Taemin stood awkwardly with his hands in his pocket, his eyes staring off into the distance. For a brief second, Kibum’s brain seemed to have stopped functioning and he seemed to have forgotten how to move. The very next second, though, he felt himself being pulled up by strong arms to stand. When he caught Minho’s expression, which was just as awkward as he avoided meeting eyes with the younger, his brain seemed to start up again.

“Uh… I just came to… You know what? I can come back later…” Taemin said, making a move to walk back in the direction of the house.

“Taemin, wait! It’s okay. You can….” Kibum hesitated.

He can what? What was Taemin here for?

Taemin looked apprehensive but eventually he seemed to force his eyes back to where the other two were standing. He met Kibum’s eyes for the first time since last night and Kibum was left feeling guilty. Why was he feeling guilty?

Perhaps for shocking his innocent, young friend with something as unusual as being in love with a member of the same gender.

“Look, hyung. I don’t want to beat around the bush…” Taemin said, all serious.

Well, that was new. Kibum suppressed his urge to say something about it, though, waiting to hear what the younger boy had to say.

“Are you two really…-“ Taemin gulped visibly, “-Was Jonghyun hyung telling me the truth when he explained to me last night?”

“Well, that depends on what he told you, Taemin-ah…” Kibum started to explain.

“He said that you two are in love. Then he went on to say that that’s bull. Nevertheless, are you two really like that?” Taemin asked in a rush. His expression showed his curiosity more than anything else. Also, much to Kibum’s relief, he noticed that Taemin was not looking at him in that disgusted manner that Kibum had gotten so used to by now.

When did little Taemin grow up to handle such serious conversations maturely? Kibum felt like years have passed since he last saw Taemin when he sees all he has grown into. Then again, Taemin had the tendency to be the person full of surprises. It was like being in certain situations brought out a new side of him that he would never have to show otherwise.

Kibum nodded, not knowing how else to answer. Minho stood behind him, allowing the other two their privacy as he took to continuing on his chore.

“No, stay Minho hyung,” Taemin said and it was obvious that Jonghyun’s brainwashing hadn’t worked one bit on him, considering his soft and friendly tone. Thank god Taemin was not as thick as his hyung.

“Taemin-ah, I know this is all a bit too much for you to be taking in in such a short while but you have to know that this is not some type of rebel or conspiracy that Jonghyun hyung seems to think it is. I… I don’t know how to explain it for you to understand but I still hope that you do because you are one of my closest friends and what you think matters to me even if-“

“Do you really love Kibum hyung?” Kibum’s incessant ranting stopped at the direct question Taemin addressed to Minho. Minho, who seemed out of place standing between the two friends, was taken by surprise.

“Yes, I do…” he answered automatically. Kibum waited for Taemin’s response.

“Why?” Taemin asked, truly curious. At any other time, Kibum would have definitely taken offence at the question. But Kibum understood that Taemin didn’t mean it that way. He could tell that Taemin was simply trying his best to wrap his head around this whole thing.

“I just do. There is just something about him that… I don’t know… I just know that I care for him too much to not be with him…” was Minho’s cheesy-in-a-manly way reply.

Kibum will never get tired of hearing that. Never.

Taemin nodded, trying to look like he understood when Kibum knew that he was still confused. It didn’t matter, though, because Kibum saw a little smile tugging at the younger boy’s lips when his eyes came back up to meet Kibum’s.

“Are you sure it’s not because Kibum hyung’s all feminine and girly?” Taemin asked, his words full of mirth. This made even the tensed Minho behind him smile. Kibum felt a huge wave of liberation wash over him. He hadn’t lost his friend. Here he was, smiling at Kibum even after hearing him spout ‘nonsense’, as Jonghyun dubbed it.

“You’re not… I mean, are we… God… Are we good?” Kibum asked, uncertainly.

“I’ll admit that I still do not understand about this thing between you two, hyung. But I can see that he makes you happy and really, that’s what matters, right? It’s as simple as that…” Taemin said, surprising Kibum with his maturity once again. Kibum didn’t even realize that he had run over to Taemin until he had the younger boy squirming in his tight hug.

