āa thousand yearsā
he nods because of course he would, of course he would attest to doing just about anything she asked of him. itās such a small token anyway, but it seems to fill her up inside strangely enough, and he likes it, he likes how bright and bubbly she seems, the light emulating from her cheeks and her eyes. he could kiss them if he thought sheād let him, but heās not sure if theyāre there yet. he wants to be. desperately wants to be.
when she starts describing her dreams to him, he hums along with her words, showing that heās paying attention even though heās only half listening. part of his mind is still caught by her skin, lulling over the smoothness, the slow-burn urge to bend down and kiss her hand, kiss her arm, kiss her shoulder and her neck and her jawline until finally claiming her lips. he keeps having daydreams about it, keeps praying for it, that somehow he could just lean in, just a little bit closerā¦
for some reason itās easier to flirt stupidly with other people, itās easier to be as flippant and casual about everything, but something inside him, something wholly separated from zeus as a spirit, wants to take this slow, wants to be careful enough to build something maybe a little bit more permanent than what the god-king is used toādespite having been married as long as he had in his previous life. taemin is different though, at least in some aspects, in that he feels a little bit heavier. his feet are on the ground, no clouds in his hair, no stars in his eyes.
no, the stars belong in jieunās eyes, the way she looks up and over at him, describing herself dancing and creating things. he can remember watching her do those things, knowing that sheās dreaming of memories. he wonders if she remembers demeter, he wonders if sheās ever dreamed of him. he could recognize those same marble floors she describes with his eyes closed, recognize her laughter, her flowers, her joy. half the year given opportunities to see her, touch her, adore her from afar, while half the year allowing the world to be plunged into coldness and darkness. heād allowed demeter to do this because it seemed fittingāwithout her smile towards the sky, how could anything be bright?
he starts feeling a few raindrops, which effectively pulls him out of his reverie and he shifts along with her. he doesnāt expect her to take his hand like so, his eyes growing wide. āi.. what? yes? of course i can dance.ā he blinks a few times, before feeling more rain. damn it. he frowns. āah, itās starting alreadyā¦ā no sooner have the words left his lips than the rain really starts pouring down and taemin is used to the rain, but these are expensive clothes. he gets a better grip on her hand and pulls her up as he stands, drawing her away from the picnic towards a nearby gazebo for shelter. he doesnāt let go even after they reach underneath it, but it takes him a moment to realize the sandwiches are probably now ruined.
āwell that was an adventure,ā he chuckles at her, suddenly hating himself for being semi-responsible for bad weather, even though this isnāt his fault this time.








