Lay finished fixing his mic, straightening his shirt. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. He wasn't really too bothered at this point. They’d had tight schedules for days, and although this was the last performance, they were all running on their last dregs of energy and gusto. Mostly, they were all just looking forward to collapsing at the dorm afterwards, and sleeping for a week.

He looked around for Tao. He hadn’t looked too good earlier, and he wanted to check up on him before they went on stage, make sure he was ok. He hid pretty well, and it was usually only him that would notice these things. With the exception of Kris of course, but the managers had taken him and Suho away a little while ago, probably for some pre-performance pep talk of some kind.

Looking around, he couldn’t see him anywhere. ‘Tao?’ he called, slowly turning in a circle, though he still couldn’t see him. ‘Tao?’ he called a little louder. Perhaps he was just stood behind something, and couldn’t hear him. But after a brief search, and asking a few of the members, it seemed no one had really seen him since they’d left the dressing room.

Frowning, Lay started to head back. Tao obviously wasn't here, and he wanted to see what was holding up. He was almost to the room when he turned a corner to see Tao’s crumpled form on the ground, shaking like a leaf. He ran over, eyes widening, falling to his knees next to him.

‘Tao?!’ Tao looked up at him, eyes a little unfocused.

‘hyu...ng....’ his voice was weak, and Lays heart sunk. He reached out, pulling his hand back almost as soon as it made contact with Tao's skin.

‘You're burning up!’ he exclaimed.

‘B-but I'm.... f-freezing.....’ Tao mumbled, shivering. 

‘Oh Tao....’ Lay said softly. Carefully, he helped Tao to his feet, wrapping an arm around him to keep him steady. Tao leaned heavily on him, barely enough energy to stop his knees buckling beneath him completely.

Lay took him back into the dressing room, laying him on the couch. He grabbed a few of the spare jackets from the rail, throwing them over him for a makeshift blanket. Tao curled up underneath them, sweat beading on his forehead. Lay bit his lip, unsure of what to do.

Looking around for a spark of inspiration, he saw a few of the make-up sponges lying around, and a few clean spares in the corner. Grabbing a little container, he went over to the sink, filling it with water. Bringing it back, along with a couple of the spare sponges, he sat on the floor in front of the couch, and gently began trying to cool Tao's forehead down.

‘Yixing, Zitao, its nearly time to go on. You should be with the others!’ One of the managers had come looking for them.

‘Manager hyung, Tao’s sick....’ Lay told him, still trying to cool him down. The manager came over, seeing Tao's condition, and nodded. ‘Can I stay with him?’ Lay asked. The manager seemed about to refuse, when Tao's weak voice spoke up.

‘H-Hyung.... I don't w-want to be on m-my own.... p-please.....’ The manager considered his request for a moment before agreeing.

‘Alright.... but you stay in here, both of you.’ Lay nodded, and the manager left them alone, closing the door quietly behind him.

‘hyung.....’ Tao mumbled.

‘I'm here Tao....’ Lay mopped his forehead again, not having much success in cooling the poor panda down. Tao slowly reached up to pull his hand away. ‘....Tao?’

‘C-can you just h-hold me....? P-please hyung....’ Lay sighed. He knew how Tao loved to be held in his arms. He would sit with him for hours some evenings, until Tao fell asleep in his lap and he would carry him to bed. 

Putting the water and sponges down on the floor, he helped Tao sit up a little, settling into the corner of the couch. Gently, he rested Tao's head in his lap, brushing a few strands of hair from his damp forehead. Tao weakly snuggled into him, humming softly as Lay began to gently run a hand through his hair.

‘Rest ....’ Lay spoke softly. Seeing his precious Tao so sick worried him, but he was grateful their manager had let him stay with him. If he was going to be sick, he’d rather be there with him. Tao's eyes slowly began to close, and he drifted off to sleep, safe in Lays arms. Lay smiled softly. He may be sick, but even so, Tao's face still looked to calm and peaceful in sleep. He continued to lightly Tao's hair contentedly, and quickly found himself drifting off to peaceful memories of holding his precious little Tao in his arms.