25/20 [oneshot]
Title: 25/20
Author: salted_taiyaki
Pairing(s): Onew x Taemin
Genre: Romance, AU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3014
Summary: jinki works at the library. taemin applies to work part time there. and as the hours pass, jinki feels like taemin gets clearer and clearer even without his glasses.
a/n: i am in a rut. i am not in a good mood. but i want to write, because i have nothing else to do. from unpromptable , the prompt was: "my depth perception must be off again; you got much closer than i thought you did" by saliva.
jinki wipes his glasses for the umpteenth time that day, and when he closes his eyes to refocus, he concludes that they're not tricking him.
before him stands that kid, that dancer, that beautiful boy from kibum's class and he's smiling-smiling?-such a toothy smile and it blinds him. he gulps. what did he want?
"hey," the boy starts and jinki nearly shoots up from his seat behind the counter. "i was wondering if you could help me."
jinki finally looks up and sees the undeniable glint in the boy's eyes, the glint much like kibum's (whenever he wants to manipulate people to do his will, of course), and he sighs, "if you need a book, just go search the catalog on the computers."
he tries to feign offense and snaps, "i wanted to know if i could work part time here."
jinki's face falls, hits the floor before he can stop it. "you what?"
the boy rolls his eyes, those pretty brown eyes, and doesn't give another word, just turns his back to slip out the double doors of the library.
jinki groans aloud.
he comes back the next day, this time with glasses-and something in the back of jinki's head is telling him that he's probably mocking him-and a sharp frown in place. the boy stalks up to the counter and slams down his i.d. "i want to work here."
"for what reason?" jinki finds himself saying, and the hint of skepticism is oh so obvious in his tone. "i mean-all right, fine."
jinki quickly clacks away at the computer and mumbles under his breath about slow internet connection, glances up every once in a while to notice that the boy's face is inching closer and closer to his own, and when he feels a soft breath his his cheek, he pushes back in his chair so hard he nearly falls over. "e-excuse me?"
the boy huffs. "i was just looking." he points to the computer screen and jinki smacks his forehead.
"look, if you just-" he scrambles about and pulls some papers from a box, shoving it in front of the boy's face to see. "sign these and come back when you're done."
however the boy doesn't leave, stays planted in his spot with a pen at hand (and he seemed like the guy who never, ever had the pen for class) scribbling messily on the green and pink. "done," he declares with a small smile and slides the paper over the counter, pride emanating from his very fingertips.
jinki narrows his eyes and takes the paper. "we need people for tuesday, wednesday and thur-"
"perfect," he cuts jinki off, turns on his feet. "see you then."
swallowing, jinki glances down at the sheets of paper under his hand.
lee taemin.
for some reason, jinki feels his stomach dropping to his feet (most definitely not in the pleasant way).
jinki soon discovers that taemin is a very efficient worker who has the memory of a particularly smart goldfish (he could have come up with a better analogy, but he was too distracted by the way taemin literally danced through the aisles and bookcases) and has a passion for menial tasks such as carrying stacks of cds to the nearest rack.
taemin is also punctual, jinki realizes, sometimes even earlier than he is. one day he spotted taemin alone at a table in the dim lights, reading huck finn in english. he walked in with no means to interrupt the boy, but the creaking of the old doors scared him so much, his eyes looked like a deer's. the boy quickly hid the books as if he was ashamed of reading, but jinki only shrugged his shoulders, muttering something about huck finn's character and how he didn't really like him. taemin could only quietly nod, eyes glued to the back side of the book in his lap.
he smiles whenever taemin looks his way and throws a quick grin. sometimes he can hear his heart thumping really quickly as he adjusts his glasses and steals more looks than he should. but taemin never notices, so jinki thinks it's all right.
"i'll see you later," taemin huffs as he throws down the key on the counter, a bright smile gracing his lips.
jinki opens his mouth to say something and taemin waits patiently for the words to come, but they never do. instead a small whine escapes his lips and jinki's eyes go round.
"i, uh," he stutters, "you want to go out for dinner or something?"
taemin blanches and once jinki's eyes pick up on the lack of color he wishes the library ceiling would just collapse on him and him only and kill him right there on the spot.
