A/N: wrote this in about 30 minutes lol but I can’t stop looking at that cutie jikook picture 🤭
Jungkook doesn’t waste any time getting comfortable on the plane. He’s sleepy, and almost sad about the fact that the flight is only two and a half hours long. He could use a much, much longer nap, but he’ll settle for two and a half hours.
There’s a heavy weight to his limbs that makes him feel like he’s glued to the chair. Jungkook had reclined it as soon as the plane took off, but now he’s just kind of stuck like that, staring up at the plane’s ceiling as he starts to drift off to sleep, but not quite fully there yet. He’s never actually regretted staying up too late before, but this might be the closest he’s come to that– he’s too tired to even reach for his phone, which means he can't turn on his music, and that’s kind of a bummer.
As he reaches a state of almost-slumber, someone crawls into his lap.
Jimin.
Jungkook can recognize his scent and his weight, even in a state of partial consciousness.
Jimin is quiet. And warm. Too warm, Jungkook decides as Jimin lies down on top of him, face nuzzling into the crook of Jungkook’s neck.
But still, Jungkook isn’t going to move. Nor can he. He’s too heavy, and now Jimin is a heavy, warm weight on top of him.
Somewhere nearby, he can hear Hoseok’s cooing voice: Look at those two, I have to take a picture!
Jungkook is too sleepy to comprehend what Hoseok is talking about.
At least Jimin smells nice. It’s the last thing Jungkook is aware of as he finally falls asleep.
*
“...we’re going to land soon.”
Jungkook blinks awake to the sound of Seokjin’s voice. “Huh?”
“Jungkookie? You awake? We’re going to land soon.”
Sniffling, Jungkook tries to make his eyes focus on Seokjin’s face. He’s hot all over, thanks to Jimn’s body covering every inch of him. It’s comfortable, but in a too-hot sort of way.
“Too hot,” he croaks out, knowing Seokjin will understand.
Seokjin does not understand. “We’re going to land soon, Jungkookie,” he repeats, carding his fingers through Jungkook’s hair. “You guys need to sit upright.”
Raising an eyebrow, Seokjin tilts his head to one side. “What?”
“Jimin-hyung is…too hot.”
Jungkook isn’t sure why his tongue feels too big in his mouth. He needs water, probably, and about ten more hours of sleep.
“Jimin is too hot?” Seokjin echoes, moving his hands down to Jimin’s face. When his palm slides across Jimin’s forehead, he freezes. “Oh.”
Jungkook sniffles. In the next breath, he feels a sneeze sneak up on him, and turns his head to the side to let it out.
“Oh,” Seokjin says.
“Bless you,” Hoseok calls out from his seat.
Jimin, startled awake by Jungkook’s sneeze, groans softly and sits up halfway. “Kookie?”
“Hey.” Seokjin crouches down and takes Jimin’s flushed face in his hands. “You’re awake.” He speaks softly, even though they’re all awake now. “How are you feeling?”
At first, Jimin seems to hear him, but then his brows furrow and he tries to lie back down, face seeking out the crook of Jungkook’s neck again.
“Ohh, nope.” Seokjin stops him with a hand on his shoulder. “It’s time to get up. You need to sit in your own chair for landing.”
Jimin groans again.
Seokjin clears his throat. “Joon-ah?”
Namjoon is at his side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“I think these two decided to get sick on us,” Seokjin chuckles, like he’s telling Namjoon a funny story instead of bad news.
At that, Jimin’s head lifts up. “Wha’?”
“I think you’re running a fever, Jimi–”
“Kookie is sick?” Jimin asks, turning to look at Jungkook’s face.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Seokjin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Namjoon, I think we’re going to need med check-ups for them both after we land. They’re both really warm and Jungkook is–”
Jungkook sneezes, this time into Jimin’s chest.
There’s a moment of silence. Jungkook breaks it by sniffling wetly into Jimin’s shirt.
“That. Jungkook is doing that,” Seokjin finishes. “If you could just inform the staff, I’ll get them ready for landing.”
Namjoon nods, silent as he walks toward the front of the plane.
Seokjin tugs on Jimin’s shoulder until he sits up. “Come on, Jiminie. You need to sit down in your seat and buckle up. We’re going to be landing soon.”
At Jimin’s hesitation, Seokjin tries another tactic.
“Will you help Jungkook sit up and make sure he’s buckled in?”
Finally, Jimin springs into action– albeit clumsy, stumbling action, weighted down by fever and exhaustion as he uses an extremely hands-on approach to get Jungkook’s seat upright. Seokjin isn’t sure if Jimin is clinging so much to Jungkook because he’s not feeling well, or if it’s because he now knows Jungkook isn’t feeling well, but either way it's a struggle to separate them and get Jimin back in his own seat.
Once he’s there, Seokjin hands him a bottle of water. He brings one to Jungkook, too, uncapping it for him so he can drink.
“Hyung.”
Seokjin turns around. Yoongi is watching him from across the plane.
“Time to buckle in for landing,” Yoongi tells him.
Seokjin smiles. He takes his seat next to Yoongi and buckles his seatbelt. “They both have fevers, I think.”
Frowning, Yoongi looks at Jimin, then at Jungkook. “Well, that sucks. Do they need medicine? I have–”
“A whole pharmacy in your carry-on,” Seokjin finishes for him, reaching over to pat Yoongi’s thigh. “We can figure that out after we land.”
Hihii! Loved your fic, and I'm here to ask if you could write one about Minho with the sniffles. I just love seeing him all soft and cute. It could be Chan and/or Jisung taking care of him. At first he claims that it's nothing and that he can take care of himself on his own. But when he starts sneezing all over the dorm, showing signs of fever and body ache, they decide to intervene and take care of him properly, even if Minho protests (but he's too tired to actually do something about it, so he reluctantly basks in the comfort of his two favourite people.) If you write it thank you so muuuch, I really love sniffly and sneezy Minho. Wish you the best!! <3
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: sickness, allergies mentioned, sneezing, coughing, dizziness, medication, body pain.
word count:1,152
Sickie(s): Lee Minho
Caretaker(s): Bang Chan, Han Jisung.
Summary: Minho really doesn't feel that bad, until he does.
When Minho woke up, his head was throbbing, and there was an uncomfortable pressure behind his sinuses.
He reached for his phone on his bedside table, 5:45 am. Way too early to be awake, but lying down caused everything to be worse, so he forced himself out of bed with a quiet groan and wobbled to the kitchen, grabbing a nearby wall whenever he swayed.
Once he made it, he filled a cup with water and sank down at the table, sipping it slowly. Minho mentally ran over his symptoms. His head hurt, but that was definitely from how stopped up he was, and his body hurt, but then again, he had a rough dance practice yesterday.
He sighed, jumping when the lights above him turned on, his leader standing at the doorframe of the kitchen, his face worried even in the dim light.
"Minho?" He whispered softly, stepping closer. "Are you ok? It's early."
The older male whispered, noticing the exhaustion on the dancer's face. He reached out, stroking his hair out of his face, honestly shocked when he didn't feel a fever.
"Are you feeling ok? You don't feel warm, but you seem awfully congested."
Minho nodded, stretching his achy arms above him.
"I'm fine, hyung," he mumbled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "'s just allergies."
Chan glared at him suspiciously but decided to drop the conversation, walking away and returning shortly with a box of tissues, setting it in front of the dancer. Chan stroked the dancer's hair, giggling when Minho tried to act annoyed even though his body sank into the touch.
"We don't have a schedule until late," Chan said gently, "so try to rest ok? sick or not, you need it."
The younger nodded, sniffling again before wiping his nose in one of the tissues Chan had brought.
Once he was sure Chan had retreated back to his room for the time being, he hid his face in his hands, taking a stuffy breath. Just in the half hour he'd been awake, he started to feel worse, but his leader said he didn't have a fever, so he should be fine, right?
He shakily stood up from the table, walking to the living room, plopping on the couch, and starting some random show. He sneezed into his hands and shook his head a little, as if trying to clear his mind. As he watched, he started to feel drowsy, and he allowed himself to doze off.
When he woke up again, the first thing he noticed was just how hard it was to breathe; the next thing was the clanking from the now well-lit kitchen, the sunlight seeping in.
When he sat up, something from his sinuses shifted painfully, and it immediately triggered a cough, his shoulders shaking.
Jisung looked up from where he was preparing his breakfast, his face worried as he hurried over.
"Minnie?" The rapper whispered, stroking the older's hair. "Are you ok?"
Minho nodded, sneezing into his arm multiple times before looking at jisung who handed him a tissue.
As he blew his nose, Jisung set a new glass of water on the table.
"Hyung?" The rapper whispered. "Are you sick?"
Minho shook his head, only to stop when the dizziness hit him like a brick. He carefully stood from the couch, yet again stretching out his aching muscles.
"It's just allergies." The older repeated before sneezing again, groaning a little in pain before taking a sip of the water. He noticed how suspicious Jisung looked as he pushed past him to the kitchen, just to find his leader there. He sneezed yet again, grabbing onto the table in front of him for support.
Chan looked up, his eyes softening as he made eye contact with the dancer. His face was pale besides his bright cheeks, his eyes glossed over and unfocused. And as much as Chan hated to admit it, he had seen enough fevers in his time as a leader that he knew the signs.
"Gosh, Min," He mumbled, taking a step closer, "you look awful."
Minho smirked weakly, taking a seat. "Thanks, hyung, you're such a charmer."
Chan rolled his eyes, setting a hand on Minho's forehead.
"I don't know about those allergies anymore, bub, you're feeling pretty warm to me."
The dancer wanted to complain and fight back, but honestly? He felt wrecked, and though he would never admit it, he wouldn't mind some more rest, so he just huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm fine." He mumbled, though there was no fight in it.
Chan just smiled, guiding Minho to a chair, not missing the small whimper when Minho's muscles protested. Chan whispered a small apology as he knelt next to him, voice soft.
"Talk to me, honey. What's bothering you?"
Minho sniffled at the soft tone but tried to steady his voice before he spoke.
"My body hurts so bad, and I can't stop-" Just then, he let out a few harsh sneezes, his body burning, "-Sneezing."
Chan hummed sympathetically, passing the male another tissue. Jisung set the sick male's water cup from earlier on the table.
"Just allergies, huh?" Jisung teased gently, rubbing the man's shoulder soothingly, feeling his feverish heat through his clothes.
Minho just stuck out his tongue, looking up when Chan, who he didn't even notice leave, came back with a few items: A bag of cough drops, cough syrup, a bottle of pain meds, and a thermometer.
Chan slicked the sick boy's hair out of his face, holding the thermometer up.
"Can you open your mouth, sweetheart? I need to get a reading on that temperature."
Minho didn't speak, just opening his mouth and allowing the thermometer to be slipped under his tongue.
He could tell by his hyung's face that his temperature wasn't great, but he always had high fevers when he was sick, so he wasn't too worried about it.
Chan clicked his tongue, his hand softly trailing through the dancer's hair.
"Let's get you to bed, you're not working today."
Lee Know wanted to argue, but the look his leader was giving him, plus the exhaustion, caused him to bite his tongue. He attempted to stand, but he swayed dizzily, and his bones ached, luckily Jisung was behind him and gently wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him standing.
"Easy," Jisung soothed, "let's get you comfy."
He slowly started walking Minho towards his room, Chan not far behind.
Once he was laid in bed and tucked in, Chan sat at his side, slowly rubbing the sick boy's shoulders out, trying to alleviate some of the pain. Minho's eyelids fluttered at the touch as he leaned into it, his raspy breathing slowing down.
Chan smiled, kissing his hair before slowly standing, stealing one last glance at the boy before leaving, just hoping he would stay that way until he got back after schedules.
(A/N🐇: Thank you so much for the request!! It was so fun to write. I hope you like it, and it's what you were asking for! Minho is such a fun sickie to write for. As always, feel free to send requests! I love you all!! Stay safe and make sure to eat and drink some water!!)
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: emeto, medication, not proofread.
Word Count: 973
Sickie(s): Han jisung
Caretaker(s): Lee Minho
Summary: (fic 1 of my dorm fics) Han hates being sick, good thing he has Minho.
(Small AN: Hi lovelies!! I got this series idea from @sickskz with permission (If you've never read their fics, you need to. They are amazing!) So this is part one of my "stray kids dorm pairing fics." Enjoy!)
It was quiet in Minho and Jisung's shared dorm, too quiet.
Minho walked by Jisung's room, expecting to hear his keyboard keys or soft music, but all he heard was silence.
Knowing something wasn't right, he was, after all, over-observant. He pushed the younger boy's door open, and his heart stuttered at the sight before him.
Jisung was curled up into a ball on his bed, his arms wrapped around his stomach, his head buried in his knees. His hair was stuck to his forehead, and his skin was almost ashy pale.
He looked up at the sound of the door cracking open, his eyes watery. "H-hyung," The rapper whispered, "My stomach hurts." His voice was broken and shaky, obviously hurting.
Minho quickly crossed the room, his hand falling on the sick boy's forehead before slicking his sweat-soaked hair back.
"How long has it been hurting, baby?" His voice was soft, scared Jisung would break if he spoke too loudly.
"This morning," Jisung choked out, his arms tightening around his waist. "I thought it would go away."
Minho sighed, moving to sit on the bed and pull the warm boy into his arms. "You should've told me, beautiful, I could've helped sooner…"
Jisung shrugged, curling into the dancer. "I didn't want to bother you because of a stupid tummy ache; I can handle it."
Minho cupped the boy's cheeks, making sure he was looking at him. "I never said you couldn't, but you shouldn't have to deal with it alone."
Jisung was about to answer when he suddenly hiccuped, cupping a hand over his lips. "M-Min," the rapper gagged out.
Minho reacted fast, dumping Jisung's small wastebasket out before holding it under his chin just in time for Jisung to choke out a small wave of whatever he had managed to eat that day.
Jisung's shaky hands gripped the bin as he retched, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes. He choked out multiple small mouthfuls, not being able to breathe between them as his chest tightened and he choked.
Minho noticed the boy struggling and gently, but firmly patted his back, trying to help him clear his airways.
Jisung's heaving finally eased enough for him to take a full breath. Tears were streaming down his face, from the exertion and the humiliation, a string of sick still clinging to his lips. He was truly a pitiful sight.
Minho pouted at him, using the edge of his sleep shirt to wipe the sick boy's mouth and cheeks, softly shushing him.
"Shh, it's ok, honey. You did so well," He soothed, grabbing the boy's water bottle from his bedside table, holding it to his lips. "Rinse your mouth out and take a sip if you can, please."
Jisung groaned but took some water and swished it in his mouth before spitting it out, gagging at the sick in the bin that Minho was quick to take away after. Jisung took a tiny sip of water before shaking his head, and Minho took the hint, putting the bottle back in its place.
"I'm sorry," Jisung whispered hoarsely as Minho helped him lie back down, his eyes glossy.
Minho scoffed, kissing the boy's warm cheek. "You have nothing to apologize for, you're a human."
Minho stood, just to feel a warm hand grab his wrist, and when he looked down, Jisung was staring up at him with glassy eyes.
"Ji, baby," the older whispered, looking him over. "I just need to clean this out, ok? I'll be right back."
The younger groaned, but complied, his fingers unclenching from the older.
Minho quickly hurried out of the room, dumping the contents of the bin into the toilet before rinsing it out in the bathtub. While in the bathroom, Minho collected a wet and dry rag, the thermometer, a box of tissues, and some Pepto. He also made a quick stop by the kitchen, grabbing an electrolyte water. Once he secured the items, he quickly made his way back to the sick man's room to find him sitting up again, arms still hugged around him.
"Oh, love…" Minho sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, making sure the bin was placed back in arm's reach. He slicked back Jisung's hair before holding the thermometer. "Can I take your temperature, honey? You're a little too warm for my liking."
Jisung didn't say anything; he just let his jaw fall open, and that was enough confirmation for him. He softly set the device in his mouth, softly cooing when Jisung gagged on the metal, his hand still in his hair.
When the device beeped, Minho took it out of his mouth, looking at the numbers with a sigh. "102.2f (39c)." Minho whispered, his eyes still filled with concern. "No wonder you feel so sick, we need to try to get that down, yeah?"
Han just nodded, looking so exhausted. Minho softly laid the wet cloth over his burning forehead, the creases in the rapper's face soothing, and Minho smiled, softly humming.
"Go to sleep, baby, you need rest."
Jisung didn't need to be told twice, quickly drifting into sleep.
Minho sighed, looking over at the bedside table, the Pepto and water long forgotten for the moment as the sleeping boy curled around him, snoring softly. Minho adjusted softly, leaning against the headboard with Jisung still in his arms, his hand softly stroking his back.
The younger stirred a little, eyebrows furrowing before he snuggled closer, and his face smoothed out again. Minho whispered soft reassurances, listening to the boy's soft snores as the night grew deeper and he drew closer to sleep himself, staying awake long enough to make sure the boy was ok before his eyes closed as he squeezed the boy closer.
(A/N: Hi! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted, but I have just been so busy, and I'm so sorry, but also writer's block is crazy. If anyone has any requets please send them because maybe they will help. This isn't exactly the fic I wanted to post after being gone, because I don't love it, but I've been working on it for a while. I love you all so much, stay safe and healthy!!)
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: emeto, mentions of medication, fluff, hurt/comfort, mentions of fever, mentions of passing out, dizziness, not proofread
Word Count: 1.5k
Sickie(s): Felix
Caretaker(s):Bang Chan, some Hyunjin
Summary: Felix was just trying to go through his day but his body had other plans.
"Hey Lix, you ok?"
Felix slowly looked up from his bowl, His eyes blurred for a moment before they locked onto the worried ones of his leader in front of him.
"Huh? Yeah," Felix whispered, voice hoarse "why?"
Chan raised an eyebrow with a sigh "You're pale, like really pale." He whispered, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. "And you haven't even touched your breakfast."
Felix just shrugged off his gaze, but he knew he wasn't ok. The room was tilting around him, his head was throbbing coming in waves just like the rolling in his stomach, and he was sweating even though he felt like he'd just been out in the snow, his body obviously struggling to regulate itself.
Chan hummed but didn't take his eyes off his fellow Aussie, he could tell Felix wasn't well, he was good at that, but Felix wasn't necessarily good at hiding it either. His freckles looked wrong against his pale complexion, his blonde hair was sticking to his forehead even though he had just woken up, and his voice was way deeper than normal standards.
Felix could feel the older males eyes on him but he chose to ignore them for the time being. He was an adult, he could handle himself. That's what he kept telling himself but it was hard to believe when tears were constantly trying to break through his facade.
Felix startled when the male in front of him clapped his hands together sharply, catching the attention of the other members.
"The car's here" The leader spoke, the sudden loud voice agitating Felix's head, and he had to bite back a gag when the pain flared.
Felix pushed himself to stand besides the pain, just to sway dizzily. He maybe made it half way up before his knees buckled under his weight and he had to grip the table in front of him to stop him from completely collapsing. His ears were ringing as he screwed his eyes shut, canceling out any other voice in the room. The pain was so overwhelming that he didn't even feel the hands on his shoulders lowering him back to his seat.
"Hey," Hyunjin's gentle voice cut through Felix's struggle "Sit back down Yongbok-ah."
Felix looked up to see Hyunjin's worried eyes, his hand softly rubbing between his shoulder blades.
"You're really warm," He whispered softly "you should go back to bed."
Felix shook his head, regretting it when it only increased the dizziness.
"I'm fine," He whispered, voice cracking "I'm probably just still tired"
Before Felix could try and deflect anymore, Chan's cold hand was on his forehead, and Felix instinctively leaned into it. Causing the leader to click his tongue.
"Tired people don't classically run fevers," He mumbled in his 'leader' voice, one that meant what it said. "You're not going anywhere besides back to bed."
"Hyung-" The younger glared at him, but didn't get another word out when Chan stared him down.
"No." Chan mumbled, voice firm but gentle. "You just basically fainted at the table, how do you expect to dance today?"
Felix felt his throat sting a little, his voice quiet. "I'm sorry."
Hyunjin, who was still by his side scoffed gently, shushing his apology. "Don't apologize" He whispered "You look miserable, we just want you to be ok."
Chan slowly helped Felix stand fully, keeping a solid arm around his waist heaven forbid Felix nearly or fully passes out. It was a short walk to Felix's room, yet they had to stop multiple times when the younger's knees buckled beneath him.
