Minho sighed, setting down his now-lukewarm coffee onto his messy desk, notes from several different cases spread in disarray across the lacquered wood. He sank into his chair, the muscles in his back giving out as he slumps back in the seat (he could almost hear Sg. Kim Kibum nagging in the back of his mind, reminding him that bad posture will do him no good). This was the first time in the past 6 hours that he had a decent break, more than just a quick trip to the restroom after downing his fourth cup of coffee earlier that morning. He could feel the dull ache begin to set in, the kind of discomfort that makes you want to do nothing more than sink into bed and sleep for a solid 24 hours. Unfortunately for him however, seeing as he was now Lieutenant Choi Minho, he had a new onslaught of responsibilities to juggle, leaving most of his private life to trying to catch up on sleep and vaguely maintaining a workout schedule.  

When he first joined the force as a recruit at the ripe age of 22, he had no idea what to really expect. Sure, training taught him the basics, and the few ride-alongs he did get to complete were dreadfully dull, but he didn't really comprehend the true nature of what he was getting himself into. Fantasies fueled by watching too many crime shows as a teen had sparked a fire in his restless personality, setting him on the track to becoming a detective working in the homicide unit. Hard work and dedication with tracking down some of the most vile people in his community slowly moved Minho up the ranks as the years passed by, the rush of adrenaline he got whenever he was able to cuff a suspect taking precedence in his youth.  

Now he was 30, not quite as fast and as adept physically as he was eight years ago, but he had honed his critical thinking and deductive skills to the point where it more than made up for it. His work was his life, both literally and metaphorically, but he was proud of how far he had come and wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, maybe for some peace and quie- 

"Hyung! Jonghyun spilled the ing coffee all over the Hongdae case files and now I'm going to have to re-type everything!"  

Yeah, maybe he'd trade it for silence, because it would sure beat the headache beginning to set in. 

"See you wouldn't have such a conniption if you just saved all your files to the system like I keep telling you to..." 

"Jonghyun the system resets after each user logs out so it'd be lost anyways." 

"Then get a damn flashdrive but stop- ow! - stop hitting me!" 

Kim Kibum and Kim Jonghyun. The force's best up-and-coming detectives since Minho had joined. However, their work ethic and their personal attitudes were polar opposites, so it seemed. 

"Detectives, I trust you're old enough to work this out without resorting to petty violence," Minho said levelly, fixing them with a hard stare. The two blondes sobered up after seeing Minho's serious expression, knowing when they could toe the line between friendship and workplace etiquette and when they couldn't. Kibum let it go with one last sneer in Jonghyun's direction, gripping the stained case file in his manicured hands as he stalked out of the unit's main office, likely heading to the IT division to convince the technicians to do the reports instead. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and made his way over to Minho's desk, carefully pushing away a stack of papers from the edge to make room for him to sit down instead. Judging by the grin on his face, Minho could assume that his headache wasn't about to go away anytime soon. 

"Don't you have an important case, Detective Kim? A dead politician makes for a good opportunity to prove your skills..." Minho crossed his arms over his chest, watching the smaller man raise an eyebrow at his words.  

"Oh, it's Detective Kim now huh? How come you're so tense lately Minho-ah, not getting any action lately?" Jonghyun grinned wickedly, pianist fingers drumming out an unknown melody on the wood-top as he poked fun at his friend. It was well known among the detectives in their division that, while Minho may be the Police's golden boy, he was also single, and as far as they knew had been single ever since he was a recruit. With so much of his time spent at the station, it seemed highly improbable that Minho could maintain any kind of stable, long-term relationship. Used to the endless barrage of jokes, Minho merely gave him a terse smile in reply, ignoring Jonghyun's pouting expression in favor of picking up a report from his desk at random and giving it a glance-over to check for mistakes. 

After a minute or so of welcomed quiet, the peace was disturbed by a small chuckle, bringing Minho to glance up at Jonghyun in confusion.  

"Is something funny Hyung?" 

"Oh nothing.." Jonghyun said teasingly, hopping up from his spot to start heading towards the door. "Don't forget about the division's holiday party on Saturday okay?" Minho gave a small huff in reply, refusing to give the twerp a proper goodbye.  

