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Minho and Chan had decided to keep this newly developed relationship for themselves for a little bit. Really, just a day to adjust and enjoy themselves without the addition of their rowdy group of friends accosting them with questions.
Based on that, cuddling on the couch right in front of all of them right after dinner probably was not a good idea. Just possibly. Minho did not really think before making himself comfortable on Chan’s lap, attaching himself to him like an octopus. He was not the only one at fault, though. Chan could also not have kissed his forehead while he brought Minho even closer to him.
Whatever. Sober Minho would have probably cared, but after three glasses of somaek he just felt content, warm and fuzzy and in the mood to prove Chan he deserved to be smothered with affection.
Jisung and Felix squinted at them from the opposite couch. It was a funny sight since the couple was a mirror image of the two eldest’s position in that moment. Felix was sprawled on Jisung’s lap, just like a cat, occupying the most surface space possible. Minho stuck his tongue out at them and Jisung let out a scandalized gasp. Then, he narrowed his eyes even harder and opened his mouth.
“Everyone, aren’t Chan and Minho acting weird?” he asked, loud enough to stop the conversation the rest of their friends were having.
Oh well. Minho should have seen that coming.
“Hyung. Chan hyung and Minho hyung”, Chan corrected him almost automatically. “Wait, what?”
“Hyung, you should just accept the fact that you let him get too comfortable around both of you. He’s never going to use honorifics, even you gave him permission to stop”, Seungmin snorted.
“In the studio! When we’re in a working environment!”
“Also, I never said such thing to him”, Minho added. “He’s just a disrespectful little brat.”
“But you do have a soft spot for him”, Changbin observed.
“Hmm. Maybe I do” he answered, shifting so he could stare at Jisung. “I think it’s the cheeks. They make me weak.”
“Okay, Jisungie, you’re right. They’re being weird. Minho hyung would never admit to our face that something makes him weak” Hyunjin stated, glancing suspiciously at the pair.
“He has admitted his weaknesses to me, though?” Chan piped up, confusion palpable on his expression. “Maybe I am special”, he wondered.
Minho turned back, ready to scold him, but one look at Chan’s bright and hopeful eyes his resolve crumbled faster than a house of cards faced with a hurricane. “Of course you are, silly” he scoffed, cupping the elder’s flushed cheeks with his hands. “No ordinary person gets to be my baby, no?”
A deafening silence followed that statement. Chan gaped like a fish out of water, his drunk flush mixing with his flustered flush. Minho cooed at him and dropped a kiss to his nose, and that is when chaos erupted.
Everyone started talking (see: yelling) at once. Hyunjin was shaking Changbin with so much fervor the latter ended up falling from the sofa, Seungmin was muttering something under his breath (Minho knew it was curses. He was very attuned with Seungmin’s emotions. After all, how would he antagonize him without knowing them?) and Jisung and Felix were doing some kind of dance around their couch while shrieking with delight.
(Chan hid his face behind his hands, groaning. His ears were still visible, though, and Minho snickered at how red they were. Ah, revenge tasted so sweet.)
“I fucking knew it!” Jeongin hollered, making all the attention turn to him.
“Yang Jeongin, no cursing in my damn house!” Minho reprimanded him, earning a snort from the youngest.
“You’re such a great example, hyung.”
“Shut up, Kim Seungmin. If you have something to say do it to my face.”
“I’m literally doing that. I am talking to y-”
“Will all of you please shut up and celebrate! My dads are finally dating!” Jisung yelled, making everyone go silent.
“Did you just call them your dads?” Jeongin asked, bewildered.
“No I didn’t!” Jisung panicked, hiding behind his boyfriend. “In fact, I didn’t speak at all! You’re all in a group hallucination!”
“Okay, Jisungie, we’ll leave this matter for another time because clearly there’s a lot to unpack there” Changbin said gently, still on the floor. “Now, all of you please sit down, lower your volume to your inside voices and get comfortable while these two explain what just happened” he commanded, getting up and back to the sofa.
(He pointedly grabbed Jeongin and put him between him and Hyunjin, probably still shaken up by the painter’s energy outburst.)
“So…” Felix started, wide eyes fixed on the two oldest.
Minho internally groaned. He was not immune to Felix’s puppy eyes. Chan was even less immune. In conclusion, there was no escaping the interrogation.
The dancer sighed. “Okay, little gremlins. What do you want to know?”
Hyunjin looked like he was ready to jump out from the sofa as he started talking. “When did this thing started? How did it happen? When did Chan hyung transitioned from ‘senior citizen’ to ‘baby’? Most importantly, can I be flower girl at your wedding?”
Both Chan and Minho groaned at that last question, knowing it was going to create another ruckus.
