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Buck doesn’t know why he starts watching Glee. More importantly, he doesn’t know he kept watching it all the way through.
But, as he sat on his couch, tipsy off of cough medicine, he clicked on a random show to watch as he dozed off. The random show being Glee. Which, he guesses he should give it a try since Maddie and Josh and pretty much everyone around him have made him feel like he’s missing out having not watched it.
He makes it through the first episode, dozed off during the second one, and wakes up to a knock on his door during the fifth episode.
“Buck?” He hears Eddie call from the front door.
“In here.” He says weakly from the couch.
Eddie appears around the corner and takes a seat in the arm chair. “You just wake up?”
Buck nods and sits up, or that was the idea but his head felt so heavy that he just laid back down again, tuning on his side to look at Eddie and the TV.
“When was the last time you had medicine?” Eddie asks looking down at this watch.
Buck clicks the info button on his TV to see what episode he’s on, “Five episodes ago.”
“What? Are you watching Glee?” Eddie moves from the armchair to the couch and sits down near Buck’s feet. “Why?”
“I just put it on for background noise.” Buck mumbles, but turns his attention back towards the tv, going into another coughing fit as he does.
“Okay, you need more medicine.” Eddie says, standing back up off the couch and grabbing it from the coffee table in front of them. Eddie pops the lid off and Buck groans.
“I know, you big baby, but you’ve gotta take it if you want to get this crud out of your chest.” Eddie pours the correct dose into the cup.
“You can’t make me.” Buck would rather get crushed by another fire truck than take cough medicine. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic, but the sentiment stands.
“No, you’re a grown ass man-“
“You’re right, I am an ass man.” Buck interrupts with a joke.
“Idiota! You are taking this medicine.”
And somehow, Buck ends up with his back flat on the couch, Eddie straddling him and holding his nose closed, pouring the cough medicine down his throat.
“Swallow.” Eddie says, letting go of Buck’s nose, and what else was Buck supposed to do but listen. He sticks his tongue out to show Eddie that he’d taken all of the medicine and Eddie smiles.
“Good boy.” Eddie pats Buck’s chest before maneuvering them again to where Eddie was laying on the couch behind Buck, pulling him into a comforting hug.
Buck? He was trying very hard not to think about Eddie straddling himself and calling him a good boy.
“Okay, click play.”
“Wait, so she’s the Glee teacher's wife, with no qualification at all, how did she get the job as school nurse?” Eddie asks, and Buck shrugs, confused about it as well.
“How were none of the adults on this show arrested? Especially this one. She’s trying to manipulate this teenager into giving her her baby because she had a hysterical pregnancy and being pregnant is the only reason her husband is staying. Not to mention, she just dosed all of them!”
Eddie has never been one to casually sit and watch TV, always wanting to point out the discrepancies.
“Do you have time for one more episode, or do you need to go and get Christopher?” Buck asks when the episode ends.
“Karen is going to pick up Chris and keep him for the night.” Eddie says, his hand lightly tracing up and down Buck’s arm, setting his entire body in fire. “Can’t have him seeing how much of a baby you are at taking medicine.”
Buck turns his head to stick his tongue out at Eddie before clicking play in the next episode.
“Okay, how was this show ever allowed to air? I mean, she clearly just separated based on their race and sexual orientation. Left all the straight white kids for Will.” Eddie's voice vibrates against buck ear, his head somehow ended up on his chest between the last episode and this one.
“Yeah, they definitely couldn’t get away with making this show today.”
Buck yawns and situates himself better on the couch, the cough medicine threatening to pull him under again.
“Go to sleep, amor. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Eddie doesn’t have to tell Buck twice.
“So, are you two dating?” Buck is starting to come to again.
“No.” Eddie responds to the question and Buck can’t help but feel a little disappointed in the answer.
“But, do you want to?” Eddie adjusts behind him and pulls him in closer to his chests “Because I like my friends, but I’m not cuddling them on the couch when they’re sick.”
Eddie chuckles and it's music to Buck’s ears.
“I think we’re just seeing where it goes, kid,” Eddie’s hand comes up to rub the air on Buck’s head.
“You’ve been seeing where this goes for seven years now dad, don’t you think it’s time to man up and ask him?”
Eddie hums, “I guess you’re right.”
Buck smiles against Eddie’s chest and decides if Eddie doesn’t make a move soon, he’s going to. Because sleeping in his arms, even if on the tiny couch, has been the best he’s slept in a week.
“I’m always right,” Chris chuckles before Buck hears him start ruffling through his bag. “Except for on this test. I got a couple of the presidents mixed up.”
Buck decides now is as good of a time as any to wake up.
“What time is it?”
“Just after 7,” Eddie says, looking down at him and smiling.
“Thought Chris was going to Hen’s house?” Buck asked, turning his head to look at Chris who was currently reading a book.
“Mara caught the stomach bug going around her class. At least you’re not contagious.” Eddie hums and then sits up, taking Buck with him. “How you feeling?”
Buck starts hacking up a lung again as an answer.
“Sounds like it hurts,” Chris says looking up from his book. “So, can we order a pizza now dad?”
“Yeah, here.” He takes his phone out and hands it to Chris. “Go order it, I gotta get Buck to take more medicine.”
Buck turns to glare at Eddie as Chris chuckles, taking his dad’s phone and walking into the kitchen.
“Here,” Eddie says handing him the medicine cup. “Bottoms up.”
And look, Buck is an adult. He’s a firefighter, an uncle, a sometimes dad. He can drive a car and he pays taxes.
But he can not bring himself to take the cough medicine. He just stares at it in his hand.
