SSS 2010: for salted_taiyaki
For: salted_taiyaki
From: Your (Emergency) Secret Santa
Title: Of Angel's Wings and Mistletoe
Pairing: Onew/Taemin
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,750
Summary: Taemin has loved his angel since he was 8 years old, but does Jinki love him back?
When Lee Taemin was eight, he got lost in the snowy woods behind his home. One minute he was happily following the tracks of an animal through the snow and the next he couldn't find his footprints to get back to where he started from. There was a light snow falling and it was just enough to mask his trail as the sun began to go down, casting long purple shadows on the white purity of the snow. Nothing around him looked the same and Taemin could only think of the usual instructions. Stay in one place and wait to be found. Even so it was terrifying and more and more cold as he leand his back against a tree and huddled down with his arms around himself.
And then, backlit by the last of the dying sun, he spotted another older boy. There was nothing but a silhouette and the sun made a halo of the boy's hair and wings out of the bulky backpack he was carrying on his shoulders.
Of course, Taemin's belief that he was meeting an angel, albeit a cranky one did not change one bit when the boy stepped forward and reached out a hand to him. "It's cold out here, dummy, let's get out of here. My Mom is making chicken stuffed dumplings!" A rough hand grabbed Taemin's and squeezed it, pulling him along in the other boy's wake. And that was how Taemin fell in love with Jinki.
....
Now Taemin is 18 and he's still in love with Jinki. He stamps his boots and hugs himself, waiting for the older man beside the ice rink where they planned to meet. Problem is, Taemin's not sure how Jinki feels about him, not really. It's true that they've been inseparable for years and that they've even kissed but...Jinki never really speaks his feelings. Taemin's heart aches at the very thought that maybe his very own personal angel doesn't love him the way that Taemin loves Jinki. There's a package burning a hole in his left jacket pocket. It's Jinki's Christmas present and it tells Jinki exactly how Taemin feels without him having to say a word. Wiggling a glove off, he checks to make sure the flat box is still safe and then stands on tip toe looking for Jinki's handsome face amongst the crowd of other Christmastime skaters.
At about that moment, Jinki is struggling his way through the crowd with two paper cups of hot chocolate in his hands. Taemin is there somewhere and if Jinki had a hand free he'd use his cell to call the younger man. Taemin might be just a tiny bit of an air head though Jinki would smack the first person who actually said so. So he's not really surprised when he finds Taemin fidgeting beside the rink, looking a bit like someone's lost puppy. Jinki feels warm all over though when he and Taemin make eye contact and Taemin's big smile blooms all over his face.
"Hyung!" Taemin bursts out, bouncing over to Jinki and smiling at him. Jinki's cheeks are flushed from the cold and his dark eyes seem glowing with warmth as their eyes meet. Taemin almost can't stand it and has to remind himself not to pounce Jinki and cover him with kisses. He accepts the cup offered to him and sips at it immediately, suddenly shy enough to lower his eyes.
"It's a nice night," Jinki says, eyes watching things like the curve of Taemin's neck where his scarf has come undone and the way he purses his lips to sip from his cup. He reaches out and lightly pets Taemin's hair because if he doesn't touch Taemin just a little he might do something he shouldn't. Jinki's not sure when it happened exactly; one minute Taemin was the slightly annoying but cute boy who followed him around and the next minute Taemin was the adorable boy that Jinki was completely in love with.
Taemin squinches his nose up as he licks chocolate drops off his lips and turns his attention to the sky. Beyond the lights around the ice rink, the sky is black velvet, strewn with stars and a sliver of glowing moon. He smiles at Jinki. "It is," Taemin agrees. "Do you still want to skate?" Taemin asks because once again his present for Jinki is burning holes in his pocket and his heart is pounding in his chest.
Jinki shrugs and smiles back. "If you want to...it's pretty here," he adds, waving a hand to indicate the Christmas decorations, boughs of pine and ranks of potted poinsettias that rim the rink. He slips his hand into his pocket, turning a small box around and around.
"I want to, with you," Taemin answers and finishes his chocolate, tossing his cup in a nearby trash can. Holding out his hand for Jinki, Taemin almost holds his breath in case Jinki refuses.
