Taemin glanced through heavy eyelids, gaze landing on Minho’s sleeping face. He managed to sit up, but only to bring an end to the unbearable beeping alarm that both woke him up and caused his head to throb.

                Nine was too early to be up.

                Hitting the ‘dismiss’ button on his phone, the post-apocalyptic state of their room caught his attention. Clothes were thrown all around, two empty wine glasses accompanied by and empty wine bottle decorated the table across the room, an unclosed bottle of lubricant created a small puddle at the base of their bed.

                A romantic dinner and a movie back in the hotel room was all it was supposed to be. It was innocent, sweet, and simple. Or at least the thought of it was.

                The actual outcome seemed quite different, it was probably the exact opposite.

                His bruised lips and purple thighs could attest to that.

                Pouting, he d around the bedside table for a pack of gum he swore he left there, finding it and popping a piece into his mouth. His breath reeked of alcohol, chocolate, and Minho’s lower half, so a little mint to freshen up wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

                The crackling of the tinfoil must have been louder than he anticipated because within seconds, two demanding, possessive hands landed on his waist, trapping him in their hold and pulling him back against the covers with just enough seconds for the gum to land safely on his tongue, teeth sinking into it.

                “What are you doing?” The most handsome man on earth asked in a husky voice.

                “Trying to freshen up.” His husband answered.

Twirled around in the elder’s grasp, they kissed, Minho cocky enough to steal the chewed, minty treat from the younger boy’s mouth.

“Oh god,” Taemin laughed, pulling away, “Keep it! You need it more than I do!”

“How rude. Respect your elders.” He mumbled, releasing the blonde and rolling over onto his side, facing away. He acted mad, but that didn’t mean his could stop himself from smiling when Taemin’s hand landed on his shoulder, massaging it with the unbelievable skill he must have acquired from the heavens.

“I’m married to you though, so you don’t count. I can tease you a bit.”

                The bare leg that wrapped around his strengthened that argument.

                “When did you become such a seducer?”

                “When you took my innocence in a creaking, cottage bed sometime around midnight.”

                “Ouch, I don’t know if I can combat that.”

                They both laughed, rolling around and re-enacting last night in a much more simple, undetailed manner.

                “Baby…”

                “Yes, Kitten?”

                “Tomorrow’s our last day… after tomorrow we’re going home. Isn’t that a little sad?”

                “It is a little sad, but you miss your friends, don’t you?”

                “Yeah. Hey, I think I’ll go call Jongin, okay?”

                “Alright darling, I’ll go take a shower then.” Minho said, puckering his lips to receive a kiss.

               With that accomplished, he grabbed a towel from the floor, hoping it was fresh and heading towards the bathroom.

                Now that his lover was out of the room, he leaned over and took his laptop, powering it up. Just moments ago, he thought it was far too early to have his eyes open, yet here they were starting their day.

                Logged on and spotting Jongin’s name, he pressed the phone icon, turning his webcam on only to be greeted with Jongin’s lovely smile a couple of short rings later.

                “Taemin!” The boy shouted.

                “Jongin, how are you?”

                “I’m good! Dinner last night was delicious!”

                “I’m glad you think so.” The elder smiled.

                “Did you know you’ll be back here in two days?”

                “Yes, I just brought that up a few minutes ago when I was talking to Minho. Are you happy?”

                “I’m really happy. Are you?”

                “I’m conflicted,” Taemin chuckled, “There’s no place like home, but I wish I could stay here a bit longer and bring you too. Is Ruki there?”

               “No, he didn’t stay over tonight. He had to do something back at home or… I don’t know, I didn’t really ask. But hey, I know this is kind of random but… you look really good.”

                “Do I? It’s been a crazy night and I just woke up, so I’m pretty much a mess.”

                “I wish I was there to see you in person…” Taemin watched as the boy sipped on some tea, fixing his hair before adding on an, “I love you.”

                “I love you too, Jongin.” He smiled.

                “When you come back, let’s go on a date, okay?”

                “A date?”

                “Yeah,” Jongin happily nodded, “A new café opened up across the street three days ago, so I want to check it out.”

