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"Zero, zero...five! AHA!"
Beomgyu pumps his fist and jumps to his feet, running into the open arms of Taehyun and Kai. They bounce around in a circle, arms around each other's shoulders, squawking victoriously. Yeonjun looks from his two raised thumbs across the floor to Soobin, holding up a mirror image. Yeonjun sighs with his whole body.
"Alright, alright, go on," he says, admitting defeat. "Bring back two energy drinks at the very least, won't you?"
"Of course, hyungnim!" Kai says sweetly. "We'll be sure to take a long, long time carefully picking out the best drinks for our loser—I mean precious hyungs!"
Yeonjun skewers him with his eyes, but at the very least, the maknaes are good as their word when it comes to sharing food. Although given how mischievous Kai and Beomgyu had been during dance practice, Yeonjun's not sure he'd trust any opened snacks from them...
"We'll be back soon!" Beomgyu calls, pushing open the practice room door.
"But not too soon!" Taehyun adds, laughing.
The door closes behind them and Yeonjun makes a face at their retreating figures. He drags himself to his feet and offers Soobin a hand. "C'mon," he says. "We can nap on the couch for half an hour." Soobin accepts.
The couch in the corner of the practice room isn't long enough for Yeonjun to stretch out, let alone Soobin, but it's wide enough that they can scrunch up their legs and still fit two people if they spoon. Yeonjun faceplants on the cushions with a long groan that is half physical exhaustion, half frustration at his inability to wrangle the kids.
Somewhere over his head Soobin snickers. "Come to think of it, Yeonjunie-hyung is really bad at the zero game. Shouldn't you practice? We use it to make decisions pretty often."
"Shaddap," Yeonjun grumbles, face still smushed against the cushion. "Ugh, this couch smells like sweat and butts." He lifts his head and offers Soobin a hopeful expression. "Zero game for full rights to the couch?"
Soobin snorts. "No way. Scoot over."
Yeonjun sighs but rolls onto his side, pressing against the back of the couch. Soobin flops ungracefully against him like a hot, damp comforter. "Ah, Soobinie you're too hot! Don't touch me!"
"You're not exactly an ice pack either," Soobin says. "Just stay still and we'll both cool down."
Despite his protests, Yeonjun wraps an arm around Soobin's middle, tucking his ear against his other arm. He closes his eyes. "Tang-Su-Yuk game for possession of the couch?"
He can feel the vibrations of Soobin laughing quietly with his hand on Soobin's stomach. "What're you gonna do if you lose? I'm comfy."
"I'll move," Yeonjun promises insincerely.
Soobin pauses. "Bibimbap. Bi."
"Bim."
"Bap."
"Bi."
"Bim."
"Bap."
"Bi."
"Bap—ah, Soobinie, this one is too hard! Why're you bullying me?"
"Hm?" Soobin says. "Don't we use that one a lot?"
"Practice round," Yeonjun complains, thumping his forehead against the back of Soobin's neck. "That was a practice round; now do the real one."
Soobin hums. Yeonjun can hear the smile in his voice when he says, "Choi Soobin. Choi."
"Soo."
"Bin."
"Choi."
"Soo."
"Bin."
"Choi."
"Soo."
"Bin."
"Choi."
"Soo."
"Bim—ah."
"Oh?" Soobin is barely holding down a laugh. "What was that?"
"Bin!" Yeonjun protests. "I said 'Bin'!"
"Hm, hyung isn't usually so bad at this..."
"You caught me off guard; I thought it would be 'bibimbap' again."
Yeonjun snuggles closer against Soobin's back, hugging him close with one arm and putting on a cutesy tone of voice. "You wouldn't really kick hyungie off the couch, would you? After he already got beaten so badly? Soobinie isn't that mean."
Soobin sighs. "Ah, now I really will never be able to get to sleep. I have this gross thing making noise behind me and interrupting my nap."
"Another round!"
"You'll just keep saying that until you win..." Soobin says.
"Play another round with me!"
"But..." Soobin sighs again. "Alright, alright."
Naturally, one game leads to another...and so Yeonjun ends up coaxing Soobin all the way from Tang-Su-Yuk with eyes closed, to standing across from one another, one arm down each, playing Ninja.
"Weren't we napping?" Soobin asks.
"Forfeit if you want," Yeonjun says, quirking an eyebrow. "You can take the penalty."
"Penalties from you are way too scary," Soobin says. "I still want to be alive by the time the snacks arrive." He swipes at Yeonjun's hand, then evades the returning swipe by a hair.
