Chapter Text
Mark woke up in the middle of the night and, again, he met his brother at his desk. Taeyong had his computer on and his books and notebooks spread on the desk. Mark thought about saying something, but he quickly remembered test week was about to start, so he didn’t even bother. The next morning, his older brother was sleeping on top of his books one more time. Like usual, it was just another morning. Well, almost afternoon this time.
He thought about getting the car, but he saw his bike parked next to it and decided it was a good morning to ride it. It’s been a very long time after all, and exercising wouldn’t be that bad. It was the perfect Saturday afternoon, it was sunny and warm. A lot of people made the same decision as Mark and went to the park, there were kids running and couples holding hands.
Wait, couple holding hands?
Couple holding hands.
COUPLES.
His brother and Ten.
It was Saturday and today was their date. He gave up on his solo tour at the park and came back to their house quickly, afraid that Taeyong would have forgotten about it or maybe even given up on that. Once he opened the door, his brother was already having breakfast on the couch while he watched a random video on youtube on their TV.
“You’re not studying?” he asked in disbelief.
“No?” he answered as if it was obvious “I’m on my schedule, test week will be easy” he said nonchalantly.
“So you’re really going out with Ten today. Right?” he double checked.
“Yeah, why?” he asked “You thought I would back down?”
“Definitely” Mark said faster than he wanted to, leaving Taeyong with his mouth and eyes wide open “Not to be an asshole, but I really thought you would” Taeyong kept pretending he was offended.
“What? Why?” Taeyong asked, almost screaming.
“You’re too… I don’t know. You’re too you, but I think that’s what Ten is interested in soooooo” he left the sentence unfinished. Taeyong was already blushing.
Meanwhile, Ten was having a mental breakdown.
He’d committed the worst sin of all, he had fallen asleep. Not only for some minutes or a couple of hours, but Ten had slept for twelve straight hours. Now that he was awake, he thought he’d die out of frustration.
As everybody knew, test week was about to start and Ten had planned everything he'd do in order to prepare himself for it. Turns out, he'd made one single mistake, the biggest of all: he'd left one of his subjects out of his planning. How could he have done it? Everything was messed up. That's why he was planning on catching up with this forgotten subject the night before, so he wouldn't mess up his calendar. But everything went wrong and he ended up falling asleep, damn it, he should have made some coffee. Now, he was fucked.
It was already three in the afternoon and Taeyong was supposed to pick him up at five. He was fucked, but he still had two hours. Well, considering that he still needed to get ready and organize his room, probably only one hour. He just needed to think of what would be better for him to do. Try catching up with that subject or reorganize his planner and deal with it later?
He got up from his bed and ran to his desk, studying it is. He began reading the chapters way too fast for his brain, but he couldn’t do it any slower. He was desperate.
Yangyang saw everything in silence. He listened to Ten’s screams, cursings and venting from his bedroom. He didn’t dare say a single word, he knew he'd get punched if he did. Ten just needed his space and he understood it, but that didn't keep him from worrying about his brother’s state. Would he cancel on Taeyong? Would he end up going? Would Taeyong be upset? Would they have another chance?
Jesus, so many questions… He decided he'd go for some ice cream. Nothing was better than ice cream during stressful days.
Yangyang was sitting with Mark, both with their popsicles on their hands.
"Taeyong is really excited" Mark said suddenly "How's Ten?"
"Freaking out" he said and Mark immediately showed a worried expression "Not because of Taeyong, but he is having some issues with his calendar and stuff. I think he made a mistake and now he won't have enough time to study for something, I don't know."
"Really?" the younger Lee asked in surprise "Taeyong would die if it happened to him, for real" and Yangyang nodded.
"Yeah, so you can already imagine how he is" he sighed "I left the house and I don’t know, I think I heard him crying?"
They both sighed this time and then, silence. Mark sighed one more time and looked at his watch before saying anything else.
"Well, I hope he's feeling better now, 'cause check this out" he said and placed his wrist that carried his watch in front of Yangyang’s face "It's already five. Taeyong is probably there"
"Oh lord"
There was someone on the door. Ten could hear the knocks. Please, no. It couldn't be Taeyong.
Ten walked towards the door and took several deep breaths before finally opening it.
The moment he saw Taeyong smiling in front of him, tears started falling on his cheeks. Taeyong looked gorgeous as always, he was wearing jeans and a black shirt that suited him more than well, the undone buttons allowed Ten to see the cutest necklace he’d ever seen. Taeyong was the most beautiful thing someone could ever see. While he still wore his pajamas.
“Hey, what happened?” Taeyong asked cautiously.
“I’m not ready, Tae” Ten almost whispered. He looked exhausted, but Taeyong wouldn't say that out loud.
“Ten, you’re… crying. What happened?” his voice was so sweet and the way he talked to Ten just made him feel more and more vulnerable.
“I-” he started sobbing uncontrollably “I got lost in my schedule and I won’t have enough time to study for one of my tests. I know it sounds stupid but-” he got interrupted by one of Taeyong's hands on his shoulder.
“It doesn’t sound stupid, I get it” he said with care.
“You do?” he sniffed but finally looked at Taeyong, who was standing by the door, still staring at him and patting his shoulder.
“Yeah, I do. I would be in the same state, trust me” they shared a quick giggle and Taeyong stared at him again “How can I help?”
