Leo resisted the sigh threatening to pass through his lips. Another full day of schedules and another full day of watching

VIXX’s two youngest beat down on their leader and hyung. Sometimes he just wished he could knock their heads together. Could

they not see it was affecting N? Could they not see the hurt look in his eyes every time they threw an insult his direction or

rejected his affection?Could they not feel the tension in the van as they returned to their dorm? Leo knew Ken and Ravi could feel

it. Oh yes, they were very aware of their leader’s bad mood. Leo had lost track of how many times Ken had tried to diffuse the

tension by trying to make N laugh but the most he had gotten out of him was a forced out chuckle. Yet still he tried and tried to no

avail. Heck, even Ravi had joined in but N remained stone faced regardless of how many jokes or funny faces the two managed to

conjure up. What confused Leo was how the two youngest, sharing the back seat, still had not picked up on their leader’s

unhappiness. They sat there joking away with each other, the occasional “N joke” rolling off their tongues almost as if it were a

contest to see who could make the meanest joke. Leo glanced over at said leader as another joke reached their ears. He could

see how N’s lips twitched downward in a frown as he heard the joke and how he kneaded the palm of his hands with his

fingernails; leaving little red, crescent moon indents in the skin. Leo was sure that if it had been any other time, N wouldn’t have

minded their joking. However, N had been on the go with little rest for the past several weeks. He’d had a very packed schedule

since they had begun promotions for Error and even before that he had been busy collaborating with their choreographer to

perfect their dance for Error. He was always the first one awake and the last one to sleep. Leo couldn’t even remember the last

time he had actually seen the leader relax. Or eat for that matter. He could tell the stress was starting to affect N severely. He

could see the dark shadows under his eyes and he could hear the fake joy in his voice. He could tell it was only a matter of time

before N lost it. He just hoped their manager would take notice and allow him some rest before that happened. As they reached

their dorm and climbed out of the van, Leo noticed N stumble forward as he stepped down onto the pavement. 

“Hey, you alright?” Leo inquired softly, grabbing a hold of N’s upper arm in an attempt to help steady him.

“Yeah…” N mumbled in reply, shrugging out of Leo’s grip. Leo released his hold, letting the situation slide. He followed closely

behind N, however, as they entered the building. As they waited for their manager to unlock the door to their dorm, Leo noticed N

sway on his feet before leaning heavily on the wall, his legs almost buckling out from underneath him. Worried, Leo walked up

directly behind him, ready to catch him if he fell. Thankfully, the dizzy spell seemed to pass and N remained standing, entering the

dorm with the rest of the members as their manager opened the door. As Leo watched N, he felt Ravi sidle up next to him. 

“Is something wrong with N hyung?” Ravi asked, his tone soft with worry, ”He looks like he’s about to keel over…”

Leo shook his head as Ravi trailed off, “Don’t worry about it. Just get inside and get some rest.”

Ravi gave him a doubtful look but followed his instructions and hurried inside. Leo let out the sigh he had been keeping in since 

they had entered the van and shuffled after his dongsaeng.

        Leo glanced at the clock. It read 2:00am. All the younger members and their manager had already been asleep for the past

two hours. Leo had insisted on staying up to wait for N, who had left shortly after they’d gotten back to go to the filming of his

drama. His mouth opened wide in a yawn as he rested his head on the arm of the couch. It seemed like only a moment before he

was startled awake by the click of their lock disengaging. He glanced over at the clock again as the door opened. His eyes

widened as he read the time, 4:00am. 

“Leo? Why are you still up?” Leo heard the familiar voice of his leader and looked to the entrance, taking in N’s exhausted eyes

and slumped posture. 

“I was waiting for you.” Was Leo’s short answer.

“Why? You need rest, Taekwoon.” N said with a slight bite to his tone, using Leo’s real name for emphasis.

“I could say the same for you, Hakyeon.” Leo retorted in the same tone of voice. N looked irritated for a moment before letting it go

with a sigh and a shake of his head. 

“Just go to sleep.” He said wearily, bending down to slip his shoes off and Leo got up to leave the room, satisfied that he had won

the small battle of wills. However, as he turned away, he caught a glimpse of N suddenly pitching forward as he straightened from

his position of taking off his shoes. Alarm ran through Leo’s sleep deprived head as he registered what he had seen after hearing

a dull thud come from behind him. Leo whirled around, finding N laying face-down on the floor with his limbs sprawled, completely

limp.

“Hakyeon!” Quickly rushing to his leader’s side, Leo turned him over onto his back before gathering him into his arms. He tried to

remain calm knowing that N would not be happy with him if he woke the others up. He was funny like that, always worrying about

others but not wanting others to worry about him.

“Hakyeon. Hakyeon, c’mon. Wake up. Answer me.” Leo continued to coax him awake, gently tapping his face. Almost a minute

later, he sighed in relief as N stirred awake with a groan.

“Leo..?” N whispered groggily, squinting up at him before noticing the position they were in, “..why…why are we on the floor?”

“You fainted.” Leo said, preventing N from moving as he tried to get up, worried that he might black out again, “Take it easy, you’re

exhausted. When was the last time you ate something?”

N scrunched his face up in thought, “I had some cereal before we left yesterday morning..I think..”

Leo’s eyes widened in shock, “You mean to tell me all you’ve eaten in the past twenty-one hours is a bowl of cereal?”

N didn’t answer him and instead started nervously biting his lip, eyes looking anywhere but the worried face above him. Leo let out

a frustrated sigh, he had known that N hadn’t been eating regularly but he hadn’t expected to hear that he hadn’t eaten in almost

twenty-four hours. No wonder why he had fainted. Leo tightened his grip on N again as he tried to maneuver his way out of his

arms. This garnered a frustrated growl from his leader.

“Look. I’m fine, okay? I’ll get some sleep and eat when we wake up later so will you let me up, please?” Leo glared down at N for

a moment before releasing his grip with a sigh. N rolled over onto his hands and knees before wearily getting to his unsteady feet.

Leo followed closely behind him as they made their way to the bedroom. He waited until N was laying down in bed before he

made his way to his own spot on the floor. Closing his eyes, he was asleep in seconds.

So here we are, the first chapter! Please leave a comment telling me what you think :)