Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Alright guys, that’s a wrap for today! You have made a lot of progress, and remember to rehearse as a group as well as on your own when you are not meeting with me. I need you all to focus on your balance and teamwork before our next meeting.” Minho said with a forced smile painted over his face. 

The group of college guys gave a few grumbled responses but mostly ignored him as they gathered their stuff and left. Minho knew they were not going to practise between meetings, he had to grit his teeth to stop from cussing them out for their blatant rude demeanour and disrespect to him as a teacher. He wasn’t even a dance teacher, not really, they hired him as a choreographer, but had booked enough time for him to double as a teacher even though that wasn’t technically his job description. As soon as the last guy left and Minho was alone in the room he let his face fall and sneered at the door, going to grab his own towel to dry himself now that he wasn’t being observed by a room full of asshole men.

“Oh, don’t you look chipper.” Hyunjin said from the door as he sidled in.

“You know the worst part about choreographing for rich, entitled, asshole men?” Minho responded without pausing to greet his friend.

“That you don’t wanna fuck a single one?” Hyunjin asked, leaning against the wall as he raised an eyebrow.

“I mean… I wouldn’t say no to some hate-fucking with a couple of them, the quiet ones are kinda cute… No, it’s the fact they think they can buy everything. They act like they own me just because they are paying for my time. Then they somehow think they can just be skilled without practising if they pay enough for it. No amount of money will substitute a lack of talent, Chad!” Minho vented.

“What are they even hiring you for?”

“Oh my fucking god, their frat is competing in a dumb ass dancing competition. It’s supposed to be friendly and non-professional, but they want to win so badly that they dropped the stupid amount I charge for like twenty personal sessions, all for a pointless competition. They aren’t even dancers! I think half of them are business majors! Their dance experience amounts to shaking their uncoordinated hips at the club to try and lure some poor unsuspecting woman back to their testosterone flooded lair. I hate them so much.”

“Sounds like easy cash though.” Hyunjin shrugged, unphased by the hell that Minho was currently living in.

“That just makes me feel like a whore. And not in the fun, kinky role-play kinda way.” Minho sighed, tossing his towel in his bag and grabbing his water. “How’s your rehearsals going?”

“Same as all week, chorus line is a breeze with these guys, I hardly even have to think about it.”

“I’m glad someone had an easy day.” Minho grumbled.

“Alright moody, sounds to me like you need a drink.”

“Oh fuck yes!” Minho groaned in relief.

“I’ll message Minnie and Binnie, we can go for food and some drinks at the bar to unwind.”

“Alright, nothing crazy though, I know it’s the weekend, but I have more asshole class tomorrow.”

“We can go out again tomorrow to wash that away too.” Hyunjin offered with a light chuckle.

“Anything to keep me from beating these douches to death with their own over-inflated egos. Or just tossing them out of the window. It’s good money, and dealing with them is the only difficult part, the routine that they actually got me to choreograph for them is not advanced enough for them to even need me really. So I’m relegated as a dance teacher for another week. I haven’t taught dance since college! But, they pay me, so they get me.”

“You’re sounding like that whore again. Okay, go and get a shower, I’ll meet you in the lobby to go to the bar in half an hour.” Hyunjin smiled before retreating, probably to get his own shower and change into his street clothes.

Minho sighed, he had thought about sticking around and dancing solo to try and work out his tension, since the guys had rented the studio room for the whole day, even though they only paid for five hours of Minho’s time, and then spent at least two hours of that time just fucking around. He looked at his face in the large mirror, and knew that Hyunjin was right. Some time with his friend to relax and let himself try to have a good time was better than just pumping up his adrenaline even more in the studio and pushing his body too hard. He packed up his things, and made sure the room was clean, the group of guys not being respectful of the space meant that he had to clean up after each session too. Then he went to get a long, scalding hot shower before dressing in some of the spare clothes that he kept in the locker he rented at the dance studio he was using. He liked this studio, it was close to his home, large, had full showers and lockers, and even a decent cafe. It was also the one that Hyunjin and Felix used most often for their rehearsals when they had dancing gigs. When Minho was hired by a company and got to use their dance studios, it was usually a much better job, and more interesting and challenging, but he liked the familiarity of this studio he had come to think of as his homebase.

Minho took his time getting ready, knowing that even though Hyunjin had said half an hour, he would not be ready in such a short time himself. Even after taking the time to fully dry and style his hair, Hyunjin was not in the lobby yet. Minho scoffed to himself, then turned to grab a coffee to go from the cafe while he waited for him. Minho sat on one of the comfortable sofas, drinking his iced americano and scrolling his social media aimlessly for about quarter of an hour before Hyunjin finally showed up. To his benefit he did look incredible, but it was a rare shock to ever see Hyunjin looking anything short of stunning. His face looked like he had taken the time to put on some light makeup, his eyes looking sultry with the smudged eyeliner and colour painted there. He had his long hair dried and styled, half tied up with a black velvet ribbon and his outfit seemed far too stylish to have been just left in his locker, but Minho was used to that. He himself was wearing his baggy jeans, a T-shirt with a cat design and a soft and fluffy baby blue cardigan, always preferring comfort over style for his everyday outfits.

“Did you run out to go to the fucking stylist while I was waiting?” Minho teased as he stood up, tossing his empty coffee cup in the trash as they headed out the door.

“Aww, you really think I look that good, Lino baby.” Hyunjin said, pouting at him as he hung off his arm, making Minho sneer at him.

“Yeah you’re pretty. Pretty fucking annoying, get off me!” Minho shook Hyunjin off of him,  and he just snickered at him.

“You know you love me.” Hyunjin smirked, skipping next to Minho, his energy far too high after a day full of non-stop dancing.

“I do, it is one of my greatest flaws.” Minho laughed before giving him a genuine smile.

They walked to the bar, it wasn’t too far from the dance studio, and Minho felt the walk might help him decompress from his stressful week. They walked in silence for the most part, Hyunjin occasionally filling Minho in on his own week, and Minho relented to have one short burst of venting about his week before trying to let go of his frustrations to be able to have a nice evening with his friends. 

By the time they arrived at the bar, Seungmin and Changbin were already sitting at a table waiting for them. Minho could sense a tension in the air between them, but after raising a questioning eyebrow to Seungmin as he sat and Seungmin simply shrugged in response, he decided it wasn’t his business. He took a seat next to him and grabbed the menu, choosing to read the tension on Changbin’s face as hunger. Hyunjin sat next to Changbin and glanced at the menu too, as if they didn’t know what the bar had to offer by heart at this point. Minho ordered something hearty to eat, and a beer. He honestly would have preferred wine with a rich meal, but he didn’t want to risk getting tipsy when he had an early morning the next day.

“Spicy comfort food. Shitty day?” Suengmin asked once their meals were brought to their table.

“You have no fucking idea.” Minho scoffed.

“Tell me then.”

“My time is owned by frat boy douches for another week. They don’t care about dancing, don’t care about my time, don’t care about anything but buying a win for a fucking dumbass competition at their school. And that would be fine, but they do not even try, then they have the audacity to get annoyed at me for their lack of progress. I am so close to acts of extreme violence against them.”

“I’m impressed you haven’t cooked them up already.” Seungmin scoffed. “At least it’s just one more week. Then you never have to see them again.”

“And how about my Jinnie?” Changbin cooed, focusing his full flirtatious energy on Hyunjin. “How has your week been? Stressful? Do you need a massage?” Hyunjin giggled at the attention, rolling his eyes as he continued to eat with Changbin pushing into his body space.

“My week was good. No massage necessary. Maybe you can offer Minho one instead?” Hyunjin replied.

“I would, but then how will I get my hands on you?” Changbin leered, going strong with his usual low level flirting with Hyunjin. 

“We’re eating, can you be gross when there isn’t a vomit risk.” Seungmin mumbled, his annoyance at Changbin barely contained.

“You’re the only one who has a problem.” Changbin replied, muttering as he moved to continue eating his meal. Hyunjin and Minho exchange a look before rolling their eyes in a mutual agreement that if they wanted them to know what was wrong they would have told them.

“So, tomorrow I expect the scum-boys to be hungover again, which adds an extra hit of asshole flavour to their whole fucking thing.” Minho complained, deciding to take control of the conversation again to gloss over the building tension.

“Oh goodie, hungover assholes. I mean, seeing them suffer might be nice.” Seungmin replied, seeming happy to drop whatever was going on with him and Changbin.

“We should plan to do something nice tomorrow then, try and cleanse them from you.” Hyunjin suggested.

“Cleanse is a good word. When hungover they come to me right from bed, I fucking swear they fall asleep in the clothes they party in and then just drag their gross asses to come sweat near me for hours.” Minho shuddered at the thought.

“Turn the fucking hose on them!” Changbin laughed.

“I think I’d rather cleanse them with fire. Only thing that might work on those pieces of shit.”

“Anyway, so what do you think? Alcohol, food, culture, nature?” Hyunjin brought them back to the plans for the next day.

“It’s a bit cold to be doing outside stuff that late in the day.” Seungmin complained.

“I mean, we’re trying to make Lino feel better, so why not finally try that cat cafe, then we can go for some good food?” Changbin suggested.

“Aren’t you allergic to cats?” Hyunjin chuckled.

“It’s not fatal, I can just take a benadryl, I like cute cats too.”

“Sound’s good to me. You can book it though.” Minho told him.

“If I’m booking then I’m picking where we eat after too.” 

“I have no complaints with that.” Minho shrugged, turning his attention back to his spicy food, actually feeling a little better for the delicious meal and knowing he had fun plans the following day.

“Sound’s good to me. Anyone else coming?” Seungmin asked.

“I could ask Innie, but he usually has plans at the weekend.” Minho shrugged.

“I’ll message the group chat, if you don’t mind.” Hyunin said, grabbing his phone.

“Send a picture of my handsome face, it will entice all the boys to come.” Minho said with a smirk.

“No more photos in the group chat for you!” Seungmin grumbled. Hyunjin cackled and actually took a picture of Minho smirking at the camera before typing on his phone.

“Yeah, Innie is gonna join us for a while, but he’s going to Felix’s for gaming later.” Hyunjin told them.

“Oh shit, yeah I was gonna go to that too. I’ll dip when Innie leaves then.” Seungmin added.

“Oh a rare show, Chan said he will come for the meal.” Hyunjin said, sounding surprised.

“Oh, he’s actually leaving the studio? I thought he would be holed up until next weekend.” Changbin said.

“It’ll be nice to have an old man sighting. Feels like forever since he crawled out of his workaholic cave.” Seungmin added.

“Pussy and meat are quite the draw.” Minho deadpanned, smirking before taking a drink of his beer.

“Hyunjinnie is the only draw I need.” Changbin said in a cute voice, turning his attention back to Hyunjin again.

“I do have a strong magnetism.” Hyunjin said between laughs.

“Ugh, it’s gonna be a long fucking night.” Seungmin grumbled, only loud enough for Minho to hear.

“Need to go?” Minho asked surreptitiously as Changbin fussed over Hyunjin.

“I won’t be driven away. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready, and not a moment before.” Seungmin muttered back, finishing his food.

“Hey, it’s your life, I’m just watching it.” Minho chuckled, knowing better than to try and talk Seugmin out of something once his mind was decided. “So, are you gonna book for tomorrow right now? I don’t trust you to remember to do it later, and I’m not coming if we don’t have any plans.” Minho scoffed, raising his voice as he spoke to Changbin.

“Alright, I’m on it.” Changbin grumbled, getting out his phone and huffing as he turned away from Hyunjin again. “What time are you free from the asshole emporium?”

“They don’t book me for a full Saturday, I guess they don’t wanna cut into their frat-dick debauchery time. So I’ll be able to meet you guys at around four, or five.”

“Right, I’ll book the cafe for half four, and I’ll book the barbecue restaurant for seven.” Changbin said, eyes trained on his phone as he booked the next day's events.

“I’ll let Innie and Channie know.” Hyunjin said when Changbin finished booking.

“Oh my Jinnie is so considerate!” Changbin cooed, throwing his arm over Hyunjin’s shoulder again. Hyunjin chuckled as he looked at his phone, seeming only mildly affected by Changbin’s intense attention just inches from his face.

“Thanks for sorting this, I would have just gone home and gotten fucking wasted on my own and then ended up with Innie walking in on me jerking it while watching porn on the big TV if you didn’t.” Minho laughed, trying not to interfere with the miasma of tension radiation from Seungmin next to him.

“Anything to stop you committing murder.” Hyunjin said, smiling at him before leaning back and into Changbin’s body space.

“Is getting off to someone being considerate a kink? Because you're unlocking something in me.” Changbin said, laying on his clumsy come ons thicker than Minho had ever seen.

“Are you free the rest of tonight?” Seungmin asked Minho with a huff.

“I’m wide open.” Minho replied with a soft smile, sensing Seungmin needed something from him.

“No, I am. Take me home.” Seungmin said flatly, but with no hesitation. Minho’s eyes flicked to Changbin who seemed to have stalled at Seungmin’s unexpected proposition, but again reminded himself that his friend's poor decisions were not his responsibility, even when they did put him in the middle.

“Wide open? Well, who am I to refuse?” Minho replied with a smile, standing up with Seungmin and exchanging a look to Hyunjin, feeling mildly reminded of an old lyric, ‘clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you’ as they both shared a second of eye contact before going back to their designated clowns for the night.

Minho and Seungmin left, getting a taxi to Seungmin’s apartment, neither of them exchanging a word until they crossed the threshold. The quiet wasn’t tense, it was more that Seungmin just seemed fully stuck in his own head, and Minho wasn’t really interested in making small talk just for the sake of it. They were used to sharing silence like this with each other by now, having spent hours just sitting together, doing separate activities like cats in the years they had been friends. Once they were in Seungmin’s apartment, they took off their shoes and Seungmin faced Minho, his focus off his thoughts and solidly on him.

“You know, we don’t actually have to have sex if you’re not into it. He saw us leaving together, so he thinks we are even if we don’t actually follow through with it.” Minho told Seungmin, wanting him to know he wasn’t going to hold him to his impulsive decision if he wasn’t fully invested in it.

“This isn’t about him!” Seungmin said with a sneer. “This is about me. My feelings! And I feel frustrated. I wanna have some relief. That’s why I want to have sex with you.”

“That’s good with me.” Minho said, biting back any snarky comments about how while what he said may be true, he was fully omitting that Changbin was so much a part of the reason he asked him here, that he might as well be there in the room with them.

Seungmin nodded, and grabbed Minho’s wrist before leading him to his bedroom. Minho followed willingly, fully giving over to Seungmin and allowing him to set the pace, not wanting to overstep for worries that his friend might be close to becoming upset. Minho kicked the bedroom door closed behind them before Seungmin dropped his wrist and turned back to him. Seungmin grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a kiss. He practically smashed their lips together, his frustrations palpable in every move he made as his tongue pushed its way into Minho’s mouth, desperately, like his saliva was a sedative he needed to feel relief. Minho reciprocated casually to all of Seungmin’s frenzied pawing, getting both of them undressed hastily. As soon as they were naked Seungmin pulled away and ran to his hamper and grabbed a towel before laying it down on his bed. Minho looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What? I don’t wanna make a mess on my bedding.” Seungmin said with a scoff before grabbing his bottle of lube and a condom.

“Whatever, I just am always amazed by how fastidious you are.” Minho chuckled as he climbed on the bed.

Seungmin rolled his eyes and got on the bed, laying his chest on his bed with his ass in the air, waiting for Minho to prepare him. If it had been any other time, or even another person Minho would have taken his time to mock and then work him up, teasing him for being so desperate and laughing until he was whining. Right now though, he knew that Seugmin was frustrated, and felt like he needed the control back, so he knew he would give him exactly what he wanted this time. 

Minho sat on his heels behind Seungmin and wasted no time in coating his fingers and pushing one into Seungmin. He heard him gasp softly, and was careful to move slowly until he felt Seungmin impatiently rocking back for him to hurry his ministrations. It wasn’t long before Minho slipped in a second finger, trying to be as gentle as he could while rushing through stretching Seungmin open. Minho tried to seek out Seunmin’s pleasure spot to try and aid his rush to relief, but Seungmin was too impatient, after a few whiny moans he pushed back harder and grumbled in complaint.

“Hurry!” Seungmin whined, demanding another finger to get him ready.

Minho shrugged to himself and pushed in a third finger, focusing on spreading them and getting Seungmin stretched, over giving him pleasure. He worked carefully inside him for a few minutes until he could tell Seungmin was losing patience again.

“Are you ready?” Minho asked him.

“I was ready five minutes ago.” Seungmin responded, sounding breathless and yet still able to have a tone of brusk annoyance.

“Tear your ass on your own time, I’m not gonna have your blood on my hands. Literally in this case.” Minho laughed as he removed his fingers from him to get himself ready with the condom. After making sure they were both adequately covered in lube he raised to his knees and lined up behind Seungmin, pressing the head of his cock against his hole.

“Sure you want this?” Minho just had to check.

“Yeah, I need this.” Seumgmin said, sounding less annoyed, his desperation coming through in the slight whine of his voice.

That was all the assurance Minho needed, and he gave Seungmin the distracting relief he needed and pushed forward and entered him. Minho paused when his head was engulfed in him, listening to the sharp intake of breath and waiting for the muscles in Seungmin’s back to relax before he continued. Minho didn’t push in deeper until he felt Seungin pushing back against him slightly. He moved forward, sinking into him slowly in one prolonged thrust, watching for any tension or discomfort in Seungmin’s body as he did. 

After bottoming out Minho stilled himself, gripping Seungmin’s hips to prevent him from impatiently moving too soon as he took a few breaths himself. He took the moment to enjoy the feeling of being encased in the tight heat before Seungmin started his whiny complaining. He got about two minutes of peace before Seungmin’s tolerance ran out and he was wiggling in Minho’s steely grip.

“I brought you here to fuck me! Not rent the space!” Seungmin snarked. Minho rubbed a hand lightly over his ass cheek.

“Now, this is far too vulnerable of a position for you to be sassing at me. At least without an established safe word.” Minho said, a devilish smirk on his face as Sungmin sank down onto the bed and relaxed his body, no longer urging him with his rocking.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Seungmin mumbled, and Minho laughed at how obvious the childish pout was in his voice.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on teasing you.” Minho tapped Seungmin’s ass, not spanking, just a playful contact before he adjusted his grip and stance to start fucking him.

Minho planned to be good to his word and not tease him, but he still wanted to be careful with his friend, so he started by pulling out half way and slowly sinking back in. The noise Seungmin made reassuring him that he wasn’t powering through discomfort to rush to the ending, and was actually prepared enough for this to feel good. On his next thrust he plunged in quicker, picking up his speed steadily. With Seungmin’s building moaning as a soundtrack, Minho built his own pace until soon he was gripping Seungmin’s hips tightly, and driving into him hard.

After laying on his chest and taking Minho for a while Seungmin pushed himself up, standing on his knees as Minho slowed his hips so as to not knock him back down. Seungmin threw his head back on Minho’s shoulder and turned his head away to the side, exposing his neck in a less than subtle invitation. Minho let out a puff of air in a muted laugh before moving down to kiss his neck, and waiting to see how long it would take for Seungmin to demand what he really wanted.

“More!” Seungmin asked, managing to keep the demanding tone out of his breathy voice. Minho smirked against his skin before snaking his arms around his torso and gripping onto his body then snapping his hips into him harder. Seungmin wailed out a moan before his hand flew up to press Minho’s face harder against his neck. Minho licked his neck and avoided giving in until Seungmin voiced what he wanted.

“Fucking bite me!” Seungmin finally relented and asked. Minho laughed, and opened his mouth, taking in a small mouthful of skin between his teeth and pressing down before sucking lightly on the skin.

“Yes!” Seungmin moaned, and his body seemed to relax as Minho kept fucking into him with his mouth attached to his neck.

Seungmin stayed laying against his body for a couple of minutes before pulling away, and dropping onto his hands and knees so he could push back and fuck himself in time with Minho’s thrusts. Minho groaned and gripped him tight, knowing that they were both approaching the end. He let himself relax into the sensations, focusing on his own pleasure over Seungmin’s enough so that he would be able to cum not long after Seungmin did. 

“I’m close!” Seungmin gasped out, and Minho nodded, despite Seungmin not being able to see him.

Seungmin was moaning loudly as his legs shook when he finally lifted a hand to jerk himself to his release. Minho closed his eyes and fucked him hard as he focused on his own coiling pleasure. Seungmin came with a whiny moan, and Minho managed to follow shortly after, avoiding pushing Seungmin into an uncomfortable overstimulation. Minho rocked in Seungmin as he rode out his climax and filled the condom. 

Minho pulled out of Seungmin, sitting down and leaning back on his hands as he enjoyed the high of his orgasm. The room was silent but for their laboured breaths. Minho opened his eyes when he heard Seungmin moving, and watched as he rolled onto his side, then bundled up the soiled towel and tossed it to his laundry. Minho took off the used condom, tying the end into a knot before moving to drop it in the trash then dropping down to lay next to Seungmin, shoulders propped up on the pillows resting against the headboard. They laid in silence, their breathing slowly returning to normal as they relaxed. 

“So… Hate yourself?” Minho asked after hearing Seungmin let out a deep and heavy sigh.

“A little bit.” Seungmin replied flatly.

“Yeah… One day you will have to learn that you can’t solve your problems with regrettable sex with me.” Minho laughed,

“It’s not that I regret it… I just… I kinda wish I wasn’t so petty and impulsive sometimes.”

“You’re not that impulsive really, just a little hot headed.” Minho told him, glancing over to see Seungmin staring up at the ceiling.

“It was about him.” Seungmin admitted.

“Shocking.” Minho deadpanned.

“Fuck off. I don’t want him to affect me like this. I don’t want to feel jealous, or want to make him jealous. I also don’t like using you like that.”

“It’s been well established that I don’t give a fuck if I’m being used. It’s pretty mutual.”

“I know, I just… it sucks. I’m sorry.”

“Shut up, you’re fine.” Minho reassured him. He let them sit in silence for a few moments more. “Do you need anything from me before I leave?”

“Do you have time to just hang out for a while? Take the bitter taste of the rest of the night out of my mouth?”

“As offended as I am at being classed as a bitter taste, I have a few hours I can spare for you.” Minho scoffed.

“Not you. Just the whole thing. You know you’re good at what you do, no complaints there.”

“I distinctly remember hearing a lot of complaining.” Minho teased him.

“Oh fuck off!”

“Come on, let’s get dressed and put on a movie.” Minho said, sliding off the bed to get dressed, back turned to Seungmin as he hunted for comfortable clothes to dress in.

They took their time, and once they were decent again they went into the living room where Minho dropped on the couch, making himself comfortable as Seungmin sat on the other side and turned on the TV to look for a movie for them to watch. They sat silently watching the TV for a few minutes before Minho had to address the elephant in the room.

“So, are you ever gonna actually talk to him and stop this petty back and forth of hell?” Minho asked him.

“I try… It’s just, he gets flustered and I get defensive. Neither of us is good at talking about how we really feel.” Seungmin sighed and shifted so he was leaning against the arm of the couch as he turned to face Minho. “So we get caught in our damn pattern of flirting and getting close before one of us upsets the other and we make our lives hell until something gives and we go back to normal.” 

“God, relationships are fucking messy.” Minho said, shaking his head at his friend's complicated love life.

“Not quite a relationship, but yeah. Anyway, what about you?”

“Hmm?” Minho hummed in question as he lifted his leg onto the sofa to fully face Seungmin also.

“Do you ever think of hanging up the slut shoes and getting into a relationship?”

“Ah, well, I dunno. I mean, you saw my relationships, not really worth the effort. Everytime it just kinda fizzled out, and we ended up feeling like we were just friends who had sex, there was no passion or affection. The promise of something good faded, and it just ended up kinda… boring. So I might as well just fuck my friends and leave out the risk of drama with a relationship, you know?”

“So, you’re happy with just fucking your friends and strangers?”

“I mean… It’s fine. Sure, sleeping with strangers isn’t quite as exciting as it used to be. I kinda can hone in on the people looking for casual, anonymous sex on sight, then it’s just a simple matter of finding a place to fuck, so it is kinda…”

“Boring?”

“A little, but you know, it’s fine. And sure, I only seem to have sex with my friends when there's some kind of scheme, or drama, or frustration, never just because I’m horny anymore.”

“How is that better than your relationships?”

“I mean, relationships seem to either be like mine and lack the fire and comfort they should have. Or like yours and just cause pain and confusion.” Minho paused for a second. “I didn’t mean to imply…”

“No, you’re not wrong.” Seungmin sighed. “The thing is, when it’s good, my god, he makes me feel so good. I can’t describe it. It’s why we get so defensive I think. We just got trapped… I will break the pattern, I just… I’m stubborn, but I will figure out how to talk to him for real soon. Anyway, I was talking about you. So, you’re just gonna keep on with your own situation?”

“It works for me. I don’t have anything else that feels better on offer, so why bother changing it. I’m fine with things as they are.” Minho said, scrunching up his face at having to think about how his sex life had become rather monotonous. “You know he’s going to be even worse tomorrow. Especially with that fucking hicky you demanded I give you.”

“I know…” Seungmin sighed. “I can handle it. I guess I kinda want him to be worse.”

“How's that?”

“Well, I fucked you, if he goes and fucks someone, we can both just feel even and guilty and then maybe go back to our normal situation again.”

“So if he takes home Hyunjin, or me, you won’t care?”

“I’d prefer it was you than Hyunjin. I genuinely worry that one day Hyunjin will reciprocate his flirting and I’ll lose my chance with Changbin fully.”

“Yeah, no chance of that with me. Even if I woke up one day and suddenly found Changbin irresistible and charming, I wouldn’t bypass my loyalty. But I might still fuck him. Unless you don’t want me to.”

“I literally just said it’s better if it’s you than Hyunjin.”

“God, romance emotions are a fucking complicated mess. I don’t know how you do it, man.” Minho scoffed, shaking his head.

“I mean, not well. I thought I had just demonstrated that to you up close and in 3D.” Seungmin laughed. “I do think I’m gonna work on not fucking you as a solution to my non-relationship shitshow from now on though. It’s not feeling fair, and it just keeps me in the same useless pattern. I will do it. I’ll get my act together and talk to him soon, for better or worse. I’ll just wait until we’re on equal footing again, then I’ll find the words to actually talk about how I feel without wanting to rip off my own skin.”

“Sounds utterly romantic.” Minho laughed as he turned back to the TV.

Minho stuck around for the rest of the movie, talking about other things to try and take Seungmin’s mind off of Changbin before he left him. He felt reflective as he went to bed, wondering if he was actually happy with the way things were. He wasn’t unhappy, but he did feel like there could be more he would want. He just didn’t know what it was, or where he would even start to find it. He didn’t really think Seungmin and Changbin’s drama was what he wanted, but he did kind of envy the passion, even if it all looked so exhausting with no real pay off. He decided it didn’t really matter, he was okay, and not motivated enough to actually try to change anything about his life right now. Despite his resolution to passivity to his sex life, he felt seeds of discontent sowing in his mind.

Chapter Text

Minho tried to keep the devilish glint out of his smile as he watched the frat boys struggling through the sets of burpees he had assigned them. The exercise was in no way needed for the dance he had choreographed for them, but he had managed to find some bullshit reason to make them suffer and had run with it. They had been giving him trouble all day, and he had finally snapped, and it was this or burn them alive. He took great pleasure in how at least two of the men looked like they were about to cry, and one of them even looked like was on the edge of throwing up. Minho didn’t feel like cleaning up frat-boy vomit, but it seemed like a small potential price to pay for how distressed they all looked now.

“That was great!” Minho said, putting as much sickening cheer into his voice as he could muster as the men collapsed after finishing the final set. “That’s it for today! Now make sure you rest up well over the weekend so you have the energy and focus to really give it your all on Monday!”

Minho heard a few curses being muttered as they all struggled to gather their stuff and leave, their faces somehow being both flushed and pale at the same time. Looking at them, Minho felt confident that at least a couple of them would be throwing up outside the studio. He took joy in knowing that he had ruined a part of their weekend, and wondered how many of them would also throw up just from the smell of alcohol at whatever debauched kegger they had planned for that evening. He maintained his sunny disposition as the men stumbled over each other to leave the studio, leaving the room stinking of hangover sweat and suffering. Minho opened the window to air it out as he cleaned up and went to shower himself, remembering to return and close the window again before leaving the studio. Hyunjin didn’t have rehearsals at the weekend, so he was leaving on his own today, only just remembering not to get an iced coffee as he made his way to the cat cafe to meet his friends, since having a coffee on the way to get coffee felt like overkill, even to him.

He walked the short distance in the crisp afternoon air, the day already starting to show sights of darkening. He wasn’t a fan of the cold, but he did enjoy the contrast to the heat building inside him as he walked quickly, his skin prickling with the competing temperatures feeling almost exhilarating. He arrived at the cafe only a few minutes later than the time they had booked, and saw the four others were already sitting at a table, their drinks in front of them. Minho smiled as he took the free seat between Jeongin and Seungmin, Hyunjin was at Jeongin’s other side, and Changbin between him and Seungmin.

“Cat heaven now!” Minho announced as he got himself comfortable, shrugging off his winter coat.

“You know, it smells so much better in here than I would have expected it to.” Changbin laughed.

“Did you manage to avoid murder today?” Hyunjin asked him with a warm smile.

“Yeah, well… They may end up dying later. I made them finish the session with burpees.” Minho said with his sly grin.

“You’re the devil.” Hyunjin said before cracking up.

“I got you an iced americano.” Seungmin said, pushing the drink closer to him.

“Thanks, Minnie.” Minho gave him a brief smile of gratitude as he noticed Changbin’s tension rising. 

Minho sipped his americano and took in the group, Hyunjin was fully occupied in fussing over Jeongin, and Changbin was alternating his energy between pouting at being left out of Hyunjin’s affections, and glaring daggers at the mark Minho had left on Seungmin’s neck. Seungmin was just quietly watching the cats, a slight air of smugness whenever he pointedly ignored Changbin’s annoyance at the evidence of sex left on his skin. 

Minho decided that the drama was not his problem and placed down his drink to try and attract the attention of an orange cat that was sitting and looking at him from not far away. He bent down and extended an arm, making a soft clicking with his tongue to try and lure the cat over. It didn’t take long of Minho’s patient cooing for the cat to saunter over and allow itself to be petted. Minho stoked the cat for a short while before it deemed him worthy and hopped up to make itself comfortable on Minho’s lap. Minho smiled as he stroked the cat, who was now sniffing his face.

“Ah. Tsk, good boy, yeah?” Minho cooed as the cat practically kissed him on the nose before settling down to curl up and start to snooze on him. 

Minho gazed down fondly at the sleeping ball of fur for a while before turning his eyes up to his friends. Jeongin had a playful kitten rolling around and keeping his attention in his lap, and Hyunjin was draped over him as he also played with the kitten. Seungmin was making strange hybrid meow and woof noises at a cat eyeing him curiously, and Changbin was pouting. He was trying not to look like he was sulking, but he had a very animated face, and it was hard to ignore the lip jutting out and the furrow of his brow as he alternated his focus from his phone, to his friends, to the cat, and back again.

“So what time are we going to game night?” Seungmin asked Jeongin.

“I mean, this is Sung and Lix, they are probably already gaming, and won’t stop until close to dawn. So we can just head over whenever, they won’t care if we’re kinda late.” Jeongin told him.

“Who’s place are you at tonight?” Hyunjin asked Jeongin.

“Lixie’s, I don’t think Sung wanted to have to clean up his apartment.” Jeongin laughed.

“You can come with us, if you want? I know they would like to see you.” Seungmin offered.

“Really? Oh cool! Yeah, I might just take you up on that!” Hyunjin beamed at them.

“Ah nice! I think we will be going after food though, I was planning on ditching out earlier, but I am just so hungry, and I’ve not been for barbeque in so long. I can leave them waiting.” Jeongin chuckled.

“I am so fucking hungry! The smell of death sweat pouring off the guys I was teaching kinda made lunch less than appealing. I have not eaten enough today!” Minho complained, carefully reaching for his drink without disturbing the cat.

“Don’t worry, we will have you happily filled with meat soon enough.” Changbin smirked.

“What are Saturday nights for, if not stuffing yourself full of meat?” Minho laughed.

“Word.” Hyunjin said, nodding like Minho had imparted the greatest knowledge on the group.

“Fridays are for fucking, Saturdays are for stuffing.” Seungmin added, turning Changbin’s smirk sour on his face.

“And Sundays are for snoozing.” Jeonign finished, looking back down at the cat that was trying to eat his top.

“Sundays are for recovering from having to be near people all week.” Minho corrected him as his fingers worked into the velvety fur of the purring cat in his lap.

“Is that why you refuse to speak to me on Sundays?” Jeongin joked.

“Maybe if you let me have cats in the apartment, they would recharge me and I would be more social.”

“It’s in our lease, no pets.” Jeongin reminded him.

“That’s why we keep it a secret! Duh.” Minho said, rolling his eyes.

“I will not get evicted for a cat. No matter how cute they may be.” Jeongin said, smiling down at the kitten that had given up on playing to sleep on him instead.

“Fine, fucking goody-goody. I’ll wait until I have a place of my own to form my cat army.” Minho said with a feigned weary sigh.

“Don’t wrap the poor innocent kitties up in your nefarious plots!” Hyunjin whined.

“If you think cats are innocent, you really haven’t spent much time with them.” Minho scoffed. “Their devious nature is part of the reason I love them so much.” 

“A good reason for you not to get a cat, you don’t need another creature to enable you to be evil.” Seungmin chuckled.

“Alternatively, I should because then I will have one creature in my life that actually understands me.” Minho scoffed, removing his hands as the cat on his lap stretched to readjust its position.

They talked lightly, everyone getting wrapped up in the cats playing and behaving cute around them. Minho cuddled the same cat for the whole time, stroking a couple other cats that sniffed around his legs, but the one on his lap was too comfortable sleeping on him for him to have the heart to move him until they had to leave. Minho was glad the commotion of everyone getting up and getting their coats disturbed the cat and made it hop off his lap, otherwise he may have never left the cafe again. They left and walked to slowly make their way to the restaurant and meet Chan. Chan was waiting in the entrance, scrolling on his phone when they arrived. He smiled when he saw them, but before they could have a proper greeting the hostess came to seat them at their large table with the built-in grill. Chan and Changbin took care of ordering for the table, letting the others pick specific sides they wanted before they turned to greeting Chan.

“Ah Innie! It’s been too long! It feels like you never come over anymore!” Chan said, pouting as he pulled Jeongin into a half hug, his eyes lighting up as he smiled at him.

“What about me? I’m not at your place much anymore either?” Hyunjin interrupted with a laugh.

“I miss all my boys! I’ve been working too much. We are missing some?”

“Gaming hermits.” Seungmin responded.

“We will have to come over to yours some time soon. You can throw us a party.” Jeongin said to Chan with his wide smile as Chan released him from his grip. “Speaking of parties, you’re coming to my birthday, right?”

“Of course I’ll be there, I wouldn't miss it. Are you coming to our performance next weekend?” 

“Oh hell yes! I’d never skip that!” Jeongin beamed as the waitress started to place their meat and vegetables on the table for them to cook.

“It’s gonna be a great performance this time!” Changbin announced from his seat next to Minho as Chan started to place some meat on the grill. Minho hadn’t been paying too much attention to the conversation, taking in about fifty percent of the information they had been talking about as he kind of just spaced out. Minho picked up a second pair of tongs to help Chan with the cooking.

“I think I will be able to have a party sometime next month. I’ll see what my schedule looks like. Also when I say party, I just mean you guys, and a few drinks, nothing crazy. Please don’t destroy my house.” Chan chuckled.

“Oh fuck yeah! Can we pass out on your sofas?” Hyunjin asked as he started to nibble at the sides.

“Sure, but anyone still there in the morning will be helping me clean.” Chan said with a playful grin.

“Yeah, but only if you provide breakfast.” Seungmin added. Chan smiled and nodded before turning to Minho who was monitoring the meat.

“So, I hear you’ve been teaching assholes for a couple of weeks?” Chan said, bringing Minho into the conversation.

“Oh yeah, high grade entitled frat bros. I want to skin them alive and then throw them on a pile of broken glass.”

“Well that was fucking vivid!” Hyunjin shuddered.

“But I settled for just making their hangover worse.” Minho nodded and smiled slightly.

“That sucks man, I’m impressed you’re sticking with it though.” Chan replied.

“Yeah, the money’s good, and the work’s easy, if just slightly damaging to my soul.”

“What soul?” Seungmin scoffed.

“You’re so lucky you got to hand pick who you work with.” Minho said to Chan, ignoring Seungmin’s snipe.

“That’s true. I do still have to deal with entitled assholes sometimes though, we do have to work with other producers and artists from time to time.”

“Try all the time.” Changbin grumbled. Minho became aware that Changbin’s mood hadn’t lifted from the cat cafe, he appeared to have abandoned all attempts to get Hyunjin’s attention, and was just stealing pained glances at Seungmin.

“Ahh, they’re not so bad, just big egos usually.” Chan said with a placating smile.

“A big ego is fine, as long as they have something else big to back it up with.” Hyunjin laughed.

“Since when were you a size queen?” Minho laughed at him.

“Since it was funny.” Hyunjin shrugged.

Minho was focused on getting as much meat cooked as he could, and ensuring the younger men got food first, then making sure Chan was actually also eating and not just cooking before he finally started to relax enough to eat himself, still helping Chan with the cooking so they both had time to eat. Minho noticed Changbin being much quieter than usual, still eating enthusiastically, but not half as animated as he would usually be in this setting.

“Got any plans next week?” Seungmin asked Minho, or possibly the whole table, but Minho chose to answer since he was looking at him.

“Trying not to murder. That’s pretty much it.”

“Well if you come to the cafe I’ll give you some free coffee and cake to try and incentivise you away from violence.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks.” Minho smiled at him, actually thankful at the idea of a break from being surrounded by unpleasant people all week.

“So, what are everyone’s plans now? Is anyone up for going for a drink?” Changbin asked when they had finished eating.

“Gaming, if we went for a drink we might actually be so late that they would notice.” Jeongin said with a smile.

“Yeah…” Seungmin replied, not looking directly at Changbin.

“I’m with them.” Hyunjin told them.

“I need to either go back to work, or actually get a couple hours of sleep right now.” Chan told him with an apologetic smile.

“Lino? What do you say?” Changbin asked, turning to Minho.

“I’ve not got any plans.” Minho told him, shrugging.

“Well, how about we ditch the bar, and you just come back to mine? I’m sure I’ve got something I can give you to give you a buzz.” Changbin said with a cheeky leer. 

Minho gave him a lopsided smile as he glanced at Seungmin who gave an almost imperceptible shrug. Minho hesitated for a second, before chalking this up to more than he was willing to expend his brain power on. Seungmin had told him he would rather Changbin fuck him than Hyunjin, and he didn’t seem upset, that was as much effort figuring out other peoples emotions that he was going to put into this.

“Subtle. You could just say you wanna fuck, don’t waste your inuendos on me.” Minho scoffed, using his phone to transfer his share of the bill to Chan, who had just given the waitress his card without saying anything to the others.

“You’re a classy man, Minho. Never change.” Hyunjin laughed at him.

“See you next week, Minnie?” Minho asked, wanting one more confirmation he wasn’t actively upsetting his friend any more than he was choosing himself.

“Yeah, I’m working mornings until Thursday.” Seungmin told him, smiling kindly at him, eyes notably ignoring Changbin who was next to Minho.

“Got it. Are you gonna be at home tomorrow?” Minho asked Jeongin as he stood up and got his coat on.

“Yeah, I’ll come home once we’re done gaming.” Jeongin said with his wide smile.

“I’ll plan to cook for both of us then. Nice seeing you again, Channie. Later Jinnie.” Minho waved, and noted Changbin choosing not to say any goodbyes as he stood to leave with him.

Minho and Changbin headed to Changbin’s apartment in silence. Minho was reminded of the night before with Changbin’s romantic counterpart, but this night, rather than the silence feeling natural, it felt heavy, less casual. Changbin, like Seungmin had been, also seemed stuck in his own head, the difference being that it was rare for Changbin not to yell out and voice every passing thought, or drown out his own mind by being overly loud. Minho wasn’t used to Changbin allowing them to exist in peaceful silence. He wasn’t phased though, the obvious tension surrounding Changbin and his uncharacteristic silence was not directed to, or caused by him. Minho long since refused to force his opinion where he knew it wasn’t wanted. He let himself enjoy the silence instead, figuring that if Changbin wanted to talk about anything, he would. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Changbin's large apartment, and Minho toed off his shoes with Changbin, waiting for Changbin to make his move.

“So… Can I get you a drink?” Changbin asked, his pensive expression melting to make way for his charming smile.

“You can drop the pretext, Binnie. We both know you didn’t bring me here for a drink. No need to delay now, is there?” Minho said with a soft smile. He would have indulged Changbin in his faux courting foreplay, if he suspected for even a moment that Changbin actually wanted to draw this out and pretend to seduce him.

“Yeah, fair. I like how upfront and direct you are. It’s reassuring.” Changbin said, smiling with the hint of vulnerability before his cheeky smirk returned to his face. “So, race you to the bedroom? Loser is on the bottom!” Changbin said before tapping Minho and darting towards his bedroom door. Minho scoffed a genuine laugh, impressed at how fun Changbin could be, even when he was clearly tangled in some emotional mess in his head. 

Minho tossed his coat on the sofa and took his time following Changbin to the bedroom, no interest in wasting his energy in a playful race. He also had no intention of topping Changbin, he knew him too well to want to skip out on the powerhouse fucking he knew Changbin had in store for him.

“Oh no, I lost. What a shame…” Minho monotone as he crossed the threshold to the bedroom. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with bottoming… Grab your lube.” Minho smirked as Changbin chuckled at him.

“I am the undefeated champion!” Changbin boasted as he grabbed his bottle of lube and a condom before tugging Minho to him, kissing him briefly before starting to paw at his clothing.

“I’d say you need to branch out and be open to switching roles more, if I didn’t just love the way your muscles can render me into a rag doll of a man. That’s usually my job.” Minho muttered as he took off his top, rushing Changbin through whatever slow start he seemed to have in mind.

“I do bottom. And I like it. But I’ll take any opportunity I can to come out on top with you.” Changbin leered as he started to mirror Minho in removing his own clothes.

“Let’s face it, you get off to the power trip of making me whine.”

“Like a bitch. You love it.”

“I’m not complaining.” Minho laughed as he finally got naked. This was the Changbin that Minho was used to, flirty, bordering on cocky, and running his mouth non-stop.

“Bend over for me.” Changbin instructed, grabbing the lube. Minho crawled on the bed, on his hands and knees, his ass close to the edge, ready for Changbin to prep him. “So compliant. No one would ever believe me if I told them how docile the wild-cat Lino is for me right now.” Changbin rambled as he ran a hand over Minho’s ass before tugging a cheek to the side and pushing a lubricated finger against Minho’s hole.

“Shut up and get your fingers in my ass before I decide to switch roles.” Minho growled with no real bite to his words.

“No patience. All of your bolster, but you were made for this, right? Made to be fucked.” Changbin said as he pushed a finger into him. 

Minho gasped, and remembered why he tolerated Changbin’s endless chatter as his finger was immediately fucking into him mercilessly, earning a soft moan from Minho already. Minho tried not to rock back too eagerly as Changbin wasted no time in getting a second finger thrusting into him. He tried to tune out Changbin’s words, which with the intensity of his fingers filling and spreading inside of him wasn’t hard to do. Changbin’s voice was quickly becoming a white noise, fading out to his own building noises of pleasure. Changbin focused on intensity and efficiency as he fingered him, contrasting to Minho’s preferred style of taking a person apart all night before fucking them. Minho didn’t have a strong preference for how he preferred to be fucked, whether it was his own, slower, more teasing style or Changbin’s direct approach, it didn’t really matter as Changbin’s was working for him right now.

“On your feet.” Changbin said as he removed his fingers, grabbing the condom to prepare himself. 

Minho pushed himself back off the bed, focusing all his energy on not stumbling or letting his legs tremble at having to stand up seconds after having fingers buried deep inside of him. Minho managed to keep his body stable as he turned to face Changbin, waiting to see how he wanted him.

“Hop up.” Changbin requested, placing his hands on Minho’s hips. 

Minho raised an eyebrow, but did as asked, jumping up to wrap his legs around Changbin. Changbin’s hands gripped his ass firmly as he walked Minho to the closest wall, resting Minho’s shoulders against the hard surface as he moved a hand to line his cock up with his waiting hole. Minho relaxed his upper body as he rested half his weight on the wall behind him, his arms gripping Changbin’s densely muscled shoulders, his ankles locking behind Changbin’s ass as he relaxed and let himself slide down and envelope Changbin.

“Fuck!” Minho gasped as he felt himself stretching over Changbin’s cock, gravity tugging him down swiftly until his ass was pressed against Changbin’s hips, filled with him.

“Yeah!” Changbin practically whined, throwing his head back with his eyes closed as his hips gently rolled forward, seeming fully lost to the sensations of being surrounded by Minho.

Minho took his time breathing deeply and letting himself relax, trying to be aware of his body as he assessed if he needed to adjust his position to be able to handle being drilled into against the wall. Once he had adjusted to Changbin inside him, he wriggled his body into the best position, shifting his legs so his thighs were clamped down on the top of Changbin’s hips, digging into the soft flesh of his waist. Changbin’s strong grip moved over to help him, then to keep him securely in place, groaning softly as Minho adjusted on him.

“Are you ready for me?” Changbin asked, his voice coming out breathier than he probably intended.

“You’re already inside me.” Minho said with a cocky smirk, before chuckling and nodding. “Yeah, fuck me.” 

Changbin nodded and his fingers dug deeper into Minho’s flesh as he adjusted his own hips so he could pull out slightly before slamming back in. Minho dropped his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as Changbin picked up his pace, getting used to the position and handling Minho’s weight as his hips began snapping against him. Minho’s nails started to dig into Changbin’s shoulders as the intensity shook through him. He was letting out high pitched groans at each impact of Changbin’s powerful thrusts. His head kept hitting the wall and he knew there would be bruises from Changbin’s grip on his hips and ass after this was over, but each tiny prick of pain just added to the boiling pot of intensity that was entwined with the pleasure as he let himself give over to the sensations and forget everything else. Letting himself forget who was fucking him, forget the why, forget he even knew him at all. Right now, he was just being fucked, the who was irrelevant.

Minho let out a loud moan as Changbin pounded into his sweet spot, and it sent a shudder of shockwaves through his wrecked body. Minho threw up an arm behind him, trying to stop himself from toppling to the floor as his body swayed in Changbin’s solid grip. Changbin held him steady and stopped fucking into him as he looked him in the eyes to check he was okay. They both laughed when they realised they were one minute from having to go to the hospital for a sex related injury, and Changbin wrapped his arms around Minho to walk him over and drop him on the edge of the bed. Changbin stayed standing, with Minho’s legs not releasing his thighs strangle hold of Changbins’ body as he let his body drop to the bed. 

Changbin took a moment to make sure they were in a comfortable and adequate position before he resumed his brutal pace of fucking into him. Minho wailed, gripping the bedding as he squeezed his eyes tight, letting his mind drift and get lost in the feelings flooding him. Changbin still had one hand leaving bruises from the grip on his hip, and Minho felt the bed dip as the other landed on the mattress, affording him better leverage to pound into Minho.

“I’m close!” Minho whined, letting his ears tune into whatever mumbled cursed Changbin had been muttering to hear his response.

“Me too! Oh fuck, you cum first!” Changbin replied. 

Minho grasped his weeping cock and started to stroke, trying to keep pace with Changbin’s thrusts, but he immediately lost rhythm as his climax crashed over him and made his muscles spasm and twitch as he cried out in pleasure. Changbin must have been closer than he realised as Minho felt him pull out before he had even fully ridden out the dizzying high of his own orgasm. 

Minho cracked his eyes as Changbin moved over to start cleaning him. Minho scoffed and took the tissues from him to clean himself, he knew Changbin had a gentle touch, but he looked still too fucked out to be careful of not overstimulating him. Changbin smiled and dropped onto the bed behind Minho. Once Minho had removed the bulk of cum and lube from himself he shifted up to join Changbin on the bed. Both of their breathing being the only sound in the room.

“You’re an asshole, you know that right?” Minho said, his sudden protectiveness of his other friend rearing his head in his post-nut clarity.

“What? Did I do something wrong? Are you hurt?” Changbin asked, looking over Minho, suddenly full of concern.

“Not me, you dense fuck. You know why you’re an asshole.” Minho levelled him with an intense stare.

“I don’t know what you mean…” Changbin said evasively, shifting nervously on the bed.

“Right, sure. If you wanna play dumb I’m not gonna force it.” Minho conceded with a sigh. “But just know, I love you both to fucking pieces, but if this all goes to shit, and I have to choose sides. You know it won't be yours that I choose.”

“I know…” Changbin muttered under his breath, clasping his hands together almost like a child who is ashamed of being careless and breaking something important. Minho thought in a way he had.

“I’m not angry though. And I had a good time. I just… I have loyalties, and you need to know how close you are crossing to that line.” Minho said, smiling softly at Changbin.

“I’m lucky to have a friend as good as you. We all are.” Changbin said, again avoiding the unspoken name of who this was really about. 

Minho thought to himself that if this was how Changbin tried to talk about his feelings with Seungmin, it was no wonder they made no progress. Seungmin’s defensiveness met with this feigned indifference was a perfect storm for implosion. He felt sorry for the both of them, but it was hard for him to be impartial when Seungmin was the one who he opened up to, the one who opened up to him. He knew Changbin was struggling with this too, but until he actually addressed it with him, Seungmin was always going to default as in the right to his mind.

“So, do you need anything before I dip out?” Minho asked, putting on a smile to brush off the serious tone of the conversation they almost had.

“Oh, yeah actually!” Changbin said, turning to Minho with a bright smile, as if the gloom that had been thick in the air had not been emanating from him. “On Friday we, 3RACHA, we’re performing. A good venue this time, the bar Stray? Anyway, I want as many familiar faces in the crowd as I can. So, would you come?” Changbin gave him his puppy dog eyes as Minho sighed.

“Oh man, you know I hate that kinda shit. Crowds, loud music, jostling people. It’s too hot. And stinks of sweat!” Minho whined.

“Come on!” Changbin whined harder. “Look, if you come, I know most of the people that will be there and I will be able to set you up with a hot dude. You will have your pick of my slutty friends!”

“You say that like I haven’t already.” Minho scoffed before sighing lightly. “It would be nice to have some sex that isn’t me being in the middle of someone else's relationship drama for a change.”

“I’m not in a relationship.” Changbin pouted.

“No, but you are a fuck load of drama.” Minho sighed again and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll go. Only to get laid though, I’m not doing this because you pouted.” Minho said, giving in fully because his friend had asked him to.

“I will find you the hottest, sluttiest man there!” Changbin said with a gleeful grin at getting his own way.

“Yeah, me too. I just have to look in the mirror.” Minho gave Changbin a smug grin before laughing softly. “Are you okay? I can hang around longer if you like?”

“I’m fine. I wanna shower and sleep now, thanks though.” Changbin reassured him. 

Minho looked over at him for a moment before deciding not to put more energy into assessing if he was lying, that wasn’t his responsibility. He would be there for his friends, he would do almost anything for them, but if they didn’t ask for support or refused his offer, that was on them. He got up and got dressed, taking his time as he felt a slight ache in his ass and his muscles from the heavy fucking session they had just had. Once he was dressed he lingered, giving Changbin another chance to ask him if he needed anything, or even actually talk about the Seungmin shaped cloud that had followed them from the bar, unspoken about, but shadowing their every action. Changbin gave him a carefree and relaxed smile and Minho shrugged, smiling back at him before letting himself out and deciding to walk home, taking a slow pace, hoping the light stretching and movement might help work out the aches and prevent him from being sore in the morning.

He got home and took a long hot shower, the second step to help his muscles relax, then he checked the time, and decided to have a cup of tea and relax while watching a movie before going to bed. He considered staying up for Jeonign for a second, but he knew better than to do that by now. He crawled into bed before midnight and was awoken by the sound of Jeongin returning home at five am. Minho had checked his phone and after hearing Jeongin go to his room before all sound in the apartment stopped, then he turned over to get a couple more hours of sleep before waking up for the day.

Minho got up earlier than he liked for a Sunday, but since he wasn’t hungover, and his choreography with the frat clients wasn’t challenging him, he figured that he should go to the gym and work out, even see if he could book a boxing PT on short notice. He thankfully wasn’t sore from the sex the night before and managed to survive a few hours at the gym. He stopped to buy the ingredients for the meal he had decided he was going to cook for him and Jeongin that day, and headed home to try and take care of his roommate and friend.

Once home Minho changed into sweats and an oversized T-shirt then took care of some light housework before deciding Jeongin shouldn’t sleep past noon. He knocked on his door out of courtesy before letting himself in, but he knew Jeongin would still be dead to the world. He ran a finger over his face to lightly tickle him, trying to rouse him gently.

“Innie, you really should wake up.” Minho said softly, Jeongin scrunched up his face and made a groaning sound in his throat. “Innie!”

“Mmph!” Jeongin grumbled, squinting open his eyes as he scowled at Minho.

“Ohh, you are a grumpy one today. I heard you come back at fuck o’clock. But I know you have a packed week next week, right?”

“Why!” Jeongin asked, probably not at what Minho had said, but at the world in general about being ripped from his slumber.

“Well, you have all those singing lessons for the job you have lined up, and you also have morning shifts at the pool half the week, right?”

“Oh god! What time is it?” Jeongin asked, finally seeming to be catching up with the present world.

“It’s lunchtime. It’s Sunday, but if you sleep any later you won’t sleep tonight and you will hate yourself on Monday morning.”

“I always hate myself on Monday mornings! Hating yourself is what Monday mornings are for!” Jeongin complained, but pushed himself to sit up, hands rubbing at his eyes.

“Well, you got me there. I’m making lunch though, anything you want.”

“I want pizza.”

“I’m not making pizza from scratch, try again.” Minho laughed.

“Fine! Noodles. I want it spicy. It will help wake me up.” Jeongin said, his grumpiness fading and his warm smile creeping on his face.

“Good choice. I’ll get right on that. Coffee?”

“Of course.” Jeongin said and smiled sweetly at him. “Thanks.” He added as Minho turned to make a start on their lunch.

Minho cooked the ramen, trying to get as many vegetables in as he could, feeling like it was his single handed mission to keep the fully grown kid that lived with him alive and well. He heard Jeongin emerging from his room just as he was adding eggs, thinking protein was a must for him today. He took in their coffees as the noodles finished cooking, then plated up and gave Jeongin his life giving lunch, before sitting next to him and looking at the TV to see what Marvel nonsense he was in for today. He tried to follow the plot as he ate, but he couldn’t even be sure which character's movie it was anymore, having lost track of the universe long ago. He knew Jeongin loved it though, so he tried to enjoy it, even if he had no interest in trying to follow the convoluted plots any more.

They spent their day just relaxing and enjoying the movies, Minho taking solace from the low energy company that Jeongin offered. Jeongin was like Minho in his ability to appreciate the peace of shutting the fuck up, so apart from the occasional rambled thought about the movie they were watching, they hardly exchanged any words. Minho periodically checked Jeongin wasn’t falling back asleep, but other than that, he just focused on recharging his social battery. He made them dinner, Jeongin actually getting up to help with washing and chopping, even if Minho still felt uncertain about him wielding a knife. 

By the time Minho was showering, and working through his week's schedule in his head he was feeling relaxed and recuperate, ready, if still not enthusiastic, to face the week ahead. Most of his booked sessions with the Chad’s, as he had dubbed them in his head, started at noon. Minho wondered if this was because they had morning classes, or more likely, to let them sleep in. He wondered if they even went to classes, if maybe they were on some break or if they were just so entitled that they didn’t even care about that stuff. He planned which days he would go to the gym, and which he would spend letting his body relax. Mentally pencelling in to go visit Seungmin before his sessions one day too. He sighed as he also added Friday’s gig to his mind’s day planner, adjusting his Thursday to be a resting day to try and prepare for the hell of a packed club the day after.

With his week planned, and having accepted that he couldn’t just pack his bags to run away and live in the woods away from all other people and the mess they brought to his existence, he let his mind turn off, enjoying the peace and silence of the apartment before he let his body give over to sleep.

Chapter Text

After another day of dealing with his frat-heads on Monday, the men filled with a renewed energy and seemed to have found new levels of testing the limits of Minho’s patience. Minho decided that he wanted to be reminded that he did in fact like some people, and didn’t want to eliminate the entire species from the face of the earth. So after a long Monday consisting of a morning of hard working out at the gym, and an afternoon of trying not to just bite out the jugular of the loudest Chad, Minho bought himself a comfort meal to relax with that evening, buying extra portions for Jeongin to have for dinner when he came home late from his busy day.

MINHO: Alright, I may need you to remind me why I need to stay out of prison again.

SEUNGMIN: You can’t really pick and choose your company in a jail cell. And no pudding cups.

MINHO: Right, so that’s a no cannibalising the twenty year old men?

SEUNGMIN: Please stop watching Hannibal, it’s a bad influence on you.

MINHO: It is a romance!

SEUNGIN: I will not have this argument with you again!

MINHO:  Are you working tomorrow morning?

SEUNGMIN: Bright and early.

MINHO: Can I come get that free food you offered to stop me becoming a super villain then?

SEUNGMIN: Sure thing. See you tomorrow. No murder.

MINHO: Manslaughter? Happy little accidents?

SEUNGMIN: I should have become a lawyer.

Minho put his phone away, already feeling better from having his friend wash away the bitter taste left in his mind from only speaking to the people he detests today. He had not run into Hyunjin or Felix at the studio, and he didn’t make a habit of talking to people he wasn’t close to without a reason so the only people he had exchanged words with had been the Chads. He went to bed trying to think of little ways he could make the Chads lives worse without it being obvious that he was plotting against them. He was almost asleep when he heard Jeongin return home, he hoped he enjoyed the food he had left for him, knowing he would probably have just had a bowl of cereal before collapsing in bed if he hadn’t provided for him.

On Tuesday, Minho decided to take a break from the gym, but did his home yoga routine to keep up with his exercises while still giving himself some rest for the day. He spent the morning trying to let himself bask in the quiet and peace before steeling himself to have to subject himself to the hell that is other people. He was feeling pretty close to tranquil when he entered the cafe that Seungmin worked at. Minho ran his eyes around the room and was pleased to find that he had managed to arrive in a nice lull between the morning rush and lunchtime, there were only a handful of quiet people sitting at the tables. He walked to the counter, smiling at Seungmin and the pretty young college girl he was currently on his shift with.

“Morning. God, Yuna, if you get any cuter I might just have to reconsider my orientation.” Minho said with a winning smile and a wink, always enjoying the beaming smile the girl got when he complimented and playfully flirted with her.

“Oh come on, Lino, we both know there is no power on this earth, no matter how cute I may be, to get you to stop adoring men.” Yuna said with a giggle.

“I don’t adore men… I just like how they make me feel.” Minho said, wiggling his eyebrows before looking at Seungmin. “Except that one. You can keep that one.” 

“Is that anyway to talk to someone who’s giving you free food?” Seungmin scoffed, setting about making them two americanos. “Can you handle the counter while I take an early lunch break? I’ll rush back to help if it gets busy again.” Seungmin asked Yuna.

“I think I can handle the job I get paid to do.” Yuna rolled her eyes at him, but smiled sweetly after. “Just clear the tables on your way back, Minnie.” 

“You’re at college, right Yuna?” Minho asked idly as he leaned against the counter, waiting for Seugmin to prepare their pre-lunchtime free meal.

“Quite the non-sequitur, I like it. Yeah, I’m in college, why do you ask?”

“You don’t fuck with rich frat bros do you?”

“Ew.” Was her simple response.

“My sentiment exactly. I have a frat house of assholes making me teach them to dance for a dumb competition. I kinda wanted some insider advice on how to break them. I was kinda hoping you had some experience you could lend me.”
“Don’t drink anything they hand you?” Yuna said with a playful smirk.

“I know that one. I don’t need to go murder some college boys trying that on you do I?”

“I’m a smart cookie, Lino, I don’t take drinks from anyone I don’t trust.”

“Good. But that’s also not the kinda advice I was hoping for. I was more looking for something on how to make them cry without ending up in prison for aggravated assault.”

“Ah, well I usually giggle with my girls while looking at men if I want to make them feel small. Act like I can see some fatal flaw on their face that I just won’t disclose.”

“Psychological warfare, I like it. I don’t think they care enough about my opinion for that to work. Though, I suspect a couple of closet cases are in the group, they are the quieter ones, I wanna break the loud Chads most.”

“Fuck their dads. Become a sugar baby, get that good bank too.”

“Holy shit, your innocent looks are deceiving. I will actually consider that one!” Minho laughed, as Seungmin exited from behind the counter, a tray of coffee and food held in his hands. “Thanks for your wise advice, I’ll see you around.” Minho smiled warmly at Yuna before following Seungmin to one of the soft corner seats, out of the way of any of the other customers.

“Please stop trying to corrupt my co-workers.” Seungmin said as he placed an iced americano, half a toasted sandwich, and a small cinnamon pastry in front of Minho, taking the other half of the order off the tray to sit in front of himself.

“Me corrupt her? She is the one who just gave me the brilliant idea of fucking Chandley’s dad and getting him cut of financially with my sexual persuasion skills.” Minho laughed, taking a long sip of his coffee before picking up the hot and cheesy lunch offering.

“Yeah, but you encourage her.” Seungmin scowled briefly before his face softened into a small smile as they fell into silence.

“You're not gonna ask me about Changbin?” Minho eventually asked.

“You took him home, you fucked him. He messaged me yesterday, it’s tense but it will be back to normal again soon.”

“I don’t fucking get it.”

“I know…” Seungmin sighed. “It’s like, we work each other up and get upset, then one of us acts out, and the other needs to make it even, then we have guilt, but feel back on level ground with each other, so we can move past the upset.” 

“I tried to talk to him…”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I gave him an opening, I didn’t ask anything too direct. And I kept your name out of my mouth, but he sure as hell knew what I was talking about.”

