Kibum lets out a frustrated sigh when the nurse changes his IV, jolting at the sting in his hand. He ponders pulling it out and sticking her and seeing how she likes the pain. He pouts like a kid, only grumbling when she asks him questions. He hears her saying the doctor will be in shortly and then she leaves. He leans back on the bed when the door closes.

He hates hospitals. He hates everything about it. The smell of medicine and disinfection, the loud rushing of nurses and doctors running to patients, the medicines they prescribe him that he can't even pronounce. The thing he hates the most is the memories before he falls asleep, flahses of him as a kid walking here after school to visit his grandma. He would bring her flowers and sit by her side for hours. Everytime he came over, she looked a little worse, but when she saw him she smiled. Kibum would do her hair the first few years. Braiding it and putting it up with pins. When he became 10 he asked his mother if she could teach him to cook so he could bring her lunch. He would make her small lunchboxes with smiles in them, drawing them with ketchup or sauce. When her teeth got worse he would jsut write her letters, silly little stories of what he had done at school that day. He would draw her picture. He would spend every waking hour with her.

The last year, she was too gone to visit. Kibum would argue with his mother, saying that if she would just see him walk through the door that she would still smile. 

He visited her one more time before she passed. He didn't even recognize her, she looked so small and fragile. Her eyes were glazed over and she didn't have the strength to talk. But the second he walked through the door, he could see her smile. 

Kibum always gets a stinging feeling in his chest when he thinks about his grandmother. And he's always been afraid of ending up here and becoming as small and fragile as her. 

"Hello, Kibum-shi. My name is Lee Jinki. How are you feeling?" A man with glasses and a warm smile says as he walks through the door. 

"Fine." Kibum mumbles, not looking away from the window where he had been lost in thought.

"It says in your report that you have low metabolism. You've experienced exhaustion, muscle and joint pain, sleeping problems, trouble with concentration and memory, depression, apat-"

"Yes, yes, the list is long. I already know my symptoms, I want to know what will help me get better." Kibum says with a frown.

"Sorry." Doctor Lee says with an embarrassed bow of his head. "You will be prescribed with Thyroxine. We will keep you under surveillance for a few days until the symptoms are in check and to see if the medicine will be enough. Your condition was discovered early, which is a good sign." He says with the same warm smile. 

"How long will I have to take this medicine?" Kibum asks as he crosses his arms. The smile on the doctor's face falls.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but low metabolism is not something that can be easily cured. We can keep the symptoms at bay, but we don't know when you'll be able to stop. You may have to take it your whole life." He says.

Kibum closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. It's not like he didn't see this coming, he's been feeling bad for almost 6 months. At least if he takes the medicine, he'll feel alright.

"How much do I have to take?" Kibum asks softly, not really in the mood to show how angry he really is, and not really wanting to take it out on the doctor, he looks like they're almost the same age.

"One pill a day." Doctor Lee answers. 

"Is there anything else?" Kibum asks, wanting to just go back to sleep.

"That will be all. A nurse will check up on you and give you your daily medicine." Doctor Lee says and with another soft smile he walks out. 

He pulls the blanket closer on his body, a shiver running down his back. One part of his symptoms that really bothers him is that he's always cold. Even if it's autumn and it's still pretty warm out, Kibum would have to wear a scarf if he had the energy to walk outside. His days has been spent holed up at home, watching series on his computer and hoping he won't get fire from his job since he had to skip so many days. After a while he got a sick leave so he didn't have to worry. His friends had really been the only thing keeping him sane during those months. Taemin and Minho spent days just chilling at his house after school, pushing him into playing games with them and eating real food. He's glad they supported him, helped through his short period of depression. It's hard, when you have so little energy to wake up in the morning, and you start to have these small thoughts that maybe this is it, that you won't get better and that you'll get kicked out of school and you'll lose all your friends because you can't lift your hand to pick up the phone when they call.

Kibum's friends had almost hit him when he voiced his thoughts, scolded him for even thinking it, and then comforted him and saying that it would be okay. 

Now that he has a name for his sickness, he had thought it would get better, but having to stay here for days because he's now malnourished and struggling with insomnia is killing him.

He hears the doorknob twists, pulling the blankets closer to his chin as he glares at the door, and the guy walking into the room. 

"Hello, my name is Jonghyun, I'll be your nurse for toda....ehm, hello?" The guy stops in his tracks, his brows raised in confusion at Kibum's harsh glare.

"Leave the medicine on the table and leave." Kibum mumbles.

"Uh, I need to check up on you first." Jonghyun says, walking slowly closer.

