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FOR TONIGHT.
Many couples have fallen out of love after a long time of being married, and yet stay together for the sake of their children. They don’t cuddle each other to bed anymore, never say ‘I love you’ to one another like they used to, don’t randomly come up to press kisses anywhere on each other’s faces, and all of the sort.
Minho and Chan are no different.
Well, at least that’s what they both thought.
Ever since Hyeri joined their not-so-little family, it seemed that the couple had had less and less time for each other. And the thing is, neither one of them ever thought to bring it up to one another. Minho honestly didn’t think Chan loved him anymore with how distant he was acting. He spent more of his free time with their five children, and if he wasn’t with the kids, he was working. Heck, the most Minho had ever gotten alone with Chan was just twenty minutes. After that, Chan had left in a hurry. Chan, funnily enough, actually felt somewhat the same. He didn’t think that the love was entirely gone though, just that it was weak.
Hyeri, the youngest and only girl of the bunch, was quick to notice her dads’ distant demeanors. She brought this up to her eldest brother Changbin one day while the five siblings were hanging out in their mansion’s parlor. “Binnie,” she called out, almost whining. “Hmm?”
“Papa and Dad are being weird.” Hyeri said, and Changbin frowned at this. “What do you mean?”
The girl shrugs. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it just feels like they’ve been absolute strangers to each other lately. Haven’t you noticed?” She says, effectively catching the attention of her three other brothers. “What?” Seungmin, the third eldest said, looking up from his book.
But before they could continue their conversation, there was a knock on the door of the parlor. “Kids,” Chan’s voice sounded from the other side. “Lunch is ready.”
The siblings all looked around at each other with a sigh before chorusing, “Coming, Dad.”
“Pst, Sungie.” Hyeri calls out to another brother. “They weren’t always like this, right? Dad and Papa?” She follows up. Jisung shakes his head before running off to capture Jeongin in a headlock. “Aish, Jisung, what the hell?” He yelped.
Unfortunately, Minho and Chan’s behavior had been a tad bit too obvious, and even Felix, Chan’s brother had noticed.
“Hyung,” Felix called out one day while having lunch with his older brother. “Yes?” Chan replied, putting his fork down.
“Are you and Minho hyung okay? Or have you been fighting?” Felix asked carefully, afraid he might have touched a sensitive topic.
But Chan looked confused. “Yeah?” He said, though he sounded unsure. “Min and I are perfectly fine. Why?”
“Nothing, I just….” But Felix decided not to dwell on it. “Never mind.” Thankfully, Chan didn’t ask again and they continued eating their lunch.
“By the way, Lix. You still haven’t told me why you called me out to lunch today.”
“Am I not allowed to miss my brother anymore?” Felix jokingly asked, wiping his mouth. Chan chuckled. “Kidding. I just wanted to celebrate something.”
“Hm? Celebrate what?”
Felix showed Chan his left hand, which was now bearing a shiny silver engagement ring. “Oh my God?” Chan said in surprise. “You’re getting married?” He asked, even though it was already obvious. Felix beamed and nodded. “Oh my God, since when?”
“Hyunjin proposed to me just last week. It was after we had watched the ballet recital when he kind of just led me to the garden. Then, being the dramatic one he is, he had this whole speech but he was sputtering so much, it was so cute. Then he got down on one knee and that’s when he popped the question.” Felix explained, and the two brothers quietly squealed like a bunch of schoolgirls.
“Oh, look at you.” Chan pretended to tear up. “My baby brother. Going off and getting married. I remember like it was just yesterday when you were freaking out about what to wear to your first date with Hyunjin.” Felix giggled. “Hyung, I’m thirty-two.”
“So? I’m thirty-nine and gushing over romance,” Chan deadpanned. “I don’t see your point.”
The two shared yet another laugh.
“Felix is getting married.” Chan told Minho on one of the rare occasions that they get alone time together. “Really?” Minho says, looking up at his husband from their shared bed. Chan nods. “To Hyunjin.” Minho also nods. “That’s nice. Tell them I send my congrats.” He says, and Chan hums an ‘okay’.
“Min, I…” Chan tries to say. “Hm?” But Chan retracts and shakes his head. “Never mind.”
Minho frowns but doesn’t try to push the conversation further and goes back to reading his book.
“Hyune,” Felix calls out to his fiancé about two days before their wedding. “Yes?”
