Unravel Me (And I'll Sew You Back Together) / Part III END

[gee]

Right now Taecyeon fancied himself a genius. He wasn't one to be modest, he could admit that, but even he was amazed at himself. Ever since Counter Boy had not so subtly hinted that Junsu had an upcoming birthday (apparently a month away counted as upcoming in his universe) he'd been trying to think of something to get him. Usually he paid friends in a pat on the back and a beer, or something equally trivial, but that idea left a bad taste in his mouth. And Junsu couldn't drink beer anyway.

He knew Junsu enjoyed all things musical but he didn't know what type of music exactly, another mystery to add to his growing list, and it wasn't as if he knew enough to be able to go buy something more complicated than a CD on his own. It felt like cheating to just give him money and tell him to buy his own present. So, what else was there?

Sewing. That's what.

As he turned the corner he was happy to see a familiar car in the driveway of Junsu's house. It had taken careful planning, possible stalking, and conspiring with his once-upon-a-time nemesis to work out a date and time for this meeting. Junsu had turned into more a homebody lately, spending less time in town and less time around Taecyeon in general. He didn't bother him about it and he didn't admit that maybe he missed him. He would admit however that it made his mission all the harder. Thankfully Counter Boy had convinced his best friend they needed to spend some quality time together. Taecyeon had a few hours to work with now.

He parked his car and got out, striding quickly to the the door in a hurry to get started and get out of the new cold weather that had settled in town. Junsu's Dad answered the door, as expected.

“Hi Taecyeon. Junsu isn't ho-”

“I know. I'm not here to see him, I came to see you.”

“Me? What for?”

“I've heard that you're the best seamstress in town.”

Junsu's father looked at him like he had just professed to having three stomachs, but he stepped aside and invited him into the house anyway. After sitting and hearing Taecyeon explain himself he seemed to be put at ease, even chuckling a bit at his idea. And much to Taecyeon's relief he agreed to help.

He occupied himself by looking at the pictures on the walls while Junsu's dad left to get their needed supplies. Most of them he'd already seen a few times now, but he still enjoyed looking at them. Pictures of Junsu throughout his life, from the toddler years to more recent. The baby pictures were his favorite. Junsu reminded him of some kind of living My Buddy doll, smiling and tiny. He wondered what kind of kid he had been.

“I don't have much spare fabric for you to practice on, but it should be enough for you to get the process down. You can work more on your own stuff then and I'll help if you need it.”

With a huge plastic tub in hand Junsu's dad returned to the living room, sitting down next to him and placing the box between them. Taecyeon recognized most of the fabric that was inside it. Large sheets untouched, but some with squares cut out here and there, the patches that Junsu had all over himself. Junsu's dad fished out a wad of rumbled purple fabric that was shoved at the bottom as well as needles and thread.

“Alright, first thing first. You have to be able to thread a needle before you can sew anything.”

And there his lesson began. After only a few minutes Taecyeon was ready to give up, finding it difficult to control his hands when working with such tiny tools. But Junsu's dad was patient and helpful, telling him tales of what trouble he had at first trying to teach himself how to sew so many years ago. Necessity is the mother of more than just invention, he had said in that voice that all parents seemed to slip into when they were feeling reminiscent.

Little by little Taecyeon improved, learning to do different stitches and tie them off. His fingers seemed to be getting used to the small precise moves necessary, less stiff and cumbersome. As he continued to practice, tasking himself with sewing two sides of the fabric together in a nice even line, Junsu's dad sat back and watched his work. Though right now it felt more like he was watching him. It was screwing with his concentration.

“Is this good so far?”

Taecyeon held out the fabric for him to inspect, but Junsu's father only took one quick glance at it before nodding. Then it was back to staring at Taecyeon. The distraction tactic was a failure but diligently he continued to work, trying to ignore the prickly feeling in his spine.

“Back in my day, we did things differently. I guess times do change some.”

After minutes of silence the statement caused Taecyeon to jerk, adding yet another stab injury to his already sore fingertips. He bit back a hiss.

“Did what differently? Sewing?”

