New Year’s approached and passed in the blink of an eye. Soon enough, January was gone too.

               With each day that passed by, Taemin grew more anxious, because just after his graduation, he had an even bigger, far more memorable day. His wedding.

                He was unbelievably excited and too happy for words, but when it came to thinking about the whole idea of getting married at nineteen, the only word to describe it was anxiousness. Maybe that was why each time the sight of himself walking down the aisle crept into his dreams, he was ripped from sleep, and occasionally even had to run to the bathroom. Drenched in sweat and close to vomiting, those nights were the ones he hated the most.

                It was four o’clock in the morning on the thirteenth of February that Taemin’s eyes shot open, his stomach suddenly in knots. Lurching, he jogged towards the toilet, getting onto his knees and bending over it.

                Like every other night, nothing bothered escaping his stomach to ease the nausea. Staying in that position for several minutes, he only pulled back when his body settled a little, giving him a chance to steady his breath. Sitting down on the floor, he leaned back against the bathtub and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

                Nearly falling asleep, he with one of his eyes when he heard the door creak open, darkness creeping in.

                “Kitten?”

                “I’m sorry…”

                “Don’t apologize. Are you alright?”

                “I guess.”

                “Why does this keep happening, baby?”

                “I don’t know…”

                “There has to be something…”

                Shrugging, Taemin had trouble bringing Minho’s face into view, vision blurring.

                “Are you okay to go back to bed?”

                The blonde nodded and soon felt himself lifted, the lights going off into a comforting darkness. Being laid down on the soft bed, Minho tucked both of them in, cuddling up beside his lover and gently rubbed his stomach. “Please sleep until morning, okay?”

                Taemin dozed off.

                “Taemin, let’s talk.” Minho sternly said, joining Taemin in the living room, coffee in hand.

                “Okay…” The younger boy agreed, clearly uncomfortable.

                “Why have you been getting sick at night so often? I know you’re fine because you don’t get nauseous during the day. You don’t get sick when we have either, or at least you don’t seem to. It’s only when you sleep all night. Are you having a reoccurring dream?”

                “No…” Taemin admitted, “I dream, but they’re usually different. Well… actually… some of them do have a repetitive theme…”

                “What’s that?”

                “Marriage.”

                “Oh…” Minho answered, deflated. “Are the dreams about us being married so bad that they make you vomit in the middle of the night?”

                “It’s not about us getting married, just marriage in general.”

                “Do you not want to get married? Is that why you’re seeing it as a... nightmare?”

                Taemin shook his head, his hands waving back and forth. “No, no, no, no! I wouldn’t trade marrying you for the world!”

                “Then why is it making your body react like this?”

                “I don’t know… But I only want to marry you, Minho. I’ll never marry anyone else!” The blonde declared, arms around the elder’s waist as he buried his face in Minho’s chest.

                “Maybe that’s just how you want to feel… maybe somewhere in your subconscious, you’re actually doubting yourself and-”

               “Don’t say that! I know that I want to be with you forever so don’t say something like that! I’m not doubting myself, so you don’t doubt me either!”

                They shared a long stare, conversation paused.

                Pouting, Taemin climbed into Minho’s lap, pulling him in for a slow, gentle kiss. “I love you,” He kept whispering. At first, the elder responded with sweet kisses and hand holding, but within seconds, he completely stopped, pulling away.

                “Taemin, it doesn’t matter if you love me or not. I’m just saying that maybe you agreed to marrying me because I kind of put you on the spot and now that’s it getting closer to the say, you’re realizing that’s not what you want yet and you haven’t acknowledged it but your body has and you’re already suffering from it physically…”

                But Taemin was ready, he did understand what he wanted and he had no idea why he was being woken up in the middle of the night, but he loved Minho and he definitely wanted to marry him. He’d marry him right now if he could.

                “Fine, you don’t have to believe me.” Taemin declared, getting off of the elder’s lap and heading back upstairs.

                “No, Taemin, that’s not what I mean, I’m just worried about you!”

                The blonde didn’t reply, making his way up the stairs with determination.

