A/n:

Here's that update I promised like two months ago.  Oops

*

When they got back to the car, Himchan dropped Yongguk's hand. He reached for his hand sanitizer and put it on. Yongguk shook his head and unlocked the car. They climbed inside and Yongguk simply stared at Himchan for a good minute until Himchan was starting to squirm.

"Aren't you going to start the car?" Himchan asked, a little uncomfortable.

"Where are we going to go from here?" Yongguk asked him.

"I guess out of the parking lot," Himchan said vaguely.

Yongguk laughed at Himchan's bluntness.

"I meant with us. Where are we going as two people?" he clarified.

"Oh," Himchan said, awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Well?" Yongguk asked a little impatiently.

"Isn't it against some code of honor for therapists to date their patients?" Himchan asked.

"Like I've said before, I'm not your therapist. I'm your friend," Yongguk reminded him and started the car and backed out.

"Right. Friend," Himchan scoffed.

"What? Why are you scoffing?" Yongguk asked him while leaving the parking lot.

"Pretty sure friends don't try to get into friends' pants," Himchan said skeptically.

Yongguk slammed on the brakes. Himchan's face slammed against the dashboard.

"Ow! Son of a ! What did you do that for?" he asked angrily.

"I'm sorry! I just wasn't expecting you to say that," Yongguk explained, driving forward again.

"Well," Himchan said vaguely.

"I don't want to just "get in your pants". I love you, and I want to cherish you," Yongguk said.

Himchan grumbled something low to himself.

"What did you say?" Yongguk asked, straining to hear.

"I said, 'No one's ever wanted to cherish me before'," Himchan said.

"Seriously?" Yongguk asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I stayed away from people so no one ever came near me. And then there was you. And all you did was insist on being in my life and now you want to ing cherish me. You're putting a lot on me, you know," Himchan rambled.

Yongguk made a right turn.

"How exactly am I putting a lot on you? Enlighten me," Yongguk said.

"Well, I mean, I'm a man with a fear of germs, and you're a man with a kid. And I like Junhong, I really do. It's just that, kids need comforting, and that usually involves touching. And when it comes to touching, you're the exception," Himchan rattled off.

Yongguk pulled into a random parking lot and parked the car. He needed a minute to contemplate what Himchan had just said, another minute to process a response for the comment, and another minute to just laugh.   After all that, he was ready to talk.

"Okay, first off: Junhong is my brother, not my son. I thought we both made that clear. Secondly: thank you for calling me the exception. That's very flattering. Third: Himchan, whatever you need, I will do it for you," Yongguk said.

Himchan scoffed again.

"I bet you say that to every crazy guy you meet," Himchan joked.

Yongguk titled his head and looked at Himchan.

"I do meet a lot of crazy guys. But I don't just say that to everyone. Aside from my brother, you're the exception," Yongguk grinned, using Himchan's words against him.

Himchan blushed.

"Don't say that," He commanded.

"I did promise to make your mysophobia oursophobia, didn't I?" Yongguk teased.

"Stoooooop," Himchan whined.

"Okay, I'll stop, " Yongguk said, and he started up the car again.

Himchan nodded in gratitude.

"So where do you want to go from here?" he asked Yongguk.

Yongguk was so busy looking at Himchan that he almost hit the car in front if him.

"Watch it!" Himchan scolded.

"I'm sorry I was just thinking about the answer to your question," Yongguk said, pulling into his own driveway.

"And?" Himchan asked.

"Do you want to have dinner?"

*

"Um, Junhong?"

"Yes, Jonguppie?"

"Why is seonsaeng always at your house?"

"He's kind of dating my brother," Junhong explained vaguely.

Jongup paused the video game they were playing.

"What gives?" Junhong asked, annoyed, but he didn't unpause the game.

"Our teacher, the man that washes his hands at least three hundred times a day, the man that wears gloves all the time, the man that only drinks out if water bottles because he doesn't trust cups is dating your brother? Your brother, the man who has probably never picked up a feather duster in his life, the man whose logic behind cleaning is 'if it's dirty, just pour water on it', the man who vacuums every leap year is dating our teacher? " Jongup asked incredulously.

"Yes," Junhong said as if it were nothing special.

"For how long?" Jongup asked, his voice slowly rising in pitch.

"About three months?" Junhong shrugged.

"And you didn't tell me?" Jongup screeched, hitting Junhong on the arm.

