You Rock My World

Are you...mad at me?

Hongjoong watched as Seonghwa neatly arranged his cardigans, one by one, trying to prevent them from wrinkling. He was so focused, his tongue unintentionally resting between his lips as he worked. It was so cute.

Hongjoong giggled to himself as he chucked another pair of jeans into his suitcase, gaining Seonghwa's attention. His tongue receded into his mouth.

"What?"

"Nothing," Hongjoong smiled playfully, looking down at his pile of clothing.

"What??" Seonghwa pouted.

"You're just so cute when you're thinking," Hongjoong smiled. Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

He started to carefully fold his dress pants and Hongjoong remembered his earlier concerns. He decided now was the best time to bring it up, since they had a semblance of privacy.

"Hey, Hwa?"

"What?" Seonghwa didn't take his eyes off his clothing.

"Are you...mad at me?"

Seonghwa paused, looking up at Hongjoong.

He shook his head.

"No! I could never be mad at you," he said so sweetly that Hongjoong almost felt bad for asking. But he knew he'd sensed something before.

"Are you sure? You know you don't have to be happy with me all the time. If I upset you somehow you can tell me, it's okay."

Seonghwa looked down at his hands.

"Okay, yeah I was a little upset during practice. But it was stupid, it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters! If it bothers you it's not stupid."

Seonghwa looked away.

"Really. I just made it a bigger deal in my head than it really was."

"Hwa, I don't want to press too much but if I upset you please tell me so I don't do it again."

"Alright fine. It was when you shared the big news about JYP."

Hongjoong knew that had upset him but he hadn't been able to figure out why.

"Do you not want to go? We don't have to!"

"No, of course I want to go! It's just...I didn't like feeling as clueless as everyone else. I'm a leader too, you know. And I feel like it would have been nice to know you were expecting a call from them."

Hongjoong suddenly realized his error. He was so used to being in charge of everything, used to having to hold down the ship on his own. He hadn't even thought about telling Seonghwa beforehand.

"Hwa, I'm so sorry. I completely blanked. How could I have forgotten?"

"It's okay, it's been an adjustment for all of us. Trust me I've forgotten to wait for you to start practices before countless times."

"But this was a big thing and I should've told you. I'm sorry, Hwa. Plus, you normally have to start without me anyways since I'm late," Hongjoong laughed shyly.

"It's okay. We're still getting used to it. Used to us."

Seonghwa hesitantly reached his hand towards Hongjoong, setting it on the carpet. Hongjoong smiled softly and placed his hand on top, rubbing the back of Seonghwa's hand with his thumb.

"How about this, you and I will use this trip to take some time to ourselves, prioritize us?" Hongjoong asked, his thumb pausing.

"I don't think that would be possible. We've got a lot of obligations and this trip is just going to put more pressure on the group."

"They're adults. They'll be fine. And hopefully we can meet other groups and it'll give them something to do that doesn't require our supervision," Hongjoong laughed.

"Maybe. But I don't know if it feels fair to prioritize us over everyone else if they're depending on us."

"Well, too bad. You and I deserve some us time, okay? We'll make time for it if we have to."

Hongjoong wrapped his fingers around Seonghwa's hand, intertwining them. Seonghwa looked down at it and smiled, curling his fingers over his little fingers.

"Okay."

After a moment they released their grip and finished packing before heading to bed.