The tour concludes at the cafeteria, where both groups get their own warm drinks and sit down. The atmosphere is comfortable as they each sip on their respective beverages and Jiho's eyelids flutter, despite the coffee he's currently nursing like a mixed drink. A small and - quite frankly - adorable yawn exits from Jiho's lips and makes s 'aww'. Jiho glares them down, not entirely sure if it would be appropriate to flip them off like he normally would. He knows that out of all seven of them, he was the one who got absolutely no sleep. The others managed to sneak a few naps throughout the day before but between the thought of bad news (as weighted by a leader) and the expectancy of something better than the bad news (as weighted by a total YG fangirl) left him too on edge to even close his eyes. Now that the hype had died down, he felt the weight of his lack of sleep hit him hard.

"Awww, is our poor baby Jiho tired? Does he need to take a nap?" Kyung mocks and Jiho can only muster enough energy to sneer. He really wishes he knew how to act around the others so that he'd know exactly what  to do when Kyung was being a total piece of face.

"You do look a little run down, in all seriousness. Today's our day off from comeback preparations and we were planning on just hanging out at our dorm for a while, since we're running on E, too. You're welcome to come with us if you want. They're probably moving all of your stuff out of your old dorm and into your new dorm as we speak, so it wouldn't be bad to have a place to crash for a few hours," Daesung offered and Jiho was actually so exhausted he conceded (quite sleepily, might I add. So sleepily it probably didn't even look like he'd accepted the offer at all.) despite the plan having the ability to end so disastrously awkward it would be painful on both ends.

"That sounds like a great idea, we'd love to hang out with you guys. I'll go see with manager-hyung and CEO-hyung if it's alright," Minhyuk spoke, exiting from the cafeteria with a casualty that kind of made him look like he wanted to break out into a full-tilt sprint and by kinda I mean really.

"Who would've placed it on Minhyuk to be the total spaz in this situation? If Jiho here weren't built like a half used battery pack at the moment, we'd probably be seeing a lot more of his inner fangirl," Jaehyo noted and god did Jiho want to smack him so hard upside the head it'd shift his teeth all the way back to their pre debut state of 'did they cancel your barbecue? Because your grill is ed'. How dare his hyung embarrass him like that in front of their sunbaes? He's sure if Jaehyo mentions the trunk of BIGBANG merchandise he's going to receive a very tempting offer to get the out of Block B curtesy of a foot in his .

"Inner fangirl, huh? And what exactly do you mean by that, Jaehyo?" Jiyong asks and Jiho wants to literally scream because these are close to the only words he's spoken all day. And a question like that being aimed at Jaehyo would no doubt cause disaster for Jiho's self esteem and well being. He was a kind of closeted hardcore VIP and wouldn't want that image projected onto his sunbaes, and now labelmates. He could express some of his pent up BIGBANG love every once in a while, but it wouldn't do him well to have BIGBANG actually know exactly how much he adored their music (and them).

"Nothing! He means nothing!" Jiho intercepted. He regrets the decision he made to sit across from Jaehyo to avoid being too close to Jiyong. He did NOT want to annoy the one person whose opinion was more valid than anything in literally all of South Korea. And many places overseas. God knows he'd start ranting and somehow would just the whole situation up beyond belief and just cause tension. And they couldn't have that. So he wasn't going to risk it. Which ended in extreme regret knowing Jiyong and Jaehyo were literally right next to each other and Jaehyo could spill it all in a whisper like the little insufferable he is.

"I don't think your tru-" Jaehyo began before Jiho nearly threw himself over the table to cover Jaehyo's mouth with his hand. What he didn't expect was for Jaehyo to bite into his palm so hard he was forced to draw it back to nurse it against his chest, the crown of Jaehyo's teeth indented in spit shiny angry red.

"Before Jiho rudely interrupted me, I was saying: I don't think your trun-" Jaehyo began once more but was cut off by an indignant Woo Jiho once more.

"Anh Jaehyo if you say it I will forcibly kick you out of Block B."

"As if you could. He's got a trunk full of-"

"Anh. Jaehyo. You say one more word and I am going to reach over this table and choke you with your own jacket."

