#today i woke up snf i was like

[bastardraccooon]

how many little things had to go a certain way for a big thing to happen?

[twisted-sickfics]

Hell is Forever (But Thankfully Colds Aren’t)

thank you sm to anon who requested sick sneezy adam, i absolutely loved humbling this little asshole <3 love this guy and i hope you guys enjoy me torturing him

~

“Ugh, kill me now,” Adam groans for the umpteenth time that day. “I thought this was supposed to be heaven. Why are there still fucking colds in heaven?! hhuh… hh’TSHOO!”

“It’s by design,” Lute says, completely unfazed by the fact that Adam seems to refuse to cover a single sneeze. “If Angels were immune to illness or injury, that would take away our sense of purpose and self-preservation. Plus, it teaches us humility, something you desperately need.”

“Great,” Adam says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “I bet it was that stupid princess and her spooky gremlin girlfriend that did this to me. *snff*”

“Through the hologram?” Lute asks, unimpressed.

“Through the fucking hologram!” he bemoans. “Hell and their crazy, weird-ass germs. I’m gonna exterminate the fuck outta those sinners when I get down thehh… hhH’HASSHOO!“

“Bless you,” Lute says. “What is that, the tenth time today?” It’s a joke intended to ruffle his feathers a bit, and it seems to accomplish just that.

“Oh, shut up,” Adam says, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose loudly. He attempts to throw it like a basketball into the nearest trash can and misses. “I’m gonna kill whoever gave me this fucking cold. I feel like shit. How do I know if it’s the flu or just a cold again? Or is it something worse and I’m finally gonna kick the bucket?”

“You’re not dying,” Lute says, thoroughly exasperated. “You just have a cold and it’ll get better in a few days. The best thing to do is rest so you don’t make it worse. If you keep talking so much, you’ll hurt your throat.”

“Oh yeah? Says who?” Adam asks boisterously, though he immediately falls into a harsh coughing fit right after. “Lute—” he says between coughs, "I’m dying—”

Lute looks at her commander and briefly wonders about how difficult it would be to ascend to power. No, she decides, not today. She moves over to Adam’s side and pats his back in the least awkward way possible (for her). “Just breathe,” she says as gently as her voice allows. “It’ll pass.”

And it does. Adam catches his breath soon after and tries to brush it off as though nothing just happened and he didn’t just see the gates of heaven, well, outside of his day job.

“You’ve only been given a couple of days to rest,” Lute reminds him, not wanting to fall behind on important business. Heaven is very demanding, even for its higher-ups. “Think you’ll be fine by then?”

“No,” Adam says, and it’s starting to sound like he’s being genuine. Maybe. “Can’t imagine I can shake this in two days. I’m really getting my ass kicked here.” He blows his nose again, an unsettling gurgling sound.

Lute can’t believe this is her life. Yes, she is Adam’s lieutenant, but surely this is above her pay grade? Still, something inside her stirs and she can’t just leave him alone when he’s this miserable, can she?

Adam started feeling a little off the day prior, but he chalked it up to getting less sleep than usual. It was only when he woke up today that he realized just how fucked he was. He called Lute immediately, saying that he needed her for something very important. Apparently the “very important” thing is waiting on Adam hand and foot while he complains and throws tissues outside of the trash can.

“I might be able to get you a third day off if you really need it,” Lute says and she doesn’t miss the way Adam’s eyes light up in a way they haven’t all day. It would almost be cute if it wasn’t so pathetic. “But only if you’re not feeling better by tomorrow. I can’t having you shrugging off work when we have another extermination coming up.”

“Sounds goohh…good *snf* Hang on, I’m gonna…gonna snee— hH’ESCHIEW! hhH’ETCHHIU!“

“Bless you—”

“HH’ATSHHiew!”

“Bless you—”

“hH’ESCHHIU!”

It’s getting annoying at this point. Adam sneezes again and rubs his nose with his sleeve, which Lute winces at because of how much his nose was dripping just moments ago. She’ll have to clean that later, won’t she?

So far, Adam has asked for cough drops, a new box of tissues, a heating pad, the temperature to be turned down, more blankets, less blankets, more pillows, and a cup of tea. None of these things he attempted to get himself nor did he ask for any of them at the same time. It’s been a tough day for both of them.

“What, you’re not going to bless me?” Adam asks, pushing her buttons. He sniffles and Lute doesn’t know how much longer she can go hearing his sneezing, coughing, and sniffling. Not to mention his incessant talking that seems to stem from a place of boredom.

Being one of the only people Adam trusts enough to let into his circle (genuinely, and not just to use them for one of his whims) has its perks and its downsides. This is definitely one of the downsides.

But honestly…it’s not that bad. Lute has taken care of whinier people at some point in all of her years of existence, and this doesn’t even come close to that. It’s annoying, but it’s just Adam. Adam may be annoying, but he’s safe.

And if she were in his position, she would want to be taken care of and doted on too. She can’t really blame him, especially when he’s feeling as awful as she knows he is. His throat sounds better than it did earlier that morning, but he’s much more congested and lethargic. What he really needs is some rest, so what Adam doesn’t know is that there may or may not be a light sleep aid in his tea. She thought it would have kicked in by now.

Lute glares at him in response, and Adam laughs which just leads to more coughing. “Watch this be allergies,” he half-says, half-wheezes before he catches his breath.

“I don’t think it is, sweetheart,” Lute says coldly. She knows Adam isn’t allergic to anything other than fragrances and last time she checked, she’s not wearing any. There’s no way it’s anything but a nasty cold. He didn’t have a fever the last time she checked, and he doesn’t feel excessively warm when she leaves her hand on his back for a second longer to check his temperature.

There’s now a slight heaviness to his eyelids that he didn’t quite notice before. It’s making him feel out of it. “You really think those demon fuckers got one of our own?” he asks, suddenly quite serious. “That means any of one us…”

The suddenness of the question catches Lute off-guard. “Cease that line of thinking,” she demands. “All of us will be fine. It’s unfortunate that one of our own fell, but that will be the last angel they ever harm. Once we get down there on Extermination Day, we’ll—”

“hhH’ESSHHIU!”

“Never mind,” Lute sighs. “Just focus on recovering and then we can talk strategy later. Need anything from me right now? I can go get you some more tea if you need it.” It’s an offer she expects him to take her up on in a matter of seconds, but he’s oddly silent for a moment after she asks.

“Nah,” he eventually decides, “‘m fine like this. Just…hang around for a little while longer, yeah?” It’s the biggest show of vulnerability Adam is willing to display. Actually asking for help? For someone to stick by him in his rare moment of weakness? It’s almost unheard of.

But not impossible, evidently.

And who is Lute to ignore a direct request from her commander? It’s definitely not because she wants to stick around and make sure he’s alright. And it’s certainly not because she’s genuinely rly worried about him. Definitely not.

“Sure,” she agrees. “I suppose I have some free time.” Her entire schedule has been cleared just to look after Adam, but whether or not he knows that is debatable. “Sneeze on me and I’ll kill you,” she warns.

“You really think I’d do thahht… HH’ETTSHIEW!”

Thankfully, Lute has the foresight to quickly grab a tissue and cover his sneeze. “Bless you,” she says. “And stop spreading your germs everywhere. You don’t want to get anyone else sick, do you?”

“Ub, I do’t really care,” Adam says, taking the tissue from Lute’s hand and blowing his nose for what is starting to feel like the millionth time that day. “I just want this fucking cold to be finished with me and move on to the next guy.”

‘The next guy’ will probably be Lute at this rate, with the way he’s sneezed on practically every surface of this room by now. A small part of her doesn’t want to blame him because he genuinely seems to have no clue what he’s doing when it comes to just…being sick. But that’s only a small part of her.

“Why am I so tired?” Adam asks, yawning loudly. His eyes start to droop shut, but he manages to keep himself awake for now. He rolls over in bed and sniffles.

“Who knows?” Lute knows. “It’s probably just the cold making you tired. It’s good to get some rest, anyway. Have you actually slept at all?” Knowing Adam, the answer is probably “no.” The lack of a sense of self-preservation is astonishing.

As expected, he shakes his head. “I just can’t sleep when my nose is all clogged, y’know? It’s a little better today though, so I might actually be able to sleep tonight.”

Good boy, she thinks. Go to sleep and stop being my problem. Instead, what she says is, “I think it’ll do you some good to try and rest. You sound terrible.”

“I sound perfectly fine,” Adam insists, though the congested sniffle he gives immediately afterwards doesn’t exactly lend itself to his point. “Just tryin’ to…sleep…”

He’s slowly starting to doze off. Lute keeps herself still, trying not to startle him so he’ll actually fall asleep. It seems to work because she can hear his congested snores in a matter of minutes.

Great, her shift is over. For now. But…why does she feel kind of bad? It’s not like Adam’s never been sick before, but getting sick right after announcing an extermination in sixth months is unfortunate timing. Plus, he does seem really sick. No healthy person would sneeze that much.

“Sleep well,” she says softly, making sure Adam is really asleep before turning off the lights and leaving the room.

He’ll be fine, but a part of her is worried about what’s to come.

[wetsnifflesneeze]

Carolina and Alison (Cold) (Sneezefic) (Part 2) (F/F)

Continuing with these 2 cuties because there are simply not enough w/w f/f posts 😡 There's some mild hurt/comfort/trauma here in this part. It's mild.

Carolina woke up and glanced over at her girlfriend. She was so happy to wake up in her bed, as always, especially when she felt like Alison needed her. Which today and last night she definitely did. When Alison woke up with her nose too congested to fall back asleep she was there with tissues, she was there with some honey and soothing lozenges for her throat and of course kisses, lots of kisses. She rubbed Alison's back whenever she coughed softly into her pillow or Carolina's shoulder.

As she looked over at Alison she couldn't help but to notice how pale she looked. She looked beautiful but at the same time she did look sick. Carolina gently placed her palm on her girlfriend's forehead to check for a fever. She could tell straight away, no need for a thermometer. "Oh poor baby" she murmured softly.

"Hey baby, good morning" Carolina said sweetly as she stroked Alison's face and gave her a gentle kiss"

"Hey.." Alison replied weakly after making a little moaning noise. She just looked at Carolina with a pained expression on her face and sniffled.

Carolina looked into her poor girl's eyes, she could see them all glossy and her pupils dilated from the fever she had. "You don't feel good today at all, do you?" She asked sympathetically.

"Cari... I feel so much worse than yesterday" Alison's voice broke and she started to cry.

"Shhhh it's okay baby, c'mere, shhh I know you're scared angel... hey it's okay.."

Carolina was right. Alison was scared. She wasn't crying her eyes out just because of her fever, there was something else. She knew her girlfriend pretty well and she happened to know that Alison had health anxiety. As a child, she had severe pneumonia, due to her parents carelessness more than anything else... which greatly upset Carolina to find out. In her mind Alison is an angel who deserved better and she is going to give her better. Holding her closely as she sobbed into her chest, still scared and traumatized after those weeks in the hospital and the physical and emotional pain of it.

"I'm here sweetheart" Carolina cooed. "Not gonna let anything bad happen to you okay? I'm not your parents, you know that."

Alison cried until she ran out of breath and started to cough. Carolina gently rubbed her back and kissed her head. Carolina gently rocked her as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "You're okay honey, I just need you to take some medicine for this fever you have and you'll feel so much better."

"Okay *SNNNFF* ugh I'mb sorry, I got your t-shirt all wet"

"Baby don't apologize for crying, ever okay"

" 'kay *SNFFF* Cari? ...HhuhTSSSCHIEEW"

"Bless you. Yes, my love?"

"Could you pass me sombe tissues?"

"Oh of course, sorry I should've thought of that."

"It's okay *SNF* I just... I feel so weak I don't wanna move, I don't even know if I could"

"You don't have to move at all my love, that's why I'm here. Thank you for telling me what you need." Caroline gave her a kiss. "Here, let me.." She gently wiped Alison's tear streaked face and then held some tissues to her nose "Now, blow your nose. That's it, good girl. Okay, now it's time for medicine." Carolina passed her a couple pills and then also held a spoon of liquid to her mouth.

Alison suddenly shivered. "Aww poor thing, you're shaking" Carolina wrapped her arms around her once again and held her close. "Here I'll get you warmed up" she kissed Alison's warm forehead.

"HEIIISSSSHHIEW ugh sorry *Snffl*" Alison raised a hand to cover her mouth slightly as she sneezed into Carolina's chest.

"Bless you, Ali. Don't apologize sweetie. You can sneeze on me all day, I don't mind."

"I could get you sick though"

"I don't care about that" to prove her point she placed her hand under Alison's chin to gently tilt her head up for a soft kiss on the lips. After a few seconds Alison sniffled and broke away before sneezing into the other girls shoulder "ATiiiisSHHIEW"

"Bless you, I'm so sorry you feel like shit but I think you're adorable."

"Okay, you must really love me" Alison chuckled.

"Oh, I do. Like you have no idea." Carolina said as she wiped a little bit of snot trailing from Alison's nose. "I know you're probably exhausted since you didn't sleep very well last night so come lay down on me and fall back asleep"

"Yeah, okay, *snf* that sounds ndice HETsSSHIIIEEW" this time she sneezed uncovered into her girlfriends chest.

