They left the restaurant and called for the elevator, heading to the second level of the garage.

                “So how were your relationships before Taemin?” Ruki asked, “Did you date any older guys?”

                “Actually, Taemin’s the first guy I dated. I’ve dated a few girls before him, mostly older, but none of them were serious. I mean, the only girl that I dated which was younger than me… well I was fifteen and she was fourteen so it was just… looking back at it, it was awkward. Then once I started skipping grades, I started dating older because that’s the only option I had, but all the girls saw me as just a ‘cute kid’, so when they actually wanted to get serious, they realized they couldn’t get that from me and left me.”

                With each ring, they went a level lower.

                “So… how did you realize you were gay? I mean, you went from dating, I don’t know, twenty year old girls to a sixteen year old boy. How did that- well-”

                “How did I make that jump?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Well I just… I mean, I fell in love with him. Of course it wasn’t like that at first. I actually thought he was annoying at the beginning,” Minho laughed, “But then I started learning about him and thinking that he wasn’t annoying at all. He was just unbelievably innocent and didn’t know better when it came to the things he did. I found out he got bullied regularly so I started becoming overprotective. Then, somewhere along there, the overprotectiveness ended up becoming a crush. I thought it was strange and wrong to like a guy, and you know, Taemin had long hair back then so he was just so pretty at the time. I just figured I was confused. Then he confessed to me though. I ran away because I was in shock, but in the end, I decided that since our feelings matched up, there wasn’t really a reason to not try it… try us out. It just so happened that that was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I wish I could have saved myself some time and done it sooner.”

                As he finished his story, they stepped out into the parking lot. There was a bit of silence as they skimmed over all the cars, trying to find the one that belonged to them. Once they did, they bee lined in its direction.

                “What about you, Ruki? What about your previous relationships?”

                The car was now in clearly in sight, not too far away.

                “Well… I’ve slept around more than I had serious relationships. I mean, in high school, I basically slept with every single guy, straight or gay, in my school. I had long, blonde hair then too and looked girly so it didn’t really matter to them. Um, yeah, I guess my first relationship was when I was sixteen. My boyfriend was twenty. We had all the time and he was pretty abusive. We broke up after four years of me putting up with him. Then when I was nineteen, I dated a thirty year old. Same thing as the last relationship. And now when I was twenty four, I dated a twenty nine year old. I seem to get myself in with all the abusive guys, but, um, this time I was the one to break it off after three years. We actually broke up two days before I left for Korea. I’m starting to think that I like being abused and hurt. Actually, although all of their personalities , they were all amazing in bed. Maybe what I really wanted was someone controlling in bed but loving outside of it.” He admitted, secretly describing how he saw Minho.

                Ruki was now standing beside the vehicle as Minho unlocked the door for him. Opening it, he reached in.

                Now faced with his lie, Ruki remembered that he took everything with him into the restaurant. There wasn’t anything inside for him to have actually forgotten.

                “Well?” Minho asked, “Did you find whatever you came here for?”

                Falsely shuffling through random coats and bags on the ground, he decided to own up to his mistake.

                Backing out of the entrance, he shut the door empty handed, facing Minho.

                “Is it not here?” The younger boy asked him sincerely. He felt horrible now.

                “I guess I brought it up with me. Whoops, right? W-No… actually, I didn’t forget anything here.”

                “Then why-”

                “Minho… I want to tell you something.”

                “O-okay. Couldn’t you have told me upstair-”

                “No.”

                Slowly walking closer, he counted his heartbeats.

                “Minho… I just wanted to tell you something, so hear me out, okay? L-lately, I don’t know why… but lately… I think I’ve started to like you. I know you’re engaged and to my best friend at that but… I just- lately I’ve been wanting you. They’re feelings that people don’t have for someone who they just see as a friend. I’ve been watching you a lot more and finding reasons to talk to you and… I’ll be honest, that time when we were buying cake for Taemin’s birthday and you looked at me while making love to Taemin in the car- God, you don’t understand how much I wanted to be in his place right then and there. I wanted it so much that I’ve asked Jongin to set this date up so that I could get a moment like this alone with you. You’re exactly my type Minho. I know I’m older, and we’re from different places, and you’re engaged but- I don’t know where I’m going with this. I just want you to know how I feel!”

