Grumpy Alphas need lots of love✔️

11

Passing the nest, Minho and Seungmin cooed. Jeongin had cutely curled up around the hot water bottle, his face so much calmer now though they weren't sure whether it was the hot water bottle or his mates' affection soothing the pain. The maknae lay in Changbin's arms, Felix resting against the rapper's side, so he could easily play with their youngest's hair. Laying on the Aussie's legs, Hyunjin drew shapes on Jeongin's arm, while Jisung had the boy's feet in his lap, lightly resting his hands on his dongsaeng's ankle, so he could feel his presence. It seemed like the perfect time to spend some quality time as a group, considering how much Jeongin seemed to need his pack's love right now, so Minho and Seungmin should better collect their leader too. To their surprise, Chan was awake when they went into his room to check on him. How had the leader willingly parted with Jeongin? Chan lifted his head when he heard his mates approach and Minho was quick to realize, the older had not parted with Jeongin willingly. "Hey hyung", Seungmin smiled, though it was a little forced with the tension thick in the air. The beta was usually a steady neutral when things got out of hand, so he had instantly taken the initiative talking to Chan, figuring it would only get worse if Minho, another alpha took charge. "Don't you want to join us for cuddles?", the second youngest continued, "You shouldn't suffer all by yourself, hm?"

At first, it seemed like Chan wasn't going to reply at all but he eventually rasped: "'m not suffering." – "You're not?", Minho frowned, raising an eyebrow. Glaring at the dancer, Chan repeated: "No, I'm not. What do you want?" – "We wanted to ask you if you wanted to join the rest of us for cuddles. That's what I asked already but I'm figuring you don't?", Seungmin intervened. Exhaling slowly, Chan shook his head in defeat. Still, they could sense some longing in the Aussie's eyes. To be honest, he didn't look the slightest bit better to Minho and Seungmin. Deciding to be brave, Minho took a seat next to his hyung reached for his hand. It still felt pretty warm to him, so he gave it a light squeeze and softly asked: "What's wrong, hyung?" Chan only shook his head and remained silent, glancing at his lap. Though he tried to somewhat turn his face away, Minho could see him bite down on his bottom lip hard. When the first tear fell from his lashes, Seungmin sat down on his other side and rubbed his back.

"I-I wouldn't dro-drop my p-pup", Chan sobbed, his voice cracking painfully. Squeezing his hand, Minho agreed: "You wouldn't drop your pup, hyung. You're way too protective to let anyone get hurt, hm?" The leader nodded, glad that someone finally saw the truth. "Bi-Bin said I'd – that I'd drop, I-Innie", he admitted, his trembling hand reaching up to wipe at his eyes, "And then -then he jus'- just took him away." Minho and Seungmin made eye contact, realizing that all of this was a misunderstanding. Seungmin could feel Chan's fever through his shirt, so he was stunned when the oldest continued: "I wouldn't drop him. I'm not even dizzy anymore, I feel fine." Furrowing his brows in confusion, Minho hummed: "And he didn't offer you to come along?" Still upset at the rapper, Chan shook his head but the others could see through his lie. There was no way, Changbin wouldn't have asked him. The truth was, when Chan had tried to get up to follow them, he had felt faint and opted for sitting back down. That left him with no way of being with his youngest dongsaeng, which was inacceptable.

Realizing that two of his mates were now here taking care of him, Chan grew even more upset, mainly at himself though. Maybe Changbin was right and he couldn't properly take care of Jeongin right now but that meant that he had to make sure the other members would be there to take care of their youngest. Right now, he was doing the exact opposite, making Minho and Seungmin take care of him and keeping them from being with Jeongin. Forcing in a deep breath, Chan tried to regain his composure. "Well, since we don't want you sitting here on your own, suffering or not, do you want to come with us?", Minho offered, glancing at Seungmin. Maybe it'd be best to just distract Chan for a while as it seemed the obvious fever was messing with his emotions. Why he hadn't wanted follow Jeongin to the living room still remained a mystery to them. When the leader nodded, Seungmin asked: "Alright, what do you feel up for? Maybe you could start with having some food because you haven't really eaten in a while and since you're not dizzy anymore, maybe your stomach will tolerate it now."

