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"Hello?" Yuma pestered, now clearly rage-baiting the easily rage-baited leader. Euijoo glared half-heartedly before turning off his light and curling into a ball. In the hallway Nicholas had thumped off to his room at the very end of the hallway.
"Okay…" Yuma said as the faint sound of music began playing, meaning Euijoo put on headphones in an attempt to no longer be rage-baited.
-
Nicholas laid in his bed, his arm across his face as he chewed the inside of his lip. He loved rage-baiting Euijoo, anyone could tell you that for a fact. This time though, they were really fighting. It was so stupid.
A few days prior the group had filmed an &TEAM COURSE video, a segment of the video involved them having to act out scenes from K-dramas. Everything was fine until it was Euijoos turn. Nicholas didn't exactly know why he was so jealous, it was acting and so clearly a joke than none of them took seriously, but he couldn't help it.
Nicholas had been thinking about it, masking his jealously with Oscar worthy accuracy, until it started to leave a sour taste in his tongue. He's always been told his face was very expressive and that must have shown tonight. When Euijoo and Nicholas were in the kitchen to refill on popcorn for the group Nicholas brought it up, trying to sound nonchalant and unbothered but tonight was the one night Euijoo decided to confront Nicholas's expressiveness. It resulted in a massive, but hushed, argument between them. Euijoo pointing out how ridiculous it was to be jealous over this and Nicholas trying to say he wasn't jealous knowing full well he was.
In the end Euijoo went to his room first, Nicholas angrily giving the popcorn to Maki and retreating to his own space, grateful he had pulled the room where he wouldn't have to share with anyone.
Nicholas tried to calm down but he was just so upset, and it was starting to be less and less about the actual incident and more how the both of them handled it. He wished he had just outright told Euijoo it bugged him the night of the day it happened when Euijoo was tucked into his arms rather than wait and let it build. He wished Euijoo would've taken his feelings, no matter how silly, seriously to actually try to reason with him. He hated that he was jealous over something that was never really even his.
-
Euijoo faced the wall with music blasting in his ears, he didn't want to hear Yuma ragebaiting him anymore, it was reminding Euijoo of Nicholas and that made him feel sick. Like physically, he had to swallow down saliva that was beginning to pool in his mouth. Euijoo didn't like arguments, it made his skin crawl. He quickly rose from bed and went to the bathroom, he needed to wash his face before he genuinely threw up.
The cold water felt nice on his face that was getting hotter and hotter. He stared into the mirror. Why was he feeling like this, Nicholas was friend, not a boyfriend. Euijoo didn't know what they were.
They were both members of &Team. They were the 02z of &Team. They were friends, close ones. But what they weren't was boyfriends. Sure they cuddled.. a lot.. and maybe here or there they'd hold hands on the couch, and sure, they kissed one time, a singular time and it was purely on accident. But they were not dating.
Sometimes in the dark corners of Euijoos brain, he'd imagine what it would be like to date Nicholas. Euijoo didn't think too long about that though because he was always drawn to the same conclusion; basically nothing would change. Except they'd probably kiss and maybe go further, but right now they were the closest to dating while not dating they could possibly be.
-
It was early in the morning, three members usually woke up this early, Euijoo, Fuma, and sometimes Kei, only if Fuma felt like waking him though. The three of them would usually convene in the kitchen while they each participated in their own screen time, but this morning Euijoo was laying in bed clutching himself. He felt hot, he felt cold, he was sweaty, salivating but his mouth was dry. Dizzy while laying completely still. Euijoo was sick.
Out of all times to get sick this was worst, why? Because Nicholas always took care of Euijoo when he was sick, bringing him medicine, water, food, and cuddling him while he rested. But now Euijoos head was pounding and he had to hold his forehead himself instead of leaning into Nicholas's cold palms.
Euijoos headphones died in the middle of the night so he was all on his own for hours, the only sleep he got was from the occasional long blink that made the clock skip forward a few minutes while depositing no energy back into him.