                “It’s a date then.” The blonde laughed.

                “Ah, where’s Minho?”

                “He’s taking a shower. I’ll go in after him, but I just wanted to chat for a little.”

                “Bring the laptop with you to the shower. We can continue our video call in there.” Jongin explained, trying to remain serious but cracking up moments after his best friend did.

                “No way you ert. You get to watch me shower at the cost of my laptop? Where is the fairness in that?”

                “I’ll get in the shower too and we can shower at the same time!”

                “Are you crazy? It’s the middle of the day for you. Stop saying such stupid things.”

                Chuckling, he agreed. “Yeah, I know. But Taemin, there’s really nothing I haven’t seen.”

                “It’s because you’re really creepy and like to undress me when I’m sleeping so you can see if anything has changed.” The boy stuck his tongue out.

                “What?! No I don’t! I-I mean, I look under your shirt sometimes to see if you maybe got a tattoo or something, but other than that, I don’t!” Jongin protested, leaning closer and closer as he made his argument.

                Chuckling, Taemin nodded. “I know, I know, I’m teasing you.”

                His eyes deviated from the screen when the bathroom door flew open, his half husband stepped up with a towel around his waist and a matching one around his head.

                He didn’t intend to flirtatiously look the man up and down, but he must have unconsciously because the glance he received was nothing but passionate.

                Before he knew it, the towels came off and Minho took long strides towards him.

                “Oh my god,” He laughed, slightly panicked, his hand waving back and forth, “Don’t come here, I still have the camera !”

                “What?! Then why are you being so seductive?!” The elder whined, throwing his towel at the blonde, satisfied with how it landed, covering his face entirely.

                “Baby, I wasn’t trying to!” Taemin whined back, imitating the elder’s tone.

                “Are you talking to Jongin?”

                “Yes. Just give me a few more minutes, I’ll go shower. So Jongin,” He began, redirecting his attention to the younger boy, “What are you going to do today?”

                “Probably nothing, like usual. I might go to the pool in the evening actually. Um, Heechul and Ruki are going, so they invited me along, but I’m not sure. I’ve been sniffling the past few days so I might skip that.”

                “I’ll take care of you if you’re not better by when we’re back, okay?”

                “I’ll try not to get better then.” He softly smiled, “Taemin, go shower, okay? I’ll go get some ice cream from the corner store.”

                “Okay, Jongin. See you later!”

                “See you later. I love you.”

                “I love Taemin too!” Minho yelled. Jongin grumbled, leaving the blonde giggling.

                “Bye Jongin.”

                Waving, he hung the call up, powering off his laptop and putting it aside.

                “You’re kind of, like, a butthole.” He commented, referring to Minho’s behaviour.

                “I kind of like your butthole.” The boy smugly commented back.

                “You’re playful today, aren’t you?”

                “What can I say? It’s been a great couple of days. Go get ready so that we can go to the pool.”

                “Okay.”

                Jumping out of bed, he gathered his things and jogged towards the bathroom.

                They entered the pool, surprised to see a crowd of beautiful young women in between the elderly seniors who chose to swim solo. They must have been from Europe. Blonde hair, blue eyes, fairly curvaceous. Gorgeous.

                Naturally, Minho would look, right?

                Minho was handsome, so they’d look back.

                Taemin suddenly felt really insecure. The insecurity worsened when one of the girl’s eyes landed on his husband, shamelessly looking him up and down.

                “Honey…” He whispered.

                “Yes, Kitten?”

                “Are you going to… take your shirt off?”

                “Of course. It would get wet otherwise.”

                Right then, he stripped the cotton fabric and there were definitely five more pairs of eyes on him now.

                “I… I’m going to keep my shirt on…”

                “But sweetheart, this isn’t a shirt you can get wet. Won’t it shrink?”

                “M-maybe I’ll just dip my feet then…”

                “Kitten-”

                “Don’t worry… just go in without me.”

                Tugging the corner of his lips in, Minho sighed. Taking the blonde’s hand, he wondered if maybe he could lead him in. Interlocking fingers, he headed towards the stares. Everything seemed to be going fine until he was knee deep in water and Taemin was centimeters away from his first drop. That’s when he wouldn’t take another step.

