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Doyoung likes to think he knows Jaehyun pretty well.
He’s seen Jaehyun drunk, and since the man becomes honest to an almost insufferable degree when he’s inebriated, he spills all of his secrets. When Jaehyun got drunk on Doyoung’s twenty-third birthday, he learned that Jaehyun figured out he loved Doyoung two weeks into the relationship, but was too scared to say anything.
When Jaehyun got drunk during Johnny and Taeyong’s housewarming party, he confessed to the fact that in college, he was forced to listen to Johnny and his ex boyfriend at the time having sex numerous times because Johnny was never the best at checking whether Jaehyun was in the room.
That led to a very embarrassed Johnny and a Taeyong that wouldn’t stop laughing, and Doyoung can name several other occasions during which he learned things from Jaehyun that the younger would have never told him were he sober.
One thing he has not seen, is Jaehyun as high as a fucking kite. Jaehyun doesn’t do drugs. He simply doesn’t want to, and has never taken up the offers some of their mutual friends threw his way when they were younger. When Doyoung asked him about that, Jaehyun simply explained that he didn’t feel the need to do stuff like that.
And so, Doyoung has never seen Jaehyun high on drugs. He’s seen the man very drunk and sleep deprived to the point of babbling like a child, but never high.
Doyoung is quite used to taking care of Jaehyun — he rather enjoys it and so does Jaehyun, and knows just how to handle Jaehyun when he’s either drunk or very sleepy. Now, though, he has no idea what to do.
Because Jaehyun is high on the sedative the doctor gave him two hours ago, and won’t stop opening his fucking mouth to speak when he’s not allowed to. Doyoung watches as Jaehyun tries his hardest to say something through the cotton balls in his mouth and the gauze covering the wounds in his mouth, blood at the corners of his lips.
The surgeon doesn’t seem fazed at all, which concerns Doyoung even more.
Jaehyun looks like a chipmunk with his cheeks puffed out like this. And while that in itself is an incredibly adorable sight, Doyoung has to try his hardest not to close his eyes whenever Jaehyun moves his mouth and more blood seeps through the bandages.
There’s a reason why Doyoung decided working in health care just isn’t for him — blood.
That and having to touch bodies that don’t belong to him or Jaehyun in a way that is definitely uncomfortable, but that’s besides the point.
It’s not like blood makes Doyoung faint or woozy, but he just hates seeing it. Now if Yuta was in the room, things would have gone differently.
“Jaehyun, please.” Doyoung mutters when the surgeon turns his back and stops talking. Jaehyun looks at him, eyes wide, and tries to open his mouth again. Doyoung has to clench his teeth. “Don’t open your mouth.”
Jaehyun is quite late to the game. Doyoung learned from his sister that the target age for wisdom teeth surgery is between eighteen and twenty four, and Jaehyun is way beyond that. He’s a twenty six year old adult, two years above the latest age, but their shared dentist decided to refer him to a surgeon anyway.
The dentist explained why he did so, but Doyoung doesn’t exactly remember. He was far too preoccupied with Jaehyun, as the younger seemed quite literally as pale as a ghost at the mention of the whole ordeal.
Jaehyun makes a gurgling noise that Doyoung is pretty sure must resemble a word or two, but he can’t understand it. He merely shakes his head, resting his chin on his palm. “You’re not going to be able to talk for a while, baby.”
“Correct,” The surgeon starts again, turning around. “Because you came in so late, your wisdom teeth roots were bigger than what we usually see. We had to create a bigger hole to remove them properly, and so the wound is bigger. Please refrain from talking a lot for at least ten to twelve hours.”
Jaehyun whines, but doesn’t try to open his mouth again. Doyoung thinks it’s progress.
“Follow the instructions I’ve written down for you. Don’t forget to take your antibiotics because your risk of getting an infection is bigger, and take painkillers every four hours to limit the pain.”
Doyoung nods, “I’ll make sure he does all of that.”
The surgeon smiles. “You seem like the type. Do you have any questions?”
“When, uh —” Doyoung starts before pointing at Jaehyun, who has developed a sudden interest in one of the lights hanging from the ceiling. “When will the drugs wear off?”
