Sickie/Little: Youngjae
Caregiver: Jaebeom
No one's POV.:
Youngjae had already felt himself coming down with a cold over the course of the week but it wasn't until now that it hit him. Peeling himself from his bed turned out to be a challenge, as all he wanted to do was pull his blanket over his head and go back to sleep. He knew he couldn't do that or, at least his big-self knew that. To his little-self, getting up sounded like a cruel punishment, when he didn't even know what he had done wrong. Aware that they had a rather busy schedule today, Youngjae fought off the urge to whine and rolled out of bed. His head swam before he fully balanced himself and sluggishly made his way to the bathroom. He got ready in a daze and decided to use the opportunity to take his temperature. Sure enough, he had a slight fever but it wasn't too bad. At least not yet. He pocketed some painkillers for the ache in his head before walking back to his room. Not having an appetite for breakfast anyway, he could take his time and made sure to pack enough tissues into his bag. Although the door was open, there was a knock on the doorframe and Youngjae turned around to face Jackson. "Good morning", the rapper smiled, "Won't you join us for breakfast?" – "Ah, hyung", the younger stammered, cringing at the rasp in his voice, "I'm not too hungry right now, so I figured I'd just eat something later." Jackson accepted that excuse and went to get ready himself.
Youngjae remained unnaturally quiet when they left for their first interview, which sparked some worry in Jaebeom. The leader had been Youngjae's caregiver, ever since the little had outed himself in front of his group, and was afraid the younger might slip into his headspace while they were doing their interview. The vocalist always tended to grow quiet when he was on the verge of slipping, afraid he'd accidentally use his little voice with someone who wasn't supposed to know. Jaebeom wasn't even wrong about his suspicion. Youngjae did feel close to slipping and had been feeling this way ever since he woke up this morning, although the main reason for his silence was the irritation in his throat. Speaking to Jackson this morning had showed him how bad his voice sounded and he wanted to safe whatever was left of it for their interview. Youngjae absentmindedly brought his sleeve up to his face and gently nudged it against his nose, hoping to quell the annoying tickle at the back of his sinuses. It didn't help much and he instead ended up muffling to harsh sneezes in his sleeve. He groaned as the pressure caused his head to pound and he realized that he couldn't take the painkillers he had taken with him unless he'd eat something. They still had a while to go, so he decided to spend the rest of the drive napping.
Taking a nap turned out to be the worst idea he could have had. When Jinyoung woke him up to get out of the car, Youngjae woke up in his headspace. His nose was completely blocked now and he wasn't able to suppress a hoarse whine. Why could his hyung not just let him sleep. Over the noise outside the vehicle, the members hadn't heard his disapproving noise and the little was quick to pull himself together. Nobody could know that he had slipped. His appa would be disappointed in him when he found out he had slipped while they were at work but he couldn't help it. He just felt so icky and the thought of having to give an interview while being sick stressed him out. "You coming?", Jaebeom asked, already entering the building. He couldn't see Youngjae nod before bringing his hand up to his face. "h-hESSH! hEGSHU! *sniff*" – "Bless you", Jinyoung hummed with a small smile, waiting for the younger to catch up. Of course, he had noticed his dongsaeng acting a bit off but he figured it was the cold he had mentioned coming down with a few days ago. Afraid to use his little voice, Youngjae just returned the smile before hurrying to catch up.
He was just as quiet while getting his make-up done, aside from his sneezes that came more frequently now. It took all the discipline the little could find in himself to not whine as the staff dabbed at his face, tickling his already itchy nose with their powder brushes. He got it that he had to look good for the cameras but getting his make-up done still was torture for the little. "Are you okay?", Jaebeom asked when they were getting ready to go on stage, "You're sneezing a lot today." Youngjae nodded but pointed at his throat instead of giving a verbal reply. "Sore throat?", the leader guessed and the younger nodded in confirmation, "Alright, I'll try to make sure you won't have to talk a lot." The vocalist gave him a gratefully smile and had to refrain himself from rushing into his caregiver's arms. There were people around and he needed to seem big and professional. Before he knew it, he was ushered on stage, sitting down between his hyungs. The bright lights did nothing for his headache, instead making his eyes water. Youngjae only remembered at the very last second that there was a thick layer of make-up on his face to hide the dark bags under his eyes and lowered his fists, that he had wanted to rub over his watering eyes. Glancing over at him, Mark gave his thigh a comforting squeeze. The younger only met his eyes for a short moment before his fluttered shut and he ducked to the side. "hAH'KTCHh' h- hAKsshhu! *sniff* excuse mbe", he mumbled, voice slightly higher and cracking painfully. Mistaking his little voice for him simply being sick, the interviewer made a mental note not to direct any questions at Youngjae as speaking obviously had to be painful for him.
