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It’s late. Taemin’s not sure of the exact time but it’s something between twelve and three o’clock in the morning—probably closer to the latter judging by the Moon’s position in the dark sky. He’s parked outside Jongin’s impressive apartment complex, waiting for said best friend to make his way down to Taemin’s car. It was urgent—apparently—for them to meet at this time of night, although Taemin is not yet quite sure why. It doesn’t matter, Taemin is absolutely soft for him, and it’s not like he would’ve had anything better to do. Who needs sleep, anyways?
He’s got the radio on quietly as he waits, some bubbly new girl group song that is exactly the opposite of how he feels at the moment but that he doesn’t switch off in the hopes of absorbing some energy from it. He taps his thumbs on the cool leather of the steering wheel.
A few moments later a silhouette appears in the yellow light from the building, one that Taemin easily identifies as Jongin’s.
Suddenly he feels nervous. Thousands of possibilities are flooding through his mind—He’s sick, he’s got someone pregnant, he’s decided that actually Taemin and he just aren’t right and maybe should stop being friends .
The rational part of his brain tells him to shut the fuck up, it’s probably not even that deep . He keeps reminding himself that he and Jongin have managed to survive everything that life has thrown at them this far, but he can’t fizzle out the nervousness that lurks deep down.
The car door pops open, and before Jongin has even sat down he’s speaking—
“I couldn’t—I couldn’t wait till the morning, but it didn’t feel right to do this over the phone.” He says, his mouth a jumble of words.
Taemin shifts uncertainly, reaching out to turn the radio down.
“It’s nothing—Oh! It’s nothing bad Taeminnie, don’t worry.” Jongin says, after taking a look at his best friend’s pale face. “Hey, woah, you look more nervous than I do. It’s all good stuff, don’t worry.” He shoots Taemin a reassuring smile, who relaxes a little, and holds out his hand for Taemin to place his tiny fingers in the gaps between his.
When Jongin doesn’t elaborate after a few moments, Taemin shakily says “Well.. what is it then?”
“Oh! Right,” and Jongin suddenly shuffles around to fish his phone out of his pocket.
He thumbs through his emails, before tapping on one and turning the screen round to face Taemin.
He scans the short paragraph, phrases like “solo album” and “greatly anticipated” and “preparations starting as soon as possible” swimming around in the front of his mind. He feels his heart swell.
“Oh, Jonginnie!” He exclaims, throwing his arms around him, “Oh I’m so happy for you!” He presses a kiss to his cheek, and then a few more. “You’re gonna be so good, I know it. I’m so happy for you.”
Jongin chuckles, raising his arms to rest on Taemin’s back.
“Well.. that's not just it,” he starts, and Taemin pulls back slightly, signalling for him to go on, “They’ve given me a duet, and, well, I was wondering if you maybe..” he pauses for a moment, swallows, and then looks Taemin deep in the eye, “If you maybe wanted to sing it with me?”
He looks so hopeful, it’s so cute. As if Taemin could ever say no to that face.
“Jongin,” he says, “I’d love that.”
Jongin sighs in relief, before wrapping his arms back around Taemin and pulling him close.
“I love you, Taem.” He mutters, and it makes Taemin shiver. He strokes Jongin’s back.
“Love you too.”
It’s only a few minutes later when Taemin yawns embarrassingly loudly into Jongin’s ear that they part.
“Right,” Jongin says, “since I forced you out here at what, 3 in the morning? You should probably crash here.”
Taemin is halfway through politely declining the offer when he lets out another yawn, and Jongin gives him a look that says come on Taemin, just give it up, so he rolls his eyes and turns off the engine.
Within minutes they’re up at Jongin’s apartment, Taemin rummaging through his dresser to try and find a piece of clothing that won’t be absolutely ginormous on him. He fails—and slightly sheepishly turns to meet Jongin’s eye whilst drowning in one of his t-shirts.
Jongin laughs, and pats the bed next to him. Taemin pads over and slips under the covers, shuffling as close to Jongin as possible in an attempt to leech off his body warmth.
Jongin throws an arm around him, pulling him close, and it’s not long after that that Taemin feels himself drift into a peaceful sleep.
“Taemin-ah, thank you for having me. Jongin-ah, I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
Both boys nod and Moonkyu gives them a quick wave before stepping into the car. They stand there at the bottom of the steps for the amount of time it takes for it to make its way down the twisty road until it's out of sight, at which Taemin turns towards Jongin. They’d filmed their goodbyes an hour or so ago, after which Jongin and Moonkyu had sat behind the cameras with the rest of the crew and tried to make Taemin laugh (they had been unsuccessful).
“That was smooth,” Taemin says, with a laugh, “ ‘I feel sad that we’re not sleeping over.’ ”
“Hey!” Jongin replies, swatting his arm lightly, “I didn’t want anyone getting ideas.”
