count me down (1/1)
pairing: suho/chen
rating: PG
wordcount: 3.9k
summary: Jongdae and his friends always throw the best New Year’s party, but this year will be different. This year, Jongdae is determined to kiss Junmyeon at midnight.
notes: hAPPY 3 weeks late new year and happy birthday to mon ami hannah castleofpearls♡
“Do you think it’s enough?” Baekhyun asks, surveying the numerous bottles of alcohol arranged on the kitchen counter.
“It better be,” Jongdae says, crossing his arms. He’s pretty sure they had less than this last year, but he knows Baekhyun would rather have extra than not enough. It’ll all be gone before January ends, anyway. “You know, you could probably save an entire paycheque every year if you just made this thing BYOB.”
Baekhyun shrugs. “If I’m gonna shell out for one thing every year, I figure it should be booze for friends on New Year’s Eve.”
At the table, Kyungsoo sighs, massaging his temples. Jongdae knows it’s more of a preventive measure than anything; the music filtering in from the living room is only turned up to four, as opposed to the solid eleven it’s bound to be cranked to later on. “Tell me again why we do this every year.”
“Because we do it every year,” Baekhyun says. “People depend on us for this.”
“Right,” Kyungsoo says dryly, giving the bottles a vaguely annoyed glance. “Because there’s nowhere else they could go to get smashed on New Year’s Eve.”
Jongdae snorts. “Of course there is. The point is that they come here instead.”
“Your friends are weird,” Kyungsoo sighs, rubbing his temples again.
“They’re your friends too,” Baekhyun says, kicking the back of his chair. “Stop acting like you have a headache, we all know you’re gonna get just as drunk as the rest of us.”
Kyungsoo whips around, looking ready to take Baekhyun’s foot off, but Chanyeol chooses that moment to crash his way through the door. He has a thick scarf around his neck, a pair of sparkly plastic 2015 glasses pushed up on his forehead, and a huge grin on his face as he practically bounces into the kitchen.
“Six and a half hours left in 2014,” he announces, punching the air.
“Thanks for the update,” Baekhyun says, rolling his eyes. “I haven’t needed to look at the clock all day.”
Chanyeol is unfazed though, and keeps grinning even as he unwinds his scarf and shrugs off his coat. “I would’ve been back sooner, but I’ve been trying to do things really slowly all day. It makes time go by faster.”
Jongdae laughs. “You’re that stoked for the year to end?”
“No, I’m stoked for the new year to start,” Chanyeol corrects him, flopping into the chair beside Kyungsoo’s. His long legs intrude into Kyungsoo’s foot space, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Baekhyun makes a face. “2014 wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Depends who you ask, I guess,” Kyungsoo hums, but Chanyeol shakes his head.
“It’s not about it being good or bad, I just… I’m excited for midnight.” He grins again, like he’s thrilled even just talking about it. “I want to skip to the countdown right now.”
“Why, though?” Jongdae asks, leaning back against the counter. “That’s like, ten seconds out of the whole night.”
Chanyeol looks around at the three of them confusedly. “Because we’re gonna be together,” he says, a little slowly, like he wants to make sure they understand. “You know. Whoever you’re with at midnight on New Year’s Eve is who you’ll be with for the whole new year.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “You say that every year.”
“Yeah, and it’s true every year,” Chanyeol insists. “The four of us have been together for every New Year’s Eve since ninth grade. Even that time Kyungsoo had the flu.”
Kyungsoo frowns. “You three banged pots and pans together on my lawn while I was trying to sleep, I don’t think that counts.”
“It totally counts,” Chanyeol says with a pout.
Jongdae tunes them out when the bickering starts, glancing at the clock on the wall. Like Chanyeol, he’s been keeping track of the time all day, but not quite for the same reason. While Chanyeol seems determined to not let this year be the combo-breaker, Jongdae is determined to change just one thing. This year will be different, he insists to himself, because this year, he’s going to kiss Junmyeon at midnight.
He’s had the idea for a while, but only decided to go through with it the week before, when, at Yixing’s Christmas party, he and Junmyeon had accidentally ended up under the mistletoe together. Nothing happened, because Chanyeol and Baekhyun had nearly knocked over the Christmas tree a second later, but Jongdae had had a blissful, slow-motion moment of staring into Junmyeon’s eyes. He’s pretty sure the pretty pink tint to Junmyeon’s cheeks in his memory isn’t something he made up, even if the image is remarkably close to some of the things he’s daydreamed about before.
It feels like he’s been crushing on Junmyeon forever - but he remembers very clearly the moment, half-asleep in Junmyeon’s car after the terrible (“You mean legendary--”) karaoke night that was Baekhyun’s twenty-second birthday, when Junmyeon had looked at him and smiled, and Jongdae had started to wonder if maybe, possibly, Junmyeon felt the same way. Since then, every moment with Junmyeon had felt more important, every brush of his fingers against Jongdae’s skin more electric, every curve of his lips in Jongdae’s direction more meaningful - and the tiny push of hope from under the mistletoe is all he needed to convince himself he could actually be right.
At least, Jongdae hopes he’s right. He hopes he can stay close enough to Junmyeon that leaning in will seem natural. He hopes the courage he’s been trying to gather will keep him from shying away.
