“Invite Taemin to sleep over tonight.”

Minho stared at him mother as if she had grown a second head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Taemin over. Oh God no! He’d ask the boy to live with him if he could. His mother just face the idea a bit too suddenly. Plus, for what reason would his mom want Taemin to come over? And specifically, spend the night.

“Why?” he asked. His mother started at him at the breakfast table, as if the reason was the most obvious in the world, and he was an idiot for not realizing it. He didn’t doubt that was probably exactly what his mom was thinking.

“Because he is my new son and I want to get to know him better. Plus, I thought we’d have a nice family night with Taemin and maybe watch a movie or something,” she explained. His brother and father joined him in giving her a questioning glance, but no one protested. No one ever dared to go against the woman of the house. She was nice and sweet, but she was scary when she wanted to be.

“Uh, okay then. I’ll text him now and ask.” He pulled out his phone and texted Taemin. He felt so under pressure from the heated stares his family was giving him, or his phone. They stared at it intently, waiting for Taemin’s reply, and five minutes later, the reply came.

Minho didn’t even let his phone finish vibrating when he picked it up and read the message.

“He said he could. When should he come over?” His mother beamed at him, telling him to bring Taemin whenever he wanted. He texted Taemin, telling him to come around noon, so that he would have time to clean his room first. Taemin’s next reply was short, but Minho loved it. He kept it to himself, because he was too afraid to read it out loud. It was amazing what a little heart at the end of a text message could do to his manliness, because right now, he was grinning like an idiot and suppressing a squeal.

His mother went on about what to make for dinner and asking him what foods Taemin liked. It made him realize that just because he knew Taemin’s past, didn’t know he really knew Taemin. He had no idea what Taemin’s favorite food was, or even his favorite color. He had no idea about Taemin’s hobbies, or his likes and dislikes.

Now he just felt so clueless. How could he claim to love the boy and yet know nothing about them. Taemin’s past is behind them, but Minho barely knew anything about the Taemin now. All he knew was that Taemin was incredibly shy, and he didn’t like being touched. Taemin has trust issues, and was bullied, and is mute from past trauma. He doesn’t have parents and he’s stubborn and uses aegyo without even realizing it, which just makes it all the more cuter.

He’s decided. Tonight, he was going to spend all night talking to Taemin and asking questions. He wanted to know everything about his boyfriend, and he meant everything. And he’d tell Taemin everything about himself too. It was a fair deal. Good thing it was Saturday and they could spend as long as they wanted talking.

“I’m a bit worried though,” Siwon said.

“Why is that?” his father asked.

“Minho is a hormonal teenager. What if he molests the poor kid in his sleep?”

“I’m really going to kill Kyuhyun hyung...”

The doorbell rang and before anyone could even get up, Minho bolted down the stairs. Siwon, who was already walking past the door was about to open it, but was pushed aside by an overly excited Minho, who opened the door with the biggest smile on his face.

“Minnie- Oh hey Key, what are you doing here?” All cheerfulness escaped him the moment he was faced with Key at the door. Taemin was behind him, holding his back and smiling shyly, holding up a sign that Minho had to stop himself from laughing at.

“Sorry. Umma started ranting about needing to make sure we weren’t going to be alone and that you were planning something bad.”

Leave it to Key to think of something so ridiculous. So though after what Kyuhyun said, everyone seemed to think he had a secret agenda. Really, he couldn’t just be happy with his adorable boyfriend in peace without people thinking he was going to the younger boy? His own brother was getting ideas, for Christ’s sake. And of course, Key took it seriously and decided to take extra care of Taemin in case he did try something. Not that he would or planned to. He knew Taemin wasn’t ready for anything serious, and he wasn’t going to try and force him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with or didn’t want to do.

“Glad you sound so happy to see me. Don’t worry, I’m not staying for long. I have plans with Jonghyun today, and they just so happy to be in this same direction. Also, I needed to make sure you two weren’t going to be staying here alone.” He knew it. Now if only he had made a bet on it with someone. He would have definitely won.