“I know I told you about Minho hyung and Chan hyung, right?” Hyunjin nods at this. “Yeah, why? Did something happen again?” He asked worriedly. Felix shakes his head. “Well, not that I know of at the moment, but I was just wondering if…” Felix hesitated. “I don’t know, it might seem too big of a favor.” He said meekly.
“Come on, babe. What is it? You can tell me.” Hyunjin says encouragingly, taking Felix’s hand in his. “Well…” Felix squirmed in his seat a bit. “I was wondering if it was okay with you that we let Chan and Minho have the dance instead of us. You know, the one during the reception.”
Hyunjin smiled. “Yes, of course it’s okay with me. I wouldn’t have wanted to dance anyway.” Felix laughed and grinned brightly. “Really? Thanks, love. Means a lot.” He said, kissing Hyunjin’s cheek softly.
The day of the wedding came eventually, and the lovers said their vows, exchanged rings, kissed and were now declared man and husband. Chan felt a little nostalgic during the ceremony, his own wedding having been similar to his brother’s. As he had these thoughts, he glanced at his own husband every now and then. Minho hadn’t spoken to him ever since they got out of the car that morning, only talking to their children or Chan’s family members. And even now as they stood next to each other, Minho refused to even look at him.
He tried not to let it bother him even as Minho continued to avoid being too close to him during the reception. But unfortunately for Minho, he wasn’t able to escape being close to Chan for too long. Because when the host announced that it was time for the newlyweds to dance, Hyunjin and Felix shared a secret smile and the latter asked for the mic. “Actually,” he started. “Hyunjin and I aren’t dancing tonight.” he said, much to everyone’s confusion.
“We’ll have plenty of time to dance on other occasions. Hyunjin and I agreed that we wanted a certain couple to have this dance instead.” Felix looked straight at his brother when he said this, and Chan furrowed his eyebrows. “My older brother, Chan hyung, and his husband, Minho hyung.”
The said couple briefly shared a look. “Us? But why?” Chan asked.
“That’s a secret.” Felix winked before gesturing for both of them to make their way to the dance floor. Surprisingly, the two obliged despite being so shocked and confused at the sudden request. Cheers were heard from behind them, ones that turned out to be from their children, the loudest one having been from Jisung, as always.
Though reluctantly, Chan put his arms around Minho’s waist and the latter put his around his husband’s neck. Chan couldn’t help the chuckle escaping his lips, remembering that the last time they’d been intimate like this was almost ten years ago at a ball they had attended together.
The music started and the couple moved, slowly, just basking in what they thought was going to be the only time they’d be this close in a decade. Every now and then, cheers and teasing whistles were thrown left and right. But it seemed as if Chan and Minho were in their own world, like it was just the two of them, like they weren’t surrounded by tons of people who watched them dance in awed silence.
“Hi.” Chan tried to converse as he finally found the courage to look his husband in the eye, and he noticed that Minho’s eyes were the same, just as they had been at their wedding seventeen years ago. “Hey.” Minho replied, seemingly shy.
“You look nice.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself.”
The two burst into soft laughter, like it was just for the two of them to hear, and Felix watched them fondly. “Seems like it’s working.” He whispers to Hyunjin who nods in agreement.
Minho sighed in content as he rested his forehead on Chan’s shoulder, allowing himself to be pulled closer. They stayed that way for a bit until Chan heard sniffling from the younger. Gently, he pulled Minho’s head from his shoulder, cupping his cheek to wipe away the tears pouring out of his eyes. “What’s wrong, love?” He asked, and Minho simply melted at the nickname. Chan hadn’t called him that in years. Hearing it from him now just felt so strange, but at the same time it made him feel butterflies all over again like he was still twenty-one.
“Nothing.” He said, and there really was nothing wrong. He was just overcome with affection and how much he loved Chan. He leaned his head back on Chan’s shoulder and continued to cry. “I just….I love you so much” he whispered, but loud enough just for Chan to hear.
“I know, Min. I know.” Chan replied, and again took Minho’s face in his hands, softly caressing the sides before pressing a quick kiss on his lips. The audience awed, and Felix and the couple’s children especially felt their hearts warm at the sight. “And I love you.”
Minho cried even harder at the contact, having missed being able to have Chan like that. He couldn’t stop his tears, but that was alright. Chan was always going to be there to wipe his tears away anyway.