It was late at night and Eunhyuk and Donghae were lying on their bed together. It was late August and warm in their room, so both of them had stripped down to their boxers in an effort to cool down.

 

Eunhyuk was sitting up in bed and had been occupied with his phone. He remained quiet as Donghae was beside him, lying on his stomach with his eyes closed, and cradling a pillow under his head.

 

-Achoo! Achoo!-

 

“Aha! I told you that you were getting sick!” said Eunhyuk  looking down at Donghae with a accusing glare.

 

“I’m not sick Hyukkie…it’s just aller—Achoo! Allergies,” said Donghae rubbing his pink nose.

 

“Nice try. Maybe I would have believed that five sneezes ago, but this is getting ridiculous,” said Eunhyuk putting down his phone.

 

He leaned over and placed his hand to Donghae’s forehead.

 

“J-s Hae, you're burning up!” said Eunhyuk moving his hand from Donghae’s forehead to his cheek and then his neck.

 

“Hyukkie, I’m fine, really.  I just need some rest,” said Donghae closing his eyes.

 

“No, you need to go to the doctor. I knew I should have just taken you earlier,” said Eunhyuk  checking the time.

 

“No! No doctors,” said Donghae firmly.

 

“Hae, we go through this every time you're sick. You need to be properly diagnosed or how else will we know how to treat you?,” reasoned Eunhyuk.

 

Donghae let out a whine as he furrowed his brow.

 

“But I don’t need to go, just let me sleep Hyukkie and I’ll be better when we wake up, I promise,” he said squeezing his eyes shut.

 

“Fine, but only because it’s so late, but if I hear one sneeze in the morning, we’re going straight to see doctor,” said Eunhyuk.

 

“You won’t, I promise,” smiled Donghae, relieved he had dodged a bullet.

 

“Don’t give me that smile,” chuckled Eunhyuk. “Now, go to sleep.”

                                   

                                                            ~~~

 

 

Eunhyuk rolled over, frowning in his sleep as he felt a pressure on his head.

 

When he couldn’t find any relief from it, he reached his hand up to try and brush it away, only to find it was soft and wouldn’t move.

 

It was now that he became more awake. Confused as to what he was feeling he brought both his hands up to his ears as he finally blinked open his eyes.

 

Headphones? He thought as he pulled them off with a frown.

 

He looked beside him to see if Donghae could explain, but he was nowhere to be found.

 

That’s when he heard the commotion outside.

 

“Donghae-ah, please just take this.”

 

“Nuh-uh, I don’t want.”

 

“Hyung, it’ll make you feel better.”

 

-Achoo! Aaaachoo!-

 

“I feel fine.”

 

“So you like sneezing and coughing?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Hyung.”

 

“I don’t want it, and you can’t make me take it! No one can—

 

“Hae?” asked Eunhyuk opening their bedroom door.

 

“Oh thank G-d. Hyung maybe you can get him to take it, he won’t listen to me,” said Ryeowook walking over to Eunhyuk and handing him a bottle. “I went down the street to get this for him at the pharmacy when I heard him sneezing this morning, but he doesn’t want to take any.”

 

“Thanks Wook, I’ll see what I can do,” said Eunhyuk taking the bottle and then giving him a pat on the shoulder.

 

As Ryeowook walked back into his room, Donghae glanced at Eunhyuk and then quickly pulled the blanket his had wrapped around his shoulders over his head.

 

“Hae, come out of there,” sighed Eunhyuk stopping in front of him.

 

He saw Donghae’s head shake underneath the blanket.

 

With a another sigh Eunhyuk tugged on it only to have Donghae pull back. Realizing this was gonna be more difficult than it should be, Eunhyuk put the medicine down on the table and then yanked the blanket with both hands.

 

“Yah!” yelled Donghae as he was left sitting in just a t-shirt and shorts, his hair wild from the blanket.

 

“Yah yourself. Why are you being so stubborn? And why was I wearing my headphones this morning?” asked Eunhyuk with a frown.

 

“I didn’t want you to hear,” mumbled Donghae looking down.

 

“Hear what?”

 

“My sneezes. You said if you could hear them you would make me go to the doctor, and I don’t want to go. …they're going to stick me with a needle, like they always do,” muttered Donghae bitterly.