He led them both into the house and let Key pass him so that he was walking side-by-side with Taemin. He put an arm around Taemin’s waist and kissed his cheek, to which Taemin blushed, giggled, and eventually kissed him back, though having to stand on his toes to do so. It was all so sugary sweet that Minho wondered if it was possible to get a cavity from it all. Not that he was complaining, really. Although he really wasn’t one for sweets, Taemin’s sweetness was one he couldn’t get enough of. Plus, the fact that Taemin was being this open with him meant that he was much more comfortable now, and less shy, which was amazing. It was funny how he used to feel like gagging just watching couples act lovey-dovey, and now he was in one of those couples, and he couldn’t be any happier.

When they arrived in the living room, his parents were both sitting there, watching tv. When they noticed their arrival, his mother rushed to give Taemin a hug, cooing at him as his father gave a cheerful “Hello.” Taemin hugged his mother back and bowed to his father with a smile. They noticed Key and asked who he was, though they already had an idea since he was there with Taemin.

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Choi. My name is Kim Kibum, but you can call me Key. I’ve been taking care of Taemin.” Key bowed and Minho was surprised–he could tell Key was too–when his mother pulled Key into a hug. He had seen a lot of strange things in his life (i.e. His brother’s friends and Onew’s chicken addiction) and this was now added to that list.

“Thank you for taking such great care of Taemin-ah. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve adopted him as my own,” she said. Normally, Key would have argued that Taemin was his baby, but he just couldn’t. He smiled, because he realized why Taemin felt so comfortable being here. She was just like Taemin’s mother. They looked nothing alike, but their personalities were so similar that Key almost felt as if Taemin’s umma was living inside of Minho’s. Siwon was much different than Taemin’s older brother, Taesun. Taesun was a very serious person, but like Siwon, was always there for his younger brother when he needed him, though in his own way. Key didn’t know Minho’s father yet, but he assumed there must be something about him too that drew Taemin in.

“I don’t think that will be a problem, so long as he still lives with me. I don’t know what I’d do without my Taebaby,” Key said. “I’ll even show you some of his baby pictures I have saved. He was so adorable.”

“Umma Noooooooo.”

Taemin’s writing was ignored, because even Minho wanted to see what a baby Taemin looked like. Key promised to come back tomorrow to pick up Taemin, saying that he’d bring the photo album then. Minho noticed that after a while, Taemin stopped writing out his protests and just had a look of nostalgia in his eyes.

“What’s wrong Minnie? Finally given up on trying to convince us not to look at the pictures?” Minho asked.

“I don’t even remember what I looked like in those pictures but, I know there may be a few pictures of my family and I in there, and I want to see them,” Taemin wrote. Minho instantly regretted asking the question, but Taemin wasn’t crying. Instead, he had a small, gentle smile on his face as he reminisced. It was nice to see that Taemin could finally start thinking about the happy times with his family instead of only thinking about the incident. It meant things were getting better, and Minho had no doubt that they were.

“I’ll make sure to bring them tomorrow,” Key said, a similar smile on his face. He continued talking with his mother, and Minho and Taemin sat on the couch with his father. Siwon came down eventually and joined them, greeting Key with a pat on the shoulder and Taemin by ruffling his hair, to which Taemin pouted.

Eventually though, Key had to go, because he was going to meet Jonghyun, and Jonghyun started to get annoying when he was left waiting. He gave Taemin one last hug before leaving, reminding him to call if he needed anything or if Minho did something wrong. His family laughed, but Minho didn’t. He just protested and crossed his arms when no one seemed to care for his reply. Although Taemin’s sign of “I know you won’t do anything to hurt me Hyung,” really helped cheer him up. Taemin’s smile would have cheered him up, but he wasn’t about to admit that out loud. That would be embarrassing, and he’d never live it down.

They ate lunch and sat around Minho’s room, playing video games or having sweet little moments that involved Minho tickling Taemin and Taemin doing everything to distract Minho from the game so that he could win at least once. Taemin would try anything: sitting in his lap to block his view, throwing his arms around his shoulders from behind him and moving side to side, and simply poking him in the side with his foot. In the end, Minho still won and Taemin glared at the screen for the nth time, wondering if the game was dysfunctional.

“Are you cheating?” he wrote.

Minho gasped and brought a hand up to cover his mouth in mock surprise. “Taeminnie. Do you honestly believe that I, your wonderful and great hyung would ever cheat?”

Taemin stared at him with a straight face and lifted up the whiteboard with his reply. “Yes.”

