Archive of Our Own ^beta

jacob was sprawled across the couch of their vacation house, his gaze on the floor as he willed his stomachache to go the fuck away. this was only his first night at the house—how was he already feeling like crap?

someone calling his name from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts, but he was still too out of it to figure out who it was.

"jacob," the voice repeated. jacob forced himself into a sitting position to figure out who the hell was talking to him. he blinked away the dull pain in his head from the bright lights and looked around.

"why are you laying on the couch?" changmin said, and although the question was worded harshly, his voice was gentle like always. he stopped stirring whatever was in the bowl in front of him and pushed up his glasses, giving jacob a worried look. "come help kevin with the dishes please."

jacob slowly climbed off the very comfortable sofa that had been keeping him warm and made his way into the kitchen. he squeezed past a few members and planted himself behind kevin, arms around his waist.

"could you dry off that plate for me, cobie?" kevin asked, his head slightly turning to shoot the older a smile.

jacob obliged, not wanting changmin to yell at him for refusing to help with the dishes. he really would've started them himself and let kevin do something less boring, but with how shitty he felt since they got home from practice, there was no way he would've voluntarily gotten off that couch.

after drying the plate kevin had set down, jacob quickly returned to the younger's back, his face pressing against kevin's sweater and inhaling the smell of peppermint that clung to it.

"what's wrong, baby?" kevin asked from in front of him. "hm?" he dried off his hands on a towel and turned around, lightly pinching jacob's bright red cheeks.

"i-i...i don't feel good..." jacob whispered, his head once again pressing into kevin's sweater. the younger's hands immediately reached up, two fingers hooking under jacob's chin and lifting his head.

jacob's eyes fluttered closed when he felt a pair of lips softly touch his forehead. kevin frowned after pulling away, the back of his left hand coming up to feel the warmth radiating from the older's cheeks.

"go lay back down," kevin quickly responded, his hands rubbing jacob's sides lightly. "i'll let them know."

jacob nodded, although he really didn't want all the attention the members would give him if they knew he was sick.

changmin warily let his eyes follow jacob on his slow trek back to the safety of the couch, which eric was now using to store a bag of trash.

"he doesn't feel good," kevin said quietly once he saw jacob curl back up on the couch, the hood of his onesie covering his eyes.

"shoot, does he have a fever?" sangyeon asked from his place at the counter, hands dirty with the kimchi he was mixing.

kevin bit his lip as all eyes went to him, expecting an answer.

"he felt pretty warm, but i'm not sure if it's a fever or just from him laying down. that onesie is probably hot too."

chanhee sighed and stirred the stew on the stovetop.

"honestly thought sunwoo would be the one to get sick after all that playing in the snow," he commented with a light laugh.

sunwoo's head shot up across the room, where he was downing a glass of plum juice.

"HEY—"

the rest of the dinner preparation went by without much word besides juyeon and haknyeon softly singing a song together, all in attempts to let jacob peacefully sleep.

they set the table, and the members took their seats, one empty chair residing where jacob would've sat at the end of the table next to kevin.

younghoon had suggested waking the oldest up, but kevin insisted that he could use some rest and wouldn't eat much anyways.

they quietly held conversations among themselves, changmin and sangyeon coming up with ideas for the next practice, chanhee and hyunjae discussing vocal practice. kevin simply sat in silence and ate his food, making sure to save some for the sleeping boy on the couch.

once everyone had finished eating, eric moved to clean up the trash at the table, and chanhee started on the dishes. the other members headed to their rooms to change into their pajamas, all having been promised a movie night.

kevin squatted next to the couch after throwing on his blue onesie, the zipper not even all the way up because he was still hot from practice. he was glad this was a trip without the staff and a ton of cameras, so they could be more relaxed and vlog when they wanted.

no staff, however, also meant that it was up to the members—or kevin—to make sure jacob got better.

kevin gently shook jacob's shoulder to wake him, surprised that he even fell asleep with the members' talking. he must've felt like absolute shit if he was out that easily.

jacob groaned and slowly opened his eyes, showing a light smile when he saw the younger in front of him.