                Having that said, he took a quick step closer and cupped Minho’s cheeks firmly, pulling him into a kiss he hadn’t planned. Tilting his head, he tried his best and got his tongue in as well.

                He couldn’t word how disappointed he was when he was shoved away.

                “I-I’m sorry, Ruki! I’m glad to know you see me this way, but the only person I love and ever will love is Taemin.” Minho automatically stated, “He’s my everything and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at anyone ever again. I can’t kiss you back tonight and I definitely can’t kiss you back any time after this. Thank you, but I’m sorry.”

                Sighing, Ruki’s head dropped.

                “It’s fine, I understand. Thanks anyways.”

                Jongin groaned, eyebrows furrowed as his nose was pinched for what felt like the hundredth time. “Why won’t you let me kiss you?!”

                “Lower your voice! I already told you I’m not going to do gross stuff like this with you anymore. I know you were just trying to sweet talk me tonight, and guess what, I saw through your plan!” Taemin , puckering his lips but not letting the younger boy get close enough to kiss them.

                “It’ll just be a quick kiss! I won’t even force my tongue that far down your mouth!”

                “Oh yeah right! You’re such a liar!”

                Huffing, Taemin pushed him away, noticing the clock on the wall in the process.

                “Oh wow, we’ve been here for thirty minutes. Hey, we should go back. You’re spending more of your date with me than you are with your actual date.”

                “Who cares,” Jongin grumbled, “Ruki probably already took off with Minho a while ago, so-”

                “Ruki? Took off with Minho? What? What do you mean?” Taemin suddenly began questioning him.

                “Whoops…”

                He started feeling anxious, wanting to run out the door just to make sure his fiancé was still in the same spot he had left him.

                “What do you mean, Jongin?!”

                “W-well, don’t hate me, but I like you and Ruki likes Minho, so we figured that we could have this double date and use it as a chance to spend an evening with the person we both liked. I mean, Ruki definitely left already so it just goes to show you how little Minho cares about y-”

                Before Jongin could finish, Taemin jogged out, heading towards the table. He felt his heart sink unbelievably deep as he saw their table, empty.

                “S-see, I told you. He flaked. There’s no need to get mad, it happens.” Jongin said, coming up behind him. Taemin stood still for a while, back facing the younger boy, creating a barrier. When he finally spun around, as slowly as he could, Jongin noticed his glassy eyes and tear stained waterline.

                “I’m not… mad…”

                “What?”

                “I’m not- I can’t be mad because… this is exactly what I do with you, isn’t it? Even if he’s cheating on me right now… I deserve it, don’t I?” Sniffling, he reached for his wallet. “I’m going home.”

                “W-wait, I told you not to be mad!”

                “I’m not mad… I just… I’m more disappointed in myself because this… this whole thing really hurts my heart, but I’ve been putting him through it since you basically showed up. Has he been in this much pain? Has he just not told me? I’m actually such a horrible person… I’m horrible and it’s my fault but I still feel bad and disappointed… I’ll accept it but… I just need to think things over. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything drastic like last time me and Minho argued. I don’t hate him or Ruki at all, I just… need some quiet to come in terms with my emotions. Here’s the gift card you gave me, it should cover the meal. I’ll take the bus home.”

                “Taemin, wait-”

                “See you.”

                Grabbing his coat, he went towards the elevators, calling for one and getting in. As his closed and headed down, the next one over opened, two boys coming out.

                They were smiling and talking just as well as when Jongin had left them so he assumed everything went well for the two. Either way, there was no denying that they would ask about Taemin’s whereabouts.

                Meeting him by the table, they sat down.

                Looking back and forth between Jongin and the bathroom, he raised an eyebrow.

                “Where’s Tae-chan?”

                “I’m sorry, Ruki, I messed up…”

                “Wait, what happened?”

                “Taemin found out about the thing and went to take the bus home…”

                “Oh God, he thinks I’ve cheated on him, doesn’t he?!” Minho suddenly asked, “He’s probably completely ballistic… Oh no…”             

                “Don’t worry,” The younger boy assured him, “He thinks it’s his fault and says it’s okay for you to do it… he just went home to ‘come in terms with his emotions’.” Jongin quoted.

                “H-his fault?! What?! Why would he think that?! Are you sure he didn’t go down to the car? I can go get him!”

