Hello hello. I come back with another story. This is quite a long shot because I just feel like it. Been a while that I've written a story with so many words. Hope you don't get bored.

Prompt given by Qiqoqi: fairy taemin with a purple hair

Do enjoy and leave a warm comment below^^

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"I think uncle Minho is losing it again," Jinki ran towards his father, who was cooking in the kitchen. It was just another day when he visited his adopted brother, Minho, with his son. Jonghyun frowned at his son while stirring the pot of soup, "You shouldn't talk about your uncle like that, Jinki."

"But he is looking for fairies!" and then he whispered, "Don't you think he's... crazy?"

Jonghyun then huffed, "Young man, you are not to talk as such. He's not crazy, he just has a vivid imagination. Have you ever truly listened to his stories? I mean, really listen and pay at everything he told you?"

"Hmm, no?" He tilted his head in wonder, if he did ever listen to his uncle before or not.

"Then try to, before you start passing judgement. Who know you might find his stories interesting."
"I don't think I will."

Jonghyun turned off the fire and looked at his only son, "Why don't you ask him to share one about the fairies?"

"Seriously, dad?" He asked again. "Now?"

"Dead serious. Go ahead and ask him."

Jinki huffed as he walked out of the kitchen towards his uncle's bedroom. Earlier, he eavesdropped his uncle, because he made a fuss and Jinki was curious about why his uncle was talking by himself. And it was of course, fairy related talk.

As he peeked into the room, he saw his uncle sitting on the end of the bed, face scowling as if he was in deep thought. His uncle's bedroom was so simple, with queen-sized bed in the middle, dresser at one of the corners, books about nature and trees and other plants were all over his room. His room was painted green, painting of forest on the walls, and it looked like a forest in a room for Jinki.

"You okay, uncle Minho?"

Minho's eyes wide as he found Jinki at his door. "Oh, Jinki. Come in."

"So," he looked around the room, following his uncle's eyes movement, "Do you find him?"

Minho's eyebrows raised at his nephew, "What is?"

"The fairies?"

His uncle then grinned, glancing all over the room again, hushing him into silence while his eyes seeking, "Not yet. They are very good at this, playing hide and seek."

"Really?" Jinki was far from enthused, but this didn't deter Minho from continuing his search.

"They're good at blending in. Sometimes they may have been hiding in plain sight and you would never know," Minho jerked his head to the far end of the room, inspecting the wardrobe, "I'm not good at finding them, and they don't really like coming here too. They are scared of human."

"But they come for you."

"Yes, two," he replied, "They got frightened when they realised I had visitors. They knew your father, but not you, since you hardly come."

Jinki furrowed, "They're hiding because of me?"

Minho finally landed his eyes on Jinki, "I told them you're not a bad person, but they're skittish, you see. They don't trust people easily."

"And they trust you?"

"I was raised by them," Minho answered with a smile.

Jinki didn't want to believe, "You lived in the orphanage before gramps took you in."

"No, no, this was before I lived in the orphanage," he pulled Jinki to sit on the dresser chair, "It's hard to remember, years has passed. One day I was waking up to the green forest, and the next day I was in the orphanage."

"You never told me that."

"You never really asked, now did you?"

Jinki was feeling a bit ashamed of how little he pay attention to his uncle. "Can you tell me now?"

"Would you listen?"

Jinki nodded, he wasn't refusing to hear a story from his unlce.

"I don't remember much from the beginning, because I was too young to remember. I just know most from the fairies, that I was found in the middle of the forest, was a crying little baby stranded in their world."

 

 

The sounds of cry alerted the entire woods, the wind blew the blearing wail deep into the forest, it was begging, pleading for anyone to notice its source. Two fairies, not far off, were intrigued by the sound, sneaking to see where the noise was coming from.

"It's a baby," the purple haired fairy said, wings fluttering in excitement.

"No," the pink haired one held the other's arm, pulling back into the deep of the forest. "Taemin, we should report and let the King take care of it."

"Kibum, he probably already knows. That thing is like a siren. The entire kingdom should be able to listen to its shrilling cry."

"It's a human."

"I can see that," Taemin pointed at outstretched hands, the chubby fingers were reaching out in desperation, while the wrapper around him was undone. "And it's just a baby. A baby wouldn't harm you."

"Father will bind our wings if he finds out," Kibum tugged Taemin as he tried to get closer to the crying little human.

