It’s spring now, a vibrant and soft type of spring. It’s gentle and fuzzy, with blurred over pastels that seem to cling on to the air, turning the slight chill into something else completely, something warmer and inevitably brighter.

They’re both lounging in Minho’s apartment again, the television playing softly in the background. It’s around midday, and Minho’s lazily reading a book, laid out on his couch with his head on Taemin’s lap, trying not to fall asleep when Taemin starts playing with his hair.

Lately Taemin has picked up a habit of tying random strands of Minho’s hair into braids, and so Minho makes sure to always have a few spare rubber bands lying near by. 

As Taemin keeps himself busy with Minho’s hair, Minho closes his book, making a mental checklist of all the stuff he has to get done by Tuesday. He suddenly remembers the huge test they have, and he groans.

“Did I pull too hard?” Taemin asks, his fingers stopping dead in their tracks, only to continue once more when Minho shakes his head dismissively.

“Nah, I was just thinking about that exam we have Tuesday.” Minho says, letting his book fall softly on the floor as he nuzzles his nose on Taemin’s knees, closing his eyes in contentment mixed with acquiescence.

He’s gently falling into a much needed afternoon nap when Taemin sighs harshly. Minho smiles knowingly, turning to his side so he could look up at Taemin properly.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” Minho teases sleepily, chuckling when he sees the look of slight distress on Taemin’s face.

“I think I left my notes back at the dorm.” Taemin says with a soft resignation, sinking deeper into the couch cushions when another hour ticks by.

And Minho shifts closer to Taemin, until his face is almost pressed right into Taemin’s stomach, because Taemin was all kinds of warm and Minho’s incredibly affectionate and cuddly when he’s tired.

“Just move in with me. You’re already here most of the time.” Minho says before his eyes flutter shut, letting a gentle smile play on his lips when Taemin’s fingers thread through his hair once more.

“Okay.” Taemin responds, and Minho could feel the smile in his voice, a bashful and tiny smile laced through each syllable.

And that’s how spring fully starts. With a little budding of hope and whispered, sleepy promises. 

—

It’s night now, and all the lights in their apartment are off. Taemin says he likes it better this way, because then the city lights are much more stunning, much more breathtaking. He says they all looked like different colored stars and Minho couldn’t help but agree.

The city lights change his beautifully tan skin into a million other colors, and somewhere through the night, Minho’s skin changes from blue to magenta and Taemin smiles, grabbing Minho’s arm and sticking it high up into the air to watch Minho’s fingertips dance with passing reds and hints of green.

It’s a bit magical really.

Taemin’s always been of the night really, loving the sense of rebirth the still, placid moon seems to give. And because of that Minho’s been staying up more than usual, especially since Taemin became his roommate.

Just like the soft golden glow of sunshine makes Minho a bit stronger, the gentle calmness of night gives Taemin a little bit of courage, makes it easier to say things, especially on bad days.

Today was a particularly difficult day, and so Minho fixes up Taemin with an iced hot chocolate for the warmer weather, and gets Taemin’s favorite movie playing in the living room. He rolls Taemin up in a soft, lilac blanket, before making sure that no lights were left on.

When Minho sits down, he sits just a little further away from Taemin, not quite sure if the boy needed his space or not. He’s proven wrong when Taemin shimmies up to Minho’s side, dragging all the blankets he could with him. He lays his head tiredly on Minho’s lap, and instantly, Minho’s petting his hair.

Taemin hums for a bit, closing his eyes a bit to enjoy the feeling of Minho’s lithe fingers before looking right back up at Minho. 

“You’re…important to me. Did you know that?” Taemin says softly, almost shyly as the television screen in front them changed into a bright scene with pink flowers and vibrant purples. They colored the tips of Taemin’s cheeks, and darted across Taemin’s neck, and Minho then understood exactly why Taemin loved neon lights.

“Yeah. You’re important too.” Minho says back, letting his hand fall from Taemin’s hair when Taemin sits up. He looks at Minho almost nervously, it’s a look of honesty and near bashfulness that has Minho turning away from the movie to look at Taemin properly.

He waits a while for Taemin to speak, watching as Taemin’s fingers mindlessly twirl the blanket in his hands. Minho could sense Taemin’s anxiety, so he pokes Taemin’s forehead in an effort to dispel Taemin’s awkwardness.

“You can tell me.” Minho says with a crooked smile, and he sees Taemin’s shoulders cave in a little, watches as Taemin softens up a bit.

“I-um. I looked at—I know this is really bad but um—I looked at your tattoo.” Taemin says, it’s rushed and quick but Minho heard it clearly. He searches Taemin’s eyes for any type of rejection, and he’s almost sure of what’s about to happen, but he’s not sure if he wants to hope for it or not.

“And, and you have it. You have my name.” Taemin says with a small chuckle, it’s nervous and Taemin’s eyes are constantly shifting, refusing to look at Minho properly.

Outside a the red taillights of a car flash through their living room window, coating  everything in a soft layer of vermilion red, making everything look almost aflame, almost more animated than usual. It’s gone after a few seconds though, seemingly taking away Taemin’s confidence along with it.