"I'm fine, just leave." Kibum sighs. The nurse puts the small box with pills on the table, walking over to the IV to check it.

"Are you sure? You're not in pain, or hungry?" The nurse asks, giving him a glance.

Kibum glares, his eyes drawn to the nurse's brown hair, a lighter shade than he's used to in Koreans. It looks dyed. His eyes move to the guy's features, taking in the big questioning puppy eyes and the chiselled jaw and big lips. The guy looks like a mix of a dog and a dinosaur. His eyes moves down to the purple hospital scrubs that he's seen every nurse wear in this hospital. The small name tag on it reads Kim Jonghyun. 

He wants to say he's fine again, but his stomach betrays him by growling, making the male nurse chuckle.

"I can get you some food, it's good to eat things with a lot of iron when you have low metabolism." He says with a smile.

"Fine." Kibum grumbles as he gives up, sitting up in his bed. He frowns at the uncomfortable pops in his joints when he moves them. Jonghyun moves forward to help, but steps back at Kibum's icy glare. 

"Take your meds first. I'll get you a glass of water." He says as he walks over to the bathroom. While he's gone, Kibum reaches for the box of pills. He brings it closer, squinting at the small writing and trying to read what it says. It looks like another language, but it's really just a lot of medical terms. What he gets out of the side-effects portion is that he might experience a little nausea when he first starts with the medicine. He looks up at the ceiling, saying a small and sarcastic "Thank you." to whoever is looking at him above. The nurse comes back with a glass, handing it to Kibum and taking a small pill out of the box. He waits patiently, while Kibum just looks between him and the pill in his hand.

He doesn't want to get nauseous, but if it will reduce all his other symptoms then he guesses it's better. He swallows the pill, taking a big gulp of the water before handing the glass back to Jonghyun.

"What do you want to eat?" He asks as he puts the glass on the table.

"Don't care." Kibum mumbles, lying back down.

"Then I'll just get you something, but don't complain if you don't like it." The nurse says before leaving the room. Kibum rolls his eyes once the door closes, grabbing the pillows and tucking them under his head as he lets out a tired yawn, cuddling closer to the mattress.

He knows he'll end up not falling asleep, having had troubles with it for 6 months, but it's still relaxing to just lie down and close his eyes, as long as his depressive thoughts will leave him alone. 

Today is not one of those glorious days. 

It only takes a few minutes of listening to his own brain before he opens his eyes again with a frown, trying to keep the tears from falling. He harshly rubs under his eyes, making his skin red and blotchier than it already was. He takes a few breths, trying to calm his heart down because he can feel it picking up speed. 

He ignores the pain in his muscles, grabbing all the pillows around the room that he had asked specifically for, building them up until he can hide behind them. He sniffs weakly as he runs a hand through his dry and crispy hair, missing how soft it had been before. 

"So, there really wasn't a lot to pick from in the canteen so I chose so....what are you doing?" Jonghyun asks with a laugh as he steps into the room. Kibum can see him through the cracks of his little pillow fort. 

"Go away." His voice cracks, making him cough. 

"Are you okay?" Jonghyun's voice is sweet, soft as he walks closer. 

"Yes." He mumbles weakly, again harshly rubbing under his eyes. 

"Why don't I believe you?" Jonghyun whispers, putting the tray of food down and starting to pull the pillows away. 

"No, stop. Go away." Kibum says as he struggles. 

"You have to eat." Jonghyun says, pulling the last pillow away so he can see Kibum's face. Kibum turns, hiding it in his hands and closing his eyes. "Kibum-shi, it's okay. If you want I can leave?" He asks softly.

Kibum nods, still not letting the nurse see his tearstained cheeks.  He can hear a soft sigh, but then he hears footsteps fading away as the door closes.

Kibum falls asleep that night, but wakes up when his stomach twists. He manages to get to the bathroom, not giving a rat's about the pain in his whole body as he leans over the toilet. His stomach and throat burns, and in his head he's rolling his eyes at the label of the medicine because it had said little nauseous, because right now he feels like he's going to puke a lung out.

A soft and warm hand rests on his shoulder, and he takes a deep breath as his stomach calms down for a second. He doesn't really need to look up to know it's the male nurse. He really doesn't want to look up anyway, not wanting the other to see him like this. 

Jonghyun rubs his back, walking over to the sink to wet a towel when he's done. He helps clean him up, laying a clean one on his forehead to cool him down. Kibum leans against the wall, his eyes closed because he's too tired to open them. 

He does however, when the nurse places a cold glass of water against his lips. He meets his eyes, suprised at the small smile on his lips. 

