What Naturally Follows
What Naturally Follows
When promotions begin again, a lot of exhaustion, a lot of incessant midnight snacking, and a lot of mindless ing also cycles through once more. Everyone's dirty all the time because they're always too tired to actually care to shower regularly, but they're just excited enough that this doesn't seem to be much of a bother at all.
Due to their current lifestyle of practicing for ten hours straight and the buzz of adrenaline pumping through their veins and keeping them from falling asleep at appropriate hours, has left their immune systems weakened. It started with Jihoon catching the 24-hour stomach flu and has since ran through each of them. Now Jiho's the one who's sick, spread out in the middle of the floor on his stomach, be his existence to whoever pays him any attention; right now, Yukwon is stuck with the unfortunate task of humoring him.
"I'm dying," Jiho croaks in this thin, pitiful voice. "I'm dying and no one cares."
"You'll be fine," Yukwon reassures immediately, as if expecting Jiho's reaction. "Jaehyo hyung got over it."
Jiho moans again because if they trace the order of each instance, then Jiho had to have caught the virus from Jaehyo. "Remind me to kill him later then."
Yukwon laughs, but he says nothing else. He takes to scratching behind Jiho's ears, as if he were a cat, and he ruffles a bit of the hair there. It's damp from sweat, and Yukwon's not used to the way it looks yet, not completely. He absentmindedly tangles his fingers in the tufts of hair at his nape, humors himself by playing with the ends of Jiho's new locks. He likes it though, but he usually likes most of Jiho's drastic 'dos. If anyone in their band could pull off something like this, it'd be Jiho.
"I'm sick," he says, rather unhappy about the fact, too, and Yukwon's never seen a more painful sight than his leader's bleary eyes and sallow face.
Yukwon rubs his back, kneads with his palms near his shoulder, and the moans that Jiho allows to slip from his lips sound less miserable and more pleased now. They've banned him from going out, which is like torture in and of itself for Jiho; it's also torture for anyone within the surrounding area as Jiho becomes restless when he's not allowed to go out, fidgeting and on edge as if he downed an entire pot of coffee and all of Jaehyo's energy drinks too. He sees Jiho's fingers twitch in the way they always do when he needs a pencil, catching the wisp of a song in his head that he must pen down at that moment before the inspiration is long gone. Yukwon digs his thumbs into Jiho's back, between his shoulder blades on either side of his spine, and Jiho shivers beneath his touch.
"You are the best," Jiho says, but it comes out almost slurred; he is like this only when he's not in his right state of mind, like when he's well on his way to intoxication. "You have my undying love and devotion and all that ."
Yukwon smiles to himself at that. "Get up and shower; you smell like ." He tugs on the longer strands of Jiho's hair for good measure and hoists himself up off the floor. "I'm going to bed now. 'Night."
*
Yukwon wakes up some time later to his mattress dipping, heat curling up all along the length of his body, and twists his head just so to find Jiho's piercing gaze staring right back at him.
"What are you doing?" comes out as "Mmphre you'ing", voice still lined with sleep and throat dry. He rubs his knuckles against the side of his mouth to wipe away any drool.
Jiho wiggles around, hip-checking him as he does so, and grumbles, "Move over, man." Yukwon would like to remind Jiho that this is his bed and in no way did he invite Jiho into it.
"Get your own bed," he says, swatting at Jiho. "This is mine." He's trying to stay quiet because Kyung's been tossing and turning lately, sleeping way too light for anyone else's liking (because when he wakes up, he seems to think that everyone should also be awake), and Yukwon's not really wanting to explain why Jiho's in his bed at whatever-the-hell time it is when he's groggy. It could get awkward quick, especially since Yukwon's never been very good with words.
"I had it first," Jiho says. He sounds sickly, just as he did not a few hours before, and Yukwon bites his bottom lip to keep from spouting out his worries. Now is not the time for Jiho to be feeling like this. Yukwon hates seeing Jiho so weak, sounding so defeated, looking so frail. It's not Zico-potential, and this won't do. Jiho slams the side of his face against the pillow. "And your pillow ."
"If you're going to insult my pillow, you can leave," Yukwon says, aiming for threatening, but he's too tired for this .
