Thanksgiving headache
Thanksgiving was being spent in Dc with Sam. They agreed on a quiet simple celebration just the three of them. The drive down wasn't his favorite but it was better than flying. He knew Christmas had been present in all the stores since Halloween but he was still surprised to hear Christmas music on the radio. He was not surprised to hear Steve listening to it because Steve has always loved Christmas.
When they arrived Wednesday night he went to bed as soon as they were settled. He had a headache from the car ride. No one pressured him. It had been 6 hours stuck in a car with Steve singing along to EVERY Christmas song. He took some aspirin and buried himself in his blankets.
He woke up around 3 am and he felt miserable. He tried to sit up but the slightest movement made him feel sick. He could hear Steve and Sam both snoring in their rooms and it was agitating to say the least. He put his pillow over his head and tried to get some rest. He heard Steve get up and begin prepping items for dinner. Every pot that clattered every song he whistles it was like torture. Then he actually started cooking. Sam walked by the door just in time to hear him heave into the wastebasket.
“You need some help?” Sam could see him wince as he spoke to him. He took his tone down to a gentle whisper. “You have a migraine?” He shrugged. “Don’t know. I get headaches like this sometimes. Can’t remember how I dealt with them though.” He helped him get comfortable in bed. “I’ll see if I can find something to help.” Bucky grabbed his arm “Tell Steve to stop whistling please.” He agreed to pass the message on.
“Psst. You gotta cut out the whistling. Barnes has a migraine.” He looked up. “Really? He hasn’t had one of those since we were kids.” Sam leaned against the counter. “He said he gets them sometimes but doesn’t remember how he handled them.” He nodded. “My ma used to have to come over and take care of him, his family would pretty much move into my apartment until he was better. Wonder what started this one.” Sam was clearly running through things in his head.
“How did he seem on the ride down?” Steve thought back on the last day or so and the ride down. “Now that I think of it kind of agitated. Maybe a bit anxious.” Sam nodded. “Is this his first holiday back with you? I mean Wakanda doesn't have our customs and I doubt Hydra brought him out for Christmas.” Steve hadn’t thought of it. “Did I mess up Sam? Tell me honestly did I mess up?” He placed a hand on his shoulder. “No you didn’t. It won’t help either of you if you bend to accommodate. He has to deal with things.” He rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a towel and moved to the fridge. Steve watched as he took a gel pad from the freezer and wrapped it in the towel. “Carefully place this on the back of his neck don’t make noise if you don’t have to and keep the lights off.”
Steve cautiously entered the room. “Buck?” he whispered as low as possible. “Sam sent me up with this. I’m gonna have my hands on your neck.” He simply groaned while Steve carefully placed the cool pad on his neck. “Sorry I ruined thanksgiving” he mumbled. Steve smiled resisting the urge to touch his head. “You didn’t ruin anything. I should have eased you into it. I kinda just told you two days ago. We’ll be here when you are ready.” He got up and left him to rest.
He and Sam ate dinner while trying to watch football in the quietest way possible. They ended up changing the channel to something that wouldn’t inspire more noise. When it was clear that Bucky wasn’t going to come down for dinner that night they packed everything up and went to bed. Sam woke up when he heard the coffee maker down stairs. He wondered if Steve couldn’t sleep so he went to check.
He instead found Bucky at the counter quietly demolishing thanksgiving leftovers. “Feeling better?” He turned to face him. “Much. Thanks.” He took a seat across from him. “My sister gets migraines. When she was a teenager, they were so bad sometimes she would end up in the hospital. I got really good at taking care of her.” Bucky nodded. “Steve’s mom would handle mine. The first time I had one after she was gone I thought I was going to die. I spent three days locked in my room, the blinds drawn and the pillows over my head. Don’t remember having any after that. Figured the serum would have taken care of that but instead it made it a nightmare.”
Sam pushed a place of pumpkin pie towards him. “Yea Steve has had them before. He’s a real bastard when he’s hurting.” Bucky grinned as he put a slice of pie on his plate. “Yea. serum makes you super sensitive. He stubbed his toe in the barracks and said damn near every swear he knew. You would have thought he broke it but it was just because his body sent off every signal it normally does only now he could feel all of it.” Sam shook his head. “Shit like this reminds me that I’m happier being able to turn off my specialty.” He smiled. “Keep tellin’ yourself that cupcake.”