“No no. Not that.” Junsu's dad shifted so he was sitting up and level with Taecyeon again, though he was no longer looking at him. Instead his attention seemed to be on the picture frames hanging against the wall. “I remember back when I was dating Junsu's mom. Doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but I suppose it was. I had to go meet her parents and prove to them I was good enough for their daughter. I figured that was a lost tradition now.”

Taecyeon kept quiet and focused on his sewing, not sure where this conversation was going. It did surprise him to hear Junsu's father speak so easily of his former wife when Junsu himself had clearly not wanted to even mention her when asked.

“I guess this is like you coming to ask my permission then, right?”

“Permission?”

Now Taecyeon looked up, brows furrowed. Junsu's dad was looking at him again though his time with almost a smirk on his face. Like he knew something Taecyeon didn't.

“You could have surely taught yourself how to sew Taecyeon. Junsu told me you work with computers so you must be smart, and I bet it wouldn't have been hard for you to find how-to guides on the internet. Instead you went to great lengths to talk to me. Alone.”

“Sure, but-”

“It's fine.” Junsu's dad cute off whatever he was going to say with a smile. “I'd be a hypocrite if I loved my son despite his condition and then objected to other differences in him. And you seem like a nice kid. Junsu surely thinks so.”

By now Taecyeon had given up trying to focus on his sewing and looked, blank face, at Junsu's dad. He had come to learn how to sew and somehow his intentions had been twisted into he didn't even know what. A moment of silence passed between them as they exchanged stares.

Then, surprisingly, Junsu's dad laughed.

“You look a bit lost. Maybe I got ahead of myself? Junsu's told me before I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. Well, that's okay.” He gave Taecyeon's knee a slap. “You'll figure it out on your own soon enough. Oh and, your stitching is crooked there at the end.”

He tapped the corner of the fabric before standing up, walking away to the kitchen and leaving Taecyeon to sit there alone with his confusion and crappy stitches.

When his phone rang he had never been so happy to hear the sound, quickly heeding Counter Boy's warning to get the hell out cause he and Junsu were on their way from the movies.

Once back in the safe and not awkward environment of his own home Taecyeon continued to practice, working with fabric and thread he had already bought for his project. It didn't last long. His fingers were swollen and aching from careless stitching. His head ached too. Either everyone else was going crazy or he was, and he wasn't sure which one he hoped was the truth. But rather than ponder deep questions and think about his life like the grown up he was he took some pills and crawled into bed. The fact that he fell asleep snuggled against a pillow, arms wrapped tightly around it, didn't mean a damn thing.

He was probably the crazy one here.

XXXXX

There were no other cars on the streets besides Taecyeon's. It wasn't surprising considering the time, and thanks to it he felt a little less guilty about ignoring the speed limit. He wasn't one to be reckless but it wasn't often he was woken up at 1am by a poorly typed S.O.S text message. Junsu has asked if he could come pick him up from his house, and he found himself rushing out still in his pajamas to oblige.

Junsu was sitting on the front steps when Taecyeon pulled up to the curb. The house behind him was dark, no lights that Taecyeon could see, and Junsu himself seemed normal enough as he walked up to the car. He didn't say a word as he opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.

After he was seated and buckled Taecyeon tried to draw something out of him, asking “Are you okay?”. All he received in return was a nod from a Junsu who was clearly not all there, his gaze focused out the window. Taecyeon figured that was good enough for now and didn't push. He simply put the car in drive and headed back to his place.

The trip wasn't a long one but he was thankful when it was over and they were out of the car. At least here inside the house there were more distractions from the awkward silence than passing street lamps and trees. He waited until Junsu was seated on the sofa to offer some of them up.

“Do you wanna watch TV? A movie or something?”

Junsu shrugged which wasn't the answer Taecyeon was hoping for. Then he seemed to pull himself out of whatever world he had been lost in, looking up at Taecyeon.

Thank you. For getting me.

“It's fine.” Taecyeon sat down on the sofa next to him. “You rarely ever ask me for favors so I figured it must have been important.” Again he prompted, and this time Junsu seemed ready to talk.

My Dad was going crazy all night. Even after he went to sleep I couldn't stand it, wanted to get out of the house.

