Tao knew before he even sneezed that he was sick. Ever since he had woken up he had been plagued with a heavy blanket of dread as he felt the symptoms teasing him. He felt lethargic and groggy during rehearsals and was shivering even though he felt as if he were being cremated alive. When the time came for everyone to eat lunch, he just sat there and picked gingerly at the food, having no appetite for anything at all, but the whole day he tried his hardest to resist whatever he was coming down with. By the time he and the rest of the members arrived back at the dorm, he was beyond exhausted and it was all he could do to stumble into his room to pass out in bed.

 

Now his eyes fluttered open as he entered consciousness again. He groaned and curled up into a ball as the bright light of his lamp burned his stinging eyes. It was now official, Tao was sick. His symptoms had taken full effect, leaving him a fevered, shaking, sniffing mess. He wrapped himself up in his thick, fluffy sheets and tried to sit up, leaning against his headboard for support, but the effort made his head pound and he ended up surrendering to the virus and collapsing back onto the mattress. A long, drawn out sigh of defeat left the sick man's pouting lips. He cleared his throat as best he could and called out hoarsely to the only person he could stand at this point.

 

"Kris gege~" he croaked. From the living room, Kris could just about hear a faint call of his name over the sound of Pirates of The Carribean playing.

 

"I'll be back in a minute, guys." he said, standing up from his place next to Suho on the sofa. 

 

"You'll miss the best bit if you leave now, Kris!" Suho objected, barely looking away from the screen. Kris smirked and pushed his shoulder playfully.

 

"Every bit is the best according to you. Besides, I've already seen it, I can just mentally fill in whatever I miss." he said and slid his hands into his jean pockets, turning towards Tao's room. He knocked lightly on the door and opened it a crack. "Tao, did you call for me? Are you alright?" Tao sniffed from under the covers and shook his head sadly. "What's wrong, baby?" Kris asked, kneeling at Tao's bedside. 

 

"I don't feel good, ge. I think I caught the flu." Tao pouted and turned over to face Kris properly. Furrowing his thick brows, Kris gently pressed the back of his hand against Tao's clammy forehead, pulling back sharply in surprise at how hot it felt. 

 

"Holy...Tao, you're burning up! How do you feel?" he said as he propped up Tao's pillows and helped his panda sit up against them, tucking the duvet around him. 

 

"My head is pounding, I'm shivering, my stomach feels like it's on a merry-go-round, and my throat is on fire!" Tao groaned, burying himself into the warm, cozy nest Kris had made for him. Kris sighed and his boyfriend's hair from his eyes. 

 

"I think we're all out of medicine, too. I'll go buy you some. Can I get you anything else to make you feel better?" he said as he stood up. Tao his cheeks in in thought for a moment before looking up at Kris cutely.

 

"Gucci?" Kris laughed softly and ruffled Tao's damp hair. 

 

"How about I get you a cupcake and I let you cuddle with me tonight?" he offered, smiling sympathetically. Tao pouted again.

 

"How about you get me a Gucci cupcake and you let me cuddle with you until I'm better?" Tao bargained, using his cutest expression to his advantage. Kris sighed and bit his lip, as if the idea of spending the next week cuddling his lover wasn't something he enjoyed.

 

"You drive a hard bargain, Zitao." he smirked and patted the dark-haired boy's head lightly. "I'll be back soon, try to get some rest, okay?" Tao nodded slightly in response and settled into his bed. Kris gently closed the door to Tao's room and walked back out into the living room. "Hey, Tao's sick and I'm going out to get him some medicine, can you guys keep an eye on him for me while I'm gone?" he asked, quickly grabbing his keys and jacket as he spoke. Suho raised his arm and gave Kris a thumbs up from the couch, keeping his eyes on the screen. 

 

"I got it, Kris." he said. Kris barely even had time to respond before he rushed out the door, leaving Tao in the hands of his fellow

leader. "Lay, you're in charge of taking care of Tao, okay?" Suho said once Kris had left. Lay broke his attention from the movie to look over at his boyfriend. 

 

"What? Why me, I thought you said you were going to do it?" he asked. Suho succeeded in keeping his attention on the Black Pearl as he murmured a response.

 

"Because, you're the magical healing unicorn here. Plus, if you do it you might be rewarded later." Lay felt his cheeks burn at the thought of what his reward could be and quietly agreed while the other eight guys silently gagged.

