Heesung goes out while it rains, and their 'second-in-command' looks after him while he recovers from his seemingly harmless but rather nasty cold. All things considered, Jay would rather think of it as the perfect time to bond with his hyung.

-

Numb fingers didn't make great tools for locking a door.

Especially as rain poured from the heavens like Heesung had never seen before, showering him with bullets-like droplets that landed on his skin and shimmered like crystals. The sky was beautiful and so were the streets, the small bookshop that he was locking up appearing mystical on the empty path.

But Heesung didn't feel as good as it looked.

The rain was lashing down on him and making his skin sting, leaving his hands numb and his face hurting from the cold. Rain trickled down his back and seeped into his clothes, which now stuck to his skin and made it itch.

In his spare hand he had a rucksack, which he refused to carry on his back because of the weather. If something had to get soaked and ruined today, he would rather it be himself than his books, which he was taking home since they were too damaged to sell but well-kept and well-loved enough to keep.

He stuffed the key into the pocket of his trousers as he stepped around the scattered puddles, his shoes already wet just from standing in the rain for a few minutes. Picking up the pace, he protected his bag close to his chest as the rain hit his back instead, making him shiver from only wearing one layer of clothing. If only he'd checked the weather forecast that morning.

The wind bit at his skin as he sped up to a run, looking down at the floor to stop the rain from getting into his eyes. The wet pavement flew past his eyes as raindrops fell onto it from his hair, his legs feeling achy already from the running. He slowed to a jog, breathing heavily as he caught his breath again, making a mental note that he should improve his running ability, as this may not be the last time this happens.

His thundering footsteps ripped through the sound of wind whipping past him and rain pattering heavily on the streets and roofs around him. He was getting tired again and out of breath as he began to run, but he was far too cold to stop. The apartment block wasn't too far away by now, but it felt like miles away with the suffering that he was feeling for every moment he was stuck in the rain.

He took the last few steps before entering the apartment block, the rain from his clothes dripping onto the shiny floor beneath his feet. He rushed up to his floor and knocked on the door of his apartment.

Jay opened the door, and his eyes widened when he spotted Heesung.
"Heesung-hyung, why didn't you bring a coat?" he asked as he let him inside, and Heesung shrugged as he went to his room to put the bag there.

He opened the bag to check on the books, and luckily they were no more damaged than they already had been. He sighed in relief, closing the bag as he went to his wardrobe to pick out a clean set of pyjamas to get changed into after a shower.

He passed Jay on his way to go for a shower, who grinned slightly as he watched him.
"You ran through the rain just to protect the books?" Jay asked, and Heesung rolled his eyes.

"Yes," he admitted quietly, "But the books are important." He stood in the bathroom doorway as Jay stepped closer, the smug grin still on his face.

"So are you. And if you don't look after yourself, I'll have to start escorting you everywhere." Heesung gave him a glare, a playful one at that, and closed the bathroom door so that he could take a much-needed shower.

He undressed, and was about to step into the shower when Jay spoke from outside the door,
"Do you still want to watch a movie later?" Heesung smiled; Jay always managed to have the perfect combination of care for him mixed with pure clinginess.

When he got out of the shower he went to his room and got into bed, still feeling shivery from being outside. He hid underneath his duvet, but tried not to fall asleep properly for when Jay woke him up for the movie.

It was difficult though, with the sheets so comfortable and warm, so he drifted into sleep anyway, his willingness to stay awake suddenly disappearing.

-

He woke up later, with no idea what time it was. A painful pulsing in his head presented itself, and his nose was annoyingly runny. He got up, sniffing quietly as he made his way to the bathroom to blow his nose.

On the way back he saw Jay, reminding him of the movie he was supposed to have watched.
"Jay, I'm sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep," Heesung apologised, but Jay shrugged and smiled.

"It's okay, you were cute when you slept and I couldn't bring myself to wake you up." Heesung broke into a small smile, his cheeks going a light shade of pink. Jay went into the bathroom as Heesung went to his room, lying in bed feeling shivery and uncomfortable.

An ache in his body was bothering him as well as the blocked nose and headache that he had noticed when he first woke up, and he felt weak enough that he would willingly sleep on a cold, hard surface.

But he was lucky enough to have a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in instead, and yet he still struggled to get to sleep. The dull headache was persistent and his brain felt like it had all been broken down into a mush of pain and nonsense.

Jay walked in and came over once he saw Heesung, and he sat down on the side of the bed to observe the tired boy. His eyes softened as he reached over and stroked Heesung's hair, parting pieces of it back to where they were meant to be.

"You don't look so good... how do you feel?" Jay asked, leaning closer towards Heesung.

"Tired, a bit achy. I need hugs," Heesung stated, and Jay giggled at his response. He shuffled towards Heesung and placed his arms around his waist, pulling him closer into the hug that he had so cutely asked for. Heesung's head rested on Jay's shoulder, his eyes closed as he tried to settle his headache.

