[one shot] who'd have known?
Title: who’d have known?
Pairing: Jackson/JB
Rating: PG
Length: 4.2k
Summary: The five times the other members realise that Jackson and Jaebum are in love with each other and the two times Jackson and Jaebum realised it for themselves.
seven
You can really notice a lot about people just by sitting back and watching them. Nearly all of Mark’s teachers chastised him at some point or another for being too quiet and too passive, but it was his silent observation that allowed him to figure out how best to fly under their collective radar and get away with things they would never expect from him. It was his powers of observation that helped him suss out the perfect time to tell his parents that he was going to drop out of school to chase a dream that he didn’t even know he had on the other side of the world. And now that he’s here, alone in a foreign country and having to pick up an entirely new language, it’s this very skillset that has bestowed him with his small but entirely genuine group of friends.
“Mark! Hey, did they tell you yet?”
Mark only has a second to brace himself before Jackson barrels into him, grabbing Mark by the shoulders as he jumps up and down.
“W-what?” Mark blinks.
“It’s happening! We’re going to debut!” Jackson beams.
“Really? What-How do you know that?” Mark gives Jackson a shove; it’s one part disbelief and one part warning.
Jackson’s hand flies up to his mouth and he quickly glances around the practise room. It’s empty save for the two of them, the dance coach, and a new trainee who Mark knows is surreptitiously eavesdropping on their conversation. He’s not exactly being subtle, but Jackson seems to miss the boy’s perked up ears as his eyes sweep the room.
“Let’s take this somewhere else,” Jackson declares, tugging Mark by his wrist.
Mark digs his heels in and stops so he can grab his bag before he follows Jackson.
“So, it’s for real? We’re really-?”
“Well, it wasn’t officially announced or anything, I kind of wrung the information out of JYP-hyung,” Jackson guiltily rubs the back of his neck with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
Mark takes a moment to imagine a Jackson with less scruples and no shame about exploiting his natural charm and charisma to manipulate people.
“Dude, are you so shocked that you’ve gone numb? This is a low-key reaction, even for you,” Jackson frowns.
“Well, it’s big news. Massive news. And not yet official news,” Mark punctuates his statement with a round of slaps to Jackson’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you curious about who we’re going to be debuting with?” Jackson wiggles his eyebrows.
Mark snorts. “It’s you, me, probably Jinyoung and Jaebum and someone else.”
Jackson’s face falls in obvious disappointment. “How did you know that?”
“K-pop companies don’t like even numbers for groups and ours already debuted Jinyoung and Jaebum once, I doubt they weren’t gonna repackage them somehow.” Mark shrugs.
Jackson’s bottom lip protrudes in a pout.
“I still don’t know who the fifth guy is though.”
“Yeah, same.” Jackson shrugs.
Mark throws him an incredulous look.
“What? Even my charm has limits,” Jackson says defensively. “But, yeah, man, it’s actually happening. Ahhh, JB’s probably going to hit us all the time though, especially since he’ll be the leader,” Jackson moans.
“You mean he’s probably going to hit you all the time,” Mark quips.
Jackson’s mouth falls open, but before the retort can come, Mark makes a quick judgement and continues.
“He seems to like punishing you.”
There! It disappears before it even has a chance to fully form, but Mark’s watching for it and so he doesn’t miss the slight upward curl of Jackson’s lips before he contorts his face and launches into a rant about Jaebum’s temper issues. Mark has suspected for months that Jackson might being into guys-specifically might be into a particular guy-but now he’s finally got his mind around it even though Jackson probably-almost certainly-hasn’t.
“…don’t formally ban it, but I’m going to have to break up with Yujin.”
Mark blinks, bringing himself back to Earth. “Yeah, probably.”
“Three years is a long time, longer than military service. Do you think she’d wait for me? Or at least think about dating me again when we become an established group?”
Mark shrugs. “By then we’d be too busy to date.”
“For real, the 2PM hyungs’ schedule makes me shiver sometimes.”
“If you wanted to date, you’d probably have to pick a group member,” Mark says airily, studying Jackson’s face.
“Haha, yeah probably,” Jackson laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.
~
six
“Congratulations,” Jinyoung chirps, clapping Jackson on the shoulder the second the crew breaks for lunch.
“What? What?” Jackson blinks, his eyebrows scrunched in suspicion.
“You finally got your first kiss.” Jinyoung breaks down laughing midway through the sentence.
“Oh fu-” Jackson cuts himself off, but aims a kick at Jinyoung’s shin.
Jinyoung would jump away to avoid it, but he’s simply laughing too hard.
“Hey, no kicking. Jinyoung’s fingers barely finished healing, we don’t need his leg in a cast too,” Jaebum says coolly, stepping forward to give Jackson a light slap to the chest.
“I didn’t kick him that hard!” Jackson cries out defensively. “Plus he started it,” he grumbles.
Jaebum flashes Jackson A Look, and Jackson slinks off towards Bambam and Yugyeom.
“Ah, you two…seriously, you’re worse than the maknaes,” Jaebum mutters with a shake of his head.
The last of Jinyoung’s laughter dies in his throat at how tired Jaebum looks and sounds in this moment. The older man’s cool stare is back in place when he turns back to Jinyoung, but Jinyoung is now two years in the past, seeing that look crop up on Jaebum’s face multiple times when he thinks Jinyoung isn’t watching.
“Hyung,” Jinyoung starts, but the rest of the words aren’t forthcoming.
“What?” Jaebum frowns, an eyebrow cocked.
“…Jackson really is too much, isn’t he?”
“Ah,” Jaebum snorts, his face lighting up with a smile even as he shakes his head. “Yes, but I guess that’s part of his charm.” Jaebum licks his lips.
