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Whenever he comes home, Minho's daily routine consists of five steps.
Step number one is letting all his caught Pokémon out. It's usually the easiest, but it mostly depends on where he went. Yes, the entryway of the house is pretty large, but it didn't exactly account for the potential Wailord he'd brought from Hoenn and released without thinking twice. Since then, he's opted to use common sense and wait until he gets to the greenhouse to bring out ones he knows might crush him to death if he isn't quick enough.
Speaking of the greenhouse, step number two is simply saying hi.
…To the hundreds of Pokémon in said greenhouse, of course.
He barely gets time to walk in and release a freshly caught Floatzel and Chinchou before he's being flanked from all angles by Pokémon of all types, and he can't resist letting out a small yelp before he crashes to the ground with a wince. This part is a little less easy.
"Yes, yes, I get it! I'm happy to see you too, please—" The wind gets knocked out of him by an Azumarill who's clambered onto his chest messily, and he grins, scratching behind it's ear to hear a chirp of delight. "Alright, that's enough. Everyone off."
It takes a while, what with the sheer size of the crowd, but Minho escapes with his life. Not like it was in danger in the first place. It also gives him a chance to do a headcount, a habit he's picked up from a childhood of playing with schools of Wishiwashi in his nearby pond, and crying to his mother when even one wasn't present.
Step number three after checking on everyone resting, is to empty his suitcase and freshen up. It's a nice step, not just because he gets to change out of his musty airport clothes for something comfier, but also because he gets to go through the special trinket he's collected for his roommate. This trip left him with a tiny keychain of a fist with a star in the middle, supposedly a family antique of the vendor's. He's not sure why they were selling it if it was that valuable, but it was cheap, and he knew it'd be received well, so he's not really complaining.
Number four, however, is possibly his favourite step.
It starts with walking into the kitchen for food, finally clean and clad in fluffy slippers. The three Pokémon he's hoping for usually show up the moment he makes some noise in here, regardless of whether or not they're actually hungry.
And soon enough, after fiddling around with the bowls in the cupboard, there's the feeling of rough coral rubbing up against the bottom of his leg, and two other trills from the doorway.
He smiles, looking down to see a Corsola, it's pink tips jutting ever so slightly into his pant legs, and he reaches down to pick it up, nuzzling it's face with a laugh. "Hi, Dori."
Dori chimes in response, and it's here that it drops a broken off piece of coral into Minho's slightly open hand, clearly happy with the praise it gets from Minho in response. When the trills from the doorway get closer, though, Minho peeks at the Cursola and Corsola at his feet as well, smile taking on a sadder edge as he places Dori down and pets the other two. Soonie and Doongie are Galarian, both ghost types instead of the usual water types he's more partial to, but it felt wrong leaving the two of them when he was visiting Galar. It still stings a little, seeing the colour drained from their bodies when they should be as healthy as Dori, but he loves them all the same, and he caught them for that exact reason. So they could feel loved.
But he's not meant to be getting into his feels, he's meant to be following a tight schedule, so he just huffs and grabs a snack for the three, along with the granola bar he entered the kitchen for in the first place.
Number five is, unfortunately, the most important step, despite the trek it involves.
Minho's house is, frankly, very big. It took ages to save up for, and it would have taken ages more if it wasn't for a few friends of his helping out, as well as his roommate. The greenhouse is big enough to hold every Pokémon the two of them catch and then some more, and when you look at the house attached to it, the whole setup looks more like a repurposed gym than a living area. Step number five, however, introduces another building, an almost 10 minute walk away from the house to help muffle the noise.
The dojo.
Minho's taking that walk now, still wearing his fluffy slippers and munching on his granola bar happily, chucking a piece to a Mankey he's fairly sure was about to assault him. He'd much rather avoid any bruising this early into his time back home.
The dojo was, surprisingly, the first building to be made in this area. Again, it took a lot of work to get their house built next to it, but even before then, Minho would always meet up with everyone right there, laughing and battling for no reason other than to have fun. He knew he wanted to live close to it the moment he had the income to live away from his parents, and his roommate agreed. Deep down, Minho knew he would.
Eight minutes into his walk, he can already hear thundering from the place, and he sighs, stifling his fond smile with a particularly large bite of his snack. Unfortunately, that very large bite was all he had left of the bar, so he kicks at a rock at his feet in retaliation, that bounces forward and ricochets off a door in front of him.
…The dojo's door.
Huh. Maybe the walk is only eight minutes now. He's not really complaining, though. It just means he's gotten better at walking fast.
The thundering from before is, obviously, much louder up close, but it's also shaking the very structure of the building, a fact Minho would be a lot more worried about if he didn't know the place was reinforced for that exact reason. He's more worried about the person dealing with the sheer force, but then again, he knows his roommate well enough to know he'll be fine. He's not sure if he will be once he steps in, though.
But step number five must not be ignored under any circumstances, so he pockets his wrapper in his lounge wear, takes a deep breath, and opens the door.