"HeEiiSSHIIEW ATiIISHHIEW EEIIIISHHIIEW guh”

"Oh bless you, my sneezy baby"

"Sombtimes I sneeze a lot when I'mb sick..kinda embarrassing *SNNFF*"

"Well I think your sneezes are cute so lucky me"

Alison smiled and cuddled closer to Carolina "you make me feel so loved, thanks for taking care of me"

"hhhKTSSSSTHIEW"

"Bless you, gorgeous." Carolina held her and played with her hair until she fell back asleep.

~Thanks for reading

~ I love these 2 so much 🥰🥺

[kpopsickies]

Because I Care

Sickie: Vernon

Caretaker: Seungkwan 

{thanks to my lovely editior, you know who you are (= }

~appx 2020~ 

Seungkwan p.o.v

I had noticed that Vernon had seemed off all day. And if I didn't know any better I'd think he was avoiding me. This morning when I woke up he was already out of our room. Which never happens. During schedules he was quiet, even more so than usual, and he was often unseen when we weren't filming. And after filming when I asked him if he wanted to go out to eat with me, he quickly turned me down and left the room without even looking back at me. I began thinking about what I could have possibly done that made him this mad at me. 

That night when the group got back to the dorms I quickly followed Vernon, he went straight to the bathroom. I stood outside the door waiting for him to come out. That was when I heard something coming from the bathroom. I pressed my ear to the door and realized the sound was sneezing. I grew concerned. I knew Vernon had allergies because he'd mentioned it one time, but I didn't think it'd be this bad. He sounded like he was in pain. I tentatively knocked on the door. "One sec" he called, his voice was stuffed up. "Vernon, it's me. Hon let me in" I knocked again. It goes quiet on the other side of the door, "Baby?" I said I knocked again. "You okay?" I asked, hearing another sneeze. I heard him cough, it sounded itchy. "Yeah" 

"Please let me in. Whatever it is I did I'm sorry" he went silent, then the lock clicked. He opened the door. I tried not to totally freeze in shock when I saw him. I put my hand on his cheek, "oh baby." He sniffled, "Kwan, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry for a-hh-hhtChhUh- hh-tchHuUh, *snf* I'm sorry for avoiding you." 

"Nonnie, why didn't you tell me you didn't feel good?" 

"I feel fine" he turned away and coughed. 

Vernon p.o.v 

I felt bad for avoiding Seungkwan, especially how sad he looked after I turned down his dinner offer. Once I got back to the dorms I quickly ran into the bathroom. It was rare, but every once in a while my allergies would get so bad they made me feel sick. My whole face itched, my eyes were swollen, it was hard to breathe, my throat was itchy and because I had spent so much time today holding back and stifling sneezes it seemed to have snowballed. Now it felt like I couldn't stop.

When I was in the bathroom I heard a knock on the door. I didn't want to let the members know about how much I was struggling so I tried to make my voice sound as natural as I possibly could. I was shocked to hear Seungkwan on the other side. He seemed worried, I guessed he heard me sneezing. 

I felt guilty when he told me he was sorry. I quickly opened the door. He stared at me and gently touched my face. I felt a wave of guilt hit me when I saw how concerned he looked. I apologized as quickly as possible. He shook his head, "Nonnie why didn't you tell me you didn't feel good." I tried to hide my blush at his nickname, "I feel fine" I coughed after. He shook his head again, "Vernon, what's going on? Have you been sick all day?" I shook my head, I avoided his eyes. "Vernon, look at me please" I glanced back to his eyes, I saw nothing but care and love. "I'm sorry for avoiding you. But I'm not sick. It's my allergies" 

"I didn't know they were this bad" he brushed an allergic tear off my cheek. "Uh.. I usually try to hide in the studio when they get this bad. I couldn't today, because of our schedule" I sniffled, "Nonie, why didn't you say anything? I could have done something." He looked so genuine and sincere. "I didn't want to bother you" he shook his head, "are you kidding me? You? Bother me? Hon, you could never bother me. I will always take care of you. No matter what." I hugged him, and kissed his forehead. "Thank you" 

"Allow yourself to lean on me. I may be short but I'll be here to hold you up" I smiled, "thank you" 

"There's nothing wrong with showing weakness baby. I know you don't like to have a lot of attention. That's my job" he laughed at his own comment. "But you still are allowed to show weakness" he kissed me. "I love you Kwannie" 

"I love you too" he smiled and tapped my nose, "let's get you some allergy medication before you stop breathing." He kissed me again. I smiled and nodded, he took my hand and pulled me into our room. 

~two years later~ 

Seungkwan and I had been dating for nearly 6 years and I still get nervous being sick or showing weakness at times. No matter what. Seungkwan noticed this and began being extra sweet and gentle with me. It still didn't mean I was any more comfortable with sneezing in public. I still hated sneezing or coughing in public. So whenever we had schedules or concerts or anything like that on days when my allergies were bad or I was sick I noticed Seungkwan would go out of his way to be next to me.  

There was a nasty cold that had gone around the group and I was the first one to get it, it then spread to the rest of the maknae line and eventually the group and while everyone had recovered, I was still here, suffering from it. Curse my shit immune system. But still, our manager decided I was well enough to resume schedules. Unfortunately I still had a stuffy nose and a cough. Plus I was sneezing more than I usually did. Seungkwan seemed to notice my apprehension when the company informed us we would be doing a full group vlive. 

Seungkwan p.o.v 

I saw the color drain from Vernon's face when they said we would do a group vlive. I knew he wasn't feeling good and therefore was even more sensitive than usual. Especially because I knew he really didn't want to cough or sneeze on camera if he could avoid it. I pulled Jeonghan and Seungcheol to the side. "Hey hyung, if it's not too much to ask can I please be next to Vernon during the group live?" I asked them, hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions. "Sure, is he okay?" 

"Yeah, because he's still recovering I want to keep an eye on him." they both nodded. 

Once the vlive started I stayed close to Vernon, I kept my arm around his waist and would occasionally lean my head to his shoulder. Just wanting him to know I was there. I could feel him relax every time. Which made me feel better. 

About halfway through the live I felt him tense up suddenly. I glanced over at him and saw him sniffling, he kept swallowing, anxiety showing on his face. I leaned close to his ear, "Don't worry. It's okay" he smiled at me. He leaned away from me slightly and coughed into his elbow. I smiled encouragingly at him. He sniffled, and sneezed once. "Bless you" I whispered to him, I placed my hand on his thigh. He glanced at me and smiled. "You okay?" I whispered. He nodded. 

"Vernon, some of the comments said bless you" Hoshi said, this brought attention for the members over to him. He blushed and nodded. I wrapped arm around his waist I pulled him closer to me. "It's okay. They do it because they care." I whispered. He smiled at me. "Thank you" he said. "Anything for you baby" I whispered, not really caring if anyone heard me, "I love you." he blushed, "Love ya too." 

[dontfeeltoohot]

happy birthday! I hope you have a good one :) tiny little bday prompt: locked out~

Thank you!! This is actually my second ‘locked out prompt’ I’ve gotten in the past hour LMAO. Y’all out here wanting misery 🤣 enjoy some locked out canon (divergent bc he lives) Eddie. Also this got a bit long, whoops.

X X X

Of course. Of fucking course today of all days he’s going to get locked out of his damn van. There’s no way he’s breaking his window or door, and though he knows how to break into a car, it requires a damn hanger which he doesn’t have. Sighing, he knows he’s going to have to get help.

The thing is, it’s fucking cold outside, and he’s already feeling like shit. Whatever flu’s been going around Hawkins has started hitting him since he woke up, and his dumb ass didn’t even wear a heavy jacket. The walk back to the trailer park is well over 5 miles from the pharmacy he’s just walked out of, a brown paper bag containing Tylenol, cough drops and a thermometer in his hand. The long haired man would rathe walk to Harrington’s than attempt walking icy back roads right now.

Harrington.

Looking around, he spots a pay phone down towards the next store, so Eddie huffs, grips the bag tighter, and walks over, careful of the patches of ice on the sidewalk. As he gets closer, he pauses to cough into his arm, grimacing as his throat stings. Fuck Hawkins and their inability to cover their damn mouths. After paying the 25¢ to call, the musician dials the ex-jocks number and waits, praying the guy is home.

“Harrington residence.” The voice, while still his friends, is much more enunciated and proper.

“Harrington, hey, it’s- snf! it’s Eddie.”

“Oh, hey man,” the voice on the phone relaxes into a completely different persona. “What’s up?”

“I kind of got locked out of my car…is there a way you could pick me up? I have a spare set of keys back at my-“ Eddie turns away to cough, before returning to the mouth piece. “-sorry, my trailer. I can come back to get it later.”

“Oh shit, yeah, I can pick you up. Where are you?”

Eddie can’t help but thank whatever higher power there is. He’s starting to feel gross and achy, and while he knows his name has been cleared, people still look at him with disdain. Going back into the pharmacy, or any other store, really, isn’t his best option. Freezing to death would suck too.

“The pharmacy down off Main.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in like..ten minutes. Just gotta find a jacket and I’ll be there.”

“Thanks princess.”

By the time Harrington gets there, Eddie’s shivering, nose pink from both the temperature and the attention he’s been giving it from it getting runny. Hauling himself up, body feeling ungodly heavy, the twenty year old walks up to the others car and gets in, instantly blasted with heat. Thank fuck.

“Sorry about this,” Eddie clicks his seatbelt and puts his bag on his lap, wincing as he swallows.

“No worries man, seriously. Happy to help. What were you doing over here anyway? It’s cold as hell, would think you of all people would just stay in your house and keep warm,” Steve smiles, and Eddie watches, warmth pooling in his stomach.

“Think that shit that’s been going around finally hit me, needed to grab some Tylenol, we don’t really have anything at the trailer.”

Rubbing his face, he’s thankful Harrington knows where his place is, even if the reason for knowing sucks. He’s too tired to keep his eyes open, though he wishes he could, with someone as hot as Steve sitting next to him. Eddie curls away from the driver and presses his arm tight to his face, not wanting to get his germs all over the man’s car.

“Damn, that sucks. Robin just caught it too. I had it back last week, finally feeling human again,” he explains, looking at Eddie in sympathy.

“Why does it not surprise me you caught it first?”

“Yeah yeah, my immune system sucks,” Steve rolls his eyes fondly. “Have you eaten? We can grab soup on the way.”

“Nah, I’m not hungry. But thanks anyway.”

“I was going to bring some to Robin anyway. You sure? It’ll save me a trip too.”

And damn, Eddie’s too gone on Steve fucking Harrington to say no to that, especially when he’s been grateful enough to come pick him up in the first place. Forcing his eyes open, he looks at the man and nods.

“Yeah, that’s fine then. I don’t need any though, kind of scared I might hurl it up if I try to eat it.”

Steve turns down one street, then back up on to Main, parking in front of the small family owned deli. He keeps the car running, then puts a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

“I’ll be right back. You just stay here and relax.”

As if Eddie would do anything else. He drifts for a bit, letting the aches and chill take over. A door opening and shutting makes him open his eyes again, and Steve is there with two brown bags, setting them in the back of his nice BMW.

They don’t speak as Steve drives, Eddie’s too tired and the other man seems to respect that. He did say he’d been sick last week with it, he probably still remembers how awful talking is. The long haired man leans his too warm temple against the cold window, a tiny, quiet moan escaping his mouth.

“Eddie? Hey man, we’re here,” Steve shakes his shoulder gently, and he opens his eyes, feeling worse. Damn this shit hits quick.

“Thank you, seriously,” Eddie gives the shaggy haired man as much of a smile as he can muster.

“No problem, what was I going to do, say no?”

“Could have. Instead you were my knight in shining armor,” Eddie jokes, grabbing his pharmacy bag, opening the door.

“Oh! Here.” Steve thrusts one of the two bags from the deli at him.

“What-“

“It’s soup. I know you said you did t want any, but…you might get hungry later.”

“…you bought me soup?”

“Yeah? It’s not a big deal.”

“Thanks Stevie.”

Half an hour later, Eddie’s back in sweatpants and one of Wayne’s old, heavy sweaters. If he finishes the entire cup of soup, almost wishing for me, well….Steve won’t need to know.

[straightupsickfics]

Teacher Anon here!!💛 I got one for ya: Stede knew something was off with his husband when he not only slept through his alarm clock, but missed 20 texts from Ivan, Fang, and Izzy on why his ass was not at the tattoo shop.

ahhhhh this is sooo 🫠 🫠

this is ~1k words lol i cannot even pretend this one is a few sentences...

****

Stede knew something was off with his husband when he not only slept through his alarm clock, but missed 20 texts from Ivan, Fang, and Izzy on why his ass was not at the tattoo shop.

At first, Stede just figured he was overtired. It’d been raining for days on end, Ed had been working late this week, and Stede figured he could use a bit of a break. Stede himself had hardly been in a hurry to leave the warm nest of their bed for the real world, especially in this weather.

But, by the time Stede’s showered, dressed, and made coffee for the both of them, Ed’s still sound asleep, his hair a nest of curls around his face. He’d look peaceful if he wasn’t snoring quite so loudly, and if his face wasn’t just a touch too flushed for Stede’s liking. 

It’d been dark before, but still, he kicks himself for not noticing something was off earlier. Ed had gone to bed early last night, complaining of a headache that Stede had assumed was from staring at his tablet sketching for the better part of the evening. But looking at him now, Stede thinks it’s a safe bet that there’s something more going on than exhaustion alone. 

