When Jongin shakes him awake at half past seven for the second day in a row, Taemin can’t even bring himself to want to curl up and turn away from him.  He hasn’t been able to sleep much since Jongin woke him up the last time, and by the time he was able to fall into something of a half-awake sleep, the sun was beginning to peek through the window.

Jongin’s hand on his shoulder is warm, and he wishes it didn’t make his stomach erupt in butterflies again, because that’s exactly why he couldn’t sleep well the rest of the night; exactly why, upon having full control of his body again, he shrugs Jongin’s hand away and rolls out of bed.

He can practically feel Jongin’s eyes on him as he makes his way to the bathroom to get ready for another day of play.

He’s quiet through the both of them getting dressed – although he does find himself looking Jongin’s direction while they’re throwing on their second uniforms a bit more often than usual.  And he avoids Jongin’s gaze as they head down to breakfast, looking at him through the mirror of the elevator, knowing Jongin is looking at him directly from the way Jongin’s eyes seem to be directed at him in his reflection.

It’s not often that Taemin is quiet around Jongin – at least not in the way that he is now: avoiding making eye contact with him and not really speaking to anyone.  He’s therefore not surprised when their team scrutinizes them as soon as they’re out of the elevator – in particular Baekhyun.

“Trouble in paradise?”  He’s clearly just teasing, but there is the barest hint of concern in his eyes.  He is their upperclassmen, after all, and regardless of how much he loves making fun of Taemin and Jongin, and how much of a pain in the Taemin thinks he may be sometimes, he knows Baekhyun has a good heart.

Still, Taemin can’t seem to find the right words to answer.  He opens his mouth and stutters out a, “Well, not really,” but it doesn’t sound convincing to him either.

That seems to really alert Baekhyun that there’s something off between the two of them, although he doesn’t say anything about it.  Taemin ends up avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze during breakfast too.

X

This isn’t how today is supposed to go.

With how much smack Taemin and Jongin were talking about winning, Taemin thinks they would have at least come out even more dynamic and ready to play than they were yesterday.  But right now they’re down by four in the second set, the opposing team already having taken the first set, and to say Taemin is struggling right now is an understatement.

So far the backcourt defense has been fair, with great receives and digs.  Passes are generally reachable in his target area without much movement, and so in theory he should be setting up some great plays and running the offense smoothly.  Except that he’s having a hard time setting up his outside hitter when he’s front row, because his front row rotation starts with Jongin switching with him and Chanyeol between them.

He’s fine with Chanyeol – their slide attack has been mostly successful in the few sets they’ve played so far, only having been stuffed once and dug a couple of other times.  However, Taemin attributes that to how athletic Chanyeol is on top of his already staggering height; he’s physical and can jump high enough to slam the ball down over the block.  It’s honestly what’s saving their asses right now.

But his sets to Jongin.  Those are another story altogether.  Some are alright, and although Taemin’s a good enough setter for his “bad” sets to only be maybe a third of a meter or so away from where they usually are, they’re not optimal for Jongin and Jongin’s having to adjust instead of being able to swing for the kill.  Jongin is a good enough outside hitter to place it, but he can only place it into a spot so many times before the teams start to pick up on it.

And boy are they picking up on it.

This team in particular – second team out of the four that they have to play today – is exceptionally scrappy on defense and it’s pissing Taemin off.  It’s rare that a tip, dump, or shoot to the back corner drops on the opposing team’s side, and it’s frustrating Taemin because that’s a good portion of what Jongin’s been doing to adjust to his sets.

He stands behind Chanyeol, waiting for the opposing team’s server to contact the ball so that he can take off to his base position.  He turns, takes a look at his team, and then signals to them what play they’re going to run.  With only two hitters in the front row, the options are limited, but Taemin thinks this, at least, will work.

He catches Jongin’s eye then, and Jongin gives him a slight nod that has his gut tightening.  For what reason he’s not sure, but he sure hopes it has more to do with getting the connection with his hitter right than it has to do with how he’s been feeling since Jongin kissed him early this morning.

The sound of a ball being contacted brings him out of his thoughts, and Taemin takes off to his target, watching as Baekhyun calls Jongin off for the pass.  Good, he thinks as he sees Jongin transition off the court to get ready for an approach.  He sees Chanyeol maneuvering his way through the front court, until he takes off for the slide again.