“Hyung, dying… in here…” Taemin gasped. Kibum immediately loosened his grip but his smile didn’t dim one bit. Taemin returned the smile with just as much brightness.

“And Minho hyung…-“ Taemin called to Minho over Kibum’s shoulder, “-I think you’ve got something on your face…”

Kibum was a blushing mess as he struggled for words to explain himself but he decided against it in the end, knowing that he couldn’t do much when Taemin had probably seen everything. He laughed it off as he watched Minho searching his face for what Taemin meant. For once, things seemed to be less complicated. Less chaotic. Just like Taemin said.

It’s as simple as that.

Kibum followed closely behind Minho as the taller man led them through the crowd so that they could get to the front. He could feel Taemin’s finger’s clutching the back of his shirt tightly, probably causing the material to wrinkle. A few moments later, Minho broke out of the bustling crowd and Kibum was finally able to breathe.

The three of them had been hanging around the garden the whole time when Jonghyun had appeared out of nowhere, declaring that his father had returned from wherever It was that he went off to last night and that he called for an urgent gathering at the same place as last night. This was the reason that three of them (minus Jonghyun, who had disappeared once again) were standing right in front of the raised area where Jonghyun’s father along with some other elders that Kibum couldn’t even recognize were standing.

Looking around the crowd for familiar faces, Kibum realized that they were standing right beside where the other military men in disguise were standing. They were all wearing looks that clearly said that Kibum doesn’t even deserve to be breathing the same air as them. Minho noticed their glances too and quickly switched their positions so that Minho was closer to the military men and shielding Kibum from them. Kibum couldn’t see them as well anymore but he could hear the taunting voices crystal clear.

“Awww… Minho’s all protective over his …”

“How gentlemanly of him…”

“Please just die…” someone requested politely from very close to Minho and Kibum instantly felt Minho’s fist clench even though he was keeping his eyes straight forward.

Kibum reached out to Minho’s hand and forced his fist to relax, interlacing their fingers. Minho took to clenching around Kibum’s hand every time he heard a snide comment, letting all his malevolent energy be by Kibum. Those idiots were not even worth Minho’s energy in breaking their limbs. They would eventually find a way to do that to themselves anyway, seeing how haughty they were being.

Jonghyun’s father started off then by introducing the two men who were standing on each of his sides. They were the village heads of the two neighboring villages, Suwon and Osan. They briefly introduced themselves while Kibum began to wonder what business Jonghyun’s father had with them to have them here.

However, Kibum was not expecting at all to hear what he was about to.

“We’re joining forces against the Japanese army,” Jonghyun’s father said simply and this only earned him wide-eyed looks and exchange of whispers.

“This is what you all wanted. This is what we should be doing. It took a stupid act of an immature teenager to show us this-“ a pointed look in Kibum’s direction but one that was not laced with accusations, surprisingly, “-But it was a wake up call for us. For me.”

Kibum was growing anxious. What did this all mean?

“So we will fight. We will fight to keep our homes, our land and our families. And for us to be able to do that, we are going to have to work hand in hand. Suwon and Osan have pledged their allegiance for this battle. Young men and women alike will contribute to the safeguarding of our villages. The old and the children will be protected. Just like the young man told me the other day; we shall fight until our very last breathes,” Jonghyun’s father finished, seemingly trying to make eye contact with every one present.  The pride in his eyes were undiminished by fear and it was infectious. It sparked that fire in the villagers’ spirits to protect themselves.

Finally, they were taking charge of their own fates and Kibum couldn’t help the swelling he felt in his chest from the feeling of being a part of something bigger than himself. He knew everyone else was feeling the same, all of them connected by this fiery bond that formed when human’s natural instincts are provoked. To fight for survival. And although Kibum has always believed that there were always less aggressive ways to stand up for themselves, right now, nothing felt more right than fighting fire with fire.

“He’s crazy! The General’s not going to like this at all,” one of the army men beside Minho muttered. Kibum couldn’t pay any attention to what the rest were going to say in reply as Jonghyun’s father began laying out the strategy that they had come up with.

