Down one, two, three… how many steps was it? Minho didn’t bother counting them all. The familiarity of the small izakaya was striking and made his mind drift off to different things. Like the time Taehyun had called him out, pretending to have forgotten his wallet. If it hadn’t turned out to be a hidden camera, what would he have done? Would it have changed anything between them? The likeliness of it was very low. Back then, when they haven’t even had an official debut, he had been even more elusive than he was now, and commitment was the last thing he wanted. Had he even believed that Winner would make it to actually finishing their album and debuting back then? Everything had been so unstable and insecure behind the scenes then. Things were much better now, but were they good enough?

Nodding at the familiar man behind the counter Minho slipped to the back of the bar to the familiar table in the corner, slightly hidden from the entrance. That was where they’d always sit whenever they came. Mostly him and Taehyun, sometimes all five of them. The place was close enough to the hotel to not get lost, and close enough to make up a quick excuse if they were caught sneaking out.

Minho quietly ordered a beer and pulled out his phone, staring at the screen.

12:37 AM.

Why had he suddenly been asked to come out like this? And why now? 1 AM wasn’t really a normal time for people to meet. Also, why wasn’t the other here yet? Shuffling restlessly in his seat Minho couldn’t help looking towards the door. Was Taehyun even coming?

It was the bar by the hotel, right? At 1?

Yes, I already told you. What, are you not coming after all?

Was he not…. Minho frowned at his phone and gave it a little, annoyed push. Who was the one not coming? It was 12:45 and Taehyun still wasn’t here! Was he really coming? He didn’t even feel like drinking his beer anymore, he was too annoyed (and worried). At 12:30 he had been rushing out of the room he shared with Seunghoon and Jinwoo as per usual, scared that he would make Taehyun wait. Again. The magnae had made it perfectly clear on the plane the other day that he wouldn’t wait if he was late again.

Don’t be late.

Again? For the second time in just a few minutes Minho stared at his cellphone in both anger and disbelief. Late? That was exactly what he was not! He was sitting here, waiting for the other to show up, only he wasn’t. Wasn’t Taehyun the one late? Was he even coming?

12:54 AM.

He wouldn’t come. Pulling a bill out of his pocket he left it on the table and stood up, heading towards the stars. Why would Taehyun come? Wasn’t this just another prank? A payback for all the times he had been made to wait? One step, two steps-…

“Hyung?”

An involuntary shiver ran through Minho’s body at the sound of the soft voice and he looked up, taking in the familiar sight of slanted eyebrows, dark brown hair parted in the middle.

“I thought-…”

“Are you going somewhere? I just thought… it would be nice to spend Valentine’s Day together.”

1:00 AM

Valentine’s Day? But it was Friday. Friday the 13^th even! Only it wasn’t. Not anymore.

Would he come this time around? Things had been so awkward since they’d walked out of the plane at Haneda even Seungyoon had asked him about it. And when the leader actually broke the now familiar silence between the two of them when they were left alone in a room, it had to be painfully obvious. At least he wasn’t there now to ask about it. Wherever the three others had gone, Taehyun had just faked a headache and refused to go out. What Minho had done to not go with them… he had no idea. Maybe he had even gone with them and would end up stumbling in, completely drunk? It wouldn’t be the first.

He frowned, watching how his face scrunched up in the mirror as he did so. Why did things have to be so complicated? Fighting wore him out, but this wasn’t really arguing. It was a silent… something. Not quite a war, but not nothing either. Taehyun was really mad at Minho for standing him up so many times, and he was tired of waiting all night just to fall asleep and wake up to a message with an apology so plain it would make him want to throw his phone out the window. Was whatever they had really worth it?

Why question it when he knew the answer? Angry texting was one thing, but it was always forgotten when it went well. Those chocolate brown eyes, strong arms and deep voice could distract him from his anger at any time. Because when things were good between them, it was really great.

12:37 AM.

Most likely he was just being a fool on his own. The neatly wrapped gift he had left on his nightstand when he came back earlier just underlined the fact. How much chocolate wouldn’t the rapper have received from fans at the airport already? Taehyun scoffed and reached out a hand to lightly touch the pink ribbon. Fool. F-O-O-L.

It was the bar by the hotel, right? At 1?

Yes, I already told you. What, are you not coming after all?

Really? He wouldn’t show up? Taehyun felt a pang of hurt in his chest and he picked up his phone, motioning as if to throw it in the wall. Damn the existence of Song Minho. Damn the fact that even after this he was still putting on his coat, getting ready to go out. The thought of sitting there alone for a couple of hours made him want to just give it up and crawl to bed, but giving up now would just make him regret it more.

Grabbing his phone, Taehyun typed a quick response to the reply from Minho that never came. Then he wrapped a scarf around his neck and headed out.

Don’t be late.

It was almost 1 AM when he reached the lobby, but since it seemed that a certain someone would be late, again, it didn’t matter. Sitting at the familiar bar would still be nicer than to sit alone in his room while the others were out having fun.

12:54 AM.

The more he thought about it, the more tempting a glass of beer sounded. Even if he had to enjoy it on his own. Or maybe he wouldn’t?

“Hyung?”

Taehyun stared in disbelief at Minho, pretty sure this was what it would be like to see a ghost. Why was he here already here? And why in the world was he leaving? That made no sense.

“I thought-…”

“Are you going somewhere? I just thought… it would be nice. That is, to spend Valentine’s Day together.”

From the look of things, he hadn’t been the one waiting tonight?

Author's Note: So this has already made it to chapter three, and I don't even know how that happened. It might be the last chapter, I haven't really decided. But I thought it would be nice to make a Valentine's Day chapter because.. well, Valentine's Day.

Also Minho deserved to be the one waiting, and he fails rather badly at it. I see him as rather similar to Gatsby in the Great Gatsby: If people are not early to an appointment they will be late. No matter how late he sometimes is... As always, this was written in one sitting, so it is probably a bit messy, but hope you enjoy it regardless of small mistakes. 

Happy Valentine's Day!