Warm Hearts and Cold Feet

Sehun is so tired.

It’s been a wretched week and he just wants to sleep for a million years. He would too but he has a flight so damn early in the morning that any such plans are utterly ruined. It’s the job though, or so he reminds himself as he tries to rub the deep foundation of his face that the stylist had caked on to try and hide how tired he was. He doesn’t know why she thinks it would make a difference, especially not with this horrible cold that refuses to leave him and a schedule from hell, and that too under such lightening that will just make him seem even more sickly.

Sehun supposes she is just doing her own job and he will do his too.

No matter how tiresome it feels today.

The others are throwing a farce of a New Year’s party or at least that is what he heard Jongdae pleading with their managers to grant them after the week they had just had, forced to ring in the New Year in a small dark cramped bus when they could have at the very least be at home in Korea welcoming the new year with each other and their friends from the business if they couldn’t spend the time with family or lovers.

They should at least be given a reward for it up so well, or so Jongdae has been insisting the last time Sehun saw him. Sehun doesn’t know if he succeeded but the bed in his room belonging to Minseok is empty, so maybe he managed to drag everyone along for a drink or two with their managers. They can’t really indulge and whether they admit it or not, most of them are too tired to even knock back too many but hell if some of them won’t try it.

Sehun begged for a reprieve.

He doesn’t mind a celebratory or consolatory drink if he were to be honest, but his nose keeps running and his head hurts and he is not sure if it is well advised or even legal to swallow that many flu pills and the muscle relaxant that he is just itching to add to the cocktail. He figured sleep was his best bet and that is what he was gonna try.

The shower he took was hot, not warm. The hot water helps with the muscle pains, a trick Jongin taught him, the older man unfortunately much too experienced when it came to that sort of thing. Sehun stays under the spray for what feels like hours to his tired limbs but it was likely much shorter, stepping out when he felt too drowsy to stay any longer, towel drying himself off and lazily dragging on some shorts.

He doesn’t like much clothes when he sleeps but he does go for a t-shirt today, feeling a little colder than he usually would because of this stupid cold that he just wants to stop already, his nose stuffy and runny at the same time and it is the most annoying thing ever.

Or well, next too ty camera work and dysfunctional microphones, but he sighs that thought away, promising himself to just let that episode go. He has enough stress without harping on what he can’t even change.

With that settled he slips into bed and shuts the lamp off and closes his eyes.

He opens then ten minutes later and bites back a sigh.

Of course he is too damn tired to sleep, his nose itchy and runny and his chest feeling congested and his mind spinning like he is a hamster on a wheel, unable to rest even with his body screeching at him to give it a break already.

He huffs into the air.

This .

He doesn’t usually sleep so early or well, late in the night, not good at this night rest thing, which is going to come back to bite him in the clearly. It’s not as if he has the time to sleep in the day, not with so many practice sessions set for the year end shows. As useless as all of that is anyway, especially when they won’t even find him with the camera or give him a working mic but again, he is going to let that go.

It’s a new year after all.

Times have to change and Sehun will too. He will.

He forces his eyes close and insists that he will sleep.

He only lasts about five minutes this time and curses under his breath when he is so tired that he is willing to beg for sleep and of course given his perfect luck, sleep refuses to come to him.

Sehun is caught in limbo, mindlessly thumbing at his phone, answering a few of his new year’s greetings and scrolling through twitter on the account that he really shouldn’t have but if no one knows about it then it doesn’t matter now does it, watching their fans celebrate the new year when he vaguely hears the door open.

He is evaluating some pictures of himself taken at the CCTV event  and finds that he actually doesn’t look as bad as he suspected which is very pleasing, not paying much mind to the activities in the room, supposing it’s just Minseok returning from Jongdae’s and Jongin’s room to get some sleep.

Which is why he yells like a banshee when suddenly his bed dips and arms are being thrown over his chest and a weight is pressed against him.

He screeches for about a half a second in shock, sadly very easily frightened, not the most alert out of them all and certainly not the bravest either, before he recognizes that hair and that scent and if he had any doubt the low velvety chuckle clears it all up.

The terror filled stricken expression turns to a scowl as he pushes Jongin off him and huffs.

“You scared me” he complains as he Jongin shifts his weight off him and falls to his side, Sehun trying to sit up and make himself feel less like a lazy insomniac caterpillar all the whilst smacking Jongin’s arm lightly.