The pass comes off Baekhyun’s forearms high and with a bit of backspin, keeping it just on their side of the net.  Taemin notes the trajectory, still considering where he should set.  He peeks at the blockers out of the corner of his eye, sees the middle watching his movements, notes that a dump is out of the question.

He glances at Chanyeol, now running past him, going in for the slide.  Then he glances at Jongin, catches his best friend’s eyes, and feels his body tighten for a moment as he times his motion and jumps for the set.  He shoots the set outside, Jongin already starting his approach.

For the first time all day, the quick set to the outside works, because the middle jumps with him, the pin blocker is late, and sharp cross is wide open for Jongin.  And it’s not an opportunity Jongin lets go.  He slams the ball down at the hard angle, catching the line.

The play’s over as soon as it starts, and Taemin figures he should be celebrating with his team.  Except that all he can see is Jongin beaming at him as he makes his way over and throws an arm around his neck to ruffle his hair.  He supposes he should feel happy at the fact that he finally seems to connect with Jongin better, but all he can think about is how his face burning at Jongin’s hand running through his hair.

There are hands on his back, his teammates telling him he’s done a good job on the shoot to the outside.  But all he can feel is Jongin’s arm around his waist and Jongin’s hand in his hair and Jongin’s happy laugh in his ear.

And then, as quick as the play had happened, Jongin is letting him go and running to the back line to serve.  Taemin still isn’t quite sure how he feels about what’s just happened, but he knows that the weird fluttering in his stomach has more to do with the way Jongin smiled at him than it does with the fact that they’ve made a break in the game.

He makes his way to base as soon as he hears Jongin’s hand contact the ball, watching the ball move on the other side of the net and reacting accordingly, dropping in to cover the tip from the right side hitter.

In the end, Baekhyun takes it from him, and Taemin is free to take the second ball.  Taemin does not hesitate, firing it back to Chanyeol for a quick.  He thanks the heavens that Chanyeol is so tall and fast, because he’s able to take a full swing despite having transitioned all the way back.  The ball hits the floor on the other side and Jongin gives him a quick pat on the back before heading back to the service line.

Taemin tries not to think about how even that quick pat on his back makes his stomach flip as Jongin serves again.

X

Their luck only seems to run for so long, because they win the set, and eventually the game, but it’s not the best they’ve ever played.  And so it goes for the next few games.  They’re barely scraping by against teams that they could still definitely beat in two sets – maybe close games, but definitely beatable in just two sets.

They’re down to their last game of the day, and here they are in the third set again.  The team is up two, and normally Taemin would think it’s nothing, except that it’s only a game to fifteen and they really can’t afford to be down.  The team on the other side of the net has also gone undefeated today, and Taemin knows that if they lose this set, they lose their first place standing and will end up playing in the silver bracket the next day.

The last thing he wants is to end up in the silver bracket when they’re so close to being in gold.  But they’re currently on serve receive and in desperate need of a run, because the score is already 10-8.

Taemin is in his last front row rotation.  Once they get the side out, he’s going to head back to the service line.  He glances at his team, sees Jongin standing middle back ready to receive, with Tao to his left and Baekhyun to his right and Wonsik tucked away at the back line between his two outside hitters.  He knows he has Sehun ready for him front row, whether to act as a decoy or to take the swing on a great pass.

He glances at his back-row defenders again, catching Jongin’s gaze and, like earlier, catching the fire in those eyes.  It’s what allows him to signal to his team what play they’ll be running in the case of a great pass.

The serve comes hard and with a drop, headed straight between Jongin and Baekhyun, but Baekhyun handles it perfectly, and Taemin can’t help but to send a silent word of thanks to whatever heavenly beings may be listening.  He chances a glance at his offenders, watching as Sehun comes in shouting for the quick, Tao shouting for a shoot.  But Taemin knows exactly where he’s going with the ball, and releases quickly above the three-meter line.

Sehun jumps as if he’s getting the set for the middle quick, and the middle on the other side takes the bait, jumping with him and thus landing far too soon to block the swing Jongin takes from the back row.  It’s a blistering hit, and it’s going so fast it drops directly into the back left corner of the opposing team’s court.

Taemin thinks it’s the first time he literally jumps in excitement the entire day.  Maybe it’s the excitement at the possibility of making a comeback and taking this game away from the other team.  Maybe it’s the fact that he connected well enough on the back-row quick with Jongin that Jongin had zero block and was able to put down a huge swing.  Whatever it is, he find himself letting out a loud cheer and clapping Jongin on the shoulder as the referee blows the whistle.  He feels Jongin’s hand in his hair for a brief moment, and although it sends those same butterflies from earlier into his gut, he chooses to ignore it for the sake of going back to the service line.

