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The tale of how I came to love Taemin

"It's... blonde." Was Minho's only response to the younger boy who had pranced into his room, doing a twirl and asking how he looked.
Taemin rolled his eyes. "And it was black yesterday, thank you for noticing."
"Whatever," Minho turned back to his book in an attempt to seem notchalant, "looks good."
"Hmmm the style is a bit odd but I don't think it's bad I guess..." Minho peeked over his book to see that Taemin was now in front of the mirror playing around with his hair.
Minho watched him in awe of how the younger could go from the cutest man on the planet to the iest. His solo debut had brought out a whole other side of him and Minho was finding it a little hard to deal with.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Taemin demanded, whirling back around to face Minho. Minho blushed at being caught and thanked god that he was holding his book high enought to cover his cheeks.
"It's the middle part isn't it? It's looks weird right?" Taemin had turned back to his reflection and was now fretting.
"No, as I said, it looks good."

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Minho walked into the room he shared with the youngest of the band to find him sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest, crying.
It was May 20th 2008, SHINee were to debut in 5 days on SBS. Everyone was nervous, and scared of being a flop. Even Onew, the most carefree of the lot of them, had beem fretting ever since their debut date had been announced.
To see Taemin like this was still a shock though; the youngest had been keeping everyone's spirits high, never showing even a tiny amount of worry or hesistation.
Clearly he'd been trying very hard to hold it together.
Minho walked over and sat next to the boy and began to rub circles on his back in an attempt to comfort him.
Taemin jumped slightly, and then looked up.
"Oh Minho, sorry, I fell over, I'm just being a sulk" he gave a small chuckled and attempted to smile and Minho felt his heart hurt. Why wouldn't Taemin just admit that things were hard for him? 
"Taemin, it's okay to be feeling overwhelmed." Minho's stern words seemed to startle Taemin but he continued on anyway, "you don't have to bare all the weight of everyone else's stress."
Taemin vigurously shook his head, "No no no, I'm fine."
Minho scowled at the younger boy but said nothing for a minute, the room filled only with the sound of Taemin's quiet sniffing whilst Minho thought.
"Okay Tae," Minho startled the younger yet again, "I'll make a deal with you." Upon hearing that, Taemin stared at him with wide, unsure eyes. Neither of them were adults, Minho himself only being 17, but at 15 Taemin seemed to be almost a baby.
"I'll pretend I don't know you're feeling stressed, I'll let you put on a brave face and I won't tell any of the other members about finding you crying," Taemin's eyes had brightened but he looked unsure, waiting for the catch.
"But, I wnat you to tell me when you don't feel so great. Let me help you out or at least keep you company, I don't want you to cry alone like this." 
There was a silence, neither spoke and Taemin just stared at the ground.
Finally, he looked up and met Minho's gaze; "alright, deal."

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"Okay..." Taemin trailed off, obviously thinking over Minho's words. After a moment he spun back around to look at Minho, "okay, but like, how good do I look? On a scale of one to ten."
Minho sighed, "Taemin, stop fishing for compliments, I said you look good, let it go."
At his words Taemin pouted, " I just value your opinion and want your honest one..."
Minho hated that pout, it was his number one weakness. Well, Taemin was his number one weakness really... 'you look like a 1000000 out of 10 but if I say that you'll either think I'm lying or get freaked out' he though.
"Is this really just about your appearance or are you nervous?" Minho asked, putting his book down on the bedside table so that he was looking directly at the younger.
Taemin walked over and laid down next to him, completely unaware of the effect that his close proximity had on the rapper.

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It was Hello Baby in 2010 that Minho finally realised his feelings. Minho wasn't exactly sure what it was that made him notice that his feelings were beyond friendship; maybe having a child around brought things into a clearer light.
Whatever it was, Minho went from thinking he just really cared for the boy he had come so attached to, to realising that his care extended beyond the realms of friendship.
"Minho, why do you think Yoogeun doesn't like me?" Taemin had asked one day in a rare moment away from the cameras. 
"I don't know Tae, kids think in strange ways," Minho responded without looking up from his phone.
"But he likes you so much, why doesn't he like me then?" Minho was startled by the question; he hadn't thought that Taemin had really minded that much about the whole thing. Minho put his phone away and looked directly at the younger.
"Does this really bother you?"
"Yes, I so thought he'd like me..." Taemin looked dejected and Minho wished he could wipe it away.
"He probably likes you but he's probably uncertain about you; it may just be that he doesn't know how to act around you," Minho told Taemin in an attempt to comfort him. Taemin just pouted.
"But all the tests to see who he likes best-" "Tae," Minho cut him off, "they're so contrived, don't forget that this also a reality TV show, try not to let it get to you too much."
Both sat there in silence for a bit, Taemin seemingly mulling over all that Minho had said and Minho patiently waiting for his response.
Finally, Taemin cracked a smile; "you're right, even we're not acting normal, I mean think about that play we acted out!"
Minho's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "what about it?"
"I would have actually believed you wanted to kiss me if I didn't know you better!" Taemin laughed, "you should go into acting!"