Jongin just laughs lowly, his voice a little coarse and he smells faintly of soju, changed as well, into his usual travel sleep wear, a decent set of sweat pants and a respectable t-shirt, different from the ones with the holes he sleeps with in the dorms.

Jongin continues to laugh and Sehun smacks him again for his conduct, frightening Sehun and then laughing at him to boot. Sehun is not happy.

“I figured from the banshee screeching” Jongin says as he continues to snicker and Sehun glares at him weakly, hating the way the laugh is infectious, Jongin always having that effect on him for some annoying reason that he tries to ignore to be frank.

“Shut up” Sehun retorts only to realize that it wasn’t particularly witty but by then he doesn’t really have the wherewithal to be witty so Jongin will just have to deal.

Jongin just continues to shamelessly snicker, making himself much too comfortable on Sehun’s bed, which Sehun takes very keen notice of.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Sehun questions, giving Jongin an unhappy measured look, not that he was upset that Jongin is there, just that he doesn’t particularly like being laughed at, especially not when he is too tired to be scathing and witty.

“Visiting the sick” Jongin answers with the dying warmth of a chuckle, his lips still prettily twisted as he turns from his spot beside Sehun, both leaning against the headboard of Sehun’s ought to be shared hotel suite, Jongin somehow manoeuvring himself under the covers with Sehun without Sehun noticing.

“Then you shouldn’t have scared me” Sehun points out.

Scaring Sehun isn’t exactly good visiting the sick behaviour now is it? Even caveman shut in Jongin should know that protocol.

“Didn’t intend to scare you” Jongin says casually.

“You just screeched when I got on the bed” he shrugs as if that is explanation enough.

Sehun wants to contradict but he doesn’t actually see how he can realistically do that. It’s not as if Jongin is wrong. Jongin wasn’t exactly stealthy in his approach and he could have easily spotted him as well, so he supposes he can’t exactly blame Jongin.

“Whatever” he huffs out and Jongin nudges him with his shoulder and Sehun hates that the small action makes his lips tug in a would be smile, one that he stifles on principle.

Jongin spots it though and looks quite pleased with himself, Sehun pulling a face before he picks up his phone, more to feign disinterest rather than any real purpose.

“Are you feeling better?” Jongin questions, getting back to the purpose of his visit Sehun supposes.

Before Sehun can offer an answer however Jongin gives him a thoughtful look and a warm large hand is being placed over his forehead.

The touch makes Sehun shiver for some strange reason that he strongly suspects has nothing to do with his cold, Jongin’s hand ridiculously warm against his cold skin, soft and coarse all at once, Sehun feeling it all in some strange amplified way that makes his head spin.

Jongin frowns before he lifts his other hand to press it against his own forehead, and then the frown intensifies.

“You feel a little feverish” Jongin informs with a sad downturn of his lips, whatever playfulness he originally fading away as he gives Sehun warm worried looks.

Sehun wants to see for himself but Jongin has yet to remove his hand, so Sehun has no choice but to press his hands to his sternum but it feels cold to him.

“I do?” he questions for certainty or as certain a hand as a thermometer can be anyway.

“Yeah” Jongin says still with that worried crease in his forehead.

Sehun takes his word for it. At least a fever can explain some of his symptoms, like the fact that it burns where Jongin is touching him.

Sehun shrugs.

Jongin frowns even harder, shifting closer to Sehun to continue his strange examination of him, his calf pressing against Sehun, his toes super cold, so much so that Sehun flinches away from the touch.

Jongin pays his reaction no mind though, just critically looking over Sehun. He makes Sehun uncomfortable with his proximity, so Sehun hastily and kind of meanly shoves him away with a hand to the face, which Jongin initially protests against but gives way to in an act of conscience maybe.

“I feel better” Sehun finally answers the original question when Jongin is no longer staring at him so intently, though he still looks at Sehun with concern, now just a little further away.

He doesn’t seem to believe Sehun.

“My nose is stuffy and I’m tired but its better” Sehun gives a proper explanation when Jongin keeps his gaze on him, closing his eyes as he bends the truth a bit.

His head hurts and so does his back and his nose is more than stuffy, its runny and annoying and he hates that itch in the back of his throat that he can’t scratch, but Jongin seems worried about him and he doesn’t want to add to it.

“Did you take anything?” Jongin questions in that extensive concerned way that only he can do, especially when he seems so aloof most of the time.