Taemin raises an eyebrow, what kind of ideas Jonginnie? But doesn’t prod any further.
“Come on then.” He says instead, tugging Jongin back up into the cabin. The crew have pretty much all dispersed, they were renting the twin cabin that was conveniently out of sight from where they were filming, which leaves Taemin and Jongin comfortably in each other's presence.
When they get inside it’s warm, the fire dwindling in the corner, and pretty much empty. Most of the filming equipment and props have been packed away, ready for their swift departure tomorrow morning, but there's still a few bits and bobs littering the surfaces. One of the managers had left her laptop as per Jongin’s request, so he and Taemin could have a cosy movie night.
Or not so cosy, now that Taemin thinks about it, judging by their taste in movies. Whatever.
There’s a half empty tub of hot chocolate powder in the cupboard, (Taemin can’t find a best before date on it but it’s not moldy so it’s probably edible, he thinks) and there’s some milk left in the mini fridge and although Taemin may not be the best cook in the world he’s sure he can heat up some milk on the stove without causing too much of a catastrophe.
He can hear Jongin pottering around behind him, getting pillows and blankets and fighting with the Macbook cable in an attempt to get it to reach Taemin’s bed, until he lets out a huff to indicate that he’s either won or given up and makes his way over to Taemin. Within a second Taemin feels a warm chest against his back and soft arms snaking around his waist. He continues stirring chocolate powder into milk.
“Smells good.” The low voice over his shoulder says.
“What can I say, I’m quite the chef.”
“Don’t say silly things, Taemin-ah.”
Taemin lets out a peal of laughter. “Okay, you’re right. But hot chocolate isn’t that hard to make.”
Once Jongin has removed himself from Taemin’s back and he’s finished making the drinks, they make their way over to the now very cozy looking bed. Taemin lowers himself down and shuffles backwards in an attempt to not spill the two overfilled mugs of hot chocolate. He passes one to Jongin who takes it gratefully.
They settle on El Orfanato, for the film to watch, which Taemin thinks is a bit of an odd choice for them but Jongin had insisted on it. He thinks it’s more depressing than scary, but he can’t say he didn’t enjoy it. He cries a little bit at the ending. Jongin hears him sniffling and looks over softly.
“Hey,” He says, wrapping an arm around him and pulling close, “are you okay?”
Taemin chokes out a small laugh. “I’m fine, it was just a bit sad wasn’t it.”
Jongin coos and strokes his hair.
“Poor baby. Well, you know what we have to do now.”
Taemin doesn’t know, but Jongin taps away at the computer anyway and Taemin dries his damp eyes on the thin material of his shirt. A few moments later he opens them again and sees what Jongin has pulled up.
“Ultimate SHINee try not to laugh challenge?” He groans, “This is gonna be so cringy.”
“That’s what makes it so good!” Jongin laughs, and Taemin presses his face into his shoulder.
It is cringy, but it’s not that bad because after a few minutes Taemin feels all better again, and he feels warm knowing Jongin knows exactly what he needs to boost his mood.
At some point Jongin lays himself down with his head resting in Taemin’s lap. Taemin strokes through Jongin’s hair, leading him to let out a noise that can only be described as a purr and close his eyes.
Taemin takes this opportunity to observe his friend’s beautiful face.
His thought process leads him to think about the two of them, what a pretty pair of best friends they make. Best friends . It doesn’t fit the way it used to. They’re so much more than that now, each other's other half, partner in everything, soulmate .
Taemin sighs.
He needs to tell Jongin.
If only it were that easy.
He doesn’t know when it started, just that at some point in time between their first meeting and today, the lingering touches and soft looks started making him feel all weird inside. Warm and gooey. Like he was, dare he say it, in love .
It scares him, more than a little bit. As if the concept of love isn't terrifying enough alone, he has to deal with the fact that 1. He’s famous, in an industry where dating scandals aren’t taken lightly, and 2. He’s in love with another man.
Fuck, what am I going to do .
In his deep thought he fails to notice Jongin blink open his eyes, a questioning look on his face.
“What’re you thinking about?” He asks, softly.
Taemin sighs. “You.” He replies, absentmindedly, and it’s only when Jongin raises an eyebrow that Taemin realises what he just said and feels the blood rush to his cheeks.
“Fuck. Just.. Oh God shut up Jongin.”
“I didn’t say anything.” He protests, a laugh slipping past his lips.
He sits up after a minute or so, wriggling around so that he and Taemin are arranged comfortably once again.
“I oughtn’t let your ego get even bigger,” Taemin says, “Or one day I’ll wake up and instead of Jonginnie it’ll be Kai lying next to me.”
