Prompt (@minidino): the fans get a bit rowdy at the airport and Jinhwan gets hurt + protective Hanbin.

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Hanbin blinks his eyes open blearily when the plane touches down, running a hand through his unruly hair before deciding it's a lost cause as he reaches for his beanie in the seat pocket in front of him and jams it over his head. In between the constant plane rides and ever-changing hotel rooms, Hanbin has started to lose track of what country he's in at a given time, just lets himself get shuffled from a concert venue into the van, and then from the van to a hotel or to an airport, or to another event venue. He shoves on his sunglasses as he stands, wrapping his scarf around his neck and the lower part of his face before slipping on his winter coat and jamming his earbuds into his ears. Chanwoo and Donghyuk always used to laugh at how ridiculous Hanbin looked everytime they were at the airport, covered up so completely that sometimes only his nose and half of his cheeks were visible, but as ten flights bled into a hundred and they found themselves having to sleep more on planes than on actual beds, nowadays they, too, hide themselves beneath sunglasses and face masks just as much as Hanbin does. Perhaps the only members who look remotely normal most of the time at airports are Jinhwan and Yunhyeong, both of whom usually only slip on a pair of sunglasses unlike the rest of them. 

The walk from the plane to clearing immigration is long and uneventful: Hanbin trails behind at the back of the group because he likes being able to keep an eye on the members, while their managers flank the seven of them on either side of their group. Up ahead, Bobby, Yunhyeong and Donghyuk lead the group, Bobby with his earbuds stuffed into his ears, Donghyuk with his hands in his pockets and Yunhyeong offering a passing comment here and there. Junhoe and Jinhwan walk in silence behind them, arms brushing and with Junhoe occasionally ducking his head a little to better hear Jinhwan when the elder has something to say. Chanwoo trails along just slightly in front of Hanbin, attention completely trained on his phone. It's after they've cleared immigration and collected their luggages, though, when they're finally greeted with the loud screaming of the fans.

"Oh. Wow," Donghyuk says, and Hanbin thinks he can understand the sentiment. It's not that they haven't encountered huge crowds before at airports: they have, on multiple occasions, but the number of fans waiting for them today just seems to be insanely massive, and they're shouting and screaming and waving their fanboards and no matter how Hanbin looks at it, it doesn't seem possible for them to make their way safely through the throng of fans unless they're able to afford to spend something akin to an hour walking to their waiting van outside. Hanbin glances to his right and supposes their managers have come to a similar conclusion, because they're currently discussing something over with the airport security. When Chanwoo goes over to join Donghyuk by the glass pane and Bobby squats next to Donghyuk's legs, the screaming of the fans intensifies so loudly and so suddenly that Junhoe actually winces, and Jinhwan flinches back in surprise. Almost on reflex, Hanbin wraps his arm around Jinhwan's waist to steady him just as their managers walk over to them and more security personnel step out the sliding doors to manage the crowd outside. 

"Just keep your head down and walk in a single file," one of their managers instructs while the other moves to stand at the head of the line. "They're trying to clear a path." 

Bobby gets to his feet and pushes Donghyuk in front of him without a word as their manager prepares to head out. Chanwoo falls into line behind Bobby, followed by Junhoe, then Hanbin is carefully manoeuvring Jinhwan to stand behind their second youngest as Yunhyeong picks up the rear, hand a comforting presence on Hanbin's shoulder as they step out into the crowd. The piercing screams of the fans hit them immediately, now so much more shrill and defeaning without the glass pane separating them. There are at least six or seven security personnel tightly surrounding them, but Hanbin can still feel himself getting knocked left and jostled right without him even managing to take one small step forward.

Up in front, Hanbin can see Chanwoo's fingers curled tight in the material of Bobby's jacket, and Bobby has his gaze trained ahead, right hand wrapped tight around Donghyuk's bicep to hold the younger to him and keep him steady. Junhoe's eyes are shuttered (as they always are when he doesn't want people to know what he's feeling), Jinhwan is offering small smiles at the fans and behind him, Hanbin knows Yunhyeong is still smiling kindly at the fans, gently telling them not to push and get hurt, and he squeezes Hanbin's shoulder once in comfort when the younger ducks his face into the soft material of his scarf, feeling increasingly suffocated due to their lack of progress. 

All of a sudden, though, there's a huge push from the fans on the left side of the group. Hanbin stumbles and almost falls, but Yunhyeong steadies him quickly with both hands on the corners of his shoulders. The security personnel are quick to blow their whistles and yell at the fans to step back, but they're not fast enough: a girl in the front trips forward from the force of the fans pushing behind her, and she lets out a yelp as her arms shoot out on instinct to brace her fall. Her hand collides perfectly with the side of Jinhwan's face, causing Jinhwan to stagger sideways as his fingers fly up immediately to touch his left cheek, shocked. 

