Fluffy ATEEZ Oneshots🧸

Snowed in🌡

Sickie: Hongjoong
Caregiver: mainly Seonghwa

No one’s POV.:

“I thought you knew where you were going?!”, Hongjoong complained as he trudged after Seonghwa. The two had taken a trip to the country side to go on a hike and explore a snow covered mountain range. Turning back to his dongsaeng, Seonghwa reminded: “I know where I am going.” It was a little lie but it would hopefully keep Hongjoong from whining for bit. The snow was starting up again, perfecting the seasonal atmosphere, and Seonghwa wanted to be able to enjoy it for a little while longer without his friend’s complaints. The truth was though, that Seonghwa didn’t exactly recognize the path that they were on, so he wasn’t entirely sure where they were headed.

The snow fell in increasingly large flakes and the visibility declined by the minute till Seonghwa eventually announced: “Maybe we should try to find shelter and wait out the snowstorm before we make our way back down the mountain.” – “And where exactly are you planning to shelter from the storm?!”, Hongjoong frowned, fixing his scarf to protect himself from the cold winds. “Well, I dunno”, Seonghwa muttered, “There are usually storm shelter on mountains like this, so we just gotta keep our eyes open.” – “I’d keep them open if the wind didn’t make them water like crazy”, the younger retorted, rubbing his eye with his gloved hand.

Deliberately ignoring Hongjoong’s comment, Seonghwa kept pushing on, only to be reminded: “I can’t even feel my toes anymore, hyung.” – “I’m cold too, Joong-ah! We gotta find shelter if we want to warm up, so instead of whining, you could try to walk a little faster. The faster we find shelter, the sooner we’ll feel our toes again”, the older snapped, startling Hongjoong. He hadn’t expected his hyung to lose patience with him. Not wanting to fight with Seonghwa after all, Hongjoong kept his mouth shut afterwards. He sulked for the next ten minutes, sniffling into his scarf from time to time as the wind made his nose run.

Hongjoong was close to crying when they finally found a small storm shelter. He was shaking so badly, he couldn’t open the door and almost collapsed when Seonghwa ushered him inside. “Stop being such a crybaby”, the older sighed, closing the door behind them. Finally having had enough, Hongjoong snapped: “I’m not but maybe I’m so fucking cold that everything hurts and whose fault is that? You were the one dragging me out here, insisting you knew the way. I’m not stupid. I know that we’re lost and that you don’t have the slightest clue where we are going.” – “Why do you always need to pick fights, Joong?”, Seonghwa frowned as he looked around the storm shelter to take stock of what they had, “I don’t know how they made you the leader of you can’t be a little mature and cooperative.”

Hongjoong was at a loss for what to say to that, his hyung’s words stinging badly. If only he hadn’t been feeling so miserably cold, maybe he would’ve been able to handle the situation better. When Seonghwa turned to the other again, he found tears spilling down his flushed cheeks and sighed: “What?! Can’t handle the truth?” – “Please stop”, Hongjoong sniffled, using his glove to wipe at his eyes but the tears still kept coming. He was overwhelmed and Seonghwa not being on his side this time wasn’t helping in the slightest. A shiver ran down Hongjoong’s spine and he curled in on himself tightly.

“His fever’s still going through the roof”, Seonghwa sighed as he removed his hand from Hongjoong’s forehead. The leader hadn’t reacted well to the touch at all, flinching away and curling up. The bed was almost vibrating from the force of the chills wracking Hongjoong’s body. A weak groan caught their attention and Seonghwa shushed: “You’re okay, Joong.” – “All jus’ cuz I trusted you”, the younger slurred weakly, “No’ gonna listen to you ‘gain.” Carefully tugging the blanket lower, so he could look at his friend properly, Seonghwa hummed: “What do you mean?” They didn’t get a reply. “Should we take him to a hospital?”, Wooyoung asked, anxiously biting his nails, “I know driving is tough in this snowstorm but he’s been like this all day.”

“Wake up for me, Joong-ah”, Seonghwa whispered, stroking the leader’s hair. Weakly swatting at his hand, Hongjoong whimpered: “I hate you!” – “I know you do”, Seonghwa sighed sadly, “I just don’t have the slightest idea why.” The tears spilling down Hongjoong’s cheeks startled both, Seonghwa and Wooyoung. “I’m so cold. I don’ wanna be stuck here”, the leader sobbed, triggering a cough. He weakly pressed his face into his pillow as his body was shaken with painful coughs. Gently propping the older up, Wooyoung hummed: “Where would you wanna go in your condition, hyung?” – “Home”, Hongjoong choked out, only crying harder. He was breaking down completely, his friends unable to console him.

Cupping Hongjoong’s damp cheeks, Seonghwa cooed: “Where are we, Joong?” – “Storm shelter”, the younger hiccupped hoarsely, unable to comprehend why Seonghwa wasn’t mad at him anymore out of a sudden. The eldest shook his head, denying: “You’re home, Joongie. We’re at your dorm. I came over about an hour ago because Wooyoung-ah called me. He said you weren’t feeling well and he wasn’t exaggerating. Your fever is really high.” The words were too many and too fast for Hongjoong to comprehend. All he could do was whimper when the cold hands on his cheeks made him shiver even harder.

“Hyung, you were either hallucinating or having a nightmare”, Wooyoung explained, sitting at the foot of Hongjoong’s bed, “Do you think you could stomach some soup and take medicine? We really need to bring your fever down.” Shaking his head, the older pulled his blanket tighter and breathed: “Jus’ sleep. Too cold.” – “By the way, why do you hate me?”, Seonghwa asked softly, pulling the blanket back down. Glaring at his hyung, Hongjoong tugged on the blanket and pouted: “’s exactly why.” – “No?” – “Hyung, I don’t think you’ll get any straight answer out of him right now”, Wooyoung interrupted, resting his hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder. Dropping his head, the eldest sighed: “I didn’t even do anything.”

Since Hongjoong wouldn’t comply with taking medicine, Seonghwa brought a bowl of cool water and a washcloth before settling in next to the leader. For the next two hours, the eldest dabbed Hongjoong’s face with the cold cloth in frequent intervals, slowly bringing his temperature down. At some point, he was able to thread apart the other’s feverish ramblings and understood the gist of his friend’s nightmare. It worried him greatly to know just how far Hongjoong’s consciousness was gone. Maybe they’d have to take him to the hospital, if only they weren’t snowed in like that. He had barely been able to make it over to his friends’ dorm earlier.

“Hwa?”, Hongjoong groaned, head pounding as he turned his head. Lowering the washcloth, Seonghwa hummed: “Hm? How are you feeling?” – “Wha’ are you doing here?”, the younger slurred, closing his eyes again. Draping the cold cloth over Hongjoong’s eyes, Seonghwa whispered: “Wooyoung-ah called me because your fever got really high. You got quite delirious.” – “I don’ remember”, the leader sniffled. “I bet you don’t”, the older chuckled, petting his friend’s hair, “You got really upset at me because you dreamt that I took you hiking and we got snowed in. Pretty much, you blamed me for feeling so cold and it took me ages to figure out what you were going on about.” – “Sorry”, Hoongjoong breathed, feeling around for Seonghwa’s hand to give it a squeeze. “Don’t be sorry, you couldn’t help it.” – “Still, you came over to take care of me and I gave you a hard time.” The older shushed him calmly, before remembering that they were still snowed in, mumbling: “I don’t know what to say, but it’s Christmas, and we’re all in misery.”