DRAWINGS [jaeyong]

[14]

To the pairs shock, and lesser horror, Taeyong brashly stood up and somehow managed to muster up the confidence to pick up the box of lights from Jaehyun's lap and stomp his way over to the front door. Jaehyun sat, staring agapely at the angry boy, looking all aloof and dumb and startled.

"Are you going to open the door or just sit there and be more 'useless' than me?" Taeyong questioned, eyebrows knitted together beneath his brown hair and dark eyes still sharper than ever.

Jaehyun turned to Doyoung who just had this beguiling guise painted on his face, a slight smile urging the other to deal with his karmic debt, which happened to be, once again, Taeyong's wrath. He totally deserved it, so he stood up and opened the door for the shorter who didn't spare the chance to 'accidentally' bump into him as they made it outside.

The outdoors instantly wrapped Jaehyun in an unfamiliar cold, causing goosebumps to arise on his pale skin. It was a lot chillier out here today, unfortunately for them.

Taeyong dropped the box onto the porch rather carelessly, afterwards standing with his arms wrapped around his torso, glimmering brown eyes shifting up to meet the taller's. "I don't know how to do any of this, by the way," he uttered, just a little embarrassed, "My— my parents never celebrated holidays."

An easing smile danced on Jaehyun's face as he said, "It's fine. But the problem is, is that I haven't done this in years either."

A light relief washed onto Taeyong's expression, his arms draping to his sides. "So it turns out we're both pretty useless," he breathed out, a grin hidden somewhere in the corners of his lips.

"Well, I digress. I'm going to be at least a little less useless than you."

"You're a jerk."

Jaehyun knelt down to pick out a string of wired lights, still smiling a bit to himself. "Then come on, prove to yourself that you're not useless," he said, ushering the lights over to the boy.

Taeyong rolled his eyes, hesitantly taking them out of Jaehyun's hands. "Fine, but just know that I don't have to 'prove' anything to you."

The taller caught a laugh in his throat at the shorter's blatant stubbornness. "I didn't expect you to," he responded, simply to push his buttons more.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Jaehyun shrugged, ignoring the question and backing off the porch to stare at his house. He noted a few spots that could use some decorating, like the eaves, the bushes aligning the house, the doorframe and deck railings. He supposed he'd give Taeyong the easier jobs since he didn't necessarily ask to be doing this.

His eyes drifted back over to the shorter, who quirked an eyebrow at him. Jaehyun rubbed the nape of his neck, saying, "Do you want to do the bushes and doorframe? And I'll do the rooflines and stuff."

"Remember, I have no idea what I'm doing. And you don't even have a ladder to reach up there, dummy."

Jaehyun made an 'o' with his mouth, supposing that yeah, Taeyong was right: about the ladder, and the dumb part. Thankfully the other didn't seem to annoyed, but shook his head and murmured something along the lines of 'loser'.

-

"Hey, don't think I'm going to catch you if you fall! I rather sit here in silence than watch you do failed parkour tricks."