There's a loud boom from the middle of the room the moment he steps inside, and he thanks his quick reflexes for the immediate impulse to duck down and avoid the large rock that shoots right for him, because he really wants to avoid any bruising this early into his time back home. This is half the reason why he always wants to wait before greeting the other, but once again, step five is too important. According to his roommate.
The only two occupants in the room still haven't noticed him, however, so he brushes off the stray dust from the impact above him and simply focuses on the one-sided fight he has the pleasure of viewing.
Hyunjin's always been a little odd, ever since they were kids, running off and interacting with any Pokémon he found, regardless of whether or not they were dangerous. Granted, Minho's a little odd too, a fact he's known ever since he somehow picked up on the language of Pokémon. That's why they stuck together so much, because they saw a little bit of themselves in the other that they didn't want to let go. It's why they moved in together, why they share everything, and exactly why Minho woke up one day knowing in his heart that there might not be someone he loves more.
Minho doesn't think being 'odd' means you willingly spar with a Riolu, though.
His roommate is standing right in the middle of the dojo, sleeves rolled up as usual and hair sticking to his forehead with sweat as his Riolu circles him, hands raised in defence and an almost smug smile on his face. Minho will never understand why he doesn't just work out normally like everyone else. Specialising in fighting types doesn't mean you need to act like them. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Hyunjin had a death wish.
"Another Focus Punch, please!"
And Riolu complies, for some odd reason, charging up and aiming straight for the wrist guards Hyunjin dons. Minho has to shield his face from the powerful gust of wind that the clash makes, and he's almost too preoccupied with flattening the strands on his head that have surely started sticking up to hear what Hyunjin says next. Keyword: almost.
"Okay! Last one, Kkami."
"You're crazy enough to take a literal Brick Break head-on?" Minho cuts in, leaning against the wall, and it's here that Hyunjin finally breaks focus, eyes wide as he turns to the man on his side, who gives him a small wave in greeting.
Kkami looks too, yipping in acknowledgement, and Minho gives it a lazy salute of its own. It's a bit weird, knowing that it should be a Lucario by now, but it holds an Everstone by choice, and it seems happy, so Minho won't poke his head where he isn't needed.
"Minho, I told you to call me if you come home early, you know?" Hyunjin groans, wiping the sweat off his head with the back of his hand, but the smile on his face is so blinding that Minho can feel his heart swelling, a genuine beam growing on his face in response.
"Wouldn't that ruin the surprise?" His eyes follow Hyunjin as he strolls to the side, picking up his towel with a sigh and patting at the beads of sweat still collecting on his skin, an action that has Minho mourning the sight of sweat-stricken Hyunjin somewhere deep in his brain. Kkami has wandered off to the side, clearly to train some more. He respects the grind. "Well, I'm happy to see you too, Hyunjin-ah."
He gets a whack from the towel in retaliation for that comment, a kiss being planted on his cheek almost milliseconds after, and his smile gets even dumber as he stares at Hyunjin, who rolls his eyes fondly and holds the door open. "Come on. You're on dinner duty tonight."
The walk back takes twelve minutes this time, mostly because Hyunjin's been updating him on everything that's happened in town since being away in Kalos. Changbin gifting him new steel-plated joint guards, Han somehow getting his hands on a Charizardite X, Felix and Seungmin finally moving in together. He even pulled out a picture of Lugia, the legendary bird smiling as Hyunjin gets it in a shot with a ridiculously calm look on his face. His ability to befriend even the most illustrious Pokémon is a talent Minho barely sees, and is honestly a little jealous of. But then again, Hyunjin is always telling him how amazing it is that he can understand Pokémon so well, so maybe there's nothing to be jealous of.
Their relationship might just be as odd as them.
Minho pushes open the door to the house and is greeted by Soonie, Doongie and Dori again, as well as a fourth Pokémon, which immediately has Hyunjin squealing in delight.
"Clobbopus! Aw, cutie, how are you?" The Clobbopus is promptly scooped up and coddled, and Minho contributes to the pampering by scratching the top of the Pokémon's head, earning him a happy gargle and a sense of fulfilment as he moves to the stove, already grabbing a large heap of berries for the curry he plans on making. He's been out of practice for a while, what with the hotel serving some gourmet food that even he didn't think he could cook better. He knows most of their friends would disagree, though.
Hyunjin is still coddling Clobbopus by the time everything is simmering, and when Minho knows he doesn't have to be hovering around the ginormous pots too much anymore, he turns to see Hyunjin puppeteering Clobbopus' hands towards Minho, the Pokémon blinking in distress. "Go on, Clobbopus, say hi to Dad! He's finally home!"
Clobbopus makes a noise that Minho can immediately tell is out of exhaustion, so Minho snickers and takes him off of Hyunjin's hands, trusting his roommate to take care of the stew and rice on the fire. "Did you miss me?"