"Ok, easy" Chan whispered, lowering Felix to the soft bed, gently easing him to lay against the pillows. "Just rest for a bit," The leader whispered soothingly, his hand carding through the dancers damp hair. "I'll bring you some medicine in a minute, Ok?"
Felix just hummed, eyes fluttering closed as his body loosened.
Chan sighed once the sick boy was comfortably asleep, he slowly peeled himself out of the bed and went to collect a few things. When he came back Felix was no longer peacefully sleeping, he was tossing and turning, his eyebrows knit together as he whimpered.
Chan hurried over, softly stroking Felix's cheek, he couldn't help but notice how much warmer the younger had gotten in the 10 minutes he was gone.
"Hey, " Chan whispered, hand cupping the boys damp face "Lixie, wake up."
And that he did, Felix shot awake, eyes wild and body trembling under his blanket. His eyes locked on his leader and relief flooded him, he collapsed into the waiting arms with a sob.
"Shh, You're ok" The leader whispered comfortingly, arms wrapping around the other male. "It's just the fever, I got you baby"
He didn't miss the small, panicked noise Felix made and he definitely didn't miss his shaky hand coming to clasp over his pale lips, his watery eyes widening.
Chan cursed softly under his breath, leaping quickly into action. "Ok, bathroom, let's go!"
Chan gently but quickly untangled the sick boy from his sheets and helped him towards the bathroom. He was basically carrying him with how much of his body weight he was shouldering. He couldn't ignore how bad the boy was shaking, and just how many tears began to pour down his flushed cheeks.
When the leader reached the bathroom, Felix buckled in front of the toilet, Chan lowered him down gently. Felix almost immediately weakly heaved, the action unproductive. Chan moved to sit behind him, his hand finding it's way to his sweaty back, his other hand pulling back his long strands of blonde hair so they wouldn't get dirtied when Felix inevitably got sick. Every heave that rippled through the sick man Chan could feel strain his back muscles where his hand rested, and Chan knew it HAD to agitate the boys injury.
"I've got you" Chan whispered, hand still softly stroking his back. "It's ok, breathe"
Chan winced in sympathy when Felix heaved yet again and the sound of liquid on liquid echoed through the bathroom along with the sink mans soft sobs.
Felix whimpered before heaving again, his back arching harshly.
Chan was honestly shocked Felix had anything to bring up since he didn't eat anything for breakfast and his dinner had been small the night before. Nonetheless, Chan kept rubbing circles on the boys back, whispering soft reassurances in between productive heaves. Chan hummed sadly when Felix leaned back, tears streaming down his face from exertion.
Chan hastily tore of a piece of toilet paper, cleaning any remnants away from Felix's face before flushing away any evidence what just happened. When that was done he softly took Felix's face in his hands, wiping at the tears as they fell.
"H-Hyung," Felix whimpered, trying desperately to stretch his back in an attempt to will away the pain "it hurts."
Chan's heart squeezed at the sound of Felix's broken words, he hummed softly, thumbs still stroking his cheeks. "Let's get you back into bed ok?" He whispered, making sure his accent was as strong as possible, wanting nothing more than to comfort his poor member. "You can put a heat pack on your back and take some medicine for the pain"
Felix nodded pitifully, desperate for any relief he could get. With that, Chan stood and gracefully swooped Felix into his arms. There was no way he was letting Felix walk with how much pain he was in and how dizzy he was.
He quickly got Felix back in bed, he really wanted him to be able to use a heat pack for his aching back but he needed to get a reading on the fever the sick male was sporting. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a thermometer from the materials he collected before Felix had woken up before. He set the device in Felix's mouth with no resistance from him, it pained Chan to see his sunshine so dull. When the thermometer beeped, the screen turned red and displayed a fever of 101.4f(38.5c). "No wonder you feel so bad" Chan whispered sadly. his fever was high, but not so high where he was worried about giving the male the heat pad, he would just make sure he was keeping an eye on him, which he would do anyway.
Chan plugged in the heat pad and made sure Felix was comfortable. He softly stroked his hair, voice soft.
"Hey, Lix?" He whispered, voice warm but filled with concern "Do you think you can eat for me? Just a few crackers? I promise I'll get you medicated after"
Felix whimpered hoarsely, he really didn't want to risk putting anything in his sore stomach but the temptation of relief was just too strong. So he reluctantly nodded, accepting the crackers Chan handed him, he struggled them down, gagging every few bites but he got them down.
He took the medicine and water Chan passed him with no argument, desperate for any kind of relief form the symptoms ailing him. The water helped soothe his abused throat and the mixture of the heat pad, meds, and his leaders Comforting hand running through his hair, sleep was quick to overtake him, feeling safe in his leaders arms.
(A/N🐇: Hi Hi!! Another fic out yay! I really enjoyed writing this so I hope you enjoy reading it! This is the longest fic I've written yet but I couldn't help myself, Felix is one of not my favorite sickie. Thank you for reading and as always if I missed any content warnings please let me know. I love you all, take care of yourselves!!)
I love love LOVED your Lee Know sickfic. I was wondering if you could please write a story and have him as a caretaker for Felix when he has the flu (not the stomach flu- I’m talking classic body aches, high fevers, cough, fever dreams, loopiness, etc.)
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: cold/flu symptoms
word count:1,006
Sickie(s): Lee Felix
Caretaker(s): Lee Minho
Summary: Felix hates being sick, luckily he has Minho.
(A/N: I set this fic back in the old dorms (Felix, Minho, I.N, Seungmin) just FYI!)
Felix awoke with a start, his heart racing and his hair standing on the back of his neck, his heart pounding erratically against his ribs. His breathing was erratic as he looked around him. He was sitting in a pool of his own sweat, his blonde hair stuck to his forehead, and his sheets were damp underneath him, his thin sleep shirt now sticking to his skin. Gross.
He took a deep breath, trying to steel himself and shake off the anxiety looming over him. He could only assume he had a nightmare; he didn't remember any of the dream, but it was the only thing that made sense and would cause this reaction from him. He swallowed thickly, his throat dry and aching.
Knowing he wasn't going back to sleep, he swung his shaky legs off his bed and stood, only to have to sit back down when he wavered, the world spinning much too fast for him. He rested his pounding head in his hands for a moment, mustering as much energy as he could to move his heavy, aching body.
He took a breath and tried again, taking slow steps towards the door of his room, using much more effort that it should, he braced against the wall to keep him from falling.
Once he was in the quiet hallway, he leaned against the wall and considered his options.
The living room was closest but he really didn't want to be alone, not with how weird he felt. Jeongin and Seungmin had a late rehearsal that night and had likely only gotten to bed an hour or so ago, and he didn't want to wake either of them up, so that left him with only one option, so he pushed himself off the wall and slowly made his way towards Minhos room.
Once he got to the olders door he hesitated. He was a grown man, he should probably go back to bed and deal with it himself but the thought of someones hands soothing his aches and pains, a voice telling him he was ok was too sweet to ignore. He took a breath before quietly opening the door, stepping shakily into the dark room.
In any other scenario, he would knock, but with how late it was, he knew Minho would be asleep, and if possible, he just wanted to be able to sleep in his bed and feel his hyung near him.
He slowly crept inside as well as he could, sitting on the older's bed. Minho was, in fact, asleep, his breathing deep and even, and his body completely lax and sprawled out against his bed.
Felix took a deep breath to try to calm the spinning as he curled up on the bed and let Minhos' breathing soothe him.
The peace was short-lived, however, as the older dancers' breathing changed, and Felix knew he had woken him up.
"Mm.. What's-" The boy's words were slurred as he blinked his eyes open. "Lix?" He slowly moved, settling on to one elbow. "Hey.. what's wrong?"
Felix glanced over at Minho, only now noticing the wetness on his face. When did he start crying?
Minho quickly moved to sit up properly, moving to look at Felix closer, bringing one hand to wipe at the tears on the youngers cheeks. But before he could even touch him he could feel the warmth radiating off him.
"God, honey, you're burning up," The boy murmured, tucking a piece of hair behind the sick boy's ear. "How long have you been like this, hm? You seemed ok earlier."
Minho spoke soft and slow, knowing Felix's struggle to understand Korean when he was distressed, and his english skills were not gonna be enough, especially when he just woke up.
Minho tried to think and retrace the day; Felix really had looked fine, cracking jokes and hanging off any member he could. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the younger spoke. Stuttering over his words.
"J-Just woke up like this," He mumbled, massaging his temples. "I did feel fine earlier."
Minho hummed, a hand going up to slick his hair back, scratching at his scalp.
"Alright, well, it's ok, you're gonna be fine."
Felix didn't respond, only leaned into Minho more, his body shaking with chills. Minho quickly grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around Felix's quaking shoulders, rubbing his arms up and down to try and warm him up.
"Are you tired, baby?" Minho questioned softly, watching the younger's face gently, shocked when he shook his head.
"No," He mumbled, resting his head on the older's shoulder. "I don't want to have another nightmare."
Minho hummed, squeezing the freckled boy's shoulder. "Ok, well, how about a movie?"
Felix just hummed, something to distract his mind from the sickness plaguing his body was welcome. In all truth, he was tired, but he was scared to go back to sleep, not wanting to wake up feeling like he did earlier.
Minho reached over to his bedside table, grabbing his laptop, and setting it on his bed, putting on some animated movie. He pulled Felix to his side, even if physical touch wasn't his thing, he knew it was Felix's, and the younger probably needed it more than ever right now.
Felix watched the dim screen, focus slipping in and out, silently thanking Minho for his consideration of his headache as the volume of the computer was low and the screen had been dimmed. he coughed lightly into his elbow, his scratchy throat fighting him with a vengeance. The longer he watched the movie, the heavier his eyes got.
Minho was gently running his slim fingers through Felix's hair, smiling as the sick boy started to doze off in his side. He pulled his blanket up higher on Felix's shoulders to try and ease the chills still plaguing him. Later, at a more appropriate time of day, he would get up and get whatever he needed for Felix to feel better, but for now, this was enough.
A/N🐇: Finally posted again! Sorry it took me so long! For anyone who sent a request I swear I am slowly but surely working on them, thank you so much for sending them, they definitely help me when I'm in a slump. Anon, I hope you enjoyed this, thank you so much for requesting. As always I love you all, make sure to eat something, drink some water, and take care of yourselves!! <33
I was wondering if u were still open to requests...
If you are: Would you be willing to write a sickfic where Seungmin tries to hide being ill from the members, but they find out?
I'm sorry if it's rude to just ask like this. Feel free to ignore if it is.
Have a good day <3
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: cold/flu symptoms
word count:1k+
Sickie(s): Kim Seungmin
Caretaker(s): Ot8 (Chagbin, Bang Chan main)
Summary: Seungmin is good at acting ok, or so he thinks.
(A/N: Sorry I've been so slow with writing, I'm working through my requests I promise!! Also Anon your request was not rude at all! Thanks for sending it!!)
Seungmin couldn't breathe. Well, he could, he guessed, it's just hard. He pants, gripping his tight chest as he glanced at himself in the mirrors of the dance room.
He looked terrible.
Sure, he had noticed the paleness in his face while he got ready this morning, and the uncomfortable cold taking over him despite the warming weather. But looking at himself now, he looked much worse. He cursed lightly.
He swallowed thickly. Everybody had off days; he was fine, that's all it was, an off day.
He barely registered his leader's voice calling for a break. He shook himself out of his mind and forced his aching body to his water bottle in the corner of the room. He took a small sip, his stomach twisting painfully.
He startled when a hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Chan's face looming over him.
He must've noticed the way Seungmin's eyes squinted as he flinched against the fluorescent lights, because he crouched down in front of him, saving him from looking up at the lights in his attempts to look at him.
Chan's hand slid down Seungmin's arm as it came to hold his hand, lacing his fingers gently with the younger's.
"Hey," Chan started, rubbing his knuckles comfortingly. "You ok, honey?"
Seungmin just hummed, looking at his leader. Had he been that obvious? Seungmin thought he was hiding his ailments quite well if he did say so himself.
Chan just looked at him skeptically, obviously thinking.
"You should sit this next run out," the eldest murmured. "You can join when you're ready, ok?"
Chan was pretty sure Seungmin wasn't feeling well, but he knew the younger didn't like to be babied or called out, so the leader just had to do what he could; he knew better than to push.
Seungmin wanted to argue, but with how weak his body felt, dancing would be a chore, and he really didn't want to risk an injury because he didn't respect his body's limits. It wasn't uncommon for members to take a longer break when they were having an off day, so for once, he agreed.
He tried his best to watch his other members execute the moves, but the music made his headache pulse, and it caused his eyes to water; he blinked them away.
As he watched the run, guilt bubbled in his chest. His members were working hard for their upcoming performances, and he was just sitting there. So when it was time for the next run, he pushed himself up and forced his aching body into position.
He didn't miss Chan's face as Seungmin pushed himself up; he had obviously wished the younger would stay sitting.
But Seungmin would not risk dragging his team down, no matter how tired he was.
As the music started, Seungmin allowed his autopilot to take over, his body moving like it was second nature as he allowed himself to space out just a little.
He startled when his shoulder collided with Jisung's side, whose hand immediately shot out to steady the younger, feeling the warmth from his skin.
The younger in question glanced up sheepishly at him, rolling his shoulder a little.
"Sorry, hyung," Seungmin whispered, watching as Jisung shook his head, rubbing the skin where his hand rested on Seungmin's forearm.
"It's ok, are you ok?" Jisung hummed, eyes soft with worry.
Yeah," Seungmin whispered, letting himself lean into Jisung's touch. "I just stumbled."
But before the rapper could say anything else, or ask anymore questions, Chan clapped lightly, gathering his kids' attention.
"Let's wrap up here, It's looking good!"
The room relaxed, and Seungmin followed his members' motions, packing his bag as everyone went towards their various schedules for the day. He glanced up at Changbin as he stood beside him, offering him a hand with a gentle smile.
Seungmin took it, letting himself be pulled up.
"You ready?" Changbin whispered, they had planned to record some of Seungmin's lines for the comeback today.
The vocalist in question nodded, walking beside the older as they made their way to the studio. Changbin unlocked the door and ushered Seungmin into the studio, knowing this was his last schedule of the day, and he seemed like he could use some rest, so he was hoping they could finish quickly.
Seungmin made his way into the booth, slipping the headphones over his ears. He flinched when the headphones crackled with his hyung's voice, even though he was speaking softly. He just hummed along to whatever he was saying, only half paying attention.
The music started, and Seungmin opened his mouth to sing, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat, apologizing to Changbin, who just waved him off, and started the music again.
It went like this for a while, even when Seungmin was able to get a sound out, it was shaky and not like him at all, not the voice he'd spent years training.
In the half hour he'd been "recording" he'd drunk a whole bottle of water, and he could see Changbin looking at him with that concerned look in his eyes.
"Hey, Minnie?" Changbin's voice came through the headphones again, and Seungmin just hummed. "How about we postpone this for now, yeah?"
Seungmin bit back the knot in his throat as he nodded, pulling the headphones off and resting them on the music stand before stepping out of the booth where Changbin was waiting with open arms.
Seungmin fell into them, burying into his arms. "Sorry, I don't know what's up…"
Changbin shook his head, though Seungmin couldn't see it from where his head was tucked.
"I think I might," the older mumbled, stroking Seungmin's hair. "You're warm, do you feel sick, baby?"
Seungmin shrugged, sniffling a little as he pulled away slightly.
"My head hurts, and I feel draggy, I guess."
Changbin hummed, taking Seungmin's arm and settling him on the couch in the studio. He couldn't help the guilt in his chest. He had noticed how pale Seungmin had seemed all day, how quiet he'd been.
"I'm sorry I didn't stop you sooner, you've seemed off all day." The older whispered.
Seungmin just shook his head, not seeming fully there.
"'S ok," He mumbled, pulling Changbin to lie with him on the small couch. It wasn't the most convenient thing, but if it made Seungmin feel even a little better, it was worth it.
Changbin stroked the sick male's hair as he watched him doze off in his arms before pulling out his phone and texting their group chat to inform them of the sick boy, the chat flooding with "I knew its!" before Changbin set it away. Content watching Seungmin sleep for as long as he needed.
(A/N: haha Hi!! It's been a minute huh... Im sorry!! School the last couple of weeks was honestly miserable but it's summer so I'll try to write more!! Anon thanks so much for your request!! Feel free to send requests, they give me motivation tbh! Sorry if you've sent one, I'm working through them I swear! Thanks for all the support, I love you all!! Please take care of yourselves!! -🐇)
The photos above are not mine! They are from Pinterest and belong to their owners.
CW: Snz, mentions of medication, fluff, hurt/comfort, mentions of fever
Word Count:801
Sickie(s):Yang Jeongin
Caretaker(s):Bang Chan
Summary: Chan thought it was a normal day in his and Jeongin's shared dorm, but it was not.
It was weird. Jeongin, who was usually bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 9 am, hadn't even stepped out of his room. Chan, who was working on his laptop at the kitchen table, checked the time again. 12:00.
The leader sighed. At first, he brushed it off as the maknae getting some much-needed rest. They had just come off tour and had a small break before their promotions started up again. But noon was still really late– almost too late, and Chan hadn’t even heard a sound from the youngest’s room all morning.
Unease pulled at Chans' chest as he saved his work. He stood with a sigh and closed his laptop before heading down the hall. He knocked softly on Jeongin’s door but got no response. Muttering a small apology, he pushed it open.
Once inside the dark and stuffy room, Chan noticed that in the center of the room, on the bed, there was a Jeongin-sized lump buried under multiple blankets. As Chan stepped closer, he noticed how flushed the others' cheeks and nose were. He carefully pushed sweaty bangs off the younger's forehead and laid his hand over it.
“Oh, honey…’ Chan whispered, and for the first time since he fell asleep last night, Jeongin stirred, “Mhn Hyung?” He whispered, voice hoarse. Chan gave a soft smile, “Yeah, it’s me, baby.”
Jeongin tried to sit up just for something in his chest to shift, and sent him into a violent coughing fit. Chan quickly but softly pushed him to lean back against his headboard. “Easy, easy, you’re ok…”
By the time he could get a breath in again, his shoulders were heaving up and down, and tears were beading in the corners of his eyes from the strain. “Hyungggg.” The boy whined pitifully, “I don’t feel good.”
The oldest bit back a chuckle as he looked at the miserable boy. “I know, baby, I’m sorry you don’t feel well.” Chan kissed his hair and began to stand–just to feel a warm set of fingers wrap around his wrist.
When Chan turned around, Jeongin was staring up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes Chan had ever seen, causing him to almost melt. “Don’t leave,” The younger whispered out, his voice quiet and breaking at the edges.
“Hey, Innie baby… I’ll be back, I promise. I was just gonna go get a few things.” He whispered, stroking his hand.“You’re burning up, and I want to get a reading on that,” though reluctant. Jeongin let go of Chan's hand and allowed him to leave the bedroom.
Chan worked quickly, grabbing a thermometer, cough syrup, pain killers, tissues, a cooling pack, some crackers, and the youngest's water bottle filled with ice water. He softly knocked on the bedroom door, even though he knew the boy wouldn’t mind, before pushing it open.
Jeongin was still curled in the same position Chan left him, his eyes were squeezed shut, probably to block out any light that maybe agitating the headache that Chan knew he had. Chan dumped all the items on the bedside table and softly rubbed his back. “Hey, love, can you sit up? Just for a minute?”
Jeongin whimpered but complied, weakly leaning against the headboard again, fever-glazed eyes staring at his leader. Chan smiled, holding the thermometer up and slipping it under the sick boy's tongue. Jeongin's eyes were starting to flutter closed when the device beeped, startling him awake. Chan chuckled, “Sorry, love.” He took the thermometer and looked at the glowing red screen, “102.5(39.2).” Chans whispers, clicking his tongue. “No wonder you’re feeling so bad.”
Jeongin just whimpered again when Chan held up a few crackers. He had no appetite, and his throat already felt raw. Chan stroked his clammy hand gently, trying to reassure the boy.. “I know, baby, but after you eat a little, you can take some medicine and start feeling better. That sounds nice, right?” The younger nodded, taking a small nibble of a cracker.
Chan waited patiently as Jeongin struggled the cracker down. When he was finished, Chan poured the recommended dose of cough syrup and passed it over to the ill boy, surprised when he took it without protest.