“You had a fight?” This took Taecyeon by surprise. He always thought Junsu and his dad had the perfect father-son relationship. When he tried to imagine his dad even yelling he couldn't create the picture. And he certainly couldn't think of Junsu doing something that was anger worthy. “What was it about?”

For a moment Taecyeon had thought he lost Junsu again to his own thoughts. He waited, watched, and eventually Junsu reached for the yellow legal pad that was kept on the coffee table. Taecyeon still kept it handy because sometimes they were lazy and sometimes, like now, Junsu seemed more comfortable writing than signing.

Remember when u talked about climbing trees?

“Yeah, sure. You told me you had never climbed one before.”

U said....U said it made you feel like a super hero. U looked so happy when u talked about it. So I tried it. There's so much stuff I can't do but I wanted to try that one thing. I climbed to the top of a tree and pretended I could reach out and grab the moon if I wanted to. Stupid huh?

Taecyeon laughed lightly. “Sounds like what I used to do when I was little. Your dad got so mad over that?”

Junsu shook his head, giving him a rather guilty looking smile.

No. He'd never had known bout it at all cept I fell out of the tree. My arms weren't made fo climbing I guess. I ripped myself open on a branch and he had to sew me back up. Yelled the whole time.

At first Taecyeon thought he had misread, glancing back at the paper. But reading the words again only seemed to make the pit in his stomach drop further. Junsu had hurt himself, fallen out of a fucking tree, but here he was seemingly fine. Fallen out of a tree all because of something stupid he had said.

“Show me.”

What?

“The stitches, you idiot. I want to see just what the hell you did to yourself.”

He knew he was snapping. He knew that was probably the last thing he should be doing considering Junsu had come to his house to get away from being scolded. But he couldn't seem to hold his tongue or his anger.

It's kind of big. And...

“Just let me see.”

Junsu gave him a look he couldn't read and for a moment Taecyeon worried that he had crossed some kind of line. But crossed or not Junsu began to shrug his jacket off, tossing it to the other side of the sofa and out of the way. Taecyeon glanced at his arms but saw nothing, no new patches since the first time their positions had been like this. And then Junsu reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up, and now Taecyeon could see it. Very clearly.

The thread was thick and black, more like yarn than normal thread. It ran in a haphazard line from Junsu's bellybutton up and up and up until it disappeared behind the still in place tshirt. It reminded Taecyeon of the dead bodies he had seen on cop shows, all sewn up and laying on a table in the morgue. He didn't enjoy the mental image.

“This is...you really are a fucking idiot.”

Though he wanted to scold his voice betrayed him, words coming out soft and flat. He reached out and pressed against the end of the stitching, his fingers brushing slightly over bellybutton and Taecyeon could feel Junsu's stomach jump as a shiver ran down his spine. Slowly he let his touch travel up the line, following along the bumps and curves of the wound.

He could see Junsu's chest rise and fall under his hand. It had been ripped open from top to bottom but he seemed unphased. There was no muscle to be torn, no heart beating to falter at the injury. Only fabric and stuffing that somehow made Junsu run. Further up he went, his fingers finally stopped by the edge of shirt that cut off the path. And he found himself pushing, flattening his palm out against Junsu's chest and pressing him back. He met no resistance. Junsu followed his force and leaned, shifting so he could lay his body along the sofa and head against the arm rest.

Taecyeon used his other hand to push the hem of Junsu's shirt up further, moving aside his own hand that had been holding it up out of the way. Now he could see the full line of stitching. It ran further than he had expected, stopping up where a collarbone should have been.

Along it he continued, his palm still flat and sliding against fabric as he did. He could feel Junsu's eyes on him, but he didn't break his focus to look back at him.

The line crooked far to the side and now Taecyeon took notice of Junsu's nipples. He was surprised to see that he had them, or maybe he wasn't. All these things about Junsu didn't throw him off guard like they used to. They seemed hard, perk against his skin, and he wondered what they were made of. It would have been easy for his hand to stray and brush against them but he didn't. He simply followed the thread.

Finally the trail ended and the stitching was done. At the end the thread seemed even thicker, a knot of it marking where it had been tied off. He pressed against it with his index finder, maybe harder than he should have, but Junsu said nothing.