“Let me guess, he gave you nothing back?” Seungmin asked with a tired smile.

“I don’t know how you put up with it, evasive bastard. He was trying to act all innocent and pretend he didn’t know what I was on about. But he did.” Minho sneered in annoyance. “Then the fucker roped me into going to their fucking gig this weekend. Years and I’ve never had to go to one of them. Then I try to be nice once after sex and he manipulates me!”

“Yeah, I think they are super excited about this one. They are the only ones performing, not a warm up, or part of a showcase of others. It’s just them, and the response online is very positive. So I think he’s really excited.”

“Ugh!” Minho groaned, chewing angrily on his sandwich. “Fine, I’ll go. He did say he would hook me up with one of his hot, slutty friends.”

“He has no shortage of them!” Seungmin laughed.

“Social butterflies like him freak me out. I can barely keep up with you, him and Jinnie.”

“You have more friends than that.” Seungmin gave him a soft smile.

“Yeah, but I don’t keep up with them. I keep up with Innie's schedule, but only because I don’t want to come home one day to find him dead from exhaustion or malnutrition, stinking up the apartment.”

“He’s a grown man, he would learn to care for himself eventually if you didn’t.” Seungmin smirked. “I think you just like having someone to care for.”

“He’s a cat replacement…. Hey! Is that why he won’t let me get a cat? He thinks I will stop looking after him if I have a cat to adore?”

“Yeah, sure, nothing about the threat of being evicted.” Seungmin laughed at him fondly.

“I can’t believe I have to spend the week with assholes, then go to a packed, gross club full of other assholes on my time off. Changbin owes me so bad for this shit.” Minho sulked, knowing his time to head to the studio was fast approaching.

“Welcome to my world.” Seungmin scoffed.

“Are you sure you’re alright? With all the Changbin stuff?”

“Yeah, I know things will start to get back to normal again now. I’m kinda trying to build up the courage to talk to him properly when things feel comfortable again, I’m still struggling for what to say, other than ‘this isn’t working, don’t you want more? I think I do.’ But I can’t keep doing this. It’s not good for our friendships. With each other or the group as a whole. But yeah, I’m okay.”

“And we’re okay?” Minho asked, forcing him to acknowledge his part of being in the middle of his friend's love game.

“Of course. I know you well enough to know if I had a problem all I would have had to do is say one word and you would have stopped. I trust you, and it’s not like this is the first time.”

“Yeah, well maybe it should be the last.” Minho sighed, he didn’t care enough to change up things, but he knew he was feeling weary being a pawn in making his closest friends jealous of each other.

“I told you it was for me. I don’t feel right using you. It used to be more fun, huh?” Seungmin said with a little grin, like he was reading Minho’s feelings right off his face.

“I think I’m just getting old, everything used to be more fun.” Minho grumbled, finishing his pastry and washing it down with the last of his coffee. “Maybe you can switch to having Hyunjin in the middle.”

“I would rather die.” Seungmin said flatly before laughing. “I need to just grow up and try and fix my own problems.”

“You’ll figure it out. You’re the smartest person I know.” Minho said and saw Seungmin preening at the praise. “But to be fair the competition is Changbin and Hyunjin, so I cannot stress just how low that bar is.” Minho added to stop from inflating his ego too much.

“Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Seungmin scoffed.

“I believe in you, reach for the stars, be the change, whatever, I gotta split.” Minho stood up, shrugging on his coat as Seungmin nodded and started cleaning up the table after him.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep the blood off of your hands if you can. I’ll see you at the weekend.” Seungmin said as Minho headed to the door.

“Later, Minnie.” Minho said as he turned from him. “Make good choices, and don’t fuck frat boys.” Minho called to Yuna as he waved goodbye, leaving the cafe to walk to the dance studio.

Minho headed to the studio, and found the day much easier to get through when he looked at their smug faces and he thought of looking them up online to see if their dad’s are hotter, and then making them aware of this fact. He restrained from following through with these thoughts however, since he didn’t actually want to subject himself to what crimes against taste their social media might expose him to, but just the thought that he could if he wanted to, helped to lift his spirits enough to get through the day.

As Minho’s week wore on he was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Friday may have been the day he had to face the hell of a busy gig, but it was also the last day he had to spend surrounded by the entitled smog from the Chads. He was impressed that as the end of their lessons approached they seemed to actually finally focus, their drive to win seeming to override their allergy to hard work for skills gained. By the time the end of their session on Friday came around he felt something resembling pride at how they looked after managing to run through the routine flawlessly for most of the day.

“Well that’s it! You have made so much progress! If you perform as good as you have for me today at your competition this weekend, I have no doubt that first place is as good as yours!” Minho smiled at them, almost genuinely as they beamed at each other, looking proud and confident, slapping each other's shoulders as they took on Minho’s praise. 

“So, Lee, you should check out the video after we perform! I’m gonna tag you when I upload it. Gotta shout out the teach, right guys?” The main Chan said, swaggering over and putting a hand on Minho’s shoulder. Minho managed to not falter his smile at the uninvited contact, but did feel something at them acknowledging his work and potentially advertising his service for free on their social media.

“I can’t wait. Good luck guys, you’re gonna blow them away.” Minho said as they all sounded out vague words of thanks and goodbye on their way out. 

Minho waited until they had all left before letting himself relax, and moving around to clean up the space after them. He checked, and he had enough time to go home, grab a quick meal and get ready before heading to the bar while still getting there before his friends would be performing. He had a light meal, and took a long shower before facing the ordeal of having to wear uncomfortable clothes in order to look hot and snag a hook-up at the bar. He knew Changbin said he would sort him out with one of his friends, but he didn’t trust Changbin’s taste and judgment in these matters, so he wanted to make sure he was dressed in full alluring get up to find a stranger to fuck if he needed. He then went to grab his travel lube and a condom, knowing that if it was a stranger he ended up with, he much preferred to not have to bring them home, the travel from the bar too much of an open invitation for discussion. They both knew they were only after one thing, and he would brave the disgusting bathrooms to avoid having to struggle through awkward small talk with someone who didn’t really even care what his name was, let alone what he did for a living.

He looked over himself once he was finally ready, outfit comprised of tight pants, but not so tight he wouldn’t be able to wriggle them down to fuck someone, and a strategically sheer button up, flowy shirt. He had styled his hair off his face, swept up to the sides and back, a few strands still curling down over his forehead, his mind wondering if he wanted to change his hair colour from the natural black again idly as his fingers placed the strands. He eventually deemed himself adequately fuckable, and grabbed everything he needed before putting on his shoes and heading out to get a cab to the bar. 

Minho groaned as he stepped up to the bar, seeing groups of people mingling outside smoking. He sneered at the crowd as he entered, paying the charge for the night then forcing himself into the hot noise of the dense crowd. He sighed as he accepted his fate of a night being pressed in from all sides by bodies. He sidled to the edge of the room where the pack of people was lighter, and he was lingering there for only a few moments before he was faced with Seungmin’s face, smiling weakly at him.

“You actually came.” Seungmin said as he stood to the side of him, his eyes scanning over the crowd and flicking to the stage as he spoke.

“I said I would.”

“Yeah, but I thought you’d just flake again.”

“Yeah… I didn’t want to deal with the sad eyes from Bin if I went back on my word.” Minho sighed, crossing his arms as his own eyes flitted over the people, not focusing on any individuals yet. “Surprised you came, things with you and Binnie back to good already?”

“It’s still restricted to a few tense texts. But I always come to these things. Watching him perform… I’d never miss that.” Seungmin sighed as Minho looked sideways at him. “I dunno if I’ll stick around to talk to him though. He’s so outgoing and pumped after performing, I dunno how I’d feel seeing him all over his friends while we’re still so tense. I’ll see how I feel when it’s over.”

“Yeah that’s fair. Anyone else coming?”

“I mean, I think everyone usually shows up, and this time I don’t doubt they will be. I’ve only seen Hyunjin so far though. You didn’t come with Innie?”

“He wasn’t home when I got back from work, probably out pre-gaming or coming straight from work. I dunno.” Minho shrugged, he hadn’t thought to ask Jeongin if he was coming tonight.

“Well, I’m gonna be hiding back here, maybe even try and get a quiet spot a little closer to the action, but then I may disappear. So if I don’t see you later, let me know if you wanna get a drink tomorrow. I have nothing planned for the weekend, so… Yeah.” Seungmin seemed distracted as the time that Changbin would step onto the stage got closer.

“You got it. Have a good time. Remember, public masterbaton is a crime.” Minho said, smiling at him before moving into the crowd, deciding he might as well just bite the bullet and let the bodies swallow him up. 

Minho parked himself between a group of girls giggling and seeming excited just to be out, and waiting to thirst over the men they didn’t have a clue they had no chance with. On the other side a couple of quiet older men, heavily built and looking at the stage, just waiting for the music to come on. He tried to put out a psychic bubble surrounding himself, hoping no one would overstep and get too far into his personal space when the lights changed and the ambient music cut.

Minho smiled as he saw the three men bounding onto the stage, full of energy. Chan reached the front first, Changbin and their other member lingering behind him. Minho took in how at home Chan looked on stage, lifting his mic to his mouth and beaming at the crowd before speaking.

“Hey! We are 3RACHA, I’m Chan!” Chan stepped aside and Changbin slid to the front, his engaging smirk on his face.

“I’m Changbin!” He announced, raising his hand at a few of his friends whooping in the crowd.

“Hi, I’m Han!” The third guy said, waving before moving back on the stage, fidgeting as he wanted for the song to start.

“We’re gonna start here with a song called 3RACHA, make some fucking noise!” Chan screamed as the heavy bass tones thrummed right into Minho’s bones.

Changbin started out, his voice strong and steady as he rapped the opening lines, his stage persona making him seem so intimidating and gruff that it was jarring to Minho, who knew what a soft and adorable person he actually was. The other two were hanging back, just vibing and bobbing their heads as they gave Chagbin the centre stage. 

Then came the second verse, and brought the stranger into Minho’s focus, Han he had called himself. Minho’s eyes widened as he gave the man a good look for the first time since they had stepped onto the stage. His outfit was composed of a tight black vest top with a cropped jacket that really added to how slender his waist was in comparison to his broad shoulders, and he had leather pants clinging to his delicate hips. Minho wondered how much of the hourglass silhouette was from strategic dressing, and felt himself desperate to have him naked in front of him to discover for himself. His face was stunning, round cheeks and deep soft eyes, with crimped, light brown parted hair brushing into them as he moved. His voice was whiny but steady, running out rapidly as he ran through his lyrics with an easy confidence, smirking lazily at the crowd as his hand gestured to the beat. He swayed and moved with an obvious self-assurance, bordering on obnoxious, it screamed that he knew how good he looked, how skilled he was, and that the crowd were lucky to be graced with the honour of getting to witness it.

After Han’s verse they all moved closer to the front of the stage, Chan seeming to lead in the chorus before his own verse, Han bouncing around just behind him as he joined in while Changbin paced the stage, trilling out his lines. Chan had such a strong stage presence, taking centre stage as the other two backed him as they built to his verse. His voice was strong and clear, and he vocalised wonderfully. 

Minho no longer cared about how Chan or Changbin were performing though, his eyes trained fully on the new discovery, on the giddy bouncing of this man he had never seen before. He danced and kicked, adding backing to lines for Chan as he rapped. Minho was taken by how he moved, literally skipping across the stage at one point, his hips swaying as he smiled so wide it was practically blinding. He looked like he was fully feeling the music, that it was maybe even emanating from him himself. As they moved to the next song, Minho hardly noticed, he was so entranced that he was unable to focus on anything else. When Han stuck his tongue out, biting down between his teeth with a flirty glance to the crowd Minho was done, he had to take him home. He simply could not go on without knowing how he tasted.

By the time they finished Minho was resolved, and also almost achingly aroused at how Han had seduced him with his overwhelming skills on stage. The crowd around him dissipated slightly, a few people leaving, and the rest moving back from the stage, milling around and getting drinks. Minho’s eyes were glued to where he knew the guys would be coming from the stage, waiting impatiently to try and whisk Han away for a night of passion. Hell, why stop at just the night, he had the whole weekend. As soon as he saw the three men heading into the crowd Minho headed straight for them, making eye contact with Changbin briefly. Changbin beamed and trotted over to him, the other two just following in his wake.

“Lino! You came!” Changbin said with a wide smile, hugging Minho before he shrugged him off, looking at Changbin and Chan for a moment to praise them before returning his focus where he needed it.

“You were amazing, all of you fucking rock.” Minho said before moving and stepping right up to Han, who looked at him and smiled slightly as he met his eyes. 

“Hi.” Han said to him, frowning a little at Minho’s intense gaze, but seeming relaxed and upbeat.

“Hey, you were so good up there.”

“I know.” Han said, his smile growing. 

“You’re really fucking hot.” Minho told him with his best enticing smirk. Han threw his head back as he chuckled at him. “It’s too crowded here, how about we ditch this place and go somewhere to get to know each other better.” Minho said, looking him deep in the eye to make sure there was no doubt in his intention. Han looked at him stunned for a second before laughing again and stepping back half a pace. 

“Does that line ever fucking work?”

“I mean, yeah usually.” Minho told him honestly, a little taken aback at this not going the way he had expected.

“That’s a hard pass, dude. I just performed in front of this crowd full of people, and they fucking loved me! I am sky high from it, and all my friends are here. So I think I’m gonna choose to enjoy this over going home with some desperate fuck-boy who just wants a random hook-up.” Han stepped back and pointed his finger at him with a crooked smirk. “So I’m gonna go hang out with people who actually like me and don’t just wanna use me as a human cum sock, and you can go back to your life. Sound good?” Han paused for half a second before responding. “I don’t care.” he laughed and turned, disappearing into the crowd.

Minho stared after him, feeling shell shocked at the undeniable rejection. He had not been rejected in a long time, and he had not even thought of it as a possibility when he approached him.

“Offt man, that was like a fucking car crash.” Changbin chuckled, slapping a hand of commiseration on Minho’s back and bringing him back to the fact that he and Chan were still standing there.

“What the fuck happend?” Minho asked, frowning as he was still trying to process.

“You got denied, and hard.” Changbin said, stepping back as Minho turned to face the two of them.

“I’m pretty surprised actually.” Chan told them.

“You really expected Sung to run off for a one night stand?” Changbin asked, looking confused.

“No, not at all. I just didn’t expect him to react like that. Whatever.” Chan shrugged, not seeming too caught up in the turn of events.

“Yeah, well, your top pick may be off the table, but how about I find you someone more into the fuck-boy scene?” Changbin asked, still smirking.

“Dudes! You were on fucking fire!” Jeongin interrupted, jumping next to Chan with his wide smile stretched over his face.

“I’m so glad you came, little Innie.” Chan cooed, turning to look at him like he was the only one in the room.

“Little? I’m like a foot taller than you.” Jeongin laughed.

“It’s an inch, two at the most.” Chan scoffed. 

“Don’t underestimate the difference a couple of inches can make.” Minho said as he finally started to tune back into his friend's presence, breaking them out of their intense eye contact as Jeongin laughed and looked away, while Chan looked at his feet.

“So, you finally actually came out!” Jeongin said smiling.

“I go out often. I have to go outside to work.” Minho responded.

“I mean, like, to an event, not just food or drinks. Did you enjoy it?”

“I did.”

“Until Han shot him down.” Changbin laughed, earning a death glare from Minho.

“Why are you hitting on Sung?” Jeongin asked, sounding baffled.

“Whatever, it’s not like it stops me having sex tonight. It just stops me having sex with him.” Minho tried to stop from pouting at that fact.

“Gross.” Jeongin said flatly. 

“What about you? Are you making a night of it, or will you be home when I am?”

“I dunno, I doubt I’ll be back early. I might be out all night. But I have no solid plans yet.” Jeongin said, his eyes drifting to Chan. “What about you guys?” 

“I’m gonna be out late, so just find me if you want company.” Changbin smiled, his eyes drifting to a group of his other friends and waving at them.

“I’ll be out for a while, but my energy will probably crash soon.” Chan told him, and Jeongin looked disappointed.

“Right, well you can go chat, I’m gonna go find someone who actually wants to fuck me.” Minho said, turning and leaving his friends behind as he pressed into the dancing bodies. His eyes had only just started to roam the feast of skin ahead of him when he was captured once again by Han. It seemed like the rest of the people flooding the dance floor faded away, and Han was once again centre stage. He was dancing, his hips swaying and waist twisting as he waved his arms around. His eyes sparkling in the lights as he smiled with pure enjoyment. As he was staring at his writhing body, a hand slid over onto Han’s tantalising waist. Minho sneered as his eyes lifted to look at the man dancing behind him. Hwang fucking Hyunjin. He could not believe it. He felt his gut twist as he saw Han’s smile, so bright and unrestrained. The smile caused by dancing with Hyunjin. Minho felt his blood turning to fire as he saw Han grinding his ass back against Hyunjin, Hyunjin’s lips close to Han’s ear, to his neck as he held him close to his body. Minho could accept being rejected, as much as it stung, he could accept he wouldn’t get to have Han that night. He could not, however, accept Hwang Hyunjin getting to succeed where he had failed. He may not be able to go home with Han, but he sure as hell could make sure that neither did Hyunjin.

Minho was just stood watching the two of them having the time of their lives on the dance floor, staring daggers at them. He didn’t want to make a scene, but he knew if he didn’t get Hyunjin away from this new object of his desires he might choke on his bile of envy. As the song started to change Hyunjin’s attention detached from Han and saw Minho’s intense glare bruning into them. He frowned, then said something into Han’s ear before squeezing his arms around him, then he detached them and headed straight to Minho. Minho couldn’t quite manage to get the scowl off his features by the time Hyunjin was stood in front of him, a mildly concerned smile on his lips.

“Hey grumpy. Are you okay?” Hyunjin asked lightly. Minho felt a small stab of guilt at worrying his friend because of his unjustified jealousy.

“Yeah, just…” Minho shrugged, grunting a little as he tried his hardest to relax his features, but he was too tense.

“Come on, let me know, maybe I can help.” Hyunjin urged him with a beautiful smile. Minho sighed, it felt like the rejection and Hyunjin being selected over him was the last straw in a building tension of uncomfortable feelings from the past few weeks.

“I’m frustrated.” Minho admitted, not sure how else to describe it.

“Oh, frustration isn’t good, what do you need?” Hyunjin’s eyes lit up with the beginnings of understanding. Minho looked at him, and figured why not kill two birds with one stone, Hyunjin certainly couldn’t take Han home with him if he was wrapped up in helping Minho feel better.

“I need something to work out this feeling. An outlet for my frustration.” Minho said, his dark stare taking on the sexual edge as he looked up at Hyunjin.

“An outlet? Well, it’s better than being called a hole I guess.” Hyunjin said with a flirty smile. “I think we can handle this.”

“You want to?” Minho checked.

“Yeah, it’s too crowded here, and I swear to god if I hear one more person simp about Changbin I’m gonna rip my ears off. Lets go have some good old fashioned friendly frustration fucking.”

“Nice alliteration, come on, let’s go to mine.” Minho said, slipping an arm around Hyunjin’s waist to steer him through the crowd towards the exit. 

Minho glanced over his shoulder just once, seeing Han laughing bodily as he spoke to someone who was facing away from him. He sighed as he tore his eyes away, figuring that of course he would find someone else immediately, he must be the most desirable man in the club. He cursed himself at how he had approached him, and didn’t spare another look around the bar, not caring if his friends knew he was leaving or not. 

They chose to walk the short distance to Minho’s apartment, Minho hoping it might help release some of his sour mood and frustration before he unleashed it all on his friend's body. Hyunjin gave Minho the quiet he needed, not trying to initiate conversation, or even rambling about his own thoughts, simply letting them walk in silence. When Minho looked over, making sure Hyunjin wasn’t uncomfortable, he saw the faint enigmatic smile on his face, suggesting he was quite content with the peace, and so Minho stopped worrying and let himself have the space to let his mind try and cool off.

When they arrived at his apartment, Minho was still feeling frustrated, but most of his anger and hot jealousy had faded to a dull annoyance. He was still feeling like he needed a distraction, anything to try and make the uncomfortable feeling in his mind stop needling him for attention. He took off his shoes as watched Hyunjin reach out to him, pulling him against him with a faint smile.

“Are you sure you’re into this? I know I asked for it, but I’m happy if you just wanna order a pizza and chill out instead.” Minho was checking, he didn’t like the idea of his friend having sex with him just to please him, he didn’t like being the one who needed the physical comfort of sex from his friends. 

“I’m into it! I just watched my hot friends tear up the stage and I got all hot and worked up dancing. I would really like to have some good sex to top off my evening. And I know well enough that good sex is what I’ll have with you.” Hyunjin said as his fingers danced over the buttons of Minho’s shirt.

“I’m frustrated, so I might be kinda rough…” Minho warned, his own hands moving to slide over Hyunjin’s waist and down to his ass, squeezing him harshly and getting a very faint groan from him.

“You know I’m down with that. Don’t hold back, I’ll tell you if you go too far. I trust you.” Hyunjin told him, moving over to press a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I trust you too.” Minho told him, kissing him back before he roughly spun him around and slammed him up against the wall.

Hyunjin whined softly as Minho’s hands quickly found his waistband and started to undo the trousers. Hyunjin’s hands were dancing over his to try and help, but actually just getting in the way, then when Minho had released the trousers grip on him and was tugging them down his thighs with his underwear, Hyunjin’s hand were reaching back, grabbing at him, long fingers trying to claw at his flesh. Minho quickly had enough of his clinging touch and gripped his wrists, raising them before laying them on top of each other and pressing them against the wall above Hyunjin’s head with one hand. Hyunjin let out a whine of arousal as Minho restrained him. Hyunjin had to arch his back slightly for the position to be comfortable, since he was taller than Minho it meant that if he stood at his full height Minho’s grip would be too tight, and would leave bruises on his wrists. Minho ran his other hand over Hyunjin’s clothed back, enjoying the curve of his spine before he landed on his naked ass, stuck out towards him with the position he was now in.

Minho didn’t linger too long appreciating Hyunjin’s delicate form before he was digging in his pocket for his lube. Lube in hand he moved his mouth to Hyunjin’s ear to whisper to him.

“Keep your hands right there.” Minho breathed his command, waiting for Hyunjin to nod before he moved his hand to get his fingers ready, then placed his hand back to hold Hyunjin’s hands in place as he moved his hand to Hyunjin’s hole.

Minho teased his slicked finger over Hyunjin’s rim, tickling the sensitive skin and pressing against him without pushing inside for a few minutes, taking pleasure in the feeling of power from reducing Hyunjin to a whiny mess, biting his lip to stop from crying out for more. Minho teased until Hyunjin finally broke, his lip falling from his teeth and he whined out his frustration.

“Please!” Hyunjin breathed out, turning his head to look at him.

“Yeah? Ask for it again.” Minho said in a low voice, moving his mouth to ghost over Hyunjin’s ear.

“Please! I need more!” Hyunjin immediately complied. Minho smirked against his face as he pushed his finger into Hyunjin, sliding in deep in one smooth thrust.

Minho moved his finger fast, taking Hyunjin’s shallow breaths and light gasps as an indicator of how hard he could go. He quickly pushed in a second finger and looked at Hyunjin’s face as he spread his fingers apart, stretching Hyunjin open wide.

“Fuck!” Hyunjin cried out, throwing his head back and almost smacking against Minho as he groaned softly at the intensity of the sensation. 

Minho grinned, and sighed as he started to fuck his fingers into Hyunjin hard and fast, twisting, on the hunt for his sensitive spot. It only took a few minutes before Hyunjin moaned, his body shuddering as the pleasure shook him. As soon as Hyunjin reacted, Minho pushed in his third finger and spread them wide again. Hyunjin dropped his head forward, pressing his face against the wall as his legs started to shake. Minho started his assault on Hyunjin's prostate, curious if he could stimulate him so much that he actually collapsed to the floor. He was focused on the high keening noises Hyunjin was making as shudders kept shocking though his body, almost hypnotised with it.

“Oh god, I can’t take it! I need you to fuck me now!” Hyunjin eventually whimpered. 

Minho was impressed he had lasted that long of the intense, focused stimulation before cracking and pleading to be fucked.

“I know you can beg better than that.” Minho said lazily, sounding uninterested as he left his fingers inside him.

“Please! Put your cock in me now! I need it so bad!” Hyunjin shamelessly pleaded with no hesitation.

Minho smiled as he pulled his fingers out, finally releasing Hyunjin's arms to get the condom from his pocket. He smirked as he saw Hyunjin swoon against the wall as soon as he wasn’t holding him, his hands flying to press against the surface to stop himself sinking to the floor. Minho unfastened his bottoms, pulling them and underwear down enough to free his hard and aching cock. He rolled on the condom, and coated himself in more lube before tossing the empty packets on the floor. Minho put a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, straightening his body before pushing his chest to the wall, his other hand pulling his hips out to get him in the best position to fuck into him.

“Ready?” Minho checked as both his hands moved to grip his hips tight, moving to rub his cock between Hyunjin’s cheeks as he waited for confirmation from him.

“Yeah, please fuck me now!” Hyunjin begged again, he pressed his hips back, pressing Minho’s cock against his hole more.

“Such a fucking desperate whore. Okay, I’ll give it to you.” Minho sighed, as he lined up with Hyunjin’s hole. “Let me know if I go too rough.” Minho reminded him, and waited until Hyunjin nodded before he pushed in. 

Minho bottomed out with one hard press. Moving just slow enough to give Hyunjin time to tell him to stop if he needed to, but hard enough that Hyunjin made an unholy wail as his fingers clawed over the wall. He rolled his hips against Hyunjin’s ass as he leant forward and nipped Hyunjin’s ear. 

“Are you okay there?” Minho muttered and his fingers kneaded into the flesh of his hips.

“Fuck!” Hyunjin gasped before swallowing thickly. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just gimme a minute, then you can let loose.” Hyunjin told him between heavy breaths. 

“You got it.” Minho kissed over his neck lightly before scraping his teeth over the skin.

Minho waited longer than a minute, giving Hyunjin time until he was breathing easy and slow, and he felt his body relaxed before he moved back into position.

“Okay?” Minho asked one last time, wanting to have full confidence that Hyunjin was comfortable before letting himself give in fully to the moment.

“Yes, fuck me.” Hyunjin said, his voice much more steady than before. 

Minho nodded to himself and gripped Hyunjin tight before pulling out so that just the head of his cock was inside him, being strangled by the tight muscle encircling him, then he rammed back in with a hard flick of his hips. Hyunjin almost screamed as Minho set a harsh pace immediately, snapping his hips back and forth and he dove into Hyunjin, laying all his frustration, all his tension into Hyunjin’s willing body. Hyunjin’s hands clawed and gripped the wall, fighting to keep himself upright as his muscles seemed to spasm and shake as Minho laid into him. His chest and face were pressed hard against the surface, his mouth dropped open as his wails of pleasure filled the room.

Minho grunted as he closed his eyes, head dropping back as he focused on the tight warmth of Hyunjin and the waves of pleasure radiating through him from sinking deep into him. His muscles were working hard, the satisfying burn of exertion filling his body as he gave all he had to fucking into him. Letting all the tension focus on just drilling into him, his hips smacking against the skin of Hyunjin’s ass creating a loud slap noise with each thrust inside.

Minho didn’t have any awareness of how long he was standing there, diving into Hyunjin over and over again. He was holding off on giving into the coiling pleasure, the familiar tension in his gut. He wanted to let himself just forget everything, let the sensations and focus just take him away from himself for a while. He was beginning to notice his energy starting to hit its limit when Hyunjin finally tapped out.

“Fuck! I’m close! Please! Oh god, I have to cum!” Hyunjin whined, his voice stuttering from Minho not relenting on his impacts as he spoke. From what he said Minho guessed that Hyunjin had also been trying to last, to hold out for Minho’s sake.

“Yeah, I’m close. Go ahead and cum.” Minho told him, finally letting his own muscles relax and rush to his climax. 

Hyunjin moved one of his hands from the wall to grip himself. Hyunjin seemed to only tug at his cock a few times before his hole gripped around him, his body going rigid as he uttered a gargled cry. Minho came at the extra compression around his cock, his hips stuttering into him as he let his orgasm overrun his body. Minho moaned high as he squeezed his eyes closed, his cock buried deep into Hyunjin as he released the last drops of cum into the condom. 

Minho gasped in a breath as his vision came back. He blinked open his eyes and leaned back, holding Hyunjin securely as he pulled out. He saw Hyunjin was shaking slightly, his legs unstable as he was still riding his orgasm high. Minho carefully moved Hyunjin to the couch, supporting his whole body weight as he practically carried him before he sat him carefully down. Hyunjin gasped softly as his ass hit the cushion and Minho looked over his body, seeing his fist covered in his own cum.

“Sorry if you’re sore, I’ll go get something to clean you up with. Just stay there and relax.” Minho told him, brushing his hair off his face gently before standing up, pulling his underwear up to cover his softening cock after removing the condom, and pulling up his pants, but leaving them unfastened before going to get a warm cloth for Hyunjin.

He returned and Hyunjin’s eyes were still closed, but his breathing had levelled out a little. Minho took Hyunjin’s hand off himself, and cleaned him, being thorough to get between his fingers before carefully manoeuvring him to wipe the lube from his sensitive hole.

“Sorry, Jinnie.” Minho muttered when he reacted to the contact. 

Once he was clean Minho helped him get his underwear up to cover him, and had him slumped on the sofa. He went to check the wall, and gave the paint a cursory wipe where there might have been a drop of cum before tossing the cloth in the wash and coming to join Hyunjin on the sofa, slumping next to him as he opened his eyes.

“Welcome back to reality. Are you okay?” Minho asked with a soft smile.

“Oh my fucking god!” Hyunjin said with a dazed smile. “You weren’t fucking holding anything back. I think I am well and truly fucked! I’ll be lucky if I can even walk tomorrow.” Hyunjin chuckled and Minho was reassured that he hadn’t gone too far. He trusted Hyunjin to tell him if he did, but he was worried Hyunjin might have been too far gone to even know if it was too much with how dazed he was afterwards.

“Glad to be of service.” Minho chuckled, putting on his smug grin for Hyunjin.

“How about you? Did you deposit all of your frustration in me?” Hyunjin smirked back.

“In the condom, but that was in you, so yeah.” Minho laughed. “I feel better, thanks.” 

“So, what got you so frustrated? You don’t usually initiate casual friend fucks so much anymore.”

“It’s been a shitty few weeks. Kinda sick of people.” Minho sighed, he didn’t really want to try and delve into it all with Hyunjin, and definitely not right now. “And at the club I hit on Changbin’s rapper Han, and I got turned down. Hard. I saw him dancing with you, and I was just kinda past my level of handling shit I think.” Minho scoffed as he admitted what he felt was his pathetic vulnerability.

“Why the hell were you hitting on him?”

“Because he’s hot?”

“I mean, yeah, but why now? Did you just get to your limit at seeing him perform this time?”

“What? I’ve never seen him perform before, I’ve never seen him at all.”

“What? Shut up, you know Sung.”

“Sung?” Minho moved to look at Hyunjin, frowning in confusion.

“Sung… Jisung… Han Jisung. Holy fuck, you really don’t know him?” Hyunjin looked at him astonished.

“How the fuck do you know him?”

“He’s my friend. In the friend group… I swear to god you have absolutely met him before!” Hyunjin was frowning as he seemed to scan his memories. “Oh shit… You know what it is, you both kinda do opposite socal things. He avoids things like the bar and dancing nights and spontaneous plans. And you flake on organised parties and never come to cosy movie nights or gaming with the guys. Holy shit. You’ve never met Jisung.” Hyunjin was laughing hard at the revelation.

“If you’re so close, why haven’t you talked about him before?”

“We do, we talk about Sung all the time.”

“Sung… Sung…” Minho frowned, the name did sound familiar, but he didn’t have a full image of what he thought about him. “I think… I guess I thought Sung was Felix's boyfriend.”

“Oh my god!” Hyunjin cackled

“Like, the way I’ve heard about him, I thought they were dating, or living together or something. I didn’t realise it was the Han that worked with Changbin. Not that I really even heard about him there either.” Minho sighed and rubbed his face.

“I mean, calling him Felix’s boyfriend feels pretty close. I can’t remember a time I saw one without the other outside of the dance studio. They are also pretty affectionate with each other, but Felix is just physical with everyone, and Sung is not shy with touching either.” Hyunjin chuckled. “But I’m pretty confident they are purely platonic. But I’m not positive. I think Felix would have told me if they were a thing though.”

“That is good to know. Right, so we're pretty much friends already right? Like, friend of a friend kinda thing. I think I should try and see him again then, make a better impression than tonight, have a second go at him.”

“Oh come on, if he rejected you tonight, why do you think you’ll do better next time?”

“Because I was a fucking asshole tonight. I didn’t even treat him like a fucking human. I saw him and approached him like I do with the guys I know are there for anonymous bathroom sex, without actually feeling out to see if that was the vibe from him. I just basically asked him for sex with no lead up. It was shitty. I wanna have a chance to do better. Give him a chance to see if he is interested in sex with me or not.”

“I dunno, I don’t really see Sung being into… I don’t think you two are a good fit.”

“Okay, but I think I wanna talk to him, and let him decide that for himself. If he’s not into what I’m offering, fine, but I want to actually talk to him like a human being, give him basic respect and give him a chance to be attracted to me before he makes up his mind.”

“Whatever you want. I can add you back to the group chat if you want a chance to talk to him, low stakes kinda thing.”

“Which one, you add me to so many fucking group chats.”

“The one you left after sharing a dick pick.” Hyunjin said, trying to hide a smile.

“It only got like two reacts, I will not stand for that kind of disrespect.”

“It wasn’t even your dick!”

“Hey! I got sent that dick fair and square, it was my dick pic!”

“Whatever, no more nudes in the group chat, yours or not.” Hyunjin laughed as he moved to get his phone, grimacing slightly as he twisted his body.

“Are you okay?” Minho asked, growing in concern at his friend's visible discomfort.

“Oh yeah, I’ll be sore tomorrow, but you didn’t break me.” Hyunjin reassured him with a smile as he added Minho to the group chat. Minho felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Remember, when he’s not on stage, he is generally known as Jisung, or Sung, but I guess he is the only one in the chat you don’t know, so you can’t miss him.” Hyunjin told him as he typed out a message then put his phone away.

“So, when will I be able to see him again? Is he gonna be out with you guys anytime soon?” Minho asked, feeling his phone vibrate a few times.

“Well he's obviously gonna be at Innie's birthday party on Friday. You’re going to that right?”

“I was kinda gonna pass on that one actually.” Minho said with a scoff.

“Hmm, missing your friend's birthday party, pretty shitty move.”

“I was gonna take him out for dinner, treat him to a meal at a nice restaurant for his birthday. I just hate the gaggle of people I don’t know, but they all know each other. I just end up bored and leaving anyway. But I’ll go to talk to Han… Sung?”

“Wow, my friend is stalking my other friend. That’s weird.” Hyunjin laughed.

“I’m not stalking. I just want to have another chance, you know?”

“God, why are you so taken? I haven’t seen you fixate like this in a while.”

“You saw him, he’s fucking hot as hell.”

“Yeah I guess… Sung is a cutie-pie. It’s just weird to me, I can’t believe that tonight was the first time you’ve seen him.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Minho sighed in frustration, feeling annoyed at how he had someone so appealing so close, but never got the chance to be close to him before.

“Well, good luck. I don’t think it’ll work out for you. But I do think you’ll get along. He’s kinda weird like you, and isn’t fond of crowds either. So maybe you can be friends whatever happens, be boring and stay in on weekends together.” Hyunjin laughed.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t get along with many people that well though, so I think the friendship angle is less likely than the brief fuck prospect.”

“Hmm, I very much doubt that!” Hyunjin laughed.

“He is into guys, right?”

“Oh yeah, that’s not an issue.”

“Does he only have sex in relationships or something?”

“I dunno, I’m not really sure what his deal is. I’ve seen him with guys at parties and stuff. Making out, not like raw dogging in front of everyone.” Hyunjin laughed. “But I don’t really hear him talk about guys he’s with much. So I dunno if he is just discreet, or only interested in deeper connection. But I’ve never really seen him, or heard him talk about being with anyone. So yeah, I’m not saying you have no chance, just… a vibe I guess.”

“Right. I can handle being discreet, if that is what he wants.”

“I think you’re right though, go and actually talk to him, and let him tell you if he’s interested. And see if you get along. I have high hopes for the friendship.” Hyunjin smiled at him.

“Thanks. Ugh, group socialising two weeks in a row? God, he better be as good in bed as he is on stage.” Minho pouted.

“Well, I’m gonna go before you get frustrated again and decide you need to fuck all the feeling out of my lower body.” Hyunjin laughed.

“I can order us some food first, if you want?”

“Nah, thanks, but I’m tired. Pleasantly satisfied. I wanna go and melt in my bed.” Hyunjin told him.

“Alright, I need to air out the sex smell before Innie comes home.” Minho laughed.

Hyunjin got up, wincing slightly, and ordered himself a taxi to go home. Minho opened a window before he showered, then worked on trying to make sure the living room was clean, lighting a candle and closing the window to help the room smell fresh and clean again. He made himself a small meal, and tried to let himself enjoy the relaxation he had gained while watching some random anime. He snuffed out the candle and went to bed before it got too late, his aching body dropping him into sleep as soon as he was settled on his pillow.

Chapter Text

The next morning Minho checked if Jeongin was home to offer to get him breakfast before he headed to the gym. His muscles ached from the night before, but that wasn’t going to stop him from getting in a light workout to start his day. After giving a knock on his door Minho quietly peeked into Jeongin’s room and found it unoccupied, he figured he went home with one of his friends, or even a hook up, not that he thought that was Jeongin’s style, but he never pried. He went to get the workout over with quickly before getting a coffee and hearty breakfast on his way home. After making sure all the housework was done and nothing was waiting to be cleaned he dropped on the couch to rot for the rest of the day.

After hours of letting his brain switch fully off, Minho was feeling restless and needed something else to occupy himself with other than just the TV. He got his phone to call Seungmin, remembering him saying he had no plans this weekend.

“Hey.” Seungmin answered after just one ring.

“Hey, I’m bored. Wanna come over? I’ll cook us dinner, and you can bring the wine?” Minho suggested, wasting no time on pleasantries.

“Thank god, I need to get out of my own apartment, and my head. What are you making? Shall I get red or white wine?” 

“Nothing fancy, bibimbap with beef, I’ll add eggs for you too. So, a white will go well, something light and dry. Buy some fruit to have after too.”

“God, you are so healthy.”

“I’m really not, I just know how to cook with ingredients. See you soon.” Minho hung up without waiting for a goodbye then opened his messages to Jeongin.

MINHO: Minnie is coming over to hang out and eat. Are you gonna be back tonight? I can make enough food for you too?

JEONGIN: Oh yeah! I don’t know what time, but I will be home. So don’t wait for me to eat, but I’d appreciate some leftovers!

MINHO: You got it. Have a good night?

JEONGIN: It was good, I stayed at Sung’s with Lix after the club closed on us, we’re just hanging out now. Thanks for the food Lino!

Minho smiled and shook his head, wondering how many times Jeongin had told him he was at ‘Sung’s’ or with him and he just never even thought who that was. Minho shook his head and headed to the kitchen, rinsing the rice and putting it in the rice cooker while he gathered the ingredients for the dinner he was going to make. He got through all the prep for dinner, then went to sit and wait for Seungmin, it wouldn’t take long to cook, so he was in no rush to start. Seungmin didn’t leave him waiting for long, and let himself in after knocking.

“Yo, are you hungry now?” Minho asked, not getting up until he knew if he was cooking yet.

“Yeah, I only had snacks for lunch.” Seungmin said, as he took off his shoes and held out the bag with the wine and pre-cut fruit packages. 

Minho got off the sofa with a grunt and took the bag, looking at the bottles and nodding, pleased to find they were pre-chilled. He placed one bottle on the table, and took the other to keep it chilled in the fridge as they ate. Seungmin left Minho to do the cooking solo, long since having learned not to offer to help him while he was cooking. Minho had dubbed Seungmin as a hazard and more of a hindrance than a help in the kitchen. He instead relegated him to doing the dishes as his way of contribution to the meal. He brought in two wine glasses for Seungmin to pour for them as he was cooking their dinner. Minho enjoyed the process of cooking, mixing the sauce to taste, not going too heavy on the spice and then presenting the meal aesthetically and snapping a picture before bringing them out for him and Seungmin. 

“Fuck that looks good.” Seungmin said as he took the bowl from Minho.

“I know. I’m good.” Minho said simply as he sat next to him, turning to smile at him before they dug into their dinner.

Minho looked up to see the movie Seungmin had put on, nodding as he recognised the Disney movie Seungmin had selected, probably choosing it since they would be talking over it and didn’t need to pay much attention to a Disney cartoon they had seen before. Minho sipped his wine, impressed at how well it paired with the meal, though he wasn’t about to extend that praise to Seungmin, knowing him well enough to figure that he probably only picked this wine because he liked the colour of the label rather than actually reading the tasting notes. Once they were finished eating the meal and fruit, Seungmin took the plates and washed up without needing to be asked, Minho had already instilled his rule of sharing the work before and Seungmin only argued when he was feeling particularly feisty and wanting to work Minho up for no reason. Seungmin returned with the second bottle of wine, topping up their glasses with the already open bottle before settling back on the sofa, leg propped up to face Minho who mirrored him.

“So, how did you like the gig?” Seungmin asked him.

“They were better than I expected. Like, Changbin’s played me their stuff before, I knew it was good. But the way there were on stage, fuck man, they were made for that.”

“I get it. Changbin told me you liked it so much that you hit on Jisung.” Seungmin snickered.

“Oh god. Wait, so you did talk to Changbin last night?”

“We are talking about you.”

“We can circle back, the you and Binnie shit takes priority over my stuff right now.”

“Alright, yeah I talked to him. I was gonna slip away after they finished, but Felix spotted me and dragged me over to talk to the other guys.”

“How was it?”

“Okay, still kinda tense, but he stayed and talked to me until I decided to leave and let him have his night of basking in the adoration of his friends without having to feel me staring at him.”

“When do you think things will be back to normal and able to have a real talk with him?”

“I dunno, I’ll test the waters at Innie’s party next weekend.”

“Fingers crossed. I’m gonna go to the party too.”

“What made you decide to brave an organised social event?” Seungmin laughed at him.

“Well, circling back to Jisung… I wanna see him and talk to him again. Or kinda for the first time. I didn’t do the best job while hitting on him yesterday.”

“Yeah, Changbin said you epicly crashed and burned. What happened?”

“It’s been so long since I actually had to flirt with someone, I think I just forgot how. I kinda just went up to him and said ‘you’re hot, lets fuck’ but slightly more subtle. It wasn’t cool of me. I feel kinda like an asshole.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t seem like an approach that would work for Sung. So you’re gonna try again on Friday?”

“Yeah, see if he’ll give me a chance to make a second impression, or something.”

“So, are you gonna brush up on flirting for that?”

“I mean, I’ll just talk to him, treat him like a human and stuff. Flirting will just be me being direct, honest and free with the compliments.” 

“That sounds like a better approach.” Seungmin admitted.

“Hyunjin says he thinks we won’t fit well. But he thinks we’ll be friends.” 

“I dunno… Depends what you want from him. I’m not too sure what Sung wants with that stuff to be fair.”

“Hyunjin added me to a group chat that has him in, so I can try and gauge it from there. I don’t wanna talk too much to him before the weekend though. I want to make a better face to face impression first. I know over text it’s much harder to tell when I’m being playful or joking rather than actually hitting on someone.”

“Yeah, I saw you got added to the group chat. Just don’t share anymore pictures, please?” Seugmin begged. Minho laughed and leant next to Seungmin while grabbing his phone to take a selfie together. Seumgmin gave his warm smile and Minho tried to smile sweetly, wine glasses raised as he took the photo. He returned to his side of the sofa and sent the picture to the group chat.

MINHO: Food and wine with a puppy

Minho turned to smirk at Seungmin.

“Fine, can you simply not share any more nudes?”

“It wasn’t even my dick.” Minho muttered.

“I don’t care. I was eating my lunch and did not expect to be face to face with an erection when I looked at my phone!”

“God, you don’t even like dicks? What kinda gay are you?”

“Look, I like to be in control of when and whose dick I see. So no more nudity, neither your body nor porn, please.” Seungmin pleaded, Minho shrugged and turned back to his phone to see the replies to his picture.

FELIX: Oh my gosh! You guys look so cute! And welcome back Lino!

HYUNJIN: My god, not even a full day from blowing my back out and you’re on a date with another man. You hussy!

SEUNGMIN: Absolutely not a date.

“You fucked Hyunjin last night?” Seungmin asked, laughing at him.

“Oh yeah, after the rejection I saw Hyunjin dancing with Han, I mean Jisung, so I dragged him back here and fucked him.” Minho said, pointing idly to the wall he had Hyunjin pinned up against the night before.

“As always, class all the way.” Seungmin rolled his eyes, no real judgement in his tone.

HYUNJIN: Are you gonna do it doggy style?

SEUNGMIN: I hate it here.

HYUNJIN: I’d come and join you, but I don’t want to.

MINHO:  Did I really fuck you so hard that you can’t walk?

HYUNJIN: No comment.

SEUNGMIN: I do not want to fuck either of you.

HYUNJIN: Stop lying, you want me so bad!

JEONGIN: Lino has been back in the chat for less than a day and already there is an orgy happening in my phone.

FELIX: I’m down for a phone sex orgy.

JISUNG: How would that even work? Like ‘oh ah, sex, yes!’ *Jisung passes the penis to Changbin*

FELIX: Sungie, sweetie, phone sex isn’t like a roleplay game. It’s not a porny version of D&D.

MINHO: Not gonna lie, that sounds like one way to get me to play tabletop roleplaying games.

CHAN: Next game night at mine. I want to be a level 69 sex wizard.

CHANGBIN: I call being a barbarian.

MINHO: Fucking nerds.

HYUNJIN: Literally, those nerds be fucking.

CHAN: Not each other… Unless the DM makes it happen.

JISUNG: So, roll for orgasm is a go? What happens if I roll a 1 on sex?

FELIX: Isn’t that how you’ve been living your life so far?

JISUNG: I’m gonna bite you when I can be bothered moving from the floor!

FELIX: You gotta roll for it. If you get a 1 I end up biting you, but if you get a 20 I cum from how good your bite feels.

JISUNG: I hate this game.

Minho smiled as it seemed that the flow of the conversation had died down, he put his phone away and turned his attention back to Seungmin.

“So, tell me about Jisung, how do you know him?” Minho asked.

“I met him back in college. He works with Chan and Changbin, as you know. He and Chan go way back, Chan treats him like his little brother. He spends most of his time with Felix, and Jeongin from what I can tell. They all used to hang out with Chan a lot more, but Chan just kept getting more and more obsessed with work, so I don’t think he makes time for them as much anymore. I see him when I go to game nights, and at some parties, but I don’t hang out with him just me and him much really. Like you, he avoids gatherings a lot, he only really goes somewhere like that if it’s for a 3Racha thing, or a party for his friends.” Seungmin finished his glass and poured them both more wine. “You’d be better asking Innie about him, those two are pretty tight.”

“Ah, nah, I don’t think I wanna do that.” Minho frowned as he thought about it. “It’s one thing to have you knowing that I’m thinking about him and asking you for advice, but I don’t really feel comfortable asking Innie. It would feel like I was prying too much, or being invasive. Also, I would feel a bit exposed, like, worrying he might go and tell Jisung I’m asking about him, and that might freak him out.”

“Yeah, alright. You can talk to me as much as you want. I wouldn’t blab about it, even if I was closer with him.”

“I know. I trust you.” Minho sipped his wine and turned his focus back to his friend. “So, how are you doing? The whole Binnie stuff, anything else?”

Minho spent the next couple of hours listening to Seungmin talking about his own thoughts, he was mostly repeating things that Minho had already heard, but he let him get it all out again. Minho figured that he still needed to organise his thoughts about his love life before trying to take the next step in talking to Changbin.

“God, I really hope he doesn’t think we fucked tonight, that would throw the balance off and fuck up things before they even get back to normal.” Seungmin sighed as he was getting ready to leave.

“I’ll say some awkward shit in the chat that will make it clear we didn’t fuck.”

“Well, awkward is your speciality.” Seungmin smiled as he went to put on his shoes. “Thanks for having me over, and I’ll see you on Friday, yeah?”

“Yeah, the things I do to get laid.” Minho sighed dramatically before smiling at him. “Good luck with Binnie. I hope he gets his head out of his ass and actually acknowledges his feelings.”

“I hear that. Good luck with Sung, I hope he isn’t terrified of you being a sex pest.” Seungmin laughed before waving and leaving. 

Minho cleared up after them, and left a post-it for Jeongin to tell him his dinner was in the fridge before he showered and headed to bed early. Once he was settled in bed, a movie on his laptop as he relaxed, he got his phone to make good on his word to Seungmin.

MINIHO: Minnie left, and I am in bed unfucked. Definitely not a date.

FELIX: I mean, dates and sex don’t have to co-exist.

MINHO: Date is just code for spending time with someone before they suck your dick, right?

FELIX: No

SEUNGMIN: NO

CHANGBIN: No

CHAN: No

JEONGIN: No

HYUNJIN: No

JISUNG: Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, primarily composed of carbohydrates, including natural sugars like glucose and fructose.

FELIX: So close to a no sweep, dammit Sung!

CHANGBIN: Did you copy and paste that from google?

JISUNG: I just wanted to be different…

CHAN: Mission accomplished bud!

Minho smiled, thinking that maybe he might actually get along with Jisung after all. He turned his attention to watch the movie, feeling like he was actually looking forward to a party filled with his friends and their friends in a crowded, noisy room for once. He heard Jeongin return home before he settled down and let himself fall asleep.

The next day, after he’d made and eaten his breakfast, Minho checked his socials and saw that the Chads had uploaded a video of them from the competition. They had won, and they praised Minho highly in the caption. Minho almost felt bad for plotting their deaths for the past few weeks. He watched the video and was impressed at how well they performed. He checked his work email and saw that the video had gotten him a few new client enquiries, and from the sounds of it, these people were actual dancers, actually wanting him to design dances for them, and not also pay him to be their full time dance teacher in the process. He spent his morning organising his work, and planning out for the meetings with them.

Once he was finished with his work responsibilities and was planning lunch Jeongin joined him. He made them both lunch and they spent their Sunday relaxing together again. Minho avoided bringing up Jisung, knowing he would want to ask too much, and didn’t want to drag Jeongin into his pursuit of his friend. He did let him know he planned on going to his birthday party though, and Jeongin looked optimistically happy, but told him it was okay if he didn’t turn up.

The next week was an improvement from the past couple, his work meetings went well, while they were still all college students, they were all actual dance majors. One wanted a dance as part of an audition portfolio, and two others wanted a dance for their social media, and Minho wasn’t one to look down on people trying to make a name for themself online, so he was pleased to be working with them. 

He spent time making a few comments and keeping up with the group chat, not wanting to be too active, group chats weren’t really his thing and he was trying his hardest not to scare Jisung before meeting him properly. Not that Minho had even told him his name, but he had shared a selfie, so he figured Jisung would probably remember him. He was looking forward to Friday, even knowing that there would be a large number of people he didn’t know there. He found out that Jeongin had rented out a bar, and invited all his friends from college, and his childhood. He was assured by Seungmin that it wouldn’t be packed, but he still hated the prospect of pointless small talk with strangers. He was starting to think it would be worth it though, as the more Jisung spoke in the group chat, which he seemed to be quiet all day until one hour where he would spam the chat with any thought he’d had that day, he realised he was funny and interesting, and Minho was actually looking forward to talking more with him.

Minho made sure to buy a small cake and the ingredients for a birthday seaweed soup on his way home on Thursday. He knew Jeongin had a long day and Minho needed an early night, but he planned on leaving the meal and cake for him when he got home, he didn’t need to share the meal with him, he would be happy just knowing that Jeongin had something special for his birthday. Minho had also bought Jeongin his gifts, one wrapped in a basic blue paper, and the other stuffed in a garish, glitter coated gift bag. 

On Friday, Minho returned home to get showered and dressed for the party. He felt almost electric with anticipation of seeing Jisung again, and tried to ignore the annoyance and tension at the mass of other people that would be there. He dressed in nice clothes, going slightly more casual while still trying to look as good as possible. Once he was happy with his appearance he hesitated as he was reaching for his nightstand for condoms and lube. He sighed and decided against it. He was going to treat Jisung like a human, and if the best case scenario happened and Jisung wanted to sleep with him, he would bring him home to a bed, not expect to get dirty in a bathroom stall. He grabbed Jeongin’s warped gift and placed it on Jeongin’s bedside table, Jeongin having already left early to set up for his party, then grabbed the gift bag and headed out to the bar the party was being hosted in.

Minho arrived at the small bar, and was relieved that there were less people congregating to smoke outside than the bar the gig had been at the week before. He knew logically that even if they had all invited all their friends it still wouldn’t be as busy as the bar last week, but he still was worried about how crowded it would be. He stepped in and smiled at the bright and childish decorations that Jeongin and his friends had pinned up around the bar. He ran his eyes over the light crowd, he was late so he hoped this was all the people that were going to come, it wasn’t too intimidating a number, and he even recognised half of the faces there. There was a table with food placed near a wall, and the bar had the most people pressed together, and he saw Changbin and Chan seeming to be in charge of the music. His eyes landed on Jeongin walking away from the bar, looking very stylish and his face bright with a joyful smile.

“Happy birthday.” Minho said with a smile as he passed him the bag.

“You actually came! I’m impressed.” Jeongin said, smiling at him before looking in the gift bag. “Lube… And condoms. You got me a bag packed full of lube and condoms for my birthday?” Jeongin asked him flatly.

“There’s a vibrating cockring in there too.” Minho said with a devilish grin. Jeongin levelled him with an exhausted expression. “Your real gift is at home, shit head. I just wanted to give something that wouldn’t break at your party. You can hand them out as party favours, or make condom balloons, whatever.” Minho smiled, excited to see the glee on Jeongin’s face when he opened the high-end gaming headset Minho had bought him for his actual gift.

“Thanks! This is a fun idea as party favours actually!” Jeongin said, the smile back on his face, crinkling his eyes out of existence.

“It looks really good in here! Did you do all the decorating yourself?”

“The bar had a couple of subtle things, but me, Chan, and Felix did most of it. Sung and Seungmin came early and helped some too.” Jeongin let him know. “But I suspect they may have been early just to get drunk before the other people arrived.”

“Wish work would have let me have that plan too.” Minho chuckled.

“The downfall of a party on a Friday.” Jeongin agreed, as a guy Minho vaguely recognised came over to wish him happy birthday.

“I’m gonna mingle, see you soon.” Minho said, patting his shoulder as he excused himself.

Minho walked away, eyes scanning the room for a familiar face. The first face his eyes connected with was the bright sunshine smile of Felix. Minho smiled back as he walked to him.

“There’s a smile I’ve missed!” Minho grinned at him, letting Felix pull him into a quick hug.

“You never come see me! I missed you too!” Felix said, his energy so warm and uplifting it felt healing.

“Yeah? Invite me, I’ll come.” Minho said with a grin.

“Is that your new rule? I used to invite you to things.” Felix said with a sly grin.

“Yeah, I’ll come to lowkey things. Just invite me.” Minho laughed, remembering how he would dismiss almost anything that Felix invited him to solely on the basis of how much of a social butterfly he was, he assumed anything he did would be packed with people.

“Game night next week?”

“Yeah sure, why not.” Minho shrugged, wondering how he had got roped into plans as soon as he arrived.

“I’ll hold you to that! I’m gonna share details in the group chat later, you’re active now so you should see. I just don’t know whose apartment we’re doing it at yet.” 

“You do know I’m not much of a gamer, right?”

“There will be drinks and good company too.” Felix said with a persuasive smile.

“I’ll come, I was just giving you the disclaimer.”

“I’ll be happy with just your presence, no need to game at all.” Felix said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Minho couldn’t help but smile happily, he really had missed Felix.

“No need to sweet talk me, I’m already coming.” Minho chuckled. “Now, if you tell me you brought baked goods, my night is complete.” 

“Cookies and brownies on the table.” Felix said, his smile somehow getting even brighter with pride.

“Ahh, you are a pure delight!” Minho said, rubbing a hand over his back before he headed to go find the sweet treats. 

Minho reached the table of food, and it only took a moment to find the plates of Felix’s home baked goods. He was reaching for one when he heard a crash and loud cursing.

“Jesus Sung, look before you walk!” Hyunjin's cackling voice called out.

“That chair came after me! It was an assault, not clumsiness!” Jisung’s voice responded back, loud and indignant. 

Minho smiled and abandoned all thoughts of baked goods as he turned to watch Jisung waving his hands at both a chair and Hyunjin, who was laughing at him. Once Jisung seemed done with the inanimate and human antagonists, sticking his tongue out at Hyunjin to finish, he turned around and his eyes landed on Minho’s. Minho smiled and started walking to him. Jisung raised an eyebrow and seemed to let out a laugh though his nose as he took a few steps towards him to close the distance.

“Hi.” Jisung said, rolling his eyes with a lazy smile.

“Hi.” Minho said with a soft smile, feeling both tense at having to try and navigate the upcoming talk, and relieved at actually being face to face with Jisung, and with an opening at a second chance.

“So, are you gonna try and get me to leave my friend's birthday party just so you can get your dick wet?” Jisung asked, his tone sounding more playful than bitter in its accusation.

“No. I’m sorry about that. I was arrogant and it was objectifying, it really wasn’t cool of me. I was an asshole. I’m sorry.” Minho gave a small apologetic smile. “I was hoping I’d run into you here. I was hoping you would give me a second chance at a first impression, or a first chance at a second impression….” Minho frowned as Jisung tilted his head, his expression open but not giving him anything. “So, hi, I’m Lee Minho.” Minho waved, giving Jisung his brightest smile.

“I know very well who you are, Lino.” Jisung scoffed.

“Oh shit, have we met before?” Minho’s eyes flew wide, he was well aware that his memory was flawed, and he didn’t always retain meeting people, or even whole events, but he genuinely thought he would have remembered meeting Jisung. He was a little scared that maybe he and Jisung had even had a one night hook up and he’d forgotten. He would feel like true trash if that was the case.

“No, other than at my gig where I recognised you and you asked to bone me.”

“Wait, but you called me a random fuck-boy?”

“No! I called you a desperate fuck-boy, who wanted a random hook-up!” Jisung poked a finger at Minho’s chest then frowned. “Or I meant to… I do get my words mixed up often, so maybe you’re right.”

“No, that sounds right. I just, I didn't know who you were. How do you know me when we’ve never met?”

“You’ve fucked all my friends, Lee Minho.” Jisung said, rolling his eyes like it was obvious.

“Oh, yeah I guess. But like, is that a problem?”

“No! But, I mean every single one! Or at least I think so. Like, my big brother bestie Chan?”

Minho nodded, he had hooked up with Chan just the once when Changbin had first introduced them after he had graduated. They knew after that their relationships with casual sex weren’t too compatible, so while neither of them regretted it, they had become friends that didn’t have sex.

“And my producing bro friend Changbin?”

Minho nodded, they had hooked up when they first met at a club in college, and after they kept running into each other when they were trying to find hook-ups, they had grown comfortable having the other as a backup for their needs when they had no one else they wanted, and while it had faded somewhat, they were still happy with that mentality now. Their friendship had grown as they spent more time together, seamlessly being more friends than an occasional hook-up.

“And my tallest friend Hyunjin?”

Minho nodded again, they had fucked also when they met in college, after a class Minho was teaching that Hyunjin had been taking. Hyunjin had stuck around after the other students had left and seduced him. They became close friends immediately and eventually got a comfortable balance of friends with benefits going ever since.

“And my twin-thing bestie Felix?”

Minho nodded, after he had gotten close with Hyunjin, he realised he and another student in the class, Felix, were close, then he introduced them. They started to hook up repeatedly from their first meeting, until it seemed like the next step would be a real relationship. And while they had been fond of each other, there just wasn’t the spark needed between them for a deeper connection by that point, and so they stopped having sex to just be friends, and it felt perfectly comfortable for them now.

“And my feral mutt friend Seungmin?”

Minho nodded, he had also met Seungmin through Hyunjin, and though he had met Hyunjin first, he would probably consider himself closer to Seungmin, they were just on a closer wavelength to each other. They had sex drunk the first time they hooked up in college, and laughed about it later, and after that, they only usually had sex as comfort when one of them needed it, or more recently as part of Seugmin’s messed up pattern with Changbin.

“And my baby bestie Jeongin?”

Minho nodded again, he had already left college when Hyunjin introduced them. They had sex just the one time too, before Minho realised he felt too protective and like a big brother to him to want to be sexual with him again. He had even offered to let him live with him in his last year of college, and continued to take care of him after he graduated.

“See, all my friends. And so, yeah they talk about you. And I’d seen pics of you. Hell, Jinnie shared a pic of you to the group just a few weeks back. We’ve never met though, but I had seen you at parties, but you always seemed to leave with someone early, and so we never spoke.” Jisung told him. Minhho cursed his anti-social streak, the thought that he had come so close to meeting Jisung before but ditched it to avoid small talk and noise.

“Damn!” Minho voiced his frustration and saw Jisung smile more for a second. “Well, I’m not as observant. I had heard the guys talking about you, but I think I thought you were Felix’s boyfriend or something.” Minho laughed.

“Pfft! He wishes!” Jisung scoffed and Minho raised an eyebrow. “Okay, no he doesn’t. But we’re not a thing. He’s just my best friend.” Jisung smiled fondly, then tilted his head. “I mean, I guess Chan is my best friend… But I am so close with Felix. Chan is the one I lean on though. I trust him with my life and my secrets.”

“A person can have more than one best friend.” Minho told him.

“Yeah! Exactly!” Jisung said, his face breaking out into such a warm smile Minho felt himself melting.

“Like, I have two best friends, hmm, Changbin? Nah, just two. Seungmin and Hyunjin.” Minho told him with a grin. Jisung chuckled at the knock at Changbin before continuing.

