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halfseoulco · 7 months

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All My Love: A SEVENTEEN x Hogwarts AU

Published Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 — Happy Valentine's Day and, more importantly, happy Carat Day! Honestly, I really got attached to these versions of the SEVENTEEN members that I created for the Christmas AU, so I decided to continue their stories with what I hope is a cute series of events for our thirteen diamonds. ♡

As a refresher, here's some information before you start reading!

Word count: ~ 10,800

AU Ages:

Seventh years — Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, Junhui, Soonyoung

Sixth years — Wonwoo, Jihoon, Seokmin, Mingyu, Minghao

Fifth years — Seungkwan, Vernon, and Chan

AU Houses:

Gryffindor — Seungcheol, Soonyoung, Vernon, Chan

Ravenclaw — Wonwoo, Jihoon, Minghao

Hufflepuff — Junhui, Mingyu, Seokmin, Seungkwan

Slytherin — Jeonghan, Joshua

Description: It's Valentine's Day at Hogwarts and everyone has plans—or some things that go according to plan and some that don't. Romance is on the table for some, while others prefer to spend quality time with their friends—because all love is important. All you need to know is that you probably don't want to be Vernon.

Read “All My Love” on Ao3!

The Black Lake — February 14th (early evening)

"Hansol Vernon Chwe!"

The Gryffindor winced as his boyfriend's voice transcended octaves in his unbridled fury.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this!"

Gryffindor Fifth Year Boys' Dormitory — February 1st

"Vernon?"

The fifth year Gryffindor turned his head away from where he had been watching the rain fall outside the window to look at his oldest hyung over his shoulder.

"Oh, hey, hyung," he greeted him with a nod.

"Have you seen Seungkwan recently?" Seungcheol asked him, brow furrowed with concern.

"Um, not since last night," Vernon replied, face blank. "Why?"

The older Gryffindor sighed, sitting next to him on the bench seat in front of the window.

If not even his boyfriend had seen him recently, then maybe Seungkwan's situation was far more serious than anyone realized.

"I'm worried about him," Seungcheol admitted. "He doesn't really seem like himself. Not anywhere near a quarter as fussy as he normally is about everyone and everything." He glanced at Vernon out of the corner of his eye, noticing that he had gone back to facing the window. "You're usually attached at the hip, it's unusual that you haven't seen him at all today."

"Are you saying that I should know where my boyfriend is every minute of every day?" Vernon said tonelessly.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Seungcheol tilted his head to one side, surveying him carefully. "I'm saying that as his best friend, you might know what's been going on with him."

The younger boy turned his head away.

"So you do know," Seungcheol said gently.

Vernon's shoulders tensed. He said nothing for a few moments, Seungcheol waiting patiently while he grappled with whether he should confide in the prefect or not.

Finally, his shoulders slumped.

"Last spring," he began, "one of Seungkwan's closest friends from home... passed away."

"I remember," Seungcheol said gravely. "That's why he was gone for a while."

"Yeah, he went back home to attend the funeral." Vernon sighed. "The friend... he was a Muggle... and obviously Seungkwan couldn't tell him that he was a wizard, so his friend thought that he had gotten a scholarship to attend some fancy boarding school in the UK. Seungkwan had been jumping through all kinds of hoops to stay in touch with him without giving himself away, getting letters sent by Muggle post... talking about classes that are taught at Muggle schools... They would hang out all summer when Seungkwan would go home after every end of term... but then..." Vernon rubbed at his nose furiously with the sleeve of his sweater, sniffling. "His friend was really unhappy and I think he missed Seungkwan a lot—"

"It's okay," Seungcheol stopped him. "You don't have to keep going."

Vernon nodded gratefully, wiping at his eyes.

"His birthday was last week," he said softly, "and Seungkwan hasn't been taking it very well. I feel like I should be doing something... more? Better? But he barely even talks to me, won't even look at me sometimes..." He finally looked up at Seungcheol, his eyes sparkling with tears. "Hyung, I don't know what to do. I feel like such a bad boyfriend."

Seungcheol inhaled deeply through his nose, his mind running through the memories he had of Seungkwan and Vernon, both back when they had been just friends and after they had gotten together. To anyone who didn't know the pair very well, it would seem like Seungkwan took care of Vernon in every way—because that was how his affection manifested itself—but their friends all knew that Vernon was Seungkwan's biggest supporter and that the Hufflepuff relied on his boyfriend more than anyone. At just fifteen, they had a connection deeper than most adults Seungcheol had met; and no one who saw them together could ever accuse Vernon of not being a good boyfriend.

Seungcheol exhaled heavily.

"You're not a bad boyfriend," he reassured Vernon. "The fact that you're worried about it this much is proof that you're not. All you need to do is let him know that you're here for him." He stood up, patting the younger on the shoulder. "Besides, Valentine's Day is coming up in a couple of weeks. Maybe come up with something that will really show him that he's not alone in this."

Astronomy Tower — February 14th (early afternoon)

"What took you so long?" Wonwoo asked, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

"I'm so sorry," Mingyu huffed, stuffing something into his school bag. "I got stopped by... Alice Pembroke... on my way up here." He dropped to the floor next to his best friend, chest heaving with exhaustion. Shoving his still-open bag away from him, he raked his fingers through his sweaty hair. "I didn't mean to be late."

"I know you didn't," the Ravenclaw said softly. "You have quite a lot of sweets in your bag," he observed, finally looking away from his book to peek inside the contents of Mingyu's school bag.

The Hufflepuff beater snorted.

"I would offer you some but after that one Gryffindor girl was sent Sugar Quills dipped in love potion, I've learned not to eat anything people give me on Valentine's Day," he muttered, zipping up his bag and leaning back against the wall, eyes closed. "It's all a bunch of nonsense anyway."

Wonwoo carefully folded the corner of the page he was reading before setting the book aside. He tried to remind himself that it wasn't because he felt inadequate and needed Mingyu to tell him that he was wrong about what he was going to say—he just wanted him to be happy. The possibility that his best friend was choosing to remain single so that he would always be able to hang out with him just didn't sit right with him, and he would make sure that Mingyu's love life no longer suffered, even if it meant he had to spend more time alone.

"You know, you don't have to keep turning down girls because of me," he said quietly.

Mingyu slowly straightened up, opening his eyes to stare at Wonwoo blankly. When he didn't say anything for a few moments, Wonwoo decided to elaborate.

