#sickmas

No one’s POV.:

Felix woke up freezing and pulled his blanket tighter around his chilled body. Something didn’t feel right but he couldn’t yet pinpoint what. As he grew more lucid, he picked up on the blaring of his alarm and dazedly shut it of. Realizing he’d have to get up, Felix sighed and flinched. The small sound had sent a sharp pain down his throat and he dropped his head back onto the pillow, defeated. He knew he had to get up but at the same time, he just couldn’t find the energy to. Goosebumps spread down his arms when he finally rolled out of bed, the movement throwing him off balance. Weird. Why did his head feel so light?

Dressing in baggy sweatpants and an oversized hoodie to help him warm up, Felix looped a scarf around his neck and left his room. Seungmin and Jeongin were already eating breakfast, while Minho had waited for him, worried the Aussie might oversleep. “Good morning”, the older smiled, “Wasn’t sure you’d get up. Come eat so we can get going.” – “I’m not hungry”, Felix forced out, his voice scratchy and weirdly high-pitched. Talking hurt more than he had expected, so instead of grabbing something to eat, he went to prepare himself a cup of tea. Minho was quick to take over and guided his dongsaeng to the dining table, instructing: “You gotta eat, Lixxie. We have a long day ahead of us, flower, so you will need all your energy.”

The petname made Felix feel weird and he muttered awkwardly: “I’m not little, hyung.” Three pairs of confused eyes scrutinized him. “It’s okay if you are”, Minho assured, figuring the other was denying it because of their work schedule. He had secretly been little at the company building a couple of times though, so he should be fine. Why wasn’t he honest with his caregivers then? Shaking his head, Felix wanted to argue but Seungmin hummed: “Why’s your voice so high then? You sound like you’re small, bubba.” – “Just a sore throat”, the Aussie denied, realizing he wasn’t up to an argument.

He didn’t feel like they believed him but gratefully accepted the cup of tea Minho brought him. The older had almost transferred the drink into his dongsaeng’s sippy cup, had Felix not shot him a very stern look. Since they were running a little late, the Aussie managed to get out of the dorm without being forced to eat breakfast, much to Minho’s dismay. His hyung was determined to keep a very close eye on him though.

Felix kept his eyes cast to the ground as he trudged along the rest of the members, shivering despite the number of layers he had put on. “Yeah, he refused to eat breakfast and I’m pretty sure, he’s little though he denies it”, he heard Minho tell Chan. Rolling his eyes, Felix piped in: “No, I’m not.” His voice was barely loud enough for Chan to catch it and the effort hadn’t really been worth the pain. Holding back tears at the pain in his throat, Felix ducked into his scarf and muffled a weak cough.

As soon as the members had arrived at the studio, Felix settled in next to Hyunjin, hoping his friend’s warmth would ease his chills. “You probably won’t be able to record today, right?”, Chan asked softly, “Minho told me about your sore throat.” – “Don’t think so, sorry”, the younger forced out. Assuring Felix that it was fine to postpone his recording session, Chan took his seat at the mixing desk and got to work. Hyunjin felt his fellow dancer shiver and whispered: “Are you could?” Giving a pathetic nod, Felix huddled tighter, relieved when the older draped his arm around his shoulders.

They were just taking a short break, when Changbin crouched in front of Felix and hummed: “Lix, we have a bunch of coloring books in the desk drawer if you want. I bet it’s stressful to pretend to be big and work like an adult when you’re little.” – “For fucks sake, why do y’all keep treating me as though I was little?!”, Felix whined hoarsely, “No, I’m not.” – “Well, your voice his high-pitched, you’re really cuddly and whining doesn’t necessarily support your case”, Jisung listed but grew soft when he noticed the tears in the other’s eyes. “My voice is high because my throat hurts like hell”, the dancer snapped, “I stay close to Hyunjin because he’s warm while I’m freaking cold and excuse my whining but it sucks when nobody believes you!”

