Work Text:
Doyoung had to make this Christmas a special one. It was the last Christmas before enlistments started and everything would change. What Doyoung didn’t know, is that Taeyong felt the exact same way. As did the rest of the group.
The other members had a longstanding group chat that didn’t include Doyoung or Taeyong. Its existence didn’t serve a nefarious purpose; on the contrary, sometimes they wanted to discuss work related hypotheticals without worrying the two most worry-prone members of the group. And sometimes (more often than not), they wanted to talk about how blatantly, hilariously, painfully obvious it was that Doyoung and Taeyong were head-over-heels in love with each other. And this Christmas, after years of watching their friends flirt and blush, yearn and pine, they finally decided to do something about it.
One of the many ways it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Doyoung and Taeyong had feelings for each other was how much less willing they were to engage in skinship with each other compared to the rest of members and yet, when they did touch, it was always… odd. If they were play fighting, their fingers would end up tangled or Doyoung would grip Taeyong’s wrist or arm. There was also the way they were reluctant to hug one another—strange, for two people who were so intimately close in every other way—except for when they needed a safe haven to completely fall apart. Two years in a row either Doyoung or Taeyong had broken down on stage during the last of their run of Seoul shows, and two years in a row they wept openly in the other’s arms.
Taeyong was struggling with what to get Doyoung for Christmas. He generally thought of himself as an above average gift-giver, he loved purchasing things for his loved ones while traveling whenever he saw something that reminded him of them, but when it came to Doyoung, he felt like a complete novice. He kept the two most precious things Doyoung had ever given him, the Cartier friendship ring and custom-made Ruby necklace, in their boxes on a shelf in his bedroom. He was too concerned with the possibility of losing them to wear them outside. Although, now that he lived alone, away from the prying eyes of the other members, Taeyong liked to slip on the ring and necklace whenever he felt especially lonely. Whenever he needed reminding that Doyoung loved him too, even if he was reticent about saying it out loud.
Something about the entire year felt different when it came to Doyoung and Taeyong. There was less pretense and fewer excuses, more instances of true sincerity. The members often liked to tease them (especially Doyoung) about their closeness but this year, on more than one occasion, they couldn’t help but wonder if something actually had transpired between them. More than ever before, they were acting like a real couple.
Johnny and Haechan were especially sensitive to any developments between their leader and unofficial second-in-command, having lived with them for several years in the dorms, bearing witness to scenes that ran the gamut from extreme domesticity to bickering so deeply laced with sexual tension that it was uncomfortable to be around. Though neither one of them expressed this thought openly, they were both fully open to the possibility of catching Doyoung and Taeyong in a compromising position.
They decided that Haechan would be the one to confront Doyoung about a potential development in their relationship. This was a conversation to be handled with the utmost care. The topic of real feelings for Taeyong had never been broached before and the last thing they wanted was for Doyoung to get defensive. Talking to Taeyong was out of the question. With the way he wore his heart so openly on his sleeve, it almost seemed cruel, somehow, to discuss something so delicate with him. And while Haechan loved to poke fun at Doyoung, when it really mattered, their bond was airtight. Besides, the fact that he was younger than Doyoung might help to put him more at ease, to make the conversation feel less fraught.
One day after rehearsals, Haechan asked Doyoung to accompany him on a coffee run. This is when he’d make his move.
“Hyung, can I ask you something? Promise me you won’t freak out and you’ll take it seriously.”
Doyoung scrunched up his face. “This feels like a trap.”
Haechan placed a hand over his heart. “I’m being serious. I swear. Really.”
“Alright, Haechan-ah, what do you want to ask me?”
“Well…” Doyoung put his hands on his hips as he wanted for Haechan to find the words. Haechan took a breath, best not to think about this too hard. “DidsomethinghappenbetweenyouandTaeyongiehyung?” he managed to spit out in one, long word.
Doyoung was quiet. A good sign, or possibly a devastating one. If he thought Haechan was merely teasing him, he would’ve answered instantly, sparing no time to deliver an exasperated retort. Instead, he stayed silent, shoving his hands into his coat pockets and burying his face in his scarf.
“Hyung, did something happen?”
“No.”
Haechan sat with Doyoung in the silence, letting the implications of their words hang heavy in the air. He took another deep breath. “Do you want something to happen?”
“It can’t.”
“That’s not what I asked you.”
“Donghyuck-ah, I…” Doyoung swallowed hard. “Can’t you just leave it? Please?”
“We’ve spent enough time doing that.”
“We’ve?”