A noise of reluctant agreement, this time, one that has Minho laughing and patting Clobbopus' head again. That gets him a much too hard punch on the bicep, and he hisses in pain, levelling Clobbopus with an unamused stare. Looks like he's getting bruised after all, and not even in the way he likes.
"Hm… did you treat Papa well?" His question is ignored. It's not like he really needs an answer. Minho knows Clobbopus cherishes the both of them as much as Minho cherishes it.
"Hey, why am I Papa, anyways?" Hyunjin queries, leaning his hand on the counter as he gazes into the stew wistfully. Minho's response is to let Clobbopus scramble onto the counter to escape, turning around to wrap his arms around Hyunjin's waists and rest his head on his back.
"You explicitly asked for Papa, so I let you have it, remember? It's your Pokémon, after all."
The statement has Hyunjin humming sadly, and Minho raises his head to nuzzle at the back of Hyunjin's neck in question. "What's up?"
"…It's ours. We share everything, okay? It doesn't matter who caught it. It'll always be ours."
Oh.
Minho blinks at Hyunjin's side profile, who's still staring down at the counter, and ducks his head down into to hide the growing blush he can feel on his face.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course."
Hyunjin still snickers, though, so Minho grumbles and pushes him aside, embarrassingly aware of how red his ears must be. Hyunjin must notice, too, if the small nip to his neck is anything to go by. A shiver runs down his spine before Minho remembers he's meant to be making something.
"Ah, you're so cute, hyung."
"I'm cooking, back off."
A few minutes later — with an increased effort from Minho to keep Hyunjin off of him — there's a large pot of stew and rice being carried to the greenhouse, with all four of their partner Pokémon following close behind the moment they open the door. Predictably, there's a lot of shrieks of joy from the crowd, but despite the disorienting noise, Hyunjin beams, calling out to each Pokémon with pure joy on his face. Minho almost forgets to set his own pot down just staring at him.
The Mudkip at his feet reminds him. How nice of it.
It takes a long while to serve everyone, what with the sheer number of Pokémon, but almost an hour and a half later, Minho's reheated up their own portions, and Hyunjin's brought out the table they save in the storage just to eat with everyone. It's nice, being surrounded by all the friends they've made throughout all of their travels. They're more Hyunjin's than they are Minho's, but then again, the other did just say that what's his is his own as well, so you could argue it was a joint effort.
"Every time we bring these out, I feel like we're aristocrats or something." Minho remarks, sliding into his seat with a groan almost reminiscent of an old man. Maybe travelling so much is ruining his bones.
"What if we are, huh?" Hyunjin grins, grabbing the pitcher of water from the side and deliberately raising his pinky finger, voice getting haughtier immediately. "Monsieur Lee, could I delight you in some fine spring water, sought after by even Kyogre itself?"
"T'es bête. Je t'aime." Minho drawls without missing a beat, sipping his cup of water as poshly as he can, and Hyunjin scoffs, downing his own cup of squash.
"A guy like you goes to Kalos once or twice and immediately knows how to speak the language. Awesome." A snicker falls out of Minho at that one. Like Hyunjin hasn't known he's a polyglot for years. "…Hey, I know that last sentence!"
"Good for you." But Minho's ears are already darkening, and he can't get away from Hyunjin leaning over the table fast enough, plates clattering dangerously around them as his wrists are grabbed. "The food, Hyune— I put good work into that!"
"I love you, Minho."
Minho stills. Sneaks a glance at Hyunjin, whose face is dangerously serious. Immediately turns away and wills his heart to slow down. Turns back to face him, heartbeat still as fast as before.
"…I love you too."
The pure elation in Hyunjin's expression is the final straw that has Minho closing the distance, rounding the table and capturing the other's lips in a kiss Minho's been waiting to give since he first set his eyes on him today, and he almost sobs when Hyunjin returns just as desperately, gripping his shoulders like he'll disappear if he even so much as loosens his grip.
Every time he goes abroad, Hyunjin is always the one thing he misses the most. Not cooking, not the house, not even the Pokémon. It'll always be him.
Hyunjin pulls back first, though, resting his forehead on Minho's and catching his breath in quick puffs that Minho wants to keep on swallowing until he dies. "Come on, love, not in front of the kids."
"Oh, so now you want to be modest." Minho is not amused. Usually he's the one trying to kick their Pokémon out of the room when Hyunjin jumps on him. "Go heat up the curry again, you weirdo."
"Of course, my darling! You know how much I adore you, right?" The punch that hits Hyunjin's shoulder better be as hard as Clobbopus hit him. He really hopes he bruises.
But when they finally get to eat their food, and the visual that is Hyunjin basking in the sunset in front of what might as well be their whole life together in Pokémon form graces Minho's eyes, the look on his face shining even brighter when he gifts him the keychain he grabbed, that's when Minho's mind is completely and utterly set.
The next time he comes back from a trip, the trinket he'll get for Hyunjin will be nothing less than an engagement ring.