He looks at the score, noting how the other team’s lead is down to one, and feels something like determination settling into his gut.  The ball reaches him behind the service line, and he feels himself oddly calm for someone serving in such a high-pressure situation.

Bouncing the ball to himself, Taemin looks up at his teammates’ backs, the referee blowing the whistle as a signal to start the play.  He sees the hand sign given to him by his team; a unanimous decision to serve to zone one.  He glances up and sees the other team’s current rotation; with the setter stuck behind the outside, ready to run up as soon as he contacts the ball.  Taemin tries his hardest not to grin as he finally stops the bouncing the ball, approaches, jumps, and floats the ball back into the far left corner of the opposing team’s court.

It works, because the outside hitter is caught in the setter’s way trying to pass, and the setter ends up with only one option: setting their right side out on the outside pin.  And it’s far too easy for Sehun and Wonshik to get up and stuff the hit.  From the moment Taemin’s float serve crossed the net, there was no hope for the other team to score.

He pumps his fist into the air as he jumps into a quick huddle with his team, and then heads right back to the service line with the score tied at ten apiece.  He allows himself a small smile as he bounces the ball to himself, seeing the sign to serve zone one again behind his teammates’ backs.

The referee blows the whistle, and he doesn’t take nearly as much time to approach, jump, and send another hard float to the back left corner of the other side of the court.  It’s handled better this time, but the pass isn’t quite to the point where they can run the middle, and judging by the location and how the setter is running backward, he can only go right side.

Taemin reads the hitter’s shoulders well, absorbs the hard-driven ball that comes at him, and then watches as Baekhyun runs up and bump-sets Tao.  He’s not as crafty as Jongin, per say, but he’s tall and sees the court well, and so it’s with a hint of finality that Tao slams the ball down the line.

The team erupts into cheers again, and then continues cheering as the other team’s coach calls for a timeout, because they’ve officially made a break; they’re up by one.

The timeout huddle is filled with excitement and anxiety all at once, grins on faces with an underlying worry.  Taemin knows Coach Choi has noticed that something has been off between him and Jongin all day, but he hasn’t brought it up, and for that Taemin is thankful.  Because even as they stand in this huddle, with Jongin’s arm around his waist, he feels his stomach erupting into butterflies that have nothing to do with their game.

“Taemin!”

He jumps in his spot, making eye contact with Coach Choi, feeling his face burning at being caught thinking about something other than whatever encouraging words their coach has been saying.  For a second, it seems as though Coach Choi wants to say something – because Taemin can tell from the look on his face that Coach Choi knows he was thinking about Jongin in some way – but in the end he says nothing on the matter.  Instead, he says, “Don’t let them ice your serve.”

Taemin nods as the referee blows his whistle.  They get a quick cheer, and then hustle back to the court, Taemin jogging back to his place behind the service line.  He looks back at his teammates, notes Jongin looking back at him, and accidentally meets his eye.

The ball slips from his fingers for a second, and he hurriedly reaches out to pull it back toward him, face flushing slightly.  He sees Baekhyun glancing back at him and grinning almost mischievously, and he knows that he’s ed once this game is over.  Regardless of the outcome, he’s never going to hear the end of Baekhyun’s jokes.

The referee blows the whistle for him to serve, and he shakes all thoughts of anything but winning the game out of his mind.  He takes a deep breath, reads the signs behind his teammates’ backs, and aims for deep area between zones one and six.

To his relief, it works, because the indecision between the outside and the libero results in an overpass that Sehun does not hesitate to slam back down onto the other side.  The timeout has done nothing to slow their momentum, it seems, and Taemin rushes into the huddle with a joyous shout of “Let’s go!”  To which Jongin ruffles his hair affectionately.

It leaves him feeling slightly warmer as he heads back to the service line again, prepared to go back to the same spot.  His team is on the same page, and so when the referee blows the whistle, he sends a floater back to the same area, this time dropping it a bit short.

There’s a scramble, but the ball gets up to the setter on the other side, and although Sehun is tall and athletic, there’s no stopping the quick three set the other team’s middle runs.  The ball lands behind Taemin’s head, somewhere near the back corner, and Taemin shakes his head as he makes his way into the huddle.

