An empty strawberry cake box, used party poppers, and paper hats lay on the ground, evidence of a party that happened; the excitement starting to fade but wasn’t quite over yet. Seungcheol held a wine bottle in one hand and a thin paper cup on the other, a playful glint in his eyes. Jeonghan sat opposite him, cheeks flushed, drunk not so much with alcohol but with happiness.

“Are you sure we could drink wine?”

Seungcheol shrugged as he poured the silver liquid on the cup and offered it to Jeonghan.

“We’re not supposed to be eating a whole cake so late at night and ruining our diets either, but here we are”

Jeonghan grinned at the thought and took a sip. The green practice room has long been emptied; 11 other boys have gone back to the dorms, tired from a long day at practice and Jeonghan knew full well they both should head home too. But midnight was fast approaching and so was his 20th and he figured maybe it was okay to break a few rules once in a while.

Seungcheol must have seen the apprehension in his face. The older chuckled and nudged him, “It’s your last day as a teenager, it’s okay to do something stupid and regret it later”

The younger pouted, trying to understand the logic, but realizing that it came from their leader –strict, responsible Seungcheol, he figured, maybe he’s right. He drank more of the wine, feeling the heat rise up to his face though he wasn’t quite sure if it was caused by the liquor or Seungcheol’s gummy but warm smile directed at him.

He had planned all of this, from when he asked Joshua to lead the kids to the dorm with the excuse of keeping Jeonghan occupied so they could prepare a surprise party at home. Little did the members know that their leader in fact was the one who had already prepared a surprise.

Jeonghan felt warmth in his heart.

“Your hair’s starting to get long,”

“I’m getting used to it,” he said, running his fingers through the strands. When the leader didn’t respond, Jeonghan looked up at him. He was staring at him with a gaze so strong Jeonghan felt oddly self-conscious. He focused on brushing his fingers through his hair.

After a few moments, Seungcheol’s low voice pierced the thickening silence in the air. “It looks good on you.”

Jeonghan turned to him again and was met by the same intense stare; Seungcheol’s eyes were dark but twinkling at the same time and Jeonghan felt like he could get lost in them…

“…do something stupid and regret it later”

Without thinking, Jeonghan leaned close and pressed his lips on Seungcheol’s. The older seemed taken aback for a second, only a second, before his lips starting moving as well. His fingers tangled themselves on Jeonghan’s not quite long, not quite short hair and the younger shut his eyes tighter, pushed his lips closer.

Seungcheol’s lips tasted like strawberries and wine and pure bliss.

When they parted, Seungcheol was breathless.

Jeonghan pursed his lips, suddenly focusing his attention on the half-full bottle of wine. He couldn’t help but wonder how they got drunk on so little alcohol.

Maybe they weren’t.

He couldn’t look at his leader and instead starting digging his nails on the paper cup, leaving little marks on the polka dots design.

“You said to do something stupid…” he mumbled. He hated how defensive he sounded, he hated how hard his heart pounded.

The older was still doing quick, shallow breaths but a chuckle managed to escape his lips.

“You’d probably... regret it later… wouldn’t you?” the words came out slowly, uncertain.

The younger looked at him, his dark hair messy and slightly damp with sweat, his plain white tee slightly grimy from the hardwork and slaving away during practice, and his eyes –dark circles and heavy eyelids, and Jeonghan had never seen anyone more beautiful.

“Yeah,” he breathed, knowing full well that he wouldn’t.

Jeonghan gave the room one more lookover, making sure there were no traces of the party though he knew it wasn’t the biggest secret of the night.

“What’s your birthday wish, Jeonghan?” Seungcheol was standing leaning on the door frame, his figure tired and sleepy but exuding strength and responsibility at the same time. For a moment, Jeonghan wanted to thank the universe that he was born months later than him; he had no idea how Seungcheol does it -leading twelve completely different individuals, holding the team together and boosting their morale, pushing them to be better each day, when it was hard to even uplift one’s own soul when their future and dreams still border on the uncertain.

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow curiously and Jeonghan realized he’s been staring far longer than normal and that he had a question to answer.

“For Seventeen to be able to debut,” he said with a smile.

The leader nodded understandingly while Jeonghan tried not to think of how many birthdays Seungcheol’s spent wishing for the same thing.

“Look… it’s midnight” he said, motioning to the wall clock. Jeonghan followed his gaze. Seungcheol pulled himself away from the door and with a few strides closed the distance between them. He stopped only a few inches away.

“Happy birthday, angel!”

A smile was plastered on Seungcheol’s face but before Jeonghan could respond, the older’s arm has s it’s way around his waist, pulling him in closer. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind Jeonghan’s ear and planted a kiss on his forehead, then on his lips.

It was different; driven not so much by passion nor of raging hormones. It was soft and short and tasted of an emotion far deeper, far more meaningful.

Seungcheol smiled and Jeonghan could feel his cheeks burning.

“I’m thankful you’re a Seventeen member, Jeonghan”

They were on the way back to the dorms and the night air was filled with early October cold. His fingers were wrapped comfortably in between the gaps of Seungcheol’s hand as they walked side by side towards a home where 11 other boys he’s come to call brothers are preparing a ‘surprise’ party for him. The blue-black sky was littered by tiny, twinkling stars but the brightest was right there beside him. And Jeonghan knew he couldn’t ask for more.

Happy birthday, indeed.

-

Edit: Hey, hello everyone. So i posted this just really quickly to make it in time for yjh's birthday that i didnt get to leave an author's note at first and checking this again now i'm so surprised to see that this got so many subscribers and even got upvotes. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! ♡ it would be nice to hear from you guys too in the comments. 

This isn't the first jeongcheol fic i wrote but this is the first one that i had the courage to actually post (haha). Sorry for any mistakes i'm not used to writing nonau fics too... just to be clear, this was set on jeonghan's birthday on the year before they debuted, when he turned 20 Korean age :)

That's all, thank you all so much and let's keep supporting jeongcheol and seventeen ♡