It was the day before New Year’s Eve and Minho still couldn’t get in touch with his parents. Although Taemin urged him to try harder, the older boy said that all he could do was give them some time and hope they’d try to understand.

“I just feel really bad…” Taemin admitted, sitting on the bed and pouting as Ruki applied lip gloss ontp him.

“You shouldn’t feel bad! Why should anyone have the right to hate you for being in love? Big deal, they’re losing out on grandkids. Children are a hassle and if anything, you can adopt. There are enough kids out there without parents as it is.” He stated adamantly. “Rub your lips together.”

He did, spreading the gloss over evenly.

“I should probably break up with him. I don’t want to ruin his close relationship with his parents. I mean, they love him so much.”

“Close your eyes.” The elder instructed, applying a colour of eye shadow. “Listen Tae-chan, the guy proposed to you. He’s not stupid, okay? Minho must have thought about this being one of the less appealing outcomes. If he really didn’t want to deal with this, he wouldn’t have done it. It’s not exactly a secret that being gay isn’t easy in the world we live in.”

“You know his parents stopped giving him any money? Like, no more money for the rent, no more money for school. My parents love him and agreed to help out but Minho told them no.”

“So now what?”

“He got a job as a bartender.”

Nodding along, Ruki added glitter to Taemin’s eyelids. “Oh, is that why you’ve had so much free time lately?”

“Yeah. I don’t like it. The house feels so empty, even with Jongin there. I just don’t like going home.”

“So you’ll be coming by a lot now, huh?”

“I hope you don’t mind…”

“It’s fine. I love it when you come to see me! Jongin can come too!” Ruki happily said, leaning in for a kiss on the cheek. “There, I’m done. You look amazing. Do you want to go out? We can go to a party or something.”

“No… I mean, I’d love to, but Minho said he’ll come pick me up in a bit.”

“Aw, okay. But Tae-chan, come play with me tomorrow! It’s New Year’s after all!”

“You’re coming to the club, aren’t you Ruki?”

“Well of course, but before that! We should get as drunk as possible! We have to party a lot, hai?”

Taemin laughed, nodding his head, “We’ll see.”

Ruki was in the middle of pinning the younger boy’s hair up when Taemin’s phone rang.

“It’s Minho!” The boy cheered, answering. “Hello?”

“Kitten, are you still at Ruki’s house?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Do you want to meet me downstairs?”

“Mhm!”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Bye!”

Hanging up, the boy was now in a great mood, even though their exchange was limited.

“I have to go Ruki! I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Nyaa~ You have to go already?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, really! Thank you!”

Within moments, Taemin had his shoes on and was out the door.

                He discovered a sudden appreciation for the evening when Minho came back from work. He got a job on the spot thanks to his friends and Taemin wasn’t ready for the sudden lack of his lover.

                Hopping from one foot to the other, he stared down the dark block, waiting for Minho’s figure to appear. When it did, Taemin ran into his arms, smiling.

                “Hyung, I missed you so much!”

                “It’s only been a few hours, Kitten.’ Minho smiled, taking his hand as they began to walk back. “Let’s take a detour through the park. How was your day?”

                Lacing his fingers between the elder’s, Taemin pulled Minho’s arm around his shoulders. “It was good. I went to this cat café with Jongin and we played with this white one which was still a baby and then we met up with Ruki and went shopping for a few hours before we ate dinner. Jongin said he was really tired so he went back home but Ruki invited me over because he wanted to use all the new makeup he bought…”

                “So it was fun?”

                “It was really fun! Oh, but I missed you a lot… Hey, are you still going to be working when vacation ends?”

                “I don’t really have a choice, Minnie.”

                “But… if you go to work right after school and you keep working until this hour then I’ll only see you before school and for a little bit before I have to go to bed…”

                “I know, but I need to get the money from somewhere.”

                Nodding along with that statement, Taemin cleared his throat. “Let’s break up.”

                Surprised, Minho looked over, staring at Taemin as they walked by the playground. “What? Why would we do that?”