There are pats on his back, and then everyone is scurrying back to their rotational positions.  Tao comes back to pass, hiding him so that he can make his way to set – in the same rotation the other team just had trouble in.  He prays that it doesn’t end up the same way for them, because the game is back within one and they need to push three quickly to close up this set and win this game.

When the outside hitter on the other side tosses up, Taemin starts inching out, and as soon as he sees the arm back for the swing, he starts to take off to his area.

Luckily, it seems, the ball goes straight for the area between Jongin and Baekhyun, and so Baekhyun takes the pass.  It’s not perfect, but it’s damn close, and so Taemin returns the favor of the quick three set to Sehun.  It goes down with no issue, and the play is over faster than it began.

Taemin pumps his fist as he makes his way into the circle again, and then heads back to base as Tao runs behind the line to serve.  He doesn’t need to watch Tao, when the referee blows the whistle, to know exactly when the ball is up in the air and Tao is taking that hard swing.

The other team seems to be getting back into the swing of things, because they handle the serve easily, sending it straight to target.  Taemin watches carefully as the other setter gets ready to run a play.  He puts it off to his being a setter when he sees the other team’s setter glancing across the net at Sehun.

“Dump, dump, dump,” he shouts, before he can even really register the fact that he’s saying it.  And his team reacts according when the setter shoots the ball over to the right back corner, Tao taking the pass so that he can run to set up an offense.

The pass isn’t quite perfect, but he still has options, and so he jumps, holds, and sets back to Wonshik, who goes off the block for the point.

He grins as he makes his way into the huddle, high-fiving Wonshik excitedly.  He’s never really one to say things in the huddle, but he can’t contain the “Push one,” that slips out of his mouth as he heads back to base, Tao heading back to the service line.

Taemin can practically see the nerves on the other team’s faces, and he knows it’s because with one more point they win the match and, by extension, the pool.  Even if they were to lose this point, they’d have another two set points waiting for them.  One missed serve from the other team and it’d still be all over.

He’s sure Tao knows this, because when he serves, he serves with a fierceness that he only reserves for “surefire” situations – where the score is a blowout or the other team is very obviously in disarray and can’t quite bring themselves back into it.  He imagines that Tao is thinking it’s the latter, and watches as the serve is passed well off the net.

Taemin knows the setter only has two options, and so when he chooses to go to the outside, Taemin isn’t surprised.  Instead, he shuffles back with a foot on the sideline and waits for the line shot he’s almost positive is coming to him.

If Taemin’s honest, he’s not sure why the hit goes sharp cross, but he does know that Baekhyun digs it beautifully, and so he runs to quickly set up a play.

He considers running a middle quick in transition, but one look at the outside gives him a full view of Jongin’s eyes boring into his soul, and before he knows it, he’s shooting it outside again, waiting in anticipation as Jongin takes flight.

He watches as his best friend his arm back and then slams the ball between the incomplete block in front of him, forcing it to the ground on the other side of the court.

Taemin thinks he’d be able to bring himself to cheer if Jongin doesn’t instantly turn around and point at him with a grin that seems to have more than just the pride of getting the winning kill behind it.  He almost freezes in place as Jongin runs over to the huddle, and he feels himself tense just the slightest at the feeling of Jongin’s hand ruffling his hair again.  “Great set,” he says over the cheers of the team, and Taemin almost feels bashful as he nods his head in response.

He catches Baekhyun eyeing him, and then feels his heart drop to his at the way his hyung grins at him knowingly.  Maybe that’s why he allows himself to be the first person in line to shake hands with the other team.

X

Taemin realizes he’s an idiot later that night when, after assuming for the rest of the afternoon that the win today would make him feel less weird around Jongin, he finds himself sadly mistaken.

He sits on the bed, clean and in his pajamas, as Jongin walks out of the bathroom shirtless; his hands working the towel around his freshly washed hair.  Taemin feels almost guilty at the way he can’t seem to pry his eyes away, despite the fact that he’s seen Jongin shirtless multiple times already.  He tries to convince himself that it’s because Jongin is looking more toned these days, but soon comes to the conclusion that he’d only notice that if he were staring anyway, and then proceeds to blush lightly.

“Taemin,” he hears Jongin’s voice call out, “Are you blushing?”

“No,” Taemin answers, all too quickly.

“Yeah you are, you liar,” Jongin calls, unfazed.

“No I’m not,” Taemin replies again, still far too quickly.