Jongin laughs, before pulling Taemin down next to him and slipping an arm over his waist.
“Oh, well . We couldn’t let that happen now could we.”
Taemin wriggles closer, so close he can feel Jongin’s warm breath on his cheek.
“Night night.” He says.
It’s maybe five or so minutes later that Taemin is drifting off to sleep, feeling warm and happy with Jongin by his side.
“Alright, that was great, but do you think we could go over it just one more time?” The producer asks, and Taemin nods.
They’re in the studio today, finally working on the recording for their duet. It’s one of the last songs Jongin’s recording for his album, and it’s so refreshing to work together. Sure, they have SuperM but they both know that’s just not the same. When Taemin and Jongin work together together, it’s amazing because they just fit , like they were destined to do this together.
The song they’re working on is cool, a chill lofi type of thing, and Taemin thinks they sound very good together. So does the producer, and everyone else in the room with them who has heard it. It’s one of your typical SM Entertainment boy group-esque love songs—two boys singing a duet about how they’re in love—but it’s definitely them singing about the same girl, rather than each other, of course.
They slip back into the recording booth and Taemin waits for his cue to start singing. Jongin looks so beautiful like this, he thinks, not that he doesn’t always look beautiful, but the dim light here hits him just right and makes his eyes sparkle.
He averts his eyes when it’s his turn to start singing, but for a split second his gaze flickers back to Jongin, and his heart stutters. Their eyes meet and Jongin’s staring at him with such fondness on his face that it makes Taemin nervous.
He gulps and tears his eyes to the floor, just making it through the rest of the song before the producer is shooing them out of the studio with a proud grin and telling them to take a break for the rest of the day.
It’s only when Taemin’s already halfway down the hall that he hears Jongin call after him.
“Taemin-ah!”
He stops in his tracks and turns his head, gesturing for Jongin to go on.
“Do you want to get dinner or something?”
He lets out a sigh.
“Any other night but tonight,” He answers, smiling apologetically, “I’m so tired I think I’m going to go straight home to bed.”
Jongin looks a little like a kicked puppy for a second, but then he suggests again. “We could get takeout? I’ll pay.”
Taemin’s smile turns into a full on grin and he rolls his eyes fondly. “You know the way to my heart, Jonginnie.”
Jongin blushes lightly before shrugging. “That’s what they say in The Princess and The Frog.”
Half an hour later and they’re sat on the couch in Taemin’s apartment, devouring a bucket of fried chicken. Taemin wipes his sticky fingers on a napkin.
“God, I’ve missed this.” Jongin says.
Taemin nods, it’s been a while since he and Jongin have been able to hang out together outside of work—Jongin’s busy with his solo album and Taemin with his own, not to mention SuperM promotions. As much as he’s enjoyed working with his hoobaes, it’s filled up his schedule a lot and he hasn’t had as much time to spend time with the ones he loves, like—
“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Jongin accuses, breaking Taemin out of his daydream. Taemin shakes his head and knows immediately that he’s made a mistake when he sees the evil grin grace Jongin’s lips.
His fingers sneak over to Taemin’s chest, quickly slipping under his shirt, cold, cold. Taemin let’s out a shriek as Jongin begins to tickle him relentlessly.
“Jongin!” he splutters between giggles, “Ah—ah.” He falls backwards onto the cool leather of the couch and Jongin moves his knees to rest either side of Taemin’s hips.
His swift fingers attack Taemin, drifting to all the sensitive areas of his upper body until Taemin can’t breathe from laughing so hard.
“That’ll teach you not to listen to me!” Jongin says, before he leans in and blows a raspberry against his neck, the lips against his skin making Taemin shiver.
“Jongin-ah, please! Stop!” He gasps, his cheeks beginning to hurt from grinning so much. Finally, finally, Jongin pulls his hands back. Taemin’s shirt has ridden up and his stomach is on display. Jongin prods a finger at the soft skin there, and Taemin quirks an eyebrow.
“Having fun there?”
Jongin nods, before slowly reaching down to brush Taemin’s hair out of his eyes. Jongin’s gaze flickers to his lips and for a terrifying split second Taemin thinks he’s going to kiss him . He freezes momentarily, before weakly leaning up and pushing Jongin off his lap.
“Come on, we should clean up before I get ants or something.”
It’s quiet, where they’re sat on the roof of the SM Entertainment building, Taemin’s head gently resting on Jongin’s shoulder, tired eyes pressed shut.
Seoul stretches out for miles ahead of them, the people on the other side of the Han river the size of ants. It’s stuffy, despite them being outside, the clouds above them are black and the air smells like electricity. It’s calming.
“Reckon it’s gonna rain.” Jongin states.
Taemin hums in response, too tired for actual words, and feels his voice vibrate through their bodies.
