Pierrot
Title: Pierrot
Author: Rilakumabear
Rating: PG
Pairing: Homin/Minho
[Based off these tags]
Changmin forgets how long he's been in the store.
When he's first unpacked, brand new and shiny, he's displayed right at the window and he beams with pride, certain that it won't be long before a young child takes him home. But days pass, and weeks pass, and the kids that peek at him through the glass squeal in disgust and run back after their mothers.
"It's his features," the store owner explains to his wife, as they remove Changmin from the window. "They made his ears too big. And his eyes and lips don't match. Plus, his limbs are all long and lanky like that, no wonder the kids don't want him. He doesn't look right."
"Seems a shame to throw it away, though," the wife says. "Let's keep him in the bargain bin, then. Maybe somebody will be interested."
So Changmin is tossed onto the bargain bin, next to toy cars with missing wheels and plushies that have lost their stuffing. His strings get tangled from years of neglect, long limbs twisting and staying stuck like that. From the bin, he can hear the other toys murmur about him. No one's going to want him now.
He stays in the bargain bin for a long time, sinking deeper and deeper to the bottom when poor parents buy the toy cars with missing wheels and plushies with no stuffing. Thing is, those toys can be fixed. You can push old rags into the deflated plushie. You can glue a new wheel to the limping car. But, Changmin realises bitterly, you can't fix something that's just too broken.
Years pass, and he lies, tangled in his strings, at the bottom of the bucket. The store owner and his wife retire, passing the shop onto their son and nephew. Jaejoong and Junsu are cheerful, enthusiastic with their youth. They close the store down for a while to refurbish, and it's during this time when Changmin is re-discovered.
"Oh, hello," Jaejoong smiles, brushing the dust off Changmin's face. "How long have you been here?"
"D'you think we'll be able to sell that?" Junsu asks his cousin. "I mean, obviously it's been here for a while."
"Any toy can be sold," Jaejoong says confidently. "We just need the right kid to find him. Let's put him on the shelf here; he has a better chance of finding a home if people can actually see him."
Changmin thinks Jaejoong is pretty nice.
The bell above the door tinkles, and Jaejoong and Junsu brightly welcome their guests, leaving Changmin propped up on his shelf. The store has changed since the cousins began running it. It was once quaint, befitting of an old married couple. Now it's bright and cheerful, filled to the brim with toys of every kind, and it's no surprise that the shop is often filled with happy children begging their parents for a new toy.
No one comes for Changmin.
"We should probably toss him," Junsu points out, and Changmin wants to hit him. "He's been here for years. Do kids even play with puppets any more?"
"He's not a puppet, he's a pierrot," Jaejoong corrects. "And we're not tossing him. I'm telling you, someone will come for him."
Junsu grumbles, but he's the one who brings Changmin down from his shelf and pops him beside the cash register. "Don't worry," Junsu whispers to him when Jaejoong is out of sight. "Someone will buy you soon. But you can stay here for now."
Changmin reluctantly thinks that Junsu isn't so bad, after all.
Besides the cash register, the counter top also holds a small model of a farm, complete with a farmer and his wife, and countless plastic sheep figurines. This is how Changmin meets Yoochun.
The box that they came from says his name is Rover, but Changmin thinks that's a pretty stupid fucking name, so he coos and calls the until the sheepdog figurine comes over, tail wagging with curiosity.
"Yoochun, my Yoochun," Changmin sing-talks. He doesn't want to wake up the other toys and let them see him calling for a dog because none of the other toys will talk to him. Junsu and Jaejoong had tried multiple times to untangle his strings, but he was stuck. So Changmin's propped against the cash till, arms and legs strapped close to his body. It's not comfortable, but it's better than before, practically mummified at the bottom of the bargain bin. The other toys snigger behind his back about it, but Yoochun doesn't seem to mind. He sniffs around Changmin and leans up on his hind legs to lick his face, making the pierrot giggle.
