Sixteen

sixteen

[ Jonghyun ]

The kiss is sweet, and it’s a lot like kissing a girl, but it’s a lot more like kissing Taemin. His lips are soft and his hair is the perfect length for Jonghyun to card his fingers through, pulling Taemin closer by the back of his head.

Surprisingly, it’s not awkward at all. Maybe it’s because they’ve known each other for so long, and maybe it’s because they’ve both wanted this for so long. Either way, they’re content to just stand there and kiss, leaning on their tiptoes over the counter with their knuckles pressing into its hard surface, one hand reaching out for the other. Taemin tastes like peppermint and chocolate; he smells achingly familiar. Dizzy and running on the instinct of this feels good, Jonghyun leans forward further--

The bell above the door jingles and Kai’s voice fills the store. “Hey, I’m sorry for--” He breaks off, watching where Jonghyun and Taemin have broken apart, deer-in-headlights expressions on their faces. “Oh,” Kai says lamely, rubbing the back of his head. His face is red and his body looks like it’s deflating in on itself. “I guess I’ll just....go now.”

He lunges forward to grab his magazine from the counter, then promptly sprints towards the door. There’s another jingling noise, and he’s gone. Jonghyun bites his lip and looks awkwardly at Taemin, who looks just like Jonghyun feels.

“So, um...” Jonghyun begins. “I’m sorry about making it seem like, like I didn’t care. I was stupid; I was just surprised and I didn’t know how good I had it. I don’t care about what other people think. I don’t even care about things like straight or gay at this point. I just want to be with you.”

Taemin smiles, blushing. “You’re forgiven,” he mumbles, his voice light and dreamy. He reaches out for Jonghyun, sliding up onto the counter, and they kiss again for a long time, just happy to be back in each other’s familiar embrace. At some point they meander over to the door, turning the sign firmly to the red CLOSED side so they can press lazy kisses to smooth skin without interruption.

Inside the cool darkness of the store, it’s almost as if they’re isolated from all else. The only things that exist are Jonghyun, Taemin, and the way they steal each other’s breath away, among rows of forgotten harmonies.

Kai doesn’t come back.