                “If we’re not together, this whole thing with your parents won’t be a problem anymore and then you wouldn’t have to work and we could be together.”

                “So you want to break up so that we can focus more on our relationship? How does that work?”

                Whining, Taemin shrugged, “I don’t know! I just want to be with you more and if your parents hate me and want me gone, then we can do that…”

                “Don’t say stupid things like that. I love you.”

                Shrugging, Taemin grabbed onto Minho, jumping up to be piggybacked.

                “I just want to make everything better…”

                “Then why don’t you come spend the night in my room?” Minho asked.

                “We’re not going to be sleeping, are we?”

                “Of course not.”

                Taemin moved his messy hair out of his eyes, stretching as he sat up. Minho was still asleep beside him, his thighs exposed due to him kicking off the sheets in that area.

                Taemin loved Minho’s thighs. He loved the way they looked, the way they felt. He loved how the muscle became more evident while the elder .

                “It’s New Year’s Eve.” Taemin whispered, mainly to himself.

                Yawning, the blonde crawled on top of the older boy, laying there. By the time Minho had awoken, he was happy to see Taemin in such a compromising position. “Good morning, Kitten.”

“We’re going clubbing today, right? Just like last year?”

“That’s the plan, Kitten.”

“Ruki wants to get drunk with me.”

“You know you’re too young to drink, right?”

“Well… what if you drink if first and then transfer it into my mouth?”

“Right in the middle of the dance floor?”

Giggling playfully, Taemin nodded, over his lips. “I don’t care, I’m getting married. I can let myself go a little bit. Hey, besides Ruki, nobody knows about our engagement. We should tell everyone. It’ll be really cool to see their reactions, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, sure.” Minho smiled, pulling the blonde down for a kiss. “If that’s what you want.”

“Is that what you want too?”

“I want to tell the whole world you’re mine.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

They were getting ready for the night out. Taemin had tight, leather pants on which he matched with a dark, well fitted shirt. His makeup added to the look, thick eyeliner and tinted lips begging to be kiss.

Jongin watched him brush through his hair from behind, seduced without any conversation. Approaching him, the younger boy’s hand landed on Taemin’s bottom, squeezing the firm cheeks in his palm.

When the blonde gasped, turning around, Jongin quickly leaned it, dragging his tongue across the boy’s face. “Strawberry lip gloss?” He asked

“Jongin that was so gross, what’s wrong with you?!” Taemin asked, pouting.

“What’s the point of flavoured lip gloss if no one’s going to taste it? But really, um… you look great…”

Smiling, Taemin ruffled the boy’s hair. “Thank you. You look really good too.”

“Hey, let have tonight. You know, in celebration of the new year.”

“Oh, yeah, let’s start right now.” Taemin joked, reaching over and pinching Jongin’s , watching him jump, scream, and run away.

“That hurt!”

“Did it? Sorry, me and Minho get really rough so I let my passion get the best of me.” The blonde taunted.

“Oh, I’ll let my passion get the best of me!” Jongin yelled, charging at the boy before throwing him over his shoulder only to drop him on the bed and trap him. When Taemin began calling for help, the younger boy’s hands went to work, tickling him.

“J-Jongin! Stop! Stop right now! You’re going to ruin everything!”

But Jongin didn’t stop.

He’d tickle the boy until the end of time.

“Jongin, n-no!”

Ignoring his pleas, he continued until the boy managed to grab his hand and bite it.

“Why are you so keen on putting me in pain tonight?!”

“Because you’re bothering me!”

They began hitting each other in the most pathetic of ways, their strikes doing little to no damage.

“Jongin, please…” Taemin whimpered after a few minutes, “I still have to finish my hair…”

His pretty, little eyes and pouting lips got the best of the younger boy, and finally, he rolled off.

“Thank you.” He quietly laughed, leaving Jongin a kiss on the forehead, and along with that, an imprint from his lip gloss.

