Work Text:
"Kihyun, did you give our son drugs?" Shownu jokingly demanded as he entered the kitchen. Kihyun was just packing up the cough medicine he’d given their resident maknae a (carefully measured) dose of.
"He was coughing so much, hyung. We felt bad,” Kihyun explained, though his tone wasn't apologetic. Changkyun's comfort and health was his main priority.
"I just went and peeked in on him and Minhyuk. He's still looking pretty miserable."
"Wait, is he still not asleep?" Wonho questioned from nearby at the table. They'd given Changkyun the dose almost 20 minutes prior, which should've been more than enough time for the boy to fall asleep with the influence of the medicine.
Shownu shook his head.
"Kid's fighting it pretty hard. You sure you gave him enough?" the leader inquired, taking the bottle of cough medicine from Kihyun and examining the label.
"Do you really think I'd give him the wrong amount?" Kihyun groused, incredulous. "I swear, if Minhyuk's keeping him up..."
Of course, Kihyun found it hard to believe that Minhyuk would be keeping Changkyun up on purpose. Minhyuk had volunteered himself to stay with Changkyun and keep an eye on him while Kihyun and Wonho cleaned up in the kitchen after breakfast. Despite his energetic tendencies he was actually quite good at helping their youngest get to sleep.
"No, it's not Minhyuk. Think our maknae is just being stubborn."
"Well, I'd better go help put him down," Wonho shrugged, getting up from his seat. Shownu and Kihyun both knew despite his nonchalant manner that he was eager to spend some cuddle time with their youngest. They watched him leave the room.
"What did you say his fever was?" Shownu asked, having just gotten back to the dorm a few minutes prior. He felt somewhat guilty that he’d been unaware of Changkyun’s illness until Kihyun had texted him earlier while he was at the gym.
"Almost 103, last time we checked," Kihyun relayed, leaning back against the kitchen counter while rubbing his eyes. He and Minhyuk had been up since dawn tending to the youngest, whose health had already been in a steady decline for the past few days. Wonho had joined them in taking care of the youngest just after breakfast, and Jooheon and Hyungwon had spent the night working at the studio and had yet to return, though Kihyun was keeping both of them updated via text message.
Shownu was silent for a moment, leaning over the kitchen table with his palms against the tabletop.
"If his fever doesn't break soon we should probably start thinking about taking him to the hospital, right?" he suggested, his tone mild yet Kihyun couldn't help being proud of him. Their leader had gotten better at making judgment calls like this in the past year or so, not that he was ever bad at it.
"Yeah, I know. Manager-hyung wants to take him now but I told him we should wait a little longer," Kihyun murmured. Shownu was slightly taken aback, as he would've thought their overly concerned group mom would've been jumping at the chance to seek medical attention for their ailing maknae.
Kihyun seemed to sense Shownu's hesitation, glancing in his direction.
"If they're just going to tell us he needs rest and fluids, I'd rather just keep him at home so we don't create unnecessary stress, you know?"
Shownu nodded after a moment. A fair argument, as far as he was concerned.
Meanwhile, Wonho had entered the bedroom adjacent his own to find Changkyun and Minhyuk curled up in Minhyuk's bunk. Changkyun leaned against Minhyuk's chest with the hood of his (Jooheon's) sweater pulled down over his eyes. He was sniffling quietly, and although nothing compared to earlier when he was coughing until his eyes watered, he was still looking appropriately flushed and miserable. Minhyuk was rubbing the boy's back in hopes of providing some comfort. Wonho couldn't help but coo sympathetically at the youngest as he joined his two dongsaengs in Minhyuk's bunk.
"He isn't asleep yet?" Wonho questioned, pressing the back of his hand to Changkyun's flushed cheek. The youngest leaned into the touch, eyes closed. Minhyuk sighed, giving Wonho a pleading look.
”He just won’t do it, hyung. I don't know what to do."
"Baby, you need to go to sleep," Wonho chided softly, brushing Changkyun's dampened bangs back to press his palm to the younger's forehead.
"Don't wanna," Changkyun croaked. He was currently conscious through sheer force of will, as far as Wonho could surmise. He was willing to bet that the youngest wouldn't even remember this once he got better.
"Kyunnie, if your fever doesn't go down soon we're going to have to take you to the hospital."
Changkyun, even with the severely slowed reaction time and foggy head, was able to comprehend what Wonho had just said, and he wasn't happy about it. Wonho winced, instantly regretting his words. Minhyuk shoved Wonho's shoulder.
"But hyung," the youngest whined, feebly trying to push Wonho's hands away. His glassy, reddened puppy eyes broke both their hearts.
