- February 14, 2010 - 

The occasional blades of grass were poking through the crusty blanket of snow along the well-worn path to Hogsmeade. Each speck of green caught Kibum's eye as they strode after the others on their way into the village for the holiday. Couples paired off, whispering to each other while the single students who came for the specialty sweets talked loudly with their friends as they meandered through the snow. 

Minho was beside him, of course, but they weren't holding hands like the others. They stayed close, though, fingers brushing together with every other step. Kibum struggled to keep himself from reaching out to just...take his ing hand like he so badly wanted to.

His breath clouded around him as he let out an exasperated sigh when it happened yet again, and Minho chuckled. He must have read Kibum's mind, or he was feeling equally frustrated because he stuffed his hand in his coat pocket just as they were turning the corner by the post office. 

"Where to first?" Minho asked as the others were dispersing, heading to Honeydukes which looked like it was already at capacity. 

Kibum shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, swiveling toward him. "Puddifoot's?" 

He followed Minho's gaze as his attention shifted down the lane. Unsurprisingly, Puddifoot's looked busy too. "I can just go in. You just want your usual, right?" 

Kibum nodded, and they were off. The line inside dwindled enough to let Minho inside, but then he had to wait in the cold for what, he assumed, was hours. In reality, it was probably only ten minutes, but that didn't stop the warm blossoming of happiness upon Minho's return, the happy jingle of the bell echoing Kibum's sentiments. 

"Where to now?" 

"I have an idea." The twinkle in Minho's eye was worrisome, but why shouldn't he trust him? 

He got his answer when they crossed behind Spintwitches and Kibum's eyes landed on the snowy silhouette of the Shrieking Shack. Kibum slowed his pace, which Minho didn't notice until he was halfway over the fence. He dropped on the other side, his eyes never leaving Kibum's. "What?"

"Really?" 

"No one else will be there!" 

"It's almost like there's a reason for that." 

Minho snorted, reaching out his hand to take Kibum's hot coffee before he reluctantly joined him on the other side of the fence. He laced their fingers together, swinging their hands lightly between them as they started trudging through the untouched snow. He paused on the porch when Kibum hesitated, then came back down the steps, a soft smile brightening his features.

"Bum, come on, it won't be that bad. We've been here before, so we know what to expect. Plus, we can actually, you know...be ourselves here."

That's true. No one else was anywhere near them. 

"Plus, I brought snacks." 

"Why didn't you say that before?" he asked as he let Minho lead him up the porch and into the infamous Shrieking Shack. 

It wasn't exactly the most romantic setting, but he could tell that had whatever happened here not...have happened, it would be quite the cozy and charming little spot. Even with the dilapidation and the damage, it reminded him of a scene in one of the wizarding romance novels he had had the misfortune of stumbling across in Grandma's room one day. 

Grimacing slightly,  he shuddered and followed Minho. 

Panels of striped floral wallpaper lining the hall curled in the corners, some edges were ripped, not to mention the thick gouges of scratch marks…

“Kibum?” Minho called to him, and Kibum tore his gaze away and kept on to the kitchen. 

On the countertop was an array of pumpkin pasties, chocolate chip cookies, and scones from Madam Puddifoot’s. Minho had clearly wiped down the counter, given the clear distinction between the clean butcher block and the sweeping line of dust on the rest of the counter. He was pulling up stools to the counter, and Kibum sat, setting his coffee down on the counter and watching Minho as he sat beside him. 

“I know it’s not perfect or anything, but—”

Kibum leaned over, kissing his cheek with a smile. “It’s okay. I didn’t want to go to Puddifoot’s anyway. It’s always so uncomfortable on Valentine’s Day.” Minho’s eyes widened as he nodded solemnly, and Kibum chuckled at that. He reached for the pumpkin pastie, splitting it in half and passing the larger half to Minho. “You know what’s sort of funny?” 

“Hm?”

“Remember back in third year?” Minho hummed again. “During our first trip to Hogsmeade?” He smiled, his eyes glittering as he looked Kibum’s way. “Our very first stop was Puddifoot’s. I hadn’t known what the shop...was. I just knew it from my parent’s stories.” 

“Right,” Minho said, his voice a barely concealed laugh.

“Why’d we keep coming back, then, after we found out what it was?” 

“Why do you think?” 

True… Kibum let out a long sigh, shaking his head as he bit into his pastie. "Damn, we were stupid.”

"Okay, Jjong," he said in a voice just sarcastic enough to make Kibum nearly choke on his pastie from laughing. After a few quiet bites, Minho glanced his way. "So…" Kibum's eyebrows rose in question. "Which of our non-dates was your favorite?" 

Kibum sniffed a laugh. "Uh, let's see…" He squinted as he thought, glancing Minho's way to find him mirroring him, even down to his nose scrunch and slight shake of his head. "The ice skating one. Not the one with your parents, the one—" He gestured toward the window he thought might point to the secluded pond behind the train station. 

Minho nodded, his gaze dropping to the space between them as the tips of his ears reddened. 

"What?" 

He shook his head, then after a slight hesitation, said, "I just had this...reoccurring dream...after that." 

Kibum sat up a little straighter, unable to keep from grinning at Minho's embarrassment. "Oh?" 

"You kissed me in the trees. Or were going to, but I always woke up before that happened." 

He watched him break a chunk off of the chocolate chip cookie. "We could reenact it." Minho snorted, his ears reaching a deeper red, and Kibum's smile grew. "Might be fun, you never know." Minho his lips but didn't respond further. "What about you? What was your favorite non-date of ours?" 

“Um... Off the top of my head?” Kibum nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “It’s so hard to choose.” 

“I know.” 

“Hm…” He shook his head slowly, his gaze drifting away and then back to Kibum. “I can’t decide. Every day I spend with you is my new favorite.” 

Kibum let out a long sigh, shaking his head when Minho’s eyebrows quirked in question. He was too cute for his own good… “Why are you so sweet to me?” 

Minho smiled and shrugged before he picked up his coffee. “I dunno. It’s kinda fun, though.” 

“Is it?” 

He nodded, his smile turning a little wicked. “You should try it sometime.” Kibum scoffed, and Minho laughed. “Bum, I’m just teasing.” 

“You’d better be.” His mock disdain melted away when Minho leaned over to kiss his cheek. But, before he could, Kibum turned his head, intercepting it with his lips. Minho smiled as Kibum’s hand cupped his cheek, and Kibum pulled away enough to whisper, “Let’s hurry and finish eating so you can show me that spot in the woods.” 

Minho was a fast eater—always had been—but Kibum had never seen him eat that quickly before, in all the years they’d been together.