He could vaguely hear murmurs from Jos side of the room, most likely from Yuma detaching from Jo in his sleep because he was too hot.
God just thinking of the word "hot" made a wave of heat wave over Euijoo and cause his stomach to constrict as he held back the urge to puke. Jo and Yuma had an early call time so all Euijoo had to do was pretend he was asleep until they left then come up with a way to not look sick to the rest of the members that had free days today.
Euijoo could hear the quiet footsteps of Yuma and Jo finally getting up for the day, it sounded like the door opened and closed, probably Yuma to go back to his room and get clothes. Jo was always scarily quiet, despite being as tall as he was, when he walked he was as quiet as a mouse. Euijoo found this out when he turned slightly and his heart almost jumped out of his ass at the sight of Jo standing over him and examining him.
"Jesus Christ!" Euijoo flinched hard, which did not pair well with the already nauseous feeling growing in his stomach. Well there went that plan.
"Are you okay hyung? You look sick.." Jo said cautiously, fearing that Euijoo might not be sick and he just insulted his leader.
Euijoo was so tempted to lie, he didn't like having the other members worry about him in the first place, let alone when he's sick. He hated lying more though. Euijoo shook his head and rolled back over, clutching his stomach.
"Do you want me to go get Ni-"
"No. I'll be fine without him." Euijoo swiftly cut Jo off, reaching to plug his headphones in so they could charge.
Jo was quiet for a second but Euijoo heard the softest okay before footsteps padded off and out of the room.
Euijoos eyebrows scrunched as another chill ran down his spine, he didn't know if it was a fever or a cold, he felt so warm but he was so fucking cold. Either way he was a grown man capable of taking care of himself without the help of his band mate.
-
Euijoo had been hunched over the toilet for the past hour, the bathroom door tightly locked. He had tasked Fuma with calling his sickness into the staff members, mainly because he was too busy losing yesterdays breakfast lunch and dinner.
Everyone besides Jo and Yuma had schedules later in the day, which meant every 5 minutes a different person came knocking on the door to check on him and see if he needed something. Euijoo refused it all. He didn't know who he was trying to prove it to but he so desperately wanted to get over this sickness by himself.
Finally getting a pause in his hurling, Euijoo sat back against the wall, he had tears streaming down his face because who knew desperately needing to throw up while you body has nothing to throw up is so painful. His head was spinning and his eyes were unfocused, wet with tears that made his blinking burn.
His ears felt clogged, everything around him was muffled and occasionally they'd clear up when he swallowed, but swallowing had become such a painful labor that he avoided it at all costs.
There was a faint sound against the door, then a soft metallic clink against the door handle, and before Euijoo knew it the bathroom door was unlocked with the spare key that was always above the door. In came the one person Euijoo didn't consciously want to see but subconsciously knew he needed.
Nicholas's face was scribbled with worry, crouching down in front on Euijoo, a sweaty, stinky mess. He smelled like throw up and pure sadness. Euijoos hand raised a little bit, Nicholas met it in the middle and intertwined their fingers, it was sweet. For a moment. Until Euijoo pushed Nicholas back a bit and leaned over the toilet again.
Euijoos hair wasn't long enough to need to be held back so Nicholas settled on rubbing Euijoos back while the latter threw up his guts. His throat was dry and the heaving noises Euijoos body was making every so often was making Nicholas a bit nauseous, but nonetheless he stayed.
This was one of the worst, Euijoos throat was so incredibly dry it hurt to breath through his mouth, which was all he could do now that his nose was stuffed. Thick painful tears slowly traversed their way down his cheeks. The sight of someone by the door peering in worriedly made Euijoo want to cry, or explode, or both simultaneously.
Nicholas had said something, in reality it had been to Taki who had been by the door, telling him to get a bottle of water from the fridge. In Euijoos cloudy mind, it sounded like Nicholas was talking to him, so he begrudgingly turned his head slightly to look at Nicholas.
Nicholas looked so sorry for Euijoo, who had tears, new and old, streaking his face, his eyes were puffy, nose stuffed but still snot falling, his entire face a bright pink.
