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|one|
Minho always wakes Seungmin up at the crack of dawn with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a kiss on his lips despite morning breath and Seungmin’s protests. It’s just one of their things that they’ve always done, along with shitty rom-coms on Fridays and chess games to settle bets. Minho always wakes Seungmin up at the crack of dawn, when the midnight blue skies slowly fade to make room for the cotton candy sunrises.
Seungmin is used to waking up at the crack of dawn, unless Minho isn’t there with his coffee. So when he blinks his eyes open to morning sunlight and a bird chirping outside the window, confusion washes over him. The sheets are tangled around his waist and the spot next to him is empty and cold, which means Minho has been up for a while. Seungmin’s first thought is why he’s still asleep, and his second thought is panic. Minho never lets him sleep in.
He shoots up and checks the bedside clock. It reads 8:43 am. Scrambling to get out of bed, he remembers too late that the sheets held him prisoner, and he falls to the floor with a shriek and loud thump!, and it’s like the whole house falls eerily silent.
Then he hears quickened footfalls and the bedroom door swings open to reveal his lovely boyfriend, spatula in one hand and eyes widened in concern. His “
Wo
men fear me, fish want me”
apron is draped over his frame, frilly bow tied neatly behind his back. He’s been awake, cooking in the kitchen for who knows how long and Seungmin is lying in a crumpled heap on their bedroom floor because he was
worried
that something might have happened.
“I hate you.” Seungmin deadpans, making no effort to detangle himself from the sheets clinging to his frame.
Minho blinks once, twice, and a third time, before a snort leaves him and he crosses his arms over his chest. The distasteful glare he gives Seungmin only makes Seungmin fight off a grin.
“Here I am, working my ass off to make you breakfast in bed, and that’s all you have to say,” The sticky sweet faux disappointment dripping into Minho’s tone like soured honey actually makes Seungmin smirk, and the way Minho’s eyes twinkle tells him that he’s clearly not as upset as he’s pretending to be. “Good morning to you too, my loving boyfriend.”
Minho spits the word loving like he’s making a mockery of Seungmin. And he is, but it doesn’t really matter. Honestly, Seungmin can’t really complain when Minho has the high ground, and Seungmin is left to face his boyfriend in such a humiliating position, all tangled up and frazzled on the bedroom floor.
“What happened to my wake up call?” Seungmin grumbles, finding a gap in the sheets to start untangling himself. Minho makes no move to help and only watches Seungmin free himself and finally stand with a bored look in his eyes. “I mean, honestly. You spend the past six years waking me up at the same time every morning, and then you suddenly don’t? Forgive me for being so worried.”
“Maybe if you’d read my note,” Minho gestures to the bedside table with his spatula before he turns on his heels and flees down the hall.
Seungmin blinks a couple times before he turns to the nightstand, and sure enough, a little post-it note with Minho’s neat handwriting and his signature jureumi doodle is stuck to the surface. Seungmin’s face softens, all the fake annoyance molded into sweet fondness like clay.
He picks up the note, which simply reads, “Don’t panic, I'm in the kitchen making breakfast. Take your time getting up, Carrot Stick, and congrats on your promotion! We'll properly celebrate later but for now I’m letting you sleep in. ~ Your Bunny”.
“Ah, silly me,” Seungmin chuckles softly, folding the note as he kneels next to the bed, tugging out an old shoebox full of photos and singular diary entries from his younger days, dropping the post-it on top of the summer polaroids. After neatly tucking the box back into place, pressed up against the nightstand and the wall, he retreats into the bathroom to wash his face and tame his bedhead.
Now that he’s more awake, he can faintly hear Minho singing along to a song they heard on the radio a few days ago and mentally slaps his own cheek for causing such a panic like he did. Mornings aren’t really his cup of tea, not like they are Minho’s, and he’s not good at the whole ‘think first, act later’ thing— especially first thing in the morning like this. But at least Minho is fine, and Seungmin is only a little banged up. Though, he’s pretty sure there’s a bruise forming on the back of his skull now.
But it’s fine, and he follows the paper mache solar system down the hall to the kitchen with a cardigan wrapped around his frame and his glasses sitting low on the bridge of his nose. Minho looks up from the cup of steaming tea in his hand, hair pushed back with a fuzzy headband decorated with bunny ears that wasn’t there before, and he’s still in the apron even though breakfast is already on the island counter. Seungmin just can’t stop himself from crossing the distance between them to pepper kisses all over his boyfriend. Minho snickers in his hands and sets his mug down, fisting the fabric of Seungmin’s cardigan as he accepts the early morning affection.
“Well, you’re in a much better mood now,” Minho hums, reaching a hand up to gently push Seungmin’s head back to meet his eyes. “No longer mad at me?”
“Eh,” Seungmin shrugs noncommittally, reaching up to flick the bunny ears on Minho’s headband before he tries to lean back in for another kiss, but Minho presses a firm thumb against his chin, holding him at bay. Seungmin pouts, slumping against his boyfriend as best he can with a hand restraining him like this.
“Not mad?” Minho asks again, raising an eyebrow as he does.
“I wasn’t mad to start with, Bunny,” Seungmin laughs, wrapping his fingers around Minho’s wrist to move his hand so he can press a few chaste kisses to his boyfriend’s lips. “I was more worried than anything; you didn’t wake me up like you usually do.”
“Aw, how touching that you need me to function like a normal person in the mornings,” Minho coos and lifts a mug up in between them, hot coffee sitting freshly made inside of it. Creamy, with whipped cream and brown sugar sprinkled on top— just how Seungmin likes it. “Hopefully this will suffice.”
“You’re amazing, did you know that?” Seungmin smiles, pressing one more kiss to Minho’s lips before he takes the mug and finally releases his boyfriend to lean against the island counter across from him. He can see Minho watching him in his peripheral vision as he takes a sip of the coffee, unaware of the bits of whipped cream sticking to his nose until Minho wipes it off for him.
“You can tell me how wonderful and sweet and cool I am after you eat your breakfast,” Minho says, turning Seungmin around by his shoulders to face the steaming plates of food on the counter. “Sit.”
“Yes dear,” Seungmin hums, rounding the island to seat himself on one of the stools and dig into his breakfast before Minho scolds him for letting it grow cold. Or something like that.
Minho turns to clean up the counters around the sink, once again humming that song from the radio. It’s not often that the two of them get quiet moments like this in the mornings these days, with work and life always getting in the way, but Seungmin still cherishes the moments they do get. The thought has a warmth rising in his chest as he watches Minho sway his hips and dance between the dishwasher and the sink, stuck in his own little world and unaware of the watchful eyes on him. Seungmin pokes around at his food a little, an idea coming to mind— he’s thought of this a few times already, but it was always at times that just didn’t feel right.
But it’s slipping out before he can stop it, sitting right out in the open for the two of them to stew in it.
“We should get married,” Seungmin blurts out, and immediately, white-hot shock rises up inside him, boiling over and turning his face into a cherry. He could pass it off as a joke but he’s panicking a little, and Minho grows eerily still, the song dying in his throat and the still-running water flowing over the rim of the bowl he holds under the faucet. Seungmin can’t move either, eyes fixed on the square of Minho’s back as the silence between them grows thick with something unspoken. It’s like something shifts, crossing the line of known to unknown. Seungmin stands on the other side of that line, hand outstretched to Minho, who stands frozen in the known.
Then, finally, Minho breaks the silence. “No ring?” He tries to joke, but there’s an unsteadiness in his voice that makes Seungmin’s throat grow tight.
Still, he chokes out a laugh and swallows down the lump with a gulp of coffee. “Didn’t take you for someone who wanted a shiny rock, but—” he shrugs and waves his hand in the air around his head. “Fine, I’ll get you a ring first.”
“Sure,” Minho hums, turning the faucet off and turning to face Seungmin with a smirk. There’s no trace of that previous uneasiness, his boyfriend’s face all mischief and smiles now. If Seungmin didn’t know Minho as well as he does, he might have thought he imagined the way Minho clammed up. But he pushes that thought away, locking it up in a box at the back of his mind and focuses on the lovely face of his boyfriend as Minho hoists himself onto the island counter, leaning over Seungmin with his hands braced between them to hold his weight.
“But it’s coming out of your paycheck. I’m not letting you waste my money on a glorified rock.”
“Uh huh,” Seungmin props his chin on his palm and leans into Minho, daring him to move first. It’s easy to forget the anxiety and slip back into their usual push and pull as if it had never happened in the first place. “Whatever you say, dear.”
And the way Minho kisses him, hands fisted in his collar and eager to knock all their food aside to get closer, is enough for Seungmin. He’ll get Minho a stupid, shiny rock if he wants it so bad. It’s not like they really need to move any faster towards their future when they already have forever together.
|two|
Minho wanted to take Seungmin out for dinner to celebrate his promotion, and Seungmin couldn't say no to his boyfriend. It takes them about a month to find time to do it between work and other things, and by the time they choose a weekend where both of them are free, Seungmin’s birthday arrives so Minho decides to do a joint celebration.
On birthdays, they usually invite their friends over to get drunk, play board games, and start up the xBox to attempt playing Just Dance, but this time, Seungmin wants some peace and quiet on his birthday. He’s twenty-five now, and it gets harder to keep up with Jisung, Jeongin and Hyunjin every year. But he can more than handle a few glasses of champagne and a nice dinner with his boyfriend, even though he knows his long-time best friends will drag him out of his apartment for a bar night if it kills them.
The restaurant Minho chose is by no means the fanciest place in town, but it’s good enough for formal wear and reservations. One peek at the menu prices has Seungmin’s eyes bulging out of his head. But it’s what Minho wants, and Seungmin is nothing if not a man desperate to please his loving boyfriend (not that it's a hard feat to accomplish, but, well) . Besides, he gets to see Minho dressed up, which is a rare sight when all Seungmin gets to see on a daily basis is Minho’s plain button ups and paint-stained slacks he wears everyday to teach elementary schoolers.
And luckily for Seungmin, about a week ago the custom ring he ordered was finally completed; he thinks it would be sweet to get engaged on his birthday to the man he loves.
So his plan: let Minho take the lead, enjoy a quiet dinner with his boyfriend, and propose right before dessert. If he’s lucky, Minho says yes. If not, he can joke and say it was for the free dessert. It doesn't really matter if Minho says no, springing a proposal like this on him in public definitely isn’t on Minho or Seungmin’s bucket list, but might as well go big or go home. And the plan should be fool-proof, so regardless of the outcome, the night still ends well.
And if Minho doesn't say yes, well, Seungmin will just cross that bridge when he gets to it. Right now, he knows he loves Minho regardless. A ring and a wedding doesn’t prove that anymore than all the other things they do for each other, afterall.
“Which tie should I wear?” Seungmin stands in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in their bedroom, holding up two different ties next to his chest; one is a plain, pastel blue that Minho got for him a few birthdays back because Seungmin is determined to have a closet full of blue. The other one is actually a bowtie, colored white with a print of pencil-drawn puppy faces. Minho gave him that one last year for Christmas. He doesn’t wear either of them very often or ties in general, but Minho insisted.
“Puppy faces!” Minho calls from the bathroom without even bothering to look. Seungmin knew he would choose that one regardless of the choices. It’s Minho’s favorite of Seungmin’s collection.
Seungmin smiles to himself as he wraps the tie around his neck, attempting to tie the bow himself. In the corner of his eye, he can see Minho dancing around to the music on his phone, oblivious to Seungmin struggling with his bowtie. He ties it wrong twice, getting it tangled around his fingers the second time, before Minho appears in front of him with a fresh face of subtle makeup and his hair parted stylishly over his forehead. Seungmin stills his hands, allowing his boyfriend to untangle them and take care of his tie himself. The smile on Seungmin’s face grows fond the longer he watches Minho concentrate on the task at hand.
“Six years, you would think you’d know how to do this by now,” Minho sighs, tugging on the bow to secure it before he pats Seungmin’s cheeks. “But you spend so much time ogling me that you never pay attention when I try to teach you.”
“Hm, whatever would I do without you, then?” Seungmin grins, placing his hands on Minho’s waist to prevent him from fleeing.
His boyfriend looks entirely unamused, arms crossed over his chest. Seungmin quirks an eyebrow, head cocked to the side and that’s all it takes for Minho’s composure to break. With two hands planted on the sides of Seungmin’s neck, Minho gives him a few small pecks on the lips before he finally smiles as well. “You’d probably crash and burn.”
“Well, then I certainly hope you don’t go anywhere anytime soon,” Seungmin bumps their foreheads together, eyelids fluttering against the apples of his cheeks as Minho giggles softly.
“Not without my ball and chain,” Minho hums, capturing Seungmin in a softer kiss this time.
Seungmin almost wants to forgo the dinner entirely if it means he’s able to melt into Minho right here and now. Yeah, that seems like a good way to spend his birthday. A couple bottles of wine, a fun movie, making out, maybe—
Minho breaks away first, eyes sparkling like he knows exactly what Seungmin is thinking about. There’s a catlike grin playing on his lips as he pulls back until Seungmin can’t chase him, hand sliding from his neck to cup his chin. Seungmin pouts at him, and Minho coos gently, squishing his cheeks. “Come on, Carrot Stick. We can’t be late for our reservation.”