"s-sure," taemin chuckles nervously, eyes zipping from the floor to jinki's face and back down.
jinki takes a moment to rub his eyes behind his glasses and mumbles, "uh, wow, all r-okay then." he slides off his chair and walks around the counter, standing awkwardly in front of the fidgeting boy. "do you, uh, like thai?"
taemin smiles then. "yeah."
and as they eat dinner together in the cramped restaurant just a few blocks from campus, jinki can't help but feel like it's the best night of his life.
taemin, jinki notices, has clear skin that crinkles very slightly whenever he laughs. taemin, jinki realizes, uses really nice shampoo because his hair always smells like flowers whenever he passes by. taemin, jinki sees, is kind of allergic to the dust and really likes indie rock like he does.
no, jinki concludes, he's not obsessed.
when kibum and jonghyun walk into the library one day, jinki does a double take. they never came into the library for the past two years they were students and jinki is uncomfortable with their sudden appearance. he waves to them and they rush over, eyes wide and grins stretching from ear to ear.
"so how's taemin working out for you?" jonghyun whispers into his ear. jinki starts.
"w-what're you talking about," he stutters nervously, "he's a great worker."
kibum hums a note of disapproval, a bit on the flat side. "well, we didn't-never mind. tell him we stopped by, we'll see you later, all right?"
"seriously." jonghyun pokes him in the chest. "party at minho's tonight."
jinki roughly sighs, "all right."
"and come to dance practice!" kibum throws out there before stumbling out the door.
as he shakes his head to himself with a small smile, taemin walks up to the counter, teeth pulling on his bottom lip. "why were they here?"
"hmm? they wanted to check up on you or something."
taemin drops his gaze to the floor again, a habit of his. "oh."
"i have to leave early," jinki chimes in earlier than he feel like he should. "got a party to go to." taemin looks at him with an expression of pure confusion and jinki rolls his eyes, "yes, i party, too." he quickly jumps off the chair and throws his keys at the boy, smile still in place. taemin only nods quietly as he watches jinki jog out of the double doors of the library.
"hey, jinki?" taemin murmurs softly as they categorize the 700s. jinki hums in acknowledgment, a kind of speech they picked up over the weeks. the auburn haired boy stops himself and then tries again, "i, uh."
the older boy looks up from the book in his hands and glances with some concern etched in his brows. taemin rarely stutters, he thinks.
and then taemin turns on him with his cheeks red and eyes full of worry, and jinki's stomach drops again.
this isn't normal.
no, this isn't normal this is notnormalwhyishestandingsoclose-
jinki stumbles into a bookcase and he hopes it doesn't fall over like they do in the cartoons (of course, they probably would for him because he's so clumsy) as he pushes his weight against it. "t-taemin, whatareyou-"
taemin's small hand comes up and pushes his glasses from his nose and jinki goes blind as he feels soft lips on his own.
his heart stops beating for a second too long, forcing him to roughly push the boy away to breath. a tingle attacks the tips of his feet and his fingers and jinki whispers, "what was that?"
taemin doesn't reply as he wrings his hands together.
jinki feels like trying to get on the same page as the boy, but he isn't sure which page it is. his eyes scan the ridge of the nervous teeth nibbling a full lip and after a few more seconds, jinki breathes,
"i like you."
the sudden face of fear is so clear to jinki, even without his glasses, that he feels the air rush out of his lungs again, leaving him dizzy and scared in his shoes (because who likes death? no one does).
the last thing he sees is taemin's running feet before he closes his eyes and slides to the floor.
taemin quits the next day.
jinki isnt't necessarily surprised because the dull throbbing and aching in his heart is stronger than anything else. he blinks wearily and stares out the many windows of the library, trying to enjoy the soft light that breaks through and illuminates the students and their hardened faces from studying.
kibum walks in through the back door with a cracker in his mouth-"i told you, no friggin' food in the library!"-and he chews, "where's taemin?"
"he quit."
the boy's face falls and he scrambles around jinki to see him face to face. shock is clear in his eyes and jinki squints. "he what?"
"he quit."
"but-" kibum stammers, "he-he quit?"
