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Buck’s stomach hurts. He’d be pretty sure it is food poisoning if it wasn’t for the fact that he, Tommy, Eddie, and Chris all ate the same thing last night, and he seems to be the only one suffering.
It's so bad that he has to call in for the first time in ages, and he’s not sure he left the bathroom all day.
“Baby?” He closes his eyes with a groan. Tommy’s home, and he absolutely cannot see him like this. “You alright? Where are you?”
“Go away,” Buck groans again as Tommy lightly pushes open the bathroom door. “You don’t need to see me like this. It’s not sexy.”
“Hey, in sickness and in health, remember?” Tommy asks quietly, which Buck is thankful for because his head is pounding. He lets out something he’d vehemently deny was a whimper and puts his head down against the cool porcelain of the toilet. “Sweetheart, have you left the bathroom today?”
“No,” Buck mumbles. “No, I haven’t. The Thai food from last night hates me.”
Tommy hums, already used to how dramatic his husband can get, running his hand through Buck’s sweaty curls.
“Are Eddie and Chris sick too?”
“No,” Buck groans, pressing his head closer to Tommy’s touch. “No. That’s why it hates me. I’m the only one with food poisoning.”
Tommy hums again, and the gentle motion of his fingers gently soothes Buck into sleepiness.
“Alright, baby,” Tommy whispers. “Up you go. Let me get you into bed.”
“Wait, I gotta brush my teeth,” Buck whines, as Tommy reaches for him.
“Do it in the morning baby, lets get you laid down.”
Buck doesn’t have the energy to argue with him and Tommy gets him up and lying on his back in their bed. Buck even manages to get a few kisses from his husband before Tommy’s laughing and pushing him back down.
“Go to sleep, baby,”
Buck does.
______
Tommy wakes up too hot. His shirt is wet and sticking to him and he’s not entirely sure why.
He’s also not sure if this was what had waken him. He blinks groggily in the night light illuminating their bedroom and suddenly hears what had awoken him.
A groan of pain. Evan.
“Evan, Evan, sweetheart?” Tommy asks, his hand finding Evan’s forehead to find him burning up. “Jesus Christ, Evan! Wake up, you’re burning up.”
Evan weakly stirs, blinking up at him blearily before abruptly turning to his side and vomiting. A coppery smell reaches Tommy’s nostrils, and Tommy realizes that this is more than just good poisoning, this is bad.
_____
Don’t ask Tommy how he managed to get Evan to the hospital and call the 118, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t remember it. The only thing he can think of is the day he realized he was going to ask Evan to marry him.
Evan had been eagerly telling him the Greek love story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Tommy just hadn’t gotten the appeal.
“I just don’t think I’d take the risk of dooming us to an eternity in hell,” Tommy had laughed, putting down his newspaper to give Evan his full undivided attention.
“That’s the thing though,” Evan said, looking at him all soft and as if Tommy had hung the moon. “About Orpheus and Eurydice. He was never going to make it. He loved her. Hades himself wouldn’t have even made it. I wouldn’t have made it either if I were with you.”
Tommy had frowned at Evan, the thought was not pleasant.
“So you would doom us to an eternity of hell?”
“It’s not like that,” Evan said, taking his hand, with a light chuckle. “It’s like you’re in the wrong part of town, the scary, unsafe part, and you’re behind me. I’m checking behind me to see if you’re okay if you’re safe. Even if I know you can take care of yourself. I don’t want to lose you. You’re everything.”
And suddenly, losing the ability to breathe, Tommy understood what this was. This was love.
_______
This was simply appendicitis. People didn’t normally die from appendicitis. But Evan isn’t normal, and he isn’t everyone. He’s Tommy’s husband, and Tommy’s brain is going off in a hundred different ways about how all of this could go wrong.
He can’t live without Evan. He doesn’t want to live without Evan. Evan is it for him, has been for a while. There will never be a happily ever after after Evan, not for Tommy. Tommy wouldn’t get a do-over. Tommy doesn’t want a do-over.
“He’s going to be fine,” Eddie says, sensing Tommy’s spiral. “It’s Buck. The kid has 9 lives.” He has no idea when Eddie got here and he says as much. “I got here a few seconds ago. Had to drop Chris at Pepa’s. Seriously, don’t worry so much. Like I said, the kid’s got 9 lives.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Tommy croaks out, hoarse. “What if he’s used them all up?”
“Buck?” Eddie asks, studying Tommy with a soft look. “No. He’d never use them all up. Buck would fight death if it meant coming back to you, to us. He’ll be okay.”
Tommy realized the truth in Eddie’s words, Evan would fight death with his bare hands if it meant not leaving his family behind, just like Orpheus did with Eurydice, and Tommy doesn’t think he could understand that story more.
“But-”
“But nothing,” Eddie says. “He’s okay. You got him here in time, it’s just appendicitis. You’ll see him in a few hours, all doped up on painkillers and anesthesia, talking about how much he loves you. You’ll see. He’s fine.”
And Tommy did see. After two hours of feeling like he couldn’t breathe, Eddie was right.
“Baby,” Evan coos, the moment he sees him, all dopey smiles and dimples. “God, you’re so hot, I love you so much.”
‘I love you too, Evan,” Tommy says, taking his hand. “God, I’m glad you’re okay. You had me so worried.”
“I’ll always come back to you,” Evan giggles slightly. And Tommy now knows that that was true.