And yeah, Yeonjun would like to nap too, but it's nice to play like this against Soobin when he's feeling competitive. The eagerness of the younger members is infectious, and even during the zero game Soobin had been on edge, yowling when Kai succeeded on his first turn. Yeonjun can see the smile pulling at the edges of his mouth as they trade blows. It makes it hard for Yeonjun to act tough and keep a straight face.
But Yeonjun has a bit more desperation after losing so many times, so when Soobin is too bold with one of his moves and wobbles in place, Yeonjun goes in for the kill, swatting his hand and letting out a victory yell as Soobin sinks to his knees.
"One...one more..." Soobin starts.
"No way!" Yeonjun says cheerfully. "If we don't lie down soon the kids will be back before we can manage even a five-minute nap." He puts a hand over his heart. "However, Yeonjunie is a kind older brother and he won't take the couch away from you."
Soobin raises an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean the penalty is going to be so much wor—"
"Butt slap!" Yeonjun cuts him off.
Soobin hangs his head. "Yep, knew it."
"Soobinie has been filling out recently," Yeonjun says innocently. "What if I can't recognize him by his butt anymore?"
"Why," Soobin despairs, "does that even matter?"
Yeonjun winks and makes a kissing noise.
Soobin lets out a frustrated groan but climbs to his feet and braces his arms against the wall. "Whatever, make it fast."
Yeonjun pulls his arm back and meets Soobin's eyes in the mirror. He swings hard but intentionally misses, his eyes sparkling.
"Oh my god," Soobin groans. "Why are you like this? Just get it over with."
"Alright, alright," Yeonjun concedes. He pulls his arm back in a swing, but this time slows right up as he reaches Soobin's butt and pauses. He pats Soobin's butt with his eyes cast to the ceiling, nodding thoughtfully to himself. "Hm, I see, I see." A feeling of mischief overtakes him, and he squeezes Soobin's butt a few times in the appearance of checking him over. "Oh, Soobinie, have you been doing squats in your spare time? You're not as squishy as before."
Soobin says nothing and Yeonjun flares his nostrils in an attempt to keep from laughing at what he's sure is an embarrassed and bracing expression on Soobin's face. In all honesty though, Yeonjun doesn't mean to torture Soobin. He simply likes the feel of butts and since Soobin is the most tolerant of him amongst their members, Yeonjun preys upon him most often. Yeonjun kneads his butt slightly; half to be playful, half because it really does feel nice under his palm. He finishes off the punishment with a light slap. "Analysis complete."
What he doesn't expect is for the light slap—a tap, really—to make Soobin's legs give out slightly. Soobin catches himself, shoulder against the wall, with a thud that echoes in the empty practice room. He flips around in the next instant and presses his back and palms to the wall.
Yeonjun freezes.
Soobin looks up at Yeonjun through his sweat-damp bangs, flushed from his cheeks all the way down his neck to where his skin disappears beneath the hem of his shirt. His breathing is uneven and audible, though he swallows and presses his lips together as soon as Yeonjun notices it.
This...this was not what Yeonjun intended.
He wants to look at the hand that still burns with the feeling of having caressed Soobin, so certain is he that it has some physical mark of his transgression. But Soobin is still looking at him with bright, accusatory eyes, so Yeonjun opens his mouth to say, "I'm sor—"
"We're back!" Kai sing-songs, throwing the door to the practice room open. "It was boring to hang around the convenience store without everyone, so we returned early. Aren't you gratef—huh?" He looks between Yeonjun and Soobin who had jumped apart as soon as the maknaes entered, avoiding each other's eyes. Kai huffs. "Were you fighting? I thought we agreed not to argue."
"No, no; not fighting," Yeonjun starts, but doesn't know how to finish. Just what the hell had he been doing?
Thankfully, Beomgyu is right on time in connecting the right dots in the wrong way. "Aw, were you playing Ninja? That's no fair; I want to play!"
Yeonjun lets the tension out of his shoulders and lets out a stilted laugh. "Yeah, we were, actually. Sorry we played without you."
Beomgyu doesn't seem too bothered. He trots up to Yeonjun and delivers two triangle kimbap and the promised energy drink. Yeonjun pats him on his head as thanks. Satisfied, Beomgyu returns to Kai's side to continue a discussion on...a banana taped to a wall as modern art?
But Yeonjun isn't sure they completely escape the scrutiny of the maknaes. Taehyun's eyes flit between him and Soobin as he delivers the snacks to Soobin and after a moment of hesitation, he hands off the last of the banana milk cartons to Soobin with a final searching look over Yeonjun.
