STICKY NOTES
「fluff 」
top!jaemin
bottom!renjun
[in which jaemin adores renjun and wants to tell him that, yet only has enough courage to do so by leaving him sticky notes]
requested by: @eccentriq
i noticed you were struggling with the hand dryers in the bathrooms, so i thought i might mention that you need to give them a shove to the side before they actually start fanning.
jaemin pulled the pen up from the pink, luminous sticky note and pressed the end to his perfect, peach-tinted lip. his eyes scanned the message a few times before he nodded satisfactorily and stuck it to the front of his science notebook and gathered his books into his arms to press to his chest; this way he tended to hide them. those silly little notes.
his slender legs almost appeared to glide instead of walk as he exited the empty lab, joining the flowing pulse of students through the halls as they mingled and chatted during their hour-long lunch break. his gaze remained to the floor in hopes of reaching his desired location without any hassle.
people brushed past him, knocking his shoulders unintentionally, but he paid all that no heed. he knew nobody meant him any harm for he was quite an amicable person by nature. eventually he managed to shuffle towards his locker and pressed his forehead to the metal tiredly. tuesday, he thought silently, trying not to let such a stereotypically shitty day get him down. after glancing left and right quietly to make sure he was alone, he pulled his books out from his chest and smiled at the note, peeling it off and rapidly shoving it into the next-locker-over's vent. bingo, he beamed.
the tragic reality of all this was that na jaemin had a massive crush. his locker neighbour had only attended this school for all of three weeks, and the poor blonde had absolutely no confidence to approach him and start a friendship. he'd choked on his words by accident when they 'met' on huang renjun's second day (having been frightened when the boy suddenly tapped his shoulder) and from then on felt hugely embarrassed. it had been a simple 'how do i twist the code in again?' newbie question, and the younger had stupidly muttered 'w-with your fingers'.
obviously, jaemin. well done.
from there had evolved absolutely nothing. they literally stood beside each other to tuck their books away every morning, noon and evening...and yet neither ever actually spoke. the blonde found he really wanted to help the pretty guy out, and had noticed the constant novice mistakes that he made where typically a decent person or friend would help...but he was supposed to be that friend and he wasn't.
so he turned to sticky notes.
every time he noticed renjun fumble at something simple or tricky that their school had merely learned to work around, he wrote down the solution and shoved it into the boy's locker anonymously in hopes of being helpful.
sometimes the chinese student would glance to him with the note in his hand and furrow his brows, as if wanting to ask jaemin had he seen the culprit put it there. fortunately, he never did, and so the younger never really had to lie to him.
it was finally one of those chilled classes midday when the teacher didn't mind too much if the kids chatted or made the work just a bit easier to comprehend. in this case, the geography teacher was a legend. she knew how mind-numbingly boring the formation of a karst landscape could be on a good day, and made something better of. so now, the collection of students were creating posters and mind maps to label while talking casually amongst themselves. awkwardly enough, renjun was in jaemin's team.
"bro, it isn't rocket science," one of the others kept frustratedly describing to his friend who couldn't quite grasp this chapter. "stalagmites jut up from the ground. think of it this way; stalactites are holding onto the ceiling as tight as they can. yeah?"
these helpful explanations were completely lost on the blonde member, however, as he occasionally glanced up from his own depiction of a calcium droplet to watch what renjun was doing quietly on his own. the brunette appeared to be enjoying his own task, and doing a great job of it at that. those enthralling coco eyes flicked from one sketch he made to another, while his adorable cherry-stained lips pouted as he concentrated. god that boy was an angel, and jaemin wasn't sure how much more of this pining he could take.
he just wanted to get over these unusual nerves and talk to him. he wasn't some creepy stalker who watched but didn't act. he was better than that...so he just needed to slap his own cheek and get on with it. it wasn't as though renjun would bite him.