“Yeah, I mean, I would say Jeongin is a best friend too, we spend a lot of time together. But we don’t talk as much. I know he supports me and has my back, but we don’t know each other as well. So he’s a bestie, but not quite as close as Felix or Chan.” Jisung rambled, nodding his head as he spoke, like he was working out the logistics of his relationships in his head.

“I get that. Doesn’t mean he’s not important, he just has a different place in your life.”

“That is it exactly! You get it!” Jisung said, smiling genuinely at being understood.

“So, what do you say?” Minho asked after letting himself enjoy just looking at Jisung’s smiling face.

“I say a lot of shit, you are gonna have to be so much more specific.” Jisung chortled.

“About giving me another chance, second impression.”

“What for?” Jisung asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

“Well, to actually talk to you. I think I’ve made it really clear what I want from you. I was being honest when I said you were hot.” Minho noticed Jisung smiling and glancing away shyly at that. “But I also think maybe we could actually be friends. I mean, my ideal outcome would be to have both, I mean you’ve just heard the rollcall of my friends.” Minho laughed and Jisung rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face. “So I wanna get to know you. But like, I mean that literally this time, not just as a shitty line and treating you like nothing more than a meaningless body to grab. You seem cool, and I wanna see if we have some chemistry here, and take it from there.” Minho said, laying it all out honestly.

“Hmmm… I will give you a chance.” Jisung said, then a mischievous smile curled at his lips. “First, if you really do wanna make it up to me, and show me that you’re gonna put in the effort, you can start by getting me a drink.” 

Minho scoffed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he debated telling Jisung to not be so demanding. His eyes landed on Jisung’s face, his smile wide and playful, and his eyes were deep and warm, with just a glint of challenge. He liked what he saw, and he felt the need to indulge it. He rationalised to himself first that he wanted to try and earn his friendship, and while he would bitch about it, he would buy his friends drinks if they wanted.

“Alright, what are you drinking?”

“Anything alcoholic and sweet.” Jisung said, a gleeful triumph dancing over his face.

“Anything? No allergies that I need to watch out for? No aversion to any spirits? No fruits you hate?”

“No allergies that I know. And I like almost all fruits. As long as it’s alcohol it will be fine. I think I’d like all fruit cocktails.” Jisung told him.

“Right, I won’t be long.” Minho told him, trying not to grumble too much as he made his way to the bar.

Minho walked through the small crowd to the bar and waited for the bartender to serve him as he decided on a cocktail for Jisung. Minho saw they had some blended cocktails, and decided to get Jisung a strawberry daiquiri, knowing it would be sweet and fruity, and they usually looked impressive. He was waiting while the bartender mixed the drink when Hyunjin leaned against the bar next to him.

“I saw you talking to Sung, how’s it going?” Hyunjin asked with a grin.

“Could be worse. He has me getting him a drink. Like some kind of fucking errand boy. But he seems open to talking to me, so maybe it will be worth it.”

“Wanna buy me a drink? I already put out.”  Hyunjin winked at him.

“Fuck you.” Minho scoffed. “What are you having?”

“Vodka soda.” Hyunjin chuckled and Minho nodded, a slight frown on his face. He added Hyunjin’s drink to his order and paid.

“Enjoy your drink, moocher.” Minho said, slapping Hyunjin’s ass as he turned to take Jisung his drink.

“Now this is a good looking drink!” Jisung said with his eyes wide as he took the drink from Minho and had a sip. “Tastes good too.” He looked at Minho for a second then frowned. “You didn’t get yourself a drink?”

“Oh, nah, I dunno if I wanna drink tonight. Kinda just seeing how I feel with the crowd before I decide.”

“Ah, you see I drank because of the crowd. The more drinks I have, the less I seem to notice the people around me.” Jisung nodded like he was imparting sage knowledge. “I won’t offer you a sip in that case.”

“I mean, I could go for a taste.” Minho smirked, and surprisingly Jisung nodded with a smile and offered his straw to Minho. Minho smiled and took a small sip, feeling glad at Jisung's casual attitude, hoping it showed he was feeling more comfortable with him. 

“Sung!” Changbin’s booming voice interrupted them.

“Bin!” Jisung called back. 

“Do you want these?” Changbin asked, holding up two shots. “I was gonna have them, but I don’t wanna get wasted. So they are up for grabs. Felix said that you were going hard tonight, so I figured I’d offer you first.”

“Oh fuck yeah!” Jisung said, taking one of the shots from him and drinking it then scrunching up his face at the taste. “What is it?” Jisung asked as he took the second shot.

“Tequila.” Changbin said with a laugh, shaking his head as he left with the empty glasses.

“Big drinker?” Minho asked, just wanting to know more about him.

“Sometimes. If I do drink, I usually go all in. Alcohol doesn’t taste good enough to want to have it without the positive effects that follow.” Jisung nodded, sipping his straw. “This drink may be a possible exception. Alcoholic slushy? Yes please, sir!” Jisung grinned and enjoyed his drink for a moment more before his eyes landed on Minho and he got that sly look again.

“What?” Minho asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, how badly do you wanna be on my good side? Make it up to me? Impress me?” Jisung was grinning, straw still held coquettishly between his teeth.

“Is that a real question?” Minho narrowed his eyes.

“I’m hungry…” Jisung said, trying to hold back a giggle.

“There’s a table of food behind you.”

“That’s all cold food. I like it hot.” Jisung winked, then actually snorted a laugh. “I want tacos… I saw a Taco Bell just down the street on my way here.”

“You are fucking kidding?”

“I dunno, I mean, it seems to me, someone who was desperate to be my friend and have a chance at tasting second hand strawberries on my lips might just want to get me some tacos.”

“I’d be tasting second hand tacos…” Minho was almost scowling now.

“I just said when I want, it's your choice if you want to fulfil my wants and desires or not.” Jisung giggled. 

Minho scoffed and turned away, stalking towards the door. He told himself he was going to leave, that it wasn’t worth being ordered around by some cocky twink. That he would not let himself give into every whim of a pretty faced man just to get closer to him. He told himself this all the way as he walked into the Taco Bell. He told himself he refused to be whipped and get dragged into Jisung’s games as he ordered five different types of taco as he didn’t ask what filling Jisung liked. He didn’t stop repeating it to himself until he was standing back in front of Jisung, thrusting the bag of food to him without a word. Jisung blinked at him with his mouth dropped open for a second. Minho noticed his hands were now vacant of his drink, seeming to have finished it in record time. 

“You really did it.” Jisung said, sounding close to charmed in his surprise. 

Minho smiled back as Jisung grinned brightly before taking the bag and looking inside, then dropping right to the floor to start eating his food like a wild animal. Minho stood back and just looked down at him, watching as Jisung stuffed his cheeks happily with the food he had fetched for him,  seeming to have fully blocked out everything that wasn’t currently Mexican inspired fast food.

“Lino! You fucked Jinnie in out living room!” Jeongin accused, pulling Minho’s attention away from Jisung’s hamster cheeks and his focused chewing.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Hyunjin told me.” Jeongin said as Hyunjin dropped his head on Minho’s shoulder, like a slutty parrot. Arms draped over his shoulders.

“My ears are burning.” Hyunjin said with a grin.

“Your ears won’t be the only thing burning soon.” Minho shrugged Hyunjin off his shoulders, and he moved to lean on Jeongin. “You told him we fucked in the living room?”

“I was asking if you got the sex smell out. I was making conversation.” Hyunjin smirked.

“What have we said about not having sex in the communal areas!” Jeongin said, trying his hardest to seem commanding, but the slight smile pulling at his lips betrayed his lack of actual annoyance.

“I never signed anything. At least you weren’t home.”

“Please just leave sex to behind closed doors at least.”

“The door was closed.”

“Okay, leave it in your bedroom or even the bathroom if you have to.”

“You know, maybe I’d have an incentive if I had kitty eyes to protect from seeing me fucking.”

“Oh plot twist!” Hyunjin said, laughing at the conversation he had instigated.

“Are you really trying to talk me into getting a cat by saying you will stop fucking people in the shared spaces if we do?” Jeongin continued.

“I mean, I’d have to close the cat out if I didn’t want to traumatise the little guy.”

“What about traumatising me?”

“You saw nothing.”

“Please tell me you didn’t get cum on any of our surfaces.”

“Of course I didn’t…” Minho frowned. “I cleaned up at least.” Minho grinned.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” Minho smirked.

“No I don’t. But watch out, I might set up a nanny cam.”

“You say that like it doesn’t turn me on.” Minho laughed as Jeongin scrunched his face in disgust, and Hyunjin’s body swayed with laughter.

“Whatever, just don’t be gross. I don’t wanna find a used condom in the couch cushions.”

“Then don’t go hunting in the couch cushions, easy solution.” Minho smirked as Jeongin rolled his eyes.

“Oh ho ho! Stop arguing boys, it looks like we’re in for a show!” Hyunjin laughed, pointing behind Minho.

Minho turned around and took in the sound of the fast guitar notes of a song he was vaguely aware of as Jisung started to prance around singing loudly. 

“ Scotty doesn't know that Fiona and me do it in my van every Sunday !” Jisung sang before hopping up on a chair. Chan ran from where he had been sorting out the music to hover near him in case he fell. Jisung swayed and kicked, somehow managing to keep balance on the chair as he kept singing. Felix was cracking up at the other side of the chair to Chan, probably to catch him also, but he just seemed to just be spurring him on.

“Fiona says she's out shopping, but she's under me and I'm not stopping!” Jisung continued and Jeongin was pushed against Minho as Hyunjin dropped an arm over them both, laughing in their ears.

“It’s so fucking hilarious to hear Sung sing about fucking a women. On every level.” Jeongin laughed. Minho scoffed a laugh, keeping his eyes trained on Jisung as he jumped down and kept performing to the rest of the song. Once he had finished the song, and bowed to the few people applauding him, he swiped Felix’s drink and finished it before catching Minho’s eye and prancing over to him. 

“Come on Innie, I’ll buy you a drink.” Hyunjin said, patting Minho on the shoulder as he dragged Jeongin away.

“Lee Minho!” Jisung cheered when he reached him, seeming somehow even more drunk after eating food.

“Han Jisung.” Minho replied.

“Dance with me?” Jisung asked, his hands landing on Minho’s shoulders.

“My pleasure.” Minho smiled, finally placing his hands on Jisung’s tantalising waist. Jisung wrapped his arms around Minho as they swayed. They moved to a song in silence, Jisung looking at Minho the whole time before Jisung spoke again.

“Thank you for getting me food. I didn’t think you’d actually do that.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Minho laughed, giving Jisung a smile.

“Well, for the record, I won’t be making you run any more errands just for the sake of proving something to me.” Jisung nodded like he had made a decision. “I accept your second impression. It was nice to meet you, finally.”

“Thank you. I really liked meeting you too. You’re really something else. Beautiful, funny, and spontaneous. How could I not want a second chance?” Minho saw Jisung smile, and a small blush on his cheeks. Minho felt confident that Jisung was a fan of compliments, and that worked well for Minho, as he had a never ending amount of them for this enchanting man in his arms.

“You’re not bad yourself. You’re even nicer than they said you were.” Jisung looked in his eyes, his smile softening as he moved closer to him. “You’re also the hottest guy I can remember hitting on me.” Jisung smiled and Minho felt his stomach tug as Jisung’s eyes dropped down to his lips.

Minho’s breath caught in his throat as Jiusng moved closer, pressing his lips against Minho’s tentatively. Minho moved his hands to hold Jisung, wrapping around his body as he kissed back softly, just pressing their lips together. Jisung sighed and his hands slid into Minho’s hair, pulling him closer as he moved his lips more confidently against Minho. Minho returned the kiss until Jisung started to part his lips to deepen it, at which point Minho pulled back, staying close in Jisung’s hold.

“You don’t want me anymore?” Jisung asked, his eyes wide and vulnerable as his lips fell into a pout.

“Of course I do. I want you so bad I can’t stand it.” Minho told him before sighing. “But you’re drunk, Sungie.” Minho noticed Jisung smile a little at the cutening of his name before his mouth returned to its pout.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little drunk making out. It’s a treasured pastime of mine.” 

“I agree. But you are the only drunk one.”

“You could get drunk and catch up with me. Then we can sloppy kiss on the dancefloor?” Jisung asked with a smile far too sweet for his proposition.

“God, as fucking tempting as that is, I think there is too much moral ambiguity to me intentionally getting drunk to make out with you with a clear conscience. And besides, I don’t know you well enough yet to feel comfortable with your boundaries to even just make out with you while you are drunk. You may be comfortable drunk making out with someone close to being a stranger, but I’m not comfortable doing something that might make you feel regret and used in the morning.”

“Fuck. A fuck-boy with morals. Where did you come from Lee Minho?” Jisung asked with a smile. “I just really wanted to kiss you.”

“Next time.” Minho said, darting forward to place a quick press of lips on Jisung before smiling warmly at him. “I promise.” 

Jisung sighed and dropped his head on Minho’s shoulder, letting his lips lightly dance over the flesh on his neck for a moment.

“You’re right.” Jisung said, pressing his lips harder against his neck in a full kiss. “Will you still dance with me?”

“Of course. I’ll dance all night if you want.” Minho said, tightening his hold of him as he continued to sway him.

Jisung spent a few more minutes kissing Minho’s neck, and Minho fought with himself over if it was okay to let him do this, but he figured there was no harm as long as he didn’t reciprocate and stopped Jisung from going any further. He controlled his breathing, after he let out a soft sigh that seemed to spur Jisung to lightly lick near his jaw. He focused on keeping his hands still on Jisung, and resisting the urge to slide them down to his ass, and on keeping all sounds of pleasure unexpressed.

After a few minutes Jisung lifted up from his neck and pulled Minho back into conversation. They danced, gripping firmly to each other and just talking nonsense for a while until Jisung’s movements got more clumsy and his eyelids got heavy. Minho was about to ask if he was tired when he dropped his head on Minho’s shoulder and nuzzled against him. Just a few minutes later Jisung’s weight started to drop into his arms and Minho realised Jisung was falling asleep, or passing out, maybe somewhere between the two. 

“Sung?” Minho asked, and Jisung just whined, rubbing his face on his shoulder. “You can’t sleep on the dance floor, it’s bad manners.” Minho chuckled as Jisung just got heavier in his arms. “Alright, come on, let's stop you falling.” 

Minho carefully managed to scoop Jisung up into his arms, Jisung curling up against him as he tried to get someone's attention to help him.
“Chan! Yo, little help?” Minho hollerdered over to him, where he was chatting to Jeongin near the bar. Minho started walking over as Chan looked over to assess the situation.

“Oh shit, what’s happened?” Chan asked, grabbing a chair for Minho to place Jisung in.

“Sleepy boy. Drunk boy. He started to droop on the dance floor.” Minho told him with a smile as Chan looked over Jisung, trying to get him to wake up. Jisung was still responding, probably closer to a drunk falling asleep than actually passing out.

“Oh Sungie!” Felix said, trotting over to join them. Minho stepped back to watch as Jisung’s two best friends fussed over him. Jeongin was stood watching them with him.

“Too much fun. And by fun, I mean alcohol.” Chan chastised with a grin as Felix tried to get Jisung to drink some water.

“Lemme Sl’p.” Jisung mumbled once Felix moved the glass from his face.

“Alright. I’ll take him back to mine. He will be too hungover to function tomorrow.” Chan said.

“I’ll come too. I can sleep with him and make sure he doesn’t choke on his vomit in his sleep.” Felix said laughing.

“Slumber party, sounds good. Well, no, because this means you two are getting my double bed, and I’ll be on the shitty bed in my home office. But that’s fine.” Chan laughed, then turned to look at the two watching men. “Thanks for getting me. I don’t think he’s worryingly wasted, but he is quite the light weight, on top of that he hasn’t been sleeping well, and this man will sleep anywhere. So you don’t have to worry about him. We just want to make sure he’s safe.” Chan reassured Minho.

“I get it. Let him know I had a good time with him when he wakes up, yeah?”

“You got it.” Chan smiled then turned to Jeongin. “I’m so sorry for leaving early. I was having a really good time.”

“Me too.” Jeongin pouted before smiling. “I guess you will have to host a party to make it up to me?”

“You got it. I have a couple busy weeks, but I’ll sort something soon. Just the main group though, yeah?”

“Really? That would be great.” Jeongin gazed at him for a moment. “Thank you for my gift.”

“Well, you wouldn’t stop talking about them.”

“They are my new favourite shoes!” Jeongin smiled.

“Chan, our taxi is on its way.” Felix called behind him, poking Jisung’s face to try and keep him awake.

“Okay, I gotta go. I’ll see you soon. Happy birthday not-so-little Innie.” Chan said, lingering as he gazed at him before turning and getting Jisung supported on his and Felix’s shoulders as they left. 

Minho’s eyes watched the men leave, eyes trained on Jisung as he stumbled between the other two. He looked at the door for a prolonged moment after they had left before sighing and looking at Jeongin, who had also been sending a longing gaze to their retreat. 

“You okay?” Minho asked, Jeongin looking close to sulking.

“Yeah, I was just enjoying talking to Chan, I don’t get to see him much anymore. I miss him.” Jeongin sighed then looked at Minho. “I don’t blame Sung though, I knew he was gonna get drunk, I kinda encouraged it.” Jeongin laughed then sighed again. “Well, I need a drink.”

“You gonna try and beat Jisung for the title of drunkest at the party?”

“Well, it is my birthday, that title is rightfully mine.” Jeongin chuckled.

“Fair. Go nuts, I’ll make sure you get home safe.”

“Really? You’re gonna hang around until I leave?”

“You said it, it’s your birthday. It’s the least I can do. I’ll even buy you your first drink.” Minho smiled, on a bit of a high from how well his second interaction with Jisung had gone. 

“You’re the best! Are you getting drunk too?”

“Nah, I’ll be the designated handler. But I’ll keep you company and encourage you.” Minho ran his eyes over the crowd, looking for their other friends to see if they wanted to drink more as they walked to the bar. He could only see Hyunjin, who looked like he was enjoying himself too much dancing with a few people for him to want to interrupt.

Minho kept by Jeongin’s side all night, talking when it was just the two of them, or joined by Hyunjin, and mostly just watching when Jeongin was chatting with his other friends. He joined them for a few dances, and helped himself to a good amount of Felix’s baked goods before they all disappeared. Even though his energy was low, he didn’t push for Jeongin to leave until he wanted to, which ended up being two AM. He practically force fed him some of the finger food that was still left before helping him into a taxi. He kept an eye on him as he washed up and when he went to strip to get in bed Minho grabbed a bottle of water. Jeongin looked half-passed out already when Minho placed it next to the bed.

“Water on the side there, I’ll bring your trash can next to the bed in case you need to chuck up. Sleep well, Innie, I hope you had a good night.” Minho told him, checking over him to make sure he had all he needed.

“Thank you, Lino. I had fun.” Jeongin mumbled. 

Minho then washed up himself, thankful for the silence of the apartment before going to bed. He sighed at being laid down after such a long night. He smiled as he wriggled into a comfortable position, playing back his interactions with Jisung. He had definitely seemed interested, kissing him, and being disappointed he had stopped him. He had high hopes for the next time he would see him, and wondered if maybe he would be at the gaming night that Felix had talked him into. He felt relaxed and excited at the same time as he finally dropped into a welcome slumber.

Chapter Text

Minho let himself have a lay in on Saturday, wanting to recharge after the highly social and long Friday night he’d had. He got out of bed late in the morning, and quietly cracked the door to Jeongin’s room to check on him. He grimaced at how stuffy the room was, the air felt like Jeongin had been emanating alcohol from his pores as he slept. He saw Jeongin still laid on his bed and fully dead to the world, and saw that his trash can was thankfully vomit free. He left the door cracked to help let Jeongin get some fresher air circulating around him as he went to the gym to get in his morning workout, grabbing himself breakfast while he was out. Minho went to the store on his way back home from the gym to get ingredients for a hangover soup, and some sports drinks to try and help Jeongin feel better when he eventually woke up. 

Minho tried to be quiet when he got home, wanting to let Jeognin sleep off as much of his hangover as he could. Minho was actually enjoying the excuse to just stay on the sofa and read, the self imposed rule of silence being blissfully peaceful after the loud bar of the party. Jeongin woke up just after lunchtime, Minho had put off making food until Jeongin woke, not wanting to eat without him, or risk the smells of food waking him up. Jeongin groaned in greeting when he finally emerged from his dank cave of a room still in just his underwear, then plodded to the sofa before collapsing down next to Minho.

“Hey there, party animal. Hungover?” Minho asked softly.

“Brutally.” Jeongin complained.

“Hangover soup?” Minho offered.

“Please!” Jeongin asked gratefully, managing to force a weak smile.

Minho smiled and nodded before getting up, he gave Jeongin a sports drink from the fridge before he started making their lunch. Minho was careful not to make the soup too spicy, for the sake of Jeongin’s currently delicate stomach. Once he was happy with the taste he brought the bowls out, passing Jeongin his. They ate in silence, aside from a couple of groans of mild distress from Jeongin. After eating Minho grabbed some painkillers for Jeongin now that his stomach was lined with food.

“Alright, now you really need to go shower, because I swear it smells like you are sweating pure vodka, and I cannot take it any more!” Minho laughed and Jeongin gave a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, fair.” 

“I’ll go and air out your room and change your bedding while you shower though, so you can go to bed on fresh sheets without choking tonight.” 

“You’re the best.” Jeongin smiled genuinely at him before plodding to the bathroom.

Minho wasn’t in the habit of babying his roommate so much as to change his sheets often, but Jeongin was hungover and it was his birthday this week, so Minho figured he would do this to make his weekend better. He first opened the window, letting the cold February air replace the hot stuffy alcohol haze in the room. Then he quickly stripped the bed before putting on new sheets. Minho closed the window so Jeongin wouldn’t freeze when he came into his room after his shower and sniffed the air. He deemed it as no longer a toxic hazard, but left the door cracked to help the air flow and stop it getting stuffy again. 

Minho sat back on the sofa to wait for Jeongin, and to assess if he needed anything else to help him survive his hangover. Jeongin went to his room from the shower, then came back out in sweats, holding the gift Minho had left on his nightstand and smiling.

“Is this my real gift?” Jeongin asked as he sat next to Minho.

“Yeah.”

“Can I open it?”

“What else would you do with it?” Minho asked with a laugh. Minho watched as Jeongin tore into the blue paper and revealed the gaming headset inside.

“Holy shit! This is awesome! The mic on my old one has given up!”

“I know, that’s why I got you this one.” 

“I wish I wasn’t hungover! I wanna use it right now!” Jeongin looked at him with his crescent eyes, his smile taking over his face.

“Well, that’s what Sunday is for then.” Minho smiled back. “Need anything else for your hangover?”

“Can you just hang out with me? I’m too rough to go out, but I don’t wanna be bored and alone.”

“You got it. Any requests for dinner?”

“Can we order in some fried chicken?” 

“You got it.” Minho smiled as he got comfortable on the couch, letting Jeongin take control of the TV.

Not long after they had gotten comfortable and were watching an action movie in comfortable silence, Minho’s phone vibrated, demanding his attention.

SEUNGIN: Are you free tomorrow? I need to talk about something.

MINHO: I’m free. Do I need to be worried?

SEUNGMIN: No, this is an all me thing.

MINHO: I say again, should I be worried?

SEUNGMIN: I’m okay, just freaking out a little.

MINHO: Wanna meet now?

SEUNGMIN: No, I need today to mull, and rest. I’ll message you tomorrow, yeah?

MINHO: Sure. You know where I am if you change your mind.

Minho spent the day on the sofa, spending quality quiet time with Jeongin, eating snacks, then ordering chicken before they both retired for an early night. The next day Minho went to the gym when he woke up, getting a coffee on his way home. When he was back and debating what to do for lunch a notification from the group chat interrupted his train of thought.

FELIX: So, anyone who doesn’t have a date for Valentine’s day wanna come to mine for gaming night instead?

JISUNG: It’s nice of you not to name and shame me personally for your lonely hearts night.

FELIX: Well this is awkward, I am naming the night ‘Han Jisung has no bitches, so let's game losers.’

JISUNG: I could have bitches if I want! You are my bitch!

FELIX: Often, but not in the context I am referring to babe.

JISUNG: Whatever, I will make you my bitch at Mario Kart!

FELIX: I’m not sure you can have me as your bitch in that context either, but sure, try.

JISUNG: You would jump at the chance to be my bitch in the sex way too!

FELIX: Eh, maybe.

MINHO: I’ll be at game night.

FELIX: Fuck yeah!

HYUNJIN: Minho, you have bitches, you have bitches dripping off you!

MINHO: Yeah, but I don’t have a Valentine's date, and that was the original question.

HYUNJIN: Yeah, me neither. Guess gaming over gaping it is.

MINHO: How does a hot twink like you not have a date? 

HYUNJIN: You think I’m hot? Oh my gosh, you are so into me! I think I’m gonna get married. Do you have a question for me Lino?

MINHO: I do actually.

HYUNJIN: Holy shit, it’s happening! 

MINHO: Hyunjin, beautiful man, will you, please, stay one olympic sized swimming pool away from me at all times?

JEONGIN: That’s gonna be a long aisle.

JISUNG: Hehe, aisle. 

FELIX: What?

JISUNG: Aisle sounds dirty.

HYUNJIN: Does it?

JISUNG: It did to me… Now I am doubting it.

FELIX: This is why you have no bitches.

JISUNG: No! Look, ‘I’m gonna walk down your aisle!’ You need to say it in a certain sexy way.

FELIX: Utterly rizzless.

MINHO: No, he’s got a point. I mean, most things can be dirty if said with the right inflection.

JISUNG: POINT!

CHAN: I have a date.

JEONGIN: You do?

CHAN: With sweet lady music!

JISUNG: And they call me rizzless… 

CHAN: My laptop…. I’m working. I’m working on valentines day.

JEONGIN: Hot. Can’t you just take the day off?

CHAN: Nope, I promised someone I would host a party, so I need to get my deadline out as soon as I can.

JEONGIN: I support your work!

SEUNGMIN: I’ll come only if I can’t find someone to fuck me. 

CHANGBIN: Yeah, I think I might have plans.

HYUNJIN: So, I am not engaged to Lino?

MINHO: You can have a bachelor party without the wedding, just get fucking wasted.

HYUNJIN: Done, and done!

SEUNGMIN: Lino, brunch? Now?

MINHO: Give me an hour, I need a shower.

HYUNJIN: Is this an open invite?

SEUNGMIN: No.

Minho smiled then started to get himself ready to go out. He showered, then dressed, he chose comfortable clothes, baggy jeans and a soft jumper before giving his hair a quick style. He peeked in to see Jeongin was already engrossed in gaming when he told him he was going out, then he went to go meet Seungmin. Seungmin was already waiting for him at a table when he arrived, and Minho thought he must have been very antsy to talk to him if he was that early, since Minho hadn’t even taken the full hour to get ready.

“Hey, what’s good here?” Minho asked, since Seungmin had suggested where they were meeting.

“The mimosas, I already ordered us a jugful of them.”

“Oh, it’s gonna be that kind of brunch. Let’s get some food too, yeah?”

“Order anything, or everything, I don’t care. I cannot brain right now.”

“On it.” Minho said, and looked over the menu before ordering them their dishes. Minho waited until the food and drinks had been placed on the table, and they had been eating for a few minutes before he finally prompted Seungmin to open up.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Minho asked after they had finished the first glasses of mimosa.

“I had sex with Changbin.” Seungmin said, looking up at Minho, as if he was challenging him to judge him.

“Right…” Minho said, leading Seungmin to say more.

“After Innie’s party…”

“Did you talk?”

“I was gonna.” Seungmin sighed, downing his second drink in one gulp. Minho laughed and picked up his glass as he decided to keep pace with him. “We were chatting, and we got a little tipsy, it kinda took the edge off the tension, then he went to get shots, and I had second thoughts, thinking I might get impulsive if I got drunk. I was suddenly plagued with visions of me getting into a screaming match, or pouncing on him running through my head. So I told him to get rid of the shots, and that we should go somewhere to actually talk.”

“That explains the shots Changbin fed to Jisung at least.” Minho chuckled, pouring them the rest of the jug and gesturing to a waiter for another with a smile.

“Yeah… So we went to his place. We sat down intending to talk, but I stalled on what to say and we were just there in silence… Then I kissed him. I was gonna talk! I swear I was! But my mind just failed and he just looked so… Oh fuck! And then we just didn’t stop! We’ve never done that before!”

“You’ve kissed before though, right?”

“Yeah, but I’ve always stopped and tried to talk, and then it blows up. We’ve never shut up and relaxed enough to actually get to the sex part before!” Seungmin whined, stopping to sip his drink and stuff his mouth with more food as Minho waited patiently for him to continue. “So we didn’t talk. Then after the sex we just fell asleep. To be fair we were at it for a long time. And then in the morning we didn’t talk either, we had sex again. Then I fled. I was like, I need a shower. He said I could use his, and I just stuttered some shit about a special shampoo? What the actual fuck is wrong with me? Oh shit, and yeah, I left. So, well… I ruined everything!”

“You didn’t ruin everything. How was the sex.”

“Fuck me! It was beyond words!” Seungmin sighed deeply then scoffed. “But I will find words for you, after a few drinks. I just need to relax the bees that are swarming in my brain first.”

“Fair, finish your food if we’re gonna be drinking more.”

“Okay, mom.” Seungmin scoffed, but then he did focus on his meal. “So, did you talk to Jisung?”

“We can focus on you for today, your stuff is bigger than mine.”

“No, I want to hear about you and Sung. I can rant after. Joint effort, yeah?”

“Fair enough. Yeah, I talked to him. I apologised for how I was to him at his gig, and I asked for a second chance. I told him I want sex and friendships, but I would be happy with either if I couldn't have both. He seemed into it. He was wasted though, so when he kissed me I had to stop it. Then he started to fall asleep on me while dancing. He’s so fucking cute. I’m gonna pick up where we left off on Valentine's game night. Give him the kiss he wanted, see if he’s up for more, or if he wants to get to know me a bit more first. But I have high hopes for it going how I want, we got along well and he agreed to give me a second chance.”

“I’m glad, Sung gives me vibes of being the type to want to take it slow. But to be fair, the only time I’ve seen him hook up with someone was with people he barely knows at parties, so maybe he is more your speed after all.” Seungmin chuckled.

“I cannot believe you are the one who got laid at the party. But at least one of us did.” Minho laughed, finishing his own food.

“I have faith you will be fucking Jisung soon enough. Now you have your mind set on having a friendship with him, I think it will go better.”

“So, you're being vague about Valentine's gaming plans… Are you hoping to fuck Changbin again?”

“Yeah, I was trying to fish for another fuck. I will talk to him. But right now I really just want to have sex with him again.” 

“That seems like a healthy choice.” Minho laughed.

“Oh fuck, I am not about healthy choices right now. I want hedonism. I have suffered enough.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. Speaking of not making healthy choices, shall we finish up here and go to a bar to continue day drinking so you can vent and tell me about the sex?” Minho asked with a grin.

“You are full of great ideas. Come on, let’s get drunk and help me forget how stupid I’m being.” Seungmin scoffed, giving Minho a grateful smile.

They didn’t rush finishing their mimosas before they paid and went to a bar they were more familiar with, and continued drinking. Minho let Seungmin talk about how mind blowing the sex with Changbin had been, about how intense the feelings had been, and how confused he was now. He let him talk in circles about his plans to try and talk to Changbin. Seungmin also prompted Minho to talk about Jisung more, talking about how he had been at the party, and how he was looking forward to seeing him again and seeing where things would go when they were sober. They departed the bar to head home before it got too late, both feeling pleasantly drunk. 

When Minho arrived home, he heard Jeongin’s voice coming from his bedroom so he headed over and crept in, quietly coming up behind him before dropping his hands on his shoulders and yelling to startle him.

“Holy fucking shit!” Jeongin yelped. Minho cracked up at him as Jeongin turned his head and saw him then grasped his chest as he realised it was his roommate and not some deranged serial killer, though the look in Jeongin’s glare suggested there was not much distinction there.

“I’m home.” Minho said when he had control of his laughing again. “Want me to sort out dinner? I’m drunk, but I think I can still cook.”

“I ordered pizza a bit ago… Look.” Jeongin pointed to the obvious large pizza box near him. “You can have what’s left if you want?”

“Sure, I’ll grab a slice.” Minho said. He was still pretty full from brunch, but he knew that eating again would help fight tomorrow's hangover. He grabbed a slice then came to stand next to Jeongin to look at his screen. “So, have you been playing with yourself all day?” 

“Playing with Felix and Sung.” 

“Hello boys!” Minho said in a high pitched tone close to Jeongin’s mic.

“Fuck Felix, that’s too shrill!” Jeongin complained. “He says hi back.” Jeongin said to Minho.

“Make sure you don’t stay up too late gaming, you have work tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, but not until the afternoon.” 

“Okay, well,” Minho moved to his mic again. “You guys make sure he goes to bed at midnight, yeah?”

“My god.” Jeongin rolled his eyes then laughed at him. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“I’m gonna shower, then watch cat videos until I either lose my buzz or fall asleep. Have a fun night.” Minho said, smiling at him as he left to finish his own evening.

Minho did all he could to make sure he wouldn’t feel too rough the next morning, drinking water, and eating some deli chicken they had in the fridge before going to sleep early. He didn’t have a meeting with anyone tomorrow, but he did need to go to the studio to start creating the dances he had been hired for. He made good progress on his work, sleeping late on Monday but staying late at the dance studio to make up for it, then being in the studio all Tuesday, knowing he wanted to leave early on the Wednesday before joining his friends for gaming night. 

He got home in time to shower and bake the cookies he had planned on taking to the gaming night before he set off in enough time to not be too late from the time Felix had told people they could come to his place. He dressed in an outfit that looked good, but casual, radiating soft vibes. He hoped Jisung was into it, as he wanted to feel comfortable if he was just with his friends. When Minho arrived, Felix let him in with a bright smile and a hug.

“I made cookies, where shall I put them?” Minho asked as he toed off his shoes, his eyes finding Jisung sitting next to the arm of the sofa.

“You baked! We have snacks on the coffee table, let me clear a space for you.” Felix said with glee, moving to rearrange the snacks.

Minho placed the box in the space and took the lid off, revealing the pink, heart shaped cookies to a chorus of ‘oohs’ from the small group of people.

“Help yourselves. I’m not as much of a baker as our Lixie, but I did my best.” Minho said, looking at Hyunjin and flicking his eyes to try and ask him to move so that Minho could sit next to Jisung. Hyunjin grinned and nodded, scooting over on the couch. Jeongin took his cue and sat on the floor, letting his older friends take the sofa. All the other four of his friends grabbed a cookie and started to eat. Minho smiled as he watched Jisung nibbling at the sweet treat. 

“Is it strawberry?” Jisung asked, not actually looking at Minho, so it was uncertain if the question was rhetorical or not. 

“Yeah, I thought if I’m making them pink I might as well make them strawberry while I’m at it.” Minho said with a smile. Jisung didn’t say anything, just nodded as his eyes stayed on the cookie he was munching on. Minho waited until he had finished eating to continue giving him his undivided attention. “So, were you terribly hungover on Saturday?”

“Oh..” Jisung turned his head, but kept his eyes cast down as he hesitantly responded. “Yeah, pretty bad.” Jisung mumbled, only just loud enough for Minho to hear him.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t end up being the drunkest one there, that title went to the birthday boy himself, right Innie?”

“Yo.” Jeongin said, turning his head at an angle that looked painful to give them his patented foxy grin.

“Do you actually remember Friday at all?” Minho asked, thinking maybe Jisung had just fully blacked out.”

“Yeah…” Jisung said, fiddling with his fingers on his lap.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything embarrassing. I mean, unless you’re ashamed of kissing me.” Minho said, bumping his shoulder to him playfully.

“Oh… No…” 

“I mean, you did fall asleep in my arms, but I think that was cute honestly.” Minho grinned, but was beginning to frown now at Jisung’s lack of engagement with him. “You are an adorable drunk.” Minho thought he saw Jisung’s cheeks starting to pink. “I mean, you don’t have to be drunk. I think you’re adorable anyway.” Minho pushed on, and while Jisung did seem affected by the compliments, his behaviour seemed more than flustered, he seemed tense. Minho began to worry, had Jisung regretted how he was at the party, did he feel used because he was drunk and Minho had let him kiss him. Maybe he didn’t forgive him for his careless come on at his gig the week before that.

“Jisung?” Minho asked him, frowning as he tilted his head to try and get Jisung to look at him. “Is something wrong?”

“No.. I just…” Jisung lifted his head, but he didn’t look at Minho, but past him, over his shoulder.

“Hey, let’s get you a drink, okay Lino?” Felix interrupted, taking Minho by the wrist and lightly tugging him to follow him to the kitchen. 

Minho looked at Jisung, finally connecting with his eyes for a second before Jisung looked back down to his fidgeting fingers. He let Felix guide him to the kitchen, hovering as he frowned, fully confused about what had happened, all progress made with Jisung from the weekend seeming to have been lost.

“Beer?” Felix asked as he ducked into his fridge.

“Soda’s fine, thanks.” Minho said, turning to look at Felix as he handed him a cold can.

“You might wanna ease up on Sungie a little.” Felix said with a weak smile.

“What’s the deal? I don’t know what I did wrong?” Minho asked, his confusion fully unconcealed.

“You didn’t do anything. He’s just shy with people he doesn’t know.”

“You don’t have to lie to spare my feelings, if I did something to upset him I want to know. So I can apologise, try and make it okay. If he’s not interested, that's fine, I’m not gonna break from a rejection.” Minho huffed.

“It’s not a lie. Jisung has social anxiety. And you’re still more of a stranger than not to him.” Felix explained patiently.

“But… He seemed fine with me at his gig, and at the party, he was… He seemed into me.”

“Yeah, when he had an adrenaline high from performing and the armour of drunkenness to take the edge of his anxiety he would seem fine. He’s sober now, and your focused attention is gonna be a bit overwhelming.”

“Oh shit… For real?” Minho asked and Felix nodded. “Should I go? I don’t want him to be uncomfortable…”

“No, he was really looking forward to you coming, to seeing you again, he’s just also scared and nervous. So go a little easy, maybe a little less intense. Give him some time and he will warm up to you. It shouldn’t take that long, he knows you through us, so you’re not like a fully unknown stranger, but you can be kinda intimidating. But he likes you, so if you want to give him the time, he will get comfortable with you.” Felix said with a sweet smile, doing his best to advocate for his friend. 

Minho took a moment to think about it, and again he debated the possibility that this was too much effort to go to for a hook-up. He would have left it there, cut his losses and left, but he didn’t just want a hook-up anymore. He wanted a friend. The time he had seen him in the group chat, the things he’d said having him doubled over laughing at times, and how easy they had clicked at the party. Minho nodded. He knew a hook-up wasn’t worth going to all this effort for, but he had the feeling Han Jisung was more than worth the effort.

“Yeah, thanks for the heads up. I’ll ease off a little, shift my gears and give him time to get used to me. Just to check, will he be okay with me still, like, complimenting and flirting with him? I can drop that to just focus on being friends if he can’t handle me hitting on him.”

“I think he likes it, to be honest.” Felix chuckled. “Just, less intense, yeah?”

“I get it, let me know if I get too intense again, but I’ll do my best. Thanks for the heads up. I can’t believe no one else told me about this.”

“I mean, maybe they don’t wanna talk about their friend’s mental health stuff behind his back. I got his permission beforehand to tell you. He was really hoping he wouldn't freeze up since he does kinda know you already, but he asked if I could help out if he did. It’s not a secret, but I guess it’s also not like a big topic. It doesn’t usually come up, he avoids situations where he might have a problem usually, so it’s not a big deal. He’s not like, debilitated with it, he just doesn’t like crowds and strangers, and prefers someone else to order for him at restaurants.”

“Right, I get it. I’m not exactly a fan of crowds myself.”

“But you can tolerate them to get laid.” Felix said with an almost flirty smile Minho hadn’t been graced with in a long time.

“I can tolerate a lot for a good fuck.” Minho said with a wink before laughing and turning to go back into the living room.

Minho sat back down next to Jisung and opened his soda, taking a long sip and watching as Felix was setting up some game for them to play.

“Hey, sorry if I’m a bit intense.” Minho said, glancing at Jisung, and bumping their knees together but not levelling him with his full stare. “I’m gonna tone it down a little. But if it’s still too much just tell me to back off and I’ll give you a bit more space. Yeah?” Minho saw Jisung swallow thickly and nod, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“Thanks. It’s not you. It’s me. Sorry.” Jisung said, then opened and closed his mouth a few times as he seemed to be wrestling with his ability to share more.

“I get it, Felix told me to chill out. But, there is nothing wrong with you. So don’t ever apologise for being you.” Minho nodded and turned his eyes back to the TV, giving Jisung some breathing room without him staring him down. Minho managed to restrain from talking to Jisung for the length of one game, before he just had to try and get a blush on his cheeks again.

“Don’t forget to eat those cookies. I made them with you in mind. The shape reminds me of your smile.” Minho said, grabbing the box so Jisung could grab another. Jisung didn’t say anything, but Minho saw his fingers tracing the heart outline of the cookie, a coy smile on his face before he put the whole thing in his mouth in one bite. “God, those cheeks are so cute when you eat, it should be illegal.” Minho chuckled, before taking the controller from Felix and focusing on the game he was about to lose.

“Wow, you are so bad at this!” Hyunjin laughed at Minho when he lost his game. “It’s nice to know you are bad at something.”

“I don’t usually voluntarily do things I know I’m not good at. It’s why I spend most of my time dancing and fucking.”

“Well, practice makes perfect.” Hyunjin conceded as he poured himself another strong drink.

“And it’s easy to practise what you’re passionate about.” Minho laughed as he passed the controller to Jisung next to him.

“He’s good at cooking too.” Jeongin said from the floor.

“Cooking and fucking. I know how I like my meat.” Minho scoffed, smiling as he saw Jisung leaning over to grab another of his cookies.

“Honestly though, if practice makes perfect, why isn’t Felix better at gaming yet?” Jeongin asked, flicking a teasing glance up at Felix who yelled in annoyance at him.

“Yah! I’m kicking your ass!” 

“How is losing half our matches kicking my ass?”

“I do not need to tolerate this slander in my own home!”

“Aww Lixie, if you don’t want him to tease you, just get better at gaming.” Jisung teased with a laugh.

“You too? The betrayal!”

“At least you’re beating Lino.” Hyunjin said as he drained his glass.

“Got something against your liver?” Minho asked him.

“Nope, but it’s Valentine's day, and I am alone! So I must drown my sorrows.”

“You’re not alone, you're surrounded by hot men in fact.”

“Yeah, but not on a date!”

“Are you just angry I didn’t propose to you?” Minho laughed.

“Nah, as breathtaking as I would look in all white on your arm, I know you’d be eyeing up the groomsmen before the ceremony even ended.”

“Hey, I am loyal. If you somehow did trick me into marriage I wouldn’t stray. I’d just murder you and have a widower party, and get dicked down then.” Minho laughed.

“Yeah, that’s a better scenario.” Hyunjin laughed.

“I love you Jinnie, I love you too much to want to spend the rest of my life with you. You deserve a long and happy life, not to be buried alive to feed my herb garden.”

“Why is your love language violence?” Felix asked with a chuckle.

“What can I say, I’m an intense guy.” Minho smirked, looking at Jisung who was watching him with a quiet smile, seeming a little less tense at his presence already. “So do you always host game night, Lix?”

“Most of the time, sometimes we do it at Sungie’s.” Felix told him.

“Doesn’t Minnie also join game nights sometimes?”

“Yeah, I guess he found a dick to ride tonight.” 

“Seems so.” Minho chuckled. “Why don’t we have the next game night at Minnies?”

“He never offers to host.”

“Yeah, he’s kinda particular about mess. But I will make him host for us, it’s only fair for everyone to take a turn hosting, right?”

“Does that mean we are gonna host too?” Jeongin asked, tipping his head back to look at him.

“Yeah sure, soon. I’ll bully Minnie to host, then Sungie and Jinnie can, and then we will. Does that sound good?”

“Sure thing. Is this Saturday good for you, if you can get Minnie to agree?” Felix asked.

“So… You’re gonna keep coming to game nights?” Jisung asked, looking at him with his eyes wide, but actually looking into Minho's eyes.

“For as long as I’m welcome.” He said, giving Jisung a warm smile that he reciprocated before tearing his eyes away from him.

“We don’t just do gaming.” Jisung said with his eyes fixed on the TV.

“No?” Minho prompted.

“Movies too.”

“Can I come to movie nights too?” Minho asked, unable to hold back the smile on his face at how achingly cute Jisung was being.

“That’s why I mentioned it.” Jisung said, glancing at him with a smile close to a smirk before looking away again.

“I’ll be there.” Minho leaned a little closer, feeling like he could push just a little more since Jisung initiated this interaction. “I’ll go anywhere you ask me to, beautiful.” Minho smiled as he saw Jisung biting his lip, and looking definitely more flustered than tense this time. Minho forced himself to get out his phone to message Seungmin just to stop himself from staring at Jisung for too long.

MINHO: Hey, hope you’re enjoying getting plowed, since you didn’t show I signed you up to host game night on Saturday. And remember I have a spare key, so this is happening if you want it to or not. *Kisses*

Minho focused on playing the game, and staying quiet enough that Jisung would be more comfortable talking to his friends for the next hour, not wanting to be the reason Jisung’s night might not be as good as it could be. Minho tapped back into the conversation when Hyunjin slid onto the floor from the sofa, clearly way past just being tipsy.

“Hey Jinnie, are you doing alright over there?” Minho asked with a lazy smile.

“I can’t believe I don’t even have a fucking date on Valentines day!” Hyunjin whined.

“Yeah, none of us do, that’s why Felix was kind enough to host this night for us, ungrateful bitch.” Minho said with no venom in his voice.

“Fine, but I’m not even getting laid? It’s the day of getting laid!” Hyunjin continued to whine, fully unphased by Minho’s lack of sympathy.

“Oh boo fucking hoo! I think we’re all with you there. Show of hands, anyone expecting to get laid tonight?” Minho looked over at the other guys laughing and rolling their eyes. “See, no one else is having sex, so why are you the only one bitching about it?”

“I mean, there is a very easy solution to this problem of us not having sex. We all have sex!”

“Are you suggesting group sex?” Minho asked and sighed dramatically. “Come on babe, you know everytime I have group sex someone gets injured.” Hyunjin cackled loudly and Minho felt the soft tapping of Jisung’s fingers on his arm. Minho turned to him with a warm smile.

“You’re joking right?” Jisung asked.

“About having group sex, or the injuries?”

“Injuries.”

“Ah, well, it’s nothing major, I just kinda always seem to forget how many men I have in a bed when it’s more than one, and someone always seems to end up getting flung to the ground. No one has actually been hurt properly, but it does kinda lose the mood to have someone literally thrown from the bed.” Minho laughed as Jisung laughed with a slight frown on his face. “So I usually stick to one on one stuff now. For the safety of the group.” Minho winked at him and Jisung turned his head, but Minho saw he was still smiling.

“I mean, we don’t have to have potentially hazardous group sex, we can just pair up.” Hyunjin interjected.

“There are five of us. That’s two pairs and one onlooker. Learn to add.”

“You guys fuck, I’ll watch TV. I’m happy not having sex with any of you.” Jeongin said, his eyes only leaving the TV for a moment.

“Okay, rock paper scissors who fucks who.” Hyunjin said, extending his arm.

“Me and Sungie will sit it out this time.” Minho said, glancing at Jisung who nodded. “We can watch. And criticise. Tell them everything they’re doing wrong, right?” Minho said, nudging Jisung playfully, trying to make sure he was comfortable with the playful sexual nature of the conversation.

“We can heckle like the two old men in The Muppets.” Jisung agreed.

“I don’t take criticism that well. I guess I’ll pass.” Hyunjin sighed and moved to throw his head on Jisung’s lap. “What happened to me? I used to always have boyfriends! I used to be hot and desirable.” Hyunjin whined, playing up his role of being a whiny brat.

“You’re still hot and desirable.” Felix said, not looking at Hyunjin as he said it. Hyunjin glanced up at him and smiled before rolling his head to look up at Jisung.

“You think I’m pretty, right?” Hyunjin asked him.

“Yes, you’re very pretty, Jinnie.” Jisung laughed, moving to stroke a hand over Hyunjin’s hair.

“You think so too, right?” Hyunjin asked, looking at Minho.

“Yeah, you’re alright.” Minho said with a laugh, poking Hyunjin’s forehead before letting his hand drop onto Jisung’s leg. Minho glanced at Jisung's face to check he was comfortable with the contact. He saw Jisung’s eyes flick down to Minho’s hand then back to Hyunjin, not seeming to want Minho to move.

“You love me, right Sungie?” Hyunjin asked.

“Yeah, I love you.” Jisung responded, seeming fully amused by Hyunjin’s drunken dramatics.

“And you?” Hyunjin asked Minho.

“Regrettably I do. No matter how annoying you are.” Minho told him. Hyunjin’s eyes flicked to Felix and he looked like he was about to demand more validation from him before changing his mind.

“I have the love of two good men. I guess that’s enough for now.” Hyunjin said, nuzzling his face onto Jisung’s knee.

“Well, I guess I’m gonna have to make sure he gets home safe soon.” Minho scoffed, looking at Hyunjin’s sleepy lidded eyes.

“Show me the way to go home! I’m tired and I want to go to bed!” Hyunjin crooned from his position on the floor.

“What about you? I can come back and make sure you get home safe after?” Minho extended the offer to Jisung.

“Oh, I don’t have to be up early tomorrow, so I’m gonna probably just crash here.” Jisung told him, then turned to face him. “Thanks though.” Jisung moved one of his hands to lightly lay on top of Minho’s, not quite holding his hand, but extending the contact.

“Okay. Well, in that case, do you think I could get your number?” Minho asked, hoping he wasn’t pushing too hard with the request. Jisung looked down again, but was smiling.

“You can just get it from the group chat.”

“I know, but I’d prefer it if you gave me your number yourself.” Minho said with a soft smile.

“Oh.” Jisung said, then fished his phone out of his pocket with his other hand. Minho waited for him to pass him his phone, but Jisung didn’t, instead Minho’s phone vibrated. Minho pulled out his phone to see a new text, saying it was Jisung.

“You got my number from the group chat?” Minho asked, trying and failing to keep the smug smile off his face.

“Okay, yes I did.” Jisung said, trying to laugh off any embarrassment he felt.

“And here I was thinking I epicly fucked up with you at your gig.”

“Oh, you did… I got your number the last time you joined the group chat. You know, you shared that… Picture, and Jinnie said it wasn’t even yours. Well I thought you might hang out with us and I might actually get to meet you, so I added you. Then in the morning you’d left the chat without me even getting to say hi to you.”

“Well, don’t I feel like a fucking idiot.” Minho laughed. “If I’d known you were there I never would have left.”

“You didn’t even know me then.” Jisung smiled, eyes locking with him again.

“Yeah, more fool me. Then I did meet you. Bet I was a massive fucking dissappointment, huh?”

“Yeah, kinda…” Jisung sighed. “But, here we are now.”

“Here we are. I’m really glad you gave me a second chance.”

“Yeah… Me too.” Jisung said and radiated warmth all through Minho with his smile.

“If it makes you feel any better, the only reason I’m back in the group chat now is because you’re in there.” 

“Really?” Jisung asked, looking almost disbelieving. Minho nodded without hesitation. “Wow, that’s a lot of effort to go to for a human cum-sock.” Jisung chuckled.

“Mm, perhaps, but it’s the bare minimum for the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.” 

“Oh…” Jisung lifted a hand to cover his face as he seemed to be shy at the compliments.

“I hope you’ll get to feel more comfortable with me next time we hang out.” Minho said, smiling as Jisung dropped his hand to look at him again now he had changed the topic from how cute he found him. “Saturday, yeah?”

“Yeah. I already feel more comfortable… But yeah, I hope so too.” Jisung did seem more relaxed, and Minho lightly rubbed where he was holding his leg.

“So, how are you with phone calls?”

“I mean, they are scary.” Jisung laughed. “I do like talking on the phone, it’s just a bit… Scary, yeah. I think I can be okay with it.”

“Not yet, got it.” Minho said and Jisung let out a breath and smiled in relief. “What about texts?”

“I can handle texting.” 

“Okay, texting it is. Just let me know if I come on too strong. Sometimes people say I’m a bit much over text when they don’t know me well, so it's hard to pick the playful flirting from the genuine come ons.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“There was one more thing I wanted to ask you before I left.” Minho said before moving a little closer to him, he saw Jisung swallow hard and bite his lip as he met his gaze. “Will you be my Valentine?” 

“Oh my god.” Jisung said with a little laugh. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Not too cheesy?”

“Maybe, but I like cheese.” Jisung said with a light chuckle that sounded like music to Minho.

“Then I’m glad you’re my Valentine. Wanna boast to Jinnie, ruin his night.” Minho chuckled.

“No need, I heard. And I am nauseated by how cute it was.” Hyunjin said from his place, still resting on Jisung’s knee.

“Have you been listening in like a creep?” Minho asked.

“Yes.”

“Fine.” Minho rolled his eyes before turning back to Jisung. “I gotta deposit that back at its home. I’ll message you when I’m home, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, please do. And I’ll see you Saturday.” Jisung said with a smile, moving his hand from where it had still been resting over Minho’s. Minho gave Jisung’s leg a soft squeeze before standing up and helping Hyunjin to his feet.

“We’re gonna head off. Are you coming home tonight, Innie?” Minho asked him.

“Yeah, but not yet. Don’t wait up for me, I don’t have work until the afternoon so I’ll be home late.”

“I got it, try and remember to eat before you go to sleep. I messaged Minnie, so Saturday at his. See you guys there.” Minho said. “And thanks for having me over Felix, I had a really nice time.”

“Anytime! It was great to hang out again.” Felix said with his bright smile.

“Talk later Sungie.” Minho said as Hyunjin waved at the guys with a drunken smile on his face.

“Can we get McDonalds on the way home?” Hyunjin asked as they were getting on their shoes. 

“God, you're demanding. Yeah, we’ll get you your nuggies.” Minho gave in, knowing he’d feel better knowing Hyunjin had eaten before he left him at his place.

Minho had his arm around Hyunjin’s waist to help keep him steady as they made their way to Hyunjin’s apartment, detouring slightly to the closest McDonalds.

“Hey, why didn’t you give me the heads up that Jisung has social anxiety?” Minho asked, not really accusing, more genuinely curious.

“Oh… Oh shit yeah.” Hyunjin laughed. “You know it’s been so long since I noticed it being an issue it just fully slipped my mind. Like I didn’t forget he has anxiety, not really, but I kinda forgot it might be an issue for him meeting you and stuff. I would have told you if I’d have though. Sorry.” 

“No need to be sorry, I was just surprised. I was worried I’d done something wrong. I guess I have to take things even slower than I had planned now too.”

“You mean, you’re still going for it?”

“Yeah, I can go slow. He knows what I want, and if he isn’t into the sex part I’ll still wanna be his friend. He’s cool, I like him.”

“Yeah… I think he likes you too.”

“Oh? Taking back your view that we are a bad fit?”

“Not fully. But I think you have a better chance with him than I thought. I still don’t know what Sung’s deal with guys is. So I’m not convinced. But… The way he was looking at you just now, yeah, I think he’s into you.”

“I think so too. I’ll hang out a bit longer, let him feel more comfortable, then I’ll bring up kissing him again. He seemed very into it when drunk, I wanna wait then ask if he’s still into it sober. Then I’ll take it from there.”

“You’re just a big romantic at heart.” Hyunjin laughed at him.

“Well, I did come away with a Valentine.”

“Ugh, don’t rub it in.” Hyunjin scoffed before smiling at him. “I’m happy to see you so into something.”

“You know, he just seems worth the effort. It’s been a while since I wanted to be friends with someone new.”

“Yeah, and here I was thinking you two were friends all these years anyway.” Hyunjin cackled.

“So, I’ve seen him wasted and anxious. What’s he like when he’s, you know, just chill and relaxed? Is he always shy?”

“Nah, he’s pretty loud usually, to be honest. He will just start talking and never fucking stop sometimes. But he will be quiet at times too. He also sometimes just straight up falls asleep while we’re all playing games. His energy and moods kinda fluctuate. But it’s been a while since I’d seen him as introverted as he was with you today. So, that’s not his usual level.”

“Good. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with him being shy and quiet, but I was so into his cocky self assuredness. Like when he was drunk and he was just giving no fucks, just being himself. Hot. And even when he turned me down, like it sucked, but it was pretty sexy of him to have that level of self respect and confidence to just be like, no I’m worth more than that, without any hesitation. So, I’m glad he’s got some of that sober.”

Minho left Hyunjin at his apartment after ensuring he had eaten and had some hydration. He then headed home to shower and get into bed. Once in his bed he got his phone to message Jisung that he was home.

MINHO: The drunk man is at his home, and I’m at mine, safe in bed.

JISUNG: Good. I’m finishing all the cookies you left.

MINHO: That’s the way it should be, my Valentine getting to enjoy the hearts I baked for him.

JISUNG: Innie is teasing me so bad about that! 

MINHO: That brat, tell him he needs to leave you alone or I will stop feeding him.

JISUNG: Got it!

MINHO: Are you back to kicking Felix’s ass at games now that Hyunjin and I aren't throwing off the balance?

JISUNG: Oh yeah! Me and Innie are double teaming him!

MINHO: … Sungie, the phrasing of that. Just perfection, really, I will be filled with images of that all night!

JISUNG: Oh my fucking god! You know what I meant!

MINHO: I do, I’m just teasing you.

JISUNG: You’re being a dirty fucker is what you’re doing.

MINHO: Too far?

JISUNG: Nope, I’m fine with it. I’m just calling you out too.

MINHO: Yeah, that’s fair! Make sure Felix orders you all some food soon before it gets too late. Have a good night gaming, and try to get some sleep.

JISUNG: I will, you sleep well too!

MINHO: Oh, I know I will. I’ll sleep a deep and restful sleep full of dreams of you.

JISUNG: Oh wow! That’s a lot!

MINHO: Too much?

JISUNG: No… You can dream of me. Just maybe don’t talk about all the details, depending on the dream.

MINHO: I am capable of having some tact. Sleep well, pretty Sungie.

Minho saw Jisung start typing a few times before seeming to give up. He chuckled to himself as he got comfortable, hoping he did have dreams of Jisung.

Chapter Text

Minho was on his way to work when he heard back from Seungmin. He laughed as he detoured to drop in and see if he was working at his coffee shop to get a coffee on his way to the dance studio.

SEUNGMIN: What the hell?? I miss one night and you rent out my apartment?

Minho entered and made eye contact with Seungmin who was making someone a coffee behind the counter. Minho gave him his devilish smile as he sauntered over to place his order with the girl serving. He recognised her as one of the other many pretty college girls Seungmin seemed to be perpetually working with at the cafe. He graced her with a warm smile.

“Hey Seolie, how’s my feral puppy today, not biting, I hope?” He asked playfully as he heard Seungmin gambling behind her.

“He’s a good boy, I won’t be sending him to the pound today.” She giggled lightly. “What can I get you?”

“Iced americano to-go, thanks.” He gave her a grateful smile as she rang up his order, seeming to put it on Seungmin’s tab as she asked for no money before turning her attention to the woman behind Minho. Minho moved out of the way and sidled closer to Seungmin so they could talk while he worked. Minho would have left it if the cafe had been busier, but he must have just missed the height of the morning rush.

“I didn’t rent out your apartment, that implies one of us would be getting paid.” Minho said, replying to the text without so much as a greeting.

“I never said I was okay with having those messy boys in my apartment.” Seungmin replied, and Minho was pleased to hear there was no note of real frustration in his voice.

“Nope, you chose to get down and dirty and ditch us. Forfeiting your rights.”

“Not a legally sound argument.”

“No, but let’s be fair here. You should host.”

“Why don’t you host?”

“I want Sung to feel more comfortable with me first. Come on, I’m rotating around, changing scenery. I think it will be good.” Minho said as Seungmin passed him his drink.

“Fine, whatever! But you are bringing the food and drink!”

“Done and done, I’ll come over early and we can hang out.”

“Sure, whatever. God, the things I do so you can get laid.”

“To be fair, usually all you have to do is bend over. It will be nice for you to put in some real effort for once.” Minho smirked as Seungmin tried to whip him with a hand towel.

“Get the fuck out. I’ll see you Saturday. Asshole.” Seungmin grumbled, but he smiled as Minho waved goodbye.

Minho decided to stay in on Friday night, to conserve his energy for socialising on the Saturday. He was surprised when Jeongin joined him on the sofa instead of going out himself.

“Not going out on a Friday night?” Minho asked idly.

“I have work in the morning.” Jeongin complained.

“I thought you refused to do weekend shifts, since the kids were insane and you can’t tell who's drowning and who's playing?”

“Yeah, well I had to juggle my shifts for that singing job, so I take when I’m given.” 

“Gross. Well, I’m staying in too, so you can get a home cooked meal, if you want?”

“That would be great!”

“Does this mean you’re not going to Minnies for gaming tomorrow if you’re working?”

“Oh, it’s a morning shift, I’ll come after.”

“Mm, smelling of children and chlorine, lovely.” Minho scrunched up his nose.

“I do have showers, you know.” Jeongin scoffed.

Minho took his time making a tasty meal for them, enjoying the meditative process of cooking in the quiet of his own kitchen, refusing Jeongin’s offer to assist so he could appreciate the peace. After they had eaten and were just watching some movie Minho didn’t know the name of, they were disturbed by harmonising vibrations of their phone from the group chat.

FELIX: So are we actually going to Minnies tomorrow?

SEUNGMIN: Regrettably I have agreed to this turn of events.

FELIX: Nice! We are so grateful! Now, roll call, who's going?

MINHO: I’m there.

CHAN: Working, again. But I am almost done so I think we can have a lowkey party at mine next weekend, or the weekend after.

JEONGIN: Oh fuck yeah! Also, I’ll be there.

CHANGBIN: Maybe.

HYUNJIN: I’ll be there.

SEUNGMIN: Do I have to go?

MINHO: No, I have a key, you can trust us alone in your apartment.

