There was a time when Key imagined what it would be like if he brought Minho home to meet his parents. And when he did, different scenarios had popped up in his mind. Take for example, how he pictured his parents making things difficult for Minho, bombarding him with questions that had politically correct answers they expected Minho to give but didn’t get and they ended up having the most disastrous meeting ever. Or scenario number two, where Key imagined that the atmosphere was perpetually awkward the entire time because Minho was after all a guy and his parents made it strikingly obvious they were still uncomfortable with the fact that their son was gay. Key could just visualise the stiff and fake welcoming smiles on his parents’ faces while they asked the necessary questions just to keep a conversation going. Of course, this scenario didn’t seem as bad as the first but the result was still disastrous. Key also tried to look at the bright side of life and this is when he imagined his mother, at least, trying her best to get to know Minho and understand their relationship. Whether or not his parents gave their blessings in the end, it didn’t matter because at the bare minimum, they would have made the effort to get to know Minho, the guy who he had been with for four years and counting, the constant in his life. And that was all Key could ask for.

Out of all the scenarios he had thought of, Key thanked his lucky stars that the last and most positive scenario eventually happened at the dinner he had with his mum and Minho. Still, nothing would have prepared him for the questions that his mother had asked when she came back with fruits. He should have been happy that dinner went well, and indeed he was, but Key couldn’t enjoy that moment of happiness when he was now troubled by the thoughts on his mind… thoughts that he knew he had to figure out now that the questions were brought up. And it wasn’t only about Key figuring things out because if that was the case, Key wouldn’t be troubled at all. It was the reality that he had to discuss these questions with Minho which was worrying Key…

Upon hearing the sound of a door opening, Key’s eyes followed the man in question who was now stepping out of their bathroom clad only in a towel that hung low on his hips, and walking towards their wardrobe to grab his sleepwear which normally only consisted of a pair of boxers. Minho could clearly feel his boyfriend’s intense gaze on him and he had half the mind to drop his towel just for the sake of teasing him but after almost four years together, Minho had mastered the art of understanding Kim Kibum. Now was definitely not the time to be funny.

“Should I put on a shirt?” Minho asked, just to confirm that his intuition was right.

“What?” Key tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at Minho.

“Don’t you have something you want to talk to me about?” Minho decided to save time and just get straight to the point.

“Yes… but-“

“Alright then.” Minho nodded and pulled out a plain black wifebeater along with a pair of boxers.

Before Key knew it, Minho was dressed and sitting across him on the bed, all prepared to listen to what he had to say. Truth is, since he was an expert when it came to Kim Kibum, Minho already had an inkling to what his boyfriend wanted to discuss with him…

“Kibum?”

“Yeah…” Key swallowed nervously. “I want to talk to you about what my mum asked us earlier.”

“Our future?”

Future. That was it. That was exactly what had been occupying Key’s mind. Thinking about the future was something Key knew was inevitable but rather not confront until it was absolutely necessary. And now that his mother had brought the topic up, Key knew there was no way he could avoid the topic anymore. How it rolled off Minho’s tongue so easily like the future was nothing to be afraid of was something Key wished he could do. Because to him, no matter how confident he was about where he stood with Minho, their future was still uncertain. It was unpredictable and anything could happen even if promises were made now.

“About that… Minho, what exactly are your plans for the future?” Key was curious because they never did discuss this before.

“Didn’t you tell your mum just now that we should focus on the present?” Minho retorted with an amused look on his face.

“I only said that because I didn’t have an answer for her.”

Minho stilled, no longer looking amused, instead becoming too serious for Key’s liking. “So you’re telling me, that after four years together Kibum, you don’t know where we’re heading?”  

“Do you know where we’re heading?” Key threw the question back to Minho.

To answer Key, Minho placed his hands firmly on Key’s shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. “Yes.”

“What did you have in mind?” Key chewed on his bottom lip, nervous and anticipating what Minho had to say.

“For one, I still see us together and well, I know how much you always wanted a kid like yourself… you wanted a little Kibum right?” When Key nodded, Minho continued. “Yeah, so I thought it’ll be nice if we build a family together when we’re both ready and earning stable incomes.”

“Minho… I can never have a kid like myself unless I get a woman pregnant… but we both know the probability of that is almost close to zero.” Key laughed bitterly.

“We can always-“

“No, over my dead body will I let you get a woman pregnant because I do not trust you and any females, let alone surrogate mums, together.”

“Adopt, Kibum, I’m thinking about adoption.” Minho finished his sentence and let out a low chuckle.

“Oh.” Key gave it a quick thought and ended up shaking his head. “The process is too long, too tedious…”

“Why do I feel like you’re shooting down whatever I say?” Minho questioned.

Key’s silence only had Minho questioning more.

“Baby, why are you so pessimistic about the future?”