That's fair, Yeonjun thinks. He doesn't have time to speak to Soobin for the rest of practice.
---XXX---
"Where's Soobin?" Yeonjun asks once they've gathered their belongings and have convened at the end of the hallway in front of the elevator.
"Said he wanted to stay late," Taehyun says. He waves his phone in front of Yeonjun. "And I just called us a cab, so we'll get back to the dorm safely. You know. If you wanted to go apologize."
Yeonjun winces internally. Alright, yeah, nothing gets by Taehyun. He should've known.
"We really didn't fight," he whines. "I'm serious."
"Yeonjunie-hyung wouldn't look at Soobinie-hyung for the entirety of practice, though?" Kai pipes in without looking up from his phone. "And hyung is always looking at Soobinie-hyung, so."
"You make it sound like I ignore you guys," Yeonjun grumbles.
"Of course not," Taehyun says. "But if you and Soobin-hyung are avoiding each other, it's so obvious even Beomgyu-hyung would notice."
Beomgyu yawns. "Yeah, it was really awkward. Soobinie-hyung loves you, so don't worry anymore and just go apologize."
"I'm telling you we didn't fight..." Yeonjun says weakly.
"Cab's here," Taehyun says.
"Kiss for luck!" Kai chirps. He darts in to kiss Yeonjun on the cheek.
Yeonjun scowls and rubs his cheek. "What was th—hey!"
Beomgyu and Taehyun quickly follow suit, kissing him on his other cheek. "Good luck, Yeonjunie-hyung!" Beomgyu calls, dancing away from Yeonjun's swat. "We love you!" They hop in the elevator and Kai spams the close button with a sweet smile on his face, waving at Yeonjun.
Alright, whatever. Maybe his kids know better.
Yeonjun returns a grudging wave as the elevator doors close, then turns on his heel and heads back to the practice room. Their practice room isn't the only one on the floor lit up, but it's the only one with music pounding loud enough to be heard from the hall. Yeonjun shrinks into himself. Maybe Soobin really is mad?
He leans against the wall in the shadow of the doorway and chews on a nail as he watches Soobin dance. He's doing it without practicing expressions; throwing himself into the choreography with more aggression than he had all day. Yeonjun knows he's tired. Yeonjun knows this much effort has got to hurt past the pleasant burn of hard work. Soobin's shirt is soaked with sweat and when he shakes his bangs out of his eyes, droplets land on the floor beside his feet. It's the kind of dancing Yeonjun does when he's frustrated, or sad, or lonely, or angry. Soobin isn't even checking himself in the mirror—his eyes are closed and he's moving for the sake of moving alone.
Yeonjun drops his hand from his mouth and opens the door of the practice room.
The volume of the music disguises Yeonjun's entrance but once the door slams, Soobin's eyes snap open and he comes to a stop in his dancing, rocking back and forth on his heels as he catches his breath. Yeonjun gives him a wide berth as he makes his way to Soobin's phone over by the computer, pausing the music. The sudden silence is as shocking as a slap to the face, a very similar feeling to earlier when Yeonjun had felt Soobin's body give out under his hand. His face warms at the thought.
He turns around and licks his lips, forcing himself to meet Soobin's tired eyes. He swallows.
"I shouldn't h—"
"I'm sor—"
Yeonjun blinks. "Huh?"
Soobin looks just as baffled as him. He parts his lips. "Sorry, I cut you off. What were you going to say?"
"Oh." Yeonjun grabs his elbow subconsciously. "Earlier, the penalty game..." He swallows again. "I played around with you too much. I'm sorry."
"Oh," Soobin says. "It's not—um. It's fine. I'm the one who..." He trails off, drumming his fingers against his thigh. He can't meet Yeonjun's eyes suddenly. "I mean, I made it weird. I'm the one who should be saying sorry."
Yeonjun lets out an awkward laugh. "What're you saying...? I was the one who went too far. I just wanted to play a bit but I got carried away. I mean, anyone would..." What is he trying to say? "Anyone would get like...that...if..." Get like what? "If someone..." What the hell is he trying to say? "Y-You know."
"Um. Yeah." Soobin scratches his nose. "Yeonjunie-hyung is like this all the time anyway so I don't really mind, but this time I was a little...bothered."
Yeonjun's heart stops. "Bothered?" He asks in a faint voice.
"Not like—" Soobin chews his bottom lip. "You know. Hot."
"Hot?"
Soobin closes his eyes and tilts his head back. "Hot and bothered, Yeonjun-hyung. Are you trying to torture me?"
"...Oh." Yeonjun had assumed Soobin felt embarrassed and harassed. Not...