Jinki nods and takes Taemin's hand in his. "We have to put on skates first," he reminds gently and is surprised when Taemin pats his backpack. "All set."
Together they find a place to sit to swap shoes for skates, laughing at nothing much and lightly touching fingers under the pretext of lacing up ice skates. Very soon they are out on the ice where Christmas carols are playing and people are swishing along in small clumps and bunches and even couples. Taemin takes hold of Jinki's hand and smiles when Jinki squeezes it so the two of them skate along slowly, content just to be together.
Taemin glances once or twice towards an arch set up on the ice where couples are pausing beneath a mistletoe ball for a quick kiss but forces himself not to look after a while. He's with Jinki and the older man is holding his hand and skating close to him. He still has the taste of cocoa on his tongue and that has to be enough. He starts to sing quietly along to silent night as they continue to circle the ice together.
Jinki joins in with the song, sneaking quick peeks at Taemin every few seconds. Taemin's bright eyes and flushed cheeks and tousled hair above his bright red scarf is entrancing. As usual, he doesn't seem to know what to say, how to breach the subject of presents or how to tell Taemin how he feels. But he skates them over to one corner of the rink and gently nudges the younger man into the railing.
"I have a gift for you, Tae," Jinki says softly, tugging his knitted glove off with the help of his teeth on the fingers and then running his hand down Taemin's chilled cheek before he offers the small square box on his palm.
Taemin tilts his head into Jinki's warm touch with a soft sigh and then takes the package, cradling it carefully in his hands as if it's something breakable. "I have one for you too," he murmurs.
"Open mine first," Jinki suggests and tucks his hands in his pockets, not because they are cold so much as he doesn't want Taemin to see his hands shaking.
Taking his gloves off and giving them to Jinki to hold, Taemin tears off the shiny silver paper on the little box in his hands and then carefully raises the lid. Inside, there's a velvet box and he opens that also, almost holding his breath. Inside is a necklace, gleaming softly up at him. It's in the shape of two angel wings.
"It's so beautiful, Jinki," Taemin says, touching the delicately molded feathers of the pendant carefully.
""We are each of us angels with only one wing. And we can only fly by embracing each other, Jinki quotes softly. "That's how you and I are Tae...that's how soulmates are," Jinki says. He reaches out and takes Taemin's jaw in his hands, lifting the other's face to his. "I love you," Jinki says.
Taemin feels tears in his eyes at the soft words that Jinki says, at the final, definite statement. "I love you too," he says, blinking fast because this is no time to cry, not at all. "Here, open mine now," he asks anxiously, tugging the flat box out of his pocket and taking back his gloves.
Jinki's head is ringing with that simple statement. "I love you too." No present, he thinks, can measure up to how he feels right now but he rips off the paper and lifts off the lid of the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of cotton is a bracelet, composed of leather and gleaming metal.
"Look," Taemin breaks in and indicates the tiny characters on the back face of each bit of metal on the bracelet. "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, he murmurs softly.
"Oh," Jinki says, because his head is spinning and his heart feels so warm inside. He smiles at Taemin and wordlessly holds out his wrist for the bracelet to be fastened on. When the metal is already warming up to his skin temperature, he places the pendant around the younger man's neck and the two of them smile goofily at each other.
Glancing around, Taemin takes hold of Jinki's hand again and begins towing him towards the mistletoe arch. "Seal it with a kiss, Jinki," he says, laughing suddenly with the pure joy inside him.
"If you want to," Jinki answers, because really, if Taemin asked him for the moon he'd probably try to get it for him. He lets Taemin half drag him along on the blades of his skates and soon the two of them are standing under the mistletoe. The piped in Christmas music is something he doesn't recognize but it has a sweet and reverent ring to it and that seems perfect.
Taemin turns and tilts his face up to the slightly taller Jinki, taking hold of the older man's coat. "Kiss me, Jinki," he asks.
Jinki drops his mouth slowly, laying his kiss over Taemin's soft warm lips. They kiss for what seems hours with soft brushes of lips and flicks of tongues before finally pulling back.
"Come on, baby it's cold out here." Taemin says with a laugh and the two of them skate to the benches to change into boots and head for home.