It was complicated. It involved a lot of synchronizing between the three villages. First, watchtowers were going to have to be built to keep an eye out for enemies. The positions of the three villages would just allow them to be able to keep an eye in each direction so that they can catch their enemies by surprise. They wouldn’t know that three villages have joined forces, much less that they were keeping a look out for them. This would be advantageous on their part.

Then, came the most important part. Weapons. Suwon had a renowned martial art master who was also excellent in sparring with swords. Young men were going to be required to be taking lessons and practice every single day to perfect their skills. Most of them had already learnt the basics of sword fighting in their childhood anyway (while Kibum never touched a sword in his life before) so this should enable them to learn faster. Osan had a handful of skillful of archers who could kill from far. It was the perfect combination for an excellent war strategy.

All in all, they seemed to be equipped enough to take on the Japanese army (the keyword being ‘seemed’.) It was not necessary for it to be voiced out for everyone to realize that their traditional weapons and skills will be rendered useless against rifles. Kibum understood that Jonghyun’s father was counting on the British army to provide them with the advantage of gunfire. But this was still a long shot even with all of that. It all boiled down to brains overcoming brawns now. It was going to be difficult but they would have to try anyway, right?

“We’re going to have to tell the villagers that we have the British army with us, ahjusshi,” Kibum said later on when he was trailing behind Jonghyun’s father who was walking towards his study.

“I was planning on doing just that, but after consulting the General first. I think I have already ticked him off by stepping over some boundaries by now,” Jonghyun’s father told him as they entered the room. Surprisingly, he was no longer bitter with Kibum and it made Kibum happy that he was being treated like a mature adult for once (although the older man had called Kibum immature only earlier this evening.) The fact that Kibum was even having this conversation with the man was proof enough that something has changed.

“Why are they keeping their presence a secret anyway? There’s no reason to, now that all the villagers are into fighting against the Japanese army…” Kibum thought out loud.

“The plan was to keep this whole thing under wraps until the very last moment so that we could have the element of surprise over the Japanese army when they came to take over our village. The more people that knew of this, the easier it would be for news to leak to the Japanese. But considering the situation now, we can’t risk surprising our own people at the last moment with the British army on our side. It would jeopardize everything,” Jonghyun’s father explained.

Kibum looked at the older man as he searched for something among the documents on his working desk.

“Ahjusshi, even with all the help we are getting now, we can-“ Kibum began with a small voice.

“We can still be overpowered easily, I understand,” Jonghyun’s father interrupted Kibum. He stopped his actions to look at Kibum. His eyes showed wisdom and calm assertiveness. He was one to foresee and calculate all the repercussions of his actions before making a decision (unlike Kibum) so it should have occurred to Kibum that the man would have already thought of it.

“Kibum, do you know how the Japanese army came into such great power in the first place?” he asked. Kibum shook his head, taken aback slightly by the sudden change of topic.

“They won against the Russian army in a war in which they were outnumbered by a vast difference. Think about it. Japan, such a small nation with the weapons to barely even meet the technology that a powerful force such as Russia has already mastered. What brought them victory?” Jonghyun’s father asked Kibum again and Kibum felt really stupid for shaking his head once again.

“Perseverance, Kibum-ah. Something that you yourself have plenty of. I am not even speaking based on some philosophy I read in a book when I say willpower overcomes even the most impossible feats. I am speaking with cold, hard evidence in front of our eyes. We may despise the Japanese army but it does no harm to learn from them as much as we could, right?”

Kibum blinked from overload of information. He certainly didn’t know of these extensive details of how Japan rose to power. But now that he knew, he had to admit that it was truly eye-opening and it certainly gave Kibum more hope that they would make it out of this impending bloodbath victorious.

“What are you standing there for? Run along. Do whatever it is that you teenagers do. Come morning you will have stepped into the shoes of a responsible adult with the weight of his nation’s pride on his shoulders. Don’t waste any more of your precious time,” Jonghyun’s father said, smiling. Kibum found himself smiling back at him despite the gloomy mood in the room from the awareness of the disaster to come in the near future.