“Ah, I might keep this.” Jongin stated, “It looks scandalous, doesn’t it?”

Nodding, Taemin giggled, pulling Jongin closer. “You should probably get some more then, huh?” He asked, leaving kisses along the boy’s collar bone, neck, and cheek, his skin decorated with these lip shaped tattoos. “This will help you get the ladies.”

Deciding not to address that, seeing as the only person he wants is Taemin, he turned the boy back towards the mirror, allowing him to finish getting ready. “Dance with me tonight, okay? At least for a few songs.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

They met up with everyone later that night, forming a group of at least thirty people outside of the club. Greeted by dozens of friendly faces, they all went in, Taemin using his fake ID from before while Jongin used the one Heechul brought for him.

Music blasting and beats shook the wall, Taemin felt exhilarated, grabbing Minho’s hand and dragging him into the crowd.

Curious to see if what Taemin said was true, about wanting to be kissed in front of the public eye, he pulled the boy in his direction, meeting his lips easily.

Soon, their tongues got involved, the exchange quickly growing intimate until Taemin cut it off, reading his mind easily and smirking. “Don’t test me.” He teased, “I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that.”

Before they could share another embrace, Taemin was swept away by Ruki’s arm and pulled towards the bar. “Let’s get really drunk!” The boy yelled over the crowd.

Within minutes, they had their first drinks in hand, several others being ordered. Noticing the fun, Jongin came over and joined them, experiencing what was his first alcoholic beverage.

“Don’t drink too much,” Taemin warned, “It’s your first time, you’re going to have a huge hangover tomorrow.”

“I’m going to drink so much and you’re going to take care of me. Come on, it’s my first time doing something like this, Hyung.”

Sympathizing, Taemin allowed it. “But who’s going to take care of me when I’m hungover?”

“We’ll take turns.”

The night got more hectic as others filled in. They started to block the entrance due to the overflowing amounts of bodies.

Taemin was now decently drunk, him and Jongin keeping each other company.

“Hey blondie!” He heard from behind, turning to spot Heechul. “How’s it going, kiddo?”

“Ah, stay here with us, okay?”

“Are you drunk?”

“Only a little…”

“Alright, you got me. But I’m not going to stay, you two are coming with me to the dance floor! Come on!”

Holding each other’s hands, they formed a train, trying to find an acceptable place in the crowd without losing each other.

When they got to the center, Heechul saw someone, saying he’d be right back. He never did.

on his lower lip, Jongin made the first move, his hands landing on Taemin’s waist.

“You know, this is really fun!” He yelled over the increasingly loud music. “We should do this some more!”

“I’ll have a lot more free time once school starts! You know, with Minho working and all! I mean, if we get out of class and finish our homework, we can definitely come here!”

Lacing his arms around Jongin’s neck, the two danced.

It was about half an hour in that the music was suddenly turned down, everyone’s attention going to the DJ.

“How’s it going everyone?!” He screamed over the speakers, earning cheers. “It is currently one hour away from midnight! Are you ready for the New Year?!” Another set of cheering and screaming came about. “Well, although there’s still a lot of time to party hard, we have someone here who wants to make an announcement.”

In that moment, the crowd seemed to move in a way that pushed Taemin up to the front, near the DJ. He went along with the flow, eyes on the stage where someone appeared.

The microphone was given to another person.

“Hello everybody! How’s your night?!” They asked.

Everyone yelled something along the lines of ‘good’ in return.

“So: I love this place, I come here often, and I’m sure most of you recognize me to some extent.”

“Woo! Minho!” Someone yelled, clapping to follow.

Minho, Taemin thought as he registered the face, what’s he doing up there?

“New Years is great isn’t it? You get to go out, drink, maybe bring someone home.”

There was a few people whistling.

“Anyways, I’m here with a lot of friends today and I think this is a good time to come clean about something!”

“Are you doing drugs?” A familiar but unplaceable voice asked.

Minho laughed, shaking his head. “No, it’s not that. But, uh, it’s something really important.”