Jinyoung narrows his eyes.
“Come on, let’s go before all the sandwiches are gone.” Jaebum gives Jinyoung’s shoulder a light clap.
“Hyung, you’re so cruel,” Jinyoung sighs, injecting a bit of a whine into his voice. “It’s one thing to throw me away for a new man, but to kiss him like that in front of me is just-”
“Ah, you-I won’t lift a finger the next time Jackson comes after you,” Jaebum sputters, lifting his hand off Jinyoung’s shoulder and bringing it down hard.
The slap hurts-a lot-but Jinyoung is able to ignore the sting and keep a grimace off his face. He’s always enjoyed learning new things.
~
five
Baby, you are just… Just right
It’s the end of a long day that’s part of an even longer week, but Yugyeom can’t help but come alive when it’s time to do the crazy version of their choreography for the fans. He’s not the only one, judging by the way the rest of the group throw themselves into the act. The routine is standard through Jackson and Mark’s bit in the first verse, but then Youngjae grabs Mark around the neck during his part in the hook and that’s when the party really gets started.
No matter how much I take you apart/ And look and look at you/ I can’t find that part of yourself that you think isn’t pretty
Jaebum manhandles Youngjae out of the way as he starts his part and Yugyeom already can’t stop laughing.
If you just stay the way you are now/ I want nothing more so don’t change anything
As Youngjae passes by him while Jinyoung starts his half of the chorus, Yugyeom attacks his ass with swats. They only catch gazes for a few seconds, but the mirth-and the challenge-in the older man’s eyes is plain to see. Before the end of the song, Youngjae will be harassing Yugyeom back, as they’re wont to do to each other since the choreography puts them close together quite often.
Just as you are (right now) oh (just as you are)/ Oh (just as you are right now) just stay as you are
Yugyeom’s not even holding a mic, but right now he’s glad that his part is so small; he can’t even pretend to sing along at this point as he grabs hold of Mark and Jinyoung and jumps around with them.
JB! Mark! Jackson! Junior! Choi Youngjae! Bambam! Kim Yugyeom! GOT7!
By the end of Bambam’s part, the routine is well and truly heading towards mayhem as more and more of them start to abandon the choreography at once.
No matter how much I take you apart/ And look and look at you/ I can’t find that part of yourself that you think isn’t pretty
Youngjae gets his revenge when he holds Yugyeom by the neck and shove the mic to his lips. Yugyeom’s not exactly insecure about his singing (it’s not his main selling point anyway), and this is a novelty stage purely for the fans’ enjoyment, but he can’t help but be conscious of the difference in their abilities. He’s only too happy to move away as Jaebum’s part of the chorus starts.
If you just stay the way you are now/ I want nothing more so don’t change anything
It’s strange. The seven of them have been grabbing and groping each other on stage in increasingly outrageous ways, but there’s something striking about the way Jaebum throws his arms around Jackson and croons his lyrics. The way Jackson suddenly becomes a blushing shirking violet is even more intriguing.
Don’t worry about anything/ Because I like everything about you/ Don’t change anything about yourself
The formation changes and Yugyeom finds himself slapping Jinyoung’s ass before the older man turns around and puts on a show with it to the fans’ audible enjoyment. When Jackson’s part in the bridge starts, Yugyeom switches targets, sending Jackson close to careening off the edge of the stage with a firm shove. Jackson takes it in stride, his earlier shyness completely absent from his expression.
I’d find a flaw if there was even a flaw that I could see/ You dazzle, you have nothing missing/ Do you know how pretty you are in my eyes? I want you/ Just as you are, you’re the only one
Bambam starts doing the whip, his latest obsession, and they all just lose it, all but collapsing on each other as they guffaw on stage. Yugyeom notices Jackson rubbing his neck and idly wonders if he was too rough with his push. He knows there’s no hard feeling between them (especially for these kinds of stages), but Yugyeom gives the older man a back-hug anyway as the song winds down.
JB ttak joha! Mark ttak joha! Jackson ttak joha! Junior ttak joha! Choi Youngjae ttak joha! Bambam ttak joha! Kim Yugyeom ttak joha! GOT7 Just Right!
Turning away from the cheering fans, Yugyeom sees Jaebum holding Youngjae around the middle with one hand while he does the just right hand sign with the other. Yugyeom’s gaze shifts to Jackson, who is standing right beside him. God only knows why, but for some reason a laugh bubbles out of his mouth as he exits the stage.
A few months later, when they’re filming for Real Got7 season three and the two of them get stupidly close for no reason, Yugyeom can’t stop himself from turning to the camera and pointing them out because seriously?
~
four
“Coco, sit-Don’t-Ahhh, why are you so restless today?” Youngjae moans.
“Coco, sit, girl,” Mark’s English rings out from the top bunk.
Coco just looks back and forth between Mark and Youngjae before she shakes her head and rolls onto her back.
“I thought she had learned this command,” Youngjae mumbles to himself, automatically reaching out to gently scratch the small dog’s exposed belly.
“I think she’s just confused again. Dogs probably aren’t meant to be multilingual,” Mark says matter-of-factly.
“Dogs are so smart though. If they can be trained to be companions for the blind and deaf, they should be able to take commands in two languages,” Youngjae replies, a bit of a whine seeping into his voice. “Coco, paw!”
Coco rolls way from his outstretched hand, turning her attention-and teeth-towards one of Youngjae’s shoes.
“Coco, no!”
“Ah, she’s in a mood. Better to suspend the lesson and give her Okcat.” Mark flops back onto his bed, disappearing from sight.