Felix’ voice had started to crack more towards the end and he was full on sobbing now. Whether he was crying from the pain or the frustration, he didn’t know. Gently ruffling his hair, Hyunjin shushed: “It’s okay, I believe you.” The younger looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, hesitantly leaning into his touch. “You’re burning, Lix, so I’m not surprised you’re having chills”, Hyunjin informed quietly, “Already woke up with that fever, huh?”

While 3racha discussed how to proceed, Felix closed his eyes and relaxed into Hyunjin’s affection. “Lix?”, Chan hummed, catching his dongsaeng’s attention, “You won’t be recording today and the rest of our schedule consists of dance practice, which you also have no business attention with a fever, so there’s really only one question. Once I arrange your ride, where do you want to go? Back to your dorm to try and sleep it off or to a doctor to get your throat checked. I’d vote in favor of the latter because your voice really concerns me but ultimately, it’s up to you.” Pulling out his phone, Felix typed for a moment before showing Chan the screen. He’d see a doctor about his sore throat.

“Text us as soon as you get home, okay?”, Hyunjin instructed, brows furrowed with worry as he fixed the boy’s scarf, “And let us know if you need anything.” Felix nodded, wiping his eyes on his sleeve before being pulled into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t believe you”, Minho whispered before releasing his dongsaeng from his embrace, “Try to sleep when you get home.” Stuffing a handful of cough drops into Felix’ pocket, Jisung gave him a crooked smile. He needed no words, the Aussie could see the apology in his eyes.

Felix had known that he had a long wait ahead of him but he couldn’t have predicted just how draining sitting in a waiting room could be. Now, he was finally on his way home though, texting their group chat to let them know that he had laryngitis and would be on vocal rest for the next couple of days to restore his voice. He had deliberately texted them before he got home because he could already feel his consciousness get foggy and doubted he’d be able to resist sleep long enough to text them once he arrived and sure enough, no sooner then he had crawled into bed did his eyes close.

Chan was growing worried when he hadn’t heard anything from Felix for the rest of the day after his initial text but it did make sense when they arrived at the boy’s dorm for dinner after finally completing their schedule. Since everyone was concerned for their friend, they didn’t head to their separate dorms but wanted to spend the evening together. When Chan went to check on Felix, the younger dazedly awoke from his afternoon nap, eyes shiny with fever. He was about to speak but the leader handed him his phone, reminding: “No talking for now. How’re you feeling?”

While Felix typed, Chan felt his forehead and realized that he was still hot to the touch. “Think you could handle some soup for dinner? I think you should take something for that fever but not on an empty stomach”, the leader mused. “Throat’s on fire, would love medicine for the pain and fever, the chills suck, not sure I can eat’, the screen showed when Felix handed the phone back to Chan. Nodding in acknowledgement, the oldest smiled: “Do you want to come to the living room? We can get you settled on the couch with a bunch of blankets. I know you don’t like being alone when you’re feeling poorly.” Felix nodded and allowed his hyung to remove his blanket but mouthed: “Dizzy.”

With Chan’s support, Felix slowly shuffled to the living room and weakly collapsed onto the couch, smiling when Jeongin came over to hug him. “Let me get you some soup”, Seungmin smiled, ruffling his friend’s already disheveled hair in passing. He joined Minho in the kitchen, the older preparing dinner for the rest of them. Glancing over at the vocalist, Minho hummed: “How is he?” – “Looks properly sick now but we didn’t talk, obviously”, Seungmin shrugged, filling a bowl with soup. He grabbed a spoon before making his way back to the living room. Felix sat on the couch, a fluffy blanket draped around his shoulders, with Hyunjin and Jisung sitting on either side of him. Despite the blanket and scarf he was wearing, the Aussie still shivered, so Seungmin handed the bowl to Hyunjin, afraid it’d get spilled.

