Archive of Our Own ^beta

Yunho thinks he's been doing a fine job being Strictland's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Life as a 'superhero,' as the people have dubbed him, has been great. He'd had his fair share of bad moments, but Yunho could confidently say that he thrived in what he did.

Genuinely, he loves being Spider-Man. He gets to save a bunch of people from all sorts of bad guys, gets to fool around with the police and get away with it, and has cool arachnoid superpowers—he's living every little boy's childhood dream.

(Except the so-called 'bad guys' aren't just your normal petty criminals. Yunho had already lost track of the different types of 'bad guys' he had put behind bars. He isn't sure if those guys were mutants or just crazed humans—probably both—but he doesn't want to find out. He's only doing his job as the city's protector; he isn't there to ask questions.)

He only has one problem. A problem that neither relates to his secret identity nor his role as the city's savior. It takes the form of a boy his age, slightly but noticeably a little shorter than him, with big black eyes that hold not a single thought behind them and an adorable smile that melts the carefully constructed steel walls built around his heart.

Song Mingi, his best friend and the very boy he has been in love with since the ninth grade.

They're seniors now, yet Yunho still holds the same fiery desire for his best friend since the day he met him—a desire in more ways than one. Through the years they'd known each other, Yunho had never entertained the thought of dating anyone other than Mingi. It's stupid because Yunho absolutely refuses to make a move, deathly afraid of the consequences, but he can't find the strength to do anything about it. If Yunho wants to endlessly suffer in the friend zone, then he has all the freedom in the world to do so.

Yunho is a teenager struggling to balance his double life. Between juggling his normal Yunho self and his alter-ego Yunho self, he really can't have something like a relationship get in his way. If he decides to pursue a relationship with Mingi, it would only serve to harm them both. Yunho was afraid of potentially endangering Mingi with his identity as Spider-Man. He also fears that he won't have enough time for Mingi to be a loving and attentive boyfriend to him because of the sheer weight of his responsibilities.

At the same time, however...

"Yunho! You know that Valentine's Day is coming up, right?"

Yunho blinked as San suddenly appeared before him. He was stopped in the middle of the hallway, bag lazily slung over his shoulder and head hanging low. He snapped his head up at the sound of San's voice.

"Huh?" Yunho said dumbly. "Oh! Yeah, what about it?"

San begins to walk alongside Yunho, following him to the cafeteria. "I'm thinking about asking someone to be my date."

"Oh, yeah?" Yunho said, distracted, as he searched the cafeteria for the familiar heads of their other friends. He finally spotted their table and made his way over, San trailing behind him like an overtly excited kitten, bumping into Yunho's back a few times in his excitement. "And who might that be?"

Just as Yunho sits down, San slams his hands on the table, leaning towards Yunho with a wide, dimpled smile. "Mingi!"

Yunho froze.

Somewhere from the table, someone snorts, probably Seonghwa. "Are you sure you're out of options? There's plenty of other people celebrating Valentine's, you know."

"Well, yeah, but I want to spend it with a friend," San crosses his arms and huffs. "I don't want to go with a stranger."

And this is another one of Yunho's major problems. Not only will he not bring himself to come clean with his best friend about his feelings, but he also won't admit that he's completely obsessed and in love with Mingi.

'If you would just admit your undying love for him, he won't have to choose someone else,' Yunho's pesky inner voice hissed.

"Oh," Yunho said, recovering from his shock. "What brought this on?" He hopes he comes off as nonchalant. Unbothered. He doesn't want to make it known to his friend that he's jealous. He's Spider-Man; of course, he doesn't get jealous! Not towards San, anyway.

"Well, Wooyoung said no because Jongho already asked him out, and Yeosang doesn't even care. I can't ask Hwa and Hongjoong because they're already together, so I have no one else to ask!" San plopped down on the seat across from Yunho, his eyes wide and desperate. "I don't want to be alone for another year! I'll even treat him extra nicely! This will be just bros going out with bros, totally."

Seonghwa leans over to the duo, head tilting with a cheeky smile, subtly eyeing Yunho's hand gripping his bag a little rougher than usual. "Why don't you just come hang out with me and Joong?"

San shakes his head with a frown. "No offense, but I really don't want to third-wheel the whole time. I might as well just stay home."

Yunho wasn't fond of the thought of Mingi being with someone else. He knows he shouldn't—he isn't Mingi's boyfriend, after all. He's merely a best friend; he doesn't have the right to be jealous of who he goes out with on Valentine's. Mingi can be with anyone he wants to, San or not.

He listens to San rave on about Valentine's Day, willing his head to stay clear. The poor boy whines about his severe case of loneliness and desperate need to have a touch of romance in his boring life. Normally, Yunho would have entertained him and made snarky side comments, egging his friend on and teasing him to no end. This time, though, he can't seem to find humor in the situation. He just can't sit back and watch, knowing Mingi will fall into another guy's arms, even if it's someone as innocent and clueless as San.

It's just bros going out with bros, totally.

Yunho's eyes flickered over San's shoulder to find their topic of conversation jogging up to their table. Speak of the devil, and he shall come.

"Hey, guys!" Mingi exclaims, startling San out of his passionate rant about his lack of romantic action. "What are you up to?"

To Yunho's delight, Mingi picks the only chair next to him despite all the empty seats. Yunho marks an imaginary tally board in his mind. Yunho: One. San: Zero.

"Hey, Mingi, would you like to be my Valentine?" San grins at the aforementioned boy, dimples showing and eyes crinkling into moons.

Mingi blinks a few times, stunned. "Huh? Are you... for real?"

"Yeah, man, for sure!" San nods enthusiastically. "I'm still pretty bitter that Woo doesn't want to go out with me, to be honest," he continues with a pout.

Mingi looks flushed and flustered. His mouth opens and closes, not finding the right words to say. His eyes flicker between San and Yunho a few times, seemingly deep in thought and hesitating. From the corner of Yunho's eye, he sees Seonghwa shoot them a knowing smirk before looking away, faux disinterest coloring his face. Yunho knew him well enough; he was trying not to seem like he was listening. The gossip.

"How about you don't pressure him?" A new voice—Hongjoong' s—cuts in. A tray of food is slammed on the table, and a boy with split-dyed hair follows.

"I'm not pressuring him!" San's voice pitches higher in defense. "I hope." He glances at Mingi sheepishly. "You can say no, of course."

Mingi chuckles, a smile that Yunho loves oh so much, splitting his gorgeous face. "Let me think about it first. You might find someone better, you know?"

"Maybe, but I won't miss out on a lot if I spend the fourteenth with a good friend instead of a date."

For how much San complained about not having an active love life, he doesn't seem too sad about missing out on a romantic getaway for Valentine's. Yunho could respect it; neither did he care much about the dating scene. He didn't even plan anything for February fourteen. All his plans consisted of eating frozen pizza and lazing away on his couch, maybe out in the city fighting crime.

He's reconsidering his plans now. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe this will be his perfect chance to finally make a move. An innocent, worldwide, yearly event should be something Yunho can definitely handle; he's done so since the day he was born. He's dealt with things way worse than asking someone to be his Valentine, like hitting a second puberty.

"We'll go out as friends, Sannie," Mingi finally says, nodding. "It'll be fun!"

"Right!" San nods back, grin widening even more. "At least neither of us will be lonely!"

So, Yunho still has a chance, after all. That is if he decides to make plans at all. If Mingi is that excited about Valentine's, then Yunho will have to do some rethinking. He can't miss out on something like this. He doesn't particularly care about the event itself; he just wants to ask Mingi out, even if it's under the guise of going as friends, like San is proposing. With a third party accompanying them, Yunho can easily hide his true intentions. All he truly wants is to spend a special day with his best friend, who just so happens to be the love of his life. Oh—and San will be there too, he supposes.

"Right, well, have fun, you two," Hongjoong says, shoving his food in his mouth and almost making a mess of himself. Seonghwa frowns at the action and scrambles to clean up what little had spilled on the table, ever the clean freak.

