It’s tradition. Every year since they’ve been friends, he, Jihoon, Mingyu and Soonyoung got together every Valentine’s day to celebrate being single by getting ‘classy’ wasted. Really, it’s just them giggling into the narrow mouth of Mingyu’s mother’s thin-stemmed wine glasses. It’s supposed to be stupid and fun and, more importantly, for singles only.

So Wonwoo doesn’t understand why, on Valentine’s weekend, Junhui–whom they had kicked out after the first annual single’s dinner– and Minghao were snuggling in the love seat by the door when he arrives. Seokmin walks into view from the bathroom, phone tucked into his ear, whispering soft words to his girlfriend, no doubt. Wonwoo thinks what the .

“Ji, what the .”

“Don’t look at me, blame Mingyu.” Jihoon shrugs.

“Hyung that’s not fair! We needed JunHao for their vodka stash– how was I not gonna let them come?” Minghao, the savage, throws Wonwoo a self-satisfied smirk before returning to his sickening sweet bubble with Junhui. Jihoon just looks Mingyu straight in the eye and slowly sips on his bubble tea (It’s probably heavily spiked with vodka, at this point in the night.). And as much as Wonwoo loved seeing Mingyu act like a completely appalled, flailing monkey– he needed answers.

“And Seokmin?”

“Soonyoung brought him.” Wonwoo wrinkles his nose, every single one of them has betrayed their tradition (and Wonwoo). “Now stop being such a , sit your down and play the Twilight drinking game with us.” Jihoon hands him a beer. Mingyu pipes up about New Moon just starting.

Wonwoo figured he was going to be too wasted to care anyway, so he shrugs and takes the beer. He nose dives to the non-existent space between Junhui and Minghao on the love seat. He hooks an arm around each and hoots for the start of the movie. Single’s dinner it might not be, but at least he can enjoy being bitter by ing. He feels a sharp pinch on his side from Junhui but all he does is flash him a smile before taking a drink from his beer. Soonyoung berates him for drinking already, pop corn in hand and slurring more than a little bit. Guess Wonwoo came a bit late to the party.

Every time Bella blinked and made the patented troubled face, they took a swig. Every time they saw a shirtless Taylor Lautner, another gulp. Every time Bella does some stupid , they raised their glass in cheers and drank. Things devolved very quickly; Junhui and Minghao were making out on the floor from where Wonwoo had kicked them off the love seat. Soonyoung and Seokmin were…slapping each other?? Wonwoo’s a bit hazy on that but the sound of skin getting slapped vaguely reminded him those gay os they’d all been forced to sit through together for “friendship strengthening” so really– Wonwoo’s pretty sloshed. Mingyu’s in the kitchen cooking the steaks while Jihoon mashed the potatoes with more force than strictly necessary. It might be because Mingyu’s whining about drunkards not appreciating his top class cuisine. He gets up, stepping over the gross couple, to help (silence Mingyu) so that Jihoon won’t have to go to jail for murder tonight.

<*><*><*>

The table is set and everyone had a fork and knife– and what a fest it was, trying to get everyone to understand the concept of taking one and passing the handful of knives around the table, it’s harder than its supposed to be and he’s sure Soonyoung has two knives instead of another fork– plus the steaks and mashed potatoes nicely arranged on their plates. As they wait for Mingyu’s slow , Seokmin is throwing empty shells of edamame at Jihoon and was everyone feeling like dying tonight? Thankfully, his third cup of hard lemonade has kicked in and Jihoon is mellow and only throwing the oranges from the fruit bowl, rather than his knife.

They cut into the steaks and their wine glasses clink together as Soonyoung thinks of more cheers to toast to. (To Singlehood! To Friendship! To Hangovers the size of Pluto! To the planet Pluto! “Soonyoung, Pluto’s not even a planet anymore–” “Shut the up and toast with me!”)

“Hoon, I think that’s harder than hard lemonade at this point.” Soonyoung points, giggling while biting at the edge of his wine glass. Jihoon’s refilling his empty cup and its three parts vodka and one part lemonade. Jihoon’s one crazy drunk and Wonwoo should probably do something about it, as the one most sober of the bunch. He bemoans his high tolerance, looking towards Seokmin who was falling off his chair from laughing too hard at what Soonyoung said. You know he’s drunk because what Soonyoung said wasn’t even funny.

“Who the hell asked you?” Jihoon, on the other hand, may not be that drunk. Wonwoo figured that if he can still be mean like this, he’s on the edge of tipsy to drunk, maybe.

