THOMINHO

The Last Alpaca

Their fingers touched when they both reached for the last, adorable plush alpaca sitting on the display case. They both felt a shock shoot up their arms and their eyes locked into a stare. The one with black hair narrowed his eyes as his fingers firmly grasped hold of the beige alpaca toy which made the other boy immediately place his hold on it also.

"I touched it first," They blurted out simultaneously and gaped at each other in surprise.

"No, I did," The boy with brown hair insisted, regaining his composure and pulling the alpaca from the other's grip.

"Dude, I am not gonna play a tug-of-war of 'No, I did,' 'No, I did,'" The black-haired boy mimicked what the brown-haired said but in a higher, mocking tone. "I had my eyes on that sucker since I came walking through the door so hand it over, shuckface,"

Thomas, the brown-haired boy, stared at the outstretched palm of the other's and slapped a high five on it. "No, way, my friend's been looking for this alpaca everywhere for her collection and it's a perfect present for her birthday,"

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes and reached for the alpaca, fixedly grasping one of its soft, fuzzy legs. "You're trying to win her over aren't ya. Get her to love you and think of you as her hero who found the last alpaca to complete her little herd."

The tinge of red on Thomas's cheeks confirmed the other boy's accusation which caused a laugh to fly from his mouth. "Well, I still want that alpaca," He tugged on it but Thomas's hand gripped on it tighter and they began pulling it back and forth between them. "Seriously, man, let go. I need this more than you."

Thomas looked at the black-haired boy incredulously and they ceased their tug-of-war when Thomas asked, "Why would you need it more than me?"

A forlorn look suddenly crossed the other boy's face and his gaze hardened as he stared back at Thomas's own questioning gaze. "For...my nuna, older sister," He answered stoically in a quiet voice. "I need it for my sister. She loved alpacas very much and the one I gave her last year is already weathered and old from the elements so I need to replace it,"

Silence settled on them like a thick blanket and Thomas suddenly realized why this guy was referring to his sister in the past tense. She was dead. And when he meant by "the one I gave her last year", he must mean he had left one at her grave.

"Oh, okay," Thomas was at a loss for words and getting the alpaca for Teresa wasn't as appealing as when he first spotted it. Silently, Thomas handed the toy to the other boy and a soft smile brightened his sad face.

"Thank you, uh...?"

"It's Thomas," He replied, nodding a 'you're welcome'.

"Well, the name's Minho, don't wear it out," Minho flashed Thomas another smile and there were impressions on the center of each of his cheeks.

"He has cute dimples," Thomas thought and was taken aback when he realized what he just thought.

"Um, no problem," Thomas could feel the warmth on his cheeks and he kept his gaze anywhere but Minho's dark brown eyes which were staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Anyone ever call you Apple Cheeks cause yours are red like an apple," Minho crossed his, muscled, Thomas noticed, arms with the alpaca held gingerly in one of his hands.