Distance (oneshot)

[qiguai]

Title: Distance
Pairing: DooSeob
Genre: romance, slight angst
Word Count: 1140
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Summary: It happens when you aren't paying attention and sometimes never goes away.
Notes: for jaybomb

"You are December's Rookie of the Month!" The news comes as such a huge shock, everyone leaps to their feet despite their overwhelming exhaustion. Dongwoon is hugging everyone, and Doojoon is practically screaming with delight as Yoseob grabs onto his arm, bouncing up and down. "This means you'll keep performing after 'Bad Girl' promotions are over. You'll be promoting 'Mystery' right after." Doojoon sighs, glad that the choreography they've been working so hard on for 'Mystery' will be of use. He sinks into the couch as their manager leaves the room, probably to sleep. Covering a yawn, he considers doing the same, when someone sinks in next to him, stretching out to take up three times the space he normally would. "Hey," he says, a wicked grin on his face as he puts an arm around Doojoon's shoulders. Doojoon eyes him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "Where do you think we can fit improv into this new routine? I have some new ideas that I think-" With a roll of his eyes, Doojoon removes Yoseob's arm. "C'mon, Yoseob," he sighs. "Don't you think the fans have had enough of that? They'll get bored if we keep doing stuff like that. Let's just drop it." Yoseob's mouth opens slightly, as if about to say something, but Gikwang grabs onto him from behind, shaking him and saying something barely coherent about having ideas, too, before dragging the blond across the room. Doojoon chuckles and forces himself back to his feet just long enough to haul himself into the bedroom and up into his bunk. They perform their new routine for the first time and it goes perfectly. The fans love Gikwang's backflip, love their new dance break, love everything. Doojoon screams and laughs again and everything is great. They hurry backstage, bouncing and hugging. He goes to hug Yoseob, but suddenly Gikwang pulls him forward and away, just out of his reach. But it's okay, because a second later Dongwoon's arms are around him, trying to lift him off the ground. He fails quickly and they topple to the ground, nearly crying they're laughing so hard. "Doojoon, you suck." Tiny, usually smiling eyes scowl at him, narrowing by the second. "You're holding it wrong, how many times do I have to show you?" Junho snatches the fan from him, giving his wrist a quick flick which snaps it open and closed perfectly. Giving Doojoon a smug smile, he hands the fan back and crosses his arms. One quick flick from Doojoon and it goes flying across the practice room, almost hitting Jokwon in the head. Both boys wince, sighing in relief that they hadn't invoked the older boy's rage. "Seriously, work on it," Junho laughs after retrieving the fan. Doojoon frowns as Junho walks over to Chansung to check on his progress, which didn't appear to be much better than Doojoon's. Another flick, and this time he almost hits himself in the nose. For a second he's tempted to throw the damn thing away, but a blond head passing by the practice room door distracts him. "Yoseob!" He pockets the fan and jogs out of the room before Jokwon or Junho can call him back. Yoseob smiles at him in the hall, arm linked with Wooyoung's and Nichkhun off to the side. "Do you want to grab lunch together?" He asks, slightly nervous though he isn't sure why. Yoseob's smile falters a second, apologetic. "We're heading to lunch now," Wooyoung answers for him. "Want to join us?" He hesitates a moment before something yanks him back by the collar. "Hell no," Jokwon's voice growls. "Don't think you're going anywhere until I see you work that fan better than all of Brown Eyed Girls." With that, he's pulled back into the practice room and shoved onto the floor next to a very displeased looking Chansung. Seungho slings his arm around Doojoon, the amusement in his face poorly suppressed. "Nice job out there," he says, half laughing as the words come out. Doojoon smacks him with his fan, trying in vain to shove the older boy off of him. "Man, screw you." Seungho just laughs again and pulls him closer. "No, seriously, good job." He manages to keep his voice straight, but the smirk on his face grows. "I don't think I could've done it." Doojoon rolls his eyes, but stops struggling. He glances around backstage, Junho, Chansung and Jokwon having already wandered off to find their fellow members. "Hey, have you seen Yoseob?" "I think I saw him with Gikwang a little while ago," he replies, shrugging. "He's wandering around somewhere." Doojoon frowns when he notices Seungho giving him a strange look. "What?" "Nothing." He shakes his head. "I just... thought you two were close?" Another shake. "That sounds weird, of course you're close. I don't know. It's just strange to not see you two together." "We're always together," Doojoon scoffs. "We're in the same band." Seungho shrugs him off again. "It doesn't make sense, but you just don't seem that... together anymore. Just ignore me. I don't know what I'm saying." Doojoon doesn't know either, but for some reason he can't get his words out of his head. After the show, he shoves past Gikwang a little too roughly to try and get the spot next to Yoseob in the back of the van, only to almost get a face full of Gikwang's ass as he forces himself in the middle. "Move over, hyung," he whines, and he has never been so tempted to punch Gikwang in the face. Yoseob decides to cook dinner, the other members sprawled out in the living room and relishing the rare day off. Doojoon manages to drag himself into the kitchen to sit at the table and watch him, in case he needs help. If Yoseob notices him, he doesn't say anything. One morning, still half-asleep, Doojoon grabs Yoseob's arms to pull him into a hug. Yoseob pushes him off with an awkward laugh before shutting himself in the bathroom. You just don't seem that... together anymore. And Doojoon doesn't know how to fix it. He's frantic, every day trying to figure out the when, the why, the how, and most important why does it matter? He decides to give up. They're on stage, the most inopportune of times, the very moment he shouldn't be thinking personal things. But they're surrounded and, for once, Yoseob is close. All he has to do is reach out, and that's what he does. His hand wraps around a very familiar wrist and he feels Yoseob freeze behind him. Yoseob's hand fits perfectly in his, just as he remembers. He squeezes lightly and receives a long, strong squeeze back. He keeps his back turned to hide his smile from the cameras he knows very well are there and can't help but wonder what Yoseob's face looks like at that very moment.