"Drink." The other whispers. Kibum opens his mouth, letting the cold water run down his aching throat. "There you go." Jonghyun whispers, putting the glass away as he dabs at the sweat on Kibum's forehead, pushing his bangs away with his hand. Kibum just sits there, out of breath and not daring to move incase one of his muscles will punish him for getting out of the bed. 

Once again Jonghyun surprises him, by sitting down infront of him, and crossing his legs. The nurse lets out a small sigh. "Are you okay?" He asks softly.

"No." Kibum whispers with an eyeroll. "I wouldn't be here if I was okay." He whispers. Jonghyun gives him a small smile.

"I meant is your stomach okay? Are you still nauseous?" He asks with a soft chuckle.

"No, just tired." Kibum says as he closes his eyes again.

"Do you want me to help you back to the bed?" Jonghyun asks. Kibum shakes his head, pushing off the wall to get back up, but the pain in his joints makes it hard to stand so he stumbles. Jonghyun reaches up, steadying him and getting up from the floor. "I'll take that as a yes." He says with another chuckle. Kibum rolls his eyes, but doesn't resist when Jonghyun wraps his arm around his waist, leading him back to the bed. Kibum lies down with a groan, pulling the balnkets over him as he turns on his back. Jonghyun walks back to the bathroom to throw away the towel, getting the glass and putting it on the table before getting a bucket just in case Kibum feels bad later. He walks closer, grabbing Kibum's hand gently as he takes the IV, putting it back in his hand. Kibum hisses, but doesn't comment on the soft circles Jonghyun traces on his hand before he lets it go. "There, you can go back to sleep." He says with a smile. Kibum pulls the blanket up to his nose, biting his lip as he hesitates the words he wants to say. Jonghyun turns, ready to walk to the door.

"Wait." Kibum mumbles. Jonghyun turns with a raised eyebrow. "Thank you." He whispers softly. Jonghyun's lopsided smile returns with a soft melodic laugh.

"It's nothing." He says as he turns completely. "Do you need anything before I go?" He asks as he steps a little closer, Kibum bites his lip again. "No? Okay, goodnight." He says, turning again.

"No, wait!" He says, coughing a bit at his dry throat. 

"Yes?" The nurse asks as he turns around again. Kibum looks down at his hands, gnawing on his lip until it's swollen.

"I can't sleep. I don't want to. Do you mind.....staying for a while?" He asks softly, embracing himself for laughter or rejection.

"Sure." Kibum looks up with raised eyebrows and widened eyes. 

"Really?" He whispers in disbelief.

"Yeah, why not?" Jonghyun asks as he walks back and sits down on the edge of the bed. "I don't really like sleeping that much either so..." He says with a grin. Kibum hides the small, happy smile as he sits up. 

"You don't have any other patients to tend to?" He asks as an afterthought.

"No, my shift was over an hour ago." Jonghyun answers, rubbing his neck with an embarrassed laugh. 

"Why are you still here then?" Kibum asks confused.

"Paperwork, I just thought I'd check up on you because I know most people react badly to Thyroxine the first time. I swear, it gets better." Jonghyun says with a comforting smile. 

"Good." Kibum mumbles. 

"So....how old are you?" Jonghyun asks after a while. Kibum raises an eyebrow.

"Haven't you read my file?" He asks.

"Well yeah, but I wanted to start a conversation." Jonghyun says with a smile. 

"I'm 23." Kibum says with a smile.

"And I'm 24." Jonghyun says. "What do you do?" 

"I waiter at a small restaurant. Kind of obvious what you do, with the nurse scrubs." He mumbles.

"Actually I'm just an intern." Jonghyun says with a shrug. "I really want to ask, but it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. What happened after I went to get you food earlier?" He asks softly, his brows furrowing in concern. Kibum lets out a small sigh, looking over at the window with just pitch black on the other side.

"I'm blaming it on my low metabolism. Since I can't sleep I end up just lying there for hours, and....I think...about my life, how bad it is right now, how weak I am." Kibum's shoulders sag as he talks, a small burning behind his eyes as the tears push forward. "I have a bad experience with hospitals, and I just...." He says and sighs.

"Hey, it's okay." Jonghyun says while Kibum once again rubs the skin under his eyes red. "I don't think you're weak. Being sick doesn't make you weak. You're still alive, and you will get better. Our strength shouldn't be measured at our lowest point, because we can all have bad days." Jonghyun says, giving Kibum a comforting smile. 

"Thanks." Kibum says, hiding his smile behind his arm. The silence falls over them softly. "Don't you have anyone to get home to?" He asks softly, leaning against the headboard.

