"Sanggyun, sweetie, it's time to get up for school." 

Hojoon knelt down beside his son's bed, it was so unlike Sanggyun to sleep in, he was usually the one banging on his door to get up and make breakfast. But the three-year-old seemed to be fast asleep. 

"Baby, come on." Hojoon started, a little louder as he placed his hand on Sanggyun's cheek softly, wanting to wake the boy but not scare him. 

His eyes widened. Sanggyun was burning up. Really burning up. 

"Sangdo!" He called downstairs for his husband, who hadn't quite left for work yet. No doubt this would make him late, but Sanggyun was way more important. "Can you bring up a thermometer, please?"

Shouting downstairs caused Sanggyun to stir, groaning slightly as he opened his eyes. 

"Daddy...I do-don't feel so good."

"Shhh, baby, it's okay." He his fingers through Sanggyun's damp hair in an attempt to calm his son down. In all honesty, it was probably soothing him more than it was Sanggyun. He hated any of his kids getting sick. "What's wrong? Does your tummy hurt? Or your head?"

Sanggyun nodded against the pillow, sniffling loudly. "Head...a lot." His voice sounded strained, like even talking was hurting him. Nothing made Hojoon's heart ache more than seeing his kids suffering. 

"Hey, Gyunnie, what's wrong, little guy?" 

"Don't feel good."

"Poor baby." Sangdo knelt down beside his husband, prompting Sanggyun to 'say ah' so he could pop the thermometer in his son's mouth. 

"Thirty-nine degrees?" Hojoon's eyebrows shot up under his fringe. That was way too high for his liking. "Do you think I should take him to the doctors?"

"I dunno, it's probably just a bug. But maybe it's for the best since we have so many kids in the house." Sangdo wasn't sure he could handle eleven sick kids. "I'll take the rest of them to school before I start work and you run him along to the doctors."

Hojoon nodded, fingers through Sanggyun's hair. He really hoped this was just a minor bug. 

"Can you ring your parents too? See if they'll look after Sangwon? I don't want him getting sick as well." Sangwon still hadn't started school, and would usually spend his day with Hojoon while his brothers were out. Hojoon knew how clingy the three-year-old was and that not having his father's undivided attention throughout the morning would end in a full blown tantrum. That, and he genuinely didn't want Sangwon getting sick as well. 

"Sure, babe." Sangdo pecked Hojoon on the forehead before leaning down to give Sanggyun a kiss of his own. "I hope you feel better soon, Gyu-

"Where's Dongsung?"

Sangdo tilted his head. "He's getting ready to go to school."

"No! Dongsung stay here!"

Hojoon and Sangdo exchanged a look, they both knew how close the two of them were, they were biological brothers after all. 

"It's okay, baby, I'll be here with you all day. You can see Dongsung later on."

Sanggyun whined at the thought of being without his brother for an entire day, especially when he felt so sick, but he was way too tired to put up an argument. 

"M'kay."

Sangdo offered him a sad smile, pressing another kiss to the three-year-olds head to signal that he was leaving again. "I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Bye-bye, Appa."

Sangdo's heart wrenched at how weak Sanggyun's voice sounded as he went downstairs to wrangle the rest of the kids up for school. 

"Come on then, sweetie. Let's get you bathed then we'll go to the doctors." 

Hojoon smiled softly to himself as Sanggyun nuzzled into his chest, still wrapped up in his hooded towel. His favourite one, with the rubber ducks printed on the soft baby blue material. 

Sanggyun was barely awake, even a bath didn't manage to brighten him up. In fact, he had protested against going in the water, but he was so soaked with sweat Hojoon couldn't let him leave the house like that. It would just make things worse. 

"Come on, Gyunnie; sit up so I can dry your hair."

Sanggyun just whined, wrapping the towel further around himself. The three-year-old was usually so full of energy it worried Hojoon how lacklustre he seemed today. He was praying it was something as simple as a common cold. 

Hojoon finally managed to dry Sanggyun's hair off, dressing him in clean clothes ready to go out. It was a struggle, considering Sanggyun's little fingers wouldn't detangle from Hojoon's t-shirt for more than a couple of seconds. He was never usually this clingy. 