“Well. It’s nice to know you have such little faith in me. No no! Its okay! There’s no need to say anything else. I completely understand.” Minho dramatically threw his arms in the air, placing the back of his hand against his forehead and closing his eyes. He reopened them when he heard Taemin chuckle.

“I never knew you could be so dramatic Hyung. Maybe you should become an actor,” Taemin wrote.

“I’ll become an actor the day you start singing,” Minho said.

“Both are possible,” Taemin replied.

“How so?” Minho asked.

“Remember Hyung, if I really tried, I may be able to talk again. So when that day does come, I’ll be sure to sing for you,” Taemin wrote, a small smile gracing his pink lips.

“I look forward to that day Taemin. I really do.”

Dinner and the movie was done, and Minho sat in his room, waiting for Taemin to come back from the bathroom. Dinner was full of jokes, teasing, and laughter. Choosing a movie had been difficult, but in the end, Taemin was the one to decide. Siwon just had to go against him. All Minho wanted to watch was “Goal! The Dream Begins,” but Siwon had to choose “21 Jump Street.” In the end Taemin chose a horror movie, “Paranormal Activity 3,” which shocked everyone, because no one ever expected the innocent, traumatized Taemin to choose a horror movie of all movies to watch. He wasn’t going to judge though. If Taemin got scared, that meant they got to cuddle, and he was excited for that.

Except, Taemin didn’t get scared. He flinched whenever something unexpected happened, but he didn’t squeak or hide his face in Minho’s shirt, or even clutch his arm. He did, however, still cuddle. Taemin was a cuddler. More so than Minho. Once Taemin was comfortable enough, he would not object to any physical contact, as long as it was in his comfort zone. That meant that if someone asked Taemin to sit on their lap, Taemin would, unless he knew Minho wouldn’t like it. For the most part, no one besides Minho or Key had asked Taemin to do that, with the exception of Kangin, Eunhyuk, and Siwon, who were all doing it on purpose to piss him off, which worked. Taemin also loved holding hands. Whenever he could, he would hold Minho’s hand, but he’d hold everyone’s differently. For people he was comfortable with, like Key or Jonghyun, he would just hold their hand normally, but with Minho, he would intertwine their fingers.

It was so strange how someone so traumatized had the strangest likes and habits, but he didn’t question it. It was just another part of Taemin, and Minho loved everything about him. Taemin was cute, whether he liked to admit it or not, and that cuteness was never wrongly used. Any aegyo Taemin used was unintentional unless asked by someone to do something cute. He would pout first, and although it wasn’t the aegyo he was going to do, people still found it cute and asked for more. It was priceless, seeing the look on Taemin’s face when people asked for more aegyo, and he hadn’t even realized he had done any in the first place.

The movie ended with Minho and Siwon slightly disturbed and now weary of their surroundings, while his mother, father, and Taemin looked like they had just watched the most interesting movie in the world. Had he known that arguing with his brother over a movie would have led to this, he would have agreed to watch “21 Jump Street” without a second thought. Honestly; who wants to go to sleep after watching an invisible demon kill two little girl’s parents, a psycho grandma, and zombie looking senior citizens? He’d have to have a talk with Key about what types of movies he’s been showing Taemin.

“Alright, you boys head on up and get to bed. I’ll finish cleaning up here,” his mother said. Taemin was about to protest by Minho pulled him away before he could. Minho told him to go change first, and he’d change after, and Taemin followed orders without questioning them. When he returned, Minho walked right out of the room and into the bathroom to change.

Taemin walked around Minho’s room, looking at the various pictures and posters. It was a regular room, filled with soccer posters, trophies and medals Minho had won, and various other items Taemin thought were typical. One picture in particular, caught his attention though. He had been staring at it for so long, he hadn’t even noticed Minho return from the bathroom, and jumped when he suddenly heard Minho’s voice beside him.

“What are you looking at?” he asked.

Taemin pointed to the picture and Minho chuckled, already knowing what Taemin was trying to ask. “Jonghyun took the picture when we weren’t looking and sent it to me. I thought it was nice, so I printed it out and put it in one of the empty frames I have.”

The picture was of he and Taemin, smiling sweetly at each other at the cafe. It was before they were even dating, but if anyone else saw it, they wouldn’t be able to tell. Even though it was just a picture, they could practically feel the feelings pouring from it, and the look in both of their eyes said it all. It brought a smile to Taemin’s face, and Minho back-hugged him and rested his head on Taemin’s shoulder with the same smile on his face. Taemin turned his head to look at Minho, and placed a small peck on his nose. Minho smiled back, but instead of his nose, Minho kissed Taemin’s lips.

