#spaced out

Sickie: Namjoon | Caretaker: Hoseok, Jungkook

Words: 784

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Namjoon feels too hot.

Or, he isn't feeling too hot… That sounds more right. Time feels like it's passing in a syrupy haze, and when he moves, it feels like his limbs aren't even attached to him. There's a weird lightheadedness that's making his thoughts all strange and floaty. And, his shirt was soaked thoroughly in sweat. Gross.

He's standing just outside their dorm, waiting for the driver to come pick him up when he looks down… And realises that he doesn't have any shoes on.

Huh. That seems like a problem he should fix immediately.

He unlocks the door and steps back into the dorm, searching for his shoes among the many pairs lining the hallway. He finds his sneakers eventually, half-buried under one of Jimin's boots.

It's when he's bending over to slip them on that the lightheadedness grows overwhelming, causing him to tip over sideways and fall into the shoe cabinet with a loud crash.

Two pairs of feet immediately come running, and Namjoon looks up in time to see Hoseok and Jungkook skid into view, eyes wide. Hoseok is first to reach him, checking him over for injuries and fretting like a mother hen.

“I knew there was something up when you were so quiet at breakfast this morning! What were you thinking, trying to go out in this condition?” Hoseok glances towards the door, which Namjoon had left open - “The driver's here. Kook, can you go out and tell him that Namjoon's too unwell to go to the company today?”

“No, wait, I can-” Namjoon protests, but they either don't hear him or ignore him, because Jungkook is out of the door and back beside him by the time the words leave his mouth. Or maybe that was just his screwed-up perception of time messing with him.

Now that he's thinking about it, he realises that he feels weird. Besides the lightheadedness, his limbs feel entirely too heavy to lift, and even blinking feels like too much of an effort. His whole body aches.

Hoseok notices his suddenly subdued demeanor, and clucks his tongue lightly. “You don't look well at all, aghi.” He says gently. “I'll help you walk back to your bedroom.”

He gets a hand properly around Namjoon's arm to help him up, then immediately gasps.

“You're burning up!”

“Fireeeeeeee,” Namjoon responds tiredly, on autopilot. Jungkook lets out an amused snort.

“You are way too cute for a sick person.” Hoseok says, smiling. “Kookie, help me with him.”

Together, Hoseok and Jungkook get him upright and walk him to his bedroom. At least, that's where Namjoon thinks they're going, because just putting one foot in front of the other is already taking up all his concentration and he doesn't have enough capacity left for coherent thought.

Then he's seated on his bed, and a rush of vertigo washes over him before he realises he's suddenly lying on his back, blinking confusedly up at Hoseok, who has a thermometer in his hands out of seemingly nowhere. He smiles at Namjoon when he sees him looking.

“Just, hold still for a while, Joonie-”

Silence falls over the room as they wait for the thermometer to beep, and in the few seconds that tick by, Namjoon stares at Hoseok’s eyelashes and wonders if he can count them to pass the time. It feels like it's been way longer than just a couple of seconds.

The next thing he knows, there's something cold running across his cheeks and neck, and he snaps his eyes open to Jungkook leaning over him. Hoseok is nowhere to be seen. He stares at the maknae, confused. Did Hoseok teleport away?

“You fell asleep.” Jungkook whispers. Okay, that makes a lot more sense. “Your fever's really high, so Hobi hyung's searching up what else we can do to bring it down. Jin hyung, Yoongi hyung, Jimin hyung and Taehyungie hyung are still at their photoshoot so they aren't answering their phones.”

“Okay.” Namjoon whispers back. “...Why are we whispering?”

Jungkook flusters and turns red immediately - and drops the washcloth straight onto Namjoon's face. “Oh no! Sorry, hyung!” Jungkook apologises frantically, back at a normal volume. He lifts the washcloth off Namjoon's face, adding a sheepish, “I'll go get Hobi hyung now. Um… try to sleep more if you can, okay?”

He's gone from the room at a speed that tells Namjoon he’s still embarrassed about earlier. Namjoon exhales, the sound of Jungkook and Hoseok's voices from outside washing over him like a soothing balm; his members’ presence have always meant safety and home for him. He hasn't been awake for all that long, but another nap sounds really nice.

He's asleep again before he finishes the thought.

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sorry, i spaced out 👽