"yes, kibum, he quit, he quit and he left so please just leave me alone." he quickly busies himself with organizing cards because kibum's probing stare is too much to handle.
the raven groans so loudly, the cards in his hands flutter to the ground. "i cannot believe-"
"believe what?" jinki snaps. "did you make a bet or something?"
kibum pales. "no, it wasn't a bet, per se. i mean, we just-"
"kibum, you're a fucking ass," he hisses, snapping an open dictionary close with a resounding thump. "i don't know what kind of fucking thrill you get out of this kind of thing but i'd like it if you'd-"
"shh," a girl harshly whispers from a table and jinki fights back a mean comment, teeth clamping down on his tongue that's waggling, ready to curse off.
a sigh fills his ears and kibum rubs his eyes. "look, i'm so sorry. i seriously didn't know that it would end up like this. i mean, we thought you kinda needed a friend because you're always so swamped with work and i hate when you come late and you're, like-you know."
"like what?"
"you're a crabby ass," kibum whines pathetically and jinki scoffs because it's true. "and i thought that taemin would be perfect because he's a nice kid and all but i didn't think it would end up like this."
"well it did," jinki sighs, "so that's that."
frowning, kibum tugs the keys around jinki's neck off and murmurs, "come on, dance with us. you haven't in ages." jinki looks up from the computer screen and stares into key's nervous eyes before a small smile splits his lips.
"fine."
jinki tugs at the waistband of his sweats and looks around the familiar dance room where jonghyun lies, limbs spread out in exhaustion, with minho right next to him. he smiles, "hey guys." they scramble up to their feet and jonghyun exclaims something unintelligible in shock, throwing his arms around the taller boy.
"okay you stink."
"sorry."
kibum rolls his eyes as he hits the play button and a song filters through the speakers, bouncing around the room in an intoxicating rhythm. jinki falls into a dance as he laughs, "i can't believe i actually remember this."
"that's why i chose this song, you dumb ass," kibum snorts as the thumping hits his heart as well and he scoots next to jinki, following along with the hips thrusts and kicks. jonghyun claps like an idiot as he rolls around on the dance floor, shouting, "damn, you shake that ass, kibum" and minho tries his hardest not to throw the blond out of the fifth floor room (but kibum moves too quickly and has jonghyun begging "please don't kill me i promise i'll shut up" at his feet).
when kibum slips off jinki's glasses, he can barely see the fuzzy outline of his friends' bodies, and he laughs at the thrill of not seeing things perfectly.
a door clicks open and jonghyun shouts, "hey!" to the person who walked in. kibum stops mid-step, hands falling to his side. jinki turns around and cocks his head to the side to get a better look of the figure before him, but even when he squints, he can't see anything, so he shrugs with a dainty "hi, i'm jinki," and then continues to nod along with the music.
the boy doesn't respond as he quickly shuffles to the opposite side of the room, stops, and then murmurs, "maybe i should come back another time."
of course, jinki sighs, the voice registers too quickly for him to block it out and he rubs his eyes with the back of his arm. "oh. no, i'll leave. i had enough fun tonight anyway."
"wait-" kibum starts but jinki shakes his head, dry laughter falling from slightly open lips.
"i have to go study," he declares in the end, and then he slips past the door.
"hey, jinki." the boy halts in the hallway, eyes small slits as he glares at the boy in front of him (but not in anger, he just can't see). "your glasses."
"oh," jinki chuckles, "thanks." he blindly reaches for the frames and when his hands brush against soft palms, he immediately grasps his glasses and pulls back. turning around, jinki slips them on, walks faster than he usually does away from the still boy behind him.
"i'm sorry," he hears someone say, but jinki shakes his head and quickly smashes his thumb against the elevator button. a hand touches his back and he flinches violently. "i'm sorry."
he cracks a smile, "don't worry about it (but you should, you should because you broke my heart)." and then after an awkward silence, jinki coughs, "but you know, we still need help at the library."
taemin looks up and bites his lip again, that obvious habit of his, "all right."
and when jinki looks at him and sees the small, guilty crinkles around taemin's eyes, the strands that tickle his flushed cheeks, the glint of rueful white against weary red, he beams. he takes off his glasses and wipes them with the end of his shirt, grumbling, "stupid kibum, getting his fingers all over them." jinki slips them back on, watches taemin run down the hallway without another word, and sighs loudly.
taemin didn't come back the next day but he did the day after that and jinki was all smiles and welcomes and fingers because a big pile of cds was waiting for him.
the next day jinki sits in his chair and, with arms propped, leans against the counter, humming a light tune. taemin looks to his left and stares at the boy who has his smiling eyes closed and lips turned in a nice smile. he sighs.
