Taemin's days seemed to just be dragging on and on. It was a boring cycle of wake up, go to work, don't actually work if he didn't have to, play the game for hours, come home, avoid parents, sleep, repeat. He slowly felt himself becoming more and more distant from the people around him. His mother had stopped bothering him because she thought he was working more and was thus responsible enough for her to not need to chew him out 24/7. His father was quiet in himself and never really bothered Taemin for much, anyway. Together, with no reason to yell at him, his parents ultimately left him to his own devices; there was no need for conversation between them. Taemin felt like he hadn't spoken to them in days.

But really, it didn't faze him.

He was past missing them being an active part of his life. Time and time again Taemin had wondered what happened to the happy relationship he'd had with his parents? But he slowly came to realize that it truly had never existed. When he was a child and they'd gifted him the world it was because they wanted to keep him content, keep him happy. In doing so, they figured he would be only all too willing to take over their line of work in the future as their only son. When he expressed no interest, they turned sour and pulled away from him. It was never about them loving and doting on him as a child, it was about them up to him as a kid and basically throwing him away when they realized he had no desire to bend to their every whim and allow them to write out his entire life for him.

He'd like to say he'd fallen in a slump after coming to the realization of his parent's true intentions with him but he couldn't even admit to it; he just didn't care. Somewhere along the line of feeling guilt for disappointing his parents, he realized they weren't proud of much he did that didn't benefit them in any type of way, anyway. They'd always been proud of his achievements, sure.  His achievements. That never meant they were proud of him. They framed his certificates, displayed his trophies, proudly presented them to any company that ever came over. But they never put their hands on his shoulders and presented him in the same manner. It was always 'look at all these trophies, the family name surely shines doesn't it?', it was never, ''I'm so proud of my son, Taemin'.

Taemin figured he was just bitter, but inside he knew that wasn't it. When they stopped pretending to be proud of him, he stopped pretending it was his duty to make them love him. His mother could be mad at him all she wanted for playing the game, he'd still do it. She was never proud of him doing things that made him happy, anyway.

Taemin shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he walked to work, yawning. It was still fairly early on a Thursday but he'd left before his mother even left for work this morning because he felt the longer he was out of her line of sight, the better. She'd barely even acknowledged his call of departure as his feet crossed through the doorway out onto the porch. 

When he got to the froyo shop, he made his way around back as usual and unlocked the door, stepping in and closing it. Technically the store didn't actually open for customers for another two hours or so, so Taemin had come early to get some game time in. He was actually scheduled for a six hour opening shift today so he wanted to try to get in as much progress as possible before customers started pouring in and the shop got busy. Sometimes Taemin cursed being on duty. The shop was never really crowded when the other employees were on their shifts, but as soon as Taemin stepped onto the floor it was like he was some shining beacon of attraction that drew customers in left, right, and center.

Maybe he should stop using that good strawberry scented shampoo, he thought absentmindedly as he turned the game system on. Taemin logged in, and at first he was confused. His new apartment was fancier than the room he woke up in, and he was sure it was a little bigger, too.

Then he remembered the events of the previous day. How he'd met up with Sandy and finally explained everything to Jonghyun and Kibum. How Sandy had left and Jonghyun had invited Taemin to spend the night with them. How Taemin had gone to bed in Kibum's room...in Kibum's bed...with Kibum...

Taemin flushed hotly when the lump on the bed next to him groaned softly and tried snuggling closer to his body, a long pale arm (where did that muscle definition even come from?) reaching out to wrap snugly around his waist. Taemin took a deep breath and reached out with one hand to poke Kibum's cheek.

"Hey, wake up." He whispered. He wasn't exactly sure how early it was in the game and he couldn't see the clock from where he was stuck, laying. If Kibum removed his arm, however, Taemin would be able to sit up and have a clear shot at the other boy's phone from the bedside table. Kibum, however, didn't seem keen on waking up at all and instead, grunted lowly and squished himself even further into Taemin's side. Taemin giggled lightly before prodding the older boy with his finger again. "Hey, stop that. Wake up, Kibum."

Kibum groggily opened his eyes and shuffled back a bit to create some room between them, leaning himself up on his elbows and yawning lazily, "what time is it, dude?"

"I don't know, check for me." Kibum obediently glanced behind him at his phone before groaning and burying his face back into the sheets.

"10:47" he mumbled, sleepily. Taemin scrunched his nose up.

"AM or PM?" Kibum snorted.

"AM you idiot, didn't you sleep over last night? Morning comes after night, doofus." Taemin grinned down at the sleepy lump before shoving his own index finger in his mouth. He wet it generously then quickly stuck it in Kibum's right ear earning a yelp from the older boy who shot up in bed, shoving Taemin back down, pinning him to the bed.

"Well excuuuse me, I log out of the game when my character is asleep so when I log back in I'm never quite sure how much time has passed in this dimension." Kibum relaxed his grip on Taemin's shoulders allowing the other boy to sit up next to him on the bed.

"Sorry...I forgot," he mumbled sheepishly, "I guess I have a lot to get used to. How did you hide all this from us before?" He asked. Taemin shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea I felt like there were so many times when you would see through me."

