fic: Fall Into Place (Aron/Minhyun, PG)
Fall Into Place
NU'EST, Aron/Minhyun, PG, 1000 words
The realization is, as are most of the important realizations in life, terribly innocuous.
Minhyun wakes up as everyone else is stirring. He bypasses the bathroom where he knows Minki is dutifully washing his face, dodging the elbows of Jonghyun who wants a bit of the mirror. He doesn't need to look into the other room to know that Dongho is still trying for those last few minutes of sleep.
Minhyun finds Aaron standing against the counter, his back to Minhyun, clad only in duck print boxers (a gift from a fan that Aaron found hilarious) and a thin white t-shirt. His hair's a mess, still curly from the styling the day before because he'd been too tired to take a shower when they got home just before sunrise. Minhyun follows the knobs at the top of his spine to his shoulders and down to his waist, the expanse of his thigh visible beneath his boxers, the trail of his leg hair ending in bony ankles and flat feet. A rush of something wells up in his chest and for a moment, watching as Aaron stirs his coffee, Minhyun can't breathe, suffocated by a feeling that's both strange and familiar.
Whatever it is, it propels Minhyun forward until his chest is pressed flush against Aaron's back. He hooks his chin over Aaron's shoulder and watches him stir cream into his black coffee. When Aaron is satisfied, he taps the spoon on the edge of the mug and sets it aside on a napkin, but he doesn't pick up his coffee. Instead he cranes his neck until he's looking at Minhyun, the edge of his classes digging into Minhyun's face. "Good morning," he says.
"Good morning, hyung."
Aaron smiles at this. He told them to drop the honorific at first, but that was a losing battle. It's not exactly a pet name- especially when it's used in the form of "Hyung, I'm going to punch you if you keep leaving your shoes in the living room"- but when used correctly it can cause Aaron to go soft in the face with affection.
"Gross," Dongho says through a jaw-cracking yawn as he enters the room. "Stop macking on each other in the kitchen."
"Don't be jealous," Aaron hums in that kind of awkward, just-woke-up Korean. He pushes his back into Minhyun, creating some space between them so he can turn to look at Dongho, finally taking a sip of his coffee. It must be cold at this point.
"You caught me," Dongho says. This leads to a tickle fight because everything with Dongho ends in a tickle fight and Minhyun slips away, grabbing a banana as he heads back to the bedroom.
It doesn't him until much later, when organizing his t-shirts and he sits up so quickly that he bangs his head on the open drawer above him. Minhyun, at that awkward angle, with offensive morning breath, would've kissed him right then and there. "Huh," he says out loud.
They have some downtime a few nights later. They're preparing for their trip to Los Angeles and everyone is tired, even more than they're used to it at this point. It feels a little strange to be up at midnight and not practicing. Aaron seems a little restless, fidgeting in his seat for awhile before he stands up suddenly.
"I'm going to the store, anyone want to join?"
Minhyun looks up from his iPad to shake his head and Aaron shrugs, heading out the door. When he turns back, everyone is staring at him.
"Are you dumb?" Jonghyun asks.
"What?"
"He wanted you to come with him."
"That was totally your cue. Go get your man," Minki says from where he's sprawled out on the floor in front of the television. His eye roll is practically audible.
Minhyun gapes a little, but Dongho shoots him an exaggerated grin and a thumbs up. Was it his cue? He's always been a little slow on the uptake. He thinks about the way he kept catching Aaron's eye earlier. He'd wondered if Aaron was watching him. It turns out he had been.
In his rush to leave Minhyun forgets his shoes and he has to go back inside to get them. When he emerges from their building, fumbling to pull his hood up over his cap, Aaron is loitering by the door. "Oh, hey," he says, with the false sort of casualness that confirms for Minhyun that he was waiting for him.
They fall into step, the back of their hands brushing as they walk. Aaron doesn't say anything, but even before they make the first turn Minhyun knows exactly where they're going. A few blocks away from their dorm is a park, filled with children during the day but deserted during the odd hours they've kept since training began.
This park has been the setting for a lot of NU'EST's most pivotal moments- the stories Minhyun has heard about the first three of them bonding over terrible basketball playing, the time he and Jonghyun discussed comics on top of the monkey bars for three hours, Dongho finding Aaron on the verge of tears his second week in because he missed home. And now it's where Minhyun receives his first kiss.
Under the yellow glow of the street lamps, the residual heat of a late summer day giving way to a cool breeze, Aaron kisses him. He pulls back quickly, gauging Minhyun's reaction with a look that's half hopeful, half expectant and, frankly, kind of dumb. To his credit, Minhyun doesn't even blush under the scrutiny.
From there, it's easy. Or at least it's easier than Minhyun expected, to tip his head down and meet Aaron's lips, to lick into his mouth and to be pulled in by Aaron's firm grip on his waist. His own hands trail up Aaron's shoulders until he reaches the base of his jaw, where he faintly registers the beat of Aaron's pulse underneath his thumbs.
They have probably five more minutes before they'll receive a phone call from their manager wondering where they're at. Minhyun intends to use it wisely.
----
My third attempt at my exchange fic and not exactly what I was aiming for, but I ended up being fairly happy with it anyway.
