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Mingi is in the most dire state of his life when he gets a text from his boyfriend.
hey
wanna come over later?
And of course, he has not told Yunho about this current immune system failure he’s facing. Yunho has enough to worry about and Mingi doesn’t want to add to that.
i thought u had to work today?
got someone to cover my shift
miss you
u r so obsessed with me
:(
i’m kidding
i miss you too
but i’m sick
like deathly ill
like projectile vomiting type ill
oh
that sucks i’m sorry
do u need anything?
Mingi sighs.
you :(
but i don’t want to get you sick too
well you’re in luck
i’ve never been sick in my life
is that right
yep
never once
nice try
but no
come onnnnn
let me come over sweet cheeks🔥🔥🔥
i will snuggle you back to health
do not call me that
i will stab you in the eye
sweetie?
baby cakes?
baby?
That last one. Mingi’s whole body goes hot, an intense blush layering over his hellish fever. They’ve never really delved into pet names, but oh, Mingi could get used to that.
…
i like baby..
perfect
i like baby too
i like you!!!!!
ur stupid
maybe
snuggles?
Just as he’s about to respond with a hearty no because Yunho does not need to be sick on top of his finals, a bud of nausea blooms in his gut. And maybe the flutter he felt when Yunho called him Baby didn’t help, because one second he’s giggling at his phone, and the next he’s rushing to the bathroom to throw up again.
This is horrible. Mingi hasn’t thrown up this much since he got strep in fifth grade.
mingi?
sorry if i was being pushy
Mingi wipes his mouth with his sleeve and sniffles. His eyes are watering involuntarily and everything hurts. Yunho blaming his absence on himself doesn’t help either, sending a jolt of anxiety through his chest.
hey no no
u r totally fine
sorry i was literally throwing up no worries
???
yes worries
are you okay??
Mingi pouts. He wants to be. Wants to say he is.
ugh
:(
yes
no
i kind of want to cry
Yunho types, then stops. Then types again.
do u want me to come over?
don’t think about me getting sick
what will help you?
i want you to come over
but i’m scared
i’ll be fine baby
:(
i like baby
that’s cute
yeah?
yes
Mingi is sliding down the bathroom wall when Yunho tries to Facetime him.
no
can’t call
?
look ugly ;(
mingi
come on
don’t say that
you would think the same thing if you could see me lol
maybe it’s best you don’t come over
your perception of me will be ruined forever
A cough erupts from his lungs as Yunho responds.
Nothing could ruin my perception of you
i don’t care what u look like
just want you to feel better
Mingi almost cries just from these messages. Ugh, he’s so lame. He decides to send a voice memo of him sniffling, coughing, and dying. His voice is hoarse when he jokingly says, “You want to be around this?”
:((
yes
i could run you a bath
and dote on you like a housewife
this is what i was made for mingi
don’t deprive me of this
ill make you soup too
Mingi scoffs. Deprive.
fine
no kisses though
okay….
totally…..
i’m serious yunho
be there asap don’t die
For the first time in a few hours, Mingi’s body relaxes.
By the time there’s a knock on his door, Mingi’s relocated himself back to his couch. He’s bundled up in what he thinks is probably fifty blankets with the TV on lowly in the background.
“Come in!” he shouts gruffly. It hurts his throat to even get it out.
Yunho enters the apartment not a second later, and Mingi kind of wants to hide. He does. This cannot be happening, Yunho cannot be seeing him like this. What was Mingi thinking, letting such a beautiful, perfect specimen see him at his worst?
Covering his face with one of the blankets, he shrinks into the couch cushions before Yunho can catch a glance.
It doesn’t fool him though, and in just a few seconds he can hear gentle footsteps approaching him.
“You’re gonna smother under there, Mingi-yah.”
Mingi pretends he doesn’t hear him. The cushion dents beside him when Yunho sits.
“Hey.” His voice bathes the air around them in warmth. “Why’re you hiding?”
Mingi groans. “Saving your eyes from damnation.”
Yunho thwaps him on the shoulder. “Stop that. You literally have the face of a supermodel.”
Mingi does his best to kick at him, even though he has no sense of aim under the blankets.
