Title: Home
Prompt-#: 61
For: Anonymous
Pairing: OnTaeKai
Author: onthighsbelongtotaemin@tumblr
Word count: 2453 words
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Jongin thinks Taemin seems stressed so Jinki takes his boyfriends to the mountains for a day of fun.

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Jinki chuckles into Jongin’s kiss, back hitting the closing door as his boyfriend quickly kicks off his shoes & drops his jacket to the floor.  Warm hands are at his cheeks & Jinki laughs again as warm lips kiss his own.   Not many days have passed since they saw each other at the SM Town concert, just enough to make Jongin greedy & Jinki is happy enough to oblige.

“Missed you,” is breathed into his ear as Jongin’s lips leave his own & begin to wander.  He giggles as they reach the curve of his neck.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jongin whispers, the words vibrating against Jinki’s skin.  “Very much.”

“How muhhmmm-” His eyes close as the lips move back up to his mouth & they move in soft motions, quiet kisses in the dusk.  He slips his arms around Jongin’s waist & sways with his boyfriend’s hands at his jaw.  The sky grows dim as they smile & kiss, a private dance backdropped by a window that begins to sparkle with city lights.  Jongin’s the one to pull away, lips disappearing, reluctantly, too tired to stand much longer & impatient to get to bed.  His hand grasps Jinki’s, tugging him down the short hall of the tiny studio & to the makeshift bedroom.  The black Seoul sky lies hidden beneath heavy curtains & every move is done in the dark.  Another laugh & more kisses, another back hitting a firm surface.  They fall asleep warm & a bit sweaty, a small room heated by their movements & Jongin holds the arm Jinki has tucked around his shoulders with both hands.

The next morning Jinki wakes up alone, confused but unsurprised, schedules often stealing the three of them away from each other.  Dull sounds & soft smells put a smile on his face, the pleasant evidence that Jongin is still there.  He takes a deep breath & clears his throat, rubs the sleep from his eyes & throws his feet on the floor.  The wood is warm beneath his toes & Jongin’s back even warmer as he hugs him from behind & kisses his neck, a murmured, “Morning” his boyfriend’s reply.  Jinki steps away & moves to the tiny fridge, bending down to pull out a glass bottle of iced coffee before collapsing into a puddle at the kitchen table. 

Jongin’s laughter as he joins him is warmed by his fingers running through Jinki’s hair, patting it down & tucking it back.

“Your hair,” his boyfriend says with a chuckle, “is everywhere this morning.  Half of it’s sticking straight up & another patch is poking straight out.  You sleep like a corpse; how does this even happen?”

“My boyfriends have follicle es,” Jinki mumbles, grabbing at Jongin’s fingers & kissing the tips.

Jongin clicks his tongue as he pulls back his hand.  A cup of tea that Jinki hadn’t noticed him carry over lifts up & he listens to his boyfriend take a sip.

“Taemin seems stressed,” Jongin says, crossing his legs & his arms. 

Jinki looks up to see a worried furrow to his boyfriend’s brow & it has him frowning as he props his chin up on a bent elbow.

“I know.  These schedules are really taking their toll.  I’ve been thinking of ways to help him relax & I think maybe just a quick break would be nice.”

“Like a day trip?”

“Yes, exactly.  An overnight thing to get him out of his head for a few hours.”

“Would he even have the time?”

“I would make sure he did.”

Jongin puts his cup down & takes a deep breath, nodding.

“We did have fun that time we snuck away to Japan.”

“Thanks for the invite, by the way,” Jinki mutters sarcastically.  Jongin laughs & rubs his foot against his boyfriend’s leg.

“I’m inviting you now.”

Jinki scoffs & opens his bottle.

“There’s a lodge up in the mountains with packed snow.  It’s close by & I don’t want to take Taemin anywhere too far away when he’s so busy.  And he’s been wanting to go snowboarding again for ages.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Hope so.”

“Anything else?”

“Just leave early, spend the day on the slopes, massages, sauna, hot tub, sleep, & then back home.”

Jongin smiles & looks down into his cup of tea.  Jinki chuckles as he asks, “What?”

“I like it when you say ‘home’.”

Jinki lays his hand flat on the table & Jongin places his own over it.  His hand is lifted into the air & Jinki’s lips bless his knuckles with a kiss & again he smiles.