The conversation ends there. They moved on from topic to topic, talking of Valentine's lost and forgotten as the group got lost in conversation. Yunho promptly forgot all about the upcoming event. He can worry about it later, surely...

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Yunho could not, in fact, worry about it later.

A few days after that day in the cafeteria, he had to watch multiple boys and girls come up to him and Mingi to rudely interrupt their mandatory best friend time to ask Mingi for a date. Yunho had to watch as they handed his best friend flowers in all the different shades of pink and red, love letters with hearts drawn all over them and around Mingi's name, and chocolates that Yunho knew Mingi didn't even like.

He's mad that his Mingi time is being cut short by a bunch of random people at random times, but he's even more mad at the fact that Mingi is being asked out. By people who aren't Yunho, specifically. As if San wasn't enough.

It's like that day in the cafeteria triggered a series of events made to taunt Yunho specifically. He's blaming San for his deep misfortune—it's definitely his fault that Yunho is practically getting cockblocked from spending time with his best friend.

Right now, they're outside the library. Yunho had stepped back and watched bitterly as another one of Mingi's classmates boldly announced to the world that they wanted Mingi as their date. Yunho recognised the person as someone who Mingi had mentioned in passing, a partner for a project all those months ago. This time, the person handed Mingi a bouquet, a common item he'd seen given to his best friend.

Before Yunho could sulk further, Mingi returned to him, face flushed with embarrassment. The person he was talking with briskly walked away, suddenly looking busy.

"I'm so sorry, Yunho. I didn't know people liked me this much," said Mingi as soon as he was within earshot, a hand coming up to scratch at his nape while averting his eyes.

Incapable of staying mad in the presence of his best friend, Yunho merely sighs. The tension in his body lifts, and his dampened mood lightens as soon as Mingi steps into his personal space. They began to walk back to their planned hangout place before they were stopped: the coffee shop down the street, a few minutes away from school.

"You'd be surprised," Yunho said, eyes flicking to his friend briefly.

"I don't remember knowing this many people," Mingi mutters. "Are there really so many people who are interested in me?"

Yunho remembered the number of guys and girls who had asked Mingi out in the past few days. He can't even count them on ten fingers—even if he excludes himself.

"You'd be surprised."

Mingi only sighs at that. Yunho resisted reaching out to ruffle his friend's hair affectionately and instead opted to hum thoughtfully, his hand twitching at his side.

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

Yunho hums again. "Don't you want a proper date for Valentine's?"

"Well, maybe... I haven't really thought about it," Mingi shrugs dismissively. "I'm already happy going out with you and the guys."

"With San as your last remedy?" Yunho snorts.

"He's my last choice, for sure," Mingi chuckles.

Mingi swings his arms back and forth, the bouquet still held in his hand. Yunho eyes the thing as if it were the source of all of his problems, jealousy bubbling in his chest at the thought of someone—other than Yunho—giving Mingi flowers.

"I don't know. I think I'd much rather go with you than anyone else," Mingi continues. "Having fun with the guys is enough for me."

Yunho got stuck on the words 'with you,' and suddenly, the air started to feel a little warmer. He ignores the part where Mingi says 'with the guys' right after.

"You'd really want to go with little old me instead?" Yunho asked, tone lifting at the end with mild teasing.

"Of course I do."

Yunho did his best to ignore the way his heart started beating faster at the simple words. He could feel warmth start to bloom high on his cheeks, and he turned his head away in hopes of not letting his best friend see the effect he had on poor Yunho's heart.

When it comes to Mingi, it doesn't take much for Yunho's heart to start doing somersaults in his chest. It's not unlike the feeling of adrenaline he gets when he dons his mask, only that his heart is leaping out of joy rather than the danger he typically associates with the feeling.

Hearing it come from Mingi himself that he wants to be with Yunho only fuels his desire to finally confess after three years of silencing his feelings. The recent events only serve to drive Yunho to finally utter those three magic words he'd been dying to say since the ninth grade: I like you.

Only that... Yunho is a coward.

His eyes catch sight once more of the flowers in Mingi's hand. Yunho is an utter coward.

Once they arrived at the coffee shop, Yunho made Mingi choose a table, ushering his best friend to go sit down and save him a seat before getting in line. He already knows Mingi's order by heart, anyway.

He looks behind him to search for the table Mingi had picked. He spots Mingi sitting by the window, phone in hand and scrolling away, giggling at whatever post he's reading on his screen. Yunho admired the way his eyes light up whenever he's happy, the softness of his lips when they turn upward in a sweet smile, and the pink blush warming up his cheeks. Yunho admired the way the black strands of his hair fell graciously over his eyes, his matching beauty marks, and the thin, frameless glasses perched on his nose that slid down ever so slightly when he tilted his head just right.

Mingi is gorgeous—and Yunho is an utter fool.

If he doesn't make a move soon, he will spend the entirety of Valentine's Day sad, lonely, and miserable. He can't let himself watch from afar as Mingi gets swept up off his feet by someone else that's not him. Yunho knew he could give him so much more; he just needed to grow a pair and finally ask him out.

When he returns to Mingi at their table, their drinks in hand, he catches sight of the flowers once more. He thinks bitterly to himself, 'No one else will do it for him. He's going to ask Mingi out if it's the last thing he'll ever do.'

As soon as he meets Mingi's eyes, he instantly gets weak in the knees, his heart accelerating and threatening to beat out of his chest.

He'll ask Mingi for a date.

... sometime soon.

"Yunho," Mingi starts, looking up at him sheepishly, turning his phone around to show Yunho his most recent message. "Someone... someone asked me out again."

Yunho blinks.

He'll ask Mingi for a date.

Maybe way sooner than he initially planned. He's got serious competition, after all.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

The first time Yunho thought about asking Mingi, he hesitated.

He doesn't know what stopped him—he just didn't feel that it was the right time.

It was their weekly movie night, and this time, it was hosted at Mingi's place. Yunho let his best friend choose the movie while he went and prepared their snacks.

The atmosphere was light; the mood was joyful. They hadn't been paying attention to whatever movie Mingi had put on; they were too busy laughing to focus on anything else.

Yunho didn't even know what they were talking about at that point. The movie was nearing its end, and the entire time, they'd been talking nonstop. They had drifted closer since they'd sat down, shifting into a mere centimeter in distance as opposed to the five feet they started with.

He was so close to finally blurting out what he'd been wanting to say, but something made him halt.

'It isn't the right time.'

Yunho watched as Mingi talked animatedly about whatever topic he delved into, eyes lit up with the spark of passion that Yunho had come to adore.

'It isn't the right time.'

Yunho reached up to brush against a strand of hair that had fallen over Mingi's face and tucked it behind his ear, his touch lingering a tad longer than would be of two strictly platonic best friends.

'It isn't the right time.'

Yunho swiped away stray crumbs of food from Mingi's bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, his palm cupping Mingi's cheek and holding him as if he were a delicate piece of porcelain that Yunho was afraid of breaking.

'It isn't the right time.'

Yunho felt Mingi's hand come up to hold his own, pressing his cheek further into Yunho's palm and nuzzling his nose into his fingers, his grin softening into a soft smile. He must have seen something in Yunho's expression for him to change his demeanor, his excitement dying down into calm contentment.

'It isn't the right time.'

Mingi whispered something akin to, 'Do you want to go to bed? ' and Yunho, the absolute fool, nodded immediately. They scrambled to turn off the TV and cleaned up before falling into bed together in a tangled mess of limbs and soft laughter. They had fallen asleep facing each other, just shy of skin touching skin. Yunho watched Mingi sleep for a moment, admiring his serene face being lit up by the glow of the full moon beaming down from between the curtains. Before he succumbed to sleep, Yunho had one thought lingering in his mind.

'When will be the right time?'

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Just as Yunho was preparing his second attempt at asking Mingi, he couldn't even send his best friend a text before he had to flee.

