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Although Steve was always the sick one back in Brooklyn, there were still a few times where Bucky would end up catching something and end up being miserable for a few days. Steve was always used to the crappy feeling throughout his whole body and was never surprised when he got over a sickness, only to get sick again with something new. Bucky always took care of Steve when he got sick, despite not having much money or good medicare, he always made sure Steve had everything he could need. Bucky on the other hand didn't get sick too much. He had a pretty good immune system and, even if he was sick, he would hide it from anyone and everyone until it got too much. Like the one time his boss sent him home when he caught Bucky throwing up next to one of the docks- Steve had just gotten over a sickness and was at their shared apartment when Bucky came home looking tired and sick. Bucky wasn't good with sickness. He could handle taking care of Steve when the blonde was sick, or when his sisters or mother got sick, but it was a whole different story when he got sick. Steve doesn't even remember the amount of times he witnessed Mrs. Barnes have to press down hard on Bucky's abdomen just so he could finally let go and throw up instead of holding it in. He was a stubborn ass kid, that's for sure.

Steve always thought he shouldn't have witnessed the times where Mrs. Barnes would make Bucky throw up, or when his younger sisters all had to try and hold him down just so he could take some medicine, but now, Steve is grateful for having to witness everything- just in case Bucky ever gets sick and needed a firmer hand (only when big, of course, Steve would never do that to Bucky when he was little).

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Bucky was an easy little most of the time. He was easy to entertain, and really didn't play much, often finding Steve and curling up with him. It wasn't as hard as Steve thought it was going to be, but there were, of course, some times where Bucky would be whiny and act up. Which is exactly what happened yesterday.

Everything was going fine when the two woke up. Steve got Bucky up and dressed into some play clothes and let the little play while he made breakfast. It was normal. After breakfast everything went downhill, though. Bucky was whiny all day, refusing to stay still when Steve had to change him, crying over small things, and refusing to eat, but the weirdest part was that he went down for a nap with no tears or a bottle. Bucky's Naptime was usually around 12-1pm, just after lunch, but Bucky actually ended up falling asleep at 11:30am- right when Steve left him alone in the living room while the other man went to go get a snack for them to share. Steve was surprised when he walked back into the living room not even 6 minutes later to find Bucky fast asleep on the floor with his small hand still clinging tightly to the toy car in his hand. Steve let him sleep, since he was already losing patience after having to put up with many tantrums before noon, but he started getting worried when Bucky was still asleep by 4:30. Waking the little up was another difficult task that resulted in another tantrum and a quick, 5 minute timeout. 

The rest of the day went on horribly. Steve decided it would be best to leave Bucky to his own devices, but made sure to check on the little every 30 minutes. Bucky stayed in the living room the entire day, switching between playing with his toys and watching a random Disney movie Steve put on. The plate of cheese and crackers Steve left out went ignored, as well as the sippy cup of apple juice. Steve noticed, of course he did, and he felt terrible for his lack of patience when he started piecing together why Bucky was acting off all day.

He was getting sick.

Bucky still refused to listen for the rest of the day, whining all the way until Steve finally got him settled in bed with Doc and a bottle (that, of course, went untouched). As soon as Bucky's head hit the pillow he was out. Steve took that as an opportunity to check his temperature- 100.4 (38 C) It was a low-grade fever, but it was still a fever nonetheless. 

Steve made sure to grab a few things to keep on his nightstand, just in case Bucky woke up sick in the middle of the night: thermometer, kids Tylenol, a water bottle, change of clothes, a pack of baby wipes, and a few diapers, just in case. 

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*Day 1*

Bucky didn't wake up throughout the night like Steve thought he would. But that didn't mean Steve slept throughout the entirety of the night. This would be his first time taking care of a sick Bucky since he brought Bucky back to the Avengers Tower with him and when Bucky was going through drug withdrawals, but this was the first time Bucky was sick and little. 

Steve woke up about 3 times throughout the night, rolling over to place a cool hand against Bucky's too warm skin to see if his fever went up any. It did. But Steve decided against waking the little up, he knew if Bucky was sick then he would need all the rest he could get, and he knew Bucky would definitely be grumpy if Steve woke him up when he didn't feel good.

