Intense Coddling
Fandom: Stray Kids
Sickie: Hyunjin
Caregiver: mainly Felix
Hyunjin gets sick and Felix gets protective
Prompt by @sicktember
No one’s POV.:
Hyunjin had already been feeling a little off after dinner the previous night. The food wasn’t sitting right and he even made himself a cup of tea, something he never did, before bed to help his stomach settle. His success was mediocre, his stomach still aching by the time he went to bed but it wasn’t bad enough to keep him awake. As the morning rolled around though, he woke up with a foul taste in his mouth and found his stomach hurting worse. Thinking he’d be fine once he had some water and maybe a small bite for breakfast to settle his stomach, Hyunjin rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom to get ready. He struggled to brush his teeth, almost gagging on his toothbrush, but he really wanted to get rid of the bad taste. In the end, the dancer mainly relied on mouthwash to solve the problem and splashed some cold water in his face, sighing when he felt a little more alive afterwards.
Yawning as he trudged to the kitchen, Hyunjin almost ran into Jisung, who looked just as out of it as he himself felt. The two exchanged a sleepy greeting and joined Chan and Changbin, who were just making themselves breakfast. Chan didn’t comment on his dongsaengs’ disheveled appearances, well aware that neither of the two ever had an easy time waking up and would be grumpy if approached before they had the chance to properly wake up. Instead he exchanged a look with Changbin, the rapper chuckling at their typical morning antics. As he dished his food, Changbin noticed Hyunjin only grabbing himself some water and no food, which made the older frown. “Are you not going to eat anything, Hyunjin-ah?”, the rapper asked carefully, afraid of getting a snappy rely this early in the day. Sipping his drink, Hyunjin smiled: “I’ll toast some bread in a moment, just want to wake my stomach up first. I know what Minho-hyung has planned for today’s dance practice, so I don’t want to risk upsetting my stomach.” – “Please tell me it won’t be that bad”, Jisung groaned, stirring his cereal. The dancer only gave him a pained smile and Jisung knew, today would be intense.
As he had told Changbin he would, Hyunjin nibbled a slice of toast after finishing his water and decided that would have to do for now, eating more certainly wouldn’t end well. He dreaded having to dance today but he knew there was no getting out of it, at least not without telling his friends what was going on. Aside from the stomach ache and a faint hint of nausea, Hyunjin felt normal, so he didn’t want to worry his group unnecessarily and decided to just push through the discomfort, figuring it would go away eventually. That was what he told himself as they met up with the rest of the group and headed to the company building to start their day-long dance practice.
“Are you feeling alright, hyung?”, Felix asked quietly as the two of them stretched together, “You look a little pale to me.” Hyunjin’s muscles ached at the pull and he winced: “I’m alright, Lixxie. Just a little sleepy still.” The Aussie wasn’t sure whether he should buy this explanation or not but decided to let it slide for now. Stretching only made Hyunjin aware of how stiff and achy he was this morning but was that really a surprise? He wasn’t on top of his game and it was showing. Minho was the next to notice something was off. He had made the choreography together with his dongsaeng and knew how sharp and energetic the younger’s moves had been the last time they had gone over it but today was nothing like it. Hyunjin’s moves were slightly off beat and sluggish. He was trying not to jostle his stomach too much, the nausea only growing since he had eaten breakfast. Nudging his arm, Felix handed the older his water bottle as he still felt his friend was too pale to be healthy. Though Hyunjin didn’t feel like putting anything in his stomach, he took a few tentative sips to appease his dongsaeng and cringed at the wet gurgle coming from his stomach.
Minho was explaining the next few steps, wanting Hyunjin who had come up with that sequence to demonstrate it but the younger was spaced out and barely even heard him talking: “…Hyunj-“ – “C-Can I go to t-the bathroom”, Hyunjin choked out, feeling his mouth water. Though taken aback, Minho nodded before demonstrating the new moves himself as the practice room door slammed shut behind his dongsaeng. As soon as he was out of sight from his group, Hyunjin broke into a jog, hand clasped firmly over his mouth as he forced himself to breathe steadily through his nose. His stomach surely was more than a little upset now and the movement of him running didn’t help with that at all. Gagging wetly into his hand, the dancer shouldered the restroom door open and made it to the toilet just in time as his stomach clenched. The few sips of water he had forced down leaked out between his fingers and he removed his trembling hand from his lips, glancing at them in disgust before pitching forward with a productive retch.
