Don't run away from me

ch.27

//joshua;

Still weak, Joshua wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling too hot, sensing something tight around his waist, pressing his back against something rigid. Still half-asleep and dizzy, he only notices that a familiar scent completely envelops him, and the tightness that already bothered him because of the heat still made him feel safe. He turns around and sees Seokmin's face, in a deep sleep, which makes his heart leap with joy. He embraces him and buries his face in his chest, incredibly surprised at how real and tangible a hallucination could be due to the fever. Without paying much attention to other details, Joshua falls asleep again, the wave of warmth that now envelops him being different from the uncomfortable one you have when your fever subsides. In those moments of hallucination, Joshua truly felt loved and protected, Seokmin's constant presence in his mind making him realize even in those moments that all he needed was Seokmin.

When he wakes up again, he is alone in bed. The sun is shining in the sky, probably afternoon already, and sunbeams are playing in the room, peeking through the curtains and tickling his face. Although he knows it was all just a dream, Joshua feels the absence of Seokmin's warmth more than ever. He still smells him on the pillow and it's as if he can still feel the warmth of his arms that embraced him all night. He gets out of bed and sees a bowl of compresses at the edge of the bed, confused because he doesn't remember bringing it there. The headache has eased, as has the fever, and aside from still coughing, Joshua feels a little better but still weak. He leaves the bedroom and heads to the bathroom, rubbing his eyes when suddenly he is hit by the fresh smell of chicken soup that Seokmin had made for him. When he opens his eyes again, his gaze returns to him.

'Oh, hyung!' he greeted him with a smile when he noticed Joshua sitting there, looking stunned.

Seokmin stood up and approached Joshua, placing a hand on his forehead and one on his own, comparing temperatures.

'Great! Your fever has gone down.' Seokmin tucks Joshua's hair behind his ear and cups his cheeks in his palms, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

Still in shock, Joshua reaches for his arm and pinches himself. Once. Twice. The third time, Seokmin stops him, amused by his reaction.

'I'm not hallucinating, am I?' Joshua was already convinced that he had died from the fever the night before and ended up in heaven.

'No, silly.' Seokmin starts laughing, squeezing Joshua's cheeks even tighter, forming a pout with his lips. Seokmin leans in and gives another quick kiss on them, and Joshua jolts, fully awake now.

'You idiot, how could you do that?!' Joshua quickly covers his mouth and moves away from Seokmin. 'You have an exam tomorrow and you're joking around? Do you want to get sick too?!' Joshua panics and searches for a mask to quickly cover his face.

Seokmin watches him with a smile as he spins around the house. 'I'm not joking, that's why I'm working here. Look,' Seokmin points to the table where most of the problems were solved.

Finally, Joshua puts on the mask and continues to keep his distance from Seokmin. 'What are you doing here, trying to kill me?'

'I missed you,' Seokmin says.

Joshua rolls his eyes in an exasperated gesture and throws a pillow from the couch at Seokmin. 'Fine, fine, sorry!' Seokmin defends himself from it, then picks it up from the floor and puts it back in place. 'Yesterday you didn't seem yourself, and when your phone turned off, I panicked terribly and came over. But the part about missing you is true.' Seokmin shrugs as if it's the simplest explanation he's ever given.

'Seokmin.' Joshua sits down on a chair at the table, feeling dizzy again, but now he doesn't know if it's because he's catching a cold or because he feels like strangling Seokmin. And not in a kinky way. 'Seokmin, do you really want me to beat you up? What if you get sick and miss the exam?'