“Okay,” Youngjae sighs. “Do you know where it is?” Coco’s favourite plush toy is nowhere in sight and he’d rather not blindly dig through the piles of clothes and fan gifts to find it.
“Uh, I think it might have ended up back in Jaebum’s room.”
Youngjae cradles Coco, just barely managing to get her onto Mark’s bunk before she wriggles out of his grasp. Mark, his eyes glued to his phone, cuddles Coco to his stomach, absently scratching her behind her ears and deftly dodging her attempts to chew on his fingers. Youngjae heads out of his new room and heads to his old room. From sheer force of habit, he forgets to knock before opening the door.
“…and I’m chic and sexy.”
Youngjae is greeted by Jackson’s explosive howling, the older man writhing in a manner not dissimilar from Coco on her worst days. Jaebum sits beside Jackson on the single mattress that Youngjae used to share with him, a dusting of pink decorating his cheeks as Jackson’s reaction goes on. Eventually, Jackson stops convulsing, though he continues to laugh, clinging to one of Jaebum’s arms.
“Um,” Youngjae speaks up, shifting on the balls of his feet in the doorway.
Even then it takes a few seconds for either of the room’s occupants to register his presence.
“Uh, I think I might’ve left Coco’s plushie in here?”
“Did you let her in here again when I was gone?” The pink is gone from Jaebum’s cheeks as disapproval laces his voice. “I swear if I find piss or crap in another of my shoes…”
“Here it is.” Jackson retrieves the green cat from a corner of a drawer. “I think I’ve also seen her nail clippers and one of her brushes floating around somewhere, I’ll put them aside for her if I see them again,” Jackson smiles.
“Thanks,” Youngjae smiles in return, a natural consequence of being around Jackson for more than a minute.
He lets himself out of his old room, pausing for a second to peer inside. Jackson is settled on the bed next to Jaebum again, his arm looped through Jaebum’s and their feet lightly bumping the other’s as huddled together in front of Jackson’s new tablet. The thin white cord of a pair of earphones denotes the only space between their bodies. The door shuts.
Youngjae stares at the white wood for a few moments before he trudges back to his new room.
“Found it?” Mark lazily calls out.
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Youngjae mumbles, holding up the plushie. He chews on his bottom lip. “Jackson-hyung and Jaebum-hyung, do you think there’s a weird atmosphere between them?”
When he gets no response, Youngjae finally looks up at the top bunk. He finds Mark staring right at him with a knowing glint in his eyes. Youngjae stares back, mentally flipping through his memories of them from the past few months, of linked hands and fond gazes and bright grins. Jackson is naturally a very affectionate person and Jaebum has always had a soft spot for Jackson, but…
“Oh,” Youngjae says at last, his eyes wide.
Mark grins, flashing his pointed canines.
~
three
“Is this really necessary?” Jaebum sighs as his body is manhandled into place on his bed.
“Yes,” Jackson replies seriously, his brows furrowed together. “You can make the pain even worse by not getting into bed a certain way. It’s very important that we take every precaution to make sure you heal fully. Now, gently lower yourself onto your side and bring your knees up.”
Jaebum follows Jackson’s instructions, but not without a quick roll of his eyes. He doesn’t feel any different, for better or for worse, but some of the lines disappear from Jackson’s forehead.
“Am I still allowed to sleep on my back?” Jaebum asks once he’s fully on his mattress.
Jackson chews on his lip in thought. “The websites I’ve read said there’s ways of relieving pressure to your lower back, but I think your side is the safest bet. Here, put my pillow between your legs. And bend your knees, but don’t move your back.”
“What will you sleep with?” Jaebum frowns.
“Don’t worry about me.” Jackson waves a hand dismissively.
“Look, I appreciate your concern but I don’t want you to suffer just for-”
“Suffer? Hyung, it’s not that serious,” Jackson scoffs. “Really, I can just go and steal one of Jinyoung’s many pillows.” Jackson is moving towards the door as he speaks.
“Do me a favour?”
“Yes?” Jackson stops in his tracks, looking like a dog that’s just caught an interesting new scent.
Jaebum mentally chuckles for a second before he speaks up again. “Could you grab warming pad for me? I’m supposed to use it to relax my muscles before I got to bed.”
“Sure, no problem,” Jackson grins, practically skipping out of the room.
Jaebum’s not feeling particularly tired, but the doctor insisted that he rest and Jackson is only too willing to physically restraint him if it comes to it, so Jaebum lets his eyelids fall shut and takes a few deep breaths. In-out, in-out. In his mind’s eye he tries to conjure up images from his childhood trip to Gyeongpo Beach, now empty of people but no less beautiful. In-out, in-out. The light breeze sends flecks of sand onto his skin, his lips tasting of salt when he licks them. A thunderous chorus of human voices shatters the stillness and silence. Jaebum-ah! Leader! Hyung! Oppa! The voices call from the pavilion that sits just on the horizon. Jaebum sprints towards it, his bare feet hitting hard concrete instead of soft sand. Thump, thump, thump.
Jaebum opens his eyes with a sigh. As the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears slowly quietens, Jaebum can hear the sounds of shifting in the next room.
“Sorry I took a while,” Jackson calls out as he re-enters the room. His cheeks are flushed and hair is considerably messier than when he left. “Jinyoung was being stubborn.”
Jackson lobs the pillow across the room and flips the light switch. The soft thump of the pillow is followed by the slight creaking of the mattress and the crinkling of plastic. Calloused fingers lift the back of Jaebum’s shirt before a warm pad is pressed to the skin of his lower back. The sweet relief of is increased when those same fingers start to gently massage his heated skin.