The third time Steve woke up to check on Bucky, he decided it would be best to just stay awake. It was already 6:32am and he was too anxious to go back to sleep. Bucky slept next to him, his mouth slightly open while soft snores left his mouth. It was clear he was congested- Bucky never snored in his sleep unless his nose was stuffed and he couldn't breathe clearly. His cheeks had a light pink shade to them- from the fever that has been rising since 9pm last night- and his face twisted in discomfort every few minutes. Steve was already bracing himself for what was to come.

Steve watched over Bucky while he slept, chewing his lip nervously every time Bucky's snores got louder due to how much his nose was stuffed. He wasn't moving around in his sleep as much as he normally did, only staying on his side of the bed and sometimes turning his head in quick motions every once in a while- probably a dream or something. 

Steve breathed out in relief when he finally saw Bucky start to wake up around 9:45am- much later than the usual time Bucky wakes up. The feeling of relief was quickly washed away once Steve saw the look on Bucky's face.

Beads of sweat slowly ran down the side of Bucky's face, his grey eyes distant and glossed over. His body ached horribly, and the slight headache he felt last night was definitely present now. He felt like he was being burned alive with how hot he felt, but he still wanted to snuggle deeper into the mountain of blankets on top of him. 

"Good morning, sweetheart,"

Steve cooed, whispering as quietly as he could once he realized Bucky was looking over at him tiredly. He knew sometimes Bucky got migraines when sick and anything that was too loud just made things worse. 

"Don' feel good, Daddy,"  Bucky mumbled out tiredly, his voice hoarse from the slight sore throat he knew was coming, also from not using his voice in over 10 hours. The onesie Steve dressed him in last night was drenched in sweat and clung to Bucky's body, and the soaked diaper Steve fought him on wearing was rubbing uncomfortably against his skin. Tears filled Bucky's eyes at the uncomfortable feeling of being sick, sweaty, and wet all at once. 

"I know, sugar, I know. I'm gonna help you feel all better, yeah?" 

Steve may or may not have realized littles, and babies in general, were a lot different to take care of when sick- compared to when they're big. Big Bucky was stubborn and a pain in the ass to take care of when sick, but Little Bucky just wanted someone to take care of him and love him. But that also meant Steve knew he would be very sensitive since he was feeling sick, and it would probably be another day of whining and tantrums.

The little sniffled quietly, rolling over so he could get closer to Steve and resting his cheek against Steve's shoulder. The fever was very noticeable, and if it weren't for the small amount of super soldier serum running through his body, Steve was almost sure they would already be on the way to the emergency room by now. 

Getting Bucky into a cool bath and dressed into a clean diaper and cool set of clothes made Steve's heart ache. The pitiful look on his baby's face made it hard for Steve to even look at him- the little didn't fight Steve on anything while he worked on getting Bucky clean and dressed, only looking up at his daddy with a distant look in his eyes and a tired expression on his face. Steve could tell the Epsom salt he put in the bath was slowly working, watching with a smile as he saw Bucky slowly and hesitantly sink down further in the cool water as his body relaxed some. The toys that Bucky always played with in the bath went untouched and that made things even worse. Steve kept trying to get Bucky to even just reach out for one of the rubber ducks that sat in the bin beside the tub, but the little was too sore and tired to move that much.

The living room was set up nice and cozy for Bucky, a small nest in the corner of the couch where Bucky always laid was set up- thanks to Steve's efforts. All the lights in the house were either dimmed or completely off after Steve realized Bucky was slowly developing a migraine on top of everything else. 

The two spent the first half of the day curled up on the couch, just sitting in silence and enjoying each other's company. Steve laid back against the couch with Bucky resting in his lap, his head resting on Steve's chest as he stared off into space. The fever was definitely taking a toll on him and was draining him slowly. He's never felt this bad before- not even when the power went out for 3 days one winter in Brooklyn and Bucky ended up getting sick with a fever of 104.2 (40.11 C) and spent the entire rest of the week throwing up and getting questioned by Ms. Rogers: "Have you eaten anything?","Taken your temp?", etc. 