SEUNGMIN: God, I can practically see the evil glint in your eye. Yeah, I’ll obviously be there!

CHANGBIN: Anyone got any plans tonight?

MINHO: Hermit time.

FELIX: I’m editing, and Jisung said he was going for a nap like 2 hours ago, so I think he’s still asleep.

HYUNJIN: No plans.

SEUNGMIN: I was gonna hang out at home. Nothing to do.

CHANGBIN: Yeah, sounds good.

MINHO: Have fun staying in, guys. See you tomorrow.

Minho laughed under his breath and he held himself back from saying something less subtle about Changbin and Seungmin seeming to be trying to link up in the group chat. If Jisung had been active Minho would have spent longer talking in the chat, but as it was he figured he would be seeing most of them tomorrow, so it could wait. Minho enjoyed his low energy Friday night, and even got an early night, with the plan to get up early and go to the gym before going to Seungmin’s to help him set up for having company over.

Minho woke up early, even before Jeongin, and he went to spend the whole morning working out. After hours of breaking his body at the gym, he headed home, grabbing coffee and a breakfast sandwich on the way. He showered and dressed before he called Seungmin, and it was still not quite noon yet.

“Oh, hey, what?” Seungmin said, sounding flustered as he answered the phone.

“Good morning to you too. I was thinking that I’ll head over now, and we can chill out before your apartment is overrun with people?”

“What? Now?” There was the sound of rustling and hushed voices in the background of the call, Minho laughed to himself. “Can you give me a little while? Like, don’t rush. I’m not decent.”

“I’d never describe you as decent. I’ll give you as long as it takes for me to go shopping to get Changbin out and wash the cum off yourself.”

“I fucking hate you.” Seungmin grumbled. “Not you, fuck off!” Seungmin hissed away from the phone.

“Well, that sounds domestic.” Minho cracked up. “Any requests for what I should buy?”

“Just buy me some time, fuck.” Minho heard a door closing. “No, right, get snacks and just a few beers. I don’t want anyone getting messy drunk. And maybe something for us to have for lunch?”

“Alright, I’ll take my time so no need to rush. Make sure you are showered when I get there, please.” Minho laughed.

“Oh god, what is my life!” Seungmin groaned. “I’ll see you soon. Bring caffeine.”

Minho hung up, still chuckling to himself at Seungmin’s ordeal of a morning. He decided he would cut Seungmin a break and take his time deciding what to get for snacks before even setting off. The idea of catching Changbin skulking out in a walk of shame was tempting, but he decided to not make things more awkward for them. Minho decided on a combination of buying ready to eat things, and making a few food items once he got to Seungmin’s apartment. He made sure he took at least an hour before he arrived at Seungmin’s door, and he waited for Seungmin to let him in after knocking, just in case Changbin was still there, or they were naked. Seungmin answered the door, fully dressed in comfortable clothes, his hair still damp from the shower Minho was thankful he had taken.

“Well hello my little fuck goblin. How was your booty call?” Minho said as he walked into Seungmin’s home.

“Yeah, it was great. But I did not expect him to still be here when you called. That was less great.” Seungmin sighed.

“Is he under some delusion that you don’t tell me every detail of your life?”

“I dunno, I think it was just more… Like the feeling of getting caught. We bounced back though before he left.”

“So you talked?”

“... No.”

“My god, when did you turn into such a nympho?” Minho asked, laughing as he headed into the kitchen.

“Somewhere around the time he first put his cock in me.”

“So, how many times have you actually had sex in the one week you’ve been doing it.”

“Five times… No, and a half.”

“A half?”

“Well, we didn’t fuck in the shower, but we did stuff.”

“I said to get a shower to get clean! Not get dirty again. Dirty boys!” Minho playfully teased as he placed all the food he had bought on the counter.

“The fuck you doing with all that shit?”

“I’m making pizza bites, and Sotteok Sotteok.” Minho said, passing Seungmin the salad bowl with meat and coffee that he had bought for their lunch.

“The fuck, we usually just put out some chips and dips, and maybe some doughnut holes on the table and order a pizza if we get hungry later. You don’t have to actually cook!”

“I like to cook.” Minho said, levelling Seungmin with a challenging look.

“Right, sure. I mean, I know it will be great. It’s just far too much effort for a casual gaming night.”

“I also bought mini muffins, and I got Doritos. Also beer. I’m not making that myself.”

“You didn’t have to make anything yourself. Is this your new plan for seducing Sung?” Seungmin asked as they took their lunch to eat on the couch.

“I mean, it won’t hurt.”

“How did thing’s go with him then?”

“Well, no one warned me he had social anxiety, so I freaked him out by being too intense.”

“Oh shit… Yeah, that never even occurred to me. My bad, man.”

“Yeah, Hyunjin straight up just forgot. But he thought me and Jisung already knew each other, so I will not be relying on that air-head for my Jisung intel. Anyway, I switched gears, and I’m taking it slower now. He seemed to be getting more comfortable with me by the end of the night. He gave me his number, and I even asked him to be my Valentine.”

“Okay, that’s sickeningly cute.”

“Right? Well he seemed happy about it. I had to leave early to get a drunk Hyunjin home, but then I messaged Sung when I was home, and he seemed much more at ease messaging, so that’s promising.”

“So what’s your plan of action?”

“I’m gonna wait for him to get a little more comfortable with me, then bring up that I kinda want more, and see where he’s at with that. If not, well I’ll stick with friendship and take the loss. But he seems into it, I think.”

“And where did offering my place to the group come into it?”

“I mean, I didn’t really plan it before saying it, but I figure it’s the way to have him comfortable with me in his place and him at mine. We start with hanging out at you guys apartments, then when he’s more comfortable he can come to mine. That will just help matters I think.”

“I mean, it can’t hurt for him to feel comfortable with you being in each other's spaces. And a group setting is a way to ease into it.”

“Right? So, you and Bin, fucking all the time. Has any talking at all happened?”

“What do you think?” Seungmin groaned. “No, I keep meaning to, then getting too horny, or freaked out, and either fucking or running. So, we talk even less than before.”

“That sounds so healthy.”

“Don’t I fucking know it! Oh god, I think he’s coming back tonight too.”

“While everyone is here?”

“I dunno, he’s working then he’s gonna message me. Maybe he will join us, maybe just me. I didn’t ask for specifics.”

“So, it’s definitely on the down low?”

“What, like I wanna put a spotlight on my romantic mess? I’m only telling you. I think Changbin is keeping quiet too.”

“I mean, he doesn’t talk about stuff, so that’s easy.” Minho scoffed. “But, are you okay with it?”

“I’m kinda freaking, but yeah, I don’t want it to stop yet. When I can think clearly again I’ll decide what to do next.”

“Well, I’m here if you need to talk. Or if you wanna plot his death, I’ll help you dig the grave.”

“I appreciate you man.” Seungmin gave him an amused, but fond smile. “Alright, so what’s the plan of action with your meal prep?”

“The plan is you stay the fuck away from the kitchen and make sure you’re living room is ready to entertain, and I will cook without you even looking at the ingredients.” Minho laughed.

Minho took his time preparing the food he had got, and let Seungmin take the ready to eat food he had bought into the living room before he started to cook. He timed cooking after hanging out with Seungmin so that the food would still be warm when the others were expected to arrive. He was just plating up everything when he heard the first knock at the door. Minho grabbed the two trays of food and entered the living room, seeing Felix and Jisung had arrived together, he smiled realising that they truly were attached at the hip.

“Hey, get it while it’s hot.” Minho called to them with a grin. “Oh, and there’s food too.” Minho smirked as he placed the food on the space Seungmin had left for it on the table.

“Hot sausage served up on a plate for us, oh you shouldn’t have.” Felix said, smiling at him with playful flirtation as he walked to look over the food on display.

“Would you expect anything less from me?” Minho said with his own smirk before his eyes landed firmly on Jisung who was smiling hesitantly, lingering near the door. “Hey gorgeous, wanna try the food Minnie tried to talk me out of making.” Minho said, reaching an arm out to Jisung like he was a timid cat. Jisung nodded and started to reach out to Minho’s and before seeming to have second thoughts and drop his hand back to his side as he came to stand close to him and looked down.

“You made all of this?” Jisung asked, bending down to pick up a skewer from the tray and raising his large eyes up to Minho.

“Yeah, Minnie was all ‘don’t go to all the effort, I hate my friends and I’m grumpy’ but I told him, my friends are sexy and hungry, and who am I to deny filling them up.” Minho said with a wink before laughing, gauging how flustered it made Jisung to see how restrained he might need to still be with him.

“I mean, haven’t you already filled all your friends?” Jsiung asked with a slightly teasing smile as he brought the tteok and sausage to his mouth to nibble lightly.

“That depends, are we friends yet?” Minho asked, pushing a little harder.

“Oh!” Jisung said, then averted his eyes from him. 

“Too much?” Minho asked, lightly bumping their bodies together. Jisung shrugged but then smiled and looked him in the eyes. 

“We’ll see.” Jisung said, almost flirtily before going to sit on the sofa.

Minho’s eyes followed him as he felt a smile stretching over his face. He was unsure if Jisung’s playful retort was at the question of if they were friends yet, or the innuendo the question had carried, and Minho didn’t care. He was just so happy that Jisung was feeling comfortable, and bold enough to be teasing, flirty even.

“I’m so glad I opened my home to you, to allow you to continue your courting dance with my friend as you insult me to win his favour.” Seungmin snarked as he passed him to grab one of the pizza bites himself.

“I know, it’s great.” Minho laughed as he went to sit next to Jisung. Minho gave Jisung a small smile before dragging his focused stare from him, trying his best not to overwhelm him.

“So, I hear you passed out on the dancefloor at Innie’s party last weekend.” Seungmin said to Jisung as he sat on the couch. “Guess you’re still the biggest lightweight.”

“Quit your barking!” Jisung scowled back, leaning forward to grab a pizza bite. “At least I had fun. I hear you disappeared. Still a party pooper?”

“I’ll poop your party.” Seungmin mumbled.

“Gross.” Felix said, dropping between Seungmin and Minho, as if he was a buffer between the two playfully bickering like siblings. “Can we keep all the poop out of our parties, I’m begging you.”

“Who doesn’t love some dancing with a side of coprophilia?” Minho laughed, scrunching up his own nose in distaste at his words.

“I am not going to google that.” Jisung groaned out next to him.

“I think you can infer from the context Sungie, and yeah, do not google it. I’ll have to turn your safe search on if you start googling everything Lino says.” Felix laughed.

“I recommend not even listening to him, let alone researching the shit he says.” Seungmin said with a snort.

Seungmin was saved from whatever witty retort Minho could think up on the fly by another knock at the door, this time though it opened on its own. Hyunjin let himself into Seungmin’s apartment, apparently having less manors, or simply more comfortable around Seungmin, than the other two.

“Hey! It smells good in here!” Hyunjin said as he kicked his shoes off and headed to the sofa. Felix smiled and slipped from his seat to sit at Jisung’s feet, leaning against the arm of the sofa from the floor as his shoulder pressed against Jisung’s leg.

“I made treats, help yourself.” Minho said, gesturing to the table.

“He fucks, and he cooks. One day you’re gonna make a man a hell of a wife.” Hyunjin laughed as he took a handful of food and dropped into the vacated seat next to Minho.

“You couldn’t say husband?”

“I could, I chose not to.” Hyunjin said with a smirk as Seungmin started to set up the gaming console. They hadn’t even finished one game by the time Jeongin arrived, knocking and waiting for Seungmin to let him in.

“Sorry I’m late. Work sucks.” Jeoning explained as he took off his shoes and went to sit on the floor near Seungmin.

“Did any children drown?” Minho asked idly.

“Not on my watch!”

“Food, it’s probably not cold yet.” Minho pointed to what was left of the snacks on the table.

“Man, this is weird. I haven’t hung out with all of you guys this much in such a short time in what feels like forever.” Hyunjin said, leaning forward to ruffle Jeongin’s hair.

“Not our fault you prefer the bar over game nights most of the time.” Jisung said to him as he passed Jeongin his controller.

They played with comfortable conversation for a while, and when Minho deemed Jisung relaxed enough, he turned his attention back to him. He waited until they were both free of the controllers to turn to face him with a soft smile gracing his face.

“So, I was thinking of dying my hair again.” Minho said, pulling Jisung’s confused interest.

“Oh? What colour?” Jisung asked, unphased by the unprompted topic introduction.

“I hadn’t gotten that far. I was just looking at my hair and thinking it had been too long since I had it dyed.”

“Yeah?” Jisung lifted a hand and played at a few strands of Minho’s hair as he looked at him appraisingly. “I kinda like the natural black hair. It matches your dark eyes.” 

“Oh yeah?” Minho asked, smiling, his own eyes drifting to take in Jisung’s hair. It wasn’t as styled as when he performed, hanging over his forehead, and bouncing when he gestured. “Well, I really like your hair. The colour suits you, and when it was all crimped, or curled, whatever it was, at your gig, it was really hot.” 

“Oh.” Jisung said, grinning wide as he seemed mildly affected by Minho’s praising words. 

“Definitely, but I like it like this too. It looks so… Soft.”

“Soft?” Jisung asked, his smile somewhere between curious and flustered.

“Yeah.” Minho lifted his hand to run though Jisung’s hair, looking at him closely to check he was comfortable with the contact. As soon as his fingers buried into his hair Jisung leant his weight into it, reassuring him that he was comfortable. “So soft, and beautiful. I just want to rub my face into it.”

“In my hair?”

“Yeah… to start with.” Minho smirked, and was delighted that Jisung just smiled and looked away, keeping his head against Minho’s hand. 

Minho spread his fingers, and started to lightly scratch Jisung’s head, which created the softest of pleasant moans from Jisung as he relaxed against the sofa, his eyes drooping half closed. Minho ignored the rest of the room as he focused on giving Jisung the light pleasure of massaging his scalp and playing with his hair. He would have stayed like that all night, but eventually Felix tapped Jisung’s leg to pass him the controller. The half startled squeak Jisung made as he sat up straighter made Minho chuckle. He dropped his hand, letting Jisung focus on the game, not his fingers. He then moved his arm to drape over Jisung’s shoulder, holding him lightly without pulling him closer into him. He waited for a second to see his reaction. Jisung looked at him and just gave him one of the sweetest smiles Minho had ever been graced with before he turned back to the TV. After Jisung lost the game he was playing, he dropped back into Minho’s arm, crossing his arms in a pout.

“Oh, so sulky.” Minho said in a playful tone, moving his face closer to Jisung.

“I’m not sulking.” Jisung said, pouting even more.

“You are. And it’s so fucking cute, I could eat you alive.” Minho told him, lightly bumping their heads together.

“Eat me?” Jisung asked with wide eyes.

“All up.” Minho leaned back to gaze at him.

“Alright, Hannibal.” Jisung chuckled, a light pink rising to his cheeks.

“Hey, sometimes cannibalisation is the purest form of desire. That show is just one example.”

“That show is so homoerotic!” Jisung grinned.

“It’s a romance show.”

“It really is!” Jisung laughed. “Okay, in theory cannibalisation may be sexy and romantic, consuming the object of your affection and all. But I don’t want to worry that you’re wondering what wine to pair me with when you look at me.”

“Well this is awkward, cos looking at you I was just thinking of indulging in something heady and with a good body.” Minho let his eyes drop down to Jisung’s waist.

“Oh my god!” Jisung said, and lightly slapped his arm.

“Too much?”

“No… I like it. Just, also, yeah, it’s a lot.” Jisung laughed, squirming slightly, but not moving out of Minho’s hold, just seeming to be trying to escape his gaze.

“I’ll chill a little.” Minho conceded. “But I am delighted that you like how much I am.” Minho let his eyes run over Jisung once more before turning to the screen.

“It's your turn, Lino.” Felix said, pointing at the character selection screen.

“I distinctly remember you telling me I didn’t have to play. That just my presence was enough.” Minho said, passing on his turn as Felix nodded and laughed.

“Not wanting to play?” Jisung asked, his eyes only flicking to Minho for a second.

“Not really the reason I’m coming to these.” Minho said, trying his hardest to keep his eyes from lingering on Jisung for too long. “I’m not a big gamer really.”

“Oh… Next time we can do movie night then. It’s my turn to host anyway I think.”

“That sounds good to me. When?”

“Wednesday? Just for a couple of hours after work for one or two movies?”

“Yeah, my work week isn’t packed next week, I can manage a hump day movie night.”

“Hump day?” Jisung asked, looking at him with his slightly concerned wide-eyed gaze again.

“Hump day, Wednesday, because you’re over the hump in the middle of the week. I think.” Minho laughed.

“Oh, yeah that makes sense.” Jisung chuckled, then leant forward to look at their other friends. “Wednesday movie night at mine? You guys in?”

“I can do it, I just might have to leave early.” Hyunjin told him.

“I’ll pass. Too much work to be socialising mid-week.” Seungmin told him.

“I can come.” Jeongin said.

“You know I’m in.” Felix said, looking up at him with a smile.

“Shall I see if Chagbin and Chan are up for it?” Hyunjin asked.

“Sure, but they are usually too busy during the week.” Jisung said, leaning back into Minho’s hold.

“I know Chan is working, but is Binnie gonna turn up tonight?” Jeongin asked.

“Oh… He is working with Chan tonight, but he said he would come if he had time. So I dunno.” Seungmin answered, only sounding mildly tense at the mention of Changbin.

“They even tried to get me to go into the studio today.” Jisung scoffed.

“I thought they had given up on trying to get you to work on a weekend by now?” Felix asked with a laugh.

“Usually yeah. I mean I’ll go in for recordings and meetings. But my weekend is for me, not work!” Jisung insisted.

“Yeah, I don’t think either of them will be at movie night.” Hyunjin said, putting his phone away to focus on the game again.

“Oh, speaking of plans, I got three vouchers for a day of pampering at a local bougie spa from a sponsor. Anyone wanna come?” Felix said.

“I will always take free skin treatment!” Hyunjin said quickly.

“I don’t think I’m free tomorrow.” Seungmin muttered.

“I don’t really vibe with strangers touching my skin in the name of relaxing me. It’s unsettling.” Jiusng supplied.

“Yeah, I’m with Sung on that one.” Jeongin agreed.

“Lino? Are you in or shall I offer it to the working duo?”

“I’m down for a spa day. Thanks man.” Minho said with a smile.

“Nice! We’ll meet after lunch, I booked it for the afternoon, cos who wants to get up early just to end up sleeping through spa treatments?” Felix told him.

Minho let the conversation drone on around him, not wanting to push too hard with Jisung, only joining in with a few comments as he just enjoyed the feeling of Jisung resting against his arm. He was feeling very hopeful at how receptive Jisung had been to his playful advances tonight, and how much more relaxed he was around him, talking with his friends with much less tension than before. Minho was content for the few hours they were gaming and chatting, then some time mid-evening Seungmin stood up, stuffing his phone in his pocket.

“Okay, time for you all to leave.” Seungmin said, clapping his hands as he smiled at them.

“Huh? It’s still early.” Jeongin said, looking up at him.

“Yeah, what gives, it’s not even night, so how is this gaming night?” Hyunjin asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, well gaming here wasn’t my idea. And now is my bedtime.” Seungmin caught Minho’s eyes, and Minho was smirking wide at him. “So, get out!” Seungmin said cheerily but firmly.

“Boo!” Jisuing said, but got up from the sofa, stretching his limbs and giving Minho a great view of his body. “I’m not sure I’m tired enough to go to bed yet.” 

“You can always come back to mine.” Minho said, standing up to face Jisung.

“What?” Jisung asked, his eyes wide and uncertain. 

“I meant just to hang out. Innie will probably be there.” Minho reassured him.

“Oh… erm, I dunno… Okay?” Jisung said, not sounding sure of himself.

“Too soon, that’s fine.” Minho smiled at him and Jisung grinned, looking down bashfully.

“Come on Sung, I have a new visual novel game, we can stay up and make bad choices all night.” Felix said, slapping a hand on Jisung’s back.

“Sure.” Jisung nodded, then looked up at Minho. “Erm… You could come too?” 

“No, I won’t intrude. I’ll see you on Wednesday though, yeah?”

“Great. But you’re not an intrusion.” Jisung insisted.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had my fill of games for tonight. You should go and have a good night.” Minho reassured him, not wanting to encroach too much into Jisung’s comfort zone and prevent him from relaxing. 

“Are you sure you don’t want anyone to stay and help you clean?” Minho said to Seungmin with a taunting smirk as he was heading to leave.

“I can handle it myself. Goodbye!” Seungmin said in a clipped tone.

“Have a fun bedtime.” Minho chuckled. “Call me later.”

Minho headed home, saying goodbye to the guys going to continue the game night as he planned on getting an early night. He thought an intense morning at the gym would make the spa feel even more refreshing. He had a good night's sleep, not even waking up when Jeongin returned home in the night, and he woke up early. He got himself his morning coffee and breakfast while he was going to the gym, then made lunch for him and Jeongin before he went to meet Felix and Hyunjin for their spa day. 

The spa was very fancy, not the kind of place Minho would ever go to if he was paying for it himself, but he did appreciate it. They were kept together for their treatments at Felix’s request, so they got to hear each other trying to not embarrass themselves with moaning noises as they were massaged. They had been there for over an hour, and were now all sat in soft, reclined chairs in a room with relaxing ambient music on with their skin slathered in who knows how many creams, oils, masks, and treatments. Minho figured they were waiting for them to absorb, or dry, or something that these treatments were supposed to do.

“The heating stuff feels like it’s giving me radioactive superpowers.” Minho muttered to the others once the last member of staff had departed to leave them alone to relax.

“You watch too many of those Marvel movies with Innie.” Felix chuckled.

“So, not that I’m trying to poke a hole in this delightfully pampering day, but why the hell do you have a sponsor that is giving you a spa day?” Hyunjin asked Felix.

“Well, I don’t just do mukbangs, I do get ready with me’s, and skin routine videos. So the spa wanted me to promote them, and as well as a payment, I got the spa day so I could promote the specifics of what they offer.” Felix explained.

“I remember when you used to be a dancer.” Minho teased.

“Okay, I know my YouTube stuff takes a lot of my time, but I do still dance. I had a gig just the other month. I just have to keep up with the online stuff so I can make enough to live off of when the gigs are dry. Also to fund my decadent lifestyle.”

“What lifestyle, you lounge around with those other two pretty much every day playing games.” Hyunjin laughed.

“Games are expensive! I also am pretty much Sung’s sugar daddy at this point. Even though he is technically older than me.” Felix laughed.

“Dibs on being Sung’s next sugar daddy.” Minho said, his smirk tugging at the mask on his face uncomfortably.

“Well, I wasn’t gonna gossip, but since you brought it up first. What is going on with you and Sung?” Felix asked, leaning over to look at Minho with his bright eyes lit up with interest.

“I thought you and Sung would tell each other everything?” Hyunjin asked him.

“We do, but, you know… I wanna hear what Minho thinks.”

“I’m trying to go slow and give him some time to get comfortable with me. I like him, he’s hot and funny. I want to be his friend, but I do also really want to…” Minho glanced over, and thought of a more tactful way to say it. “Have some physical fun with him too.”

“So, what’s your plan of action now?” Hyunjin asked him.

“I mean, I’m taking it slow, but as far as I can see Sung is getting a bit more comfortable with me already, and does seem receptive to what I’m putting down. I figure I’ll see if it progresses that way, then I’ll take the next step.”

“What is the next step?” Felix asked, sitting up and looking mildly concerned.

“Easy, I said I’d go slow, and I meant it. I just think I will just raise with him the question of if he wants what I want, and then take it from there.” Minho told him and Felix smiled and relaxed back into his chair.

“He says that, but what he wants is to bend him over the kitchen counter and rail him into next week.” Hyunjin laughed and Felix grunted disapprovingly.

“Beautifully put, Jinnie. I was actually just thinking of asking if he still wants to kiss me.”

“Oh, that sounds like a good speed for him.” Felix agreed with him.

“Yeah, I mean, he is the one who kissed me first.” Minho added.

“He was wasted though.” Hyunjin laughed at him.

“And that’s why it didn’t go further. I kissed him back, but he wanted more and I said no. I’ll ask if he still wants the kiss, and then maybe ask about the something more.”

“God, I’m really surprised, you know? I really thought you two wouldn’t fit because Sung would want to take things slow or something and wouldn’t meet you at your speed. I never expected you to slow down to his speed.” Hyunjin observed.

“You didn’t?” Felix asked, sounding genuinely surprised at Hyunjin’s assessment of Minho.

“So, have you recanted your view that we don’t fit yet?”

“Eh, maybe. I still am not convinced.”

“You think they won’t fit?” Felix asked, sounding more confused.

“I mean, not really. I thought they would be friends, like they are both that kind of weird and stuff. But I wasn’t sure they would be… Compatible.”

“Oh… I really feel the opposite. Like, I always thought they would be good friends, I mean, but I just never was gonna push Sung to go out and meet him when I know new people make him uncomfortable. But when he told me that Minho hit on him, I was like, oh yeah, that could really work.” Felix laughed.

“And how does Sung feel about it? Is he as down bad for Minho as he is for him?” Hyunjin asked.

“Oh, I dunno if I should gossip about my friend like that.” Felix said, laughing lightly.

“I mean, you don’t have to give all the dirty details, just let us know if Minho has hope or not?”

“Right, well that’s kinda the thing. I think Sung is holding something back from me with this.”

“Oh? Did he not tell you he kissed him?”

“No, he told me that, and all the little things they’ve said to each other since. Like I’m pretty sure I know all that’s gone on, but I dunno…”

“Nothing’s happened that he hasn’t told you. It has been really tame so far.” Minho tried to reassure him.

“No, that’s not what I think he’s holding back. He isn’t really giving me much to go on about how he feels about it. Like, from what he’s said, I think he’s into it. Into Lino, but I dunno… Sung usually tells me everything. I mean, I guess sometimes he is reserved when he doesn’t know how he feels. He’ll talk about that stuff with Chan, he looks up to him and goes to him for advice and shit. So maybe that’s what’s going on with him and the Minho stuff. So I guess you could say that maybe he doesn’t know how he feels about Minho yet?”

“I can work with that. I can spend time with him, and he will make up his mind. I’ll hope in favour of being into me, but if not, I hope for friendship.” Minho told him.

“I have hopes, I think you two could be good for each other.” Felix told him.

“I’m surprised you’re so pro your bestie hooking up with your ex.” Hyunjin said with a scoffed laugh.

“Not an ex.” Felix said.

“Yeah, well you saw some of Lino’s relationships, you were close enough to what classes as an ex for him as them.” Hyunjin added.

“Close, I guess yeah.”

“So, won’t it be weird watching and hearing about Sung going there?”

“I mean, no? What we had is way over, and I don’t have those feelings for him to make me jealous or uncomfortable. I guess maybe the fact I was close is why I think it would work, I’ve got some more insight.”

“Really? Nothing? Not even a spark?”

“There were sparks at first, sure. But now, the sparks have gone, and the heat is more like a hand warmer, comforting but not hot.” Felix chuckled.

“Hand warmer, I like that.” Minho agreed, but was feeling he wasn’t actually needed for this discussion.

“Oh? I mean, back when you met, you were sparking so hard you kinda dropped everything else you had been into…” Hyunjin said, not sounding bitter, but maybe a little prickly.

“Oh… Yeah, I guess I did… I mean, that was a long time ago. I was young and stupid.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Hyunjin sighed. “So, did you grow out of having sparks completely?”

“I’m older, not numb.” Felix chuckled lightly. “I spark occasionally. What about you?”

“I’m always waiting for my next firestarter.” Hyunjin said lightly. 

Minho laid back and relaxed, fully convinced that the conversation was not for him to participate in any more. He let his mind try and relax, tuning out Hyunjin and Felix’s conversation of vague innuendo nothings. He felt reassured that Felix had faith in him, and that Jisung and him would be compatible together. He figured Felix just had a better insight into Minho being flexible for the sake of someone else's needs since they had been sleeping together exclusively for a while, and only broke it off because it felt like they either had to do that or take the next step to a relationship. He had just not felt the extra feelings he needed for it to feel right to initiate a relationship with Felix, and while Felix had seemed willing to give it a try, he had agreed it would probably have not gone anywhere. In the time they had been almost a thing though, Minho had worked hard to make sure Felix was comfortable and that they both knew what they wanted and needed from each other. Whereas he and Hyunjin had been fuck buddies, no strings, only friendship affection from the start. Hyunjin had never asked for any concessions or adjustments to their relationship, and so had never had the opportunity to see Minho’s willingness to compromise and work on something. So he didn’t really hold it against Hyunjin that he didn’t think Minho would want to put in the effort to make sure Jisung was comfortable as he showed his interest.

Minho took a photo of his facemask and sent it to Jisung before the staff came back to wipe them off and start on their next treatments. Minho let himself get distracted by texting Jisung, as the staff let out barely disguised noises of disapproval at Minho sending messages and laughing instead of fully relaxing into the experience. Minho really felt that hearing about Jisung’s struggle at trying to make his own pancakes and laughing at the pictures of the multiple failures was far more relaxing than whatever weird crystal, seaweed, essential oil, roller treatment the women were afflicting on his poor skin right then.

By the time Minho went home he was feeling fully relaxed and refreshed, and he had no doubts in his mind it was owed fully to the rambling, disjointed conversation he and Jisung had been maintaining for hours on end. They were still messaging each other meaningless nothings when Minho crawled into bed, reluctant to put his phone down and end the conversation that was now about the optimal sleeping position with plush toys in bed. Minho was treated to a picture of Jisung hugging a large hamster stuffy as a demonstration of his preferred cuddling technique. Minho grabbed his own oversized cat pillow stuffy and threw his leg over it in his own cuddle position of choice before sending Jisung a picture, only realising after he sent it he was only in boxers and a T-shirt. Jisung didn’t mention it though, simply saying that he would concede that he looked like it would give a better hold of a stuffy or person in cuddling in that position, and so he agreed Minho would be a good cuddler.

Minho and Jisung continued to message each other random pieces of half baked conversations as the week started, and by the time Wednesday arrived, Minho was feeling genuinely excited to spend time with him and talk in person again. Minho had to really focus to actually pay attention to work the morning before he was going over to Jisung’s, and stop himself from checking his phone every ten minutes to see what bullshit Jisung was telling him about now. Minho was annoyed he wouldn’t have time to make any food to bring to Jisung’s after work, but had asked Jisung what his favourite food was, and ended up buying so many slices of different cakes from the store on his way that he practically had a platter of dessert. He headed to the address Jisung had sent him, knowing he was going to be the last to arrive with his cake based detour.

“Sorry I’m late. I went overboard on buying food.” Minho said with a warm smile when Jisung opened his door to him.

“You’re not that late. What did you get?” Jisung asked as Minho took off his shoes and saw the other three were already there.

“You said you like cake… So I bought like… enough slices to make two full cakes. I don’t know why… I think I was possessed in the supermarket.” Minho laughed a little bashfully as he passed Jisung the bags of dessert.

“Holy crap! Wow, this is a lot!” Jisung said as he looked in the bags. “Do I have to share?” He asked with a playful smile.

“I brought them for you, it’s your choice what you do with them now.” Minho said with a pleased grin as Jisung started to place the individually wrapped slices on his coffee table.

“I’ll share. But no one touch the cheesecake slices, they are all mine.” Jisung said to the others who were watching this and eyeing the slices before moving to grab their own.

“Will we all fit on the sofa?” Minho asked as Jisung sat back down. The sofa was large, but it was going to be a squeeze for all five of them to fit.

“Yeah, you’ll just have to scooch up close to me.” Jisung said with a coy smile, glancing away from Minho as he moved closer to the arm of the sofa to make some room for him.

“If you insist.” Minho smirked as he ignored Hyunjin and Felix leering at him, Jeongin not seeming much bothered by the interaction, or even seeming to notice as he shoved half a slice of cake in his mouth in one bite.

Minho got in the small space on the sofa, his body pressed tight against Jisung. He lifted his arm and looked at Jisung who ducked his head in a nod and let Minho drop him into his hold. Minho smiled as Jisung put on a movie, it was some comedy he had heard of, but not seen before. Then once he had the movie playing Jisung grabbed a slice of cheesecake and one of the plastic forks Minho had also brought and started to eat. Minho spent more time watching as Jisung filled his cheeks, his eyes wide and staring at the screen as he took his time chewing, than he did watching the movie.

Once Jisung had finished eating Minho thought he might have a chance of actually watching and following the plot of the movie. That was until Jisung leant back and into Minho’s body, practically curling up against him as he pressed into him. Minho wrapped his arm tighter around Jisung and watched the shy little smile creep on his face as he kept his gaze trained on the TV. Minho shifted to fit better against Jisung, tilting his body towards him and bringing his other hand over to rest lightly on his leg. Minho was actually surprised when Jisung nuzzled against him, seeming almost instinctively like a cat. He could not believe how quick Jisung had gotten so comfortable as to be cuddled up with him, Minho had expected it to take weeks to get this close to him. 

Minho had lost all hope of paying any attention to the movie, and he instead just let himself bask in the warmth radiating against him from Jisung’s body. Letting his own head drop onto Jisung’s as he relaxed fully into the contact. He even ended up running his hand over Jisung’s arm, trailing his fingers over his skin and T-shirt, being careful not to push too far and dip under the material to feel even more of him.

“I knew you would be a good cuddler.” Jisung mumbled after a while, tilting his head back to look up at Minho.

“I’m good at everything.” Minho smirked, locking eyes with Jisung.

“I’m beginning to see that.” Jisung said, with a slightly flirtatious tone to his words. 

“I hope you get to see even more.” Minho added, and to his delight, though Jisung’s eyes went wide, he didn’t avert his gaze.

Minho looked deep into Jisung’s eyes, and he only left them to flick down and look at Jisung’s lips when he ran his tongue over them. He was overwhelmed with his desire to kiss him. He felt like Jisung wanted it too, but he had made the decision to actually talk to him, and give him control of how fast they moved over just going with the pull of the moment. Minho smiled as he looked back up to Jisung’s eyes.

“You look so fucking pretty right now.” Minho muttered quietly, hoping the others wouldn't hear, not wanting Jisung to get embarrassed at any teasing they might receive. Jisung pulled his eyes away with a slight blush, Minho taking note of just how much compliments seemed to affect him.

“You look good too.” Jisung muttered as he nestled back into his place in Minho’s arms.

Minho pressed his face into Jisung’s hair, giving in to the desire to feel the soft warmth on him, and fill his head with Jisung’s scent. His shampoo was fruity and sweet, and felt quintessentially Jisung. He sighed at how it sparked his desire to feel him more, how the soft comfort seemed to fuel his desire for him so strongly. He tried to keep images of his fingers running through his hair as they rolled together, limbs tangling as he drew soft gasps of pleasure from him. Taking his time, going slow and working hard to plunge Jisung into pure ecstasy before giving him release. Minho moved his face and grunted softly as he banished the fantasies from his mind, knowing now was not the time or place to indulge in his carnal wants.

Minho was only aware of the movie ending because his other friends, who he had fully forgotten were even sharing the space with them, started talking.

“So, is it my turn to host next?” Hyunjin asked, pulling Minho’s attention finally from Jisung as he moved to look at the others.

“Yeah, then it’s Lino and Innie's turn.” Jisung said with a bright smile.

“Is Chan actually having a party this weekend?”

“No, it’s next weekend. I was hassling him about it this week, and he said he will definitely be able to do it next week.” Jeongin told them with a sigh.

“Okay, so all at mine this Saturday? I’ll try and get Binnie and Minnie to come too.” Hyunjin said as he stretched his arms over his head.

“Gaming, movies, alcohol?” Minho asked, finally moving as he accepted Jisung wasn’t going to come back into their cuddle position.

“Yes? Whatever, I don't care. Just come after five. I have an audition earlier in the day and want time to shower it off before you all come round.”

“Decisive, guess you won’t be doing anything Friday night either then?” 

“Just getting much needed sleep. Speaking of which, it’s getting late, shall we call it a night?” Hyunjin asked, getting murmurs of agreement from the group. 

Minho waited in the doorway until the other three had exited the apartment before looking at Jisung who had come over to see them out.

“Are you coming?” Jeongin asked him as he headed to the stairs.

“Yeah, go on ahead, I just wanna ask Sung something.” Minho told him, and saw Hyunjin grin and lead Jeongin away from them.

“You wanna ask me something?” Jisung said as he leant against the doorframe and looked at him with a soft smile. 

“Yeah, well, first I wanna tell you something.” Minho brought a hand up to run over Jisung’s hair and onto his cheek. “I really want to kiss you.” Minho saw Jisung’s eyes go wide and felt him tense up ever so slightly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to.” Jisung relaxed, but his lips jutted out into a small pout of disappointment. “Well, not right now at least. I just wanted to let you know that I want to. And ask if you wanted to too. But I want you to have some time to be able to think about it. Last time you wanted to it was impulsive and you were drunk. I really want to pick back up from there, and see where we end up. I think we have some really good chemistry here, and I hope you still feel that while sober.” Minho smiled as his fingers caressed Jisung’s face lightly. “So take a little while to decide what you want, and I’ll ask you again soon. Okay?”

“Okay…” Jisung breathed, swallowing thickly as he seemed lost staring at him.

“But I want you to know, if it turns out I’m way off base, and you’re not interested in something more physical with me, I’ll still want to be your friend. It won’t change that. So, no pressure.”

“Thanks. I want to be your friend whatever happens too.” Jisung said with a soft smile that made Minho feel like he was melting.

“God, you’re too sweet. I can’t handle it.” Minho smiled, then moved and pressed a soft kiss on the top of Jisung’s head before leaving to join his friends who were waiting for him outside the building.

“So, did you get your answer?” Felix asked knowingly.

“Not yet, but I asked what I wanted.” Minho let him know.

“It’s pointless asking Sung anything, even if he does know the answer you can’t pick it out of the rambled info dump that he buries it in.” Jeongin said, seeming fully oblivious to the actual nature of what Minho had been asking. 

Hyunjin laughed as they all split to go to their separate homes, Jeongin not asking Minho any follow up questions as they walked in comfortable silence to their apartment. Minho showered before he went to bed. He checked his phone before going to sleep, and smiled at the picture of Jisung’s stuffy that he cuddled at night as a goodnight text. Minho then sent him a selfie of him looking sleepy laid on his pillow before turning over and letting the warmth of the night spent with Jisung nestled in his arms cocoon him as he surrendered to sleep.

Chapter Text

HYUNJIN: So, all you bitches better be at mine on Saturday. If I’m gonna host, I want a full house.

MINHO: You don’t have a house.

HYUNJIN: Go fuck yourself. So, who's in?

JISUNG: You had me at fuck yourself.

HYUNJIN: That was aimed at Lino, but whatever works for you!

FELIX: Fucking himself is Sungies profession at this point.

JISUNG: False! I don’t get paid… Unless buying myself takeout after counts? Am I a whore to myself? Existential crisis!

MINHO: Maybe talk more about how you fuck yourself? That will solve the crisis. Talk slow, and ignore my heavy breathing.

FELIX: Not in the group chat boys. I’ll be at Jinnie’s by the way.

CHAN: If I was free I’d be having that party I promised. Have fun though.

JEONGIN: I have nowhere else to be.

SEUNGMIN: I dunno if I’ll make it.

HYUNJIN: Bullshit! You are coming. I know you have no other friends.

SEUNGMIN: Fucking rude. Fine, whatever, I’ll be there for a little while at least.

HYUNJIN: Damn right you will! Binnie, are you working with Chan again, or can you come too?

CHANGBIN: I dunno, Chan?

CHAN: I’m in the last stretch of this, so I don’t need more help, go have fun.

CHANGBIN: I’ll be there then.

HYUNJIN: Fuck yeah! I’m not out tomorrow night. I need to buy supplies and clean my apartment.

MINHO: Need me to bring anything?

HYUNJIN: No need to cook. I’m gonna buy good snacks. Maybe bring more alcohol though, I never buy enough.

FELIX: This is gonna be messy isn’t it?

HYUNJIN: You guys knew what you were getting when you asked me to host!

Minho laughed at his phone, having been messaging the group chat on his lunch break. He changed from the group chat to his chat with Jisung.

MINHO: You stopped talking in the GC. You doing that fucking yourself you sound so good at?

JISUNG: I’m at work! I don’t fuck myself infront of Chan. I would throw up from feeling so gross.

MINHO: That’s what bathroom stalls are for, my dear.

JISUNG: You are disgusting! But honestly I’m so bored that actually sounds tempting!

MINHO: Think of me.

JISUNG: Shut up!

MINHO: Need to focus on the task in hand? I got it. Have fun!

Minho smirked at his phone, relieved that Jisung had never seemed genuinely uncomfortable with Minho’s overly sexual topics over text, even if he told him he was a pervert, he never actually told him to stop, and had made it clear he wasn’t phased by it. In person Jisung was still too easily flustered and slightly too tense to seem as relaxed with this stuff, but he was still receptive to some of it, so Minho was confident they would mesh well as friends, and hopefully as friends with benefits if things went the way it was feeling like it would. 

Minho spent his Friday night alone, enjoying the peace. Jeongin was gaming in his room, and Jisung had told him he was gaming with him and Felix as they had been messaging. Minho wondered how much the fact that Jisung was messaging him every couple of minutes was affecting his gameplay. Minho had also found out that Seungmin had joined them in the game for an hour before disappearing with no word. Minho assumed he left for another booty call from Changbin, but he would get the details first hand on Saturday when he saw him. He realised that Saturday was going to be the first time he had seen Changbin and Seungmin together since they started sleeping together. The first time he had seen Changbin at all since then in fact.

Minho had spent a lot of time messaging Jisung since Wednesday, but neither of them broached what he had asked him before he had left his apartment. Minho had been tempted to hint at it, test the waters, but had restrained himself out of respect for giving Jisung the time he had promised him. Minho was relieved that the proposition hadn’t made things awkward between them, over messaging at least. Tomorrow would reveal if there was a tension in the flesh.

Minho spent Saturday working over his coming schedule since he didn’t have any plans until the afternoon. He made sure that he and Jeongin had been fed with a nutritious meal before they set off together, stopping to buy alcohol on the way to Hyunjin’s apartment. Minho didn’t know what kind of drinks Hyunjin wanted, so he bought a bottle of sickly sweet liquor for shots, and a box of beer. Jeongin made his own choices, buying a bottle of vodka and a pack of energy drinks, as well as a family sized sharing bag of potato chips.

When they entered Hyunjin’s apartment Minho laughed. He had placed large cushions on the floor to make places for people to sit. He had the TV on with Mario Kart loaded on the screen. He also had dance music playing in the background. It seemed Hyunjin hadn’t made a decision on what kind of night he was throwing and just mashed them all together. As Minho went to place the alcohol he had brought with the rest he even saw a couple of board games stacked together for people to play. Once he had the shotting liquor on the table and the beer in the fridge he made his way to sit next to Jisung, evicting Changbin from the seat without so much as a greeting.

“Hey there, good looking.” Minho said with a bright smile. 

“Hey, right back to you.” Jisung said, smiling lightly.

“My god Jinnie! This is giving college dorm room party.” Jeongin scoffed as he dropped onto one of the cushions with a drink in hand.

“Nah, if it was a dorm party I’d have had my dick sucked by this time.” Minho said with a laugh.

“You know, that’s funny! I’d have sucked a dick by now. Weird that, huh?” Hyunjin said with a playful smirk.

“What a coincidence.” Minho laughed, taking the beer that Hyunjin was handing him.

“I missed most of your college dorm parties.” Changbin said, sounding pouty.

“They were deranged bacchanals, you’re better off not having those memories.” Seungmin said, rolling his eyes, and shifting awkwardly as he avoided looking directly at Changbin.

“Don’t talk bad about our bacchanals! They were so fun!” Felix said with a grin as he snatched a controller, tossing another to Jeongin to start playing.

“I’m sorry, but I thought college was for education. And killing all my brain cells with the poison you so flippantly called punch was not a part of my curriculum.” Seungmin scoffed, moving to the floor next to Felix.

“You graduated, didn’t you?” Felix said with a bright smile.

“Yes, but I suspect I may have only graduated due to some covert demon pack ritual you enacted in our final year.”

“Ahh, good times.” Felix chuckled.

“Have you made any deals with devils I should know about?” Minho asked Jisung.

“Not yet.” Jisung said, letting his eyes land on his for a second before smiling and shaking his head and turning his focus to the karting game on the TV. 

Minho sipped his beer, glancing over to see Jisung nursing something in a plastic cup as he spaced out. Minho didn’t push for him to talk, Jisung seemed to be absorbed in his own mind tonight. Minho was close to his body, and he didn’t feel tense, and was comfortably leaning his weight to press against Minho, so he figured at least he wasn’t unhappy with their proximity. After over half an hour, maybe even close to a full hour had passed and Jisung hadn’t spoken again, hadn’t even moved to sip his drink Minho caved and tried to coax him out of his head.

“So, you’re quiet today?” Minho prompted, placing his hand on Jisung’s thigh.

“I know. I’m fine, just… Thinking.” Jisung said, smiling softly as he turned his attention to him.

“Oh yeah? What are you thinking about?” Minho asked, tilting his head as he captured Jisung’s gaze.

“Oh fuck off, you know what I’m thinking about!” Jisung said, rolling his eyes with a self-conscious smile.

“Oh really?” Minho asked, a smirk breaking out wide on his face.

“Don’t look so fucking smug about it.” Jisung scoffed.

“Fine… But just so I know. Is there a reason I should be feeling smug about your thoughts?” Minho asked softer.

“You are such an arrogant ass!” Jisung laughed, then locked back onto his eyes again. “But yeah… You should probably be feeling kinda smug.” Minho could not keep the grin off his face, and Jisung shook his head slightly as he also smiled.

“That is very good to hear.” 

“I’m sure it is. But… Not tonight.” Jisung said, looking at him shyly again. “Ask me again soon. I still want a little time.”

“By soon you mean?”

“Days, I just… It was only Wednesday, I’m still kinda processing. But yeah, I’m thinking about it.”

“Got it.” Minho moved closer to Jisung’s ear, feeling his body shiver slightly as he whispered against him. “I’ve been thinking about it too. I can’t stop thinking about it. About you.” Minho lingered, rubbing his nose against his cheek before moving back and taking great pleasure in the slightly flushed look on Jisung’s face.

“I… I think about you too…” Jisung said after swallowing hard.

“You should tell me about it sometime.” Minho said with a lazy grin, his eyes locked onto Jisung’s dilated pupils, wishing so hard he could just kiss him now.

“Maybe…” Jisung bit his lip before saying the next bold sentence. “If you earn it.” Minho was impressed, Jisung held strong eye contact for a full two seconds before turning his head and bringing a hand to cover his face. “I can’t believe I just said that!” Jisung laughed.

“Me neither. But it was hot!” Minho told him in all honesty. “I’m surprised, didn’t take you for the dominant type.”

“Oh I’m not.” Jisung chuckled, glancing back at him. “I really have no idea where that came from.”

“Reminds me of you sending me to get you food to make up for being an asshole. You know what you want, and you’re not afraid to ask for it. Now that is hot.” Minho told him.

“I don’t always ask for what I want. Maybe you just bring it out of me.” 

“Well, lucky me then.” Minho told him, his voice soft.

“You really think so?” Jisung asked, looking directly at him again.

“Absolutely.” Minho said confidently. Jisung nodded, and smiled at him.

“Okay.” He said, then chuckled lightly before turning back to the TV.

Minho smiled as he watched the side of Jisung’s face, he was actually feeling close to flustered himself with how Jisung was getting bolder, and trying to push himself further. He moved his hand to rub over Jisung’s thigh, not moving too high, just craving a little more contact with him. 

He finally tore his eyes from Jisung to look over his friends in the room. Hyunjin was flitting around the room, half dancing as he drifted from his friends to talk, and to get himself more drinks. Jeongin and Felix were locked in a battle on rainbow road, fully engrossed in the game they were playing, involving drinking and racing. Seungmin was sitting next to Felix, currently looking up to talk to Hyunjin about something. Changbin was stood leaning near the table of drinks and snacks, a drink in hard as his eyes never left Seungmin. Minho could see a longing, and fondness in his open gaze.

Minho watched as Hyunjin threw his head back to laugh at something Seungmin had said before standing up and going to the table to pour another drink, tearing Changbin’s attention into a conversation. Minho saw Seumgmin trying to subtly glance at them and laughed to himself. He moved his foot to jab at Seungmin with his toes.

“Come on, I need another beer. See if you can say anything entertaining to me while I do.” Minho said in a tactful way to say he wanted all the gossip from him from the past week.

“I’m just a jester to you, aren’t I?” Seungmin asked as he climbed to his feet. Minho got up from the sofa, smiling at Jisung before he headed to the kitchen with Seungmin following him.

“So, have you spent more time spread over Bin’s dick this week?” Minho asked as he grabbed them both a beer from the fridge.

“Quiet!” Seungmin hissed, ducking his head out of the door before coming back and sighing as he took his beer and leaned back against the counter.

“It’s getting more regular. He comes over after work sometimes. I kick him out saying I have to be up early. I let him stay last night though. It was awkward… But also comfortable this morning. Like, we started just chatting, not about what we were doing, but he told me about work, asking if I was still interested in singing on a track Chan has been workingshopping for months. It was kinda normal. You know, apart from the big unspoken question of what are we, what are we doing.”

“He was gazing at you like a lovesick teenager a bit ago.”

“Yeah, he’s probably thinking of how to try and get me away and bent over without making it suspicious. Those looks are kinda the same after a few drinks.”

“Whatever. So are you going back to his place tonight?”

“Probably…”

“Guess I’m gonna have to start booking your time to get a chance to see you with how desperate he is for you.”

“Aww, you are such a softie, do you miss me?”

“Like a suspicious rash.” Minho chuckled. “Game nights are good, but I miss the peace of just a few drinks with you in the quiet of the living room.”

“Jisung not living up to your expectations?”

“No… He’s surpassed them all each time we speak. He’s the only reason I come to these things. You know I’m not really one for gaming.”

“You should get them to do other things. Try and pry them out of their apartments.”

“Not a bad idea. But to be fair I am kind of focused on getting Sung in my apartment. Or anywhere alone really.” Minho laughed.

“Any progress?”

“I told him that I want to kiss him, and told him to think if he still wants to kiss me. I’d say it's going well.”

“Did he say he does?”

“Not yet, I’m giving him time.”

“Wow, that is so boring.” Seungmin laughed. 

“Says mister ‘it took me four years to finally fuck the man of my dreams.’” Minho taunted.

“Okay, rude. But yeah, I see your point. You’re going slow, but at least you're going. Bonus points for actually talking to him about what you want. Wish that were me.” Seungmin scoffed.

“I dunno, words failed you, now you’ve moved on to talking with your body. See where that gets you.” Minho laughed. “You gonna be at Chan’s party next week?”

“Definitely, we don’t get to see enough of Chan’s old ass anymore. And being at his house should stop it from getting too out of control. Which I cannot say about tonight. Did you see the fucking drinking game Lix and Innie were playing, jesus.” Seungmin shook his head as Minho laughed.

“Well when they get sloppy you get your opening to slip away to get railed without anyone noticing.”

“That’s true. Are you gonna get sloppy too?”

“I’ll have a few, but I doubt I’ll go hard.” Minho hesitated before continuing. “As part of my go slow initiative I don’t want to make Jisung uncomfortable, and me being the exact same level of flirty with him that I am now, but being drunk could make him feel kinda sketch, you know, the added lack of control element. And if I ignore him to get drunk, well that might hurt his feelings, make him feel unwanted or ignored. So until I have a better gauge on him, I’m not gonna get that kind of drunk around him.”

“Holy shit.”

“Oh what?” Minho said, exasperated.

“Nothing. I just forgot how attentive you can be. I don’t know why, you’re the primary reason Jeongin is still alive, but somehow it hits different seeing it with someone new. Someone you’re trying to hook up with. It’s been a while since I saw you learning a new person, I guess.”

“I don’t know at what point I should be offended that my friends are shocked that I respect someone's boundaries when trying to show my interest in him.”

“I’m not surprised. It’s just a bit of a shock that in the space of a few weeks your patented apathy for all things seems to have lifted to allow you to work for something again.”

“You are getting too deep, and like I said, I’m too sober for that.” Minho laughed. “I’ll tell people you got bored and made Bin walk you home if they notice you are gone later.”

“Appreciate it.” Seumgin said, lifting from the counter and heading back to the living room.

Minho came to the couch, and Jisung was talking with Felix, who was glancing up to look at him, Minho lingered, dividing his gaze between Jisung and the TV where Hyunjin was now challenging Jeongin to a rainbow road drinking game. He was waiting to sit back down, but not wanting to interrupt Jisung and Felix’s conversation. He also didn’t intend to eavesdrop on them, but they were talking very loud and openly and he couldn’t help but hear what was said.

“You’re so tense. You should just do shots with me if you’re not gonna join the Mario drinking game.” Felix said to Jisung.

“I don’t think I should let myself get drunk tonight.” Jisung chuckled.

“Why not? It’s a party.”

“I have trust issues.” 

“Oh… You don’t trust him to stop a second time?”

“What? Oh, no not him. I don’t trust myself not to go for a second time. I’m taking time to think.”

“I think you’ve had enough time thinking, you need to start doing.” Felix leered up at Jisung.

“Soon. It’s nice. See if he gets bored before I’m done thinking.” Jisung scoffed.

“If that’s the only barrier, I think he’s already made it clear he's not phased by meeting your needs. Your anxious ass isn’t gonna freak him out.” Felix said with a grin, his eyes landing on Minho and his smile growing larger. Jisung looked over and saw him, giving him a slightly embarrassed smile.

“If you wanna get wasted, I can leave before you get handsy.” Minho muttered as he stepped close and lent over him.

“Yeah, but who's gonna stop my embarrassing drunk messages though?”

“Oh come on, please don’t deny me the joy of your drunk texting!” Minho beamed at him.

“Maybe next time. For tonight I will just enjoy watching my friends make drunken idiots of themselves.”

“Hey, that was my plan too.” Minho said, coming to sit next to Jisung.

Minho spent the next few hours laughing at his friends, and having light conversation with Jisung. Jisung was less flirty, and more reserved, seeming quite content just watching the action and giving Minho the occasional amusing opinion on his observations. Minho noticed Seungmin and Changbin leave while Hyunjin was trying to convince the others to play Twister, despite him not actually having the mat to play on. Everyone else was too occupied, and most of them were too drunk to even question where they had gone. Minho ordered them pizza before deciding to try and get his boys home.

“Okay, Innie, are you coming home?” Minho asked once he had got them all to eat a slice each.

“Sure. They are no challenge to me anymore anyway.” Jeongin said, laughing smugly.

“That’s because you keep fucking with the controller settings when you think we’re not looking.” Jisung scoffed, seeming fully amused by his drunk friends. 

“Lix, are you going home?”

“I sleep here!” Felix said, from where he was laid on the floor, sprawled over three cushions.

“Can you take care of him?” Minho asked Jinnie.

“I’ll pass out, he can look after himself.” Hyunjin grumbled, looking dishevelled and moments away from sleeping himself.

“Right, good enough. Sung, do you want us to walk you home?”

“Only if it’s on your way?” Jisung said as he moved one of the open bottles of water Minho had given the drunken men off of the floor.

“It’s close enough.” Minho reassured him.

Minho did his best to get the two staying behind into the bed, and the sofa respectively before pulling Jeongin off the floor to help him walk as they took Jisung home. Jisung and Jeongin rambled about nonsense on the walk, sober Jsiung seeming to match the wavelength of a drunken Jeongin. Jisung gave Minho a lingering look before he disappeared into his apartment. Minho took Jeongin home, helping him get ready for bed and leaving him his water and trash can like after his birthday before he got himself settled.

Minho spent Sunday relaxing and helping Jeongin survive his hangover. He was also still messaging Jisung, both laughing at how hungover their other friends were. They kept texting into the next week. Mostly talking about the random thoughts that Jisung shared at any passing moment, or about shows and movies they had seen. Jisung messaged him on Wednesday close to lunchtime. He didn’t always message Minho when he first woke up, Minho was learning that Jisung was not much of a morning person, and even less so on the days he had to leave his apartment.

JISUNG: I’m so bored. 

MINHO: Aren’t you at work?

JISUNG: You have just uncovered the crux of my boredom.

MINHO: I thought you loved creating music?

JISUNG: I do, but that is not what I’m doing. There’s nothing for me to do while Chan tinkers with this fucking bass. I need to get out of the damn studio, I’m tired and bored, but not sleepy.

MINHO: Stir crazy? Well, I have some time to spare. You can come to the dance studio, we have a cafe on the ground floor. Wanna get a coffee with me to kill some time?

JISUNG: Right now?

MINHO: If you’re bored right now. I know Changbin works close to the studio, so that means you do too. You don’t have to, but it would get you out of the studio for a while and top up your caffeine levels.

JISUNG: Okay, yeah, that sounds fine. Send me the location and I’ll set off now.

Minho gave Jisung his location and headed to his locker, trying to make himself look presentable. He had to accept the fact that he didn’t have enough time to shower and get changed before Jisung would arrive, but he spent a few minutes trying to make his hair look better, and threw a zip up hoodie over his slightly sweat damp top as he took his wallet from his bag before locking it up. Once he accepted he couldn’t make himself look any better without leaving Jisung waiting for him he headed down to the lobby to wait for him.

Jisung turned up only a few minutes after Minho got to the lobby, wrapped up in a long puffer jacket and a beanie. He waved at him with a small smile as he entered the building. Minho smiled and reached out a hand to call him over. When Jisung reached him, he actually gripped his wrist, looking at him with large eyes.

“What’s up?” Minho asked softly.

“New places are kinda intimidating.” Jisung laughed lightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that. Well, the cafe should be deserted at this time. Shall we?”

“Lead the way.” Jisung nodded with a smile.

Minho gave him a smile, and with Jisung’s hand clasping his wrist he walked them to the little cafe that was close to the lobby. He toed Jisung like a nervous balloon up to the counter before stopping and turning back to him.

“What coffee do you want?”

“Iced americano?”

“Good choice.” Minho smiled and ordered two iced americanos, and a slice of chocolate cake for Jisung without asking if he wanted it first. 

Jisung stayed attached to him as they waited for their order, then Minho guided them to a table in the corner of the open pan cafe, as close to out of sight of anything else as he could get. He placed the tray on the table and sat Jising with his back to the cafe, facing him and the wall in the hopes it would stop him thinking about how he was in a new place. Jisung wriggled out of his coat after sitting down, revealing an oversized hoodie. Jisung looked the definition of cosy in his soft outfit. Minho picked up his coffee and pushed Jisung’s drink and cake towards him. 

“I didn’t ask for cake.” Jisung said with a smile.

“Do you not want it?”

“No, I want it. I just didn’t ask for it.”

“I was anticipating your desires.”

“That’s a fancy way of saying you’re trying to butter me up.” Jisung grinned as he took a bite of the cake.

“I’m not buttering you up. I’m just being nice.”

“Nice because you want something from me.”

“Nice because I like you. Nice because I like how you smile when I am nice. Nice because I want to be your friend. Nice because you are someone who should have people be nice to them.” Minho said plainly. “I tell you I want you because I want something from you.”

“Oh… So, what exactly do you want?”

“You want specifics?” Minho winked. “Okay, I want to be your friend. I told you this. And I also want to… Erm, well plainly, I want to have sex with you. Once, or many times. I said I would like both, but I will be happy if I only get one or the other.”

“Okay, so if you’re so invested in fucking me, why are you being so… Patient? I was pretty clear I’m attracted to you too. You could have made more of a move.”

“You were anxious, and I wanted to go slow to make sure you were comfortable. I want to have sex with you, only if it is something you want. And something you want because you are attracted to me, and have decided to do it. Not because of some heat of the moment impulsive choice. So, yeah, I could have made a move, just kissed you. But, I told you I was giving you time to think if it’s what you want. And that’s what I’m doing. Is that okay?”

“That’s… Good. People usually get bored waiting for me.” Jisung chuckled mirthlessly. “I like how direct you are.”

“That’s good. Not a lot of people do. But I don’t like playing games, I try to say what I mean. I don’t always know what I mean, but when I know, I will say it.” Minho grinned at him.

“I like that. It makes things easier. No second guessing what you mean, reading between the lines. Worrying you might think something about me and be putting on a mask. You say what you mean. I like it.”

“I guess that bodes well for us getting along. I like how unashamedly yourself you are.”

“I’m not that confident.”

“It’s not that. You know who you are. You may get anxious and retreat from the unknown. But you seem to really know exactly what you’re about. You know what you want, where your boundaries are. And you adjusted your life for your needs. That’s impressive. I like that.”

“Well, I’m glad we became friends then.” Jisung said, the tension on his face melting away to make way for his radiating bright smile.

“That makes two of us.” 

“You look good in your dancing clothes, by the way.” Jisung said, looking down as he sipped his coffee.

“Really? I thought I looked like shit.” Minho laughed, thinking of how he had worried so much about how he looked before coming to meet him. “You look cosy. Big hoodie is a good look for you. So cute.”

“I like to dress comfortably at the studio. I kinda always end up napping on the sofa at some point. I would have today, but I was just a bit too restless. I’m glad you invited me out.”

Minho and Jisung talked for about an hour, the conversation lightening and turning to Minho showing Jisung pictures of the cats he had living with his parents, and Jisung showing his family dog. The atmosphere was light, easy and comfortable. Minho felt bitter at having to break it to go back to work after he had spent his whole free hour with Jisung. They got up and Jisung seemed less tense about being in the unfamiliar building and didn’t cling to him as Minho walked him to the lobby doors.

“I really had a nice time. Thanks for having coffee with me.” Jisung said, his smile so warm.

“I liked it too. We should do it again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I like hanging out with you. You can ask me to go for coffee whenever. As long as I’m not with a client I can usually escape for an hour.” Minho told him.

“I’d really like that. I’ll be in touch.” Jisung turned to go, then turned back. “You’re coming to Chan’s this weekend, right?”

“Maybe. Are you going?”

“Yeah, of course I am.”

“Then I will be there.” Minho smiled as Jisung’s adorably shy smile at his attention.

“You’re gonna drive me crazy.” Jisung laughed. “See you then.”

