#gave myself a headache from sneezing so much

[buglaur]

they're preparing for their debut album's launch

[mrs-kodzuken]

Sick with you ♡

Pairing: Aged up!Haijme Iwaizumi x fem!reader

WC: 2.1k

Genre: fluff

CW: fem!reader, sickness, becoming friends, slight attraction to iwaizumi, slight cussing, infertile!reader, teacher!reader, mentions of reader passing out, iwa taking care of reader, very slight implied infertile!iwaizumi, not proofread, very slight angst due to infertile talk

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I sniffled, the disgusting snot coming out of my nose hiding back into it. I was sick. Working with kids was the greatest thing I could have ever done but the unfortunate side of it is getting sick a lot. However, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

I was so sick and I had all the symptoms like the sneezing, body aches, headache, and sore throat. I went to the doctor to see if it was something more serious because I literally feel like death and all she said was that it’s just a ‘common cold’.

A common cold my ass. I feel like I could die.

Staying in the comfort of my own home instead of getting any of the other teachers sick was hard. I wanted—needed—to know how my students were doing.

After having found out I was infertile when I was twenty years old crushed me. Hence why I became a teacher to surround myself around the hopeful children. They look up to me and I love them as if I’m their mom—school mom.

Maybe it’s a sadistic way to cope with my feelings but I don’t care. I went through hell after finding out that heartbreaking news.

The pounding in my skull brought me back to my sickened state. I groaned before grabbing the left side of my head in pain. I was out of headache medicine and my stomach was already growling for something to eat.

As much as I wanted to let my mom and dad take care of me, like they usually would do. I moved away. Finding out about my infertility was a blow to my heart and in the moment I was so broken that I couldn’t stay in the same place where I found it out.

Blinking away the thoughts of my pain, I focused on my bodily pain as I got up to throw on something. I decided on an oversized hoodie I thrifted and kept the nighttime shorts I had on, it was already dinner time anyways. As I turned around for my keys I could feel my body swaying until I grabbed onto the wall.

Damn. I need to hurry and lay back down.

Hurrying to the front door, I grabbed my wallet and slipped on my slides as a cough slid out of my throat.

The nearest convenience store was my best bet since it was only a short walk that I could manage. I wasn’t trying to collapse in the middle of the street.

The little ding I heard alerted me that I was inside the store and I tried to snap out of my small trance of disorientation. I immediately headed for the medical aisle, I need medicine as soon as possible.

After grabbing it, I almost neared the cashier until my stomach rumbled. I damn neared cried because of the pain and hunger I was feeling.

Trudging towards the soup aisle, I quickly saw the last can of chicken noodle soup and immediately went to grab it.

Unfortunately, I guess I wasn’t the only person who wanted some chicken noodle soup right then. I looked over, no matter how much it hurt my eyes to do so, and saw a tall guy. The tip of his nose was highlighted with the color red and there were visible dark eye bags underneath his dark colored eyes.

Our hands brushed as we both tried to grab the same can which happens to be the very last can. “Uhh..” Trailed out of my mouth without warning.

“Sorry,” He politely said towards me, retracting his hand from mine and the chicken noodle soup. He sure was a gentleman if he was just as sick as me and giving me the last can of chicken noodle soup.

“No, sorry, you can have it.” I said, I made a conclusion based on what he looked like. He was built, like built, his muscles showing through a black tee that he was wearing both triceps and abs. Someone who was this muscular had to be someone who was important enough to have those muscles. He gave me a strange look.

“You look worse than I do, I insist.” I’m pretty sure he meant it as I should take better care of myself but I couldn’t help but to take high offense to that.

I scoffed, “Yeah, thank you. Way to make a stranger feel shitty about her appearance.” I gripped the metal can off the shelf and made my way to the cashier, leaving the handsome but sick man behind me.

After I was done checking out, all of my energy was completely gone. It took everything out of me to even get to the store and just the short walk back was enough to make want to cry.

I opened the door to leave, the ding from it making me wince as it was disoriented in my head.

Suddenly, the area around me started to blur and the step I took made my body collapse. I couldn’t even care less about the pain that was headed my way when I hit the pavement of the outside of the convenience store.

But it didn’t come.

Warmth surround my torso as I was caught, it did very little to break me from my state. I could barely open my eyes to see the person—man, definitely a man from the way he feels—who caught me.

“Shit, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?” A concerned voice sounded out, it happened to belong to the same man from earlier. However, the sound of his voice was muddled out weirdly. A sound of confusion came from my mouth as I tried to gain my bearings.

I mumbled my address then tried to grab my bag of needs that I bought to shuffle my way to my house.

That is, until black spots clouded my vision and I definitely fell to the ground as I blacked out.

The smell of delicious food awoke me. A huge shove came to my body when I fully gained consciousness. Everything hurts so bad. My throat was dry, my body hurt to the max, and I didn’t even get my soup from the store.

Wait, the last thing I remember was collapsing in front of the convenience store. How fucking embarrassing.

My blood went cold when I realized someone was in my house. Could it be the man from earlier? If so, why in the world is he cooking food in my kitchen?

I slowly got up, not wanting to pass out again in my own room, and headed for the kitchen.

My living room TV was on some sort of kids show I watched when I was younger. The lamps were on giving it a nice ambiance, not too much to hurt my head even more than it already did.

I turned the kitchen and saw the clothed muscular back of the man from the convenience store.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” I tried to question him intently, however my efforts failed because it sounded scratchy and like I desperately needed water.

He turned around quickly, revealing a pot on the stove and the remnants of sliced vegetables on my cutting board.

“Hey, you’re awake. You fell in front of the store and I took you home but felt bad since I apparently said you look horrible. So, in return I patched you up and made a stew.” Even though I knew he was sick, he made me soup anyways because he felt bad. I would take it as an extremely kind gesture if the whole situation wasn’t weird.

I was about to speak again but realize what happened last time so I just nodded and headed to the sink for some water.

After having my fill and letting the cool water run down my parched throat I spoke, “You’re sick too. You didn’t have to go out of your way.” I furrowed my brows and pain hit my face.

“Oh my god, ow,” I exclaimed, my hand coming up to my eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t catch you in time, you fell again after the first time.” He looked over what I’m assuming were my bandaged cuts on my face.

“Oh, thank you…” I trailed off, not knowing is name or what to say besides thanking him.

“Haijme Iwaizumi.” He gave me a small smile then returned back to the stew that was brewing on the stove.

Even though the situation is way weird, it was kind of nice. I haven’t had a man over into my home in the longest. I don’t like one night stands and my long term boyfriend I had left me back when I found out I was infertile.

I watched as Iwaizumi poured the stew into one porcelain white bowl, adding a soup spoon into the bowl. He served the meal to me and just stood there.

Weird.

“Are you not going to eat..?” I asked him, maybe it was my loneliness of being alone for a while or something more but I didn’t want him to go.

“Are you sure? I made this for you, I can just take the chicken noodle soup and leave if you’d like.” He put the utensils into my sink and was about out to leave.

“Please stay. I insist.” I slightly begged, hearing the panic in my own voice. Man, being sick sure does mess with my head.

After a while of just spoons clacking against the bowls I decided I had enough.

“Thank you for taking care of me. I’m sure you’re a busy man, you didn’t have to do all of this for a stranger.” I thanked him, I didn’t know what else to do since I had just finished my strew. I felt more myself after I had it too.

“No worries. I have the day off from work. I’m also used to taking care of my friends.” He smiled a bit at me, making my heart thump.

I was a sucker for people like me, people who help others just because. Sometimes from their own unfortunate circumstances or sometimes from the joy of it.

“What do you do? If you don’t mind, I just, I want to know more I guess.” I shamelessly chuckled, uncontrollably moving around in my seat. I hope he didn’t think I was weird.

“I’m an athletic trainer. I coach the Japanese National Team.” My suspicions were correct. He was definitely important.

“Wow, that’s impressive. I’m just a plain old grade school teacher.” I embarrassingly laughed, my occupation wasn’t anything like his.

“If it counts, I think that that’s impressive.”

I looked up at him, his eyes staring back into mine. The moment was so silent but intimate to me. It felt warm.

“Really? I do it because it’s something that makes me happy. It fulfills a part of me that I won’t be able to have someday, you know?” I said, being completely honest for no reason at all. I was just happy that he thought my job was impressive, no one really does besides me.

“The same goes with me. The team are people I have known since college and high school so I always feel like I’m kind of a big brother or dad to them.” He lets out a laugh that embarrassingly makes my entire body warmer than the sickness.

“I like you as a person. You remind me of me.”

He looks up and smiles so deeply at me, kindness coating his eyes. “I like you too. Your home feels like a heavy reflection of you.”

Our heart to heart words between us felt like forever but didn’t really last that long. Much to my surprise, it was almost 11pm and Iwaizumi had to get home.

“Thank you for taking care of me, I’m in your debt.” I said, a smile gracing my lips.

“No problem, I’ll call if I need any favors.” He let out a chuckle which made my cheeks flush.

A thought of realization dawned upon me and I made a hasty decision within two seconds. “Wait, how about you stay over?” I slowly asked, “I might collapse again.” I hoped for a yes and my prayers were answered when he nodded.

“Thank you. I didn’t want to impose on you by asking.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

How boyish of him.

I told him about where everything was in my house and decided to take a quick shower and try to get some sleep to feel better.

“Come get me if you need anything Iwaizumi. I’ll be right down the hall.” I commented before shutting the guest bedroom and entering mine.

All I could think about when I shut my own bedroom door was that I hope he does come get me.

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a/n: I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know if you have any requests!

the header is made by me, please like/reblog if used <3

[hzbinnerdlover]

Desperate Static

Y'all aren't ready for this one- (CW: Snz kink content, big sads)

Vox stared out at the Radio Demon, growling and baring his teeth as he watches the way he sings and danced with his little Mimzy friend. In an act of impulse and anger, he followed said Radio Demon to his favorite club and bar, regretting every minute of it as he sees the way Alastor looked so, so happy.

With the big smile on his face that seemed....different than usual. Vox couldn't tell why he had seemed so much happier, but he was. And it was clear across his face. Ever since he seemed to join the Hazbin Hotel that seemed like it was the case. And Vox hated every fucking second of it.

Clenching his fists he cursed at himself in the tiny corner booth he sat him, trying to keep himself concealed as he looked away, thinking back to all the times Alastor had smiled at him like that. All the times he gave him life and care, the way he used to look at him as though he was the only thing in his world.

But that world was gone now, shattered. Had been shattered over and over again for years now, and Vox knew that.

"Tch....fucking asshole just thinks that cause he has that fancy hotel he can do whatever the hell he wants. BULLSHIT. He thinks he can just forget the people from his fucking past, that FUCKER." A waiter comes by and raises an eyebrow at the 4 shots Vox already had, noticing how the tv demon seemed rather tipsy. Leaning down he asks softly. "Sir, are you feeling alright there?" Vox snarled and shot him a glare. "I'm fucking FINE! Gimme another tequila shot. Actually make it two! And stop asking me stupid questions!" The tv demon rubbed the corners of his screen as he felt a headache come on and groans.

"Sir- are you sure? Forgive me but you don't seem all that well here and-"

Vox slammed his fist down onto the table and gives a harsh whisper-yell "Shut up! I told you I was I fine!!! Now get me my goddamn dri- I'ZZZZZTU!!!!" Vox turns away into his sleeve loosely and sneezes, groaning a bit as he sniffled. Maybe coming down here while having a headcold wasn't the best solution here.

The waiter simply shrugged and walked off to get his drinks.

Feeling his sinuses pound against him he groaned as he laid his head down, the only thing keeping him awake was looking over at the sight of that bastard he used to call his old friend. Watching him more and more as the deer demon started to sing upon his microphone, a soft melody that rang through the ears so peacefully, it made Vox yearn even more for older times.

Feeling his heart sink and his throat close up he turns his head the other way, eyes getting glassy.

"Well well, I thought you might be here." Vox looks up from his spot to see Valentino there, sitting down as he glances at his husband.

Vox gave a soft mutter as he sniffled, "What do you want...?" Earning an eyeballing from the moth demon. "Well you came out here and got yourself drunk while being fucking sick, you moron. I came out here to make sure you don't make an ass outta yourself or you'd hate yourself in the morning", he replies as he takes out a cigarette and lights it, taking a long drag from it.

Vox sighed and shook his head. "I don't think I could hate myself anymore than I do right now..."

Val raises an eyebrow as he looks over and sees Alastor singing upon the stage, his look softening as he glances back at Vox. "Voxie...darling...." slowly he reaches to take the tv demon

Vox pulled back and shook his head. "Sh-Shut up! I know I'm a pathetic piece of machinery here! I'm not worth anyone's time here!!!! I'm not....worth HIS time....", sniffling softly he crosses his arms and bites his lip. "Fucker never even- H-Het'ZZzzchu! Gives me a single thought here and I know it. I hate it. I hate everything!!! Hi'TZZZzzchu! Ugh...I hate being sick...", he sniffles again holding his head a bit, his screen starting to get rather flushed.

Val reached over and felt his screen, shaking his head. "Tienes fiebre....sweetheart...do you wanna go home...?", he asked softly. He knew in his drunken state Val couldn't force him to do anything, it was better to try to persuade him and be patient when Vox was like this.

Giving a slight drunken hiccup Vox gives a nod as tears come to his eyes, a bit if snot dripping from the center of his screen. "Y-Yes....please..." Val nodded and got up, going to Vox's side and carefully helps him up, wrapping a wing around him to both keep him warm and concealed from everyone else, quickly helping him out of the bar and to the limo.

"There we go, let's sit back and relax yeah...?" Moving his wing he has Vox lean against the seats and gently caresses his shoulder. "Now, lemme see if I have a blanket for ya", he goes to lean down under the seat when he feels another hand grasp his suddenly. "Voxie? Are you o-" he stops mid sentence looking at Vox's face.

Vox sniffled as his lip quivered, tears now streaming freely down his screen to accompany the snot and shakes his head. "V-Val....*sniff* why aren't I enough for Alastor...?" Val immediately takes his poor husband and pulls him close, stroking his back gently.

"Voxie....you were NEVER not enough for him. He's the one losing out when he's not with you...."

Rubbing his back gently Vox let's out a small sob before completely breaking down, crying into the moth's chest. "I-Its not fair Val....it's not fair. It's not fair!!!! H-HIT'CHUUUUU!!!! *sob* it's not fair..."

"Oh amorcito...I know I know...just let it out, I got you right here." Humming softly he let's him cry as much as he needs you, rocking him gently into his arms as he continues to rub his back. It took a good while before Vox finally started to settle down, sniffling as he pulls his face away from Val's chest, a poor mess revealing itself. "I-I need a tissue..."

"Do you not have your handkerchief on you darling...?" Vox simply shook his head in response.

"N-No...I think I left it at the tower..."

Val nodded as he reaches down into the limo compartment. "No worries darling, I got plenty right here for you." Grabbing a few tissues from a travel sized packet he holds them up to Vox's running nose. "There ya go hon."

Vox only nodded as Val held the tissues, giving a heavy blow into them from his nose, soaking them all as he gave a weak sniffle. Val carefully wipes him clean before tossing them into the little trash can they kept inside, Vox giving a small cough before shivering. "I-I'm so cold...."

"Ah yes! I was getting you a blanket", the moth didn't hesitate before quickly grabbing the blanket under the seats and wrapping Vox up as best as he can. "There we go, is that better...?"

Vox nodded and leaned against him. "Y-Yes...its- Het'SHUUUE!!!! HIP'SHUUUUE!!! Better...ugh..."

"Salud, don't worry baby. We're gonna be home soon, and you'll be able to relax in bed the rest of the time. Okay...?" He holds the poor man close as he shivers in response, wishing he could do more for him as he whispers sweet little nothings to him.

Once the limo arrived at the Vee tower he carried Vox bridal style inside the tower and to the elevator, heading to the main penthouse. Crossing the living room Velvette was sitting on the couch and looked over, eyes widening at thr sight of Vox and was gonna ask about him when Val put a finger to his lips, implicating to ask later and heads to the master bedroom. Laying him down gently Val gives a soft smile and strokes his "forehead".

"Why don't we get you into something more comfortable yeah...?" Reaching into the drawer he takes out a t-shirt and pajama bottoms for Vox, the tv demon groaning as he starts stripping down, Val carefully getting him dressed. "Val...my body hurts....and I'm still cold- I'PSHUUUE!!! HIT'ZZZZUU! Hah....HA'CHEW!!! HIT'CHEW!!!"

"Bless you my goodness, don't worry baby, I'm gonna get your heating pad okay? You just lay back and rest" Vox only nods and lays down as he pulls the blanket over again.

"Th-Thank you Val...HI'SHUUUE!!!! Ugh...thank you..."

Val nods as he leaves to go grab it, along with some medicine, a cold glass of water, and a box of tissues for him. When he walks back into the room he sees Vox sitting up giving a gurgling blow into his newly found handkerchief.

"Ugh...I wish my nose would just stop. I hate it. HIP'SHUUUUUE! I hate it so much...", he says with a soft sniffle. Val nods and leans down, carefully putting the heating pad under Vox's back and helps him lay back. "I know baby I know...I brought some medicine that should help with that okay...?" Vox simply nods as he blows his nose into the handkerchief again.

"Here, why don't I take that to wash for you? I got you a box of tissues for you to use." Complying quietly Vox just hands Val the crumpled up handkerchief, Val taking it quickly into the laundry room and tossing it with the load. Once he's back he has Vox take the medicine be brought. "Just make sure you drink the whole thing....there we go", the tv demon coughs slightly and sticks his tongue out at the taste.

"Nasty....", he sighs as he turns over with his back facing Val, keeping the blanket over him.

"Do you need anything else Voxie...? Vox...?", he gets nothing but a sniffle in reply. As the sniffling gets more consistent he plucks a couple tissues from the box and walks around to the other side, eyes softening. "Oh baby..."

Val sees Vox crying again, silent tears running down his cheeks as he gave soft sniffles. "I-I'm sorry....I couldn't stop thinking about him. I-I'm sorry..." the poor tc demon wept. Val shook his head and gave a soft smile. "Now now, what are you even apologizing for...?"

He gently takes Vox's head into his hands and gently starts wiping his eyes and cheeks with a tissue. "Pobrecito....you must be so tired...", Vox nodded as he sniffled. "Yeah....so tired....I just wanna- Ih....Ip'SHUUUE!! He'zzzZZZUUU!! Ugh...sorry...I just wanna sleep...."

Val nodded as he brought a tissue up to his tired husband's nose, letting him blow once again before carefully wiping him clean. "There we go, I'll dim the lights so you can sleep here", he says with a soft smile, about to get up when Vox reaches out and grabs his wrist. "Please don't leave me Val....please....", Vox begs weakly.

