No Place Like Home (The Enviable Thighs Remix) (1/1)
Title: No Place Like Home (The Enviable Thighs Remix)
Fandom: 2PM/Beast
Length: ~7850 words, oneshot.
Character/pairing: Taec-centric, all of 2PM and Beast. Gen.
Ratings/warnings: Rated PG-13 for language and references to bits.
Notes: This is a remix of the fabulous Smile and Nod (The Foreign Teeth Edition) by lookatmoiye7, who was my assigned author for kpop_ficmix. I think it can be read as a standalone, but I strongly advise you to read the original first as every scene of this was plotted while referencing it. Huge thanks to nakchi for being my cheerleader and beta on this, and to everyone who pitched in and made kpop_ficmix a success. ♥
Summary: Taec's in a weird place.
They’re seven hours into the Star King shoot when they bring on a guest magician, all sparkly clothes and mysterious smiles and clever, white-gloved hands. Taec tuned out hours ago - he’s already performed a brief aegyo skit with Jung Juri, so hopefully he's done for the evening - but his attention is captured by the way the guy keeps churning out tricks, and how they’re actually good.
Beside him, Chansung stares with open-mouthed amazement at the chicken perched contentedly on Onew’s knee.
“Browawk,” says the chicken, pointedly ignoring Onew’s frightened keening.
“I wish I could do that,” Chansung breathes. “Dinner, every night. Served.”
Taec smacks him on the head. “Who would kill it and pluck it and cook it? I can’t see you putting that much effort into preparing food.”
Chansung is undeterred. “I’d make Wooyoung do it.”
“I admire your optimism,” Taec replies drily, and glances around the studio to see how everyone else is finding the show.
Yoona’s looking a little pissy (“those took hours,” he hears her complain to Hyoyeon, in reference to her hair extensions, which the magician had somehow magicked away) and behind her Hyunah’s not even pretending to watch, occupying herself with Yoseob’s hair instead. She’s tying a ribbon around a mini-ponytail while Heechul oversees the process with an arched brow, and Taec’s about to turn back when he notices Doojoon staring down at him with more intense eyes than usual.
He never knows what to say to Doojoon, and it's a foreign kind of feeling, since usually Taec knows exactly what to say. Once upon a time they'd been comrades, brothers, and then things happened and things didn’t and they went their separate ways. Maybe Taec should have tried harder, but almost before he knew it they belonged to different worlds and he just never found the time to send that text or make that call. There's too much between them now, too many lost opportunities. Taec's pretty sure he's missed the friendship bus.
Doojoon has Beast now, and Taec's happy for him, but he still can’t help but feel a little on edge whenever they have to spend time together. Things would be a whole lot easier if he had some way of knowing what it was really like for Doojoon, after Hot Blood, after everything, but since they barely even talk there's no real way for Taec to understand.
“What are you looking at?” Chansung’s finally managed to tear his attention away from the chicken. Taec thinks it’s probably not as interesting now that Onew’s crying.
“Hmm? Oh, nothing.” Suddenly uncomfortable, Taec swivels back in his seat, and to distract himself from his thoughts he's the first hand in the air when the magician calls for volunteers.
- - -
Of course he’s paired with Doojoon, but Taec’s a master of pretending now, so he just gives him a friendly grin. “Been a while, eh?” he jokes, bumping Doojoon on the shoulder.
Doojoon’s answering smile takes a little while to reach his eyes. “Yeah,” he replies with studied cheer. “I wonder what we’re in for?”
“Something kinky,” Taec decides, when the magician steps forward to tie their hands together.
Jinwoon bounces over, trailing a black cloth and a random U-KISS member. “Now now, this is a family show,” Jinwoon chides, shaking his head at their linked hands. “Let’s cover you up before anything naughty gets taped.”
Before Taec can think of a suitably hilarious reply the cloth billows up and over them, and the studio goes dark.
He can still see, just a little, filtered light and vague shapes through the weave of the cloth. Then the magician chants something that makes the shadows go away, and suddenly everything is quiet and black.
There’s a curious pressure in his ears for a moment, a flash of light that lingers in his eyes. Then the cloth is pulled away with a whoosh and they’re back in the studio, exactly as they were.
Only something’s constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe, and he looks down to find that things aren’t exactly the same, because he’s wearing Doojoon’s (plain! white!) tee and Doojoon is rocking his brightly patterned shirt.
Doojoon gapes and as soon as Jinwoon unties them he points a slightly unsteady finger at the shirt Taec’s wearing. “That’s mine!”
“Wah!” Kang Ho Dong races over and claps excitedly, Seung Gi following him over to tug bemusedly at Taec’s - Doojoon’s - shirt. “Fantastic! Just wonderful! Truly magical!”
The PD gives them a signal. “Ten minute break.”
Taec peels off the shirt with difficulty and hands it over his shoulder to Doojoon. He pulls his own back on and briefly meets the eyes of the magician, who sends him a small smile, full of secrets, and waggles his fingers in farewell.
“How much longer?” he asks Jinwoon, who’s busily folding the cloth.
Jinwoon glances at his watch. “Maybe two more hours?” He looks back up at Taec and frowns. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”
Taec does feel a bit warm, but getting sick isn’t an option. He ignores the heat in his cheeks. “I’m fine,” he says, and makes his way back to his seat. “Everything’s perfect.”
- - -
He nods off twice in the van after they’re done, Chansung poking him awake both times and giving his shoulder a warm lick when it seems like he’s going to doze off for a third.
“Wow, hyung.” Chansung frowns at his arm. “You’re really hot.”
Taec makes the effort to slide a sensuous finger down Chansung’s jaw. “Baby, how did it take you so long to find out?”
Chansung’s lower lip wibbles. “Why are you so greasy?!”
Taec closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the pounding in his head, the dry rasp of his throat. He wants about twenty-six aspirin, four gallons of water and ten whole days of uninterrupted rest, and he’s pretty sure the best he can hope for back at the dorm is a medicated forehead patch.
“You love it,” he rejoins weakly, and Chansung looks worried for the rest of the ride home.
- - -
Junsu’s messing around with GarageBand when Taec stumbles into their room that evening, headphones lying uselessly on his desk while his speakers blare out his next great composition. He sends a “Yo!” over his shoulder as Taec sways dangerously in the doorway.
Chansung follows him in, grabbing his arm and steering him carefully to the bunk.
“Yah!” He tosses a pillow at Junsu’s head. “Keep it down, Taec-hyung’s got a headache.”
Junsu hunches over the keyboard and adds a percussion thread. “Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.”
Chansung tosses another pillow. Taec peers after it through half-closed eyes and wonders distantly how many he has left.
“What are you doing?!” Junsu spins his chair around and scowls petulantly at Chansung. “I said I won’t be much longer, geez! Stay cool, okay?”
“What’s all this shouting?” Wooyoung appears in the doorway and sweeps the scene with a frown.
“Taec-hyung isn’t feeling well.” Chansung slips an arm around Taec’s shoulder and squeezes him in what is probably meant to be a comforting gesture. Taec wants to tell him I love you Chansung but get your arm off me because for some reason my body is all achy and sensitive and by the way you're kind of massive and that really fucking hurts but all the moisture in his throat seems to have packed its bags and gone on vacation, so all he can do is wheeze.
It’s enough for Wooyoung, who strides into the room and unplugs Junsu’s computer with one smooth tug.
“There,” he says, brushing his hands together in satisfaction, as Junsu lets out an anguished scream that makes Taec’s teeth rattle and his ears ring. “Now let’s all go to bed.”
He gives Taec a mock salute and leaves the room, Junsu sprinting out after him and calling for Khun to come and make things right.
Junho pokes his head in. “What the hell just happened?”
Chansung pushes Taec back onto the bed and arranges the covers around him, Taec letting him only because his limbs are feeling all heavy and pliant and his head feels like it’s packed with cotton wool and his mouth is so dry, he really needs that four gallons of water or even one gallon or he’d make do with a cup, seriously, he just needs something to drink.
“Water,” he croaks, and Junho nods and leaves in the direction of the kitchen. Taec’s asleep before he gets back.
- - -
Taec’s not a morning person but the waking process seems to take longer than usual the next day, and he teeters on the edges of a half-remembered dream. It’s about Hot Blood, maybe, since Doojoon is there, only so is the rest of Beast and Taec’s telling them that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and did they think it would be easy forever because that’s just naive and they need to grow up and then it segues into Man Man Ha Ni by U-KISS and his dream-self is understandably confused and then he feels the prickle of blankets and hears the click of a heater and then he realizes that the U-KISS is reality and even though it’s not the reality he wanted he slaps at his bedside table and hits Chansung in the face instead.
“Hurmph,” mumbles Chansung, and rolls over.
Unfazed (Chansung’s lived through much worse), Taec continues to grope sleepily down the bed, fingers finally closing around a vibrating phone. He presses the home button but it’s not there, and his fingers slide across a smooth expanse of screen instead. He brings the phone up to his face to squint blearily at it only to find someone’s playing an expensive trick on him because it’s an iPhone and they all have BlackBerrys and for some reason the background is Doojoon and Junhyung wearing farming hats and floral pants and who would go to that length for a joke and more importantly, why?
“Turn it off!” Chansung moans and Taec manages to poke the snooze prompt. The U-KISS finally goes away. “Brumph,” Chansung adds approvingly, and then the room is silent.
Taec lets the phone drop onto his chest and moves to rub the sleep from his eyes, only he must still be a bit woozy from last night because somehow he misjudges the distance to his own face and his fist bumps the end of his nose instead. He tries again and misses, and on the third attempt he actually has to concentrate to move his hand to the right place.
Clearly he’s more tired than he thought.
Yawning, he rolls over, wondering if Junho ever came back with that water, and with one last wake-up stretch, goes to swing his legs over the side of the bed.
His ankle cracks loudly as it meets with unexpected interference, long and hard and made of wood.
“Ow, fuck!” He lurches upright and gropes blindly for his foot, and it’s much closer than he remembered and the bed seems to have shrunk and so he opens his eyes to see what’s going on and -
- promptly closes them again because what the fuck, he’s in Beast’s bedroom and he hit his ankle on the side of a bunk and that wasn’t Chansung, it was Yoseob, and what the fuck.
