Title: It's Been Too Long
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ontae (Taemin/Jinki)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Romance
Disclaimer: I own these people, really, I do. In fact it's all thanks to me that you know them. … Yeah right, so I lied but at least I own the plot.
Summary: He finally had him back after so long, he wasn't going to risk losing him again.
-
“Dammit!” Taemin swore as he ran from his room, down the stairs, grabbing some toast from his mom's outstretched hand with his mouth and out of his home, yelling a muffled, 'thanks, see ya later, mom' as he mounted his bike and sped off. He was late, so freaking late that it wasn't even funny. He had slept in too long, not that this was unusual, but he genuinely thought that he had more time. He was wrong, of course, Lady Luck never really favoured him when he needed her to the most. Taemin was going so fast that he was wondering if he would actually make it to school on time and he attempted to go even faster, pedalling so hard that his feet began to sting. He was so caught up in his thoughts and efforts that he didn't notice a person standing on the pavement directly in his path until it was too late to stop.
“Look out!” Taemin screeched. It may have been far too late for that, Taemin reasoned, but at least he tried. His bike drove right into the person who was turning around from shock before it's balance was lost and Taemin was sent flying into the person who was howling in pain from the previous collision. Taemin heard the bike crash into the wall to his right right after the person - who was currently writhing in pain underneath him - had fallen onto the pavement with a loud 'thud'. Taemin decided at that point in time that he would rather get a new bike later than have to pay for this person's surgery.
“Ohcrap- I, am so sorry-” Taemin looked at the person, his apology stopping halfway up his throat. There, still on the floor with his eyes closed - Taemin realised it was a man when he flew into the person's very flat chest - was a person he had resigned himself to never being able to see again. His blameless hyung that was stolen away from him, seven years ago.
Lee Jinki.
“Hy-hyung! A-are you alright?” Taemin began inspecting Jinki, picking up his hands and looking closely at them, his burning eyes raking over the elder's body in search of blood or any other wound. He could feel his mouth and throat drying up and constricting on itself, any and everything he had ever wanted to tell the other since he had left had curled up and died before they ever reached his numb throat. Taemin kept mindlessly sweeping his hands over Jinki's numb body until the latter finally held Taemin's upper arm successfully stopping him, albeit the grip was light. There was a slight pause.
“Long time no see, Taemin ah.” Soft. His hyung was still the same, even his soft voice had not changed at all. Even back then, regardless of the fact that Taemin couldn't fully understand it as an eleven year old, he had always liked Jinki's voice, always liked to hear him speaking. Maybe Jinki would be saying nice things or funny jokes but whatever it was, Taemin would always look at Jinki - tracing his every movement with his observant eyes. He would love to see his hyung smile as well. Taemin would always do silly little things to get Jinki to laugh, and his attempts were usually very successful often earning a bright smile from him. There were many other things about Jinki that Taemin liked and now that he's face to face with the other after so long, Taemin's list was growing. There was one thing though that Taemin had know ever since he could comprehend the fact; he had always liked Jinki.
Jinki was smiling now, gently passing his hand over Taemin's cheeks and that's when the blond realized it - he had been crying. Taemin carefully held Jinki's hand and pressed it against his cheek, as if he were afraid that the other would disappear if he made one wrong move.
And maybe Taemin was right to worry.
“Taemin ah, I'm not hurt so please don't cry. You look better when you're smiling.” Taemin looked at Jinki, cracking a smile though his tears barely stopped. Jinki didn't seem to mind though as he did his best to comfort the other, in all truth he wanted to cry as well but he felt as though he needed to be strong, for Taemin if no one else. The younger eventually leaned down and hugged Jinki, burying his face into the crook between Jinki's shoulder and neck. Jinki silently wrapped his arms around the other, threading the fingers of his right hand through the blond hair in slow, languid movements, letting Taemin cry out all the sadness, pain and fear that had been haunting him for the past seven years. It was the least Jinki could do, for now.
-
Taemin had arrived to school late that day.