“Good job, baby, just take this and you’ll be able to rest,” Chan whispered and handed over the painkillers with his water. Jeongin took them quickly before lying back down, taking Chan's hand a pulling him down as well. Chan smiled, shocked that Jeongin was initiating the contact; he must really be feeling bad.
Chan pulled the boy to his side, stroking his hair. He softly placed the cooling pack over his forehead, trying to ease the sick boy's headache. Jeongin’s eyes drifted shut, and in a sleepy mumble, he whispered, “I love you, hyung.” Chan smiled, his heartwarming. “I love you too, Innie.”
(A/N 🐇: Hi!!! I hope you enjoyed my first fic! I really enjoyed writing it. I’ve written other fics and had thought about opening a sickfic side blog for a while, but I'd been too scared. But I finally did it, and I'm so excited to write more. Anyway, thanks for reading, and feel free to send a request. I love writing them!! Make sure to eat some food and drink some water! Have an amazing morning/afternoon/evening. I love y’all!)
When San woke to the weight of someone dipping down on the other side of his bed, he felt strangely unbothered by the unexpected visitor. There was no startled wake up, no surge of adrenaline striking him in a flash of panic, because it took him no longer than a fleeting second to recognise the body pressing against his own. From the gentle smell of vanilla body wash, to the familiar, slender arm wrapping around him like it had always been meant to fit there.
For a moment, the still half-asleep San just hugged Wooyoung back like he’d been waiting for him to show up all night, drowsily folding his arms around his smaller frame and pulling him in closer. Everything about it was so familiar, so safe— perhaps it was even something San hadn’t realised he’d been deeply missing the last couple of weeks. It was initially a pleasant surprise. San could’ve easily just let sleep pull him back under right then and there, no questions asked, but there was something about the state of affairs that piqued the interest of his subconscious just enough to stir him awake.
Wooyoung was in his bed— not unusual in if its own, but… in the middle of the night? Out of the blue? With no notice? Why? And how had he..?
Spare key, right… but still, San rounded right back to the question of why?
With a confused frown pulling on his lips, he peeled his eyes open to find the room still shrouded in darkness, the curtains admitting not so much as a sliver of light. The digital clock on his bedside table cast red numbers through the darkness; 3:46AM. What on earth could have driven Wooyoung to seek him out at this hour? Surely, if all he wanted was a cuddle, he could’ve at least waited until the break of dawn.
“Woo..?” San murmured sleepily, nuzzling his nose into the younger man’s hair with a slow exhale. “Whas’up? ‘S the middle of the night..”
For a moment, the silence that followed had San wondering if Wooyoung had already drifted back to sleep. Then, finally, a meek answer emerged.
“Don’t feel good..”
Wooyoung’s voice was muffled by the duvet, his warm breath fanning gently against San’s neck. The words came out rough and hoarse, as though his throat was sore… or as though he’d been crying. The thought tugged the last remnants of sleep from San’s mind. The quiet confession struck him like a hammer to the chest, jolting him awake as effectively as a shot of caffeine pushed straight into a vein. One moment he was half-asleep; the next, his mind was sounding the alarm, every nerve in his body on high alert.
“Don’t feel good..?” San echoed the words thoughtfully, squeezing Wooyoung a little closer. As he raised a hand to cradle the back of his head, his index finger gave two gentle taps against Wooyoung’s skull. To anyone else, it might have seemed like a meaningless gesture, but between the two of them, it carried far more significance. It was a quiet invitation— a way of opening the door to conversations that were often difficult to start aloud.
“In what way…?” San asked gently.
“Not that way,” Wooyoung assured him quickly, though he didn’t sound as convincing as he hoped. San waited for him to elaborate. “‘Sick.. ’just feel sick. Ugh.. Stomach, head, everything hurts…”
“Oh,” San intoned gruffly, feeling his chest loosen just a tad, even though the concern never dwindled. “Did you throw up?”
“Not yet..”
The answer did little to reassure him. If anything, the yet had San’s own stomach sinking with dread. To his ears, it sounded less like an uncertainty and more like a foreboding warning...
“So, you think you might?” The older was already mapping out every receptacle within an arms reach of his bed. Wooyoung shook his head against him, but with the way they were positioned, it was hard to tell whether it was a yes or a no. Considering the state of him, San begrudgingly assumed the former.
Judging by the convulsive swallowing (which was usually an easy tell for Wooyoung imminently praying to the porcelain gods), San had the growing suspicion that his late night visitor probably was more nauseous than he let on, and he’d rather not have his bed soiled if he could help it. He needed an answer, preferably a verbal notice before the inevitable struck.
“Woo, baby,” San urged softly, twirling a lock of the youngers hair between his fingers. “Be honest with me. Do you think you’re gonna throw up?”
Wooyoung let out a stuttering breath, a shiver running down his spine so violently San could almost felt it rattle his own bones.
“Dunno...” his answer finally sounded, though the uncertainty in his voice still didn’t ease San’s concern in the slightest. He smoothed his hand down Wooyoung’s back, feeling the clammy heat that clung to him, the pyjama shirt sticking to flushed, overheated flesh beneath.
“‘Not yet..I… just really don’t feel good..”
San sighed gently, pressing his lips against Wooyoung’s forehead as he murmured, “You feel pretty warm, Woo…” another concerned exhale followed. “How long have you been feeling like this?”
Wooyoung let out a shaky breath, another tremble running through him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. “Woke up like this an hour ago…” he paused before speaking again, voice smaller, almost sheepish. “‘Dunno.. just.. just needed to come here..”
“Yeah?” San shifted a little to get comfortable, his fingers combing idly through the damp hair at Wooyoung’s nape. “Well, I’m glad you did..” He hesitated, then added gently, though he doubted it would be a possibility, “Wanna try to getting some more sleep then, or..?”
“Mhm..”
If San hadn’t turned hyper aware once Wooyoung conceded the reason for his late-night visit, he probably could’ve fallen back asleep in the blink of an eye. The warmth of another body intertwining with his own was soporific on its own. But now, with Wooyoung’s hitched breaths and small sounds of discomfort brushed against his collarbone, sleep suddenly felt miles away.
San trailed his index finger in slow, soothing patterns across the other man’s overheated skin as he shivered, wishing to alleviate if only a fraction of his discomfort. But rather than easing up, Wooyoung was only becoming more restless by the minute.
And San had a gruelling feeling he knew exactly why.
“Hey, Youngie..” he eventually whispered, dragging his hand back up Wooyoung’s trembling back. They both knew sleep was off the table for the time being. “Wanna go sit in the bathroom for a bit? I’ll come with you.. maybe get some medicine, too..”
Wooyoung went quiet at the suggestion. He definitely didn’t want to go sit in the bathroom. Really, who would? Only a madman would deliberately choose cold tiles over a comfy bed. But then again, he was also painfully aware that it was likely the wisest decision to make.
The nausea that had clung to Wooyoung since he woke up only kept building exponentially, each new wave crashing in harder than the last. A cold sheen of sweat had broken out across his skin despite the fever raging beneath it, and the back of his throat burned with a warning he knew all too well. They both knew that waiting it out could very potentially be at the expense of San’s clean bedsheets.
Swallowing hard, Wooyoung pressed his face deeper into San’s shoulder before finally giving a small, resigned nod. Untangling himself from his bestfriends comforting arms felt like torture in itself, but he slowly slid away from the loving warmth and inched to the edge of the bed. The sudden ambiance of the bedside lamp did him no favours when San switched it on, making him squint and recoil like a vampire caught in sunlight.
A sheepish chuckle and quiet apology followed, but all Wooyoung could offer in return was a sour look and a noise that sounded somewhere between a hiss and a grumble.
With limbs feeling heavy as lead, Wooyoung made an effort to sit up, only to inhale sharply when the motion sent his vision spinning and his stomach lurching into his throat.
His head tipped a little too far forward, but San was by his side in an instant, one hand carefully grasping onto his shoulder to pull him back. “Woah, there— don’t fall off the bed..” he said, carefully guiding him upright again. “You okay to walk?”
Well, he’d managed the walk from his own room to San’s, hadn’t he?
Wooyoung tsk’ed softly, still ostensibly irked by the lamp incident. Blinking hard one last time in an attempt to fend off the static lingering behind his eyelids, he stubbornly pushed himself to his feet. His knees immediately wobbled, threatening to buckle beneath his weight, but San’s arm swept around his waist before they had the chance. Held upright by his steady presence, the younger man allowed himself to be guided through the dim hallway, taking slow, careful steps toward the bathroom.
When they reached it, Wooyoung wasted no time dropping to the floor the moment they crossed the threshold, huddling around the toilet like it was his only salvation.
San tapped the switch and the lights blinked to life above them, harshly illuminating the rather sorrowful scene before him. This time, Wooyoung didn’t have the energy to spare on being grouchy about the brightness. Judging by how tightly he was squeezing his eyes shut, San doubted he’d even noticed they were on.
San crouched down beside him for a moment, patting his back a few times before carefully standing to search the cabinet for anything that might help. Fever reducers for when his stomach settled, nausea medication that would likely remain untouched in his current state, a thermometer…
A harsh gag quickly tore San from his wandering thoughts. He spun around instantly, the bottle of fever reducers slipping from his grip and clattering to the floor as he rushed back to Wooyoung’s side. Dropping to his knees against the tiles, he reached out, rubbing slow circles into his bestfriends heaving back. His brows knit tightly with concern as Wooyoung coughed up a small, miserable mouthful of bile— hardly enough to alleviate his discomfort. If anything, it was only adding to it.
“That’s it, baby, just get it out..”
If encouragement alone could’ve flipped the switch, Wooyoung would’ve been eternally grateful for the push. But even with San’s gentle words and grounding touch, his stomach remained locked in relentless knots that refused to loosen. The nausea consumed every fiber of his being, and yet, like he was being played by some cruel joke, each new gag left him no closer to relief.
“Sannie-ugh—“
Wooyoung choked out a whine between dry heaves, his stomach tensing and cramping relentlessly beneath his sweat-dampened shirt. San could feel the pull of every incessant heave ripple through the back muscles beneath his palm, each one a tangible testament of the effort his poor body was expending.
“Shh… I know, I know…” he soothed softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Wooyoung’s shoulder in a quiet, desperate gesture of comfort.
In the sharp fluorescent light, he could finally see the red tear tracks that had carved themselves into Wooyoung’s pale cheeks, as well as the raised welts of skin peeking out from the collar of his shirt— angry, red and clearly only adding to his misery.
A ragged inhale caught in Wooyoung’s chest before a helpless gasp escaped him, his shoulders hitching with another futile attempt to bring up whatever was tormenting his stomach. San felt his heart shatter, fingers working deftly to tie the younger man’s hair back with a stray hair tie he’d serendipitously found forgotten beneath the sink.
“Aigoo, aigoo, you feel that bad, baby?” He asked, though the answer was painfully obvious. He brushed a lingering lock of hair behind Wooyoung’s ear, earning only a faint, miserable nod in return.
“I’m so sorry..” San murmured, his hand sliding in slow, grounding passes down Wooyoung’s trembling spine “Just.. just try to breathe, take it easy.. let it happen.”
“I-I can’t…” Wooyoung sobbed, his breath hitching with every stabbing cramp that made his abdomen visibly tense. Tears, snot and whatnot gathered together in a pathetic smear across his face, lower lip trembling as he hung above the toilet bowl in ceaseless anticipation. “It-it wo-hurGh-w-won’t come..”
San’s brows pulled back in a helpless, empathetic grimace, his chest twisting with guilt as he watched Wooyoung writhe in pain. “I’m sorry you feel so sick, sweetheart, I don’t..” he let his eyes wander down the other man’s frame— from the spit dribbling from his lips to the skin of his abdomen peeking beneath his shirt, visibly taut and bloated just enough to puff out above the waistband of his pyjama pants. It looked beyond uncomfortable.
San inched a little closer, his movements guided more by instinct than any conscious thought. When his hand suddenly hovered over the warm skin of Wooyoung’s stomach, the younger tensed instinctively, and San paused, hesitating before carefully asking permission. “Sorry… can I? Maybe I’ll help..?”
Wooyoung hardly hesitated once his intention had been made clear, quickly nodding his head with a strained moan. “P-please.. please help me.”
He just wanted it to be over with. They both did.
At first, San barely dared to apply any pressure to the angry organ, terrified of making Wooyoung’s pain any worse than it already was. It was just a light, reassuring contact to start, his thumb brushing slow arcs against the scalding heat of the his skin. But when Wooyoung let out a strained breath and gave another nod of his head, more desperate this time, San finally pressed a little firmer. “Tell me if it hurts more, yeah?” he added quickly, furrowing his brows in concentration.
Wooyoung shook his head yes, one hand gripping the edge of the toilet as another wave of nausea rolled through him. “Jus’—ngh— feels… tight… ow.. keep going…”
San kept his touch gentle, flattening his palm against the tense curve of Wooyoung’s stomach with steady purpose as the younger man pressed his forehead against the toilet rim. “Easy… I’ve got you,” he murmured, voice low and even despite the concern coiled tight in his chest.
The younger man was still breathing far too shallow and ragged— short, hitched gasps slipping between gags that never quite turned into anything steady or useful. San could tell there was no real progress being made like this. And as Wooyoung let out the most broken whimpering “hurts” San swore he had ever heard, something primal and protective clicked into place in his mind. There was no doubt. He had to help him. Fast.
“I know,” San whispered mournfully, keeping the pressure even as he worked against the spastic muscles. “Just keep breathing, Woo… let your body do its thing. You’re safe..”
He shifted closer, one knee braced against the tile beside Wooyoung’s thigh, the other tucked under himself. His free hand came up to cradle the back of Wooyoung’s neck, thumb brushing just below his ear in a soothing rhythm while the other hand continued to work slow circles over his abdomen.
Feeling the rapid, uneven rise and fall of his chest, San gently rested his chin over Wooyoung’s shoulder in an attempt to ground him. “Hey, try to breathe with me,” he coached softly, keeping his voice low. “Slow… in… and out…”
Wooyoung tried, he really did, but every inhale felt like it caught halfway, snagging on the nausea that kept twisting inside him like an alligator in a death roll. His breaths came out shaky and erratic, punctuated by pitiful whimpers he couldn’t hold back even if he tried.
Another gag hit him suddenly, but it emanated from somewhere deeper this time, somewhere fuller— which, unpleasant as it was, felt like a promising sign.
San reacted instantly, shifting his hand from Wooyoung’s stomach to his back and rubbing in firm circles, as if encouraging his body to follow the progression. “That’s it— good, lean forward, baby, don’t fight it.”
Wooyoung coughed deeply, the force of it jerking his body forward so abruptly he nearly head-butted the toilet seat. This time, finally, the effort wasn’t entirely fruitless. There was only a small amount to spit up at first, but that one mouthful proved sufficient enough to break the awful stalemate his body had been locked in. Before he could even attempt to brace himself for the next wave to come, a torrent of sick rushed up his throat and spewed out past both his lips and nostrils.
Once the floodgates opened, there suddenly seemed to be no end in sight, wave after wave of sick gushing into the toilet bowl like a ruptured dam breaking loose. Wooyoung barely managed to keep himself from collapsing face first into the porcelain, had it not been for the strong arms holding him back.
“Oh sh— there you go, there you go…” San coaxed softly, concern still present but easing now that things were finally moving in the right direction. “Good job, Woo… just let it out.”
Eventually, the onslaught began to subside.
Wooyoung groaned shakily, his forehead pressed back to the cool porcelain as tremors rippled through him in the aftermath. His nose and eyes stung with bile, his ears were ringing, and his throat felt grated raw. Once the worst had passed, his stomach had stopped seizing but his head kept spinning, leaving him limp and exhausted against the toilet bowl.
San didn’t rush him. Not even if he at the very back of his mind couldn’t help but worry about how unsanitary it was to press one’s face against the toilet the way Wooyoung had been for the past half an hour. He supposed it likely didn’t matter as much considering he was already sick… His hand kept moving in slow circles along Wooyoung’s back, the other returning to rest lightly on his stomach again— this time just a comforting weight rather than trying to trigger a reaction. It felt notably less rigid now, the immense pressure from before finally seeming to have let up. “Feel a little better?”
There was a long pause before Wooyoung gave the smallest nod, the motion barely imperceptible. “..yeah…” he mumbled hoarsely, a rather nasty shiver shooting up his spine sharply enough to make his teeth chatter. “A-a bit…”
San exhaled slowly, a shred of tension easing from his own shoulders. “Okay. Good. That’s good. That’s something..”
He reached over, tearing off a few sheets of toilet paper to gently wipe at the corner of Wooyoung’s mouth. Then he tilted his head until their faces were level, brushing a few strands of hair away from Wooyoung’s clammy skin. “You did really well.”
Wooyoung let out a weak huff that might’ve been an attempt at a sarcastic laugh, his eyes half-lidded and his skin ashen. Under the harsh lighting, his face looked almost gaunt. “Pft.. Choi San, don’t lie to me…”
A faint smile tugged at San’s lips despite himself, the pad of his thumb brushing tenderly over Wooyoung’s sharp cheekbone as he tried not to dwell on the hollowness beneath it. “Jung Wooyoung,” he replied in the same, mock-formal manner, “I never lie. I’m being so serious.”
“Mm…”
Wooyoung didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t argue the point. Or maybe he had simply run out of energy to spare on trivialities.
Carefully, San shifted again, this time guiding Wooyoung back just enough so he wasn’t folded over the toilet completely. “Let’s stay here a minute,” he murmured, helping the younger man settle against the wall before reaching over to flip down the toilet lid and flush away its foul contents.
“How are you feeling? What hurts?” San assessed him once he sat back, watching the way Wooyoung’s eyelids kept slipping shut over and over again, like a flickering light on the verge of going out.
“‘M itchy..” Wooyoung complained drowsily, which checked out once San’s eyes returned to the raised patches that spread down his arms and crept up his collar.
“Mm.. yeah, the fever must’ve triggered your hives, huh? Aigoo, I’m so sorry, baby…” San tutted softly as he tried to fan Wooyoung’s neck with his hand— a meagre, almost foolish attempt at cooling him down, really. “Aish, you’re really burning up..”
While Wooyoung didn’t necessarily agree with that assessment— he felt frozen to the marrow—he had not even an ounce of energy to fight him on it. San bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating their current situation, before trying again. “What else?”
Wooyoung answered with a flat hum at first, like he needed to warm up his vocal cords before attempting to speak again. “Everythin’ hurts…” He hiccupped softly. “’N my mouth tastes gross, ‘n…” His voice slid into something between a whine and a hiss. “’S fucking itchyyyy…”
Right. San chewed his lip out of nervous habit, giving Wooyoung’s shoulder a couple of gentle, reassuring squeezes— because he truly didn’t know what else he could do. Maybe Mingi had some antihistamines that would do the trick? He’d have to go look whenever he got the opportunity.
“Okay, let’s see,” San said carefully, mapping it out in his mind. “Let me get you some water. Just to rinse your mouth, okay? You don’t need to drink yet— only when you’re ready.” He paused, searching Wooyoung’s face and tenderly cupping his cheek with his hand. “Does that sound okay?”
Wooyoung nodded sluggishly at the suggestion, but he leaned into San’s touch without thinking, melting against him like butter on a hot biscuit. And San went completely still in an instant, because how could he not?
Suddenly, the water could wait, because how on earth was San supposed to pull away when everything inside him was screaming at him to hold Wooyoung closer? Every time his bestfriend instinctively sought him out like this, some invisible force tugged him closer in return. He’d long since discovered he was powerless against it.
After half a heartbeat of hesitation, San slid down to sit, pressing a gentle kiss to Wooyoung’s temple and lingering there when the other made no move to pull away.
Wooyoung seemed instantly relieved, gripping San’s shirt and curling against him with a soft whimper, as though San himself were the cure to every ache and ailment. If only it were that simple… The elder could only tighten his grip around him, a small, concerned sigh slipping past his lips. “I’m right here, Woo, you’ll be okay..”
The moment of peaceful respite was brief, swallowed by another round of tremors that wracked Wooyoung’s body like a storm rolling through fraying leaves.
San’s chest ached at the sight. Wooyoung was shaking like a chihuahua despite the heat clinging to him, every shiver a cruel reminder of the sudden illness that held him firmly in its grip. The fever wasn’t settling, and it didn’t seem to be going down any time soon. If anything, it seemed fiercely determined to dig its claws in deeper.