- - -
What the fuck.
- - -
His brain doesn’t want to accept his surrounds and Taec can’t really blame it because, well, what the fuck. He clambers awkwardly down from the top bunk, careful not to jostle the other beds too much, since how would he explain that one - “Hi guys, it’s me, Ok Taecyeon, your friendly neighbourhood beastdol! I’ve never told anyone this but actually I suffer from an extremely rare sleeping disorder in which I randomly teleport into other people’s beds and -“
Yeah, that wouldn't go down so well.
He tiptoes out into the hallway and heads towards the bathroom, except of course he doesn’t know where the bathroom is because he’s in Beast’s dorm and ends up in the kitchen instead. That’s okay, actually, since his throat is still being a bigger attention whore than Wooyoung; he can almost hear it going wah I’m dry and thirsty, give me water~~~ so he reaches for the fridge door and completely misses the handle, clutching only at empty air.
Irritably, he steps closer and tries again, fighting back a wince at his still-aching foot. He tugs the water bottle out from the fridge, pausing to gape at the unexpected array of actual food in the refrigerator, including vegetables and meat and real live fruit. He takes an appreciative gulp from the bottle as someone steps into the room behind him with a yawn.
Taec nearly drops the water in surprise.
“How many times have I told you not to drink straight out of the bottle?” Junhyung gripes, crossing to the pantry and poking around inside. “And you know leaving the fridge door open wastes electricity.”
Taec ducks down behind the fridge door and shoves the bottle back on the shelf. “Haha, yeah,” he says, trying to pitch his voice a bit higher, since Junhyung clearly thinks he’s one of the other members, probably one of the ones who actually live here in Beast’s dorm, as opposed to a random 2PM member who doesn't belong. He still isn’t sure how this happened, since it wasn’t like he’d gotten crazy drunk or anything - he’d just gone to Star King, come home tired, and woken up in another man’s bed.
He grimaces. If the others find out, he’s never going to be able to live this one down. “I, uh, sorry?”
The pantry door rattles shut and he hears plates clinking, a drawer opening and closing, the ting of a spoon. “Are you feeling better today?”
Taec turns to the doorway and frantically calculates the odds of a successful escape. He probably can’t leave the dorm entirely - he doesn't have his wallet or shoes or anything -- but he could try the other end of the place to see what's there.
He takes a tentative step away from the fridge.
“Yah!” Junhyung’s head appears over the top of the door. He frowns down at Taec. “Doojoon, are you feeling better?”
A terrible possibility forms in Taec’s mind as he jerks around and stares up at Junhyung, who doesn’t look shocked or horrified or even slightly offended to find him crouching in front of the fridge. He just looks mildly irritated that Taec’s taking so long to answer his question.
“Um...”
As if on cue, the tinny strains of Man Man Ha Ni start up again from the bedroom, and Junhyung steps back with a sigh. “And could you please get a new alarm tone? Even the Bieber kid was better than that.”
Taec nods stupidly and makes his escape, scooping up Doojoon’s phone from the bunk and switching off the alarm, then backing out of the bedroom and making his way to the bathroom. Once there, he stumbles in and locks the door, flipping down the toilet lid and slumping on top of it, all the while studiously ignoring the mirror above the sink.
No. This can’t be happening. Surely he’s not-
The phone beeps smugly in his hand. He glances down to see a message from OK TAECYEON and gets as far as person who i am assuming is taec-hyung in my body before he flops off the toilet, curls up on the floor and lets out a hysterical laugh.
- - -
After either five minutes or an eternity of lying on the tiles and staring up at the ceiling, Taec feels bemused enough to have a look at what he’s (literally) gotten himself into. Standing, he walks cautiously to the mirror, almost giving himself (Doojoon?!) a heart attack when the first thing he sees is a pair of wild, staring eyes.
“Too much white, Yoon Doojoon,” he mutters, squinting carefully and tamping back further hysteria at how his voice isn’t his voice and his face isn’t his face and why is the front part of Doojoon’s hair so pointy, he could take someone’s eye out with that fringe.
He has good teeth though, Taec has to admit, and there are less of them than he’s used to. His ears are average and his mouth and nose are okay, but the whole package is really quite handsome, even if he does look kind of terrified and sick right now. He checks out the rest of his current body and tries not to feel awkward, but there’s nothing not-awkward about this situation and even though he never got around to drinking any water last night Doojoon clearly got his hands on some and now there’s pressure and Taec is probably going to have to take care of things and after this he’s never going to be able to look Doojoon in the eye again.
He glances back at the mirror. Oh, mindfuck.
A rap at the door. “Yah, are you having a shower?” Junhyung again. “Because if you’re not, hurry up, I want to get ready too.”
Taec glances apprehensively at the shower. Screw that, after this is over (and it better be over soon, he's not going to think of the consequences if this doesn't get sorted ASAP) he’s going to have to marry Doojoon, because no innocence will remain between them. They’re going to be intimate in ways he doesn't even want to consider.
“I’m having a shower,” he calls back to Junhyung, biting his lip and grinding his palm into his forehead.
Junhyung pauses. “Okay. Just remember that you haven’t done your laundry, so you’ll have to borrow some of my underwear.”
Taec waits until his footsteps fade away before giving into the urge to laugh until he cries.
- - -
taec: ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT?
doojoon: WHY WOULD I WANT TO BE YOU?
taec: why wouldn’t u, amirite? ;)
doojoon: if i could be anyone in 2PM of course it would be khun-hyung
taec: his nipples are weird
doojoon: ...i’m not having this conversation with you
taec: no, you’re having it with YOU
taec: psych!
- - -
His shower is as brief and impersonal as he can manage, although he does learn that the Internet buzz about Doojoon’s rock thighs is entirely warranted, and he quashes a tiny stab of envy, since his own body type has always tended toward lean.
And then he realizes he's having body envy about another man's body while being in the body he's envying. What the fuck.
He dries off quickly and returns to the bedroom, where Junhyung is in the process of waking everyone up.
“Yah!” He rolls Hyunseung over and pokes him between the ribs.
Dongwoon has clearly just been subjected to the same treatment; he’s sitting up in bed and pawing methodically at his eyes. Catching sight of Taec, he bows sleepily and yawns.
“G’morning, hyung.”
Junhyung glances back and continues to knead Hyunseung’s ribcage. Hyunseung squeaks and drags a pillow over his head. Taec wonders how that’s supposed to help.
“Are you going to get dressed?” Junhyung asks, still poking, looking pointedly at Taec’s exposed chest.
Taec was getting to that. “Of course! Clothes make the man, right?” He flexes and strikes a pose.
Dongwoon stops clawing his eyes from his face and gapes. “Hyung...are you still feeling weird?”
That’s quite possibly the most loaded question in the history of the world, so Taec just gives him an enigmatic Doojoon-smile and turns towards the closet, which is both larger than he expected and clearly shared by everyone who lives here, which in turn means he has no idea what belongs to who.
Junhyung prods Hyunseung one last time before pulling himself up to the last bunk and prising the pillow off Yoseob’s head. “Get up,” he says, tapping Yoseob on the forehead. “Breakfast time.”
Dongwoon clambers out of bed with the grace of a large-eyebrowed elephant, which is to say, not very much.
Taec snags him by the sleeve before he can leave the room. “Hey. Magnae. I have a job for you.”
Dongwoon straightens unconsciously, nodding already, and Taec wonders if Chansung has ever exhibited actual magnae-like behavior. If he has, he can’t remember it.
“Hyung?”
Dongwoon’s looking at him expectantly and Taec shakes himself. “I need you to pick my outfit for the day.”
Hyunseung coughs from where he’s still lying in bed. “Wouldn’t I have been a better choice for that?”
“Maybe,” Taec replies evenly, rounding on him. “But Dongwoon-ah’s the only one who is actually up.”
Mortified, Hyunseung finally flops out of bed and stuffs his feet into a pair of slippers. “I’m up.”
Taec lets go of Dongwoon and steps back. “Okay. You can fight for the privilege.”
- - -
Hyunseung wins.
- - -
Freshly dressed in Junhyung’s underwear and what are presumably Doojoon’s own clothes (his tastes are pretty vanilla - another white tee and some dark jeans; he might as well be in SNSD for all the personality his clothing has), Taec makes his way to the kitchen for a second time. Junhyung’s cereal bowl is sitting in the sink, full of water, and Taec can hear Junhyung chivvying Yoseob to the bathroom, yelling at Hyunseung to do his hair in the bedroom because some people need to get clean!
Taec wonders uncomfortably how they get anything down without Junhyung, and whether he should be doing more since he’s technically their leader, when Doojoon’s phone buzzes in his pocket and Special starts to play. The caller ID is his own, so he glances around furtively and sneaks the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
There’s nothing for a moment. The front door bangs open and an “I’m back!” drifts down from the entryway. Oh, Kikwang. Taec had forgotten about him. He angles his body over the sink. “Hello? Doojoon-ah?”
Still nothing. Taec doesn’t really know what to say either, so he sighs into the phone, listening to Kikwang dump his gym stuff in the bedroom, much to Junhyung’s disgust. “Doojoon-ah, are you okay?”
“Hyu-I mean-“ Taec’s grip on Doojoon’s phone tightens and he feels his fingers creak. Hearing his own voice on the other end puts the final nail in the hope-coffin of hey, maybe this is a dream. “Doojoon-ah.”
Taec listens to Doojoon breathe into the phone with one ear, while the other picks up on Dongwoon pleading with Hyunseung for the bathroom, “Come on, hyung! I have to go to the toilet, please!” He waits for Junhyung to march over and sort things out.
“Hyunseung!”
There he goes. Taec sighs into the phone again. “Well. This is a mindfuck.”
There’s silence for a while after that.
- - -
Taec’s absolutely starving and yet he can barely bring himself to eat - he just keeps going over and over the situation in his mind. He's in Doojoon's body, Doojoon's in his body, everything is awkward and nothing makes sense.
They need to know two things - how it happened, and how to change back. Fast. With sufficient warning and knowledge of when the switch would be ending, Taec can see himself enjoying this situation, but with no real understanding of what's going on it’s freaky, discomforting and an invasion of privacy like nothing else.