"Every time I try to have this conversation with you, you refuse to talk about it," he pressed. "You like girls, or at least you liked the girls back home. I know that you want to fall in love—that you believe in love—but you've rejected every single girl that's been interested in you since we started at Hogwarts. It's okay, you know? I'm not going to become a recluse if you start going out with someone. I can take care of myself."

Mingyu continued to stare blankly at him, showing no sign that he was taking in anything that the Ravenclaw was saying. Irritated, Wonwoo waved his hand in his face.

"Is any of this getting across to you?" the usually laidback boy demanded.

Still not receiving an answer or any indication that Mingyu had processed anything he had just said, Wonwoo stood up and started gathering his things, trying not to be too aggressive about it. If Mingyu wanted to keep avoiding the subject, then he could do it by himself.

"Wha—wait, wait, wait!" Mingyu said hastily, lurching forward and tugging on his arm to stop him. "Don't leave! I... I'm not trying to be annoying on purpose, I just—" He cut himself off, exhaling through his teeth. "I don't really know how to explain it."

"Explain what?" Wonwoo asked, looking down at his best friend, who was still sitting on the floor.

"A lot of things," Mingyu replied, leaning back against the wall again, "but I promise you that I'm not turning down dates because I think that you can't function without me."

Now thoroughly embarrassed that he had even voiced that particular insecurity, Wonwoo hesitated for a moment before dropping his bag back on the floor and sitting back down next to him.

"I'm sorry I got upset," he murmured. "I just don't want to be the one holding you back from something that I know is important to you."

"You're right, it is important to me," Mingyu agreed, "but not right now." He tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling of the Astronomy Tower. "It's funny... we're in our sixth year, we have one more year left after this before we have to go out into the world and decide what we want to do with our lives... and I still feel so... young."

"I mean... we are." Wonwoo looked up at the ceiling himself, eyes following the veins in the stone. "Sixteen is not old enough to really make any decisions, not even about girls."

"Right, so I don't really understand why everyone is trying to find their future spouses now. I know a lot of Pureblood families don't arrange their children's marriages anymore, but there are still a few Slytherins who are already bound to betrothal contracts! Betrothal contracts! In this day and age! Anyway..." Mingyu grabbed his bag and shook it, the contents rattling around inside. "This? It's all fake. These girls are only interested in me because they think I'm handsome."

"You are handsome, though," Wonwoo pointed out.

"Thanks, but my point is that they don't know me. They don't know anything about me," Mingyu said. "I'm nothing more than good looks to them—with bonus points for being a foreigner and adding to the intrigue."

"Well, how is anyone supposed to get to know you if you don't let anyone close enough?"

"I don't need anyone else!" the Hufflepuff insisted stubbornly. "I have a twelve-person friend group. For some people, that's more than enough. Plenty. A lot, even."

"Oh, you won't find any disagreements from me there," Wonwoo said, chuckling. "Sometimes I think our friend group is a little much at times, but they're very understanding about me time. Anyway, back to you, you're being very cynical. A lot of people our age date for fun. No one's telling you that it has to be that serious, it might just be nice to have someone to spend time with on Valentine's Day. That's all."

"Is that something you want?" Mingyu asked him.

"Someday," he answered. "Not today, though. Besides, no one's been asking me, but a lot of people have asked you. That's why I'm bringing it up. If you were less nice, the girls here might start calling you a heartbreaker. Even Cedric Diggory had a girlfriend, you know, before the Triwizard Tournament."

"They can say whatever they want about me, it doesn't matter," Mingyu said, shrugging. "We're graduating next year and I don't think I'm going to be looking for jobs here, so I don't have to play British wizarding politics by avoiding rejecting girls from good families. I value my time and I'm choosing to spend it with people whom I also value, which includes you. Like..." He scratched the back of his head, frowning. "I think you're the most important person in my life and I want to be with you forever, but like... in a... not romantic way? If that makes sense? Like, I think we could get a house together and split bills and go grocery shopping and I would find that just as fulfilling as doing all that stuff with a girlfriend. I mean, girls are nice, but they're not you."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'platonic'," the Ravenclaw supplied helpfully. "And for the record, I feel the same way. I think people whose friends stop existing for them once they get a significant other are terrible."

"Yeah, what is up with that?" Mingyu agreed. "Can you imagine Seungcheol and Jeonghan just dropping all of us? Or Seungkwan and Vernon?"

"Never." Wonwoo shook his head. "Our lives are all so wrapped up in each other's, the thirteen of us can never really be apart. We're going to be old and gray... and taking up an entire apartment complex building by ourselves."

"I think that would be fun, honestly. A huge high-rise in Seoul, paid for by Jeonghan hyung." Snickering, Mingyu dug through his bag, unearthing a couple of packages of kimbap wrapped in plastic from under the piles of candy and cards. "My mom sent these, by the way. She specifically told me that I could not eat your portion, so you are now legally obligated to eat it."

"Tell her I said thank you," Wonwoo said, gratefully accepting the kimbap and unwrapping the plastic. "Your mom always has really great timing, she just knows when to send food."

"See, now you have to be friends with me forever," Mingyu teased. "Otherwise, no kimbap for you."

Wonwoo punched the Hufflepuff's arm affectionately.

"I don't need kimbap for that," he promised. "We were always going to be friends forever."

"Is there something longer than forever?"

"Forever and a day."

"That's still forever."

"I know."

Hufflepuff Sixth Year Boys' Dormitories — February 14th (afternoon)

Seokmin shuffled through the pile of parchment in his hands as he trudged into the sixth year boys' dormitories, muttering to himself about moonstone properties and measurement conversions. Entirely preoccupied with trying to figure out where he might have made a mistake on his last quiz, he didn't notice that anything was amiss until a voice broke through his concentration.

"Whoa, what happened in here?"

Seokmin's head snapped up when his dorm mate walked into the room, the amazement in his tone catching his attention.

"Well, that's certainly something," he said, blinking at the grand display in front of him.

The curtains of his four-poster bed had been pulled back to reveal a large bouquet of red, pink, and white balloons floating in place with magic above his mattress. Also floating in the air was a single card in a plain white envelope with his name printed neatly on it, although it didn't look like anyone's handwriting that he recognized—especially since the person had written it in Korean and he knew what all of his friends' handwriting looked like when they wrote in Korean.

Seokmin crossed the room to his bed, dropping his bag on the floor and the parchment in his hands on his bedside table. He plucked the card out of the air, using a quick spell to break the wax seal on it without destroying the pretty heart shape. When he opened it, he saw that the person had tried to also write their message to him in Korean with the help of a translation spell; and while the words were a little clumsy, he immediately found himself touched by the effort.

