The Mafia's Dove (Hyunjin centric)

Fever

-Hyunjin's POV-

I was drawn from my slumber by a gentle hand caressing my face. Cold fingers traced along my cheekbone and across my temple, only for an icy palm to rest softly against my forehead. The touch was incredibly soothing, a smothering heat I was barely able to perceive being kept at bay by the tender touch.

Even as the tendrils of sleep continued to surround me I found myself leaning into the touch, and in response, I was rewarded with an equally soothing hand rubbing circles into the side of my neck.

A quiet voice muttered above me, the sound seemingly muffled and far away in my half conscious state. But as the soothing hands were removed and a feeling of suffocating heat quickly took its place, whatever peace I found in sleep was ruined.

My eyes fluttered open as I awoke to seek out the cold hands that had eased the heat I was now overwhelmed by, as if fire licked at my skin and lava settled in my core. It was a heat I had only experienced as a side effect of poison, and as my eyes stung when I finally managed to open them, I grew uncomfortably aware of how lucky I would have been if a little heat was all I had to worry about.

While the heat was uncomfortable it wasn't nearly as painful as the headache that was wreaking havoc in my skull, and I reflexively shut my eyes in an attempt to ease the sudden onslaught of pain. Closing my eyes unfortunately only worsened the dizziness that was causing my stomach to turn, and even in my reclined state I felt unsteady.

I was shivering despite the heat, my limbs shaking with an unwarranted weakness as every slight movement only worsened my urge to vomit.

But the most uncomfortable thing was my throat. Fire and acid danced against the delicate lining of my throat, and every miniscule movement caused raw tissue to rub against itself and ignite the nerves currently screaming at me with every shuddered breath I took.

It felt like every inch of my body was tormented by some kind of discomfort, all tied together by the heat that warmed my skin. I found myself eager to feel the coldness that hand had brought, and I reluctantly opened my eyes in order to seek it out once again.

I was momentarily blinded by sunlight as my eyes fluttered open, the sudden brightness causing my head to throb with more intensity as I fruitlessly squinted against the light. As my eyes failed to adjust, a form moved and consequently blocked the sun's rays seeping in through the window, and I blinked rapidly as Seungmin's concerned face became clearer with each passing second.

His hair was tousled and his face still showed signs of sleep even as he looked down at me with intense worry, and when he noticed I was finally able to recognize him he raised his hand to press against my forehead.

His icy touch gave away that he was the one who had originally woken me, and against my wishes I found myself once again melting into his caress. His hand chased away the pain in my head so easily and tamed the warmth curling around me, and based on his expression I could only assume he didn't understand the pure relief he was currently offering.

"Hyunjin, you're burning up."

I blinked lazily up at him with a tiredness I shouldn't have felt after a full night of sleep, and when he made to pull his hand away, I was reaching out and grabbing his wrist before I could stop myself.

We both seemed equally as surprised by my actions as my eyes widened slightly, and I slowly let go of him before lowering my shaky hand back down to my side. In response his gaze softened, and he pressed his palm against my head again and allowed it to rest there.

His touch felt incredibly nice, and though I didn't mean to, my eyes fell closed against my will. It was oddly difficult to not give in to minor impulses as my head remained slightly fuzzy, my mind feeling uncharacteristically blank as I laid there on the blanketed ground.