Minho watched in mild fascination as Taemin turned around himself in the middle of the shop. The way he held his right leg looked like it hurt but the expression on his face told another story. It showed confused desperation, not pain. They were in a shop targeted toward teenage boys that were obsessed with skateboards. Minho couldn’t help but feel like they were completely wrong.

“Taemin,” he said cautiously. “Does Jonghyun even like Skateboards?”

“Huh, oh no, not at all.” Taemin replied absentmindedly, still looking around.

“Then why are we looking at skateboards for him?” Minho still spoke very slowly in the hopes that then the words would get through better. It seemed to work. Taemin’s head snapped around.

“Good question! What are we doing here?!”

Minho sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hands. “You said this is the perfect store to find a Christmas present for Jonghyun. May I ask how?”

Taemin frowned and limped over to sit next to Minho on the low bench that was provided for customers. “I want to give him something manly.” He admitted. “He’s been so insecure lately and I want to show him that I love having him as a boyfriend, not a girlfriend.”

(Minho would forever be surprised by how insightful Taemin could be occasionally.)

They sat in silence for a while, then Minho got an idea. “Hey, how about a snapback? He likes those, right? And then we could get a few scented candles.” He thought it was brilliant. The store they were in had a whole wall covered in snapbacks, some of them with designs that were unmistakably made for male customers. And Jonghyun adored scented candles – even though, as Minho knew, that love sometimes made him question himself. Minho wouldn’t even pretend to understand. “That would be something manly.” He continued when Taemin didn’t reply. “But it would also be a sign that you like him for who he is, not a weird construct of gender.” If only his parents could hear him talk like that. They would probably faint.

Next to him, Taemin, in perfect juxtaposition to Minho’s sudden bout of bad mood, brightened up. “That’s a fantastic idea! See, I knew why I took you with me!”

“I’m here because Kibum wouldn’t let you go on your own on bad days and he and Jinki have to work.” Minho replied dryly. Taemin ignored him.

They left the mall with a bag containing a black snapback with a red Michael Jordan symbol and three big candles. Taemin had been saving up for Jonghyun’s Christmas present since August, he told Minho. With Taemin holding onto Minho’s arm to take some pressure off his leg, they just went through the big glass door when some older boys bumped into Taemin. He cried out softly and tightened his grip almost painfully – but, as Minho knew, not as painfully as his hip was feeling in that moment. He turned around, ready to yell at the other guys, but was confronted with his brother’s narrowed eyes. So he just gulped and led Taemin outside. Just before the door closed completely, he could hear his brother’s voice. “Don’t worry, that was just my brother with one of his friends. Nothing to worry about.”

❤