Everyone had their own fears. JC freaked out at the mere mention of needles. Joey would start shaking uncontrollably whenever a doctor snapped on their latex gloves in front of him. Lance hated stethoscopes; hated the fact that they were always so cold against his chest. Chris couldn’t stand the unnerving silence he was forced to endure when the nurse would leave him with “the doctor will be with you in just a moment.”
And Justin did not like people poking around his mouth with strange, sharp objects. So when he woke up one morning to a dull, throbbing pain in his jaw and ears, he swallowed down some Tylenol and went on his way. Until lunch, when he discovered that nachos were definitely not the right choice of food. But he ignored the guys’ concerned questions; ignored Chris’ pointed look, and opted for a yogurt instead.
By the time they had reached the hotel after the show that evening, Justin was in so much pain that Chris found him standing in front of the bathroom mirror in tears, and this time he didn’t object to Chris’ insistence on getting someone to look at him. Chris got a doctor, who called for a dentist, who decided that it was his wisdom teeth, and set him up with a nice oral surgeon for first thing in the morning.
Justin didn’t sleep that night. Between the pain in his mouth and the fear in his stomach, he didn’t think he could sleep even if he’d been awake for four straight days. Chris held him all night, rubbed a comforting hand over his shorn hair, down his smooth back.
Morning came and Justin was an absolute wreck. He trembled so hard that the nurses couldn’t get an IV in him. Chris went back with him and tried to calm him down, he whispered soothing things in Justin’s ear, stroked a gentle hand across his cheek, but it didn’t seem like anything was going to get Justin to relax. So Chris did the only thing he could think of. He kissed him.
* * *
When Justin came to, he immediately panicked. He tried to call out despite the cottony feeling of his swollen mouth and cheeks. Only when he felt an arm wrap around his waist pulling him towards a warm body did he realize that he was back in his bed. And when Chris put the cold ice packs on his cheeks, he didn’t even flinch. He simply snuggled further into the warm body behind him, and entwined his fingers with Chris’ as they wrapped around his waist and fell right back to sleep.
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