"To the one and only Lee Seokmin,

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm sorry that I couldn't face you in person. I'm not ready to reveal myself to you yet, but I still want to tell you that you make me smile every single day because you deserve to know. Please accept this card and the balloons well, I worked really hard on the spells to make them work. Maybe someday I will be able to tell you how I feel face to face. Until then, please be happy and healthy, and tell some new jokes in class when you learn them. I promise I will laugh like I always do.

With love,

Your secret admirer"

Reaching the end of the card, Seokmin stared silently at the words on the cardstock paper, trying to think of people in his classes who maybe laughed a little too much at his jokes or paid him any kind of special attention. Truthfully, there were very few people who didn't find him funny, so he quickly gave up on trying to figure out his admirer's identity that way.

"Does the card say who the balloons are from?" his dorm mate asked him, breaking him out of his deep thought.

"No, secret," Seokmin replied absentmindedly.

"Oh, that's a shame. Well, good on you anyway, mate!" His fellow Hufflepuff clapped him on the shoulder. "At least there's someone out there who likes you a whole lot."

As the other boy left, Seokmin inspected the balloons with a critical eye. The card had said that his secret admirer had worked really hard on the spells to "make them work" and he was curious to see exactly what the balloons were meant to do. What could you even make balloons do with magic anyway?

Intrigued, he cautiously poked one at the front of the bunch and gasped as the shiny surface rippled, revealing the words "POP ME".

"But I'm easily startled," Seokmin muttered to himself.

Wand clutched in hand, he debated just leaving the balloons alone and enjoying the sight of them—but the thought of never finding out what kind of magic had been placed on them was too tempting for him to ignore.

Waving his wand, he then quickly braced himself for the loud pop, covering his ears. However, instead of a popping sound, a high-pitched voice chirped, "I hope your Valentine's Day is magical!"

The voice had been disguised, of course, but the realization that his secret admirer had charmed the balloons not to make sounds when he popped them because they knew he was easily startled had tears welling in the corners of his eyes. Wiping at his face with his sleeve, he eyed the remaining balloons, trying to decide which one to pop next so that he could hear a different message.

"Wow, who sent you those?" Junhui asked, peeking in the doorway on his way down the hall.

"No clue," Seokmin told him happily, "but they're pretty amazing. Look!"

The older Hufflepuff entered the room, approaching Seokmin's bed to get a closer look at the magic balloons. The sixth year tapped a random balloon, showing Junhui how the words "POP ME" appeared, then waved his wand, causing the balloon to pop.

"I must need Occlumency because I can't get you out of my head!" it trilled.

"That is some amazing charm work," Junhui praised, peering more closely at the balloons. "The person who sent them to you didn't leave a name?"

Seokmin passed him the card.

"Too shy," he informed him.

Junhui read over the contents of the card quickly then handed it back.

"Hmm, would've been nice to know so that you could thank them for their effort, but the gesture is thoughtful," he said, shrugging. "They even made it so the balloons wouldn't make noise when popped. They must have enough classes with you to know you're a big ole scaredy cat."

"Yah!" Seokmin huffed, even though it was true.

Junhui chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"I'm happy for you, Seokmin-ah," he said, his tone genuine. "I'll see you later, meeting up with Minghao."

"What else is new?" Seokmin called after him as he left. "Now, back to these balloons..."

The Whomping Willow — February 14th (early evening)

"Who do you think it is?" Junhui asked his best friend, having just finished telling him about the charmed balloons Seokmin had received from his secret admirer.

Minghao didn't look up as he answered, his focus on washing the tea leaves in preparation to brew tea for the two of them.

"Your guess is as good as mine. A lot of people think Seokmin is funny, I'm sure he has no shortage of admirers."

"Honestly, I kind of want to know just so that I can ask them how they came up with the spell," Junhui said thoughtfully. "It was really very impressive. Whoever did it must like Seokmin a lot."

Minghao hummed in agreement, still concentrating on the task at hand.

The pair had chosen a nice spot not too close to the tree to set up a small, low-rise table so that they could sit and drink their tea together. Minghao often held these tea ceremonies alone, something that he did purely for his own joy and relaxation. The activity required singular focus, which took his busy mind off of other things for a while. It's not that the others were never invited, but they understood that it was something he needed to do for himself; and he had an unparalleled collection of different teas for a sixteen-year-old living away from home.

Junhui stretched his arms over his head, looking up at the Whomping Willow looming deceptively calmly above them.

"Do you ever wonder about what it would be like to settle down with someone?" he mused. "Even if they really like you, they still might not understand certain aspects of your personality or what's really important to you. What if they don't appreciate your tea ceremonies?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Minghao replied, tone even. "I know that I'd like to settle down eventually, but that seems pretty far off. There are still so many things I want to do first—like graduate from this school that we worked so hard to get into. I'm not enduring racism and xenophobia from narrow-minded Brits to worry about whether some witch from the English countryside appreciates my tea ceremonies. Besides, I do the tea ceremonies for myself, not for other people."

"You're preparing a tea ceremony for me now," Junhui pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that's you."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you're not on the same level as everyone else," Minghao elaborated. "You're my best friend, and I know you do appreciate my tea ceremonies."

Not even remotely satisfied by the reassurance his best friend was giving him, the Hufflepuff pressed further.

"Will you miss me after I graduate?" Junhui's eyes left the Whomping Willow, dropping back down to observe Minghao's hands as he started to steep the tea leaves in hot water. "Tell me honestly."

"Don't be stupid," Minghao told him flatly and without missing a beat.

"Hey! I was just asking—"

"And I'm telling you again: don't be stupid." Minghao didn't take his eyes off the tea leaves, even as he spoke. "No offense to our friends but you know I'd miss you the most. I can't believe I even have to tell you that."

"It wouldn't hurt you to tell me sometimes! I like the reassurance."

"All of our friends are already talking about how I'm going to try and sneak you into the Ravenclaw dorms every weekend next year. If they know it, then so do you. Now drink your tea."

His tone was not unkind, simply matter-of-fact, the way it often was. Junhui knew that Minghao was nice in his own way, and he definitely cared about him—he just communicated it a little differently.

Having already poured the freshly brewed tea, Minghao carefully slid a teacup across the table towards the Hufflepuff. Junhui simply stared at the cup for a moment, admiring the detail and craftsmanship of the emerald green and gold accent pattern. Tendrils of steam wafted up gently but Junhui knew it would be the perfect temperature. It always was.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, finally picking up his tea and bringing it to his lips.