Leaning down Val nods as he kisses the top of his head. "Of course darling, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just gonna dim the lights and then come back to sit here with you", he reassures, smiling softly as he walks off, dimming the lights and coming back with a chair as promised, Vox once again taking his hand and closing his eyes.

"Val....tha n you...I love you....never leave me....like he did....", the words were spoken very softly from the sickly demon before slowly falling asleep. Val chuckled softly, he couldn't help but find him so precious and adorable in this state. Nodding he plants another kiss on top and whispers softly.

"Anything for you, mi amor. I promise"

[sneezingfetishftw-wavs]

I made a wav of chapter 1 of my Vox sickfic! This doesn't include the narration: fic linked here or you can keep reading for the fic copied under the cut. I added a slight robot voice effect to the sneezes and coughs, plus there's the sound of Vox's fans (which is the real sound of my laptop fan lmao) - let me know if you'd like to hear a version without these effects.

If there's enough interest I might do more chapters. The main limitation is I don't sneeze a lot even with inducing - these sneezes are compiled from like 5 different sessions smh. (So if a wav where I don't actually include the sneezes, or I reuse sneeze audio I've used before, is of interest to you then definitely let me know cause doing the voices is fun)

“Why are the lights so fucking bright in here? Are you trying to give me a headache?” Vox was often a bit of an insufferable prick, but today he was far worse than usual. His interview for Voxtech Angelic Security was just an hour away and he’d already managed to insult pretty much everyone in the room. The lights dimmed, he returned to a previous complaint. “And why haven’t you turned the AC colder already? It’s like a sauna in here!”

“The AC is already as cold as it goes, sir.”

“Then fix it! God, what am I even paying you for?” He paused, then pulled out his cell phone. “Hey Val, are you free right now? I got an employee I’d like you to knock some sense into—or rip the limbs off of, whichever you prefer. I could do it myself, but I know how much you enjoy that thing.”The employee shuddered. “Great, thanks! See you soon.”

Vox looked around. “Where is my water bottle? There should be one on the interviewing desk. Is anyone around here doing their goddamn job?” Another employee rushed over with a water bottle. “Finally.” He took a sip and immediately grimaced. “Where did you get this? Normal water doesn’t scrape my throat like that! Disgusting.” He threw the water bottle aside, pausing only to make sure the lid was on first.

He took a deep breath, which immediately triggered a coughing fit, his voice crackling like a broken speaker. His screen went grey and fuzzy, static flaring with each cough. “Who did the last maintenance on the filtration system?” A sheepish woman stepped forward. “Fix it! Actually, no. Get out. You’re fired. The air is so thick in here I can hardly breathe.” She hung her head and wandered off. It wasn’t like she was the first to be fired on a whim, and at least Vox didn’t literally tear people apart. “I’ll take a look at it along with the AC, then, sir,” the employee from earlier offered.

“You’d better. But don’t think that’s enough to save you,” Vox said, standing so close the employee could hardly hear anything over the fan. “Val’s still on his way.” The employee gulped.

Valentino began shivering the moment he stepped in the door, but he ignored that and made a beeline for Vox. “Where’s the victim?” he asked with a grin.

Vox pointed to the man cowering in the corner. “He won’t fix the AC.” Val nodded, still shivering. “He says it’s already as cold as it can go, but I’m boiling here!” Val raised an eyebrow at that. A loud whirring started as Vox’s fans kicked in.

Val put a hand on Vox’s forehead, and jerked it away almost immediately. “Amorcito, you’re incredibly hot!”

“Save it for later, Val,” Vox chuckled.

“No, I mean it’s hard to believe how much you’re overheating. And in a freezing room, no less. I thought my hand was going to burn!” Vox crossed his arms and shook his head. “I mean it, Vox, you’re obviously running a fever!”

“Shut up. I’m fi… hi…” his screen flickered with each hitch. “Hi’tzzzcht! Fine.”

“Sir?” The employee raised a finger tentatively, regaining some boldness now that neither of them was ripping him apart. “One of the lights just broke.”

“Why the fuck are you telling me? Just fix it! Ugh, it’s a wonder anything gets done around here.” He gave a long sniff, trying to stave off the buzzing tickle. “And send a cleaning crew in. It’s way too du… huh… huh… hut’TZZZZSHT! Dusty in here.”

“We just cleaned yesterday…” the employee said weakly, trying not to look at the speaker that had just popped.

“I didn’t ask you when the last cleaning was, I asked you to clean the damn studio! Now get on with it before I change my mind and let Val rip your arms off.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” The employee practically ran off to begin his tasks as Val gave a toothy grin, looking menacing despite the intense shivering.

“There you go. I’ll be back here for the sound check. And this place better be fucking spotless.”

Vox and Val walked out the door. “I’ll catch you at the penthouse,” Vox said, activating his teleportation powers. He only made it a few feet. “Hhh’dzzzzcht!” The hallway lights flickered.

“How about we walk together?” Val offered, wrapping his arm around Vox. Vox sighed, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. Repeatedly teleporting a few feet at a time sounded even more annoying than walking. While they walked, Val pulled out his phone with his free hand to text Velvette. “Meet at the penthouse ASAP.”

Velvette almost dropped her phone when she saw the pair of them walk through the door. “Walk” was actually a bit of an overstatement. Vox was practically staggering, leaning heavily on Val for support. His screen was dimmed, except for a bright spot in the center where his nose would be, if he had one. His fans were still whirring loudly. His normally immaculate suit was wrinkled, as if he’d crumpled in on himself repeatedly. The man was, quite obviously, a mess.

Velvette stared in silence for a moment. “Wow. He really does look awful, doesn’t he?”

Vox glared. “I’m fine. I’m just taking a quick break before the studio’s ready for my interview. Those morons still have a lot to set up.” The pair stared at him.

“Um, Vox? You sure now is the best time for an interview?” Velvette asked.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, his hypnotic eye swirling so slowly it might as well be a broken Ferris wheel.

“Right,” Velvette said, rolling her eyes as Vox’s screen flickered again. “Totally fine, and definitely not about to sneeze.”

“I’m not going to… hih’tzzzzch!” He opened his mouth to protest more, but no sound came out. Damn it, were his audio drivers glitching too? Or was it just his vocal cords? He smacked the side of his head with a grimace. “The interview has to be today. If I delay it, it’ll look like we’re hiding something.” Thank god that worked. Vox without his voice was… well, he really didn’t want to think about that.

Velvette raised an eyebrow. “You literally just smacked yourself in the head cause you couldn’t talk. You really think you’re in a good state to be giving an interview?”

Vox’s screen brightened for a moment. “I’m fine! It’s fixed now.” His screen dimmed again, then started flickering. “I’m perfectly heal… heh… hhh… healthy! Just let me go to the godda… ehh… ahh… hah’TZZZZSHT! The goddamn interview.” Valentino’s phone instantly shut off. Velvette, seeing this, clutched her phone tightly to her chest.

Val tried turning his phone back on, but it was unresponsive. “You broke my phone, Vox. You broke my fucking phone! What else are you gonna break if you go back in there?”

Vox frowned. Loath as he was to admit illness, it really was in his best interest to minimize property damage. Especially with a live audience.

“I’ll do the interview,” Velvette offered.

Vox gave a laugh that quickly turned into a coughing fit, his screen a sputtering mess of static again. “No offense, Velvette, but I’m pretty sure you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of the system.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re not recognizing you don’t have a lot of options. Would you rather send Valentino?”

The other two recoiled at the suggestion. “God, no!” Vox replied. “Ugh, I guess if you really want to, go knock yourself out. My notes are on that tah… hhh… ahh… hah… hah’TDZZZCHT! Tablet.” Said tablet was now stuck in bluescreen. “Shit.” He rubbed his aching head, trying to think.

“Are the notes backed up like the rest of your files?” Vox nodded, not even trying to speak this time. “I can pull it up on my phone, then. I’ve got this. Backbone of the Vees, remember? You just stay here and get some rest,” she said, blowing a kiss as she left.

Velvette strutted out the door, taking with her the responsibility that had been keeping Vox together, and it was like a switch had been flipped. Vox immediately plopped himself down on the couch, limbs dangling limply. “Everything huuuurts, Val.”

“I know, Amorcito, that’s why I’m here.” He gently stroked Vox’s arm. “Now, is it really everything? Or can you be a bit more specific so I can actually help you?”

Vox’s mouth moved, but no words. A frown. A throat clearing sound. More mouth movement, still no words. A deeper frown. A self-inflicted smack on the side of the head. Still no words. The fans kicked into high gear as Vox was about to spit steam out of his head.

“Shh, gentle, Voxy. Let’s try not to blow out the power grid again, hm?” Val patted Vox’s screen. “I’ll get you something for your throat.” He searched through the fridge for some Gatorade. Electrolytes had to do something for an electric being, right? In the absence of any speech from Vox, the fans were even more noticeable. Better grab a cold compress from the freezer too, then. He placed the cold pack on Vox’s screen and handed him the bottle. Vox took a sip and shook his head. His voice still failing him, Vox made images appear on the screen. Val blinked, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

“Something wrong with the drink?” A nod. “Tastes bad?” Head shake. Val tried to think what could possibly be wrong with a drink. “Too liquidy?” Vox rolled his eyes. “Wrong color?” A facepalm. “Uh… too cold?” Vigorous nodding, and then a wince and a dizzy expression. “I got it. Just rest here, Vox. I’ll find you something.”

Val returned a few minutes later with a steaming mug of tea. Vox’s screen was dim and pale, the colors washed out. His weak fingers could barely grasp the handle of the mug. “Oh, Voxy, you poor thing,” Val said, his wings wrapping around Vox for support. The steam from the drink got into Vox’s vents and his screen started flickering. Val noticed immediately and set the mug on a nearby table, holding Vox through the buildup.

“Hhh… hhhh… hhh… hhht’dzchhht! Hhhh’zzzzch! Hhh’ZZZZZSHT! Htchh’RRRRGZZZZZZT! Ugh.” The demon clawed at his throat, then paused in realization. “Fucking hell that hurt!” He winced. “Talking hurts.” Still, better to have a functioning voice, he supposed. He gestured to the mug, and Valentino handed it to him. He took a sip, grimaced, and then finished the rest of the mug in one gulp. Val surveyed the room and realized that a few of the TV screens were out. “Let’s get you into bed, hm?” Vox raised an eyebrow. “Not like that! Unless you want to, of course…” he added, licking his lips. Vox shook his head, exhausted. Val led Vox to the bedroom, the TV clinging hard to the moth as he took a few shaky steps. Val paused, then nodded to himself. He hoisted Vox over his shoulder, ignoring the spluttering protests. “Amorcito, you can barely walk. Let me carry you for a bit.”

Vox huffed, and Val felt the static shock. “You could at least have the decency to carry me like your partner instead of, I don’t know, a corpse?”

Val chuckled. “Have you seen yourself, darling? You practically are a corpse at this point.” Still, he switched to bridal carry.

After what felt like an eternity, dragged out by Vox’s complaining that he was on death’s door, they finally reached the bed. Val laid Vox down and sat next to him. “Now then, does everything still hurt? What can I get you?”Vox’s lips moved silently, then rapidly into what Val assumed to be a string of curse words. Hard to tell without audio. Val sighed. “You really are feeling awful, aren’t you?” Vox nodded. Val stared at Vox for a while until the moth’s singular brain cell finally came up with an idea. He blew a puff of smoke in Vox’s face. Vox flinched, and his screen flickered rapidly. “Hhh… hih… hhhh’dzzzzzzcht! Hih’tzzzzsh! Hah’TZZZZZCHT! TZZZSH! Tzzzsch’TZZZZZST’dzTZZZZZSSHHT! What the fuck, Val?” He rubbed his throat. “Oh. Uh… thanks, I guess? I don’t know. That fucking sucked.”

“If you’d rather not repeat that, then I suggest you get your words out now before you lose your voice again.”

Vox scowled, but he knew it was a valid point. “I just… I’m sore all over. It’s not fair! What did I do to deserve this?” Val raised a finger. “Besides everything that got me into hell.” Val shrugged. “Ugh… my throat hurts, my head hurts, all my muscles ache, there’s this constant buzzing in the back of my head that won’t go away, everythig is blisterigly warmb whatever I try… oh for fugck’s sake, I get congestiod dnow too? Ughhhh…” He groaned and rolled over, faceplanting into the bed.

Val tutted sympathetically. “You never do anything half-assed, do you?” Vox nodded, dragging his screen across the blanket. “Vox, if you’re feeling so warm, why are you still wearing all those clothes?” A pause. Vox wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “There’s no image you need to keep up right now, Vox. Let’s get you comfortable.” Vox sat up and let Val get to work. The crumpled suit was set on a nearby chair. The sweater and shirt were pulled off and tossed to the same chair, Vox dropping his arms instantly the moment he no longer needed to put in the energy to keep them up. The shoes were removed and the pants taken off and folded up with care. As soon as it was done, Vox collapsed face down into the bed again, breathing heavily from the effort.

“You said you’re sore all over, would you like a massage, Amorcito?” A thumbs up. Val got up to find the massage bar. They’d found that using a more solid form helped avoid any accidents… they did NOT need a repeat of the time poor Vox got massage oil stuck in his vents. Val began massaging Vox’s arms, but paused when he felt Vox’s shoulders shudder.

“Hhhh’dzzzzzzchmp!” The sound was muffled into the bed. Vox slowly dragged himself up until he was facing Val. “Hit’chZZZZZZZCHT!” Sparks flew from Vox’s screen and landed on Val’s arm.

“Keep your sparks to yourself, Vox!” he said, wincing at the static shock. “Hmm… that might explain the electronics failures…”

“Sorry, Val.” He said, rubbing his screen. “Wasd’t expectig it to comb that fast.” He gave a long sniff. “Hhhhh’dZZZZZZT!” He pointed at the massage bar. “Can you put that away? I think the scent is too strong right now, my sensors must be acting up.”

Val switched to an unscented massage bar and resumed the massage. A few soft moans from Vox let Val know that his attempts were effective. Eventually the sound dropped off entirely, except for the occasional sneeze, which Val assumed meant the video demon’s voice had given out again. After a while, there was no sound at all except for congested breathing. Val gently turned Vox on his back, revealing closed eyes. Val breathed a sigh of relief. The man was much less exhausting when he was unconscious. Maybe now both of them could get some rest.

[wellpresseddaisy]

And Wishing I Was Gone, Going Home

Rather belated, but for the 4th prompt, Home.

His mother never told him magic had a smell.

She’d taught him so many things in their shabby kitchen in Cokeworth, but not that. He’d thought it her perfume, the subtle scent of petrichor and stormy seas that hovered about her, even on days it didn’t rain.

And girls like Lily, well they just smelled nice, didn’t they? She made him think of the first warmer days in spring and those little violets that sweetened the breezes.

He never noticed it on the train, too excited and then too annoyed to smell anything. It wasn’t until much, much later that he realized his housemates each had their own distinctive scent that grew stronger when they cast. Most of them he didn’t have names for until he’d had more experience in the world.

Some of them made him sneeze terribly, like Gareth Abernathy. Looking back, he felt a bit bad that Gareth had to be moved to a different dormitory, but it was either that or Severus moving. Lucius and the other prefects came out of that dorm grim-faced. They never told him what the boys said they’d do if Severus was the one moved.

Even Lucius didn’t know about his…talent. Something told him to keep it to himself. It gave him an edge, once he learned to navigate all the scents coming at him in a day. He nearly always smelled James Potter (grassy, overlaid with something too, too sweet) before he saw him.

He should have known the first time he met the Dark Lord that he couldn’t be trusted. His magic smelled of decay and dust, like the inside of a tomb. It crawled into Severus’ sinuses and stayed there, a constant reminder. Why had he pledged himself to that? He smelled like the darkest of the dark books in the Malfoy library, the ones Lucius pulled him away from with a sharp,

“I catch you near those again, my lad, and I’ll wallop you myself.”

His mark smelled the same way, blooming horribly every time Voldemort found something pleasing. He found it a small mercy that he carried the mark only a year or so before…before soft spring and tiny violets were ripped forever from the world.

The decay kept returning, though. Faintly, faintly he’d smell it through the next decade. He hoped, but he knew one day it would return as strong as ever.

He knew the Potter child would play a part in whatever came the first day of class. To see him snickering with the latest Weasley after Draco’s hours-long diatribe on Potter refusing his hand…he wasn’t sure if the headache or the mere existence of another Potter set his teeth on edge more.

Potter…Potter’s magic smelled of the green new growth in a forest. The underlay of it, though, stopped Severus in his tracks. Frankincense and myrhh, the scent of one laid to rest. He knew. In that moment he knew it would be Potter to end the Dark Lord’s reign, whenever it came.

He never knew how he made it through the years of waiting, always on guard, decay floating at the very edge of his senses. The return…that was almost a relief.

Something tickled his nose. Sandalwood and leather and warm feathers. He shifted and…bedlinen? Would his earthly torment never end?

That last night in the Shack…he’d known. Known it would come one day. Some part of the universe must have cared, because he closed his eyes the last time smelling not decay but the clean, astringent wash of frankincense and myrhh.

-------------------

He breathed in, his chest caught on searing pain.

“Lie still, you ridiculous brat. Cissa’s been up three days keeping you from popping your cogs. If you destroy her hard work then we’ll certainly have words.”

Lucius. He’d know that scent and that supercilious drawl anywhere. And…sweet, clean lavender wafted over him.

Narcissa.

“She’s asleep, finally. You should also be asleep, as a hint.”

He managed an interrogative sort of noise.

Lucius sighed. “If you’re going to insist on being an obstreperous bratling, then I suppose I could sit with you for a while. You won’t be able to speak yet, so don’t even try.”

The familiar scold settled something within him. The bed dipped and Lucius sat carefully next to him. Cool fingers brushed his hair off his forehead.

“No fever, at least. If you get yourself into a froth she’ll put me six feet under, so we’ll do this calmly, please.”

It felt a bit as if he was a grubby firstie again.

“Would you like to know who found you?” Lucius asked.

Severus assented. Yes, he bloody well wanted to know who dragged him back to life (beyond Cissa, because of course she would).

Lucius’ low chuckle warmed him.

“Potter did. It always comes back to him, doesn’t it? He…I suppose I’d better tell you in sequence. You never liked a tale that hopped about in time.”

No, he did not.

“Did Potter see…what happened to you?”

Severus managed to shrug. He knew Potter saw the aftermath, but how much else was anyone’s guess. Knowing Potter, he saw all of it and had convinced himself it was all his own fault.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end. We’re all free of it, you know? Whatever message you gave Potter, he did the thing properly and…came back, somehow. The Dark Lord’s reign is ended and somehow Potter convinced the Ministry that my family was coerced. How, I wonder, would he know I was given to the Dark Lord’s service as tribute by my father?”

The archly asked question had Severus freezing in place. Had Potter found…he had to have found what Severus left. He’d written it all down, everything he knew that no one else did, in the days leading up to the final battle. Trust the nosiest arsehole he’d ever had the misfortune of teaching to ferret it out.

