#** skinning him die. i forgot to say the key verb

[piosplayhouse]

Possibly an unpopular opinion but I personally think sqq is the most "morally white" main mxtx character

[noonachronicles]

flour·ish

Lee Minhyuk X Reader

Word count: 11.9k

Warnings: Swearing, Smut, Mostly Emotional Infidelity (+ a kiss) . 

Genre: Smut Fluff Angsty-ish

A/N: Smutty/Domestic Minhyuk requested by Anon. This was gonna just be a drabble... that worked out well for me.

flour·ish

/ˈfləriSH/

verb

grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.

“Last box!” Minhyuk called triumphantly through the empty apartment, dropping the final box on the counter. “Babe?”

A wave of confusion moved over him as he realized you weren’t there. Forehead creased in concentration he tried to remember if he’d seen you in the bedroom. It was literally a one bedroom, the apartment wasn’t even that big. It should have been impossible for you to have moved passed him without him noticing...at least he was pretty sure he wasn’t that unobservant. He looked back through the apartment once more, flabbergasted by his ability to lose you in an empty apartment. Obviously it was some sort of an untapped talent. He was just about to pull out his phone to call you, see if you’d maybe gone down to the moving van, when he realized where you were.

“Hey!” He popped his head out of the window that led to the tiny three by five fire escape space that the apartment complex had the audacity to call a balcony in their advertisements. “What are you doing out here?”

“Just saying goodbye.” You smiled down at him as he climbed through the window to join you in the tight space. “Plus we almost forgot Cole!”

Minhyuk let out a dramatic gasp as he wrapped his arms around you. “Not Cole!”

“Don’t make fun of me, Minnie.” You said leaning your head back against his shoulder. “Cole was the first gift you ever gave me.”

He hummed against the top of your head and looked down at the vibrant, potted coleus. “I guess it was, wasn’t it?”

“Mmhm. And this is where I fell in love with you.”

“Technically, wasn’t it the roof?” he joked.

“The roof. The balcony. The elevator. The mailboxes. Miserable as it is, I fell in love with you all over this place.”

“Lucky for me.” He whispered softly against your ear. You bit your lip as he slid his hand from your hip over your stomach.

“And what is happening here…” you asked, his fingers undoing the button on your shorts.

“Just…” he chuckled, “I was thinking maybe one more time? Hmm? For old times sake.”

“Why don’t we wait until we get home?” You giggled at the way his fingers tickled between your thighs. “Christen the new bedroom…”

“Why not both?” He asked while his hand disappeared completely down the front of your shorts.

You let out the tiniest whimper, your hand wrapped around the hand he still kept on your hip. “I love you so much, Minhyuk.”

“I love you too.” He said with a kiss to your neck. “It’s why I married you.”

-

When you first met Minhyuk you were already in a relationship. You were engaged, actually. You had been. To the same man. For three years. You loved Matt, your fiancé, but sometimes it felt like an obligation. Like you had to or you were supposed to. You’d known each other since grade school and started dating in high school. Marriage was the next natural step. Everyone you knew believed the two of you were the real deal. The perfect love story. Childhood friends turned high school sweethearts. You often heard you were meant for each other. That you were destined for forever, but you weren’t sure anymore. You hadn’t been for a while by the time you met Minhyuk. When you finally did meet him, you knew for certain.

It had been easy to overlook the imperfections in your relationship originally because, despite the amount of years you had under your belt, you didn’t actually spend that much time together. In high school Matt played sports while you had spent your time in libraries and coffee shops composing submissions for writing competitions. The two of you had even gone to different colleges. Though they were in the same city, with coursework and jobs to work around, you might as well have been in a long distance relationship. You didn’t even live together, he’d lived on campus and you’d spent a couple years in an apartment with your best friend. After graduation when he finally asked you to move in with him, you still barely saw one another.  

Right out of the gate you got something of a dream job as a columnist for one of the few successful remaining print magazines. One you’d been lucky enough to intern for during college. Though recently they had been making the switch to mostly online and pushing writers to work from home so they could downsize the office. You didn’t mind working from home to downsize the office so long as they didn’t try to downsize you. It was an easy job and paid well enough that you lived comfortably and still had the time to work on your own personal writing endeavors.

Matt had been a consultant for tech companies which meant he was always traveling. Even with you working from home the two of you saw each other maybe one week out of every month. Without having the human interaction of the work office, you were often lonely when he wasn’t around. In that way, distance definitely made the heart grow fonder. You learned the hard way that that kind of fondness was feeble when he’d been fired from his position. The pair of you went from one week a month together to every second of every day together and it was more trying that you’d have liked to admit.

Suddenly you were the sole breadwinner and Matt took the opportunity to, as he put it, find his true calling. However a month of soul searching turned into six and six months quickly became a year. The wedding was postponed indefinitely when the two of you blew through every pennies worth of savings including the wedding fund and the nest egg. Before you knew it you were moving from the four bedroom house you’d been renting to a one bedroom apartment with ‘free utilities’.

That was about the time Minhyuk had rooted into your life.

Tensions in your relationship were unbearably high. Constantly on edge with stress, Matt and you fought often and about almost everything. Especially being in such a small space. It was like everything he did wrong was magnified and it made your skin crawl. Being with him had become more of a burden than a pleasure but somehow you’d been together for so long that simply splitting up just never crossed your mind as a possibility. It was like you’d forgotten that it’s what some couples did.

One afternoon, a couple weeks after you moved into the new place, the two of you had gone to the grocery store. You’d just wanted to get a few things to last until the end of week when you got paid but Matt had other plans. Which lead to bickering, which lead to arguing, which lead to fighting the entire walk home from the bodega down the street.

“I just thought it might be nice to have a romantic night in. Since you refuse to let us go out anymore…” he was saying while you waited for the world's slowest elevator.

You’d been searching the bottom of your purse for your keys when it dinged upon opening and you followed him in. When the door closed in front of you, you slammed the button for your floor. “We can’t go out because we can’t afford it! And a romantic night in isn’t an eighty dollar bottle of tequila and a box of cigars out of some guy's coat on the sidewalk!”

“You said you were going to stop bringing money up when we argued.”

“And you said you were going to get a job.” You bit back, “People say things all the time, Matt.”

“I’m trying! It’s not easy right now!”

“It would be easier if you didn’t sleep until two in the afternoon everyday.” You muttered. With your keys in hand you crossed your arms over your chest and stared at the elevator door.

“Why are you so mad? You’re always out on the balcony. We never talk. I just wanted one, nice night with you. One where we don’t fight. Maybe you get a little buzzed and loosen up a little and for once stop acting like you're miserable and we have a good time. I can’t even remember the last time we had sex. You never want to spend time together-“

“BECAUSE!” You snapped, unable to even look at him, you kept your eyes on the dull silver of the elevator door. “because Matt, our apartment is a fucking shoebox with a hundred other little boxes inside of it because you refuse to help me unpack or clean or literally do anything helpful. Not to mention I work from home and ever since you lost your job you’re always around. We spend all of our time together. It’s making me insane. Every little thing you do makes me want to tear out my hair. You leave the seat up on the toilet, you can’t rinse a dirty dish off to save your fucking life. You never leave the house and yet every single day there is a new pile of dirty clothes where it doesn’t belong! I don’t mind...I really don’t, I don’t mind being the breadwinner, but I just need space sometimes. Or help. Something. I love you but it’s so much. I’m so stressed all the time and it would be nice if you could even attempt to shoulder some of the burden. Or at least acknowledge what I do for you. And don’t try and act like you want to spend time together when all you want is an hour long blow job while you play Call of Duty and a five minute fuck before you fall asleep and I have to finish myself off in the bathroom.”

“Do you have a fiancé?” Matt asked.

Confused, you turned to look at him and quickly realized he wasn’t talking to you. Noticing for the first time that your incredibly quiet neighbor was tucked awkwardly in the corner of the elevator and had heard everything. He must have walked in with you when you were searching your bag. Your face flushed red in embarrassment for having gone off in front of him. Suddenly you were going back over your rant to try and remember what you said. Though based entirely off of what you ended with, you knew you wanted to curl up and die no matter what.

“No, I’m not with anyone right now.” He answered.

“Good. Good for you, man.” Matt sighed. “Don’t do it. Save yourself the stress. It’s just nagging all the time.”

You looked over at your fiancé in disbelief and scoffed. “Nice, Matt. That’s really nice.”

Finally the elevator ride from hell ended and the door opened, allowing you to storm out and down the hall in frustration. When you turned to look at Matt, about to complain about his actions in the elevator, you realized the stranger had gotten out too and was now opening the door to the apartment next to you. Before pushing his way inside of his door he looked over at you with a small smile filled with pity. You gulped, face still burning red in combination of anger and embarrassment. What a lovely way to meet your new neighbor.

-

Weeks had passed and you hadn’t seen your neighbor since the incredibly uncomfortable elevator ride. At first you were grateful for it, and honestly you’d been kind of avoiding him anyway, too ashamed of airing out your dirty laundry like that. Part of you had hoped maybe the longer you went without seeing him the more likely it was he’d forget what happened all together. You knew you weren’t that lucky, but it didn’t hurt to have a positive outlook.

It was already late afternoon one day when you’d finished up your work work and snuck out onto the tiny fire escape ‘balcony’ for your few hours of alone time and to work on the novel you’d been writing. It was a tiny little space but you found if you sat with your knees up near your chest you could place your laptop on top of them like a desk. And you could tuck your mug of tea underneath your tented legs like a little nook. Some days you wouldn’t waste a second, typing away until your fingertips tingled with numbness. Writing as much as you could as fast as you could before the sun set on the city and the screen was too harsh for your eyes.

Other days, like this particular day, you’d sit there curled up on the balcony and just look out over the neighborhood for hours. You'd watch the cars make their way down the street. The people walking down on the sidewalks. Families that left their curtains open in the expensive condos across the street with their massive living rooms the size of your entire apartment. You’d listen to the dogs barking nearby that would create a domino effect of barking dogs all around the block. You could hear couples arguing. Children screaming with laughter as they chased each other around the block on their bikes and scooters.The chaos helped to calm you down.

You’d been sitting there for quite awhile, looking out over the neighborhood, before you noticed it.

Each apartment had its tiny balcony that was attached to a fire escape that lined the length of the building, top to bottom. While you used the space as your personal escape from a floundering relationship, most people just put bikes and things on it as extra storage space. Yours was attached to the same fire escape platform as your neighbors. And sitting there on the platform, for what had to have been the entire time you were sitting there, was a small terra-cotta pot that you’d never seen before. Flowing over its sides was a plant with vibrant green and magenta leaves. When you looked closer you noticed a little white envelope underneath the pot. Pulling yourself to your feet you moved over to the platform and tugged the envelope out from under the plant.

The front of the envelope was simply labeled 8C, which was your apartment number. The note inside of it was just as short and sweet in a nicely scripted handwriting.

8C,

You’re out here a lot on your own. I thought maybe you could use a friend.

8D

Ps. It’s a coleus, keep it in the shade and just water once a day. You should be good. :)

After that you started to wish you would bump into 8D, so you might have the chance to thank him properly for the gift and see if there was anything you could get for him in return. He didn’t have to be so kind but you appreciated that he was. Not even Matt would have considered being so thoughtful.

Cole, as you’d named him, had been wonderfully distracting. You spent almost the entire next day researching how to care properly for your new friend. He made your alone time on the balcony a little bit less lonely as well. Usually you would come out onto the balcony and ask him how his day was, though it was never very interesting, and then afterwards you would vent about how your morning went. Though sometimes you’d also just sit there in silence rubbing the soft, veiny leaves between your finger tips. Regardless of what you did it always felt like you could feel the stress of the day roll off your shoulders.

A week or two had passed and you still hadn’t seen your neighbor. Feeling horrible that you still hadn’t even been able to say thank you for what he’d done for you, you decided to leave him a note. Too nervous about leaving it out on his balcony you had taken it down to the mailboxes one day as you were checking your own and slid it into his box.

8D

I was hoping to say thank you. Why are you so impossible to find?

8C

The next afternoon, you went out to find a piece of paper tucked into Cole’s leaves.

8C

Can you keep a secret?

8D

In an instant you had ducked back inside the apartment. Matt, busy screaming into his headset while he played video games didn’t even notice your reentry. On your work desk you found a blank, bright pink post-it and scribbled on it with a thick black sharpie. Just one word.

Yes!

Crawling back out onto the balcony you shook with nerves. You stepped onto the fire escape platform and then down onto your neighbors balcony space. It looked dark and empty through the window. You didn’t intend to snoop, that’s not really who you were, but there you were with this perfect opportunity.

Peering in through the glass you tried to see what you could learn about your neighbor. The living area and kitchen, all you could really see, were both clean and tidy. A set of four coffee mugs were hanging on hooks, and it looked like the other dinnerware sets were in fours as well. There was nothing to indicate that a second person lived there and you had never seen anyone else go into the apartment, so you assumed he lived alone. Though you were unsure why you found yourself so concerned about it. House plants could be found on most of the counter and table spaces. As well as a couple that hung from hooks on the ceiling.

For a moment you wondered if he knew a plant would be nice for you because he knew what it was like to be lonely too. Other than plants the apartment was filled with art. In one corner, the one you imagined got the most sunlight in the morning, there were two tarp covered easels. There was also what looked to you like a drawing desk, you were sure it was similar to the ones they’d used to have at the magazine office.

You wished you could tell more about him. You’d liked to have maybe gotten an idea for a nice gift that wasn’t a plant, seeing as he already had plenty of those. Before you could do much more snooping you noticed his front door was opening, light from the hallway seeping in through the opening. Quickly and quietly as you could you stuck the note to the window and snuck back over to your balcony and then back inside your apartment for the evening.

The entire rest of the night you shook with nerves of anticipation. Mostly you wondered what the secret would be. Then you wondered if he’d write it in a note or if you’d actually get the chance to see him face to face and speak to him. A little reckless with your thoughts, you almost burnt dinner trying to think about what his voice had sounded like in the elevator. You couldn’t remember.

You also weren’t sure why you felt so nervous to possibly speak to him. It felt, in your gut, like the night before a first date. Like how you’d feel getting ready for dinner with someone you just met. Before bed you even found yourself in the closet, trying to find a cute outfit, but not anything too obviously flirty. Seeing as you were still engaged.

The next day you couldn’t even wait until you were done with work. As soon as you woke up you showered and dressed, and then went immediately out to the balcony. When you did there was a piece of paper taped down, flapping on the platform in the light breeze. When you got closer you saw it read, in bold red painted strokes, START.

Without a second thought you climbed up onto the platform where you found another paper on the stairs with a big red arrow pointing up. You started to move up the fire escape, following a slew of red arrows until you were climbing onto the roof itself.

The view took your breath away. If you thought that the number of plants in his apartment was excessive, this was so much more. You’d found an entire roof top garden. Potted plants were all over the place. All different kinds, all different colors. There was one of those stand alone hammocks and an old rusted patio table with a couple of mismatched chairs. You explored by yourself for a while, taking a self tour of the rooftop and examining the different plants it had to offer.

Minhyuk had seen you plenty of times. He noticed you from the very first day you’d moved in. There was just something about you. He knew you had a boyfriend, or as he’d learned in the elevator, a fiancé. He still couldn’t shake the strong desire to know you. Even just as a friend. It took him ages to build up the nerve to even leave you a gift, too worried you might think his hobby was stupid.

Eyes closed, a smile across your lips, loose hairs blowing gently in the wind, morning sunshine kissing your skin as you lifted your nose ever so just to smell the blooming, peach begonias in their hanging basket. That was Minhyuk’s first vision of you that morning when he’d reached the rooftop. It felt like it was the first time he was really seeing you. And if you asked him, and you would ask him a hundred times in your life together, when he fell in love with you...he would say it was that exact moment every time.

In the same way the garden had with you, you had taken his breath away. Literally, as he’d stepped onto the roof he’d forgotten to breathe as he stood there staring. So when his body forced him to breathe in, finally, he choked on the air and dropped all of his things onto the rooftop. That was what your first real vision of him was. Cheeks flush, hair every which way, eyes panicked, still choking on air, while scurrying to pick up paint brushes and pens that were scattered around on the ground at his feet in every direction.

After the tiniest laugh you hurried over to help him pick up a few lone brushes just out of his reach. He cleared his throat several times before actually reaching out to take the brushes you offered him.

“Thanks.” He said quite shyly.

You smiled kindly before looking over your shoulder at the small garden. “Are these all yours?”

He nodded as he headed over to the table to set his things down. “Yeah. The door to the roof has been jammed shut for decades, probably… and no one ever thinks to take the fire escape all the way up. Well kids sometimes but they’re not so bad. Mostly they just want to smoke pot. If you leave them alone they leave you alone and they’re respectful of the plants. So it’s kind of like having my own extra space. Which is nice because the apartments are so tiny.”

“They are, right?” You laughed, “I’m not just being whiny.”

“No.” He shook his head, “Not at all.”

“Good.”

It was cute how nervous he seemed. A good distraction from the butterflies that were waking up in your stomach as you really looked at him and realized how handsome he was. His jaw was surprisingly sharp, especially in contrast to how soft and kind his eyes were. His bottom lip was plump and looked almost like it was set in a permanent, adorable pout. His cheekbones were so beautifully sculpted it was hard not to reach out and touch them. It had been literally two whole minutes and already you wondered what it might be like to kiss him.

“Well you’re wel-“

“Thank you for-“

Both of you laughed nervously as you spoke together and he scrunched his nose, “You go ahead.”

“Oh, just wanted to thank you for Cole.”

“Cole?” He asked.

“The um…” you flushed in embarrassment, “The coleus you left me?”

Minhyuk smiled so hard he blushed almost instantly, “You named him?”

“Well yeah. He’s my friend so...friends need names, right?” You asked. He nodded and you held out your hand, “My name is y/n. In case you were interested in a friend too.”

“Minhyuk.” He said taking your hand. You didn’t even realize the way your eyebrows raised as you noticed how large his hand was while he wrapped his fingers around yours. “I was just going to say you’re welcome to come up whenever you want.”

You laughed, “You might regret that when I’m in your personal space all the time.”

“I promise, I won’t.” He grinned, finally letting your hand go. “Do you like coffee?”

“Do humans need oxygen to live?”

With another laugh he tugged the messenger bag he’d been using off his shoulder and pulled out a thermos. “Uh...there’s already cream and sugar. I hope that’s okay.”

“You’re so sweet.” You didn’t mean to blurt out the comment, but you did. Minhyuk flushed just as bad as you did. “I just mean...you’re already sharing your space with me, and now your coffee? I...I don’t mind if there’s already cream and sugar, I’m just grateful you’re being so kind.”

With a small smile he handed you the cup. “What are friends for?”

-

After that morning the two of you spent nearly every day up on the roof together, weather permitting. You’d take up your laptop for whatever articles you were working on or to work on your novel. Minhyuk would bring up his messenger bag full of art supplies and paint or draw. You learned he was a freelance illustrator for a few publishing companies. He mostly drew art for children’s books but that really just paid the bills enough for him to be able to make whatever art he really wanted.

He’d spend the afternoons, once you were done with work, teaching you about all of the types of plants he had. He showed you how to take care of each one and their individual needs. And eventually you started to help him take care of them. You also named each and everyone of them and he made sure to learn every name. Every morning he brought coffee in his thermos and something light to eat for breakfast. You went down every afternoon to the apartment and would bring back lunch for the two of you. You were up on the roof so often you hadn’t even realized when Matt finally got a job because you were never in the apartment during the day enough to realize he wasn’t there.

It was strange to you that with every single day that passed, not once did you ever feel tired of being around Minhyuk. If anything you found yourself wanting to be with him even more. You knew you were falling in love with him and you knew it was wrong. By then it was just too late. You didn’t really care that it was wrong because spending time with Minhyuk was like breathing the freshest air. And how were you supposed to deny yourself oxygen?

Eight months had passed by and they had been, by far, the happiest you’d found yourself in what felt like literal years. Your relationship with Minhyuk was constantly growing beyond the rooftop garden. Every weekend, rain or shine, he’d take you somewhere new so that you weren’t always in the apartment. A nursery outside of the city to browse plants or a museum or gallery to browse art. One thing you’d learned about him was that despite being an amazing plant father, he was terrible at taking care of himself. Every night you’d make extra for dinner and bring him a plate. Otherwise, you knew, he would get too preoccupied and forget to eat all together. On nights when Matt was at work or out of town you’d invite him for a properly done meal.  

Nearing the ninth month of your friendship came what would be one of the worst weeks of all of them. It was the one when you’d gotten the worst flu of your life. A few hours into the first morning that you were bedridden and didn’t make it up to the roof Minhyuk had texted you to make sure you were okay. After you told him you were sick he promised to take care of Cole for you and told you to get better quickly. He left you soup and a thermos with hot tea on the balcony every day. He would send you texts all day long so that you always had something to wake up to and never felt too lonely. There would be pictures of his goofy face or a pouty face next to one of the plants. The captions would read things like, “Kevin misses you, but not as much as me”, “Blossom is sort of a gossipy mean girl when you’re not around”. He even sent a picture of a blank canvas and message that just said, “I’m useless without my muse”, which just left you feeling more feverish than before.

On your first day back to the roof you hugged him so tight you were afraid you might break his back but you couldn’t help yourself. You’d also brought him fresh baked cookies for being such an amazing friend. And then you stared at him for several hours and got nearly no work done at all. He didn’t even say anything about it, though you were sure he knew based solely on the way his lip would curl into a smirk every once in a while. He just looked so handsome as he worked. Wire rimmed glasses propped on his nose as he worked on his latest sketch. His hair was so fluffy and soft, his skin perfect and lips pouty. You’d just missed him so much. Pictures that he’d sent didn’t do him half as much justice as he deserved.

For your one year friendiversary you set up fairy lights all over the rooftop garden. It was a two part gift. The first part was so that he could come up at night whenever he wanted to enjoy his plants, which he never really had before. The second was so that you could set up a moonlit picnic dinner. It was perfect timing really, as Matt was out of town for the week with work. It gave you ample time to prepare the rooftop and you didn’t even have to make up an excuse for being out so late the night of the dinner. Minhyuk was absolutely glowing with happiness beneath the lights that night as the two of you sat down on the blanket you’d put out.

“Okay, one last gift.” you grinned after dinner, “Something you can actually unwrap.”

“Another?” he asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. His hand resting on top of his too full stomach. “Do you do this much for all of your friends for all of your friendiversaries?”

“Just you.” you grabbed the long narrow package from the bottom of the picnic basket.

“Well, I don’t deserve it.” he pushed himself up so he was sitting across from you and you placed the gift in his lap. “I still owe you something nice after the Christmas present you got me.”

With a laugh you shook your head, “You don’t owe me anything, Minnie.”

He cleared his throat and looked down at the gift. You weren’t the only person that used a nickname for him, but you were the only one who could make him blush with one. Tearing the shimmery silver wrapping paper from the gift he looked down at a beautiful mahogany brush box engraved with the same whale design that he had tattooed on his thigh.

“Ah, Y/n…” he gulped, feeling his eyes start to water. “It’s too much.”

“You didn’t even open it,” you tittered.

“There’s something inside?” he asked, genuinely shocked.

“Duh!”

“Oh…” he opened the lid of the box and sat speechless. “These are Kolinsky’s.”

“Obviously, I don’t know a ton about paint brushes. I just know you have that one you really love and it said Kolinsky on it. Did I do good?”

He was still pretty unsure of how to respond, “These are worth hundreds of dollars.”

“Well...I wasn’t going to tell you how much they were.” you shrugged, “I just know your big goal this year was to be ready for a gallery showing. If you’re going to be a big fancy artist, you need big fancy brushes. Right? I’m sure you’ll get me something nice after you sell your first thousand dollar pa-”

The words froze in your throat when he leaned forward and pulled you into a hug. He didn’t say anything at first, just wrapped you tightly in his arms. Then quietly against your hair he muttered a soft, “Thank you for believing in me.”

“Oh, Minnie…” You raised your arms around him in return as you felt his arms trembling around you. “Of course.”

Your hand moved gently along the length of his back for a few minutes and he continued to hold you. When he sat back down on the blanket he swiped at his face and then turned behind him to where he’d been keeping his gift for you.

“I have to get you something else now... obviously, but for now.” He handed you the large, but lightweight, gift. “Happy anniversary...friendiversary.”

“You don’t have to get me anything else.” You assured him, “Whatever this is, I can already tell you, is more than enough.”

It was a little unsurprising to you when you pulled away the wrapping paper to reveal the back of a canvas. The note on the back, in his beautiful handwriting, read, ‘For the only muse I’ve ever known. I hope we can continue to grow together.’ You didn’t know when you flipped it over that the image was of the moment he’d fallen in love with you. At first you’d thought it was an angel in a field of peach begonias. It didn’t register that it was you, hand delicately cupping the flowers with the sun dancing across your face and gently, wind strewn hair. You cried and you didn’t even try to hide it.  

“She’s beautiful.” you whispered, unable to tear your eyes away.

“She?” he grinned as he watched you, “It’s you.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you choked out, “Me?”

“I painted it when you were sick.” He said nervously watching you look it over.

“I don’t think I've ever looked this ethereal a day in my life. You’re sure you hadn’t already forgotten what I looked like at that point?” You joked but your eyes were still glistening with fresh tears.

“I could never forget.”

When you looked back up from the painting you realized how close he actually was. He realized it too. You watched as he licked his lips, and leaned forward towards your mouth.

“Minhyuk…” you said his name cautiously, though you didn’t say no or move away.

“Please?” He begged, his face looked so pained, “I want just once to know what it would feel like if you were mine.”

“Me too.” You whispered.

You put the painting down beside you and looked back up at him expectantly. Now with your permission he placed his hand on your soft cheek and leaned forward until his lips were against yours. It didn’t take but a moment for you to lean into him, moving your hand to his jaw. It was perfect. It was everything a kiss should be, everything you always imagined it might be with him. You didn’t even consider trying to stop him as he eased you down onto your back. Cradling your head against his arm his tongue brushed against your lip and you opened your mouth to him. Your fingers snuck up into his hair as you moaned into the kiss. Your whole body flooded with warmth.

You’d probably let it go on much longer than you should have but at the same time it was also over before you felt it should have been. He didn’t pull all the way away, in fact he pulled you closer. Wrapped his arms around you fully. As he gently kissed your cheek, your temple, your forehead, your eyes welled with tears. This felt like a goodbye and you knew it had to be. How could you ever be alone with him again after this.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” He said, still cradling your head, “You were worth it. Every second.”

“If I…” you whimpered as tears fell from your eyes. “If he…”

“It’s okay.” He assured you, brushing the hair from your face. “Maybe I get you in another lifetime. I’ll just have to wait.”

The pair of you sat up and Minhyuk held you close, letting you cry against his shoulder for a while. You didn’t want to let go, you didn’t want to let him go. You knew once you did you’d have to leave. And you knew once you left you couldn’t see him again. Your friendship just couldn’t be the same, not with the way you already missed the feeling of his kiss on your lips. Minhyuk knew just as well that this would have to be it, because there was no way he’d be able to just be your friend anymore. Not when he knew, for even for just a few minutes, what it was like to have you as more. He held onto you as long as he could. Until the warmth of your bodies together was no longer enough to keep you from shivering from the cold. The two of you worked together in silence to clean up the picnic mess and he helped you down the fire escape.

When you reached your balcony you dropped the basket and your gift next to the window and looked back over at him, “Minnie?”

“Yeah?” he looked so miserable when he looked back at you.

You threw your arms around his shoulders one last time with all the strength you could. You wanted to squeeze him full of enough love that he wouldn’t forget you, even if you were just a thin wall away. Pressing your nose into his neck you inhaled him deeply. His smell was pure warmth, he smelled the way it felt to sit in a patch of sun to warm up on a chilly autumn day. It reminded you of fresh air and clean clothes. Minhyuk was everything good.

“Take care of our friends.” you whispered, “Maybe someday it won’t be so hard to be around each other and we can go back to being us again.”

“Maybe.” he mumbled, but both of you knew he was lying. He didn’t want to go back to what you were.

When you leaned back, you knew it was a bad idea, but you kissed his cheek. He looked down at you for just a second and you latched at the mouth again. You kissed him hard and his fingers dug so deep into your hips that it hurt but you’d been digging your own nails into his shoulders so hard you were sure it felt the same for him. It wasn’t until you heard the sound of the apartment above yours open their window that you pulled away. Both of you stood still for a minute as you heard the tell tale sounds of someone lighting a cigarette, then you pulled away for real.

“Goodnight, Minnie.” you said quietly.

He nodded and sighed, “Goodnight.”

-

After that night when Matt came home from his work trip was when the sadness and the longing took a backseat to overwhelming guilt. It had been such a long time since you’d really spent time together that his every move no longer hit each of your nerves. That, in turn, allowed you to remember the things you liked about him and the reasons you loved him. And in a vicious cycle made you feel heavy with guilt all over.

Even if it wasn’t for the kiss you knew you’d gone too far with Minhyuk. You had completely connected yourself with someone else on a mental and emotional level that you might as well have been sleeping together anyway. You thought about how you would have felt if it was the other way around and he was the one that had connected with someone new, fallen in love with someone else. For a long while you debated whether or not to tell him what had happened but ultimately decided against it. You weren’t sure how Matt would react, but you didn’t want Minhyuk to be in any trouble. He hadn’t really done anything wrong. You’d been the one in a relationship. You were the one that should have been able to restrain yourself.

Weeks passed and you felt everything going back to normal. During the day you worked on articles, sometimes spending hours in coffee shops just to get away. Evenings you spent out on the balcony with Cole. Nights you would lay across the couch with your head on Matts’ lap while he played some videogame or another. You hardly ever saw Minhyuk.

It wasn’t clear to you yet if it was a blessing from god or cruel a twist of fate that every time you had seen him you’d been with Matt. Mostly it was coming into the building or at the mailbox which wasn’t always terrible. It was elevator rides that took forever that hurt the worst. Usually it was you standing in between the two of them. Matt making excruciating small talk, asking him if he was seeing anyone or how work was going. Having to catch his scent for just a moment and not being able to dive into him. You nearly choked one night. You had almost made it safely inside the apartment when Matt mentioned to Minhyuk that he was gone a lot of the time. He said the two of you should hang out. It would be nice for you to have a friend. He even asked him, half jokingly, to keep an eye on you for him.  

Albeit lackluster, it seemed like your life was back on its previous track. Things between you and Matt were decent, work was going well, and you hadn’t cried in the shower over Minhyuk in nearly a week. It was at about that time that you’d come back into the apartment one evening to find Matt standing over the bed. On top of the duvet was the painting Minhyuk had done of you and the small box that held every note Minhyuk had ever written you. From the one he left on Cole to the ones he’d sneak into your mailbox or hide in your closed laptop, or tape to the window outside your balcony. You didn’t think any of them were anything bad, regardless you had kept all of it hidden away in the back of the closet like a dirty secret.

“What are you doing?” you asked quietly from the doorway.

“I was getting out my luggage for my trip tomorrow.” he said, staring down at the letter in his hands, his jaw was clenched tight. “I found your box.”

“Okay.” you gulped.

“Did you fuck him?”

You shook your head, “No. It wasn’t like that.”

“It wasn’t?” he gave a sarcastic chortle and tossed the letter in his hands to the bed. “You won’t look at him. You never fucking talk to him. When you see him at the mailbox or heading into the elevator, you always make up some bullshit excuse to avoid being around him with me.”

“That doesn’t mean we had sex.” you sighed.

“Well what were you trying to hide then? Why hide these?” he asked and looked over at the painting. “Do you love him? Because I’d bet everything that he’s in love with you.”

It felt like you were burning up, you didn’t even know what to say. Standing there you’d come to the easy conclusion that everything that happened after the night you kissed Minhyuk was a lie. There wasn’t a part of you that actually wanted to be with Matt anymore. Nothing about what you felt for him was even at a comparable level to how much you loved Minhyuk. You’d tried to lie to yourself again like you had before, like you had been for years. You’d tried to convince yourself that Matt was your destiny and something you just had to surrender yourself to, but you couldn’t anymore. Not now that you knew what was out there. You missed Minhyuk so much that most days your whole body ached for him.  

“Yes.” you admitted quietly. “Yes, I’m in love with him.”

“More than you love me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still want to marry me?” he asked.

You shook your head, you didn’t even have tears to cry in this moment, “No, I don’t.”

For a while Matt went off on you and you let him. He yelled for some time, and then he cried, and then he yelled some more. He convinced himself that the two of you had been sleeping together every time he was away. He called you every name in the book and demanded that you give him his ring back, which you did without argument. At one point he attempted to kick you out of the apartment, even going so far as throwing some of your things into boxes. Then in the end he decided he was the one that was going to leave and started to pack his things.

Once things seemed settled, within a blink, you were knocking rapidly on the door of the apartment 8D. You could have waited until morning. Maybe that would have given you time to come up with something spectacular to say. Some beautiful confession of your love. You could meet him in the garden, in the soft morning light. Surrounded by all of the plants like a secret, romantic garden. Instead you had waited about five of the most awkward moments of your life watching Matt angrily stuff his clothes into suitcases. Then you couldn’t wait a single second more. You missed Minhyuk’s sweet face. His warm energy. You just missed him.

When the door opened to reveal Minhyuk you knew you didn’t have any poetic confessions of love on the tip of your tongue. So before he could even get out his first syllable you threw your arms around him and planted your lips against his in a kiss. He stiffened for a moment in surprise before easing into it. His long arms slipping around your waist and pulling you in tight.

Before things could get too heated, which you were more than ready for, he pulled away. “What...what are you doing?”

“I love you.” you felt you had your priorities straight, then followed with, “I left Matt. He’s packing right now, but I couldn’t wait another second, Minhyuk. I had to tell you. I had to see you. I love you. I want to be with you. I missed you so much. You were right here and I couldn’t stop missing you.”

“You love me?” He asked with a bright smile lighting up his face.

“Yeah...a lot.” A wave of relief crashed over you and you felt the tension leave your body. “Is that okay?”

“Wow. Oh man.” He let out a heavy breath and pulled you in tighter than before. “I love you too.”

“Is it okay…Can I stay with you for a couple hours?” You asked, “Just until he’s packed and gone. And then I’ll leave if you want and we can figure everything out tomorrow.”

“Are you kidding?” He laughed. “Of course you can stay! Stay with me forever! Never leave my side.”  

“Minhyuk…”

Both of you were surprised by the female voice that came from inside his apartment. You looked up to see a beautiful, although confused, young woman standing in his living room.

“Are you…” you looked up at Minhyuk, entirely amused, “On a date?”

“Ah, yes. I am.” He flushed, “...I forgot.”

You covered your mouth as you snorted out a laugh. You should have felt worse for the poor girl, but something about this moment was just too funny.

“You must be Y/n.” She said with a small smile as she stepped towards the two of you.

“Um… yes.” Now confused yourself, you still reached out to accept her outstretched hand. “I’m so sorry, have we met?”

With a laugh she shook her head, “No, no! I’m Jamie. I’ve just…I was looking at Mins paintings and I recognized you. I have you hanging in my bedroom.”

“Huh?”

“That’s how I met Jamie.” Minhyuk let out a breath of a laugh, “She bought one of my paintings...of you.”

“Honestly, you were just so ethereal, I had to have it. I can see why you’re his favorite subject.” She blushed. “I can also see that I should leave.”

Still a little confused, you watched as Jamie grabbed her bag from the kitchen counter.

“Sorry.” Minhyuk offered awkwardly as she made her way to the door.

“It’s okay. I totally get it.” She smiled over at you and placed a gentle hand on your forearm. “It was such a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too.” You grinned.

She thanked Minhyuk for a lovely dinner and then the two of you watched as she made her way to the elevator.

“Was she flirting with you?” He asked quietly.

“I don’t know…” you couldn’t help but giggle as he pulled you inside the apartment and shut the door with his foot, “I think so.”

“I don’t blame her.” His lips pressed hard against your cheek, “You want a drink?”

“Sure. Whatever you’re having is fine.”

You missed his arms around you as soon as they slipped from your hips. And you watched him walk over to the tiny kitchen. As he was busy pouring drinks you moved over to his art desk. You realized you’d never actually been inside of his apartment before. You’d only ever seen it from the balcony that one time. Even when you’d had dinners together it was him coming over to yours.

Your heart started to feel overwhelming in your chest as you stood there looking. It was a lot of you to take in but at the same time it didn’t feel creepy or uncomfortable. There were little sketches of you on top of the desk. Smaller canvases lined along the wall of paintings that could have been any woman, but you knew it was you. And on the easel there was a work in progress, an oil painting that took your breath away.

“I’m not a creep.” Minhyuk said as he walked up beside you and handed you a glass. “I swear I’m not. I’m just totally in love with you.”

Your lip trembled slightly as you looked up at him. Your eyes were glossy and threatening real tears. Minhyuk pouted as he looked down at you.

“Are you okay?” He asked with genuine concern, “Did I do something wrong?”

“Is that really how you see me?” You asked in a whisper.

He looked over at the painting in consideration. “I haven’t gotten it perfectly yet, I’m still working on it. But yeah, that’s pretty close to how I see you.”

You looked around for a surface to put your drink and when you couldn’t find one fast enough you handed your glass back to him.

“Don’t go.” He begged, as he took your glass.

You didn’t. You had never intended to leave, you just needed a place to put your glass so you could reach up and hold his face in your hands. Then you pulled his lips to yours. When you finally pulled back from the kiss his eyes were closed, and his mouth was open just slightly like they were waiting for another kiss. He looked as completely blissed out as you felt.

He didn’t open his eyes until you’d taken back your glass. You laughed at the disappointment on his face as he realized that was it and then turned back to his desk. There was a cork board on the wall behind the desk that you hadn’t noticed before. Pinned to it, it had every note you’d left him. Even the bright pink post-it that just said Yes!

“I have all the notes you left me too.” You said with a blush.

“I hoped you might have.”

Turning back to him with a grin, you placed your drink on the top of the stool beside the desk. “Can I make a pretty bold assumption?”

“Of course.” He shrugged.

Biting your lip you tugged at the bottom hem of your shirt until you’d pulled it over your head. A warmth moved through you as he stood there silently, wink-blinking as he looked over your body.

“I assume you want to sleep with me.”

He opened his mouth to say something but thinking better of it he bent down and placed the glass with his drink in it on the floor before throwing himself at you. Wrapped up in his arms you laughed, and he walked you backwards until the two of you were crashing down on the couch.

“Best day.” He muttered against your neck with a kiss as his hands spread out over your skin. Your fingers dug into his hair with the slightest tug.

“Absolutely.”

-

After that it was the two of you. For a while you kept your apartment. Partly in case it didn’t work out, though neither of you ever expected it wouldn’t. Mostly it was so that you didn’t feel like you were incapable of being on your own. Having been with Matt since high school you’d moved from your parents home to a brief stint with a friend and then into a place with him. You didn’t want to be the type of girl that just jumped from one guy to the next. You wanted a chance to prove your independence. Eventually, with the amount of time you spent together, it became clear that your apartment had become a very pricey walk-in closet and it just wasn’t worth pretending anymore. You knew where you wanted to be.

Within three months of dating you were engaged, again. Minhyuk had asked you the night of his very first gallery opening and it was more than a pleasure for you to be able to say yes. Both of you had intended on a short engagement, but you had to postpone when the book you’d completed got picked up by a publisher. It had been Minhyuk’s birthday surprise to you. He’d sent in an early draft to a publisher friend of his and they had loved it. Besides that one week you’d been sick with the flu and unable to see him, the worst time was a two month book tour. You probably wouldn’t have ever needed to go on one if it wasn’t for your coworker writing an article for the magazine about it that had gone viral. After a couple hundred thousand preorders, the publishing company decided that it would be an amazing idea. The whole thing was a daze and while some parts were fun and you were grateful for every second it was hard to be away from Minhyuk for too long. When he surprised you in one of the cities around week four you cried for five whole minutes. Just holding him and sobbing. A little from pure exhaustion from the traveling but mostly because you had just missed him that much.    

When you returned home you were pretty quick to start planning the wedding, because, now under contract, you were also responsible for planning and executing your next novel. Luckily, you still had a lot of your dream details left over from when you’d been planning with Matt. There were just a few things here and there you wanted to personalize. The next six months went by in a flurry. Working on the second book, wedding, honeymoon, working on the book on the honeymoon, getting reprimanded by a pouty Minhyuk for working on the book during the honeymoon, making it up to him all over the suite at the resort, coming home to finish the second book, Minhyuk’s second gallery opening, and the second book book tour.

Then it felt like for a minute you could breathe again. And you spent most of your time inhaling the fresh air that was Minhyuk while spending your days back up on the roof together. It wasn’t until he’d left one night to pick up the take-out for dinner and come home with a puppy, forgetting the dinner all together, that the two of you decided it was time to move out of the tiny one bedroom you were sharing. Though somehow with him it had never seemed that small, it just felt right.

“I'm not sure I like this.” You frowned as you looked over the room that was meant to be your  writing office. “This place is too big. And…your studio is all the way outside?”

“You’re being pretty whiny for someone who said they had to have this house or they’d just die.” Minhyuk laughed as he came into the room behind you, “Where do you want Cole?”

You flailed your arm around dramatically, “Pfff! By the window, whatever. I don’t care.”

With another huff of a laugh he went over to the window and put your plant on the sill. He looked out at view for a second and then turned to you, holding out his hand, “Come here, big baby.”

You managed to somehow pout even harder as you grabbed his hand. He just smiled and pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and adjusting your gaze with his free hand so that you were looking out at the backyard. Daisy, your ever growing, six month old golden retriever, was rolling around in the dewey grass quite happily.

“Look,” he pointed across the way, to the backyard studio that he’d claimed for his art studio. “If you put your desk right here, you can see me whenever you want.”

“I don’t know,” you sighed leaning against his chest. “It’s so far. Aren’t you going to miss me?”

“Every second I’m away, Beautiful.” he patted your back, “It’ll be hard travelling so far away for work every day, but I don’t think we need paint fumes in the house. Plus, they say distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Just because you got famous doesn’t mean you have to start upping your paint game. Using different mediums? Spray paint? Massive art pieces? Unnecessary. The Mona Lisa is basically a notebook doodle. Just sell notebook doodles.” you grinned up at him and he kissed the tip of your nose. “And anyway, I think we’re a little too fond of each other. In fact, I think I’m so fond of you that you shouldn’t leave my side for months, that way I get tired of you.”

“I don’t think that’s going to work the way you think it is.” he laughed. “Did you already forget how small our apartment was? We were basically conjoined.”

“It wasn’t small, it was cozy.” you argued, while he pulled you from the office down the hall. He was perfectly fine arguing with you all night, he only thought some unpacking should be done while you did so. “The only reason I even suggested we move was for Daisy. She’s already so big, it wouldn’t have been fair to keep her there.”

“Baby,” he chuckled, disappearing for a second as he carried a box that read kitchen into the kitchen before reappearing without it, “You hated that apartment. You once referred to it as a shoebox. Which really was generous, those things were more like matchboxes. Which is probably why you’re freaking out and acting like a regular sized house is Buckingham Palace.”

You opened a box labeled living room and sighed, “It’s different with you, Minnie. I want to be around you. I like being around you. No place with you is too small because ‘with you’ is my favorite place in the world, it's why I promised my whole life to it.”

Opening another living room box you tossed a few throw pillows across the large open space towards the couch. It seemed hard to unpack when you didn’t even have enough furniture in the house to be sure where things were going to go. The bed and dresser had been moved upstairs to the bedroom, your desk was in your office and there were a few bookshelves randomly placed around the living room with the one couch and its one matching chair, but that was it. That had been all you could fit in the apartment. The house was so bare with the exception of about a thousand potted plants that had previously occupied the apartment rooftop, and you’d yet to decide what to do with them. After a minute of quiet passed your heart raced at the thought that Minhyuk had left the room without even saying anything.

“Min! Oh-” you gasped realizing he was still behind you, leaning against the bare wall, just watching. “What?”

With a grin he stepped towards you, his hand lifted to the back of your neck, and he pulled your mouth to his. You moaned instantly at the taste of him on your tongue. When he finally let off enough you were panting for breath and your lips felt swollen and sore.

Pressing his forehead to yours he whispered a sweet, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” you giggled lightly as his hands moved over you with an unintentional tickle.

Locking you into another kiss his hands gripped your hips and pushed them until you were flush against the wall. While he groaned into the kiss you felt his hands grow frantic at your hips, needing your shorts off of your body immediately. His hot breath passed over your face in a sigh as when his fingers were finally able to reach between your thighs.

“Ah, fuck, baby.” he sucked the skin of your neck into his mouth with a pinch. “You’re warm...so wet already.”

“It’s because you’re such a good kisser.” you grinned and caught his bottom lip between your teeth.  

Keeping you pressed against the wall with the kiss he moved his long, narrow fingers over your wet slit until you were mewling and then sunk them into you up to the knuckle. Your mouth fell open in a gasp as you clenched around his fingers desperately. He grinned, quite pleased with himself as your head fell back against the wall.

“Min...Minnie…” you gasped different variations of his name over and over as his hand pumped in and out of you at an excruciating pace. “Minhyuk!”

“Not yet,” he whispered against your neck, slowing his hand exponentially before he knelt down in front of you.

You whined and squirmed at the loss of his fingers as he used both hands to drag your panties down to your ankles to meet back up with your shorts. Then he was lifting one of your legs over his shoulder, watching your arousal drip down your thigh before he called you his beautiful girl which only served to turn you on further. You whined again and finally his lips wrapped around your clit, he was just as brilliant at kissing your pussy as he was your mouth. Your palms slammed against the wall, desperate for something to hold onto as his fingers slipped back inside of you, joining his mouth for the attack.

“I...you...yes! Yes..can’t!” you cried out, your voice echoing through the emptiness of your new home. Minhyuk laughed with you still firmly between his lips at your incoherent rambling. Then you finally offered up something he could understand, “Cumming… fucking cumming.”

Though, with his fingers still curled inside of you, massaging your g spot, he didn’t need you to tell him. He could feel the telltale clench around his fingers before you drenched his hand and chin with your orgasm. He kept going, as you came down from your high until you whined in complaint of the overstimulation. You sunk down easily into his lap and kissed yourself clean off of his mouth.  

“Couch?” you asked.

“Couch.” he agreed and the two of you got to your feet.

In front of the old faithful couch you undressed your husband slowly. Shirt first so you could leave kisses all over his shoulders and chest as you sunk down to your knees before him. Taking in the view of his soft stomach you grinned and leaned in to leave several intentional kisses.

Running his hand through your hair he laughed at the feel. “What are you smiling about?”

Leaning back on your heel you unbuttoned his pants, dragging them down his thighs along with his underwear. “Lee Minhyuk, you are so sexy. That’s what I’m smiling about. Sit”

He did as he was told and sat down on the couch in front of you. You pushed open his knees and scooched between them. Mesmerized he watched as you took his hardened length into your fist. A thin stream of spit waterfalled from your lips to his tip and he whimpered at the sight. You felt his dick twitch in your hand and grinned once more as you spread the saliva over his length with your hand. Leaning forward you held his dick up, tickling the base with several flicks of your tongue before dragging it up along the thick vein that led to his tip. You watched with a sense of pride as his thighs gave a tremble at the feeling. You took his length into your mouth and released a moan around him. His palm landed on top of your head gently, fingers digging into your hair. He didn’t move to pressure you deeper, just massaged the back of your head with his large hand. You took all of him down your throat on your own, letting out little gags and making sure it sounded nice and wet. Sloppy the way he liked it.

“Stop! Stop!” he gasped after a few minutes, just as you felt his thigh muscles tightening underneath your hands.

Pulling yourself off of him you looked up with watery eyes and a swollen mouth. “What? Did I do it wrong? Did you hate it?”

With a laugh he shook his head, “Shut up, silly girl. Get up here.”

Using the couch cushions you pushed yourself to your feet. Minhyuk had his hands on your hips quickly, pulling you forward so that you were straddling his lap. After a complaint about your shirt still being on he helped pull it over your head and tugged you forward for a kiss. Your hands cupped just below his jaw as you leaned into the kiss. One of his hands slipped between your thighs to make sure you were still ready for him, but you already knew you were. His other hand moved behind you at the same time to make quick work of your bra clasp, the straps falling off your shoulders to catch in the crook of your elbows. He’d grabbed himself between your legs and dragged the head of his cock against your pussy causing you to jolt forward in surprise.

“Oh fuck, Min.” you gasped as you sunk down onto him. “You hit so deep.”

He smiled and helped pull your bra from your arms before tossing it to the side. “You take me so good, baby.”

The loud, wet slap of skin against skin bounced off the walls as you bucked your hips into his. His mouth fell open, light huffs of air flying from his mouth as he jerked his hips up to join yours in their mission for satisfaction. In a handful of minutes you were so close, just a screaming whiny mess as you bounced yourself on top of his lap. He’d had both of his hands on your hips guiding you forward but he dropped one to thumb quick circles against your clit.  

“I need you to cum.” he hissed between his teeth, sweat dripped down his neck while he worked hard for you. “God...baby, please cum.”

His desperate plea took you over until you were practically vibrating, pulsing around him. Your head dropped to his shoulder and you licked the salty sweat off the length of his neck. Arms tightening around your body his hips jolted upwards roughly a few more times until he stalled inside of you and you could the warm gush against your walls. Your whole body slumped languidly against his chest as you caught your breath. His hands moved over your skin, your back, your hips, your thighs. He was so gentle that you sighed in total satisfaction, you nearly fell asleep, indulging in the comforting scent of him. After a few minutes he let out a hefty groan and flipped you so you were on your back.

“Why?” you whined as he pulled away from your naked body and took his warmth with him.

He didn’t answer right away, but tugged his underwear up his legs. Standing up straight with a stretch he looked around the room and hurried over to another pile of boxes. He tore through a couple without taking anything out, in the last one he dragged out a blanket and brought it over to you. Covering you up he leaned back down quickly and left a kiss on your forehead.

“Someone has to let the dog in.” he explained finally, and took off to the kitchen to open the back door.

In no mood to do much of anything anymore you snuggled into the comfort of the couch until you heard the pitter patter of Daisy’s paws against the hardwood. Her heavy panting let you know she had probably been totally fine running around outside. You gave her scratches behind her ears as she licked at your face and neck until you were too giggly. Then she sprinted excitedly back to Minhyuk, wherever he was, and back to you and then back to him until he was back in the room with you. With a giant, satisfied smile he walked back over to the couch and wiggled his body between you and the couch. Kissing the top of your messy hair he offered you half of his peanut butter sandwich, which you accepted gratefully.

“We should probably have real food.” he hummed in agreement through a mouthful of sandwich. “But like...food from somewhere that delivers.”

“Kay,” he agreed as he tucked comfortably into the warmth of you and kissed your shoulder as you gave Daisy a piece of peanut butter and bread crust. After a minute he said, “I think you’re right.”

“About food? Because yeah, I’m pretty hungry now.”

“No.” he laughed slipping an arm around you, “I think the studio is too far from your office.”

With a blush of amusement on your cheek you pulled his arm tighter around you, “We’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, we’ll figure it out.” he agreed.