Minghao hummed in response, picking up his own tea. The fragrance coming from the perfectly steeped jasmine tea leaves filled the chilly February air around them, almost as if they were in their own bubble.

Most days they really were.

Junhui knew that he was really lucky that Minghao had come to Hogwarts at the same time as him, even though they were a year apart. It had been a long and difficult process to get accepted as a second year; and if Headmistress McGonagall had been a less generous woman, he never would've met Minghao—or any of the others. They had been made fun of and harassed from the moment they had arrived, but now—almost at the end of his time at the illustrious school—he wouldn't have done things any differently.

Now, if he could only be as certain about what laid ahead.

"Do you think falling in love is as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be?" Junhui asked, setting his cup down.

"You're full of existential questions today." Minghao also set his cup down. "I think... that it's probably really nice in its own way... but that it's not the only kind of love that's important. Love comes in all forms and they're all equally necessary and fulfilling. People put all of their eggs in the romantic love basket and then wonder why they're still unhappy when they ditched all their friends for a new relationship."

"So you don't think it's lame that you're having tea with your best friend on Valentine's Day?"

"Of course not." Minghao snorted. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing. Anyway, do you think it's lame for Mingyu and Wonwoo to be hanging out in the Astronomy Tower of all places doing who knows what when Mingyu has the entire female student population after him?"

"No, not at all," Junhui replied quickly. "They are each other's most important person."

"Exactly." Minghao smiled at his best friend over the rim of his teacup. "Aren't I your most important person?"

"Yes. Always yes," Junhui assured him.

"And you're mine, so don't worry about it anymore," Minghao said, reaching across the table to pat Junhui's shoulder fondly.

"Why do I feel like you're the older one instead of me?"

"Because it's my duty to impart wisdom upon you from time to time," the Ravenclaw informed him matter-of-factly. "It comes with the house."

Junhui rolled his eyes.

"In other news, my mother wrote to me this morning letting me know that one of the girls with whom I attended primary school told her parents that I'm going to a private school in the UK, and so they contacted my parents asking if they had any prospective fiancées in mind for me," Minghao told him. "My pretend pedigreed education is apparently an attractive quality."

"Ah, they're Muggles," Junhui concluded. "Your parents don't have a problem with that, do they?"

"No, definitely not." Minghao shook his head. "I just think it's much more difficult to try and be in relationships with non-magic folk. You have to hide so much, not even just because you think they can't be trusted but because you never know how they're going to take the news. It's a lot of information for most people to handle."

"I don't know, I think my father took it pretty well," Junhui said, thinking back to the story his parents had told him about how his mother had broken the news to her then-boyfriend that she was a witch. "But he is a little odd himself, so I think he was just relieved that she wasn't as normal as he thought she was."

"Your parents are a pretty strange pair," Minghao admitted, "but I like them. They're very nice."

"And your parents are hilarious," Junhui returned, remembering when they had come to the pick-up point at Hogsmeade to take a Portkey back to China for the summer just last year. "You really take after them."

Minghao shrugged.

"Superior genetics."

Junhui snorted into his teacup, blowing bubbles across the surface of the still-hot liquid.

"Don't scoff," Minghao pretended to scold him. "You have the very best best friend you could possibly ask for. You should be grateful."

Still holding the teacup to his face to hide his smile, Junhui nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I am. I always am."

The Library — February 14th (early evening)

"I knew I'd find you here!" Soonyoung exclaimed happily, weaving through the aisles as he skipped towards the study tables.

Jihoon looked up at the Gryffindor, frowning. The table that he was sitting at was covered entirely in books and parchment, a stark contrast to the other empty tables. In fact, his was the only occupied table in the entire library. Madame Pince wasn't even lurking in the shadows as usual, considering that Soonyoung was speaking at louder than an inside voice and she hadn't come over to reprimand him.

"I'm usually here," he deadpanned, looking back down at his work, "the same of which cannot be said for you."

Soonyoung didn't look the least bit offended by Jihoon's words, long since used to his particular form of communication. Undeterred, he looked down at all of the materials spread out on the table, trying to figure out what Jihoon was working on even though it was upside down for him.

"You have to be the only person in the entire school who's studying today!" he pouted, pawing at the parchment nearest to him. "It's Valentine's Day! A day for love! What are you even working on?"

"Getting ahead," Jihoon said shortly, yanking the parchment back from him. "Love can wait."

"Jihoon-ah, you'll work yourself to death," Soonyoung chided him, pulling out the chair opposite the Ravenclaw. "I think you should take a break."

"That's how I like it," Jihoon grumbled, "and I have nothing pressing to attend to tonight, so there's no point in taking a break."

"I came all the way up here, to the library—where I never am, as you correctly pointed out—to find you and you won't pull yourself away from your books to hang out with me?"

Jihoon's quill paused mid-scratch, the only indication that he had heard the seventh year's question, before he continued writing.

"You don't usually ask me to hang out," he said, his tone bordering on indifferent.

"It's not for lack of wanting to. I always want to," Soonyoung admitted. "And I always think you're going to say no, so I never ask."

He thought he could see a faint pink blush on Jihoon's cheeks but it was hard to tell from this angle.

"That's not very Gryffindor of you," Jihoon commented, scribbling away.

"It's the one thing in which I lack courage," Soonyoung huffed. "But to be fair, you're very intimidating, even though you're the cutest person I know."

Jihoon accidentally pressed down on the parchment too hard with his quill, creating an ink blot over the words he was writing. Swearing under his breath, the tips of his ears red, he waved his wand at the offending spot.

"Stop talking nonsense," he hissed, the red flush spreading from his ears to the rest of his face.

"I'm not!" Soonyoung insisted. "I think you're the cutest person in the whole school!"

"Shut up!"

Jihoon wasn't even trying to focus on his work anymore, intent on getting Soonyoung to stop talking before he had a coronary. Not that it was possible. The seventh year was actually very shy—but you would never know it by the way his mouth ran a million miles when he was around his friends. He seemed determined to say his piece and nothing was going to get in the way of him saying it.

"You're always so strict and I think it's because you like it when people listen to you, but you're always doing nice things for people while pretending that you had nothing to do with it," the Gryffindor continued, oblivious to the fact that Jihoon was now bypassing red and heading into scarlet. "Like that time you jinxed those people who had been making fun of Junhui and Minghao when they first arrived. It was so impressive, I remember thinking that you were such a cool and dependable person even back then."

