Hi there! :)

Thanks for checking this out ^^

Before I start, I just want to point out that, in my story, Key seems a bit older than Jonghyun, even if that isn't the case in real life ^^ (Although, this is only inferred by Key being a second year student while Jonghyun is a first year. Technically, this could realistically be the case- Jjong could have taken a year off, but I imagine Key to be more experienced and mature than Jonghyun, in this story^^) Hope this doesn't create any confusion! :)

Jonghyun had never felt closer to the brink of death, in his life.

This was an exaggerated thought, perhaps, but he really did feel exceptionally ill. His forehead was burning up, the back of his eyes were sore, every muscle in his body was so strained that even walks between classes tempted him to simply put down his heavy bag of books and lie down on the pavement and the unpleasant discomfort he felt in his throat offered him a mental image of needles tangled up in a great ball of hair.

Yet, the virus-stricken young man had had no choice but to attend another gruelling day of classes. Missing a day of high school had never been a good idea, and Jonghyun was quite sure that missing a day of university would be taking a card from the bottom level of a flimsy and poorly-built card house.

And so, present in body he had made sure to be, at least, but mentally, he had been submerged at the bottom of an ocean. He had had a headache right from the moment he had woken up that morning, and by his last class, he had been so tired, as a result from another late night doing homework and an early morning to attend a seven o'clock class, that he had to copy the assigned pages of homework from his friend, Jessica.

"You really should have stayed home, today," Jessica had prodded, as Jonghyun made a marathon effort to transfer the information in her agenda, to his own.

"I couldn't," Jonghyun croaked, trying hard not to sneeze all over Jessica's planner. "I had a lab."

Jessica expressed her sympathy- penalties for missing a lab were crushing, unless the student had a valid excuse for doing so. Unfortunately, 'valid' by the university standards did not include the beginnings of a nasty cold.

Jessica offered to help Jonghyun if he needed it, over the weekend, and Jonghyun was grateful, if not a little envious. Jessica was smart and even if she had the same work load as Jonghyun, it took her half the time to finish it. Jonghyun wasn't particularly brilliant, but he was hard working- a quality that had helped him achieve top marks in high school. But, he was soon finding, even being hard working wasn't overly helpful in university; he couldn't afford the time to spend hours on a single assignment, whereas in high school, with the comparably minimal work load, he could.

"And make sure Key takes good care of you," Jessica added, before the two friends went their respective ways at the end of the day.

Jonghyun had nearly suffocated on the bus ride home. He wound up sitting at the very back of the completely full bus, and his climbing fever wasn't providing him with any more comfort. He and his boyfriend, Key, lived in an apartment no more than ten minutes from the university campus, but the normally brief bus ride felt perpetual to Jonghyun, especially as the bus made various stops in front of construction zones.

It was Friday, Jonghyun was exhausted and sick, and he just wanted to go home, even if his weekend would consist of more homework. Simply being on campus, especially as it was Jonghyun's first year of university, was draining enough, without the added pounding of assignments.

By the time the bus pulled up at Jonghyun's stop, he was sure that he had ceased to be a part of Earth. He had been so lost in his thoughts (all of which involved the university, in some way) throughout the entire ride that he had nearly forgotten to signal the driver to stop and he had barely made it up the stairs to his apartment room. He actually groaned aloud when he had to fish his keys from his back pack and had hardly had enough strength to open the door.

Relieved to be home, but worn beyond words, Jonghyun let out a heavy sigh and a moan, before succumbing to his itching cough and trying to rub away his trampling headache, all while still having his bag sagging over his aching shoulders.

On shaky legs, he ambled over to the kitchen, to get himself a much-needed glass of cold water, which he gulped down in one go. Putting down the empty glass, he looked at the red digital clock on the stove.

It was four o'clock on a Friday, meaning that Key had a few late classes and wouldn't be home for another two hours. Regardless of how ill he was, Jonghyun decided that he was first going to take a quick shower and change into something that felt lighter to his throbbing muscles, finish up a quick assignment, then make dinner for himself and his boyfriend. Key was in his second year of university, and even though he, too, was busy, he would help Jonghyun with his assignments and take care of him, while he adjusted to "the university life." Jonghyun wanted to help his boyfriend out, too.

