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When he woke up a couple of hours later, Yeonjun was still sleeping against him. Soobin couldn’t see his face that well, but he didn’t need to see it to be able to tell that he’d gotten worse even in such a short span. He was radiating heat, and his breathing was a bit too fast for someone who was unconscious. Soobin didn’t want to disturb him, but he knew that he should probably wake up. He needed water, and to eat something. And if he was sweating as much as Soobin suspected, a bath would be comforting too.
Before he woke him up, he texted Taehyun to let him know Yeonjun had gotten worse, and asked if the company doctor had gotten back to him. He sat his phone down, then gently wrapped his arms around Yeonjun before sitting up slowly. Yeonjun didn’t wake at first, just sighed in sleep and curled in closer. It would have been endearing under normal circumstances, but it just worried Soobin now. He gently pushed the hood of the hoodie off of Yeonjun’s head, and when he ran his fingers through his hair, it was damp with sweat. “Baby,” he said, the nickname a rarity for him. “I need you to wake up, we need to get you cleaned and fed,” He did his best to coax Yeonjun awake, kissing his forehead and stroking his cheek, whispering softly. It worked eventually, though Yeonjun whimpered as soon as he came to consciousness.
He kept his eyes closed, and sounded so pitiful it made Soobin’s heart ache, and he held him tighter. “You’ll feel better after you’ve bathed and eaten something, baby, you know that,” he said. He wasn’t used to be so sweet and gentle with his normally rambunctious boyfriend (still not his boyfriend). Yeonjun moaned a little, face buried in Soobin’s neck, hand fisting his shirt. Soobin hugged him, before slipping his arm under Yeonjun’s knees and standing. He carried him to the bathroom easily, and thankfully Yeonjun let him sit him down on the toilet seat for a moment while he started the bath. “Can you take your clothes off?” he asked, bending down to look Yeonjun in the eye.
Normally the boy would reply with some sexual innuendo, but this time he just nodded, face downcast. It disturbed Soobin seeing Yeonjun in such a state, so quiet and so clearly sick, and he just wanted to fix him. And so, as the older started pulling off the hoodie, Soobin went and started the bath, making sure it was the right temperature. He left for a moment and grabbed some of his own clothes, bringing them back, before helping Yeonjun into the bath. He relaxed a little seeing Yeonjun sigh a bit in relief. He settled against the back, neck leaned against the edge so he could look at Soobin. The younger smiled at him softly, sitting on the floor next to him.
The boy looked more awake now, and he returned the smile half-heartedly. He lifted one of his hands out of the water to touch Soobin’s cheek affectionately. “You’re so cute,” he whispered. Soobin blushed, before pulling his hand off of his cheek, wiping away the wetness. He sat up on his knees then, grabbing some shampoo. “I can wash my own hair, Soobin-ah,” Yeonjun said, sitting up a bit. Soobin giggled, pouring some into his palm. “I know, but I want to,” he replied. Yeonjun stared at him, almost as if in awe, before Soobin reached forward and started massaging the shampoo into his hair.
Yeonjun let out a moan, eyes falling shut as he slouched down. Soobin smiled to himself, making sure to be thorough. “That feels really nice,” Yeonjun murmured, letting Soobin lean him down enough to submerge his hair in the water to rinse it. He ran his fingers through it to make sure he got all of the soap out, and he swore he heard Yeonjun purr at one point. He finished off with a quick wash of conditioner, and when his hair was rinsed for the final time, he grabbed the towel and helped Yeonjun out. The two stood there for a second, Soobin hugging Yeonjun, and it was then that it hit home how vulnerable he was making himself. Being so hyper and enthusiastic all of the time probably required a lot of energy, and seeing his hyung so drained of it just made Soobin want to do everything he could to bring it back.
He kissed Yeonjun’s forehead, before helping him get dressed. They walked back to the dorms, and he thought Yeonjun would want to go to his bed, but he returned to Soobin’s, breathing fast when he finally sat down. Soobin went with him, but he didn’t sit down, instead putting a blanket over the older. “I’m going to make you some ramyeon and rice, okay?” he said. Yeonjun looked up at him, eyes reflecting something Soobin couldn’t quite figure out yet. He nodded, and Soobin kissed his cheek before departing.