“What’re you blushing about,” Jongin asks, and Taemin can hear the teasing in his voice.  He suddenly finds it all too tempting to throw his face into a pillow and smother himself to death.

“I’m not blushing,” he says, adamant, but it only seems to make his face burn brighter.

“Were you watching while I was in the shower?”

“Jongin, what the ?”

Jongin shrugs as he tosses the towel he was using onto the armchair and flops onto the bed next to Taemin.  To say Taemin’s heart rate picks up is an understatement; for the first time in however long he and Jongin have been friends, his heart is racing.  Jongin, on the other hand, completely unaware, says, “Don’t act like you don’t have a bit of a problem.”

He waggles his eyebrows then, and Taemin feels his face flush – partially in embarrassment because apparently his best friend thinks he’s a compulsive or, mostly because he thinks Jongin looks damn good when he moves his eyebrows around like that.

He wills himself to calm down as he gives his best friend a light shove.  “Go put on a shirt, you loser.”

“Only if you promise not to snore tonight.”

Taemin goes quiet at that.  Jongin, to his lament, notices his sudden shift and goes quiet too.  “What,” he asks, and Taemin wonders for the first time if Jongin is just playing stupid, or doesn’t really remember the fact that he ing kissed Taemin at five in the morning to get him to stop snoring.

“You snored last night, for the most part, but then you stopped.”  Jongin grins, and for the first time since they’ve been friends, Taemin can’t tell if Jongin is entirely innocent or not.  He almost wants to cry in something like frustration, because on top of the fact that he can’t read Jongin all that well right now, that grin is downright dazzling.

Before he can stop himself, Taemin reaches over Jongin, turns off the lamp, and crawls under the covers.  The “goodnight” he gives Jongin sounds so nervous it’s almost hoarse, and he curses himself for it.

There’s a long silence, and then Jongin goes “Oooo-kay.”  And then Taemin can feel the bed shift under Jongin’s movements, until he feels the space under the covers next to him occupied by his best friend.

He curls himself into the tightest ball he possibly can, closes his eyes, and tries to force himself to sleep.

X

When Jongin gets up to go to the bathroom, Taemin can’t even find himself upset about his best friend’s peanut bladder.  He’s been lying awake for the past three hours, entirely too conscious of Jongin’s breathing right next to him, entirely too conscious of how his best friend is shirtless right next to him, entirely too conscious of his heart going wild in his chest.

“ you, Kim Jongin,” he whispers to himself as the door to the bathroom closes behind his best friend.  “ you and your abs and your face and your everything.”

He rolls onto his back, taking advantage of Jongin’s temporary absence to stretch out his limbs.  Once satisfied, he rests his head on top of his arms and shuts his eyes, trying to fall asleep.  He tries to ignore the sound of the bathroom door opening, tries to ignore Jongin sliding back into bed next to him, tries to ignore how the bed shifts under Jongin’s weight as his best friend tries to get comfortable again.  He hopes his breathing is steady, because right now he feels anything but.

“Taemin,” he hears Jongin question after a few moments, but he ignores him in the hopes that Jongin will think he’s made a mistake in assuming he’s awake.

“Taemin,” he hears again, and it takes all his willpower to not swallow the lump in his throat.  He stays in the same position, trying his best to look and sound convincing.  The bed shifts again, and he feels Jongin edge closer to him, warm breath fanning out against the side of his neck.

you, Kim Jongin, he thinks.  you and your stupid everything.

It’s a struggle to not react, but in the end, Jongin seems convinced, because he seems to sigh and then recede back to his side of the bed.  Taemin wants to be relieved, but as Jongin falls back asleep next to him, he can only think of the feeling of Jongin so close to him a few moments ago.

And so it goes for the next couple of hours, until his eyes burn and he finds himself wanting to cry - he’s so damn tired.  He wants nothing more than to sleep for a few hours and forget about Kim ing Jongin and his stupid antics and his stupid cute face and his stupid abs and his stupid sleep-thick voice.

you, Kim Jongin, he thinks to himself.  you, you, you for kissing me and ruining my life.  And so goes the mantra in his head that eventually lulls him to a dreamless, light sleep.

X

It almost feels like the blink of an eye when he wakes up again, his eyes shooting open to the feeling of those lips on his again.  Like last time, he feels himself freeze, somehow unwilling to push Jongin off but still very conscious that his best friend is ing kissing him for the second night in a row.

