Mark was sitting at the dining table with the rest of the group. The seat next to him was vacant which was unusual. Mostly Jinyoung was one of the first to be up. The maknaes were making a mess of the kitchen, while Jackson was silently eating, too tired to respond to anything. Jaebum and Youngjae were casually discussing their schedule for today.

Finally Jinyoung walked into the living room. Mark's eyes were immediately on him. Mark could never keep his eyes of Jinyoung. He could never look away from his cute wrinkles, his adorable laugh, or his rare y expressions. He adored the younger as a whole but never had the guts to tell him. Then suddenly Jinyoung coughed twice and the whole room went silent.

Bambam and Yugyeom stopped messing around and Jaebum's and Youngjae's chatter died out. Jackson looked up from his food just as the rest looked at Jinyoung eyes big with horror.

"Jinyoung" Jaebum said very carefully, almost like Jinyoung was dying. "How are you" he said with a careful smile.

"I'm fine, just a little sore throat" Jinyoung said while coughing again.

"Oh my god" Bambam suddenly bursted out "he is sick guys what do we do" he yelled while throwing his hands in the air.

"This is the end isn't it" Yugyeom dramatically added.

"No that can't be true, Jinyoung is never sick" Youngjae mumbled to himself.

Jaebum just stared at him still in utter horror while Jackson was still to tired to fully process what was going on.

Mark chuckled at the behaviour of his friends. They were busy people and always had some schedule to attend, of course it was normal for them to fall ill every now and then. Jinyoung would always take care of them, always knowing exactly what to do. 

Now that Jinyoung himself was sick, everyone apparently decided it was a disaster and all the reason to completely freak out.

"Stop acting like idiots, I'm completely fine" Jinyoung said trying to contain his coughs. He made his way towards the dining table and Mark immediately got up. 

"Jinyoung" he said softly. Not like Jaebum had spoken like Jinyoung had some sort of deadly disease, just softly. "Maybe it's smart to go back to bed and rest" he said putting an arm around Jinyoung's waist to support him. Jinyoung felt weak in his arms, like he could collaps at any time. Definitely a sign he wasn't okay.

"Really I'm okay, you know I don't want to go back hyung" Jinyoung said. Jinyoung was being stubborn as ever, not wanting to let the group down because of his own health.

"Come on" was all he said and he guided Jinyoung back to his room. "Wait here, I'll get you something to eat okay" Mark said looking at him sternly, daring him to get back out of bed. Jinyoung just huffed and snuggled deeper into his covers.

As Mark got back into the dining room Jackson had finally awoken.

"Jinyoung is sick" he yelled "How is he, is he alright, he's not gonna die is he" Jackson kept on yelling.

"Keep it down a little" Mark scolded him.

"Oh right sorry" Jackson apologized repeating his words but now whispering.

"What are we going to do hyung" he heard Youngjae ask.

"Yeah we have a lot of practices scheduled today, but we can't leave him alone here" Jaebum said, already recovered from the shock of Jinyoung being sick and acting like the leader he was.

"It's okay, I'll take care of him" Mark said while rummaging around in the kitchen to make food for Jinyoung.

"Can you do that hyung" Bambam asked full of doubt.

"He's not dying Bambam" Mark said with a little chuckle.

"But he is Jinyoung, who knows how he'll act when he is sick" Yugyeom said shivering at the thought of Jinyoung teasing him when he wasn't sick. "He is stubborn, like….. very" he finished.

"I'm sure Mark will be just fine" Youngjae said with a smile "Let's just get ready" he said.

"Thank you Youngjae, I'll be fine guys, he is just a little sick for God's sake" Mark muttered while struggling with the food.

"Ahh our Mark is taking care of sick Jinyoung, how cute" Jackson said in english while shooting Mark a knowing glance and skipping out of the dining room to get ready. Mark sighed and just continued with the food.

