I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. Other recognizable things belong to their respective owners. This was written purely for fun.
I recently took prompts over on my tumblr. I am not currently taking prompts at the moment, but I may take some more in the future.
Anonymous requested: Sprout prompt: Tony and Baby Brucie are both sick with the flu together!
"This is the worst," Tony groaned after he swallowed the medicine Pepper had given him. His throat felt like sandpaper, and he took another sip of his drink. "Like, the worst."
"You act like you've never been sick before," Pepper replied, but she rested her palm against his feverish brow. Her fingers lightly brushed away some hair from his forehead.
"I don't get sick," Tony told her as he took one last sip of his room-temperature ginger ale. He set the cup on the nightstand next to the bed and sniffled.
"Well, you're sick now," Pepper responded, "so just get some rest."
Tony groaned again as he laid back down, but any response he had was interrupted.
"Miss Potts," JARVIS began, "I believe young Bruce is running a fever."
Tony immediately propped himself back onto his elbows and shut his eyes against the wave of dizziness and nausea. "J, Bruce always runs hot," he said once he was sure he wasn't about to feel that pill he had just taken come back up.
"I'm aware, sir," the AI replied, "but his temperature has spiked well above his average."
Pepper put a hand just above the arc reactor and nudged until Tony lay back down. "Is he awake?" she asked JARVIS without looking away from her bedridden boyfriend.
"He is dozing rather fitfully, ma'am," JARVIS answered.
"He can't get sick," Tony said to the air.
"And you don't get sick, yet here we are." She gave his chest a soft pat as she stood up. "Let me go check on him. Please try to sleep."
" 'm not tired," Tony grumbled as he watched her retreating back. She gave him a small smile as she pulled the door shut, leaving him alone on his sickbed.
Tony was determined to stay awake until she returned, but he realized he had nodded off for an indeterminate amount of time when he awoke with a congested snort that launched him into a coughing fit. He pulled the covers over his mouth until he could breathe again.
He opened his eyes when a cool hand brushed against his cheek. Pepper was looking down at him, concern on his face. "Bruce?" he asked, the name coming out half a croak and half a groan.
"He's definitely sick," Pepper explained. "Fever, coughing, throwing up, the works." She carded her fingers through his hair again, and he had to struggle to keep his eyes open. "I've set him up out in the living room, since his sheets need to be laundered."
The implications of that made Tony wince. "Is he okay?"
Pepper sighed a little. "He's a bit miserable right now," she admitted. "I think he was expecting me to be angry that he accidentally threw up in bed. I think he could use some company right now, and he doesn't want to get me sick."
Tony looked at her. "You're gonna let me out of bed?" he asked with a smirk. The whole image was destroyed when he coughed into his fist, and he leaned back with a groan.
"Misery loves company," she replied, this cheerful sound that broke through the fever and aches and chills.
"Misery loves miserable company," Tony corrected her, but he forced himself to sit up and push back the covers.
Pepper pulled the comforter off of the mattress and wrapped it around Tony's shoulders until he felt a bit like a child playing dress up with Thor's cape. "Then you'll certainly do in keeping Bruce's company," Pepper rejoined with quiet amusement.
Tony grumbled, but he let himself be led to the living room.
He hadn't thought he could feel worse, but when he spotted the little boy curled up into a pitiful little ball on the sofa, an ache that had nothing to do with his bout of the flu settled in his chest. Bruce had his SHIELD blanket wrapped snugly around his body, but even from where Tony was standing, he could see the shivers wracking the child.
Without needing to be prompted to move any further, Tony stepped around the sofa and all but collapsed next to Bruce. "Hey bud," he croaked. "How're you feeling?"
Bruce didn't move for a long moment, but finally, he peeked around the edge of his blanket. He looked completely exhausted, and just by looking at him, Tony could tell he had a perilously high fever.
"Bad," Bruce admitted a second later in a tiny, miserable voice. "I threw up."
"I heard," Tony replied. He shook off the comforter from one of his arms so he could set his hand upon the boy's shivering body. "Want to watch something? We can be sick together."
There was a brief pause of silence, and then Bruce carefully pushed himself up. He paused momentarily and closed his eyes as his pallor went even whiter than it had been. Tony reached down for the trash bin that had been placed in front of the sofa and handed it over in time for the little boy to be sick.
As Tony started rubbing reassuring circles against the kid's back, Pepper circled the sofa to the other side and sat down next to Bruce. When he was finished vomiting, Pepper carefully took the trash bin and held up a small glass of water with a straw.
"Take a sip and swish it around in your mouth, sweetheart," Pepper instructed gently, "to get that taste out of your mouth."
Bruce did as he was told and spat out the water with the rest of his sick. "I'm sorry," he whispered pitifully.
"Everyone gets sick now and then," Tony replied. He let his hand continue to rub soothing circles against his back.
Pepper gave him a look. "Not an hour ago, you said you don't get sick."
"I've been wrong before," Tony admitted as he let himself slump back against the sofa. "It doesn't happen often, but it's been known to happen once or twice."
"Just once or twice?" Pepper teased fondly as she brushed some of Bruce's hair from his fevered brow.
Tony meant to make a long-suffering noise, but it only triggered another coughing fit. He twisted his head to cough into his elbow and away from them, which only made the room start spinning. He pulled his hand away from Bruce's back so he wouldn't jostle the already nauseous boy.
After a few more full-bodied coughs, Tony flopped back against the sofa with another groan. "Pepper, this is the worst," he said, and even he had to describe it as a whine.
A small hand slipped into his, and when Tony forced his eyes back open, he found Bruce looking up at him. Their eyes met, and Bruce managed this tiny smile.
"We can watch something," the little boy said softly.
Tony smiled back.
With Pepper's help, the two of them got settled on the sofa together under the comforter around Tony. Bruce curled up against Tony's side and already dozing off as Tony settled back against the cushions behind him.
Pepper smoothed out the blankets over both of them before she let her hand gently brush through Tony's hair. "I'm going to get you both something to drink," she said softly so as not to disturb the drowsy child. "Please try to go back to sleep."
"I'm still not sleepy," Tony protested, forcing himself to open his eyes to look at her again.
But Pepper only smiled and pressed a soft kiss against his burning forehead. She carefully got up to go grab them some more ginger ale or water.
By the time she got back, only a few minutes later, both Tony and Bruce were fast asleep.