Wonho was supposed to be the hyung in this situation, though, goddammit. He had to act like one.
"Your fever's pretty high, Changkyun-ah. Not to mention you were coughing pretty bad earlier, remember? You might be really sick."
"It's not that bad, hyung," Changkyun pleaded, looking to be on the verge of tears.
As if sensing the impending maknae meltdown, Kihyun entered the room. Wonho and Minhyuk both let out a sigh of relief.
"What was that, baby?" Kihyun inquired gently, joining them on Minhyuk's bed.
"I don't have to go to the hospital, right, hyung?"
Kihyun shot a glare at Minhyuk, who then shot a glare at Wonho, who avoided eye contact while Kihyun performed his own assessment of Changkyun's temperature, touching the younger's forehead and cheeks.
"I don't know, Kyunnie. Maybe if you go to sleep for a while your fever will go down and we don't have to take you in."
Changkyun, for whatever the reason, felt it was the appropriate time to use his hyung-killing move of reaching for Wonho to hold him, coupled with his puppy-like gaze. Wonho practically melted at the request, quick to pull Changkyun over into his lap. They knew exactly what Changkyun was doing, of course, relying on the softest hyung among them to defend him, but as Wonho felt the youngest cling to him, his fever making him shiver beneath Wonho's fingers, he could hardly be annoyed by the youngest's intentions, whatever they may be.
"Aigoo, baby," Wonho cooed, gently rubbing Changkyun's back. He felt Changkyun nuzzling against his collarbone.
"Don't wanna go to the doctor," he pouted against Wonho's chest. "I just wanna stay with hyung."
"You're not going anywhere, Kyunnie," Wonho reassured. "You're just gonna stay here and take a nap with your hyungs, right?"
After a moment, Changkyun mumbled an affirmative against Wonho's collarbone, and they all simultaneously exhaled. Wonho laid back with Changkyun held to his chest, and Kihyun and Minhyuk arranged themselves to be on either side of Wonho. Minhyuk rubbed Changkyun's back while Wonho stroked his hair, Kihyun finding and holding one of Changkyun's hands, giving the occasional squeeze.
Changkyun went slack in Wonho's arms after a few minutes. He could feel the youngest's labored breathing through his chest.
"Aigoo, poor baby."
"We may still have to take him in, even if his fever goes down. That cough sounded pretty serious."
"I know. He's just so upset though."
They laid in comfortable silence for a while.
“He’s so cuddly when he’s sick,” Wonho mused aloud to no one in particular. Minhyuk chuckled softly, and Kihyun nodded in agreement.
“He’s needy, too. It’s so cute.”
“And he'll go right back to being so serious and mature once he's better,” Kihyun groused next to Wonho's shoulder. "I like when he actually lets us take care of him."
“Aigoo, I know. He should let us baby him more."
Minhyuk and Kihyun fell asleep a little while later. Wonho didn't mind waiting for his dongsaengs to wake up, though. He continued stroking Changkyun's hair.
-
To be quite honest, Changkyun remembered very little of the past few days. He blamed the fever and, primarily, the cold medicine that Kihyun kept him doped up on. He couldn't even be sure if the conversation he'd overheard from his hyungs had actually happened, and even if it did, he didn't quite know what to do with the information.
They wanted him to be more cuddly? More needy? The cuddly part, he could maybe wrap his head around. More skinship amongst the members was always welcomed, but neediness? Wouldn't that be annoying? He thought he'd found a good balance already, seeing as the neediest he ever got was when asking his hyungs for food. They found that quite cute and charming, though, so maybe it wasn't so bad.
He decided to test the waters, though, out of curiosity. Starting with Jooheon. They were best friends. He could be as obnoxious as he dared around his youngest hyung and the most punishment he ever got was a firm scolding from him that, in the end, neither of them could take seriously.
"Hyung, when are you coming back?" He asked, phone on speaker as he laid sprawled out on the couch. Kihyun had him on bedrest for the rest of the week while he recovered from his illness, and he hadn't seen Jooheon since dinner the day before. Evidently, his hyung had spent the night working at the studio again. Jooheon was allowed to stay alone at the studio overnight while Changkyun himself wasn't, much to his exasperation.
"Why, does baby miss me already?" Jooheon inquired teasingly. Changkyun could hear the smirk in his voice. Jooheon loved calling Changkyun that.
"Dunno. I just want hyung to come home now."
There was a concerning pause on the other end of the line. If his new behavior was unwelcome, at least Changkyun could still blame it on the fever and cold medicine. He silently braced for some kind of rejection.