“Ah, yes, apparently he also delivered quite the impassioned speech on the many ways the magical world has failed in the last several generations to the detachment of Aurors about to descend on my home. Thankfully the dossier information kept us from being arrested. I expect I’ll have some questions to answer.”

Severus agreed with that. But oh, what he’d give to see a memory of Potter doing that.

“Apparently, some time in the middle of the night, Potter remembered you and came charging up to the front doors, hammering on them and shouting. By the time we got down to open them, as we’d sent the elf on duty to bed, he’d been joined by the Weasley boy and that Granger chit who were unsuccessfully trying to calm him down.”

Severus snorted at that, but carefully.

“Quite,” Lucius agreed. “As with anything involving Potters, we unfortunately devolved into farce. Potter, who apparently never washed despite battle and being covered in what looked like most of your blood, having hysterics in the entry, shouting teenagers, such a wonderful scene. Granger kept trying to take over and the Weasley kept trying to shove them both behind him. Thankfully, Granger gave Cissa what she needed to know to mount a rescue and Draco got Potter calmed down.”

Severus raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, he got an elf to bring some of that revolting tea you like, sugared it ‘til the spoon practically stood up, and barked at Potter that he’d either drink it or be stunned. Weasley didn’t like that much, but seemed mollified when Potter did as he was told. I confess that I don’t particularly like the way Draco looked at Potter, but I expect I shall have to bear up under whatever Draco tells us.”

Severus snorted again.

“Cissa, Granger, and I went to get you while Draco and Weasley handled Potter. You…Severus, if you ever do anything like that again I will kill you myself. You looked dreadful and it took all Cissa’s skill to drag you back from the brink. Your robes are a loss, I’m afraid. Our laundry elf burst into tears when asked if they could be saved.”

Trust Lucius to focus on something like robes.

“Then we spent the last three days not being arrested and keeping you from succumbing to your injuries. I think Draco has Potter ensconced somewhere. I believe I heard an argument with Weasley and Granger over that. Something about clearly no one else is taking care of him and he’ll let them know when they can visit.” Lucius sighed. “He’s like his mother.”

And, Severus thought, his father, who looked at a ragamuffin firstie and decided that clearly that child was his.

“I don’t want to hear one word from you.” Lucius tapped Severus gently on the nose, a fond smile softening his features. “You need sleep.”

He wanted to protest, to ask for the memory of Potter, covered in gore and having hysterics in the Hall, but he knew a futile gambit when he thought of one. Lucius could be as unbending as Merlin’s staff. He sighed.

“Yes, I know. If you behave for Cissa, we’ll share our memories.”

That would have to do. Severus let himself relax slowly, let the sandalwood and lavender of Lucius and Narcissa wash over him.

Home. They’d brought him home.

[mikikunchik]

♪ Dazai and Fedor in prison ♪

*They definitely couldn't have avoided sneezing, I mean they were sitting across from each other for a long time and sneezing in front of each other was inevitable, I plan to write two parts, one with Dazai and one with Fedor, this is the first part, in this part I'll describe Fedor's sneezing.

Notes: he mentioned that he's in poor health, and sitting without fresh air in a rather cramped room has obviously crippled his already weak immune system, sorry for the long introduction, let's get started:3

♤

♤

♤

♡

♤

That night Fedor didn't sleep well, he felt dizzy and weak, his not sound sleep was awakened by the breakfast notification, and Dazai's ringing voice saying

<Ahhhhh~~~I don't want to get up yet.... this bed is beckoning me~ i want to sleep for 5 more minutes, plus there are no crabs, so there's even less motivation to get up for breakfast^^^^ >

His ringing voice made Fedor feel more dizzy and had a slight headache, but he found the strength to reply:

<Dazai-kun, did you know that he who rises early to God falls? (This is a russian proverb ) Apparently you don't appreciate god if you don't even try to get out of bed, you'll be out of favor unlike me. >

- Ahh.... we've already been through this Fedor-kun :<

* Dazai wrapped himself even tighter in the blanket *

- You're so lazy, and laziness is a sin.

replied Fedor.

- Who's talking about sins, Fedor-kun?

Dazai peeked out from under the blanket and gave Fedor his smile.

- Those who have done evil expect evil from others, don't you Dazai san? Kgk-kgk-kgk

*♪ Dostoevsky coughed

- Exactly🎶

Dazai said methodically

*Dazai started to eat*

- Hmmm…I'll eat it later

Said Fyodor and put his plate on the table since he had no appetite and took out a book.

*♪ Dostovesky sat reading a book and then he got a sniffle in his nose ♪

- Ha-chih.

- М? *♪ Dazai looked at him questioningly ♪

Fedor ignored his question and continued reading the book, but his nose started to twitch

- Ah...heh...ha.

He sat with his mouth open and couldn't sneeze, but the itching got worse but didn't turn into sneezing.

-Hahhhh... heh... heh... heh...

Fedor even had to stop reading and started staring at one point with a blank stare, Dazai noticed and started looking at him.

- what's going on with you? Asked Dazai

- Nothing... Ahh ... go...hehe...hehe...htz ..AHHH.

That was a false sneeze.

- Ahem...God bless you?

-Heheheh...Ah...HA-CHHHEE.

Dostoevsky sneezed very loudly without expecting it, his body treudos forward from the impulse his book fell out, Dostoevsky lost his finger under his nose and said.

- Thank you, but I'm already blessed by God.

- ♪ More like a demon ♪

* said Dazai with a smile *

Fyodor walked to pick up the book, but he was overtaken by another sneeze

- Ha...heh...ah...achhi...achhi..! Damn it.

- What ungodly words you use.

But Fedor couldn't answer because he had a seizure.

- Achhee...hee...ha...haa- Chirk...Hachik

- Apparently even demons get sick~

* said Osamu with a cheerful tone, but Fedor ignored him *

Important: Sorry, English is not my native language, I’m writing through a translator, this is my first FF, I hope it’s not that bad (I also wanted to mention that I’m from a Russian-speaking country (To be precise, I’m from Ukraine, many here speak Russian) and knowing this and the fact that Fedor is most likely Russian, I I wrote what his sneezing might sound like in Russian, I hope I was able to convey this, if you want to hear how sneezing basically sounds in Russian, then type into the translator which has a pronunciation function, <Апчхи> or <Апчи> this is how sneezing sounds and is written in Russian, This is what I tried to write in English letters

thank you very much if you read this ff, I really tried, I hope it’s not too cringe, I will improve myself~~~

💕💕💕💕💕💕

[1st-recon-lylith-blog]

Don't Swim in Lake Eucesto

(CW: Gross medical body horror)

A thick bed of filamentous algae covered the edge of Lake Eucesto, squishing softly underfoot as I walked through it. I shivered as it clung to my toes. The water was up to my waist now, but I could still feel the hair-like algae wrapped around my ankles trailing behind me in long strands. I tried and failed to ignore the gross feeling. 

“Hurry up!” my best friend, Roberto, said from the beach’s edge. I’d lost a bet and now I had to skinny dip in Lake Eucesto. I flipped him the bird without looking back. Finally, the lake water was clear of that stringy green algae. I dove into the water and began swimming. I put one arm over the other in a freestyle stroke as I swam farther into the lake. When I reached a point that I figured would satisfy my friend, I stopped. I floated lazily in the cold water. 

“Happy now, you asshole?” I yelled to Roberto. 

“Fine! Get back here,” my friend shouted as he gestured with both arms for me to swim back. 

I swam back as quickly as I could to get out of the cold water. I didn’t want to stay in the lake any longer than I had to. The Missouri state government had banned swimming in Lake Eucesto a few years back. Everyone had a theory why. Some people said it was a chemical spill, others claimed it was because too many people drowned because of the weird currents of the lake. I’d even heard rumors of human-flesh eating bacteria. I don’t believe anything I haven’t seen proof of, so I never paid attention to the rumors, but that didn’t mean I wanted to swim in it.

As I neared the lake’s edge, I stood up, but my foot slipped on an algae-covered rock. I went down hard. My hands instinctively reached forward to catch myself falling, but they, too, slid over the slimy rocks. Water filled my nose as my face hit the surface of the lake. Finally, I stabilized myself and I stood up. I hacked out the liquid filling my nose and lungs. I could hear Roberto laughing at me from the shore’s edge. 

“That was amazing, dude. Ten out of Ten for sticking the landing,” Roberto said, while he handed me a towel. I wanted to say “fuck you too,” but I was too busy coughing. I had no idea at that point how much I would come to regret that short swim in Lake Eucesto. 

The days passed, and I gave little thought to my excursion at the lake. I felt a little tickle in my nose, but it was spring, and I’d always been sensitive to pollen. I kept sneezing and blowing my nose, but that just made my sinuses swell up. I stocked up on fluticasone and loratadine, but the tickle didn’t go away. 

The tickle became a burn. I woke up in the middle of the night, lightly choking from sleeping with my mouth closed and my sinuses completely swollen shut. The burn was maddening. It felt like the inside of my face was on fire. I could feel my pulse pounding in my skull as the worst sinus headache of my life overtook me. That morning I rushed to urgent care. The doctor diagnosed me with a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics. 

I took those damn pills religiously praying for the burning pain to end, but no relief came. Days of pain turned into a week. My job fired me for missing too much work, but the pain was disabling. I could barely focus on breathing, much less a job. I spent hours doom scrolling and looking up home remedies for sinus pain. The urgent care doctor must have been a quack, and I didn’t exactly have the funds to see him again, anyway. Briefly I contemplated power tool trepanation, anything to release the pressure building behind my eyes. 

I spent hours at a time in the shower to relieve the pain. The internet said steam was good for the sinuses and under the hot water was the closest I could feel to normal. I knew my water bill was going to be atrocious this month, but I didn’t care. Roberto brought me food to help keep me going. I couldn’t cook much, anyway. Standing up for too long made me dizzy. 

On the eleventh day of suffering, I began my daily ritual of showering. The blazing throb behind my nose was somehow even more painful than before. I looked at myself in the mirror as I waited for the shower water to heat up. Tired, sunken eyes greeted me. Maybe it’s because I was so fixated on my sinuses, but my nose looked bigger under the buzzing fluorescent light. Finally, the water was hot enough. 

I stepped under the almost scalding hot water. I waited to feel the slight relief from the steam, but as the water hit my face, the pain suddenly intensified. It was as though a knife was slicing through the inside of my face, trying to escape. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t breathe. I grabbed the shower door handle to stabilize myself. 

Even with the steaming water streaming down my face, I could feel hot liquid dripping out of my nose. I looked down through tear-filled eyes and saw red water swirling around the shower drain cover. I touched my hand to my face and caught the blood dripping from my nostrils. The sharp pain deepened and with horror, I began to realize I wasn’t just feeling pain. Something was moving inside of my nose. 

It wriggled like a fish on a line, and with each writhing movement, whatever was in my face caused excruciating cutting, agony. Weak, whimpering groans escaped my throat as I collapsed to my knees. I didn’t care if my knees bruised from the impact on the hard tile. I read that feeling fresh pain in a different part of the body could distract from other pain. It didn’t work. I prayed to every god in existence, and some that didn’t, for this torture to end. 

I felt a tickle on my upper lip and quickly cupped my hand over my mouth. Under my palm, I felt a thrashing wiggle from something coming out of my left nostril. I grabbed it and pulled. Pulling was a bad idea. Whatever it was squirmed between my fingers and with each movement, the pain intensified, but I didn’t care. I needed whatever the fuck this thing was out of my face. Finally, I felt the release from my swollen sinuses as I pulled the last of the writhing thing from my nose. It twisted out of my hand and landed on the ground. 

I turned the shower off and stared at the pale slithering worm that was birthed from my nostril. The thin and thread-like creature thrashed in the bloody water that was carrying it towards the drain. I watched in horror as the parasite worked its way through the holes in the drain cover and disappeared. 

“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself in horror. But my attention on the escaped worm was short-lived as that slicing agony returned. Worm after worm wiggled out of my nose. With soft plopping sounds, they landed in the water at my knees. Blood continued to flow from my shredded nose, painting the white parasitic worms red. The blood dripped down the back of my throat, filling my mouth with a sour copper tang. I vomited from the taste and from the horrific reality I found myself in. The acid traveled up my nose and spurred more worms forth. 

Eventually, worms stopped emerging from my face. I’d lost count of how many my nose had spawned. I was too weak to move. I leaned against the shower and fell asleep, blood dripping down my chest. 

When I awoke, I was in a hospital bed with a blood-soaked cotton wad taped to my nostrils and a cloth over my chest. Mercifully, I was not in much pain. Whatever the hospital gave me was working like a miracle. I blinked through my swollen eyelids. 

“You’re awake!” Roberto said from my bedside. I couldn’t turn my head, so I looked at him from the corner of my eye. I weakly grunted in affirmation. 

“I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t know,” he said. I could hear his voice thick with tears. 

“If I had known Lake Eucesto was full of parasitic worms, I never would’ve dared you to go skinny dipping, I swear,” Roberto continued. 

“Hhhuh?” I tried to say more, but the medicine and the bandages prevented me from doing so. 

“It was terrifying to find you like that, dude. I thought you were fucking dead,” he said, fully crying now. 

“The hospital said they get a few cases like this every year. I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t know,” Roberto sobbed. I reached out my hand to Roberto, and he grabbed it. I patted him on the palm twice and flipped him off. I am never going swimming again.

[meximango]

Day 5 - Stamp - Cahsi + Vaile - G

Summary: Two adventurers finish up with their Wondrous Tales.

“See you soon, just a few more adventures, and then I’m coming for my prize!” Cahsi shouts as she walks backward, waving at the stand across from Idyllshire’s orphanage.

Her companion tugs on her sleeve to turn her around to walk normally before she ends up backing herself up into some poor, unsuspecting goblin. 

“I thought you didn’t like kids?” Cahsi, who was playing around with her nearly filled out journal, pauses in her admiration for a moment. “Huh?” “You were awfully nice to Khloe and her friends just now–even though they kept trying to grab at your weapon with her sticky fingers, and the shrill laughter was beginning to give you a headache. I could tell by your slight winces. Still, you were all smiles and kept up with your stories longer than you’d promised the group. Why?” Ugh. This guy. Why are his eyes narrowed at her as though she’d sneezed in his ale? There’s an air of suspicion in his tone, as though ready to accuse her of pulling some sort of long con on the children. What does he think she’s going to do, steal the orphans’ juice supply? They’ve come a long way in the many moons since their first violent meeting, but Vaile’s trust can be a finicky thing to gain and hold onto. 

“Are you kidding? Look at the adorable sabotender stamp she just gave me for my latest exploit!” To show off her point, she turns it around to show off to Vaile, tapping rapidly at the aforementioned spot. “If I’m lucky, I might even get two rows filled out this time.” “You’re doing it for… the stickers. And the subpar prizes.” “What’s wrong with that? You don’t like them?” “There’s no point to cutesy stuff like that, is all. Can’t imagine putting myself through the discomfort for that.” “Ha! In my experience, you’re nice to kids for even less: all for free! You even let them pull on your hair! I’d lose a hand if I tried a friendly hair ruffle.” She pouts and slowly reaches for his head with her hand, wiggling her fingers. Vaile, right on cue, grabs her wrist and sets her arm back down to her side. “While you certainly act like a child enough, you’re not one, so don’t even think about it. Also, I don’t let them. I’ve taught them to ask if they want to try braiding.” Cahsi can’t help but let out a snort at that. “And you’ve said ‘no’ exactly zero times, if I recall. They’ve made you look very pretty. It really adds to  your intimidating aura, the little flower crown they added afterward to complete your look.” Vaile, having forgotten he was wearing it apparently, nearly tugs it off at having it pointed out. But there are still children out and about, and he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings. His hand twitches, but he keeps the crown firmly atop his hand, and the messy braids sticking in several directions too. “I like kids. They’re innocent and haven’t learned how to truly be cruel. It’s easy to tell what they want and what they’re thinking. They deserve to have fun.” “That’s so much sweeter of a response than I was expecting from you, awww! You’re just a softy after all underneath all the dark clothes, pointy weapons, and near-constant scowl, aren’t you!” “No. I’m really not. But kids deserve to be treated well. They’re in for plenty of pain when they grow up. Let them have their fun now.” Cahsi knows a little bit about Vaile’s past. Mostly from gossip with the others and the tidbits of truth she’s been able to painstakingly pryl out of him since getting on more friendly terms. Some she just knows, because she recognizes some things in him that relate to her own past. She can tell he didn’t get to have a normal childhood, whatever happened, and had to grow up too soon. That his past is full of pain. It’s something she can at least somewhat relate to, having been orphaned twice over and forced to take care of her younger siblings when growing up. 

Vaile hates being vulnerable, and this conversation could easily veer into that direction if she chooses. Cahsi doesn’t mind talking about herself instead, plus he’d asked a question earlier, and he deserves an answer after giving her a little bit of himself. “It’s not that I don’t like kids. I don’t have much patience anymore for them, although it is very adorable when they get sparkles in their eyes over meeting a hero. It’s nice to inspire them. I know they’re our future. I want to see them happy and safe and being able to enjoy just being children, just like you. But I don’t really take the chance to interact with them much, or at least I didn’t. Not until meeting miss Zhloe Aliapoh.”

“The woman who runs the orphanage? What, did you have a crush on her and needed to get closer?” Cahsi smiles. “She’s plenty cute and has her own charms, but no. We’re just friends. Back when I met her, I was still grieving over Theia, thinking she was dead. I saw a lot of my sister in Zhloe, and I felt for her plight. She was doing everything she could to keep the orphanage running and the kids fed, even at her own detriment.” “I heard about the Menphina's Arm’s business beginning to boom because of one Warrior of Light’s meddling. That was kind of you.” “Really, it all reminded me too much of my own childhood. I was lucky enough to get a new family at a young age, and then again that my sister was old enough to step in as parent when our guardian went missing. But these kids only had the orphanage and no guarantee of adoption. If Zhloe wasn’t able to keep it afloat, who knows what would have happened to them all. I had no choice but to help!” “So you don't adore kids. You find them fine and like the hero worship. But you do have a soft spot for orphans.” “I guess? Is that a bad thing?” “As long as you don’t go out of your way to be an asshole to the little ones, I’d say that’s just fine. You’re good with them. Khloe adores the stories you tell her, and I was surprised you did a good job at keeping the gore and swearing toned down for them.” “You let it slip one time about a fountain of blood and they get far too excited, it’s not worth it. Maybe next time you can also tell them about your adventures, huh?” “Maybe…” “It would make the kids really happy to hear double the stories. Imagine: double the joy!” “...Only if I get to pick out the stickers myself.” “I’m sure together we’re strong enough to convince Khloe.” “Deal.”