After some more struggling Mark finally finished the soup he was preparing for Jinyoung. One thing his mother had always thought him was that when you're sick the best thing to eat is soup, so he decided to make some for Jinyoung. The rest of the members had already left he dorm to start their practice for today.

He carefully took the soup into Jinyoung's room. He saw Jinyoung sleeping soundly on the bed. Mark could look at Jinyoung sleeping for forever and he really didn't want to wake him up, but he had to eat something.

"Jinyoung, Jinyoungie" he whispered while lightly shaking Jinyoung's shoulder "hey, wake up, I brought you food."

Jinyoung slowly opened his eyes. Mark still marvelled at Jinyoung's beauty every day, but now was not the time, he had to focus on taking care of him first.

"Where are the others, did they already go out, I swear I'm fine, I'll go with" Jinyoung said while trying to get out of bed. Mark stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No you won't, you're staying here and you're letting me take care of you" Mark said sternly. Jinyoung sighed and plopped back onto the bed. Mark took the spoon out of the bowl and slightly blew the soup.

"Open up" he said pointing the spoon towards Jinyoung.

"I'm not hungry" Jinyoung huffed out crossing his arms.

Mark chuckled. When Jinyoung got sick he could really act like a little kid. Jinyoung always acted like the mother of the group, the responsible one, the one everyone could trust, but right now, he was just like a little kid. Mark loved the feeling of being able to take care of him for once.

"Oh shut up and eat the food" Mark said, an amused smile evident on his face as he brought the spoon to Jinyoung's face again and Jinyoung finally ate the food.

Mark fed Jinyoung until all the soup was finished. Jinyoung dropped himself on his stomach on his bed again and groaned loudly.

"What is it" Mark said while putting the bowl aside. Jinyoung turned his head to look at him with a half eye. The expression Jinyoung gave him said enough. Mark knew Jinyoung. He knew how much Jinyoung hated to be sick because it made him feel useless and careless.

"You're going to be fine. I bet you'll be better by tomorrow" Mark said while lightly Jinyoung's back to comfort him. Jinyoung his back.

"With you taking care of me I probably will" Jinyoung said looking at him and Mark thought he was mistaken but he saw Jinyoung turn a little red. Mark blushed a little too, he could never take sweet words from the younger well.

"You should get some sleep" Mark said trying to hide his flustered cheeks. He got up to bring the bowl back to the kitchen and grabbed some medicine for Jinyoung. He entered the room again to see Jinyoung hadn't moved from his previous position sprawled across the bed.

"Hey" Mark said with a chuckle "lay properly you punk" he said in a teasing tone. Jinyoung opened one eye to look at him with a disapproving look. 

"I brought you some medicine, and don't look at me like that, I'm trying to help you here" he said an amused smile on his face as he sat down on the bed. He handed Jinyoung the medicine and he took them in silence.

"Now rest" Mark said already getting off the bed again. Suddenly he felt Jinyoung grab his wrist.

"Stay with me" he heard Jinyoung say. He looked back to see the younger staring at him with pleading eyes.

"And get sick myself too" Mark asnwered trying to make up an excuse to not stay there with Jinyoung and cuddle up with him. He would love to but he shouldn't get his hopes up when Jinyoung would just see it as a friendly gesture.

"I just want to cuddle for once okay" Jinyoung blurted out. Mark made a mental note that Jinyoung was also very blunt when he sick. He chuckled, he liked Jinyoung when he just said what he was thinking.

"Alright, alright, mister I'm-not-sick-at-all" Mark said and he crawled into the bed. Jinyoung instantly shuffled closer to Mark and threw his arms around him. Mark s his arms around Jinyoung too and Jinyoung put his head on Mark's chest. Mark felt Jinyoung's legs tangle up with his.

He felt his body heat up from all the contact. They often hugged or played around teasing each other and tickling each other, as Mark was extremely ticklish, but they had never cuddled up like this before. Mark blamed the hot feeling on Jinyoung's fever.

