After waking up from a fitful rest drenched in sweat, mind frazzled, he decided that the bedroom was too warm and relocated. Two hours had passed and the clock on the microwave now read 5:05am. Sehun groaned lightly from where he was situated on the couch in their living room. Jongin just had to have his stupid three-day research outing when Sehun's normally impeccable immune system seemed to have failed him. Little more than an hour had passed after Jongin had left at 2am two days ago, before Sehun had been forcibly pulled into the realm of the unwell, feeling hot and cold and all sorts of uncomfortable.

He briefly considered calling Luhan today, but quickly dismissed the idea because his stupidly dramatic hyung would definitely make a huge deal out of the whole thing, and most likely call Jongin. And while at any other time Sehun would gladly relish in the doting, he didn't particularly want to pull his boyfriend’s mind away from a project he had been pretty excited for, for something this minor.

Clenching his jaw as a wave of nausea hit, he shuffled himself into a semi-upright position. It was the weekend so at least he didn't need to be anywhere, he thought with a soft sigh.He glanced around and took a moment to take in the state of the room. He was cocooned in their thickest duvet, his soft brown hair and glazed eyes just peeking out. The area surrounding him was littered with ballad up tissues, the nearly empty box laying somewhere near his feet. “This is so pathetic.” He whined with a face set in a distraught grimace. After a moment he set his jaw and made up his mind to stop being so pitiful and clean the place up. Jongin was meant to get back around 6:30pm, and before Satan had started doing the conga in his stomach, Sehun had planned to make him a little welcome back dinner. He’d even swallowed a portion of his pride earlier in the week and gone to Kyungsoo across the hall for recipes damn it.

Sehun extracted his arms from the cushiony castle he’d built and attempted to stand up, somewhat succeeding before he was attacked by a mild dizzy spell. “, when it hits, it sure hits hard.” He mumbled to himself, disgruntled. He dragged his way to the kitchenette and went about making himself some instant coffee. He waddled over to the fridge, still wrapped in the duvet and leant his forehead against the cool metal of the door, sighing in relief at the small reprieve from the oven melting his brain. It took about five minutes for him to realise that he couldn’t hear the kettle boiling anymore. Everything seemed to be taking an inexplicably long time for him to do, he could hear every fibre of his being protesting every time he started moving. His head was heavy, throat dry, and if he was completely honest it was a fair bit worse than he’d first assumed. He let the thought of calling Jongin flit though his mind before he shoved the thought away. “No, no, no, no, I’m not that sick, I can manage. This will all probably die down by the time he gets back anyway.” He convinced himself quietly.

He let his mind wander, a small frown pulling at his lips he thought about all the times that Jongin had compromised on his side for Sehun’s sake. Sehun knew he was clingy, and needy, and a bit of a handful, he was moody sometimes, but Jongin was always accommodating, always there to make his life easier. He felt tired, and he felt sorry and all his feelings were congregating in the form of the lump in his throat, his eyes fell shut as he tried to swallow around it, almost releasing a choked sob as he felt his uselessness consume him. He knew he was exaggerating, that he was sick and everything was falling out of proportion in his head but he just wanted to give back to Jongin, just this once he wanted to do the taking care. It was at that moment that his phone decided to blare out the Pororo theme, the ringtone he set for Jongin calling him as a joke one day, but never got round to changing. His eyes widened in alarm and he quickly took a deep breathe to dispel the lump as he hastily pushed the duvet off and stumbled to his phone. He cleared his throat. “Hello?”

“Sehun-ah, did I wake you? Have you eaten? Are you alright, you didn’t burn the apartment down right?” The low chords of Jongin’s voice washed over him, and a small smile pulled at his lips unconsciously.

He rolled his eyes at the teasing and swallowed once more, “H-hey, no you didn’t. I was just about to, and yeah, yeah of course I’m fine.” He replied quickly, cringing at his stutter and how thick his voice sounded even to his own ears, he silently cursed at himself.
There was a moment of silence and Sehun bit his lip.