 

“Hae,” exhaled Eunhyuk, a little more sympathetic as he sat down next to Donghae on the couch. “I know you hate the doctor and I know you hate needles, almost as much as I do, but you can’t afford to be sick.”

 

“But it’s just a cold, it’ll go away…eventually,” said Donghae softly.

 

“But not with just a candle and an Americano,” chuckled Eunhyuk as he motioned to the set up that Donghae had created on the coffee table.

 

“It always works!” said Donghae defensively.

 

“Well then, humor me and take some of this, just in case,” said Eunhyuk reaching for the bottle.

 

Donghae quickly shook his head.

 

“Hae, Wook was nice enough to buy this for you, so you need to take some.”

 

Again, Donghae shook his head.

 

“I promise I wont make you go to a doctor as long as you take your medicine and eat your meals,” sighed Eunhyuk.

 

Donghae thought about it for a moment before nodding, scooting closer to Eunhyuk who took the dosing cap off the bottle and then poured the appropriate amount.

 

When it was ready, Eunhyuk handed it to Donghae who grimaced as he took it into his hand.

 

“Come on Hae, you agreed,” urged Eunhyuk.

 

“I know, I know,” said Donghae bitterly and he quickly downed the thick medicine, blanching as the taste remained on his tongue.

 

Eunhyuk hopped off the couch and walked over to the fridge. He poured Donghae a small glass of strawberry milk and then returned to sit beside him.

 

“Here, you need to drink plenty of fluids and it’ll also help with the bitter taste,” said Eunhyuk as Donghae desperately grasped the glass.

 

When it was empty, he handed it back to Eunhyuk who placed it on the table and then leaned back against the couch.

 

Donghae sat there still looking down with a small pout.

 

“Come here Hae,” smiled Eunhyuk as he patted his lap.

 

Donghae perked up as moved closer and leaned his head down on Eunhyuk’s lap. Eunhyuk then took the blanket Donghae had been using and draped it over his shivering body.

 

“At least now your nose won’t bother you for a while,” said Eunhyuk as he Donghae’s soft hair.

 

“It’s not just my nose, my throat too,” said Donghae softly as he looked up at Eunhyuk. “Appa….,” he said it.

 

Eunhyuk kissed his fingertips and then placed them against Donghae’s neck.

 

“Better?” he asked with a small smile.

 

Donghae nodded with a grin.

 

“But here too, appayo,” he said touching his forehead.

 

Eunhyuk smiled and did the same to his forehead.

 

“And here,” said Donghae touching his eyelid.

 

Again, Eunhyuk kissed his fingers and then placed them gently on Donghae’s eyes.

 

“And here,” said Donghae touching his ear.

 

“Hae!” laughed Eunhyuk.

 

“Just one more! Here,” said Donghae finally touching his lips.

 

“Aigoo,” said Eunhyuk shaking his head before leaning forward and planting a small kiss on Donghae’s lips.

 

“Thanks Dr. Hyukkie, I feel better already,” said Donghae snuggling with his blanket  with a smile as he closed his eyes.

 

“Good, now please get some rest Hae,” said Eunhyuk as he gently ran his fingers through Donghae’s hair, coaxing him into a much needed sleep.

 

 

                                                                        ~~~

 

Donghae walked off stage, wiping his brow as he and the other members finished their final song for the A-Nation concert.

 

After riding themselves of their microphones and ear buds, everyone walked back to the wardrobe area and began changing back into their street clothes.

 

When Donghae was finally free of his coordis, he looked even more exhausted than he had leaving the stage.

 

“Hae, are you okay?” asked Eunhyuk as he watched Donghae take the first available chair at hair and makeup station.

 

Donghae nodded as he took a bottle of water from the table and downed about half of it in one go.

 

“But you're still sweating a lot and you never sweat. I don’t understand, I thought you’d be fine by now. You’ve been taking medicine for almost a week,” said Eunhyuk with a small frown.

 

“I’m fine Hyukkie, don’t worry. It’s just there’s been a lot on the schedule and tomorrow we have to go straight to Incheon and perform again,” said Donghae leaning his head on this palm that was propped up by his elbow. “I’m just disappointed in myself with the way I performed. I hope I do better tomorrow.”