“See you then. Message me if you get bored again.”

“Talk in five minutes in that case.” Jisung laughed deeply as he finally left the building, waving as he walked out of Minho’s sight.

Minho reluctantly dragged himself back to his work once he could no longer see Jisung walking away. And the next couple of days were hard for him to focus, his mind slipping to Jisung, and his eyes slipping to his phone. Their stream of disjointed conversation being almost constant, the messages coming anytime either of them had the time to message. Minho had made up his mind that at Chan’s, if Jisung wasn’t already tipsy when he arrived, he was going to raise the question of kissing again. He felt a week and a half was a fair amount of time to let Jisung mull it over, without leaving it so long that he might think he had stopped wanting it himself.

Saturday evening finally arrived, and after eating with Jeongin, they both made their way to Chan’s for his party. Jeongin was practically vibrating out of his skin with excitement. Minho wasn’t sure if it was for the party, or just being able to spend time with Chan again. Minho didn’t pry, and he himself was feeling like his body was on fire with anticipation for Jisung’s answer. They stopped to buy some beers to contribute to the party, Chan having made it clear he had supplied all they would need, but Minho decided to ignore that and at least take extra drinks.

They arrived and Jeongin detached from Minho’s side to go sit next to Chan immediately as Minho went to put the beers he brought in the fridge. He returned to the living room and scanned over his friends. Jisung was on the sofa next to Jeongin, Chan and Changbin next to him. On the other sofa Seungmin was watching Changbin as he talked animatedly to Chan and Jisung about something. Hyunjin and Felix were standing near the table of snacks, Felix talking about something as Hyunjin smiled and listened, giving him his full attention. Minho went and dropped next to Seungmin, not saying anything as he just watched Jisung, waiting for a moment to get him alone and talk to him. 

Minho waited until Jisung got off the sofa, he made eye contact and smiled at him before heading to the kitchen. Minho assumed to get a drink, but had taken note that he didn’t have a drink in his hand when he arrived. Minho had been texting Jisung before setting off, and knew he had arrived shortly before Minho, so he was confident he wasn’t tipsy, maybe he hadn’t even had a drink at all yet. Minho got off the sofa and followed Jisung into the kitchen, closing the door behind them to grant them a glimmer of privacy. 

“Hey.” Minho said, startling Jisung who had been looking in the fridge.

“Oh shit. You are very quiet on your feet.” Jisung chuckled, closing the fridge empty handed as he turned to face him.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” Minho told him as he closed the distance to him. He stopped close enough to Jisung that he had to tilt his head slightly to look directly at him. Jisung was almost the same height, the maybe inch Minho had on him was not usually noticeable, but he felt it now as Jisung’s wide eyed gaze looked up at him.

“It’s okay. I’m not scared.” Jisung practically whispered.

“So, have you thought about what I asked?”

“Asked?”

“What I told you. That I want to kiss you. Have you thought about it now?”

“Yeah…” Jisung breathed, nodding his head without moving his eyes.

“What do you think?”

“I think…” Jisung took in a shaky breath, seeming fully affected by Minho’s proximity and words. “I still want to kiss you.”

“Right now?” Minho asked, bringing his hand up to thread his fingers into Jisung’s hair.

“Yeah…” Jisung murmured again.

Minho smiled and moved slowly forward, feeling an intense pull of desire as Jisung’s eyes fluttered closed and his lips slightly puckered in anticipation. Minho didn’t leave him waiting, holding the back of Jisung’s head as he gently pressed their lips together. Jisung let out the softest of sighs as their lips connected. Minho dropped his hand, trailing down to hold Jisung on his lower back, his other hand running up to cradle his neck. Jisung swayed forward, his own hands landing onto Minho’s shoulder and gripping hard as he moved his mouth against Minho’s. Minho moved his own lips slowly, kissing him gently until Jisung’s hesitant tongue peeked out and flicked over Minho’s top lip. Minho’s grip on his waist tightened as his fingers on his neck guided his head to the side, positioning him so he could meet Jisung’s tongue. Jisung parted his lips and let Minho press their tongues together. Minho moved gently before plunging his tongue into Jisung’s mouth, rubbing against him as he felt a weak moan vibrate into his mouth. Jisung reciprocated eagerly, letting Minho in willingly, and exploring Minho himself.

Minho let his hand slide down, stroking over his ass before squeezing, pulling another moan from Jisung before he restrained himself, moving his hand back to Jisung’s waist and reigning in his own wants to try and go at Jisung’s pace. They had been kissing passionately for what felt like an eternity, but altogether still too short a time. Minho would have stayed there, attached to him all night, but eventually Jisung pulled back from him with a gasping breath. Minho chuckled lightly at how Jisung seemed to have forgotten how to breath through his nose at some point. They stayed close, hands on each other and faces almost brushing against each other as Minho gave Jisung a moment to catch his breath.

“Was that okay?” Minho asked when Jisung was no longer panting.

“Fuck, it was incredible.” Jisung said, his dilated eyes looking back to meet Minho’s.

“I meant was that okay that I kissed you, not was the kiss okay.” Minho chuckled lightly.

“Oh… yeah, that’s okay. I was okay with it.” Jisung confirmed. Minho moved his face closer, so their heads were touching.

“But you’re right. It was incredible.” Minho muttered, pressing a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back. He looked at Jisung, how achingly attractive he was with his parted lips red and shiny, his eyes lidded and dilated, and his plush cheeks flushed. He brought a hand up to stroke his hair again. “I think I’ll leave it there for tonight.”

“Huh?” Jisung seemed shocked at Minho putting on the brakes.

“I want to keep kissing you, I want so much more than just that though. And well, if you want to kiss me again, you just have to let me know.” Minho pressed a brief kiss to Jisung again, making him sway in his arms. “I’ll be waiting. Because I want this so bad. I want you. All of you. But I can wait until you know if it’s what you want.” Minho moved back and looked in Jisung’s eyes as he ran a finger over his cheek. “Just let me know.” 

Jisung’s body seemed to tug towards Minho as he stepped back. Minho watched as Jisung's arms dropped from him and he stood there looking slightly dazed as Minho gave him a soft smile before leaving, knowing if he stayed any longer with Jisung looking at him with so much want his resolve might break.

Minho came back into the living room, unable to hide how good he felt as he went to drop back on the sofa next to Seungmin. Seungmin looked at him and breathed a light laugh.

“What’s got you so happy?”

“I just made out with Jisung.” Minho beamed as Jisung came into the room.

“I’m guessing you did that to him.” Seungmin said, referring to Jisung wandering in, looking wide-eyed and out of it, his fingers pressed to his lips.

“I assume so.” Minho said as he saw Felix, who was still talking to Hyunjin, glance over and laugh before skipping over to Jisung. Hyunjin watched them for a second before coming over to Minho and Seungmin, squeezing himself into the space between him.

“So, what’s that about?” Hyunjin asked Minho as he nodded his head towards Felix and Jisung who looked on the verge of full gossip mode.

“I kissed him.” Minho told him.

“Oh shit, was he okay with it?” Hyunjin asked as Felix dragged Jisung into the kitchen to talk in private.

“Of course. I asked him before I kissed him.”

“Did he kiss back?”

“Yes, asshole.”

“Okay, so why are you sitting with us and not bending him over the kitchen table?”

“Because I’m taking it slow.”

“Like, for real slow?”

“I want to know he’s into it before we do anything. I want him to know if he’s into it before we do anything. So I’m taking it slow.”

“Okay, so when you say kiss, do you mean a brief peck, or a kiss?”

“I made out with him. I’m going slow, not backwards.” Minho scoffed.

“Well, congrats I guess. At this pace maybe you will get to fuck him by the end of the year.” Hyunjin taunted him.

“I fucking hate you.” Minho laughed.

They stopped their own light gossip as Jisung and Felix returned to the room, Jisung looking less dazed, but more flushed, and a bashful smile on his face as Felix walked him towards them, his arm hanging over his shoulder. Minho smiled at Jisung when he was in front of him, and Jisung smiled back, turning slightly redder as he averted his gaze. 

“You gonna let loose tonight, Sung?” Hyunjin asked.

“I think you let loose good enough for the lot of us.” Jisung snarked back, smirking at Hyunjin slightly.

“Are you referring to my brief striptease last week? I stopped before I was fully naked, stop complaining!” Hyunjin scoffed.

“Maybe he’s complaining that you didn’t finish the job. All tease, no strip.” Felix said with a playful leer.

“I don’t have to sit here and take this abuse!” Hyunjin said, springing from next to Minho and floating over to sit behind Changbin, draping his arm over him as he watched the conversation he was in. Felix pushed Jisung lightly so he took the place Hyunjin vacated next to Minho. Minho put his arm around Jisung and smiled when he pressed lightly against his body.

“So, are you and Innie hosting gaming night next week?” Felix asked as he stayed standing and looking at the three on the sofa below him.

“Yeah, I’m sure Innie owns gaming consoles we can play on.” Minho laughed.

“Oh, I’ll finally get to see your sex dungeon!” Felix laughed.

“I don’t have a sex dungeon.” Minho scoffed, then moved his face closer to Jisung. “I live in an apartment, there is no space.” 

“Isn’t your bedroom your sex dungeon?” Seungmin asked, his eyes glued to where Hyunjin was leaning on Changbin. Minho glanced over to see that Changbin wasn’t giving Hyunjin his usual force of attention, just simply letting him hang off him without engaging.

“My bedroom is for sleeping. I can’t even remember the last time I had sex in my bedroom.”

“Where was the last place you had sex?” Felix asked.

“Against the living room wall.”

“So your whole apartment is a sex dungeon.”

“I feel you need to brush up on what makes a room a sex dungeon.” Minho laughed.

“You prefer your sex in public bathrooms in bars, don’t you?” Seungmin laughed at him.

“Why do I tell you about my life? But yeah, mostly.”

“Is…” Jisung started and looked up at Felix. “Is there even room? Like, can you fuck in a public stall?” 

“It depends on the bathroom, and on the position. But generally, yeah, you can.” Minho told him.

“Isn’t it… Kinda gross, and well… Public? Don’t people hear you?” Jisung asked.

“Like that would stop him.” Seungmin laughed.

“Oh god, it can’t be as bad as that fucking time in college!” Felix laughed. “In the locker rooms?”

“Oh fuck, why did you remind me!” Minho laughed.

“Right, so after dance class one day, I followed Minho to the showers, because I was horny, and well, I thought it might be hot. So anyway, were fucking and I didn’t realise that a class was just ending and the showers are suddenly filled with like twenty men.”

“The shower stalls had doors, so they couldn’t see us, but I’m balls deep and suddenly we hear so many voices we recognise. It was a close call.”

“I mean, why was it a close call?” Seungmin asked.

“To keep quiet.” 

“Yeah, you’d think someone would be put off by hearing the voices of people you know just one flimsy door away, but not Lino. He kept fucking me all though it. It was a fucking challenge to stay quiet.” 

“You guys are fucking disgusting!” Seungmin scoffed.

“I mean yeah, don’t you remember Lino in college? Every party he came to turned into an orgy.”

“I never had an orgy.” Minho argued.

“I think it was close. Every party you were at had less clothes and more sex than any other party.” Felix continued.

“I never actually fucked at a party.” Minho scoffed.

“Erm… I have a far too clear memory of seeing you and Felix fucking at a party.” Seungmin pointed out.

“Okay, yeah, but to be fair we thought everyone had already left, we were too drunk and the music was too loud for us to realise we had an audience.”

“See, I was under the impression that we were doing performance art!” Felix laughed. “But proves my point, drunken public sex.”

“You were kinda like a Dionysus type.” Seungmin agreed.

“Okay, sure, maybe I caused a bit of sexual energy at parties. But I was not that bad! The sex in front of others at a party only happened that one time and I didn’t instigate the other debauchery.” Minho retorted.

“Want me to ask Hyunjin about it? I’m sure he would know if you were that bad or not? Or maybe I could even check with Changbin.”

“Fine!” Minho scoffed and turned to Jisung again. “I’ll admit I was kinda wild in college, but I wasn’t as bad as they make it sound.”

“I wasn’t really wild ever…” Jisung mumbled.

“You okay?” Minho asked, moving his face closer to his ear and lowering his voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jisung turned to look at Minho, and the other two gave them the courtesy of turning away to talk together. “I’m just still not used to hearing how you all talk about sex I guess.”

“Need me to tone it down?”

“No, you’re fine. Just, it’s not like I don’t talk about sex, and Felix isn’t shy about sharing the details of his exploits, but, that’s when it’s just us. I’m not so used to the whole, sharing actual sex stories in a group thing. I need to get used to it.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“No… It’s just kinda new to me. “

“I find that hard to believe, I thought you went to college with these guys.”

“I did, but honestly I mostly only hung out with Felix and Chan in college, even though Chan had already graduated. I mean I saw them all at parties, but I guess I don’t notice that stuff as much when I’m drunk. But there is also a big difference in Hyunjin complaining about not getting laid and joking about having group sex and us teasing him about watching and criticising, or even someone singing a song they made up about how much, and why they love big dicks.”

“Also a drunk Hyunjin?” Minho asked with a smirk.

“Oh yeah, he has no chill. But between that, and Felix talking about actual sex you two had in the showers in front of a group of us like it’s just a funny story. And like, Felix has told me about sex with you, a few of our friends have. But that was always in a real conversation, either one on one, or just not the focus of a group. I guess it just kinda shocked me. Maybe it made me a little embarrassed, like not personally, but in the ‘now I’m picturing what he said’, and that’s real, and you’re right here, and everyone can see you and hear it. I dunno.” Jisung chuckled lightly. ”But I’m comfortable, and I don’t think differently of you because you are so open and casual about sex and experiences you’ve had. It’s kind of interesting.” Jisung said.

“Okay, well if it ever does make you uncomfortable, you can let me know. You shouldn’t have to put up with something you don’t like.”

“Thanks. But really, you’re fun, and I like the directness. I guess a part of that is the sex side too. I just… Well I won’t be sharing any stories myself…”

“Nothing wrong with wanting to have discretion. I can have tact about these things too. It’s just that with these guys, well, they don’t really care about this shit, and so neither do I.”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense.” Jisung grinned. “I don’t want you to think that I’m the kind of person who thinks sex talk is dirty, and that people should keep all that behind closed doors and shit. I just… I don’t…”

“You don’t have to share any part of yourself with anyone that you don’t want to.”

“I know.” Jisung smiled then moved back to settle against him as they joined the others with their conversation, which had moved on from the topic of semi-public sex to how they almost gave all their friends food poisoning when Felix let Seungmin help him bake.

Minho stayed at the party for a few hours, enjoying Jisung’s company and light contact for as long as he could. But once Jisung started to fall asleep on the sofa, Minho told him to steal Chan’s bed before anyone else did, then decided to go home himself. Jeongin said he was having too much fun and was going to stay at Chan’s, so Minho went home alone, stopping for some fast food before crawling into bed. He let his mind drift to thoughts of Jisung, to the kiss. It had been short, only lasting a few minutes, but it was undeniable the chemistry and intensity they had. He was excited at the prospect of what might come, of how it would feel to have all of him, for a whole night.

Chapter Text

Minho was laid on the sofa after eating breakfast, not quite having found the motivation to move yet when he got a text from Jisung. It was earlier than he usually heard from him, but not so early that it was concerning.

JISUNG: Hey! I’m bored, can I call you?

MINHO: Absolutely.

Minho’s phone vibrated with the incoming call just seconds after he sent the message. He smiled, and despite a faint disappointment at it not being a video call, answered feeling elated about Jisung feeling comfortable enough to call him now.

“Hey there, what’s up?” Minho asked cheerily.

“Hey! I’m just walking home from Chan’s, and I wanted someone to talk to, to keep my company.” Jisung told him.

“No one was willing to walk you home?”

“They were all still passed out in the living room.” Jisung chuckled.

“I guess they went harder than we did. Who stayed there?”

“Well, Felix was asleep on the sofa, and Hyunjin was on the floor next to him, so I think maybe they passed out together and Hyunjin fell from the couch in his sleep!” Jisung laughed. “And Chan and Jeongin were cuddled up on the other sofa together, far too cute to wake up. I took pictures of them.”

“For blackmail reasons?”

“Nah, well maybe.” Jisung chuckled. “How long did you stay after I went to bed?”

“I left pretty much right away.”

“You didn’t really come to Chan’s just for me?”

“I mean… What else was I there for?” Minho chuckled.

“Oh… Well I hope I didn’t disappoint.” Jisung said with a nervous laugh.

“Oh Sungie, you exceed my expectations. Every time.”

“Give it time, I’m sure I will find a way to disappoint you.” Jisung chuckled.

“Weird goal, but you do you.” Minho snorted out. “So what is your plan today?”

“I am going to go home, and then spend all day in my underwear on my sofa. Sundays are not for doing things.”

“True. So tell me more about the lack of clothing?”

“Shut up!” Jisung chuckled. “What about you?”

“Well, I should get up and go to the gym, but my couch doesn’t want to release its hold on me.”

“Yeah, just do like me, Sunday nap day. I’m just gonna go from one bed to another.”

“So, you got Chan’s bed all to yourself? No drunken people coming to make you share?”

“Nope, a big double bed to me alone. Just like every other night.”

“Alone? What about that big ass hamster you sent me a picture of you cuddling?”

“Oh my god! How could I forget my cuddle buddy!”

“I thought I was your cuddle buddy?” Minho snickered.

“Oh… I mean, maybe. You could be.”

“Are you saying that I can keep you company in bed and cuddle you now?”

“I didn’t say that!” Jisung huffed. “I’m not, not saying that, but I also am not saying that.” Jisung chuckled.

“Keep talking, you’ll end up talking me into coming to yours to cuddle you all day.”

“Oh…” Jisung was quiet for a moment.

“I’m playing, Sungie. I wouldn’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“No, I just… It does sound kinda nice… I just…”

“I get it. Being alone like that right now, it could be a bit… Well, just keep in mind I’m free for cuddles as soon as you feel at ease with the idea. I’m also free for other things we can do on the couch or in bed.”

“Oh trust me, I will definitely be thinking about that!” Jisung laughed.

“Well, that thought is gonna be running through my head all day. So much for relaxing.” Minho chuckled.

“Yeah? I’m pretty sure my thoughts will end up leaving me feeling really relaxed once I’m done.” Jisung said then cracked up. “Oh god, why am I saying this?”

“Because you are apparently insistent on driving me insane. Please never stop.” Minho said, smiling wide as he spoke.

“I’ll see what I can do. I’m home now by the way.” Jisung told him.

“Time to get naked?”

“Shut up. Not naked for you. But yes, naked.” Jisung laughed. 

“Wanna keep talking? I don’t have to ask you to talk about how naked you are?”

“Hmm, I guess I can put my big relaxing plans on hold for a while to chat.” Jisung said with a light chuckle. “Let me put you on speaker.”

They chatted for over an hour, Minho was careful to avoid accidentally getting too sexual, even though they were both flirty with each other the whole time. He didn’t want to get Jisung worked up too much and make Jisung feel like he couldn’t call him without Minho initiating phone sex. He wanted Jisung to come away from the call feeling comfortable to call him again, for any reason. They only decided to say goodbye because Jisung was complaining about needing a shower and needing food.

“Okay, send me pics of what you order to eat. I’ll see you soon. At mine next weekend?” Minho said when he was getting ready to hang up.

“I will, but that’s all I’m sending pics of what I get up to.” Jisung cackled, seeming so much more relaxed with his innuendo jokes now. “And yeah, is it Friday or Saturday at yours?”

“I think Saturday, I don’t know what Innie’s work schedule is this week, but he doesn’t usually work weekends, so Saturday will probably be better.”

“Great! Can I meet you for coffee again next week?”

“Of course. Just let me know, and I’ll make time for you.”

“Great! Okay, I need to go get clean and feed myself. Talk later. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Don’t thank me, I really like talking to you.” Minho smiled as they both fell silent, neither seeming to want to hang up. “Okay, go shower, I won’t have you starving for me.” 

“Okay, bye.” Jisung said, and there were five more lingering seconds of silence before they hung up. Minho laughed at himself as he looked at his phone, the time counter for the call close to two hours.

Minho spent his Sunday relaxing, and messaging Jisung when he started messaging him after an hour, saying he had accomplished all his tasks for the day. Minho smirked at the not quite spoken insinuation of what Jisung had done, but pretended he assumed he had only showered and eaten, and didn’t keep bringing up that Jisung had been hinting at enjoying some self pleasure time, and the tease of it being with Minho on his mind. Jeongin didn’t come home until Minho was about to go to bed, and he said that he had eaten with Chan so Minho didn’t feel back about not having made him a meal. Minho took pleasure in seeing that while Jeongin was obviously exhausted, he seemed happy with a content and sleepy smile not leaving his face as he joined Minho for a bedtime tea before they went to bed.

On Monday Minho planned to go to the gym in the morning before work, to make up for letting Jisung talk him out of having a workout on Sunday. He was not happy about having to get up so early, and the cold dark morning air not lifting his spirits on his way to the gym. Minho was close to the end of his workout when he saw Changbin on the weight bench across from him. He laughed and walked over, dabbing himself with his towel as he smiled at him.

“I don’t usually see you here at this time.” Minho said in greeting.

“Hey! Nice to see you here. Yeah, my schedule has been majorly thrown off recently, gotta get the gym in when I can.” Changbin chuckled and Minho didn’t quite manage to hold back the knowing scoff at being aware of what had thrown off his routine.

“Are you just starting?” Minho asked.

“Nah, I was just finishing off, I was just waiting for a spot.”

“I got you. Then let’s get some coffee, breakfast and catch up.” Minho said as he stepped behind the bench to get into position to spot him.

After Changbin’s set he talked Minho into lifting for a set before they went to the gym's cafeteria to get coffee and breakfast. Minho ate in silence for a moment, trying to resist the question he was feeling he had to ask Changbin. He knew it wasn’t his business, he didn’t want to get involved or meddle in his friends love lives, but he just had to know. He was protective, and wanted to know if he had to be worried for them.

“Alright, so I’m gonna preffice this question with something.” Minho said when he cracked. “You know Seungmin is my best friend right?” Changbin nodded as he put down his food to give Minho his full attention. “You know he tells me everything going on in his life, right?”

“Yeah…” Changbin said, nodding as his eyes flicked away.

“Right, so keep that in mind when I ask; what is going on with you and him?”

“We… Uh, we’re sleeping together.” Changbin admitted, struggling to maintain eye contact with Minho.

“Yeah, I thought my lead up would let you know I was well aware of that. What I was really asking was what’s going on with you, with the whole you two thing. I know his side.”

“Oh god, yeah alright.” Changbin sighed and gazed off, seeming to either be collecting his thoughts, or psyching himself up to talk about how he felt. “So, I guess I should talk about it. But like, I don’t want you to go to Seungmin, I want to be able to tell him myself how I feel when the time is right. When the time comes.”

“Well, how about you tell me what's going on, and I will decide if I’m gonna keep minding my own business, or if you finally pushed me to wanna step in for my friends' own good. Yeah?”

“God, I sometimes forget how protective you can be.” Changbin sighed.

“I’m protective of you too. But I’m on the frontlines with Minnie. He tells me everything. And he’s there for me. I want to look out for you too, but you see why it’s hard for me to be impartial, right?”

“Of course. I know how it is with you guys, and I’m not, like, upset about it, maybe a little jealous of how close you are.”

“Sure, now enough stalling, tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m not sure… I mean, god, fine, I’ll just start from the beginning.” Changbin took another bite as he thought. “I don’t know when I first started to feel things for him, like, we were never all that close, so I can’t point exactly when my feelings started. But they did, I wanted him. I don’t know if he already felt that way about me, but soon we were flirting and showing interest. The problems really started when we kissed for the first time. He stopped it, and said we had to talk about it. Then he seemed to talk in circles for a while, not seeming to know what to say, and he eventually started freaking out. Frustrated at himself, and me. I wanted to tell him I liked him, and was happy to see where things could go, but he was a mess before I even got a chance to talk. He seemed to blame it on me and put up his walls. It was confusing and so frustrating. I wanted to let him know how I felt, but every time I tried he pushed me away, then he started to lash out a little. So I backed off, and just tried to act like it was all normal, and eventually it was. Then it happened again, and again. Every time one of us tried to talk about what was going on it seemed to make him spiral. So I kept my feelings hidden, trying to stop from overwhelming him while he figured out his feelings. Then he seemed to get locked in a cycle. Then the other week, he wanted to talk, without kissing me first, without a blow up, just wanted to talk. I really thought this was it, we would finally sort it out. But he froze… Then he kissed me. I was waiting for him to stop, but he didn’t. He pushed for more. Maybe I should have stopped it, but honestly I was so exhausted with wanting him, with the hell mess we’ve been trapped in. I hoped maybe if he couldn’t talk with his words, maybe he could let his actions speak instead. I dunno… I was going to talk to him in the morning, but he kissed me again, then he ran. And that seemed to be the new blooming pattern. So I stopped trying to talk. And just let us be normal when we aren't in bed.”

“And what now? You just keep this up, not talking to him and letting him stew in his head?” Minho asked, wanting to not believe Changbin, but this self-destructive avoidance and fear of emotions seemed right on brand for Seungmin.

“I figure I will start telling him how I feel in small doses. Let him know I like this, that I want to keep being with him. Slowly, and if he’s receptive I might ask if he wants more.”

“A lot of ifs there. You shouldn’t just keep hiding shit from him for fear of how he will react. It’s not healthy, and it’s unfair on Seungmin. You don’t trust him.”

“I trust him. I know he hasn’t got this thing clear in his head. He wants to talk about how he feels, but he either doesn't know how he feels, or is too freaked out by it. I’m just trying to give him time. Just… I never expected that time to be years.” Changbin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “If this microdosing of affection doesn’t work, I will sit him down and just tell him how I feel, regardless of how it goes. But I just want a little more time. To enjoy this, and for him to try and work through what he needs to. I get to hold him as he falls asleep now, I know I have to face it, but I can’t just give that up right now. Do you think you can give me that? Let me try this my way before you lay it all out for him?”

“Yeah.” Minho sighed. “Of course. I was only going to interfere if I suspected you weren’t as invested in this as he was, or if you truly were blind to how hard this has been on him. You’re a good man, and I trust you. But relationships and shit confound me. I couldn’t just assume you felt the same way as him.”

“I would never want to hurt him. I was doing all I could to try and prevent him from getting hurt. Somewhere along the line I think that is what was hurting him. But things are changing. The sex has changed things. I’m gonna make sure we don’t ignore it. I just… I can’t bring myself to do something I know will upset him if I think the gentle approach might work.” Changbin looked at him in earnest. Minho resonated with his words. While he and Jisung had nowhere near the emotional stakes as those two, he was also going slow, changing his behaviour to ensure he didn’t hurt him, so he could relate.

“Yeah, I get that. Go slow. Just make sure you are actually moving forward, not in a circle this time. I want the best for you both. Please don’t let your concern for him be the thing that fucks it up.”

“I get you. I will get my shit together. If I’m dragging my feet you can yell at me.” Changbin chuckled.

“I’ll do more than yell at you. I also noticed you aren’t as flirty with Hyunjin as usual now?”

“Yeah… I didn’t flirt with him to hurt Seungmin, but I knew it did… It just ended up being a part of how we were. Flirting with Hyunjin and my friends is harmless and natural to me, but if it’s gonna mess up what I’m working on with Seungmin, I will stop. I don’t want him to worry that I’m looking elsewhere now we are finally touching.” Changbin rolled his eyes. “God, I really let this thing get messy, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but to be fair you both did. Seungmin established the pattern, you were just complicit.”

“Yeah, and I dragged you right into it too.”

“He also started that.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have seen that as a green light for me to use you too.”

“Being used is kinda my role in life.” Minho scoffed.

“I’m sorry. You’re worth more than that.”

“Debatable. Thanks, I didn’t mind, I wouldn’t have gone along with it if I had.”

“Alright, well I won’t be doing it again.” Changbin paused for a second before a sheepish and almost flirty smile appeared on his face. “I won’t rule out commiseration sex if this blows up in my face though.”

“Yeah sure. Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.” Minho said with a grin.

“Thanks for talking to me. And thanks for understanding. I’ve only really had Chan to talk to about this, and he is so preachy in his advice. It’s nice to just be able to talk about it without someone giving me an itinerary of how I should proceed.”

“It’s your mess to clean. I just want you to know I want you to actually clean it. I will be watching.”

“Ominous. But thanks.” Changbin gave him a warm grin before finishing the last bite of food on his plate. “Right, well I really should get to the studio. I just know that Chan is gonna be forgetting reality in favour of work and Jisung will be asleep on the sofa already. So I will have to rally them when I arrive.”

“You think Sung will be at work already? You’re optimistic.” Minho laughed before grunting at the thought of having to do his own work. “Ugh work! Yeah, I’ll see you soon.” Minho smiled and got up to leave for work himself.

Minho ran into Changbin at the gym the next morning, and they kept each other company through their work outs, Changbin being thankfully much more quiet and focused than his usual exuberant self when in the gym. Minho and Jisung had still been messaging each other pretty much constantly. On Wednesday late morning Minho went to his bag to get a drink of water while working, and checked his phone to see his first message from Jisung of the day.

JISUNG: Are you free to meet for coffee sometime today?

MINHO: I can be free in like 40 minutes, does that work for you?

JISUNG: That’s perfect! I know it’s still winter, but how does going for a walk in the park near your studio with our coffee sound?

MINHO: The weather is nice today, we can go for a walk. I’ll just swap my americao from iced to hot.

JISUNG: Good idea! I’ll meet you in your lobby in 40 minutes then!

Minho smiled as he put his phone away to focus on his work, trying not to lose focus at the thought of seeing Jisung soon. After dropping his bag in his locker and putting on his jacket he headed down to meet Jisung, only a couple of minutes later than the time he had said. When he entered the lobby he saw Jisung already waiting for him, he turned to smile at him, two to-go coffee cups in his hands.

“Hey!” Jisung said with his smile lighting up the whole building.

“You look cute all bundled up in your coat and scarf.” Minho said as he took in the sight of Jisung’s cheeks being pushed up by the scarf tied tight on his neck.

“Cute and functional. I got you your americano.” Jisung said, passing Minho one of the cups as they headed to leave the building and towards the little park that was close. It wasn’t a big park, just grass and a path circling a pond, but it was much nicer to walk than the busy city streets surrounding it.

“You’re the fucking sweetest. What drink do you have?” Minho asked, cupping his hands around the cup to keep warm as they ventured into the chill of the outdoors.

“I got a hot chocolate with two espresso shots added to it.” Jisung giggled.

“Sounds perfect for you. Sweet and exhilarating.” Minho chuckled as they set a steady pace for their walk.

“So Changbin tells me he ran into you at the gym this week.”

“Oh yeah, he’s usually a night gym guy from what I can tell, and I like to get my work out over with as soon as I can so we don’t usually see each other, but I guess his routine has been messed up recently or something.”

“Yeah… I think he might be seeing someone, but he’s being real cagey about it.”

“Hmm, I think you might be right.”

“So, you go to the gym a lot, do you like working out like Binnie and Channie do?”

“Fuck no!” Minho laughed. “But maintaining strong muscles and physical stamina really makes my work of dancing for hours non-stop much easier.”

“That’s actually really smart!” Jisung chuckled.

“Yeah, besides being strong means my threats against my dearest friends don’t have to be idle, I really can destroy them physically if I so choose.” Minho laughed.

“Even Changbin?”

“Man has no stamina, I could take him.”

“Not Felix, he has like, stupid black belt skills in Taekwondo.”

“You say that like I also don’t have a black belt.” Minho playfully flicked his eyebrow at him before laughing and continuing his discussion about working out. “But as for the gym, I don’t actually like using energy unless I have to, but the gym means that when I do use my energy, it’s easier. You know, strong muscles work more efficiently. So I suffer through the pain of workouts to make myself better at dancing… And other exerting activities I enjoy.”

“I can so see you having a gym routine to train to be good in bed.”

“In bed, against the wall, in the shower, over a table. Wherever is good.” Minho added, just to get the thrill of seeing Jisung hide his face in his scarf as he couldn’t conceal how flustered he was.

“Quite the sexual explorer.” Jisung said with a mildly strained laugh.

“I do my best.” Minho smirked, seeing Jisung’s cheeks a little pinker than they had been from the crisp air when he emerged from his scarf hidey-hole.

“So I hear.” Jisung laughed again before sipping from his cup. “You do seem to be able to make any conversation topic about sex.”

“Not always, but for some reason when I’m around you it’s just where my mind seems to end up.” Minho said, risking giving Jising a lingering, lust-filled gaze. Jisung bit his lip and made a strange noise in his throat when he tore his eyes from Minho’s.

“I…” Jisung coughed as he looked back at him. “I know exactly what you mean.” Minho felt a tug inside, his desire surging at Jisung’s words.

“You’re gonna make me lose my mind.” Minho said with a smile before turning the conversation to a less heated topic. “So, game night at mine on Saturday, but what are your plans for Friday?”

“I think I’m going to Lix’s after work. He has to edit his latest video, but he likes to have company so we will eat together and maybe have a movie on, playing quietly. Innie might join us too. What about you?”

“I hadn’t thought of it. I think I should probably have Seungmin over for a meal. Best friends catch up time, you know.”

“Share the week's gossip. I do enjoy those days.”

They walked together for as long as Minho could be away from work, slipping into a comfortable conversation, only bordering on flirting a couple more times. Jisung walked Minho back to the dance studio when he needed to return to work. Minho had to exert all his self restraint not to kiss him as he stood at the entrance, kicking his feet adorably as he said goodbye. Minho made a point to message Seungmin to invite him over to cook for him on Friday. 

MINHO: Hey, wanna come over for food and a catch up on Friday? 

SEUNGMIN: Sounds good. I won’t be staying too long though, I told Binnie I’d go to his Friday night.

MINHO: No problem, come over as soon as I’m home from work. I wanna be rested if I have to host you guys on Saturday anyway.

SEUNGMIN: See you then.

On Friday Minho started cooking as soon as he got home, knowing Seungin wouldn’t want to be waiting around for food while trying to not seem impatient about running off to be in Changbin’s arms. He had told Seungmin to let himself in when he arrived, not wanting to have to step away from the frittata he was making. He was close to serving up when he heard Seungmin entering the apartment.

“Hey! I’m here!” Seungmin called from the doorway.

“Sit down, I’ll be in with food in a minute.” Minho called, as he got the plates ready to serve.

Minho brought Seungmin his plate, filled with the egg dish and a side of dressed salad and a can of soda before getting his own and getting comfortable on the sofa next to him. They ate in silence before Minho decided that while he wasn’t going to be betraying any confidences of Changbin’s, he just didn’t feel comfortable feeling like he was going behind his friend's back without letting him know.

“So, I talked to Changbin on Monday.” Minho opened up when they had finished eating.

“Oh?” Seunmgin said, turning to face Minho.

“Yeah, he’s been going to the gym in the mornings recently. Something appears to have thrown his schedule off.” Minho said and saw Seungmin’s smug chuckle. “But anyway, I talked about you. And I’m not gonna say what we said, cos you know, discretion or something, but I just didn’t feel right keeping it from you that we talked about you.”

“Oh…” Seungmin frowned slightly as he took in the information then his face relaxed and he shrugged, seeming unphased. “Okay, yeah.”

“I will tell you that he didn’t say anything that made me inflict violence on him, so that’s something. Right?”

“Sure, but it’s easy for him not to say anything to piss you off when he doesn’t talk.” Seumgmin scoffed, not seeming actually upset in any way.

“Oh, so did you actually talk to him about what you’re doing then?” Minho asked with a teasing grin.

“Right, fine, no I haven’t.” Seumgin rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, so maybe go easy on the hypocritical criticism, yeah?”

“Yeah, alright.”

“So, how are things going with you two?”

“Oh god! The sex? I have never had anything like this before! It’s more nights than not now! But also… He… He’s feeling like my friend again. After sex, we just chat, and hang out. All that tension, the looming feeling of dread, it’s kinda just gone. It’s like he switches from being the man who gives me the most mind blowing orgasms of my life to being my friend again the second we’re done. I didn’t know how much I’d missed him. Being just friends without the unspoken game going on I mean.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It is… So I haven’t talked to him. I honestly just like it like this. I know I should be doing the sensible thing, but it just feels so good. I want to enjoy it before it blows up again. Am I being an idiot?”

“Always.” Minho laughed. “But it’s okay to enjoy yourself. Let yourself be happy without the worry of how long it will last. Talk when you can, but if you’re both seeming to enjoy this, where's the harm?”

“Wow, that was shockingly non-judgmental. Yeah, I will talk to him. But not right now. I wanna ride this out as long as I can.”

“And by that you mean you want to ride Changbin as long as you can.”

“And I will as soon as I’m done with you.” Seungmin gave him a deceptively sweet smile. “So, you and Sung? How has he been with you since your hot make out sesh?”

“Kinda flirty. Like really flirty.” Minho chuckled a little. “Like he was flirty before, but now…”

“Now?”

“Okay, so I told him I want to kiss him again, if he kisses me.” Minho chuckled a little. “So the ball is in his court, and he is saying things that give me no doubt he wants to. I think when he does kiss me I’m gonna tell him I want more. I really do think he wants that too. I’m not gonna rush him, but he is not being shy about showing interest anymore.”

“It didn’t take him all that long to warm up to you, really.”

“No. I’m thinking he might have just needed to be friends with me before he felt comfortable enough to have sex with me. When sober at least.”

“It’s like you and Felix all over again.” Seungmin chuckled lightly.

“Nah, it’s the inverse. Me and Felix started with sex, then the friendship grew out of that. I honestly get the feeling Jisung has mostly only had sex with people when drunk at parties.”

“That checks out.”

“That or he’s had a bad relationship maybe? But he seems surprised I’m willing to put in the effort to let him get comfortable with me. That I didn’t get bored as soon as it got a little less easy.” Minho sighed. “I hate the idea of him only hooking up with strangers who don’t care about him when drunk. Just using him without any thought for him.”

“Oh, you mean like you wanted to when you first saw him?” Seungmin asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Oh well fuck, way to make me hate myself.” Minho scoffed. “I’m glad he shot me down. He’s not the kinda guy who wants to be faceless, nameless, bent over in a public toilet. He deserves to have time to be comfortable, and feel safe. It really does make me sick the thought that he’s been drunk, kissing and fucking people he doesn’t know because it’s the easiest way to bypass his anxiety. The fucking questionable consent of it aside, I just can’t stand the thought of him like that. With people like that.”

“Holy shit man.” Seungmin laughed.

“What?”

“You two really are fully friends now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah?” Minho asked, frowning at what Seungmin was trying to get at.

“You’ve enacted your fully protective friend mode with him now.”

“My god, this is the second time someone has called me protective this week.”

“Well, I mean you are. Remember that time Hyunjin’s ex got too handsy when Jinnie was wasted? Changbin had to lift you up to get you off him.”

“That fucker was asking for it! But I see your point.” Minho sighed. “I hope Jisung likes feeling protected.” 

“I think he does. He likes being taken care of from what I can tell. I’m glad he has you looking out for him now. He’s feisty, but it will do him good to have someone fighting his side like you do.”

“He can handle himself, but yeah, I kinda can’t help but want to look out for him now.” Minho smiled at the thought, then sighed and looked at Seungmin who was checking his phone. “Alright, go bounce on cock for your evening.”

“I will, thanks!” Seungmin said with a grin.

“You’re coming back tomorrow night, right?”

“Yeah, Changbin is working tomorrow, something about missing too much work in the week because of some reason or other.” Seungmin smirked. “I can balance his cock and my work and social life, it’s on him if he can’t handle his life.” 

“You love causing chaos. Go, have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Minho smiled and watched as Seungmin cleared up for them before he left to have his night of sexual delights. 

Minho sighed, then got out his phone to continue messaging Jisung before he went to bed. On Saturday Minho didn’t run into Changbin at the gym when he went to work out, and he smiled to himself knowing that he was probably still a prisoner in bed with Seungmin. On his way home Minho bought the ingredients for all the finger food he had planned to make for the gaming night. He heard Jeongin in his room, talking to someone in a game from the sounds of it, as he started to make the living room presentable. He ended up abandoning his cleaning task to start cooking as the afternoon started to pass. He was deep in the process of cooking the mini quiches he was deeply regretting choosing to bake when he was interrupted by Jeonign exclaiming from the kitchen doorway.

“Holy shit man! What are you doing?” Jeongin asked as he took in the sight of chaos in the kitchen.

“I am cooking food for tonight.”

“We have like four of our close friends coming over, why are you catering a wedding?” Jeongin laughed.

“I like to cook!” Minho snapped before laughing. “I got carried away I think. Well, I’ve started now, I’m gonna finish.”

“Need any help?”

“Could you vacuum the living room and light a nice scented candle for me?”

“God, you are high maintenance when hosting. I’m on it.”

Minho turned back to his mission of going overboard on finger food. He had cheesecake bites chilling in the fridge and crab cakes waiting for the oven. He shook his head, wondering what had possessed him to go to these lengths as he took a photo of the food preparation mess and sent it to Jisung. Minho managed to keep his cool and have everything ready before their friends arrived, and Jeongin helped him clean the disaster that he had turned the kitchen into once everything had been prepared. They placed the food and chilled beer and sodas on the coffee table when their friends had said they were on their way, and Minho went to change out of the clothes that had the evidence of a day full of cooking splattered over them. He was clean and presentable just as there was a knock on the door. Minho went to let in their friends as Jeongin was setting up the game console.

“Shit man! It smells so good in here!” Hyunjin exclaimed as he pushed past Minho to hunt for the food.

“You cooked again?” Seungmin asked with a laugh as he followed Hyunjin to the table of snacks.

“He went insane cooking. I was worried for my life.” Jeongin supplied.

“I’d watch out if I was you Innie, he might cook you up like that cannibal show he likes.” Seungmin added as Felix joined them. 

As Minho closed the door he noticed the only one who hadn’t run to the food display was Jisung. Minho had sent him plenty of pictures of all the food he had made, so he already knew what was on offer. It was clear that was not why his interest was otherwise occupied with things other than food.

“So, this is your apartment?” Jisung said, letting his eyes roam over the room as he shuffled to stand close to Minho. “Wanna show me your room?” Minho looked into Jisung’s wide eyes, his playful smile not concealing the nervous swallow.

“Sure thing.” Minho smiled back, placing his hand on Jisung’s lower back to guide him to his bedroom.

Minho kept his hand on Jisung until he stepped into his room, dropping his hand so he could step ahead of Jisung, giving him the control to decide if he wanted the door open or closed. Minho smiled as he saw Jisung quietly close the door before following Minho into the centre of the room. He stood close to him, and his eyes darted around, but kept coming back to look at Minho.

“It’s nice.” Jisung said and Minho chuckled.

“I’m glad you like it.” 

“So…” Jisung said and inched closer to Minho before locking eyes with him. Minho could see Jisung’s nerves as he tried to appear confident. “I’ve been thinking about that kiss all week.”

“Me too.” Minho said, bringing a hand to trail over Jisung’s cheek and into his hair.

“I want…” Jisung bit his lip and took a deep breath. “Would you do it again?”

“Do what again?” Minho asked, moving his face closer.

“You know… Kiss me?”

“I would.” Minho smirked at Jisung's clear frustration.

“Will you?”

“You want me to kiss you?”

“Please?” Jisung breathed, his own hands coming to grip the front of Minho’s top. 

Minho closed the distance slowly, and placed a very light and brief kiss on Jisung’s lips.

“Like that?” Minho asked close to a whisper.

“More!” Jisung whined. Minho repeated the gentle kiss, pulling back before Jisung could deepen it, then again until Jisung was starting to claw at his chest and making whining noises between kisses.

“Minho! You said you’d kiss me!” Jisung pouted, scowling at Minho.

“I am kissing you.” Minho teased, loving how cute Jisung was when he was getting desperate.

“No! You know what I mean!”

“Do I?”

“Don’t be mean!”

“How about you kiss me the way you want?” Minho smirked, insistent on getting Jisung to initiate this time.

Jisung nodded then slipped his arms around Minho’s neck and crashed their lips together, almost painfully in his eagerness before kissing him hard. Minho smiled against his lips before dropping his hands to Jisung’s back to hold him as he kissed back, letting Jisung’s tongue find its way in his mouth. Minho ran his tongue over Jisung’s and felt Jisung relaxing as he realised Minho was kissing him back and giving him what he wanted. They kissed for a while before Minho noticed Jsiung swaying, tipping on his toes as he seemed to want to get closer but unsure how. He put his hands on Jisung’s waist as he moved back from the kiss, and smiled as Jisung whined and pouted at the loss.

“Come here.” Minho said walking to sit on the end of the bed, with Jisung standing in front of him. Jisung stalled for a moment before Minho helped to guide him down to straddle him. “Okay?” Minho asked as Jiusng looked down at him, his hands gripping his shoulders.

Jisung looked at him for a moment like he was debating it, then his eyes flicked to Minho’s lips and he nodded before darting forward to connect them again. Minho let his hands roam Jisung’s back, forcing himself to not slip under his top as tempting as it was, not wanting to risk this leading to more than they should do right now. He did allow himself to drop a hand down and squeeze Jisung’s ass. Jisung moaned into his mouth and pushed him back. Minho let himself drop to the bed, Jisung following him down, not letting their lips part for a second. Minho wrapped one arm around his waist, holding him close, as the other hand was occupied in kneading the flesh of his ass as he started to wiggled and rock above him. Jisung’s breaths were coming out of his nose rapidly and hard, sweeping over Minho’s face as his hips lowered down and he ended up grinding against him. Jisung let out a low moan before freezing, his body going rigid in Minho’s hold before he sat up, looking shocked at himself.

“It’s okay.” Minho soothed, sitting up and moving his hands to lightly hold his waist, making sure he didn’t topple to the floor. Jisung focused and looked at Minho, seeming tense but not panicked. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have let this go any further. Not with our friends out there and you not telling me that you wanted it.” Minho saw Jisung let out a breath of relief and nod, and felt his body starting to relax. 

“Okay, yeah.”

“But, I do want to go further.” Minho said, and waited a second as Jisung seemed to absorb it. “I want more of this. More of you. I want all of you.” Minho stroked a hand over Jisung’s back lightly. “I won’t do anything you don’t want, but unless I’m reading this all wrong, I think you might want more too?” Jisung bit his lip but didn’t answer. “So, if you do want more, you just say the word, but I’m not gonna push without you inviting it. So don’t worry. Even caught up in the moment. I’m not gonna cross a line without you telling me you want more.”

“Okay… Time to think about it, yeah?” Jisung’s eyes were open and vulnerable, and screaming of a sweet innocence that Minho hoped to protect. 

“All the time you need. And if you don’t want more, that’s okay. I still like you.”

“Okay…” Jisung bit his lip again, almost chewing at the poor flesh. “Can we still kiss?”

“We can do anything you want. You know I want it.”

“Okay. So can we keep kissing now. Just kissing? For a little while at least?”

“That sounds good to me.” Minho smiled and gripped Jisung’s hips to move him to sit next to him on the bed. “Side by side will give a buffer to make sure we don’t get too hot and heavy.”

“I think maybe kissing you is always gonna be hot and heavy to me.” Jisung chuckled, his hands still gripping Minho.

“You have a point there.” Minho chuckled and looked at him, his beauty beyond anything he could compare it to. “Well, it will at least create a physical space so we don’t accidentally get caught up, yeah?”

“That’s good. Thanks… For like, being so understanding. And for going to all these extra lengths instead of just taking what you can get.”

“It’s the bare minimum, Sung. Your boundaries need to be respected. Why would I get enjoyment from this if I don’t know for sure you feel comfortable, safe and as into it as I do. Don’t praise me for treating you like an autonomous human.”

“Okay. But, too many words, not enough kissing.” Jisung grinned as he lightly tugged Minho back in for another prolonged make out session.

Minho lost track of how long they stayed there, kissing, deep and passionate, but both not letting it go any further than that. Minho kept his hands above Jisung’s waist, and not gripping and groping him too much so as to help stop Jisung getting caught up again. Eventually they slowed down and then stopped, gazing at each other for a moment before chuckling.

“The guys are absolutely gonna know what we were doing in here.” Minho laughed, running his thumb lightly over Jisung’s lips and wiping away the saliva coating them.

“I mean, Felix already knows I was gonna kiss you tonight.”

“Yeah, and Seungmin and Hyunjin know we have kissed. They knew I was interested in you before I even properly spoke to you.”

“I don’t know about Innie. I’ve talked about you around him, but it’s hard to tell the difference between him not paying attention and him just not caring.”

“Yeah, he’s a hard one to read. Well if he does know he either won’t care or will tease us mercilessly. But if he teases you I will cut off his food supply, so don’t worry.”

“I can handle myself with Innie, don’t worry.” Jisung smiled sweetly, showing him that while he seemed shy about it, he wasn’t ashamed that his friend knew they were kissing.

“So, ready to go join them?” Minho asked, reluctant to let Jisung leave his room, but knowing they couldn’t ditch their friends to make out all night. Well, he could, but he wasn’t going to monopolise Jisung’s night like that. 

Jisung took a few deep calming breaths then smiled and nodded. They got up and went back into the living room. As soon as they left his room, Minho saw Hyunjin leering at him and Felix looking up to smile at Jisung before returning his eyes to the screen. The four men had taken over the couch, Hyunjin’s legs draped over Felix to make room for them to all squeeze on. Minho took Jisung’s wrist and led him to the end of the couch before sitting on the floor, his back resting against the arm. He looked up at Jisung and gestured for him to sit between his legs. He wrapped his arms around him, and trapped him with his legs before moving close to his ear.

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Comfy.” Jisung turned to smile at him before watching the end of the game the other four were playing.

Jisung leaned back to rest his back against Minho’s chest, fully relaxing against his body. As the night wore on, the only times Jisung left the warmth of his embrace was when he sat forward to play, or leaned over to get food and eat. Minho eventually locked his legs over Jisung’s, pulling him back as he had decided he wasn’t letting him move anymore.

“Mmm, you really are good at this. Maybe you are my cuddle buddy after all.” Jisung said, moving his head a little to look at Minho as he laid against him.

“Good, because I was getting kinda jealous of that hamster bastard that gets to have you wrapped around it every night.”

“Don't speak bad about my stuffie!” Jisung pouted then smiled. “But I have to admit, it is nicer to cuddle with people.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Minho chuckled and Jisung dropped his head into the crook of Minho’s neck, fully relaxing his body.

Minho frowned, he wasn’t really much of a cuddler. It’s not like he was averse to physical affection or anything, but he didn’t seek it out usually. Right now though, there was nothing else he'd rather be doing or anywhere else he’d rather be than here with Jisung nestled in his arms. Minho was genuinely debating asking Jisung to stay the night. To take him to his bed just so he could hold him all night. He knew better though, even if Minho was confident he wouldn’t overstep into something too heavy with him in his bed, he didn’t doubt Jisung would worry about it, and maybe even struggle to relax. He wondered about the deal of asking a friend to become a cuddle buddy and take naps together as he let the relaxing joy of feeling Jisung melt into him. Because of how much he was enjoying the contact, Minho didn’t make a move to wake Jisung when he noticed him drifting to sleep, his breathing becoming deep and regular as his head sank against his neck.

Jisung napped on top of Minho only for about half an hour before he mumbled and wriggled. He blinked his eyes open and looked at Minho, and frowned as his mind seemed to be trying to piece together why he was seeing Minho so close after waking up. Minho smiled and ran his fingers through Jisung’s hair.

“Hey, you fell asleep.” Minho told him as Jisung took in the room and nodded, face scrunched up with tiredness. “Do you need to go home to sleep?” 

“Mmm.” Jisung hummed, sitting up and rubbing his face.

“Alright guys, Jisung is falling asleep, and it’s about time I should go to bed too. So I’m gonna kick you all out now.” Minho announced to the others as he helped Jisung up onto his feet.

“Yeah, I wanna get going now anyway.” Seungmin said as he looked at his phone.

“I should catch up on my beauty sleep, I have a shoot coming up in a few weeks.” Hyunjin told them as he stood up and popped another mini quiche in his mouth.

“Not that I’m that guy, but shouldn't you be eating less pastry if you have a modelling shoot soon?”

“Yeah, I diet during the week, but the weekend is my time.” Hyunjin chuckled as they all got ready to leave. Minho slipped behind Jisung and moved his mouth to his ear.

“Want me to walk you home?”

“No, Felix will do it, we live close to each other.” Jisung said, turning a sleepy smile to Minho.

“I had fun tonight.”

“Me too. Can we meet for coffee again next week?”

“Of course. I’ll see you then.” Minho moved his mouth to brush over his cheek, not quite kissing him but enough to make Jisung shiver slightly.

Minho cleaned up after they had all left, Jeongin helping before disappearing into his room to spend all night gaming on his computer. Minho waited up until Jisung messaged to tell him he was home safe and tucked up in bed before he finally let himself fall asleep in his very noticeably empty bed.

Chapter Text

HYUNJIN: Okay bitches! I’m having my birthday party next Saturday! If you’re not there it means you don’t love me and I will burn your clothes on Chan’s lawn.

CHAN: Why my lawn?

HYUNJIN: You’re the only one with a lawn. So you better be there if you like your things.

CHAN: Okay, yeah, where, when?

HYUNJIN: Okay, so Saturday, I’m getting everyone to go bar crawling. I’ve already messaged everyone I know. But you 7 are the most important.

MINHO: Why so soon? Wouldn’t the weekend after your birthday make more sense?

HYUNJIN: It would, but I have a shoot that weekend. So next Saturday it is.

JEONGIN: Fuck yeah! I’ll be there!

CHANGBIN: I’m down. Are we going for food first?

HYUNJIN: I have a shoot the weekend after. I’m eating a salad and taking vitamins before drinking all my calories.

MINHO: Super healthy. 

SEUNGMIN: Yeah, count me in.

JISUNG: I’ll be there. And bar crawling? So like, lots of different bars?

HYUNJIN: Yeah, but you can leave whenever you’ve had enough Sungie, I’ll be happy just to see you even if not for long.

MINHO: I’ll be there. Do you still want me to take you out for your actual birthday as well?

HYUNJIN: Yes please! It will be my last indulgence before I’m camera ready.

FELIX: I’m gonna get so drunk I forget one of the languages I know!

JISUNG: You do that whenever a camera points at you anyway. I’ve seen you try and explain shit on your YouTube.

FELIX: My lack of camera eloquence has nothing to do with my linguistic skills!

JISUNG: Put down the thesaurus, nerd.

HYUNJIN: So that’s everyone? Fuck yeah! Okay, Saturday, we will all meet at bar Miroh!

Minho went back to enjoying his Sunday, relaxing on the couch as Jisung was messaging him a running commentary of the anime he was currently watching. Jisung even ended up calling him while Minho was cooking dinner so he could yell about the ending. Minho laughed as he listened, finding Jisung’s uncontainable excitement about the show he had binged in one day beyond endearing. They were in almost constant contact now, not addressing the kisses and the lingering offer of more as they talked about everything and nothing each day. They met for coffee again during the week, going to a cafe Jisung dragged Minho to when it was too cold to walk. The week passed fast as Minho spent all his time talking to Jisung and working, and occasionally running into Changbin at the gym as his routine seemed to have been permanently altered by his insatiable need to spend all his nights with Seungmin. Before he knew it, Saturday was upon him, and with it the looming night of crowded bars filled with strangers and people he knew, but it was not feeling as distasteful knowing that he would be spending it with Jisung. 

Minho made himself and Jeongin a meal before they went out, since Hyunjin wasn’t including a restaurant in his nights plans, and sent a message to the group chat to remind the others to eat too. He also reminded Jisung personally multiple times during the day as he worried about how drunk Jisung would get if he was drinking to help him tolerate the crowd on an empty stomach. Minho got dressed in some of his going out clothes, not putting as much effort into looking as fuckable as possible, and not taking lube and condoms as he did not have sex on his nights itinerary. Not that he would necessarily refuse if Jisung suggested it tonight, but he wasn’t exactly thinking that after a night at the bars, even if Jisung wasn’t drunk, would be the most level headed time to take an offer of sex from Jisung.

Minho and Jeongin headed to the bar together, setting off in enough time to not be late, neither caring to be on the receiving end of a rant from Hyunjin about them not respecting the sanctity of his birthday party. The bar was thankfully not too crowded, with the exception of the mass of Hyunjin’s friends gathered around a couple of tables in the corner. Hyunjin had them meeting pretty early on in the night, so the usual weekend crowds hadn’t gotten too dense yet. They walked over and waved Hyunjin’s attention to their punctuality, even though they were still later than what appeared to be most of the party goers. 

“Hey! I think that’s all of my boys now!” Hyunjin cooed as he pulled them both into a crushing hug. 

“We set off early and were still the last ones? Why do I even bother trying?” Minho grumbled as Jeongin slipped from Hyunjin’s arm to head to Chan.

“It’s because you wasted time actually cooking. We just stopped for food on the way, much quicker." Jisung said as he detached from Chan’s side to slip next to Minho, swapping places with Jeongin.

“So you did eat then? You could have told me, I almost bagged sandwiches for you the way you were being evasive with me.” Minho smiled, running a hand down Jisung’s spine as he appreciated how good he looked tonight.

“I was letting Felix make my choices for food, so I didn’t know what we were eating until it was in front of me.” Jisung said with a grin, his own eyes seeming to also be taking in all of Minho.

“And how many pre-bar drinks did you have to take the edge off the crowd?”

“I’m raw dogging reality this time. Felix said he won’t keep a baby leash on me and I’m not to be trusted drunk going to several locations. And he has a hell of a point.”

“I could look after you?”

“Thanks, but… I think I need to stay sober tonight. I may have some impulse control issues if I get drunk right now.” Jisung chuckled.

“Okay, well is there anything we can do to make the crowd easier on you?”

“Can I stick by you? You’re kinda a comforting presence. And Felix was looking forward to going wild tonight so I don’t want to slow him down. I know Chan would look out for me, but I think I might have more fun with you?” Jisung looked at him with soft, hopeful eyes.

“Sounds like the best way to spend my night. Stick by me, I’m not a fan of having to make small talk with people, and I only fuck with strangers when I’m fucking them, so we will be avoiding most of the crowd. You just let me know when you need to go home too.” Minho told him and got a bright smile and nod in return.

They stayed at the bar until Hyunjin had realised that everyone had arrived, then he ushered a large group to the next bar on the list. This one was much busier, and the group dissipated into subgroups around the large room. Minho took Jisung to an area where he could keep an eye on the rest of the groups but where they weren’t in the middle of the action. When they had found their place Jisung had shifted closer to Minho, silent as his wide eyes darted over the room. It seemed the crowd and louder music in this bar was harder for Jisung to tolerate. Minho moved a hand to start rubbing gentle circles over Jisung’s back. He sighed and dropped his weight against Minho, leaning into his half embrace. After a while one of Hyunjin or Changbin’s friends, Minho couldn’t remember which one of them had introduced him, Yeonjun pranced over with a sultry smile.

“Lino, it’s been a while.” Yeonjun said with his eyes trailing over him.

“I prefer to avoid crowds when I’m not hunting for a quick fuck.” Minho scoffed, feeling Jisung shifting next to him.

“Well, in that case I’m glad to see you here. Wanna skip the pleasantries and get out of here?” Yeonjun said and Minho heard Jisung scoff, probably at how similar the crass proposition was to the one Minho had given Jisung when they first met.

“I’m kinda hanging out with Sung tonight.” Minho said firmly, tipping his head to indicate him. Yeonjun looked to his side as if he had only just noticed Jisung was even there. A slight Minho felt showed enough lack of taste he thought he would never take Yeonjun up on an offer of sex again.

“Oh, hey Jisung, you were great at your gig the other month, are you guys performing again soon?” 

“Yeah, I’m not sure. You’re better asking Chan about that stuff.” Jisung said with a stiff smile, and Minho felt him tensing up.

“Sick. Alright, well catch up with me later if you want, yeah?” Yeonjun said before turning and disappearing in the crowd as Minho made a groan of distaste in his throat.

“Dick.” Minho muttered before turning to look at Jisung. “So you know Yeonjun?”

“Yeah, kinda… not really. I’ve seen him at parties. I guess you know him? And by know I mean fucked?” Jisung laughed lightly.

“You know, I’m kinda bad with memory, so I don’t always keep track of which of my friends friends I’ve fucked.” Minho’s eyes ran over the club, wondering how many of the guys here he’d already had sex with. “But yeah, me and Yeonjun hooked up a couple of times.”

“You can go, if that’s what you want.” Jisung said, and Minho searched his face for jealousy, for upset, and while Jisung was frowning, he seemed to be genuinely offering Minho an opening to leave him to hook up with someone.

“No Sungie. I told you I’d look after you tonight. Last I checked, leaving to have some mediocre sex didn’t count as looking after you.”

“I know, but I don’t want to get in the way of you having a good night. Chan can look after me, or I can just go home.”

“No, you don’t get it. I want to look after you Sung.” Jisung tilted his head as he gazed at him. “You know, you’re a really good friend. To me, sure, but you always come to these things for them from what I hear. Yet these kinds of things, crowds and new places are really hard on you. I, on the other hand, don’t like these things, so I just don’t go. I try to make up for it with giving them my time after, but you know it will be hard for you, and you go anyway, to be there for your friends. I like that, and I’m impressed by that. So, I want to be here, to do what I can to make that an easier task for you. I want to be a good friend to you while you’re being a good friend to them. I’d feel good just knowing your night was a little less hard because I was here. So no. I’m not gonna leave to fuck someone else. Because I don’t want to. I want to stay with you.”

“Oh…” Jisung stared at Minho with a look of awe before his face broke out into a smile. “It’s not all selfless. I get bad FOMO when I miss the nights out.” Jisung chuckled as he relaxed in Minho’s hold again. 

“I stand by what I said.” Minho grinned, moving his hand to hold Jisung more firmly.

“As long as I don’t have to feel guilty for keeping you all to myself.” Jisung said, his smile suddenly turning flirty.

“With me, you can always be guilt free.”

“Nice rhyme, I’ll steal it for lyrics.” Jisung laughed, lifting his own arm to hold Minho around the back as they slipped back into a more comfortable silence.