"There's Byulroo, my 4 year old dachs." Jonghyun says, making Kibum smile again. "You should smile more, you look cute." He mumbles with a lopsided grin. Kibum's cheeks redden, luckily it's not noticable in the dark of the hospital room. 

"I don't really think I look cute when I have bags under my bloodshot eyes, messy hair and nauseousness." Kibum says with a grimace. 

"You still look cute." Jonghyun mumbles. Kibum's cheeks are on fire, and he leans back with a whine, kicking the other with his foot and making him laugh. The younger lets out a small sigh, feeling weirdly happy. He wonders if it's because of Jonghyun, the other is easy to talk to. It reminds him of talking with his friends, the kind of bond that is forged over years, but Jonghyun's a stranger, and it's still the same bond. Kibum lets a smile form on his lips, the giddyness of liking someone is new to him. His eyes feel heavy as he relaxes, still looking at the sweet smile on Jonghyun's face. 

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Kibum whispers as he leans further down under blanket. 

"Of course." Jonghyun says softly.

"Good." Kibum breathes, closing his eyes as his body shuts down.  The last thing he feels before falling asleep is the light touch of Jonghyun brushing his bangs away from his eyes.

Jonghyun wakes him the next morning with a cup of coffee from the vending machine. It sort of becomes a routine, Jonghyun popping in even if he doesn't have to, pretending to be checking up on his health while he just sits there and talks to him. Kibum tells him about his friends, his job, his family. Jonghyun tells him about his family, his dream of really becoming a musician but ending up changing his dream to be a nurse, he tells him about his life, what he's seen. Kibum likes it, the distraction of being in the hospital. It makes it easier, at least when Jonghyun stays back at night to make sure he's okay before he goes home, waiting for Kibum to fall asleep before he leaves. 

It's the last day before Kibum is written out, he's already starting to feel his strength coming back, being able to walk around a little himself. Jonghyun had been right about the medicine, Kibum doesn't feel anything when he takes it now, only that the symptoms of his sickness is fading. He feels lighter, but he's not really sure if that's the medicine or an effect of being around Jonghyun.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jonghyun asks as he walks in, handing Kibum a chocolate bar from the vending machine. 

"Fine, I'm finally not tired." Kibum says with a big smile. 

"Great." Jonghyun says as he sits down. "No pain, exhaustion, trouble focusing?" Jonghyun asks. Kibum shakes his head.

"Nope." He says, popping the p with his lips as he takes a bite of the chocolate. 

"Good. I guess you're ready to go home and finally get out of the hospital, right?" The older asks with a small chuckle. 

"Yes, I want my own bed, and my clothes, and a TV." Kibum says with a groan. He looks over from the chocolate to the small furrow of Jonghyun's brow. Over the past few days, Kibum has figured out that Jonghyun is an open book, and he can clearly see he's trying to hide that he's sad. "But...." Kibum drags out with a smile. "I'll miss you." He says softly. Jonghyun's eyes widen, a soft tint of pink on his cheeks. 

"Really?" He asks.

"Yes, without you I would have either escaped from here or killed someone." Kibum says with a laugh. "But then I wouldn't have become better, so thanks." He mumbles with a shy smile. 

Jonghyun's beaming, a big grin on his face. Kibum rolls his eyes. 

"Yah, puppysaurus, your eyes might pop out if you widen them more." He mumbles as he looks back down at the chocolate. 

"Puppysaurus?" Jonghyun asks with a laugh.

"Yeah, you're cute like a puppy, and ugly like a dinosaur." Kibum says, sticking his tongue out.

"Thanks." Jonghyun answers with a grin.

"Wasn't a compliment, idiot." Kibum rolls his eyes. 

"Well, I better get going, lots of patients to check up on. You should sleep, you're getting out really early tomorrow right?" He asks, his head bent low so Kibum won't see the small pout.

"Yeah." Kibum mumbles, getting under the blanket as he turns off the light on the nightstand. 

"Do you want me to wait until you've fallen asleep?" Jonghyun asks softly. 

"No, it's okay. Goodnight." Kibum mumbles, hiding the sad pout under the blanket. He'll really miss the intern. 

"Goodnight Kibum, and goodbye." Jonghyun mumbles as he walks to the door. Kibum closes his eyes, hearing the soft click as the door shuts, pushing the small sting in his chest because he actually wanted to spend more time with the other. 

Kibum wakes up by Taemin shaking his shoulder.

"Hey Hyung, ready to go home?" The yougner asks with a grin. 

