(X)

Jongin knew he was probably being annoying, but still he hovered around Kyungsoo's bed, wringing his hands and clearing his throat, perpetually concerned with what he could do to help. 

“Do you want another glass of water? Oh, what about tea? I still have that brand new hot water kettle my mom gave me, still in its box. I could make you tea!”

“Do we even have tea bags?” Kyungsoo coughed, covering his throat. He'd been in the process of getting sick for two days, and finally when they both woke up, Kyungsoo had a good, full blown cold and Jongin did not know what he could do for him. His whole brain was looping words and phrases in his mother's voice, everything he could remember her ever saying when someone in the family was sick. 

“I could... ask the neighbors if they have some. Or go to the store. Oh, what about soup!? Do you need soup?”

“Not yet.” Kyungsoo coughed again. “But, thank you?” His voice was hoarse, deeper than Jongin had ever heard. 

He just felt so useless. Never before had he been in charge of a sick person, and having it be Kyungsoo as his first was a daunting task. What if he failed? What if Kyungsoo died from neglect! It was a fanciful notion of course, but all the worst outcomes continued to run through his mind no matter how much Jongin tried not to panic. Mostly because this could also be an opportunity to show Kyungsoo just how much Jongin liked him, by being his nurse. And if he failed even in the little things, then what good was he? What good was it that Kyungsoo was Jongin's crush, if he couldn't even make him comfortable and healthy. 

Kyungsoo shifted in his bed, tossing off a sheet as he swung one leg and then the next off the frame and tried to stand up.

“What... what are you doing?” Jongin asked.

“I have a box of medicine somewhere in the bathroom. I was going to get it-”

“I'll get it for you!” 

It took Jongin probably an extra five minutes of searching - Kyungsoo would have found it faster - but it was the only thing Kyungsoo finally consented to let him do, that and bring him a glass of water, so Jongin was determined to make the most of it. 

Alas, Jongin did still have class to attend, even though Kyungsoo was planning to skip all of his. He tried not to overload him with How are you's and Still feeling okay? text messages, in case Kyungsoo was sleeping. At each rare reply though (his roommate always claimed he was fine), Jongin would smile nervously wondering if it was the truth, and one time Sehun even boxed his ears for playing with the light up screen of his phone more than was necessary. It was the only thing he felt like he could do since his fingers were itching to text back more and more questions of concern.

“You do realize how pathetic you're being right now, don't you?” Sehun said.

Jongin had met up with his friend for the half hour break between each of their respective classes. It was too short a time for Jongin to run back and check on Kyungsoo. Fifteen minutes there if he speed-walked, and then fifteen minutes back. Although if he ran...

“What?” Jongin barely registered Sehun had spoken.

“I mean like, the way you are acting. That's how boyfriends act, not two guys who are only friends and roommates. You want to play nurse? Why don't you actually ask him out and then instead of hovering over him and probably smothering him to death, you could acquire cuddling rights instead.”

“Cuddling rights...” That sounded like an amazing thing.

“Yeah, and then you can do all that smoochy goodness stuff and How is your fever? questions away from me and in private somewhere. Believe me, there's a lot of us guys who can't wait for you to just get a move on.” Sehun sighed long and hard.

Jongin was still thinking he might be able to run back for one quick check-in, before he reminded himself that probably, Sehun was right. He needed to chill. He was probably suffocating Kyungsoo already and that was the last thing he wanted: for his roommate to actually want him to stay away.

That night, however, Kyungsoo didn't seem like he was fed up with Jongin just yet. He was still stick, although medication made him marginally more functional. Jongin made sure to discretely change out his empty tissue box for a new one and he even opened up the box containing the hot water appliance and plugged it in. He didn't have tea yet though. He promised Kyungsoo he'd get some in the morning because after all the fretting he'd done away while wandering campus, he was still idiot enough to forget to stop by the store or to ask their neighbors.

“It's alright. Don't worry about it.” Kyungsoo still smiled at him between sneezes and coughs, and that was alright. “Actually, there is one thing you can help me with...”

Even better! Jongin inwardly cried, already jumping up to assist with whatever Kyungsoo asked.

“I need my laptop brought to me. Do you mind?”

“You need...?”

“Yeah. I've done nothing but sleep half the day. I feel like writing now only I don't want to get up. Just unplug it there and... yeah, I don't need the mouse you can leave it. Wait, can I get a pillow for my lap. And- something else to prop me up. And...”

It took five minutes before Kyungsoo decided he was properly reclined and his laptop balancing just right, and he didn't seem to mind how the process of pillow and blanket adjustments required Jongin to get a little handsy around his shoulders and back. Jongin minded of course, but all in a good way.

“What are you...?

Sometimes Jongin was a little afraid to ask what Kyungsoo was writing. Was it something innocuous? Something fluffy? Or something y? And if it was the latter, then it usually had Jongin blushing like a school boy, and that was definitely an impression he did not want to leave upon Kyungsoo. Jongin wanted to seem worldly, mature, able to handle the occasional like a pro.

Even if he completely failed at that.