                “Taemin, come back here! Talk to me, okay?”

                Spotting the younger boy walking up in Jongin’s room’s direction, Minho sped up, grabbing his hand and pulling him back.

                “Minho, stop!”

                “Why? I need to know what’s causing this and if it’s our wedding, then we’ll have to call it off!”

                “No!” Taemin yelled. “Don’t call it off!”

                “Then why is it stressing you out this much?!”

                “I don’t know! I- I don’t know… Can we stop arguing? My stomach’s starting to hurt…”

                “Y-yeah, of course, I’m sorry.”

                Taking Minho’s hand, Taemin led him into the bedroom where they sat down on the bed. Getting comfortable, Minho was surprised when the younger boy laid him down, cuddling up against his side.

                “Honey…”

                “Yes?”

                “I love you. When we get married, I’ll try to love you more.”

                “Is it so unbearable to do now?” Minho laughed but Taemin shook his head.

                “I think married couples are closer than fiancés, boyfriends and girlfriends, whatever, but I don’t know if it’s actually possible for me to love you more than I already do.”

                “Hey, how would I get you to stop being anxious?” The elder genuinely asked, kissing Taemin’s forehead.

                “Well you said it yourself, right?”

                “What did I say?”

                “I don’t seem to wake up during the night when we have , so I guess we have to have every night until we get married.”

                The older boy laughed, tickling Taemin’s side. “If that’s what you need, then I guess I need to sacrifice myself.”

                “Sacrifice yourself? You should feel honoured! If you see it that negatively, then I’ll just go to someone who appreciates me, like Jongin.”

                “Ah, don’t say that,” Minho warned him, his hand massaging Taemin’s inner thigh, “I get jealous.”

                “Well then maybe you shouldn’t toy around with me.”

                “Toy? Don’t tell me you hate it when I play with around with you, because a few nights ago, you moaned so loud that the neighbours came knocking.”

                The blonde suddenly grew quiet, red faced and embarrassed. “I-it’s your fault…”

                “Is it? Maybe you just can’t calm yourself down around me because I’m so stunning and handsome.”

                Furrowing his eyebrows, Taemin pouted, unable to think of a possible comeback. With Minho’s legs still dangling over the side of the bed, Taemin crawled off of the mattress and sat down between his legs instead, tugging down his loose fitting sweatpants.

                Sitting up slowly, Minho watched as the younger boy undressed his lower half and began playing with his most sensitive appendage, thin fingers over heating skin.

                Within moments, Minho was inside between Taemin’s lips, ing in and out of his hot and wet mouth. He struggled with making the same noises he teased his lover for.

                Fist grabbing onto the younger boy’s hair, Minho looked down. It may have been horrible, but one of his favourite sights was the blonde head between his legs. He loved the feel of the boy’s hot tongue and the slurping noises his mouth made. The occasional, lustful glances were like a cherry on top.

                When Minho was reaching his peak, when he was about to released, he dreaded that Taemin pulled off. Trying not to show the disappointment on his face, he met the younger boy’s eyes, heart skipping a beat. “Minho, I love you.” He said, holding eye contact for each long, anticipated syllable.

                Once each word was out, the elder knew he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Shamefully, he let it all out onto Taemin’s chest, dirtying his shirt.

                “Kitten, don’t say that when I’m on edge like that!” He scolded, feeling horrible, “I’m sorry… let’s get you cleaned up.”

                “I just really wanted you to know that I love you.”

                “And what did that get you? A change of clothes?”

                Taemin shook his head. “No, it gave me reassurance that you know I love you. It might not seem like I want to get married as of recently… but please don’t doubt it… My body is weird and sometimes I don’t get it either so I don’t expect you to. I’m just… hopeless.”

                “After we clean ourselves up, I want to go on a walk.”

                “On a walk?”

                “Yeah, just to relax, be with you…”

                “Okay. Oh, but I promised Jongin that I’ll go to the movies with him tonight, so it’ll be good for me if we come home no later than… five?”

                “Why are you making dates with other guys, huh?” Minho teased, lifting the boy’s shirt over his head.

