"i do not need a makeover," taeil protested on his way out of math the following afternoon, after johnny had broken the news to him.
"i think you'll find, moony, that you would be wrong," johnny argued, tossing him a wink as he led the way into the courtyard.
steam just about ready to whistle out of taeil's ears like a boiled kettle, he marched after the giant in a desperate effort to win the argument (and for his little legs to keep up with johnny's lankier ones).
"what exactly is wrong with my clothes?" taeil demanded, huffing and puffing both in annoyance and to catch his breath.
johnny just laughed and ran a hand through his coppery hair. "since when were they your clothes?" he teased, "i thought they belonged to your grandma."
taeil scrunched up his nose in irritation and stuck a foot in johnny's path in an attempt to trip him up. johnny glanced down and stepped over taeil's foot easily, stalking ahead again with his long strides.
"what part of 'i like what i wear' don't you understand?" taeil said with a moody hmph punctuating his sentence.
they passed through the doors of the sports hall, heading quickly down the corridor towards the ice rink. johnny had his kit bag slung over one shoulder, fresh back from the laundry. all of taeil's babbling went through one ear and out the other, and he peacefully ignored him.
"okay, okay, i get it," johnny drawled, pushing open the door to the boys locker room, "your ugly brown sweater has sentimental value. i never said you had to shred it, just don't wear it when anyone can see you in it."
taeil inhaled sharply, biting back a stream of curses. he lifted a finger in protest and marched after johnny into the locker room. "i'll have you know," he snapped, "that there is nothing wrong with that sweater and i'll wear it whenever i want to!"
"oh, so even right now?" johnny raised an eyebrow at him.
taeil looked down at the worn brown wool of the sweater, with the loose stitches and odd loops sticking out of the knit. he never claimed his grandma was a master seamstress, but it wasn't going to stop him wearing what he found comfortable.
"you have to branch out, moony," johnny told him whilst dumping his bag and getting out his hockey kit. "and so we begin step seventeen of your transformation-"
"there have not already been seventeen steps," taeil disagreed, his attitude towards johnny becoming prickly.
"can you please let me finish?" johnny breathed in frustration.
taeil shut his mouth and sighed, giving a small nod. satisfied, johnny pulled off his sweatshirt and passed it to taeil, meeting his eyes for the dramatic announcement.
"and so..." johnny began, "we begin the initial stages of... johnny's fashion evaluation."
taeil blinked at the english. "johnny's what?"
"fashion evaluation," johnny repeated, beaming at him. he translated quickly and continued. "you can't say no because you're my slave and you have to do anything i say. got it?"
"but-"
johnny shook his head and pressed a finger to taeil's gaping lips. "no, no, no, moony," he said, "when it comes to your end of our deal, there are no buts."
taeil grumbled over this, leaning against the locker opposite johnny's. only when johnny starting tugging his shirt over his head did he realise... he was in the boys locker room. again.
taeil cleared his throat and glanced around. "um... wh-where is everyone?" he asked nervously.
"who? all the hot boys with gorgeously defined abs?" johnny laughed, running a hand from the top of his jeans to his chest to emphasise the joke. "we got out of class early so they're not here yet."
"oh," said taeil.
"aw, disappointed?" johnny teased him, daring to take a step closer and push taeil back against the lockers, "you've still got me-"
"you don't count," taeil scoffed, outstretching a hand and pushing the taller away by the chest.
he wondered what taeyong would look like getting changed into hockey kit. it would probably be really hot.
johnny pouted and continued to get changed, pulling a freshly washed hockey shirt over his head. his other teammates filtered into the locker room one by one, and it gradually grew more noisy. taeil found himself growing gradually more anxious.
"moony, can you not for once just let me be right?" johnny sighed, swinging his locker open and grabbing his skates.
"no, because you're wrong," taeil argued stubbornly, "what i'm wearing now is fine..."
he trailed off, fascinated by the pair of ice skates swinging by the laces from johnny's hand. johnny had already grabbed his hockey stick and slammed his locker shut, leading the way back out to the rink.
as they reached the doors, taeil piped up with, "are your feet really that big?"
johnny looked down at him, holding the door open so taeil could dart under his arm. "...yeah?" he answered, "i'm a size eleven, why?"
taeil shrugged nonchalantly and quickly darted ahead. johnny chuckled, bemused, and followed him out to the chilly air that surrounded the rink.
"moony," johnny pressed, prodding the shorter in the back, "what size are you?"
taeil sighed and mumbled, "six..."
johnny blinked, before sitting down on the bottom row of the bleachers to get his skates on. "you're a size six?" he repeated, letting out a laugh, "that's adorable."
to taeil, it didn't sound like johnny thought it was adorable. it sounded like he thought it was fucking hilarious.
"can you stop laughing?" taeil muttered bitterly.
johnny hollered and handed taeil the hockey stick as he shoved his foot into one of his skates and pulled the laces tight. "i need to know this sort of information, tae," he said finally, gasping for air. "how else am i supposed to pick out shoes for you?"
taeil fought the urge to let out an infuriated shriek and hit the giant with that goddamn hockey stick. he did not need a makeover. and he did not need a fashion evaluation, thank you very much.
"pass it here, you're holding it wrong," johnny remarked, holding out a hand expectantly to reclaim his hockey stick from an angry taeil.
"oh, i'm holding it wrong?" taeil repeated with dangerous undertones.
"yes," johnny said patiently, "you're doing it wrong, so give it here."
"you do way more things wrong than me," taeil retorted, continuing their pointless argument, "like how you mix up initial and final velocity in every fucking equation of motion. and-"
"just pass me the stick, tae."
johnny rose to his feet, looming a head above taeil, a little too close for him to be entirely relaxed. for some reason, the weird sensation in the pit of taeil's stomach was back. he pressed the hockey stick into johnny's hand in submission.
