Squickz
Summary: taemin learns an overly sweet vocal remedy from jonghyun, all the while juggling some unusual feelings for his hyung.
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"Aren't you going to put some water in there, hyung?"
Taemin watches as Jonghyun squeezes several large globs of honey into the glass mug, filling the bottom up about a half an inch. The older boy chuckles without shifting his gaze from the task at hand. "Nope. Straight up honey, Taeminnie." Jonghyun shakes the mug a few times before placing it in the microwave, punching in 40 seconds and hitting start.
Taemin reaches up and gingerly touches his throat. He'd pushed a little too hard in vocal practice earlier that day, and now his throat feels scratchy and grainy, and beyond uncomfortable.
Jinki had given him a pretty long, monotonous lecture about how he was taking on his mentor's bad vocal habits of attacking his lines and growling out his notes instead of loving on them, of sliding into them and milking them – basically, he was singing too much like Jonghyun instead of singing like their leader.
But out of the two, Jonghyun had been the one to assume the role of Taemin's personal coach, working tirelessly with Taemin in and out of the studio. On multiple occasions, Jonghyun had hung out in Taemin's room, running lines with him until the wee hours of the morning, making sure the maknae was comfortable with each and every sung note. The late nights and Jonghyun's eagerness to help had led to unexpected bonding between the two, giving Taemin an uncharacteristically intimate chance to get to know his elder bandmate.
And quite frankly, by this point, Taemin has developed quite the crush on the elder boy. Aside from learning the dynamics of singing, the sessions with Jonghyun have given him a chance to experience first hand his hyung's passion for his craft, his perseverance, his deep love for what he does musically, leading Taemin to develop a newfound respect for the older boy.
Jonghyun's tendency to be so touchy with him was no help either. Resting his hand on his thigh during interviews. Gently pinching the skin on his side, right there in front of the cameras. Committing so fully to every reprise of their now famous fanservice moment onstage. Overall, Taemin isn't sure how to take all of Jonghyun's flirty antics, so he just gives it back, sometimes admittedly enjoying the attention. Unsure if the sentiment he feels gazing into Jonghyun's squinted, amused eyes is supposed to be there in the first place...
The obnoxious ping of the microwave jolts Taemin out of his daydreaming. He watches Jonghyun pop open the door and use a spoon to stir the now melted honey. Jonghyun looks so simple in his grey v-neck, his bulging arms straining against the tight sleeves, his nipples peeking shyly through the thin fabric. Taemin smirks discretely, taking the moment to appreciate the rareness of Jonghyun's simplicity, since SM keeps them embellished any time they're in public.
He decides he likes seeing his hyung like this. Simple, stripped. Normal.
Jonghyun walks slowly towards him, lips pursed in concentration as he continues to swish the honey. Without looking up at Taemin, he addresses the maknae with that teacherly voice he tends to take on whenever they're talking about singing. "Okay so, this is something one of my vocal coaches taught me. Any time you have a scratchy throat, you sip straight up honey. See how it's like...really melted and stuff? Like the consistency is, kinda like water or something?"
Taemin nods, stifling a chuckle at how inarticulate Jonghyun can be sometimes. For some bizarre reason, he finds the verbal clumsiness cute as all hell.
Jonghyun seems totally oblivious, completely focused on the mug of honey. "When you drink it like this, it gets into every nook and cranny of your throat. Then once it dries, the coating ends up protecting the sensitive spots in your throat. So...here. Use the spoon to sip it – it's too hot to drink all at once."