As the day went on, the house got darker and darker. The television has yet to be turned on- Steve already knows the volume and brightness from the screen would just make Bucky feel even worse and he really didn't want that. Bucky hasn't said a word since waking up, only making small grumbling sounds and sometimes whining or whimpering in pain when a painful cramp went through his body. The little has fallen in and out of a light sleep for the past few hours, sometimes startling awake when the fever got too much for his body. Steve really needed to get some medicine into Bucky, but he already knew the boy was not going to agree- at least not without a lot of tears.

It wasn't until 2pm when Bucky finally fell into a deep sleep, his Naptime coming a bit later than Steve would normally prefer it, but his baby was sick so he was going to let it happen.

Steve took that as an opportunity to get up from the couch, leaving Bucky on the couch, so he could get a damp washcloth and rest it against the hot skin of Bucky's forehead, as well as start making lunch for himself and a light soup for Bucky for when he wakes up. 

The Children's Tylenol that Steve bought a few months ago, just in case of any emergencies, crossed his mind just as he started making chicken noodle soup for Buck. Bruce and Tony recommended not buying any medicine in pill form, just because of Bucky's history with being drugged, so it would just be better to give him liquid medicine in case he got triggered by the pill or anything. There were other liquid medicine options in the medicine cabinet, but Steve really didn't know what was hurting in Bucky's body or what kind of sickness he had, so the two safest options he had were the Children's Tylenol and NyQuil (That he, hopefully, planned on giving Bucky before bed).

Bucky woke up a few minutes before the soup was done, Steve hearing small coughs from the living room as an indicator that his boy was up.

Bucky looked like a little hedgehog waking up, his hair matted and the ends sticking to the sweat on his forehead. He looked a bit more alive but still looked and sounded horrible, the coughs that Steve hadn't even realized before seemed to be getting worse and sounded painful. Steve was quick to kneel down on the floor in front of Bucky, running a gentle hand through the small knots in his hair and apologizing quietly when Bucky let out a tiny whimper at the pressure on his head; he definitely had a migraine by now.

"Woke up right on time, baby. I just finished making you some soup, do you think you could try eating some?" Steve asked quietly, cupping Bucky's face with one hand gently as he watched the little wake up some more. He received no verbal answer, only a quiet sniffle and watched as Bucky shook his head slowly and buried himself deeper into the blanket. The timer went off from the kitchen just as Steve was about to open his mouth and try to convince Bucky to at least try and eat something.

Steve took a few minutes to eat the sandwich he prepared for himself, the small portion of soup he poured in a plastic bowl for Bucky was cooling on the counter as he took his time to eat. Bucky wasn't going to want to eat anything; anytime he got sick he didn't have much of an appetite.

After 10 minutes of sitting in silence and finishing his food, Steve decided he needed to go back in the living room and try to get Bucky to eat a little bit of the soup or at least a few saltine crackers. Bucky was still hiding underneath the blanket when Steve got back to the living room, trying to juggle the bowl of soup, sleeve of crackers, Tylenol, and a cup of water without dropping anything. 

"Just a few spoonfuls, please Buck? You'll feel better if you eat something," Steve tempted, holding a spoonful of chicken noodle soup up to Bucky's mouth- he had just convinced the little to peek his head out a bit so Steve could see his face. The famous scowl of a grumpy Bucky was present on the little's face as he slowly opened his mouth a sliver to let Steve slide the spoon into his mouth. The warmth from the soup was soothing on his throat, but he still wasn't that hungry. 

Steve managed to get Bucky to eat 4 more spoonfuls before the little started whining and working himself up- obviously still tired and not feeling well- so Steve decided against the idea of making him eat any more. 

The couple went back to their previous position on the couch, with Bucky still resting against Steve's chest, his hands clinging weakly to the front of Steve's shirt and his head resting in the crook of his caregiver's neck. Steve had just barely managed to convince Bucky to have a bit of the Children's Tylenol and now he didn't have to worry about anything else for the time being- only making sure his boy is comfortable and hopefully feels better within the next few days.

