Because I Love My Pet
The Second Trick
- - -

You didn't know how long the two of you were just laying there, but you couldn't move. Taemin had long passed out and for a scrawny kid, geez was he heavy. Shifting your head just a bit, you stared down at his weird, mushroom-ish haircut before you managed to move your hand.

“Bombom...” you called out gently. Taemin shifted a bit, but didn't move from his spot on top of you; this caused you to sigh heavily, “Bombom... I need to go to bed...”

“Mmmm, just five more minutes...” he muttered as he suddenly wrapped his arms around your chest and nuzzled your s. Your mouth dropped as your cheeks flared up to a bright red color. Was he seriously asleep? He had to be! There was no way that your Bombom... Was such a sneaky ert!

Wait a minute... You blinked, realizing what you just thought, My Bombom?

You then shook your head, no this wasn't the time to be all weirded out by your dog, “Bombom, I know you're awake... Get up or I'm pushing you off.”

Sighing heavily, Taemin shifted his head, so now he was looking at you. The both of you stared at one another before he pulled himself up and moved himself so you could get up, which is what exactly you did and once you got up, you smiled at him and patted his head.

“Good boy~” you praised tiredly and he returned your praise with a smile. Groggily, you then dragged yourself to your bed, with Taemin trailing right behind you and actually had to catch you a few times because you were falling all over the place. Honestly, you were super tired... Your day was ty and you walked home in the rain. You had a feeling that you were going to wake up with a fever, but at the moment, you really didn't care. Sleep was the only thing on your mind and that's all you really and seriously wanted.

“What are you doing?” was the next thing you found yourself saying. Taemin didn't say anything... Seeing as he was sitting on your other side and just stared.

“Nothing,” he answered casually as he looked away.

“You're not sleeping in my bed... Especially with me sleeping in it,” you told him with a frown.

Taemin pouted, “B-but Noona... I don't want to be by myself in the main room... It's raining really hard outside and I'm scared.”

You have got to be kidding me... You mentally wondered as you flashed him a look, “Bombom, out. Now.”

“Noona...” he whined as he leaned forward and presented you with the best puppydog eyes he could possibly muster.

“No,” you finished as you pointed at the door. Hanging his head, Taemin finally decided to just give up and leave your room. You watched as he dragged himself out and disappeared down the dark hall to the main room.

You couldn't sleep. The rain outside was pouring and the wind wasn't making it any better. Lightening had flashed several times and thunder boomed afterward. The thought of Taemin sleeping by himself bothered you for some reason and you suddenly found yourself feeling rather scared of the rainstorm that was going on outside.

And with a quiet frown, you grabbed your pillow, hugged it close to you and went to go find your dog.

“Bombom...” you quietly called out as you stopped in front of the couch. You watched as Taemin squirmed from his spot on the couch before he stirred awake and turned to face you.

“Noona?” he blinked tiredly. You were so glad that you were in the dark or else Taemin would have seen how embarrassingly red you were at the moment. Hugging the pillow closer to you, you muttered quietly and practically inaudibly, “Eh? Noona... I couldn't hear you...”

“Come... To... The... Bed with me...” you repeated, this time louder and slower. There was silence for a few moments, minus all the chaos that was going on outside, but suddenly you heard some noise from the sofa and then his presence from behind. He placed both his hands on either side of your shoulders and began to guide you from the main room to your room down the hall.

“Are you sure you want me to?” he questioned as he gently pushed you onto your bed. You merely looked at from him your spot on the bed before nodding slowly. Again, he gave you that weird, calculating expression and pushed his lips to the side as he did so, “For all you know, I could be some ert trying to take an advantage of you.”

“Are you?” you countered, a small smile appearing on your lips as you continued to hug the pillow.

“Now, why would I tell you that?” he inquired sarcastically, “It'd just ruin my plans.”

“Bombom wouldn't do that,” you answered, “Bombom's too cute and innocent... He wouldn't dare think of such a thing.”

Taemin couldn't help but laugh as he jumped onto the bed and pulled you to him. You squealed in surprise, somewhat blushing as you found yourself staring at the shirt he was wearing as he practically had you trapped within his embrace. The pillow was still in the way between the two of you, which he grabbed it and used it as a pillow.

“Ah there we go,” he sighed out contently as he nuzzled your hair, “I'm really comfy now~ I could easily fall asleep like this.”

“... This... This is just for tonight,” you suddenly warned, shifting yourself to get comfortable, “So... Don't get used to it.”

And his reply: a quiet snore. Although you were still a bit uncomfortable, you couldn't help but feel safe at least.

The rainstorm outside didn't feel as scary as it used to...

- - -

Oh, you just wanted to die. Coughing, hacking, sneezing... Going through around twelve boxes of tissues... The headaches and the dizzy spells. All you thought was that you were just going to get a fever, but you didn't think you'd be practically dying in your bed.

Running in and out of your room, Taemin continued to baby and dote you. It had been like this since you woke up, feeling dead and sick. At the moment, it was the mid afternoon and currently raining outside and he managed to whip up something soothing to your sore throat; a delicious soup with rice, chicken and some vegetables; basically, a home cooked chicken soup.

“This... Is really... Good,” you praised him tiredly as he helped you eat since you were having a lot of dizzy spells.

He smiled happily, “Glad you like it... I'm not much of a cook like Noona, but I can whip up something simple like this.”

