Bobby sighed, unable to fall asleep. After such an emotional day of filming Mix and Match, sleep was elusive. Every time he tried to clear his mind, an image of Junhwe and Yunhyeong battling each other against being cut and sent home would pop up. His chest felt heavy as his eyes blurred; but he breathed deeply, pushing the feelings down. He had to stay strong; he had to lead well. Truthfully, the torment came down to the fact that he could learn to accept a new guy in their team, as long as the original six remained. The thought of losing even one member of his group made his throat burn with suppressed emotion.

Groaning, he rolled out of bed and quietly left his room, to not wake those sleeping. He went to the kitchen first, getting a glass of water and leaning on the counter in the dark. He stood silently, sipping the water, wishing it was all over and he could finally debut with his friends. He was tired of it all being so uncertain. He hated seeing the stress on their leader’s face, the sadness from their eldest, the fear surrounding the other three.

He sighed again, putting his glass in the sink. Their eldest, how was he handling the day’s results? Was he sleeping soundly? Doubtful. Quietly, Bobby made his way to the room that held Jinhwan and pressed his ear to the door.

“Hyung?” a soft voice asked from inside the room. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I said, I’m fine. Go to sleep,” Jinhwan responded with a stuffy-sounding voice; he had obviously been crying.

“But, Hyung-“

“We have another long day tomorrow. You have to do your best.”

Bobby waited a few minutes, but then when he could no longer stand it, he entered the room. He took a direct path to Jinhwan’s bed, waving off the younger boy who was still watching with concern. He peeled back the covers and quickly wrapped his arms around the smaller man. He pressed his chest to Jinhwan’s back and curled his legs up to follow the bend in the other’s.

Jinhwan stiffened he grabbed Bobby’s bicep.

“Bobby-ah?” he whispered, recognizing the body wrapped around him.

“Jinanie,” Bobby responded, squeezing the elder gently.

He was surprised when Jinhwan wiggled around to face him, pressing his face to Bobby’s chest and grabbing his shoulder tightly. Their legs intertwined as the smaller pressed himself as close as possible.

Bobby held him for a long time, smoothing back his hair, his back, pressing kisses to the top of his head, murmuring reassurances; all the while he cried quietly and clung to the younger boy. Eventually, his cries eased to soft gasps and shuttered breaths as he calmed.

“What if it really happens?” he mumbled.

The taller boy sighed and pulled back enough to look in his hyung’s eyes. Using his thumbs, he dried his tears.

“We have to trust our fans. They’ll protect our team; they know how important it is to us. They have to,” he said, using the same words as when he tried to convince himself and Hanbin.

Jinhwan nodded slightly, reaching up to wipe the single tear from Bobby’s cheek. Sometimes, he forgot how easily the tough-looking young man cried for others.

“Sorry Jiwon-ah,” he whispered, wiping away another tear as it tried to escape across the bridge of his nose.

Bobby closed his eyes, taking comfort from the gentle fingers on his face.

“We’re a mess.”

Jinhwan huffed a laugh, but nodded in agreement, trying to not cry anymore.

Bobby leaned in suddenly placing a swift kiss on his lips. Before Jinhwan had time to react, the taller man nonchalantly snuggled him back into his chest.

Feeling bad that his younger friend was still so starved for affection, Jinhwan let himself be tucked into Bobby’s body. Promising himself that he would make it a point every day, just to share skinship with Bobby, Jinhwan closed his eyes, thankful for the warmth they were sharing.