"thank you," johnny said with a smile, ruffling taeil's hair gently before making his way out onto the ice.
full of mixed feelings, taeil trudged after him, resting his chin on the railing that went all the way around the rink.
johnny shot taeil a grin, gliding onto the ice with an air of grace. he showed off a few moves, annoying taeil even further with a few elegant spins. it wasn't fair how he made it look so easy.
"how do you even do that?" taeil asked, wrinkling his nose at the thought of putting on a pair of skates himself.
"what - this?" johnny teased, throwing in a small jump and landing almost perfectly with a little skid. "practise makes perfect, sweetheart."
"it's not fair," taeil whined, watching johnny skate with a look of jealousy evident in his expression.
"can't you skate?" johnny questioned. when taeil shook his head, johnny smiled and cooed, "aw, i'll have to teach you sometime."
"no, no, no..." taeil disagreed fervently, "no thanks. as much as breaking my bones sounds like great fun, i'll pass."
"moony, come on-" johnny started to complain, but was cut off by the sound of the coach calling the team members over to the other side of the rink to start practise.
"go on," taeil shooed him away with one hand.
johnny glanced over his shoulder and back to taeil. "go sit in the bleachers if you're gonna stay and watch," he told him, and then sped off across the ice.
taeil did as he was told and took a seat in the first row of the bleachers. the thought did cross his mind that he could catch the bus and go home, but by now he was already comfortable and reluctant to move. and besides, johnny still wouldn't back down from the makeover idea, so leaving and just walking out felt like a defeat to taeil.
by the time hockey practise was over, taeil was slumped in his seat, eyes closed, fast asleep.
he missed the action on the rink, and johnny's legendary goal he scored in the last minute of the game. he also missed a breathless kim doyoung entering the sports hall at the end of practise, biting his lip a little nervously.
"hey, you okay?"
doyoung nearly walked into johnny as he left the rink, grabbing onto a bunch of papers before they could slip out of his hands. "oh, um- uh, yeah, i'm fine-" doyoung rambled, trying his best to sidestep past the taller boy and ultimately failing.
"oh, you're friends with taeil, right?" johnny snapped his fingers in recognition.
"um... well, not really, but-"
"he's sitting over there if you were looking for him."
doyoung took a breath and clutched the papers to his chest. "actually... do you know where jaehyun is?" he managed to get out a few words, hanging his head under johnny's gaze.
it didn't feel right going there, surrounded by an entire team of hockey players. doyoung didn't fit in. but he had an essay plan to give to jung jaehyun, since he was still stuck in the loop of helping him out. doyoung didn't even understand why he still did it.
"oh, right," johnny said easily, "he'll be heading back to the locker room, probably. it's right over there."
"thanks," doyoung blurted, and dashed past johnny in the direction of the boys locker room. he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.
the boys locker room was like a maze without a map: impossible to navigate for someone like kim doyoung. he hesitated in the doorway, not knowing where to look and where not to look.
"can i help you?" the voice who spoke was nakamoto yuta, friendly as ever.
"i'm looking for jaehyun?" it was more of a question than a statement, his voice coming out all strained.
"his locker's down that way," yuta told him helpfully, pointing in a direction which doyoung quickly followed.
jaehyun looked exhausted; dark circles more prominent beneath his puffy eyes, hair an unbrushed tangled mess. he pulled his hockey shirt off over his head, trying to stifle a wide yawn in the process. glancing up, he caught sight of doyoung darting towards him and he held the shirt against his exposed torso in embarrassment.
"doyoung?" jaehyun was surprised to see him, yet the sight of the dark-haired boy gave him some kind of unexplainable comfort and relief.
"i-i finished an essay plan for you," doyoung told him, words spilling out uncontrollably. "i noticed you fell asleep in class and i didn't want you to fall behind so i-"
"thank you," jaehyun interrupted him softly, fingers brushing doyoung's as he accepted the papers from his outstretched hands. the hockey shirt slipped out of his grasp and he scrambled to catch it, looking up at doyoung sheepishly as he picked it up off the floor.
"...well, i should, um-"
"wait-" dropping the shirt again, jaehyun caught doyoung by the wrist, holding him back. "i just... i don't want to burden you..."
"you aren't a burden to me."
doyoung swallowed and reached down to grab the hockey shirt up off the tiles. he pressed it into jaehyun's hands and, with a brief smile of farewell, left the boys locker room as quickly as his legs could carry him.
outside, by the bleachers, johnny was still trying to wake a sleeping moon taeil.
"slave, wake up," he whispered, face close to taeil's ear as he gently flicked taeil's cheek.
taeil opened one eye and jolted back. "what the fuck are you doing?" he spluttered, scrambling across the seats away from the giant.
johnny smirked. "not you, apparently," he joked.
taeil glared at him.
"why are you still here, moony?" johnny sighed, shaking his head with a pout of pity. "you should've gone home ages ago."
taeil yawned and gave a moody huff. "i don't need a makeover," he mumbled sleepily.
"oh, yeah!" johnny exclaimed, grinning brightly, "we'll do it on friday night, okay?"
taeil blinked. "huh?"
johnny clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go and get changed. "awesome, i'll come to yours," he laughed, "it's a date!"
taeil gaped after him. what in the world had he signed himself up for?
_____________________
a/n:
was this too long lmao
as i was writing this i realised that it would be 10x cooler if sicheng was also on the hockey team, but i can't be bothered to go back and edit it in lol
thoughts on the dojae situation?
also new covers!! feeling autumnal :)
i've been struggling to update recently but my bro taellipses helped me a lot in coming up with character backstory and plot points for this book! go check out her books if you stan nct or svt (or ptg)
ps. lullaby is my current bop stan got7