“Ed?” Stede says, keeping his voice low. “Darling, it’s late. Slept right through your alarm,” he continues as Ed starts to stir. 

“Mmwhattime’s’it?” Ed asks, finally opening his eyes and squinting tiredly up at Stede. He tries to sit up, but immediately sags back down onto his pillows. He blinks up at Stede like he’s not quite sure what hit him, and Stede feels his heart squeeze at that look. It’s rare that Ed gets sick, and he can tell it’s caught him more off guard than usual this time. 

“After nine,” Stede says. “I think you’ve got quite the collection of angry texts there,” he says, gesturing to Ed’s phone. It’d been lighting up and vibrating on and off since he woke up. Theoretically, Stede could have intervened, texted them back, but Izzy could probably stand to sweat it out a little longer. 

“Fuck,” Ed says, and tries, more slowly, to get up again. He looks pale now that he’s sitting upright, though the apples of his cheeks are still flushed a bright pink. Ed takes a quick breath in and then shakes his head before his eyes snap shut and he shudders into a sneezing fit. 

“Hh’iItssHHH! Huh’UtSShh’uh! Hh! UtTSH!” He aims them down at the blankets, looking far too tired and wrung out to do anything but that. 

“God bless you. You woke up in quite a state, hm? Let me feel your forehead,” Stede says, already leaning over and pressing the back of his hand to Ed’s forehead, tucking stray pieces of salt and pepper hair away as he does. 

“You’re a little warm, sweetheart,” Stede tells him. “I think you’ve got a touch of a fever.” 

“S’that why I feel like shit?” Ed sighs, rubbing his face with both hands. “Feel like I got hit by a truck.” 

“There’s a bug going around, I think. Could’ve picked it up at the studio, all those people in and out all day, plus this weather…” Stede says, trailing off and leaning back onto the bed despite being fully dressed for the day. His slacks could handle a few wrinkles. 

Or, well, he could change before he left.

His focus now is Edward, and how entirely out of it his husband seems. “I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere today,” Stede says quietly. He pulls Ed towards him into a hug, promising him tea and cuddles and an early bedtime. 

Ed opens his mouth to protest, but he ends up sneezing two more times in quick succession instead, turning just in time to muffle them into the blankets. 

“Huh’TSH! ii’ITSHH! Ugh, snf! SNF! Fuck me,” he mutters. 

“Once you’re feeling up to it, of course,” Stede chirps, smiling and nudging Ed’s shoulder with his own, which earns him a smile.

“Izzy’s going to kill me. We’re fully booked all day. All weekend,” Ed corrects himself. 

Stede hums, leaning over Ed and grabbing his phone from the night stand. “Leave Iggy to me,” he says, fingers already flying over the keyboard as Ed tucks his head in against Stede’s shoulder. His breath is warm against his neck, and when he plants a kiss to Stede’s shoulder he can feel the soft, damp press of his nose against his skin. 

“He hates when you call him that,” Ed says, though Stede can hear the smile in his voice. 

“I know,” Stede says gleefully. 

“You’re a menace.”

“I’m your menace. And I’m going to make sure you’re not rushing off to work when you should be in bed. Surely even Izzy wouldn’t want you coming in and risk getting your clients sick?”

“Might get you sick, though,” Ed says. 

“Yes, well, comes with the territory,” Stede replies. “Lucky for you, I know what I signed up for, and I’m more than happy to stay here and make sure you’re feeling better soon.” 

Ed blinks at him, like he’s seeing him for the first time. “Hang on, are you wearing clothes in bed? Who are you, and what the fuck have you done with my husband?” 

Stede shakes his head, laughing. “You scared me for a minute there! Sleeping like the dead and snoring like a train was coming through. But you looked so tired I had to let you sleep…” Stede trails off, smiling at Ed and knowing all the while that he looks like a love-sick teenager even this many years into their marriage. 

“Anyway,” Stede says. “My clothes will be fine. And so will you, if I have anything to say about it. Now, what kind of tea would you like?” 

Ed just laughs and shakes his head, burrowing his face back into the crook of Stede’s neck. Perhaps the details of the plan could wait just a bit longer.

[barbiegirldream]

im not sure about dream but im assuming he’s home cause of lore today and the rest of the weekend and him being sick the past like week but snf r in la on the stream for sapnaps event they confirmed george will be on the stream later

Yay George woke up from hibernation I hope they fed him

[gladiolidiaries]

yeah i know its just surprising snf were both awake yesterday at the same time but today theres like a 8h diff from when sapnap woke up to when gnf woke up

only explanation is george stayed up crazy late and i mean what would he be doing? no game activities as far as we know, no chess, most of his friends are not even home cause of creator clash and stuff...

seems to me like the most likely explanation is he was speaking to dream who we know for a fact has been very nocturnal and only sleeping on and off during the day lately

[softsnzstuff]

Stranger AU

Steve is streaming and his fans asked for a boyfriend tag for months.

So Eddie promised to do it but he ended up having a really sneezy and snotty allergy day of the stream.

Cue flustered, sneezy and messy eddie with a doting, nose wiping and nose kissing Steve and his comforting audience.

Eddie scrubbed at the inner corner of his eye for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. His eyes had been itchy since he woke up, the pollen count off the charts today.

Steve was in the other room setting up for a Twitch stream. He was fiddling with the camera currently, pointing it towards Eddie and his own gaming chairs. Though they both streamed, it was rare to get them in the same room at the same time for one.

“Kay Eddie, just about ready!” Steve called. His fans had been asking for a boyfriend tag for months now. He finally had time to sit down and do it.

“One sec! Coming!” Eddie called back. He sniffled and popped another allergy pill before joining his boyfriend in the other room.

Once they were both seated, Steve started the stream, allowing a minute or two for it to come alive.

“Hey hey! Welcome back to my stream. You guys have been heckling me for months to do a boyfriend tag.” He fake sighed, “Well ask and her shall receive. I’m joined by Eddie today.”

The older of the two was leaned back in his chair, left ankle folded across right thigh. He smirked and waved at the camera by wiggling his fingers.

AnimalXingFan: EDDIE!!

HarringtonsHair: I’m such a simp for these two 😭

“So we both have questions for the other on our phones. Whoever answers the most correctly is the better boyfriend I guess.” Steve joked.

Eddie whipped out his phone, unlocking it with his right hand and scrubbing at his nose with his left. “Okay Stevie. We’ll start easy. Do I prefer iced coffee or hot coffee?”

“Oh easy for sure! Eddie needs to kick the habit of energy drinks actually, but when he does drink coffee, iced is superior…duh.”

“He’s right.” Eddie looked at the camera and shrugged.

Steve scrolled through his phone, “Okay. How many kids do I want when I’m older?”

Eddie laughed and looked at the camera, pointing as if he was telling the viewers a secret, “This guy?? He wants six kids. The real question should be how many kids will I allow us to have!”

Maddie246: SIX???? ✋🏻😩

SteveXEddieGirl: “allow US to have”? I’m-

“Oh my god you guys are so judgy. It used to be my dream to be a dad of six.”

Eddie was rubbing his nose with a knuckle when Steve turned back to him. “Um, snf snFF what’s my worst hehh hah habit?”

Eddie swiveled his chair away from Steve and pitched forward into the collar of his shirt.

“HNG’KchiEW! HehtCHEW! TSCHIEW!!”

“Well I was going to say biting your nails, but I think it might be your excessive sneezing actually.” Steve teased. He addressed the viewers again, “Hang right guys, he’ll probably do this like another ten times.”

The comments flooded with “Bless you”s and some of Eddie’s fans commenting:

MunsonStan86: OMG he really IS gonna do this like ten more times…

Eddiesgurl: That’s three guys

“snF! Sorry, allergies are bad today.” Eddie grabbed a tissue off their desk and wiped at his nose.

“My turn! Am I a morning person or-”

Steve paused, looking up at his boyfriend whose breath was already hitching for another round of sneezes.

“Jesus here he goes again…”

“Hehh Nxxt! NXXXT! H’MPTCH!! HEH’TschEW!! Fuck sorry. What was the question?” Eddie asked, wrist still under his nose as he reached for a clean tissue.

“Bless you. Am I a morning person or a night person?” Steve asked.

Eddie started to blow his nose and looked up, “Stevie is a morni’g person.” He turned to Steve, narrowing his eyes, “You heathe’d.”

HalloweenHoe: Bless you Eddie!

Lilliesforlily: Steve would be a morning person smh

Munsonsgurl: that’s what? Seven?

The older of the two had continued tending to his nose while looking through more questions.

“Ummm okay here’s one. What color are my eyes?”

Steve chuckled. “Right now? Probably red babe, your allergies sound so bad today.”

Eddie feigned disappointment, “Ooof, incorrect Harrington. My eyes are brown, see.”

Steve rolled his eyes as Eddie leaned forward until he was inches away from Steve’s face, opening his eyes wide for him to see.

The younger man laughed, not fighting the distance, looking his boyfriends face up and down until he saw Eddie’s nostrils flare quickly.

“Shit! Eds!!” Steve leaned back and held his own arm in front of Eddie’s face, trying to protect him from the spray zone.

“TsschiEW! HissshEW! SnFF H’KTchiew!”

The sneezes had clearly caught Eddie by surprise as he loosely covered with hands in front of his face.

St3veL0ver: Ew Steve your shirt!

Munsonsgurl: aaaand we’ve arrived at ten (bless u btw)

EricDay721: Someone get this man an allergy pill PLEASE

Steve grimaced and looked at the sleeve of his long-sleeve shirt. It had a few damp spots on it - Eddie’s carnage of the afternoon.

“Shit sorry Steve.” Eddie flushed bright red.

“It’s okay Eds, just. Blow your nose.” Steve got up from his chair grabbing a tissue. He stood behind Eddie and pulled him into a hug, using his left arm to squeeze the tissue around Eddie’s nose jokingly.

Eddie laughed and took the tissue from Steve, turning away to blow his nose again.

“I think we’re gonna end the stream here guys. Someone is having a hard time controlling his nose at the moment. But tune in next week for some more Dead by Daylight!” Steve pointed at the camera, allowing Eddie to wave bye before turning off the stream.

“Let’s wash your face and get you some clean clothes, huh?” He turned to his boyfriend who was still sniffling profusely into the tissues.

Eddie nodded, “Yes please.”

[rykno-gs]

Snalentines - 2022

well i dont actually have a title for this fic, but if i had to give one, ild say its smth like: sniffles and cuddles

anyway this is 1.8k words of a tartali snz fic i wrote for my assigned buddy, @bubblemudkips

hope its okay that i @-ed you

hope i did ok and enjoy :> (its abit suggestive but otherwise sfw)

-

It was late when Zhongli finally heard the jingle of keys from the front door. Childe has been due to come back more than four hours ago. Outside, he could see the shadows of the already rising sun, indicating just how late his partner was.

Appearing by the front door in seconds, Zhongli waited for the sound of locks turning, the door sliding open before he tackled the man behind it. Being the taller of the two, Zhongli’s chin naturally rested atop the head of messy orange hair, which he realised seconds later, felt warmer than usual.

Childe was also seemingly avoiding eye contact.

“Xiansheng.. I’m home!” The voice coming from under him sounded tired, relieved, like he had ran a marathon. But the Northland bank wasn’t that far away from their shared apartment, was it?

Zhongli shook his head, leading Childe into the house. “Welcome home, dear. How was work today?”

Childe breathed a sigh. Good, he didn’t notice.

“It was f- fine. Just some letters I needed to w- write. Documents to fill up, you know? Those kept me u- up all day.” Childe replied, still not willing to look Zhongli in the eye. 

He knew if he did, he’d get seen right through -- the wastebasket full of used tissues that still sat in his office was much more of an indication than anything else. But as long as he plays it smart, Childe thinks, he’d be able to fool the other.

He received a small hum in reply as the front door was re-locked. “Are you hungry then? There is food leftover from dinner.”

Childe nodded, raising his fist to hide a sniffle as he sat on the couch. Now that he wasn’t hunched over his desk with a pen in hand, exhaustion was starting to catch up. Smiling as he watched Zhongli head to the kitchen to heat up the food, he closed his eyes for a moment, thinking a light rest won’t hurt.

-

Zhongli knew something was wrong. How could ne have missed it? The way CHilde refused to look at him, the way Childe had not kissed him the second he came home, and the subtle sniffing that came from the couch. It was pretty obvious, if not confirmed when--

“Het- sHhw! HaHh- NgHt’ sh!” 

-- he heard a restrained double coming from the living room, followed by a sigh and a wet sniffle. Maybe heating up leftover dinner wouldn’t be such a good idea.. 

Opening the fridge, Zhongli took out some herbs and chicken, beginning to make a dish he hasn’t put together in years, tweaking it a little to suit Childe’s taste.

-

It was a little nudge that woke the sleeping one up. Stirring, Childe let out a stuffy sniffle, blinking his eyes against the sunlight. “Huh..? It’s mo’ning already?” He mumbled, voice thick with congestion. He shuffled between the couch cushions, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. His eyes focused on Zhongli “H- How long was I out fore?” 

“Not too long.” The warm reply came. “You came home really late today, so the sun is already starting to rise.” 

