Gift for Tina_bae

Gift from ???

Title of the gift: 1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward

Pairing(s): Junior & O/C

How many words: 3428

Rating: ... I'm not sure, It's definitely not rated-M and doesn't include violence. Just normal?

Warnings: None


Note to my giftee: Annyeong my lovely giftee! Your gift is titled 1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward. I chose this title due to the meaning of this saying which is when someone struggles to make progress but if they push forward, they are likely to succeed. Which is what my gift is about. I hope you enjoy your story with Junior. Whilst I was writing it, I kept getting Junior feels. So I blame you! Hahah. Anyway my lovely! Have fun and I hope you like it! :) PS: I added a tidge bit of Youngjae (my bias) & Mark in this. Apologies. They are not in here too much ;)

1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward

 

As the last guests left your apartment, you and Junior collapsed on your sofa together. You looked around at the empty cups and bottles, and party decorations which were left, it was your 3rd year anniversary and you had both thrown a small party in your apartment with your family and friends. You glanced across at Junior who had his head resting back on a cushion. “Are you going home?” You asked Junior. His eyes flicked across to you and blinked at you a couple of times.

“Jagiya~ I’ll just stay here tonight.” He said cheerfully as he grabbed your owl cushion from the side of him, and hugged it as he shut his eyes. You grumbled and hit him playfully on his arm. He opened his eyes wide and whined as he held his arm, pretending you had hurt him. “Just tonight. Just once.” He whined as he pulled a puppy face. But you shook my head and stood up. You didn’t live with Junior, and you never had. In fact he had never even slept round before.

Junior eventually left after trying everything to persuade you. But he didn’t succeed. You cleaned up by yourself and finally went to sleep. It had been a long day and you were tired. You laid facing the ceiling but your phone kept buzzing and lighting up from the hundreds of messages from Junior.

‘Jagiya~ I’m still outside. Any change of mind? – Jinyoungie~’

‘Jagiya~ Why won’t you let me stay with you?  - Jinyoungie~’

‘Jagiya~ It’s our anniversary. Can’t we stay together? – Jinyoungie~’

You sighed at all the messages but shut your eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

Junior laid on his bed, resting on his arm. He sighed to himself and looked up at the ceiling. "Ah~ Why won't she let me stay? Have I done something wrong? Is she shy..." He stuttered to himself then he bolted upright. "Does she think I want to... Ah. No no. I don't!" He said to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. He fell backwards into his pillow again and sighed. "Maybe I should ask her? No no. I can't. But have I done something wrong... aigoo! What should I do!" He said to himself as he rolled around annoyed.

Flashback:

"Run run run!" Junior shouted as you both ran whilst rushing to pack away all your books. You both ran quickly together whilst Junior held his jacket above you both trying to shelter from the rain. You finally reached inside the school building away from the rain. Junior laughed as he took his jacket from above you both. "Where should we go now?" You asked him. He looked around.

"Hmm... the gym?" He asked you. You nodded and both began walking together down the corridor as Junior took the large pile of books you were carrying from you.

You both reached the gym, luckily no one was doing after school sports clubs and found a corner to sit in. Junior put his jacket on a radiator before sitting beside you against the wall. You both began sorting all your textbooks into separate piles as you had gotten them mixed up when the rain started outside. You both began studying together again but it soon became late and without realising you had drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly a clap of thunder woke you up and you jolted upright. Junior glanced around to look at you and smiled. "Wow. My shoulder must have been comfortable." Junior said to himself as he grinned. You frowned and realised you had fallen asleep. You quickly jumped up and scrambled to pick up all of your textbooks and bag. "Um. I have to go!" You said to him as you quickly backed away. Junior jumped up and pulled a face. "Let me walk you home." He offered, but you shook your head and quickly disappeared out the room.

You walked home with your face in your hands. You couldn't believe it. You had fallen asleep. Fallen asleep in front of someone. You finally reached your house and your brother answered the door, "Oh! There you are! Wait. What's wrong..?" Youngjae, your brother, asked you worriedly. You shook your head and walked to your bedroom, but he followed you.

