Requested by CallMeUmma | On2min love triangle.

Taemin watched his two best friends have their daily squabble from where he sat at the booth of the café. Minho and Onew had insisted on treating their dongsaeng to some sweets and coffee after his first day of university. Now they were both at the counter, staring down into the glass case of pastries and arguing over which Taemin liked more.

What Taemin found funny was that they hadn’t even asked him, and if he were being honest, he wasn’t even in the mood for something sweet. But he saw how excited they both had been when he agreed to let them treat him for the day. After all, they always tried to, and Taemin would never let them out of politeness.

After a few more minutes, when they were both exasperated from their quarrel and the girl behind the counter was getting impatient, they finally placed their order. As they made their way back to the booth with their purchases, Minho held a smirk on his lips and Onew flashed a beaming smile.

They both sat down in front of him, baring their gifts.

Minho handed the drink he held in his hand over first, a charismatic grin crossing his face. “Here, I got you a pumpkin spice cappuccino. You love those, right?”

Taemin took the drink, smiling. “Thank you, hyung.”

Onew went next, nearly dropping the frosted pastry face down. He looked flustered, but recovered after a second. “I know you like cherries, so I got you a cherry filled pastry.”

Taemin laughed lightly at his hyung’s clumsiness, and took the treat. “Ah, thanks, hyung.”

He didn’t tell them that he actually hated pumpkin spice flavored things, and it wasn’t cherries that he liked, it was strawberries. But he smiled anyways and took them, grateful that they did such a thing. He truly was touched by his gestures.

“Thank you, hyungs. I’m so glad I have you guys to support me on my first day of university. It’s kind of scary, and stressful already.” He sighed, wrapping his lips around the straw of the drink, taking a small sip.

“No problem, Taebaby.” Minho responded smoothly.

“Yeah, no problem, Tae – wait, what?” Onew turned his usually kind eyes to glare at the younger, who winked in return.

Taemin just watched the two, eyebrows furrowing. “What’s going on with you two?”

Onew flushed a bright red, and Minho froze for a second. “What do you mean?”

Taemin pouted, tilting his head and resting his chin on his propped up hand, taking a bite of the pastry and slowly chewing before swallowing. “You two are acting weird. I mean, you guys have always been kind of weird together, but now it’s like there’s some kind of competition or bet between the two of you. What is it?”

Minho once again spoke up first, handling the confusion easily. “It’s nothing, Tae. We just want to make sure you’re happy on your first day. You said you’re already stressed though, right?” A nod from Taemin. “Then I’ll take you to the fair in town. You’ve said you wanted to go, and it’s the last weekend. So what do you say?”

Taemin smiled, excited for the trip to the fair. He hadn’t had the chance to go since he had been too busy preparing for university. “Okay, Minho-hyung.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the eldest frowning. “Onew-hyung, what’s wrong?”

Onew looked crestfallen and disappointed, and Taemin wasn’t sure why. It was odd to see his usually happy hyung look so gloomy. Onew finally spilled out some words, mumbling. “I was going to ask you to go with me, but you can go with Minho since he asked first.

The youngest boy’s eyes squinted in confusion. “Why can’t we all go together?”

Minho was quick to speak up. “Because we just can’t.”

Taemin frowned, “Yes we can. If Onew hyung can’t  go, then I don’t want to either. It’s unfair for us to have fun without him.”

A defeated look crossed Minho’s features and he sighed. In contrast, Onew perked up, looking like an excited puppy or a kid on Christmas morning.

“Fine, he can go.”

~

The thirty minute car ride to the fair was extremely award, and Taemin felt as if he was going to suffocate from the tension. Sparing a glance to his left, he sees a frustrated Minho clutching the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles are turning white, and when he looks in the rear view mirror, he sees a silently fuming Onew.

Minho had refused to let him sit in the back seat along with his oldest hyung for some reason, and insisted that he sit up front with him. He felt bad leaving Onew alone in the backseat, but Minho had pulled a rare case of aegyo that won him over.

He heaved a quiet sigh of relief as the pulled into the gravel parking lot of the fair, and grinned at the sight in front of him. There were rides galore, game stations, and food stands littering the large park. It was packed with people of all ages, and looked as fun as Taemin had imagined it being.

The car pulled to stop in a parking space, and before the engine was shut off he was unbuckled and out of the car, bounding for the ticket booth. Onew was quick to follow suit,  leaving Minho behind to lock the car and stomp after them.

Once at the booth, Taemin reached to pull out his wallet, but a warm on his wrist stopped him. He glanced up to see a grinning Onew, who had his own wallet out already. “I got it, Taeminnie.”

“But-“ he tried to protest, but the bills were already being handed over to the guy behind the register and was being pulled through the entrance of the fair.

Before he knew what was going on, they were halfway across the park with no sign of Minho behind them. He tugged his hand away from Onew’s grasp, halting for a moment, “Hyung, we left Minho behind. Let’s go find him.“ he suggested, because he knew that Minho would be even angrier than before now.

Onew paused as well and looked back at him, disappointment evident on his face. “Taemin, I know we’re both your best friends, but you never spend any alone time with me. Let’s just take one ride on the ferris wheel, and then you’ll be all his, okay?”

