Archive of Our Own ^beta

The feel of light on Ice’s face slowly roused him. Drowsily, he blinked his eyes and lifted his head off his pillow, arm slung behind him to pat at the empty space. He twisted quickly to check for his own eyes that Maverick was nowhere to be found. A low groan emitted deep in Ice’s throat as he slumped back on the bed as he stared up at the ceiling, mind slowly coming to terms with what that meant.

“Mav,” Ice called into the hallway, not expecting an answer in the slightest.

Maverick had come down with one hell of a cold, probably from being in such close quarters in his last deployment and the long hours. It seemed the moment he came home he crashed, complete with phlegmy coughs and congestion that left him difficult to understand. They were going on day three of this mess and just when Ice hoped they were turning a corner, Maverick spiked a fever.

That was when Ice knew that things were going to become complicated.

“Maverick,” Ice shouted once more. This time he propped himself up on his elbows and hung his head, legs reluctantly swinging over the side of the bed. Back aching, he forced himself to stand as he half limped, half shuffled out of the bedroom. His tired muscles slowly began to warm by the time he padded down the hallway and turned the corner towards the living room to find Maverick pacing across the room. “Mav?”

Maverick showed no sign he heard his husband, muttering under his breath words that Ice couldn’t catch. His head swung from side to side, eyes wide and wild. There was an animalistic look to him as if any inconsequential thing may cause him to turn.

“Pete!” Perhaps Maverick’s legal name would offer something his callsign couldn’t.

Sure enough, Maverick whipped around, all senses on high alert. Eyes narrowed, he tensed his shoulders as he squared up to Ice, and for a moment, Ice was almost certain he was about to lash out at him.

“Leave me alone, Goose,” Maverick growled.

“I’m not….” Ice instinctively trailed off. Applying to Maverick’s logic wasn’t about to solve this problem, especially not if Maverick’s fever was as high as Ice suspected it was. “Maverick, it’s the middle of the night. You have to come back to bed.”

Maverick turned back around as though Ice hadn’t spoken. “I’m onto something here, Goose. I can hear them behind enemy lines. They took him and we’re going to get him back.”

“Took who?”

“Bradley,” Maverick stated as though it was obvious. “We’re going to get him back!”

Ice raised his hands towards Maverick, hoping to quiet him. The walls were incredibly thin and the last thing they needed was the cops to be called. They were already on the radar the last time Maverick came down with a fever when he wandered outside in the middle of the night into the front yard, shouting and threatening anyone who approached him. He had even physically fought Ice until the taller aviator was able to maneuver him inside. It had been just enough time for the cops to be called and a very awkward conversation with Ice throwing his Navy status around to finally tell them off. He doubted that he would be able to do the same again.

“Bradley is fine. He’s with his mother. It’s a school night.” Technically it would not be considered a school night but Maverick didn’t need specifics. The point was that Bradley was fine and Ice needed to stress that before Maverick took matters into his own hands. “We’re going to see him next week for his soccer game, remember? He’s fine.”

Ice wanted to point out that Maverick on the other hand seemed less than fine. He bit his tongue before he could speak, fearful that would send Maverick even more over the edge into a tipping point.

As if to enunciate Ice’s thoughts, Maverick sucked in a giant breath and barely managed to lift his elbow in time to twist off to the side. “HErsh’Shoo! HrShs’Shoo!” Panting, Maverick stood with his mouth gaped, a look of pure ticklish misery etched across his face. Ice took that time to locate a box of tissues and pull out a startling amount before handing them over for the next wave. “Hrhcs’Shoo! HrSh’Shoo! HrCSh’Shoo!”

“Bless you, hotshot,” Ice murmured as Maverick blew his nose with little success. With Maverick slightly calmer, Ice took a step forward and rested the back of his hand against Maverick’s too warm forehead. “It’s the middle of the night. Why are you up?”