Taemin paid no heed, flying towards the small child, observing his flushed cheek from too much crying, his lips puckering and dry. Tears wetting the plump face, trickling down his face. Taemin drifted closer, his fairy dust sprinkling onto the baby's face causing him to blink. The baby slowly looked at him, distracted by the fairy's wings and began to calm down.

Now that the wailing had stopped, Kibum floated to Taemin's side.

"See? He's not dangerous," Taemin took his small bottle, pouring his water passed the baby's lips, "He's just thirsty."

"Now let's go."

"We're not leaving him alone."

Kibum gasped at him, "You're asking for troubles. Dad will definitely punish us for this."

"You're his favourite, I doubt he will do that."

"Taemin!" he exasperated, "He loves us equally."

"But you will take the throne eventually."

"It's just because I'm the older one between us. We both know you're the better leader here, and you have the brain, if only... you use it for... good," Kibum trailed off, watching his twin brother hovering over the baby.

"Do you think dad will let us keep him?"

Kibum's fairy marks suddenly set alight, of rainbow colours, as he got visions from the future. It was his power, that he could see what was coming in the future. He could see the baby fighting against a beast that concerned their world. His face was full of smirk, eyes sparkled as he fought for the fairies.
When Kibum's vision ended, he fell on his , head extremely light.

"What did you see?"

"We need the baby. For the sake of our kingdom."

 

 

 

"The two fairies here were the one's that found you as a baby?" Jinki asked.

Minho nodded, "The two happened to be the King's twin sons, Kibum and Taemin."

He raised his hand, "They're not more than this big. They're beautiful, they glow up depending on their mood, they have patterns on their body, but you have to look at it very close."

Minho smiled remembering the pattern he saw on Taemin's chest, it was like a curled up vines with one bright starburst on his left chest, while Kibum was more like small starbursts all over his skin. Minho didn't tell Jinki about this, because fairies were sensitive about their patterns.

He still looked around for the slightest sound of his fairy friends, peering under the bed just in case. "Their wings are translucent. Taemin and Kibum have different beauties, different patterns, but have identical wings since they are twins. It's like a dragonfly's wings, so delicate and soft, I always worried if I have to hold them. Broken wings were hard to repair."

"This sounds like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan."

"You could say that Barrie was close to being right, I dare say that he probably has seen one," Minho the chuckled, "In reality though, they're mischievous, selfish little creatures."

With a yelp, Minho stood up from the bed, startling Jinki, "What's wrong with you, uncle?"

"The little critter pinched me," he pulled up his shirt to Jinki, pointing the lower back and sure enough there was a red mark on his skin.

Jinki's eyes inspected two rows of indentions, looking more like a teeth marks rather than a pinch, and he gasped, "These can't be teeth marks?"

"My last comment probably irks you up, but it's the truth," Minho said to the room in general, "Fairies can't flat out lie, but it doesn't mean they can't mislead you and laugh at your wrongdoing." He then spoke to the whole room, "I know it's you, Taemin. Kibum never bites me."

Then there was a buzzing coming from across the bed, similarly to a rapid fluttering of the wings. Jinki couldn't help but interested in searching the source of it along with Minho.

"This can't be real," he talked to himself, voice soft as he caught Minho's watching eyes, "fairies do not exi-"

Minho repressed his nephew's mouth with his palm, "Never! Never, ever say anything like that. Barrie's right about that one. Fairies need to be believed for them to survive. If you happen to verbally say that, you could kill them right on the spot."

Jinki's heart escalated because he never once saw his uncle looking that angry, panic and scared over a statement, he never got angry even if people were saying things on his face. His eyes were glistened dangerously and it made Jinki's throat extremely dry, so he nodded to tell him that he understood.
"I'll never forgive you if you hurt them."

Their eyes locked for eternity, this made Jinki felt a little scared of his uncle, for the first time in his twelve years of life. The humming sound was heard again, but this time there were two separate buzzes, softer, as if they were calming Minho down from both his sides. He couldn't help but think that the two fairies were trying to calm his uncle down.

"I'm sorry," Jinki said quietly. I won't say that carelessly."

The tension was still there, and he definitely didn't like the heavy atmosphere, moreover when people he knew was upset because of him, so he tried to enlightened it by asking, "What was it like living in the fairy land?" Hoping that his question would make his uncle feel better.