“Ahhh, thank you,” Jaebum sighs, his eyes falling shut as his tension slowly drains away.
“It’s no problem at all,” Jackson says softly, his words wafting into Jaebum’s ear. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to make you feel better. I love you, hyung.”
Jaebum opens his eyes. Jackson has said it no less than four times today, and anyone who has ever met him can attest to how liberal he is with his affections, but it feels different this time. Maybe it’s the darkness of the room, maybe it’s the slight contrast of the heated pad and Jackson’s clammy fingers, maybe it’s the way he whispered the words instead of belting them out like he usually does, but the other shoe finally drops for Jaebum.
“Hyung, you’re not relaxing.” Jackson fingers stray from Jaebum’s back to lightly pinch his side.
“Right,” Jaebum mumbles, mostly to himself. He closes his eyes and forces his mind to go blank. Jackson’s light breathing all but echoes in the stillness of the room, but instead of keeping him awake, it lulls Jaebum to sleep.
~
two
The temperature changes in this room is something Jackson doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to. It was borderline freezing when he settled down for bed, but even with the curtain draw the blazing sun still warms up the room to uncomfortably warm levels. The blankets and the limbs wrapped around Jackson probably aren’t helping. His first instinct is to kick away the sheets and sidle out of the other person’s arms, but he stops himself when he remembers where he is.
Jaebum is right in front of him, his breathing deep and even and his face free of tension. Jackson is about close his eyes again and catch a few more minutes rest, but it only lasts a few seconds before he’s sitting up in bed. Sure enough, the pillow that Jackson had carefully positioned between Jaebum’s legs for optimum spine support is lying on the floor right beside the mattress.
“Hyung, what have you done?” Jackson groans, the scratchiness of his throat making it sound more like a croak.
“Hmmm, what?” Jaebum mumbles in his sleep.
“The pillow. Your back.” Jackson shakes him by the shoulder. “Did you even turn over the correct way to minimise stress to your spine?”
Jaebum opens his eyes at last, squinting up at Jackson in a way that clearly says, ‘No.’
Jackson sighs with a shake of his head.
“Don’t be like that, I’ll be fine. Anyway, we still have…ten more minutes before the alarm actually goes off, lie down and rest.”
“Ten minutes won’t make a difference. We should use the time to do some stretches for your-” the words are knocked out of Jackson’s mouth when Jaebum grips his forearm and sharply tugs him back down to bed. Jaebum’s hand slips to the back of Jackson’s neck, holding him there.
“Jackson,” Jaebum says firmly.
“Yeah?” Jackson gasps.
“You’re working harder than anyone else in the group, but you need every bit of rest you can get to be able to do it. It’s no use for you to look after everyone and then neglect yourself. Rest. That’s an order from your leader.”
Jackson nods, his mouth too dry to from words, his right absently hand brushing over the front of his pyjama bottoms.
“I’m ordering you because…I love you too,” Jaebum’s serious expression melts away as a smile graces his lips and his eyes shine with fondness.
It’s a look that has never failed to make Jackson’s heart beat a little bit faster and right here, right now, with Jaebum pressed so close in the stillness of the room-
“Jaebum-hyung-”
“Sleep.” Jaebum gives Jackson’s neck a firm and gentle squeeze.
Jackson can’t help but fall forward, right into Jaebum’s chest. Jaebum shifts his hand so that he’s stroking the back of Jackson’s head. Even when the older man essentially petting him, Jackson’s mind is racing too much for him to even think about sleeping, but he doesn’t move from where he’s lying, not even when the tinny alarm shatters the silence of the room.
~
one
“Hmmm, this is disappointing. I was better off not switching brands,” Bambam mutters to himself as he pokes and prods his face in the mirror.
“I’d say it looks clearer and brighter,” Yugyeom pipes up from his bed as he lazily scrolls through his phone.
“Maybe, but this new moisturiser doesn’t make it feel anywhere near as soft and supple as I wanted, more like an expensive suitcase,” Bambam grumbles.
A laugh bursts out of Yugyeom. “Well, at least it’s expensive.”
“But of course.” Bambam throws his friend a wink over his shoulder. “I can’t go to bed like this, I’m going to wash this off and borrow some of Jackson-hyung’s cream until I can buy another bottle.”
“Is it safe to go in?”
Bambam pauses on his way to the door. “…Yes? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Jaebum-hyung just got the all-clear from the doctor and Jackson-hyung is back from filming his gameshow in China, so two of them are probably going to be unbearable to be around for a week,” Yugyeom says with a grimace.
If life were an anime, Bambam is sure he’d have a giant question mark hanging over his head right now.
Yugyeom looks up from his phone. “You really don’t know?” He tilts his head.
“Apparently not,” Bambam shrugs.
“Jaebum-hyung and Jackson-hyung, they’re…intimately involved,” Yugyeom says with a hoity-toity flare that he could only have picked up from Jinyoung.
“Wait…You mean like…” Bambam trails off, the word stuck to his tongue.
Yugyeom reaches over to the end of his bed, picks up their A-era GOTOON plushies and rubs them together.
“Ewww! Alright, stop, I get it!” Bambam recoils, rubbing his eyes in a bid to get the mental images out of his mind. “When did that even happen?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Yugyeom shrugs, settling back into bed and resuming his idle scrolling.
“Hang on…Am I the last to know?”
“Yup.”
For a long moment, Bambam just stands in the middle of the room, his gaze shifting between Yugyeom and the door.
“Mark-hyung always has good products, I’m gonna go ask him for some,” Bambam mutters as he shuffles towards the door.
“That, too, is a gamble,” Yugeyom says ominously.
