Chapter Text
Buck woke himself up with a sneeze.
“HAH—HAH—HAITSHOO!”
The force of it jolted his entire body against the mattress.
Beside him, Eddie made a muffled noise into his pillow before another sneeze hit immediately after.
“AITCH! AITCH! Hahh… HE’TCHIEW!”
Buck groaned thickly and scrubbed at his dripping nose with the heel of his palm.
“Oh, wow,” he mumbled miserably.
Eddie cracked one eye open.
Morning light barely filtered through the curtains, pale and grey and far too early.
Buck was already sitting up beside him, hair sticking out everywhere, shoulders hunched forward while he sniffled wetly.
“You sick?” Eddie asked sleepily.
Buck answered by pitching forward into another fit.
“AITCH! AITCH! AITCH! AITCH! HAHHH—HE’TCHOOO!”
“Okay,” Eddie said immediately. “Yeah. That’s a yes.”
Buck blindly grabbed for tissues off the nightstand, nearly knocking over Eddie’s phone in the process. He caught it at the last second, muttered a congested apology, then blew his nose hard enough to echo through the room.
“Hhgod.”
Eddie pushed himself upright, still heavy with sleep.
“You okay?”
“M’fine.” Buck sniffled thickly. “Just allergies or something.”
“You say that every time.”
“Because sometimes it’s true.”
Another wet sniff. Then Buck’s expression crumpled with warning.
“Hihh… hihh—”
Eddie automatically reached over and shoved the tissue box closer.
“HE’ITCHOO! CHOO! CHOO!”
Buck slumped afterward with a pathetic little groan.
Eddie reached over to press the back of his hand to Buck’s forehead.
Maybe slightly warm, maybe not.
Hard to tell this early.
Before he could say anything, his phone buzzed in Buck’s lap.
Buck glanced at the screen first.
“Chris texted.”
Eddie held out a hand.
Buck passed him the phone before immediately snatching another tissue and blowing his nose again.
The message had come in at 12:07 a.m.
Chris: Sorry dad :( Think I caught whatever’s going around campus. Fever + gross cold. Probably shouldn’t come over tomorrow around Theo
Eddie stared at the text for a second.
“Well,” he said finally. “That’s not ideal.”
Buck leaned heavily against the headboard.
“Mmph?”
“No childcare.”
Buck blinked at him slowly through watery eyes.
“Oh.”
Another silence.
Theo was eight now and somehow had more energy than he had at three.
Leaving him home alone was impossible.
Bringing him to the station for a full shift wasn’t an option either, especially not while Eddie was buried in prep for his captain’s promotional exam tomorrow.
Buck sneezed again.
“AITCHOO!”
Then again, smaller this time.
“Chh! Chh!”
Eddie sighed.
Buck rubbed under his nose.
“I cad stay hobe.”
“You’re sick.”
“Not sick sick.”
That was unfortunately true.
Buck looked rough around the edges, but functional.
Barely.
The kind of beginning-stage cold where the sneezing came first before the exhaustion and fever really settled in.
Eddie hated the timing.
Buck squinted at him.
“You need the study time more.”
Eddie opened his mouth to argue automatically, but Buck beat him to it.
“Eddie. Seriously.”
Another sniffle. Buck dragged a tissue beneath his streaming nose again.
“I’ll survive one shift at home with Theo.”
“Ok,” Eddie finally nods.
He doesn’t like it but they don’t really have any better options.
“I’m making you breakfast and tea.”
Buck smiles then sniffles, “Thank you.”
The kitchen smelled faintly like coffee and toasted bread by the time Eddie remembered the tea.
Eddie filled the kettle automatically and set it on the stove.
Tea.
Right.
He was making tea.
Then his phone buzzed.
Chimney had apparently sent over another packet of practice materials with highlighted notes and voice memos attached. Eddie opened one message.
Then another.
By the time Buck wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, dragging his feet slightly, edging Theo along in front of him.