At this point, Taemin was being pushed up the stairs to the stage by a pair of hands that, if he had only turned around, he would have discovered belong to a friend.

When his eyes met the elder’s, he was closer and against him, one arm around his shoulder.

“How many of you would say this is one of the most attractive people you’ve ever seen?”

The whole room roared, causing Taemin’s face to turn red.

“How many of you would take this beauty home tonight?”

Another set of louds screams.

This time, Minho grabbed the blondes left wrist with his own left hand, raising it to the light, their rings glistening.

“Well guess what?! You can’t because we’re getting married!”

There was silence until a voice in the crowd yelled, “Congratulations!” to which everyone joined. Even if they were homophobic, they were too drunk to remember. Ruki waited at the side and once everyone started chanting ‘kiss’, he shot confetti into the air, exciting the room even more as the music was turned back up and the lover’s lips locked.

“Minho…” Taemin mumbled against his lips, “I definitely didn’t expect us to tell them this way. Have you been drinking?”

Chuckling, the elder nodded, “I’ve had a few shots here and there.”

Smiled, the blonde pulled away.

When they got back to the floor, they were bombarded by so many of their friends, receiving praise and admiration.

“Wow, are you two really getting married?!”

“When did this happen?!”

“Who proposed?!”

“Can I see the ring?!”

“Wow, now I don’t know if I’m pumped up for the New Year or because of what you’ve told us!”

After all was said and done, people promised to plan an engagement party the moment they sobered up.

The night went by well, everyone in a cheerful mood and the two fiancés garnering a lot of positive attention.

When there were five minutes left, most people separated into the groups that they really wanted to spend start the year with.

Taemin, dragged off by Chansung and a few others, searched for Minho but he couldn’t spot the boy regardless of his height.

He looked around, called, searched, but not one person called back.

Finally, recognizing Jongin, he tugged on his shirt. “Jongin!”

“What is it?”

“Have you seen Minho?”

“No, I was actually looking for you!”

“Oh… but do you know where he might be?”

“We can look for him together!”

“Okay.”

Cooperating, the two zigzagged their way around, but as the clock ticked down closer and closer to zero, there was still no boy in sight.

“Jongin, hurry!”

“There’s no room to run!”

“But there’s a minute left!”

“Stop! We’re just not going to find him! He’s probably with someone else!”

“But-”

“Just stay with me!”

Huffing and upset, Taemin looked up at the clock, watching the second hand reach the 30 second mark.

People began counting down out loud and Taemin grew more frustrated.

“Look… just… it’s a good night. Count down with me.”

The blonde was reluctant but once the number reached fifteen, he began quietly mouthing the words.

It , really.

He had Minho near him this whole time, and now that it came down to it, he was out of sight.

“Ten!” People began screaming.

“I want Minho here…” Taemin muttered, Jongin’s hands on his shoulders.

“Nine!” Jongin cheered along with the rest of them, his eyes looking directly into the blonde’s.

“Eight!” He also yelled, the older boy quietly joining him now.

“Seven!”

With the flashing lights and adrenaline filling the air, the whole room seemed to glow.

The atmosphere changed.

Taemin was looking for love and couldn’t find it.

With the music coming to a complete stop, he took a deep breath.

Their faces were slowly inching closer, eyes still locked.

“Six!”

Jongin’s head began to tilt, his thumb massaging into Taemin’s skin.

“Five.”

His lips were pouting now and the blonde’s face seemed to mimic the actions.

“Four.”

They now felt each other’s breath on their lips.

“Three.”

They were so close, their heartbeats permanently speeding up.

“Two.”

Although Taemin was standing still the whole time, the distance managed to decrease significantly and now it was a millisecond away from being gone.

Taemin his lips.

Suddenly, his hands instinctively landed on Jongin’s chest, pushing him away.

“Wait, no!”

“One!”

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!” Someone quickly shouted in the single remaining second as Taemin was lifted and carried away from Jongin, his lips met by another’s.