Bambam looks sharply over his shoulder. “What?”
Pairing: Jackson/JB
Rating: PG
Length: 4.2k
Summary: The five times the other members realise that Jackson and Jaebum are in love with each other and the two times Jackson and Jaebum realised it for themselves.
seven
You can really notice a lot about people just by sitting back and watching them. Nearly all of Mark’s teachers chastised him at some point or another for being too quiet and too passive, but it was his silent observation that allowed him to figure out how best to fly under their collective radar and get away with things they would never expect from him. It was his powers of observation that helped him suss out the perfect time to tell his parents that he was going to drop out of school to chase a dream that he didn’t even know he had on the other side of the world. And now that he’s here, alone in a foreign country and having to pick up an entirely new language, it’s this very skillset that has bestowed him with his small but entirely genuine group of friends.
“Mark! Hey, did they tell you yet?”
Mark only has a second to brace himself before Jackson barrels into him, grabbing Mark by the shoulders as he jumps up and down.
“W-what?” Mark blinks.
“It’s happening! We’re going to debut!” Jackson beams.
“Really? What-How do you know that?” Mark gives Jackson a shove; it’s one part disbelief and one part warning.
Jackson’s hand flies up to his mouth and he quickly glances around the practise room. It’s empty save for the two of them, the dance coach, and a new trainee who Mark knows is surreptitiously eavesdropping on their conversation. He’s not exactly being subtle, but Jackson seems to miss the boy’s perked up ears as his eyes sweep the room.
“Let’s take this somewhere else,” Jackson declares, tugging Mark by his wrist.
Mark digs his heels in and stops so he can grab his bag before he follows Jackson.
“So, it’s for real? We’re really-?”
“Well, it wasn’t officially announced or anything, I kind of wrung the information out of JYP-hyung,” Jackson guiltily rubs the back of his neck with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
Mark takes a moment to imagine a Jackson with less scruples and no shame about exploiting his natural charm and charisma to manipulate people.
“Dude, are you so shocked that you’ve gone numb? This is a low-key reaction, even for you,” Jackson frowns.
“Well, it’s big news. Massive news. And not yet official news,” Mark punctuates his statement with a round of slaps to Jackson’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you curious about who we’re going to be debuting with?” Jackson wiggles his eyebrows.
Mark snorts. “It’s you, me, probably Jinyoung and Jaebum and someone else.”
Jackson’s face falls in obvious disappointment. “How did you know that?”
“K-pop companies don’t like even numbers for groups and ours already debuted Jinyoung and Jaebum once, I doubt they weren’t gonna repackage them somehow.” Mark shrugs.
Jackson’s bottom lip protrudes in a pout.
“I still don’t know who the fifth guy is though.”
“Yeah, same.” Jackson shrugs.
Mark throws him an incredulous look.
“What? Even my charm has limits,” Jackson says defensively. “But, yeah, man, it’s actually happening. Ahhh, JB’s probably going to hit us all the time though, especially since he’ll be the leader,” Jackson moans.
“You mean he’s probably going to hit you all the time,” Mark quips.
Jackson’s mouth falls open, but before the retort can come, Mark makes a quick judgement and continues.
“He seems to like punishing you.”
There! It disappears before it even has a chance to fully form, but Mark’s watching for it and so he doesn’t miss the slight upward curl of Jackson’s lips before he contorts his face and launches into a rant about Jaebum’s temper issues. Mark has suspected for months that Jackson might being into guys-specifically might be into a particular guy-but now he’s finally got his mind around it even though Jackson probably-almost certainly-hasn’t.
“…don’t formally ban it, but I’m going to have to break up with Yujin.”
Mark blinks, bringing himself back to Earth. “Yeah, probably.”
“Three years is a long time, longer than military service. Do you think she’d wait for me? Or at least think about dating me again when we become an established group?”
Mark shrugs. “By then we’d be too busy to date.”
“For real, the 2PM hyungs’ schedule makes me shiver sometimes.”
“If you wanted to date, you’d probably have to pick a group member,” Mark says airily, studying Jackson’s face.
“Haha, yeah probably,” Jackson laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.
~
six
“Congratulations,” Jinyoung chirps, clapping Jackson on the shoulder the second the crew breaks for lunch.
“What? What?” Jackson blinks, his eyebrows scrunched in suspicion.
“You finally got your first kiss.” Jinyoung breaks down laughing midway through the sentence.
“Oh fu-” Jackson cuts himself off, but aims a kick at Jinyoung’s shin.
Jinyoung would jump away to avoid it, but he’s simply laughing too hard.
“Hey, no kicking. Jinyoung’s fingers barely finished healing, we don’t need his leg in a cast too,” Jaebum says coolly, stepping forward to give Jackson a light slap to the chest.
“I didn’t kick him that hard!” Jackson cries out defensively. “Plus he started it,” he grumbles.
Jaebum flashes Jackson A Look, and Jackson slinks off towards Bambam and Yugyeom.
“Ah, you two…seriously, you’re worse than the maknaes,” Jaebum mutters with a shake of his head.
The last of Jinyoung’s laughter dies in his throat at how tired Jaebum looks and sounds in this moment. The older man’s cool stare is back in place when he turns back to Jinyoung, but Jinyoung is now two years in the past, seeing that look crop up on Jaebum’s face multiple times when he thinks Jinyoung isn’t watching.
“Hyung,” Jinyoung starts, but the rest of the words aren’t forthcoming.
“What?” Jaebum frowns, an eyebrow cocked.
“…Jackson really is too much, isn’t he?”
“Ah,” Jaebum snorts, his face lighting up with a smile even as he shakes his head. “Yes, but I guess that’s part of his charm.” Jaebum licks his lips.