 

Meanwhile, Tao lay in bed making a concerted effort to get better. He took slow, deep breaths and closed his eyes, focusing all of what little energy he had on feeling well again. Unfortunately, all this was in vain. He felt his fever rising and before he knew it, the merry-go-round in his stomach was spinning out of control. The blood rushed from his face and he stumbled out of his room, across the hall, and into the bathroom. 

 

"What was that?" Lay said when he heard a loud bang in the bathroom. Finally, Suho broke his concentration on the film and glanced over at Lay. 

 

 

"I believe that was your que. Good luck honey!" he said, reaching over to pat Lay encouragingly on the back. Lay groaned as he stood up.

 

"But I don't wanna have to clean up pu-" he began, but was quickly interrupted by Suho's finger on his lips.

 

"Ah ah ah! Don't you want your reward?" Suho purred seductively, making Lay's cheeks flush red as he shuffled off to the bathroom. 

 

"Tao? Are you okay?" he asked anxiously from behind the door. A whimper was heard from inside the bathroom and Lay slowly opened it to find Tao sitting on the floor, leaning against the bathtub. "Oh my God, Tao what happened?" he gasped and moved over to Tao's side, slinging his arm around his waist and helping him to his feet. 

 

"I thought I was going to be sick so I went to the bathroom, but I think I fainted." Tao mumbled against Lay's shoulder as the elder pulled him out of the bathroom and back into his room. 

 

"You probably just felt sick because of your fainting spell. Hang in there, buddy. Kris should be home soon." Lay said, helping Tao settle back into his bed. Tao frowned at his covers sadly as Lay tucked them around his body. "What? Did the duvet make you sick or something?" Lay joked. Tao simply shook his head and sighed.

 

"Kris made me a nest and it was really comfortable, and then I messed it up when I got out." he pouted. As if by magic, the sound of the front door opening rang through the dorm as Kris arrived home from the store and Tao's expression brightened instantly.

 

"Hey, how are you holding up?" the leader asked when he walked into Tao's room, his hands laden with shopping bags filled with various medicines and treats. Lay looked at him from over his shoulder and shook his head.

 

"He's worse, he nearly fainted just a few minutes ago." he sighed. Kris quickly poured the contents of his bags onto Tao's bedside table and pulled his desk chair over, sitting down and reading the label of a white bottle.

 

"My poor panda." Kris cooed at Tao. "Thanks for your help, Yixing. I hope Suho repays you well." he winked teasingly at Lay, who stuck his tongue out at him and headed back towards the living room, wishing Tao well as he left. 

 

"Ge, can you tuck me back in again? I ruined it when I went to the bathroom." said Tao. 

 

"Of course, sweetheart." Kris smiled and fixed the comforters again until he saw Tao's lips curve into a small smile. "Now, let's see. Take this for your stomach, this for your head, and this should help with everything else." he said, tipping three small multicolored pills into one of Tao's shaking hands and pouring him a glass of orange juice to wash them down with. Tao scrunched his nose up at the pills, but swallowed them quickly, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. 

 

"What about my throat?" he asked, scanning the various bottles for any sign of a package of lozenges or cough drops. Kris picked out a plastic bottle filled with a thick, red liquid and poured a capfull of it. Tao grimaced at it and shook his head. "I hate cough syrup, Kris, you know it. Why didn't you just get the nice candies?" he whined. Kris rummaged through the pile of varied medications and retrieved a large bag of fruit flavored cough sweets.

 

"If you drink this first, then I'll let you have these. But you have to drink the syrup first because it works best, alright?" he bargained. Tao gazed longingly at the rainbow colored candies and took the plastic cup of syrup, taking a deep breath before downing the sickly liquid. "There we go." Kris praised and opened the bag, handing it to Tao who immediately tore a green boiled sweet from its wrapper and popped it into his mouth. 

 

"Thank you, ge." Tao sighed happily and snuggled down into his bed. Kris smiled down at him and ran his fingers through the boy's dark hair. 

 

"It's my job. As your leader and, more importantly, your boyfriend, I'm responsible for your health." he said. Tao closed his eyes and smiled cutely as Kris his head, and Kris couldn't help but laugh at how much Tao resembled a small black cat at that moment. 

 

"Ge?" Tao opened one eye to look up at his caretaker.

 

"Hm?" Kris responded, still Tao's hair gently in comfort.

 

"How long will it be until the medicine kicks in?" 

 

"Around half an hour."

 

"Half an hour?! Ugh, I can't wait that long! Stupid germs." Tao pouted profusely and huffed. Kris moved from his chair and lay next to Tao in bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and planting a small kiss on the top of his head. Tao to his side and curled up into Kris' body, resting his head on his shoulder and tangling his legs in with Kris'. "John Mayer is a liar." he mumbled against Kris' chest.

