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Hoseok was sitting in one of those stupid and uncomfortable plastic chairs that characterized every single hospital waiting room on earth, apparently. He was nervous. His leg wouldn't stop bouncing up and down, up and down, up and down. He had took off his cap, checked his hair in the reflection of his phone screen for the millionth time and then put it back on. Only to repeat the same action a few more times. Just to be sure his hair was okay.
“Why are you so nervous?”
He jumped at Namjoon's voice. He had forgotten that he wasn't alone this time. He turned to glance at his friend and the other members, sitting next to him, tentative smiles on their faces. “I'm not.”
“Hey, he's gonna be just fine. Like you said.” tried to reassure him Seokjin, his hand on Hoseok's thigh.
Hoseok nodded his head, focusing his eyes on his own shoes. “I know, hyung. I just don't really like hospitals.” he lied. Well, it was true that he didn't like hospitals. Who did? But what was making him nervous was seeing Yoongi in a hospital. He just wanted Yoongi to be okay and to have him back at the dorms.
“It's okay.” reassured him again Seokjin, squeezing down on his leg.
“Kids.” They all looked up to see their manager and a nurse, smiling and gesturing for them to follow them. “You can come see him.”
Hoseok was the first one on his feet, following the other two down a few hallways before reaching Yoongi's room. And that's when he froze.
What if Yoongi didn't want to see him? What if he was ashamed of what had happened and didn't want Hoseok to be there to remind him? What if it would be awkward between them?
They had been texting, of course. Yoongi sent a message in their group chatroom, reassuring them he was okay and not to worry too much.
Maybe Hoseok should have stayed back at the dorms. Maybe he shouldn't have come. Maybe he shouldn't be seeing Yoongi and make him uncomfortable.
He was about to turn on his heels and flee, too scared to follow the others inside Yoongi's room.
“Seok-ah?”
He stopped. Yoongi's voice was a little weaker than usual, but still strong enough to pull at the strings of his heart.
“Ya, what are you doing standing there?” asked Seokjin, stepping back outside and tugging at his arm.
“He doesn't like hospitals.” explained Namjoon, taking Hoseok's other arm and locking it under his own.
“That makes two of us.” scoffed Yoongi.
Namjoon let go of him and he stepped closer to Yoongi's bed. The older boy was paler than usual, his hair was a mess and he looked even tinier and thinner in the hospital gown. “H-hey, hyung.” he greeted, attempting a small smile.
“Ya, don't look at me like that. I'm not dying!” protested Yoongi, sitting up in the bed. He tried to hide his pain, but Hoseok could see a grimace pass on his features. “Feels like it, but I'm not.” he muttered, pouting his lips.
“Of course you're not!” piped up Seokjin, coming closer to the bed, quickly followed by the other members.
“Hyung, are you in a lot of pain?” worried Jimin.
“Nah, I'm fine.”
“I mean, he doesn't look that different than usual.” joked Namjoon, ruffling Yoongi's hair affectionately as Yoongi huffed in fake annoyance.
“Just a little paler.” added Seokjin.
“Casper the friendly ghost.” giggled Taehyung.
“Ya!” protested Yoongi, making the others laugh.
“Hey, let's take a few pictures.” Right. Their manager had told them beforehand that he would take some pictures to post on social media to reassure the fans.
“But I look bad.” whined Yoongi.
“Here.” Hoseok didn't even think, his hands working automatically. He fixed Yoongi's hair, taming it down and then petting his head a couple of times. “As handsome as ever.”
Yoongi just stared at him, his cheeks getting some colors back. “Thanks.” he breathed out.
Someone cleared their throat loudly and Hoseok turned just in time to see the maknaes were already snapping pictures with their own personal phones, cheeky grins on their faces. He felt his own cheeks heat up, the attention making him blush. So he stepped back, posing with the others for their manager as he took the photos.
The atmosphere had finally lightened as they started talking about everything and nothing. They all tried to crack jokes, almost competing on making Yoongi smile. Taehyung even took out the flowers they had bought, pointing out how he had chosen them and the significance of every flower. Yoongi blushed and they all teased him. But it was nice to see him gain some strength and colors.
A nurse came in to check on Yoongi, making sure everything was okay and telling him to let her know if he needed anything. Their manager excused himself, saying he would be back in a while to pick them up and following the nurse out.
Yoongi hissed in pain as he tried to sit up in bed, pouting miserably as he looked up at them. His eyes stopped at Hoseok, almost pleading. “Now that he's gone. Please tell me you came to kidnap me and take me back to the dorms.”
They all chuckled, shaking their heads.
“Guys, really, it's awful, here!”
“Of course it is.” agreed Seokjin.
“I prefer our diet to the food they have here!” he complained. “And the sheets are itchy. And it's cold at night. And I don't know what to do. I'm super bored all the time.”
“See? I told you he would complain about it.” laughed Hoseok, taking a chair and sitting down next to Yoongi's bed. Yoongi just pouted even more miserably at him. He picked up the backpack that he had brought, taking out what was inside of it. “Here.” he whispered, leaning over the bed and putting a beanie on Yoongi's head. He adjusted it so that it covered Yoongi's ears and then fixed his fringe. “So your ears won't get cold.” He smiled at Yoongi before taking the other item. He draped the green blanket over Yoongi's legs and then patted his thigh. “It's my favorite blanket, so treat it right and bring it back to the dorms in one piece.”