"Hey Minnie. Yeah." Kibum answers groggily, sitting up on the bed.

"I packed up your clothes and things. There's a pair of clean clothes in the bathroom so you can change." Taemin says as he sits down on the small chair by the wall. 

"Thanks." Kibum mumbles before yawning, stretching his arms over his head until he hears a satisfying pop in his back. He gets up from the bed, walking slowly over the bathroom and closing it behind him. He stands infront of the mirror, patting down his messy hair and splashing his face with water before he changes and gets ready. 

When he walks out again, Minho has joined Taemin. 

"Hey Minho." Kibum says with a sleepy smile.

"Hey Bum, how are you feeling?" Minho asks with a sympathic smile.

"Fine, great actually." Kibum says as he walks over to put on his jacket while Minho grabs his bag. 

"Uh, there's something on the table for you. A nurse came in while you were in the bathroom, he said you knew him." Taemin says, making Kibum turn quickly to the table. A cup of steaming coffee stand there alone. Kibum almost runs over, a grin on his face as he picks it up. On the side of it, written hurriedly with black marker is a phone number and a short message.

Don't forget to take your meds

And call me sometime~~

Kibum hides the urge to squeel, gripping the cup with his hand as he turns back with a beaming smile, having a feeling that it won't be the last time he sees the intern.

*1 year later*

Kibum turns around on the couch, hitting mute on the TV when the lock twists on the door. He leans his head on his hand as he watches it open, Jonghyun entering with a tired smile.

"Hey Bummie." The older says.

"Tired?" Kibum asks as he gets up, walking to the other and helping him take the jacket off. 

"Yeah, stressful day with lots of patients." Jonghyun says, following Kibum back to the couch.

"You knew it would be harder being a nurse than an intern." Kibum says with a smirk. 

"What have you done today?" Jonghyun asks, leaning his head back. 

"The usual, worked, came home, took Roo for a walk, called my mom." Kibum says with a small shrug. He smiles when he looks over at the other, his eyes almost closed. "Do you want to just go to bed? Have you eaten?" Kibum asks.

"I ate an hour ago, so yeah, bed sounds good." Jonghyun says. Kibum gets up, dragging the other with him to the bedroom, but Jonghyun stops him. "Did you take your medicine?" He asks, making Kibum roll his eyes. "You have to take it." He says with a huff. 

"I want to go to sleep." Kibum whines, walking over to the bed. 

"First meds." Jonghyun says with a warning finger. He sees Kibum grab the pillows and sighs. "If you make a pillow fort again I swear I'll start hiding the pillows." He says with a sigh, but gives the younger an amused smile. He walks back to the kitchen to get a glass of water and taking a pill. Kibum grins, pulling his shirt off and falling face first on the bed again. "Here." Jonghyun says as he hands him the pill and the water. 

"Thanks." Kibum says, swallowing it and placing the water on the nightstand. 

"You have to be careful, don't forget to take it." Jonghyun says as he takes off the nurse scrubs. 

"But that's why I have you, you're my nurse." Kibum says with a smile, pulling the sheets over him and wriggling until he's comfortable. He watches Jonghyun take his shirt off, revealing his strong arms and firm chest. 

"What if I have to work late one day?" Jonghyun asks, taking his pants off before walking over to the bed. 

"Then you'll call me anyway to remind me before I go to bed, you always do." Kibum says with a chuckle. Jonghyun lies down beside him, wrapping his arm over Kibum's waist.

"You know me well." Jonghyun whispers with a smile.

Kibum leans forward with a smile, pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss, letting out a soft sigh at the familiar taste. This is the best part of the day, being able to fall asleep in Jonghyun's arms. Their lips move slowly and like always, it takes Kibum's breath away. The small touches on his cheeks, the soft on his bottom lip, the little noises Jonghyun makes when Kibum presses harder, and the sweet peck when he leans back.

"I love you." Jonghyun whispers against his lips.

"I love you too." Kibum whispers as he closes his eyes.

Fluff fluff and more fluff!!!

This was so fun to write at the end. 

Some facts though:

My bestfriend suffered from low metabolism, 2 years ago. She went for almost a year before they diagnosed it. I always feel like a bad friend when I think about it because I didn't notice how bad she had it, she got sick often and had to stay home, she felt depressed because she couldn't go to school or be with friends. It's really hard for her because now, even though she's better, she has to take medicine every night, her immune system isn't as good as ours, she gets headaches all the time. I try to be a good friend and help her, and I'll keep doing it until we grow old~~

Anyway, hope you liked the fic and that you'll subsrice and comment to let me know what you think <3

Thanks bye

chu~~