Alright, this is going to be the first of four posts.  So even though this may be a little short…you are getting a lot all at once so I hope that you enjoy it.  Especially since I am typing this up at work because my brain just literally will not focus on lesson planning for even a moment longer even though I probably shouldn’t be but with my current computer issues…I really don’t want to have to hand write everything and then type it all back up again later. 

Anyway – I hope you enjoy.

#69 – Celebration

Taemin slammed his hands over his ears as he bolted through campus, his messenger bang banging around near his hip as he dodged around joyous college co-eds.

UCLA had apparently just won some huge sports tournament. 

Not that Taemin really cared.  To be honest, the only sport he really paid attention to was soccer…and he came to America, the land that soccer forgot.

Taemin really didn’t care about the sport and was just a little too old; especially in compassion to his classmates, to be willing to take any excuse for a party that was given to him. 

It seemed like all of UCLA had exploded while Taemin had been in the library researching a paper for a philosophy class.  A car with music pouring out of it sped past blaring its horn while partially clad and fully inebriated students hung out of the windows. 

Taemin rolled his eyes and jammed his fingers even further into his ears; of all the days to forget his mp3 player at home. 

Taemin glanced up and down the street and darted off to the other side, twirling around yet another group of screaming frat boys. 

Taemin had made it a few blocks away from campus before he felt it was safe enough to dislodge his fingers from his ears.  The soft cartilage was rather sore and tender now and Taemin winced as he removed his fingers. 

Taemin looked around, as though suddenly a sorority girl was going to burst out of nowhere and start hanging off of him, but when nothing happened Taemin just shook his head, laughing at himself before heading home. 

Taemin didn’t understand the culture of college in America, though he suspected that he was just too old for it.  In actual age and maturity he was years beyond his classmates and couldn’t loose himself in the mindless “adventures” that they had.

He wasn’t some searching teenager whose life was still governed by their parent’s pocketbook.  He hadn’t lived under his parents thumb for many years. 

He wasn’t trying to “find himself.”  He knew damn well who he was thank you very much; he just wanted to better himself.  He didn’t want to be some has-been idol that makes a living off of their old name and image.  He wasn’t Taemin the maknae anymore.  He was Lee Taemin.  He had a life, a lover, and a future to be working towards. 

This celebration in the streets wasn’t of any interest to him. 

Besides he had his own reasons to celebrate.

Taemin unlocked his apartment and went through the usual routine of shoes, bathroom, feed the cat and feed himself.  He checked the time and smirked, before booting up his computer, waiting impatiently for the aging model to finally load the Skype program. 

He smiled happily when he saw that Kibum was already online. 

“Minnie!” Kibum cried out and Taemin’s smile crept wider, seeing a lopsided cone hat adoring the man’s head.

“Happy birthday to you,” Taemin began to sing. 

“Happy birthday to you. To Kibum whom I love, happy birthday to you.”  Taemin’s voice had been gentle, the exact opposite of the revelers outside, some of whom seemed to have finally located Taemin’s street if the escalating noise from outside was any indication.  But just because his reverence was quiet did not mean his celebration was any less grand.

There was something beautiful about the simple song, sung between lovers thousands of miles apart.  The way that they gazed at each other, as though the entire world disappeared, was one filled with such love that anyone would be lucky to be on the receiving end of it just once.  To have someone look at you with that level of single minded, happy devotion would be enough to make most people cry.

And that was enough to celebrate for them. 

No grand gestures needed, no expensive gift (though Taemin had paid through the nose to have flowers delivered later in the day), just two men and a simple song.

It was the best party either of them had ever been to.