“Uhh, I guess it's kind of historical?” Kyungsoo responded after a moment. “Another request for a Xiumin-centric fic, but they didn't specify the pair so... I was thinking of just creating my own character again?”

“What... kind of historical?”

Kyungsoo coughed and blew his nose before jabbing at his laptop and bringing up a new page. Jongin could see the light from the new browser reflecting off Kyungsoo's already pallid complexion. Sick as he was, his eyes were still furrowed deep in thought, like he'd already forgotten he had a roommate, so far was he into fic land.

“Xiumin's some kind of nobleman. I'm curious...”

“Hmm?”

“Should I call him Xiumin this time, or Minseok? I never know which. I mean, I'm really partial to his real name but if he's going to be a nobleman this time... then something pretentious like 'Xiumin' should actually fit. Don't you think?”

“Uhh, yeah. Sure? Sounds good?”

“I'm going to do that. Okay!”

He started typing, meanwhile Jongin - satisfied that Kyungsoo would be good for a few minutes - took a pair of clean pajamas and went to shower. He came back into the room ten minutes later, hair wet, shirtless, towel around his neck, and he didn't even bother trying to feel self conscious because normally Kyungsoo never even noticed when he walked around like this. In fact, his roommate didn't even look up or take his eyes away from the screen. His fingers were busy typing away, sometimes at lightning speed, and sometimes they'd just stop and not move at all. A few taps here and there and then... inspiration would take and he'd start drumming away again.

Kai stood by his own bed, back to Kyungsoo, and he toed off his sandals and whipped off the towel to finish drying his hair and the damp places along the ridge of his spine. His skin was still warm from the steam of the bathroom. For a second he considered putting on a shirt, but he was too hot and it was much more comfortable like this.

He dropped the wet towel to the floor, considered leaving it there. But then he remembered Kyungsoo had a pet peeve for wet towels lying around smelling up the place, and so he bent down to pick it up. He laid it across his clothes hamper instead, stretched his arms above his head and yawned. It was only ten o'clock, and yet he felt like passing out. Kyungsoo evidently didn't need him anymore, he was so immersed in his start-and-stop typing. Jongin glanced across the room one last time. Beside Kyungsoo's bed was already everything he needed, including more cold pills for when his next dose was up.

“Need anything?” he asked him anyway.

Once again it took half a minute before Kyungsoo responded. “No, but thank you.”

“Okay then. Goodnight.”

“Night, Jongin.”

And so he spent another night falling asleep happily to the sounds of Kyungsoo typing, only the occasional cough and sniffling which barely interrupted his sleep cycle.

Bonus Scene “Stable Room”

SooTheMan writes:

Xiumin and Luhan practically staggered off their horses after riding up to the stable yard late in the night, only one torch light blazing. It cast long shadows across the mud, and Xiumin hollered loudly when his boots hit the ground with a squelch. Beside him, Luhan echoed similar disgust.

“This place is a pig sty, Xiumin! Say, what are you even paying your servants for?”

“Shhhhhhhhhh, not so loud!” Xiumin yelled theatrically. “You'll wake the stable boy!”

Luhan paused dramatically, his head cocked to one side, mouth hanging open. “But... isn't that the point?” 

Xiumin stopped to think about, and then he nodded. “Hey, what do you know. You're right!”

“And we're drunk! Come on, I need a place to crash for the night.” Luhan started trudging off through the mud, not even caring that his horse was still unattended. 

Xiumin hollered some more, waiting for the kid to come out and take the reins so he could let go, never mind the fact that he was using the horse as leverage to remain standing. His legs felt like jelly, his head floated in the clouds. He giggled randomly, and then started yelling again when a figure actually emerged from the tiny quarters next to the stables, one confused and terribly sleepy looking young man who dashed forward at the sight of his young master stumbling about.

“Took you long enough!” Xiumin complained as he threw the reins, took one step and promptly tumbled into the muck. He squirmed when the man leaned over to pick him up, tossing off the help indignantly and huffed as he took himself off to the mansion to pass out somewhere.

--

Come morning, however, Xiumin felt miserable. A headache that was unaffected by any drink or food he put in his mouth, his arms were limp, his knee bruised from some kind of rock he must have fallen down onto the night before. As soon as he was able, he determined to blame the stable boy for not being fast enough. That seemed like a logical course of action. Servants were there to serve, and it wouldn't do to keep lazy workers around the estate, especially if they'd happened to witness the young master's embarrassing fails. Xiumin tried to keep his drunken escapades a secret from his father, and likewise that his partner in crime was always Luhan. No one in his family approved of the other man's flighty lifestyle and deemed him quite inappropriate company for the heir to the estate, but Xiumin never bothered with their opinions. At least not to their faces. And that was why he decided to strike some fear into the stable boy. If the kid acted haughty, he would fire him on the spot for... some reason. He was sure he could find one. And if the boy didn't seem like the type to keep his mouth shut, well then... Xiumin would find a reason to make him. 

