Mid Summer

fifty eight,

"Guess what day it is?"

"Jaehyun hyung's birthday."

Yukhei frowns, putting his hands on Renjun's shoulders. He shakes the smaller a bit, stopping only when Renjun threatens to hit him.

"No! Well, yeah, but it's Valentine's Day!"

Renjun looks over at Yukhei with a deadpan look, as if asking if he really just said that.

"Love day!" Yukhei adds, shaking his shoulder for a little bit of emphasis. When Renjun doesn't do anything, just stares blankly at the boy in front of him, Yukhei lets go of the younger. His shoulders deflate and he thinks that maybe he can't get Renjun out of the dumps for this one day. "I just thought we should celebrate... Cause it's love day, and I love you." Yukhei thinks that Renjun doesn't need to know how much truth is behind those words. If it'll cheer him up, Yukhei would speak words a thousand times more flattering.

"Yuks..." Renjun mumbles, sighing and looking up at the elder with a light grimace. "Shouldn't you spend today with someone you love?"

And it hurts a little bit, it stings that Renjun doesn't think Yukhei loves him. But he brushes it off, because his soulmate tattoo feels hot, and he just smiles his usual, big and bright smile.

"That's why I'm spending it with you!"

"But you're soulmate—"

"Renjun!" Yukhei laughs, swallowing down everything he actually wanted to say. "Stop worrying about me. Let's focus on making your frown turn upside down!"

"But Jungwoo—"

Yukhei lowers his head at that, feeling a pit form in his stomach. There was no getting out of this situation without telling Renjun the truth. Jungwoo isn't, and never will be, his soulmate. It was just a lie he fed Renjun so that the younger wouldn't feel awful about gushing over Donghyuck.

"Today is about you." Yukhei blurts out, smiling sheepishly when Renjun stares at him with his mouth open wide. "So let's go do something!"

"Are you sure..." Renjun says quietly, one last time. He doesn't want to ruin any plans, impose on Yukhei. He's been doing enough of that already.

But the smile that he receives form the elder is so genuine and so happy, that Renjun almost believes that he really wants to spend the entirety of Valentine's Day with him.

"One hundred percent."

——

With Donghyuck's tongue down his throat, Jaemin didn't think he could be spending love day any better.

"That's hot sex, kinky sex, and soft sex all in one." Jeno comments, watching the younger two with his head tilted to the side. "How do they do it?"

For Mark and Jeno, the sight wasn't anything they weren't already used to. Donghyuck and Jaemin were always... Excited. In turn, that means Jeno's sex comments were also something Mark was used to.

Just when Jaemin swears things are about to get good, his phone starts ringing loudly.

Donghyuck reluctantly detaches himself from Jaemin's mouth, going straight to Jeno without a second thought. Jaemin would scowl and complain to Mark if he hadn't read the name of the caller ID.

"Renjun?"

"Remember when you locked our ankles? I'm taking you up on that."

"But you said—"

"I don't care about what I said! Or about how seeing your boyfriends in person makes me want to hide! And I'm sorry I'm calling on Valentine's Day but Jaemin—"

"Wait! Shut up Renjun, let me go somewhere more private." Jaemin whispers quickly, and Renjun hears shuffling on the other side of the line.

"Oh. Sorry. Was I interrupting something?" He asks, voice coming out significantly less frantic.

"It's whatever," Jaemin replies, brushing it off. "Tell me what happened! If we were texting I'd send keyboard smash, just so you know."

"Fuck, I— Jaemin! I literally can't breathe what the fuck." Renjun feels as if he could start hyperventilating at any given moment, and he didn't know if he wanted to put Jaemin through that or not. It was Valentine's Day for crying out loud, Jaemin is probably busy anyways. "You know what? Maybe I'll go bother someone else, you seem busy—"

"Renjun! Shut the fuck up! We're best friends for a reason, now tell me what's wrong!"

Renjun is moved by Jaemin's words, but he doesn't let it show because he's convinced that if he doesn't tell Jaemin what's wrong in the next zero point three seconds, he's going to quite literally track the elder down.

"Okay, I just need you to promise you're not going to say wig, alright?"

"Okay. Just tell me!"

Renjun takes a deep breath, closing his eyes before whisper-yelling into his phone.

"IjustgotYukhei'ssoulmatetattoo!"

"Renjun. My wig."

——

"Yong? Baby, why are the lights all off?" Jaehyun asks, confused as he walks into his shared apartment. It was completely dark, so he turns on the light in the entryway in order to drop his keys in the right place and take off his shoes. He hangs up his coat and still doesn't get a reply from his boyfriend, which leaves him to furrow his eyebrows and pout as he makes his way deeper into the apartment.

He doesn't bother turning on any of the other lights, as he'll just turn on the living room one once he reaches. Just as he's about to lift his arm and reach over, sudden English, heavily accented, singing and slow footsteps make him stop his actions. Oh, and of course, the glowing, warm light of candles.

"Happy birthday to you..."

Jaehyun's mouth his open, no doubt, and his arm is frozen halfway up to where the light switch is. He probably looks stupid.

"Happy birthday to you..."

Taeyong's face is now in view, illuminated by the candle flames. His smile is shy, bashful, even after all these years, and Jaehyun thinks he looks stupidly adorable in the little cone shaped party hat he has on.

"Happy birthday dear Jaehyun..."

Taeyong is now directly in front of Jaehyun, hands holding up a small, round, pink cake with the words 'Happy Birthday My Love' iced onto the top. If Jaehyun knows Taeyong, he knows that the latter baked it himself, and that their kitchen is probably a mess.

"Happy birthday to you." Taeyong finishes the song, looking up at Jaehyun through his eyelashes while holding the cake up higher. "Happy birthday Jaehyunnie. Make a wish."

And Jaehyun doesn't need to make a wish, not when he already has everything he could possibly ask for. But he still makes a show of it, closing his eyes and blowing out his candles.

Taeyong then places the cake down on the dining table, and then turns on the lights. Now that it's brighter, Jaehyun can see that Taeyong is still in his apron, which is lightly stained pink, most probably from the icing.

Unable to control himself, Jaehyun scoops Taeyong up in his arms, catching the latter off guard, before spinning him around in circles. The elder's stupidly adorable giggles fill the space around the two of them, and Jaehyun immediately kisses Taeyong when he sets him down on his feet.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Yongie. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Jaehyunnie."