A moment passes, and music trickles up from one of the open windows on the floors below. A few seconds later water begins to patter on the dull grey stone, painting it dark, and Jongin gets to his feet carefully.
“Come on,” he says, looking down at Taemin, a fond smile painted on his lips, “Else we’re gonna get wet.”
Taemin opens his eyes to stare back at him for a long second, before allowing them to flutter closed again. He yawns.
“What does it matter?”
“Cause you could get sick, Taeminnie, and then I’d have an army of fans after me for not looking after you better.” Jongin laughs, holding out his hand towards Taemin, who groans at the thought of having to move but lets himself be pulled upwards anyway.
He stumbles a little on his way and ends up a lot closer to Jongin than perhaps he was aiming for, his face smushed into the soft fabric of Jongin’s sweater. It’s warm and comfortable, and suddenly Taemin doesn’t want to move.
He can feel more than hear Jongin’s low chuckle as he takes his free hand—the one not enveloping Taemin’s tiny one—and places it on the small of his back, pulling him even closer. Slowly, he begins to sway them together to the faint tune of the music.
Taemin shouldn’t be so compliant, should be worrying about the rain, about the fact that people might see them and get the wrong idea , but Jongin’s always been so fun to dance with. He’s the perfect size, to begin with—engulfing Taemin’s tiny frame with minimal effort, all cosy and snug—and they’ve always had such good chemistry when dancing. He also smells really good , the voice in Taemin’s brain supplies helpfully, and he wriggles his face to the crook of Jongin’s neck and takes a deep breath in to test this theory. It’s true.
“You smell really good.” He murmurs into Jongin’s skin, who shivers at the contact.
“Mmm. Wish I could say the same about you,” he jokes, and Taemin leans back to glare at him, a comment about the cheek and maybe I should go dance with Baekhyun instead ready to fall off his lips, but Jongin is already spluttering out a “—kidding, I’m kidding!” between giggles.
Taemin pouts, before shoving himself back into Jongin’s chest.
They move together for a few more minutes until the song switches to something more uptempo and bright, and it feels a bit weird slow dancing to it.
When they finally pull away to make their way inside, they’re soaked through. It was fun though, and that’s all that matters.
Their joined hands swing between them as they move in the direction of the door, and Taemin smiles.
Taemin attempts to stifle a yawn as he slumps against Jongin. It’s ridiculously late—another busy day of recording and getting that one step closer to perfection—and the two of them are waiting outside Jongin’s apartment as he tiredly fumbles with his keys. After a few seconds of messily scraping at the cool metal of the keyhole, Jongin succeeds, and the door makes a satisfying click as the key twists in the lock.
Taemin is so tired he can hardly stand, and Jongin can’t have that much more energy than him. He’s glad he lives so close to the studio, else he’d probably pass out before he reached his bed.
The door swings open, and Jongin flicks on the lights.
“Come on, you big baby,” He huffs, scooping a motionless Taemin into his arms, and carrying him inside. He knocks the door shut with a swift movement of his hips, and Taemin buries his head into Jongin’s chest.
“You’re too good to me.” He mumbles. Jongin laughs.
“That’s right I am. You’re lucky to have me, Taem.”
“Mmhmm.”
Jongin makes his way to his room, carefully depositing Taemin on the bed once he’s arrived, who kicks off his shoes and tucks himself under the duvet cover.
“Hurry up, Jonginnie.” he starts, as Jongin starts wriggling out of his jacket, “It’s cold and you’re warm.”
Jongin discards his coat and throws himself onto the bed. Taemin makes grabby hands, and Jongin crawls into his arms.
“Mmm, I missed you,” Taemin says, taking a deep breath—a lungful of Jongin’s warm cologne—once they’ve tangled their limbs together.
“Ooh, is Lee Taemin going all sappy on me?” He teases, earning himself a light slap on the arm.
“Shut up, or you’ll never hear from me again.”
Jongin laughs and pulls him closer.
“As if you could go five minutes without me.”
Taemin doesn’t respond because he knows it's true, instead burrowing deeper into Jongin’s chest. A soft moment passes.
“What do you think of the song so far?” Jongin murmurs, his low voice vibrating in his chest.
“I like it,” Taemin says quietly, “I think our voices go together really well.”
“Mmm.” Jongin hums, and then a few seconds later, “I’m so glad we’re doing this together. You and me, just like we planned all those years ago. I’m so happy you agreed to do this with me.”
“Hey,” Taemin says into Jongin’s shirt. “You know I’d do anything if you asked—not that I don’t want to do this anyway—no, no. I love working with you, Jonginnie.”
Jongin nods and they settle into a comfortable silence then, his arms wrapping impossibly tighter around Taemin’s tiny figure, and then he presses a light kiss on the top of Taemin’s head.