Jaehyun whines again, but this time it’s not directed at Doyoung. The older man watches as his boyfriend tries to get out of the chair to reach the small sink next to it. The surgeon reacts quickly, pushing the small sink away from Jaehyun.
“That depends. Sometimes it’s gone when you walk out the door, sometimes it takes a few hours. In Jaehyun’s case, because we used moderate to heavy sedation due to the length of the surgery, I’d say it may take up to five to six hours to be fully out of his system,” The man says.
“So he’s going to be like this for five more hours?”
The surgeon chuckles, “Once again, that depends. But I do hope you took the day off.”
Doyoung doesn’t have the heart to tell the surgeon he took an entire week off for this, and so he just nods. “Yeah, we’ll be fine.”
“Alright. Please schedule a check-up appointment with your dentist in two to three weeks to make sure everything is healing correctly. Hopefully, I won’t see either of you again.”
Doyoung thanks the man and then takes Jaehyun’s hand before pulling him out of the chair. Doyoung secured a wheelchair for Jaehyun while he was in surgery just in case, and with the way Jaehyun wobbles while trying to stand up Doyoung mentally pats himself on the back.
Jaehyun sits down in the wheelchair with relative ease holding onto Doyoung’s arm, but when Doyoung tries to pull back to grab the back of the chair, Jaehyun whines again. Doyoung huffs, “What is it?”
“Love you.” Jaehyun says, his words mumbled and barely there. Doyoung can’t help but give him a small smile even though the surgeon told him not to talk, leaning in to press a kiss against Jaehyun’s forehead.
“I love you too, baby.”
Jaehyun seems satisfied with that, his glassy eyes leaving Doyoung’s face. A loopy grin has taken residence on Jaehyun’s own, and Doyoung smiles at it for a brief second before taking the chair and pushing it out of the clinic and onto the car park in front of the building.
His mother always told him it was useless to get a car in a city like Seoul, and usually she’s right. Doyoung rarely takes their car out of the designated spot they got with their apartment, unless they have somewhere to be that isn’t easy to get to using public transport. He’s glad for the vehicle now, though, because he wouldn’t want to be found dead on a train with Jaehyun like this.
When they reach the car, Jaehyun tries to stand up. Doyoung pushes him down quickly, shaking his head with a sigh. “Don’t try to walk by yourself.”
Jaehyun grumbles something Doyoung can’t understand, but doesn’t try to move again. Doyoung pushes the wheelchair to the passenger side before opening the door. He uses the lever to scoot the chair back as far as it can, listening for the click that indicates the chair is locked in place.
Once it does, Doyoung turns back to Jaehyun, who has apparently decided staring at the birds is a good way to pass the time.
Doyoung finds it horribly endearing, but they need to get home. Jaehyun needs to rest. “Baby? I need to lift you up.”
Jaehyun hums, raising his arms like a child would do in front of their parents. Doyoung flushes down to his toes before shaking his head. He’s carried Jaehyun plenty of times before — usually to their bedroom — and is perfectly capable of doing this task without dropping his mind in the gutter.
Doyoung leans into Jaehyun, who simply throws his arms around Doyoung’s neck and grabs on. Doyoung grunts, reaching out to wrap his arms around Jaehyun’s waist and lifting him up. He gently places Jaehyun in his chair, loosening his hold just enough for Jaehyun to comfortably slip out and fully seat himself.
“See? That wasn’t so bad.” Doyoung says more to himself rather than Jaehyun.
Jaehyun hums, taking Doyoung’s hand before Doyoung can fully pull away. Doyoung raises an eyebrow, “What is it?”
Jaehyun shrugs, a movement he clearly shouldn’t be doing. “Pretty.”
“What?”
Jaehyun points at Doyoung with his other hand before repeating the word once more. “Pretty.”
Doyoung flushes again, his heart speeding up. “You’re cute. I’m going to put the wheelchair back and then we can drive home.”
