Taeyong was the one to start the tradition, so it’s kind of funny that it would be his undoing. 

It’s just that Taeyong believes any good friendship is inherently a little romantic, and he means that in an unironically no-homo way, despite the fact that he’s very gay. And he really does mean it. He loves his friends a lot, cherishes them with his whole heart. So their freshman year, Taeyong had suggested to his friends that they all make ty little Valentine’s Day cards for each other, like some of them did in elementary school, when they’d just give each classmate a simple card and a piece of candy.

Everyone thought it would be funny, and kinda cute, so Taeyong got pink and red construction paper, Crayola markers, and an unholy amount of stickers, and it became an annual event. They slip the cards under each other’s doors, hand them off between classes, pass them around over lunch. They each have a signature candy so there’s variation (Taeyong called dibs on candy hearts from day one and has stuck to them firmly), and it’s a silly way to remind each other how much they care about their friendships.

The last couple of years have been a little bittersweet, though, because Taeyong’s been harboring a big fat crush on one of his friends. The problem is, Taeyong is shy, so while he does occasionally try to drop hints, he’s never very successful. And it just kinda hurts a little, to be giving Yuta a platonic Valentine’s Day card when he wants to be giving him a real one.

But it’s fine, you know? He doubts Yuta would reciprocate it (though who knows, he’s kind of hard to read), and even if he would, Taeyong’s not sure he would want to rock the boat that is their friend group. Sure, Taeil and Donghyuck are dating, but that happened as Hyuck was becoming a part of the group, so it wasn’t a huge adjustment. Or maybe Taeyong is just making up excuses so he can continue being a coward. But regardless, he’s decided it’s none of his business.

So when he makes Yuta’s card this year, he makes it just like he makes the others. He adds the same number of stickers, the same amount of candy (one box of candy hearts, taped to the back), and a personal but definitely friendly message: Happy Valentine’s Day, Yuta! Thank you for sticking with me these past three years! and no heart stickers, just in case. 

He delivers them under the doors of those who live on his floor early the next morning before he goes down to breakfast. Yuta is among them; he won’t see him until the end of the day, so he’ll probably find Yuta’s card slid under his door in the same way when he comes back for lunch. 

Mark is in his bio class (yes, Taeyong is, as a junior, just starting his distribution requirements), so they swap cards while they wait for professors to arrive. Mark’s card is messy but cute: he’s drawn little hearts around the edges and written in the center, Happy Valentine’s Day dude! I love you! Taeyong grins and smothers him in a hug even though Mark protests.

“You’re cute, Markie,” he says as he releases him, earning himself a glare from a very red Mark.

His next class is an advanced media studies course. Jaehyun, even though he’s a sophomore, is in it, along with Johnny. They exchange cards; Jaehyun’s has a bunch of little doodles in it, and he’s written in all caps, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and then underneath that in much smaller lettering, OH YEAH AND HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY OR WHATEVER. Johnny’s says, Happy Valentine’s Jaehyun Day. Taeyong laughs out loud as Jaehyun just grins at his card from Johnny, pleased.

“Yes, yes, we’re all stealing your thunder,” Taeyong says, closing the cards and carefully filing them away. “Which is exactly why we’ve been planning your birthday dinner for months.”

“I just wanted to make sure everyone remembered,” Jaehyun replies, deadpan. 

With these two out of the way, it only leaves Donghyuck. They have class together in the afternoon (yoga, for the P.E. requirement, another thing Taeyong’s been procrastinating on), so during lunch Taeyong heads up to his room to collect the cards from his floormates. 

From Doyoung: happy valentines u weirdo. i’m glad you make us do this

From Jungwoo: Happy Valentine’s Day, Taeyong! Hope it’s as sweet as you!

From Taeil: Happy Valentine’s, Yong-ah. I included a tab of melatonin, so please sleep well!

From Yuta: Taeyong, will you be my Valentine? And underneath, boxes marked “yes” and “also yes”.

Wait, what?

Taeyong rereads it, and then rolls his eyes. Yuta is the kind of person who likes to cause as much chaos as possible. On an alignment chart, he would be a chaotic neutral—his only goal is mayhem, and he delights in it. Most of their friends learned quickly to never trust a word that comes out of his mouth after he made Johnny cry their first year by convincing him they had a test that day that Johnny hadn’t heard about, let alone studied for. He apologized, of course, and Johnny had thought it was funny in retrospect, but it had made all of them wary of his antics. Well, Taeyong reflects as he turns the card over and carefully pulls the matcha Kit-Kat off the back, all of them but Mark, who falls for it every time with a smile on his face. 

Besides, Yuta’s pulled this kind of before. He’s always flirting with his friends, with random strangers, even with some of his professors, for fun. He means absolutely no harm by it, and he only does it when it’s obvious he’s joking, so it’s not like he’s stringing anyone along. Unfortunately, Taeyong fell for it anyway, even though he knew it wasn’t real. And now here he is.

This is all to say, Yuta definitely wrote this as a joke. He’s the type to say, “do you want a kiss?” and then pull out a bag of Hershey’s Kisses instead. And that’s fine; honestly, Taeyong shouldn’t have expected anything else. But there’s a part of him that’s genuinely a little hurt. Taeyong wonders if maybe he does know, and he’s making fun of him, but as mischievous as Yuta is, that really doesn’t sound like something he would do. Most likely, Yuta doesn’t know how Taeyong feels about him, and it’s just an unfortunate coincidence. Still, Taeyong’s upset.

