Fluffy SKZ Oneshots EP.2🧸

Feast🌡️

Sickie: Jeongin
Caregiver: Chan

No one’s POV.:
“But that’s not fair!”, Jeongin choked out between sobs. Rubbing the maknae’s back, Chan bit his tongue. No, he didn’t think it fair either that Jeongin couldn’t go see his family for Christmas but neither could he. Not that Chan would ever wish that on anyone but he fully understood why his dongsaeng was so upset. Especially because Jeongin had already made plans with his family for the holidays. It wasn’t like that they were too busy to see their families either, not this year at least. Jeongin had managed to catch a viral infection though and while it wasn’t too serious for healthy people his age, it would put his grandparents at risk.

Talking to his mother on the phone, Jeongin had agreed to facetime from the apartment he shared with Chan and while he had managed to keep his voice steady while talking to her, he broke down as soon as the call disconnected. The high fever he had developed the previous night certainly didn’t help him cope with the flood of emotions and the leader knew it, so all he could really do was sit with the youngest and let him cry it all out. By the time Jeongin had run out of tears, he was completely drained and only wanted to sleep. Carefully propping the maknae up, Chan grabbed the water bottle from the nightstand, glad that he had popped a straw in earlier.

He held the straw to Jeongin’s lips and whispered: “Have some water first, yeah? You’ll only feel worse if you get dehydrated.” The younger complied, despite the sharp pain in his throat. Chan muttering soft praises. “Okay, try to get some sleep”, the Aussie instructed, “I’ll run to the store really quick because I still have to get a few things but I’ll be back soon and I have my phone with me, so call me if you need anything.” Jeongin nodded, already pulling the blanket up to his chin as he curled up tightly to soothe the chills.

Originally, Chan hadn’t intended to really celebrate Christmas. It had been a sore spot for him for years since he had so often been apart from his family for the holidays but he knew how much it meant for Jeongin and now that they’d both be spending Christmas together, he wanted to make the best of it, mainly for his dongsaeng’s sake. He wasn’t sure whether Jeongin could even smell it with how stuffy his nose was but he knew the maknae loved the smell of pine that came with having a Christmas tree, so Chan decided to at least get a small one for their apartment.

To his relief, Jeongin was still asleep when he returned, finally catching up on the sleep he had lost the previous night tossing and turning between fever dreams. Chan had to admit that he may or may not have gone a little overboard but he didn’t want the younger to be too heartbroken and he especially didn’t want the boy to miss out on celebrating Christmas. Leaving his shopping bags in the kitchen, Chan made quick work of setting up the Christmas tree. He didn’t decorate it yet in case Jeongin was well enough to do so together later. Not that they had much decorations to begin with but they had a string of fairylights and Chan had bought a box of ornaments.

Since Chan didn’t consider himself too great of a cook, he had gotten Jeongin some soup from the store and limited himself to baking. He had reached out to Jeongin’s mom to ask her for the recipe for the boy’s favorite cookies, so he’d get the nostalgia despite being stuck at a new apartment away from his family. As he worked on the cookies, Chan was glad that he had gotten pre-made soup because the cookies ended up taking far longer than he had anticipated and he only finished them shortly before dinner time.

When Jeongin sleepily trudged into the kitchen, his fluffy blanket draped around his shoulders, Chan hummed: “Hey there, sleepyhead. Did the nap help a little?” – “I dunno”, the younger sniffled. He contently closed his eyes as Chan felt his forehead, the leader’s cool hand soothing against his burning skin. “I think you’re due for another dose of medicine”, Chan cooed, gently brushing Jeongin’s bangs out of his face, “I got you some soup, so I’ll heat that up real quick, ‘kay? Why don’t you go sit on the couch and I’ll be there in a moment.” Nodding pathetically, the maknae turned and trudged to the living room.

“Hyung, since when did we have a Christmas tree?”, Jeongin mumbled confused when Chan joined him with a steaming bowl of soup. Taking a seat next to his dongsaeng, Chan glanced at the clock and smiled: “Since three hours ago. Do you like it? I didn’t decorate it yet because I didn’t know if you wanted to join.” Nodding in acknowledgement, Jeongin accepted his soup, brows still furrowed. “Why do we have a Christmas tree since three hours ago?” – “Because I bought one”, Chan chuckled. It was kind of cute how out of it the younger was. “But why?”, Jeongin muttered, studying the tree. His voice was already taking on a whiny tone. Now, Chan really couldn’t help but laugh: “Well, since the two of us are going to celebrate Christmas here, I figured our place should look the part, besides, it smells nice.”

Jeongin was at a loss for words and quietly took another spoonful of soup before whispering: “I’d love to decorate it together.” – “Eat up, so we can get you medicated and then we will”, Chan smiled, already getting up to fetch a glass of water and his dongsaeng’s medication. When he returned, Jeongin set the empty bowl down on the coffee table, making the Aussie laugh: “You didn’t need to rush, Innie. I don’t think the tree is going to run.” – “But I wanted to”, the younger pouted, hurriedly knocking back his medicine.

“Here, it’s not much but I thought it’d be cute”, Chan hummed showing Jeongin the fairylights and ornaments. The maknae was instantly enamored and helped Chan wrap the fairylights around the tree without getting them tangled. Chan secretly snapped a few pictures while Jeongin started hanging up ornaments. Being on his feet still took a lot out of him though, so Chan eventually stepped closer, wrapping his dongsaeng in a backhug. Jeongin already felt a little shaky on his feet and gladly leant back against the leader for support.
When they were done, Chan easily scooped Jeongin up and deposited him on the couch again while he went to pour the boy a cup of tea. “I baked your favorite cookies”, the Aussie informed, ruffling Jeongin’s hair. Shaking his head, Jeongin frowned: “You don’t know my favorite cookies.” – “I asked your mom”, Chan giggled, “I’m glad she couldn’t see what a mess I made though, that’d be embarrassing.” He proudly held up the biscuit tin before opening it to prove he had made his dongsaeng’s favorite. “Gosh, you’re unbelievable”, Jeongin gasped, covering his mouth, “You have no idea how much I love you hyung. For all of this. Thank you.” Chan simply pulled the boy into a hug before offering him a cookie.

“You gotta eat them too”, Jeongin demanded, nudging Chan’s arm, “They turned out really well, though I would’ve loved to see how the kitchen looked before I got up.” – “Oh hell, no!”, the older denied, picking up a cookie, “That was a crime scene. I’m glad there weren’t any witnesses but you’re right, they’re pretty good.” – “We gotta send my mom pictures of the tree and the cookies”, Jeongin mumbled, wiping a few crumbs from his lip. Nodding, Chan agreed: “I took some of you while you were decorating. Let me take some of the cookies and we can pick the best ones for her.”

Once they had sent Jeongin’s mother a bunch of pictures to show her that her son wasn’t dying of homesickness anymore, Chan settled in next to Jeongin and turned on the TV. He let the younger pick a Christmas movie while they resumed their little picnic. Jeongin contently cuddled into Chan’s side. “Before we start the movie, is there anything else you need”, Chan asked softly as he stroked his dongsaeng’s head. Jeongin shook his head, smiling as he hummed: “You are all I need tonight underneath the Christmas lights.”