Valentine's Day was always a complicated day for Park Jungsu. He couldn't quite remember the last time February the 14th had been a good day for him. It was almost always either spent working, or alone in his apartment in tears. At least this year he had Shimkoong to keep him company while he sobbed away his loneliness.

     It was this fact that kept a somewhat pleasant smile on the Super Junior leader’s dimpled face as he stepped off the elevator with a gift basket in his hands. He’d spent most of the day distracted by work and most of the afternoon shopping for his tiny furry valentine. Now that the sun had set, Leeteuk was finally ready to settle down for a lonely night pampering his dog with Valentines themed dog treats.

     Pressing the code into his apartment door, Leeteuk stepped inside and prepared to call for his tiny pet. Leeteuk kicked off his shoes and opened his mouth to call Shimkum’s name, but hesitated when he looked up to a sea of pink and red. His entire entrance hallway had been filled with layers of Valentine balloons. Plain pink latex balloons covered the floor while decorative heart shaped helium balloons hover at different heights from the floor to ceiling, each one sporting a different sappy love word or saying.

     Standing frozen in confusion by the door, the distant sound of a love song playing on the radio caught Leeteuk’s attention, along with the faint yipping of his dog. Needless to say, a sea of balloons and a love song was the last thing Leeteuk had expected to find when he opened his door tonight.

     “Hello?!” Leeteuk called out, “Who’s there?”

      The sound of something heavy and metal hitting the floor, followed by someone cursing caused Leeteuk to take a step back and reach for the door. There was someone in his apartment. Turning on his heels, Leeteuk decided it was best to leave before some crazy sasaeng fan jumped him from inside the balloon forest, bit the sound of his precious Shinkom frantically barking made his pause.

     Looking down at the Valentines basket filled with dog treats on his hand, Leeteuk decided to venture deeper into his apartment in search of his poor frightened pet. Taking a deep breath for courage, Leeteuk turned away from the door and stepped into the balloons crowding his hallway. The balloons stretched for several feet down the front hall, the pink and red floating orbs blinding him as he walked. Shoving a giant red heart balloon with a cat on it out of his way, Leeteuk stumbled out of the forest of color and into his living room.

      Shimkoong’s barking suddenly stopped and the sound of little toenails on the hardwood floor echoed off the walls as the tiny white dog came scurrying towards him from the direction of the kitchen. Shimkoong was dressed in a pink sweater with white hearts on it and a fluffy pink headband made of feathers was sitting on her tiny head.

     “Shimkoong are you alright?” Leeteuk gasped, running towards his baby. “Who did this to you?”

     Shimkoong just yipped and ran back towards the kitchen. Leeteuk chased after his puppy, the smell of something burning filling his nose as he got closer to the kitchen. The sight of red rose petals dotting his hardwood floor made Leeteuk hesitant to follow his pup around the corner, whoever was is his apartment obviously insane.

    “Shimkoong, wait!” Leeteuk scolded his dog as he stepped into the kitchen to find Shimkoong sitting on the floor barking at a fluffy grey cat in a red sweater perched on the kitchen counter. “Heebum?”

      Leeteuk blinked rapidly as he focused on the cat sitting on his kitchen island, it’s grey fur and indifferent look very familiar to him. Shimkoong barked at the cat with wild yips, excited to see another animal in the house. The sound of metal scraping against the floor drew Leeteuk’s attention away from the feline on the counter as a white silk robe with pink hearts on it suddenly fell from the sky and landed on his head. Tearing the silk off his face, Leeteuk rounded the side of the island to find a slim figure dressed in a red silk robe squatted down in front of the oven scraping burned cookies off the floor with a baking pan.

       “Put that on while I clean up the cookies I baked,” the person on the floor instructed, sounding frustrated. “They didn’t turn out very well. I should have known better than to attempt to cook.”

       “Heechul…,” Leeteuk began, recognizing the man in the red silk robe to be his bandmate and close friend, Kim Heechul. “What’s going on here?”

      “It’s Valentine’s Day,” Heechul stated with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

       “I know that,” Leeteuk answered, still very confused. “That doesn’t explain the decorations. Why are you baking cookies in a silk robe? Why are their flower petals on the floor? Who put a sweater on my dog, and why is Heebum here?”
       “One question at a time, Jungsu.” Heechul chuckled as he stood up and tossed the pan full of burned cookies into the sink with a loud clang. “I’ll explain everything after you change into your robe. The food I ordered should be here soon and I don’t want it to get cold.”

       “Why did you order food?” Leeteuk added a question, “And, why do I need to change?”