"It was wonderful," Minho started quietly but his voice nostalgic, "The forests are lovely, everything is. Fresh berries everywhere, my favourite snacks. The water fairies helped me get my food, fishing was easy with their magic. The fire fairies cooked the captures after it. I really like one of them, Changmin, he has six wings instead of four, and he looked so beautiful while burning my fish with his orange fire."

Jinki could sigh a relief when his uncle threw him a simple smile.

"There must have been a lot of fairies that took care of you. I don't imagine you're the best baby in the world."

Minho let out a soft laugh, "I wasn't. It took the whole village to raise me, even though the two princes were the one's that was assigned to take care of me. I was a difficult baby to begin with. Apparently I cried a lot, and I ate a lot, too."

Minho finally met eyes with Jinki, pulling his one leg up the bed and continued telling him, "It was memorable, especially the first flying experience. I was lying in a small field after harvesting delicious nectar from pretty flowers that only grown in their kingdom for the first time. It was sweet and thick like honey, but much yummier. I was barely five at that time, and very happy. I was going to get to Taemin and Kibum with a bottle full of nectar, only then I saw Taemin clapping. I was not touching the ground, I was flying. I kept going, screaming in joy, but then I fell to the ground since I don't know how to control it."

Without him knowing, Jinki started leaning forwards Minho as the story progressed, something recalled his heart, of excitement and curiosity.

"You actually flew?" His eyes had a hint of distrust.

"I used to fly around instead of walking," he smiled tightly, "I missed it a lot. Nothing compares to being able to feel the winds and soar through the sky."

"You didn't have wings, did you?"

"Fairies aren't born with wings too, you know. If they come of age, they will get their wings. When they're a baby, they look just like us, only smaller, smaller than your pinky. They will grow the wings after the ceremony, and learn how to fly after their wings are completed. It is magical, something only the fairies know."

"But how come you were be able to fly?"

"Nobody knows how it happened, but they said that I had fairy magic within me when I was brought to their realm. I didn't posses any power like the other, but flying was enough for me," Minho smiled.

"What power? You mentioned it twice. And why can't you fly now? You said you used to. Is their world so green and fresh like in the movie?"

As he watched Jinki firing questions at him, Minho's eyes twinkling almost like fairy dust and he knew then, that Jinki was closer to believe in his stories. "For someone skeptical, you do have a lot of questions."

Jinki grinned at him, unable to deny that he was interested, "I guess you make them sound so real?"

"That's because they are, Jinki."

A tinkling was heard before a book about fairy fell down from the dresser next to Jinki. Minho smiled as his nephew gasped upon seeing the open page showing how Disney drew fairies.

"I'm not cleaning up after you," Minho pointed at the fallen book and there heard another tinkling answering his uncle. Jinki giggled at that, even though he didn't understand what they were talking about.

"So, uncle Minho, aren't you going to answer my questions?"

The elder grinned, "The powers, yes, some of them deal with nature, but not all of them. They doesn't control the season, not like in the movie. At least the one I was living with. And why can't I fly, the reason is that I am no longer innocent." Minho's face became a bit gloomy at the mention of it.

"What? As in dirty thing?" Jinki rounded his eyes. "Does it has to do something with your friends?"

Minho glared at his nephew, "Why are human child like you so erted? I'm done with my story, should I check your father and his cooking."

"Wait! Uncle Minho, you have to finish telling me about the fairies, and- ouch!" Jinki was about to run after his uncle, but his hair was tugged rather harshly until he fell on his . His scalp was stinging and it was repeating as he stood up once again.

Rubbing his head, Jinki shouted, "Uncle Minho! Your fairies are attacking me! They're pulling my hair! Ouch! It hurts! Stop it!"

"You probably has annoyed Kibum," Minho laughed as Jinki emerged into the kitchen while protecting his head, Jonghyun smiling at his son. "Luckily it was Kibum, if it was Taemin, he would do something worse than that."

"Let's eat dinner," Jonghyun patted the chair next to him and Jinki sat down, head snapping once in a while to look around.

"Have I ever told you how I met Minho the first time?" Jonghyun smiled at his son, and Jinki shook his head.

"I was thirteen when they told me I was about to have a little brother," he glanced over Minho with nostalgic eyes, "He didn't talk, he only looked at us with his big eyes, always climbing the tree in the backyard or hiding in the bushes. He bit and hit us so many times and I thought that he was crazy, but grandma believed that he just needed time to trust us."

