Work Text:
“Baby! Have you seen my keys? I can’t find them anywhere!”
Minho paused from rubbing the moisturizing cream into his face and stared at the mirror with a frown.
“It’s at the front door! Hanging on the hook above the shoe rack!”
He walked out of the bathroom towards his husband, who was currently pulling on his dress shoes while simultaneously trying to lift the ring of keys off the hook. Minho did him a favour and slid it off, tossing it into Seungmin’s open hands.
“You look like a ghost,” he said with a mischievous smile, when he took a good look at Minho’s face, whose cheeks and forehead were still covered with the white cream.
“That didn’t sound like a thank you. I’m never helping you again.”
“You say that but you’ll end up doing it anyway.”
“Whatever. Didn’t you put the keys there so you wouldn’t forget them?”
Seungmin pursed his lips in thought then clicked his tongue with a wave of his hands.
“I was just testing to see if you remembered.”
“Right…anyways, you’ll be late for work if you don’t get going.”
Minho turned around to go finish his morning skin care routine but he was stopped with a hand grabbing his arm. Suddenly he found Seungmin’s ugly (incredibly handsome) face centimetres away from his.
“No goodbye kiss?” the man asked in a low tone, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“I don’t know what that is,” Minho retorted stubbornly, attempting to push Seungmin away by his chest. Then his hands started roaming…when did his muscles get so musclely?
His husband watched him in amusement as he furrowed his eyebrows deeply in concentration, feeling the hands go lower and lower, before snapping Minho back to reality.
“So you don’t want to kiss me, but you want to grope my body?"
“Not like it isn’t mine.”
“You’re avoiding my question jagi.”
Minho rolled his eyes but pecked Seungmin’s lips, raising his hands in the air, stooping down to slide out of his grasp and began heading back to the bathroom.
“There. Now leave me alone and go make some money,” he said as he retreated.
If Minho stayed there any longer, he knew that neither of them would make it to work that day. But alas, they had bills to pay, so that was not a good option.
“I’ll get you back later for that bunny,” he heard Seungmin say with a laugh as he closed the front door.
Minho found himself smiling giddily in his reflection when he finally got to finish rubbing the moisturizer into his skin, and sighed internally. This whole marriage thing had made it much harder for him to keep up his nonchalant act, and it’s not like he was complaining, but he had a reputation to uphold. That Kim Seungmin was erasing subtly, but intentionally.
His phone’s ringtone blared from its position in the bedroom, and Minho went to check who it was after quickly washing his hands. When he saw the caller I.D, he shook his head but tapped the green button.
“What did you forget now,” he deadpanned, heading to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat.
“I love you darling, have a great day today.”
Minho’s stomach did that little flip, and his blood pump decided to do the same thing in its cage. It wasn’t like Seungmin didn’t make sure to tell him that all the time, but he didn’t think he’d ever get used to the feeling it gave him every time it was said like it was the first. Damn that man.
“Wonderful. Now keep your eyes on the road, I can hear the radio.”
“Thank you for your unfailing care about my well being.”
“It's not that I care about you, I just can’t have you dying before me.”
“Whatever you say babe, I’ll see you later okay?”
Minho made a noise of confirmation and put a pot of water to boil on the stove, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he searched the fridge for some green onions and other vegetables for his smoothie.
There was silence on the phone line for a few minutes, and Minho could hear the honking of cars from the other end. He knew why Seungmin hadn’t hung up yet; this was a normal occurrence between the two, since his husband knew it took a bit more courage on his end to say what he wanted to in these moments.
“I love you too,” Minho said softly, when he thought he’d made the other wait long enough.
“Knew it,” Seungmin answered with a smile in his voice. “Kiss the kids for me. Bye-bye.”
Minho screwed up his face at the kissing sounds he made at the end of the call, but he was secretly endeared by how cute it was. As if on cue, the ‘kids’ made their way to where Minho was sitting to eat at the dining table, meowing and rubbing his legs affectionately. He picked each cat up individually and nuzzled his nose into their fluffy coats before smacking the top of their heads with a kiss.