And if Jongdae is wrong, then... well, then it’s New Year’s Eve, and everyone wants someone to kiss at midnight. It doesn’t have to mean anything. He just hopes Junmyeon will be willing to laugh it off and let things go back to normal - or, as normal as things can be when Jongdae can’t keep Junmyeon off his mind.
--
Once the party starts, it doesn’t take long for the apartment to fill up. Baekhyun swears he doesn’t remember inviting so many people, but still greets everyone that walks in and can put a name to every face. Chanyeol can’t keep the grin off his face, practically skipping in and out of the kitchen to give out drinks, and even Kyungsoo loosens up enough to join one of the loud discussions happening in the living room.
Jongdae sticks with Baekhyun for the most part, but filters out the majority of conversation to look around the room instead, keeping track of familiar faces. Jongin and Yixing are by the stereo, flipping through Chanyeol’s CDs; Sehun and Zitao are flopped together on the couch next to them, both tipsy and giggling; Luhan seems to be trying very hard to pay attention to whoever is speaking to him, but keeps staring across the room at Minseok; and Minseok, deep in conversation with Junmyeon, hasn’t noticed. Junmyeon chooses that moment to glance up, and Jongdae looks away before their gazes can connect.
The paths his eyes take from person to person always seem to end up at Junmyeon. While he can’t put his plan into action until the countdown starts, it would probably make things easier if he stayed close to Junmyeon until then - he just needs an excuse to cross the room and sit with him.
“Where you going?” Baekhyun asks, as soon as Jongdae stands up.
“There’s... some empty bottles and stuff around,” he says quickly, shuffling away. “I’m gonna pick them up before they get knocked over.”
Baekhyun shakes his head, beckoning him to sit back down. “Don’t worry about those, Chanyeol said he’d do it.” He peers over the back of the couch towards the kitchen. “Chanyeol! Recycling!”
Chanyeol bounds out of the kitchen looking determined, and makes a beeline for the empty bottles across the room. Jongdae scrambles back to the couch to get out of his way before he’s bowled over. He realizes a second too late that he could’ve run the other way and ended up beside Junmyeon instead, and considers making a break for it despite how awkward it would look-- but then Baekhyun slings an arm around his shoulders, and he’s pulled back into his seat.
The next time he glances up, Junmyeon is looking over at him. He smiles when their eyes lock, and Jongdae smiles back as brightly as he can. For a moment he thinks Junmyeon is going to beckon him over, and readies himself to throw Baekhyun’s arm off and jump up from the couch, but Junmyeon’s gaze lingers just a little longer before he looks away. Jongdae tries not to feel too disappointed.
--
It takes a while, but eventually Baekhyun pats his shoulder and stands up from the couch. Jongdae waits until he’s disappeared into the kitchen before standing up himself, but only makes it half a step before Chanyeol pulls him back down, taking the seat Baekhyun just vacated.
“Hey,” he starts, clearly trying for nonchalant, but the excited grin on his face gives him away, “can you play wingman for two seconds?”
Even as impatient as he is, Jongdae can’t help raising his eyebrows. “Your wingman?”
“Luhan’s wingman,” Chanyeol says, getting up and letting Luhan sit down in his place. He looks more than a little tipsy. “We just need you to help test something.”
“Fine,” Jongdae sighs, and then startles a little when Luhan immediately leans closer to him. “What-- wait, what are you doing?”
“Making someone jealous,” Chanyeol stage-whispers, pointing over his shoulder at Minseok, who is facing almost the complete opposite direction and heading to the kitchen. “Foolproof plan.”
“I don’t think this will work,” Jongdae says flatly, squinting when Luhan cups his cheek somewhat awkwardly. “Stop touching my face.”
Luhan ignores him. “Is he looking?” he whispers to Chanyeol.
“Uh, hold on,” Chanyeol says, peering around the room, “I don’t know where he--”
“Hey, Luhan,” Minseok greets, appearing next to the couch and making all three of them freeze in place. “Baek is wondering if you...” He trails off, looking back and forth between Jongdae and Luhan.
Baekhyun pops up behind him with a vaguely scandalized expression. “Oh. Have we killed the mood?”
“Nope,” Luhan says quickly, and shoves Jongdae away so abruptly that he topples off the couch.
Chanyeol, to his credit, helps Jongdae up before laughing himself to the point of tears. Baekhyun has no such tact, however, and has to leave the room to get his breath back. Rubbing his head where it hit the floor, Jongdae watches Luhan scurry away after Minseok and feels only a little bit annoyed.
Kyungsoo pokes his head out of the kitchen to check on the commotion and sighs at the sight of Chanyeol kicking his feet as he guffaws. “You’re going to hurt someone,” he tells him, and takes his arm to tug him away. “Let’s go, leave Jongdae alone.”
Chanyeol manages to taper off into giggles as Kyungsoo leads him out of the room. “Where are we going?”
“Out. We’re running low on jell-o.” He pushes Chanyeol through the doorway and turns back to Jongdae. “It’s a lot quieter on the balcony.”
Jongdae gives him a confused look. “Okay.”
Kyungsoo stares at him for a moment before sighing. “Sorry, I forgot how easily things go right over your head.”
“Are you trying to say something about my height, because you--”
“What I’m trying to say,” Kyungsoo cuts him off, “is that if you take Junmyeon onto the balcony, you’ll actually be able to hear each other talk.”