Now he is not so subtly Sehun’s arm and rubbing his cold  foot against Sehun’s calf, likely to be tangled with his soon, just as his thighs press up against Sehun, making it all seem so warm and suffocating and frightfully perfect.

“Yeah” Sehun responds casually, trying not to elaborate on the fact that he could likely be overdosing on cold and pain medication, but in fact he did take something that his manager gave him to help with the decongestion, which seemed kind of shady but so far he hasn’t gone into shock so maybe it’s not poison.

“Okay” Jongin accepts rather easily.

Too easily.

“Why don’t you sleep then?” Jongin questions with that look in his eyes, the one where he is clearly concerned but there is casual reprimand and disbelief in it. Sehun hates that tone, but he does see its effectiveness when he feels chastised for not doing exactly that even when he knows he had diligently tried.

“I tried” Sehun explains tiredly, genuinely so.

“Nose too runny and chest congested and well, I cant sleep” Sehun explains the main points, seeing no point in going through his crazy mental block against sleeping right now.

“The medicine not helping?” Jongin questions with interest and worry.

“It did what it could, just can’t sleep I guess” Sehun shrugs, not sure how to explain why he can’t sleep to Jongin.

“You should try to sleep though. It’s better for the recovery” Jongin advises earnestly.

Sehun shrugs. He knows that too but he can’t sleep. What is he supposed to do? He can’t realistically ask for a sleeping pill on top of all the others he had taken and he is not sure that will work anyway. He can’t sleep right now that is all. He has no choice but to accept that.

Jongin doesn’t seem pleased with his answer however but he is precluded from making a fuss when Sehun gives him an impatient look, making it clear he will not let this turn into an argument, instead just banging his head against the headboard lightly.

Jongin just then turns to him with a crazed smiling look and Sehun is both curious and worried, that look never having a good outcome.

“I’ll be right back!” Jongin says brightly before he quickly untangles himself from Sehun’s covers and hurries out the room.

Sehun watches him go with a call of Jongin’s name dying on his lips, sure Jongin couldn’t hear him anyway not with how single minded he gets and how quickly he was moving.

Sehun just lets him go and sinks back onto the bed, sighing as he pushes away the instant loneliness he feels and the way he already misses Jongin’s cold feet against his, mindlessly blowing his nose with one of his many tissues, hoping to clear up some of his congestion, rather than just wipe up the disgusting goop that insists on pouring down from his nose.

He shuts his eyes only for a minute and true to his word Jongin is back, jumping on the bed with ridiculous energy considering the time of the night and the fact that he usually is the one that is desperate to sleep.

He shakes Sehun’s shoulder even though Sehun is clearly not asleep, Sehun opening his eyes to a hilarious sight, Jongin like a puppy on his knees and calves, brandishing a container of something, eyes shining brightly.

Sehun has no idea what in his hands and unlike those fake variety segments they are forced to do, Jongin doesn’t play a useless guessing game with Sehun, instead he gets right to it.

And by it Sehun means undressing him or so it seems when he tugs the covers away from Sehun’s body and grabs at his waist and then tugs on his t-shirt.

“What the are you doing?” Sehun questions in shock, smacking Jongin’s hands away, the older man not easily deterred.

“Helping with the congestion. Now shut up and lay back” Jongin answers without looking up, just prying Sehun’s hand way from his shirt and getting back to tugging it up Sehun’s body.

Sehun is very confused.

Sehun is not especially shy about his body and whilst it certainly won’t be the first time Jongin has seen him , this feels a lot more intimate than it should. And really awkward.

Sehun admits that there is something weird between him and his “best friend”. Maybe it’s a “some” or maybe it’s nothing at all, who knows, but in none of those circumstances can Sehun feel comfortable being undressed this way when he has no idea what is happening and has this annoying need to blow his nose.

That’s not y. It really isn’t.

Jongin really shouldn’t be here undressing him when Sehun feels dirty and uny in his own skin. He shouldn’t be beside Sehun when his bed side table and sheets are covered in used tissues, when his nose is red and he is blotchy with a fever. Shouldn’t be here when the gorgeous Sehun is famous for is marred and useless, when he is gross and probably contagious.

Sehun refuses to think about why he wants to appear y for Jongin, why that is even a thought much less a deep rooted desire.

He is sure the answer is going to change many things. Too many. None of which Sehun is ready to acknowledge or embrace.

