It had been a long day filled with back-to-back activities, but it was not just another ordinary day. The boys were awarded their 6^th music show trophy for their first comeback in almost a year, and more importantly, it was their precious maknae’s birthday. They had not been able to celebrate that day due to their schedule, but with a promise to take them all out to dinner later that week, their manager-hyung dropped them off at their dorm and drove off with a nagging reminder, “Don’t forget I will pick you up at 6 o’clock sharp tomorrow morning!”

The boys hastily removed their shoes as soon as they got inside, eager to sleep off the day’s exhaustion. Minseok, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Jongin bid a loud “Goodnight! Happy birthday again, maknae!” and immediately retreated to their rooms, leaving the leader and the maknae alone in the living room. Glancing at the clock, Joonmyun rid himself of his shirt and plopped down on one end of the couch with a loud sigh; 11:35 PM.

Sehun joined him, back against the opposite armrest, with his feet nudging up against his leader’s thigh. Sehun observed Joonmyeon’s slouched posture; with his head leaned back and eyes shut, he wasn’t sure if the older male was asleep or awake. After 5 minutes passed silently, Joonmyeon spoke up, eyes still closed; 11:40 PM.

“Sehunnie.”

“Yes, hyung?”

“There are still 20 minutes left in your birthday.”

Sehun turned to look at the clock, “Yeah, I guess you are right.”

“Did you receive everything you wanted for your birthday today?”

Honestly? No. He received so much that he couldn’t even imagine wishing for, but there was only one thing he really wanted; one thing that he couldn’t vocalize. “Yeah, hyung, today has been great. Our EXO-L really love us, more than we deserve.”

Joonmyeon hummed in agreement, “So is there anything you didn’t get to do today that you want to cram in before midnight?” He grinned, “Anything you want, your trusty leader-hyung will make it happen!”

“As long as I’m with hyung, I will be happy.”

Joonmyeon laughed quietly to not wake the other members, “Ahhh, our maknae is so cute! Let’s eat a snack before we go to bed.”

“But hyung, our diets…”

The older winked, “It is your birthday! Besides, manager-hyung can’t scold us if he doesn’t know.” He grabbed a couple juice boxes from the fridge along with a container full of fruit and set them on the table; 11:45 PM.

Claiming the seat across from Sehun, Joonmyeon pulled out his phone, “Let’s see how much love EXO-L have been sending you for your birthday. Dang…your popularity is no joke! #HappySehunDay is trending worldwide…” The leader was too engrossed in reading the messages to notice that the younger also had his phone out, and was finding the perfect angle to capture his shirtless hyung in the background of his selca; 11:52 PM.

“Hyung.”

Joommyeon popped a handful of fruit into his mouth, puffing out his cheeks, not looking up, “Huh?”

“Hyung, look at me.”

He looked up. *Click*

Sehun cracked up at Joonmyeon’s horrified expression when he realized what the younger had sneakily done.

“YAH!”

“You just gave EXO-L the best gift for my birthday, thanks hyung!”

“I’m not wearing a shirt! You better not be posting that on SNS!”

Sehun quickly typed “Thank you, EXO-L” and hit post. “Sorry hyung, it’s too late for that.”

“Delete it!”

“I don’t know how.”

“BS!” Joonmyeon stood up and inched towards Sehun’s side of the table.

Sehun jumped up and mirrored his hyung’s movements; a game of cat and mouse, hunter and prey. Smirking, he whispered, “Hyung, keep it down—the others are sleeping!”

“You brat! If everyone wasn’t sleeping right now, I would…”

Sehun stopped evading and let the older push him down onto his chair by his shoulders; 11:58. “You would what, hyung?”

“I’m glad you are wearing a snapback,” Joonmyeon commented as he released a hard flick to the maknae’s forehead.

“Owwww, hyung!” Sehun whined, “It’s still my birthday!”

Joonmyeon spared a glance at the clock: 11:59. “Ah, you are right…” The leader enveloped the maknae’s shoulders in a back hug with his bare arms and planted a kiss where he had flicked the boy moments prior. “It’s getting late; I’ll punish you properly tomorrow. Happy birthday again, and sleep well, Sehunnie. Love ya!” And the leader headed to bed, throwing their trash away long the way.

Sehun remained sitting for a bit longer, staring at the time on his phone: 12:00 AM. Another birthday done. Another year gone with four words unspoken, “I love you, hyung.”

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A/N: Thank you for reading! I appreciate any comments or critiques, so I can continue to improve my writing :-)