note: I watched Larry Crowne again, which was the inspiration for this one in the first place. (Great movie~) For everyone who's having uncontrollable Minseok feels just like me, here you go~ Enjoy. :3

[ twelve kisses | in celebration ]

It was still raining.

Minseok sighed, rubbing one eye in frustration. He wasn't sure this was a good idea. Hell, it really wasn't. But when you called him... Well, he could never really refuse you, no matter what it was. He especially couldn't now.

“O-oppa? I'm really sorry to call you so late...”

“S'ok. What's wrong?”

“Umm...”

Minseok's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles cracking with the force of it. Apparently, your -of-a-boyfriend had too much to drink and took off with his friends, leaving you alone at some random person's party full of drunk and high college students who posed potential danger to you, considering you also sounded a little tipsy on the phone. Minseok's foot fell a little heavier on the gas, and the car hummed in the rain as he sped up.

Stupid Luhan. He remembered a time when he was friends with the guy, and as much as Minseok would've liked to acknowledge the more positive things about him, there could be nothing good in his eyes about a guy who could do such horrible things to you.

He turned into a dark, relatively quiet neighborhood full of large homes sitting yard-to-yard. It wasn't hard to spot the party, since it was the only overly-lit house. There were cars littering the adjacent curbs, and the walls were practically shaking with the bass booming from the inside. How it hadn't been shut down by the cops yet was beyond Minseok, really.

He slowed, pulling the car to a stop right in front of the over-crowded driveway, gritting his teeth at the sight that greeted him when he craned his neck to look at the porch.

You hopped up from where you'd been perched on the front steps, pulling the hood of your sweater more securely over your head and squinting your eyes to discern who the car might've belonged to.

Minseok snapped off his seatbelt and got out of the car, ignoring the pelting rain that hit him in the face and muttering under his breath. “Son of a - I swear, if I get my hands on the mother-”

“Oppa?”

He rounded the corner, immediately reaching out an arm as he saw you hopping down from the porch towards him. “Come on, ___!” he yelled over the music and the droll of raindrops. “Let's go!”

Your face broke into a smile, the only thing he could really see under the shadow of your hood. You ran across the lawn to him, ignoring the fact that he'd already opened the door for you, and opting to throw your arms around him in a tight embrace instead.

Minseok let out a soft grunt, but he wrapped an arm around your waist and let you burrow further into his hold. “Hey, you. Sorry if I took too long.”
 

“You didn't,” you murmured, and Minseok could feel your warm breath on his neck as you sighed.

“Alright, let's get you out of the rain.” He tucked you against his side, lifting you slightly so he could urge you into the passenger seat.

You settled in with a shiver, tucking your sweater more snugly around your body. He just bit back the curses that wanted to spill forth, shutting the door and running back into the driver's side. The first thing Minseok did was pump the heater as soon as he got in, making sure the blasting vents were all directed at your shuddering form.

“Why were you waiting outside?”

“I was scared to stay inside. They're all so out of it.”

He sighed inwardly. Damn boyfriend of yours. He should be punched once or twice in that pretty face of his.

“Thank you for coming, oppa.”

Minseok looked over at you. You'd pushed your hood down, revealing the wet tips of your hair, your damp cheeks, your tired eyes. But you were smiling at him, anyway. “Of course, ___.”

---

Minseok's brakes gave a light squeal as he pulled up in front of your building. “Okay, here we go.”

In perfect timing, you yawned. “We're here?”

“Yep.” He popped your seatbelt before climbing out of the car and holding the door open for you. “Come on, let's get you in there so you can get out of those wet clothes and go to bed.”

You took the hand he offered, scooting out of the car and following Minseok as he led you to the door of your apartment. Luckily, the tiny porch provided some cover from the now-light rain while you fumbled with your sweater pocket and fetched your keys.

You pulled Minseok into the house before he could even formulate his goodnight speech. He shut the door behind him to ward off the cold, watching as you stumbled to the lamp and flipped it on.

“___, maybe you should-”

“Do you want something to drink, oppa?” you murmured, shivering again as you walked into the kitchen.

“No, I'm fine. I should probably be heading... out. ___?” He popped his head into the kitchen, watching as you rummaged in the fridge and came back up with a water bottle.

Minseok watched you chug it, raising an eyebrow. “You gonna be okay..?”

You slammed the bottle down on the counter, exhaling loudly. “Maybe... Oppa, am I an idiot?”

Minseok's mouth fell open. “Wh-what?”