“Doojoon-ah.” Yoseob picks up his chair and parks it right next to Taec, scooting himself over until their bodies are aligned. Taec considers himself reasonably touchy-feely but Yoseob’s essentially a stranger to him, and the overt familiarity makes him want to flinch away. He resists with great effort, and carefully pats Yoseob on the head instead. Pretend he’s Junho, he thinks, and feels immediately better.
He realizes Yoseob’s waiting for a response to something. “Yes?”
“Are you feeling better today?” Yoseob’s peering up at him, lower lip jutting out, eyes taking careful stock of his face. “You were really out of it last night.”
Hyunseung sets a mug of hot tea down next to Taec’s cereal bowl and sits back at the table. Kikwang beams over his plate in the other seat.
“I didn’t make the tea,” he proudly informs Taec. “But it was my idea.”
Dongwoon sighs and reaches for his fifth piece of toast.
Junhyung pushes the water bottle closer to Taec’s spot. “Since you’ve slobbered all over it anyway,” he says gruffly.
Taec feels both touched and profoundly guilty, since they’re all supporting their leader, and...well, he’s not here.
- - -
Junhyung checks his watch. “The van’ll be here soon.”
“Oh?” Taec couldn’t find Doojoon’s watch in the controlled chaos of the bedroom, so he fishes out his phone instead. “And, uh, what’s the schedule again?”
Junhyung gives him an incredulous look.
Taec brings a hand to his forehead and sways woozily. “I still feel a bit tired and vague. From yesterday. You know.”
“Right.” Junhyung lowers his eyebrows and spins his sunglasses around in his hands. Taec shoots them an envious look. Why couldn’t he be in Junhyung’s body? He got all the cool outfits and song lines and they were both rappers. It would be logical for them to swap, if bodyswitching was in any way grounded in logic and not insanity. “Well, we have that showcase with 2PM, so we need to go to dance practice. Individual until one, and then we’ll practice together all afternoon.”
The news stirs conflicting emotions in Taec - on the one hand, he'll be seeing his members again, and on the other...
“Dancing?”
Oh, fuck.
- - -
taec: who’s the worst dancer in beast?
doojoon: will you blackmail me about this later?
taec: i make no promises ^^
doojoon: ...dongwoon
taec: damn
taec: hoped it was u
- - -
The van arrives on time and they set off for the studios, their departure hampered only by Junhyung’s insistence that “Doojoon” needs a jacket before they leave. Taec resists rolling his eyes by reminding himself that Doojoon probably doesn’t have Taec’s good constitution (it goes with the ears, teeth and farmer’s skin), and he ducks back into the minefield that is the bedroom and snatches the first jacket he sees, a maroon leather number that’s actually kind of cool.
Luckily for him it’s Doojoon’s or he borrows it often, because Junhyung doesn’t comment further, just follows him downstairs with an abrupt, satisfied nod.
Taec slides into the van after Junhyung and tries not to think about songs he barely knows and dances with unfamiliar choreography, and especially avoids the topic of how he’ll manage to do everything with a body he’s not accustomed to using, with limbs of unknown lengths.
The driver leans around the front seat and passes him a bundle of cloth. “Dongwoon-sshi left this here last night.” Taec takes the sweater with a distracted nod and automatically passes it over his head to the far back seat. A sleeve slips down and brushes momentarily over his eyes and suddenly it all makes sense - that stupid shirt-swapping trick has some serious side effects that they hadn’t been warned about.
He’s going to kill that magician.
“No,” he mutters poisonously. “Killing is too good for him.” He’ll figure out the bodyswap trick himself and see how the magician likes living as Kwon for a day. Or, better yet, JYP.
Yoseob leans across Junhyung and pinches Taec’s cheek. “Doojoon-ah? What are you doing? Why are you mumbling to yourself in English?”
Great. So it’s not enough that he’s randomly trapped in Doojoon’s body - now he’s going crazy as well.
He fakes a hearty laugh. “Ahaha, nothing, Yoseobie! I’m just practicing.”
“Wow, hyung.” Kikwang drapes himself over Taec’s seat back and digs his chin into his shoulder. “You’re so calm about this dance stage you’re even working on English instead. You’re the best!”
Taec’s stomach lurches and he hopes Doojoon didn’t eat anything too volatile last night, because there’s a distinct possibility he’ll be throwing it up later.
He pats Kikwang’s head absently and hopes very hard that the spell - because that’s what it is, what it has to be - extends to muscle memory as well.
- - -
It doesn’t.
- - -
doojoon: who’s the worst dancer in beast now?
taec: kekeke :(
- - -
After two hours of Taec stumbling and lurching through the slick routine formerly known as Shock, the choreographer calls for a much-needed break.
“Get some rest,” he orders, and narrows his eyes at Taec. “And when we come back hopefully we’ll remember the steps we’ve been practicing for the last two months.”
Taec hopes Doojoon doesn’t blush easily, because ouch. And it truly is embarrassing; he hasn’t sucked this much at dancing since they went through the original lineup to Again and Again.
“Ask me to do a flip,” he mumbles into his water bottle. “Or rap. Or anything that isn’t this song.”
He’s pretty sure he’s not a complete failure - it’s like there’s a lag or something between the impulses his brain sends and the things his - Doojoon’s - muscles actually do. He tells them to move and eventually they do, there’s just this infinitesimal delay, as if the muscles and
joints are pausing to ask, “Are you sure?”
Then again, maybe they're flipping him the bird. Maybe they know Doojoon’s not at home right now and they’re acting up on purpose.
A cheery “Doojoon-ah!” is the only warning he gets before Yoseob launches himself at his back, koala-hands clutching at Taec’s neck and nearly knocking him to the ground from the unexpected weight. Taec grits his teeth and just manages to correct himself before he topples backwards and squashes Yoseob, who, as the lead singer of his temporary band, is a valuable commodity. Doojoon’s a fairly easygoing and forgiving person, but Taec’s not sure he’d get out of that one unscathed.
“Yoseobie,” he chokes, carefully prising Yoseob’s hands away from his windpipe and moving them to his shoulders. “What’s up?”
Once his weight settles, Taec can tell that Yoseob is actually kind of tiny - shorter than Junho and less bulky even than Wooyoung. He’s hit by a sudden pang of nostalgia for the rest of 2PM, which is probably ridiculous since he last saw them less than twelve hours ago, but he can’t help it, he misses them anyway. The differences between the two groups are just so obvious to him, and as mildly entertaining as this bodyswap business is, he wants to be back with his low-maintenance bros as opposed to sticking around with the somewhat needy Beast.
Not that he seems to have any choice in the matter, but Beast do need looking after, and he’s just not the guy for the job. Junhyung doesn’t nag because he likes it (does anyone like nagging? Junsu likes complaining because it involves the sound of his own voice and Khun likes order, so he’s always pointing out things to be done or changed) but these guys seem to enjoy being kept in line.
Taec can’t really understand it, but then he doesn’t know all their backgrounds or how they became the group they are today. He only knows 2PM, and his own triumphs and failures on Superstar Survival, his ‘attitude’ and his journey to combat it, and Chansung’s early departure and subsequent vow to try harder at everything. He only knows Junho’s win and eternal self-doubt, whether he made it on his own merits or his wonderful, horrible face; Junsu’s unshakeable belief in his own talents coupled with never being comfortable with the man in the mirror; Khun’s struggle to be seen as more than just a foreigner or a curiosity, and Wooyoung’s secret fear of his own lack of ambition, and his easy satisfaction with where they are at any given moment, forever having only vague hopes for what the future may hold.
“Doojoon-ah?” Yoseob’s voice in his ear pulls him out of his musings.
Taec tilts his back and Yoseob reluctantly climbs off.
“Hmm?”
Yoseob’s wearing that look Khun sometimes gets, when he knows something isn’t right but he’s not sure how to fix it. “I was just checking that you were okay.”
Taec doesn’t know how Doojoon would deflect this, so he reaches over and tugs at Yoseob’s chin. “Yeah, of course I’m fine! Just a bit out of it.”
Yoseob’s still evaluating him with a shrewd stare, narrowed eyes at odds with the rest of his round, cheerful appearance.
Kikwang side-moonwalks over to join them. “Hyung,” he says, giving Taec an earnest look, “is something the matter? You’re really off today.”
Taec wishes they’d get straight to the 2PM dances because he may not be the most graceful member of his actual group, but at least he knows the damn choreography. Plus he's sick of his own lame excuses. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening. I just feel a bit weird.”
Kikwang leans closer and gazes searchingly into his eyes. “Your movements are completely different, did you know that? Like your center of gravity is higher or something.” He frowns and Taec finds himself gaping unattractively at the absurdity of Kikwang being so perceptive.
“Almost like,” Kikwang continues slowly, tilting his head like a dim, puzzled owl, “there’s someone else inside your body.”
Taec stares at him.
Yoseob reaches over and pinches Kikwang’s nose. “What,” he says flatly, rolling his eyes. “You really need to listen to yourself when you say these sorts of things.”
Kikwang’s eyes crinkle up in a grin. “Haha, yeah. Let’s go back to practice!”
Yoseob slides his arm around Taec’s waist. “Ready, Doojoon-ah? We’re going to move on to Special now.”
“Yeah. ‘Course.” Taec takes a deep breath and tries to calm Doojoon’s racing heart.
- - -
taec: who would be the most suspicious?
doojoon: junhyung. and yoseob.
taec: so...not kikwang?
doojoon: have you met kikwang?!
- - -
The Special practice is, to the surprise of everyone including Taec, a much less painful experience than Shock was. He doesn’t even know why he’s less shit at this choreography, but maybe it’s more recent and has stuck around in his brain, or maybe he watched a few more rehearsals of this one at Inkigayo. Whatever the reason, he manages to avoid further frowns (Junhyung), concerned looks (Yoseob) and insane-yet-accurate conjectures (Kikwang), and when they finally flop down for another break, Taec feels less concerned that the truth will come out anytime soon.
He wonders how Doojoon is doing with his dances, whether he’s managing the raps okay, whether he’s doing a better job with Taec’s stuff than Taec is doing with his.