“Cute.” Jaehyun repeats, turning his head to look away from Doyoung. He sighs, closing his eyes for a brief moment before closing Jaehyun’s door and taking the wheelchair back to the entrance hall of the clinic. Doyoung rushes back to the car as fast as he can, not comfortable leaving Jaehyun alone.
When he reaches the car and opens the door, Jaehyun has somehow managed to scoot his chair all the way to the front, his face pressed against the glass. Doyoung wants to groan, but swallows the sound. Instead, he reaches out over the console and pushes the lever, instantly scooting Jaehyun back.
Jaehyun screeches — which sounds more like a fucking dinosaur in Doyoung’s opinion — and a few drops of blood land on the window. This time, Doyoung does groan. “Jaehyun!”
“Sorry!” He yells through the cotton in his mouth, resulting in more blood dripping from his mouth. But, Doyoung is always prepared, and so he pulls out a big packet of tissues from the console and hands one to Jaehyun.
“Hold this to your mouth.”
Jaehyun nods, pushing the tissue against his lips. “Good, now: don’t say a word while we drive home. You need to rest.”
Doyoung knows Jaehyun can’t fall asleep until the drugs have fully worn off. His tongue is almost numb right now, which is incredibly dangerous, and so he has to think of ways to keep Jaehyun awake when the cute adrenaline rush he’s experiencing right now drops and leaves Jaehyun tired like the surgeon said it would eventually. “But don’t sleep.”
Jaehyun hums, sluggishly raising one arm to give Doyoung a thumbs up. Doyoung wishes he didn’t find this whole ordeal as endearing as he does, but here he is. He takes a seat behind the wheel and turns the car on, driving out of the parking area with ease.
The drive goes somewhat smoothly, to Doyoung’s great surprise. Jaehyun just sits in the passenger seat and mumbles to himself, blood and spit dribbling down his cheek that Doyoung has to wipe away at every red light. But he doesn’t mind doing that, because every time he does that Jaehyun turns his head to smile at him and all is well.
And so Doyoung finds himself helping Jaehyun onto their living room couch quite quickly, the younger holding onto his shoulders like a lifeline. Doyoung can’t help but smile down at Jaehyun, shaking his head slightly. “Baby, you’re going to have to let go.”
Jaehyun mumbles something, a pout on his lips. Doyoung reaches up to wipe away a small drop of spit in the corner of Jaehyun’s mouth, wiping it on the handkerchief sticking out of his pocket. He’ll throw that out immediately because — well, gross — but for now, Doyoung doesn’t feel comfortable leaving Jaehyun’s side just yet.
“You can’t lay down all the way.” Doyoung says when Jaehyun pulls away, leaning his head back as far as it can possibly go. If Doyoung tried that, his neck would pop in several spots. Jaehyun has always been the more flexible one of the two of them.
Jaehyun groans. “Why?”
“You’ll suffocate in your own blood.” Doyoung deadpans, and watches with slight guilt as Jaehyun’s eyes grow as big as saucers.
Jaehyun swallows, his adam’s apple working over hours, before sitting up again. Doyoung rolls his eyes, “You can lay down a little, baby.”
Jaehyun shakes his head. “Don’t want to.”
His words are still garbled and muffled by the cotton in his mouth, but Doyoung can understand his boyfriend quite well. He doesn’t know whether that’s because he’s seen Jaehyun drunk as can be before, or because he simply knows his boyfriend that well, but he’s glad for it.
Things would have become really difficult if he couldn’t understand Jaehyun, after all.
Doyoung’s phone buzzes, making him look at the device that lay on the coffee table. He clears his throat before turning to Jaehyun, who has already started eyeing the clouds outside once more. He spent the entire car ride doing that, looking out into the sky like a child, and Doyoung finds it stupidly endearing.
“It’s time for a few pain killers, Jaehyunnie.”
Jaehyun looks at him again, his eyes hazy, before nodding.
Doyoung has never taken care of a baby before — not really, anyway — but he supposes this is similar. He’s glad he doesn’t have to change diapers, though. The thought alone makes him shiver. Doyoung could never.
“Let me go get them.” Doyoung says, before kissing Jaehyun on the cheek and getting off the couch. Jaehyun whines like a kicked puppy, making Doyoung turn around to look at him with wide eyes. “What? What’s wrong?”
