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Seungmin turned around on his bed for what seemed to be the hundredth time. For some reason, sleep escaped him. He was extremely restless, unable to stay still. His eyes refused to stay closed and his mind active, recollecting everything that went down today.
It hadn’t been a particularly different day, waking up early for schedules and recording content for Kingdom. It went down as usual, joking around with each other mostly in front of the camera for the sake of good entertainment. But there was something Seungmin could pinpoint as out of the ordinary from today’s events.
At first, Seungmin meant it as a joke, a continuation of a popular running gag he had with Minho, the little divorced couple concept they had developed for the cameras and that the fans warmed up to so much. Noticing the cameras were mostly focused on Jeongin and Felix, he had nudged Minho with his elbow, ring in hand. Minho stared back at him, initially annoyed at being interrupted as he carved something onto one of the rings. Seungmin smiled at him brightly, completely unaffected by the distasteful stare Minho was giving him.
“Hyung” he turned his head slightly to where his hand held the ring, making Minho follow his movements, his gaze now falling on the ring “Let’s get married again”
And it wasn’t out of the ordinary. They knew this concept very well, they knew that the subject was mostly a joke between them and the rest of the members. The truth was that behind the scenes they got along well, they understood each other thanks to their many similarities in character. Lately, they had been getting closer, having a shared weekly schedule helped. Gravitating towards each other felt more natural and as the weeks went by, their mutual understanding grew exponentially. This allowed the divorced couple concept to work so well.
Lee Minho, however, is very well known for his unpredictability. Seungmin expected a sarcastic comment, a dismissal, perhaps an eye roll and an insult with no bite behind it. What he didn’t expect was the slight blush slowly coloring Minho’s ears like watercolor on a white canvas, expanding down his neck and only staying out of his face because of the mascara applied on his skin. He chuckled then, averting his eyes from Seungmin’s and holding his hand out in front of him, his fingers separated and his wrist slightly bent forward. Clearly an invitation, an offering of his hand to Seungmin. “Well,” he said, his brow furrowed. His eyes met Seungmin’s then, a distinctive glint shining in those black orbs he has lost himself in so many times before “aren’t you going to put the ring on”
For some reason, this action alone sent Seungmin’s brain into overdrive, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He tried his best not to show how affected he was, opting to try and swallow the knot that had tied itself in his throat.
What the hell.
Noticing Minho was becoming impatient, he slid the ring through Minho’s finger slowly. A smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Said smile only grew bigger when seeing Minho was already sporting a smile of his own, bright and open. Those smiles were hard to get out of the older and Seungmin could only stare. Stare at the pretty colors that made up Minho today, the back of his eyes, the baby blue of his cardigan, the chocolate brown of his hair, and the soft pink blush high on his cheekbones that grew darker in his ears.
Seungmin could only stare like a hopeless man with a crush. Which is exactly what he was.
Minho took his hand away from Seungmin’s space to appreciate the ring in front of him, his smile had now died down, but his eyes still held that glint in them that Seungmin couldn’t help but follow. Minho chuckled again, staring at Seungmin from the corner of his eyes, and said “You suck at engraving Kim Seungmin'' and went back to working on his own ring.
And as things seemed to go back to normal Seungmin tried his best to ignore how the ring fit Minho perfectly, how pretty it looked. And how Minho never took it off. Even after they went back to the company building to give the rest of the members their respective rings, even when they sat down for dinner that day, sharing fears and dreams and jokes to end the day on a good note. Even after they all got ready for bed after all the lights were off in the apartment and the space grew quiet in the death of night. Minho kept the ring.
And perhaps that's exactly what kept Seungmin awake. Unable to stop thinking about Minho’s smile, Minho’s hand on his, how he had attempted to hold Seungmin’s hand secretly in the drive back to the building from the shop as if something had definitely shifted between them. How Minho sat closer to him on the floor of the dance studio as they finished recording what was scheduled for Kingdom today.
No, something had definitely shifted between them. The bickering was normal, Seungmin knew how to navigate around Minho’s comments, he knew how to answer back. He was witty and quick with his responses and Minho felt comfortable around that. It was a game of pull that both enjoyed and felt comfortable with, it was everything they had ever known. But this change, this was new. Minho had accepted Seungmin a level closer to the core that was his heart and Seungmin wanted to do everything in his power to secure that spot for himself.
They needed to talk.
