37: With them, it's always about balance. Pairing!LuHo/SuHan, HighSchool!AU, Valedictorian!Suho, SoccerStud!Luhan, Hinted!SeSoo, Surprise!Cameo

Junmyeon, valedictorian and class president, would take time out of his academically rigorous schedule to tutor Luhan in science if soccer captain and sports extraordinaire Luhan agreed to help Junmyeon pass PE.

That was the deal they made last September as juniors at Seoul High, back when Luhan was in Chemistry and Junmyeon's physical education teacher failed anyone who didn't play a varsity sport. By the time school let out in May, Luhan had an A in his science class, Junmyeon was somehow an alternate on the varsity Badminton team, and the Chemistry that they studied in textbooks inevitably became real life when they started dating sometime in between. Clearly, this agreement worked well for them, which is why it was now the beginning of their senior year and basically nothing had changed because they'd found a balance and it was perfect.

There were little differences, of course; like the fact that senior science was Physics or that Junmyeon had moved on from General PhysEd to the more specialized class of Cardio Toning. Since Luhan, though, at science as much as Junmyeon at spinning and/or Zumba and/or weight lifting, their balance remained relatively in tact. And actually, this equality of both sides extended outside of their regular workout-tutoring sessions—during which Junmyeon would flail around trying to be athletic while Luhan stuck his nose in his physics workbook and tried not to laugh—and spilled into their relationship, too. In the mornings when they met at the closest bus stop to Seoul High and walked hand in hand to school together, Luhan would greet his boyfriend with a smile, a quick peck, sometimes an umbrella when it rained, and always a homemade goody from his parents' bakery that he'd snuck hot off the shelf just for Junmyeon. In the afternoons during the break between the end of classes and the beginning of club meetings, Junmyeon would appear at Luhan's side with a food offering of his own that he'd rushed to purchase from the snack bar.

"I'm not exactly short on funds, Lu," he'd say whenever his boyfriend pouted and complained that Junmyeon spoiled him too much. "And besides, you'll need the nourishment in a few minutes once your soccer practice starts." Luhan never argued that sweet bread, sausage, and banana milk probably did more harm than good where a healthy athlete diet was concerned, and always ate Junmyeon's gifts happily because he realized that that was how his boyfriend said thank you: by keeping things even.

Except it wasn't at all like keeping score, though Luhan and Junmyeon could understand why other people sometimes saw it like that.

"Why?" Luhan's best friend and teammate, Sehun, would ask in genuine curiosity, "Why do you have to pay each other back for everything?"

"What's mine is yours." Junmyeon's best friend and salutatorian, Kyungsoo, would point out intelligently before wondering "Isn't that what relationships are supposed to be like?"

"Says who?" That was usually the couple's response when pressed for answers. And if they emphasized an equal balance in their relationship, what was so wrong about that anyway? Nothing, Junmyeon decided. Nothing, Luhan agreed.

By the time soccer season rolled around—pun totally intended and in fact used by Junmyeon one afternoon while trying to explain to Kyungsoo why the sport was fun to watch—the two seniors got so good at being even that things escalated to a level of almost absurd. They loved it, of course, because that was how Luhan and Junmyeon operated, but Sehun and Kyungsoo constantly bemoaned the changes that came mid-November with the start of soccer.

In Sehun's case, soccer season not only meant more serious practices in preparation for actual games, but also meant longer days and one early Saturday morning in particular when Junmyeon took the SAT, Luhan wanted to support his boyfriend, and Luhan forced Sehun to support him too. Sehun didn't understand why he needed to be standing next to Luhan outside the test classroom if Luhan was the only one holding a sign, but he was too tired to fight his friend's neuroticism and stood slumped against the wall, barely awake and only technically upright.

"It's like you hate me," Sehun muttered childishly while Luhan checked his phone for the thousandth time and frowned at the schedule he found there.

Luhan patted Sehun's head and it would have been patronizing if Luhan weren't so much shorter than his friend; instead it was simply cute and exactly what Junmyeon needed to see when he burst through the classroom door once the students were finally released for a short break. Truthfully, Junmyeon didn't need to see the sign held high above his boyfriend's head because in that moment he really just needed Luhan, but he appreciated the encouraging words nevertheless.

"Kim Junmyeon, FIGHTING!" Those were the words written on the bright purple poster board in sparkly gold letters that shed a little glitter every time Luhan moved, and when Junmyeon swept his boyfriend up for a few grateful kisses before he had to go back to his test, Sehun discovered the true reason he's been dragged along. Luhan had begged Sehun's presence by emphasizing the importance of emotional support, but it turned out that Luhan only needed Sehun for one thing: to hold onto his precious sign while Junmyeon kissed him senseless. Yeah, soccer season was certainly a rough one for Sehun.

Kyungsoo didn't play soccer and was used to early Saturday's because he took the SAT too, but he wasn't completely exempt to the effects of soccer season either.

"Screw your stupid obsession with balance," he complained to Junmyeon through gritted teeth one crisp Friday afternoon the weekend before Thanksgiving. "If I catch hypothermia and die because I was forced to watch this game with you, I'm gonna haunt your sorry forever."