                “Because they don’t come in my face.”

                “Ouch, that one stings.”

                With his shirt off, Taemin climbed into Minho’s lap, delivering a passionate kiss to the elder as he smiled, receiving one back. “You know what mood I get into after the movies though, right? The darkness, the secrecy, the romance, blah, blah, blah…”

                “Yeah, I do know what mood it puts you in, which is even more of a reason for me not wanting you to go out with Jongin.”

                “Ah, but think about it. I’ll have all these frustrations built up throughout the whole evening so when I get home, I’ll just pin you down, get on top of you, and-”

                “And what, baby? What will you do?”

                “Stop flirting with me. If you keep doing that, we’ll end up under the sheets instead of on a walk and how’s that going to turn out?”

                “I just want you to be happy.”

                “I just want you to know that I love you and you’re my favourite hyung.”

                Minho laughed as he laid Taemin down, leaving him comfortably on the bed while he went to fetch him a fresh shirt.

                “Dress me up to your liking, I’m all yours, baby.”

                “I like that. Keep it coming.”

                “I’m you’re kitten and I’m playful, so take care of me.”

                Giving each other a flirty glance, they smiled, getting ready for the cold winter weather they’d soon be stepping into.

                “It’s nice to go on a walk occasionally, isn’t it?” Minho asked, watching Taemin breathe deeply, amused by the foggy clouds that came out of him as a result.

                “Yeah. Actually, I don’t really care about what I do, as long as I’m with you.”

                “Here, hand me your skates. I’ll carry them for you.”

                “Thank you, baby.”

                “No problem, baby.”

                Holding hands, they walked towards the skating rink, an hour away from home.

                “Darling… um… so you know the twenty fifth of July next year, right?”

                “Right, of course I do. It’s the day you become my husband.”

                Taemin blushed at his choice of words, nodding as his fingers tightly squeezed Minho’s hand. “Is it important to you?”

                “Of course! That’s not even questionable!”

                “It’s important to me too and so I want those who are important to me to be there for me… my point is that I think we should go visit your parents.”

                The elder grew quiet, eyes moving from Taemin’s face to the cement beneath their feet.

                “Why?”

                “What do you mean why? When you imagined getting married while you were younger, didn’t you imagine your parents in the front row, breathless? Didn’t you think of the conversation you’d have with them afterwards, where they’d tell you how proud of you they are?”

                It took a few seconds for Minho to find the words, shaking his head. “They’d rather have a hurricane pass through our ceremony. They’re not proud.”

                “I think we should at least go talk to them beforehand, let them know it’s happening, invite them and say that’s it’s up to them whether they want to come or not but that we want them to be there and that we hope they can support our- or well, not even our, but your decision.”

                “I really would rather not.”

                Annoyed by the elder’s tone, Taemin stepped in front of him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

                “Minho, you love your parents, I know you do, and I know your biggest dream is for them to be there when you get married and settle down with a family. We should at least try. Hey, we’re not doing anything this weekend so why don’t we head up to your parent’s house and give them an invitation?”

                “I love you, Kitten.” The elder suddenly decided to proclaim, taking Taemin by surprise.

                “I know you do so you don’t need to change the topic.”

                “Kitten!” Minho whined, “Can we just not bring up my parents?”

                “After this summer, they’ll be my parents too, so I will not ‘just not bring up your parents’.”

                “Will you be happy if you’re told that your future parents-in-law don’t approve of our relationship?”

                “I’ll be happy that they know we still care.”

                “Alright… then we’ll drive up there on Saturday. Oh, also, I have two more things to say.”

                “Yes?”

                “So the company that have been using my photos as advertisements want us to come in for another shoot if possible for their summer collection but I said I’ll have to talk to you. Aside from that, tomorrow is-”

                “Valentine’s day!” Taemin finished his sentence with a big smile.

                “Yeah, but I have to go to work.”

                “Oh-”

                “My shifts over at seven though so I can come pick you up right away and sweep you off your feet with a night of romance.”

                “Why would you get my hopes down like that?!” Taemin scolded, hitting Minho’s arm after the elder started chuckling.

