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Kyungsoo didn’t consider himself a heavy sleeper. Most times, lights and noises were enough to wake him unless he was really tired. He hated it, but it was useful for certain moments — moments like the one happening right now.
He woke up to pacing. Turning over in bed in an effort to fall back asleep, he heard the restless back and forth just outside the door to his and Baekhyun’s room. It was paired with a sharp cough and a groan, followed closely by a quiet sob.
Baekhyun? Kyungsoo felt his dreams just within reach, but fought it off to say his boyfriend’s name out loud to no reply. More pacing. Another cough. After a moment of resistance, Kyungsoo got up.
The light was on in the hallway outside of their room. Underneath the door, Baekhyun’s shadow moved with his walk and disappeared as he went farther away. He was in the middle of coming back down the hall when Kyungsoo opened the door. They stared at each other for a moment.
“What’s happening?”
“Sorry,” Baekhyun said wearily. “Did I wake you up?”
“It’s fine. What’s going on?” Kyungsoo repeated. Baekhyun looked absolutely miserable. His hair was a mess and his eyes had dark lines of fatigue. How long had he been awake?
“I can’t breathe. I mean, I can. I just keep coughing.”
“Are you okay? Should we go to the hospital?”
“No, it’s fine.” Baekhyun coughed again a few times, taking in a shaky breath. “It’s just. Asthma. Probably. I don’t know. I’m so fucking tired. I’ll probably go to urgent care tomorrow or something. Or today. Whatever.”
“I’ll take you. Where’s your inhaler? Don’t you have one?”
“I can’t find it.”
“Last seen…?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe in the drawer in our room? Or the bathroom. I checked both, though.”
Kyungsoo tsked, going back into their room to turn on the lights. He retrieved his glasses from the nightstand and started rummaging through the contents of their dresser. “You should know where it is,” Kyungsoo said as Baekhyun sat on the bed defeatedly. “It’s supposed to be for emergencies.”
“I barely ever have asthma attacks, so I forgot where it was.”
“Let me check the bathroom. Your breathing is really concerning me.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t-“ another string of coughs, a beat as he took in a wheeze of a breath “-get any worse than this.”
As far as Kyungsoo could tell with his limited medical knowledge, this was already pretty bad. What time was it, anyway? He glanced at the bathroom window to see light emerging from behind the trees. Early morning. That explained Baekhyun’s state of disarray. It was a Saturday, too, which was Baekhyun’s sleep in day. He must feel awful. Shaking his head, Kyungsoo rummaged the cabinets a little faster. At this rate, he might not even go back to sleep. Unlike Baekhyun, once his sleep was interrupted for the night, that was usually it. The least he could do was get Baekhyun back to bed as soon as possible. He sounded like he needed it.
“It’s fine,” Baekhyun said. He was at the door of the bathroom, watching him go through their storage. “Kyungsoo. It’s okay.”
“What do you mean, ‘It’s okay?’ Do you mean you’re feeling better? Or that you’ll be able to sleep?”
Baekhyun held his stare for a long moment before sighing. “You won’t be able to find it. I’ve been looking. You’re only wasting your time.”
“We’re going to urgent care.”
“It’s not open yet. It’s five in the morning.”
“Well, then when it opens.”
“Let’s just go to sleep,” Baekhyun said. He leaned against the door frame and watched Kyungsoo return the medicine bottles to the cabinet. “We’ll figure that out when we get up, if it’s still bad.”
“Will you even be able to sleep?”
“I don’t know.”
Kyungsoo considered that. It didn’t seem likely that Baekhyun would be able to sleep comfortably. Not with the way his breathing looked so uncomfortable. “Okay,” Kyungsoo said finally. No sense in arguing. He could tell Baekhyun was done with this already; even if he was concerned, forcing the issue would do more harm than good. “Go to bed. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Obediently, Baekhyun disappeared in their bedroom. Kyungsoo sighed. He could hear him coughing from the bathroom. It sounded like it was worse when Baekhyun was lying down. Would water help? Kyungsoo didn’t know how any of this worked.
He returned to their room after going to the kitchen for a glass. “I’m putting this here,” he said as he placed it on their nightstand. Then he slid into bed, exhausted.
After a slew of coughs, Baekhyun moan-sobbed and curled up against Kyungsoo’s chest, forehead to collarbone, like having Kyungsoo hold him would help him feel better. In actuality, it didn’t do much in terms of his symptoms but did seem to ease him a bit. Kyungsoo rubbed his back. “Shh…” he said softly. “Go to sleep.”
Easier said than done. But Baekhyun seemed determined to listen, letting out a shuddering breath before stilling.
Eventually, Baekhyun relaxed in his arms. Kyungsoo sighed with relief. He was asleep. Asthma or not, all Kyungsoo knew was that he was glad he wasn’t coughing anymore. They’ll go see a doctor soon. But for now, it was enough that Baekhyun was sleeping comfortably.
Kyungsoo kissed his forehead and closed his eyes to sleep, too.