Maverick gave no answer, sniffling pitifully. Ice dropped his hand from the smaller man’s brow, catching sight of the pinkish hue to his nostrils. Fever splotches were clear on his fair skin, beads of sweat creating a sheen on the back of his neck. Pitiful wasn’t a strong enough word for how the smaller pilot looked, causing a swell of sympathy to wash over Ice.

Sighing, Ice took Maverick by the elbow that he hadn’t sneezed in. “C’mon, let’s get you back into bed. You’re due for your next round of meds anyway.”

“Beds?”

“Meds, Mav,” Ice corrected softly. “You need medicine.”

Maverick blinked blearily, seemingly unable to focus. To Ice’s relief, he didn’t fight him on their way back to the bedroom, despite Maverick’s prior disposition for pacing. Fevers may tend to ramp him up, but anything respiratory left him struggling. If Ice had to guess, he would say it had something to do with Maverick’s fear of being unable to breathe. One may say that it was tied to drowning, though Ice would venture to say it didn’t necessarily correspond with water, but with anything that obstructed his ability to take in a full breath.

Maverick halted abruptly, yanking Ice back in the process.

Ice struggled to right himself so not to topple over, ready to ask Maverick what the problem was now. He hated to say that he was losing his patience, but exhaustion was winning out. He wanted nothing more than to settle in bed again and hold a shivering Maverick against him to keep the worst of the fever dreams away.

“What are you—“

“HrcSH’Shoo! HRch’Shoo!”

The two scraped Maverick’s throat, leaving him coughing fitfully. Ice reluctantly left him rested against the wall to briefly double back to the living room to collect the box of tissues. He supposed that he should’ve just brought them with them, but he had them now. A few sheets were already pulled out by the time he arrived back to Maverick, who appeared like he was prepping for the next round.

Ice pressed the tissues into Maverick’s hands just in time for the pilot to make good use of them. “HrChs’Shoo! HRch’Shoo! HRch’SH’Shoo!” Maverick blew his nose softly afterwards, a whimper leaving his lips at the attempt.

Ice rubbed Maverick’s shoulders, frowning. “I definitely think this is settling hard in your sinuses, hotshot. Maybe we should bring you to the doctor? Savant might be available.” Although he really didn’t want to have to make this a house call, Maverick wasn’t making this decision easy for him.

Maverick let out a low groan as his hands lifted to his cheeks to palpate at his sinuses. Each touch caused a new whimper to leave the shorter pilot and Ice swiftly took Maverick’s hands in his own so he didn’t cause himself even more distress by potentially making things worse.

“Okay, let’s see how you are after another dose.” Ice urged Maverick forward and back into the bedroom. He was pleased when they didn’t stop until the reached the edge of the bed so that Ice was able to maneuver his other half into an upright position. Ice stacked pillows behind Maverick so that he couldn’t immediately lean back and risk tipping over the edge.

Ice reached back for the now familiar bright red liquid medicine. It tasted horrid, but Maverick being ever the complicated man couldn’t swallow pills no matter if they were crushed or not. There was just something about it that would immediately cause Maverick to gag so their only option was the liquid. Ice would rather succumb to the worst of a cold than attempt to stomach that vile liquid. However, it was Maverick’s only option so they would take what they could get.

He unscrewed the bottle and tipped it so the liquid flowed into the small measuring cup. It needed a desperate washing, but considering that Maverick was the only one using it at the moment, it could wait.

“Alright, down the hatch.” Ice pressed the cup into Maverick’s shaky hands and helped guide his arms the rest of the way up to his mouth. Maverick swallowed the syrupy liquid without much complaint, though a grimace appeared on his face not longer after, top lip curling in distain. “Yeah, vile, I know. Too bad you can’t stomach those pills or it wouldn’t have to taste so bad.”

Maverick’s gaze rose to meet Ice’s own, rheumy and over bright with fever. He was far from the hotshot, reckless pilot that Ice saw on the daily. The sight of him like this just broke Ice’s heart.

