“He misses you, you know.” Jinki says, nudging Minho gently with his shoulder as he waltzes behind the produce aisle.

Minho lets out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping with guilt and eyes closing out of weariness. Because he knows, he knows how much Taemin misses him because Minho’s been hurting tremendously, he doesn’t want to say that he’s avoiding the other, but he has, ever since the day he heard that Taemin was admitted out of the hospital, he’s been trying to create this melancholy distance between the two.

“He thinks it’s his fault.” Jinki calls out from behind a row of instant noodles, only adding to Minho’s grief.

And Minho stills for a second, finding the gaping hole in his chest terribly unpleasant and decides to fix it, hopefully Taemin would still talk to him-would still look at him. Clouds of uncertainty rumble around Minho’s head, a feeling of anxiety swirling around him as he hops off of Jinki’s stool, making his way across the double glass doors that showed looming trees and dark skies. Before he makes his way out entirely, Minho calls out to Jinki,

“Thanks for everything Jinks.”

And Jinki smiles sadly at the nickname, gazing at Minho’s receding form until he’s nothing but ashes and dust.

--

Minho likes thinking Taemin and him have some sort of cosmic connection, or maybe Taemin’s just really predictable (maybe Minho’s a little too overly clingy but it seems like Taemin doesn’t quite mind). So he finds Taemin swaying slowly, back and forth on a faded yellow swing, the heels of his shoes dragging lethargically against the dirt, his eyes empty.

Minho says nothing as he sits on the swing right next to Taemin’s, clutching at the rusted handles as he waits for Taemin to break the deafening silence.

“I ed up, Minho.” Taemin says, tilting his chin towards the washed out clouds, a horrible gray casting over them.

“You did.” Came Minho’s terse reply. He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so steely, to sound so harsh, if anything he wanted nothing more than to grab the little dreamer on his right and kiss away all his worries and fly them booth all the way to the moon, where they can be showered with stars and touched by twinkling comets.

“I’m sorry.” Taemin says, his voice breaking. His shoulders start shaking and his hands are covering his face now, little whimpers muffled by long sleeves.

“Taemin.” Minho says softly, like Taemin’s name is a sweet lullaby and can only be said in the most precious way possible.

His legs move before he could even think, and he kneels right in front of his little star, gently taking his hands away from his face, running circles along Taemin’s all too thin wrists.

 “I’m sorry.” Taemin repeats, chest heaving up and down painfully as he stares at the floor, refusing to look up, his knuckles turning white in Minho’s hold.

“Tae-”

Minho gets cut off by Taemin throwing his arms around Minho’s neck, silently sobbing into Minho’s jacket, legs trembling as his back is filled with tiny earthquakes that jolt throughout his entire body.

“Taemin-Tae, it’s okay-you’re okay, we’re going to be okay.” Minho says soothingly, trailing his hands up and down Taemin’s spine.

And Taemin shakes his head furiously because no, it’s not okay because everything Taemin touches burns and he can’t do anything right and Minho will leave him one day because honestly, who would stay with someone like him?

But Minho’s holding onto Taemin so tightly it’s suffocating, and he’s singing into Taemin’s skin, lips dragging over sweet, candy like words that leave stars in Taemin’s throat. And for a moment Taemin wishes he was a bit braver, wishes he was someone who deserved Minho, deserved to be loved.

--

It hasn’t rained all day but the sky is still dark and murky. It’s nearing the night and yet there are no stars to be seen, no shimmering little lights in the sky that assure them everything will be fine.

And they sit on the roof, and Taemin’s so visibly tired as he rests his forehead against Minho’s shoulder, and he can tell Minho’s tired too. Of what, he doesn’t know yet, but Minho’s still looking at him like he’s the sun, the moon and every precious star in the sky and Taemin tries not to cry again.

He can’t describe how incredibly beautiful Minho is, how terribly important Minho is to Taemin. And although Taemin’s incredibly broken he’s so thankful that he’s met someone as kind hearted as Minho, someone who knows him better than he knows himself, and it’s this feeling of pure relief and it fills Taemin up completely and gets even worse when Minho still looks at him with those warm eyes.

“I got accepted.” Minho says, holding tighter onto Taemin’s hand and although it’s supposed to be exciting news for both of them, although it’s supposed to be that rocket ship that they take to far distant planets and clusters of galaxies, it sounds awfully like Minho’s saying goodbye.

“I told you so.” Taemin responds, smiling widely with eyes crinkling like the crescent shaped moon.

“Just say the word and we could run away, and it’ll just be the two of us, in a big city and no one will know and we could start again.”

And Taemin looks at him with clouded eyes, eyes that held back angry storms and flashes of lightening because this is everything he’s ever wanted, to fly off to some grand city, to have a fresh new start with the one person he couldn’t possibly live without.

But it seems like the hidden stars are telling him something, something that he’s already known for quite some time now. And he gives Minho a bright smile, a smile that conveys all his adoration for the man in front of him and then kisses him, pouring out all his emotions into one frenzied kiss.

And when they pull apart, Minho cups Taemin’s face, running his finger across Taemin’s cheek, where a trail of blush seemed to follow his every movement.

“You’re not coming.” Minho whispers sadly in realization, studying Taemin’s face for any small changes that could prove him wrong.

But Taemin’s smile turns into a wistful one, shaking his head as the clouds seem to part above them.

“There are things, things I need to sort out, things I need to work on.”

“But Taemin-”

Taemin shakes his head, still with that small smile on his face.

“Minho, I love you. I do. A lot more than you think I do. But my place for now is here. I shouldn’t run away from my problems.”

“Okay, then I’ll stay, I’ll stay with you and I-”

And Taemin rushes forward to press his lips right on top of Minho’s. Effectively drowning out the last bits of Minho’s sentence.

“Go. Go and explore the world, live an actual life, study hard and well if anything-I’ll be here, waiting.” Taemin says, linking their fingers together as the first star shines from the gloomy sky, bright and alive.

“I’m not worth waiting for.”

“You are.” Taemin says with such security that it warms Minho up, like a current of electricity that runs down Minho’s spine, making his hands shake pleasantly.

The clouds seem to have gone away now, the sky shimmering with uncountable flashes of glitter. The stars dance in the sky, shining their light on the two lovers who are lost in each other, eyes twinkling, bodies light and free.

Their laughter reaches the night sky, and their joined hands never part. But when they kiss, the stars look away, so the two lovers could have this moment, a little span of seconds melting into lifetimes, just for themselves. And they treasure it greatly, locking up the memories of their rooftop in a treasure chest where it’ll be safe and sound, surrounded by a bond stronger than the black holes themselves.

And it’s almost like the stars will never stop shining, never to fade away slowly and almost sadly as the sun breaks through the sky, coating everything in color, heating up the coldest of hearts.

But when the sun does come up, they don’t quite mind. They’re still holding hands and the other’s name is still like a secret melody that plays on their lips. And honestly the sunrise is gorgeous, bringing along hope of a new day, of new beginnings, and really, if anything-the sun is still a star, shining bright for the two lovers who stay curled into each other on familiar rooftops, hearts beating erratically as a tree cradles a star that fell from the sky.

--

Thank you guys so much for reading, it means so much to me that words can't ever explain <3 thank you all for sticking around, all that's left is a epilogue and we're done! You guys are the sweetest ever <333

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