Work Text:
One minute, you were having a normal, typical day at work. Then, in the next minute, you were slowly becoming aware that you felt...off. A dry sort of tickling sensation in the back of your throat. A slight ache pounding at your temples. A fatigue that you felt heaviest in your eyes but which also spread through your whole body.
Alone, none of those things would have given you pause. But together? They added up to a conclusion you were unfortunately all too familiar with. Wearily, you pulled out the face mask you kept on hand for emergencies just such as this and hooked the elastic around your ears. No point in spreading germs and making everyone else in the office feel just as miserable as you did.
When your lunch break rolled around, you opened your phone to text Eddie and Volt. They would find out anyway regardless, and you knew they'd appreciate hearing it from you directly first.
'Ugh...feel like I'm getting sick'
After sending that off, you barely had a chance to pull the sandwich out of your lunch bag before your phone was buzzing right back. 'You okay?' came from Eddie and 'Do you need to leave work early?' from Volt right after it.
As tempting as that idea was, you would hate to waste even a small portion of your allowed personal time off on such a minor inconvenience. With that in mind, you typed out a response.
'No, it's just a little headache and sore throat at the moment. I'll be fine, just wanted to give you guys a heads up so you'll know why I'm in a crummy mood tonight'
Another message from Volt came through not long after: 'We can pick you up at the end of the day if you don't feel well enough to drive.'
A flutter of warmth swept through your heart, drawing a helpless smile to your lips. It was such a thoughtful message, and the concern they both felt for you rang out in it loud and clear, even if Volt had been the only one of them to actually reply. Already, they were making you feel better, just to know how much they cared. And once again, the offer was tempting, but you still remained reluctant to take them up on it.
'I don't want my car to be stuck here though. Don't worry, I'll make it home alright myself. Thanks <3'
And that was that. After getting no further replies, you set the matter from your mind and focused purely on getting through the rest of the work day. The lack of response didn't concern you. The boys were busy, and you knew you'd get to talk to them more once you got home that evening.
So when you left your work building at the end of the day and found Eddie leaning against your car waiting for you, you were surprised, to say the least. Which wasn't to say that you weren't happy to see him; on the contrary, you beamed behind your mask as you finished crossing the lot to meet him. "Eddie!" you greeted when you reached his side, your voice (rough though it was) matching the surprise you felt, "What are you—" You cut yourself short when, without a word, Eddie reached up to pull down your mask before you could stop him. Reeling back, you started, "Wait—"
But you were too late to stop him from his singleminded goal. Eddie's lips crashed into yours, and any protests you'd had before flew from your mind in the wake of such a fervent kiss. You suddenly didn't care about anything else outside of Eddie's arms. You didn't care if anyone was watching, if anyone would happen to look out of your work building and see you so lost in the moment with one you loved. All you cared about was keeping Eddie's arm wrapped around the curve of your waist, melting when he held you tighter. Your heart leapt when you felt him start to deepen the kiss. You wished you could continue to fall right into it, but the persistent itchiness in the back of your throat suddenly reminded you that you did care about something else beyond Eddie's kiss: his wellbeing.
Breaking your lips from his, you turned your head away to catch your breath, air puffing from your lungs in visible clouds as it hit the chill air. "Stop," you protested weakly, "You're gonna catch my cold."
Eddie loosened his grasp on you a little, but made no further move to distance himself at your warning. "We all live under the same roof, and Volt and I aren't about to make you wear a mask around the house." He shrugged, giving you a wry grin. "It's bound to happen anyway. Might as well keep enjoying ourselves in the meantime."
Well...you couldn't argue with that logic. At the same time, you couldn't help but tease him a little bit. "Out in public? Where any of my coworkers could see us?" you wondered, pointedly eyeing the building nearby before returning your eyes to his, "The scandal!"
Flushing, Eddie's eyes caught on a few other people leaving work for the day as they passed nearby. "Yeah, I...guess I got a little carried away..."
Giving up your teasing, you let out a soft laugh that turned into a slight cough as you lay your head against Eddie's shoulder.
Despite his embarrassment, his demeanor softened right back up as soon as you fell into his arms again. As he spoke, he rubbed your back in an attempt to soothe the cough. "I know you said you could take care of yourself, but we wanted to help. Volt dropped me off before heading home," he explained, "Now I can drive for you, and your car won't get left here. Just like you wanted. It's a win-win."
