“This is all happening because you’re in idiot,” you say, pointing accusingly at Kai. Who has a stuffy nose, pink flush to his cheeks, and is shivering.

“That’s your theory for everything that happens,” Xiumin mumbles, entering the room with blankets and pillows in his arms. He sets it all down on the couch, next to Kai, and begins to wordlessly wrap the Alpha with it until Kai is practically gone under layers and layers of fluffy blankets. He looks like an overstuffed tortilla and you snort.

Kai says "shut up, Dal" in a nasally voice and it's so hilarious it makes you wheeze.

“This is so good.”

“No it isn’t.”

"I personally find this an improvement over hunters, witches, doppelgangers and universe travelers," chimes in Sehun, coming out of the kitchen with a steaming mug of cocoa. "At least this won't kill us."

“What if you get sick too, though?” you wonder out loud. “Maybe we should quarantine the place.”

“The spell only hit him, maybe it won’t happen.”

You tilt your head to the side at that, peeking at Kai, who’s closed his eyes (and would probably have closed his ears, given the opportunity) in an effort to shut you all out, and is still looking the most miserable.

"What?" he asks, as if feeling your gaze on him.

"You've never been sick, right? Born werewolves don’t get sick. This is the very first time you've been sick. In a human, non-life-threatening way that doesn't include toxic flowers."

Sehun and Xiumin are staring at Kai now, as if in a new light. It makes you feel a little better that you’re not the only one who's forgotten about this.

"You know what that means?” you ask him. “You need to experience the whole 'being pampered and taken care of' part of being sick. It's, like, the only bright side of the whole ordeal."

"Are you going to play den mother to the Alpha? Are you for real?" Sehun asks, his eyes widening. “Oh God, this is so gonna end with , I’m out,” he says hurriedly, pawing at Kai in a weird manner – you frown at him, and then you realize that he’s folding the blankets away to free one of the Alpha’s hands and hands him the mug of cocoa. Kai grunts in thanks.

"You know, not everything is about . And I bet you totally dig me taking care of you,” you say to him, making a face. Chen suddenly enters the room, a phone in his hand.

"Well, yes,” he says, replying instead of Sehun. “It's a bizarrely soothing and endearing personal trait of yours and we like it when you mom us. But Kai, on the other hand, may want you to occupy another role entirely on his life, you know?" he concludes.

“What Kai wants is for you to stop talking,” the Alpha says. Stuffy nose and all, he still sounds pretty intimidating, you will give him that. He looks kinda adorable too, you note. His hair is a mess. That reminds you of the countless hours you’d spend just tugging at it delicately.

"I heard that." Grits out Kai.

"But I didn't. What did he say?" you ask, looking around for the answer.

"Masochistic party pooper," quotes Sehun.

You sigh loudly. “Go fetch me a thermometer.”

“Siwon said to boost his immune system with a little magic. The spell should just wear off,” Chen informs you. By that time, Xiumin is back with the thermometer.

Sehun’s phone buzzes in his pocket. You turn the ear thermometer on.

“Chanyeol says he wants photos,” Sehun says. You snort.

“No.”

“He knew you’d say that, so he asks for snaps. Hey Kai, look here.”

“ you,” Kai wheezes.

“Dal will once you’re not sick anymore, probably.” Sehun mutters. “Thanks,” he adds, happy with the tiny recording he's made. Kai glares at him, and you’re not sure if it’s less or more scary than usual.

“Probably,” you say, smiling cheekily. Chen pretends to puke. The thermometer pings and you take a quick look at it. You close your eyes and open them again. “Holy mother of—Is this thing broken?” you shake it a little, but the numbers remain the same, regardless.

You give up and shove it in Kai's face.

"Dude, is this right?"

Kai has a bit of a hard time focusing on the thermometer, but once he's able to inspect it, he grumbles, "It's a little higher than it should be."

"A little? At this temperature your brain should start boiling!"

"Werewolves run at a higher body temperature."

"I know that , but this is still scary!” you exclaim. “Like, why all of you are so distressingly hot?”

Kai's not in a position to truly appreciate your awesome puns, but Sehun, Chen and Xiumin apparently are, as they giggle.

You cross your arms on your chest after putting the thermometer away. "Do you know what feels amazing when you're sick?" you ask.

"A bullet through the brain?"

“Ouch,” the boys say in unison.

"What? No. What the , Kai. Way to be drastic,” you say.

Kai sends you an apologetic puppy-face. You shake your head, sitting down next to him.

"A broth. I was going to say a broth. I mean, eating it. I’m gonna make you a broth." Kai's eyebrows do a sort of ritual dance at your words, over dark feverish eyes. "I don't know what you're saying, I'm not fluent in Eyebrow-ish."

* 

It takes around an hour to get the food done, and by that time half of the pack has come to the loft. You enter the living rooom to see them all on the couch or around it on the floor, watching something as well. Kai still looks miserable, Eun is leaning on his shoulder, and Tao is cuddling with him from the other side, curled next to him. Amber is laughing obnoxiously at someone as Baekhyun whispers into her ear, and suddenly, the whole pack just cracks, beginning to giggle as well.

