Pairing: onho

Rating: PG

Warnings: age difference (but in a cute respectful way b/c cute baby Minho was too hard to resist...)

A/N: originally posted to tumblr

“Minho-yah, let’s go already!” his babysitter Key yelled at him from the bottom of the stairs impatiently.

The thirteen-year-old looked at himself in the mirror, squaring his shoulders and muttering under his breath, “You can do this, Choi.” With a final glance at his carefully planned outfit – a pair of khaki shorts and a black polo – Minho grabbed his phone and wallet, sliding the two into his pocket as he bounded down the stairs.

“Sorry, hyung,” Minho smiled brightly at the nineteen-year-old who had been babysitting him since Minho was a toddler. Key rolled his eyes but smiled and ruffled Minho’s hair before asking, “What’re you so dress up for? We’re just going to get ice cream?”

The young teen only shrugged his shoulders, hoping that the older boy wouldn’t notice the flush that crept onto his cheeks.

Minho followed Key out of the house as they made their daily trek to the ice cream shop that was a few blocks away from the Choi house. He drew his phone out of his pocket once Key had done the same, no doubt texting his girlfriend Junghee for the billionth time that day, and opened the Note app, needing to re-read the script he had carefully prepared for today’s mission.

Glancing over the few short and to the point lines, he muttered them to himself, making sure his intonation and delivery would be perfect for when the right moment came.

As they pair neared their destination, Key once again took an interest in the younger boy, causing Minho to slide his phone back into his pocket and hurriedly ask, “How’s Junghee-noona?” in hopes of distracting him from asking any possibly-probing questions. Minho had a terrible poker face and Key had always been able to tell the moment he was lying or attempting to hide something from him.

The mention of the other’s girlfriend brought a wistful smile to his face and he rattled on about Junghee’s new accomplishments at her college where she was studying to be a music producer. Minho loved how easy it was to distract his hyung, even if he would inevitably regret bringing up the short, blonde girl and felt an impending radio-station visit in his near future.

They had finally reached the ice cream shop, Minho’s favorite place in the world, and the younger felt his palms begin to sweat profusely and his chest began to tighten with nervous anticipation. Contrary to Key and Minho’s parents’ belief, the young teen did not actually love the shop because of the ice cream, he loved coming here every day for a completely different reason.

As the bell tinkled over the door to signal the pair’s arrival, a friendly voice and dazzling smiled greeted them, “Welcome back, boys!”

Minho swallowed and desperately looked down, unable to face the reality of the situation.

“Hey, Jinki-hyung!” Key said, smiling at the young man behind the counter as he walked over and started talking to him about something school related. Key and Jinki went to the same university and were in some of the same classes so knew each other quite well.

Thankful that the other’s attention was distracted, Minho allowed himself to glance up briefly and observe the man behind the ice cream cooler, who was now gesturing animatedly to Key.

Ever the observant one, Jinki looked over and caught Minho’s eye, smiling widely as he said, “Hi, Minho-goon! What can I get for you today?”

Minho’s heart melted at the sight of Jinki’s eyes disappearing completely with the wide beauty that was his smile. He cleared his throat nervously in hopes that his puberty-stricken voice wouldn’t crack, “The usual. Thanks, Jinki-hyung.”

Jinki nodded and began to prepare Minho’s daily dose of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a waffle cone, which only made the younger smile to see that Jinki knew his “usual.”

After Jinki handed off his ice cream to Key, the older boy paid for it and motioned for Minho to follow him outside so that Jinki could help the other waiting customers.

Reluctantly, Minho followed him outside and began to eat his ice cream. Key was busy chattering away, pausing every so often for Minho to add in an “mmm” or “oh” at the appropriate moments. Minho, however, was not fully present in the conversation. His thoughts were still inside with that beautiful, handsome man who he was still able to catch glimpses of through the storefront windows.