"Thank you," Heesung whispered, "I'm still cold." Jay held in a laugh as he listened to Heesung's complaint, and he pulled away from the hug to which Heesung whined quietly.

"I'm turning the heating up. I'll be back in a minute."

Heesung counted a minute in his head, then another, then another, and just as he was getting impatient, Jay came back. He had a mug in his hand, which he placed on the bedside table.

"Sit up, I brought a Lemsip to help with your cold," Jay said, placed his arms around Heesung to drag him into a sitting position.

"I don't even have a cold," said Heesung, taking the mug anyway to warm up his hands. Jay didn't hold in the laugh this time, making Heesung frown and glare at Jay.

"You do, sorry to break it to you hyung. Now can you stay here on your own while I go and find a thermometer?" He said, with a small smile. Heesung nodded, and Jay's grin widened.

"Good. Don't do anything stupid." Heesung placed the mug on the bedside table and sunk back down into the bed, pulling his duvet over him again.

It was lonely there as he waited for Jay to come back, and he seemed to take much longer this time. He could hear clattering in the cupboards in the kitchen and the bathroom as he looked for where they could possibly be keeping a thermometer.

Eventually, the clattering stopped and Heesung peeped over the top of the duvet as Jay came back.

"You haven't drank any of that?" Jay asked as he sat on the bed again, and Heesung shrugged. He seemed to shrink a bit now that Jay was watching him again.

"Don't want it," he mumbled, and Jay shook his head. He gave the thermometer to Heesung, who held it in his hand and stared at it.

"Fine, I'll do it," Jay said as he took it from Heesung again and held it in his ear, as Heesung squirmed like a child.

"It's cold," he complained, but Jay held his wrist to comfort him. He left it in until it beeped, when Heesung sighed to finally have the cold metal end of it out of his ear.

"39.2°C," Jay read as he placed it on the bedside table and gave Heesung the mug again.

"What does that mean?" Heesung asked cluelessly, and Jay sighed with slight amusement on his face.

"You know that it's a fever, hyung, you've freaked out when mine was lower than that," Jay laughed, and Heesung just rolled his eyes. Damn, these kids are getting cleverer. "I'm staying to keep an eye on you, so just try to get some rest."

Heesung nodded, taking a sip of the Lemsip before he placed it on the bedside table. He scrunched his face up in disgust, the taste too strong for his liking. He would probably let it go cold just so that he won't have to drink any more of it.

It was slightly unsettling to have Jay watch him as he slept, but it also felt comforting to feel his warmth so close by. His headache wasn't letting him sleep though, so he sat up and leaned on Jay, feeling as if his head was going to explode.

"Jay, head hurts," Heesung whined as Jay interlaced their fingers, smiling at Heesung as the older boy glanced up at him.

"That's a shame. Maybe if you slept instead of complaining, it would feel better." Heesung slapped Jay's arm gently as he nuzzled his face into his neck.

"That's mean. Why are you being so mean? I know you're soft really, stop acting all manly and stuff," Heesung said with the whiniest voice Jay had heard from him all day.

The latter smiled, playing with Heesung's hair as he asked, "Manly and stuff? What are you talking about?"

Heesung shrugged, giving up as he let Jay support his whole body weight. He couldn't be bothered keeping himself up if Jay wanted him to sleep anyway. Jay took the mostly-full mug from the bedside table and held it in front of Heesung for him to drink it.

Heesung shook his head, pushing it away with his finger.

"Hyung, it'll help you get better. Drink it, please," Jay insisted, so Heesung held his hands out to grab the mug but Jay pulled it away.

"No, I'm not trusting your baby hands right now. Just drink it," Jay said, holding it in front of him again for Heesung to drink from. He shot a glare towards Jay as he drank from the mug, the taste feeling bad all the way through his throat.

Once he had drank most of it and Jay placed the mug on the bedside table for the umpteenth time, Heesung shuffled closer to Jay until he was almost sitting on him, laying down to use his lap as a pillow. Jay still played with Heesung's hair in his fingers, petting it softly until Heesung fell asleep. He leaned down to kiss him gently on the forehead, patting his hair one more time.

"All of this for a couple of books, hm? You're all insane."

--

Heesung's early birthday present, since I couldn't wait any longer to post it! A part two will come out on his birthday, so you can consider that the real birthday present (imagine being gifted a cold for your birthday... Sorry Heesung!)

This one is, by some miracle, partially proof-read! I mainly read back on the part that I wrote at 5 in the morning because it was terrible...

Thanks for reading! Only Sunoo is left now~ I hope you guys enjoy was I have in store for it. Comments and votes are appreciated, and I'll always try my best to respond :)

- Kiran 💙