The warmth on his lips is nice, and he’s torn by the fact that he misses it almost as soon as Jongin pulls back.  “Stop snoring,” Jongin says, and then he flops back onto the bed to go back to sleep.

Taemin isn’t sure what comes over him, then; isn’t sure why he leans over Jongin and kisses him full on the lips and says, “I’m not ing Sleeping Beauty,” before he turns his back to his best friend and tries to will his nerves back into letting him sleep.

X

Taemin thinks his life is very full of regrets when he wakes up at half past seven that morning.  He’s not sure if Jongin remembers the kiss from the second night they spent at the hotel, but he’s positive by the way that Jongin is staring at him while they’re getting dressed that he sure as hell remembers the kiss Taemin planted on him in the middle of the night last night.  To say he’s uncomfortable with Jongin’s eyes on him as he pulls on his third and final uniform is an understatement.

They get ready in without a word, and for the second day in a row, they greet the rest of their team in an awkward silence.  And just like the day before, Baekhyun does not let it go unnoticed.

“Wow, there must be something very wrong between you two.”  He seems more worried than amused this time, because Taemin doesn’t even know what to say this time, and so he just doesn’t say anything at all.

“Spill, you two.  We can’t have this affecting the team today like it was yesterday.  It’s gold bracket day, and single round elimination.  We have to get done today.”

Taemin wishes he could spill, but he knows that if he were to tell Baekhyun, he’d never hear the end of it when everything is all resolved.  Plus, the rest of the team is around and they’re staring at the three of them, seemingly waiting for something.

“We’re just tired, is all,” he says.  The rest of the team seems satisfied with that – they all know how much Taemin and Jongin value sleep – with the exception of Baekhyun.  He’s still giving them a look of suspicion, but Taemin shrugs it off as the group starts to head into the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

X

Three games later, and the disconnect between him and Jongin is becoming steadily more apparent.  He figures that yesterday it was off because he was the only one truly affected by the events from the night before; but currently, the awkwardness between them is radiating off into the court – so much so that they’ve just managed to lose the first set of the semifinal match.  If they make it past this round, they make it to the championships for a shot at being the winners of the tournament.

Their first two games were ultimately wins, but they were not at their best, and Taemin knows that he and Jongin are to blame.  How can a team run when one of the outsides and the setter are both off their game?  It doesn’t work, and Taemin is honestly surprised Coach Choi didn’t just throw someone else in for them.  But right now, after this first set loss, Coach Choi doesn’t hesitate to pull them both away from the group and lead them to the end of the bench.

“I don’t know what’s up with you guys, but you have two minutes to work it out before this next set starts.  And you better have it together before this next set starts.”  And then he walks away to talk to the rest of the group.  Taemin doesn’t even want to look back at them; he can feel all of their eyes on him.

His face flushes up to his ears as he looks up and instantly meets his best friend’s gaze.  He feels only slightly better at the way Jongin seems to be blushing lightly himself.

“So uh,” Jongin starts awkwardly, and Taemin finds his attention drawn to his best friend’s bow-shaped lips.  Those lips that have deprived him of sleep and made him inconsistent on the court.

“You kissed me,” Taemin lets slip, a little too loudly; and he knows it was a bit too loud because the old lady sitting at the row of seats at the back of the court hears him and scowls at him.  He bows his head in something like an apology, ears burning, before he turns his head to gauge Jongin’s reaction.

His best friend isn’t surprised, but he is blushing a bit brighter.  “Uh,” he says, and Taemin suddenly finds himself annoyed. 

“You kissed me because I was snoring,” he continues, as if Jongin has not said anything.  “You kissed me because I wouldn’t stop snoring.  That’s probably the lamest reason to kiss someone, Jongin.”  But his words sound flustered and not nearly as mean as they should even to himself, and Jongin seems to catch onto something very quickly.

“You kissed me, too, though,” he fires back, and then flinches when the ahjumma to their left clears loudly.  He bows his head, and then meets Taemin’s gaze with something like a fire in his eyes; a fire that makes Taemin’s stomach flutter in that annoying way it does whenever he catches himself thinking that his best friend is really attractive.

“I did it to prove a point,” Taemin replies in an effort to defend himself.

“It was a pretty strange way to prove a point.”

“It was a pretty strange way to get me to stop snoring.”

“But it worked, didn’t it?”

“Clearly it didn’t if you had to do it more than once.”

“It got you to stop for the rest of the night.”