“Fucking idiot.”

Taecyeon repeated himself, voice croaking slightly. With his concentration broken he met Junsu's gaze now. Looking him in the eye he suddenly felt embarrassed, cheeks flushing, but Junsu looked back at him with a small smile. Taecyeon actually thought he looked sad. Then there was a hand over his, Junsu reaching up and wrapping his own around it and holding on.

I won't last forever. Trees or no trees. So I want to try things, new things no matter what they are.

Junsu's hand gave Taecyeon's a light squeeze and he found himself swallowing a lump in his throat he hadn't even known was there. It was too much at once. Things he didn't want to know and things he knew but didn't want to acknowledge. He was falling in love with someone that wasn't even human, someone that was telling him he wasn't permanent.

“Don't. Not right now. Just...give me a second.”

He couldn't tell if he sounded annoyed or desperate but Junsu seemed to understand. He shifted again, tugging his shirt back down into its proper position before he drew his legs up from the side of the sofa and past Taecyeon. He moved so he was laying on his side, empty space next to him at the edge. And Taecyeon was more than happy to fill the space. He laid down, arm reaching out and tugging at Junsu's shoulder, pulling him against himself.

“You know, I never expected my life would get this weird when I decided to leave home.”

Though he made no noise Taecyeon was pretty sure the way his shoulders hitched meant Junsu was laughing at him.

XXXXX

It might have been the tickle against his nose, or the sliver of sun that managed to find a path straight to his face. But suddenly Taecyeon was wide awake, staring up at his living room ceiling. It took a moment for the fact that he was laying on the floor to register, and that there was a Junsu arm hanging down from the sofa over his face. He didn't actually remember falling asleep, or apparently falling off onto the floor at some point in the night, but clearly both had happened.

He sat up, careful not to disturb Junsu's wayward body parts. He was still asleep, face buried into the corner of the sofa, the jacket he had taken off hours before made into a makeshift pillow. Seeing the jacket brought mental images into Taecyeon's mind and color to his cheeks so he made a hasty retreat into the kitchen. Coffee was needed in order to start this day off.

Before now Taecyeon had only used the coffee pot once or twice. He preferred to buy fancy coffees made with all the bells and whistle rather than brewing his own, but he wasn't going to leave to make the trip for one. He didn't know when Junsu would be up and he didn't want to be gone when he did, like some kind of one night stand.

Even though this was his house, and they technically didn't do anything at all.

It made more sense when he didn't try and look at it logically.

After a bit of coaxing and cursing the old machine spit him out a cup of coffee and he took it back into the living room where Junsu was now awake. He was busy patting down his apparent bedhead when Taecyeon came in, pausing as he did to give him a smile. It made something in Taecyeon's stomach flop and he quickly tried to burn the sensation away with a giant gulp from his mug.

What time is it?

“Round 11, give or take. You sleep alright?”

Junsu didn't answer with his hands, simply gave Taecyeon a raised eyebrow.

“Right.” He chuckled. “Well at least you got the sofa, I guess I spent most of my night on the floor. You're apparently a space hog.”

That earned him an eye roll, but neither of them made more small talk. Junsu stared at the carpet fibers and Taecyeon at his drink. It was probably shameful for two adults to be so useless. For Taecyeon it wasn't as if he had no past experience but his tongue still felt heavy and useless in his mouth.

“So uh, does this mean, you know....?” He gestured vaguely in the air, as if that would somehow make his point more clear. Junsu was quiet for a beat before answering.

Maybe? I've never.........this is my first time with this sort of thing.

Suddenly Taecyeon felt even more stupid, Junsu in front of him with his head ducked away to the side as he signed, looking far different from the confident and clueless guy he usually saw. He should have guessed that this was probably even more of an awkward situation for him.

And truth be told, he felt something ping in his chest seeing Junsu so bashful and knowing he was the first to draw this kind of thing out of him. It was like a kind of perverse ego boost. This was something that was his and his alone.

He rounded the coffee table and sat down on the sofa next to Junsu, bumping his elbow against him purposefully as he did.

