It was official - the worst Halloween ever had finally come. Rain was coming down in buckets; huge, fat, fast globs of liquid slamming against the ground like little fists. The rain hitting the warm ground had made a thick blanket of mist hovering a couple feet in the air, and thunder rumbled long and deep as lightning frequently lit up the sky in bursts of white-hot light. The worst part was, it was a new moon. Whenever there wasn't a burst of lightning, everything outside was pitch black, and all that could be perceived was the constant echoing drum of raindrops on the pavement. It was the most horribly cliché Halloween night one could imagine.

And Lee Taemin was terrified. Fully decked out in fleece onigiri pajamas, he was curled up into a ball on the couch, coccooned in blankets and surrounded by heaping piles of colorful candy. His eyes were wide with terror as he sat rigidly watching Michael Myer's Halloween movie. Taemin flinched as Myers advanced on his own sister, and whimpered when the poor girl was stabbed in the stomach. He slowly slid to the floor, hiding behind the coffee table as the girl crawled, bleeding and screaming, away from the killer. He delivered the final blow just as a huge clap of thunder sounded. Taemin jumped a foot into the air and came down hard. , he burrowed under the blankets, shaking.

Twenty minutes later...

Taemin was under the coffee table, surrounded by candy wrappers and a protective barrier of couch cushions between him and the TV. On the screen, a couple was getting it on in the old Myers house. Taemin squinted his eyes and blushed, turning away awkwardly. Cautiously, he turned back to watch, only to see the guy get stabbed to a wall. Taemin screamed and spasmed under the coffee table, hitting his head on the hard edge. Tears sprung to his eyes - and not just because of the pain.
 

Thunder sounded again, and a single tear rolled down Taemin's cheek.

"That's it!" he wailed, scrambling out from under the table and bolting to the hotel door. Fumbling with the doorknob, he finally got the door open and ran down the hallway like he had hell on his heels. Room 666.

"Great." Taemin used his key on the door and silently let himself in. He tiptoed over to the bed and bit his lip, staring at the back of the bed's occupant. Lightning flashed outside the window and Taemin cried out, crawling quickly under the bedcovers.

***

Minho awoke with a start. Something cold was pressed up against his belly, and he flinched away. "What the hell?" he thought groggily, rubbing the cold spot. He froze as he noticed a lump under the covers on the left side of the bed. Slowly, he pulled back the sheets and met a pair of warm brown eyes, round with fear.

"Taeminnie?" he mumbled. "Is that you?" Minho pulled off the rest of the covers to reveal a trembling Taemin, curled up in the fetal position. His eyes went wide. "What happened? Are you okay?" Taemin's lower lip quivered as he responded.

The faintest of whispers: "I'm scared."

Minho's heart melted as he stared into those big brown eyes. "Oh, Taemin," he murmured. He beckoned with his arms. "Come here." Sniffling, Taemin reached out and lunged into Minho's welcoming embrace. Minho wrapped his arms around Taemin, who buried his head in Minho's neck and clung to him for dear life.

"Minnie, you're freezing!" Minho gasped, pulling him in even closer in an effort to try to warm him up.

"Mianhe, hyung," Taemin said quietly into Minho's shoulder. Minho soothingly rubbed Taemin's back in circles.

"You don't need to apologize," he said, closing his eyes and listening to Taemin's heartbeat. Gradually, it began to slow down.

Taemin relaxed, melting into Minho's chest. He yawned wearily and snuggled closer. Minho gently traced Taemin's jawline from his ear down to his mouth with the back of his thumb. Taemin sighed contentedly and leaned his face into Minho's palm. Smiling softly, Minho rested his chin on the top of Taemin's head, gazing out the window at the falling rain.

"Are you ready to go back now?" he asked quietly after a while. Taemin's breath hitched and his grip on Minho's shirt tightened. He looked up to face Minho with a pained look in his eyes. "Alone?" he questioned dejectedly.

Minho gently untangled himself from Taemin and got off the bed, looking back to see him with a hurt look on his face, eyes threatening to fill with tears again. Minho extended his hand and Taemin's expression instantly brightened.

"Of course not," Minho retorted, smiling warmly. Taemin let out a small grin as he took Minho's hand in his own, sliding off the bed. Taemin intertwined their fingers as Minho led them out and down the hallway, stepping into Taemin's room and closing the door behind them. A scream came from the other end of the room, and they whipped around to see Halloween still playing on TV. Taemin whimpered and cowered behind Minho, clutching the back of his shirt with his free hand.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here." Minho walked over to the couch and promptly shut the TV off with the remote. Taemin grimaced apologetically.

"I should've done that an hour ago," he muttered. Minho chuckled and mussed up Taemin's hair.

"Well, if you're all right now, I can-" Minho nodded towards the door. Taemin's eyes flew open.

"No!" he shouted, instantly blushing after doing do. "Um, I mean, maybe I'm still a little scared...you could stay? If you want," Taemin mumbled, staring at the ground and shuffling his feet. Minho grinned and took both of Taemin's hands.

"I was never planning on leaving." Taemin looked up, eyes glittering as he smiled. Minho yawned.

"But I'm really tired," he whined, releasing one hand so he could cover his mouth as he yawned again. "Let's go to bed." Taemin nodded in agreement, but stopped as he looked over to his bed.

"Uh, it's gotten really cold and all my heavy blankets are over there," he said slowly, looking over at the heap of sweat-soaked, candy wrapper-covered blankets under the coffee table. He wrinkled his nose, looking back at Minho, who just shrugged.

"No problem. I'll keep you warm," he said, winking. Taemin blushed and giggled at the same time as he led them over to the bed. They crawled under the remaining sheets and Taemin cuddled up against Minho, who draped his right arm over Taemin protectively. They snuggled up as close as possible, and soon their body heat served as a source of warmth.

Taemin moved his head back to look at Minho, eyes closed with his head resting on the pillow. A flash of lightning lit up the room and illuminated Minho's face. He looks like an angel, Taemin thought fondly, not scared by the lightning at all anymore.

"Minho," he whispered. Minho's eyes opened, and Taemin leaned in to gently press his lips to Minho's. Minho cupped Taemin's face in his hand and closed his eyes. Softly, Taemin broke the kiss.

"Saranghae," they said in unison. Taemin smiled and Minho pulled him close.

Taemin and Minho slept soundly for the rest of the night.

And for the first Halloween night, Taemin did not have a single nightmare.

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