Chapter Text
The day had finally arrived. Minho and Han were moving into their new home. Minho stood next to the doorway, checking the furniture as the movers brought everything inside. Han was busy scurrying around the common area. He kept spinning in circles and calling out “Hyung, there’s so much space!!!” as he stood in different areas of the house. Minho nodded in response, not even trying to hide the smile that stretched across his face. He loved seeing Han this happy. Minho was happy too.
The house was bright, decorated mainly with white furnishings: white walls, cabinets, and counter tops. Minho smirked to himself about how it would probably stay this way. Neither Han nor Minho were much into interior design, so they hadn’t bought any decorations for the new place. Color was slowly added as the movers brought in various pieces of furniture with simple designs.
The house was small, but perfect for them. The bottom floor consisted of a garage, for Minho’s car, and a small entry way for them to leave their shoes. The staircase led directly into the kitchen which included a spacious island, a must for Minho and his love for cooking. A large TV was already set up in the living room, ready for their anime marathons. If you turned right, you would find the master bedroom and bathroom. To the left was two smaller rooms and another bathroom.
Although they planned to put a futon for guests in the third room, Minho had insisted that Han also use the extra space to set up a small studio. Han pushed back, saying he didn’t need it, but it was important to Minho that Han had a space at home where he could get some work done. Minho also hoped Han would use it to practice his guitar for fun on the days where he was feeling burnt out, but still felt drawn to music.
As a compromise, Han had insisted that Minho took the master bedroom. Minho had teased him at the time. Did it really count as a compromise when Han was planning to sleep in Minho’s bed every night anyway? Han had blushed and mumbled something about how he doesn’t always have to sleep in there. Minho’s response was to pull him close, plant a soft kiss on his neck, and whisper a threat in his ear if he dared sleep elsewhere. The next day, Minho brought Han mattress shopping so they could both choose the one they liked the best. Minho made sure they chose one that was soft enough for everything he had planned.
That left the third bedroom, which was to be “decorated” like Han’s room to keep up appearances. Even though they were out to the members now and felt a little more freedom to show their affection for one another, they still had to be careful. Everything still revolved around keeping themselves safely closeted.
Minho wasn’t too worried though because, for the first time in their entire band’s existence, they would have their own space. No one was expected to ever enter their home without their permission, unless it was an emergency. They could walk around shirtless, makeout in the kitchen, fuck in the living room… whatever they wanted.
Minho’s ears must have blushed at the thought because suddenly he looked up and Han was smiling at him.
“Whatchu thinking about, hyung?” Han asked with a playful smirk and small nod.
Minho narrowed his eyes. “You’ll find out later.”
Han scrunched his lips together, trying to hide his excitement.
“Ah, I’m tired,” Han said dramatically as he slid down one of the walls and sat on the ground.
Minho joined him with a laugh. “You aren’t even doing anything. We got movers for a reason.”
Han shrugged and looked down sheepishly. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was too nervous.”
“Nervous?” Minho asked, furrowing his brows. “I thought you would be excited.”
“I am!” Han insisted before biting the inside of his lip. “But I’m nervous too. What if you get sick of me?”
Minho leaned his head back against the wall as he looked over at Han fondly. “We talked about this, baby,” the older whispered. “I’ll never get sick of you. Plus, we already lived together for years, remember?”
Han pouted. “But I’m messy.”
“I don’t mind messy,” Minho responded without hesitation.
Han’s doe eyes met Minho’s. They held eye contact in a way that was very familiar to them. They did it when others were around as a way to say “I love you” without actually saying it. Minho didn’t need to hear it, anyway. Han’s eyes said it all.
Suddenly, one of the managers cleared his throat next to them. “You guys remember we still have movers here, don’t you?”
Minho rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “And what does it matter, hyung? We are just sitting here.” He batted his eyelashes innocently.
The manager pursed his lips and shook his head as he walked away. Minho always knew how to get them off their case.
He turned back to Han and wiggled his eyebrows. “Do you wanna give them something to look at?”
Han hit Minho’s arm playfully. “Stop it, hyung. We only have to wait a little bit longer and we will be alone.”
“Hmm… I like the sound of that,” Minho hummed as he turned back to analyze the mover’s progress, wondering just how much longer he would have to wait.
——
Once the movers finally received their tips, Han and Minho quickly hopped up off the floor and bowed politely. The movers bowed back and left the house, leaving only the two idols and their manager.