"You think he was crazy too?" Jinki asked over his fully loaded mouth.

"Chew first," Jonghyun chastised. "He snarled and bit, he was wild back then. Maybe because he was found in the forest."

"I was scared of people, okay? They taught me that humans are bad, evil."

"But you're human," Jinki furrowed his eyebrows.
"I was different because I was raised by them. They make me a good boy."

"If they're so afraid of human, how did they know that you would not become a monster?"

"Kibum has vision, remember? He saw me sacrificing myself for the fairies."

"What did you do? Was there a war or something?"
Jonghyun patted Jinki's hair, "Eat first, talk later."

"But, dad! I want to know!"

"I'd like to hear the story again, but it's time to eat, okay?"

As they continued their dinner in silence, a clatter was heard from the kitchen, followed by buzzes and tinkling that caught the father and the son's attention as well. Minho sighed, "If you're so hungry, why don't you just show yourself? I don't mind sharing my food."

There was another reply and Minho cut the bell-like ring before it finished, "They're my family. Nobody is going to hurt you." And this time the tinkling was a bit quieter. "I'd believe that Kibum is shy, but not you Taemin."

It was quiet for a few seconds before Minho jumped in his seat, rubbing his leg, "Now that was mean, you guys. I swear I won't leave any dessert for you. Jonghyun brought your favourite, strawberry shortcake."

A louder tinkling broke the silence, this time two different sources blearing as if protesting and Minho covered his ears, "I'm not listening. Nope, you can't guilt trip me. Not one chance."

Jinki watched the exchange in awe, still not believing that he was actually witnessing the invisible magical creatures interacted with his uncle. Jonghyun seemed to be amused as well. For all those years, the fairies never been so active like this, they usually more reluctant.

"Do you want mine?" Jinki raised his voice, "I'll save you a big strawberry."

There was a pause before the tinkling came louder, excited, and Minho shook his head, "He wants a dollop of whipped cream too."

Jinki smiled, "Sure."

"How are you going to accept food without showing up, Taemin?"

They waited for a response, but it never came. Jinki was a bit disheartened at that. However, as Jonghyun started to share their desserts on plates, Minho felt something shifted on his nape. A tiny hands curled into his hair, just behind his right ear. He could hear a soft flap of the wings before something nestled on his collar. Only Minho knew that Taemin had mustered up some courage.

Taemin had his eyes locked on the dessert on Jinki's plate. Minho didn't move a bit when he felt Taemin leaned on his neck, crouching at the junction of his shoulder. His hair tickling Minho's earlobe. As Jinki started to spoon his dessert, a quiet tinkle coming from Minho, he smiled at his two company's expression. Both of them looked amazed, their eyes were fixed on the fairy on his shoulder.

"He is asking for his share."

"Wow," Jinki gasped, carefully leaning closer to examined the fairy. "It's tiny."

"Purple hair. Isn't this the famous Taemin?" Jonghyun asked and the fairy nodded shyly, "Finally got to see you in real life. You're much more beautiful than Minho's description."

Taemin glowed into peachy glow, a colour if he was embarrassed. He then pointed at Jinki's plate. Upon reading the gesture, Jinki then asked them to wait. He grabbed another plate and put the biggest strawberry on his cake and fluffy whipped cream on it, carefully offering the plate in the middle.

 

They watched Taemin stomped his feet on Minho's shoulder, and without further exchange Minho extended his palm for a lift. Taemin was holding his thumb, hiding behind it just a bit while his wings wrapped around his body, still aware of the two additional people in the house.

Minho nudged the fairy with his finger, "Go ahead."
Now that Taemin went out in the open, the father and son finally got a good view of him. His hair was purple, its root silvery and his haircut similar to a mushroom. His torso was bare, swivelling pattern illuminated the skin and seemed to have gathered at one bright starburst on his left chest. He was wearing a simple pair of green pants that clung all the way to his ankle, bare footed.

Once Minho reassured him that it was okay, Taemin slowly nibbling at the tip of the strawberry, wide eyes looking at the two strangers back and forth.

"I can't believe he's real," Jinki sighed out.

"Never thought I would actually see him, it's such an honour," Jonghyun extended his index finger. Taemin who was busy munching on his fruit stiffened for a while, he only stared at that one finger, finally getting what the human meant when he was offered a warm smile. It was a greeting and Taemin shook it with a smile and a tinkle.