Soonyoung acts offended, a soft gasp leaving him, hand on his chest and eyebrows scrunched together. He raises his knife and says, “That’s a not so knife thing to say!” The table bursts into laughter. Mingyu gives Soonyoung a sloppy high five across the table from where he sat on Jihoon’s other side. Wonwoo, the other one fortunate enough to be sat beside the small Satan incarnate, prepares himself to hold Jihoon back from lunging across the table and ruining what’s left of the expensive steak dinner they’d prepared. Jihoon must’ve finished the hard lemonade he’d just mixed because he just giggles. Seokmin goes slack jawed and starts pointing at Jihoon like a child that saw Santa Claus. Mingyu’s laughing, resting his whole weight on Jihoon, almost bent over the other, nose buried in Jihoon’s purple hair. He doesn’t notice that the JunHao couple was gone until he hears the distinct click of the bathroom door locking and Soonyoung’s wolf whistles. And it has begun. 

Wonwoo can already feel the hangover.

<*><*><*>

Jihoon is a cuddly, affectionate drunk. Wonwoo knows that it’s like announcing to the world that hell has frozen over and will undergo new management– but he is ting no one. He currently has a Jihoon clinging to his leg as he tried to get Seokmin to stop jumping on the couch. Soonyoung captures the moment on Snapchat and Jihoon’s going to be so happy with him in the morning when he checks his snaps. Mingyu’s going back and forth from the kitchen and the bathroom to wipe off Junhui’s puke. Wonwoo tries not to smirk at the thought that Junhui may have puked into Minghao’s mouth. Serves the lovey-dovey couple right. 

Jihoon has moved on from bothering him to clinging to Soonyoung instead. He’s burying his head into the other boy’s neck, sniffing and leaving little kitten pecks on the reddened skin of Soonyoung’s nape. Yeah, Jihoon’s a little more than  just cuddly actually.

Wonwoo doesn’t bother helping unlatch Jihoon, instead focusing on finally calming Seokmin down a bit. He’s pretty sure Mingyu’s neighbors hated their guts, at this point.

Mingyu returns with Junhui and Minghao, who soothed his boyfriends back as they’re guided back to the loveseat. Wonwoo turns the channel to Cartoon Network for Seokmin and now Jihoon has climbed onto Mingyu’s back, preparing to charge at him. Soonyoung jumps on Wonwoo’s back–“to fight back against the oppression of the Lee Jihoon Empire!!” and really, Wonwoo didn’t have enough vodka in him for this .

<*><*><*>

Since everyone was drunk and hence no longer allowed to drink more– Wonwoo gets to hog the rest of the vodka and a little of the wine left over. This doesn’t stop Mingyu from sneaking sips and foisting shots on Jihoon when he looks away, but he lets it happen. The massive hangover Mingyu was going to get in the morning was going to be more than enough payback.

Everyone has piled onto the big couch in front of the television. Harry Potter was playing, judging from the music score, if Wonwoo’s inner middle school Potterhead is correct. Soonyoung rested his back against the front of the couch, Jihoon’s legs acting as his pillow while he Seokmin’s head from where it laid on his lap. Junhui is resting his head against Minghao’s shoulder as the his boyfriend sat at the edge of the arm rest while Mingyu sat on the other end, Jihoon sitting atop his lap with his legs straight out onto the couch and taking up the bulk of it (like the that he was). Jihoon’s nosing into Mingyu’s collarbone as the taller toyed with his hair, periodically leaning in to breathe in Jihoon’s conditioner. A knot forms in between Wonwoo’s eyebrows. He should really ask Jihoon what conditioner he uses. Hair envy aside, the whole set up is extremely inefficient and Wonwoo’s sure everyone’s going to get kinks on their necks and legs come morning. 

    He itched to join them.

Wonwoo finishes the rest of the vodka, a good fourth of the large bottle, before he dives onto the gap between Jihoon’s legs and let the heat deep in his belly warm him as Valentine’s day approached. The others gravitate towards him, shifting to make room but also pushing in closer. It’s too warm, Wonwoo’s skin felt sticky and he’s pretty sure Jihoon’s elbow was digging into his rib but he really wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. Valentine’s is best spent with good company.

(Bonus: 

Wonwoo doesn’t recall falling asleep but he does remember the echo of someone draping a blanket over him. He wakes up when he hits his head against the metal railing of Mingyu’s bunk bed. He’s on the floor with who might be Soonyoung, judging from the snoring.

He hears some hushed whispering and what may be kissing. Wonwoo’s ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton so he couldn’t be sure. He peeks up a bit, thinking it was Minghao and Junhui being the disgustingly sweet couple that they were.

He pushed down the choking cough he’d almost let out at the sight of Jihoon and Mingyu cocooned in a comforter, facing each other. He can’t see Jihoon aside from the tufts of purple of his head but Mingyu’s face was in full view. He’s smiling, it’s soft and tender and Wonwoo has the vague idea that maybe, for next year’s Single’s Dinner, he should just have the couples be invited, lest he end up just eating and getting faced with Soonyoung which wouldn’t have been any different from any old Friday night.

Wonwoo manages to hear one thing that Mingyu whispers. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” Mingyu leans down and soft pecks follow. It’s when the kiss turns wet and there were  noise, for the love of God does Wonwoo bury himself into his blanket to will himself into an oblivious sleep.

It was too early for this .)