“Now that’s taking it too far! I want to be flower girl!” Felix huffed, crossing his arms.
“Obviously it’s going to be me”, Changbin smugly butted in. His statement did not come to a surprise for Minho, even though Changbin was the designated driver and therefore the only sober person in the living room.
(And Minho’s first pick for the position. But nobody needed to know that.)
“Please stop yelling” Chan groaned, slumping back on the couch. “It’s way too early to have this conversation. We literally been dating only for a few hours.”
“Besides, when we get married, nobody is going to be there. We’re eloping.”
“Minho, please, don’t antagonize them”, his boyfriend begged while the rest of them broke into betrayed shouts.
“Sorry, baby, it’s just so much fun to rile them up” Minho giggled, laughing louder when Chan got flustered. “You’re never getting used to that, huh? And I’m just getting started” he whispered getting closer with a smirk, their noses almost touching.
“Gross”, Jeongin groaned from beside them.
“I still want to know when did that happen”, Hyunjin added.
Chan huffed, sending a breath of air to Minho’s neck and making him squirm. He looked fondly at him and rearranged their posture so Minho could lay better on his chest and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Alright, kids, gather up. I’ve got a story for you” Chan said, smiling adoringly at the younger.
“Gross!”
“Shut up, Jeongin!”
『 』
Chan rushed out of the taxi and looked up apprehensively. The hospital building stood tall and intimidating before him, its shadow looming over him. He went in, clutching his phone in his hand and walking as fast as he could.
“Hello, I’m here for Lee Minho. I was told he’s in floor seven?” he asked when he arrived at reception.
“Your name, please?”
“Oh, right. Christopher Bang Chan.”
The receptionist clicked through a few windows on the computer and nodded in his direction. “Okay, Bang-ssi, you’re clear. He’s in room 143. If you go to the elevators on your left, you’ll just have to go straight to the right after exiting and you’ll easily find the room.”
“Thank you so much!” Chan bowed slightly and power walked to the elevators, knowing that sprinting around inside a hospital probably was not a good idea. As the receptionist said, he found the room easily. He knocked at the door and peeked his head into the already opened gap.
Minho was laying motionless on a hospital bed dressed in the typical hospital gown, eyes open but looking a little bit hazed. He did not look terrible at all, tough, so the worry balloon in Chan’s mind deflated a bit and he allowed himself a breath of relief.
A couple of nurses were checking his vitals on the monitor. An older looking man was teaching some basics to the younger woman, probably a student, before he noticed Chan standing awkwardly at the door. “Ah, you must be Bang Chan-ssi!” he greeted, smiling warmly.
“Yes, hello, that’s me. Um.” Great communication skills, Christopher, he thought to himself, cringing.
“Your friend here couldn’t stop talking about you when he first woke up” the nurse continued, gathering a stack of papers. “We’re all done in here. He just got out of surgery, so there’s a bit of anesthesia left in his system. Also his painkillers are strong, so don’t be alarmed if he’s a bit groggy. After a good night of sleep they should me wearing down.” Chan nodded dumbly at everything he said, earning himself a chuckle. “We’ll be leaving now. If there’s any kind of complications just press the call button and me or my colleague here will come as soon as we can.”
“Okay, thank you so much”, Chan bowed. The nurses said their goodbyes and closed the door, leaving him alone with Minho. He turned to face him and found the younger already staring at him with wonder.
“Channie hyung? You’re really here?” he asked, slurring his words a bit.
“Hey, Min”, Chan chuckled. He took a few steps and sat down in the couch next to the bed. Minho traced all of his movements with wide eyes. “I am. I’m also surprised I’m your emergency contact” he added, tilting his head. Minho mirrored his movement, observing him with his brows furrowed.
“Parents are on vacation. Jungkook never picks up my phone calls. You’ve always been here for me. If you ask me, I made a very smart decision” the dancer answered, sounding a bit like a robot and making Chan smile. He then apparently found what he was looking for on Chan’s face, because his pinched expression broke out in a smile. “There they are!” he exclaimed, bringing his hands to the elder’s face.
“Wha-” Chan startled, stopping him with his own hands. Minho apparently took offense to that, flailing his arms to try and get out of his grasp, brows furrowed again. “Minho, hey, stop! What are you doing?”
“Let me go and I’ll tell you”, the younger glared. The Australian sighed. If reasoning with normal Minho was hard, high-on-painkillers-Minho was going to be a challenge. Sensing that his threatening approach did not work, the dancer took a completely different turn and pouted at him. “Please? I’ll tell you a secret”, he whispered conspiratorially.
(No, Chan did not give in because of the pout. Or so he swears.)
