#bts bloating

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Yoongi’s listening. Yoongi is always listening. He’s always watching. Always paying attention. He notices Hoseok skipping meals. He feels the dancer’s absences. He sees the lack of food related trash in the bin in Hoseok’s studio. He eyes the visible weight loss during their wardrobe fittings. He hears Hoseok’s stomach wail for food it’s not getting. It worries him. 

He’s tried to bring up the subject with Hoseok before. But it doesn’t get him very far. Hoseok assures him that he’s “fine. Really, hyung. I’ll eat later.” But that’s always his answer. And later never seems to come. He trusts when Hoseok says he’s not trying to starve himself. He knows Hoseok gets invested in his work. It’s a weakness they share. But Yoongi at least has enough sense to keep snacks in his studio. Hoseok hates to keep food, afraid it will bring roaches or ants into his studio. The horror. 

He likes to keep a hands-off approach to the other members. He knows they are all capable adults, each leading their own lives and making their own decisions. He doesn’t like to abuse his hyung card. But this is Hoseok. He’s taking a huge risk by being the first one to debut solo. He can only imagine how much stress the dancer is under. And he knows how meticulous Hoseok is when it comes to his work. He wants the debut to go well for him. He wants everything to go well for him. All the time. And he knows Hoseok won’t be able to maintain his stamina without keeping his body well fed. So he’s willing to step in this time. 

Still, he’s not stern like Seokjin and Namjoon. He’s gentle and laid back. He’s not going to force anything onto Hoseok. But he knows Hoseok’s weak spots. One of which happens to be the Daegu rapper himself. Yoongi knows if he frames it in the right way, Hoseok will not be able to refuse. 

Yoongi treats himself to lunch one day. He purposefully orders one of Hoseok’s favorites. And he purposefully only eats half of it. He packs up the other half and makes his way to Hoseok’s studio right around lunch time. It’s unlocked, as per the usual. Yoongi invites himself inside and hovers, listening to the beat Hoseok’s working on. “That’s coming along well,” He gets the younger rapper's attention.

“Yoongi-hyung. What are you doing here?” Hoseok spins around in the chair. 

“I got lunch for myself, but I wasn’t as hungry as I thought I was.” He passes the take out container to Hoseok, “You want the rest.” 

Hoseok eyes the meal with a wide smile. “Thanks, hyung.” He opens the lid and smells the food. It’s still warm. “Bulgogi. My favorite.” He grabs the chopsticks Yoongi’s offering and takes a bite. 

Yoongi sits on Hoseok’s couch, making himself comfortable. “So, tell me what you’re working on.” He opens conversation. He truly doesn’t want to know anything about Hoseok’s album. He doesn’t want any spoilers. He wants to be able to fully experience it upon completion, take in the whole thing at once. But he stays. He just stays to make sure that Hoseok empties the container. 

Hoseok falls right into his trap. He starts talking about his concept and his ideas. He talks about his filming and his costumes. Yoongi wipes it all from his mind. He lets Hoseok resume his work once the container is empty. 

Yoongi makes a habit of it. For a week straight, he visits Hoseok’s studio for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He even stops a few times in between to share a snack. He mixes it up every time. Sometimes he brings leftovers to the studio. Sometimes he invites Hoseok out to a restaurant, or even just for quick street food. Sometimes he has food ‘accidentally’ delivered to Hoseok’s studio. Every time, Hoseok greets him with kindness and shares a meal with him. He doesn’t seem privy to Yoongi’s intentions. 

Yoongi’s simply satisfied to see that Hoseok is eating. He can see the color improve in the dancer’s face. His eyes look more alive. He looks less faint. And his bones protrude less through his skin. He’s willing to share as many meals with Hoseok as it takes to get the dancer back on a normal diet. At least until after his debut. 

Hoseok’s at his wits end. He’s so grateful to Yoongi. He knows Yoongi visits him out of concern. And he doesn’t want his hyung to worry. But he can’t take much more of the ‘random’ food invitations. It was sweet at first. But Hoseok’s body is struggling to manage all the food Yoongi’s been giving him. He’s been bloated and miserable for days. His loose fitting clothing feels tight around his stomach. Nothing digests well anymore. Even just half a take-out meal fills him. The thought of another sympathy lunch rendezvous makes him feel sick. 

He knows it’s his own fault for switching his diet so abruptly. He knows his body just isn’t used to eating so much since he’d been too busy to eat. He can’t blame Yoongi for being concerned. If it were any of his dongsaengs, or any member for that matter, he’d be concerned too. But he needs to talk to Yoongi about it. Because the never-ending stomach ache is making it hard to focus on his work. He can’t focus on his tracks, he can’t practice his choreo, he can’t prioritize his debut preparations feeling so gross. 

He decides to go to Yoongi before Yoongi can come to him for the usual lunch date. He makes his way down to Yoongi’s studio, rubbing his stomach on the walk over. The aching worsens with every step. He doesn’t want to look at food. He doesn’t want to think about food. At least until his stomach settles. He stands outside the door. It’s locked, as per the usual. So he knocks. 

