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Seungmin stepped back into his apartment, soaking wet and shaking. When he’d run out hours ago, frantic despite his usual calm, he hadn’t thought to grab an umbrella or shove his feet into shoes that wouldn’t soak through so easily. He paused, the sound of water droplets hitting the floor drowned out by the buzz of the lights in the kitchen. Seungmin inhaled sharply, quickly taking off his shoes to rush towards the kitchen. Sitting at the table, hands wrapped around a mug of something steaming hot, sat Lee Minho. A choked noise escaped Seungmin’s lips as he stared down the man he’d spent the last hour searching for in the rain.
“You—“ he seethed, his jaw clenching painfully. He shook uncontrollably, the bone-deep chill of the rainwater finally setting in. “What the fuck, Lee Minho?” Seungmin snapped, his arms falling limp at his side. Minho finally met his eye, but he didn’t say anything at first. Seungmin studied his face, the shape of his nose, the curve of the corners of his lips, the gentle slope of his eyes. It was simultaneously infuriating to look at and so, so relieving.
“Ya, Kim Seungmin,” Minho finally spoke up, a frown appearing on his lips. The water dripping from Seungmin’s hair and tumbling across his cheeks was quickly coupled with tears falling from his eyes. His shivers turned into sobs, his shoulders shaking as he stared at Minho. The fear—the unadulterated panic—he’d felt came crashing down on him, and he sagged under the weight of it.
“Don’t,” Seungmin gritted out, his voice as watery as he was. “You seriously didn’t have the decency to answer a single one of my texts or calls?” Seungmin shook his head, bringing his arms up to hug himself. Minho slowly rose from his chair, his mug forgotten on the table.
“My phone died,” Minho replied softly, trying to meet Seungmin’s evasive gaze. “I didn’t even know you knew about the accident.” Seungmin laughed bitterly, his teeth chattering as he sucked in deep breaths.
“Hyunjin texted me,” Seungmin finally looked Minho in the eye, which was a little blurry due to his own tears, but he held his ground. “Did you just not think I’d want to know if you were okay? Were you just going to waltz home as if you weren’t involved in a car crash? Minho, I can’t believe you sometimes. I went all the way to the hospital just in case you didn’t—“ Seungmin cut himself off with a choked sob, looking away. He’d had enough. If he stayed in his wet clothes any longer, he’d probably get hypothermia and he didn’t have the energy to keep talking in circles with his boyfriend. He was about to trudge into the bedroom when Minho stood in front of him, his hands coming to rest gently on Seungmin’s shoulders.
“Seungmin-ah,” Minho whispered softly, lifting one of his hands to gently move Seungmin’s chin up. Seungmin sniveled, blinking tears out of his eyes to look at him. He could tell Minho was thinking hard about what to say next, but instead of waiting Seungmin just tipped forward into his arms. His sturdy, uninjured arms that held him up as his sobs returned. After a few moments of hysterical crying, Seungmin allowed himself to be pulled towards the bathroom. Minho sat him on the edge of the tub, and carefully started peeling off some of his clothes. Seungmin just sat still, moving his limbs as Minho worked off his socks and the sweater he’d thrown on over his button down. He didn’t even register Minho leaving the bathroom until he was coming back in, arms full of fresh clothes and fluffy towels. Minho reached around Seungmin to turn on the bathtub faucet, using his hand to check the temperature of the water. When he deemed it to be warm enough, he plugged the drain and let it start to fill.
Seungmin was falling asleep. Minho was basically holding him upright. He was kneeling in front of the bathtub with Seungmin essentially draped over him. He carefully reached over to turn off the water, running his free hand over Seungmin’s head to wake him. Seungmin stirred, a soft whine slipping from his lips. He wasn’t comfortable, and he was still shivering from how cold he was, but sleep was tugging at the edges of his consciousness and who was he to resist?
“C’mon, pup. We gotta get you out of these clothes and wash up,” Seungmin finally agreed, allowing Minho to carefully remove his jeans and boxers. Seungmin stood slowly, his legs a little wobbly. Minho steadied him, and helped lower him into the bath. Seungmin sighed at the warm water, his eyes falling shut almost immediately. He didn’t want to press his back against the cold material of the tub. He shifted forward a little, forcing himself to open his eyes to look at Minho.
“Sit with me?” He asked, his voice small and quiet. He shut his eyes again as he heard Minho start to get undressed, and within moments he was sliding in behind him. Seungmin pressed his bare back against Minho’s chest, curling into his warmth. MInho looped his arms around Seungmin’s midsection, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to his shoulder. They sat in silence, the water sloshing as they shifted here and there. Seungmin was already feeling better, but he was still a little uneasy.
“Hyung?” he asked suddenly, turning a little so he could lean his head against the crook of Minho’s neck. Minho hummed, running his fingers through Seungmin’s damp hair. “Do you love me?” Seungmin felt Minho tense underneath him, and the fingers that were carding through his hair paused.
“Of course I do, Min-ah,” Minho replied softly, tightening the arm that was resting around Seungmin’s waist.
“Think about it then,” Seungmin started, his eyes fluttering open, “when you get off of work late, or when you get into trouble, or randomly on a Tuesday afternoon when you see a puppy and think of me.” Seungmin lifted his hand to rest on Minho’s chest. He traced shapes across his sternum, his lips set into a small frown. A small smile played at Minho’s lips as he nudged Seungmin’s forehead with his nose.
“I’m sorry,” Minho whispered, gently pressing kisses along Seungmin’s hairline. Seungmin hummed, waiting for him to continue. “I should have reached out to you. My inability to communicate doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I’m–I’m sorry it made you feel that way.” Minho’s voice shook as he continued, and he blinked rapidly to dispel the tears threatening to fall. Seungmin hummed again, but this time he shifted to kiss Minho’s jaw.
“It’s okay, hyung. I’m not asking for you to do one-eighty right now, I just worry about you,” Seungmin sighed softly, reaching around to lightly tangle his fingers in the ends of Minho’s hair. “I would worry less if you’d call me, or reply to my texts here and there.”
“I’ll try,” Minho replied, nodding his head. “For you.” Seungmin smiled, satisfied.
“Can you wash my hair now, please? I don’t want to go to bed smelling like rainwater.”
“Shut up, you twerp. We were having a moment.”