Work Text:
Seungmin was the first one home again.
Dori was waiting by the mudroom door, wailing and whining in hunger, while Soonie and Doongie just lounged along the couches, enjoying the freedom of having so many "beds" to pick from.
Seungmin smiled a little to himself, reaching down to scratch behind Dori's ears before pulling his shoes off. He put his bag down on the kitchen table and grabbed himself a cup of water, then went to the bedroom and changed into more comfortable clothes. By the time he returned to the kitchen, Soonie and Doongie had joined Dori in asking for food.
Seungmin sighed. "Are you hungry, babies?" He mumbled as if they'd answer.
He moved around the kitchen counter and scooped some food into their separate bowls, wondering how long they'd had to go without food. Minho normally left later in the day than Seungmin, but as far as Seungmin knew, the older had left earlier than usual today. He'd also be coming home later, unfortunately. Seungmin warmed up some leftover takeout from the night before because Minho was out at a dinner with potential sponsors. It had been in the works for nearly the entire past month and would help the hospital a lot, so even if Seungmin was sure Minho was exhausted from an already long week, he also knew that Minho wouldn’t cancel and risk losing it.
As much as it worried him, it couldn't really be helped, so Seungmin just ate his food and waited patiently for his husband to get home.
An hour passed and Seungmin finished his food, washed his dishes, then went to the living room to relax. It was the end of the week, and even though he really hadn't been that busy, Seungmin was still tired. Waking up early was waking up early, and he was not built for it.
He really didn't know how Minho did it--how he woke up and was so easily ready to be a functioning part of society every morning.
Minho was one of two vets they had at his animal hospital, which had recently begun gaining more attention from pet owners in their city, so he was often whisked away for emergency procedures or long appointments. This unfortunately meant that he had to spend more time away from home than he, Seungmin, and their cat babies were used to, and a lot of that time was spent talking to scared pet owners, angry pet owners, and douchey politicians looking to sponsor the animal hospital to make themselves look good.
It didn't sound that bad, to be invited to expensive dinners to be won over by a rich politician, but Minho was quite the introvert and couldn’t stand being around shamelessly selfish people. It was exhausting and Seungmin felt his heart break every time Minho came home tired and barely present. Ever since they'd first begun dating, Seungmin had learned of Minho's habits—one of which including his tendency to basically shut down when he was overwhelmed.
If he was overloaded with having to talk to people for too long, his social battery would run out in record time and he'd have no more left for himself and his own mental health. He'd sometimes dissociate and, in worse cases, stop talking because even that tired him out too much (it never lasted long and Seungmin knew what to do and how to help him now, but that didn't make it any easier to see his husband so unresponsive).
That's why Seungmin had a bad feeling about today.
It was another late night, and it was a Friday. Minho had always expressed his wishes for keeping Friday nights as a time for just the two of them, and even if he'd tried to hide it, he had looked so disappointed this morning when he'd told him that he wouldn't be home until later.
So, Seungmin was waiting patiently, and he'd wait for hours and hours and hours as long as it meant Minho came home and knew he wasn't alone.
It was almost ten when the sound of the door opening echoed in the mudroom, and Seungmin sat up straighter. Doongie and Dori perked up from where they were curled up beside Seungmin, and Soonie lightly jumped from atop the cats' playground and padded over to where the noise was coming from.
The first sign of Minho being exhausted was hearing how long it took for him to get his shoes off, and how he didn't call out anything after he closed the garage door.
Seungmin got up and went to the mudroom, heart feeling tight at the sight of darkness in the room. When he got closer, he was barely able to make out the figure of his husband, the light from the living room barely reaching where they were.
Minho was tired, obviously. He had his hand propped up against the door as he pulled his shoes off, but he had to pause at some point to rub his temples.
"Hey, honey," Seungmin greeted him gently, voice barely above a whisper, "Need some help?"
Minho blinked up at him, eyes a little glazed, before the corners of his lips turned down ever so slightly and he nodded. Seungmin hummed and leaned down, helping Minho take off his other shoe. He rose back up and took Minho's work bag, then took his hand and led him inside. Soonie followed after, and Doongie and Dori pranced over to greet Minho once they reached the kitchen.