Jaehyun whines again, “Stay.”
Doyoung groans, “You gave me a fright! I’m just getting your medications, and then I’ll be back.”
For a second, Jaehyun just looks at him. He nods slowly, before turning his head back to the window. Doyoung raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything, walking to where he dropped his bag full of medication next to their dining table.
When he bends down to open it, humming fills the room. Doyoung wants to scoff and tell Jaehyun to stop, to give his mouth rest, but technically he’s not breaking any of the rules the surgeon gave him. Jaehyun is merely doing what he always does — singing — but not opening his mouth while doing it.
Doyoung has always been a sucker for Jaehyun’s voice, and so he doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t recognize the song through the cotton and Jaehyun’s garbled mouth, but stays down on the ground for a second longer to listen. The melody is sad, as if it’s a break-up song. Doyoung swallows.
He stands up, the bottle of pills rattling in his hand. Jaehyun doesn’t stop, though — the humming continues, even when Doyoung moves further away into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
He fills the glass before walking back into the living room, holding the bottle of pills in one hand and the glass in the other. Jaehyun is sitting, fully turned, toward the window now, head slightly tilted as if in thought. Doyoung sighs for a second, adoration growing in his chest. Jaehyun has always been more free than him, to a point of annoyance, but he knows, deep down, that he wouldn’t change a thing about Jaehyun.
“Baby?”
The humming stops, and Jaehyun looks at him. His eyes are wide, eyebrows raised as if asking ‘what’s wrong?’ and Doyoung smiles before rattling the bottle. “Pain killers.”
Jaehyun groans again, and Doyoung watches as several drops of blood and spit jump from his mouth. He wants to groan in disgust, but bites his tongue. The last thing Jaehyun needs right now is Doyoung pulling away from him. He’s vulnerable and drugged — he would have a meltdown.
And so Doyoung straightens his shoulders and walks over to the couch, the handkerchief still in his pocket. He puts the glass and pills down on the table and turns to Jaehyun, wiping at his mouth with the handkerchief. Jaehyun giggles, a wonderful sound Doyoung would swim in for the rest of his life, before sluggishly reaching for Doyoung’s wrist.
“Baby—”
Doyoung closes his mouth when Jaehyun turns his head and places a kiss against his wrist. Instead, he blushes, before shaking his head. “You’re cute. Please, take the painkillers.”
“Only for you.” Jaehyun mumbles, the ‘only’ sounding more like a sound rather than a word, but Doyoung understands. He hands Jaehyun two of the pills and the glass, holding out the handkerchief for Jaehyun to spit his cotton balls in.
It’s a disgusting affair, but Doyoung watches it happen with warmth in his chest. He folds the handkerchief in on itself before putting it down on the table, reaching over to the secret stash of cotton balls he hid behind the couch before they left. Jaehyun looks at them with wide eyes before shaking his head. “No.”
Doyoung sighs, “You have to, baby.”
Jaehyun turns his head away. Doyoung doesn’t even want to think about the blood in Jaehyun’s mouth, flooding it, and so he takes Jaehyun’s jaw and gently turns it back towards him. “Please, baby. Do it for me.”
Jaehyun’s eyes widen. He knows he’s being tricked, Doyoung can see it. The smart bastard. Though, Jaehyun doesn’t protest anymore. He eyes the packet in Doyoung’s hand before heaving a heavy sigh. “Fine.”
Despite himself, Doyoung feels a sliver of triumph.
Technically, Jaehyun isn’t allowed to sleep for the next few hours. But Doyoung doesn’t have the heart to wake the poor man. Not when he’s finally dropped the tension in his shoulders, and has closed his mouth as much as he can.
Doyoung likes taking care of Jaehyun. He’s always liked it, even when they were still friends and dancing around each other. They were unsure of their feelings toward one another for a few months, and in those months Doyoung tried his hardest to like everything was normal. Of course, this meant he took care of Jaehyun even more.