“Not with that attitude,” Seungmin grumbles to himself once Minho has retreated into the bathroom to finish getting ready. With a sigh, Seungmin turns to his reflection in the mirror, fixing his bangs before grabbing the suit jacket off the bed, tugging it over his shoulders. The gold hemming along the lapels and the bottom of the jacket glitter in the overhead light, the perfect amount of shine that is subtle but eye-catching.
Minho’s outfit is a white silk blouse, a pair of black dress pants that flare at the end, and two dangling bedazzled bunny earrings to match Seungmin’s bowtie. Watching his lover straighten the loosened collar of his shirt, Seungmin really isn’t all that surprised that Minho dressed up this much, seeing as his boyfriend has a habit of going above and beyond. Minho always looks dazzling, and it just means Seungmin gets an excuse to pull him into extra kisses, fingers dancing along the small sliver of skin between his blouse and pants.
Minho snatches up the car keys before Seungmin can, refusing to let Seungmin touch the keys by putting a few steps of distance between them and dangling the keys away from himself. Seungmin can only blame it on his boyfriend’s good looks distracting him. Definitely not because he’s good at letting Minho have his way, and if Minho wants to drive because this is Seungmin’s day, then so be it.
“You’re staring,” Minho comments when they’re in the car and halfway down the road. He only gives Seungmin a side glance, pink rising to the tips of his ears.
Seungmin blinks and smiles unabashedly, propping his chin up on his palm over the middle console. “I’m admiring. And can you blame me? My boyfriend looks beautiful tonight.”
“Your boyfriend is going to crash this car if you don’t stop distracting him,” Minho grumbles but the pink on his ears turns to red, traveling down his neck and dusting across his cheeks like cherries, betraying his true feelings.
“You’d do it on purpose,” Seungmin says, grasping Minho’s free hand and tangling their fingers together so he can press a kiss to each of his knuckles. The red on Minho’s skin turns crimson, and Seungmin has to fight down a coo and the urge to tease him because he knows Minho would definitely try to crash the car then.
That doesn't stop him from grinning ear to ear though, shifting to lean back in his seat. He looks out at the buildings blurring past, a gentle thumb rubbing over the back of Minho’s hand. He doesn't have to look to know his boyfriend is smiling softly as well because he knows that Minho only smiles adoringly when Seungmin isn’t looking.
The parking lot, when they arrive, is packed, which is to be expected on a Friday evening at a five-star restaurant. There are valets stationed at the doors to the restaurant, but Minho parks on his own, forever suspicious of anyone he doesn’t know in his car without him. Seungmin has to keep an extra tight grip on his boyfriend’s hand to keep Minho from yelling at other cars in the lanes.
When they finally find a space near the back of the lot, Minho scrambles out of the car before Seungmin even has a chance to unbuckle. He watches his boyfriend round the front of the car to his side, taking a moment to straighten himself out before the door swings open. Seungmin blinks up at Minho, and the latter gives him that closed-mouth bored smile that he always makes when he's trying to divert attention away from his reddening ears.
“You’re in a mood tonight,” Seungmin hums, finally unbuckling and unfolding out of the car. Minho is more eye-level than he usually is, the small heels on his dress shoes bringing him up to Seungmin’s height. Seungmin hates when Minho wears those shoes.
“It’s your birthday,” Minho shrugs, straightening Seungmin’s bowtie before closing the car door and locking the car. He loops his arm with Seungmin’s to lead him through the parking lot and towards the front of the restaurant, a warm presence against Seungmin’s side. “Sue me if I want to be a little nicer tonight.”
“I prefer you when you’re calling me prey,” Seungmin chuckles, pressing a kiss to Minho’s temple.
“Save it for the bedroom, Carrot Stick.”
Seungmin chokes a little on nothing, his face growing unnaturally warm. He can feel Minho smirking next to him from the way his boyfriend's hands tighten around his arm and from the way Minho leans into him a little, as if rubbing the words into Seungmin’s skin until they're embedded there with the eternal shame and excitement they bring him.
“You’re evil,” Seungmin finally shoots back despite the ever-deepening red in his face. “Pure evil. Lucifer himself doesn't even hold a torch to you.”
“Aw,” Minho coos, ghosting a kiss over Seungmin’s cheek. “You flatter me.”
Seungmin can only manage an eye roll. Most days, he’d just fire another retort, but the air between them is charged with something different than Seungmin is used to. It’s tender and kind, maybe from the unusual niceties his boyfriend has been handing out all night. He can’t help the weird tightness in his chest, right above his heart, that feels painful but in a good sort of way.
It makes him tug Minho behind a random SUV and crash their lips together, pulling, pulling, pulling until their bodies are one singular line. Minho makes a noise against his mouth but matches his energy without hesitation, hands sliding into his hair as Seungmin’s grip on his waist tightens.
“Looks like I’m not the only one in a mood,” Minho laughs against his lips, giving them both only a brief second to breathe before Seungmin is diving back in, nipping at Minho’s bottom lip, just barely restraining himself from bunching up his boyfriend's shirt and wrinkling it.
And he probably could’ve kept going for a good long while, had it not been for his stomach growling loudly enough he’s positive everyone in the restaurant could hear it.
Minho jerks back, wide eyes flickering towards the SUV and then the parking lot before he looks at Seungmin, eyebrows drawn together. “What in the world—”
“I think—” He’s interrupted by another stomach growl, and Minho’s confusion is immediately replaced by rapidly growing amusement. “I think I’m hungry.”
“You don’t say,” Minho hums, rubbing a hand over Seungmin’s stomach and over his side in all the places he knows are ticklish. Seungmin tries not to squirm until Minho is pulling back, his hand sliding into his boyfriend's, tugging gently to get him to follow. “Come on, lover, let's get some dinner in you.”
Seungmin lets Minho lead him inside and up to the hostess standing behind a podium. Minho checks them in for their reservation while Seungmin scans their surroundings— there's a few other couples standing around waiting for a table and some waiters leaving and entering the kitchen off to the side. The restaurant itself is definitely on the nicer side of things, considering it’s rated five-stars with a menu that should be illegal for how expensive it is. Thankfully, Seungmin’s job as a journalist and Minho’s job as a teacher gives them a bit of a cushion to splurge every once in a while.
“Right this way, sirs,” The lady behind the podium gestures towards the dining area, a kind smile on her face.
Seungmin’s stares after her in confusion before glancing at the other waiting couples. Minho smiles when Seungmin gives him a look as well. “How—”
“Never underestimate the power of a few charming smiles,” Minho leans in to whisper like it’s a secret. Seungmin doesn’t get a chance to ask further before he’s being tugged along after the hostess.
On the way to their table, Seungmin counts three big chandeliers and three smaller ones that really don’t do much to illuminate their surroundings. Certainly not anymore than the candles centered in each and every table. Seungmin hopes that this restaurant must have something in place in the case of an emergency, considering that many candles must be a fire hazard. Nevermind that the decor and the general air of the establishment itself just feels like a hazard in general. Seungmin knows that he and Minho can easily afford places like this, but places like this also aren’t usually their speed. Seungmin can pretend he blends into a setting like this all he wants, but it’s not hard to tell the social elite from the middle class, regardless of how much you have sitting around in your bank account (and with his puppy face print bowtie and Minho’s matching bedazzled bunny earrings, well. )
Minho, to no surprise, looks as if he fits in like he always does. He’s always been good at adapting and blending in, and right now, with glittering jewels in his ears, shoulders squared, and an air of confidence around him— well, if Seungmin didn’t know any better, he would think his lover was born into this kind of life.
So it’s easy enough to follow Minho’s lead and pretend like he doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb because Minho has worked hard to put this night together and under circumstances where he’s simply enjoying a nice night out with his boyfriend on his birthday in a restaurant with money practically dripping down the walls— well, it’s not completely unbearable.
The hostess stops at a small, two-seater table near the back of the restaurant, out of the way of everyone else. Seungmin thanks her as he pulls a chair out for Minho before his boyfriend can do it for him. Minho gives him an indignant eye roll but sits anyway, and Seungmin smiles as he leans down to press a kiss to the pink tip of Minho’s ear, pretending he doesn’t notice Minho glaring at him over his menu when he finally sits across from him, even as their ankles hook around each other under the table.
Minho grimaces at the menu while Seungmin goes over the wines, none of which actually sound like anything he’s familiar with. He remembers hearing one of his coworkers going on about how all wines have distinct tastes, blah, blah, blah. He doesn’t actually remember a word of it because at the time, it sounded ridiculous. Now, he tries to recall anything from that conversation as he orders a couple of different wine samples and pretends like he knows what he’s talking about (he absolutely doesn’t— the most he knows is a few cheap bottles of red wine from the shelves at their local market). Eventually he ends up deciding on a red that their waitress insists pairs wonderfully with a dish that Seungmin couldn’t name if he tried. He’s just happy to finally have his alcohol.
“I don’t know what any of this says,” Minho finally grumbles, dropping his menu on the table with an exaggerated huff.
“I think some of it is French,” Seungmin says offhandedly, dragging a fingernail over the menu as he scans the options. He’s had enough international exposure to at least know what language he’s looking at. As for what it says or what it is, he’s at a loss.
“Well, aren’t you Mr . Worldwide,” Minho scoffs with a little shake of his head.
They end up asking their waitress for recommendations, much to Minho’s chagrin, before deciding to order the same thing (which was also the one thing on the menu that Seungmin thought sounded the most refined) and are presented with half of a grilled fish and half of a grilled steak, both seasoned and cooked to perfection. Any sort of annoyance Minho had built up dissipates in seconds after his first bite and Seungmin counts that as a win, smiling into his wine glass as he watches his boyfriend’s eyes sparkle at the tastes. And their dinner really is delicious; despite it not being whatever is supposed to pair well with Seungmin’s wine, he thinks it tastes rather well together.
“Here’s to you,” Minho says out of the blue halfway through their meal. With his glass raised, he gives Seungmin the sweetest smile he could muster up, eyes glittering in the candlelight. “Happy birthday, my Carrot Stick, and congratulations on showing up all of those people who told you that you couldn’t be anything because fuck them, right?”
“Your words are so moving,” Seungmin smirks, lifting his wine to clink the glass against Minho’s before they both take a sip. “Thank you for your motivation and your endless support, Bunny. I couldn’t do it without you.”
“Damn right,” Minho points a strict finger at his face, though they both know he’s not serious. Still, even if he were being serious, it would still be true. Minho kept Seungmin’s head on straight too many times to count in the past few years; he probably would’ve quit by now and ended up working some dead-end job if it hadn’t been for Minho. “And don’t you forget it.”
Seungmin smiles, warm, fuzzy, and gooey elation bubbling inside of him. He reaches across the table, taking Minho’s hand in his own and squeezing it gently.
“How could I? I would crash and burn without you, after all.”
The way Minho smiles at that puts even the sun to shame.
After their bellies are full, Minho makes an offhand comment about wanting to study up on other cuisines so he never runs into this problem again. Seungmin starts to feel a little ball of nervous energy get lodged behind his ribs. Minho calls for the waiter, asking for a dessert menu, and Seungmin barely hears her ask if either of them want tea, coffee or soju. Minho asks for coffee, and Seungmin just shakes his head.
“So, Bunny,” Seungmin begins when he’s sure they’re going to remain unbothered for the foreseeable future. Minho only glances at him for a second, humming as he returns his gaze to the dessert menu. “Remember that little question I popped about a month ago?”
“When you proposed to me with no ring? Yeah, I remember,” Minho snorts and nods, his bangs bobbing with the movement.
“I didn’t go into that conversation actually planning to propose,” Seungmin huffs, fingers curling around the little diamond encrusted silver band in his pocket. “Anyways, that’s not the point— if I had a ring now, what would you say?”
“Would that legally give you the opportunity to call me your ball and chain?” Minho leans back, squinting at Seungmin in the lowlight. Technically, Minho is dodging the actual question, but Seungmin has a habit of playing along with his boyfriend, letting him prance around the point until he decides he’s ready to face it. “Because if I remember correctly, that’s my nickname for you .”
Seungmin can only laugh. Sometimes he can’t tell if Minho already knows where he’s going with a conversation or if this is really where his thoughts go first. Between the two of them, Minho has less of a filter on his words than Seungmin, and he certainly isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. It’s one of the reasons Seungmin fell for him, and it’s one of the reasons they’re sitting here in the first place.
“And if it did?” Seungmin says, cocking his head to the side with a quick glance around the dining area. The crowd has certainly thinned out as the night progressed, which means less eyes and less attention on them— good. Seungmin knows how Minho feels about public attention sometimes.
“Sadly, I’d probably have to say no, then,” Minho sighs as if it truly is a tragedy, tracing the rim of his wine glass. There’s a little twitch at the corners of his lips that says differently though. “But even so, what makes you think you’d be able to handle being married to me, hm? I mean, right now you have the option to walk out the door, but with a legally binding contract such as marriage—”
“Unless you’re planning on moving to the states anytime soon, there would be nothing legal about our marriage,” Seungmin laughs. Minho smiles too, giving Seungmin a little eyebrow twitch and a nod of his head. “Besides, where else am I going to find someone as high maintenance as you? And if we’re being honest here, I’d like to think I’m the only one who could handle being married to you.”
The way Minho’s left brow slowly rises and his smile turns catlike, eyes sharpening in the dim candlelight, almost feels like a challenge. For a moment, Seungmin wonders if Minho really doesn’t have any idea what he’s planning.