Minho smiled weakly down at the three cats, letting them rub their faces against his leg lovingly.
"Are you hungry?" Seungmin asked, pulling his hand away from Minho to make him some food.
But Minho stopped him, his hand reaching out for him again. Seungmin startled for a second, before his expression softened and he turned back to Minho. Most of his makeup had been messily wiped off by now, but he looked beautiful as always. He still had a distant look in his eyes, but it seemed like holding Seungmin's hand and actually interacting was somewhat helping him ground himself.
"Can I hug you?" Seungmin asked. Minho nodded eventually, and Seungmin wrapped his arms around the other, feeling him practically melt against his chest. Seungmin rubbed his back and swayed them a bit, dancing to imaginary music.
"I love you," Seungmin whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
Minho sniffled a few times, and Seungmin's eyes widened. Minho hadn't cried in a while. It wasn't that he never cried, it just wasn't a frequent occurrence. Hearing the quiet sob that left his husband's mouth made Seungmin's heart shatter into thousands of tiny little pieces. Minho wasn't one to cry loudly. He cried in silence, barely making a sound apart from his sniffles, but Seungmin knew. He rubbed Minho's back and held him tighter, whispering sweet nothings.
When Minho got like this, it was important to make him know that Seungmin was there for him. Seungmin was mindful to make an effort to let Minho know that it was okay as long as he tried not to hide it when he wasn't feeling well, and that Seungmin would be there to hold him through it if it was what he wanted. He knew that in Minho's past relationships his partners hadn't been as kind when Minho would stop talking or just needed to be held for some time while the numbing feeling faded away, so at the beginning of their own relationship, it'd taken a lot of communication and a lot of Seungmin reassuring Minho that it was okay to come to him.
Minho had since opened up to him more about it, and though they still had bad days where they seemed to misunderstand each other with everything, they were always able to communicate with each other properly in the end.
When Minho's crying seemed to settle a bit, Seungmin pulled back a little to take in his appearance. He gently wiped his wet cheeks and kissed his nose, hands coming up to massage his neck.
"Are you hungry?" Minho shook his head, sniffling once more.
"You don't think you can eat at least a little bit?" Minho bit the insides of his cheeks and his eyes watered again. Seungmin panicked, letting out a little gasp. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, you don't have to eat right now.”
Seungmin held him quietly, just rubbing his back while he threaded his fingers through his hair. It was a bit knotted, so he carefully detangled it and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He was relieved to feel Minho finally relaxing against him, the tension leaving his body.
Then he realized that he was wearing loungewear, but Minho was still wearing his work clothes. They didn't look all that uncomfortable, really, because they were black slacks and a silky, purple blouse that hung prettily off his slim frame (which almost made Seungmin feel kind of jealous, because some arrogant rich guy had seen his stunning husband wearing something so pretty), but Seungmin knew that Minho didn't like to sit in work clothes for very long if he could help it.
“Do you want to change into comfortable clothes, or do you just want to sit on the couch with Soondoongdo?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to overwhelm him again.
Minho seemed to mull over his options before glancing over at the bedroom, then back to Seungmin to search his expression for understanding. Seungmin nodded, smiling. "Do you want to be alone right now?" Minho shook his head and Seungmin smiled again, walking with Minho to their room.
Minho changed quickly into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and Seungmin went to the bathroom to get a makeup wipe. "Can I help you get the rest of your makeup off?" He asked, and Minho nodded. "Come here, honey."
Seungmin pulled Minho to sit down on the bed in front of him, and made quick work of carefully wiping off the remaining makeup off of his husband's delicate features. When he was done, Minho smiled a little at him, seeming a bit more present. Seungmin loved seeing his smile more than anything in the world, so his heart did somersaults.
"Do you want to sit out in the living room? I think the kids missed you today," Seungmin asked, and Minho nodded again.
The pair went out into the living room and sat down on the couch. Minho melted against Seungmin's side, and the latter wrapped his arms protectively around his husband as he turned the TV on.