“Ahh, I love you.” He says. ”So, so much.”
Taemin's heart flutters. “I love you more.”
“Impossible.”
When he wakes the next morning, it’s far too early. Monggu is scratching at the door and Taemin is left with the unbearable choice between letting the dog out but risking waking Jongin up, or going back to sleep and hoping that Monggu doesn’t piss himself on Jongin’s floor.
He begrudgingly decides on the first, but before he even gets the chance to swing his legs over the side of the bed he feels the arm around his waist tighten. Jongin mutters something inaudible and pulls Taemin closer.
“Jongin?” he whispers.
“You can’t get up now,” Jongin mumbles, half-asleep. “You need to cuddle me first.”
Monggu tilts his head questioningly, and Taemin sticks his bottom lip out apologetically. He turns back to Jongin, who snuggles closer into Taemin's side, and breaths out a laugh. “Whatever you say.” He throws his own arm over Jongin’s body and starts rubbing soothing patterns into his back.
It’s not long before Taemin feels himself drift back to sleep, dreaming of puppies and clouds and fluffy blankets, and he only wakes a few hours later when he feels the press of a nose in the skin of his neck. He wearily blinks open his eyes to find Jongin sprawled over him, head shoved into Taemin’s shoulder.
He groans, and the vibrations seem to be enough to wake Jongin up.
“God, what time is it?” he asks groggily, and Taemin sums up all his energy to turn his head towards the clock on Jongin’s nightstand.
“A little after noon, we should probably get up.”
He feels Jongin nod and slowly peel himself off Taemin. “I haven’t slept for that long in ages. ”
After a minute or so they make their way to the kitchen, Monggu luckily not having made a mess of the place, in search of something to eat. There’s some odd bits of cereal in the cupboard which Taemin helps himself to whilst Jongin has a shower. Then they switch and when Taemin has finished drying his hair they find themselves on the comically large couch in Jongin’s living room.
They end up watching Doctor Who (what can Taemin say, he loves British TV shows) and Taemin makes sure to laugh extra hard when Jongin jumps as one of the weeping angels appears on screen.
“Hey!” Jongin whines, “They’re scary!”
“It’s a kids show.”
“They’re still scary.” He pouts, in feux offense, and Taemin just pulls him closer.
“Okay, you big baby.”
It’s a warm day in September, and Taemin lays with his eyes closed and his head resting comfortably in Jongin’s lap. They’re sat on a cute little red-and-white checkered blanket by the Han river, in their spot, and it’s thankfully surprisingly quiet today.
The picnic had been Jongin’s idea, a soft, lazy way for them to spend the day together, celebrating the end of promotions for Taemin’s album. Taemin, of course, could not say no to Jongin even if he wanted to (which he definitely did not), so he had ventured to the convenience store by his apartment in the early morning, coming back with a litre of grape juice and two plastic cups, and various other snacks. Jongin had provided the food, a selection of fancy pastries and fruits and little slices of baguette with way too many jams to choose from than any sane human would need. It had been delicious, but once the food had settled and Taemin was warm he had started to feel his eyes get droopy and had let out a yawn, and Jongin had laughed and pulled him into his lap, which is where he lays now.
After a few minutes Taemin slowly blinks open his eyes to look at the man before him. He looks so beautiful from this angle, Taemin thinks, the sunlight hitting him perfectly, making his hair shine and glow like a little halo. It makes his heart swell a bit, and he reaches up to cup Jongin’s cheek. It’s soft, as his thumb strokes over the smooth skin there. Jongin’s gorgeous face is so captivating that Taemin fails to notice the fond look in his eyes, or the soft smile that his lips begin to twist into.
“Hey,” Jongin says then, cocking his head to the side slightly, “having fun?”
Taemin pouts.
“It’s not fair.” He whines “You’re too pretty, Jonginnie.” Jongin looks slightly startled, but Taemin carries on. “You and your perfect face and perfect skin and perfect eyes and perfect lips. I mean, save some for the rest of us, right?”
Jongin doesn’t say a word, and Taemin rolls his eyes before continuing.
“See, you wouldn’t get it because that’s your face. You’re used to seeing it in the mirror, your beauty standards are all crooked because you think that a face like that is the norm—it isn’t, by the way. You’re stunning, Jonginnie.”
A beat passes, and then,
“You’re weird, Taemin-ah.” But it's soft and teasing.
“You love me for it.”
Jongin grins, leaning down slightly so that the lines of his face are parallel to Taemin’s.
“Only because no one else will.” He says, sticking his tongue out at the end.
Taemin pouts again.
“You wound me.”
Jongin hums, his left hand coming up to cradle Taemin’s jaw.