“Aish, you’re really burning up..” San repeated, more to himself than Wooyoung, as he pressed the back of his fingers against the other man’s forehead. Clammy. Hot. Flushed. Damn it, he really should’ve grabbed that thermometer and gotten a reading before being cat trapped. While San always enjoyed a snuggle, he couldn’t simply ignore the more pressing matters at hand. That would be irresponsible.
Wooyoung twisted weakly against him, one trembling hand fumbling at his arm before tugging at the collar of his pyjama shirt. He mumbled something incoherent, but then, almost indiscernible, he repeated himself.
“’M itchy…”
“Yeah, I know, I know…” San said quietly, gently guiding Wooyoung’s hands away from the rash before he was able to claw away at the irritated skin. “Don’t scratch, it’ll only make it worse.”
Wooyoung’s hand flopped back into his lap without much resistance, though San had a sneaking feeling it was as a result of debilitation rather than compliance.
“I’m gonna get you some anti histamines as well, okay? Just hold on, don’t scratch..” San spoke to him almost in the way one would their child, but in the moment, with Wooyoung delirious as sailor in a fog bank, that state of mind was the only thing keeping him level-headed. He had to channel his inner mother hen, his inner Seonghwa, if you will.
Just as San was about to resign himself to spending the rest of their night on the bathroom floor, the door suddenly creaked open, revealing a very heavy-lidded, half-asleep Mingi on the other side of it.
The following second passed in a deafening, stunned silence.
“Wha.. what the fuck?”
____________________________________________
Hehe, so… I had the sudden epiphany that if I divide this story into smaller parts rather than stare at the thousands of words I’ve written and desperately try to tie them together, I’ll actually be able to post something!!! 😅😂 so here’s a part one of likely two, maybe three— we’ll see how it develops 😎
; might get around to write a short synopsis some later time, but it’s the middle of the night now and I’m already half asleep oooops g’night 🫶🏼
Today was one of the rare days the members of TXT had a day without any schedule. It was rare but they all enjoyed it. So of course they decided to do some fun things together. Well, everyone had their own opinion on that, so they tried to combine it. That’s why they first started off going to the park, Yeonjun just wanted some nature around him and he also heard there’s a small flower show.
As they arrived there they had to admit that it looked really stunning. It wasn’t as small as expected and the flowers were blooming beautifully. All of the members looked around in awe, they loved it.
Meanwhile Soobin wondered why his whole face felt so itchy. It never itched in that way so it couldn’t be the suncream he used this morning. Maybe his skin is just dry again? Yeah, that must be it. He couldn’t come up with anything else. Well, he couldn’t do anything about it right now, but he made a mental note to put some moisturizer on his face later.
They all decided it would be a nice idea to jogg through the park, knowing that most of them would enjoy a small workout. So why not combine those things?
Somehow the itchy feeling on Soobins skin never went away, if anything it got even more annoying with every passing minute. There’s also this tingling sensation in his nose and he has a hard time breathing. A few times he took out a tissue to blow his nose. Hoping that he could breathe better after it, but it didn’t quite work. His nose was tingling and felt like it’s stuffed. The leader really hopes that he doesn’t come down with anything. They have stuff to do and he can’t get sick, he doesn’t want to get sick. Just thinking about it made him a bit more nervous. Maybe his nose will get better soon.
However, it never got better. By now Soobin was sneezing here and there. His pace was slow and that normally wasn't the case. The rest of the members already catched onto the distress of the leader, hoping he doesn’t come down with the flu. Beomgyu even thought about checking for a fever, but he also knows that Soobin would say if it gets too much. Especially if they don't have any schedule. The leader hated to be sick. So all they could do is watch him carefully and hope he would speak up if it gets too bad.
And Soobin really wasn’t feeling good. His nose feels blocked and stuffy but he can’t stop sneezing. His skin feels itchy and now his eyes start to burn too. He cursed in his mind, annoyed at himself for probably coming down with something. But that wasn’t the case.
Suddenly the jogging got a bit too much and everything was spinning. He stopped in his tracks. Crouching down
Ah, he really doesn’t feel good. He tries to breathe through his nose but at this time it's not even possible. Soobin takes a few deep breaths in and out, hoping to calm himself and get some air in his lungs. However, that wasn’t working. All it triggered was the tingling in his nose and suddenly he was sneezing again. But this time it wasn’t just one or two times. No, he sneezed a couple of times. Soobin rested one of his hands on his chest and tried to catch his breath. His lungs feel like they’re burning and his breathing is heavy. For a moment he could catch his breath, but it didn’t last long. Again he hunched forward and his whole body was wrecking with sneezes after sneezes. This sucks, he doesn’t like it. Soobin never liked having a cold but this feels weird. Different. And suddenly there’s blood dripping down out of his nose. A bit startled about what just happened, Soobin covers his nose with one of his hands. But it doesn’t seem like the flow would stop that soon. The leader looked over in panic to the members. Yeonjun was quick to notice and quickly made his way over to the younger one. Tissues already in his hands. He held one of the tissues in front of Soobins nose. Not caring if he would get some blood on his hands too.
“Come, let’s get you to the bench.” Yeonjun said worried.
The older man helped the leader up and both walked over to the bench. The other members stood a bit aside, not wanting to be too overwhelming for Soobin. Kai just left a bottle of water next to Soobin and then silently left again.
“Turn your head down, I know it doesn’t feel good, but it helps.” Yeonjun said
Soobin nodded slightly and did as he was told. It doesn’t feel pleasant and the urge to turn his head up was way too big. But soon the flow stopped and he was able to turn his head up again. Yeonjun took the soiled tissues from the younger one. He took a clean one again and wiped off the rest from the nose of the younger.
“I feel dizzy..” Soobin mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Here, try to drink a bit.” Yeonjun handed him the bottle of water.
Hesitantly Soobin took a few sips. It made him feel a bit better, not good again but at least enough that he doesn’t feel like passing out any moment.
“I ruined the day..” he spoke up, tears welling in his eyes.
“Oh none of that.” Yeonjun said as he wrapped one arm around Soobins shoulder
“You’re way more important and you didn’t ruin anything.” he said as he stroked through the youngers hair.
The leader nodded and sighed. He leaned his body against the older and they stayed like this for a moment. Soobin pulled away after a bit and looked at Yeonjun.
“I think I may have forgotten about my rhinitis.” Soobin said. Now realizing that this was probably the case. The flowers could have been a big trigger to it.
Yeonjun looked at him in disbelief
“I think none of us remembered." He chuckled
Soobin giggled. “I guess so.”
“Let’s get you home soon!” Yeonjun said.
The older took a hold of the leaders hand and carefully helped him up, walking up to the other members and explained the situation.
They all made sure to quickly go home, not wanting that Soobin will get a nosebleed again and to be honest most of them were happy to go home anyways.
Soobin knew about his condition, but that it would get this far? He never would have imagined.
-
At home, after he took a shower, the leader walked back into the living room. The members already had set up snacks and blankets for a nice and comfortable movie night.
Soobin looked at Yeonjun again and without a word he just crawled back into the arms of the older and cuddled up to him. His face nuzzled in the olders neck.
“Can we stay like this for a bit longer?” He asked
“Sure, take your time and rest.” Yeonjun said and he stroked through the younger’s hair
Yeonjun catched a cold and Soobin makes everything better
Just some soft hours. It's not long but I hope that's okay
Warning: none
-
Yeonjun cursed himself in his mind. Why on earth does his immune system hate him that much? He easily gets a cold or flu and of course he catched something again. And of course that happened while they attended an event and had some performances to do. His body really does hate him sometimes.
Currently they’re backstage and Yeonjun is munching on a cough drop. His throat is hurting and sore, making is hard to even swallow. But he had to sing today. So somehow he has to keep his throat wet all the time and the coughing drops are the best for that and they also help against him not coughing every few seconds. However, that doesn’t stop his nose from running. At least he doesn't have a stuffy nose anymore. That would have affected his singing even more. He could live with a runny nose, it was still annoying though. He had to grab a tissue every few seconds and blow his nose. He also has a great headache because of the cold he has and his body can’t decide if it’s too hot in here or too cold. Maybe both, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t really care either. The members and the staff know he’s sick, he tried to not make a big deal out of it, but to be honest everyone could see that he’s sick and not doing too well.
The whole time one of the members were by his side, none of them wanted to let Yeonjun alone. Afraid that he may pass out or anything. They just wanted to comfort him. Right now it’s Soobin's turn. He always manages to comfort Yeonjun and bring a smile to his face, but he does that with everyone. Just his presence comforts everyone and brightens the room. And Yeonnun searches for the comfort of Soobin a lot if he isn’t feeling too well. Especially if he’s having a cold. Somehow Soobin always managed to make his headache go away. Yes the leader sometimes had a hard time to form is words but he’s always so gentle if someone isn’t feeling well. That’s why currently Yeonjun is cuddled up in the leader's arms. His head resting on Soobin's shoulder and his eyes closed.
“ I'll get you sick.” Yeonjun mumbled
“You won’t.” Sobin said with a smile
To be honest Yeonjun was probably right. But does Soobin care? No, not at all. His main priority was to make the older feel better and he knows that cuddles would always manage to make him feel better. He could handle to possibly get sick too, if that means to comfort Yeonjun. In his mind it’s worth it. Soobin lightly squeezed the olders hand. His other hand he pressed against the olders neck and then his forehead. Checking for a temperature and Yeonnun did feel warmer than before. The older leaned into the touch and sighed. The cool hand of the leader eeling good against his hot and clammy skin.
“I think your fever got higher.” Soobin said worried
“Mhm” Yeonjun only hummed, not really realizing the situation.
Soobin looked over to the staff member and they handed him a bottle of water and some fever reducer. He mouthed his thank you and helped the older one to sit up again.
“Can you take this for me?” He asked
It wasn’t really a question, there wasn’t a way out of it or saying no. Yeonjun knew that so he just nodded and took the pills. He gulped the water down as if he hadn't already drunk two bottles in the last hour. The fever just madr him so thirsty and it always cooled him down somehow. After taking the pills he leaned back on the leader's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist. The leader smiled and ruffled the olders hair. They stayed like this till they had to perform. All of them watched Yeonjun the whole time, not wanting him to hurt himself. The performance happened without any complications and as soon as they were in the dorms again they all cuddled up around Yeonjun and pampered him with love and tea and cuddles.
can you write a yeonjun fic where he wakes up and doesn’t feel good but still carries on without mentioning anything to the others. and he like tries all day to hide that he’s feeling unwell but then like in the middle of the day it just gets too overwhelming and he starts getting emotional because he’s pressured to always work hard and be perfect. Leans on a wall and says ‘I don’t feel so good’ and the other members are shocked and then find out that he has a really high fever and then they have to bring him home somehow even though he’s feeling very dizzy. When they are home they baby him until he falls asleep 🥺
I'm so sorry this took so long. I forgot it in my drafts.
Also I turned it angsty for a hot minute haha
Warning: fainting | angst
Yeonjun wasn’t feeling good at all. He woke up with a headache and a stuffy nose. His skin was clammy and clothes were sweat soaked. He wasn’t feeling good yesterday. Always sneezing every five minutes, he knew he would come down with something. He drank a lot of tea and even took vitamins to not get sick, but it was for no use. Now he’s sick, running a fever and it’s hard to breath with a stuffy nose. He didn’t plan on saying anything. They're all too stressed with the new comeback and Yeonjun himself wasn't satisfied with his dancing yet. So there's no way he would miss a single day of practice. It's just a cold. He could power through that.
He could make it through, he really could. At least that’s what he thinks.
Somehow Yeonjun managed to get out of bed and wash himself up. It took longer than usual and his whole body was aching either each step he took. He couldn't even manage to eat anything. He rested his head on the table and closed his eyes. There was a hand on his back. Rubbing up and down. The hand felt cold and Yeonjun could almost melt into the touch. It felt so good against his burning skin.
"Are you okay? You're rather warm.." Soobin asked.
At that question Yeonjun sat up and smiled. "I'm fine. Just took a hot shower." He waved Soobin off.
The leader knew better than to ask again. Knowing Yeonjun that would only built his walls up higher. So the leader rather just offered him silent comfort and made him some tea. Yeonjun gladly accepted it. Yes. He could definitely make it through the day.
-
Currently they’re all at dance practice. Yeonjun knows he’s lacking behind, but it’s so hard to move. His whole body feels too heavy to move, his legs wobbly and he’s sure he isn’t even taking the right steps. Sudden dizziness comes up and within a second Yeonjun bumps against Taehyun and falls on the ground. Sitting on the ground he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to will the dizziness away. It somehow worked, but now that he’s looking up he noticed the annoyed look of the members. They don’t say anything, but Yeonjun knows how annoyed they must be with him right now. The singer tries to stand up, his legs wobbly, but slowly he stands up again. As soon as he stands the dizziness comes back again. He bites his lips, he can’t say anything. They’re annoyed with him anyway. And after all he had to be perfect. He rarely makes mistakes, always being the one who tries the hardest no matter what. The one who had high standards for himself. The one who outdid most of the other trainees and since then the company had high hopes for him. Always expecting the best from him and Yeonjun did too. There's no way he could lack or slow down anyone. This wasn't him. He hated making mistakes even though he knows right now it's because of his poor condition. To him that's no excuse. If he wasn't perfect what would the members think? What would MOA think of him? No, he couldn't disappoint anyone. But he already did disappoint his members. He's Coldingham them down at this moment. Yeonjun couldn't stop the thoughts. Tears welling up his eyes, out of frustration. He doesn’t want to disappoint, but he also feels like passing out every minute. Before the music started Yeonjun decided he had to tell at least someone. Taehyun would understand him and that way he could also explain why he bumped into him. He's sure of that.
“Hyun..?” Yeonjun speak in a gentle voice as he taps Taehyun on the shoulder
“What?” Taehyun tries to sound calming, but the annoyance is clearly visible.
"Sorry." Yeonjun let his head hang low, maybe he could make it through the practice.
A bit into the practice it was clear that Yeonjun got worse by any minute that passed. His movement was slow and messy. Yeonjuns head was pounding and the dizziness got worse. Black spots appear in his vision. He tried to squeeze his eyes shut to make it stop, but it didn’t work. The black spots are only getting worse. The room was spinning and his legs wobbled underneath him. Yeonjun tried his hardest to work through the practice, he really did. But, his condition got only worse. He felt like his head was getting stabbed by someone. Pounding so hard and the dizziness making him nauseous.
Yeonjun stopped in his tracks. He couldn’t anymore. He feels so bad and he’s sweating more than usual. He’s sure his fever got higher than it was this morning.
As Yeonjun suddenly stopped, the rest of the members looked in confusion and annoyance at the oldest.
“What is it this time?" Beomgyu rolled his eyes.
Yeonjun squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will the tears and dizziness away. However, it got too much for him. The room spinning and his legs wobbly. Yeonjun leaned on the wall behind him and tried to keep air into his lungs. It didn't work.
"I don't feel so good.." he choked out.
Suddenly Yeonjun fell down, they all expected to hear a loud thud. However, they didn’t hear anything. Only seeing how Soobin somehow had managed to catch the oldest and now sits down on the floor with him.
Carefully Soobin places Yeonjun's head on his lap.
“Kai get the manager and Taehyun, hold his legs up.” Soobin almost spat. The members never heard that tone come out of him before. It was obvious that the leader was extremely worried.
Hueningkai ran as fast as he could and Taehyun quickly lifted up Yeonjun's legs a bit to get his blood flowing. Meanwhile Beomgyu was really overwhelmed with the situation and all he could do was kneel down beside Yeonjun and gently hold his hand, giving it a squeeze. Tears welled up in the younger's eyes. He looked up at Soobin.
"Hyung.." Beomgyu bit on his lips to stop himself from crying.
"It's okay. Yeonjun will be okay." Soobin said calmly.
Slowly Yeonjun woke up. His eyes opened and closed, he’s falling in and out of consciousness. Trying his hardest to stay awake.
“Yeonjun? Hey? Wake up.” Soobin spoke softly as he stroked through the olders hair.
Slowly Yeonjun was completely awake again. A bit out of it because of what happened, but at least he was there again.
“You’re burning up...” Soobin said with a frown.
“.. ‘m sorry.” Yeonjun slurred, too weak to actually speak up.
“You don't need to be sorry. We should be..I'm sorry, Hyung." Taehyun apologized
Yeonjun only nodded and reached his free hand out to Taehyun. The younger one immediately took it and squeezed his Hyungs hand. Yeonjun tried his best to smile softly to reassure the members.
It only took a few minutes until Kai returned with the medics and one of the managers. The Maknae was rather happy that he didn't had to stay with them. He would have started crying as he always gets really worried about his Hyungs. All he did was give Yeonjun a bottle of water. As soon as the situation is eased up he would definitely cuddle with his Hyung.
The members decided to give Yeonjun some room. So only one of them stayed with Yeonjun. Of course it was Soobin. Beomgyu wanted to stay too but he couldn't keep himself from crying so Taehyun decided to take Beomgyu and Kai out of the room to have them calm down.
It turned out that Yeonjun that a really high fever. Not concerning enough to take him to the hospital but he definitely needed some rest. The manager and Soobin decided that practice would end for all of them today as the event was hard on all of them. Yeonjun wanted to protest so badly but he just couldn't. His body and mind were too exhausted to let him speak.
On the way back in the car Kai was seated next to Yeonjun. Having his arm wrapped around his Hyung. Yeonjuns head rested against Kai's chest. His eyes closed. It seemed likely he was sleeping but the dizziness was too bad to actually make him fall asleep and the moving of the car didn't help at all. Yeonjun was more than grateful that Kai held him steady. He knew he couldn't hold himself up right now.
A few hours later all five members laid down in one bed. Yeonjun in the middle. He did it before. It was a tight fit but they all enjoyed it. Yeonjun nuzzled his head into Beomgyus cheat while Soobin spooned him from behind. Kai and Taehyung one each at Beomgyus and Soobins side. With how cold Yeonjun was feeling he enjoyed the warmth of the members.
"Next time tell us if you feel bad." Taehyun suddenly spoke up.
Yeonjun hummed "I can't.."
"What do you mean?" Kai asked surprised.
Soobin knew what was going on inside of his Hyungs head so he gave his wait a reassuring squeeze. Yeonjun sighed at that.
"I feel like I'm disappointing everyone..If I can't be perfect what am I even here for? I just can't.." Yeonjun stopped himself there. He bit down on his lower lip.
"You could never disappoint us. I don't care about anyone else. They don't count. But I can speak for all of us. You could never disappoint us." Beomgyu spoke as he pressed a soft kiss on Yeonjuns head.
"And Yeonjun? You are already perfect. You're so talented and hard working. You always give your hardest. Sometimes we make mistakes and that is okay. You are human. You're allowed to make mistakes." Soobin said softly.
"And your dancing is amazing. Your vocals are amazing. I don't think we need to speak about your visual because you look handsome too." Taehyun laughed to lighten up the mood.
"Hyung we love you." Kai joined in. Smiling brightly.
Yeonjun couldn't hold back the tears at this point. "You idiots make me cry. I love you." Yeonnun laughed with tears in his eyes.
He knew he had a hard way to goo to finally accept help but he knew he always could count on the members.
“I don’t think even medicine can help your stomach, it would be better be sick and get it over with”
Sickie: Yeonjun
Caretaker: Beomgyu
🥺🙏
I hope you like it!!
Warning: description of vomit
That Yeonjun feels fine would be a lie, that he feels bad would also be a lie. If he's being honest he feels horrible. Downright sick and disgusting. After that chicken he had for lunch he just felt horrible. It was a new place, the chicken tasted good and nothing seemed sketchy. However something must have upset his stomach. Maybe it was the sauce or the seasoning. He doesn't know but what he knows is that he has felt sick ever since after eating it. His stomach feels uncomfortable, tight and uneasy with each step he takes. He knows it's not just his stomach aching, there's another feeling lingering inside. He feels as if he had to be sick but there's no way he would lose the battle with his stomach and admit to that.
Currently Yeonjun sat on the couch next to Beomgyu. The two being the only ones without schedule. Normally Yeonjun would be in the studio, writing lyrics or practicing his dancing but today he doesn't feel like it. His stomach was too uncomfortable to even think about moving. So he watched Beomgyu play some games on his PS5. He didn't even know what game he was playing, not paying any attention. From time to time Beomgyu glanced over to Yeonjun, being worried about the older as Yeonjun told him he wasn't feeling good.