He had walked quietly to his seat after his teacher had simply glanced at him and told him to try to arrive early next time. Maybe, Taemin mused, the teacher had gone easy on him because his eyes were still puffy and red from the crying he had done earlier. He didn't know what had come over him, the tears just began to flow when he realized Jinki was there - with him - at that moment. There was so much he wanted to talk to the other about, to tell him, to ask him, to just speak abstractedly with him again.
Taemin couldn't focus on anything his teachers had taught throughout the day, he could only think of his hyung.
-
Taemin was walking back home, past a park that seemed to be full of excited little children, holding his bike at it's handles and lazily guiding it to stay close to him. It was pretty early - three in the afternoon for the latest - he didn't need to be home yet, he figured if he went home now he would meet an empty house and he didn't need the oppressive loneliness right now. He strolled into the park, rested his bike against the side of a nice wooden bench with pretty floral patterned metalwork as the back rest and he flopped himself onto the hard surface. Taemin let his head fall back and he let out a long sigh, a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.
Taemin didn't know how long he had sat like that as he tried to sort out his thoughts, even when he felt a weight settle itself to his right he didn't move - didn't even open his eye to peek at whoever it was, even though he wanted to. It felt as if it had been hours since the person settled down next to him, but perhaps it was only a few seconds. Taemin eventually gave in to his childish side and ever so slowly peeked at whoever it was that was just idly sitting next to him, holding his breath as he did so. Taemin knew who it would be, there were few people he felt no need to be wary of even if he couldn't see them, and this person who was next to him was one of them. This person; Jinki.
Maybe Taemin had been staring at the other since he had decided to peek at him but every time he caught Jinki's gaze the elder would look at him for a while, before shifting his gaze to look at the children running around or the birds fluttering about and spitting love songs out of their little beaks. Taemin was waiting for Jinki to speak but he soon realized that the other may never speak up because... that was just the way his hyung was, if he felt bad he would feel as though he should just keep quiet and wait for some sort of scolding. Well, Jinki was waiting for a scolding that would never come because Taemin didn't blame him for anything.
But it was nice to know - or maybe it was just an assumption - that Jinki really was the same as the boy he had known so long ago. Taemin was relieved.
“Hyung,” Jinki looked at him, directly in the eyes, before quickly distracting himself with a nearby flowering plant, softly replying to Taemin that he was listening. “Are you feeling bad?”
Jinki gave him a guilt-ridden look. Taemin frowned in reply, moving to lightly touch his hyung's face.
“Hyung, you shouldn't feel bad, I know it wasn't your fault. Your parents had to move and you naturally had to go with them, that's not something you can choose.” Jinki had nodded a little in response but he still looked as if he was blaming himself. Taemin's hyung was just so stubborn sometimes. Comforting him in a way which is sort of depressing overall and usually ends with one person crying into the other's clothes wasn't going to work as quickly as Taemin would like, so he decided to skip that altogether and go for something a little more upbeat.
Taemin jumped off of the bench and stepped directly in front of Jinki, grinning down at the other. Jinki looked at him, a little puzzled. What could Taemin be up to? Taemin then started bouncing from one foot to the other, moving his shoulders up and down in a quick and comical way while he randomly clapped his hands, still grinning at Jinki. It didn't take long for Jinki to finally crack and start laughing, questioning Taemin if this is what he learns in school. Jinki really hadn't changed, the simplest of things could still make him laugh. Taemin then grabbed Jinki's arm and pulled him up - and at this point Taemin finally realised he was a few inches taller than his hyung, oh the joy he felt for some reason was inexplicable - dragging him off to his home and talking about how they should chat and Jinki could stay over for the night like he used to.
Taemin had suddenly lost all of his will to sulk around and he knew he had caused Jinki to do the same.
-
Taemin unlocked the front door and shuffled inside with Jinki trailing closely behind him before he locked the door again, kicked off his shoes while telling Jinki to do the same and dropping himself lazily lengthwise onto the longest couch he could find. When Jinki had passed by the couch, apparently heading towards the seat a little bit away from the couch, Taemin grabbed his wrist, pulled Jinki down onto the couch and flipped himself over so that his head was now resting snugly in Jinki's lap. Jinki was startled for a while before he relaxed and patted the younger boy's head causing Taemin to smile up at him. Jinki tilted his head as if trying to get a better look at Taemin as he smiled back while Taemin spoke of how they should catch up with each other because they had 'six years worth of stories to share and hyung had better not hold anything back!'