"i brought you some food. there's beef stew and some fruit. you don't have to eat it all, but at least get something in, k?"

jacob pushed himself into a sitting position and took the plate kevin handed him. he immediately picked up a grape and bit into it, savoring the sweet flavor before the churning in his stomach returned.

kevin must've seen his expression change, because he stood up with a worried expression and set a gentle hand against jacob's thigh.

"you alright?"

the older nodded slowly, setting the other half of the grape down and deciding on biting into a strawberry instead. he was surprised he even had an appetite—he must've sweat off everything in his stomach at practice. 

kevin took a seat next to jacob, not completely trusting him enough to walk away, knowing how stubborn the older was when it came to accepting that his body was revolting against him.

jacob let his head fall against the shoulder next to him, and he let out a sigh before finishing off his strawberry.

after the last bite, he could already feel regret tingling throughout his body as his stomach tightened from the entry of new food.

jacob held the plate out with his eyes squeezed shut, as if that would help tame the storm going on inside of him. kevin took the plate to the kitchen, and by the time he cleared and washed it, the other members were piling into the living room.

kevin's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw jacob stand up across the room, instantly grabbing eric's arm for support.

"i'm gonna....go sleep. you guys have fun with your movie," jacob mumbled. he let go of eric and dragged his feet as he walked down the hallway.

kevin rushed after him, a fire in his chest unwilling to die down until he knew the older was safe in bed. he entered the room and saw a body already curled up in a blanket, glasses above the pillow.

"do you need anything, sweetheart?" kevin asked into the room. he took a seat on a blanket and combed his fingers through jacob's soft hair. 

"mm...night kisses..." the older sleepily said, his words slurring together.

kevin stifled a giggle because who could resist an adorably sleepy jacob?

jacob smiled in content when kevin—who once again frowned at the heat coming from the older's skin—kissed his forehead.

"i love youuuu. please get better, cobie."

"i love you too," jacob whispered with a couple voice cracks, his sickness doing no justice on his throat.

the younger left the room after watching jacob close his eyes and start drifting off. he returned to the living room where the other members were waiting around the couch, talking among themselves as the tv was paused.

"oh, you're back!" hwall said excitedly, as if he actually wanted to watch the movie. it was a horror movie, which was probably a terrible idea because their screams might wake jacob. on the other hand, it was good that he didn't have to sit through it.

"how's jacob hyung?"

kevin ruffled the maknae's hair with a forced smile before responding to his question.

"hopefully some sleep will make him feel better, cuz he seemed pretty out of it."

eric nodded, his attention turning to the tv as sangyeon started the movie.

— —

kevin helped clean up their popcorn mess after the movie as various members made their way to their rooms, already pursuing sleep.

a few had fallen asleep on the couch, and hyunjae took the responsibility of waking them up and helping them to their rooms. one such was hwall, who pouted and made hyunjae literally carry him to his room.

kevin finished cleaning up and quickly went into the room he and a couple other members shared, happy when the spot next to jacob—who was thankfully asleep—was empty.

"we figured you might want to lay there..." juyeon stated quietly as he fumbled with his blanket.

kevin shot him a smile and a "thanks" before he kicked his socks off and slid next to jacob, his arm automatically falling over the sick boy. he held the boy close and pressed his nose into jacob's hair, taking in the citric smell of his shampoo. kevin gently kissed the warm skin of his neck and was asleep in no time.

— —

all jacob could think when he woke up was fuck, i'm going to throw up.

he carefully untangled himself from kevin, who was sound asleep, and stood up, nearly slipping on the blanket that had been under him.

jacob made it to the bathroom connected to their room and closed to door, hoping to god that none of the members woke up. he threw the toilet lid up and barely got himself lowered before he burped, a warm stream of vomit pouring into the toilet.

jacob tried his hardest to hold back the gagging his body was doing, swallowing back bile every few seconds. one particularly violent gag caught him off guard, and he ducked his head into the toilet, choking out more of his stomach contents.

a light sob raked through jacob's chest after he dry heaved for a good minute. he flushed the toilet and stood up, steadying himself against the counter so he could brush his teeth and hopefully rid of the disgusting taste of stomach acid in his mouth.

even with as much as he threw up, jacob knew that definitely wouldn't be the end of it. he internally groaned and finished brushing his teeth before he quietly left the bathroom.

jacob sighed in relief when the other members in his room seemed to be asleep. he reclaimed his spot next to kevin and buried his head in the younger's chest, heavily breathing from his walk from the bathroom to there.