Throwing up again, Hyunjin let himself sink into a crouch, his soiled hand hovered over the toilet bowl, while the other was wrapped protectively around his middle. The strain made his head pound but now that it had started, it was tough to swallow back the gags. A single tear ran down the dancer’s flushed cheek as he heaved, his stomach cramping up uselessly. He was panting but nothing came up anymore, so he reached for the toilet paper and wiped his lips before cleaning his hand as best as he could. Hyunjin knew he should go wash his hands but getting up seemed impossible right now. “Hyung?” Hyunjin looked up startled. He hadn’t heard the door open but he could recognize Felix’ voice anywhere. The Aussie had gotten more worried the longer his friend stayed away, so he eventually decided to follow him to make sure he’s alright. Finding the older crouched on the floor, didn’t help ease his worries as he could clearly smell the stench of vomit. “Did you-“, Felix started but cut himself off as he glanced at the toilet before flushing it. He had his answer. Looking up at the Aussie with teary eyes, Hyunjin rasped: “I don’t feel good.”
Felix took a seat next to his friend on the floor and carefully detangled the other’s hair tie from his hair. “I can tell you don’t”, the younger hummed sympathetically, running his fingers through Hyunjin’s sweaty hair, “You haven’t been feeling well all day, have you?” The older shook his head, his eyes closed as he took a deep breath. His stomach was still cramping. It was tempting to rest his aching head on Felix’ shoulder but he knew he’d have to wash his hand soon, the thought almost making him gag again. “Co-Could you h-help me up?”, Hyunjin asked shakily, “I- really need to wash my hands.” – “If you’re not too dizzy…”, the Aussie agreed, putting the hair tie around his wrist, so he’d have his hands free.
Hooking his arm under Hyunjin’s, Felix pulled the older to his feet, concerned when he swayed for a moment. It took them a while to brave the few steps to the sink and Felix kept his arms around his hyung’s waist, while the older washed his hands, becoming painfully aware of how hard they were shaking. Hyunjin felt his stomach turn and whimpered, his wet hands, clutching the edge of the sink as he lurched forward with a retch, his throat straining. Cursing under his breath, Felix removed his arms from the other’s waist and hurriedly gathered his hair, so it wouldn’t get in the way. The Aussie messily tied it into a bun at the back of Hyunjin’s head, rubbing his hyung’s back as the older got sick in the sink. “You’re okay”, Felix whispered sympathetically, patting Hyunjin’s back when he choked.
The spell was over after a few more dry heaves and Hyunjin weakly slumped into his dongsaeng’s side, the younger catching him around the waist and easing him down on the tiled floor. Silent tears made their way down Hyunjin’s cheeks and Felix gently rested his palm against his friend’s forehead, cooing: “Either you’re still warm from dancing or you’re running a fever. If you’ll be okay here on your own for a moment, I’ll go fetch your water bottle, yeah?” The older nodded, sniffling softly and wiping his eyes. Felix gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze before straightening up and hurrying back to the practice room. Though his explanation was a rushed, the group got the gist and Chan allowed him to take Hyunjin home. Quickly throwing their belongings into their bags, Felix slung both bags over his shoulder and jogged back to the restroom, relieved when he found the older as he had left him. “Hey”, the Aussie smiled sadly, placing their bags down and handing Hyunjin his water bottle, “Chan-hyung said I can take you home and that I should tell you to feel better.” – “Thanks”, the older breathed, accepting the drink and taking a tiny sip.
Hyunjin was drained, a deep ache having settled in his limbs and an angry churning in his empty stomach. Still, he really wanted to get back to the dorm, to lay down and to maybe get some cuddles from his dongsaeng. He knew he shouldn’t, the Aussie would most likely catch whatever bug this was but his cuddles made everything so much better, at least to Hyunjin. When he felt ready to move, he allowed Felix to pull him to his feet and gripped the younger’s shoulders for support as his vision tilted for a moment. “You okay?”, the Aussie frowned, watching him pale. Blinking away the dark spots, Hyunjin nodded and leant into Felix’ side. He just wanted to be home.
