Monster

52

"JaeJae look" BamBam nudges him, tipping his head towards the entrance of their university grounds, where a sleek car is parked, a man leaning against the door, sunglasses and a smirk on his face. He doesn't have to wave them over, even though Youngjae tries to steer the two of them off course, embarrassed.

People are loitering around the entrance, whispering about the car, and the incredibly attractive man, a few people are obviously trying to get his attention, but he is staring only at the two of them.

"I think he's here for us" BamBam does a twinkling wave and Jaebum takes off his glasses, confirming.

"Like it could be anybody else" Youngjae groans, hiding his face. BamBam has to drag him to the car, not at all ashamed to be seen with him. He grabs onto Jaebum planting a wet kiss on his lips.

"Hey, Daddy" BamBam announces loudly.

"Do not call me that" Jaebum scolds him, but hes laughing, hands rested lovingly on his lower back. "And get in the car before you make any more of a scene"

BamBam steals Jaebum's sunglasses, putting them on before sliding into the front seat, like the prince he is.

"How was school, JaeJae?" Jaebum asks, opening the backseat door for him.

"Good, until about 30 seconds ago when people starting thinking I was a sugar baby" He bangs his head against the head rest, closing his eyes.

Jaebum laughs at him, climbing in the drivers seat and driving away. BamBam does not give him his sunglasses back.

"Why'd you pick us up today?" BamBam asks, adjusting the volume so Youngjae can hear them.

"I got off work early, so I told Yugyeom I would, Jinyoung is making a special dinner tonight, and he asked for your help for the cake, so I'm taking you to the store, I don't know if you know this, but the last time we had a party I forgot something and Jinyoung almost killed me for it"

"We'll make sure nothing is forgotten" BamBam rolls his eyes. "But wait, whats the occasion?"

"Mark's birthday" Youngjae answers before Jaebum can, meeting BamBam's eyes in the side mirror.

"Oh" BamBam says, giddy mood gone. He turns the ring on his finger a few times, as he always does when Mark is brought up.

"We don't expect you to go, but I do need help with the decorations for the cake" Jaebum turns into the parking lot. BamBam makes a noise, a simple acknowledgement that he had spoken and steps out of the car, his long legs carrying him quickly towards the store.

"I was trying to ease into it"

"You guys are really bad at that" Youngjae shrugs, following him out of the car. He loops his arm with Jaebum's as they hustle to catch up with BamBam's impossible strides.

"We just need candles, toppings, and some small decorations, Jinyoung likes streamers" Jaebum reads from the list as they make their way down the baking isle.

"How old is Mark turning?" BamBam asks suddenly, looking over the number candles.

"30"

"30??" Youngjae didn't think he was that old. Jaebum just smiles at him and his surprise, Mark does look young.

"I can make an appearance, I guess, you only turn 30 once" BamBam shrugs, trying to seem casual. He's actually terrified, but even Youngjae has bonded with him in the last two and a half years so maybe he can too.

"You don't have to, Mark doesn't expect you to, no one does" Jaebum rubs his back, really wanting to make that point.

"I know" They've told him a thousand times, and not once have they ever pushed him, so he knows that they mean it. But he wants to try, maybe a little, because he loves them, and doesn't like leaving anyone out. He's sure they would like to be able to do something with the 7 of them eventually.

He picks up a 3 and a 0 candle and tosses them into the cart, looking at the sprinkles. He doesn't know what kind of cake it is, or what kind Mark would even like so just grabs purple stars, his own favorite color.

"That's a nice jacket" Mark smiles, sitting perfectly still, hands flat on the table. "Thank you for dressing up for my party"

BamBam mutters his own thanks and a your welcome, but he can't bring himself to look at Mark. He wants to, he really does, but he just can't. He hopes he's not ruining the party.

Youngjae takes his hand and squeezes it, offering him a smile.

"BamBam and I got you a present" Youngjae says, pushing the box from his own lap into BamBam's.

"What is it?" Mark still hasn't moved, he looks like a doll.

BamBam picks up the box, gently setting it on the table, his breath is quickening, his mind reeling. Just push the box to him, you can do that, right? He asks himself, holding the box tightly. He locks eyes with Youngjae, who grabs his knee, trying to give him some support but he doesn't know how to help, he doesn't see the danger and doesn't know what to do about it.

"We can open it later, I'm in the mood for cake" Mark almost touches his back to let him know its okay, but he retracts quickly, scolding himself for the error.

"Cake it is then! Will you help me cut it?" Jinyoung touches the box to get BamBam's attention, holding out his hand to help him stand. He nods, using Jinyoung to steady himself, his legs are shaking so badly. "Are you okay? We can go upstairs" Jinyoung whispers once they're behind the counter and Jinyoung is pulling out the knife.

"I'm fine" But he doesn't sound fine and he's still shaking bad enough he has to hold the counter to keep himself upright.

"It's okay to go upstairs, please don't work yourself up over this, you won't offend anyone" Jinyoung puts a hand on his back, not wanting to overwhelm him. "I'll go with you, Jaebum can cut the cake, his lines are passable"

BamBam just nods, grabbing onto Jinyoung and letting him take him upstairs.

"You can go back to the party, I'm just going to read for a while, thanks" He settles onto his bed, pulling his knees up against his chest.

Jinyoung doesn't refuse, giving him a kiss on the head before leaving. "I'll bring you up some cake"

BamBam curls up in his blankets, closing his eyes against the sun outside his windows. He can just barely hear the sounds of the party downstairs, just their quiet voices laughing. He drifts to sleep imagining Jackson by his side, stroking his hair. 

He wakes up to a knock on the door, the sun has gone down.

"Who is it?" He calls softly, tossing the blankets aside.

"BamBam it's me, Mark— I'm not alone or anything Youngjae is here too" Mark explains quickly, knowing that showing up at BamBam's door alone is not a good idea. "I just want to thank you for coming down to my party, I know it was hard for you, I just wanted to tell you that it was nice to have you there, so thank you, and thank you for the gloves, they fit perfectly, and yeah, that's all I wanted to say, so goodnight, sleep well"

Youngjae gives him a thumbs up and a kiss on the cheek. They turn to go back downstairs when they hear his door click open, just a crack.

"You're, um.... you're welcome" BamBam says, looking out at Mark with only one eye. He sticks his hand out of the door crack for a handshake and it's trembling like crazy. But Mark doesn't take his hand, just touches his index finger to BamBam's own and smiles.

"Baby steps" Mark and Youngjae leave, both in awe. Mark is positively glowing, glitter in his eyes, its small, but its progress. Who knows, in another two years maybe they can really live together.

A/N

That's all folks! 

Thank you all for reading my story! I really appreciated all the comments and votes, they always made me happy! I'm sorry about the last two chapters they were kind of rushed, I've been super busy but I wanted to wrap it up. I might write another story soon, or finish the other two that I've already started. I have about a million drafts of stories so I might do one of those. 

Thanks again!