Curtains were pulled and bright rays of sunshine entered the room. Jinki flipped to his side as he snuggled deeper into the blankets, curling into himself as he tried to catch more winks. It was still so early and he felt as if he had not slept at all.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty,” a voice called out affectionately, “It’s 7.30am.”

Letting out a whine of protest, Jinki ignored the calls and pulled the covers over his head. 7.30am was far too early! And whose fault was it that he didn’t manage to sleep anyway?

“Wake up now,” the voice approached. Soon, Jinki could feel a familiar nose nuzzling at his cheek as warm breaths tickled his ears, “Or else…”

Jinki allowed a small smile to blossom over his face even as he pretended to lazily crack open an eye. Minho was hovering over him, using his arms to prop himself upright. His hair was already artfully mussed up, his face all freshened and clean; Jinki could smell the mint in his breath and he was sharply reminded there and then that despite all his criminal tendencies, Choi Minho was one good looking bastard.

If only Choi Minho did not have the occupation that he did, Jinki would not be so averse to the idea of going out with him at all. In fact, he might even be the one pursuing (because Jinki had a soft spot for big eyes and long limbs and model-esque face). But alas, it was not to be, as all the handsome ones were trapped in the cesspool of evil, and Jinki, being justice incarnate, had little choice but to pursue him on an entirely different level.

“Or else what?” Jinki pretended to wriggle away even as he teased, slipping into the persona of Onew’s as easily as a familiar jacket. He had to, given how he was almost 24/7 beside Minho nowadays, “You will snuggle me to death?”

A mischievous glint entered Minho’s eyes then and he grinned, “Nope, I will tickle you to death.” With that, he immediately set about doing what he claimed he would do, giving Jinki no opportunities to escape. Jinki broke out into peals of laughter. Because being with a man for a good 4 months meant that it was inevitable that Minho would uncover some of Jinki’s weak spots, and Jinki was slightly embarrassed to report that Minho had discovered that Jinki was particularly sensitive on his soles.

(He was already hearing no end about it from Jonghyun and Taemin. They had let up on their teasing in light of the recent development, but Jinki had little doubt that they would return to being the terrible duo once a month or two had passed. The pair always had a crapatastic memory when it came to things disadvantageous to them.)

In his attempts to get away while thinking dark, surly thoughts at his subordinates, Jinki kicked out and accidentally got Minho right under his chin. The playful mood was suddenly ruined and Jinki allowed panic and regret to rule his face.

“Oh no!” Jinki leapt up and immediately had his hands fluttering nervously around Minho as Minho groaned, holding onto his jaw, “I didn’t mean that, I am so sorry, Minho! Are you alright?”

“Ugh,” Minho grunted, “That hurts.”

Jinki stopped himself from rolling his eyes just in time, because, duh, Captain Obvious (he really had to stop hanging out with Jonghyun and Taemin). Playing the role of a good, concerned boyfriend, Jinki repeated, “Sorry, Minho! Do you need anything? Where is your first-aid kid? I can put—“

“Wait, wait, it’s alright,” Minho grabbed Jinki’s panicking wrists, “Calm down, I am fine.”

“But you said it hurts, Min—“

“Just teasing you,” Minho grinned, “You can’t possibly kick out hard enough to hurt me, Onew.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Jinki heaved a relieved sigh before he frowned, seemingly going through Minho’s words again, “Hey! Are you saying I am weak?”

“You’re free to interpret it anyway you want,” Minho grinned that -eating grin again before he slyly sneaked his hands to Jinki’s feet, “And… gotcha.”

Jinki was soon reduced to a pile of spineless goo as he tried to futilely escape from Minho. His lungs were going to collapse from all the laughing he did.

-

“My eyes,” Jonghyun said flatly, “They are ing burning.”

“Yes, hyung,” Taemin replied with just as much energy, “I hear you. I heard you the previous 29 times too.”

“Just a reminder that Jinki-hyung and Choi are ing gross.”

“Huh, I think they are pretty cute though. Like those happy-go-lucky couples that will ultimately break up by the end of the drama,” Taemin squinted his eyes as the screens swam in front of him, “Not that I can really see.”

“How are you dealing with the AAR?” Jonghyun spared a moment to dole out a teaspoon of sympathy.

“My eyeballs are melting,” Taemin pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back, closing his burning eyes, “I don’t know what I am writing anymore, hyung.”

“Well, good job,” Jonghyun shrugged, “I suppose.”

“Good job?” Taemin was too tired to even inject incredulity into his voice.

Jonghyun shrugged again, not that Taemin could see, “Just it up, Taemin.”

Taemin heaved a heavy sigh, as if the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.

“A friendly reminder though,” Jonghyun nodded his head to the couple in his screens, “While hyung and Choi may be ing like bunnies, your deadline is still 8pm, tonight.”

Taemin groaned, flopping onto his laptop hard, “I ing hate Code Red. I ing hate after action reviews. I ing want to die, Jonghyun-hyung.”

Jonghyun flicked an eye over, “Ok. But you may want to sit up now. I think your elbow is hitting the backspace button.”

A decidedly girly-shriek was heard not a second later, promptly followed by garbled words as Taemin tapped away desperately at the keyboard (read: keysmash). “Holy , holy . I just deleted a—oh my ing fish— my balls, I think I just deleted like 3 pages worth of stuff—my life is over. ing kill me now, Jonghyun-hyung. me to death—“

“Control plus Z, Taemin,” Jonghyun flapped a lethargic hand. He just did a 28 hours shift (why the hell must Jinki always insist on sleeping with Choi?) and did not have the energy to deal with Taemin’s melodrama.