It took them a while to get home and Hyunjin wasn’t sure his legs would carry him that far but he made it. Felix’ let them both into the dorm his hyungs shared and helped the older to his room before fetching a bucket from the closet of cleaning supplies. He might not live in this dorm but he easily knew his way around from how often he stayed over. Hyunjin so badly wanted to curl up right away but his clothes were drenched in sweat and even in his feverish state, he knew that was disgusting. Whining hoarsely, the dancer pulled the shirt over his head and Felix was quick to set the bucket down, so he could get him some fresh clothes. “Wait a second”, the younger instructed, dropping the fresh set of clothes onto the mattress before rushing off.
When he returned, Felix was carrying a warm wash cloth, smiling: “I figured you’d be too tired to shower but you’ll be more comfortable if we get some off the sweat off of you.” Hyunjin hummed in agreement, allowing his dongsaeng to wipe down his chest and back. The younger kept his touch light, well aware of how sensitive his friend tended to get when he wasn’t feeling well. Felix ran the wash cloth down Hyunjin’s arms before placing it onto the nightstand and helping the older into clean clothes. “The bucket is right next to you”, the Aussie informed as his hyung curled up under his blanket, “I’ll just throw this in the wash and make some tea. Do you need anything else?” – “You”, Hyunjin whispered barely audible, sounding so much younger. Removing the other’s hair tie, so he could run his fingers through his hair, Felix smiled: “I’ll be right back, yeah? Not leaving you to suffer on your own.” The older gave a soft hum in reply, closing his eyes as he waited for his friend to return.
Felix hurried, not wanting to leave Hyunjin alone for too long. He knew the other was technically older but he always got protective, when his hyung was sick or upset. The Aussie quickly brewed a cup of ginger tea and also grabbed an ice pack from the freezer before rushing back to Hyunjin’s room and placing the tea onto the nightstand. “Here, place this on your forehead”, Felix instructed, handing the older the icepack, “It should lower your fever and help with the headache.” – “Hmm, this isn’t comfy”, Hyunjin whined, shuffling around under the blanket. He had tried to find a comfortable position ever since Felix had left but his muscles were too sore for him to be successful. The Aussie cooed in sympathy, walking over to his hyung’s closet. He retrieved Hyunjin’s comfort blanket, that usually stayed in the closet until winter unless the dancer was sick and Felix figured, now would be the time to take it out.
“Let’s see if we can get you more comfortable, yeah? You don’t have to do much, I know you’re sore. Just tell me if whatever I’m doing is good or bad”, the Aussie whispered, removing the blanket under which the older had curled up. Felix rearranged the pillow a little guiding Hyunjin to roll onto his left side before he covered the older with his comfort blanket. Contently smelling the soft material, Hyunjin smiled: “’s better.” Carefully climbing onto the bed next to his hyung, Felix wriggled under the blanket too. Spooning the older he whispered: “Do you want me to rub your tummy?” – “I-I don’t think you should touch me there right now”, Hyunjin whimpered, shaking his head a little. The Aussie ran a comforting hand down his friend’s arm. “That’s okay, I could play with your hair, you like that, right?”, Felix hummed, lightly scratching the other’s scalp. Melting into his touch, Hyunjin breathed: “Mhm, ‘t feels nice.” They lay in silence for a few minutes before the older realized something: “Y-You shouldn’t cuddle me, Lix.” – “Why’s that, hyung?”, the other asked worriedly, propping himself up on his arm. “I-I don’t want you to catch this and Chan-hyung will be mad if I end up giving you this plague”, Hyunjin sighed, not having the energy to really tell Felix off because in all honesty, he wanted those cuddles and he loved how the younger would take care of him but he knew it wasn’t right. Chuckling lowly, the Aussie lay back down, snuggling up to his hyung’s back as he continued to play with his hair. Closing his eyes, he whispered: “I don’t care and I’ll tell Chan-hyung as much if he ends up scolding us. You don’t have to worry, not about Chan-hyung and not about anything other than getting better.”