“No, it’s okay.” he answered while pulled the other into the house, closed the door and dried his wet eyes with his sleeves “I’ll just take a quick shower, I’m so sorry for being this late, and then-”
“You don't need to apologize, for real” he said "I mean, we all have our bad days, it's okay if you're not in the mood"
"But I was really looking forward to today, I didn't want to ruin it" he said in such a delicate voice that Taeyong thought he wasn't even supposed to have heard, but he had.
"You didn’t ruin anything, Tennie" the nickname made the Thai blush more than usual "I think I know what could be a good idea for us" he said cheerfully after spending some time thinking. “We just need to get dinner first, you need to eat something. Then, I promise you we’ll have the best date ever” he couldn’t believe these words were leaving his mouth, but it was too late. Ten was looking at him with such affection that he didn’t even regret it.
“Okay, okay. So, shower, dinner and the best date ever” he repeated Taeyong’s words with a smile on his face.
Ten took a shower as fast as he could while Taeyong waited for him in the living room. Once he stepped out of his room, he noticed Taeyong’s look on him from head to toe, he wasn’t complaining, of course.
They were in the older’s car and Taeyong kept humming the song that played on the radio.
"So, what's the big plan?" Ten asked.
"Eating dinner!" Taeyong said as if it was a surprise, making Ten giggle.
"Nooo, I know about it already" said Ten between his giggles "After it, for the best date ever" he continued.
"Well… it's a secret" the other said, eyes still fixed on the road "But I do think you'll like it. I mean, I hope"
Ten smiled again, accepting that he wouldn't know what they were going to do for now. He decided he liked surprises if they were from Taeyong.
"Italian food?" Ten asked once he parked in front of the restaurant.
"What? Why? Don't you like it?" Taeyong started mumbling.
"I love it" he quickly said, looking straight into Taeyong’s eyes.
Dinner was quite amazing in Taeyong’s opinion and it was just the beginning. He's never felt so comfortable around someone like he does with Ten, who's the brightest and warmest person he's ever known. He decided he'd be more than okay with having meals with Ten in front of him and smiling during it. Maybe it was more than a crush. No, no maybes this time. It was more than a crush, he was sure of it.
Taeyong was getting his wallet after insisting that dinner was on him when Ten saw something falling from it. He crouched to get the pieces of paper and that was when he noticed what they actually were.
“Tae?” said Ten.
“Hey?” he said while putting his card back in his wallet.
“Is this for real?” he asked, tickets for the presentation in hands, he looked surprised in a very good way and Taeyong finally felt his chest lighter, he smiled.
“Yeah, it’s for real” he answered, not sure if he was talking about the tickets or what was going on between him and the man in front of him “I mean, that was plan A, but I thought about postponing it for next time”
“Next time?” the Thai asked and suddenly, Taeyong was embarrassed.
“Y-yeah, like - hm, I mean only if you want it. I don’t… Like, well, I don’t want to impose” he was trying his best to say something without sounding like a desperate man, but he was one indeed.
“Another date? Of course I want it” he was never this straight-forward before, but he was glad he could say it for once. Taeyong never felt so relieved. “The question was why next time and not today anymore?” he continued.
“Ahhh, right” the older one seemed a bit unsure now “I thought that maybe you needed something else, so why not try? Right?” he giggled, making Ten smile even more brightly.
“Right” he said with the biggest grin on his face “So, what’s the next stop, Lee Taeyong?” he said formally, making Taeyong laugh.
“We need to stop by a bakery and then-” he paused and looked at Ten, caution stamped on his face “Then we go back to your place”
“My place?” he almost screamed. Both of them were blushing and Ten was feeling way hotter than before. Taeyong nodded shyly, but didn’t say anything.
When Yangyang came back home, he encountered a scene that wasn’t the one he was really expecting. Both Ten and Taeyong had their heads resting on the table, on top of multiple books and notebooks. Their computers' screens were already off, which meant they were like this for quite a while. The youngest walked closer and could see a package of Ten's favorite chocolate cake from the bakery downtown resting between their heads and empty cups around them. If he had to guess, he'd say the cups once held Ten's favorite type of tea too, he could tell it was something planned carefully by Taeyong. How did he get to know Ten this well? But what made him smile the most was when he walked even closer and noticed that even during their sleep, they had their fingers intertwined. He was about to shout out of happiness when his phone started ringing.
“Jesus, Mark” he whispered “you scared me”
“The fuck you’re up to then?” he started “I literally just called you”
“Whatever, just say it” he kept on whispering.
“Yangyang, just speak like a normal pers- You know what? Nevermind. Taeyong’s not home, I wanted to know if Ten is back already. Please tell me he isn’t” hoped the younger Lee.
“He actually is-” he said while staring at the couple’s hands.
“Fuck” Mark said “Maybe things didn’t work out then. Ugh, fuck it, we’re terrible cupids”
“Taeyong is here, Mark” he said between giggles.
“Uhm WHAT? Taeyong, Lee Taeyong, my Taeyong is there?” he screamed “Yangyang it’s three in the morning. JESUS CHRIST YANGYANG DON’T TELL ME THA-”
“They were studying, Mark” he sighed “Maybe we didn’t think this through. What could happen after setting up two geeks together?”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no” he kept repeating it “Yangyang, we’ve created monsters”
“Maybe we did” but he was smiling.
At the end of it, Ten and Taeyong did watch that presentation on another weekend. Taeyong did help Ten organize his calendar. They studied for their tests together, one asking questions to quiz the other. They did get good grades and celebrated together.
At the end of everything, they did fall in love with each other and stayed like this for as far as one could remember.