Thwip, swing, pull, release.

Thwip, swing, pull, release.

Thwip. Swing. Pull and release.

The rhythmic routine almost makes Yunho forget about his predicament. Almost.

He lands on top of a building, running along the edge to jump off at the end to swing onto the next one.

Thwip, swing, pull, release.

He hops between streetlights, kicking off the roofs of vehicles and narrowly avoiding the civilians under his feet. Then, he leaps up once more to swing through the air, the wind rushing past his ears.

Thwip, swing, pull, release.

He sees a billboard advertising stuffed animals. He briefly reads the letters written in bright red font; the plushies are being advertised as gifts for special people for Valentine's Day. Namely, for loved ones, the romantic kind. The red hearts littering the billboard taunted Yunho as if mocking him for his cowardice towards his feelings for his best friend.

Yunho pressed down on his web-shooters a little more roughly. Thwip, swing, pull, release.

He finally spots the villain of the week, wreaking havoc in the middle of an intersection and causing a huge traffic jam. Yunho had to do this quickly to not inconvenience the poor people of Strictland—and also for his sanity, as selfish as it sounds. All he wants to do is to spend time with Mingi and maybe, here, just maybe, ask him if he wants to go with Yunho instead of San as his date.

True to his word, Yunho got the job done fast. He beats the villain-of-the-week up, webs them into a traffic post, leaves them hanging in the air for the police to find, and dusts his hands off once he's done. He propped his hands on his hips and stared at his work, somewhat proud of the intricate craftsmanship of his webs.

"I won't have this much patience for you next time," Yunho warns, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. The villain-of-the-week sputters angrily, wriggling around the cocoon of webs Yunho had built around them and glaring daggers at the hero. If looks could kill, Yunho would be dead by now.

Yunho leaves after that. He rushes back home, stopping a few times to save a lady from getting her purse stolen and helping a kid get her cat back from a tree. After patrolling the city one last time, he finally makes it back to his apartment, thanking all the beings above that he lives alone. Accepting the apartment his aunt and uncle had given him was the best decision he ever made; he didn't have to deal with concealing his identity whenever he came back home from his Spider-Man duties. All he will ever worry about is his neighbors potentially spotting him.

With one final flick of his wrist, Yunho lands on his open windowsill, swiftly crawling his way through and shutting it closed along with his blinds. He sighs, stripping from his costume as swiftly as he can and changing into comfortable clothes. He leaves his suit in its designated hamper to be cleaned later.

Yunho scrambled for his phone to finally text Mingi. He was supposed to invite Mingi to hang out, looking to finally pop the magical question. Instead, he got caught up in his hero work, having to sneak away undetected from school to change into his suit and tend to the next villain seeking to ruin the peaceful streak Stictland has been keeping up for the last few weeks.

He finds that Mingi has messaged him. Yunho's heart leapt to his throat, and he immediately opened the chat, but what he found made him sag his shoulders defeatedly and a ball drop onto the pit of his stomach.

'Hey, Yunho, you disappeared so suddenly! I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out a little after school, but I couldn't find you at all. Yeosang found me, so I went with him instead. Text me back when you can, please!'

The message was followed by a string of emojis in typical Mingi fashion. Yunho groaned, running his hands over his face and ruffling his hair in frustration. He dropped his phone on his bed with a sigh, plopping down next to it flat on his back.

Not only did he blow his chance to spend time with Mingi, but he also blew his chance to ask him on a date!

"Stupid villain of the week," Yunho mutters angrily, digging the heels of his palms into his forehead. "Stupid hero work. This is all so stupid!"

He throws his arms towards the ceiling. He accidentally triggers his web shooters, causing loose strings of web fluid to shoot out of his wrist and stick to his ceiling. He watches the soft, gooey material drip down slowly, unflinching as it hits his cheek and drips down the side of his face. He presses on the triggers of his web shooters again, only to find them empty. Another groan leaves his throat.

Yunho stood up, wiped the web fluid off his face, and stomped over to his work desk. Vials of unfinished web fluid sit on the corner, Yunho staring at them in disdain. Now he will have to make a new web fluid. Now, he will have to make new plans to ask Mingi out. Now that he thinks about Mingi again, he remembers that his best friend is with Yeosang and is having fun without Yunho. He also remembers that he hasn't texted Mingi back and goes to pick up his phone again.

Mingi sent him a new message. It was a selfie of him and Yeosang in what looked to be the arcade. Yeosang had an arm around Mingi's shoulders, the latter throwing a cute peace sign. They smiled brightly at the camera, and Yunho could feel the anger in his chest start to dissipate until it was replaced with the feeling of butterflies fluttering their wings in his chest.

Okay, new plan: stare at the picture for the entirety of the day, not make himself new web fluid, and not think about anything else.

Yunho pouted at his screen. At least Yeosang gets to enjoy Mingi's company for the both of them...

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

With each day that passes by, the date of Valentine’s Day gets closer and closer. And unlike the fourteenth, Yunho isn't getting any closer to asking Mingi out.

Until today. Hopefully.

Yunho stands in the chocolate aisle, fingers curling over his lips and frowning at the shelves of different brands of chocolate. He feels conflicted—and, quite frankly, a little angry at himself. Yunho is standing in the middle of the chocolate aisle of his local supermarket, looking like an idiot, glaring at the offending candy because he can't seem to make up his mind. Mingi is his best friend; why doesn't he know what Mingi's favorite chocolate is?!

Yunho holds a Toblerone bar and a pack of Twix in two hands, head alternating between the two candies. Mingi loves Toblerone on its own, but he also likes sharing Twix between him and Yunho. There's also a chance that Mingi might not want chocolate at all; maybe he should get him something else instead...

Placing back the chocolates where he found them, Yunho sighs and walks out of the aisle. He begins the walk of shame out of the supermarket, head hanging low and his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats.

Yunho decided to stop by a convenience store for a quick snack, hoping to find something that he could give to Mingi along the way.

He was eyeing the Pepero on the shelf when he felt a cold chill run down his spine. The hair on his body stood up, his back straightened, his ears sharpened in attention, adrenaline coursed through his veins, and electricity shot through his temple. Yunho has become familiar with this feeling ever since he got bit by that radioactive spider.

Swiftly, he whirled his body around and hid his six-foot-something self behind a shelf. He peered over the edge to find the cashier of the tiny store holding her hands above her head, frightened and trembling. A man is standing in front of her in an all-black get-up, a gun in hand and pointing right at the woman's forehead. The man yelled something inaudible that had the cashier whimpering in fear, scrambling to do whatever the man ordered her to. She ducked under the counter, and Yunho recognized the noises that came after her frantically digging into the register for money.

Yunho slipped out of the candy aisle to look for the door that said 'Employees Only,' making sure neither party noticed his escape. He snuck into the staff room and exited through a different door that led to a back alley. There, Yunho shrugged off the backpack he had hanging off his shoulder and stripped out of his clothing. It's a good thing Yunho had been smart enough to wear very loose sweatpants and an oversized hoodie; it made switching personas quick and easy.

He grabbed his gloves and mask from his backpack and slid them on, shoving his clothes into the bag along with his valuables. Yunho shot two webs on opposite walls of the alley and flung himself out, praying to anyone above that no one would find his backpack and steal his stuff.

Now sporting the Spider-Man identity, Yunho swung the door to the convenience store open, startling the robber and the cashier. He calmly entered the store, crossing his arms over his chest, and tilted his head at the robber. The man took a step back, the gun that was pointed at the cashier now aimed at Yunho's head.

"You—you!" The man sputters, both hands gripping his gun like a lifeline.

"Seriously, man? Robbing a convenience store?" Yunho taunted, looking around the store in judgment just to mess with the man a little. "Criminals really have settled for the least these days, huh?"

"S—Spider-Man! How... how did you know?" The cashier says, awed. She was holding a sum of money in her fists that she held to her chest, blinking up at Yunho with wide eyes.