“Oh.” Jongdae says, then blushes. “How did you know--?”
“You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo says with a smile, and disappears through the door just as someone taps Jongdae’s shoulder.
He whirls around and comes face to face with Junmyeon, looking a little worried. “You alright?” Junmyeon asks, giving him a quick once-over that makes Jongdae’s skin tingle. “I saw you fall…”
“I’m fine,” Jongdae says, giving him a sunny smile to prove it.
Junmyeon smiles back at him. “I feel like I haven’t seen much of you tonight.”
“Ah, well,” Jongdae laughs weakly. “I’ve been… busy. Party host stuff.”
“Oh! Sorry, if you have things to do, I can wait,” Junmyeon says, stepping back, but Jongdae grabs his hand.
“Do you want to come outside with me?” he asks, blurting the words out before he can stop himself. “I mean, to the balcony. It’s… quieter.”
Junmyeon blinks in surprise, but his expression melts into another kind smile. “Sure,” he says, and lets Jongdae lead the way.
There’s not a lot of space on the balcony, but it’s more than enough for two people. It is a lot quieter outside, the noise of the party reduced to a low thrum through the glass sliding door, and Jongdae hopes his heartbeat isn’t as loud as it seems to be.
He leans on the railing, looking out at the city lights, and tries not to tense up when Junmyeon comes to stand next to him - much closer than he needs to, considering the length of the balcony, but Jongdae can’t complain.
“Did you need something?” Junmyeon asks, looking perfect and wistful and handsome with the gentle wind in his hair and the soft light from inside illuminating his features. Jongdae swallows hard.
“N-no,” he answers, just a little too loud, “I just… wanted to talk?”
“Okay.” Junmyeon smiles and leans on the railing as well, mirroring him. “What about?”
Jongdae tries his best to smile back, hoping his nerves don’t turn it into a grimace. “The party, I guess. Are you having a good time?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Junmyeon says with a nod. “It’s nice to see everyone all together.”
“You say that like it’s been years,” Jongdae laughs. “We were all together at Yixing’s house just last week.”
He flushes as soon as he says it, images from the Christmas party returning to him - the mistletoe, Junmyeon’s eyes, the colour in his cheeks - but he makes himself hold Junmyeon’s gaze instead of ducking his head like he wants to.
“I’m still happy to be here,” Junmyeon says softly, and smiles at him again.
He shifts a little and their shoulders brush. In the back of his mind, Jongdae wonders when he moved in closer. If he were to lean in just a bit, Junmyeon would barely have to move to be able to kiss him.
The thought sends a thrill down Jongdae’s spine. He’s been gearing up for the countdown, but the supposes right now would work just fine, and this could really be it--
-- and his phone goes off, because of course it does. Jongdae resists the urge to groan out loud as Junmyeon leans back a little. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and stares down at it somewhat mournfully.
“Are you going to answer that?” Junmyeon asks, after a beat. Jongdae wants to say no, wants to fling his phone off the balcony and pull Junmyeon in by his shirt collar instead, but he knows the muffled Prince of Tennis theme song chiming out of the device means it’s a call he can’t ignore.
“I have to, it’s Kyungsoo,” he sighs, and as much as it pains him to pull away, he steps back to hold the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
“Chanyeol got a concussion,” Kyungsoo says, in lieu of greeting. “We’re on the way to the hospital now, so if you and Baekhyun could meet us there, that’d be great.”
“Hospital,” Jongdae repeats, trying to process Kyungsoo’s words through his shock, and Junmyeon perks up with a concerned expression. “Uh-- yeah, I’ll go get him. We’ll be there soon-- he’s okay, right? Chanyeol?”
“He’s fine, just get Baekhyun and leave. I’ll--” he cuts off for a moment, and Jongdae can faintly hear several car horns honking. “I have to go, I can’t merge and talk at the same time. See you soon.”
“See you soon,” Jongdae echoes, hoping his voice doesn’t sound as shaky as his hands feel.
Junmyeon is there as soon as he hangs up, stepping in close and wrapping his fingers around Jongdae’s to bring the phone away from his ear. “Chanyeol is hurt?” he asks softly, using his free hand to cup the side of Jongdae’s neck.
“Concussion,” Jongdae says quietly, trying not to shiver from the gentle touch. It would probably be romantic if he could will the paleness out of his face, or if his best friend wasn’t on his way to the hospital. “I have to-- me and Baek, we have to go.”
“Okay,” Junmyeon says, and takes both his hands back. “Is there anything I can do?”
Jongdae turns and heads for the sliding door with Junmyeon following at his heels. He’s not really sure what can be done, there’s still so many people in the apartment - and christ, what if he had stayed inside, what if he hadn’t heard his phone ring and missed Kyungsoo’s call, what if--
“Jongdae.” Junmyeon catches his hand before he can open the door, pulling him back so they’re face to face again. His eyes search Jongdae’s expression for a moment, and he waits until Jongdae meets his eyes before he speaks up again, quieter. “Just tell me what I can do to help.”
Jongdae takes a deep, steady breath and manages to sigh out most of his panic. He squeezes Junmyeon’s fingers, gently, and Junmyeon’s grip tightens in return. “If you could… just keep an eye on everyone while we’re gone. Please.”
