Fluffy ATEEZ Oneshots🧸

Slippery🩹

Sickie: Hongjoong

Caregiver: Jongho

No one’s POV.:

Hongjoong knew that he should’ve headed home hours ago but when he was in the flow, it was hard to tear himself away from his work, so it wasn’t necessarily uncommon for him to be stuck in the studio for most of the night. With the year coming to an end, the group was as busy as ever and while that made them even more desperate for sleep, Hongjoong was glad he had been so productive today because he doubted he’d be able to meet their deadlines otherwise. Better to make use of inspiration when it struck.

Stepping out into the street, Hongjoong gasped in surprise. The temperature had dropped significantly over the last few hours and he wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up getting a fresh layer of snow the following day. With so many thoughts still in his head, Hongjoong decided to walk home, hoping the cold air would help him clear his mind. He’d have a hard time sleeping otherwise, besides, the city rarely ever quietened down, so such a comparingly calm night had to be treasured.

Hongjoong felt like he may have been asleep for short stretches of his walk, though he didn’t know how that would’ve worked out. All he knew was that he couldn’t remember certain buildings he must have passed but seemed to have been too zoned out to notice. Should he be paying attention to where he was going? Yeah, probably but did he know the way by heart? Yes, he did, having walked it night after night. His body could get him home on autopilot at this point.

Although Hongjoong didn’t need to worry about getting lost on his way, it might have been a good idea to watch where he set his feet. With the temperature dropping so quickly, the streets had frozen over in an instant, growing slippery and he was soon forced to focus again when he stepped onto a patch of ice, feet starting to slip. For a moment, Hongjoong thought he had regained his balance, arms stretched out far to either side, before he made a wrong move, his foot slipping out from underneath him.

Barely able to catch himself, Hongjoong took a tumble, bruising his knees and scraping his hands. His left wrist was throbbing from the impact and he winced as he got back up rolling his shoulders and tentatively moving his wrists. He could move everything, which was good, right? Still, his wrist hurt like a bitch. Hissing, Hongjoong cradled his left hand close to his body and trudged back to his dorm. It’d be easier to assess the damage when he had proper light.

Hongjoong made it home without any further incidents, paying much closer attention to the path in front of him. Mindful of his dongsaengs, he tried to be as quiet as he could when moving around the dorm but he was also exhausted and clumsy, walking into things. Standing at the sink, Hongjoong examined his hands in the bright light of their bathroom. His palms were slightly bloody, some dirt and gravel sticking to the wounds but still he considered his right hand fine, while his left hand really did worry him. He doubted it was broken because he still had some movement but going by the way it was already starting to swell and bruise, he must have sprained it.

“Are you okay?”, Jongho yawned as he appeared in the doorway, startling the older. Hongjoong turned around and hummed: “Yeah, yeah, just slipped on some ice. Go back to bed, Jong-ah.” – “Let me see, hyung”, the maknae sighed, already more alert. Holding his hands out to his dongsaeng, Hongjoong muttered: “I think I sprained my wrist but my palms are only scraped.” – “We should most definitely clean them though. Wouldn’t want those scrapes to get infected”, Jongho hummed as he pulled out the first-aid kit, “Do you need to go to the hospital for an x-ray?” – “I really don’t think it’s broken, look, I can move it”, Hongjoong denied, carefully moving his hand.

Making the older sit on the closed toilet lid, Jongho gently cleaned his skinned palms and applied some ointment to keep the wounds sanitized. “What are we going to do with your wrist? I can wrap it if you want, try to brace it a little while it heals”, the maknae offered. Too tired to put up a fight or deal with this situation on his own, Hongjoong only nodded and held out his hand. He winced a little when Jongho touched it, the younger immediately feeling guilty, promising: “Sorry, I’ll be more careful.” – “It’s okay, you’re doing a great job”, Hongjoong mumbled, “Thanks for patching me up.” – “You’d do the same for any of us”, the maknae smiled, using a cute bandaid to hold the bandage in place.

“We should really go to bed now, hyung. You already came home so late, you’re lucky the dorms are split. Seonghwa-hyung would have your head if he knew”, Jongho yawned as he stored away the first-aid kit. Giving his dongsaeng a stern look, Hongjoong warned: “He won’t know.” – “Not about your bedtime but he’ll find out about your injury”, the maknae giggled, “Good night, hyung. Sleep well and don’t slip on the way to your room.”

Rolling his eyes, Hongjoong got ready for bed and carefully madehis way to his room. He didn’t think he’d slip again inside the dorm but he didn’t want to test fate after Jongho’s teasing. Besides, the younger was right, Seonghwa would want to know ho he had managed to get hurt and the scolding would be memorable but he decided that this was a problem for future-Hongjoong to worry about. For now, all that mattered was sleep.