"Was that okay?"
Jinyoung sat back in his leather roll-y chair in the control room and smiled as Bambam's familiar lisp came through in his nervous voice. He pushed the button on the sound board that patched him through to Bambam's headphones.
"Relax Bam-ah, you're doing fine. Focus on your pronunciation and let's run the verse one more time."
Bambam nodded, his serious and focused expression looking funny on his features that Jinyoung was used to seeing full of youthful animation. He smiled encouragingly at Bambam, crinkles forming in the creases of his cheshire eyes, and gave him a thumbs up before starting the music again.
Bambam returned the thumbs up and cleared his throat, reaching to adjust his headphones. Jinyoung watched intently as Bambam's eyes closed right before the first chords of his verse and he took a deep breath. The beat dropped and he began to rap.
Bambam's whole stature changed when he rapped. He gestured with his hands, his fingers splayed in an oddly unique way. He nodded his head to the beat, leaning into the mic with every phrase, strands of his hair falling down from behind the headphones to hang in dark strings on his forehead. Jinyoung smiled so wide his teeth showed when Bambam pronounced the Korean word he had been struggling with correctly.
"Woohoo!" the manager sitting next to Jinyoung let out a loud whoop and victoriously pumped both of his fists in the air. Jinyoung chuckled and shushed him, glad that Bambam couldn't hear through the soundproof glass and get distracted. Bambam finished the verse and let out a shaky breath. He took off his headphones and hung them around his neck before finally looking up to shoot Jinyoung a questioning glance. Jinyoung mischievously gave him no response for a moment before his stony facade faltered and a proud smile broke through.
Perfect. He mouthed to Bambam.
Bambam's shoulders sagged with relief at the release of tension and he threw his head back, smiling so big that it made Jinyoung laugh.
Really? Bambam mouthed back.
Jinyoung nodded enthusiastically and motioned for Bambam to join them in the control room. Bambam practically ran from the recording studio and through the door separating them before barrelling into the room, all of his previous apprehension forgotten.
"Did I really get it right? Are we done?"
"We're done!" Got7's manager interrupted before Jinyoung could even answer, slapping Bambam on the bicep and pulling him into a congratulatory hug. Bambam laughed heartily and hugged the manager back, slapping him on the back.
"Well done, Bam-ah, I think that's all we need. Time to go home now, manager-nim?" Jinyoung asked slyly.
The manager broke away from Bambam to give Jinyoung a playful shove. "Yah, it's 1 a.m. I don't get paid enough to stay up all night in the studio with perfectionist young producers. You punks better have this place packed up in five minutes, you have a schedule tomorrow and need to go to sleep. More importantly, I need to go to sleep."
"Yes sir!" Jinyoung and Bambam laughed and responded quickly, jumping into action and gathering their stuff together to follow their manager out and return to the dorms.
When they arrived home they bid their manager whispered goodnights and then tiptoed down the hallway to their respective bedrooms.
"Bambam?" Jinyoung whispered brusquely in the darkness.
Bambam stopped midway through turning the handle to his and Yugyeom's room as quietly as he could. "Yeah?" he whispered back.
"You're a good rapper."
Bambam blushed at the unexpected praise and even though the hallway was pitch dark and there was no way Jinyoung could see him, he dropped his head to hide his expression. "Aish, hyung, don't say such things."
Jinyoung smiled to himself, knowing he had successfully flustered his dongsaeng. "Get some sleep." he said, slipping into his room silently.
"Goodnight, hyung." Bambam responded, and finally looked up, but only caught the sound of Jinyoung's door clicking closed it behind him.
Bambam looked down and smiled to himself before sneaking into his room too.
"Is that you, you loud kid?"
"How did you hear me come in? I was quiet as a ninja."
"Please, if you were a ninja you'd be dead by now. You even breathe loud."
"Whatever, I'm a ninja."
Bambam and Yugyeom's quiet banter was silenced as he shut the door behind him and the hallway was once again empty and quiet.
When Bambam emerged from his room in the morning, clad in loose plaid pajama pants and a white tank top, he plodded barefoot into the living room to find Jinyoung already up and on the couch. He was wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants, black glasses, and that awful cardigan. Bambam yawned and glanced at the TV to saw that Jinyoung was watching the morning news.
"You're such a grandpa, hyung." Bambam said, curling up onto the couch next to Jinyoung nonetheless.
"Aish,' Jinyoung lightly swatted him on the shoulder without looking away from the TV, "I don't need this attitude from a sloppy teenager first thing in the morning."
"I'm not a teenager anymore, hyung." Bambam lazily whined, as Jinyoung absentmindedly laced their fingers together.
Bambam laced and unlaced their fingers in different patterns as Jinyoung watched the television.
"You make me teen...ager" Jinyoung softly sang, turning Bambam's hand over and then back again.
Bambam settled his head onto Jinyoung's shoulder and closed his eyes, hoping to sneak in a short snooze before the rest of the members got up for breakfast.
Jinyoung tugged Bambam's hand into his lap and played with his fingers while he mentally calculated how long each member would take to emerge from his room.
