After Halloween's kiss, Taemin was over the moon. He would stare adoringly at Seunghyun, and blush deeply whenever Seunghyun would catch his eye and smile. At breakfast the next morning, Taemin had been shyer than usual- he could barely look Seunghyun in the eye. Seunghyun just chuckled and ran his fingers over Taemin's cheek. They went for an autumn walk, drank hot chocolate, and watched scary movies on Seunghyun's laptop.

A couple of days later, Taemin received a letter from his mother. She had won the blue ribbon in the chili cook off, and had sent Taemin some fun money. Fifty whole dollars! Taemin knew exactly what he would do with it. Well, part of it. Seunghyun's birthday was in two days, and now Taemin would buy him a gift. He and Niel scoured the campus general store.

“Isn't jade good luck?” Niel asked, handing over a small jade dog.

“It is!” Taemin exclaimed. “But Seunghyun was born in the Year of the Rabbit.”

Niel rifled through the box before finding a rabbit. “And look, there's a hole through it's ears. You could make a necklace.”

Taemin grinned. He looked next at their necklace chains, deciding on a thin, red leather strap. Back in Niel's room, he double threaded the rabbit, making a small good luck bracelet. He wrapped it in white tissue paper with the leftover leather, and tucked a small birthday note in the bow.

The night before Seunghyun's birthday, the senior class from the girl's campus was dining with the boys. They weren't just there for the seniors- Jonghyun and Ricky's older sisters sat with them. A girl Taemin didn't recognize sat at their table, having a lively conversation with Seunghyun. Taemin's heart clenched as Seunghyun smiled easily at her.

“Taemin!” Seunghyun smiled, and pulled Taemin into the seat next to him. “This is my roommate Taemin. Taemin, this is Sohee. She's a senior too, and has been annoying me since we were freshmen.”

“He's so cute!” Sohee squealed. “And I wasn't annoying enough for you to date.”

Taemin's heart clenched painfully. “You two dated?” he asked softly. He felt a squeeze on his left knee, and turned to find Niel smiling softly at him.

Sohee snorted. “For like five minutes. My taste has vastly improved.”

Seunghyun scowled and reached out to swipe at her.

While it was fun catching up with Sohee, Seunghyun couldn't help but notice how quiet Taemin was. While he had been shy when they were around students he hadn't met yet, tonight he was being painfully shy. He hadn't spoken since asking if Seunghyun had dated Sohee. Instead he just stared at his tray, pushing his food around. Sometimes Niel would lean over and whisper in Taemin's ear, getting the tiny redhead to smile. Finally, unable to bear not being Taemin's center of attention, Seunghyun nudged him. Taemin looked up at him with pink cheeks, and Seunghyun relaxed. That was better. “You're still having dinner with me tomorrow, right?”

Taemin nodded, smiling brightly. He saw Sohee smiling at him and he looked away.

Seunghyun stood. “I'm going to walk Sohee out. I'll catch up to you, cutie.” Seunghyun chucked Taemin under the chin.

“He is adorable!” Sohee exclaimed as they walked out of the dining room.

“Yeah,” Seunghyun sighed.

“Aww, you like him!”

“I think so. I just don't know if it's like like. And he's so young, and I'm his hyung, and what if he thinks I'm taking advantage?”

“Well,” Sohee said slowly. “If you're unsure of your feelings, try testing them out on someone else. You'll know right away.”

Seunghyun bit his lip, not quite believing he was actually considering this. “Are you volunteering?”

Sohee smirked. “Sure, I'm game.”

Taemin hummed on his way to his room. He had stopped at Niel's room to pick up Seunghyun's gift. He hadn't wanted to keep it in his backpack in case it broke. And he was afraid of Seunghyun finding it too soon if he left it in their room. So Niel guarded it, and now Taemin was going to pass it over a few ours early. He stopped outside his door when he heard a strange noise that stopped him. It sounded like a groan, and suddenly Taemin had images of Seunghyun being hurt. He turned the knob, but it was locked. Before he could dig out his key, he heard something else.

“That's it baby.” Seunghyun's voice was muffled, but Taemin still heard it. As well as a girl's reply. Tears burned Taemin's eyes as he turned and headed down the hall.

“Taemin!” Key's voice was horrified. Probably because Taemin was a sobbing mess. “Hey, come in here.”

Jinki removed Taemin's backpack, and Key settled Taemin onto his bed, his hair. Taemin just cried and held Seunghyun's gift.

Finally, he calmed enough to say, “There's a girl in our room.”

Key's hand stilled in Taemin's hair.

“I heard them,” Taemin continued bitterly.

Jinki kneeled in front of Taemin. “Do you want to stay with us tonight?” he asked, wiping Taemin's eyes.

Taemin nodded. “Don't tell,” he said softly.

Jinki smiled. “Promise.”

Once Taemin had changed into a set of Jinki's pajamas, he climbed into bed with Key and fell asleep.

The next morning, Taemin woke early. He'd slept terribly, and was so exhausted. He also had a headache. He changed and snuck back to his room. Unlocking the door as softly as he could, Taemin crept into the room. Seunghyun and Sohee were tangled up in Seunghyun's bed. Taemin quickly changed into fresh clothing, trying to ignore the fresh tears that were threatening to spill. He set Seunghyun's gift on his nightstand, before leaving just as quietly as he had come in.

Seunghyun awoke to the sound of his alarm. He was a bit startled at the additional weight in his bed- he didn't remember Taemin getting in bed with him. It was when the figure stirred that his blood ran cold. It was Sohee.

Her eyes adjusted, then widened. “Crap!” she exclaimed, jumping out of bed. “How the hell am I going to sneak out of here and back into my dorm?”

Seunghyun was about to respond when he noticed a small parcel next to his bed. He pulled out the small note first.

                Happy birthday hyung!

                I hope your day is as

               great as you are!

                 Taemin

Seunghyun smiled. That little rascal must have snuck in... and... put it on his nightstand. Oh no.

“What's the matter with you?”

“Taemin dropped this off. He saw us.”         

Sohee grimaced. “Good luck with that,” she said before leaving.

Seunghyun slowly removed the paper, and smiled down at the bracelet. He brought it to his lips and sighed. “Taemin, I'm so sorry. But I know my feelings now.” He only hoped it wasn't too late.