“That was from your brother-in-law. But do remember that he belongs to me, not you. So don’t get any funny ideas.”
The grey and white cat bit his finger playfully, and Minho decided it was time to feed them before they got any more aggressive. After he had cleaned up in the kitchen, and their litter-boxes, Minho went to go get ready for his own job at the hospital as a physical therapist, and although he preferred to be at a private office, he appreciated the convenience in location to his home, as the main hospital of the city was a thirty minutes drive away, compared to a two hour drive if he worked elsewhere.
Lacing up his sneakers firmly, he shouldered his backpack and took up his car keys, hopping in the vehicle after activating their house’s security system and enjoyed his morning commute to work. He had a feeling he was forgetting something important, but shrugged it off; it would come back to him later.
This. This was the important thing.
Seungmin did come home alright, but not how Minho expected him to with the promise from earlier. Whoever this husk of a person was, he didn’t know, and he had half a mind to return them to sender, because boy was he a sight to see.
Minho knew that his husband had been given more responsibilities recently, due to the fact that a co-worker of his had been fired; the company said that they were expeditiously seeking out a replacement for the individual, but that had been weeks ago, and overtime, Seungmin had been deteriorating by the minute. The aforementioned now lay face-down in bed, still fully dressed in his button-down and slacks, snoring away, still clutching on to his phone like a traumatic response.
To say Minho was taken aback would be an understatement. In the years that he’d known Seungmin, he knew that he would never even touch the bed if he hadn’t taken a shower yet, much less snore whilst he was asleep. Every day, he came home more tired than previously, and Minho drew the line when the man fell asleep headfirst in the basket of laundry as he tried to help fold the clothes; despite the fact that he was drained from the day’s frustrations, Seungmin didn’t want his husband to be doing all the work, bless his heart, and strove to do any chores he could, no matter how much he was struggling to stay awake.
Minho couldn’t bear to sit back and watch passively any longer, so he brought it up with Seungmin one Sunday evening as they cuddled on the couch together, watching a random k-drama that was airing on TV.
“Babe?”
Seungmin nodded to show that he was listening, eyes closed as his head rested on Minho’s shoulder.
“I think you should quit.”
The man’s eyes snapped open, and he shifted to look at Minho inquisitively.
“Is this because I put cereal instead of cat food into Soonie’s bowl last week Friday?”
“That, amongst a host of other things. I’ve never seen you this burnt out before. Not even when you had two part time jobs.”
Seungmin chuckled and leaned back on his shoulder, massaging his temples as he closed his eyes once more.
“It’s not like I want to be doing this, but it is double what I was getting before. Besides, it’s only for one more month maybe.”
Minho let out a huff and crossed his arms. Trust the workaholic to be reluctant to cut down on his requirements.
“Then who is gonna spend the money if you overwork yourself to death, huh? You’d see how fast they'd find someone to fill in your place.” Minho maneuvered Seungmin into his lap and snaked his arms around his waist, pressing his nose into the man’s scalp from behind.
“Obviously they’re taking advantage of you Seung,” he added.
Seungmin was quiet for a moment, tracing patterns onto Minho’s arm in contemplation, savouring the warmth he was receiving from both his husband’s body and the weighted blanket he had covered them with. Nights like this had been their usual, everyday of every week, but it had been drastically reduced to only weekends due to Seungmin’s fatigue; he just couldn't keep up with their routine, even though he desperately wanted to. And although they could survive on Minho’s income somewhat, Seungmin would prefer to have enough money left over to spend on whatever they wanted or to be prepared for the possibility of having a kid of their own; if he quit, they would have to downgrade their lifestyle and he didn’t want that to happen. He voiced these concerns to Minho.
“I’ll think about it, but really, I don’t want to go through the hassle of applying elsewhere when I’ve been with this company for over seven years. It would seem like a waste.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if they had no free coffee in the kitchenette.”
