Work Text:
A sniffle.
Jeongguk hears the first one around 6AM, when he’s only 20% awake and turning over in his sleep to face the wall opposite the bedroom window. His left arm is tucked safely under his pillow, the other laying plainly by his side. Within seconds he’s dozing again, trying to grasp the escaping edges of sleep.
Another sniffle in the next five minutes has Jeongguk blinking drearily, rubbing his left eye with his free left hand and turning to stare blindly into the darkness in the general direction of the figure lying beside him.
“Jiminie?”
“...Yeah?” Jimin’s voice is barely audible even in the dark, dead quiet room. His response coming out raspy and smaller than usual, clipped short by a small cough.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Are you... crying?” Jeongguk sits up on his left elbow to peer over Jimin to see his face. Jimin’s facing away from him, sniffling quietly with his voice muffled against the pillow.
“...No…” Jimin finally turns over to lay on his back, his large eyes staring straight up at the ceiling fan above their heads.
“What--?” Jeongguk reaches over to brush the pad of his thumb underneath Jimin’s eye, not believing Jimin’s response that he wasn’t crying. Suddenly Jimin reaches up to catch Jeongguk’s wrist, stopping him from reaching his face.
“Don’t-- I’m--” A series of violent coughs interrupts Jimin’s sentence, and Jeongguk jolts at Jimin’s touch.
“Your fingers are ice cold! Babe, are you--?”
“Yes. Alright? Yes. But I hardly ever get sick! I didn’t think--” Jimin cuts himself off at the expression on Jeongguk’s face.
Jeongguk looks down at Jimin in the darkness, still propped on his elbow so he can peer easily into Jimin’s tired face. They can barely see each other’s features in the early light, but Jimin returns the look, already knowing what Jeongguk’s next words are.
“Don’t.”
“You know what I’m going to say?”
Jimin sighs and closes his eyes. “No more wet-haired morning jogs.”
“No more wet-haired morning jogs.”
“But I don’t think that’s why I’m like this, babe. Little Soomin was coughing a lot yesterday at work… she must’ve had something...”
“Jimin we can’t have you getting sick like this.” Jeongguk takes Jimin’s small icy fingers into his own warm palm in an attempt to heat them up. “And your kids have the showcase tomorrow. How are you gonna go? You’re not going to feel any better by tomorrow at 6.”
Jimin tries (and fails) to tug his hands out from between Jeongguk’s larger ones. “Baby, don’t--I’ve been coughing in my hand all night… don’t wanna--” Without warning Jimin snatches his hand from Jeongguk so he can cough into his elbow deeply, trying his best to keep most of his germs to himself.
Jeongguk climbs out of the bed, swinging his feet over the side and coming around to Jimin’s side to pull the blankets up to his chin. “I’m calling out from work.”
“No! You don’t need to--”
“I meant calling out for you but I think I’ll take the day, too.”
“Gguk, there’s no need I’m--” Jimin interrupts himself with a series of lung-racking coughs that only solidify Jeongguk’s plans to cancel their work days.
Jeongguk crosses the room to sit on Jimin’s edge of the bed, in front of his stomach. Jimin curls himself around Jeongguk’s sitting form in an attempt to steal his warmth, sniffling weakly and sneaking a cold hand under Jeongguk’s shirt to feel his warm tummy. Jeongguk’s hisses at the contact but covers Jimin’s hand with his own over his sweater nonetheless. On the bedside table next to them is Jimin’s charging phone, and Jeongguk unplugs it and unlocks it with his own fingerprint to get to Jimin’s contacts and call his boss to exempt him from work today.
An hour and a half later finds Jimin on the couch with four blankets and the heat blasting in their sizeable apartment, curled up in a hoodie and sipping from a large mug of tea.
“Gguk, I only need like… one…” Jimin croaks out, peeling one of the top blankets off to throw it on the floor beside him.
“Jimin, you didn’t have to feel your icicle toes on your shins last night.”
“They’re MY toes!”
“Put that blanket back!”
Jimin huffs and half-heartedly tugs up the fourth blanket back over his knees. “Can I please take one of these off?”
Jeongguk looks over at Jimin from where he’s stirring soup in the kitchen. “I don’t know, babe…”
“Ggukie, it’s hot .”
Jeongguk releases a small gasp. “Hot and cold flashes are symptoms of the flu.”
“Jeongguk!” Jimin whines from the couch. “I’m being smothered!”
“Let me feel your hands,” Jeongguk sets down the soup ladle and walks around the kitchen island to the living room, plopping himself on the couch near Jimin’s feet.
“Gimme.”
Jimin rolls his eyes but offers his right hand to Jeongguk anyway. It’s warm; his palm and even his fingertips are free from the frozen feeling they had that morning.
“C’mere.”
Jimin sniffles and untangles himself from his three blankets to climb into Jeongguk’s lap on the other end of the couch.