“Of course,” Junmyeon says with a nod. “Anything.”
Junmyeon lets go of his hand, and Jongdae feels a wave of frustration above the numbing worry. He’s going to grab Baekhyun and go to the hospital, no question, because Chanyeol is his best friend and he’s not going to let him be alone on New Year’s Eve, he would never-- but god dammit, he thinks as Junmyeon steps out of his space again. He was so close.
He gives himself a shake and takes another deep breath before turning to slide open the door. The noise of the party washes back over him and he lets it, for a moment, then steps inside, away from Junmyeon, and sets off to find Baekhyun and his car keys.
--
“What do you mean it’s not a concussion?” Baekhyun screeches, ignoring the glares he gets from passing hospital staff.
“The nurse lady checked,” Chanyeol says sheepishly, peeking at him from under the icepack he’s holding to his forehead. “She said it wasn’t that bad, I just hit my head really hard.”
Baekhyun turns to Jongdae with a scowl. “You said he had a concussion.”
Jongdae splutters. “Kyungsoo said he did!”
“He walked face-first into a sign and nearly blacked out,” Kyungsoo hisses. “What was I supposed to think?”
“I can’t believe I left our party for this,” Baekhyun groans, glaring up at the ceiling tiles.
Chanyeol looks down, and the icepack slides off his head and lands in his lap. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin it.”
“You didn’t,” Jongdae says, and the other three turn to look at him, surprised. “I mean, yeah, it sucks that we’re here instead of at home, but… at least we’re together?”
There’s a pause, and then Chanyeol suddenly looks close to tears - whether from happiness or his painfully wide grin, Jongdae isn’t sure. Even Kyungsoo cracks a tiny smile, rolling his eyes in a fond sort of way. Baekhyun tries his hardest to keep the scowl on his face, but one look around at all of them has him sighing and reaching out for the icepack so he can hold it against Chanyeol’s head himself.
--
Jongdae leaves their room a little later, hoping to find the hospital cafeteria and buy something caffeinated to keep himself awake until Chanyeol is allowed to leave. The maps on the walls make no sense and he ends up walking in circles more than anything, until he finally makes it back to the lobby, which is better than being lost in the hallways, at least. He’s debating swallowing his pride and asking the help desk for directions when the front doors slide open and Junmyeon walks in.
“Hi,” Jongdae says uncertainly as he approaches. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching my apartment?”
“Yixing offered to take over,” Junmyeon explains. He seems relieved, probably because Jongdae looks significantly less stressed than he had earlier. “Walk with me?”
They don’t actually do much walking, just back through the lobby and out to the parking lot. It’s colder than it was earlier, even snowing a little, but Jongdae refuses to waste energy shivering when he’s with Junmyeon.
“How’s Chanyeol?” Junmyeon asks, once they’re stopped near his car.
It’s sweet, how concerned he is. Jongdae smiles to himself. “He’s fine, no concussion. The nurse did some tests just in case, so we’re waiting for those.”
“Baekhyun and Kyungsoo?”
“Also fine. Everyone’s okay.”
Junmyeon nods, then gives him a careful look. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Jongdae sighs, after a moment. “Just. Tired, you know? And maybe a little annoyed that we had to ditch our own party. It’s always cool to do the countdown with that many people.”
“Definitely,” Junmyeon agrees, softly like he’s not really thinking about it.
Jongdae looks up at the cloudy night sky. “It must be getting pretty close to midnight. We’ve been here for a while, but I don’t know what time it was when we left…”
“There’s a thing I heard,” Junmyeon says suddenly, “that the person you’re with when the countdown ends is the person you’ll spend the new year with.”
He steps closer when Jongdae turns to look at him, close enough to reach out for. “I’ve heard something similar,” Jongdae manages.
Junmyeon opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by an excited yell in the distance. The houses across the street from the parking lot are suddenly bright and clamouring as partygoers inside start to cheer, and then every voice comes together in a chant.
Ten… nine… eight… seven…
Jongdae laughs in excitement, looking over at Junmyeon again and finding him a step closer than he used to be. There’s snowflakes in his hair and sticking to his scarf, and his gaze is almost shy when their eyes lock.
six… five… four…
Junmyeon glances down at his mouth, and the dots finally connect in Jongdae’s brain. All of a sudden he can’t quite remember his plan, or if he had one at all - and when Junmyeon takes his hand, he stumbles forward at the slightest tug.
three… two...
With his free hand, Junmyeon cups the side of Jongdae’s neck, like he had on the balcony. Jongdae has a single, tiny moment of looking into his eyes before he closes them, leans just a little closer and presses his lips against Jongdae’s.
--One!
Jongdae can’t even hear all the cheers and shouts over the roaring in his ears. Junmyeon’s mouth is soft and warm and gentle over his own, and even in the snowy hospital parking lot, he can’t think of any way he’d rather spend the first few seconds of 2015.
Junmyeon pulls away first, smiling shyly, but he doesn’t step back. “Happy new year,” he says softly.
“Happy new year,” Jongdae repeats, twining their fingers together, and when he leans back in, Junmyeon meets him halfway.