“We’ll still have to think of some strategy to have the upperhand, don’t we?” Kibum asked, walking backwards to the door. Jonghyun’s father laughed a little at this.

“Yes, we might. But I have a feeling that you young people would take care of that for me. After all, it took a stupid act of an immature teenager to knock some sense into me,” Jonghyun’s father said. Kibum grinned back at him, knowing that there is no malice in his words.

The next morning, Kibum woke up to an empty bed. He panicked for a bit, calling out Minho’s name and looking for him in the bathroom and even Jonghyun’s room (much to his hyung’s annoyance.) Then, he calmed himself down by remembering that Minho liked to jog early in the morning.  Kibum would see him when he goes downstairs anyway.

And see Minho, he did. Along with his uncle, the General, and Jonghyun’s father in the study room. Kibum was attracted to where he was standing now by some yelling from inside and he couldn’t resist the prospect of eavesdropping on their conversation (although it can’t be called eavesdropping when the person inside was basically projecting his voice loud enough for the entire village to be listening.) Kibum had a small view of the scene inside through the crack of the door.

“What made you think that I would approve of this?!! This is simply absurd!” the General shouted at Jonghyun’s father, who was a picture of serenity as he watched from his pace at his desk. The General’s back was turned to Kibum so he couldn’t see the man’s expression. Minho was standing beside Jonghyun’s father behind the desk.

“Absurd? I believe this is only the more helpful for us. We have a greater chance of winning now that Suwon and Osan are willing to help. The British army there can help as well, right?” Jonghyun’s father said. Kibum admired the way the man kept his calm and put his personal distaste for the General aside as they spoke.

“Helpful?! Your idiotic villagers are only going to be standing in the army’s way when the battle begins! Then they can all die together! Is that what you’re hoping for?”

The General was seriously crossing certain lines now with Jonghyun’s father. No one talked about the people under his care like that and got away with it.

“On the contrary, I believe my idiotic villagers stand a better chance at fending off Japanese army then your men. You do not know the lengths people would go to to protect their loved ones, do you?” Jonghyun’s father said, looking pointedly up at Minho before returning his gaze to the General.

His words were cold. Calm in the manner he said it, but the meaning was definitely cold. Everyone in the room understood the implications of those words. It seemed to have the most impact on Minho, though, as he tore his gaze away from what Kibum assumed was an icy glare from his uncle to stare hollowly out the window.

The hollowness in his lover’s eyes was painful to watch. Oh how badly Kibum wanted to go in there and hurt that General physically?

“You have nothing to lose, General. If we win, then you can take all the fame and fortune that comes along with it. And if we lose… Well, then we wouldn’t be alive to see it anyway and you could always blame it on the idiotic plan of the village head, who refused to comply to your orders,” Jonghyun’s father said, adding fuel to the already raging fire. It didn’t help that his tone was rather scornful although it was glazed over with sweet words to convince the white man.

“Fine!” the General exclaimed, obviously holding himself back from lashing out someone just to vent his frustrations.

“But just know that my men will only take orders from me! You are all still under the governance of her Majesty and this battle is in the name of the Great Britain,” the General stated as if he was reading off of an official instruction from the Royal Queen herself. Kibum realized that it was an attempt of him showing who was the real leader here.

Jonghyun’s father simply nodded, the action only doing that much more to belittle the General. Kibum was wondering what the General would be thinking of doing to Jonghyun’s father for his actions. It was obvious that the sole reason he was here helping them fend off the Japanese army is to obey the orders of his superiors and to obtain the glory of reclaiming what was once under the British power. If it wasn’t for that, Kibum was sure that he would be running around with a vendetta against Jonghyun’s father.

This was the man that had ordered for Kibum’s cow to be skinned before, after all, Kibum thought. How long would it take for him to give the same orders, only now for the people he despised?

Kibum shuddered at the thought.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Kibum found that he had missed some parts of the conversation. But his interest was picked once again when he heard Minho’s name among the strings of sentences.

