RE Boys With a Sick S/O (Chris, Leon, Carlos, Karl)
Chris has plenty of experience tending to others. His time raising Claire in particular gave him a lot of practice with helping those that are sick. Once every school year, she always managed to get some kind of bug from her classmates, so Chris would stay home and keep an eye on her (as well as comfort her, as all big brothers should). Nothing you do can equal the amount of stubbornness Claire used to dish out.
It also helps that Chris knows you and your reactions like the back of his own hand. There’s no such thing as hiding an illness from him. You can smile all you want, but he’ll still be putting a hand to your forehead, checking you for a fever. He sees the dark circles, the exhaustion, all the unsavory stuff that you might try to keep from him and reminds you to be honest with him.
“I know it’s not easy to show weakness, but I need you to trust me with this, alright? You’re very important to me and I want to be there for you when you aren’t feeling well. So for right now, how about you lie down and I’ll get you some tea to sip on?”
Apart from when he’s on missions, most of Chris’ work can be done remotely. Reading/writing reports, staying up to date with the lab’s analysis, and business calls can all be handled at home, so Chris almost always decides to stay near you when you’re sick. The only work task he can’t do is train and no one would dare suggest Captain Redfield was losing his skills. (The man’s got a mini-gym at home that he uses while you sleep. He’ll make sure his co-workers don’t forget how tough he is.)
If you need anything - and I mean anything - Chris would get it for you in a heartbeat. He’s a great cook, so he could make you soup or any other soothing meal. If you need medicine from the store, he’ll run out quick to grab you some. He keeps a decent store of supplies at home for different injuries or conditions he may have when he comes home from work, so there’s plenty of stuff at the ready when you need it.
Are you the type that’s more needy when sick? Well, don’t worry. Chris doesn’t mind sitting next to you and holding you to make you feel better. His chief concern is that you rest. If rubbing your hand helps achieve that, he’ll sit there for hours.
The worst case scenario for Chris is when he has to leave while you’re sick. If he’s already gone when you fall ill, he won’t know until your next phone call. Sure, he’ll feel bad about not being around, but it’s in the past by the time he’s back. Leaving you in the middle of an illness though eats away at him. He feels nothing but guilt while he’s gone, unsure how you’re holding up and concerned that you might miss him more than normal. He’ll ask Claire to check on you, but it doesn’t soothe him in the slightest. He won’t feel better until he’s back home and able to see you for himself.
Leon, while he may try to play it off, is a huge worrywart. He tends to brush off his own problems as ‘no big deal’, but the moment you don’t seem to be doing well, he’s a mess. He’s the most likely to make you see a doctor because he wants to know, for certain, that what you have is something mild. Yeah, maybe it seems like the flu now, but what if it’s pneumonia or a new strain of disease that no one’s heard of before? It only costs a bit of time and money (his money, I might add - you will never in a million years convince him to let you pay him back). His job’s made him way too aware of how fast things can take a turn for the worse. Please let him worry.
The way Leon realizes you’re sick is your attitude. You’re his sunshine, his little ray of happiness that helps him through his dark thoughts, so when you aren’t as perky as usual, he notices immediately. That’s when he goes into investigative mode. He’ll observe you carefully, trying to pick up any extra clues as to what’s going on. Of course, sometimes the clues are more obvious - like when you won’t get out of bed or rush off to the bathroom.
Leon will try very hard to be home with you. Sometimes though his job is difficult to deal with, especially considering he’s one of the top agents. Unless he’s hospitalized or fought viciously for some much-deserved vacation time, the government will get on his ass about coming in. Leon’s learned to reach out to Hunnigan first as she’s a force to be reckoned with at the agency and will remind anyone that he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else. (She’ll also run to the drugstore on her lunchbreak and bring you a few extra things because she knows Leon will be anxious about leaving your side.)
Leon’s all gentle touches and thoughtful gestures. You don’t have to ask him for more water because the moment he sees your glass is getting low, he’ll be fetching you another one. When you mention your head hurts, he’ll have you lay in his lap so he can rub it and play with your hair. If you fall asleep there, that’s where he’s staying, even if he can’t feel his legs later.
Leon’s a creature of comfort. He enjoys nice, soothing things (hence why he’s dating you) and thus has plenty of warm, snuggly blankets and plush, cloud-like pillows. When you get sick, the first thing Leon does is build you a little healing nest where you can fall asleep in any position and still be comfortable. It’s like being royalty, it’s so good. As an added bonus, he’ll let you wear whatever hoodie of his makes you feel safe and content.
While he’s not as experienced as Chris in this department, Leon is always ready to jump in and help. He’s got his phone on him pretty much 24-7 so that he can pull up Google and research anything that he may be unsure about. (He won’t tell you this, but he’s actually got WebMD and Mayo Clinic saved on his list of favorites. Quick, reliable information right at his fingertips!)
Leon’s also got a nice collection of things to read on his phone, as well as books around the house. When you’re sick, he’ll often pull one of them out - usually one of the lighter pieces - and read to you while you cuddle. You’ve done it for him when he comes home from missions, so he knows how comforting it is to listen to your lover’s voice while they read one of your favorites. Combine that with his head rubs and you’ll be dozing in no time!
Carlos is probably the least equipped to handle an illness out of these guys. It’s not for a lack of intelligence or the like. He simply hasn’t had much experience. Both before and during his time with Umbrella, Carlos worked with a lot of guys that liked to be macho. Sometimes it was required to get through the missions. Mikhail in particular could be strict about not letting a bit of a cough slow you down (though he could have his caring moments for his team). Unlike Chris or Leon, the teams often didn’t trust each other enough to be vulnerable.