“HE’TCHIIEEWWW!”
Eddie looked up from his phone with guilt.
Buck sniffled wetly. “You forgot the tea.”
“I—shit.”
Buck laughed softly despite himself before dissolving into another fit.
“AITCH! AITCH! AITCH! HAHHH—HE’TCHOO!”
Theo winced dramatically.
“Daddy, that one was loud.”
“Sorry.”
Buck grabbed a handful of tissues from the counter and blew his nose again, exhausted already.
Eddie reached for him automatically, settling a hand at the back of his neck.
Buck leaned into it for half a second before straightening.
“You’re gonna be late.”
“I can still make it.”
“I’m okay.”
The sniffly congestion in Buck’s voice made the statement significantly less convincing.
Eddie studied him carefully.
“You sure?”
Buck nodded.
“Go be smart and pass your test.”
“You know it’s not today.”
“I know,” Buck said dryly. “I’m sick, not stupid.”
Theo snorted into his toast.
Eddie rolled his eyes fondly and leaned down to kiss Buck quickly.
Buck smelled faintly like Vicks already.
“You call if you get worse.”
“Mhm.”
“And eat something.”
Buck made a face.
“Buck.”
“I’ll try.”
Eddie narrowed his eyes because that answer was suspiciously noncommittal, but another notification buzzed across his screen and Theo was suddenly shouting about not needing his toast cut in triangles not rectangles.
Chaos resumed.
By the time Eddie finally left, Buck was standing in the doorway with a tissue pressed under his nose and Theo hanging off his side.
Buck lifted one hand lazily.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“AITCHOO!”
Eddie grimaced sympathetically as the door shut behind him.
The first hour after Eddie left actually went surprisingly well.
Buck got Theo dressed.
Theo only climbed the counter once.
Breakfast dishes got cleaned.
Buck managed to start laundry.
Then the sneezing escalated.
“Hihh… hihh… AITCH! AITCH! AITCHOO!”
Buck barely got the last tissue up in time.
Theo looked up from the living room floor where he was building something elaborate and dangerous-looking out of magnetic tiles.
“You okay?”
“Yep.”
Buck’s nose absolutely would not stop running. He blew it again, wincing at the rawness already building around his nostrils.
Definitely a cold.
And definitely getting worse.
Not awful yet though.
Manageable.
He could manage.
“Can we go outside?” Theo asked.
Buck stared at him.
Outside.
In summer.
With an oncoming fever and legs that already felt weirdly heavy.
Theo widened his eyes hopefully.
Buck lost instantly.
“Yeah, okay.”
Two hours later Buck deeply regretted every life decision that had brought him here.
Theo was racing through the backyard with a soccer ball while Buck sat slumped in a lawn chair wearing sunglasses despite the overcast sky because his head hurt.
“AITCHOO! HAH—HE’TCHOO!”
He sneezed directly into a fistful of tissues before groaning.
Everything ached now.
Not badly.
Just enough to be irritating.
Theo sprinted past him.
“Watch this!”
Buck barely had time to look up before Theo attempted some kind of spinning kick maneuver, immediately lost his balance, and crashed sideways into the grass.
Buck lurched upright instantly.
“You okay?”
Theo popped back up.
“I’m fine!”
Buck relaxed back into the chair just in time for another sneezing fit to hit.
“AITCH! AITCH! AITCH! AITCH!”
“Whoa.”
Buck sniffled miserably.
“Yeah.”
His phone buzzed.
For one hopeful second he thought maybe Eddie was checking in.
Instead it was a calendar reminder about grocery pickup.
Buck stared at it blankly.
Right.
Groceries.
He almost canceled.
Then remembered Theo would absolutely eat them out of bread by tomorrow morning if he didn’t restock.
Besides, the order had pantry staples he would need to make the soup he wanted to drop off to Chris since Chris wasn’t feeling well.
So, groceries too.
Fantastic.