"Fine by me. At least I don't have a trunk full of BIGBANG merchandise."

"You've got a what?" Seungri asks with a laugh and Jiho buries his face in his hands. That's it, he's ing done for.

"A trunk full of merchandise," he replies, his tone muffled by his hands. God, he can feel his face heating up by the second.

"Like '06 and on?" Seungri presses and Jiho nods, not trusting his voice to speak because embarrassment makes his voice crack something awful and who needs that in a situation like this.

"All the individual projects too. And repackages. His limited edition Coup D'Etat Vinyl has its own little space in the trunk next to both the Bronze and Gold editions of One of a Kind. He also bought the regular album for himself as a birthday present," Kyung feels the need to add and Jiho's face is so buried in his lap he looks almost like a ball. He misses the small gratified smile Jiyong throws his way.

"That's actually kind of... nice? I mean wow, you must really like us to buy all that stuff. It's... kinda cute," Jiyong says and Jiho lifts his head from his lap and shoots Jiyong a puzzled look. He's thoroughly confused at this point.

"So you don't mean to tell me that my seven year long collection of BIGBANG stuff isn't weird to you?" He asks and the remaining members of BIGBANG all shake their heads. This is absolutely unreal. He feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest and he sighs in relief.

"Oh, God, that is exactly what I needed to hear. Imagine having to walk on eggshells around you guys all the time. Now I can proudly claim my status as King Idol VIP. Someone hand me my crown," he jokes and the table erupts in laughter. Moments later a winded Minhyuk returns to the table and plants himself on a chair.

"I got lost and was too scared to ask for directions from anyone but kinda had to when I some how ended up in the studio where CL - the CL - was working and I kind of looked like a lost puppy so she told me how to get to YG's office and anyways, everyone is totally on board with that idea. They're encouraging it, actually? So if you guys are ready, I'm ready. Also did I miss something? Because Jiho looks like they dipped his face in hot water," he pants and the table stares at him in near comical silence before Yukwon speaks up.

"Jaehyo and Kyung outted Jiho on his status as a closet hardcore VIP. They're surprisingly cool about it," he says and Minhyuk nods knowingly.

"I guess it's safe to mention the fact that I catch him waking up early sometimes to put his GD Bear back into the trunk in the morning to make it look like he doesn't fall asleep with it at night, now," Minhyuk says, unfiltered, and it's news to everyone.

"Oh my God, I thought nobody knew about that," Jiho whines, dropping his head onto the table with a thud.

"If it helps none of us had a single idea," Jihoon offers, the lilt of a laugh edging his words before he's muffling a full blown giggle fit.

"Don't be mean to him, how can you be mean to someone who sleeps with a teddy bear at night?" Daesung questions in an attempt to appease the peals of muffled laughter coming from various people at the table but it only serves to make the laughs rise in volume as they're hidden in hands and the crooks of elbows.

"It's funny but it's still really cute, if my opinion counts at all," Jiyong adds with chuckles rising in his throat and a smile on his face.

"It's a G-Dragon teddy bear of course your opinion counts," Jaehyo responds and Jiho is literally so sure he's going to die.

"Alright, let's stop bashing the poor kid and head on out. He's probably going to die of embarrassment right here and now if we keep bothering him the way we are," Seunghyun laughs and Jiho thanks him silently as they stand up. He doesn't expect Jiyong to throw and arm over his shoulder and walk side by side with him out of the building.

--

"I say we Christian Mingle into two cars, 6 to each car? I call the rapper line, I said it first," Jiyong suggests, suddenly much more open than he was before. Jiho plans to ask why soon but he's still kind of in shock that the G-Dragon literally has his arm around his shoulder. They are in the same breathing space. This is entirely unreal. However, he has a bone to pick with s and enacts his revenge

"Yukwon should go in whatever car Taeyang-sunbae is riding in since he's such a huge Taeyang fangirl. You can spend the car ride explaining why you were so jealous about him interacting like that with Seungyoon that you practically shut off the TV," Jiho says, a saccharinely sweet tone in his voice. The chorus of 'ooooh's that erupt in the parking lot are akin to those just before a middle school fight. Jiho's sure he heard Seungri say 'shots fired' in English and he snorts.