He heard Jinyoung sigh out and saw him close his eyes. After a while he heard his breaths evening out indicating he had fallen asleep. Mark sighed again too and closed his eyes. 

His dreams were filled with Jinyoung as always. He couldn't remember when exactly he had fallen in love with the younger but sometimes it felt like it had always been this way. Him silently admiring Jinyoung from afar, appreciating all the little things the younger did.

He woke up from a voice. He looked down at Jinyoung and saw him talking in his sleep.

"No don't go. Please" the younger pleaded. To Mark it sounded like Jinyoung was having a nightmare.

"Please Mark" Mark's eyes widened as he heard his name coming from Jinyoung's mouth. His name always sounded cute when Jinyoung said it, but now ihis voice was filled with pain.

"I love you" he heard him whisper. Mark let out a little squeal. Jinyoung just said he loved him, or someone, in his dream. Right, no reason to freak out at all. Jinyoung was sick and probably hallucinating or something. Everything was fine, just fine. He felt Jinyoung move around restlesly and just decided to wake him up.

He shook Jinyoung a little. "Hey Jinyoung, wake up" he said softly. Jinyoung eyes opened shock still visible on his face.

"Are you okay, it sounded like you were having a nightmare" he said not thinking before he said it.

"Yeah I'm fine, wait, it sounded like. What did I say" the shocked look re Jinyoung's face 

"Nothing. Nothing at all" Mark said "well I'll leave you to rest now" he said while quickly getting out of the bed and walking out of the room feeling his face eat up instantly.

He wasn't sure if he could look at Jinyoung again. He didn't know what to think of what Jinyoung had said. He had been dreaming and Mark didn't even know who he had been talking to, still he had said Mark's name. Mark groaned frustratedly and burried his face in his hands, things had just gotten ten times more complicated.

Jinyoung didn't get out of his room for the rest of the morning and Mark didn't go in either. He decided to just leave him to rest. When it was around lunch time Mark finally heard the door open and the stumbling sound of Jinyoung making his way towards the dining room.

"Hey. I'll prepare you lunch" Mark said not looking at Jinyoung. He focused on making lunch for Jinyoung.

"Mark. Did I say anything in my sleep" Jinyoung said while slumping down on a chair.

"Nope, nothing" Mark said still not looking at Jinyoung feeling his cheeks flush once again. He put the food on the table in front of Jinyoung and walked out of the room mumbling that he had to buy some groceries. 

He could almost see Jinyoung's stunned face in front of him wondering why he had left all of a sudden. He didn't really care what Jinyoung thought, he just had to get away from his piercing eyes. 

He actually did go out to get groceries. He also got some more medicine for Jinyoung and some of his favourite food. When he got back to the dorm Jinyoung was nowhere to be seen.

Around diner time he made Jinyoung diner. He quietly walked into Jinyoung's room to see him sleeping. He decided to not wake him up and he just put the tray with food next to the bed so Jinyoung could eat it when he woke up.

When he didn't hear anything after about an hour he finally decided to go into Jinyoung's room. He found Jinyoung happily munching on his food. He had a hard time stopping his face from heating up when he looked at Jinyoung. He wanted what Jinyoung had said to be true so badly.

"Ah you have finally honoured me with your presence" Jinyoung said while taking a bite of his food.

"I see you're feeling better" Mark said still standing in the door. Jinyoung patted the bed motioning for Mark to sit down.

"No not at all, can you feed me" Jinyoung said while pouting cutely. Mark's head almost exploded when Jinyoung started acting like that. The fact that Jinyoung had said he loved him only made it worse.

Mark sat down on the bed and grabbed the spoon on the tray. He carefully brought the spoon to Jinyoung's mouth.

"Jinyoung" he said. Jinyoung just nodded while chewing his food.

"About what you said in your sleep" Mark started of a little soft.

"So I did say something. I knew it" Jinyoung exclaimed. " What did I say" Jinyoung continued.

"Uhm just my name, it was nothing really" Mark said avoiding Jinyoung's eyes and feeding him another spoon of food.

