fic: swell

Jul 02, 2012 04:39

Swell
2465w; pg-13?
Onew/Jonghyun



“We won’t get caught.” Minho had said.

“It’s just a few DVD’s.” Minho had said.

“Nobody would ever buy these anyway.” Minho had said.

Despite never trusting his friend, or his ideas, Jonghyun had been drunk enough to let this one meet fruition. Even though he knew it wasn’t socially or morally acceptable to just stuff a movie down his shirt and walk out a store, he was still surprised when they got caught.

Two weeks after, he walked out of court with a $100 fine and a summer full of community service. Jonghyun knew how lucky he was, but still, his whole summer. All he could do now was cross his fingers and hope he didn’t get assigned to garbage detail.

“Who’s your most favorite person in the whole world?” Minho sounded way too happy for someone who almost helped his friend ruin his life.

“Not you.”

“What if I told you I got assigned to the art museum?”

“I would hate you. I wanted that.”

“Oh…”

He bounced his leg on his knee as he waited to be called back to discuss his assignment. The sooner he got started the sooner he could get it over with, but the secretary at the desk didn’t seem to share his impatience. Jonghyun had been sitting there freezing his face off for over half an hour and she hadn’t even tried to find the person he was supposed to talk to. He sighed, digging in his bag for a candy bar.

“You can’t eat that in here.” At least she still knew he was sitting there. Jonghyun winked and unwrapped the chocolate anyway, picking off a piece and stuffing it in his mouth.

“Um, excuse me, is there anyone you could call or something?”

The secretary popped her gum, eyes never leaving her computer screen. “Look, I told you to just wait.” She shrugged. “He’s always late.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than a man literally fell through the door. His bag freed itself of its belongings and his glasses skidded across the floor to rest at Jonghyun’s feet.

“Hi, Jinki.”

“Hey Krystal!” The man greeted, scooping himself off the floor.

Jonghyun blinked, watching him gather notebooks and papers by feeling across the floor before he realized. The poor guy probably couldn’t see without his glasses. He picked up the thin wire frames and walked over. “I think you dropped these.”

“Thanks.” He said easily.

“Uh, do you need a hand…?” Jonghyun was feeling a little odd being the only one who seemed to notice that less than a minute ago this guy’s face was best friends with the ground.

“Nope!” He stood, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. “Jonghyun right? Follow me.”
Jonghyun hurried to retrieve his backpack and fell in step behind the other man as he led them down the office hallway to the last door. The man, Jinki, fumbled in his pocket for a moment, producing a key and sliding it into the lock. He pushed the door open, “go on in.”

Jonghyun’s eyes widened as he looked around the room, the walls were covered in what looked like second grade art projects. Jinki shut the door behind them, throwing his bag and then himself onto the desk. He gestured for Jonghyun to take the lone chair, speaking first. “Not to sound mean or insensitive in anyway, but I’m really glad you fucked up.”

Jonghyun choked on the air. He was kind of offended. A lot offended, retorts filled his mind but really, what could he say? He settled on staring at the other man like he had three heads.

“Don’t look at me like that. I mean it. My assistant had a family emergency so I really lucked out with you. I’m Jinki by the way.” He held out his hand and Jonghyun took it, albeit warily.

“Jonghyun. Ni-” No that wasn’t the word. “I’m ha-” That wasn’t either. Jonghyun stopped trying to figure out a way to be truthful without possibly getting reassigned when he noticed Jinki wasn’t even paying attention. He was staring at his chest. Jonghyun cleared his throat self-consciously. “Uh, so what do we do around here?”

“Can I paint you?”

“What?”

“What what?” Jinki’s hand slid up and gripped Jonghyun’s forearm, causing him to jerk back in disbelief. The other man just shrugged and leaned back on the desk. “You’re attractive and toned. I think you’d be a good model.”

Jonghyun sputtered. “Are you…are you hitting on me?!” Not that he wasn’t flattered, but he was also creeped out.

“What? Of course not.” He wagged a finger at Jonghyun. “I’m your supervisor, I wouldn’t do that. I’m propositioning you. I’d pay you.”

There was really only so much Jonghyun could handle. “Ok, um, how do I get reassigned?”

Jonghyun didn’t get reassigned. He figured out that Jinki was pretty harmless. He ran the community center’s art program. A fancy way of saying he gave a bunch of kids paint three times a day and let them go crazy. Jonghyun also found out fairly quickly that despite working with them on a daily basis, on the surface, Jinki wasn’t very good with children. He paled when they touched him and didn’t really understand why some couldn’t produce perfect circles out of glue. They loved him anyway.

