Chapter Text
Vega’s head was too foggy from all the medicine that was currently coursing through his body to notice the bed move. It wasn’t until the blanket was pulled away from his head and the painfully bright light beat on him through closed eyes that he really noticed he wasn’t alone in the room. He mumbled a few curse words in Spanish and rested his arm over his face since his eyelids weren’t good enough protection for his sickness-induced photosensitivity.
“Cut that out- m’trying to sleep over here!” The big man grouched as he reached for the blanket with his free hand only to have it slapped away.
“And I’m trying to get some food in your stomach,” Steve argued back, pulling the covers completely off James. He patted the sick man’s thigh to urge him to cooperate. “Sit up and eat this soup.”
James groaned and rolled so his back was facing Cortez. “I don’t wanna.”
Steve rolled his eyes and put the bowl down on the bedside table. He knew that another approach was going to be needed to get Vega’s cooperation. Sliding more on the bed, he pressed a kiss right at the sensitive spot on the corner of James’ jaw.
“If you eat this soup and let me help you get better, I’ll make it worth your while when you’re fine again.”
There’s silence from the other side of the bed for a couple seconds.
“How?”
Steve grins, having won this round. “We’ll do the thing?”
“Which thing?”
“You know which thing.”
Vega rolled over, his eyes narrowed as he tried to see if this was all a trick. “We don’t even have enough room in this place for that. And I’m not gonna clean the carpet if you get any juice on it.”
“Are you doubting my skills, Mister Vega?” Cortez propped himself up against the headboard, crossing his legs at his ankles and his arms across his chest. “I happen to be a master of invention and improvisation. I’ll take of all the details and all you have to do is work on not being sick.”
James’ brow furrowed in thought. There weren’t any downsides to this so he was having trouble finding a reason not to go along with it other than wanting to curl up in the dark.
Hell, sitting up and dealing with a headache caused by the light was worth doing the thing when he was better. He grinned and reached out for Steve, pulling him close and attacking his neck with his mouth. “You’ve got a deal, Esteban!”
“Hey!” Steve cried out, trying to push the bigger man away to no avail. “If you get me sick, the deal is off the table!”