You nodded slowly as you sipped up some rice and broth, only to have a violent coughing fit. Taemin instantly grabbed the bowl and set it on your nightstand while he gently rubbed your back as you coughed.

“My-cough-chest-hack-hurts...” you whined as you placed a hand on your chest while Taemin held your free one. There was this really helpless look on his face and if you were paying attention, there was also this look of slight desperation in his eyes. He really wanted to help you, but what could he possibly do?

“Noona, do you have any medicine?” he questioned as you your coughing finally decided to calm down.

You shook your head, “N-no... I don't normally... Get like this...!” And again, you found yourself coughing violently.

“Then let me go run and get you some,” he offered. You merely turned to him, your coughing subsiding for a moment as you pointed at your bag which you had placed on your vanity. Getting up from the bed, he quickly snatched your bag and brought it over to you. It took you a few moments to grab your wallet since you went back to coughing violently once more, but once you had the chance, you pulled out some money and handed it to him.

“Be... Careful...” you told him as you looked up at him tiredly, “W-wear a raincoat, it's still raining. And bring an umbrella, I have a few in the closet in the main room. And come back safely...”

He chuckled, “Noona, I'm only going down the street... Not the other side of the world. Please get some rest and sleep, I'll be back before you know it.”

You smiled weakly, “Sorry...”

“It's okay,” he reassured as he sat on the bed again and leaned forward, “I love it when you dote on me~”

You were rather glad to be flushed since you were still suffering from a fever or he probably would have seen your blushing. You could feel the blood rush up to your cheeks when you felt his soft lips on your super warm forehead and you couldn't help but just keep smiling. Honestly, this kid was just too damn cute... You couldn't help but just... Love him. He was like the little brother you never had and it was to have him as company. And he was just like a puppy! The moment he came into your life... You couldn't help but feel super attached to him... Just like how you were with the original Bombom.

“Thank you Bombom...” you muttered as he pulled away and began to tuck you back in.

“Anything for Noona~” he replied as he got up and left the room.

With tired eyes, you stared at the entrance to your room. You could still hear him move stuff around, put on the raincoat you told him to put on and then he sat on the sofa.... And with a frown, you listened to the front door open and close right after. You then turned your attention to the window, your eyes watching as Taemin appeared for a few seconds but walked by while looking straightforward. And once again you frowned...

You already were missing him.

- - -

Once he was out of sight from your apartment, a blank face suddenly replaced his usual happy one. Slipping on the hood of the raincoat you told him to wear, he then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rather nice looking cellphone. Flipping it open, he then turned it on... Only to be bombarded with over one hundred text messages and voice mails... Mainly from them.

Dude, Taeminnie... Please come back.

Taemin-ah... Seriously. Come on, this isn't funny... Turn on your phone or at least tell us where you are!

I really hate getting calls from The Wicked Witch of the West...

OMG! Taeminnie, you ! The Wicked With of the West won't leave us alone! Call her and tell her to STFU and leave the rest of us alone... GAWD.

Rolling his eyes, Taemin instantly turned off his phone and practically threw it in a nearby dumpster. There was a reason as to why he left and he wasn't going to give up on it now. And besides, they practically chased him away, so now they were feeling guilty? It took them like over a week to feel bad?

s... He mentally grumbled as he entered the little convenient store and went straight for the medicine aisle. Grabbing what he could find, he quietly went over to the counter and waited behind a few other people. By the time he made it to the front, familiar music started to play and he instantly lowered his head.

“... Thank you,” he muttered as he handed the cashier the money you gave him and waited for the change.

“Yah... Have I seen you somewhere before?” the female cashier questioned as she somewhat tried to get a better look of his face.

Taemin shook his head as he took the change and dumped it in the bag, “You've got the wrong person. Have a nice day!” And with that, he quickly bolted out of the store while ignoring a few stares.

The cashier merely blinked as she returned her attention to the next customer, who had an equally confused expression on her own face.

“His voice sounded familiar though...” the cashier muttered as she began to ring up the customer's things.

- - -

You woke up at the sound of his voice. Fluttering your tired eyes open, you were greeted by a familiar face who was currently holding out a small measuring cup filled with some cherry color liquid, “Okay, time to take it~”

You instantly frowned, “Ew...”

“Come on Noona,” he laughed gently as you hesitatingly took the cup and continued to stare at it, “Drink it.”

“I... Can't...” you muttered as you made a face. Taemin merely sighed as he picked up your glass of water and held it for you.

“Plug your nose, it'll kill off the taste.”

“You sure?”

“I do it all the time~”

Giving him one last look, you then plugged your nose and quickly downed the cough medicine. Gasping, you once again made a disgusted face as you grabbed the water in Taemin's hand and began to down that too, hoping that it'd drown away the taste of that disgusting stuff.

“You liiiiiiiiiiiiied!” you whined as you held out your glass to him. Laughing, Taemin took it and placed the cup on the nightstand before he returned to your side.

“I didn't say it'd kill off the taste entirely,” he corrected as you sent him a pouty expression, “Yah... I'm sorry, okay? Will you forgive Bombom or tricking you?”

That puppydog face... How could you possibly say no to that? Sighing, you then nodded your head as you gently tugged on his arm. And as if he were psychic, you suddenly found yourself in his arms once more; the both of you closing your eyes and relaxing.

Okay... Maybe one more night wouldn't hurt.