Author's Note: I was going to wait until tomorrow to edit this, but I decided to finish it quickly. It might have a couple mistakes as a result, but I hope it's alright! ♡

Taemin awoke in the morning to the sound of a door closing – rather loudly, followed by the familiar voice of his boyfriend cursing under his breath. Eyes full of sleep, they didn’t open even when he tried to make them, so he reached up to rub at and clear them instead.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you like that…”

When his eyes finally peeled open, he caught sight of Jongin leaning over the bed, resting a bedtable beside Taemin – and holding some balloons in his hand.

“I got you breakfast in bed,” Jongin explained with a sheepish smile, sitting and tying the balloons to the headboard quickly. Then he turned and grabbed the two forks off the tray. “Well actually, us,” he corrected with a grin, holding one of the forks out for Taemin.

“How..?” Taemin took the fork, frowning as he got a whiff of the food and looked it over. Thick, fluffy pancakes with dark, ripe berries sprinkled over them, with a bowl of whip cream and a silver jar of what must have been syrup alongside them. The food was accompanied by two tall glasses of orange juice, with real slices of orange on the rim. All of it looked too pretty to eat, and Taemin could only wonder where on earth it had all come from.

“Room service,” Jongin explained simply, crawling over to Taemin and giving him an affectionate kiss. “I asked for it for your birthday.”

Oh… Jongin had prepared this for him? The idea made his heart swell. He didn’t even have a chance to thank him though, before Jongin was demanding for him to close his eyes.

“Now what?” Taemin wondered, unable to handle the idea of Jongin doing even more for him.

“Don’t look! Just wait a minute…” Jongin sounded serious, so Taemin kept his eyes shut. There was a moment of silence, which only stretched out longer and longer, periodically interrupted by Jongin grunting quietly to himself. Finally, he announced, “Alright, now you can look.”

Taemin didn’t know what to expect, peeking out and looking for anything new. But… nothing had changed? He looked Jongin over, eyes lingering over the bruise on his face, now dark purple. Nothing else about him was odd though. Then he looked around the room, but nothing had moved there either…

“Look,” Jongin said at last with a laugh, gesturing to the tray. Taemin dropped his gaze to it, and then felt his heart flutter in his chest.

Where the berries had all been placed at random before, one plate of pancakes was now dotted over with them nearer to Taemin – in the form of a (slightly misshapen but hugely endearing) heart.

“You’re so cheesy,” Taemin mumbled, but it felt like his heart was in his throat seeing the sweet gesture.

“I was hoping to do it before you woke up,” Jongin said in return, just a hint of whining in his tone. “But I couldn’t stop the door slamming with the tray in my hands…” Then he moved closer, careful not to bump the table. “I love you,” he added quietly as he stole another kiss.

“I love you too,” Taemin told him in return, sure his cheeks were red hearing Jongin be so sweet and affectionate. “And I love it. I should have a birthday more often…”

This made Jongin laugh out loud, pulling back while Taemin reached for his phone on the nightstand. He needed a picture before he ate, the whole thing too precious not to be saved forever. After snapping a few photos, Taemin was about to put his phone back down when suddenly, it started ringing.

His heart dropped, and his phone nearly did too, as he saw the caller ID. Mom and Dad.

“Does it look that bad on camera?” Jongin wondered, peeking around to see what it was that had Taemin so scared. Then his eyes widened as he saw and understood. To Taemin’s surprise, he held out his hand. “Give it to me. Let me talk to them.”

“I think you’ve taken enough from my family already,” Taemin noted, eyes scanning over Jongin’s bruise again. But Jongin merely shook his head, gently taking the phone himself and answering it.

Please, I can’t handle any more of this… Taemin just wanted to try and forget for a little while, not have things bleed into their holiday even more. He held his breath as he listened to his boyfriend, fearing the worst.

“Hello? Oh, Taemin’s in the bathroom right now,” Jongin lied smoothly. His brow was furrowed, looking cautious as he listened. “Yes, of course… Oh, it’s nothing, really. Ah – here he is.”

