Hypoglycaemic Minghao

Still Standing

Sometimes, even though Minghao had several measures in place to prevent episodes, they still happened.

Usually, his members could help when they noticed his symptoms, but occasionally nobody noticed his episodes while he was asleep.

When Minghao did sleep through his notifications, Junhui was the first to know. He could wake up feeling Minghao shivering and sweating, or he could be woken by Minghao asking for his medication when he was too exhausted from the symptoms to even get up.

Sometimes, neither of them woke up despite Minghao's measures. That was when it got dangerous.

SEVENTEEN had been given one blissful day off, and despite Minghao saying he would be up early to paint, he had still managed to sleep through his alarm and a medication notification.

It was Junhui who woke up to the third of Minghao's notifications, a backup in case Minghao didn't go into his app and check off the second notification. The third notification also went to Junhui's phone, and it was the buzzing of his watch as the message came through that woke Junhui.

He felt around the large bed for Minghao, but couldn't feel his boyfriend lying beside him, only a mess of blankets and a few scattered pillows.

In a panic, Junhui forced his eyes open to find Minghao lying on the floor just beside the bed, face down with his head tilted to the side, and blue bangs matted to his forehead with sweat. A few patches of dark skin were also forming around his elbows and jaw, making him look even more gaunt.

Junhui was immediately up, grabbing Minghao's black and white bag as he knelt down beside Minghao.

As gently as he could, Junhui lifted Minghao's head into his lap, rolling him up on his side and placing a hand on Minghao's sweaty forehead. He was burning up.

Junhui took a deep breath to calm himself and unzipped Minghao's bag, digging out the hidden hydrocortisone shot and starting to prepare it.

"Stay with me, honey. I'm getting your injection." Junhui whispered, dialling the emergency services while he waited for Minghao's injection to be ready.

As soon as he was off the phone, Junhui took the guard off the needle and stuck it into Minghao's bare arm, emptying the syringe into his body.

Once the injection was administered and the needle was thrown to the side, Junhui called out for someone, anyone in the dorm to help.

Mingyu came rushing in, freezing when he spotted Minghao lying unconscious in Junhui's arms.

"He's alive and I've given him his injection but I need help waking him up. I've already called an ambulance."

Mingyu nodded as he hurried over to their side, taking Minghao from Junhui's arms and holding his small frame close, one arm hooked under his head to keep him up a little and the other holding his hand and fluttering around his face to try and rouse him.

It took ten long minutes for Minghao to wake up, whining and opening his eyes with a faint whimper. He kept his sleepy, glossy eyes fixed on Mingyu, barely awake and most likely unable to tell who was holding him.

"HaoHao, stay awake for me," Mingyu demanded when Minghao's eyes threatened to slip shut.

Without warning, Junhui pricked Minghao's finger and pressed it to the test strip he'd placed inside the glucometer. Minghao let out a distressed whine, struggling and starting to writhe around in Mingyu's arms at the sharp sting of the needle.

Mingyu held him tighter, not letting Minghao escape his arms as he struggled in his delirious distress.

Junhui knew he wasn't in his right mind as he tried to free himself from Mingyu's restrictive arms. If Minghao knew it was Mingyu holding him he would be more likely to try and fall asleep than fight against him. In a weak attempt to calm him down, Junhui placed his hands on either side of Minghao's face and forced him to make eye contact.