Work Text:
Stress, stress, stress.
That was all Hyunjin was feeling, outside of the bone-deep exhaustion that he was carrying every step to class, to homework, to his bed.
Not enough sleep, not enough food, not enough studying.
Midterms were ridiculous. Tests in general were ridiculous, in Hyunjin’s opinion. Hyunjin didn’t really have to worry about passing neither his classes nor exams, but the fear of failing pulled him down into the depths of despair and the current situation he was in:
Holed up in his room, two days before his last exam until finals week.
Hyunjin wasn’t really sure what day it was, his brain fuzzy from the lack of sleep and end of the caffeine rush from the coffee he had consumed a few hours ago. His hair felt horribly greasy, showering having become a waste of time in his desperate attempts to cram as much material as possible into his brain until it felt like he was going to combust, the actions rinsed and repeated until he felt numb in his everything.
In short, Hyunjin felt gross, like crap, and was wholly convinced he was going to fail this last test.
He slumped over the desk, shoving his laptop back a bit so that he could rest his arms on the top, head coming down to rest in them.
When was the last time he had even done laundry?
He closed his eyes after struggling to keep them open for a few minutes, jerking awake when there was a knocking on his door.
“Yeah?” He croaked out, using precious energy to turn around in his chair to see who was opening the door.
Jisung stood illuminated by the hallway light. “Hey, how are…oh. Oh dear. You look like crap.”
“Thanks, I feel like it,” Hyunjin said sarcastically, dropping his head back down onto his arms. “I feel like I haven’t studied enough for this last exam, but if I study another flash card or term, I might actually throw up.”
“When’s the last time you slept more than three hours, don’t give me that look mister, ate, and showered?” Jisung asked, stepping into the bedroom.
Hyunjin thought for a second before shrugging. “I dunno. Maybe yesterday?”
“Smells like Sunday. It’s Wednesday,” Jisung corrected. “Look, why don’t you shower and then we go get burgers or something? You look like you could use a break.”
“But if I don’t study, then I won’t pass my exam,” Hyunjin moaned, flopping his head back onto his folded arms. He didn’t have it in him to completely pay attention when he heard Jisung rummaging around in his closet, jerking when the younger tapped him on the shoulder, belatedly realizing he had fallen asleep briefly.
“I think you’re okay to take a break for the evening,” Jisung said gently, rubbing Hyunjin’s shoulder and lower neck, the older melting exhaustedly into the touch with a hum. “You’ve been studying very hard these last few days and you need to take care of yourself so that you can do well on your exams, okay?”
Jisung’s logic was very logic-y to Hyunjin’s exhausted brain. And a shower did sound nice…
“The food’s on you, right?” Hyunjin shifted his head enough so that he could look at Jisung.
Jisung dumped the pile of clothes he’d pulled out of the closet on top of Hyunjin’s head. “Go shower, you greasy weasel.”
~~~
The shower was heavenly. Hyunjin felt his spirits lift as he scrubbed the shampoo through his hair. He moved as quickly as he could through the showering process, the promise of the food that would be his motivating the sudden spike of energy, but as soon as he stepped out of the shower, he felt whatever energy had gotten him through the shower instantly vanish, his eyes drooping as he pulled on the clothes Jisung had grabbed for him.
He stumbled out of the bathroom right into Jisung’s arms, sagging against the younger once he made contact with something that would hold his weight.
Jisung ‘oof-ed’ when Hyunjin leaned his full body weight on him in some kind of limp hug, stumbling back a step to readjust, arms wrapping around the tall boy.
“Are you okay?”
“’M sleepy,” Hyunjin mumbled into Jisung’s shoulder, already halfway to dreamland.
Jisung managed to maneuver the two of them down the hall and into Jisung’s bedroom, a practiced waddle that comes when you have too many friends who liked to overwork themselves to the point of complete shutdown and collapsing into your arms, leaving you to get them to bed. “Okay, change of plans. You are going to sleep for a little bit, maybe the whole night, then we’ll deal with food later.”
Zombie Hyunjin made a noise that Jisung assumed was agreement, depositing the half-alive body onto his bed (yes, it was clean, Chan would be proud of him for having actually done his laundry this week, against all odds). Zombie Hyunjin also made grabby hands at Jisung once he registered the lack of human warmth surrounding him.
“Alright fine, you big baby,” Jisung grumbled, though not seriously. He kicked off the sneakers he had pulled on, already dressed in sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, and climbed up into the bed with Hyunjin, the zombie wrapping long limbs around him almost instantly after they adjusted to having two people in a bed that was really designed for one, settling down comfortably, even if it was crowded.
~~~
When Hyunjin woke up, he was not in his own bed, nor was it late evening, and he was definitely a little disoriented. He rolled over, blanket tangling around his legs, and was greeted with the sight of Jisung sitting in the dark room, the light of his laptop illuminating his face as he sat as his desk working on homework, mouse clicking softly as he moved it around.
“What time is it?” Hyunjin croaked out, stretching carefully. He felt much better than a few hours ago, even though tiredness lingered, just not as bad.
“Two-fifteen. You slept for a few hours. How do you feel?” Jisung swung around in his chair to face Hyunjin, pushing his glasses up as he watched Hyunjin sit up and gain his bearings.
“Better, I think.” Hyunjin’s stomach rumbled loudly, announcing its concern. “Hungry, actually. Is anything open this late?”
“That weird little burger joint at the edge of campus is probably the only thing open right now, outside of convenience stores or the coffee shop. We could go there, if you like?”
Hyunjin nodded and slid off of the bed. “A late-night burger sounds amazing right now.”
“Okay, let’s go before it gets to be too late and the insomniacs start hitting the place at three in the morning.”
They headed off quickly and quietly, mindful of their other two roommates who slept like normal people, walking briskly to the other end of campus in the cool fall night air.
“Thank you,” Hyunjin suddenly said, wrapping an arm around Jisung’s shoulders. “I really needed this.”
Jisung’s arm snaked around his waist, pulling the two of them closer together, steps falling into sync. “Yeah, no problem. Any time.”
(Hyunjin passed his last midterm with flying colours, dragging Jisung out with him to go get ice cream to celebrate his success)