“Ouh..” Childe’s eyes shifted to the bowl being pushed towards him. It was then he remembered that Zhongli was going to heat up some food for him. It looked like soup, liquidy and steaming. At that moment, Childe realised just how hungry he really was.

“C’mere, I’lll feed you.” Zhongli said, bringing a steady spoon up to the other’s lips. “Careful, it’s a little hot.”

Trembling lips wrapped around the ceramic spoon as Childe tried the food. He wasn’t going to admit it, but the warmth of the dish was exactly what he had been craving for the whole day. And despite how numb his tastebuds were, he could still tell it was really good.

A sniffle. “Xiansheng.. this is delicious! Where did you buy it from? ..snf- Chef Mao’s new recipe maybe? It’d tastes r’ly.. snf.. good!” 

Shit. He needed to blow his nose badly. It was going to start dripping if he didn’t.

Zhongli laughed softly, noticing Childe’s twitching nose but chose not to comment on it. (He wanted to see how long his darling could hold for). “Really Childe. Can’t even recognise your own boyfriend’s cooking,” he smirked, eyeing the other. “Something wrong with your sense of taste maybe..?”

He was replied with a little choke. “No..! Of course not, hahhha, my.. snff- senses work just fine! Heh- say, Xiansheng, how come you never.. snf- cooked this b’fore?” it was getting harder and harder to contain the dribble he could feel coming out of his nostril. It wasn’t quite showing right now, but it would if he continued to do nothing about it.

A quick swipe of his glove to the nose seemed to do the trick, but as Childe quickly realised seconds later, that came with its own drawbacks..

“Hh.. hEh- shHNght! Haah- sHXgnTt!!” He could feel the slight spray upon the uncovered part of his wrist. Childe cringed, but prepared himself for another -- “Hihh- nGHxt! Hh.. hih! ..snf.. s- Hah- HheH! HAhh- ShXnHT- ‘iiew!!” the last one, uncontained and a little louder than he had hoped.

Zhongli watched on in slight amusement. He never really had a thing for mortal illnesses, but seeing Childe in such a state made him feel very interested indeed. But his needs could wait. Childe should, and would, always come first.

“Bless you.” He answered carefully. “Well, the reason why i do not cook this dish often is because its ingredients contain many herbs that have medicinal properties.” he looked at Childe meaningfully. “Meant to treat common colds or a slight flu.”

The other instantly blushed, looking away. “I.. I don’t see w- why I would need that.. I’m fine.. really..”

“Oh? Then what were those sneezes just now?” 

Hearing the question made Childe feel called-out, as if he had got caught doing a bad thing, but he shook his head. “T- Those? Ahahh, those were just my uh.. my.. a- allergies, yeah..” 

Zhongli’s eyes widened with false surprise. “Allergies?” He said, amused. “Whatever are you allergic to?”

“I uh..” Childe hadn’t thought his lie would get to this point. Panicking, his mind whizzed with excuses and things to get himself scott free. Then, he remembers-- “Silk flowers! I’m allergic to s.. Sehh- eh..sHshew!!.. snf- silk flowers.. yeah!”

“Hm?” Zhongli raised an eyebrow, willing to play along. “You might not know this, baobei, but the daily perfume that I spray on has a strong extract of silk flower essence in it. From the way you cuddle and nuzzle at me all day, why are your ‘allergies’ only acting up now?” 

Childe’s eyes fill with panic. “Oh! Is that s- so..? Hhaha, I must’ve mixed up my f- flowers! heh.. it’s.. it’s Gaze lilies! Yeah, I’m hella allergic to t- tHho- hAh.. SscH’iew!! snf- srry..”

“Gaze lilies?” Zhongli asked, a small smile on his face. “I remember very clearly that we once went on a date to a place with many gaze lilies, you were even the one who suggested that we go there-”

“It’s Qingxin! I remember now! There, I’m allergic to Qinxin flowers!” Childe interrupted, proud that he had finally found a-

“But Qinxins are awfully far from Liyue Harbour itself, Childe. Surely if you had stayed in your office all day like you claimed..” 

His face falls. He’s been caught. Dragged up and backed into a corner by Zhongli. He knows it. There was no escape now. He might as well surrender himself into the arms of his partner.

Deep down inside, Childe had been craving to be cared by Zhongli when his cold had started catching up to him. Stifling into tissues within the cold walls of his office, suffering all alone. But it was.. embarrassing.. to say the least, being so vulnerable in front of anyone.

But he wasn’t with just anyone. He knew Zhongli would take special care of him until he was better. Weighing his chances, he figures it won’t hurt to just.. 

“Fine.” Childe said with a pathetic sniffle. “I’m sick, not feeling well, whatever..”

“No need to be so shy about it beloved..” Zhongli cooed, happy that his partner was finally willing to give himself up. “I’ll take good care of you alright? I promise.. Now come sit on my lap.. I’ll help you finish the soup I made.”

-

An hour and a dozen sneezes later, the both of them lay on their shared bed, huddled together, Childe’s overused nose pressed up against Zhongli’s warm body. They had long ran out of tissues, with the way Childe was going through them, sneeze after sneeze.

“Ssnuff.. ugh- what did you do again..?”

“Rub mint on my chest.” 

“Mmh.. snff- than’k you.”

“Welcome..” Zhongli whispered, trailing soft, comforting kisses down Childe’s neck. He pecked once at Childe’s warm forehead, and once on his flushed cheek. And with a cheeky smile, grazed his lips upon the other’s bright crimson nose.

The response was immediate.

“Ack! Hh- Zhongli! Wha- hIH- ssHie’w!! WHatcha do thaA- hh.. snGH- iew!! -that for?!” Childe pressed his nose into the crook of Zhongli’s shoulder, the sneezes breaking his sentence and frame.

“Just kissing the places I love kissing you the most..” Zhongli mumbled, a dumb smile on his face when he felt the strong, wet impact upon his shoulder as Childe let out a few rather.. unrestrained sneezes.

“Oh.. hh.. Hah- sHIEW!! ..ugh.. snuff- ..so’ srry Xiansheng.. I’m.. snf- being so g’ross..”

“You’re not.” Zhongli replied with a well-hidden shudder.

“Snf.. alright.. if you say so.. ahh.. Aw shit.. you’re gonna catch m.. my.. Hih- XxNghtt!! - cold.. snf..” This time, Childe directed the spray to the back of his hands, eyes squeezed shut and nose scrunched up.

“I w- won’t mind that..” Zhongli breathed, his wavering voice betraying some of his inner feelings.

Childe stared at his partner carefully, seeing an expression that Zhongli barely wore on his face-- a look of soft lust. Ah.. Zhongli.. of all people.. who would’ve thought.. a new excitement ran through his body. Maybe.. he’d be able to uncover a hidden part of Zhongli that only he would ever see.. 

One step at a time..

He began with a sniffle. “So.. Xiansheng.. I couldn’t help but notice you missed a spot just now.” Seeing his lover’s confused face, he continued. “You know? When you were kissing my cheeks and neck, and.. nose..” From the corner of his eye, Childe saw Zhongli blush slightly. So he continued. “You missed a spot.”

“...? “

“Between my legs..” 

“Ajax!!” Zhongli choked out, face as flushed as Childe’s (except he didn’t have a fever). “I.. I.. wHat?!” 

Childe bursts out laughing, burying his face into the folds of the other’s clothes, breathing in the soft scent of silk flowers. “I’m joking Zhongli! Well.. half-joking. We can make out when I’m better. Or..” He throws a sideways glance.

“Or..?”

“Or unless you’d want to make out when I.. Hh- hIH.. hAH- ZCHh’ HuU! ugh.. snff.. when I’m still sn- Hh.. sneezing non-stop..” 

“A.. Ajax!” 

“Hahhahh, Your choice!”

-

- end -

-

hppy valentines everybodyy :D

[marvelousstevetony]

So this is kind of a random prompt, but sick Steve doing an interview and trying not to sneeze. However, he ends up having a fit and is really embarrassed by it, maybe his first public sneeze like that?

When he gets home, Tony tries to take Steve’s phone because he doesn’t want Steve to see the new trending hashtag on Twitter which is “GodBlessAmerica” and some people trying to be funny about it, maybe posting the video with patriotic music edited in. Maybe Steve does find out and Tony shows Steve a sneeze compilation of himself online or something that people did relating to Tony’s sneeze to help him feel less embarrassed/make him laugh?

This is such a sweet concept! And nothing like anything I’ve written before, I don’t think, so I hope this is okay. Please accept 4k of shy, sick Steve and Tony being the sweetest... as usual :)

Steve presses his knuckle to his nose for the 100th time today. The cold he had caught a few days ago seems to have hit its peak, because ever since he woke up this morning, his nose has had that warm, buzzing feeling to it that just never fades.

“You ready, Steve?” Tony asks and puts a steadying hand on the small of the taller man’s back.

“Y-yeah,” Steve manages and sniffles when his nose quivers. “Ready to get it over with,” he amends and Tony offers him a sympathetic smile.

“Last one for today.”

Steve nods and sighs deeply. “Last one,” he echoes

———

Steve wants to pay attention, he really does. Tony is speaking, and Steve loves listening to his boyfriend’s voice, even if all he’s doing is making quips and witty remarks at the interviewers’ questions. Okay, especially when he’s making quips and witty remarks at the interviewers’ questions.

But he just doesn’t have the energy today. He feels his eyes threatening to slip shut at any minute, and he probably would have drifted off at some point if it wasn’t for the slight tingle in the back of his nose.

He swipes his index finger against his septum, then holds it there when he’s afraid the tickle will blossom into something more. It doesn’t though, and instead he exhales slowly and gives his head a brief shake.

It happens another three times. The tickle is right on the verge of turning into sneezes, but Steve is famously stubborn, and by the power of sheer will and all the focus he can muster, he fights it off.

That is until he is startled by someone nudging his shoulder. “Steve.”

His head snaps up to see Natasha cocking her head at him. He looks around, confused, then smiles sheepishly when he notices a blonde reporter who’s looking at him with an expectant expression. “Sorry,” he says, clearing his throat, cheeks turning pink, “Could you repeat that?”

She smiles overly sweetly at him, and Steve tries not to think about how much he hates these things, hates how arranged and phony they are.

“Of course. Captain, you’ve been the leader of the Avengers since its origin...”

The blonde woman continues speaking, but Steve just hears her voice trail off into silence. He keeps his eyes on her, though, for as long as he can before his vision begins to blur as well. He clenches his jaw and holds his breath, trying to resist the urge to rub at his nose to stop the building itch from blooming.

He can see her lips moving through the tears that are accumulating in his eyes, but he hears nothing but white noise and then his own sudden, desperate gasp.

In the very last second, he manages to bring his fist to his face and move a little back in his seat to turn away from the crowd.

“ng’tCHh! h-H’tsngshh!”

The first sneeze is almost completely silent, but stifling it just sends a throb through his nose, and although he tries his hardest he can’t fully hold back the second one.

When he turns back, everyone has gone silent. A few people, including Natasha who’s next to him, as well as the reporter, bless him, and he feels the heat creep up his neck.

“Sorry, uh, excuse me,” he says and touches his nose gingerly, then rubs his neck. “You were saying?”

“Right,” the blonde continues. “As the leader of the Avengers, do you feel more responsible—“

“huh’TCHushh! uhhCHUSH!” A second round of sneezes catches him off guard, and he barely gets a chance to catch them in the  crook of his elbow, body jerking with the sneezes.

Next to him, Natasha squeezes his knee and whispers a blessing that Steve ignores as he quickly turns back to the reporter, acting as if nothing had happened. The flush spreading all over his face from embarrassment didn’t signal the same thing, though.

The reporter smiles tightly before continuing. “—do you feel more responsible for all the damage your team has caused?”

“The purpose of the Avengers is to make the world a safer place. With our job, we try to save as many lives as possible. Unfortunately— snf! Unfortunately, that doesn’t m-mean everybody,” Steve says and touches his nose quickly when he feels a slight tickle beginning to form. “I strongly believe that without the Avengers’ interference the number of casualties would have been significantly higher—“

“What our good Captain here means to say is that without us, you’d all be toast,” Tony suddenly cuts in, earning laughter from the audience and flashes the crowd of reporters a blinding smile. Then, while the chuckles die down, Tony glances quickly over at Steve and smiles again, but it’s softer and way more real. “Okay, next question,” Tony says, turning back to the reporters.

Steve can’t help but let out a sigh of relief when the next question is directed to Natasha, happy that the attention is on anyone but him.

He ducks his head to rub his nose against his knuckles and give a few quiet coughs. When he looks back up, he catches Tony looking at him with a concerned expression, cocking his head to the side.

You okay? he reads Tony’s lips. He nods weakly and smiles shyly back. He then averts his gaze from Tony, knowing that if there’s one thing that could distract him from keeping himself together, it would be Tony.

The rest of the press conference is a blur, really. Steve avoids answering anymore questions thanks to Tony and Natasha quickly taking over whenever he was supposed to answer. Instead, he sits back in his chair, pinching off a tickle every once in a while.

When Steve walks off the stage, Tony is waiting for him by the door, placing a hand on the small of Steve’s back when they walk through. “You alright?” he asks quietly.

Steve is about to nod, open his mouth a say that he is, but he ends up sighing instead. “I don’t know... I made a complete fool out of myself out there,” he says and bites his lip nervously.