"I thought you knew! You're here every day so I thought you knew! I'm sorry! Stop hitting me!" Junhong whined.

Jongup hit him again for good measure. He unpaused the game, but he was still pouting. Junhong stopped paying attention to the game in favor of poking Jongup's cheek.

"Jonguppie, what's wrong? Stop pouting," Junhong said.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about something so big," Jongup said quietly.

"I thought you knew," Junhong repeated.

"Stop fighting. It's annoying," Yongguk called from another room. Himchan laughed.

"Shut up, hyung. No one cares," Junhong replied.

"How thin are these walls?" Jongup asked.

"Thin enough to hear everything that goes on in Junhong's room," Yongguk answered him.

"Noooooo," Jongup shrieked, causing Yongguk and Himchan to burst into laughter.

"By the way, Junhong-ah, it's been five months," Himchan called, still trying to stifle his laugh. Yongguk put a hand on Himchan's knee.

"Five months, ah? No. One. Cares," Junhong hollered.

"I'll fail you. I am your teacher," Himchan warned.

"Bite me," Junhong sassed.

Jongup dropped his depression and distress about the wall situation in favor of giving the younger boy a mischievous glance before biting his cheek.

"I didn't mean it literally when I said 'bite me', hyung," Junhong said, rolling his eyes.

"Jongup-ah, that is wild. You are a wild man," Yongguk said and Himchan laughed.

"Hyung, would you stop?" Junhong asked, annoyed.

"Nah, I finally managed to make Himchan laugh so I'll keep teasing you until he stops finding it funny,"  Yongguk said.

"He'll never stop finding it funny," Junhong whined.

"I guess he'll just have to move in, then," Yongguk said.

"No, then you'll tease me non-stop and I can't take it," Junhong said emotionlessly.

" to be you because he's moving in," Yongguk said.

Junhong groaned.

"Hey, I never said I was moving in!" Himchan yelled over Yongguk's laughter.

*

After Himchan and Yongguk had been dating for a year, Himchan actually did finally move in. He was reluctant of course, but Yongguk insisted.

On the day that Himchan moved in, Yongguk drove over to his apartment to help him. To Yongguk's surprise, instead of packing clothes and things like that, Himchan was packing his vacuum and mop and all his cleaning supplies.

"Baby, I have a vacuum," Yongguk told him.

"Well, you never use it so I wasn't sure," Himchan shot back.

Yongguk placed his hand over his heart as if he were wounded.

"Ouch, that hurt. Are you saying that my house is dirty?" he asked, feigning offense.

"Yes," Himchan said point-blank.

Yongguk shook his head and grabbed the vacuum from Himchan's hands. He took it to his car and put it in the back seat. After all Himchan had been through, he deserved to keep his vacuum cleaner. He knew that Himchan was better, he had seen to it to help cure him. They had gone through hell together, and Yongguk had spent many nights by Himchan's crying side, unable to hold and comfort him and shield him from his pain. There were days that Himchan felt like giving up, and there were days that even Yongguk had felt like giving up. They took it one step at a time, growing as people and getting to know one another better, and falling in love more each day.

When Yongguk returned from putting the vacuum cleaner in the car, Himchan handed him more boxes. Yongguk gave him a sideways look.

"This is the last of it, I promise," Himchan said.

"Please tell me you actually put clothes in one of these boxes instead of just cleaning supplies. You know I have bleach and stuff at the house," Yongguk said, shaking his head and sighing.

"Please. Bleach is child's play," Himchan scoffed. He loaded up the boxes that were in his own arms and wiped invisible dust from his gloved hands.

Yongguk laughed and loaded the last of the boxes into the trunk. He slammed the trunk shut and turned to look at Himchan. His lame smile broke out into a goofy grin and Himchan looked at him suspiciously.

"What? Why are you looking me like that?" Himchan asked, slight panic evident in his voice.

"When something is beautiful, you naturally want to look at it. You're beautiful, so I want to look at you," Yongguk said simply, moving closer to Himchan.

"What are you doing?" Himchan asked, backing up.

"Hmmm. Just moving in closer so I can see better," Yongguk said, still grinning widely.

"You're so weird," Himchan chuckled awkwardly. He tried to move but Yongguk was slowly pinning him against the car.

"Gotcha," Yongguk grinned as he pressed a kiss to Himchan's cheek.