His calf muscle spasms and he rubs at it with a grimace. Not that it would be too difficult to do a better job than the one Taec’s doing here.
Hyunseung eases down next to him and passes over a bottle of water. “Here.”
Taec takes it gratefully. “Thanks.” And because he’s thinking what would Doojoon do he adds, “You’re doing a really good job.”
Hyunseung looks down at his hands but can’t hide the tiny smile Taec’s words bring out. “It’s getting there.”
Taec watches Dongwoon practice a section of the choreo again, moving through each motion at quarter-speed, all the while carefully checking the angles of his body in the mirror. Behind him, Kikwang is discussing something with the choreographer, arms going everywhere as he tries to make a point, and in the corner Yoseob and Junhyung are sharing a pair of earphones and bopping their heads along to a song.
They have a nice feel, Beast do, a really good dynamic, but again, he misses his guys. He wants to wake up in his own messy room, wants to kick piles of clothes next to Junsu's desk, just to watch the way his face crumples when he gets up and sees, wants to go into the lounge room and find Chansung taking up the whole couch and sit on him instead. He wants to fight with Wooyoung for the last piece of meat, wants to talk with Khun in English for a bit, and hell, he can admit it, he wants to slap Junho’s ass on the way to the shower, because that’s just the way they roll.
The Beast guys are great, and after barely making it through their rehearsals, he respects them a lot more, but nothing beats his guys, his family.
He wants to see them again.
Kikwang bounces over. “After we go through 2PM’s dances, we’re catching the van over to the JYPE studios!”
Yoseob tugs his earphone out and slides across the polished floor. “I’m doing Without U!”
Taec stretches and gets up, bending to ruffle Hyunseung’s hair. “I’ll do Don’t Stop Can’t Stop.”
Yoseob pouts. “Why, Doojoon-ah.”
Taec gives him a serious look. “Yoseobie - everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for a reason.”
Junhyung coughs a laugh into his hand, while Kikwang tilts his head, confused.
The choreographer comes over and claps. “Two more minutes. If you need a bathroom break, now’s the time.”
Taec grimaces, because now that it’s been mentioned he suddenly needs to go, and he really hadn’t wanted to get reacquainted with Doojoon-down-there.
They need to swap back ASAP, before anything else needs to be taken care of.
- - -
taec: seriously, yoseob has NO UNDERSTANDING OF PERSONAL SPACE
taec: he followed me 2 the bathroom
taec: i needed 2 pee
taec: YOU needed 2 pee, ok, not even my fault
taec: and fuck, i keep forgetting i’m wearing junhyung’s underwear
taec: u guys share 2 much
doojoon: chansung just licked me
taec: i miss him ;__________;
- - -
They pile into the van again for the short trip across town, and when they pull up outside the familiar building, Taec feels a pang in his chest because he’s home, kinda; they’re back on his turf again, even if he’s in a body that’s not his own.
They get out and Dongwoon comes to stand beside him, frowning around at the various doors. “Hyung, should we ask for directions?”
“Nope,” Taec replies. “I’ve been here before.”
He leads them down the hallways, past scuff marks he knows on walls he sees every day, fighting the urge to smile and nod at faces he recognizes, even the support staff he doesn’t always acknowledge. The time away - brief as it has been - has made him realize just how much he takes for granted in his own world, and just how much he misses it when it’s gone. Because it’s home - that’s all he can think, when he rounds the final corner and sees the studio door at the end - this is his place, and now that he’s here, that ache in the back of his borrowed heart just won’t go away.
All he can do is stare at the door as Hyunseung and Kikwang amble past him, Junhyung pausing to give Taec a searching look.
“Are you okay?”
A small hand slides into his and Taec looks down to find Yoseob beside him. The touch is both welcome and discomforting, and Taec fights the urge to shove him away. He’s not Doojoon, so affection meant for him just doesn’t feel right.
“Shall we?” Yoseob grins up at him then points grandly at the studio. “Let us away and defeat the reigning beastdols!”
Junhyung sighs and lightly skims his knuckles over Yoseob’s head. “Silly. We’re the real Beasts, right?”
Taec stifles a grin of his own at being part of a conversation as ridiculous as this. He’s going to have to rib Doojoon about his guys and their weird motivational speeches.
Later, when they’ve changed back.
“Come on,” he says, tugging Yoseob towards the studio. “Let’s go and see the others.”
- - -
Everyone’s inside already - the rest of Beast went in before him and it’s 2PM’s studio, so of course they’re there too Taec hopes he hides the jolt of longing that goes through him when he sees them all, lounging around in various stages of exhaustion, from the always-fresh Khun to Junho, dripping with sweat. Junsu’s listening to his iPod and ignoring everyone in a corner, Wooyoung seems to be napping, head resting on someone’s backpack, and Chansung’s passing a water bottle to-
Well, to Taec, which is probably the weirdest fucking thing he’s seen since he found himself looking at Doojoon’s face in the mirror this morning. Doojoon catches his eye - with his eye! - and they share a brief moment of misery before Doojoon’s glance slides across him to Yoseob then moves to Junhyung and his - Taec’s - face just lights up and wow, his teeth really are enormous, what’s with that?
And then suddenly Doojoon’s pulling away from Chansung and is striding towards them and Taec doesn’t stop him because he doesn’t realize what’s going to happen as Doojoon goes straight up to Hyunseung and wraps his arms around him, squashing him to a chest that Taec knows is pretty damn hard, smooshing Hyunseung’s face to muscle and sweaty cloth. It’s weird and awkward and even with Taec’s limited Beast knowledge he knows that Hyunseung is absolutely the worst choice ever for unexpected and frightening public displays of affection.
He can’t even feel annoyed that he’s going to be teased about this forever when - if - when - they return to their bodies, because the look in Doojoon’s - his - eyes as he traps a struggling Hyunseung in his arms is just kind of heartbreaking, and Taec understands it only too well.
All he can do is watch helplessly as Beast rush forward as one to prise Hyunseung free, all the while sending scathing looks at his body, as 2PM pull Doojoon-as-him back, as Khun rubs comforting circles on his shoulder and Wooyoung - woken up by the racket - glares at Beast like it’s their fault ‘Taec’ went crazy, as Junsu fiddles nervously with his iPod and Chansung steps right up behind Doojoon-as-him and supports him with his silent presence and Junho looks suspiciously between them all like he knows, except he can’t, because Taec is living this insane situation and he can barely believe it himself.
- - -
taec: are u okay?
doojoon: are you?
taec: touche
taec: ...and no :(
- - -
They put the incident behind them (well, most of them do - Hyunseung keeps sending 2PM furtive looks and Taec overhears Dongwoon calling him Creepy Molestation Hyung, which is really not a nickname he would have chosen for himself) and get to practice. They finally work on some 2PM stuff, which is both good and bad, since on the one hand he’s not falling over himself like an imbecile, but on the other he can go through the motions with a degree of autonomy, leaving his brain free to work over things some more.
They have to change back.
Of course they have to change back - they can’t stay like this forever, but Taec has a new sense of urgency now that they’ve all met again. He’d wondered what Doojoon’s life was like and now he knows - he’s truly left his Hot Blood days behind him, and he has a group that loves him, that needs him, just as Taec has a group where he belongs. He doesn’t want to share a room with five guys, doesn’t want to be a leader in any official capacity, doesn’t want to have to stick with Beast, because as nice as they are, as fun as they can be, they’re just not his.
Doojoon keeps glancing over with his eyes, keeps fixing on each member of Beast like he’s drinking in their details, memorising their faces and movements like he’s afraid he’ll forget, and Taec knows he feels the same.
He clenches his fist and continues dancing, sending out a prayer to anyone who’ll listen - change us back, please. This isn’t the way things are meant to be.
- - -
And then things are the way they’re meant to be - abruptly, unexpectedly, smack bang in the middle of practicing Don’t Stop Can’t Stop. The world doesn’t tilt on its axis, there’s no heavenly choir of angels (although he’s sure Junsu would argue about that), but the music soars for a moment and his skin prickles into flames and then he’s back, staring down at Doojoon who’s staring up at him and they’re back, they’re back, he’s Ok Taecyeon in Ok Taecyeon and boy does that sound seedy but who the fuck cares because they’re back.
They stare at each other for a moment longer, as time starts to flow around them again and the music plays on like it never even stopped, and then Wooyoung kicks him in the leg like a little bitch and he’s never been so happy for Wooyoung to be Wooyoung because his leg hurts and it’s okay because it’s his (long, hairy, far too brown) leg and he may not have rock thighs but it doesn’t matter because it’s his leg, back again, his.
He spins away and claps a hand on Khun’s shoulder, bumps his hip against Chansung, squeezes Junho’s butt, tugs Junsu’s earlobe and kicks Wooyoung back because he deserved it, and he can. He’s so busy touching everyone, making sure that they’re real, that he’s real, that he completely fucks up the choreography and Namyong makes them start all over again but it’s okay, really, because he’s back.
- - -
There’s no real words for what they’ve gone through - Doojoon pulls him into the bathroom after practice and they have a brief chat - but it’s all in the eyes, Taec thinks, as they share a glance across the stage that night, ready to go out and perform. It was a crazy experience and he’s pretty sure no one would believe him even if he told them, but everything worked out for the best. Now he appreciates his family more and it seems to have bridged the gap he’s always felt with Doojoon, effectively obliterating that awkwardness he’s felt since Hot Blood.
Besides, he thinks, as the stage lights clunk on and the music starts, as he takes a breath and lets the familiar music ghost over his skin, lets the energy flow right through him, lets himself go because he’s here, where he belongs, it’s hard to stay standoffish with someone once you’ve seen them naked and touched their bits.
When the backing track plays through the intros, Taec sings along to the words for the first time in forever.
“And this is Taec!” he shouts, because, well, it is.
- - -
taec: i feel like we’ve bonded
taec: we’re closer than ever!!!
taec: we should hang out more
doojoon: i don’t think that’s a good idea
doojoon: hyunseung keeps talking about a restraining order
doojoon: sorry :(
taec: s’okay, i’ve already gotten u back for that
doojoon: what?
taec: u shouldn’t stay logged into twitter on ur phone
taec: it’s a security risk
taec: just sayin
doojoon: what
taec: ^^
doojoon: WHAT
- - -
The End
Fandom: 2PM/Beast
Length: ~7850 words, oneshot.