> startin the year right with maximum suchen bc i havent written that in 10 yrs
> dont worry abt jongdae not being with the other 3 at the end, chanyeol insists that it counted towards their record because jongdae was still within the hospital grounds ok
rating: PG
wordcount: 3.9k
summary: Jongdae and his friends always throw the best New Year’s party, but this year will be different. This year, Jongdae is determined to kiss Junmyeon at midnight.
notes: hAPPY 3 weeks late new year and happy birthday to mon ami hannah castleofpearls♡
“Do you think it’s enough?” Baekhyun asks, surveying the numerous bottles of alcohol arranged on the kitchen counter.
“It better be,” Jongdae says, crossing his arms. He’s pretty sure they had less than this last year, but he knows Baekhyun would rather have extra than not enough. It’ll all be gone before January ends, anyway. “You know, you could probably save an entire paycheque every year if you just made this thing BYOB.”
Baekhyun shrugs. “If I’m gonna shell out for one thing every year, I figure it should be booze for friends on New Year’s Eve.”
At the table, Kyungsoo sighs, massaging his temples. Jongdae knows it’s more of a preventive measure than anything; the music filtering in from the living room is only turned up to four, as opposed to the solid eleven it’s bound to be cranked to later on. “Tell me again why we do this every year.”
“Because we do it every year,” Baekhyun says. “People depend on us for this.”
“Right,” Kyungsoo says dryly, giving the bottles a vaguely annoyed glance. “Because there’s nowhere else they could go to get smashed on New Year’s Eve.”
Jongdae snorts. “Of course there is. The point is that they come here instead.”
“Your friends are weird,” Kyungsoo sighs, rubbing his temples again.
“They’re your friends too,” Baekhyun says, kicking the back of his chair. “Stop acting like you have a headache, we all know you’re gonna get just as drunk as the rest of us.”
Kyungsoo whips around, looking ready to take Baekhyun’s foot off, but Chanyeol chooses that moment to crash his way through the door. He has a thick scarf around his neck, a pair of sparkly plastic 2015 glasses pushed up on his forehead, and a huge grin on his face as he practically bounces into the kitchen.
“Six and a half hours left in 2014,” he announces, punching the air.
“Thanks for the update,” Baekhyun says, rolling his eyes. “I haven’t needed to look at the clock all day.”
Chanyeol is unfazed though, and keeps grinning even as he unwinds his scarf and shrugs off his coat. “I would’ve been back sooner, but I’ve been trying to do things really slowly all day. It makes time go by faster.”
Jongdae laughs. “You’re that stoked for the year to end?”
“No, I’m stoked for the new year to start,” Chanyeol corrects him, flopping into the chair beside Kyungsoo’s. His long legs intrude into Kyungsoo’s foot space, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Baekhyun makes a face. “2014 wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Depends who you ask, I guess,” Kyungsoo hums, but Chanyeol shakes his head.
“It’s not about it being good or bad, I just… I’m excited for midnight.” He grins again, like he’s thrilled even just talking about it. “I want to skip to the countdown right now.”
“Why, though?” Jongdae asks, leaning back against the counter. “That’s like, ten seconds out of the whole night.”
Chanyeol looks around at the three of them confusedly. “Because we’re gonna be together,” he says, a little slowly, like he wants to make sure they understand. “You know. Whoever you’re with at midnight on New Year’s Eve is who you’ll be with for the whole new year.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “You say that every year.”
“Yeah, and it’s true every year,” Chanyeol insists. “The four of us have been together for every New Year’s Eve since ninth grade. Even that time Kyungsoo had the flu.”
Kyungsoo frowns. “You three banged pots and pans together on my lawn while I was trying to sleep, I don’t think that counts.”
“It totally counts,” Chanyeol says with a pout.
Jongdae tunes them out when the bickering starts, glancing at the clock on the wall. Like Chanyeol, he’s been keeping track of the time all day, but not quite for the same reason. While Chanyeol seems determined to not let this year be the combo-breaker, Jongdae is determined to change just one thing. This year will be different, he insists to himself, because this year, he’s going to kiss Junmyeon at midnight.
He’s had the idea for a while, but only decided to go through with it the week before, when, at Yixing’s Christmas party, he and Junmyeon had accidentally ended up under the mistletoe together. Nothing happened, because Chanyeol and Baekhyun had nearly knocked over the Christmas tree a second later, but Jongdae had had a blissful, slow-motion moment of staring into Junmyeon’s eyes. He’s pretty sure the pretty pink tint to Junmyeon’s cheeks in his memory isn’t something he made up, even if the image is remarkably close to some of the things he’s daydreamed about before.
It feels like he’s been crushing on Junmyeon forever - but he remembers very clearly the moment, half-asleep in Junmyeon’s car after the terrible (“You mean legendary--”) karaoke night that was Baekhyun’s twenty-second birthday, when Junmyeon had looked at him and smiled, and Jongdae had started to wonder if maybe, possibly, Junmyeon felt the same way. Since then, every moment with Junmyeon had felt more important, every brush of his fingers against Jongdae’s skin more electric, every curve of his lips in Jongdae’s direction more meaningful - and the tiny push of hope from under the mistletoe is all he needed to convince himself he could actually be right.
At least, Jongdae hopes he’s right. He hopes he can stay close enough to Junmyeon that leaning in will seem natural. He hopes the courage he’s been trying to gather will keep him from shying away.
