Chapter Text
He stops just off the stage, still able to hear the sounds of cheering fans resonating down the halls. It’s nice to pause and listen to when it’s all over, nice to remember that no matter how long they perform, everyone still wants more. He leans against the wall and closes his eyes, yawning suddenly. Now that the show’s over his adrenaline comes to a crashing halt and exhaustion slithers in. It’s a combination of a late night filming in China coupled with a later flight to Japan, and normally he would have slept on the plane but instead he’d spent the entire flight in discomfort what with the pressure build up in his ears from a sinus congestion. He’d had a brief nap before the show, but it wasn’t enough given his current illness. He’s surprised his throat has held out so well, since he kind of feels like dying right now. It’s nice to just stand still, though it would of course be better to sit. Or lie down...
“Come on hyung, no sleeping in the hallway!” Chanwoo’s voice startles Hanbin to the point that he feels completely disoriented and his legs suddenly feel weak, but Chanwoo’s got a strong arm around his shoulders. “Are you okay? Did you actually just fall asleep in the hall?”
Hanbin leans heavily against him and mumbles a response in his shoulder that makes Chanwoo laugh. His feet feel like lead as he lets Chanwoo half drag him down the hall.
“Come on, hyung, you can sleep in the dressing room! At least take your makeup off first,” Chanwoo teases him, and he keeps his arm tight around Hanbin’s shoulders as they get closer to the dressing room. Everyone else is inside already, in various states of undress and celebration. Chanwoo pulls Hanbin into the centre of the room and calls for reinforcement.
“Bobby hyung, someone’s falling asleep!” Chanwoo calls out cheerfully, and seconds later Bobby’s in front of them with a concerned look on his face. Chanwoo happily pushes Hanbin into Bobby’s waiting arms, his duty done.
Bobby catches Hanbin and hugs him close, arms tight around his back. “Ah no, Hanbin-ah! You okay?” Bobby asks, and he slides a hand up to Hanbin’s chin, tilting his head up.
“I’m fine,” Hanbin answers, “just tired.” The statement’s punctuated with a yawn, which has Bobby grinning.
“That’s what you get for working so hard,” Jinhwan says as he joins them, plastering himself to Hanbin’s back to sandwich him in between he and Bobby.
“Working too hard, more like it,” Bobby says with a frown, patting Hanbin’s cheek.
“I was fine during the show,” Hanbin sleepily mumbles before pressing his face into Bobby’s neck. Being in between two human furnaces feels exceptionally wonderful at the moment, like he’s already underneath the warmest blanket possible.
“You’re a machine, hyung,” Donghyuk chimes in, reaching out to take one of Hanbin’s hands, “you did so good! I bet no one could tell you weren’t feeling your best.”
“Our Hanbin-ie’s always a machine,” Bobby repeats, his tone heavy with both pride and teasing, “he sets such a good example for us all.”
Donghyuk smacks Bobby’s arm playfully. “I was being serious!”
“So was I!” Bobby replies in protest, and normally this is where he and Donghyuk would chase each other around the room playfully, but tonight they’ve got something a little more important to handle.
“Why don’t we get him cleaned up and comfy so he can rest?” Donghyuk suggests, and it’s a testament to their concern for their leader when Bobby immediately calls a truce to their usual bickering and agrees with him. They settle Hanbin down on the couch and Donghyuk bounds off to get makeup wipes while Jinhwan gets him some water.
Hanbin sinks back into the cushions and closes his eyes. He kind of wants to tell them to leave him alone and let him sleep, but they seem to be in some kind of weird mood. He opens his eyes when Donghyuk sits down next to him and touches his cheek.
“Hold still while I take care of your eye liner,” Donghyuk instructs, and Hanbin figures it’s best to just let him do whatever it is he’s about to do. It still feels weird, though, because he’s not used to letting other people do things like this for him. He’s not exactly good at accepting this kind of stuff.
Jinhwan sits down on his other side, one hand trailing fingers over Hanbin’s arm lightly. When Donghyuk takes a break from the cleansing routine, Jinhwan tips the bottle of water to Hanbin’s lips and convinces him to take a sip. Hanbin knows better than to dispute him, so he opens his mouth and swallows. Then Donghyuk’s back at his other eye and Jinhwan starts playing with his arm again, and as weird as it is—it’s kind of nice, too.
He feels someone settle at his feet, unzipping his boots and pulling them off, his socks following. He doesn’t know who it is that’s currently massaging his sore feet, and he tries not to be annoying. They’re all being so nice to him right now, and he wonders whether he truly deserve it.
“There, makeup’s off!” Donghyuk exclaims, and Hanbin opens his eyes then to see that the person at his feet is Yunhyeong.
“Don’t complain,” Yunhyeong reprimands in advance, “you’ve been overworking yourself lately and you’re sick, so let us take care of you tonight.”
Hanbin feels like protesting (because it’s what he does) but Donghyuk cuts in. “Listen to him, hyung! We’re worried about you and just want to show you our appreciation.” Donghyuk’s lithe fingers are massaging his hand now, fingers digging into the meat of his palm.
Hanbin whines even though he appreciates it. “You guys don’t have to do this,” he replies, “I’ll be fine if you just let me sleep for a bit.”
“Oh quit whining and just accept it when we try to do something nice for you,” Junhoe replies, approaching the couch with a cup in his hands. “Here, I made you some tea with honey and I swear if you complain about it I’ll throw it in your face.” Junhoe smiles in a threatening sort of way as he holds the cup out.
It makes Hanbin laugh. “So affectionate.”
Junhoe grins back at him, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Oh just shut up and drink it.”