hardest of hearts.
HARDEST OF HEARTS.
⇾ tvxq | yunho/changmin
⇾ 1,568 words
⇾ PG
✉ champagne2001
changmin's really just a cranky old wart.
it seems like the only thing that can make him smile is his dog, and it seems like his dog is the only thing he'll kill for.
the first day of spring, changmin rids mandoongi of its hand-knitted dog jumper, fastens its leash around its neck, and takes it to their neighbourhood park. mandoongi tugs excitedly on the leash the moment her paws hit grass, and changmin releases her with one last pat on the head and one last scratch under the chin.
leash in hand, changmin heads over to the vacant bench by a tall, old tree and sits, watching as mandoongi prances around toddlers and shrubs. tugging the sleeves of his cardigan over his hands, changmin pushes his hair out of his eyes and settles down.
before he can, however, he sees a bounding siberian husky make a beeline for mandoongi. eyes narrowing, changmin's ready to get up and intervene should the husky hurt his dog. but mandoongi takes the newcomer in good stride, nipping at the husky's ankles and running under its belly. changmin snorts.
big doesn't always mean better.
as changmin busies himself with picking at loose threads, a shadow looms over him and he glances up. a man about his age takes a seat on the other side of the bench, a leash in hand. changmin's eyes flicker from the man's face to the leash before looking away.
"the maltese yours?" the man asks, voice light and friendly.
"mhm," changmin replies shortly.
"its cute," comes the comment, "never thought it'd be yours."
"yeah, i get that a lot," changmin says, crossing his arms.
much to changmin's relief, the man stops trying to make conversation with him. fifteen minutes later, changmin whistles for mandoongi and they depart, changmin without a look behind his shoulder and mandoongi straining to catch one more glance at her new friend through the crook of changmin's elbow.
---
changmin bumps into the man again two weeks later, much to his dismay.
"hello," the man says, pleasantly.
"oh, it's you," is changmin's reply.
the man gives changmin an amused glance.
a few meters away, mandoongi chases after the husky.
"what's the name of your maltese?"
"mandoongi," changmin answers.
"that's a nice name, mine's taepoong."
changmin nods awkwardly.
suddenly, changmin hears a yelp and a bark, and he scans the park for the dogs.
his eyes are about ready to pop out of his head when he sees a bunch of kids throwing pebbles at the dogs. leaping up, he sprints towards the dogs, the man hot on his heels once he realises what changmin had seen.
"what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" changmin roars, and the kids freeze in fear before scattering.
changmin glowers at their retreating backs, only turning to the dogs when he hears the other man calling him.
"hey, your dog's fine."
changmin's about to say thanks before picking mandoongi up and leaving, but something in the man's voice stops him.
"what happened?" he asks warily.
"i think taepoong was covering mandoongi with his body," the man says, voice shaky. "he's bleeding."
"come on," changmin says immediately, "i'll bring you guys to the vet."
---
mandoongi lies still next to taepoong for the duration of the journey, a ball of white fluff against black. changmin's driving as fast as he possibly can, knuckles white against the steering wheel.
"he'll be fine, don't worry," changmin says, almost absent-mindedly as he takes a sharp left.
there's no reply, and changmin takes his eyes off the road for a second to glance to his right.
"hey," he says, a little softer this time, and he feels eyes on him. "he'll be fine."
the man clears his throat and nods, "thanks, um, mr…?"
"shim changmin," changmin finishes. "and you're welcome. taepoong probably saved mandoongi's life. i owe you at least this much."
"you don't owe me anything. and pleased to meet you, changmin-sshi, i'm yunho, jung yunho."
---
"i told you he'd be fine," changmin says, as yunho carries taepoong out the vet.
yunho laughs, a little tiredly, and he places taepoong into the backseat of the car. closing the door, he leans against it and looks at changmin.
"thank you," he says, and changmin tries to think of a way to tell him he's welcome without being awkward.
"you're welcome," he mumbles, running a hand through his hair.