『 』
“I can’t believe you gave in because he pouted at you. Weak.”
“Kim Seungmin, are you doubting my extremely effective pout?”
“You two better shut up and let hyung continue. If I miss the juicy part because you wouldn’t keep bickering, there will be no pout that helps you escape my fury.”
“Sure, Hyunjin hyung, you’re just as aggressive as a cuddly ferret.”
“If anyone that’s not Chan hyung speaks again I’ll personally wake them up tomorrow to go with me on my morning run.”
“Now see, Hyunjin, that’s an effective threat to-”
“Shut up, Jisung!”
『 』
“I’ll let go of your hands, but please do not slap me on the face”, Chan surrendered.
Minho giggled and looked at him with a wide smile. “Silly. Why would I slap you on the face?” he shook his head. He then brought his hands back to Chan’s face, carefully. The latter stilled, suddenly very aware of every breath he took. “I’ll tell you the secret now” Minho whispered, coming closer to Chan, their noses almost touching. “The dimples on your cheeks that appear when you smile are my favorite thing in the world.” After dropping that bomb, he frowned again. “Don’t tell Chan hyung, though! He can’t know he holds power over me!” he added, getting a startled laugh from a baffled Chan.
“I won’t tell him. Your secret is safe with me” he promised, suddenly feeling his eyes getting watery.
“Good.” Satisfied, Minho laid back on the bed, getting comfortable. “They’re adorable. Make him look like a baby and not a senior citizen”, he said as an afterthought before yawning. The painkillers had kicked in full, making him sleepy. “My baby Chan. He’s not as tough as he seems, but I pretend for his sake. You have to take care of him when I can’t, okay?” he sleepily demanded, grabbing Chan’s hand.
“I will” he answered, squeezing his hand. “I’ll try my best.”
Minho smiled, staring blearily at him. “Thank you. I’ll even give you a tip: he’s not one of my cats, but he enjoys head scratches a lot. Goodnight now!”
Chan broke down seconds after Minho fell asleep, silent tears rolling down his face to the hospital sheets.
(Later, he realized he still did not know what happened to Minho. He decided it was better for not-high Minho to explain, so he placed his head on the bed still holding his hand and promptly fell asleep.
When he woke up, it was to head scratches.)
『 』
“Felix, are you crying?”
“No” he sniffled, cuddling closer to his boyfriend.
“I think you’re a lying liar who lies” Jisung teased him, drawing comforting circles on his back.
“Leave me alone, it was a beautiful story!” the freckled boy whined.
“Was that when you messed up your knee?” Seungmin softly asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah. Yeah, it was”, Minho sighed. “I found out I wouldn’t be able to dance professionally the next day. As you all know, it was also the day Jungkook broke up with me over text after begging me to give him a second chance, so you can guess it was not my best day.” The dancer felt a squeeze on his hand and a kiss on his shoulder. He squeezed back and continued. “Chan’s presence really helped. I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for his help.”
“I just did what a normal friend would have, love” Chan whispered, earning various groans from their friends.
“Wait, so you’re dating now.”
“Yes, thank you, Jisung. We all moved on from that an hour ago”, Changbin spoke.
“Shut up, you didn’t let me finish!” Jisung complained. “What I was going to say before being rudely interrupted”, he glared at Changbin, “I no longer have to keep your torrid summer vacation to myself, right?”
“Well, you certainly shared it with the whole class now”, Minho deadpanned.
“You knew about last summer?” Felix asked and promptly groaned. “I could have talked about it with you the whole time! It’s been eating me alive for months! No offense, but I’m never keeping one of your secrets, Chris”, he huffed.
“Sorry, Lixie” Chan apologized, not looking apologetic at all. “I had to tell someone, and you were literally the first person I saw after that.”
“Well, never do that again. Next time you need to talk about your sex life just don’t do it with me.”
“What the hell happened last summer?” Seungmin asked, looking disgusted.
Minho and Chan looked at each other before shrugging. “I think it’s time we come clean to everybody”, Minho observed. “We used the vacation pack that the asshole Woosik gifted Chan for their anniversary before Chan found out about… everything.”
“That’s one way to put it”, Chan laughed humorlessly. “But yeah, we went to Italy, we soaked in the beauty of the ambience, ate a lot of pasta, drank a lot of wine and one thing led to another… so yeah.”
“Wow, hyung, you’re such a lyricist. What a way with words”, Jisung snorted.
“I don’t perform well under pressure!”
“No, Minho hyung. Please spare our ears from whatever comment you were about to make” Seungmin pleaded, having seen the mirth in Minho’s eyes as he opened his mouth to speak.
“You’re such a party pooper”, he grumbled instead.
