“Make sure to eat all of your stew, Changkyunnie,” Kihyun instructs, watching the maknae out of the corner of his eye. Changkyun pokes out his lower lip in protest, but the older merely gives him a hard look with which the younger has never been able to argue. He obediently picks up the bowl and holds it to his lips, drinking up the broth. Kihyun nods in approval, albeit not too quickly. He sniffles under his breath, careful not to draw attention to himself.

A flu epidemic has been making its rounds amongst the MONSTA X boys, and it’s finally set its claws onto the main vocalist. It was inevitable, really. Kihyun had been taking care of each of the other members during their bouts of sickness, so it’s only natural for him to have caught it, as well.

“At least it hit us before the comeback,” Hyunwoo mutters around his mouthful of rice. “It’d have been a nightmare trying to do promotions with all of us being sick.” The others nod in agreement, all too busy eating to do much else. Kihyun watches them with the slightest of smiles on his face, glad to have been able to help each of them through it.

“It’s amazing you didn’t catch it, hyung,” Hyungwon interjects, watching Kihyun with observant eyes. He notes how the older merely hums in response. He finds it odd, for wouldn’t that have been a chance to boast about his superior immune system or how he always takes care of himself? It isn’t like Kihyun to miss a chance to brag… “I mean… you haven’t mentioned catching it, so you haven’t… right? Because, you’d tell us if you weren’t feeling well, right?”

“Of course, Wonnie,” Kihyun replies, though unable to make himself meet his dongsaeng’s gaze. Hyungwon glances over at Minhyuk, who in turn leans across the table and presses his hand against the vocalist’s forehead.

“You’re warm,” he states simply. “You should go lie down so you don’t get worse.”

“I’m just warm because I was cooking for you all for over an hour,” Kihyun argues, absolutely not wanting to admit being caught in his lie or to cause a fuss. “Really, Minhyuk-ah. I’m fine.” As if to prove himself, the young man then picks up his bowl and slurps a mouthful of broth down his throat. Minhyuk and Hyungwon glance to each other, unimpressed, but choose to let it go… for now.

The boys finish their meal with relative speed, all eager to get to bed. It’s been a long couple of weeks between their ailments and comeback preparations, after all. Usually, they’d watch a movie or something, a sort of small date night they have at least once a week every week, but tonight they just can’t muster up the energy for such a thing.

So, that night, they all drift to their own beds, at last feeling up for the next day’s schedule.

Hyungwon awakens with a sigh the next morning, something not feeling quite right. For one, he’s waking up without a certain hyung’s help. For another thing, no one else seems to be up before him. He thinks for a minute that he might’ve woken up earlier than necessary, so he checks his phone for the time.

He sits up so fast he nearly smacks his face into the ceiling above. There’s only thirty minutes left until the managers are supposed to be here to pick them up for practice!

“HYUUUUNG!!!!”

Hoseok and Hyunwoo wake up with a start, both in a panic due to their dongsaeng’s screams.

“Wonnie?!?!” Hoseok slurs out, rubbing at his eyes. “Wha… What’s wrong??”

“Kihyun didn’t wake us up!” Hyungwon answers, already scrambling down his ladder. He bolts out of the room only to arrive a millisecond later in the other bedroom, where Minhyuk, Kihyun, Jooheon, and Changkyun sleep. Minhyuk’s already lying on the floor, obviously having been tripped up by his mountain of blankets in his quest to get up. Changkyun glances around, terribly confused judging by the pout on his face.

“Kihyunnie-hyung?” Jooheon mumbles from his bottom bunk across from Minhyuk. “Is something wrong? Wonnie-hyung seems really upset that you didn’t wake us.” The rapper pokes his head out from the shadows to stare up at Kihyun’s bunk above him, but there’s no answer from the older. Hyungwon frowns at this, at the unmoving blankets on Kihyun’s bed. Minhyuk rolls himself out of his cocoon with a ‘umph’, and quickly scrambles over to the other side of the room.

He stands and pokes gingerly at Kihyun, frowning in concern for his most annoying boyfriend. The smallest of hums is the only response from the lead vocalist. All boys in the room share a worried look, and Minhyuk reaches through the rails of the bunk bed to feel his face.

“He’s running a temperature…” Minhyuk comments. “Wonnie, go get a damp cloth. Jooheonney, get some broth.” The two nod and immediately race from the room, hurrying to complete their assigned tasks. Hyunwoo and Hoseok shuffle into the room, frowning at the raucous.

“What’s going on?” Hoseok asks, leaning on their leader for support. Hyunwoo notices Hyungwon rushing back through the hall. He pulls Hoseok closer to him, resting them both against the wall behind them to keep out of the way.