[kpopsickies]

Could you write a fic where the members of Got7 pass a cold around. Starting with Mark. (with lots of sneezes)

Sickie: got7

caretaker: got7

*set during Nanana era*

who else misses Got7?

Mark p.o.v

see you guys tomorrow I couldn't believe after nearly a year spent in America away from my bandmates I was finally able to say that. I was sitting in the back of a cab on the way to the airport, We were all going to meet up in Korea to film for our music video. I was feeling a bit off, but considering that it was 4:30 I kinda expected that.

I got to the airport and moved through security, a mask and sunglasses hiding most of my face. I made it through security, the airport was fairly empty, understandable with how early it was. I went to one of the cafes in the airport, wanting caffeine to wake me up. I thought for a few seconds, debating between getting coffee or tea, I decided on coffee because I at least wanted to be awake enough to somewhat function. After I ordered I sat in a corner by my boarding gate. I pulled my phone out and saw that the group chat was blowing up. I smiled at Bambam tormenting Yugyeom, as Yugyeom tried to deny missing Jinyoung. And Bambam exposing Yugyeom with a screenshot of Yugyeom complaining to him about how much he missed annoying Jinyoung. I laughed quietly to myself, as I got more awake I became a bit more aware that maybe I wasn't just feeling "off" because I was tired. I had a bit of a headache and my nose was stuffy. I silently cursed, knowing how awful flying is going to be with a stuffy nose.

My manager came over to me, "Mark, they're starting boarding"

"alright, coming" I quickly texted the group chat to tell them I was boarding the plane. They all wished me a safe flight and Jackson told me to tell him when I landed. I assured him I would. I followed my manager to the line of people to board. I noticed a few people pointing at me, one girl even waved at me. I smiled (not really thinking she'd be able to see with the mask) and waved back. She blushed and frantically told one of the girls next to her, who turned around and just stared at me. I laughed quietly. I had noticed that my nose was not just stuffy, but was getting itchy. "hhnnxktch- hhnkxtch hhnnktch-" I sniffled, the girls in front of me turned around, "bless you"

"thank you" I sniffled. They looked at each other, "are you Mark from got7?"

"no, I'm Chan from stray kids" they laughed, I couldn't help but smile, glad that they found me funny. "where are you flying to?" One of the girls asked, I didn't want to tell them, wanting Aghase to be surprised by the comeback, "home" I said, I mean, they probably assumed I meant LA. "have fun" one of the girls said with a smile, "thank you"

"c-can we get a picture with you?" one of the other girls asked, "sure" I smiled, the mask was still over my face, feeling quite thankful for it as my nose was running after sneezing. My manager offered to take the picture, "why don't you take your mask off?" he said quietly, so the girls wouldn't hear "there aren't a lot of people here" I shook my head, "why not?"

"because, I sneezed" he gave me a strange look, "I think I might be sick" I said, he looked worried, "like how sick?"

"just a cold" I said sniffling, he nodded. The girls and I stood together, right before the manager took the picture I held my hand out, and turned away from the others, "hhxktch- henxtch- nnxktch hhngxtch"

"bless you"

"thank you" I smiled and he got the picture. The girls thanked me multiple times, I smiled, "you're welcome" We boarded the plane, I sat in the window seat next to my manager, "you're sick?"

"I think so, I woke up this morning and felt just kinda off, I thought I was just tired, but now I have a headache and my nose is really stuffy. Plus my throat is kinda sore" I explained, "have you taken anything yet?" I shook my head, "I didn't realize I was sick" I explained, sniffling. My nose had been running basically non-stop. The plane began taxiing, "i'm going back to sleep" I said leaning against the window, "go ahead" I was actually surprised that I managed to fall asleep. I woke up to a horrible sharp pain in my eyes and nose. My ears were crackling and felt like my head was about to explode. I barely stifled the painful groan that escaped past my lips. "you alright Mark?"

"really hurts" I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "sinus pressure?" I nodded, he handed me some tissues, I took a few and blew my nose as quietly as I possibly could. "we're landing now" he said, I nodded, "how long was I asleep for?"

"six hours"

"six hours!?" he nodded, "your next flight is going to be long, It's LA to Korea" I groaned "how long?"

"about 15 hours" I nodded, I knew it would be long, but it would be miserable with how I was feeling. "Don't worry, we can find a shop in the airport and drug you" I smiled.

~TIME SKIP~

It seemed like forever before I finally landed in Korea. My head was definitely going to explode, I'm sure of it. It was about 4 when we landed in Korea. I was the last one to get here, Yugyeom, Jinyoung, Youngjae, and Jaebum were already in korea so it was easy for them, Jackson got in the morning from China and Bambam got in maybe two hours before me.

My manager and I took a taxi to Jaebum's house. He said as the leader he'd provide his house for us all to stay in when we were in Korea. The koreans said they could stay at their own houses, but we all agreed we wanted to be together. I arrived, before going inside I made sure to blow my nose a couple of times and drink some water, trying to sound as normal as possible. I left the car, thanking my manager for all him help. He was pulling out as I knocked on the front door. It flew open a second later and Bambam was standing there. "MARK HYUNG IS HERE!!!" He yelled into the house, I cringed at how loud his voice was, He pulled me inside and gave me a quick hug. Jackson came hurrying in, "HYUNG YOU DIDN'T TEXT ME WHEN YOU LANDED!" I winced at his loud voice, which was doing nothing for my headache. "sorry Jackson" I was so distracted by my headache and my sinuses deciding they hated me that I had forgotten. "You said you would" he looked upset, but I could hear the teasing in his voice. "sorry, I was up so early this morning" I noticed my voice sounded really congested. "you alright Mark?" Jaebum, who had just come into the living room, asked. I nodded, "I've got a little bit of a cold but no big deal" I sniffled, The others looked concerned, “flying with a stuffy nose is the worst” Yugyeom said as he handed me a box of tissues. I thanked the maknae and took a few tissues, finally feeling comfortable enough to fully blow my nose. 

“how long have you been sick for?” Jaebeom asked, “I’m not sure, I know I started feeling sick this morning. At first I thought I was just really tired but throughout the day I’ve started feeling worse” 

“have you taken anything?” Jinyoung asked. “yeah, but it was back in LA so like almost 20 hours ago.” I explained, “hhnxgtch- nnggxtch- hhh- hhxgtch-” 

“bless you” The others said, I sniffled and thanked them, “are you hungry? We were just about to eat” I nodded, sniffling and rubbing my nose with the back of my hand. “after we eat you should take medicine and get some rest, especially if you’re sick” I shook my head, “I slept on the flight so I’m not super tired.” I explained, coughing after, my throat had gotten annoyingly sore. “we can watch something, because you need to rest, especially as we’ll start filming soon, we can’t have you sick while filming” Jaebum explained. 

Jaebum p.o.v

The seven of us began eating, I kept a close eye on Mark, who had been periodically sniffling and sneezing throughout the meal. He didn’t seem to have a fever, but I made a mental note to check, just in case. After dinner Mark volunteered to help do dishes, but Yugyeom and Bambam both turned him away, “no hyung, you need to rest” Yugyeom said, Bambam nodded in agreement. “c’mon hyung, let’s drug you and get you resting” Jinyoung said. Mark nodded, he followed us to the living room, pausing to sneeze. He winced after, rubbing his throat. “maybe if you didn’t stifle it wouldn’t hurt as much” Jackson said, gently patting Mark’s shoulder. “it’s a habit” Mark explained with a wet sniffle. He sat down on the couch, Jackson sat next to him, Mark leaned against him. I knew neither of them would admit it, but you could see how excited they were to see each other. Jinyoung came in with a bottle of pills, he handed it to Mark, who thanked him, he took a few out and swallowed them without water, Youngjae cringed, “I still don’t get how you can do that!” Mark laughed, “I’m amazing” Jackson and Jinyoung both rolled their eyes, Youngjae just shook his head, I laughed. The maknaes both came into the room together, loudly bickering about something. “It was in 2019!”

“no it wasn’t! It was 2018!”

“What are you guys arguing about?” Mark asked, coughing a bit after. “Itzy debuted in 2019, but someone-” Yugyeom said jabbing Bambam’s side with his elbow- “thinks they debuted in 2018.” Jinyoung pulled out his phone, “I actually think Yugyeom is right” a second later he nodded, “yep, 2019.” 

“HA! I was right!” Yugyeom yelled, Bambam rolled his eyes, “okay fine, you were right, just this once. But I was right about stray kids” They must have noticed the questioning look given because Bambam was quick to explain, “he thought stray kids was a 9 member group, but I was right, they had 9, but they’re 8 now” (😭) Jinyoung rolled his eyes, Mark laughed, coughing a bit after. “what are we watching?” Yugyeom asked sitting down next to Mark

“*insert show here*” 

“oh, that’s good” Bambam sat down on Yugyeom’s other side. The seven of us watched for nearly 4 hours, getting through 6 full episodes, Mark fell asleep about halfway through the third episode. Jackson informed us that Mark felt really warm, and after taking his temperature, (somehow without waking him up) we discovered he had a low fever. At the end of the night we all retreated to our rooms to sleep, except Jackson who stayed on the couch with Mark laying asleep across his lap, explaining to us he didn’t want to wake him up. 

Jackson p.o.v 

The next morning I woke up and still felt a weight over my legs, signifying Mark was still asleep. I was stiff and sore from sleeping sitting up the night before. I also was thankful that I didn’t feel sick, which Jaebum hyung has warned me about, saying that with how much Mark was all over me I’d likely get sick. I explained that I have the best immune system out of all the members, and that I wasn’t worried. I moved Mark off of me as carefully as I could as went to the kitchen and found that Yugyeom, Jaebum, and Youngjae were already awake. “morning” I said as I walked into the kitchen, “good morning” 

“Is Mark still asleep?” Jb asked, I nodded, “hhnggtCHU- nnggtCHU- hh- hhngtcHU- HNngtCHU” I was startled at the outburst from the makane. 

“bless you” The rest of us said, “thanks” he took a napkin from the center of the table. “Did Mark  give you his cold?” Yugyeom shook his head, “it’s just allergies hyungs” the maknae explained, “you sure? you were sitting next to Mark hyung last night” Yugyeom nodded, “I’m sure. It feels different when it’s a cold vs allergies” he explained smiling. 

We were distracted when a fit of coughing sounded from the kitchen door, we looked towards it and saw Mark standing there, “good morning” we said, Mark smiled, “how’re you feeling hyung?” 

“somewhat more alive” he said with a slight laugh. He looked at me, “did you stay with me all night last night? when I woke up at 3 you were still there” I nodded, “you’ll get sick” I shrugged, “i have a strong immune system”

“that doesn’t mean you’re invincible” Mark said with a tired smile. he sat down next to me and pressed a hand to my forehead, “I’m not sick hyung” I said laughing as i gently pushed his hand off my forehead. Mark gave me a look and nodded his head towards the living room, signaling he wanted to talk to me. I shrugged and followed him. “What’s up hyung?” 

“you have a fever” I was surprised, “I do?” 

“i think so, you felt really warm” 

“I don’t feel sick though” I said feeling confused, I mean yeah i was a bit sore, but that’s probably from being on a plane for so long, or so I thought. Once he pointed it out I did notice a bit of pain behind my eyes, that hadn’t really seemed like anything before, now I was really feeling it. I frowned, “how could I have gotten sick so fast?”

“well besides the fact you and I were sleeping right next to each other, you were also really tired from flying all day, and typically- hhktchh- nngxtch- sorry, typically people who are tired are more susceptible to getting sick because their immune system is weakened.” I nodded at the explanation, “bless you by the way” He sniffled and thanked me. The two of us went back to the kitchen where the rest of the members had gathered. “everything okay?” Jinyoung asked as Mark and I sat down. Before I could say anything Mark jumped in, “Jackson’s sick” the others all groaned, “how long do you guys think it will be until we’re all sick?” Bambam asked, Jaebum stood up, “I’ll call the manager and let him know that Mark and Jackson are sick” He left the room, Jinyoung turned to the rest of us, “is anyone else feeling sick?” Youngjae and Bambam both shook their heads, but the maknae half raised his hand, “I thought it was just allergies but now I’m not so sure” he admitted. “okay, I’ll go tell Jaebum” he stood up, Yugyeom lay his head down on the table. Bambam, who was sitting next to him, placed his hand on his forehead, “shit bro, you’re burning up” Yugyeom nodded, “I feel like it” the maknae’s eyes were glassy with fever. 

Jaebum came in and noticed Yugyeom with his head on the table. Concern evident on his face. “Does Yugyeom have a fever?” 

“yeah, so does Jackson” Mark explained, “do you?” he shrugged, I placed my hand on his forehead but quickly discovered my own fever was making it hard to get an accurate reading. Jaebum came over and placed his hand on the oldest’s forehead. “Yeah, he’s got a fever” he then placed his hand on my forehead, “I think Jackson’s is a little bit higher though” He walked towards the cupboard and took out a thermometer. He went to Mark first and handed it to him. Mark placed it under his tongue, a few seconds later it beeped, “100.5″ (38.1) Jaebum nodded, he cleaned off the thermometer and handed it to me. “100.7″ (38.2) he cleaned it off and placed it under his own tongue, “98.5, normal.” (36.9) “do you feel sick hyung?” Bambam asked, Jaebum shook his head, “I just wanted to check. I think we all should” He explained passing it to Jinyoung. A few seconds later Jinyoung announced “Same as Jb, Normal”  

“that’s good” the leader said, before cleaning it and handing it to Youngjae. “I feel fine hyung” Youngjae explained, “I know. We just want to check” Youngjae nodded and slipped it under his tongue. A second later it beeped and Youngjae took it out. He stared at it for a few seconds. “what is it?” I asked, Youngjae looked confused. “99.9 but i feel fine” (37.7) 

“were you drinking hot coffee?” Jinyoung asked. Youngjae half nodded, “yeah, but it was like 20 minutes ago. Jinyoung placed his hand on Youngjae’s forehead, “you do feel a little bit warm” Youngjae’s forehead was creased with a frown, “I feel fine though” 

“let’s not stress about it. We’ll just keep an eye on you and-”

“hIAhtchu” Jackson interrupted, “sorry”

“It’s fine, bless you- But, we’ll just see how you’re feeling at the end of the day” Jaebum addressed Youngjae, “okay” He nodded, he didn’t look sick, he wasn’t even pale. Youngjae handed the thermometer to Bambam, who wiped it off on his tshirt and stuck it under his tongue. “I don’t think that is really going to do anything” Jinyoung said with a not well hidden eye roll. Bambam half glared at him. Looking slightly ridiculous with a thermometer in his mouth. A second later it beeped. “97.9″ (36.6) 

“I forgot you’re a penguin” Youngjae said rolling his eyes. bambam laughed, “at least it’s normal. I hate being sick” He glanced at Yugyeom who was still lying on the table. “you alright bro?” Yugyeom nodded, he sat up, he took the thermometer from Bambam. A second later it beeped, he looked at it, frowning, he handed it to Bambam. “101.9″ (38.8) Bambam read looking concerned. He gently rubbed the maknae’s back. “geez kid.” Jaebum said, looking worried, “always run warm” Yugyeom said, trying to reassure us. He sat up, and it was clear he was sick, his skin was a pasty white, his eyes glazed over with fever. “how about we have a movie and resting day” Jinyoung said, his eyes lingered over the maknae. “I second that” Mark said, his voice was congested and cracked. The seven of us slowly made our way to the living room, Yugyeom heavily relied on Bambam while they walked. It was concerning to see. 

We all settled down, Yugyeom was leaning against Bambam on the couch, he looked half-asleep already. Mark and I sat together at the other end, Jinyoung sat between us and the maknaes. Jaebum and Youngjae sat on the floor in front of the couch. 

TO BE CONTINUED =) 

[babybearsnz]

Could you do a sneezy/sick Mingi from Ateez where he tries to hide his illness cause he 'doesn't want to be a burden' to his members but eventually after some tension at dance practice he falls apart and the members comfort their emotional, feverish and sneezy princess mingi🤣🥰

Acting weird— er than normal

Sickie: Mingi

Caretakers: Hongjoong and Jongho

Relationships: Platonic

Hongjoong’s pov:

When I woke Mingi up, he sounded slightly congested. It was a bit odd I had to wake him in the first place, but it wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d witnessed in the dorms.

“Mingi-ssi!” He rubbed his eyes and stared up at me. “Schedules soon, bud,” I said while I opened the blinds.

“Morning, hyung.” He sat up and sniffled before bringing his blanket up to cover his face.

“heATCHUuh! huESHUu!” Mingi jerked forward and bent at the waist with each sneeze before clearing his throat and getting out of bed.

“Oh, bless you.” I couldn’t help but cringe a little at how harsh the outbursts had sounded.

He prodded his nose with a knuckle. “Thank you,” he yawned.

I didn’t worry too much, thinking his room was probably a bit dusty. Jongho had complained earlier about dust and his nose feeling itchy so perhaps the dorm just needed a quick clean.

Mingi’s pov:

I woke up with a stuffy nose and a sinus headache. My body ached and I felt cold. It was not a good day to catch a cold and I mentally scolded myself for overexerting myself for the past few days. I got up and started washing up despite the pounding pain from the pressure in my head.

We had dance practice which I was not excited for. I felt like crap. The first day of a sickness was always the worst. A t-shirt and sweatpants would have to do.

I started walking down the hall when I had to stop. “haESHH! ESHHuuh!”

I shook my head to try and clear the feeling, regretting it when the pounding in my head returned.

Downstairs, the rest of the members were already dressed and wide awake. I sat down and put my head on the kitchen table. Wooyoung put down a mug of hot coffee for me and scratched my head.

“You okay?” San asked after draping his body over my back in some sort of weird hug.

“Yeah,” I lied. “Just tired.”

He nodded and left me alone shortly before Jongho called for me.

“I put the rest of the food in the fridge because I didn’t know when you’d come down,” he said. “I’ll take it out. How much do you want?”

I shook my head. “I’m not all that hungry.” I got up and opened the fridge myself. “I’ll just have some fruit.”

Jongho gave me a questioning look but accepted and I grabbed some melon when he quickly turned away and covered his face.

“hurRESHHuu!”

“Bless you, Jongie!” San yelled from the other room.

Jongho rubbed at his nose. “Ugh, thanks.”

I stood there in slight shock, surprised I wasn’t the only one sneezing. Hongjoong scolding me to close the fridge snapped me back to reality.

I obeyed and turned to the maknae. “Bless you,” I mumbled. “You alright?”

He looked at me as if he was offended I asked. “I’m fine it’s just dusty,” he sighed. “I’m starting to get annoyed.”

This was my perfect opportunity. “Same, it’s making me all sniffly.” The members wouldn’t bat an eye if they thought it was only dust bothering me.

Jongho went on a rant about the dorm not being cleaned as everyone made their way outside to the cars to head to practice.