Hyunjin held the bowl while Felix ate, not wanting any of them to get burned if the younger’s shaky grip slipped. It was a slow process though with Felix wincing after every bite as he fought back tears at the pain in his throat every time he swallowed. Jisung comfortingly rubbed the Aussie’s back through the blanket, heard aching at his twin’s struggle. Soon, Minho served the rest of the group their dinner, while Chan brought Felix’ medicine and a glass of water to rinse it down with. The younger only took a few tiny sips though, his throat too raw to put himself through the pain of drinking anymore.

When they were all done eating, Changbin and Jeongin cleaned up the dishes, while the other members retrieved more pillows and blankets to get ready for a movie. Since Felix had slept all afternoon, he doubted he’d be able to go to bed any time soon and would gladly take any distraction from the pain. He had curled up with his head on Hyunjin’s lap and Minho spread a second blanket over his shivering body to quell the chills, cooing at how small his dongsaeng looked curled up like that. Worried the boy would struggle to stay hydrated with such a painful sore throat, Chan made sure to supply his fellow Aussie with cups of tea and added generous amounts of honey to each of them to soothe the pain a little.

No one’s POV.:

Jungkook had been working on a new album lately and was preparing for a solo-comeback, occasionally texting his hyungs to arrange for them to attend his first promotional performance. While most members of the group wouldn’t be able to make it to his performance due to their own packed schedules, Jimin and Taehyung had promised to be there, which Jungkook couldn’t have been more grateful for. Having comebacks alone still felt weird to him, though he appreciated the creative freedom he now enjoyed as a solo artist. The group that had raised him would always be his family.

The day before Jungkook’s comeback, all of them were texting in their group chat, reassuring the maknae that everything would go well and hyping him up. Taehyung couldn’t help but notice the lack of messages from Jimin, despite being online and reading their conversation Jimin had wished their dongsaeng ‘good luck’ and a ‘successful comeback’ earlier but had withdrawn from the conversation afterwards. Taehyung figured his friend was busy, his phone laying next to him or something but he’d talk to the older privately later.

Jimin had already woken up feeling a little off and low on energy. Not having any appetite, he skipped breakfast before leaving his apartment to attend his schedule. He was so out of it that he only remembered Jungkook’s upcoming comeback when the other members started to talk about it on their group chat around lunchtime. Quickly texting his well-wishes, Jimin placed down his phone and pondered his next steps. Going without food for so long made him feel sluggish and even more out of it, so he knew he should have lunch but his stomach had since started to hurt and he didn’t feel like eating anything.

Hearing Jin’s voice inside his head, Jimin remembered the scolding for skipping his meals and giving himself hunger pains, so he made up his mind and sighed. He’d have some plain rice for lunch to see if his stomach tolerated it and if what he was experiencing hunger pains. Getting to his feet, he wrapped an arm around his sore middle but froze when his phone rang. Jimin saw Taehyung’s caller idea and plopped back down in his seat, accepting the call.

“Hey, I’m on my lunch break right now”, Taehyung announced, “You wanna grab a bite together or are you busy?” Jimin smiled. Considering they hadn’t seen each other in a bit, he would gladly take the younger up on the offer to hang out, even if it was only for a little while. Jimin slowly made his way down to the entrance, one arm protectively wrapped around his middle, the other hand clutching his phone. Walking caused his stomach to cramp but a smile spread on his lips when he spotted Taehyung. The younger greeted him with a hug before they headed to the car.

Taehyung had already instructed the driver which restaurant to take them to, so him and Jimin could catch up on the way there. Jimin’s stiff posture didn’t go unnoticed by his friend, though he tried to play it off. “Just a stomachache”, he admitted eventually, earning a sympathetic smile from Taehyung. Squeezing the other’s shoulder, Taehyung hummed: “Is that why you were so inactive when we were all texting earlier?” – “You could tell?”, Jimin muttered horrified, “Shit, what if Kookie took that as me being indifferent about his comeback?!” The younger shook his head, reminding: “We’ll go to his performance tomorrow and he’ll just think you were busy with work, while your phone lay next to you.”