“Kihyun-hyung is sick…” Changkyun mumbles, his eyes drifting down towards his lap with an unreadable light. “I got him sick… I was the last one he took care of… I got him sick…”

“No, Kkungie,” Hoseok interjects, suddenly very full of energy indeed as he moves across the room to comfort the maknae. “Kihyunnie took care of all of us. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I mean, I was the one that brought sickness into the house.” He pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth in a pout, whirling about to face Kihyun’s sleeping form. “I’m sorry, Kihyunnie!” he cries out, dramatically flinging himself towards the bunk.

“Get him out of here,” Minhyuk says to no one in particular, rolling his eyes. Honestly, that hyung can be so overly theatric sometimes… Hyunwoo chuckles warmly, and walks over to pull Hoseok away, who’s now begun to sniffle in guilt.

“Come on, Kkungie,” he calls to Changkyun. “We’ll go to the store and get some more supplies.” Changkyun nods quickly and hurries from his bed, glad to finally have something to do. Minhyuk and Hyungwon share a glance, their eyes revealing a silent guilt within.

“I knew something was wrong last night…” Hyungwon mumbles, shifting on his feet as he hands Minhyuk the rag.

“I should’ve stayed on him about it until he cracked,” Minhyuk adds. He presses the cloth to Kihyun’s forehead, and the vocalist finally shifts around in his blankets. His eyes slowly crack open, the light in them dull. His cheeks are redder than they should be, and his nose is running a little. He peers blearily at his bandmates, utterly confused as to why they’re staring at him like that…

“What?” he croaks out, unable to hide the wince that comes with the strain of speaking. The two visuals give him an unamused frown, crossing their arms simultaneously. Kihyun rolls his eyes and scoots further down into his blankets, wishing very much in this moment to escape their gazes.

“You lied to us last night,” Hyungwon states bluntly, earning a whine of protest from the sick man. Hyungwon’s heart pangs guiltily at how harsh his tone had been, but he can’t soften up now, or else Kihyun may get the stupid idea that this is okay to do. Minhyuk drops his arms to grasp onto Hyungwon’s wrist, his eyes growing into a puppy-dog pout at the younger. He agrees that Kihyun shouldn’t get the idea that he can repeat this kind of behavior, but that whine had just been so damn cute…

“Hyung~” Jooheon singsongs from the hall. He pokes his head into the room, scoping out the situation. “I brought broth,” he goes on to say, trying for a dimpled grin to try and subdue his hyungs’ obvious aggravation. Kihyun whines again, a muffled, high-pitched, adorable little sound emitting from the bed.

“We should get you out of here, so we can wash your sheets,” Hyungwon huffs out. He wants to rip Kihyun a new one, but that’s nothing compared to the desire he has to just take care of his hyung. He turns to Jooheon, who merely nods in silent understanding and steps further into the room.

“We’re gonna take you to Hoseok-hyung’s bed,” Minhyuk tells the vocalist gently, his mind going immediately to the only non-bunk bed in the dorm. “Can you get up for us, Kihyunnie? Please~?” He speaks in an overly sweet tone, one that he knows will always work on the slightly-younger. Kihyun nods a little, and weakly sits up from his terribly comfortable position.

He feels absolutely spent, shaking with even the simplest of movements. His breathing is a bit labored, and his chest feels as if it’s filled to the brim with cotton. Jooheon quickly pushes the mug of broth in Hyungwon’s hands as they watch with pained hearts their beloved Kihyunnie’s struggle down the ladder. He crouches down, offering the older his back. Kihyun has half a mind to reject the younger’s gesture, but his head is already spinning from the short crawl it takes to get out of his bed… He knows he can’t very well make it to Hoseok’s bed without some help.

He rests his whole body against Jooheon’s back, practically draping himself over the rapper. He hums at how blissfully warm Jooheon feels, and snuggles as close as he can. His breath tickles his dongsaeng’s neck as he’s piggybacked into the other bedroom, the feel of his small heart beating against Jooheon’s back causing his dongsaeng to smile.

Jooheon gently sets him in Hoseok’s bed and tucks him in. Hyungwon and Minhyuk had trailed behind, making sure Kihyun didn’t fall off, and now sit around the sick vocalist.

“You guys have to go to practice,” Kihyun mumbles, his typically-strong voice barely audible in the quiet room. “I’ll be fine, really.” Hyungwon scoffs as he leans forward to hand Kihyun the mug of broth, which the older takes and gulps down. It isn’t as if he feels very hungry right now, but he knows it’s better to keep some kind of fluids in his stomach right now.