“I've only been with humans so we can figure all this out together.”

Junsu returned the shove, his arm lingering after, fabric of his elbow rubbing against Taecyeon's skin. It gave him goosebumps.

He could get used to this.

XXXXX

The first snow of the winter came quicker than Taecyeon had expected. It wasn't his first snow, but it was different here. The town streets had already been plowed and salted and yet the snow drifts looked untouched. They weren't the black, mushy piles of snow he was used to slogging through in the city.

Despite the fact that he couldn't feel the cold Junsu was bundled up tighter than Taecyeon, layers and accessories put on to try and keep out the snow. Taecyeon had tried to suggest they stay inside until the flurries had stopped but his suggestion was ignored. Junsu had smiled like he hadn't said anything at all and walked out the door.

So much for the protective boyfriend routine.

He had also teased mercilessly when Junsu suggested they go and walk through the park after Taecyeon had satisfied his hot chocolate craving. It wasn't that he didn't like the idea, but he didn't need Junsu to know what a sappy romantic he was deep down inside. At least not yet.

Their arms swung at their sides, Taecyeon's mitten covered hand clasping Junsu's that was safely hidden beneath a leather glove. The city hadn’t bothered to clear off the path winding through the park and no one had passed through but them, their shoe prints the only thing marking the area aside from stray squirrel tracks. It was a perfect blank canvas waiting for someone to come along and fill it.

“Look, there's one!”

Taecyeon pointed out toward the base of a tree before he took off in a run, Junsu following behind him with their hands still attached. He picked up the lost branch that lay there, half buried under snow. A moment of inspection and he gave a satisfied nod.

“This one should work, don't you think?”

Junsu nodded.

“Alright! Let's see.”

Now Taecyeon let go on Junsu's hand, walking a few paces away from him to a clear patch of snow. The branch made a smack as he tapped it against his coat, giving serious thought to what to draw first. Junsu watched, allowing the 'artist' to ponder his work.

After careful consideration Taecyeon seemed to decide, bending down and beginning to drag the branch across the snow. It cut through the soft powder easily. He walked this way and that, careful to keep his footprints out of his work area.

“Done!”

He stood aside and Junsu came up next to him to observe his work. He stared at it for a few seconds before turning to Taecyeon with an amused grin.

And what is it exactly?

“Can't you tell? Ears, head, feet, tail,” he gestured to each part with the branch as he spoke, “and I even gave it whiskers.”

A mutant cat?

“It's not mutant.” Taecyeon whacked Junsu with the branch this time, though there was no real force behind it. “I'd like to see you make something better.”

Junsu accepted the challenge and held out his hand. Taecyeon passed the branch and Junsu moved a few feet to the side, away from him and his drawing. Then he began to create one of his own, not stopping to think about what he wanted to do.

Taecyeon watched, his frown growing as Junsu drew.

There.

Junsu turned back to face Taecyeon, hands on his hips, looking smug. Before him in the snow was a perfectly sketched flower, a rose to be exact. The lines had been made carefully and precisely. It was rather pretty for a simple doodle in the snow.

So Taecyeon decided to stomp on it.

“Beginners luck!” For added emphasis he blew an extra loud raspberry at a now very stunned Junsu, snatching the branch from him before he could react. “I was just getting warmed up, I'll show you how to draw something really amazing.”

He quickly began another doodle in the snow, determined to redraw his cat perfectly this time. Not that it wasn't already perfect the first time but if Junsu couldn't see that he'd do an even better job with this one. With a final flick of the branch he twirled around to face Junsu again.

“Ta-”

As soon as Taecyeon opened his mouth was it filled by a giant ball of snow hitting him square in the face. He sputtered, eyes squeezing closed reflexively just in time. His fingers brushed across his skin, wiping the snow away, though it had already made his face numb.

“What the fuck!” He tried to glare at Junsu but it felt like his eyelashes had frozen to his face, leaving him stiff. “You could have blinded me or something!”

Yeah? And what are you going to do about it, Mr. Sore Loser?

The same smug grin was still plastered on Junsu's face and he raised an eyebrow. This was a challenge but Junsu was fighting dirty.

