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Eddie clicked pause on Lord of the Rings as a sleeping Steve shifted against his chest. The man had fallen asleep somewhere in the halfway point of the movie, and still felt uncomfortably warm against Eddie’s bare chest.
Steve’s cold had started with staccato sniffles that had grown into deep congestion and fever; the congestion had passed, but the fever refused to budge. It’d been four days and Eddie had done everything from medicine to tepid baths, but the fever seemed to hang on Steve like a second skin. It made Eddie bite his lip in worry.
“Hey sleepyhead." Eddie stroked Steve’s sweaty hair. “Sleep okay?”
Steve shifted and stretched, pressing harder against Eddie as he arched to stretch his back. “Mm, hi. How long was I out?”
“Couple hours,” Eddie replied, reaching for the thermometer on the nightstand. “Feeling okay?”
“Still achy,” Steve sighed. “Like my body is made of lead.” He curled tighter against Eddie.
“We’ll have you better in no time.” Eddie held the thermometer. “Here, open up?”
Steve did and they waited together, watching the numbers climb.
“102.4,” Eddie read with a long sigh after the device beeped. This fever was putting up a fight. “You want to try some water?” Eddie asked, nodding towards the untouched glass on the nightstand.
Steve nodded slowly and pushed himself to sit up. He stifled a yawn against his hands. “Feel like I could sleep all day.”
“If sleep helps, I’m not going to argue,” Eddie replied, holding the cup in place and glad when Steve finished half the water in small sips. “We’ve maxed you out on fever meds, but we could start a bath later?”
“No more baths,” Steve sighed heavily. He made himself comfortable against Eddie again. “I feel like I’ve spent most of the week in that tub.”
Eddie frowned, twirling a finger around a strand of Steve’s hair. “I don’t like that your fever hasn’t budged at all,” he sighed. “It’s been a few days.”
Steve was already closing his eyes. “Mm, always get fevers like this. They last forever,” he sighed. “Worried my mom, too, but sleep always helped.”
Eddie paused at the mention of Steve’s mom; he hardly brought up his parents and never so casually. He thought of a younger Steve, sick like this. “She was right to worry; I’ve never seen a more stubborn fever.”
Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie and cuddled closer, pressing his sticky forehead against Eddie’s shoulder. “Thanks for stayin’ close,'' Steve mumbled. “The company helps.”
Eddie’s brow crinkled in thought. Had Steve just been left on his own to sleep off his fevers? And if this was a common occurrence, had no one sat with him to make sure he was okay? The thoughts threatened tears to brim, unshed, at the corners of his eyes.
“M’not going anywhere,” Eddie replied, stroking Steve’s shoulder. “But we’re sticking you back in the bath if that fever gets any higher, okay?”
Steve gave a half-asleep smile. “Deal.”