“I don’t think so,” Minhyuk chuckles out, rolling his eyes. “You didn’t leave us while we were sick. What makes you think we’d leave you?” Kihyun hands over the now-empty mug and sighs heavily. He buries himself into Hoseok’s blankets, smiling a little at how much the bedding smells like his hyung’s perfumes. Hyungwon hums his agreement, and balls up his own lank form into a little ball next to Kihyun. He rests his head against Kihyun’s stomach, closing his eyes.

“The managers will—”

“Let me deal with the managers,” Minhyuk interrupts, holding up a silencing finger. “Just go back to sleep.” He stands to make a call, and Jooheon gladly takes his place to snuggle up with Kihyun and Hyungwon. Kihyun grumbles in defeat, allowing his eyes to drift closed once more. He honestly doesn’t have the energy to argue right now, so he’ll just save it for later.

Hyunwoo, Hoseok, and Changkyun return a little while later with their arms full of plastic bags. They’ve got about twenty different types of medicine, as they don’t know which one Kihyun usually buys for them when they’re sick, cooling cloths, tissues, and a bunch of instant soups for the older to eat. Hyunwoo takes all the bags and gestures for them to go look for the others as he makes his way to the kitchen to put everything up.

They check Kihyun’s shared room, and are confused when they see no one in there. They then go to Hoseok’s room he shares with Hyungwon and Hyunwoo, and nearly cry out in protest at the cuddle pile going on without them. Minhyuk glances up from his phone, and lifts his head a little from Jooheon’s lap to smile at them in greeting. They don’t even hesitate before joining in on the snuggles, somehow worming their ways into the tangled limbs. They each rest a caring hand on Kihyun’s body, who only hums contentedly in his sleep at the touch.

Hyunwoo wanders in a minute later, a warm chuckle coming to him at the sight that awaits him. He takes off his coat and slides into bed next to Jooheon, placing the box of medicine he’d brought with him on the bedside table as he moves, who’s smile grows a little at the sudden warmth his body’s added to the mix. He releases his hold on Kihyun only long enough to tug Hyunwoo closer, and then returns to holding Kihyun in his arms.

“You guys don’t have to make a fuss,” Kihyun suddenly mumbles, surprising them all. When had he woken up? “You can go to practice… We need to be perfect this comeback.” Hyunwoo wordlessly retrieves the medicine and pops out a serving of the melting tablets.

“Say ‘ahh’,” he requests, ignoring the vocalist’s words. Kihyun frowns at his hyung, but complies and opens his mouth wide. Hyunwoo drops the pills into his mouth, under his tongue, and smiles in complacency as he returns to holding Jooheon.

“Just let us take care of you, hyung,” Changkyun mutters, scooting closer to Kihyun’s body through the sheets. “You take care of us all the time. We love you, and want to take care of you. So, please, let us.” Kihyun sighs in defeat, at a loss to what kind of argument he could use against that.

“… I love you all, too,” is all he says in return, and then he drifts back into sleep.

The boys follow his lead all too easily, all sleeping easily while cradling their beloved Kihyunnie in their arms.

“Yah yah yah!” Kihyun barks at them three days later, a hand placed irately on his hips as he flings out his index finger towards the shoe rack. “Hoseok-ah! Come get your damned shoes and put them in the rack, not around it!”

“Can he be sick again?” Hyungwon mutters under his breath to no one in particular as he sits on the couch next to Minhyuk. “He’s so annoying when he’s healthy…” He rests his head in the older visual’s lap, stretching out his limbs with a contented sigh.

“I heard that, dongsaeng,” Kihyun tells him, frowning at the lanky boy. “You’d better watch it, or else I’ll make a delicious dinner that you can’t have.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me…” Hyungwon protests with a pout. “How could you? I just nursed you back to full health!”

“Kihyunnie~” Hoseok chuckles sweetly, pulling the vocalist over to join them on the couch. “Forget about the shoes and enjoy a movie with us… Please? It’s been forever since we’ve done that.” He adds in a signature pout to seal the deal, and Kihyun can only sigh in defeat as he sits in between Hoseok and Minhyuk, picking up Hyungwon’s legs and resting them in his own lap. Changkyun scurries over to Hoseok and snuggles up against his side, while Jooheon and Hyunwoo take a seat on Minhyuk’s other side.

Kihyun’s heart grows at all the love surrounding him, and he finds himself scooching a little to get closer to his two hyungs. He leans his head over to rest on Minhyuk’s shoulder, a small smile dancing across his lips.

He’s gotta admit, he’s got a pretty good life.