Minho grinned, "He says it's nice to see you too." Taemin spoke again, "He wants to thank you for taking care of me."

Jonghyun smiled wider, "He can be a lot of work sometimes, but I like him. Could not have asked for a better brother."

As they exchanged a short conversation with Minho as the interpretor, there was a humming sound coming from not far away. Taemin's wings perked up as he looked at the invisible source and replied the hum, tinkling for a moment. Eventually he put his strawberry down and disappeared in a split second.

"Kibum's scared," Minho explained.

After some times, Taemin came back to the table, dragging a very resistant Kibum with him. When they landed, the said fairy with pink hair immediately hid himself behind Minho's resting hand, hugging his finger desperately and burying his face against it. Much like Taemin, his torso was bare but instead of a pants, he wore tight brown shorts, feet also .

Minho scooped the fairy carefully, "Kibum, it's okay."
The pink haired fairy slowly peeked over his thumb, landed his sight on Jinki with a big warm smile before looking to Jonghyun. He then hid his face once again before muttering something that came out as a tinkle. Taemin replying him soon after, gobbling as much whipped cream into his tiny mouth.

"Strawberry is not your favourite now?" Minho amused.

"There's peaches and apples in the refrigerator," Jonghyun joined the conversation.

Minho smiled when his fairy friend answered back, "He wants the peach, and said thank you."

Jonghyun came back with small cut peaches on the plate and put it on the table, closer to Minho's side and they all waited for the fairy to come out. After quite some time, when they all had done with their dessert and Taemin had busy patting his full stomach, Kibum finally showed himself. He flew to his share and started munching elegantly.

Only after that, Jinki started to question all of his curiosity about fairies and their world. Minho was their moderator that evening. They talked about Minho the most, Taemin being overly excited about that, while Kibum only smiled at him knowingly.

"So, uncle Minho, you never get to tell me how you lose your innocence?"

Taemin snapped his head to Minho, eyes full of worry. He flew to Minho's face and caressed his cheek with his tiny hands. The rest of them didn't understand why the mood was suddenly depleted.

Jinki was scolded by Jonghyun, but Minho only smiled at the boy, "It's okay."

Kibum and Taemin both sat on his open palm, holding his hand tight as he began telling the incident.

"Human is a thread to the fairy realm, because we have greed, and the greed makes us a monster. Some of us know the existence of their world, and their power. Extracting fairy dust could give us some magic, you see. And to extract the dust, you have to kill the fairies. When they die, they become dust right after."

"It's so cruel," Jinki pouted.

"Yeah they were so cruel," Minho then shakily continued, "I know it was my fault. When I roamed around the forest, I saw this girl around my age, she looked like me and even though the fairies told me that humans are monsters, I couldn't help but wonder about my kind. She was nice, friendly, and she taught me how to speak. We told each other stories after that. But then, she told her father that I could fly, that I was living with fairies."

Minho's eyes watery, "They made traps and killed fairies, and after that, they entered the world by using the fairy dust. At that time, I felt betrayed and angry. It was the first time I felt rage boiling in my blood and I didn't know how to control it. Like a fairy, I failed to contain different emotions in one time, so I did something horrible."

Taemin flew to Minho's shoulder once again, hugging the side of his neck. His glow had changed into blue and green, a sign that he was sad and feeling sorry towards the human.

"With all my might as a child, I tried to save them all from the trap. Taemin was there too, and he was unconscious. I didn't want to see him turn into dust, so I fought them. Since I could fly, I threw them woods from above. They shoot arrows at me, causing me to bleed. As I went into hide, I stole theirs and then attacked back. Suddenly, I fell hard to a tree, unable to fly any longer. And when I realised, I had killed so many people. I did save the fairy land, but I lost my innocence. I became one of them at such young age. I was a monster."

"And then what happened?" Jinki's eyebrows knitted together hearing the incident.

"They healed my wounds even though some of them looked at me with fear. And Taemin and Kibum were not allowed to see me for quite some time, I felt so lonely and sad, I cried every night. I was scared of myself and I secluded myself away. But Taemin came for me after healing himself, he made it bearable. He hugged me in his arm and accompanied me all the time."

"How could he hug you?" The curious boy asked again.

"Taemin's power is shape shifting. I haven't told you that yet, have I?"

Jinki hummed over the new information, "Into anything?"