“No you didn’t. No one’s going to think anything of it, Steve,” Tony reassures and kisses Steve’s shoulder when Steve looks dubiously at him. “C’mon, let’s grab something to eat and then head home. There’s this diner a couple of blocks away. It’s small, but there’s a table seated away from all the rest. We can sit in private...”

“Sounds perfect.”

———

Like Tony said, the diner is small, but it’s cosy and warm and Steve welcomes anything that makes him feel less like he’s turning into a human popsicle again. Steve scoots into the small booth, and Tony sits on the opposite side of the table.

It’s Tony who orders, a sandwich for each of them and a bowl of chicken noodle soup for Steve as well.

“Soup too?” Steve asks, his voice grateful and eyes soft.

“Sick person essential,” Tony shrugs and reaches over the table to grab both of Steve’s hands in his own, brushing a thumb over Steve’s knuckles. “Bless you?” he asks when Steve lets go with one hand and opts for few napkins from the box on the table.

Steve nods, eyes fluttering shut, and pulls his other hand away as well to cup the napkin firmly over his nose and mouth.

“heh’CHmmphh! utschmphh!” The sound of the sneezes is muffled by the napkins, but the way Steve’s body shudders is indication of just how strong they were and how tired he must be.

“Bless you, honey,” Tony says again. “You look about ready to drop. I’ll text Happy, tell him to pick us up here in 30,” he adds when Steve shrugs shyly.

He pulls his phone out, but something in his expression changes. His brows furrow and his lips turn into a thin, tense line.

“Everything okay?” Steve ask worriedly.

“What? Oh. Oh, yeah, all good,” Tony says dismissively and slides his phone back into his pocket. “Look, food’s here!”

———

“How about a phone-free night?” Tony suggests as they enter the penthouse and smiles a little tighter than the way he usually beams at Steve; the way his eyes crinkle at the corners and his nose scrunches up. Steve knows Tony’s smiles too well to be fooled by this oddly fabricated one, immediately growing suspicious.

“Uhh, sure,” Steve says hesitantly, wrinkling his forehead. “Why the no-phone rule, though?”

“No reason,” Tony shrugs a little too quickly, then draws in a deep breath and exhales slowly. Taking a step closer to Steve, he reaches for Steve’s hand and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Just don’t want any distractions tonight... no work, no social media. Just you and me and a box of tissues for your sniffles.”

Tony says the last bit in a low, fond voice that makes Steve’s heart clench with fondness and his cheek go a dusty shade of red, speculation suddenly all forgotten.

“Yeah?” Steve ask a little shyly, biting his lower lip and looks at Tony through his his lashes.

“Yeah,” Tony confirms. “And a cup of tea as well, that’ll feel good on your throat.” He lifts his hand to lace his fingers through Steve’s hair, and Steve melts into the touch, closing his eyes contentedly.

“You’re too good to me,” Steve murmurs, exhaustion seeping into his voice as he nuzzles his head against Tony’s hand like a cat seeking attention from its owner.

“Nothing could ever be too good for you, darling. Now, off to the shower,” Tony says firmly, but his tone is still gentle. Steve nods, and he starts to walk towards the bathroom, but Tony stops him. “Wait!” he exclaims. “Your phone.”

Steve looks down at his pocket where his phone sticks out, then pulls it out and hands it to Tony with a sigh and a shake of his head. “You’re ridiculous,” Steve chuckles.

“Mhm... you love it,” Tony says confidently and smirks as Steve rolls his eyes in a playful manner. “Now. Hop to it, Captain.”

———

Steve doesn’t even think about not having his phone on the bedside table when they snuggle up in bed. The warm steam from the shower had broken loose some of the congestion in his head, but now he’s sniffling uncontrollably, and even blowing his nose half a dozen times does nothing to stop his runny nose. It’s tiring, and he’s so ready to just doze off against Tony when he joins him under the covers with a fresh box of Kleenex and a cup of hot tea with lemon and honey.

“Thanks, snf!” Steve says and takes a sip of his tea. It does feel heavenly, like Tony said it would, calming the scratchiness he’s felt in his throat all day.

“You’re welcome, baby.” Tony kisses the top of Steve’s head and lays an arm over his shoulders, inviting Steve to cuddle in close while he scrolls through their watchlist on Netflix.

By the time they’ve picked a movie, Steve has finished his tea and is resting in head on Tony’s chest, already half-sleep. Tony still has his arm wrapped protectively around the larger man, and his cheek has come to lean against Steve’s forehead. It’s comfortable and safe, and even though it’s somewhat new to them, being together and all, it feels familiar, like it’s always been this way.

Within 10 minutes of the movie, Steve is snoring softly from trying to breathe through his stuffy nose, and Tony is not far behind him. His own eyes have slipped shut, and he asked Jarvis to turn off the lights as soon as Steve’s breaths had evened out so he could let himself fall asleep.

———

They eat breakfast in the communal kitchen the next morning, making easy conversation over two plates of scrambled eggs and turkey bacon, coffee for Tony, and ginger tea for Steve.

He’s feeling a little better today, less like his head is stuffed with cotton and more like there’s just a faint sort of pressure on his sinuses. His throat feels better, too, and Steve thinks it must be the combination of a good night’s sleep and all the tea Tony’s made him drink over the last couple of days since he started coming down with his cold.

He’s still very sniffly, though, and he sneezes about seven or eight times from the time they wake up ‘till they’ve eaten their breakfast, Tony blessing him each time, sometimes following up with a sweet term of endearment or a quick kiss pressed to his cheek or hand.

They’re about to load the dishwater when Clint enters the kitchen, seemingly in a good mood, if the way his face is lit up is anything to go by. “Morning, lovebirds,” he says as he pours himself some coffee from the pot. “You feeling any better today, Cap?” he asks and takes a sip from the mug.

“I am, thanks,” Steve says, happy that Clint cared to ask. He quickly furrows his brows, though, because how would Clint know he had been sick? “How do you— weren’t you on a mission this past week?” Steve asks confusedly. He hadn’t been at the press conference yesterday, and he’d already been gone for a few days when Steve started coming down with his cold.

“I was, yeah. Came back late last night.”

That just makes Steve even more confused. “Then— then how did you know I’ve been sick?”

Clint frowns at him, looking just as confused as Steve feels. “Haven’t you...” he trails off, seemingly stumped. “You’re all over-“

“All over our group chat,” Tony cuts in hurriedly, interrupting Clint. “I made a text chain to let the team know you were under the weather. ‘Be nice to Steve, he’s sick’ and that sort of stuff,” he laughs nervously, glancing between Steve, whose expression has softened slightly, and Clint who’s still gaping at him.

Tony widens his eyes and cock his head at Clint when Steve goes back to filling the dishwater, mouthing get out now that Steve’s not looking.

Clint catches on, or at least he gets the impression he should just leave, because he quickly turns on his heels, mug in hand and exits the room. “Well, have a nice day,” he calls over his shoulder when he walks through the door.

“That was... odd, don’t you think?” Steve says, closing the dishwater and leaning against the counter.

Tony shrugs. “It’s Barton,” he says simply, as if that would explain the strange encounter. It makes enough sense to Steve, at least, because he just mirrors Tony and shrugs as well.

“I guess you’re right. Do you still have my phone, by the way? I should check my emails,” he says, looking around the kitchen to see if Tony put in somewhere in here.

Tony stills for a second before stammering out a, “N-no! No... I think it’s in the living room, but, uh, maybe you should take a day off,” he splutters, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “You know, just to make sure you’re not working yourself too hard when you’re sick.”

Steve smiles at Tony’s concern. “I’m feeling a lot better, thanks to you, so I think I’ll be good to look through a couple emails.”

Tony swallows around nothing, then clears his throat. “Okay,” he mumbles. “If you’re sure. Just... maybe you should stay off social media today. I think it’s best to give yourself a break from all that, especially when you’re still just getting better.” Tony winces at how illogical that sounded, and Steve picks up on it, too, because the frown on his face has returned and he look just as perplexed as before, if not more.

After a couple of seconds of uneasy silence, Steve sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tony, what is going on? Why is everyone acting to weird?” He might be a pretty face and all, but Steve isn’t stupid. He can tell when something’s off, even if he subconsciously tries to ignore it.

Tony holds his breath for a moment, then exhales defeatedly and pulls out his phone. “You’re gonna hate this,” he mutters under his breath and hands the device to Steve, who takes a look at the screen.

Aww, poor Steve, he looks so tired and cute when he’s all sick and sneezy #GodBlessAmerica

I never thought I’d call a sneeze hot, but damn, the way cap flexed his bicep when he sneezed was h a w t!! #GodBlessAmerica

I thought he couldn’t get sick anymore? #GodBlessAmerica

Okay, but captain america sneezing is actually adorable #GodBlessAmerica

Steve lets out a noise that sounded like a mix between a frustrated groan and a pained whimper. So apparently he’s now a number one trending topic on Twitter… great.

He slides the phone onto the kitchen counter, the screen facing downwards so he couldn’t see Tony’s Twitter-feed. Burrowing his face in his hands, he sighs fretfully. “Why?” he mumbles, the sound muffled by his palms. “Why? This is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever experienced.”

When he emerges from hiding his face, he pouts, then sniffles when a warm, tingling sensation starts at the back of his nose. He scrunches up his entire face in an attempt to fight off the sneeze, but it’s useless.

Tony looks at him fondly and pats his back when he raises his arm to catch a rush of sneezes.

“huh’UTSSchhh! ehhIIShhoo! uhTSC’uhh!“

He keeps his nose and mouth covered for a few seconds, waiting to see if the lingering itch will actually turn into anything more than that. It doesn’t, not right away at least, and instead he just snuffles into the soft material of his hoodie. “Ugh... sorry, I’mb such a mbess.”

The sneezes seem to have re-established the congestion, and Steve fumbles with the tissue box that’s in the countertop, pulling out a couple.

“Bless you,” Tony says warmly. “You’re just a little sick, honey.”

“A sick mess, then,” Steve says into the tissue, and he looks a little bashful when he has to blow his nose, turning away from Tony.

Tony leans in to press a kiss to Steve’s shoulder before reaching around him to grab his phone. Unlocking it, he reopens Twitter and starts scrolling. He doesn’t get to read more than a few tweets before Steve’s large hand covers the screen.

“Don’t look at that,” he whines. “It’s horrible.” Steve knows he sounds petulant and childish, but he’s too annoyed to care.

Tony chuckles, though, which makes him even more annoyed, and Steve huffs, not understanding why Tony is suddenly laughing at him. When Tony catches Steve’s glare, he just smiles.

“They’re not so bad,” Tony shrugs. Steve rolls his eyes and start to pull away. “Hey, they could’ve been a lot worse. Most of these are either just people being concerned or saying how cute you look, which I wholeheartedly agree with.”

Steve hesitantly removes his hand and peeks over Tony’s shoulder as he continues going through the trending topic.

Most them are actually quite sweet, Steve has to admit, and he even finds himself smiling at a few of them.

“See, that’s cute,” Tony says, pointing to a tweet that reads,

I hope our precious bean remembers to take care of himself and get plenty of rest and drink lots of tea. @tonystark pls give @captsteverogers all the cuddles! #GodBlessAmerica

Steve hums, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards as he nuzzles his nose into Tony’s hair. Then a video pops into view, and Tony scrolls past it, but Steve is curious and asks Tony to go back up.

“What’s that?” he points to the video.

Tony taps on it, and footage of Steve at the press conference yesterday pops up. The camera is zoomed in on him, and Steve immediately recognizes the scene.

At first it’s just the nose rubbing and consistent throat-clearing, but 20 seconds into the video, though, a familiar melody starts playing in the background, and Steve sighs. He’s so tired of hearing Star Spangled Man being played in any situation let alone this one. The rest of the recording basically just shows all of Steve’s sneezes, the almost-sneezes, and coughs with the underlying music, and that’s really all Steve remembers, because he wants to pretend he never saw that video as soon as it’s over.

“I know I was just starting to accept this but I take it back. This is horrible,” Steve groans. He tries to take the phone out of Tonys hand, and he would probably delete the Twitter-app if he got the chance to do so.

Tony clutches it to his chest, though, and shakes his head at Steve. “Look, I know you think this sucks, I thought so, too, the first time. But come on, Steve, it’s funny,” he claims, smiling while saying it. “Besides, look at all your fans! They adore you, they just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“What do you mean you thought so too?”

“Uh, sorry—?” Tony blinks at Steve, brow furrowed.

“You said you thought it sucked the first time too. What did you mean by that?”

Tony exhales, laughs a little, at turns to look into Steve’s eyes. “You think none of my sneezes have been caught on camera?” He asks, raising his eyebrows.

Steve doesn’t know how to answer. He just looks blankly at Tony, like he’s still not quite sure what Tony’s trying to say.

“There are numerous compilation videos of me sneezing on the internet,” the brunette explains. “Interviews, press conferences, talk shows, even just videos of me walking down the street. But that’s what you get for being a public figure. They sometimes catch you at the worst moments. God, the amount of content they must have of me sneezing through all of allergy season would be truly astonishing—“

Steve chuckles a little, tightening his arms around Tony.

“— and yeah, it’s a little embarrassing at first, but looking back on it, it’s actually quite funny.”