Yunho shrugs. He steps further into the store and raises his wrist, smiling at the cashier through his mask. "I just happened to stop by."

With a flick of his wrist, the robber's gun is webbed into the wall. The man wearily backed away from Yunho, patting his pockets to search for a weapon. Yunho didn't let the man get far—he shot a line of webbing at the man and tugged harshly. The man spun around, wrapping himself up in Yunho's web with the momentum. It wasn't long until the man was covered in artificial webbing, hopping around on his toes uselessly as all of his limbs were constricted tight against his body.

"I'm—I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I'll...I'll return the money, just please don't hurt me!"

Yunho was already giving the money that was stolen back to the cashier when the man spoke. He threw the man a look over his shoulder and clicked his tongue. "Don't be dramatic. I can't even hurt a fly!"

Yunho was grinning, though he knew only he knew that fact. "Unless you're, like, one of the mutated villains, I guess. Stealing from a cashier is kind of a little stupid, don't you think? You never know when I'm just around the corner, you know."

He even helps the cashier put the money back in the register. It's the least he can do for all the trouble the robber caused. The man is still hopping around aimlessly, almost clumsily tipping over a few times.

"Be a little more considerate, will you? You're seriously inconveniencing this poor lady here," Yunho said as if he were scolding a child, gesturing to the cashier who was watching the encounter silently.

There was a brief pause before the man clad in black spoke. "Dude, that was, like, so bad."

Yunho frowns. "Hey, no, it wasn't!"

The robber stared at Yunho in a deadpan.

"Okay, so what if it wasn't my best pun?" Yunho throws his arms outward in a 'so what?' gesture. "I swear I'm funnier on a good day!"

"Uh-huh," the man nods, unconvinced. "Sure you are."

"You were the one who decided to rob a convenience store, anyway..." Yunho mutters angrily, turning away from the scene and heaving a sigh. He lets the cashier call the police, sticking around to make sure the robber doesn't do anything stupid that makes Yunho's job harder.

Yunho spotted a slice of cake sitting in one of the store's refrigerators. Just then, an idea pops into his head—like a lightbulb turning on. He turns around suddenly, startling the cashier, the man clad in black and the cashier. Yunho practically sprints to the door in excitement, managing not to trip and fall on his face on his way out. He didn't know what he said to the two people he left in the store, but all he knew was that he went home that day feeling like a kid seeing presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

"Okay, speak."

A bag is dropped loudly on the table. A chair is pulled out, screeching out a vile sound as it grinds against the tiled floor.

Yunho looks up from his phone to find that Seonghwa has joined him. The other had an odd look on his face that made Yunho nervous. He'd been loitering in a closed-off room in the library when his classes ended, as he hadn't wanted to go home yet; he didn't expect anyone to find him.

"Speak on... what?"

Seonghwa huffs, rolling his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me. I know you know what I'm talking about."

"Um... I really don't."

Seonghwa sighs this time. "You've been acting weird ever since that day in the cafeteria. Joongie and I noticed. What's going on, Yunho?"

The cat is being pried out of the bag.

"Have I? I didn't know," Yunho says, like an idiot.

"Does it have anything to do with Mingi?" Seonghwa narrowed his eyes, propping himself on his elbows to lean closer to Yunho, who started to lean back. "It's about Valentine's Day, isn't it?"

Yunho's eyes started to dart around the room, looking anywhere but Seonghwa's all-too-knowing gaze. He brings up a hand to scratch his nape, his leg starting to bounce slightly under the table.

"Uh, no! Why—why would it be about that?" He says, chuckling nervously.

"Yunho, you're doing that thing when you're nervous. You look away, scratch your neck, then bounce your leg. You're not fooling me."

Dang. Seen right through him.

Seonghwa's eyes softened, a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips. "You want to ask Mingi out, don't you?"

The cat has been lifted out of the bag and is now being held up in the air, dangling in front of Yunho's face.

Busted.

Yunho slumped back into his seat, phone set on the table face-down and locked. He takes his face in his hands and presses his fingers against his temples, groaning softly. "How did you know?”

"Subtlety has never been your strong suit, especially when it comes to Mingi."

In his defense, this is the first—and maybe only—time he liked someone this much, so sue him if he acts a little stupidly.

Yunho was perfectly capable of being subtle; he'd managed to conceal his alter ego for how many years, after all. If it wasn't for his skills at subtlety, his face would be blasted all over the city as the man behind the mask of the infamous Spider-Man. Though he supposes Seonghwa has a point—all of it is thrown out the window every time Mingi is involved.

"So? Spill. Tell me everything."

Yunho peeks through the gaps of his fingers to peer at Seonghwa. He whines and says, "Do I have to?"

Seonghwa scoffs, brow rising. "Of course you do! I'm concerned about you, Yunho. I can help you, you know?"

Maybe asking Seonghwa for help isn't so bad.

And so, Yunho gives Seonghwa a retelling of the last few days. By the time he finished, he was holding his chin up with his palm, his free hand gripping a pen and fiddling with it absentmindedly. Seonghwa had listened intently, letting him finish before he made little remarks.

"That's tough," Seonghwa says, somewhat sympathetically. "So, I was right, then."

"Right about what?" No, Yunho is not pouting.

Seonghwa leans over the table toward him. "You're jealous. Of San. Because he asked Mingi out before you could."

"Well, he didn't ask Mingi out. They're going as friends. You were there!"

"Yeah, and I'm here to tell you that you're being dumb."

Yunho looked away and grumbled under his breath. "I'm always being dumb if you ask me."

Either Seonghwa didn't hear, or he just didn't care about the side comment. "I mean, I could help you. With confessing, I mean."

"Right, and how will I go about that?" Yunho looked back at Seonghwa. He's definitely pouting now. "I can't exactly just ask you to do the confessing for me."

"Well, duh. I'm not the one hopelessly in love with his best friend."

"You're not exactly helping me this way, Hwa."

"Okay, I'll tell you this instead," Seonghwa leans back on his chair, finger tapping on his cheek. "If you don't pull yourself together and man up, Mingi will be spending the fourteenth with someone else, and you'll be sad and miserable."

"That's not any better!"

"Shush, let me finish!" Seonghwa glares at Yunho into silence. "Without a little encouragement, I know you wouldn't have done anything about it. This all started because you wanted to one-up San, didn't it?"

Yunho jerked from his position in panic. "No! Definitely not!"

Now that Seonghwa has brought it to light, Yunho supposes that he was right. Had San not asked Mingi out, even if it was just bros going out with bros, Yunho wouldn't have done anything about his crush. Had all these people not come up to Mingi to take him out on a date, Yunho wouldn't have thought of ever trying to take their friendship one step further. He supposes he owes all those people—he wouldn't have been brave enough to pursue his interest in his best friend had it not been for them.

"Well, okay. Yeah, you're right," Yunho says defeatedly. Screw him and his absolute need to prove himself better than everyone else. He's just a guy!

"Of course I'm right. Anyway, I know Mingi is free after school tomorrow. And I heard from a little birdie that he's waiting for a certain someone's confession."

Yunho perked up at the words. The grip on his pen tightens. "He likes someone? Who?"

"Take a wild guess," Seonghwa grins, eyes shining in mirth.

They fall silent. Yunho's mind is racing with thoughts he can't keep up with, while Seonghwa just sits back and watches, amused.

"If you don't make a move now, San will take Mingi to the riverside on a little friendly date on the fourteenth." Seonghwa twirls a strand of hair around his finger, tone high and mocking. "I heard that place is famous for being a romantic spot. How cute would that be, huh? Maybe I'll take Joongie there sometime."

"San already made plans?" Yunho's grip on the pen turns deadly.

"Yeah! He and Mingi are pretty excited about it." Seonghwa's grin turns wider, almost cheshire-like. "You could ask to go with them, you know? I bet they'd love to spend Valentine's with you."

Fat chance.