Bucky fell into a light sleep within minutes, his chest heavy with congestion and it kinda sounded like a deep rumble every time he breathed- a sound that was definitely concerning Steve the longer he listened to Bucky's breathing patterns while the little slept. The living room was still completely silent and it wasn't hard to miss the soft snores and noises Bucky was making in his sleep. 

It seemed Bucky was only feeling worse and worse as the day went on. The migraine he had pushed him deep in headspace, the pain in his head was making it hard to form words and he was getting worked up at the fact that he couldn't explain what was wrong. His body was warm and achy, but he could still feel the goosebumps littering his skin- making his skin feel sensitive to the touch. It was horrible.

Steve watched over him like a hawk, gently massaging Bucky's scalp when he started growing restless, and rubbing small circles into Bucky's stomach when he started getting cramps. It reminded Bucky of how he used to be the one taking care of Steve.

Bucky had already sweat through multiple shirts and tank tops, up until Steve's decided to just leave him in some shorts and socks with a thin blanket covering him so he wouldn't get too cold. By the time Bucky's body started growing exhausted again, Steve moved them to the bedroom and changed Bucky into a clean diaper and got the little tucked into bed just after he gave Bucky a cap full of NyQuil. 

It was only 7pm when Bucky fell asleep, so Steve was quick to go back into the kitchen to make himself dinner and sit down to watch TV and answer some emails and messages from Tony and others. It only took 2 hours before Steve started feeling restless and felt the need to go check on his boy to see how Bucky was holding up- he has never seen Bucky this sick or drained, even with the harsh winters in Brooklyn, and that was saying a lot.

The little was sprawled out in the middle of the bed, one arm laying on top of Steve's pillow and his other arm curled around Doc as he slept. The room was pitch black but Steve could still make out the pained expression on Bucky's face from where he stood by the doorframe. The medicine was taking forever to kick in.

Gently moving Bucky's body so he could fit himself into the bed, Steve laid down carefully, pressing a small kiss to Bucky's warm forehead. He could feel the fever creeping its way back up.

"D-daddy,"

There was a hiccupped sob from beside him in bed, a small and cold hand gently tugging at Steve's shirt in a frantic attempt to wake him up. 

"Shit," Steve mumbled, sitting up immediately and almost hissing when Bucky's freezing hand grazed his arm. It was still night, barely even 11pm and Steve had just managed to fall asleep about an hour ago. 

Bucky was a mess. His usual pale skin looked like it was covered in a rash that went down to his chest, his cheeks and the tip of his ears were a rosy red, and his eyes were puffy and red- the tears weren't helping anything either. 

"Don' feel good at all daddy," Bucky sobbed miserably, leaning down to stuff his face in the crook of Steve's arm as he let out another quiet sob, his right hand coming up to cradle his head. Steve was quick to haul the little into his lap, rocking Bucky in his arms as he always did when Bucky was upset. 

"Shh, I know, it's gonna be okay. Daddy's right here, I got you bud,"

At this point Steve was freaking out, too. Even when little, Steve has never seen Bucky this hysterical and worked up. 

"Don't like it," Bucky cried out around two of his fingers that were now in his mouth as he suckled on them for comfort. Waking up sick, little, and confused in the middle of the night was making Bucky anxious and worked up, and Steve knew he needed to do something quickly to calm him down before things escalated. 

Steve stood from the bed quickly, biting back a swear word when his toe immediately hit the corner of the nightstand next to the bed, but he focused on scooping Bucky into his arms again and bouncing the little in his arms in an attempt to calm him down. Bucky rested his head on Steve's shoulder, letting out a sad cooing noise around his fingers as he sniffled quietly. At least the motion was somewhat calming him down.

Steve walked around the bedroom slowly, patting Bucky's diapered bottom slowly and whispering gentle words to soothe him- anything to get the tears to stop. Steve could feel the heat coming from Bucky's body and it was enough to make Steve feel warm all over.