NU'EST, Aron/Minhyun, PG, 1000 words
The realization is, as are most of the important realizations in life, terribly innocuous.
Minhyun wakes up as everyone else is stirring. He bypasses the bathroom where he knows Minki is dutifully washing his face, dodging the elbows of Jonghyun who wants a bit of the mirror. He doesn't need to look into the other room to know that Dongho is still trying for those last few minutes of sleep.
Minhyun finds Aaron standing against the counter, his back to Minhyun, clad only in duck print boxers (a gift from a fan that Aaron found hilarious) and a thin white t-shirt. His hair's a mess, still curly from the styling the day before because he'd been too tired to take a shower when they got home just before sunrise. Minhyun follows the knobs at the top of his spine to his shoulders and down to his waist, the expanse of his thigh visible beneath his boxers, the trail of his leg hair ending in bony ankles and flat feet. A rush of something wells up in his chest and for a moment, watching as Aaron stirs his coffee, Minhyun can't breathe, suffocated by a feeling that's both strange and familiar.
Whatever it is, it propels Minhyun forward until his chest is pressed flush against Aaron's back. He hooks his chin over Aaron's shoulder and watches him stir cream into his black coffee. When Aaron is satisfied, he taps the spoon on the edge of the mug and sets it aside on a napkin, but he doesn't pick up his coffee. Instead he cranes his neck until he's looking at Minhyun, the edge of his classes digging into Minhyun's face. "Good morning," he says.
"Good morning, hyung."
Aaron smiles at this. He told them to drop the honorific at first, but that was a losing battle. It's not exactly a pet name- especially when it's used in the form of "Hyung, I'm going to punch you if you keep leaving your shoes in the living room"- but when used correctly it can cause Aaron to go soft in the face with affection.
"Gross," Dongho says through a jaw-cracking yawn as he enters the room. "Stop macking on each other in the kitchen."
"Don't be jealous," Aaron hums in that kind of awkward, just-woke-up Korean. He pushes his back into Minhyun, creating some space between them so he can turn to look at Dongho, finally taking a sip of his coffee. It must be cold at this point.
"You caught me," Dongho says. This leads to a tickle fight because everything with Dongho ends in a tickle fight and Minhyun slips away, grabbing a banana as he heads back to the bedroom.
It doesn't him until much later, when organizing his t-shirts and he sits up so quickly that he bangs his head on the open drawer above him. Minhyun, at that awkward angle, with offensive morning breath, would've kissed him right then and there. "Huh," he says out loud.
They have some downtime a few nights later. They're preparing for their trip to Los Angeles and everyone is tired, even more than they're used to it at this point. It feels a little strange to be up at midnight and not practicing. Aaron seems a little restless, fidgeting in his seat for awhile before he stands up suddenly.
"I'm going to the store, anyone want to join?"
Minhyun looks up from his iPad to shake his head and Aaron shrugs, heading out the door. When he turns back, everyone is staring at him.
"Are you dumb?" Jonghyun asks.
"What?"
"He wanted you to come with him."
"That was totally your cue. Go get your man," Minki says from where he's sprawled out on the floor in front of the television. His eye roll is practically audible.
Minhyun gapes a little, but Dongho shoots him an exaggerated grin and a thumbs up. Was it his cue? He's always been a little slow on the uptake. He thinks about the way he kept catching Aaron's eye earlier. He'd wondered if Aaron was watching him. It turns out he had been.
In his rush to leave Minhyun forgets his shoes and he has to go back inside to get them. When he emerges from their building, fumbling to pull his hood up over his cap, Aaron is loitering by the door. "Oh, hey," he says, with the false sort of casualness that confirms for Minhyun that he was waiting for him.
They fall into step, the back of their hands brushing as they walk. Aaron doesn't say anything, but even before they make the first turn Minhyun knows exactly where they're going. A few blocks away from their dorm is a park, filled with children during the day but deserted during the odd hours they've kept since training began.
This park has been the setting for a lot of NU'EST's most pivotal moments- the stories Minhyun has heard about the first three of them bonding over terrible basketball playing, the time he and Jonghyun discussed comics on top of the monkey bars for three hours, Dongho finding Aaron on the verge of tears his second week in because he missed home. And now it's where Minhyun receives his first kiss.
Under the yellow glow of the street lamps, the residual heat of a late summer day giving way to a cool breeze, Aaron kisses him. He pulls back quickly, gauging Minhyun's reaction with a look that's half hopeful, half expectant and, frankly, kind of dumb. To his credit, Minhyun doesn't even blush under the scrutiny.
From there, it's easy. Or at least it's easier than Minhyun expected, to tip his head down and meet Aaron's lips, to lick into his mouth and to be pulled in by Aaron's firm grip on his waist. His own hands trail up Aaron's shoulders until he reaches the base of his jaw, where he faintly registers the beat of Aaron's pulse underneath his thumbs.
They have probably five more minutes before they'll receive a phone call from their manager wondering where they're at. Minhyun intends to use it wisely.
----
My third attempt at my exchange fic and not exactly what I was aiming for, but I ended up being fairly happy with it anyway.