“Do you like doing this?” Jonghyun asked him one day.

“It’s a job.” He said, shrugging. But Jonghyun’s seen the wall in Jinki’s office. Stuff left behind because parents didn’t want it, didn’t think their kids needed it. Didn’t think it made any difference to anyone to have something they created.

His eight weeks flew by before he could mark the start of them on his calendar. Being a caring citizen turned out to be a lot more fun than Jonghyun first thought, though he chalked that up to being assigned to the community center rather than waste management. Every three days Jinki got tired of the color on the one uncovered wall in the classroom and they repainted it. At the beginning of ‘The Red Days’ as Jonghyun liked to call them, Jinki waltzed in with a can of red paint. An open can of red paint. That he dropped when he ran into a table, sending a bright trail through the room.

Jonghyun, used to it by now, ordered everyone’s shoes off. The rest of that afternoon was spent covering the floor in footprints, much to the director’s dismay.

Jinki asked often if he could paint him. So much that Jonghyun found it weird if the other man didn’t mention it at least twice a day. He called him his muse and Jonghyun found it endearing but couldn’t take him seriously.

“Jonghyun. It’s just a paint brush, it won’t even touch you.” He’d say when he got frustrated.

“Are you shy or something?” He’d say when he was feeling playful. Which no, Jonghyun wasn’t shy. He just didn’t want someone staring at him naked for that long.

“Jonghyun.” He’d whisper when his eyes weren’t focused on the world in front of him. “Let me.” And Jonghyun would hug him until it got weird because at times like those it felt like Jinki was asking something else entirely.

At the end of Jonghyun’s last week Jinki dipped into the program’s funds to take the kids on a field trip to the art museum. They stuck to the more child friendly areas but did pass by some exhibits Jonghyun made a mental note to come back and visit soon. He ran into Minho during lunch.

“I haven’t seen you all summer.” Minho blurted as soon as he got close enough. He was juggling what seemed to be a large paper covered canvas in his gloved hands.

“Whose fault is that?”

“Shut up, I got way more hours than you, you know.”

Jonghyun raised an eyebrow, repeating, “and whose fault is that?” He grabbed one end of the piece and helped his friend lug it into a small exhibition room. They sat it on the floor, leaning against the wall it was to be hung on later and Jonghyun looked around. “What’s all this for anyway?” He moved to an uncovered painting already installed, of what Jonghyun assumed was a dancer from the way his body contorted through the brush strokes.

“Some new artist is having his first showing here.”Minho shrugged. “He must be good cause he’s getting a lot of press.” Jonghyun just nodded, still enraptured in the painting until he realized he should be getting back to the group.

“Who’s your most favorite person in the whole world?”

“Not you.”

Minho’s snort rattled through the phone. “What if I told you I could get you into the opening of that exhibit tonight?”

“You still wouldn’t be my favorite person, but I might hate you less.”

Jonghyun straightened the collar on his button down, grateful for the lax dress code as he entered the museum and headed towards the exhibit. Minho met him at the entrance, handing him a glass.

“See what listening to me will get you? Opportunities.”

“Somehow I think you really believe that and that frightens me.” He glanced around at the crowd milling about.

“I met the guy, he’s nice, kind of odd, but nice. You’d like him.” Minho slung his arm across his friends shoulder, stirring him towards the more congested area of the room. “Really. He’s totally your type.”

Jonghyun nodded noncommittally. “Stop trying to set me up.” They squeezed into the crowd, Minho pointing out the artist standing in the midst of it all. His back was turned but Jonghyun was struck by a sense of familiarity.

“Minho…I think that’s my boss.” Jonghyun whispered to his friend, only his friend had disappeared from his side and was now dragging the artist over to him.

“Jonghyun this is Onew. Onew, Jonghyun.”

The two men stared at each other but Jonghyun was the first to recover, bowing slightly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Jonghyun I-” Jinki cleared his throat. “Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else.” He turned and slipped out of the room with a grace Jonghyun didn’t know he possessed. He handed Minho his glass and followed, cringing when he looked back and saw his friend making suggestive hand gestures.

“So that was a surprise.” The wind whipped through Jonghyun’s hair as he came to a stop next to Jinki outside the museum doors.