Jongin for his part doesn’t seem to care about the mental turmoil his very strange arbitrary unilateral actions are causing, already lodging Sehun’s t-shirt somewhere under his chin whilst Sehun protested.

Before Sehun can make any more protests, something cool is being rubbed against his sternum.

Is Jongin rubbing his chest with Vicks vapour rub?

The gel is cool and fresh and Sehun feels it seep into his skin, sighing in relief as the coolness spreads through him and the tightness in his chest easies a bit as the gel cools on his skin, exhaling in relief at the warm gentle almost loving touch.

Jongin is very diligent in his task as he always is, not meeting Sehun’s eyes, staring intently at his work, carefully rubbing up Sehun’s sternum and across the breadth of his chest, almost as if he were taking care of a child.

Sehun doesn’t often think of things like this, but he honestly never figured that the first time Jongin would push his shirt under his chin and run his hands diligently and with intent against his chest, it would be too rub vapour rub against his chest as he would for a child. He figured it might be something more y and indecent. Or maybe he had hoped. Sehun won’t allow his mind to determine or admit which it is.

Sehun is both embarrassed and sort of in love in this moment and he hates both equally.

“I remembered that gramps always carries this around” Jongin explains with a conspiratorial smile as he continues to rub Sehun’s chest, strong but gentle fingers trying to ease the congestion in his chest.

Oh.

So that is where he went. To get the vapour rub from Suho.

“It’s not the best for this sort of thing but it will help with the congestion and the tightness in your chest for the meanwhile” Jongin continues his explanation, Sehun not even bothering to make a protest, mortified that his “something” is taking care of him like a child and honestly, feeling much better now that the vapour is cooling against his chest, feeling much lighter all of a sudden.

“Maybe it will be enough to help you sleep” he says brightly, finally looking up at Sehun, who does feel a lot drowsier now.

Sehun just nods.

He doesn’t say that it’s not just the easiness of his chest or the coolness of the vapour but Jongin’s tender care, Jongin’s very presence that is making him feel better. That is something that Sehun’s pride can’t let him say, not now , not when this thing has no name, no trajectory, no pattern to follow, something big and important and special and yet something that is set upon the thinnest thread, at the cusp but not there yet, with no path to get to it.

Sehun can’t lose this but he doesn’t know how to hold on to it either, so he just lets it be.

For now that is all he can do and he forces himself to be content with that. Content with the kindness, the possibilities, the would be and what ifs and maybes.

For now that will be enough.

Sehun sort of zones out for a bit, his thoughts filtering around not in a rage but a slow nearly blissed easiness, the touch of Jongin’s fingertips intoxicating and comforting all at once.

He only regains focus when Jongin pops up somewhere near his face, a pretty smile adoring those very plush full lips, the ones Sehun wonders what it would be like to kiss, the ones he tries to ignore least he gives in to temptation and jump the gun on this special something that he is painfully constructing.

For this Sehun will be patient. For this Sehun will be careful and precise. For this Sehun will be vulnerable and hopeful.

“You should be able to sleep now” Jongin says happily and Sehun just nods dumbly, swallowing the knot in his throat at how precious that idiot can be sometimes.

Sehun closes his eyes to let the hyper sensitive emotions wash over him, a consequence of the cold meds, the tiredness, the sentimentality of a new year or just his ed up emotional state since best friends and brothers decided to leave him, whatever it is that makes tears prickle at his eyes and whatever makes his swallow them down, only to grasp softly when a hand is thrown over him once again.

When he opens his eyes, his bedside lamp is off and Jongin is busy trying to snuggle up to his side.

This is also not an especially strange event. Jongin always rather clingy when he is sleepy and especially after he drinks a little. Clearly he is not inebriated but Sehun can still smile the faint soju on his breath so he clearly had a round with the others before he came, which would have contributed to his desire to snuggle.

The fact that he is doing it with Sehun at this moment is what makes Sehun grasp.

This thing, whatever it is makes these moments awkward suddenly, a fact that Jongin is very much aware even if he likes to pretend that is no so. This has a meaning now. It’s not just random with no consequence.

Jongin knows it does.

So why the is he doing it when Sehun is gross and sick and has tissues on the other side of the bed thrown about?

“What are you doing?” Sehun says slowly in the darkness of the room, Minseok still not here as yet, Jongin busy trying to find a comfortable spot to have his legs tangled with Sehun’s.

“Cuddling with you” says distractedly.