Jonghyun stopped first in his and Key's bedroom to deposit his bag and gather some clean clothes, while fighting the temptation to collapse on their large, comfortable, fluffy and warm bed, then headed to the bathroom for a shower.

Once washed up, Jonghyun returned to his room to gather his books and papers, feeling a little more comfortable in a pair of sweatpants and a cotton t-shirt. He filled up another glass of water and headed to the dining table to work on his assignments. So focused was he, that he completely forgot to tend to his fever and take some medication.

Jonghyun decided to start with a pre-lab assignment for Monday's chemistry lab. It was only two pages, double-sided, and the questions were straight-forward. He figured that it'd be best to get it out of the way, first, so that he could take a bit of a "break", in working on an easier assignment, then consecrate his weekend to the much more difficult work he had yet to do.

Two questions in, however, Jonghyun had to get up and take the suede throw that was draped on the living room sofa, back to the table with him, to wrap around his chilled shoulders.

And after another three questions, poor Jonghyun fell asleep.

-----

Key frowned and was taken aback by the sight of Jonghyun, collapsed over his books at the kitchen table, that greeted him when he came home.

Quietly, he set his bag on the sofa, then padded over to his sleeping boyfriend. He smiled a little at how cute he found Jonghyun, then brushed a bit of his boyfriend's soft hair from his face, only to discover his burning forehead. Key felt bad for his poor little Jjong, having to go to school with a fever.

"Jjongie," Kibum said, softly, shaking Jonghyun's shoulder, gently.

Jonghyun stirred, then slowly opened his tired and heavy eyes.

"Kibum...!!!" He smiled, throwing his arms around Key's neck, in a sudden burst of energy. No matter how lousy he felt, he was always renewed by his boyfriend's presence.

Key chuckled, returning Jonghyun's "welcome home" hug.

"How do you feel, honey?" He asked, knowing that Jonghyun had had a headache that morning.

"Horrible," Jonghyun said, dejectedly, then began to cough.

"You have a fever, you know," Kibum informed, running his thumb over Jonghyun's warm cheekbone. "Did you take any medicine, yet?"

Jonghyun paused, before realizing that he hadn't.

"I forgot..." He admitted, finding it ridiculous that he had been so focused on his work that he had neglected such a simple and obvious courseof action. "Oh no...! And I was supposed to make us dinner, but I forgot that, too!" A slightly fever-delirious and high-strung Jonghyun added.

Key smiled, taking Jonghyun's hand and kissing it.

"Don't worry about that. The only thing you need to focus on is getting better."

"But...I have so much work to do," Jonghyun said, in a demoralized tone, as he cast a glimpse at the daunting stack of books on the table, and the long list of "To-Dos" in his agenda. "And there so much chemistry that I don't get...if I don't start now, I don't know if I can finish on the weekend, and it's all due next week...!" Jonghyun began to panic, sounding close to tears as he imagined himself failing all his courses.

"Don't worry so much, Jjong," Key reassured. "You'll be able to finish- you still have two whole days left! And it can't be all due for Monday; if you really can't finish, you can work during your spares, right?"

"...I don't understand chemistry and I have a test in a week..." Jonghyun sighed, looking, and feeling very desperate and sad. Not to mention he was becoming increasingly congested.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I'll help you," Key offered.

"I don't want to take up your time," Jonghyun said, softly.

Key grinned broadly. "My time is all yours for the taking, Jjong. Besides, I took the course before, myself. Now come on, let's get you some medicine."

-----

Key made home cooked chicken soup, with fresh meat and vegetables, while Jonghyun finished his easier assignments. He had to fight the urge to fall asleep, again, but he had managed to complete them, and he felt a little better after a bowl of soup.

While waiting for Key to finish his shower, Jonghyun laid in bed, later that night, trying to soldier through a few chapters of assigned reading for his Korean literature class. His efforts were unsuccessful, however, as Key came out of the shower to find Jonghyun asleep, with the book almost comically covering his face and the bedside lamp still .

