Chapter Text
You rushed into room 3301, not bothering to listen to what the nurse was attempting to explain to you. You threw the door open and took in the sight in front of you -- Kim Jongin on a hospital bed. You scanned his head, his arms, his chest, and finally your eyes landed on his left leg. It was wrapped in layers of gauze with a solid white cast on top of it, suspended in the air by a hanging ankle gurney. Despite this, physically Jongin looked okay. You let out a breath you hadn't realised you'd been holding.
You crossed the room to Jongin's bed and immediately sat in the chair next to him, taking one of his hands in both of yours. Jongin said nothing to you, dark brown eyes boring deeply into yours. Looking into those eyes you knew almost as well as your own, you saw sadness. Upon closer inspection of Jongin's face, he looked tired, worn down, ragged. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days and his eyes were a contrasting bright red. His normally glowing olive complexion looked pale and sullen. His lips were dry and cracked in one corner.
He still had yet to speak to you, but you put the pieces together in your head just by looking at him. Due to unfortunate work commitments, it had taken you two days before you were able to fly to Seoul to see him, even though you were only in Tokyo. EXO was in the midst of their comeback tour, headlining for their EX'ACT album. Jongin had only gotten to perform one show before he had severely injured himself while dancing on stage. Even though he had called you to tell you about it, there was no shortage of coverage on the incident online. You read what happened and mourned for Jongin inwardly. Junmyeon had told you over the phone that it was unlikely that Jongin would be able to perform during the remaining Seoul concerts.
You sighed and took one of your hands and placed it on Jongin's cheek, rubbing your thumb over the bags under his eyes. Jongin leaned his head into your palm and broke the silence.
"Hi, honey." Honey. You hadn't heard him say it to your face in some months. It felt nice; you were instantly transported back to the time he had first introduced that pet name to you.
*
Jongin had decided to take you on a date to a secluded park -- your first time out and alone together in a long time. You were strolling and taking in the scenery when from behind you, you heard a girl call out, "Nini!" Both you and Jongin turned around in surprise, having not expected to be caught by fans in a park so out of town. But, as the gentleman that Jongin is, he gave the girl an autograph and exchanged a few pleasantries with her as she talked excitedly to him.
As the girl was excusing herself, Jongin asked her politely not to post about their location on any social media until later in the day. The girl kindly agreed and the both of you continued on your stroll. After interlocking your hands once more, a question struck you. "Where did Nini-Bear come from, anyways?" you asked playfully.
"I'm not really sure," Jongin laughed, "but I think it's cute, don't you?"
"It's adorable," you agreed. "I wish I had a nickname as cute as yours," you pouted.
"Honey," he said suddenly.
"Huh?" You didn't understand what he was trying to say.
"You're honey," he repeated again. "I'm a bear and bears like honey. So if I like you then you must be honey!" You both began to laugh; you couldn't even find an argument to refute your boyfriend's ridiculous logic. Your sides began to hurt with laughter and you had to lean into Jongin for support. When you finally calmed down and wiped the tears out of the corner of your eyes, you looked up at Jongin and saw his cheeks were glowing pink with his mouth spread into a wide smile. You loved the way his eyes scrunched up when he laughed really hard; it was how you knew he was genuinely laughing. You hadn't seen it in awhile, not since he'd been beaten down by hectic scheduling and flights to new places nearly every other day.
But here you were now, the reason for his smile, over some silly pet name that you admittedly loved but would probably never hear again. You relished in the moment as long as you could.
As you were soaking in the sunshine and scenery and Jongin himself, you were caught off guard when Jongin pulled you in for a kiss. His plump lips were always soft against yours, seeming to fit together like two halves of a puzzle. You felt him smile under your lips, so you broke apart and smiled back at him warmly.
"I love you, honey," Jongin whispered into your ear. You could feel your ears turn red and you pushed him back softly.
"I love you too, Yogi bear," you stuck your tongue out at him.
"Ayee, Boo Boo," he said dramatically, making you gasp with laughter all over again before pulling him into another kiss.
*
You snapped back to the present, shaking your head like an Etch-A-Sketch when you realised Jongin was still looking at you expectantly.
"A-are you okay?" you asked, knowing how stupid it sounded as soon as the words left your mouth. Jongin smiled sadly and looked at his ankle. You knew he would be beating himself up over this and it broke your heart.
Before he could answer you, though, a nurse entered to inform you both that Jongin could be discharged today if he wanted to be. You could see Jongin squirming in the hospital bed -- laying down for three days must've been hard on him. Both of you looked at the nurse and nodded enthusiastically.