“I wouldn’t stay there for seven years in the first place if there was no free coffee Min.”
Minho let out a long, dramatic exhale through his nose and groaned as he stretched backwards. Honestly, he knew his husband was right, but it didn’t erase the fact that he still missed them being able to spend time together. Peeling his eyes away from staring up at the ceiling, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was getting late; Seungmin would have to be up early, and he wanted him to at least get eight hours of rest if he was gonna be toiling like a slave. Running his fingers through Seungmin’s hair in a soothing rhythm, Minho was about to tell him they were going to bed and turn off the television when he noticed that the man’s breathing had slowed down.
“Seungmin?” he asked, poking the younger’s cheek once. Getting no reply, Minho prepared himself to lift Seungmin to bed when a small, orange, furry creature came and plopped right on top of the blanket the two were under, pressing into the cottony material a few times before settling down in a circular wrap.
Great, now they both couldn’t move from here.
Minho decided that it was just best to sleep in the couch until the cat decided to move, and shifted as best and slowly as he could so he wouldn’t disturb it, and pulled his husband closer into his hold; the lamp on the table cast a soft glow on Seungmin’s peaceful face, and Minho could see the bags that were deepening under his eyes, as well as a few wrinkles on his forehead that wouldn’t smoothen out when he rubbed his thumb over them. His heart ached for his lover, but he knew things wouldn’t continue forever this way, and if it did, Minho would without a doubt stop it from spiraling out of control, no matter how much Mr. Kim protested.
Maybe he could send Seungmin to do a spa treatment on one of these weekends, or maybe, he could just spend the entire day helping the accountant relax. Yeah, he could certainly do that. As the ideas swirled around in his mind, Minho closed his eyes as the strings of sleep pulled him off into a familiar lull.
There was a deafening crash from the hallway leading to their front door and Minho saw Dori zoom past his legs like he was being chased by a demon. Putting down the knife he was using to cut some radishes, he rinsed his hands at the sink and wiped them in his apron before heading to the source of the commotion; he wondered what mess his kitty had gotten into now but stopped in his tracks when he saw Seungmin bending down to pick up pieces of broken glass gingerly from the mirror frame that had fallen.
“What happened?”
His husband glanced up with a sheepish smile and brushed the smaller shards into a dustpan with a hand-broom.
“I tripped over my shoelaces then tried to grab on to something, and sadly, the mirror was the victim.”
As he spoke, Minho observed the haphazard state Seungmin was in; his hair was sticking out at odd places, the shirt he wore was nowhere appropriate for work, and speaking about tie, was that another one pushed through the belt loops in his pants? As the man stood up fully to dump the glass into a bin, Minho was met with more problems than he could bear to keep silent about any longer.
“Babe, hate to break it to you, but you’re not going in today.”
Seungmin gave him a confused look and took up his bag, hand hovering over the door handle.
“What? Why not? Is there something wrong with you?”
“No, but clearly, there are many things wrong with you.”
“I’m not understanding what you mean Minho.”
“Seungmin, you have skipped your shirt’s button holes alternatively, which is hideous by the way, your socks are mismatched and your black tie is wrapped around your waist instead of a belt,” he replied flatly, pointing to the area in question.
“Baby, I assure you, I’m fine. I was just in a hurry this morning. These things can be fixed easily.” Seungmin attempted to rebutton his shirt under Minho’s disapproving gaze.
“Nope, you’re staying home today. You are not fine.”
“Honestly, I can-”
Minho raised his eyebrow with his hands on his hips, daring Seungmin to challenge him.
“Okay yeah, I’m sick,” he said in defeat, loosening the tie around his neck.
It made no sense to try arguing with his husband when he was like this, and Seungmin knew better than to challenge him any further, he just wouldn’t win. With this confirmation, Minho took the younger by his hand and led him back to their bedroom, helping him out of his clothes until he was just in his boxers and a plain white tee. Resting Seungmin’s bag in a chair, Minho told him to lie down until he came back with something for the both of them to eat.