“…Sehun-ah? You okay?” Concern flooded his voice, and the lump returned to Sehun, sob once again stuck in the back of his throat. Angrily he pulled himself together, you’re not dying and you know he loves you, he chided himself in his head, get a grip. It’s at times like this that Sehun realised that he didn’t really have anyone apart from Jongin, yeah he had Luhan and Kyungsoo and few other people he called friends, but the sheer amount he relied on Jongin made him more determined to stop being such an emotional wreck.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, you worry too much, how’s the research going?” he tried to sound more alive than he felt.

“It’s great, it’s really fun out here, I need to take you one day. But Sehun-ah don’t change the–” The line became muffled and he could hear someone else speaking, “Baekhyun and Chanyeol are calling and I need to go, but promise me you’re okay Sehun, nothing’s wrong right?” He could imagine the way Jongin’s brow was likely furrowed as he asked this.

Sehun let out a small silent sigh and offered, “I’ve just got a little cold, and it’ll be gone by the time you’re back so stop worrying okay?” Jongin seemed hesitant.

“…Okay, but at least take it easy today.”

“Yeah I will,” His voice cracked a little before he uttered “I love you.”

He could almost hear the slow grin slide onto Jongin’s face, “I know, I love you too baby, I’ll be home before you know it.”

Sehun felt slightly better after the phone call, a stupid grin stuck on his face for little while after, before he felt his vision swim once more, and with a pout he thought definitely not fine. it, he went to rummage through Jongin’s closet for a large hoodie, the chill settling into his bones after walking around in just an undershirt and a pair of black boxers. The hoodie was electric blue, one of Jongin’s favourites, he wondered why he didn’t take it. Shrugging, he pulled it over his head, sighing as the smell of clean laundry and pure Jongin assaulted his senses.

Sehun shoved his hands into the front pocket and paused. His fingers met with a bright pink post-it note, and written in Jongin’s almost illegible scrawl he read ‘Thought you might want to keep this one while I’m gone ;)’ If Sehun wasn’t already red-faced because of the fever, he definitely would be now as he felt the heat rush to his face. Chucking the note aside, he pulled on a pair of pink fluffy socks and returned to the kitchen, masculinity be damned. He normally avoided these particular socks, Jongin’s idea of a joke, but right now his feet were cold on the wooden floorboards, and he liked warmth. A quick glance at the microwave told him it was just past 7am. On a normal day he’d be off to practice with Jongin in tow, as it’d become ritual for them every weekend. Back in the kitchen he snagged a memo pad a leant against the counter as he planned out his day.

1. do work bleh =.=
2. clean apartment
3. get food things for welcome back dinner for jongin yay
4. make the cake for welcome back dinner
5. make dinner for welcome back dinner ^o^

Sehun was a bit apprehensive at the cake making part, but Kyungsoo had insisted that every welcome back dinner needed a cake, and he assured Sehun that it was really simple and wouldn’t take very long. The pounding behind his eyes was too fierce for him to concentrate enough to get any actual work done, so before long he was slowly moving around the apartment, one hand picking up the evidence of his poor state and throwing them into the little bin perched on his right hip. After wiping down counters with disinfectant and giving the bedroom and living room a quick sweep, he cast tired eyes over his handiwork. With a small nod of satisfaction he shimmied into a pair of jeans from the bedroom, pulled a cap low over his head and slipped his feet into a pair of Converse by the door. He checked he’d taken his wallet, keys and phone and was out the door.