“I figured that out” Sehun responds just as casually, except in Sehun’s case it’s very fake.

“Why?” he puts it out there even as he shifts so that Jongin can have his calf lodged between Sehun’s and have his annoying cold foot rub against calves, warming them both somehow.

“You’re sick. How can I leave you alone when you’re sick?” Jongin answers with a rhetorical question, this time giving Sehun a look, one that seems to say Sehun is an idiot for not realizing that already.

Sehun wants to protest. He is not a child. He can certainly survive by himself. He is not dying. Its just a cold. Except he finds that all words die in his throat. Jongin wants to stay with him because he is sick. Sehun wants to combust and stay right where he is all at once.

“You need cuddles when you’re sick” Jongin finishes rather brightly, closing the matter with a shrug and a smile as he positions himself against Sehun’s body, swiftly and almost strategically sliding a hand over Sehun’s waist and then tugging Sehun to him, letting Sehun shift around or rather guiding him.

“We shouldn’t” Sehun can’t help protest even when the rest of his body is betraying him, allowing himself to be manoeuvred at his cuddle partner’s will.

“What if you get sick too? I might be contagious” Sehun points out with concern, forcing his mind to use its ability and not let Jongin’s warmth or presence make it overly sentimental.

Sehun is not going to lie.

The very idea of snuggling with Jongin sets his heart on fire, but the heat is warm and comforting just as Jongin always is to him. He really doesn’t mind but he always knows that he would feel really bad if Jongin got the flu too. If Sehun has it hard, Jongin has it worse. There is something wrong with Jongin honestly. No one can work that hard and be that dedicated, but somehow Jongin exists.

Jongin getting sick will be a disaster.

“Nah” Jongin dismisses instantly.

“I got a flu shot last week with Jongdae hyung, so I’ll be okay” Jongin explains easily, now almost sleepily as he shifts once more to get comfortable, and by comfortable Sehun means pressing his entire body against Sehun’s back and wrapping a strong arm around his stomach, turning Sehun into a rather pliable little spoon frankly.

“Hmmm” Sehun hums noncommittally.

He isn’t sure that will be enough to prevent the flu, at least one that is this annoying but he can’t really bring himself to make much of a fuss to deter Jongin from cuddling him either, already feeling the effects of Jongin’s embrace, feeling as if he were cocooned in affection and it really isn’t one that he wants to sacrifice. He can be a little selfish today he thinks. He deserves good things too.

Sehun is pulled from his thoughts when Jongin noses at the back of his head at his nape, always overly affectionate and uncaring about what those things do to Sehun’s emotional wellbeing, his stomach swirling and heat raising in his cheeks.

Sehun is no blushing , but sometimes he feels like one when Jongin oh so casually does things like that.

“You smell nice” Jongin mumbles sleepily, his soft lips brushing against Sehun’s skin and Sehun all but trembles.

Then he scoffs.

“Didn’t know you liked the scent of vapour rub so much” Sehun sasses, because really, Jongin is being ridiculous.

Sehun doesn’t smell nice at all. He smells like vapour rub and cheap bath soap and stale mucus from his runny nose. Sehun doesn’t smell good. In fact Sehun might be kind of gross with all the scents associated with sickness.

Jongin is ridiculous.

“You didn’t?” Jongin responds playfully, continuing to nose at Sehun’s nape, inhaling deeply.

“It’s my absolute favourite” he continues with a laugh and Sehun rolls his eyes.

He is ridiculous but he is sweet too.

Jongin chuckles softly for a bit, but he also tightens his grip on Sehun deliciously or so it feels to Sehun, Jongin’s cold legs tangled with his, shamelessly and cutely dragging the flat of his heel along Sehun’s much warmer calf, his own calf lodged between Sehun’s, his knees nearly conjoined with Sehun’s, thighs pressed against Sehun’s, though there is nothing more than innocence in Jongin’s actions as far as Sehun can tell.

This isn’t lust but comfort, the same comfort that Sehun needs after the awful week he had and the kind that he needs to help him be positive for the New Year ahead.

With Jongin here to hold on to him, how can the year ahead be anything but wonderful?

………….....Well…it might still , with crazy intrusive fans, mean netizens, ty camera work, wasted effort, band drama, heartbreak and frustration with SM. He is sure there will be things that will piss him off and takes that will make him cry.

Yet somehow with Jongin’s warm laughter and safe arms, he thinks it can’t all be bad can it?