With Taehyung’s encouragement, Jimin managed to finish all the rice he had ordered and even let himself be talked into eating some soup along with it. He wasn’t sure that what he had been experiencing were hunger pains though, his stomach weirdly bloated after their meal. Parting at the studio building, Taehyung promised to pick the older up the next day, so they could head to Jungkook’s performance together.

Jimin started to doubt himself being able to attend though as he got back home, only forcing himself to take a shower while he waited for the water in the kettle to start boiling. When it did, he made himself a cup of tea and filled his hot water bottle before limping to his bedroom and curling up around the comforting warmth. His stomach was still in knots, maybe even more so after he had eaten lunch, though his body had really needed the nutrients.

After a night of fitful sleep, Jimin was pretty sure that he was running a fever and sluggishly sitting up in bed, he was startled by a sudden gag. No, his stomach didn’t feel any better than the previous evening. Jimin’s hand shook as he covered his lips and stifled a sour burp. Stumbling out of bed, he shuffled to the bathroom and glanced at his sickly pale complexion in the mirror. Jimin splashed cold water into his face in an attempt to make his skin look more lively but it wasn’t doing much.

Remembering his plans for the day, Jimin felt his heart sink. He didn’t feel like going anywhere other than back to bed but he had promised Jungkook that he’d be. Opening the bathroom cabinet, he realized he’d be in even bigger trouble because he had run out of his usual nausea medication, so just dulling his symptoms and trying to get through the day wouldn’t work. Jimin shuffled back to his room and weakly plopped down on his bed, picking up his phone with shaky hands. Dialing Taehyung’s number, he took a deep breath to calm himself and his rebelling stomach.

When Taehyung picked up, it took a moment for Jimin to speak and when he did, his voice was flat and wavering. “Could you do me hug favor, Tae? I feel really sick to my stomach and ran out of medicine, so if you could pick some up on the way…”, he mumbled, slipping his hand under his sleepshirt to rub his churning stomach, “No, wasn’t hunger pains. Only kept getting worse yesterday and I think I have a fever now.” Swallowing back a burp, Jimin winced: “I’ll probably call in sick for the rest of my schedule but I really wanna be there for Kookie.” Taehyung didn’t try to discourage his friend from that, knowing he too would be the same when it came to their dongsaeng. As long as Jimin didn’t force himself to attend the rest of his schedule, Taehyung would do his best to make him as comfortable as possible.

What Jimin hadn’t expected when they ended the call, was for Taehyung to head out right away. It didn’t take long for the younger to show up in front of his door with medicine and saltine crackers. “I know you, Jiminie” he chuckled sadly, “You would’ve tried to hide your discomfort, so you calling for help tells me it’s bad.” Jimin sighed at the comment but didn’t deny it, mumbling: “Feel like I’m going to be sick but I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, so I don’t think anything could come up.” – “You’re most definitely running a fever too”, Taehyung hummed after feeling the other’s forehead, “Could you try having a few cracker or do you want me to cook some rice?” – “I’ll try a cracker”, Jimin sniffled softly, not wanting his friend to go out of his way more than he already had.

Taehyung still headed to the kitchen to turn on the kettle for some tea while Jimin nibbled on one of the crackers at a snails pace. After only a single cracker, he had to take a break and Taehyung watched him worriedly. “Want me to fetch a bucket?”, the younger offered adding, “Just as a safety precaution to ease your mind.” Giving a defeated nod, Jimin picked up a second cracker and toyed with it in his hands till the other had placed the cleaning bucket at his feet. To his own surprise, he was able to force down a couple more crackers before swallowing his medicine with a few sips of tea. After that, Taehyung lay on the couch with him, tracing his back as they waited for the medicine to kick in.

By the time they needed to get going, Jimin had also taken a fever reducer and while he didn’t necessarily feel better, he felt a lot more functional. He let Taehyung dab some concealer under his eyes, not having the energy to do his makeup but also not wanting their maknae to notice the rough shape he was in. Jungkook was probably already going crazy with nerves, the thrill never really disappearing even after years of performing, so Jimin didn’t want him to be distracted by worry.