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"Honestly, it's a bit of both." Taemin was staring at the ceiling as he responded and Minho took in his side profile. The blonde really did look good and his longer tousled hair worked well.
"Nerves are normal Tae, just don't let them get the better of you."
Taemin was silence for a minute then he sighed.
"What?" Minho asked.
"It's just..." Taemin trailed off, seemingly trying to choose his words carefully.
"If I'm a disappointment I don't just let me down but I put a stain on the whole of SHINee too..."
Minho scoffed, "no way will the rest of us get pulled down by you Taemin! We're too good for that!"
Taemin cracked a smile at that, a small laugh escaping his lips and rustling his hair, "well that IS true..."

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"It's so...long..." Upon hearing Minho's words Taemin let out a distressed wail.
"I knew it! I look like a girl! It's a terrible look!"
Minho was shocked by the outbreak; Taemin had had almost the exact same hair in Lucifer and had shown no complaints, why the issue with it now, 4 years later?
It was 2012 and SHINee were preparing for their next comeback; Sherlock. As part of that comeback Taemin's new look was long hair much like in his Lucifer image, but this time the Maknae wasn't so keen on it seemed..
"Tae, Tae, Tae, Calm down!" Minho said, holding the boy (who'd begun to pace in distress) by the shoulders and making him look him in the eyes.
Taemin's eyes were wide with distress and his bottom lip jutted out. "Taemin, what is the issue?"
"I don't want to look stupid for our comeback!" He wailed.
"You don't look stupid, you look much like you did for Lucifer, did you think it looked stupid then?" Minho spoke slowly, trying to get the maknae to think clearly.
But the maknae just wailed; "I don't know!" 
Minho sighed, still holding the maknae's shoulders but at a loss as to what else to do. For a while he just stood there, watching Taemin melt down.
Then finally he snapped.
"LEE TAEMIN WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" The sudden outburst shocked Taemin out of his tantrum and suddenly he stood very still, scared of Minho's strong reaction.
"YOU LOOK GOOD IN EVERY LOOK THAT THEY GIVE YOU, IMAGINE ME OR JONGHYUN OR ONEW OR EVEN KEY WITH LONG HAIR! WE'D LOOK AWFUL! YOU LOOK GOOD! SO UNLESS THIS IS ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE, YOU'D BETTER JUST TIE YOUR HAIR UP
IF IT'S ANNOYING YOU AND DEAL WITH IT!"
Silence enveloped the room, no sound but Minho's heavy breathing, his yelling having taken the breath from him. 
As the silence dragged on Minho began to feel bad; he'd never yelled at Taemin before and it hadn't really been necessary. Sure, Taemin was being stupid but it wasn't anything THAT bad...
Then Taemin cracked a smile, "thanks Minho, I feel better now." 
And then he hugged the rapper.

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"Plus, we've all had solo activities at one time or another," Minho pointed out.
"Mmmmmm, true." Taemin nodded.
They both lay in silence for a while. Minho tried not to think too much about how close Taemin was or about how good he looked.
'Wait, why is he still so dressed up anyway?' it suddenly struck Minho.
Before he could persue the thought though, Taemin spoke.
"Were you ever nervous?"
It took Minho a minute to work out what Taemin meant, "you mean when I acted?"
Taemin simply nodded.
Minho thought for a moment and then shrugged, "I think I was nervous about being bad but I never thought I'd be a burden to SHINee."
"You were good." Taemin responded simply.
Minho blushed, thanking god that Taemin was still staring at the ceiling.

