Taemin was letting the warm water run down his body, taking deep breaths and focusing on each of his muscles to try and relax them. He had woken up extremely stressed that morning for a reason he couldn’t understand. He had tried to ignore it until he had realized his hands were shaking and all of a sudden, he was crying on the kitchen floor.

Now that he had calmed down under the showerhead, he felt dumb. 

It didn’t happen to him often anymore. But when it did, he felt the shame. He didn’t want anyone to know how hard it could get some days.

He heard the faint sound of the doorbell and his heart jumped in his chest. That was the one thing he hated the most about living alone—nobody could get the door for him. He ignored it—he wasn’t waiting for any delivery or anyone—and closed his eyes again.

Only a minute later, his phone started to buzz on the sink. The vibrations made it move ever so slightly and it came dangerously close to the edge, but the buzzing stopped right before it was about to fall.

Taemin exhaled. Surely the doorbell and his phone ringing at the same time was a coincidence. Until his phone rang again, and he couldn’t possibly stay in the dark. His curiosity got the better of him and he jumped out of the shower, dried his hands quickly, and grabbed his phone just as it was falling down.

“Yes?” he asked as he picked up the call, not taking the time to check the caller ID.

“Hey, Taemin! It’s Minho. I have good news!” Minho said enthusiastically. “Open the door.”

“I’m, um, in the middle of something here,” Taemin said quickly, his heart racing. He was completely conscious of the fact he was talking with Minho while being completely . “Can it wait?”

“Not really?” Minho said playfully. “It’s going to cheer you up, I promise!”

“Um, okay—” Taemin answered in a breath. “Give me a few minutes, I need to wash off the shampoo in my hair—”

“Oh, you’re in the shower—”

“Don’t tell me that it can wait now!” Taemin blurted back with a chuckle. “Wait for me.”

“I’m not moving.”

Taemin ended the call and got back under the shower. He cleaned himself quicker than ever and grabbed a towel to dry himself. He put some sweatpants and a t-shirt on and ran the towel through his hair one last time before he got out of the bathroom.

He jogged towards the front door of the apartment and opened it wide—his breath was cut short as he realized was he was seeing.

Minho was holding Luna in his arms while she was purring against his chest, her paws kneading the muscles—and probably ruining Minho’s shirt. He would have made a snarky comment if it wasn’t for the overflowing joy that flew through his body at this moment. Minho had found his cat!

“Luna!” Taemin shouted as he reached forward to grab her. Minho complied and handed her to him with a laugh. Taemin petted her head with one hand while he supported her back legs with the other one. “Where did you find her?”

“Inside the garbage room.”

“But I checked it!” Taemin blurted back in disbelief. “Did you hide from me, huh,” he added towards Luna as he rubbed his nose against her face. “You’re such a pain in the , I love you,” he continued and kissed her head several times.

He realized Minho was staring at him with a gentle look on his face, and he suddenly felt the urge to be close to him. He wanted to sit on the couch with him while he could finally relax—Luna was okay.

“Are you free right now?”

“I am completely and fully free,” Minho said as his cheeks became pinker. 

Taemin laughed and went back inside his apartment, leaving the door open for Minho to follow. He let Luna down—she was getting overwhelmed by being held—and went into the kitchen to grab a treat for her. As soon as she realized what Taemin was doing, she started following him around and meowed loudly. Minho chuckled.

Taemin went into the living room and sat on the couch and Minho did the same, sitting so close to him that their thighs were touching. Taemin glanced at him, feeling his heart thumping in his chest. This dynamic between them was still very new to him, and while he craved it, he didn’t know what to do.

Minho put his arm behind his back and laid a hand on his waist, and suddenly Taemin felt more comfortable. He liked that Minho’s actions were clearly intentional, and not an accident that he was afraid to misinterpret.

He sat more comfortably with Minho close to him as he opened the treat bag and Luna jumped on his lap, already trying to get her food.

“Luna, wait,” Taemin said firmly and put his hand in front of her face. She stopped moving for a while, then tried to get her treat again. “Okay...”

Taemin removed his hand and let her the paste—she didn’t waste a second, of course. Once she was done eating, she started purring while she made herself comfortable on Taemin’s lap and Taemin took this opportunity to run a hand through her fur and detangle some knots.

He was almost falling asleep against Minho when Luna started moving frantically. He looked down, curious, and chuckled when he realized Minho had started playing with her—trying to touch her front paws while she was moving away.

Luna suddenly jumped out of Taemin’s lap and hid behind the couch. Minho got up right after her—Taemin lost his balance for a second—and followed her behind the couch, surprising her. 

Taemin looked at them playing together for some time, Minho running after her then stopping right before he’d get to her for real, until Luna also attacked him before running away.

The faint smile on his face disappeared as Luna ran into the craft room, Minho right after her. He quickly got up and followed them, his heart beating way too fast and his palms sweaty.

Minho had been into his apartment, had seen Kibum’s art, but he had no knowledge of that room. What if he thought Taemin was too weird for him in the end?

“Are you doing all of that?” Minho asked as he got back up—he had been chasing Luna under his desk.

He gestured towards the easel near the window and the half-painted canvas. There was still the palette with dried mixed paint lying on the stool next to it, and suddenly Taemin felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“No… it was Kibum,” he mumbled, looking at the wall.

“And it stayed like this for…?”

“Five years.”

Minho stared at him, concern written all over his face for a second, and Taemin felt like crying. There they were. Whatever Minho had been telling him—that he was okay with Taemin’s past, that it didn’t matter, that he accepted it—now the truth was getting out. Minho pitied him.

Taemin wanted to leave. Standing in the same room as Minho felt like torture and he couldn’t bear it. But he was already at his place, and it would be rude to tell Minho to go like this. Besides, he was glued to the floor and it wasn’t an option to move to the side to