A few years down the road, Hanbin may forget this day and the events that happened, but this is a moment he'll always remember with a stunning clarity: when Jinhwan removes his fingers from his face, there's a cut on his left cheek from where the fan's bracelet had caught on his skin and the hints of blood on his fingertips. Blood. Jinhwan's blood. It's as though red colours Hanbin's vision for one frightening moment as he curls his fingers protectively around Jinhwan's right hip, snapping his head to the left and oh, if only the fans could see the force of his glare behind his sunglasses.

The two security personnel closest to Jinhwan's left yell so harshly and thunderously at the fans that Bobby cranes his neck around a little in concern, but their manager up front must urge them to keep moving forward, so they do. Junhoe has turned around and he's looking at Jinhwan's injured cheek with wide eyes, but then he locks gazes with Hanbin behind his sunglasses, and Hanbin makes a mental note to treat Junhoe with a little more gratitude because Junhoe immediately curls his fingers around Jinhwan's and tugs the elder against his back, the fingers of Jinhwan's right hand going up to clutch at the back of Junhoe's jacket. Hanbin steps impossibly closer to Jinhwan, crowding in on him, and shifts his hand up to curl his fingers protectively around Jinhwan's nape instead.

Hanbin glances ahead and notes with impossible relief that they're finally nearing the exit. He ducks his head a little to murmur into Jinhwan's ear. "Are you okay, hyung?" 

Jinhwan doesn't say anything, just nods, pressing his forehead against the back of Junhoe's jacket with his gaze trained resolutely downwards on the linoleum tiles. Hanbin sees Junhoe's jaw clench and is glad that he's not the only one feeling agitated over the situation, over Jinhwan getting hurt, no matter how insignificant a cut on the cheek may be. Jinhwan is always so kind to the fans, always smiling and waving at them even though he doesn't need to, and he just does not deserve to be hurt. 

After a few more agonising and suffocating minutes spent amidst the thick crowd and the unending screams, they finally make it to the sliding doors of the airport's exit. Their manager barely slides open the door of the van before Donghyuk practically hurtles himself through the opening, Bobby's hand firm on his lower back as he climbs in after the younger. Chanwoo follows right behind Bobby, taking up the last seat in the back row. Bobby yanks the middle seat of the second row back upright just in time for Junhoe to climb into the van and slide down to the end of the row. Hanbin drops his hand to rest at the curve of Jinhwan's waist, waiting for the elder to sit before he slips in after him and promptly yanks the van door closed. Yunhyeong gets into the front seat and they're off immediately, crawling out of the airport until they hit the highway and then they're finally flying down the emptier roads. 

Junhoe unhooks one side of his mask and places his hand on Jinhwan's thigh to get a clearer look of the elder's face, but Hanbin has already pulled down his scarf and slipped off his sunglasses, fingers gently gripping each side of Jinhwan's chin so that he can further inspect the cut. It's not a deep cut by any means but it's long on Jinhwan's small cheek, an angry red against his otherwise pale skin. Bobby's got his fingers curled around the base of Jinhwan's neck, concern clear in the set of his brows and the look in his eyes, but Jinhwan just sighs and tries to shrug them off. 

"It's nothing. I'm fine," he says, but Donghyuk still offers him the small packet of wet tissue he carries around in his bag so that he can clean up the cut a little. Yunhyeong has his neck craned around his seat as he watches Jinhwan wipe his fingers, and Hanbin realises that their manager has been watching them from the rearview mirror all this time. Considering the fact that there's no yelling or cussing or shoving, though, their manager must decide to let this slide, letting out a tired sigh.

"Is his cheek swelling?" Their manager asks, fixing his gaze on the road in front. 

"A little," Hanbin replies smoothly, tugging the wet tissue from Jinhwan's grasp and effectively shutting the elder up before he can utter the word no.

"The cut will disappear, but you have to admit, hyung," Junhoe's voice comes from Jinhwan's other side as Hanbin dabs at the cut on Jinhwan's cheek. "She kind of punched you in the face." 

Hanbin's lips curl into a grin at that, his first genuine smile since they disembarked from the plane. The other members let out light laughs and as Yunhyeong turns back around in his seat, it's as though this imperceptible layer of tension that settled upon them in the airport has finally been lifted. Hanbin sees the corners of Jinhwan's lips quirk upwards in the hints of a traitorous little smile, and his own grin only widens when Jinhwan lifts his gaze to meet his. 

A little while later, almost everyone has fallen asleep. Hanbin stirs when he feels fingers brushing against his thigh, a head dropping lightly onto his shoulder and a body leaning slightly into his. Hanbin glances down and notices that Jinhwan's eyes are open, and he supposes it's all the years he's spent living with Jinhwan that allow him to realise almost instantly that this is Jinhwan's way of saying thank you, without him having to actually say anything at all.

Hanbin curls his fingers over Jinhwan's and squeezes once, gently. As long as I'm here, hyung, I'll always be taking care of you. 

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