Note: I feel like I'm losing my touch with my inner fluffiness, but hopefully this is super fluffy to you fluff readers. This is about as fluffy as I can get. Thanks for the prompt BboingBboingDaisy, and I hope you like it!

If there was one thing in the world that I hated above all else, it was being sick. I hated how all the liquid in my body would pour, not drip, pour from my nose and I hated how I would cough and hack until my chest and sides hurt. My throat would get so scratchy and raw that even breathing could sometimes bring tears to my eyes and all I ever wanted to do was just sleep. But sleep came with a rising fever and I’d be stripped of my blankets and given a cold rag to place on my forehead in order to keep it from rising too high. The chills would then set in and every muscle ached from shivering for hours. Getting out of bed was a challenge but not impossible. But each time I would rise up, waves of nausea would have my already aching head spinning and my stomach in knots.

The part I hated the most was that everyone would either avoid my like the plague (pun not intended) or smother me with their “tender loving care.”

So when I woke up one lovely summer morning with half of the aforementioned symptoms, I was not a happy camper, or a happy anything for that matter.

“We’re cancelling your schedule for the rest of this week, Heechul,” the manager said and I fell back against my pillows and sent him the worst glare a guy with a bright red nose could muster. It obviously lacked in the intimidation factor.

“I’m fine,” I said, sounding more like I said, “I’b fime.” Great way to prove my case.

“A few days is not going to kill you.” Before I could really give him a piece of my mind, he started dialing some number and heading out the room.

“The flu again?” said Sungmin who popped his head in my room. “Do you need to go to the hospital? I can pick you up some medicine on the way back, if you want, or-” He barely dodged the pillow I sent flying to his face. I would have been more amused if I didn’t have to get up to go retrieve it. My stomach protested, but luckily I was able to get back in bed before anything from last night decided to make another appearance.

I lied in bed just listening to everyone else scramble around to get ready. A few times I could catch my name being said, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying about me. Probably just gossiping about my latest meeting with this horrible virus. After about an hour, it got pretty quiet and I could assume that everyone left the dorm. Peace at last.

I probably dozed for a few hours. What woke me was the dorm’s buzzer going off at a constant rate of way too many times per minute. I was tempted to actually get up and answer it, just to tell whoever it was to stop, when it really did stop. I rolled over and pulled the blankets up, closing my eyes to sleep again when my phone began ringing. Of course I had it set to some obnoxious song by some girl group, of course. I pushed the blankets off and turned the screen on.

One missed call: Gunhee

It buzzed in my hand, and I scrolled to look at the text I got.

From: Gunhee

Open the door. I brought you food.

I rolled my eyes and wrote out a reply before slamming the phone on my nightstand.

To: Gunhee

Open it yourself.

My phone went off a moment later and I sighed.

From: Gunhee

It’s locked, so get that cute of yours to the door and open it for me.

To: Gunhee

I hate you.

From: Gunhee

I know, now open the door.

I decided to drag myself out of the bed, mumbling to myself that it was only because I would only get to sleep when that guy wasn’t bugging me every three seconds. There was no way I actually kind of wanted to see him.

“Took you long enough, sweetheart.”

He smiled when he saw me and pushed past before I could even think of closing the door on him. “You look like you’ve seen better days,” he cooed. “But I’ve seen you worse. Now let’s get you back to bed.” He didn’t hold out his arm or try to get me to lean on him, just slowly walked next to me as I shuffled back to my bed.

I didn’t even notice the canvas bag he carried until he reached into it to grab a container of what looked like juk. Yum.

“I can’t eat that, I’m supposed to be on a diet,” I lied. Anything to get out of eating that stuff.

“It’ll be our little secret,” Gunhee said with a knowing grin. Sometimes I wondered whether or not he liked to watch people being tortured like this. But I had no room to argue. Watching Ryeowook force his “delicious” vegetables down an ungrateful Kyuhyun’s throat was one of the most amusing sights to see.

I looked down at the container and even brought myself to remove the lid, but that was as far as I went. No amount of convincing would get me to put that mush into my mouth.

“You know,” he started, catching my attention. “If you wanted me to feed it to you, you should’ve just asked.” Gunhee grabbed the spoon and juk and sat down on the bed in front of me. Another one of those brilliant smiles rested on his face and all I could think of was ways to get my revenge.

“There is no-” I couldn’t even finish my sentence before a spoonful of that nasty stuff made its way into my mouth. Without even chewing, I swallowed it all down and wrinkled my nose at the aftertaste.

“Good boy.”

“I’m not a do-” And a second bite was shoved in. Alright, I wasn’t going to fall for that anymore. I kept my mouth firmly shut tight and crossed my arms. I wasn’t going to give in without a fight. Another spoonful was scooped up and I could see determination that rivaled my own in his eyes.

“If you’re going to act like a kid, then I’m going to treat you like one.” I almost opened my mouth to say that he already treated me like a child, but then thought better of it. “Alright. You’ve forced my hand.” Taking the spoon, he moved it in little circles and started adding sound effects. “Here comes the airplane! Airplane needs to land, so open up!”

I rolled my eyes. That was his trick? When I focused back on the smirk on his face, I knew I spoke too soon. The hand not holding onto the spoon suddenly pinched my side and as I let out a yelp, that wonderful juk ended up in my mouth a third time.