“And how are you planning on proving it?” Minho is definitely challenging him. Realistically speaking, Minho is probably expecting some sort of innuendo or for Seungmin to attempt dodging the question this time, finding some way to weasel out of the corner Minho believes he’s just backed Seungmin into.
The way Minho’s eyes turn into saucers when Seungmin finally presents the ring is enough to tell Seungmin that his boyfriend had, at no point, actually been expecting Seungmin to actually have a ring. That doesn’t stop Seungmin from rising from his seat and kneeling next to his boyfriend in one, graceful move, giving Minho his best puppy-dog eyes and his softest smile. At some point, he had planned some big speech, but being here in the moment— it’s like the wind’s been knocked out of him. It baffles him that people are able to make it look so easy on TV.
“Why are you kneeling?” Minho hisses, cherry red dusting his cheeks. He scans the room before grabbing Seungmin’s wrists, pushing him back towards his seat as gently as he can. “Come on, Seungmin, put that thing away— what are you thinking? Get back in your seat!”
Seungmin only laughs, but he listens to his boyfriend and gets back in his chair before anyone can really take notice. Minho glares at him, his face as red as a tomato, and feels elation bubbling inside of him. Truthfully, he expected this result, but at least he knows Minho isn’t entirely unaffected. So he twists the ring around and grins while Minho just watches his every move, waiting for some sort of explanation.
“What? I just wanted a free dessert, sue me,” Seungmin shrugs, glancing at the ring before finally pocketing it. He reaches for the dessert menu, scanning over the options and trying to resist the urge to wince at the hefty prices. “Guess I’ll have to pay for it after all.”
“I can’t believe you wanted to use me for free dessert,” Minho scoffs, his voice barely wavering despite the shock Seungmin must’ve given him. “I should’ve known.”
“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way,” Seungmin pouts, dropping his cheek onto his palm, propping it up on the table. Minho rolls his eyes at the look Seungmin gives him. “Could you ever forgive me?”
Minho squints at him like he’s genuinely considering his answer. Seungmin waits patiently, lips turned into a pout as if that would sway his boyfriend’s decision in any way.
Finally, after what seems like minutes but was probably just seconds, Minho sighs a little too loudly and gestures vaguely to Seungmin.
“I suppose, with time, all wounds heal,” Minho hums, lifting his wine glass to his lips. He locks eyes with Seungmin’s over the rim as he takes a sip before he exhales. The amusement in his gaze fades into something a little more solemn. “I really wasn't expecting a ring.”
“Well, you did ask for one,” Seungmin says, giving a weak laugh. Minho’s face twists into something painful and Seungmin smiles reassuringly. “Don’t worry, no love lost here, bunny. I mean, I tried this in a restaurant, of all places. I didn’t exactly expect an enthusiastic yes, considering you’re not a big fan of big gestures.”
“So why do it?” Minho’s brows knit together, lips pursing into a pout.
“Why not?” Seungmin shrugs, picking up his own wine glass to swirl the alcohol around a little. “We’re already going to spend forever together, might as well show my dedication.”
Minho just blinks, and blinks, and blinks some more. His silence isn’t anything new— even after six years, Seungmin is always able to catch Minho off guard with the littlest things. He can see the way Minho’s ears turn pink as the words process in his brain, and then Minho is taking a worryingly big gulp of his wine, slamming the glass down as his face contorts into discomfort while he forces the mouthful of alcohol down.
“Shut up, I hate you.” Minho finally spits out, his voice a little hoarse. The pink tinting his ears turns deep crimson, traveling over the apples of his cheeks and down his neck.
Seungmin laughs, that familiar warm elation bubbling up in his chest again. He smiles so adoringly at his boyfriend even though Minho is glaring at him and simply props his chin up on his palm. Something in the way he must be looking at Minho makes Minho deflate almost instantly, the sharpness in his gaze softening at the edges like sea glass. Seungmin's heart thumps rapidly against his chest at the way Minho smiles at him like he’s the only person worth looking at.
“Whatever you say, honey,” Seungmin hums, tapping the dessert menu as he leans back. “Now, let's actually order dessert now, shall we?”
Later, when they get home, Minho doesn’t even give Seungmin a chance to shrug his jacket off before he’s led into the bedroom and pinned to the bed, a pair of lips on every inch of bare skin. The ring is gently placed on the nightstand by Minho himself, right next to Valentine's day stuffed bunny that Seungmin got Minho during their first year together that Minho insisted he would cherish forever (right after he accidentally dropped it in a puddle, but details, right?).
|three|
Seungmin is completely unashamed of the next time he proposes to Minho, regardless of the way Minho will turn redder than a tomato every time Seungmin brings it up.
Work has been a lot more demanding ever since Seungmin’s promotion and he can never get enough time alone with Minho anymore. Between being forced to stay late editing articles for coworkers and filing paperwork, and Minho swamped with tests, grading papers, and his dance troupe, the only times they really get to see each other is in the mornings when Minho makes coffee to go for the both of them, where they separate with a quick kiss and a murmured, “Stay safe”, or late at night when Minho stays up late just to greet Seungmin when the latter comes home from work, exhausted and close to tears because of the amount of work piling up. At least he gets to curl up on the couch in his boyfriend’s arms and shut off his mind for a while until he gets up to repeat the same daily grind.
But a beacon of hope shines through eventually, and Seungmin is given a few days off after his first article is finally published; it’s nothing special for his debut, just the ins and outs of some local, up and coming home business run by a lovely Korean-Australian couple. Seungmin had to get their numbers afterwards because Felix and Chan were just so charming that he wanted to get coffee sometime, or just hang out again— maybe introduce them to Minho.
With the days off lining up with a long weekend for Minho, the couple finally gets their first few days alone together in weeks. It feels good to wake up to Minho’s smiling face and a steaming mug of coffee, his boyfriend rolling back into bed next to him once Seungmin has taken his first sip. Being able to take it easy and recharge again is better than Seungmin had hoped it to be.
They both decide to spend their days off inside, making up for lost time with their Netflix shows and their chess score-chart. Seungmin finally takes the lead for the first time in months and he spends the rest of the day rubbing it in Minho’s face until Minho finally slams him against their bed and shuts him up with his lips on Seungmin’s neck and his hand down his pants. Shockingly, Seungmin forgets all about chess and their stupid scores and decides that his day is much better spent with Minho’s hands on his skin and their bodies melding together until they can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
Later, Seungmin scoops Minho off the sheets. His boyfriend, who he had momentarily presumed was asleep, blearly blinks his eyes open. There’s a puff of hot air against Seungmin’s neck, a mix between annoyance and contentedness, as if Minho isn’t sure whether to be grateful Seungmin is carrying him to the shower or upset that Seungmin is disturbing his rest. Regardless, they’ve been lying on the dirtied sheets for a half hour now, and Seungmin will be damned if he doesn’t get his boyfriend and his bed cleaned up before they end up falling asleep for real.
“Let me sleep,” Minho finally grumbles. Seungmin can feel the words forming against his neck.
He doesn’t respond right away, instead tenderly setting Minho on the closed toilet lid so he can get the bath water running and warm and soapy enough for Minho’s liking. His boyfriend weakly reaches for him, and Seungmin ruffles his hair, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it in the running water so he can clean Minho up a little bit before the actual bath. Minho leans into his touch when he gently pats the cloth against his face, slowly blinking up at Seungmin with a tired smile.
“You’re so good to me, Seungminnie,” Minho slurs, eyes fluttering shut. He always gets so tired after sex, completely complacent to Seungmin’s care. Were he a little more coherent, he’d be a lot more stubborn about this.
“It’s only fair after all the time you spent taking care of me when we were younger— and every day since we got together, too,” Seungmin chuckles, pressing a kiss to Minho’s forehead.
He drops the wet cloth in the sink and shuts the running water off so he can pick Minho up and lower him into the bubble bath. Minho sinks into the warmth instantly, making grabby hands at Seungmin, who slides in behind him and provides some support for Minho so his boyfriend doesn’t end up sliding into the water.
They sit in silence for a while, letting the water wash away the soreness and slowly bring some coherency back to Minho’s mind. Seungmin takes that time to wash Minho’s hair, massaging his scalp the way he knows Minho likes. He uses the bubbles to shape Minho’s hair into a mohawk at one point, making his boyfriend grumble and slap his hands away, grabbing the plastic bucket they keep around for baths. Seungmin laughs as he collects some water in the bucket and shields Minho’s eyes, washing the soap out of his hair. Afterwards, he apologizes with a kiss on both of Minho’s shoulders.
“My knight in shining bubbles,” Minho sighs, letting Seungmin lift his arms to rub soothing circles around some of the purpling bruises on his sides. “So good to me.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Seungmin jokes, pressing the back of his hand to Minho’s forehead.
“I’m fine,” Minho says, pulling Seungmin’s hand away from his face before turning his head to meet his eyes. Seungmin presses a kiss between his eyes and Minho scrunches up his nose but smiles all the same. “My boyfriend is just wonderful, that’s all. Did you know that?”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like hearing it every once in a while,” Seungmin hums a little offhandedly. Sitting here in their bathtub, with Minho in his arms and not a care in the world, all he can really think about is the ring sitting on the nightstand.
Seungmin is in love with Minho, that much is obvious to anyone who pays attention. Minho is in love with Seungmin. Sometimes it takes a little convincing for people outside of their friend circle to prove that. But for them, it doesn’t matter who knows and who doesn’t. Seungmin is in love with Minho’s gentleness, the flowers Minho grows on the roof of their apartment building, the cats he rescues from the streets, the children he teaches. He’s in love with the way Minho views the world; his boyfriend has never been a fighter— neither has Seungmin, but it was the way Seungmin fought for him and Minho that Minho fell in love with initially, and then it was Seungmin’s words, and then it was Seungmin’s sharp wit, and then it was Seungmin’s heart. A ring won’t change what they love about each other, but it certainly will be proof that their love is theirs no matter what.
“Okay, well, I’m not going to fuel your ego too much tonight— wh— hey, what the hell are you doing— Seungmin—!” Minho exclaims when Seungmin suddenly and gently detaches himself from Minho, scrambling out of the bath and dripping soapy water all over the tile as he rushes into the bedroom. “Kim Seungmin!”
Seungmin ignores him until the ring is in his hand and he’s climbing back into the bath, ignoring the water sloshing out of the tub as he settles in front of his boyfriend this time.
Minho’s eyes are wide with shock when Seungmin returns, gesturing wildly to his boyfriend. Any of the fuzziness lingering in his mind has more than dissipated, leaving him clear-headed enough to exclaim, “The hell was that?!”
“I needed to get this,” Seungmin presents the ring like it’s a trophy, grinning like a madman at Minho. Minho just looks like he’s at a complete loss for words, eyes zeroing in on the ring as Seungmin clears his throat. “Okay, um— well, this is entirely unorthodox for a proposal—”
“Yeah, we’re in the fucking bath!”
“Let me finish!” Seungmin huffs, returning Minho’s glare for only a brief moment before he exhales and takes Minho’s hand with his free one. “But when have we ever done things the way we’re supposed to, or whatever? So, I’m proposing again; marry me?”
This one is definitely not planned out whatsoever; Seungmin rarely acts on pure impulse, especially when it comes to things like this, but something about this moment specifically made him realize that what he and Minho have is— well, it’s special. And rare. And sure, he already knows that he and Minho are in it for the long game, but like he said on his birthday; he might as well show his dedication until Minho is ready.
And maybe seeing a ring on Minho’s finger put there by Seungmin himself is something he wants and needs to see for purely selfish reasons, but he won’t ever admit that to anyone but himself.
“For a writer, you sure have a way with words,” Minho scoffs but his hand tightens around Seungmin’s. He stares at the ring for a few moments longer before he meets Seungmin’s eyes, an almost disbelieving smile on his face. “You just had your dick in my ass, the least you could do is try to be poetic, or tell me you love me or something.”
“I tell you I love you everyday, come on,” Seungmin’s grin doesn’t waver at all, wiggling the ring around a little. “I’m gonna wear out the words if I say them too much.”
“You’re unbelievable sometimes,” Minho groans, dropping his face in his free hand.
“Isn’t this the best time to propose, though?” Seungmin’s grin grows more lopsided. He watches Minho’s ears for a reaction since his face is hidden. “I mean, technically, we did just consummate it, after all.”
Minho’s reaction is instantaneous. He chokes on quite literally nothing, his other hand slipping from Seungmin grasp and flying up to cover his face completely. His ears turn crimson, the color traveling all the way down his neck and spreading across his chest. Seungmin bites his bottom lip, cocking his head to the side as innocently as he can when Minho finally glares at him through his fingers.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Minho grumbles, eyes narrowing when Seungmin pouts and rests a finger on his chin.
“Well, I mean, marriages are, traditionally consummated with penet—”
“Shut up, oh my god, I hate you.” Minho’s hands slap over Seungmin’s mouth at lightning speed, the red spreading over his face as well.
Seungmin giggles but makes no effort to remove the hands on his mouth. He simply just lifts the ring in between Minho’s arms, wiggling it around and raising his eyebrows. Minho looks between him and the ring before he scoffs. “You know, I was considering it but after that? First you don’t even give me a big speech or anything and then you go embarrassing me? That is not the engagement story I want to tell our friends.”