                “Because you’re way too cute.”

Arriving at the skating rink, they sat down on a nearby bench, putting on their skates. Minho put his on first, getting down on one knee to tie Taemin’s laces.

                “You know, you pamper me way too much. One day, when we’re not going to be together, how will I function as a useful member of society?”

                “What do you mean one day we won’t be together? We’ll always be together and there won’t ever be a moment where I won’t be there to pamper you.”

                Smiling, Taemin kissed him.

                “Let’s go.”

                They skated laps for what felt like hours, getting lost in each other for a temporary eternity.

                Taemin appreciated their small scale outings. He loved when they went to the park, the skating rink, the pool, the coffee shop, anything. He didn’t realize how much he took them for granted until a year ago when Taemin almost lost the opportunity to be with Minho at all, when they nearly broke up.

                Thinking back to that time, Taemin found himself remembering something that he completely pushed out of his memories, along with the rest of that time period.

                “Hey Minho, remember when we were fighting and it was just bad times all around?”

                The elder nodded, curious as to why the younger boy was bringing up such a horrible thing with such an amused tone. “Yeah…”

                Laughing at the idiocy of the whole thing, Taemin looked up, a grin on his face. “You know that one week when I moved out?”

                “Yeah. Where did you actually end up going?”

                “Jiyong’s house. Ah, but that’s not the point. Now looking back on it, during that week, me and Jiyong kind of had a fling.”

                “What?! What do you mean a fling?!” Minho asked, completely taken off guard.

                “Ah, well I asked to stay at his house because it seemed like it was the only place you wouldn’t know about. Anyways, he generously said yes but he only has one bed so we shared it and at one point he asked me why I wasn’t home so I told him we broke up. Then in the middle of the night, I guess he was… I don’t know, anyways, he pinned me down and started kissing me and I kissed back and, um, yeah, we kind of fooled around for the next week because he said he was ‘curious’ and I was staying there so I thought that I might as well. We never really got past though, so don’t worry. But yeah, I just remembered that. I doubt he even remembers it. He probably sleeps with so many people that he totally forgot that meaningless time period between point A and B.”

                “Geez, I should really stop releasing you from the house.” Minho sighed, scratching the back of his head.

                “Why? You know I wouldn’t cheat on you. I only did it then because I considered us as done…”

                “No, it’s not you. Well, it kind of is. It’s just… I’ve never met anyone who was desired by so many people and jumped at the first chance anyone got. Speaking of it, who hasn’t taken a shot at you? There have been me, Jongin, Ruki, Chansung, Heechul, Jiyong, a bunch of my other friends… You could literally have your pick from so many people. Why are you with me?”

                Taemin seemed confused by the question, eyebrows coming together at the center of his forehead. “What do you mean?”

                Rephrasing himself, Minho pulled him out of the way of a group a children skating in front of them. “If there are so many people who want to be with you, why am I the one you picked?”

                “That’s a stupid question.”

                This time Minho was the confused one.

                “What do you mean it’s stupid?”

                “You’re the only one I love. I can’t love anyone else.”

                “That’s not true. When we got back together after our huge fight, you said you like Jongin, so obviously you can love other people.”

                his tongue, Taemin shook his head as if an explanation shouldn’t be necessary. “I opened myself up to him because I was trying to get over you. I was desperately looking to like someone else so that I could get my mind off of you. I didn’t need to do that with you, Minho. I wasn’t getting over anyone, I wasn’t opening myself up to fall in love. I just… fell for you naturally before I even noticed it. If I was meant to fall in love with someone else, I would have already.”

                With his cheeks heating up, Minho hid his face in his scarf. “When you say stuff like that… Ah, I get embarrassed. I feel like you’re the older one, suddenly leading the relationship.”

                “Maybe I should give that a shot?” Taemin jokingly asked with a serious expression.

                “Now that’s a stupid question.” Minho teased, skating away at a much faster pace than Taemin could maintain. “Let’s get going. You have a date and I have an amazing evening to look forward to.”

                Laughing, Taemin followed his lead.