“I really don’t see how you can find that funny, babe,” Steve says, smiling and shaking his head at Tony.

Tony seems to take that as a challenge and quickly goes to YouTube, typing something into the search bar.

“Tony, I don’t—“ Steve doesn’t accept the phone when Tony tries to hand it to him.

“Come on, Steve, just watch it.”

Steve sighs and takes the phone. The video is about 2 and a half minutes long and just like Tony had said, there’re videos of him sneezing in a variety of different settings: some at a talk show Steve can’t remember the name of, some at a some sort of conference, a couple of Tony walking through Central Park. There is even one of him right after a battle, still wearing the Iron Man armour but with his helmet off.

“They’re different now,” Steve comments when the video ends.

“Sorry?” Tony says, not understanding what Steve meant. “What’s different?”

Steve’s lips quirk upwards. “Your sneezes. They’re different. Now you always lean away from however you’re talking to, and you always excuse yourself beforehand...” Steve smiles bashfully, realizing he knows all these small details about Tony that are so obscure but so clear in Steve’s mind.

Tony smiles too, probably realizing the same thing. “That kinda sounds like someone I know... I think you’re rubbing off on me, Rogers,” he says and stands on his tiptoes to reach Steve’s cheek with his lips.

Steve leans into the soft touch of warmth and returns the gesture with a kiss to Tony’s forehead.

“I kinda get what you meant about it being cute when I sneeze, though” Steve mumbles into Tony’s hair after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah... You looked adorable in that video, with your face all scrunched up like that.”

That makes Tony laugh, makes his eyes gleam and crinkle slightly at the corners. Then Tony’s eyes draw away from Steve’s and move further down his face until his gaze reaches the pink tip of Steve’s nose. With a mischievous look, he leans up to place a delicate peck right on the centre of it. His lips barely touch Steve before his nose twitches and he has to duck his head into his shoulder.

“hehhIIssh! tchSH!”

Wasting no time, Tony takes Steve’s face in both of his hands, pulling him down into a deep, eager kiss before mumbling against Steve’s lips, “God bless America.”

[thefuzzydarkness]

She woke up to the sound of her alarm clock practically screaming at her. She looked at the time and sighed. She had to get up. She'd already used up all her "5 more minutes" and "just a little longers". She sat up and immediately regretted it. The room was spinning around her and a sharp pain shot through her temples. She walked into the bathroom and groaned when she looked in the mirror. She had deep bags under her eyes, her face was pale, and her cheeks were flushed. In short she looked like hammered shit. "hh..Iiittcchuu Iittchhu...ugh" She grabbed some toilet paper and blew her nose which she now noticed was partially clogged. She quickly did her makeup and threw her hair into a low ponytail before changing into her uniform. Hoping this was a problem caffeine could solve she downed a cup of coffee. It did help her headache a little but it made her throat feel dry and itchy. She scrambled to grab the last of her things and got into the car. Through some miracle (and much speeding) she managed to get to work on time. She was just clocking in when her boss said "Hey, glad you're here. I need you to take over for Sam on drive-thru. He's gotta leave early." She nodded but groaned internally. Normally she wouldn't mind doing drive-thru but her throat was already in pain. Not to mention the cold air that would blow in her face every time she opened the window. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and walked over to Sam. "Hey *snf* I'm taking over. Give me the headset." Sam smiled and handed her the headset.  "Yes! I didn't think they'd actually let me leave early!! I'm getting so fucked up tonight!" 

"What's the occasion?"

"It's my little brother's 21st! I'm gonna show him all my favorite spots! Tonight is gonna be unforgettable!" She laughed. "Well, have a drink for me and be safe."

"Will do! And thanks for taking over for me. I owe ya one." She nodded

"I'll hold you to it *snf*"

The headset dinged. "And so it begins."

She pushed the button to talk. "Hi there! What can i…*snf* Sorry, what can I get for you?" She rubbed her nose trying to stave off the tickle. "I'll have a double cheeseburger combo, no pickles with a fry and a coke."

"Would you like to make that...that a...Iittchhu ittchuu...excuse me would you like to make that a large today?" 

"No thanks."

"Alright I'll have your total at the second *snf* window please drive around." This did not bode well for the rest of the day. It felt like there wasn't one order that she didn't sneeze or cough through. And the amount of people telling her to "speak up" as she was losing her voice was going to drive her insane. She couldn't find any tissues so she'd been blowing her nose into paper towels making it red and agitated. The headset dinged again "Hi there bay I take your order?" A familiar voice came through the speaker. "Hi it's Judy you know what I want." 

"We've got you Biss Judy! Cobe od up!" Ms. Judy was one of her favorite customers. She'd been coming here for years and was an absolute sweetheart.

"How ya doig today Biss Judy?"

"I'm doing good, how are you?"

"I'b doig… Iittchhu ii..iittCHU..scuse be *snf* I'b doig ok." 

"Sounds like quite a nasty cold you've got there."

"I'b ok really I.." Ms.Judy stuck her hand through the window and touched her forehead.

"You definitely have a fever hun. You should be in bed." She shrugged

"As buch as I'd love that I doubt they'll...ittchu Iittchhu *snf*...let be leave." She coughed into her elbow and Ms. Judy winced at the sound.

"Well I hope you feel better sweetie take care." 

"Thagks."

Not five minutes later her boss came to the back window.

"Hey we had a customer complain that you're too sick to work is that true?"

Her voice came out as no more than a croak. "I'b fide really. I cad't afford to biss… Iittchhu Iittchhuu ItttCHU ITTCCHHUU…" She blew her nose and looked up at her boss whose face had turned from annoyed to concerned. He tapped another employee on the shoulder "Take over drive-thru for a minute." She gave up her headset and followed him into the office. "This is just great." She thought. They entered the small office and he shut the door behind her. He pulled out one of those thermometers that go into your ear. "Turn your head to the side." She did as instructed. 

"102.5. Jeez girl I'm surprised you aren't melting. Why didn't you just call in or tell me you weren't feeling well?"

Without warning she burst into tears.

 "I'b sorry it's just *snf* I cad barely afford redt as it is. School is cobing up sood it's all happedig at odce." She started coughing again and he rubbed her back. He'd worked with her for years but he'd never seen her break down like this. She was usually so strong and cheerful. Always willing to come in early or stay late. Come to think of it he couldn't think of one time she'd even asked to leave early let alone called in. "Hey it's ok. I'm sorry all of this is happening but you've got to take care of yourself too. You're not going to do anyone any good if you pass out or let this turn into pneumonia. Now I'm going to take over drive-thru and you are going to go home and rest. Do you work tomorrow?" She nodded "*snf* By dext day off is Friday." 

 "Well I don't want you coming in until your fevers been gone for at least twenty four hours. Do you think you can drive yourself home or do you have someone who can come get you?"

She paused "I'b pretty sure I cad...hold on...Iittchhu iittCHU ugh sorry… I'b pretty sure I cad drive. I dod't live too far." He grabbed a box of tissues from under his desk and handed it to her "Well, take this with you. As your boss I'm ordering you to go home, eat some soup, and get some rest." She smiled, "Cad do sir." 

"Good now get out of my office before you get me and half the staff sick." She nodded and started to leave. She turned back "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Thagk you… for everythig." 

"I'm always here to help." With that she clocked out and rushed to her car the promise of a warm bed calling her name.

The End

[pbandjesse]

I was kind of a mess today. But last night was so fun. The show we went to see was so funny. It was paet installation, part performance, part participatory, and part clownery. Both me and James got to be volenteers and come on stage. There was confetti and it was great. I also really enjoyed talking to the performer after. He was very nice and fun to talk to. And then we came home. It was a really fun date.

But my back started hurting again and i couldn't lay down. I was almost in tears it hurt so much. It wasnt fun at all.

Eventually I was able to fall asleep but I had bad dreams. It wasn't fun. And getting up this morning wasnt fun. But I did get up snf hsve breakfast pie with James. But I felt bad and I couldn't shake it. James is really suppirtive but I hate feeling like I'm a lump. He finally convinced me to go lay back down.

And i fell asleep before be left for work.

I woke up around 1130 and while I didnt feel great i did feel better. I had a snack and put on clothes. I washed my face and started working on art.

I didnt get lesson stuff done. I'll try that tomorrow. But I did get art stuff accomplished. I cleaned and baked the giveaway prizes. I msee a sculpture for my student. I decided to make Remix, the new furby, into a puppy. Made my first owo mouth. Which i used a candle to heat an xacto blade and then sanded and filed it. Im really happy with him.

I decided to make a fort over the studio ravioli and it's really cozy. I may add more fabric. And maybe some string lights. But its an excellent hiding space.

I wandered around the apsrtment for a while. I did a face mask with Jess. She was doing one up in new york so I did one at the same time. I refolded the clothes I packed. I decided what I still needed from the laundry that well do tomorrow. And then I laid down.

I started feeling bad. My allergies and everything had me in a fog. Eventually James came home and we hung out a little. He went to go sit for a while before he decided to rub to the store for a pepper and onion to make us tex mex.

While he was gone I took a bath. It helped. And eating helped a lot. I felt a lot better after we had dinner and I got thr energy to go make a little suit for Pascal for the wedding this weekend. Im really proud of it!!

I also got the show card for the gallery show this weekend and I'm really excited about it. Im looking forward to this weekend.

James is in the other playing guitar. And I had to stop writing for a little because he played a song that made me cry. I love him so much. Im going to go bother him.

Tomorrow I hope to paint and then work at the school. Im looking forward to seeing the kids.

I hope you all have a great night. Sleep well everyone.

[straightupsickfics]

At @onetrickponi ‘s encouragement, i wrote my own wwdits prompt <3 nandor is confused by his urge to take care of Guillermo when he gets sick

****

“Guillermo?” Nandor calls. “Have you seen my cape?”

Nandor frowns as he stalks out of his room in search of his familiar. It’s bad enough he’d had to get himself out of his coffin this morning without the help of Guillermo, which is no easy task with a lid that solid. 

Now he can’t find his cape. 

“Guillermo? You’re not locking yourself away in self-pity again, are you? I thought we talked about this…” 

“What’re you on about?” Laszlo asks, appearing from nowhere in the hallway. 

“Gizmo’s not missing again is he? I need my dry cleaning,” Nadja sighs. 

“No, no, he isn’t missing. Though I don’t actually know where he is,” Nandor says. His eyes flick through the living room and dining rooms with no luck, and he finds the study empty, too. 

By the time he makes his way back to Nadja and Laszlo, Colin Robinson is awake, too, peering at him skeptically from behind his glasses. 

“Sorry to be captain obvious here,” Colin says, clearly not sorry in the slightest, “but has anyone checked his bedroom?” he asks, a single eyebrow raised.

“Of course he’s checked the man’s bloody bedroom!” Laszlo says before Nandor can admit that, no, he hadn’t actually looked there. 

“I, um… will be right back, just one moment,” Nandor says, turning on his heel and making his way over to Guillermo’s room. 

The house is a mess, he realizes, dust in places it normally wouldn’t be, a body left at the foot of the stairs. Come to think of it, when was the last time he’d seen Guillermo? It’s rare they go an hour without speaking, but now that he’s really thinking about it, Nandor hasn’t seen him in at least a day or two now. 

“Guillermo?” Nadnor raps on his familiar’s bedroom door before charging in and finding Guillermo…. In bed. Well, there’s a Guillermo-shaped lump on his bed, anyway, covered from head to toe in blankets. Where had he found all of those blankets? 

“You’re still in bed? It is nine o’clock Guillermo, what are you still doing in here?” The room is warm and close and there’s a terrible smell that Nandor isn’t familiar with. Like sick people and decay, almost. Nandor gives an unhappy sniff before poking at Guillermo. 

“Guillermo,” he repeats, and finally gets a response. The blankets shift to reveal his very disheveled looking familiar. Guillermo’s eyes are red and watery, and there are unusually dark rings beneath his eyes, too. His nose is red, and he looks so pale, even in the darkness of the room, Nandor can see he looks more vampire than mere mortal today. 

“Oh, snf! hi,” Guillermo says tiredly. He scrubs a hand over his face and looks up at Nandor. 

“Yes, hello,” Nandor says. “I have been looking for you everywhere.” 

Even as bad as he looks, Guillermo narrows his eyes. “And my room’b was snf! The last place you thought to check?”

Nandor just barely manages to suppress his eye roll. “That is not the point. The point is you were not there when I woke up this morning and now I cannot find my cape.” 

“It’s in the basement; you had me iron it the other day, remember?” 

Ah. He does remember, now that he thinks about it. 

“Okay, well, will you be joining us today because you’re supposed to be —”

Nandor is cut off by a sharp gasp from Guillermo, and when he looks up, the man’s face is frozen, his eyes squeezed shut as his breath snags again. 

“h’Uhh-hh! huhhTSCHhoo!”

“Guillermo, what was that? What’s going on?” 

Guillermo sniffles and scrubs at his nose, which only makes his face crumple again, bending forward and sneezing into the blankets. “hetCHssh! tChisshh!”

When his familiar just blinks up at him for a long moment, Nandor’s struck with an unfamiliar feeling in his gut, like something warm and fluttering had crawled into his stomach. What a strange morning it’s shaping up to be.

“It was a s’dneeze,” Guillermo explains. “I caught a cold, I think.” 

