TW: Vomiting
I've had a bit of a week, so figured I'd go back to my roots with a Defan sick fic. This is one of those chapters where Damon babies Stefan quite a bit and in return, Stefan acts younger than 12.
Damon thought he had moved past the need to trick his brother into eating. Stefan was such a picky eater as a toddler. Damon got creative to prevent Giuseppe from getting impatient. Airplane or train tricks. Mixing vegetables into cheese. The best was Damon telling him if he wanted to be a big boy like him, Stefan would eat all his fruits and vegetables.
Now, they've faced an impasse once more. Not only is Stefan putting up a fuss about his shakes, he's refusing to eat much of anything.
"C'mon, Stef," he coaxes over dinner. "I made your favorite. Mac and cheese."
"I'm not hungry," Stefan says, pushing the bowl away.
"It's so yummy." Damon takes a bite of his own and tries not to make a face. He's not a huge fan of Kraft, but it's one of Stefan's favorites. "See? I'm eating it."
Stefan rolls his eyes. "I drank half the shake. Can't I be done?"
"No. You need to eat that plus some of your macaroni. Do you want me to melt more cheese on top?"
Stefan folds his arms over his chest. "No."
Damon gets up and moves to the seat beside him. He picks up the fork.
"Do I have to do the airplane trick? Because I will." Stefan makes a face. Damon begins making airplane noises. "Open wide, buddy."
Stefan pushes his hand away. "Stop!"
"Just a couple of bites and I'll leave you alone. C'mon."
"I said no!"
Stefan smacks his hand away and jumps out of his chair so fast, it nearly hits the ground. Damon catches it just in time. He drops the fork and stands up, wiping his hands on his pants.
"Hey, you don't have to be happy with me, but you aren't going to hit."
"You're being annoying!" Stefan stomps his foot.
"And you're being stubborn. You need to eat, Stef." Damon runs his fingers through his hair. "If you don't want the mac and cheese, I'll make you something else. Anything else. You heard the doctor, you need to eat."
"I said I'm not hungry! Why can't you just get off my back?!"
Damon purses his lips. First couple of meals, he was sympathetic. Stefan's stomach is settling back to eating consistent, full meals. But why can't it sink in that he needs to at least try?!
"Because I'm your big brother and guardian! It's my job to make sure you're healthy. You're my responsibility."
"I wish I wasn't! I hate you!"
Stefan stomps out of the room. Damon shuts his eyes and counts back from 10. He told Lily he hated her about a million times, prior to the very complicated feelings he developed after she married Julian. Damon never meant a word of it. He was just an annoyed, moody teenager. It was easy, safe to be mad at her. She never flipped out.
Stefan feels safe enough to lash out. That should be comforting.
It doesn't change that it feels like a dagger to Damon. He's trying his best. To face rejection from the one he loves most…
Damon sighs and collects the bowls. He puts Stefan's in a Tupperware container. It goes in the fridge with the capped shake. If he gets hungry later, it'll be there.
He tries to keep himself busy with chores for a few hours. Every second that Stefan doesn't open the door and come down, is another that Damon feels an ache to his stomach. He needs his space. But why can't he just show some sort of sign that he's not too upset with his big brother?
Around 8, Damon hears moaning. He rushes up the stairs. His newly acquired vampire senses make out something rancid only halfway up. Damon doesn't bother knocking when he reaches the room.
Stefan sits on the floor by his desk, cradling his wastebasket shaped like a football. The edges of his mouth are covered in vomit. His face is pale. Damon vamps over and kneels in front of him. He puts the wastebasket on the floor and cradles Stefan's cheek. His baby brother moans. Damon's senses make out something else that explains the small patch on Stefan's shorts. He grabs the tissues off the desk and dabs at his mouth. Stefan ducks his head, but Damon redirects him.
"What happened, baby? Did you get sick?" Stefan nods. A few tears fall down his cheeks. Damon softly hushes him as he brushed them away. "It's okay, don't be upset. Not your fault."
"Tummy hurts," Stefan whines.
"Is it because I made you eat?"
Guilt racks up Damon's spine. He should've let it go. How did he not piece it together?
Stefan shakes his head. "It started hurting yesterday."
"Yesterday? Why didn't you tell me?"
Stefan kicks his legs. "Didn't want to bother you."
"Oh, bubba. You're never bothering me. Like I said, it's my job to take care of you. I need to know what's wrong, so I can help."
Stefan sniffles. His lip quivers. "I'm too much work when I'm sick."
"No, you're not," Damon coos.
"That's what Julian said."
Damon clicks his tongue. "I'm not Julian. I'm your big brother, right? I'll take care of you and love every minute of it, my sweet bunny."
Stefan glances down. "Wet myself when I puked."
"That happens sometimes. Your body is releasing one thing and it opens up other parts."
"Not a baby."
"Of course not. Let's get you cleaned up, alright? Do you think you feel well enough for a shower?"