On the way to the kitchen, he picked up their landline and phoned the office to tell them his husband wouldn’t be coming in today and then called the front desk at the hospital to let them know he would be absent as well. Then he shuffled around in the kitchen, bouncing from the rice cooker, to the stove, to the fridge, to the counter in a cycle until he had whipped up some soup and other side dishes. Putting all the items in a tray, he carefully walked to their room where he saw a mostly orange, but white cat massaging Seungmin’s belly with a happily swinging tail and sweet purrs.
“See? Even Soonie knows that you should be home, isn’t that right?”
He bent down to kiss the ball of fluff and set Seungmin into a sitting position, gently placing the tray into his lap. Pulling a stool to the side of the bed, Minho dipped a spoon into the soup and blew on it before raising it to his husband’s lips, who wilfully had sealed them shut.
“Yah, open up!”
“I can feed myself mph-!”
Minho shoved the broth into his mouth before he could protest any more, watching Seungmin with a grin as he coughed a few times so he wouldn’t asphyxiate from food going into his lungs. He glared at the PT who just stuck his tongue out at him tauntingly, but eventually complied, letting Minho feed him the rest of the breakfast.
“There, now that wasn’t so bad was it?”
“You literally almost killed me earlier.”
“Excuses, excuses. I know you just want me to coddle you,” Minho answered smugly, stacking the empty dishes onto each other. “I’ll be back in a few, so in the meantime, take this pill and drink the rest of the water.”
Seungmin nodded and did that, giving Soonie some chin scratches as he finished off the glass of water Minho placed on the bedside table. Doongie came in to rest at his usual place on his pillow, where he stayed when Seungmin was at work, but meowed in irritation when he saw the actual person taking his space; in the end, he just chose to lay on top of the man’s legs and soon enough, in came Dori to take his place under Seungmin’s arm, but not before he nipped at his ear.
When Minho finally came back to check on his husband, he found him being suffocated by Doongie, who had gotten his revenge by settling right on top Seungmin’s face, and the other cats curled around him. It was a cute sight, and Minho snapped a picture of the scene before laying down adjacent to him. He laughed as Seungmin struggled to breathe for a few minutes, helping him move the animal into a more appropriate location on the mattress; Minho plucked the cat hairs off his nose, eyes and from his lips, where he placed a kiss after wiping it off thoroughly.
“I think this is the most time we’ve spent together in a long time,” Seungmin commented, as Minho rolled over to lay down horizontally across his stomach. The sun radiated warmly into the room as the white silk curtains fluttered in the cool autumn breeze; October was right around the corner and Minho realized that it had nearly been three months since Seungmin had taken up the extra roles.
“Yeah, and that’s depressing. I thought they would’ve found a replacement by now.”
“Oh they have. Today was supposed to be their first day.”
Minho stared blankly at his husband.
“So why the hell were you in such a rush to leave today?”
“Because I was the one who had to show her around.”
“There are other people at the office, Seungmin.”
“Yes but-”
“But nothing you pabo. I should smack you right now.”
“Only if it’s on my ass,” was Seungmin’s response, with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. Minho chose to politely ignore him.
They spent the entire morning enjoying each other’s company laying down, talking about what their friends posted online, and what they were gonna wear and bring to Hyunjin and Felix’s wedding in three weeks time. Soon, morning gave way to the late afternoon, and the two got up (well Minho got up and carried Seungmin), heading to the bathroom to take a bath together in their feline footed tub. Seungmin wasn’t really a fan of it, but Minho thought it was bizarre enough to be cute, so here it was.
They took a shower first (during which Minho insisted on lathering Seungmin in soap suds and washing his hair) and Minho pushed Seungmin out to sit on a stool when they were done, so he could prepare the bath to their liking.
“Don’t you think this could have been done a better way babe?” he inquired from his seat, as his body shivered from the drops that started to dry on his skin.