Minho watched surreptitiously as Jinki talked to one of his co-workers and then left the main floor for the back, exiting through the back door on the side of the building for his afternoon break. It was now or never.

Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, Minho stood up saying, “I’ll be right back, hyung,” not even bothering to wait for a response before walking briskly to the side of the building where he knew Jinki would be.

Jinki was leaning against the side of the building, one foot resting against the bricks as his hand drew a cigarette lazily up to his mouth. Minho froze at the sight. There was no way he could do this. No way he could finally tell Jinki exactly what he had been feeling for the past two months. No way that he would be able to get everything out once he finally stood in front of the tall, bronzed, slightly muscular perfection that was his Jinki.

Minho made to exit the alley, but the noise drew the object of his affection’s attention and made his pause in his retreat.

“Did you need something, Minho-ah?”

The young teen ‘s heart clenched at the familiar way with which Jinki spoke to him and he couldn’t take it anymore. He marched right up to Jinki, a look of clear determination on his face that caused the older boy to stand up more straightly and drop his cigarette to the ground before stomping it out.

“Is everything- “

“I like when you smile,” Minho burst out, interrupting Jinki’s question.

Silence greeted him as he looked up into Jinki’s handsome face. The older boy’s head was tilted ever-so-cutely to the side and a questioning “oh” formed on his lips.

Shaking his head, Minho tried to backtrack, wanting to say everything he had been rehearsing for the past several nights.

“I mean…I uh…I wish you would notice me and maybe develop feelings for me!”

At his outburst, Minho slapped a hand over his mouth, horrified at the words that had come out of his mouth. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Unable to meet the elder’s eyes, Minho looked down and allowed the feeling of embarrassment and shame to seep into his pores. “What have I done?” he whispered under his breath, making to turn around and run away.

But just as he was about to, a strong but gentle hand reached for his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“Minho-yah,” Jinki said softly, causing the younger boy to glance up and meet his gaze.

Minho nodded numbly, unable to speak due to the strong emotions pumping through his body but wanting to convey that he was listening.

The older boy drew Minho back towards him and leaned into him, causing Minho’s senses (and hormones) to go haywire. Closing his eyes on instinct, Minho waited for what would come next, only to feel a pair of soft, plush lips graze his forehead in a brief but tender kiss.

The touch sent an electric charge throughout his body and he swore that it stopped his heart from beating. Even as he felt the older boy lean away and release his grip, Minho allowed himself to breath in the tantalizing scent that was Jinki and savor the moment for a few seconds longer.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Minho,” Jinki said, causing Minho’s eyes to open wide in surprise. He had been afraid of rejection, even ridicule, but he had never expected to be thanked for his feelings.

“But I-?” was all he could say, still unable to fully process what was happening.

Jinki smiled ruefully down at him, his hair out of his face in the sweaty summer heat. “It takes a lot of courage to confess and I am honored that you have done so.”

Minho couldn’t contain his elation, feeling his own smile widen until his cheeks hurt from the effort.

Jinki laughed quietly at the sight before him, glancing behind Minho to Key at the end of the alleyway who was smiling knowingly behind the younger’s back. He ruffled Minho’s hair and wrapped his arm around the shorter’s shoulders, walking them towards the other boy.

Minho finally caught sight of Key and stiffened with embarrassment at the look on his hyung’s face. Jinki glanced down to see the younger’s reddening cheeks and leaned in until his lips were right next to Minho’s ear, “Just give yourself a few years, yeah?” He hoped the words would encourage the young boy to remain strong and also, secretly, would give the boy hope to wait until he was of age to say anything to Jinki about his feelings again.

The young teen glanced up with wide eyes at Jinki, slow realization taking over his face in a look of awe. The expression was too cute and Jinki could only squeeze his shoulders before releasing him and pushing the young teen towards Key before he turned back to the store and left the two alone.

Glancing over his shoulder, Jinki couldn’t help but whisper, “I like your smile, too,” before going to wash his hands and return to the rest of his long workday.

Link to Sequel