                “No, Minho… he took the bus…”

                Jumping back to his feet, Minho brushed his hair back. “I have to explain this to him!” Searching his pockets for keys, he found them, handing them along with some money to Ruki. “Here. I’m going to go after him so please take the car and drive Jongin to your place. He’ll stay the night and come back early next morning.”

                “Hey, I never agreed to that! I’m the one who should comfort Taemin!” The youngest boy argued.

                “Okay. I understand. But before you go,”

                “Yeah?”

                “Thanks for hearing me out.”

                Nodding, Minho sped off, hearing the Jongin grumbling as to why he can’t go home.

                The evening was cool, but he felt like his insides were frozen and all of his body parts had stopped working. He was stiff and couldn’t move properly.

                It was about an hour since he left and he began wondering how the situation developed from there on out. Did Minho and Ruki return and worry about him? Highly unlikely. Were the three still enjoying their meal? Maybe. Did Ruki and Minho come back at all? Did Jongin just pay and get on the bus himself? Maybe they all left soon after and were home. Maybe Taemin coming back would just be an embarrassment and he’d be teased for making a scene out of nothing.

                He seemed relieved when he looked up and saw their apartment window completely black. That meant no one was home, or at least they were asleep. Good enough for Taemin.

                Making his way through the lobby, he headed up the couple dozen floors, finally unlocking his front door. No one was there and that made him feel a hundred pounds lights.

                Kicking his shoes off, he wiped his face dry with his sleeve.

                He couldn’t go to his bedroom or Jongin’s because they’d see him the moment they came back. If they didn’t see him there, the next place they’d check is the living room, so he couldn’t go there either. It seemed to him like he was sleeping underneath the dining room table.

                Not bothering to wash his makeup off or change into his pajamas, he grabbed a blanket off the couch and a pillow as well. Stumbling into the dining room, he dropped to his knees and began crawling, his limbs barely cooperating as he s his way between chairs and finally found a spot to semi comfortably situate his whole body.

                He noticed that the bottom of the table was a lot cleaner than he expected it to be. As he scratched it, the words ‘there’s no need to get mad’ echoed in his mind. He felt horrible but smiled.

                “I’m not mad. I don’t think I can get mad at him for anything. Besides, he deserves to do this. If he lets me get close to Jongin… then he can do the same… with Ruki…”

                Rolling onto his side, he pulled the blankets up to his chin.

                It may have been seconds, minutes, or hours later when he fell asleep.

                The next time he gained consciousness, it was abruptly and he wasn’t necessarily sure whether he was dreaming or not.

                All he could hear was heavy thumping, as if someone was dropping a weight every second. His sheepish slowly began to register the noises as footsteps, but only moments before he heard his name.

                “Taemin?! Taemin?! Taemin, where are you?!”

                It felt like he was six again, forced to wake up early in the morning and get ready for school. Rolling over, just like he would, he found himself yawning. That’s when the loud sounds shocked him, nearing at an unexpectedly fast rate, causing his eyes to open widely.

                “Taemin?!”

                The chairs around him flew out of the way and before he knew it, someone dropped to their knees, two hands landing heavily on both sides of his head.

                “Taemin!” The familiar voice cried.

                His upper half was lifted off the ground and arms tightly wrapped around him, a head dropping onto his shoulder.

                “Taemin… I was so worried… I’m so sorry! I’m so completely sorry! I shouldn’t have left you! I swear though- I swear I didn’t cheat on you! I- he kissed me but I really didn’t kiss back, believe me!” Minho begged him, squeezing him in an embrace.

                “What are you going on about?” Taemin asked him, pulling back and hitting his head on the table leg. “Ow…”

                “What do you mean what am I going on about? I know you probably think I cheat on you, but-”

                “It’s okay.”

                “W-what?”

                “I said it’s okay. I deserve it for what I put you through. You know, with Jongin. I don’t mind if you cheat on me.”