Jiho wraps his arms around his waist and nuzzles the side of his neck, eyes drooping and movements jarred. Yukwon's heart aches for the briefest moments, dropping his guard and forgetting that Jiho is here wholly uninvited. He smells like Jaehyo's shampoo and a hint of bodywash; it's heady so he must've just gotten out of the shower which means he's stayed up late when the managers told him to sleep early because of his health. Jiho's quiet, very still, and his breaths have long since evened out. He must've been worn, and Yukwon really doesn't mind the extra heat even if it's fairly warm yet. He pulls his blanket over Jiho's shoulders and closes his eyes.
Yukwon makes a valiant attempt to go back to sleep, nose buried in Jiho's hair.
It doesn't take him that much effort to do so.
*
The next morning goes something like this:
Jiho's still passed out in Yukwon's bed, face pale and drawn and mouth slackened, cheek pressed into the pillow, and the covers are tangled between his legs. Kyung had woken up to the scene of the two draped across one another sometime in the night and decided that he had to wake everyone else up and make them see too. Jihoon's laughter had roused Yukwon from his own dreamless slumber. Then the interrogations came.
"I kinda always knew you'd be the little spoon," Minhyuk says, one side of his mouth quirked up into a quasi-smile. Yukwon flips him off over their ramen breakfast. "Has he taken your cherry yet?"
" you," Yukwon says, mouth full, but he's shaking from silent laughter. Minhyuk just keeps smiling, as if he's the ing all-knowing one in their group.
Minhyuk winks. "Anytime, Kwonnie." This time Yukwon really does laugh.
Kyung pulls a face, voice strangled as he says, "Guys, can we not talk about this while I'm eating?"
Minhyuk leans over to whisper something to Kyung, and Yukwon doesn't care for what he says because it's probably something terribly inappropriate and dirty. Kyung's ears turn red, and Yukwon would use this as evidence to the fact but Kyung flusters easily anyway so it's hard to tell if Minhyuk said something or if he just spoke in a bedroom voice about something as appealing as the garbage. It's a nice day out, though, and they're not due for any rehearsals or practices; Yukwon feels like going out since it's been a while since he last enjoyed the sunlight what with all the rainy weather lately.
"What's so funny?" Jiho asks, stepping into the main room. He's rubbing the heel of hand against his right eye. "As your leader, I ascertain the right to all inside jokes." He sounds better, more like himself, but Yukwon knows Jiho fairly well by now. Jiho would never willingly show anyone a sign of weakness; he'd overwork himself long before anyone was even aware that he was sick or hurt. It was by pure chance that they managed to keep him inside the day before.
"What the , man," Kyung says at the same time Jaehyo points his finger at Jiho accusingly and says, "That's abuse of power!"
While they tussle in the floor, Yukwon reflects on earlier events. It had been nice to wake up with Jiho wound around him, one of his hands on his stomach, and the touch had been warm even through his t-shirt. He scratches at his temple, smiling to himself, as he watches one of the girliest wrestling matches he's ever seen, Kyung caught somewhere in the middle of Jaehyo and Jiho's squabbling. Minhyuk looks on with mild amusement, and Yukwon decides that no one in this group is sane.
"Ok, I'm off," Yukwon says, standing up and stretching. The pop of his elbows is such a pleasant sound, and he's glad to loosen up some of the tension in his joints.
"Where are you going?" he hears Jiho ask admist the dogpile.
He's more flushed now, a pretty red high on his cheeks from the exertion, and his messy hair is begging for Yukwon to finger-comb through it. He resists the urge to do so. "Out," Yukwon says, and Jiho opens his mouth, possibly to charm Yukwon into getting his way because he somehow has the ability to do such things. Yukwon cuts him off though because Jiho probably wants to use him as a scapegoat to get out of the dorm and into the studio. "Stay."
"I'm the leader you can't tell me what to do," he says, and Kyung snickers beneath him before Jiho gets him in the gut with the boniest part of his elbow. Yukwon rolls his eyes, and sometimes he wonders how this kid could've become their leader. Then he thinks about the charisma on stage, the perfectionism in the studio, the extent to which he pushes himself; Yukwon remembers why. "Yah, Kim Yukwon, are you listening to me?"
Yukwon shrugs and untangles his headphones. "Not really, no." He grins, and Jiho huffs. "Get some rest."