"Hi, Yoochunnie," Changmin murmurs, petting the dog as much as his restraints allowed him to. Yoochun becomes his only companion, the sheepdog coming over to sit with him every night, even though the farmers' wife scolds him when he returns to the farm in the morning.
Stay away from that creepy puppet, do you hear me, Rover? Changmin hears her say, night after night. Don't make me come after you, you stupid dog. It makes Changmin mad, but there's nothing he can do. Yoochun might not have much brains, but he has a big heart and Changmin will always be grateful for it.
It's why he's not surprised when one day, a little girl with a bowl cut and big eyes spots Yoochun and asks her father to take him home. From the till, Changmin watches as little Yoona carefully carries Yoochun in her pudgy hands, and her father carries the box containing the rest of the farm. And once again, Changmin is alone.
He becomes an unofficial mascot for the store now, always propped up against the till. It's not too bad any more; he's alone, but Junsu and Jaejoong make good company when they're running the store. Changmin gets used to this life and accepts that no one will ever want to take home a freaky looking puppet with tangled wires.
That is, of course, until Yunho comes in. At fours years old, Yunho is already a little taller than average, with a big smile to match. Jaejoong coos over him whilst Junsu tries to awkwardly flirt with the boys' pretty mother, until she pointedly flashes her wedding ring in front of him.
Yunho inspects toys from all the shelves, even goes through the bargain section. "It's his birthday," his mother explains. "And he's been so good, I thought he deserved a new toy."
"What kind of toy d'you want, Yunho?" Jaejoong asks, ruffling the boys' hair.
Yunho smiles his cheeks puffing out. "I want a best friend toy." And that's when he looks over Jaejoong's shoulder, and spots Changmin. "That one! I want that one!"
The three adults can barely contain their surprise. "Yunnie, sweetheart, are you sure?" his mother asks, picking Changmin up gingerly. "I mean, don't you want a ..nice toy?"
"He's nice!" Yunho says defensively, reaching up to take the pierrot off his mother. Gently, he cradles the toy in his arms, placing a kiss on Changmin's face. "Hi, Changmin."
Changmin stares back in amazement. The boy knew his name. No one, not the others toys nor Junsu nor Jaejoong has ever realised he even had a name and this boy-
"Well, if you're sure, Yunho-yah," his mother says dubiously.
"Wow, this is great!" Jaejoong exclaims, leaning down to pat Yunho's head. "Take care of him, Yunho-yah. Changmin's been with us for a long time so make sure he has a happy home, okay?"
Despite Junsu's muffled protests, Jaejoong lets Yunho keep Changmin for free, and the young boy leaves, waving to the two kind shop owners that Changmin would never see again.
Back at Yunho's own, Changmin takes pride of place on the boy's bed, keeping a watchful eye as Yunho sleeps. In frustration, he can't be played with properly because his strings are still tangled, despite the efforts of Yunho's parents to free him.
Please, Changmin whispers. Let me take care of him forever. I'll do anything.
In the morning, Yunho handles him carefully, inspecting his toy from all angles.
"You want to play with me, Changminnie?" Yunho asks. He sounds thoughtful.
Yes.
"You'll be my best friend, right?"
Always.
"And you'll take care of me?"
Forever, Changmin promises.
Yunho cuts his strings off.
And Changmin stretches, for the first time is decades, letting the feeling rush back to his limbs. He stretches as high as he can reach, until his body lengthens and he stands almost eye to eye with the other boy. His cheeks puff out and his hair flops into his blinking eyes.
He's human. And a young one at that, maybe even younger than Yunho.
He extends his arms- his now human arms- and embraces the other boy.
Thank you thank you thankyouthankyou
"Hi, Changminnie," Yunho whispers, hugging him tight.
*
Yunho eventually buys the shop from Jaejoong and Junsu, and together he and Changmin turn it into a day- care centre, for young children and lost toys. They move into the little flat above, and on cold nights, they'll curl up under the blankets of their bed, and Yunho will kiss his forehead and murmur, "Best investment ever."