“What happened after that?” Changbin asked with a frown. “Did you even talk about it?”
“We did, at the end of the trip”, Chan explained. “We both reached to the conclusion that it was better to keep it as a memory and just move on. Minho was not in a good mental space after his injury and his breakup and I still had a lot of relationship related issues after Woosik’s manipulation and cheating, so we agreed it was not the time to get into a relationship. It was enough for us to just be friends, at that time.”
“And you never talked about it again?” Seungmin wondered.
“Not until today, not really”, Minho answered. “Our communication skills are even better now than then.”
“Well, I’m glad it worked out for both of you in the end” Felix said with a pout, sniffling again.
“Oh, Lixie, you’re such an emotional mess when you drink”, Chan chuckled fondly.
“Speaking of emotional drunk messes”, Minho piped up, “Jinnie, are you okay? You haven’t said a word since Chan finished talking.”
“He- You- Hyung, you woke him up with head scratches” Hyunjin stated, and then promptly started wailing.
“I can’t believe you’re still hung up on that! Did you even process the part where they had a torrid summer vacation and then never talked about it again!?” Jeongin screeched.
Changbin sighed and got up to grab the half empty bottles from the coffee table. “No more alcohol for you rascals”, he scolded them. Hyunjin cried louder, throwing himself on Jeongin and Seungmin so they could comfort him. “This is going to be a long night”, Changbin groaned.
“You can leave the weasel in my bedroom for the night, Binnie”, Minho said softly. He was curled up to Chan, staring at all of them with that special fondness he rarely showed. “We’ll take care of his drunk ass so you can drop off the maknaes and be on your way home sooner.”
“Thanks, hyung” Changbin answered, looking relieved. He emptied the bottles on the sink and gathered them in a trash bag before coming back to the living room.
He was making his way to save both maknaes from Hyunjin’s drunk shenanigans when he stopped and turned around to face his two hyungs. Both of them stared at him curiously, looking cozy while tangled. “I’m really happy for you both. It was time you are loved the same way you love.”
Chan and Minho gaped at him, until Minho huffed. “Shut up, fucking sap! Get out of my house!” he exclaimed, attempting to get up and hit him, the tip of his ears red.
“What Minho means is that we love you and we’re very grateful to have such an amazing friend as you have been to us” Chan stepped in, holding his boyfriend from the waist.
Minho grumbled under his breath but did not look like he had murderous intentions anymore, so Chan let him go. He passed Changbin and patted him on his butt, kissed a teary eyed Felix on the forehead and a jealous Jisung on the cheek, ruffled Jeongin’s hair and hugged Seungmin before grabbing Hyunjin from Changbin’s arms. “Come on, Bambi, let’s get you to bed” he said, guiding him to his bedroom.
Chan watched everything with warmth filling his chest. He accompanied Jisung and Felix to their flat two floors down and helped Changbin get the maknaes in his car. When he came back to their apartment Minho was already on the bathroom, getting ready for bed. They both fell into their routine, brushing their teeth side by side in a comfortable silence while bumping each other from time to time.
Minho took his time getting all his jewelry off while Chan was changing into his pajamas. After that, he stood in front of Chan’s closet to choose (see: steal) a t-shirt to sleep on since Hyunjin was already sound asleep in his room and he did not want to disturb him (and also because he wanted to wear his boyfriend’s clothes. Sue him). Given that his options were different shades of black, he did not take a lot of time deciding.
“Min?”
He turned to face his boyfriend, who was already sat on the bed. Chan was looking at him with his head tilted to the side and a small smile gracing his lips. Minho raised an eyebrow in question. “What?”
“You said ‘when we get married’. Just before I told the kids the story. ‘When’, not ‘if’.”
At that, Minho’s expression softened. He quickly finished putting the shirt he had chosen and climbed right on top of the elder, bumping their noses together. “Well, I plan on marrying the shit out of you someday, baby”, he whispered before dropping a peck to Chan’s lips.
The latter preened, shifting and maneuvering until he had Minho pressed against him under the covers. The younger let out a content sigh and relaxed in his boyfriend’s hold, fluttering his eyes shut.
“Min?”
He hummed in response, snuggling closer and placing his head on Chan’s chest.
“Changbin is going to be our flower girl, right?”
The snort Minho let out was anything but pretty. “I love you so, so much. Of course it’s going to be Changbin.”
“Hmm. I thought so” Chan chuckled lightly, Minho feeling the rumble of his chest. “I love you too, Minho. Goodnight, darling.”
Luck was on Minho’s side, because nobody could see how red his ears were after that. Content and warm, he quickly fell asleep with Chan’s heartbeats as a lullaby.