It was their first kiss, and although it wasn’t exactly where Minho would have hoped it had happened, everything was still perfect. He felt Taemin kiss him back, and that was enough for him. It was nothing passionate or lustful; it was a simple kiss that conveyed all of their feelings to the other. Every ounce of love and trust was poured into the kiss, and although reluctant, they knew they eventually needed to pull away.

“I love you Taemin,” Minho said, pressing their foreheads together and staring down lovingly at his boyfriend. It pained Taemin that he was unable to say those words back. Those were the unspoken words that made his heart clench, because although he knew Minho accepted that he couldn’t say it back, Taemin wanted to. He really wanted to, which is why he took his time when alone to try and form at least one word. However, every time he tried, all that would leave his lips was a croak, and the words felt stuck in his throat, almost choking him.

So he settled for the next best thing, and placed a kiss on whatever part of Minho’s head his lips could reach. His eyelids, his nose, his forehead, his cheeks, his chin; None of it was spared from Taemin’s lips, and Minho chuckled, wondering what his boyfriend was trying to accomplish.

“Why all the kisses? Not that I’m complaining, of course,” Minho questioned. He realized that Taemin didn’t have his whiteboard and marker, and passed them to him so that he could see his boyfriend’s answer.

“Because I can’t actually say, that I love you. Right now, I can only write it. Now, I can just show you, when I don’t have my whiteboard or marker.”

It was so simple, and so heartfelt, that it made Minho’s heart flutter and the butterflies in his stomach to fly around with more power than ever. He honestly didn’t mind that Taemin couldn’t say it, because he knew just by looking into his eyes or feeling his touch that Taemin loved him. He held Taemin’s face in his hands, caressing his cheeks and staring deeply into his brown eyes.

“You don’t have to say it Taemin. I won’t force you to get your voice back. I know you love me, and even if you can’t say it, I’m happy just having you beside me,” Minho said. He didn’t know when he became so fluffy and cheesy, and he could feel the cavity start to form, but he didn’t care. He was being honest, and that was all that mattered. Taemin smiled softly at him and leaned in again to kiss him again, this time aiming for his lips, and Minho responded eagerly. He seriously wondered how it was he managed to get such a beautiful person–both inside and out–to be his. It was a miracle in his eyes, and one he would cherish dearly.

“Come on, let’s sit down. I’ve actually wanted to talk to you about a few stuff.”

They sat face to face on his bed, and Taemin looked at him curiously, his head tilted to the side a bit.

“It’s nothing serious,” Minho said. “Its just that I realized that even though I know about your past, I don’t really know about you. So why don’t we take this time to really get to know each other?”

Taemin nodded, and Minho smiled at him. “What’s your favorite color?”

“White. Its a really pure color. What’s yours?”

“Mine’s is blue,” he said. Of course Taemin liked white. It was so like him; the color of innocence and purity. Taemin was like the personification of the color. “Any hobbies?”

Taemin hesitated with this question. He blushed deeply as he wrote the answer and hid his face behind the board when he showed it to Minho.

“You dance? Seriously? Will you show me?”

“I haven’t danced much lately, but yes. I’ll show you some other time. I’m assuming your hobbies include soccer and video games?”

Minho chuckled, though he was curious now. He really wanted to see Taemin dance. “You caught me. But I do also like reading.”

“Manga doesn’t count.”

“Yah! It most certainly does! Besides, I read biographies too. Anyway, was your hair always that color?”

“No, it used to be a really dark brown, almost black, but Key umma thought it would be good to dye my hair, so he did.”

So it was Key’s doing. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Key seemed to be the cause of a lot of things lately.

The questions continued one after the other. Minho learned that Taemin was scared of bugs and loved banana milk. He always wanted a puppy, and he had strangely small feet. He used to play the piano, but hasn’t ever since the incident. Taemin learned that Minho also played basketball and was practicing his high jumps. His favorite food was ramyeon and his favorite number is ten. He also learned that when Minho got a bad grade when he was younger, he would hide in the washing machine, which in scared his mother every time.

At this point, there was only one question left that Minho wanted to ask Taemin, and he was determined to get an answer.