“Don’t blame me when you get sick.”
Jeongguk laughs. “Who else’s fault will it be?”
“Not mine! You’re bringing this on yourself.”
“Anything for you.”
Jimin swats at Jeongguk’s chest weakly before burying his cold nose against the side of Jeongguk’s neck, hooking his arms around his waist and clinging to him on the couch.
They stay like that for a few minutes, Jimin grossly sniffling in Jeongguk’s neck and Jeongguk petting his hair, almost falling asleep from Jimin’s warmth on top of him. Jimin interrupts the silence with his muffled voice.
“Gguk?”
“Hmm?” Jeongguk blinks open his eyes, pulling away slightly so he can look at Jimin. “What’s wrong?”
“...Nothing…”
“I’m sorry for falling asleep.”
“You were falling asleep?”
“...no.”
Jimin pulls back completely so he can look into Jeongguk’s face.
“I’m horny,” Jimin states with a solemn face. Jeongguk just gapes at him, caught off guard by Jimin’s bluntness.
“Baby…”
“Hmm?”
“There’s no way I’m touching your sick dick. Lay down.” Jeongguk attempts to put Jimin head back onto his shoulder, much like someone would try to make a baby go back to sleep. Jimin resists, pulling back so he can look at Jeongguk squarely.
“Are you serious?” Jeongguk could’ve guessed Jimin would have a problem with his response. He also thought he’d take every opportunity he got to get into Jimin’s pants but, apparently not.
“Jimin how are you horny? We’re not even doing anything!” Jeongguk can feel it now, Jimin’s hardness pressed into Jeongguk’s stomach with the way they’re sitting.
“I just--” Jimin moves forward a little bit, rubbing himself against Jeongguk in a not-so-subtle way. “--am.”
“Stop that! I can’t believe you!”
Jimin does it again, whining and burying his face in Jeongguk’s neck, grinding himself against Jeongguk in a search for any type of friction.
“Come on, get up! You need a cold shower anyway, your body’s probably overheated.” Jeongguk grips Jimin’s hips in an attempt to lift Jimin and get him off him, but Jimin only groans, making Jeongguk roll his eyes.
Jeongguk giggles, still trying to lift Jimin. “You’re like... a little horny animal.”
Jimin stops immediately, a dead serious look on his face. “What have I told you about comparing me to small animals?”
“At least you stopped!” Jeongguk stands up, carrying Jimin with his hands hooked around his knees and Jimin’s arms around his neck.
“Jeongguk are you serious? We’re not gonna do a lil…”
“A ‘lil what?” Jeongguk looks down at Jimin amusedly, a shit-eating grin pulling at the edges of his mouth. He loves teasing him like this, denying Jimin of what he wants until he’s practically begging. Jeongguk doesn’t know how Jimin hasn’t figured it out yet; that Jeongguk could never actually say no to anything he asks for.
“You know… a lil suck n’ fuck.”
Jeongguk almost drops Jimin with the force of his laughter. In fact, he actually does drop him, Jimin’s ass landing on Jeongguk’s feet before Jeongguk has a chance to regain his strength and stop him from falling.
“HEY-- OW!”
“Oops--sorry!” Jeongguk lifts Jimin to his feet unceremoniously. “Alright look, if you take your medicine and eat the soup I made for you I might consider a little...action.”
“What do I get out of this if you decide not to?”
“Your health.” Jeongguk says plainly, leaving Jimin in the hallway and going into the kitchen to prepare Jimin a bowl of the soup.
Jimin whines, stomping his feet on the spot and pouting. “But I’m horny now!”
“No arguments! Here, go sit and I’ll bring it all to you.”
Jimin coughs into his elbow, but obediently stomps his way to the couch to sit and wait for the soup and medicine. Jeongguk comes shortly after carrying a water bottle, a bottle of liquid cold medicine, and a bowl of soup.
Jimin scowls at Jeongguk for a moment, but takes the soup from his anyway, wanting to get this part of their deal over as soon as possible.
Jeongguk is sits on the couch beside Jimin, watching closely as Jimin downs the portion of medicine, rinses it down with a swig of water, and begins dutifully eating his soup.
Maybe 20 minutes later, Jimin sits the bowl back on the coffee table with a content sigh. He shifts his legs up on the couch to relax into the cushions, his eyes hanging low and his body relaxed.
“All done?”
“All done. I’m ready. Ready to be blown away.”
"Inappropriate."
Jimin cackles weakly at his own joke, and Jeongguk chuckles under his breath at Jimin’s persistence. “Alright, then. Let me take this to the kitchen. Then I’ll… see what I can do about your… little problem.”
“Watch it.”
Jeongguk laughs at Jimin’s empty threat, scooping up Jimin’s dish and water bottle to take into the kitchen. It’s when he turns around to return to Jimin on the couch that he hears it.
A snore.