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It’s a glass half empty from where I’m standing | band!fic | 753 words | A normal day, in which Onew isn’t very effective as leader. | a/n: Mainly consists of your stereotypical fail!dubu, because he’s my favorite. Also, bits of mightaswellbeleader!minho in there, because he’s my other favorite (no really, they’re tied for first). Just some recreational writing, and also I’ve decided to grow up and change my style, i.e. capitalize things normally.
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Onew panics when Taemin falls down in dance practice and skins his entire knee off. Well, okay, maybe that’s a dramatization, that he’s skinned his entire knee off, but there’s a lot of blood and enough tears to count as a crisis - in fact, Taemin has to take Onew’s hand and squeeze it reassuringly. “Hyung,” he comforts gently, as if he’s not the one bleeding on the floor and that sort of makes Onew ashamed of himself, “stop crying, it’s not that bad.”
Onew tries for a smile and to reassure the magnae, he’s leader after all, but only manages to wail a little when some of Taemin’s blood drips onto Onew’s jeans. Taemin sighs, takes the tissue Key hands him, and wipes up his knee up while Onew wobbles where he crouches. “Huh,” Taemin nonchalantly declares, when the bleeding won’t stop and soaks right through the first tissue, “I guess I won’t be dancing for the rest of today.”
Onew figures that this is the moment where he should take Yunho sunbae’s advice and get all paternal and demanding and say something cool in a really deep voice, like, “You better believe you definitely won’t be dancing for the rest of today, because I say you won’t!” but all he can do is gurgle pathetically when he tries.
Minho steps up for Onew. “Well yeah, duh, Taemin.” he monotones, “Apply pressure, please.”
Taemin scowls a little. “I’m not a baby, I was gonna - ”
“Don’t get an attitude.” Key scoffs (but he’s handing Taemin another tissue and that pretty much ruins the effect), “You grow a few inches and think you’re boss? Not in those shorts, I don’t think so, learn your place.”
“They’re my gym uniform shorts, leave me alone!” Taemin retorts heatedly, scandalized, because they all have been skeptically eyeing the length - or lack thereof - of his shorts, including Taemin, who keeps fingering the edges a bit self consciously. Onew has decided that he’ll make the manager call the school and issue him a new set because that growth spurt and those new miles of legs (but really, who does Taemin think he is? Minho?) aren’t agreeing with his old uniform, and anyway if he weren’t wearing those shorts he wouldn’t be bleeding right now.
That thought yanks Onew back into the situation - in which he’s currently failing as leader - and he sort of feels like he might throw up, or pass out. Or both, which would probably end with him choking to death because that’s what his specialty is, dying, and geez, Onew is sweating like crazy under his armpits and in the palms of his hands because he’s panicking so much.
“T-Taemin.” Onew struggles out faintly. “Oh god, I should get someone, shouldn’t I? The manager? You won’t stop bleeding.”
Jonghyun, at this moment, grabs Onew by his torso and drags him a few feet away from Taemin. “No one wants your spazz and vomit on them, especially while they’re bleeding.” He’s teasing, Onew thinks, but then again, Onew might really vomit from the combination of high strung nerves and the sight of blood.
“Okay, yeah, hyung’s right about that one, I won’t stop bleeding.” Taemin declares lightly, standing and pressing his fourth tissue to his injury, “So I’ll go rinse it off and find someone with some Neosporin and a bandaid. Be right back.”
Key sticks his tongue out, “You grew a few inches and got so mature? It’s sickening, I hope you need stitches.”
Taemin makes an equally childish face at him that all but belies Key’s point, and Minho says, “Yeah, hyung could probably take a page out of Taemin’s book.”
Key screeches, offended. “Are you saying I’m immature?”
“No, he’s saying you’re short.” Jonghyun offers with a smirk.
“Well you’re a bitch.” Key shoots back, “And guess what bitch? You’re shorter than me. So there. Bitch.”
“I thought you were against cuss words in front of the baby?” Jonghyun challenges, gesturing meaningfully at Taemin.
Taemin bristles and starts limping away, calling over his shoulder, “I’m not a baby!”
“You grew a few inches and - ” Key begins, but this is when Onew catches sight of the three bloodied tissues that Taemin has left crumpled on the floor, feels woozy, and throws up on Jonghyun’s shoes.
This causes general alarm, except for Jonghyun, who gets all pissy and upset and storms out of the room to find replacement shoes.
(and later, when it turns out that Taemin actually does need stitches, Key freaks out, but has to stop when Onew vomits in his lap.)