Groove

Chapter Three

The feeling that he gets when he sees the railway again isn't a sense of freedom, not when his friend is still left behind as a hostage. They're a bit far, standing near the trees, and if Taemin was a passenger on that train, he wouldn't have recognized anyone's presence in the forest at all. He feels movement by his side, and he turns to see Minho dropping down his empty bag and starting to take off his clothes. In a moment of shock, Taemin just stares at him speechless. Minho's got a nice body, he's not denying it. Sculpted muscles that fit him so well, and when his eyes trail lower, he's not surprised to see that his size is above the average. When he looks back up, Minho is looking at him with raised brows and he scoffs at him, hoping that the blush creeping over his face is because of the cold air hitting his cheeks.

"Why the hell are you stripping down?" Minho chuckles, not impressed by his cover up, and starts to put his clothes inside the bag.

"Stay hidden among the trees until the train comes to a full stop," Minho tells him instead. "Then get in the last car. Don't take longer than five minutes," he closes the bag and stands up again, and Taemin glances at the railway instead. "Would you mind bringing this along, too?" He throws the bag at Taemin. "I don't wish to waste more time than necessary." And then Taemin sees it. Minho shifts faster than Kibum, and he shouldn't be surprised but he is. His eyes can't stop looking at how bone shift and how the skin changes and fills with fur. The size of the wolf and the glaring red eyes that he catches next tells him that it was Minho who saved him on the train that day. Minho sprints away so Taemin doesn't get a chance to talk, and he's thankful for it. It's not long until he hears the train approaching, and just like Minho said, the train indeed stops, and Taemin will have to question him about it later as he hurries to get away from the forest and into the last car. Minho is there, naked, opening the car door for him, and Taemin throws the bag at him and passes by.

"Get dressed."

"But you liked me naked," Minho replies in a teasing tone, and Taemin rolls his eyes, but doesn't turn back until Minho is fully dressed again.

"I was plainly shocked," he retorts. "How did you even manage to stop the train anyway?"

"I got a way with words," Minho tells him, and Taemin turns to look at him with a sarcastic face. "If you ask politely, people will do many things for you."

"You booked a cabin, right?"

"Ah, but you were willing to share a similar car before," Minho spreads his arms around him, and Taemin groans out loud. He knows that he'll be throwing daggers at Minho if he sits across from him, literally, he's got a couple stored in his boots, so he chooses to sit on the same side, making sure to leave enough distance between the two of them. He knows that their journey is long, so he leans his head backwards and closes his eyes, hoping that Minho wouldn't open his mouth to taunt him any further. When he wakes up, he notices that his head is placed quite comfortably over someone's shoulder, and he flinches away instantly when he realizes it's Minho. "You would have ended up with a broken neck," Minho sighs when he sees his reaction, and Taemin's eyes glance around him, noticing that the train is slowing down. They're reaching town. "You were also freezing," Minho points out as they stand up. "You should be thanking me." But Taemin would never give him that satisfaction, so he just opens the door and waits patiently until the train stops completely, welcoming the familiar scent of home.

"I hope you're staying somewhere nice," Minho says as they step out.

"Rent a room," Taemin waves a dismissive hand behind him without bothering to look at Minho.

🎨

Home isn't like what he had expected. It's quiet and cold and empty, and Taemin stands for long moment leaning back at the door as he tries to even his breaths. He changes his clothes and ties up his hair quickly before heading out again, the familiar building coming into his view, and he marches inside, skipping the line of customers until he reaches the counter. He's getting annoyed looks, especially from Jessica, but she nods at the side, and he slides further away from the line.