He goes through the day as he normally would, trying not to think about it, but it really does . Years of wishing for something like this, only to get the bastardization of it as a joke. It doesn’t feel great. But, he concedes, it’s not really Yuta’s fault. It’s Taeyong’s for liking him in the first place.

That evening, as Taeyong’s getting ready for Jaehyun’s birthday dinner, someone knocks on his door. 

“Come in,” Taeyong says absently, too focused on his makeup to consider who it might be.

“Hey.” Taeyong looks up at the sound of Yuta’s voice, meeting his eyes in the mirror. He’s smiling. Taeyong tries to return it with a smile of his own.

“Hey,” he says, refocusing on his reflection. “What’s up?”

“Uh, not much?” Yuta sits down in Taeyong’s beanbag chair in the corner. “Did… did you like my card?”

If Taeyong didn’t know better, he’d say Yuta sounds nervous. Only Yuta doesn’t get nervous, so it must be an extension of his little prank.

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “Yeah, it was really funny, Yuta,” he says. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

“What do you mean, funny?” Yuta asks. He sounds confused.

“What, do you want a more in-depth review?” Taeyong asks, setting down his eyeshadow brush and searching for his eyeliner. “Ask Doyoung, then, he’s full of opinions. He’ll tell you what he thought of it in great detail, I’m sure.” 

Maybe he’s being a little terse, but he can’t really blame himself. Sure, Yuta won’t understand, and it’s not his fault, either, but still, it hurts .

“Uh, but I… didn’t give that card to Doyoung,” Yuta says slowly. “Or any of our other friends. Just… just you.”

“You know the running bit you do where you lie about literally anything for fun?” Taeyong says, still laser-focused on lining his waterline. “It stops being funny when you refuse to stop doubling-down. It just gets weird.”

“I’m not lying!” Now Yuta sounds offended. “What are you talking about?”

Taeyong sets down his eyeliner, satisfied, and turns to face him. “Oh, so everyone got a silly, unique card?”

“Oh my god, no, everyone else got pretty much the same generic card,” Yuta says. He laughs incredulously, gesticulating for a moment while he tries to find the words he wants. “I—that’s not—I can’t believe this. I gave you a special one because I ing like you!”

Taeyong rolls his eyes again. “Yeah, I’m not falling for that, Yuta. I’ve known you for too long.”

“No, I’m being serious!” Yuta protests.

“No, you’re not!” Taeyong snaps.

“Oh my god,” Yuta mumbles. “Look, what do I have to do to prove to you that I mean it?”

“I don’t know,” Taeyong says, and then the next thing is out of his mouth before he can think twice. Maybe it’s just because he knows it’ll get Yuta to snap out of it; maybe, selfishly, he just wants Yuta to feel bad like he does. “Cuz the thing is, Yuta, if you’re joking, it’s not funny at all, because I actually really like you. So cut it out.”

The room goes silent for a split second. 

“Taeyong,” Yuta says quietly. “I would never joke about something like this. Not like this. That would be mean. Have I ever been mean to you?”

“No,” Taeyong admits. An idea flashes through his mind and out his mouth before he can stop it. “Okay, so if you wanna prove it to me, then kiss me. Kiss me if you’re serious, right now.”

Another second of stillness, and then Yuta is on his feet, reaching out for Taeyong. He feels hands cupping his jaw, tilting his face upward, and then Yuta’s warm lips on his. Taeyong kisses him back as best he can through his surprise, heart hammering as his brain catches up with his body and he realizes what the is happening. 

“So,” Yuta says when they break apart, “will you be my Valentine?”

Taeyong can’t help it. He bursts out laughing. Maybe it’s nerves, maybe it’s partially a panic response, but everything suddenly feels so ridiculous.

“Stop laughing!” Yuta says, though he’s grinning. “I’m serious! I mean, you kind of have to say yes because I already bought us tickets to the aquarium for this weekend and they’re non-refundable.”

“Oh, that’s bold of you. What if I said no?” Taeyong asks. “Did you know?”

Yuta shrugs. “Not really, no. I just figured it was time to shoot my shot, you know? If you said no, I would’ve just dragged Mark along instead.”

Taeyong squints at him. “Hm,” he says jokingly, tapping his chin. “Sounds kinda suspicious. I think… you might have to kiss me again so I can be sure.”

Yuta’s smile grows, and he leans in again to capture Taeyong’s lips with his own. It’s gentler this time, less chaotic, and Taeyong feels his stomach swoop in excitement. 

“How’s that?” Yuta asks softly.

“I don’t know,” Taeyong says coyly.

Yuta laughs, leaning in close. “I can do more than just kiss you if you’re still not convinced,” he points out, and Taeyong blushes very hard. “You have until the weekend to make up your mind, after all.” But then he pulls back. “But not now. Sorry for messing up your makeup,” he adds, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “We should get going soon, or Jaehyun’ll be sad.”

“Right,” Taeyong says, shaking himself and turning back to his mirror. He catches Yuta’s gaze in the reflection and sees that he’s smirking. “But, um,” he adds, “I’m not doing anything tomorrow. So, you know. You can continue to persuade me then.”

Yuta tries and fails to suppress his smile; it’s blinding and a little predatory, all teeth. “It’s a date,” he says.