Chapter Text
“Want to watch reruns of House Hunters?”
Buck does not look amused by Eddie’s slight avoidance tactic. He should know better than to think Buck would let go of the fact that he’s just a smidge under the weather.
“Once you eat at least half of this sandwich I will watch House Hunters with you.”
“Fine.” Eddie grumbles, scooting and pressing himself against the wall so Buck can sit comfortably next to him. “You need to eat the other half, though. Abuela hit me with a cuchara for letting you get this skinny.”
“I’m not skinny!” Buck protests, looking down at his own body self- consciously. “I’m muscular!”
Eddie reaches over and pats Buck's stomach, almost instantly regretting it when his palm does in fact hit the hard muscle of his abdomen, making them both tense up. He moves on quickly and snatches up half of the cheese sandwich. Close one.
Eddie isn’t above admitting that he’d missed Buck’s warmth these last few weeks. Though even when things were rocky between them, Buck never stopped checking in, never stopping bringing hot chocolate- even if he did leave right after dropping it off. Just listening to Buck wolfing his food down like someone could slap it out of his hands at any moment makes Eddie feel ultimately better. He has to actively remind himself that now is not a particularly good time to rest his dreary head upon Buck’s shoulders and never move it again.
When they’re done, Buck brushes the crumbs onto the floor like he was raised in a barn, and grabs a sealed bottle of Tylenol Cough & Flu Medicine from his bag along with multiple Vitamin-C packages.
“It’s just Frat Flu.” Eddie says in exasperation, scrunching his nose at
“You have never been inside a frat house and honestly if I saw you inside one at your own free will, I’d have you admitted to the closed psychiatric hospital.” Buck retorts, pulling the blankets higher on Eddie’s chest. “And you’re literally in nursing school!”
“Not yet I’m not.” Eddie protests weakly. He slaps Buck’s fidgeting hands where they were about to adjust the blanket again. “C’mon, stop fretting and get in the bed.”
“You know, if you wanted me in your bed Eddie, you didn’t have to get Frat Flu to do it.”
“So you agree it’s Frat Flu?”
“I don’t know, Doctor Diaz,” Buck says slyly, teasingly. Eddie has never been to fucking happy to get a debilitating fever, otherwise every drop of blood in his brain would’ve soared right down south. “What symptoms is the patient exhibiting that rules out the influenza virus?”
“It’s a good thing you’re going into elementary education, that’s for sure.”
Buck is laughing as he pours out the measurement for the medicine. “Hey!”
“Don’t you dare put that thing near my mouth.”
“That’s not usually what I hear from people in bed, but okay. Swallow, please. No pun intended.”
Eddie is a weak, weak man. He knocks the medicine back like a shot and gratefully accepts the Gatorade Buck hands him to get the taste out of his mouth.
Buck sets a bottle of painkillers and water on the bedside table. He tidies up the room and Eddie just watches as he folds a few hoodies and shorts, placing them back into the drawers with ease like he’s lived in here with Eddie his entire life.
“Buck,” Eddie croaks when his friend gets out the vacuum. “Come sit down and watch the show with me.”
“I said I would take care of you.” He protests, holding the tangled chord limply and looks exactly like every one of Eddie’s most recent fever dreams.
“You can take care of me by watching House Hunters with me.”
“Fine, Eddie, but don’t call me tomorrow when your dorm is filled with ants because you don’t vacuum the rugs.”
“I do vacuum the rugs you asshole-”
“I have never seen you touch that vacuum cleaner.”
The bickering tapers off after Buck crawls under the covers. He’s sitting at the head of the bed, leaning against the wall with a pillow propped behind his back. Eddie moves slowly into the closer spot next to him, gaming to slouch against Buck for the comfort he knows comes with Buck’s arms around his own shoulders.
That’s exactly what happens. Buck must notice Eddie’s pathetic attempts and takes pity, reaching out to lay his arm around Eddie’s shoulders in a way that he can scratch his fingers through the short hairs of Eddie’s neck. It’s soothing, so fucking soothing that Eddie nearly bursts into tears at how much he missed Buck.
At some point Eddie falls asleep. He wakes up a few times to the laptop still playing House Hunters, Buck watching intently but never stopping his ministrations on Eddie’s head. One time he wakes up and Buck’s face is squished into the pillow right next to Eddie’s. He’s snoring softly and has one arm curled between them.
In the morning, Eddie will ask why Buck left, why Buck had shut Eddie out of his life so suddenly. He’ll ask Buck with heartbreak why it was so easy to walk away. He’ll apologize for calling Buck exhausting and Buck will apologize again and again and again for making mistakes.
The thing is, Buck makes tons of mistakes. He’s clumsy with life. The other part of that is Buck always admits when he’s wrong and asks to be better and is determined to fix it.
In the morning, they have to talk about it.
Though for now, Buck is here in the bed next to him, snuffling softly and looking sleep-ruffled.
Eddie takes his hand, scootches forward, and closes his eyes again.