"And wanna know how I can tell you haven't gotten laid in a while? You've been holding the report upside down this entire time Detective Choi." And with that, Jonghyun was gone, leaving behind a blush-stained Minho.  

  *        *         *        *        * 

The last thing anyone from the homicide unit expected to see at the division's annual Christmas party was Minho with a date. Scratch that, the last thing anyone expected to see was Minho with one Lee Taemin, professional model as Minho's date. The unconventional pair entered the conference room together, Minho's arm wrapped possessively around Taemin's petite waist with a smug smile aimed in the direction Jonghyun's shocked expression. 

A quiet hush fell when the men and women saw Taemin, a sort of confused tension among the officers as they tried to figure how it was possible for Minho- workaholic, anti-social, Minho- to not only be in a romantic relationship with someone, but with possibly one of South Korea's most esteemed models. The shock in the room was cut off suddenly in a whirlwind of blonde hair, the Kim boys immediately attaching themselves to Minho's hip after they got over their own surprise. 

"Yah! Minho-ssi, where have you been hiding him?!" Jonghyun exclaimed, looking Taemin up and down as if he was trying to discern whether the smiling boy was an actual corporeal figure, and not just a mirage. Kibum quickly put an end to Jonghyun's ogling, elbowing him roughly in the side and taking his place in front of Taemin, extending a hand out to the model with a kind smile.  

"Hello, my name is Kim Kibum, the rude dwarf from before was Kim Jonghyun, my partner."  

Taemin laughed at Kibum's introduction, happily taking his hand with his own and giving a surprisingly firm handshake for such a dainty person. 

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm Lee Taemin." Kibum refrained from squealing and maintained his best professional aura. Oh yeah he knew Taemin alright, he was one of his favorite models from the latest Ceci spread (but Kibum prided himself on his professionalism, he wouldn't blow it now).  

"So you guys are...?" Jonghyun glanced between Taemin and Minho, who had only just managed to keep himself from berrating Jonghyun for openly checking out his date.  

"Boyfriends," Minho said proudly, squeezing Taemin's side lightly and causing the younger to grin and lean closer to the detective. Jonghyun and Kibum passed similar disbelieving glances but passed on saying anything, letting the matter be for the evening.  

Minho glanced down at Taemin, offering him a small smile. "Want to get anything to eat?" Taemin let out a nervous laugh, awkwardly patting Minho on the arm. "I already ate my meals for the day, strict diet and all." Minho frowned slightly at that, not liking how little Taemin ate but didn't push the subject farther, instead deciding to the younger to a group of his superiors to introduce him and pay his respects.  

  *      *      *      *      * 

That night they walked up the short flight of steps to their respective apartments, idle chit chat over the evening's events keeping them distracted from the almost-unpleasant coolness of the night. Taemin and Minho made sure to keep their voices down, seeing as most of their neighbors were likely asleep as it was almost 2 O'Clock in the morning, but every so often one of them would make a boisterous remark or burst out into laughter- quickly being shushed by the other seconds after. Their voices trailed off as they lingered in front of 221B and 222B, the conversation dying off but neither making the first move to head inside.  

"Ah, thank you for, you know..." Minho said quietly, watching as Taemin brushed some wisps of dark hair behind his ears and stared down at his shoes, a fleeting smile on his lips. "It was my pleasure."  

Minho stood there for a moment more before coming to terms with the fact that it seemed the fantasy had come to an end, ignored the small pang of disappointment in his chest and quickly bowed his head to the quiet model, unlocking the door to his apartment and starting to step inside. 

"Minho hyung?" Taemin said quickly, reaching out for the hem of his jacket sleeve and gently tugging him back. Minho turned to face him, looking rather befuddled. "Are you okay Taemin?" 

"A-Ah yes...but you know, if you'd ever want me as a real date instead of a fake date, I wouldn't mind.." Taemin sounded a little unsure with his words but he looked confident, meeting Minho's gaze straight on. 

Yeah, Minho may be getting older now, and maybe he worked a bit too much, but if he did anything right in his life, becoming friends with his gorgeous neighbor definitely took the prize.