********time skip********

Jongho’s pov:

I was worried about Mingi. He was acting weird… er than normal. Usually once he wakes up all the way he shows his goofy personality, but today he seemed unhappy.

We had been away from the dusty dorm for long enough that my nose wasn’t being bothered anymore, but I couldn’t say the same for Mingi. He sounded super stuffed up and his eyes were glossy. Maybe he was even a little pale? No. It had to have been the lighting.

I was staring at Mingi, trying to figure him out, when he stopped in his tracks. He suddenly sneezed, twice as usual, but they looked and sounded harsh and painful. There was definitely something wrong.

Mingi’s pov:

Jongho kept looking over at me for all of practice. He appeared to be suspicious of something I was doing, but I was too sluggish to be able to tell or care. I was so tired. My head hurt. I couldn’t breathe through my nose. My body was so sore. I was a disaster.

I was trying so hard to act like everything was okay that I bumped into Hongjoong. I nearly fell to the ground. Someone paused the music but I didn’t know who. I felt like I was losing my mind.

“Mianhae,” I managed.

Hongjoong reached out to steady me. “Mingi, what’s wrong?”

I shrugged. “Just having an off day I guess.”

Out of nowhere, Jongho approached me and placed a hand on my forehead. The cool touch made me shiver.

“Hyung,” he groaned. “You have a fever.”

That was all it took. The floodgates opened and tears streamed down my face.

“Aish, come here.” Hongjoong wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s go, I’ll drive you home.”

I cried harder, not wanting to leave his embrace and kept a tight grip on his shirt.

“It’s okay, let hyung drive.” Jongho rubbed my back. “I got you.”

I couldn’t resist that offer. Our maknae, who hated physical touch, was willing to let me hang on him just so I could get better.

********time skip********

Jongho’s pov:

By the time we got home. Mingi was asleep with his head on my lap. I could feel the heat radiating off his scalp.

We walked inside together, his eyes barely open, and Hongjoong took over as Mingi’s cuddler on the couch while I went to find medicine and a thermometer.

I frowned when the numbers came back. 38.8ºC (101.8ºF). Fever reducers should do the trick.

“Do you need anything else?” Mingi shook his head. I stroked his hair and he grabbed a tissue to blow his nose.

When he was done, he didn’t lift his head back up. “huTCHH! hehTCHH!”

“Bless you, Mings,” Hongjoong cooed.

I sighed. “Bless you.”

He nodded in acknowledgement and sniffled. Hongjoong and I brought him to bed and he all but forced me to lie down with him. I fell asleep with him not long after making sure he was comfortable.

Hongjoong checked in on us frequently through the night and I checked his temperature every few hours as well as giving him more meds. Mingi’s fever broke by morning and he was back to his goofy self a few days later.

[typingdyslexiaisathing]

Unexpected Warmth

Summary: Wolfwood decides to be nice and help his friend out

Characters: Vash the Stampede, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, OC character

Content: established relationship, mention of violence, mention of blood, illness, mention of alcohol

Wolfwood rolled over in his sleeping mat to then give a harsh growl of noise. Sitting up to notice the cave the three of us were camped in for the night. A couple of bottles of whiskey by the cave entrance to catch the light of the fire. Wolfwood first looked to Vash. Who was currently fast asleep. Which wasn't surprising given the beating Vash had taken the other day. The bandage on his left cheek holding a few specks of blood from the stitches I had insisted on putting in much to his annoyance. But then Wolfwood looked to where I was laying in my sleeping mat. Shivering from head to toe for him to huff.

It didn't take but a few steps forwards for Wolfwood to kneel down next to me. His hand soon resting on my shoulder to shake me a little. "Retha. Shit, you are like ice. Did you catch a cold? C'mon now. Wake up." My groan has me heft myself into a sitting position. My arms collecting my blanket to ask, "What? Is Vash okay or did his cut re-open?" Wolfwood gave a snort to say, "Vash is fine and currently snoring. But you are not okay. You caught a cold and I for one am not letting you freeze your ass off. So come on. You bunk with me."

My once bleary eyes focus a bit as I say, "Are you serious? I would think you would be insisting Vash do that. So what gives?" Wolfwood huffs to just forgo arguing and sweep me up into his arms. Which has me openly squeak as he walks us over to his own sleeping mat. Setting me down to then snatch my pillow off my now empty sleeping mat. His words gruff but concerned. "We already know Vash is too worn out right now after that brawl from the other day. Which means he'd catch what you got and whine for a week. So I vote you bunk with me and save us all the headache."

Wolfwood nudged me to lay down next to him to then wrap his muscled arms around me. Making me us him for my pillow as he stole the one he took from my sleeping mat. Which had me blush as red as Vash's coat. My grumbling heated for more than just the one reason. "Sneaky of you. You just wanted my pillow and my blanket. What a dastardly tactic, Nicholas." I then gave a hard sneeze that had me shiver. So Wolfwood snorted before he rested his chin on the crown of my head. "So says the mouse with chattering teeth. Just shut up and rest. You are also not driving in the morning. If anything, you and Vash are going to be wrapped in the blankets in the back seat of the Jeep for the trip to town."

I gave a huff to just hug Wolfwood back and close my eyes. The drumming against my ear strong and steady for me to ease into his frame and all that heated warmth. I'd think he had a fever if I wasn't so tired. But my current bunk buddy just tucked the blankets over us in better to then rest his one hand to the back of my head. My words full of loving affection. "Okay, wolf. You win. But I will have Vash help me pay you back for this." Wolfwood smirked at this to chuckle at me and my very real threat. "Yeah yeah. Shut up and go to sleep, Retha."

[river-r1t3s]

hii! i saw that youre new and i wish u good luck with ur page!! i also wanted to make a request for a jaewoo snzfic where jungwoo is sick with a head cold and tries to deny it until his roommate jaehyun comes in action to take care of him :)

sickie: Jungwoo

caretaker: Jaehyun

Jungwoo p.o.v

I had been excited to have a comeback with 127 for the first time in a while, especially because I was looking forward to spending time with Jaehyun, I had what Mark described as a "big fat crush" on Jaehyun. So I was a bit disappointed when I woke up on the morning of filming with a headache and a stuffy nose, but I didn't want to delay the whole filming just for what was likely a result of sleeping with my windows open, and would likely be fine within an hour or so.

As the day progressed I was irritated and upset to discover that the headache and stuffy nose, which I had originally put off as a fluke, didn't go away, in fact it felt like it only got worse, over time my nose had gotten an annoying buzz, and I constantly felt like I was on the verge of sneezing. At some point when the whole group was together filing one of the choruses, I noticed the buzzing feeling was a bit too much, "hhhtChhu- hh-tcchUu hhehtchhU"

no one's p.o.v

The sudden outburst caught the attention of the other members, as they all looked Jungwoo. A chorus of "bless you" rang from the others. "Thank you" Jungwoo said, but cringing slightly at the congestion in his voice, and the pain that had spiked in his head after the initial sneezes. Jaehyun was the only member who picked up on the congestion and had noticed the cringe. Though he'd never admit it, likely the reason he noticed and the others didn't was his tendency to pay more attention to Jungwoo than the other members.

The members continued with filming, but there was a surplus of interruptions, in the form of fits of sneezing from Jungwoo. Jaehyun was growing more and more concerned for his roommate. Especially after the younger put off the fits of sneezing to being "just allergies" even though Haechan, and himself both suffered from pollen allergies and neither of them were reacting. He even went as far as to check the pollen count for that day, which he was unsurprised to see that it was no higher than it normally was.

Jungwoo p.o.v

I discovered as the day went on that it was harder than expected to hide my cold from the other members. Because the sneezing was growing more and more frequent, plus the headache was not ideal either. And as i sneezed more and more I discovered how it irritated my throat, and found myself muffling coughs into the sleeve of my jacket. At some point Taeyong came over to me, lowering his voice, and asking me if I was okay, to which I responded that it was 'just allergies' he gave me a skeptical look, but didn't comment.

no one's p.o.v

Taeyong was a bit disbelieving of Jungwoo when he informed him that it was 'just allergies' because, at least to Taeyong, it didn't seem like any of the other members were suffering, and he knew it took very little to cause Haechan's allergies to act up. But if it was allergies that mean that Haechan and Jaehyun were likely also suffering, so the leader called the two of them over to talk to me during one of the breaks. "hey guys, I just wanted to check in with you two, Jungwoo said that his allergies were acting up, but I knew that if his were acting up, your guys' also would be, so I wanted to check on you guys." a confused was exchanged, before Haechan explained, "mine haven't been bothering me at all" Jaehyun nodded, "same" the three of them glanced over at Jungwoo, who was standing still, staring off into space, his hand hovering in front of his face, before he lurched forward with three sneezes, and then coughed a few times after, "is he sick?" Haechan asked, "I think so" Taeyong said nodding, the two of them looked at Jaehyun, whose eyes were still on Jungwoo, then back at each other and exchanged a knowing look, "Jae?" he pulled his eyes away from Jungwoo, "do you want to go home with Jungwoo and take care of him?" he looked back at Jungwoo, "sure" he spoke nonchalantly, trying to hide how truly flustered he was at the thought of spending time with Jungwoo. "good luck getting him to admit he's sick, let alone go home for it" Haechan said laughing, but Taeyong looked between Jaehyun and Jungwoo, "I dunno, I feel like Jaehyun has a certain skill set" Haechan smirked, while Jaehyun looked at them confused, but walked towards Jungwoo, who had his nose burried in a tissue, his eyes glossed over, "you alright Woo?" Jungwoo nodded, unable to speak due to his breath hitching, "hhtcHU ttchiiu- hhh-hh-htchHuu"

"bless you" Jungwoo blew his nose before thanking Jaehyun. "are you okay?"

"yep, just allergies"

"liar" Jungwoo looked in shock at Jaehyun, who had his arms crossed across his chest, "what do you mean by liar hyung?"

"allergies to what?"

"pollen" Jungwoo answered so fast it was like he rehearsed it, "pollen?" Jaehyun kept his arms crossed, Jungwoo nodded. "if it is pollen, why are Haechan and I fine?" Jungwoo blushed, seeing the obvious flaw in his lie. "um.. I didn't take allergy medication this morning?" Jungwoo tried, Jaehyun rolled his eyes. "I don't know about Haechan, but I know that I didn't" Jungwoo stayed silent, not knowing how to react. "Jungwoo, can you just admit to being sick?"

"I'm not sh-hiickTchuU- hhiTchhU- not sick"

"that might be the worst attempt at faking not being sick I've ever seen, can you just admit that you're sick, we can go back to the dorm and you can get a break"

"but-" he sighed, "I don't want to interrupt everyone's filming"

"you won't, they will film their solo scenes. I finished filming already so I'll go with you" Jungwoo smiled, honestly the promise of alone time with his crush made being sick almost worth it, "alright fine, I'm sick, my head hurts, my throat hurts and coughing is painful, and my nose itches and I can't sto-hp- hhtcHhU ehhtcHHU- ttchchU- sniffle doing that"

"bless you, I'll let Taeyong know, and we'll head out" Jungwoo nodded, rubbing his nose. Jaehyun informed the leader, before the two left, the whole car ride was filled with sneezing from Jungwoo, and every once in a while the sneezes would trigger a coughing fit. Which Jaehyun would just gently rub the younger's back while he tried to catch his breath. Although for Jungwoo, he would argue the presence of Jaehyun's hands made it harder as he got flustered every time he felt the soft, caring hand on his back.

Once the two of them arrived back at the dorm Jaehyun sent Jungwoo to shower, explaining it would not only make him feel better, but the warm water could help with the congestion. Meanwhile Jaehyun went to the kitchen and put the kettle on to make tea, then heading to the closet where the medical supplies was kept and took out a box of tissues and cold medicine, taking them up to their room. A few painful sounding sneezes echoed from the bathroom, Jaehyun cringed in sympathy at how it sounded like it tore at Jungwoo's throat. The kettle began whistling and Jaehyun prepared a mint herbal tea, knowing it was Jungwoo's favorite, he also took that to their room. Setting it down on the bedside table, when he heard the shower shut off, and Jungwoo's voice call, "hyung, can you get my pajamas for the room? I for-ghhetChhu- ttchhiU forgot to grab them"

"no problem" Jaehyun grabbed a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants that Taeyong had gotten all the members for Christmas the year before. Everyone was shocked at how comfortable they had been, and quickly became the favorites of all the members. He also grabbed a black tshirt that belonged to him. One that was a bit bigger and very comfortable and fairly warm, despite being a tshirt. Jaehyun knocked on the bathroom door, and Jungwoo promptly opened it, a towel wrapped around his waist and his top bare. Jaehyun had to force himself to make eye-contact with Jungwoo's actual eyes, rather than his abs, upon looking at Jungwoo, Jaehyun noticed that his nose stood out bright pink against his pale skin, and his eyes were glassed over. "thanks hyung" Jungwoo said, taking the clothes and sniffling, his nose was so runny and itchy. "once you get dressed go to our room, I made tea and got cold medicine. What do you want to watch, I'll set a movie up for us"

"whatever is good"

"starwars?"

"sure" Jaehyun went back to the room and opened disney+ and selected the 6th (aka the best) starwars. A few moments later he was joined by Jungwoo who, at least in Jaehyun's opinion, had no business looking that good while being sick. "feeling any better?"

"a little, my n-h-nose is super itchy" he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, "then sneeze"

"I can't" his breath hitched, Jaehyun stared at Jungwoo for a second, contemplating what he could do, before he let his feelings get the better of him and he bent over and gently placed a kiss on Jungwoo's nose. Jungwoo was shocked, but didn’t have time to process what just happened, as the tickle finally came out, “hhtcHU- iitchiU hh- hiitcchuU” 

“bless you” 

“thank you... Why’d you kiss me?” Jungwoo asked, very flustered, Jaehyun wasn’t sure how to answer, “I was helping you, because you needed to sneeze?” Jungwoo laughed, “was kissing me your only option?” Jaehyun blushed, “it made sense in my head” Jungwoo laughed again, but fondly shook his head. “if you wanted to kiss me you could have just said so, I wouldn’t have minded” Jungwoo blushed afterwards, Jaehyunjust stared at him, “then can I kiss you?”

“no”

“why not?”

“I’m sick” Jungwoo said with a shrug as if it was the most obvious thing ever, “I don’t care” Jaehyun leaned in, Jungwoo shook his head, “no, you can’t get sick. My ears can’t handle you sneezing that much. I’ll be deaf within a day” Jungwoo said, a hint of mischief in his voice. “you’re mean, my sneezes aren’t that loud” Jaehyun pretended to be offended, “yes they are” Jungwoo said with a laugh. Jaehyun rolled his eyes, but pulled Jungwoo so he was practically on top of him, “let’s watch the movie” Jungwoo smiled, knowing that Jaehyun was a bit flustered. 

The two of them spent the next few days watching movies and cuddling, by the second day Jaehyun, under the claims that ‘Jungwoo was already all over him and he’d get sick anyways’ got the courage and kissed Jungwoo. (although not without a 5 minute lecture afterwards)

[tinyyoungblood]

Did you see my Peter Parker request bestie of you coming through peters window and him helping you patch your wounds like you have done for him in the past. He was the only place you could think of with as much pain you were in on little to no time you almost faint when you get through his window. And he might kiss some of your wounds because he’s not really sure what else he can do to make you feel better ? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻🥰🥺🥺🥺🥺

ring pop | peter parker

pairing: peter parker x avenger!reader

warning: angst, mention of blood, fluff

a/n: writing headcanons for so long has literally butchered my ability to string proper sentences together so this is rough lol, but i loved this request! listen to “ring pop” by jax if you want the full fluff experience. enjoy x

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Before you say anything—” You held up your palms as Peter’s eyes widened in the dark, taking in your battered form from where he lied on his bed. A chill creeped through the opened window, making you shiver and grit your teeth. “I just want to let you know that if I don’t make it tonight, you have full permission to use my eulogy as a posthumous lecture.”

“A posthumous—” Peter cast his notebook to the side and got to his feet. “Y/N, you’re bleeding. What happened?”

“Is May home?” You asked quickly, ignoring his question.

“May?” Peter repeated, staring at you like he had never heard of that woman.

“Your aunt?” Your vision started to get patchy.

“My—” He shook his head. “May isn’t home, it’s just us. But you know that, it’s Wednesday, she always works late on Wednesdays.”

Peter was rambling now, talking to you like you weren’t dripping blood on the pillow on his floor. Or maybe he wasn’t, you couldn’t tell. All you knew was the stabbing pain on your left shoulder, piercing into your arm like lightning.

At once, Peter stopped talking. “You’re not okay,” he pointed out, though he had said it to no one in particular.

“What gave it away?” You retorted half-heartedly. Narrowing his eyes at you, he stepped forward. Before you could protest, Peter was already in front of you, lifting your arms carefully as he raked your body.

You winced as his hand bumped into your waist and he immediately let go, flashing you an apologetic look. His voice was laced with concern. “What happened to you?”

Your neck ached a little from a muscular knot you’d hardly noticed before. It throbbed now with discomfort and strain. You offered him a crooked smile. “I slipped.”

“You did not slip,” Peter scoffed, ever the realist, and took your hand, lacing it with yours while guiding you to sit down on his bed. “You’re one sneeze away from death, Y/N. Tell me what happened.”

Peter kneeled on the carpet floor and retrieved the first aid kit from under his bed. It was covered in glow-in-the-dark cars stickers, which you recognised from a fair that you had once went to together. It was the only thing you had won that night and Peter had smiled so brightly when you gave them to him, but somehow, you still found yourself surprised to see them in his possession.

“I fell off a roof,” you said, tracing the lining of his blanket as Peter popped the lid open. His eyes flicked to yours before he went back to taking out some cotton balls. He stepped into the space framed by your knees and peeled off the remnants of your suit, rolling it to rest at your waist. A deep punctured wound glared at him.

“Did you fall into a thorn bush?” Peter asked drily. “Or was there a spear on the sidewalk that impaled you?”

You winced as he tapped the soaked cotton balls on your skin, the alcohol burning in a way that you weren’t used to. He was gentle and froze whenever you flinched before continuing, but you knew by his flat gaze that he wanted the real answer or nothing. You cleared your throat and fixed your eyes on his dishevelled curls. “Fine,” you murmured. “Someone pushed me off the roof.”

Peter glanced at you. Without saying a word, he pressed the bottle of rubbing alcohol into your hands. You watched as he picked up some gauze and signalled for you to lift your left arm. Cautiously, he draped the clean piece of cloth around your forearm. His knuckles brushed against your skin. You took a breath. “There were four guys trying to break into the flower shop across Delmar’s. One of them got ahold of my sheath and things got ugly. But I swear I’m fine,” you added as Peter worked on your other arm.

He tied the ends into a knot and nodded to the bandage that he had just secured on your left arm. “You’re already bleeding through your bandages. I wouldn’t call that fine.”