“Hey, I’m serious! Let me see you. I’m gonna bite you.”
With a groan, Mingi surrenders and peeks his eyes over the blanket. Yunho smiles with a gentleness in his eyes Mingi’s never seen before.
“There you are,” he says, soft as he reaches right next to Mingi’s cheek to grab the fabric and rid it completely. “Was that so bad? You look gorgeous as always.”
Pouting, Mingi doesn’t know why he’s so sensitive. Yunho saying this while he looks everything but gorgeous nearly makes him want to cry. “You really think so?”
Yunho brushes his bangs out of his face. “Oh, I know so.”
Mingi makes grabby hands for Yunho like a child. He hums happily when Yunho leans down and hugs him, lifting his back slightly up off the cushions. “No bath. No soup. Just want you to lay with me. Is that okay?”
Yunho giggles and Mingi thinks he’s already healing him, just being this close. “That’s perfectly fine.”
Both being six feet tall, it takes some major maneuvering to fit them both on the couch. Mingi ends up with his head on Yunho’s chest and a big hand sifting through his hair.
It feels good. Even if the rest of his body feels disgusting,
“You don’t want tea or anything? Coffee?”
“Mm-mm.”
“Okay,” Yunho replies, leaning down a little to kiss Mingi’s head. “But if you start to want anything, tell me. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I will,” Mingi laughs. “And I said no kisses. That was the number one rule.”
Yunho whines. “I can’t even kiss your head? I thought that rule applied to lips only.”
Mingi scoffs. “Your mouth touching any part of me is a biohazard.” He can feel the frown on Yunho’s face radiating through the air around them in waves. Mingi lifts his head to gaze up at him. “Aw, cheer up. You look like I murdered your whole family.”
A deeper frown. A mope even.
“Really?”
Yunho grabs Mingi’s face between his hands, squishing his cheeks until his lips bunch together. “What if I call you Baby?”
Oh, okay. Mingi wasn’t aware Yunho was going to use this weakness against him. And while he’s sick, too.
Mingi can’t promise he’ll hold his ground, so, bluntly, he says, “I jus’ threw up,” through the hold Yunho’s got on his jaw.
“Did you brush your teeth?”
“Mouthwash.”
Yunho looks at him with an I’m down sort of face that nearly has Mingi kicking him again.
He pulls his face out of Yunho’s finger-confine. “You’re a freak.”
Yunho acts like he’s stricken him dead, going limp dramatically and sticking his tongue out with his eyes closed. To appease him, Mingi scoffs and presses the lightest kiss he can manage onto Yunho’s sternum, peeking up at him through his eyelashes when Yunho’s head jerks back up.
Yunho bites at him like a feral animal.
“Yah! What is wrong with you?!”
“I need to eat you.”
“You need to be put in a cage.”
It seems to satisfy Yunho some, though, because he hugs Mingi close and lets him lay his head back down.
But that’s when it hits him.
Hot saliva pools on his tongue and a wave of nausea fills his gut again. Mingi doesn’t think he’s ever stood up as fast as he does at that moment, the sickness in his stomach moving faster than his legs.
“Hey, woah, are you alright?” Yunho asks, the shift in demeanor quick.
Mingi doesn’t answer, too busy slapping a hand over his mouth and racing into the bathroom. He shuts the door (and locks it) behind him and immediately doubles over the toilet.
Yunho is at the door in no time, knocking and grabbing at the door handle. “Minnie-yah?”
Mingi gags, having emptied most of the contents of his stomach earlier. All that’s coming out right now is bile and the last remnants of his breakfast.
It hurts. His body tries to heave something up but there’s just nothing left, and it is miserable. Mingi thinks some tears may just escape.
Yunho knocks on the door again. “Can I come in, Baby?”
And there’s that pet name again. Mingi finally lets out a silent sob despite how hard he’s trying to keep it down.
This is humiliating. He feels ugly and disgusting and worst of all, Yunho is on the other side of the door, calling him Baby for god's sake. His stomach convulses again.
But Mingi figures he can’t just pretend he’s not in here, so he flushes whatever came out of his mouth down the toilet and unlocks the door. Yunho is at his side in less than a second.