He smiled, then put away his day's clothes and Jonghyun's book, before joining his lover in bed, and turning off the lights. Jonghyun didn't wake up, but he snuggled against Key's chest as soon as he lay down.

"Poor baby," Key said, softly, running his fingers through Jonghyun's hair, then kissing his still warm, but slightly cooler forehead.

-----

Key ensured that Jonghyun slept in, the following day. Jonghyun had gotten less than five hours of sleep every night, over the previous few weeks, and it was really no wonder that he had fallen ill.

Things were slower than Jonghyun had hoped, that day, as he had slept until noon, even though he still felt tired when he woke up, and his still lingering headache made it difficult to concentrate. He did manage to do a few solid hours of math, however, while Key worked on his own assignments, and Jonghyun felt relieved and even slightly proud of himself, as he regularly checked his solution manual to find that he was indeed getting the questions right.

The two had leftover soup for dinner that night, again, and Jonghyun didn't mind taking the rest of the evening off to watch a televised horror film with his boyfriend. His congestion had become worse and he was coughing frequently, but his fever was gone, the film was riveting and Key's chest was very comfortable, allowing Jonghyun to relax for a moment and forget about his stressful life as a student. 

-----

Sunday was a much more productive day for Jonghyun, although it was tiring. He was up by seven o'clock, and finished his physics pre-lab report in under an hour, then wrote a good portion of his biology essay that was due in the middle of the week.

While he worked on a few more math problems, Key reviewed Jonghyun's chemistry notes and thought of how to teach his boyfriend the material, effectively. It was difficult, and he could remember having a hard time with the course, himself, but he and Jonghyun spent the entire afternoon figuring it out, and by the end of their session, Jonghyun had a much better handle on the course.

At around four in the afternoon, Jonghyun gave Jessica a call, asking her for some help for their anthropology paper. Key had never taken the elective, and was unable to help his boyfriend in the study of human origin and evolution, but Jessica proved to be a good teacher.

By the time Jonghyun had finished, it was dinner time, and he was spent. He decided to leave his biology lab report until his spare on Tuesday (it was due by the end of the week), after having all but collapsed on Key's lap.

"I feel so stupid," Jonghyun finally shared, returning to the pillow he'd made of Key's shoulder, after blowing his nose rather unappeallingly.

"Why would you say that?" Key asked, rubbing Jonghyun's back, soothingly.

"Because I'm in university and I can't do anything on my own," Jonghyun sighed. He was grateful for the help he'd received, but as an adult, shouldn't he be able to organize and complete assignments on his own? He shouldn't be having tve his boyfriend teach him chemistry, even after doing the problems and going to classes...

"Aww...that doesn't make you stupid, Jjongie," Key kissed Jonghyun's cheek. "We all need help every now and again."

"Jessica doesn't," Jonghyun said, beratingly, as he thought of his friend, and all of the other students in his classes who were able to ask questions on material to come, while Jonghyun felt as if the recently taught information had gone in through one ear and come out from the other.

"Yeah well...Jessica's a genius. But most of us aren't," Key said, taking Jonghyun's hand and fitting their fingers together. "And even if you don't do a well on your chemistry test than you'd like to, don't let it get to you. You still have the midterm and final to bring up your mark. That happened to me...I totally failed a quiz, but I did well on the major exams," Key shared. "You'll be fine, baby," he smiled, hugging Jonghyun.

"And," he added. "At least you're trying to catch up; think about everyone who isn't even doing that much."

Jonghyun had to agree, as he was reminded of the many students he'd seen, who'd text, or even play games on their laptops, during class.

"Cheer up, Jjongie," Key gave his boyfriend a big smile, making Jonghyun smile in turn.

Key made to kiss Jonghyun the lips, before Jonghyun backed away, in panic.

"Wait...! I'm still sick! If you kiss me, you'll get sick, too..."

Key grinned, getting closer, still, to Jonghyun.

"Oh well...I can handle it. But I can't handle not being able to kiss you."

Jonghyun couldn't make an argument to that, as Key's lips promptly covered his.

Note:   

Hopefully this was half way decent!! ^^"

Thanks for reading,

x Angela