"Fine by me, so long as you explain the twenty minute hissy fit you threw over GD and Jinwoo," Yukwon responds, equally as sweet and the 'ooooh's pick up in volume. At this point various members from both groups are laughing so hard their stomachs hurt and the atmosphere is so comfortable it feels like they've all known each other for years. Youngbae wipes tears of mirth from under his eyes and lets a few stray chuckles escape from his throat.

"Oh, man. I really regret not getting to know you guys earlier. Are you always this funny or is this a special occasion?" Youngbae asks and Jiho gives him an incredulous look.

"These people aren't funny, they're . But like really tiny . you can't be proud of. you hide in shame. Hashtag team tiny meat ," Jiho retorts and Daesung chokes on his own breath and starts coughing, laughs forcing their way out of his throat as he does so. Jiho still doesn't see what the joke is. s are tiny awful . Except maybe Jihoon and that's the exception. Jaehyo is the King Tiny , Kyung is definitely Queen Tiny and Minhyuk solidified his spot as Prince Tiny today with that comment-that-need've-not-been-said.

"Okay, seriously, let's just head out before we pass out from lack of oxygen," Youngbae says and everyone nods their ascent, somehow managing to easily maneuver into two groups of six without any sort of argument.

--

"So, why were you so quiet earlier, Jiyong-sunbae?" Jiho asks from his place in the back seat of the car. The curiosity he was feeling earlier managed to get the better of him and the answer to that question was the only thing keeping him awake after the cafeteria and parking lot antics of earlier.

"I'm actually really shy when I'm around people I don't know, and it kind of comes off as cold. You guys were easy to get along with so it was a lot easier to treat you guys like friends. Oh and by the way, I'm fine with you calling me hyung, if you get tired of using sunbae. I'm sure we're all okay with it, in fact," Jiyong responds and Jiho nods.

"Are you two okay with it?" Jiyong asks Seungri and Seunghyun and they both approve, removing that very last shred of formality that existed in the car between Jihoon, Jiho, and Kyung. The car ride is comfortably silent, the music from Seungri's phone filtering softly through the speakers until the shuffle plays Tonight. There is a wordless scramble for Jiyong to raise the volume and when he does Jiho finds himself waking up again, singing along to the song loudly and probably very off key.

He doesn't notice the fond smile Jiyong gives him in the rearview mirror.

--

When they finally get to the dorm, Jiho is thoroughly worn out from an impromptu car jamming session, eyelids fluttering as he leans against Jihoon for support. Seunghyun opens the door to the dorm for them and Jiho all but stumbles in, head hanging and words slurred from a lack of sleep. He's honestly not sure if he can manage to stay awake any longer so he maneuvers himself to the couch and drops himself onto it, almost about to fall completely asleep on the cushions before he feels a finger tap him.

"The couch is gonna be taken up in the next few minutes, so if you want to sleep you can use my room?" Jiyong asks and Jiho thinks of the prospect of a bed and nods, not even quite sure who was talking to him in his wonderful limbo between dreaming and consciousness. There's a hand on the small of his back leading him to a dark room. He's laid onto the bed and covered and he's asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

--

After staring at Jiho's sleeping figure for a few seconds, Jiyong smacks himself on the forehead a few times as he exits the room. He's so stupid, stupid, stupid.

This always ing happens and it never works.

How the hell are you seriously thinking this is going to work?

You're stupid, Kwon Jiyong, stupid.

Oh goddammit.

You like him, you unbelievable idiot.

Kwon Jiyong is a massively unbelievable idiot.

--

ive always read things of gd saying he's a romantic and finds himself liking people very quickly and i just wanted to run with it. dont worry this is slow build so dont expect them jumping each others bones in like two chapters (even though i would like that very very much). also gd said he likes girls with cat like eyes and short hair and im just here like

cAT-LIKE EYES AND SHORT HAIR BYE

ugh im such a desperate shipper, hanging on to the mirage of what could be

anyways i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and expect another soon since i pretty much have nothing to do friday, saturday, and sunday uwu!!