3...2...1
As if right on cue, a sleepy Yugyeom stumbled from his room, slumped over and with a serious case of bedhead. He rubbed his eyes as he staggered into the living room, not quite awake enough to do anything but let his feet take him where they would. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and when his vision unblurred he discovered Bambam and Jinyoung on the couch, the latter of the two regarding him fondly.
"Good morning." he said giving Jinyoung a close-eyed dopey smile and stumbling toward his hyung.
Jinyoung simply hummed in response and used his free hand to grab Yugyeom's arm and pull him down to half his height so that he could press a kiss to the top of his head. Yugyeom's smile didn't waver as he continued on his clumsy way into the kitchen to find something for breakfast.
Jinyoung held tightly to Bambam's hand with one hand and used the other to trace over each of the boy's long, thin fingers.
3...2...1
Youngjae and Mark emerged from their rooms at the exact same moment, nearly opening their doors into each other. Mark jumped, a wide eyed look of surprise on his face that reminded Jinyoung of a bunny and caused him to smile.
"Oh! Good morning, hyung." Youngjae exclaimed entirely too loudly for the early hour, but with such a sunny disposition that Mark couldn't be mad.
"You almost killed me." Mark said, swinging an arm around Youngjae's neck and pulling the giggling boy into the kitchen. Jinyoung smiled at the two as they made their way past him.
Next...He's gonna be hungry-
Jinyoung's thoughts were interrupted as a shirtless Jackson burst out of his room, running straight through the living room and into the kitchen.
Jinyoung smiled, tracing his thumb over edges of each of Bambam's smooth fingernails. He knew that Jackson was up late the night before working out and was bound to have worked up quite the appetite overnight.
And that leaves…
Jaeboem quietly left his room, neatly shutting his door behind him. He took his time to stretch his body in the hallway before entering the living room. His eyes followed the TV screen as he walked across the room, coming to stand beside the arm of the couch and watch the news segment. He touched Jinyoung's shoulder by way of greeting and then crossed his arms over his chest, watching the TV for a moment longer before joining the others in the kitchen.
The segment ended and the program switched to commercials. Jinyoung shut the TV off with the remote and then put it back on the arm of the couch. He looked down at Bambam who was leaning heavily against his shoulder, eyes closed but not quite asleep. Jinyoung smiled and untangled their fingers to grip his dongsaeng's hand properly, bringing it up to his mouth to give the back of Bambam's hand a kiss.
"Time for breakfast Bammie." He muttered down at the younger.
Bambam squinched his eyes and groaned, letting go of Jinyoung's hand and wrapping his arms tightly around Jinyoung's arm, burying his nose in the other's shoulder.
Jinyoung expertly repressed a fond smile at the childish gesture and tapped Bambam's hands where they grasped his arm in a koala-like grip. "Up, up, up, come on…" Jinyoung got up from the couch, pulling a whiny Bam with him and dragged him into the kitchen for breakfast.
When everyone was finished eating, getting dressed, and had passed their manager's inspection to leave the house, they piled into the van to attend their schedule. Jinyoung usually liked to sit up front in the passenger's seat next to the manager and talk about the day's schedule so that he could make sure the kids got everywhere on time, but today he let Bambam take his hand and pull him into the backseat.
As the other boys talked and played and yelled, Bambam bit his lip, absentmindedly sliding his thumb over the delicate skin of Jinyoung's hand.
Jinyoung smiled at the boy who was looking forward apprehensively. He doubted that Bam even noticed that he had brought Jinyoung with him to the back of the van or that he was still holding his hand.
Jinyoung reached over with his free hand and swiped a finger along the fringe of Bambam's bangs, flicking the hair out of his eyes.
Bambam blinked lightly a few times, coming back from his thoughts, and his gaze fell upon on his hand joined with Jinyoung's. He blushed a little and started to let go, but Jinyoung tightened his grip.
"What's on your mind?" he asked quietly. Bambam kept his head down and sat in silence for a long moment before speaking.
"You're a good hyung." he responded softly.
Jinyoung smiled, squeezing Bambam's hand. "I know."
Jinyoung expected Bambam to laugh, but he didn't.
Bambam brought his other hand to cup Jinyoung's too. "You are smart and grown-up and you take care of all of us and we don't even notice. You're a great producer, too. Last night in the studio...no one's ever been that patient with me while recording before. You're really talented and professional, hyung. I really appreciate you." he brought his feet up onto the seat, sandwiching their hands between his knees and his chest. His voice dropped a little bit, matching the smallness of his new position. "And you like to hold my hand. I like when you hold my hand."
Jinyoung was glad that Bambam never looked up because the expression on his face had to be so sentimental and happy that Bambam would surely get embarrassed by it and take everything back.
Jinyoung squeezed Bambam's hand again. "I know." he whispered.
Bambam smiled. Jinyoung smiled too. He held on tight and didn't let go until it was time to unbuckle and start the day.
Bambam and Jinyoung might not have the most obvious friendship, but they loved each other immensely in their own special, quiet way. Jinyoung liked to hold Bambam's hand. And Bambam liked it too.
The End.