Character/pairing: Taec-centric, all of 2PM and Beast. Gen.
Ratings/warnings: Rated PG-13 for language and references to bits.
Notes: This is a remix of the fabulous Smile and Nod (The Foreign Teeth Edition) by lookatmoiye7, who was my assigned author for kpop_ficmix. I think it can be read as a standalone, but I strongly advise you to read the original first as every scene of this was plotted while referencing it. Huge thanks to nakchi for being my cheerleader and beta on this, and to everyone who pitched in and made kpop_ficmix a success. ♥
Summary: Taec's in a weird place.
They’re seven hours into the Star King shoot when they bring on a guest magician, all sparkly clothes and mysterious smiles and clever, white-gloved hands. Taec tuned out hours ago - he’s already performed a brief aegyo skit with Jung Juri, so hopefully he's done for the evening - but his attention is captured by the way the guy keeps churning out tricks, and how they’re actually good.
Beside him, Chansung stares with open-mouthed amazement at the chicken perched contentedly on Onew’s knee.
“Browawk,” says the chicken, pointedly ignoring Onew’s frightened keening.
“I wish I could do that,” Chansung breathes. “Dinner, every night. Served.”
Taec smacks him on the head. “Who would kill it and pluck it and cook it? I can’t see you putting that much effort into preparing food.”
Chansung is undeterred. “I’d make Wooyoung do it.”
“I admire your optimism,” Taec replies drily, and glances around the studio to see how everyone else is finding the show.
Yoona’s looking a little pissy (“those took hours,” he hears her complain to Hyoyeon, in reference to her hair extensions, which the magician had somehow magicked away) and behind her Hyunah’s not even pretending to watch, occupying herself with Yoseob’s hair instead. She’s tying a ribbon around a mini-ponytail while Heechul oversees the process with an arched brow, and Taec’s about to turn back when he notices Doojoon staring down at him with more intense eyes than usual.
He never knows what to say to Doojoon, and it's a foreign kind of feeling, since usually Taec knows exactly what to say. Once upon a time they'd been comrades, brothers, and then things happened and things didn’t and they went their separate ways. Maybe Taec should have tried harder, but almost before he knew it they belonged to different worlds and he just never found the time to send that text or make that call. There's too much between them now, too many lost opportunities. Taec's pretty sure he's missed the friendship bus.
Doojoon has Beast now, and Taec's happy for him, but he still can’t help but feel a little on edge whenever they have to spend time together. Things would be a whole lot easier if he had some way of knowing what it was really like for Doojoon, after Hot Blood, after everything, but since they barely even talk there's no real way for Taec to understand.
“What are you looking at?” Chansung’s finally managed to tear his attention away from the chicken. Taec thinks it’s probably not as interesting now that Onew’s crying.
“Hmm? Oh, nothing.” Suddenly uncomfortable, Taec swivels back in his seat, and to distract himself from his thoughts he's the first hand in the air when the magician calls for volunteers.
- - -
Of course he’s paired with Doojoon, but Taec’s a master of pretending now, so he just gives him a friendly grin. “Been a while, eh?” he jokes, bumping Doojoon on the shoulder.
Doojoon’s answering smile takes a little while to reach his eyes. “Yeah,” he replies with studied cheer. “I wonder what we’re in for?”
“Something kinky,” Taec decides, when the magician steps forward to tie their hands together.
Jinwoon bounces over, trailing a black cloth and a random U-KISS member. “Now now, this is a family show,” Jinwoon chides, shaking his head at their linked hands. “Let’s cover you up before anything naughty gets taped.”
Before Taec can think of a suitably hilarious reply the cloth billows up and over them, and the studio goes dark.
He can still see, just a little, filtered light and vague shapes through the weave of the cloth. Then the magician chants something that makes the shadows go away, and suddenly everything is quiet and black.
There’s a curious pressure in his ears for a moment, a flash of light that lingers in his eyes. Then the cloth is pulled away with a whoosh and they’re back in the studio, exactly as they were.
Only something’s constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe, and he looks down to find that things aren’t exactly the same, because he’s wearing Doojoon’s (plain! white!) tee and Doojoon is rocking his brightly patterned shirt.
Doojoon gapes and as soon as Jinwoon unties them he points a slightly unsteady finger at the shirt Taec’s wearing. “That’s mine!”
“Wah!” Kang Ho Dong races over and claps excitedly, Seung Gi following him over to tug bemusedly at Taec’s - Doojoon’s - shirt. “Fantastic! Just wonderful! Truly magical!”
The PD gives them a signal. “Ten minute break.”
Taec peels off the shirt with difficulty and hands it over his shoulder to Doojoon. He pulls his own back on and briefly meets the eyes of the magician, who sends him a small smile, full of secrets, and waggles his fingers in farewell.
“How much longer?” he asks Jinwoon, who’s busily folding the cloth.
Jinwoon glances at his watch. “Maybe two more hours?” He looks back up at Taec and frowns. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”
Taec does feel a bit warm, but getting sick isn’t an option. He ignores the heat in his cheeks. “I’m fine,” he says, and makes his way back to his seat. “Everything’s perfect.”
- - -
He nods off twice in the van after they’re done, Chansung poking him awake both times and giving his shoulder a warm lick when it seems like he’s going to doze off for a third.
“Wow, hyung.” Chansung frowns at his arm. “You’re really hot.”
Taec makes the effort to slide a sensuous finger down Chansung’s jaw. “Baby, how did it take you so long to find out?”
Chansung’s lower lip wibbles. “Why are you so greasy?!”
Taec closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the pounding in his head, the dry rasp of his throat. He wants about twenty-six aspirin, four gallons of water and ten whole days of uninterrupted rest, and he’s pretty sure the best he can hope for back at the dorm is a medicated forehead patch.
“You love it,” he rejoins weakly, and Chansung looks worried for the rest of the ride home.
- - -
Junsu’s messing around with GarageBand when Taec stumbles into their room that evening, headphones lying uselessly on his desk while his speakers blare out his next great composition. He sends a “Yo!” over his shoulder as Taec sways dangerously in the doorway.
Chansung follows him in, grabbing his arm and steering him carefully to the bunk.
“Yah!” He tosses a pillow at Junsu’s head. “Keep it down, Taec-hyung’s got a headache.”
Junsu hunches over the keyboard and adds a percussion thread. “Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.”
Chansung tosses another pillow. Taec peers after it through half-closed eyes and wonders distantly how many he has left.
“What are you doing?!” Junsu spins his chair around and scowls petulantly at Chansung. “I said I won’t be much longer, geez! Stay cool, okay?”
“What’s all this shouting?” Wooyoung appears in the doorway and sweeps the scene with a frown.
“Taec-hyung isn’t feeling well.” Chansung slips an arm around Taec’s shoulder and squeezes him in what is probably meant to be a comforting gesture. Taec wants to tell him I love you Chansung but get your arm off me because for some reason my body is all achy and sensitive and by the way you're kind of massive and that really fucking hurts but all the moisture in his throat seems to have packed its bags and gone on vacation, so all he can do is wheeze.
It’s enough for Wooyoung, who strides into the room and unplugs Junsu’s computer with one smooth tug.
“There,” he says, brushing his hands together in satisfaction, as Junsu lets out an anguished scream that makes Taec’s teeth rattle and his ears ring. “Now let’s all go to bed.”
He gives Taec a mock salute and leaves the room, Junsu sprinting out after him and calling for Khun to come and make things right.
Junho pokes his head in. “What the hell just happened?”
Chansung pushes Taec back onto the bed and arranges the covers around him, Taec letting him only because his limbs are feeling all heavy and pliant and his head feels like it’s packed with cotton wool and his mouth is so dry, he really needs that four gallons of water or even one gallon or he’d make do with a cup, seriously, he just needs something to drink.
“Water,” he croaks, and Junho nods and leaves in the direction of the kitchen. Taec’s asleep before he gets back.
- - -
Taec’s not a morning person but the waking process seems to take longer than usual the next day, and he teeters on the edges of a half-remembered dream. It’s about Hot Blood, maybe, since Doojoon is there, only so is the rest of Beast and Taec’s telling them that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and did they think it would be easy forever because that’s just naive and they need to grow up and then it segues into Man Man Ha Ni by U-KISS and his dream-self is understandably confused and then he feels the prickle of blankets and hears the click of a heater and then he realizes that the U-KISS is reality and even though it’s not the reality he wanted he slaps at his bedside table and hits Chansung in the face instead.
“Hurmph,” mumbles Chansung, and rolls over.
Unfazed (Chansung’s lived through much worse), Taec continues to grope sleepily down the bed, fingers finally closing around a vibrating phone. He presses the home button but it’s not there, and his fingers slide across a smooth expanse of screen instead. He brings the phone up to his face to squint blearily at it only to find someone’s playing an expensive trick on him because it’s an iPhone and they all have BlackBerrys and for some reason the background is Doojoon and Junhyung wearing farming hats and floral pants and who would go to that length for a joke and more importantly, why?
“Turn it off!” Chansung moans and Taec manages to poke the snooze prompt. The U-KISS finally goes away. “Brumph,” Chansung adds approvingly, and then the room is silent.
Taec lets the phone drop onto his chest and moves to rub the sleep from his eyes, only he must still be a bit woozy from last night because somehow he misjudges the distance to his own face and his fist bumps the end of his nose instead. He tries again and misses, and on the third attempt he actually has to concentrate to move his hand to the right place.
Clearly he’s more tired than he thought.
Yawning, he rolls over, wondering if Junho ever came back with that water, and with one last wake-up stretch, goes to swing his legs over the side of the bed.
His ankle cracks loudly as it meets with unexpected interference, long and hard and made of wood.
“Ow, fuck!” He lurches upright and gropes blindly for his foot, and it’s much closer than he remembered and the bed seems to have shrunk and so he opens his eyes to see what’s going on and -
- promptly closes them again because what the fuck, he’s in Beast’s bedroom and he hit his ankle on the side of a bunk and that wasn’t Chansung, it was Yoseob, and what the fuck.
- - -
What the fuck.