                “Baby, at least dip your feet in. I thought you were really looking forward to this.”

                “Sorry…”

                Deflated, he went into the pool, leading Taemin along the edge until the water hit his waist. With that, the boy sat down, dipping his feet in as Minho requested.

                Sitting quietly, all he could focus on was the attention the elder was getting from the entourage that seemed to be creeping closer.

                “Hey, are you feeling sick?”

                Puzzled, Taemin shook his head. “N-no. Why would you think that?”

                “I’m trying to figure out why you won’t come in. Can’t you tell me the real reason?”

                “The real… reason?”

                “Yeah.”

                “It’s stupid…”

                “Nothing is stupid.”

                “It’s really stupid…”

                “Taemin, you’re making me worry. This is our honeymoon, so if you’re ever going to lie to me, at least hold off until we get back to Korea. What’s on your mind?”

                Pouting, he shrugged, slouching back as he considered the truth.

                “It’s just… I’m jealous.”

                “Of what?” The elder understandingly inquired.

                “Those girls over there… they’re really pretty, and they’ve been checking you out, and you’re the most handsome guy on the planet so of course they’d do that. They’re really pretty so they probably have your attention too… or at least they will at some point… it’s not fair because I look the way I do so I can’t do anything about it…”

                He nodded. Honestly, jealousy on Taemin’s part was probably the cutest, ego boosting thing on the planet. That made him happy.

                “Are they looking now?” He asked, watching as Taemin glanced over his shoulder and nodded. “All of them?”

                “Probably most…”

                With that in mind, Minho placed his hands on the younger boy’s waist, slipping in between his legs and delivering a deep kiss that lasted at least ten seconds. Taemin was speechless. It was too adorable for words. “Were they watching then?” He asked.

                “I-I don’t know… I had my eyes closed…”

                He chuckled, stealing the blonde’s shirt right off of him before tossing it towards their things. “Will you come in now?” He asked.

                “If you carry me in…”

                Smirking, he spun around, signing for Taemin to jump onto his back which he did. Holding him close, he carried him into the deeper end. When he passed by the girls, he made sure to, in his most fluent English, proclaim an “I love you” in Taemin’s direction. It made him happy when Taemin whispered an ‘I love you back’. The girls’ interests clearly dropped a great bit.

                “Can we swim now?”

                “Yeah.”

                Minho always made everything better.

                He managed to make Taemin feel more beautiful than a group of models.

                No one’s husband was that good.

                “What would you do if I became an octopus?” Taemin asked, staring at his fingers.

                “What a strange question.” Minho laughed, “And that was brought up by what?”

                “My fingers have so many wrinkles that maybe I’ll develop the little cups and start sticking to wall. That’s what.” He explained, placing each finger on the elder’s soft skin, accommodating the action with slurping sounds.

                “How old are you again?” Before Taemin could get offended, he added on an, “You’re too cute. How did I ever get you to be my husband?”

                “With your stunning, good looks and your infinite wealth.” The boy explained, earning a chuckle.

                “Hey, stay like that. I want to take a picture for you.” Minho decided. He jumped off of his float and jogged through the water, reaching the nearest wall and hopping out. Going over to their banks, he fished out his waterproof camera and headed back to Taemin with a smile pasted on his face.

“Should I pose?” The boy asked, already placing a hand on his waist, propping his head up on his arm.

“Not without me there.” Minho laughed, jumping back in and finding his way beside the blonde. Wrapping his arm around Taemin’s waist, he lifted the camera up and told him to smile.

Within a few seconds, he took the photo, flipping the camera around to view it.

“Look how cute you came out here.”

“You look pretty handsome yourself.”

“Let’s take a few more. Kiss me in this one, okay?”

“Okay.”

The two dressed themselves warmly, deciding to find some place for lunch while shopping a bit in between.

Taemin dragged the elder into a boutique, picking up a leather jacket.

“This would suit you. Try it on for me.”

Putting his bag down, he slipped into it.