"Why don't we go take a nice bath, it'll help you feel better. I promise." Steve whispered, using one hand to carefully move a strand of hair from Bucky's face and press a gentle kiss to his temple. He knew Bucky wasn't going to respond, already too deep in his headspace to really process anything, so he started making his way towards the connected bathroom, grumbling to himself when he almost knocked the poor thing in his arms into the door. 

The bathroom was dark, much like the rest of the house, the only light coming from the few candles Steve lit up around the room. Bucky sat on the closed toilet seat as he watched Steve start the bath with cool water and sprinkle a small handful of Epsom salt into the water. 

Steve went in first, squeezing his eyes shut at the cold water against his skin before he carefully helped Bucky into the water and maneuvered the little until he was resting his back against Steve's chest. 

The room was quiet, the only noises were Bucky's quiet sniffles and the water sloshing around around them. Steve carefully cleaned the sweat off of Bucky's body with a gentle washcloth, cooing when Bucky relaxed against him and let out a soft sigh at the light touches. 

Steve finally got Bucky settled after he got the little out of the bath and dressed into another pair of thin pajamas after he took Bucky's temperature again (103.1 [39.5 C] which was still too high, but it seemed better than earlier). Bucky was still sniffling every few seconds, wiping his red-rimmed eyes every few minutes when they began to itch. At least he wasn't sobbing anymore. The sheets on the bed were completely soaked through with sweat, so Steve knew it was going to be a very long and uncomfortable night of sleeping on the couch (because, for some reason, Steve decided to pack the guest bedroom full of random crap and use it as a storage room for the past week).

Bucky was falling asleep before Steve could even carry the little into the living room, already passed out when Steve finally got settled down again. 

It was going to be a long few days.

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*Day 2* (Summary of it)

Day 2 of Bucky being sick was the absolute worst. The poor thing was so exhausted and achy that he just ended up sleeping most of the day away- only waking up when the heat of the fever became too much for him. Bucky wasn't as whiny as Steve anticipated he would be, only when he was being forced to take medicine or eat something light, but he really had no other problem, even drinking 3 sippy cups full of water without being asked to (which really told Steve how poorly he was feeling, because trying to get a sick Bucky to drink water was one of the hardest things Mrs. Barnes had to do when Bucky was sick on her watch). 

The migraine Bucky had lasted for a while, probably the longest he's ever had one, and it made him absolutely miserable. The entire second day the couple stayed in the living room, the room completely silent and dark so it wouldn't make the little feel any worse. However, with the migraine came a lot of vomiting; something Bucky despised and would do anything in his power to not let happen.

Steve was there to hold his hair back and comfort him, but it still didn't stop the panic attack and crying before and afterwards. It was safe to say Bucky was an emotional wreck when he was sick (and little). Steve was being used as a personal pillow for Bucky, the entire day having a heap of a sleepy boy resting on top of him sound asleep. But he didn't mind, not one bit, Little Bucky craved physical touch and just needed to know Steve was there and didn't leave him. 

By the end of the second night Bucky's fever finally started going down, going from about 102.4 (39.111 C) down to 102.1 (38.944 C) in a few hours- thanks to the Tylenol for that- but that didn't mean Bucky was even close to feeling 100% again.

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*Day 3* (Summary)

By day 3, the migraine was completely gone and the achy feeling all over Bucky's body began to disappear slowly. He was slowly feeling better the longer the day went on, even eating a small portion of crackers and toast when he was offered. The cough he had wasn't as bad as the first 2 days of whatever sickness he had, but it was still there and sometimes hurt his chest. 

Steve decided against turning the TV on still, not wanting to risk Bucky getting another headache or migraine, so he insisted on reading to Bucky or playing with the little whenever he got bored and finally got enough energy to play around for a bit.

By the end of the third night, the fever went down to 100.2 (37.89 C) and stayed down. Bucky still didn't feel 100% like his normal self, but Steve knew it would probably just take another day or two until he got all of his energy back and didn't feel so crappy.

*These photos are not mine, I got them from Pinterest and based this chapter off of them. I do not own these photos/drawings*

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601863937741310416/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601863937740266421/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601863937741159799/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601863937740186612/