“A cold,” Nandor repeats, trying the word out. 

Guillermo nods, then ducks aside, shaking with a coughing fit. 

“I’ll try and get some stuff done later, okay? I really don’t feel well,” Guillermo says. “I’mb freezi’g and my n’ndose won’t stop…” He shakes his head and sneezes a few more times, one following hot on the heels of the last, and Nandor feels it again, that strange feeling. 

“I will be right back,” he says, and leaves Guillermo to snuffle into a handful of tissues. 

“I found him. Guillermo is… unwell,” Nandor reports when he gets back to the living room. He shifts uncomfortably as he says the words. 

“Unwell? It’s not that damned Scarlet Fever, is it?” Laszlo demands. 

“He said it is… a cold,” Nandor explains, eyebrows knitting together.

Laszlo snorts. “Ah, nothing to worry about then, he’ll be right as rain in a matter of days. Do keep his germs away from the rest of us though, won’t you Nandor?” With that, he takes Nadja’s arm and the two of them leave the room, apparently ready to get on with the rest of their day. 

“Well, what do I do now?” Nandor asks, turning to Colin Robinson.

Colin frowns. “Do? Gizmo’s the one who has things to do that aren’t getting done.” 

Nandor glares at him. “He looked so pathetic and small in there. He looks quite ill. I felt a bit odd in there myself,” he says.

“You can’t have gotten sick from him already,” Colin says. “Can vampires even catch colds?” 

Nandor isn’t sure, but he doesn’t want to explain his mess of feelings to Colin. “I don’t know, Colin Robinson, maybe you can look it up on your world wide website…” He leaves before Colin can reply. 

*

In his room, Guillermo is sitting upright now, but he isn’t looking any better. He looks like he might start sneezing again at any moment, actually, and he keeps making a sound in his throat that Nandor knows he should find irritating, and yet…

“You’re up!” Nandor says, like this is a great accomplishment. 

“Umb, yeah…” Guillermo agrees. “I took some m’bedicine so, hopefully that kicks in…” 

Nandor nods. “Yes! Medicine, a great invention.”

Guillermo nods and continues to stare at him. “Why are you… I mean, what… I mean… what’s going on, master? I told you I would catch up later, and I found your cape for you so you can really just…”

“You do not wish for company when you have… a cold?” Nandor asks. The fluttering in his stomach is really out of control now, what with the way Guillermo is looking at him all sad like this and sniffling over and over again. 

“You want to keep me company? I’mb kind of gross…” Guillermo says. 

Nandor shrugs. He can’t put it into words, but he has no desire to leave the room, though he isn’t sure what, if anything, he can manage to do for his familiar when he’s like this. 

“What’s that you’re watching?” Nandor says instead, sitting uncertainly on the edge of Guillermo’s bed. It’s warm, and the smell he now knows is from the medicine and cough drops Guillermo has been consuming. 

“Uh, Gilmore Girls,” Guillermo tells him, holding out his phone for Nandor to see. 

As if he has any idea what a Gilmore Girl is, Nandor nods excitedly. “Ah! Well, if you do not mind, I would like to watch it with you. Make sure you do not get any worse.” 

“I don’t think I’ll get w-worse, I’m just… sndeezing a lot,” Guillermo says, then bends at the waist and sneezes down at the blankets again. “h’ttCHshh! hehTSch! Tschew! uhh… uhhIShiooo!”

“That was…quite a lot. I will stay here if you do not mind,” Nandor repeats, and if he didn’t know better, he would say his familiar is almost pleased by this. A different kind of warmth settles over him at this, and he makes himself comfortable beside Guillermo on the bed. 

Before too long, Nandor looks over at a soft, rumbling sound and finds his familiar sound asleep, his head against Nandor’s shoulder. It looks like he really isn’t going anywhere now.

[omg-just-peachy]

I think it’s time to let go of this super self-indulgent, sick Steve thing I’ve been writing on and off for forever now. It’s basically just cuddling + a shower + Tony being a Very Attentive Boyfriend because i love them, okay! 

Tony woke to find Steve pressed snugly against his back, arms wrapped around him so tightly that Tony couldn’t go anywhere even if he wanted to. But he so, so did not. They were both affectionate in their own ways, but Steve typically wasn’t a cuddly sleeper, and it was normally Tony who found himself curling up to his much larger boyfriend.

He smiled to himself and turned to press a kiss to Steve’s forehead. It was early, and warm, and Steve looked so soft and peaceful sound asleep and latched onto him. Yeah, Tony could easily fall back to sleep given these circumstances. He sighed contentedly and pulled Steve in even closer to him.

He was just about to fall asleep himself when he felt Steve shift beside him. The other man sat up suddenly, overcome with a coughing fit before Tony could say so much as “good morning.”

Steve had mentioned feeling exhausted last night, and had looked a little pale, but otherwise, he’d seemed fine to Tony. He had turned down his offer of tea, insisting instead on going to bed early. And Tony would never have turned that down. He loved just laying in bed with Steve, no matter what they were doing. He would never get over the sense of warmth and happiness and home he got whenever they were just...laying next to each other. Who knew he could be such an absolute sap when it came to one Steven Grant Rogers.

Tony sat upright himself, rubbing Steve’s back gently. “That does not sound good…” he said sympathetically as Steve caught his breath.

“Mph, Tony... I dond’t feel good.” Steve said as he fell back onto his pillows. His voice was congested and rough, like it pained him to talk. He wrapped his arms around Tony tightly, burying his face in Tony’s chest. Tony bit his tongue to stop himself from making a quippy remark about how un-Steve this all was. Steve, who would usually fight tooth and nail before admitting he was sick, and even then, hated when Tony made a fuss. But since Steve was always so together and in control, when he was feeling low, Tony just wanted to do everything he could to take care of him.

Maybe today would be his chance.

“Poor guy, this really came out of nowhere. What can I do?” Tony asked as Steve grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on his bedside table. Even after the serum, Steve still had his fair share of allergies, so the tissues were never far from him. This, though, was different.

Steve gasped before bringing the tissues to his nose just in time to catch a fit of soft, congested sneezes.

“ehhh-heh… TSCh’oo! h’TSChiew! Ehh- T-Tondy- EhhISH! H’Ishhiew! Can ih-I-Schiew! SNF!”

Steve gave up trying to speak after a minute, overcome by his red, irritated nose, until he finally got some relief and was able to tiredly blow his nose.

“Bless you, Steve. Can you what, sweetheart?” Tony asks when Steve has somewhat recovered.

“Can I just lay here with you -snf!-  today?” Steve asks, sounding every bit as exhausted as he looks.

Tony takes in Steve’s pale face, pink nose and flushed cheeks. He feels a pull in his chest. Steve is never so open, even with him, when he’s sick. It’s usually sneezes stifled into a fist, insistence that he feels fine, and an aversion to the attention Tony always want to shower him with.

“Of course you can, Steve, I’m not going anywhere.” Tony assures him. “I can ask Pepper to clear both our schedules for today. You definitely aren’t going anywhere sounding like that, and I’m not leaving you here by yourself when you feel like this.”

Steve sighs, relieved at the thought of a day in bed with Tony. After blowing his nose again, he folds himself back into the blankets and rolls himself closer to Tony, who presses a palm to Steve’s forehead, worried he has a fever on top of everything else.

“You feel really warm, honey,” Tony tells him, voice dripping with concern. “I’m going to go grab you some medicine. Then if you’re up for it, maybe we can take a quick shower, try and cool you down some, okay?”

Steve curls himself around Tony even tighter in response. “Dond’t leave mbe,” he snuffles into Tony’s chest, making his heart just about implode.

“I’m not leaving, I’m coming right back, I promise.” He gives him a soft, chaste kiss before getting out of bed. He didn't care if he got sick himself. He’d never seen Steve like this, needy and desperate for his company. Tony couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him for any longer than absolutely necessary. When he returns with medicine and some juice for Steve, he finds his sick boyfriend on his side of the bed, cuddling his pillow. Tony smiles before nudging his way back into the bed beside him.

“Told you I was coming right back,” he says by way of greeting. Steve’s eyes flutter open and he smiles wearily before sneezing softly twice into his elbow. “Eh’hiitshiiew! Huh-Ushh! ‘Scuse mbe,” he says, shivering in the aftermath.

“Bless you. Here, take this,” Tony says, holding out the water and cold medicine to Steve, who takes it without complaint. “It should help the fever and the congestion, but I still think we should get you in the shower, too, just in case.”

Steve mumbles something into the pillow,and Tony thinks he can make out the words “too tired.”

“I know, but I think it’ll help you feel a little better, sweetheart, and I’ll come with you.” Tony promises him softly. Steve pulls himself up and presses his face into Tony’s neck. Tony runs his hands through Steve’s hair; it’s damp at the ends and he feels way too warm against him.

“You think we can get you to the bathroom, soldier?” Tony asks softly. Steve mumbles a response but lets himself be pulled upright.

Tony manages to coax a bleary-eyed, stuffy Steve into the shower. Steve leans most of his weight on him as Tony adjusts the water to what he thinks is the perfect temperature: cool enough to help Steve’s fever, but not cold enough to give him the chills. Standing under the water does seem to wake Steve up some, much to Tony’s relief. He kisses his cheek, moving down to his neck as Steve shivers against him.

“Poor Steven, not feeling great today, hmm?” Tony says, voice low.

“Mmm no but this SNF! Helps,” Steve sighs into Tony’s shoulder.

Tony grabs the simple, nondescript shampoo Steve uses and lathers some in his hands, running them through Steve’s hair gently. Steve closes his eyes and shudders slightly at the sensation of Tony’s hands in wet his hair and his nails on his scalp.

“Feels good,” he says with a small smile that makes Tony melt just a little.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Tony says, grinning back at him. “Someone’s gotta take care of you.”

“Glad it’s you though-” Steve starts before becoming overpowered by a tickle in his already red nose. “Eh- SNF!-heh! Ehshiew! Ish! hh’ehtishiew!” Steve looks bleary-eyed and exhausted afterwards, and with Tony’s help, they make their way out of the shower and back into the bedroom, where Steve manages to pull on his thickest hoodie and a pair of sweats that look like they’ve seen way better days.

To Tony’s great relief, he feels cooler after the shower, and he hopes it won’t be long before the medicine is helping him at least a little. He’d just about tripled the dose in an attempt to have it fight through Steve’s insane metabolism. He’s also looking slightly more awake, and Tony uses the opportunity to walk them both into the living room, where he leaves Steve with a blanket and instructions to pick a movie while he makes him some soup.

“It’s snf! ten o’clock in the mornding, Tony,” Steve says with a smile.

“Is it? Oh, right, okay. Toast and tea it is, then!” Tony insists, hurrying into the kitchen.

Tony returns not even ten minutes later with a breakfast tray set for an army. There’s the tea he made for Steve, coffee for himself (it was only ten in the morning after all), an entire gallon of orange juice for Steve, toast, and enough fruit for at least ten people.

Steve starts to laugh, but is overcome by a painful sounding coughing fit. Tony rubs his back and tells him to relax.

“Shh, I’ll still be hilarious when you’re feeling better, don’t worry” Tony says with a wink. “Besides, all of this is necessary; there’s Vitamin C galore, and you, my darling, need it.”

Steve puts up surprisingly little resistance to this, drinking the tea and orange juice, and even attempting a few bites of the fruit and toast, though he tells Tony it hurts his throat. Poor guy.

They finally settle on a movie, something old and comforting for Steve, who is pressed as close to Tony as he can get, curling himself in against Tony’s warmth and shivering lightly. They lay there for a while quietly, Tony rubbing Steve’s back and running a hand through his shower-damp hair every now and then. Tony’s eyes are falling shut in the warmth of it all when Steve’s sniffling starts to sound more urgent, and Tony feels his chest start to rise and fall as a sneeze builds. Steve struggles against him, trying his best to get up and away from Tony in time to sneeze again.

“It’s okay, I got you,” Tony says softly. This is enough for Steve, who is too exhausted to really try and get up, and sneezes a few shuddery “Ehhshiiew! H’ehhISH! Snff! SNF! ehh-ISH!” against Tony’s shoulder. He sniffles and starts to apologize before Tony quiets him with a brush of his lips against Steve’s.

“You’re okay, really,” he says, passing him a fresh handful of tissues. “Are you warm enough? There’s more blankets where these came from,” Tony tells him, brushing a thumb along Steve cheek as he lays beside him.

“You’re snf! warmb enough for me,” Steve says into Tony’s neck. Tony smiles in response, wrapping his arms around Steve and settling in for a day with this new, cuddly Steve; it was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.

[softsnzstuff]

Sicktember Day 6 - Sick on Vacation

@sicktember Day 6

Prompt: Sick on Vacation / paired with an ask: Streamer Steve and Eddie at a convention? Steve has a cold but was insistent on coming to meet his fans, he even made little signed photo cards for the first few people. Eddie makes him wear a mask and follows him around, doting on him during the entire day. Has tissues, cough drops, and water for him 🥹

Fandom: Stranger Things, streamer AU

Word Count: 2.6k

CW: None

“Are you sure you don’t just want to cancel?” Eddie pressed.

Steve had been booked to come out to StreamCon in San Francisco this weekend to livestream, meet fans, and do a few panels.