"hey, i was thinking," taemin starts in a slightly hushed tone, jinki humming in reply because that's the system that they've kept and he still wants to use it. "maybe we could go out for dinner later. i mean, unless you have a party to go to-"
jinki smiles but keeps his eyes closed. "that sounds great."
taemin stares a bit longer than he should and his eyes trace the hook of jinki's nose, down to his pursed lips, the small speck on his neck. he closes his eyes as well and sways slightly in his spot until jinki clears his throat.
"why are you standing here?"
his eyes snap open to meet jinki's twinkling crescent moons, clear even behind the slightly smudged lenses. taemin smiles.
"your glasses are dirty." he slips them off his nose and uses his shirt to clean them, despite jinki's quiet protests. "there." he sets the pair down on the counter, grins daintily. "you know, i'm a coward. i like to run from things. i like to hide in books because my character alone isn't strong enough for reality."
jinki nods slowly, "i understand how you feel."
"and i thought that maybe i kissed you because the romantic character in me wanted to." he stops to lean on the counter a bit. "but i guess i was wrong."
"you guess?"
taemin laughs. "yeah, i guess." his fingers lightly skirt the wooden surface, stopping at the other side, right in front of jinki's right elbow. "so what i'm wondering is if you like me despite all of that."
the older boy stretches his arms above him and looks up at the ceiling (and it better stay up there because if it falls on them now, he'll die an angry person). he says, "we come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
a faint blush tickles taemin's cheeks as jinki laughs, "or, clearly, i guess." taemin smiles at his lame rendition and leans over the counter with one foot popped up.
"thanks," the boy whispers softly and then he kisses the bridge of jinki's nose, accidentally nudging his glasses with his own.
jinki turns bright bright red and stutters, "uh-uhuh, yeah, you're welcome."
taemin smiles a bright bright smile in return and pushes a bookmark with a green bespectacled caterpillar imprinted on it in his face, turns around in laughter and runs off to categorize more books. jinki slumps against the counter and finds it funny how the dictionary marker points to the word quixotic.
end
comments always appreciated? aha
Author: salted_taiyaki
Pairing(s): Onew x Taemin
Genre: Romance, AU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3014
Summary: jinki works at the library. taemin applies to work part time there. and as the hours pass, jinki feels like taemin gets clearer and clearer even without his glasses.
a/n: i am in a rut. i am not in a good mood. but i want to write, because i have nothing else to do. from unpromptable , the prompt was: "my depth perception must be off again; you got much closer than i thought you did" by saliva.
jinki wipes his glasses for the umpteenth time that day, and when he closes his eyes to refocus, he concludes that they're not tricking him.
before him stands that kid, that dancer, that beautiful boy from kibum's class and he's smiling-smiling?-such a toothy smile and it blinds him. he gulps. what did he want?
"hey," the boy starts and jinki nearly shoots up from his seat behind the counter. "i was wondering if you could help me."
jinki finally looks up and sees the undeniable glint in the boy's eyes, the glint much like kibum's (whenever he wants to manipulate people to do his will, of course), and he sighs, "if you need a book, just go search the catalog on the computers."
he tries to feign offense and snaps, "i wanted to know if i could work part time here."
jinki's face falls, hits the floor before he can stop it. "you what?"
the boy rolls his eyes, those pretty brown eyes, and doesn't give another word, just turns his back to slip out the double doors of the library.
jinki groans aloud.
he comes back the next day, this time with glasses-and something in the back of jinki's head is telling him that he's probably mocking him-and a sharp frown in place. the boy stalks up to the counter and slams down his i.d. "i want to work here."
"for what reason?" jinki finds himself saying, and the hint of skepticism is oh so obvious in his tone. "i mean-all right, fine."
jinki quickly clacks away at the computer and mumbles under his breath about slow internet connection, glances up every once in a while to notice that the boy's face is inching closer and closer to his own, and when he feels a soft breath his his cheek, he pushes back in his chair so hard he nearly falls over. "e-excuse me?"
the boy huffs. "i was just looking." he points to the computer screen and jinki smacks his forehead.
