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chenle should have known better than to try to cure a tempermental tummy with lots of food. he had assumed the unsettled feeling in his belly had been from not eating all day, so he had eaten more than his fair share of food at the dining hall.
his stomach never really settled throughout dinner and instead worsened. there was still a twinge of uneasiness in his belly. the feeling stayed with him on the journey back to his apartment with jisung. he spent most of the bus ride pointedly staring out the window, trying to ignore the bubbling in his chest. he was silently grateful that jisung had offered to come stay the night with him, even if the thought of being cared for made him squirm. the discomfort in his stomach had him craving company rather than trying to suffer alone.
it was later in the evening as they were watching tv that his stomach really started to ache. what started as a twinge of soreness if he moved too fast or too sharp grew until a heavy ache that had his stomach cramping continuously. he felt bloated and gross, feeling as if he could feel all the food he ate churn in his belly. he rested an arm over his stomach and leaned his head back against the couch, groaning from the pain. his hoodie felt too hot, but he couldn’t find the energy to remove it.
jisung turned to chenle, hearing his groan. he became aware of how sweaty and pale chenle looked. “you feeling okay?”
chenle half-heartedly shrugged. “my stomach’s upset. dinner isn’t settling well.”
jisung frowned and pressed the back of his palm against chenle’s cheek, noting unusual warmth radiating from it. chenle had been acting a bit off at dinner; it looked like every bite of food was a battle. jisung didn’t understand why he forced himself to eat so much when he wasn’t enjoying it. “i think you have a fever. do you think it’s a stomach bug? do you know of anyone who might have had it?”
chenle groaned, dreading what was slowly becoming the inevitable battle against the bug. his belly gave a loud, upset gurgle that came with an intense cramp that left chenle curling over his stomach in pain. he felt a lick of nausea rise in the back of his throat and he hiccuped. “maybe. i don’t know anyone who had it, but i could have picked it up from a classmate. ugh, i really don’t feel good.”
jisung’s worry for chenle grew even more. he had never taken care of a sick chenle before and was already panicking a little. chenle was always adamant about refusing help or being babied; jisung had no idea how he would care for chenle without crossing that line. “you should probably go lay down...”
chenle shook his head. standing up felt like a very bad idea at the moment. “don’t wanna get up.”
“you can just lay down here then.” jisung stood up. “i can go grab your pillow and blanket for you if you’d like?”
chenle hummed in affirmation, sending the nervous boy off to his bedroom. he felt something bubble in his chest and pressed a fist to his mouth. he burped and he could taste bitter acid in the back of his throat. he felt more than heard his stomach grumble unhappily in response.
jisung quickly returned with his pillow and comforter in his arms. he set the pillow down and chenle slowly lowered himself onto it, keeping himself curled over his stomach and his arm pressed against it to relieve some pressure. he let jisung drap the comforter over him and adjust it so it was snug against chenle. it was uncomfortably warm, but chenle didnt have the heart to tell jisung to take it back.
the extra heat made his nausea worse, unfortunately.
jisung kneeled in front of chenle’s face, now the only thing poking out of the blanket. “is there anything else i can do to help? do you want a bucket or some water?”
chenle looked at jisung, seeing the amount of worry in the younger’s brown eyes. he gave the younger a small smile. “just gotta wait it out, sungie. i’ll be alright, i promise.”
jisung wasn’t quite convinced, seeing how uncomfortable the older was, but he let it go in hopes that he was right. he settled back down at the end of the couch, putting chenle’s feet in his lap.
for a while, it seemed that chenle was managing to win against the nausea. he was silent, the only sounds being low rumbles from his tummy. jisung felt some of the worry leave him, content with seeing chenle settle down.
in reality, chenle had his eyes squeezed closed as he fought against nausea that left him feeling dizzy. laying down seemed to only further upset his stomach, its contents sloshing around. he snuck his hand under his hoodie and pressed against the swell of his belly, trying to bring some sort of relief. even the coolness of his hand against his stomach didn’t take away from the nausea.
chenle suddenly jerked up, blanket falling to the side. he burped loudly then slapped a hand over his mouth, feeling the bile in the back of his throat. jisung stared at his frozen figure. chenle was only still for a couple of seconds before he retched loudly into his hand, eyes going wide with the realization that he was about to puke.
chenle struggled out of the blanket, his stomach sloshing and climbing up his throat. he was determined not to throw up until he reached the bathroom, not wanting to make a mess.
his body however had other plans. he had only taken a few steps forward before his stomach lurched painfully and he couldn’t stop himself from bending over a vomiting all over his floor and hand. it was gross and the sensation of it on his hand worsened his nausea, making him gag loudly. he heard jisung curse behind him before he was vomiting again, adding even more to the mess.