---
spring passes by, and changmin doesn't see yunho in the park for the rest of the time. mandoongi spends a few minutes every day nosing around the park, looking for taepoong, but always comes running back to changmin, tail between legs.
summer peeks in, and one sunny day, mandoongi finds taepoong beneath the branches of the big tree and runs right into the belly of the husky, yapping in delight.
changmin glances at the bench, and sure enough, yunho's sitting on his side, looking relaxed and cheerful as ever.
"hi," yunho says as changmin walks around the bench.
"hey," changmin replies, settling down. "how's taepoong?"
"he's all recovered," yunho tells him. "i think he missed mandoongi quite a fair bit."
"mandoongi's missed him too," changmin admits, "she's been a little down ever since taepoong got injured."
yunho laughs, the laughter this time clearer and more joyous.
changmin finds himself blushing.
---
the world works in wondrous ways. changmin finds this out when he laughs for the first time with yunho, on a wednesday evening, on the park bench as their dogs race from the tree and back, taepoong a black missile and mandoongi a white bullet.
he shuts up the moment his laughter hits his heart.
yunho glances at him. "you're beautiful when you laugh."
the setting sun casts glowing shadows across their faces, and changmin attempts to hide his face in one.
---
autumn announces its arrival with a gust of wind and orange leaves that mandoongi loves to nibble on. taepoong watches on with curiosity.
"changmin-ah," yunho begins.
changmin looks at the non-existent gap between their bodies and makes a sound of acknowledgement.
"will you let mandoongi go on a date with taepoong?"
"as long as she's happy, yes," changmin replies, feeling a little hot around the collar.
"i think she'll be happy," yunho muses, watching the dogs. "how about you bring her over tomorrow for a movie and a big bowl of dog food?"
changmin bites his lip to keep himself from smiling at the cheesiness of it all.
"i think she'd like that. she doesn't like romance films though."
"i'll keep that in mind," yunho says with a wink.
---
changmin finds himself on yunho's couch the next night, mandoongi sprawled on taepoong's back as the husky bats at a toy.
an animated movie featuring dogs are playing on the flatscreen, and changmin's getting more fidgety by the minute.
"why so nervous?" yunho asks, out of the blue.
changmin swallows. "i don't… usually do this."
"do what?"
"hang out with people. i don't really like having people in my life. i'm really not used to this," he finishes lamely.
yunho places his glass of water down on the table and slides closer to changmin. changmin nearly squeaks.
across the room, mandoongi chews on taepoong's ear.
"there's something stuck in your head and it won't come out of your mouth," yunho whispers, "what is it?"
changmin shakes his head and tries to look away, but yunho won't let him.
yunho inches just a tiny bit closer.
"the day i first saw you, you blew my mind," yunho murmurs, "i've never seen anyone like you."
"i'm just an average person," changmin mumbles, face heating up so fast he thinks he might get heatstroke. "i'm probably worse than the average person, my temper is so bad, apparently -"
"that's what blew my mind," yunho interrupts. "your fire and the possible eruptions of emotions - so tempting."
changmin's throat goes dry.
not a second too soon, yunho's hand is tangled in his hair, and changmin's fighting the urge to lean in.
yunho helps him out by pulling changmin's head towards his and meeting him halfway.
behind changmin and out on the street, the trees shake a few more golden leaves off their branches, and watches them float to the ground.
---
"i'm cold," changmin whines, toes wriggling under the duvet.
"stop whining~" yunho calls from the kitchen, and changmin smells the aroma of hot chocolate. he grins.
taepoong lets out a loud snore, and mandoongi jumps out from under him in shock.
yunho pads into the room, two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in his hands.
"here, you big baby," yunho says, handing changmin the bigger mug and crawling in next to him.
"mm, thank you," changmin says happily, sipping at the warm liquid.
"you better be thanking me," yunho says, wrapping his hands around his mug in an attempt to keep his fingers warm.
changmin chuckles.
yunho gazes at changmin's profile for a while.
"you really should laugh more," yunho says earnestly, "the sheer beauty of it is like god's masterpiece."
the resulting smile knocks yunho off his feet, and he has to scramble to put both his and changmin's mugs aside before kissing the other hard, lips warm and spirits light.
one day the world may implode, and if that happens, i'll be reaching for the stars with you, changmin sings into yunho's heart.
mandoongi curls into taepoong's neck with contentment.
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