Request by lovefromseoul ! I hope you like it :D ♥

"Can we have a sick taemin (fever or food poisoning)
And a worried key hyung who try to cheer up and take care of his neighbour since taemin parents is not at home that day? Thank you :)"

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He was lying in his bed while his mother felt his forehead with the back of her hand. She sighed and stood up.

“You have a fever.” She said. “I’m calling the school, you’re staying here today.”

He mumbled a small ‘okay’ as she grabbed her phone. He really felt bad. His head was hurting, he was feeling dizzy whenever he stood up and he kept coughing. Not to mention how sweaty he was. One minute he felt too hot, the other he was too cold. He really hated being sick.

“I’m calling a babysitter as well, I really can’t afford not to go to work today.”

“Mom, no ! I’m old enough to stay home alone !”

“Have you seen how sick you are ?” She said in a scolding tone. “I’m not leaving you alone like this, and that’s final. I’m calling Kibum.”

Kibum ?

“You know what ? Now that you’re saying it it’s true that being alone would be a bad idea right now…” He said, faking a cough to prove his point.

His mother squinted at him, as if she had noticed his change of behavior. She probably had. He was a very bad liar and she had a sixth sense for this kind of things.

“Alright…” She mumbled - as if she suspected something - before leaving the room.

He sighed and pulled his covers to his chin. He was feeling cold again. His eyelids felt really heavy too. God, he hated being sick...

He felt something warm and soft on his forehead and leaned into the touch. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times to clear his blurry vision.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He recognized the voice and his eyes widened. Kibum was sitting on the edge of his bed, his hand caressing Taemin’s hair gently. For once he was thankful to have a single bed. He was much closer to Kibum like this; they were almost touching.

“It’s alright.” He said in a sleepy voice.

“Poor baby…” Kibum said with a concerned frown. He usually hated being called a baby but Kibum’s tone was so endearing he didn’t mind. “Your mother left an hour ago. I came to check on you. Do you need anything ?”

“Some water… please ?”

Kibum smiled, and Taemin swore he already felt better just seeing those cute dimples.

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

He stood up and walked out with a smile, shutting Taemin’s door halfway.

In any other situation he would have hated to be babied like this - it was a huge blow to his manly ego -, but right now he felt too awful to care. Besides, if Kibum was the one taking care of him, he certainly wouldn’t complain. He wouldn’t waste an opportunity to spend some time with the older male.

Kibum came back with a glass of water and handed it to Taemin when he had sit up. He gulped it down quickly to soothe his dry throat and thanked him.

“You should get some rest. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything, but I’ll still come to check up on you once in a while, alright ?” Taemin nodded and Kibum smiled. “Okay.”

Taemin lied back down and Kibum pulled the covers up so he wouldn’t be cold. The older bent down to kiss Taemin’s forehead before leaving and letting him rest.

He woke up a couple hours later and decided to go downstairs after he wouldn’t fall back asleep.

Kibum was sitting on the couch, a laptop and a bunch of papers scattered across the coffee table. He had probably been working. When he noticed Taemin, he looked up and smiled.

“Hey there. Are you feeling okay ? Do you need anything ?” Taemin shook his head and plopped down on the couch next to him. “Are you sure ?”

Taemin nodded.

“Don’t you want to get some rest ?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Oh… Aren’t you hungry then ? It’s almost noon and you haven’t eaten anything. I could make us some soup.”

He wasn’t particularly hungry but it wasn’t like soup was that heavy and if he didn’t eat now, he probably would have been hungry later. Not to mention that it was Kibum’s soup they were talking about. Kibum’s cooking was always delicious.

“Sure.”

Kibum smiled and stood up to go to the kitchen. Taemin had to thank whoever had built that house because the kitchen was open to the living room and he could easily stare at Kibum as he prepared them some soup. He was wearing a white woollen turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans. Taemin felt his heart skip a beat. As much as he liked Kibum wearing oversized tee-shirts and sweaters, he still had a soft spot for turtlenecks. It just looked so good on him. (And that was something, because he usually hated turtlenecks on people).

But then again, Kibum could have worn a plastic bag and still looked like a model. He was so beautiful nothing could make him look bad.

That’s one of the reasons why he was so cool.

He walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of soup in each hand and set them on the dining table.

“Taemin-ah, soup’s ready !” He called, and Taemin reluctantly left the warm, comfortable couch for the cold hard chair of the dining table. “Be careful, it’s really hot.”

Taemin nodded and started eating silently. The warm meal felt nice, and after a while he felt slightly better. They talked about this and that, and Taemin was secretly glad he had fallen ill so Kibum could come and take care of him like this. When they were finished, he still didn’t feel sleepy enough to sleep.

“We could watch a movie, if you want.” Kibum suggested.

Taemin nodded and the older smiled softly before clearing the table. Taemin went back to the living room and went through their stash of DVDs to choose a movie and decided on a thriller. He had heard good things about that movie and even though people said it was scary, he could handle it just fine. He wasn’t a boy anymore, he wouldn’t be scared by a scary movie. And maybe that would impress Kibum...

“Have you chosen the movie ?” The older male said when he came back and sat down on the couch. Taemin showed him the DVD and Kibum frowned. “‘Split’ ? Are you sure you should be watching this ? I heard it was scary.”

“I’m old enough to watch scary movies !” Taemin protested, before saying proudly: “And I’m not scared of them.”

“Well I am.” Kibum admitted. If there was one person who would admit to be scared of horror movies and still be cool, it was Kibum. Something popped up into Taemin’s head right then and for a moment he imagined them sitting on the couch together, as a scary scene came out during the movie and Kibum curled up to him in fright while Taemin comforted him.

“I feel so safe in your arms, Taemin-ah… You’re so strong, I love it when you protect me.” Kibum said softly, looking up at Taemin with his gorgeous eyes full of love and admiration.

Slowly, Kibum leaned in and their lips met in a slow ki-

“Taemin-ah ? Taemin ? You’re spacing out.”

“Oh… Sorry.” He said, still thinking about his daydream as he slowly came back to the real world.

“Can’t we watch something else instead ? Oh ! Like Pinocchio ?”

“Pinocchio... ?” Taemin said with a small frown, as he thought back about his fantasy.

“It’s one of my favorite movies…” Kibum admitted softly, biting his lower lip.

“S-sure.” Taemin said without thinking, melting at the sight.

He sighed inwardly. So much for his daydream coming true… But if he had to watch an animated movie to please Kibum, then he would. They could still watch a horror movie later.

“Really ?” Kibum said excitedly. “Thanks !”

He smiled happily and Taemin felt his knees go weak. He was so weak when it came to Kibum. If Minho had been there he would have made fun of him big time.

They played the movie and sat on the couch together. They had closed the curtains so that they could see the screen better - seeing their reflection in the TV was such a bother. Taemin tried to focus on the movie - it was Kibum’s favorite, after all, so it was obviously important to him - but his eyes kept glancing to the older every now and then. His hands were resting on his lap and Taemin was itching to take his hand in his, like couples did when they went to the cinema.

He heard a sob and when he glanced towards Kibum, the older was crying. He grabbed a tissue to wipe his tears and without thinking, Taemin grabbed the older’s hand and squeezed it. He looked away from him, hoping Kibum wouldn’t notice the bright red color of his cheeks with the lights coming from the screen. It was probably the boldest move he had ever made, but as he heard the small ‘thank you’ coming from Kibum’s lips, he was glad he had done it.

He couldn’t comfort a frightened Kibum, but he could still comfort a sad one.

He was so glad he had fallen sick.