Minho let out a soft, tired sigh as he pulled off his final outfit of the day in his dressing room. It had been yet another long and busy week for the SHINee members.  It was finally, thankfully, five o'clock on Saturday evening, marking the end of the last day of the week that they had anything scheduled.  Their manager had decided to give them a day off after all of the work they'd been putting in lately, even going as far as cutting their last day short - and of course the group was nothing less than grateful.  Minho in particular had been looking forward to their early evening and day off in high hopes of spending both with the cute little maknae.  Maybe we can go out for dinner and ice cream tonight.  He sure has a sweet tooth.

The thought energized him, making a small smile escape as he slipped on his ordinary gray graphic tee and walked over to the mirror in the bathroom to wipe away the make-up the artists had applied for the photoshoot they'd finished a just while before.  It took little more than five minutes before he was looking at his natural features again.  I hate it when they go extremely heavy with the make-up.  He tossed the tissues he'd been using into the trash can by the door before grabbing his wallet and cell-phone off of the end table by the door and head out of his room to meet the rest of the members out in the lobby.

As per usual, Jonghyun and Onew were already there, dressed in what they'd worn before coming to the shoot and all make-up wiped off.  Both looked just as tired as he knew somewhere deep down he looked, despite the fact that they were both grinning, no doubt in the midst of easy conversation.  He walked over to them, catching the last few bits of the conversation they'd been having before joining in himself as they all waited for the ever diva-like Kim Kibum and the adorable maknae.  They always took the longest to come out, Taemin because of the excessive amounts of make-up and extensions they put on him every now and again and Key simply because he was a fashion-lover who absolutely had to make sure his outfit and hair was flawless before going anywhere.

Today was one of the rare days where Taemin joined them after a couple of minutes and Key arrived within ten minutes of the maknae.  They were all thankful for the early night and day off afterword; thus no one wanted to waste it.  Key asked everyone one last time how he looked, earning him a "flawless, as usual" from the rest of the members, before they all walked out of the front doors and to the company car that awaited them.  The driver smoothly pulled away from the curb in front of the building and eased into the traffic on the streets.

The car was silent up until Jonghyun turned the radio on, as usual.  TVXQ's latest song, Humanoid, began playing through the car's speakers.  Jonghyun turned the volume up as he nodded his head to the beat.  No one spoke for a while, but rather settled for humming the songs as they scrolled along their phones for a short while.  "Have you guys seen GD's new hair?"  Key was the first one to speak.  When everyone turned to look at him and shook their heads he pushed his phone out to show everyone the picture on his screen.  "It looks cool; half black and half hot pink."

Jonghyun studied it with a furrowed brow as Onew simply stared in wonder.  Minho raised an eyebrow at it in wonder before shrugging and shifting his gaze over at Taemin, who was looking at the picture with his lips pursed slightly.  He quickly retracted his gaze before he could begin grinning like a kid on Christmas at how cute the maknae looked.

He turned his attention back to the window, not moving until they got back to the dorm they lived in.  Once inside they reported in to their manager and were officially released for their free time.  Onew took off by himself, no doubt heading out to meet someone.  Jonghyun was dragged away by Key, who was happily proclaiming that because it was Saturday, the shops didn't close until eleven.  Minho shook his head at the two as a fond smile played over his lips.  Those two.  A slight laugh escaped him.

"Hyung, what are you laughing at?"

He turned to look down at Taemin, who had his brows furrowed and lips pursed.  He's so cute.

"Ah, it's nothing," Minho responded as he placed a hand on top of the maknae's head.  The boy just glanced upward at his head as he felt his hair being ruffled.  He looked over at the taller guy and tilted his head to the side slightly.  "But you were looking at Key-hyung and Jonghyun-hyung and laughing.  Did they do something while I wasn't looking?"

Minho shook his head, removing his hand from Taemin's head.  "No, it was nothing.  Just a mad man's thoughts."  He smiled at the younger.  "Anyway, how does going out to dinner and ice-cream sound?"

The younger's face instantly brightened, as expected.  "Ice cream?"  Minho laughed lightly at the excitement in his voice.  "Yes, after dinner."  Taemin grinned and tugged on Minho's arm.  "Alright, c'mon then, let's go!"

xXOXx

Minho stole glances at Taemin every now and then as they walked home, pleased with the look of pure happiness plastered on his face as he ate his ice cream happily.  Although he had his own ice cream, he was more focused on the cute boy beside him than he was on the treat. 