his stomach was determined to get everything up all at once, it seemed. chenle felt like he couldn’t stop puking, his dinner making a total reappearance on the floor of his living room. it was painful, but the worst part was the lack of relief from vomiting. he wasn’t sure how much time had passed before jisung appeared next him with a trash can and held it under his chin.
chenle only vomited a little into the trash can before trailing off into dry heaves that burned his throat. after a couple careful swallows and one quiet gag, chenle’s stomach finally decided it was done. he could feel his legs shaking and he was extremely lightheaded. there was still some nausea lingering despite his stomach turning itself inside out.
jisung noticed chenle’s shakiness and quickly escorted him to the bathroom, sitting him down on the toilet and placing the trash can on his lap. it was as if all worries in jisung’s head had turned off and the need to take care of chenle took over. chenle put his clean hand on his tummy, feeling the nausea start to settle down and deeper cramps seizing it instead. he let jisung clean his mouth and chin with a damp washcloth, his touch surprisingly soothing to chenle.
he guided chenle’s soiled hand near the sink, still using the washcloth to clean it. it allowed chenle to stay sitting and avoid upsetting his tummy more.
jisung looked down at chenle’s sweatpants, noticing that they had been soiled pretty badly along with his socks. “will you be alright if i leave you here for a few seconds? i’m gonna grab you some clean clothes.”
chenle nodded, then leaned to rest his pounding head on the sink countertop. he had felt relatively okay this morning, he didn’t understand how he deteriorated so quickly. in the past when he had dealt with a stomach bug, it always hit him early in the morning. never had it happen after a full day of meals. it felt much, much worse and he knew that everything he consumed that day was going to battle with his digestive system.
he moved his hand in slow circles around his belly button, trying to soothe his stomach so he wouldn’t throw up again. he groaned softly. he loathed feeling sick to his stomach.
jisung returned to him with clean clothes, having chosen ones he knew chenle felt most comfortable in. he didn’t hesitate to help chenle undress himself, knowing how exhausted chenle was after vomiting so violently. he tossed the soiled clothes aside, making a mental note to throw them in the wash when he had time.
jisung considered getting medicine for chenle to help settle his stomach, but he doubted that he would be able to keep down anything. instead, he encouraged chenle to brush his teeth to get rid of the taste of bile.
“do you want to lay down in your bed? i’ll bring a bucket for you just in case.”
chenle nodded, then quietly asked, “can you carry me, sungie?”
the question caught jisung off guard, as it was very uncharacteristic of chenle. then again, this whole time that jisung has been caring for him, he hadn’t been putting up any of his usual fight. it was obvious that chenle really didn’t feel good.
“of course.” jisung lifted up chenle as gently as he could, holding him under his legs and back. the movement caused a rush of nausea for chenle and he shoved his face into jisung’s shirt to try to avoid puking on himself. jisung couldn’t help but flush a little at the sight of chenle curling himself into jisung, his heart endeared at the sight.
chenle kept his face hidden until he felt jisung lower him slowly onto his bed. the familiar scent of his bedsheets brought him comfort and he curled up on his side. he could hear jisung shuffling around and out of the room, most likely to grab chenle a bucket. chenle let his eyes close, sighing deeply.
the fever left him feeling vulnerable to jisung, a feeling was not familiar with. he couldn’t deny however that jisung’s care left him feeling comforted and safe. he found himself craving jisung’s presence, even his timid touches.
jisung reentered the bedroom with the bucket and a glass of water, just in case. chenle was vaguely aware of him setting it on the bed next to him, but he was too exhausted to open his eyes..
he felt jisung gently brush his hair from his face, the small movement providing comfort that chenle desperately clinged onto.
“feel better soon, chenle,” jisung whispered, before moving to stand up.
chenle gained just enough strength the grab jisung by the wrist, a soft whine sounding from the back of his throat. “c-can you stay with me?”
jisung’s cheeks turned pink at chenle’s request. his hyung being sick was apparently bad for his heart as it stuttered in his chest. he carefully lowered himself back onto the bed, smiling as chenle sighed softly and released jisung’s risk.
jisung took the opportunity to slowly reach over and begin to pet chenle’s hair. normally, chenle would screech and duck away from anyone trying to touch his hair. now, he merely leaned into it. his hair was soft, jisung noted.
he watched chenle carefully until it became obvious that he had fallen asleep, chest rising and falling deeper than before. in a small moment of impulse, jisung leaned forward and kissed the top of chenle’s hair.
chenle was going to be stuck with his love struck care until he could fight him off again, jisung thought to himself. though if anything, chenle might have to fight harder. jisung had quickly become addicted to giving him affection and he knew there was no going back.