"I fell asleep. In front of Junior." You told him as you collapsed onto your bed, he sat down beside you and raised his eyebrows.

"And did you have a nightmare?" He asked you.

You shook your head, "Luckily I wasn't asleep for too long."

Now:

"Tina! It's me!" You heard Junior call out as your apartment door made a small tune. You finished cleaning up and ran out to meet him. He waved to you as he shut your front door behind him. "Annyeong! Are you reading for work?" He asked you happily. You nodded to him and he looked around as you went to grab your bag. "Woah~ Have you cleaned up this morning. You wake up so early! Do you even sleep?" Junior said sarcastically. You had your back to him and you sunk down to a small pea inside. You took a deep breath in and swung around, "Yah! Of course I sleep! I'm an early riser unlike someone." You shouted back to him, putting on an act. He opened his eyes wide and laughed awkwardly. "Ok! Ok! Let's go!" You quickly said, changing the subject.

Work went slow but it was finally the end of the day. You logged off your computer and stood up to pull your coat on. You glanced up at Junior's office and the lights were still on. You swung your bag around your body and crept up to his office door. You were the last ones left as usual. The rest of the team didn't know you were dating, but they all had their suspicions and you both always denied them. You knocked lightly on his open door and Junior looked up. "Oh! Jagiya~" He said happily as he grinned to you. You smiled and walked in, sitting on the edge of a chair in his office. "Are you going home now?" Junior asked you as he stopped tapping on his keyboard. You nodded and smiled. "Are you nearly finished?" You asked him afterwards. He looked at his computer and sighed quietly. "Why? Can I come with you? I'll come right now!" He said excitedly as he stood up quickly as a joke. You laughed and shook your head as he sank back down in his seat.

"Please~ Jagiya!" Junior whined. You sighed and shook your head again. Junior had been bugging you for a while now, whether it was to sleepover or to buy an apartment together. He looked up at you and sighed again. He rolled back on his chair and stood up, making his way towards you. "Tina, we need to have a talk." He said as he sat down opposite you. You gulped, when he called you Tina, it meant it was serious. You quickly shot up. "Uh. Junior. I have to go. I've just remembered... I have to catch the bus..." You stuttered.

"It's fine. I can take you home." He said.

"Uh. I'm not going home." You stuttered again.

"Then I'll take you where you need to go." He told you as you sighed and sat back down.

"Have I done something wrong? Or said something wrong?" Junior asked you. You shook your head and looked up at him, catching eye contact with him. He looked like he was worrying and his eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm sorry Junior" You told him as you bowed your head. You never wanted to hurt him but you were embarrassed. You still had nightmares on a regular basis. And you knew Junior had wanted to move in with you for a long while. He wanted to step forward into the future with you. But this was holding you back, this was holding Junior back. "Can't you tell me what is wrong? You know you can tell me anything. You know..." Junior said as he pulled a sad face.

"I'm just tired..." You lied.

"Why? Aren't you sleeping well? I can help you!" He whined.

"I'm sorry. I can't." You cried out as you quickly stood up and fled out of the office. Junior chased after you but you didn't stop. You had panicked. You were worried and you were embarrassed. "Tina! Stop!" Junior cried out to you down the corridor. But you continued and didn't look back. You had never wanted to hurt him like this. You had tried everything. Been to see a doctor, a psychologist, had counselling sessions. But nothing had worked. And you didn't want to hold Junior back. As you ran down the stairs, you realised Junior had stopped chasing after you. You stopped on the staircase and sunk down on the stairs as you burst into tears.

The next day, you didn't go to work, you rang in as sick and stayed at home. You weren't feeling well anyway, not after last night with Junior. You felt bad and you hadn't spoken to him in a while. You sat in bed, staring into space when you heard the front door make a small tune. You frowned to yourself and waited. Suddenly there was a light knock on the door and a large teddy bear was held out behind the doorframe. "Oh!" You cried out quietly. The teddy bear then disappeared and Junior poked his head around the doorframe instead. "I brought him for you. To help you sleep..." Junior stuttered awkwardly as he stepped in.

