You knew it was a questionable choice to bring Jackson to the aquarium with you when he was sleep-deprived and hopped up on caffeine, but somehow the two of you ended up there anyways.

The two of you had been trying to actual date-like things since the beginning of your relationship, but Jackson’s schedule and the pressure of being seen by fans had really limited the possibilities. After this concert rehearsal, however, he had somehow talked you into finally going out somewhere with him; there was an aquarium in a more out-of-the-way town near Seoul that you’d found online, and that felt like an option that both of you would like.

The day of the dress rehearsal, you waited patiently outside of GOT7’s dressing room. You’d already gotten dressed for the date, choosing to wear that blue shirt you knew Jackson liked. The staff and stylists knew you well enough already that they didn’t even raise an eyebrow at your appearance, skirting around you as you leaned against the wall, kicking your boot against the tiled floor. Finally the door burst open and an endless stream of chatter and laughter echoed through the hallway as the GOT7 members exited the room. They grinned at you as they passed by, Mark giving you a knowing wink and JB patting you gently on the back.

Jackson was the last one to exit, waving goodbye to s and looping his arm through yours. “Shall we, love?” He pressed a gentle kiss on your cheek and you flushed briefly, muttering something about being in public but secretly enjoying the attention. You’d brought your own car to pick him up today so the two of you could have the entire evening to yourselves. You opened the door for Jackson, who raised an eyebrow but got in anyways, all but collapsing into the seat with a loud sigh. You got into the driver’s seat.

“Buckle up, mister. I know you’re tired, but the law doesn’t care,” you grinned, poking Jackson in the side. He groaned and swatted your hand gently but slid the seatbelt around himself anyways. The two of you set off to the aquarium, stopping once along the way after Jackson insisted he was going to die without getting some caffeine in his system. You usually shied away from letting him have too much coffee, because it made him even more hyper than he usually was, but you decided that because he’d had a long, hard, rehearsal, a little bit couldn’t hurt, right?

You quickly regretted your decision as Jackson returned to his normal hyper self...times ten. The caffeine seemed to have reawakened his excitement about going to the aquarium, and he was practically hopping out of the seat every five seconds.

“Seals! Whales! Sharks! Those really-” Jackson waved his hands around wildly, nearly hitting you in the head, “-shiny colorful fish that I don’t know the names of! Do they have dolphins too? Beluga whales?”

You sighed heavily, stifling the urge to bang your head against the steering wheel. “I don’t know, so I guess we’ll see.” You couldn’t really hate this poor excited puppy sitting next to you, but his excitement definitely could wear on your nerves sometimes. Nonetheless, you couldn’t help but feel your feels of elation bubble up inside your chest. You’d always wanted to go to an aquarium on a date with someone, and now was your chance to cross that off of your bucket list.

You got there before long, and it was all you could do to get Jackson to stay still as the two two of you bought tickets and entered. The entrance hall was gigantic and full of replicas of the animals that you could see inside. Jackson insisted on taking selfies with everything in reach, including a giant sea turtle and a manta ray. Snickering at his antics, you pulled him by the hand into the first room on the map: the jellyfish room. The dimly lit space was almost magical as the two of you stared at the little floating jellyfish. You squeezed Jackson’s hand gently, but he didn’t seem to notice as he bounced off into the next direction. The next couple of hours were a whirlwind of activity, from Jackson making bad dolphin noises to trying to commune with the whales. You had to stop him from pressing his entire face against the glass to get a better look at the sea otters, though the sweet smile he gave you truly melted any irritation you felt.

The caffeine high was still going strong an hour into the aquarium visit, and your legs were getting sore. “Jackson, I’m going to sit down here for a couple of minutes,” you called out to him as you lowered yourself onto the nearest bench. The two of you were in the amphibian and freshwater fish section now, and the ambient noise of fake cricket calls and water rushing was soothing. Jackson nodded in agreement and went to look at the nearby exhibits, still buzzing with energy. You closed your eyes and leaned your head back, content to enjoy at least a few seconds of rest, but it was interrupted by a loud shout and tugging at your sleeve.

“Looklooklooklooklooklook!” Jackson chanted, practically hopping up and down as he dragged you from your comfortable resting place. Rolling your eyes, you followed him nonetheless, making sure to complain about your sore legs. He grinned and muttered a quick apology, but dragged you towards one of the exhibits nonetheless.

You stopped in front of a tank of murky water. “What am I looking at here?” Jackson bit his lip and pointed wordlessly at the sign on the tank, barely concealing his laughter. You squinted at the words in the dim lighting “Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis. What’s so special about this…?”

Jackson suddenly struck up a pose, making exaggerated noises and raising his hands from the ground. People around you look perturbed and moved away or otherwise laughed at the bizarre situation. You reached out and poked his cheek. “What are you doing, you idiot?”

Jackson looked mock offended. “I’m a hellbender, duh! It’s like a firebender, but cooler. Do you think these salamanders can breathe fire or walk on lava? Are they actually dragons?? There are so many possibilities…”

“No, no, and no. C’mon, you dummy. People are staring.” You linked your hands with his and pulled him away from the onlookers into a more secluded corner.

Jackson grinned and hugged you against him tightly. “You love me, though.”

You rolled your eyes and tried to protest, but he gave you a knowing grin and you sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, I guess I do. Idiot.”

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This is a poop and i am a poop and everything is poop