From: Your (Emergency) Secret Santa
Title: Of Angel's Wings and Mistletoe
Pairing: Onew/Taemin
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,750
Summary: Taemin has loved his angel since he was 8 years old, but does Jinki love him back?
When Lee Taemin was eight, he got lost in the snowy woods behind his home. One minute he was happily following the tracks of an animal through the snow and the next he couldn't find his footprints to get back to where he started from. There was a light snow falling and it was just enough to mask his trail as the sun began to go down, casting long purple shadows on the white purity of the snow. Nothing around him looked the same and Taemin could only think of the usual instructions. Stay in one place and wait to be found. Even so it was terrifying and more and more cold as he leand his back against a tree and huddled down with his arms around himself.
And then, backlit by the last of the dying sun, he spotted another older boy. There was nothing but a silhouette and the sun made a halo of the boy's hair and wings out of the bulky backpack he was carrying on his shoulders.
Of course, Taemin's belief that he was meeting an angel, albeit a cranky one did not change one bit when the boy stepped forward and reached out a hand to him. "It's cold out here, dummy, let's get out of here. My Mom is making chicken stuffed dumplings!" A rough hand grabbed Taemin's and squeezed it, pulling him along in the other boy's wake. And that was how Taemin fell in love with Jinki.
....
Now Taemin is 18 and he's still in love with Jinki. He stamps his boots and hugs himself, waiting for the older man beside the ice rink where they planned to meet. Problem is, Taemin's not sure how Jinki feels about him, not really. It's true that they've been inseparable for years and that they've even kissed but...Jinki never really speaks his feelings. Taemin's heart aches at the very thought that maybe his very own personal angel doesn't love him the way that Taemin loves Jinki. There's a package burning a hole in his left jacket pocket. It's Jinki's Christmas present and it tells Jinki exactly how Taemin feels without him having to say a word. Wiggling a glove off, he checks to make sure the flat box is still safe and then stands on tip toe looking for Jinki's handsome face amongst the crowd of other Christmastime skaters.
At about that moment, Jinki is struggling his way through the crowd with two paper cups of hot chocolate in his hands. Taemin is there somewhere and if Jinki had a hand free he'd use his cell to call the younger man. Taemin might be just a tiny bit of an air head though Jinki would smack the first person who actually said so. So he's not really surprised when he finds Taemin fidgeting beside the rink, looking a bit like someone's lost puppy. Jinki feels warm all over though when he and Taemin make eye contact and Taemin's big smile blooms all over his face.
"Hyung!" Taemin bursts out, bouncing over to Jinki and smiling at him. Jinki's cheeks are flushed from the cold and his dark eyes seem glowing with warmth as their eyes meet. Taemin almost can't stand it and has to remind himself not to pounce Jinki and cover him with kisses. He accepts the cup offered to him and sips at it immediately, suddenly shy enough to lower his eyes.
"It's a nice night," Jinki says, eyes watching things like the curve of Taemin's neck where his scarf has come undone and the way he purses his lips to sip from his cup. He reaches out and lightly pets Taemin's hair because if he doesn't touch Taemin just a little he might do something he shouldn't. Jinki's not sure when it happened exactly; one minute Taemin was the slightly annoying but cute boy who followed him around and the next minute Taemin was the adorable boy that Jinki was completely in love with.
Taemin squinches his nose up as he licks chocolate drops off his lips and turns his attention to the sky. Beyond the lights around the ice rink, the sky is black velvet, strewn with stars and a sliver of glowing moon. He smiles at Jinki. "It is," Taemin agrees. "Do you still want to skate?" Taemin asks because once again his present for Jinki is burning holes in his pocket and his heart is pounding in his chest.
Jinki shrugs and smiles back. "If you want to...it's pretty here," he adds, waving a hand to indicate the Christmas decorations, boughs of pine and ranks of potted poinsettias that rim the rink. He slips his hand into his pocket, turning a small box around and around.
"I want to, with you," Taemin answers and finishes his chocolate, tossing his cup in a nearby trash can. Holding out his hand for Jinki, Taemin almost holds his breath in case Jinki refuses.
