#jong buys some lil snapdragon seeds and taem tells him how to plant them and everything

[katrinawritesthings]

Jonghyun/Taemin; lil ghostie friend; PG

where taem is a smol smol tiny lil ghostie in a lil flowerpot uwu

ao3

Jonghyun flicks tiredly through the little box of DVDs in the corner of the garage sale he happened to come by on his way home from the store. There’s nothing really interesting; nothing that he can’t see online and no particular movie that he’d want to spend money on just to have a physical copy. He leaves the box and continues on, looking through everything else. Some ugly shirts, old toys, a desk lamp or two, a small flowerpot with a tiny ghost inside of it….

Jonghyun stops and does a doubletake, squinting inside of the flowerpot. It’s a cute empty dark red little ceramic thing, maybe three inches tall, and… yeah. That is… a tiny, tiny ghost, slouched inside of it with their arms crossed and a sad little pout. Their legs are nothing more than a little wiggly wisp, but on their chest is a plain hoodie with little headphones coming out of their pocket and slung around their neck. Huh. As Jonghyun stares in at them they glance up; when they catch and hold Jonghyun’s gaze for more than a second, a hopeful little smile pulls up their lips.

Jonghyun blinks, glances at the owner of the garage sale a few feet away, and lifts his hand up to run his fingers through his hair. When he lowers his hand, he gives the ghost a quick, tiny little wave and a smile. He’s not a fan of looking like he’s talking to inanimate objects around people he doesn’t know. He gives the tiny ghost a little nod as well, just to make it clear that he does, in fact, see them. At his confirmation their smile grows even brighter and they float up to the rim of their flowerpot, little hands clinging to the edge.

“Hi,” they say. Their voice is a ghostly whisper, but still confident and eager to be seen. “I’m Taemin,” they say, “buy me please?” Their fingers tap their pot gently and Jonghyun snorts, amused by their forwardness. Buy the little haunted flowerpot. Hmm.

“Not a fan of gardening?” he asks, turning to the owner and tapping the rim of the flowerpot.

“Mmm, not so much,” they say, coming over to look at it with Jonghyun. Their eyes must be looking right through little ghost Taemin, and that must be a strange experience for the tiny spook. “We were using it as a pencil holder until our new kitten started hissing at it nonstop.” They shake their head with a bewildered little shrug and Jonghyun chuckles, looking back town to watch Taemin’s sheepish little shrug.

“I wonder why,” he mumbles, picking up the flowerpot and gently lifting it up under the guise of inspecting it closer.

“I wasn’t being mean to her or or anything, just living like usual,” Taemin whines, their pout big even for how small they are. “She was literally the only kitten in their friend’s litter that could see me, too, and now I’m being sold for fifty cents,” they grumble. Jonghyun grins, holding back a laugh but cocking a brow at them. Their arms are crossed on top of the rim and their furrowed brow is adorable. Jonghyun likes this little ghost. He’ll buy them so they don’t get thrown away or sold to someone else that can’t listen to them.

“How much, a dollar?” he asks, looking again for the owner. He doesn’t have any coins on him and he hates dealing with change anyway. They accept with a shrug and he pulls out his wallet easily, handing over the bill and fitting the flower pot snug into his hand so he won’t drop it getting back into his car. Taemin’s smile is bigger and brighter than Jonghyun has ever seen on a ghost and they peep up at him excitedly as he fits them into the cup holder of the glove department. “I’m Jonghyun, by the way,” he adds after he shuts the door and can speak freely.

“Thanks, Jonghyun,” Taemin says, mouth hidden inside of his flowerpot but cheeks still big and round. “Do you have any flowers, maybe?” they ask hopefully. “Some snapdragons?” Jonghyun laughs as he starts the car.

“Not right now, but, I’ll get some seeds when I go to the store next week,” he says. Taemin’s ghostly little form wiggles in excitement.