Steve folded a shirt and added it to the suitcase, “No, Eddie, I told you already. The fans would be so disappointed and I already made snFF some signed cards for the first 25.”

“Steve you’ve had this stupid cold for like three days…” Eddie’s voice now tiptoed into concerned territory.

“Yeah snF, three days already it should be practically gone by thehhh-”

“Bless you!”

“HEH ISSSSH! Tisssssh! EHH’ktchEW!”

The last sneeze had been messier than anticipated. Eddie grabbed a couple tissues from the box and handed them to Steve who still had a wrist in front of his face.

“Christ Stevie, what am I gonna do with you?” Eddie scolded slightly, “You should wear a mask when you’re meeting fans since that was more than a little disgusting.”

“Already planni’g od it.” Steve mumbled from behind the tissues.

**

The next day, the boys were at the airport waiting to board the flight to SF. Steve insisted on lunch and Eddie insisted on Burger King.

“Smile Steve!” Eddie laughed as he snapped a photo with his phone.

Eddie tapped away at the screen for a minute and then held the phone at arms length to show Steve what he’d posted.

“Who’s sick, a streamer and coming to a city near you? If you guessed Steve and live in San Francisco - it’s your lucky day! Be prepared to wash your hands a LOT ! Steve is like. Super gross rn.”

“Great Tha’gks. Really captured m’by charmb…”

Eddie laughed as the worker called order 86 and they collected their food.

The four hour flight was pretty uneventful. Steve was asleep, restless against Eddie’s shoulder in business class. every now and then, the older of the two would reach over and pull the younger closer to him, rubbing his arm to comfort him.

The rest of their evening was filled spent checking into their hotel and going out to find some early dinner so Steve could rest before StreamCon started tomorrow. They settled on a small Mexican restaurant.

When they’d finished eating, Eddie noticed one of the waitresses staring at them. He chuckled and ushered her over with a smile.

“Oh my gosh, hi. Sorry I didn’t want to interrupt you guys but I’m a big fan of Steve’s streams.”

A huge smile crossed Steve’s face. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m a bit sick this week. What’s your name?”

“I’m Cassie! I’m actually coming to StreamCon tomorrow! I requested the day off MONTHS ago!” She exclaimed. She couldn’t be any older than 22.

“It’s so nice to meet you Cassie. I’ll see you tomorrow alright?”

The girl nodded enthusiastically with a “thank you”.

“Take care, love.” Eddie said. He was always soft with Steve’s fans. He popped into some streams every now and again - enough that the fans knew who he was.

Eddie glanced over to Steve who was coughing into his shirt collar.

“Let’s head back to the hotel. You sound like you need some rest.” Eddie suggested, Steve nodding tiredly in agreement.

**

Eddie woke up at 8am the next morning. Steve was still snoring beside him, so Eddie quietly left the bed and hopped in the hotel shower, letting the warm spray wake him up.

“Hey sleepy,” Eddie placed a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder and kissed his forehead, “Today’s your big day.”

“Wha times’it?” Steve groaned.

“It’s almost 8:30.”

Steve groaned again, triggering a cough that Eddie didn’t like the sound of.

“Why don’t you take a shower. Might help with some of the congestion.”

Steve nodded sleepily and slowly got up, grabbing his outfit for the day and then heading into the bathroom.

The younger man turned on the water, stepped inside and breathed in the steam, immediately feeling the shift in his sinuses.

“AGKTchew! Tsschiew! Snfff SNF EHH’ktchEW!!”

He sniffled for a minute as he applied and then rinsed the shampoo from his hair.

“TSSSCHEW!”

On the other side of the door, Eddie winced. Steve definitely sounded worse for wear this morning. Thinking ahead, the long haired man had packed a small Fanny pack that had tissues and cough drops. He packed it away for the moment just as Steve opened the bathroom door, a small steam cloud billowing out. Steve emerged, drying his hair with a towel.

“-ssCHEW!”

“Bless you! How are you feeling babe?”

“Ummb..” He coughed, “Ndot great but uh… I’ll be okay.”he did up the top buttons of his shirt and kissed Eddie on the cheek.

Twenty minutes of hair drying, hair styling, and putting on rings (for Eddie), they were out the door ubering to the convention center. They were dropped off at the special backstage door for guests only.

“Hi Steve, Eddie! Thanks so much for coming. We’re just wrapping up the opening ceremony and people will be on the floor soon. I think we’re going to start with some photo ops if that’s alright?” The woman had a managerial vibe about her.

“Sure.” They both nodded.

“Alright, follow me please.”

She led them down a corridor that led to some double doors. She opened them and it led them out behind a curtained area where the photo ops would be held.

“I’ll have you guys in booth B for now. This is Tracy and she’ll be your handler for the day.”

“Nice to meet you guys! Everyone is so excited to see you, Steve.” Tracy was a mid 20’s Asian woman with an artistic air about her. She seemed lighthearted and fun. “So we’ve got about ten minutes before the attendees start lining up, is it okay for the photographer to get a few test shots?”

“Sure! I’ll just stand here?” Steve pointed at a tape ‘X’ on the floor. “Eddie?”

“They’re not here for me, man. This is allll you, big boy.”Eddie smirked and took a seat on a stool just out of frame, near where the attendees would be exiting.

“Alright Mr.Harrington, my names Greg and I’ll be the photographer. If you could just look right here for me… aaaaaaand big smiles!”

The flash went off, bouncing off the light reflectors all over the room.

“And one more please Steve.”

Once more the flash went off and Steve could feel a prickle in his nose.

“Heh-issssh! Hhhh heh’Tisssh!”

“Bless you! Sorry my lights can have that effect sometimes.” Greg joked. He was an older man in his 40’s and was very near bald but very friendly.

“Steve-” Eddie called over now that Greg was done with his test shots.

Steve walked over towards Eddie to see him wearing a Fanny pack and holding out a tissue. He choked back a laugh as he swiped the tissue.

“Is that a fandy pack Mudsond? Where?? Why???”

“It’s full of the good stuff for you today, don’t question it!”

Steve blew his nose and tossed the tissue in the trash can to Eddie, looking a little unsure of what to do with his hands.

“Are you looking for this?” Eddie asked, holding up an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer.

“Actually yeah.” Steve cupped his hands and held them out while Eddie squirted some into his hands.

“I’m on sanitizer duty for the fans now.” He smiled.

“Sorry to interrupt Steve, the attendees are lining up whenever you’re ready.” Tracy had left a few minutes ago and was now poking her head back through the curtain.

“Yeah, go ahead and send them in!” Steve resumed his spot on the X as two more volunteers filed in, one at the curtain to let them in, and the other by Steve to help get them in the photos.

A chorus of screams rang out as mostly late teen to early twenties girls came in, a few dudes in there as well.

“Oh my god STEEEEEEVE!! HES HERE!”

“Okay my love, you’re first.” The volunteer ushered her over to stand next to Steve.

“Hi, I’m Steve. It’s so nice to meet you.” He greeted her.

“Thanks for coming!! I know you’re not feeling well. Can I have a hug?”

“Sure.”

Steve wrapped his arms around the girl as Greg snapped the photo.

“Come get some sanitizer, darling!” Eddie called as she exited frame.

“OH MY GOD EDDIE!!” Eddie laughed as multiple girls screamed, only noticing him sitting in the corner when he spoke.

Steve managed to get through a a good twenty photos or so before his nose once again got the better of him.

“Hi! What’s your nahhh - IKT’chEW! Excuse me. What’s your name?”

Steve twisted to the side to sneeze and walked over to Eddie for some more sanitizer before returning to the X.

“Bless you! I’m David. I saw Eddie’s post,” the boy looked to Eddie who smirked, “how are you feeling?”

“I’ll level with you, man, I’ve been better, but I’m having such a great time meeting you all.”

The boy nodded and asked to recreate their characters’ poses from the game and collected his squirt of sanitizer on the way out.

Another 50 people come and go, a few of the girls in their 20’s asking Eddie to join their photo, which he happily does, throwing up the rock n roll hand!

“Ahhhhhh thank you Eddieeeeeee! Thanks Steveeeeee!” They squee as they run out, remembering to collect sanitizer from Eddie.

The girls leave and Steve turns away, pulling the neck of his shirt over his face.

“AK’tchEW! TsssCHUH! Snfff H’NYesshEW!!”

Tracy steps to the side, getting a message in her earpiece. “Steve they’re asking if you’d like a break before we start autographs?”

“I um- TSSSCHEW! Fuck!”

“I think a break would be great Tracy, thank you.” Eddie steps in, standing up and putting a hand on Steve’s back. He was doubled over gearing up for another couple sneezes.

Greg, taking use of his break as well, steps out to give them some privacy. The volunteers following.

Eddie had pulled some tissues out of his Fanny pack and held them up for Steve.

“H’MPTssch!” Steve’s chest expanded as he inhaled suddenly. “Hehh H’AESSSH!”

“Bless you! Damn. That sounded like it hurt…” Eddie handed off the tissues to Steve who started cleaning himself up.

“That’s because it did hurt.” Steve winced rubbing at his throat.

“Here babe.” Eddie unzipped the Danny pack and pulled out a cough drop for Steve.

“You’re the best.”

“Told you I had the good stuff.” Eddie winked and rubbed some sanitizer on his hands. “You want a hit?” He quirked an eyebrow at Steve who nodded and he squirted some for his boyfriend.

“Im gonna go wash my hands actually.” Steve said as he left the curtained area, Eddie in tow.

**

The table for autographs was behind a curtain, trying to give a little privacy, though both Eddie and Steve were aware it was slightly see-through. Fans were already lined up on the other side chatting amongst themselves as volunteers explained how it would work.

Steve was really thankful they had waters already at the table for him. He took a greedy swig and then pulled out the special cards he had made and signed for the first 25 fans.

“Stevie don’t forget-”

“Mask, right. I got it.” Steve pulled out a disposable surgical mask and slipped the loops around his ears.

“Good boy.” Eddie grabbed Steve’s head with both hands and pulled him in for a kiss on the forehead.

Steve rubbed his hands with some sanitizer before gesturing for Tracy to start letting them in. A controlled trickle of fans made their way behind the curtain, giggling with excitement when they could see them.

The first was a group of three girls - about 18. They were all cosplaying as their characters. Steve started signing some of their things, “Wow, guys those costumes are incredible. Did you make them?” He asked.

One girl nodded frantically, tears forming in her eyes. Steve glanced at Eddie, who made a sympathetic face. Steve reached across the table and took her hand. “Hey it’s okay, what’s your name?”

“Julia!” She choked out.

He looked up to get her to meet his eyes. “Julia how about I sign this for you okay?”

Her two friends shrieked. “She’s been watching your streams since you had short hair!!”

Eddie snorted from his seat.

“Oh Jesus…and you still stuck around? Well thank you for your support Julia it means a lot to me.”

“Ohmygodthankyou!” She screamed as her and her friends started to walk away. She turned to one and said “OMG IM NEVER WASHING THIS HAND AGAIN!!!”

Eddie cupped his hands around his mouth to make a megaphone, “PLEASE wash your hands! Steve is SO gross right now!”

Some of the fans chuckled, familiar with Eddie’s humor. Steve just elbowed him as the next several people slid through. Quite a few guys had the case of their game signed. A few had prop swords or costume pieces.

A bigger group of girls mid 20’s came up to the table and started chatting up Eddie while Steve finished signing for a little boy.

“Hey Eddie! We’re so glad you came too!”

“Who me? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Eddie joked. “I’m just here to dote on my favorite princess.” He leaned towards Steve and smiled. Steve would’ve flipped him the bird if there wasn’t an eight year old and his mom standing in front of him.

“Thanks bud, you have a grehhh a great dayyy..”

“Here he goes again…” Eddie teased for the girls.

Despite wearing his mask, Steve turned away,“ihh’TKtchEW! hehh-NGK’tchIEW! snffSNF isssCHIEW!”

“Bless you bless you bless you.” Eddie opened his Fanny pack and handed a couple of tissues to Steve, who started tending to his nose using his mask as a shield.

The girls “awwww”ed at the whole ordeal.

“Sorry! How are you all doing?” Steve turned his attention from his nose to the girls in front of him while signing their things.

“Better than you it sounds like.” One of the girls said.

“We saw Eddie’s post yesterday. Just wanted to bring you these.” Another girl added, placing a small bag on the table.

“Aw you shouldn’t have.” Steve cooed, looking inside. He chuckled when he saw it was a box of tissues. “Thank you, I’ll treasure it dearly.”

“Looks like someone’s already got you covered.” The third girl glanced at Eddie who smiled.

“Great minds think alike, eh?” He reached out and gave the girl a fist bump.

Eddie motioned to Tracy to pause the line for a short break after these girls. Steve was wrapping up signing their fanart and handed each of them one of his special cards that he prepared.

“Thank you so much Steve! We hope you feel better!”

Steve clasped his hands together and smiled gently, “Thank you!”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair after the girls had left the curtained area.

“Think you’re up for another six hours of this?” Eddie asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Mmmm yeah I think I’ll be alright.”

“Okay. I’m gonna get you some tea and come back.” Eddie stood up and gave the shoulder a squeeze.

Steve took another sip of water and cleared his throat before giving Tracy a tired thumbs up to resume the line.

“Hi! Nice to meet you guys, I’m Steve-”