Taki came back with a water bottle a few dry heaves later. Euijoo leaned back against the wall and let Nicholas feed him the water. Even now, Euijoo was trying to prove he'd be fine by himself, and even now he was failing. Miserably.
In an attempt to drink the water himself he missed his mouth completely and got water all across his favorite night shirt. He pouted softly but when Nicholas slowly fed the water to him, the cold liquid seeping down his dry burning throat felt like liquid gold. He could feel the path the water was taking on it's way to his stomach. It felt like pure relief.
Euijoo felt the strength in him to sniffle, breathing in hard in an attempt to stop the snot from running down the front of his face. Nicholas had once again come to the rescue, using a thick wrap of toilet paper to wipe the slightly dry snot away, holding a fresh wrap for Euijoo to blow into. Bad idea, sure it cleared up his nose, but it also required too many muscles that also pressed down on his stomach, and with the new found liquid in Euijoos stomach, it was back to the toilet bowl for him.
This time was particularly rough, thick tears ran harsh paths down Euijoos face as the little bit of water he had came up his throat. When he was finished he was trembling, he leaned back and this time found Nicholas's chest instead of the cold bathroom wall. His pride immediately subsiding as he curled into Nicholas's warm chest, fatigue shooting through his body as his restless night finally caught up. Euijoo yawned and mid yawn fell asleep, his eyes and forehead pressed against Nicholas's neck.
-
When Euijoo woke up his eyes were still closed, too heavy to open as a soft hand lifted his chin gently and fed him two pills. Euijoo complied, swallowing the pills accompanied by water. Then it was back to lights out. Curling up to probably the worlds softest material in a pillow ever.
Nicholas put the water on the table by the bed, leaving the room with a small crack between the door and its frame. He chewed on the inside of his lip as he walked into the kitchen. Yuma and Kei were making tea while Harua sat on the counter scrolling through his phone and waiting for something to finish cooking in the oven.
"How's he doing?" Yuma asked the second he saw Nicholas. Yuma and Jo had just gotten back from their shoot, being filled in on what was happening here by Maki.
"The same. Well, he's not throwing up anymore so that's a win?" Nicholas responded quickly, he only came to the kitchen to grab some napkins, some more water and a little snack. Euijoo would need to eat or he wouldn't be able to take a second dosage in a few hours. When this all started it was far far too early in the morning. Nicholas was fast asleep when a panicked Taki rudely woke him. When he heard it was about Euijoo he had been activated like a sleeper agent, immediately awake and rushing to the bathroom.
The four of them sat in a not so comfortable silence, taking in the calmness of a rather crowded dorm room. There was a soft shuffling sound approaching the kitchen, which they all thought nothing of until a scratchy "Nichol" broke the silence.
Finally emerging from around the corner was Euijoo, he looked pale, the tears from earlier had dried onto his face leaving his eyes dry and red. Nicholas didn't say another word as he walked from his place on the counter to where Euijoo was standing. His hand found the small of Euijoos back and gently guided him to the hallway that led back to his room.
Euijoo's mind was foggy but his head had been clear enough to notice as they walked straight past his bedroom, heading down towards Nicholas's bedroom. Nicholas laid in bed first, slowly pulling Euijoo down to rest partially on top of him. This was far from their first time laying like this and it definitely would not be their last. It was a practiced skill at this point, the way their bodies would mold together, every inch of each others skin pressed against the other.
Euijoo was back fast asleep the second his head hit Nicholas's chest. Nicholas had placed his chin comfortingly on Euijoos head and held him close, breathing out a sigh. Being the Stubborn Stewart he was, he was still a little upset about their argument the day before. But of course he wouldn't bring it up to Euijoo after he'd seen him in such a vulnerable state.
-
Euijoo was once again awake, but this time he woke up on his own, finally being fully conscious for the first time in 24 hours. He heard a very very soft sound of either Instagram or Tiktok, it sounded like it was coming through headphones though so he didn't bother. Scooting in and nuzzling more against Nicholas, hoping that him being sick would be a get out of jail free card to avoid talking about the argument.