maybe i should try this my way, he started to plan, scrawling notes beside his doodle and smiling softly to himself as his end of the project was almost complete. i may sound like a lovesick teenager doing it, but fuck it, that's exactly what i am.
all he needed to do now was put this idea into motion.
renjun yawned dramatically as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, holding his folders loosely in one arm while twisting his code into his combination lock with his free hand. his eyes watered from the exhausted intake of air, but he blinked it back and pulled the body of the lock down to open it.
inside, everything was pretty much as it should've been. he wasn't a hugely neat nor messy person — just somewhere in the middle where he could exist peacefully with himself. his sights moved from the spines of his textbooks to the little green sticky note stuck lifelessly to the bottom of his private space. at first, when this all began, he was terrified someone was able to infiltrate his locker and steal his stuff...but as time when by he realised that these little pieces of advice were being slotted in through the small vent since they tended to have no grace to their positioning.
"another one, huh?" he murmured, reaching for it after sliding his books away and leaning against the stack of metal doors to glance over it. if he was completely honest, these little things had been a monumental amount of help for him over the past three weeks. all those little things he'd been screwing up had been cleared in his head, and he had the writer of these notes to thank for that. it seemed this time would come soon as well.
this one wasn't a word of advice, but a meeting plan.
if you're comfortable, i'd really like to talk to you in person. please come to the gym after school if you're interested, and if not, then i'll totally understand.
it was freaking adorable. the honest nervousness was so blatantly obvious and this wasn't even a person he was reading, it was a sticky note. his lips curved into a small smile and he didn't mean to chuckle, shaking his head and sticking it inside his journal for safety. sure, he inwardly hummed and wondered who this mysterious guardian angel could've been. a girl? a boy?
the bell went off throughout the packed hallways for the end of lunchtime, but he wasn't disappointed or irritated — it was far too early in the year for that. his shoulders relaxed once he managed to slide his necessary hardbacks out for class without experiencing a paper avalanche. no matter how tidy one kept their locker, the chances of getting buried alive from a slip-up were never zero.
he shifted to move back down the halls and accidentally knocked into the person standing directly beside him, sending the blonde stranger stumbling backwards and gripping onto someone's lock to remain upright.
"oh my god!" the chinese teenager gasped, looking around and wondering where to put his books to sincerely grab his hand to help. but he couldn't, and so he awkwardly clutched them to his chest harder and pursed his lips solemnly. "i really didn't mean to do that. are you okay?" way to make people hate you so soon, dingus. what am i doing?!
"oh, you're absolutely fine," the other chuckled nervously, straightening out his clothes and clearing his throat with a forced cough. "i was spacing out, to be honest."
"yeah, but everyone should be able to use their lockers without getting ploughed down by their neighbour. what's your name?"
"um..." the taller's eyes widened exponentially before he bashfully looked down to his feet and responded with a quiet 'jaemin'.
"jaemin? well, i'm really sorry i bumped into you. i'll be more careful." he's really adorable, renjun thought with pink cheeks — perhaps nearly as fuchsia as the younger's. but not only was he squishable in every aspect, he was beautiful. extremely handsome.
"it's fine. really."
nothing more could be said, but there really felt like there should've been some form of an addition to the conversation. neither wanted to part ways like this without getting to know each other a little better, even if impersonal. but they hadn't a clue where to start, so they simply left it there. after all, neither realised that renjun hadn't even shared his name yet.
"well...bye jaemin," the older bowed respectfully, nearly brushing his fringe off the blonde's chest. as he came up, then he inched forward by accident and gasped. "ah—" don't apologise again like an idiot! "see you soon?"