Taemin could only wonder what had been said, but judging from Jongin’s tone, things seemed to be… normal. The younger gave encouraging nod as he held out the phone again, Taemin having to trust it as he took it and put it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Happy birthday, baby!” came his mother’s cheerful voice in his ear. With it came a wave of relief – his parents didn’t know. Taesun hadn’t told them.

His brother’s words rang in his ears. You better fix this mess, he had told him when Taemin begged him not to tell their parents. It seemed like Taesun was giving him a chance to right his wrongs. If they broke up, his brother wouldn’t say anything.

But how would Taesun know if they did or not? The man lived a hundred miles away; how far would he be willing to go to spy on them? As far as Taemin was concerned, if he just told Taesun they’d stopped seeing each other, Taesun couldn’t prove otherwise. As long as they were careful…

“Taemin-ah?”

His mother’s voice echoed through his thoughts. “Sorry – bad connection,” he lied quickly, bringing himself back to the present. “Thank you, Mommy.”

“Since when am I your mommy?” the woman replied, sounding surprised. “I thought you were too old for that,” she , though it didn’t sound like she really minded.

They talked for a few minutes, catching up while they had the chance, and then Taemin’s father was taking the call to give him his birthday wishes too. Everything seemed fine – everything would be fine, Taemin told himself. He could keep his family in the dark on all of this.

“Oh – you weren’t fighting with your brother yesterday, were you?” his father asked towards the end.

Taemin’s heart nearly stopped. “W-what?”

“He was in a pretty bad mood when he got home, I wasn’t sure if it was you two bickering about something that caused it.”

It was hard to lie. Taemin had never been able to lie well, but lying to his parents was even harder. They knew him too well… But he had no choice. So he said simply, “He was alright when I saw him.”

“Must have been something else then,” his father responded, not sounding too worried about it. “I’m glad you saw him then, and I hope you come visit us soon too, Taemin-ah.”

“I will,” Taemin promised, though he had no idea when that would be. After this, they said their goodbyes, and then Taemin was hanging up and flopping back onto the bed.

Jongin’s soothing hand quickly found its way to his hair, his head in comfort. “You okay?”

There was so much on Taemin’s mind, but he didn’t want to burden the day with his negative thoughts. So instead, he hugged a pillow for a few moments, and then pulled himself together and sat up, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said resoundingly, trying to convince himself the most. “Let’s eat!”

*

The rest of the morning passed by, smooth as silk. Taemin and Jongin ate (the best pancakes Taemin had ever had), and then got ready to go out to the beach. Although rain was in the forecast, it held off for them, only fluffy white clouds floating by as they headed to the sand. A little hut was renting out parasols there, so Jongin paid for one and carried it down the beach, to a less crowded area. They set up in a quiet spot, unravelling the massive beach towels Jongin had brought for them – Taemin’s a sunny yellow, Jongin’s navy blue. And then he was pitching the parasol, the two lying out on the warm sand.

It was peaceful. They applied their sunscreen and relaxed for a while, surrounded only by the sounds of the waves and beachgoers playing in the distance. Taemin could have fallen asleep, feeling calmer than he’d ever been as he watched the ocean. In fact he nearly did doze off, eyes starting to droop heavily, until he felt Jongin grabbing his hand.

When Taemin peeked over at him, Jongin was smiling. “Do you wanna go in the water?”

Not long after that, Taemin was pretty awake. It was hard to stay drowsy when you were splashing into the cool ocean waves. Or when your already unreasonably attractive boyfriend decided to take off his shirt.

Honestly, the way the material clung to Jongin’s body was distracting enough, but Taemin had thought he could handle it. Jongin evidently couldn’t though, complaining about the feeling and deciding to peel off the shirt altogether. Leaving him with his bare chest and shoulders on full display.

Dear God…

It wasn’t like Taemin never saw him shirtless. Just… normally those were brief moments, and Taemin typically tried to avert his eyes. And he couldn’t exactly just avoid looking at Jongin that much now. Even if Jongin swam in the waves for a moment, as soon as he stood up again it was just… chest.