The bedroom door opened, Euijoos eyes were still shut, if this wasn't a get out of jail free situation he wanted to draw out his comfortability before it all came crashing down. It sounded like Harua and Taki coming to check in, Nicholas's hand briefly left Euijoos waist to give them some kind of hand gesture, whether it was a thumbs up, waving them away, or any other non verbal way of getting them to leave, Euijoo wasn't sure, but they left quickly so he had no problems.
Euijoo leaned his head back, looking up at Nicholas through hooded eyes. Nicholas looked down at Euijoo at the movement. They stared at each other. Something they couldn't manage when in front of the fans or staff or even the other members. Nicholas chewed the inside of his lip, clearly debating on whether or not to say something. Euijoo hoped not.
"About yesterday.." Damn it.
"Listen I know I was being unreasonable, getting like that when you and Maki had no choice, but when you immediately got defensive and angry I lost all sense of what 'rational thinking' means. I'm sorry." Nicholas was now doing anything he could to look anywhere but Euijoo, which was hard, they were like 7 inches away from each others face and their bodies were straight up against each other. Euijoo was a bit shocked Nicholas apologized, and with this explanation now present to him, Euijoo felt horrible. He didn't know why he was so agitated yesterday, Nicholas wasn't the only one to say something like that about his attitude.
"I was being unreasonable too, there's no excuse to why I was so rude yesterday. And yeah I mean I was a little upset you said that about me and Maki, but not upset enough to justify acting like an ass. I'm sorry." Euijoo put his head back under Nicholas's chin and hugged him tightly, this was a bad time for his stomach to start to contract and his mouth to fill with saliva, maybe the heat from how long they'd been hugging was starting to get to him because he felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
Nicholas sighed, lifting Euijoos head back up. He seemed hesitant for all of three seconds before he moved forward and placed a warm kiss right on Euijoos lips. Euijoo was shocked, but not disgusted in the slightest, he was so happy. Euijoo, after collecting himself, leaned into it, his eyes slipping closed. It was fun while it lasted, Euijoo suddenly shot back from the kiss and ran out of the room, leaving a confused and worried Nicholas in his place. Nicholas rose quickly to follow Euijoo, who had gone to the bathroom.
Euijoo gripped the toilet as he spilled whatever was left in his body that could be. God this was horrible. Nicholas kneeled next to him and rubbed his back.
"This has… nothing.. to do with… you" Euijoo forced out in between painful heaves. This earned a nose laugh from Nicholas who smiled down slightly before returning to his position as nurse, rubbing Euijoos back and giving him a space to lean back on when his body would let him rest.
(Mini Bonus)
Euijoo and Nicholas sat on the couch. Nicholas and Yuma were eating Buldak while Euijoo sulked over not being allowed to have any. He and Jo were eating white rice. Euijoo still felt like absolute crap but Nicholas told him he had to eat or he wouldn't be allowed to take more medicine.
"Nichol… can't I have just one bite.. it smells so good" Euijoo had a deep frown on his face, beautiful dark puppy eyes flashed in Nicholas's direction, hoping he could slip passed Nicholas's responsibility with a bit of cuteness.
Nicholas of course knew what Euijoo was doing and leaned close, eating a bit bite of ramen right in Euijoos face. Euijoo pouted and slapped Nicholas's shoulder, looking back toward the TV where Maki, Harua, and Fuma were watching an episode of their new favorite Kdrama.
"Jo didn't you say you wanted to go through your closet? I'll help" Yuma was partially biting back a smile as he stood up and grabbed Jo, walking towards his and Euijoos room. Euijoo and Nicholas of course none the wise, eating in a soft silence. Euijoo finished eating first and scooted closer to Nicholas, leaning his head on Nicholas's shoulder.
They still needed to have a long long conversation about what they were, it wasn't explicitly said between them. All that changed its that they kiss sometimes when its dark, small pecks here and there that left them both feeling warm and giddy. Neither of them would trade it for the world.