"Alright, alright," Jooheon relented, quite painlessly to Changkyun's surprise. "I'll be back in a little bit. Aish, never thought I'd see the day where I let you boss me around but here we are."
Changkyun smiled to himself as he hung up. Not even ten minutes later Jooheon was home, lying on the couch with Changkyun and telling the younger all about what he'd done at the studio that night. Changkyun stared up at Jooheon, occasionally nodding and interjecting a thought or a laugh. He didn't fail to notice the way Jooheon subtly intertwined their fingers while he talked. A while later they both fell asleep, tangled together and warm.
-
More often than not, Minhyuk was the one initiating skinship with Changkyun. He knew how this hyung in particular would feel about his new behavior, if the overheard conversation was to be trusted, but he figured he'd try it on him anyway. Minhyuk was overly affectionate with him as it was already.
After a particularly exhausting day of schedules in which they just barely managed to get home before sunrise, getting up to his bunk seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to Changkyun. Minhyuk's bed looked far more comfortable. Minhyuk caught Changkyun's gaze as the youngest stood contemplating his options, though he knew the solution. Minhyuk wouldn't say no. How could he? This was Minhyuk, the clingy hyung, after all.
"Minhyuk-hyung, can I sleep with you toniight?" Changkyun asked, voice fervent and pleading. Changkyun had hardly finished asking before Minhyuk tossed the covers aside, clearing a space for Changkyun to lay down.
"Of course, baby," he smiled, seemingly quite pleased as Changkyun crawled into bed beside him. He pulled the covers over the both of them, plastering himself against Changkyun's side for good measure.
"Aish, you have six hyungs to sleep with and you pick him?" Kihyun complained tiredly from his bunk nearby. Jooheon was already snoring away in the bed beneath him.
"Yah, respect your elders. And Kyunnie can sleep with whoever he wants to," Minhyuk barked, tucking Changkyun's head beneath his chin. "Isn't that right, Kyunnie? You should sleep with hyung more often."
Changkyun smiled to himself from beneath Minhyuk's covers.
-
An opportunity presented itself with Hyungwon the very next day while they were out at dinner. Manager-hyung was treating them to their favorite place as a form of apology for the hectic schedules earlier that week despite Changkyun's recent bout of illness. The hyungs had all been on edge, annoyed by the busy schedules with Changkyun still being slightly under the weather. Food was a quick and easy way to get them to forgive Manager-hyung, however, and no one could really be mad with Changkyun recovering so nicely despite all the stress from that week.
Changkyun, however, still didn't quite have his usual appetite back, so he did little more than pick at his plate for a while.
"Hey, hurry up and eat your food," Hyungwon chided from next to him. Changkyun huffed.
"Not hungry," he mumbled. Hyungwon took a bite of rice off his own plate and brought it up to Changkyun's mouth. The younger refused at first, but gave in and accepted the bite of food.
"Please eat," Hyungwon urged, worry evident in his voice. Changkyun held back a smile at the idea that suddenly popped into his mind.
"I will if hyung feeds me," Changkyun requested, hopeful. Either Hyungwon would say yes, and Changkyun would have his hyung's undivided attention, or he would say no, and Changkyun wouldn't have to eat. He would be content with either outcome.
Hyungwon sighed, gesturing for Changkyun to move over into his lap. The younger was momentarily taken aback, but obliged.
”Little punk,” Hyungwon murmured as he pulled Changkyun’s food closer. Changkyun observed a small smile on his hyung’s lips, though.
”Can Hyungwon-hyung feed me too?” Jooheon teased from next to Hyungwon. Changkyun wondered if Jooheon would've fed him if he'd asked; if all of them would've, depending on the levels of aegyo he used.
”Yah, be quiet. This is only for Changkyun,” Hyungwon retorted, already collecting a bite of food from Changkyun’s plate to give him. Changkyun felt a little flutter in his chest at his hyung's words. He was endlessly grateful for the lengths Hyungwon went to for him.
"Thank you, hyung."
He wriggled happily in Hyungwon’s lap as he was offered a bite of his own food. Hyungwon encouraged him to eat all of it, and for the first time since getting sick the week before, Changkyun finished his meal. Hyungwon was quite proud of him, giving him a kiss on the cheek when they got up to leave. Changkyun felt more of the fluttering in his chest the whole way home.
-
They were waiting outside for Manager-hyung to pick them up after their radio broadcast when he got his chance with Wonho. It wasn't terribly cold out, especially since there wasn't any wind, but they could still see their breaths, and they kept their hands shoved into their jacket pockets.