Seungmin just laughs harder— or as hard as he can with the hands on his mouth, restricting any sort of sound coming out. Minho grimaces and drops his arms, lightly shoving Seungmin backwards a little as the latter just keeps laughing, more bathwater sloshing out around them. The water has long since grown cold and the bubbles are more or less gone at this point, but Seungmin— as soon as he sobers up— just leans in to kiss Minho softly. A hand curls around the back of his neck instantly, Minho’s lips meeting his as easily as they always do. He feels Minho smiling against his mouth, and it makes his heart skip three beats in a steady precession. Even if Minho tells him no for the rest of their lives, he’s going to love him just as much as he did when they met— more, even, more than he did six years ago, more than he did a year ago, more than he did yesterday.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Minho sighs when they finally separate, his hand on the back of Seungmin’s neck keeping him in place with their foreheads pressed together despite the slight discomfort of their position. “My ball and chain.”
“Mm, and yet you still tell me you love me,” Seungmin gives Minho a lopsided smile, pulling away from his boyfriend to drain the bath before he pulls Minho to his feet, not giving him a choice as he scoops him up again.
“Begrudgingly,” Minho snorts, holding onto Seungmin’s shoulders as the latter sets him on the toilet seat and grabs one of their matching towels— with each other’s initials embroidered into the corners— off the towel rack to dry Minho’s hair as gently as possible.
Minho grasps Seungmin’s hips for stability, and when he speaks, Seungmin can hear the smile in his voice. “But when you do stuff like that, I guess you’re not all that bad.”
“Wow, I can really feel the love,” Seungmin deadpans, draping Minho’s towel over his shoulders before grabbing his own to dry himself off as he heads into the bedroom to find them both clean clothes.
Minho follows after him, completely forgoing clothes to climb on top of the sheets completely naked. Seungmin glances at him over his shoulder with a grimace. “Can you at least change the sheets before you lay on them? Those are dirty.”
“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” Minho slides off the bed, stepping out of the room to retrieve a clean set of sheets from the hallway closet.
“Hm, last I checked, you’re the one that started it in the first place, so best guess? Yours,” Seungmin points a finger at Minho when his boyfriend returns and all he gets in return is a sneer and Minho flipping his middle finger at him.
“Oh yeah, real mature there, Bunny.”
“My ass is still sore, fuck off,” Minho mutters but he can’t hide his red ears from Seungmin.
Seungmin doesn’t mention it though, letting Minho breathe for once so he can tug on boxers and a t-shirt and slide into bed next to Minho once the clean sheets are neatly pulled over the mattress. He makes a mental note to do the laundry later and pulls his boyfriend against his chest, hands sliding up Minho’s bare back to rest on his shoulder blades as he buries his face in Minho’s neck. There’s a hand in his hair and a hand on the small of his back and he lets the rest of the world fade away, focusing on nothing except the beat of Minho’s heart.
“I love you,” He whispers into the junction between Minho’s neck and shoulder. For a moment, he almost thinks Minho didn’t hear him or fell asleep, but then the arms wrapped around him tighten slightly, completely encasing Seungmin in warmth.
“I know,” Minho murmurs, pressing a kiss to Seungmin’s temple.
A silly proposal can wait because these little moments are infinitely more important to Seungmin in the long run.
|four|
Okay, so Seungmin doesn't really like cats. He doesn't hate them, but he’s not exactly fond of them either. If he could go his whole life without being around any of them, he’d be content.
Which is exactly how he knows just how tight Minho has him wrapped around his cute little fingers. One would think that after six years, it would be pretty obvious, but no. This is the tipping point.
“Why am I still trying?” Seungmin asks no in particular, staring into the pair of big, green eyes staring up at him from the floor. The grey tabby kitten he adopted hours earlier, after extensive research and some back and forth calls, only a week after Minho’s birthday is laying in front of him on the living room floor. The engagement ring on his collar glints up at Seungmin, as if that’s some sort of answer to his rhetorical question.
He only thought of this because of a video he saw when scrolling through his phone one late night, where the guy proposed to his girlfriend with a new pet. In the video, the girl was ecstatic to receive a proposal and a dog; Minho, however, is a quiet romantic. He usually sticks to smaller gestures. A cat is a small enough gesture, right? He’s been talking about getting one for a while now, anyway. Seungmin just beat him to it.
“We should probably make a deal if we’re going to be living together from now on,” Seungmin exhales and settles on the floor next to the cat, gently poking his head to get his attention. The feline lazily looks over at him, eyes lidded and tail swishing across the rug.
“Right, uh,” Seungmin clears his throat, briefly wondering why he’s even bothering; this is a cat. It's not like the kitten can understand him. “I don’t really like cats, and I know you guys can sometimes sense that, but I love Minho and I hope you will too, so… let’s have a truce. Don’t break anything of mine or throw up in my shoes or anything like that and I’ll— god, I don’t know, get you expensive treats? Play with you sometimes?”
The kitten blinks at him a couple times before a tiny mewl leaves him and he rolls onto his back, exposing his little belly. Seungmin cocks his head to the left, hesitantly reaching out to gingerly run his fingers through the soft fur. He can feel the kitten purring under his touch and takes that as an agreement.
“Cool, glad we could get that out of the way,” He exhales and stands, heading into the kitchen to set up the cat's food and water before Minho gets home— which, if he’s generous with train times and traffic congestion, should be soon. Ten minutes tops.
He’s actually kind of nervous— scratch that, he’s really nervous. Even after proposing twice already, he still feels his heart race just a little bit faster— maybe it’s the cat. He knows his boyfriend loves cats, maybe even more than he loves Seungmin, but who knows how he’ll react to a kitten in his living room that definitely wasn’t there when he left this morning. Best case scenario, he’ll be confused but overall elated. If Seungmin knows his boyfriend as well as he thinks he does, that’s hopefully the most probable outcome, however—
The door lock clicking snaps him back to reality. Seungmin jerks up at the same time as the kitten, both of them turning towards the front of the apartment. Seungmin quickly sets the water bowl next to the food bowl on the kitchen floor before he hurries over to the kitten, who moved onto the couch at the sound of the front door.
“Just uh, stay here. Please.” He whispers before quickly hurrying to the front door just as Minho is closing it.
Minho is turning, about to call out that he’s home when Seungmin catches him by surprise with a gentle hand on each side of his face and a smile against his lips. As soon as his shock wears off, Minho happily accepts the kiss, a smile on his own face when they pull apart a moment later.
“Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise,” Minho says, head cocked to the side. “Is there a special occasion I’m forgetting?”
Seungmin’s smile stretches further across his face. “No, I just missed you.”
Minho beams and Seungmin feels his heart soar. God, how he wishes he could just leave everything behind and only wake up and fall asleep to that face, with nothing else getting in the way.
“Hm, how sweet,” Minho hums, ears tinted pink like they always are whenever he’s with Seungmin. Whatever he’s about to say next is interrupted by a meow and a small body against his legs, sending a shockwave through his body. Seungmin freezes as Minho leaps back, eyes bulging out of his head at the sight of the feline sitting at Seungmin’s feet.
“Is that— where did that cat come from?!” Minho jabs a finger at the kitten, gaze flicking between it and Seungmin. “Why is there a cat in the apartment?!”
After a bolt of anxiety shoots through him and momentarily turns his blood to ice before it melts again, Seungmin exhales, rubbing the back of his neck and contemplating how he’s going to explain this one. He kneels to pick up the kitten, who immediately rubs his head against Seungmin’s chin.
“I told him to stay put,” Seungmin mutters, standing back up and gently patting the cat’s head.
Minho splutters, gesturing wildly to Seungmin and the cat. If his eyes widen any further they might just pop out all together. “ You got a cat?!”
Might as well just tell the whole truth. The proposal can come afterwards— it’s not like it’ll get him anywhere if he doesn't give some context.
“Well, I saw this in a video a few weeks back; the guy got his girlfriend a cat to propose to her by putting the ring on the collar—” He gestures to the ring on the cat’s collar in his arms, turning the feline so Minho can see it better. “And I know you like cats and I like you so I thought, “why the hell not?” Your birthday was last week and— well, I don’t know, this seemed more romantic in hindsight.”
At this point, he’s rambling. He has no idea if what he’s saying makes sense. He has no idea if this was a good or bad idea. He feels a heat crawl up his neck, embarrassment at the lengths he’s just gone to for this— Honestly, who adopts an entire animal for the purpose of proposing? An animal they don't even like?
Seungmin, that’s who, apparently.
“So you just— you got a whole cat. Like a living, breathing animal. Just to propose.” Minho sounds like he really doesn’t believe what he’s saying, but honestly, Seungmin can’t blame him. This is definitely a new one even for him. “I thought you didn’t even like cats!”
“Yeah, but I like you more,” Seungmin shrugs, scratching behind the cat’s ears. The way Minho blinks and blinks, mouth agape as he tries to process what Seungmin just said— well, it brings a smile to Seungmin’s face. It makes him feel a little better about all of this.
The kitten mews, curling into Seungmin’s chest with a purr rumbling deep inside of him. Seungmin chuckles, cradling the kitten gently. “Besides, this one is kind of growing on me, anyways.”
“I liked you better as a cynic.” Minho grumbles, kicking his shoes off and brushing past Seungmin, making his way into the kitchen to get some things out for dinner like he always does.
“You love me regardless,” Seungmin giggles, following Minho and stopping him in his tracks with the cat held up between them. “So? Will you marry me?”
Minho looks between Seungmin’s smiling face and the utter indignance on the cat’s face before he shrugs nonchalantly and steps around them, moving towards the fridge to look for ingredients. “Let me think about it.”
The kitten meows in response, and Seungmin sets him down on the counter, letting him wander freely again. The ring clinks against the metal pieces of the collar as he trots over to Minho, rolling onto his back in hopes of receiving belly rubs. Seungmin snickers and leans against the counter.
“I think he likes you,” Seungmin says, meeting Minho’s eyes. His boyfriend is trying to appear annoyed, but the longer the cat meows and purrs at him, the more he softens. Seungmin feels his own smile soften with him. “We should name him.”
“Lets name him Seungmo since he’s as annoying as you,” Minho sets the bowl in his hands by the sink and scratches under the kitten’s chin, the corners of his lips twitching up into the smallest of smiles.
“That would be too confusing,” Seungmin snorts, moving over to them and jumping up to sit on the counter. “I don’t want to share Changbin's nickname for me with our cat.”
Minho hums, shifting the collar around the kitten’s neck to inspect the ring, twisting it around until he can read the inscription on the inside of the band that reads, “For my Bunny, from your Carrot Stick; the future is ours” . A reprise of the same thing Minho told Seungmin right before Seungmin moved away to America for an opportunity that was supposed to last 3 years, right before Minho graduated college. Seungmin had been torn to bits about missing Minho’s graduation and eventually ended up dropping the internship a few months in so he could move back home and be with his boyfriend. He would probably be a lot higher up in the journalism world by now, but Minho has been and always will be leagues more important than work.
Seungmin looks between him and the ring, chewing on the inside of his lip. He won’t admit it outloud, but somewhere deep down, a small part of him is starting to get worried that he might actually be upsetting Minho with the proposals. He occasionally slips the topic into conversation at random, and Minho always finds a way to skirt around it with a joke or an eye roll, but he’s never come right out and actually said he doesn’t like it. But that doesn’t mean a lot— Minho never truly expresses those things, not in so many words, anyway.
“How about… ‘Dori’?” Minho says as he unclips the collar from the kitten’s neck and slides the ring off of it. Seungmin holds a hand out for the ring, curling his fingers around it when Minho presses into his palm. The way he lingers on the small band before his fingers brush across Seungmin’s and fall to rest on his thigh almost feels like a promise of sorts.
“Dori,” Seungmin repeats. The kitten’s ears twitch and perk up at the sound of the name and he rolls onto his back again, giving a tiny mrr, in response. Seungmin chuckles and rubs his belly. “I think he likes that.”
“Dori it is then,” Minho situates himself in between Seungmin’s legs and leans against his chest, playing with Dori’s paw and squeezing Seungmin’s thigh right above his knee. “Welcome to the family, Dori.”
“If he breaks any of my stuff, I’m going to fight him,” Seungmin states matter-of-factly, recoiling with a choked sound when Minho slaps his calf which causes him to bang his heel into the cabinet by accident. “I was joking!”
Minho tries not to laugh as he lifts Seungmin’s leg to inspect the heel. Seungmin gives him a wounded look, like a kicked puppy, bottom lip jutting out and everything. Minho coos, gently lowering his leg and shimmying in between his knees to pull him into a kiss. Seungmin melts into it and him, laying his arms over Minho’s shoulders and sighing happily.
“My dramatic little puppy,” Minho chuckles, cupping Seungmin’s chin when he pulls away. “You better not lose that ring any time soon, okay?”
Seungmin feels his heart leap in his chest. It’s the first time Minho has given him anything more than a non-response or skirted around the topic— directly addressing the ring itself instead. Seungmin nods enthusiastically, tightening his hold on the ring and bumping his forehead against Minho’s. His boyfriend snorts, running gentle fingers through Seungmin’s bangs as Dori butts his head against the outside of Seungmin’s thigh.
“Silly Carrot Stick,” Minho murmurs.