"I'll let you go just this once," Jiho says. He sounds a bit dumb, slightly hoarse from the previous day, but at least he's no longer pitifully in the bathroom. "But you'll pay for this later, Kim Yukwon."
"Sure, sure, whatever."
The last thing he sees before shutting the door is the tiny smile on Jiho's face as he looks straight at him.
*
It's not surprising that Yukwon's been a tiny bit in love with Jiho since day one. He doesn't purposefully go out of his way to make it known, and he definitely never announces it because that would be social suicide and Block B doesn't need that in the midst of all the chaos that are comebacks and schedules. The others have picked up on it, and sometimes Yukwon's glad that he has their support. Other times he wishes they'd go away and leave him alone because they waste precious oxygen with their tendency to read too much into things and ask him about any recent developments in his and Jiho's relationship. There aren't any, not really.
However, Jiho's taken to sleeping in his bed lately, even now, long after his health has risen. He clambers out of bed before anyone else wakes up, and sometimes Yukwon thinks he may feel Jiho's touch on his cheek and lips before he leaves. This may be wishful thinking on his part, though, because Jiho certainly doesn't like him like that. Or that's what he thought.
"I want to kiss you," Jiho says. It's dark and they're alone; Yukwon's had fantasies about this moment before, but it usually involves him or Jiho being tied up and them doing much more than kissing. Jiho turns to stare at him, this faraway look in his eyes, and Yukwon wonders if Jiho ever fantasizes about him too. "Can I?"
Yukwon's answer, if this were one of his dreams, would be to automatically say " yeah" and jump Jiho, but this is real life and real life has consequences. "I dunno. What would everyone else think?"
"That you should be so lucky to get kissed by the Zico?"
Yukwon snorts, but doesn't reply. He's still waiting for a serious answer, and he knows one will come. And he's right.
"I guess it'd be weird, right. At least at first, but I don't think they'd care too much?" Yukwon turns to face Jiho, stares at his profile, traces it with his eyes. Jiho's always been rather attractive, but especially when it's like this: no make-up on, moles stark against his skin, hair rumpled and unstyled, body relaxed. Jiho flicks his gaze to meet his own, and normally Yukwon would be a bit embarrassed to be caught staring so openly but not right now. "But it couldn't hurt, you know, to try."
"No," Yukwon whispers, uncertain of himself but sure of Jiho's presence and words, and he's always trusted Jiho more than anyone else. His eyes fall to Jiho's lips, and he his own. "I guess it wouldn't, would it?"
Jiho's eyes sharpen, intense and liquid-dark, and the distant look is no longer apparent. "Then I guess we should, huh."
Yukwon's not known for making some of the best decisions, but he feels like this is right. It doesn't take much maneuvering for them to get comfortable in Yukwon's tiny bed. Yukwon climbs over Jiho, lies astride him, and when the hammering in his heart and wrenching in his gut stop, it's perfect. Jiho's lips are soft, give easily, and a part of Yukwon wants to do this again and again and again.
So he does.
*
It doesn't take long for the rest of the guys to warm up to the idea that two of their bandmates are in a relationship. It brings them some sort of enjoyment during the preparations and long hours in the van.
"Speaking of the van," Jaehyo says, placing his bowl on the floor before him. Jihoon must take this as fair game because he reaches over and steals pieces of pork from Jaehyo. Jaehyo doesn't even notice. "No , please."
"No period," Kyung grouses from Jiho's side. "Please. For all our sakes."
They ignore Kyung, and Yukwon pats his thigh reassuringly.
"Don't him before performances either," Minhyuk intones, opening his mouth when Jihoon offers him one of Jaehyo's stolen pork slices. "Or after. This goes for any kind of variety, too. We don't want to cover your asses."
Jaehyo nods and then blinks, just now noticing his stolen food. "Pyo Jihoon, I'm going to end you."
Yukwon's still stuck on the part where Minhyuk assumed Jiho would be ing him. "Hey, wait, who said he's going to top?"
"Oh my ing god," Kyung states loudly, hands to his face. "Are we sure we want to talk about this now?"
"Yes," Minhyuk replies, shrugging. His face is carefully blank, impassive, like this doesn't faze him at all. Yukwon admires his poker face. "Anyway, Kwon, your is hot. I'd tap it." Yukwon feels a bit flattered and a bit creeped out by this fact, but mostly due to Minhyuk's unwavering facial expression as he says it.
