The Things They Know

“What about going out for a drink?"

It starts like that, a suggestion thrown in the middle of a conversation, nothing pretentious, nothing binding.

Mino knows Taehyun and Taehyun knows Mino. It's never just 'a drink' when it comes to the two of them. And that's exactly the reason why Taehyun says yes right away, bright eyes and sly smile.

The drink turns out to be the two of them sitting in a corner of a little known bar, two glasses already half-empty in front of them, the table in between being the only thing preventing them from letting their drunk instincts guide their demanding bodies.

Taehyun looks around every now and then, Mino laughs at his usual scaredy-cat attitude. "Calm down, no one's gonna recognize us in here," he pats the maknae on the head, lowering his hood a bit more on his messy hair, hoodies being their only armors during their late-night dates.

They empty one too many glasses, steal one too many glances at each other, knees brushing under the table, fingers doing the same on its surface.

Old sneakers, sweatpants, hoodies. They're trying to forget who they really are. There's no Song Minho, no Nam Taehyun. They're not stars now, they're just two unknown kids enjoying a drink in an unknown pub, surrounded by unknown faces, with unknown plans for the rest of their night.

Or maybe one plan is there after all, and it starts with two hands slightly brushing each other while they stroll down the streets of Seoul, the two of them walking side by side with the awareness of the stupid smile the other one has on his face, though they're not looking at each other.

And it goes on like that, brushing fingers becoming intertwining fingers, shy smiles becoming passionate kisses in the dark of an alley when the alcohol finally kicks in (they're both too good at handling it).

It's Taehyun the first one to suggest for a taxi back home because he needs more and Mino can feel it in the way the younger man's hands are all over him as soon as they sit in the back of the car, loves every single word the maknae whispers into his ear with that sly smile of his because he knows exactly what kind of effect he wants to do to Mino and he knows exactly how to achieve it.

Mino's hands are slightly smaller than Taehyun's but also infinitely rough and as soon as they meet the soft skin hiding under the younger's hoodie, Taehyun wishes Seoul wasn't so big and that ride back home didn't have to be so long.

They're aware of the driver's eyes on them, hence why they don't take off their hoods, and Taehyun's hands are inside Mino's hood already anyway, caressing the golden skin on his cheekbones, tracing his lower lip with his thumb while his lips take care of the rapper's upper lip, biting and until he feels blood spilling. That's when he smiles and tastes the bitter flavor, returning it to Mino as soon as his tongue slides in between the older's lips.

Mino loves when Taehyun is so needy. He rarely shows this side of him, not that he is not passionate in their intimacy, but he always comes off as cold and rational even when the situation is hot. He usually keeps himself in check, inside and outside of the bed.

But there are times when Taehyun lets go and shows Mino just how much he needs him. These are the times Mino loves the most and they usually require more than a couple of drinks.

His warm hands go up Taehyun's spine now, with the same passion as he's devouring his mouth, tasting some fruity flavor on the younger's tongue. It's not enough, it's never enough.

Taehyun's lips are swollen and his clothes are a total mess by the time the driver finally stops two blocks away from their dorm (they can't risk the man finding out who they really are).

They don't know how they reach their dorm. They don't know if someone's still awake when they come back in. They don't know how they reach Mino's room in between more and more demanding kisses. They don't know if they actually take the time to take off their clothes or if they suddenly find themselves bare skin against bare skin.

But there are also some things they know.

Mino knows they'll be lucky to get one hour of sleep before his alarm ring goes off; he knows Taehyun will be wrapped in white sheets, sleeping on his belly just beside him when he wakes up; he knows his hand will be right beside Taehyun's face because caressing the younger one to sleep is a habit Mino can't seem to get rid of; he knows he will be soon after wrapped up in those sheets together with Taehyun, because if there's something they love more than late night , that's the lazy, sloppy, wonderful good morning ; he knows Taehyun will let unrepeatable words slip off his tongue, because he's always the most sincere when he's still half asleep and he doesn't quite have the whole control over his mind yet; he knows he will pretend like he didn't hear anything, while actually treasuring every single one of those words in his heart.

But Mino isn't the only one aware of all those things. Taehyun knows some as well. He knows Mino will whisper his name in his sleep over and over while trying to hold him in his arms, and Taehyun always has fun escaping from his hold just to see the disappointed frown on the older's sleeping face; he knows Mino keeps caressing him even after he thinks Taehyun's already asleep, warm rough fingers against the soft skin of his cheek or in between his hair – what he doesn't know, is that Taehyun actually loves it a lot; he knows Mino will shut off his alarm as soon as he can to prevent him from waking up, and then spend at least half an hour watching Taehyun sleeping and brushing hair off his face (Taehyun is not sleeping at all); he knows Mino will find his way between his thighs again as soon as he opens his eyes, and Taehyun hates to admit it but he thinks that if someone had to define the words 'make love' then the way Mino gently and lazily pushes himself into him during those early mornings, eyes telling Taehyun way more about the older's heart than his own words will ever do, would be the perfect definition for that expression; he knows Mino knows him too well, hence why he will let some special words slip off his tongue when he's still half asleep and it's too early to fight with his own thoughts, because he knows Mino will pretend to never remember those, but he will still spend the whole breakfast smiling at every little thing and looking for Taehyun's fingers under the table when no one is looking.

“What about going out for a drink?"

It always starts like that, a suggestion thrown in the middle of a conversation, nothing pretentious, nothing binding.

Mino knows Taehyun and Taehyun knows Mino. And that's why they also both know the answer to that question is not really an answer, but a promise. 

End