Key's POV

When I finally arrived home, I sighed in relief as I pulled my shoes off. They were new, and I had just been wearing them to break them in. They were cute shoes, but damn my feet hurt. It didn't help that I had hardly even been able to sit down today. 

Shaking my head, I made my way into the kitchen, dropping my bag in a chair at the table. "Jjong?" I called, glancing longingly towards one of the kitchen table's chairs before shaking my head and moving towards the kitchen.

"Kibummie!" I heard from behind me, followed by the sound of your familiar footsteps coming from the living room. I stopped walking, about to turn around, but before I could I felt two toned arms wrap around my waist, pulling my back against your warm, familiar torso. I allowed myself to breathe a small sigh of relief as you pressed a kiss to the nape of my neck, but I quickly pulled out of the hug, ignoring the protests from the tired, selfish side of my mind.

"Yah! I've got to make dinner. Remember Jinki-hyung and Taemin and Minho are coming over soon," I said, reluctantly batting you hands away when they tried to hold my own. I groaned inwardly as I made my way into the kitchen, leaving you standing by the table. I had been looking forward to this visit for the past week, since it was rare now that all five of us were able to see each other, but right then all I wanted to do was curl up in a little ball, cry, and hopefully catch a little sleep.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We'll all be together again, blah blah blah. You haven't stopped talking about this all week," you said, and even though I hadn't looked at you, I knew you were leaning across the counter and giving me that irresistible lopsided grin. 
(I nearly sobbed when I thought of how I literally had not seen your face yet today.)

Turning around, I was proven right at the sight of you, grinning at me as you leaned forward on your arms, the muscles and veins in them more prominent than usual as you put your weight on them. I smiled, my eyes coming up to find yours, but as our eyes met, your smile faltered and you straightened up, coming around the counter.

"Alright?" You asked, concern lacing your tone.

I nodded, turning abruptly to the ingredients for kimchi spaghetti I had laid out on the counter. "Alright," I answered automatically, even though we both knew it was a lie. 

I could almost see you shaking your head as I heard your footsteps come closer. "Kibum, what's wrong?" You whispered, your voice barely two feet away. (Two feet was way too far.)

I was starting to lose my composure. I had held it in this long, but with your voice filled with that kind, loving concern that I had been craving all day, my resolve slowly began to crack until a tear finally slipped and rolled down my cheek.

I didn't make any move to stop the tear, shaking my head as I stared at the bottle of spice in front of me. "It's just been a long day. I've been standing up all day in those new shoes so my feet hurt, and we've got company tonight and I really don't want to let them down, but really all I want to do is just curl up in a little ball and cry-"

My voice cracked, and I brought a hand up to cover my mouth, embarrassed and ashamed. I was supposed to be strong for you, so why was I suddenly so weak?

"Kibum," you said, and I felt your gentle hands on my shoulders, turning me around before pulling me into your warm, comforting embrace. My arms were pinned between us, but I placed my hands on your chest and buried my face in your shoulder, taking a deep, shaky breath in to try to calm myself down.

You rubbed my back soothingly, pressing a kiss to the top of my head and beginning to pull me away from the counter. "Come on, kitty," you whispered, and I couldn't help but smile softly at the name, which I knew was the reason you had used it in the first place. "C'mon, let's go sit."

I allowed you to lead me out of the kitchen, your strong arm around my shoulder as I childishly grasped your shirt. You led us into the living room, sitting down on the couch and pulling me into your lap. My head fit comfortably in the crook of your neck as you began to rub my back again. 

"Kibummie," you whispered, your lips right next to my ear. "It's okay to cry. You don't have to hold it in, that's not healthy. Go ahead, it's okay. I'm right here."

At your words, my resolve to remain strong shattered completely, and I sobbed into your shoulder once. "I'm just so tired," I cried, knowing that my tears were staining your grey t-shirt but not really caring right then as I sobbed harder.

"Shh, I know baby, I know," you said, and I could hear in your voice how much it pained you to hear me like this, but that just made me cry harder. I wasn't supposed to be weak like this. I was supposed to be strong for you, but here I was sobbing like a child. But even as I thought about it, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop. This was what I needed, no matter how much it hurt us.

I don't know how long we sat there, but eventually my sobs subsided into sniffles until finally I was silent, just sitting there and breathing in your comfortable scent. I felt one of your hands leave my back briefly, and my heart twisted painfullly as I realized that you were wiping your own tears. 

Sitting up, I looked worriedly into your eyes, but you merely smiled and placed your hand on the side of my face, your thumb along my cheekbone to wipe away the tears. I involuntarily closed my eyes, leaning into your touch. I felt you shift forward slightly, and a second later your lips were on mine, your thumb still rubbing my tears away. 