“Not really, you’re just a wimp,” Minho quipped, twisting the hot and cold handles until the water reached the perfect temperature, plugging the drain to let the tub fill. In the process, he added something to make it fizz and when he deemed it ready, he told Seungmin to get in.
As the man was about to step into the foamy waters, he felt a sting on his bare ass and turned around to send Minho a dirty look, who was laughing at the sound it made that resonated on the tiled walls as he pulled some towels from a compartment under the bathroom sink.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You asked for it anyway.”
“That was literally the most unsexy way you could’ve done it,” he retorted, sinking under the layer of bubbles with a pleased groan; it wasn’t often that he had enough time or energy to do this, so it was a welcome change to his otherwise busy schedule, where he was only able to take a quick scrub. Minho soon climbed in after him, letting a glittery fuschia bath bomb dissovle in the liquid.
“As if you haven’t done it many times I was bent over looking for something.”
“At least you found some pleasure in it.”
“Are you saying you don’t find any pleasure in me touching your butt?”
Seungmin huffed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
Minho didn’t say anything else, but began running his hands over his husband’s back, digging his finger pads into the tense knots he found on the way, moving up gradually to massage at his shoulders and neck. Seungmin let out short bursts of breathy moans in appreciation as Minho helped him unwind, and soon enough, he laid back contentedly on his chest, feeling like jello when he was done.
“Thank you so much babe,” he murmured, intertwining their fingers underwater. “I really needed that.”
“You’re welcome honey.”
Seungmin smiled at the pet name and leaned up to cup Minho’s face into his palms, placing a loving kiss onto his lips and onto his forehead, enjoying the way the man’s face heated up and how his eyes did that adorable fluttering thing when he was shy or embarrassed. Seungmin felt like he was falling in love all over again; not like it was a bad thing, he very much cherished the quiet, blissful moments like this when it was just them two, with nothing else to bother them. That was until they heard the crying of their cats outside the door who were wondering where they had gone for so long.
“Well, that’s our cue I guess. Better than staying in here and getting all pruned.”
“I wouldn’t mind staying here growing old and pruny with you though.”
Minho shot him a look of true disgust and Seungmin burst out laughing, pulling the cork so the bath water could drain out. They did one final rinse under the shower head and Minho got out first to dry himself with a towel, doing the same to Seungmin. Stepping out, they were greeted by a chorus of meowing and Minho promised them that he would give them attention as soon as he put on some clothing.
Seungmin ordered some takeout for the both of them and they ate together on the floor under their kotatsu, Minho occasionally putting more meat into his husband’s bowl when he figured he wasn’t looking. When they had finished and cleaned up, it was nearing eight o’clock, so the two agreed to watch a movie that had been recommended by another one of their mutual friends, Chan. Seungmin made himself comfortable, surrounding himself with some cushions as he waited for Minho, who said he was going to make some popcorn for the both of them.
Upon his return, Seungmin was expecting to see a bowl filled with the popped kernels, but to his delight, Minho placed a sizable slice of marble cake with strawberry frosting and matcha powder in front of him, that had a paw print on the right side of the plate it came in.
“Here, and don’t bother saying thank you, I know already. Just eat.”
He settled in next to his husband and pressed play on the remote so the movie could start, watching from the corner of his eyes with a covert, but pleased smile, at the way Seungmin seemed to enjoy every bite of the treat; he couldn’t resist ruffling the younger’s hair, to which he objected, saying he was a grown man.
“You might have grown physically, but you’re still my little puppy that I met in high school how many years ago.”
“I’m much bigger than you are though, m’not little anymore.”
“Awee, is my little baby feeling his ego being bruised?” Minho cooed in a mocking tone, pinching Seungmin’s cheek as he stared at him with an unamused face.