Everyone screamed, celebrating the first minutes of January.

At first, he was confused and shocked, but soon, the kisses grew in familiarity and everything fell into place.

Wrapping his arms around the boy’s head tightly, Taemin sighed in relief. “Minho… I was so worried…”

“I’m here now. I’m sorry, I had to go to the bathroom.”

The blonde laughed, burying his head in the curve of Minho’s neck. “What a stupid reason to give me a heart attack…”

“Happy New Year, Kitten.”

“Happy New Year…”

“Another year for us to love each other.”

“And many more to come, right?”

“Right.”

They stayed there for a few hours until everyone was too tired and decided to call it a night.

Taking the bus home, they arrived at 3 in the morning.

While Taemin and Minho went to his bedroom to make drunken love, Jongin went to his to wait up for the blonde.

Sure he had to sit through moans and screams and hearing the bed squeak, but it wasn’t too bad, he’d grown used to it. Sometimes he even used Taemin’s voice for his own personal gain, but that was not what he wanted right now.

When the elder stumbled in, he shot Jongin a smile, heading straight for the bathroom where he filled the tub.

Taking off his clothes, he hopped into the hot water, using his tiredness as a reason for adding loads of bubbles, pile upon pile growing.

He relaxed, closing his eyes.

Moments later, the door opened and the younger boy stepped in, completely , getting in on the opposite side.

“Jongin, what are you doing?!” Taemin yelled, thanking the bubbles for masking his body.

“I have to take a bath too. I danced too much.”

When, after a few hesitant seconds, it seemed like Jongin had no bad intentions on his mind, Taemin relaxed.

“We took baths together when we were little. Do you remember?”

“I do, Jongin.” Taemin smiled, resting his head against the wall.

“Why don’t we do that anymore? We can buy toys too. Boats, ducks, just like back then.”

“We’ve changed.”

“What’s changed?”

Extending his leg, Taemin’s heel softly pressed into Jongin’s crotch. “This.”

“I’ve always had a !”

Blushing, Taemin nodded. “Yeah, but it wasn’t that big and it wasn’t seen as a ual organ back then, was it?”

“I guess. I still don’t get it, though. I’m still me, you’re still you.”

“I wasn’t gay and neither were you, but whatever, that doesn’t matter. Can you pass me the shampoo?”

“Sure.”

They sat in silence, maybe cracking a joke every once in a while as they lathered and rinsed their hair.

“My birthday,” Jongin began.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You know what I want…”

“Jongin, you know I can’t give you that, I’m sorry…”

“N-no, I don’t want anything emotional. I know you can’t give me that anytime soon, but, uh, i-if it’s physical, that’s fine right?”

“Physical?”

“…”

“Jongin...”

“Hear me out. I… I want to have my first time with you on my birthday, kind of like how you did with Minho on yours, and… I’m willing to do it if you want to bring Minho into it…”

“What?”

“I don’t care if Minho is involved…”

“Wait, are you asking for a three way?”

“I prefer to do it with you alone, but if Minho being there will convince you, then I’m willing to go there!”

Not liking the situation under which this was being discussed, Taemin looked around for his towel, taking it and wrapping himself up.

“Hyung…”

“Y-yeah?”

“Think about it…”

There was a silence.

He’d always had with Minho and only Minho.

Why would he want anyone else?

He didn’t want anyone else.

It seemed like a strange concept for him.

Would Minho even agree.

Choosing to talk about it first, he sighed.

 “…Okay. I will.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving the bathroom, he went back to Minho’s room, deciding he’d much rather be in his lover’s arms that night.

“Minho, I love you. Just you. Be mine forever.”

With those words to the sleeping boy, he starting the year.

A/N: Fun fact- when I started writing this, I was planning on stopping prior to 60 chapters. Too bad there's still too much to get through

>< Also, I think it's nearing a year if not there since I started writing this story, so thanks to all of you who stuck around this whole time! <3