Considering his big heart though, Carlos is a natural. He’s highly empathetic and practically feels your discomfort as you’re living it. This helps him really understand what it is you need or want without you having to explain it to him. He can put himself in your shoes, think about what he would desire in your position and just goes to do it. If he does get it wrong, he’s fine with you pointing it out. He wants to fix it and therefore wants you to tell him when he’s wrong.
When Carlos really isn’t sure what to do, like when you’re incredibly ill and he doesn’t know if he should take you into urgent care, he’ll call his mom. The two are very close and even though it’s a long-distance call, he trusts her judgement more than anyone else’s. It helps that she was a nurse in her younger days. Not only does she know when to get professionals involved, but she can tell Carlos which old wives’ tales work and which ones are garbage. Her reassurance that you’ll be alright is the best cure for his anxiety.
On a similar thought, the folks at the pharmacy know Carlos quite well. He often pops in when you’re sick, asking for help finding the best over-the-counter treatments for your symptoms. The staff love him, in no small part because it’s so clear that he adores you and treats them all with friendly respect. It ends up becoming a race to see which technician/cashier can hurry over to him and assist him first.
When you aren’t feeling as awful, Carlos likes to crack a lot of jokes. In his mind, laughter is the best medicine the body can take, so he makes sure you’re always smiling to the best of your ability. They range from clever, in-the-moment comebacks to downright cheesy puns. What can I say? To Carlos, all jokes are good jokes.
One of the best purchases Carlos ever made started off as one of these said jokes. One time, when you had been particularly whiney, he had bought a baby monitor as a gag. Turns out, that thing is really useful for knowing when you need help! Carlos gets restless when he’s worried, so with you sick, he tends to flit around the house doing chores and small repairs. He keeps one part of the monitor in your bedroom and the other part clipped to his waistband like a first-time mother. Just say his name once and he’ll come running to get you whatever you need!
Carlos is one of those guys that has no regard for his own health, at least when it comes to cuddling you. If you make grabby hands at him, he’s gonna hold you - no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Kisses are on the table too. Sure, he knows he might get sick too, but then you’ll just have to take care of him, won’t you? Either way, it’s worth it in the end to help you feel more secure and happy.
Karl’s best attribute in this situation is that he is literally unfazed by anything to do with the human body. He’s seen every body fluid known to man. He’s dealt with Moreau’s vomiting and Alcina’s vampiric tendencies. Plus, as he so eloquently puts it, “Spend a few decades being elbow-deep in corpses and nothing gets to you, Buttercup.” This means he’ll be totally fine tending to you, even in your grossest moments. You’re still his sweetheart and that means he doesn’t mind.
With that in mind, you would think, judging from Karl’s personality, that he’d struggle to be a caring lover while you’re sick. Truth is, he’s actually an over-sized guard dog and seeing you miserable and in pain makes him all the more protective. Work gets put on hold at the factory because Karl knows himself well enough to know that he’ll be thinking of you too much to experiment. He may fiddle with a few smaller gadgets or blueprints while in your bedroom, but he won’t be going to the lower levels of the factory until you’ve recovered.
Once Karl’s mind shifts goals, he gets hyper-focused. This means that, even if he appears to be wrapped up in his studies at the desk, he will notice if you try to move out of bed. And that is a big no-no when you’re ill. If you need something, you tell Karl. He’ll get it for you and you’ll keep your ass under those covers unless he says otherwise. Need to use the bathroom? He’s walking you there or even carrying you to make sure you don’t collapse. Want to get cleaned up? Hop in the tub. He’ll wash you off. It’s a touch controlling, yes, but it’s him being worried. Ask nicely and he might voice that to you.
One thing you don’t have to worry about is passing your disease onto him. His Cadou basically makes him immune to your typical viruses and infections - the parasite consumes anything that could be a threat to its host. Whereas Carlos will hold you knowing he might get sick, Karl doesn’t even think about it. To be fair though, even if he was cured of Miranda’s influence, he’d probably still snuggle you without a care in the world. A man needs his daily amount of affection, didn’t you know?
Things get a little trickier if you need medicine. Miranda can’t know about your existence or else she’d snatch you away. Even if Karl could take you out of the factory, the only doctor in the village is Moreau and there’s no way in hell Karl’s willing to trust him with his precious sweetheart. Instead, he has to do the research himself and strike up a deal with the Duke to get the needed ingredients or drugs. He’s ready to pay extra to get them to the factory faster, but surprisingly the Duke never enforces the added fees. (It might have something to do with you giving the merchant cookies in the past as a thank you for his service. He likes you and valued customers get special favors occasionally.)
Unlike Leon, Karl doesn’t have many blankets at the factory. He’s lived on bare essentials for most of his life, pouring all his resources into taking down Miranda, and besides, the factory’s an oven half the time anyway. It’s only been since you showed up that he’s started to care about comfort. When you’re not feeling well, he feels kind of crappy that he can’t wrap you up much to soothe you. While blankets get added to his list for the Duke, he makes do with his trench coat, practically swaddling you up in it and being extra loving as an apology.
If you’re lucky enough, while you’re drifting off to sleep, you just might hear Karl singing softly. He’d normally be a bit sheepish about doing it when you’re awake, but it’s a lovely sound. He’s got a smooth baritone voice that can ease your stress in an instant. What makes it even more special is that the songs he sings are ones he faintly remembers from his childhood - before Miranda ever kidnapped him. His real mother would sing him to sleep and he’s sang the same tunes ever since to keep the memory forged in his brain. You may not understand the German words, but you can feel his love through every note.
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
blakekathryn
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
tangentwithtanner
gracieabrams
2087
