The first time Jackson and Youngjae meets, it’s nothing special. Jaebum decides to finally live with his boyfriend (and sometimes second mother), Jinyoung, so Youngjae is left alone in their room for two and Jackson is a transferee from Hong Kong who badly needs a room, Youngjae is in no position to choose a roommate since the pay for two is too much for him to shoulder alone, and almost too quickly, the original tenant of the room opens the room to find stray luggage all over the place and his new roommate splurged on the lower deck, that is, by the way, Youngjae’s bed.

As bewildered as he is, he takes a deep breath and begins picking the things on the floor. If there’s anything he can’t take besides a stranger sleeping on his bed, it’s a dirty surrounding. Jaebum used to be dirty, too, and no, there’s nothing subliminal there since the between him and Jaebum is only identical to the ual attention between Batman and Superman in their latest movie. The point is, he changed when he became roommates with Youngjae because the younger is well, very organized.

Jaebum will not agree. He’ll say the younger is a neat freak.

Over time, Jackson is not a bad person. Youngjae can’t take disorganized clothes and boxers on the floor but of course, he’ll take that over someone who plans to rob the nearby convenience store or has illegal drugs on his stash of chips. But Jackson also made it clear to him that he’s not the most hygienic person the younger will ever meet in his life.

They compromised – Jackson will try to be more organized, as much as he can, and keep his things away from Youngjae’s line of sight because the younger declares that he can’t concentrate on anything with his studies if there’s a single dirt in his line of sight, even peripheral, and he’ll also not sleep in Youngjae’s bed because the younger can’t take that, too. He feels like his bed is his personal sanctuary and anybody who’s even dipping a finger on it is trespassing on a private property. On another hand, Youngjae will try to nag him less about cleanliness and hygiene.

The truce is all fine until one morning, Youngjae wakes up to get ready for his classes that day and he walks to the bathroom to find Jackson brushing his teeth with his toothbrush.

And World War III officially begins.

“What are you doing with my toothbrush?!” Youngjae yells – and yes, he yells even though he knows it’s probably going to get heard until at least the fifth room to both sides from their room. He immediately grabs the toothbrush that’s still in Jackson’s mouth and stares at it frantically.

Jackson, who’s been brushing with his eyes still closed, immediately wakes up 200% and stares at his furious roommate. “Oh, ,” he mutters. “Sorry, Youngjae. It was a mistake.”

“It was a mistake?! That’s all you’re going to say, hyung?!”

“Look, I slept late last night and had to wake up early this morning and I guess I was still sleeping while brushing my teeth. I didn’t notice I grabbed your toothbrush instead of mine,” Jackson explains some more but the younger is already walking away with his precious toothbrush on his hands. “Hey, wait!”

That’s their last conversation.

Jackson tries apologizing again, over and over, and if you think it’s easy to be roommates with someone who doesn’t talk to you and who hates your mere existence, Jackson will have to hit you in the face. The younger is not talking to him and is not even acknowledging his presence. At first, he just wants them to be alright again. But after several days, he begins thinking how stupid it is. It’s not like he has a contagious disease even if they have him checked. He just mistook the toothbrush, for heaven’s sake!

He begins to ignore Youngjae as much as Youngjae ignores him and there’s like a quiet war inside their room every time both of them are inside.

Frustrated, he closes his books and gathers curious glances from people around him. He doesn’t notice Jaebum approaching with a smirk on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Jaebum sits in front of Jackson, sipping from his mocha latte.

“Is Youngjae really like that?!” This time, Jackson lets out the frustration he’s been keeping inside for weeks now. He looks like he just found out his wife is cheating on him, his parents both have incurable diseases and his daughter has been treated wrongly by someone five times older than her. He sighs and sits back on his chair lazily.

“What?” the other asks, confusedly. “Did you guys fight? It’s not even one semester yet!” He laughs but he stops quickly when he sees that Jackson is not laughing. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Jackson sighs, messing his own hair to his face. “I thought we’re okay when we talked about how neat freak he is. I’m trying, you know. He must have told you if he just doesn’t like me. I mean, I can move out.”

“Look, dude, what happened?” Jaebum asks again because he’s not getting an answer. “Don’t conclude easily. What happened?”

“I used his toothbrush by accident.”

The look on Jaebum’s face is indescribable, like it’s between figuring out the secrets of the universe and finding out that there’s no heaven or hell and the only thing after death is nothing. “Oh my god,” he mutters, letting go of his mocha latte for the first time. “What have you done?!”

“What? What?!” the blonde’s face is in panic. The other doesn’t answer and it only makes Jackson’s heart beat faster. “Come on, man, just tell me, alright?”

“Youngjae believes that the person who’ll use his toothbrush is his destiny.”

“What?!”

“Youngjae believes that the person who’ll use his toothbrush is his destiny.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Jaebum asks, rolling his eyes and picking his mocha latte again. Then, he explains, “I don’t know where he took that from but ever since I knew him, which was like when we’re in middle school or something, his toothbrush is his most important possession because he believe it will lead him to his destiny. I’m surprised he hasn’t killed you yet since you kind of spoiled his whole destiny and toothbrush thing. It’s weird, I know, but that’s just how Youngjae is.”