"Why are you looking at me like you have no idea what I'm talking about?" Soobin says, growing dread in his voice.
"If that's the case, uh, I'm really sorry," Yeonjun says. His face feels like it's on fire. Boy, talk about harassment.
Soobin presses his face into his hands and wails. "Oh my god, why did I say anything?"
"But if I made you uncomfortable—"
"For the love of—you didn't make me feel uncomfortable," Soobin says, dropping his hands. "I don't mind you being handsy. Really. You just—caught me by surprise."
"Oh," Yeonjun says.
"Yeah," Soobin says.
Yeonjun rocks back on his heels. "Well, in the future, I'll make sure to—"
Soobin rolls his eyes and reaches out to sock Yeonjun gently in the arm. "In the future you nothing. I already said it's okay. Let's shake off this awkwardness, alright? I felt Kai burning holes in my back the entirety of practice. They're probably mad at us for this misunderstanding."
"A bit," Yeonjun admits. "I was somewhat coerced into cornering you here."
Soobin smiles. "They're really grown up, aren't they?"
Yeonjun matches his smile. "They're the best."
Soobin's smile turns wry. "But maybe you should give your friend a warning before you do something like that again."
"I did give you a warning!" Yeonjun protests. "Butt slap penalty!"
Soobin raises his eyebrows. "Oh? Is that what you're calling it? Maybe you should only be giving the butt slap penalty to me, then."
Yeonjun's stomach flips. He blinks a few times, thrown. "Only you?"
"Too extreme for anyone else to handle," Soobin says with a sigh, shaking his head. "Can you imagine Taehyunie's face if you pulled that on him?"
"Fine, fine; you've made your point," Yeonjun relents. "Want me to help you clean the practice room?"
"Who said I was done practicing?"
"Soobinie," Yeonjun whines. "Let's go home."
"Okay, okay." Soobin laughs and knocks their shoulders together.
Yeonjun is running a towel across the floor that Soobin has already vacuumed when a thought occurs to him. He runs the towel across the room once more and motions for Soobin to turn off the vacuum.
"What?" Soobin asks, turning it off.
"When you said you don't mind, does that mean I can do it whenever, as long as I warn you in advance?"
Soobin stares blankly at him for a moment before it clicks and he tilts his head to the side. "Are you asking if you have permission to grab my butt?"
"Yeah," Yeonjun says. "I like it."
"You—" Soobin exhales and shakes his head. "Yeah. Sure. Why not?"
"Cool," Yeonjun says. He returns to wiping down the floor.
Soobin is returning the vacuum to the closet when Yeonjun approaches him again. "But it's probably weird to do that in front of the other members, right?"
Soobin laughs like he can't believe Yeonjun is still on this topic, but his eyes are kind. "I think it's probably weird to do that in front of anyone."
Yeonjun hums and nods. "You're right. Ah, we're never alone though; maybe there's no point."
"Guess hyungie won't be able to get his fix," Soobin teases.
Yeonjun presses his lips together to keep from smiling and swats at Soobin. "It's not a fix. I just like how it feels. Besides," his eyes dart around the practice room, "we're alone now, aren't we?"
"At the company?" Soobin exclaims. "No way! What if one of the trainers comes in to check on who's practicing late? Or a cleaner checking if a light's been left on accidentally? Even another trainee coming to visit isn't an impossibility."
He's got a point. Yeonjun nods and wags a finger at him, conceding. "That's true. But." He walks over to the light switch by the door and one, two, three turns off all the lights in the practice room. It takes his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light of the computer by the wall and the ambient light slipping in from the hallway. He can just make out Soobin's silhouette, lit in indigo blue. "With the lights off, no one should come in, right?"
Soobin is quiet for a moment. "I guess not," he says lightly.
Yeonjun only meant to turn off the lights as a demonstration of his point, but the tone of Soobin's voice gives him pause. He can't make out Soobin's expression but he seems frozen in place by the door to the practice room closet. He thinks clearly for the first time, What am I doing?
His feet seem to know. He walks back to Soobin, smiling even though he's not sure if Soobin will be able to see it. "It's kind of scary, isn't it? I'm not used to seeing the practice room in the dark."
"It's a little scary," Soobin says in that delicate tone of voice.
"I'll protect Soobinie if Soobinie protects Yeonjunie," Yeonjun teases. He touches the back of Soobin's hand and feels Soobin shiver under his touch. He holds onto Soobin's thumb and looks into the pinpricks of light reflected in Soobin's eyes. He still can't read Soobin's expression but he can see that Soobin's lips are parted. He doesn't really feel like kidding around anymore.