You glanced down. A faint red blossom of blood had spread on the bandage. You tugged awkwardly at the strip of gauze. “Subjectively fine,” you amended before looking up, turning your narrowed gaze to his. “This isn’t fair. I don’t see why you’re making a big deal out of this when you slip into my room nearly every night while bleeding to death.”

Peter looked affronted at that. “It’s not the same.”

“How is that not the same?” You asked incredulously.

“Because it’s me,” Peter snapped. “I’m the one bleeding. Not you. That’s what makes this not fine.”

“Oh, please.” Scorn dripped off your lips. “Don’t pull that white knight bullshit on me. I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself.”

You snatched the gauze out of his hands and fiddled with it. The next bandage had to be wrapped under your arm and around your shoulder. You knew how to take care of wounds—the task had become a vital skill in not only your life—but this was more challenging than you would ever admit. You simply couldn’t reach that way. Your limbs were still aching and you felt the beginning of an awful headache coming. Having Peter watch you intensely didn’t help your case either, especially when annoyance and pity flashed in those brown eyes that you normally sought out for comfort. There was no comfort in this.

But you weren’t going to be the one to ask for help, and Peter knew that. He loosened a breath and held out his open palm to you, waiting patiently for you to relent. You stared at his hand for a moment and dropped the gauze roll into it. Silently, Peter worked on your arm, leaning in to loop the bandage behind you. You were both aware of how close he was. His warm breath fanned over the shell of your ear.

Peter wrapped the strip around your arm twice and tied it near the joint. You expected him to step back, facing you with an expression that was most likely regret or spite or both. But he didn’t budge. Both of you had gone utterly still.

Your pulse picked up. You knew that Peter could hear it, probably see it too. You wondered if it matched his own beat. But before you even knew what his intentions were, Peter lowered his head.

His lips hovered just above the warm juncture between your shoulder and the column of your neck—a spot that Peter always seemed to gravitate to. You drew in a sharp breath. The barest movement and his lips brushed your skin. Desire and a sense of familiarity coursed through you.

“I don’t want to fight,” he mumbled. “I just…I don’t know what else to do.” He left a trail of warm, soft kisses down your slender neck. You exhaled slowly and let Peter say what he needed to say without uttering a single word. He pressed a kiss to the end of your jawline and moved smoothly up to your ear. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Then he stepped back and looked you in the eyes. “It’s fine,” you said, the beginning of a smile forming on your lips. “Just don’t give me a hard time when it’s uncalled for. You patched up my wounds. That is enough.”

Peter didn’t look convinced. He lifted an eyebrow as you pulled him forward, pushing him into the mattress so you were lying side by side. Comfortable silence fell. Your eyelids felt heavier with each second, memories of vivid city lights blurred inside your head as you slipped in and out of consciousness. You knew you had to change out of your suit, but the softness of his duvet was too alluring. Too peaceful.

You felt warm breath fanning over your arm, followed by the soft press of familiar lips.

“What are you doing?” You asked, opening your eyes and pushing Peter’s face gently away. His curls fell carelessly onto your cheek as he looked up at you with raised brows. You caught a whiff of his shampoo. You loved that smell.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m kissing your boo-boos better.” He made to lower his head again, and you laughed.

“Don’t call them boo-boos. I was literally stabbed with a knife.”

He growled against your collarbone. “Don’t remind me.” Again, those lips on your skin.

If you had thought that peace was the cosiness of Peter’s bed, then you stood corrected. You found peace in the careful and tender kisses Peter left on your skin. You found it in the way his thumb rubbed mindless circles into your waist—careful not to touch any bruises. Even the citrus smell of his shampoo, surrounding you like a daydream felt like peace to you.

Everything about Peter Parker brought you peace and comfort.

“I have something for you,” Peter said, grinning excitedly.

“Oh?”

You watched as Peter rose to his feet, almost tripping over the notebook he had tossed to the ground after you had climbed through his window. He stumbled to the desk and shuffled through his papers until he found what he was looking for and let out a pleased hum. He lied back down beside you, propping himself on his elbow before presenting you a small object.

“A ring pop?” You asked, amused. Peace, peace, peace.

Peter shrugged, eyes cast downward. “Yeah, is that okay?” He said. “I know it’s not enough but—”

“It’s perfect,” you cut in, the corners of your mouth began to hurt from how broadly you smiled.

“I…” Peter blinked at you. “You’re sure?”

You nodded and your mouth quirked to the side. “As long as this is not my engagement ring, it’s more than enough.”

Chuckling, Peter slipped the ring pop on your finger and gave the back of your hand a kiss. He then twisted and grabbed the water bottle standing on his night stand. He unscrewed the cap and took off the plastic ring that sat at the neck of the bottle, offering it to you.

“It’s just a promise,” he explained before shooting you a toothy grin. “So we can both be each other’s annoying white knights.”

“I like that,” you responded, mirroring his grin. You slipped the plastic ring on his finger and frowned. It was hardly big enough and sat awkwardly at his knuckle.

“It doesn’t fit,” you said uselessly, and Peter waved you off.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get me a ring pop when your organs work again.” He shot you a wink. “Everyone deserves an edible promise ring, don’t you think?”

You laughed.

Peace, peace, peace.

* * *

stay hydrated pals

[cynosdaydream]

𝕯𝖎𝖑𝖚𝖈

You sneezed again, feeling your already bad headache get worse. Your temperature was rising at a steady pace, but throughout the night, you kept insisting that you were fine.

"You're clearly unwell. You need rest, so I'm closing the tavern early to bring you home." Diluc sighed, cleaning a glass. "Wait! You can just call Charles or something, or I'll just walk back by myself, it's not that big of a de- !"

The redhead gave you a disapproving look, and announced that the tavern was going to be closed in a short while. "I'm sorry," you said.

"No need to be. You're my first priority, and I don't want to deal with these rowdy drunkards anyway." he mumbled, locking the tavern before picking you up. "What are you doing?!" "Don't ask questions." he muttered, face flushed a beautiful pink.

*.✧*.✧*.✧*.✧*.✧

The next time you woke up, you were comfortably positioned in Diluc and yours' shared bed, with an ice pack on your forehead and multiple bottles of medicine on the bedside counter.

"Ah, you're finally awake." The familiar voice said. "Are you feeling better?" he asks. Your throat feels as dry as sandpaper, so you manage a nod. The next few minutes, you're bombarded with questions, about how you were feeling, if there was any discomfort, which was pretty strange coming from the reserved and quiet Diluc Ragnvindr.

After a few beats of silence, you asked, "Can I play with your hair?" Your voice came out coarser than expected, which made your boyfriend immediately give you a cup of water. Your lips upturned as you sipped the water, awaiting a response. "Direct today, aren't you, (name)." he said curtly, but untying his ponytail and laying his head in your lap.

For the next few hours it's just you playing with your lovers hair, and him regularly checking up on you. The atmosphere is silent, but calm, with no air of awkwardness despite the lack of noise.

You got one or two check ups from the best doctors in Mondstat, hired by Diluc, as he wants the best and only the best for you.

After the sun set, it's all a blur. You vaguely remember Diluc patting your sides gently, lulling you into a deep slumber.

Him whispering sweet nothings into your ear, while playing with your hair like it's the most precious artifacts in Teyvat, and your eyelids fluttering closed, submitting to the darkness.

The next morning, you felt much better. Your headache had cleared up, your felt like you could breathe properly again, and there was no more lingering heat on your forehead. The smell of breakfast wafted into your nose, your head turning to find it.

There, on the bedside table, sat said breakfast, which was perfectly made waffles, and deliciously golden maple syrup drizzled generously on each one of them, topped of with some butter and a few blueberries on the side. Your mouth watered just by the sight of it.

"I do hope you're feeling better, my love. I'm in my office, please come see if you need anything, or call one of the maids." the small post it on the side said.

Youve never felt this cared for in your life, and being in this position, with a caring and sweet lover, you couldn't ask for more.

[poor-baby-bangtan]

i was wondering if you could do something snz-centric with jungkook. like a cold or flu. hes just so adorable and im too much of a sucker of bts taking care of him in fics. (also im so happy youre back and well, you're one of my favourite bangtan sickfic writers here on tumblr ^^)

I hope you enjoy! 

Sickie: jeongguk 

Caretakers: Namjoon and Seokjin 

Words: 6,853

Themes: snz, fever, hurt/comfort 

"Ht'tschu!"

By the fifth time that Jeongguk had to tear himself away from the recording equipment to sneeze almost violently into his hands, Namjoon was ready to call it quits for the day. The pair had been finishing up some backing vocals for a nearly-completed song - it was only a bit of harmonization, nothing extreme or extravagant. Jeongguk had always been the best with harmonizing, especially in a higher pitch, so Namjoon figured that he would layer the maknae's hidden track over it first just to get a feel for the way it sounded.

But Jeongguk was barely able to get through any of his lines or simple melodies without having to turn around to sneeze or clear his throat. And now that Namjoon thought about it, his voice did sound a bit rough around the edges and maybe even a little congested if he listened closely enough to his dongsaeng's voice blasting through his headphones. And, above all, he couldn't get through a track that he would have aced any other day. It was nearing 1 AM and the maknae looked tired, stressed, and sick behind the mic.

"JK," he called through the slightly-opened door beyond the large built-in window between them (purely to keep unwanted sounds out of the recording). "You okay?"

Jeongguk sniffed and rubbed at his nose with a knuckle, ears reddening slightly at the sudden attention. Namjoon found it incredibly endearing that, despite living together for just shy of seven years, he still managed to get embarrassed over minor stuff like that.

"Yeah, I'm alright, hyung. I'm sorry, I know you wanted this finished quickly," he managed, staring at the open mic in front of him with obvious frustration and guilt, the tip of his bunny nose pink with mild irritation.

Namjoon stood and took off his bulky headphones, joining him in the adjacent room and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Gguk, it's not your fault." The maknae sniffled again but didn't say anything, looking so pitifully sad as his eyes wandered around the floor. "Are you wearing a new cologne or anything? New shampoo?" Namjoon knew how sensitive their youngest was to smells - his perfume of choice was actually faint and made for women and he wore it for the sole purpose of it not irritating his sinuses. Even a change in shampoo, conditioner, or hair spray had a tendency to trigger Jeongguk's rhinitis flare-ups.

Jeongguk shook his head. "No, everything's been the same, Joon-hyung. I don't know why it's like this."

The rapper chewed at his lip worriedly, running a hand through the younger man's soft hair. "You think you're getting sick, babe?" Namjoon chose to break out the pet names now - it helped break Jeongguk out of that shy, nervous, I'm-grown-up-so-I-can-handle-everything-myself shell he always tried to adopt.

"Hih-H'tshhuh! T'cHh!"

Jeongguk didn't have time to reply before he was pitching forward to sneeze twice into his elbow, leaning back with a little groan. Namjoon chuckled quietly and rubbed the maknae's back as he sniffled and scrubbed at his nose with his sleeve. "I think that might be a yes."

The maknae sighed, rubbing at his brow like he had a headache. "I don't want to be."

Namjoon just tutted and put his palm to the younger man's forehead, frowning when he felt the slightest bit of heat underneath his hand. He wasn't flushed and didn't feel too warm, but he always ran hot when he was coming down with something. "I don't think you have a choice in this one, Gguk-ah."

"But hyung," Jeongguk whined, looking up at him with his big doe eyes, "I can't get sick right now. We have so much stuff to do and I'm already making you stay late-"

"Hey, no," he shushed. "You're not holding back anything. We have work, sure, but it's not anything that we can't push back a few days for you. This is the lightest our schedule has been for a while, so don't stress about it, okay?" Namjoon smiled faintly, running his fingers once more through Jeongguk's fringe. "And you're not keeping me here doing anything. We could have been doing this next week or even not at all; this is optional just to test the sound, you know that."

Jeongguk nodded, sniffling again for good measure. "Yeah, okay," he mumbled, still disappointed and very much not convinced.

"Why don't we go ahead and head home? It's late," Namjoon yawned, stretching, all an act just to get the maknae to not protest leaving just like the rapper knew he would. He had always been the hardest one to take care of - most of the others eventually gave in and let themselves be coddled. But, nope, not Jeongguk. He would put up a fight until he was passed out or in the hospital, something that his hyungs tried relentlessly to keep from happening. No matter how much they drilled into his head that you need to talk to us, Gguk or you can tell us anything, Gguk, it seemed like the kid never listened. Despite the fact that he had recently turned twenty-one, he had absolutely zero skills in the self-care department.

Jeongguk nodded and Namjoon marked that as a big success on his part. "Okay." He patted his pockets a few times before sighing. "Let me find my keys first."

That's right. He drove us here this morning.

"No that's okay, Gguk. I'd rather call a cab." Namjoon wasn't sure if he really wanted his maknae driving while sick, and at midnight nonetheless. He was already a little reckless behind the wheel on the best of days and the last thing they needed was him having a cold (or worse yet, flu) on top of that. The leader silently cursed himself that he hadn't gotten around to getting his license yet (and tried not to be embarrassed that the youngest of his group had to drive him around despite the age gap).

"No, I'm fine, hyung. I can drive," Jeongguk protested, looking just a little too eager to prove himself and that he was indeed okay. "I can.. d-dr- hhitsHh!"

He was interrupted by another sneeze, though, pitching forward, bent at the waist from the strength of it. He slowly straightened upwards, hands still cupped around his face. Namjoon took the hint and passed him a tissue, which Jeongguk hesitantly took as if he were almost too prideful to take it. He usually was, and the rapper was thankful that it was late in the evening. A tired Jeongguk was an obedient Jeongguk.

"I know you can, Ggukkie, but I'd rather just call someone. It's late and we're both tired; I'd feel better if we had a cab or a manager come pick us up. Besides, we're here every day. We can pick up your car another day, yeah?"

Jeongguk wiped his nose with the tissue and threw it away, sighing. "Okay. Is Sejin-nim still here?"

"Let me text him. Go ahead and put your coat on."

The maknae nodded and went to retrieve his hoodie as Namjoon fumbled with his phone.

Joon: Hyung-nim, are you still in the building?

Cool manager hyung: yeah I'm about to leave. need a ride?

He smiled at how Sejin already knew what he needed before he had the chance to say anything about it.

Joon: yeah, me and Ggukie are finishing up in the studio.

Joon: do you mind dropping us off?

Manager hyung: of course, it's on the way anyways. but I thought Jeongguk drove you two here..?

Joon: yeahh but I think he's coming down with something. don't want him on the roads right now ~_~;

Manager hyung: aishhhh why am i not surprised 

Manager hyung: that kid always pushes himself too hard

Manager hyung: meet me outside in 10. i'll stop by the pharmacy tomorrow.

Joon: thank you Sejin-hyung :))

By the time Namjoon looked up from his phone, Jeongguk had pulled his hoodie on and was scrubbbing at his nose with one of the sleeves, sniffling weakly. The hoodie was a couple sizes too large and hung low around mid-thigh. He had balled up his hands inside of the sleeves, making rather adorable sweater paws with them. His nose was now red, morphing from the innocent pink tinge that it had held for most of the night, and his eyes looked a little far-off and watery. Namjoon tried his best not to make a sound of endearment and simply pocketed his phone, reaching out and squeezing his dongsaeng's shoulder.

"Sejin-nim is gonna pull up out front for us."

"'Kay," the maknae mumbled, looking exhausted despite himself. Hopefully it wouldn't be hard to get some medicine in him and put him to bed.

Sejin held true to his word; his car was already warm and running by the time the pair made it downstairs. Namjoon crawled into the backseat with Jeongguk instead of taking his usual place up front. Jeongguk didn't seem to mind, or even notice for that matter, as he put on his seatbelt and yawned into his hand. Namjoon caught Sejin's knowing smirk in the rear view mirror, though, and felt his face heat up.

He wasn't one of the most doting members but he still cared, alright?

Sejin started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "How's the song looking, boys?"

"It's going great, Sejin-nim," Namjoon smiled. "Jeongguk is really blowing it out of the water." He reached over and ruffled Jeongguk's hair lightly. Jeongguked smiled that cute smile he does, lips barely pulling back to preview his bunny teeth, eyes scrunching gently around the edges, and it was all Namjoon could do to not make a noise like a variation of a dying animal. That kid does something to his heart that should not be legal. The maknae pushed his hand away and he let him, reaching down to intertwine their fingers and rest them on his thigh instead.

Sejin chuckled deep and throaty, smiling in the rearview mirror. "Just as usual, huh?"

"Yep." Namjoon ran his thumb over Jeongguk's knuckles. "Golden maknae here always does his best."

Jeongguk ducked his head and smiled, teasing his lower lip with his teeth, ears going a bit red. He had never been able to take a compliment without getting embarrassed. "Thanks, hyung."

"Aish, don't thank me kid." Namjoon swore his heart was about to burst. His maknae really was just too sweet without knowing it.

Jeongguk was opening his mouth to say something back but stopped short, getting a far-off look in his eyes as his jaw hung slack. His nose twitched and scrunched several times with the effort not to sneeze; his breath hitched several times as his breathing quickened. He was not able to quell the feeling, though, and sneezed openly onto his lap before he could react.

"Hih.. hh-huh-H'itsxhu! Ht'scHh! Es'cHischh!"

He tore his hand from Namjoon's as he caught the second and third that came with it. They sounded increasingly intense and painful, and Namjoon winced in sympathy.

Sejin sucked in air through his teeth sharply as Jeongguk slowly brought his hands away from his face and sniffled in retaliation a few times. "You feeling okay, kid?" He pulled up at a red light and looked him over in the rear view mirror. "That sounded kind of bad."

Namjoon was glad that Sejin chose not to mention the fact that he had already told him Jeongguk wasn't feeling his best. Jeongguk would have been eternally embarrassed and probably would deny his hyung's help for a while. He had a strange trust system and Sejin seemed to know that.

Jeongguk snuffed once more against the increasing stuffiness in his sinuses before replying. "Yes, I'm okay Sejin-nim, thank you."

Namjoon withheld a sigh and put a hand on Jeongguk's thigh. Always so closed off and shy. Of course, he loved his maknae and wouldn't change his personality for anything. But sometimes he wished he would open up a little more and be a little more trusting to those around him. He had opened up to his band mates after a while, of course, but it was still hard for even them to get through to him at times. Jeongguk could be silly and goofy and just himself wherever he was, but when it came to showing any form of weakness it was like he retreated as far back into his shell as he could get. It was a constant inner struggle for him, realizing that he's still human and needs to treat himself as such. Even one (1) voice crack during a performance can drive him to tears. Weakness and mistakes are just not something that he tolerates with himself, as sad as it makes Namjoon. He's never really as concerned with Jeongguk's physical condition as much as he is with his psychological one when his health dips.

Sejin sighed quietly enough for Jeongguk to miss it and pulled up as the light turned green again. "If you're sure. Just let me know if that changes, okay, Jeongguk-ah?"