- - -
His brain doesn’t want to accept his surrounds and Taec can’t really blame it because, well, what the fuck. He clambers awkwardly down from the top bunk, careful not to jostle the other beds too much, since how would he explain that one - “Hi guys, it’s me, Ok Taecyeon, your friendly neighbourhood beastdol! I’ve never told anyone this but actually I suffer from an extremely rare sleeping disorder in which I randomly teleport into other people’s beds and -“
Yeah, that wouldn't go down so well.
He tiptoes out into the hallway and heads towards the bathroom, except of course he doesn’t know where the bathroom is because he’s in Beast’s dorm and ends up in the kitchen instead. That’s okay, actually, since his throat is still being a bigger attention whore than Wooyoung; he can almost hear it going wah I’m dry and thirsty, give me water~~~ so he reaches for the fridge door and completely misses the handle, clutching only at empty air.
Irritably, he steps closer and tries again, fighting back a wince at his still-aching foot. He tugs the water bottle out from the fridge, pausing to gape at the unexpected array of actual food in the refrigerator, including vegetables and meat and real live fruit. He takes an appreciative gulp from the bottle as someone steps into the room behind him with a yawn.
Taec nearly drops the water in surprise.
“How many times have I told you not to drink straight out of the bottle?” Junhyung gripes, crossing to the pantry and poking around inside. “And you know leaving the fridge door open wastes electricity.”
Taec ducks down behind the fridge door and shoves the bottle back on the shelf. “Haha, yeah,” he says, trying to pitch his voice a bit higher, since Junhyung clearly thinks he’s one of the other members, probably one of the ones who actually live here in Beast’s dorm, as opposed to a random 2PM member who doesn't belong. He still isn’t sure how this happened, since it wasn’t like he’d gotten crazy drunk or anything - he’d just gone to Star King, come home tired, and woken up in another man’s bed.
He grimaces. If the others find out, he’s never going to be able to live this one down. “I, uh, sorry?”
The pantry door rattles shut and he hears plates clinking, a drawer opening and closing, the ting of a spoon. “Are you feeling better today?”
Taec turns to the doorway and frantically calculates the odds of a successful escape. He probably can’t leave the dorm entirely - he doesn't have his wallet or shoes or anything -- but he could try the other end of the place to see what's there.
He takes a tentative step away from the fridge.
“Yah!” Junhyung’s head appears over the top of the door. He frowns down at Taec. “Doojoon, are you feeling better?”
A terrible possibility forms in Taec’s mind as he jerks around and stares up at Junhyung, who doesn’t look shocked or horrified or even slightly offended to find him crouching in front of the fridge. He just looks mildly irritated that Taec’s taking so long to answer his question.
“Um...”
As if on cue, the tinny strains of Man Man Ha Ni start up again from the bedroom, and Junhyung steps back with a sigh. “And could you please get a new alarm tone? Even the Bieber kid was better than that.”
Taec nods stupidly and makes his escape, scooping up Doojoon’s phone from the bunk and switching off the alarm, then backing out of the bedroom and making his way to the bathroom. Once there, he stumbles in and locks the door, flipping down the toilet lid and slumping on top of it, all the while studiously ignoring the mirror above the sink.
No. This can’t be happening. Surely he’s not-
The phone beeps smugly in his hand. He glances down to see a message from OK TAECYEON and gets as far as person who i am assuming is taec-hyung in my body before he flops off the toilet, curls up on the floor and lets out a hysterical laugh.
- - -
After either five minutes or an eternity of lying on the tiles and staring up at the ceiling, Taec feels bemused enough to have a look at what he’s (literally) gotten himself into. Standing, he walks cautiously to the mirror, almost giving himself (Doojoon?!) a heart attack when the first thing he sees is a pair of wild, staring eyes.
“Too much white, Yoon Doojoon,” he mutters, squinting carefully and tamping back further hysteria at how his voice isn’t his voice and his face isn’t his face and why is the front part of Doojoon’s hair so pointy, he could take someone’s eye out with that fringe.
He has good teeth though, Taec has to admit, and there are less of them than he’s used to. His ears are average and his mouth and nose are okay, but the whole package is really quite handsome, even if he does look kind of terrified and sick right now. He checks out the rest of his current body and tries not to feel awkward, but there’s nothing not-awkward about this situation and even though he never got around to drinking any water last night Doojoon clearly got his hands on some and now there’s pressure and Taec is probably going to have to take care of things and after this he’s never going to be able to look Doojoon in the eye again.
He glances back at the mirror. Oh, mindfuck.
A rap at the door. “Yah, are you having a shower?” Junhyung again. “Because if you’re not, hurry up, I want to get ready too.”
Taec glances apprehensively at the shower. Screw that, after this is over (and it better be over soon, he's not going to think of the consequences if this doesn't get sorted ASAP) he’s going to have to marry Doojoon, because no innocence will remain between them. They’re going to be intimate in ways he doesn't even want to consider.
“I’m having a shower,” he calls back to Junhyung, biting his lip and grinding his palm into his forehead.
Junhyung pauses. “Okay. Just remember that you haven’t done your laundry, so you’ll have to borrow some of my underwear.”
Taec waits until his footsteps fade away before giving into the urge to laugh until he cries.
- - -
taec: ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT?
doojoon: WHY WOULD I WANT TO BE YOU?
taec: why wouldn’t u, amirite? ;)
doojoon: if i could be anyone in 2PM of course it would be khun-hyung
taec: his nipples are weird
doojoon: ...i’m not having this conversation with you
taec: no, you’re having it with YOU
taec: psych!
- - -
His shower is as brief and impersonal as he can manage, although he does learn that the Internet buzz about Doojoon’s rock thighs is entirely warranted, and he quashes a tiny stab of envy, since his own body type has always tended toward lean.
And then he realizes he's having body envy about another man's body while being in the body he's envying. What the fuck.
He dries off quickly and returns to the bedroom, where Junhyung is in the process of waking everyone up.
“Yah!” He rolls Hyunseung over and pokes him between the ribs.
Dongwoon has clearly just been subjected to the same treatment; he’s sitting up in bed and pawing methodically at his eyes. Catching sight of Taec, he bows sleepily and yawns.
“G’morning, hyung.”
Junhyung glances back and continues to knead Hyunseung’s ribcage. Hyunseung squeaks and drags a pillow over his head. Taec wonders how that’s supposed to help.
“Are you going to get dressed?” Junhyung asks, still poking, looking pointedly at Taec’s exposed chest.
Taec was getting to that. “Of course! Clothes make the man, right?” He flexes and strikes a pose.
Dongwoon stops clawing his eyes from his face and gapes. “Hyung...are you still feeling weird?”
That’s quite possibly the most loaded question in the history of the world, so Taec just gives him an enigmatic Doojoon-smile and turns towards the closet, which is both larger than he expected and clearly shared by everyone who lives here, which in turn means he has no idea what belongs to who.
Junhyung prods Hyunseung one last time before pulling himself up to the last bunk and prising the pillow off Yoseob’s head. “Get up,” he says, tapping Yoseob on the forehead. “Breakfast time.”
Dongwoon clambers out of bed with the grace of a large-eyebrowed elephant, which is to say, not very much.
Taec snags him by the sleeve before he can leave the room. “Hey. Magnae. I have a job for you.”
Dongwoon straightens unconsciously, nodding already, and Taec wonders if Chansung has ever exhibited actual magnae-like behavior. If he has, he can’t remember it.
“Hyung?”
Dongwoon’s looking at him expectantly and Taec shakes himself. “I need you to pick my outfit for the day.”
Hyunseung coughs from where he’s still lying in bed. “Wouldn’t I have been a better choice for that?”
“Maybe,” Taec replies evenly, rounding on him. “But Dongwoon-ah’s the only one who is actually up.”
Mortified, Hyunseung finally flops out of bed and stuffs his feet into a pair of slippers. “I’m up.”
Taec lets go of Dongwoon and steps back. “Okay. You can fight for the privilege.”
- - -
Hyunseung wins.
- - -
Freshly dressed in Junhyung’s underwear and what are presumably Doojoon’s own clothes (his tastes are pretty vanilla - another white tee and some dark jeans; he might as well be in SNSD for all the personality his clothing has), Taec makes his way to the kitchen for a second time. Junhyung’s cereal bowl is sitting in the sink, full of water, and Taec can hear Junhyung chivvying Yoseob to the bathroom, yelling at Hyunseung to do his hair in the bedroom because some people need to get clean!
Taec wonders uncomfortably how they get anything down without Junhyung, and whether he should be doing more since he’s technically their leader, when Doojoon’s phone buzzes in his pocket and Special starts to play. The caller ID is his own, so he glances around furtively and sneaks the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
There’s nothing for a moment. The front door bangs open and an “I’m back!” drifts down from the entryway. Oh, Kikwang. Taec had forgotten about him. He angles his body over the sink. “Hello? Doojoon-ah?”
Still nothing. Taec doesn’t really know what to say either, so he sighs into the phone, listening to Kikwang dump his gym stuff in the bedroom, much to Junhyung’s disgust. “Doojoon-ah, are you okay?”
“Hyu-I mean-“ Taec’s grip on Doojoon’s phone tightens and he feels his fingers creak. Hearing his own voice on the other end puts the final nail in the hope-coffin of hey, maybe this is a dream. “Doojoon-ah.”
Taec listens to Doojoon breathe into the phone with one ear, while the other picks up on Dongwoon pleading with Hyunseung for the bathroom, “Come on, hyung! I have to go to the toilet, please!” He waits for Junhyung to march over and sort things out.
“Hyunseung!”
There he goes. Taec sighs into the phone again. “Well. This is a mindfuck.”
There’s silence for a while after that.
- - -
Taec’s absolutely starving and yet he can barely bring himself to eat - he just keeps going over and over the situation in his mind. He's in Doojoon's body, Doojoon's in his body, everything is awkward and nothing makes sense.
They need to know two things - how it happened, and how to change back. Fast. With sufficient warning and knowledge of when the switch would be ending, Taec can see himself enjoying this situation, but with no real understanding of what's going on it’s freaky, discomforting and an invasion of privacy like nothing else.