Yunho didn't say anything. He merely rushed out of the library, clumsily carrying his things as he sprinted his way out of the school. He ignored the feeling of cold, black ink running down his hand from when he gripped his pen so hard it exploded. Seonghwa had laughed at him when he left, cackling loudly and proudly.

He really owes Seonghwa for what he's about to do. He'll have to thank him once Yunho finally secures himself a boyfriend.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Okay, he can do this. It's just Mingi; he can totally text him and invite him to eat and confess to him and take him out on a date. Totally. That's, like, a totally normal thing to ask of a good friend; there's no way Mingi will think it's strange.

Yunho glances at the calendar hung up on his bedroom wall. The date of Friday is circled with a heart written in red ink. Today is Thursday.

Any second now, and Yunho might throw up his breakfast. He glances at the clock in his room and shrieks, scrambling out of his apartment in haste. Any minute now, and he'll be late to his first class. As he's running from the back alley of his apartment complex that leads to the streets of Strictland, he stops suddenly and turns around, looking up at his window and letting out an angry groan. Damnit, he forgot his suit!

Glancing around to make sure none of his neighbors are sneaking a peek at him, Yunho climbs the wall of his apartment building, forgoing the stairs entirely. It would take too long if he took the stairs. He would rather look like a maniac crawling on the wall like an overgrown spider than be late to school.

He slides open his window and climbs in, spotting his Spider-Man suit along with his mask. He shoves it into his bag and runs back out the way he came in.

With Yunho's inhuman stamina, he made it to school in record time without even breaking a sweat. He smoothly dodges the crowd and slides his way to his first class with no further incident.

He barely made it on time, the teacher merely gesturing him to sit down when he arrived. Yunho slumped on his seat and closed his eyes, willing his stomach to stop twisting and turning in on itself in an unpleasant mix of anxiety and anticipation. If it goes on any longer, Yunho thinks his guts might implode.

Yunho went on with his day like normal. As normally as he can, anyway. The anxiety bubbling under his skin didn't let up. Instead, it worsened. Yunho's enhanced hearing didn't help quell his nerves, only serving to fill his head with inaudible and mindless chatter that agitated him even more.

His heightened sense of smell didn't help either. The mix of scents, cologne, and perfumes, paired with the borderline toxic school air, had Yunho feeling dizzy. Not even pinching his nostrils together and breathing through his mouth helped in the slightest.

Something is itching right under his skin. Yunho had to resist clawing his way through his skin just to satiate whatever it was his body was telling him to do. These are the things that make Yunho regret going to that abandoned subway station alone that one impulsive night. If Yunho hadn't gone, he wouldn't have gotten bitten by that spider. If he hadn't gone, he wouldn't be suffering the consequences of being inhuman—mutated.

A few hours later, he's finally free from his prison. The instant he's out of classes, he pulls out his phone to shoot Mingi a text, his fingers shaking and his chest fluttering with anticipation.

'Hey, Mingi! Are you free today?'

Yunho must look like an idiot standing in the middle of the school's parking lot, staring wide-eyed down at his phone and jumping around anxiously. A ping rings out from his phone.

'I am!'

Okay, he cannot screw this up. Yunho types with shaky thumbs, his palms starting to sweat, and he's probably making his phone all slippery and gross.

'We haven't spent time together lately. Will you let me take you out somewhere to eat?'

He hit send before he could rethink his words. Shit. Fuck! Why did he say it like that?!

Maybe Seonghwa really was right; subtlety is definitely not his strong suit, especially when it comes to Mingi.

Yunho was glaring at the ground and silently wishing that a hole would open up and swallow him whole when his phone pinged with another message. He felt a pang in his chest as he read the text.

'Yeah, I'd love to! I'm free at three-thirty; does that work for you? '

Okay. Okay—he can do this. Totally!

'I'll come pick you up by then. Just tell me where you'll be.'

Bubbles on his screen jump up and down, indicating that Mingi is typing. Yunho could just about explode where he stood in the parking lot. Students walk around him and pay him no mind, oblivious to the mayhem eating at Yunho’s mind. His phone pings again, making him jump. He almost drops his phone, his palms sweating like crazy.

‘Great! I’ll see you soon, Yunnie!’

Why do such simple words have this much of an effect on Yunho's heart? The message was followed by a string of emojis in true Mingi fashion. Yunho heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, he can stop stressing. He can stress about something else now: his confession. Or, more accurately, his invitation. He doesn’t think he’s ready to pour his heart out to his best friend just yet. He can wait it out until Valentine’s.

Yunho paces around during the remaining time of his wait. His nerves have gotten better over time until he’s no longer sweating and shaking like crazy. He had to have a pep talk with himself at one point when he realized that he was acting unnecessarily dramatic. He’s only asking Mingi to be his Valentine’s date; it truly isn’t as bad as his nerves were making it out to be. This is his best friend! The person who appeared in his life in ninth grade and has never left since, the person who’s been by his side all this time, the person who became his shoulder to cry on, the person who he grew to trust and adore to the point where he genuinely can’t see himself living without.

Song Mingi, the person Jeong Yunho fell in love with.

…On second thought, maybe that’s a reason to be even more nervous. Whatever. Yunho can deal with rejection. Maybe not rejection from Mingi, but he’ll find a way, surely. He’s Spider-Man! He’s probably the strongest person in Strictland—a little rejection won’t ruin him.

Except it will, but Yunho refused to acknowledge that thought.

Eventually, three-thirty came. Yunho made his way to the library, where Mingi told him to pick him up, psyching himself up. He slapped his cheeks a few times, patting his clothes down and double-checking to make sure his hair still looked good. He stood outside the library with his hands shoved into his pockets, rocking back and forth awkwardly. Mingi finally came out looking as good as ever, a wide smile gracing his lips the instant he spotted Yunho.

Yunho caught Mingi in his arms when his best friend lunged at him excitedly. He couldn’t help but chuckle fondly, warmth bubbling deep in his chest as he hugged his best friend close. It feels like it’s been ages since he’d last spent time with his best friend, and this simple hug is doing absolute wonders for his heart. He reluctantly pulled away from Mingi, opting to stare at him with a grin, hoping the hopeless lovesickness he was feeling wasn’t showing on his face.

“You didn’t wait too long, did you?” asked Mingi. He’s rocking on the balls of his feet, one hand flexing on the strap of his bag, the other fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie that looked oddly like Yunho’s. He looks slightly nervous.

“It’s fine if I have to wait, Min. There’s no rush,” Yunho said, beginning to lead them both outside the school. He glances at Mingi from time to time as they converse.

“It would be rude if I kept you waiting,” Mingi huffs. “Anyway, what have you been up to? It feels like we haven’t seen each other in so long.”

Yunho hums. “Nothing much, really. You?”

“Same as always.”

The longer Yunho looked, the more he realised that, yes, that hoodie was his. It’s the one he was wearing during their movie night. He must have left it when he went home the morning after. Or Mingi had stolen it, and Yunho hadn’t noticed. The thought makes something odd twist in his chest.

Yunho took Mingi to a cafe not too far from where Mingi lived. Mingi had looked awestruck when they entered, and it made pride swell in Yunho’s chest. He picked this cafe because it served Mingi’s favorite type of cake, strawberry. He plans to treat his best friend to his favorite cake and ask him out on a date tomorrow. If all goes well, Yunho will end the day with a new cafe to frequent and, potentially, a new boyfriend.

“How did you know this was my favorite?” Mingi asked when Yunho returned to their table with their coffee and one slice of strawberry cake.

“You mentioned once that this was your favorite,” says Yunho, sliding the cake to Mingi’s side of the table.

“You really remembered that? ” Mingi furrows his brows, a blush starting to creep up his cheeks.

“Of course I did.’ Yunho flashed him a handsome grin.

Mingi averted his eyes shyly, chuckling softly. “Well, thanks.”

