Hyukjae rarely gets sick. Although he was the youngest, his mother rarely doted on him whenever he and his noona played in the rain for a little longer than established. His noona would often get jealous that Hyukjae was able to watch tv way past his bedtime while she has to stay in bed and sleep the fever she caught. 

Having a good immune system had its ups and downs, and oftentimes Hyukjae would take it for granted and skip having a proper sleep schedule in favor of pushing himself to finish mountains of papers and projects due, all in one night, in favor of attending a party he and his friends got invited to. Pair this with the food staples of college students everywhere, which was coffee and instant ramen, the body could only take so much abuse before it breaks down. And although there were a few close calls, Hyukjae is still thankful that his body had not given up on him.

On the rare occasion that Lee Hyukjae does get sick, he usually just lies in bed all day, in between waking up groggy and unconsciously falling back to sleep and just wakes up feeling better than the day before. Sometimes he adds a refreshing shower when the heat is too much to bear. He was never a fan of taking medication anyway, his mother’s congee and a good night’s sleep was all he needed.

This is why when he takes his eyes off of his laptop screen for a few seconds and he feels a headache forming, he simply massages firm circles on his temples and makes himself a cup of tea. Maybe I overdid it this time, he thinks. A warm cup now on their right hand and his left still massaging his temple, Hyukjae relocates himself to his couch, only now allowing himself to take a break.

Hyukjae stirs awake from the knocks he hears from his door. Oh. He doesn’t remember falling asleep on the couch. He remembers relocating on the couch and deciding to close his eyes for a few minutes since his head wouldn’t stop throbbing then it’s all blank from there. He tries to get up but the sudden movement causes him to fall back on the couch, feeling a little dizzy and the pounding in his head doubling. Letting a few minutes pass and when it feels like his head no longer wants to explode, Hyukjae slowly gets up from the couch. The knocking stopped minutes ago, which he’s thankful for, but this means they either left already or have chosen to wait for him to open the door. 

He contemplates just staying where he is, Hyukjae just really wants to melt and be one with his couch right now and sleep the whole day away, he’s done with most of the stuff to be passed anyway. 

The walk towards the door takes longer than it normally would, Hyukjae is taking slow steps, his right hand leaning on any surface he could get close to just as a precaution since aside from the headache, his body also feels warmer and heavier than usual. He’ll probably regret walking barefoot on the freezing floor but that’s the last of his worries. The quicker he sees who was knocking and why, the faster he’ll be one with his bed and wake up to tomorrow feeling a lot better. Hopefully.

The second he opens the door he’s attacked by the aroma of bacon and waffles, as well as the sweet scent of hot cocoa making him involuntarily purr and forgetting that there’s a person attached to the heavenly delicacies. Hyukjae hears the person chuckling at him, then there’s a firm arm wrapping around his waist pulling him towards the latter. The person’s body heat feels so nice against his, Hyukjae gives in to his primal urge and melts against the person’s body.  

“I’ve been calling you for an hour now, I know you’re not an early riser but don’t you think this is a little too much.” the person’s voice is lower than usual as Hyukjae still has half of his face planted on the person’s chest. He lets out a contented sigh, his body just going lax against the latter. He feels his makeshift plushie chuckle and he knows it’s because of him but Hyukjae doesn’t really find the energy to care right now. As long as he’s warm and comfortable, nothing really matters. 

Honestly, this was not what he was expecting when Donghae decided to visit his boyfriend this morning. He knows first hand how much Hyukjae pours his whole heart and energy whenever he’s in the zone, whether it be for his performances or schoolwork. When his boyfriend is set on doing something, you best believe that he would give it his all; it’s one of the things Donghae admires about his boyfriend. However, and he has tried but countlessly failed to do something to prevent it, Hyukjae has often neglected himself when he’s in the zone. And sometimes, although he means no ill will, he wishes Hyukjae would come down with a fever or a headache just so he could come out of his state of focus and take care of himself a bit more. 