Feeling your heart bloom with warmth in your chest, you couldn't control the smile that crossed your lips. "Aw..." you cooed tiredly against Eddie's shoulder, "My knights in shining armor come to rescue me."
As muffled as the words had been, that seemed to be the last straw for Eddie. As he pulled away, you saw that his face had gone red even while he tried unsuccessfully to hide it behind a frown. "Alright alright, get in," he ordered gruffly, quickly changing the subject as he moved to open the passenger door for you, "Let's get you home."
Ever since Eddie and Volt had been Realized, they'd both proven themselves to be good drivers, so you felt perfectly comfortable with Eddie behind the wheel of your car. So confident were you in his abilities that when he took one hand off the wheel to extend it across the console between you as he drove, you didn't even question him. You simply took his hand in yours and held it in your lap.
While Eddie remained focused on the road ahead, your tired eyes fixated on him. Finally giving in to some of the fatigue that had been creeping in all day, you relaxed back against your seat as you idly traced over the contours of his hand with your fingertips. At the same time, your eyes traced over the lines of his face in profile. Blinking slowly as you silently catalogued all the features you loved, a dopey smile crossed your lips. Even without trying, he captivated you.
Before you could catch yourself, a few words to that effect escaped the confines of your head and dropped out of your mouth. "You're so pretty."
You were pretty sure Eddie damn near veered off the road in response to that. "What??" he demanded, glancing quickly in your direction. The frazzled look in his eyes and the tight grip he suddenly had on the steering wheel did nothing to deter your admiration.
"You are!" you insisted, squeezing his hand as you absentmindedly continued your aimless exploration, "The way your eyes get all intense when you're concentrating on something, even just driving? The way your jaw clenches?" Feeling your heart fluttering at the thought of one of your favorite of his features, your smile widened. "And your lips! They're so pouty, and soft, and kissable..."
You let the stream of praises trail off dreamily, which was good for Eddie, because that meant he didn't have to cut you off himself. That didn't do much to help him hide the blush in his cheeks though, since you were still gazing at him. Even so, he frowned harder to at least try to cover it up. "Geez, it's worse than I thought," he muttered in a deadpan, "You must be really sick."
You scoffed, which unfortunately turned into a cough, not helping your case. "Come on, can't I admire my beautiful boyfriend?" you griped playfully once you recovered, "Just accept the compliments!"
Passing the time with Eddie made the journey home fly by so much faster than it ever had driving alone. Before long, the two of you were pulling up to your house, greeted by the sight of the windows alight with warmth from within. They seemed to beckon you in out of the dreary cold, and knowing that Volt was waiting inside only made the prospect even more appealing.
After Eddie parked the car, you both got inside the house and paused in the foyer to take off your coats and shoes. Once everything was hung up and tucked away, you started reaching for your lunch bag and other things you'd brought home from work, but Eddie shooed you off. "I'll get them; you go ahead," he insisted, still in the process of untying the scarf around his neck that Volt had undoubtedly forced upon him.
It was such a little thing, a task that wouldn't have been difficult for you even with the sickness brewing in your system, but you were still grateful. Shooting Eddie a little smile and a word of thanks, you did as he'd asked and headed farther inside, aiming your feet in the direction of the kitchen. You suspected that was where you would find Volt, if the sound of music quietly playing in the background while he worked on dinner was any indication.
Sure enough, the wild, white locks of your other partner soon came into view, and you saw that he was at the stove, stirring a big pot of what smelled like your favorite soup. A task that Volt snapped right out of as soon as he heard a cough escape you. In an instant, he was at your side, fretting over you. "Oh, live wire! How do you feel? How bad is your cold?" He held the back of his hand to your forehead. "You don't seem to be running a temperature, but...Did you take any medicine yet?"
Fondly exasperated by the rapid-fire string of questions, you refrained from brushing his hand off and instead offered him a wry smile. "I haven't taken anything, but the symptoms haven't gotten too bad yet," you told him, adding on a teasing, "Hi, by the way."
Just as you'd intended, your tone reminded Volt that he'd forgotten to give you his usual greeting. Abashed and apologetic, a small grin crossed his lips as he moved his hand from your forehead to cradle your cheek instead. "Welcome home, darling," he said, drawling the words in an obvious effort to show you that he was slowing himself down. With that, he leaned in to meet your lips in a soft, sweet kiss.