“Because I couldn’t sleep after that.  It kept me up all night, so when it was time to actually get up in the morning I felt like booty.  And now whenever I look at you I feel like a whole swarm of butterflies is living in my stomach, and I feel weird setting you because I’m thinking about how it’s weird how I know you so much better than I know any of my other hitters and I trust you so much more than any of my other hitters, so much that I’d rather give you a ty set and force you to deal with it than give someone else a great set and have them put it down and – “

“Taemin, shut up.”

“-Because I know how you play and I know how you are and I trust you even though you make me feel weird and I think you’re attractive and you don’t let me sleep at night –“

“Taemin, shut up.”

“- and then I start thinking about how your lips are soft and warm and even though you kissed me, I didn’t really want to  stop you and –“

“Taemin for the love of all that is holy, shut up or I’ll kiss you right here.”

That gets Taemin to shut up like nothing else can, and he stares at Jongin with wide eyes, surprised his best friend was able to say such a thing so loudly in public.  “We’re going to have to finish this conversation later, but can we agree to shake off whatever weird things we’re feeling while we’re on the court and just focus on playing volleyball?  Let’s get this championship so that the conversation afterward isn’t filled with disappointment.”

Taemin takes a moment to process what Jongin has just said, turns to see his teammates glancing over at the them – and from the looks on their faces, they’ve heard quite a deal of their conversation.  Above all else, though, they seem ready to get back on the court and fight their way into the final round.  It’s then that he feels a sort of calm overcome him.

He turns and gives Jongin a slight nod then, and Jongin gives him one of those breathtaking grins before he grabs Taemin’s hand and pulls him back into the team huddle for one last cheer before the next set begins.

X

By some miracle, they pull through the semifinal game in the third set, final score 15-13.  It’s a slide from Sehun that ultimately ends the last set, coming off a beautiful pass from Jongin.

X

Despite the conversation having been cut short, Taemin finds that it was extremely effective.  Focusing solely on volleyball has been a great way to reestablish the connection between him and Jongin, and although it started a little rocky, it has only become stronger.

And so here they stand, up one set and with a three-point lead in the second set of the final match.  They need two more to end the game, and Taemin has no doubts in his mind that they can finish it.  Still, he feels the anxiety within him building as the opposing team serves and he makes his way to his target spot.

Baekhyun handles the serve well, and Taemin grins as he takes a glance at the middle on the other side, knowing Chanyeol is going for the slide and Wonshik coming around for the middle set.  He jumps, holds, releases the ball up in front of him and watches as Wonshik’s arm swings down like a whip, ripping the ball into the back corner of the opposing team’s court.

“Yeah, great swing,” he says as they head back into the huddle, patting Wonshik on the bum lightly.  “Great pass, hyung,” he says, turning to give Baekhyun an appreciative nod, to which Baekhyun gives him a radiant smile.

“Let’s take this win,” he hears Jongin say next to him, and he looks over at his best friend to see Jongin giving him a proud, affectionate grin.  He tries not to blush as the huddle dissolves, everyone heading back to their proper places as Wonshik heads back behind the service line.

Taemin has made his way front row with Jongin and Chanyeol, giving them both a bright smile as he takes his place at the net, ready to trade places with Jongin, very much aware of his best friend’s hand on his lower back.  The moment he hears Wonshik contact the ball, he slips into right front and stands ready to block, coming in to try and assist on blocking a quick middle set from the other side.

Chanyeol gets a touch on it, and Taemin knows that this is their chance.  Baekhyun hustles up and passes the ball to him, and he glances to his side quickly to gauge the block.  The middle seems intent on blocking the pin hitters, and so Taemin jumps and dumps the ball onto the other side.

To his dismay, however, the outside reads him and is up to block.  He almost thinks the play is over, until Jongin steps in and takes the ball, then calls for the 32.  Taemin almost finds it strange how, despite the fact that Jongin is just getting to his feet, he gives him the set.  He watches as Jongin takes a rather stationary approach, springs up, and fires the ball down to the back line.

It lands just in, and Taemin can’t stop himself from jumping on Jongin the moment his best friend turns to face him.  Jongin seems to be expecting it, because he catches Taemin almost instinctively, it seems, and then they’re spinning around like a pair of idiots, Taemin clinging onto his neck in a way he’s sure looks a lot more than just platonic to any onlookers.

He hears the rest of their team cheering and rushing the court, and somehow he finds that he doesn’t care about them nearly as much.