       “Because it’s Valentine’s day,” Heechul provided once more, waving for Leeteuk to hurry and go change his clothes. “Now, go put on your robe and some cute underwear and meet me in the living room.”

      “But, I don’t understand.” Leeteuk whined as Heechul took hold of his shoulders and spun him around. “Heechul…,”

      “Go change!”

      “But…, but…,” Leeteuk sputtered as he was shoved out of the kitchen and across the living room towards the hallway that led to his bedroom. “Chul…,”

      “Change,” Heechul ordered once more as the sound of the doorbell ringing filled the air. “That’s our food.”

       “You’re not answering my door dressed like that, are you?” Leeteuk panicked as he watched Heechul trot towards the hallway wearing nothing more than a red silk robe. “What will the delivery guy think?!”

      “He doesn’t know who lives here,” Heechul reminded, disappearing into the balloon forest as he spoke. “He’ll just think my girlfriend went all out for Valentine’s Day and I’m about to get lucky!!”

      “But…,” Leeteuk stammered, not sure how to respond to Heechul’s reasoning.

      Deciding to play along with his friend’s nonsense, Leeteuk shook his head as he retreated into his bedroom to change. Choosing a pair of simple white boxers, Leeteuk removed his clothes and redressed himself in the white heart covered robe Heechul had given him. He then shoved his feet in a pair of comfy white slippers and shuffled back out into the living room. Heechul was sitting on the sofa unpacking the take-out food he’d ordered onto the coffee table in front of him. He waved at Leeteuk to come join him as Shimkoong trotted across the room in pursuit of an annoyed looking Heebum.

       “Ok, I changed.” Leeteuk informed, plopping down on the sofa and looking at his friend. “Now, answer my questions. What’s all this about?”

      “It’s Valentine’s Day,” Heechul began, receiving an annoyed look from Leeteuk. “And, I knew you’d be alone tonight most likely wallowing in self pity.”

       “I wasn’t going to wallow,” Leeteuk defended, “I had plans, and a date.”

     “A date with your dog doesn’t count as a date,” Heechul laughed, gesturing to the basket of dog treats Leeteuk had left on the floor. “ I myself was planning on spending the night snuggling with Heebum and playing video games.”

      “But, you decided to go insane instead?” Leeteuk teased, “What’s with all the balloons?”

      “I decided that I wasn’t going to spend another Valentine’s Day alone with my cat.” Heechul explained, “I was tired of watching all my friends post pictures of flowers and chocolates while I eat cold rice and pout.”

      “Then, find a girlfriend like a normal person.”

     “Says the man who was going to spend Valentine’s Day with his dog,” Heechul teased, “I decided that we shouldn’t miss out on all the sappy crap that this holiday is about just because we’re single. So, I bought a bunch of balloons, couples robes, and  threw some cookies in the oven.”

      “I still don’t get it.” Leeteuk stated as Heechul placed a container of food in his lap and handed him some chopsticks.

     “Believe it or not, I’ve never really done any of this stuff before. Most of my relationships don’t last long enough for holidays.” Heechul lamented, a pout forming on his lips as he opened his take-out container and poked at his foot with his chopsticks. “I wanted to know what all the hype was about, so I prepared all the Valentine's traditions for us to try and laugh about how cheesy they are. Maybe, for once, we can make February 14th a fun day, instead of one we dread. You know, make our own traditions.”

      “You were lonely, weren’t you?” Leeteuk observed, finding Heechul’s plan slightly insane, but sweet at the same time.

      “You’re lonely too, Park Jungsu.” Heechul snapped, “Neither of us have had dates in a long time. It’s getting depressing…,”

      “I know what you mean,” Leeteuk agreed, glancing about at the decorations and smiling to himself. “This is kind of cheesy, isn’t it? I don’t know why people make such a big deal out of this holiday.”

      “Me either,” Heechul chuckled, “It’s really stupid.”

     “So, what stupid sappy stuff do you have planned for us pathetic bachelors tonight?” Leeteuk asked, deciding to have some fun with his bandmate.

      “Well, first we have a romantic dinner.” Heechul detailed, laughing as he pointed to the food in their laps. “Then, I bought pink champagne and chocolates that we can eat while watching a marathon of bad romance movies.”

      “And, after that?”
     “Well, traditionally that’s when the happens.” Heechul informed with a wink, “But, we can skip that tradition and just drink more before passing out in a pile of candy wrappers instead.”

       “I like that plan,” Leeteuk smiled, taking a bite of his food. “It’s better than my plan of crying on Shimkoong all night.”