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"Hey Minho, I'm going to get a drink, want something?" Sulli asked, snapping Minho out of his thoughts. Minho looked up at her, slightly dazed, "uh.. sorry, what was that?"
Sulli smiled and sat down next to Minho, "what's up?"
Minho was shocked by the question, "nothing, why?"
Sulli raised an eyebrow, "you don't seem like nothing is wrong. Sure, you're doing a great job on set but the moment we have a break it's like you're on another planet, always frowning."
It was August 2012 and Minho was acting for only the second time, the first being earlier that year. Nothing paticularly special about that really; he'd now been an idol for years and SHINee was quite popular, going into acting was a fairly noral next step.
His reason for going into acting was probably not the same as many though.
"I just have a lot on my mind I guess, sorry."
Sulli gave him a warm smile, "it's not an issue, I just thought you might want to talk about it."
Minho was silent for a time, not sure whether to tell Sulli what was on his mind. He liked Sulli, she was nice and friendly and caring but he had no way of knowing if she was truly trust worthy.
"Is it because you like Taemin?"
Minho felt his heart stop at the question; how was it possible for her to know that? He'd never told anyone!
The fear must have been apparent in Minho's face because Sulli reached across and squeezed his hand, "sorry, didn't mean to freak you out. I'm not going to tell anyone, don't worry."
"How did you know?" Sulli smiled, "woman's intuition, I kind of got the feeling when the rest of SHINee visited the other day, just the way you interacted with him and even the way you talk about him, I could tell."
Minho groaned, putting his head in his hands. "Anything else that visit brought to light?"
He heard Sulli hesitate at the question and looked up to see that she looked wary, "what? What is it?" Minho could not think what else could have possibly come to light.
"I think..."she looked apologetic and that worried Minho. 
"You think what?"
After a moment's more hesistation Sulli finally told him.
"I think Key has worked it out too."
Minho groaned and put his head back in his hands, hoping that maybe he'd never have to face the world again.

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"I'm glad Kai is in it with me" Taemin suddenly said. The blush faded from Minho's cheeks, replaced by a scowl. 
"Yeah, must be nice." Minho tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice but even he heard the bitter edge to his words. Fortunately for him, Taemin didn't notice.
"I owed it to him anyway, we've been friends for so long and he's had to work so much harder than me but I've gotten so much further, I had to do something to show how grateful I am that he's my friend."
Minho frowned upon hearing this, this time not entirely from jealousy.
"I don't think you've worked any less hard Tae, debuting first doesn't mean you worked less hard, if anything it means you've worked harder!"
Taemin was silent for a while.
"I guess so..." was his eventual reply.
Minho huffed, "not 'I guess so', it's 'I know so'!"
Taemin looked at him and rolled his eyes, "don't be cheesey."
Minho's only response was to poke his tongue out at the younger boy to which he could only roll his eyes once again.
"Anyway, I am glad he's featured on my album, it kind of makes it feel a bit more special in a way." Taemin said, looking back at the ceiling.
Minho's only response was to scowl again.

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Minho had never liked Kai. For a long time he didn't really know what it was about the boy that he disliked but as time went by, Minho realised that his dislike stemmed from jealousy.
Taemin and Kai had been friends since before Minho really knew Taemin and Minho hated that. The tanned boy had an upperhand on him in that way it made him angry.
Not only that but Taemin and Kai did so much skinship, hanging off each other all the time and constantly touching somehow.
Minho hated it.
Minho also hated the fact that he was jealous; he prided himself on being very levelheaded when it came to feelings.
Well, he had until he realised he liked Taemin. Then levelheaded had ceased to exist...
It was early 2014 when Taemin had bounded into his and Minho's shared bedroom, his face a picture of pure excitement.
"GUESS WHAT!" He exclaimed to Minho after slamming the door open, nearly scaring Minho to death.
"Jesus Taemin! What?!"
"KAI IS GOING TO FEATURE ON MY ALBUM!" Luckily Taemin was way too excited to notice the angry scowl that came across Minho's face at the news. 'I'm rapper, why can't I be on your album instead of that stupid exo member' Minho thought to himself.
"That's great Taemin." Minho said, trying to sound enthusiastic but failing miserably.
"I KNOW! IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!" Taemin exclaimed and then, as suddenly as he'd come, Taemin bounded back out of the room.
The moment he left, Minho began to scowl again. Who did Kai think he was?! Stupid , being on Taemin's solo album! Minho was seething, why did KAI have to exist anyway?!
"ing Exo dancer, get away from Taemin you " Minho muttered to himself.

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"You know," Taemin spoke slowly, as if deciding whether or not he really wanted to say what he was about to. "I originally asked for you to do the rap in 'pretty boy'."
"Huh?" Minho turned to look at the maknae in shock, sure he must have heard wrong.
Taemin turned his head towards Minho and then reeled back a bit when he saw the rapper was already staring at him and went back to looking at the ceiling instead.
"I asked if it could be you but because we're both in SHINee they said no."
Minho's brain was going a million miles an hour, processing this new information and trying to work out what it meant. Taemin's facial features gave nothing away as he stared at the roof, seemingly waiting for Minho to respond.
Minho turned his eyes to the roof, hoping maybe the answers would be up there.
'Taemin had to have known they'd say no, it was fairly obvious, so why bother asking?'
Minho could think of thousands of possibilites but they didn't really make sense. 
'We're friends, maybe that's it?'
'But he's known Kai longer, why ask for you before Kai?'
'He thinks I rap better?'
'Maybe but seems unlikely to push him to bother to ask for you when the answer is clearly going to be no.'
Minho continued to argue with himself, making no progress whilst doing so. He'd almost forgotten that Taemin was lying beside him until he spoke again.
"Minho, what's up?"
Minho turned to look at Taemin, surprised ot find the maknae already looking at him. He studied his face for a moment before finally deciding just to ask.
"Why did you ask for me?"