So when he doesn’t receive a reply from the multiple texts he’s sent, Donghae starts to worry as to the reason why. Well, there aren’t that many scenarios he can think of but the first thing that comes to mind is—his boyfriend is probably still asleep. And that really isn’t a rare possibility as Hyukjae has oftentimes chosen class schedules that start an hour or two before or after lunch. Donghae remembers that one-time Hyukjae had a class at 8:30 am, and no matter how many times his alarm rang from 6:30 to 7:45, his boyfriend slept through it like a log and missed his class. That happened five more times before he throws the towel and drops the subject instead of studying his for it and ends up getting a failing grade for missing more than the recommended amount of absences per subject. 

And being the good and loving boyfriend that he was, Donghae makes it his mission to bring breakfast with him for he is one hundred percent sure that Hyukjae has had nothing but coffee and maybe instant noodles in his system since yesterday. Although when he arrives at the door, nothing could prepare him for the sight that welcomed him. Admittedly, there is never a state Hyukjae was in that looked unpleasant to Donghae. He’s seen his boyfriend drenched in sweat, heavily panting that his jaw was hanging open to help get oxygen in his lungs, and to Donghae, he still looked breathtaking (yes, pun intended). 

However, this version of Hyukjae makes his heart ache. His boyfriend always had a lithe figure, it’s what allows him to move fluidly when he’s performing yet still pull off powerful bursts of movement when there is a sudden change of tempo, easily enchanting anyone who is lucky enough to see his performance. This Hyukjae is completely different, his back is hunched forward and his lithe arms are crossed over his middle making him look even smaller. His boyfriend’s eyes are half-open and look like he’s using so much energy to keep them open at least, and his forehead is pinched at the center which could mean that he’s nursing a headache among other things. 

Donghae was ready to drop the goods he brought and carry his boyfriend back to bed, wrap him in the thickest of blankets and make him some soup his mother used to make when Donghae would get sick. Surely with how weak his boyfriend is feeling, he wouldn’t mind being carried like a princess. He gets shaken out of his mental planning when he hears a mixture of stomach growls and purring likened to that of a kitten getting head rubs, then he focuses on the man in front of him once again and is made certain of where the adorable sounds are coming from. So he wastes no time and wraps an arm around his sick and hungry boyfriend, quenching one of the older’s thirsts, which was physical touch. And boy was Donghae so ecstatic when he felt his Hyukjae lean into his space immediately, so much so that he even kissed his boyfriend’s forehead just because.

He lets them stand by the doorway for a few minutes, looking for signs if the older would let him go and when he doesn’t and Donghae senses that Hyukjae was on the verge of falling asleep while standing, he carefully maneuvers them both further into the apartment. With one hand preoccupied with a bagful of breakfast and the other securely wrapped around his boyfriend, Donghae makes sure to close the door as gently as he could using his foot and moves them both further into the apartment. He then slowly walks Hyukjae backward, leading him into his bedroom but not before setting their breakfast on the countertop, and once his other hand is free, Donghae carefully carries his boyfriend in his arms. Hyukjae does not seem to mind this and even wraps his arms around his strong boyfriend’s neck to comfortably lay his head on his shoulder. 

Although there was some difficulty in opening the bedroom door, Donghae is mindful not to move too much abruptly to prevent causing more discomfort to Hyukjae. It’s a good thing I started hitting the gym. He mentally praises his decision to accept Minho’s offer to go to the gym, his boyfriend may be thin but since he’s not feeling well, his body feels heavier. 

When he finally lays Hyukjae down on his bed, he looks for some thick socks to cover his boyfriend’s cold feet and possibly another blanket from his closet as the one on the bed seems to be too thin. Donghae also checks Hyukjae’s back if he has started to sweat, finding it dry still, which prompts him to look for a thick sweatshirt to replace the thin shirt his boyfriend was wearing. 

By the end of Donghae’s rummaging, he’s more complacent that he’ll be able to help his boyfriend get better faster. And despite his boyfriend being sound asleep throughout all the things he’s done, like changing his shirt, putting thick fluffy socks on his cold feet, wrapping his boyfriend in extra blankets and placing a cool, moistened cloth on his forehead, Donghae is confident both Hyukjae and his own mother would be proud with what he’s done. With an extra skip in his step, Donghae checks if the cloth is still cool to the touch and when it is he steals a kiss on his sleeping prince’s temple before placing the moist cloth back. He quietly gets out of the room to step out for a moment to buy some fever medicine and pain medication for Hyukjae to take when he wakes up and gets some food in his system. 