They stayed out of the crowds, moving to drift to talk to some of their friends occasionally, trying not to burn out Jisung’s social battery. The next bar they went to seemed much closer to a club, more dancefloor than tables and standing areas. Minho asked Jisung if he wanted to dance as soon as he saw him glancing around like a scared animal, hoping that he could distract him and give him some enjoyment before he needed to go home. They moved to a few songs, Jisung seeming to be able to use the music to block out the other people. Minho kept one hand on him at all times, not wanting to lose him, but also just wanting to know he was close. Eventually Jisung drifted closer, and then even closer, and soon he was pressed against Minho, arms around his neck as they swayed to the music.

“Can I?” Jisung asked.

“You can do anything you want.” Minho told him, wrapping his arms around him to press them flush together as Jisung moved forward to place their lips together.

Minho held Jisung close, protectively trying to make sure no one knocked into them as Jisung melted into the kiss. Minho let himself enjoy the kiss as much as he could while staying alert enough to keep them from getting jostled by the press of people surrounding them. Even with his attention divided, kissing Jisung was so good it felt like his skin was on fire, aching for more. They stood on the dancefloor making out for a few songs before Jisung pulled back, half lidded eyes gazing longingly at Minho.

“Are you okay?” Minho asked, running a thumb over Jisung’s cheek.

“Yeah, just… A little worked up.” Jisung chuckled nervously. “I might be done with the bar. I’m pushing overstimulation now.” Jisung said with a playful grin.

“Want me to take you home?”

“Only if you’re leaving anyway.”

“If you are, I have no reason to be here anymore.” Minho smiled and Jisung nodded.

They walked over to where Hyunjin and most of their friends were as Jisung insisted they had to let them know they were leaving.

“Hey, Jinnie?” Jisung called out to him. “I’m gonna leave, I’ve hit my limit of peopling for the night.” 

“Aww! Come here.” Hyunjin stumbled over and tugged Jisung into a clumsy hug, Jisung chuckling at his drunken affection. “Thank you for coming!”

“So, are you free now then?” Yeonjun asked Minho when Jisung was freed from Hyunjin's hold.

“I was actually gonna take him home.” Minho said and saw Jisung smirking at Yeonjun.

“Oh… Right, of course. See you later.” Yeonjun smiled, looking rejected before turning his attention away.

“He thinks you ditched him to fuck me.” Jisung said, moving closer to Minho so he wasn’t overheard.

“Do you think he’d feel more rejected if he knew I was ditching him just to hang out with you and walk you home?”

“So much more.” Jisung smirked before they waved goodbye to the group and Minho put his arm around Jisung to guide him out of the club.

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other as they walked to Jiusng’s apartment. Gripping and roaming over each other as they walked, Jisung being much less talkative than usual. By the time Jisung opened the door to his apartment, it was clear they were both very much filled with desire. Jisung turned to face Minho and hesitated, looking over his shoulder in his apartment and frowning as he seemed to be thinking before looking at Minho and opening his mouth wordlessly a few times. Minho gave him a minute before he determined it was too much uncertainty for him to be comfortable accepting if Jisung invited him inside.

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” Minho asked, releasing Jisung from his internal debate.

“Please.” Jisung said, sighing as he reached out to grip him.

Minho leaned in and connected them again, delighting in the soft sigh Jisung made as Minho ran his hands all over his back, and roaming to his ass. Minho let himself fully focus on him, on the feeling this time, pushing Jisung against the doorframe lightly as they tried to devour each other. Jisung was clawing at Minho’s back, his leg lifting up to hook over Minho’s. Minho dropped a hand to grip and hold Jisung’s thigh, digging his fingers lightly into his flesh.

Minho only pulled back when he felt his blood taking a sharp trip south from his brain, and he knew it was just going to get harder to stop from here.

“Oh shit.” Jisung muttered, eyes still closed as Minho moved back to look over his flushed face.

“Yeah.” Minho agreed as Jisung’s eyes fluttered open to settle on him. “I should go now. Are you okay?”

“I’m good…” Jisung took a deep breath and smiled. “Coffee on Wednesday?”

“Absolutely.” Minho moved back, trying not to look down when he saw Jisung moving a little awkwardly as he backed up to grip his door.

“Message me when you’re home in bed?”

“Sure thing. Talk soon.” Minho said, smiling before forcing himself to leave before the sight of how tempting Jisung looked changed his mind on being a good person.

Minho got home and got ready for bed, and was debating taking care of his pent up tension when he messaged Jisung.

MINHO: I’m home now.

JISUNG: In bed?

MINHO: Yeah, are you?

JISUNG: Yeah, but I think I'm too frustrated to sleep just yet.

MINHO: I could recommend some tension release techniques I find very satisfying and effective.

JISUNG: Oh, I am way ahead of you.

MINHO: Is that so?

JISUNG: No comment… Except that it is really hard to type one handed.

MINHO: Really hard is the right phrase. So, what are you thinking about?

JISUNG: Shut up!

MINHO: So you’re thinking about me?

JISUNG: Maybe.

MINHO: Good. I was just about to spend some time thinking about you too.

JISUNG: Oh fuck. I need to go. I can’t type anymore!

MINHO: Enjoy yourself. I know I will.

Minho reached down to grip his now very hard cock and chase for release with Jisung on his mind. Once he came down from the surprisingly strong orgasm from a solo session, he checked his phone and saw a simple goodnight message from Jisung. Minho smiled and sent off a selfie of his head on his pillow, knowing he looked flushed and it was obvious he had just cum, and a goodnight message before he settled down and let the post orgasm relaxation of his muscles tug him into a deep slumber.

Jeongin didn’t return home until late on Sunday, and Minho idly wondered if he actually was the type to hook up with people since he knew he wasn’t at Jisung or Felix's playing video games. He didn’t ask though, they didn’t really pry into each other's lives when it was not necessary, respecting each other's privacy as much as possible for people who lived together.

Minho’s week drifted quickly, working on new clients dances and taking time stealing moments to message Jisung, who seemed to be complaining about work this week. Jisung was annoyed about the amount of meetings they had to do about some new song they were working on. Minho didn’t quite follow the details, but understood that Jisung had been in meetings and it was stressing him out. Minho had made it his mission to take Jisung’s mind off it with the cutest and most ridiculous pictures of animals he could find, throwing in a few selfies with silly filters for good measure.

Minho struggled to focus on Wednesday, knowing Jisung was going to message to go for coffee sometime that day. The weather was nice again so they would probably go and walk in the park again. It was a wonderful little reprieve from a work day, and it made Minho’s week so much more bearable. With Jisung’s meetings and Minho seeing clients they ended up having to go on their lunch breaks to manage to fit it into both of their schedules. They bought toasted sandwiches with their hot drinks to eat as they walked. Minho let Jisung vent about work, not following much other than how much he hated having to be in a meeting setting and his brain seemed to fail him under the pressure.

“You sound like you are in need of more tension release.” Minho teased as they walked back to his dance studio.

“Right? I was honestly considering your suggestion of using bathroom toilets for personal stress relief yesterday!” Jisung said with a laugh. “I think the risk of being caught would just increase my stress though.”

“Well, maybe you can find something else you enjoy to try and take the edge off the week.”

“I have.” Jisung said with a coy smile as he glanced at him. Minho gave him a warm smile as they walked in silence for a couple more minutes until Minho was approaching his work. 

“Minho?” Jisung said, his hand gripping his wrist lightly to stop him from walking.

“What’s up?”

“Do you want to come to mine this Friday?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“But… Just you and me?”

“Just us?” Minho cocked his head curiously.

“You know… you said, the other week. You told me you wanted… more?”

“Yeah, I do.” Minho smiled softly as he looked at Jisung, a rising blush appearing on his cheeks.

“Well, I also… I want more too. I was thinking, you could come to mine, and we can… We can go further. Like you said.” Jisung was trying his hardest to meet Minho’s eyes, but he could only manage for a few seconds at a time before his gaze flitted away.

“You know I want to. Are you sure you do? I don’t want you to think you have to.”

“No, I do. I want this… You.” Jisung swallowed thickly and Minho could see he was having a hard time talking about this to him, and wanted to try and make it easier for him.

“Okay, of course I’ll come. Just know, more can be whatever you want. And if you change your mind when I get there, we can just watch a movie and relax. Or just kiss. It’s all okay. No pressure.” Minho was being as clear as he could while his mind was trying to go offline at what was being offered to him.

“Okay, yeah. I know. I know that.” Jisung grinned and nodded, dropping Minho’s wrist. “So, you’ll come to mine after work?”

“The second I’m free, I’ll be there.” Minho glanced around, seeing there was no one near them and reached out to cup Jisung’s cheek before quickly placing a small kiss on his lips then stepping back to see the smile spreading wide on his face.

“Okay! I’ll… I'll see you then!” Jisung said, still sounding beyond nervous, but looking happy and maybe even excited.  Minho lingered to watch as Jisung trotted away, glancing back once and waving before he disappeared from sight. 

Minho almost forgot he had planned to take Hyunjin out for a birthday meal with how much Jisung had spun his head that day. He fortunately had brought his gift with him to work, a delicate silver bracelet that Minho thought screamed of Hyunjin’s style, so he could go to meet him after showering right from the dance studio. They went to eat pasta at a nice Italian restaurant that Minho knew Hyunjin liked. He sat listening to Hyunjin talking about his drunken weekend, trying and failing to not drift off to thinking of Jisung.

“Okay, so where do you keep disappearing to?” Hyunjin eventually asked him with a smile.

“Sorry, I’m distracted.”

“Yeah, I can tell. Why?”

“Alright, I went for coffee with Sung at lunch today, and well… He invited me over to his place this Friday. Alone. Just us.” Minho couldn’t keep the wide grin from his face.

“Oh! Sungie’s not so shy anymore? Thinking it’s finally time for pound town?” Hyunjin asked, suddenly invested in Minho’s gossip.

“I don’t know. I think something. He said he wants more. To be fair I said it first, but he said he also wants more, and maybe that will be Friday.”

“I will count you out of any weekend plans in that case! Not that I’m going out with my shoot and all, but still. Friday after this one, we should meet up and gossip!”

“Fine, but I doubt Sung will be happy with me sharing details. But depending on how he feels, I can give a vague outline.” Minho smiled.

“I’m happy for you man! I never expected you to actually wait this long. You must be going crazy with pent up frustration.”

“I’ve got two hands, I can handle myself.” Minho smirked. He did his best to give Hyunjin his full attention for the rest of the evening before going back home. 

To say he was distracted the rest of the week would be an understatement. His mind was on Jisung, on what he had proposed every second, and it took a great mental force of will to get his mind to focus on any other task. He just about managed to make it the next few days without letting down his clients, and only burning the food of one meal. By the end of his work day on Friday, he was almost climbing out of his skin in anticipation. He knew Jisung hadn’t offered sex exactly, but he had wanted more, and Minho was so desperate to get his hands on him, to hear more sounds of pleasure, he felt close to losing his mind. 

Minho showered and changed at the dance studio before heading to Jisung’s apartment once he had checked Jisung was home, not having the patience to go back to his own place before rushing to him. He had to restrain himself from literally running on his walk to Jisung’s after letting him know he was on his way. Finally Minho was standing in front of Jisung’s door and gave himself a quick once over to make sure he looked okay before he knocked.

“Hey.” Jisung said with a tense smile when he opened the door. Minho beamed at him as he came in, running his eyes over Jisung in his comfortable sweatpants and baggy graphic T-shirt.

“Hey. You look really good.” Minho said as Jisung closed the door.

“I’m wearing lounge clothes, I look like trash.” Jisung chuckled.

“No, you look beautiful.” Minho said, using a finger to lift Jisung’s chin so he would look at him and could see he was being genuine.

“Oh… You're just saying that to get me into bed.” Jisung said, chuckling weakly.

“No. I don’t lie to get people into bed. I’m telling you that you look good because you do. And you should be told how good you look every fucking day.” Minho insisted and saw Jisung’s eyes soften as he finally accepted Minho truly did mean what he said.

“Okay. Well, you also look…” Jisung ran his own eyes over Minho and sighed. “Yeah, you look really fucking good too.” They looked at each other for a prolonged moment before Jisung finally snapped out of his gaze and walked them over to sit on the couch, throwing a movie on quietly in the background.

Minho was sitting close to Jisung, his arm resting on the back of the sofa behind him. Jisung was fidgeting where he sat, inching closer to Minho as he kept twitching his head to look at him. Minho smiled and turned to face Jisung, watching as he seemed to wrestle with how to initiate whatever it was he wanted. Jisung turned slightly, their legs pressed together as he had a couple of false starts to speak.

“What do you want, Sungie?” Minho finally prompted, enjoying Jisung being flustered.

“You know what I want.” Jisung said, furrowing his brow as his hands moved up to grip Minho’s top near his collar.

“Tell me.”

“I want… I want more.” Jisung’s fingers were scrabbling at him and his voice was close to wavering. “I want to go further.”

“How much further?” Minho asked, moving his hand to cup the side of his face.

“Anything. Everything…” Jisung sucked in a shaky breath, still fidgeting in his seat.

“You can’t even say what you want?” Minho smirked, not planning on drawing out his teasing, but also kind of wanting to actually hear Jisung confirm he wanted this.

“Minho!” Jisung whined with a pout. “Please, kiss me?” Jisung breathed.

Minho smiled as he stroked his thumb over Jisung’s cheek, then moved in and gave Jisung what he wanted. Jisung released a shaky breath as he groaned deep in his throat as their lips connected. Minho moved his other hand to grip Jisung’s waist, slipping under his top and rubbing Jisung’s skin as they deepened the kiss. Jisung whimpered lightly into his mouth as his fingers clawed at him, digging into him desperately as his body still shifted restlessly. Minho moved his hand down to grip Jisung’s thigh, earning a slight keening noise in his throat. 

“Minho…” Jisung whined into his mouth, not moving their lips apart as he said his name.

Minho hummed in response, and squeezed his thigh before he started to slide his hand up his leg. He felt Jisung’s breath stuttering, fanning over his cheek rapidly as Minho’s hand landed on his hip and squeezed before starting to drift towards his crotch.

“Wait!” Jisung suddenly demanded, his hand gripping Minho’s hand and stopping it before he started to cup him through his pants. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Jisung chanted as he pulled away from his mouth, eyes squeezed shut and head shaking slightly. 

“Okay.” Minho moved his hands from Jisung immediately and moved back a little on the couch so they were not touching at all while he looked over Jisung, worried at what had happened. “Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s not you.” Jisung released a tense and shaky breath as he opened his eyes. “It’s very much all me.” Jisung lifted his hands to rub his face before dropping them to grip the fabric of his pants over his knees. Minho noticed a slight tremble in his hands as he moved them.

“Jisung, you’re shaking?” Minho tried to keep his voice calm and level, not wanting to add any more tension to Jisung’s fraught nerves.

“Yeah…” Jisung took a deep breath and glanced at him. “I kinda have to tell you something.”

“Okay…” Minho’s mind raced with possibilities of what Jisung was about to share. Ranging from him telling him he didn’t trust him enough to be intimate, to confessing he had a secret wife and twin daughters hidden somewhere. “Tell me. You can tell me anything.”

“I’m sorry I freaked out in your mouth.” Jisung said with a nervous laugh, his hands gripping his pants so hard his fingers looked sore. “But I’ve just… I’ve never done this before.”

“You’ve never hooked up with a friend before?” Minho asked as Jisung raised his wide eyes to meet Minho’s, and shook his head. “Or you’ve never hooked up with anyone before?” Jisung confirmed that too. “Okay. So do you only have sex in relationships then?”

“I dont know.” Jisung let out a laugh that sounded almost painful. “I’ve never done that either. I’ve never done anything.”

“You’ve never…” Minho stared at him as the gears in his head spun to catch up to what Jisung had told him. “You haven’t ever had sex before?”

“No… And like, I think that’s where we were going… So I had to tell you…. I had to….” Jisung took a deep breath and bit his lip harshly.

Minho looked over Jisung, his shaking hands clasping his clothing harshly as his leg bounced. His body was tense and restless. His lip was held between his teeth, blooming red with the nervous chewing. His eyes wide and watery. Minho finally realised Jisung wasn’t just nervous, he was scared. Jisung was scared about the fact he was about to have sex with Minho. Sex for the first time. Jisung had never had sex with anyone, and he was about to give it to Minho. Minho’s mind started racing. He couldn't stand the realisation that he had made Jisung feel scared. He felt low. Then his mind was telling him he was making a massive mistake in pursuing Jisung. Jisung’s first time shouldn't be with someone who carelessly hit on him the first time he saw him. With someone who would have sex with people he didn’t know the names of. Someone who would fuck any guy he found attractive enough for him to get hard with. Someone who couldn’t even remember the faces of most of the people he had fucked. Jisung’s first time should be special. Minho wasn’t special. Minho, right now, felt like the worst person in the world, and he could not allow Jisung to throw away something that he had held onto for so long with someone like him.

“What am I doing here?” Minho asked himself, looking at Jisung’s worried face. “I shouldn’t be here.” Minho shook his head harshly. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I have to go.”

Minho stood and fled from Jisung’s apartment without a glance back to him. He rushed home, his mind starting to burst into a loud static, filling him with shame and self hatred. He kicked off his shoes and ran straight to his room when he arrived, not even looking to see if Jeongin was home or not. He paced for a while before he felt the tension had built too high to stand and grabbed his phone.

MINHO: Are you free for a call right now?

There was no reply, but in less than a minute of sending the message his phone vibrated and lit up with Seungmin’s incoming call.

“Are you alone? Can you talk?” Minho said when he answered on the first ring.

“Hey, yeah, Changbin’s not coming over for another hour. What's up?” Seungmin asked with concern in his voice.

“I’m freaking out is what the fuck is up!” Minho said, running his hand roughly through his hair.

“Alright, breath. Talk to me, what happened?”

“Right, yeah okay. What happened is I was at Jisung’s, he had invited me over saying that he wanted to do more, to go further and so we were at his and about to fuck and he stops me to tell me that he’s never had sex before.” Minho said as he dropped back onto his bed.

“Oh shit, really?” Seungmin asked, sounding shocked. “I guess he wasn’t hesitant because he had bad experiences with sex, rather he’s had no experiences.”

“Shit! What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck have I been doing?”

“He’s a virgin, not a serial killer, Minho.”

“No, it’s not him! He’s perfect. It’s me! I can’t fucking believe it.”

“Right, can you do me a solid and go over where the crisis is real slow so I can catch up with your spiral into madness?”

“He deserves better! This is his first time! He deserves romance and someone who can give him what he wants, not me. Fuck, what if he hadn’t have told me? What if I’d hurt him? His first time would have always been the fucking shit-show of my mess. I wanted to fuck him in the bars bathroom just a few weeks back! I should have fucking backed off right then and not kept pursuing him. Why couldn’t I just accept his no at face value. I don’t want to fucking ruin him.”

“Okay, well that’s a lot to unpack. I suspect I know the answer to this, but what exactly did you do when he told you he was a virgin.”

“I ran. I freaked out and fucking left him. I am such a fucking asshole! This is exactly why he shouldn’t have been considering me for his first time! He opens up to me and shares something really fucking vulnerable and I only think of myself, and I leave him all alone. His first time shouldn’t be with someone who would do something like that. He should be with someone who would hold his hand and tell him he’s perfect, tell him he’s special and give him the best first time, and hundreds more.”

“Where has this sudden lack of self-esteem come from?”

“Oh come on, would you want your first time to be with someone like me?”

“My first time was a fumbling mess with a close friend when we realised we both liked boys. Not exactly champagne and candles.”

“Yeah, well Jisung has been waiting a long time for this, and he shouldn't lower himself to settling for what I’m offering.”

“I think Jisung knows his worth enough to not just settle.”

“Yeah, well what if I’m the only one who offered? If I’m the only one who took the time to let him relax. What if he thinks I’m all he deserves because he hasn’t had the chance at anything better.”

“I mean, you could ask him?”

“How? How the fuck can I face him after this? I don’t want him to see me freaking out and thinking there is something wrong with him. I’m the only one here with something wrong with them.”

“Yeah, you’re not exactly sounding in your best mindspace right now. Take some time, chill out for the weekend, and we can talk over what to say to him once it’s not feeling as intense. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I don’t need fucking advice right now! I just needed to yell out before I punched a hole in the fucking wall.” Minho said in frustration.

“Jeeze, a guy tells you he’s a virgin and you turn into a straight guy after his favourite sports team loses. I don’t fully understand why you’re so messed up over this, but you need to let yourself process it and calm down. Maybe go and try to sleep off the worst of it for now, then I can come over on Sunday and we can talk about this when you have more sense about the whole thing?”

“I don’t fucking know. I don’t know what I think. I shouldn’t have pushed him. I shouldn’t have…” Minho sighed, tugging his hair again. “I think I will sleep. I can’t keep thinking about this right now.”

“Good call. Try not to do anything stupid, and let yourself cool off before you talk to Sung. No cutting ties or big decisions right now, got it?”

“Fuck off.” Minho snapped out instinctively before sighing heavily. “Yeah, I got it. Thanks for calling me, I’ll see you later.” Minho hung up and struggled out of his clothes before collapsing into his bed and forcing himself to sleep, or perhaps it was closer to just falling unconscious, his brain simply turning off after reaching its limit.

Minho slept long and hard, but was still feeling worked up and broiled in self loathing when he woke up. He went to the gym, practically breaking his body to try and work out the bad feelings. Then when he returned home he started deep cleaning the apartment to try and distract himself, to feel useful. Nothing was working though, so as evening approached he showered and got dressed in one of his ‘come fuck me’ outfits and put lube and a condom in his pocket as he decided that going out for meaningless sex was what he needed. It was what he was. He needed to go back and stick to what he was supposed to. Meaningless sex with people who didn’t care. That was what he deserved, and he was going to dive right back into it. Back to the bars with people who didn’t even like him. Back to where he belonged.

He went to a bar he frequented when he only had casual sex in mind, hating the atmosphere but trying to block out the noise and the crowd as his eyes roamed for a willing partner. It only took a few minutes of him radiating sex for a good looking guy to catch his eye. They stared at each other for a short while, eyes checking each other out before the guy approached Minho. Minho let a smirk he knew screamed seduction play on his face as the man came to stand close to him.

“Hey.” The man said.

“Hey.” Minho replied.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh come on, do you really care about that?”

“I guess not. Wanna just get out of here then?”

“Why wait that long.” Minho said, eyes flicking in the direction of the toilets.

“God, you are just my type.” The man told him, putting his hands on Minho’s body as they rushed to the public bathroom.

Minho pushed the guy into a stall, locking the door as he pressed him against the partition and crashed their mouths together, chasing anything that would take away the awful feeling in his mind. Unfortunately the first thing that hit him as the foreign tongue pressed its way into his mouth was the taste of smoke, and stale beer. He was also too forceful with his tongue, pushing and demanding. He wasn’t a bad kisser really, but Minho couldn’t help but compare him to Jisung. To how he always tasted slightly sweet, and how he matched his energy and seemed to kiss him effortlessly in a way that rendered him weak at the knees. 

Minho tried to push past that, and focus on the hands, now groping clumsily and harshly over his body. This also made him think of Jisung’s eager but cautious hands gripping his shoulders, starting to search over him, gentle fingers clinging to him and making him feel so needed. When Minho rocked forward, trying his best to let sensations overtake his thoughts, it caused the man to make a fake, pornographic sounding moan at the touch, it was more than Minho could cope with. He longed for the rumbling groans Jisung made in his throat, the soft whimpers that escaped his lips for Minho to swallow. He had been so excited to make him moan, to see his face pulled in an expression of pleasure. To make him shake from flooding him with sensations, not from nerves and fear without him even noticing. 

He couldn’t do this. He couldn't get hard with this guy, that he now found beyond unappealing to him. Not to mention he just couldn’t bring himself to fuck someone else while he was thinking of Jisung like this. He felt like he was waking up, and he needed to get out of here, and make things right. He pulled back, wrapping his hands around the man's arms to pry his groping hands off his body.

“I can’t do this. I gotta go.” Minho said as he quickly unlatched the door to leave.

“Wait, what? What the fuck? Why?” 

“Uhh…” Minho hummed, turning as he left the stall. “I’m straight?” 

“The fuck? Asshole!” The guy called after him as Minho fled the bathroom, and the club.

Minho tried to get his mind in order as he walked home, the reality of how he had treated Jisung finally crashing down on him. He finally stopped just thinking of himself and realised that he had run out and abandoned Jisung when he was scared, and vulnerable. He had been about to open himself up and give himself to Minho in a way that he had never done with someone, and when he had revealed that Minho had run away. Minho felt sick at the thought that Jisung would have felt rejected, maybe thought there was something wrong with him. He almost doubled over at the thought that maybe he cried when he left him. He needed to make this right, let Jisung know this was not his fault, there was nothing wrong with him. He also wanted to plead for forgiveness, but even if Jisung couldn’t find it in him to forgive him, he had to let him know this was all Minho’s issue and not a reflection on Jisung.

He entered his apartment and Jeongin was on the couch and looked up when he came in, looking him over and raising an eyebrow at him.

“You’re home early while looking like that.” Jeongin observed.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna talk about it. Want some dinner?”

“Sure.” Jeongin frowned at him.

“I just need to take care of something and shower, then I can cook for us.” Minho said as he headed to his room, getting his phone out to message Jisung.

MINHO: Hey. I’m so fucking sorry about yesterday. You didn’t do anything wrong, and I just acted like an asshole. Can we please meet up so we can talk? I owe you an apology and explanation in person.

JISUNG: Yeah, we can meet. I need a couple of days to think about stuff first. Want to come to mine after work on Wednesday?

MINHO: Yes please. Thank you for giving me yet another chance here. I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t upset you.

JISUNG: I’m okay. I was a little freaked out, but it looked like you were too. We can talk about it on Wednesday.

MINHO: Thank you. See you Wednesday.

Minho sighed in relief at Jisung’s forgiving nature and willingness to hear him out, even if he knew he didn’t deserve it. He went and showered, trying to remove all traces of the night that he had almost let happen before going and making dinner for him and Jeongin. They then spent the evening sitting quietly together. Jeongin cast the occasional look at him, but never asking any questions that he might have had in mind. Minho went to bed early, feeling shockingly tired from all the stress he had put himself through this weekend, and was asleep as soon as he was settled under the covers.

Chapter Text

Minho was torn from his second day in a row of sleeping late by his phone vibrating. He groaned as he blinked his eyes open, grabbing his phone and answering without looking at who was calling, his eyes too bleary from sleep to even be capable of reading right now.

“Mpshyeah?” Minho mumbled out incoherently.

“Answer the door fuck head. Or are you in a fucking gutter dying somewhere? I will hunt you down with your phone's location.” Seungmin’s scolding tone did wonders for waking Minho up.

“Yeah, gimme a second. If you don’t have coffee I am going to stab you.” Minho hung up and got out of bed, grabbing some loose shorts and a hoodie before going to let Seungmin into the apartment.

“Here’s your coffee, you lazy ass.” Seungmin said as he passed him a large iced americano and kicked off his shoes.

“I thought you had a key, why the fuck are you calling me to wake me up?”

“I tried knocking but no one answered, and out of respect for Innie I try not to just let myself in unless I have to. I walked in on him walking around in just his underwear once and he startled so hard I swear I have never heard a screech so high pitched. It did permanent damage to my hearing.” Seungmin said, passing Minho to go make himself at home on the couch.

“Why are you here?” Minho asked as he dropped heavily next to Seungmin, taking a large gulp of the coffee and trying to get his neurons firing.

“Did you fully block out your mini breakdown the other day? I only say mini because you still appear to be in one piece and I haven’t heard about any mass murder sprees in the area.”

“Oh right, you said you’d come over today didn’t you? It’s coming back to me now. It’s been a weird weekend.” Minho sighed, grimacing at himself and how much of a fool he had made of himself to Seungmin when his mind had panicked.

“Have you calmed down and remembered how to be rational now?”

“Yeah… I went out to a club and dragged a dude into the toilet last night.”

“Well… Reset to default?”

“I couldn’t fuck him though. I kept thinking of Jisung. I felt so guilty… also this random guy couldn’t compare to Jisung. So I messaged him. I’m gonna go over and apologise, talk it out on Wednesday.”

“Oh… Well you sorted your shit quicker than I expected. I was worried I was gonna have to run an intervention on you with how worked up you were on the phone.” Seungmin scoffed. “So, now do you think you can tell me what pushed you off the deep end in the first place? You were kind of a rambling mess when you called, and I would like some clarity on what set it off, for if it happens again.”

“Yeah… I guess I just kinda got hit in the face with the weight of what sex can mean to someone. And somewhere in the clip show of my borderline degrading sex life that was playing in my head, I felt really shitty that Jisung was going to be added to it. He’s sweet and caring. He may be confident, but he’s also anxious and I want to protect him. I guess I got a little conflicted and my brain broke when I suddenly wanted to protect him from me.”

“I guess. But, like if he wanted to have sex with you, first time or not, shouldn’t that be his choice?”

“Yeah, I know. That’s the other part where I was actually an asshole. I shouldn’t get to make these decisions for him. But like, he deserves something… More, I dunno.”

“So, if he still wants you to be his first, are you gonna refuse to, on some self imposed morality?”

“No… I just, I wanna make sure he knows what he’s doing. And he’s not just… I dunno, getting caught up and going along because he thinks this is the best he can get.”

“What if it is?”

“Fuck off. We may not know what Jisung wants in this stuff, but you yourself said he likes being taken care of. He might just never have gotten a chance to see all that there is on offer for him.” Minho scrunched up his face, still not fully sure what he was trying to say. “But if he is sure, and doing it for his own reasons, not settling, then I wouldn’t reject him. But it’s not about that right now, I just wanna focus on making sure he knows I’m sorry, and I didn’t bail on him because I have a problem with him not having had sex before. He needs to know I only cared about messing him up or upsetting him.”

“You know virginity is just a construct right? His first time won’t dictate all his future experiences or anything.”

“Virginity may be a construct. But Jisung shaking from fear when he was trying to push himself to have sex, sure as shit wasn’t just a construct. It was real. And I couldn't handle it.”

“Oh…” Seungmin looked at him and seemed to suddenly understand Minho’s overreaction. “You weren’t doing anything wrong, you know? You asked him what he wanted, and you didn’t pressure him. I get that seeing him being scared is awful, but it’s not something you did to him.”

“Thanks, but I’m gonna have to hear that from him before I can forgive myself for making him look so afraid.” Minho sighed, Jisung’s tearing eyes and trembling body still lodged in his mind.

“Yeah fair. Jisung knows you well enough to know you wouldn’t pressure him or anything like that. It’s gonna be okay. He will be okay.” Seungmin reassured him, placing a comforting hand on his leg.

“Jisung’s the one who should be getting the support, not me. I just made his thing all about me. I’m hoping I can try and make it up to him on Wednesday.” Minho frowned. “I guess we won't be talking until then…” 

“You really like him, huh?”

“We got really close. In like two months he became one of my closest friends. Kinda weird to think about. I really hate the thought I might have jeopardised that with my unjustified freak out.”

“True, but don’t be hard on yourself. You can’t really help how you react when it’s intense like that. It’s how you act after that matters.”

“Yeah, and I went to pick up a stranger and couldn’t stop comparing him to Jisung. So I’m a real gem, huh.”

“And then you noticed what you were doing and messaged Jisung to set it right. And you see how you acted wasn’t great, and you feel bad and seem like you will put in the effort to make it up to him. So… Yeah, you’re doing fine.” Seungmin was being very soft and caring, a rarity for him. He was a dedicated and attentive friend, but he liked to keep it behind his wall of indifference unless it was needed. If he was being this gentle with Minho, he must have been truly freaked out on the phone, Seungmin must actually be worried about him.

“Thanks. I’m okay. I’m not gonna beat myself up about this, not too much. Thanks for coming over to try and talk sense into me, but I got it. I’m not gonna spiral or anything.”

“I know you’re not the type to spiral too hard, but I’ve not heard you panicked like that in… Maybe ever. You know I’m here for you, whenever you need me.” Seungmin smiled at him, and Minho smiled back before slapping his leg lightly.

“Okay, enough tenderness, if we’re not gonna fuck nasty afterwards it just feels too sentimental.” Minho laughed.

“Well you’re back to making distasteful jokes about fucking your friends. I’d say you’re back from the brink.” Seungmin chuckled, rolling his eyes.

Seungmin hung out with Minho the rest of the day, Minho suspected he was skipping out on some Changbin time as he kept surreptitiously getting his phone out to message during the day. He seemed to want to either be sure Minho was fine, or to help keep him distracted as he didn’t leave until the evening. Jeongin joined them for a late lunch then hung out with them for the afternoon. Minho went to bed feeling more normal, and ready to get back to reality and put his unexpected panic behind him.

The week passed slower with not speaking to Jisung, and with him worrying about what he would say to him on Wednesday. He didn’t tell anyone else what happened between him and Jisung, not that anyone else asked. Minho was quiet in the group chat, but he checked occasionally to see Jisung still talking and reassure himself that he didn’t deeply upset him. Also to just see him talking, not liking how much he missed him already.

On Wednesday Minho was cursing his lack of time, thinking he wanted to have been able to go home to cook something to bring with him. As he was finally leaving, to go to Jisung’s apartment empty handed, he realised it was probably for the best that he didn't go home first. He felt like he would have ended up baking a whole cake for him with how nervous and guilty he felt. The thought of turning up to the guy you almost accidentally took the virginity of before freaking out and running away’s apartment with a whole fucking cake and an apology felt a like insane levels of unusual behaviour. He felt it would have been trying too hard, and a weird precedent to set for apologies, but as he stood at Jisung’s door, with no food to offer him, he thought he should have just baked the damn cake. 

Minho sighed as he prepared himself for however Jisung might be with him, and what might come as he finally raised his hand to knock on Jisung’s door. The seconds he waited for Jisung to answer seemed to stretch out forever, but it was only a few seconds before Jisung opened the door. Minho smiled weakly and was slightly taken aback by Jisung’s relaxed and smiling face looking back at him as he let him inside. Minho watched as Jisung closed the door and walked back to the sofa, turning the volume down on what he had been watching as he waited for Minho to join him. Minho had expected much more tension when he arrived, but Jisung seemed shockingly unphased for the moment. Minho was hoping this was a good thing, and not that he simply didn’t care about Minho anymore. Minho sat next to Jisung on the sofa, making sure he wasn’t too close to him, but not sitting all the way on the other end from him.

“Hey.” Minho said once he managed to make himself meet Jisung’s eyes.

“Hi.” Jisung said with a soft smile, almost derailing Minho from his goal of apologising to him.

“Right, I really wanted to apologise to you. I’m so sorry for how I acted on Friday. I freaked out, and I ran out. That wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, and I’m so sorry.”

“I get it. I shared something kinda shocking, at a kinda intense moment. It makes sense you would freak out. I sprung it on you at kinda the worst time.”

“No, you didn’t. I wasn’t expecting it, but that doesn’t mean I should have frozen up and fled like that. It was really unfair.”

“You don’t need to apologise. Like, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner and avoid the shock factor.” 

“Why…” Minho frowned at him. “Why are you so okay with this? I was a fucking asshole, and you don’t seem to care about me apologising? What’s going on?” 

“Well, you were shocked and freaked out. I’m not about to blame you for needing to bail, I know what it’s like. I’ve been there, and I will be again. Besides, I mean, you’re not the first person to ever freak out about my whole… Thing. Usually the guys freak out because of my anxiety before they can get this far to freak out about my virgin status. But it has happened before. At least you wanted to come back, you know?”

“Shit…” Minho groaned, hating the fact that Jisung was so used to people not being able to handle him that he wasn’t even upset at it happening anymore. “I didn’t freak out because of you, Sungie. It was all me. There is nothing wrong with you. You do not deserve to have people freaking out and running just because of what experiences you have or haven’t had.”

“So, why did you freak out?” Jisung asked, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head.

“Jisung, you were shaking… You were scared. I was so fucked up by the realisation that you were scared, scared of me, of what we were going to do. And I didn’t notice soon enough. I didn’t know well enough to stop myself. You looked terrified. I felt awful that I did that to you.” Minho said, trying to convey how much he hadn’t wanted to make Jisung feel scared, or anything bad. Jisung stared at him silently for a moment, seeming to actually be affected by what Minho was saying now.

“I… Yeah, I was scared. But not because of you. You were good. Patient, you didn’t push me. You weren’t making me do something I didn’t want to. I’m not scared of you. I wouldn’t have invited you to be with me if I was scared of you.” Jisung sighed and looked at him again. “Some of it had to be about me being a virgin, right? Like, you definitely seemed to feel some kinda way about it.”

“Yeah I did. But not because of you, not because there is anything wrong with you. It, yet again, was all me. I really didn’t want to make this apology about me.”

“I want to know. You panicked, so I do want to hear why. It’s okay, tell me.”

“Okay, well, when you told me I got kinda… Insecure.” Minho scoffed at himself. “I didn’t want you to have your first time to be with someone like me. You deserve better than that. I’m the kinda guy who has had sex with more people than I can count. With people I don’t care about. I’ve had hate sex, and anonymous sex. I’m not the kind of guy to be someone's first. I’m the kinda guy who after being told a close friend is a virgin, made it all about himself and freaked out, abandoning him and going out the next night to find a stranger to take into a public toilet. Your first time shouldn’t be me.”

“Well… At least you waited a day to find someone else.” Jisung said, looking down as he laughed mirthlessly.

“I didn’t fuck him. I was kissing him and I kept thinking of you. See, I’m an asshole. But it made me realise what I was doing, so I left him there and messaged you. I knew I needed to try and make this right with you.”

“Oh.” Jisung seemed to perk up slightly at that news. “I mean, you were happy to have sex with me before you found out you’d be my first. Why is it so different if I’m not different after you found out.”

“Because… It's your first time, it should be special. It should mean something. You’ve been waiting for years, and I wouldn’t want you to have to settle. You should wait for exactly what you want, what you deserve.”

“I’m not, like, a virgin because I’m saving myself. I’m not waiting for the one, or marriage. I’m a virgin because I have social anxiety.” Jisung laughed.

“How’s that work?”

“Because!” Jisung rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated at his own life. “The only time I can talk to hot strangers is when I’m drunk. They see me after, when I’m sober and I can’t even look at them. They either get annoyed, assume I’m not interested, or figure I’m more trouble than I’m worth, so that never goes anywhere. I’ve had a couple of dates with people I knew well enough to talk to. But the thought of going further, it kinda freaked me out. The few times when making out with people, drunk at parties they tried to go further, I ended up freaking out and running away. I want to have sex, I just…”

“You’re scared?”

“Yeah… Sex is scary!” Jisung laughed again. “It’s a new experience, and an intense one. And you have to like, be so vulnerable. Be naked and open. You have to trust them to take care of you, to not hurt you. What if they are mean after, what if they make me feel bad. What if I am bad? What if I don’t know how to have sex right.”

“That is a very virgin thing to say.” Minho chuckled lightly. 

“Hey!”

“No, I mean, sex is what you make it. I’ve had bad sex, but I have never thought anyone was bad at sex, just that we weren’t compatible. Besides, if you’re with someone for a while, you get to learn what they like and can usually meet in the middle even if you’re not perfectly compatible with them during sex.”

“Oh… Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“But, I get what you mean. Sex can be kinda scary, having to be open like that.”

“But you are open like that with so many people.”

“New and interesting ways to call me a slut, respect.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I know, it’s fine. And yeah, I don’t get nervous about it anymore, but I was definitely scared my first time. But now, being naked, letting someone inside me, that’s not the kind of vulnerability that scares me anymore.”

“Oh…” Jisung looked at him, then he surprised Minho by moving his hand over to hold Minho's, which was resting on his own knee. “But yeah, I’m kinda scared of the actual sex, and I can’t get close enough to anyone I’m attracted to for me to trust them enough to feel comfortable doing it.”

“Never thought to ask your friends to do it?”

“Ugh, I couldn't!” Jisung laughed. “Like, they are all very hot, and I’ve made out with Lix a couple of times when drunk, but it was very much a platonic friend making out. I just don’t think I can get that feeling, you know when you’re attracted to someone and your body is like, yes, we are ready! I don’t feel like that for them.”

“You felt that for me?”

“Yeah… I still do.”

“I still think your first time should be more meaningful than… My whole thing.”

“I mean… Couldn't it be meaningful to have a close friend give me the time to get comfortable, then guide me through and make sure I have a good first time?” Jisung asked, his large eyes gazing at Minho meaningfully. “And from what I’ve heard, you could definitely give me a good first time.”

“I guess… What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I invited you over to have sex on Friday… I wanted to. I still want to. I wasn’t even gonna tell you it was my first time. I talked to Chan about my plans for the weekend, and he was insistent that I should tell you, both for, like, transparency for you, but mainly so I would feel safe, make sure you didn’t accidentally hurt me and knew what was going on with me incase I freaked out, or got all emotional. I didn’t want to though, I thought maybe I could just power through, you know? Get it over with and it would be fine. But then when we were kissing, and you started to touch me, I felt my panic building. I realised I had to tell you, if nothing else having a panic attack on someone’s dick doesn’t sound like a turn on.”

“Maybe to some. But definitely not to me.” Minho said, trying to process all Jisung was telling him.

“Good, yeah, me neither. So I told you. But I still want to do it. I mean, I can get why it might not be something you want, like I’m basically asking you to guide me through sex, teach me how to do it. And take your time so I don’t freak out too much. It doesn't sound so sexy and like you would get much out of it.”

“Jisung, I want to be with you. I find you very attractive, and doing anything with you would be sexy. It’s not about ‘what I get out of it’ sex isn’t transactional. I’d do it because I like you, I like sex, and both together sound great to me, in whatever way doing that is best for you. And if you really want this. Want me to take my time and help you have a positive first time… Of course I’d be into it.” Minho frowned as he thought this through.

“Really? So… We can… You’re gonna? We’re gonna actually do this?” Jisung asked, looking up at him with nervous yet hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, but we will need to talk about it before we do anything. First, I wanna know how far you’ve gone with anyone?”

“Oh… Like, making out? Groping over the clothes, a little grinding. Generally all while drunk. I’ve never gone under the clothes before…”

“Okay, so first for everything really…” Minho moved his hand, lacing their fingers together where Jisung’s hand was still resting on his without even thinking about it. “Right, so I think we should start this slow. Do this step by step. Maybe meet once a week to do stuff, and progress at whatever speed you feel comfortable.”

“Wow, I was just gonna suggest one long day to get me comfortable to have sex… But that sounds… Yeah.”

“Right, so I think taking our time and building up will work better since you’ve not got experience with other sexual stuff either. It gives you time to relax, get used to the idea, and think of what you want to do. You can also get used to being touched, get used to me. Figure out what you like, what feels good, what you’re not into. I can also learn what you like, and I can learn your body. That way we will be always working to what feels best for you, and when we do get to the sex part of the sex stuff, we will be confident you will have the best experiences with all we’ve learned about each other.”

“Holy crap… That is so much effort to go to for me.”

“You keep saying that as if you don’t think you are worth the effort?” Minho frowned, hating the idea that Jisung might not know how much he deserved.

“Oh trust me, I know my worth!” Jisung said with a smile that seemed to curdle on his face. “It’s just… other people don't seem to agree with my value point.” Minho squeezed his hand, aching at that revelation. “Guys tend to think I’m too much effort… High maintenance and inconsistent. I know I am, so I get it. But I do think I am worth more than that. That’s why I haven’t just had drunken sex at a party, aside from the fear of the sex. You’re not the first guy to pursue me, you’re just the first one to keep trying, and to be patient with my boundaries.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with idiots like that. You are worth so much effort, and it’s fucking awful those guys just couldn’t see that. I’m glad you see it though. You deserve so much. You deserve to be treated right. You are incredible, Jisung, just so special. Don’t let any fucker ever let you doubt that for a second.” Minho gazed at him as he gripped his hand tight. Jisung looked at him, eyes alight and full of emotion.

“Thank you.” Jisung eventually said, tearing his gaze away and smiling as he seemed to get his mind back on track. “So, are we doing this thing then? Us? You being my sex teacher?”

“Sex teacher? I didn’t think there would be roleplay involved.” Minho said with a teasing smile.

“Oh god! No! I can’t handle that. Not yet anyway. But, are we?”

“Yeah, if you’re sure this is what you want, then yes. Just know if you change your mind at any time, I’m okay with it.”

“Can…” Jisung bit his lip and looked back at Minho. “Can we start now?”

“Right now?” Minho asked, fully surprised by how this evening had turned out so different than he had expected.

“If… If you’re okay with that? I mean, I had expected to lose my virginity at the weekend. And like… We were talking about stuff, and I was thinking about it. I kinda…” Jisung looked at Minho and weakly laughed. “I got a little worked up at the thought of it…”

Minho grinned and glanced down, eyes scanning the rumpled front of Jisung’s sweats curiously before he looked back up to meet Jisung’s eyes. His cheeks were flushed, clearly a little embarrassed at asking Minho for more, but his eyes held contact, seeming to be trying to impress on him he really did want this.

“Okay…” Minho said, stroking his thumb over the back of Jisung’s hand as he thought about how to process. “Do you know what you want?”

“Oh… Like, what I want to do?” Jisung’s eyes flicked away as he seemed much less certain on specifics. “You know… More.”

“Do you just wanna make out?”

“... I want more than that. But not like… You said we were going slow? Doing a little at a time, yeah?”

“Alright, we can do that. So… No one has ever made you cum at all, right?”

“I mean, unless thinking of someone while I touch myself counts.” Jisung chuckled nervously. 

“Not in this context.” Minho said with a fond smile. “Okay, so how about I give you a hand job?” Minho looked at Jisung with a soft and open expression, wanting to gauge if he had aimed too high or low with the suggestion.

“Hand job… Yeah? I think… I mean, I get to cum, so yay for me." Jisung laughed again, harder this time, but his nerves were still high.

“Right, you would stay dressed, mostly, and you wouldn’t have to touch me. I wouldn’t touch you under the clothes anywhere else. How does that sound?”

“Yeah.” Jisung sighed heavily, looking at him with wide eyes. “Can…” Jisung bit his lip and fidgeted.

“What?” Minho said and Jisung hesitated to respond. “Jisungie, I’m gonna need you to be honest with me, I mean, I would hope you are honest with me anyway, but with this sex stuff it’s really important. I need to know you will tell me how you feel and if you like or don’t like something, without doubting if you’re saying it because you are worrying if it’s what I want to hear or not. I don’t care if you say you don’t like something I do, or you don’t want to do something I suggest or initiate. I care about not making you uncomfortable or doing something you don’t like. I would hate so much to find out you put yourself through something you didn’t enjoy just to not have to say it to me. I will not get upset or hurt no matter what you tell me. So if we’re gonna do this, at least with the sex stuff, I need you to be fully honest and transparent with me. And I will promise you the same. I need to know I can trust you to tell me if I do something wrong. I need us to trust each other.”

“Yeah, no, shit, of course. I don’t like… I’m not always good at being able to speak up about that stuff usually, but yeah. I get it. I will. I promise." Jisung said, meeting his gaze again, his face serious before crumbling into a bashful smile. “What I was going to ask feels kinda silly now.”

“I don’t care. It was something you wanted to ask, I want you to ask.”

“Can… Can we still kiss? Like, with this arrangement. The ‘get Jisung comfortable enough with sex to feel normal about it in life’ initiative. Is… I already know how to kiss. But can we still kiss anyway?”

“Of course we can. I like kissing you, I definitely still want to if it’s something you’re into too.”

“Yeah, I am, very much. I like kissing you too. I also think it will help… Like make me feel comfortable, and connected to you.” Jisung frowned. “Not like, I don’t mean- I just…”

“Feeling connected is good. It keeps you in the moment. Helps you trust me. Know that I’m right there in the moment with you. And it feels good. You don’t need a reason by the way, you want to. You like it. That’s the reason. I do like hearing the reason if you ever have one, but it's not needed to ask me for something. Or to say no to anything.”

“Okay, then yeah, I want us to keep kissing, please.”

“You got it.” Minho smiled and moved a hand to stroke over Jisung’s face as he leant in for a slow, and lingering kiss. 

Jisung’s hand gripped Minho’s neck as their lips moved together. When Minho pulled back to ask if Jisung was ready, Jisung moved his hand away and Minho noticed the slight shaking was back. He took the hand in his own, and kissed it. First placing a kiss in the palm before turning it over and kissing the back of the hand and looking at Jisung.

“Scared?”

“A little.”

“We can stop here.”

“No, I want to. I’m scared, but I still want to do it.”

“Brave boy.” Minho said with no irony or teasing in his tone. “Okay, then…” Minho thought, and an idea occurred to him. “Right, I’m gonna take something from the kink scene and adapt it for what we are doing here, yeah?”

“Kink?” Jisung frowned, both his hands now clasping Minho’s.

“We’re not doing anything kink. It’s just a shorthand to make communicating easier in intense situations where thinking and talking may be harder. It’s a variant of a safeword. I’m not, like, in the kink scene, but I know enough to know about it. Called the traffic light system, red, yellow, green. I was gonna change it for you. So that if you need me to slow down, either in progress, or literally with my movements or anything, just say slow. If you need me to pause, stop movement all together, so you can think, or talk, or just need a moment, say pause. And if you say stop, I will stop and fully stop touching you until you ask me to again. And you can use these for any reason, and while I would like to know why for honesty, any reason is a valid reason.”

“Yeah, okay, that makes sense. Slow, pause, stop. I can handle that.”

“Think it will make you feel a little more in control. Make it a little less scary?”

“I think it will. I… I’m gonna be scared, whatever. This is new. New experiences are always gonna feel kinda scary. But I don’t think I’m gonna panic. And if I feel like I’m starting to panic, I can ask you to pause and we can talk it out.”

“If you feel panic hitting. Tell me to stop, we can always pick it back up when you calm down if you want, but don’t risk it. I will stop. It’s fine. If nothing else you don’t need the extra stimulation of being touched when panic is creeping in.”

“Okay… So… Are we gonna? I mean are you…”

“Ready for me to start?”

“Yeah.” Jisung breathed, leaning back against the sofa as he looked at him.

“Remember, you’re in control. Just say the word.” Minho said to him before lifting Jisung’s hands to his mouth to kiss them both before dropping them to put his arms around him and pull him back into a kiss.

Minho took his time kissing him, hoping it would help ease Jisung into it, before he started to move his hand down, landing on his thigh and rubbing lightly. Jisung let out a shaky breath but didn’t tense up more so Minho kept moving his hand. Jisung moved his mouth back to gasp for breath and Minho moved to start kissing his neck. He was about to start licking and sucking over the flesh when he realised that was another discussion.

“Hey, one more quick question.” Minho asked, moving back and looking into Jisung’s heavily lidded eyes.

“Yeah?” Jisung said between heavy breaths.

“How do you feel about hickeys and marks and bites and stuff?”

“Oh… I had a hickey once. But I was drunk so I don’t really remember how it felt getting it. I figure I must have liked it or I would have run away.” Jisung said with a weak chuckle “So, as long as it doesn't hurt, that’s okay with me.”

“I have no intention of hurting you at all. And if you don’t like it, just tell me. But I actually meant with the marks. It’s kinda evidence of you fooling around. People will see the marks as proof of someone's mouth on your neck.”

“Oh… right.” Jisung frowned as he thought for a second. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just, don’t, like, leave too many, but I don’t mind if I have a few marks… I think it’s kinda hot actually.”

“Yeah?” Minho smirked, his thumb kneading into the flesh of his leg.

“Yeah, people will see you were all over me. It’s like a secret that people can see. And a reminder of what we did. It’s hot…” Jisung smiled bashfully.

“I think it’s hot too. Okay, slight marks, if I suck too hard, or hurt you by biting, absolutely say stop, but I don’t plan on going hard on you.”

“The thought of you ‘going hard’ on me is also kinda hot… But yeah, not now.” Jisung chuckled and bit his lip.

“You’re so hot.” Minho said before he moved back to kiss him.

Jisung kissed him back with more intensity, seeming more turned on by the brief discussion of hickeys. Minho started to kiss down his jaw to move to his neck, feeling a surge of desire at the soft moan Jisung made as he did. Minho spent a few minutes kissing and licking over Jisung’s neck, almost getting lost in the gentle gasps of pleasure Jisung was making at his attention. Once Minho remembered his original goal he moved back up to kiss Jisung as his hand started to slowly slide towards the now very obvious bulge in Jisung’s pants.

“Okay?” Minho asked, moving off Jisung’s lips to look at him and gauge his reactions as his hand moved closer to his goal.

“Yeah.” Jisung breathed.

Minho moved his hand to gently slide over Jisung’s clothed erection. Jisung looked like he tried to contain the whine he made at the light contact.

“More?”

“More!” Jisung demanded, his hand clawing at Minho’s shoulder as his breathing picked up.

Minho started to slowly rub over him, cupping the shape pressing against the fabric of Jisung’s sweats. Minho kept his hand there for a while, taking his time for Jisung to get used to the feeling before he progressed further. Once Jisung’s hips were making slight twitches up into his hand, Minho deemed it time to press on.

“I’m gonna take you out of your pants now, okay?” Minho asked.

“Yeah… Just…”

“Just?”

“It’s okay… It’s just…” Jisung laughed and cupped his face in his hands, hiding himself from sight. “You're gonna see my penis.” 

“Yeah… That is kinda part of this whole thing.” Minho said with a fond chuckle.

“I know! And it’s fine… It’s just… It makes it so real, you know?”

“It does. I’d offer to show you mine first, but I suspect adding my penis to the mix will not make the situation less intense for you.” Minho laughed as Jisung moved his hands from his face.

“No, it will not.” Jisung laughed, seeming to relax at Minho trying to make the air lighter with jokes. “Maybe next time.” Jisung took a deep breath. “It’s okay, I want this. I just… It’s a lot. But yeah… Can you kiss me while you… While you touch me?” Jisung asked.

“Absolutely.”

Minho moved to connect their lips before his fingers moved to tug at his waistband, taking his time, letting Jisung get used to it and give him time to say no if he changed his mind or panicked. As his fingers finally curled under the waistband to pull them down Minho moved his lips from Jisung for a second, keeping his eyes closed as he spoke.

“Lift up for a second, please.” He asked. 

Jisung nodded and lifted his hips from the couch. Minho carefully slid his sweats and underwear down just enough for him to be comfortable with his dick out without looking at what he was doing, keeping his lips attached to Jisung the whole time. Jisung’s lips stilled and his breathing faltered as Minho’s hand hovered over his dick now exposed to the air. 

“Okay?” Minho asked against his lips.

“Yeah…” Jisung swallowed. “This is really happening. Okay, yeah, please. I’m ready.” Jisung said, his voice breathy and weak.

Minho nodded and pressed their lips together as he took Jisung’s hard dick into his hand. Jisung whined and gripped Minho tight as he kissed back. Minho held him lightly before he started to move his hand. He kept his eyes closed, lips moving against Jisung’s until he dropped his head back to gasp. 

“One second.” Minho said and moved his hand from Jisung’s erection.

“What?” Jisung asked, sounding close to desperate at the loss of contact. 

“I’m not gonna make you go get lube, but spit works in a pinch.” Minho said as he brought his hand to his mouth then hesitated. “For this. I won’t replace lube with spit for anything else.” Minho heard Jisung laugh nervously as he watched him intently.

Minho gathered the spit in his mouth and licked over his palm, trying to drool over his hand to give Jisung a slicker feeling as he jerked him off.

“Okay, I get it.” Jisung said, releasing a tense breath, his eyes watching as Minho moved his hand back to warp around him.

Minho watched Jisung’s face, his eyes flicking to look at his dick as his hand started to move over him. Jisung sighed and let his body relax into the sofa as Minho picked up the speed. Minho felt himself getting aroused as he saw Jisung starting to arch his back in pleasure. Jisung’s lips parted as his eyes fell shut, soft groans starting to fall freely from his parted mouth. Minho focused on not letting himself get caught up in the sight, knowing he was here for Jisung’s pleasure alone tonight.

Minho was moving his hand rapidly now, Jisung’s chest hitching as he seemed to be fully letting himself surrender to the pleasure. Minho was thinking he was getting close when his eyes suddenly shot open and he looked at him with a slight frown.

“Pause.” Jisung asked, his voice almost a croak. Minho’s hand instantly stilled, and relaxed its grip slightly as he waited for Jisung to catch his breath.

“Okay.” Minho said, just letting him know he was waiting for him to let him know what he needed.

“I… Okay, so am I supposed to tell you when I’m close, or going to cum? Or is that just a porn thing?” Jisung asked, once he was capable of talking again.

“Well, it’s optional. There are a few reasons someone might want to tell the person they are with they are close or cumming. For one, it can turn people on, knowing they are bringing them to climax. But more practically, it helps in warning when you’re going to cum so the person can be ready for the cum, move their heads, ready to swallow, ready to clean up. During sex, it can help to sync up to cumming close together. Saying your close can indicate to the other if they need to slow down so they can build up their own, or whatever. So there are reasons to tell me, but honestly, it’s okay either way. I’m not gonna be shocked or upset if you cum without warning. But if you want to tell me, I can work with that. It’s also something we can talk about as we keep going. I’ll probably tell you when I’m close if we get to that. I want you to know what’s going on. But if we get to sex, you telling me you’re cumming would mean I either try and cum soon, or prepare to pull out so I don’t overstimulate you. It’s not a big deal though.”

“Okay… Yeah, that’s good to know.” Jisung said.

“Does this mean you were close?”

“Really fucking close.” Jisung chuckled.

“Want me to continue now?”

“Yes please! Kiss me!” Jisung said as he pulled Minho into another desperate kiss.

They kissed for only another minute before Jisung pulled his mouth away, letting out more of his rumbling groans as he approached his climax.

“That’s it,” Minho muttered into his ears. “You sound so fucking sexy.” He heard Jisung’s moans taking on a stronger edge at his words and he decided to lean into it. “So fucking beautiful. I just want to keep making you feel this good. Cum, I want to see you cum.” Minho muttered. 

Jisung let out a choked moan and Minho attached his lips to kiss his neck as he felt Jisung releasing in his hand. He knew he was going to make a mess of his T-shirt, but Minho had deemed it better than making Jisung have to debate how he felt about being more exposed this first time. Minho worked him through his orgasm, careful not to keep rubbing him once he had relaxed. Minho moved his hand from him, and kissed his neck before moving to look at Jisung’s blissed out face. Jisung took a couple of minutes to come down before he opened his eyes and looked at Minho.

“Hi.” Minho said with a soft smile.

“Hi.” Jisung said before chuckling.

“How was that?”

“Fuck!” Jisung said and let out another beautiful laugh.

“I’m gonna take that as good?” Minho asked and Jisung nodded. “Okay, well, I’m gonna go get you a clean top to change into, I’ll be back in just a moment.” Minho told him, getting up to find Jisung’s bedroom.

Minho entered Jisung’s room and had to hold in a laugh. Jisung was messy. The room wasn’t dirty, no mouldy plates or trash littering the place. It was just lacking organisation, clothes piled on chairs, and spilling onto the floor. Manga books piled on the floor near his bed. Too many plushies on and around the unmade bed. Minho couldn’t help but find it kind of endearing, getting this glimpse into Jisung’s lived-in space. He spotted what appeared to be sleep clothes on the bed, a top and some shorts. He grabbed the top and headed back to Jisung. Jisung has pulled up his sweats and had his top bunched up while still wearing it, Minho took this as confirmation he was right about him being too shy to want to expose himself fully just yet.

“Here.” Minho passed Jisung the clean top and turned to give Jisung some privacy.

“I didn’t think that through.” Jisung chuckled as his soiled top hit the floor at his feet. Minho bent to pick it up without looking at Jisung and took it to his laundry before coming back to a now fully dressed Jisung.

“Was it okay?” Minho asked once they were face to face again.

“It was. It was incredible…” Jisung swallowed and bit his lip.

“What?”

“It’s silly.”

“What did I say about honesty?”

“It’s just a little thing…”

“Look, I want you to ask me for anything you might want. Even if I’m not into it, I still wanna know, we can talk about it, and I will never judge you or think less of you for what you want to do or try. In sex or otherwise. So don’t dismiss what you want to say.”

“Okay, I was gonna ask if you could hold me… but that’s probably weird right?” Jisung said, shaking his head. Minho frowned and then pulled him onto his arms, wrapping him into his embrace.

“There is nothing weird, or silly about wanting to be held, especially after sex.”

“We didn’t have sex.”

“We did sex stuff. It counts. Lots of people like to be held, comforted, or just feel closeness after sex, and sex activities. It’s totally normal and fine.”

“Do you cuddle after?”

“Not really.” Minho thought about it, and he wasn’t sure the last time he had cuddled after sex. “I’m okay with it though. This feels nice.”

“Okay… I just… With you know, casual stuff and the terms of our arrangement, I didn’t know.”

“We will do anything you want. I will tell you if I don’t like something. But honestly, if experience is anything to go by, that’s a hard line to reach.” Minho chuckled. “Don’t feel you have to act a certain way with me. Just be yourself. I want you to be comfortable. And I like who you are. So just relax, it’s the best way for you to be.” There was a silence for a while, Jisung nestling into Minho’s hold and moving his legs to rest over Minho’s, fully cuddling up to him.

“You know, I had a crush on you.” Jisung said out of nowhere.

“Really?”

“Yeah... Before I’d ever met you. I’d heard about you from our friends, heard so much, and I was so into it every time they talked. I saw pictures, and god, you are so fucking hot it’s unfair. But over time, never meeting you and hearing more, I got this image of you in my head. The man with the sexual experience, but who is caring, who looks after Innie everyday. Who cares so much and makes my friends feel so much… It’s really kinda pathetic and embarrassing, but I kinda had this fantasy… I would imagine that I would finally meet you, and you’d talk to me, and you’d get me to admit I’d never had sex, and you, with all your experience and caring nature, you’d see my problem, and you take me, and you’d take me to bed, and it would be good. I wouldn't be scared, and it would feel so great. Because you would know exactly what to do, and you’d take care of me. And like magic, sex wouldn’t be scary anymore. I knew it was a fantasy, and not real. But when I met you… you were so careless… I didn’t even get to say anything before you just asked me for sex. Not seeing me, not caring, not getting me to open up. It kinda trashed this image I had in my head.”

