An exploration of the infamous hand kissing scene from the Japan tour DVD! Wrote this specifically as a request from some lovely anon on Tumblr. Thank you, anon! I hope you enjoy! ♥

When their stylist first asked him if he wanted to put on temporary tattoos during their Japan shows, Bobby scoffed at the idea. That’s not a look he’s into. But then one day a sheet of them is placed in his lap while his hair’s being done.

“Come on, what about the love one? Wave it at a couple of your fans and they’ll go crazy!”

Bobby can’t believe she’s hassling him again, and he shakes his head and looks at the designs. Okay, so the heart one’s kind of cute. He looks up at his makeup artist and asks for her opinion. “What do you think, noona? Would your heart flutter if I put this on my hand and flashed it at you?” he teases her, but she just shakes her head and makes a tutting noise of disapproval at him.

“Not on you! If Jinhwan did it, though, well, that’s another story!” She teases him back, and Bobby frowns at her before laughing. He meets his stylist’s eyes and finally relents.

“Okay, fine! I’ll do it.” She squeals a little in victory before getting some water to use to apply it. Bobby doesn’t really mind, and it’s nice to keep Gee Eun amused. Ten minutes later he’s got a fresh pink heart on the back of his hand with the word LOVE underneath. The women over it but he laughs along with them. Of all the things he could put on his hand, it’s a good message, at least.

Start time for the concert is minutes away and they’re crowding together for their pre-show huddle, just the seven of them. Jinhwan’s on his right, Hanbin on his left, and Bobby doesn’t really think about the tattoo at that moment, because Hanbin’s too busy being a complete and utter dork.

“Look, Bobby’s holding my hand!” Hanbin says in a cute voice after threading their fingers together, and Bobby’s always surprised at Hanbin’s ability to be an idiot at the most inappropriate times.

“Ah, you’re crazy.” Bobby chides him affectionately before closing his eyes, listening as Donghyuk starts their team prayer. It’s a tradition they’ve held since the very beginning when it was just the three of them. It happened randomly, in the minutes before their first ever monthly assessment as a trio.

Bobby (who’d been riddled with nerves) sat with clasped hands in his lap, a whispered prayer on his lips. He was surprised when Jinhwan took one of his hands and joined him (though maybe it shouldn’t have surprised him, because at that point Jinhwan was still only there on a one month evaluation trial, and he didn’t know if he’d still be with them after the end of the day). Hanbin had been sitting on Jinhwan’s other side and hadn’t really been paying them much attention until Jinhwan took his hand as well.

Hanbin and Bobby’s eyes had met suddenly and without words Hanbin reached across Jinhwan for Bobby’s other hand, and Bobby led them in a quick pre-assessment prayer. Thus their prayer circle was born, and after receiving compliments (and an upgrade to permanent trainee status for Jinhwan) a new tradition was born.

It means the world to Bobby that they’ve continued it, and of course it only made sense to pass the reigns of prayer leading to Donghyuk when he’d joined, being the son of a pastor.

But for all the personal meaning, sometimes it feels like Hanbin doesn’t quite take it so serious. Today is one of those days. Instead of just listening to Donghyuk, Hanbin’s playing with Bobby’s hand, has it raised up close to his face, shaking it around. Bobby’s tempted to scold him for it, but he doesn’t. He always lets Hanbin get away with things like this, never calls him on it.

Hanbin only does it with Bobby because he knows he can, knows that Bobby won’t take offense. Usually it makes Bobby smile and laugh, and winning Bobby’s approval has always been important to Hanbin.

Bobby doesn’t say anything now because despite it being poorly-timed, it’s still comforting. Hanbin’s been a little aloof during the tour. Bobby’s not sure if it’s because Minho’s here, or if Hanbin’s just been stressed out because he’s having trouble composing anything new. Hanbin’s moody periods always coincide with how well his creative juices are flowing, and Bobby’s heard him complain more than once about a lack of inspiration.

So he’ll take Hanbin’s playful attitude, even if it is a distraction during his one moment of required concentration. What he’s not expecting to feel, though, are Hanbin’s lips against the back of his hand.

The kiss is quick and soft and Bobby’s confused, because Hanbin has never done that before. Hanbin’s always been more of a cuddler than a kisser, more likely to Bobby’s hand than kiss it.

It’s nice, though, and Bobby can’t help but smile at it. Moments like these are his favourite with Hanbin, when he shares his affection in a completely unguarded state. They have cameras filming them for their DVD, but Hanbin pays them no mind. He’s happy to kiss Bobby’s hand and he doesn’t care that it could be preserved on film for the world to see.

Hanbin’s never been afraid to express himself, never worried about showing a soft side. Bobby has learned a lot from him over the years when it comes to self-expression. He used to be more concerned about how he presented himself at all times, always striving to give off an air of coolness.

But Hanbin has softened Bobby, made him care a little less about how he looks in the eyes of those around him. As long as he’s happy with himself, that’s the most important thing. Being around Hanbin always brings out Bobby’s happiest self, and today’s no different.

Donghyuk finishes and they all pull away and Bobby meets Hanbin’s eyes, a silent question thrown Hanbin’s way about the kiss and why he did it.

But Hanbin just grins back at him.

“Cute tattoo.”

Bobby grins back and looks at his hand, smiling anew when he sees the heart and the word and he thinks about Hanbin’s perfect heart lips pressing into his skin and what the kiss really meant to him. It wasn’t just Hanbin being a dork after all.

It was a confession, a way for him to publicly state I love you without having to say it out loud.

And suddenly Bobby realizes--maybe it wasn’t an unguarded moment after all? Maybe it was Hanbin’s way of saying  the camera, everyone who would hate us for this. He can still flaunt his affection for Bobby in an overt way, but with the added security of an easy explanation--I was just teasing him about his stupid tattoo, did you see that thing?!

Sometimes Hanbin’s just a dorky idiot, and sometimes he does things so profound and well thought-out that they take Bobby’s breath away.

Later that night after the show, when they’re back in their shared hotel room, Bobby showers carefully because he doesn’t want the tattoo to come off just yet, he wants to preserve it for as long as possible.

Hanbin notices it, of course, and he grins when Bobby slides under the covers next to him.

“Keeping the tattoo?” Hanbin asks teasingly as he cuddles into Bobby’s chest.

“Yeah, I like it,” Bobby replies, settling his arm around Hanbin’s back, “it’s a worthy memory to keep.”

“Memory of what?” Hanbin teases. “That if Gee Eun noona hassles you enough, you’ll give in to whatever she wants?”

Bobby laughs and tightens his arm around him. “Replace Gee Eun with Kim Hanbin, and it’s a little more accurate.”

Hanbin grins and presses his lips into Bobby’s neck, his voice slightly muffled against Bobby’s skin. “You’re getting so soft in your old age.”

Bobby laughs and looks down at him and his smile widens at Hanbin’s cute little look, because Hanbin knows that Bobby knows what that kiss was all about. He knows that Bobby figured him out, and he’s pleased that his action didn’t go unnoticed. Bobby reaches out to turn the light over their bed off, and when the room settles into darkness he presses his lips to Hanbin’s forehead softly.

“I love you too, Bin.”