“I hate you,” I said after I swallowed it down.

“I know,” he replied casually. “Now open up.”

“I can feed myself,” I said, snatching the spoon from his hand. One last look of contempt was shot toward the container before I started shoveling into my mouth. Might as well get it over with as soon as possible. I would never admit that I stomached it only because he made it himself.

Gunhee collected the empty container with a smile like he had won some sort of prize. He reached into the canvas bag once more and pulled out a box of medication.

“Finally, something useful,” I said as he handed me the tablets and a bottle of water. I downed the quickly and lied back to rest on the pillows. “I’ve been fed and given medicine, your job here is done.” I expected some sort of remark or something, not a hand against my forehead.

“You’re still a little warm,” he said and left the room without explanation. I figured he was just going for a cold damp rag, and my assumption was proven correct when he returned.

“Here,” he said as he placed it neatly on my head. “Let’s see if we can get that fever down a little.”

“I’m fine,” I said, but the coolness already began to seep into my head, and I had to admit it was strangely relaxing. I closed my eyes to the feeling and heard him messing with the blankets. A moment later, a single sheet fell over me, but I was too tired to react. My eyes wouldn’t even open at the touch.

“Sleep well, Heechul.” Sleep took me in its gentle embrace but before I completely surrendered, I wondered if he would be here when I woke up.

Waking up when one was sick, was typically one of the worst experiences of the whole illness routine. I always find myself with my mouth open and dry as a desert while my nose would be completely congested on one side. There’d be a bit of relief that the other side would be useable, at least until I turned my head, and then I’d feel it dripping down the back of my throat. And speaking of throats, I usually had the pleasure of trying to hack mine out with all the gunk that would get clogged up there.

Surprisingly, this time I only felt mildly out of sorts when I woke up. I rolled over and stretched out a bit, feeling a little more at peace with my body. While I wasn’t totally alright, I didn’t feel like every part of me was rebelling. My throat was dry, my nose clogged, and I had a few aches, the bulk of it was behind me.

“Feeling better?” a voice asked from some part of my room. Gunhee sat in the corner of my room on a chair that used to be buried underneath tons of clothes. He held a book in his hands and wore a content but tired expression on his face.

“I guess I should thank you for that,” I croaked. The book softly snapped shut and Gunhee was at my side a moment later with a glass of water.

“No need,” he said as I scooted up to receive the drink. “It’s rare to see such a cute Heechul.”

“What are you talking about? I’m always cute.” I took a sip of the water and watched him roll his eyes.

“You definitely sound better,” he said and chuckled. I handed him back the glass and he set it off to the side before stretching. “Now that the worst of it is over, I guess I should be heading back. Kiss goodbye?”

“Why would I want to kiss you?” I scoffed, wrinkling my nose. Truth be told I wasn’t totally put off by the idea, but the way he said it made it sound like joke. “Besides, I’m still sick.” A soft smile made its way onto his face. He grabbed the blankets and moved them up to tuck me in. He patted my head and grabbed the canvas bag he brought with him.

“See you when you’re better, sweetheart,” he said with wink and walked out of the room. I heard a few mumbles from him and the other members in the other room but I didn’t pay much attention to it. At the moment, I really just wanted to shower and see if Ryeowook made something to eat.

Feeling a bit more refreshed, I headed into the kitchen.

“Finally awake?” Hyukjae asked from the kitchen table. “You slept all of yesterday. If you were so exhausted, you should have taken a day off before you got sick.”

“I slept that long?” I asked, completely taken aback. I could have sworn it was only a few hours. My mind flicked back to Gunhee’s tired face, and now that I thought about it, he was wearing the same clothes from the day before.

“-and Gunhee was here the entire night.” I brought my attention back to Hyukjae who hadn’t noticed that I stopped listening to him for a moment. “I swear the guy didn’t even get a wink of sleep last night. I told him it was just the flu, but he wouldn’t budge.”

Hearing that, I my heel and headed back into my bedroom. From the chair in the corner to the rest of the room, everything had been straightened up. Even my used tissues were thrown away. This went beyond a friend being nice, because I was positive none of the other members would do this for me and I sure as heck wouldn’t do this for anyone. Well, maybe one person. I laid down and tried not to think about it much.

Key word there: tried.

Gunhee sent texts every few hours, asking me how I was doing, if I ate, if I wanted another helping of his “delicious” juk. I could practically hear his concern and yet it didn’t bother me. And that was what made me realize something.

After a few days, the day before my schedule started again, I picked up my phone with the intention of sending a text to Gunhee.

To: Gunhee

I got over my flu.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed. I had no doubt as to who it was from.

From: Gunhee.

That’s great!

I held my breath for a moment, as I typed out my reply.

To: Gunhee

So about that goodbye kiss…

From: Gunhee

I don’t want it.

My heart fell as the breath I was holding dropped from my lips like a brick. Then my phone buzzed again.

From: Gunhee

Now if it was a hello kiss, that’d be another story.

I glared at the screen but there was no anger in the action, and I could barely contain the smile threatening to show.

To: Gunhee

You’re a jerk.

From: Gunhee

I know.

To: Gunhee

I hate you.

From: Gunhee

I love you, too.