AN: Dramaaa!

Taemin wasn’t sure how long he and Jinki stayed outside by that pond. All he knew was that his grip on the leader was hard to break when Jinki felt him shiver.

“We should go inside.”

The maknae didn’t want to. He wanted to stay outside and simply bask in this moment, no matter how emotional it was. Taemin didn’t object though when Jinki picked him up, cradling him close to his chest. The leader’s arm around his waist and under his knees was warm as he easily held Taemin’s weight and walked them back around to the front.

The front door had been left open for them and Taemin was the one to reach down and open it, holding onto Jinki’s neck as he carried them through. After the leader kicked the door shut Taemin heard muffled laughter from the couch. 

“That’s a welcome sight,” the main singer said with a smile.

Jonghyun stood and walked over to the two. He looked at Jinki, then down at the maknae who still hadn’t been put on his feet.

“Am I right to assume you two have talked things out?”

Jinki nodded. He was too busy gazing down at Taemin and the maknae couldn’t help but squirm under the attention.

“You can put me down, Hyung.”

“I don’t want to,” Jinki said, nudging the boy’s forehead with his nose.

Jonghyun snickered, “Aish, do you want to switch rooms? I can sleep with Minho if you want.”

“Minho took the spare room,” Kibum said walking into the room. “Seems he wants to be alone for the night.”

Jonghyun nodded, “Did you move your stuff to where Taemin’s room was?”

“Yeah. You two can switch and we can figure out what the hell to do about Minho in the morning. It’s after midnight.”

Jinki quietly set Taemin down and let him walk with Jonghyun to the bedrooms to switch their things. Taemin waited until Jonghyun brought in his bag to move his.

“Tae-ah?”

“Neh, Hyung?”

Jonghyun pulled him close into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”

“W-what for?”

“You really don’t see how much you’ve grown in the past few months.” Jonghyun pulled back and patted his shoulders. “You’ll see what I mean. Just give it time.”

Taemin smiled and nodded, grabbing his bag as well. Jinki was waiting outside the other room, a shy smile on his face as Taemin walked up to him. He heard Kibum shut the door eagerly, and Jonghyun laugh as well. He hoped that he and Jinki would be in that place again soon.

“Shall we get some sleep?” Jinki asked quietly.

Taemin smiled at him and stuck his hand out for Jinki to grab. The elder pulled him into the room and shut the door as Taemin laid out his bag and grabbed some of his clothing.

Jinki blushed and stuttered, “I-I’ll g-go change in the bathroom.”

Taemin sighed, “Hyung.”

Jinki looked up and saw Taemin switch his shirt.

Taemin adjusted it and spoke, “You don’t have to.”

“I…don’t want to push any boundaries…” Jinki held onto his elbow and it finally registered in Taemin’s mind.

Jinki didn’t know how to act around him anymore.

The maknae clicked his tongue, “Change in here, Hyung, I don’t mind!”

Jinki nodded and went to his bag, keeping his back turned as he changed into his pajamas. Taemin lay down on one of the beds and he smiled when Jinki nervously followed. The maknae waited until Jinki had laid down next to him to speak.

 “Why are you so nervous?”

 Jinki was silent. “I…don’t know.” He chuckled for a second and Taemin melted at the smile he had on his face. “I’m mostly afraid of just messing up again.”

It was understandable.

“The only way you’d do that is if you don’t talk to me.” Taemin reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together.

The leader sighed. “I want things to be back to normal.”

“And they will be. You’re so impatient, Hyung!” Taemin giggled when Jinki pulled him close and the boy’s cheek with his thumb.

“I wish I could take it back, Taeminnie. I still feel so horrible for how I hurt you.”

Taemin shut his eyes and sighed against the leader’s chest. He had missed this spot. Only the last time, he depended on it for everything. Now he felt more free and loved.

“Don’t, Jinki…it’ll be okay.”

 The leader was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

“Why do I feel broken, Taemin?”

“Because, what you thought you wanted wasn’t actually the thing it was supposed to be,” Taemin said.

He grabbed onto Jinki’s shirt with his other hand. He looked up at his boyfriend.

 “You feel bad for a mistake. We’re not broken, Jinki…our bond is something that’s not easily destroyed, even if one of us were to leave again.”

Jinki shook his head and pulled Taemin tighter, “It’s never going to happen again.”

“I know, Hyung, I know. Just for now, don’t worry, okay? We’ll fall back into place.”

Jinki ran his fingers through Taemin’s hair, letting their breathing synchronize together. Taemin was on the verge of falling asleep when his phone vibrated on the table next to the bed.

Jinki stared down at the boy, “Want me to grab it?”

“Sure. Not a clue who it is though.”

Jinki grabbed the phone and handed it to Taemin who quickly gazed at the text. He held it front of him and Jinki, so the elder could read as well.

