NCT Oneshots {ot23} | open

Kiss It Better: JaemSung {Request}

▹request acc: Imafivestarkpopstan
▹prompt: angst to fluff where Jisung gets hurt during dance practice, but not too badly
▹word count: 1568
▹warnings: n/a

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹❀◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The music stops abruptly. The echo of exhausted footwork fades away, the manager pauses her typing in the corner of the room, and then all Jaemin can hear is a cry for help.

Jisung is on the floor, hunched over, chest heaving and nursing his ankle. He cries again, before a sob diminishes the sound to a guttural groan.

Jaemin blinks, then is by his side in a second.

His own heart thumps in his chest, unable to recover from five hours of dancing because of the new surge of panic that keeps him alert, makes him search Jisung all over with racing thoughts and shaking hands.

"Hyung, it hurts," Jisung whimpers.

"What hurts?" Mark is there a moment later, crouching down on Jisung's other side. He meets Jaemin's eyes, equally as confused and alarmed.

One moment they had all been dancing in perfect unity. The next their maknae was on the floor, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Jisung visibly clenches his jaw and his hands shake as he pulls his sweatpants up just enough to reveal his ankle.

"I thought you'd broken a bone!" Renjun folds his arms across his chest and tuts, but his hair is ruffled from stress and he still joins them on the floor, as do the other members.

"But it hurts," Jisung says again through a sniffle. His ankle is red, but his eyes are redder and more swollen when he turns to Jaemin. "Hyung, do something. Please." He widens his eyes so the irises glisten, deep and black. The sparkle has had Jaemin wrapped around his finger since they were barely entering their teenage years.

Jaemin tenderly holds out his hands. Jisung holds onto one, making Mark laugh a little, but a wave of tears emerging from Jisung's eyes quiets the room once more.

"Let me have a look," Jaemin says, shaking his hand to get Jisung to let go. He does as told, only to grab his bicep instead. Jaemin lets him.

His chest twinges from the sight of his baby in distress and in pain but he breathes deep and audibly, encouraging Jisung to follow while he traces a thumb over the ankle that now looks decidedly more swollen. Jisung hisses when he touches him, and Jaemin flinches at both the noise and the heat of the skin under the pad of his thumb.

"I don't think it's broken," Jaemin says.

"Well it's not at a funny angle," Haechan adds. Mark punches his shoulder.

"Let's not have another casualty," Renjun says, so Mark punches his shoulder too, just a little lighter.

"You're not helping!" Jisung whines. Tears still fall, but silently now. His voice is scratched, grated by the shock of falling to the floor during a move that has long been second nature.

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" Jaemin asks. His gaze traces over the boy, and Jisung rubs his temple for show then shakes his head. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Jisung says.

Jaemin hums. "I'm sure the swelling will go down in a day or two."

"It's not broken? Not even fractured?" Jisung asks.

Jaemin purses his lips. They all turn to the door when the manager returns with an ice pack and a glass of water. No one is sure if the lights are flickering or if it's just their midnight exhaustion kicking in. Jeno blinks, moments from sleep. The air con whirs, an itching sound they can never shake away from their subconscious. Jisung grips Jaemin's arm ever tighter when he applies the ice pack. Jaemin swallows back a complaint.