Hyukjae jolts awake when he feels a tad bit uncomfortable, he hasn’t opened his eyes yet but as he feels for his surroundings he notices his change of clothing and the added layers of blankets wrapped around his form, not to mention his feet are feeling warm and toasty from the socks he’s now wearing. His body relaxes, he senses he’s more alive than when he first woke up. Speaking of which, who was at the door again? He opens his eyes to survey his bedroom for any signs of the culprit. There seems to be nothing out of place, except for maybe an unopened water bottle on his nightstand, maybe they left already? After remaining quiet for a few minutes, waiting if his ears would pick up any sort of noise from outside his bedroom, Hyukjae allows himself to relax back into his bed.

He doesn’t get far with his plan on falling back to sleep when Hyukjae hears his front door being opened then gently closed after. Whoever got inside, takes a few moments rummaging around Hyukjae’s kitchen, judging from the sound of his fridge door opening and closing as well as the familiar beeps from his well-used microwave oven. It’s only a matter of time before the person decides to make himself known, although Hyukjae kind of already has an idea of who it is. There’s only one person who would visit him in the morning, literally every single one of his friends aren’t early risers like him, except this one person.

“Oh good, you’re awake! I reheated our breakfast and made you some hot tea, as much as I’d love to give you the hot chocolate I bought for you I don’t think having sweets would do your body any good.” Donghae says, setting down the trayful of food beside Hyukjae and he is once again attacked by the familiar aroma of sweet waffles and salty bacon. He doesn’t get a chance to ask his boyfriend what he was doing in his apartment when his left hand is already preoccupied with a warm plate and the other a fork. “I know you don’t like being spoon-fed when you’re sick, so I took the liberty of cutting up the waffles and bacon into smaller pieces instead.” 

“Thank you,” Hyukjae finally says his first words this day, his voice sounds hoarse and foreign to him and his throat a little itchy when he tries to clear and cough it out. His boyfriend though was quick to replace the plate with a cup of tea accompanying that with gentle rubs on Hyukjae’s back. “Thank you, again. What are you doing here?”

“You’re sick right now, so it’s kind of mean to tell you I told you so.” there’s a cheeky grin on Donghae’s face that he very much would like to wipe away, too bad the dull pounding on his head is keeping him from being violent. “I’m not sick, just under the weather.” he retorts instead, which was again futile when Donghae only snorted at what he said.

“Keep telling yourself that honey when you’re literally burning up.”

“Maybe it’s just your hand that’s warm, I’ll be fine after a quick shower.”

Before Hyukjae could even make a move to get out of bed, the plate and fork that was in his hands were snatched away and Donghae was climbing over him and his face fast approaching his own. What is this dork up to now? He lets out an embarrassingly high squeak from the quick turn of events, his whole face burning up more than it already was and his eyes involuntarily closing, his body already knowing he wouldn’t want to see the smug smile on his boyfriend’s face.

“Wh-what the hell--” Hyukjae doesn’t get to finish, instead of the pressure he’s expecting to feel on his chapped lips, he feels it on his forehead. Since when did his lips feel flat and cold? When Hyukjae slowly opens his eyes, he finds them staring directly into Donghae’s. The first thing he notices is the wide grin on the other’s face, nevermind the fact that they’ve both probably gone cross-eyed staring into each other. The other thing he notices is that his boyfriend’s forehead is perfectly connected to his, so not only are their foreheads connected but there is only about a width of a single strand of hair between both their noses. Donghae is literally up on Hyukjae’s face that they both feel each other’s in and exhale. 

“Uh, what are you doing?” 

“Checking your temperature.” this causes Hyukjae’s eyes to widen, did he hear that correctly?

“...what?” 