From: Daehyunnie

To: Taemin

12:34:23 AM

Message: I’ve tried calling like five times. I’m sorry you had to find out that way…I wanted to tell you about it earlier, but I never found the right time. I hope you can forgive me.

Jinki bit his lip. Taemin could tell he was conflicted on what to say and honestly Taemin wasn’t sure how to react. He sighed and put down the phone as he snuggled back into Jinki’s arms.

Jinki poked him, “Are you okay?”

“Neh. I have you, I’ll always be okay.”

Taemin didn’t need to open his eyes; he knew Jinki was smiling by the way the elder held him tighter.

In truth, it hurt knowing that he was someone so easily replaced. Taemin had always been told that he was someone who doesn’t have it in him to get angry, to finally lose his cool and lose control. People told him he was as harmless as a fly and it made him realize that everyone walked over him. In truth, he knew all of this and even though he had lost it on Minho earlier, he knew that wasn’t the true moment where he finally lost all of his patience and let everything flood out of his harbored feelings. But he did know that day was coming.

THE NEXT DAY:

Taemin was the first to wake, gazing up at the leader who held onto him tightly even as he slept. The maknae took that time to really gaze at his boyfriend. He saw the months of paranoia and guilt written in his sleeping face, and for once he had the relief of knowing that Jinki was sleeping peacefully.

“CALM THE HELL DOWN, MINHO!”

Taemin sighed when he saw Jinki’s eyes flutter open.

“Tae? What was that?”

The maknae reached out for the leader’s hand.

“That would be Kibum yelling at Minho.”

He reached for his phone and groaned seeing it was only 8 in the morning. He was exhausted from last night, but they needed to go play interference now. Taemin sat up and rubbed his eyes. Jinki sat up as well and rubbed his neck.

 “I’m going to strangle Minho.”

“Get in line, I have first dibs!” Taemin said.

The leader chuckled and pulled Taemin close until he fell in his lap. Taemin reached up and laid a peck on the leader’s jaw.

 “Did you get any sleep?”

“Better than what I have for the last few months.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

Jinki placed his own kiss on Taemin’s forehead and helped him up. Jinki reached for the boy’s hand and tugged him out of the room. That made the dancer feel a bit better that Jinki was starting to act more normal around him. He knew they would be treading around each other for a little bit and things would obviously be different, but he hoped the love would be the same.

When the two reached the kitchen hand in hand, the three had barely noticed. Jonghyun was rubbing his temples at the table, as if trying to keep his own hands from reaching up and knocking the rapper out. Kibum and Minho were a few feet apart, avidly arguing with each other.

Taemin raised an eyebrow, “Good morning?”

The three looked up and even though Kibum and Jonghyun smiled, the glare on Minho’s face did not brighten his mood.

“Oh, what the hell is this?”

Taemin yelped when Jinki wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly from behind. In a way he felt more secure then he already had. He didn’t need to answer Minho because Kibum did it for him.

“They talked and set things straight. They’re giving their relationship another try and you will NOT interfere.”

Taemin sighed when he saw Minho clench his fists and try not to explode in his spot. While the maknae thought it would have been Jonghyun to suggest this, it was actually him.

“I think…I think we all need to talk. Without yelling, without anger, but just talk and not single anyone out.”

Jinki sighed into his ear. It was a sigh of relief. Jinki had probably been expecting him to cower under the rapper’s gaze, but rather he brushed it off. Jonghyun stood.

“I couldn’t agree more with that idea.”

Kibum pointed, “Living room.”

Taemin pulled Jinki out there first, followed by Jonghyun and Kibum with Minho begrudgingly bringing up the rear. The leader and Jonghyun moved the furniture around and soon they were all sitting cross-legged on the floor in a circle. 

“Taemin-ah, this was your idea. How should we proceed?” Jonghyun asked from beside the maknae.

Jinki sat on his other side and though they weren’t holding hands, they were sitting close.

“I think we should go back to the beginning and re-tell the story. With proper details.” He sighed, “There’s been things kept from me, kept from Jinki-hyung, kept from everyone. All secrets need to come out right now.”

Jinki then looked at the four, “We’re not leaving until everything has been talked through. We are a group, and if we’re not as close as we used to be, it will affect us as a band. The feelings of resentment and anger need to be released by the time we leave.”

Kibum clapped his hands. He eagerly bounced next to the leader, “I will start!” The four tiredly looked at him as the diva started. “I remember back when you and Hyung were dating, that things seemed to be okay. I remember Taemin smiling and Jinki seemed to be content.”

Taemin looked at Jinki who cleared his throat, “But we weren’t, or at least I thought I wasn’t. I was unhappy because I felt Taemin didn’t open up to me anymore, that he was just done with our three year relationship.” 

Taemin put his hands together, “I thought the opposite. I thought things had been fine. I thought Jinki was okay while my self confidence started to go lower and lower.”