Normally Yeonjun wasn't the type to speak up that easily but with no schedule and feeling this way he didn't see a point in hiding it from anyone. Especially not from Beomgyu as the younger was his safe space.
As the time passed the ache in his stomach got worse and worse. The singer rested one hand on his stomach and couldn't hold back a groan. He already took some medicine but nothing helped. As he rubbed over his aching stomach he let up a low burp, a grimace on his face as he did so. The nausea was getting worse but he wouldn't admit to that. Slowly Yeonjun stood up and popped out another pill, this time swallowing it dry as he got inpatient.
As the older sat down on the couch again he curled up around his stomach. After around 15 minutes later the lain still wasn't better if anything Yeonjun felt worse. He tried to hold back a whimper as a harsh cramp seized up in his stomach. The older one burped again, this time he swallowed and swallowed after it. Until he felt good enough to settle down again.
Beomgyu finally had enough. "Hyung, I don't think medicine can help your stomach. It would be better to be sick and get it over with."
Yeonjun looked over to the younger. "I don't want to be.." he mumbled.
Beomgyu sighed. He knew his Hyung had trouble getting sick. He wasn't really scared of it but he also didn't like to be alone While it happened. Actually he was scared of it but would never admit that and that was something all of the members knew.
Beomgyu walked over to Yeonjun and placed the trash can in between the olders legs.
"I know you hate it." He said softly as he rubbed over the olders back. "I will hold you hand, okay?"
As soon as the younger one took Yeonjuns hand the older one squeezed it.
"I feel pukey.." he admit
"Mhm I know you do. Let's get it over with. I won't leave." Beomgyu said softly.
Immediately Yeonjun relaxed. A bit too much because suddenly a wet burp bought up undigested food. Luckily he had the bucket placed in the right spot or he would have been sick on his lap. While bringing up wave after wave of sick the squeezed Beomgyus hand as hard as possible.
"Gyu.." he choked out in between heaves.
Beomgyu squeezed the olders hand and with his other hand he wiped one tear away that rolled down the olders cheek. "I'm here. You'll feel better after if. I promise."
After one more round Yeonjun was finally empty. His stomach not churning as much as before. He spit one more time into the bucket and leaned back. Beomgyu placed the bucket aside, ready to clean it later but right now he needed to give Yeonjun some comfort. The younger rested one if his hands in the olders stomach and gave it a light rub. "Feeling better?"
Yeonjun only hummed "Gyu..cuddle me" me whispered.
Beomgyu grinned and pulled the older one into his embrace. "You'll be so embarrassed about it as soon as you feel better.
Somehow Keeho got a concussion in a really stupid way. + Theo taking care of him
Warning: description of throwing up
In the middle of the night Taeyang heard a loud sound next to him. It sounded as if something hard hit the wall. It was followed by someone groaning. The vocalist reached out for the switch and turned the light on. Squeezing his eyes shut to adjust to the light. As he opened his eyes again he was met with a quiet weird sight. Keeho was somewhat rolled up on his side and rubbed his forehead his his palm and he groaned in pain.
Yawning Theo asked "Are you okay?"
Keeho sat up. "No, I wanted to roll on my side and hit my head on the damn nightstand."
Theo couldn't hold back the laugher "How stupid are you?"
Now realizing how stupid that just sounded Keeho couldn't hold back his own laugh "You can't blame me, it's late."
"Normal people sleep at this hour." Theo snickered.
Keeho rolled his eyes "Well I was sleeping."
The older just shook his head and giggled. He reached out to touch the younger's forehead. The touch is soft and gentle. "Hurts a lot?"
Keeho shook his head "Nah. It's okay. Let's sleep some more."
Theo frowned. He knew Keehos tendency to hide things so he couldn't shake off the feeling. "Are you sure?"
Keeho held a thumbs up and laid down again "Positive. Now come here." He patted the spot beside him and grinned.
Theo rolled his eyes and laid down again. Turning his back to Keeho. Having the younger to gasp offended. Giggling Theo turned out the light. It didn't take long for them to fall asleep again as they had an exhausting day. They're currently on tour and all their energy gets drained but at the same time the cheers of the fans always reminded them why they're doing this.
A few hours later Keeho woke up again to a weird sensation. His stomach was churning and he felt like his body was moving even though he was laying still in bed. There was another thing. A throbbing headache. As if someone was pressing his head. And the nausea makes him feel hot and cold at the same time. The leader rested one of his hands on his stomach and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to will the weird sensation away but it only got worse and worse. He swallowed as thick saliva gathered in his mouth. His stomach gave a warning churn. Keeho widened his eyes. With a hand clamped over his mouth he stumbled out of bed and ran into the bathroom. He crashed down onto his knees and just in time he leaned his head into the toilet. A thick stream of vomit rushed up his throat and splashed into the toilet. Keeho grabbed the toilet seat with both hands. His knuckles turning white from the mere force. His head pounding, throat burning as he bought up round after round of sickness.
The light turned on and suddenly there was an arm wrapped around his waist. "It's okay, just let it up." It was Theo who whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
Having his only Hyung by his side relaxed him immediately. He still couldn't stop the stream of sickness pouring out of him but it made it beatable.
After a bit Keeho was finally empty. He spit a few times into the toilet and leaned back. Nausea okay for now but his head is still throbbing and the light of the bathroom is hurting his eyes. Immediately he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Theo stroked his seating bangs out of his face and just held him until he calmed down.
They stayed for a few minutes like that until his Hyung spoke up.
"I think you got a concussion.." Theo said, brows furrowed in concern.
Keeho raised one eyebrow "Just from hitting my head on the wall?!"
"Well you just threw up out of nowhere after hitting your head. I guess it's safe to say you have one!" The older spoke matter of fact.
Keeho sighed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I guess you're right."
Theo grimaced at that and took some toilet paper. "Don't do that." He said as he cleaned the younger hand. He threw the soiled toilet paper into the toilet and stood up. Theo flushed the toilet in the process and took one of the towels. Wetting it with some water. He kneeled down and carefully whipped Keehos mouth. The younger one looked away. Too embarrassed about the situation but also in too much discomfort to protest.
"Do you want me to call one of the managers or do you wanna take some pain killers and we discuss that in the morning?" Theo asked
"In the morning. I just want to sleep." Keeho sighed in exhaustion.
Theo nodded.
After Keeho took some meds Theo helped him back to the hotel bed again. He then took the towel from the bathroom and soaked it with some cold water of the sink. The older walked over to Keeho and laid the damp towel on his forehead. Keeho smiled softly at that. Grateful to have his Hyung by his side right now.
As Theo laid down again the younger immediately reached out for his Hyungs hand and played with it. Of course Theo let him. Just wanting to give the younger any kind of comfort.
"Taeyang Hyungie?" Keeho asked for a while.
Theo hummed in acknowledge.
"You won't tell the others how that happened, right? It's too embarrassing" Keeho admitted. A slight flush on his cheeks.
Theo gave a comforting smile and squeezed the youngers hand. "It's stays our dumb secret."
Jiung ends up being sick while they're touring but Keeho and Soul take good care of him.
This one is for @whats-k-popping
Hope you enjoy it!
Warning: description of vomit/throwing up
The members of P1harmony are currently on tour. Right now they're in a hotel in Chile. The next stop of their tour. Everyone was excited for this tour as they had a lot of fun at the previous stops. However, something wasn't quite right.
“Shit..” Keeho mumbled as he rubbed over Jiungs arched back.
The younger violently expelling everything that’s left in his system. It wasn’t much anymore since he was throwing up for at least one hour now.
It all started with Jiung crawling into Keehos bed in the middle of the night and complaining about a stomach ache. Alarming Keeho since the younger wouldn’t do that the night before they attend a show, knowing everyone needs their sleep. At that point Keeho knew it was serious, but not that it was that serious.
After a few hours the horrible stomach ache morphed into nausea. It hit him all at once and almost soiled his Hyungs blanket. Luckily he made it in time and since then he couldn’t move out of the bathroom.
And now, one hour later, his stomach still can’t help but be upset.
“Shh, hey calm down.” Keeho whispered into the younger’s ear, leaving a peck on his cheek.
Jiung breathed heavily as he couldn’t help but dry gag. His hair is sweat soaked and sticking on his neck and forehead. Its not only the nausea, he is running a fever too. making him even more uncomfortable. One of his arms is wrapped around his churning stomach as his other hand is gripping the toilet seat. His knuckles turning white from how much he’s gripping on it. The nausea is still overwhelming, even though he can feel that there isn’t anything left in his system anymore. All he bought up was stomach acid which burned in his throat, leaving a disgusting taste.
Somehow he managed to calm down enough to move away from the toilet. Leaning his whole weight into Keehos embrace as he hides his face into the leaders shoulder.
“I don’ feel good, Hyung..” he slurred sadly, voice heavy with sleep that is over taking him.
Keeho only furrowed his eyebrows in concern, he hates to see any of the members in pain.
“Let’s go to bed, you need some sleep.”
After helping Jiung to change into a fresh Pyjama, They both laid down in bed. A look at the clock and Keeho cursed in his mind. They only had three hours to sleep. He really hoped that Jiung would feel better in the morning. There’s no way he can attend a show like this. However, knowing Jiung he would tough it out to attend anyways. Even if he won't dance and just sing but that would be enough to bug Keeho. The leader wants his younger member to rest, maybe cuddle with any of the members. Taeyangs smile that makes everything better, Souls weird humour to keep him in a good mood, Jongseob bringing him tea, Intak trying his best to reassure him…and some soft pecks and head pats from Keeho himself..
God, he really hopes that the younger will feel better, that it was just nerves.
As Jiung presses himself further into Keeho's arms, the older one can't help but smile.
“Cute.” He mumbled to himself, knowing that Jiung was already in dreamland.
-
The next day made it obvious that Keeho's prayers weren’t heard.
Jiung was still sick and of course he had to attend the show. At least this time the medicine was working a bit and he wasn’t throwing up the whole time. However, his fever and stomach are still bad enough that Keeho wants him to stay back. But there’s to chance, so he made it his job to look after the younger as well as he could.
Around half of the day, Jiung was feeling okay, not good but also not as bad as before. Well, until they had to get ready for they day. It was still enough time until the sound check would even start but they still needed to prepare a lot of stuff here and there. As an idol you get used to the hectic schedules but today the stress only made Jiungs headache worse and increased the nausea. His stomach churning and his belt uncomfortable pressing on his sensitive middle. At least his jacket was covering his stomach, he was sure his stomach was a bit bloated too. In all honesty he felt awful. Sweat was dripping down his neck, he was pale and not even the make-up could cover that. All he wants to do is go home and curl up in bed, but he can’t. His stubbornness wont let him. He at least wants to attend the concert and sing for P1ece. All he could do right now is search out for his spot of comfort. Since last night that spot was Keeho.
“Hyung..?” Jiung whispered, trying to get the attention of the leader.
Keeho leaned his body closer to the younger and whispered “I know. It’s okay.”
He tried to reassure the younger, knowing he isn’t feeling well, throwing up the whole night sure doesn’t do anything good to one's body. Especially when you have to attend a concert the next day. Keeho can imagine how bad his Dongsaeng must be feeling.
“Here.” He spoke softly as he wrapped his arm around the younger’s shoulder. “I’m right beside you. And if it gets too bad let me know."
Jiung smiled softly and nodded. The action melted his heart, knowing his Hyung is really worried about him and just wants the best for all the members.
“Thank you.” Jiung mumbled.
-
Somehow Jiung made it through the concert. The members and staff didn't know how he managed to keep his composure on stage and act as if nothing was wrong when the moment he was backstage he either threw up or was on the verge of passing out. To be honest, Jiung too didn't know how he did that. Right now he was just relieved that the concert was over and he could just relax.
However, that didn’t take away the increasing fever. He’s getting dizzy and his body feels way too hot but at the same time he is freezing. Apparently Keeho noticed this as he casually wrapped one arm around the younger one's waist and led him to the next couch.
Immediately he guided Jiung over to the couch, letting him sit there. Knowingly, Keeho grabbed the nearest trash can and placed it beside the younger one.
He wrapped his arms around Jiungs shoulder and let him rest on his chest. Jiung leaned into the touch, his whole frame shaking. He was feeling so cold and just needed some warmth. He felt like he’s on a rollercoaster. But his Hyung managed to hold him steady.
Back in the hotel the other members looked worried at Jiung, wanting to help but also knowing that they shouldn’t overwhelm him.
Soul was the first to make a step toward him.
“It’s my turn" Soul grinned to lift up the mood.
Gently Soul gave Keehos shoulder a squeeze.
The older one smiled and nodded, thankful that Soul will take care of the rest and he could relax and take a shower himself.
And so Jiung and Soul were left alone in the Souls hotel room.
Jiung had his arms wrapped right around the younger, clinging to him like a lifeline.
“I feel like shit..” Jiung mumbled sadly.
“Hyung! How could you use such words?" Sould fake gasped and tried to lighten up the mood a bit.
It worked as Jiung looked up and smiled gently.
“Will you stay with me?”
Soul nodded “I won’t leave you here and pass out on your own.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the older man's forehead.
Soul leaned into the touch. Happy that Soul will stay with him.
As if his stomach sensed that he relaxed, it churned again. A burp escaped his throat leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
“Not again...” he groaned.
Soul knew what that meant and quickly grabbed the trash can. Just in time he held it under the olders chin. At a rapid rate, stomach acid was rushing up Jiungs throat. Hitting the plastic of the trash can. He couldn’t help but let the tears flow. Gagging and choking on air. It didn’t only feel horrible, it also sounded horrible.
For a moment the sick flow stopped and he couldn’t catch his breath.
Moaning in discomfort as the nausea increased again. His stomach was cramping and the nausea was unbearable. He was in a cold sweat and squeezed his eyes shut. His breath hitched and he started to breath in and out loud and uncomfortable. The contents in his stomach swirling and sloshing around. Air bubbles stuck in his chest and he couldn’t do anything else but press his arms into his aching stomach.
“Deep breaths, Hyungie. You need to calm down.” Soul said softly, trying to stay calm himself.
Somehow he managed to calm the older one down. He took the trash can aside and carefully cleaned Jiungs mouth with a tissue.
The older squeezed his eyes shut, feeling extremely dizzy. He leaned back into the bed, only feeling how Soul stroked through his hair. His dongsaengs cold hands felt like heaven on his sweat soaked skin.
Soul pulled the older in his arms, letting his head rest on his chest, as he rubbed small and gentle circles on the olders upset stomach.
"I just wanna go home.." Jiung mumbled sadly.
"Only a few stops and we will be in Korea again." Sould smiled.
"No..I mean.." Jiung stopped and bit down on his lower lip to stop it from trembling.
'Hm? What do you mean?" Soul asked as he tilted his head in confusion.
Jiung tried. He really tried but he just couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. Maybe it was his fever that made him so emotional or all the stress. He doesn't know. But he couldn't help but to cry. "I miss my family.." he said between sobs.
Soul hummed as he pulled the older closer. He kissed Jiungs forehead. "I know how that feels. I feel homesick a lot of the time too.."
Jiung hiccuped "How can you deal with it so easily?"
"It's because of all of you. You became my family and no matter how much I miss home you guys always cheer me up. Even if it's unintentionally. I feel safe knowing that I have friends who are always there for me and would never let me down. Who accept me for you I am. That doesn't make me miss my family any less but it makes it better." Soul said, trying his hardest not to tear up himself.
The older one nuzzled his head into Sould shoulder. The two of them holding each other. They stayed like this for a while. It was a comfortable silence between the two members.
“Thank.” Jiung suddenly said as he pressed a soft peck on his Souls hand.
Thank you so much for being so kind in your replies to me (reading them always makes me smile super wide! And you calling me friend agh💘) and for letting me send you another request 💝
I do have an idea, and it's about Suho (no surprise there hahah) and Seonghwa from ATEEZ. There was quite a lot of content featuring them some time ago (dance challenges, mentions in radio shows, tags on instagram) and I found their budding friendship super cute 😣💗 The story itself could be about anything really, but maybe one of them gets sick right before a scheduled dance challenge or something? Since you already wrote a fic where Suho takes care of Hongjoong&Yunho, maybe Seonghwa could be the one doing a check up on Junmyeon? The latter did give him his number after all 💖 Maybe the other ATEEZ members could comment on it too? I came across a post where someone said that the ateez members were collecting exo members like pokémon or something (San&Kai, Baekhyun&Jongho, Xiumin&Yunho/Seonghwa etc.), maybe something along those lines? 😅
This became pretty long hahah but please feel free to write what you want - I know I'll love it and I look forward to it already❣️
Have a nice day! ✨
Someone Call the Doctor
Fandom: EXO/ATEEZ
Sickie: Suho (alcohol/medicine reaction)
Caregiver(s): Seonghwa & Yunho
Word Count: 2,311
Notes: Title comes from EXO's "Overdose," as that is kind of what happens in this fic, except not in a dangerous way, more of a 'oh no, i mixed these two things and now i'm dizzy' kinda way. This literally came together all in a rush, and I'm sharing it before I overthink it (scheduled yesterday for today!) @miramizar I sincerely hope you enjoy!!!!
There was nothing quite like an Inkigayo afterparty. They didn’t happen all the time; there was no way anyone’s liver could have survived such an occurrence. But about once every two months or so, a senior group would organize an afterparty at a restaurant close to the studio for any idols who participated in the show that week. Inkigayo made the most sense: it was the Sunday show, the last at the end of a grueling week of promotional performances, and therefore gave them a bit of time to recover if the night got away from them. Which it usually did. Because of said prior marathon of a work week.
So naturally, when Seventeen arranged for an Inkigayo afterparty on a cold Sunday night in late February, ATEEZ happily found themselves there. Because there were some parties you simply could not miss, and a Seventeen party was one of them.
Seonghwa was watching the chaos contentedly from a booth, beer in hand. He’d tweaked his ankle on stage that night, not even a real injury, thank God, but enough that he didn’t have it in him to get up and dance with the others. He’d normally be tearing up the floor, but figured it was better to sit this one out and simply laugh at the chaos of Dino’s Pi Cheolin character dancing poorly with Seulgi and Momo, both of whom seemed to be completely in on the bit.
Seonghwa was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice Yunho approach until he slumped into the booth next to him with a deep sigh. “Wooyoung is fully responsible for San tonight. Mingi too. He’s being a bad influence.”
“Care to elaborate?” Seonghwa asked, openly grinning at Yunho’s frustrated little pout.
“You KNOW what happens when San drinks, hyung!” Yunho whined, falling back against the booth. Seonghwa noted a flush on the dancer’s cheeks, speaking volumes about his own state of sobriety that made the motion all the more adorable. “He can’t handle it! And Mingi can’t either, and he’s gonna wanna cuddle tonight, and I wanna go to bed and I DON’T wanna cuddle, and-“ He was abruptly cut off by Seokmin shrieking at Jungkook and BamBam for ‘crashing the party they weren’t even invited to’ and BamBam shrieking something back before the whole trio melted into a jumping hug.
“And what, Yuyu?”
“And… I don’t even know anymore.” Yunho’s cheeks puffed slightly as he picked at the label on Seonghwa’s bottle. “I’m just tired, hyung.”
Seonghwa chuckled as his fingers carded through Yunho’s hair. While Yunho was usually the life of the party, after promotional weeks where the choreography was particularly strenuous, the exhaustion and overwhelm hit him harder, and he became overstimulated rather quickly. “Wanna go home, then?”
“No…”
As Seonghwa’s mouth opened on a not-so-nice reply about Yunho acting like a child, a yelled, “Hey, Seonghwa-sshi!” caught both of their attention. And both sat up straighter seeing
EXO’s Chanyeol approaching them.
“Chanyeol-hyung!” Seonghwa greeted, immediately noting the worried look on the rapper’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Suho? He’s been missing for about half an hour.”
“And it’s not like a ‘he’s somewhere talking to someone’ missing.” D.O. appeared at Chanyeol’s side, having been a few steps behind him. “We genuinely have no idea where he is.”
“No, I haven’t seen him.” Seonghwa turned to Yunho who silently shook his head, understanding the unspoken question. “I assume you’ve tried calling him?”
“Yes, but we were hoping maybe you could try?” Chanyeol asked. “Cause you’re a junior idol, and he cares more about how he treats you.” D.O. snorted next to him and Chanyeol threw his arms out to his sides. “What? It’s true! We live with him, there’s nothing left to prove to us!”
