Chapter Text
“Uno,” Yugyeom smirks, pressing his final card against his chest for protection.
There’s a blue 5 on the top of the discard pile, he’s got a blue 9, and he desperately hopes Bambam won’t change the color. They’re sitting on Yugyeom’s bed with their legs crossed and the pile of cards between them.
Yugyeom isn’t really good at games, but Bambam is even worse. He tends to blurt out random things that usually ruin his chances of winning. Yugyeom remembers a particular game of Mafia where Bambam, who was very much a citizen, said that saying he’s a citizen doesn’t mean he actually is one.
Not the best strategy.
He has so far been able to guess which cards Bambam has between his fingers based on his reaction when Yugyeom changes color. And don’t get Yugyeom started on Bambam’s fury when Yugyeom throws Draw 2 cards into the mix.
Bambam swishes his lips to the side, looking thoughtfully at the four cards he has left, and with each second that passes Yugyeom almost bounces in his spot. He can already smell his victory.
But then Bambam, over the top of his cards, asks, “What color do you have?”
Yugyeom jerks back. “I— what?” He draws the card closer to his chest. “The fuck? I’m not gonna tell you that!”
Bambam grins. “It’s blue, isn’t it?”
Yugyeom tries his best to repress a surprised gasp, so instead he squints at his boyfriend. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very,” Yugyeom says firmly with a nod of his head. “Definitely not blue.”
Bambam shrugs. He sing-songs, “If you say so.”
Yugyeom thought his strategy would lead Bambam to choose a blue card, but instead, Bambam places a green 5 on top of the blue 5.
“No!” Yugyeom yells, falling backwards on the bed like he just got shot.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Bambam smirks. “I thought you said you had no blue.”
He sits back up instantly, playing it cool. “I don’t.”
Bambam hums in faux-disbelief. “I don’t know, Gyeom-ah. I think I might be onto something.”
“Yes, onto the path of losing,” Yugyeom replies, but sulks when he draws a useless card from the pile. It’s a red 7, and he knows, from Bambam’s previous annoyance at drawing a card every time Yugyeom played a red one, that Bambam is red-card-less.
Bambam has two cards left when he places a green 7 on top of his green 5.
Yugyeom lets out a celebratory noise as he drops his red 7 on top of it. He throws a fist in the air, then clutches his blue 9 to his chest once more. “Uno!”
But then Bambam has that mischievous glint in his eyes Yugyeom has grown all too familiar with, and watches in agony as Bambam delicately places a red 3 on the pile.
“What!?” Yugyeom exclaims.. “Where the hell did you get that?”
Bambam scoffs, pointing an accusing finger towards the draw pile. “Where do you think? You had me draw a million cards five minutes ago!”
Oh. Right.
Bambam had been grinning as threw a green Draw 2 on the pile, and looked at Yugyeom as he said, “Go ahead. Don’t be shy, draw some cards.”
Yugyeom chuckled cockily as he plucked a blue Draw 2 from his own stack and dropped it on Bambam’s. “Ha!” he shouted. “You draw some cards.”
“Ha!” Bambam repeated, and Yugyeom grimaced as another one of Bambam’s Draw 2 cards covered his own. “I don’t think so.”
Yugyeom looked down at the cards into his hands and cringed. “You know I really like you, right?”
Bambam raised an eyebrow. “…Yes?”
Yugyeom pursed his lips as he moved his fingers to the card he wanted to use. “You sure?”
He shot his boyfriend a look. “Where are you going with this?”
“Nowhere. Just making sure,” Yugyeom shrugged as he placed the Draw 4 card on top of the discard pile.
Bambam let out a gasp of horror. He slammed his cards on the bed face down before pointing a finger at Yugyeom. “This is a declaration of war.”
Yugyeom barked out a laugh, but Bambam just slowly shook his head.
“This is a hate crime. You hate me.”
“Nuh-uh. I just admitted I like you very much.
“Well, clearly a lot can change in one minute.”
“Don’t be shy,” Yugyeom said, repeating what Bambam had said. “Draw some cards.”
Bambam flipped him the bird, but then seemed to come up with an idea that involved batting his eyelashes at Yugyeom. “Will you accept a kiss instead?”
“I will always accept a kiss,” Yugyeom said smugly as he watched Bambam light up. “But not as a trade. You will be drawing 10 cards.”
Bambam reached behind him and Yugyeom only realized what he was doing when the pillow had already hit him in the face.
Yugyeom blinked at his boyfriend. “Was that necessary?”
“Yes,” Bambam said. “If you wanted to break up, you could have just said so.”
Yugyeom snorted. “I definitely do not want to break up.”
Bambam held up his new cards. “Then I assume I can put these back.”
Yugyeom laughed, shaking his head at Bambam’s ridiculousness. “I can reduce it to nine if you give me that kiss.”