"did you...throw up?" kevin's quiet voice asked above jacob's head, his voice raspy from sleeping.

jacob slowly nodded and pushed his head further into the younger's chest, his breath grazing against it as kevin held him and played with his hair.

all jacob heard before drifting off for the third time that night was "i'm sorry, baby".

— —

jacob woke up again and sighed to himself. he didn't want to be losing so much sleep, but between his muscles cramping and the numb feeling in the back of his throat, there was no way he was going to stay asleep the rest of the night.

kevin was holding him tightly, lightly breathing into his hair as he slept. he looked so peaceful, and jacob considered staring at him for a few minutes.

his stomach had other ideas.

"k-kevin move your arm," jacob whispered, a hand cupping over his mouth as nausea trailed through his body. he was swallowing back bile, squeezing his eyes shut tight while trying to get out of kevin's death grip.

kevin's arm finally moved, and jacob tumbled off his blanket, rushing into the bathroom as quickly as he could without tripping over juyeon's legs by the door.

jacob groaned, his shaky hands grabbing at the toilet bowl. a pained whine escaped his lips as his stomach twisted in agony, and he brought an arm across the toilet bowl to lean his forehead against.

"you okay?" a soft voice from the doorway asked.

jacob blindly reached out his hand that had  been gripping the toilet. kevin stepped forward after closing the door and took the hand, carefully sitting down next to the older.

he rubbed his thumb over the back of jacob's hand and frowned when he felt a weak squeeze in return.

"i don't feel g-good," jacob whined, his words echoing inside the toilet.

"i know, baby. i know."

jacob lifted his head slightly, and kevin felt his heart drop. the older's lips were parted, eyes closed as spit dribbled into the toilet. his cheeks were bright and rosy.

kevin moved his free hand to jacob's back as he gagged and coughed up some of the food in his stomach, his back convulsing under the younger's palm.

"can i get you a cloth, baby?" kevin asked, already feeling the heat coming off of jacob.

he didn't receive a response, rather just another round of jacob throwing up, the veins in his neck tensing up. kevin stood up anyways, opening the cabinet doors under the sink.

"shoot, there's none in here. i'll be right back."

jacob didn't have the strength to say anything as kevin slipped out of the room.

the younger tip toed through the bedroom, being extra careful to not wake the other members as he opened his suitcase and pulled out a clean wash cloth.

he returned to the bathroom and immediately moved to the toilet when jacob swallowed with a pained expression and gasped before a thick stream of vomit poured into the toilet.

jacob's eyes widened as more dripped from his nose, his stomach still convulsing at the disgusting smell.

by the time the older was done getting rid of everything in his stomach, kevin had placed a cool washcloth over the back of his neck and was gently petting his hair.

"how you got so much in you, hm?" the younger joked, pressing a kiss to the back of jacob's hand. "you feeling any better?"

jacob shook his head quickly, one of his hands coming up to take a wad of toilet paper from kevin to wipe his nose and mouth.

as much as the smell was messing with kevin's own stomach, he reached up nonetheless to flush the toilet and pull the older into his chest.

"this is nasty, i'm sorry," jacob mumbled, his head weakly leaning back against kevin's shoulder.

"it's okay, baby. i'll be here until you feel better, no matter how disgusting it gets."

jacob slowly nodded as his eyes fluttered shut. he was beyond tired, and although he'd rather stay awake and apologize to kevin for making him lose sleep, he drifted off in the younger's arms.

kevin smiled to himself when he looked down to see jacob asleep, and he pressed a couple light kisses to the tip of the older's nose.

he stood up and lifted jacob, letting out a surprised huff of air at how light he was. kevin carried him back into the bedroom and laid down, the older immediately laying on his chest and wrapping around him.

kevin hated how jacob was only this clingy when he didn't feel good, but he figured it was better to be a little distant than sick.