Rubbing a hand to his temples, which still ached, Xiumin marched around the horse pen. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his riding jacket as he approached the boy's quarters, kicked at the door once with the toe of his boot and when no one answered, he rapped sharply on the door with his fist. 

He heard a feeble and panicked, “Yes!? Coming!” but Xiumin was done waiting. He opened the door on his own and went right in, oblivious to the sudden gasp from the stable boy who'd been so slow the night before, and was still being slow right now. Xiumin sighed loudly in disdain as the boy - who'd still been in his bed long after the risen sun - scrambled out of bed in his just his trousers, no shoes and not shirt as of yet.

“Still sleeping? I see?” asked Xiumin with a cheeky little laugh. 

“I... I'm sorry, my lord! I...” He coughed just as Xiumin scoffed loudly.

“'My lord?' Please, that's what they call my father. Why are you still in bed? Don't you know there's work to be done? Slow as dirt in the mud, that's what you are. What's your name anyways?”

“K-Kai,” said the boy, before he covered his mouth with the crook of his elbow and coughed once more.

The smirk on Xiumin's face fell a bit when he realized the boy, Kai, actually didn't look very well. He took a step back just in case it was contagious. Meanwhile Kai coughed and coughed while searching for his shirt which was at the foot of the bed, and when he finally did come up for air and tried to put it on, he sneezed loudly instead, using his shirt as a rag.

Xiumin grimaced, and Kai looked embarrassed. He quickly turned his back and used the shirt to wipe his face and then, because he evidently didn't want to put it on dirty, he just stood there. Xiumin couldn't help noticing how toned were the muscles along his back, damp slightly from sweat. The air in the room was musty and there were no windows to even vent the place. Kai had probably been lying in his bed all night trying to sleep and be sick, and Xiumin felt a twinge of pity as he remembered last night. 

“You're sick?” he asked, even though the answer was obvious. Xiumin faltered because he had no idea what to do anymore. Sick people were not his forte. Not even close. 

“Just a cold, my lo- uhm, sir.”

Xiumin put on a stern face, even sterner than he meant to be. “The horses need attention. Are you able to do your job or not?”

Kai looked like a whipped puppy the longer he stared at him, hovering between indecision and his obvious desire to just pass right out on his bed again. Also, perhaps Xiumin had been hanging out with Luhan too much because compared to his friend's skinny frame, Kai looked kind of robust, even in his weakened state. 

“I- I can do it. Please, forgive my late morning. It won't happen again.” He actually gnawed his lower lip in worry, and every bit of Xiumin's resolve was lost.

“Do what you can. I'll have the house send down someone else to help you for today only.” He found something else to look at in the tiny room, because the sight of Jongin was actually a little distracting. 

“What? Oh, please, no you don't have to!” Kai instantly cried, but Xiumin brushed him off with a wave of his hand, suddenly embarrassed at how he felt like blushing himself. The shirt Kai was holding onto slipped to the ground and he startled like it was a bomb going off and just a piece of fabric hitting the cold dirt floor. Jongin seemed to panic before his eyes, apparently frozen by Xiumin's look of disgust. He probably didn't realize it wasn't because Xiumin was sickened by the stable boy's carelessness, and more to do with his own sense of regret.

“It's no problem,” he said lightly, snapping his head away from the sight of Kai bending over to retrieve the article of clothing. “Just... do me a favor, will you?”

“What?” Kai lurched back upright. “I mean, yes!?” 

Xiumin was already backing out of the room. “Just... don't mention to anyone that I came home drunk last night, please?” Instead of demanding the favor, Xiumin's voice shook, even to his own ears sounding less defensive and more... pleading. “I'll send someone to help you. I hope... you get better soon.”

And then he abandoned the room before the sight of Kai shirtless could confuse him any further.

A/N

Here are some random drabbles. Take it or leave it. ~Soo

IdontknowKaibutIlovehim: Omg it's your OC again! I love it when you write in new characters, and this one just sounds adorable no matter what au you write! <33 And a nobleman/stable boy story?!?! UNFGGGHFHSDfhasdf

IonlyheartLu: Ew what is this pairing. Please write only Xiuhan. Xiuhan4lyfe. Thank you. 

SiriouslynotBaek: This is really ingenuitive, and I like the.. original character you have included. *coughsbtwdidIseeanametypocoughs* I have to know more about this story! Write soon! Write soon! Or I will harrass you in real life. Not that I know you in real life. Nope. We have no idea who we are. Seriously. So, please don't block me again! J/k Love you. But not like someone else I know- HEY! Looking forward to updates Call me.

2,980 words

It's been so long! I have to apologize so so so much. :O But I am back. And seriously, if you're wondering why it's taken me so long, please check out my stories list. I have been busy lately! Lots of Xiuhan including long chaptered Xiuhan fantasy, and even a full length Xiukai oneshot. Also, I started writing for a few LJ exchanges and those have been occupying a lot of my time recently too. I hope you look forward to some of them when I can finally post and reveal. :)

Thank you for being patient! I will be back next chapter with more Kaisoo, and more Xiuhan next time as well. Hooray!