~

Jinki’s asleep on Jongin’s lap when the third film begins to play.  Jongin’s left hand rests on his boyfriend’s shoulder while his right absently digs through a bowl of snacks.  It’s the second to last night he can sneak away before the stalling no longer works & he has to get back to the life that brought them together.  He likes these moments where he’s Jongin & the man warming his thigh is Jinki & neither of them have to use a pseudonym and qualify who they are with the name of a boy band.  They’re fleeting & he doesn’t want to miss any more than absolutely necessary so he smiles & curls his fingers in Jinki’s shirt.  Taemin’s stopping by tonight, it’ll be just the three of them in the studio Jinki ostensibly put together to focus on his music.  (More than once, he’s whispered that their voices are the greatest melody, their laughter inspiration & Taemin had laughed while Jongin blushed at the praise.)  Tonight, it will be their little hideaway, a focus of seclusion where the three can love each other in quiet & truth.  Where they can be themselves.     

It’s nearly midnight when the door clicks open & Taemin’s haggard face appears.  Jongin & Jinki are both awake now, bellies full of a supper whose remnants now sit tucked away in the tiny fridge.  They’re on the sofa again & from there they watch their boyfriend barely step out of his shoes before stumbling down the hall, no words ever spoken.  They glance at each other before standing & following, lights quickly flicked off in their wake as they reach the door just in time to watch Taemin as he falls face first onto their bed & doesn’t move.

Jongin climbs up on Taemin’s right while Jinki climbs up on his left, each with matching frowns.  Jinki’s fingers through Taemin’s hair while Jon gin’s palm rubs circles on his back & it’s his deep voice that asks, “What do you need?”

Taemin rolls over so that he’s facing Jongin, an outstretched hand pulling him down for a kiss that is long & chaste.  The other hand beckons behind him & Jinki laughs as Taemin’s head turns & he leans down for a kiss of his own.

“Sleep.  Tired.  Sore,” Taemin mumbles, rolling back over & again burrowing his face into the pillow.  Jinki & Jongin exchange glances.  Jongin lies down beside their boyfriend with an arm over his shoulders while Jinki grabs a blanket & tucks the two in, burying himself in a second blanket.

A complex web of barters & oaths has Jongin in the shower at Jinki’s studio with plans for an extended visit less than a month after he’d last spent the night.  Today’s the day, though neither of them have told Taemin of their plan, simply sneaking kisses & letting him cling to them whenever he feels the need for touch; holding Jinki’s hand & wrapping his arms around Jongin’s waist. 

Jongin’s fingers are in his hair when the shower door opens & again he finds Taemin’s arms around his waist.  The other’s head rests against his back & he smiles as he scrubs.  It’s a struggle to get them both back out & he’s the one who gets Taemin scrubbed & fresh before they finally exit the steamy room.  When they come out, fresh & clean & dressed down in track pants & t-shirts, Jinki has breakfast waiting for them on the table, a simple soup & rice that they sip with oversized spoons.

Taemin blinks through the meal, a half-hearted smile & tired eyes the answer to most of the statements made.  It’s not until the car comes to pick them up that they let him know that they’re going on a trip & when he begins to point out that he doesn’t have his passport Jinki holds it up with a grin.

“Everything is taken care of, Min.  Just relax.”  Taemin takes a deep breath & sighs.

“Manager hyung-”

“-knows where we’re going,” Jinki quickly interrupts.  “We have 36 hours to get back.  And they’re going to be fun.”  He’s nodding as he’s talking, encouraging Taemin to believe when his boyfriend clearly has so much doubt & worry.  Jongin nods too & takes Taemin’s hand, squeezes it, & pulls him up as he stands himself.  Taemin begins to protest & then stops, nods in defeat & for the first time since he’d stumbled into Jinki’s studio the next before, doesn’t seem exhausted.

The flight is fast & Jongin & Taemin sleep through it with their heads rested on Jinki’s shoulders, his own head tilted back & arms folded across his chest.  All three wake up in unison as the plane lands, the jolts as they coast down the tarmac familiar in so many ways. 

Another car takes them high up into the mountains & Taemin is nearly vibrating with excitement when he sees where they’ve taken him.  He turns with a grin to where Jinki’s climbed out on the other side of the car & his eyes shine as he shouts, “It’s perfect!” before accepting the suitcase the driver hands him & heading to the lodge’s entrance.

