Sick Day

Hei’s a much nicer doctor than Luhan. Clearly.

Set: Respectively, the first part when Baekhyun is 21, the second part around 2 months after Cutlass (they’re engaged but not married yet).

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Baekhyun didn’t get sick.

But he did get poisoned, apparently.

(“Your fault,” Luhan had told him when he’d woken up feeling like complete and utter , with Yixing proclaiming that he was out of the danger zone. “You should’ve noticed they swapped your drink, but you were too busy flirting with the waitress.”)

The last time Baekhyun had been poisoned, it had been by someone’s knife which had cut him, and it hadn’t been bad. Yixing had given him some herb to chew on, and he was left feeling woozy and disoriented for the rest of the day. It had cleared up the next. This time, it felt like somebody had run him through a dozen times with a blade, and even breathing made it feel like someone had dropped a giant weight on his chest. Baekhyun’s entire body felt like it weighed a ton.

Luhan’s nagging did not help. He would’ve fought back if he had the energy to, but the order of being on bedrest for the rest of the week made sense, given the state of his body. So, very miserable and restless, Baekhyun lay in his bed. The only funny thing was that Yixing or Luhan spoon-fed him his meals in the beginning. Baekhyun supposed that if he had a little more shame around Luhan he’d probably feel just as awkward as Luhan did about having to feed him every bite, but being a tool about it and watching Luhan’s irritation rise was much more amusing.

By the third day, he was capable of eating on his own. He still couldn’t stand up from the bed, but he could sit up, which was an improvement.

Luhan came in with a bowl again at midday. He eyed Baekhyun’s sitting position before setting the soup on the bedside table. “You’re an idiot,” he told him, which was apparently his greeting for the day.

Baekhyun smiled serenely at him. “Thanks, mother.”

Luhan made a motion of whacking him across the head, but didn’t actually follow through. “You’re a little .”

“I nearly died, and that’s how you treat me?”

“You wouldn’t have died if you were more careful,” Luhan pointed out once more. “If you—”

“—weren’t flirting with the waitress, yeah, I get it.” Baekhyun wrinkled his nose. “I thought she had information, alright? You know I don’t flirt with people for the sake of it.”

Luhan eyed him. “You’re going to have to realize that doesn’t make it sound much better.”

“Strategic flirting, ‘Han. They like my face, and flirt a bit and then you can get valuable information. It’s easy.”

“Time for you to stop talking.” Luhan raised his bowl of soup as if to show Baekhyun the contents. “There are so many different ways you can get information.”

Baekhyun opted for opening his mouth rather than replying, and to his delight, the look on Luhan’s face was very much worth it. “I am not feeding you when you can literally sit up on your own.”

Deciding not to pursue it for any longer, he gave up and accepted the bowl that Luhan handed him. It was some sort of porridge, but neither Luhan or Yixing were great cooks. Jongin liked food, but clearly did not have a talent in making it.

“Medicine,” Luhan supplied helpfully. “Yixing thought we could mix it with the porridge, since that’s all your body can handle right now, and we might as well kill two birds with one stone.”

Baekhyun gaped at his friend. “You mixed the medicine with porridge?”

“You said the porridge tasted horrible yesterday and expressed the same sentiment for the medicine, so we mixed it together. Now you can get it down faster.”

Aghast, Baekhyun stared at the contraption in his hands. “It didn’t occur to either of you that mixing it would make it worse?”

“It would help you finish the porridge quicker, which I believe was the main goal. Hurry up and eat so I can wash the dishes.”

“I don’t want to eat that.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a baby. Eat.”

Prodding unenthusiastically at his meal, Baekhyun spooned up a mouthful of the awful mix of medicine and rice. It smelled bitter. It looked even worse.

“I’ve never regretted getting poisoned more than I do now,” he said finally.

Luhan snorted at that. “Better learn your lesson next time.”

Deciding it was time to stop being a coward, Baekhyun raised the spoon and stuffed it in his mouth. Wincing and doing his utmost not to gag and spit it out, he swallowed the porridge.

Luhan was watching his expression with curiosity. “So?” he prompted when Baekhyun remained silent for a good fifteen seconds.

Words really didn’t cover what he wanted to express, but his gag reflex did at least try. Baekhyun dry heaved into the bowl, the action absolutely painful to his back and chest, but he couldn’t help it. When he finally managed to meet Luhan’s eyes, he had already teared up against his own accord.

“It’s awful,” Baekhyun choked out. “Please tell Yixing to make it separately, or else I’ll just starve to death.”

***

“It’s just a cold,” Baekhyun said immediately.

He was supported by Luhan, looking a little pale. Hei held open the door, an eyebrow raised at Baekhyun. It was raining outside, both of them soaked, but water had never bot