Kai looks even more miserable.

"Stop bothering him!" you shout. They all jump and you feel glee at that. You smirk at them. 

"We're not doing anything," Amber defends. 

"Uh-huh, especially you," you roll your eyes. "This is your teasing face. Stop." 

"You're not the Alpha of me."

That reminds you of yourself and you chuckle in unison with the boys. Taemin, Kris, Kyungsoo and Yixing are the only ones that haven't visited you today yet, and you make a mental note to leave some broth for them.

Thankfully, Kai is able to eat on his own. It doesn't stop the rest of the pack from feeing him, though, and it looks like the betas don't want to leave his side because when he moves even a little- from one corner of the couch to the other or to the dining table - there's always at least two people following him like tails, and once he's settled, the said people begin to hug and cuddle him.

"Cuteness overload," you mutter at some point, munching on some veggies.

"Tbh," adds Suho. 

Kai sneezes. You all break into laughter.

*

You enter Kai's room an hour later, seeing that he's not sleeping anymore, with ice cream and two spoons in your hands. "Hey," you blurt out, feeling a little warm under Kai's scrutinizing gaze, a little manic. "You're awake.”

"I can't smell your scent," Kai grumbles, out of nowhere, so low and quiet that it almost gets drowned in the unusual stillness of the house. "I knew it was you because of your heartbeat, the weight of your steps, the stupid song you were humming under your breath. But I couldn't get a hold of your scent."

You set the ice cream container on his bedside table and stay still next to the bed, looking at the Alpha, who has his eyes firmly locked on you in a manner that had, once upon a time, been tremendously unnerving. Now you know that gaze and you don’t find it unsettling anymore because you know what hides behind it. Because you can look back with the same kind of manner.

"Well, I'm here," you say, shrugging, and finally sitting down next to him. You put your hand to his forehead, feeling like you've just touched a freaking stove. You hiss, but don't take your hand away. Kai closes his eyes as you place your palm flat on his skin, relishing the coldness. 

“You know what tends to come hand in hand with elevated body temperatures?" you whisper. "Delirium.”

Kai chuckles. “You’d make a poor nurse."

"I'm a great nurse," you scoff. "You know what else besides delirium? Seizures."

Kai grunts at that, turns onto his side. You laugh, placing a hand on his bare shoulder and rubbing it a little. You lean over, propping your chin on his neck. It's hot as well. His skin is glistening with sweat and his breathing is unsteady, the sound of air in his throat - wheezy. You feel a pang of panic and he obviously feels it, because he slowly turns his head until he's looking at you again. 

"I'm just gonna..." you say, cupping his face and sending a wave of magic through your fingertips, the uruz runes tattoos on your arms shining. Kai's breath hitches in his throat and when he exhales, it's soft again, normal.

"Taeyeon was born human,” he says after a few seconds of silence. "She used to get sick all the time."

Your body freezes, eyes wide, mouth half open.

"Mom used to sit by her bed and read her stories from an old fairytales book that had been grandma's when she was a child. The pages smelt like grass and vanilla. Most old books' pages smell like grass and vanilla." He cuts himself for about a second and then carries on. "Taeyeon liked to make the pack do all kinds of things for her, the little brat. She had Hyoyeon and Jaejoong falling all over themselves to cater to all of her whims."

It's the nostalgic, loving tinge to his words that stab you right in the chest. The look on Kai's face right about kills you, with its deep pain, and the haunted shadows in his eyes.

“You smell like old books too,” he whispers.

You’re almost sure your heart breaks in half. Kai kisses the nape of your neck, nosing at the skin there, and you trace lazy circles on his bare forearms when someone opens the door.

"Hey, look what I got," Taemin says. You look back at him; he's obviously ran all the way here, probably cut his work hours after hearing that Kai is sick. You open your mouth to say something but then you see a fairytale book in his hands and everything you wanted to say gets stuck somewhere in your head. You feel fuziness instead, and you quickly look at Kai to catch that beautiful glimpse of pure love for his brother in his eyes, and you smile stupidly at him.

"This one is epic," Taemin says. The door to the room opens again. "It has magic, plot twists, and pictures." Just as he finishes talking, the first body ends up half on you, half on Kai. You both grumble. Choco barks and you see a tangle of limbs and hear Amber laughing at Sulli, and there's suddenly a lot of people around you.

“I told you they’d be cuddling,” says someone. Two minutes of grumbling and kicking and pushing later, you’re somehow squeezed between Kai and spooning Min, Sehun’s hand your hair – how even – and Choco’s heavy, heavy head is on your hip. Taemin brings himself a chair and sits in front of the bed, squinting a little at you all - probably trying to understand how it's mathematically possible for you to fit on one bed, doesn't matter it's double and pretty huge - and then he opens the book proudly, showing you the first picture. Two minutes later you note that he's a really good reader.

Next morning you wake up to Xiumin singing in a duo with Heejin and the smell of pancakes they both made, the fairy tale book left open on the page that got you all falling asleep. Kai's face is painted with markers, making him a very convincing, slightly more handsome Popeye, pipe included. He tickles Amber almost to death until Baekhyun stops him by tackling him down.