The hardest part was trying to strap Sanggyun into his car seat so they could get to the doctors as soon as possible. 

"Daddy, no!" Sanggyun wrapped his arms around Hojoon's neck, refusing to let go. 

"Sanggyun, you need to get in your seat so we can get there in time."

"Don't wanna!" Sanggyun practically screeched right in Hojoon's ear, voice not as weak as before. "Want daddy!"

"Sweetie, I'm gonna be in the car right next to you. Please just sit down and let me go."

"But Daddy!" Sanggyun whimpered as Hojoon managed to prise his son's arms from around his neck, strapping the wriggling boy into his car seat. "Don't leave!"

"Baby, I'm going to shut the door and-"

"No!"

"-I'm literally going to the other door, Sanggyun, you'll be able to see me through the window I'll be two seconds."

"Daddy!" Sanggyun began to cry, feeling extra emotional and clingy due to his fever. He didn't want his Daddy to leave him even for a moment. 

"Shh, shh baby, it's okay, see." Hojoon shut the passenger side door quietly, not wanting to disturb Sanggyun anymore before running around the front of the car to climb in the driver's side. "See, I'm back. That wasn't so bad, right?"

Sanggyun's crying didn't stop for the duration of the journey, no matter how many times Hojoon tried to calm him down. Not until they were both out of the car and Sanggyun was safely back in Hojoon's arms, gently sniffling into his father's neck. 

"Sanggyunnie, are you going to tell the lady what's wrong?" 

They had been sat in the doctor's office for at least five minutes now, Sanggyun refusing to talk, face still buried in Hojoon's chest. They usually couldn't get the three-year-old to shut up. Sanggyun was the one they worried about most with the whole 'don't talk to stranger's thing'; he was more than happy to strike up a conversation with anyone. 

"Come on, baby, what's wrong? You have a temperature and what else?" Hojoon urged him to speak considering he wasn't even sure what was wrong with Sanggyun himself. He knew his son had a temperature, but that was about it. "Does your head still hurt?"

Sanggyun nodded slowly. He had refused to eat anything for breakfast and Hojoon had struggled to even get him to drink water. 

"My nose too. And here." He added after a sniffle, pointing to his throat before wiping his nose on Hojoon's shirt, making the blonde groan under his breath. 

After some convincing Sanggyun allowed the doctor to perform a couple of tests on him; checking his tonsils, his breathing and his temperature. 

"It sounds like he just has a bug; hopefully it'll clear up in a day or two. He won't need any medication or anything, just make sure he gets lots of rest and stays hydrated. It'll be contagious too so it's best to keep him off school. Do you have any other younger children?"

"Uh...yeah." Hojoon's eyes flickered up from Sanggyun to the doctor. "Ten."

The doctor's mouth formed a small 'o'. "Then you might have a couple of other poorly kids in the coming weeks. It shouldn't last too long, though. I wouldn't worry."

Hojoon sighed deeply at the thought. Eleven sick, whiny kids clinging to him and wiping their noses on his clothes. Great. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that. Not only because it would be a massive inconvenience, but because he hated seeing his kids suffer. 

The journey back home was a lot less stressful as Sanggyun had fallen asleep in his arms pretty much as soon as they left the doctor's office. He smiled softly to himself as the three-year-old mumbled to himself as they drove. He decided to take the long way back, allowing Sanggyun to get as much sleep as possible before he got disrupted by being unstrapped from his car seat. 

After their fourth lap around the east of the city where they lived, Sanggyun began to stir. 

"Daddy?"

"Hey, sweetie, did you have a nice sleep?"

"Hn- Hungry."

"Oh yeah? What do you want?"

"Baby food."

Hojoon sighed. He should have seen that coming really, it was something all of his kids had in common, they all loved eating those little jars of blended food meant for three-month-olds when they were sick.

"You're a big boy now, don't you want something el-"

"Baby food!" Sanggyun whined, eyes welling up in the verge of another tantrum. 

"Okay! Okay, fine, we'll have to go to the store and get some though."

Sanggyun clapped his hands together, mood shifting. Hojoon found it weird how much his kids loved being spoon-fed from tiny glass jars when they weren't feeling well, but part of him loved it. He missed having a baby around the house. Not that he could cope with a twelfth kid right now. This would have to do. 