It’s secluded & a bit small, they’re not there during the bustle of the season & that fits their needs just fine.  Every amenity they could ask for in such a little trip is available & Taemin’s toes are tapping as Jinki grabs their key. 

Their luggage is dropped on the floor, a quick tour of their third-floor room revealing a hot tub on a private deck & a steam shower along with the standard oversized bed.  Within an hour Taemin’s rented boots are clicking into a snowboard, Jongin’s into a board of his own, & Jinki stands watching from the base of the mountain.

Over & over they glide down the mountain, grins & a few hollers as snow flies behind in their wake.  Jinki takes a few rides himself, mostly because of the way the other two pleaded with doe eyes.  It’s fun but it’s not why he’s there & he doesn’t last much more than half an hour before claiming elder privileges.

His boyfriend’s cheeks are flushed & their lips cold when they kiss Jinki after a day spent on the slopes.  They compete at a three-way game of pool that leaves Jongin the surprise victor & Taemin’s smile hides behind the back of his hand when Jongin whispers what he wants his prize to be.  After that an hour is spent beneath the wise hands of strangers who melt knots the three carry every day.  Dinner is eaten with tired smiles in the room & then they slip into the hot tub on the patio outdoors.  They look out in awe at the snow glistening beneath a blanket of stars, the steam of their water billowing up into the icy air.

“How long do we have left?” Taemin asks apprehensively.

“Until eleven tomorrow morning,” Jinki answers.  “The car will take us back to the airport & then back home.”

Taemin smiles, his fingers slipping beneath the water & squeezing Jinki’s wrist before floating away over the bubbling water.

“I like it when you say ‘home’.”

They talk about everything that Taemin wants to talk about & none of the things he doesn’t.  Any time he gets too worked up one of them puts their arm out over the water & grabs his shoulder, hand slipping down his arm to squeeze his hand.  He falls asleep in the water & Jongin carries him out, Jinki the one to close the door on the world & tuck them safe inside.  Taemin’s leaning on Jongin while the other dries off his hair & Jinki gives a kiss to the back of Jongin’s neck as he moves to prepare the bed.  The blankets lay folded at the foot as Taemin slowly climbs in, his hands curling into fists beneath his chin.  Jongin climbs in behind him, an arm over his hip as Jinki pulls the covers up to their shoulders.  He wanders around the room & turns off lamps & makes sure locks are clicked before joining them beneath the blankets. 

He kisses Taemin’s forehead & leans across his boyfriend’s shoulder to kiss Jongin good-night.  He tucks his arms under his head & closes his eyes, smiling when he hears Taemin sleepily murmur, “Thanks”.

Jinki wakes up to a bed that’s a third empty, Taemin standing at the door that leads to the patio & staring out at the stars.

“I haven’t seen them in so long,” he says quietly, leaning in as Jinki’s arm slips around his waist & squeezes him tight before letting go.  Jinki sits in an empty chair & watches Taemin watching the night sky.

“They’re beautiful.  Like you.”  Taemin chuckles & looks over with a smile.

 “Thank you for bringing me.”

“Thanks for letting me come this time.”

Taemin rolls his eyes & turns back to the window.

“You’re never letting that go, are you?”

“No,” Jinki answers, standing up & tucking his head on Taemin’s shoulder as his arms wrap around his boyfriend’s waist.  “I’m not letting any of you go.”  Taemin chuckles & pats the hand at his waist.  Jinki closes his eyes.  

“I’m glad you were there.”

“I’m glad I was too.”

“Was it really your most memorable memory?”  There’s a soft chuckle in Taemin’s ear & he turns so that his head rests against Jinki’s.

“No.  It was the one I was willing to share.”  Taemin sighs happily & gazes out at the stars.

They skip breakfast & are barely dressed when the car arrives, Jinki’s hair a mess that Jongin & Taemin quickly work to flatten out.  Another ride, another flight, another arrival home, back to their little haven & another step closer to getting back to their quirky lives.  They wait for its arrival in sweat pants & t-shirts, lazy clothes that are soft as they bundle up in blankets that are even softer, a mess of limbs & locks, at home & in love.