 

"Why?" Kris asked, genuinely confused. 

 

"Because my body is not a wonderland right now." Tao said. Kris laughed softly at him and gently squeezed his shoulders. 

 

"I think your body's a wonderland." he whispered, taking Tao's hand in his. Tao shook his head.

 

"Not now. I mean, the human body can heal broken bones for God's sake and it can't even get rid of a few tiny little germs!" Tao said. Kris reached up and ran his fingers over his boyfriend's fevered cheek. 

 

"I know, it , doesn't it? But don't worry, okay? You'll be better soon. And in the meantime, I'll be right here." Kris said reassuringly. His eyes locked with Tao's and he slowly began to lean in, his lips inching closer and closer to Tao's. He closed his eyes and was just seconds away from closing the space between the two, when he felt something small and slender press against his lips. Opening his eyes again, he found it was Tao's index finger stopping him from kissing him. 

 

"If you kiss me, you'll get sick." Tao whispered.

 

"If I were going to get sick, I'd say this is a good way for it to happen." Kris replied, remaining perfectly still. Tao sniffed and buried his face into the crook of Kris' neck.

 

"Still, I don't want you to get sick. You're the leader, you have to take care of all of us and you won't be able to do that of you're ill." he said, his voice muffled against his boyfriend's neck. Usually, Kris would have persisted until he got his kiss, but Tao was sick and obviously tired, so he decided to let him win this one and held him close as he drifted to sleep. 

 

When Tao awoke for the third time that day, he felt different. Good different, like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His dark lashes fluttered open and he stretched out his legs, which no longer felt weak and shaky. He cleared his throat and found to his happy surprise, that it wasn't scratchy and sore. A smile crept over his face and he looked up at Kris who lay still holding him tightly with one arm, the other now occupied with his phone. 

 

"Hey, how do you feel?" Kris said, pocketing his cell and checking Tao's temperature. Tao smiled and pulled Kris' hand away, holding it in his own.

 

"Better. A little hungry actually." said Tao. Kris pushed himself up to sit on the bed and helped Tao up with him.

 

"Well you haven't really eaten anything all day except that cough drop. Come on, I think I have something you'll like." he said, hauling Tao to his feet and keeping an arm around his shoulders, just in case. Tao wrapped his arm around Kris' waist as they walked out into the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter. He watched as Kris reached into the fridge and pulled out a small, pink cardboard box and placed it in his hand. "The second half of my promise." Kris said, smiling and leaning on the counter, one hand on either side of Tao's hips and his stomach pressing into his knees. Tao furrowed his brow in confusion, trying to remember what Kris was referring to. Curiously, he opened the box, gasping when he saw what it held. 

 

"You did not." he said, looking back and forth between Kris and the contents of the box. Kris smiled widely and laughed.

 

"I did." he replied, feeling his heart glow at the sight of his boyfriend finally back to normal. 

 

"I didn't even know they made these!" Tao giggled in surprise, marveling at the treasure inside.

 

"They don't. I had to have it custom made. It's one of a kind, just like you." Kris said, giving a quick peck to Tao's forehead. Tao grimaced at his cheesy words, but quickly forgave him.

 

"Greasy~ Thank you, gege!" he laughed and placed the box beside himself to throw his arms around Kris' neck. Kris wrapped his arms around Tao's waist as Tao's legs wound around his hips. Suddenly, his eyes caught the box and a thought popped into his mind. He removed one hand from Tao's back and placed it over the open top of the box.

 

"No problem, baby. But, one more thing before you have it; You gotta give me my kiss." he smirked. Tao pouted and sighed before looking up at Kris, placing a hand on either side of his face and pulling him close, pressing their lips together. Initially, Kris was quite surprised by the sudden kiss, but only a few seconds into it he decided to make the most of it. Slowly, Tao pulled away and Kris took his hand away from the box, letting Tao have his gift, one chocolate cupcake with an edible chocolate Gucci logo. 

 

"Don't forget the cuddles." Tao reminded Kris between bites of the soft, fluffy cake. Kris smiled, pleased with his success. He made Tao feel better, he got his kiss, and he put a smile on his panda's face. Nothing could beat that. And as far as he was concerned, Tao's body was definitely a wonderland. 

 

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Omg that ending though =_=U lol I seriously don't even know what half of this is, most of it was written at 3am when I couldn't sleep. Well, thanks for reading! I'll be uploading a new oneshot every monday, so please check back here for more ^^