Changkyun usually wasn't bothered much by cold weather, except he was still wasn't feeling his best, and was a little more sensitive to the temperature than normal. He could've easily gone to Jooheon or Shownu, both of them making great personal heaters. However, he noticed Wonho watching him, probably having noticed Changkyun's increased sniffling and shivering. What he wanted was very low stakes, and ultimately something any of his hyungs could give him; warmth. But seeing as he already had Wonho's attention, he made his way over to ask if the older would be willing to help him. Before he could even open his mouth, however, Wonho enveloped him into a warm hug. Changkyun slipped his arms between Wonho's outer jacket and his hoodie for an added layer to keep out the cold.
"I'm cold, hyung."
"I know, baby. Are you okay? We can wait inside if you're not feeling good."
Changkyun shook his head against Wonho's shoulder.
"Hyung will keep me warm, right?"
Wonho chuckled.
"Of course."
And he does. Wonho held him until Manager-hyung pulled up a few minutes later. In the van, Wonho gave Changkyun his jacket to use for a blanket, and Changkyun couldn't help but wonder why he didn't start acting more like a maknae sooner.
-
They all looked forward to group nights. Sometimes they affectionately referred to it as "Family Night". As busy as their lives could get, they tried to make time for a relaxing group bonding activity at least once a week. Even if it was just ordering takeout and watching a movie or two together in the living room, it was special to them. Despite spending practically every waking moment in each other's company, they all greatly valued their time spent doing practically nothing at all together.
They'd just settled on what movie to watch for their night in when Changkyun noticed Shownu, sitting with a fair bit of space beween himself and the members at the far end of the sectional. His usual cuddle buddies, Jooheon and Minhyuk were next to Changkyun, fighting over a dumpling from the takeout they'd ordered. It had been a while since he'd last had their leader to himself. It was then that the youngest quietly made his way to Shownu's side.
"Can I sit with you, hyung?" he asked softly, not that he had to. Shownu had always been nonchalant in both giving and receiving affection, especially with Changkyun, and this was no exception. The oldest silently reached up to grab his hand, pulling Changkyun down into his lap. He leant against the older's chest, smiling to himself.
"It's not even a scary movie," Shownu observed after a moment, mostly to himself. If it were, he'd have a lap full of Jooheon and Minhyuk.
"I just wanted to sit with hyung. That's all," came Changkyun's nonchalant explanation. The opening credits for the movie began to play. Shownu turned his head to look at Kihyun, subtly raising an eyebrow. He simultaneously adjusting himself to put both arms around Changkyun. Kihyun, having been quietly watching the exchange, could only shrug and smile in reply.
-
"Alright, what's up with you?" Kihyun questioned from behind Changkyun. The youngest had been putting away dishes from the drying rack in the kitchen when Kihyun appeared behind him, hands on his hips.
"What do you mean, hyung?" He inquired innocently.
"You've been acting really... I dunno, cute, lately."
Changkyun gave Kihyun his signature confused, slightly exasperated look.
"I haven't been acting cute, whatever that means," Changkyun evaded, though he had a feeling that he knew exactly what Kihyun was talking about.
"I think you know what I mean. You're actually acting like a maknae these days,” Kihyun ellaborated, taking the plate in Changkyun’s hands and placing it into the cabinet beside his head. He turned back to the youngest. “What are you up to?"
Changkyun avoided eye contact. Wasn’t this what they wanted? Kihyun was one of the hyungs who had given him the idea, after all.
”Don’t hyungs like it?” He asked fervently, glancing at the older's face. Kihyun’s expression softened, putting a hand on Changkyun’s shoulder.
”Of course we do, baby. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
Changkyun reached up to put his hand over Kihyun’s. The older met him halfway and held his hand, idly intertwining their fingers as he patiently waited for Changkyun to explain himself.
"I just... I kinda heard what you and Minhyuk-hyung and Wonho-hyung were talking about while I was sick,” Changkyun shrugged, again avoiding eye contact.
It took Kihyun a moment to figure out what Changkyun was referring to, and in that moment Changkyun feared that he really had imagined the conversation after all.
“Aigoo, Changkyun, you mean you’ve been making an effort to let us baby you?” Kihyun gushed, perking up. Changkyun felt himself blushing.
"It's... not annoying, is it?" he inquired quietly.
”Yah, of course not. Don’t say that. You know how much we love spoiling you,” Kihyun reassured, cupping Changkyun's face in his hands. “Now come take a nap with me. I haven’t had you to myself all week.”
Changkyun figured there was nothing wrong with letting his hyungs take care of him every once in a while. He'd just have to learn how to handle them and their somewhat excessive love for him, little by little.