I dedicate this one to my beloved twinnie, so she can always smile :3

“That was horrible,” Junho exclaimed in a hoarse voice and slid onto the nearest chair in the backstage room. He wiped the few drops of sweat that made it below his brows with the back of his hand, and sighed. “My voice cracked six times,” he whispered gloomily.

Junsu looked at him critically, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes. “I don’t want to remind you of the fact, that I had warned you, but yeah, I did. You should’ve just gone with playback instead of straining your voice like that.” All he got as a response was a dark glare from the younger.

“Junsu is right, pal. You shouldn’t have underestimated it,” Taec said and put his hand on Junho’s shoulder. He just brushed it off and stood up.

“It’s just a stupid cold, for God’s sake!” His voice cracked again, but he tried to ignore it. Why should he bother with something as trivial as a cold? Everyone was making an issue out of it. How could’ve he used playback, anyway? That would’ve felt wrong and half-hearted and Junho refused to show such an image of himself to the fans.

He felt a strong gaze directed towards him and a warm hand his back. Junho looked up and saw a pair of big worried eyes burying right into his soul. Great. The last thing he needed was letting Chansung see him in a pitiful state like that. He pushed the big hand away and whispered, “I’m fine.” It was less convincing than he intended, though.

The changing of clothes proceeded without the usual chit-chatting and laughter that day. The six boys got into the car, Junho climbing onto the backseat next to Chansung. His whole body felt sore and a slight chill was starting to creep on him. He felt a strong urge to press closer to the large warmth-emitting figure beside him, but he decided to ignore it. His pride was too strong to let him make himself look weak in front of the younger boy.

 Junho’s slight shivers didn’t escape Chansung’s vision, however, and he took off his jacket to warm Junho’s body up a bit more. As there was no apparent protest to this action, he took Junho’s hand into his own and rubbed it slowly. “We’ll be home soon, I’ll take care of you there,” he said quietly, so only Junho would hear. And he did. As much as he hated to admit it, he liked the idea of having Chansung’s attention all to himself, so he he made up his mind to just go with whatever the maknae had in store for him.

As soon as they arrived at the dorm, Junho stumbled into the living room and fell onto the couch face-down. A painful groan escaped his lips, but his body refused to move. All the other members were shooting him concerned looks, but weren’t willing to bother with his stubbornness. Except for the youngest one.

“Junho-ya, come on, you can’t stay here, it’s Wooyoungie’s place to sleep,” Chansung said and poked Junho’s cheek. The latter rolled onto his back and looked up at the maknae. “Then I want to sleep with you,” came the serious reply. The glassy eyes of a sick person were replaced by two dark and determined orbs. Chansung just smiled. “I sleep on the floor, that’s no place for a sick person. Go to your own bed, I’ll come to check on you.” He walked out of the room and left a shocked Junho alone on the shabby couch. Did he just… walk away? Junho couldn’t believe it. How could Chansung ignore his obvious invitation to spend a night together? It had never happened before. He sat there silently for one more minute, until he decided it’s better to comply and headed to his room. Maybe Chansung had a surprise for him, but he didn’t want the hyungs to overhear. Yes, that must’ve been it. Satisfied with his clever uncovering of the maknae’s plans, Junho put on his pyjamas and slid under the covers of his comfy bed. He curled into a ball to conserve as much heat as possible and get rid of the annoying chills.

Chansung quietly entered Junho’s room and tiptoed towards the bed. He put the tray with medicine and thermometer on the nightstand and carefully sat next to the sleeping figure, not to wake him up. But Junho’s slumber was fidgety and far from calm. He was shivering and there were droplets of cold sweat forming on his forehead. When Chansung noticed it, he frowned and shook him lightly. “Junho, wake up.”

“Mmmm,” came a discontented response, but the small eyes opened in the end. Chansung retrieved the thermometer from the tray and slid it past Junho’s slightly open lips. “Hold onto it.” There was a lot of worry in his voice and Junho didn’t like it. He held the thermometer tightly between his lips, aware of the fact that this cold was probably a bit more serious than he had wanted to admit at first.