He’d made it back in two hours, his poor ability to make decisions and his generally sluggish movements extended what should have taken forty-five minutes at most. His arms ached from carrying all the ingredients, plus all the other things he’d bought because he just can’t say no to a good deal. He kicked the door closed behind him and sank to the floor with the groceries, breathing hard. He could feel his hair sticking to his temples and he muttered a quick 'gross' before throwing himself into the bathroom. The cool water felt calming against his feverish skin so he ended up taking particularly long shower, pulling on a new vest and pair of boxers before donning the same blue hoodie again. Feeling more comfortable, but drowsy he found himself once again in the kitchen, pushing up his sleeves a setting the cake ingredients on the counter. He stood hands on hips, gaze determined, from the butter, to the sugar, to the flour, to the eggs, to the mixing bowl, before dropping his shoulders with a sigh. I’m not stupid, it should be fine. He began working slowly, with all the caution of someone new to the kitchen, tongue occasionally poking out to chapped lips.

He sat on his haunches in front of the oven, watching the cake rise and turn slightly golden. In a panic because ‘do I take it out!?’ was suddenly running through his head like a mantra, he ended up calling Kyungsoo and babbling incoherently to him down the phone, whilst watching the top of the cake darken slowly. After he’d made sense of what Kyungsoo was trying to tell him (Sehun, just take it out if it’s burning), and he’d hung up and finally taken it out, he managed to burn his wrist on the cake tin. Just my luck, he groaned with moist eyes, his flesh had lingered far too long on the heated metal for it to not leave a mark. He ran it under lukewarm water and hoped Jongin wouldn’t notice as he resolutely carried on, jaw set.

The top of the cake was darker than he thought it should be, but wasn’t burnt. Sehun went about slicing through the middle of the cake to make two layers, inexperienced hands messily executing the instructions. Demeanour brightening now that the cake was taking shape (although it was no work of art), he slathered jam of the inside of both layers, and then dolloped the ready prepared double cream onto one. He rinsed the raspberries he’d bought and peppered them over the cream. He took the last few into his hands and proceeded to shape out a crude heart shape with them. He was sick, tired, and he really missed Jongin, so sue him. “It’s not like he’s going to see it anyway.” He muttered, as though defending his actions. He then took the other layer and placed it over the one he was working on, dusted the top with icing sugar and stood back to admire his creation. “Not too shabby Oh Sehun.” His lips pulled upwards softly, he still felt slightly lightheaded but the nausea had subsided hours ago.

The time intervals between the dizzy spells were decreasing and Sehun knew he should sit down and take a break before he passed out. He perched onto a kitchen stool and nibbled on an apple, feeling every bit overexerted, the exhaustion eating at him. He once again glanced lazily at the microwave and then froze, 4:51pm, he scrambled up, distressed I only have one and a half hours to make dinner, he hurriedly spun back towards the stove behind him and regretted it instantly. His limbs protested as pain flared up each one and he saw black for a moment as he swayed. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands clawing at the counter to find purchase. He needed Jongin here, he had no ing clue about what to do when he was feeling ill, he’d always been on his own, and the only advice he’d ever given himself in similar situations was endure. But he could hardly think straight, the quick movement seeming to have set off a gong between his eyes, making coherent thoughts wishful thinking. A series of small sobs climbed up his throat, and soon tears clung to his eyelashes; Sehun had never been good at handling stressful situations, and this was no exception.

-------

Wanting to surprise his cute little boyfriend, he’d taken a slightly earlier coach back. He’d received a text from Kyungsoo during the journey telling him to hurry back before Sehun set the place on fire, he had laughed lightly, eager to see him after the too-long time apart.

When he’d reached their apartment on the 6th floor, he’d slowly slipped the key in and pushed the door open almost silently. He quietly closed it behind him and dropped his backpack to the floor before glancing around.

And this was how Jongin found him.

Sehun had braced himself against the kitchen counter, arms trembling, lower lip being bitten into oblivion and tears streaming unchecked down pale cheeks. Jongin gaped at him.