Seungmin beams, wrapping his arms around Minho’s neck to pull him closer. “Silly Bunny.”
Seungmin supposes he’ll just keep asking. It’s certainly not like he’s losing anything by doing so, and if it means Minho acts so sweet with him like this, well, then it’s certainly a win in his book.
|five|
On the weekdays, Minho is a grade school teacher. On the weekends, he’s a dancer. His dance troupe gathers every Saturday to practice routines and choreography for various events— the most common being busking events. Seungmin has been the team’s number one supporter for years now, dating all the way back to when it was just Minho and Hyunjin. Seungmin helped them find Yunho and Yeonjun. Changbin, Seungmin’s childhood friend and Hyunjin’s partner, helped them find Wooyoung and Beomgyu. It’s been the six of them ever since.
Occasionally, Seungmin and Changbin will pair up in their free time to write original songs for the team to choreograph, ever since Changbin accidentally stumbled across Seungmin singing to himself. Their voices meld fairly well, allowing for exceptionally well-made songs, and Minho and Hyunjin are always so proud to announce that their partners are the writers of their music.
For the past couple weeks, the troupe finally found the time to work on a song they’ve been wanting to do for a while, planning to attend a busking event near the end of November. Seungmin and Changbin have been taking turns keeping an eye on all of them, bringing them food and water and making sure they’re resting outside of meetings. Minho has been over the moon about being able to dance again, even with his students’ exams and winter break coming up. Seungmin is just happy to see him happy.
He’s put the proposals on hold for now since Minho’s been way too busy for something else to end up on the pile, but the ring still sits snug in Seungmin’s pocket wherever he goes, a silent reminder that it’s there. He has a plan for it, but for now, he keeps his focus on supporting his boyfriend and his friends. Their routine is coming along nicely; Seungmin is positive it’ll be the one of the best.
The night of the event, Minho parts with Seungmin in their apartment with a kiss and a smile before climbing into the van next to Hyunjin and Yeonjun. Seungmin plans to go with Changbin, but they make a quick detour to get bouquets for their lovers and the entire group. Seungmin sneaks a box of chocolates as well, with the idea that he and Minho will probably share them later.
“One good thing about these events is I don’t have to lug my equipment around everywhere,” Changbin jokes when they find a place to park as close to the event as possible. The street is already full of people, but on Saturday night in the middle of Hongdae, that’s to be expected.
“Yeah, thank god. Your shit is heavy,” Seungmin laughs, ducking away from Changbin’s flailing arm. “The last time they had an event outside of busking, I couldn’t feel my arms for a week because of it.”
“You should work out more, then you wouldn’t need to complain so much,” Changbin grumbles, sticking his tongue out at Seungmin.
With a lopsided grin, Seungmin leans in close to Changbin to murmur, “Can’t, Minho likes me best when he’s able to toss me around.”
“Gross!” Changbin shrieks, shoving Seungmin away and hurrying into the crowd to put as much distance between them as they can. Seungmin laughs despite the stares he and his friend get from surrounding strangers and hurries off after Changbin before they accidentally get separated in the crowd for real.
He catches up to Changbin as they’re finding a spot up on the steps above the stage that Minho and the others are performing on, the pair of them nestling close next to the railing to keep out the late autumn chill.
“I thought we promised not to make jokes about our sex lives,” Changbin mutters even as they grab Seungmin’s hands to warm them up when the latter wiggles his fingers to keep them from freezing. “I don’t need all the nasty details of whatever you and Minho get up to behind closed doors.”
“Oh sure, as if you didn’t spill all the nasty details between you and Hyunjin when you two finally got your shit together,” Seungmin snorts, nudging Changbin’s shoulder. His friend just rolls their eyes and hides Seungmin’s hands in their jacket pocket for now.
“Whatever, Seungmo,” Changbin sighs, shaking their head slightly. They scan the crowd down below before checking their watch for the time. “What time are they performing?”
Seungmin chews on his bottom lip as he tries to recall if Minho had mentioned a specific time slot at any point but nothing comes to mind. He checks their shared phone calendar in case the time might be there but he can’t find anything about it. “I don’t think I ever got a time.”
“Great,” Changbin huffs and rubs Seungmin’s free hand before releasing it to pull out their phone. Seungmin peeks over their shoulder, watching them ask Hyunjin about it. A few seconds pass before a message comes through that says, “We don’t know either”.
“Well, time to get comfortable,” Seungmin says, curling into Changbin’s side more as he pulls his hood up.
Changbin wraps an arm around him and starts going on about something work related but Seungmin ends up tuning them out, a hand straying to the pocket of his jeans to make sure the engagement ring is still there. Minho is probably in one of the surrounding buildings or farther down the street getting some pre-performance food, out of sight of Seungmin but still close enough that he could go find him if he really wanted to. But Minho already told him to wait until after the show with a smile and a wink and Seungmin always listens too well when it comes to Minho. Still, as much as he enjoys spending time with Changbin, he already misses his boyfriend.
The night progresses with a lot of music and commotion and at one point, Changbin pulls Seungmin to his feet to dance around and get their blood moving so they don’t freeze together on the steps. After a few stressful weeks at work, Seungmin is more than happy to release some of that tension and enjoy a fun night with his best friend, supporting their boyfriends and their friends.
Minho’s group finally performs deep into the night, but the wait made it all the better. Seungmin got to sit in on a few practice sessions even when the others claimed he was “distracting their leader”. Minho wouldn’t admit that they were right, but every time they would take breaks, he’d end up in Seungmin’s lap while they monitored the performance. Seungmin helped them fix anything that might’ve been out of place, and his input really helped them finalize everything. He may not be a dancer himself, but he’s watched his boyfriend and watched dance videos on youtube enough to have something of an idea when it comes to these things.
And seeing the finished choreo on a stage, finally out of the practice room, after too many late nights, is better than Seungmin imagined. He’s experienced this more times than he can count, watched a choreography come to fruition and watched it performed without mistakes on a stage time and time again, but it’s still exhilarating every time.
He tries to pay attention to everyone, but at some point Minho has a rose between his teeth and he finds Seungmin’s eyes and never looks away, and Seungmin is helpless to do anything about it— not that he would even want to, his boyfriend looks beautiful in the lighting, with his subtle makeup and his hair slicked back. The way his body moves like one fluid line, melding to the music and becoming it, the way he stares at Seungmin, the way he captivates the audience— it’s hypnotizing and Seungmin will never get over just how lucky he is to be able to love Minho the way he does.
It’s really no surprise the amount of people who cheer whenever Minho is at the front. As much as people love the group as a whole, Minho has a certain charisma when it comes to the stage. And his beauty, in Seungmin’s humble (and probably biased) opinion, is entirely outmatched. The amount of girls shrieking whenever Minho winks, even if it's not at them, is almost amusing. The way Minho is able to keep all eyes on him and the others is— for lack of a better word— amazing.
The group finishes with Minho at the center, his hand outstretched in the general direction of Seungmin, and their eyes still locked. Once the lights shut off and the applause fades out, they all hurry off stage. Hyunjin throws another rose into the crowd and Wooyoung lingers to blow kisses to everyone until Yunho drags him away. Seungmin is about to turn and say something to Changbin when his friend grabs his hands and pulls him along, the pair weaving through the crowd until they reach the little water station off to the side where their friends are drying off the sweat and hydrating themselves.
Changbin lets go of Seungmin to make a beeline for Hyunjin, who smiles and practically melts into his partner, greeting them with a kiss. Seungmin lingers back, waving to Yeonjun and Beomgyu when he catches their eyes. He doesn’t know when Jeongin and Jisung showed up, but Jeongin is animatedly retelling a story to Beomgyu, and Jisung is chatting with Hyunjin and Changbin— which, Seungmin is surprised neither of them have made a move on the boy yet. The way they’re eyeing him is making Seungmin feel dirty just watching it happen; Jisung is so oblivious it hurts.
Minho isn’t anywhere to be seen, which partially worries Seungmin. He’s about to sneak off and either find Minho first or get the bouquet so he can just pop the damn question scratching at the back of his teeth before a pair of arms wrap around his waist and a familiar warmth is pressed against his back.
“Guess who,” Minho purrs in his ear, his breath ghosting the back of Seungmin’s neck.
Seungmin doesn’t bother responding; he whips around in Minho’s arms and pulls his sweaty boyfriend into a kiss, cupping both sides of his face. Minho makes a startled noise but leans into Seungmin regardless, hands fisting the fabric of his jacket.
“Well, someone missed me,” Minho laughs against Seungmin’s lips, bumping their foreheads together.
Seungmin hums, littering a few extra kisses on Minho’s face before he leans back to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. Minho’s smile fades just slightly, the amusement replaced with confusion at the sudden intensity with which Seungmin looks at him.
“Marry me,” Seungmin says without much hesitation, stroking his thumbs across the apples of Minho’s cheeks. As an afterthought, he adds, “Please?” Even trying to give Minho a sweet smile so it doesn’t seem so serious and intense, even though he’s not joking whatsoever.
Minho blinks a couple times, expression blanking as he tries to process the sudden question. Seungmin can see him picking apart those three little words, dissecting them for easier consumption. He waits as patiently as ever, even with his heart in his throat and his body trembling from the cold; He watches a tiny shift in Minho’s gaze, his eyebrows twitching as the confusion gives way to something else, like the waves of the ocean hued by a setting sun; Seungmin can’t quite place what the something else is though.
“You just don’t give up, do you?” Minho laughs weakly, one of his hands sneaking up Seungmin’s chest to rest just below Seungmin’s jaw. Seungmin can’t tell if the pink tinting his cheeks and ears is from the cold or from Seungmin himself. If he had to guess, it’s probably more himself than the cold. “Your persistence is awe-worthy, Carrot Stick.”
Seungmin drops a hand to fish around in his pocket until he procures the ring, holding it up in between them with a smile. Their surroundings carry on like nothing is happening between the two of them, music and chatter mixing together to create one big symphony like whatever may happen in this very moment in time isn’t life-changing. Maybe proposing on the side of a Hongdae street, with Minho sweaty and shivering in his arms and a crowd of people with lives of their own closing them in, isn’t exactly ideal, but he’s already proposed in the bath right after sex and with a cat a week after his boyfriend’s birthday— compared to those, this is probably leagues better.
“You did ask for a shiny rock,” Seungmin hums, shrugging slightly. “And, I just— you know, I had like three speeches planned out for this—”
“Of course you did.”
“Let me finish,” Seungmin huffs, scrunching his nose up. Minho giggles and plants a quick kiss on Seungmin lips before pulling him off to the side and a little more out of the way— sheltered from the public eye.
Seungmin inhales shakily, lifting a hand from Minho’s waist to trace his thumb along the delicately sculpted structure of his cheekbone, feeling all the sharp edges he adores so much. Minho smiles up at him, a fond little expression, full of so much love, that he reserves only for Seungmin. It makes Seungmin’s heart stutter and flip so hard in his chest that he’s positive it’s just going to burst from his ribs.
With a weak exhale, he tries to muster up the words he needs to say, to put into words what Minho means to him— what this means to him.
“I just know that I love you, like a lot. Like— if you took all the stars in the sky and combined them into one, my love would outshine even that giant jumbo star—” Seungmin holds his hand up and gestures vaguely with it like he’s holding a ball. Minho snickers, biting his bottom lip so he doesn't interrupt Seungmin.
“And— I know a ring and a wedding is kind of pointless for gay people in Korea, but to be able to have matching bands, ones that clink together whenever we hold hands or that I can kiss before bed, to be able to have proof that I can call you my husband— that seems pretty sweet, doesn’t it? So, even if you keep skirting around it, I’m just going to keep asking, even until we’re old and gray and wrinkly because I love you and I love us and— okay, you’re smiling. Why are you smiling?”
Minho laughs softly, laying a hand over the ring and gently pushing Seungmin’s hand down. Even though Minho is smiling so adoringly, his eyes sparkling at Seungmin like he’s the sun and all the stars combined, Seungmin knows what’s coming next. And it’s okay, because he already promised Minho that it doesn’t matter what happens, he’s going to carry this damn engagement ring around until it’s on Minho’s finger.
“Can you wait just a little longer?” Minho asks gently, cupping Seungmin’s face with his cold, red-tipped fingers. “Not until we’re old and wrinkly, but maybe not when I’m sweaty and gross and the both of us are shivering in the streets of Hongdae because— honestly? Not the best place for it. I would’ve taken the bath over this.”
Seungmin snorts, bumping his forehead against Minho’s as they both giggle at that. He nods as Minho presses the ring into his palm, laying his fingers over it and pressing a few kisses to Seungmin’s lips.
“I’m content to move at whatever pace you set for us, Bunny,” Seungmin hums, wrapping an arm around Minho’s wait to spin him around and dip him dramatically. Minho shrieks, hastily wrapping his arms around Seungmin’s neck before they both fall over. “But oh, the waiting is such sweet sorrow.”
“You’re ridiculous!” Minho exclaims, a smile stretching across his face. Seungmin grins so wide his cold face hurts, and Minho pulls him down for another kiss, one hand curling into Seungmin’s hair. “But it can’t hurt to learn a little patience every once in a while, Carrot Stick.”
“Only for you, Bun,” Seungmin whispers, pulling Minho up straight to hold him better.