-fin-
Author: Rilakumabear
Rating: PG
Pairing: Homin/Minho
[Based off these tags]
Changmin forgets how long he's been in the store.
When he's first unpacked, brand new and shiny, he's displayed right at the window and he beams with pride, certain that it won't be long before a young child takes him home. But days pass, and weeks pass, and the kids that peek at him through the glass squeal in disgust and run back after their mothers.
"It's his features," the store owner explains to his wife, as they remove Changmin from the window. "They made his ears too big. And his eyes and lips don't match. Plus, his limbs are all long and lanky like that, no wonder the kids don't want him. He doesn't look right."
"Seems a shame to throw it away, though," the wife says. "Let's keep him in the bargain bin, then. Maybe somebody will be interested."
So Changmin is tossed onto the bargain bin, next to toy cars with missing wheels and plushies that have lost their stuffing. His strings get tangled from years of neglect, long limbs twisting and staying stuck like that. From the bin, he can hear the other toys murmur about him. No one's going to want him now.
He stays in the bargain bin for a long time, sinking deeper and deeper to the bottom when poor parents buy the toy cars with missing wheels and plushies with no stuffing. Thing is, those toys can be fixed. You can push old rags into the deflated plushie. You can glue a new wheel to the limping car. But, Changmin realises bitterly, you can't fix something that's just too broken.
Years pass, and he lies, tangled in his strings, at the bottom of the bucket. The store owner and his wife retire, passing the shop onto their son and nephew. Jaejoong and Junsu are cheerful, enthusiastic with their youth. They close the store down for a while to refurbish, and it's during this time when Changmin is re-discovered.
"Oh, hello," Jaejoong smiles, brushing the dust off Changmin's face. "How long have you been here?"
"D'you think we'll be able to sell that?" Junsu asks his cousin. "I mean, obviously it's been here for a while."
"Any toy can be sold," Jaejoong says confidently. "We just need the right kid to find him. Let's put him on the shelf here; he has a better chance of finding a home if people can actually see him."
Changmin thinks Jaejoong is pretty nice.
The bell above the door tinkles, and Jaejoong and Junsu brightly welcome their guests, leaving Changmin propped up on his shelf. The store has changed since the cousins began running it. It was once quaint, befitting of an old married couple. Now it's bright and cheerful, filled to the brim with toys of every kind, and it's no surprise that the shop is often filled with happy children begging their parents for a new toy.
No one comes for Changmin.
"We should probably toss him," Junsu points out, and Changmin wants to hit him. "He's been here for years. Do kids even play with puppets any more?"
"He's not a puppet, he's a pierrot," Jaejoong corrects. "And we're not tossing him. I'm telling you, someone will come for him."
Junsu grumbles, but he's the one who brings Changmin down from his shelf and pops him beside the cash register. "Don't worry," Junsu whispers to him when Jaejoong is out of sight. "Someone will buy you soon. But you can stay here for now."
Changmin reluctantly thinks that Junsu isn't so bad, after all.
Besides the cash register, the counter top also holds a small model of a farm, complete with a farmer and his wife, and countless plastic sheep figurines. This is how Changmin meets Yoochun.
The box that they came from says his name is Rover, but Changmin thinks that's a pretty stupid fucking name, so he coos and calls the until the sheepdog figurine comes over, tail wagging with curiosity.
"Yoochun, my Yoochun," Changmin sing-talks. He doesn't want to wake up the other toys and let them see him calling for a dog because none of the other toys will talk to him. Junsu and Jaejoong had tried multiple times to untangle his strings, but he was stuck. So Changmin's propped against the cash till, arms and legs strapped close to his body. It's not comfortable, but it's better than before, practically mummified at the bottom of the bargain bin. The other toys snigger behind his back about it, but Yoochun doesn't seem to mind. He sniffs around Changmin and leans up on his hind legs to lick his face, making the pierrot giggle.