“Why do you always wear sweaters or long sleeved shirts even when its hot outside? Even now, you’re wearing a long sleeved shirt,” Minho questioned. Taemin tensed, but wrote down his answer anyway. He trusted Minho, and that meant he shouldn’t be afraid to answer questions even like these. Minho wouldn’t judge him or treat him differently because of it.

“To hide the scars,” was his answer, and Minho had to think for a minute to figure out what Taemin could possibly have scars from, and quickly, the answer came.

His family wasn’t just killed. He suffered as well, and nearly died because of it. He just never thought that it had left any marks. Key never told him about that.

“I don’t want anyone to see them. Their ugly.” Minho pulled Taemin onto his lap and hugged him. The scars may be bad, but he wouldn’t allow Taemin to call himself ugly. If anything, Taemin was the most beautiful person he knew, with or without scars marking his skin. It wasn’t his fault that he got them in the first place, and he wasn’t going to let something like old scars affect Taemin’s thoughts about himself.

“Let me see them.” A small request, but Taemin shook his head, clearly being stubborn. Minho wasn’t going to back down though, because he was just as stubborn and extremely competitive, and there was no way he was going to go to sleep without making sure Taemin knew how beautiful he was.

“Taemin, please let me see. I won’t think any differently about you,” he assured. Taemin didn’t respond, but he pulled away and looked at Minho’s eyes, almost as if searching for any hesitance. He moved away, once again sitting on the bed as he slowly lifted his large shirt, allowing Minho to see the damage that had been done to him. He turned so that Minho could see his back as well, which was much worse that his chest. His arms were also scarred, but not as much as the rest.

Pink, almost red lines were scattered over his chest and back, even going so far as to reach his arms. Some were darker than others, giving Minho the impression that the wounds were never allowed to fully heal before they continued with their treatment. He felt the familiar rage in him, but he didn’t let it show, because he didn’t want to scare Taemin. If it wasn’t enough that he had to go through it all, he had the constant reminder of his past marking his skin. Maybe some had fully healed and left no marks, but others left a scar that would be with him for the rest of his life, and Minho couldn’t imagine ever looking into mirror if he were in Taemin’s position.

He let out a low, possessive growl and pulled Taemin firmly against him in a tight hug. He held Taemin’s head against his chest, and his hair, being as gentle as he could be when all his mind could think about was hunting those people down and doing to them what they did to his precious Taemin.

“You don’t have to hide Taemin. You are beautiful, no matter what scares you may have on you. They are apart of you now, and when I say I love you, I mean I love every single part of you. They weren’t meant to be there, but the fact that they are there now changes nothing about you. You are still Lee Taemin, and no amount of scars is ever going to change my mind about you.”

Minho had his arms around Taemin’s shoulders and he felt Taemin’s arms slip around his waist and cling to the back of his shirt. Taemin was now completely straddling him, with his legs wrapped around him, but it was anything but intimate in ways others would think. They were just comfortable in each other’s embrace, and though the position was suggestive to others, it was perfectly right for them. He felt the familiar tears on his shirt and knew that his words had struck home. He moved back a little, just enough to hold Taemin’s head up to his and wipe his tears away with his thumbs.

“You can hide from other if you want, Taemin, but please don’t hide from me,” he said, pressing their foreheads together once again. “I’ll love you no matter what, you know that.”

Taemin repeated his earlier actions, kissing every part of Minho’s face he had in his reach before aiming for the older boy’s lips. He had completely forgotten that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and at the moment, he really didn’t care. He just wanted to show Minho how much he loved him, and how much he loved the fact that Minho wasn’t disgusted by the marks on his body.

“Come on Taemin, put your shirt back on and let’s go to sleep. It’s getting late,” Minho said. He lifted the covers and let Taemin slip in before he joined him, wrapping his arms around Taemin’s waist and Taemin’s head rest on his chest. That lay there, facing each other, after having told each other everything about themselves. No secrets were left; everything was revealed to the other. Once Taemin’s breathe evened, a sign that he was already asleep, Minho wondered if any two people could be as close as he was with Taemin.

He felt sleep start to claim him, and as he tightened his hold on Taemin, he knew no two people could ever be so close, or love each other as much as he loved Taemin. It was simply impossible.

Guess who woke up early in the morning just to update~

This girl! 

I hope you liked this chapter! 

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