A/N: Prompt was Bambam skipping their v app to take care of a sick Youngjae.

~~

Youngjae couldn’t remember the last time he felt so terrible. Sure, his health had never been particularly great, but being bogged down by a lingering cold was still infinitely better than whatever plague he’d managed to contract this time.

He knew he had a fever - the thermometer he’d stuck under his tongue minutes before had confirmed as much - but he still couldn’t stop shivering. The hyungs had been all too happy to heap the blankets from their beds on top of his own, but buried under three or four comforters, his body still wouldn’t give up the embarrassing trembling.

His head, however, was suffering from the exact opposite symptoms. His skull was throbbing from his overheating brain, just bordering on being outright painful. His eyes were watering even while shut, cheeks flushed as he struggled to in air past his congested airways. Even just lying there immobile was exhausting, and unfortunately, sleep wouldn’t come so easily now thanks to the long afternoon nap he’d taken earlier.

But perhaps the worst of it all was the anxiety knotting his stomach, a gnawing worry about his condition. He needed to perform soon, but how could he when he could hardly make it to the bathroom without vertigo sending him sprawling? He couldn’t afford to be sick, not now, and god just the thought of letting everyone down was enough to make him gag.

Quite literally.

Which was bad. Very, very bad, Youngjae soon realized, his throat seizing once his gag reflex had been involuntarily activated. He was regretting thinking about anything at all once stomach acid started to rise up in his throat, chest heaving as he all but fell out of bed, one shaky hand coming up to cover his mouth as the other frantically searched for something to help stabilize himself on his stumble across the room towards the bathroom.

But of course, his right knee decided to buckle halfway there, so Youngjae was quite resigned to puking his guts out on the hotel carpet when his weight was suddenly lifted, two arms coming to scoop him up from under his armpits and force him back upright.

Youngjae didn’t have the mental capacity to register anything else before he was upending the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl, throat burning. There was relief somewhere at the back of his mind at somehow making it to the bathroom, but he wasn’t able to dwell on it much, too busy with his violent retching.

It was a trying few minutes, the hand patting his back through the whole ordeal managing to make it marginally better. Youngjae was dripping sweat by the time the gagging finally stopped, sinking down to sit on the tiled floor with a relieved sigh. It took all his self-restraint to not press his burning forehead against the cool porcelain of the toilet.

He leaned his cheek up against it instead.

“You okay?” Bambam’s concerned face came into view, along with a wad of proffered toilet paper. Youngjae blinked once, clearly surprised, though unsure what exactly about the situation had caught him off guard. Nonetheless, he took the toilet paper from Bambam with a half-groan as thanks, wiping his mouth off with disgust before tossing the now soiled wad into the toilet.

Youngjae just breathed for a few more moments, Bambam padding away to return with a cup of water.

“Can you get up?” Bambam might as well not have asked the question, already proceeding to pull Youngjae up to his feet without waiting for a response. “You wanna rinse your mouth out first?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Youngjae croaked, leaning heavily against the bathroom counter as Bambam went to flush the toilet. While he felt even weaker than before, it was also undeniable that his stomach felt much better, and after ridding his mouth of the terrible aftertaste, Youngjae almost felt refreshed.

“Why are you here?” Youngjae’s brain, no longer preoccupied with vomiting, finally managed to process his previous confusion at Bambam’s presence. “Aren’t you guys going to do a vlive?”

“We thought leaving you alone would be a bad idea,” Bambam slung an arm around Youngjae’s waist, allowing him to lean up against Bambam comfortably as they slowly made their way back to the bed. “All the staff went out for a late night snack, and the vlive’s going to be pretty spontaneous, anyways.”

“Ah.”

Upon reaching the bed, Youngjae groaned as he sank down onto the mattress, burying his hot face in the now-cooled pillows as enthusiastically a sick person could. There was a faint giggle that must’ve come from Bambam in reaction, but Youngjae didn’t care - his ears were half-plugged, anyways.

“Hyung, you wanna get under the covers?” Bambam finally asked after a few moments, amusement still lacing his voice. Youngjae whined, kicking his feet weakly.

“The pillows aren’t cold anymore…”

“Oh come on, get under the covers,” Bambam forcibly rolled Youngjae over, lifting up the blankets before rolling Youngjae back underneath. “And just flip the pillows, see? The other side is nice and cold again.”

“Ahhhhhhh…”

Cheeks once again soothed by the cool cloth, Youngjae blearily blinked his eyes open, staring up at Bambam hazily.

“When did you become so smart?”

“What do you mean, when did I become smart? I’ve always been smart, okay?” Bambam was immediately indignant, cheeks puffing and Youngjae laughed, though it ended more on a wet cough. “Smart enough to stay healthy, too.”

“Aw man, now that’s a low blow,” Youngjae grumbled, eyes slipping shut once more, finding the darkness of his lids much less aggravating for his headache. “But thanks, Bam. You can go join the everyone else now, I’m okay. I think I’ve puked everything up now, anyways.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” There was the sound of something scraping against carpet, and the proximity of Bambam’s voice when he next spoke made it clear he’d dragged a chair to sit beside Youngjae’s bed.

“I’ll stay with you. It’s not an official schedule, so it doesn’t really matter if I’m missing. And the fans will think it’s weird if you’re the only one not there.”

“Are you sure?” Youngjae felt like he should be protesting more, because he was fine alone, really. The fans would be disappointed already that he was missing, there was no need to take Bambam away, too.

But it’d be a lie to say he didn’t feel more comforted with someone at his bedside, and speaking more words to convince Bambam otherwise seemed to require too much energy he just didn’t have.

He was far too sleepy, and goddamn it the pillow was getting too warm again…

“I’m sure.”

Bambam’s voice sounded vaguely distant, but the shifting of his pillows was all too close and real, the fingers combing through his hair to massage his sore scalp sending tingles down his spine. The satisfied sigh at the renewed coolness against his face was entirely involuntary as Youngjae slipped further towards slumber, his exhausted body finally coming to a rest.

He would worry about everything else later.

For now, he’d allow himself to indulge in Bambam’s care a little longer.