"That's enough!"

"And you're so buff for such a small and cute person." Soonyoung rested his chin on one hand. "You could probably knock me out if you really wanted to. Honestly, please do it, it would be the greatest honor of my life. Anyway, it makes no sense... and yet it makes perfect sense. Everything about you is just... so fascinating."

The Ravenclaw jumped up from his chair, hurling the quill he had been using at Soonyoung, who turned and ducked just in time to watch it sail over his head.

"Whoa! What was that for?"

"Why are you saying all this?" Jihoon demanded. "Did you come up here just to embarrass me?"

Realizing that he and the sixth year were not on the same page in spite of the way he had just gushed about him, Soonyoung shook his head.

Apparently he had not been clear enough.

"Accio quill," he murmured, holding a hand out for the quill Jihoon had thrown at him before offering it back to him. "I'm not trying to embarrass you, although I am sorry if that's how you feel. I'm just trying to tell you how I feel, which is that you scare me but I like it—I like you."

Jihoon snatched his quill back, face still impossibly red.

"You have a funny way of showing it," he snapped. "You have mere months left before you graduate, your timing is nothing if not grossly impeccable."

"I know, I haven't been very brave," Soonyoung said, shrugging, not even the least bit put off by Jihoon's criticism. "I really didn't want to ruin our dynamic or make things weird for the others, but if we hadn't agreed to the no dates rule for the Yule Ball, I would've asked you."

"You said you weren't interested in anyone when Minghao asked you," Jihoon pointed out, narrowing his eyes at him.

"So I lied." Soonyoung started gathering the parchment on the table into a pile. "I haven't exactly told anyone that I've been harboring this secret crush on you for three years. I'm no good at keeping secrets but I was very good at keeping this one. And stop being so pragmatic about this, I'm trying to be romantic."

"I really don't know what you want me to say to all of this," Jihoon said snippily. "You're the last person I expected to confess to having a years-long crush on me."

"How about you say what you want to say?" Soonyoung suggested, a hopeful expression on his face.

Jihoon, having just noticed that the seventh year had compiled all his parchment into a neat stack, slid the pile away from him and across the table, putting everything into his school bag. He then waved his wand, sending his books flying back onto the shelves in their rightful places. When he had stalled enough, he sighed and turned to face the Gryffindor.

"I know we've been friends for my entire time at Hogwarts thus far," he began finally. "I know that I can trust you, that you're telling the truth—that you wouldn't confess just to yank the rug out from under me, as I believe the expression goes. I know all of that, logically, but considering that—as you said—people find me intimidating, it's hard to imagine someone being so earnest about their feelings for me. Most people think I'm too... domineering."

His hands came up to his throat, loosening his blue and bronze tie from around his neck.

"I can't even really say if I like you as more than a friend or not," he said, sounding apologetic. "I didn't think it was a possibility, so I never considered you in that way."

Soonyoung leaned over the table between them, reaching for the Ravenclaw's school bag and hoisting the strap over one shoulder. He maintained eye contact the entire time, willing Jihoon to believe him but also wanting to fluster him just a little bit more.

"But as you said, you know that you can trust me," he pointed out. "Plus, if you think about it, you're a strict taskmaster and I'm a glutton for punishment—we're perfect for each other."

Jihoon tried to wrestle his school bag back from the taller boy, his pale face gaining back the red that had just begun to fade.

"You can't just say things like that!" he hissed.

Soonyoung simply tugged the bag out of his grasp and just out of his reach, smiling cheekily.

"I've waited three years to confess," he reminded him. "Now that the secret's out, I have all sorts of things that I kept to myself that I'm going to say—including how adorable I think you are. Walk with me?"

Jihoon stared up at him for a few moments, expression unreadable. If he thought at all about refusing him, the thought didn't last. Tucking his hands into his pockets, he nodded towards the front of the library.

"Well, after you then."

Slytherin Common Room — February 14th (dusk)

"Hong!"

Joshua didn't even so much as raise his head, instead making an indifferent "mmm" sound in acknowledgement.

He didn't need to look to see who it was—the voice alone was clue enough.

William Bennington the third was an awful homage to the Pureblood Slytherins of old. With generations of English aristocratic breeding to support his claim to everything he wanted in life, he was disliked even within his own house and by many of the portraits in the dungeons; and after seven long years sharing a dormitory with him, he still said "Hong" with a certain sneer that was clearly affected by poorly concealed racism.

At this point, Joshua had been living in the UK long enough to let things roll off his back, but William could've given Draco Malfoy a run for his money with the way he paraded about the school as if he owned it.

"Pretty prince doesn't have a date tonight?" William asked him, dropping down onto the sofa across from him, his tone mocking.

"Not that I'm aware of," Joshua replied pleasantly, still not looking up from his book.

"Hey, it just goes to show you that looks aren't everything in life," the other boy commented snidely. "The girls here won't go after some foreigner with no title. And aren't you a Half-Blood?" he added as an afterthought. "Yeah, that won't do at all."

Joshua turned the page, letting William carry on the conversation by himself. The golden-haired heir to a Potions empire (or so he claimed, Joshua had never bothered to verify this) had been harassing him from the moment he had set foot in the common room first year; and he had long since learned that it was best to let him converse with himself to get everything out of his system before he was satisfied. Not only did William take issue with his race and his blood status, he seemed oddly offended by his appearance as well, referring to him as "pretty" with his tone suggesting that he did not mean it in a positive way.

"Nothing to say?" William asked him softly, noticing that his tirade was falling on deaf ears. "Truth hurts, does it?"

"If you say so." Joshua barely shrugged his shoulders.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say.

"You think you're better than me?" William demanded, suddenly shooting up from his seat. "That you can sit there like you're royalty and I'm some sort of commoner? I'm far more important than you will ever be!"

Joshua sighed, recognizing that his night would be a lost cause if he didn't address this particular problem promptly, and slipped a tasseled bookmark in between the pages of his book before closing it and looking up at his aggressor for the first time during their previously one-sided confrontation.

"I get that certain things matter to you," he said carefully, "but they don't matter to me—and they don't matter to a lot of people anymore, not even the Slytherins here. I didn't realize that me being dateless on Valentine's Day was of such great significance to you, especially when it's of no significance to me and my evening. Maybe you should be more worried about the fact that you care so much about what I'm doing with my time, alone or otherwise."

William's upper lip curled into a sneer, his eyes narrowing.