Seonghwa pulled his phone from his pocket. “No, I get it. Role model pressure versus older brother responsibility. Give me a sec.” He scrolled through his contacts while the conversation continued between Chanyeol and D.O., Yunho offering his own two cents while the phone rang against Seonghwa’s ear.
It rang twice before he heard a click and a whispered, “If my members are there, pretend you got voicemail.”
Without hesitation, Seonghwa played along. “Hey, Suho-hyung, this is ATEEZ’s Seonghwa.” The performer made a point of sharing eye contact with Chanyeol and D.O. as he continued. “I guess, I mean you probably already know that cause of the caller ID, but…” He paused, mouthed what should I say?
In the pause, Suho said, “I’m downstairs. Second door on the left.”
“Ask where the hell he is!” Chanyeol replied, the fire in his voice for his leader and not the messenger.
“Chanyeol and D.O. hyungs are worried about where you are,” Seonghwa repeated. “So, if you get this message, call them please. Thank you!”
“Thank you,” Suho whispered back before Seonghwa hung up.
“Sorry, hyungs.” Seonghwa shrugged, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
“Hey, it’s not your fault. Thanks for trying,” D.O. said, shaking his head as he looked back out at the sea of people. “I just hope he’s okay.”
“Find us if you find him, yeah?” Chanyeol said, meeting both Seonghwa and Yunho’s eyes.
“Of course, hyung,” Seonghwa replied as Yunho gave a small salute.
As the two older men walked away, Yunho narrowed his eyes at Seonghwa. “I heard that, you know.”
“You heard nothing.” Seonghwa waved a hand in front of Yunho’s eyes in a poor attempt at hypnosis. The dancer’s eyes remained narrowed, his lips turning into a sour, little pout. “Listen, Yuyu. Sometimes, as the oldest, you don’t…”
“You lied to them,” Yunho interrupted, his voice a dramatic whisper.
“I lie to you all the time,” Seonghwa replied, matching Yunho’s quieter tone.
“That’s different. You lied to EXO-sunbaenim.”
“How is that different?”
“They’re our SENIORS!” Yunho exclaimed, still dramatically quiet. It suddenly hit Seonghwa how drunk the dancer truly was, and it almost made him want to laugh.
“I lied to them FOR THEIR LEADER! The most sunbae of the sunbaes!” Seonghwa shot back, fighting a smile. “Now, as you know, I’m gonna go see Suho-hyung, and you are going to go find Hongjoong or Jongho and whine to them.”
“No. I’m coming with you.”
Seonghwa stared hard at Yunho, silently warring with their eyes, before the elder man gave up. As cooperative as he usually was, Yunho could be damn stubborn, and a drunk Yunho was the damned stubbornest. So with a heavy sign, Seonghwa relented and motioned for Yunho to follow him.
They meandered through the crowd as casually as possible and escaped into the mercifully quiet stairwell, Yunho not so sneakily watching for any EXO members tailing them. Satisfied that they’d gone undetected, the duo hurried down the steps to the lower level. The hallway they entered first had several doors on either side, each adorned with the tell tale stick figure signs that signaled ‘Restroom.’
“Second on the left,” Seonghwa muttered as they approached the correct door. he knocked, decisive but careful, not wanting to startle his friend. “Suho hyung? It’s Seonghwa.”
A muffled “You can come in” came from the other side of the door.
“I’m sorry, but I had to bring a velcro dongsaeng along,” Seonghwa explained through the door with a peek back at Yunho. “It’s Yunho.”
“That’s okay.”
Seonghwa pushed open the door. Suho was sitting against the wall on a small stool, one provided for children to be able to reach the sink. Sitting was also a relative term. The older man was more slumped against the wall, as if he were a rag doll thrown into a seated position. His face was pale, sweat beading at his hairline. Suho offered a lackluster wave. “Hey.”
“Hyung!” Seonghwa stepped forward, pulling Yunho with him until the door closed behind them. "Are you okay?”
With a terse shake of his head, Suho answered, “No.”
“Did you throw up?” Yunho asked, incredibly earnest.
“Yes.” Suho nodded
Yunho’s eyes widened. “Did Wooyoung make you take shots?” he asked, genuinely worried about the prospect. That got a single laugh and a momentary flash of a smile out of Suho.
“Please forgive him, he’s drunk,” Seonghwa explained in a rush, feeling his own cheeks flushing from Yunho’s lack of boundaries.
“No, no, he’s fine. And it was not Wooyoungie, Yunho-sshi. Not shots either. I…” He swallowed thickly. “I shouldn’t have been drinking at all. I took a Dayquil less than two hours ago, but it felt wrong not to have something in my hand, and…”
“Hyung, that’s dangerous!” Seonghwa exclaimed before he could stop himself. He fell to his knees in front of the older idol. “How are you feeling now?”
“Still dizzy, still nauseous, head pounding. Gets worse if I try to stand up.”
“Wait, what’s…?”
“Cold medicine and alcohol don’t mix well, Yu,” Seonghwa explained quickly to the younger man anxiously looming over his shoulder. “They’re both depressants, suppress your nervous system. Taking both risks overdose effects.”
“Hyung, how do you know that?” Yunho asked, astounded, while Suho gave a proud whistle.
“I once watched Hongjoong try to put aluminum foil in the microwave,” Seonghwa answered. “I have to know a lot of random science shit, otherwise you’d all die of your own ignorance.”
“But how’d you know…?”
“Yeosang’s taken both before, and immediately freaked out and asked, so we Googled it. I also really wanted to slam a bottle of wine on that one trip with the volleyball, but Hongjoong got me really sick so I couldn’t.”
“Oh yeah! I forgot about that…” Yunho trailed off, lost in his memories.
“So relatable.” Suho smiled to himself. “We actually had…” He paused, weighing whether or not to continue, and decided to go for it. “We had nights where Onew, Victoria, Irene, and I would each bring a bottle and just drink straight from the bottle. I’ll always remember that first time… The Suju members were fighting and trying to bring us into it. When Leeteuk started calling me, I watched Onew put the glasses in his hands back and just grab two bottles, handed me one…” His smile was far away. “Good times, man.” He raised his eyes to meet Seonghwa’s. “Guess things really don’t change that much, huh?”
“Nope. There will always be someone to get on your nerves and make you want alcohol,” Seonghwa agreed. Suho grinned back at him. “But…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Suho cut him off, voice gentle as he squeezed the space between his eyes. “I know I messed up. I didn’t even feel that bad just the like…” His fingers danced in the air, trying to find the words. “That pre-sickness feeling?” Both Seonghwa and Yunho nodded in understanding. “I just wanted that to stop too fast, I wasn’t patient, I… I won’t make excuses, but I would like to ask your help getting back upstairs.”
“Of course!” Seonghwa pushed up to his feet and held out his hands. “We can go as slow as you need. Yunho, pick a side!”
As Suho grasped Seonghwa’s hands, the younger man felt how badly he was shaking. With a steadying breath, closing his eyes, Suho shifted his weight forward and started to stand at a snail’s pace. Seonghwa watched as his expression pinched with pain the higher he got. “You good, hyung?”
“Yeah, just…” Suho’s knees gave way, and he would have fallen right back down if Yunho hadn’t been right there, flanking his right side. The dancer caught him effortlessly, wrapping a hand beneath Suho’s shoulders. “Thanks, Yu.”
“Anytime,” Yunho said softly, biting his lip anxiously when the older man’s face stayed taut with pain. “Don’t throw up again, hyung.”
“Yes, that’s what we’re trying to avoid, Yu. That and passing out,” Seonghwa replied as he slid around to Suho’s left side, copying Yunho’s posture to help keep their senior upright.
“This is humiliating…” Suho whispered, seemingly to himself.
“Nothing humiliating about asking for help every once in a while,” Seonghwa replied.
Suho cracked one eye open towards him. “And how often do you ask for help, huh?”
Seonghwa shrugged, a guilty blush blooming on his cheeks. “Got me there. But still, we’re happy we’re here to help you now.”
“Just tell us when you’re ready to walk, and we’re off!” Yunho exclaimed.
It was incredibly slow going from the bathroom, down the hall, and up the stairs. The worst part was the dizziness. After the first three steps, Suho said as much: he knew he was at the point where he wasn’t going to be sick again, but he felt like he was having an out of body experience, hardly able to see straight or command his own limbs. Several times, Yunho asked about calling EMS. Suho and Seonghwa consistently shot him down; Suho knew his body wasn’t in that bad of a condition, and Seonghwa knew Suho didn’t want the extra attention. Thus, with determination and a whole lot of breaks, the trio finally crested the top of the stairs, finding the famous ’97 line in the middle of a rousing game of rock, paper, scissors that came to a dramatic halt at their appearance. They rolled into action immediately.
“Thank you, Hwa,” Suho whispered amidst the chaos. “I just… couldn’t tell my members. They…”
“They worry too much.” Suho beamed up at him, nodding once, very slowly. “I get it, hyung. Thank you for asking for help. Text me tomorrow, yeah? We’re gonna wanna know you’re okay.” Yunho gave the older man an encouraging squeeze from the other side.
“Deal. But after all your help, I owe you more than just a text.”
“We can discuss it later,” Seonghwa said, nodding towards the door as Chanyeol and Kai appeared behind Mingyu. “I think someone else wants your attention right now.”
Hello! For the prompt list, could you write 5 & 49 with Seonghwa as the sick one and San as the caretaker? I love their brotherly dynamic~ Thank you!
I'm so sorry this request is about 9 months old! If you're still here, anon, I hope you enjoy this fic. I really did enjoy writing it and I love the dynamic between these two!
Pairing: Seonghwa x San - platonic intentions, but read as you please
Prompts: "Try and get some food down. Anything" || "Sorry. I'm… I'm really dizzy"
Words Count: 2489
Warnings: Illness || Emeto || Graphic Descriptions of Sickness
San doesn't usually wake up in the middle of the night. He has a very thorough nightly routine that he completes meticulously each evening. He spends upwards of an hour in the bathroom each night, completing his skin care and dental care and emptying himself of anything that might disturb his precious hours of uninterrupted sleep. He swears by this routine. Sleeping in his own bed is a luxury these days, so he doesn't even want to waste 1 precious minute on something as trivial as using the bathroom.
So he's naturally disgruntled when he wakes in the middle of the night unable to quickly doze back to sleep. Despite his nightly rituals, he still finds himself having to pee at half past 3 in the morning. He blames it on drinking Mingi's leftover coffee. Can't let precious caffeine go to waste either. He only feels a hint of remorse.
Begrudgingly, he throws the covers off of himself and hustles down to the bathroom. If he's quick, he might be able to get it done without losing the fuzzy feeling of sleep. In and out, then back to sleep. That's the plan.
That plan comes to a screeching halt when he enters the bathroom to find Seonghwa draped across the toilet seat, skin white as a ghost. And if the sight isn't enough of a clue, there's an overpowering stench of vomit lingering in the air.
"Hwa-hyung!" San exclaims. He stands petrified in the doorway, like he's awaiting further instruction. He's not really sure what he's supposed to do. Seonghwa is the caretaker of the group, how is he supposed to take care of him.
Seonghwa lifts his head to look at San, a pained expression on his face and a vacant look in his eyes. He shushes the younger, "You'll-" He cuts himself off with a nauseous burp, "You'll wake Mingi."
Of course, even draped helplessly over the only toilet in their apartment, looking minutes away from comatose, Seonghwa is still thinking about the others. San clicks his tongue. And Mingi, of all people, a historically heavy sleeper. The building could be mid-demolition and he'd be none the wiser. "No I won't," San says confidently. Still he lowers his voice just for good measure.
The remnants of sleep are gone and he's on high alert now. He knows he won't be able to go back to sleep knowing that his hyung is feeling so miserably unwell. So he enters the small bathroom and closes the door behind him for privacy. He also turns on the bathroom fan, to hopefully ventilate some of the smell out of the room.
"Don't come any closer, San-ah." Seonghwa stops mid-command to gag. It's unnaturally loud, echoing in the now sealed room, but unproductive. "I might be contagious."
"I don't care." San replies without thinking, like it's the most natural response in the world. "You need help."
Seonghwa shakes his head, not making any eye-contact with the younger. "I can take care of myself." He says in such a way that San can't help but be skeptical. "You're younger than me. I'm not your responsibility."
"You're my hyung," San stands his ground, already resolved to help Seonghwa. At least through the night, he can let Hongjoong know in the morning and they can work out a more long-term plan from there. "And my family is my responsibility."
Seonghwa looks like he has another objection queued up, but before he can respond he bows his head into the toilet bowl when the formerly unproductive gag returns. This time, a slurry of sick pours out his open mouth. The oldest whimpers and moans as he stomach convulses to get every last drop out of him.
San notices it's mostly clear and speculates that Seonghwa has been throwing up for so long that he's empty. Since they all ate the same thing, he concludes it's likely a stomach bug, not a lone case of food poisoning. While Seonghwa continues to stare into the bowl, San takes the opportunity to approach his hyung. He crouches down next to him and runs a hand along his back, "You're okay. Get it out. That's good." He whispers sweet reassurances until the episode is over.
All the tension leaves Seonghwa's body at once, leaving him slack against the toilet seat. San's hand on his back distracts him from the cramping in his stomach, so for now he stops trying to shoo the younger away. The attention actually feels kind of nice, reminds him of home, of being the youngest in the family. Reminds him of how much he misses it.
The porcelain seat is cold, but San's body is teeming with warmth. He craves that warmth, the comfort that comes with physical contact. It's more alluring than the ceramic bowl. It takes way more effort than it should, but he pushes himself off the toilet seat and into San's open arms.
San sees Seonghwa's intention and helps him settle in, wrapping his arms comfortingly around his hyung. He uses just enough pressure so that he's hugging, but not squeezing. "Poor hyung, you really must not be feeling well." He soothes, pressing a kiss to Seonghwa's sweaty temple.
Seonghwa whines, a long drawn out sound that might be an affirmative. He mumbles something about "hurt" and "cold" but all the words are muffled against San's shoulder.
"C'mon, why don't we get you back to bed?" San suggests. He contemplates getting his hyung in the shower, but decides against it given the elder's weak state. Maybe when some of his energy returns, he'll push for a shower.
"Couch," Seonghwa counters.
San's eyebrow raises in curiosity, "You don't want to sleep in your bed. It's much more comfortable than the couch." He recommends, "If you're still worried about waking Mingi, don't be. His door is closed."
Seonghwa shakes his head the tiniest bit. If San hadn't been critically analyzing his hyung's every movement, he would have missed it. "Not about Mingi," Seonghwa insists. His eyes start to water and his lower lip quivers. "Please, just couch." He begs through a sob.
Though San doesn't totally understand why, he can tell it's a sensitive topic and surrenders. "Okay, okay," he hushes, "I'll take you to the couch. I'll set up a nice, soft blanket for you and get you extra pillows. Okay, how does that sound?" Seonghwa does like the sound of that, he affirms it with a small "mmhm."
San pushes Seonghwa away just long enough to stand up on his own. Once he's on his feet, he holds out a hand to his hyung, "Can you stand?"
Seonghwa holds the outstretched hand, squeezing it with all the might he can muster. He uses his other hand to hold into the edge of the sink, trying to get himself up. He makes it onto his knees, but can't make it any further. With a sniffle, he shakes his head sadly at his dongsaeng.
San doesn't question it or force anything more from his hyung. He simply steps in and helps Seonghwa to his feet, shouldering much of his hyung's weight onto himself. "There we go, wanna try walking?" When Seonghwa doesn't object, San takes a tentative step forward, out of the bathroom. Seonghwa follows on wobbling knees.
They make it to the entrance of the living room area when Seonghwa nearly throws himself against the wall. He clings to the wall, slowly sliding down until he's on the floor, head pressed against the wall. San crawls next to him, "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, I'm… I feel really dizzy." He explains his sudden transition to the floor. "I just need a minute."
There's a cold hand pressed against Seonghwa's forehead, something to focus on that will hopefully make his world stop spinning. Even with his eyes closed, he feels like he's riding a carousel at 160 kph. "You're burning up." The younger gasps like this is new information. Seonghwa has known of the fever for hours. "And you're probably dehydrated too. We've gotta get some liquid in you."
A panic shoots through San as he scans the room, hoping that by some miracle someone might be there to help him. But he knows deep down that it's a lost cause. It's still the middle of the night. And the only other person in the apartment is sound asleep. So it's all up to him. "Stay here, okay?" He encourages, "I'm gonna get stuff ready for you."
Seonghwa just nods, hand resting on his bloated stomach. Without San's cool hand to ground him, his mind is back to whirling around the carousel. He presses his head against the wall and whimpers until San's return. He has no way of knowing if seconds, minutes, or hours pass in his misery.
San can hear Seonghwa's lonely cries as he passes through the apartment. He starts in the kitchen, setting on a kettle for tea and rummaging through the mostly barren cabinets, swearing up and down that he'd seen a sleeve of crackers lying untouched just a few days ago. When the crackers don’t turn up, San whispers out a curse and peers around for something else that would be easy on his hyung’s stomach. A bowl of jook would be ideal, but that will take a long time to prepare. Seonghwa needs nutrients now.
He creates a tray of snacks, containing stray food they had in the apartment. He slices up every kind of fruit he could find, microwaves an instant noodle cup and set the flavor packet aside, and he borrowed one of Mingi’s favorite jello cups. San pours the whistling kettle over a peppermint tea bag and allows it to steep for only 1 minute, not wanting the tea to be too strong. Then he adds an electrolyte drink to the tray for good measure before carrying it out to the coffee table.
He passes through the corridor again, paying Seonghwa little mind. It seems the older has started to drift off as he rested against the wall. San figures it just buys him time to finish setting up the living room. He takes a quick detour to his hyung's room to gather some additional supplies.
Upon entering the room, San's hit with the smell of vomit. It doesn't take him long to notice the shallow pool of vomit beside the bed. He follows the trail up and sees another small puddle among the bedsheets. It's suddenly abundantly clear why Seonghwa was so adamant about not returning to his room, feeling too sickly to face the mess he'd made at some earlier point in the night.
He decides to leave the mess for now, recentering his goal of getting Seonghwa nourished, medicated, and rested. He pulls out some fresh clothes for his hyung, figuring that his current outfit is either sweat soaked or vomit stained. Likely a putrid combination of both.
He forgoes stealing the blankets off Seonghwa's bed and opts to take the bedding from his own room. But he makes sure to pick up Seonghwa’s Star Wars blanket for some familiarity and comfort. It's a child sized blanket. It hardly covers his torso effectively. But it's a great comfort to Seonghwa, especially when he's feeling sick or overly tired.
Once San spreads out all the blankets to cover the scratchy fabric of the couch, he returns to find his hyung dozed off right where he's left him. He nudges the older awake. “Hwa-hyung, wake up.” He whispers, “You shouldn't sleep here.”
Ever the light sleeper, Seonghwa rouses, though he immediately resumes his whimpers. “don't wanna get up.” A sob dies out in the back of his throat, “don't feel good.”
“I know you don't hyung,” San sympathizes, “but I have some things set up that will make you feel better.” He doesn't allow time for Seonghwa to refute before he's helping the older man to his feet and guiding him to the couch.
Seonghwa's whole weight falls onto the couch, ready to sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow that San had laid out for him. He draws the Star Wars blanket close to his face and lets out a relaxed sigh. It feels like home.
“No, not just yet hyung.” San nearly shouts just to get his hyung's attention. “First, try and get some food down.” He gestures to the options displayed on the coffee table. “Anything, please.”
“Sannie, my stomach hurts” The older man slurs. “I don't think I can eat anything.”
“Hyung,” San's voice morphs into a gentle scolding tone. “You need to eat something.”
“No!” Seonghwa whimpers. “I just need to sleep.”
“You know if the roles were reversed, you'd be trying to make me eat something.” San doesn't back down, despite his hyung's bratty behavior. He gives up on asking, opting to use a bit more force. He picks up the electrolyte drink and points the straw to Seonghwa’s lips. “take a sip.”
When Seonghwa opens his mouth to refuse, the straw slides between his lips. He manages three small sips before he pushes the straw out of his mouth. “Cold.” He whines.
“How about some tea, it's nice and warm by now.” San replaces the drink bottle with the tea cup. “Sit up a bit, I'll help you.”
