It started with a sneeze.

Then a cough.

Then a fever.

Despite all the reassuring words, there were subtle signs Heeyeon wasn't feeling well. The girl was usually conscious when it came to her health, always noting her symptoms and avoiding overworking herself. Except that all seemed to have left her head during this comeback, putting every ounce of energy into it since it may be their last for a while. Of course, this made Solji anything but happy. As her girlfriend, and as leader, she cared about how she was feeling and hated seeing her like this.

"I know you're worried, but I promise I'm okay," Heeyeon gave her a weak smile when Solji brought it up again. Solji pursed her lips, still unsatisfied. She grabbed Heeyeon's hand and brushed her thumb across the back of it.

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," she said with a sigh. Heeyeon's gaze softened as she linked their hands together. The door to the practice room opened, followed by the loud voices of Hyelin, Junghwa and Hyojin. Heeyeon sighed through her nose and glanced back at Solji with an apologetic smile.

Solji tried to give her her best "this conversation isn't over" look and squeezed her hand before letting go, trying not to frown at the sound of her coughing.

Gradually, they all got ready for dance practice. They didn't get far though, as Heeyeon kept losing focus and struggled to memorize the moves. She ran out of breath quickly and was sweating more than the rest of them. The dark circles under her eyes were prominent, exhaustion becoming more and more visible on her face the longer they practiced.

Finally, Solji gave in and called an early end to practice, much to everyone's confusion, but they didn’t complain. Before Heeyeon had a second to protest, Solji gave her a pointed look. "I'm taking you home," she said not accepting any arguments. Heeyeon sighed, too tired to push it and slipped her hoodie on. Solji carried her bag for her and reached her hand out for her.

Heeyeon took it bashfully as the girls behind her teased them.

"Thank you, Dr. Heo," Heeyeon joked as Solji handed her some medicine. Solji rolled her eyes and smiled, running her hand through Heeyeon's hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She winced at the temperature and adjusted the blanket on her.

She had driven Heeyeon back to her apartment, smiling softly as she watched her doze off within minutes on the way back. Most people looked peaceful in their sleep, but Heeyeon wasn't most people. was always hanging open slightly which gave way to soft snoring (and sometimes drool). It amused her, but it also made her heart melt. She never thought she could find the sound of snoring endearing until she met her.

After a quick shower, it didn't take long to put her to bed and get her medicated. Everyone always joked about how much of a mom she was, yet Solji never really noticed it until it came to Heeyeon. She always found herself fussing over the smallest things, like fixing a wrinkle on her shirt, a stray hair out of place or a smudge on her lipstick.

Solji apologized sometimes for being overbearing but Heeyeon always brushed it off. "It makes me feel cared for," she'd say with a smile, which never failed to make her feel better.

Upon making sure Heeyeon took her medicine, Solji stood up to grab her coat. Immediately, she felt a hand on her arm and a small whine come from Heeyeon under her blanket. "Stay for a bit," she said softly, her eyes big and pleading like a puppy's. Solji laughed and linked their hands together.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Heeyeon nodded and moved to make room for Solji on the bed. Solji couldn't hold back her grin and slipped under the covers. Heeyeon's arms immediately wrapped around her waist as she laid her head against her chest, quickly becoming comfortable. Solji hummed and threaded her fingers through her hair, comforted by the faint smell of sweet shampoo that came from it.

Vanilla, she smiled.

Heeyeon pressed a kiss to her neck and snuggled in closer to her. Solji felt her heart skip in her chest and smiled at warmth that came with having Heeyeon close to her. It felt nice when Heeyeon clung to her, even if she did that almost every day. It felt warm, familiar, safe. Heeyeon felt good.

"Sorry for being so stubborn," She mumbled into her chest. Solji chuckled lightly and kissed the top of her head.

"It's okay. I just want you to take better care of yourself or at least let me take care of you," she said.

"You look after us enough as our leader," Heeyeon sighed. "I don't want to add on to that."

Solji bit down her smile. Of course she'd think that way.

"Hey," she whispered, bringing Heeyeon's eyes up to meet hers. She leaned down to bring their lips together, her thumb gently against her cheek as they kissed. "Don't worry about overwhelming me, okay? Nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy, even if that means taking care of you until you're better.”

Heeyeon stood quiet for a moment, her eyes locked with Solji's. She leaned forward to kiss her again and pressed their foreheads together. "I love you," she breathed. Solji smiled and brought her hand up to her cheek.

"I love you too.”

“I think I’m feeling better already,” she smiled.

Solji rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone, raising a brow at the message on her screen. “Junghwa asked how you were doing,” she said, “Hyelin also said ‘You better not have canceled practice to play naughty nurse’”.

She didn't have to look at Heeyeon to know she was blushing brightly.

“Whatever happened to respecting your elders,” she grumbled. Solji had to stifle her laugh. She set her phone down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, getting comfortable once more.

"You're probably going to get sick after this," Heeyeon said. Solji blinked, realization dawning.

"I didn't think about that," she laughed. Heeyeon frowned. "Don't worry," she ran her hand through Heeyeon’s hair. "The comeback isn't until the end of the month. More than enough time to recover.”

Heeyeon sighed against her chest and hummed in response. “If it happens I’ll be your nurse too.”

“The naughty kind?” Solji smirked.

Heeyeon fumbled over her response, her cheeks becoming flushed and not from her fever. “I think that made me even sicker.”

Solji laughed and hugged her closer in apology. “Get some rest now,” she smiled. “I’ll stay the night.”

“You don't have to-”

“I want to.”

They both fell quiet, looking at each other with fond smiles. Heeyeon leaned in to press another kiss to her lips. “Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Solji whispered, “sweet dreams.”

After a few minutes, the sound of Heeyeon's familiar snoring followed.