Hojoon had planned on settling Sanggyun down on the sofa as he put the handful of groceries they had picked up at the store, but the three-year-old began to well up as soon as he was out of his father's arms. 

"You still hungry, baby?"

Sanggyun nodded weakly against Hojoon's chest, mouth opening as he waited for the blonde to spoon feed him. 

Hojoon smiled to himself as he lifted the plastic spoon to Sanggyun's lips. He really missed this, having a baby to dote on. All of his kids bar Sangwon were at school now, and it was only a matter of months until his youngest would be joining them. 

He was absolutely dreading it. 

He rocked Sanggyun back and forth as the boy drifted off in his arms. He carried Sanggyun upstairs, trying his best not to wake him as he laid him down on his bed. His temperature was still pretty high, so it was probably for the best that he got some sleep. 

He pressed a soft kiss to Sanggyun's forehead, tucking him in before turning to go back downstairs. 

"Daddy!"

Hojoon froze. How the ?

"Don't go!"

"Gyunnie, you need to rest, I'll just be downstairs." Hojoon tried to get Sanggyun to lie back down; the last thing he wanted was the boy making himself even more sick. 

"No! Daddy, stay!"

"Baby, I have work to do, I can't stay up here with you while you sleep."

Sanggyun's bottom lip began to quiver again. He really didn't want to be left alone. He needed his Daddy to look after him. He reached his arms out, clinging back onto Hojoon's shirt. 

"Downstairs."

Hojoon sighed. "Baby, you need to rest. You don't want to get sicker, do you?"

"Sleep downstairs! With Daddy!"

Hojoon sighed, again. "Really?"

Sanggyun nodded, pulling himself up onto his knees so he could crawl further into Hojoon's hold, his favourite blanket grasped in tiny fingers. He really didn't want to be left alone. 

"Okay, fine." Hojoon scooped Sanggyun back up. There was no way he would be getting any work done if he left Sanggyun upstairs to cry himself to sleep. 

"Wait!"

Hojoon froze again as Sanggyun turned back to his bed. 

"Jamas!"

Hojoon had been so desperate to get the boy to sleep that he hadn't even realised that Sanggyun was still in the clothes he wore to the doctors. 

"Okay, okay, we'll get you changed but you have to go straight to sleep when we go back down because Daddy has stuff to do, yeah?"

"Okay, Daddy."

Hojoon honestly wished that he could cuddle up with Sanggyun all day, nurse the boy back to health. But he had work to do. He had a tenants rent to chase up and the boiler in another one of their properties had gone. It was boring and snuggling with Sanggyun would definitely be preferable, but it had to be done. 

He picked Sanggyun out a fresh pair of pyjamas, the ones he had on last night had to be thrown in the laundry because his fever was so high. 

"Daddy, wait!" Sanggyun crawled over to his drawers, tugging at a mass of brown fluff. 

Hojoon quirked an eyebrow. He wanted to wear his bear onesie? He wasn't sure that was such a great idea, wouldn't he overheat in that considering he had such a high fever? Though, he was shivering so he should really wear something warm. It might help him sweat it out too. Plus, there was no way he could resist seeing Sanggyun in something so adorable. 

He changed Sanggyun's clothes, slipping him into the onesie and pulling the hood up. Sanggyun may still be young, Hojoon often referred to him as 'just a baby' even though he was at school now, but his heart couldn't help but swell at how much of a baby he was acting right now. 

Sanggyun was only a few months old when they first adopted him and it brought back all of those memories. Maybe it was a comfort thing for him, acting like he did when someone first truly loved him. 

"Better?"

Sanggyun nodded with a yawn, nuzzling into Hojoon's chest as the blonde picked him up, making sure to grab Chomper, his favourite cuddly toy on the way. 

He made his way back downstairs, settling Sanggyun down on the sofa, tucking him up in his blanket, Chomper in his arms. Hojoon laughed softly at how attached Sanggyun was to Chomper, a stuffed piranha, of all things. He had insisted on bringing the less than adorable fish back from the aquarium a few months ago and hadn't been able to sleep without it since. 