There was a flurry of movement when Sehun noticed him, he gasped, hands flying up to scrub at his face as he spun away from Jongin – bad decision. This time he easily lost his footing, and Jongin flew across the room to steady him. He grabbed him around the waist and pulled him into an embrace, Sehun’s hands making fists around the fabric at his chest. “Sehun? Sehun-ah?” Sehun had slumped against him and he could feel small puffs of hot breath against his neck, way too hot. He hastily pressed a palm against Sehun’s forehead, “, Sehun you’re burning up like a ing furnace.” He murmured, “I’m going to lift you up okay, can you hold onto me?” More tears slipped from his closed eyes, before he gave an almost imperceptible nod, Jongin walked Sehun back a couple of steps until his back was against the counter, he easily lifted his slighter boyfriend onto it, “Wrap your legs around my waist.” He spoke gently, seeing the way that’s Sehun’s eyes were still clamped shut, he then lifted him into his arms, Sehun’s own arms naturally wrapping around his neck. He pressed a kiss to the collarbone inches from his lips before slowly walking to their bedroom. Once there it took a few minutes for Jongin to deposit Sehun on the bed, thin arms clinging to his neck like a koala. He indulged him and pressed reassuring kisses to collarbones and cheeks, whilst smoothing the brown hair away from his face. Sehun’s eyes opened just a crack before he turned his head, avoiding Jongin’s gaze as more tears slid into the pillow and he let his arms drop. Jongin could count the times that Sehun had cried like this in front of him on one hand, and it tugged at his heart. He gently turned Sehun’s head back up to face his, “Sehun-ah, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He punctuated the sentence by down his face, “You don’t need to silently shoulder everything by yourself.” He pressed his own forehead against the unbelievably warm one of his boyfriend and continued whispering, “I love you, okay, and I want you to trust me,” when Sehun looked as though he’d interrupt he pressed a small kiss to his lips, “I need you to tell me when something like this happens, when you don’t feel well, when you need help, when you need me, I need you to know that you can rely on me.” Normally his sentences would be littered with little harmless insults, and teasing remarks, but he knew that now wasn’t the time, Sehun had never looked so unsure of himself, so insecure, and it was unnerving.

Sehun’s eyes shifted from Jongin’s to a point above his shoulder, before they flicked back to his face and then lowered, he mumbled “You’re going to get sick too.”

Jongin bumped noses with him, “I don’t care.” He almost sing-songed with a little grin, it was no secret that Jongin was attractive, and Sehun had to turn his head away again, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “So ing cute.” He muttered with his grin still present before he pressed a loud kiss to his cheek and then sat back a little. “I’m going to go get you something for your headache, and then fix you something to eat, have you taken anything already?”

Sehun made a small negative sound, and Jongin popped into the adjacent bathroom to grab some pain killers and the thermometer, and coaxed Sehun into placing it under his tongue. “How on earth have you not? 39.1C, Jesus, you must feel like .” Sehun made a groan of agreement there and Jongin chuckled lightly in response. “Anything you want to eat in particular?” He asked as he stood, after making Sehun swallow down the medication.

Sehun let out a loud groan there, “I was supposed to be making you dinner today,” he managed to mumble. At Jongin’s raised eyebrow he continued, quieter than before, “As… a sort of welcome back thing.”

Jongin looked down at him, a bashful smile on his lips as he scratched at the back of his head, “Seriously, when did you become so cute?” Sehun just looked away, permanent blush staining his cheeks, “Ah jeez.” Jongin swooped down once last time for a lingering kiss, before pulling away with a light pet, and going to work on dinner. “Relax, and call me if you need anything.”