— —

jacob had been moving around in his sleep so often that kevin decided after about the twentieth time of waking up he might as well just stay awake.

the younger sleepily blinked and reached for his phone, shielding his eyes from the brightness as he checked the group chat to see earlier messages from the members in the other rooms. they all wished jacob a speedy recovery and sent him lots of love, making kevin smile to himself.

he spent the next hour on his phone until it was almost time to wake all the members. kevin gently shoved his boyfriend off of him, making sure jacob had plenty of pillows and blankets to cling to.

he migrated to the kitchen and started making himself some coffee, determined not to fall asleep during any of the activities they might want to do that day.

kevin turned the tv on, volume all the way down, and watched some random house remodeling program that was on.

after a few minutes, his alarm went off, and he got up from the couch to go wake the rest of the members. he started with the members in his room, wanting them out as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid waking jacob.

"why do we have to wake up so early~" sunwoo groaned, covering his eyes to avoid the light from the windows. "we don't even have a schedule."

"because some of us would like to get out today. besides, you can't fall into bad sleeping habits," kevin scolded the younger from his position of folding up some blankets.

he sent chanhee and juyeon to wake the rest of the members, although juyeon looked like he'd fall asleep on the way there.

kevin turned to see how jacob's condition was and nearly screamed when the older wasn't there.

"where'd jacob go?" he asked frantically, looking around and feeling his stomach drop when the bathroom door was ajar, light streaming out through the crack.

changmin frowned as he followed kevin's line of vision to the door.

kevin was in the bathroom in a matter of seconds, not even worrying about closing the door behind him as he found a pale jacob on the floor in front of the toilet, eyes closed and chest rising and falling.

the younger glanced over at the toilet and quickly flushed it before closing the lid and turning back to jacob.

"hey, the bathroom floor isn't too comfortable. come lay down on the couch, baby," kevin whispered, his hand reaching to run through jacob's hair.

the older's eyes fluttered open and he groaned, curling up into a ball on the shower mat.

"please, cobie? i can get you some medicine."

jacob finally complied, rolling over and weakly lifting his arms towards kevin. the younger lifted him into his arms, and jacob's head immediately leaned against his chest, his sweaty hair sticking to kevin's shirt.

kevin exited the bathroom, ignoring the concerned stares he got from the other members. he set jacob down on the couch, and received a dazed stare, jacob's eyes dark and glossy.

he looked at kevin as if he was searching for something, maybe the cure to whatever illness was clinging to him.

"what's wrong, baby? do you need something?" kevin asked, immediately panicking and holding jacob's hands.

the older shook his head, looking down.

"c-can i have that medicine?"

kevin mumbled a quick "of course" before walking into the kitchen and opening a cabinet. he pulled out a fever reducing pill and some stomachache medicine and measured the right amounts before giving them to jacob with a small glass of water.

after downing the medicine and half the glass of water, jacob handed it back to kevin with shaky hands. he laid down on the couch and curled up into a ball, eyes on the floor.

"i'm so sorry you don't feel good, baby," kevin whispered, placing his hand on jacob's cheek and softly rubbing his thumb over it.

the older's eyes slowly fluttered closed, his body slipping into a more comfortable state with kevin near him.

"is he any warmer?" sangyeon asked as he entered the living room, freshly showered and hair blow dried.

"don't think so," kevin replied. he lifted his hand from jacob's cheek and took a seat on the floor in front of the couch.

chanhee walked in next, brows raising at the sight of the sick boy.

"god, he looks like a ghost."

kevin shot him an offended look as the younger walked into the kitchen to begin making breakfast.

"someone should really go wake haknyeon hyung up." eric walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch, not even noticing jacob next to him. "he walked into our room and crashed on the floor."

sangyeon rolled his eyes and left, going to drag haknyeon out of bed again.

eric looked to his left and saw jacob curled up asleep, his orange onesie baggy and lopsided against his figure.

"is he okay?" he asked, looking directly at the back of kevin's head.

kevin laid his head on the couch and took one of jacob's hands, holding it in his own and pressing feathery kisses to the older's knuckles.

"i hope so."

— — —

jacob had no idea when he fell asleep, but when his eyes fluttered open, he was welcomed into reality by a quiet song playing in the other room and some chatter in the kitchen.

he stretched and pushed himself into a sitting position, squinting as he looked around the room, his head pounding. a few of the members were at the dining table playing some sort of board game. judging by the expressions everyone wore, kevin was in the lead and sunwoo was losing.

jacob slowly stood from the couch and maneuvered into the kitchen. he got wary glances from the other members as he opened the fridge and searched for something, anything, that he could keep in his stomach.

