Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 9

The next morning when he woke, Donghyuck thought that he'd somehow managed to dodge a bullet with the scalding shower he'd taken as soon as he'd gotten home. He'd wrapped himself up in a thick blanket soon after, and had gone to bed feeling relaxed and toasty warm. If he'd woken up, cocooned in blankets and feeling a little too warm, then that was nothing to be concerned about. He'd had a restful night, that was all. He was ready and eager to face the day.

Then he sneezed once, pushing open the bathroom door, and again as he was picking out a clean shirt from the pile of freshly laundered clothes that had been left outside his bedroom door sometime after he'd gone to bed. The second time, it was violent enough that his vision went blurry for a few seconds and he stumbled, back hitting the wall with enough force to shake the two picture frames either side of him. Pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, he was shocked to find it sweaty and far too warm to the touch.

His mom took one look at him and sent him straight back to bed, promising to bring him water and medicine immediately. He could hear her calling the school downstairs as he flopped back down on his bed fully clothed, pulling the sheets up to his chin. A minute later, a hand was stroking his hair softly, and a large assortment of supplies was being offloaded onto his nightstand. Water, thermometer, a mound of tissues--he had half the kitchen in his room before she was done.

"Donghyuck-ah?" He turned towards the sound of her voice, not bothering to open his eyes. If he kept them closed, he could almost imagine that she was the woman he wanted most when he was sick, the one he missed more than he could admit to himself while fully lucid. "Donghyuck, honey?" she repeated, hand back in his hair and massaging gently.

"Yeah, mom?" He leaned into the touch, enjoying the attention even though he knew it wasn't quite the same as what he really needed. It was still comforting, and he felt his whole body relaxing as she continued to trace slow, rhythmic circles across his scalp.

"I tried to call out from work, but they didn't have anyone else to cover for me at such short notice." She sounded distressed, fingers slowing their movements as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I can try to leave early and get home, but with your father away and your brother..."

"It's okay," Donghyuck told her, snaking a hand out from under the covers to reach above his head, easily finding her wrist and then her hand. He looped his fingers with hers, squeezing gently. She squeezed back and he smiled, the gesture so familiar from his childhood. "I'll be fine on my own. I'm just going to sleep all day anyway."

She protested for several minutes, even as Donghyuck felt his strength sap even further, but she eventually gave in when he promised to text her if he needed her to come home. "I'll be here in fifteen minutes, baby," she told him earnestly, and he believed she really would if he asked.

He hadn't been lying though; he really did just plan to sleep and regain his strength. He needed to be back at school the next day, to man the sign-up table for Dejun at the freshman event with Chenle. He wasn't about to let either of them down, not when he'd started to make some progress with at least one of them.

After watching him drink a glass of water and take some cold medicine, his mom finally left and he found himself asleep in seconds, barely even noticing the dull thud as his bedroom door closed behind her. He didn't dream. He never did anymore--not here.

--

He woke up periodically throughout the morning, first to throw off his sheets as he sweated profusely and then later to pull them back over him as the air coming in through the open window chilled his bare skin. Eventually, though, he found himself staring up at the ceiling, awareness returning more fully than it had in hours. He tried to return to unconsciousness once more, but his body was telling him that it was no longer tired. He lazily tracked several dust motes as they drifted through the air above him, then sighed and slowly pushed himself upright.