And if Jongdae is wrong, then... well, then it’s New Year’s Eve, and everyone wants someone to kiss at midnight. It doesn’t have to mean anything. He just hopes Junmyeon will be willing to laugh it off and let things go back to normal - or, as normal as things can be when Jongdae can’t keep Junmyeon off his mind.
--
Once the party starts, it doesn’t take long for the apartment to fill up. Baekhyun swears he doesn’t remember inviting so many people, but still greets everyone that walks in and can put a name to every face. Chanyeol can’t keep the grin off his face, practically skipping in and out of the kitchen to give out drinks, and even Kyungsoo loosens up enough to join one of the loud discussions happening in the living room.
Jongdae sticks with Baekhyun for the most part, but filters out the majority of conversation to look around the room instead, keeping track of familiar faces. Jongin and Yixing are by the stereo, flipping through Chanyeol’s CDs; Sehun and Zitao are flopped together on the couch next to them, both tipsy and giggling; Luhan seems to be trying very hard to pay attention to whoever is speaking to him, but keeps staring across the room at Minseok; and Minseok, deep in conversation with Junmyeon, hasn’t noticed. Junmyeon chooses that moment to glance up, and Jongdae looks away before their gazes can connect.
The paths his eyes take from person to person always seem to end up at Junmyeon. While he can’t put his plan into action until the countdown starts, it would probably make things easier if he stayed close to Junmyeon until then - he just needs an excuse to cross the room and sit with him.
“Where you going?” Baekhyun asks, as soon as Jongdae stands up.
“There’s... some empty bottles and stuff around,” he says quickly, shuffling away. “I’m gonna pick them up before they get knocked over.”
Baekhyun shakes his head, beckoning him to sit back down. “Don’t worry about those, Chanyeol said he’d do it.” He peers over the back of the couch towards the kitchen. “Chanyeol! Recycling!”
Chanyeol bounds out of the kitchen looking determined, and makes a beeline for the empty bottles across the room. Jongdae scrambles back to the couch to get out of his way before he’s bowled over. He realizes a second too late that he could’ve run the other way and ended up beside Junmyeon instead, and considers making a break for it despite how awkward it would look-- but then Baekhyun slings an arm around his shoulders, and he’s pulled back into his seat.
The next time he glances up, Junmyeon is looking over at him. He smiles when their eyes lock, and Jongdae smiles back as brightly as he can. For a moment he thinks Junmyeon is going to beckon him over, and readies himself to throw Baekhyun’s arm off and jump up from the couch, but Junmyeon’s gaze lingers just a little longer before he looks away. Jongdae tries not to feel too disappointed.
--
It takes a while, but eventually Baekhyun pats his shoulder and stands up from the couch. Jongdae waits until he’s disappeared into the kitchen before standing up himself, but only makes it half a step before Chanyeol pulls him back down, taking the seat Baekhyun just vacated.
“Hey,” he starts, clearly trying for nonchalant, but the excited grin on his face gives him away, “can you play wingman for two seconds?”
Even as impatient as he is, Jongdae can’t help raising his eyebrows. “Your wingman?”
“Luhan’s wingman,” Chanyeol says, getting up and letting Luhan sit down in his place. He looks more than a little tipsy. “We just need you to help test something.”
“Fine,” Jongdae sighs, and then startles a little when Luhan immediately leans closer to him. “What-- wait, what are you doing?”
“Making someone jealous,” Chanyeol stage-whispers, pointing over his shoulder at Minseok, who is facing almost the complete opposite direction and heading to the kitchen. “Foolproof plan.”
“I don’t think this will work,” Jongdae says flatly, squinting when Luhan cups his cheek somewhat awkwardly. “Stop touching my face.”
Luhan ignores him. “Is he looking?” he whispers to Chanyeol.
“Uh, hold on,” Chanyeol says, peering around the room, “I don’t know where he--”
“Hey, Luhan,” Minseok greets, appearing next to the couch and making all three of them freeze in place. “Baek is wondering if you...” He trails off, looking back and forth between Jongdae and Luhan.
Baekhyun pops up behind him with a vaguely scandalized expression. “Oh. Have we killed the mood?”
“Nope,” Luhan says quickly, and shoves Jongdae away so abruptly that he topples off the couch.
Chanyeol, to his credit, helps Jongdae up before laughing himself to the point of tears. Baekhyun has no such tact, however, and has to leave the room to get his breath back. Rubbing his head where it hit the floor, Jongdae watches Luhan scurry away after Minseok and feels only a little bit annoyed.
Kyungsoo pokes his head out of the kitchen to check on the commotion and sighs at the sight of Chanyeol kicking his feet as he guffaws. “You’re going to hurt someone,” he tells him, and takes his arm to tug him away. “Let’s go, leave Jongdae alone.”
Chanyeol manages to taper off into giggles as Kyungsoo leads him out of the room. “Where are we going?”
“Out. We’re running low on jell-o.” He pushes Chanyeol through the doorway and turns back to Jongdae. “It’s a lot quieter on the balcony.”
Jongdae gives him a confused look. “Okay.”
Kyungsoo stares at him for a moment before sighing. “Sorry, I forgot how easily things go right over your head.”
“Are you trying to say something about my height, because you--”
“What I’m trying to say,” Kyungsoo cuts him off, “is that if you take Junmyeon onto the balcony, you’ll actually be able to hear each other talk.”
