Swipe | John(do)il

Top Coat

Johnny sat there biting his nails. Sat where? In his car outside Taeil's house one day later, after possibly witnessing what could have clarified the ending of whatever relationship they were supposed to be in. Stop biting, he told himself, looking down at his index finger which the clear top coat was now chipping off.

He sighed. He had spent the past two hours trying to look even more beautiful than usual to try and sway Taeil in the right direction: his direction. Surely when Doyoung had done whatever to him, he was just thinking of the wrong thing? Because Taeil hadn't said anything since them and the suspense was eating at him from the inside.

Finally, he held his breath and got out of his car. The gentle breeze immediately caught onto his baby blue shirt tucked in a pair of white jeans, and he bit his glossed lips. What if Taeil didn't even bother answering the door?

He shook his head. Don't be so negative. Mustering up the remnants of his courage, he gently knocked on the door and waited. Dammit, what was he going to say again? Why was it that his mind blanked when it really shouldn't?

The door slowly opened, and thankfully it was Taeil there this time, but he looked so tired. His hair was messy, his clothes lazy, and he had no make up on. Not that any of that mattered to Johnny at all. Every version of Taeil was a good version to him now.

Taeil rubbed his eyes. "You took your time," he muttered tiredly, a lack of patience evident in his eyes.

Johnny was taken aback. Had he been waiting for Johnny to arrive? "Sorry if this is sudden..." he apologised calmly, and Taeil just leaned against the doorframe waiting for him to continue. "Can I come in?"

Taeil debated upon letting Johnny, who went completely silent for three torturous days, into his home. Sighing, he stepped to the side. He said nothing but gestured for the taller to walk past.

"Thank you," Johnny said, walked in, and removed his shoes politely. Taeil shut the door behind him and followed him into the living room. As the younger sat conservatively on the edge of the sofa, Taeil took his place just beside the man.

When Johnny folded his hands over his lap quietly, Taeil saw his bitten nail and pursed his lips. He didn't speak as he reached down the side of the sofa and opened a drawer in a cabinet, revealing a nail care set. "Can I have your hand, please?" He asked as he pulled out the file and a clear varnish.

Johnny nodded and lifted his hand, to which Taeil softly held with his delicate fingers and brought down to his comfortable lap. He started filing the rough edges off Johnny's index nail.

Johnny just sat there admiring this caring side of Taeil. His eyes rolled over the older's tired yet ever perfect profile, his long lashes, his plump lips, and pretty much every part of him. "I'm really sorry," he whispered in the silence, a ripple in a still pond.

Taeil put the file away and rubbed the pad of his thumb over the taller's nails before applying a thin layer of varnish. "What for?"

"For being so quiet lately." Johnny loved being pampered by Taeil. Now that he had sorted out Johnny's uneven nail, he went to sorting each nail of his to match the shorter length of the index.

Taeil exhaled. "That's okay," he replied, but Johnny could see the solemnity in his pupils.

"I just wanted to ask... Are you and Doyoung together?" Johnny dared to ask.

At the words, Taeil ceased his manicure and looked up at Johnny. There was a certain look that Taeil would give when he was confused, and it was the face he was offered now; subtly furrowed brows, softly parted lips, gently tilted head. "Why would you think that?"

Johnny retrieved his hand and studied the perfectly painted nails. "The last time I came here, Doyoung said..."

Taeil raised a shaped brow. "What was it?"

Johnny shrugged. "...I'm not entirely sure, but it sounded like you two had... done something."

Taeil paused, his cheeks becoming rosy. "Did it...?"

Johnny turned his body towards the older. "Did you?"

Taeil frantically shook his head. "No! I promise we didn't do anything like that! I just-- n-nothing." He clamped hisbhands over his mouth.

Johnny widened his eyes. So nothing happened? What on Earth was Doyoung on about then? "What is it?"

Taeil bit his lips. "He told me not to say anything, but I guess it can't be helped now..." he took a deep breath in, before announcing, "Doyoung has a crush on you."

Johnny's heart throbbed. "What?"

Taeil nodded. "He told me the other day at the arcade the first time he saw you, saying you were hot. He didn't want us-" he gestured with a painted nail between them "-to get close because he wanted to flirt with you without anything intimate between us. It was weird actually, because when you knocked the other day he sort of tore off his T-shirt and told me to wear it?"

Johnny just blinked in confusion.

Taeil carried on, "Yeah, I know. He told me it's so that I could make you jealous," he said, mumbling the last part, "but to be honest I just think he wanted to be topless in front of you."

Johnny gaped. "No way..."

Taeil smiled, the corners of his lips gently raising up. "So you were jealous of him then? You thought we were a couple?"

Johnny was still trying to process the fact that Doyoung's target was actually Johnny, not Taeil, but when he saw Taeil's smirk, he snapped back into reality. "Huh?"

Taeil scooted closer to Johnny so that his knees on the sofa were pressed against the taller's thigh, his hand holding onto Johnny's bicep. "I'm glad you came today," he said and leaned his head onto his shoulder. "Uninstall Tinder, idiot."

"I will, I promise," he laughed. Johnny bit his lip before turning his head to the older. "And me too."

Sometime between then and when he left five minutes later, they shared a kiss. It was a simple action, but when their lips met in a soft, caring gesture, that was when Taeil knew how far the younger had fallen for him. It was the same both ways, really, because Taeil's reluctance to let him leave was tugging at his heartstrings until they snapped and tied around the other's heart.

"Whatever you do," Taeil had said just before he closed the door. "Please don't fall for Doyoung."

♡~A/N~♡

OooOOOOooooOh any opinions? Any ideas? Concerns? Predictions?

~🍌