Yoongi answers it, surprised to see Hoseok at the door. He immediately wonders if Hoseok has grown so accustomed to their shared mealtimes that he was seeking out the elder. But the thought leaves his mind when he sees the pained grimace on Hoseok’s face. “Hob-ah,” he invites the younger inside. “What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t feel too good, hyung.” Hoseok admits, hands on his stomach. “My stomach really hurts.”

Yoongi clicks his tongue. He escorts Hoseok to the large couch in his studio, checking him for fever. He doesn’t find one. While he looks through the emergency kit he keeps in his studio, he begins his lecure. “See, Hoseok-ah. This is why it’s important to eat well. When you don’t eat well, you make yourself sick. What will you do if you fall sick so close to your debut? We are all piggybacking off of you. So you need to be in good health. You should have-” Yoongi could have continued, but Hoseok cuts him off. 

“Hyung, I’m feeling sick because I ate too well.” He admits shyly. He plays with the hem of his shirt for a few seconds before he pulls the material up to his chest, exposing his obviously bloated stomach. It pushed to the brim of his waistband, an astonishing feat considering how baggy the dancer’s pants are. 

Yoongi feels immediate guilt rush over him. He eyes Hoseok’s stomach and knows he’s at fault. And he’d just jumped right into a lecture without gathering all the information. He bites his bottom lip and curses at himself. “Hob-ah. When did you start feeling sick?” He sits beside the bloated dancer, ready to listen.

Hoseok doesn’t answer, eyes darting across the studio to look anywhere but Yoongi. This is how Yoongi knows it’s bad. He asks again, “Hoseok-ah,” his tone is much more firm, “How long?”

“A couple days,” Hoseok answers in a tiny voice, still avoiding eye contact with his hyung. 

“Hob-ah!” Yoongi starts but Hoseok jumps in immediately. 

“I know! I know! I should have told you sooner.” He takes responsibility. “But you were being so kind, taking time out of your day to make sure I was eating. I know you were worried about me. You weren’t doing anything wrong. I should be grateful. And I am. But it was just…too much too quickly, I guess.” He doesn’t want Yoongi to feel any blame. “I’m sorry for making you worry, hyung. I’m going to take better care of myself. I promise.” 

Yoongi deflates at the admission that Hoseok knew his intentions the whole time. It goes against his whole hands-off approach. But maybe he was making it too obvious. Three meals a day? When was the last time he had independently eaten three meals for himself? He should have known that would be too much for his dongsaeng to digest after eating the bare minimum for several weeks. He should have been more careful. “I should have checked in with you more.” Yoongi admits, taking some responsibility for the outcome as well. “How can I help you?” 

“Would you…” There’s a question on the tip of Hoseok’s tongue. But he doesn’t ask, too afraid Yoongi would say no. He changes it at the last second, “Do you have anything for tummy aches?”  

Yoongi revisits his studio medicine supply. He’s got a half-full bottle of pepto in his arsenal and pours a dose for Hoseok. “Here, take this.” He hands the plastic cup to Hoseok, “I have some peppermint tea, too. Think you can stomach it?” 

Hoseok greedily shoots back the pink liquid. He doesn’t think he can stomach the tea, but he knows that peppermint is good for stomach aches. And it would be something soothing and warm in his otherwise angry stomach. So he nods when Yoongi offers him a cup. Yoongi prepares the tea quickly, microwaving the water so it’s not too hot. It’s a drinkable temperature when Hoseok receives it. He only lets it steep for a minute, not wanting the minty flavor to be too strong. 

Hoseok settles further into the couch. Only once he’s settled does he realize that he’d never asked to stay. “Hyung, sorry. Did you need me to leave?” He secretly hopes the answer is no. He knows he’s wasted enough of Yoongi’s time this week. But being with Yoongi feels so good. Even if his stomach is still giving him hell. 

“Hobi-yah,” Yoongi sits beside the dancer, settling into the couch himself, “You never need to leave. Stay as long as you’d like. I’ll be here.” The older rapper eyes Hoseok’s bloated stomach again, listening to it gurgling in every attempt to digest. He seeks how Hoseok tries to hold back pained expressions. They were well trained to minimize any emotion that wasn’t positive. But they’ve also known each other long enough to see past those learned responses. “Is there anything else I can do to make you feel better?” 

Hoseok looks around awkwardly again and Yoongi knows it’s because Hoseok feels embarrassed. “Whatever you need, Hob-ah. Hyung will help.” 

“Could you…rub my belly. Please,” Hoseok finally asks, “It really really hurts.” It feels like a massive weight is lifted off his shoulders. 

Yoongi chuckles, “Is that all?” He finds it cute how Hoseok was so embarrassed to ask. “Of course I can.” His hand pressed against the bloated stomach. It feels hard as a rock, but he doesn’t comment and just rubs with a steady pressure. 

Hoseok hums in pleasure as Yoongi’s hand travels across his distended middle. Yoongi smiles in satisfaction. “Does that feel good, Hobi.” He chides. 

“Really good.” He lets out a soft burp, Yoongi’s rubbing finally working out some of the built pressure. He peeks at Yoongi and he doesn’t seem phased at all. So he lets himself burp openly a few more times. “Please don’t stop.”

So he doesn’t. 

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