Haechan laughed. “You can’t really be surprised.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You have to, hyung. Don’t you want to do something before Taeyongie-hyung has to enli—”
“Drop it,” said Doyoung, more aggressively than he intended. He sighed, grimacing at his own tone when he sees the shock on Haechan’s face. His voice softened. “There’s no point in talking about it. Nothing can happen.”
🎄
The former 10th floor inhabitants were taking a decidedly more… creative approach to solving the problem at hand. It was Jaehyun who first came up with the idea, to hang mistletoe wherever they were as a group throughout the month of December, to try and force Doyoung and Taeyong to kiss under it. The other members were skeptical, to say the least.
“What if they just go for a peck on the cheek?” asked Jungwoo.
“I’ve already thought that through,” Jaehyun said smugly. “We’ll have to insist that it’s real kisses only.”
“How are you planning on enforcing that though?” Mark scratched his head.
Jaehyun clasped his hands together. “We have to do the same if any of us end up under the mistletoe.”
"What?” Jungwoo laughed.
“Fine by me,” said Yuta with a wink in Mark’s direction, causing him to blush.
Jungwoo cleared his throat. “Even if we do manage to get them to actually kiss, how do you know that it’ll be enough to change things between them? They’re already so…”
“In love? Trust me, if we get Taeyongie-hyung and Doyoungie-hyung to actually kiss,” said Jaehyun as he mimed pushing two dolls’ faces together. “That’ll be it. Forever,” he added dreamily.
Jaehyun knew that Johnny and Haechan were likely to question his plans, so he revived the former 10th floor group chat, renaming it to “Operation Dotae.” He ordered a giant bundle of mistletoe online, choosing a variety that came with its own self adhesive, to make it easier to stick to wherever they so chose. He divvied it up amongst himself, Yuta, Jungwoo, and Mark so that whenever any of them saw an opportunity, they could easily take it.
After some more convincing from Jaehyun and more time to think about it himself, Mark had to admit that it did seem like a solid plan after all. As embarrassing or awkward as it might be for any of the other members to kiss under the mistletoe, Mark really couldn’t imagine Doyoung and Taeyong doing it, which had to mean something. If he tried to envision it, to really picture it, it made him feel… warm. Like it’s how everything was supposed to be.
Yuta thought it was more of a fun practical joke than anything but also, if he was really being honest with himself, he was curious to see what would happen. There was something to be said about the way his friends protested a little too much whenever they were forced together, the way they reacted so intensely whenever the others referenced their closeness. A part of him wanted to poke the bear, to see if it really had teeth, the way he had years ago when he put Doyoung and Taeyong in the ferris wheel together.
And then there was Jungwoo, who, was arguably just as excited about the entire thing as Jaehyun. During DJJ promotions, he and Jaehyun had made knowing eye contact on numerous occasions as Doyoung proved to be incapable of going more than an hour without mentioning Taeyong’s name. Their chemistry was one thing, that wasn’t always an indicator of something more, but the way Doyoung and Taeyong constantly spoke about each other in the other’s absence meant that there was no denying that they were always on each other’s minds.
They were waiting in a greenroom for one of the end of year song festivals, everyone slouching on couches and scrolling on their phones, as the members of “Operation Dotae” caught each other’s gazes, nodding or winking subtly so as not to alert the others to the fact that something was going on. They were not successful, Haechan immediately put down his phone and watched with a curious expression as Jaehyun got up and fished through his bag, pulling out a piece of mistletoe and affixing it to the top of the large mirror in front of the hair and makeup station.
Taeyong was laying down with his eyes closed and headphones on while across the room Doyoung was swiping up furiously on his phone, his brow furrowed. There was no risk of either of them catching wind of what was going on.
Choosing to ignore Jaehyun as he pulled their social media manager into conversation, Haechan poked Doyoung with his foot. “Are you mad at your phone?”
“It’s nothing,” grumbled Doyoung. “I’m trying to use Tiktok more, so the algorithm gets to know me better, but no matter how much time I spend on it, it just shows me garbage.”
This was interesting. Haechan sat up straight and put his own phone away. “What is it showing you?”
“Nothing interesting, just—”
Before Doyoung could finish, Haechan snatched his phone and ran out of the greenroom, continuing down the hall towards the first men’s room he could find, locking himself in the first available stall. The first video when he opened the app was about “how to know if someone likes you back.” He scrolled. The next video was of someone doing a tarot reading about “love in the new year.” He scrolled again. There was an edit some fan had done of Taeyong set to a trending song, obviously meant to highlight his attractiveness. He kept scrolling and a pattern emerged. Haechan grinned to himself.