“I’m sorry.” Taemin says, small and almost afraid. “You were changing and I left something in your room and I just. I saw it.” 

And Minho almost scoffs, choosing to scoot just a little closer to Taemin, a teasing twinkle in his eye when he nudges Taemin’s side gentle.

“Taemin, that’s not even. You don’t even have to be sorry. I really don’t mind. It’s not a big deal.” Minho says, ruffling Taemin’s hair a bit to calm the boy down.

But there’s still a soft panic to Taemin’s features, as if he were waiting for the worst to come. As if he were expecting a grand summer storm, loud and jarring, appearing out of nowhere and leaving behind nothing but floods.

“Okay but.” Taemin says, hesitant but no longer soft, careful but no longer timid. It was like a deep cobalt blue, hopeful and almost unbelievable “I have you.” 

And Minho stills.

“You, you have mine?” Minho asks, and suddenly the lights outside just get a bit more luminous, glittering in colors that didn’t even exist yet.

There’s a sort of calm excitement in the air as they look straight at each other, it’s like a gentle orange and a bright magenta fused together, and suddenly everything was warm and familiar and none of them were afraid.

“Yes. You’re, you’re my soulmate.” Taemin says, his brown eyes glowing in the soft shine of night, turning into something even more beautiful than the moon.

Minho lets a bubbly laugh escape from his lips, it’s comforting and Taemin revels in it, having loved the sound ever since they were little.

Shifting in the puddle of blankets slightly, Taemin rolls up the sleeve of his favorite sleeping shirt Minho had gifted him a couple years back. And right there, on the tip of his shoulder, is a jumble of crisp lines that are perfectly curved and twisted. It’s Minho’s name, right there on Taemin’s shoulder and Minho can’t stop staring.

The complete blackness of the tattoo goes so well with Taemin’s skin tone, it’s a just a smidge shade lighter than Minho’s, but it’s still golden, still wonderfully tanned and real. Minho lightly trails his index finger down a particularly rounded curve, watching it as it follows the edges of Taemin’s skin almost effortlessly. The name exudes elegance and strength and Minho finds himself loving it.

“Well, okay. Okay good.” Minho says, the tips of his cheekbones shining with a lovely fuchsia that’s a mix from the lights outside and something else entirely. “I’m glad. I was hoping for it.” 

Minho lazily pulls down Taemin’s sleeve, looking every bit satisfied when their eyes meet again. And Taemin sighs, it sounds relieved and knowing with hints of promise.

“You’re okay? With it? Platonically or like what?” Taemin says as he twists the blanket over the gaps between his fingers once more, mindlessly making it slide over his knuckles and Minho almost chuckles at Taemin’s cute habit.

He’s always had his fingers moving, busily tapping piano notes into their wooden school desk, or rhythmically shaking as if he were trying to dance while sitting still. Without giving it much thought, Minho reaches over and catches both of Taemin’s hands in his, entwining their fingers together.

“Taemin, I’ve liked you since I was fourteen.” Minho says, feeling a bit embarrassed but at the same time reckless and free.

Taemin smiles then, and it feels like those summer days from when they were younger, and where nothing else really mattered except for them two and the long, humid afternoons filled with easy conversation and lots of ice cream.

“Okay. Cool.” Taemin responds, simple and soft just like they’ve always been. 

“I’m still your best friend though. I’ve invested too many years into our friendship to have someone take my place.” Minho mumbles, making Taemin let out a loud laugh.

And it is then when Minho realizes that nothing has to really change. Because the love they have for each other was something even more deeper than romantic love. It was gentle and calming, it was something uniquely theirs. It felt strangely like home, felt like something supportive, like outstretched arms.

They fell asleep that night with legs entangled and fingers locked. The television no longer colored their hair with blue, their eyelashes no longer flickered with purple. But that was okay, because the warm spring morning allowed for the sunshine to filter softly against their apartment windows, allowing the sunrise to paint everything a soft, yellow color. 

And in this sunlight, before Taemin and Minho wake, they are everything they want to be. They are entire universes, they are galaxies that are sewn together through trust and easy smiles. They’re the sun and the moon, they are the soft lights and glowing neons that run across the highways.

They are beautiful, just like a soft summer that’s only beginning to unravel.

—

a/n: aaaaand that’s it! i really dont like writing on the last bits of the last chapter, but i really quickly wanted to pop in to say some stuff about this particular piece.

it’s a bit of a mess lmao especially with all the different themes at play and the awkward parts that definitely don’t fit ;; but anyway i just really wanted to highlight the relationship minho has with taemin, like i really wanted to write this in a way that made it clear that a ‘soul mate’ is something even more deeper than romantic love

and honestly this piece can be interpreted in many ways like, did they actually get together, did they just stay friends? minho has feelings for taemin but will he do anything about them? how can things stay the same?

idk i like thinking that yes they do end up romantically involved, but that’s just a little part of their beautiful relationship thats built on mutual trust and respect and idek i love soft love so much ;A;

anyway first trans piece, so i feel pretty excited to get more representation out there! please do tell me what you guys think yeah??

thanks for reading sweeties, i hope you all have a beautiful week ♡♡♡