He saw his dongsaengs in the living room, and all of them stared at him expectantly. “How is hyung feeling?” Beomgyu asked, tying his shoelaces. Soobin shook his head as he got out a pot and filled it with water. “Not good, you guys need to call the doctor if you start feeling ill,” he instructed. They all nodded, before standing up and pushing all of the furniture aside to give them more space. Soobin furrowed his brows as he heated up some rice. “What are you doing?” he asked. Kai looked over, shrugging as he started stretching. “Doctor told us to stay in the dormitories until hyung got better and we were sure nobody else caught it,” he explained. “So we’re practicing some of our dances this way,”
Soobin nodded slowly, before focusing back on his task at hand. He loved his member’s dedication. When the food was ready, he carefully placed it all on a tray, and walked back to the bedroom. Yeonjun had his eyes closed, but he opened them when he felt Soobin sit down next to him. Soobin placed the tray on the nightstand, before looking at Yeonjun and smiling a bit. He brushed his hand over his hair, which was extra soft now, and helped him sit up. He handed him the water bottle first, and was glad when he drank nearly half of it in one go. He then gave him the ramyeon, slipping a spoon into his hand. “Eat, you’ll feel better,” he said, feeling like a mother hen.
Yeonjun listened, and sipped small spoonful’s of the broth, before taking some noodles into his mouth as well. Soobin felt weird just watching him eat, so he moved back to lean against the headboard, scrolling through his phone. His own stomach growled, so he grabbed the bowl of rice he had made for himself, and ate a few bites. After a bit, Yeonjun looked at him, holding the mostly empty bowl in his hands. Soobin saw, and smiled, taking the bowl and standing up. “I’m gonna wash these, and then I’ll be back,” he said. Once again, Yeonjun looked up at him with that once again unfamiliar look in his eyes. It was intense, conveyed a sense of desperation, and made Soobin’s stomach erupt in butterflies.
He felt caught in it for a few moments, before he turned and left, going to the kitchen. The younger boys were still practicing, and enjoying themselves it sounded, and Soobin was glad. He grabbed another water bottle just in case, before returning to Yeonjun. However, he was startled to see tears on the older boy’s cheeks, and he nearly tripped on his rush to get to him. “Hyung! What’s wrong, what doesn’t feel good?” he asked quickly, eyes wide and hands hovering over the boy, unsure of what to do. He didn’t like see Yeonjun cry, and had really only seen him cry during their debut, but those were happy tears. Soobin had little idea what these tears were motivated by.
The older sniffled, before wiping his eyes quickly, looking away. “Sorry, I don’t know what c-came over me,” he said, voice breaking a little. Soobin still looked at him in concern, and grabbed his hand, just wanting to know what happened. “What can I do?” he asked. Yeonjun laughed a little at that, which surprised Soobin. He then took a deep breath and looked at Soobin, fresh tears on his eyelids. “I just think I’m a little in l-love with you,” he admitted, voice so soft.
And Soobin froze, because they had never exchanged those words with each other. Soobin knew he felt it, but it was too dangerous to admit them out loud. It made it too real. But Yeonjun had just said them, and Soobin’s heart had taken off, and was now flying somewhere high up in the sky. He swallowed, before lifting Yeonjun’s chin with two fingers so he could properly lock eyes with him. He could almost see his own reflection, and he wiped a stray tear away. “I think I’m a little in love with you too,” he replied. “Have been for a while, I think,”
Yeonjun sniffled, nuzzling his cheek into Soobin’s hand, resting his own hands on the taller’s thigh. “Really wanna kiss you right now,” he mumbled, still crying a bit. Soobin blushed, before moving closer, sliding the smaller boy onto his lap. He squeaked a bit, and slung his arm around Soobin’s neck for balance. “You can, I’ve been exposed enough already,” Soobin said, locking one arm around Yeonjun’s waist and draping the other over his lap. Yeonjun looked at him, eyes puffy and nose red, before he nodded, leaning in.
Soobin leaned away before their lips touched though, and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand. “Blow first,” he said, handing it to Yeonjun. The older flushed, embarrassed, before following the order and blowing into the tissue. Soobin tossed it into the trash for him, before Yeonjun pulled his face back, and gently kissed him. His lips were a bit chapped, but still soft, and they moved at a much slower pace than Soobin was used to. The pressure was the same, but there was no rush to push into each other’s mouths, no sneaky tongues or bitten lips. Just a sweet, chaste kiss that somehow encompassed everything they were feeling.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me,” Yeonjun whispered against Soobin’s lips. Soobin blushed, kissing him again. “You don’t have to thank me,” he replied simply. They kissed again, before lying down together. The little energy that the food had given Yeonjun was disappearing quickly, and Soobin could tell he was struggling to keep his eyes open. And so he cradled him close, making sure he was comfortable before reaching up to turn off the lights. As they were settling in, a loud scream followed by a few squeals of laughter interrupted the silence. Soobin sighed and Yeonjun tensed up, lifting his head a bit. “What was that?” he asked groggily. Soobin let his head fall back, rubbing his eyes. “They’re supposedly practicing,” he said. Yeonjun let out a weak chuckle, before returning back to his place against Soobin, head on his chest. “Idiots,” he mumbled. Soobin cracked a smile, before closing his eyes and letting himself relax, Yeonjun in his arms.