The door burst open. “Yah, Lee Donghyuck!” Doyoung started pounding on the stall. “Give me my phone back!”
Haechan opened the door, cooly smoothing down his hair and handing the phone back to Doyoung, who immediately snatched it away. “I think your algorithm’s get you pegged, hyung.”
“Shut up,” muttered Doyoung. He shoved his phone in his pocket and walked out of the bathroom with a huff.
When he returned to the greenroom, their social media manager was in the middle of explaining some content she wanted them to capture. “Ah, Doyoung-ssi, I was just telling the other members that I want you all to take some mirror selfies here in pairs since the backdrop is so festive.” The TV station had gone all out for the holidays, the walls covered in garland and lights. He nodded. “Of course, noona. Just let me know what to do.”
She directed the members in various pairs, giving suggestions about how exactly to pose or how to hold the phone. “Okay, Taeyong-ssi, Doyoung-ssi, if you two could go next?”
Without much thought, Taeyong grabbed her phone and stood next to Doyoung in the mirror, each of them wearing a cute smile and occasionally switching up their poses as Taeyong snapped a number of photos.
“Look!” Jungwoo shouted. “Hyungs, you’re under the mistletoe!”
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” the others started to chant.
Doyoung tried to push Taeyong away, but he was already holding him by the waist, using his strength to keep him there. He struggled to pull his head away, but Taeyong managed to plant a kiss on his cheek anyway, with Doyoung making a grand show of groaning and wiping his cheek off.
“Doesn’t count. You have to kiss for real,” said Yuta.
The social media manager and any other staff in the room were busy pretending to look busy. They were all well accustomed to ignoring the various shenanigans of the group, but even they couldn’t help but be intrigued by this development. Everyone knew how Doyoung and Taeyong felt about each other.
As Doyoung finally managed to pull away, almost teleporting to the far corner of the room, Taeyong stood rubbing his ear, which was rapidly turning red. “What are you talking about?” He laughed nervously. “I’ve never heard that before.”
“It’s true. Watch!” Jungwoo pulled Jaehyun to his feet and over to the mistletoe, kissing him on the lips the way one might kiss the head of a beloved pet. Jaehyun smiled, his dimples on full display, when they pulled apart.
“See? It’s not weird,” said Jaehyun, resolute.
Johnny raised an eyebrow and tried to catch Haechan’s eye. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” He mouthed. Haechan shrugged and shook his head.
“You should get back over there, hyung. It’s bad luck if you don’t!” Jungwoo said.
Taeyong smiled a little to himself, though Doyoung never did return to his side in front of the mirror. Over the next week, Taeyong noticed a recurring theme of mistletoe “magically” appearing whenever the group had a schedule all together, though Doyoung never relented to letting himself be kissed. He became paranoid, constantly looking up and around to make sure he wasn’t standing under the plant in question. It wasn’t hard to figure out what the other members were up to. He wasn’t upset or even embarrassed, he was touched. It warmed his heart to know that even though he’d never explicitly discussed his feelings about Doyoung with his friends, they knew him well enough to know the truth, which was not only that he was in love with Doyoung, but was tired of not doing anything about it. Tired of flirting and hinting and effectively confessing in public. Taeyong had to make this Christmas a special one.
🎄
Taeyong set his bag of supplies on the kitchen and got to work. Between the winter album and normal end-of-year schedules the time had gotten away from him and Doyoung would be arriving soon. He took out the spools of wide, metallic ribbon, the blank gift tag, and the bow the size of his head. He scribbled a pen on his receipt to make sure it was working, then wrote as neatly as he could on the gift tag, “To: Doyoung, From: Taeyong.” Without thinking about it too much, Taeyong began to wrap himself in the ribbon, using spool after spool of gold and silver, wrapping himself from shoulders to toes so tightly he could hardly walk, just shuffling forward with tiny, considered steps. He peeled off the backing of the bow and stuck it right on top of his head, praying the adhesive would stick to his hair, even if would be unpleasant to remove later. Taeyong wobbled his head a little from side to side, testing the bow. It stayed. Fantastic. Finally, he tied the gift tag to a piece of ribbon that was pulled tight across his chest, just above his heart.
Meanwhile, Doyoung was pacing outside the entrance of Taeyong’s building. He’d managed to summon up the courage to get this far but now that he was here, really about to do this, he was having second doubts. What if everything was in his head? What if Taeyong really did just love him as a dear friend and that was all? What if everything, all of it, over the past eleven years had been nothing more than two people who were meant to be partners in all ways except romantic? His stomach churned. What if he did this and he ruined everything? Just as Doyoung debated turning around and heading back home, he heard footsteps approaching.