Unlike Eddie's in the parking lot earlier, Volt's kiss was unhurried, savoring you in the way he always did while reuniting after a whole day apart. You smiled into it; it was just what you'd wanted. (And with Eddie's reasoning still echoing in your head, you knew it would be just as pointless to try to warn Volt away from your germs. You figured you may as well just enjoy the attention.)
After a few moments sharing his gentle affections with you, Volt let out a satisfied hum and pulled back just far enough that his lips still brushed against yours as he spoke. "You still didn't answer my last question, though," he murmured, "Your cold may not be 'too bad,' but how are you feeling?"
It wasn't that you had intentionally avoided answering that one, but at the same time...
In truth, your symptoms really weren't that bad, yet you had to admit to yourself that they had gotten a little worse since you'd first noticed them. Your throat felt rougher than before. The headache, though small, was persistent, and having had to deal with it all day had left you exhausted, your eyelids drooping and your mind eager to rest.
But you also weren't ready to lay down yet. You wanted to spend as much of your evening as you could with your lovers. So, there was nothing for it but to tell a little white lie.
"I'm...fine," you tried, wincing slightly as your voice faltered over the half-truth.
Unfortunately for you, this was an answer that Volt had heard far too often in the past. Even without the hesitation in the middle of the words, he still would have been able to see right through you in an instant.
Pulling back, his hand dropped from your face. "Right."
With the glimpse you caught of the determined spark in his eyes, you knew what he was about to do just before it happened. No sooner had the realization entered your mind than your center of gravity shifted, your feet swiftly leaving the ground as Volt swept you up into his arms. "Volt!" you yelped, clinging onto him for dear life.
Of course, you were in no danger of falling. Volt's arms at your back and under your knees were as strong and sure as ever, holding you as if you were weightless. Though, as effortless as his manhandling seemed, you couldn't help but notice the way his muscles flexed around you in the process of holding you up.
And, evidently, Volt himself noticed you noticing. "Well, you're certainly looking feverish now," he teased, leering down at your flushed face with that devilish smirk that never failed to make your heart beat faster, "We really must get you into bed before your condition gets any worse."
You were on the verge of sputtering back some kind of flustered retort, but just as Volt was carrying you out of the kitchen, Eddie passed by on his way through, capturing your attention. Meeting your eyes, he grinned and waggled your lunch bag that he carried with him. "Knew you'd need your hands empty," he half-sang in his most rare of teasing tones.
He looked so pleased with himself, you couldn't even be mad about it. Plus, you really were too tired and worn out to even try to fight back. With a huff, you slumped resignedly into Volt's arms. "I should have known you two would be in cahoots..."
Volt laughed. The sound of it rumbled pleasantly in his chest, and with you pressed up against him as you were, you felt it through your whole body. "It's for your own good, sweet spark," he told you in a way that felt like he was sorry for you, but which didn't sound very apologetic at all.
"Yeah, yeah..." you sighed, which turned into yet another weak cough.
No matter how grumpy you acted outwardly, you really couldn't deny how happy it made you to be so thoroughly fussed over. While Volt carried you up the stairs, you had to hide your smile at just how careful he was to not let your head or feet hit the banister or the walls. You got the feeling he'd spotted it anyway, based on how soft his own smile was while he laid you down on your bed.
After making sure your head was supported by a pillow, he pulled a blanket over you, then leaned over to press a kiss to your forehead. When he pulled away, he kept himself propped up above you with his arms on either side of your body, holding your eye contact even through the room's dimness. "Try to rest now," he told you, his voice hushed, "We'll come get you when dinner's ready."
You must have been more exhausted than you'd thought, because already your eyelids were starting to fall shut, lulled by the soft bed and the low lights and the sweet affection you'd been showered with ever since leaving work. "Mmkay," you mumbled as you slowly lost the battle against sleep. Volt started to push off from the bed and straighten up, but you managed to force your eyes open again to catch his wrist before he could go too far. In response to the questioning look he sent you, you blushed and added a soft, "I love you, Volt."
Volt's expression melted at once. Slipping your hand from his wrist to hold it between both of his, he whispered, "And I love you, live wire."
Letting out a quiet breath, your eyes fell closed. "Love Eddie too..."
Volt chuckled and you distantly felt him kiss your hand. "Don't worry; I'll let him know."