Work Text:
Eddie pulls his quilt tighter around himself as another shiver rolls through him. He needs to get up for work. He needs to get Chris ready for school, but everything aches, and his limbs feel like they’re weighted with lead.
He’s not surprised that he’s managed to come down with something. Chris had been sick earlier in the week and Eddie had used up most of his personal leave staying home to take care of him. There had been a small part of him that thought that maybe he'd managed to avoid it, but apparently not.
With a soft grunt he manages to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. He just needs a shower, he thinks to himself. A long hot shower will help clear the congestion he can feel building in his chest and help warm him up again. He just needs to make it to the bathroom.
It does help. A little. Eddie feels marginally more human as he makes his way out to the kitchen.
Chris is already there, carefully carrying two bowls across from the cupboards to put them with the box of cereal and milk already on the table.
When he’s done, he sits and waits for his dad to join him.
“Are you sick, Dad?” Chris asks after watching him for a moment. “You look like me when I stayed home from school.”
“I’m okay,” Eddie reassures him, filling both bowls with cereal and reaching for the milk. The idea of eating anything right now makes his stomach churn uncomfortably, but he knows better than to go to work on an empty stomach. “I don’t think I got enough sleep last night.”
It's not quite a lie. Eddie had spent most of the night tossing and turning, his body shifting between too hot and too cold. Chris doesn’t question it though, so Eddie takes a couple of careful mouthfuls of cereal and focuses on keeping it down. Once he’s had something to eat, he can dose himself up enough to get through the day.
After breakfast he sends Chris to his room to finish getting ready for school. With no prying eyes Eddie takes a second to let his head drop into his hands. His skull feels like it’s about three times too small for his brain and everything just aches. He lets himself drift for a moment, gearing himself up to finish getting ready for work.
“You look like shit.”
Head jerking up, Eddie catches Buck leaning in the doorway. He hadn’t even heard the front door open.
“I’m fine, just tired,” Eddie says, waving away Buck’s concern and rising slowly to his feet. For a second the room swims out of focus before everything snaps back into place. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
“You’re not seriously thinking about going to work, are you?” Buck asks, concern etched into his face. “You look like you’re about to keel over.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t afford to take more time off,” Eddie says, wincing as the words grate against his throat. “I took all that time off to watch Chris and—”
“Because he was sick,” Buck says, cutting in. He steps into the room and into Eddie’s personal space. “And now you’re sick.” He reaches out to press a palm to Eddie’s forehead. “Jesus Eds, you’re hot.” He seems to realise what he’s said just as the words come tumbling out of his mouth and flushes.
“You think I’m hot?” Eddie tries for humour, but it falls flat when his legs are shaking just from the effort of standing.
“I think you’re delirious,” Buck jokes herding Eddie through to the living room and over to the couch. “That’s the only explanation I can come up with for you thinking you’re okay to work. Wait here.”
Dropping gratefully onto the couch, Eddie lets his head tip back. He can hear the soft rumble of voices in the distance—Buck and Chris talking somewhere in the house—and lets the sound of his two favourite people wash over him.
“Hey.”
Blinking owlishly up at the figure standing over him, Eddie realises he must have fallen asleep again.
“I’m going to take Chris to school. Will you be right here for a bit?”
Eddie pushes himself upright. “I just need to finish getting ready.”
A hand on his shoulder stops him, and it shouldn’t be this hard to resist, but he’s already sinking back down into the cushions.
Buck has the quilt from Eddie’s bed bundled up in his arms. “I’ve already called Bobby to let him know you won’t be in,” Buck tells him, draping the quilt over Eddie. “And once I’ve dropped Chris off, I’ll pick some things up from the pharmacy. You’ve only got kids medicine in the cabinet.”
“I love you.” The words spill out to hang in the air between them and even if Eddie is sick and feverish and not quite thinking things through, he means them, with all his heart.
“I—” Buck’s face does something complicated before settling into a bashful smile. “I love you too, Eds.” He fixes the quilt and straightens, calling to Chris, “You ready buddy?”
“Yep!” Chris makes his way over to the couch to say goodbye. He wraps his small arms around Eddie. “Don’t worry Dad, Bucky will help you feel better.”
“I know. Love you kid.”
As he watches Buck ferry his son out the door, Eddie feels his heart swell in his chest. He wonders how he managed to get this lucky, to find someone like Buck who cares so much. They’ve only officially been dating for a few weeks, but Eddie knows. Buck is it for him.