Taemin couldn’t say no to that. After all, he loved ferris wheels.

~

They were talking and laughing comfortably as the ride circled around to the top. It was nice hanging out with Onew like this. Onew had been right; they really never hung out alone together, and it was nice for a change. His hyung had a charming humor to him that Taemin had never really noticed before.

Just as their cart reached the very top, it halted, and Taemin giggled happily. “Ah, we got to stop at the top! This is perfect.”

“Yeah, it really is.” The softness of Onew’s tone startled him, and he turned to see the man gazing at him in a way that reminded him of those romance movies, like The Notebook. Onew then blushed, looking down at his hands that gripped the bar of their cart, and continued to speak.

“You know, I’ve had this huge crush on you since high school. God, I felt like such a e or something.. I mean, I was a graduating senior and you were a freshman, but you were so adorable and I just felt this need to make sure you were okay, no matter what. I’ve held back because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but Minho recently confessed that he likes you too, and I can’t let you just go waltzing into his arms. So, what do you think about.. you and me?” he drawled out, eyes traveling from his hands to a gaping Taemin, who had the world’s most shocked look on his face.

“Minho likes me?” he finally squeaked as the cart began to lower toward the ground. Onew’s face fell, and he frowned. He opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly there was a loud, “Yah! Onew, you sly bastard!”

Both boys looked down to see a red faced Minho, who was glaring with flaming eyes at Onew. He stood there at the bottom of the ride until the cart reached the ground, and the two exited as the bar lifted.

Onew was the first to speak, looking depressed. “Sorry for taking off like that. You two can go have fun, I’ll see you later.” He then turned and walked away before Taemin could come up with something to say.

He didn’t mean to seem like he was brushing the elder aside; he had just been too shocked to process the words coming from his mouth.

Then Minho was pulling him along just like Onew had before, tugging him towards the game stations. “Come on, I’ll win you the biggest plushie they have.”

Taemin sighed in response as they neared a game that required knocking bottles over with plastic balls. “I don’t know, hyung. Onew-hyung seemed really upset, and it’s my fault. H-he told me that he liked me, and asked me out.. I didn’t get to respond, and he thinks I rejected him.”

Minho’s grip on his hand tightened for a split second before releasing completely. The older male whipped around, brows furrowed. “He did what? You aren’t going to say yes, are you?” he questioned, stepping closer to Taemin.

Taemin’s eyes fell to the ground, as if pretending to focus on something interesting. “I-I don’t know. He told me about.. you, too. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Minho’s eyes widened and then softened, “He told you how I felt?” Nod. “Ah, he really is sly, isn’t he?” he chuckled, surprisingly calm about the situation. “Yeah, I do like you. A lot. I have for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realize it until last year when Kai asked you out. I was so jealous, remember? I didn’t even speak to you for a week, until you called crying that he was with that Kyungsoo guy. I was going to confess to you then, but I was so afraid that I’d hurt you like that, too, so.. I just let it go. Until today.”

Taemin stared up at him with clouded eyes and parted lips, once again unsure of what to say. This was all too much for one day. “I just – I don’t know what to do now, hyung.” He sighed, feeling like he wanted to cry due to the stress of the situation.

“I know what you should do.. Even if it kills me.” Minho murmured, and Taemin tilted his head in curiosity.

“What?” he asked, genuinely curious of what was going on in his hyung’s mind.

“Onew loves you. I was there when he told Key about it, and the look on his face when he talks about you is just full of adoration. I know you like him too, by the way you two were up in that ferris wheel, and he can take care of you better than I’ll ever be able to. He needs you, too. I don’t know if you know, but he was in a slump before he met you. You brightened his world up. So, go.. Talk to him before it’s too late.”

Taemin stood there processing that information for a second before clearing his throat and nodding in understanding. “Okay. Thank you so much, hyung.” He flashed a brilliant smile before throwing his arms around the elder in a quick hug. Then he turned and ran in the direction that Onew had disappeared off to, chasing after the remains of a relationship he just nearly lost.

~

Minho watched from the rear view mirror as he drove, suppressing the urge to break down as the scene of Taemin and Onew cuddling in the back and whispering sweet nothings unfolded in front of him.  He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned his eyes back to the dark road ahead of him, that seemed much like his emotions at the moment.

He had made the best choice for his dongsaeng’s future and heart, because hurting the dear boy would have been inevitable if they were together. He was harsh, had a short temper, and said mean things sometimes.

Taemin accepted all of this of course, and had seen it plenty of times over the course of their friendship, but it would never lead to a healthy relationship. Instead, he had watched Onew care for Taemin every second of the day, never leaving his side. Even when the Kai incident occurred, it had been Onew that coaxed Taemin into cheering up with his sangtae. Minho had merely stood by, offering his condolences in the heat of his jealously.

So that is why he would let the love of his life go into the arms of another man; he couldn’t bear to be the reason behind the tears on Taemin’s face. Instead, he would be the reason Taemin has a smile on his face as he is held by Onew.

 That would be enough for him.