"Anything," Minho smiled. "But only in their realm, he can't do it outside the fairy land."

"Then you were brought in by gramps?"

"Not right after, I spent another year with them and when I can finally lived on my own, I bid them goodbye. Made a small house by the river in the deep forest, Taemin and Kibum visited me every once in a while. Even if I moved away, they still found me eventually. Until one day I was caught by the social worker and ended up in an orphanage."

Jonghyun glanced at the clock and it was close to ten, since Jinki had to be on his bed for tomorrow. He glanced at Minho and the two fairies, "It's a shame to stop this conversation, but Jinki has a class tomorrow, we should get going."

"Aww, dad! I still want to be here!"

"We have many times," Minho smiled at his brother's son.

"But, uncle..." He pouted before shifting his gaze to Taemin and Kibum, "Will I see them next time too?"

There was a tinkle from the pink haired fairy, and Minho suddenly became silent. Jinki could read the atmosphere somehow, his uncle was just too easy to read. Sadness was deep in his eyes, it became dark and dull. He looked at his father who realised the same gloomy emotion coming from Minho who kept looking at his fairy friends. Kibum still quietly tinkling, talking to Minho with his wings folded down at his back, his glow became bluish purple, a colour when Kibum was sad.

"Kibum is not coming back here," Minho quietly said, voice unstable. "I believe he came here today for a... goodbye."

"Why?" Jinki asked carefully, watching his uncle who was startled by this sudden news too.

"He is going to take the throne, a prince's duty."

"He won't ever come back?" Jinki frowned.

Minho's face became even sadder when the pink haired fairy nodded, "It's not easy leaving your kingdom behind when you're a king."

"Taemin, too?" Jonghyun calmly took a glass of water for Minho to calm down.

There was no answer from the purple haired and Minho sighed out, sadness thick in the air.

Jonghyun then continued, "Thank you for showing yourself to us. It is an honour, really. And for taking care of my brother before he came to me."

Kibum bowed back to Jonghyun, still hesitant in shaking the human's finger before waving to Jinki with a smile. The father and the son watched the fairy flew back to Minho's side and caressed his cheek. Minho had not said anything about this, he looked utterly flustered.

"I think we should give you three time," Jonghyun announced, Jinki didn't refuse it for once. Sadly he bid goodbye to the two fairies and hugged his uncle tightly as if it could lessened his sadness.

"I'll come often, uncle," he waved goodbye, glancing one more time at the two fairies he would never meet again. "I will always believe in fairies."

 

 

 

 

"How could you tell me only now?"

"I tried telling you months ago, but failed every time. I'm afraid you'll be very sad."

"Taemin, you know this too?" Minho frowned at the purple haired fairy, eyes dark of betrayal.

"Yeah," he replied silently, "Because Kibum insisted that he would tell you directly."

"And you think tonight is the right time, when your coronation day is two days away."

"I should've told you sooner, but," Kibum paused, "I just don't have the heart."

Minho groaned and threw himself to his bed. The two fairies sat on his side quietly.

"Congratulation," he offered after some pregnant silence, "Although I can't say I'm not sad to know that you're not going to visit me again."

"It's not a goodbye, Minho," Kibum kissed his hair, "It will never be, I promise you. I'll be watching you."

"I'll miss you, Kibum..." Minho sighed out heavily.

"And Taemin?"

"Yes?" the purple haired one stared back at him, and Minho had lost his word the moment their eyes met. There was a thick tension between them with the word unspoken and Kibum didn't fail to see it.

Taemin was waiting for something but Minho didn't- or maybe he couldn't form an appropriate sentence for the feeling he was facing right then.

"I'll never bid goodbye."

"It is never gonna be a goodbye, Minho," he reassured the human, giving a kiss on his cheek. Minho was tucked into his blanket with the help of the two fairies. They stayed some more time, watching Minho watching them with teary eyes. With the help of pixie dust, Minho drifted off to sleep and had a nice and calming dream. It was the last thing Kibum could do for him before actually leaving the human all by himself.

 

 

 

 

It was another month after his two best friends left him. Jonghyun had paid so many visits despite the distance between their houses. Jinki spent the weekend to cheer his uncle up and it worked. Although there was an invisible hole in his chest, Minho somehow went through his days completely fine. His flower shop was doing fine and it helped him cope.

Although the night was a bit hard, still. He couldn't lie that he sometimes cried, that he thought about Kibum and Taemin a lot in the darkness of his room.