Jinki grinned down at the other boy before he started speaking about how different the place he had moved to was from Korea. He was glad, Taemin hadn't changed at all.
-
There was a comfortable silence blanketing the room as Jinki threaded his hand through Taemin's hair while Taemin closed his eyes and quietly hummed his approval of the ministrations.
“You know, I still play the piano.” Taemin spoke, absent-mindedly.
“Is that so?” Jinki's voice was laced with mild surprise. Somehow he had expected Taemin to just forget about piano playing and to focus solely on dancing.
“Uh-huh, do you wanna know why?” A playful little question that Jinki knew Taemin wanted to answer, so he humoured him.
“Sure, tell me.”
“It's because I hoped that, somehow, you would hear the song I played for you. It's the song you had told me was your favourite, I practised day and night for you, hyung.” Taemin smiled brightly at him, as if he were a child that had just gotten all the sweets money could buy, it really was a pretty smile. Jinki could feel tears prickling his eyes as he tried to blink them away.
“T-Taemin ah-” Taemin placed his index finger over Jinki's lips, successfully silencing him as the younger shook his head. “Hyung, I did it because I wanted to.”
Taemin just kept smiling at him as Jinki tried his best to hold his tears back. Really, Taemin was a sweetheart.
Taemin eventually sat up a announced something akin to going out to buy food. Jinki looked at Taemin stand up and suddenly he remembered something. He stood up as well and lightly tapped the taller boy's shoulder.
“Wait, Taemin ah.”
“Hm? Hyung, what's the matter, you want to come with me?” Taemin didn't really wait for an answer as he took Jinki's hand in his own and began pulling him towards the door with him. Jinki picked up a little blue bag he had left at the counter before stopping Taemin as they stood a bit away from the door.
“Is something wrong, hyung?” Taemin looked at Jinki, only noticing the light blue bag with a little bow and card attached to it when Jinki practically shoved it into his face.
“This.” Jinki said as Taemin took the bag and looked into it. Taemin used his hand to prod at the fluffy gift paper surrounding a little box. He took out the box and gave Jinki a questioning look before realization slowly dawned on him as Jinki whispered while enveloping him in a hug, “Happy birthday, Taemin ah. You're an adult now.” The last part seemed to be a complaint but Taemin smiled all the same, hugging Jinki as he thanked him.
When Jinki released Taemin, the boy lightly shook the box, asking what was inside it before gingerly opening it. There, laying in cotton and prettily glittering, was a cute little key chain - a piano. Taemin looked up at Jinki with his face lit up in a mixture of surprise and happiness as Jinki smiled at him, asking him if he liked it.
“Obviously, hyung! This is great!” Taemin had practically grabbed Jinki and pulled him into a hug that quickly cut off the elder's access to oxygen. Taemin had only let the other go when his stomach growled. He blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
“Ah, hyung, shall we go now?”
“Oh, that's right! I was going to tell you that you forgot your bike at the park.” Taemin seemed to be a little shocked at the news as his jaw almost dropped. Ah, he knew he had forgotten something. Then, Taemin smiled.
“Ah, then I'll go for it after we eat. You'll come with me right, hyung?” Taemin just grinned, he already knew the answer but he asked anyway. He just wanted to hear Jinki say,
“Yeah- of course I will!” Taemin then took Jinki's hand in his yet again and they ran out of the house, laughing and spinning their way to the nearest fast food outlet they could find. At that point, Taemin had wished he had asked Jinki to marry him or something similar to that instead, but a question like that could wait. Taemin felt as if he had the world of time now and he had no intention of letting Jinki slip away from him again. Taemin and Jinki would stay together from now on, Taemin would make sure of it.
◎♡◎♡◎
A/N: This is a little drabble I wrote for Taemin's birthday. I wonder if this can be called a drabble though? And why am I always so horribly late? OTL Anyways, this is my first Ontae ficdrabble! I'm sorry if I didn't do them justice, but comments are welcomed~ Happy belated birthday Taemin!