{crumbs: nct one-shots}

{flower boy: jaewoo}

concept: flowers make jungwoo feel pretty.

taeyong was sitting behind a garden of fake flowers on the kitchen table. most of them were weaved into rings, with colors ranging from red and orange to purple and blue, with white and yellow and pink scattered in between.

"what are you doing, taeyong?" jungwoo asked, appearing behind the leader.

"making flower crowns. why? did you want to help?" he asked, threading more flowers together.

"you seem like you're almost done," jungwoo said, sitting in the chair beside him.

"well, with this batch. there are only nine here," taeyong told him, putting the finishing touches on the crown he was holding.

"are you making one for every member?" jungwoo asked, awed.

taeyong nodded, smiling. "here's yours, by the way." he showed jungwoo a crown with baby blue daisies on it. he set down the crown he was finishing and set the daisy crown gently but firmly on the younger's head.

jungwoo smiled gratefully at the older. "can i go look?" he asked.

taeyong giggled at him. "of course. i don't know why you would think you couldn't."

jungwoo hurried out of his seat toward the bathroom. he knew he could have just asked johnny to borrow his hand mirror, but the bathroom was already downstairs. he looked over his reflection, turning his head to see the shining gems nestled between the petals and leaves. he giggled happily, hurrying back out to accompany taeyong again.

"do you like it?" he asked, blinking his boba eyes expectantly.

"i love it, taeyong. it's so sparkly and it's two of my favorite colors," jungwoo told him contentedly. taeyong smiled at the younger as he continued to thread the flowers together.

"hey, since you're here, would you mind bringing these to the others?" he handed him three flower crowns: one white, one red, and one purple. "the purple one is johnny's, the red one's for yuta, and jaehyun's is the white one," taeyong explained.

jungwoo nodded. "yuta's room?" he asked. taeyong gave him a nod and that sent him on his way.

he climbed up the stairs to yuta and taeil's room. taeil was out shopping with mark and donghyuck, so johnny and jaehyun took over the room with yuta since the japanese was bored. he pushed the door open to see the three laughing about something.

"oh, hey jungwoo. what's up?" johnny asked with a friendly smile.

"what do you have there?" yuta asked, pointing to the rings of flowers in his hand.

"they're from taeyong." he looked down at them again. he handed the purple one to johnny and the red one to the male beside him. they looked over them before setting them on their heads carefully, so as not to break them.

"what about me?" jaehyun asked, though his voice was softer than the other two's, and than normal. he was already pretty calm and didn't speak very loudly. it was still different. it made jungwoo feel warm.

"this one." he handed jaehyun the ring of white flowers, which he took from the younger gently.

jaehyun set the crown on his own head and smiled back at jungwoo. "you look pretty, jungwoo."

he smiled back at him, his cheeks dusted with a warm pink. "thanks, jaehyun."

jungwoo then bowed awkwardly and left the room. there was something about the way that jaehyun looked at him that made a warmth crawl up his body all the way from the soles of his feet. he smiled at the feeling. it was a good kind of warmth and he wanted to feel it more.

he thought about how jaehyun had called him pretty. he couldn't help but melt at the older's words. they made him feel special, and butterflies fluttered throughout his stomach. he touched the crown on his head again. if this was what made jaehyun call him pretty, he would never take it off.

and he didn't. he wore the blue daisies for days on end. jaehyun would smile at him every time he saw him, and jungwoo would smile back. they were sitting on the couch together, talking about johnny and yuta.

"apparently, he fell and yuta tripped and fell on top of him." jungwoo covered his mouth with his hands, the both of them trying not to laugh. "yuta's been trying to explain the situation to mark..." his eyes darted to the top of the younger's head. "about as long as you've been wearing that flower crown that taeyong made for you."

jungwoo frowned. "what's wrong with that?" he asked.

"nothing, but—" he reached up and removed the flowers from the blonde's head— "they don't really go with your sweater, do they?"

jungwoo blushed at how gentle jaehyun was when he took the flower crown off of his head. his heart was starting to go crazy when the older fixed the part in his hair. he was afraid that jaehyun could hear it even though they weren't terribly close to each other.

"there," jaehyun said. "that's better."

jungwoo blinked at him. better? he had been so convinced that the flowers were what made jaehyun say he was pretty. now without them, he thought that was better?

"wait, but—" jungwoo started.

"hm?" jaehyun asked, tilting his head a bit.

"i-i thought..." his voice trailed off.

"you thought?"

jungwoo shook his head. "never mind, it's not important."

"ah." jaehyun shifted on the couch, sitting more upright than before. "oh, did you hear? doyoung finally let taeyong get the two of them matching couple rings."

jungwoo smiled, his eyes harboring a dull sparkle. his gaze darted to the table where his flower crown laid. he bit his lip, knowing that jaehyun was still talking but nothing the older was saying registered. "jungwoo?"

the blonde snapped out of his trance with a quick shake of his head. "i'm sorry, i got distracted."

jaehyun sighed fondly. "i could tell," he said, setting the flowers back on jungwoo's head. "you certainly are a flower boy, jungwoo." the younger blushed. the flowers were taken again, making him frown. "aw, come on. don't look at me like that." he chuckled slightly.

"i thought you..." jungwoo stopped himself mid-sentence again.

"you thought i liked you better when you were wearing the flowers?" jaehyun asked.

"yeah." jungwoo looked down at his lap, messing with his fingers. "i thought you only thought i was pretty when i was wearing the daisies," he admitted.

jaehyun frowned before placing a hand under jungwoo's chin to lift his face up toward him again. "it makes me sad that you think that," he said.

"it does?" jungwoo's heart was beating a mile a minute with no signs of slowing down.

"of course it does. i think you're pretty all the time, and that your beauty should be admired, not tucked away in embarrassment." he smiled at the younger, whose lips were curling up at the corners. "see? that smile of yours is so beautiful," jaehyun said.

jungwoo could feel his cheeks start to reach a shade of red bordering on crimson. he was warm. jaehyun made him warm. he still couldn't help but smile at the feeling.

"jaehyun," the younger hummed, keeping the older's attention. "would you kiss me? no flowers. just me?" he asked.

it was jaehyun's turn to blush as his eyes widened a little. "would you want me to?" he asked.

jungwoo nodded. "i'd like you to."

the both of them leaned toward each other, their lips meeting in a soft, passionate kiss. it warmed jungwoo by sending a tingle down his entire body. he smiled into it, knowing that he didn't need the flowers to have jaehyun make him feel like this. he liked it.

"and you still think i'm pretty?" jungwoo whispered once they pulled away.

jaehyun softly caressed the blonde's cheek with his thumb, smiling. "the most beautiful flower boy i've ever seen."