“I just… don’t want to get our hopes so high…”

“Let me ask you something…” Minho waited for Key to give the green light, which he did with a nod, before continuing. “Do you believe that we’ll still be together after we graduate, say 5 years down the road?”

Key hesitated and that was more than enough for Minho to quickly step in and share his inner thoughts.

“You know, Kibum, I never told you this because you always don’t seem to believe me when I say what you term as cheesy stuff to you but if I’m going to be honest with you like how I am going to be now, I want to grow old with you.”

Key’s lips parted but no sound came out. He also couldn’t seem to look away from Minho, trapped in his boyfriend’s bambi eyes as Minho continued to pour his heart out to him. 

“4 years, baby, we’ve been together and if that doesn’t say enough about how much I love you, I’ll use the coming years to prove to you that you’ll be the only one I want to come home to… the only one whose hands I’ll hold, whose lips I’ll kiss, whose body I’ll touch and it’ll all feel like home.”

Key wouldn’t admit that Minho’s words had touched his heart but the water in his eyes gave him away. He didn’t let the tears fall. His eyes crinkled in a smile instead as he reached out to hold Minho’s face, squeezing it as he did.

“You’re really stupid, you know that?” Key leaned forward to press a kiss on Minho’s pouted lips. “I know you think I hesitated because I was unsure of our future together but I’m not, silly. Minho, just so you know, I hate that I love you so much more than how much I think is rational to love somebody. I was just unsure of how you felt but you obviously made that crystal clear now…”

Key laughed as a dark blush crept up Minho’s cheeks while his hands moved to lock themselves behind Minho’s neck. “But I’m glad we’re clear about this now… and I’ll forgive you for being so cheesy this time round.”

“I’m not being cheesy, I’m-“

“I wanna grow old with you too.”

“Oh.”

Minho smiled. Key did too. And for a moment in time, both of them enjoyed the circle of bliss that surrounded them… until Minho destroyed it.

“Wow, that seriously is very cheesy.”

Key rolled his eyes. “Good that you know.”

Minho chuckled as he wrapped his hands around Key’s waist, pulling his boyfriend down to lie on top of him while he lay down in bed.

“Can I interest you in taking my clothes off now that we’re done with the serious talking?”

“Minho, you’ve already bathed.”                                 

“But you haven’t.”

“So?”

“I can shower with you. Again.”

“And let out water bill shoot up again like how it did when we first moved in together?” Knowing exactly what would happen if they showered together, Key frowned and shook his head. “No thank you.”

Minho sighed, pushing Key off him just a little, enough for him to have the space to take his wifebeater off himself and throw it somewhere on the floor.

“How about now?” Minho smirked as he pulled Key’s hands to his abs. He knew Key loved feeling his toned stomach and tracing the defined muscles.

Key resisted the urge to move his hands as he stared into Minho’s eyes. “There’s something I don’t understand…”

“Hmm?”

“You always never ask… why ask tonight?”

“Communication is key.”

“What bull.”

“So you rather me just take without asking?”

“That’s not my point.”

“What is your point exactly?”

“I think we should just shut up and kiss.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to do right from the beginning.”

“No Minho, you wanted more.”

“And you think we can stop at kissing?”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Why are you always arguing with me?”

“I like it when you’re all irritated.”

“Does that turn you on?”

Key closed his eyes in resignation and decided that they would be better off kissing. And so, he finally allowed his hands to trace the abs he had a weakness for while working his lips against that of Minho’s.

It had been a long night, what with his mother visiting and all, and he really didn’t need to hear any more of the idiotic things that could come out of Minho’s mouth. Besides, he had a lifetime for that, didn’t he?

Key couldn’t help but groan when that thought came into his head.

All of a sudden, Minho pulled away, looking at Key with a shocked expression. “I… haven’t even done anything yet.”

Key squeezed Minho on his sides. “I didn’t moan, you idiot! I was groaning.”

“Oh.” Minho laughed awkwardly. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it this time?”

Key rolled his eyes. “You made me fall in love with you.”

“Why is that wrong?” Minho creased his eyebrows. “If you ask me, that’s the best choice you’ll ever make in your life.”

“You know, I’ve always wondered, do you hear yourself when you talk?”

“Yes, I make perfect sense.”

And this is when Key remembered they will always be better off kissing than arguing. And so, his lips went back to work, his hands this time round moving slowly to push Minho’s boxers down, just because Key knew this would finally shut Minho up.

“… Kibum…”

Or maybe not.

Author's Note: and this is the end of a three-part one shot! :) hope you enjoyed this as much as i did while writing it! it didn't turn out like how i thought it would, but that always happens when i write, i rarely backspace. heee. whatever it is, thank you for subscribing and reading! i would love if you could comment and let me know what you think even if it's only a few words. hugs to everyone who's reading this sentence. ^^