Hyungwon sat bolt upright at the sound of a loud bang, and immediately he reached down to grab the baseball bat he keeps by the bed in case of intruders. Silently, he tiptoed to the door, prepared himself, and he ripped it open to find──

──Hoseok. He found Hoseok, who had just dropped a box of PopTarts on the landing outside of their bedroom. He looked up at Hyungwon with a bashful little smile. “I couldn’t sleep again. Did I scare you?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hyungwon pressed a hand against his racing heart as if he could calm it down in this way. “Babe, you scared the out of me! What have we talked about? If you’re going to get up and wander around in the middle of the night, wake me up and warn me first!”

This had become an unofficial nightly routine for them; Hyungwon and Hoseok would go to bed, snuggling like usual, and then Hoseok would get up to go for a walk or to get a midnight snack. Hyungwon was a pretty deep sleeper, but something about not having Hoseok by his side acted as the perfect wake up call to him. It’d come to the point that he’d begged and pleaded with his boyfriend to wake him up every time he’d go out for these excursions, but Hoseok never did. He’d rather sit by himself until he eventually dozed off than deal with Hyungwon’s crankiness if he was woken up before he was ready to get up. He was downright terrifying if he didn’t manage to get his full eight hours of beauty rest in every night.

Hoseok just gave the taller man a big, toothy grin. It was one he knew Hyungwon couldn’t resist, because it made him look just like a bunny. “I just wanted to get a PopTart, Hyungwonnie~! You didn’t feed me enough at dinner time and I’m staaaaarving. I did what I had to do to survive!” His voice turned into a pouty little whine at the end, and Hyungwon couldn’t help but to laugh. Even when he was scared half to death, Hoseok was able to make him smile. If he were forced to pick, he’d say that was probably the thing he loved most about him.

Hoseok and Hyungwon had been together ever since their freshman year of college. They’d laughed together, they’d cried together, and they’d grown together. Now, six years onward, they’d just bought a house together and settled down to build a life together. Hyungwon had dropped out of college to pursue photography as a full time career, and Hoseok was nearing his goal of getting his Master’s Degree in Creative Writing.

It was a shame, then, that his insomnia had forced him to take some time off. It was frustrating, considering the semester he’d had to take off would’ve been his last one before he’d garnered enough credits to graduate. He was just too exhausted lately to push through. Hoseok did his best to hide it from Hyungwon when he was home, but you can only put so much concealer on your dark circles.

He’d never even had insomnia before in his life, and he chalked it up to being too much stress. It had only just begun right as he was scheduled to start the most stressful school year of his life, after all. He just needed a break was all. After some rest, he seemed certain that he’d be right as rain again.

Hyungwon wasn’t so easily convinced. The son of a psychologist and a neurosurgeon, he never took sudden changes in habits or personality lightly. He kept nagging Hoseok to go see a doctor or a sleep specialist, worried that it could be something far more sinister, but Hoseok would always just shrug it off. He’d always thought that Hyungwon was a bit of a hypochondriac, though he’d never say that to his face. He couldn’t help it; it was just the way he’d been raised.

In an effort to stall the lecture he knew Hyungwon was about to unleash, Hoseok leaned up and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Predictably, Hyungwon melted almost immediately. “Oh...fine. I’ll let it slide, but just this once. Wake me up next time, please.”

Hoseok grinned like a kid that just got away with stealing a whole handful of cookies from the cookie jar. Hyungwon always said that.

“Yes, dear. Let’s cuddle and watch the news. The news always makes me sleepy faster.”

Hyungwon made a face as Hoseok climbed into bed and hugged his favorite Eevee plushie. “Does it have to be the news? It’s always so depressing. It’s always wars this, nukes that, Trump this, Kim Jong-Un that. If the world is about to end, I’d rather not know about it. Ignorance is bliss, hyung.”

Hoseok pouted up at him, hugging the Pokemon tighter. “But...it makes me sleepy.”

Hyungwon sighed deeply. He really was such a pushover for Hoseok. “Fine, turn it on. I don’t care. I’m keeping my eyes closed though.” To prove his point, Hyungwon slid on his eye mask before sliding into bed and handing the remote over to his boyfriend. Hoseok took it eagerly, flipping the tv to the world news channel.

Just as Hyungwon had guessed, the anchors were covering a story about the most recent bombings taking place in Syria. He gave an audible groan and sank deeper under cover of their duvet. “I’m going to have nightmares all night, Seokkie. Thanks.”

Hoseok didn’t hear Hyungwon’s snarky remark; he was already fast alseep. He rolled over and pulled his boyfriend into his arms, cuddling with him instead of Eevee now.

Hyungwon blew out a sigh, but did nothing to remove himself from Hoseok’s iron grip. He was just happy that the elder had finally managed to to get to sleep. There was no telling how long this would last, so Hyungwon opted not to disturb him. He needed this more than anything right now.

Just as Hyungwon was dozing off, something one of the reporters said caught his attention and jerked him awake. He sat up, pulling his mask off to watch the screen.

“...unlike other influenzas we’ve seen over the years, this one seems unique in the fact that insomnia is included in its symptoms. It usually presents itself before the typical fever and vomiting associated with flu, so if you’re having trouble sleeping you may already have it and you should seek immediate medical attention. Medical professionals have officially dubbed this one the “Bovine Flu,” because much like the swine flu it travels around via livestock hosts…”

Hyungwon knew there was absolutely no way he was going to be able to sleep now. Did Hoseok have this new strain of flu? Was it contagious? They’d said to seek immediate medical treatment. Did that mean it was potentially deadly?

He reached over to shake Hoseok awake. As much as he hated to do it, he wanted the other to watch this with him. Maybe it would be the final straw that would convince him to finally visit a doctor.

Hoseok groaned softly, pushing gently at Hyungwon’s hands. “Hyungwonnie, stop. I just got to sleep.” He yawned and rolled over, doing his best to ignore the shaking.

“Hoseok, wake up! You have to see a doctor!” His shaking becomes more insistent. “I think you have the flu!”

Hoseok rolled back over to face him, blue bangs falling into his face to hide his eyes from Hyungwon. “Are you talking about that stupid bovine flu thing or whatever that the news has been freaking out about?”

Hyungwon nodded, grabbing hold of Hoseok’s hand. “Yes! You have the first symptom, so you might have it! You have to go to a doctor!”

Hoseok held Hyungwon close, kissing his cheek. “I’m fine, honey. I got my flu shot. Go to sleep, okay? I love you.”

Hyungwon nodded hesitantly before laying down and closing his eyes. “I love you too…”

Hoseok was right. He’d gotten a flu shot, they both had, so they were safe. The flu couldn’t touch them since they’d gone to get their vaccinations. They were immune.

….Weren’t they?

 

A/N: Comments are always appreciated!! Let me know if you want me to continue this story or not~