“Doojoon-ah.” Yoseob picks up his chair and parks it right next to Taec, scooting himself over until their bodies are aligned. Taec considers himself reasonably touchy-feely but Yoseob’s essentially a stranger to him, and the overt familiarity makes him want to flinch away. He resists with great effort, and carefully pats Yoseob on the head instead. Pretend he’s Junho, he thinks, and feels immediately better.
He realizes Yoseob’s waiting for a response to something. “Yes?”
“Are you feeling better today?” Yoseob’s peering up at him, lower lip jutting out, eyes taking careful stock of his face. “You were really out of it last night.”
Hyunseung sets a mug of hot tea down next to Taec’s cereal bowl and sits back at the table. Kikwang beams over his plate in the other seat.
“I didn’t make the tea,” he proudly informs Taec. “But it was my idea.”
Dongwoon sighs and reaches for his fifth piece of toast.
Junhyung pushes the water bottle closer to Taec’s spot. “Since you’ve slobbered all over it anyway,” he says gruffly.
Taec feels both touched and profoundly guilty, since they’re all supporting their leader, and...well, he’s not here.
- - -
Junhyung checks his watch. “The van’ll be here soon.”
“Oh?” Taec couldn’t find Doojoon’s watch in the controlled chaos of the bedroom, so he fishes out his phone instead. “And, uh, what’s the schedule again?”
Junhyung gives him an incredulous look.
Taec brings a hand to his forehead and sways woozily. “I still feel a bit tired and vague. From yesterday. You know.”
“Right.” Junhyung lowers his eyebrows and spins his sunglasses around in his hands. Taec shoots them an envious look. Why couldn’t he be in Junhyung’s body? He got all the cool outfits and song lines and they were both rappers. It would be logical for them to swap, if bodyswitching was in any way grounded in logic and not insanity. “Well, we have that showcase with 2PM, so we need to go to dance practice. Individual until one, and then we’ll practice together all afternoon.”
The news stirs conflicting emotions in Taec - on the one hand, he'll be seeing his members again, and on the other...
“Dancing?”
Oh, fuck.
- - -
taec: who’s the worst dancer in beast?
doojoon: will you blackmail me about this later?
taec: i make no promises ^^
doojoon: ...dongwoon
taec: damn
taec: hoped it was u
- - -
The van arrives on time and they set off for the studios, their departure hampered only by Junhyung’s insistence that “Doojoon” needs a jacket before they leave. Taec resists rolling his eyes by reminding himself that Doojoon probably doesn’t have Taec’s good constitution (it goes with the ears, teeth and farmer’s skin), and he ducks back into the minefield that is the bedroom and snatches the first jacket he sees, a maroon leather number that’s actually kind of cool.
Luckily for him it’s Doojoon’s or he borrows it often, because Junhyung doesn’t comment further, just follows him downstairs with an abrupt, satisfied nod.
Taec slides into the van after Junhyung and tries not to think about songs he barely knows and dances with unfamiliar choreography, and especially avoids the topic of how he’ll manage to do everything with a body he’s not accustomed to using, with limbs of unknown lengths.
The driver leans around the front seat and passes him a bundle of cloth. “Dongwoon-sshi left this here last night.” Taec takes the sweater with a distracted nod and automatically passes it over his head to the far back seat. A sleeve slips down and brushes momentarily over his eyes and suddenly it all makes sense - that stupid shirt-swapping trick has some serious side effects that they hadn’t been warned about.
He’s going to kill that magician.
“No,” he mutters poisonously. “Killing is too good for him.” He’ll figure out the bodyswap trick himself and see how the magician likes living as Kwon for a day. Or, better yet, JYP.
Yoseob leans across Junhyung and pinches Taec’s cheek. “Doojoon-ah? What are you doing? Why are you mumbling to yourself in English?”
Great. So it’s not enough that he’s randomly trapped in Doojoon’s body - now he’s going crazy as well.
He fakes a hearty laugh. “Ahaha, nothing, Yoseobie! I’m just practicing.”
“Wow, hyung.” Kikwang drapes himself over Taec’s seat back and digs his chin into his shoulder. “You’re so calm about this dance stage you’re even working on English instead. You’re the best!”
Taec’s stomach lurches and he hopes Doojoon didn’t eat anything too volatile last night, because there’s a distinct possibility he’ll be throwing it up later.
He pats Kikwang’s head absently and hopes very hard that the spell - because that’s what it is, what it has to be - extends to muscle memory as well.
- - -
It doesn’t.
- - -
doojoon: who’s the worst dancer in beast now?
taec: kekeke :(
- - -
After two hours of Taec stumbling and lurching through the slick routine formerly known as Shock, the choreographer calls for a much-needed break.
“Get some rest,” he orders, and narrows his eyes at Taec. “And when we come back hopefully we’ll remember the steps we’ve been practicing for the last two months.”
Taec hopes Doojoon doesn’t blush easily, because ouch. And it truly is embarrassing; he hasn’t sucked this much at dancing since they went through the original lineup to Again and Again.
“Ask me to do a flip,” he mumbles into his water bottle. “Or rap. Or anything that isn’t this song.”
He’s pretty sure he’s not a complete failure - it’s like there’s a lag or something between the impulses his brain sends and the things his - Doojoon’s - muscles actually do. He tells them to move and eventually they do, there’s just this infinitesimal delay, as if the muscles and
joints are pausing to ask, “Are you sure?”
Then again, maybe they're flipping him the bird. Maybe they know Doojoon’s not at home right now and they’re acting up on purpose.
A cheery “Doojoon-ah!” is the only warning he gets before Yoseob launches himself at his back, koala-hands clutching at Taec’s neck and nearly knocking him to the ground from the unexpected weight. Taec grits his teeth and just manages to correct himself before he topples backwards and squashes Yoseob, who, as the lead singer of his temporary band, is a valuable commodity. Doojoon’s a fairly easygoing and forgiving person, but Taec’s not sure he’d get out of that one unscathed.
“Yoseobie,” he chokes, carefully prising Yoseob’s hands away from his windpipe and moving them to his shoulders. “What’s up?”
Once his weight settles, Taec can tell that Yoseob is actually kind of tiny - shorter than Junho and less bulky even than Wooyoung. He’s hit by a sudden pang of nostalgia for the rest of 2PM, which is probably ridiculous since he last saw them less than twelve hours ago, but he can’t help it, he misses them anyway. The differences between the two groups are just so obvious to him, and as mildly entertaining as this bodyswap business is, he wants to be back with his low-maintenance bros as opposed to sticking around with the somewhat needy Beast.
Not that he seems to have any choice in the matter, but Beast do need looking after, and he’s just not the guy for the job. Junhyung doesn’t nag because he likes it (does anyone like nagging? Junsu likes complaining because it involves the sound of his own voice and Khun likes order, so he’s always pointing out things to be done or changed) but these guys seem to enjoy being kept in line.
Taec can’t really understand it, but then he doesn’t know all their backgrounds or how they became the group they are today. He only knows 2PM, and his own triumphs and failures on Superstar Survival, his ‘attitude’ and his journey to combat it, and Chansung’s early departure and subsequent vow to try harder at everything. He only knows Junho’s win and eternal self-doubt, whether he made it on his own merits or his wonderful, horrible face; Junsu’s unshakeable belief in his own talents coupled with never being comfortable with the man in the mirror; Khun’s struggle to be seen as more than just a foreigner or a curiosity, and Wooyoung’s secret fear of his own lack of ambition, and his easy satisfaction with where they are at any given moment, forever having only vague hopes for what the future may hold.
“Doojoon-ah?” Yoseob’s voice in his ear pulls him out of his musings.
Taec tilts his back and Yoseob reluctantly climbs off.
“Hmm?”
Yoseob’s wearing that look Khun sometimes gets, when he knows something isn’t right but he’s not sure how to fix it. “I was just checking that you were okay.”
Taec doesn’t know how Doojoon would deflect this, so he reaches over and tugs at Yoseob’s chin. “Yeah, of course I’m fine! Just a bit out of it.”
Yoseob’s still evaluating him with a shrewd stare, narrowed eyes at odds with the rest of his round, cheerful appearance.
Kikwang side-moonwalks over to join them. “Hyung,” he says, giving Taec an earnest look, “is something the matter? You’re really off today.”
Taec wishes they’d get straight to the 2PM dances because he may not be the most graceful member of his actual group, but at least he knows the damn choreography. Plus he's sick of his own lame excuses. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening. I just feel a bit weird.”
Kikwang leans closer and gazes searchingly into his eyes. “Your movements are completely different, did you know that? Like your center of gravity is higher or something.” He frowns and Taec finds himself gaping unattractively at the absurdity of Kikwang being so perceptive.
“Almost like,” Kikwang continues slowly, tilting his head like a dim, puzzled owl, “there’s someone else inside your body.”
Taec stares at him.
Yoseob reaches over and pinches Kikwang’s nose. “What,” he says flatly, rolling his eyes. “You really need to listen to yourself when you say these sorts of things.”
Kikwang’s eyes crinkle up in a grin. “Haha, yeah. Let’s go back to practice!”
Yoseob slides his arm around Taec’s waist. “Ready, Doojoon-ah? We’re going to move on to Special now.”
“Yeah. ‘Course.” Taec takes a deep breath and tries to calm Doojoon’s racing heart.
- - -
taec: who would be the most suspicious?
doojoon: junhyung. and yoseob.
taec: so...not kikwang?
doojoon: have you met kikwang?!
- - -
The Special practice is, to the surprise of everyone including Taec, a much less painful experience than Shock was. He doesn’t even know why he’s less shit at this choreography, but maybe it’s more recent and has stuck around in his brain, or maybe he watched a few more rehearsals of this one at Inkigayo. Whatever the reason, he manages to avoid further frowns (Junhyung), concerned looks (Yoseob) and insane-yet-accurate conjectures (Kikwang), and when they finally flop down for another break, Taec feels less concerned that the truth will come out anytime soon.
He wonders how Doojoon is doing with his dances, whether he’s managing the raps okay, whether he’s doing a better job with Taec’s stuff than Taec is doing with his.
His calf muscle spasms and he rubs at it with a grimace. Not that it would be too difficult to do a better job than the one Taec’s doing here.
