Kitten
Title: Kitten
Genre: fluff, romance
Rating: G
Pairing: 2min
Word Count: 746
Summary: Minho can't help but be distracted.
They're looking for a gift for Jinki.
Or, more precisely, Minho asked Taemin to help him look for a gift for Jinki because he needs help because he's terrible at making decisions. Taemin is even worse at it, but Minho supposes it's better than taking Kibum, who buys everything, or Jonghyun, who claims he breaks out in hives every time he enters a shopping mall.
“What are you thinking of getting him, hyung?” Taemin is half-floating past storefronts, brushing up to frosty windows like a winter butterfly.
Minho is distracted--Taemin always distracts him--but he looks away and forces himself to focus on the throngs of people in the streets. The steady movement clears his brain. “I don't know. I've been putting it off because I didn't know what to get him, and now there's only a week left and I still have nothing.”
Taemin laughs, catching Minho's eye in the glass he's looking at when he turns around. “You always do that. Hey how about some food?”
“For Jinki?” Minho asks, silently cursing his inability to function properly in situations like this one. “It'll go bad before the fourteenth.”
“No, idiot, for us!” Without further warning he catches Minho's hand, pulling him toward a vending machine. “There's banana milk,” he sighs, wistfully staring at the small container behind glass. “I wish I had money.”
It's an automatic reaction for Minho. Regretfully pulling his hand out of Taemin's he fishes out his wallet and feeds enough into the machine for a banana milk. “Shut up, I have enough,” he tells Taemin when he starts to protest.
They continue on then, Taemin quickly abandoning all objections to sip at his (free) favorite drink. He's toeing the line between being childish and sensible these days, and the mixture is painfully intoxicating. At least to Minho.
They're walking past a shop that sells headwear when Taemin announces that what Jinki needs is a hat.
“Really?” Minho asks skeptically. “I've seen him wearing one around...”
Taemin pouts. “Yes, he does. That one is old. Now come on, Minho! Let's go look!”
There's nothing in the store that Jinki would wear. Key, sure. Taemin, yes. Maybe even Jonghyun. Jinki is more straightforward about his clothing, though. Fur and ears and paws are something that he leaves to the others. Despite the fact that there's a distinct aura of being a detour that's surrounding the excursion Minho doesn't say anything, just starts to search through the stacks of hats to give Taemin some time to enjoy it before they continue on. A bit of extra time doing nothing won't hurt him.
“How about this?” Taemin is holding up a hat shaped like a sheep. “Jinki would look cute!”
Minho snorts. “You really think so?”
“Well...”
“He'd look like a fuzzy mushroom.”
Taemin laughs, and Minho starts to feel like maybe he's the fuzzy mushroom, not the hat.
There are racks and walls and shelves of hats, more than anyone should ever need to look through. What was the point of a hat that looks sock you'd find shoved in the back of a drawer? When he turns to show it to Taemin though Minho finds himself face-to-face with the most sinfully cute creature he's ever seen.
He was a kitten. An incredibly cute, soft, auburn hair and fur and full of sweet kitten. Minho was going to die.
“I think you should get this for Jinki,” Taemin says, pulling at one of his kitten ears and causing the hat to slip halfway over one eye.
Minho tries to speak twice before words come out. “Here, give it to me.”
Taemin looks at him quizzically (it was a rather abrupt statement, after all) before handing the hat over. “Really? You're going to buy it for him?”
The ball of fluff residing where Minho's heart should have been thumped loudly. “No, I'm buying it for you. There's no way that I'm going to look at this on Jinki's head after you've worn it.” It's the truth--Taemin's aegyo has overwhelmed the hat. It belongs to him now.
Taemin tries to protest, but it's weak; he's pleased, and it shows on his face through the blush already there.
When they leave the shop Taemin puts the hat on and smiles at Minho, for Minho, because he's happy.
Neither of them remembers to buy Jinki his gift.