"Yongguk, there are kids in my neighborhood. Stop being indecent," Himchan whined, squirming under his touch.

"I haven't kissed you in eight months. If kissing you on the cheek means I'm being indecent, then I've earned it," Yongguk said, the vibration if his voice tickling Himchan's cheek in the best way.

"Can't you at least wait until we get home?" Himchan pleaded.

Yongguk rested his head on Himchan's shoulder.

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of fiend," he chuckled.

Himchan relaxed and leaned against the car. He hesitantly raised his hand to Yongguk's hair. They sighed collectively and stayed like that for awhile, comforting each other silently the way only they knew how to.

*

Moving in was nothing. Himchan spent so much time at Yongguk's prior to the move in that he was used to the way things worked and how things were done. He was comfortable at the house, as he had had time to grt use to everything. Except, that is, sleeping. Sharing a bed was a whole different story. Despite getting better, Himchan still had trouble sleeping in the same bed as Yongguk. It took time, time that they both had, to work him through it.

There were many nights when Himchan woke up in a fit of panic, scratching his skin in order to scratch the germs away. He would attempt to push air in and out of his constricting lungs, losing his ability to breathe to the fear of allowing contaminants into his body.  He would claw away at his skin in sheer desperation, and Yongguk would always have to intervene to save Himchan from himself. Those were the worst nights.

The best nights were when Himchan was able to lie next to Yongguk, knowing that they were sharing each others' filth, and being able to overcome that. Sometimes, he would let his hand snake over to hold Yongguk's, or to lazily up and down Yongguk's arms. On especially good, and especially rare, nights, he would let Yongguk hold him throughout the night, their bodies fitting together perfectly like two pieces of the universe's puzzle.

*

For Junhong, living with Himchan was easy enough. He considered Himchan an older brother due to his relationship with Junhong's actual brother, so being close to him was nice.  And, he got to know his grades on his tests before any of the other students did, so that was a plus.

The one thing he hated, however, was watching his real biological brother tip toe around Himchan as if he were some fabrigee egg teetering off the edge of a building. Despite now living together for almost a year, he knew his brother was still afraid of Himchan.

Every morning, before he left for school, Himchan would lean in for a kiss, and Yongguk would either pay him on the head, or, on more adventurous mornings, kiss him on the cheek instead. At first, it had hurt Junhong to see the look of dissapointment in his teacher's eyes, but at this point, it was getting down right pathetic.

In the evenings, Himchan didn't even try anymore. He used to attempt to cuddle on the couch with Yongguk after dinner, but now he settled for a complacent hand holding his.

Junhong could tell that Himchan was a little jealous of his relationship with Jongup. He knew that Himchan knew he was loved. There was no doubt about that. Junhong's stupid brother was head over heels in love with him, he had no question. He also knew that Yongguk was so afraid of hurting Himchan that he basically sat like a ghost beside him, so scared to touch him for the fear that he might break. But what Junhong knew above all was that Himchan desired so much to be touched that his sanity may shatter before he ever got even the slightest brushing of fingertips.

Junhong and Jongup started making bets on how long Himchan would last. Jongup said two more weeks and at the time of the bet, Junhong had said twenty more minutes.

Junhong was right.

It was the night of their two year anniversary, and Yongguk was pulling out all the stops. He had made dinner, burned some romantic songs onto a cd, and even put on a suit. He had sent Himchan to the store on a meaningless errand so he could surprise him when he came home. He knew his night was going to be perfect, he had made sure of it by even making Jongup and Junhong to promise to stay in Junhong's room and keep quiet.

When the front door opened and Himchan stepped through the door, the two boys made their bets as Yongguk pushed them into the bedroom.

"Happy anniversary baby! Thanks for putting up with me for two years!" Yongguk sang, flashing that gummy smile.

"Likewise," Himchan said simply, taking in the sight of Yongguk in a suit.

Yongguk took Himchan by the elbow and led him into the dining room. He pressed play on the CD player before pulling out a chair for Himchan to sit down in.

"Tonight's meal was prepare for you by yours truly, and it's all your favorite foods because I love you," Yongguk said, using a fancy accent like a maitre'd at an expensive restaraunt. Himchan chuckled as he watched Yongguk take his own seat.

"Never heard of the chef joining a customer for dinner and eating his own food," Himchan remarked before taking a bite of something delicious.

"If you get to eat for free, I get to do what I want," Yongguk grinned.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the food and each others's presence.

