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xii. fever

The morning sun casted a soft glow into their shared bedroom as she and Heeseung slowly stirred from their slumber, both in the same bed.

As he groggily opened his eyes, a faint frown marred his usually cheerful expression. "Morning," he mumbled, his hand instinctively reaching to his forehead.

Aeri, still half-asleep, smiled in return. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Not great, actually. My head is pounding."

Concern flashed across her face as she leaned in, her hand instinctively reaching out to feel his forehead. His skin felt unusually warm beneath her touch, and a wave of realization swept over her. "Hee, you're running a fever," she stated, her voice laced with worry.

Heeseung attempted a nonchalant smile, but his eyes betrayed a hint of discomfort. "It's probably nothing, just a headache."

Aeri, however, was not convinced. She sat up, her gaze fixed on him. "A headache with a fever is not nothing, Heeseung. Your head is burning!" she exclaimed with worry.

"I'm fine, let's just go back to bed," he shushed her, his head hurting because of her loud voice. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her closer to him, forcing her back into an embrace.

"No way. We have to take care of your fever," she reasoned, once again sitting up. She climbed out of bed before he could drag her back under the covers.

He whined in protest and tried to grab her hand but to avail. Instead of letting herself soften in front of his state, she walked to the bathroom and started getting different medicine out of their first aid kit.

Soon enough, a heavy weight was put on her shoulders. It took her less than a split second to know that the weight was in fact Heeseung's body. "Don't leave me alone," he whined, wrapping his arms around her from behind. It seemed like fever made him extra clingy.

"Take these then," she handed him two different pill pack, making him groan. One thing about Heeseung, he despised swallowing pills.

Seeing his reaction to the medicine, she held up a finger so he would let her speak. "One pill equals one kiss," she bargained with him, still in his arms.

"I'm not kissing you with a fever," he shook his head.

"It's a virus. It's spread through respiratory droplets, like when you sneeze or cough. Kissing you isn't going to make me sick," she told him, remembering her science class in primary school.

"Smartass," he narrowed his eyes and mumbled.

Reluctantly, he broke the embrace and poured himself a glass of water while Aeri took out a pill from each pack. With furrowed, he swallowed the two pills before turning to Aeri and puckering his lips in a demanding manner. She laughed before giving him the two kisses she had promised him.

"Let's get back to bed now," he said, taking her hand in his and preparing to leave. Unfortunately for him, she stayed unmoving and dragged him back in the bathroom.

"You need to take a bath before," she told him, making him part his mouth in offense, thinking that she was accusing him off smelling. "It's to reduce your body temperature, dumbass," she rolled her eyes with a smile.

Refusing to let go of her hand, Heeseung made Aeri's life much harder because she no longer had any working hand with one in a cast and the other in his. So with his fingers wrapped around hers, she turned the water on, taking a little longer than she normally would have.

When the water reached an acceptable level, she looked at him, expecting him to undress and climb inside the tub. Instead, he continued to stand there, his weight on her. Raising her brows, she silently asked him why he wasn't moving.

"What?" he spoke, clueless.

"Why aren't you undressing?" she asked him. Blood rushed to his cheeks. "What? It's nothing I haven't seen before. And you're the one who said that I couldn't leave you alone!" she laughed at his reaction.

Incapable of uttering anything, he looked away to hide his blushed face. Aeri laughed and grabbed his face, squishing his cheeks together to kiss his pouty lips. "I'll make ramen, you better clean up meanwhile." He nodded and watched as she walked out of the bathroom.

Though Aeri was a very stubborn woman and refused to ask Heeseung's help when they had cooked together a few days ago, she was very well aware that she would not be able to prepare a proper meal with her cast on. Ramen were the only food she was sure of not messing up, and she didn't want to give him a nasty meal when he was already sick.

It didn't take very long before Heeseung emerged from the bathroom, his hair wet and his clothes back on. As soon as he did, he joined her in the kitchen and went back to hugging her from behind.

"I didn't know you'd get so clingy when sick," she laughed, glancing at him from behind.

"What about it?" he provoked, his chin resting on her shoulder. In response, she shook her head to say that she had no complain about it and smiled a little.

"Done!" she loudly clapped her hands excitedly when she finished cooking.

Because of the loud noise, the poor boy winced at the ache it cause his head. Realizing that her loud reaction had made his head hurt, she turned around in his embrace and rushed to apologize. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, baby," she panicked with an apologetic expression, the pet name slipping out by itself.

His eyebrow rose, already forgetting about his headache. "Baby?" he repeated.

It seemed like she only realized her words after he pointed them out because as soon as he did, her eyes widened and she put a hand over her mouth. He couldn't help but smile and peck her cheek.

A random movie playing on the television, the two silently ate their bowl of ramen. They were both on the couch, Aeri's legs draped over Heeseung's. When he finished eating the entire meal, she gently took the bowl from his hands and went to put them in the dishwasher before returning to the living room.

With her nurturing instincts, she hovered over him and checked his temperature once more. Concern etched across her face, she sighed softly before tucking the blanket around Heeseung's form. "You really need to rest, Hee. Your fever hasn't gone down much," she murmured, brushing a strand of hair away from his forehead.

He weakly smiled, his eyes reflecting gratitude for Aeri's unwavering care. "I know, but being with you makes me feel better already," he flirted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aeri couldn't help but smile, rolling her eyes at the lame flirting attempt. She took a seat beside him, her hand gently caressing his cheek. "Stop talking and close your eyes. You need a nap."

Doing as told, the boy laid down, putting his head in her lap, and closed his eyes. He felt his hair being played with, gently lifting him to sleep.

"Ri," Heeseung mumbled drowsily, his eyes half-open. "Thank you for taking care of me. I'm lucky to have you."

"Of course," she smiled, continuing to play with his hair. "You take care of me, and I take care of you. That's why we're good for each other."

With the corner of his lips turned up, he slowly succumbed to sleep. Time seemed to slow as she sat there, watching over him, feeling the ebb and flow of his breaths. She thought about the countless moments that had woven the fabric of their connection—shared secrets, quiet confessions, and a myriad of unspoken gestures that spoke volumes.

Knowing that the boy would not be able to hear any of the words she said because of the tight grip his dreams held him with, she smiled and whispered a few words to him. "It would be weird for me to tell you that I think I'm in love with already, wouldn't it?"

His only response were his continuous steady breaths. Aware that her question would be left hanging, she answered herself. "Yeah. I think it would be weird. I'll tell you later, then."

And perhaps she would tell him later. Perhaps she'd even wait months before doing so.