"you hungry, hyung?" eric asked from the table. he gave jacob a warm smile as sunwoo chucked a pair of dice in front of his pile of money.

jacob nodded, not exactly sure how bad his voice sounded. from the raw, burning feeing in his throat, he assumed he probably didn't sound far from a dying toad.

"i can make you some ramen," hyunjae offered, standing up from his position at the table and walking to the pantry to grab a package.

kevin patted hyunjae's empty seat next to him as a sign for jacob to sit down, and the older gladly complied, flopping down and immediately leaning his head against kevin's shoulder.

"you're still a little warm, baby. how do you feel?"

jacob shook his head, his headache getting worse from the bright lights in the kitchen.

"i'm sorry, hyung, but hopefully eating something will make you feel better," sunwoo suggested, making a move on the board in front of them—now that jacob was closer, he could tell that it was monopoly—and landing on a spot next to one kevin owned. sunwoo smirked and held out a stack of cash, planning on buying the space.

"seriously?" kevin whined. "you so did that on purpose."

"maybe i did," the younger laughed as he received a hotel figure from eric, who was the banker. odd that they'd trust him with that money.

"hyung, the ramen is done. it's still cooling off, but here's a bowl," hyunjae announced. he set a fresh bowl of steamy ramen in front of jacob. the older gave it a funny look, not really 100% sure if he wanted to eat anymore.

"please take a couple bites," kevin said softly, pressing his lips against jacob's temple.

after letting the steam calm down, jacob weakly raised a hand and brought the ramen to his mouth, his fingers barely holding the chopsticks together.

kevin, noticing the older's struggle, placed his hand on top of jacob's, guiding the food to his mouth with ease.

"thanks," jacob mumbled after swallowing down a few bites and setting the chopsticks down.

kevin nodded with a hum and brushed jacob's hair back, cringing at all the sweat he picked up from the action.

"i-i'm done." jacob pushed the bowl of ramen away from himself and wrapped his arms around his stomach, his cheek pressing into kevin's chest.

"do you want to go lay down for a little?" kevin asked, completely forgetting about the game of monopoly going on and the fact that sunwoo was trying to bribe eric for money.

jacob shook his head as the younger threw an arm over his shoulder.

"don't....wanna get u-up," he whined against kevin's shirt.

"do you feel okay?"

jacob shook his head again, his hold on his stomach getting tighter to try and distract him from the very obvious feeling of the ramen he'd eaten trying to come back up.

by then, everyone at the table had their eyes on him, and hyunjae was already dashing towards the trash can.

jacob suddenly lurched forward, a hand cupping over his mouth as he shuddered. whatever had previously been in his stomach was now on his and kevin's legs and the floor.

"HYUNJAE—" sunwoo yelled, and in an instant the trash can was under jacob's chin. he gagged and coughed up the remainder of ramen from his stomach into the bin.

kevin was shocked for a moment, worry etched into his features as he rubbed jacob's back.

"it's okay, baby. don't freak out," he said gently as he saw how jacob look on the verge of tears.

"i-i—i'm so sorry—"

"hey, shhh. it's okay. nothing we can't clean up." kevin pushed jacob's hair away from his forehead and softly kissed it, making the older's cheeks dust over in pink tones.

"do you want to go clean up while we take care of this?" hyunjae asked. kevin looked up to see that he was already gathering some cleaning supplies on the table and gave a hesitant nod. as much as he hated the youngest members being left to clean up, kevin was not very keen on the idea of being soaked in jacob's stomach contents.

"let's go shower, hm?"

jacob finally released the trash bin from his hold and let kevin help him up. once in the bathroom, they removed their clothes, and kevin started the shower water.

"i'm sorry, ke—"

"hey," kevin interrupted, placing his hands on jacob's waist and putting their foreheads together. "don't apologize. it's not your fault that your body isn't the best right now. let's clean up, and then we can lay down for a little. you don't have to force yourself to get better, baby. it'll happen soon."

jacob nodded and whispered, "can we get in now? i'm cold."

with a laugh kevin pulled the older under the warm shower water and closed the curtains. after a minute or two of comfortable silence, kevin squeezed some shampoo onto his palm and spun jacob away from him before lathering the soap into his hair.