Seonghwa finally does as he's told. Propping himself up enough so San can tip the cup against his lips. The tea is warm, sends a wave of comfort through his chilled limbs. And the weak peppermint flavor coats his bubbling stomach. Still, he pushes San away before he's finished the cup. He just found this new comfort, he doesn't want to risk it by filling up too fast.
San sets the cup down, “jello or apples?” He offers, figuring that the noodles may be too much for his hyung's stomach right now. He's not ecstatic, but he's satisfied with the amount of liquid Seonghwa managed to take but just wants a few bites of food in him as well.
He decides on the jello, likely a result of his natural sweet tooth winning out. San spoon feeds him an astounding five bites before he purses his lips and puts a hand on his stomach. “Done.” The sick man insists.
“Okay,” San confirms. “Take a little medicine, then you can sleep again.”
Seonghwa nods and takes the pills San hands him. He only sips a bit more of the electrolyte drink to force the pills down. And finally, he lays back down, settling into the couch and curling himself into a small ball. “You'll stay?” He looks pitifully at San.
“Of course, hyung. I'll stay.” He leans against the front of the couch, resting his head on his hyung's thigh.
“Thanks, Sannie.” Seonghwa’s breathing starts to even out as sleep overtakes him, “for taking such good care of me.”
“Sleep well, Hwa.” San also starts to drift back to sleep, the adrenaline of the past hour finally dying down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Sorry again for another long absence in sharing fics. I have a few more request fics I'm actively working on and some original ideas I want to flesh out. I know my motivations have been wavering, but I'll get through them in time. I'm finally starting to feel more like myself again, so hopefully, I'll get out of this funk soon. But I make no promises to timing. Just know that I'm still here, still writing as I'm able to. Please accept this overdue Ateez fic as a token of my gratitude.
As always, thanks for reading to the end! I really appreciate each and every one of you who make it this far! Feedback is always appreciated. And please let me know if I missed any tags or TWs. And please call me out for any errors you notice!
Life has been kind of crazy for the last few years and I kinda lost the motivation to write. This struck me though and I felt like I had to write it out so here we are !
It's not my best work and I don't know if I really like it, but here we are.
I would not expect any more frequent updates, but also know that I haven't really "abandoned" this blog. I'll simply upload to it as inspiration strikes me!
Anyway, buckle in because this was supposed to be short but it got away from me!
Summary: Chan and Hyunjin are on sitting on the train, on their way back to campus after a quick fall break at home. The threat of finals looms over them, and Chan does his best to relish in his last bits of free time before stress sets in for the next few weeks. However, for Hyunjin it seems that his stress comes sooner than expected as more than just his dreaded finals come to knock him down for a bit.
Quick note in case the timeline doesn't make sense: I didn't set this in a specific place, but based it off my own travels and undergrad finals experience. Chan and Hyunjin are heading back to school after a week long break at home and they have one week of no classes to prep for finals and then finals week starts.
--------------------------------------------
Chan walked onto the train platform and immediately saw his roommate sitting on a bench, headphones on, and his hood pulled up. His laptop was open on his lap, his hands resting on the keyboard, but he clearly was not doing any work since his head was leaning back against the bench, his eyes closed.
He walked over and sat down, trying not to disturb Hyunjin, but the younger sat up and turned to look at him anyway. Chan frowned when he met Hyunjin's eyes.
Hyunjin did not look like someone who had a restful week-long holiday break at home. Dark bags underscored dull eyes, his lips were chapped and downturned and he was distinctly pale.
“All good, mate?”
Hyunjin offered a small smile, but shook his head.
“My first exam is next Monday at 8am, and I have a paper due at the end of the next week. I tried to get the paper done over the weekend because I have two other exams and a lab sprinkled in between, but I didn’t quite finish.” He sighed. “Which sucks because that means all I accomplished was undoing all the rest I got during the week,” he finished with a soft chuckle.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You can sleep on the train, maybe?” Chan sympathized, thankful his own finals week was somewhat merciful. He wrapped an arm around Hyunjin's shoulders and pulled him into his side, where Hyunjin rested his head on Chan's shoulders.
After all, Chan wouldn’t let him miss their stop. They took the train back to their hometown together and now they were heading back to their apartment at university together.
Hyunjin shook his head and leaned further into Chan, exhaling slowly. Chan took his laptop and closed it before it could slide of his friend's lap.
“I’m almost done with the paper and if I finish on the train, I can sleep tonight when we get back to the apartment.” He murmured. With his laptop no longer on his lap, he brought a hand over to his stomach and rubbed gently.
“Stomach hurt?” Chan didn’t agree with Hyunjin’s plan in the slightest, but would let him do what he wanted. Unless he was sick (and signs pointed to that). If he was sick, he'd push Hyunjin to rest.
“Just a cramp. Think I’m dehydrated.” Hyunjin whispered, but he was grimacing.
Chan didn't really believe him, but he could feel Hyunjin's forehead on his neck and it wasn't warm. Maybe Hyunjin was just tired and dehydrated.
So he nodded and kept quiet. He watched Hyunjin carefully for the next half hour. He never asked for his laptop back but he did shift to rest on Chan’s lap after the older pulled up the drama they’d been watching on his phone, taking one of Chan’s offered ear buds.
A the end of the episode, Chan looked down at his lap where Hyunjin was dozing and ran a hand through his soft hair. He gently tugged to wake him up a little. Hyunjin whined and gently slapped Chan’s thigh. Chan laughed fondly. “Train’s gonna be here soon. I’m gonna go grab some coffee. You want me to grab you a water or tea or something?”
Hyunjin sat up and stretched his arms above his head then leaned to the side a bit, bringing his hand back to where he’d been cramping previously.
“Uh, can you get me a latte?” He said, squeezing his eyes shut tiredly. Chan raised an eyebrow at him.
“Even though you’re dehydrated?”
Hyunjin looked up at him, his expression flat. “One latte won’t make things worse.” Chan opened his mouth, ready to tell him that it didn’t matter if he didn’t feel well, but Hyunjin stopped him. “I just need enough caffeine to get me through the four hour train ride so I can work on my paper and sleep when we get home.”
Chan wasn’t so convinced. Hyunjin must’ve noticed because he changed his expression to the most kicked puppy look he could muster. With eyes that wide combined with the paleness and dark circles, he really looked too pathetic to say no to. Chan was simply too endeared to him.
(Never mind that he was getting himself a coffee. It was different, okay?)
“Don’t you want me to sleep in a nice comfy bed, Channie hyung? If I fall asleep on the train, I won’t be able to sleep when we get home.”
And well, he had a point. They took a later train so they could each maximize their time with their families since they were staying on campus for a few weeks of winter break instead of going home right away. Their train didn't even get in until close to 9pm, and then they still had the hour or so on the bus.
“Fine, fine. You’re too sad to say no to,” Chan teased. Hyunjin smiled (tiredly) victoriously.
“Thank you, hyungie,” he sing-songed and kissed Chan’s cheek before Chan got up to go to the closest cafe.
By the time he got back with their coffees (and a water because Chan was nothing if not concerned for his dongsaeng’s hydration levels) their train had pulled into the station and Hyunjin was standing up to gather their stuff together.
They made it to their seats, Chan taking the window so he could stare out when he inevitably got bored, and Hyunjin in the aisle so he could stretch his giraffe legs out.
Hyunjin immediately put his tray table down and pulled his laptop out. He pulled his big headphones on (so Chan knew he meant business), but kept one ear off so he could hear Chan if he wanted to chat.
Chan was determined to maximize his break and he only had two written exams and a couple music production projects that he needed Changbin and Jisung for anyway, so he had zero intention of working on the train.
Instead, he pulled up a different show on his laptop, put one earbud in and settled in for their four hour train ride.
- - -
Hyunjin tried to focus on his paper, he really did. He finished his latte and even started drinking the water Chan had bought him. Nonetheless, a mere thirty minutes into the train ride, the cramp on his right side persisted and nausea sat in his chest.
Nothing horrible, really. Truly, it just felt like he had to burp but he didn’t really need to. It just settled it his chest and made his breathing a bit more shallow.
He managed to proofread the first several pages of his paper, but when he got to the parts he’d have to pull up his research for so he could actually write stuff, he found it increasingly difficult to ignore the general discomfort in his body.
Was he just tired? Was he getting sick? That wouldn’t be great, seeing as it was the last week before exams and so many of his professors were holding review sessions he wanted to attend.
Maybe he was motion sick? Though he was only vaguely nauseous and he didn’t usually get motion sick. That was Minho’s job. Maybe because he wasn’t here his evil hyung performed weirdo magic and transferred it to him?
And now he wasn’t really making sense, even in his own mind, so he doubted anything he was writing made sense.
It wasn’t even that bad. He was just being pathetic. He felt mostly fine. It was just that something was clearly off and the cramp was annoying.
He breathed out through his nose and closed his eyes leaning back.
“All good?” Chan asked him without taking his eyes off his screen where some anime character was screeching and whipping around a sword.
Hyunjin nodded and hummed. “Just uncomfortable.”
He heard the click of the spacebar when Chan paused his show and opened his eyes to face his hyung.
Chan assessed him carefully. Hyunjin was usually grateful for Chan’s eagle eye. Right now though, he was a little annoyed because it meant than Chan was concerned and that meant there was something to be concerned about.
But Hyunjin was fine. Really. Truly. Just a little uncomfortable.
“I’m okay, hyung. I think I’m just stressed. And a little overstimulated. And tired.”
Yes, that must be it. That must be why he feels like he can’t breathe through the discomfort in his chest and why he just wants to close his eyes and not see the world for a bit.
Chan looked at him with his Hyunjin Lie Detector Eyes for a moment longer before he pursed his lips and nodded.
“Maybe just rest for a bit? You can try and work on your paper more later. Maybe you’ll feel a little calmer.”
“Yeah,” Hyunjin sighed, because Chan was probably right. So, he saved his progress on his paper and closed his laptop, leaning back against the train seat with his eyes closed.
He didn’t sleep. Not really. He kind of zoned in and out, rousing a bit at each stop, but ultimately falling back into his restless restful state.
The vague discomfort never faded though. In fact, a headache decided to join the party, bringing a slight pulse behind his eyes. It pounded along to his bass-heavy playlist, so he switched to a gentler one.
(Chan noticed. Of course he did. And it only made him more concerned. He placed a hand on Hyunjin’s thigh, hoping to bring him some sort of comfort.)
About an hour and a half before they were supposed to get back, their train jolted to a stop—the pain in Hyunjin’s head sharpening with the movement—in the middle of nowhere. Hyunjin opened his eyes and pulled one side of his headphones off and Chan paused his show and pulled a bud out.
“Sorry about the sudden stop, folks. Seems there’s some traffic up a head, so we’ll be here for a few minutes. Thanks for your patience.”
Hyunjin sighed. Of course.
Well, if resting wasn’t helping and they weren’t moving for a bit, maybe he could get back into his paper.
Chan noticed as Hyunjin started working again. “Feeling better?”
Hyunjin hummed. “Not really, so figured I might as well try and be productive anyway. I can always edit things tomorrow morning.” Even though he had hoped to be fully finished with this paper tonight. He sighed.
“Okay. Let me know if you feel worse though, Jinnie. Maybe you’re getting sick.”
Hyunjin surmised as much. But…
“Even so, can’t do anything about that til we get home.”
“You can rest and—“
“And that wasn’t helping. So let me try and work on this. Having literally anything down at least gives me something to work with later.”
He looked at Chan, and he knew that he came across too short, too annoyed, but he was annoyed.
He had shit to get done and it was frustrating that he felt only a little unwell instead of fully because at least if he was genuinely sick he’d have the excuse of not working.
(Chan would scold him for this line of thought later. The hypocrite. Like he didn’t work through headaches and colds.)
Chan pulled his lips into a tight line, but relented.
Things went decently well for the next thirty minutes or so. Then there was another delay. And another stop. And more words swimming around and more jolting stops and more time added to their journey and more pounding in his head and wow Hyunjin didn’t feel well.
He sighed and leaned forward with his face in his hands. Chan’s hand automatically came up to rub his back and Hyunjin shivered in discomfort. Touch was no good right now. He couldn’t be bothered to tell Chan that though so he just leaned back against his seat and tilted his head back. Chan’s hand went back to his own lap.
“Feeling worse?” He asked Hyunjin quietly. Hyunjin scoffed.
“No, honestly. Not really. I have a headache now, but otherwise feel the same as I did in the station.”
Which was really what pissed him off. He didn’t feel that bad, but he couldn’t get himself to focus and everything was bothering him.
“I just can’t do it.” He muttered. Chan tsked and rubbed his thigh. Hyunjin tensed enough that Chan must’ve noticed, because he moved his hand.
“Sorry, Jinnie. I wish I could help, but I haven’t had the chance to refill my travel meds pack.”
“S’fine.” It wasn’t. “I’ll be okay.” Probably.
He gave up on his paper for the rest of the train ride. He stayed leaning back with his eyes closed, trying to breathe and ignore the general discomfort he felt.
At some point he was uncomfortable enough that he reached for Chan’s hand himself. Chan squeezed his hand before retracting it and pulling Hyunjin to lean on his shoulder.
They were probably twenty minutes from their station (and almost an hour past when they were supposed to get home), when the feeling in his chest shifted to something more sinister.
“Channie hyung,” he whined.
“Yes, Jinnie?” Chan answered without taking his eyes off his show.
The vague discomfort in his chest twinged and squeezed and he tried very hard not to moan in discomfort, seeing as they were still in public. Instead he just grimaced, squeezing his eyes tighter and breathed out slowly, waiting for the feeling to pass.
“Hyunjin?” Chan paused his show and looked over at his roommate when he didn’t get a response.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. Is it worse?” He asked and turned to Hyunjin without displacing him from his shoulder. He pushed some hair out of Hyunjin’s face when he could only get himself to nod.
“Head?”
“No, I’m just nauseous. I’ve been nauseous this whole time but it wasn’t anything bad. But it just … squeezed? I don’t know but I don’t feel good.” He whined because really he was at his breaking point. He just wanted to write his paper and go to bed.
Chan clicked his tongue and ran his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair. “Why didn’t you say you were nauseous?”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
At Chan’s silence, he knew that he was right. Chan wouldn’t have been able to help him five hours ago in the station and he can’t really do anything nice.
“Do you think you need to be sick?”
And at that, Hyunjin assessed more closely. His chest was twisting in nausea, but it hadn’t drifted into his stomach, so he didn’t think so.
At least not yet.
So he shook his head.
“Okay, baby. Let me know if that changes. We’re almost home.” Chan sighed and kissed his forehead before returning back to his show, knowing there was nothing he could do for Hyunjin right now.
The next half hour, Hyunjin shifted between vague discomfort to tight nausea in his chest, making him feel like he had to burp, but not being able to. He couldn’t keep himself from grimacing every time, the discomfort only increasing the pounding in his head and his breathing picking up and eventually soft whimpers he couldn’t hold back anymore.
Chan shushed him gently each time and rubbed his arm where it was wrapped around his shoulder. He prompted Hyunjin to drink some water every now and then. It was difficult around the permanent lump in his throat though.
Eventually they pulled into their station and Chan told him to keep sitting while he pulled their suitcases down from the overhead compartments. While they waited to get off, Hyunjin couldn’t stop himself from resting his forehead on the extended handle of his suitcase.
Chan pulled his hood up over his head, and Hyunjin breathed out, feeling better knowing he at least felt like he wasn’t being perceived. He relaxed a bit more when Chan placed a hand on his back.
Chan helped him get his luggage off the train and then rolled it with his own. Hyunjin followed behind with his head down, clinging to a strap of Chan’s backpack and trying to ignore the way the gross feeling finally started settling in his stomach.
“Hyung!” Hyunjin heard and slowly lifted his head to see Seungmin calling Chan, waving them over from the entrance to the platform with Changbin at his side.
“I texted Binnie for a ride. Figured it’d be better than sitting on more public transportation. Plus, he can get us home faster than the bus." Chan said gently, rubbing his back again.
Really, Hyunjin could cry tears of gratefulness. Changbin might as well be his hero for being willing to pick them up at close to midnight. And he owed Chan his life for having the forethought to do call Changbin. And Seungmin ... well he was just grateful for Seungmin’s general presence.
When they reached their friends, Seungmin, in an uncharacteristic show of affection, held his arms open for Hyunjin to tiredly fall into. Changbin took Hyunjin’s bags from Chan and squeezed his arm.
“C’mon, Jinnie. Car’s over here.” Hyunjin nodded against Seungmin’s neck, but didn’t move. Seungmin gave him a squeeze before pulling away, only to pull him back into his side. Together they made their way slowly to Changbin’s car.
“Feeling bad?” Seungmin whispered. Hyunjin sighed deeply and nodded, placing his head on Seungmin’s shoulder.
“Please don’t throw up in my car,” Changbin teased gently when they started loading luggage into the trunk.
“I won’t,” he chuckled softly.
“Probably,” he added when he and Seungmin rounded the car to load themselves into the back. Seungmin laughed softly.
“We have Gatorade and plastic bags. It’s fine. Channie hyung said you weren’t feeling well but neither of you could quite figure out what was wrong, so we just prepared for the worst. It’s okay if you throw up in hyung’s car.” Seungmin explained as he helped Hyunjin settle in his seat and get buckled before pulling him back into his side again.
Hyunjin loved his best friends, really. Seungmin was warm against him (when had he started shivering?) and Hyunjin was grateful that he was breaking his no-cuddling rule for him.
“Just another thirty minutes, Hyunjinnie. Think you’ll be okay?” Chan asked as he plopped himself in the passenger seat.
Hyunjin hummed. He missed the way the three of them exchanged sad looks.
The safety of Changbin’s car must’ve made him comfortable enough to fall asleep, because he was waking up to Seungmin pushing his hair aside to feel his forehead. The car was mostly quiet and he couldn’t even feel the usual rocking that came from driving through the city.
“He’s definitely warm, but nothing too concerning. If you get some meds in him when you guys get home and get him into bed, he’ll probably he fine in the morning.” He whispered.
Hyunjin heard Chan’s answering hum. “I shouldn’t be so surprised I guess. He’s been lethargic since we met up at the station.”
Changbin’s pout was evident in his voice when he muttered back, “Poor, Jinnie.”
“He seemed mostly fine. Insisted he was,” Chan continued.
“Don’t feel bad, hyung,” Seungmin’s voice rumbled against Hyunjin’s ear where it was on his chest. “You know how it goes with him. Not like he’s not complaining about some ailment only to be fine almost every week anyway.” He chuckled and Hyunjin would hit him if he had the energy to even open his eyes. Or if his limbs didn’t feel so heavy. Maybe he’d tease back if it didn’t feel like his lunch would simply fall out of his mouth if he opened it.
Oh.
Yeah, no he felt bad. He should tell someone.
“Fucking night construction,” Changbin muttered quietly.
Ah, they were stuck in traffic. No wonder things felt too still. He should definitely say something.
He tried to shift to sit up when his chest and stomach rolled and he froze.
“Hyunjin?”
“Minnie…” he moaned. He could feel the nausea swirling in his stomach and moving up his chest and throat. He swallowed on impulse.
“Oh. Okay, that’s fine Jinnie. It’s okay. Deep breathes.” Seungmin said calmly. Hyunjin felt his hands on his shoulders where they moved to lean him over his own lap. “Chan hyung, there are some plastic bags and a Gatorade in the side of the door. Can you grab them?”
“Okay, Jinnie?” Changbin asked while Chan looked for the bag as directed. Hyunjin hummed and tried to breathe through the mounting nausea.
“Hit me outta nowhere,” he murmured.
“Okay, it’s okay.” Seungmin soothed and Hyunjin could hear the crinkle of a plastic bag being exchanged between his friends.
“I’m sorry, Hyunjin. We’re stuck in traffic. Night construction that started right at midnight, apparently.” Chan apologized and ran his hands through Hyunjin’s hair.
“Course we are. I have great luck,” he slurred out. His tongue was heavy and his mouth was watering but he really didn’t want to throw up in the car.
Or at all.
Seungmin laughed good naturedly and started rubbing slow circles between Hyunjin’s shoulder blades.
“Just let me know if you need the bag, Jinnie. It’s okay. We’ve all seen worse.”
And well, given how long they’ve all known each other and how many nights they’ve spent with a little too much liquor, that was definitely true.