Chan's stomach dropped. He realized that if he wanted them to believe that he was recovered, he would have to play it off well but if he managed to do that, they'd turn their focus to Jeongin, who obviously needed their care a lot more. "Mhm, I really do feel better. Sure, I'm still tired because I didn't sleep that well and my voice's a little scratchy but...", the leader lied, trying to seem enthusiastic about eating while his stomach turned at the mere thought of it. Not wanting to argue with their hyung when the older was so insistent about something, Minho and Seungmin got up and waited for Chan to do so too.

Against his better judgement, the leader got to his feet and straightened up, hoping his mates didn't notice how hard his hands were trembling as his vision darkened around the edges. They didn't, too distracted by Chan's complexion turning even paler. It made the feverish flush on his cheeks stand out more and Seungmin wondered when the older would own up to the way he felt and just go back to bed or let them help him to the living room. Minho knew though, that as an alpha, Chan would be too proud to admit to his lie and would most definitely see it through to the end if he didn't pass out somewhere in between. The dancer chatted nonchalantly with Seungmin as the three of them made their way to the kitchen but kept a close eye on Chan, who didn't seem as steady on his feet as he claimed to be. Frantically wiping at his eyes and cheeks, the leader tried to remove any evidence that he had been crying, not wanting the rest of the pack to know. He almost toppled over from doing so while walking as the ground seemed to move under his feet but was proud when they reached the kitchen without any incidents.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Chan leant against the kitchen counter and tried to play off just how shaky his legs felt. While Seungmin gathered some food for Chan to choose from, Minho tried to have a casual conversation, making the oldest believe his act was still strong. Having heard them in the kitchen, Felix carefully clambered out of the nest and rushed over to check on Chan. The alpha forced a smile as Felix joined them asking him how he felt. While the leader tried to swallow the lump growing in his throat at having to lie to the omega, Minho replied: "He said he's feeling better, so we're just finding him something to eat before he can come cuddle too." Chan inwardly cursed the other alpha, the pressure to keep up his lie even higher now. "Oh", Felix claimed, a little surprised but happy, "Glad you're feeling better, hyung. Innie was asking for you but I think he already fell asleep." That statement made the leader's eyes sting again. His pup had needed him and he hadn't been there.

"Here, do you want some rice, crackers or a slice of toast?", Seungmin smiled, laying out the options. Feeling his throat tighten, Chan looked at the beta and stammered: "I-I think I'll go with- with the rice." His throat was still on fire and he doubted he'd even be able to swallow the toast. Nodding, the younger scooped some rice into a bowl and handed it to Chan, who shakily made his way to the dining table to sit down. Minho joined the older and handed him chopsticks, watching his hyung worriedly. Wanting to spend time with Chan now that he was better, Felix took a seat beside the leader and happily chatted with Minho about a choreography they had been working on. Nervously poking at the rice, Chan eventually lifted the tiniest bite to his lips and chewed very slowly. Having something in his mouth already felt so wrong and he could feel his stomach turn but he saw no way out of it now. "Are you okay, hyung?", Felix asked worriedly, "Your tummy is pretty loud...." – "Mhm, it's just rumbly because it's empty", the older lied but his tone was flat and Felix too slowly started to have his doubts. Yet, Chan kept eating, no matter how long it would take for him to finish his rice, he would do it, then his mates would believe him that he was fine and they could all take care of Jeongin together.

That was easier said than done though and Chan's determination slowly crumbled when he realized the bowl was still half full. Slowly breaking into a sweat, the alpha lowered his chopsticks and took a deep breath. The rice sat heavily in the pit of his stomach and he doubted he'd get another bite down. Felix worriedly rested his hand on Chan's leg when the older placed down his chopsticks and closed his eyes, fighting for self-control. Resting his head in his hands, the leader took a few shaky breaths. He couldn't do this. "Hyung, it's okay if you're not that well yet", Minho hummed sympathetically but Chan shook his head. He was fine and he would somehow finish his food, he just needed a moment. When his mouth started to water, the leader pressed a tight fist to his lips, what little color he might still have had draining from his face fast. No matter how hard he fought it, Chan couldn't hold back a gag, startling his friends.