X

It takes Coach Choi’s stern warnings and Baekhyun’s teasing “Awe, friendship goals” for them to separate long enough to shake hands with the other team under the net.  Even so, they share a look that Taemin thinks may be a bit too much for friendship, and the way Jongin wraps an arm around his shoulder when Coach Choi brings them in to talk to them before sending them back to the hotel is more than affectionate.

Taemin can tell Coach Choi can tell, but his coach says nothing and he finds himself thankful.  It’d be mortifying to have his coach comment on the way Jongin is ruffling his hair affectionately again and again and again.  His teammates, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.

The teasing begins the moment they finish receiving their medals and taking a picture for the tournaments’ records.  And of course, no one leads the charge like Baekhyun.

“So about this kissing each other thing we heard you guys talking about earlier,” he says, a knowing grin on his face.  Taemin feels himself go completely red, suddenly aware of his teammates’ eyes on him and his best friend.

“About that,” he starts shakily, searching for something to say in response.

In the end, he can’t, because Jongin decides that just then is a great time to kiss him – quick and soft and right on the lips, and he hears the collective gasps of his teammates.  Jongin doesn’t seem to mind, however, because he just grabs Taemin’s hand and leads him away from everyone else, towards one of the emptier areas of the courts.

“I think I have an idea as to why those kisses made everything awkward,” Taemin starts.

“Oh?” The sarcastic amusement is clear in Jongin’s voice. “Enlighten me.”

“You’re an asshat.”

“You’re denser than a brick.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t just as clueless as I was.”

“No one is as clueless as you are.”

Taemin pauses then, tilts his head and looks his best friend in the eye.  “Are you insinuating that you’ve known the entire time?”

“Taemin, I’m pretty sure everyone but you has known the entire time.”

Taemin bites his lower lip lightly, wondering how to phrase what he wants to say next, until he finally decides to just ask.  “And what exactly is it that they’ve known?”

“That you think I’m hot and you’re madly in love with me,” Jongin quips with a flourish, and although he’s joking, Taemin knows that there’s some truth to it.

Regardless, he responds with, “Meh, you’re alright.”

Jongin punches his arm lightly, a laugh bubbling out of his mouth, and Taemin gives him what he’s sure is a goofy grin.  Jongin is all light and happiness, likely high off of the win and the fact that something is tangibly changing between them as they speak – in a good way.  Taemin feels his heart threatening to burst from between his ribs, butterflies taking his core by storm.

“You don’t snore as much as I said you do, by the way.”

Taemin’s jaw drops, and he instinctively reaches out and gives Jongin a light shove.  “You !  You mean you did all that just to mess with me?”

“Like I said, you’re denser than a brick.”

X

Later that afternoon, when everyone is bathed and fed and safely on the train back to Seoul, Taemin finds himself curled up on his seat, his head leaning on Jongin’s shoulder.  The lack of sleep from the last three nights is starting to catch up to him, and he hopes that the next couple of hours on the train will provide him with the opportunity to get some interruption-free sleep.

He’s definitely tired enough to just drop, but there’s something nagging at the back of his head.  A question he can’t believe that he’s thinking, but one that he has to get out there.

“Did you ever find out if pigeons have feelings, Jongin?”

“You told me they don’t, you .”

“You were asking me random questions before bed, I didn’t know you wanted a serious answer.”

He feels Jongin’s shoulders come up with a sigh, and then Jongin’s hands are on his face, making him look his best friend – boyfriend?? – in the eye.  “For the record,” he starts, and Taemin finds himself captivated by Jongin’s brown eyes, much like the night that Jongin first asked him about pigeons.  “I figured the answer out myself anyway.  If someone as dense as you can have feelings, then clearly pigeons must have them.”

And then he laughs as Taemin reaches out to shove him lightly, laughing himself and shooting back with, “Shut up, you , that’s why you have a kitten bladder.”

Lolol so this took almost three months to write but I guess y'all can see why. It's kind of a monster.  This was 31 pages in Word, but I PROMISE you it's a oneshot. I just had to split it so that it'd fit into the text thingy AFF makes us put our fics into. Anyway.

It's currently half past five in the morning, I'm supposed to be waking up in an hour to go coach in a town almost an hour from here, and here I've just finished this fic. I know there's a lot of volleyball jargon, but no worries: I'll be making up a cheat sheet to help y'all understand the plays and words and all that, complete with whatever videos I can find to help make it clearer.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the TaeKai ^^

Thank you all so much for reading!  Please let me know what you think!

- K