“You’re not too hard on the eyes either.” He says, and it's then that Taemin suddenly realises just how close their faces are. He watches Jongin’s eyes flick down to his mouth, and then flick back up again and his breath falters. Jongin’s thumb softly brushes at Taemin’s cheek.
He doesn’t think suddenly, leaning up to gently press their lips together. It’s soft and warm and for a second he’s terrified, oh God what if I’ve made a mistake , but any doubt bubbling up inside him is immediately silenced by the feeling of Jongin’s lips twisting up into a smile.
He slowly pulls back, staring up at Jongin through his lashes.
“What was that for?” Jongin asks fondly.
“I.. uh,” He starts, “I’m in love with you. And um... I felt like it, I guess.” His cheeks redden. “Besides, it’s about time, don’t you think?”
Jongin hums, reaching over to thread their fingers together.
“You’re right. Long overdue.” he says, and then after a few moments of quiet, “Aish, I’m so lucky. Lee Taemin loves me.”
“Mhmm,” Taemin replies, “You better not take it lightly. A dozen fans would kill to be in your shoes right now.”
Jongin sends him a look.
“A dozen? You underestimate yourself, Taemin-ah.”
“Fine. Two dozen then.”
This makes Jongin throw back his head and laugh, a beautiful melodic sound that makes Taemin’s heart want to burst. He lets out a small giggle himself.
There’s a comfortable silence for a few moments then, broken only by the soft question that falls from Jongin’s lips.
“How long?”
Taemin fiddles with their fingers. “I don’t know, it’s always been different with you.”
Jongin hums, squeezing their hands tightly before bringing them up to his lips for a swift kiss.
“You too. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone the way I love you.”
They’re walking down one of the long hallways in the SM Entertainment building when Taemin and Jongin are suddenly cornered into an empty practice room by none other than Taemin’s fellow SHINee members. Jinki locks the door behind them and Jongin looks startled but Taemin has seen this coming for a while now.
“Finally,” Kibum sighs, “for two people who hardly leave each other's sides it sure is hard to get you two alone together.” He gestures further inside the room and the five of them make their way towards the chairs haphazardly scattered around by the other wall. Kibum, Minho and Jinki take a seat on them as Taemin and Jongin lower themselves to the floor, and it makes the older three loom over them slightly, which Taemin finds a bit funny.
“Right, well, you probably know why you’re here, right?” Jinki says, and then, after seeing the youngest’s nervous face, “Calm down Jongin-ah, we’re not about to skin you alive.”
Kibum continues, “Look, I’m just going to tear the band-aid off, so to speak. We know you two are dating—” Taemin lets out a sound of protest, “—and don’t even try to deny it because Minho told me he saw you two snogging in the kitchen when we all had that movie night a few weeks back, remember?”
As if to prove this, Minho nods and wrinkles his nose in mock disgust. Taemin does remember. He'd only gone off into the kitchen to microwave some more popcorn before the next movie started. He hadn't noticed Jongin sneak in after him, nor had he realised the door had still been open when he'd let Jongin back him up against the kitchen counter and slip his tongue into his mouth—
“And, we’re all happy for you, but come on, do it in your own time? And space? As much as we love you guys we don’t love walking in on you sucking face.”
“Hyung, you sound like a middle-schooler.” Taemin says, earning himself eye roll.
"Stop deflecting, Tae." He says, and then turns towards the youngest. "And Jongin, you know the rules right. Break his heart and we'll break your face, and all that." The other SHINee members nod, "I'm friends with BoA you know, I can get you fired."
Jongin goes pale and Taemin lets out a soft laugh. "He's joking, Jongin-ah."
The older three go through a few other things, Jinki's section about safe sex leaving the youngest two red as tomatoes and hiding their faces in their hands. When they're finally done, they leave Jongin and Taemin together in the practice room.
"I'm sorry about them." Taemin says, crawling into Jongin's lap and brushing a kiss to his cheek. "They're only doing it to wind us up... probably."
Jongin shivers. “I don’t think Kibum-hyung will ever stop being scary to me.”
Taemin waves his hand dismissively, “Oh it’s all for show. He’s as soft as a newborn puppy really.” He presses their lips together momentarily. “He didn’t really scare you that much did he? My Jonginnie.”
“Oh, I’m used to it. I was there when Junmyeon had to give that talk to Sehun and—actually, I’m not sure if I should be talking about that one.”
Taemin's eyes widen and Jongin brings his finger to his lips.
A year or so later, Taemin wakes, feeling very warm snuggled safely in his bed, a contrast to the freezing cold air that he knows will greet him once he ventures out from under the covers in search of breakfast. Jongin’s arm is draped loosely over his waist, and as Taemin eases his eyes open, he’s met with his bright eyes staring fondly back at him.
“Morning,” Jongin says, a soft smile on his lips. Taemin stretches like a cat, before wriggling closer to Jongin.