As payback, Seungmin shoved his hands under the therapist’s top, tickling his sides until Minho kicked away, red in the face and gasping for breath (curse him for knowing his only weakness); when he had recollected himself, he punched Seungmin in the thigh but didn’t pull away when he was dragged into a hug and a sneaky kiss. Minho could taste the sweetness from the confection on his husband’s tongue and sucked off as much of it as he could, licking some leftover frosting that was stuck at the corner of his mouth when they separated. Seungmin then caged Minho his arms and mouthed at his neck, indulging in the pretty moans that fell from his lips as he left red bruises on his gorgeous skin.
Needless to say, the movie was long forgotten, and sure, this wasn’t originally part of Minho’s plans but he figured he could humour his husband this time (totally not because he craved it himself), letting him do whatever he wanted to him for the night. Unfortunately, Minho was the one who had to haul Seungmin’s limp body back to bed, although he had been on the receiving end, since he had passed out from overstimulation. There and then, he resolved in his mind that he would be the one dominating after this, as a dull ache settled in his lower back, and no, Seungmin would have no say in this matter.
Minho wanted to be mad at him but really couldn’t bring himself to, since he understood why it had happened, and as he laid next to his exhausted husband, he found the situation absurd, which made him giggle into Seungmin’s chest. He’d never stop teasing him about this ever. Turning off the lamp and setting their alarms for the morning, Minho took one last fond glance at his sleeping lover after rubbing a hydrating gel under his eyes and whispered out an I love you into his ear as he drifted off into a blissful slumber.
The following morning, Seungmin awoke to the blaring ringtone coming from his phone and rolled over to shut it off, but was met with a faceful of fur. Doongie was once again situated on top of it, and he gently pushed the cat aside so he could successfully snooze the alarm. He rubbed his eyes and looked around for Minho, finding him by his side, muttering in his sleep about hitting someone with a frying pan. He huffed out a laugh at that and brushed his lips across his temple before climbing out of bed to get ready for the day.
He was grateful that Minho had brought them back last night, and felt a bit guilty for letting him do all the work, but determined that he was going to make it up to him with a trip to the Japanese hot springs he’d seen him circle in one of the magazines on their desk. While he was searching for something to wear, he noticed an outfit already ironed for him hanging from the tall bedpost and his heart clenched in adoration for his husband; he found out that not only had Minho done that, but he also made him a lunch box with his favourite foods that he saw in the fridge when he went for some water to drink.
Seungmin went back to the bedroom, where Minho was sitting at the edge of the bed, having just woken up, looking like a disgruntled kitten. He pulled the disoriented man into a tight hug and kissed him with all his heart, pecking his ruddy cheeks afterwards.
“I love you so much Minho. You are the best husband a man could ever ask for, and I’ll tell you that each day for the rest of my life if I have to, so that you understand. Words really cannot express how much I adore you.”
Minho's face and neck deepened further in the red hue (if that was even possible) at the praise and he turned away from Seungmin’s intense gaze with a huff.
“I just got up and you’re already hitting me with all this cheesy stuff.”
“Because it's the truth. I am so happy I married you,” Seungmin replied easily, closing his eyes and pressing his nose into Minho’s hairline.
“Yeah, well you’re lucky I said yes. You are a handful to deal with,” he said with no real venom, smiling softly when Seungmin tilted his face towards him.
“Don’t act like you aren’t a handful either babe. I had to stop you from boarding a plane to Daegu because you thought I hated you after you’d accidentally broken my grandfather’s watch on our second date, which wasn’t even nearly as important as you were.”
“Let’s leave that in the past shall we? Don’t you have work to go to anyways?”
Minho squeaked as he was lifted into the air and his legs wrapped around Seungmin’s waist instinctively, clutching tightly to his shoulders for leverage. He sent the younger a fiery glare, who just chuckled as he nipped at Minho’s earlobe.
“Honestly, I think I’m in the mood for something else. They don’t need me at the office, right?”
And if he really did lose his job in favour of spending his time showing how much he loved his husband, Seungmin wouldn’t care for the world.