Yoongi grinned widely, exposing his gums. He glanced down as his cheeks flushed before looking back up at Hoseok. “You know me so well.”
“Um, we can't really do anything about the food...” chimed in Namjoon, taking a seat in another chair. “It's against the rules to sneak in food. And you should be eating healthy things, anyway, hyung.”
“Healthy things suck.” whined Yoongi.
“Just close your eyes and pretend it's something else?” proposed Taehyung, shrugging his shoulders.
“Hyung, you do need to eat, though.” piped up Jimin. “You need to eat to recover faster and come back home.”
“I know, I know.” sighed Yoongi. “Doesn't mean I can't complain about it.”
“Ha, we really miss your grumpiness at home.” chuckled Hoseok.
“We miss you, hyung.” whispered Jeongguk, his eyes wide as he looked at Yoongi.
Yoongi smiled at him, sniffling a little. “I'll be back soon, don't worry.” he said, fidgeting with his fingers in his lap. “And then you'll get sick of me.”
“Aish, shut up. We never get really sick of each other.” countered Seokjin. He sat at the end of the small hospital bed, his hand patting down on Yoongi's leg as his expression turned serious. “You did give us a scare, though.”
“About that.” Yoongi's eyes were still cast low and he was picking at the skin on his thumb so hard it was about to bleed. “I'm very sorry for causing so much trouble.”
“Hyung!”
“Ya, don't apologise!”
“You don't have to apologise!”
“It's not your fault!”
They all tried to reassure him at the same time.
Yoongi nodded, biting down on his lip. “I know but...” he glanced at Hoseok on his side, his cheeks getting pinker. “It's kinda blurry because I was mostly out of it, but I do remember you helping me and then carrying me to the hospital...”
Hoseok held his breath without realising it. Being around Yoongi and seeing him feeling better had made him forget his previous worries. But then they came back, hitting him full-force.
“I'm sorry you had to do that...” he whispered. “But thank you.”
Hoseok started breathing again. He shook his head animatedly. “Hyung. You don't have to apologise about it!” he protested immediately. “I would do it again. Without hesitation.”
“Of course you would.” chuckled Yoongi, blushing harder.
“Hyung. You were sick! Of course I took care of you! It's... I... just...” He suddenly was at a loss of words. He pursed his lips, pouting and looking down at his hands.
“Seok-ah.” called Yoongi. Hoseok looked back up and found him staring at him, a gentle smile pulling at his lips. He leaned closer to Hoseok, hiding another grimace of pain, so he could take his hand in his and squeeze down on his fingers. “Thank you.”
Hoseok couldn't help but smile back, his shoulders relaxing in relief.
“So!” Seokjin stood up abruptly, clapping his hands together and bursting their bubble. “Gukie actually brought something to help you with your boredom.”
“Yes! Right!” exclaimed Jeongguk, taking out the comic books from his own backpack. “I didn't know what hyung would like, so I brought a few...” he explained, showing them to Yoongi.
Yoongi grinned, shifting a little in the bed to make room on the side Hoseok wasn't occupying. “Wanna read them to me, kid?” he asked.
Jeongguk grinned back, nodding his head enthusiastically. He sat on the bed, careful not to jostle his hyung and opened the first comic book. He introduced the characters, explaining their stories, before starting to read, making cute boom! pow! noises every time there was some action.
No one commented on the fact that Yoongi was still holding Hoseok's hand, so he interlocked their fingers, giving a gentle squeeze. He noticed the small smile passing on Yoongi's lips and smiled back.
Thirty minutes later, Seokjin and Namjoon were occupying two chairs in the corner of the small room – Namjoon had a frown on his forehead as he looked down at his phone, probably replying to e-mails – while Jimin and Taehyung had opted for the ground, sitting with their backs against the wall as they whispered quietly among themselves. Jeongguk was still reading, but Yoongi's grip on Hoseok's hand had gotten weaker, his head dropping a few times as he was starting to doze off.
Seokjin noticed it too. He stood up, stepped up to the bed and touched Jeongguk's shoulder, getting his attention. “We should let him sleep.” he whispered.
“Not sleepin'.” mumbled Yoongi. He blinked his eyes quickly, trying to force himself to stay awake.
Hoseok chuckled, caressing Yoongi's knuckles with his thumb. “Hyung, you should get some rest.”
“I'm resting.”
“We need to leave soon, anyway.” added Namjoon, putting away his phone and joining Seokjin.
Yoongi whined, resting his head on Jeongguk's shoulder. “One more chapter.”
“Fine.” laughed Seokjin, shaking his head.
Jeongguk started reading aloud again, a huge grin plastered on his face as he kept glancing at Yoongi's head on his shoulder. It was unusual for Yoongi to be that touchy, so whenever it happened, everyone was very happy with it. It was as if they were dealing with a kitten, finally allowing them to pet him without getting their hands scratched.
It didn't take long for Yoongi to actually fall asleep, his fingers still intertwined with Hoseok's and his head still on Jeongguk's shoulder. Their manager came back, poked his head inside the room and told them to hurry up. They all started to leave the room, Hoseok calmly taking his time. He fixed the pillows under Yoongi's head and tucked him under the covers, pulling the blanket up so that it covered Yoongi's whole body. He was about to leave too when he felt fingers wrap around his wrist.
“Thank you, Seokie.” It was breathed out, a happy sigh following it as a soft smile appeared on Yoongi's lips.
“Of course, hyung.”