Junmyeon, who was alternating between clutching a handmade sign of his own that read "Luhan FTW: Let Out the Beast!" and blowing hot air onto his frozen fingers, purposely overlooked Kyungsoo's comment. Instead, he sent his friend a withering glare and retorted haughtily, "You can't get hypothermia without water, idiot."

Kyungsoo looked at Junmyeon strangely for a long moment, then shook his head. "Remind me again why you're ranked 1st and I'm merely 2nd?" When Junmyeon seemed more indignant than confused, Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands a little deeper into his coat pockets before explaining slowly, "Hypothermia occurs in situations where the body is subject to excessive cold. Hypo- means extreme and thermia- comes from thermos- which means temperature."

Seoul High's valedictorian considered his friend's words for a moment as he sat with his mouth gaping and his eyes wide. "Does that mean that a person who gets boiled alive dies from hypothermia too? That's totally extreme temperature."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes again and was about to retort something sarcastic—and probably slightly degrading—when a familiar voice cut him off. "You're both pabos."

"Sungjong sunbae!" Kyungsoo mumbled in surprise while Junmyeon just groaned and dropped his poster to rub petulantly at the spot where Sungjong's slim finger had flicked both boys on the forehead.

"What are you doing here?" Sungjong had graduated the year before and was actually Junmyeon's predecessor as valedictorian and student body president, so Kyungsoo was really interested in why their sunbae had suddenly reappeared.

"No reason," Sungjong hedge, trying to hide the lie behind his pretty smile. But he was blushing and Kyungsoo had an eye for spotting that sort of thing, so he was soon mercilessly interrogating the elder about his love life, leaving Junmyeon to his own devices. That was perfectly fine with him, to be honest, because a quick glance at his watch showed that Luhan was about to come onto the field and Junmyeon needed to make sure his sign was ready when that moment came.

A few minutes later Sungjong had finally admitted to visiting a secret younger boyfriend, Kyungsoo had confessed to their friend about his blossoming crush on Sehun, and Junmyeon had ignored them both the instant Luhan's cotton-candy colored hair appeared before him. Junmyeon remembered their existence long enough to elbow his two friends hard in the ribs in I contained anticipation when the announcer read off Luhan's name, number, and position, but then returned his concentration solely to his boyfriend's running form as the whistle blew and the game began. Every so often the soccer captain would glance toward the bleachers and Junmyeon would catch Luhan's gaze with a loud cheer and an excited wave of his poster. The action always made Luhan smile and Junmyeon noticed with secret pride how his boyfriend's energy always seemed a little renewed after those mini-interactions.

Junmyeon was more devious than he looked, though, and had more up his sleeve than simply his presence and the silly little sign. During halftime he tossed a few coins Kyungsoo's way and requested a hot chocolate when his friend and Sungjong said they were going off to buy some drinks, but didn't move an inch from off his seat for the entire 15 minutes because he was too busy being, well, busy. Junmyeon hastily dug through his bag for the permanent marker he'd used to write on the poster's other side and quickly scribbled something once he found it. After that, Junmyeon just sat there waiting patiently for the game to start again because Luhan's reaction was sure to be priceless and Junmyeon was more than willing to wait out in the cold for it.

He didn't have to wait too long because Sungjong and Kyungsoo were back with his hot drink before the ink had even dried, and not long after that the game began again. It was a tense one for Junmyeon to watch, not because Luhan's expertly captained team was losing, but because at any moment Junmyeon worried that Luhan might fall and hurt himself. Kyungsoo might have had the same concerns if Sehun were playing but the Seoul High team's lead was so great that Luhan was actually the only starter out on the field just then. And so Kyungsoo got to gossip while Junmyeon just sort of hunched over the warmth of his beverage and kept his eyes peeled for two things: injury and the opportune moment.

Ironically, one perpetuated the other when the perfect instance for Junmyeon to restore their balance came and the hot chocolate went tumbling to the ground as Junmyeon raised his sign and flipped it suddenly.

"I love you, Luhan," it said in large letters that were easily seen even from the far end of the field. Which is precisely where the Seoul High soccer captain was dribbling the ball when he read the poster, got distracted by his absolute infatuation with Junmyeon, lost possession of the ball to a freshman on the other team who wasn't that talented anyway, and somehow ended up in a collapsed heap on the ground after tripping over an invisible rock and twisting his ankle. Junmyeon was absolutely horrified that their mutual need for balance had caused his boyfriend harm, but Luhan later joked that their unofficial principle of equality technically meant Luhan could woo Junmyeon into injury too, if he wanted, so Jubmyeon shouldn't feel too badly about the situation because his time would come.

Luhan was in no way serious but Junmyeon was distraught enough to misunderstand the teasing and it had taken the entire rest of soccer season for Luhan to convince his boyfriend that the whole thing had been a joke. Balance was important, sure, but Junmyeon and Luhan were beginning to learn that maybe other things were too.