure you're looked after."

"And that's exactly what we're doing with her." Marc reached over to hold Nathaniel's hand. There was a heavy sigh as he leaned into Marc's side.

"I... I just want to be a good dad. I want to be there, but I don't want to smother her either."

"You are a good dad. You were holding her hand the entire time she was having her shots," Marc reached up to brush some of Nathaniel's hair behind his ear.
"And she said she didn't cry once because she had her Aba with her. You know our daughter. She might feel groggy now, but she'll make up for it as soon as she's better. With plenty of biiiiiig hugs."

Nathaniel had to laugh a little as Marc imitated the way Keshet said that. He leaned over to gently hiss Marc's cheek.

"Thanks, angel."

"Any time. Crisis over? Because our daughter ordered the soup for dinner."

With another chuckle, Nathaniel followed Marc into the kitchen so they could make a nice steaming bowl of chicken soup for Keshet.