"Listen, you filthy—"

"Oh, shut it, Bennington," snapped a voice from behind Joshua.

Joshua turned to look over his shoulder, noticing that Mira Nott had just come from the girls' dormitories and was standing just behind the sofa he was sitting on.

According to Jeonghan—who seemed to always know the latest gossip amongst the various wizarding families—Theodore Nott had settled down with a Pureblood witch from Bulgaria who had graduated from Durmstrang. They had met while Theo had been taking some time away from England and had returned together shortly after their wedding.

While she had been a cute girl when she had first arrived, Mira had grown into an exceptionally pretty young woman by the age of seventeen. Taller than most of the other girls in the school, the first thing that Joshua had noticed about her was that she had perfectly straight posture that adjusted minutely according to her movements. With long, dark curls framing her face, a warm complexion, and high cheekbones, she had the best features of both of her parents—except that she had one brown and one blue eye, both of which were cunning yet also surprisingly kind. Top of the class in at least every class Joshua shared with her, she was also the Slytherin Seeker; and he loved to watch her fly against Seungcheol during matches. Her intellect and athleticism made her a formidable opponent, and their matches were always close ones.

All that being said, Mira was obviously highly sought after—even by William Bennington the third.

"Don't mind him. Joshua," she said to him, a beautiful, wicked smile on her face as she made direct eye contact with William. "If betrothal contracts were still common practice, I would've already asked my father to request a meeting with your parents to discuss one."

Joshua resisted the urge to grin broadly at the way William's face had gone absolutely scarlet, a purple vein starting to make its appearance at his temple.

"You flatter me, Mira," he said to her instead, laying it on a little thick for the benefit of their audience, even as he ignored him. "I don't think I would be opposed to such a meeting. There's still time to write to your parents and mine."

Standing up, he offered her his arm.

"Walk with me?" he asked, every bit the perfect gentleman.

"Of course," she replied, walking around the sofa and linking arms with him.

Triggered by the events taking place right in front of him, their forgotten peer leapt up from his seat, positively quivering with entitled rage.

"Mira! You cannot possibly be thinking about entering a betrothal contract with that Half-Blood foreigner! My father—"

William's deranged bellows were cut off abruptly as the door swung shut behind them.

"I wonder what his father would have to say if he knew that the daughter of a Sacred Twenty-Eight family had filed a complaint with the school governors about the shady little deals William conducts in the prefects' bathroom," Mira said innocently.

Joshua smiled at her, completely enamored. Was there any other witch at this school more perfect than the one looking at him right now?

"You are so ruthless, I love it," he told her.

She tossed her hair over one shoulder, smiling back at him.

"Tell me more."

Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch — February 14th (evening)

"Yoo-hoo! Channie!"

Chan squinted down at the figure waving up at him, figuring out who it was based on the gleaming head of hair.

Camille Archambault, which she had told him meant "bold master"—the girl from the Yule Ball.

It had been almost two months since Christmas and he had met up with the stunning beauty from Beauxbatons a handful of times—a Hogsmeade outing here, a walk on the grounds there. They were what some people might call dating, if a little intensely for something that was supposed to be casual. Translation spells helped bridge the language barrier; and she was sweet, funny, and charming. She was quite good at spells, and she had told him that if she had been a student during the time of the Triwizard Tournament, she would have entered. She liked picnics by the greenhouses and broom rides with her arms wrapped around his waist, coffee with milk poured in delicate swirls and the feeling of his hand intertwined with hers, primrose perfume and the way he got red right before he kissed her.

Sometimes he found himself thinking that he should be a little more cautious with his heart—that he should be waiting for the other foot to drop—but so far he was having fun, and he supposed that was what mattered.

He was surprised that she could tell it was him considering how high up he was, but he did catch her staring at him from the Ravenclaw table quite often. She never looked embarrassed at having been caught—in fact, it only emboldened her and he ended up having to be the one to look away.

"That girl never gets tired of looking at you," Jeonghan had told him once, the disdain in his voice more like that of a disapproving parent rather than an overprotective friend. "I wonder how she manages to concentrate on her studies when she's staring at you all the time. I suppose she'd at least get an Outstanding in Lee Chan."

"Let them be, Hannie," Seungcheol had admonished him gently.

Secretly, Chan wondered what Camille saw in him, exactly. She had been the one to ask him to dance at the Yule Ball and the one to lead him out to the gardens that night. She had also initiated all of their dates so far, as well as most of their shows of affection, which he still hadn't quite gotten used to. After their time together at the ball, he hadn't expected to hear from her again, yet she kept seeking him out. She seemed to have memorized his schedule to account for all the classes she didn't share with him—she always knew where to find him, even when he didn't tell anyone where he was going.

It was flattering, he had to admit.

At the ball, she had asked him how to pronounce his name correctly, repeating it multiple times even after he had told her that she had down—and then proceeded to only refer to him as Channie, saying that it was her cute name for him. One of the other Beauxbatons girls, having only heard Camille call him Channie, tried to use the nickname one morning and the next time he saw her, she was missing her eyebrows.

"Why doesn't she just grow them back?" Mingyu had asked, perplexed.

"If she would, she could," Chan had replied, shrugging. "Camille's really good at spells, the other girl probably can't figure out how to reverse it."

"Wow, you'd better make sure she never gets mad at you."

Privately, he agreed.

That being said, he wondered if she felt like she had to teach him everything—where to put his hands, when to kiss her, what he should say. He had made his lack of experience known that night in the gardens, but she hadn't seemed to mind. She had simply directed him and he took direction well.

And yet... he couldn't help but think it was as though they were caught up in a race in which only she knew where the finish line was—and the thought made him more than a little sweaty-palmed.

Coming back to his senses, he Summoned the Quaffle he had been practicing with and tucked it under one arm. Although he wasn't on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Chan still liked to fly. It brought him peace and helped clear his mind, and on an evening when he figured he had no plans, it was the perfect way to spend his time.

I guess I have plans now, he thought to himself.

He circled the goalposts on the far right side of the pitch, making a nose dive and pulling up straight just as his toes skimmed the grass. He dismounted smoothly, giving Camille a friendly smile as he approached her, Nimbus 3000 broom in one hand and Quaffle in the other.

"Hi, Camille," he greeted her. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"Bon soir, Channie," she returned, smiling prettily at him. "I admit, I am a little disappointed that you did not come looking for me today. I was hoping that we could spend some time together."

"Ah, I wasn't aware that that was what you wanted," he told her sheepishly. "It's Valentine's Day and we're not, you know, official, so I didn't think you would want to do anything."

