#c.doc

eddie sings as he carefully cradles the bowl of soup he pulls from the microwave above the stove and sets it down on the counter. he does a little shimmy with his hips, spinning around and flinging open the drawer to grab a spoon.

steve watches him from the kitchen table, one eyebrow raised behind his glasses and his lips quirked up in a small smile.

eddie continues to sing under his breath until he reaches a high note in his little made up song and uses the handle of his spoon as a microphone.

he catches steve's eye and shoots him a grin, one that’s bright and happy and makes his dimples pop.

"see somethin' ya like, sweetheart?" he teases, walking to the table with his soup in hand. it's tomato basil, steve sees, with shredded mozzarella mixed in because eddie refuses to eat it any other way. his house slippers shuffle against the linoleum because they've both got the day off and it's early afternoon and they haven't done a single thing other than lounge around the house in their pajamas.

"just thinking about how much of a dork you are," steve tells him. his tone is soft and fond and he loves eddie so so much.

eddie takes a big slurp of his soup, cheese hanging from his mouth. "i hate to break it to you, stevie," he says, slurping the cheese up too, "but if you're just now figuring that out, you're gonna be in for a rude awakening for everything else."

his grin never wavers, eyes shining in the sunlight filtering through the kitchen window.

one bag has steve's antibiotics and a jug of orange juice, and the other contains steve's usual order of a deluxe double bacon cheeseburger with an order of curly fries and a banana peach milkshake. eddie will put the burger in the fridge for later and steve can munch on the fries and milkshake with eddie's help.

eddie goes into the kitchen to do just that but he freezes in the doorway, because steve is supposed to be upstairs sleeping off the flu—not standing in front of the toaster with severe bedhead, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and thick wool socks with a sweatshirt thrown on over a hoodie.

steve raises a shaky hand up to rub his eye and the little wobble of his bottom lip is what spurs eddie into action.

"baby," he says, crossing the kitchen and gently pulling steve away from the counter. a piece of toast springs from the toaster as eddie takes in steve's rumpled appearance. his eyes are bleary and glassy and his skin is hot to the touch. "what are you doing out of bed, sweetheart?"

"eddie?" steve blinks slowly at him, swaying on his feet a little.

eddie leands him into the living room before he collapses and bundles him with blankets in the soft recliner in front of the tv. he can feel steve shivering under his layers of clothes.

"thought you weren't coming back," steve mumbles, his eyes sliding shut when eddie places an open palm on his forehead, checking his temperature.

eddie frowns and slides his hand up to steve's hair, gently brushing the floppy strands and scratching at his scalp. "i just went to pick up your meds and some food," he assures him with a kiss to his forehead. "not leaving until you're all better, i promise."

the mention of food makes steve perk up a little. "what'd you get?" he asks, even though his stomach rolls.

eddie brings out the fries and his milkshake and sure enough, steve only takes a couple bites and sips before he’s conked out once more, his head flopped to the side and quietly snoring through his open mouth.

"what's this, eds?" steve asks gently.

eddie shrugs and puts his phone down, pulling a lock of hair in front of his face. " s'what my mom used to put on when i was a kid and we'd clean the house. guess it kinda became a tradition." he picks up his phone again. "i can change it if you want, i know people have strong opinions about country music-"

"no!" steve steps forward and takes eddie's hand that's holding the phone. "no, i-" he gives him a soft smile. "i like it. i just thought you'd play one of those bands you always listen to."

eddie snorts and steps out of his space with a gentle squeeze to steve's hand and grabs a bottle of cleaner and a rag. "i have layers, steven." he lets his accent slip out a little, enjoying the flush on steve's own cheeks. "you know i was raised in kentucky before i came here. i'm just a little country boy at heart."

"yeah," steve agrees. "i just didn’t think you, like, liked any of that stuff, cause of-" he gestures at all of eddie.