“You want me to leave, don’t you?” the manager grunted playfully as he moved toward the door.
Han shrugged politely as Minho spoke for them both. “You’re all done with work for the day, hyung! You should probably go enjoy the day.”
Minho walked up behind the manager and began pushing him toward the stairs. Before the first step, the manager turned around and squinted at Minho.
“You’re going to behave, right?” he asked, looking between the two men.
Minho put on his best fake smile. “Of course, hyung,” he said in a sickly sweet voice.
The manager shook his head with a laugh as he began walking down the stairs. Minho and Han weren’t exactly out to the managers, but they weren’t closeted. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that, as long as they didn’t talk about it out right, everyone was safe. Everyone wanted to protect Minho and Han, but Minho and Han wanted to protect their managers, too. As long as the managers could still claim they didn’t know, they couldn’t get fired for letting them “break the rules.”
As Minho watched the manager put on his shoes, he thought back to how hard it was to convince management to let them be roommates.
——
FLASHBACK
After Han and Minho came out to the members a couple weeks earlier, Chan had kept his word. He submitted their roommate requests with Han and Minho at the very top. When the couple voiced their concern about whether their request would be approved, Chan had swatted them off. “It will be fine,” he said, nonchalantly.
It was not, in fact, fine. Chan got a message back that the request had been denied. They all received the email while they were at dance practice. Management suggested new roommate pairings of Han/Felix and Minho/Seungmin instead.
“I knew this would happen,” Minho said darkly as Han pouted next to him.
“Hyung, can’t you do something?” Seungmin asked, always one to fight an injustice.
Chan groaned. “I didn’t think they would be like this,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I’ll talk to them.”
Chan immediately got up and left the studio, likely heading to take the elevator to the top floor. The fact that he was willing to go to the Executive Suite without an appointment showed this was serious.
Han leaned his head on Minho’s shoulder. “I know it was too good to be true,” he muttered sadly.
Minho discreetly took Han’s hand in his. “Chan-ah will figure it out. He’ll fight for us.”
About ten minutes later, one of the manager hyungs opened the studio door. “All of you are needed on the top floor,” he said, looking down at his phone.
The members all looked at each other. Blush coated Minho and Han’s ears, as they knew they were the reason for the sudden meeting.
“It’s okay,” Hyunjin said, putting an arm around Han and pulling him towards the door. “It’s better that they call all of us than just you two.”
“That’s true, I guess,” Han muttered as he looked back at Minho who was trailing behind them.
When they arrived upstairs, they found Chan in the board room with two of the executives. They all found seats before one of the executives starting talking.
“So, we heard you don’t like our new roommate suggestions,” she began, eyeing them sternly.
The members sat quietly out of politeness, wondering who would be the first to speak up.
Bravely, Felix cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said, bowing slightly. “We don’t want to change from our original choices. I would like to live with Seungmin-ah.” Seungmin looked back at him with a nod.
“Well, we think our suggestions would work better, both for you and for the company,” the executive responded coldly.
Changbin shook his head. “We already spent a lot of time discussing the roommate pairings,” he said, his face serious. “We know they work well. All of us will be happy. Isn’t that what’s most important?”
The executive sighed heavily. “What’s most important is that you’re happy and the company is able to protect itself.”
Minho hung his head, feeling bad that the members were here because of him and Han. Han reached out under the table and quieted Minho’s fingers, which were picking at his cuticles.
Chan must have sensed their nervousness because he spoke up again. “Well, if you guys want to force this issue, it’s only going to make us draw out the contract negotiations. Are you ready to tell JYP that we are going to take even longer than planned to come to an agreement?”
The executive straightened in her chair. “Are you saying you won’t sign a new contract unless we allow your original roommate choices?”
Chan looked down the table at the rest of the members, always sure that he didn't make decisions before offering them a chance to talk.
Hyunjin crossed his arms defiantly. “Speaking for myself, I won’t sign unless we get the arrangements we want.”
“I agree,” I.N. added firmly.
One by one, each member agreed that there would be no contract without their choice of roommate. Minho’s guilt melted away as fondness took over. Although they all knew they were fighting for Minho and Han’s right to live together, the members were making it a group issue. If two of them can’t be happy, none of them would be.
Chan smiled approvingly and turned back to the executives with a shrug. “Do you want to give us the reason why you don’t want to grant us our original roommate requests?” He asked, daring them to speak the truth out loud that he knew they were avoiding.