"Hi, Yoochunnie," Changmin murmurs, petting the dog as much as his restraints allowed him to. Yoochun becomes his only companion, the sheepdog coming over to sit with him every night, even though the farmers' wife scolds him when he returns to the farm in the morning.
Stay away from that creepy puppet, do you hear me, Rover? Changmin hears her say, night after night. Don't make me come after you, you stupid dog. It makes Changmin mad, but there's nothing he can do. Yoochun might not have much brains, but he has a big heart and Changmin will always be grateful for it.
It's why he's not surprised when one day, a little girl with a bowl cut and big eyes spots Yoochun and asks her father to take him home. From the till, Changmin watches as little Yoona carefully carries Yoochun in her pudgy hands, and her father carries the box containing the rest of the farm. And once again, Changmin is alone.
He becomes an unofficial mascot for the store now, always propped up against the till. It's not too bad any more; he's alone, but Junsu and Jaejoong make good company when they're running the store. Changmin gets used to this life and accepts that no one will ever want to take home a freaky looking puppet with tangled wires.
That is, of course, until Yunho comes in. At fours years old, Yunho is already a little taller than average, with a big smile to match. Jaejoong coos over him whilst Junsu tries to awkwardly flirt with the boys' pretty mother, until she pointedly flashes her wedding ring in front of him.
Yunho inspects toys from all the shelves, even goes through the bargain section. "It's his birthday," his mother explains. "And he's been so good, I thought he deserved a new toy."
"What kind of toy d'you want, Yunho?" Jaejoong asks, ruffling the boys' hair.
Yunho smiles his cheeks puffing out. "I want a best friend toy." And that's when he looks over Jaejoong's shoulder, and spots Changmin. "That one! I want that one!"
The three adults can barely contain their surprise. "Yunnie, sweetheart, are you sure?" his mother asks, picking Changmin up gingerly. "I mean, don't you want a ..nice toy?"
"He's nice!" Yunho says defensively, reaching up to take the pierrot off his mother. Gently, he cradles the toy in his arms, placing a kiss on Changmin's face. "Hi, Changmin."
Changmin stares back in amazement. The boy knew his name. No one, not the others toys nor Junsu nor Jaejoong has ever realised he even had a name and this boy-
"Well, if you're sure, Yunho-yah," his mother says dubiously.
"Wow, this is great!" Jaejoong exclaims, leaning down to pat Yunho's head. "Take care of him, Yunho-yah. Changmin's been with us for a long time so make sure he has a happy home, okay?"
Despite Junsu's muffled protests, Jaejoong lets Yunho keep Changmin for free, and the young boy leaves, waving to the two kind shop owners that Changmin would never see again.
Back at Yunho's own, Changmin takes pride of place on the boy's bed, keeping a watchful eye as Yunho sleeps. In frustration, he can't be played with properly because his strings are still tangled, despite the efforts of Yunho's parents to free him.
Please, Changmin whispers. Let me take care of him forever. I'll do anything.
In the morning, Yunho handles him carefully, inspecting his toy from all angles.
"You want to play with me, Changminnie?" Yunho asks. He sounds thoughtful.
Yes.
"You'll be my best friend, right?"
Always.
"And you'll take care of me?"
Forever, Changmin promises.
Yunho cuts his strings off.
And Changmin stretches, for the first time is decades, letting the feeling rush back to his limbs. He stretches as high as he can reach, until his body lengthens and he stands almost eye to eye with the other boy. His cheeks puff out and his hair flops into his blinking eyes.
He's human. And a young one at that, maybe even younger than Yunho.
He extends his arms- his now human arms- and embraces the other boy.
Thank you thank you thankyouthankyou
"Hi, Changminnie," Yunho whispers, hugging him tight.
*
Yunho eventually buys the shop from Jaejoong and Junsu, and together he and Changmin turn it into a day- care centre, for young children and lost toys. They move into the little flat above, and on cold nights, they'll curl up under the blankets of their bed, and Yunho will kiss his forehead and murmur, "Best investment ever."
-fin-