It was sunny and cold, one of the first days in a while that the promise of spring seemed almost tangible. Jonghyun walked hand in hand with his wife, laughing as his son and daughter ran ahead, racing each other to the playground.
“Be careful!” his wife called, but her warning was unheeded. “Kids,” she smiled, leaning her head on Jonghyun’s shoulder.
“Kids,” Jonghyun agreed, leaning his head atop hers.
As if on cue, another child ran past them on the walkway, followed by a young man with bleached blonde hair. “I’m going to get you,” he cried, picking up the child and spinning him around before setting him back on his feet.
The child giggled, jumping up and down, his dark hair gleaming in the sun. “Daddy! Again!”
His father smiled but shook his head. “Tai! Don’t you want to play on the slide?” The little boy turned around and then dashed in the direction of the play equipment. The boy’s father straightened up, shooting a friendly smile in Jonghyun’s direction. “Kids,” he commented, shaking his head good-naturedly.
Jonghyun nodded politely in greeting. “How old is he?”
“Two,” the blonde male answered. “Do you have any children?”
Jonghyun chuckled. “Do we ever - four year old twins; a boy and a girl.”
The other man chuckled as well. “You definitely have your hands full,” he laughed. “I’m Taemin, by the way.”
The brunette’s eyes widened. “Taemin? Do you remember me?”
Taemin squinted for a moment, cocking his head to the side as he studied the man in front of him. Suddenly, his entire adolescence came flooding back.
Taemin reluctantly opened his eyes, not wanting to disturb the tranquility which had settled over where he lay in the grass. He rolled onto his side, the leaves tickling as he watched his best friend sleeping.
“I can feel you staring at me,” the other boy murmured.
Taemin’s cheeks coloured a light pink, embarrassed at being caught. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied, lying flat on his back with his hands behind his head. “Don’t flatter yourself, Jonghyun.”
Jonghyun chuckled, a lazy smile spreading across his face. “Are you denying our obvious attraction?” he teased, entangling their fingers together and puckering his lips.
Taemin took one look at him and laughed, the sound bubbling up and past his lips. “You caught me,” he chortled, pushing the brunette back to the ground.
They lay there for a few moments of silence, enjoying the sun in their faces. Taemin was the first to break the silence. “Jjong?”
Jonghyun looked over at him, surprised by his uncharacteristically solemn tone. “What’s up?”
Taemin sat up, gazing at the playground before them. When he finally spoke, it was unfiltered, simply an innocent thought. “We’ll always be friends, won’t we? We’ll never forget?” His words lingered in the space between them, heavy with emotion.
Jonghyun considered the boy beside him, his eyes wide and vulnerable as he waited for an answer. “Always,” he answered easily, assuredly. “How can I forget you?” He wrapped an arm around the other’s shoulders, squeezing him gently.
Taemin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, letting his head fall back against the brunette’s shoulder. “Promise?”
Jonghyun smiled gently at his friend - no, brother. “Promise.”
Taemin, now twenty three years of age, gazed quietly at the grown man in front of him. His hair was shorter than he remembered, now resembling more of a military cut than anything, and his jaw was more prominent, having lost the chubbiness of childhood. Upon first glance it was difficult to believe it was the same person, save for the familiar twinkle in his eye and the smile that had brightened more than one cloudy day. The same smile that had accompanied their oath so many years ago.
“Jonghyun?”
Jonghyun’s wife looked between the two, thoroughly confused. “Have we met before?” she cut in, arching an eyebrow.
Jonghyun tore his gaze away from Taemin to respond. “Sora, this is Taemin, my best friend from high school.” He looked back at Taemin, formally addressing him. “Taemin, this is my wife, Sora.”
Taemin extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Taemin!” came another voice.
Said male whirled around, finding himself in front of a very pregnant, youthful woman. His eyes warmed, leading her by the hand as she waddled to the other couple. “Ava, this is Jonghyun, my best friend from middle school, and his wife, Sora.”
Ava’s eyes crinkled up pleasantly, recognizing the name. “So this is Jonghyun!” she enthused, shaking their hands. “I’m Ava.”
Jonghyun returned the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Tae, I think I walked too far; I need to sit down.” She gestured to her distended belly for emphasis. “I think he forgets that not everyone has as much energy as him,” she explained, jokingly, to Jonghyun.
“Taemin!” Jonghyun called, having just chased his friend for at least four blocks. “Tae!” The call came out as more of a pant this time.
“Yes?” a voice chirped, appearing out of nowhere. Its owner gazed down at the figure collapsed on the grass, letting out a giggle as the form twitched and was still. “You’re so dramatic! That wasn’t even far!”
Jonghyun glanced upwards, too tired to let out more than an annoyed huff of air. “Easy for you to say.”
Taemin sat down beside the other teenager, stretching out his long limbs on the grass. “Yes, it is easy for me to say. I exercise once in awhile.” He looked pointedly at Jonghyun, poking his cheek to emphasize his point. “Exercise. Ever heard of that? It’s spelled E-X-E-”
“Okay, I get it,” Jonghyun interrupted, sighing in defeat. “You win. Happy?”
Taemin grinned impishly, his eyes crinkling into little crescents. “Yes.” He stood up, offering a hand to his fallen friend.
The latter cautiously accepted the help, struggling to his feet. “Why are we getting up?”
Taemin shrugged, blowing a stray hair out of his eyes. “Because you need exercise.” Without another word, he ran away, and Jonghyun was left with no choice but to chase him.
Jonghyun shook his head fondly, returning to the present. “It’s no problem,” he assured Ava. “We have to get going as well.”
Taemin clapped him on the shoulder. “It was really nice seeing you.” He spoke softly, looking like he wanted to say something more but decided against it. He gave him a last smile, shy and almost wistful, before they parted ways for the final time.

I'm...not satisfied with this at all, but for some reason it just won't cooperate and so this is the crap that resulted.

sorry.