"Will you promise me I haven't done anything wrong?" Junior asked you as he sat on the edge of your bed and passed you the large teddy bear. You nodded and held out your little finger to promise him. He wrapped his little finger around yours and you stamped your thumbs together to seal the promise. "Ah. I feel relieved. But when the time is right, will you tell me what's wrong?" Junior asked you. You sighed and nodded to him. He smiled and ruffled your hair. "Take your time. I'll always be here. I love you!" He said happily as he made a large heart with his arms. You chuckled quietly and smiled. He grinned and kissed your forehead. "What about work?" You asked him. He pulled a guilty face.

"I'm not going in today. My Jagiya isn't well. So I need to look after her." He told you as he winked.

Junior wandered into the office building and greeted all of his co-workers. He headed towards his office door and placed his satchel down on his desk. He sat down and looked around. “Oh. No breakfast.” He mumbled to himself as he looked around. His desk was empty apart from his satchel but you usually left him coffee and a snack for his breakfast. “Oh~ I bet she’s hiding… Jagiya!~ Come out now!” He shouted out playfully as he grinned to himself. But there was no sign of you. He leant back in his chair, deep in thought and confused. “Aish. Is she here? Is she sick?” He wondered to himself as he pulled out his phone. There were no messages or calls from you either. You always called him when you were sick or wasn’t coming into work, not because Junior was your boyfriend, but it was also company policy to ring in when you were sick as Junior was the Deputy Chief.

“Morning everyone! Has anybody seen Jag… no no. Tina?!” Junior asked as he stood at the front of the office with a straight look on his face, even though he was panicking inside. Everyone looked at him and shook their heads. “Oh! Tina? I’ve seen her!” One of the writers called Mark shouted out as he waved his arm. Junior quickly walked through the desks towards the back. “She is down the corridor by the stairs to the rooftop. I think she’s asleep on a bench…” He told Junior. Junior thanked him quickly and walked out calmly of the office. As soon as he was round the corner and out of view of the office front doors, he quickly ran down the corridor to find you. As he reached the end of the corridor, he turned the corner to find you curled up on a bench. “Aigoo.” He said to himself as he caught his breath back from running. But he didn’t approach you, instead he just watched from a small distance.

"No. No. No." You cried out in your sleep. You started to turn and whine as you began crying. "No!" You screamed again. Suddenly, a loud noise woke you up. You bolted upright on the bench and looked at the large metal rooftop door which had just slammed shut. Did someone see you? Was someone watching you have a nightmare? You rubbed your eyes and bowed your head. Someone had seen you. Was it Junior? Did Junior catch you having a nightmare? You pulled yourself up and walked towards the office with your head down.

Work went slow again and you hadn't properly woken up from the nap you had this morning on the bench at the end of the corridor. "Goodbye!" People kept saying as they pulled on their jackets and picked up their bags before leaving. You bowed to them or waved to them as they left and you soon found yourself the last one left. But the light to Junior's office was still on. You rolled back on your chair and stood up as you made your way to Junior's office. "Would you like some coffee?" You asked him as you poked your head around the doorframe. Junior looked up and smiled to you. He shook his head but told you to come in. "Has everyone left?" He asked you. You nodded to him and he held out his arms.

You ran up to him and sat on his knee as he wrapped his arms around you and hugged you tightly. "Ah~ Your hugs are so nice after a long day." He said as he buried his face into your neck. You tapped the top of his head repeatedly as you began laughing because it tickled. "Ok. Ok. I need to talk to you about something." He told you. You nodded and stood up, walking around the desk to sit on the chair opposite. "I know. I know. I forgot to leave you breakfast. Sorry~" You whined as you began doing aegyo to him.

"No no. That's not it." He said but smiled at your aegyo. You frowned and he sighed. "I saw you sleeping. You were having a nightmare." He told you. You bowed your head and closed your eyes. It was Junior. He had seen you.