“My god… Sungie, I’m so fucking sorry.” Minho’s heart raced, a stabbing in his insides at Jisung’s sudden confession. “I really am so sorry. I’m sorry I was an asshole, a disappointment. I’m sorry I didn't see you. You are so special, Jisung. I should have seen you.” Minho took a deep breath and kissed Jisung’s head. “I’m sorry I ran too. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you deserved. I really am. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It is for the best that the fantasy image I had of you got taken away. Now I have a real image of you. In a way, I like this more.”

“I will do all I can to live up to this image.” Minho sighed. “I still can’t believe you knew me before I knew you existed. I wish I had known.”

“I’ve been hearing about you since you and Felix were together.”

“We weren’t really together, not like that.”

“I mean, sure you didn’t have a label, but you know what I mean…”

“With Lix… We had attraction and desire when we met. And it started off great. He even asked me to be exclusive, just sleeping with him. I liked him, and so I was into it. But as it progressed, that initial passion faded, and it was just feeling better to hang out as friends than more. I think he wanted more, but I told him how I felt, that I didn’t think we could have those kinds of feelings you need in a relationship. He said it was worth a shot, but he agreed he didn’t feel what we should, so he agreed that friendship was for the best. We stopped sleeping together because we couldn’t be together. So yeah, we were something I guess, but never that.”

“I remember him telling me… What about you and Hyunjin? He spoke of you almost as much as Felix.”

“We never had the same kinda thing. We are good friends who like sex and are very compatible. Both physically in sex and in our attitude to casual sex. We can have sex and then just hang out or talk about who we are actually crushing on. I love him, but I have no interest in anything more than friendship. I mean, yes, the sex is good, but it’s not why we're friends, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’m never too sure how much to take seriously with what Jinnie says about sex.”

“He means it all. And by that, even if he suggests something as a joke, he wouldn't joke if he wasn’t willing to follow through. So yeah, take it all seriously.” Minhho said with a weak laugh.

“I’ve never had any of that. No friends with benefits, no relationships. I mean, I’ve been on a couple of dates, but never a second date with the same person.” Jisung sighed. “I know not having sex doesn't mean I’m broken. Lots of people never have sex, and some people are happy not wanting sex. But I do want sex. I’m not broken because I haven’t had sex. I haven’t been able to have sex because I’m broken.”

“You are not broken.” Minho said firmly. “You are beautiful, so beautiful I became a fucking moron the second I saw you, and I haven’t stopped thinking about you ever since. And you are funny. The shit you said in the group chat and at Innie’s party convinced me I wanted to be your friend. I don’t make new friends often. You’re also so kind and sweet, thinking of your friends, and wanting to be with them all the time. There is nothing wrong with you, and the world sometimes feeling hostile to you isn’t a flaw. You are so sure of yourself, you have self-respect and standards for yourself, and you know what you want. They aren’t flaws, they are strengths. From where I’m standing, you aren’t broken, you’re perfect.” Minho sighed then frowned, wondering where such an intense conviction came from.

“I’m far from perfect… But it’s nice to hear.” Jisung said, and nuzzled his face into Minho’s neck. Minho let the silence take them for longer, before the intense emotions he had got caught up in at the weekend seemed to leak back in with the unexpected vulnerability of the moment.

“When I saw you so scared on Friday, scared because of what we were going to do, I lost it. I was out of my mind worrying I had pushed you, that me pursuing you, and not seeing the fear in your caution as pressuring you. I felt sick that I might be doing that to you. I’m so sorry I didn’t see what was going on sooner. I’m sorry I ran. I reacted so badly. I never want to leave you hanging like that again. I will do all I can to make sure I don’t hurt you.”

“You never pressured me. It’s one of the things that made me want you to be my first. People have tried to pressure me before, you know? They find out, they seem to think I just need to get over it, or they just want me to have sex with them anyway. I don’t keep those people around me. I choose who I spend my time with pretty carefully. And I chose to spend it with you. You make me feel safe. I trust you.”

“You mean it?” Minho swallowed, feeling close to overwhelmed at the relief flooding him.

“I promised to be honest. I mean it.” Jisung said.

Minho stayed at Jisung’s for over an hour, holding him, then ordering food to share before he eventually accepted he had to leave.

“So, with this thing… Are we still gonna hang out?” Jisung asked when Minho told him he needed to go home.

“Of course. We’re friends. I want to be your friend over all else. This thing, we can meet for stuff, we can keep it separate if you like?”

“Yeah… I think knowing when I’m gonna be… When we are meeting for this will make it easier to process.”

“Okay, we pick a day, once a week, and I’ll come over. That way you can think about what you want to do, and take time to make sure you still want this. And if you want to stop at any time, we are still friends, from my side at least.”

“Okay. Today is Wednesday, so shall we meet on this day each week?”

“Fine with me, I will come over after work. And between that, we can still meet for coffee, hang out with our friends, or even alone without sex being a part of it.”

“Okay, yeah, I’m glad. I really want to keep you my friend. I think I’d miss you if we weren’t friends anymore.” Jisung smiled at him. “So we should bully the group chat to make plans this weekend.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you this weekend then. And you can still text and call me whenever you like.” Minho was about to go when another thought occurred to him. “Oh, by the way, are you wanting to keep this, what we’re doing a secret? Like Seungmin kinda already knows everything that’s happened, I tell him my life, but I can keep this a secret if that’s what you need?”

“No, I will be telling Chan, and Lix. Innie will hear, but that doesn't mean he will know.” Jisung chuckled, “I’m okay you talking about it with people, but can you not bring it up in a group? I don’t want to be the centre of the spotlight about this. You know what I mean?” Minho remembered Jisung’s talk about how weird it felt, him and their friends joking about actual sex acts they had done before and realised he didn’t want them to take his experiences and do the same.

“I got it. I’ll have some discretion. And I’ll tell anyone I talk to they better have tact too, or they will have to face me about it.”

“Thank you. It’s not a secret, I just don’t want it to be like, public topic.” Jisung clarified.

“That’s no problem at all.” 

Jisung walked Minho to the door and looked nervous again. Minho chuckled before pulling him into a soft kiss, earning a bright smile before he forced himself to turn away and leave Jisung’s side. Minho felt his brain buzzing as he went home, but not in panic this time, but filled with Jisung. He had never expected this meeting to go this way, a part of him expecting to wake up and have dreamt the whole thing. As he laid in bed waiting for sleep to take him, he thought of if there was anything else he had to do for Jisung, any more discussions or accommodations to make this whole experience easier on him. All he came up with was making sure he knew how safe he was, and to ensure he was careful to monitor Jisung’s tension and worry as they progressed. As he started to drift into sleep, he noticed a feeling of contentment settling in him.

Chapter Text

JISUNG: So what’s everyone’s plans for the weekend?

HYUNJIN: I have a date with LIno.

MINHO: You have a what now?

HYUNJIN: Oh right, for you a date ends in a blow job… Well I guess that’s not fully out of the cards.

MINHO: Again, I ask what?

HYUNJIN: You promised me dinner and gossip. I’m cashing in.

MINHO: Oh yeah, fine, I’ll cook. Anyone else inviting themselves to my house to eat my food?

SEUNGMIN: I’ll come, that way I can get my gossip at the same time.

FELIX: Sungie, shall we have a gossip night of our own if they aren’t inviting us?

JISUNG: I already tell you every part of my life, why do we need a gossip session?

FELIX: I need more details on your gossip. 

JISUNG: Fine.

MINHO: I guess that’s Friday sorted. Any full group activities happening on the Saturday?

CHAN: I am working as always.

JEONGIN: No! You are in the studio too much! You promised me you would try and hang out with us more!

CHAN: Oh god, not the guilt trip. Yeah, okay, I can probably spare a few hours on Saturday.

CHANGBIN: Sounds like we should go for a meal. I’m working late both Friday and Saturday. I have been falling so far behind on my work recently.

CHAN: You’re not doing too bad. We’re on track for our deadlines.

CHANGIN: Yeah, but between Jisung refusing to work weekends, and you refusing to sleep if we fall behind, I want to put in the extra hours.

HYUNJIN: So gossip and home cooked meal date with the Mins on Friday, then group meal out on Saturday, this is a good weekend!

JISUNG: Going for a meal at a restaurant?

CHANGBIN: That is usually where we go for food outside. 

JISUNG: Oh… Great. I’ll still be going. You should book though, with so many of us we will need a big table, and if we don’t book they might not have a table, we might have to wait, or end up with nowhere to eat.

CHAN: Calm down, Sung. I got this. So is everyone coming?

JEONGIN: I’m there!

MINHO: I’ll come.

SEUNGMIN: Sure.

FELIX: Yeah sounds fun!

CHANGBIN: Obviously I am.

HYUNJIN: I already said yeah.

JISUNG: I will go, if you’re booking.

CHAN: Table for 8 it is. 

JISUNG: So you are for real are gonna hang out more? Will you come to hang out at mine when I ask for once?

CHAN: I guess I would be hypocritical to say no. If we stay on top of our work, maybe I’ll hang out next weekend too.

JISUNG: I’m gonna hold you to that!

MINHO: Oh, I’m not enough for you now? Do you need multiple men in your apartment to be happy?

JISUNG: Shut up! I want all my men all the time!

MINHO: I didn’t know you were into that… Are we talking gangbang or a bukkake circle?

JISUNG: Oh god! Please shut up! For one, I refuse to clean up after that at my apartment!

MINHO: Yeah, nothing will get that much cum out of the carpet.

FELIX: Jisung, stop encouraging him.

JISUNG: Why? It’s funny.

HYUNJIN: Because Lino will follow through on a joke. You are writing cheques your ass doesn't want to cash!

MINHO: Are you saying you are against a bukkake orgy party?

JISUNG: I’m not hosting it.

HYUNJIN: I think Minnie should host. He would be able to clean up after.

JEONGIN: Why are there orgies in my phone again! 

Minho laughed as that seemed to put an end to the conversation, and he had to get back to work from his lunch break anyway. He and Jisung kept texting each other whenever they had the time, Minho sneaking looks at his phone in the seconds his clients were occupied with something else, trying to be subtle about replying. Minho made a plan of what to cook for Hyunjin and Seungmin, making sure there would be enough for Jeongin if he ended up joining them. He was unsure if Jeongin was joining Jisung and Felix’s gossip day or staying home.

On Friday, his friends waited until they had finished off the food he had prepared for them before they started to badger him for details on what was happening with Jisung.

“Alright so spill! You said Jisung invited you over for fucking, did you finally get some?” Hyunjin asked after they had cleaned up their dishes.

“You’re such a romantic soul, Jinnie. I just love how poetically you describe the joining of two humans.” Minho laughed.

“I’ve heard you describe fucking Jinnie as riding the cock-flume at dicky-land.” Seungmin said.

“It’s the happiest place on earth! That was a compliment.” Minho defended.

“Enough talk of how amazing my ass is, how is Sungie’s?” Hyunjin insisted.

“Well, we talked, and we agreed that we’re gonna start hooking up.”

“Oh shit! I didn't think you would manage it! Get that ass!” Hyunjin seemed far too excited about Minho’s sex life.

“Well, we are still taking it slow, so no ass just yet.”

“Wait? Then how exactly are you hooking-up?”

“You do know there are other things you can do than just fucking, right?”

“Oh yeah, blow jobs. Good times.”

“Yeah, hands and mouth. But he said he does want to have sex with me, he just wants to go slow. Actually I suggested we go slow when he seemed to be a little nervous about going straight to the sex.”

“You managed to talk it all out? He's okay with it, yeah?” Seungmin asked, looking at Minho as he avoided revealing all Minho had told him when he called him.

“Yeah, he’s good. We talked and I made it clear I don’t want to pressure him to do anything if he’s not there yet. So we are hooking-up, but we’re still taking our time and he’s more comfortable with that.”

“Honestly, that makes sense. I got the vibe Jisung hasn’t had all that much experience. And even less sober activity.” Hyunjin chuckled.

“Maybe…” Minho said, not wanting to lie, but refusing to reveal Jisung’s personal details carelessly. “Oh, and he kinda wants to keep it discreet. So don’t bring it up in a group setting, he would get embarrassed, then I would get violent. So if you wanna talk about it, talk to me, or Sung directly, no casual chatting like we do with our sex lives. Yeah?”

“Oh, so he is discreet? I called it. I can manage that. But I still expect all the details from you.”

“Well you will be disappointed. I’ll give a rough outline, but no details. Jisung isn’t as open about this stuff as us, I’m gonna respect that.”

“Boring. But good for you. So, what can you tell me?”

“He makes the hottest sounds. And he is the best fucking kisser.” Minho said, leaving it fully open to interpretation.

“That’s it?”

“He’s a cuddler.” Minho added with a shrug.

“And are you compatible in any way?” Hyunjin laughed.

“I don’t have a problem cuddling. We are compatible because we are both hot and want to touch each other's fun parts. What more do we need?” Minho laughed.

“You’re also compatible in friendship, that goes a long way with sex. Trust and understanding can really help you know the other person and learn how to make each other feel good.” Seungmin added.

“That was almost deep. You and your mystery booty call getting a soul connection there Minnie?” Hyunjin asked, his interest jumping from Minho’s sex life to Seungmin’s in a second.

“Jinnie, go get your own sex life to gossip about. And leave mine alone.” Seungmin brushed off.

“And how do I do that? I want sex!”

“Well, I started hitting on my friend's friend, you could try that?” Minho laughed.

“Not a bad idea.” Hyunjin said, sounding serious as he looked like he was thinking about his options.

“I’ll send a warning message to the group chat, telling them you’re on the hunt.” Seungmin said, getting his phone out. “Oh, looks like I’m getting laid in an hour.” He added as he looked at his phone, seemingly only with the goal of taunting Hyunjin.

“We have company?” Jeongin startled them all as he came out of his room.

“Holy crap! I didn’t know you were home!” Minho exclaimed.

“I fell asleep when I got home from work.” Jeongin said, shrugging as he rubbed his eyes.

“Well there's food left for you in the kitchen, help yourself.” Minho told him.

Jeongin got himself some food and joined the other three on the sofa, chatting as they changed the topic from their sex lives to complaining about their work. Seungmin didn’t rush out after an hour, which Minho was actually impressed with, but he did leave early enough that he knew he wasn’t just lying about getting sex that night to piss off Hyunjin.

On Saturday Minho went to the gym and then busied himself with housework before dragging Jeongin away from his online gaming to go meet the others for the late lunch they had arranged. Once they arrived Minho headed straight for where Jisung was sitting, and evicted Hyunjin from his chair so that he could sit next to him. He saw Jeongin taking the spare seat next to Chan as Hyunjin moved to the seat next to Felix who was on Jisung’s other side.

“Hey Sungie, how are you doing?” Minho asked as Jisung turned to look at him.

“I’m okay…” Jisung said uncertainty.

“That didn’t sound very convincing. What’s up?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Tell me.” Minho said as he placed a hand lightly on his thigh.

“I just get a little stressed in restaurants. I love the food, but like, it’s so crowded and loud. I have to make a decision on what I want to eat, then remember it and talk to someone to order it, and what if it’s wrong? I don’t want to send it back or complain if it is. I don’t want to make a fuss, but it can get kinda obvious that I’m tense and it worries people. I can handle it, and it’s worth it to hang out with you guys, but yeah… It’s stressful. And I’ve never been to this restaurant, so it’s a new place on top of all that.”

“That sucks. It’s impressive you still came with having all that to deal with.” Minho moved his hand to rest over his shoulders, in a protective gesture as he grabbed the menu. “Let’s look and decide what we’re eating together, yeah?” Jisung glanced at him, and was tense in Minho’s light hold for a second before nodding and leaning against his body as his eyes dropped to the menu.

“How are you?” Jisung asked as he seemed to look over the menu.

“Better for seeing you.” Minho said with a smile, squeezing Jisung lightly before he turned back to the menu. “So what looks good? Something meaty, creamy, seafood, spicy?”

“I can’t handle much spice, so probably not worth the risk of that.” Jisung told him.

“I will keep that in mind for if ever I cook for you.”

“I wish you were cooking for me right now. It would be easier than trying to choose while trying to block out all the noise around me.”

“Okay, let’s focus and decide and get it over with. What looks good?”

“Hmm… Maybe the meat, or the seafood. I’m not sure.”

“Well, I was thinking I’d get seafood, so if you get meat we can share?”

“Yeah? You’d share with me?” Jisung asked as he turned to look at Minho.

“Of course. This way we both get to try more food.”

“This is why sharing food is good. The downside is giving people my food.” Jisung chucked as Minho dropped the menu to give Jisung his full attention, hoping to distract him from the environment so he could try and reduce some of his stress.

“So how was your best friend gossip day?” Minho asked as Jisung turned slightly in his chair to face him.

“Good, I had already called Felix as soon as you left on Wednesday.” Jisung chuckled. “But he wanted a more detailed rundown of events.”

“I hope you were telling him good things?”

“Oh yeah, I was very complimentary to you.” Jisung said, his voice low enough to not be overheard. “What about your gossip?”

“I was light on the details, I just told Jinnie we are hooking up and taking it slow, I left out the why and what we have done. Seungmin knows most of it though, I don’t really keep things from him.”

“What did they say?” Jisung looked mildly concerned about what his friends' opinions were.

“Hyunjin was again surprised at my willingness to go slow and show restraint. I’m beginning to wonder about my reputation. Seungmin doesn’t have any strong opinions, he may be a judgmental bitch, but he’s kind of a live and let live type with this stuff. I also told Hyunjin to not bring up what’s going on with us in the group. If he does let me know and I’ll poison his coffee next time I see him.”

“Thanks.” Jisung chuckled, his eyes leaving Minho to glance around the table. Minho looked up, and saw a few of their friends watching them being so close. Chan was watching and smiled when Jisung looked, Seungmin was glancing at them occasionally, and Hyunjin was leering as usual. “I told Chan all the details too. He has some strong opinions, but is overall not being too judgy, he just worries about me.”

“I get that. I’ve not got the best reputation with our friends it seems.”

“Felix thinks highly of you…” Jisung said.

“Yeah well he knows first hand that I’m not gonna pressure someone, and I’ll adapt to what someone wants or needs. Hard to fully realise that with a one time fuck or how me and Jinnie do friends with benifits. I still care about boundaries, it’s just that Hyunjin doesn’t really have any.” Minho laughed and Jisung nodded, eyes flicking to his side where Hyunjin and Felix were talking.

“I don’t think Chan thinks badly of you, he’s just uncertain if we would be on the same wavelength with… With all the physical stuff. But I told him you were going to take it slow, and go at my speed. He just said we need to keep being open and it could be fine.”

“He really is like your big brother, huh?” Minho chuckled, glancing at Chan who was dividing his attention between talking to Jeongin and glancing at them. “I agree with him though, we do need to make sure we are being open to make sure this is good for you.”

“I know. Talking is hard, but I will do my best.” Jisung gave him a smile then looked down, and Minho figured he was at his limit of talking about their sex life for the day.

“So what’s the next soul crushing anime you’re gonna watch and spoil for me?” Minho asked with a playful smile, changing the topic.

Minho kept Jisung occupied until the food arrived, at which point Jisung seemed to have relaxed enough to start talking to the whole group. Minho made sure to keep feeding Jisung choice pieces of his meal, not going back on his promise of sharing. Jisung also shared his food, having no problem eating off of Minho’s fork or feeding him with his own.

“So, is anyone doing anything after this?” Hyunjin asked when they had all finished eating.

“I’m going back to work.” Chan grumbled.

“Yeah, I should probably get another couple hours of work done.” Changbin agreed.

“I don’t mind you guys coming to mine if you wanna keep hanging out. Video games and beer, whatever.” Felix offered.

“I was gonna be doing that even if you didn’t offer.” Jisung chuckled.

“I have nothing better to do.” Jeongin said. 

“Same, sounds good.” Hyunjin agreed.

“I got some time to kill.” Seungmin added, with a blink and you miss it look exchanged with Changbin.

“I’ll come, but I’m just watching, not gaming.” Minho said and Jisung turned to smile at him, looking happy they were spending more time together.

Minho made sure he sent Chan money for the meal when it seemed like he had secretly paid for everyone again. Then he left to go to Felix’s place with his other friends. Once in Felix’s apartment Felix went to get an armload of beers and sodas to put on the table as Jeongin set up the console and they sat on the sofa. Minho stayed standing, realising a space issue just before Felix did.

“Damn, I’m gonna have to get a bigger sofa if you all keep coming over for gaming.” Felix chuckled as he assessed the maths problem of a four seat couch with six friends that was in front of him.

“I got it.” Minho said and reached down, taking Jisung’s wrist as he looked up at him mildly confused. Minho tugged Jisung out of his seat, and turned them so that he dropped down where Jisung had sat and pulled him to sit on his lap. Jisung giggled and Minho moved his face to whisper to him. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, it’s cosy.” Jisung said, turning to bless him with a bright smile.

“Good, I think so too. Besides, I need to keep my place as your cuddle buddy.” Minho chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist as he got comfortable on top of him, his weight a pleasant and comforting pressure on Minho.

Jisung was leaning back against him, turned slightly so he could turn and face him but also see the TV without any problems. Minho watched as the other guys set up a game and leant his head against Jisung and took a deep breath. He let his eyes close as he just soaked in the comforting feelings, the relaxed atmosphere of friends enjoying time together, and most of all Jisung. His warmth and weight was like the most delightful blanket. His smell was filling his mind and helping to soothe him. Even the vibrations from him talking and laughing rumbling over his chest was soothing. Minho didn’t intend to fall asleep, and he wasn’t sure he even did, but when he next opened his eyes Jisung was curled more against him, arms wrapped over his shoulders and face pressed against his. Minho took a deep breath and rubbed his face against Jisung as he felt his mind catching up.

“Are you awake?” Jisung asked softly, so close to his face that his breath tickled Minho.

“Was I asleep?” Minho mumbled moving to press his lips to Jisung’s jaw that was too close to resist.

“Mhmm.” Jisung hummed in confirmation, nuzzling against his face before moving back to look at him. “Falling asleep anywhere is supposed to be my special skill.”

“You can share it.” Minho said with a sleepy smile.

“I think I’m already sharing enough with you.” Jisung said with a shy smile.

“Share more. Share everything.” 

“Wanna share my anxiety too?”

“Sure, hand it over. Talking to strangers is overrated anyway.”

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.” Jisung grinned, brushing Minho’s hair from his face.

“Yeah? Well you’re always cute.” Minho sighed and tried to stretch his limbs without knocking Jisung off his lap.

“Do you wanna go home to bed?” 

“It’s still early.”

“Yeah, but you’re sleepy.”

“I’ll go soon. You keep playing, I’ll watch a little longer.”

“You’ll just be asleep again soon.” Jisung chuckled.

“Oh well.” Minho sighed, moving himself so he could actually watch the TV as he spent another couple of hours with his friends before surrendering to going home to have an early night.

Minho spent his Sunday being active, spending the morning at the gym before going grocery shopping and cooking lunch for him and Jeongin. He then spent the rest of the day doing house work before relaxing for the evening after making dinner. He was messaging Jisung the whole day, and had been tempted a few times to invite himself over to Jisung’s to just hang out, but knew it was better for him to catch up on his housework.

On Monday Minho booked an appointment on his lunch break before he headed to work. He had been thinking since Jisung had told him he wanted him to be his first, and how much trust he was putting in him with this arrangement they had come up with. Minho was careful, always used condoms, and got tested often, but he wanted to book a full screening of tests before Jisung and he went any further. The thought that no matter how careful they were, something could go wrong and a condom could break, or through other exposure Jisung’s first time could leave him needing to take a course of antibiotics or even worse, made Minho feel sick to his stomach. He wanted to be 100% confident he had taken every measure to make sure Jisung would be safe whatever happened with them.

Once he was in the clinic waiting for his tests, he took a photo of a sexual health pamphlet with the waiting room in the background to send in the group chat, feeling like sharing the misery of being in a medical situation.

MINHO: It’s dick-check o’clock. Anyone want me to try and steal some medical grade lubricant for them?

HYUNJIN: Fuck yeah! Turn my whole body into a slip-n-slide!

SEUNGMIN: Didn’t you just get your dick tested the other month? I was joking when I said you should get tested weekly.

MINHO: Can never be too careful. I am a responsible slut, I like to spread my dick and cheeks, not anything else.

JISUNG: Ew! I hate the doctors and medical type places. I also dislike the needles!

HYUNJIN; They aren’t supposed to put a needle in your dick. Are you sure it was a real doctor?

JISUNG: Holy crap! I meant for the blood test! 

FELIX: He cried.

JISUNG: I did not! I was just freaked out! 

FELIX: Full on baby crying at the dick-testing clinic. It was kinda adorable and pathetic.

JISUNG: I fucking hate you! I’m gonna replace your shampoo with honey.

MINHO: It sucks, but it’s quick at least. Booked in for my lunch break, in and out, then I can forget about it.

HYUNJIN: I’ve heard you describe men like that.

MINHO: Yeah, you. And I’m still trying to forget about you.

SEUNGMIN: Well if you do have anything contagious, this group chat is at least half of the people you would need to tell, so that’s convenient.

CHANGBIN: Do you guys actually ever work?

HYUNJIN: I work my ass. Full time job.

Minho put his phone away as his name was called for his testing. The process was quick, fluids, swabs and blood, and he was out of there, knowing he would be getting an email with his results after not too long. He had no symptoms and was confident everything would come back clear, he just wanted that full assurance before he got too intimate with Jisung. He bought himself a fancy looking sandwich from a bakery and a strong coffee to eat on his way back to work, trying to put the invasive feeling of the appointment behind him. He took a photo of the tiny plaster over where they took his blood and sent it to Jisung.

MINHO: They stole my blood. Fucking vampire doctors stike again!

JISUNG: Sounds hot. Well… Apart from the medical setting. How was it?

MINHO: Fine, it took less than half of my lunch break. I think you should kiss it better though. I might get a bruise.

JISUNG: How about I buy you a coffee tomorrow. That will make it better, right?

MINHO: It will help. But I’ll still be waiting on that kiss.

JISUNG: Well, you only have to wait until Wednesday, right?

MINHO: 2 whole days, how will I cope?

JISUNG: With coffee tomorrow!

Minho smiled, feeling the gross feeling from the health testing already dissipated from Jisung’s playful words. On Tuesday Jisung bought him the coffee he had promised, and a large chocolate muffin for them to share. They stayed in the dance studios cafe as the weather looked like it would rain.

“So, how often do you get tested?” Jisung asked when they were sitting down, far enough away from anyone else that their conversation was private.

“Often, every few months if nothing makes me want to get tested sooner. You’ve been tested too?”

“Yeah, Felix dragged me to one with him a while back. He said I should know what it entails for when I do get sexually active, and besides you wanna be sure even without having sex that everything is okay. So yeah, I hated it, but I’m glad I know I have a clean bill of health down there.”

“Sensible. Yeah, I’m big on safe sex, I always use condoms, but you gotta be careful.” Minho looked at him and smiled. “I actually got tested for your sake. While I am very much about safety, I am also the kinda guy who has anonymous sex in public bathrooms in clubs. So I thought it was the right thing to do to just double check that I was all clean before we went any further. I didn’t want to ever have any risk of this being anything but a positive experience for you.”

“Does that mean you’ll have to get tested again between every other person and us hooking up?”

“It would, yeah.” Minho had been thinking about this also, and decided it was only right to let Jisung in on his decision. “That’s one of the reasons I figured I won’t be fucking anyone else while we are doing this hook-up, teaching, guiding you through sex arrangement.”

“What, really?”

“Yeah, I want to be certain that you will be safe. And besides, it’s just respectful really. You need to be able to trust me.”

“Wow… Isn’t that… That’s kind of a lot of pressure on me… If you’re not gonna be getting what you want from anyone else.” Jisung said, suddenly looking more insecure.

“I’m not a sex crazed fiend. I can get by without sex. And what we are doing, I’m looking forward to it. It’s enough for me. Don’t worry about it. Besides, I’ve not been fucking anyone else while I was showing interest in you anyway.”

“You haven’t had sex with anyone since we met?” Jisung’s eyes opened wide in disbelief.

“Okay, well, I did fuck Hyunjin the night I hit on you, and you, rightfully so, rejected me so hard I think I got whiplash. I saw you two dancing together, and honestly, I got jealous.”

“You were jealous I was dancing with Hyunjin?”

“I thought you two were gonna hook up. I didn’t know you were friends at this point. I figured if I can’t have you, he couldn’t either. So I fucked him instead. I think you made me stupid that night.” Minho laughed.

“First off, I would never fuck Hyunjin, he seems… Kinda intense for me. In the sex stuff I mean.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You said you two were compatible?”

“Yeah… He’s versatile, in both topping, bottoming, and in the type of sex he’s into. Like me he’s pretty flexible in what he wants. That night I was kinda rough with him, but I know he likes that, so I don’t need to worry about him too much.”

“Like… BDSM stuff?”

“Never that far, just rough sex. We don’t have safe words, we don’t do bondage or gagging. If he let me gag him during sex I would never take that thing off, even after we finished! But it can get kinda intense, and you gotta trust the other person is into it and will tell you if you go too far.”

“Is… Is that what you’re into?”

“I like it sometimes. But I’m kinda happy with whatever. I usually adapt to what the person I’m with seems to want. I’m just happy with sex in general.”

“Oh… I don’t really know what I’m into yet. I think right now, I just want sex to feel good and not scare me.” Jisung chuckled, seeming a little more relaxed.

“I’ll do my best to make sure it is, if you still decide you want me to be the one you try it with.”

“So far you are still my number one choice… My only choice… Calling it a choice is generous.” Jisung laughed then looked worried for a second. “Not that I’m only wanting you because of that. You’re hot and caring and patient. You’re my only choice because you’re the only one I feel comfortable doing that with who I actually want to. So… I made it sound so bad.”

“Not at all. I hope I can keep making you feel comfortable.” Minho smiled and reached over to squeeze Jisung’s hand reassuringly. “As long as this, I’m, what you actually want, I’m thrilled.” Jisung looked up and nodded, letting out a breath of relief that he hadn’t upset or offended Minho. “So, do you still want me to come over tomorrow?”

“Yes!” Jisung answered so quickly that Minho couldn’t help but laugh. “I mean, if you want to, I still want to.” Jisung looked down, his cheeks darkening with embarrassment. 

“I’ve thought of nothing else. But remember, if when I get there, you don’t want to do anything, that’s okay. I’m happy just hanging out with you.”

“I like hanging out with you too. But I think I will definitely want more…” Jisung glanced up, grinning as he tried to control his embarrassment. “Oh god… I just realised!”

“What?”

“I’m gonna have to go buy condoms soon!” Jisung laughed.

They changed the topic to lighter things until they had to go back to work, both lingering in the lobby as they said goodbye, neither seeming to want to part from the other. They were messaging each other again as soon as they were back in their studios, as if they hadn’t just spent an hour together. 

Time seemed to creep on Wednesday, the time when he would be with Jisung feeling further away with each minute that seemed to take an hour to pass. Eventually Minho was at Jisung’s door, having showered and changed at work to head straight there again. Jisung let Minho in just a second after he knocked, beaming at him and seeming as eager as Minho felt. Minho smiled back as his eyes ran over him, seeing Jisung was in comfortable clothes again, a look Minho was getting very fond of seeing him in, and his hair was slightly damp. Minho figured Jisung had also just showered as soon as he got home from work. Minho followed Jisung to the couch and sat close by him.

“Hi.” Minho said with a warm smile.

“Hi.” Jisung said, his eyes flicking down to Minho’s lips.

Jisung surprised Minho by surging forward, connecting them in a desperate kiss before Minho had even realised he had moved. Minho soon caught up and wrapped his arms around him, kissing him back and matching his intensity and need. Jisung sighed into his mouth as his hands slid into his hair. Then as suddenly as the kiss had started, Jisung pulled back, eyes wide and worried. 

“Shit, sorry. I should have asked. I shouldn’t have just…” Jisung practically stammered as he started to pull back. Minho gripped the back of his head to keep him close.

“It’s fine. I want this. I told you. I like kissing you.” Minho told him before pulling Jisung back into a less intense kiss. “Kissing you is quickly becoming one of my favourite activities.”

“That’s just because we haven’t done the other activities yet.” Jisung said against his lips, seeming to have relaxed again.

“Careful, you’re starting to sound impatient now.” Minho chuckled lightly, still exchanging kisses as they spoke.

“Of course I’m impatient! I’m a virgin and so fucking horny!”

“What happened to the anxious guy who was afraid of having a panic attack on my dick?”

“Oh, I’m still here, and I will be so much less confident as soon as we’re actually doing things, but right now… Fuck, I just missed kissing you.” Jisung pulled back to smile at him before falling back into a deep make out session again.

Minho relaxed, enjoying the feeling of kissing Jisung, feeling him melting into him. Jisung’s hands were slightly bolder this time, roaming over his back and fingers trailing over his neck in a way that sent slight tingles down his spine. Minho made sure to keep his own hands from wandering too much, keeping one hand in his hair and the other rubbing at his waist, and eventually down to hold his thigh.

“We can just make out today if you want?” Minho asked when they finally broke apart.

“No, that’s not all I want today.” 

“What do you want?” Minho asked, his fingers caressing his face.

“Last time… I said we could do it next time… About you showing me yours.” Jisung said, his nerves seeming to be creeping back in.

“Not even able to say the words?” Minho teased lightly.

“I can say it! I just… It’s just when we’re here and talking about doing it…” Jisung sighed and pouted in an adorable manner. “I’m already flustered and trying not to be embarrassed. I will get better at it, but it’s hard.”

“I know, it’s okay, I’m just teasing. I mean just a little. It would be good for you to be able to ask for what you want, say the words. The less embarrassing it is for you to say it, the more comfortable you will get with it. But it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll work on it.” Jisung nodded, smiling at Minho before averting his eyes as he powered on asking for what he wanted. “So I thought we can do what we did last week-”

“Hand job.” Minho said, smiling as he only intended it as half teasing.

“Yeah, hand job. But I thought, maybe I could do it to you too.” Jisung said, looking up at Minho with wide eyes, trying to appear more confident than he clearly felt. Minho chose to not try and coax Jisung into saying exactly what he meant, seeing how hard Jisung was trying to be bold, and not wanting to try and shake him.

“You would want to do that today?” Minho asked, he hadn’t really thought about when he thought Jisung might be comfortable in reciprocating, but he had fully accepted that he might never feel comfortable and he was okay with that.

“I…” Jisung’s eyes flicked down to Minho’s crotch. “Yeah, I really do. If that’s okay with you?” Those pleading doe eyes on him again. Minho felt a surge of arousal, but also an almost overwhelming burst of fondness.

“Of course it’s okay. I definitely want that too. I just want to make sure you’re doing this at your speed, and doing it because it’s what you want, not just to please me.”

“I mean, to please you is one of the main motivators, but I want to please you. Pleasure… Whatever.” Jisung told him, struggling to maintain eye contact, but managing to look at him as he spoke still.

“Okay, poor choice of words on my part. I don’t want you to do something just because you think I want you to. Only ever do what you want to do.”

“I know… I do want this. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m sure.” Jisung looked him solidly in the eyes and smiled, reassuring Minho that he felt no pressure to touch him.

“Okay, so I don’t think I have to explain anything to you about how to touch a dick in a pleasing way.” Minho smiled.

“Touch you like I would myself?”

“Yeah, that will work, some people do like different things from each other, but it’s kinda basic. I’m gonna touch you at the same time, and I don’t want you to try and focus on us cumming together. I want you to just enjoy the feeling and let yourself cum when it feels right. If you want to make me cum, great, if not, that’s fine. If I cum first or after, it’s all fine.”

“I want to make you cum.”

“Okay, just know you don’t have to. I can go to the bathroom and take care of myself. Or just deal. An orgasm is a pleasure, not a right.” Minho chuckled.

“I know. But I would like to make you cum.” Jisung couldn’t quite look at him as he said it, but Minho was proud of Jisung actually saying the words he got embarrassed about saying when they were about to do it.

“Okay, I’d like that. Changing your mind is okay, and I want you to prioritise on what feels good and right for you, yeah?”

“Okay. Sounds good to me.” Jisung said with a nervous laugh. “Oh!” Jisung looked back up at him. “I have lube. We should use that, right? It will feel better.”

“It will feel better, it will just be messier, but I’m okay with that if you are.” Minho smiled, again impressed at Jisung being bolder to ask for and add elements of what he wanted.

“Don’t worry, I got it.” Jisung said with a smile before rushing into his bedroom. Minho watched after him, smiling as Jisung came back in the room with lube, tissues and wet-wipes. He dropped back on the sofa and placed the supplies in reach of them before looking back at Minho as he bit his lip.

“Ready?” Minho asked, putting one arm back over his shoulder, ready to pull him back into a kiss.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Jisung said, voice breathy, and Minho was unsure if it was from arousal or nerves.

“Remember the altered traffic lights if you need them?”

“Slow, pause, and stop.” Jisung repeated to him, nodding.

“Perfect.” Minho smiled at him again before moving in to kiss him deep and slow.

Jisung clung to him tight as they kissed. Minho waited until he felt Jisung’s body relaxing slightly before he started to stroke his hand lightly over his body, landing on his thigh and slowly working up. Minho stopped his hand before drifting off his hip to touch him.

“Okay?” Minho checked, noting Jisung’s breathing was heavier, but far from the panicked breathing from the first time they had been in this position.

“Yeah.” Jisung nodded, his voice more level and comforted Minho that he was far from an anxious state.

Minho nodded before moving his hand to cup Jisung’s, already hard, dick. Minho smiled at the throaty groan that Jisung made at the contact. Minho took his time rubbing him lightly, ensuring Jisung was comfortable before he moved on. Minho only moved from kissing him when Jisung had started to whine, sounding desperate for more.

“Okay if I pull these down?” Minho asked as his fingers hooked under Jisung’s waistband. 

Jisung nodded and bit his lips as he lifted his hips to help Minho remove his dick from the confines of his sweats and underwear. Minho took him in his hand as he looked over him, admiring Jisung’s hard dick. It was a good size, not so big that it would be hard to take, but enough size that Minho thinks it could have him screaming if he rode it.

“You’re staring.” Jisung said.

“I like dicks, what a shocker.” Minho said, smirking at him, before looking back down.

“Okay, but you’re still staring!” Jisung whinged, hiding a laugh. Minho moved back up to kiss him lightly as his hand stroked him slowly. 

“I may be a bit cock obsessed. Got a problem with that.” Minho said, pulling back to look at him.

“No… It’s just weird.”

“It’s weird I want to look at your cock? That I like it?”

“I dunno… Yes!” Jisung laughed. “I’m not used to my dick being the centre of attention.”

“Well… That might have to change.” Minho said with a smile, moving to kiss lightly over Jisung’s neck.

“I told you I’m okay with some marks. How do you feel about marks?” Jisung asked after sighing deeply at Minho kissing his neck.

“As long as you don’t bite me hard enough to draw blood, go fucking nuts. I like it.” Minho told him, grazing his teeth over the skin under his lips.

Jisung sighed, his body relaxing at the stimulation for a while before his hands moved over Minho’s thighs, rising higher to Minho’s own erection.

“Can I?” Jisung asked with his hand hovering over the bulge in Minho’s sweatpants.

“Yeah.” Minho told him, moving back to watch Jisung’s face as he watched himself lay his hand onto Minho’s cock. Minho let out a soft groan at his gentle touch, drawing Jisung’s eyes up to look at him before he pressed harder, beginning to rub over him. Jisung rubbed hesitantly over him for a while before his own fingers moved to dance over Minho’s waistband. 

“Can you…” Jisung asked, swallowing hard as he looked in his eyes.

“Okay.” Minho said softly, raising to pull his pants and underwear down the same amount as Jisung’s were.

Jisung’s eyes opened wider as he stared at Minho’s now exposed cock. Minho gave him a minute without saying anything so he could get used to it. When Jisung was still seeming rapt with the sight of him Minho chuckled lightly. 

“Now whos staring?” Minho said with a sly smile as Jisung’s eyes snapped back up to him, looking like a deer in headlights for a second before a smile broke out on his face.

“Maybe I’m a bit cock obsessed too.” Jisung said, smirking and seeming almost cocky.

“That works out well for us then.” Minho smiled, watching Jisung’s eyes drop back down and his hand starting to reach out to him.

“Can I touch you?” Jisung asked, eyes flicking back up to ask.

“Yeah.”

Minho watched as Jisung’s fingers lightly trailed over his length, shy, exploratory touches. Minho let out a stuttered breath as Jisung’s fingers roamed over his tip before wrapping around him. Minho remembered his own hand, wrapping it back around Jisung’s dick as Jisung started to hesitantly stroke over him. Minho resumed his own motions, and let out a soft noise of pleasure as Jisung squeezed harder in reaction to the returned sensation. Jisung looked at him and smiled at the noise, seeming encouraged and moving his hand more. Minho was glad Jisung seemed to like him making noises, he didn’t want to have to try and keep from making noises, being naturally a vocal person during sex.

“Shall…” Jisung said, looking back up to Minho as his free hand grabbed the bottle of lube. “Shall we use this now?”

“Yeah.” Minho agreed, taking the tube and moving slightly on the couch, tilting his body towards Jisung so they could touch each other easier.

Jisung put his hand out and Minho squeezed some lube into his hand before coating his own, rubbing his fingers over his palm to try and warm it up before placing his hand back over Jisung. Jisung let out a long breath before his own hand returned to Minho’s cock. Minho started to move his hand, the moan Jisung let out causing so much desire in him he bucked slightly into Jisung’s hand.

“Sorry.” Minho muttered.

“Hot.” Jisung replied, pulling Minho back into a sloppy kiss as they started to rub each other into their pleasure.

Minho focused on Jisung, wanting to let Jisung reach his own peak before he worried about his own. It wasn’t easy, Jisung’s hand working with impressive skill, and his moans travelling right from Jisung’s mouth to Minho’s cock, burning his arousal up to intense levels. Minho was grateful when Jisung’s breathing got ragged and his hand faulted on him as he threw his head back, lips parted as soft groans filled the room.

“That’s it baby, you look so fucking good like this.” Minho moaned into his ear, caught up fully in the moment with the pleasure he had been surfing himself.

“Fuck!” Jisung moaned out, and his clean hand darted out to grab a fistful of tissues to prevent making a mess as he came. Jisung’s hand tried to keep stroking him as he rode his high. 

“Relax baby, don’t worry about me. Just focus on you right now.” Minho muttered before kissing Jisung’s face. 

Jisung hummed as his hand relaxed on him. After a few minutes Jisung’s eyes opened and he smiled at Minho, moving to kiss him before he focused on quickly cleaning the lube and any traces of cum from his dick and Minho’s hand. Minho used his clean hand to help Jisung pull up his pants before he moved onto his side, curing his legs up as he fully faced Minho, hand still wrapped over him. Jisung smiled at him, eyes locked on his face as his hand started to resume its movement over him. Minho looked up at him, taking in how good Jisung’s face looked, flushed from his orgasm and focused on driving Minho to his. Jisung’s eyes divided their focus on Minho’s face and his cock, looking entrapped with what he was doing. Minho let himself relax, let the sight of Jisung help his pleasure build. Jisung seemed to get more involved in the task with every moan Minho made. 

“I’m getting close.” Minho warned him, the tension in his abdomen building rapidly at Jisung’s eager attention.

“I want to see you cum.” Jisung said, not sounding like he was saying it to turn him on, but simply as a fact. For some reason this turned Minho on even more. He fought to keep his eyes open, to see Jisung as his climax crashed into him.

“Oh fuck, baby! I’m cumming!” Minho said, seeing Jisung grab tissues just as his eyes fell shut and his orgasm shuddered through him.

“Wow.” Jisung muttered weakly as Minho took deep breaths, taking just a moment to enjoy the high before he returned to give Jisung the attention he needed. 

Minho gave Jisung a sleepy smile as he opened his eyes, making sure they were both clean of cum and lube before pulling his pants up and opening his arms in invitation for Jisung to cuddle. Jisung crawled into his lap, sitting mostly on him as he clung to him in his arms.

“Was it okay?” Jisung asked, sounding nervous.

“It was amazing. You did so well, Sungie.” Minho told him, kissing the top of his head. “How was it for you?”

“So fucking good. Like, why is it so much better when someone else does that than when I do it alone?”

“Is that a real question?” Minho asked with a smile, his whole body feeling so relaxed as he held Jisung close.

“Rhetorical. But… Right, I knew it was going to be good, feel good when you made me cum, like last time. But I didn’t expect it to feel as good as it did when I made you cum.”

“Yeah?”

“It was… It turned me on, a lot. It felt… I felt powerful, but in a really good way, like… It’s weird.”

“Not weird, I get that. One of my favourite things to do is to spend a long time bringing someone to pleasure, keeping them there, maybe making them cum multiple times before I’m done. It’s a massive turn on. And yeah… It does feel powerful. Wanting to give someone else pleasure, getting off on it. That’s one of the best parts of sex for me.”

“That… Taking your time… Sounds kinda intense.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do that to you. Not for the first time, and not unless you ask.”

“Okay… I think it would feel good. But I don’t think I could handle it right now.”

“Of course. I don’t want to overwhelm you. And you might never be into something like that. It is intense, and it is overwhelming, some people like that though. But if you ever wanted to try, you already know I like it.” Minho chuckled lightly.

“But… You still liked this?”

“I liked it so much. You are a really quick student. And so fucking hot. When you’re cuming, when you’re focusing on giving me pleasure. Just so fucking hot.”

“You’re very hot when you do those things too. I liked hearing you moaning… I thought I was gonna cum instantly when you first moaned.” Jisung chuckled.

“That would have been fine.”

“I know, but I wanted to enjoy it for longer.”

“Whatever you want. You can have anything you want.” Minho sighed, he could fall asleep right now, but he knew he would regret it when he woke up with a stiff neck and was late for work.

“Damn! I forgot to bite you!” Jisung said with a laugh.

“Oh no! Well, you can do it next time.” Minho chuckled. Jisung shifted slightly to move so he could playfully bite the skin on Minho's neck, not hard, but enough to make a point.

“Feel better now?” Minho asked when Jisung was curled back up against his body.

“Much. You’re coming to mine this weekend? I’m gonna try and get everyone around on Friday, or Saturday if I can.”

“Of course. Just tell me, I’ll be here.”

“I’ll message in the chat about the plans. I just wanted to ask you first.”

“Want me to stay for dinner again after cuddling?”

“Please.” 

Minho held Jisung and ate food with him again, both seeming more sleepy than they had the week before. Minho had to force himself to get up and leave when he realised he would actually fall asleep on Jisung’s couch if he didn’t move then. He messaged Jisung a selfie once he was in bed, getting an adorable selfie of Jisung’s sleepy face in return. He was still feeling like he was floating on the muscle relaxing, mind numbing bliss of the post orgasm when he was falling asleep, even though it had been a few hours since he had actually cum.

Chapter Text

JISUNG: I got Chan to agree to come hang out at mine after work tomorrow! Who's coming?

JEONGIN: Motherfucker!

CHAN: Rude…

JEONGIN: No I mean, I can’t go out tomorrow! I have a ridiculously early audition on Saturday morning and I have to rest my voice and go to sleep early.

SEUNGMIN: No shit? I have an audition at ‘why the fuck am I awake’ in the morning too. Think it’s the same one?

JEONGIN: Oh dude! Yeah, that’s so cool! We should go for food after.

SEUNGMIN: Sounds good. So I won’t be there tomorrow either.

MINHO: You know I’m coming.

FELIX: As if you could keep me away.

CHANGBIN: I don’t have to confirm right? I already told you yes in person.

JISUNG: Well you’ve done it now anyway. Jinnie?

HYUNJIN: Sounds good! Is it gaming or drinking?

JISUNG: Gaming, but a little drinking is fun too.

MINHO: Any requests on what you want me to bring?

JISUNG: Just come after work, don’t spend time cooking when you could just be at mine already!

MINHO: Okay, but I can pick something up on my way?

JISUNG: Snack food? Sandwiches? I dunno, I don’t usually do anything for people coming over.

MINHO: I’ll find something.

Minho put away his phone to finish his work day, already feeling too distracted the way his thoughts seemed to keep drifting to Jisung. The man had even seeped into his dreams by this point. There was nowhere for him to escape the thoughts and memories of him. Not that Minho minded even in the slightest, even being distracted while working was better with his mind filled with Jisung. 

On Friday Minho stopped by the store on his way to Jisung’s straight from work, and ended up buying an extravagantly large sandwich platter, it was so large that Minho was struggling to carry it the remaining distance to Jisung’s apartment. As Minho got to Jisung’s apartment, and he struggled to balance the platter so that he could open the door he realised he had managed to go overboard again, and shook his head at how ridiculous Jisung made him. He opened the door and beamed at the men in Jisung’s apartment. Felix and Hyunjin were sitting on the floor at Changbin’s feet, and Jisung was sitting between Chan and Changbin on the couch as he played a game. Minho placed the platter on the table just as Jisung looked up and noticed his presence.

“Minho!” Jisung yelled, dropping the controller to the floor as he sprang from his seat and launched himself at Minho just as he stood up from putting down the food.

“Hey baby.” Minho said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around Jisung who was now fully attached to him. “Not that I’m discouraging it, but why are you so excited to see me?”

“He’s fucking wasted is why.” Changbin laughed as they all watched Jisung trying to climb inside of Minho.

“You called me baby.” Jisung giggled softly.

“Want me to stop?” Minho asked quietly.

“No, I like it.” Jisung confirmed before Minho turned his attention back to the other men.

“Why is he the only one wasted?” Minho asked them.

“I brought a couple of bottles with me, and Jisung grabbed one, and before I noticed he’d drunk the whole thing himself. I don’t think he realised how strong it was.”

“How strong was it?”

“Strong enough that I thought two bottles would be enough for all six of us. And he is very much a lightweight.”

“How did you not notice how strong it was, hm?” Minho said, pulling Jisung back a little to look at him.

“It tasted like strawberries.” Jisung replied before nuzzling back to Minho’s neck. “And now I taste like strawberries too.”

“Tasty.” Minho chuckled, squeezing Jisung’s waist as he pulled back to grin at him. “Hope you were serious about the sandwiches.” Minho said, glancing behind him to the platter on the table. Jisung swung himself back, hanging from Minho’s neck as he looked at the table.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Jisung said before releasing Minho to inspect the food offering. Minho chuckled fondly as he watched Jisung looking over the selection of sandwiches in awe. Jisung then jumped back up and pushed Minho to sit on the sofa next to Chan before dropping into his lap.

“I guess we’re done with this game.” Felix laughed, gesturing at the game Jisung had abandoned.

“I think playing games went out the window when Jisung got drunk. Let’s put on some music and dance!” Hyunjin said, tossing his controller aside as he went to put on a playlist.

“Yeah, we’re basically on a clock until Sung falls asleep, let's just enjoy it.” Chan said with a teasing grin to Jisung who stuck his tongue out in return.

“Do you want a drink from the bottle that we have left?” Changbin asked as he poured for the others.

“Nah, I’m fine. More to go around for you guys that way too.” Minho said with a smile, seeing Chan pass on the sweet alcohol as well, letting the three left share the bottle to try and get a little buzz.

“I wasn’t gonna get drunk.” Jisung told Minho, watching as the others drank their shots. “I thought it was like a cocktail, I was just gonna get a little tipsy.” Jisung chuckled as Minho smiled at him.

“Oh well, you’re still upright and conscious, so just enjoy it.” 

“Yeah! You don’t mind me being a drunk mess, do you?” Jisung asked, looking mildly concerned. 

“I think you’re fun, drunk or sober. So just relax, and have a good time until you need to sleep. I can come over tomorrow and bring you some food for your hangover, if you like?”

“Really?” Jisung’s face lit up and he nodded. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course. I like looking after you.” Minho told him with a soft smile. 

Jisung gazed at him for a moment until a fast, 2000’s dance beat started to fill the room. Jisung’s attention was immediately pulled away and he smiled before jumping up to join Felix and Hyunjin with dancing. Minho leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched Jisung jumping and dancing around with his friends. They linked hands and laughed as they spun and swayed through the space. Jisung leant his weight back onto Hyunjin as he started to sing along to the lyrics, clinging to Felix as they all started to sing.

“ 'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling, and every time we kiss, I swear I could fly. Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last, need you by my side!” Jisung sang loud, and clear. Minho was impressed at how beautiful and powerful Jisung’s voice was, staying in tune even while he was so drunk.

“He is kinda adorable when he’s in chaotic drunk mode, huh?” Chan muttered to Minho, pulling him out of his almost hypnotised state of watching of Jisung’s dancing.

“He’s always adorable.” Minho scoffed, leaning back slightly as Chan spoke quietly enough to not be overheard by Chanbin at the otherside of the couch, watching the three dancing and laughing at them.

“So… How are things going with you two?” Chan asked.

“I figured Jisung had told you every detail of what’s going on?”

“He does… And I was honestly a little judgy, but I get it, kinda… I was just asking you how it’s going for you. It’s not your usual kind of hook-up.”

“I have a usual kind of hook-up?”

“Well, from what I hear, usually anonymous one time sex, or basic friends with benefits. Jisung doesn’t quite fit either of those categories.”

“We’re friends. And taking this stuff slow.”

“I’m just surprised, at both of you. I really didn’t think Jisung would go for a casual thing like this. I mean yeah, he’s talked about it, but I thought when it came down to the reality of it, he wouldn’t be into it…”

“I think the fact it’s casual makes it easier for him. He needs to be able to get comfortable, learn what he likes. If he was in a relationship, that would probably make him feel too much pressure. Worrying if he was doing things wrong, if the person he was with liked it. Hell, the way his anxiety works, I bet he’d worry they would stop caring about him if he didn’t do things perfectly. With me, he knows I won’t judge him. He’s safe. And it’s no pressure. He’s my friend.”

“Wow… You two really did get close! Okay, so I get why this works… But what happens if this all blows up, in a dramatic way? Will you still be his friend then?”

“Of course. I’m not just hanging around him to get laid. Sure, when I first saw him I just wanted him, but he really is my friend. Nothings gonna change that now.” Minho said, locking eyes with Chan to let him know how much he meant what he said.

“Okay, yeah good. He doesn't get to make new friends often. I’d hate for him to lose you once… Once this has run its course.”

“Not a lot of faith in me there.”

“No, I’m sorry, that came out wrong. You are a great friend, he will be lucky to have you as a friend. I just wanted to make sure it really was that. I’ve been struggling to follow what’s been going on with you two, trying to pick the logic out of Jisung’s rambled rants can be a tricky task sometimes. But yeah, I’m glad you're friends. And I hope this setup works for both of you. Like I said, I was just confused, and a little worried. But you both seem to know what you want out of it, and you’re talking. You are being as honest as Jisung insists you are, right?”

“Yeah, of course I am.”

“Then good. I will try to stop being judgy about it, and just be supportive.” Chan gave him a bright smile and Minho laughed, rolling his eyes at just how protective Chan seemed of Jisung. It didn’t bother him too much, he wasn’t super close to Chan, so he could understand why he might not think him the ideal candidate for Jisung’s first sexual experiences. Even Minho had thought he wasn’t the best candidate, he just seemed unable to refuse Jisung what he wanted. Especially when it aligned with what he wanted too. Even though it did ache a little how much his friends seemed to think he wouldn’t care enough to take Jisung’s needs into consideration, he tried to just focus on how good it was that Jisung had so many friends that cared for and looked out for him.

“Minho!” Jisung pulled Minho from his thoughts as he landed on his knees at Minho’s feet, his hands resting and squeezing at his thighs.

“You look good dancing.” 

“Not gonna get jealous and fuck Jinnie again because I was danicing with him, are you?” Jisung teased with a large grin, rocking back and forth on his knees as he looked up at him.

“Sung, get off your knees. Sitting like that, you’re gonna give Lino ideas.” Chan laughed, lightly teasing Minho.

“In front of everyone? What kind of sex crazed maniac do you take me for?” Minho scoffed.

“Hey, you’re the one who proudly proclaims to be a slut.” Chan said with a playful grin.

“You say that like you’re not also a slut.”

“I am not a slut!” Chan said, with a fake affront.

“I mean, you did fuck me within just hours of meeting me for the first time. Sounds like slut behaviour to me.”

“Oh shit... You have a point.” Chan laughed. “But… Have you ever considered, I’m not actually a slut, you’re just that good looking?”

“Nice save.” Minho scoffed.

“Chan is a slut!” Hyunjin taunted, bouncing on his feet as he watched them.

“Like you’re one to talk.” Minho laughed at him.

“I think Chan’s onto something. Lino has a raw magnetism, not one of us has resisted it." Felix laughed, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin as he leaned his body weight onto him.

“Except Sung, he rejected him hard! He’s the only one to do that.” Changbin laughed.

“To be fair, he is also the only one of you guys I actually hit on and pursued too.” Minho added.

“Really?” Jisung asked, leaning more forward into Minho’s space as he beamed at him.

“They all initiated with me. Those two came at me like fucking cats in heat.” Minho said, pointing to Felix and Hyunjin who just rolled their eyes. “Changbin squeezed my ass in a bar, we looked each other over and were like; yeah, you’ll do. Chan was flirting with me hard the first time we met, it was really cringy actually. Me and Seungmin were drunk, so it just kinda happened, neither of us hit on the other. And I really have no clue what happened with Innie, maybe he was just horny or bored, or felt left out being one of the only friends I hadn't fucked.” Minho shrugged his shoulders.

“The first things you said to me were hitting on me.” Jisung said, looking at him almost in awe.

“Yeah, I saw you and I wanted you. Even before I knew I wanted to be your friend.”

“Then after we met for real?”

“Then I knew I wanted to be your friend also, and I kept pursuing you too.”

“Oh my god!” Jisung looked like he was glowing, he was so elated from this not so new news. “You were so into me!”

“I was. Still am.” Minho smiled, stroking his fingers over Jisung’s jaw briefly.

“I’m special!” Jisung yelled and Minho laughed and nodded before Jisung threw himself back and threw his arms in the air in drunken celebrations. “Suck it bitches, I’m special.”

“Great, now he will be insufferable.” Hyunjin laughed as he watched Jisung preening and wiggling around.

“You’re always insufferable, give Sung a turn for once.” Minho teased Hyunjin, and Jisung got up and pranced around in celebration before getting distracted and continuing to dance with Felix and Hyunjin again. Minho watched them, half listening to the conversation Chan and Chanbin were having before getting up to hunt for a soda for himself. He had only just entered the kitchen when he felt hands on his hips that gently pushed him to the counter before he turned around to see Jisung’s smiling face staring at him.

“Hi.” Jisung said, his hand sliding up to rest on Minho’s chest.

“Hi.” Minho smiled, moving his hands to lightly hold Jisung’s waist.

“So… Do you think you know me well enough now to feel okay with a little drunk making out?” 

“Yet again, you are the only drunk one.” Minho smiled.

“But you know that I actually want to.” Jisung pouted slightly. Minho brought a hand up to cradle his face as he debated it. Jisung was comfortable kissing him, and he had made out with him plenty. They trusted each other, so he thought it would be okay to indulge his drunk wants for a little while, as long as he was careful to stay in control.

“Okay. Making out. But only making out. And not for long.” Minho told him.

“Absolutely! I miss drunk making out, it’s fun.” Jisung chuckled as he grinned at him.

Minho circled his arms around Jisung to hold him as he leaned in and placed their lips together. Jisung made the sweetest little hum of desire as they started to kiss. Minho pulled Jisung flush against him as he parted his lips to grant Jisung access to his mouth, meeting his tongue in its needy quest for more. Jisung’s hands ran over Minho’s chest, his fingers lightly searching before wrapping around his neck, trying to pull Minho closer, deeper into the kiss. Minho was lost in how good this felt. Jisung was more forceful when drunk, not aggressive, but didn’t take as long to get into the kiss and seemed to be happy taking control. He also did taste like strawberries. Minho was so caught up he didn’t even notice Jisung had both his legs straddling Minho’s thigh and was lightly rubbing onto him until Jisung moaned deeply into his mouth.

“Mmm, Sungie, baby, stop.” Minho muttered into Jisung’s mouth once he realised he was seconds away from fully grinding against him.

“No.” Jisung whined as he let Minho gently push him back. “You’re not into it?” Jisung asked, his wide eyes bordering on insecure.

“You’re drunk… We said only kissing.” Minho told him, and the sight of Jisung’s pout tugged at his heart. “Look, it’s very obvious how into it I am.” Minho laughed, glancing down at the growing bulge in his jeans.

“Yeah…” Jisung said, his pout melting into a smile as he looked at Minho’s growing erection. Then he moved a hand to lightly trace over before pushing his palm over him.

“Fuck.” Minho muttered before gripping Jisung’s wrist and pulling it away, holding it next to his face as Jisung looked back up to him. “You’re too bold when you’re drunk. Not that I don’t like seeing you desperate, but you need to chill.” Minho told him with a smile.

“I can’t help it. I just want you so bad.” Jisung replied, his smile curling into a challenging smirk.

It was more than Minho could take and he pulled Jisung back into another deep kiss, releasing his hand as he gripped his waist tight. Jisung immediately kissed back, pushing into Minho’s mouth passionately as his hips started to buck against him again, trying to ride his thigh. Minho kissed back, giving in to his desire for a moment before he noticed Jisung was moaning, seeming fully on his way to cumming on Minho’s thigh.

“Wait, no, we can’t.” Minho said firmly, feeling more resolve this time as he moved Jisung from him.

“But… You know I want to. You’re not even doing anything. It’s okay.” Jisung tried to rationalise, his eyes looking clouded with lust.

“Even if you could convince me into believing how letting you get off riding my leg while drunk was morally okay, our friends are out there. They will hear you moaning. You will be so fucking embaressed about that when you sober up. I don’t want that.”

“Maybe I want them to hear.” Jisung said defiantly. Minho raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “Okay fine! Yes, I would be embarrassed. I’ll stop.” Jisung dropped his head onto Minho’s shoulder. “I just… God, I’m really fucking horny. You’re turning me into a nympho!” Jisung chuckled and moved back to look at him.

“I’m sorry about that. I’ll be here on Wednesday for more nympho training. But for now, I think we need to let our bodies calm down a little before we go back to join our friends.”

