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Slider was deeply shocked.
In the many years he had known Ice, he had never seen him like that before.
Panicking and on the edge of a crying fit.
But the situation, according to Slider, was bad enough.
Ice was sitting on the couch, rocking back and forth. A hysteric Maverick was curled up in his arms.
"Ice, what's wrong?" Teary blue eyes looked up at him, "I can't make him stop crying. He's sick and burning up, but I can't calm him down".
Slider furrowed his brows; usually, Ice could calm Mav down no matter how poorly he felt.
Then he noticed how worn out Ice looked and how pale he was.
Bending down, he gently kissed Ice's forehead, eyes widening at the heat meeting his lips.
"Tom, you're burning up!" "Am not", protested weakly the shorter man, eyes stubbornly fixed on Mav's, red flushed face.
"Tommy, give me Mav and relax. Take a nap" whispered Ron, bending down once more to pick the crying boy.
Maverick was worryingly warm, body shaking in Ron's strong arms. He also smelled rather badly, bad enough to make Ron wrinkle his nose in displeasure.
"Alright, I'm gonna get him cleaned up, then I'll put both of you in bed" decided the man, already starting to walk upstairs and ignoring Ice's weak protests.
He changed the black haired boy in the quickest time possible, afraid that he was going to have another diarrhea burst while undiapered, shushing him and trying to calm him down.
Eventually, Mav was too worn out to even cry anymore, face completely red and body shivering and spasming from the strong hiccups.
"Let's see how Tommy is doing, mh?" He kissed the other's clammy forehead as he walked to the Ice's and Mav's bedroom, knowing that Mav hated sleeping in his crib, especially when sick.
He tucked Mav in bed, right in the middle, pushing his pacifier in his mouth, before running downstairs.
Ice was curled up on the couch, eyes screwed shut and body shivering.
Slider cooed in sympathy as he got closer to him, bending down to grab him.
Ice gasped lightly, eyes opening, before closing lightly, "Ronny, I'm cold" he whispered, almost whined, surprising Slider.
The blond must have felt really bad if he let his best friend see him like that; even more if he let him cuddle him.
"You're alright, Tommy, I've got you" he let the blond curl up in his arms, walking upstairs with him securely in his arms, before laying him down next to Maverick, who was already fast asleep.
Running to the bathroom, he grabbed two wash clothes, quickly wetting them with cold water, going back to the bedroom and putting one on Mav's forehead and the other on Ice's.
Then, he undressed them till they were in their underwear -and diaper-, before tucking the covers only halfway, in order for them to not be too hot nor too cold.
Ice whined, twisting around with an unpleasant sigh and Slider sneakered, "Tommy, should I put you in a diaper too?" And laughed harder when Ice scowled through half closed eyes.
"I'm gonna piss the bed so you're forced to clean it up," he sighed with his eyes closed and his arms wrapping around Mav's shivering body.
He was out in a second.
Slider was as efficient in the kitchen as he was in the backseat of the jet he shared with Iceman.
He made chicken soup and warm milk for the two sick men and he quickly made his way upstairs, holding a tray.
He had put Mav's soup into a small plastic bowl, along with a small colourful plastic spoon. The warm milk was put into the bigger baby bottle, deciding to skip the small sippy cup.
He quietly entered the bedroom and smiled brightly at the sight; Mav was asleep and drooling over Ice's chest, his hair sweaty and matted to his forehead.
Ice was asleep too, hair ruffled, making him look like a ruffled chicken. His face was flushed by the fever and dripping in sweat, yet his body was trembling with shivers.
"Wakey wakey, Tommy!" Slider set the tray on the bedside table, sitting on the bed next to Ice, hand gently caressing his head.
Glassy blue eyes opened wearily, "I don't feel good?" he whispered, sounding more like a question than an answer.
Slider smiled, "Shhhh, you've got a fever. I've brought soup."
Ice nodded, wincing as he sat up. He looked adorable, hair ruffled and falling on his forehead, face flushed and sad puppy eyes.
The older man gently woke Mav up, careful to not spook him, but he was too little and too out of it to even try to understand what was going on.
Understanding that Mav was too little to eat on his own, Slider opted for spoon feeding him, noticing how compliant with everyone he was. His eyes were half lidded and body slumped.
He was getting grumpier, unhappy whines escaping his throat as his head throbbed in pain.
"Alright, you can lay down again" without waiting for an answer that wasn't probably coming in the first place, Slider laid him down in bed, quickly pushing the rubber teat of the baby bottle in his mouth.
Maverick started suckling on autopilot, his eyes falling shut as the warm milk, sweetened by honey, trickled down his sore throat.
"I put some medicine in the milk and covered the taste with the honey" Ice was looking at him with an incredulous look, knowing that adult Maverick hated meds; little Maverick was even worse, refusing to even swallow it down and making himself gag at the mere taste of it.
Once, Ice had to give him an antibiotic, and after many spitted pills, had to give them in the form of a suppository.
"He's really sick if he isn't noticing the taste", commented Ice in a weak voice. He himself was growing weaker by the moment as he sipped quietly on his soup.
Slider gently nudged the baby bottle, now empty, out of his mouth, smiling warmly at the sleeping little boy.
He quickly replaced the now dry cloth, checking his diaper one more time, before carefully rubbing his chest; his breath sounded stuffy, he was sure that he also had a cold, along with his fever.
Now that the little was asleep, Slider turned his attention towards Ice, who looked seconds to pass out.
He chuckled, grabbing the empty bowl and setting it on the bedside table to be dealt with later, before pushing Ice down till he was laying down.
He got behind him, underneath the extremely warm cover and spooned Ice from behind.
The blond weakly grabbed Mav, pushing him against his chest, so he was spooning him too.
"Sleep well, Tommy. I've got you. You're safe"
Ice yawned, cuddling back and falling into a deep slumber.
Slider smiled, kissing the top of his head, letting himself fall asleep too.