He’s about to just say fuck it and drag Minho home when he hears a throat clearing somewhere behind his boyfriend. He looks up to see Changbin watching them with an eyebrow raised and their arms crossed. He doesn’t know how long Changbin has been standing there, but something about the way they’re holding a smile back tells Seungmin he knows a little more than he should.
“Are you two done yet?” Changbin huffs, jutting his hip out and squinting at the couple.
“Pushy, pushy,” Minho teases, pulling away from Seungmin to face Changbin. He pouts, arms outstretched. “No hug, Binnie?”
“Oh, fuck you,” Changbin sticks their tongue out at Minho before jabbing a thumb over their shoulder. “Are you two joining us for dinner or not?”
Minho glances at Seungmin, a question in his eyes. Seungmin hums, shrugging. It’s been a bit since they all hung out as a group; it certainly couldn’t hurt. Part of him wants to just go home and curl up with Minho and Dori and defrost, but he doesn’t know when he’ll get to see everyone again. So he pockets the ring and follows Minho and Changbin back to the group, properly greeting his friends with a hand on the small of Minho’s back.
Minho and Seungmin ride with Changbin and Hyunjin on the way to the barbeque place that Jeongin so graciously offered to pay for (for what reason, Seungmin is still trying to figure out because that kid almost never does anything nice unless he expects something out of it). Minho’s hand is curled around Seungmin’s as the couple listens to Hyunjin ramble about something work related— Seungmin isn’t usually one for gossip, but Hyunjin works at a quaint little Korean-American diner a few blocks away from the building Seungmin works in, so he gets quite a lot of colorful customers and has more than a few interesting stories stored away for whenever he’s given the chance to talk. Hyunjin is almost as bad as Jisung when it comes to rambling, but he only comes in a close second compared to the latter.
“...So anyways, as you all know, we have a karaoke night every Friday, right? Well, this guy proposes to his girlfriend with a song! Like that is both romantic as fuck and so cheesy it could’ve been considered a health hazard for lactose intolerant people.”
“Speaking of proposals,” Changbin has a habit of using their boyfriend’s stories as a way to introduce new subjects. Almost always at Seungmin’s expense. “Was that a ring I saw earlier, Seungmin?”
The ticking turn signal is the only thing to break the sudden silence that stretches on for the next few seconds before Hyunjin all but explodes in the passenger seat. Were it not for the smirk Seungmin sees on Changbin’s face in the rearview mirror and the fact that they’ve known each other since diapers, he would almost think that Changbin didn’t know that the mere mention of a ring and a proposal in the same sentence would elicit this type of reaction in Hyunjin. But he knows his best friend, and now Hyunjin is staring straight through Seungmin, right down to his soul with such intensity it makes Seungmin’s ears burn.
“Were you proposing to Minho-hyung?!” Hyunjin’s shrill voice is too loud for the small confines of the car.
Minho rolls his eyes, sliding down in the seat as his ears turn a dark crimson. “Seo Changbin, do you gain pleasure from doing this?” He snarls, glaring holes into Changbin’s skull.
Hyunjin doesn’t give Changbin a chance to respond. He points an accusing finger at Seungmin, dark eyes narrowing. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this— when did you even decide!?”
“I say this with love, but I don’t think it’s any of your business, Hyunjinnie,” Seungmin snorts, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “And besides—”
“Oh my god, Minho-hyung, did you say no?!” Hyunjin gasps, slapping a hand over his mouth. His eyes flit between Minho’s left hand and Minho’s face with the most appalled look Seungmin has ever seen on his friend’s face.
“If Seungmin asked you to marry him in the middle of a crowded street while you were freezing your ass off, would you say yes?” Minho says in lieu of an actual answer, which makes Seungmin smile. Minho practically lives to annoy Hyunjin, and he knows all the right buttons to push to get there.
“Well, no, obviously, but he’s not my boyfriend,” Hyunjin huffs, his eyebrows knitting together as he tries to make sense of things now that neither Seungmin nor Minho have given him a straight answer.
“Thank god,” Seungmin and Changbin say in unison, sharing a look in the rearview mirror.
Hyunjin sticks his tongue out at Seungmin before he points between the couple. “So, are you two engaged or not?”
“I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself, Hyunjinnie,” Minho hums, gesturing towards the windshield behind Hyunjin. “We’re here.”
Hyunjin turns back around to see that they’re parked in front of the barbeque place, much to his disappointment. Seungmin shares an amused look with Minho, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek before both of them climb out of the car. Once Hyunjin is out, he points a finger at both of them again, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“This conversation isn’t over,” Hyunjin mutters before letting Changbin corral him towards the door.
“Changbin is dead to me,” Minho says as he grabs Seungmin’s hand, the pair following their friends into the restaurant. “That was the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
Seungmin laughs and presses a kiss to the side of Minho’s head, holding him as close as he can. “Hyunjin and Changbin mean well, and they’re our best friends. You don’t actually mean that.”
“I do,” Minho, as stubborn as ever, shakes his head. “I will never speak to them again.”
“Sure, Bunny, sure.”
Their other friends are already here with a table, and Seungmin pulls a chair out for Minho at the end of the table before he sits next to him, their hands finding each other in Minho’s lap. As the night progresses with stories and anecdotes and laughter, Seungmin finds his gaze straying towards Minho more than he actually pays attention to everything going on. Minho stays very involved in the conversation, and were it not for the consistent pink color on the tips of Minho’s ears, Seungmin might think his boyfriend is completely oblivious to the loving eyes on him or Seungmin’s thumb tracing over his ring finger every now and then.
On the ride home, Minho sleeps against Seungmin’s shoulder, and Hyunjin curls up against the window, both of them sleeping off the bottle and a half of soju they shared at the restaurant. Changbin and Seungmin chat softly so as not to wake their boyfriends, catching up on the time they haven’t been able to see each other lately. Seungmin, of course, tells his best friend everything and tells him about his previous proposals. From an outside point of view, the way Minho keeps skirting around an actual yes or no answer might raise some red flags, but Seungmin knows his boyfriend, and he knows Changbin trusts his judgement.
Still, that doesn’t stop Changbin from expressing some magnitude of concern, eyebrows furrowed when they meet Seungmin’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “You’re sure everything’s okay? I mean, usually, if someone doesn’t say yes, it usually means no.”
“If Minho meant no, he would’ve said it. You know that, Bin,” Seungmin hums, looking down at where his hand is tangled with Minho’s in his boyfriend’s lap. “I have a feeling I know why he’s not saying yes yet, but I’m just letting him set the pace. We’ve been together for six years; I know we’ll be together for a lot longer, too. A ring doesn’t change that.”
Maybe he imagines the way Minho’s hand tightens around his, but it doesn’t really matter. This isn’t anything his boyfriend doesn’t already know.
“Well, I surely haven’t seen anyone as in love as you two except for me and Hyunjin, so I trust you know what you’re doing,” Changbin hums, offering Seungmin a supportive smile.
“Thanks, Bin,” Seungmin murmurs, pressing a kiss to the crown of Minho’s head.
He trusts Minho too, and knows that whatever comes next will be a bigger step in their life that he thinks they’re both finally ready for.
|plus one|
Minho always wakes Seungmin up at the crack of dawn. Except the days he doesn't, which recently, seems to happen more often. It’s slowly becoming a thing, like their chess games and dance events and Friday night rom-com marathons with Dori. Only, for the past six years, Seungmin has woken up at 6 am on the dot, and Minho’s sudden habit of letting him sleep in is seriously throwing him off kilter.
When he wakes up on a Friday morning, long past 6 am and at the late morning hour of 9 am, Seungmin feels like the entire world is just a little sideways. One, he’s going to be horribly late for work, and he has never been late for work. Two, his boyfriend is cheerily singing in the kitchen, as if he hasn’t let Seungmin sleep in way past his usual wake up time.
He shoots up in bed, startling Dori off of Minho’s pillow. He has half a mind to apologize to the kitten when he glares at Seungmin from the end of the bed before Seungmin’s swinging his legs over the side and standing to stretch. He’s about to march off to the kitchen and find out why Minho didn’t wake him up like he’s supposed to when a bright yellow sticky note on the nightstand catches his attention, right next to the engagement ring.
Good morning, Carrot Stick. Please don’t panic if you wake up late. Again. I have something planned for us today. Enjoy your morning. Bring the ring when we leave later.
— Love, your Bunny
Okay, well, now Seungmin can’t be upset. He smiles and hides the note with the other one in his memory box before he scoops Dori up and carries him to the bathroom so Seungmin can brush his teeth and try to tame his bed-head before he and the kitten make their way to the kitchen, where Minho is dancing around the island counter and mumbling the wrong lyrics to a song playing on his phone. Seungmin sets Dori down and sits at the island, clearing his throat to get his boyfriend’s attention.
Minho startles, almost dropping his spatula. He whips around, unsurprisingly wearing his
“
Wo
men fear me, fish want me”
apron. Seungmin snorts and wiggles his fingers in a little wave.
Minho puffs out a short breath and turns his music down, gesturing vaguely to Seungmin. “I thought we talked about sneaking up on me like that.”
“I can’t control the volume of my footsteps, Bunny, that’s just how I walk,” Seungmin says, amused.
Minho turns back around, making Seungmin face his back. Minho is a lot poutier in the mornings sometimes. “Well, you should.”
“Is there a reason I’m not leaving for work right now?” Seungmin asks instead of dragging on a pointless argument, idly tapping the counter as he peeks around Minho to try and see what he’s cooking.
“I called in; said you were taking the day off because you have never utilized your extra vacation days in your life, even when you’re sick— which we’re still going to have a talk about— but I have something very special planned out for us today. So suck it up and enjoy your day off,” Minho twists around enough to point the spatula at Seungmin before he returns to the sizzling pan in front of him.
“Well, I certainly don’t have a choice, and if I get to spend it with you, then I guess it’s not too bad,” Seungmin hums, though he is trying to figure out if today is a special date— it can’t be their anniversary, that’s in March. Christmas isn’t for another week, and he can’t think of any birthdays around this time, though he doesn’t think Minho would make him take a day off for a birthday that isn’t either of theirs. The only thing he can possibly think of is the date they first met back in highschool, but Minho has never made a big deal out of that and that date was a week ago.
“Am I— Am I forgetting a date today?” Seungmin finally asks, completely stumped. He doesn’t have a photographic memory like Minho, but he always remembers all of their special dates, so this is a little worrying for him.
“No special date,” Minho says with a shake of his head. He flashes Seungmin a smile over his shoulder. “What’s life without a little spontaneity, right?”
“Are you dying? Is this a last hurrah sort of thing? Oh my god, please don’t tell me you're dying,” Seungmin stands up, holding a desperate hand out towards Minho.
“No, I’m not dying,” His boyfriend laughs and turns the stove off, turning around to grab Seungmin’s hand and press a kiss to each of his knuckles. “Carrot Stick, you worry too much. Don’t overthink this, okay? Just trust me, today’s going to be really, really good.”
Seungmin narrows his eyes as he searches Minho’s face before he finally nods and leans across the counter to peck his boyfriend’s lips. “Fine, I trust you. Now, let's have breakfast so we can get a move on with this really, really good day.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Minho snickers and pulls away, dishing out two plates of food and setting one in front of Seungmin and the other next to him for himself.
Minho sits with a leg draped over Seungmin’s, playing with his free hand while they eat and chat idly. Dori tries to steal some of their food at some point and Minho sneaks the kitten some when he thinks Seungmin can’t see. When Minho finishes his breakfast, he doesn’t give Seungmin a chance to finish his, clambering into his lap to properly kiss him good morning, smiling against his lips. Forgoing his food entirely, Seungmin opts for picking Minho up, carrying him to their room so they can get dressed for the day. Minho spends the majority of that time reclined on the bed, watching Seungmin go through various stages of undress with a smirk on his face.
“Are you going to change so we can get a move on with this very special day or are you just going to lay there ogling my ass all day?” Seungmin asks, meeting Minho’s eyes in the floor length mirror as he buttons up his shirt.
“Your cute, nonexistent ass. Flatter than flat earthers claim the Earth is. I could iron your shirts on your flat ass, maybe prepa—”
“For the love of god, Minho, leave my ass alone.”
Minho giggles, stretching out like a cat on the bed before he bounces to his feet and prances over to Seungmin, batting his hands away to take care of the shirt himself. He leaves two buttons undone at the top, smoothing out the collar and standing back to admire his handiwork.
“Now I can change,” Minho says, biting his bottom lip through a smile.
Seungmin rolls his eyes but smiles all the same, shuffling into the bathroom to wash his face and style his hair. Minho slaps his ass on his way out, giggling at the way Seungmin jerks in surprise. Seungmin doesn’t dignify him with a reaction past that, opting to listen to Minho alternate between humming a song Seungmin doesn’t recognize and cooing softly to Dori. The kitten meows in response, and Seungmin can see him following Minho around the room in his peripheral vision.
“Seungmin,” Minho calls softly. Seungmin hums in acknowledgment and glances at his boyfriend, watching him pull a shirt over his head before Minho moves over to him, leaning against the bathroom door frame. “Can I ask something of you? Nothing big or anything, just uh… think of it as a test, or something.”
“Okay,” Seungmin turns to face him properly, propping a hand up on the sink counter, head cocked to the side. “What is this “test”?”