Jackson’s face is probably how anybody’s face would be when they learned that there’s a person in the planet who believes that his toothbrush will lead him to his destiny. He’s torn between laughing out loud and tearing his hair.

“Don’t judge him, dude,” the other quickly says, probably reading what the blonde is thinking about his friend. “Youngjae is one of the kindest persons I know. That’s just his belief, alright? We don’t have any right to judge him for that.”

“I’m not judging him,” Jackson quietly says. “It’s just… strange. He’s been holding on to that belief since middle school?”

Jaebum nods. “He’ll take bullying from other kids. That kid,” he scoffs, reminiscing how they became friends in the first place, how the most badass kid became friends with the most bullied one. “He’ll even take beating but if someone messes with his toothbrush, that person should be ready for war. It’s amazing what belief can do, really.”

Jackson walks home that afternoon not frustrated like how it’s been these past weeks because he knows that once he arrives home, he’ll be like in a warzone again. This time, he’s just thinking. He realizes how important it must have been to Youngjae. He still doesn’t understand the correlation between a toothbrush and your destined person but empathy doesn’t require full understanding. It just requires empathy, the heart to put yourself on the shoes of another person.

To be honest, he finds it a little cute. He can still remember the flushed face of Youngjae that morning when he found out that he used his toothbrush. He is a little controlling but it’s because he can’t take mess. He is a little too focused on small things that often times, he forgets to look at the bigger picture.

But he gets worried when Jackson isn’t home yet and it’s already late. Those little texts that aren’t exactly saying he’s worried but are asking where he is or if he’s still alive or if he needs him to call an ambulance. Those texts scream that he’s worried. Sometimes, he waits up for him and when he doesn’t, there’s always a note that he left some food for him. He likes to think that Youngjae takes care of him more than he takes care of himself. He’ll probably not eat half the time if not for Youngjae.

He laughs, opening the door only to find the very person he is thinking of.

Youngjae, like how he has always been for the past few weeks, automatically shifts to warzone mode again the moment Jackson enters their room. He keeps his eyes on the book he is reading and maintains his focus like when he was still alone.

“I’m sorry if I used your toothbrush but I swear it was an accident,” Jackson begins immediately once he put his bag on his bed, his eyes look like that of a puppy’s who broke a vase accidentally by running around the living room but his eyes are also serious and sincere. He wants to get over this already. He wants them to be alright again. The younger ignores him so he continues, “But I’m willing to take responsibility.”

At this point, Youngjae squints his eyes on him, confused. To be honest, he’s really tired of being in a warzone every time he gets home. “What do you mean?”

“Jaebum told me…”

“Oh my god, Jaebum-hyung told you?!” Youngjae shrills, eyes widening five times its normal size, closing his book and walking back and forth in the room, color drained off his face. “I swear I’ll show Jinyoung-hyung his picture when he dressed as Hello Kitty.”

“Hello Kitty?” Jackson asks incredulously.

“Yes, he has a picture.”

“Oh my god, Jaebum!” the older begins laughing and when he sees the look on the younger’s face, he realizes they’re getting off track. He turns serious and calm again. He nods his head and repeats his words, “I’m willing to take responsibility.”

“What do you mean?!” Obviously, the younger is already frustrated. He’s not even sure why he told Jaebum the meaning of his toothbrush before but he sure is regretting it now. His mind is running off a million things and he doesn’t understand what the hell his roommate is saying. It’s safe to say that everything becomes messier in his brain when he hears Jackson’s next words.

“To be your destiny…”

Youngjae stops walking and stares at Jackson. “What.”

Jackson walks closer and stands half a foot away from the younger. They’re about the same height so he doesn’t have to worry about his short legs and he likes it. It’s like they’re matched. He smiles and says, “If you want, can you be my destiny, too?”

“Hyung,” the younger whispers, not believing the older’s words. He wasn’t mad before because Jackson took the privilege of using his toothbrush that is only meant for his destiny. He was mad because he thinks Jackson will never be his destiny, even if he wants him to be, and he even used his toothbrush already. So he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Does that mean Jackson feels the same way he feels about him, too?

“I think I like you, Choi Youngjae,” Jackson says, smiling at him, leaning down and he can’t believe how happy he is that his forehead is just matched to Youngjae’s when he leans in. He doesn’t even want his legs to grow now.

Youngjae blinks for a couple of seconds before he jumps at Jackson and no, not the other meaning of jumping. He literally jumped at Jackson and collapsed both of them on the bed. Jackson doesn’t mind. He holds to the younger’s waist and keeps his gaze on him, still smiling. Everything feels surreal but he likes how his hands fit perfectly on the younger’s waist.

Youngjae buries his face on Jackson’s chest before he looks up again and grins at him.

“Is that a yes?” Jackson asks, not holding back the huge grin that seems to be breaking his face.

“Only if you help me clean up,” Youngjae answers with a smirk.

Jackson roars laughing, wrapping his arms on the younger’s frame and tightly hugging him like he is claiming him his now. Well, Youngjae is his now.

End

A/N: I'm honestly unsure about the ending part ;-; I'm not exactly satisfied myself but I hope people who are looking for JackJae fics will still like this ;-; - Elle