One thing he realised was that he missed Taemin a lot more than he missed Kibum. He wanted to be fair, but no, Taemin created a bigger hole of emptiness in his heart and Minho didn't want to believe that he actually had a feeling for Taemin; for it was impossible. Taemin was a fairy and he was a human. It just didn't work that way. And that mere thought often put him into a very bad mood.

That night the rain was pouring cats and dogs, cold wind gushing harshly, making the windows in his room rattling annoyingly loud. There was lightning every once in a while and thunder echoing through the night. Despite all of the ruckus outside, Minho could hear flap of wings in his sleep. The soft buzz was all too familiar.

Even in his sleep, he could feel his heart tightened, for he missed his old friends so much.

However after quite some times, the familiar flap of small wings never cease to calm down. It sounded anxious flying here and there and he didn't fail to notice soft dust falling onto his face. He thought he was dreaming and was about to wake up from his dream, but then all of a sudden, he felt something weighting his chest, cutting off his breath.

The lightning decided to blaze yet again, continuously, so that Minho could figure a familiar face on top of him. His hand extended; what he thought an illusion was a concrete figure, and the weight that was on him felt unbelievably real. He decided to turn on his bedside lamp to confirm his sight.

"Taemin?" Minho's sleepy eyes bulged out as he met eyes with a black haired Taemin. What shocked him the most was that Taemin was just as big as himself, not as small as he always remembered. And he had black hair instead of purple.

"Minho," his voice sounded groggy and the later was surprised by it too, he had his hand covering his mouth. "I'm not tinkling."

"Yes, and that is such a nice voice."

Minho sat up, placing Taemin next to him, but Taemin was acting weird, he was wobbly and eventually fell forward. He held him and his now black haired friend was looking at him sheepishly. "I need to learn how to coordinate my big body."

With a worried yet glad smile, Minho pulled him into a deep hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you, Minho. A lot."

"You really have no idea how I miss you too, Taemin..."

They were still hugging each other tightly until Minho felt a kiss on the side of his head. It was another kind gesture the fairy always had since he was a baby, however, Minho was feeling dangerous thing roared inside his heart by then. He peeled himself away after a good second and stared at Taemin.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No," Taemin smiled at him, cheeks full of healthy blush, flawless skin, and less sparkling, but alive.
Upon realising the lack of wings, dust and sparkle, the black hair and the absent of a beautiful pattern on his bare torso, Minho gasped loudly, "You're not dusting. And your pattern..."

A guilty smile was on display, Taemin hesitantly continued, "I... might or might have not decided to be human."

They blinked ceremoniously, silence engulfing the dark room for a few second until Minho's eyebrows met in the middle ever so slowly, "You, what?"

"It is the hardest decision I've ever made, and definitely this whole thing is a challenging process, but, yeah... I promise that I'll tell you everything tomorrow."

Minho touched the face once again, cradling it with both hands before feeling the realness of the soft skin and warm flesh in his hands. He ran his thumbs over the cheeks, to his silky black hair, caressing the nape and the column of his neck- which tickled Taemin, down to the dip of his collarbones, his shoulders, and cautiously feeling his chest and his beating heart.

"Will have to get you something to wear," he did say that, but his hand didn't stop appreciating the pure beauty that was Taemin. He touched his soft stomach, around his slim waist, quickly running his hands over the supple buttocks and thighs. Taemin was practically bare from any clothes and it stirred his sanity.

He looked away after realising how he had squeezed the thighs harder. He felt so bad for tainting the innocent creature with his inappropriate touches.

"Wait a second," Taemin grabbed his hand and placed it on his thigh again, pulling Minho's face closer to him.

"What is it?"

Taemin smiled gently at him before, as quick and soft as it could be, kissing Minho square on his lips. Minho his breath a bit louder than he should be, his eyes drifted to the plump lips that had just pecked him, leaning in closer until they were a hair thin away. With all  his might, he retreated.

With a red beet face, Minho stood up to get his old friend a decent clothes. Taemin tried to stand up but failed to do so, falling hard to the floor in his ness. Surely there would be bruises on his body when he hit the hard tiles. His limbs seemed to have no coordination at all, everything was awkward and Taemin couldn't even stand properly.

"This is harder than it looks like," Taemin sighed in frustration.

"We'll take it slow. Baby steps."