"Well yeah, there were tons of loopholes where both Jonghyun and I suspected something but I mean really, Taem, who suspects that the guy they like is a computer player in a different dimension and his body is actually a computer generated character operating in this world and acting as an avatar for him?" Kibum chuckled but Taemin just stared at him with wide eyes. Kibum noticed his silence and looked up at him. "Bro? Taem, what? Cat got your tongue?" He joked.

"You...said 'the guy you like'...you...you like me?" A faint shade of pink kissed Taemin's skin as he stared directly at Kibum, the other boy starting to redden underneath Taemin's gaze.

"What the- yeah, what the hell? We almost kissed last night, Taemin c'mon! Did you seriously not know I liked you?" He blushed. "If I remember correctly you're even the one who said you've liked me 'since day one'." Kibum smirked. Taemin's mouth dropped open and he fidgeted in his seat cursing his over-emotional self when upset.

"Yeah well...you know what! Well, it's the truth anyway." Taemin huffed, defeated. Kibum cooed at him annoyingly reaching out to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair.

"Damn you have chubby cheeks, still just a baby, eh?" He smirked. Taemin felt his face inflame.

"Shut up, hyung, honestly, I'll be seventeen soon." Kibum chuckled.

"You're right, I'm sorry. You're almost legal. Almost." He emphasized the last word causing Taemin to narrow his eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kibum chuckled before leaning in slightly, all signs of his earlier embarrassment gone.

"It means you and I are going to be taking things slow, right? Real slow." Kibum may not have been embarrassed anymore but Taemin surely was; the heat prickling around his neck and ears serving to only prove that truth further. Kibum seemed to notice because he giggled as he kicked the blankets off his legs and rolled off the bed standing up. He tugged some loose sweats on over his boxers and opted to not put a shirt on; his pajama shirt lay discarded on the floor. 'I strip in my sleep', he'd told Taemin once, the first time they roomed together back when Taemin was still just fifteen, 'it's a habit I guess'.

Taemin watched him all the while, marvelling at how Kibum's body had changed. It wasn't just his attitude that had matured but now that Taemin wasn't in such a  distraught state as last night he was able to really notice Kibum's physical changes. Kibum's hands had always been bigger than his, stupid baby hands, but instead of his arms resembling Taemin's lanky structure like they used to, his biceps seemed thicker, more firm. His back too seemed more chiseled and taut; a manly appearance contrasting Taemin's slender form. He was nowhere near as fit as Jonghyun, that's for sure, not with the eldest's bronze colored muscles pulled tightly under skin tight tanktops that stretched across his flesh, but Kibum was still incredibly nice to look at and he hadn't realized he was staring until Kibum turned around placing his hands on his hips and grinning down at Taemin.

"Like what you see, eh?" He taunted. Taemin scoffed though, his embarrassment ceasing. Kibum had always been cocky because he'd always been beautiful and he knew it. Kibum's eyes widened a little and his hands dropped from his waist.

"You think I'm beautiful?" He bit his lip staring down at the younger boy. , did he say that out loud?

"I mean...well, yeah, you're pretty perfect looking you know?" He said, meeting Kibum's eyes. The elder boy's eyes smoldered slightly and Taemin noticed the change immediately. Kibum shifted to kneel one leg on the bed in front of him, arms bracing themselves on the bed leaning in front of Taemin.

"We didn't kiss last night." Kibum whispered, a hair's breadth from Taemin's mouth. Taemin shivered considerably.

"No, not really..." He thought back to when he had curiously made his character press his lips to the corner of Kibum's relaxed mouth in his sleep. He figured he didn't need to let Kibum know that piece of information, however.

"I'd like to kiss you, now." Kibum said, eyes never leaving Taemin's. Taemin dropped his head a little though, glancing to the side.

"You know I- "

"Wouldn't feel it. I know. But I would feel it. And I want to feel it." Kibum's gaze was insistent on Taemin's face and Taemin could feel his heart yearning for the man in front of him. He'd been in love with Kibum since he first knew what love even felt like and he'd been admiring the man since he was fifteen. Of course he wanted to kiss him. He wanted to hug him and hold him and just love him but...

"Kibum...just one." Taemin mumbled. Kibum grinned at him and leaned forward the last few inches, closing the gap between them. There was an empty feeling in Taemin's heart as he watched Kibum kiss his character on a screen in front of him but at least he felt hopeful at the thought that as much as he liked Kibum...he now knew Kibum liked him the same way.

Kibum readjusted himself so he was kneeling on the bed in front of Taemin, never leaving his mouth, and he arms travelled up to loop around Taemin's neck, pulling him closer. His hands tangled in Taemin's black hair, pulling gently at the strands as their mouths moved in harmony. Taemin's character languidly wrapped his arms around Kibum's back, pressing him against his chest as they kissed. Eventually though, Taemin leaned his character back, watching Kibum's chest rise and fall heavily, his mouth parted and pants falling out. Taemin, despite his lack of sensory feeling of the kiss itself, smiled back at him and leaned forward to press a single light kiss against Kibum's cheek, making the other boy smile shyly at him.

Without speaking, the two gathered themselves together and linked hands as they walked out of the room into the kitchen to greet Jonghyun a good morning.

Hey guys, LifeisSHINee here! Regrettably it's taken me a while to update this chapter and I apologize for it being so short, again. At least this chapter wasn't all angst and had some comedic relief with some fluff! Anyways, until next time, take care!