 

Eunhyuk put his hands on Donghae’s shoulders, not convinced that Donghae’s condition was solely from stress and exhaustion. But before he could say anything, they were joined by someone else.

 

“Hey, guys, we were gonna go get some dinner before heading back to the hotel, are you coming?” asked Kangin walking over to them.

 

“I don’t think so Hyung. Hae’s still not feeling well. I think we’ll just go back early so he can rest,” said Eunhyuk as he rubbed the back of Donghae’s neck.

 

“Really Hae? Do you need anything?” asked Kangin touching Donghae’s shoulder.

 

Donghae shook his head, having no energy to really talk anymore.

 

“Thanks Hyung, I’ve got it covered,” said Eunhyuk with a nod.

 

“Alright. Call me if you need anything,” said Kangin before walking back over to the other members.

 

As everyone began to clear out, Eunhyuk rubbed Donghae’s shoulders and arms again, “Come on Hae, let’s get you to bed.”

 

                                                            ~~~

 

Once in the hotel, Donghae quickly found the bed and nestled himself in the sheets as Eunhyuk busied himself with making sure all of their bags were packed for the morning flight.

 

“Shirts…shoes…toothbrushes…razors…face wash….hair products,” he said mentally checking things off as he came across them in their bags.

 

Lifting up the layers of meticulously folded items in Donghae’s suitcase, Eunhyuk came across a small baggy of chalky white medicine.

 

Upon closer examination, he quickly realized what he was holding.

 

“Hae, is this what I think it is?” asked Eunhyuk standing as he walked over to the bed.

 

Donghae blinked open his tired eyes. But when he realized what Eunhyuk was holding, he opened them wider.

 

“Why have you not been taking your medicine?!” he asked shaking the bag.

 

“You know how much I hate taking pills…it hurts my throat Hyukkie,” said Donghae softly,

 

“Don’t think you're going to talk your way cutely out of this,” said Eunhyuk. “ You almost didn’t make it through the performance tonight because your body was so weak! And look at you know! All because you won’t take your medicine!”

 

“Hyukkie please don’t be mad at me. It just tastes…ugly,” said Donghae shaking his head in dissatisfaction.

 

“You don’t like needles, you don’t like liquids, you don’t like pills. How do you think we’re supposed to get the medicine into you Hae?”

 

Donghae shrugged.

 

“You're going to start taking these, even if I have to check your mouth myself,” said Eunhyuk crossing his arms.

 

“You can’t make me,” mumbled Donghae defiantly .

 

“Fine, but Teuk can,” said Eunhyuk reaching for his phone.

 

“All he’ll do is scold me Hyukkie, he’s too far away to do anything,” said Donghae matter-of-factly.

 

“Fine, but I’m sure Kangin hyung wouldn’t mind ending his dinner early to make sure you swallowed them,” said Eunhyuk with a cocked eyebrow.

 

“Okay, okay. Geez Hyukkie, you don’t have to play so dirty,” mumbled Donghae as Eunhyuk tossed him a bottle of water.

 

After he had finally swallowed the medicine, he stuck out his tongue to prove he had indeed taken it.

 

“Good. Now, go to sleep, we have an early flight tomorrow and then rehearsal right before the performance, so you need your rest,” he said looking through their suitcases one last time.

 

Donghae obeyed and slumped back down into the sheets, trying to make himself fall asleep quickly.

 

“Hyukkie…” called out Donghae after a few minutes.

 

“Yes Hae?” asked Eunhyuk expectantly.

 

“It’s not working,” said Donghae with a sigh.

 

“Hae, give it time, you just took it minutes ago,” said Eunhyuk.

 

“No, that’s not why,” sighed Donghae.

 

“Then what is it?” asked Eunhyuk standing up and looking over at him.

 

“It’s because I can’t feel you nearby,” said Donghae softly as his hand stretched out, grasping the empty space beside him.

 

“Aish! …you’re lucky you're cute and I love you,” said Eunhyuk turning off the lights and then walking over to him.

 

 He pulled off his shirt and then climbed onto the bed, lying next to Donghae, who eagerly snuggled close to his warm chest. Burying his face into him, Donghae’s body relaxed now that they were close.

 

“Sleep well my baby Hae. Feel better soon,” whispered Eunhyuk as he listened to Donghae’s breathing fall into that of a deep sleep.