Work Text:
Eddie sneezed again into another tissue and he blew his nose.
“You look and sound pretty awful,” Steve grimaced, taking in Eddie’s irritated, red nose and the way he sniffled pathetically. Eddie had resisted the idea that he was getting sick at the beginning of that week, but once the coughing and runny nose started, Steve had stocked up on tissues and cold medicine.
“It’s just the end of the semester,” Eddie said wearily. “Something always goes around.”
Steve raised his eyebrows. “And what happened to your phenomenal immune system?”
It was no secret that Eddie almost never got sick, while Steve on the other hand, had gotten sick enough times for the both of them.
Eddie responded with another sneeze and sniffle. “S’the first cold I’ve had all year,” he defended, voice thick with congestion. He paused to sneeze again and Steve winced sympathetically.
“You want to try that Sudafed stuff?”
Eddie wrinkled his nose. “No medicine, at least for now.”
“I can make some chili or soup for dinner,” Steve offered. Chili was one of Eddie’s favorites.
Eddie met his eyes and Steve could see the way they looked at him with sudden excitement.
“No,” Steve quickly rejected. “No, I know that face. No.”
Eddie grinned wickedly. “Do we still have more of that spicy ramen? That’ll be the perfect thing to knock out this annoying congestion.”
“Eds, I don't like the idea of you burning your mouth off just to feel a little better.”
“It’ll be worth it.” Eddie rose to start searching all the kitchen cabinets. “I think we’ve got one of the spicy spicy ones left around here somewhere.”
“You can barely handle Sriracha,” Steve reminded him.
Eddie didn’t respond, but continued searching the cabinets, reaching behind boxes of cereal and saved take out containers. Finally, he held up a crinkly packet of ramen in victory.
“Found it!”
Eddie boiled an egg first, and then chopped a small pile of scallions before cooking the noodles. When he dumped the spices in, Steve watched in muted horror as the broth cooked to a searing, angry red. The color alone put Eddie’s irritated nose to shame and the smell of it made Steve sweat with heat. The bowl of noodles looked delicious, but dangerous.
“Here goes nothing,” Eddie said and started eating. Pearls of sweat beaded on Eddie’s nose and upper lip in a few bites, and in another few, he panted between slurped bites and sips of broth. His nose ran unforgivingly and Eddie grabbed for tissue after tissue, but to no avail. By the end of it, Eddie’s lips were stained red and was a nose-drippy, soup-brothy mess.
Steve slid him a pile of napkins. “For your dignity,” he pressed.
But despite the white mountain of tissues next to him, Eddie pulled in a long, satisfying breath through his clear nose with a smile.
“See?” Eddie sucked in another breath and went to get a glass of milk. “Instant cure.”
Steve just rolled his eyes.