Jinyoung narrows his eyes.
“Come on, let’s go before all the sandwiches are gone.” Jaebum gives Jinyoung’s shoulder a light clap.
“Hyung, you’re so cruel,” Jinyoung sighs, injecting a bit of a whine into his voice. “It’s one thing to throw me away for a new man, but to kiss him like that in front of me is just-”
“Ah, you-I won’t lift a finger the next time Jackson comes after you,” Jaebum sputters, lifting his hand off Jinyoung’s shoulder and bringing it down hard.
The slap hurts-a lot-but Jinyoung is able to ignore the sting and keep a grimace off his face. He’s always enjoyed learning new things.
~
five
Baby, you are just… Just right
It’s the end of a long day that’s part of an even longer week, but Yugyeom can’t help but come alive when it’s time to do the crazy version of their choreography for the fans. He’s not the only one, judging by the way the rest of the group throw themselves into the act. The routine is standard through Jackson and Mark’s bit in the first verse, but then Youngjae grabs Mark around the neck during his part in the hook and that’s when the party really gets started.
No matter how much I take you apart/ And look and look at you/ I can’t find that part of yourself that you think isn’t pretty
Jaebum manhandles Youngjae out of the way as he starts his part and Yugyeom already can’t stop laughing.
If you just stay the way you are now/ I want nothing more so don’t change anything
As Youngjae passes by him while Jinyoung starts his half of the chorus, Yugyeom attacks his ass with swats. They only catch gazes for a few seconds, but the mirth-and the challenge-in the older man’s eyes is plain to see. Before the end of the song, Youngjae will be harassing Yugyeom back, as they’re wont to do to each other since the choreography puts them close together quite often.
Just as you are (right now) oh (just as you are)/ Oh (just as you are right now) just stay as you are
Yugyeom’s not even holding a mic, but right now he’s glad that his part is so small; he can’t even pretend to sing along at this point as he grabs hold of Mark and Jinyoung and jumps around with them.
JB! Mark! Jackson! Junior! Choi Youngjae! Bambam! Kim Yugyeom! GOT7!
By the end of Bambam’s part, the routine is well and truly heading towards mayhem as more and more of them start to abandon the choreography at once.
No matter how much I take you apart/ And look and look at you/ I can’t find that part of yourself that you think isn’t pretty
Youngjae gets his revenge when he holds Yugyeom by the neck and shove the mic to his lips. Yugyeom’s not exactly insecure about his singing (it’s not his main selling point anyway), and this is a novelty stage purely for the fans’ enjoyment, but he can’t help but be conscious of the difference in their abilities. He’s only too happy to move away as Jaebum’s part of the chorus starts.
If you just stay the way you are now/ I want nothing more so don’t change anything
It’s strange. The seven of them have been grabbing and groping each other on stage in increasingly outrageous ways, but there’s something striking about the way Jaebum throws his arms around Jackson and croons his lyrics. The way Jackson suddenly becomes a blushing shirking violet is even more intriguing.
Don’t worry about anything/ Because I like everything about you/ Don’t change anything about yourself
The formation changes and Yugyeom finds himself slapping Jinyoung’s ass before the older man turns around and puts on a show with it to the fans’ audible enjoyment. When Jackson’s part in the bridge starts, Yugyeom switches targets, sending Jackson close to careening off the edge of the stage with a firm shove. Jackson takes it in stride, his earlier shyness completely absent from his expression.
I’d find a flaw if there was even a flaw that I could see/ You dazzle, you have nothing missing/ Do you know how pretty you are in my eyes? I want you/ Just as you are, you’re the only one
Bambam starts doing the whip, his latest obsession, and they all just lose it, all but collapsing on each other as they guffaw on stage. Yugyeom notices Jackson rubbing his neck and idly wonders if he was too rough with his push. He knows there’s no hard feeling between them (especially for these kinds of stages), but Yugyeom gives the older man a back-hug anyway as the song winds down.
JB ttak joha! Mark ttak joha! Jackson ttak joha! Junior ttak joha! Choi Youngjae ttak joha! Bambam ttak joha! Kim Yugyeom ttak joha! GOT7 Just Right!
Turning away from the cheering fans, Yugyeom sees Jaebum holding Youngjae around the middle with one hand while he does the just right hand sign with the other. Yugyeom’s gaze shifts to Jackson, who is standing right beside him. God only knows why, but for some reason a laugh bubbles out of his mouth as he exits the stage.
A few months later, when they’re filming for Real Got7 season three and the two of them get stupidly close for no reason, Yugyeom can’t stop himself from turning to the camera and pointing them out because seriously?
~
four
“Coco, sit-Don’t-Ahhh, why are you so restless today?” Youngjae moans.
“Coco, sit, girl,” Mark’s English rings out from the top bunk.
Coco just looks back and forth between Mark and Youngjae before she shakes her head and rolls onto her back.
“I thought she had learned this command,” Youngjae mumbles to himself, automatically reaching out to gently scratch the small dog’s exposed belly.
“I think she’s just confused again. Dogs probably aren’t meant to be multilingual,” Mark says matter-of-factly.
“Dogs are so smart though. If they can be trained to be companions for the blind and deaf, they should be able to take commands in two languages,” Youngjae replies, a bit of a whine seeping into his voice. “Coco, paw!”
Coco rolls way from his outstretched hand, turning her attention-and teeth-towards one of Youngjae’s shoes.
“Coco, no!”
“Ah, she’s in a mood. Better to suspend the lesson and give her Okcat.” Mark flops back onto his bed, disappearing from sight.
