A dim room, silent but for the sounds of sleeping. The sleepers, three boys, tangled together. The light tracing their forms thrown from a streetlamp several feet away, or cars passing by slowly. Silence took hold of the room as the three boys’ hearts beat in a disjointed rhythm.

This room would look the same every night of the year. But a slight movement, a hiccup in the pattern of breathing reveals a difference. The middle boy’s eyes open slowly, and he quietly lets out a deeply held breath. His companions don’t stir.

Jeonghan opened his eyes, holding his breath so as not to wake Jisoo or Seungcheol. He shifts slightly, turning from where he was facing Jisoo, and disentangling his legs from Seungcheol’s, until he lay flat on his back, facing the ceiling.

Without noticing, he began to smile, holding in laughter. He couldn’t remember being this happy. Today had been the best birthday of his life, and it was down to the two boys on either side of him. They’d pampered him, he had been the centre for today, when usually the basis of the relationship was Jisoo. Seungcheol had fed him, sneaking kisses between bites, and Jisoo had stayed in, instead of going to work.

They had spent the day on the couch, lying around each other. Even as Jeonghan’s arms grew numb, his spirits didn’t gloom, and when Seungcheol had arrived back home to Jisoo and Jeonghan whispering and laughing and giggling and kissing, he’d tried to join in, which was a disaster, that Jeonghan couldn’t stifle a laugh at the memory. He felt Jisoo stir, the boy was a light sleeper, and wake next to him, but didn’t move as he wrapped his arms around him.

Jisoo awoke to Jeonghan’s laugh, turning to embrace him, to hug into his shoulder.

“Hey,” he whispered, and Jeonghan turned his head to face him.

“Hey,” he whispered back, a wide smile covering his face. Jisoo felt a surge of love flow through him, to the point he couldn’t hold back any more.

Neither he nor Seungcheol had told Jeonghan they loved him. They hadn’t spoken about it, but they didn’t feel he was ready. They didn’t catch the look of disappointment Jeonghan wore when they said it to each other, quietly. Jisoo had wanted to tell him during the day, but he’d felt embarrassed, and had wanted Seungcheol to bring it up.

“I love you,” he told him, sleepily. It was easier to say it now, while on the cusp of sleep, than it had been during the day. He was glad he had, when Jeonghan’s eyes widened with his smile, a look of wonder passing over his features. It reminded Jisoo of when they’d first met, and he’d told Jeonghan he was pretty. Jeonghan had surpassed angels’ beauty before, but this was the pinnacle, late at night with Jisoo’s confession lingering in the air around them.

“Really?” Jeonghan whispered, turning his body to fully face Jisoo.

Jisoo nodded, yawning.

“I love you too,” he said, shyly, his smile disappearing as he half closed his eyes. Jisoo changed his mind. This was when Jeonghan was the prettiest, when he told Jisoo he loved him back, with that look on his face.

An arm wrapped around Jeonghan, and Seungcheol leaned his head on his shoulder, smiling down at the boy.

Seungcheol was deeply asleep, when Jeonghan’s laugh began to wake him up. He woke fully to Jeonghan’s voice telling Jisoo he loved him. He felt a smile creep on to his face as he wrapped one arm around the boy, and kissed his cheek.

“I love you both,” he whispered to his boyfriends. Jisoo just smiled at him, used to the words coming from his mouth. But Jeonghan turned his head to stare at him in wonder. He had an air of happiness around him, which made Seungcheol laugh and bury his face into his neck. When he looked back up, grinning, he saw Jisoo echoing his expression, and Jeonghan looking overwhelmed.

“You both love me,” he stated, slowly, annunciating each syllable. When neither of them contradicted him, he smiled, and his eyes lit up. “Does that mean I can move out of Minghao and Junhui’s place?” he asked them, and Jisoo nodded eagerly, all signs of sleep gone. Seungcheol felt wide awake as well.

Jeonghan nestled back into Seungcheol smiling. “Can we also go have some cake?” he asked, talking about the chocolate cake in their fridge. They’d planned to keep some for their friends, but none of them felt any guilt as they went through to take it out to eat.

Jeonghan lingered for a moment, in the quiet room, listening to his Jisoo and Seungcheol. A smile came onto his face, so strong and sudden, he couldn’t have stopped it if he’d wanted to. It was his birthday, he was about to have cake at midnight, and he had two beautiful boys who loved him back.