Taemin’s mind started to wander. What if he just jumped on Jongin right there? That wouldn’t be good. For one thing, it was a little dangerous to do in the water; and also, there were people. The last thing he needed was anyone suspecting anything. He was deeply afraid of word somehow getting back to Taesun – what if someone here knew him? A ridiculous idea, really, but he couldn’t help worrying.

But what if they went back to the hotel? And then Taemin threw Jongin down on the bed and jumped on Jongin there? And then… what? He could kiss the audacity out of Jongin, for starters.

Abruptly, there was water splashing up into his face, and Taemin’s attention snapped back to reality. He was still staring at Jongin, whose hand was now raised from throwing water Taemin’s way, a slight frown wrinkling his nose. “You alright there?”

Taemin nodded slowly, trying not to let his eyes linger on Jongin’s body and looking out towards the ocean again. “Yeah, sorry. I was distracted.”

At this, Jongin waded closer to him. “By what? What’s on your mind, Taem?” He reached for Taemin’s hands, trying to pull him and his gaze back. It had Taemin’s cheeks flushing as he glanced Jongin’s way again, mesmerized for just a second by the glistening drops of water on his pretty (very exposed) skin.

All those times he’d heard priests talking about temptation of the flesh suddenly made so much sense to him.

“You’re just… I mean, your shirt-”

Flustered, Taemin stumbled over his words, and it had Jongin’s frown turning into a grin. “Oh, it’s because of me?” he asked, glancing down at himself casually. Then he dipped into the water – all the way up to his neck – without letting Taemin’s hands go. “Is this better then?”

Taemin had to admit that it was. His skin was hardly visible, too distorted to send his thoughts anywhere inappropriate anyway. “Yeah, but it’s okay. I’ll get used to it.” This made Jongin laugh, pulling on his hands.

“Come down here and kiss me,” he demanded lightly, Taemin sinking down onto his knees. He didn’t oblige Jongin’s second request though, simply glancing over in the direction of the others swimming. They were all far enough that Taemin couldn’t make out their faces from here – Jongin had taken them further than he’d thought – but even so…

Jongin’s hand was coming out of the water to Taemin’s cheek, wet and a little cold. It effectively brought Taemin’s attention back to him yet again, finding Jongin’s gaze soft and dark on him. “No one’s looking at us,” Jongin promised. “No one can see…”

But they had thought that yesterday, and now Taemin got a reminder of how important it was to be careful every time he looked at Jongin’s face. Sensing that Taemin wouldn’t change his mind, Jongin sighed and pouted a little. Then, quite suddenly, his face lit up once more.

“Swim with me,” he said, sounding very much like a man with a plan. Jongin always adopted a certain tone when he had An Idea that he Didn’t Want to Tell Taemin Yet (and Taemin always pretended to be oblivious so Jongin could “surprise” him). This time, however, Taemin shook his head.

“I won’t feel better about it even if we’re out there,” he told Jongin truthfully, suspecting his plan to just go further out in the water.

Unperturbed, Jongin tugged on his hand and started wading deeper anyway. “Trust me,” was all he said in response. Something in his voice made Taemin curious – suggesting that hadn’t been his plan, and making him wonder what was on Jongin’s mind. So he went along with it (albeit a bit reluctantly).

Jongin dragged them out until the water was up to his shoulders (and Taemin’s chin) standing. When he turned, he couldn’t help laughing as he saw how Taemin had become a mere floating head. “I feel like you trust me a little too much sometimes,” he mused.

“I can swim, you know,” Taemin sulked in return, lifting his feet to let himself float. Jongin gave him some fake applause. “Was the plan to bring me out here and tease me, then?”

Jongin snorted. “Not exactly. That was just a bonus. I’m trying to get my kiss…” He let himself swim too, looping around Taemin comfortably and then floating on his back. “Kiss me underwater.”

“Huh?” Taemin was going to protest, but then he thought about it. No one would see them there, he supposed. “But people might think-”

“Who is looking at two guys going underwater and thinking ‘Yeah, they’re definitely kissing’?” Jongin shot at him, a mix of amused and frustrated. “If anything, it’ll look like a contest to see who stays under longest.”