“Five,” Bambam negotiated instantly.
“Eight.”
“Seven.”
Yugyeom considered it. “Deal.”
Bambam grinned as he leaned in, careful not to move around too much to make the card piles fall over, and placed a hand on Yugyeom’s neck before connecting their lips.
Kissing Bambam had easily become Yugyeom’s favorite thing, and he curled his hands in the silver strands of hair as he slowly opened his mouth.
The slide of their tongues was easy and warm and so comfortingly familiar at this point.
Bambam made a move to push him down onto the bed, but Yugyeom disconnected their lips with a grin. “You are not getting out of drawing those cards, Bam-ah.”
So Bambam ended up drawing seven cards.
Yugyeom now stares at his blue 5. Both he and Bambam have one card left, but because he doesn’t have a red card, he reaches for the draw pile. As he turns the card and notices the color, he all but smashes it onto Bambam’s red 3. “Uno!”
Bambam sighs, peeling a new card from the draw pile.
“What’s with the sigh?”
“I’m so fucking over this game.”
“Because I’m winning?~”
“No, because I just want to kiss you for a while,” Bambam replies matter-of-factly. He checks his watch. “I’ll need to go soon and we haven’t made out.”
Yugyeom nods seriously. “A crime.”
“Of the highest rank.”
“But I’m so close to winning,” Yugyeom pouts, not relenting.
Bambam gives him a look. “I think the fact you have me is already a win.”
“That’s true,” Yugyeom agrees. “But does it compare to an Uno win?”
“Yah, I may very well hope so, Kim Yugyeom.”
He taps his chin. “I’ll have to think about that.”
Bambam throws his cards over his shoulder. “Come here you little—”
He reaches across the pile of cards, purposely messing them up, and winds his hands around Yugyeom’s neck. It’s a bit uncomfortable at first, but eventually, Bambam is firmly seated in Yugyeom’s lap with his legs around his waist.
Because he isn’t able to kiss Bambam in public as often as he would like to, it makes kissing him so passionately like this feel magical.
Yugyeom’s kind of clingy, but thankfully so is Bambam. It means he’s often shoving their linked hands in the pockets of his oversized coats.
Their mouths move together, and Bambam puts his hair in Yugyeom’s overgrown hair. It’s still gentle and soft, which it usually is when they’re in Yugyeom’s room. The chances of Myungho suddenly barging in are far too high to do anything more than simply make-out, so they leave everything beyond that for Bambam’s apartment.
Bambam tilts his head further and Yugyeom makes a noise against his lips. He dips his fingers under Yugyeom’s boyfriend’s t-shirt and lets his fingers wander on his hip bones.
Even though it isn’t leading to anything more, Yugyeom loves it. Anything he does with Bambam feels good, whether it’s a quick greeting in passing or messing up the sheets of his bed.
But what he very much doesn’t love is the alarm Bambam always sets. Though Yugyeom’s grown a little fonder of the four animals living in Bambam’s apartment, he will still curse them for being the reason Bambam has to leave.
“They need to eat, too, Gyeom-ah,” Bambam always says.
Bambam’s lips leave his slowly, like he’s savoring the last few seconds of their kiss. “I gotta leave.”
“I know,” Yugyeom sighs.
Bambam presses one last, firm kiss onto Yugyeom’s lips before reaching behind him to turn the alarm off. He checks his notifications for a second, then locks his phone again and places it down on the bed.
Bambam moves back into Yugyeom’s chest, cuddling him. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Gonna eat meat with Jackson-hyung.”
Yugyeom instantly perks up at that. “Can I come?”
Bambam grins. “Knew you’d ask that.”
“Is that a yes?”
Bambam looks straight at him, hands now cupping Yugyeom’s cheeks. “If I let you come, then Jinyoung-hyung will want to come too. He’ll want to bring Jaebeom-hyung. And then Mark-hyung will also feel left out. Besides, you’ve been wanting to hang out with Youngjae-hyung this week, right?”
Yugyeom sighs. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Of course I am.” He pats Yugyeom’s shoulder. “Now, I really need to leave. Myungho texted me that he’ll be back soon.”
All warmth leaves his body as Bambam slowly detangles himself from it and gets off the bed. “Why would he text you that? I’m his roommate.”
Bambam laughs, picking up his belongings from the floor. “You barely check your phone.”
Yugyeom groans. “Bet he’ll take Junhwi-hyung here.”
Tying his shoelaces, Bambam says, “Well, it’s his boyfriend after all.”
“Yeah, but I don’t take you here when Myungho’s here.”
“That’s because you can’t keep your hands to yourself,” Bambam points out with a grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them do so much as hug when I’m with them.”
Yugyeom huffs, but gets off the bed to put his own shoes on. “Let me walk you to the bus stop.”