"of course."
with that the brunette ran off as if in some sort of hurry and left the korean all alone again. jaemin visibly released a long breath he hadn't even realised had been stored in his lungs the whole time. his hands dropped to his sides limply and he leaned sideways against his locker with a faint smile. he spoke to me, was all that ran through his head...and then that subtle 'see you soon' that was passed to him. as he wrapped his hands around his figure protectively and grinned like an idiot, he realised that they actually would see each other sooner than he remembered. fuck, i invited him to meet me after school! now he'll think i'm weird! crap, what if i ditch?....nah, that's too mean. whether he likes me or hates me will merely clear up where my feelings have to go.
hopefully they wouldn't end up in the abyss of emotions that many others before and after his time will and once had to leave behind.
renjun stared listlessly at the chalk bored the entire physics class. his mind wasn't present at all, yet he wasn't concerned. he was intrigued more than anything. one section of his brain was wondering how he'd deal with his advice-giver when he finally met him this evening. what was this rendezvous even about? a confession? a simple 'hey, let's be friends'? he couldn't tell just yet. but that other part of his head was thinking of adorable jaemin; his locker neighbour. he hoped he didn't annoy or offend him...that'd have been painful, and way too soon in his time here.
he didn't want to rub someone like that the wrong way, and instead desired a friendship.
i'm so stupid, he decided, releasing a lengthy sigh and resting his face down and into his folded arms upon the desk. the ticking of the clock seemed to grow louder and louder in his ears while all other sounds appeared to drown out into the background. school would be over soon.
the moment eventually arrived when he had to push all his things into his locker and prepare to go home. there was no sticky note, even though he triple checked. perhaps he'd stop receiving them now that the sender was about to reveal himself once and for all. a wave of butterflies erupted in his chest, though not the romantic kind — contrarily the anxious kind. he needed to calm the hell down as other teenagers could sniff out nervousness like hounds.
repeating the phrase 'i'll be fine, this isn't anything special' in his head over and over tended to satiate the tight sensation in his stomach, but it simply returned once he closed the metal door shut and proceeded to walk towards the gym down the hall. those hazel irises of his darted from one face to another, trying to depict everyone's current emotions in hopes of sensing the person. unsurprisingly, nobody gave away much.
the tapping of his shoes against the floor resounded progressively louder throughout the corridors as he branched away from the crowds heading out through the front and moved into the emptier section of the school. his breath hitched once he reached the double doors to the gym, and he had to close his eyes for a brief moment to relax and pressed his hands to the varnished wood. here we go.
pushing through was borderline exhilarating for no specific reason. perhaps it was knowing that he may make a new friend very shortly, and would finally not be a social drifter seeking the right person.
within the somewhat chilled space was a golden-toned light that seeped in through the large windows along the top of the walls near the ceiling, the setting sun leaking her celestial beams. only one other person was present and his head of platinum blonde hair seemed to shimmer.
his back was turned, perhaps from nervousness as well.
"i'm guessing you're the guardian angel looking over me?" renjun called but not too loudly. just enough to gain the boy's attention. "sending me advice and all?"
when he turned to look back at him, the huge wave of familiarity that swamped the smaller male was like a dose of morphine for some reason. numbing.
"that would be me," the blonde smiled softly, clearly holding it together with how he fumbled with his fingers. "i didn't think i'd have the chance to talk to you before this, so it played out a little differently in my head."
"jaemin..." renjun murmured. before his confusion could scare the younger off, however, he sported a massive grin and looked relieved that they already had a prior conversation to this. "jeez, i was nervous all day for this. why didn't you just tell me earlier?"
"i was scared. i don't know you well, and you don't know me...so i was worried you'd be hesitant to talk to me without a warning."
and yet we both came to speak with trust, the brunette inwardly sighed happily. "you know..." he began, trying to steer the chit-chat to something more comfortable and natural, "you've been really helpful over the past three weeks. your little tips here and there," he pulled the latest sticky note from his pocket, "they've been great. my life is easier."
"really? oh, thank god. i was having heart palpitations thinking you might've found them annoying or something."