The executive was betrayed by the light blush that crossed her cheeks. “Well… we don’t know how fans will react,” she responded, avoiding eye contact.
Seungmin’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean? Fans will love this. These pairings are the most beloved of the group,” he said, bringing them closer to the real issue at hand.
The executive’s blush grew deeper. “It’s more about… how it would look to the rest of the world.”
Minho bristled at the homophobia. It’s not like they were asking to come out or to kiss on stage in front of thousands of people. They would just be living together privately. It shouldn’t be anyone else’s business.
This time, it was Chan that put a calming hand on Minho's knee before he spoke up again. “I wonder more how it would look if the world finds out that your biggest boy group wouldn’t sign a new contract over something as simple as a rooming dispute.”
Minho knew fighting back like this was hard for Chan. The company had essentially raised him and he didn’t like going against them. Minho wasn’t surprised by Chan’s dedication to the members, but he was impressed and appreciative.
The executive set her jaw and looked at each member individually. “You're all serious about this?”
Once the members all nodded in agreement, the executive sighed again and closed up the folder in front of her. “Alright, I’ll talk it over with the board.”
Chan clapped once approvingly. “Thank you so much for listening to us.”
The members stood up and bowed as the executives left the room.
“I’m sorry you guys are getting dragged into this,” Han said, rubbing his hand over his face.
Felix walked over behind Han and gave him a light shoulder massage. “We’ve got your back, Han-ah.”
Minho gave Felix a small smile before looking back to the rest of the group. “I just hate that they get to control our fate like this.”
Chan shook his head. “Don’t worry, I think they got the message that we are serious about this,” he said, putting a hand on the dancer’s shoulder. “Plus… I won’t back down. You two will be roommates.”
Minho nodded a few times, showing his appreciation for their leader. They went back downstairs to the studio, where they tried to distract themselves by coordinating their newest choreography. Chan had his phone on loud and would run to it every time his email “dinged” (which was often) but, finally, the email he was expecting came in.
“It’s from the board!” Chan said loudly as I.N. ran over to pause the music.
Chan looked up at them with a smile, his dimples as deep as ever. “They approved it. Minho and Han get to be roommates.”
The room exploded into a cacophony of hoots and hollers, as if they had just finally won their dream Daesang award at MAMA. Hyunjin shook Han’s shoulders in excitement as the rapper covered his wide smile with his hand. Felix patted Minho’s chest while saying “let’s go, hyung!!!”. Chan pulled everyone into a group hug as he giggled with excitement.
Minho met Han’s eyes in the middle of the group and, much to his horror, he had to blink back a few tears. Han responded with a fond smile and a wink as he held the eye contact.
They would finally get to build their happy home together.
————-
PRESENT DAY
Han shook Minho out of his memory and back into reality. Back into the present day where he was standing in his own home. With Han. Alone. For the first time.
He turned to face Han who, endearingly, was standing in the middle of the kitchen with a proud smile on his face. He was holding the knit cosmos flowers that he had bought for Minho at a craft fair years ago. The ones that Minho could never bear to part with, even when they were broken up.
“Can we put these on our kitchen table?” Han asked cutely, his eyes wide.
Minho laughed fondly. “Where did you find that?”
“I opened your box marked ‘desk’,” Han replied sheepishly. “I hope that’s okay. It’s just that you mentioned that we don’t have any decorations and, well… I remembered this one.”
Minho nodded. “Of course you can put them out here,” he said. “You are cute, Han Jisung.”
Han excitedly placed the flowers on the table and turned back around with a quokka smile. “We must really be alone if you’re saying that out loud,” he joked.
Minho looked around the kitchen. “We really are alone, aren't we?”
Han bit back a smile as he approached the dancer. “We are,” he said, before placing his arms around Minho’s neck, letting his body lean gently against the other, causing Minho to lean lightly against the counter behind him.
Minho’s eyes went soft as he hummed out a small breath. “We finally have our own place…” he began, rubbing his hands lightly up and down Han’s back. “How did we get so lucky?”
“Well, we worked hard,” Han said, his voice growing deep as his hand began to wander down to Minho’s biceps, biting his lip as he felt his boyfriend’s muscles.
Minho chuckled and pulled Han closer to him so their hips were touching. “Speaking of hard…”
Han pulled back slightly and looked down, arching an eyebrow. “That was fast,” he said.