"Yes, hyung-nim." Namjoon could hear the gratefulness in the maknae's voice, even if he most likely would not accept the help.

"Aish, kid, always so formal," Sejin grumbled playfully. He had long stopped trying to get Jeongguk to drop the honorifics. They were fond and playful now more than anything.

Jeongguk made that happy noise in the back of his throat that he tended to do, sort of like a mix between a laugh and a endearing huff, and replied, "Of course, Sejin-ssi."

"Ack!" Sejin waved one of his hands in the air dismissively. "That's worse!"

Jeongguk chuckled, fully this time, with a grin that split his whole face and made his eyes squint. He seemed tired, but happy still - probably wasn't feeling too bad, then.

The trio fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the trip. Namjoon could feel that they were all tired - reasonably so, it was past 1am - and if he was being honest he was ready to do nothing more than just crash in bed when he got home. But his maknae still needed to be taken care of, because he certainly wasn't going to take medicine on his own.

The pair said their goodbyes to Sejin after he pulled up outside of their apartment, with the older man giving Namjoon a knowing wink as a way to say good luck with that one. Namjoon just laughed and waved him off. He knew how to handle his maknae.

Jeongguk stumbled inside, already half-asleep from the car ride, and made his way into the bathroom. Namjoon veered towards the kitchen where their medicine cabinet was and dug around for a few minutes looking for some sort of cold medicine or anti-congestant. He came up with a half-empty blister packet of a nighttime cold medicine which was about the best he could have hoped to find. With the winter, colds had been going around the members quite often and it was around that time of the year that they were constantly running low on medicines. That, and it would help Jeongguk sleep more soundly - even though he usually slept a lot (like, a lot) when he was sick, it was never very deeply and it left him still feeling exhausted, even after he was healthy again.

Namjoon popped a few blue gel-capped pills into his hand and filled up a glass of ice water as he heard the shower come on, sighing when he realized he also still needed to shower. But then he had a thought... why wait? He'd rather keep an eye on his dongsaeng anyways.

Setting the pills and glass on the counter, Namjoon made his way other to the bathroom and poked his head in. "Mind if I join you, Ggukkie?" he called.

"Sure, hyung," came Jeongguk's reply, rough around the edges and tired. Even though he had been living with roommates for many years, he still erred to the shy side, especially when it came to being undressed around others. But, if he was tired enough or felt bad enough, he tended to care less about exposure and more about having company and skinship.

At his response, Namjoon stepped into the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind him, quickly stripping down and pulling back the shower curtain to step under the warm stream of water. Jeongguk stepped over to make room for him (thankfully they finally had enough money for an apartment with several large bathrooms with large tubs and showers, so both of them comfortably fit). The water was a tad too hot, probably because the younger was feeling chilled from being out in the cold, even if they were just walking from the car to their door. Or that's what Namjoon hoped - he was praying the kid wasn't cold because a fever was coming on. He did his best to ignore it, though.

Jeongguk was just beginning to shampoo his hair, eyes droopy and tired. He sniffled once, and then twice - the steam was probably helping with his congestion. Namjoon struggled against a fond little smile and reached over to shampoo his dongsaeng's hair himself. Jeongguk didn't even argue and dropped his hands immediately to his sides. His eyes fluttered closed as his hyung worked the product into his hair, swaying with the motion. He sighed a long, drawn-out breath and leaned into Namjoon's touch, mouth just barely hanging open like a puppy's when receiving a good scratch.

"You're not allowed to ever stop that, hyung," he mumbled, words thick with exhaustion and groggy, eyes still closed. Namjoon laughed again and massaged the base of his scalp.

"We'll see about that, kiddo." He worked the suds through Jeongguk's long hair (wow, it had really gotten lengthy, hadn't it?) and took a second to admire the youngest's features. Even when he was feeling under the weather, his face was still radiant and beautiful. His skin was perfectly blemished, a healthy tan (how could anyone ever want to whitewash him?), and the resting-exhaustion-pout glued to his expression made him look younger and more adorable than ever. As Namjoon guided his head underneath the stream of water, he took a second to appreciate how lucky he was to have Jeongguk as his dongsaeng.

Jeongguk preened under the warm water, melting under it as it met his skin. He looked half-asleep. Namjoon fondly tapped his cheek, to which he opened his eyes; the older man smirked. He was just about to say something teasing when Jeongguk's face screwed up and he hitched, pitching forward catching it in his elbow.

"Hh- hh'itschiew!"

He sniffled a few times as he straightened up, keeping his elbow to his face as he coughed a couple times into it. Namjoon felt his chest tighten and eyebrows pinch together.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay Ggukkie?" He ran his hands through the younger's hair once more, scratching at the base of his neck. Jeongguk just nodded and coughed one more time before dropping his arm, pushing even further into his hyung's touch. But he didn't say anything or respond verbally at all. He was probably feeling too tired to even try and debate about his health. Namjoon just sighed and reached for his own shampoo, quickly lathering up his silver-blonde hair. "I have some medicine laid out for you. Let's just finish up so you can take it and we can get you to bed, hmm?"

Jeongguk only nodded sleepily once more, fumbling for the conditioner. Namjoon once again took over washing his dongsaeng's hair as soon as he had finished with his own; Jeongguk was seriously lagging behind as he struggled to stay awake underneath the stream of hot water. After rinsing out the remaining conditioner from the younger's hair, Namjoon passed over the body wash, turning the maknae around so he could wash his back. Soon enough, though, they were both toweling off and clumsily dressing in sleepwear. Jeongguk groaned when Namjoon pulled out the hairdryer.

"Hyung, can we please just skip that? I want to sleep," he whined, lip protruding in a cute little pout in an attempt to win his hyung over.

"Nope, no way. You're already getting sick and the last thing we need is it getting worse because you went to bed with cold, wet hair. Turn around and sit on the counter if you want."

Jeongguk huffed, annoyed, but did as he was told anyways. Namjoon pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead before brushing through the younger's hair and turning on the blow-dryer. Now the maknae was actually falling asleep, head lolling down several times before he woke himself up and jerked himself back upright. Namjoon bit back a smile as he continued to blow dry his hair, overwhelmed by fondness. By the time his hair was dry, Jeongguk was passed out, mouth hanging open and cheek pressed against his shoulder. At the sound of the dryer turning off Jeongguk stirred, blearily opening his eyes and blinking several times to focus them.

"'M done?"

"Yeah, kiddo. Hop down and we'll go take your medicine."

Jeongguk fixed him with a groggy glare. "You didn't dry your hair."

Namjoon chuckled and winked. "I'm too tired, I guess."

The younger slid off the countertop and headbutted his hyung in the chest; evidently he was too tired to pick his head up, so he let it rest on Namjoon's sternum as he weakly hit him with a closed fist. "You're the worst, Namjoon-hyung," he mumbled, no real heat behind the words.

He just chuckled in response and wrapped an arm around his dongsaeng's shoulders, leading him out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "Oh yes, I'm just terrible for looking after my maknae," Namjoon said as he passed Jeongguk the pills from where they were on the counter, holding up the glass to the younger's lips. Jeongguk mumbled faux-angrily under his breath as he tossed the pills into his mouth and let Namjoon give him a drink of water to wash them down. Namjoon took the glass with him as the guided the younger down the hallway and into their shared room, setting it down onto the nightstand.

Jeongguk belly-flopped onto Namjoon's bed with a big sigh, stretched out parallel to the headrest. He grumbled incoherently into the duvet and stilled completely. Namjoon huffed a laugh and slapped him lightly on the back of the thigh.

"Come on, Gguk-ah, move over so we can both fit. That's right, get under the covers." Jeongguk sighed and grumbled again at his words, lazily re-correcting himself to lay properly on the bed. Namjoon lifted up the covers for him and the maknae crawled obediently between the sheets, settling in on his side with his feet curled up in a half-fetal position. The older man climbed in after him on the opposite side of the bed, turning off the bedside lamp and pulling up the duvet over the both of them. He reached over and adjusted the covers to below Jeongguk's chin, effectively tucking him in. As he got settled in himself, Jeongguk squirmed his way to Namjoon's chest, cold nose feeling over his collar bone. The rapper intertwined a leg with the younger's, wincing at his freezing toes, and slung an arm around his slim waist. For a few seconds, it was just the quiet sound of the AC and the feeling of the maknae's chest rising and falling against his own, warm breaths puffing against his neck. Jeongguk's long locks tickled against his cheek.

"Th'nk you, hyung," Jeongguk slurred against his collarbone, sounding sleepy and content but more congested than he had previously. Namjoon just gave a low rumble and pressed a hand to his maknae's forehead. A little warm, but that was probably just from the combined heat of the shower and hairdryer.

"Of course, you don't have to thank me, Gguk." He pressed a kiss into the younger's hair. "How're you feeling, jaigya?" Namjoon's brow contorted in concern as Jeongguk shivered a little in his arms and sniffled against his t-shirt.

Jeongguk just gripped his shirt a little tighter and nosed further into the crook of his hyung's neck and mumbled, "Shh, hyung, sleepy t'me, shhh..." His breaths became a little deeper as he fell further into the grasp of sleep, the small rushes of air sending goosebumps over Namjoon's olive skin. "No m're talkin'," he murmured, sounding as if he were barely hanging onto the last dregs of consciousness.

Namjoon pressed a kiss to his forehead before relaxing back into his pillow, fingers drawing invisible pictures onto the younger's back. "M'kay, babe." Namjoon figured he had been awake long enough - it was nearing 3am and he was feeling sick, there was no point in keeping him up any later than he needed to be. He could always check up on him in the morning. Plus, Namjoon thought he had done a pretty good job of taking care of his maknae thus far - a little questioning could wait. "Goodnight, aeghi. Saranghae."

Namjoon was only barely able to hear the whispered reply of "Joon-hyung, saranghae," before the youngest promptly fell asleep in his arms.

xxx

As expected, Jeongguk was restless during the night. He never really woke up but tossed and turned all the same, occasionally making sleepy noises and sighs against his hyung's neck. He never slept particularly well when he was unwell, which was something Namjoon knew was going to happen. That being said, the older man didn't get much sleep either. He was hyper-vigilant and woke up every time his maknae so much as stirred. Namjoon was exhausted, seeing as he had several late nights in a row, but somehow he didn't seem to mind this time. As the night went on, though, Jeongguk seemed to still, back pressed up against his hyung's chest. Namjoon woke up a few hours later to light streaming through the window and Seokjin knocking at the door to wake them up up. The rapper stirred and stretched, inhaling sharply. It felt like he had hardly slept, but it was already 8am.

Jeongguk still lay quiet as the little spoon, curled up into Namjoon's stomach. His body was radiating heat and he was breathing laboriously through his mouth. Namjoon swore and peeled back the covers, pressing a hand to the younger's forehead; he found it to be hot to the touch. His tan skin shone with sweat and his face was particularly pale aside from the flush of his cheeks. Along with that, he was shivering a little in his sleep, brows contorted into a painful grimace. Namjoon dropped his hand and sighed; he knew this was going to happen.

The older man tucked his maknae back into the covers before getting up himself, sighing once more. He made sure Jeongguk was still asleep as he left the room. Seokjin was in the kitchen brewing coffee from the Kurig, watching with tired eyes as the bitter liquid slowly filled his cup. Namjoon approached him from behind and wrapped his hands around the older man's slim waist, burying his face in a broad shoulder and pressing down hard with his forehead.

Seokjin chuckled and patted his arm. "What's this, Namjoon-ah?"

"Jeonggukie's sick," he grumbled into the fabric of the singer's sleep shirt, getting a whiff of his fabric softener in the process. Seokjin always smelled so nice. The younger man could feel the other craning his head to look at him so Namjoon picked his head up and rested his chin on his shoulder instead, meeting Seokjin's gaze. "It came on last night," Namjoon sighed. "He was restless all night and when I woke up he was running a fever."

Seokjin maneuvered out of his arms, turning around to face his dongsaeng and tracing the pads of his thumbs over Namjoon's eye-bags with a concerned crease in his brow. "Are you sure you didn't get it, too? You look awful, jaigya. You're pale."

"No, hyung, I feel fine. Maknae-ah just kept me up with all his tossing and turning."

Seokjin got a smug look on his face, smirking.

"What?" Namjoon deadpanned. He was too tired for this.

"Well," Seokjin drawled. "You're usually such a heavy sleeper. Worried about our youngest, are you?"

Namjoon felt his ears go hot with embarrassment. What's the deal with people, first Sejin, now Seokjin was teasing him? Unbelievable. "With all due respect hyung, shut up. Just because I don't show it as much as you do I actually do care about my maknae," Namjoon spat, pushing away against his hyung's chest and trying to walk past him, annoyed. Seokjin's squeaky laughter followed him and he was stopped by the older man catching his wrist.

"I'm just kidding Joonie, don't get so defensive," he giggled, drawing the younger back into a hug.

Namjoon sighed and buried his face again in Seokjin's shoulder. "Maybe don't tease me then," he grumbled, but the heat was gone.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Seokjin stroked his back and laughed one more time. "Have you checked his temperature yet?"

"Not yet. He's still sleeping."

Seokjin hummed, planting a kiss in Namjoon's bed head before pulling away.

"I'll go get the thermometer. Will you wake him up for me?"

"Sure, hyung." Namjoon started down the hallway, slowly creaking the door open and slipping into his and Jeongguk's shared bedroom. The maknae was exactly where he had left him, turned away from the door curled up on his side. Even though he was about to wake the younger man up anyways, the rapper tiptoed around the bed and kneeled next to his pillow as quietly as he could. Jeongguk's face was still scrunched up and tense with pain, a flush high on his cheeks. His hair and shirt were saturated with sweat. Namjoon reached up with his hand and smoothed over the distressed wrinkles on his forehead; his face relaxed after a few seconds, melting into a neutral expression. His face was hot to the touch and Namjoon's fingers came away damp.

"Jeonggukie," Namjoon murmured, reaching over to grasp his maknae's shoulder gently. "Aghi. It's time to wake up, jaigya." The younger stirred, eyebrows immediately scrunching up again as he fought against waking consciousness and the pain he obviously felt. Namjoon shushed him gently, cupping the side of his face with a large hand and rubbing his thumb over his temple. "I know, babe, wake up for just a few minutes."

Jeongguk blearily opened his eyes and immediately winced, making a pitiful noise of pain from the back of his throat and curling up into a tighter ball. He squeezed his eyes closed and buried his face in his pillow.

"Aigoo, I know, I know it hurts Ggukkie." Namjoon moved from stoking his forehead to running his fingers through his damp hair, something he knew Jeongguk had a soft spot for. "Seokjinnie-hyung is bringing you a thermometer and then we'll get back to sleep, okay?"

Jeongguk whined weakly, voice gravelly from a combination of sleep and sickness, looking up from his pillow to gaze at his hyung pitifully. His eyes were red and glassy and tired, framed by the high spots of fever-induced color on his cheeks. Jeongguk's face screwed up, and for a horrifying second Namjoon was sure he was about to start crying. He pitched forward with a sneeze instead, following it up with a few rattling coughs. Whimpering, he reached up to hold his head in his hands as though the movement had aggravated a headache. The older man frowned and leaned over to press a kiss to his forehead before settling himself on the edge of the bed, running his hand over his dongsaeng's back in soothing strokes.

"How're you feeling, babe?"

Jeongguk just grunted and gently placed his forearm over his eyes to block out the light from the window. "Bad," he mumbled, voice still thick with sleep.

"Tell hyung what's hurting," Namjoon prompted, smoothing out the wrinkles of his maknae's shirt over his side.

Jeongguk didn't move his arm as he answered. "My head n' my body are aching. It's cold."

"I know, aghi. Anything else? Is your throat bothering you?"

The singer just slowly shook his head before once again going still, arching his back against Namjoon's touch. He could feel the younger's fever through his shirt. He was satisfied that the younger's throat wasn't hurting him, though; a hoarse voice was an idol's worst nightmare.

Jeongguk reached back with his free hand and pulled his shirt up to expose his back, reaching for Namjoon's hand to press it into his skin. "Push harder, hyung. Please," he murmured, pushing with more force against Namjoon's hand, digging it into his ribs.

Namjoon took the hint and began to massage his back with the heel of his palm; Jeongguk shivered under his touch, goosebumps breaking out over his skin. He was probably cold and skin most likely sensitive, but wanted skin-on-skin contact anyways. His skin was moist and sticky from perspiration, but Namjoon bore the discomfort and carried on.

"Does that help with the pain Jeonggukkie?"

The maknae nodded underneath his forearm, releasing Namjoon's wrist and draping his arm back around his waist. "It feels good, hyung."

Namjoon adjusted his position on the bed for a better reach, kneading the palms of his hands into Jeongguk's feverish skin, moving from his shoulders down to his calves. Jeongguk mewled under the touch, arching his back and wincing but not pushing his hyung away. He always got awful aches when he was feverish and Namjoon seemed to know just how to get rid of them. The maknae tried to keep as still as possible, pressing his forearm against his eyes hard to try and reduce the pain.

A soft knock resounded on the door before Seokjin poked his head in, frowning softly when his eyes drifted to their youngest member. Jeongguk was shivering and trying his hardest not to let small noises of pain slip through his gritted teeth as Namjoon worked against his tight, painful muscles. The skin of his face was flushed and damp with perspiration - even from across the dim room the mat-hyung could see the rivulets of sweat trailing down his neck. Namjoon turned around, hands still kneading against Jeongguk's thighs, and met Seokjin's eyes with the same concerned look.

Seokjin looked back to the maknae and closed the door behind him, walking around and dumping his handful of medical supplies on the bedside table, keeping only the thermometer.

"Oh, honey," he murmured. "You must be feeling awful. I'm sorry, jaigya." Seokjin passed his fingers through Jeongguk's damp, sleep-tousled hair.

Jeongguk peeped out from under his arm and met Seokjin's gaze. "Good morning, hyung." His voice was strained and congested and the older man winced at the sound of it. He pursed his lips and planted a kiss on the maknae's forehead.

"My Jeonggukie, always so polite. Good morning to you too, baby. Let's get you some medicine and some food so you can get back to sleep okay?"

"Okay," Jeongguk mumbled, struggling to push himself up to sit against the headboard. Namjoon immediately moved to help him up, hoisting him up by the armpits until he was comfortably upright. The younger man winced as soon as he was sitting up, grinding his palm against his eye to try and ease the headache. He obediently opened his lips for the thermometer, holding it underneath his tongue until it beeped. 101.9.

"He wasn't very bad last night at all, hyung, I was surprised when I woke up this morning," Namjoon fretted, chewing his lip.

"You and me both, Joonie. We'll fix him right up though, aghi, don't worry too much," Seokjin said, putting the thermometer down on the bedside table and unscrewing the lid to the fever reducers, shaking a few out onto his palm.