“Oh.” Jongdae says, then blushes. “How did you know--?”
“You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo says with a smile, and disappears through the door just as someone taps Jongdae’s shoulder.
He whirls around and comes face to face with Junmyeon, looking a little worried. “You alright?” Junmyeon asks, giving him a quick once-over that makes Jongdae’s skin tingle. “I saw you fall…”
“I’m fine,” Jongdae says, giving him a sunny smile to prove it.
Junmyeon smiles back at him. “I feel like I haven’t seen much of you tonight.”
“Ah, well,” Jongdae laughs weakly. “I’ve been… busy. Party host stuff.”
“Oh! Sorry, if you have things to do, I can wait,” Junmyeon says, stepping back, but Jongdae grabs his hand.
“Do you want to come outside with me?” he asks, blurting the words out before he can stop himself. “I mean, to the balcony. It’s… quieter.”
Junmyeon blinks in surprise, but his expression melts into another kind smile. “Sure,” he says, and lets Jongdae lead the way.
There’s not a lot of space on the balcony, but it’s more than enough for two people. It is a lot quieter outside, the noise of the party reduced to a low thrum through the glass sliding door, and Jongdae hopes his heartbeat isn’t as loud as it seems to be.
He leans on the railing, looking out at the city lights, and tries not to tense up when Junmyeon comes to stand next to him - much closer than he needs to, considering the length of the balcony, but Jongdae can’t complain.
“Did you need something?” Junmyeon asks, looking perfect and wistful and handsome with the gentle wind in his hair and the soft light from inside illuminating his features. Jongdae swallows hard.
“N-no,” he answers, just a little too loud, “I just… wanted to talk?”
“Okay.” Junmyeon smiles and leans on the railing as well, mirroring him. “What about?”
Jongdae tries his best to smile back, hoping his nerves don’t turn it into a grimace. “The party, I guess. Are you having a good time?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Junmyeon says with a nod. “It’s nice to see everyone all together.”
“You say that like it’s been years,” Jongdae laughs. “We were all together at Yixing’s house just last week.”
He flushes as soon as he says it, images from the Christmas party returning to him - the mistletoe, Junmyeon’s eyes, the colour in his cheeks - but he makes himself hold Junmyeon’s gaze instead of ducking his head like he wants to.
“I’m still happy to be here,” Junmyeon says softly, and smiles at him again.
He shifts a little and their shoulders brush. In the back of his mind, Jongdae wonders when he moved in closer. If he were to lean in just a bit, Junmyeon would barely have to move to be able to kiss him.
The thought sends a thrill down Jongdae’s spine. He’s been gearing up for the countdown, but the supposes right now would work just fine, and this could really be it--
-- and his phone goes off, because of course it does. Jongdae resists the urge to groan out loud as Junmyeon leans back a little. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and stares down at it somewhat mournfully.
“Are you going to answer that?” Junmyeon asks, after a beat. Jongdae wants to say no, wants to fling his phone off the balcony and pull Junmyeon in by his shirt collar instead, but he knows the muffled Prince of Tennis theme song chiming out of the device means it’s a call he can’t ignore.
“I have to, it’s Kyungsoo,” he sighs, and as much as it pains him to pull away, he steps back to hold the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
“Chanyeol got a concussion,” Kyungsoo says, in lieu of greeting. “We’re on the way to the hospital now, so if you and Baekhyun could meet us there, that’d be great.”
“Hospital,” Jongdae repeats, trying to process Kyungsoo’s words through his shock, and Junmyeon perks up with a concerned expression. “Uh-- yeah, I’ll go get him. We’ll be there soon-- he’s okay, right? Chanyeol?”
“He’s fine, just get Baekhyun and leave. I’ll--” he cuts off for a moment, and Jongdae can faintly hear several car horns honking. “I have to go, I can’t merge and talk at the same time. See you soon.”
“See you soon,” Jongdae echoes, hoping his voice doesn’t sound as shaky as his hands feel.
Junmyeon is there as soon as he hangs up, stepping in close and wrapping his fingers around Jongdae’s to bring the phone away from his ear. “Chanyeol is hurt?” he asks softly, using his free hand to cup the side of Jongdae’s neck.
“Concussion,” Jongdae says quietly, trying not to shiver from the gentle touch. It would probably be romantic if he could will the paleness out of his face, or if his best friend wasn’t on his way to the hospital. “I have to-- me and Baek, we have to go.”
“Okay,” Junmyeon says, and takes both his hands back. “Is there anything I can do?”
Jongdae turns and heads for the sliding door with Junmyeon following at his heels. He’s not really sure what can be done, there’s still so many people in the apartment - and christ, what if he had stayed inside, what if he hadn’t heard his phone ring and missed Kyungsoo’s call, what if--
“Jongdae.” Junmyeon catches his hand before he can open the door, pulling him back so they’re face to face again. His eyes search Jongdae’s expression for a moment, and he waits until Jongdae meets his eyes before he speaks up again, quieter. “Just tell me what I can do to help.”
Jongdae takes a deep, steady breath and manages to sigh out most of his panic. He squeezes Junmyeon’s fingers, gently, and Junmyeon’s grip tightens in return. “If you could… just keep an eye on everyone while we’re gone. Please.”