That was true, and a far more logical conclusion. Taemin forgot that most people didn’t assume romance whenever they saw two guys together.

“You want to kiss me underwater?”

“Yes.”

“…Okay.”

Taemin was pretty sure Jongin’s grin was brighter than the sun when he agreed. How much could it hurt if it made Jongin that happy? And anyway, it sounded sort of… romantic. Plus, it was his birthday, he should be allowed to kiss whoever he wanted!

“Perfect. Here, take my hand so I can find you,” Jongin said, reaching for him again under the water and gripping onto Taemin’s hand like a lifeline. “You come up first, so people think-”

“That I lost?” Taemin raised an eyebrow, and Jongin mirrored it before laughing.

“Alright, I’ll come up first then, so you can win our imaginary contest,” Jongin said with a snort. Taemin gave a hum, and Jongin could only laugh again. Then he composed himself. “Let’s go then. Three, two, one-”

They both took a deep breath and plunged under the water, the sounds of the world fading as endless ocean noise filled Taemin’s ears instead. It was so calming, momentarily bringing him back to an old childhood memory of swimming. One kid had had a birthday party, and they had gone to a local public swimming pool. Taemin remembered feeling a little overwhelmed that day – maybe because he had hardly known anyone there – and he had decided to sink to the bottom of the pool and avoid everyone there for as long as he could.

Sitting there, it had felt like the party had disappeared, and all of Taemin’s worries with it. He didn’t have to think about anything, didn’t have to pretend to be comfortable or friendly with anyone. He could have stayed there forever. It was strange, but it was one of his happiest memories, leaving him with an infinite longing to go back to the water.

As he sank towards the ocean floor now, he felt that odd, at-home sensation again. It hit him so hard that for just a moment he forgot about what he was supposed to be doing. Then he felt Jongin’s hand sliding up his arm, his neck, finding his chin and pulling him in by it.

Taemin wanted to open his eyes, but he didn’t need to have the stinging saltwater getting into them. And anyway, not being able to see, only focusing on feeling… it made it more special, he thought. So instead he just waited, puckering his lips until he felt Jongin.

On his first attempt, Jongin managed to kiss his chin, which had Taemin laughing and sending bubbles flying over his head. Reminding himself not to breathe, he adjusted to connect their mouths properly, his own hands seeking out Jongin. As they connected with his bare skin, Taemin tried not to feel flustered, sliding them up to his neck and holding him in place.

At first, the sensation was a little strange. It felt a little surreal, and just a tiny bit stressful as Taemin focused on remembering not to breathe. But it was still good, still Jongin’s warm mouth – and then his warm tongue, forcing Taemin’s lips to part and making its way inside his mouth. This was a rather salty experience, but it also had Taemin trying to float closer for more.

Jongin seemed to have the same idea. In the water, Taemin’s shirt was billowing out around him, and Jongin took advantage of this by sliding a hand up his and pulling him in so their bodies were flush against each other. Thus, disregarding any pretences around public decency and respectability, Taemin followed his boyfriend’s lead. His hands slid down Jongin’s neck, arms wrapping around him properly and letting his grip fall to Jongin’s shoulder blades.

Even underwater, Taemin couldn’t miss the sound Jongin made. Was it Taemin clinging to him that he liked so much, he wondered, or just the suggestiveness of how close their bodies were now? Taemin couldn’t exactly ask, but it drove his thoughts back to their hotel room. If they kept up like this, they were going to have to head back early.

Fortunately (or not), Jongin was soon untangling himself from Taemin, letting him go and floating back to the surface. He must have run out of air, Taemin realized, though he felt fine himself. He waited a few seconds longer, then pushed himself off the bottom and up to the surface as well.

“You’re so disrespectful,” Jongin said as Taemin flipped his hair out of his eyes, rubbing them to get the water away. Taemin frowned innocently, finding Jongin frowning back. “Touching me like that…”

“I barely did anything,” Taemin replied, lower lip jutting out. “You were the one sticking your tongue down my throat…”

At this, Jongin laughed, leaning in but then catching himself last second and moving to Taemin’s ear instead. “And I’ll do it again,” he said, grin audible in his voice. Taemin just shooed him off, splashing him playfully.