Stefan nods. He tries to push himself up and sways a little. Damon jumps up and steadies him. Stefan shakes his head. Some of his long bangs get caught up in his eyes. Damon sweeps them away.
"I can do it," Stefan insists.
Damon hesitates but nods. "Okay, Bunny. I'll fix everything out here."
Stefan nods. He slowly walks to the bathroom, nearly tripping a few times. Damon waits until he hears the shower running to take the wastebasket and clean it out. He leaves it on the front porch to air out.
When he's upstairs, he digs through Stefan's pajamas. He finds the light gray ones with a big train on the shirt. Smaller ones are littered on the striped pants. Stefan declared these too babyish but Damon bought them anyway.
He sets the pajamas on the bed. There's a crashing sound from the bathroom. Damon rushes in. Through the glass door, he finds Stefan sitting on his bottom and rubbing his back. Damon throws open the door and kneels down.
"Are you okay?" Some water splashes onto him as he looks frantically at his baby brother.
Stefan nods. "Just a little dizzy."
"Did you finish cleaning yourself?" Another nod. Damon reaches up and turns off the water. "Come here, let's get you changed."
"Do it myself."
"You could barely shower on your own."
Damon stands up and grabs a towel. He sweeps it around Stefan and lifts him into his arms effortlessly. Damon grabs another and runs it through his long, blonde hair quickly. It's slowly darkened over the years. Damon has a feeling it won't ever reach pitch black like himself and their parents.
"I'm not going to bother blow drying," Damon explains. "But at least it's not soaking wet." Stefan nods into his neck. His body is a little warm, but not an alarming amount.
"Let's get you in some jammies," Damon says.
He carries him into the bedroom and lays him on the bed. Stefan puts up some fuss when his brother starts dressing him, but soft hushing gets him to stop. Damon knows he's treating him like a baby, but he doesn't care. He missed all the signs of him being sick. There's no way he's going to let Stefan suffer more.
Once the pajamas are on, Damon tucks Bunny into Stefan's grasp. Once again, he lifts him up and takes him to his own bedroom. He props up some pillows before laying Stefan down. His brother snuggles his bunny, resting his chin on his head. Damon pushes back his bangs. They need a trim for sure.
"How's your tummy now?"
"Still hurts but I don't have to puke," Stefan says. "But dizzy."
"I'll get you some water."
Stefan frowns. "You shouldn't take care of me."
Damon sighs. "Stef."
"I was a jerk."
"Kind of. But you weren't feeling well. Which I should've picked up on. I kept pushing food on you."
"The doctor told you to." Damon tilts his head. "I hear more than you think. You just want me back to the weight I was before."
"Yes, I do. But I also don't want you sick."
"I don't know why I'm feeling crappy."
"No swearing," Damon warns. Stefan pokes out his tongue. "And it's probably a bug. But if it keeps up, we'll go to the doctor."
Stefan makes a face, which Damon ignores.
"You need to tell me when you don't feel well," Damon says. "I'm always going to take care of you. No matter what."
"Even when I'm being a brat?"
"Even then." Damon grabs his own wastebasket and hands it to Stefan. "If you feel like you have to get sick, use that."
Damon is quick downstairs. He fixes a water bottle in a metal cup. along with some toast. When he heads upstairs, he hears more puking. Stefan clutches the wastebasket, pouting. Damon takes it from him and sets it on the ground.
"Oh, poor, poor Bunny. Being sick is no fun, huh?"
"Lucky," Stefan mumbles. "You don't get sick."
Damon chuckles. "One of the perks. Here." He passes over the water bottle. Stefan takes three big sips. "Not too fast." Stefan slows down. "That's a good boy. Here." He hands his brother the remote. "We'll try the toast in a bit. That'll help settle your tummy. And I'll order some stuff to be delivered. Probably Pedialyte."
"Strawberry," Stefan requests. "Please."
"Duh. Not my first rodeo."
Stefan manages a small smile as he drinks more water. Damon runs his fingers through his brother's hair.
"You can watch whatever you want on my TV. Though, you should probably go to bed in a little bit."
"I can go back to my room."
"You sleep in here most nights when you're well. You think I'm going to let you be alone when you're sick? Nuh uh." Damon flops beside him and tosses the remote over. "Put on whatever lame superhero show or movie you can find."
Stefan tilts his head. "But you hate superhero stuff."
"I think I can endure a couple of days of Spidey Boy for my Bunny Boy."
Stefan scoots closer and rests his head on his brother's shoulder. Damon wraps a tight arm around him and kisses the top of his head.
"Don't hate you," Stefan mumbles, turning on the TV and skimming through Netflix.
Damon smiles. "I know, bubba."
"And I'm glad you're my guardian." He pauses, looking up at him with big green eyes. "You still want to be?"
Damon gently punches his chin. "You're stuck with me, kid."
Let me know what you think! As always, feel free to leave prompts or ask me questions! I am on Tumblr and love communicating on there, as well as in the comments!
