say that you'll stay - you're my best friend and always bringing the stability that i need in my life while i tend to bring some chaos into yours. still, i love you and i hope that these songs can show a fraction of how much you mean to me!
i. flaws - bastille ♫ ii. ready for the floor - hot chip ♫ iii. food is still hot - karen o and the kids ♫ iv. theme - jon brion ♫ v. the youth- mgmt ♫ vi. after hours - we are scientists ♫ vii. still fighting it - ben folds ♫ viii. my best friend - weezer ♫ ix. main theme - 500 days of summer ♫
This is completely, utterly, horribly embarrassing. His cheeks are tinted a light pink, the color even rising to the tips of his ears, and he swears his face is on fire as fingers unbuckle the seatbelt he wears, eyes wandering to the window, where he can see children, couples, and even those that he’s able to recognize walking around and enjoying the winter festivities. The weather is even rather nice; not freezing cold, nor is it too warm for a nice sweater.
Yet, there lies the problem.
The sweater he wears has lumps, and the thick black, white, and gray threads are awkwardly strung together; the arms are even too long, while the hem is too short, and it is strangely longer in the back. The most that he can approve of is the choices in color, but the black English letter “T” threaded shakily across the front even throws that off a bit.
Looking over now, he sees his best friend who sits in the passenger seat, seemingly excited to get on with the fun. Taemin had promised they would go together, after all, but he hadn’t expected his best friend to shove a sweater into his arms and plead with him to wear it. And how could he possibly say no, when the other had put so much effort into the craft? Yet, he still remains amazed that his friend could even sit still long enough to get such a tedious project done.
Sighing softly now, he manages a smile, calming the heat in his cheeks by opening the door and stuffing his keys into his pocket. “Let’s go, yeah? I heard that they’re giving away hot chocolate.”
Kai didn't really know where he found the attention span to make Taemin a sweater, but all he knew was that it happened and even though it wasn't the kind he'd see on those fashion blogs it was made with love. And excitement. And impatience. And a few frustrated tears. He had planned on making himself a matching sweater, but unfortunately the first one had taken so long he had no time. So instead he would be going to the festival with a leather jacket and a very short blue scarf he had managed to knit for himself until he ultimately gave up and played with his dog instead.
Taemin wore the sweater though and it warmed Kai more than... well a sweater possibly could. Especially that one. The appreciated the gesture, it's why he adored his friend so much in the first place. He always seemed appreciative of his friend even when Kai could also be rather embarrassing.
"Wait, giving away hot chocolate? Like, for free? Like, I don't have to pay anything for it?" Kai asked eagerly, shifting around in his seat like an excited puppy now. Even though he was making money for himself, 'free' was one of his favorite words. "Then you better drive fast or else it's going to get cold!" He fiddled with the radio for a few moments before he remembered his manners and leaned back in his seat once more. "So what do people do at these Winter Fests? I've never been to one. And I don't like the idea of celebrating the cold," he said with a small scowl as he looked out the window. A smile spread over his features quickly "Oh! Are there rides?"
(that supernatural au // mentions of death and guns)
“What the hell? Taemin, you never change the driver’s music. It’s pretty much the law of the road after right-of-way and letting baby ducks cross the street,” Kai snapped, slapping his friend’s hand away from the radio and starting the album over. “I’ve only got two months left, my friend. Are you really going to deny a dying man’s wish?”
Eight hour car rides with Kai was normal. They traveled around the States for so long, rarely resting and always hunting. The lives of demon hunters tended to be short. But they fought on anyways. To find Kai’s father and to avenge the deaths of Taemin’s parents. Demon hunting was a family business at this point and now they were each other’s family. So it only made sense for Kai to sell his soul to the creatures they sought to destroy when he saw Taemin’s lifeless body ten months before.
Taemin’s lips set into a grim line and he turned to look away from the other. He leaned his head against the cool window and watched the scenery for a few moments to keep from saying something he would regret to Kai. The moon couldn’t be seen above all the trees, making the street look even darker when there wasn’t a streetlamp nearby. Out here there was nothing but more woods on a lonely highway and it was the perfect setting for their next hunt. Taemin knew the jobs needed to be done but they weren’t his priority. Kai was. Saving Kai would always be his priority. The books he had in his backpack would give him an answer, he was sure of it.
Kai turned up the music and soon he’s singing along to the One Direction album, his hands drumming against the driver’s wheel. Not all dying men died melancholy and filled with regrets. Kai would never regret his decision to sell his soul to save his best friend. He would do it again. And again. He would do it until there was nothing of him left.
Taemin knew this and it scared him more than any demon or monster or ghost the pair had ever encountered. How could he fight without his best friend by his side? How could he carry that weight on his shoulders? And suddenly he feels angered by this, like Kai’s decision was an entirely selfish one. Taemin never asked the other to give up his life and soul. What’s dead should stay dead, Kai said that every time he burnt any ghost’s remains and before every hunt. He ejected the disc they had been listening to the past eight hours and opened the window.
“Don’t you-” Kai began, looking between Taemin and the road ahead of them. Taemin threw the disc outside and Kai hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. “What are you doing?” he cried out, shooting the other a glare.
“Don’t you want to be saved?” Taemin asked, his voice oddly light for such a heavy question. Kai could feel a shiver run down his back, he knew that this wasn’t leading to a pleasant place. Taemin was upset, he knew the other long enough to read him. They were practically brothers by this point.
He scoffed at the question, scrambling to find an answer as his knuckles started to whiten. He gripped as hard onto the steering wheel as he could, he just did not want to answer this question. Two months was so short, his time was so short and yet he couldn’t avoid this confrontation. “Not if it means you’re going to die,” he answered in a quiet voice, wincing at how quiet everything was now. He couldn’t hide in the loud music and behind the obnoxious singing. Being vulnerable like this was terrifying, couldn’t he hide his fears from himself for two more months?
It’s not like Kai wanted to die or go to hell or leave Taemin behind. But he had to. He needed to. And it was a decision he would never regret and make over and over if it meant the other would live.
“Kai-” Tae whispered in a softer tone, before he saw a flash of white on the side of the road. Kai saw it too and immediately slowed down the car. The ghost of the woman in white, Taemin almost wished they didn’t find her just yet. Kai rarely opened up about this subject and Taemin didn’t know when it would happen again. It felt like a slamming door to the face.
When the car pulled over to the side of the road, they shoot each other a glance. Kai almost looks like he’s going to say something and Tae can see the fear in his closest friend’s eyes. But Kai blinks and suddenly the easy smile spreads over his features. Taemin knew that he lost him, tonight at least. ‘What’s dead should stay dead,’ Kai used to say before they began to hunt, but after selling his soul to revive Taemin he was always at a loss for words.
“We’ll talk about this again later,” Taemin said firmly and Kai opens his mouth to respond but his eyes narrow to the backseat.
“Hey lady, does this look like a cab?” Kai tilted his head at the ghost. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Taemin getting his gun ready. Time to get to work.
"My past, I guess. My life has only changed for the better since I’ve come to Seoul and what’s the point in living in the past when I’m having a much better time in the present? Sometimes it’s unavoidable though. Sometimes its stuck in my head and it feels like it’s haunting me. Sometimes I think it’s going to catch up with me again. But I’m determined to be happy."