"let me know if you get nauseous or dizzy or anything, okay?"

jacob nodded, eyes closed as he enjoyed the feeling of the younger's nails gently running against his scalp.

while he finished playing with jacob's hair, kevin planted light kisses along the older's neck and shoulders. he stopped and placed his head in the crevice between jacob's neck and shoulder, lightly kissing him on his jawline.

"i love you so much, cobie."

jacob smiled to himself and brought a hand up to gently cup kevin's cheek. he rubbed over the skin with a thumb and leaned his head against the younger's.

"i love you too," jacob whispered, his voice scratchy.

kevin lifted his head and put his hands on jacob's hips, pulling the older backwards to wash the soap from his hair.

"you should wash my hair more often," jacob joked as he turned to face kevin once his hair was clean.

"mm, as long as you're not sick anymore," the younger commented. he smiled up at jacob and placed a quick peck on the tip of his nose.

— — —

"hey are you guys gonna eat din—" juyeon paused as he walked into the room kevin and jacob had been in. the two were laying on a pile of blankets, jacob against kevin's chest while the younger had his arms encircling him. it was the cutest sight, really.

"hey, changmin," juyeon whisper-yelled into the living room. said boy lifted his head from a pot of kimchi he'd been stirring and gave juyeon a funny look.

the older waved his hand to beckon changmin over, and when he arrived, the younger let out a soft giggle.

"they're so cute~"

"go get the camera," juyeon whispered, grinning to himself while changmin rushed back into the living room to search for their polaroid camera.

once he returned, he snapped a few pictures of the boys and shook the photos, sharing a few aww's with juyeon.

the noise they'd been making seemed to wake up kevin, as he let out a sleepy groan and lifted his head.

"wha—what time is it?" he asked, voice soft from sleeping.

"time for dinner, that's for sure," juyeon laughed. "do you think hyung will eat?"

kevin hesitated before nodding slowly.

"he's not as warm or pale anymore, and he actually seems to be sleeping soundly, so i'd say he's probably feeling much better."

changmin jumped in excitement and quietly clapped his hands together a few times.

"that's great because i made his favorite for dinner!" he then held up the photos that had been taken of the sleeping couple. "by the way, these are going in the living room, and i'm definitely showing them to deobis."

kevin nodded, his eyes closed as he ran a hand through jacob's hair.

changmin quickly grabbed juyeon's hand and exited the room before kevin had the time to process anything he'd just agreed to.

"WAIT—" he suddenly yelled, and at the noise jacob's eyes slowly opened.

"what are you yelling about?" the older mumbled, using the little strength he had in his arms to pull himself closer to kevin.

"changmin is trying to expose us."

"oh fun," jacob said, his words muffled against kevin's shirt. "is dinner done? i'm kinda hungry."

"are you going to throw it up on me again?" kevin joked, a hand raking through the older's hair when he lifted his head with a pout.

"i feel better now~"

"i was kidding anyways."

jacob slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, a hand against kevin's chest making the younger let out a groan.

"good god, break my ribs, why don't you," kevin muttered. he sat up as well and placed a hand against jacob's cheek.

"you're so cute when you're sick, ya know."

"what?" jacob laughed. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"you get all clingy, and it's adorable," kevin said shyly, eyes on the blankets beneath them.

"oh, so i should cling to you more? hm? do you like this?" jacob lunged forward and wrapped his arms around kevin's neck as the younger fell onto the floor.

kevin let out a dramatic cough at the weight of jacob sitting on his gut and poked him in the side. the older let out a cry of laughter and fell, his chest hitting kevin's.

"why did i tell you that," kevin whined, looking down at jacob who was now hovering above his chin.

"because you love me."

jacob placed a quick kiss against the younger's chin and smiled when kevin laughed.

"i do, huh? if you're really feeling better, why don't you go brush your teeth so i can kiss that annoying mouth of yours."

"what if i don't want you to kiss me?" jacob said, scrunching his nose up.

"come on~i've gone 2 days without kisses," the younger whined. he took one of jacob's hands and intertwined their fingers.

"fine."