Overcome with a rush of affection, Ice bend over Maverick’s quaking form and brushed his hair back before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry, Mav. I know this sucks, but you’re going to get through it.”

Maverick didn’t appear like he believed him. Instead, he tipped over to the side and rested back against the pillows, face pressed into his own. His shoulders began to shake, and for a moment Ice feared that Maverick was crying. However, after a few hitching breaths, Ice realized too late what was happening.

“Hrhchs’Shoo! HrhSh’Shoo! HRcsh’Shoo!”

Ice winced and rubbed Maverick’s shoulder as he sat at the edge of the bed beside him. “You’re going to get me sick too, aren’t ya?”

Maverick lifted his head from the pillows and managed to look slightly bashful. That was short lived as a coughing fit took over, crackling in his chest as Maverick fought for breath.

Ice sprang into action, scooping Maverick by the back and propping him up. He rubbed at his back, pounding lightly on his shoulders until he felt the fit start to ease. Maverick was left in a panting heap at his side, moisture slick nostrils running freely down his face. He pressed his face against Ice’s side, yet another moan leaving his tired body.

Without thinking twice, Ice located the tissue box and pulled out a few. Maverick was too tired and bogged down by fever to care as Ice tended to his nose for him to the best of his ability. He didn’t dare ask Maverick to blow his nose, fearful that it may just cause another coughing fit. Breathing was already an issue without adding another symptom on top of everything else. If he snored and his nose ran, they could easily adapt. More coughing fits were something that Ice feared wouldn’t be as easy to deal with.

“You really need to get some sleep,” Ice whispered, fingers dancing lightly over Maverick’s short hair. “That’s what’s going to help the most.”

Maverick closed his eyes tightly, head shaking against Ice. “We’re not safe.”

“We are safe,” Ice protested, “I’m safe because I’m with you, and you’re safe because you’re with me. Bradley is with his mother and all of our friends on deployment are not in immediate danger. Slider is home with his family. Savant is probably sleeping next to Thunder as we speak. Everyone is safe.”

“Except for Goose.”

This was not where Ice wanted the conversation to go. He often felt Maverick would get trapped in loops, especially if they inevitably led back to Goose. It made his heart ache just thinking about how much his husband thought about the loss of his best friend. Even in moments of excitement or happiness would bring up Goose, which would have Maverick thinking back to that fateful day with his mind stuck in that loop. Sickness brought out this loop more than anything else, and Ice found himself struggling these last few days to break him out of it.

“Goose is safe too. He’s in the stars and in the clouds. Do you think that’s worse than being suck here with one hell of a cold,” Ice joked firmly, never letting up on his petting as Maverick pushed his head deeper into Ice’s adept fingers.

“HrShs’Shoo!

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ice ignored the wet spot on his shirt an continued to rub at Maverick’s neck in an attempt to shift him into a more comfortable position.

Maverick fought it at first until Ice was able to maneuver him into a slightly straighter position so that he could slide into bed beside him. He kept the tissue box at the ready, knowing the unpredictability of Maverick’s nose may call for them sooner rather than later. An arm came to wrap around Maverick’s shoulders to pull him close so that he was propped slightly on the pillow next to Ice and Ice would have a better grip on him. Maverick breathed noisily through his mouth, legs churning against the sheets and bumping against Ice’s own.

“Shhh, shhh,” Ice chided, fingers trailing from the top of Maverick’s head to the back of his neck. He squeezed the tight muscle he found there as Maverick slowly began to ease into his grip. “You’re with me. We’re going to get through this together just as we always do. Try and relax.”

Although profoundly difficult, Maverick’s legs finally started to still. Ice wrapped his own legs around Maverick’s to see if that would ease some of the ache from the fever. It seemed to do enough that Maverick no longer fought him, eyes closing as he sniffled softly. Ice continued to whisper softly against his brow, trailing kisses in-between words.

It seemed that this particular loop was broken, but there was no telling what tomorrow would bring.