When Minho opens his mouth to respond, nothing comes out. Seungmin watches pink rise on his ears and travel down his neck and across his cheeks, like he’s embarrassed of what he wants to ask. Seungmin pulls him further into the bathroom and grabs a comb to brush his bangs out. Minho closes his eyes, fisting the fabric on the sides of Seungmin’s shirt while he tries to compose himself as Seungmin busies himself with styling Minho’s hair while he waits.
Once he finishes, Minho turns both of them until Seungmin is backed up against the counter and Minho is slotted between his thighs. Maybe something about the position helps him because he inhales and exhales before cupping Seungmin’s face so he has no choice but to look Minho in the eyes.
“I want you to call me your husband today. Don’t go out of your way to do it or anything, but if a situation arises where you would refer to me as “boyfriend”, use “husband” instead,” He speaks a little faster than usual, as if he’s trying to get the words out before they betray him or he chokes up halfway through.
Seungmin has to take a moment to process what Minho just asked of him. He turns each word over in his head and arranges them in a neat little row to read in his mind’s eye, and when it finally hits him that Minho just asked him to call him his husband— he has to physically restrain himself from vibrating with excitement.
It must be obvious regardless because Minho scowls and lightly punches his chest, even as his face turns dark crimson. Seungmin can’t and won’t stop the utter delight that spreads through him like a wildfire, a grin pulling at his cheeks and making them ache. If it weren't for the hands on his face, Seungmin would’ve kissed Minho senseless already
“You look ridiculous. Wipe that look off your face,” Minho huffs, covering Seungmin’s smile with his hand. Seungmin just uses the opportunity to plant a wet kiss on his palm. Minho grimaces and pulls his hand away, wiping it on Seungmin’s pants. “Gross, Puppy.”
“Cute Bunny,” Seungmin coos, peppering kisses across Minho’s face before gently grasping Minho's chin, watching his lips turn into a pout and his entire body turn to mush at that simple touch. “Cute husband.”
Seungmin can almost feel the shiver that passes through Minho and he definitely feels the way Minho’s skin heats up under his touch.
His boyfriend quickly retracts from Seungmin with a rough inhale. “Okay! On that note, I’m going to go find your shoes and rethink my entire life.”
Seungmin’s laughter follows Minho as his boyfriend disappears out of the room and down the hall to the front door. The rush of adoration and love collecting into a little ball in the center of his chest almost feels like a star, burning hotter than a thousand suns, threatening to eat him from the inside out. The smile on his face refuses to break, and he refuses to let it fade because the delight he feels is just too intense to keep bottled up under his skin. He has to let it pour out somehow.
He wishes there was a word greater than ‘love’ to describe how he feels about Minho, but for now it will simply have to suffice. As long as Minho knows that his love will outshine all of the suns and all of the stars and all of the planets in the ever expanding universe, that's all that Seungmin really cares about.
When it comes time to leave, Seungmin has to convince Minho to not blindfold him on the way to wherever it is they’re going. Minho pouts but ultimately gives up, much to Seungmin’s relief.
“You could do this,” Minho lifts the ends of Seungmin’s scarf to cover his eyes, obstructing Seungmin’s view of his boyfriend’s pouty lips. “It’s not a blindfold but you still won’t see.”
“I’m not doing that either,” Seungmin laughs, moving Minho’s hands away so he can press a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead. “Come on, Bunny, let’s get going, okay?”
In the car, Minho lets Seungmin pick all the music. Seungmin knows it's technically his way of distracting Seungmin from their destination, but they both know it's not really working. From how much Minho has talked this day up, Seungmin can’t help being curious and excited to know where the road will lead them. Minho makes a valiant effort of keeping his attention on him regardless, and Seungmin is more than happy to smile adoringly at his boyfriend while one of the countless love songs he shamelessly listens to on a daily basis serenades them through the car speakers.
“You played this song for the first time at Hyunjin's diner when it first came out, didn’t you? You were drunk and forced me to karaoke it with you even though neither of us knew the words,” Minho laughs, even while he turns the volume up on the song— “Sweet To Me” by Summer Salt.
Seungmin is surprised Minho remembers that— whenever he tries to recall how and why that song ended up on his playlist, the memory is hazy at best. All he really knows is that he deemed it their song and Minho never argued. Now, on lazy evenings when Minho is making dinner and they’re both home, Seungmin will put the song on and pull his boyfriend in close to slow dance around the kitchen with him.
“Yeah, but the crowd loved our rendition of it,” Seungmin smiles fondly at the bits and pieces he can remember— slumped against Minho’s side with his boyfriend’s honey-sweet voice in his ears and the entertained audience encouraging the couple by shining their phone lights and even begging for an encore. It never happened, or at least Seungmin doesn’t remember if it did or not, but he wished it had if it meant he got to hear more of Minho’s singing. “Even if we got all the words wrong.”
“Sometimes, if I’m not paying enough attention, I’ll still sing our wrong lyrics,” Minho snickers, sparing a glance at Seungmin to mirror the tender smile on his face.
“Okay, I’m really surprised you remember them,” Seungmin scoffs— he’s not really that surprised honestly, but he won’t deny that his boyfriend's photographic memory does still catch him off guard on occasion. “I was just singing out of my ass because I liked the vibe of the song.”
Minho’s laughter, a melodious song of it’s own, butterscotch sweet and smooth, makes Seungmin’s insides feel like molten lava in all the best ways. He grasps his boyfriend's hand and presses a kiss to each of his knuckles as their song finally fades out, transitioning into one a little more upbeat and vibey.
Seungmin won’t admit that Minho actually did succeed in distracting him because he doesn’t even realize they’ve reached their destination until Minho has shut off the car because he was too busy rambling excitedly about a song he’s been learning on his guitar with Changbin. His boyfriend doesn’t even mention their location, patiently waiting for Seungmin to either finish his story or catch on in his own time.
“...And Bin taught me this cool little trick— and, wait—” Seungmin pauses, leaning forward in his seat to scan their surroundings. He recognizes it immediately, because even if he doesn't have Minho’s memory, he still remembers all of their important moments. And this— the COEX Aquarium— is definitely ranked pretty high on the important list; underlined and emphasized with three exclamation points. “No way.”
Seungmin took Minho to the aquarium on their first official date, when they finally defined whatever little boundaries they had between friends and boyfriends, back in their awkward puppy love stage. He still has a few polaroids of Minho standing in front of various tanks and they still have the big shark teeth Seungmin bought because Minho made an offhand comment about how they looked cool. But mostly he just remembers kissing Minho for the first time in the underwater tunnel, shrouded in blue hues with only the fish to bear witness.
“COEX aquarium, our very first date,” Minho announces proudly with a nod, grinning as if he’s the smartest person alive— which, in Seungmin’s (biased) opinion, he absolutely is. “Or at least, the first one as actual boyfriends, that is.”
“Yeah, if you took me hiking today I probably would’ve killed you up there,” Seungmin snorts, finally unbuckling to get out of the car. “I mean honestly, who takes a boy they barely know out on a hiking trail with no one else around for miles and acts like it’s a common occurrence.”
“Someone who wants to make a friend and stay healthy at the same time, Kim Seungmin,” Minho rolls his eyes, climbing out of the car and readjusting his scarf.
Seungmin all but glares at his boyfriend over the roof of the car. “You literally admitted to me at the end of the trail that you’ve never hiked in your life.”
“Forgive me for trying to impress the cute and hard-headed guitar kid.”
Okay, Minho has him there. And he was impressed that Minho even made it the whole trail in one piece, even if his boyfriend did end up spraining his ankle and Seungmin was forced to piggyback him all the way back to his car. A few years ago, he might not have thought so fondly of the memory, but now, with the folded directory pamphlet and dog head-shaped rock that Minho picked up off that trail in his memory box, it’s one of his favorite memories.
At the front desk where they get their tickets, Seungmin jumps in front of Minho before Minho can even get his wallet out. His boyfriend had made a special request earlier that morning, and even though Minho told him not to make a big deal out of it, Seungmin is determined to make good use of the opportunity at hand. So he gives the lady behind the counter a charming smile, leaning against the surface between them, and proudly holds up two fingers. “Two tickets, please. One for me and one for my husband.”
He purposefully looks at Minho when he says that, gauging his reaction closely. Minho just stares at him with that wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights blank look, like he’s trying to piece together Seungmin’s words but is struggling too much to make any sense of what it actually means.
It’s only when they’re proceeding into the freshwater section of the aquarium that Seungmin finally notices the crimson flush traveling across Minho’s face and neck, painting him a pretty shade of red. He stifles a satisfied smile, but Minho catches it anyways, instantly shoving Seungmin away with a petulant huff.
“I hate you,” Minho grumbles, even though Seungmin knows he doesn't mean it all. He’s positive Minho just didn’t expect him to follow through with the whole ‘husband’ thing.
Most of their day is spent in the aquarium. They spend a leisurely amount of time walking between fish tanks, observing the different species and making idle comments here and there. Seungmin occasionally takes a few photos of Minho, who is always making a funny face to mimic whatever fish he’s posing in front of. Seungmin purposefully stops Minho at the shark tank, and his boyfriend catches on immediately, pretending to be scared as one of the bigger sharks swims past the glass. The picture is comical enough to have them both giggling like children and Seungmin quickly sends it to the group chat they share with Changbin, Hyunjin, and Jisung.
At the penguins, Seungmin takes a video of Minho waddling around like the birds until he gets the attention of the animals, and all of them start watching him curiously. Some little kids in the area laugh at Minho, and Seungmin finds himself giggling when his boyfriend turns red with embarrassment at being caught by anyone other than Seungmin.
Minho lingers longer than any of the other tanks when they reach the underwater tunnel. He passes it off for fascination of the stingrays and other sea creatures that pass over them, that childlike awestruck glimmer in his eyes that Seungmin loves. Seungmin reads some of the plaques with information on the different sea life in the tank, genuinely intrigued about their different behavioral habits and feeding tendencies.
Honestly, he should've caught on sooner why Minho was lingering around the middle of the tunnel. He’s turning to get his boyfriend’s attention and tell him some useless fact about stingray mouths when Minho appears out of nowhere, hands sliding into Seungmin’s to lead him into the center of the walkway. Seungmin belatedly realizes that the entire tunnel is empty except for them, the family of five that was passing through a moment ago now gone like they were never there to begin with.
Staring at his boyfriend’s face, cast in blue hues that dance and flicker across his face as the water above them ripples with a fish passing overhead, Seungmin is suddenly catapulted six years into the past, when little 22 year old Minho shyly rambled on about how he had this huge crush on Seungmin pretty much ever since they met, only to be interrupted by Seungmin swooping in to attempt kissing him. Their foreheads hit first, hard enough to send Minho reeling in shocked pain and Seungmin uttering apologies left and right while he made sure there wasn’t a bruise forming at the place of impact. The kiss to make up for it afterwards was sweet nonetheless, with Minho smiling tenderly into it and Seungmin’s heart in his throat with the realization that Minho was it for him ping ponging around his brain.
Even now, six years later, Seungmin can still so easily see the boy who wore sweaters with animals knitted into them and the big round glasses always perched on the tip of his nose that he inevitably fell for. In college, they were two people who probably would’ve never met on their own terms— Seungmin was there on a baseball scholarship to start with (only to switch into creative writing and journalism two years in, thanks to Minho’s encouragement), and Minho was there for dance and theatre. They were on opposite ends of an unknown spectrum— even their friends were always baffled that the two of them hit it off so well, especially factoring in that Seungmin and Minho, hopelessly in love against all odds, were once Seungmin and Minho, self-professed rivals for a good chunk of Seungmin’s freshman year. When Changbin first introduced them, Seungmin was annoyed by Minho’s lack of regard for his own personal safety and the fact that Minho, who never backed down from a challenge, claimed that Seungmin was the biggest one of all. Minho— well, he was simply along for the ride, and if Seungmin wanted a fight, who was he to turn him down?
Honestly, Seungmin can never pinpoint the actual shift in their relationship, but he knows now that it was always inevitable. He vehemently denied for a long time that he felt any sort of attraction to Minho in the beginning, but the truth is, he fought with Minho so much because he was attracted to him and had no idea how to deal with it. If he were any more of a hopeless romantic than he already is, he would call them ‘soulmates’, but he has to hold onto whatever shred of dignity he may have.
(Part of it is spite. Once, Changbin told him that when he’s drunk, he’ll tell anyone who will listen that he and Minho were “made for each other and are each other’s soulmates”. Ever since, he’s refused to even utter the word— actually, it is purely spite. Thankfully, Minho has no clue and probably never will.)
“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re about to propose to me,” Seungmin jokes, his fingers twitching where they’re hooked around Minho’s. And he genuinely means it as a joke, because he’s the one with the ring but—
His boyfriend laughs flatly, his chest stuttering with a nervous inhale. Something about the way Minho avoids his gaze has confusion washing over Seungmin’s amusement like a tidal wave, his eyebrows knitting together.
“You’re— You’re not actually proposing, are you?” Seungmin asks slowly, bending down a little to try and meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “Cause I mean, proposing in the same place as our first date— that’s a little cheesy, even for you, Bunny.”
The tease at least brings a smile to Minho’s face, and his boyfriend weakly punches his shoulder. “No, you idiot, I’m not proposing. I just— we had our first kiss here. I wanted to— God, now I feel ridiculous— I wanted to do that again.”