“Yeah… I think that is a good idea.” Jisung agreed, looking at Minho longingly before sighing. 

“While we’re at it, we can take care of you, hydrate and eat to try and prevent your hangover from being too brutal, yeah?” Jisung nodded at him, and Minho turned them, lifting Jisung and helping him hop up to sit on the counter. “Stay there, I’ll be right back.” 

Minho checked to make sure he wasn’t too obviously hard in his pants before going back out to grab a few sandwiches for Jisung, smiling at the others as he left for the kitchen again. He got a plate for the food and placed them next to Jisung with a nod, seeing Jisung was breathing deeply, probably trying to will his arousal to disappear. Minho opened the fridge to find a bottle of water, and saw that at some point Jisung had squirrelled away a plate of sandwiches for himself and stowed them in the fridge. Minho smiled at his stash, probably intending to have them for lunch and closed the fridge to pass Jisung the water.

“So, what anime have you watched recently?” Minho asked, trying to take Jisung’s mind off of his sexual desire to help him relax.

Jisung brightened up as he launched into a full run down and analysis of an anime he had binged recently. Minho kept prompting him to eat and drink more water as he listened, occasionally asking a question to keep Jisung in the flow. By the time Jisung had drunk the whole bottle of water and eaten the sandwiches, he was yawning, and looked like his body was starting to droop with tiredness.

“I think maybe you should go to bed now.” Minho said when Jisung got to the end of his current rant.

“You wanna come with me.” Jisung asked with a playful smile.

“Whether I want to or not, you know I can’t.”

“Wanna tuck me in then?”

“What, so you can try and tempt me into another groping session without the risk of being overheard?”

“You can see right through me.” Jisung laughed as he hopped off the counter, Minho helping him as he wobbled when he landed. “Will you call me though? When you get home, talk to me before I sleep?”

“Of course I will. Make sure you take another bottle of water to bed with you too.”

“Will do! Let’s go kick out our friends.”

“I’m leaving too.” Minho laughed as Jisung attached himself to Minho’s side, clinging to him as they went back into the living room.

“You gotta go. Lino says I need to go to bed!” Jisung announced to the other four in the living room.

“Oh yeah? Is he going with you?” Felix asked with a laugh.

“No! He’s such a prude!” Jisung said, making Hyunjin practically fall to the floor in laughter.

“You lasted longer than I thought you would.” Chan said as they all got up to get ready to leave.

“You should come out again next weekend!” Jisung demanded, pointing accusingly at Chan.

“Maybe, we’ll see what we can sort out in the chat, yeah?”

“You gonna be okay? Want me to stay over?” Felix said to Jisung as they made their way to the door.

“I’m fine, I'm gonna go to bed as soon as you all leave. Don’t worry about me.” Jisung beamed, releasing Minho to give Felix a hug and Minho took the opportunity to slip on his shoes.

“See you later, sorry I didn’t warn you how strong the drink was.” Changbin said, with a light chuckle and a smile as he left the apartment.

“Call me tomorrow, yeah?” Felix said as he left Jisung’s arms to follow the others out.

“This was fun, short, but fun!” Hyunjin said, patting Jisung on the back as he left. When Minho was the only one left in Jisung’s apartment with him, Jisung tugged him behind the door to kiss him again, short and intensely. Minho left one hand gripping the door as he kissed him back, making sure to not get caught up again.

“I gotta go.” Minho muttered as he pulled away.

“Okay. Call me?”

“I will.”

“And you’re coming tomorrow, yeah?”

“I will.”

“I’ll leave the door unlocked so you can come in.”

“Don’t do that. I’m not the only person in the world. Lock the door, then message me when you wake up and I’ll head right over, sound better?”

“Okay. Talk soon” Jisung said, fingers lingering on him as Minho forced himself out of the door.

“I’ll call you in a few minutes, go get ready for bed while you wait.” Minho said, hesitating before Hyunjin grabbed his arm to pull him away and leave the building.

“Well, Jisung sure has warmed up to you!” Changbin laughed as they left.

“He has, but he was also wasted.” Minho chuckled.

“I didn’t expect him to steal you away for a secret, whatever in the kitchen.” Changbin taunted.

“Yeah, super weird to have a secret rendezvous with friends, huh Binne?” Minho said pointedly, immediately shutting down his teasing.

“Yeah, right. I’m glad you two got closer. It’s nice to hang out as a big group too.”

“I like the new group dynamic!” Felix added.

“I agree! We should do more stuff.” Hyunjin added.

“Well, I’ll probably see you all next weekend then. Later!” Minho said as he headed to his own apartment.

Minho tried to be quiet when he got home, knowing that Jeongin would probably already be in bed since he needed an early night for his audition. He quietly got ready for bed, and got under the covers before he called Jisung, making a mental note to talk quietly too. The phone rang a couple of times before Jisung picked up.

“Hi.” Jisung said, sounding breathless.

“Hi.” Minho said, and smirked as he heard more heavy breathing in the background. “Sungie?”

“What?” Jisung said with a slight whine.

“Are you…?” Minho asked with a knowing scoff.

“I thought I had time. I thought I’d be finished by the time you called.” Jisung said, his voice cracking as he clearly was not slowing down touching himself as he spoke.

“Want me to leave you to it? You can call me after?”

“No!” Jisung gasped. “I mean, I want to hear your voice… If you’re okay with that? Please?” Jisung begged. Minho laughed lightly and weighed it up, and figured as long as it didn’t descend into full phone sex he could talk to him while he pleasured himself.

“Okay. I’ll talk, only if you’re sure.” 

“I’m sure, your voice… I like it. I want you to talk to me.” Jisung said, sighing in relief. Minho heard rustling, the sound of Jisung adjusting his position, then he heard the wet sound, the sound of Jisung’s lubricated hand rubbing over himself. 

“You get that worked up? Did you go right to bed to touch yourself?” Minho asked, shifting his hips as he felt himself filling out at the sounds.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t do it for me, so I had to do it myself.” Jisung said, and Minho could hear he was smiling, as his breath came out fast and ragged.

“I’m sorry I was unable to satisfy you tonight.” Minho chuckled, his hand gripping his own side as he fought to keep from touching himself.

“The problem is you satisfy me too much! I have been more horny since you first started touching me than ever in my life! I don’t know what you’re doing to me!” Jisung was gasping, soft moans between his words.

“I just want you to feel good.”

“You make me feel so good! Oh god, I want so much more! I can’t wait!”

“You can wait baby, I’ll give you everything, but we’re taking our time. We’ll get there. I promise.” Minho’s hand pressed on his aching cock, just pressing down for some semblance of relief.

“Oh god! You’re too good to me! Do you like this too? Do you want it? Want me?”

“I want you so much! You are so fucking hot! The first time I saw you, I was so turned on, it was like you were the only person in the bar. I wanted to get you into bed, so fucking bad. Every moment we have together is good for me. Getting to make you feel good, to bring you pleasure. Even if you hadn’t reciprocated touching me, I would have been satisfied with getting to see how you look when you’re in the throes of pleasure. Trust me, I want this just as much as you.” Minho said, biting his lip as he pressed down on his cock, Jisung’s gasping whines filling his veins with arousal, he felt drunk off it.

“You could not want this more than me! Oh fuck! Minho!”

“Close, baby?”

“Yeah!” Jisung moaned.

“Let it go, beautiful, let me hear you get yourself off. I wanna hear you cum.” Minho gripped himself as he heard Jisung let out a slight wail as he came. Minho gripped himself, his hips bucking slightly as he listened to Jisung gasping to get his breath back before forcing himself to move his hand, wanting to talk to Jisung without holding his own dick before taking care of himself.

“Fuck.” Jisung sighed after a couple of minutes.

“Feel better?” Minho asked, trying hard to focus on talking and not the need in his underwear.

“Much. I’m sleepy now.” Jisung chuckled lightly.

“Yeah? A good ending to the night then.” Minho smiled. “Want me to talk for a while, or do you need to sleep.”

“Both.” Jisung chuckled. “Can you talk to me for a few minutes before I go to sleep?”

“Of course. So tomorrow, do you want me to bring you some food when I come over, yeah?”

“Please, that would be really nice.” Jisung said with a sleepy voice.

“I’ll make something to heal your hangover. Just message me when you’re awake enough to make it to the sofa and I’ll be there.”

“You’re the best.” Jisung sighed. “I need to start asking Changbin what I’m drinking before I drink it.”

“It might help, but you’re a cute drunk, so as long as you don’t get sick, I think you’re fine.”

“You always say I’m cute.” Jisung chuckled.

“Because it’s true.”

“I’m gonna lose my mind with all your compliments.”

“Do people not compliment you?”

“Felix does, he compliments everyone. But it’s different with you.”

“Yeah? I hope you like it, because I don’t think I can hold in all the compliments I have for you.”

“I like it… I like it too much I think” Jisung laughed, then sighed sleepily.

“Do you need to sleep?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, you sleep well. Do you have your water?”

“Yeah, I even brushed my teeth before rushing to bed.”

“Good boy.” Minho laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Hoping your hangover isn’t too bad. Sleep as much as you can.”

“See you tomorrow.” Jisung said, then lingered before finally hanging up.

Minho put his phone down before pushing down his underwear to take care of his still, achingly hard cock. He replayed Jisung’s noises in his head as he quickly pushed himself to his own orgasm. Cuming shockingly quick for a solo session, and he realised Jisung wasn’t the only one who was worked up to a critical point by their making out in the kitchen.

The next morning Minho went to the gym, figuring Jisung wouldn’t be awake until at least noon. He bought ingredients for a chicken noodle soup for Jisung’s hangover cure, remembering Jisung said he couldn’t handle spice. He started cooking when he got home, and made enough to leave some in the fridge for Jeongin in case he was hungry when he got home from his audition. He left a post-it for Jeongin and was just serving up the soup into tupperware when Jisung messaged him, saying he was awake and begging him to bring him fruit juice on his way to heal his hangover. Minho smiled and got ready to leave, soup packed up for them, and he stopped to get Jisung a selection of fruit juices on his way to his apartment. Jisung looked adorable and very sorry for himself when he let Minho in, in the largest, most comfortable pyjama looking sweats Minho had ever seen, his hair was a mess on his head and his puffy cheeks seemed even more round with the frown and pout painted on his face.

“Oh Sungie! Is it really that bad?” Minho asked with a soft smile as he took off his shoes.

“I’m dying.” Jisung whinged as he went to sit on his couch.

“Poor baby.” Minho said as he laughed. “I’ll get this soup in bowls for us, yeah?”

“Soup?” Jisung asked, sounding like he had already perked up at the sound of food.

“I made chicken noodle, it’s healing. Trust me, it will make you feel better.”

“You made the soup?” 

“Duh.” Minho called out as he served up two bowls of soup for them, and brought them into Jisung. Minho passed Jisung the still hot soup, and smiled at the humming noises of enjoyment as Jisung started to eat.

“Fuck! Okay, why are you so good at everything?” Jisung exclaimed when he slowed down his eating enough to speak.

“Why does it sound like you’re complaining? I’m pretty sure you’re fully benefiting from my talents recently.” Minho smirked.

“Fuck off.” Jisung muttered into a spoonful of soup. “But yes… Just because I benefit doesn't make it fair.” Minho glanced and saw Jisung was smiling. 

They continued to eat in silence, and Minho took the bowls to clean them as Jisung inspected the fruit juice Minho had brought him. Minho returned to the couch and sat close to Jisung, seeing that he had put on an anime Minho recognised, knowing it was one Jisung had seen before.

“I’m sorry I was all drunk and needy last night.” Jisung said, looking at his fingers fiddling on his lap.

“It’s fine. Unless I did something you didn’t actually want, in which case you don’t need to say sorry, I do.”

“No, you were great! I wanted the kissing, I wanted more. And I would have been okay if we had done more… But I’m glad you had the sense and boundaries for me. I would have felt embarrassed, and ashamed about pushing you and being so… Just all of it. I was sorry because I was pushing you to do things you said no to, you’re so good with me about all that stuff, I’m sorry I wasn’t too.”

“You were drunk, and horny. You didn’t force anything, and you didn’t really push me, just saying what you wanted, and kinda trying for it. I’m okay with that. As long as you’re comfortable, and still feel safe, I am fine with you being a little extra touchy when drunk.”

“And the phone? I didn’t plan to have phone sex… Is that what it was, did we have phone sex?”

“I mean, a little, not fully. But yeah, you got off to talking to me, kinda counts. I didn’t. It didn’t feel right for me to go too far with something new while you were drunk. But if you ever want to try phone sex, I’m down for that. You just have to let me know. I’m not gonna initiate it.”

“It was… nice, kinda frustrating, not actually having you here, but hearing you. But it was also kinda hot. I might be into it. But I wouldn’t give up any in person time for it.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way. I did end up jerking off the second you hung up though. You had me so worked up I was close to humping my mattress while listening to you.” Minho chuckled, and Jisung laughed too. 

“Will you hang out here today? I’m gonna be hungover and boring, but I’d like you to stay.”

“Of course. We can watch anime, you can nap, and we can order more food before I leave.”

“Yes please. Can we cuddle too?” Jisung asked, his wide, pleading eyes beyond adorable, Minho didn’t know how anyone could ever refuse him.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Come here.” Minho moved back against the sofa and opened his arms for Jisung to curl up against him, and pulled a blanket from the back of the sofa over him as they watched the anime Jisung had put on.

Minho stayed at Jisung’s until mid-evening, when Jisung decided he needed to exchange couch naps for proper bed sleep. They watched anime and cuddled, ordering a pizza for dinner before Minho finally left his side. Minho joined Jeongin to watch whatever movie he had been watching before he went to bed, sharing quiet company with him. Minho went to bed wishing he had asked Jisung if he could have stayed with him, just to hold him, as his wonderfully large and soft bed felt far too empty and cold in comparison to being laid on Jisung’s sofa with him in his arms all day.

On Sunday Minho got his workout over with early, and shared lunch with Jeongin before he left for the day, to go play video games with Jisung and Felix, Minho found out when Jisung started messaging him for the day. Minho had been relaxing on his own, messaging Jisung as he watched some TV show. It was late afternoon when there was a knock at the door, then Seungmin let himself in.

“Hope no one is naked!” Seungmin called out as he entered the apartment.

“Nope, but if you give me a minute I can rectify that.” Minho laughed. “What brings you here unannounced?”

“I had to work on a fucking Sunday, so I stole food as I left, wanted someone to share it with.”

“Risking your job for some cake, big move.”

“Nah, they were on their way to the trash when I intercepted them, we close early on Sundays.” Seungmin explained as he placed a bag on the coffee table and started taking out slices of cake and sandwiches for them to share. Minho’s eyes ran over the food, and landed on a slice of cheesecake, and it inevitably made him think of Jisung.

“I should bring Sung to see you at your cafe, the desserts are good, he would just love these cakes.” Minho said.

“Sounds good to me, just bring him before or after lunch, he would not handle the lunch rush.” Seungmin said as he grabbed a sandwich. “I was gonna ask you about Jisung, about the talk you had, without other ears to cause you to hold back on details. So, what actually happened when you saw him the other week?”

“Right, it was really fucking weird. I went over to apologise, and to kinda beg for him to keep being my friend and he… Didn’t care. He was just… He was used to people freaking out on him. He was just happy that I came back. Breaks my fucking heart the way people must have treated him. He doesn’t think anyone is willing to put in the effort he needs, and knows he deserves. He thinks his standards are too high for people or something. I hate it so much. But he insisted he wasn’t scared of me, and I wasn’t pressuring him. Sex is just scary. And yeah, I was kinda scared before my first time, and I was a teen, he’s had so many more years to build it up in his head. So he propositioned that I guide him through sex. So I offered to have one day a week of doing stuff, and getting him used to being touched. He’s not just a virgin, he had done nothing before. I want to go slow, not freak him out. Give him time to change his mind. But he seemed really into it. I went to his apartment to beg for forgiveness, and ended up giving him a hand job.” Minho laughed, frowning at having to recap the absurdity of Jisung not being phased by him freaking out, and still wanting him to be his first sexual partner.

“You know, that makes sense. Jisung can be intense, and emotional, but he is quick to forgive, and he’s so loyal to his friends. So yeah, I’m not surprised he forgave you. It does suck about how he just expects people can’t handle him though. I hope he gets over that. People are the fucking worst though, so I get it. And you’re into this whole… Sex guru set up?”

“I mean, I wanna hook up with him, and this way I can know he’s comfortable, and safe. I will look after him. I’m still not sure I’m the best choice, and Chan kinda agrees, but we are being open about this, and he says this is what he wants. I trust him. So, he can back out at any point, but as far as I see it, it’s just a hook-up situation. Not one I’ve been in before, but I’m always open to new experiences.” Minho smiled.

“God, you are so fucking into him, I could just puke.” Seungmin grinned and Minho slapped his leg.

“He’s cool. We’ve been hanging out more too, he’s becoming a really close friend. And he’s so fucking hot. He was wasted on Friday and he was really needy, it was adorable. I went over to look after him yesterday. So yeah, I’m into him. But speaking of being into people, how's things with Changbin?”

“It’s… fuck, it’s good. Like, I’m getting comfortable with him. I am so worried this is gonna blow up on me any minute, and it’s gonna hurt. But it’s… he’s so affectionate with me now. I kinda wanna ignore everything that’s unspoken so we can just stay like this forever.”

“Ever think you could speak the unspoken stuff and still keep things?”

“Maybe… I dunno. I’ll get to it eventually. But we’re… Happy. I like it. I wanna enjoy it.”

“Then enjoy it. You deserve to be happy.”

“Yeah, you too.” Seungmin said, sounding like he was revolted by the admission.

“How did the audition go?” 

Minho listened to Seungmin complain about the audition, and then talk about the lunch he went for with Jeongin, and how he wouldn’t stop complaining about missing out on hanging out with his friends on Friday, and more specifically missing out on one of Chan’s rare outings. They hung out, eating most of the food, Minho saving some for Jeongin before Seungmin left and Minho went to bed, where Jisung called to talk about nothing for a while before they went to sleep.

On Monday Jisung met him for coffee, and Jisung mostly talked about all the food he wanted Minho to cook for him after tasting his chicken noodle soup. Minho took mental notes to have him over for dinner and cook some of the meals Jisung suggested, and Jisung also showed him the pictures of his attempts at cooking, both successful and epicly failed. Minho showed him the email of his clear test results from his STI tests, being as casual as he could about it, but wanting to make sure Jisung got to see the actual results so he could feel safe. Jisung called him again on Tuesday night to talk before going to sleep, and checked he was still coming to his place after work on Wednesday. Minho felt the same electric excited anticipation as he forced himself through work on Wednesday, his mind unable to leave thoughts of Jisung no matter how hard he tried.

Jisung opened his door to him with one of his brightest smiles, and he started to reach out like he was going to grab him, then hesitated and just went to sit on the couch and wait for him. Minho smiled as he took off his shoes, then came to sit close to Jisung, their legs touching as he faced him. 

“Hi.” Jisung said, his body tense as he seemed to be resisting moving closer.

“Hi.” Minho laughed at him. “If you want to do something, you know you can. I think that has been well established by now.”

“Yeah, okay, I just…” Jisung started, then his eyes flicked down to Minho’s lips, and before he could finish his thoughts Jisung moved forward, pressing their lips together in a much needed kiss.

Minho held Jisung, one hand on his back, and the other sliding into his hair, keeping him close as they deepened the kiss. Jisung’s hands were rubbing over Minho’s back, gripping his top as he clung to him tight. Minho sighed as he felt the rush he seemed to always get when he was touching Jisung, he wondered when he would get bored of kissing him, because right now, it just seemed to feel better each time they did. Jisung eventually moved back, face flushed and eyes full of need as he stared into Minho’s eyes, right into his very being.

“What do you want?” Minho asked, moving his thumb to stroke over Jisung’s cheek.

“I was thinking about when I was drunk, it felt good, you know? I was thinking like that…”

“You wanna ride my thigh? Grinding kinda thing?”

“Yes… But no.” Jisung chuckled as he smiled, a tinge of embarrassed pink heating his face as he managed to ask for what he wanted. “I saw, like in porn… Grinding, but like, bare… So it’s like the hand jobs, but together, that kinda thing?”

“So… Are you talking about frottage?” Minho asked, wanting to make sure he was understanding him.

“I don’t know? Is that its name? Like… Dick on dick…” Jisung swallowed, and Minho felt a little pride at Jisung managing to actually get out the words he meant despite his embarrassment at doing so.

“Yeah, I think that would be hot too.” Minho smiled and saw Jisung let out a tiny breath of relief. “Okay, so do you want to do this with lube?” 

“Yeah, I think so, do you?”

“It will feel best, it’s just gonna be a little messy. But I’m okay with that.”

“Yeah me too!” Jisung grinned and jumped up to run to the bedroom, returning with the lube, wipes and tissues to clean up with after. “So… How… How do we do this?” Jisung asked, his eyes wide now as he seemed unsure how to proceed.

“Okay, I’m gonna say getting naked and laying in bed might be a bit intense for you so suddenly. So we can just pull down our pants enough, like we did before. I think if I sit here, and you straddle me, that would work. That way you can grind on me like you were doing on Friday, you can control the movement, and I can rub us, we can both rub us. We can kiss from that position too. Is that sounding okay?”

“Yeah.” Jisung breathed, his eyes looking over Minho’s body as he seemed to space out at Minho’s words.

“Okay, come here then.” Minho smiled and straightened himself up against the back of the couch to wait for Jisung.

Jisung stood up and hesitated in front of Minho for a second before he took his seat on Minho’s lap, his legs on either side of Minho’s thighs as he gripped his shoulders and smiled shyly for a moment before Minho pulled him into a soft kiss. Jisung surged forward, kissing him deeply as his hips started to slightly rock on him, seeming to be testing out the position. Minho placed his hands on Jisung’s hips, holding him lightly so as not to control his movements as Jisung started moving closer to grinding them together. Minho thought briefly how he probably shouldn't be as hard as he was from just a little bit of making out as Jisung finally rubbed their hard bulges together and moaned in his mouth. Jisung started to roll his hips, rubbing against him as his breathing started to get heavy and his kisses got messier. Minho squeezed over his hips, making his own noises of building pleasure as Jisung was increasing speed.

“Shall…” Jisung muttered against Minho’s mouth, his hips not stopping their rolling into him. “Shall we?”

“If you’re ready, yeah.” Minho said, taking a shaky breath as Jisung pulled back, he already looked fucked out, it was hard for Minho to keep his composure looking at him like this.

Minho moved his hands to Jisung’s waistband and looked at him. Jisung nodded and lifted himself slightly from Minho so he could ease them down. It was tricky to get Jisung’s sweatpants down far enough to have full access to him, but not impede his spread thighs. Once Jisung was comfortably exposed he moved his hands to help Minho get to the same level of undress, Minho lifting his hips as Jisung tugged at the clothing. After Jisung spent a full minute staring at him again, his attention snapped back up to Minho and he smiled as he grabbed the lube and held it up.

“Let me. I’ll put it on my hand as I stroke us, to try and stop us getting covered in lube.” Minho grinned back as Jisung nodded and passed him the lube. 

Minho used one hand to gently guide Jisung’s hips forward so their dicks touched. Jisung let out a small gasp at the contact and Minho looked up, seeing he was staring at them, and not looking uncomfortable. He squeezed some lube into his palm, trying to warm it before he wrapped his hand around both of them, pressing their dicks together.

“Fuck!” Jisung gasped, swallowing hard as his hips rolled slightly, siding minutely against Minho’s cock.

“Do you need a moment?” Minho asked, using all his restraint to stop from thrusting his own hips up, or instinctively stroking them.

“Just a second. I’m okay. I’m good.” Jisung said, breathing heavy, eyes never leaving their connected cocks. Jisung only stayed still for a minute before he looked up into Minho’s eyes. “Okay, yeah?” 

“Okay.” Minho smiled and started to move his hand.

Minho started stroking them slowly, squeezing slightly, his hand not fully able to wrap around both of them, so he kept turning and twisting his wrist to rub over them. Jisung started to hesitantly move his hips, starting to thrust into Minho’s hand and rub against his cock. Jisung moved to kiss Minho hard as his hips started to rock faster. Minho moved the hand not jerking them to Jisung’s ass, lightly rubbing and holding him as he bucked against him. Jisung moved to start kissing Minho’s neck. Gentle at first, then quickly getting more bold, kissing open mouthed and licking over the skin before starting to nip and suck enthusiastically. Minho moaned softly, so caught up in how good it felt already, and his hand squeezed Jisung’s ass. Jisung moaned against his neck and bit him harder, taking a large mouthful of flesh between his teeth. Minho tipped his head back with a deep groan as his hand gripped Jisung harder.

“Fuck!” Jisung moaned, moving his head to rest against Minho’s as he thrust against him harder. “Feels so good!” Jisung whined as Minho gripped him hard, helping his hips snap onto him.

“It does.” Minho groaned back, kissing Jisung before his own hips jerked up with the rhythm Jisung was setting. “You feel so fucking good.”

“Ah!” Jisung moaned loudly, one of his hands moving to grip them with Minho and help jerk them off.

“That’s it baby. You’re so fucking good at this.” Minho praised, loving how much it seemed to encourage and turn on Jisung.

“Please!” Jisung whined, not seeming to be asking for anything in particular.

“You’re so hot! So beautiful, and the way you move! Every fucking thing about you, god you’re just incredible!”

“Minho!” Jisung practically wailed, dropping his head to Minho’s shoulder, his hips stuttering slightly as he kept thrusting forward.

“Are you close?”

“Yeah! Fuck!” Jisung panted. “Are you? Are you close too?”

“Yeah, so close.” Mihho told him, swallowing hard as he realised he really was teetering on the edge. “You turn me on so much! The noises you make as you fuck into my hand, feeling you against, me. Fuck! I don’t think I could last longer even if I tried.”

“Fuck Minho! I’m gonna cum!”

“That’s it baby, cum with me!” Minho goraned, his hand moving rapidly as they both thrust into their joined fingers.

Jisung whined as they connected their lips together, letting Minho swallow all the noises he made as he came over them. Minho squeezed Jisung’s ass hard as his shaking body and jerky thrusts tipped him over his own edge. Minho pressed Jisung’s hips flush against him, crushing their hands between them as he climaxed, his cum mixing with Jisung’s and making a mess of their hands and tops. 

Jisung didn’t move his lips away as their bodies relaxed, melting into the post-orgasm bliss. Minho relaxed his grip as he tried to get his breath back, breathing in Jisung who was still so close to him. Jisung moved his face, pressing them together as he dropped his mouth open to breathe deep, his clean hand sliding up to cradle Minho’s neck.

“Minho.” Jisung practically whispered.

“Are you okay, baby?” Minho asked, his eyes still closed as his body was still riding the tingling high.

“I feel like I’m flying.” Jisung muttered before laughing. “I’m so fucking good. Are you?”

“I’m great.” Minho said, his arm wrapping around him to give him as much of a hug as he could manage. Jisung moved back slightly, his eyes heavily lidded and dilated. Minho smiled back at him, moving his clean hand up to caress his face. “You look so beautiful like this.”

“You always say I’m beautiful.” Jisung chuckled and averted his gaze then snorted a laugh. “Oh fuck, we made such a mess!” Minho looked down and laughed.

“Yeah, this T-shirt has definitely seen better days.”

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry! I’ll let you take one of mine to go home in. I’ll wash this one and you can get it next time you’re here?” Jisung said, sounding far too apologetic.

“It’s fine, I knew this would happen. But I won’t say no to a clean shirt to leave in. You should probably change too.” Minho smiled as they started to clean up with the tissues and wipes that Jisung had brought before Jisung disappeared into his bedroom to get changed. Minho stood up and pulled off his top when Jisung held out a plain black T-shirt to him. He saw Jisung’s eyes roaming over his now exposed torso, and stalled for a second before he took the dirty top from him and ran to put it in his laundry as Minho pulled on the clean top. Minho sat on the couch and extended his arm to Jisung when he returned, welcoming him into his arms to cuddle. Jisung placed his legs over Minho’s lap as he curled up against this body.

“That…” Jisung started and sighed, rubbing his face into Minho’s collar. “I know I don’t really know from experience, but that felt more like sex. More than the other times. I know it’s not sex, but…”

“I know what you mean. It’s a kind of sex, sex doesn't just mean intercourse, even if that’s what we’ve been referring to it as. But yeah, I agree. I think it’s the position, we were closer, and the movements, you were moving more like fucking, so yeah it did feel more like sex.” Minho kissed the top of Jisung’s head when he heard him sigh contentedly. “I think the intercourse sex will feel more intense, but yeah, that was incredible.”

“Was it… It was more like sex for you too? Even with your experience?”

“It definitely felt more. It was a kind of sex, and it was for me too. It was more like the other sex too, to me as well.”

“Good.” Jisung sighed and nuzzled up to him, hands clinging as he moulded against him. They stayed in silence, wrapped up together for a while before Jisung spoke again. “This is nice.”

“Cuddling?”

“Cuddling after sex. Or sex stuff.”

“Yeah, it really is.” Minho said, letting out an amused puff at air at how good it really did feel.

“But you… You said you don’t usually do post-sex cuddles?”

“Not usually. But to be fair, I’m usually about anonymous sex in bars. After we cum we kinda just wanna get cleaned up and away from each other to get on with our own lives as quickly as possible.”

“Did you cuddle with Felix?” Jisung asked after a moment's silence.

“Sometimes. I mean, it’s Felix, he is a very cuddly, physical kind of guy. But we didn’t do it like this often, you know, taking time aside to hold each other. That only really happened if we happened to be in bed or tired. Usually he would just cling to me as we got on with our day.”

“What about with Hyunjin?”

“Not really. We have never had a thing, so to speak, so our friends with benefits kinda means as soon as the sex ends we’re back to normal. Kinda normal during sex too to be honest. I think the last time we cuddled after sex was when Jinnie had been really stressed, you know, life and work and everything was just getting to him. He wanted to fuck to distract, but the release broke a floodgate and he ended up crying after. So I held him, then took him for a good meal and let him vent. But that felt more like holding a friend who's crying, than cuddling someone after sex.”

“God, you must think I’m so needy.” Jisung said with a dry laugh.

“I do.” Minho moved a hand to tilt up Jisung’s chin so he was facing him. “Needy and demanding. And I love it. I told you how much I like that you know what you want, and I like even more when you ask for it.” Jisung smiled, open and vulnerable before nuzzling his face back against him.

“I think you should ask for what you want more. You seem to just kinda do what others want.”

“In sex yeah, but that’s because I just like sex. In life I don’t really do anything I don’t want.” Minho looked down at him and chuckled. “I wanted you, didn’t I? And I made a hell of an effort to ask.” Minho rubbed his hand over Jisung’s thigh.

“You say in life you don’t do what you don’t want. But you’re not really into gaming nights, are you?”

“It’s not like I don’t enjoy gaming, it’s just not something I’m that into.”

“You go to see me?”

“Yeah.”

“You do so much to spend time with me… I think I should do things you like more now.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, this weekend, let's do something else for a change?”

“Okay, I’m into that if you are. Shall we ask the chat tomorrow if anyone has any interesting ideas?”

“I think that would be good! I wanna do things for you too.”

“You already do.” Minho sighed, pressing his face into Jisung’s hair and filling his head with his scent.

They ordered food after cuddling, and Minho found it harder to leave. It was getting harder each time he had to leave Jisung. He even brought his cat pillow-stuffie into bed to cuddle as he tried to go to sleep, not even thinking about how he had left Jisung’s T-shirt on.

Chapter Text

JISUNG: Weekend plans! We should try and do something else! What sounds good? No busy clubs or anything like that though, please!

CHAN: I’m not sure I’ll have time this weekend.

JEONGIN: NO! That is bullshit! I missed you last weekend! You can’t do this to me!

CHAN: Okay.

JEONGIN: Okay?

CHAN: Yeah, it sucks I missed seeing you, I can manage to juggle my schedule around and I’ll find a few hours to join, okay?

JEONGIN: You’re the fucking best! So what are we doing?

HYUNJIN: I’ve been wanting to go to the art gallery, they have a showing of a local artist I like, but there's the usual stuff and everything. Big building, lots of art and things. It could be fun?

MINHO: A day of culture couldn’t hurt. I’m guessing Saturday afternoon, yeah?

FELIX: Oh, a romantic date with 7 men at an art gallery! I am so about this!

HYUNJIN: I mean, that works best for their opening hours. How’s the plan sound for you Sung?

JISUNG: I can get into looking at art! I’m in!

CHANGBIN: We should book a nice meal after.

JISUNG: Oh fun, more restaurants.

CHAN: I’ll book a table for sushi, and we will book to eat at 3, that way it won’t be too busy, how’s that?

JISUNG: Tempting me with sushi! Okay, I’m up for that!

MINHO: That’s great! 

SEUNGMIN: You couldn’t wait until my break to make plans? Yeah, that sounds fun.

FELIX: I’m in too, obviously!

CHAN: I’ll book the restaurant, do we need to book the gallery or can we just show up?

HYUNJIN: It’s not a big showing, so we can just show up. If we’re eating at 3, meet at about 1 at the gallery?

CHAN: It’s a plan! See you guys then, I need to go get ahead on my work now!

Minho got back to work, feeling happy at Jisung arranging with the group to do something different to try and make him feel happy, or more cared for. Minho usually preferred just spending time quietly, maybe even alone, but going to a museum and getting sushi was much more his speed of activity than playing video games every weekend, and so he was looking forward to it. He continued to message and call with Jisung any time they could, never seeming to ever run out of things to talk about.

On Friday Minho was just leaving the room he had been working in when he was accosted by Hyunjin’s arms flinging around his neck. Minho just managed to restrain the instinct to punch him when he startled him.

“Fuck! What the hell?” Minho yelled as he shoved Hyunjin off him.

“I’m in rehearsals again. Thought I would come find you, drag you to the bar.”

“The bar?”

“I already recruited Binnie and Minnie. The other guys are gaming at Lix’s place. But I want to go to the bar for good food and drink to relax after dancing.”

“Chan working?”

“When isn’t he?” Hyunjin laughed as he followed Minho to the showers and locker rooms, lingering as Minho got clean and changed. “My god, did Jisung maul you?” Hyunjin snorted when he looked at Minho’s neck.

“You sound like you’ve never seen a fucking hickey before.” Minho scoffed.

“I didn’t know Jisung was so feral. Good for you!” Hyunjin laughed.

They walked to the bar once they were both ready, Minho not putting up any fight about being dragged out to socialise at the last minute. Changbin and Seungmin were already at the bar when they arrived, sat next to each other, talking with warm, affectionate gazes as they smiled and laughed at each other. Minho couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his friends so happy together.

“What up, butt-plugs!” Hyunjin greeted them, breaking the lovebirds out of their private talk.

“Why do I hang out with you?” Seungmin said with a sneer.

“Because you have no better offers.” Minho said with a cat smirk.

“Oh and you do?” Seungmin asked.

“Actually yes.” Minho said with a laugh. “But they are occupied with video games right now, so I’m settling for you.”

“Pfft! Tell me about it! Feels like a downgrade coming back to you guys after spending time with those sunshine boys.” Hyunjin laughed.

“I’ve mostly been working. I feel so left out!” Changbin whined.

“Yeah, sure, just working.” Seungmin laughed, almost under his breath. Changbin coughed to hide a smile as he shifted in his seat.

“Seems like you’re getting the game hermits out of their apartments this weekend. I have no idea what possessed Jisung to suggest something new. That guy lives in his comfort zone like it’s locked and he buried the key.” Changbin said, changing the topic swiftly.

“It might be nice to do different things. There are only so many times I can see Felix come up with new ways of cursing someone out when they beat him before it gets kinda repetitive.” Minho chuckled.

“Oh, I could never get bored of that. He has such a creative way of swearing when he gets angry.” Hyunjin chuckled.

“I’m most impressed that Chan is actually agreeing to give up time at work to hang out!” Seungmin added.

“Fuck, yeah right? Innie's guilt tripping is so fucking effective on him! He should have done this ages ago. It’s good for him. He gets all weird when he stays in the studio for too long. Him and Sung just being their weird little shut-in selves, makes me feel like I’m on a different planet sometimes. Time with other people is doing them good.” Changbin observed.

“I was thinking it was good for Lino to branch out with other friends too. Look, what’s that on his face? It’s an actual fucking smile!” Seungmin taunted with a laugh.

“Fuck you very much. Maybe it’s just because they are better company than you.” Minho said, rolling his eyes, but the smile did not fall from his face.

“Aww, they are turning you soft! Cuddly kitten Lino!” Hyunjin teased. Minho laughed, then lifted a hand and effortlessly pushed him out of his chair.

“I will still choke you out. Let’s order, I’m fucking starving.”

Minho spent the rest of the evening eating a nice meal, and having a couple of beers as he laughed with his friends, enjoying the low energy socialising, but it did feel like it was missing something without Jisung. He still messaged Jisung while they were both busy with their other friends, and he told him when he arrived home. Moments after he had told him that his phone rang, it was Jisung video calling him.

“Hey.” Minho said with a big smile at seeing Jisung’s smiling face looking back through his screen.

“Hi! I thought I’d facetime, is that okay?”

“I’d never turn down getting to see your beautiful face.” Minho said, taking a second to enjoy his flustered smile. “Did you have a good night?”

“Yeah, it was good. I mean, it’s still going. I’ll be here until late, or I’ll just crash over.”

“So, you’re calling me from Lix’s?”

“Yeah, I ducked into the kitchen. I… Tonight is fun, but it wasn’t the same without you here.”

“Are you saying you missed me?” Minho asked with a smirk.

“Stop being so smug. But yeah, kinda.” 

“Good, because I missed you too.” Minho smiled warmly.

“Really?” Jisung beamed at him, the camera shaking like he was bouncing on the spot. 

“Yeah, things are better when you’re around. We will see each other tomorrow though, yeah?”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it…” Jisung frowned slightly. “Are art galleries crowded?”

“It depends. I’m sure it won’t be too packed. Also there are lots of different sections and rooms. So not all of them will have people in. And if it’s not your vibe we can go to the gallery cafe and wait for the others.”

“I like art. I like bright colours and flowers and sunrises mostly. But I like the ones with people, too. Interesting expressions.” Jisung contorted his face in an adorable way to try and imitate a kind of portrait.

“It should be fun then. Try and get to sleep before dawn, you’ll need to be up by noon to be on time.” Minho said with a teasing smile.

“Felix will make sure I’m on time, don’t worry.” They shared a moment of just looking at each other without saying anything.

“I shouldn’t keep you from your friends. I’ll be seeing you soon anyway.”

“Our friends.” Jisung grinned. “I’ll let you sleep. Looking forward to seeing you.” Jisung smiled, and half a minute more passed before they laughed and actually hung up.

On Saturday morning Minho let Jeongin sleep until late morning, figuring if Jisung was staying up late to game, Jeongin probably would be too. He woke Jeongin up with coffee and some fruit for breakfast, since they would be having a late lunch he didn’t want them to run out of energy. Then they set off to meet the others together. Hyunjin, Changbin, Chan and Seungmin were waiting for them when they arrived, leaving them just waiting on Felix and Jisung. Minho got out his phone, checking that Jisung was actually awake.

MINHO: We are waiting for you. Are you still snoozing?

JISUNG: On our way! I wanted to stop home to get changed, it delayed us a little, sorry! See you soon!

Minho smiled and put his phone away to watch his friends chatting as he waited for Jisung.

“You look as tired as I feel.” Jeongin said to Chan with a large, playful grin.

“You must be really fucking tired then.” Chan chuckled back.

“I think I only went to sleep an hour before I was rudely woken up.”

“Wild Friday night?”

“Oh yeah, gaming with the boys. I crawled home before dawn drunk on pizza.” Jeongin was grinning so hard his eyes disappeared. Minho smiled at how cute they were. He glanced to see Seungmin and Changbin talking animatedly about something as Hyunjin laughed, his arm around Changbin’s shoulders as he doubled over.

“We’re here!” Felix’s voice boomed over them, and Minho snapped his attention to Jisung who was heading straight for him, a smile stretched over his face.

“Yeah! Let’s all go look at pretty pictures.” Jisung said as he got to Minho.

“You’re prettier, can I just look at you?” Minho said to him with a flirty grin.

“God, you have taken over Changbin’s role as resident flirt!” Hyunjin cackled at him,

“I’m not flirting with you.” Minho said, puckering his lips and shaking his head in taunt. 

Hyunjin huffed and rolled his eyes but was smiling as they all headed into the gallery. Jisung stuck close to Minho as Hyunjin led the way to the room showing the art he was wanting to see. As they entered the room it became clear they had allotted too small a space for the popularity of the artist, there were too many people pressed together and milling about within the four walls. Jisung inched closer to him as they were jostled around by the people, who were paying more attention to the art than the others and space around them. Minho looked at Jisung’s wide anxious eyes and had to clench his fist so hard it shook to stop himself from shoving the next person who barged into him. 

“Come on, let’s check out the other displays.”

“But this is why we’re here.” Jisung said, voice shaky with the anxiety he was trying to hide.

“No, this is why Jinnie is here. We can look at the pictures they take later. There is plenty of other nice stuff to look at in this place.” Minho put his hand on Jisung’s lower back and guided him back out of the room.

Minho kept Jisung close as they moved through to quieter rooms, walking slow enough to enjoy the art. After the fourth room Jisung seemed to relax, so Minho stopped in front of a picture of abstract flowers.

“That one looks like a vagina.” Minho said, pointing to a melted looking petal shape.

“I’m not exactly an expert on vaginas.” Jisung chuckled.

“Yeah, me neither. But I have watched some straight porn out of curiosity. That’s some fucking funny shit.” Minho chuckled, pulling Jisung closer to him as they moved to the next painting.

“I like this one. The bright colours are cheerful.” Jisung said, pointing at another abstract.

“Suits you.” Minho agreed, admitting the painting for a while before they moved to another room. 

This room was much larger, open pan and fully devout of people. Minho guided Jisung to a bench in front of a large, ice landscape, full of beautifully muted blues. Minho sat them down to gaze at the painting as they relaxed for a moment. Minho placed his arm back around him, and Jisung pressed his weight on Minho, melting into a half hug and relaxing. Minho sighed and dropped his head onto Jisung’s letting the calm atmosphere, and Jisung’s close proximity soothe him. He was thinking the art gallery, despite its rocky start, had been a great plan for the day. After a few minutes Jisung started to hum lightly, a habit of his that Minho had noticed when he was relaxed. He had been able to witness Jisung humming and singing to himself happily when focused on something and fully relaxed before, but it hadn’t become a common occurrence around him yet. 

Minho lost track of how long they stayed there, in perfectly comfortable silence, aside from Jisung’s gentle humming. Minho could have stayed there for hours, and he might have, not even glancing at his phone in the time that passed until their friends found them.

“Oh it’s peaceful in here!” Hyunjin announced, breaking the placidity of the room.

“It was.” Minho said, as he and Jisung straightened up and greeted their friends.

“Glad we found you, we were close to assuming you had ditched us.” Seungmin snorted.

“Now there’s an idea. Why didn’t we think of ditching them?” Minho asked Jisung, bumping them together gently.

“Because of the pretty colours.” Jisung smiled and stretched his arms over his head.

“We have to leave soon to make it for our reservation. Ready for sushi?” Chan asked with a warm smile.

“Delishy Fishy! Let’s go!” Jisung cheered as he jumped up from his seat and turned to pull Minho up behind him.

“If I knew sushi was such a motivating incentive for you, I would have utilised it for my own benefits by now.” Minho chuckled, hand hand finding its way to the small of Jisung’s back as they all slowly made their way to the exit. Minho kept close to Jisung as they walked to the restaurant, zoning out of the conversation between his friends as he walked, a part of him feeling like it was still in the cocoon of peace in the art gallery with Jisung. When they arrived at the restaurant, Minho was pleased they were taken to a large table at the corner of the room, a partition partially hiding them from the rest of the room. It wasn’t too busy or loud at this time, but the added privacy seemed to stop Jisung from curling into his anxiety again, which Minho was happy to see. On Jisung’s other side was Felix, currently distracting him from picking out his fish by talking about the restaurant's decor. Next to Felix was Hyunjin who was watching them idly as he held the menu. To his side was Jeongin who was locked into some conversation with Chan next to him. Then Chanbin was between him and Seungmin, who was on Minho’s other side, the large round table perfect for group discussions over a meal.

“So, how do you feel about sharing sushi?” Jisung asked, pulling Minho’s attention back to him.

“I’m happy to share with you. Too much choice for you to decide?”

“Kinda. I want to try it all!” Jisung grinned at him.

“Then we will get it all. Or as much as we can reasonably eat between us.” Minho put a hand on Jisung’s thigh and smiled at him as he looked at the menu over his shoulder.

“Do you like all the sushi? Nothing you wanna skip?” Jisung asked as he seemed to be making a mental list of all he wanted to order.

“I like it all. Get anything you like, I’ll like it too.” Minho smiled, pressing their heads together for a second before glancing back over at the rest of their friends.

“I hope you’re not taking time out of your sleep and eating schedule to hang out with us.” Jeonign was saying to Chan with a knowing smirk.

“I… Am I really that bad at looking after myself?” Chan laughed.

“Worse. I think I might have to start checking in on you. Making sure you go home and actually do self care.” Jeongin was giving him a fond smile.

“Where did you get that chicken in your latest video from, it looked so good, I can’t stop being haunted with hungry dreams of it.” Hyunjin was asking Felix.

“You watch my channel?” Felix was beaming light with a smile at him.

“Oh yeah, sometimes. When I’m at home alone, it's nice to hear a friendly voice to keep me company.” Hyunjin smiled, and looked slightly bashful.

“That’s… So sweet. Yeah, I like watching videos to not feel alone too. You should come over sometime, I’ll order us that chicken!”

“It’s a date!” Hyunjin smiled into his menu as he avoided looking at Felix.

“When are you gonna let me take you out to a restaurant without the other guys?” Changbin was saying, quiet, probably not wanting to be overheard.

“How can we have the time? Anytime I see you without these guys… Our time is fully occupied.” Seungmin said, not looking up from his menu.

“I was thinking I could make some time. Add time, more time. For you.”

“If that’s what you want. I can also… Make time.” Seungmin’s lips curled up into a smile that looked like he was trying to fight from taking over his face.

Minho smiled as he looked back down at Jisung, feeling this was much nicer, and calmer than the usual chaotic clamour, not that he didn’t enjoy the energy of the group sometimes, but right now he was feeling peace from the comfortable vibe surrounding them.

“So, have you decided what we’re having?” Minho asked Jisung. He looked up at him with a wide smile and nodded. “Okay, tell me what so I can order for us.” Jisung’s smile grew even more as he started to list through his selections.

“This has been fun, we should do things like this more often.” Hyunjin said as they were eating their meal.

“Some culture and a nice meal, I could get used to this.” Changbin agreed.

“I think next time we should do something outdoors, it’s already not as cold.” Chan suggested.

“We could rent cars and go somewhere for a hike?” Minho offered.

“A hike?” Jisung scrunched up his face uncertainly.

“Don’t be intimidated, it just means walking.” Minho told him as he bumped their shoulders together.

“Yeah, okay, that doesn’t sound too bad. Better than trying to do sports.” 

“You know what, we should all go to a theme park or something in the summer!” Jeongin said, glancing between the group.

“Or the beach!” Felix added.

“Why not both? I also think we should have a barbeque soon, I have one that does not get used enough. I know it’s still not warm, but I think a nighttime barbecue with hot drinks, alcoholic for those who want, could be super fun and cosy!” Chan suggested.

“I’m down for a cold weather barbeque. Hot toddies and meat. Make sure you have blankets for us all to wear though.” Minho agreed.

“We can still get wasted and fuck around, right? We don’t have to be all productive and enriching all the time?” Hyunjin asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, I like being a waste of space, it drives me.” Seungmin agreed with a snort.

“Exactly, this isn’t gonna cut into my gaming time right? I have a reputation and a score to upkeep.” Felix said.

“A reputation of being bronze?” Jeongin teased.

“You know what, go to the theme park, I hope you get Final Destinationed!” Felix said and crossed his arms with a pout.

The conversation continued, light teasing and ideas bouncing without any solid plans being made, but the consensus was that the whole group was open to branching out on their activities. Jisung started out loud, engaging in the discussion, teasing and joking with the others, but not long after finishing all their food his energy seemed to seep away, and he got quiet, leaning against Minho and watching quietly, much like Minho was prone to do, but Minho suspected for much different reasons.

“Need to go home?” Minho asked when the others were talking about potential plans for after the restaurant. 

“I think so. I used all my energy. I need to lay under a blanket and turn off my brain as I watch five hours of YouTube videos then sleep until noon to recharge.” Jisung said with a weak smile.

“Need anything from me? I could come with you, or bring you food later?”

“No. I appreciate it. But I will be fine. I could hang out tomorrow though?” 

“If you have the energy. Message me when you’re up, we’ll take it from there.” Minho told him, wrapping his arm around Jisung to give him a small hug before they had to leave and part ways. 

Minho forced Chan to take money from the whole group for the bill, not letting him sneak off to pay for it all himself this time. Then he insisted he walk Jisung home, even though Jisung was too drained to talk on the walk. He gave him a hug before Jisung disappeared into his apartment to recuperate. Jeongin had gone home, after riling Felix up they had agreed to meet on some online game Minho didn’t care about. So Minho spent the evening relaxing on his own, thankful for his own time to recharge his social battery.

The next day Minho had spent his morning at the gym and buying groceries for the week before Jisung messaged him.

JISUNG: Hey, are you still up for hanging out with me today?

MINHO: If you have the energy, of course I am.

JISUNG: Absolutely! Just nothing high energy!

MINHO: Well, I could come over to yours and we could order food, or you could come here and I could cook.

JISUNG: I don’t want you to go to all that effort just for me.

MINHO: I was going to be cooking for me and Innie anyway. If home cooked food sounds good, and you don’t mind Innie maybe joining us, I’m happy for you to come here.

JISUNG: Sounds good! Shall I bring coffee and snacks?

MINHO: You don’t have to. But if you want to I won’t refuse them.

JISUNG: Bet! Any preferences?

MINHO: I’m happy with anything. But I do have a soft spot for pudding cups.

JISUNG: I love all sweet things! I’ll come now, yeah?

MINHO: See you soon!

Minho smiled and went to knock on Jeonign’s door before letting himself in, hearing him talking on his gaming headset and figured he might not hear his knock. Jeongin turned and smiled at him when he saw him lingering in the doorway.

“Just letting you know Sung is coming over now.” Minho said with a smile.

“Wanting me to clear out?” Jeongin asked, no trace of annoyance in his voice.

“Oh, no, of course not. I was just letting you know we are having company, and I’ll be making dinner for all of us if you’re staying in?”

“Oh cool! Yeah, sounds good. I’ll come join you when I’m done, yeah?”

“Great! Have fun.” Minho said with a smile before returning to the couch.

Minho spent the time waiting for Jisung planning out the dinner, thinking through the ingredients he had bought, and what Jisung had said he would like Minho to cook for him before. He ended up deciding on katsu pork cutlet and a basic Japanese style curry would be a safe and comforting meal for them all. He knew Jisung didn’t have a high tolerance for spice, but he had mentioned Japanese curry in the long list of foods Minho had to make for him, and the curry paste he had in the cupboards was a mild one, so he thought it would work well. Jisung knocked on the door almost an hour after he had text, and was burdened down with too many bags when Minho let him in.

“I thought getting carried away with bringing food was my thing?” Minho chuckled as he let him in.

“Yeah, well we are sharing, right?” Jisung said, beaming as Minho took some of the bags from his hands.

“Sharing personality traits and food today it seems.” Minho nodded as they placed the bags on the table to investigate.

Jisung had bought several bags of chips, some cookies, and other sweet baked goods, and more pudding cups than Minho had ever had in his home at one time. Minho thanked Jisung for all he bought, and they chose some of the snacks to eat as they put on a movie to watch, selecting a horror that Jisung had been wanting to watch. They ate for a short while before they abandoned the snacks and got comfortable on the sofa, Jisung leaning against Minho. Minho lifted his arm to drape over Jisung’s shoulders and hold him closer. After staying like that for a while Jisung lifted his hand to hold Minho's hand that was hanging over his shoulder. He didn’t fully lace their fingers together, just holding Minho’s fingers with his own, but Minho smiled at the extra contact and rested his head on Jisung’s. 

“Sup!” They were pulled out of their cosy little bubble after halfway through the movie when Jeongin emerged from his room.

“Hey Innie! Are you watching with us?” Jisung said cheerily as he dropped his hand from Minho’s to his lap.

“Sounds good. What are you watching?” Jeongin asked as he dropped next to Jisung on the couch.

“Some horror flick.” Minho said, waiting to see if Jisung would shift away out of his hold. 

“Fucking horror.” Jeongin grumbled, but started to watch with them anyway.

Jisung seemed comfortable with Jeongin seeing them half cuddled up, and Minho wondered if he’d even stopped holding his hand consciously as he wasn’t comfortable with it, or it had simply been a natural movement of his body. Minho didn’t linger on it, letting himself relax again as they finished the movie. Once they had finished the movie Minho said he was going to cook them dinner, and Jisung offered to help following him to the kitchen before Minho could respond.

“I thought you couldn’t cook?” Minho chuckled as Jisung shut the door behind them, locking them in a private bubble with Jeongin on the other side of it.

“I mean yeah, but I can supervise. Keep you company. Put on music. This is helping?” Jisung said with a beaming smile Minho couldn’t refuse.

“Sure. That works.” Minho surrendered, washing his hands before starting to prepare the meal.

“DJ Hannie on the mic!” Jisung yelled as he fished out his phone to put on a playlist.

Minho chuckled at how ridiculous and adorable Jisung was as the room started to fill with music. Minho was trying to chop the vegetables, but Jisung was dancing around and singing to the old-fashioned song that he was currently playing. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Jisung beaming as he pranced around, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he threw his arms around.

“Baby, love really hurts without you, love really hurts without you, and it's breaking my heart, but what can I do, baby!” Jisung sang with a wide smile on his face. 

Jisung reached an arm out to Minho and beckoned him to join him. Minho laughed and put down the knife he was using to grab Jisung’s arms, swinging them around and dancing in a style fit for the upbeat sounding, 70’s song. Jisung was giggling as he kept singing along, letting Minho twirl and spin him around the kitchen. Minho was overcome with how wonderful it felt to see Jisung so happy. He pulled him close and lifted him up to spin them around. Jisung warped his legs around him and let out a loud laugh before continuing to sing with his head tilted back, his hands grasping Minho’s neck firmly. As the last notes of the song faded out Minho gently dropped Jisung onto his feet, gazing into his sparkling eyes for a moment before he remembered he was in here to cook.

“You are more of a distraction than a help.” Minho said with a playful grin before slapping Jisung’s butt and going back to continue chopping.

“But maybe, you need distracting. Happy mood makes for tasty food!” Jisung sing-songed before skipping over to watch Minho as he started to prepare the cutlet to be fried once the curry was almost cooked.

“Well, if it rhymes, it must be true.” Minho laughed as he tried to focus on cooking as Jisung kept singing and swaying along to the music filling the room. 

Minho managed to keep his attention on cooking until he had the curry simmering, then he looked over and saw Jisung moving to the slower dance beats of the more modern song that was playing. Minho knew he should be monitoring the curry, but Jisung was staring at him deeply as his hips rolled sensually. Minho forgot all thoughts of food as he stalked towards him, eyes locked onto his body as Jisung drew him in. As Minho closed the distance Jisung started singing along, his arms sliding up Minho’s chest as he pressed his body to him. Jisung spun around, pressing his ass against Minho as he kept swaying his hips to the beat. His arms thrown over him to grip Minho’s neck as his head lolled on Minho’s shoulder.

“We don't gotta be in love, no, I don't gotta be the one, no, I just wanna be one of your girls tonight.” Jisung sang so close to Minho’s ear the air brushing over him made his hairs stand on end.

Minho let his hands come up to lightly roam over Jisung’s hips, sliding up to stroke over his torso, up to his chest. Jisung’s breath hitched as he sang when Minho’s fingers danced over his throat, his other hand pressing down on one of his hips. Minho moved his mouth, lightly brushing his lips over the skin of Jisung’s jaw before he brought them to his ear.

“You’re gonna make me burn the food if you keep this up.” Minho whispered, feeling Jisung shudder slightly as he did.

“Okay.” Jisung breathed.

“Okay, I should burn the food?” Minho asked with a smirk. The song ended and Jisung’s body seemed to still instinctively as the music did. 

“No, it’s not just us eating.” Jisung said, taking in a deep and shaky breath before pulling himself away from Minho and dropping his bodyweight heavily against the wall as he watched Minho.

Minho smirked and moved back to finish dinner, checking on the curry before starting to get the oil ready to fry the cutlets. Jisung didn’t try to distract him any more, seeming to be trying to calm down whatever desire had been crackling between them as they danced. Jisung looked less flushed and more relaxed by the time Minho was serving up for them. He helped Minho take in the bowls, sitting between Minho and Jeongin again as Minho passed Jeongin the remote to put on a movie of his choice, since he sat through most of the horror movie for them. After eating, Jisung settled back under Minho’s arm, relaxing into his body as they enjoyed the peaceful evening. Jeongin was the first one to notice it was getting late, having gotten out his phone to check a message.

“Shit. I need to go to bed. Stupid fucking morning shifts!” Jeongin grumbled as he got up to head to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“Yeah, I should probably go now too.” Jisung said, sounding like he didn’t want to actually leave.

“Responsibilities suck.” Minho agreed.

“Do you want to meet for coffee tomorrow, or is that too much?”

“Too much what?”

“Spending three days in a row with me. Is that too much?”

“Are you under some kind of delusion that I don't enjoy spending time with you? That I went to gaming nights for any other reason than to get to hang out with you? Three days seeing each other is no problem. I think I could see you every day and not get tired of you.” Minho said, frowning at Jisung’s unfounded insecurity. “If you get sick of me, that’s fine, but I don’t feel like I ever will with you.”

“No, I don’t think I will either. You are so easy to be around. Okay, I’ll message you tomorrow then.” Jisung said, smiling as he got up to get ready to go home. Minho got up to walk him to the door. Jisung lingered in the doorway, just looking at Minho for a moment.

“Later Sung! Was fun having you over today.” Jeongin called to him as he exited the bathroom to head to his bedroom, and breaking them out of their locked gaze and pushing Jisung to finally say goodbye and leave.

On Monday Jisung messaged asking if they could meet for their lunch breaks again, as he had a busy work week ahead of him and couldn’t fit in extra breaks. Minho agreed, and arranged the time to meet in the lobby. As Minho was walking down to meet Jisung he was accosted by Hyunjin once again, jumping on him as he waited for the elevator.

“Dude! Wanna take me for lunch?” Hyunjin asked as Minho tried to shrug him off of him.

“I’m meeting Jisung for coffee and lunch.” Minho replied as Hyunjin kept clinging to him as he got on the elevator. 

“Dope, I can join.”

“Maybe we don’t want you crashing.”

“What, are you planning on fucking for lunch?”

“No. We are just hanging out. And we’re not fucking yet.” Minho told him as he rolled his eyes.

“Then I will join. Sung will be happy to see me.” Hyunjin decided for him. Minho sighed but didn’t object any longer, knowing it would be pointless to even try.

“Sungie! You don’t mind if I have lunch with you, do you?” Hyunjin hollered at the startled Jisung when they approached him.

“Oh, hey! No, that's fine! We’re just gonna be in the cafe here though.” Jisung said with a friendly smile.

“It’s not about the location, it’s about the company!” Hyunjin said, moving to drape over Jisung as Minho finally shook him off of him. 

“It’s about being a freeloader. What are you two wanting?” 

Minho bought all of their lunch and drinks, and they sat in a quiet corner of the cafe to eat. Jisung moved his chair close to Minho when they sat, smiling at him before grabbing his sandwich.

“So you guys meet for lunch often?” Hyunjin asked with a mouth full of food.

“Sometimes we go for a walk with coffee. I work just around the corner, so it’s a nice break from the work week.” Jisung said with a bright smile.

“Nice! Yeah, I like dragging him to the bar after work when I’m in the studio, it’s nice.” Hyunjin smiled. “So, have you come up to see him dance yet?”

“No… That never occurred to me!” Jisung said, turning a bright smile to Minho who sighed.

“Well, it’s only fair right? He’s seen you perform?”

“Yeah! You should let me see you!” Jisung agreed.

“What? Think if you see me perform you will get so turned on you give me the worst pick up line ever then crash and burn like I did?” Minho laughed.

“No! I just want to see.” Jisung’s wide eyes immediately tore down any defences Minho might have had.

“Yeah, alright. One day you can come over when I have a room to myself and you can watch me for one dance.” Minho promised him.

“I’d like that!” Jisung said, smiling so sweetly that Minho felt himself melt. 

Minho placed his hand on Jisung’s thigh as the three of them continued to talk for the remainder of their lunch hour. Minho was pleased, and mildly surprised that Hyunjin had enough tact not to make any jokes or reference to Jisung and Minho hooking up. The atmosphere between them was easy and relaxed, and while Minho felt disappointed he hadn’t gotten Jisung to himself as they parted ways to return to work, he was feeling happy from the lunch break with good company to break up his day.

Minho was becoming as annoyed as Jisung with his packed schedule this week, him not finding as much time to message Minho during the days. He made up for it by calling Minho before bed, and Minho ached at how drained Jisung sounded as they spoke for the short time before they slept. Minho was thinking he was going to be too busy and exhausted for him to come over on Wednesday, but when he suggested that to Jisung he insisted, rather vehemently, that Minho could, and should still come see him. On Wednesday Minho actually had time to stop home to change before Jisung messaged him to say he was home and for him to come over. Jisung looked tired, but not drastically so when he let Minho into his apartment. His smile was still bright and unaffected by the slight bags under his eyes.

“Rough week?” Minho asked as they sat together.

“It sucks! We have to deal with people! So many people, all wanting opinions, and small talk! And strangers coming into our studio, and us having to go to new places. I hate it. And I can’t have my naps. I do not sleep well enough to stay away all day at work!” Jisung said, pouting as he crossed his arms. Minho couldn’t help but smile at how cute he found him.