"So you've had them ever since... ah. That would explain why." Junior said after you explained to him how you have had nightmares ever since you were young and had never stopped having them. You bowed your head with embarrassment but heard a sniffling. You looked up to find Junior sniffling and his eyes were red. You stuttered and he noticed you looking at him so he spun around on his chair as he wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in so much pain. I don't want you to be in pain anymore." He told you as he stood up. You stood up and he quickly pulled you in for a hug, wrapping his arms around you as he held onto you for a long time.

"I'll walk you home." Junior told you after you had sat with each other for a while. You nodded and he collected his things and followed you out of his office. You turned your computer off and grabbed your bag as Junior turned off all the lights and locked the doors. You took his hand and he locked his fingers between yours as you walked down the corridor together. After having a nice stroll home together, you finally reached your apartment. You unlocked your door and stood in the doorway. Junior rubbed the back of his neck and stuttered. "Can I stay with you? I'll just sit on a chair and watch you sleep. Please. Or we can cuddle and I'll help you sleep peacefully..." He mumbled quietly. You smiled at how cute he was and you nodded. "Really! Really? Really!" He said as he jumped around.

You walked out your bathroom, you had your hair in a messy bun, you had taken your make up off and you were in your pyjamas with your large fluffy bunny slippers. Junior was laid on your sofa and he bolted upright when he saw you walk in. He chuckled slightly and you hid your face because you were embarrassed. "Aye~" He said as he stood up and made his way towards you. He held your hands and took them away from your face as your eyes glanced up at him. He smirked and quickly kissed you on your cheek. "You look pretty." He said happily.

"Shush. Leave me.." You said, still embarrassed as you collapsed backwards onto your sofa. Junior laughed slightly and fell backwards beside you.

"Wait. What are we going to do. You don't have a toothbrush or anything..." You stuttered. Junior turned to look at you and smirked. You frowned at him as he stood up. He grabbed your hands and pulled you up. You watched him as he disappeared around the corner. "Where are you going?" You shouted to him.

"Your cleaning cupboard!" He shouted back to you.

"Why are you in there?!" You shouted as you shuffled your feet towards him. You watched him as he stood in the small cupboard and reached up to the top shelf. You frowned and he pulled a bag down from the top shelf and caught it. "There we go." He said proudly as he shut the cupboard door behind him.

"What's that?! What is it doing in my cupboard?!" You asked him repeatedly as you folded your arms. He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's my overnight bag..." He stuttered. "Haven't you seen it in there?" He asked you.

You shook your head then he folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Do you even go in your cleaning cupboard?" He asked sarcastically. You rolled your eyes and laughed.

"Of course I do. Who do you take me for?" You asked him sarcastically. He smirked and walked away from you carrying his bag.

"Are you going to sit there?" You asked Junior as he sat in your armchair opposite your bed with a blanket wrapped around him. He nodded and smiled happily. You got under your blankets and laid facing the ceiling. With Junior watching you, you were worried. Hopefully he would fall asleep before you do? You hoped so. You laid on your side and looked at Junior. "Go to sleep. Don't wait for me." He said sternly as he pointed to you. You chuckled slightly and nodded as you closed your eyes.

You opened one eye to check if Junior had fallen asleep yet. But no. He was staring straight at you. "Yah! Why aren't you asleep yet!" He said surprised. You grinned with a guilty look on your face. "You're just sat there. It's strange." You mumbled sleepily. He jumped up and crouched down beside the edge of your bed. "Then can I come and cuddle? Please~" He whined as he pulled a puppy face to you and blinked repeatedly.

Before you knew it Junior had ran around the bed, jumped under your blankets and was chuckling to himself cheekily. You to your other side to face him and rolled your eyes at him. "Let's just sleep. Mhm?" He said happily as he closed his eyes. You sighed deeply and his eyes flicked open again. "Do you want me to sing to you?" He asked you. You shook your head and giggled.

"That's just cheesy." You said as you playfully hit his arm. He laughed and nodded.

"Then we can just cuddle." He said happily as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer to him.

You nuzzled your face into his chest as he rested his head on your head. "Just fall asleep. I'm here. I'll fight whoever is in your dream and protect you." Junior whispered happily as you both shut your eyes together and drifted off to sleep.