Hyeokjin stands on the tip of his toes hands frantically going to dig into Jinyoung’s shoulder, holding himself long enough to get stable.

“What are you doing?” Jinyoung asks, tearing his eyes away from Uijin who seems completely confident in his cookie stacking skills.  Seunghyeon has his arms crossed next to him, slumped on a chair watching with some sort of gleeful expectation.

“Standing next to you?” Hyeokjin says slowly, eyes flickering to the door when it opens, Sanghyeon giving Uijin a look before he walks over to Seunghyeon.  They discuss something quickly and then there’s handshaking.  Hyeokjin wonders who just doubled their weekly chores.

“I want one of those cookies,” Jinyoung says quietly, hands already going for his phone, almost as if those words never left his mouth.

But the words stick to Hyeokjin, along with the barreling memories of Takuya, the tall boy who had walked into them, have good naturedly recorded with them.  Had offered Jinyoung the small cookies from a crinkled packet, little star shaped cookies filled with chocolate.  He had watched behind Seunghyeon, how Jinyoung had smiled nervously, looking up to smile at Takuya, mumbling something, blush dusting over his cheeks.

Hyeokjin drops his hand from Jinyoung’s shoulder, walks towards the table where Uijin’s wobbly cookie tower has gotten dangerously high. 

Seunghyeon leans forward on his chair, smile spreading when Hyeokjin reaches for a cookie, too quickly and not careful enough. 

"No!" Uijin yelps, hands going up weakly, hovering only to get pelted with crumbling cookies. 

"Yes!" Seunghyeon echoes, laughing at Sanghyeon's pained look. 

When he gets back to Jinyoung there's a small smile etching on his mouth, his hand reaching out for the cookie. 

Hyeokjin's cheeks burn up thinking about how if there weren't any people in the room he would have gotten a kiss. 

-

The rush outside their dressing room is unnerving, and it's hard to breathe with the way Jinyoung presses against him, warm and solid, dizzying. 

"Hyung," he whispers, fingers knotting with Hyeokjin's shirt, "you're really sweet."

Hyeokjin tilts his head, has to look up to meet Jinyoung's gaze. 

It's maddening, why is Jinyoung so tall, why can't Hyeokjin be taller?

He knows Jinyoung is talking but he can't get it out of his head, how small and pleased Jinyoung looked under Takuya's attention. How it looked so right. 

He's getting angrier, mad at himself for not being someone Jinyoung can look up to. How is this supposed to work when half the time it's Jinyoung who ends up using his strength and height to protect and care for Hyeokjin?

"Hey," Jinyoung probes gently, "are you listening?"

Hyeokjin nods, eyes focusing on Jinyoung's face. 

"What are you thinking about?" Jinyoung asks gently, undertones of concern in his voice.

"Takuya," he says without thought, flinching when he hears himself. 

Jinyoung takes a step back, eyebrow arching in question. 

"I mean..." Hyeokjin swallows, "he's really tall..."

Jinyoung looks more confused and then, "ah..."

Hyeokjin opens his mouth but he's not sure what he's going to say until he says it, "he gave you cookies...they were little stars."

The silence is heavy, "is this why you keep standing on your toes?"

Hyeokjin flushes, going down, wincing with the way pain flows through the bottoms of his feet, "I'm being silly," Hyeokjin concludes. 

Jinyoung steps back into his personal space, hands going to Hyeokjin's shoulders, fingers fluttering up his neck. 

Hyeokjin sighs, eyes shutting close for a second. 

"You're really sweet," Jinyoung repeats. 

"I want to take care of you," Hyeokjin breathes out. 

Jinyoung's hand stops at the line of Hyeokjin's jaw, fingers splaying, spreading warmness. 

"You don't have to," Jinyoung smiles. 

"I want you...to feel as nice as I do when you do something for me," Hyeokjin feels the way the warmness under Jinyoung's palm rises in temperature, making his cheeks a bright red. 

Jinyoung looks at him, leaning closer, "just being with you is enough to make me feel good."

The words make him heat up more, he feels like he's going to explode and Jinyoung laughs gently at his reaction. 

"You aren't being silly," Jinyoung reassures him, "I like you just the way you are. You fit perfectly against me."

"Takuya..." Hyeokjin's mind supplies too many options is pretty is tall, is capable, is better. 

"Is not you," Jinyoung fills in. 

Hyeokjin blinks, leans into Jinyoung's touch, "I want to take care of you," he repeats. 

He knows a lot of people think he's not so bright or capable. But the way Jinyoung looks at him makes him feel like he's not just a big goof, like he can do things, like he's good for something. 

Jinyoung kisses the bow of his mouth, sweet and lingering, fingers curling, nails scraping against the thin skin of his neck. 

"Ok," Jinyoung says, "I'd like that."