Jimin had a plastic bag stuffed into one of his pockets, another safety precaution as they arrived at the venue. He was glad they had backstage access, so he wouldn’t encounter more people than absolutely necessary. As expected, Jungkook was tense and too anxious to notice anything off about his hyung. They chatted for a bit to ease their group dongsaeng’s nerves though it was Taehyung who did most of the talking before promising they’d be watching him from behind the stage. Jungkook was soon whisked away by staff though and Jimin allowed himself a shaky sigh before excusing himself to the restroom.

Taehyung had worriedly watched the older leave but followed his instructions to stay close to the stage in case Jungkook already went on stage. Jimin could feel his mouth water as he limped down the hallway, the tea he had sipped earlier sloshing around his queasy stomach. Locking the door behind him, he weakly leant against the wall and tried to quell the nausea by taking a few deep breaths. It did little to help though and Jimin soon found himself retching up small mouthfuls of tea and bile. Maybe forcing down some rice wouldn’t have been so bad, he thought bitterly as the stomach acid burned his throat. At least he’d have something to throw up then and wouldn’t be gagging uselessly.

It took a while for Jimin’s dry heaves to taper off and Jungkook had already gone on stage, nervously glancing back towards his hyungs. He only spotted Taehyung though, the older shooting him a reassuring smile. The next time Jungkook glanced back towards the backstage area, Jimin smiled at him, leaning slightly into Taehyung’s side. From this distance, the older seemed completely fine to him and he was able to continue his performance feeling more at ease.

Noticing the slightly bloodshot eyes and smudged concealer, Taehyung whispered sympathetically: “Want a mint?” Jimin nodded, dizzily slumping against his friend, who wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders. The ordeal had zapped what little energy he had left, so he was grateful that Taehyung steadied him. “I can work remotely today, so I’ll take you back to your apartment and stay”, the younger smiled, “Cuddles always make you feel better and I can work while you’re asleep. Besides, I’d worry about you too much to work productively if I knew you were all by yourself with how sick you are.”

“How did I do?”, Jungkook panted, still hyped from the performance, a wide smile on his lips. It soon falter though when he got a closer look at Jimin’s face. Taehyung proudly smiled: “You did amazing, Kookie but you don’t expect me to be surprised, right? We knew you’d do well.” Jimin agreed, forcing a smile. “What’s happened to your voice? Why do you sound so hoarse all of a sudden?”, Jungkook frowned when he heard Jimin talk. Protectively tightening his hold on the older, Taehyung sighed: “He got sick. No need to hide it anymore, hyung.” – “Yeah, I threw up”, Jimin admitted awkwardly, his voice strained, “Had a really upset stomach but I wanted to see you on stage, so I took some medicine and hoped for the best. Only missed the first few beats though.” – “You shouldn’t have forced yourself here if you’re sick, hyung”, Jungkook sighed sadly, “You know, I would’ve understood had you just told me.” – “I know” Jimin smiled tiredly, “Really wanted to see you though and it was worth it to me.”

After thoroughly congratulating the maknae on his successful comeback and promises to go out for dinner together once he had recovered, Jimin was more than ready to head back home. His legs felt jelly-like as Taehyung walked him to the car and opened the door for him. The younger quietly requested the driver to take them back to Jimin’s apartment and whispered: “I think your fever’s up. You’re burning through your clothes.” Jimin gave an uncertain hum before patting his pockets, reassuring himself that the bag was still there should he need it.

With the frequent curves in the road, it didn’t take long for Jimin to find himself clutching the plastic bag in trembling hands, retching miserably but unable to bring anything up. “Deep breaths, you got nothing left”, Taehyung shushed, helplessly rubbing his friend’s back. The reminder did little to comfort Jimin, who’s head pounded from the strain and fever. He was glad when they finally arrived and the car stooped moving. Thanking the driver, Taehyung smiled: “Come on, let’s get you upstairs and to bed. I promised you cuddles, didn’t I?”