"look, if you just-" he scrambles about and pulls some papers from a box, shoving it in front of the boy's face to see. "sign these and come back when you're done."
however the boy doesn't leave, stays planted in his spot with a pen at hand (and he seemed like the guy who never, ever had the pen for class) scribbling messily on the green and pink. "done," he declares with a small smile and slides the paper over the counter, pride emanating from his very fingertips.
jinki narrows his eyes and takes the paper. "we need people for tuesday, wednesday and thur-"
"perfect," he cuts jinki off, turns on his feet. "see you then."
swallowing, jinki glances down at the sheets of paper under his hand.
lee taemin.
for some reason, jinki feels his stomach dropping to his feet (most definitely not in the pleasant way).
jinki soon discovers that taemin is a very efficient worker who has the memory of a particularly smart goldfish (he could have come up with a better analogy, but he was too distracted by the way taemin literally danced through the aisles and bookcases) and has a passion for menial tasks such as carrying stacks of cds to the nearest rack.
taemin is also punctual, jinki realizes, sometimes even earlier than he is. one day he spotted taemin alone at a table in the dim lights, reading huck finn in english. he walked in with no means to interrupt the boy, but the creaking of the old doors scared him so much, his eyes looked like a deer's. the boy quickly hid the books as if he was ashamed of reading, but jinki only shrugged his shoulders, muttering something about huck finn's character and how he didn't really like him. taemin could only quietly nod, eyes glued to the back side of the book in his lap.
he smiles whenever taemin looks his way and throws a quick grin. sometimes he can hear his heart thumping really quickly as he adjusts his glasses and steals more looks than he should. but taemin never notices, so jinki thinks it's all right.
"i'll see you later," taemin huffs as he throws down the key on the counter, a bright smile gracing his lips.
jinki opens his mouth to say something and taemin waits patiently for the words to come, but they never do. instead a small whine escapes his lips and jinki's eyes go round.
"i, uh," he stutters, "you want to go out for dinner or something?"
taemin blanches and once jinki's eyes pick up on the lack of color he wishes the library ceiling would just collapse on him and him only and kill him right there on the spot.
"s-sure," taemin chuckles nervously, eyes zipping from the floor to jinki's face and back down.
jinki takes a moment to rub his eyes behind his glasses and mumbles, "uh, wow, all r-okay then." he slides off his chair and walks around the counter, standing awkwardly in front of the fidgeting boy. "do you, uh, like thai?"
taemin smiles then. "yeah."
and as they eat dinner together in the cramped restaurant just a few blocks from campus, jinki can't help but feel like it's the best night of his life.
taemin, jinki notices, has clear skin that crinkles very slightly whenever he laughs. taemin, jinki realizes, uses really nice shampoo because his hair always smells like flowers whenever he passes by. taemin, jinki sees, is kind of allergic to the dust and really likes indie rock like he does.
no, jinki concludes, he's not obsessed.
when kibum and jonghyun walk into the library one day, jinki does a double take. they never came into the library for the past two years they were students and jinki is uncomfortable with their sudden appearance. he waves to them and they rush over, eyes wide and grins stretching from ear to ear.
"so how's taemin working out for you?" jonghyun whispers into his ear. jinki starts.
"w-what're you talking about," he stutters nervously, "he's a great worker."
kibum hums a note of disapproval, a bit on the flat side. "well, we didn't-never mind. tell him we stopped by, we'll see you later, all right?"
"seriously." jonghyun pokes him in the chest. "party at minho's tonight."
jinki roughly sighs, "all right."
"and come to dance practice!" kibum throws out there before stumbling out the door.
as he shakes his head to himself with a small smile, taemin walks up to the counter, teeth pulling on his bottom lip. "why were they here?"
"hmm? they wanted to check up on you or something."
taemin drops his gaze to the floor again, a habit of his. "oh."
"i have to leave early," jinki chimes in earlier than he feel like he should. "got a party to go to." taemin looks at him with an expression of pure confusion and jinki rolls his eyes, "yes, i party, too." he quickly jumps off the chair and throws his keys at the boy, smile still in place. taemin only nods quietly as he watches jinki jog out of the double doors of the library.