“Okay,” Youngjae sighs. “Do you know where it is?” Coco’s favourite plush toy is nowhere in sight and he’d rather not blindly dig through the piles of clothes and fan gifts to find it.
“Uh, I think it might have ended up back in Jaebum’s room.”
Youngjae cradles Coco, just barely managing to get her onto Mark’s bunk before she wriggles out of his grasp. Mark, his eyes glued to his phone, cuddles Coco to his stomach, absently scratching her behind her ears and deftly dodging her attempts to chew on his fingers. Youngjae heads out of his new room and heads to his old room. From sheer force of habit, he forgets to knock before opening the door.
“…and I’m chic and sexy.”
Youngjae is greeted by Jackson’s explosive howling, the older man writhing in a manner not dissimilar from Coco on her worst days. Jaebum sits beside Jackson on the single mattress that Youngjae used to share with him, a dusting of pink decorating his cheeks as Jackson’s reaction goes on. Eventually, Jackson stops convulsing, though he continues to laugh, clinging to one of Jaebum’s arms.
“Um,” Youngjae speaks up, shifting on the balls of his feet in the doorway.
Even then it takes a few seconds for either of the room’s occupants to register his presence.
“Uh, I think I might’ve left Coco’s plushie in here?”
“Did you let her in here again when I was gone?” The pink is gone from Jaebum’s cheeks as disapproval laces his voice. “I swear if I find piss or crap in another of my shoes…”
“Here it is.” Jackson retrieves the green cat from a corner of a drawer. “I think I’ve also seen her nail clippers and one of her brushes floating around somewhere, I’ll put them aside for her if I see them again,” Jackson smiles.
“Thanks,” Youngjae smiles in return, a natural consequence of being around Jackson for more than a minute.
He lets himself out of his old room, pausing for a second to peer inside. Jackson is settled on the bed next to Jaebum again, his arm looped through Jaebum’s and their feet lightly bumping the other’s as huddled together in front of Jackson’s new tablet. The thin white cord of a pair of earphones denotes the only space between their bodies. The door shuts.
Youngjae stares at the white wood for a few moments before he trudges back to his new room.
“Found it?” Mark lazily calls out.
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Youngjae mumbles, holding up the plushie. He chews on his bottom lip. “Jackson-hyung and Jaebum-hyung, do you think there’s a weird atmosphere between them?”
When he gets no response, Youngjae finally looks up at the top bunk. He finds Mark staring right at him with a knowing glint in his eyes. Youngjae stares back, mentally flipping through his memories of them from the past few months, of linked hands and fond gazes and bright grins. Jackson is naturally a very affectionate person and Jaebum has always had a soft spot for Jackson, but…
“Oh,” Youngjae says at last, his eyes wide.
Mark grins, flashing his pointed canines.
~
three
“Is this really necessary?” Jaebum sighs as his body is manhandled into place on his bed.
“Yes,” Jackson replies seriously, his brows furrowed together. “You can make the pain even worse by not getting into bed a certain way. It’s very important that we take every precaution to make sure you heal fully. Now, gently lower yourself onto your side and bring your knees up.”
Jaebum follows Jackson’s instructions, but not without a quick roll of his eyes. He doesn’t feel any different, for better or for worse, but some of the lines disappear from Jackson’s forehead.
“Am I still allowed to sleep on my back?” Jaebum asks once he’s fully on his mattress.
Jackson chews on his lip in thought. “The websites I’ve read said there’s ways of relieving pressure to your lower back, but I think your side is the safest bet. Here, put my pillow between your legs. And bend your knees, but don’t move your back.”
“What will you sleep with?” Jaebum frowns.
“Don’t worry about me.” Jackson waves a hand dismissively.
“Look, I appreciate your concern but I don’t want you to suffer just for-”
“Suffer? Hyung, it’s not that serious,” Jackson scoffs. “Really, I can just go and steal one of Jinyoung’s many pillows.” Jackson is moving towards the door as he speaks.
“Do me a favour?”
“Yes?” Jackson stops in his tracks, looking like a dog that’s just caught an interesting new scent.
Jaebum mentally chuckles for a second before he speaks up again. “Could you grab warming pad for me? I’m supposed to use it to relax my muscles before I got to bed.”
“Sure, no problem,” Jackson grins, practically skipping out of the room.
Jaebum’s not feeling particularly tired, but the doctor insisted that he rest and Jackson is only too willing to physically restraint him if it comes to it, so Jaebum lets his eyelids fall shut and takes a few deep breaths. In-out, in-out. In his mind’s eye he tries to conjure up images from his childhood trip to Gyeongpo Beach, now empty of people but no less beautiful. In-out, in-out. The light breeze sends flecks of sand onto his skin, his lips tasting of salt when he licks them. A thunderous chorus of human voices shatters the stillness and silence. Jaebum-ah! Leader! Hyung! Oppa! The voices call from the pavilion that sits just on the horizon. Jaebum sprints towards it, his bare feet hitting hard concrete instead of soft sand. Thump, thump, thump.
Jaebum opens his eyes with a sigh. As the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears slowly quietens, Jaebum can hear the sounds of shifting in the next room.
“Sorry I took a while,” Jackson calls out as he re-enters the room. His cheeks are flushed and hair is considerably messier than when he left. “Jinyoung was being stubborn.”
Jackson lobs the pillow across the room and flips the light switch. The soft thump of the pillow is followed by the slight creaking of the mattress and the crinkling of plastic. Calloused fingers lift the back of Jaebum’s shirt before a warm pad is pressed to the skin of his lower back. The sweet relief of is increased when those same fingers start to gently massage his heated skin.