“Hey,” he whispers, crouching down to his level and wiping the tear trails away. “Are you alright?”
Mingi sobs again, abdomen still twitching and shaking. “No.”
Yunho rubs a gentle hand down his back, seemingly noticing the shivers wracking his spine. “I’m so sorry. Hate seeing you like this.”
And Mingi knows he doesn’t mean it like the way he takes it. He knows Yunho means he hates that he’s sick, but Mingi takes it as he hates that he looks like this. Unkempt and gross. A shuddering breath rips through his chest as he bites down another gag.
“Wh—”
“This is so embarrassing. I hate this. I hate looking like this in front of you.”
Yunho turns his head for him with a fragile hold on his chin. “I’m not going anywhere, Min. And I would never judge you.”
“You should.”
Yunho laughs like the idea is comedic. “Why would I do that? Would you judge me if the roles were reversed?”
Mingi sniffles. “No.”
“So why do you think I would do any different?”
Mingi shrugs, zoning out on a speck on the wall behind him.
“ Look at me. I wanna be here, okay? I wanna take care of you. Let me.”
Mingi feels a few more tears cascade past the apples of his cheeks. He nods, despite every part of his mind wanting to push Yunho away. Wanting to tell him to go home and bleach his eyes or something.
Mingi’s voice cracks when he asks for a glass of water, not trusting his wobbly legs enough to stand and get it himself.
Yunho smiles, though. A pretty and sweet smile. “Anything,” he answers.
The water is cold and soothing on his scratchy throat. Yunho delivers it gently to Mingi’s camp on the tile, and helps him tip it into his mouth after he nearly drops it.
When half the glass is gone, Mingi leans his head onto Yunho’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he says in a whisper.
When Yunho places a kiss on his scalp in return, Mingi doesn’t resist. “I told you. Anything.”
Mingi doesn’t know what he did to deserve this sort of care and attention.
At some point, his body finally stops spasming enough to return to the couch (not after brushing his teeth for five minutes). His stomach still hurts though, so Yunho brings him some medicine.
“Can I…” Mingi sniffles, embarrassed by what he’s about to say. “Can I ask you a weird question?”
Yunho hums, adjusting his body around Mingi’s. “Shoot.”
“Would you put your hand on my stomach?” Mingi’s face immediately burns beet red. “I’m sorry, I know that’s weird—”
He’s cut off by Yunho complying in an instant, a goofy smile on his cheeks.
But Mingi meant, like… under.
Too embarrassed to voice that part, he circles Yunho’s wrist with his fingers and lifts the hem of his shirt, placing his big warm hand on the skin of his belly. “Is this okay?” Mingi asks, anxiety bubbling over in his chest.
Yunho’s cheeks turn red themselves, and the heat of his body already has Mingi’s stomach untensing a bit. His hand is like Mingi’s own personal heating pad. “Yeah, I—this is fine. Good.”
Apparently wanting to send Mingi into utter turmoil, Yunho begins rubbing his thumb in pacifying circles.
Sweet Jesus.
Yunho giggles at his side. “Can I ask for one thing in return, Mingi-yah?”
Mingi rolls his eyes, already knowing what he’s gonna ask. He grabs Yunho by the back of the neck and finally gives the man what he’s wanted all day. (Mingi too, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.”
Their lips meet in a sloppy exchange that has Mingi feeling a little better. Yunho hums into it and his hand slides from his stomach onto his waist, grabbing gently at the skin there. Mingi has to stop himself from giggling like a lovesick schoolgirl.
He cuts it off short when Yunho tries to sneak a tongue in, even if he did brush his teeth. When they part ways, Yunho is pink. beautifully pink.
Through a shortness of breath, Yunho swallows. “I was just gonna ask if I could pee first. But that works, too.”
No matter how hard Mingi tries, he can’t hold back the belly laugh. “Idiot,” he tells him. “Go ahead.”
Yunho lays another kiss on Mingi’s lips and tells him he might be falling in love with him as he stands from the sofa.
And that makes this whole miserable experience worth it.
Because Mingi might be falling in love with Yunho, too.