"hey, jinki?" taemin murmurs softly as they categorize the 700s. jinki hums in acknowledgment, a kind of speech they picked up over the weeks. the auburn haired boy stops himself and then tries again, "i, uh."
the older boy looks up from the book in his hands and glances with some concern etched in his brows. taemin rarely stutters, he thinks.
and then taemin turns on him with his cheeks red and eyes full of worry, and jinki's stomach drops again.
this isn't normal.
no, this isn't normal this is notnormalwhyishestandingsoclose-
jinki stumbles into a bookcase and he hopes it doesn't fall over like they do in the cartoons (of course, they probably would for him because he's so clumsy) as he pushes his weight against it. "t-taemin, whatareyou-"
taemin's small hand comes up and pushes his glasses from his nose and jinki goes blind as he feels soft lips on his own.
his heart stops beating for a second too long, forcing him to roughly push the boy away to breath. a tingle attacks the tips of his feet and his fingers and jinki whispers, "what was that?"
taemin doesn't reply as he wrings his hands together.
jinki feels like trying to get on the same page as the boy, but he isn't sure which page it is. his eyes scan the ridge of the nervous teeth nibbling a full lip and after a few more seconds, jinki breathes,
"i like you."
the sudden face of fear is so clear to jinki, even without his glasses, that he feels the air rush out of his lungs again, leaving him dizzy and scared in his shoes (because who likes death? no one does).
the last thing he sees is taemin's running feet before he closes his eyes and slides to the floor.
taemin quits the next day.
jinki isnt't necessarily surprised because the dull throbbing and aching in his heart is stronger than anything else. he blinks wearily and stares out the many windows of the library, trying to enjoy the soft light that breaks through and illuminates the students and their hardened faces from studying.
kibum walks in through the back door with a cracker in his mouth-"i told you, no friggin' food in the library!"-and he chews, "where's taemin?"
"he quit."
the boy's face falls and he scrambles around jinki to see him face to face. shock is clear in his eyes and jinki squints. "he what?"
"he quit."
"but-" kibum stammers, "he-he quit?"
"yes, kibum, he quit, he quit and he left so please just leave me alone." he quickly busies himself with organizing cards because kibum's probing stare is too much to handle.
the raven groans so loudly, the cards in his hands flutter to the ground. "i cannot believe-"
"believe what?" jinki snaps. "did you make a bet or something?"
kibum pales. "no, it wasn't a bet, per se. i mean, we just-"
"kibum, you're a fucking ass," he hisses, snapping an open dictionary close with a resounding thump. "i don't know what kind of fucking thrill you get out of this kind of thing but i'd like it if you'd-"
"shh," a girl harshly whispers from a table and jinki fights back a mean comment, teeth clamping down on his tongue that's waggling, ready to curse off.
a sigh fills his ears and kibum rubs his eyes. "look, i'm so sorry. i seriously didn't know that it would end up like this. i mean, we thought you kinda needed a friend because you're always so swamped with work and i hate when you come late and you're, like-you know."
"like what?"
"you're a crabby ass," kibum whines pathetically and jinki scoffs because it's true. "and i thought that taemin would be perfect because he's a nice kid and all but i didn't think it would end up like this."
"well it did," jinki sighs, "so that's that."
frowning, kibum tugs the keys around jinki's neck off and murmurs, "come on, dance with us. you haven't in ages." jinki looks up from the computer screen and stares into key's nervous eyes before a small smile splits his lips.
"fine."
jinki tugs at the waistband of his sweats and looks around the familiar dance room where jonghyun lies, limbs spread out in exhaustion, with minho right next to him. he smiles, "hey guys." they scramble up to their feet and jonghyun exclaims something unintelligible in shock, throwing his arms around the taller boy.
"okay you stink."
"sorry."
kibum rolls his eyes as he hits the play button and a song filters through the speakers, bouncing around the room in an intoxicating rhythm. jinki falls into a dance as he laughs, "i can't believe i actually remember this."