"Soobin," he says.
Soobin hums a quiet affirmation.
Yeonjun's brows pull together. "Is it really okay?"
"Yeonjun-hyung..." Soobin sighs.
"Even if it's me who asked, you don't have to go along with it," Yeonjun says.
"You worry too much," Soobin says.
"But..." Yeonjun starts to protest, but Soobin's hands wrap around his wrists, pulling Yeonjun closer into his space. Soobin drags Yeonjun's hands over the tops of his thighs, across his hips, all the way around to his back pockets. Soobin's hands cover Yeonjun's, flattening them, shaping them over the gentle curve of his ass. And when he lifts his hands to place them uncertainly on Yeonjun's shoulders, Yeonjun digs his fingers in.
It's different than before. Before had been a joke, even if the result was not. Before had been in the light, both of them exposed. But under the cover of darkness it's so much easier for Yeonjun to press and knead how he wants. And beyond the simple pleasure of being able to grab at Soobin freely, he can feel, intimately, how 'okay' Soobin is with the arrangement.
Soobin squirms under Yeonjun's grip, seemingly unsure whether to curl away or arch back into his hands. His grip on Yeonjun's shoulders is vise-like and he keeps rocking into Yeonjun's chest, pressing his face into Yeonjun's hair. His staccato breaths excite Yeonjun more than he expected and he finds himself breathing a little unevenly too, chasing Soobin's movements as if possessed.
He feels possessed. Hearing Soobin say that being groped like this got him 'hot and bothered' computed on a factual level, but seeing—feeling—it in action registered a different level of understanding. There's an animal inside Yeonjun waking up and uncurling, blinking hungry eyes. Soobin trembles and Yeonjun likes it. Soobin's back bends and pushes him into Yeonjun and Yeonjun likes it. Yeonjun pulls him closer. Yeonjun grinds the heel of his palm against Soobin and Soobin makes a noise in the back of his throat. Soobin likes this.
Yeonjun slides a hand under the back of Soobin's shirt without thinking to get a better hold of him. Skin touches skin and Soobin lets out a precious little gasp against the shell of Yeonjun's ear that sends him hurtling back to reality. He freezes.
"Soobinie," Yeonjun murmurs, feeling helpless. "Soobinie, what are we..."
"Yeonjunie," Soobin murmurs in that same, soft voice. He drops his head to kiss Yeonjun's jaw.
The need to kiss Soobin swallows Yeonjun like a tidal wave, so sudden and violent that he forgets why he had even hesitated in the first place.
Yeonjun makes a needy keen of his own, turning his head to chase Soobin's mouth. Soobin must be as hungry as him. He kisses Yeonjun with a sweet desperation, melting even further into Yeonjun and tangling his fingers in the ends of Yeonjun's hair. He's obsessed with Yeonjun's lips—can't stop pulling on them and running his tongue over the seam of Yeonjun's mouth. Yeonjun gives it all to him.
"You must have wanted this for a while," Yeonjun murmurs when he has a chance to catch his breath and being parted from Soobin doesn't feel so much like dying. He can barely recognize the rough, deep voice that comes from his throat. Soobin makes a wounded noise and Yeonjun can feel him nodding. "Hyung should have noticed," Yeonjun says. He holds Soobin by his hips, rubbing his thumbs against bare skin.
"I'll take care of you," Yeonjun promises in a whisper. He feels the weight of the promise with his soul and can only hope Soobin feels it as well.
"You can have everything," Soobin says softly.
"Soobin," Yeonjun says. His heart aches.
"I won't take it back," Soobin says.
"Okay," Yeonjun says, swallowing thickly. "Okay. You're mine."
Soobin's hands find Yeonjun's face. He brushes his thumbs over Yeonjun's cheekbones and looks over him with a warmth that makes Yeonjun feel hot like none of the other play had. He has the flash of a thought—ah, is this what love feels like?—but lets it go. Knowing Soobin and loving Soobin are nothing new to Yeonjun. Soobin had grown stubborn and steady in Yeonjun's heart years ago until he no longer had the will to yank him out. Soobin is as necessary to Yeonjun as hands and feet. He has loved Soobin for a long time, but this—
It's new to him, holding Soobin and looking at Soobin in a way that is different from any of his other friends. Yeonjun hasn't yet had his first love, not in a way that really mattered, so he can't be sure this is it, but he thinks if anyone is to become his first love, he'd like it to be Soobin. Soobin kisses him once more, soft and unhurried.
"You're mine, too," he says.