                “Wh… what are you talking about? What do you… you don’t care if I cheat on you? Don’t say that, Taemin! Say you hate it and if I ever do it, you’ll punish me and make me regret it! B-but I didn’t! I didn’t cheat on you! Ruki kissed me, but I… I pushed him away! And- and then I heard you were gone and I came home by bus and I ran around the house like six times but I didn’t find you and I- I thought you ran away, I was so scared…”

                “I really don’t- I won’t blame you if I cheat on me… hearing you left with Ruki just once… it made me feel so horrible… I can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like… having to see me with Jongin like that everyday… it must hurt so much. So… I won’t say anything if you want to kiss Ruki and be with him and-”

                “Don’t say that… you don’t understand how worried you made me… Look at me, okay? Look…”

                Sitting down, he pulled Taemin into his lap, holding him as closely as he could.

                “I didn’t cheat, okay? I promise I didn’t cheat, so don’t think I did. I didn’t agree to what Jongin did, I didn’t agree to what Ruki did. He just said he needed to get something from the car and that happened. I would never lay a finger on anyone other than you. You’re all I want and all I need.”

                “But-”

                “No buts! I won’t hear it! You terrified me, okay?! And I promise nothing happened! So… ah… please don’t do anything like that ever again… And don’t ever allow me to mistreat you. Never.”

                Taemin’s calm exterior soon deterred and his found himself teary eyed.

                “I said I was okay with it but… I really accepted it… I thought you picked Ruki over me b-because he was older and you could have a smart conversation with him… You two were so close and I was happy but I- I was sad too…” Sobbing, he clung to the elder’s shirt. “I’ll never do anything with Jongin again… I promise… But… why didn’t you tell me to stop acting like that? Why didn’t you yell at me or tell me to stop doing those kind of things?”

                “Because I trust you, Kitten. Because you’re my fiancé and even when you’re right up against Jongin and he’s about to pounce, you still don’t look at him the way you look at me. I can read you better than any book and I trust you wholeheartedly.”

                Wiping his cheeks, Taemin found himself pouting. “I’m- I’m… sorry I didn’t trust you… It’s not that I didn’t trust you, I didn’t even think about trust, I just accepted it…”

                “Well don’t accept it. I’m only yours. Now… Ruki kissed me.”

                “Yeah…” Taemin sighed.

                “I told you not to accept it, didn’t I? Kiss me and make me only taste you.”

                Blushing at the bluntness, Taemin watched Minho close his eyes and lean in.

                “He used his tongue so get really invasive.”

                He stared at Minho for a few seconds, completely silent.

                “If you don’t kiss me right now, I’ll leave.”

                “Okay, okay!” Taemin panicked, placing his hands on Minho’s shoulders. “S-so open your mouth…”

                Chuckling, Minho let his jaw drop happily. Within seconds, he felt Taemin’s breath on his lips and then a tongue pressing against his. He didn’t move a muscle though, letting Taemin do all the work. The tongue probed his whole mouth, starting at his teeth, then cheek, then throat, and finally coming back to his tongue. The longer he did this, the deeper he fell into a mood that Minho had intended to create.

                His hands gripped at the elder’s shirt collar, pulling it unconsciously as he on Minho’s lower lip, tilting his head.

                Leaning back breathless, Taemin held a steady gaze. “There… I cleaned it…”

                “Then… I think it’s only fair that I clean off every place Jongin touched… Why don’t you point those out to me?”

                “Honey… there’s nowhere Jongin hasn’t touched…”

                “That makes me really jealous. Your body belongs to me so only I should know every square inch of it.”

                They could hear each other’s slow breaths, their bodies naturally drawing closer. “Maybe that’s not the case… but Jongin… he never felt every square inch of my body. You’re the only one who’s invaded every nook and every gap…”

                “Mhm… I like the way that sounds… keep going.” Minho smirked, hand landing on the blonde’s thigh.

                “You’re the only one who’s made me want to rip the sheets and scream my lungs out… you’re the only one who’s made my body fall apart, or come, or … You’re the only one who’s been inside me, and been in my bed back in my old house, and brought me into your bed… there’s nothing about me you don’t know.”

                “I didn’t cheat on you.”

                “I know.”

                Being flipped onto his back, Taemin swallowed.

                “I didn’t cheat on you, and I will never cheat on you. I only belong to you, so show me that. Tell me that I’m yours and make me yours. Don’t let me look at anything else. Just like a few nights ago, drive me insane.”

                “Honey… You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

                “I don’t mind as long as it’s you.”

                “Then never look at anyone again and I won’t either.”

                They looked at each other, and smiled, and after a while, their pinkies locked, and they made a promise.