Work Text:
chengcheng hung back to wait for justin, whose usually energetic pace had slowed down quite a bit. knowing he hated making others worry about him and that he would never tell them if he was sick, he took the initiative to ask.
'bro are you okay? you look really tired,' chengcheng asked quietly. looking up at him justin smiled and tried to nod and immediately lost half of his balance, stumbling into chengcheng who steadied him with an arm around his waist and another on his hand.
'i just feel really tired. it's probably nothing,' he told him. chengcheng put a hand against his forehead then against his own, frowning.
‘rest more when we get back, alright?’
‘pretty sure it’s nothing serious though. don’t worry about me, i’m only a bit dizzy.’
'i can see that. just... stay with me until we get to the car, then you can sleep on the car ride back- it's like three hours which will hopefully help.' he adjusted their position to a more comfortable one. zhengting looked back curiously at them, noting their contact- justin was half leaning onto chengcheng with an arm around his neck, and the older boy with a hand around his waist and the other on his hand. their always observative leader went over to them, taking hold of the other side of justin and taking away some of the weight on chengcheng. the youngest obediently followed him onto the car with the help of zhengting, sitting next to chengcheng. when the car started moving, justin promptly fell asleep after two seconds. his head dropped onto chengcheng's shoulders, and he tried his best to make it comfortable for him to rest, watching over him, concerned. as the ride back continued, everyone eventually fell into a state of drowsiness.
zhengting woke up slightly before they arrived, and he quietly woke chengcheng. he in turn gently shook justin awake when they arrived. the boy lifted his head groggily from his shoulder, rubbing his half closed eyes. sleepily he got up and got off the car, still with the help of zhengting. he half supported, half carried the younger boy into his bed, and left him there after covering him with his blanket and making sure he was in a comfortable position. after a while chengcheng knocked on justin’s door, checking up on him. he was awake, his eyes bleary, but the corners of his mouth lifted when he saw chengcheng.
‘hey. how are you feeling now?’ he handed him a glass of water, watching as he gulped it down.
‘dunno. not the best,’ he answered quietly, voice hoarse. ‘tell them not to worry about me.’ chengcheng pinched his cheeks playfully and he frowned at him.
‘idiot, that’s just gonna make them worry more.’ he brushed his hair out of his eyes, pressing his fingers to his skin to check his temperature. when his warm forehead came in contact with his comparatively cool hand, he reflexively shrunk under the blanket with a whine and a frown, peeking his doe eyes out to stare at chengcheng. ‘get some more rest, yeah? you’ll be fine. i’ll make you some porridge and keep it warm in the rice cooker. you can call me whenever you want anything, alright? it’s not a burden. you're more important than the songs i'm writing.’ he shot him a smile. he blinked slowly, his gaze becoming unfocused, and he smiled weakly in return.
‘you’re so good to me cheng.’ said boy laughed lightly.
‘do you want chongchong here with you? might get boring,’ he suggested. justin snorted at the name.
‘i still think it's a dumb ass name. yes, i would like mister worm worm with me please.'
‘i’ll bring him up.’ he left and returned within minutes, carrying a sleepy corgi in his arms. the dog yawned and stretched out, and chengcheng held him out to justin who put him on his chest, watching him adoringly. chengcheng sat next to justin, on the edge of the bed. justin’s hand shyly inched out from under the blankets and rested atop his. his other hand came up to pet the corgi as he blinked and went to sleep, adjusting his position on his chest. chengcheng's fingers curled around his. the room stayed peacefully quiet for a few minutes. justin squeezed chengcheng's hand gingerly, eyes fluttering closed.
‘go to sleep, bro,’ chengcheng said, retracting his hand. ‘um, i hope you feel better soon. call me anytime.’ he patted his hand and stood up, pulling the blankets over justin's chin. justin snuggled into the blankets and let out a soft noise of gratitude, floating across the room. with a smile he walked backwards towards the door, and closed it silently behind him.