Jinki and Taemin then looked to Jonghyun. “I saw the pain each of you felt, and how the communication started to diminish.”

As the four looked at Minho, they saw him cross his arms. “This is stupid. Kibum and Jonghyun-hyung have nothing to do with this situation.”

Kibum nudged him, “Just do it.”

“No, it’s a waste of time and will help nothing.”

The leader rubbed his forehead, “Then what will? Because if it’s you and me getting back together you can forget it.”

Minho pointedly glared at Taemin, “Admit this is your fault.”

Taemin narrowed his eyes, “I’m not the only one at fault. I agree that some of my-”

“STOP ACTING LIKE A GOD DAMN VICTIM!” Minho stood then, towering over the maknae.

Jinki moved to defend the boy when Jonghyun shook his head. Taemin crossed his arms and stood up, keeping his stoic mask. He almost didn’t know how to deal with Minho like this. Any reasoning was turned back on him. How did he argue with that?

Minho walked closer to him, “You always make things about yourself. Always. It was the reason Jinki left you in the first place.”

Jinki stood, “Back off, Min-”

Taemin shook his head, “No, continue, Hyung. Please.”

Minho clenched his fist. “Jinki came to me confused and frustrated. Despite the fact that he loved you, it was possible for him to love me as well.”

Taemin tried not to flinch. It was Daehyun that told him it was possible to love more than one person. He knew it was true, but it didn’t make hearing it any less painful. The feeling of being replaced by not only Jinki, but Daehyun’s eyes as well struck a cord inside him.

Minho continued, “You drove away Jinki in the first place. You nearly broke the band up when you left. You were the one who came back and destroyed what I tried to build with Hyung.”

Jonghyun was thoroughly amazed Taemin hadn’t buckled underneath the rapper and lost his confidence. He loved the boy to death, but even he would want to crumble if someone was throwing all the blame on him. Kibum looked like he wanted to intervene when Jonghyun shook his head. Taemin needed to do it on his own, to finally prove, if only to himself, that he had let go of the past.

Taemin stared up at Minho. He felt the anger ripping through his veins as he held back every urge to cry.

“And what will admitting fault do? Will you be happy? Will that change the past? Will you ask that Hyung come back to you for another chance?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Jinki believed he would, too. He believed Taemin would give in to his insecurities and let Minho win this fight. He believed Taemin would say he was done with him and be the one to leave him this time. Both the main singer and diva of the group held their breath. The uncertainty in Taemin’s eyes proved that he could be doubting his own thoughts.

However, like usual, he seemed to surprise them. Taemin looked up, “No.”

“No what?” Minho asked. “No, you won’t admit it?”

Taemin shook his head. “No to everything, Minho. I’m not making myself out to be the victim here. I have as much fault as Jinki or you in this situation.”

He took in a deep breath and kept his shoulders straight. He wanted to do this with as much confidence as he had.

“What you are choosing to ignore is that while Jinki was hurting, he at least had you. Who did I have that night? Who did I have to sweep me into his arms and convince me of a better life?”

Minho went quiet as Taemin backed away from him and from their little circle.

“I did nothing to even try and break you both up. I could’ve been the spiteful ex who tried to win his lover back, but I didn’t. I let you both be no matter how much you both hurt me.”  

Taemin walked around to the back of the couch. He may sound calm, but inside he was angry and it was taking all his control not to snap.

“I let you have him. I told myself that if you made him happy, then I wasn’t meant to be with Hyung then. If he was happy, I could be happy for him. All I wanted… was to move on, to shut the door on that situation and try to move on with my life.”

Jinki had sat down on the couch by that point and even though Taemin knew he was touching his hand, he didn’t feel it. He gripped the couch tighter.

“You were the one to tell me to act normal around you and, believe me, I was trying. I was trying so hard to give you my blessing and even find someone else who could help me move on like you had done with Jinki. And when I did, that person moved on from me when they got sick of me.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Taemin saw Kibum’s head dug into Jonghyun’s shoulder. He faintly heard the leader and diva’s muffled sniffles while Jonghyun remained quiet. Minho was staring at him now with a look he couldn’t quite understand.

Taemin took in a deep breath, “I asked you to make him happy. That was all I asked of you, but he came to me in tears, telling me he wasn’t. How could you expect me to be so heartless and ignore him? Like you said, it is possible to love more than one person, Minho, and I still loved him, too.”

Minho quietly snapped, “You could’ve told him to work it out with me.”

At that Taemin wanted to laugh. How could he? How could Minho even dare to ask that? He felt Jinki pry his hand from the couch and wrap it tightly in his and he was grateful. He knew that after he asked this, he would either have his confidence back, or he would lose it forever by losing this arguement. He was slightly calmer as he stared at the elder with determined eyes. 

“How could I do that when you couldn’t extend the same chance to me?”

When the room went silent, he had his answer.

AN: Leave it there for now? XD