They chatted for the first few minutes, happy to catch up on the things they missed from being away from each other. Mingi explained that he got caught up in schoolwork, and Yunho told him the same. He only half-lied; Yunho had been busy running around at night and chasing mad scientists who released a bunch of weird, organically hybrid robots, along with catching up on his deadlines. Yunho wasn’t sure how he was still standing with the lack of sleep he got. In times like this, he’s extremely grateful for his transmutation. He doesn’t think he would last in this kind of routine if he had a normal body.

Now came the hard part.

“Listen, Mingi. I, uh, wanted to ask you something."

Mingi stops giggling at the joke Yunho had made earlier and stares at him expectantly. Suddenly, the pressure is on Yunho.

“So, you know how Valentine’s Day is coming up, right?”

“Yeah, I know," Mingi smiles. “Believe me, I know. I’ve had at least ten people ask me out this week already.”

“Right,” Yunho nods stiffly. “Well, speaking of…”

He can’t find the right words to say. Mingi was still looking at him, patiently awaiting Yunho’s next words. He finds himself tongue-tied, all of the preparation and the planning he made in his head flying out the window now that he’s sitting here about to enact it.

‘Pull yourself together, Yunho! You’ve come too far to chicken out now, you coward!’

“I was wondering if, you know… you still have plans tomorrow?”

Mingi hums thoughtfully. He looks a little nervous, his fingers drumming on the table, one hand fiddling with the straw of his drink. “Well… San and I don’t really have a plan. We were planning to go to the riverside and eat some food, but that’s about it. Why?”

‘Now’s your chance. Don’t say anything stupid!’

“Would—would you want to spend it with me? Valentine’s, I mean,” Yunho sputters, eyes growing wide. “Only if you want to! You and San already have plans, and I understand if you’d rather spend it with him—”

“Yunho…”

“But I’d really, really love to take you out on a date. Like, a real one. Not as friends or anything—”

“Yunho.”

“And it’s also cool if you just want to go as friends! There’s—there’s no problem with that at all. I mean, it would suck for me for sure, but if it’s what you want, then we’ll do it. I just want to spend Valentine’s Day with you either way—”

“Yunho! Please, can you shut up for a minute?”

Yunho does.

Mingi sighs heavily, a fond smile splitting his lips. “Thank you. At least let me give you my answer before you start rambling.”

“S…sorry,” Yunho mumbled, embarrassed.

“Yun… I…” Mingi begins, trailing off with a shy expression.

Yunho is preparing for the worst.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

…or not!

“R–really?!” Yunho exclaims. He looks around the cafe before turning back to Mingi, his voice hushed. “Are you—are you serious? ”

“Yes, Yun, I’m serious,” Mingi gives Yunho the kind of smile that makes the hero fall to his knees with his hand clutching his heart. “You haven’t really been… subtle.”

Yunho whined, taking Mingi aback. “Seonghwa was right!” He says, throwing his head back and burying his face in his hands.

“Um, how exactly is Seonghwa involved in this…?”

Yunho sneaks a peek at Mingi through his fingers. “I’ll, uh, tell you another time.”

Mingi only nods.

Yunho settled, laying his hands flat on the table, and stared at his best friend, feeling all of his nerves and anxiety leave his mind. He sees Mingi, the very boy he fell in love with, sitting across from him with a sweet smile. A glint in his eyes told Yunho that he wanted to tease, amusement making his eyes shine even brighter. The light from the sun hit him just right, and Yunho thought he’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Mingi’s hands find their way to Yunho’s, wet and cold from the condensation on his drink, yet Yunho doesn’t mind. He turns his palm to slot their hands together, intertwining their fingers and squeezing them together. Yunho couldn’t help but smile back, his stomach doing flips as Mingi laughed, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons and his nose scrunching.

“I’m so happy you finally asked,” Mingi said, low enough so only Yunho could hear. His voice was laced with something Yunho could only describe as adoration. “To be honest, I was kind of getting sick of being asked out all the time.”

“I’m honored, then.” Yunho’s smile widened into a grin.

Mingi tilts his head and smirks. “You should be. Not everyone gets to go on a date with Song Mingi.”

“Oh, so am I special then, princess?” Yunho played along, squeezing Mingi’s fingers with a chuckle.

Mingi opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. A deep blush colors his cheeks, and Yunho belatedly realizes that he let the nickname slip. His eyes widen, and Mingi averts his gaze, suddenly feeling shy. The butterflies fluttering in Yunho’s chest spread into a pleasant warmth.

“You like being called princess, don’t you?” Yunho sports a shit-eating grin.

The blush on Mingi’s cheeks travelled down his neck, refusing to look Yunho in the eye. His hand twitches in Yunho’s hold, but he makes no move to pull away. “Shut up!”

“You like being my princess, don’t you?”

Mingi whines high in his throat and squirms in his seat. “Shut up! Shut up!”

“It’s okay to admit it to me, Mingi, my princess.”

“You’re the worst!”

Yunho laughed, throwing his head back. Once they had calmed down, they stared at each other in silence, neither daring to speak. Yunho tried not to freak out and explode in his seat while Mingi still stared at him, happy and unblinking. The longer Yunho meets Mingi’s gaze, the more he starts to melt into his chair. He’s happy that all of his stress finally paid off, and he’s happy that he finally got over himself and made a move. Younger, clumsier, and more naive ninth-grade Yunho would be so proud if he saw where present-day arachnoid Yunho is right now in life.

Mingi tugs on Yunho’s hand to get his attention. “Thank you for asking me out. I wouldn’t want any other person to.”

Yunho’s gaze softened even more. “I wouldn’t ask anyone else but you.”

Mingi chuckles. “I’m sure San won’t mind if I ditch him for a while, right? ”

Tilting his head, Yunho pretended to consider it for a few seconds. “I’m sure if we tell him, he won’t mind. We’ll go to the riverside with him; then I’ll take you out somewhere. Just the two of us.”

At that, Mingi nodded. He took a piece of his cake and brought it to Yunho’s lips, wiggling his fork in front of the hero’s face. Yunho let out a disbelieving huff but accepted the cake nonetheless. They share the remaining cake and finish their drinks, chatting about anything and everything that pops into their minds. Yunho walked out of the cafe hand in hand with Mingi, feeling the most content he’d ever felt. He thinks that all of the failed attempts and the strange confrontation with Seonghwa were all incredibly worth it. Speaking of Seonghwa…

“I have to thank Seonghwa after this,” Yunho mutters under his breath.

“Thank him for what?”

Yunho jumped slightly, not expecting Mingi to hear him. “Nothing you need to worry about, Min.”

Mingi narrows his eyes and pouts up at Yunho, which deals critical damage to his heart. “Hey, what’s with you and Seonghwa? Are you hiding something from me?”

“I’m not, Mingi, I promise.”

A cold shiver suddenly zapped through Yunho’s spine, making him stop in his tracks. Mingi stopped by his side, concern etched on his face. “Yunho? Are you okay? You know you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yunho says, dazed, staring into the empty street. His ears pick up on a commotion a few blocks down. He recognizes it as trouble—the villain kind. “No, of course! It’s nothing serious, Min, I promise.”

Yunho turned around, startling Mingi. He grips Mingi’s shoulders firmly, careful of his strength to not hurt his best friend. “Min, I’ve got to go. I just remembered I have to, uh, do my homework! I have a deadline to chase, so, uh, yeah, I have to go do that! Yeah!”

Mingi looks shocked, but he nods. “Oh! Right, of course. Are you heading home?”

“I have to, Min.” Yunho bounces on his feet impatiently, hoping that he didn’t sound too urgent. Luckily, Mingi didn’t seem to pick up on his antsy behavior.

“Okay. Text me when you get home, alright?”

Yunho can’t help but melt on the spot. “Get home safe, princess.”

He watches Mingi go the other way, giggling to himself as he bids Yunho goodbye. Yunho made sure Mingi rounded the corner of the street before sprinting away, content knowing that Mingi was away from the scene of the crime on the other side of the block. He ran into a thankfully empty alleyway and slipped on his suit, swinging away to save his city once again.