Bambam leans over to plant another kiss on Yugyeom’s lips. “Thanks, babe.”
He finds himself in Jinyoung’s apartment the next day, standing in the kitchen with a glass of grape juice in his hand.
Jinyoung looks annoyed. “Have you come just to drink my juice or what?”
Yugyeom shrugs. “I wanted some company. And your juice is good.”
He turns his head towards the door when it suddenly opens. He watches Im Jaebeom walk in and drop his backpack on the floor. “Baby?” he calls out.
“Yes?” Yugyeom answers smugly.
Jinyoung smacks him on the back of the head. “He means me, dickhead.” He walks over to his boyfriend, where he lets himself be pulled into a hug.
“Hi, Yugyeom-ah,” Jaebeom says.
Yugyeom offers a small wave.
“Yah, greet him properly,” Jinyoung snaps.
Yugyeom gives Jinyoung a look, then flashes Jaebeom a large, fake smile. “Hi, hyung! Can’t believe I get to see your face again!”
Jinyoung looks like he wants to throttle him, but Jaebeom pulls him closer. Then he makes an attempt to whisper “I thought we’d be alone tonight” to Jinyoung, but he says it loud enough for Yugyeom to catch.
“I heard that.”
“He wanted you to hear,” Jinyoung replies, then sighs at Yugyeom. “Don’t you have a boyfriend to entertain you?”
Yugyeom slumps against the kitchen counter. “He’s eating meat with Jackson-hyung.”
Jinyoung’s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets and he detaches himself from Jaebeom in shock. “He’s what!?”
Yugyeom nods his head quickly. “I know right!”
Jaebeom rolls his eyes, pulling Jinyoung closer again. “Nyoung-ah, what does it matter?”
Jinyoung walks to Yugyeom. “Where are they?”
Yugyeom looks up at the ceiling as he tries to recall the name, but Bambam didn’t mention it.
Jinyoung curses. “He always avoids eating meat with me, saying he doesn’t have enough money, but he eats meat with Bambam!?”
Yugyeom nods again, hoping his plan of getting Jinyoung to take him out is working. “I hear you, hyung. I asked if I could join and Bam said no.”
“Do you think they’re going Dutch?”
“Bambam’s definitely not going if he has to pay,” Yugyeom says. “He purposely leaves his wallet at home.”
Jinyoung huffs. “That little— I’m gonna kill Jackson.”
Jaebeom’s arms curl around Jinyoung’s waist from behind. “Calm down. The three of us can go together right now if you want.”
Jinyoung shakes his head. “No. It’s about the principle. And you already paid last time, hyung.”
Yugyeom gasps. “Why was I not invited?”
Jinyoung shoots Yugyeom a look. “It was a date.”
“So? My parents have taken me on their dates loads of times.”
“Do we look like your parents to you?” Jinyoung deadpans.
“… Honestly?”
Jinyoung rolls his eyes, but Jaebeom grins. He puts his chin on Jinyoung’s shoulder. “Well then, as the father, I’ll take you both out to barbecue.”
Yugyeom’s eyes sparkle, but Jinyoung’s widen. “As the fa— we are not claiming him as our child.”
Jaebeom shrugs. “He’s cute.”
He’s known Jaebeom for years, and Yugyeom secretly thinks Jaebeom is nice to him because he knows Jackson always teases him with Jinyoung. So, during birthday parties, it’s always Jaebeom and Yugyeom versus Jinyoung and Jackson. And though Jackson is still Jinyoung’s best friend, he’s less glued to him now, to Jaebeom’s content.
“He’s a menace,” Jinyoung says, but steps out of Jaebeom’s embrace to grab his wallet. “And you’re not paying, hyung. I got my salary yesterday, I’ll pay.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll pay again next time,” Jaebeom says as he links his fingers with Jinyoung’s, then looks over at Yugyeom. “Let’s go, my son,” he says in English.
“Can I wear that?” He’s lying in Bambam’s bed, barely awake, but he watches Bambam stand in front of his closet in just his boxers holding an oversized black t-shirt Yugyeom likes, more so for himself than for his boyfriend.
“Sure.”
Yugyeom hums, nuzzling into the pillow as he continues watching Bambam pick an outfit for himself. There are splotches of purple on the boy’s chest, and Yugyeom smiles privately at the thought of the night before.
They both had finals last week, which meant no time for each other, so it was nice to spend time together again after not seeing each other for over a week.
“What are you smiling about?”
“You, of course,” Yugyeom answers easily, and smiles even more stupidly when Bambam starts walking back to the bed.
He leans over him, and angles his head to press his lips to Yugyeom’s. He immediately wraps his arms around Bambam’s waist, trying to keep him in the bed, but Bambam slowly backs away.
He strokes Yugyeom’s hair out of his face. “We can’t… You have class soon.”