“Hi. Merry Christmas-Eve.”
Jongin’s yawn morphs into a giggle mid-way.
“Merry Christmas-Eve.” He replies lightly. They lay there for a long, peaceful moment, before Jongin groans and heaves himself out of bed.
“Hey.” Taemin protests, “Don’t go, you’re warm.”
“Sorry,” Jongin says apologetically, pulling on a sweater he fished out from the pile of discarded clothes on the floor, “I’ve got to be somewhere this morning.” Taemin pouts, and Jongin continues, “I’ll see you later though, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Taemin raises an eyebrow.
“What kind of surprise?”
Jongin taps his nose knowingly.
“Well, I can’t tell you ‘cause then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
Taemin rolls his eyes and Jongin leans down to peck him on the lips.
“Mmm, love you. See you later.”
Taemin finds himself waking once more, a few hours later, and decides that despite the cold he should probably actually get out of bed and make himself something to eat.
He lugs himself to the kitchen, where in the fridge he finds a Tupperware container of last night’s dinner that Jongin has thoughtfully set aside for him. There’s even a little post-it note stuck to it that reads “Taeminnie<3 don’t forget to have your breakfast”.
He feels his heart swell as he makes his way over to the microwave.
Within 10 minutes he’s eaten and washed up his breakfast, and is about to settle down on the couch with an episode of his new favourite show when his phone starts to buzz with a text from Jongin.
EXO Kai
4:30 ? [Location Attached]
He smiles as he types out his reply.
You
See u there ! <3
He drops his phone onto the cushion and hops over the furniture to get ready.
Thankfully there’s not too many people at the place Jongin chose, a little ice skating rink not quite in the center of Seoul, but Taemin still tugs his mask over his face as he pulls out his phone to check the time.
Before he even gets a chance to turn it on however, there’s a pair of cold, cold hands wrapping around his face and settling over his eyes. He lets out a small scream and tries to wriggle away before warm air in the form of a familiar laugh hits his ear. He lets out a sigh of relief, before spinning around to face his captor.
“Jongin!” He huffs,“You can’t do that, I thought you were trying to kidnap me!” He hits Jongin on the arm lightly, but tugs down his mask and gives him a grin so he knows he’s not really mad.
Jongin takes his hand and they walk together towards the entrance of the rink. Not long after, they’re lacing up their skates, and then Taemin is taking a wobbly step out onto the ice.
At first he’s hopeless, clutching onto the wall with all his might, but after a few minutes he’s got the hang of it and can make a neat loop around the rink without stumbling over. Jongin however, doesn’t quite seem to have the same luck. He tries to make it off the wall, sure, but pretty much as soon as his hands leave the board one of those annoying professional skaters who definitely only came to the public rink to make people like Jongin seem even worse at skating than they actually are skates past with a whoosh , and he loses his balance.
Taemin almost falls over just from laughing, but he glides over and offers Jongin a hand to help tug him up.
“Maybe you should just stick with me, hmm?”
Jongin scowls at him. “I’m perfectly capable of skating on my own, thank you very much.” To demonstrate this, he rejects Taemin’s outstretched arm and tries to get up by himself, which of course results in him slipping even further down, flat onto his face.
Taemin really does fall over from laughing this time, and somehow that makes the whole situation so much funnier so they’re both lying there on the ice, shoulders shaking, limbs turned to jelly and neither of them able to stand up because they're laughing so hard.
When Taemin has finally stopped gasping for breath and is actually aware of the people around them staring disapprovingly, he slowly makes his way to his feet and offers Jongin his hand again. This time he takes it, and joins Taemin.
“Alright then, maybe I should stay with you for a little bit.”
Taemin nods, a little bit smug, and leads Jongin into the center of the ice. He’s still not the most graceful person on the ice (picture: a baby deer’s first steps) but at least he’s not flailing his arms about embarrassingly like the pair of teenagers a few metres behind them.
They manage to skate a nice circle around the rink, albeit a little slower than Taemin is on his own, but it’s worth it to see the proud but determined look on Jongin’s face.
After a few more loops of the rink they retire to the side for a moment to rest. As they glide towards the wall Taemin reaches out and takes Jongin’s free hand in his, and tugs him towards himself. When they make it to a stop, Taemin’s back pressed up against the plastic board and Jongin’s arms on either side caging him in, Jongin leans forward and captures Taemin’s lips briefly in a soft, sweet kiss. When he pulls away he smiles at Taemin’s burnt red cheeks.
“Yah, Jongin-ah.” Taemin says, flustered, ”What if someone’s watching?”
Jongin grins mischievously.
“Then they’re in for a little surprise aren’t they?”