It’s not like Jaehyun doesn’t take care of him, because he does, but Doyoung is always the one preparing dinner, the one to make sure Jaehyun takes his vitamins and brushes his teeth when he gets home late. Doyoung isn’t Jaehyun’s mother, and Jaehyun is perfectly capable of taking care of himself — when he’s not drugged up to his fucking eyeballs, that is — but Doyoung simply likes it.
He cleans up around Jaehyun while the other naps. Doyoung doesn’t dare take his eyes off of Jaehyun for too long, turning back to look back at the man on the couch every few seconds or so. His neck will hurt by the end of the night, but it’ll be worth it. And perhaps Jaehyun will be able to sleep the drugs off. As long as he doesn’t choke on his own blood or tongue, they should be good.
Despite all of that, Doyoung hurries the cleaning process. He takes the cotton balls and drops them in the trash, putting two more painkillers on a small saucer and putting it down on the coffee table. He grabs a glass of juice for himself, but sticks to water with Jaehyun. The surgeon gave them a list of what Jaehyun can and can’t eat because of the wounds in his mouth, but Doyoung doesn’t want to risk it. Not yet.
“Doie?” Jaehyun’s asks, making Doyoung look up from his phone. He’s standing in the middle of the living room, holding his phone and his drink. Taeyong asked him how Jaehyun was doing, and Doyoung was in the process of writing a reply when Jaehyun whined for him. “Where—”
Jaehyun moved. Doyoung shot forward, clumsily putting down his glass before rushing to sit next to Jaehyun and take his hand. “I’m here, baby. What’s wrong?”
Jaehyun frowns, a small tear running down his cheek. Doyoung’s heart stops for a brief moment, “What’s wrong?”
“You were gone.” Jaehyun whispers, his voice squeaky. “Gone — I love you.”
Doyoung’s heart flutters. He shakes his head, leaning his forehead against Jaehyun’s shoulder. “I’m right here, baby.”
“I love you.” Jaehyun says.
Doyoung bites his lip. “I love you more.”
“Not possible.” Jaehyun mumbles, his words barely decipherable but just enough for Doyoung to understand. Doyoung knows he’s smiling like an idiot, but he can’t help it.
Jaehyun makes him so unbelievably happy, and seeing him like this is wonderful. Doyoung doesn’t understand it, won’t pretend that he does, but he locks the feeling away for now. To examine later.
“I think it’s very much possible.” Doyoung counters. “Taeyong asked how you were doing.”
Jaehyun sits up a bit, making a grabby hand when Doyoung lets go of him. Doyoung takes his phone in his right hand, allowing for Jaehyun to latch onto his left one. “Well.”
Doyoung shakes his head. “You’re not doing well.”
With a frown, Jaehyun squeezes Doyoung’s hand. “Doing fine.”
Oh, how much this makes Doyoung’s heart warm. He smiles, receiving a small one from Jaehyun in return. He can’t stretch his mouth too much, and he’s speaking far too many words, but Doyoung doesn’t dare stop him. If Jaehyun wants to tell him he loves him, Doyoung will let him just do that.
“You’re cute.”
Jaehyun’s eyes widen. “Cute?”
Doyoung nods, “Very cute.”
He turns to his phone and answers Taeyong quickly, before putting his phone on the coffee table. He takes the remote, and hands it to Jaehyun. “Do you want to watch something?”
Jaehyun frowns, as if choosing is the hardest thing he’ll ever have to do. Doyoung almost sympathizes with him. He remembers how woozy he was after his own wisdom teeth were removed — according to his mother, he wouldn’t stop telling the nurse that she was an amazing person. And even though Doyoung is sure the nurse was lovely, the memory alone is enough to make him blush in embarrassment. “Movie.”
Doyoung hums, “What movie?”
With a childish shrug, Jaehyun eyes the remote. “Tangled.”
“Tangled?” Doyoung asks. He doesn’t have to, though. Not really — Tangled has always been Jaehyun’s comfort movie.
Jaehyun nods. Doyoung reaches out to hold his jaw in his hand, “Don’t do that.”
Jaehyun whines again, sounding like a kicked puppy once more. Doyoung’s heart clenches. “Love doie.”
“Love you too, baby.”