"So," Yongguk began after that had finished eating, "is there anything else you want tonight?"

Himchan thought about it for a moment before he said, "I want you to kiss me."

Yongguk froze.

"Kiss you? Are you sure?" Yongguk asked hesitantly.

"Yes I'm sure. It's been months since you've kissed me on the lips. Probably a year, honestly. I’ve lost count. You never touch me," Himchan said quietly, but loud enough for Yongguk (and Jongup and Junhong) to hear.

"But," Yongguk began before Himchan cut him off.

"I know, Guk. I know. Mysophobia. But damn, we've lived together for a year, it’s not an excuse anymore. And you're a licensed therapist. You know better than anyone else that I'm getting better, that I'm improving. I'm not afraid to touch you anymore. Why are you so afraid to touch me?" Himchan asked, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Yongguk didn't know what to say, really. He knew what to do, though. He got up out of his seat, walked over to Himchan, placed his fingers under his chin, titled up his head, and kissed him. It was the sweetest kiss to date, and Yongguk pushed every single ounce of love he had in his body into the kiss.

When he broke away, he whispered, "Happy anniversary," against Himchan's lips.

As Himchan pulled him in for another kiss, he was mentally kicking himself for not breaking down a long time ago.

*

One day, nearly a year later, when they were all three seated at the breakfast table, Yongguk looked up suddenly from his newspaper.

"Hey, Himchan, let's get married."

Junhong spit his cereal and Himchan coughed.

"Married?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. I want to spend my life with you. Of course, I know we can't actually marry, but we can symbolically. Maybe even start a family after Junhong moves out," Yongguk said, face stone cold serious.

"A family? As in kids? Can't Junhong just be out kid? I don't want to deal with being pregnant," Himchan said simply.

Junhong spit his cereal.

"Babe. You can't get pregnant. I meant adoption," Yongguk said, trying not to laugh.

Himchan blushed.

"Oh."

"But I'm serious about getting married. Symbolically," Yongguk said.

Junhong looked between the two of them. It amazed him how they managed to make a marriage proposal sound so boring.

" it. Let's get married. But there's one thing me have to do first," Himchan said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

*

"You ready?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"For the love of God, let's just get it over with!"

And with that, Himchan threw his case of latex gloves in the dumpster.

"Feel good?" Yongguk asked.

"Knowing that I don't need them anymore? Um, yes," Himchan said.

"Next is your hand sanitizer," Yonguk said.

"Not my hand sanitizer! You can't take away my babies like that!" Himchan bellowed.

"Look. I even threw away my vacuum cleaner so you could keep yours. Throw. away. the. hand. sanitizer," Yongguk demanded.

Himchan pouted before reaching into his pocket and tossing the sanitizer into the dumpster.

"The other bottle, too," Yongguk said.

Himchan pouted but did as he was told.

"Anything else you're going to make me throw away? My hopes and dreams, perhaps?" Himchan asked bitterly.

"Quit being such a baby. And throw those ugly rubber cleaning gloves away, too," Yongguk said.

"What about the apron?" Himchan asked, chucking out the gloves.

Yongguk coughed.

"Oh, no. You're keeping the apron for when you become my symbolic wife," he said, trying not to smile. Himchan rolled his eyes.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes actually," Yongguk said, getting down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his jacket pocket. "I need you to take any fears, doubts, and regret you've ever had in your life and throw them in that dumpster right now. And when you're finished, I want you to wear this ring forever and make me the happiest man in the world."

"Only you could propose in front of a dumpster and still make it sound romantics," Himchan laughed.

"What do you say?" Yongguk asked him.

"ing yes, you idiot," Himchan said as Yongguk slid the ring onto his finger. He stood up to embrace the younger man.

"I know we've been through a lot, and I'm amazed you put up with me this long. And, I'm thankful to you for letting me fix you. And I want to make you as happy as you make me, for eternity. Always and forever," Yongguk said before he kissed him.

Himchan just nodded and grabbed Yongguk's hand.

Himchan wouldn't notice until three weeks later that ring was engraved to say 'Mysophobia? More like: My Himchan'.

*

A/n:

It's finally done! And "happy ending" seriously beat out "sad ending" and "open ending" in the comments. Thanks for being a part of that. Thanks for putting up with me this long, and thank you for reading.  I appreciate all of you.  Seriously.  Much love.