Taemin shoves at his shoulder playfully and Jongin leans in for another kiss, but Taemin wriggles out of his grasp and pushes out onto the ice again, leaving him behind.
“You’ll have to catch me first!”
Jongin sticks his tongue out at him, but pushes off the wall into the stream of oncoming skaters nonetheless. It seems his skill in ice skating is miraculously improving by the second, because it’s not long before he’s caught up to Taemin at the other end of the rink, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him breathless.
Taemin feels a little bit dizzy in the best way possible when they part. Jongin gives him a smile before tugging him back out into the middle of the ice for one last loop before their session is over, and then they’re stepping off the ice, untying their skates and handing them back over the counter.
Once they’ve both got their normal shoes back on they head over to the little cafe area to get hot chocolate. Taemin swings forwards and backwards on the balls of his feet whilst they’re waiting, hoping to shake a little warmth into his limbs.
Whilst they were skating the sun had begun to set, it being winter, and Taemin thinks it makes everywhere feel even more Christmassy. There’s fairy lights on all the surfaces in the little mock-cabin that the cafe has been decorated to look like and it gives the room a very warm feel.
It’s not too long before their drinks are ready, and Jongin hands it to Taemin with a soft smile. He takes a sip and it’s lovely , all warm and velvety and Taemin lets his eyes slip closed and lets out a moan because it tastes so good.
He blinks his eyes back open at Jongin to see his reaction, who is staring at him with an amused look on his face.
“Taemin-ah,” He laughs, “you’ve got some cream on your upper lip.”
Taemin grins.
“Well, maybe I did it on purpose so you’d kiss it away.”
Jongin rolls his eyes fondly, “Okay, Mr. ‘Oh Jongin-ah What If People Are Watching’.” But he leans down and meets Taemin’s lips nonetheless. Taemin laughs to himself—how much more cliché could today get?
They take their drinks with them out of the cafe and then out of the rink and make their way into the main street, also decorated with twinkling lights and faux Christmas trees. A few hundred metres down the street there’s a Christmas market, and as they get closer the distinct scent of roasting chestnuts fills Taemin’s lungs.
They have a look around at some of the stalls, but nothing particularly catches Taemin’s eye—he’s already done most of his Christmas shopping, what with it being Christmas Eve—but it's all beautiful nonetheless.
He finds a stall selling bootleg EXO merchandise and makes sure to grab a pair of Kai socks whilst the Kai in question isn't looking. They'll be great for tomorrow , he thinks.
After finishing their hot chocolates they leave the market and make their way towards the Han. It's a lot less crowded than the market was, which they're both grateful for, but they still keep their masks up just in case—Taemin doesn't fancy another Dispatch scandal.
(He says, as if he wasn't literally sucking face with Jongin not even an hour earlier.)
They finally reach Their Spot, and it's, thankfully, fairly deserted. They'd chosen it for a reason, all those years ago.
Jongin stops suddenly, turning round to face Taemin head on, and looks a little nervous. He takes both of Taemin's hands in his.
"Taemin-ah," He says slowly, and Taemin gives their joined hands a reassuring squeeze, "I love you so, so , much.”
“I love you too.” Taemin interjects, and Jongin smiles before continuing.
“You make me so happy. You're the reason I get out of bed in the morning, the reason I go to sleep at night. I miss you so much when you're away, and I can't get enough of you when you're here. You mean so much to me. And, well.. I've been thinking about it for a while and I really can't picture myself spending the rest of my life with anyone other than you. Haven't been able to for a long time, actually. You're so important to me, such a big part of my life, my soulmate. "
He takes a breath, and Taemin feels his heart beat faster and faster. Jongin reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small box.
"So, Lee Taemin," He slips the box open, "Would you allow me to be the happiest man in the world and become my husband?"
Taemin feels like he's going to explode. His hands fly up to cover his mouth. His mind is running a mile a minute. He doesn't know what to say, taken off guard, thousands of thoughts running in and out of his mind. It's only when Jongin’s smile starts looking slightly worried that Taemin realises he still hasn't replied.
"Oh, yes. Yes!” He splutters, “Jonginnie, I love you so much, of course, yes!"
He jumps up and flings his arms around Jongin's neck, pressing their lips together and knocking Jongin slightly off his feet. They sway together for a moment, both the happiest they could possibly be.
When they finally pull apart, Jongin fumbles in the cold to slide the ring onto Taemin's tiny finger. When he's done he tucks a loose strand of hair behind Taemin's ear, the smile on his face so fond Taemin feels like melting.
"You're so beautiful." he says, dreamily, and Taemin blushes.
"I hope you're not just marrying me for my looks, Jonginnie."
Jongin lets out a breath of laughter, and Taemin grins.
"Right then, we better get on, we've got a lot of people to tell."
He joins their hands together and they swing between them as they walk back towards the market.