He shoved up his sleeves as he walked back into the kitchen, the material of his light grey pullover bunched at his elbows, jeans riding low on his hips. He gave them a small upwards tug before rinsing his hands and pulling open the fridge, and then stopped. The dodgy craftsmanship evident made it painfully obvious that it was Sehun who’d made the giant cake on the middle shelf. A fisted hand covered his mouth as a huge grin took over his features. Curiosity getting the better of him, he tentatively lifted the top layer to see what was inside, and almost did a small happy dance because he loved raspberries. He then noticed that they seemed to be set in a pattern, glancing at their bedroom door, he pulled the cake onto the counter and gently lifted the top layer a tad, just enough for him to peer underneath, and then had to hold back an ungraceful snort. He could tell it was a heart, but that’s only because he knew Sehun, another person would have assumed it was a flower, or possibly a constellation. So adorable. He placed the layer back on perfectly and put it back into the fridge, he then realised that the fridge was pretty full and groaned. The next time he’s sick, I’m going to tie him to a chair, he thought grumpily, annoyed that Sehun had gone out in the state he was in… and had bought the whole ing shop while he was at it. He raised an eyebrow, picking up a bumpy-skinned fruit he’d never even seen before, before shaking his head fondly, Sehun will be Sehun. He dug around and pulled out a tray of chicken s, and a few vegetables he knew Sehun liked. He set some rice to cook as he prepared those and was soon plating it all up.

He arranged the two plates on a tray and the two teas, Sehun’s a Chinese herbal blend, feeling every bit the stereotypical housewife, before carefully carrying everything back to the bedroom, he stopped short at the doorway and placed the tray on a nearby dresser. He slipped his phone out and snapped a few pictures, because Sehun was spread eagle on the double bed, the covers mostly on the floor. Jongin’s hoodie was riding up revealing a milky white stomach, his face was still pink but at least he was breathing easier now. Seriously, who’d be able to resist, thought Jongin.

He almost didn’t want to wake him up, chucking his phone onto the bed somewhere, he moved the tray to the bedside table and sank into the mattress beside Sehun. He ran his fingers through his younger boyfriend’s hair, before dropping a kiss to his temple, “Sehun-ah, baby wake up.” He whispered, “I brought food.” Sehun’s eyes slowly blinked open, still a little glazed over, he let Jongin help him sit up and whispered his thanks. Soon it became apparent that Sehun’s limbs were feeling the strain and Jongin ditched his own dinner in favour of feeding Sehun his, he knew Sehun was embarrassed, but a whispered “It’s okay Sehun-ah,” had him nodding and accepting the help. It took a while for them to finish but it didn’t feel like that long with Jongin’s idle chatter telling Sehun about the trip, with Sehun making the appropriate hums at each pause.

Before long Jongin was throwing a soft ‘be right back’ at Sehun, and returning with two slices of Sehun’s cake on a single plate. He grinned at Sehun’s surprise and told him to hold the plate, whilst he slid in behind his boyfriend, his back pressed to the headboard. He gently pulled Sehun further up so his back was to Jongin’s chest, to which he let out a content sigh. “I missed you so much.” He murmured against the back of Sehun’s neck. Sehun laced their left hands together before whispering a “Me too.”

He pressed a kiss into his skin, before reaching around Sehun to grab the little fork. “I get first taste,” he said quickly before sliding the fork through thick lips. Soon he made a happy noise in the back of his throat and rewarded Sehun with an, “It’s so good!” and another smooch to the back of the neck. He alternated between feeding Sehun and himself and it was gone all too soon. Sehun was pleased with himself for doing at least one thing right today, he had to thank Kyungsoo later.

Soon they were both getting ready for bed, Sehun had enough strength to shuffle around their room, subconsciously pulling a shirt from Jongin’s closet again, he halted after pulling his head through, catching Jongin eying him when he realised what he was doing. But Jongin just chuckled, pulled him close and tugged at the hem of the t-shirt letting it settle around Sehun, the younger ducked his head and slipped into a new pair of boxers. Jongin smiled sleepily, changed into a pair of sleep pants, and pulled his jumper and t-shirt off. Sehun was settling into bed, ready to sleep for the next twenty years, when Jongin flicked the lights off and settled beside him. Sehun nuzzled into his neck and Jongin pulled him flush against him, throwing a leg over him for good measure. “Wake me up if you wake up, okay?” Sehun nodded in acquiescence and pressed a kiss to Jongin’s throat. “Thank you.” Jongin pressed their hands together, and slowly rubbed circles into where he knew Sehun had burnt himself that day, before replying.

“You never need to thank me for taking care of you.”