“You’re so handsome.” The blonde smiled.

“I’m handsome? I think it’s just this jacket.”

“The man makes the jacket.”

They smiled at each other and it was romantic. When Taemin’s gaze landed across the street though, he got a totally different idea.

“Baby, can we do something crazy? I’m feeling a little crazy.”

“How… crazy?”

“I want to get matching tattoos.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“I thought I made that clear. Matching tattoos.”

Minho never thought about getting a tattoo. He never thought about tattoos in general, let alone applying the idea to himself. “Tattoos are forever, Kitten…”

“So are we. Doesn’t that go together?”

“Kitten-”

“Please?”

He was about to say no, that huge decisions like this shouldn’t be made in for a few seconds, but something inside him wanted otherwise.

“O-okay, fine! But we better do it soon before I change my mind and start thinking rationally.”

“There’s a place across the street, so let’s go, okay?”

“Alright…”

Going across the street, both of them thought about what they would get.

Stepping through the door, they were greeted by some woman who smiled, waving them over.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

“We… would like to get tattoos.” Minho explained.

“Do you already have a design?”

“Design… ah, no.”

“Okay, then come back into this room here and we can have a free consultation.”

He nodded and they followed her into a small albeit messy room with a desk and a few stools.

“So what were you two thinking? Any ideas?”

“Can I… show you?” Taemin asked, happy when he was slipped a pen and piece of paper. “We are… married, so I want to get a…” Stuck on the word, he turned to Minho, “How would you say ‘romantic’ in English?” Repeating the word, he nodded. “I want to get a romantic tattoo… with our names in it.”

She nodded, thinking to herself. “Well, you know, and congratulations on your wedding, but why don’t we think about romance long ago? Before texting and calling, people wrote letters, so what if we keep it simple like a letter?”

Nodding along with his understanding, he turned to the elder. “I think that’s a good idea. A letter… it can only be a few words right?” Taking the pencil into his hand, he pulled the paper closer. “Something like… ‘Dear Minho, I’m yours forever, Taemin’. Or something like ‘I’m your one and only’. Something like that? And then you could have, ‘Dear Taemin,’ the same thing in the middle, ‘, Minho’. Like that?”

“Maybe we should have different ones then. A special line from me to you, and a special line from you to me.”

“Then what about… ‘Dear Minho, I love you more than a flower loves the sun, Taemin.’”

It was short, sweet, simple, and got his heart pounding. “Then what if mine is ‘Dear Taemin, I love you more than a flower loves rain.’”

“The rain?”

“How is a flower supposed to live without water? It can’t. Just like it can’t live without sunshine.” He explained logically, writing it out on the sheet.

It was a good idea. But something just didn’t feel right. “Minho, I changed my mind.”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s just… isn’t that tattoo a little too feminine for you? Won’t you be embarrassed showing it around you friends?”

“I don’t really mind.”

The artist could feel the confusion and indecisiveness. “Hey, maybe it’ll be better if you go home and think about it. Tattoos are a huge commitment and it’s not good to just jump into it.”

“No he’s just saying maybe it’s too... much for girls?”

“Okay, I see. Can you write your names down for me? I might have an idea.”

Nodding, he wrote them down, sliding the paper over to her. She began drawing and they watched in anticipated as she’d stare down at her work for a few seconds, look at either one of them, and then look back, repeating the process.

When she finally added on the finishing touches, she slid the paper back over to them.

In front of them on the sheet were two characters, somewhere between ten to twenty centimeters. They were primarily black and white and resembled each of the boys. And interesting touch was the letters ‘T’ and ‘M’ which replaced the eyes. Above in neat writing, it said ‘Dear Minho,’ and just beneath the figure, it said ‘Yours forever, Taemin’. The same concept applied to the other figure, the names in different places.

“Something like this?” She asked.

Looking over at Taemin, his eyes made it clear when it came to how in love he was with the design. He was definitely in love with it.

“Where do you want it, Kitten?”

“Right here.” The boy said, pointing to an area of his soft skin.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll get it.” He told the artist.

Smiling, they headed over to the next room.