Yugyeom tilts his head to capture Bambam’s lips in a quick kiss. “Wanna skip.”
“I know,” Bambam whispers, pressing little kisses to Yugyeom’s neck. “It’s the first week of the new semester, so you shouldn’t.”
“But if you keep doing that, I definitely won’t wanna go.”
Bambam laughs, rolling off of Yugyeom to lie down next to him. He takes his hand and places a kiss on his palm. “I’ll go back to campus with you. I have some homework I still need to finish.”
“Alright,” Yugyeom says, turning his head. “Do you wanna grab some breakfast on the way there?”
“I think I have some rice left,” he says as scrubs a hand over his face. “But not sure how much. Need to go grocery shopping soon.”
Myungho doesn’t trust Yugyeom to do the shopping, because Yugyeom prefers Western food and only ever comes home with frozen chicken nuggets, so he transfers some money to Myungho to keep their recently-purchased mini-fridge stocked every week.
“You can eat the rice, I’ll get something at the bus station,” Yugyeom says, pulling Bambam into his side.
“I’m not letting you eat a chocolate bar for breakfast,” Bambam retorts, pinching Yugyeom’s arm. “I might have some spam you can eat.”
Yugyeom yawns. “How many minutes before we need to get up?”
Bambam checks the alarm clock before curling back into Yugyeom’s arms. “A few more minutes,” he mumbles into the skin of Yugyeom’s chest.
Yugyeom gently rubs Bambam’s back. “Do you have any events planned for the club?”
“Not yet. We haven’t been bowling in a while, so maybe we’ll do that. Oh no, wait, Jackson-hyung doesn’t want to anymore.”
“Why?”
“Mark-hyung is really good at it,” Bambam explains, “and that annoys the shit out of Jackson-hyung.”
“Yeah, he’s a sore loser.”
“That, too,” Bambam laughs, “but it means he can’t impress Mark-hyung.”
Yugyeom’s eyes widen. “He likes Mark-hyung?”
“I don’t know if he likes him romantically or anything, but he definitely wants Mark-hyung to think he’s cool or something.”
Yugyeom snorts. “Sounds like hyung.”
Bambam throws one of his legs over Yugyeom’s. “But I like bowling. I’m no good at it either, but I like it. Maybe we can double date with Jaebeom-hyung and Jinyoung-hyung.”
Yugyeom shoots him a distasteful look, to which Bambam laughs loudly.
He pinches Yugyeom’s cheek. “Don’t you wanna spend some time with your parents, Yugyeom-ah?”
He really doesn’t, but it happens anyway.
Three days later, he finds himself on a bowling alley bench. Bambam and he, though unintentional, are both dressed in all black, and Yugyeom can’t help but laugh at the difference in clothing styles between the other couple.
“Why are you dressed like that, hyung?” Yugyeom asks Jinyoung. The oldest of the bunch is wearing an oversized gray hoodie on top of a large white t-shirt with baggy blue jeans.
Jinyoung looks down at his own clothes: cream-colored dress pants, a black t-shirt and a brown cardigan. “Like what?”
“Like a college professor with no life.”
“At least I don’t look like I’m gonna rob a bank after this,” Jinyoung counters. “Did you order drinks already?”
“We didn’t know what you’d want,” Bambam says as he gets up.
Jinyoung looks over at his boyfriend. “Coke?” Jaebeom nods. “Two cokes.”
Yugyeom gently holds onto Bambam’s wrist to get his attention. “Can you get me a Sprite?”
“Of course.”
“Are these all the balls we get? I’m gonna get some blue balls,” Jaebeom says as he pushes himself off the bench.
“As long as you don’t actually get blue balls, hyung,” Yugyeom says with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Jaebeom grins smugly. “I never do.”
“You might now that you’ve said that,” Jinyoung challenges when Jaebeom walks away to get the new balls.
Jinyoung turns to Yugyeom. “By the way, I invited Jackson and Mark-hyung, too.”
“ What? Bam told me Jackson-hyung is annoying when he bowls, so we only invited you on purpose.”
Jinyoung smirks. “I’ll tell him you said that.”
“Hyung,” Yugyeom whines. “Why did you invite them?”
“Because Jackson likes Mark-hyung and he’s being annoying about it to me—”
Yugyeom gasps. “You said he’s annoying, too!”
“Yeah, but he’s my friend and he’s your hyung,” Jinyoung replied quickly. “Anyway, I’m hoping this will get them together.”
“But if Mark-hyung doesn’t like Jackson-hyung back, he’ll feel compelled to because everyone else is a couple,” Yugyeom reasons as he pulls his phone from his pocket. “I’ll invite Youngjae-hyung to come to tone down the couple-y vibe.”
And that’s how all seven of them end up in the hospital because Jackson dropped a bowling ball on his own foot, but at least he got a kiss from Mark.