Grass Stains
Title: Grass Stains
Author: sehraa
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1400
Prompt: For some reason, I’m trembling today
I think something good will happen…
-Wowowow // SHINee
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and will own nothing, if SM tries to sue me.
(cross posted to shawol_haven )
For some reason, I’m trembling today
I think something good will happen…
-
Taemin lies on sun-warmed grass, content in his indolence as he idly watches clouds passing by. His cloud-gazing is interrupted by a tall figure who casts a long shadow blocking his sunlight. Taemin smiles up at the culprit and gestures lazily at the empty spot.
"What are you doing here?" Minho asks, taking the silent invitation for what it is and lying down beside Taemin. He absentmindedly plucks a stray piece of grass tangled in Taemin's gold-brown hair.
Taemin notes that Minho is close enough to kiss and he laughs a little at the thought, "I'm being." Taemin replies with a smile, "Just being. That's the nicest thing right?"
Minho sighs and Taemin knows he understands, "Yeah." Minho says, "But it's time to go back."
"I don't want to." Taemin says childishly propping himself up on an elbow to pluck out a handful of grass and toss it at Minho's head. Minho's lips tweak in amusement and Taemin has to swallow as Minho's eyes darken at the challenge.
Soon they are engaged in a mini-war, laughing and spitting out bits of green and the odd dandelion, unmindful of mussed up clothes and dirt encrusted fingernails as they roll around like little children in the grass.
"Do you give up?" Minho asks solemnly after managing to wrestle Taemin to the ground and straddle his waist to keep Taemin in place, Taemin tries to glare in return but can only laugh as Minho pokes the ticklish spot at his side.
"N-no." Taemin gasps as he squirms, trying to escape. Minho clamps Taemin's wrists to the ground to stop his struggling, dark round eyes twinkling as Minho full out grins at him. Taemin laughs in Minho's face and Minho is caught off guard at how young Taemin looks at the moment. Child-like and shrugged free of expectations.
"Do you give up?" Minho asks again. It is quiet, the wind playfully mussing up Minho's hair, blades of grass yet unflattened by their rough-housing dancing in the wind. It is peaceful and Taemin thinks he wouldn't mind if they could stay like this forever, and he doesn't ever want to give this up.
"Do you ever get the feeling." Taemin says after a while, "That something good's gonna happen? Not just good, but like, really good?"
"Sometimes." Minho agrees. He doesn't tell Taemin that he feels it everytime he's near the younger boy. Some things are difficult to say.
"Well I just got it." Taemin declares, "And I've decided!"
"Decided what?" Minho plays along.
"That I'm going to find it." Taemin whispers conspiringly, Minho smiles and shifts his weight from his right knee to his left. Digging the top of his feet into the ground to make sure he doesn't actually fall on the smaller boy.
"What makes you so sure," Minho asks, "About that good thing of yours?"
"Because there's a four leaved clover in your hair." Taemin says impulsively. Minho lets go of Taemin's wrists to automatically run a hand through his hair, but Taemin grabs the tiny plant before Minho can shake it off. Taemin sits up, Minho still straddling his lower waist, propping himself on both elbows now that his hands are free.
It is a spur of the moment thing. But Taemin thinks that he'll make up any sort of nonsense if only a time like this will suspend for the both of them so he can enjoy it a little longer.
"There're only three leaves." Minho points out to Taemin's look of triumph, Taemin puffs out his cheeks and very deliberately tears one of the clover's leaves in two.
"That cannot count." Minho says amused as Taemin waves the clover in his face. Minho realises how compromising their position is, probably has realised it for longer than suitable, and knows that their stylists, and probably the rest of the members, will come and look for them soon. And they cannot find them like this.
Misunderstandings and complications will drive them apart and it won't be very fair, since they weren't actually doing anything.
Taemin pouts as Minho crawls off him to stand up and brush himself off. Taemin remains where he is, heels digging into the dirt as he pulls himself up to rest his arms on his knees. Minho shakes his head at the state Taemin is in. Dust coats his clothes and green stains his jeans. Minho knows he can't look much better as he extends a hand to Taemin.
Taemin allows himself to be pulled up and doesn't let go of Minho's hand.
"The noonas are going to kill us." Taemin says as he tries to brush himself off with one hand. Minho looks down at the state of his own clothes and winces.
Minho wonders if his natural charisma teamed with Taemin's cuteness could placate the noonas. Taemin starts walking a direction opposite where the staff were packing up from the filming earlier, dragging Minho along with him.
"Where are we going?" Minho thinks to ask, after allowing himself to be lead to who knows where. Taemin smirks at him with an expression he probably picked up from one of Kibum's bitch faces and Minho's heart skips a beat.
"To find my good thing of course." Taemin says rolling his eyes as if it is obvious and Minho is a little thick in the head. Minho gives him a flat look in return, he's very good at flat looks, and Taemin laughs as he drops the rebellious act. Taemin takes out his phone and texts someone, presumably to let Kibum know where they are. Both of them knew how much nagging they would have to suffer if Taemin didn't.
"Where is that?" Minho asks as they get further away from the others. His cellphone vibrates in his pocket, only to be ignored. It is probably Jinki, worried about their whereabouts. Or Kibum, wanting to know what they wanted for dinner even though Kibum will probably just order in what he wants. Or Jonghyun, demanding to know where they were and why they didn't take him.
"I don't know." Taemin says like it's a good thing, "That's why we're finding it."
They wander around the limited area they can. Talking about everything and nothing. Play an impromptu game of tag which Minho wins easily enough. They get bombarded with texts and calls from the rest of the members. Taemin returns the texts with cheeky ones of his own that he sends through Minho's phone, and imitates recorded messages when he answers their calls. Complete with the beep sound and everything.
They have to go back eventually. Taemin gives the noonas his best puppy eyes as Minho bows appologetically to the noona's indignant squeals when they see the grass stains and the dirt.
"Well really," Kibum sighs as he runs a comb through Taemin's hair, "Good thing we're done filming today. You're a complete mess Taeminnie. You and Minho, what were you doing."
"We were finding my good thing." Taemin explains as Kibum scowls at a particularly stubborn tangle.
"What's a good thing?" Jonghyun asks, playing with Kibum's hair. Jinki pulls out another hairbrush, using it as a mic while Jonghyun grabs a strand of Kibum's hair thoughtfully. Jinki holds the hairbrush to Jonghyun's mouth as Jonghyun begins a running commentary about mites.
"A good thing is..." Taemin stops, blinks. He never really thought about that.
"...Something you know when you find it I guess." Taemin decides finally as Kibum swats blindly at the back of his head with the hairbrush, but hits Jinki instead as Jonghyun pulls his fingers back quickly.
"Ow." Jinki says, rubbing the injured spot with an exageratedly pained look.
Jonghyun starts to laugh until Kibum hits him too.
Taemin catches Minho's eyes and they exchange exasperated looks at their hyungs' antics as Jonghyun pretends to sob into Jinki's neck. Kibum scowls and throws his hairbrush at them.
And maybe, Taemin thinks as Minho drops into the seat next to him and allows Taemin to lean into his side, that maybe he doesn't have to look for the good thing anymore.
Because maybe he's found it a long time ago and didn't know it.
"I think," Taemin says, "That I don't need to look for my good thing anymore."
And Minho presses a soft kiss onto his head and smiles.