Because he is my treat.

The thought floated through his mind, and he realized with each passing moment and each stolen glance that it was true.  He enjoyed spending time with Taemin far more than he enjoyed just about anything else - other than winning of course.

They reached the dorm building after a short while, heading up to the actual dorm mindlessly.  Taemin was still happily eating his ice cream as Minho unlocked the door and flipped the light switch on.  He let Taemin enter first before entering and closing the door behind him, removing his shoes in the process.  Naturally the whole place was empty, what with Jonghyun and Key still being out shopping and Jin-ki undoubtedly still out with the hyungs wherever they were (probably at some chicken joint).

At this point his personal quality time with Taemin ended as Taemin took off his own shoes and made his way to his room with his ice cream and Minho settled down in the living room to watch the latest on sports.  His favorite soccer team had crushed their latest opposition, news he absolutely reveled in and couldn't stop grinning at.  He sat back and enjoyed the game's highlights before flipping to another sports channel to watch the basketball game, almost immediately falling into a daze at the plays being made.

It was the little whimper that snapped him out of his trance.

Minho frowned; there were no dogs in the dorm at the moment.  There were no pets there actually.

Taemin.

He stood from his spot on the couch and headed over to Taemin's room quietly, his feet not making a sound as he walked over to the open door.  He peered in and felt his heart automatically break at what he saw.  Taemin was sitting in front of the computer, hand over his mouth muffling soft sobs as tears slid from his eyes down to his chin.  He stepped into the doorway, throwing himself in full view.

"Taemin-ah, are you okay?  What's wrong?"

The maknae visibly jumped at the voice as he whipped around to face the doorway.  Did he not notice the movement over here?  Minho's brow furrowed in worry as he made his way into the room.  Taemin was hastily wiping away his tears.  "Eh, it's nothing hyung," he said as he turned back around to try and exit the browser.  Minho caught him before he could, pulling his hand away from the mouse.  Taemin responded by covering the screen with his body.

"Taemin-ah what are you doing?  What's wrong?  Let me see!"

Taemin shook his head as he sniffled and wiped the side of his face.  "It's nothing, hyung," he repeated.  Minho raised a questioning brow at Taemin before wrapping a strong arm around his waist and removing him from in front of the computer.  The maknae gasped in surprise.  "Ah, hyung, stop!  No!"  He reached out to grab the computer screen but he was already far too late.  Minho had pulled him out of the range of the computer and placed him lightly on the bed before turning and taking a good look at the computer screen.

To say that he wasn't expecting to see what he saw was the understatement of the century.  He'd been expecting to see some very rude comments on a celebrity news website or something, or memes making fun of the sweet maknae.  What he saw instead was a manga page, albeit a crude one.  The picture in the bottom left corner of the page potrayed a long-haired boy with what was presumably blood leaking from his mouth, his face scratched up and bangs falling across his eyes.  He appeared to be limp and lifeless as he lay his chin on the shoulder of another, much shorter-haired boy.  Near the bottom corner of the frame were the words "The genius, Hyuuga Neji!  In his final grand moment..."  It only confirmed what Minho had been thinking; he was dead.

He turned to face the boy sitting on the bed behind him, a question on his face.  "Was this what you were crying about?"  He asked the question after a brief moment of pause, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as a frown befell his features.  The boy across from him simply nodded.  Minho let out a small sigh and made his way over to Taemin, settling into a seat next to him before pulling him into what he hoped was a comforting hug.  He patted the younger's back as he said, "Taemin-ah, it's alright.  It's just a manga."

He heard the younger in his arms take a muffled breath before pulling out of his embrace.  "It may be just a manga but Neji was one of my favorite characters.  And now he's dead."

Minho tilted his head to the side slightly, lips pursed and brow puckered in worry.  "Taemin-ah, relax.  It's okay.  I mean, he's not a real person, so there's no need for you to cry."

The maknae looked as if Minho had slapped him.  Minho winced at the image.  "Okay, that was bad.  I'm sorry; if you want to cry over him, go ahead.  But think about this; you can always go back and read about the times when he's alive, right?  What did he die for?"

Taemin shifted a bit on the bed before saying, "He died protecting his younger cousin and the main character."

"And do you believe that's a worthy way for him to die?"

He shifted again before nodding.  "It's just that it was so abrupt.  His death was so unexpected and quick; it could've at least been a bit more epic."

