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Junhui’s a pretty heavy sleeper- it’s odd for him to wake up in the middle of the night, even to go to the loo. He can have trouble falling asleep, but once he’s off, he’s out like a light. The only time he does wake up in the night is when something is wrong. It’s usually opening his eyes to find an anxious Chan or Hansol huddled up beside his bed, or one of the kids curled up in front of the loo.
Tonight, he blinks his eyes open at half-past three- he doesn’t know what’s happened, but he knows that something has. He looks over his shoulder to check that Minghao is still asleep, and he eyes the other bed where Chan is also passed out. Only his face is visible in the mound of blankets on top of him, and his face is set in the cute little pout he always sports when he’s sleeping.
Soonyoung, though- he’s not there. Junhui stands up and rounds the room just to make sure, but no, Chan is in bed alone. He isn’t going to be happy if he wakes up before Soonyoung gets back.
Soonyoung had stayed late at the dance studio, as per usual. Chan normally stays with him, and he’d only left early today because his hyungs had pulled him away- he hadn’t slept great the night before and was completely exhausted. Soonyoung had still stayed though, and Junhui wouldn’t be surprised if he found him asleep on the sofa.
A lot of the time when he comes back this late, he’ll sleep there as to not disturb the others in the performance unit bedroom. Junhui likes to get him into a proper bed, though.
Junhui tugs a pair of socks on to keep his toes warm before he leaves the bedroom to look for their leader. He’s not in the living room, Junhui notes as he turns on the fairy lights strung across the bookshelves. Junhui can’t help the chills that run down his spine- he only wakes up when something’s gone wrong.
Next, he checks the bathrooms and the other bedrooms before he finally makes it to the kitchen. The light is off, but Junhui can make out a figure on the floor in front of the fridge. His hand is instantly smacking the light switch and his feet immediately carry him towards the person, his mind convincing him of the worst.
It is Soonyoung. He blinks his eyes open with a frown and tilts his head up to face Junhui. Then he mumbles something under his breath that Junhui doesn’t catch and leans forwards into the elder’s arms, face pressed against his sternum. On instinct, Jun’s arms are wrapping him up in a tight hug.
It’s not often that they need to look after Soonyoung. He generally keeps himself happy and healthy, despite how much he works, and he’s usually able to focus his attention on looking after everyone else. Junhui often forgets that he’s still just a kid, just as they all are, and he needs to be taken care of as well. He needs breaks and he can have off days, he’s not perfect.
Soonyoung is such a hard worker, it’s so admirable, and he can seem invincible at times. Even if they’ve been working for twelve hours, he’ll still have a smile on his face, keeping up everyone else’s moods. It’s a halting realisation- remembering that he is just as breakable as any one of them.
Junhui pulls Soonyoung forward, into his lap, so he’s no longer propped up against the cold fridge door. “Are you okay, Soonyoung-ah?” He asks, brushing his nose along the path of his hairline. Soonyoung shivers in his arms- Junhui holds him tighter.
“Dizzy.” Is all he responds with, but the exhaustion in his voice gives it away. He must have been dancing, non-stop, for hours. God knows if he ate anything, or even had a sip of water, let alone a break. When he gets into it, Soonyoung can go for hours doing what he loves, even at the expense of his health.
“Okay. Okay, I’ve got you. Did you black out?” Junhui sighs in relief when Soonyoung shakes his head, his hair tickling the underneath of Jun’s chin. Jun looks down at his face with a sad smile, the bruises under his eyes look painful and his skin is far paler than it should be. He really doesn’t look well. “Do you think you can stand? With my help?” Soonyoung hums in assent, the vibrations making Junhui’s skin tingle.
It’s a bit of a struggle, trying to get Soonyoung up when his knees are so shaky, but eventually, Junhui gets him into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He pats his hair and kisses his forehead before turning to get him a glass of water and some food, which just ends up being some toast and jam.
“How are you feeling?” Junhui asks Soonyoung when he’s halfway through his midnight feast, although he had forced some of the bread into Junhui’s mouth because “you need snacks too.”
“Tired- and my head hurts.” He says, and it’s obvious that he’s trying his best not to complain. Soonyoung doesn’t like seeming weak, even if he’s nothing of the sort. It’s his pride, it can get the better of him. And he’s similar to Junhui in the way he tries to look after others more than he lets them look after him.
“I’ll get you some painkillers once I get you into bed.” Junhui ends up carrying Soonyoung to their bedroom, the younger perched on his back, arms hanging lazily over his shoulders. Jun deposits him next to Chan, tucks him in, and feeds him two ibuprofen tablets. He settles down quickly after that, the exhaustion helping. He worms his way into Chan’s arms and cuddles close, drifting off only moments later.
Junhui stays perched on the mattress beside them for a few moments more, watching to make sure that Soonyoung is alright and hoping that Chan doesn’t wake up. He can’t help but reach out and comb his fingers through Soonyoung’s messy hair, patting down the unruly strands. With a sigh, he finally gets up to put himself back to bed.
*
The next morning, it’s safe to say that Soonyoung feels like shit, so much worse than the night before. He wakes up to Channie rolling on top of him and cuddling into his chest, which usually would be a nice way to start the day, but right now he can’t help but groan. His head is burning because it aches so much, and is stomach is complaining at the knee that Chan’s got wedged against his ribs.
It’s like every part of him is complaining about something- it’s all blurring into a white wall of pain. Without him noticing, his eyes tear up and drench his cheeks as he shies away from the light piercing into his skull. He’s never felt this bad before. He groans again and, this time, Chan sits up and frowns down at him.
“Soonie?” He asks, shifting a little so that he can block the light streaming through the window from reaching Soonyoung. When he moves, though, Soonyoung winces, so Chan quickly jumps off him, kneeling by his side instead. “Hyung? What’s wrong?” He asks again, desperation spilling into his voice.
“Hurts.” Soonyoung chokes out, his voice thick with unshed tears. Chan bites his lip and looks to the other bed, where Jun and Minghao are still sleeping.
“What hurts?” Chan asks as he throws his pillow towards the others, successfully thwacking Minghao on the head, waking him with a start. He’s very close to yelling until he looks up and sees the look on Chan’s face. He shakes Junhui awake before making his way to Chan.
“Everything.” Soonyoung starts properly sobbing now, and Junhui shushes him gently, thumbs sweeping beneath his eyes to wipe away his tears. Soonyoung lifts a shaky hand to grip onto his elbow, squeezing too tightly but Junhui doesn’t complain.
“I need you to calm down, Soonie, okay? Getting worked up is only going to make you feel worse. Come on, take some deep breaths with me.” Junhui leads him through a couple breaths before he lets Chan and Minghao pull him up into a sitting position, leaning back against the headboard.
Soonyoung rolls his head to the side and squeezes his eyes shut- Minghao pets his hair. “Now, tell us what’s going on?” Junhui asks, instinctively giving Chan his hand to hold onto to comfort him, even if his focus is still on Soonyoung.
“I- I- when-” Soonyoung begins to stutter out, but he stops himself to take another deep breath. “As soon as I woke up- it’s like I’ve been hit by a truck. My head and my stomach and my chest- it all hurts.”
“How much sleep have you had in the past couple of days? And how much have you been eating, drinking? You’ve been in the studio so much.” Minghao cuts in and Junhui can tell that he’s doing his mental calculations, figuring out when Soonyoung’s been working and whether he’s seen him have a proper meal or a nap recently.
“I don’t know, I sort of forgot about that stuff. I’ve been working on the new routine and you know how I am when I get into my work.” Soonyoung tries to explain himself. He knows- they all know- that this isn’t healthy, they’ve told him hundreds of times that he needs to give himself a break sometimes, but he’s stubborn.
“I think we’ve got our answer, then,” Junhui says, trying not to make it sound like it’s all his own fault. He still needs looking after, he doesn’t need guilt tripping into admitting that he’s wrong. “Here’s the plan. We’ll get you in a warm bath, have a good breakfast, and then back to bed.” Soonyoung looks like he’s about to complain, but he shuts up when Junhui gives him a look and kisses his forehead.
Soonyoung complains about being left lonely in the bath until Chan agrees to get in with him, although it doesn’t seem like he’s too upset about it. They settle into the warm water, Soonyoung resting against Chan’s chest, bubbles up to their shoulders. Chan grasps Soonyoung’s hand under the water, lacing their fingers together, and presses a line of kisses along his shoulder.
“You should take better care of yourself, hyung. I don’t like seeing you like this.” Chan whispers against the shell of Soonyoung’s ear, his free hand moving to rub circles into Soonyoung’s soft stomach. “You push yourself so hard, but you don’t need to. You’re so good at what you do, no matter how many hours you put in.”
“Channie-”
“I know. I know it’s hard for you to stop, I know how much of a perfectionist you are- everything has to be right. You’ve got to let us stop you, though, let us take care of you when you need a break. Please.” He’s almost pleading now, and he’s trying not to get upset again, but Soonyoung can hear it in his voice.
“Don’t cry, Chan-ah. I didn’t want to upset you.” Soonyoung tells him, and Chan buries his face in his hyung’s damp neck, lips pressed against his warm skin. “I’ll do my best, I promise. I’ll listen to my body- I don’t want to feel like this again.” Chan nods, nuzzling into the curve of Soonyoung’s shoulder as he does so.
“Good. I like taking care of you, anyway. We should take baths more often.” Soonyoung hums in agreement, slipping further into the water as he does so until he suddenly skids and submerges himself. With Chan’s hands under his arms, he emerges spluttering and shaking his head like a wet dog.
Chan squeals as water gets into his eyes, grasping onto Soonyoung to keep them both afloat even as he squeezes them shut. “Hyung!” He yells, laughing when he hears the frantic footsteps of Junhui and Minghao clambering into the bathroom to see what’s wrong. When Chan blinks his eyes open again, he pulls Soonyoung closer to him and grips on for dear life, giggling as Soonyoung coughs and wipes at his face.
“What are you two doing?” Minghao asks, watching as Junhui pries the pair apart, dropping a clean towel on Soonyoung’s head for him to dry his eyes with.
“Just having a relaxing bath, hyung, why?” Chan replies nonchalantly, even as he’s wiping the bubbles from his cheeks. Minghao just shakes his head.