"no, not at all," he beamed, allowing his own sleeves to drop over his hands and hide them. he then tucked a few strands of his chocolate hair off his forehead and had an idea to propose. after all, they'd be standing side-by-side at the lockers for the year and being friends could potentially make that a whole lot more fun. "would you..." he thought of a place for a moment, "would you like to chat somewhere? maybe that café on the main street?"
jaemin's cheeks visibly pinkened as he nodded and this alone relaxed renjun. at least both were jittery. "sounds great."
from one little sticky note, a brilliant friendship was formed. the duo had gone from awkward and shy messes to giddy and silly pals. everyday was an adventure it seemed, and each moment brought them closer. renjun's family really liked jaemin, they claimed he brought out the best in their son and his happiness. the na clan were equally as chaotic as their child, so the chinese addition was quite welcome.
it was a sunny saturday afternoon in spring when they both decided to drop by the library together to study for their upcoming geography exam. neither actually cared that much, but it kept their parents off their backs about the test while they got to hang out. hitting two birds with one stone.
"jaem, shhh," renjun giggled as the taller accidentally dropped a book from the other side of the shelf he was standing before. their eyes met through the gap in the wooden structure and the blonde pulled a silly face as if he hadn't just caused the racket. the older couldn't help but chuckle again and pulled a novel out without checking the genre, pretending to open and read the front page to ignore him.
"you have a nice focused face," the taller whispered from across the shelf, making his friend glow like a tomato. not only had jaemin been harbouring that massive crush for five months now, but it had gotten even stronger the better he got to know huang renjun. the only difference this time was; the smaller felt the same. he just hadn't mentioned it yet.
"you're bothering the people in here," the brunette mumbled quietly, even when both knew it was a lie. "go and pick up a geography encyclopaedia or something."
"oh right, like you have?"
they both peered at the book in renjun's grasp and burst into fits of giggles again to find it was an odd story of the love between a man and his car. whoever wrote it was definitely messing around. "psh, more interesting than glaciers though."
"true."
as they tried to calm down and withheld childish laughter, they swiftly grabbed a few books about the five chapters they've had to study for a week now and tossed them onto a table near a window. the pair took their seats opposite each other, not particularly paying much attention to the work at hand, but more so to each other.
they way their reflections shone in one another's eyes was different to how they appeared in mirrors. there was something more...radiant, they supposed. maybe that came from the fact that the other was all both wanted to see.
a few more weeks wandered by, and the time eventually came to celebrate a certain someone's eighteenth birthday. jaemin had specifically asked the huangs to steal renjun for the day, and they agreed on the pretext that the kid would finally grow a pair and ask a special question— they hoped he would, anyway.
so, after having watched a movie in the cinema based on the romance of a budding artist and a quirky gallery manager, both were well and truly in their feels. the blonde kept shyly looking back to his friend as they walked happily through the sunset-laden townscape. the only other people around were couples too, which only added to his stress.
renjun wouldn't stop talking about the movie, and the animated way in which he did was melting the younger's heart. he just wanted to make him this happy everyday, and hopefully for the rest of the smaller boy's life.
"nana, her strong-headed personality is exactly what i look for in female leads, y'know? i'm tired of those characters with absolutely nothing to say for themselves—"
"renjun, i have something i want to show you."
the chinese male paused, still walking slowly though keeping his eyes on his friend. "mhm? there's more?"
"just one other thing. you ready?"
"maybe," he teased, allowing jaemin to drag him through the streets now at a quicker pace. they passed various people minding their own business, and saw glorious images of the golden ball of light dipping down under the horizon line. everything was perfect...nana just hoped that the last of the day would be as well.
they wound up outside an art studio...or at least rentable ones. the sign on the front window mentioned being able to pay for a studio for up to three months. the older's eyes squinted as he read it and eventually turned to jaemin once more. "art studios? are you secretly an artist as well and not telling me?"
"no, not really. this was just...i don't know, something i passed some time on over the past two months."
