Three comforters were sprawled across the expanse of the basement floor when Minho was done, a pile of blankets and pillows on one end of the makeshift bed, the two teens in the middle with controllers in their hand as they continued to play games, often jabbing at each other's side when they were behind, laughing easily. Jinki sat on the floor as well, his back propped up against the couch, wheelchair folded in the corner, out of sight almost. It let him feel a wave of relief, it was hard to believe that just a week ago Minho was nothing but a screen name that would pop up on his phone sometimes. He was an actual person within arms reach of Jinki. Not only was he an actual person but a nice and attractive person. 

His smile lit up the room and his laugh easily calmed whatever worries Jinki had bubbled up inside him. Minho only saw him as a friend, another person, not someone who was handicapped, someone who needed help all the time. A burden. 

"Hey! Are you even paying attention?" Minho asked with a laugh as Jinki's car crashed into a rail in the game, leaving the older man to hiss a few curses as he hurriedly got his character out and far away from the explosion."You need a new car now if we're gonna finish the mission," Minho added with a click of his tongue, laughing only when Jinki nudged his side happily. 

"Hush, I thought we were going to lay down for bed soon anyway," He mumbled to hide his embarrassment and having crashed with the other male on his mind. Jinki had known he had different interests than most boys his age since middle school. While his classmates had been gawking at the girls who were beginning to develop he was taking note of the boys. Their deepening voices and how they were growing taller. It was high school when he finally realized that he would rather be held by another man than to be the one holding a woman. It had caused him a year of panic before he slowly accepted it, having only told his younger brother Taemin who accepted him without question, proclaiming that there were more girls for him then. 

It made him laugh at the time but now it caused a bittersweet smile to flicker onto his lips as he looked over at Minho, the male mumbling about how Jinki didn't want him to win and shuffled to change it back to normal TV so the men could settle down. Jinki had fallen slightly for the other's personality when they were messaging one another. Minho was nice, sweet, and charismatic with a dash of awkward that just caused Jinki's heart to swell. In person, it was no different except that Minho had his looks fighting for him as well and Jinki was ready to lose the fight. 

But his fear of losing his one friend kept his lips sealed as he shifted his body to carefully lay down, moving his legs with his hands to settle them out as Minho plopped down beside the other and laid on his back, not even glancing at the TV. For a moment it was quiet all but for the quiet sitcom that was playing, a comfortable quiet as Jinki seemed to melt into the pillow, taking solace in the softness of it compared to the floor beneath his back. Though the comforters did help quite a bit, adding cushion for his joints. 

"Do you miss walking?" Minho asked after a long moment of silence, Jinki blinking in surprise as he glanced over, the other looking rather shocked that he had actually asked the question and rather ashamed. 

"Of course I do, but after a while you accept it. My doctors think that someday I'll be able to walk again and it's all in my head but I- I've tried so hard and I can't even wiggle my toe." Jinki huffed as he glared down towards his legs, why had the accident ruined his nerves, why couldn't he had broken an arm and become ambidextrous or something. Why did it have to alter his life in such a way? But- he reminded himself that he should be grateful, the accident could have been fatal but he still had everyone that he loved. 

The other teen seemed confused as he looked over to Jinki, "What do you mean in your head?" He asked, though instead, a sudden thought hit Jinki, something that had fluttered through his mind before but had never stuck. 

He was essentially numb from the waist down, unable to feel or move anything, if he were to finally find a man who would be willing to be with him in such a situation would he be able to enjoy certain activities? His eyes narrowed for a moment as he brushed it off once again, embarrassed to be having such thoughts, especially next to Minho! 

"Ah, like, my brain doesn't think I can get better so I can't," Jinki explained, reaching down to place a hand on his thigh, squeezing it gently. "But why would that happen? I want to get better so badly, I want to use my legs so I can kick your ," he ended teasingly, immediately lightening the mood as Minho laughed and let his head fall back against the pillow he had picked for himself. Tossing a blanket at Jinkis face before rolling over to allow himself to sleep, a smile still on both of their faces. 

Minho jerked awake hours later, unsure what his nightmare had centered around but recalling the fact that there was a certain hint of a video game in there, breathing heavily as he reached up to place a hand over his chest. Calming himself as best he could as his eyes adjusted to the dark, late night shows rumbling in the background as he turned his head to Jinki, feeling the need to check on his guest. 

He seemed peaceful, the blanket pulled up to his chin as he nuzzled in close to the pillow and snored away, lips parted slightly. Jinki really was precious, his smile and laugh matching the sweet messages he had sent over amicus, it was amazing how the other had turned out to be someone close to him. Someone he could actually meet rather than a man that was hundreds of miles away. Jinki was real, physical and in front of him, and no amount of handicaps or sicknesses would keep Minho away from the first person that he felt such a strong connection to. 

It was easy to smile beside Jinki, to laugh and relax, but they had moments where they had spoken about deeper subjects online and Minho wondered if they would do that in person as well. He wanted to do a lot with Jinki, wanted to show him all the things that he would enjoy and be there when the other laughed. It was almost as though Minho had a crush on the other, which was an idea that left him to laugh internally, he had never liked a girl so he doubted he would go as far as to like a man. He had never thought the subject over but honestly didn't find it to be important to his daily life. 

A small sigh slid past his lips as he laid his head back down to relax and fall back asleep, reaching out to touch the other male before pausing midway and shaking his head with a low grunt, shoving his hand under the blankets. Gaze dropping from Jinki's sleeping face, pausing when he saw the others leg twitch, the blankets shifting suddenly. It was weird, concerning almost. 

Jinki said he couldn't move, it must have been his imagination, he was still half asleep. 

So Minho let the moment pass and rolled over to fall back into what would hopefully be a pleasant dream this time. 

Finals are over and I'm back home for the summer!
No classwork means more updates :P