The kiss communicated a world of thoughts and feelings that could never be put into words, but I understood them anyway. In fact, I could practically hear your voice in my head,  comforting me as your thumb continued to wipe my tear-stained cheek. 

It's okay to cry, Bummie. It hurt both of us, but you'll feel better now, and so will I. You know crying releases a bunch of endorphins? You'll be fine now! But really, it's okay. No one can be completely strong all the time. It's perfectly okay to have these moments, and you can always trust me to help you. You'll always be my strong Lionkey. I love you. Iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou.

You broke the kiss, pulling back to smile at me and peck my nose once before moving to stand up. I followed you, but I moved too quickly, and black spots began obscuring my vision as the world swam in front of my eyes. You kept your hands on my waist though, and I held onto your shoulders as I blinked away the dizziness before looking up at you. 

You chuckled, pecking my lips. "Silly Bummie, don't get up so fast," you said, and I merely shrugged, a smile finding its way onto my face. You grinned before gripping my hand in your gentle, firm grip and pulling me towards the hall. "C'mon, you should get a shower. That'll make you feel better."

"What about Jinki-hyung and-" I began, but you shook your head.

"I'll call them. Jinki-hyung is in town for two weeks, and 2min's school just went on fall break. We can reschedule, I'm sure," you said, and I could do nothing but nod. As much as I wanted to see them, I knew that I was in no state to welcome company. Even after crying for who-knows-how-long, I was still exhausted.

I allowed you to push me into the bathroom, and I rushed through my shower, finishing and getting out after about ten minutes. As I toweled my hair dry, I could hear you on the phone in the kitchen. 

"Yeah, hyung. Kibum's not feeling well, so are you free tomorrow night?" A pause. "Yeah, he was all for just going for it and having you guys over. You know him." I scoffed, shaking my head as I rubbed a circle out of the steam on the mirror. "You can do tomorrow? Great!" I smiled at your cheerful tone of voice, my hand coming up to fix a few strands of damp hair on my forehead. "He's just had a really long day, and I think he might be getting a fever. He's overworked himself this week. He's trying to take all of his classes, work two part-time jobs, and model on the side."

At your words, my brow furrowed and I raised my hand to press it to my forehead. It did feel rather warm, but wasn't that because I had just gotten out of the shower? Though a fever would explain the dizziness I had earlier and the fact that everything had been sort of sore all day. I dropped my hand back to my side as you continued talking.

"No, I haven't taken his temperature yet, but he was really warm earlier, and he had a dizzy spell when he stood up. Normally he only gets those when he's drunk, tired, sick, or all of the above." I chuckled, tying the towel around my waist as I headed towards the door. As I stepped out, the cool air of the hallway caused me to shiver, the cold prickling at my bare torso and arms. I rushed into the bedroom, pulling clothes on as quickly as I could and hoping I wouldn't pass out from moving too quickly.

I didn't pass out, and was finally warming up in flannel pyjama pants and a large t- that had once belonged to you. However, even as I gained relief from the cold, my body felt hot, and it felt like my legs were made of lead. I moved slowly over to the bed, curling up on your side and burying my face in your pillow. I faintly heard you saying good-bye to JInki, and in what felt like half a second later, you were there, curled up next to me and brushing my wet hair from my face. 

"Silly Bummie," you whispered. I burrowed closer to you instinctively, half asleep and feeling both unbearably hot and insanely cold at the same time. Your arms wrapped around me, and I was still hot, but I didn't want to move away from your warmth. A high-pitched, frustrated whine left my throat, and I felt and heard you chuckle. "Kibum," you began, sitting up. "Here, let me help. I read about this online once."

You reached for my pants and began pulling them down. If I had been a bit more conscious, I might have tried to stop you, but right then I welcomed the feeling of cool air on my legs. "Sit up, baby," you said, and I did, allowing you to pull my shirt over my head and toss it somewhere on the floor with my pyjama pants. "Better?"

I nodded, already lying back down. I heard you chuckle as you lay down next to me, pulling me back into your arms. With the overhead fan on and the warmth from your body radiating onto me, I had no trouble falling asleep, even if I was only wearing a pair of boxers. 

Before I fell asleep however, I heard you mutter a single word. "Alright?"

I nodded groggily, burying my face in your chest. "Alright."

This is based off of how I just started school and my first week was reaaaaaally long OTL. Friday night I basically felt like Key did in this chapter, though I didn't get a fever. All I needed was a little sleep~ Maybe the next chapter will be the next day with On2Min. I don't know yet. I just kind of put something down here. Also, since it's told in Key's point of view, you probably noticed that he was speaking in second person through the whole thing. Obviously he was talking/thinking to Jonghyun. But yeah, this is the best I got OTL. Sorry it , but comment, subscribe and upvote if you haven't already! :D