A/N
Bedside Vigil
Ironstrange prompt #4, Thursday.
Wrote this relatively fast and accidentally posted it once. :)
Enjoy.
Summary: Stephen gets the flu.
Yeah.
Stephen had started feeling a bit off around the end of Thursday. His throat was itchy and he had to clear his throat a few times. Being the ignorant man he was, he brushed it off as nothing and continued working in the sanctum.
However, when he woke up the next morning, he found he couldn't move without feeling nauseous, and his whole body burned. He groaned softly, throat dry and soul thirsty for just some fucking water.
"Tony," He croaks out, wincing as his brain tilts and his sight flicks.
A soft "hm?" And the shifting of covers were his response.
Taking a deep breath, he tries again. "Tony," He croaks louder.
"Whad'd'you want, Steph?" He grumbles, rolling over and opening bleary eyes at him.
"I have the flu," he gets out. When did it get so cold in here. He starts shivering, headache feeling like it's crushing his skull.
"Oh," Tony says, blinking slowly. It took a moment to process before he realized. "Uhh do you need anything?" He asks tentatively, shoulders hunched up.
"Water. Ibuprofen. More water."
"Of course, babe. Just give me a minute, alright?" He murmurs, stroking Stephen's forehead gently, frowning a little at the heat.
A very, very slight nod was his only response. Tony gently eased himself out of bed, trying not to jostle the other man, and then set out for the sacred items.
Stephen was burning up again by the time Tony came back, whining softly at the splitting headache. His body was on fucking fire and if something didn't change soon he was gonna… gonna.. probably.. pass out. Yeah.
Tony sat beside him and gently gave him the water, which he drank at hungrily, desperate to alleviate the pain in his throat.
"Slow down or you'll puke it up," He mutters, setting it aside and feeding Stephen the pills before returning the water.
Soon, Stephen was back under the covers, snoring loudly since his nose was blocked up.
Tony leaned down and kissed his cheek gently before getting under the covers and falling back to sleep.
___
The next two days were really spent in a blur, most of it in his bed sleeping or fighting off the damned headache. His fever finally broke Saturday night.
He continued to drink a ton of water. The headache eventually went away too, which Stephen was most thankful for. He also missed his sanctum duties, and Wong wouldn't let Tony check any books out for him. Either to keep them away from Stephen or from Tony. He'd bet on the former since Wong has a protective streak a mile wide.
Currently, he was curled against Tony, eyes barely focused while watching the TV. Tony was holding his hand and rubbing his knuckles. He smiled happily. They were both home, truly a rarity. He missed this.
It was another day before Stephen was deemed well enough to go back to the sanctum, and even then they barely let him do anything. He pretended to be angry, but in reality he was exhausted anyway and just did what they asked.
It was another two days before he truly felt fine, and when Tony finally slept against him again and shared his food. Stephen picked fun at him but didn't blame him.
He made sure to emphasize how much he loved the man when no one else was awake.
Within two weeks, life was back to normal, him having the flu was already a forgotten event. What was happening now seemed more important.
And, I suppose, things have to get worse before they get better. There just might be several of these before it truly gets better.
