Lonely Kitten

74

When Jisung woke up at some point during the night, he felt like he had been hit by a train. Changbin's lie about Jisung straining his voice seemed to suddenly have come true. His throat was on fire and he doubted he'd be able to speak if he tried. The rapper winced as he swallowed, realizing just how swollen his throat had become. Sighing softly in his sleep, Minho snuggled closer to his mate. With the hybrid so close, Jisung became uncomfortably aware of how hot he felt and how his sweaty shirt clung to his back. Gently detangling himself from Minho, the rapper pushed off the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed. He had wanted to get up and have some water but his head had started to pound the second he was upright and he didn't necessarily trust his equilibrium. Jisung sniffled softly before bracing his himself against the mattress, trying to get up only to sway lightheadedly. Stumbling for a moment, the rapper found himself falling and barely managed to sit down on the floor next to his bed as his vision darkened.

"-da. Dada!", Minho called, panicking as knelt in front of his unresponsive caregiver. Covering his face, Jisung groaned hoarsely. Gosh, his head hurt so much worse now. Minho worriedly shook his mate's shoulders, whimpering: "Dada, pwease say something." – "Ssh", Jisung shushed weakly, "'m okay." His voice was barely above a whisper and gosh did it hurt to use it. As the rapper broke off coughing, he clutched his throat in pain, trying hard to fight back the tears that stung his eyes. Minho's heart was racing, watching his daddy in so much pain. The little was trying to remain calm and not freak out, scrambling to his feet to fetch the other some water. Jisung worriedly watched his mate rush out of the room and weakly grabbed onto his bed, struggling to push himself up. The rapper's arms shook like crazy as he maneuvered his achy body back onto the bed.

"Dada?", Minho pouted, shaking Jisung's arm. He was relieved when his caregiver instantly opened his eyes this time and smiled: "Min got chu watew fow yo thwoat." – "Thank you, kitten", Jisung forced out with a wince, propping himself up on his elbow to have a few sips. With his nose clogged, his throat was parched and had swallowing not hurt as much as it did, he would've probably chugged all of the water. Shakily placing the glass onto the nightstand, Jisung laid back down and draped his arm over his face. His mind was so foggy, it was hard to comprehend his situation. All he knew for sure was that he needed sleep. Lots of it.

To say Chan was surprised to wake up to his phone ringing in the middle of the night, would be an understatement. He had actually been asleep for once but reading Minho's name on the screen had him awake in an instant. The hybrid wouldn't usually call him, especially not at such an ungodly hour, so something had to be seriously wrong. Chan found his worries confirmed when he picked up and was met with the younger's almost hysteric sobs. Unable to get Jisung to tell him what was going on, Minho had started to freak out. Something was very wrong and he didn't know what to do, so he had to call for help and Chan was the first person to cross his mind. Clutching the phone with trembling hands, the little drew his knees up to his chest and tried to explain what had happened but all that came out were whimpered pleas for the Aussie to come over and hurry.

Minho jumped when he heard the front door click, his ears going back as he prepared himself to hiss at the intruder. "Min?", Chan whisper-yelled as he slowly made his way into the dark apartment. Perking up, the hybrid got to his feet and rushed towards his hyung. He grabbed Chan's hand and tugged the Aussie to the bedroom, clearly in a hurry. Rambling worriedly, Minho pointed towards his mate's unmoving form on the bed.

Chan's heart sank as he approached the bed and switched on the reading lamp. Jisung's face was covered in sweat, a feverish flush high on his cheekbones. "Sung?", Chan hummed, patting the rapper's shoulder. The younger only groaned, scrunching up his nose. Resting his palm against Jisung's forehead, Chan had to suppress a curse. If he let on how worried he was, Minho would only freak out more. The Aussie carefully slid his arm around his friend's shoulder before slipping the other under his knees and hoisting him up. Minho watched the two with wide eyes as Chan carried his caregiver to the bathroom. Clutching his baby blanket, the little waddled after them and switched on the light as Chan struggled to place Jisung into the bathtub. Not even bothering to remove the younger's clothes, Chan grabbed the showerhead and sprayed cool water on his friend's legs.

Jisung gasped as his eyes shot open, flitting around the room unseeing. Placing the shower head into the holder and allowing the water to rain down on them, Chan cupped his dongsaeng's feverish cheeks and eventually got the younger to look at him. "Stay calm", the Aussie shushed softly, "Your fever is really high. Can you tell me when you started to feel unwell?" Trying to clear his throat, Jisung barely managed to get a sound out but mouthed: "Suddenly woke up feelin' bad." In his haze, the rapper had lost all sense of time, so he didn't know how much time had passed between him collapsing next to his bed and Chan dowsing him in cold water. What was the Aussie doing here anyway? "Min called me, all worked up", Chan explained, seemingly reading Jisung's mind, "Seems you gave him quite a scare." He shot the hybrid an encouraging smile, so Minho hesitantly stepped into the bathroom and knelt next to the tub. Fighting back a cough, Jisung sniffled: "'m sorry I scared you."

Chan helped Jisung peel off his wet shirt and used the shower head to rinse the rapper's back and shoulder with cool water. Though he was starting to shiver, Jisung tried to relax. The cold was easing his aches and the fog in his mind was slowly clearing. "Min, can you fetch your daddy a fresh set of clothes?", Chan asked, turning off the water. When the hybrid was gone, the Aussie whispered: "Can you tell me exactly what's bothering you? Pointing is enough, no need to wreck your throat more." Nodding, Jisung pointed first at his head, then his throat before holding up a hand indicating Chan should wait. The rapper caught two throaty sneezes in the crook of his arm, giving a painfully dry cough afterwards. Lastly, he pointed right underneath his eyes. "Okay, so... headache, sore throat and... I don't know, sinus congestion and pain?", Chan guessed, wincing in sympathy when the younger nodded.

When Minho placed Jisung's clothes onto the sink, Chan handed the rapper his towel before guiding the little out of the bathroom. The hybrid was still anxiously kneading his baby blanket, so Chan asked: "Do you have your paci somewhere?" Nodding, Minho made grabby hands at the Aussie and once he was settled on the other's hip, he pointed towards the bedroom.

With his paci bobbing rapidly between his lips, Minho allowed Chan to carry him to the kitchen and sat on the counter, watching the Aussie curiously as he rummaged through the cabinets.

While Chan prepared a pot of tea for his sick dongsaeng, said dongsaeng had managed to get himself dressed with some struggle. He muffled a barking cough into his towel before scrubbing his tears away and exiting the bathroom. Steadying himself against the walls, Jisung shakily made his way to the kitchen and smiled tiredly when he saw Minho with his paci and blanket. "Hey, you okay now?", Chan asked when he spotted the younger. Jisung nodded but had to turn away coughing again. It scraped his throat and brought tears to his eyes. Watching his dongsaeng sway, Chan quickly wrapped his arm around the rapper's waist and guided him to the living room. He rubbed Jisung's back until the fit tapered off and picked up the fuzzy blanket his friends had left there earlier that night. "I really don't like the sound of that cough", Chan admitted quietly, making sure Minho couldn't hear him, "Your tea should be almost ready, so you can have some tea and get some more sleep. We'll see how you're doing tomorrow but I might have to take you to see a doctor if I doesn't improve."

In the blink of an eye, Minho found himself sitting on the kitchen counter alone. The height made him dizzy and he felt his heart race as he tried not to look down. He was terrified but he knew Chan needed to take care of Jisung, so he bit down on his paci to silence himself, hands fisted tightly in his baby blanket as tears streamed down his face.