Minho placed his hand on top of the younger boy's head and smoothed his hair back a bit.  "I understand that, but think about this; at least he died for something important and meaningful, not something that was questionable and stupid."  He gave the maknae a reassuring smile.  "He's technically a hero when you think about it."

The younger of the two blinked for a moment before smiling up at his hyung.  "You know what, you're right.  He did die a hero, at least."  His smile seemed to broaden for a moment before his face fell into another frown.  "What's wrong now?"  Minho cupped Taemin's face and made him look up at him.  Taemin's gaze fell to the screen for a moment before looking up at Minho's face.

"It's just that I just realized that now he won't be able to grow up and fall in love and have a family and all that."

Minho frowned.  "How old was the guy?"

"Seventeen."

Minho's eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he glanced at the ground for a moment.  He quickly regained his composure after seeing the look on Taemin's face.  He needed to think of something to say, and fast.

"Hey, it's okay.  He's probably better off now anyway.  Love can hurt and kids are tough."

They laughed a bit as both of their minds drifted to Yoogeun for a second, until Taemin caught what he said.

"How do you know love can hurt Minho-hyung?  Have you ever been in love?"

Minho mentally slapped himself at what he'd let slip; how was he going to cover it?  He ran through the possibilities in his mind.

Taemin noticed he wasn't speaking up, so he tossed in another question.  "Are you in love now?"

Minho tensed; Taemin had gone there.

"Umm..."  Smart Minho.  You're really a genius. Great articulation.  He mentally rolled his eyes at himself.

Taemin's face turned into one of intense curiosity.  "Wait, hyung, you're in love?  With who?  And why does it hurt?"  Minho blinked for a moment, feeling his cheeks turn a light pink as the maknae edged closer, staring him straight in the face.

What to do?  What to do?

Taemin only edged closer to his elder, turning his head at a slight angle to look up at him.  "Minho-hyung."  He dragged out the second word like a child asking for something he really wanted.  Minho's blush brightened at the proximity and tone of voice.  The younger one only grew closer.

What should I do?  He looks so adorable.

His gaze shifted uncomfortably for a moment before it settled back on Taemin's adorably pouting face.  It was the face that made him give in.

I guess honesty is the best policy.

"Do you want to know why I know love hurts, Taemin-ah?"

The maknae's pout deepened with a frown before he nodded, adding "But who do you love?"

Minho ignored the question, taking into consideration just the nod.  "I know love hurts because when I came over and saw you crying I felt my heart break; it's a pain I can't even begin to describe to you.  I didn't even know why you were crying, all I knew was that you were upset, and it hurt me."  He gazed down at the younger's face as he spoke, smoothing his bangs back with his thumb.  "I thought someone was hurting you or saying rude things.  When I found out it was just a manga character, I felt a bit better.  But I was still hurt because you were still so upset."

He let his words sink in, all the while watching his beloved younger's face.  At first, he seemed confused; and then realization slowly began settling into his features.  "Oh, hyung."  His voice was soft and barely audible.  Minho was sure that if he hadn't seen the boy's lips move, he would never have heard him.  The boy before him let his face fall into a small smile.  "Hyung," he began, gaze softening as he looked up at the taller boy.  "You're so sweet."

Minho scoffed.  "I'm not sweet; you are."  He glanced over at the cup that sat on desk next to the screen.  There was still some ice cream left.  Minho headed over and picked it up then sat back down right in front of Taemin, who had shifted beforehand to face Minho.  "You're really sweet, actually," the older continued as he scooped some of the melted ice cream onto the spoon and placed it to the younger's lips.  "So sweet, in fact, that earlier tonight I had convinced myself that you were my treat after dinner, not the ice-cream."  The younger opened his mouth, allowing the spoon to slip in.  The older could see the vanilla hitting his taste buds.  He smiled up at Minho.  Minho smiled back.

Taemin removed the cup of ice cream from Minho's grip and mixed it around with the spoon a bit, the ice cream off of his lips.  "Hyung," he began.  Minho titled his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.  "Hmm?"

He got no response, but rather a pair of soft, plump lips on his.  His eyes widened of their own accord, surprised by the younger's movements.  The maknae pulled back shortly after, a shy smile on his face.  He continued to play with his ice cream for a moment before finishing his last sentence.  "What if I told you that along the way back I had been thinking the same thing?"

Minho met Taemin's gaze and smiled.

So how's that for my first fic?
Thanks for reading guys! (:

Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto