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“I was thinking today…” Minho speaks kinda quietly, after lying down beside his boyfriend. “What if we had never gone to the same university? We would’ve never met.”
Chan is actually used to this, weird questions coming at the most random times, but tonight feels a little different, it’s funny, and almost cute. Not almost. It’s 100% cute. He is not going to deny that he finds everything Minho does adorable. And in that moment, specifically, he is having the time of his life with dizzy Minho and his nonsense thoughts.
It was a Thursday night. Minho had messaged Chan to say that it was one of his coworkers’ birthdays, and that they were going out for a few drinks to celebrate. He did get invited, Minho told his boyfriend he could join them and even sent the address, but Chan decided to let him enjoy the night with his friends and just relax at home after work. Still, he made sure to tell Minho to text whenever he wanted to go home, and Chan would come pick him up.
At 10:03 PM, he got a text, but it wasn’t the casual “come pick me up”, demanding him to play the role of his boyfriend's personal driver. It was just a message letting him know Minho was on his way home. He had shared an Uber ride with two of his colleagues, whom Chan only knew by name, so there was no need to worry.
When he gets home, he finds Chan in the kitchen, feeding the cats one last time before going to bed. Minho runs off to take a shower, right after greeting the cats and sharing a small kiss with Chan, claiming he’s feeling soooooo dirty.
All his boyfriend could notice was how pretty he looked, with those pink cheeks of someone who might’ve had a little bit too much to drink for a weeknight, as if the next day weren’t a workday as well. Not long after, Minho walks into the room, now back in Chan’s view, wearing that familiar ‘serious thoughts’ expression.
“Babes, we would have met otherwise, we’re connected.” He stretches out his arms to reach Minho’s waist, pulling him close.
“But what if you decided to never move back to Korea?”
“I probably would’ve come to see granny! We would’ve met one way or another, I promise!” He says this not only to reassure his boyfriend, but because he truly believes that they would have met even in another timeline.
“Yeah, but imagine if I’d never adopted Soonie, then I would have nothing keeping me here. So, the teenager me would have gone to that exchange program in Osaka, and we would definitely never have met, ‘cause I’m sure I’d be living there forever.”
“I like Japan too, I've always wanted to go there. It could be a holiday destination!” He starts, brushing Minho’s hair off his forehead. “We’d bump into each other on the street, I wouldn’t know how to speak Japanese, you’d notice and start speaking in Korean with me. We’d fall in love, and I’d realize there is no way I could live without this cutie boy, so fuck my life back home, I’m moving to Japan for him, and so on.”
“What if we didn't speak the same language?” It almost makes Chan laugh that no answer seems to satisfy him.
“I would learn any language just to be able to talk to you. I'd do my best."
“Hm…” He hums, still sounding very dissatisfied. “What if I were a girl?”
“Kitten, I’m bisexual.” That was an easy one, Chan thinks.
“Oh, right! I forgot for a moment.”
“And you looked really hot with that wig you wore once.”
“Chan-ah, forget about it.” Here it comes, his cheeks were pink again, now for shyness.
“It’s impossible!”
“But what if I was born like… 20 years earlier than you?” Chan was really naive, because for a moment, he genuinely thought the questions were over.
“I would be okay dating a 45-year-old Minho.” He answers, just trying to soothe his boyfriend’s concerns.
“You better not say you like older guys, ‘cause there’s nothing I can do about it, like wear a wig to turn you on!” Now he’s shifting on the bed, throwing one leg over Chan’s, entangling them under the covers.
“You don’t need to wear a wig to turn me on. You don’t need to wear anything, actually!” He giggles, kinda sassy, kinda mischievous, but with no real intention to turn things into something sexual. He’s perfectly happy with just cuddling dizzy, sleepy, cozy Minho. And even he, despite his usual insomnia, is starting to feel drowsy now, worn out from the day, and the week.
“Hm!” Here he goes again. “What if I wasn't into men?”
“Is there any multiverse where you think that’s possible?” A genuine question, not meant in a mean way, and if Minho is honest, he doesn’t think it would be possible.
“Everything is possible.” But of course he wouldn’t agree out loud.
“I would be happy just being your friend. Having you in my life would be more than enough.” That would hurt. A lot. But it's the most common heartbreak reason in the world, friendzone. It would take ages, but he would overcome it, someday.
“Cheesy.” He still has his eyes closed. “What if…”
“Where are you going with all these questions? Are you trying to drop hints that you wanna break up?” Chan says it playfully, he’s 100% sure that Minho doesn’t want any of that.
“Of course not, just thinking.” He opens his eyes after a moment, wanting to show he is serious about these being just useless questions.
“Thinking about us not knowing each other? And for what?”
“Just imagining, hyungie.” Minho says, yawning at the same time. He is so cute. Chan can’t help but press a quick kiss to his lips.
“What a silly mind you have, baby!” He’s petting his arm while Minho buries his face into Chan’s neck. They get distracted for a moment, when they hear one of the cats meowing for some attention, Minho recognizes the sound right away, it was his first baby, jumping on the bed and climbing over him. “See? Even your fat babycat is bothered by your thoughts.”
It’s instantaneous how Minho lifts his head to glare at Chan. “Don’t call him fat! I only stayed in Korea because of him. You owe him this relationship.” He tries to look at the cat, but since the feline is currently over his back, it’s kinda impossible. “Don’t listen to him, aegi! You’re the healthiest cat in the world!”
“I’m sorry, Soonie-ya!” Chan apologizes to the cat, who doesn't really care, just jumps off the bed and leaves the room.
“Good!” He's back on his boyfriend’s neck again. They stay in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. Chan almost convinces himself that Minho has stopped fighting sleep, that he’s given up and accepted his destiny to dreamland.
“What if we were born in the Middle Ages, like… 1300-something, and had arranged marriages?” Of course he hasn’t fallen asleep.
“I would’ve run away and taken you with me!” Chan has accepted that this will go on forever.
“We would die of hunger!"
“No! We would be capable of finding ways to work, we would be young and strong men.”
“Without a family name? After we ran away and became the biggest disappointment they have ever had? We would never succeed. At least we would die together, that's real romance.”
“That’s morbid.”
“And people would not approve of two single men being together, even if we were allegedly just really good friends. It wouldn’t even matter if we were far from our parents’ land, we would be thrown into the fire, just like the witches.” He’s back to ranting his random thoughts, maybe he’ll never fall asleep."
“You're probably right.” Let me just agree with whatever he’s been saying - that’s what was passing through Chan’s mind - he’ll give up at some point.
“And if I was an alien?”
“Then I would be an astronaut, don’t worry, baby! I would find you, no matter what.”
“There would be no need, I would come to Earth to beam you up, I promise.” Minho is back with that sweet voice he only uses with the cats and sometimes (okay, most times) with Chan.
“Oh my God, Minho-ya! That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me, in all these years together.” Minho has that proud, cat-like smile on his face, and opens his eyes just to raise his eyebrows at Chan, feeling really superior. He is so funny, and Chan loves him so much.
“What if in that time when we…”
“It was a long day, kitten. Ease your mind from these conspiratorial thoughts. I would find you and love you no matter what. In all those scenarios you could possibly imagine, I would have fallen for you, and we would be together. I would learn everything and change anything about me just to catch your attention.”
“You don't need to change anything, Channie-hyungie, my attention is always on you!” He’s more sleepy than dizzy right now, but it is still pleasant for Chan to hear such romantic phrases coming from his boyfriend's mouth. Minho loves Chan so much, they both know that, but Minhos is more a mix of ‘acts of service’ and ‘quality time’ love language type of person, so every time he throws some ‘words of affirmation’, Chan takes it without questioning.
Chan is facing the door while holding his boyfriend. He sees the exact moment the orange cat enters the room again, now accompanied by his two little brothers. The younger one jumps onto the bed, making his way at their feet, while the other two chose to lie on their sleeping mats on the floor. Dori yawns, so cozy at the end of their bed.
“I guess Dori is going to be bothered by our conversations. He’s looking really sleepy, just like you. Just sleep, baby! I’ll be here in the morning to answer whatever this little head of yours wants to ask!” Now he gently runs his fingers through Minho’s hair, who leans into his hand, asking for more.
“Okay, hyungie.” He whispers and makes himself more comfortable in Chan’s arms, being careful not to move too much and disturb the cat. “Soonie and Doongie are here too?” Since he had his eyes closed and face buried in his hot man’s neck, and the cats were really quiet entering the room, he’s only sure about Dori, ‘cause he’s the one who likes to sleep at their feet.
“They’re on the mats together!”
“Mm’kay! Good night, SoonDoong, have sweet dreams!” He raises one of his hands and waves toward the mats, without really looking at them. “Come to bed later if you want, I can kick hyung out so the four of us can fit in just fine!” Chan can feel Minho sleepy-giggling all over his neck and shoulder.
“The five of us fit just fine in the bed as well, Minho-yah!” He shifts slightly to get more comfortable, but with extra care, there are two cats in the bed with him, after all, and he is trying not to disturb either of them: not the cat-cat (Dori), nor the human-cat (Minho). “Good night, Kitty. Sweet dreams!” Chan places another gentle kiss on Minho’s hair, the younger does not respond, only hums softly, as if he’s already surrendered to sleep and accepted his fate.
Now silence reigns. Chan is only listening to their breaths combined and the occasional street noises drifting in from outside the apartment. He is, in fact, tired, but he doesn’t think he can fall asleep just yet. He has had trouble sleeping for as long as he can remember, but he really enjoys just lying there with his boyfriend and their cats, with eyes shut, bodies close, held together.
He can stay like this forever, he is sure of it, and sometimes, that makes him think that he really loves Minho, and he's been loving Minho for so long, and he is sure that he will keep loving Minho forever. He sees no end to it. Not that he’s looking for one. He is not.
Lee Minho is everything Bang Chan ever wanted. Pretty, lovable, funny, caring, a good person, a good student, a good son, a good friend and good boyfriend (the best Chan could ever ask for). He remembers the exact moment he first saw Minho, how could he forget? He couldn’t believe someone could be this handsome on a Wednesday morning, just walking to class. It took months and months after that to finally have a conversation, and even months longer to call each other friends. They didn't start dating until the following year, and now, they’re both graduated and living together. It was not an easy path, but they have been walking it together, side by side, and that makes everything worth it. Sometimes, though, these sweet thoughts lead to others, not so nice ones. Like... Why did this pretty, lovable, funny, caring, good person, good student, good son and good friend choose Bang Chan to date?
“Hyungie, one last thing…” He was taken out of his thoughts by the voice of his ‘pretty, funny, caring, good person, good student, good friend’ boyfriend, who apparently was not asleep like he thought. Minho seemed ready to ease Chan’s mind of these nonsense thoughts he hates so much, without even knowing that Chan was having them.
“Hmm?"
“Would you still love me if I was a worm?”
Okay. Here they go again.