“I was going to tell you.” Jinki looked at Jonghyun anxiously, hand automatically reaching up to push up his glasses in a nervous gesture, but he wasn’t wearing them so he ended up poking his eye.

“I didn’t say it was a bad surprise.” Jonghyun took pity on him. “Jinki you’re really talented.”

The other man blinked, then a wide smile broke across his lips. “Thank you. Really, thanks.”

“But, Onew? Really?” Jonghyun chuckled, leaning against the wall as the stars winked at them.

Jinki snorted. “Shut up.” They stood in comfortable silence for awhile until Jinki spoke again. “So that guy you were with…are you…?”

“What? Minho? What?” Jonghyun choked. “Hell no. He’s just a friend.” He tilted his head and peered at Jinki, a smirk crawling across his mouth. “He thinks you’re my type though.”

“I am. I am totally your type. Should we go be each other’s type somewhere more private?”

“I thought you had some kind of moral stop sign with that, you’re my supervisor remember?”

Jinki smiled, shaking his head. “Yesterday was your last day.”

“Where do you want me?” Jonghyun fiddled nervously with the tie on his robe. Ok so maybe he was a little self conscious.

Jinki waved him off from where he was setting up his supplies. “Anywhere you feel comfortable is fine.”

Jonghyun chose the couch. Partly because he figured it would be the most comfortable place but mainly because it was the only piece of furniture in Jinki’s living room. The other man looked up. Did he feel Jonghyun silently judging him?

“Why are you still wearing that?” No he didn’t. Jonghyun stuck his tongue out and shrugged the robe off defiantly, planting his feet on the floor and resting his chin in his palms, elbows on his spread knees. He laughed at the flush creeping up Jinki’s neck and settled into a less exposed position.

Fifteen minutes passed before Jinki glared through his lenses, setting his brush down. “Jonghyun. Will you relax?”

Jonghyun’s toe twitched. “I am relaxed”, He said through gritted teeth.

At some point he fell asleep, waking to Jinki’s muffled laughter and a dull ache in his elbow. He made sure to stay awake then, listening to the other man’s endless humming. Jonghyun silently judged him some more for not owning a stereo.

Still awhile later Jinki finally sat down his brush, yawning and stretching. He walked over and threw a blanket on his subject. “You look cold.”

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, sitting and pulling the blanket around him. “Thanks.” The fact that Jinki was next to him and no longer seated at his easel sent a pinch of shock through Jonghyun’s chest. “C-can I go look at it?”

“Sure.”

Jonghyun walked over to the painting as coolly as he could. It’s not like he was excited to see it or anything, he just wanted to glance. The first thing he noticed was that it wasn’t him.

In front of him was a landscape, the ocean as day was leaving. Crisp crashing waves reaching towards a glittering sky.

It reminded him of warm summers, indie music, the comfort of someone’s hand entwined with his own. It reminded him of dreams as big as the sky, broken hearts surrendered to the sea, glass bottles full of messages. It was beautiful, but.

“Um, Jinki?” The other man had walked up behind him.

“Hmm?”

“This isn’t me.”

“Yes, it is.” Jinki’s glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose. His eyes were completely visible and unguarded, peering over the top of the frames.

Oh.

Jonghyun got it. He took a step closer, fingers skimming Jinki’s cheek as he removed his glasses.

“Ok, but why did I have to get naked?”

“So I could stare at your ass for two hours.” Jinki shrugged.

Jonghyun’s hand changed trajectory, from tracing up the other mans neck to gripping his hair threateningly. “You know, I could potentially hate you right now. Things I didn’t even know I had are stiff.”

“Don’t worry.” Jinki grinned. “I’ll massage them for you.”

“Is that a euphemism for something or…”

“It is.” He reached down and grabbed Jonghyun’s other hand, bringing it to meet its mate behind his neck. “So can we kiss now? Or if you want to get right to f-”

Jonghyun just grinned, whispering “Jinki, shut up” against his lips.

A/N: Um, can I just.

Like everything else this is pointlessly thrown together and idk why I do this ): one day I will write something substantial, I promise. SHINee is kind of my go-to when I'm tired of feeling ~deep~ which kills all my abilities to write anything but fluff with them. Its like being stuck on a cloud, made out of cotton candy and glitter. Rainbow glitter. Rainbow glitter that tastes like marshmallows, and smiles. Purple polka dot smiles :|

:pairing: onew/jonghyun, :band: shinee, +1000w

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