“Now be a good little maknae and go to sleep” Jongin instructs with fake sternness, Sehun feeling the small smile against his skin, and Sehun can’t help but smile himself, his fingers idly playing with Jongin’s large fingers that are spread across Sehun’s stomach, Jongin casually and shamelessly at that Sehun supposes, thumbing the skin at his waist, beneath the t-shirt that Jongin had bypassed without making a fuss.

His fingers unlike his feet are warm against Sehun’s skin.

“Hyung will take care of you” Jongin says with some brightness, that is decidedly more sleepy than energetic, Sehun supposing its well passed Jongin’s endurance, especially after the week they have just had and the warmth of the alcohol coursing through his veins.

Sehun scoffs.

Why does Jongin still think Sehun will ever treat him as a hyung, Sehun has no idea but he just let’s Jongin have his moment.

“Oh really?” Sehun laughs weakly.

“Take care of me whilst you are sleeping then?” Sehun questions teasingly, laughing lowly but that ends up being a mistake, coughing softly and then he inhales wrongly and it ends up being rather troublesome, pulling himself from Jongin’s grip to grab at a tissue to cough up whatever in caught in his throat.

It’s an ugly mess of his nose running and him coughing up his lungs. Jongin just pats his back and helps him through it, despite how disgusting it all feels to Sehun and it’s his own mucus and spit but Jongin is ing the bottle water at him from bedside table and looking at Sehun with those wide concerned eyes, and trying to help him wipe his nose, Sehun batting him away in embarrassment.

Jongin is not the type that is easily deterred however as Sehun is forced to acknowledge once again when Jongin takes care of him, helping him drink some water and wipe his nose for him, not even flinching at the state of the tissue.

Before Sehun knows it he is being dragged back onto the bed and pampered, covers thrown over him and before he can protest, Jongin is drawing him against his chest and tucking him between his head and his shoulder.

“See why you shouldn’t be such a brat?” Jongin drawls with a shake of his head and a smile tugging at his lips before Sehun can make much of a protest, treating Sehun like a child. Sehun finds that at least in this moment, then fact doesn’t necessarily upset him, but Jongin is still annoying when he treats Sehun like that.

It makes Sehun’s chest hum and Sehun really doesn’t like what that does to him, doesn’t like how easy it is to fall into this role, to trust those kind eyes and put his faith in something again, how it makes him trust that this will never end.

He has a bit of a headache, his nose is runny and itchy and his body and mind are still just as tired as it had been earlier. He really doesn’t mind some pampering, especially when it’s Jongin that is the one that is doing the pampering.

But still.

He needs to do something. Say something to protect himself from this hope.

“I-“ Sehun begins.

Jongin clamps a hand over his mouth and silences Sehun, just as he throws a leg over Sehun and cuddles him like a plushie.

“Shut up and go to sleep maknae” Jongin says warmly, nuzzling against Sehun head.

Sehun tries to complain but his words are muffled and Jongin refuses to release him until Sehun tries to bite his fingers.

“You’re an ” Sehun condemns just because he doesn’t like Jongin being smug about having Sehun so pliant and malleable as he is now.

He can just tell Jongin likes this more than he should but maybe its Sehun is the one that is enjoying this too much. It’s not a dream though, not just a hope, but a reality that can be his one day and that thought definitely makes his insides tingle.

And contract in fear too.

He complains for a bit to be brat since that is one thing that he is comfortable doing, one thing everyone expects but melts into perfect silence when Jongin, who ignored him previously, leans downwards to press a kiss to his warm forehead.

“Sleep Sehun ah” he says washed with sleepiness and Sehun watches as Jongin’s own hurt eyes flutter closed, Jongin overly affectionate as he often is, continuing to use his cheeks to rub against Sehun’s hair as if he were a pet, preciously letting himself relax and in the process melting Sehun’s insides.

Sehun’s nose itches and his head hurts a bit still. This time however he finds that sleep isn’t trying to evade him. The coolness of the vapour rub has actually made him quite drowsy, his chest definitely much less congested and constricted due to the flu. In its place is a warm satisfying hum that he knows doesn’t just come from the vapour rub. His eyes flutter close but stupidly he is the one that is forcing it open. He wants more of this, wants more time to revel in this feeling, the sound of Jongin’s heart thumping near his ear, the rhythm of his even breathes and the warmth that is fanning against Sehun’s cheek faintly, the peacefulness and comfort.