☆
Light coming from the gap between his bed and the wall let him know that Minho was probably still awake, most likely browsing on his phone. Seungmin sat on his bed and made his way down the ladder slowly doing his best to not be noticed. When he stood at the front of Minho’s drawn curtain, he tried to calm his heart with a breath. He pushed the curtain open to find Minho laying on his side with his back facing Seungmin. He was listening to music, the noise leaving his earphones faintly in the still night. From his position, Seungmin was able to see what Minho had been browsing for: rings, to be more specific, wedding rings. Seungmin’s heart jumped in his chest. Perhaps sensing that he was being observed, Minho turned around, locking his phone screen in the process and taking one earbud out. He raised an eyebrow in question, followed by: “What do you want Kim Seungmin''
“Hyung, can I join you?” This was a rare occurrence. Not to say they hadn’t cuddled in bed before, in fact, the continuity of it happening only increased as they became closer. Actually asking to join the other in bed was odd. Usually, Minho climbed the way up to Seungmin’s bed and with no words exchanged just made his way into Seungmin’s arms for the night. The first time it happened it left him quite confused, but seeing the pretty shade of crimson coloring Minho’s ears (that Seungmin had noticed made its way up Minho’s neck in situations involving Seungmin in particular) made him shut all his questions and objections up.
That was one of the first times when his brain got out of control and with dumb realization concluded that his Hyung was beautiful.
It made his heart speed up without fail. Minho moved closer to the wall, giving him space to join him “Sure. So you are a cuddler Kim Seungmin” Minho said as Seungmin made his way next to him and drew the curtain closed, giving them some privacy. It made him feel like they were the only people in the apartment, in the city, in the world. He wondered if Minho felt the same. He laid on his side, with his hands between the pillow and his cheek, keeping eye contact with Minho who followed his movements never relenting and keeping their gazes connected.
They shared the pillow then, laying in the same position trying to make each other out in the darkness of the room, with only notifications from Minho’s phone occasionally lighting up the space.
Seungmin broke the silence “Why were you looking for wedding rings?” Minho’s face shifted slightly then.
“They are pretty,” he said, turning away from Seungmin and breaking eye contact for the first time. “If that’s all you wanted, you can leave” he unlocked his phone then, which let Seungmin see the blush in Minho’s ears, giving him away entirely. He smiled to himself and moved closer to Minho, holding him by the waist and burying his face in the back of his hair. He closed his eyes then, basking on the warmth coming from the older. How comfortable it was to be like this, to hold him close. Minho startled at first, his body tensing at the sudden contact. Seungmin waited for him to adjust, he waited for his shoulders to relax, drawing circles on his skin with his thumb. Things had changed, Seungmin wanted them to keep changing like this. Minho hadn’t pushed him away even though this embrace felt more intimate than the ones they’d shared previously, or the ones they would share with the members and this gave him hope. Seungmin wondered then if Minho could feel the beat of his heart against his back.
“Maybe someday I’ll get to buy you one” he said into Minho’s hair and for a moment it was quiet. He knew the weight his words carried, always sincere with his delivery. Seungmin didn’t speak out of line, he always considered his words before letting them out. He had thought about this, many sleepless nights thinking about the man he was now holding. Thinking about his lips, his hands, his eyes, in a way that he had never fixated on with any other. His feelings buried deep in his heart were not platonic and even though there was a small chance of those feelings not being reciprocated, what went on today motivated him to go for a leap of faith, to push the limits a little tonight. Minho did keep the ring after all.
Minho moved, turning around in Seungmin’s hold. Seungmin didn't have enough time to process how close their faces were before Minho pinched his cheek harshly, pulling it in different directions as he spoke
“What do you mean maybe. You better give me something pretty Kim Seungmin'' It did take a second for him to react, his thoughts now scattered in his brain and his heart jumping alive in the confines of his ribcage. He knew thanks to the weak lighting of Minho’s unlocked phone that he was blushing again. Within the mess that was Seungmin’s mind hearing those words, the one and only thing his mind could focus on was the beauty of the man in front of him. Even in the scarce light they had at that moment, nothing was more alluring than the slope of Minho’s nose, his cheekbones, his defined lips, his eyes that captured the light available not only in the small space of his bunk bed but in the whole world, taking stars and constellations and capturing them in his irises.
“Hyung, do you-” pinching his cheek again, Minho interrupted him
“Stupid stupid Kim Seungmin can’t you take a hint” and then Minho cupped his face and brought him closer, close enough for their noses to touch each other, close enough for Seungmin to feel like he was standing on quicksand with those eyes staring directly into his own.
And yes, maybe Minho was difficult to read at times, but the sincerity with which he kissed Seungmin was as clear as day.