"Channie, Channie, Channie." Camille shook her golden blonde head. He caught sight of delicate pearl strand earrings dangling from her ears, a matching set with the string of pearls around her neck. "I am going back to France at the end of term, do you think I want to waste time going slow?"

"I wouldn't think it was a waste of time," he protested, cheeks growing pink. "I just... haven't really hung out with a lot of girls. You move kind of fast."

"Oh, I know, mon chéri, it is what makes you one of the good boys," she said, touching his cheek, her expression fond. "I always enjoy our time together, and I think it would be silly to not make the most of the time we have left, non?"

Chan dropped the Quaffle on the grass and placed his own hand over her hand on his face.

Being with Camille was like one ongoing surprise party. Sure, it was fun, but it also kind of gave him a heart attack. Even though he always did his best to try and read her mind before she actually executed any of her plans, he more often than not found himself unprepared. It was a little jarring to be caught unawares as many times as he had been since they had started seeing each other, but he knew that he had to enjoy the ride while it lasted.

She was, after all, leaving at the end of term.

"Let me shower first?" he asked her.

She tilted her head to the side to press her lips to his other cheek.

"Meet me at the entrance to the grounds in half an hour," she murmured in his ear. "I'll be waiting."

The Gilded Phoenix (Private Room) — February 14th (night)

"You know I really didn't need all of this," Jeonghan said, taking a sip from the glass of elf wine he was holding daintily in one hand. "We could have stayed at school and I would have been just as happy."

"I know, but it's our last year at Hogwarts. Maybe it sounds kind of childish... but I just wanted to do something to commemorate our last year as kids," Seungcheol told his boyfriend honestly, shrugging. "Life is going to change pretty dramatically once we graduate. I feel like we're never going to have this kind of peace again."

"So you wanted to live in this bubble of youthful innocence one last time," Jeonghan guessed.

"Exactly."

"We're still going to be kids when we graduate," Jeonghan said thoughtfully. "The Wizarding World in the UK moves so fast, it's amazing how anyone manages to find something stable so soon after graduation."

"Are you planning on going home?" Seungcheol asked him.

"Yes, for a while. My parents will want to see me—and they'll want to see you as well."

"I think I'll go home for a little while, too." Seungcheol ran a finger around the rim of his wine glass absentmindedly. "There's this famous producer based in London whom I'm trying to get an internship with, though. I'll need to find a job so that I can get a flat nearby if I get accepted."

"Darling, you know that you don't have to work if you don't want to," the Slytherin reminded him. "I don't have to work if I don't want to, and I'm more than capable of taking care of both of us. Besides, my family loves you. We'd be married as soon as we landed on Korean soil if it were up to them."

"Spoiled rich kid," Seungcheol teased.

"You love me," Jeonghan flirted back.

"Always." Seungcheol took Jeonghan's hand, his thumb skimming the tops of his knuckles affectionately. "Look, I appreciate you offering to support me financially, but I want to be able to do things on my own, whatever I choose to pursue."

"Your music has always been important to you. You're an artist. You could... simply think of me as your patron," Jeonghan suggested.

"Hannie—"

"I mean it," Jeonghan insisted. "You would be focusing on making music without worrying about your finances. It's not like I would be paying for you to stay idle. I'm sure I could also come up with work for you."

"I really can't accept," Seungcheol said firmly, "so please don't ask me to."

Jeonghan set down his wine glass with a huff.

"You never let me do anything for you!" the Slytherin exclaimed, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I always indulge this little... complex you seem to have about being perceived as the provider, but you know that that concept is extremely outdated. There is no hunter-gatherer dynamic in the twenty-first century."

"You think this is about my masculinity?" Seungcheol asked incredulously.

"Yes, I do!" Jeonghan snapped. "I let you open jars for me and move my furniture around because I know it makes you feel useful. The least you could let me do is use the resources I have to help you!"

The Gryffindor leaned back in his chair, staring at his boyfriend in disbelief.

"So that's how you really see me," he said flatly.

Jeonghan sighed, deflating at once.

"Cheollie, it's not that I see you as some sort of caveman," he said sadly. "You help me all the time. I just want to be able to help you for once."

Seungcheol's expression softened. He knew that Jeonghan just wanted to help—he was generous to a fault, and throwing his money at problems was his way of trying to make things better. There was some truth to what he was saying, though—his ego wouldn't let him allow his boyfriend to pay all the bills while he tried to make it as an artist.

"You do help me," he murmured, taking both of Jeonghan's hands in his. "You help me every day just by existing. I'm already taking advantage of the fact that you wake up every morning still wanting to be with me."

"You're stupid," Jeonghan huffed, eyes watery. "You big, stupid man. You're not taking advantage of anything. Sometimes I wish you would!"

"Alright, point taken." Seungcheol chuckled, gently smacking the palm of one of Jeonghan's hands. "I mean it, though. Do you know how coveted you are by most of the student body?"

"Of course everyone wants me," the Slytherin scoffed. "As they should. It doesn't mean that they can have me. I'm yours, and I always will be."

Seungcheol smiled at him.

"I know."

"So will you let me bankroll your endeavors in music?" Jeonghan asked hopefully.

Seungcheol stared at him for a moment, considering.

"I'll think about it," he said finally.

"I suppose that's the best offer I'm going to get." Jeonghan sighed dramatically, picking his wine glass back up. "Life doesn't have to be so hard, you know. If there's an easy way, you should take it, never mind your moral qualms regarding classism and the way the one percent uses their wealth to get ahead in life."

"Hannie, you're the one percent," Seungcheol pointed out dryly.

"And what about it?" he sassed back.

"Nothing, you're the most benevolent benefactor in all the land," the Gryffindor said primly.

Jeonghan reached across the table and tugged his boyfriend forward by his black tie, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"Only for you."

The Black Lake — February 14th (early evening)

Vernon paced back and forth anxiously on the far shore of the Black Lake. He had tasked a pair of what he hoped were reliable second-year Hufflepuffs to locate Seungkwan and bring him to the Black Lake, where he would get in a boat that he had charmed to row itself across the water. He had spent more of half of the time between the day he had talked to Seungcheol and Valentine's Day panicking over what to do, then spent the remaining time trying to get everything together, including practicing the spell to make the boat row itself for several days. That morning, he had packed a picnic basket full of all of his boyfriend's favorite things, as well as a blanket, and he hoped that his sincerity would come across.