After two minutes of silent comforting and affectionate stares, Chansung took out the thermometer to check it. His expression showed it all. “Stay in bed. Sleep. Drink. Don’t move. And don’t talk,” he added the last one after Junho opened his mouth to protest. He had to cope with an angry look afterwards, which made him afraid Junho might want to start arguing after all, so he took a glass of water along with two small white pills from the tray and handed them to Junho. “Sit up and drink it.”

“No. I don’t want to.” Junho stubbornly shook his head and turned to face the wall instead of facing Chansung.

“You have to take the meds if you want to feel better,” Chansung insisted.

“I’m fine, just a bit tired and cold. I don’t need any pills.”

Knowing Junho too well, Chansung abandoned any thoughts of persuading the older to take the medicine. Once Junho made up his mind, there was no way of making him change it.

“At least drink the water. You sweat a lot, your body needs it,” he begged and lightly caressed Junho’s arm.

“Sleep here tonight. And I’ll drink the water.” There. Junho knew Chansung couldn’t refuse such a bargain.

“Okay, let me change first, I’ll be right back,” he said with a sigh. He turned at the door and looked at Junho. “That glass better be empty before I return.”

Junho made sure to drink every drop of water in the glass before Chansung came back. Once he had the maknae standing over his bed, he moved over so Chansung could lie down next to him. A sudden thought entered Junho’s brain. What if Chansung catches the cold, too? He would’ve hated himself if that happened. He tugged at Chansung’s t-shirt and mumbled, “Did you take some vitamins? So you don’t catch my cold, you know…” The tinge of guilt in Junho’s voice made Chansung smile.

“Don’t worry; I’ve taken care of everything. Now hush and lie down.” Junho complied and soon after, he felt strong arms around his waist. The warmth radiating from Chansung’s body was enough to set him more at ease and at least try to ignore the dull pain in every cell of his being. This was exactly what he had been hoping for – to have his beloved giant in the bed next to him. He turned to face him and snuggled into his hard chest. Chansung smiled and Junho’s hair, until he felt something press against his crotch.

“What are you doing?” He asked, the tone of his voice hinting that he wasn’t really pleased with Junho’s actions. However, as there was no response, he pushed Junho away and forced him to stop. Junho looked at him with disbelief visible even in the dark room.

“What kind of a question is that?”

“You don’t seriously expect me to take you while you’re in this state, do you?”

But that was exactly what he expected him to do. Take him. “I told you I’m fine!”

Chansung shook his head. He was starting to feel irritated. “No, you’re apparently not fine if you’re suggesting that we have while you’re sick, Junho.” He was dead-serious, which made Junho flinch a little, but wasn’t enough to shake his determination. His breathing was heavy and his body was aching all over, but he still wanted Chansung so bad it almost hurt. Why couldn’t the other male understand?

“Fine,” said Chansung at last and pushed Junho onto his back. He brushed his lips over Junho’s uncertainly, transforming this soft touch into a passionate kiss that was so familiar to both of them. Junho pulled him even closer, savouring the slight banana taste of his lover. Unfortunately, this wonderful feeling couldn’t have lasted long. Junho found it hard to breathe or concentrate and his head was starting to get dizzy – the bad sort of dizzy. He had to pull away from Chansung to fill his lungs with more oxygen or he would risk fainting right under the maknae.

“See? You can’t even handle a kiss,” whispered Chansung and pecked Junho’s forehead. The older was still breathing hard, trying to focus on Chansung’s face, to find a steady point in his surroundings. He cupped Chansung’s cheeks with both of his hands to keep himself in reality. This probably wasn’t going to work out after all. He felt like an idiot for not listening to Chansung’s warnings.

“Chansung-,“ he started, but Chansung silenced him with a finger on his lips.

“Shut up and go to sleep. No fun for you until you get better,” he said and gently ruffled Junho’s hair. Junho nodded and mouthed an “okay”, followed with “I love you”. Chansung smiled and pulled his beloved closer. “I love you, too.

In the end, Junho decided it would be better to take the meds after all.

Thanks for reading! Do tell if I should bother with writing the second chappie ;3