Eddie sighs and takes the cup from Buck, holding his nose again and pouring the medicine into his mouth (sans the straddling this time.)
Buck grimaces as he swallows the medicine, his entire body shivering.
“I hate being sick.”
“I know, mi vida.” Eddie says, kissing the top of Buck’s head.
“Okay, pizza’s ordered. What are we watching?” Chris says, walking back into the living room and taking his seat back in the chair.
“Glee.” Eddie answers.
“No thanks,” Chris grabs his iPad and headphones out of his bag and tunes them out.
“Do you want to find something else to watch?” Buck asks, sitting back against the couch, tucking his body in between the corner and Eddie.
“I’m kind of invested now,” Eddie laughs and starts the next episode.
“Okay, so wait, just because they did a commercial for that mattress place, they’re disqualified?” Buck asks, reaching forward to grab another slice of pizza, thankful that his appetite had returned. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s in the show choir handbook, you would think Rachel of all people would know that.” Eddie scoffs.
“If it were me, I’d have the whole manual memorized.” Buck said. “This kind of thing wouldn’t happen on my watch.”
“I know you would, amor.” Eddie chuckled and pulled Buck into his side, tucking Buck's head against his chest. “But we also both know that you can’t carry a tune or dance, so you wouldn’t be anywhere near a show choir.”
“You’re right.”
They finish the episode and Buck yawns again. “I’ve taken like three naps today, why am I so tired?”
“Your body is fighting off a chest cold, it takes a lot out of you.” Eddie says, grabbing everything off the coffee table and taking it to the kitchen.
“Okay, upstairs we go.” Eddie says, walking back towards the living room with blankets piled in his arms.
“Uh, you guys are staying the night?” Buck asks, standing up from the couch.
Eddie gives him a ‘seriously’ look and starts making up the couch for Christopher.
“Go, I’ll be right up after I get Chris settled.” Buck nods and slowly makes his way around to his stairs, holding the railing on the way up just in case he gets out of breath, which he does.
He has to sit on the edge of his bed with his head between his knees for a few seconds to catch his breath, and then he set off into a coughing fit again.
“Okay, baby, come on. Let’s get you into a hot shower to see if we can open up your chest some.” Eddie says, grabbing Buck’s hands and pulling him up from the bed, thankful that he could probably blame his blush on the fact that he can’t breathe .
“Baby?”
Eddie looks at him with a soft smile, “Yeah. Unless, that’s a problem for you?”
“No, no problem.” Buck smiles and lets himself be led into the bathroom.
“Okay, turn the water as hot as you can stand it,” Eddie says, putting the toilet lid down and sitting.
“Uh, you’re going to watch me shower?” Buck asks, reaching in and turning the water to ‘almost melt your skin off.’
“I’m just here to make sure you don’t get light headed and pass out.” Eddie says, resting his head back against the wall.
“You know I’ll be naked, right?” Buck says, playing with the hem of his shirt.
“Oh, you’re going to be modest now?” Eddie quirks an eyebrow at him. “You talked my ear off for fifteen minutes in the shower at work the other day about the history of chainsaws.”
“Yeah, but that was before-“ Buck’s not even sure what argument he was trying to make.
“Before?” Eddie repeats.
“I…” Buck pauses. “Are we going to be boyfriends now?”
Eddie stares at Buck for a few seconds before laughing. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
“I’m sick, and I don’t feel sexy at all, so if you’re my boyfriend, I don’t want you to see me naked right now.”
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Fine, then until you get out of the shower, I’m not your boyfriend.”
Eddie crosses his arms over his chest. “Better?”
“Can you just, can you close your eyes. At least until I get in the shower?”
Eddie lets out a sigh before bringing his left hand up and covering his eyes.
Buck quickly takes his clothes off and steps into the shower, closing the frosted glass door, “Okay, ready.”
“Make sure you’re breathing into the steam, you need to break up all the crud in your chest.”
So that’s what Buck does, he just stands there, breathing in the steam, trying anything to be able to breathe again.
About 15 minutes later, Eddie speaks up again. “Okay, come on out before you prune up.”
Buck turns the water off and rests against the glass, out of breath. “Can you hand me my towel?”
Eddie reaches the towel over the glass door and Buck takes it, wrapping it around his waist before sliding the glass door open.
“Feel better?”
“Not really,” Buck sighs.
“You sound better,” Eddie says standing up from his spot. “Come on, I wanna watch another episode before we go to sleep.”
“I’ve created a monster,” Buck sighs, following Eddie out of the bathroom and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Okay, clothes?” Eddie says, looking between Buck and the dresser.
“A t-shirt and a pair of boxers is fine.” Eddie nods and grabs Buck what he asks for.
“You got it, or do you need help?” Buck takes the clothes from Eddie and sighs.
He’s able to get his shirt on without becoming short of breath, but trying to put his boxers in may prove to be difficult, trying to stand back up to do it.
“Help,” Buck says, looking up at Eddie.
Eddie nods and takes the boxers from Buck, kneeling down in front of him and lifting each of his legs into the leg holes, pulling them up to his thighs.
“Okay, you gotta stand up to get them the rest of the way on.” Eddie says standing up and grabbing Buck’s hands. “Just lean against me.”
Buck nods and uses Eddie’s hands to help pull himself up, leaning against him as he drops the towel and pulls his boxer shorts the rest of the way up his waist.
“Okay you’re dressed, am I allowed to be your boyfriend now?” Eddie jokes, pulling back the cover to let Buck climb into the bed.
“I guess I’ll allow it,” Buck says, patting the bed beside him. “But only if I can be the little spoon.”