That night, Yunho flopped down on his bed, groaning from the various sore spots in his body. He tosses his web shooters aside on his bedside table absentmindedly, holding his phone above his face to text Mingi what he promised.

‘I got home safely. Sorry I didn’t text you sooner; I lost track of time.

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

‘It’s okay, Yun. I’m glad you’re safe. I heard from the news that there was another villain attack. It’s good to know you weren’t hurt. Have a good night, Yunho! I’m looking forward to tomorrow.’

Yunho didn’t have the heart to tell him he very much did get hurt.

‘Good night, princess. Sleep well.’

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Valentine’s Day couldn’t have gone better.

Yunho took Mingi to the riverside, where San was waiting. He had been ecstatic to find out that Yunho and Mingi were going together as dates and had endlessly congratulated them. The trio spent the evening together in high spirits, walking along the riverside and spending all their pocket money on street food. Yunho had insisted on paying for Mingi’s food like a true gentleman, which had San crying out in protest.

“I really can’t escape third-wheeling, huh?” San grumbled.

Yunho and Mingi bid farewell to San when the clock turned eight. Yunho still had plans, so he took Mingi out for a night's walk. He had spent too much time planning this date; he wasn’t about to let it end there.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” Mingi says, swinging their arms back and forth, their fingers laced together.

“It’s a surprise,” Yunho grins cheekily.

“Don’t tell me we’re about to go to a fancy, expensive restaurant like in those corny movies. Not that I’d mind, of course!”

Yunho chuckles. “No, Min. I don’t think either of us has enough money for that anyway.”

“It’s okay. We have all the time in the world for that.”

Yunho looked down at his feet briefly. He really hopes that they do.

This day couldn’t have gone better. Mingi was— is—beautiful. He was glowing; Yunho couldn’t tear his eyes away from his best friend. Boyfriend? Date? Whatever they were, Yunho hoped they wouldn’t ever change.

Yunho hadn’t felt this happy in a while. The day was perfect, the fall from afternoon to evening being the same. Yunho felt happy watching San and Mingi have the time of their lives. Mingi hadn’t stopped looking at and touching Yunho all day, and it made him warm and giddy on the inside. Mingi was perfect. Yunho was perfect. They’re going on a real date now, and Yunho imagines that it will be just as perfect.

A loud rumbling sounds out from the distance. Mingi jumps, instinctively burying himself into Yunho’s arms. Yunho’s instincts were going haywire, and the same cold feeling he always got when he sensed danger came back to loom over his shoulder. Another loud noise, this time a thundering roar, echoes through the road. Mingi shrieked in his hold, prompting Yunho to cradle the boy’s head and tuck it under his chin, shielding Mingi’s body with his own against whatever the hell it was that was making that noise.

“Yun? What—what’s going on? ” Mingi asks, his voice coming out shaky.

Yunho felt dread pile up in his throat. He swallows heavily. “I don’t know, Min.”

People ran down the street in a panic, filling the once-empty road with ear-piercing screams. Mingi wrapped his arms around Yunho’s middle tightly, eyes jumping around warily. Yunho felt him start to panic and immediately tried to soothe him by caressing his back and petting his hair as he whispered into his ear. “You’ll be safe, Mingi.”

“Yunho,” Mingi’s voice cracked, fear lacing his tone like a heavy blanket. “Yunho, we have to—”

“You’re safe with me, my princess.”

“Yunho, please—”

Yunho squeezed his eyes shut. “I promise, Mingi.”

The ground beneath them shakes. Yunho turned his head just in time to see something huge rush past him, destroying cars and causing holes to crack into the road. Yunho could recognize those dark green scales and glowing yellow eyes from fifty miles away: the Green Goblin.

Mingi lets out a sob into Yunho’s neck.

The Green Goblin looks around before rounding the corner, roaring high into the air and causing vibrations in the ground. Yunho let out a shaky exhale, slowly pulling away from Mingi just enough to take his face into his rough hands. He thumbs over Mingi’s cheekbones, wiping away a stray tear that escapes from the corner of Mingi’s eye. Yunho felt bile climb up his throat, but he swallowed it down along with the fear threatening to eat away at his chest and focused instead on the trembling boy in his arms.

What should he do?

Leaving Mingi alone is the last thing Yunho wants to do. The night was going so well—why did it have to end here?

…no. He won’t let the night end here.

Yunho considered his options. There’s no way he can get Mingi to safety at this time. He’s needed by the city, by the people. If he doesn’t act now, the Green Goblin will destroy Strickland and leave it in a pile of rubble.

‘Mingi needs you, too.’ A voice in Yunho’s mind whispers selfishly.

‘The city needs me more. I have to make sure the people are safe.’

‘You can do both, can’t you?’

…yes. Yunho supposed he could do both.

He’s about to do something stupid. Really, really fucking stupid.

“Mingi, do you trust me?”

“H—huh?”

Yunho looked up and instantly spotted his apartment complex. They’re close enough for him to get him and Mingi there unseen.

“Yunho, what are you—”

“Do you trust me, Mingi?”

He’s about to do something stupid. He knows he can’t back out once he does it, but he’s right about being out of options. This will definitely come back to bite him in the ass. Hard.

“Yeah. Yeah, Yun, I do.”

“Well, you’re going to have to either way.”

Mingi’s brows furrowed, growing more and more concerned with every second that passed. “Yunho, what are you planning to do?”

Yunho pulled Mingi flush to his body with one arm around his waist, the other preparing to swing them up. Mingi squeaked in surprise, arms wrapping tightly around Yunho’s shoulders. “You’re freaking me out, here!”

“Sorry, princess,” Yunho honestly says into Mingi’s ear. “Hold on tight, okay?”

“What—”

Mingi cuts himself off with a scream. Yunho had shot a web out and pulled him and Mingi up, speeding into the air in the direction of his apartment. Mingi cursed and wrapped his legs around Yunho’s waist as soon as the ground disappeared from his feet. Yunho swung them through the city swiftly to avoid being seen. They were lucky Yunho lived just around the block.

Once safely in the confines of Yunho’s bedroom, he finally lets go of Mingi, who sits on his bed with a dazed look glazing over his eyes. Yunho stands in the middle of his bedroom like an utter idiot, torn between wanting to get on his knees and explain himself and making an escape through his window and leaving Mingi to process everything on his own. At least Mingi will be safe either way.

They stared at each other in awkward silence before another roar from outside startled Yunho into action. He shrugged off the long brown coat he was wearing and kicked off his boots. He unbuckled his belt and threw it somewhere in the room, beginning to unbutton his pants. Yunho flinches when he hears Mingi let out a screech, hands flying to cover his eyes, a furious blush coating his skin.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Yunho blinks. “No, Mingi, I’m not naked! You can look—”

“Save it until I’m ready, please!”

Yunho sputters at the implication, suddenly feeling a hot blush rising to his cheeks. “I’m sorry! I know this is all too sudden, but—”

Mingi whines in protest.

“Mingi, I’m wearing something underneath, I promise!”

Yunho threw the last article of clothing and stood unmoving in the middle of his bedroom, looking like a complete and utter idiot. “Princess, please look at me.”

He holds his breath as Mingi slowly lowers his hands. Yunho’s body grew rigid under Mingi’s gaze, and he braced himself for his best friend’s reaction. Will he yell? Will he curse Yunho out? Will he dump him and leave his apartment and completely cut off all contact with him?

None of those things happened. Yunho exhaled sharply, standing eerily still as Mingi ran his eyes over his body, taking in the very infamous blue and red color of his suit, the black and white lines wrapping around it in a webbing pattern, and the unmistakable logo of a spider in the center of his chest. Yunho digs around in his coat’s pockets for his gloves and slips them on, anxiety running rampant in his mind.

This wasn’t how he wanted it to go. Yunho just wanted a normal, peaceful day to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Just one. He would have been happy with just one. He just wanted to make this day special for him and Mingi.

