Chapter Text
Their first time ends up not being their first time after all.
First, Nayeon bumps her elbow against the rack above Mina’s bed while she’s trying to get her shirt off, then Mina’s jeans set a burst of static running down her comforter that run down Nayeon’s arm, which makes Nayeon shiver and accidentally jostle Mina’s head into the headboard. Mina’s bed isn’t that large, and Nayeon’s ankles are already hanging off it awkwardly, with little purchase against the wall that’s a bit too far out of her reach.
“Shit,” Mina says, softly, and Nayeon lets out a disbelieving laugh. Her eyes are soft under the glow of Mina’s night lamp, and Nayeon crumples onto Mina, blanketing her with her body, shirt riding halfway up her belly, warm against Mina’s hand. Nayeon reaches up to palm at the crown of Mina’s head gently, thumb moving in aimless circles.
“Sorry,” Nayeon says, and Mina can almost feel the heat radiating from Nayeon’s cheeks.
“I thought you said you knew what you were doing,” Mina teases, laughing into Nayeon’s shoulder. They’re no strangers to intimacy, now, with the way Mina has ended up curled under Nayeon’s arm most of their movie nights, but this was still different. Made Mina’s heart catch in her throat when Nayeon blindly locked the door behind her, pressing Mina into the wooden frame, long fingers grappling at the belt loops of Mina’s jeans.
But whatever mood they’d worked up was broken now, and Nayeon is breathing soft and slow against Mina’s chest, the fatigue of the day coming over them. Nayeon had brought Mina ice skating in the outdoor rink, but they’d spent most of it waiting in the cold, Nayeon holding Mina’s hands in her own until they both turned cold and dry in the air. Then Nayeon had fallen at least five times on the ice, bringing Mina down with her, the two of them caught in the whirlwind of couples spinning circles around them.
“I do,” Nayeon says petulantly, breath puffing against Mina’s cheek. Her heater is still a little janky, makes her room blow hot and cold, and even Nayeon’s powers don’t extend to heating. Mina pulls the comforter over Nayeon’s shoulders, as much as she can, but it slides off as Nayeon props herself up on her elbows, now, so she’s hovering over Mina.
Mina traces the sinewy lines of Nayeon’s muscles that flex and wane with the tips of her fingers as Nayeon adjusts herself, hair hanging down in a curtain over her face. Mina brings her hands to run them along Nayeon’s forearms, which gets Nayeon to stop looking glum, at least, closing her eyes and relaxing above her. There’s still a frown on her face, though, and Mina can’t help the fond laugh she lets out.
“Somehow I feel like I’m the one that deserves to be upset,” Mina says, softly, with a tone that lets Nayeon know she doesn’t mean it, but Nayeon just shakes her head, looking down at Mina with dark eyes.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re really, really beautiful?” Nayeon says, and it’s so serious that Mina doesn’t quite know how to respond.
“I have been told that a few times,” Mina says, still. The smile in her voice is so sweet that it should surprise her, but it doesn’t anymore, not when she’s with Nayeon. “And then my girlfriend came to my side and told them to ‘fuck off’.” Nayeon smiles, then, too, and it’s the brilliant kind that Mina’s grown fond of eliciting from Nayeon, makes her chest glow and burn with something she can’t name. Nayeon dips her head down to nudge at Mina’s collarbone.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are incredibly frustrating?” Nayeon says, and Mina slaps her lightly on the head, lets Nayeon relax again, folding into her.
“Most people are too polite for that.”
“So you’re saying I’m rude.” Nayeon’s voice is muffled against Mina’s bare shoulder. She’s nosed the collar of Mina’s shirt aside, and Mina tries not to shiver.
“I’m saying that I love you despite that,” Mina says, carefully, reaching to cup Nayeon’s cheek in her hand, and Nayeon leans into the touch, letting out a long breath. It’s an awkward position, but Mina’s thumb traces over one of the cuts that’s only started to pattern over, extends from under Nayeon’s eye to her jaw, slicing straight across her cheek. Nayeon had gotten it from a tree branch that whipped across her cheek while she was trying to get a cat out of a tree, and Mina didn’t know how to be angry at her for that, so she’d only laughed, led Nayeon to the first aid box with both hands. Kissed her on the cheek, the used cotton wipes on the table forgotten as Nayeon nudged her over to the couch.
“How did you explain this one away?”
Nayeon’s had four full days of classes since then, all the way until the weekend fell and she could catch some sleep. Mina has found her sprawled over her notes more than once, cheek pressed into a page on visual marketing techniques.
“Told the truth,” Nayeon says, and she already sounds a little drowsy. “Tried to save a cat from a tree.”
Mina laughs. “And they believed you?”
“Just left out the part about falling from a dangerous height,” Nayeon murmurs, absentmindedly, and something curls in Mina’s gut.
“Be careful,” Mina says, softly, as sternly as she can, and Nayeon stills against her. She always fidgets, somehow, even when she’s tired. Don’t hurt yourself, Mina means, but Nayeon reaches up again to rub at Mina’s head, eyelashes fluttering against Mina’s shoulder, and Mina knows Nayeon is thinking of someone else.
“Always,” Nayeon says. Her left hand traces circles on Mina’s hipbone. “I’ll always be careful with you, Minari.”