“Ahhh, thank you,” Jaebum sighs, his eyes falling shut as his tension slowly drains away.
“It’s no problem at all,” Jackson says softly, his words wafting into Jaebum’s ear. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to make you feel better. I love you, hyung.”
Jaebum opens his eyes. Jackson has said it no less than four times today, and anyone who has ever met him can attest to how liberal he is with his affections, but it feels different this time. Maybe it’s the darkness of the room, maybe it’s the slight contrast of the heated pad and Jackson’s clammy fingers, maybe it’s the way he whispered the words instead of belting them out like he usually does, but the other shoe finally drops for Jaebum.
“Hyung, you’re not relaxing.” Jackson fingers stray from Jaebum’s back to lightly pinch his side.
“Right,” Jaebum mumbles, mostly to himself. He closes his eyes and forces his mind to go blank. Jackson’s light breathing all but echoes in the stillness of the room, but instead of keeping him awake, it lulls Jaebum to sleep.
~
two
The temperature changes in this room is something Jackson doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to. It was borderline freezing when he settled down for bed, but even with the curtain draw the blazing sun still warms up the room to uncomfortably warm levels. The blankets and the limbs wrapped around Jackson probably aren’t helping. His first instinct is to kick away the sheets and sidle out of the other person’s arms, but he stops himself when he remembers where he is.
Jaebum is right in front of him, his breathing deep and even and his face free of tension. Jackson is about close his eyes again and catch a few more minutes rest, but it only lasts a few seconds before he’s sitting up in bed. Sure enough, the pillow that Jackson had carefully positioned between Jaebum’s legs for optimum spine support is lying on the floor right beside the mattress.
“Hyung, what have you done?” Jackson groans, the scratchiness of his throat making it sound more like a croak.
“Hmmm, what?” Jaebum mumbles in his sleep.
“The pillow. Your back.” Jackson shakes him by the shoulder. “Did you even turn over the correct way to minimise stress to your spine?”
Jaebum opens his eyes at last, squinting up at Jackson in a way that clearly says, ‘No.’
Jackson sighs with a shake of his head.
“Don’t be like that, I’ll be fine. Anyway, we still have…ten more minutes before the alarm actually goes off, lie down and rest.”
“Ten minutes won’t make a difference. We should use the time to do some stretches for your-” the words are knocked out of Jackson’s mouth when Jaebum grips his forearm and sharply tugs him back down to bed. Jaebum’s hand slips to the back of Jackson’s neck, holding him there.
“Jackson,” Jaebum says firmly.
“Yeah?” Jackson gasps.
“You’re working harder than anyone else in the group, but you need every bit of rest you can get to be able to do it. It’s no use for you to look after everyone and then neglect yourself. Rest. That’s an order from your leader.”
Jackson nods, his mouth too dry to from words, his right absently hand brushing over the front of his pyjama bottoms.
“I’m ordering you because…I love you too,” Jaebum’s serious expression melts away as a smile graces his lips and his eyes shine with fondness.
It’s a look that has never failed to make Jackson’s heart beat a little bit faster and right here, right now, with Jaebum pressed so close in the stillness of the room-
“Jaebum-hyung-”
“Sleep.” Jaebum gives Jackson’s neck a firm and gentle squeeze.
Jackson can’t help but fall forward, right into Jaebum’s chest. Jaebum shifts his hand so that he’s stroking the back of Jackson’s head. Even when the older man essentially petting him, Jackson’s mind is racing too much for him to even think about sleeping, but he doesn’t move from where he’s lying, not even when the tinny alarm shatters the silence of the room.
~
one
“Hmmm, this is disappointing. I was better off not switching brands,” Bambam mutters to himself as he pokes and prods his face in the mirror.
“I’d say it looks clearer and brighter,” Yugyeom pipes up from his bed as he lazily scrolls through his phone.
“Maybe, but this new moisturiser doesn’t make it feel anywhere near as soft and supple as I wanted, more like an expensive suitcase,” Bambam grumbles.
A laugh bursts out of Yugyeom. “Well, at least it’s expensive.”
“But of course.” Bambam throws his friend a wink over his shoulder. “I can’t go to bed like this, I’m going to wash this off and borrow some of Jackson-hyung’s cream until I can buy another bottle.”
“Is it safe to go in?”
Bambam pauses on his way to the door. “…Yes? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Jaebum-hyung just got the all-clear from the doctor and Jackson-hyung is back from filming his gameshow in China, so two of them are probably going to be unbearable to be around for a week,” Yugyeom says with a grimace.
If life were an anime, Bambam is sure he’d have a giant question mark hanging over his head right now.
Yugyeom looks up from his phone. “You really don’t know?” He tilts his head.
“Apparently not,” Bambam shrugs.
“Jaebum-hyung and Jackson-hyung, they’re…intimately involved,” Yugyeom says with a hoity-toity flare that he could only have picked up from Jinyoung.
“Wait…You mean like…” Bambam trails off, the word stuck to his tongue.
Yugyeom reaches over to the end of his bed, picks up their A-era GOTOON plushies and rubs them together.
“Ewww! Alright, stop, I get it!” Bambam recoils, rubbing his eyes in a bid to get the mental images out of his mind. “When did that even happen?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Yugyeom shrugs, settling back into bed and resuming his idle scrolling.
“Hang on…Am I the last to know?”
“Yup.”
For a long moment, Bambam just stands in the middle of the room, his gaze shifting between Yugyeom and the door.
“Mark-hyung always has good products, I’m gonna go ask him for some,” Bambam mutters as he shuffles towards the door.
“That, too, is a gamble,” Yugeyom says ominously.
Bambam looks sharply over his shoulder. “What?”