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"Do you get with Choi Ah Jin? Because she is pretty as!" The maknae exclaimed, hounding Minho the moment he walked in the door. The latest episode of Medical Top Team had just aired on TV and Minho had arrived as it finished.
"Tae, you know I can't tell you." Minho sighed.
"Well, is Oh Yeon-seo single then???" Taemin continued to pester Minho as he tried to escape to bed. He was tired and he didn't feel up to this interrogation right now. Especially not from the maknae he had feelings for.
"I don't know Tae, I'm not interested in her like that."
"Well I might be!" Taemin countered. Minho felt his heart constrict and he wanted to cry. Now was not a good time for Taemin to be saying these things.
"Taemin, off okay?! I don't know, I don't care, I just want to sleep! So just leave me the alone!" Minho didn't mean to snap and he felt guilty anough without the injured and upset look that came over Taemin's face.
He didn't know how to fix it right now though. He just needed to be away. He was tired, his heart hurt, his head hurt, and all he really wanted to do was to cuddle Taemin and fall asleep.
But he couldn't and he was over it.
He heard Key call out to him but he couldn't care right now. He knew Key and the others would comfort Taemin. They'd probably be really pissed at him tomorrow but whatever.
He slammed the door once he reached his room. He stripped off and got into bed, unable to care about washing.
Tears bagan to well up in his eyes, his will to fight his emotions deminished by sleep deprivation.
Until that moment, Minho had thought he was in control of his emotions; that his crush for Taemin was nothing too serious or worrying. That if Taemin got a girlfriend he'd be fine with it.
Now he knew he was wrong he didn't know what to do.
'I have to give up on it. You may like him but he'll never like you. Don't ever forget that.'

That night, Minho cried himself to sleep.

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Taemin studied his face for a minute and then, without saying a word, he pushed himself up so he was hovering above the rapper.
Their faces were only a ruler length apart and all Minho could think about was kissing the younger.
Then Taemin leant down and Minho was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe.
Only a few small centimetres were now between Minho's lips and Taemin's and it took all of his strength not to move his head up and connect their lips.
Taemin was studying his face again, seemingly trying to gauge something but Minho couldn't ponder what as he focused on not kissing th maknae and remebering to breathe.
Then Taemin leant down and kissed him.
The shock rendered Minho frozen, uncertain that what he thought was happening was really happening. 
It was like the world had stopped. 
He couldn't move. 
He wasn't sure he was breathing.
Then he felt Taemin go to move back and suddenly he sprung to life, his hand coming up to the back of Taemin's hair to prevent him from moving away.
And then he kissed the younger boy back.
Taemin's lips were plump and the kiss was gentle. Despite all of the dyeing, his hair felt soft between his fingers.
Minho never wanted this to end.
He felt Taemin smile into the kiss and chuckle softly.
"So you do like me, huh?" Taemin spoke, only briefly breaking the kiss before kissing Minho again.
This time they were both smiling and after a minute they broke apart, Taemin rolling to the side, Minho's arm wrapped around him.
Neither spoke for a moment, just smiling at each other. Then Taemin said, "that's why."
"I wouldn't have been a very good feature, I mean as much as I appreciate kissing you, it hardly makes very good rap." Minho teased.
Taemin rolled his eyes and shoved the rapper, "idiot."
"Idiot you just kissed" Minho countered.
Taemin blushed and Minho squeezed him.
"Hey Tae..."
"Mmmmm?"
Minho took a deep breathe and then took the chance, "will you be my boyfriend?"
Taemin's smile grew larger than Minho had ever before seen it.
"Yes."
And with that Minho leant down and took the younger's lips in his once more.

 

So, that's my 2min one shot.... I had the idea as I was falling asleep one night a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to write it. I'm not a very good writer and I'm not sure I pulled off the concept very well but I tried...

I hope the flashbacks weren't too confusing...

Well, I hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit and here are some 2Min gifs for you:

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Love you all! <3333

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