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It’s 11:56 pm, and Chanyeol’s standing outside Junmyeon’s dorm, panting like he just ran a marathon, hands clutching the straps of his backpack like he’s holding some precious cargo in there.
Junmyeon would find the situation a little funny if Chanyeol didn’t look so distressed.
“Yeol?” he asks, a little worried. “Everything okay? I thought you’d still be at the party?”
“I was,” Chanyeol replies. “Change of plans.”
That sounds...ominous. “Um, come in?”
Chanyeol shakes his head. “You lied to me.”
He sounds so serious about it, the spark in his usually bright eyes nowhere to be found. It makes Junmyeon’s heart skip a beat, and for the wrong reasons.
He’s been dating Chanyeol for just a few weeks now, after finally being convinced to go out on just one date by the younger man. And everything’s been going well since then. Amazing, even. But now he’s apparently done…something? That he has no idea about?
“I...did? Why do you think that?”
“It’s your birthday today,” Chanyeol says gravely.
Junmyeon stares at Chanyeol, heart still pounding, before he processes the younger’s words. A shaky laugh leaves him when he finally does, and his shoulders drop in relief. He no longer has to crane his neck to look into Chanyeol’s eyes. They instead fall to Chanyeol’s sneakers, bright and flecked with a little mud.
“Fuck,” he breathes out. “And I thought you wanted to break up with me.”
When there’s no reply, Junmyeon looks up to find Chanyeol staring at him, eyes wide. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. Maybe he should’ve kept that thought to himself.
“That was the first thing that came to your mind? Why would you...”
“You looked so serious, Chanyeol! What else was I supposed to think? But you ran here just to tell me...it’s my birthday?”
“You’re not going to say anything else about it?”
“...no? What more should I—”
“It’s my boyfriend’s birthday and I didn’t even know about it!”
Junmyeon grabs his arm—his wonderfully toned arm, Junmyeon's favourite thing to hold whenever he gets a chance—and pulls him in a little, wincing at the volume of his voice which is a tad bit too loud for this hour of the night. “Yeol—”
“Do you know how embarrassing it was to find out from Sehun that it was your birthday? He asked me what I got for you, and I was staring at him like that one cat. Like an idiot!”
“That cat isn’t an idiot, sweetheart, and neither are you,” Junmyeon tells him, managing to pull him inside and shut the door. “Also, why are you so upset you had to find out from Sehun?”
“Because he’s a freshman! And because he’s not your boyfriend, I am!”
“Did you stop to consider the fact that I’ve known him since we were children?”
“Don’t care,” Chanyeol sniffs, taking off his backpack and setting it on the bed. “He’s just some guy.”
“Chanyeol.”
“No,” Chanyeol says, turning to face him. “You of all people don’t get to Chanyeol me. Tell me why I didn’t get to hear it from you.”
“I don’t...” Junmyeon sighs.“Wouldn't it be weird to tell you it's my birthday and have you feel obligated to greet me or gift me something?”
“No? I mean, yeah, maybe, but isn't it my duty to know? And celebrate?”
Junmyeon fidgets with his sleeve. “It's just one day...”
Chanyeol groans. “Sehun told me not to make a big deal out of it.”
Junmyeon looks at him.
“I didn't ask him for more,” Chanyeol assures him, like he's reading Junmyeon's mind.
“Thanks,” Junmyeon mumbles.
“But it sounded like there was more to it. Well, he did give me the talk, about breaking your heart or whatever, even if he was half-drunk and didn't really make sense.”
Junmyeon chuckles a little at that. “And were you intimidated?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Chanyeol says, hand on his heart, eyes wide. “He said you'd better not have anyone else as your best man.”
Junmyeon inhales sharply at that. Chanyeol senses it immediately, because he reaches out to grab Junmyeon's wrist to tug the shorter man towards himself.
“Too much? Too soon?”
“No,” Junmyeon says, and finds himself meaning it. “Just...unexpected.”
“Then this should be better,” Chanyeol says, letting go of him to rummage through his bag for something. “He told me you don't like surprises very much, either, but I wanted to get you something.”
“Chanyeol-ah...”
“Yeah, hyung?”
“I don’t—you don’t need to give me anything. I promise I've never needed a gift to mark this day.”
“Too late,” Chanyeol smiles, pulling out a small box. “I'll share this with you, if you want. But it's your first birthday with me, and I need to get something right.” He opens it gingerly.
There's a little cupcake inside, with a smiley and a heart made of frosting on top of it. The frosting's smudged, and the heart has somewhat imprinted itself on the side of the box, but it makes Junmyeon's chest heavy.
“This was a little rushed, but I think it's in good shape considering how fast I ran across campus to get it?” Chanyeol's saying. “Kyungsoo threatened to lock me inside the shop if I didn't choose quickly.”
Junmyeon's staring at the tiny little thing as Chanyeol fixes a candle in it carefully, trying not to erase the surviving shape of the frosting any more. He fumbles several times with a tiny matchstick, large hands cupping his makeshift cake gently.
“I know it's—” Chanyeol checks his watch, “—oh, shit, 12:07, and not your birthday anymore, but I still want you to make a wish. For whatever you'd like.”
Junmyeon swallows against the sharp pain that rises in his throat. It's been years since he indulged in something as childish as this. But there's something about the way Chanyeol's asking him to do it, like something good can actually come out of it.
Junmyeon doesn't know for sure, but he does it anyway. For Chanyeol. He closes his eyes and wishes with all his heart, keeping all his misgivings at bay just this once.
“But what if I don't believe in wishes?” he asks, as Chanyeol hands him a wooden knife.
Chanyeol gives him that gentle smile, the one with the dimple, the one Junmyeon fell in love with the very first day they shared a class. “Then I suppose I'd do everything in my power to make it come true, regardless of what you want.”