"Daddy's going to be right here next to you, okay? Try and get some sleep, baby."

Hojoon breathed a sigh of relief that Sanggyun was asleep within minutes, he clearly needed it but was just too stubborn to sleep alone. He was pretty sure that if he had forced Sanggyun to sleep upstairs the three-year-old would have done everything in his power to stay awake, resulting in prolonging his illness. Sometimes it was so much easier to give into his sons' bratty demands. 

He was fortunate that Sanggyun spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon fast asleep on the sofa, and that he didn't even stir when Hojoon got up to begin preparing dinner for later. 

That was until...

"Daddy! We're home!"

"Where are you?!"

"Daddy! Something happened at school!"

Hojoon groaned as he ran from the kitchen to quieten the rest of the kids down. Why the hell was Sangdo letting them make so much noise, anyway?

"Shhh! Sanggyun's sick we have to be quiet, okay?"

Only half of them were there, the door still wide open and Sangdo struggled to get Byungjoo and Jiho out of the car at the same time. He rolled his eyes with a smile as his husband finally made it into the house, whispering an apology. It wasn't often Sangdo got left on his own with (almost) all of the kids. 

"How is he?" Sangdo followed Hojoon into the living room, the twins still propped on a hip each. 

"He's okay, he's just-" Hojoon stalled as he found the rest of the kids crowded around their brother who was still curled up in the corner of the sofa, "-tired."

"Daddy, is he okay?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's not going to throw up on me, is he?"

"He looks so cute, though!"

Although the kids kept their voices as hushed as possible, they still caused Sanggyun to stir. 

"D-Daddy?" He flinched a little, waking up to ten pairs of eyes staring at him, vision still bleary. 

Hojoon held his breath, hoping to god Sanggyun wasn't going to cry again until the three-year-old gasped. 

"Dongsunggie!" 

"Hi, Gyunnie!" The six-year-old pushed through his brothers to get closer to the bear onesie-clad boy. "Are you still sick?"

Sanggyun noddded, arms tightening around Chomper before changing his mind and making grabby hands for Dongsung. His brother could actually cuddle him back, unlike his stuffed piranha. 

Hojoon twisted his nose, not so sure any of the kids should be getting too close to Sanggyun, but realistically it would be stupid assume that none of the rest of them would get sick too, and there was no way he could keep the two of them apart. It would only result in Sanggyun crying and Dongsung ignoring him and doing it anyway. It would save on a whole load of agro if he just let them cuddle. Sanggyun had been missing the elder all day, anyway.

"Come on, everyone. Let's leave them alone, give Sanggyun some room." He ushered the rest of the kids out of the living room, hoping to keep them entertained in the kitchen while he finished off cooking. He couldn't have them all shouting and screaming while Sanggyun was trying to rest. 

Fortunately, the three-year-old slept through the entire evening, apart from another little jar of baby food for dinner. Which Sangwon was extremely jealous of. He wanted one of those cute little jars - he was the baby, after all. 

Hojoon was just a little worried Sanggyun wouldn't sleep through the night after getting so much rest. 

And he was right to be worried. 

"Night, Sangwonnie." Hojoon pressed a kiss to his youngest's cheek as Sangdo tucked him in before tending to Sanggyun. The sick boy had finally agreed to take his bear onesie off; he would have definitely overheated sleeping in that. 

"Night, Sanggyunnie." Hojoon his hair as he snuggled into the pillows, Chomper still snuggled in his arms, now accompanied by a number of other cuddly toys. Sangdo smiled to himself as Sanggyun's eyes fell shut, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He didn't feel quite as hot as he did this morning. Hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug and he would feel better after a good night's sleep. 

The two of them left, ready to stumble into bed after a long day of work and looking after the kids. Fortunately they weren't too rowdy, understanding that Sanggyun needed some peace and quiet, but it still didn't stop Byungjoo throwing a hissy fit over dinner because he suddenly decided he didn't like pork and proceeded to throw his entire plate on the floor. 

But that was all tidied up now. They could finally get some rest. 

"Daddy!"

Hojoon groaned as a whining came from their youngest's room as soon as the door clicked shut. Maybe not. 

"What's wrong, baby?" Hojoon crouched down at Sanggyun's bed. He was already sat up, eyes teary, threatening to spill over. 