“I was and am right, you have a fever.” with that Donghae leans away from his forehead but not without placing a kiss on his boyfriend’s nose, forehead, and both his cheeks before completely getting off. Hyukjae still had a bewildered look on his face and Donghae can’t help but chuckle at his boyfriend’s confusion. Sometimes Hyukjae is just too fun to tease. “Come on now, let’s eat breakfast so you can finally drink medicine and no, you can’t not drink them because I informed your mother and she specifically recommended you take them so you won’t have to stay in bed up to tomorrow.”

Well, Hyukjae couldn’t argue with that knowing his mother, she wouldn’t stop with just a text message, she’d even call him and Donghae to confirm if he really did take the medicine. So Hyukjae accepted defeat and ate the food his boyfriend had brought him, thankfully his stomach had stopped growling, or else Donghae would have more reasons to .

“You still haven’t answered my question.” 

After eating and making sure Hyukjae has taken his medicine, Donghae has forbidden his boyfriend from helping him move the dishes, which spurred on an exchange of ‘it’s not like I broke my limbs plus the kitchen is not that much of a walk’ to ‘and if you fell out of balance like you did earlier and I’m not able to catch you, what then?’. Donghae has also taken it upon himself to squeeze into the space next to his boyfriend in bed and offer his body as a human-sized plushie (and yes, Donghae is enjoying every second of taking care of his boyfriend. He’s also taking advantage of Hyukjae’s need for extra physical contact, his boyfriend has been busy the whole month that they barely met each other during that time). Which, even though Hyukjae hates to admit, feels more comforting and warm now that he’s sick than when he was not. 

“What question?” Donghae absentmindedly asks, his hands still slowly running through Hyukjae’s hair while the other one is firmly wrapped around the other’s waist. 

“Why are you here? I don’t remember telling you I wasn’t feeling well.” Hyukjae’s head is comfortably snug on the juncture between Donghae’s neck and shoulder, it’s obvious from his voice that he’s fighting himself from falling asleep. If only his boyfriend would stop his ministrations on his hair. Naaaah. 

“I wanted to grab breakfast with you at the new diner that opened up near the campus, after three missed calls I kind of figured you were still dead tired from burning the midnight oil. I didn’t expect I’d be welcomed at the door by a cuddle monster though.” As much as he wants to contradict what Donghae said, hearing his voice after so long and so close felt really good so Hyukjae just joins in with his boyfriend’s chuckling, he’ll reprimand him another time. 

“Go back to sleep, I already told Sungmin to excuse you to the professor and for a copy of his notes for today’s lecture.” he feels Donghae continue running his fingers through his hair, this time it’s accompanied by a kiss on the forehead. This promptly triggers Hyukjae to further bury his face in his boyfriend’s neck, letting out a deep sigh which causes goosebumps to erupt through the expanse of his arms and neck. Ah, I could get used to this, he almost says out loud it’s a good thing part of his brain is still functioning correctly. 

“Don’t you have classes still?”

“Would you rather I attend them than cuddle you?”

….

He feels the tiniest movement on his neck, which Donghae is positive is the answer to his question. Didn’t think so, his mind says but instead, he says, “I don’t want to leave you either.” and gives his sleepy boyfriend the nth forehead kiss that day. He has to make up with the number of kisses and hugs they could have gotten that month had Hyukjae not been dumped with a mountain's worth of requirements and responsibilities.

Soon the couple gets lulled to sleep by the steady beating of each other’s hearts, in a tangle of limbs under the safety of their blankets. Hyukjae has never been a fan of taking medicine, but if needed he won’t take a second longer in gulping that down if it meant that he was going to get taken care of by his personal human-sized plushie.

----

Congrats to reaching the end of the story!! Here's the prompt, 'donghae  pressing their forehead against hyukjae's forehead to check if they have a fever'

Isn't that sooooo donghae though?? kkkkk hope you guys had fun reading this, I sure did have fun writing it and just picturing them in this type of situation x3 Let me know what you guys think, comments are highly appreciated ^^ Until next time.

Also!! This story took place in the same universe as 'Just another day, with you' and 'In the end, it's you' but it's kind of a prequel(?) since it took place when they were still in university.

ps. did you guys count how many times Donghae kissed Hyukjae's forehead? o 3 o

pps. I still can't believe there isn't a yewook tag on ao3 D:<