“Oh. Oh my god, you are a genius—Can I kiss you, Jonghyun-hyung. Oh my god, the words are reappearing—holy , wait they stopped. Oh my god, I think I have maxed out my undos. this —Jonghyun-hyung, you have to save me. Please use your godly IT skills and save this lowly being—“

“Shut up,” Jonghyun said without anger, hurriedly fiddling with the knobs on the panel, “I think Choi is saying something important now.”

-

“What do you mean by auditors are coming over?” Jinki asked as he rummaged the cabinets for strawberry jam and butter.

“Exactly what I said, Onew,” Minho answered, placing freshly-toasted bread on plates, “SEC is sending over some auditors, and we have no choice but to entertain them.”

“External auditors?” Jinki finally chanced upon the spreads he was looking for.

“Yes,” Minho replied, taking over the jar of strawberry jam, “But we don’t have anything to worry about. Our reports and papers are all in order.”

“Everything?” Jinki fed a piece of buttered toast to Minho, all smiles and soft charm.

“Well… with the exception of some records here and there for the past financial quarter,” Minho dipped a bite-sized piece in strawberry jam and held it to Jinki, “But I should be able to go over them within a week or two.”

“By yourself?” Jinki frowned, seemingly too worried about the strain that Minho would be placed under, ignoring the toast, “Isn’t that too much? Can’t you get help from some associates?”

“Sensitive documents and all,” Minho shook his head, “You know how management gets when it comes to confidentiality.”

“But… won’t that be too tiring for you, Minho? I mean, you have your regular duties to tend to, and now auditing stuff on top of that? I am worried for your health.”

Something in Minho’s eyes softened, and Jinki found his guts twisting in guilt. It did not show on his face though, because Jinki was a professional. Nonetheless, the very next sentence that Minho said nearly had Jinki faltering despite all his training, “If you get any sweeter, I may just very well propose to you, Onew.”

“Don’t divert the topic,” Jinki blushed, only hesitating for a split second. He lightly slapped at Minho’s shoulders in his embarrassment, pulling away when Minho tried to land a kiss on him. “But hey,” Jinki asked hesitantly, “How about Kibum? Can you get Kibum to help you out?”

“Why are you talking about Kibum? Are you trying to get me jealous now?” Minho pulled at Jinki’s waist, seating him firmly on his lap.

“No, I am not. I am being serious,” Jinki frowned, “I think you need help, Minho. And well… people always say Kibum has connections up there.”

“I suppose… his uncle is on the board,” Minho said reluctantly. His face changed then as if he an unwelcome thought just entered his mind. Minho continued on darkly, “But I would rather pull all-nighters than have to work together with Kibum.”

“Minho…”

“Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be jealous,” the familiar tone of mischief returned to Minho’s voice and he soon had Jinki squirming away on his lap, as Minho blew warm air to that one spot on Jinki’s nape that he knew was particularly ticklish.

Five minutes later, a disheveled and somewhat breathless Jinki rested on Minho’s lap. Jinki’s lips were reddened and moist, and Jinki jokingly complained, “You can’t distract me like that whenever I want to talk about serious things with you, Minho. It’s unfair.”

“Alright then,” Minho took up a forgotten piece of toast from the plate, “Please continue on what you were saying, Your Highness.”

“Don’t tease,” Jinki admonished, his words weakened as he ate that piece of bread off Minho’s hands. “But anyway, about the auditors’ visit, how about I help out then?” the suggestion was completely casual and phrased like a drop-in.

“Above your paygrade, Onew,” Minho smiled, “Besides, it’s all just boring double-checking and filing. I am sure you want no part of it, Onew.”

“I am willing to do anything for you, Minho,” Jinki sat up straighter and gently tugged at Minho’s chin, making eye contact, “You are very important to me, you know.”

“Hmm,” Minho pretended to consider, but Jinki knew there and then he had Minho already. Minho only needed a nudge before he was agreeing to Jinki’s words, and Jinki provided that nudge by pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

“You have to promise to be discrete then, Onew,” Minho breathed love and adoration.

“Promise,” and Jinki rewarded Minho with the smile that he knew the other man loved so much. The one that was utterly unrestrained, the one that had his eyes disappearing into crescents and his mouth pulled up wide to reveal his gums. Jinki did not think that it was a flattering look on him at all, but he supposed, to each his own.

Besides, Minho might have just very well handed him the last piece of the puzzle Jinki needed on a silver platter, and Jinki was not about to withhold measly things such as his smile when it came to things like this.

-

“Lee Taemin.”

“What.”

“I think our mission is finally ing ending,” Jonghyun blinked.

“Does that mean I can stop typing out this AAR for Code Red?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t care.”

A few seconds ticked by, and a voice spoke out again.

“Wait a minute…"

"What."

"Does that mean I don’t get to be fabulously gay at school?”

Jonghyun paused for a moment, before he finally shook his head, “Your priorities are ed up, Taemin.”

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM TYPING ANYMORE. AM I WRITING A ROMANCE OR WHAT? WHAT IS THIS . 

MINHO, I MOURN FOR YOU.

and btw, AARs are after action reviews. basically, lenghtly administrative documents meant to increase the workload of corporate minions.