"two months? what haven't you been telling me?! i thought we talked about every—"
"shhh," he pressed his index finger to the mouthy male's lips. "you haven't even seen what i've done."
now i'm curious, renjun thought, showing off a sly and skeptical expression before leading the way inside. a woman in her twenties or thirties was sitting behind the reception desk area with a page to write on. she seemed focused, but immediately smiled when she saw the pair.
"ah, jaemin. tonight's the night, hm? is this the one?"
"mhm, this is renjun," he nudged his friend's shoulder a little. "can we head on in?"
"go ahead, i kept the door locked in case of danger."
"thanks."
"now i'm worried," the brunette frowned as he and jaemin wandered down the hallway and past about six or seven studios just to reach the one tucked away in a corner. the door read 'nine', but they seemed randomly named from the beginning.
"head inside."
"yeah yeah, this better not be to scare me. if there's a clown in there—"
"renjun. please..."
his light and terrified tone was enough to shut the shorter up, and so he proceeded to walk inside hesitantly. after slamming the light switch on he started his questions up again, "is this one of those moments when you...oh..."
from wall to wall, corner to corner, and even on the back of the door...resided hundreds, if not thousands of sticky notes. all different colours, shapes, messages. each had a similar idea on it though.
i love you.
thank you.
be with me.
so many longer notes and just as numerous short and sweet ones. on closer inspection, each was definitely different. the boy's breath was taken away, and he had no idea how to respond to the enamoured pounding of his heart in his chest. he just loved jaemin so fucking much. instead of addressing him, he wandered over and plucked one off the decorated wall, a blue one. it was a reminder of one of their silly moments during a sleepover, and he noticed there were many memories every where. beautiful ones that he hoped to never forget.
"what do you think?" jaemin suddenly tugged him from his thoughts with a gentle voice. "i'm no artist, to be honest, but every time you made me think something i would write it down and put it in here. that lady back there suggested making a collage of it, and she protected them while i wasn't around."
"nana...how long?"
"how long have i liked you?"
"yeah."
"since i started writing this silly things and putting them in your locker. i wanted to help, but i didn't have the nerve."
renjun smiled faintly and wandered over to find a thin pad of pink sticky notes that hadn't quite been used up. he scrawled a message down onto it quickly and chuckled while holding it up. "how about this?"
i love you too, baby.
the older had never really seen jaemin properly cry, but this was the closest thing to it, he felt. those gemstone beads trickling from the corners of his eyes and running down to his stunning jaw. "you do...?"
"always."
the younger only needed so much to go racing over and pull him in quickly for a hug. he squeezed him as tightly as possible while burying his head in his neck. the smell of lavenders wasn't overwhelming at all — it was gorgeous.
"i love you."
"i love you too, silly. you're such an emotional mess, hm? always have been."
"mum says my heart is too big for my chest."
"she'd be right."
as they remained in each other's embraces, renjun subtly read over the note he'd made and hummed softly as he stuck it up with the many other soft messages on the wall. his heart pinched with how long he'd waited for this, and jaemin couldn't have been sweeter about it.
he gently nudged his new boyfriend to expose his tear-stained face again and chuckled fondly at the sight. they had this moment of eye contact before the shorter leaned up to carefully capture his lips. it was soft, brief, and pretty. all he did was catch a feeling of the blonde's pretty, peach-tinted mouth. and when he pulled away to see what the reaction was, jaemin merely pulled him back in by placing two hands on either cheek and fixing the angle.
their pace and rhythm never even needed to be found, it just existed for each other. cold fingertips on their faces, warm chests pressed together.
it was perfect for them, and the wait was well worth it.
word count: [4197]
hey guys, sorry i don't update very frequently anymore. life is busy and i'm trying to catch up on everything. if you ever requested, don't worry, i'm definitely getting to it but i go in order of request so it'll take a little while.
thank you so much for your patience, and i hope this little fluff oneshot was alright.
stay safe and healthy!
-lily
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