“Of course,” Junmyeon says with a nod. “Anything.”
Junmyeon lets go of his hand, and Jongdae feels a wave of frustration above the numbing worry. He’s going to grab Baekhyun and go to the hospital, no question, because Chanyeol is his best friend and he’s not going to let him be alone on New Year’s Eve, he would never-- but god dammit, he thinks as Junmyeon steps out of his space again. He was so close.
He gives himself a shake and takes another deep breath before turning to slide open the door. The noise of the party washes back over him and he lets it, for a moment, then steps inside, away from Junmyeon, and sets off to find Baekhyun and his car keys.
--
“What do you mean it’s not a concussion?” Baekhyun screeches, ignoring the glares he gets from passing hospital staff.
“The nurse lady checked,” Chanyeol says sheepishly, peeking at him from under the icepack he’s holding to his forehead. “She said it wasn’t that bad, I just hit my head really hard.”
Baekhyun turns to Jongdae with a scowl. “You said he had a concussion.”
Jongdae splutters. “Kyungsoo said he did!”
“He walked face-first into a sign and nearly blacked out,” Kyungsoo hisses. “What was I supposed to think?”
“I can’t believe I left our party for this,” Baekhyun groans, glaring up at the ceiling tiles.
Chanyeol looks down, and the icepack slides off his head and lands in his lap. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin it.”
“You didn’t,” Jongdae says, and the other three turn to look at him, surprised. “I mean, yeah, it sucks that we’re here instead of at home, but… at least we’re together?”
There’s a pause, and then Chanyeol suddenly looks close to tears - whether from happiness or his painfully wide grin, Jongdae isn’t sure. Even Kyungsoo cracks a tiny smile, rolling his eyes in a fond sort of way. Baekhyun tries his hardest to keep the scowl on his face, but one look around at all of them has him sighing and reaching out for the icepack so he can hold it against Chanyeol’s head himself.
--
Jongdae leaves their room a little later, hoping to find the hospital cafeteria and buy something caffeinated to keep himself awake until Chanyeol is allowed to leave. The maps on the walls make no sense and he ends up walking in circles more than anything, until he finally makes it back to the lobby, which is better than being lost in the hallways, at least. He’s debating swallowing his pride and asking the help desk for directions when the front doors slide open and Junmyeon walks in.
“Hi,” Jongdae says uncertainly as he approaches. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching my apartment?”
“Yixing offered to take over,” Junmyeon explains. He seems relieved, probably because Jongdae looks significantly less stressed than he had earlier. “Walk with me?”
They don’t actually do much walking, just back through the lobby and out to the parking lot. It’s colder than it was earlier, even snowing a little, but Jongdae refuses to waste energy shivering when he’s with Junmyeon.
“How’s Chanyeol?” Junmyeon asks, once they’re stopped near his car.
It’s sweet, how concerned he is. Jongdae smiles to himself. “He’s fine, no concussion. The nurse did some tests just in case, so we’re waiting for those.”
“Baekhyun and Kyungsoo?”
“Also fine. Everyone’s okay.”
Junmyeon nods, then gives him a careful look. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Jongdae sighs, after a moment. “Just. Tired, you know? And maybe a little annoyed that we had to ditch our own party. It’s always cool to do the countdown with that many people.”
“Definitely,” Junmyeon agrees, softly like he’s not really thinking about it.
Jongdae looks up at the cloudy night sky. “It must be getting pretty close to midnight. We’ve been here for a while, but I don’t know what time it was when we left…”
“There’s a thing I heard,” Junmyeon says suddenly, “that the person you’re with when the countdown ends is the person you’ll spend the new year with.”
He steps closer when Jongdae turns to look at him, close enough to reach out for. “I’ve heard something similar,” Jongdae manages.
Junmyeon opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by an excited yell in the distance. The houses across the street from the parking lot are suddenly bright and clamouring as partygoers inside start to cheer, and then every voice comes together in a chant.
Ten… nine… eight… seven…
Jongdae laughs in excitement, looking over at Junmyeon again and finding him a step closer than he used to be. There’s snowflakes in his hair and sticking to his scarf, and his gaze is almost shy when their eyes lock.
six… five… four…
Junmyeon glances down at his mouth, and the dots finally connect in Jongdae’s brain. All of a sudden he can’t quite remember his plan, or if he had one at all - and when Junmyeon takes his hand, he stumbles forward at the slightest tug.
three… two...
With his free hand, Junmyeon cups the side of Jongdae’s neck, like he had on the balcony. Jongdae has a single, tiny moment of looking into his eyes before he closes them, leans just a little closer and presses his lips against Jongdae’s.
--One!
Jongdae can’t even hear all the cheers and shouts over the roaring in his ears. Junmyeon’s mouth is soft and warm and gentle over his own, and even in the snowy hospital parking lot, he can’t think of any way he’d rather spend the first few seconds of 2015.
Junmyeon pulls away first, smiling shyly, but he doesn’t step back. “Happy new year,” he says softly.
“Happy new year,” Jongdae repeats, twining their fingers together, and when he leans back in, Junmyeon meets him halfway.
> startin the year right with maximum suchen bc i havent written that in 10 yrs
> dont worry abt jongdae not being with the other 3 at the end, chanyeol insists that it counted towards their record because jongdae was still within the hospital grounds ok