Before they had started a relationship, Vernon and Seungkwan had been friends, and even then they had done something small and quiet for previous Valentine's Days, just because there was no one else they'd rather have spent that time with—and because Vernon had spent his first five years at Hogwarts avoiding any girls who even looked at him longer than necessary. So really, he didn't need to worry. Seungkwan just happened to be his boyfriend now—it wasn't as though he needed to be impressed further.

Vernon looked down at the picnic basket sitting on the rather cliché red and gold patterned blanket and wondered if it was enough.

Maybe I should have gotten flowers? he fretted.

It wasn't so much about the fact that it was Valentine's Day than it was about how much Vernon had been worrying about Seungkwan since his late friend's birthday.

Every time the Gryffindor had tried to approach his boyfriend to try and get him to open up, Seungkwan had always come up with excuses for why he couldn't talk and would busy himself with something else. It was frustrating, of course, but it was more anxiety-inducing than anything—and more than once Vernon wondered if he was just a really bad significant other who didn't know how to talk to his partner just right in order to get him to confide in him.

"Agh!"

Startled out of his own self-wallowing, Vernon looked up to see the boat that he had charmed to carry Seungkwan across the lake rocking back and forth wildly—with Seungkwan in it.

Privately, Vernon was relieved that the boat was already pretty close to shore, but he didn't think that his boyfriend would see it that way—and definitely not after the boat tipped to one side, dumping Seungkwan into the lake that was surely still freezing.

"Oh, no," Vernon muttered, covering his face with his hands. "He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me then bring me back so that he can kill me again."

Peeking through the gaps in his fingers, he watched as Seungkwan swam the remaining distance from where the boat had tipped over to the shore, weighed down by his school robes. A fairly decent swimmer from his years spent growing up on an island, Seungkwan was letting his fury propel him forward with surprising strength. Dripping wet and looking absolutely furious, he stomped up the bank towards Vernon, who silently sent prayers heavenward and hoped someone heard him.

"Hansol Vernon Chwe!" The Hufflepuff tore through his full name. "You'd better have a good explanation for this!"

Not my government name, Vernon grimaced.

Lowering his hands from his face, he said uncertainly, "Happy... Valentine's Day?"

Seeing that Seungkwan was opening his mouth to deliver what would probably be the human equivalent of a Howler message on a Monday morning in front of the entire Great Hall, Vernon interrupted.

"Look, I didn't mean for you to get dumped into the lake!" he blurted out. "I've been planning everything since the beginning of the month and with everything else, I didn't have that much time to practice the spell on the boat. It was just supposed to bring you across the lake without you having to do anything, I swear!"

Seungkwan held up an index finger, cutting him off. Vernon shut his mouth abruptly, anxious, as his boyfriend leaned his body to one side and peered over his shoulder at the blanket laid out behind him with the picnic basket.

"Kwannie," Vernon began.

Seungkwan made a noise, his index finger still raised. He inhaled deeply—dramatically—then lowered his finger.

"You planned all of this?" he asked.

Vernon nodded rapidly.

Seungkwan exhaled.

"Okay, walk me through your vision." The Hufflepuff gestured with his hands for his boyfriend to proceed. "Tell me what was going through your mind when you came up with all this. I want to know."

"Well, it's our first Valentine's Day together as a couple." Vernon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "And I know that you've been really sad since Binnie's birthday..." When he noticed Seungkwan had stiffened at the mention of his friend, he said defensively, "I tried to talk to you about it so many times but you wouldn't talk to me! I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong, or that you felt like you couldn't trust me to open up... so I talked to Seungcheol hyung."

"And he told you to drown your boyfriend in the Black Lake?" Seungkwan deadpanned.

"He told me that I should use Valentine's Day as an opportunity to show you that you're not alone," Vernon corrected him gently.

Seungkwan huffed, wringing the water out of his robes as he avoided looking at the Gryffindor. Vernon watched him for several minutes while he fussed over his water-logged clothes before he finally straightened up and took a few steps closer to him.

Vernon held his breath.

He's going to break up with me, he chanted in his head. He's realized how bad I am at this whole relationship thing and he is going to break up with me.

"I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better listen," Seungkwan told him sternly, holding his face securely between wet hands. "Well, not only once, because I will always tell you good things about yourself so that you're aware of your own worth, but regardless! Me not talking to you about Binnie has nothing to do with how good of a boyfriend—or even how good of a friend—you are. You are doing wonderfully, I promise. Do you understand? Nod for yes, shake for no."

Vernon nodded, face still trapped between Seungkwan's hands.

"It's very difficult for bossy people like me to let go," the Hufflepuff continued, trying to sound flippant. "We need to be taken care of just like everyone else, but we're not very good at letting other people take care of us. And it shows in our dynamic, even after we got together," he added, using one hand to gesture between Vernon and himself. "So me avoiding talking to you every time you tried to talk to me about Binnie is not because you're not good at being supportive, because you are—it's because I'm not good at being vulnerable. Understand? Nod for yes, shake for no."

Vernon nodded again.

"I appreciate the effort you put into this." Seungkwan smiled at him, the effect only slightly diminished by his bangs still dripping water onto his face. "I appreciate the effort you put into us, all the time; and I'm sorry that I made you feel as though I didn't."

"I know how hard it is for you to say sorry first," Vernon teased, his voice muffled by the squishing of his cheeks. "So I appreciate it."

"Yah!" Seungkwan pinched his cheeks gently. "But you're right, and I really am sorry. You're an amazing boyfriend and I love you." Vernon jumped, not expecting the sudden declaration when neither of them had never said those words before. Noticing this thanks to his grip on his face, Seungkwan only held on more firmly. "Do you understand? Nod for yes, shake for no."

Unable to do anything else, Vernon nodded.

"Good."

Seungkwan loosened his grasp and stroked the apples of Vernon's cheeks with his thumbs affectionately.

"Because I do. Love you, I mean. Since first year, when you told those boys off in class for bullying me," he clarified unnecessarily. "I knew then and there that you were someone I could count on, and you've proven time and time again how right I was—although, of course, I've never been wrong in my life. So I'll tell you that I love you all the time, because you need to hear it. I want you to hear it and know that I mean it, because I've never meant anything more in my entire existence on this wretched planet."

Vernon swallowed.

"Kwannie, I—"

Seungkwan stopped him, putting a hand over his mouth.

"Tell me when you're ready," he said. "I'll still love you then, even if you make me wait for a long time. But don't make me wait too long, okay? Nod for yes, shake for no."

Vernon nodded.