“Come on, let’s get out before we get prune-y,” he suggested.

“Is that what you’re worried about?” Jongin teased in return, raising an eyebrow as he pulled back. Taemin splashed him again.

“Yes. And you need to put on more sunscreen if you’re going to go around with no shirt like that,” he added sternly as he started swimming towards shore. He could hear Jongin laughing behind him.

When he got back to their towels, Taemin spent a moment fixing the parasol so they would be back in the shade. After he finished and flopped down on his towel, he spotted Jongin standing over him – holding out the sunscreen.

“Help me out then, if you’re so worried about me.”

Taemin stared at the bottle for a minute, and then slowly lifted his eyes to Jongin’s chest. Help him? As in, slather sunscreen all over his bare skin? That required touching Jongin – again, a lot. It had been fine underwater – it hadn’t felt real then; a safe little world of their own, like their bedroom back home – but now, he felt warm all over at the mere thought.

“Hurry up, I’m getting burned,” Jongin added, shaking the bottle a little.

Trying to breathe normally, Taemin gestured for him to sit. “Turn around then,” he mumbled, figuring his back would be easier and maybe give Taemin a chance to compose himself.

Jongin did as he was told, turning and leaning forward to expose his back fully. Seeing his skin – such a pretty colour, like soft gold – didn’t do much to help soothe Taemin’s mind, but he was at least able to get lost in admiring it. And then came the desire to touch – which he could actually get away with, because it was his current task.

Pouring the cream into his hands, Taemin rubbed it a bit between them to warm it a little, and then pressed one of his hands to Jongin’s back. After he pulled it back, he giggled to himself at the white handprint it had left. He made a second with his other hand, and then started rubbing it in.

Slowly, thoroughly, trying not to miss any spots. His hands glided over Jongin’s spine with ease thanks to the oily liquid, and Taemin worked on massaging it in until the glaring white had faded back to Jongin’s pretty tan. And it wasn’t too bad; the upper back was fine, though he felt a little shy when his hands sunk to the other’s swim shorts. But then there were Jongin’s shoulders…

Something about rubbing his shoulders felt more intimate. Taemin’s hands moved cautiously, but the way Jongin moved oh-so-slightly under his touch – subtle writhes, accompanied by quiet sounds of satisfaction – had Taemin having to try his best not to jerk his hands away. Not to mention the way it felt like he was trying to grab onto Jongin – the same way he often did when they would kiss (and had moments before under the water), and even more so when Jongin was on top of him and getting even more personal-

“Okay, I’m done,” he announced loudly after one last groan from Jongin had his mind going far too far. Jongin turned around to face him, his eyes looking dark, his smile mischievous.

“You still have the front,” the younger noted, leaning back on his hands and letting his arms prop him up. His posture felt oddly like an invitation. Come here. Sit in my lap. Caress my skin…

To Taemin’s surprise though, Jongin suddenly grabbed the sunscreen himself. But – you just said… Taemin’s brow furrowed, but Jongin just put a drop on one finger and promptly smeared it over the apples of Taemin’s cheeks.

“You’re looking a little burned yourself,” Jongin told him casually, leaning in for a moment to rub it in. He was so gentle about it that Taemin couldn’t find it in him to tell him that it wasn’t the sun that was making him so red.

“Thanks,” Taemin mumbled instead, pouring more sunscreen into his own hand so he could start on Jongin’s chest.

Back to those sins of the flesh… Taemin was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe properly, his breaths growing shallow as he tried to focus. This time, there was no safe spot – the front of Jongin’s shoulders was even worse than the back; nothing about touching Jongin’s chest was safe; and possibly worst of all, he found out when he trailed his hand down Jongin’s stomach that his mind immediately started heading lower. For that reason, he couldn’t bring himself to pass Jongin’s belly button before his hand was rushing back up.

“Hey, you missed a spot,” Jongin said, sounding innocent. One look in his eyes told Taemin his tone was a lie, the younger’s gaze dark and unable to hide the smirk behind them. He knew exactly what this was doing to Taemin. “I don’t want a random tan line…”

“D-do it yourself,” Taemin returned weakly, his eyes dropping to his hand again and trying to focus on it more than where he was touching.