Sehun just stares at Jongin for a few minutes, fighting the sleep that is now tugging at his eyelids like a child, enjoying this all, until he is surprised by Jongin’s unexpected movement, being cuddled even closer.

Sehun thought he was asleep.

“I can hear you thinking” Jongin mumbles sleepily, not even bothering to open his eyes, nuzzling Sehun’s forehead with his chin, Sehun getting a misdirected sleepy peck that soothes and ignites simultaneously.

“Sleep” Jongin commands.

“You can stare at me later” he chuckles scratchily and Sehun burns in embarrassment, not realizing that Jongin was still awake to catch him in the act.

So embarrassing!

“You wish” Sehun rejects just to hide his embarrassment, though he is sure he does an awful job of it when he basically hides into Jongin’s shoulder, his face burning not just from the mild fever.

Jongin just hums in what Sehun supposes is mild amusement.

“I do” he says softly and Sehun doesn’t know what to make of it.

He doesn’t get the chance to pursue the thought just then when Jongin shifts them around even more, turning into Sehun and tugging him to his chest once more.

“Go to sleep” Jongin directs, this time opening his eyes to give Sehun a meaningful look.

Sehun is so very disoriented that he just nods dumbly. Jongin playfully mimics his action and Sehun glares on instinct.

Jongin chuckles sleepily.

Sehun doesn’t get to comment on it though because Jongin is somewhat forcibly tucking him against his chest and doing something new, rubbing his hands along Sehun’s arms and his dorsum rhythmically, settling on his waist every other struck, pressing into the skin there .

It’s ridiculously comforting and reminds Sehun of home.

“Sleep” Sehun agrees then and Jongin makes a pleased sound in the back of his throat that gets lost when Jongin just tugs him closer, ensuring that Sehun is well in his embrace and under his very special care.

“Sleep” Jongin confirms sleepily and seals this make shift deal with another affectionate innocent kiss to Sehun’s hair.

Sehun smiles faintly.

There is part of him that knows that all of this should worry him. It’s too intimate to be friendship but not extensive enough to be more.

They are in this state of limbo that both empowers Sehun and tortures his soul. Yet. In this moment, he doesn’t care to think about it. Doesn’t want to do anything but finally give in to the sleep that is beckoning him, the coolness of the vapour rub on his chest and the warmth of his best friend’s arms around him.

It’s the perfect start to the New Year, the perfect start to any year.

Sehun closes his eyes, wipes his nose and smiles against Jongin’s shoulder, letting sleep come to him finally.

***********************

Sehun is awaken by a load screech laugh something and a flash of light that annoys the hell out of him, drowsily opening his eyes only to see a grinning Jongdae looking down at him with mischief teeming in his eyes.

“Well, aren’t you two cozy” Jongdae teases as soon as he realizes that his torture victim has awoken and is looking at him, grin Cheshire and phone camera immediately being a Sehun’s face.

Not just Sehun’s, but his bed companion too.

Sehun is too groggy and annoyed to care, and certainly much too warm and comfortable to be embarrassed, so just closes his eyes, kicks blindly at Jongdae and cuddles right back into Jongin’s grasp, his friend still peacefully asleep, much too lazy to be awoken that way.

“ off” Sehun dismisses, kicking what he supposes his Jongdae from his bed, ignoring his screeching, more concerned with blocking the sound from bothering Jongin, lazily shifting to cradle the sleeping man’s head against his chest.

Jongin fusses lightly but does  not stir really, not even with the racket that Jongdae and is that Minseok?, are making, Sehun not bothering to give them any attention either, eyes still closed as he holds on protectively to this very happy position.

“smells…nice” Jongin mumbles in between sleep, actually  pushing forward to bury his nose in Sehun’s chest.

Sehun opens his eyes then and laughs.

Guess Jongin really does like vapour rub.

Sehun laughs softly and just clutches Jongin to his chest, pointedly ignoring Jongdae and Minseok still taking pictures of him and Jongin cuddling on the bed, Sehun’s nose still itchy and likely runny, but for now he just closes his eyes, holds Jongin close and kicks at Jongdae’s annoying existence.

***************

A/N: This didn’t end up anything like I wanted. Sort of disappointed with this one, but I promised to post it, so makes no sense to stress over it. Hopefully it’s still enjoyable to some of you. Shout out to the Sekai Cult! Happy New Year Everyone. Inspired by the EXO VApp moment- Sekai ♥