Soonie, Doongie, and Dori eventually made their way over to them as well, and as if sensing something different, carefully maneuvered around Minho to curl up comfortably beside him. Soonie even climbed into his lap, leaning up to lick his chin affectionately, successfully pulling a small giggle out of him. Seungmin couldn't control his smile at the sound.
They sat like that for a while, before Minho spoke up. "Can we go for a swim?" He asked.
Seungmin looked down at him and smiled, nodding. "Yeah, of course."
Seungmin was already in the water when Minho came outside. Seungmin usually took a bit longer to adjust to the water than Minho did, so he saved him the trouble of waiting for him and got in while Minho changed.
"Is the water cold?" Minho asked, voice still a bit quiet as he put two towels out for them. Seungmin was sure he'd forgotten something, so he was thankful to Minho for remembering.
"Not too cold, it's nice," Seungmin responded, holding his hand out for Minho as the older slowly put his foot down onto the first step in the water, shivering a bit.
Minho smiled and took his hand, allowing Seungmin to pull him into the water. He let out a yelp once he was all the way in, quickly grasping at Seungmin's arms, so the younger secured his own around the older's waist with ease. They floated around in the water until they reached the middle of the pool, right before the shallow end dipped into the deeper.
When they were looking for a house, Minho, in spite of not knowing how to swim, had pushed for a pool for the sake of both their friends and Seungmin (though Seungmin especially). Chan, Seungmin, and Felix had met on a swim team in high school, even while Seungmin had really only joined so he could spend some of his free time in the pool. He'd enjoyed swimming since he was young, and though he hadn't really found a love for the competitive aspect of it, a chance to swim was a chance he didn't want to give up and Minho understood how big a part of his life it still was, serving as a place of relaxation for him.
It also came in handy now, because he was a good swimmer and was able to hold Minho with ease. They didn't go farther than the shallow end when swimming together, and Seungmin was completely fine with it. He preferred to hold Minho close as the water rippled around them, feeling the older's breath against his bare neck. He was able to kiss his collarbones and massage his waist, and Minho liked to trace shapes on Seungmin's chest as he leaned against him in the water. When Seungmin was in the pool with Minho, his husband wrapped in his arms and held against himself and not going anywhere, he felt peaceful.
They rocked a little with the water, and Seungmin felt his heart warm when he heard Minho let out a relaxed sigh.
"How are you feeling now?" Seungmin asked, gently rubbing circles on Minho's waist.
"I feel better," Minho replied, closing his eyes tiredly and allowing his other senses to take over, "I'm sorry I came home like that. How was your day?"
"Don't be sorry, Min. I’m just glad you’re feeling better now,” Seungmin said. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Minho paused for a moment, tapping gently against Seungmin’s chest. “I visited my father’s grave during my lunch break today,” he said. “Got too much in my head, so I talked to him for a bit. Not much else happened today apart from the sponsor dinner and stuff, but I don’t, um, I don’t want to talk about that now.”
“That’s okay,” Seungmin hummed.
“How was your day, though?” Minho asked, tone lightening up a bit more.
"My day was good. I finished the last brief ahead of time, so I left the office early."
"That's awesome, baby," Minho smiled up at him, kissing him on the cheek. "So you don't have to work over the weekend?"
Seungmin smiled back, shaking his head and squeezing him a little tighter. "I'm all yours."
Minho's eyes sparkled in the prettiest way as he looked up at his husband. Seungmin knew Minho had big, sparkly eyes—everyone with the pleasure of knowing him and making eye contact with him for even a few seconds knew—but Seungmin felt so, so lucky to be able to see them up so close like this. With Minho in his arms, his lips looking so soft and kissable, and his eyes cleared of their previous fog and just filled with adoration, Seungmin felt breathless in the face of his husband's undeniable beauty, and couldn't believe he was his.
Seungmin leaned in and captured him in a kiss, unable to control the smile spreading on his own face when Minho let out a little noise of surprise, but accepted it nonetheless. Seungmin would have continued kissing him had it not been for the annoying con of being a human being, and had to pull away for air. Staying close to Minho, their noses almost touching, Seungmin's heart was close to beating out of his chest as they rested their foreheads against each other.
"I love you," Seungmin whispered out.
"I love you more," Minho returned.