“-has a job here. He can also serve as the communicator between us, something that I think is quite vital to us at this point,” Jonghyun’s father was saying.

Kibum didn’t quite catch the reply. But before he could comprehend what was happening, the door swung open and the General was stepping out. Kibum had jumped to the side when he came out. The General glanced to his side and found Kibum standing there.

Kibum was met with the coldest of stares and yet, it was heated enough to be deemed hell’s fire. Kibum kept a straight face and before he could react with words or anything, Minho was in front of him, shielding him from his uncle.

They seemed to have the longest conversation ever in a foreign language Kibum could easily identify as English now. Kibum could tell without understanding a word, that it was not a very friendly conversation. More on the threatening side, perhaps. With Minho being on the weaker side, the defensive position.

When the General finally left, it was not without a final glare at Kibum and some harsh sounding words in that foreign language towards Minho. As soon as he was out of sight, Kibum noticed how Minho’s posture instantly switched to one of an exhausted man’s- more emotionally than physically- slouched and all his energy drained.

It made Kibum realize for the millionth time how Minho was just a teenager like him because it was so easy to forget with the way he carried himself so much like an adult. Minho had to cope with all kinds of nonsense being thrown at him by the world and yet, he would never let another person shoulder his burdens with him.

It’s proven by the fact that although Minho has been taking care of Kibum all this while, Kibum has done nothing in return to do the same. He has never been given the chance to. The closest Kibum came to sharing his pain was that one time they had been beaten up by that military man and even then, Minho had simply pushed Kibum away to keep him safe.

Kibum would not let that be anymore. Minho was going to have to let Kibum take his sorrows away now. He never had a soul to take care of him since his parents and Kibum was going to change that.

Why?

Kibum brought his arms around Minho’s sides from behind him and placed it on his chest while resting his head against his back. Minho slowly relaxed into the back hug, bringing up his hands to take Kibum’s in his own. Kibum leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to the back of Minho’s neck.

“Come on. We’ve got work to do in town,” Kibum said to him, coaxing the other into following him out of the house. Minho only followed wordlessly, his thoughts obviously far away.

Because Minho deserved it.

They labored the entire day to build the watchtowers as planned. Kibum insisted on doing as much as he could to help the others. (Although that included certain things that he couldn’t do. Like sawing, for instance. Who knew sawing involved more technique than just plain force anyway?) Minho laughed at Kibum when he dropped the sawed bit on his foot and Kibum answered with the threatening shake of the saw in Minho’s direction. Minho instantly made himself busy with discussing something or another with a villager, like he wasn’t just laughing at Kibum.

They were playful. Minho was being juvenile and Kibum even more so. But underneath it all, Kibum could see the unspoken words about what happened this morning hanging around them. The hollow look in Minho’s eyes that morning seemed to have been etched into Kibum’s mind forever. It only made him that much more determined to do something about it.

Kibum couldn’t help thinking of how blessed he was despite everything that has happened in his life to have such loving people in his life. His parents may have left him at a very tender age, but they left him in the hands of so many loving people. His grandmother, Jonghyun and his family, Taemin… He had always been surrounded by people who cared so genuinely for him.

That is a gift not many were blessed with in life. Kibum could think of one such person.

The man he loved had no one else to love (the General definitely did not count.) Kibum thought of how this once guarded man had broken down the walls he had built around him bit by bit, to allow Kibum in. He had allowed Kibum to steal the overflowing love he kept trapped in his heart since he had no one to give it to. All his life Minho had learned to bottle up his love in his chest and when Kibum came along, he had simply given it all to him.

Kibum could almost see the void where all his love used to be in his chest if he squinted hard enough. And suddenly, that was all he could see as they laid on the bed facing each other that night, close enough to touch but not quite doing so. Kibum had an arm tucked under his head as he studied Minho closely.

“What are you thinking about, Kibum?” Minho questioned. Kibum shushed him with a finger on his mouth, inching closer to his body. He moved the hand to let his fingers trail the side of Minho’s face, barely grazing the smooth skin with his finger tips. Minho’s eyes closed on their own accord.