“Yah, hyung! You aren’t thinking about chickening out, are you?” asked Haechan.
Johnny crossed his arms and stood with his feet planted firmly. “We’re not going anywhere until you go in there.”
“What are you guys doing here? How did you know that I’d be here?”
Yuta grinned. One day when Doyoung was busy talking to one of their managers, he’d left his phone unlocked in the practice room. Yuta was able to enable the other members access to his location on ‘Find My Friends.’ Well, all the members aside from Taeyong. They had a feeling that Doyoung would finally make a move and they wanted to make sure he’d actually go through with it.
“Don’t worry about that, hyung,” Jungwoo said, draping an arm around Doyoung’s shoulders. “What matters is that you’re here.”
Doyoung was suddenly aware of the bow pinned to his lapel, the way it looked almost like a boutonniere. He held his arms awkwardly to cover it, along with the gift tag that read, “To: Taeyong, From: Doyoung” stuck next to it. “You should all go back home, it’s Christmas. Go be with your family.”
Mark stood on the other side of Doyoung, also slinging an arm around him. “We already are.” He gave Doyoung a squeeze.
“Guys, I’m…” It was rare for Doyoung to be rendered speechless, even rarer for him to truly be left searching for words, rather than merely afraid of speaking his mind. Tears welled in his eyes. He was so lucky to have so much love in his life.
“We all want what’s best for you. For both of you,” said Johnny.
Doyoung shook his head. He sniffled, trying to compose himself. “And you’re sure this is it?” His voice was small.
“Of course it is, hyung. It always has been,” added Jaehyun confidently.
Without another word, everyone surrounded Doyoung in a group hug, rubbing his back as Doyoung held back tears. He couldn’t cry. Not now. Not yet. He took a centering breath as everyone pulled apart, laughing a little due to his nerves.
Johnny slapped Doyoung on the back. “Go get him, tiger!”
Doyoung crinkled up his face, confused, and laughed. “You guys should go, really. I promise, I’ve got this.”
“We won’t make any promises we can’t keep!” yelled Jungwoo as Doyoung headed into the building.
Doyoung forced himself to take steady breaths as he stepped into the elevator and headed up to Taeyong’s floor. He really wished he’d had at least one drink before this, but knew it was for the best to be completely sober. He didn’t want to risk Taeyong thinking his actions were solely to to any sense of inebriation.
He was shaking by the time he reached Taeyong’s door, his thoughts and his heart in a race to see which could go faster, which could threaten to knock him off his feet. Doyoung rang the doorbell. There was no chance of breathing now, his breath was held firmly in limbo.
The seconds ticked by with no signs of life and he started to panic. What if Taeyong wasn’t even home? Oh god, he really should’ve checked first. He should’ve sent an innocuous text just to make sure, he really should’ve—
The door opened. He burst out laughing at the sight.
“Hyung? What are you—”
That’s when Doyoung saw it.
That’s when Taeyong saw it.
“You—”
“You—”
Taeyong wiggled a little. “I can’t move very well like this, it took me a while to answer the door.”
“Do you want some help with that?” Doyoung bit his lip.
“Could you?”
Still only breathing when absolutely necessary, Doyoung reached out to slide the ribbon down Taeyong’s shoulders, feeling the weight of his gaze as he did. As his arms were freed, Taeyong didn’t stop looking at Doyoung’s face, not even for a moment. Doyoung knelt down and continued pulling the ribbon down to a pool at Taeyong’s feet and Taeyong held onto his shoulder as he stepped out of it. Shaking his legs off to discard any remaining bits. When Doyoung stood back up, he almost fell over. Taeyong was looking at him in a way he’d never seen before, in a way he could’ve never predicted.
“Hyung, I—”
Taeyong swallowed him in a hug, pulling their bodies so close that Doyoung wondered if somehow, they’d pass through each other. Into each other. There was no resistance, Doyoung instantly reciprocated, embracing Taeyong with all the might he’d held back over the years.
When they finally pulled away, they were both smiling. In all the dozens of scenarios they ran through trying to predict this moment, neither one of them could’ve imagined this, the way everything just felt warm and joyous and right. There was no hesitation, no awkwardness or fear.
Only love.
“This is it for me, hyung. You’re it for me.”
“I know. There’s no turning back from here.”
“I love you, Yong-ah. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Young-ah. I love you too.”
And with that, Doyoung and Taeyong kissed for the first time.
For real.
🎄