jaeyong ✧ skindeep

Thirty-two

So, here Taeyong and Jaehyun were, sitting in the bleachers of the basketball court, watching as their school team rivaled in the finals. The sound of the skidding of sneakers, ongoing dribbling of the ball and the shouting coming from both teams overwhelmed the large court.

Jaehyun gripped onto the cloth of his jeans, his fingers curled at the eagerness to both win and play.

Both teams continued on strongly in the game, neither side backing down as every point taken was another given by a defensive rebound or steal. Every player dripped with transparent pearls of sweat in exhaustion at the rapidly moving game. The constant running up and down the court, guarding, passing and shooting laced every one with fatigue. The electronic clock plastered on the wall seemed to move faster as the red numbers that illuminated the black background lowered by second, inducing an anxious feeling in both teams simultaneously. 

Ten stood center in the court, his hands drifting from and to the ball as the clock ticked towards it's final seconds. Beads of sweat rolled down the Thai's face, both his hands gripping the ball before quickly jumping up and performing a fadeaway.

The ball unstably hit against the large backboard and then the orange rim of the basket, rolling in a circular motion on the thin line before finally tilting into the netted hoop and the buzzer going off almost immediately after the ball bounced against the court floor, signalling the end of the fourth quarter, the game and the entire basketball season.

The bleachers were filled with loud mixed reactions, depending on who was rooting for what team. The ecstatic cheering from the team mixed in with the overlapping sounds. Jaehyun attempted to suppress his smile with a bite to his lip as Johnny, who was sitting to the left of him, was overestatic that his boyfriend's; Ten's shot had won them the season.

~~~~

All seven boys sat across from each other on either side of the table and cushioned booth. Rather than spending their celebratory dinner with the rest of the basketball team, Ten suggested they leave early and spend the long awaited night together.

They awaited for their food for an extensive amount of time, the female and male waiter eventually returning and setting down all their plates on the wooden table. They continued eating through their muffled laughs and joking, Taeyong leaving the table mid-meal to the bathroom and returning with a sore throat and unnoticed faded red to pink marks on his tanned knuckles.

They stayed for hours in the restaurant, most likely being too much of a noisy nuisance for everyone else present in the building. Not that they really cared.

Donghyuck and Mark, being the youngest, were taken home by Doyoung first. By the time Ten and Johnny were preparing to leave, Taeyong was half asleep on Jaehyun's arm. The brunette softly shook the resting boy, snapping him out of his fatigue state. Taeyong groggily sat up, his left hand rubbed his eyes as they both scooted out of the booth. Jaehyun grabbed his crutches resting by the seats and set the pair under his arms.

~~~~

Heretofore they entered the empty house, Jaehyun's hand stroked Taeyong's head. His lips softly curved in comforting smile before pressing a kiss onto the center of Taeyong's forehead. The raven-haired's body bashfully dwindled, his hand timidly and delicately traveling to Jaehyun's and tightening his slender fingers around the brunette's palm.  

Jaehyun opened the front door. Though he desired for Taeyong to enter first, the older forced him in first as he should sit.

Jaehyun sat down at the marble kitchen island, setting the crutches down leaning in front of him. He paused for few seconds before his eyes drifted to Taeyong and questioned the latter,"Did your stomach hurt at the restaurant or something? You disappeared for a bit."

Taeyong nervously chuckled through a sheepish smile,"It was nothing."

His tone grew slightly concerned; the same tone it's always been when it came to Taeyong's well-being, "Taeyong..."

"No, really. It was nothing. I'm fine."

Maybe doing it in public with Jaehyun present wasn't the best idea but, impulses reminded him that control against it doesn't exactly exist.

"It's close to one a.m., you should go rest now."

"I need to help you up the stairs first."

~~~~

"Goodnight, I love you, Taeyong."

"Goodnight."

The doors of the two separate rooms were closed, leaving the hallway a dark abyss.

Jaehyun's room grew dark, the only lighting being from the moonlight peering through his window. His smile dissipated and mind clouded with the toxic thoughts that came from the action of over-thinking. It wasn't due to Taeyong leaving to the bathroom for a prolonged amount of time. Rather it was an unconsciously more selfish thought but, it was just one he longed to hear.

Nevertheless, through his mind which ran amok, his tired eyes fluttered close before drifting off into a light slumber.

~~~~

"What are you doing?", those words being the first thing Taeyong asked in the morning as Jaehyun was sitting on the living room floor with weights sprawled around him.

The brunette grasped one of the hand weights set beside his leg and set it over his shoulder,"Since I can't work out standing up, I'll just do it sitting down."

Taeyong traveled over to the kitchen, pouring a short glass below the brim with orange juice and walking back to Jaehyun, setting the cup down on the coffee table,"Here."

He sat down across from Jaehyun, his legs crossed as he became enthralled by Jaehyun's attempts. And maybe or maybe not the way his biceps tightened when he moved the weight.

Jaehyun quickly grew bored, falling onto his back only after letting the weight go,"How long has it been since my ankle sprained?"

"Um, two weeks? Almost three."

"And how long do I have to keep the brace on?"

"Seven weeks."

Jaehyun annoyingly fake cried.

"I ordered from that pork belly place you like."

Abruptly, he shut up.

~~~~