Didn’t make him feel better though.
Changbin maneuvered the car through the traffic as carefully as he could, but the stopping and starting was doing a number of Hyunjin’s sensitive stomach.
“Definitely have a fever,” Seungmin muttered when he put his hand on the back on Hyunjin’s neck. It was damp and Hyunjin could feel the cold sweat break out on his forehead. He groaned.
“But my paper,” he whined. He didn't want to be sick right before finals. It would just make finals even harder.
“You still have all this week and next to finish your paper, Jinnie. Didn't you say it wasn't even due until next Friday?” Chan reassured. It only helped a little.
“But I have so many other exams to prep for.” He whined more around the lump in his throat. His head pounded at the sound of his own voice.
“I told you not to take so many classes,” Seungmin supplied unhelpfully.
“Minnie, please,” he whimpered.
“I’ll help you catch up,” Changbin offered. Seungmin scoffed.
“Because you know anything about applied physics?”
“I mean… well I can help with his non-aerospace classes. Like his art history ones!”
“Or, I can help him because we actually share classes. You know he doesn’t need help with his art classes.” Seungmin fired back. That was true. Sure, his primary degree was aerospace engineering (which he shared with Seungmin) but his passion was in his art history minor.
As much as he usually enjoyed his friend’s bickering, it was just stressing him out more.
“Can’t ‘fford t’be sick,” he said around the saliva building in his mouth. He tried to swallow it back, but it only served to make him feel more nauseous. He burped breathily.
“It’ll be fine, Jinnie,” Chan soothed, effectively cutting off Changbin and Seungmin’s efforts to offer help again.
“Mmhmm,” he whined and shook his head. He breathed out through his mouth slowly.
“Hyunjin,” Seungmin said gently.
He hummed and shook his head again. If he could just get a handle on himself he could stop the inevitable at least until they got home.
He could ignore the swirling in his stomach that churned in time with the increasing pounding behind his eyes. He could breathe through the tightness in his chest, even if it was slow and labored. Just keep your head down and breathe, Hyunjin. Don’t throw up in Changbin’s car.
Changbin hit a pot hole. Hyunjin couldn’t stop the airy hiccup that jolted his chest.
“Sorry.”
He breathed. He hiccuped. He breathed. He burped. He breathed. He moaned.
“Hyunjin, please. It’s okay,” Seungmin said and Hyunjin heard the crinkling of the bag much closer to his ears. He turned his head slightly to look up at Seungmin. His best friend looked down at him with a sad smile and nodded his head towards the proffered bag.
Hyunjin closed his eyes again and sighed before sitting up and taking the bag.
Chan made a hurt noise on his behalf and put a hand on his knee. Seungmin held his hand and Hyunjin took the bag in his free one. Hyunjin tilted his head back against the headrest and breathed around a hiccup.
“Almost home, baby,” Changbin said as they finally got past the worst of the construction.
"It's okay, Jin. You're fine. Just breathe." Seungmin said and squeezed his hand. Hyunjin always appreciated how soft Seungmin got for him.
Hyunjin tried, he really did. But his mouth kept watering and his stomach kept churning and his head kept pounding and he really shouldn’t have been so startled when he finally bent over with a full body wretch. He just barely brought the bag up to his mouth.
Seungmin his through his teeth, and rubbed his back and Chan squeezed his knee. He dry heaved again, drooling into the bag.
“You’re okay, baby. Just let it out.” Chan whispered.
And really for how long this feeling has been building, Hyunjin hoped it would be over and done with. But no. Instead he was stuck in a cycle of gasping breathes, dry heaves, and grating, airy burps for the next few minutes.
Seungmin’s hand eventually moved to his lower back and back up his spine over and over. Probably hoping to help stimulate Hyunjin’s stomach some.
Changbin slammed on the breaks and they all shifted forward.
“Bin, please,” Hyunjin gasped.
“I’m sorry, baby, it was the car in front of me.” He at least sounded as miserable as Hyunjin felt.
“How much lon-,” he started to ask, only to be cut off by another fruitless gag.
Chan seemed to understand anyway. “We’re about 5 miles from home, Jin.” He pushed Hyunjin’s sweaty hair back.
“He’s really warm,” he muttered to Seungmin.
“I know,” Seungmin sighed and patted Hyunjin’s back when he let out a particularly wet burp. “Can’t do anything half-assed, huh Jinnie? You just had to get some sort of flu right before finals.” He teased lightly.
Hyunjin found some strength to laugh between heaves. “Guess not,” he said and spit into the bag.
As much as he didn’t want to throw up earlier, he kind of wish he could just get it over with now. He knew it was coming. Could feel it making its way up his chest and throat with every hacking gag and tight hiccup.
“Fuck,” Changbin muttered. Hyunjin looked up clearly to see that the two way road to their apartment was blocked off on one side, making traffic flow even slower. He whined pitifully and didn’t bother to stop his tears.
“Oh, no, Hyunjinnie, no, it’s okay. Hyung is gonna take a detour and we’ll be home in no time.” Changbin said and pulled what was probably an illegal u-turn back onto the other side of the road.
Hyunjin just cried. He’d felt off all day and now it was finally hitting its peak (and Hyunjin’s breaking point) but it had all escalated so quickly.
Seungmin shushed him gently and pulled him into his shoulder, despite Hyunjin’s continued sick hiccups. The movement made him dizzy and he squeezed his eyes shut.
“Hyung, I’m concerned with how fast his temperature went up,” Seungmin muttered to Chan.
Oh? That would explain why he felt so sick all of a sudden. And the chills he had managed to ignore for a while that were now back full force.
"I know, Minnie." Chan replied. "Bin?" he asked.
Changbin sighed. Hyunjin hiccuped. "I'm working on it."
Hyunjin whined when Changbin took a turn that had Hyunjin falling more into Seungmin's side. "Sorry, Hyunjin. Hyung's sorry. I just wanted to make that light."
"S'okay," Hyunjin whispered. "You're still my hero."
"Oh no, he's delusional," Seungmin said.
"Seungmin, please," Chan muttered back, exasperated. Hyunjin smiled gently. His stomach seemed to have calmed down for the moment, but he was in no way out of danger yet.
"What, hyung? He called Bin-hyung his hero. There's no way he's not suffering from fever-induced delusions."
"Hey!" Changbin squawked.
"You doing okay, Jinne?" Chan asked, rubbing his knee again.
"Think I can make it home." Hyunjin replied. And he meant it.
That is until the car in front of them decided that yellow lights mean stop and forced Changbin to slam on his break again.
The car jolted forward, and it's passengers with it. Seungmin made some comment about Changbin's poor braking skills and Chan asked if everyone was alright and Changbin cursed the car in front of them.
And Hyunjin froze. The sudden movement of the car made his stomach jump and he grimaced before breathing out slowly and closing his eyes.
"Minnie," he whispered urgently. Because he couldn't move. He needed to. Right now. But he couldn't without risking making a huge mess and he needed his best friend to help him so he didn't ruin Changbin's floors.
"Jinnie," Seungmin replied. Hyunjin squeezed his hand. It was another second before Seungmin understood what Hyunjin was trying to tell him and reached across his lap to take the bag from Hyunjin's other hand. Hyunjin took the opportunity to bring his now empty hand up to his lips to suppress a gag.
"Channie hyung, can you help me out here?" The bag crinkled as it passed hands again and Seungmin put a hand on the back of Hyunjin's neck to direct him down and over his knees.
"Gonna puke," he grit out, followed by another sickly belch.
"I know. It's okay, baby," Seungmin soothed. He pulled Hyunjin's hair back, securing it with a hair tie he magiked out of thin air. "Chan hyung's got the bag and Bin hyung is going to be very careful for the next five minutes." He explained.
"Don't wanna be sick," Hyunjin moaned and coughed over the bag.
"It's okay, Jinnie. It's fine," Chan whispered. The grounding feeling of Seungmin's hand rubbing circles on his back vanished slowly as the nausea Hyunjin had been feeling for hours finally reached it's peak and left him feeling disconnected.
With a final heave, he gagged and his stomach made it's reappearance in the bag below him.
He gasped and made a noise of disgust and Seungmin hummed in sympathy. Before he could fully regain his breath though, his stomach clenched and all he could do was open his mouth and curl over himself when more vomit spilled from his lips.
"Okay, Jinnie, it's okay, baby." Seungmin whispered and continued rubbing his back.
Hyunjin gagged and coughed, gasping in between heaves and bouts of vomit for what felt like an eternity before he was given a moment of reprieve.
"Breathe, Hyunjinnie. You have to breathe," Chan gently commanded from in front of him.
Hyunjin shook his head and gagged again. Nothing came out, but he kept his mouth open, silent heaves rocking his body and clenching his stomach, making the pain in his head worse.
Another retch brought up more vomit and his chest tightened.
"That's it. Good job, baby. Almost done, yeah?" Seungmin soothed. Hyunjin's whole body curled over itself and the bag and he gagged forcefully and threw up. He inhaled sharply, quickly, and then burped and vomited once more.
"Hyung, he's really sick," Seungmin said sadly. Hyunjin cried.
"I know, Minnie. We just have to get him inside. We have meds I can give him." Chan sighed.
Hyunjin felt like he couldn't breathe, even though the vomiting seemed to be done for now. He was overwhelmed and exhausted and still nauseous and he wanted to take a shower and go to bed.
"Hyunjinnie," Changbin said, his voice much closer than he'd been since they got in the car. "Hyunjin, are you with me?"
"Bin?" Hyunjin coughed out. He picked up his heavy head and cracked open his eyes to see Changbin sitting next to him, the door open beside him.
"Yeah. It's me," he smiled. "Breathe, baby. We're home, but you have to calm down before we can help you inside."
"Home?" he whimpered. Changbin's hands ran through his disheveled, sweaty bangs.
"Yeah," he whispered gently. "Minnie and Chan hyung are getting everything ready to go in, but we won't move until you're ready."
Hyunjin nodded. He hadn't even noticed that Seungmin wasn't there and that the bag had changed hands yet again. His stomach had calmed down for the time being, and he really wanted to be inside, so he did his best to slow his breathing.
It was another couple of minutes before Changbin was unbuckling his seatbelt and helping him out of the car. As soon as he was standing, his knees buckled and Changbin grabbed his waist. He pulled one of Hyunjin's arms over his shoulder and Hyunjin sagged heavily into his hyung.
"Okay, baby. Just a little walking and an elevator ride and then we'll get you in bed." Changbin said as he started guiding Hyunjin forward.
"Shower?" he asked. Because really, he felt gross.
"Sure, someone can help you shower first if you think you can handle it." Changbin replied fondly.
"Feel gross."
"Okay, then a quick shower, some meds, and you'll be in bed."
The group made its way into Hyunjin and Chan's building, through the lobby, and into the elevator slowly. The lights exacerbated the pain in Hyunjin's head and made his stomach twist. He pinched his lips closed with a sigh.
"Almost there." Chan soothed as they got in the elevator.
And really, they only had 10 floors to go up. Just 10. But as soon as the elevator started moving up, Hyunjin knew 10 was too many.
"Changbin," he tugged his sleeve. Changbin looked up at him and frowned.
"Oh, Hyunjinnie, we're almost there."
"Is he okay?" Seungmin asked and looked over his shoulder since he couldn't turn much in the tiny elevator. It really wasn't roomy enough for luggage and four grown men.
"He's looking a little green again." Changbin replied. He rubbed Hyunjin's side where his hand was still holding him up around the waist. It was nice, but didn't really bring down the urgency Hyunjin felt.
"Shit, I left the bags in the car," Seungmin cursed. Hyunjin whimpered.
"It's fine, Hyunjinnie. We're almost there. Just breathe and hold on a little longer."
The elevator beeped passed floor five and Hyunjin swallowed.
"Need to throw up," he shook his head. At that, all three of his friends stiffened.
"Hyunjin," Seungmin warned.
"Sorry," he muttered and pulled his arm away from Changbin to bend over with his hands on his knees. He breathed out, only to gag immediately.
"Alright, it's fine. It's fine Hyunjinnie," Chan sighed, his tone tired. Hyunjin felt bad, he did. Physically and mentally, but the swirling in his stomach didn't care so much that this wasn't a good place to spew his guts. He burped.
There was some shuffling sounds and he saw the suitcases move away from his periphery as he heaved. Changbin's hands rested on his shoulders to keep him steady and Chan retied his hair back.
The elevator doors opened right as a wet belch brought up more of his stomach onto the elevator floor.
He was sure his friends were trying to be patient, but he heard a collective sigh.
"I'll call maintenance when we get inside. Seungmin, can you go ahead and unlock the door?" Chan directed and Hyunjin heard the jingling of Chan's too-many-keychains-keys. He burped up more sick and whimpered in embarassment.
"Don't worry, Jinnie, you couldn't help it baby." Changbin rubbed his back. Chan moved their bags off the elevator and Hyunjin saw his feet stop right at the doorway in his peripherary. Probably holding the door open while Hyunjin made a bigger mess.
"Don't cry, baby," Changbin tsked over Hyunjin's gagging. He didn't realize he was crying.
Hyunjin puked once more before his stomach (barely) settled and he took some deep breaths.
"'M sorry," he cried. ""M sorry, I just feel so sick."
"It's okay. Don't worry. Do you think you're ready to move?" Changbin came around to his front, avoiding the mess, and wiped the tears from his cheeks. Hyunjin nodded.
"Okay," he smiled, "let's go."
Hyunjin managed to keep his stomach in place as he made it out of the elevator. In the apartment, a thermometer passed over his forehead and his friends made concerned noises and muttered something about "too high." Soon enough, he was being handed fever reducers and a water and being ordered to swallow them down. His stomach behaved and then he was led to the bathroom and helped into the shower.
The shower felt nice, but the heat made his head swirl and his vision dim and he was glad Chan insisted on sitting in the bathroom with him. He moved as quickly as he could and (thankfully) had just finished washing up before he couldn't ignore the dizziness anymore.
"Chan?" He croaked out. He hoped his hyungs would forgive him for his lack of honorifics later. He blinked several times as his vision blurred and his head spun.
"Yes, Jin? Are you okay?"
"Feels like I might pass out," he murmured and closed his eyes. He put his hand on the shower wall and his hearing roared.
"Okay, alright," Chan said with urgency. He reached into the shower to turn it off and the sudden coolness did more harm than good. Hyunjin swayed slowly and tried to catch his breath. "Can you sit down, baby? Let hyung help you," he said as he opened the curtain and wrapped a towel around Hyunjin's waist. He grabbed Hyunjin's elbows and helped him lower himself down to sit on the shower floor.
"Keep breathing, Jinnie. It'll pass." He put Hyunjin's head between his knees and wrapped another towel around his shoulders.
Hyunjin did as he was told, and breathed in and out slowly. Eventually, his senses came back to him and he was hit with the full force of how bad he felt. He couldn't help the sob that slipped passed his lips.
"Hyunjin? You okay, baby?" Chan said, placing a hand on his neck and massaging soothingly.
Hyunjin nodded but then quickly shook his head and sobbed again. "I feel so bad."
"Oh, baby, I know, I'm sorry," Chan said and pulled Hyunjin up slowly. Hyunjin kept his head down and let his tears fall as Chan pulled him onto his lap where he had sat down on the closed toilet. He wrapped his arms around Hyunjin and moved his hands up and down Hyunjin's arms comfortingly. Hyunjin brought his head onto Chan's shoulder.
"My head hurts and my body hurts, and I'm still nauseous, and I still have my paper and I know I'm gonna puke again sometime and--"
"Shhh, Hyunjin. I know, I know. I wish I could help, but you need to calm down or you'll make yourself sick again anyway." Chan shushed him gently and Hyunjin tried to calm down, but he just felt so sick and miserable.
"Don't worry about your paper, okay? I don't have that many finals and we'll all help you out when you're better okay?" Chan said. "I've already texted the group chat, and Seungmin and Hannie are already volunteered to take notes at the review sessions if you can't attend them. Innie said he would get those books from the library you need for your art history stuff and Lix is going to come over first thing in the morning and help me take care of you, okay?"
Hyunjin relaxed a bit at hearing how much his friends were already willing to help him and gratefulness swelled in his chest, temporarily replacing the sick feeling.
"Minho is going to cook you some easy soup. Some special recipe his mom swears by and Binnie is at the 24 hour pharmacy right now getting you a heating pad and some of your favorite sports drinks."
Hyunjin cried harder at that and Chan continued to soothe him.
It took a few more minutes for him to calm down and thankfully, his stomach stayed in place.
"Did you finish your shower, baby?" Chan asked after a while. Hyunjin nodded groggily. He was exhausted.
"Okay, let's get you dressed and into bed, hm?"
Chan helped him into some pajamas that Seungmin brought to them at some point. He was sitting on the tub while Chan towel dried his hair gently. It felt so nice and he was so tired that he didn't even realize he was nodding off right there.
He also didn't notice the increased churn of his stomach until he gagged very suddenly. He brought his hand up to his lips and swallowed down the spit accumulating mouth, only for it to be brought up again right away with another gag.
"Hyunjin?"
"Hm?" He hiccuped.
"Okay, let's get you in front of the toilet, hm?"
Hyunjin shrugged with a hiccup. Chan scooped him up under his armpits and tugged him over to sit in front of the toilet. Hyunjin didn't lean over it right away. He sat with his eyes closed, swaying gently as his nausea increase again. But he couldn't find it in himself to be upset or urgent about it. He just wanted to throw up if he was going to so that he could go to bed.
Chan took the opportunity to french braid his hair quickly and Hyunjin was grateful. Chan was good at french braids. They were tight without hurting and they stayed in place well. It would be a good thing if he was going to keep getting sick.
There was a gentle knock at the door before it opened and Hyunjin heard Seungmin's soft voice.
"He okay?"
Chan rubbed his back and Hyunjin coughed quietly. "Yeah, I think he's just exhausted." Seungmin hummed. "Thanks for your help, Minnie. Please thank Changbin for me too if I don't see him again tonight."
"Of course, hyung. Anything for our baby Jinnie." Their quiet conversation continued on and soothed Hyunjin as he continued to sit and breathe, trying to avoid the inevitable.
Unfortunately for him, whatever sickness this was did not want him to find peace just yet.
His stomach gurgled and he burped quietly, wetly, and swallowed down acidic tasting spit.
"Channie?" he moaned. The droll of conversation stopped and Chan's hand was on his back.
"I'm here, baby. You're okay," he said. Seungmin said something else and then his footsteps moved away from the bathroom.
"Hmmm," he hummed and pulled himself closer to the toilet. He folded his body over it and rested his head on his arms. Another sick burp moved up his chest and it was airy when it grated past his throat. He breathed out slowly, only to be interrupted by a jolting hiccup. He whined softly.
"Just let it out, Hyunjinnie. Relax and let it happen and then I'll take you to bed, okay?" Chan rubbed circles between his shoulder blades before moving his hand up and down his spine slowly, firmly. Hyunjin shivered when the movement made a wave of nausea roll through his body.
He breathed out slowly again and opened his mouth to let his spit drip into the toilet. His stomach gurgled again and he curled over the toilet when he finally brought up the water he drank earlier and stomach acid with a painful gag.
"There you go, baby. Good job. You're doing well. You're okay." Chan's voice was steady and calming as he helped Hyunjin through once last bout of heaves and coughs that made bile burn his throat and slip out of his mouth.
A minute or two later, Hyunjin's stomach settled again and he was falling asleep.
"Hyunjinnie?" Chan asked quietly. Hyunjin made a noise to acknolwedge him. But he was tired and his body was heavy.
"You done for now?" Hyunjin nodded.
"Okay, then time for bed, baby." Chan pat his back and then he was being (gently) manhandled to his room and tucked into bed.
"Seungminnine brought a bucket. It's right here if you need it, but I'm going to be with you all night, okay?" Chan explained as he pulled the blanket up and pushed some of his bangs that managed to fall out of Chan's braid away from his forehead.
He nodded in acknoledgement and sighed as he settled into bed. He had a fleeting thought and a short spike of panic when he remembered he was supposed to finish his paper. But Chan's gently ministrations and his earlier promise that all of their friends would help him get better and prepare for finals calmed him quickly and he relaxed into his pillows.
The cold tip of the thermometer ran over his forehead again. After the beep, Chan muttered "much better."
The last thing Hyunjin felt before he fell asleep was a swell of gratitude for his friends and a soft kiss on his forehead.