Taeil responds by saying something along the lines of "you'd also crush his skinny " and nods in Jiho's general direction.
Jiho wraps his arm around his shoulder, grin far too smug for Yukwon's taste, but Yukwon doesn't shrug him away. Even if they both know that Yukwon's hips are far more attuned to the fine art of grinding and other related activities than Jiho's are.
*
"So," Jiho pants, pulling away to catch his breath.
Yukwon smooths his hair down, brushes a few strands behind the curve of his ear, and dots a line of kisses down Jiho's jaw and neck. He hears the music fade into another slow-tempo'd track, and the brief thought of Jiho finding them mood music crosses his mind. It's ridiculous and cheesy, but he wouldn't put it past Jiho. He rocks his hips against Jiho, denim brushing the soft material of Jiho's sweatpants, and he can feel Jiho against his knee. This whole grinding business is going to be the death of him, this slow and sweet torture; even if they won't be going all the way, he at least wants to remove their pants and feel Jiho's skin against his own.
"Like, how do we do this exactly?" Jiho asks. He sounds nervous, hoarse, but far beyond . Yukwon feels like he probably sounds similar. "Is this comfortable? What's comfortable to you?"
They are silly questions, mostly because Yukwon's never done this either, but it's a nice gesture at least. So, Yukwon pulls Jiho back down, kisses him and clanks their teeths against each other, and nips at his bottom lip when he draws away.
In Jiho's ear he whispers: "I'm pretty flexible."
"Oh."
*
"Hey," Jiho says later after showering. "Can I sleep here tonight?"
"I thought you had these rights as leader?"
Yukwon can barely unglue his eyes to glance at Jiho. He's wearing his sleep attire, smiling, and holding his own pillow too. Yukwon stifles a laugh.
"Yeah, well," Jiho climbs into bed beside him again. He drags his bare toes up the length of his shin, and Yukwon bats them away because they are ing cold and did he stick them in ice before crawling into bed with him. "I now am asserting bed-seizing rights, claiming it in the name of Woo Jiho and all that." He waves his hand dismissively, and Yukwon's barely listening to his words but rather the hum of his heartbeat.
Yukwon rubs his nose into the thin material of Jiho's shirt. He makes out the faint detail of his tattoo through the white cotton, and he touches his fingers over the area. Jiho makes no other sounds, but when Yukwon glances up at Jiho he finds his eyes, attentive and dark, on him.
"Would it be weird if I said that I really liked you?"
Yukwon bites the collar of Jiho's shirt to keep from laughing aloud and grazes his skin with his teeth as well; Jiho shivers bodily against him. "Considering what we've done, I guess it'd be normal."
"How about if I said that I really, really liked you?" Jiho asks, voice pitched into this light, playful tone. Yukwon wriggles closer, especially when Jiho slides his palms over his sides, hips, the curve of his and up his back. "Like, liked you enough to want to be with you for a long time?"
"Are you going soft, Woo Jiho?" Yukwon asks, smiling to himself. To be honest, he feels his heart beating way too fast in his chest, his whole body flushed by Jiho's words, and maybe this isn't really much of a crush anymore. He kisses just above Jiho's tattoo and inhales Jiho's scent. "Is the Zico really considering settling down with someone as lowly as me?"
"Even people as great as I fall in love, shocking but true," Jiho states, and he says it so naturally that they both almost miss the implications behind his words. "I meant to say that. Well, yeah. You're not lowly at all. You're a much more logical choice than Jaehyo hyung or."
He trails off, obviously embarrassed, and it's such a rare sight to witness, even for those who are close to Jiho. Yukwon takes pride in the fact that he gets to see all these sides of Jiho. He burrows in closer because it's cold when they're not wrapped around each other.
*
"I do, you know," Jiho says finally, quietly, when Yukwon has almost slipped off into slumberland. He rubs his hand against Yukwon's bare arm in a show of warming him up; Yukwon recognizes the twitch in his fingers, he's too tuned to Jiho's every move to not notice, and he's pleased to know that he has Jiho thinking this through, inspiring him, wanting him to create. "Love you, that is."
*
"I fell asleep before I could tell you this, but, yeah, I love you, too, Woo Jiho."
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