Namjoon was about to respond when Jeongguk's face screwed up again for the second time that morning. His eyes got a far-off look as they glazed over, breath hitching. His already-pink nose twitched and nostrils flared, trembling. He brought his hands up where they paused, hovering just a few inches away from his face.

"Hih..."

Jeongguk squeezed his watering eyes shut, letting out an involuntary whimper as the sneeze refused to leave his body. The singer's mouth hung open just slightly as his breathing hitched again, once, twice, three times, nostrils flared and nose twitching.

"Hih... Hh... Hih.h..! Hihtshu! Hi'tshh!" His body lurched forward as he caught the sneezes in his cupped hands. Seokjin quietly blessed him and rubbed his back. Jeongguk let out a little groan as he leaned back slowly, dropping his hands and scrunching his face up in pain. The sneezing hadn't done much to help his headache.

"Oh, baby, I know," Seokjin cooed, running his thumbs over the distressed lines in the younger's face. Namjoon hopped up from the bed and drew the blinds, engulfing the room in a pleasant darkness. Jeongguk visibly relaxed at the abscence of light, sighing and melting back into the headboard. "Here, Ggukkie, take these and drink half the glass." The older singer pressed the pills into the maknae's hand and held the glass of water he had brought along near his lips. Obediently, Jeongguk popped the pills into his mouth and drank from the cool glass of water as Seokjin put it to his lips. Surprisingly, the younger drained the whole thing - both of his hyungs were pleasantly surprised.

"Good job, babe," Namjoon praised, kissing him on the cheek and patting him gently on the head. Jeongguk made a satisfied noise low in his throat, eyes already closed and lolling down to his shoulder.

"That's my maknae," Seokjin smiled, patting the younger on the shoulder before turning to Namjoon. "I'll finish making his breakfast and leave it in the microwave. I think it's fine if you let him sleep for another few hours. Watch over him, okay?"

Namjoon fixed his eyes on the younger who was blissfully dozing by that point, head lolling down to his chest. "I will hyung."

Seokjin kissed the maknae on the top of his head before leaving the room, going to wake the rest of the members and get them to get ready as quietly as they could (if they could at all, that lively bunch...).

"C'mere, Jeonggukkie," Namjoon muttered, going around to his side of the bed and crawling under the covers, holding his arms out for the younger to crawl into. Jeongguk didn't miss a beat, drowsily slouching down and scooting over until he was wrapped up in the older's arms. He nosed forward until his warm forehead was pressed square against his hyung's cheek. Jeongguk intertwined a leg with the older man's, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close as he shivered; he must have been freezing cold. Tucking the blanket securely underneath his dongsaeng's chin, Namjoon pulled him as close as he was able. The younger's breathing was already slow and even, already asleep. Namjoon laughed silently and pressed a kiss to his forehead, letting his eyes drift shut as well.

“Saranghae.” 

There were definitely worse ways to spend the day, he thought.

[bteezxyewriter12]

Blood Type/ 2

Pairing- Jin x Named Reader

Word Count- 3.5k

Includes- Jin caretaker, mention of head injury, fluff

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Part 1 Part 3

J POV

"Are you sure you're ok?", Jin asks

"Yeah Jin, I'm good", I repeat

Once we got to my apartment, I changed into PJs while Jin fixed my bed. He double stacked my pillows telling me I shouldn't lay flat on the bed. He got me into bed and gave me the remote for the TV

"Are you hungry? I can cook for you"

He's going to cook? Fuck yeah, I love his food. But I'm not hungry right now. I ate the shitty breakfast at the hospital

"Maybe in a little", I say

"Ok. Hoseok went to get your prescriptions and he'll drop them off soon. I'll get you ice in case your head hurts."

He disappears and I hear him in my kitchen. He's taking taking care of me really seriously. It's sweet. I turn on the TV and just flip through the channels, lowering the volume so I don't get a headache

"Here", he says coming back in my room with ice in a baggy and a paper towel around it. He gently places it on my head wound. It's so cold but it's supposed to make me feel better

"Are you tired?"

I am. I'm exhausted. I feel like I can fall asleep in a second.

"Yeah Jin. I'm tired"

He nods, "Ok. You should rest. I'll be in the living room in case you need me ok?"

"Ok"

I would nod but it hurts my head when I do. He turns the TV off and leaves the remote and the ice on my dresser. I lay down on the pillows while Jin puts the blanket over me. He smiles at me, then leaves the room, turning the light off and closing the door

As I lay in my bed, I think about everything that's happening. I was in a car accident. I was hurt badly. And I lost Jimin. I still love Jimin. I woke up and everything is different. And Jin is my soulmate

Jin

I mean there's nothing wrong with Jin. He's gorgeous, he's funny, and he's so sweet. But...I don't feel anything for him. I never thought about him being my soulmate. I thought Jimin was

And I honestly don't know what to think or feel. I can't imagine not loving Jimin, not being with him, not kissing him or having him with me

I miss him

But I understand why he's staying away. Why he's hurt. I just want him here with me

I close my eyes waiting for sleep, hoping everything will make sense soon

----------------------------------------------------

"Do you need help washing your hair?", Jin asks me

I mean I do but how is he going to help me with showering? He told me that I had to wait three days from when I woke up before I can shower and wash my hair. The three days have passed but I have no idea how I'm supposed to shower with a cast on

"I can help you"

"How?", I ask

No way am I letting him see me naked. Not yet anyway. Over the past few days my feelings for Jimin have gone away. I can't believe it actually happened. I actually feel a little guilty about it. I also started to notice my feelings for Jin

Noticing how beautiful his smile is, how adorable his laugh is, how much I like hearing his voice. How I want him around me all the time. How I wish he would hold me at night. But I'm not ready for him to see me naked yet

"You can put on swim suit bottoms while I do it. Then you can take it off when I leave and shower", he suggests

"What about my cast?"

I have a stupid cast from my wrist to my elbow. Not to mention broken ribs that hurt when I breathe. And kill me when I sneeze

"Hobi got you a cast cover for your arm"

Oh. I remember him saying that Hobi was getting my pills. I guess he got the cast cover too

"And this shoulder one?", I ask

This thing is a pain in the ass. My upper arm to my elbow and shoulder are in a plaster cast as well as my chest and body, stopping right above my belly button. It's like I'm wearing a one shoulder shirt. But it's heavy and itchy. And it's pressing my breasts tightly against my body. I saw myself in the mirror and I look like an idiot. I also have a sling I wear when I'm not laying down

"Cling wrap", he answers. I guess that's as good as it's going to get

"Fine", I relent, "Can you get the cling wrap while I put on my swim suit?"

He nods and leaves my room. It takes me a few minutes but I manage to get my pj pants and panties off, then get the swim bottoms on. Jin knocks on my door asking if I'm ready

"Yeah", I call

He comes in and helps me up, walking me to the bathroom. While I'm glad Jin is here and I'm grateful he's taking care of me, I hate feeling like an invalid. I'm used to doing everything on my own. I'd never imagine I'd need help with showering or the many things Jin has been helping me with

We get to my shower and he opens the door. As I walk in I see a small stool that hasn't been there before

I glance at Jin and he says, "I thought it'd make it easier for you if you sat while I wash your hair. So you don't get tired"

That's so thoughtful. "Thanks Jinnie"

He smiles at me and my breath leaves my body. It's so beautiful. I need to stop.

I go and sit on the stool. Jin comes inside the shower with me, closing the door. He slides my arm into the cast cover, then takes out the cling wrap. He wraps the entire cast, making sure to double wrap it so it doesn't get wet

"Ready?", he asks

"Yeah"

Jin turns the water on, holding the shower head and gently puts the water on my head

"Tell me if it's too hot or cold"

The water feels fine and I tell him that. I feel his fingers start to run in my hair and I have to admit it feels good

"I'm going to leave the bandage on your wound ok. I'll clean it and change the bandage after you shower"

"Ok Jinnie. Thanks"

"Not a problem", he replies

The water leaves my head and I hear him opening a bottle. He moves his hands in my hair slowly, making it soapy with shampoo. He gently massages around my head, avoiding the wound

Jesus I didn't know he was so good at this. Or that it'd feel so good. I close my eyes as he rinses the shampoo from my hair. I hear another bottle open, then his hands back in my hair. I guess he's putting conditioner in

"I'm just going to leave it for a minute ok?"

"Yeah Jin. Thanks"

He puts my hair to the side of my shoulder cast. Then I feel him touching my neck, back and shoulder that's not covered with the cast

"I'm just gonna soap you up here since you can't reach ok?"

"Ok", I whisper

His fingers and hands run along my skin, sending shivers down my spine. Closing my eyes against his touch, I just feel him

"Fuck", I hear him whisper

Oh god. I want him right now

'Stop it', I tell myself

I can't do this now even if I want to. My body is still in a lot of pain. Jin gets the shower head and rinses my skin and then my hair

"I'm uh..I'm finished. Call me when you're done and I'll fix the bandage ok"

"Yeah", I say softly

He leaves and I take a deep breath. I need to stop. I can't let my emotions get out of control. I manage to get the bottoms off, soap myself up, shower and get a towel around my bottom half without slipping and killing myself

"Jin", I call, hoping he can hear me

I step out of the shower slowly and fix the towel before I sit on the toilet cover

"Jin", I call louder

"Coming", he answers

I hear him walking and he comes inside

"You ok?", he asks. I nod slowly

"Ok", he answers coming closer to me

He raises his hands, moving my hair, then slowly takes off the bandage

"Is it gross?", I ask

"I...uh...", he trails off. I guess it is

"Just say it Jin. It's ok"

"Yeah Jo. I'm sorry but it's gross. It's a little bloody and puffy. Does it hurt?"

Not right now. But I know it's going to hurt when he cleans it. "Uh not yet"

"I'm going to be as gentle as I can't ok. I'm sorry if it hurts"

"Ok", I whisper

I hear him turn the water on. Then I feel him press something on the wound and I shriek. "Ow ow ow!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!", he cries

He's not even pressing hard. He's being gentle and it's still so painful

"Just keep going", I say through my clenched teeth

"Are you sur-"

"Yes"

He pulls away the towel and reapplies it. Pain shoots through my body and I can't help the tears that start falling. It hurts so much. When he uses soap it stings and burns adding to the pain

"Almost done", he whispers

I just keep my eyes closed tightly, tears still escaping. I feel more water on it, then a patting motion on it. I suck in a breath, sobbing from the pain

"Done. A new bandage is on"

I let out a breath and open my eyes. It still hurts and it's throbbing

Jin kneels down in front of me

"It still hurts?", he asks sadly

"Yes", I whisper

He reaches out and wipes my tears, "I'm sorry"

He pulls me to him in a hug. I put my face in his neck, wrapping my arms around him. Being in his arms feels so good and it's comforting. He rubs my back, holding me tightly. I stay in his arms until I've calmed down

Slowly I pull away from him, even though all I want is to stay

He smiles at me, "I'll get your clothes ok?"

I nod slowly. He stands and leaves for a few minutes, coming back with pj pants and a shirt

"I uh didn't want to go in your drawers for underwear so..."

"It's ok Jinnie. Thanks"

He nods, "Call me when you're dressed. I'll help you back to bed"

"Sure"

He leaves again and I dry myself then pull my pants on. I need help with my shirt. Jin helped me last time

"Uh Jinnie?", I call

He comes back inside, "Yeah?"

I hold out the shirt, "Can you help me?"

"Of course Jo"

He takes the shirt, putting it aside. He unwraps the cling wrap from my body and shoulder, then takes off the cast cover. He gets the shirt over my cast, then pulls it over my head, as I put my other arm through the sleeve

"Thanks", I say as he pulls the shirt down

"Don't thank me Jo. It's ok. I'm happy to do it"

I just give him a small smile. "Can I have my hair brush?", I ask

"I'll do it", he offers

"Alright"

I tell him where the brush is and he gets it out. He helps me turn so my back is to him. He gently runs the brush through my hair, avoiding the wound area. Again it feels so good when someone else is touching my hair

"You have beautiful hair Jo", he says softly. I do?

"It's so soft and long. And such a bright pink. I like it"

"Thank you Jinnie", I answer

I like that he likes my hair. It makes me happy. And I need something to be happy about right now. He finishes, then helps me to my room. Getting me into bed, he sits next to me

"Do you need a pain pill?", he asks

"No", I answer

I hate those things. I always get sick from them, no matter what I eat with them. It doesn't hurt that much to need one yet

"But Jo, you have them for when it hurts. You haven't taken any yet"

"I know Jinnie. But I don't need it. It doesn't hurt that much"

He looks at me doubtfully but he doesn't say anything about it, "Are you tired?"

"No. Not right now. I'm just gonna watch tv"

He nods, "Ok. I'll be outside"

I hesitate. I want him to stay with me. I don't want to be alone. But will he stay?

"Uh Jinnie, you can uh stay here with me and watch tv. If you want?"

A gorgeous smile spreads on his face, "Yeah Jo ok."

He gets up and moves to my other side where there's empty space. Sitting, he leans against the headboard. I'm happy he's here. Turning the tv on, I flip through the channels until I find 'The walking Dead'

"I love this show", I say

"Then let's watch it", he answers

"Ok"

I decide to take a risk. I move my hand and take his. He doesn't look at me but I see him smile as he laces our fingers together, holding my hand tightly

I smile to myself and turn my attention to the tv

💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉

Jin POV

"My head is fucking killing me", she says

After a week of taking care of her, I know that if she's complaining then it really hurts

"I'll get you something to eat and you can take a pain pill ok?", I say, getting up from the bed. She hasn't taken any pills yet and I don't know why. It'll help her

"Yeah I guess", she answers

Ok, she must be in a lot of pain to say yes. "I'll be right back"

"You don't-"

"It's ok Jo. Don't worry about it", I smile

Walking into her kitchen, I go to the fridge and take out some food for her. I cooked a lot of food, so I can just get it easily for her instead of having to make something every time. When it runs out, I'll make more. I put the food in the microwave to warm it

I like taking care of her. I feel extremely protective of her and just want to be near her. Thank God she lets me stay with her while she watches TV. I only leave when she's sleeping because I don't want to be a creep

I wonder if she has started to feel for me what I feel for her. I know it may take longer because she's in pain and is preoccupied with that. I hope she does feel that way soon though. I love her so much and I just want her

The beeping of the microwave goes off. Taking it out, I grab a pill from the bottle, a bottle of water and carry them to her

"Here Jo"

"Thanks Jinnie", she says, as she moves slowly

She still gets headaches if she moves too fast. I put the food down on her nightstand and help her up. Handing her the food, she starts eating

"God Jinnie, I love your food. The guys are so lucky they get to eat the food you make all the time. I'm jealous", she smiles, "It's so good"

I smile. I'm so happy she likes what I make for her. I'll cook for her anytime

"Thanks Jo"

She nods, "Come and sit Jinnie. We can watch more 'Walking Dead'"

I grimace. I like the show, the storyline is cool but I can't stand the zombies, blood and gore. It's gross but I don't want her to think I'm a baby. She loves the show and I'll watch it with her as long as I can be with her. And as long as she wants me to stay with her

Walking around the bed, I sit next to her and she presses play on an episode. She eats everything while we watch, then she takes the pill. I'm glad she's eating more. She wasn't hungry the first day we came here

"Thanks Jin. It was so good"

"I'm glad you liked it"

She smiles at me, then turns back to the tv. I take a second to stare at her beautiful face, then because I don't want her to catch me, I look back at the tv

Just in time to see someone get their leg chopped off

Great

----------------------------------------------------

"Jinnie, I don't feel so good", she tells me about an hour later

"What's wrong?", I panic

"My stomach hurts"

Oh god did my food make her stomach hurt? I'm such an idiot

"Jo, I'm sorry-"

"No Jinnie. It's not the food. It's the stupid pain pill", she says. She looks so pale and she's holding her stomach

"What do you need Jo?"

"I....I think I'm going to throw up"

Shit. I jump up and run to the garbage pail that's in her room. I give it to her right as she throws up

"Oh fuck", she moans, then leans into then pail and throws up again. I don't know what to do, so I just stand next to her and rub her back

"I'm sorry Jinnie", she says, starting to cry

"No Jo, it's ok. It's fine", I assure her. I hate vomit but I'm not going to make her feel bad about it. And I'll help her anyway I can

"Do you feel-"

I get cut off when she throws up again. Jesus. That pill really made her sick. I thought it was supposed to be fine with food. Guess her stomach is more sensitive

"I hate throwing up", she cries

I feel so bad for her. She's in pain, she has to deal with getting better and now the medication that's supposed to help her is making her sick

I gently run my fingers in her hair and tell her, "It's ok Jo. You'll be ok"

After a few minutes of not throwing up, I ask, "Are you ok?"

"I...I'm still queasy but I don't have to throw up. Not right now"

I nod, taking the pail from her, "I'll uh throw this away"

"No Jinnie, I'll do it. It's gross", she says, slowly standing up

"No Jo, I got it. It's just throwing out the bag that's in here. I'll replace it with another and you can keep it by your bed in case you need it.", I suggest

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"Thanks Jin. I don't know what I'd do without you"

I smile at that

"No problem princess"

I realize what I said and I freeze. Shit, shit, shit. It just slipped out. Fucking hell

I take a chance and glance at her. She's blushing and biting her lip but she doesn't yell at me or anything

"I'm uh I'm going to go to the bathroom. I have throw up breath", she jokes. I chuckle, the weirdness broken

"Sure. I'll be back with this", I gesture to the pail

As I empty the pail, I kick myself for calling her princess. It's just a name I always thought I'd call my girlfriend. But I don't even know if she'd want to be called that or is she even likes princesses. But she didn't say anything when I said it. I don't know. Maybe I should try calling her that one more time. Not today, maybe tomorrow and see how she takes it. I decide that's what I'm going to do

----------------------------------------------------

When I get back to the room, she's in her bed again. I set the pail next to her, then go sit down again

"What do you want to do? Are you tired?", I ask

She nods, "Yeah. I uh think I'm going to take a nap"

I nod. That means I have to leave. I don't want to but I will so she can rest

"Ok. I'll be in the living room if you need me", I say

As I move to get up, she grabs my hand. I look over at her, my heart in my throat

"Can....can you stay with me?", she asks

Oh my god yes. I'm so fucking happy. But I have to play it cool in front of her. I don't want her to think I'm desperate

"Yeah Jo, if you want"

"I want you to"

"Ok". She lays down and I move under the blanket with her, laying down on my back. I don't know what to do and I feel so awkward. She moves closer to me and she puts her head on my chest

Oh my god

She cuddles close to my side, her arm across my chest. I slowly wrap my arms around her and start playing with her hair. My heart is pounding so hard and I know she can hear it

I glance at her just as she closes her eyes. This is really happening. It feels so good to finally have her in my arms. And she fits perfectly with me

It's the best thing in the world

I play with her hair until I'm sure she's asleep. Only then do I close my eyes