While Jongin was being moved to a wheelchair, you gathered up his belongings and packed them neatly in a duffle bag. After he was seated in your car, you began to make your way home before an idea struck you. Instead of the left turn that would've taken you back to yours and Jongin's apartment, you took a right turn. Jongin looked at you in confusion.
"Hey didn't you make the wrong turn?" he asked.
"We're making a small detour," you chirped as you pulled into the drive through of KFC. "Aren't you hungry, babe?"
Jongin smiled genuinely at you for the first time today and nodded his head. "I hope you're buying lunch for your boyfriend today, too. I've been through a lot, y'know…" he said playfully as he made puppy-dog eyes at you.
"Aren't you the one who always says it's a gentleman's job to pay on dates?" you shot back. His eyes widened as his façade was decimated.
"Crap," he resigned, reaching into his duffle bag for his wallet. You laughed loudly and put your hand on top of his to stop him.
"It's fine, Jongin," you said through laughter still, "I think I'll be okay to cover this one." Jongin smiled and waved his hands around in the small space of the car in victory. You were glad that you could do something even as small as this to cheer Jongin up. You ordered a huge bucket of fried chicken just for him, and some fries for yourself. Jongin chimed in that he wanted biscuits as well, so you got them for him.
After you had received your order and paid for it, you exited the lot. Jongin immediately reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a piece of chicken. Before he could eat it though, you swatted at his hand.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, "why did you do that?"
"Oh please, Kim Jongin, I know your mother taught you better than to eat in the car. Wait until we get home so you can have a nice lunch with your girlfriend," you said as you flashed a dramatically sweet smile at him.
"Fiiiine, honey," he huffed. You looked away from him quickly and blushed. "Two times in one day," you thought to yourself. "A girl really can be this lucky."
You pulled into the parking lot of your apartment complex and quickly began arranging everything for Jongin. You could see he was aggravated with himself for needing to rely on you to take care of him, so you tried to make it as effortless as possible. You pulled out his wheelchair and helped him into it, handing the bag of food to him. You slung his duffle bag around your shoulder and closed the door of the car. Luckily for you both, someone was exiting the building just as you were entering, so they kindly held the door open for you. You proceeded to the elevator and eventually reached your apartment.
Having made it inside, you helped Jongin into a dining room chair and placed all the food out on the table along with the large soda pop you had both decided to share.
You ate quietly, deciding to enjoy each others company instead of talking about recent events. Jongin caught you staring at him three times, but every time you looked away he would start to pout. You couldn't help but admire him, even after all this time of being together you still weren't used to him. After eating, some of the colour in his skin had returned and he looked happier. The bags under his eyes still bothered you, though.
"Hey, Jongin?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to… take a nap? Together?" He looked at you for a long moment.
"Now?" he said.
"Yeah." He nodded slowly, his movements showcasing all the more how tired he was. You helped him back into his wheelchair and cleaned off the table. You made your way to the bedroom with him.
After you helped him get into the bed, you asked him if he wanted anything before you both slept.
"Could you get me some water, please?" You smiled at him and nodded. You grabbed a glass from the kitchen and filled it with some water, adding a few cubes of ice. When you returned to the room, Jongin was in the midst of taking off his shirt. Embarrassed, the hand which was not holding the water flew up to cover your eyes.
"J-Jongin, what're you doing at a time like this…" you said nervously. Jongin continued laughing at your expense.
"Even you can tell it's hot right? We'll be fine like this," he coaxed. You slowly lowered your hand, letting out a long sigh as you handed him his water cup. He took a few huge gulps and set the cup down, patting the place beside him in bed.
"Let's sleep now, I'm tired," Jongin said. You curled next to him. He lazily swung his bandaged leg over your thigh, forcing you to move in closer to him.
"What have you done that for?" you asked him.
"Don't I need to elevate my leg?" Jongin asked playfully. You rolled your eyes and decided to let him have this, despite the discomfort that the added weight of the cast put on your legs. You would be fine for a little while.
Suddenly, Jongin grabbed your right hand and placed it on his chest.
"Do you feel it?" he asked you softly. His chest was firm, but softly beneath it you could feel his heart beating. You nodded, looking up at him from where you lay.
"It's for you," he concluded. He released his grasp on your hand, but you continued to let your hand rest there, on his chest, finding comfort in the constant, assured beating of his heart.
And just like that, you both fell asleep, despite the unforgiving heat of the summer.