The taller of them two helped him dressed up. Minho's heart swelled when he realised how their role had changed. It was not him who needed Taemin's help, but it was Taemin who depended on him.

"We'll learn to keep your head up, rolling to your stomach, crawl, stand up, before you could walk and run, or even jump."

"You make it sounds like I'm a baby."

"Yes, you are now," Minho chuckled. "A big human baby."

Taemin yawned and he rounded his eyes, "I yawn. I never yawn before."

"That means you're tired. Let's go to sleep."

Minho basically supporting him to the bed, laying him down and tucked him underneath the warm blanket before slipping next to him, a smile never leave his face. He stared at Taemin, copying the latter.

"I can't believe this."

Taemin held his hand under the blanket and smiled, "Things that I choose, it's because of you."

He didn't want to assume things, but Minho was not so stupid in the love section. He witnessed and heard from Jonghyun about what love is, the reason why he had Jinki and all those romantic stuffs. However he wasn't sure if the fairy, ex-fairy (sorry), understood this just as much.

"I know what love is, Minho," Taemin whispered as he talked.

Minho squeezed the hand tighter. "What kind of love do we have between us?"

"I am not sure if we have the same view in this, but," Taemin's word was cut by the opening door. Jinki was standing by the door, looking horrified.

"Jinki," Minho forgot that his nephew was here for the weekend.

"I swear I didn't scare of the thunders, uncle Minho," he walked in with his pillow, eyes went double when he noticed another man on his uncle's bed, "Oh my god, Taeminnie? He-he's big! He's human!"

The boy scrambled onto the bed staring hardly at the black haired guy. "Wow, is this how you look when you shift? But you said he could only shift in their realm."

"He's exhausted, Jinki."

"It's okay, Minho."

"When did you come? You're so big!"

Taemin sat up awkwardly on the headrest and patted Jinki's hair, "I just arrived and boy, I am no longer a fairy. I will stay here for good," he smiled, "as a human."

Jinki gasped, "Forever?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Taemin didn't give him an answer, he just looked at Minho who still boring holes into his face.

"Oh, is it because of uncle Minho?" Jinki could see how the two adults looking at each other, it was like looking at his parents at home.

"You are right."

 

The boy suddenly wiggled his eyebrows to Minho, a teasing smile was on his face, "And date and sleep with uncle Minho?"

"What in the world has happened to kids nowadays?" Minho was red on the face.

"But I'm sorry Taemin," Jinki started again, "I think tonight we have to sleep together, three of us. My bed is weird, the blanket is rough, it's too cold and then there's you, I want to-"

"Just admit that you're scared, Jinki. It's okay," Minho smirked at him.

"Pft, no I'm not, uncle Minho, really."

Taemin giggled and it was probably the best sound Minho ever heard that day. It was like a softer version of his tinkles. He couldn't help but stare.

"Uh," they got interrupted soon, "I'm sleepy, uncle. Can we sleep?"

Minho bit his lips and looked at his nephew, " Sure, you can take the edge-"

"No, I want to be in the middle. What if I fall? I'm only twelve!" The boy quickly slipped into the tight space between Taemin and Minho, throwing his front onto the bed and face to the pillow he brought.

With a frown, Minho groaned, "Scaredy cat."

Jinki only replied the protest with a fake snore. Taemin smiled at the cute scene and motioned Minho to come closer to him. The taller helped tucking him into the blanket before he gave Minho a quiet peck on the corner of his lips. Minho sighed in defeat and settled on the other side of the bed.

"Good night, Jinki. Good night, Taemin."

 

 

 

---

I hope the ending doesn't sound rushed, because I honestly could write a lot more but if I do that, it would be a two chaptered shot. English is not my first language and grammar is still a bit tricky for me, so if you find some error, please forgive me.

I am planning to edit all of my stories since there are some people who read my old stories. Every time I re-read them, I am so embarrassed lol so if any of you can be my beta, it would be so awesome.

Aaand, it's December everyone. A month that I'm sure, for some of you (for me definitely), will be a roller coaster ride emotionally. No need to elaborate, my calendar is full of scrabbles, it's a hectic month. So, wherever you are, keep yourself healthy, body and mind.

Don't forget to support Kibum and Jinki! I'm so excited for his album. We're going to be blessed with a beautiful voice this month. And let's wish his enlistment will go smooth even though it's sad. Let's support our SHINee forever!

Love,

aqcelnicorus :D