Mingi also isn’t supposed to find out about his secret identity this way. Yunho was supposed to sit him down sometime in the distant future when the time was right—when it was finally safe for him to do so.

Yunho acted impulsively. He was too brave, too reckless, too stupid. Not only will he lose a best friend, but he will also lose the love of his life because of his stupid actions.

Oh, the consequences of his actions.

He’s going to dig himself a hole and bury himself alive when this is all over.

“Yunho?”

He slowly looks Mingi in the eye again. He finds none of the disdain, hurt, and bitterness he was expecting. Instead, he only sees compassion, sympathy, and… love.

“Mingi,” Yunho starts, voice breaking. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. Please.”

Mingi stands up and walks toward Yunho. He brings Yunho into a hug, tucking Yunho’s face into his neck and petting the back of his head, not unlike the position they were in a few minutes before. Yunho struggled to hold himself together and gripped the back of Mingi’s shirt like a lifeline, burying his face into his best friend’s neck and breathing in his scent.

“I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” Yunho almost sobs, hands moving from gripping Mingi’s shirt to holding his waist. “I’m sorry I brought you into this.”

“None of this is your fault, Yun. You did what you had to do,” Mingi presses a kiss to Yunho’s cheek that made the hero feel even worse than he does better. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Fuck. I love you, Mingi. I love you so much—I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t lose me, Yunho. I’m here. I will always be here. I promise. I love you, too. I love you too, Yun.”

Yunho wrapped his arms around Mingi’s waist, pulling him close against his trembling body. The roles are reversed—it shouldn’t be reversed.

An explosion from somewhere in the city jerks Yunho away from Mingi. Right, he’s Spider-Man. He has a job to do and a city to save.

He walks over to the window, mask in hand. He hesitates, looking behind him to find Mingi following.

“Go,” Mingi says, holding Yunho’s shoulder and squeezing. “You have a city to save.”

“I’ll come back for you, my Mingi.”

“I know you will.”

Mingi pulls him into a kiss. Yunho couldn’t help the pleased hum he let out when their lips touched. He held Mingi’s waist and deepened the kiss before he had to pull away, slipping on his mask and climbing out of the window. He didn’t look back as he swung his way through the city, making his way toward the latest villain coming to destroy the peace he so carefully maintained.

Yunho dropped to the ground in front of the Green Goblin. He lowered to a crouch, getting ready to strike where he knew would hurt.

“I’m really not in the mood right now,” he says with a sneer.

“Spider-Man,” the beast rumbles.

Yunho cracked his knuckles, then cracked his neck. He rolls his shoulders and braces himself on his feet. “Let’s make this quick, shall we?”

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

True to his word, Yunho made it quick.

He stuck around to make sure the Goblin was in good hands before he left. The newest villain of the week is the last thing on his mind. All he wants to do is to go back home to the boy he left in his room and finish what he started.

Yunho stumbled back into his apartment, almost falling flat on his face when he entered through the window. He doesn’t think he’s ever used his door, now that he thinks about it.

Mingi let out a surprised squeak when Yunho came in, scrambling to help him inside. He shut the window behind Yunho, who crumpled to the ground and barely held himself up with his arms, yanking his mask off and discarding it somewhere in the room. Mingi was on him in an instant, hands holding Yunho’s face and eyes scanning him for serious injuries.

“Are you okay, Yun?”

Yunho let his head be held up in Mingi’s warm hands, his lashes fluttering tiredly. “I feel like shit.”

“I imagine you do.”

Mingi eyes the bruise blooming purple on Yunho’s temple, as well as his busted lip and scratched skin. Luckily, his suit was saved from the damage. He’ll only need to clean them, and they’ll be as good as new.

Mingi helped him get out of his suit and into comfortable clothes. Soon, he’s sitting on his bed in a soft, oversized hoodie and loose pants, and warm socks covering his feet. Mingi tended to his wounds gently, pausing every time Yunho would wince at the pain.

“You know I can just heal them up, right?”

“Do you want to get an infection?”

Yunho kept quiet. He’s always so willing when it comes to Mingi.

When his wounds are properly cleaned and bandaged, Yunho pulls Mingi to his lap to murmur in his ear. “We didn’t get to go on our date.”

Mingi frowned. “You’re hurt. You’re in no position to go outside. I don’t imagine the city looks good to be out going on dates, either.”

“Maybe,” Yunho chuckles. “But have you forgotten who you’re talking to, princess?”

He didn’t give Mingi time to react when he lifted him with ease. The ache in his arms is gone by now, and he can easily pick Mingi up like he weighs nothing.

“Come on. I’ll take you somewhere—we can’t end the day without finishing our date, can we?”

Yunho forgoes his original plans. He has a new place in mind; he just hopes Mingi will trust him enough to take him there.

“You trust me, right, princess?”

Mingi pales slightly. “I don’t like it when you say that.”

Yunho merely grinned.

He takes them out far from the city, closer to the beach. Mingi enjoyed the long walk, happy with lacing their fingers together and swinging their arms to the rhythm of their feet. Yunho helps Mingi walk along the rocks and sharp boulders on the beach to reach the lighthouse sitting high up in the sky.

“Are you taking us up there?” Mingi asks, out of breath and disbelieving.

“Mhm,” Yunho hums. “Hold on to me, alright?”

When Yunho started to climb the lighthouse with Mingi clinging to his back like a koala, Mingi shrieked into his ear. “You’re crazy!”

“Oh, you love me!” Yunho said with a boyish grin.

They reached the top of the lighthouse in one piece, Mingi only slightly shaken. Yunho sits on the edge of the platform, resting his arms on the safety rails and letting his feet hang over the edge. Mingi follows and sits beside him, sighing and shivering as a cold rush of wind brushes past them.

“This is beautiful,” Mingi says, voice so quiet that Yunho wouldn’t have heard had he not had super-hearing. “Thank you for this, Yunho. Really.”

“Of course, Min.”

Yunho took them to a place where they could gaze at the city lights in peace. The stars are visible from here, far away from the clouded and polluted air of Strictland. Birds chirped in the distance, and seagulls croaked somewhere at the shore. The smell of sea salt is heavy, oddly warm, and comforting.

They sat in silence for a while, basking in each other’s company and the comfort of the cool, night air. Time ticks slowly into midnight, and the two find themselves wide awake at the late hour.

“Hey,” Mingi starts, turning away from the scene. “I never did find out why Seonghwa seemed to be so involved with you.”

Yunho groaned at the mention of their friend. “If he tells you anything, don’t believe him.”

“That just makes me even more suspicious of you!”

A ping from Mingi’s phone interrupts them. Mingi pulls the device out of his pocket and checks his notifications, letting out a strange noise.

“People are still greeting me a happy Valentine’s Day.”

Yunho frowns. “Tell them you have a Valentine, then. And tell them to stop bothering us while you’re at it.”

Mingi laughs. “They don’t need to know anything. I already have you—that’s enough for me.”

Yunho leaned closer. Mingi closes the distance between them, lips moving against the other’s in a slow, passionate kiss. He’s right—Mingi has him now. Mingi didn’t have to worry about anything anymore, so long as Yunho was with him.

They parted, Mingi leaning back just enough so his lips were still brushing against Yunho’s. He stares right through Yunho’s eyes and into his soul, and Yunho finds that he doesn’t want to be anywhere else but in Mingi’s arms, all of his attention on him and him only.

“Promise me that we’ll keep no more secrets?” Mingi mumbles into Yunho’s lips.

Yunho leaned in to peck a kiss on the other’s mouth, smiling softly as he said, “I promise. I’m sorry I hid myself from you for so long.”

“That’s all in the past now,” Mingi hums. “Let’s focus on us now, ‘kay?”

He agrees easily.

As they share another slow kiss, Yunho lets all of his worries disappear. Revealing his identity will definitely come back to bite him in the ass, Mingi going down with him, too. But he can’t find it in himself to care anymore. He can deal with that when the time comes—he won’t be alone to face it, anyway.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Yunho.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, indeed.