Work Text:
"please tell me you didn't order thirty-seven boxes of blueberry pancake mix."
-
“Please tell me you didn’t order thirty-seven boxes of blueberry pancake mix,” was the first thing out of Jaebum’s mouth when he entered the kitchen at 5 a.m. on a Sunday.
“Um.”
“Jackson,” he sighed, looking at the numerous boxes of pancake mix spread around the kitchen. One empty box lay near his foot, he picked it up and flipped it over.
“They’re not all blueberry. Also, it’s twenty-six boxes,” mumbles Jackson, looking sadly into the mixing bowl.
Jaebum looks at him. Jackson’s habit of ordering random items in the middle of the night in large quantities when he couldn’t sleep was something they’d gotten used to over the years, but it still made everyone nervous. They were still getting rid of the eighteen Squirtle plushies Jackson had ordered last year.
Due to constantly traveling between three countries without rest for months, Jackson was always suffering from jetlag, his body not getting the chance to properly adjust to the different time zones. They all fell asleep the minute they got home, but Jackson wasn’t so lucky, often staying up at night looking for something to do when sleep wouldn’t come to him.
He looks exhausted even now. The black shirt that fit him months ago now hung loosely off of his frame. His hair was sticking up (no doubt, from running his hands through it over and over in frustration) and the shadows under his eyes looked darker than before. He looked sad and vulnerable.
Jaebum felt bad for reacting the way he did. He puts the empty box on the table and goes to him. “Do we have whipped cream?”
“Huh?” Jackson sounds confused as Jaebum puts an arm around him, pulling him closer, letting him know he isn’t mad at him, he’s just concerned. Touch was the language they used when they couldn’t find the words to express themselves. Jackson leans into him, resting his head on Jaebum’s shoulder, telling him it’s okay, I understand.
“We’re going to need whipped cream for the pancakes, right?”
“I think there’s still some left from… last time.” A few months back, Jackson had ordered six cartons full of whipped cream cans. They were still working their way through those. Mark had been putting whipped cream in his hot chocolate since.
“We also need honey, chocolate sauce and maple syrup,” Jaebum scoops some batter with a finger to taste it.
“Jaebum, I hope your hands were clean.” Jinyoung enters the kitchen right then, followed by Mark. They act like Jackson and Jaebum semi-cuddling in the kitchen surrounded by boxes of pancake mix is a normal sight.
“We have all of those, oh there’s even strawberry sauce.” Mark’s looking into the fridge.
“We’re not putting strawberry sauce on blueberry pancakes, that's going to taste nasty.” Jinyoung takes the bowl from Jackson who goes over to join Mark by the fridge.
Jaebum looks at Jinyoung, communicating in their own language they’d made over the years before the others.
How long were you there?
Long enough.
Is he okay?
He will be.
Jinyoung nods, satisfied and that’s when the rest of the group enters. None of them react to the sight of their kitchen looking like a pancake mix supply house. Bambam grabs a box off buttermilk pancake mix off the table. “I want chocolate pancakes.”
“Can you make crêpes out of these? I want crêpes.” Yugyeom’s reading the instructions on the side of the box.
“I want mine shaped like Coco,” announces Youngjae, looking adorable in his Totoro pajamas.
“I want puppy shaped pancakes too!” Jackson joins in.
“In that case, I want Nora pancakes,” says Jaebum, smiling at Jinyoung who looks like he can’t decide if he wants to strangle the boys or hug them. Maybe both.
“That sounds so wrong,” quips Bambam, beginning his everyday ritual of baiting Jaebum. “It sounds like you want to eat her.” Jaebum, taking the bait as usual, goes to grab Bambam in a chokehold. Bambam yelps and runs away and there’s a chase, the end of which is signified with Bambam’s choking and pleas a few minutes later.
“As I was saying,” Yugyeom continues, acting like his best friend isn’t dying in the background, “I want crêpes.”
“I’ll show you how,” Mark says, taking the box from Yugyeom. “Get me another mixing bowl.”
“Jackson, take as many boxes you need and put the rest away.”
“Yes dear.”
“Can I help?” asks Youngjae, watching everyone move around.
“No.” They all collectively answer, even Jaebum and Bambam from the other room, although the latter’s was more of a wheeze. The boiled egg and kimchi incident was still fresh in their minds.
“Just sit there and look pretty,” says Jackson, pushing him into a chair.
Youngjae blinks, looking embarrassed and a little offended. “But I wanna help.”
“Honey,” Jinyoung brings out his best ‘mom’ voice. “You sitting there is helping us.”
Mark hits Jinyoung on the shoulder, making him wince. “Be nice. Youngjae, go make sure Jaebum doesn’t kill Bambam, we need him in one piece for the comeback.”
Youngjae pouts, “But -”
“I’ll make you Coco shaped pancakes and crêpes, how about that?”
Youngjae brightens up instantly. “Deal.”
“You spoil him too much,” Jinyoung says after Youngjae has gone to rescue Bambam from Jaebum’s clutches.
Yugyeom scoffed. “As if you and Jaebum don’t do the same.” He ducked behind Jackson to avoid getting hit by the whisk making Jackson the unfortunate recipient of the hit instead.
Jackson screams, clutching his chest dramatically and falling against Yugyeom. “I’ve been hit.”
Jinyoung rolls his eyes. “I didn’t even hit you that hard.”
“You hit me so hard my heart broke from the inside. See for yourself!” He grabbed Jinyoung’s hand and put it on his chest. Jinyoung felt it, and then smiling affectionately at Jackson, pinched him. Hard.
Jackson screams again and tackles Jinyoung to the floor, where they continue to roll around like playful puppies.
“Ew, PDA.”
No one rescues Yugyeom from getting dragged to the floor and getting tickled to death by the other two.
-
They eventually do manage to make breakfast and consume it without any further incidents. Yugyeom and Bambam had miraculously survived to see another day. They moved to the living room after breakfast, lying down wherever it suited them.
They had a recording later in the day and they should be getting ready for it, but everyone felt sleepy after consuming copious amounts of flat cake. Jinyoung and Youngjae were already dozing off on the two-seater they had claimed for themselves. Bambam was sprawled on the floor, comatose from the amount of chocolate pancakes he’d consumed. Yugyeom was curled up on the only single sofa, earphones plugged in, catching up on his drama.
Jackson had passed out on top of Mark and Jaebum, finally getting the rest his body needed. They both seemed reluctant to move and disturb him.
Jaebum looked at the clock. “We have time, don’t we?” He’s whispering.
They all need under an hour to get ready and an additional forty-five minutes to get to the studio. They absolutely did not have time. “We have all the time in the world.”
-
They’re late.They’re over four hours late but Jackson’s looking rested and is back to his energetic self.
They take the scolding in silence. By some weird twist of fate (and Mark), everyone’s phones had been on silent and they hadn’t picked up their manager’s frantic calls. They apologize once more, with Jaebum promising it would never happen again.
“It better not.”
“Pinky promise,” says Jackson, smiling brightly. The brightest smile he’s given in days.
Their manager’s scowl melts away like a snowflake in the face of a sun. No one can resist that smile.
Jackson laughs and hugs him. He sighs, defeated.
They’d gotten the scolding of their lives and would probably be in the studio until after midnight. But, it was worth it.