Jinki nods and takes Taemin's hand in his. "We have to put on skates first," he reminds gently and is surprised when Taemin pats his backpack. "All set."
Together they find a place to sit to swap shoes for skates, laughing at nothing much and lightly touching fingers under the pretext of lacing up ice skates. Very soon they are out on the ice where Christmas carols are playing and people are swishing along in small clumps and bunches and even couples. Taemin takes hold of Jinki's hand and smiles when Jinki squeezes it so the two of them skate along slowly, content just to be together.
Taemin glances once or twice towards an arch set up on the ice where couples are pausing beneath a mistletoe ball for a quick kiss but forces himself not to look after a while. He's with Jinki and the older man is holding his hand and skating close to him. He still has the taste of cocoa on his tongue and that has to be enough. He starts to sing quietly along to silent night as they continue to circle the ice together.
Jinki joins in with the song, sneaking quick peeks at Taemin every few seconds. Taemin's bright eyes and flushed cheeks and tousled hair above his bright red scarf is entrancing. As usual, he doesn't seem to know what to say, how to breach the subject of presents or how to tell Taemin how he feels. But he skates them over to one corner of the rink and gently nudges the younger man into the railing.
"I have a gift for you, Tae," Jinki says softly, tugging his knitted glove off with the help of his teeth on the fingers and then running his hand down Taemin's chilled cheek before he offers the small square box on his palm.
Taemin tilts his head into Jinki's warm touch with a soft sigh and then takes the package, cradling it carefully in his hands as if it's something breakable. "I have one for you too," he murmurs.
"Open mine first," Jinki suggests and tucks his hands in his pockets, not because they are cold so much as he doesn't want Taemin to see his hands shaking.
Taking his gloves off and giving them to Jinki to hold, Taemin tears off the shiny silver paper on the little box in his hands and then carefully raises the lid. Inside, there's a velvet box and he opens that also, almost holding his breath. Inside is a necklace, gleaming softly up at him. It's in the shape of two angel wings.
"It's so beautiful, Jinki," Taemin says, touching the delicately molded feathers of the pendant carefully.
""We are each of us angels with only one wing. And we can only fly by embracing each other, Jinki quotes softly. "That's how you and I are Tae...that's how soulmates are," Jinki says. He reaches out and takes Taemin's jaw in his hands, lifting the other's face to his. "I love you," Jinki says.
Taemin feels tears in his eyes at the soft words that Jinki says, at the final, definite statement. "I love you too," he says, blinking fast because this is no time to cry, not at all. "Here, open mine now," he asks anxiously, tugging the flat box out of his pocket and taking back his gloves.
Jinki's head is ringing with that simple statement. "I love you too." No present, he thinks, can measure up to how he feels right now but he rips off the paper and lifts off the lid of the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of cotton is a bracelet, composed of leather and gleaming metal.
"Look," Taemin breaks in and indicates the tiny characters on the back face of each bit of metal on the bracelet. "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, he murmurs softly.
"Oh," Jinki says, because his head is spinning and his heart feels so warm inside. He smiles at Taemin and wordlessly holds out his wrist for the bracelet to be fastened on. When the metal is already warming up to his skin temperature, he places the pendant around the younger man's neck and the two of them smile goofily at each other.
Glancing around, Taemin takes hold of Jinki's hand again and begins towing him towards the mistletoe arch. "Seal it with a kiss, Jinki," he says, laughing suddenly with the pure joy inside him.
"If you want to," Jinki answers, because really, if Taemin asked him for the moon he'd probably try to get it for him. He lets Taemin half drag him along on the blades of his skates and soon the two of them are standing under the mistletoe. The piped in Christmas music is something he doesn't recognize but it has a sweet and reverent ring to it and that seems perfect.
Taemin turns and tilts his face up to the slightly taller Jinki, taking hold of the older man's coat. "Kiss me, Jinki," he asks.
Jinki drops his mouth slowly, laying his kiss over Taemin's soft warm lips. They kiss for what seems hours with soft brushes of lips and flicks of tongues before finally pulling back.
"Come on, baby it's cold out here." Taemin says with a laugh and the two of them skate to the benches to change into boots and head for home.