Cross-posted from AO3; I am not currently taking prompts.
Prompt: caring for each other while ill
"Hey, Uncle Donald," Louie said, reaching into the fridge to grab a can of Pep.
Uncle Donald quacked indignantly. "What are you doing out of bed?" he said, replacing the soda in the fridge and ushering his nephew back to bed.
"I was thirsty!" Louie said.
"Then you can have water, milk, or tea," Uncle Donald said, smoothing down the covers.
"Chocolate milk?" Louie asked, giving his uncle his best puppy dog eyes. The puppy eyes were really Dewey's game, but that didn't keep Louie from trying.
Uncle Donald thought for a moment, and Louie could tell he was going through the entire refrigerator inventory in his head. "Yes," he finally said. "As long as you and your brothers didn't sneak any chocolate sauce after bedtime last night."
Louie gasped in mock indignation. "We would never do such a thing!" He clutched his chest. "I can't believe...my very own uncle…"
"Yeah, yeah," Uncle Donald muttered, turning to leave the room, but Louie could see the corners of his beak twitch upwards.
"Remember, shaken, not stirred!" Louie called after him.
"No!" Uncle Donald said, and Louie snickered as he settled back into his bottom bunk. He wasn't sure why Uncle Donald hated that reference so much, but it was such a fun button of his to push.
Louie tapped his fingers on the blanket and listened to the sounds of him rummaging around the kitchen as he waited for Uncle Donald to return. The fridge opening and closing, the sound of pouring liquid, the fridge opening and closing once again, the dull tap of a spoon hitting the insides of a cup. Being sick definitely had its perks.
One more opening and closing of the fridge and then Louie heard Uncle Donald's footsteps once again coming closer.
"A sippy cup?" Louie exclaimed in dismay when he saw his chocolate milk. "What am I, four?"
"This way I don't have to worry if you fall asleep with it in your bed," Uncle Donald said, placing a hand on Louie's forehead.
"Why do we even have sippy cups?" Louie asked.
"Just in case," Uncle Donald said, fishing in his pocket for the thermometer.
"Just in case what?" Louie said. "One of us reverts back into a toddler? Or is the stork gonna bring us another set of triplets?"
This time, Uncle Donald didn't try to hide his smile, which served to feed Louie's irritation. "Just in case one of you gets sick and stuck in bed."
Before Louie could protest further, Uncle Donald slipped the thermometer into his mouth. Louie obediently sat there, mouth closed and arms crossed, until it beeped.
"It looks like your fever's going down," Uncle Donald said. "You should be well enough to go back to school tomorrow."
"Awww," Louie said, disappointment swiftly replacing his sippy-cup-induced anger. "Do I have to?"
"Of course you have to."
"But wouldn't it be nice if I stayed home just one more day?"
"Sure. And it would also be nice if we could drop everything and go to Disneyland. But neither of those things is going to happen."
Louie pouted, his chocolate milk untouched on the night table beside him. Uncle Donald took a book off the shelf next to the kids' triple bunk bed.
"How about a story?" he asked.
Louie felt his bad mood start to drain away. "Ok," he said, struggling to maintain his unhappy facade.
Uncle Donald climbed into the bed next to his nephew and started to read.