“I'm not going to do anything. You know I can't, Mr. Cheater.”

Can't or won't? Afraid you'll miss?

Taecyeon huffed, trying to ignore the goading. If this was anyone else he would have already dumped a whole truckload of snow all over his attacker, not willing to lose in a snowball fight. But this was Junsu. Junsu who was filled with cotton and put together with fraying thread and thin fabric. He wasn't exactly snow resistant.

He was about to give up and walk away, ignore his usual pride and let Junsu be the winner. But then he remembered what he had said the night he had nearly killed himself with a tree. This wasn't about winning or getting back at Taecyeon for messing up his picture. It was about experiencing something new, trying what he'd never tried before. Taecyeon would bet money that Junsu had never played around in the snow for real, never been allowed to build snowmen or make snow angels. But he wanted to try it now, with him.

Taecyeon leaned down and picked up a handful of the snow at his feet. He slowly formed it into a ball, watching Junsu as he did.

“I never miss.”

And then like a horse out of the gate Junsu was off, turning and breaking into a straight run. Taecyeon was right behind him with snow ready in hand. After only a few seconds Junsu changed course, making a run for the safety of a tree. He was fast, but Taecyeon was faster, and he let his snowball fly. It zoomed across and hit Junsu squarely in the back with a loud splat before he could take cover. Taecyeon let out a yelp of triumph but he wasn't done yet, arm already reaching down to scoop up another handful of snow.

The park erupted in a mini-snow storm, both boys stumbling this way and that, flinging snowballs at each other relentlessly. As the fight went on the snowballs became less and less shaped until eventually the pair were kicking and flinging snow at each other senselessly, a cloud of white surrounding them.

It was Junsu who finally went in for the kill. He tackled Taecyeon and they both went down, the fluff cushioning their fall with a faint whump. A handful shoved down his shirt had Taecyeon crying Uncle and waving his hands in surrender.

“Okay okay! You are the snow king! Just let me- let me catch my breath.” He laid on his back in the snow, Junsu perched on his stomach. His whole body ached from the cold and the inside of his chest stung, his lungs working over time trying to make up for lost air. Though he made no noise Taecyeon could see Junsu was as out of breath as he was, his chest heaving behind a very snowy shirt. Taking the mitten off of one hand he reached up and grabbed a handful of the wet fabric.

“You're really soaked.”

Junsu didn't seem bothered, shrugging the observation off.

You're a good shot.

XXXXX

Taecyeon insisted that Junsu come home with him to dry off, partly because he wasn't ready to get rid of him and partly because he wasn't sure his father would still think he was a nice kid if he sent his son home looking like a wet mop. There was a hair dryer in the bathroom and that seemed like the best idea.

“You won't shrink or anything will you?”

Junsu sat on toilet, Taecyeon next to him on the edge of the bathtub. Junsu gave his head a shake, but he made no move to take off his wet clothes.

“Good. I'll put it on low, just in case. If you think you're about to catch on fire or something tell me and I'll turn it off.” He stood and picked up the hair dryer from the counter. “Go ahead and take your shirt off and we can hang it on the shower rod. I don't have a clothes dryer here.”

Junsu fidgeted, pointedly not looking up at Taecyeon.

My legs are wet too.

That made Taecyeon pause. “Oh. Well uh. I can close my eyes if you want. I promise I won't compromise your purity.”

At that Junsu's face scrunched up, and Taecyeon was sure if he could he would be blushing. But even more surprising were the tears that suddenly seemed to fill his eyes. Now Taecyeon was on alert, letting the hair dryer clatter to the floor as he crouched down to be level with Junsu.

“Hey, hey, I was only kidding. I'll leave if you want. You can dry off by yourself if that makes you more comfortable. Don't cry.” His hands hovered, not sure if any kind of comfort would only make it worse.

It's not that. It's....embarrassing.

“What could be so embarrassing? You can tell me, if you want. I won't laugh.”

I don't have. Down there. You know, it's.

Junsu stopped, his hands clenching into fists out of frustration.

I'm like a Ken doll. Whole lotta nothing.

