Sometimes Sweetly, Sometimes Achingly

Chapter 7

Taeyong blinked. Was it just him, or did Jaehyun seem shy? "Oh, that's so nice of you. But what if I'm not around to eat them?" He opened a box of cream puffs and popped one into his mouth.

"Well," Jaehyun paused awkwardly. "I guess you'll just have to come more often."

Taeyong tried to convince himself that the reason he broke into an earsplitting smile was because of how good the cream puff tasted and not because of how touched he was by the gesture. Jaehyunnie wants to see me more, he thought giddily. How sweet.)

Another time, during one of the drives to work, Jaehyun had suddenly taken his right hand off the steering wheel and clasped Taeyong's hand in his. Jaehyun didn't say anything the rest of the ride, but judging by the way his ears turned pink, Taeyong knew. So he giggled to himself and chose to look out the window contently while Jaehyun ran his thumb over the veins on Taeyong's hands.

("Are you eating enough?" Jaehyun frowned. "Your hands are so bony."

Taeyong hesitated. He'd always been built small, with narrow shoulders, compact hips, skinny limbs, and, as all his friends loved to remind him, a "nonexistent ass". His face was small and thin as well, with a sharp jawline and only a little fat on his cheeks. No matter how hard he tried, he could never gain muscle like Ten or Yuta.

Jaehyun seemed to sense he'd struck a sensitive subject, so he squeezed Taeyong's hand reassuringly. "It's okay, hyung. You're adorable," he teased.

"You can't call me adorable when I'm older than you!" Taeyong protested, a blush already spreading across his cheeks.)

Then Jaehyun started teaching Taeyong how to drive in his Mercedes, which he regretted about five seconds later.

("Holy shit," Jaehyun swore loudly. "Hyung, please pull over. Pull over right now."

"Awww," Taeyong pouted, but he did so anyway. "Come on, Jaehyunnie. I didn't actually hit that woman!"

Jaehyun shook his head resolutely. "No. Absolutely not. I'm not risking my life, your life, or my car's life by letting you drive."

"Fine," Taeyong grumbled as they got out and switched seats. "I thought it would be useful for me to get my license, though. Then you wouldn't be forced to drive me around all the time."

"Don't be stupid," Jaehyun smiled softly. "You not getting your license means I get to spend more time with you.")

Taeyong's favorite was when they lay down on the living room floor and flipped through Jaehyun's old yearbooks and albums.

("Oh, you're so cute," Taeyong cooed over Jaehyun's high school senior year picture. "Look at those cheeks! Just like Moomin!"

Jaehyun shot him an affronted glare. "Don't you dare think about going there, Kittyong."

"Touché," Taeyong sniffed. He reached for the college album and started leafing through the pages. "Where's Sicheng? I need to see how cute my child used to look."

"Given the fact that Sicheng and I are the same age, I don't feel comfortable with you calling him your child," Jaehyun joked. He pulled the album over and flipped through it until he found what he was looking for. "Here he is: Dong Sicheng, the one and only."

Taeyong snatched the album excitedly. "Awwww, he looks adorable with blonde hair" he squealed.

Suddenly, he noticed the picture below the one of Sicheng. It was of Jaehyun mid-laugh with his arm around a girl. She was pretty, with dyed red hair and a bright smile.

"Hey, Hyunnie," Taeyong prodded Jaehyun to get his attention. "Is this your ex? The one you told me about?"

Jaehyun glanced over. "Hmm? Oh wow. Yeah, that's here. I completely forgot about that picture. I think Johnny took it when we were seniors."