Work Text:
Bruce was walking back from a lunch meeting when he saw a familiar form up ahead. He was worried because he knew Eddie had been sick. He didn’t know why he would be out right now. Even Bruce was uncomfortable in the bitter cold. The temperature had not been pleasant this week at all but the temperature was swiftly dropping even though it was only midday. He lengthened his strides and was able to grasp the end of the long scarf trailing after the man.
Eddie turned to confront whomever was messing with his scarf but when he turned too fast he was suddenly dizzy and then ended up having a coughing fit. The others on the sidewalk veered away from him and his obvious signs of sickness, except for one man. Eddie was still bent over trying to catch his breath after his latest bout of coughing but he could see shoes. They were very expensive shoes that he recognised. He looked up and his eyes met Bruce’s. He wanted to huddle against his warmth, it was radiating from the spots on his arms where Bruce had his hands rested, steadying him.
“You seem to have lost the way to your bed,” Bruce said. “It’s too cold out here for you.”
“Honestly, the temperature doesn’t feel that much better in my bed. I think the landlord is hoping I will freeze, immediately after I pay the rent, of course.” Eddie whined. “But I had things I needed to get, so here I am.”
“You know I would have brought you anything you needed. It is getting a lot colder now.”
Bruce was wrapping the scarf back around Eddie while he talked. He tucked the ends into Eddie’s coat and then made sure the coat was buttoned all the way.
“I can manage on my own. I’m not helpless.”
“I know you can manage. But you don’t have to do it alone.”
Bruce leaned over and kissed Eddie on the forehead. Eddie sank against him, trying to absorb as much of the warmth as he could. He could tell Bruce was suddenly distracted, playing with his phone behind his back. Usually Eddie would get onto him but he was too exhausted to care. After a moment, Bruce slipped the phone in his pocket and guided him back away from the market. He turned away from the radiating warmth just in time to see Bruce’s town car pull up. That was probably what he had been doing on the phone.
Alfred jumped out to help with the door but Bruce waved him off and helped Eddie into the car himself. He pulled off his own jacket and wrapped that around Eddie as well. He was still not quite caught up to what was going on when the car pulled off into traffic.
“No, I needed things from the store. I don’t have any food I can eat and I ran out of tissues.”
“Nonsense. You are coming home with me. I have everything you could possibly need and it is warm.”
“How could I possibly get any rest with all those children of yours running all over the place?”
“I will send them out of the house. I will rent out the theater if I have to.”
“I guess,” Eddie begrudgingly agreed.
---
Eddie was asleep by the time the car pulled into the drive at Wayne Manor. He stirred slightly when Bruce lifted him but snuggled against Bruce’s chest when the wind blew cold. Bruce carried him right up to his room and laid him on the bed. He worked quickly to remove his coat and shoes and get the sick man under the covers. He climbed in behind him and wrapped himself around him to help him warm up.
It was a little while later when Alfred knocked softly on the door. Bruce wrapped the covers around Eddie and went to get the soup Alfred had brought. Luckily the butler had remembered to include some medicine that Bruce hadn’t thought to offer when he was just worried about helping Eddie get warm.
“Eddie,” he whispered. “Can you sit up?”
Eddie turned to him and smiled. Then he groaned.
“Oh, why would you wake me? That is the first time in 3 days I've managed to stay asleep.”
“You need to eat something. Also, there is some cold medicine to help you feel better.”
“I don’t like cold medicine. It makes me loopy.”
“It will help. You have to take it.”
Bruce helped him shift to sitting up and wrapped a blanket around his back so he wouldn’t feel cold. Eddie was still being grumpy so he lifted a spoonful of the soup up to his mouth to let him taste it. That seemed to do the trick. When Eddie reached out for the rest, Bruce would only offer him the medicine. He glared at Bruce but took it anyway. He made a face at the taste but Bruce had moved the tray to his lap so he could have the soup ready to take away the taste. He didn’t manage to eat all the soup but Bruce knew it was because he was getting too tired.
“Do you want to have a bath or sleep first?” he asked.
“Sleep. I don’t have the energy to sit up.”
“The I’ll find you something more comfortable to wear.”
Bruce turned away and came back with some warm pajama pants and one of his own shirts. He knew that Eddie likes wearing his shirts even if they were really big on him. Once he changed, Bruce covered him and then moved to turn off the light.
“Are you laying down with me again?” he asked.
Bruce hadn’t been planning on it. He needed to check up on work after abandoning the afternoon tasks. But Eddie looked up at him, pleading without actually asking for anything. He had tried to manage being sick all on his own. Bruce didn’t respond. He just climbed back into bed to hold him. He could probably get back up after Eddie fell asleep.
—
It was a few days later and Eddie was back at home and had even returned to work today. The cold wasn’t nearly as bad but he still preferred to bundle against the chill. The end of his scarf was flying back behind him again. Once again he felt someone tug on the end. Before he could turn to confront him, the end was pulled hard. He found himself against a hard chest. He barely saw Bruce’s eyes before his lips crashed over his own. He kissed him back and then tried to pull away to tell him to stop pulling on his scarf, but Bruce just used the scarf to pull him right back. Eddie decided there would be another moment to worry about it and threw his arms around Bruce’s neck to continue.