"Don't go."

"But it's bedtime."

"Don't go!"

"Sweetie," Hojoon sighed, urging Sanggyun to lie back down, "I can't stay in here with you."

"But-" Sanggyun's bottom lip began to quiver, tiny fingers in his t-shirt, "want cuddles."

"Gyun-"

"Daddy!" Sanggyun shrieked, loud enough to disrupt some of the kids in the other rooms, never mind Sangwon who was in the bed next to him. "Stay!"

Hojoon sighed again as Sangwon began to whimper behind him. He was going to have to curl up in this tiny bed, wasn't he?

"Joon," Sangdo caught his husband's attention from the doorway, "should we just take him..." He cocked his head to the right, pointing towards their bedroom. 

Hojoon's face dropped. He was looking forward to lazy kisses and cuddling with Sangdo until they both drifted off. But there was no way Sanggyun was going to sleep - not without screaming the house down until he passed out, anyway. And Sangwon needed his sleep too. 

He sighed. For the third time. 

"Okay, fine." His kids came first, after all. "Gyunnie, do you wanna sleep in our room?"

Sanggyun nodded, nuzzling his face against Chomper, wiping away his tears. 

"Come on, then, honey." Hojoon scooped the boy up in his arms, heart melting as stubby arms wrapped around his neck. He guessed he could go one night without making out with his husband. 

Hojoon let his eyes flutter shut, humming contentedly as Sangdo pressed up against his back, arms around his waist. Sanggyun had drifted off in his arms almost instantly, thumb in his mouth. 

This was pretty nice, actually. It had been ages since any of the kids slept in their bed, and he actually kind of missed it. It was something they tried not to encourage, having so many kids. Having one in the bed would result in all of them piling in. And there was no way he and Sangdo were dealing with that. 

But every once in a while he'd indulge them. He never could resist cuddles with his boys, after all. 

--

"Daddy?"

Hojoon groaned, burying his face deeper in the pillow. There was no way it was morning already. 

"Daddy! Wake up!"

His head was banging. Why did he have to have such loud children? 

"Babe, come on. We need to get up before Hyunho starts slamming doors because he's hungry."

Hojoon tried to sit up, a dull throbbing behind his eyes as he did so. . What was wrong with him? He rubbed his temples, eyebrows furrowing as he realised how hot his forehead was. Why was-

Oh god. 

"You don't look so good." Sangdo cottoned on. Hojoon looked pretty pale and just...well, ill. "Maybe you should stay in bed."

"No, I'm fine I just-" Hojoon swung his legs out of the bedsheets, shivering instantly. Jesus Christ how cold was it in here? "Is the heating on?"

"What? Yeah. Babe, I really think you need to lie back down-"

"No! I'm good." Hojoon stood up, slumping back down almost instantly as the room spun. Okay, maybe Sangdo was right. 

"Okay, come on." Sangdo nudged his shoulders, forcing Hojoon to lie back down, pulling the duvet up to tuck him in. There was no way he was letting Hojoon rush around and make himself worse. He needed to rest. "You and Sanggyun stay here. I'll bring you come paracetamol and get the kids ready for school."

Hojoon pouted. Sangdo chuckled at how pathetic he looked. He actually wasn't surprised Hojoon for sick, he tended to catch whatever the kids had because he couldn't resist snuggling with them. 

"Did I make you sick, daddy?" Sanggyun placed his hand on Hojoon's forehead, just like he had done to his son the day before. 

Hojoon laughed softly to himself, arm wrapping around the three-year-old, hoping he would settle down to go back to sleep. At least he seemed a little brighter today. Hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug thing, meaning Hojoon's would only last about a day too. Hopefully. 

"C'mere, Daddy needs cuddles."

Sanggyun giggled as Hojoon pulled him in closer, pressing a rather sloppy kiss to the blonde's cheek. 

"But I'm hungry!" Sanggyun whined, wriggling out of Hojoon's hold to crawl across the bed. Hopefully Appa would make him something yummy. 

"But here," Sanggyun grabbed his stuffed piranha, tucking it in next to his father before jumping off the bed, "you can cuddle with Chomper instead."