Jongdae wasn’t sappy, not at all. Not like his boyfriend, Junmyeon, who lived for rainbows and sparkles and all that fluffy crap that could rot anyone’s mouth with cavities in a millisecond. But staring into the shop window filled with a sparkly and cute Valentine’s day cards, flower arrangements, and assorted candies, he couldn’t help the sap-fever slowly begin to infect him.

Today after all, was one of the very few days throughout the year where he’d actually be okay with himself such a lovey dovey thing.

And so he had no regrets as he entered the shop and purchased fifty dollars’ worth of colorful roses and an overpriced box of chocolates, and he may or may not have bought a small teddy bear holding a heart that read “I love you”, which pushed his spending limit a tad bit over what he would’ve liked.

It was only for today, anyway. And it was for the man he loved. It was probably okay.

Arriving home that afternoon, just two hours before Junmyeon even got off work, was the beginning of it all. Jongdae ran to the kitchen and began pulling out an endless amount of ingredients for their special dinner tonight, even ingredients he probably didn’t need. Jongdae wasn’t much of a cook really, his only edible masterpieces being ramyun and peanut butter-banana sandwiches, but today he was determined to create a special dish for his lover.

And so he read the recipe instructions three times before getting to work, only stopping a million times in between to make sure nothing was burning (hell, the stove wasn’t even on yet) and none of the chicken was spoiled (even though he had just bought it that day). He thought the process was going smoothly for a good portion of his actions until it was near ready and an aroma was filling the air around him—except it wasn’t quite the aroma it was anticipating.

And sure enough, he messed up. He wasn’t even sure what he did wrong! He followed the instructions! Damn those kitchen gods! They mess with him every time!

Even the taste was a bit off, which really puzzled Jongdae.

And with an infuriating sigh, he turned off the stove and threw everything he could into the sink and he grabbed the take-out menu off the fridge, wondering if the employees would mind drawing hearts on the little food containers.

He arranged the flowers in the pretty vase, making sure the prettiest ones were more noticeable than the lacking ones, and made sure the container of the candies was sealed tight.

Why was he nervous? He didn’t need to be nervous. It was only Junmyeon.

The take out arrived and Jongdae thanked the man a thousand times for complying with the hand-drawn hearts, giving the employee a hefty tip. He placed the food on the table just in time for Junmyeon to walk in the door with a tired sigh.

“I’m so glad to be home. Work was such a drag,” Junmyeon complained, carelessly throwing his jacket onto the floor as he walked straight into his boyfriend’s comforting arms. It was the perfect thing to be greeted home with after a taxing day at the workplace.

“Well, you’re here now with me and Happy Valentine’s day, baby,” Jongdae said, pecking the other’s forehead to cease the stress-induced creases that had formed throughout the day.

“Mm, thanks sweetie. I love you. Oh! That reminds me, I have a present for you! Let me get it, it’s in my room!”

“No, do it later. I’m sure you’re hungry and dinner is waiting for you at the table,” Jongdae interjected, pulling Junmyeon along to the table.

Junmyeon smiled, “Any other day, you would be begging for the gift now, food later.”

“Well this isn’t any other day, now isn’t it? Here. Eat.”

“Holy crap! You bought flowers!” Junmyeon exclaimed as he got to the table, eyes widened at the sight of all the pretty roses on display for him.

“Yeah! Cool, right? Please don’t ask how much I spent.”

“They’re lovely, thank you…And candy…Oh my gosh, you really went all out.”

Jongdae prided himself as he loved how impressed Junmyeon sounded.

“But what disaster hit the kitchen?”

Cue the embarrassment.

Jongdae let out an embarrassed chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. “….I’ll clean it after dinner.”

“Um, how about later tonight? Because as soon as dinner is over with, I was hoping I could give you a .”

“I’m more than okay with that.”

“Shoot, I forgot about your present,” Junmyeon gasped only a few short moments after ing, the two men entangled together underneath the blankets of the bed.

Jongdae kissed his boyfriend’s sleek forehead and laughed, “I think the we just had was a fantastic present.”

“No~,” Junmyeon whined childishly, moving to get up from the bed. “I had a card for you. I know you don’t like anything real fancy so I just got you that.”

“Well appreciate it,” Jongdae said as he took the paper card Junmyeon handed him, opening it to be greeted with a tune.

Will you be my V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E?

“Did the card just sing to me with your voice?” Jongdae laughed loudly, a wide smile lighting his face and Junmyeon nodded shyly.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“It’s cute! Oh wow, I love you,” Jongdae said, pulling Junmyeon close to kiss his pink lips.

“Happy Valentine’s day.”