      “Poor dog,” Heechul laughed, spotting said pup trotting after Heebum on the other side of the room. “That’s why I brought her a friend for Valentine’s Day too. Heebum will keep her company while we binge eat and drink too much champagne.”

      After finishing their food, the two eldest members of Super Junior found themselves laughing hysterically at the sappy romance film playing on the television as they sipped pink champagne and ate chocolate out of a giant heart shaped box. Heechul eyed Leeteuk closely while the elder male watched TV and downed his third glass of champagne. He was happy to see a smile on Jungu’s face tonight, for his leader had been in a bad place for the past few days. Leeteuk tended to slip into dark places when he was left alone, which worried Heechul. Leaving his friend alone tonight wasn’t something Heechul wanted to do. At least for one night, he was going to make Leeteuk smile.

      “I think I’ve had too much champagne,” Leeteuk giggled, reaching for the bottle on the coffee table and pouring himself some more.

      “Then, why are you drinking more?” Heechul asked, taking the bottle from Leeteuk and taking a swig directly from the bottle. “You know you can’t hold your liquor very well, Park Jungsu.”

     “And, you could drink five bottles and never get drunk.” Leeteuk countered, “I envy you, Heechul-ah.”

      “A high alcohol tolerance isn’t something to envy,”

     “No, I envy how strong you are,” Leeteuk informed, a pout forming on his lips as he spoke.

     “I’m not strong, Jungsu. You’re the strong one.” Heechul argued, taking Leeteuk’s champagne glass away from him and placing it on the coffee table. “You hold your emotions so well when you’re around the others, but I can tell when you’re hiding something.”

      “I’m not hiding anything, I…,” Leeteuk began, laying his head over onto Heechul’s shoulder and shutting his eyes. “I’m just tired.”

     “I know you are, Jungsu.” Heechul’s whispered, kissing the top of his leader’s head. “Lean on me when you’re tired. You don’t have to hide things from me. Don’t pretend to be strong when you need help. Come to me instead. I live a few floors up, so I’m always neat by. You don’t have to be alone if you don’t want to, Jungsu-ah?”

     Lifting his head off Heechul’s shoulder, Leeteuk looked at his friend beside him for a long moment. It was clear to him now why Heechul had done all this tonight. He was worried about him. Leeteuk couldn’t blame his friend for being worried, for he’d been in a low place for a while now. Spending Valentine’s Day alone would have most likely resulted in an even darker mood and more tears. Heechul had sensed this and overcompensated for it. Finding his friend’s eccentric gesture sweet, Leeteuk leaned forwards and placed a soft kiss on Heechul’s plush lips.

       Heechul just looked at him in response to the kiss, something in his eyes unreadable. Leeteuk wasn’t sure what he wanted to happen next, the kiss he’d just given Heechul innocent enough to be brushed aside and forgotten, but also meaningful enough to possibly lead to something more. A soft smile formed on Heechul’s lips as he reached out and placed his hand alongside Leeteuk’s cheek, his palm warm and comforting. Leeteuk leaned into Heechul’s touch and waited for the slightly younger male to make the next move.

     When all Heechul did was smile at him, Leeteuk took in a deep breath through his nose and leaned forwards. Pressing their lips together, Leeteuk initiated a longer kiss. He wasn’t sure why he decided to kiss his friend, something inside him just wanting to thank Heechul for his kindness, and something else craving affection. Heechul stayed still for a small moment, before slowly responding to Leeteuk’s lips pressed against his own. The kiss was slow and almost chaste, nothing magical passing between them. It was just another comforting gesture between old friends, one they’d shared before during hard times.

       “Thank-you, Heechul-ah,” Leeteuk whispered as the kiss broke and he reclaimed his position with his head on Heechul’s shoulder. “But, you don’t have to worry about me so much. I’ll be fine.”

       “I always worry about you, Jungsu-ah.” Heechul answered, pulling Leeteuk close and reverting his gaze back onto the television. “And, I’ll always be here to help you smile when you need it. You don’t have to be lonely.”

       “I’m not lonely,” Leeteuk yawned, the late hour and all the champagne he’d just had making him sleepy. “At least, not tonight.”

      “Happy Valentine’s Day, Park Jungsu.” Heechul whispered, placing a tender kiss atop Leeteuk’s head as the elder male began to drift off to sleep.

      “Happy Valentine’s Day, Kim Heechul.” Leeteuk mumbled, feeling safe and warm in his friend’s arms. “Thank-you…,”

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THE END!
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