"that's why i chose this song, you dumb ass," kibum snorts as the thumping hits his heart as well and he scoots next to jinki, following along with the hips thrusts and kicks. jonghyun claps like an idiot as he rolls around on the dance floor, shouting, "damn, you shake that ass, kibum" and minho tries his hardest not to throw the blond out of the fifth floor room (but kibum moves too quickly and has jonghyun begging "please don't kill me i promise i'll shut up" at his feet).
when kibum slips off jinki's glasses, he can barely see the fuzzy outline of his friends' bodies, and he laughs at the thrill of not seeing things perfectly.
a door clicks open and jonghyun shouts, "hey!" to the person who walked in. kibum stops mid-step, hands falling to his side. jinki turns around and cocks his head to the side to get a better look of the figure before him, but even when he squints, he can't see anything, so he shrugs with a dainty "hi, i'm jinki," and then continues to nod along with the music.
the boy doesn't respond as he quickly shuffles to the opposite side of the room, stops, and then murmurs, "maybe i should come back another time."
of course, jinki sighs, the voice registers too quickly for him to block it out and he rubs his eyes with the back of his arm. "oh. no, i'll leave. i had enough fun tonight anyway."
"wait-" kibum starts but jinki shakes his head, dry laughter falling from slightly open lips.
"i have to go study," he declares in the end, and then he slips past the door.
"hey, jinki." the boy halts in the hallway, eyes small slits as he glares at the boy in front of him (but not in anger, he just can't see). "your glasses."
"oh," jinki chuckles, "thanks." he blindly reaches for the frames and when his hands brush against soft palms, he immediately grasps his glasses and pulls back. turning around, jinki slips them on, walks faster than he usually does away from the still boy behind him.
"i'm sorry," he hears someone say, but jinki shakes his head and quickly smashes his thumb against the elevator button. a hand touches his back and he flinches violently. "i'm sorry."
he cracks a smile, "don't worry about it (but you should, you should because you broke my heart)." and then after an awkward silence, jinki coughs, "but you know, we still need help at the library."
taemin looks up and bites his lip again, that obvious habit of his, "all right."
and when jinki looks at him and sees the small, guilty crinkles around taemin's eyes, the strands that tickle his flushed cheeks, the glint of rueful white against weary red, he beams. he takes off his glasses and wipes them with the end of his shirt, grumbling, "stupid kibum, getting his fingers all over them." jinki slips them back on, watches taemin run down the hallway without another word, and sighs loudly.
taemin didn't come back the next day but he did the day after that and jinki was all smiles and welcomes and fingers because a big pile of cds was waiting for him.
the next day jinki sits in his chair and, with arms propped, leans against the counter, humming a light tune. taemin looks to his left and stares at the boy who has his smiling eyes closed and lips turned in a nice smile. he sighs.
"hey, i was thinking," taemin starts in a slightly hushed tone, jinki humming in reply because that's the system that they've kept and he still wants to use it. "maybe we could go out for dinner later. i mean, unless you have a party to go to-"
jinki smiles but keeps his eyes closed. "that sounds great."
taemin stares a bit longer than he should and his eyes trace the hook of jinki's nose, down to his pursed lips, the small speck on his neck. he closes his eyes as well and sways slightly in his spot until jinki clears his throat.
"why are you standing here?"
his eyes snap open to meet jinki's twinkling crescent moons, clear even behind the slightly smudged lenses. taemin smiles.
"your glasses are dirty." he slips them off his nose and uses his shirt to clean them, despite jinki's quiet protests. "there." he sets the pair down on the counter, grins daintily. "you know, i'm a coward. i like to run from things. i like to hide in books because my character alone isn't strong enough for reality."
jinki nods slowly, "i understand how you feel."
"and i thought that maybe i kissed you because the romantic character in me wanted to." he stops to lean on the counter a bit. "but i guess i was wrong."
"you guess?"
taemin laughs. "yeah, i guess." his fingers lightly skirt the wooden surface, stopping at the other side, right in front of jinki's right elbow. "so what i'm wondering is if you like me despite all of that."
the older boy stretches his arms above him and looks up at the ceiling (and it better stay up there because if it falls on them now, he'll die an angry person). he says, "we come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
a faint blush tickles taemin's cheeks as jinki laughs, "or, clearly, i guess." taemin smiles at his lame rendition and leans over the counter with one foot popped up.
"thanks," the boy whispers softly and then he kisses the bridge of jinki's nose, accidentally nudging his glasses with his own.
jinki turns bright bright red and stutters, "uh-uhuh, yeah, you're welcome."
taemin smiles a bright bright smile in return and pushes a bookmark with a green bespectacled caterpillar imprinted on it in his face, turns around in laughter and runs off to categorize more books. jinki slumps against the counter and finds it funny how the dictionary marker points to the word quixotic.
end
comments always appreciated? aha