Kibum glanced down and saw the large gaping hole where Minho had stored his never-ending amount of love before. His fingers trailed down Minho’s neck and over his clothed chest, splaying his palm over where his heart was beating steadily.

For a long while, Kibum just kept his hand like that, feeling the heartbeat against his palm. The vibrations of it melted into Kibum’s pulse eventually and it felt like both their hearts were beating to the same rhythm. As it should.

“What is it, love?” Minho asked again, his eyes open now and looking at Kibum’s actions.

“I’m going to fill it up…”Kibum whispered to him and although he knew Minho didn’t understand him, he remained silent, waiting for Kibum to continue.

“I’m going to give you all the love you deserve and more. You’re going to be surrounded by people you love and every time you give a little love away, I will be there to fill it up for you again…”

“Kibum…” Minho began, but Kibum interrupted him with his own lips. It was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared, going nowhere with just the simple brushes of soft lips against each other. Yet, it spoke so much for them in a way words could never. Words were never important in their relationship anyway. Not when they could communicate in a million other ways.

“You’ll never be alone again, Minho-yah…”

The sad smile that lit Minho’s face was worth everything on the surface of this planet and beyond. Kibum knew that Minho must understand what he was saying now.

That smile didn’t dim as Jonghyun came barging into the room suddenly. Not when the oldest squeezed his way between the two of them to become the wall separating them. That smile definitely didn’t dim as they fell asleep somewhat awkwardly with Kibum’s head on Jonghyun’s chest, just so that he could see Minho as their fingers tangled together because not even Jonghyun was strong enough to pry it off.

(A/N) I'M BACK, BACK, BACK, BACK!!!!!! Yay? (Hehehehe....) EXAMS ARE OVER (at least until next sem but that's next year so back to the capital letters) YAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! This is your gift my dear readers, 5K of drama, fluff, romance(??) all rolled up into one big ball of pure..... gibberish... OTL Why do I feel like this chapter is the most incohesive one of all? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I feel like there's no flow in this chapter... (It's probably me, 'cause I wrote this in chunks so it may not be as fluid as I wanted it to be.... SORRY!!!!)

Disclaimer: I am NOT responsible for people that may have gone into cardiac arrest from overdose of cheesiness... ( I can't help it guys... Sorry!!!)

Anyways, I just wanted to share this cute little fan account from Shinee's Dazzling Girl showcase in Japan on the 8th of Nov (This time I checked for the correct sources, guys!) There were like a dozen Minkey moments in there (okay not dozens but you get the idea...) Minho, it seems was twirling Key's hair and then, he tucked it behind his ear, after which Key was seen smiling shyly... Then, these dorks were seen holding hands and dancing a weird dance facing each other. Later, after their Sherlock performance, Minho and Key faced and smiled at each other. Minho put his arms around Key's shoulder. 

Now I ask you a question- IS MINKEY REAL OR NOT? Lemme answer that for you- YES! (Hehehehe....)

Anyways, I digress! I think my excitement for my holidays shows from this long (and odd) A/N... I will be updating more often, hopefully and I'm planning on starting a new Onho fic like I already mentioned before. I'm going to try writing supernatural so that should be.... interesting, I guess. I receive so much of love through comments that I really, really appreciate guys! @anata_wa_shinda, @jess_mmam, @shinestarsky ---> YOU GUYS ARE VERY AWESOME PEOPLE, I WILL TELL YOU THAT MUCH!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND??!! All comments give me so much inspiration to keep going and whenever I feel like I have lost the muse for this story, I only need to read ALL these wonderful comments to pick myself up and write again. 

THANK YOU FOR READING AND SUBSCRIBING AND COMMENTING AND JUST FOR BEING SUCH SUPPORTIVE READERS!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY AHEAD GUYS!!! <3

P.S. To all those who were affected by the recent Sandy hurricanes, I cannot even begin to imagine the hardships you guys are facing now. If any of my readers are going through this right now, all I can say is be strong guys! My heart goes out to you and I will pray for you guys!!