Hyunseung eases down next to him and passes over a bottle of water. “Here.”
Taec takes it gratefully. “Thanks.” And because he’s thinking what would Doojoon do he adds, “You’re doing a really good job.”
Hyunseung looks down at his hands but can’t hide the tiny smile Taec’s words bring out. “It’s getting there.”
Taec watches Dongwoon practice a section of the choreo again, moving through each motion at quarter-speed, all the while carefully checking the angles of his body in the mirror. Behind him, Kikwang is discussing something with the choreographer, arms going everywhere as he tries to make a point, and in the corner Yoseob and Junhyung are sharing a pair of earphones and bopping their heads along to a song.
They have a nice feel, Beast do, a really good dynamic, but again, he misses his guys. He wants to wake up in his own messy room, wants to kick piles of clothes next to Junsu's desk, just to watch the way his face crumples when he gets up and sees, wants to go into the lounge room and find Chansung taking up the whole couch and sit on him instead. He wants to fight with Wooyoung for the last piece of meat, wants to talk with Khun in English for a bit, and hell, he can admit it, he wants to slap Junho’s ass on the way to the shower, because that’s just the way they roll.
The Beast guys are great, and after barely making it through their rehearsals, he respects them a lot more, but nothing beats his guys, his family.
He wants to see them again.
Kikwang bounces over. “After we go through 2PM’s dances, we’re catching the van over to the JYPE studios!”
Yoseob tugs his earphone out and slides across the polished floor. “I’m doing Without U!”
Taec stretches and gets up, bending to ruffle Hyunseung’s hair. “I’ll do Don’t Stop Can’t Stop.”
Yoseob pouts. “Why, Doojoon-ah.”
Taec gives him a serious look. “Yoseobie - everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for a reason.”
Junhyung coughs a laugh into his hand, while Kikwang tilts his head, confused.
The choreographer comes over and claps. “Two more minutes. If you need a bathroom break, now’s the time.”
Taec grimaces, because now that it’s been mentioned he suddenly needs to go, and he really hadn’t wanted to get reacquainted with Doojoon-down-there.
They need to swap back ASAP, before anything else needs to be taken care of.
- - -
taec: seriously, yoseob has NO UNDERSTANDING OF PERSONAL SPACE
taec: he followed me 2 the bathroom
taec: i needed 2 pee
taec: YOU needed 2 pee, ok, not even my fault
taec: and fuck, i keep forgetting i’m wearing junhyung’s underwear
taec: u guys share 2 much
doojoon: chansung just licked me
taec: i miss him ;__________;
- - -
They pile into the van again for the short trip across town, and when they pull up outside the familiar building, Taec feels a pang in his chest because he’s home, kinda; they’re back on his turf again, even if he’s in a body that’s not his own.
They get out and Dongwoon comes to stand beside him, frowning around at the various doors. “Hyung, should we ask for directions?”
“Nope,” Taec replies. “I’ve been here before.”
He leads them down the hallways, past scuff marks he knows on walls he sees every day, fighting the urge to smile and nod at faces he recognizes, even the support staff he doesn’t always acknowledge. The time away - brief as it has been - has made him realize just how much he takes for granted in his own world, and just how much he misses it when it’s gone. Because it’s home - that’s all he can think, when he rounds the final corner and sees the studio door at the end - this is his place, and now that he’s here, that ache in the back of his borrowed heart just won’t go away.
All he can do is stare at the door as Hyunseung and Kikwang amble past him, Junhyung pausing to give Taec a searching look.
“Are you okay?”
A small hand slides into his and Taec looks down to find Yoseob beside him. The touch is both welcome and discomforting, and Taec fights the urge to shove him away. He’s not Doojoon, so affection meant for him just doesn’t feel right.
“Shall we?” Yoseob grins up at him then points grandly at the studio. “Let us away and defeat the reigning beastdols!”
Junhyung sighs and lightly skims his knuckles over Yoseob’s head. “Silly. We’re the real Beasts, right?”
Taec stifles a grin of his own at being part of a conversation as ridiculous as this. He’s going to have to rib Doojoon about his guys and their weird motivational speeches.
Later, when they’ve changed back.
“Come on,” he says, tugging Yoseob towards the studio. “Let’s go and see the others.”
- - -
Everyone’s inside already - the rest of Beast went in before him and it’s 2PM’s studio, so of course they’re there too Taec hopes he hides the jolt of longing that goes through him when he sees them all, lounging around in various stages of exhaustion, from the always-fresh Khun to Junho, dripping with sweat. Junsu’s listening to his iPod and ignoring everyone in a corner, Wooyoung seems to be napping, head resting on someone’s backpack, and Chansung’s passing a water bottle to-
Well, to Taec, which is probably the weirdest fucking thing he’s seen since he found himself looking at Doojoon’s face in the mirror this morning. Doojoon catches his eye - with his eye! - and they share a brief moment of misery before Doojoon’s glance slides across him to Yoseob then moves to Junhyung and his - Taec’s - face just lights up and wow, his teeth really are enormous, what’s with that?
And then suddenly Doojoon’s pulling away from Chansung and is striding towards them and Taec doesn’t stop him because he doesn’t realize what’s going to happen as Doojoon goes straight up to Hyunseung and wraps his arms around him, squashing him to a chest that Taec knows is pretty damn hard, smooshing Hyunseung’s face to muscle and sweaty cloth. It’s weird and awkward and even with Taec’s limited Beast knowledge he knows that Hyunseung is absolutely the worst choice ever for unexpected and frightening public displays of affection.
He can’t even feel annoyed that he’s going to be teased about this forever when - if - when - they return to their bodies, because the look in Doojoon’s - his - eyes as he traps a struggling Hyunseung in his arms is just kind of heartbreaking, and Taec understands it only too well.
All he can do is watch helplessly as Beast rush forward as one to prise Hyunseung free, all the while sending scathing looks at his body, as 2PM pull Doojoon-as-him back, as Khun rubs comforting circles on his shoulder and Wooyoung - woken up by the racket - glares at Beast like it’s their fault ‘Taec’ went crazy, as Junsu fiddles nervously with his iPod and Chansung steps right up behind Doojoon-as-him and supports him with his silent presence and Junho looks suspiciously between them all like he knows, except he can’t, because Taec is living this insane situation and he can barely believe it himself.
- - -
taec: are u okay?
doojoon: are you?
taec: touche
taec: ...and no :(
- - -
They put the incident behind them (well, most of them do - Hyunseung keeps sending 2PM furtive looks and Taec overhears Dongwoon calling him Creepy Molestation Hyung, which is really not a nickname he would have chosen for himself) and get to practice. They finally work on some 2PM stuff, which is both good and bad, since on the one hand he’s not falling over himself like an imbecile, but on the other he can go through the motions with a degree of autonomy, leaving his brain free to work over things some more.
They have to change back.
Of course they have to change back - they can’t stay like this forever, but Taec has a new sense of urgency now that they’ve all met again. He’d wondered what Doojoon’s life was like and now he knows - he’s truly left his Hot Blood days behind him, and he has a group that loves him, that needs him, just as Taec has a group where he belongs. He doesn’t want to share a room with five guys, doesn’t want to be a leader in any official capacity, doesn’t want to have to stick with Beast, because as nice as they are, as fun as they can be, they’re just not his.
Doojoon keeps glancing over with his eyes, keeps fixing on each member of Beast like he’s drinking in their details, memorising their faces and movements like he’s afraid he’ll forget, and Taec knows he feels the same.
He clenches his fist and continues dancing, sending out a prayer to anyone who’ll listen - change us back, please. This isn’t the way things are meant to be.
- - -
And then things are the way they’re meant to be - abruptly, unexpectedly, smack bang in the middle of practicing Don’t Stop Can’t Stop. The world doesn’t tilt on its axis, there’s no heavenly choir of angels (although he’s sure Junsu would argue about that), but the music soars for a moment and his skin prickles into flames and then he’s back, staring down at Doojoon who’s staring up at him and they’re back, they’re back, he’s Ok Taecyeon in Ok Taecyeon and boy does that sound seedy but who the fuck cares because they’re back.
They stare at each other for a moment longer, as time starts to flow around them again and the music plays on like it never even stopped, and then Wooyoung kicks him in the leg like a little bitch and he’s never been so happy for Wooyoung to be Wooyoung because his leg hurts and it’s okay because it’s his (long, hairy, far too brown) leg and he may not have rock thighs but it doesn’t matter because it’s his leg, back again, his.
He spins away and claps a hand on Khun’s shoulder, bumps his hip against Chansung, squeezes Junho’s butt, tugs Junsu’s earlobe and kicks Wooyoung back because he deserved it, and he can. He’s so busy touching everyone, making sure that they’re real, that he’s real, that he completely fucks up the choreography and Namyong makes them start all over again but it’s okay, really, because he’s back.
- - -
There’s no real words for what they’ve gone through - Doojoon pulls him into the bathroom after practice and they have a brief chat - but it’s all in the eyes, Taec thinks, as they share a glance across the stage that night, ready to go out and perform. It was a crazy experience and he’s pretty sure no one would believe him even if he told them, but everything worked out for the best. Now he appreciates his family more and it seems to have bridged the gap he’s always felt with Doojoon, effectively obliterating that awkwardness he’s felt since Hot Blood.
Besides, he thinks, as the stage lights clunk on and the music starts, as he takes a breath and lets the familiar music ghost over his skin, lets the energy flow right through him, lets himself go because he’s here, where he belongs, it’s hard to stay standoffish with someone once you’ve seen them naked and touched their bits.
When the backing track plays through the intros, Taec sings along to the words for the first time in forever.
“And this is Taec!” he shouts, because, well, it is.
- - -
taec: i feel like we’ve bonded
taec: we’re closer than ever!!!
taec: we should hang out more
doojoon: i don’t think that’s a good idea
doojoon: hyunseung keeps talking about a restraining order
doojoon: sorry :(
taec: s’okay, i’ve already gotten u back for that
doojoon: what?
taec: u shouldn’t stay logged into twitter on ur phone
taec: it’s a security risk
taec: just sayin
doojoon: what
taec: ^^
doojoon: WHAT
- - -
The End