"I meant it" Jinyoung said with a mouth full of food.

"What" Mark said still not looking at him.

"I meant it. What I said" Jinyoung simply stated.

"But I told you, you didn't-"

"It was my dream Mark, I know what I said. And I meant it, but apparently it's not important to you. Just forget what you heard." Jinyoung said a smile on his face. Mark could see the smile was faked, he could see the heartbreak in Jinyoung's eyes.

He didn't know what to say and Jinyoung took his silence wrongly. 

"Look I can take it from here. You can leave" he said not looking at Mark. Did he really just send Mark away. Mark slowly got up. When he was outside of Jinyoung's room he didn't go back to his own room. He went outside to the balcony of their dorm. He breathed in the cold night air.

He didn't know what to do. He had always wanted Jinyoung to say those words to him. Those three simple words. Then again, he had also always been fine with admiring from afar. Now that he knew the feelings were mutual a whole new sensation of fear set in. Not the fear of rejection but the fear of commitment. Did he really like Jinyoung enough or was it just an illusion, something he had drilled into himself to be love.

He realized it wasn't. Jinyoung always managed to suprise him again and again. His heart speeding up and his cheeks flushing were definitely not something he could do on command. All the love he felt for the younger's  personality and overal being, was most certainly no illusion. He sighed. He had just wasted his best chance of ever confessing to Jinyoung.

He heard the door to the balcony open and turned to see Jinyoung coming outside.

"Hey what are you doing here, you're sick you shouldn't come outside" Mark exclaimed too concerned about Jinyoung's health to remember what had just happened.

"I'm fine" Jinyoung said coughing lightly. Mark immediately took of the hoody he was wearing and put it over Jinyoung's head. He shivered a little in his shirt, but he couldn't help but notice how cute Jinyoung looked in his hoody. Jinyoung sighed and turned away from him leaning on the railing of the balcony.

"Why do you want me to forget what you said" Mark asked him.

"Because you're probably disgusted by me now. Who on earth falls in love with their best friend of the same gender" Jinyoung said turning around. 

"I did" Mark said. The words just slipped from his mouth before he could think of what he was saying. Immediately his face heated up in embarrassment. Jinyoung looked up at him with big eyes.

"You fell in love with someone. That's amazing, who is it?" Jinyoung asked. Mark could hear the hurt laced trough Jinyoung's voice. He stepped a little closer to Jinyoung.

"I know you're sick Jinyoung, but you are definitely not stupid" he said in a low voice.

"I don't know, maybe the fever is fogging up my mind" Jinyoung whispered looking at him. Then Mark did the bravest thing he had ever done. He cupped Jinyoung's face with his hands and kissed him. It felt exactly like he had thought it would feel. Amazing. 

Thousands of butterflies erupted in his stomach. Jinyoung responded to the kiss almost immediately, but also quickly pulled away.

"I'm going to get you sick too" he said while slapping Mark's arm. Mark chuckled at Jinyoung's concern, at him always being Jinyoung.

"It's worth it" Mark said while he hugged Jinyoung "I love you" he whispered in Jinyoung's ear. He heard a soft I love you too back from Jinyoung. Jinyoung pulled out of the hug.

"Wanna watch a movie" he said eyes sparkling with happiness. Mark just chuckled. Jinyoung intertwined their fingers and pulled Mark back inside.

The next morning Mark woke up with a terrible  sore throat. He groaned and cursed Jinyoung internally. He heard the door open and saw Jinyoung coming in with a bowl of soup.

"I figured you could use some" Jinyoung said holding up the bowl sounding completely healthy again and laughing at him. Mark groaned again. He heard Jinyoung chuckle.

"I swear this is your fault" Mark said as Jinyoung started feeding him.

"I thought it was worth it" Jinyoung said. And honestly it was, it was worth it because it meant Mark got to spent another whole day with Jinyoung and Jinyoung alone.