Taecyeon fell silent at that. It certainly wasn't what he had expected Junsu to say, but he was surprised at how little surprise he actually felt. This was just another thing. Another part of Junsu that was different, no big deal.

“Junsu, look at me. Come on.” Now his hands found purpose, reaching up and cupping the sides of Junsu's face to force them to be eye to eye. Junsu's gaze wavered this way and that but finally he looked at Taecyeon. “It's okay. Don't worry about something like that, I don't care. I like you exactly how you are, weird bits and all. Exactly. Got it?”

Junsu nodded, though he still didn't look entirely convinced. Taecyeon let his thumb brush lightly against Junsu's jaw, putting on his best grin.

“Besides, there are plenty of....alternatives we can look into should we get to that point.”

That seemed to do the trick and now Junsu brightened, returning a smile.

Pervert.

“You'll come to appreciate it. So no more crying, you're supposed to be drying off remember?”

Taecyeon let go of Junsu's face and stood back up, retrieving the hair dryer from the floor as he did so. He handed it over to Junsu and turned, leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him without further comment.

When the time came he'd rather it be out of want, not necessity.

He went to his bedroom to change out of his own wet clothes, the buzz of the dryer filling his usually quiet house.

XXXXX

“We can dump everything in the living room and sort it out there.”

Taecyeon called out from behind an armful of bags, his foot kicking open the front door of his rental. Junsu was behind him with his own haul. They piled into the house and happily threw everything onto the sofa.

It had been a long, tiring day of shopping. Or tiring to Taecyeon who usually tried to make his trips to any store last no more than 10 minutes no matter his purpose. Granted it had been his idea to go but that didn't mean he had to like it. Junsu had been spending more and more time over at his place, and while he hadn't made any comments to Taecyeon, he could tell he was itching to make changes. The house was mostly filled with cheap old hand-me-downs that had already been there when he moved in, or equally cheap things he bought from the thrift store. A little updating was probably a good thing. And plus, if he was going to be sharing the bed with someone else on the regular it would probably be a good idea to have more than two set of sheets.

Taecyeon sat down on the sofa and Junsu plucked a bag up from next to him, taking a seat on the floor.

“That was way too much work. I'm ready for bed now.”

Baby. You still have to unpack everything.

Junsu teased and Taecyeon gave him the finger in return. He shook his head at that, turning his attention to the bag in front of him, and Taecyeon could tell from his shoulders he was laughing.

“Laugh it up. Next time I have to clean all this new stuff I just might use you as a dust rag.”

Taecyeon slid off of the sofa and down onto the floor with Junsu in defeat. The sooner that they got everything put away the sooner he could lay down for a nap and take his personal teddy with him. Picking out bag of his own he rooted around, finding one of the cheap packs of sheets he had picked out. He tugged at the plastic wrapping but it wouldn't budge. Then he gave our a growl as if that would somehow give him super human strength and allow him to open it. No such luck.

“Hey, go into the kitchen drawer and get out a pair of scissors. I can't open this stupid thing.”

Junsu did as asked with only a minimal amount of good natured glaring, getting up from his own sorting and disappearing into the kitchen. Taecyeon moved on to another item in the meantime, opening a new box up.

A loud crash from the kitchen drew his attention and he jumped up, following after it.

“Junsu? Everything alright?”

In the kitchen he found Junsu was kneeling on the floor, the upset drawer laying nearby with its contents spilled. He couldn't answer Taecyeon with his hands, one arm hanging uselessly by his side and the other grasping his shoulder, but he didn't have to. Taecyeon could see the rip in his arm and the stuffing that had escaped, falling onto the floor.

“Oh shit. Hang on, I can fix this. Hang on.”

Quick as he could Taecyeon ran to his bedroom. He flung the closet open and pulled a container down from the shelf, bringing it back to the kitchen. He could see Junsu was giving him a confused look but he didn't wait to explain. He kicked the scattered drawer clutter out of the way and sat next to Junsu, opening up the box.

Inside were all the sewing supplies he had bought. Fabric, needles, thread.

“I have black thread, but it's only the regular kind. And I don't have any fabric like your patches. But if I stitch you up it should hold until someone else can redo it, right? It won't hurt too much will it?”