“Well…” Minho responded, pulling Han closer as he looked around the space. “I’ve kinda always wanted to take you in a kitchen.”
Han giggled, throwing his head back a little. “There’s no way you’ve thought about that before,” Han teased.
“Hmm,” Minho hummed, suddenly lifting Han up so he was sitting on the counter in front of him. “You have no idea the things I’ve imagined.”
Minho leaned in and kissed Han deeply as Han threw his arms around his neck.
“Mmm… where else do you want to take me?” He asked in a whisper, tilting his head to the side as Minho kissed down his neck.
Minho smiled into the younger’s neck. “In the shower….” He began, planting a light kiss on Han’s pulse point. “On the couch…” He continued, switching to kiss the other side of Han’s neck. “In your studio…”
Han scoffed playfully. “You want to hook up in Chan’s studio?”
Minho pulled back to give Han a discerning look. “Ew, no,” Minho replied, disgust showing on his face. He shook his head to get the image out of his mind, then looked up at Han with a smirk. “But there may have been multiple reasons why I thought we should turn the third bedroom into a studio.”
Han blushed and bit the inside of his mouth shyly. “Why the studio?”
“Because your talent has always turned me on,” Minho growled, kissing Han’s lips roughly. All this talk was turning him on and making him impatient.
Han’s hips hitched forward in response to Minho’s kiss. “Well,” Han whispered. “Since we now have all the time in the world… why don’t we start with the kitchen?”
Han looked up at him through his eyelashes, his doe eyes on full display. Minho felt his heart lurch at the sight. This boy he loved so much was his and they were in their home. Minho didn’t know if he had ever felt so happy.
But he could process that later. He had waited years to be alone with Han like this. All those years in the dorm and hotel rooms never afforded them true privacy. Now, they had it, Minho was going to take full advantage. No holding back.
——
After, they put on just their boxers and collapsed onto the couch, Han leaning against Minho’s bare shoulder.
“Damn, hyung,” Han said through deep breaths. “You really didn’t hold back.”
“Was is too much?” Minho asked, brief concern flashing across his mind.
Han turned his head to look up at him with smirk. “Did it sound like it was more than I could handle?”
Minho chuckled. “No. I guess it's a good thing we don’t have neighbors anymore.”
Han hummed as he reached his arm around the older’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “No more holding back. Ever.” he said softly before nuzzling into Minho’s neck
Minho took a deep breath, letting himself cherish the moment. He looked around the living room, again in disbelief that they really had their own place.
“What are you thinking about, baby?” Han asked sweetly as he rubbed aimless circles around Minho’s side.
“I just… kind of thought I was giving up a life like this when I became an idol,” Minho responded.
“What do you mean?”
Minho shrugged as he picked at the hem of his boxers. “I don’t know. Finding someone I love. Getting to be together,” he sighed as he waved to the room around them. “Actually living with my boyfriend in our own house.”
Han, never one to dwell on alternative possibilities for very long, smiled up at the dancer. “Well, you have it, hyung. All of it. And you deserve it after how long you waited.”
Minho scrunched his nose, unable to hold back the cuteness aggression he felt at his boyfriend’s optimism. He shook his head. “Why do I have a bad feeling that we are about to become one of those boring couples who just want to stay inside and hang out alone together all the time.”
Han laughed deeply. “I hate to break it to you but… we kind of already are that couple.”
Minho glared at him, sharpening his eyes without menace.
“I’m just kidding, my big baby,” Han responded with a giggle, reaching up to scratch Minho’s chin. “I have a feeling the two of us will never become boring…”
Minho smirked, signaling he was about to cause trouble. He suddenly grabbed Han and pushed him back against the sofa. Han fell back with an uncontrollable giggle as Minho covered him in kisses.
“Hyungggggg,” Han whined gleefully. “You scared me.”
“Can’t let us get boring, Jisung-ah,” Minho responded playfully, finally settling down to rest his body next to Han’s.
As their eyes met again, Minho leaned forward and brushed their noses together. “Even if the rest of the world can’t know how much I love you, I’ll be happy if I get to spend the rest of time getting to prove it to you within these four walls, bug.”
Han smiled widely, planting a light kiss on Minho’s lips. “These four walls are all we need, hyung,” Han replied as he laid his head back down on Minho’s shoulder, readying for a nap.