To his surprise, Jongin’s hand appeared in his vision, fingers wrapping around Taemin’s wrist and stilling its movements.

“No.”

His voice was almost unfamiliar, deeper and heavier than Taemin had ever heard it, and Taemin found his mouth going dry as he glanced back up again. Jongin looked dangerous, in complete control and entirely fearless. Where had this come from?

(Who was he kidding? Even Taemin had felt the tension building between them with each passing second, but he was trying so hard to keep his thoughts pure.)

It’s almost like… Taemin didn’t allow himself to finish the thought, but it lingered in his mind. And so did the voice of his brother.

He's a demon, Taemin.

No. No, he wasn’t going to believe that. Jongin wasn’t possessed by some dark spirit; Taemin was just being ridiculous. There wasn’t even any proof that that kind of thing really existed. But the sudden thought had Taemin starting to break out of the mood he’d been losing himself in, feeling like he was waking from a reverie. Or hypnosis…

Seeing the intimidation in Taemin’s eyes seemed to feed Jongin more, evidently enjoying how powerless he had made his boyfriend. Then, he started tugging on Taemin’s wrist, pulling it downward. Taemin felt too dazed to properly react, fingertips dragging helplessly along Jongin’s chest, over his abs, and lower…

When the heel of his hand brushed over the top of Jongin’s shorts, Taemin’s eyes widened. It seemed to pull him out of whatever spell Jongin had him under, and he jerked his hand away.

“Jongin, please, we’re in public…”

Blinking, Jongin gave a slight pout and let Taemin go, leaning back once more. “Alright, alright,” he muttered, voice still sounding off. But when Taemin made no move to finish what he’d been doing, it grew higher, whinier, and more like Jongin again. “I’m sorry, Taem. I’ll be good, promise.”

Taemin bit his lip, feeling confused by the whole thing. But his eyes couldn’t miss the way the sunscreen was only half-blended over his skin, and he supposed it wasn’t right to leave it like that. Sighing himself, he took a deep breath and pressed his palm to Jongin’s chest once more.

“You’re really cute, you know that?” Jongin said softly, back to himself it seemed. The darkness still lingered in the back of his eyes, but it was mostly replaced by affection now, mixed with slight amusement. “I’ve really never met anyone so innocent.”

“You say it like it’s a good thing,” Taemin returned under his breath. He had to bite his lip and look away as his hand brushed over one of Jongin’s s, finding it embarrassingly hard and prominent. Was Jongin cold in this sweltering summer heat, or was it… something else? He didn’t dare ask.

“It’s sweet.” A small smile played on Jongin’s lips, and then he gave a half-shrug. “I think it’s cute.”

Taemin was quiet for a moment, pondering over this (and also just trying to be done with his task, tired of how flustered it was making him). When he was finally satisfied – the strip of skin under Jongin’s belly button entirely abandoned – he sat back and tilted his head at the other.

“Then why do you try so hard to ruin it?”

Not anticipating the question, Jongin’s eyebrows raised. Then he laid back, sinking into the dark fluffiness of his towel and throwing an arm over his eyes. It didn’t hide the grin on his lips.

“I guess I just can’t control myself.”

All of a sudden, Taemin was feeling nervous about going back to the hotel tonight.

Author's Note: Things are definitely getting out of control - or are they? For Jongin, they're heading right in the direction he wants them to. But for Taemin? Of course he has to be haunted by the voice of the church (and Taesun), it could never be that simple :)
Another thing Taemin is losing control over is his thoughts - the amount of times his mind wandered in this chapter had me worried that you guys might be annoyed. Sorry 😅 I hope it wasn't too confusing, although Taemin himself is feeling a bit lost too. In this absolutely beautiful place with the darkest cloud hovering over him, with the person he loves most of all who he's afraid to show any of that love to... Not to mention the voices in his head telling him Jongin's basically Satan himself. It's tough for him right now, to say the least. I'd say pray for him, but I don't know if I want to give that side any more support 😭