“I am, right? Be honest. Just tell me I'm an idiot, and maybe- maybe I can-”

Your voice broke, and you leaned over the counter and ran a hand over your face just as your hair fell to cover it. The sobs started soft, and when you raised your head, Minseok was distraught to see there were no tears. He reached out to you, only to be knocked into the wall when you came careening towards him.

Your arms locked around his shoulders, and when Minseok made a grab for your hips to steady you, your legs swung up to wrap around his waist. But nothing could distract from the fact that you glued your mouth over his in an almost violent kiss.

He made a noise in the back of his throat, one that you echoed, but try as he might to want to push you off... he really couldn't find the effort to do so.

Minseok flipped you around, pinning you back against the wall so he could cup your face with both hands and kiss you even harder. He groaned in response when you moaned and opened your mouth further, making room for his roaming tongue.

God, he's wanted to do this for so ing long.

And now, as he felt your hand sliding into his hair as you sighed into the kiss... all he could think about was your stupid, no-good boyfriend.

Minseok pulled away with a frustrated groan, moving away from your attempts to follow his retreating mouth.

“No, ___,” he whispered, voice rough and gravelly.

He eased your legs from around his hips, letting you slide down onto your own two feet but refusing to step away. He just needed another second to enjoy your softness, your body heat. He looked down at you, mirroring your frown.

“Oh, God. I'm sorry...”

This time, he saw the tears pool in the corner of your eyes as you attempted to sidestep away from him.

“Hey, hey. No, no. It's not like that.” Minseok trapped you back against the wall, shaking his head. “It's just... I can't. You have a boyfriend, and-”

“I don't. I broke up with Luhan. That's why he left me at the party.”

Minseok blinked. Like he's just been hit over the head. “You... did?”

You swiped at your cheek and nodded.

Well, at least he didn't feel as bad, but really... he didn't want it to happen like this. As badly as he wanted it to happen, Minseok just couldn't get himself to do it.

“I've been so stupid, and he kept bringing you up and holding you over my head. That I was way too close to you, that maybe I wanted you more than I wanted him... and...”

“Alright, alright. It's okay... Come here.” He wrapped his arms around you, securing you to his chest as you worked through the soft sobs. “Look, you're still drunk, and I... just can't do this to you.”

“You don't have to lie, oppa.”

“Stop it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Trust me, it's...”

He didn't want to say that the kiss wasn't enough for him, that he felt a little drunk himself. And that he maybe wanted to run to find Luhan to finally punch him in the face for everything he did to you. And then come back and kiss you some more.

But instead, Minseok just stepped away and grabbed your hand, leading you to the door. “I'm gonna go now, okay..? I think you should go to bed, and... we'll talk tomorrow.”

You looked up at him with sad, heavy-lidded eyes. “O-okay...”

“Okay, so... I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Sleep well.”

Minseok leaned over to kiss your forehead just as you sighed.

“You... promise you'll call?”

He smiled. “Of course, I will, ___.”

“Alright...”

Minseok opened the door, stepping through the threshold into the cold breeze with a scowl. He turned around to find you moving to follow him, and he shook his head. “Hey, get some rest, okay?”

Reluctantly, you planted yourself against the edge of the door, hands gripping the knobs. “Goodnight...” you whispered.

Minseok patted your shoulder gently, a thumb across your cheek for good measure. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

He watched you disappear behind the door, waving and forcing himself to smile. Once the lock clicked shut, he turned his back to the entrance and pulled his hood over his head. The shock washed over him all at once.

You kissed him. You were single now. And you kissed him.

He couldn't really help himself. Minseok's arms moved, and he pumped them in the air. His body followed with the natural movement, and before he knew it, he was doing an enthusiastic, celebratory two-step on your small porch, the light casting his dancing shadow on the rain-soaked ground.

“Umm... Oppa..?”

He stopped mid-step, eyes round as he turned stiffly back towards the door.

“I can still see you.”

Minseok stared at the peephole right around eye-level, offering a smile as he lowered his arms and straightened to full height. “R-right. Goodnight, ___.”

“'Night, oppa,” you said, the amusement laced in your tone. “I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

Minseok retreated to his car, running through the rain with the biggest grin on his face.

---

end note: I worked on this on-and-off for about two days. ^^; I need to get better at focusing. Sorry to have made Luhan the bad guy, btw. I always feel guilty when I do that. ^^; Anyway, he might be next in the series, since I have an idea for him. After my exam and this paper though! Oh, and the Luhan sequel for that ting oneshot. xD Loves<3