Junsu shook his head no, trying to give Taecyeon a reassuring smile.

“Right.”

Though he had become better at sewing since his first lesson it didn't seem to show. His hands shook, making it almost impossible to thread his needle. The fact that his heart was pounding like a kick drum wasn't helping. He tried to rationalize that Junsu was fine, even if he was sitting in his kitchen with his arm barely hanging on after ripping off when he opened a drawer of all things, he would be fine. He wasn't like normal people, it was fine.

Perfectly fine.

Junsu shifted his hold on his arm, grasping it at the elbow instead so Taecyeon could get to the tear. Before trying to sew it up he had to push at the stuffing that was sticking out, packing it back inside Junsu's body. If it bothered him Junsu didn't show it, face neutral.

Taecyeon began at the left side, making his way across. It was a large rip going almost from armpit to the back of the shoulder. Since the string was thin he tried his best to make the stitching small and tight, threading it as close as he could manage. It felt wrong to touch Junsu like this, one hand trying to pitch together his skin while the other punched holes in it, but he pushed the thought from his mind and focused on putting him back together. That was the important thing.

It was turning out crooked and sloppy and his hands still wouldn't cooperate but he worked as fast as he could.

He didn't know how long it took to finish the job. There was a clock on the wall, but he had never thought to look at it. It felt like he had been working for hours when he finally pulled the needle for the last time, cutting the thread free with the scissors that had put Junsu in the kitchen the begin with. Sitting the needle back inside the box he sagged, body no longer tight with concentration.

“Is that good enough?”

Testing it out Junsu rolled his shoulder and moved his arm up and down, both of them keeping an eye on the stitches. They seemed to hold with no ripping or popping out of place.

When did you learn to sew?

“About that. You know how for your birthday I got you those CDs you wanted? That wasn't what I was going to give you originally.”

Taecyeon pulled his sewing box into his lap, digging through the fabric and pulling up something from the bottom. A doll. It was crude and unfinished, missing legs and most of its face.

“I thought it would be funny to give you dolls of people you knew, that way you wouldn't be the only one. As a bonus you could torture them whenever you wanted. I couldn't even finish this first one of me though. It turned out to be a lot harder than I expected.”

Junsu took the doll from him, turning it over in his hands and inspecting it.

“I actually asked your dad for help. He taught me how to do all the basic things.”

You're pretty amazing. You know that?

“But I couldn't even finish one, I had to ask you what you wanted for your own birthday. It was a stupid ass idea.”

It wasn't. You didn't finish but I'd like you to. Just this one, I don't mind waiting.

The doll found its way back into Taecyeon's hands, Junsu holding onto both of them. He had just nearly lost an arm but he looked so damn happy, like someone had told him he'd won a million dollars. Taecyeon found he couldn't resist the smile on his face.

Though he had shamelessly daydreamed about it before, it wasn't anything like that. He had been prepared for it to feel strange at first. To be something he would have to get used to. But with his lips pressed against Junsu's now, sitting on his dirty kitchen floor surrounded by stray fabric and junk, it felt perfect. Junsu's lips were warm beneath his and the stitching that kept them shut tight was soft, tickling his skin in a pleasant way.

At first Junsu was stiff, surprised, but Taecyeon placed a hand on his hip and gave a reassuring squeeze. He could feel him relax under his grip, body leaning in and returning the kiss.

When Taecyeon broke away a part of him ached to keep going, find out just what they could do together right here on the floor.

“Another new thing you've tried. Not bad right?”

Taecyeon let his hand slip under the edge of Junsu's shirt, fingers swirling against the fabric of his hip. He enjoyed the rather flustered expression Junsu had.

So this means you don't mind being with someone who will frequently lose limbs?

Taecyeon made a humming noise in the back of his throat as if he was considering the question, his hand sliding further into Junsu's shirt and up his side. If suffering through minor heart attacks now and then was what it took to be with Junsu he figured that was an even trade.

“Guess not. Just try to keep yourself in one piece when you meet my mom, she might be less understanding.”

This time when Taecyeon leaned in for another kiss Junsu met him half-way there.

Author's notes