“What, hit our heads together again? I don’t know, I think there’s still a sizable dent in your forehead where— ow! Stop punching me,” Seungmin pouts, rubbing the spot Minho just landed another punch on. Minho stares blankly at him, and Seungmin snickers, resting a gentle hand on his boyfriend’s cheek. “Well, alright then, what are you waiting for?”
“God, I hate you,” Minho scoffs, grabbing a handful of Seungmin’s collar to pull him into a kiss before Seungmin has the chance to respond. Seungmin melts into Minho as easily as he always does, their bodies curving together like two pieces of a puzzle. Seungmin’s hands rest comfortably on Minho’s waist, Minho’s hands slide into Seungmin’s hair, and the kiss itself is honey-sweet and slow, neither of them in any rush for anything anymore, not when they have their whole lives ahead of them. Minho smiles against Seungmin’s mouth just like he did the first time, and Seungmin gently bites his bottom lip before they both pull away naturally.
“I love you,” Seungmin whispers, pecking the tip of Minho’s nose and his forehead before leaning into his boyfriend when Minho tries to pull him closer.
“I know,” Minho hums, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth as he looks at Seungmin like he’s the only thing worth seeing.
As much as Seungmin doesn’t want this moment to end, he can hear another family entering the tunnel. He inhales, the familiar smell of lavender laundry detergent and citrus filling his senses, and reluctantly pulls away from his boyfriend. Minho’s hands naturally slide to his shoulders. “We should probably keep moving, bun.”
“What a shame,” Minho sighs, dropping his hands to tangle them with Seungmin’s once more. “But I’m hungry anyway, let's finish up here and see what food trucks are out today.”
Seungmin’s stomach rumbles and he nods in agreement. “Lead the way then, lover boy.”
The way Minho smiles is enough to bring the world to its knees.
———
Minho loves food trucks. He loves the type of people they see at food trucks specifically.
Once they've paid for and received their food, Minho will tug Seungmin off to a bench with a perfect view of the trucks, and he’ll let his food grow cold in favor of making up stories about all the different people who come and go: businessmen in a rush to get back to the office, mothers getting their children lunch, couples spending their day together; whatever lives they lead are always such a point of interest for Minho for some reason, but his fascination with people watching is something Seungmin loves.
Minho is making up a very detailed story about a young businessman ordering a hot dog, convinced he must be a secret agent for the government since he’s wearing black sunglasses like all the spies do in movies, when Seungmin catches sight of a crowd off to their left. He nudges Minho’s shoulder before standing, balling up his empty food wrapper to toss it in the trash as he passes it. Minho hurries to catch up, looping a hand around Seungmin’s arm so they don’t get separated.
“What are you looking at?” Minho asks, standing up on his toes in a feeble attempt to see past the bystanders.
“I think it’s a magic act— don’t let go,” He mutters before squeezing through the crowd to get to the front. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees a lady demonstrating a card trick to a very enthusiastic kid. The people standing around the magician in a wide arc are completely entranced, awestruck expressions on their faces as the magician flicks the card pinched between her fingers and it changes from a 3 of hearts to an Ace of Spades.
“Didn’t you try to learn magic tricks for a year, Carrot Stick?” Minho murmurs softly so he doesn't attract any unwanted attention, his breath warm on Seungmin’s ear.
“Yeah, to impress you,” Seungmin scoffs, wrapping an arm around Minho to keep him close. “You made some offhand comment about thinking card tricks were cool, and I just— saw red. I wanted you to think I was cool too.”
Minho snorts, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. Seungmin rolls his eyes, ignoring his boyfriend to watch the magic act again. Minho hums softly and presses a kiss to Seungmin’s shoulder before wrapping his arms around his middle to snuggle into his chest so they can watch together.
At some point, the magician calls for another assistant. Seungmin is quick to point to Minho’s head as enthusiastically as he can even as his boyfriend tries to swat his hand away. It’s a fruitless effort when the magician ends up picking him anyway, smiling as she beckons him forward.
“Go easy on my husband,” Seungmin says just to tease Minho, gently guiding him forward with a hand on the small of his back.
Minho petulantly sticks his tongue out at Seungmin, glaring at him with a look that clearly reads “I will kill you for this” before he comes to a stop next to the magician. Seungmin watches him bounce on the balls of his feet, nervous with all the eyes on him. Even if he’s annoyed, Minho still looks to Seungmin for some sort of stability; Seungmin silently instructs him to breathe, taking a deep breath himself to demonstrate. Minho follows, nodding gratefully, before turning his attention to the magician.
“Alright, we’ll just do something simple, okay? So I want you to pick a card, any card, doesn’t matter where it’s from. I just can’t see it, got it?” The magician is well-spoken and articulate, her voice projecting nicely so even people just passing by can hear her. She opens the cards in a neat row between her hands, nodding encouragingly to Minho. “And take your time, really think about it. Maybe you’ll even stump me.”
Minho slides his hands across the cards before picking one from the middle. The magician smiles as if she’s got him right where she wants him. “Okay, now look at it, memorize it, show the crowd but don’t let me see it, and put it back anywhere in the deck once you’ve got it.”
Minho turns the card to the crowd; the red king of hearts. Seungmin gives him a thumbs up and his boyfriend turns back to the magician, sliding the card back into the deck just as she told him to.
“Okay, now, I’m gonna hold these cards behind my back and find yours without even looking, alright, and when I find it, I’m going to reveal it as the only card facing down in the deck— it magically turns over by itself, right—” She holds the deck up for everyone to see before holding them behind her back just like she said. Minho tries to peek to see what she’s doing but she starts talking again before he can, quickly stealing his attention away. “What’s your name?”
“Oh- uh, M-Minho,” Minho quickly stutters out, his cheeks turning pink instantly.
The magician nods towards Seungmin next. “Alright, Minho, what’s your husband’s name?”
Minho smiles almost involuntarily, and Seungmin can’t decide if it’s just because he’s being acknowledged or because she called him “your husband” . He doesn’t get a chance to figure it out before Minho is answering though, his voice as fond as it always is when it comes to his boyfriend. “That’s Seungmin.”
“Ah, what a beautiful name your husband has,” The magician hums, a charming smile stretching across her face as she leans in towards Minho like she’s telling a secret, but still talks loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Tell you what, Minho, I guess your card correctly, and you have to treat Seungmin here to a nice dinner.”
“Well, let’s hope you get it wrong, then,” Minho jokes, meeting Seungmin’s eyes with a smirk. “He still owes me for his birthday.”
Laughter ripples through the crowd and the magician nods, accepting that fairly. “Alright, alright. Well, let's find out who wins a nice dinner between this lovely couple, hm? Shall we?”
A chorus of excited “yes” s come from the crowd, and Seungmin actually feels a bit of nervous excitement building up in his stomach. He has no idea how magicians pull off these tricks, especially if they’re not even looking at the deck; there’s a certain mystery to it all that fascinates Seungmin. He leans forward with the rest of the people around him as the woman presents the deck face up, spreading them all out evenly. Just as she said, there’s only a single card face down in the center of the deck. She smiles, selecting the card and collecting the rest in her other hand. With a pause for dramatic effect, her eyes sweeping across her audience, she lifts the card to show Minho’s card: the red king of hearts.
“Is this your card?” She asks, turning it to Minho, whose jaw drops in shock. He nods, head whipping around to look at Seungmin, who laughs a little at the sheer amazement on his boyfriend’s face. “Well, there you have it, folks! Looks like you owe Seungmin another dinner, Minho.”
“Damn,” Minho huffs, casting a quick glance at Seungmin again, only to roll his eyes at the cheeky grin he sees. He bows to the magician and hurries back to his spot next to Seungmin, sliding under the outstretched arm as easily as always. “You owe me double now.”
Seungmin chuckles fondly. “Whatever you say, Bunny.”
The magician goes through three more tricks, all as intricate and mysterious as the last, leaving the crowd ooh’ing and aah’ing in wonder. The sun is beginning to set when she finishes with a little flourish and a bow, and everyone disperses. Minho and Seungmin make their way along the street with no real direction or destination in mind for now.
“I did think you were cool, by the way,” Minho says after a while, absentmindedly looking into shop windows. “Not the card tricks thing, you were always so clumsy with those— though, I will always admire the effort you put into that— no, you just… you were always so cool. You were smart, and you had no fear whatsoever. You were a pitcher for the baseball team, and I mean, you have a crazy throw. And you were always so sharp-witted and matched my energy so well, always giving back just as much I threw at you when no one else could do that as easily as you. I always admired you.”
“You thought I was cool?” Seungmin laughs incredulously, eyebrows shooting up into his bangs. “Bunny, I hated you because of the way you always kept your cool no matter how infuriating I must have been. And you danced so well even back then, plus you were on the student council? I mean, you were the whole damn package.”
“Oh my god,” Minho groans, burying his face in Seungmin’s scarf since he can’t reach his neck. “We’re cheesy old men, I can’t believe it’s come to this.”
Seungmin snickers, wrapping his arms around Minho’s shoulder and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. “Since we’re being cheesy—”
“Noooo,” Minho whines, slumping further into Seungmin so Seungmin has no choice but to support his whole weight.
“Yah, let me talk!” Seungmin huffs, weakly hitting the back of his boyfriend's head. “Do you remember that first summer we spent with Changbin, Hyunjin, and Jisung? When we ran that car wash at Bin’s childhood house ‘cause none of us could find good jobs that year.”
“Oh my god, yeah,” Minho snorts into Seungmin’s chest, the words tapering off into a giggle. “I’m pretty sure all of us were drooling over Binnie ‘cause that was the summer they started beefing up.”
“Yeah, that summer,” Seungmin wrinkles his nose— he never really looked at Changbin like that, but having grown up with them, he’s always viewed them like a sibling more than anything. Plus, he knew Hyunjin would’ve killed him along with everyone else if he even looked at Changbin that summer. “Anyways— I kept that first 2000 won that I earned.”
“Wait—” Minho jerks back, meeting Seungmin’s eyes with a puzzled look. “The same one I wrote my number on?”
“Yeah, that you invalidated by doing that,” Seungmin sticks his tongue out at his boyfriend, though there’s no real bite to his words.
“You got all pissy about it,” Minho snickers, only for Seungmin to pinch his side until he yelps, squirming away from Seungmin’s hand until Seungmin relents. Minho pouts, punching Seungmin’s chest. “Why’d you keep the it?”
“Mm, it was a memory. I keep it in this little shoebox under the bed along with all kinds of pictures, notes, journal entries, movie ticket stubs, etcetera, etcetera,” Seungmin gently detaches himself from Minho, sliding his hand down his boyfriend's arm until their fingers tangle together. He can hear some street performers setting up their speakers for the night, and he knows that Jisung and Jeongin will sometimes hang out here and play music. There’s a chance they could run into their friends, but it’s not a big one.
“You just keep all of them? Why?” Minho looks baffled by the mere concept of Seungmin holding onto things that might seem meaningless to him when he’s able to remember all of those memories detail for detail.
Seungmin shrugs, swinging their hands absently. He smiles at his boyfriend, who softens just at the sight of it. “They’re memories— special ones. They’re our memories, so they're worth holding onto.”
Honestly, he knows he has no place to tease Minho about being cheesy for wanting to recreate old memories when he does things like hold onto material objects because they’re attached to his favorite memories. But like Minho said, they’re cheesy old men and maybe that’s another reason they work the way they do. Neither of them are usually particularly cheesy or over-the-top romantics, but they can be when it counts. Minho will usually become a little more vulnerable with his fragile heart when he’s trying to work up the courage for something, which—
“Minho—” Seungmin grabs his boyfriend's arm, fully intending to question him if there was any other ulterior motive for today when Minho gasps and pulls him forward, cutting him off before he has the chance to get another word out.
“Do you think we can request songs?” Minho asks softly, pulling Seungmin up to a small, two person band playing on the side of the walkway. They're a man and a woman dressed in nothing special— casual and warm day clothes. The woman has a keyboard piano and the man plays a guitar; they’re playing a song that sounds older but Seungmin doesn't recognize it. The crowd around them is just a few stragglers, probably out for the evening like Minho and Seungmin.
“I think we should let them play the songs they want to play,” Seungmin hums, though he smiles slightly at the musicians— he’s always had a certain appreciation for those who can sit out in the streets and play for a crowd like this. He doesn't think he could ever do that himself.
Minho shifts around Seungmin to stand in front of him, taking one of Seungmin’s hands to place it on his waist and places his own hand on Seungmin’s shoulder with their hands outstretched the side. Minho smiles up at Seungmin, his eyes glowing like amber and topaz in the setting sun.
“Dance with me?” Minho asks, his voice butterscotch sweet, swaying the both of them a little.
“When you ask so sweetly, how could I say no?”
They don’t move that much, restricted by people going about their day, but they sway along to the beat of whatever song the little two-person band is playing. Minho hums along softly if he recognizes the song and Seungmin wishes he had something to remember this moment by besides the engagement ring in his pocket; his boyfriend looks ethereal, cheeks rosy from the cold nipping at his skin, eyes glittering in the sunset, and lips permanently turned up in a soft smile reserved only for Seungmin. He can’t stop himself from stealing a kiss, stilling both of them under a shop awning. Moments like these make every second in between completely worth it.
“Seungmin,” Minho breaks the silence between them, a certain hesitance in his voice that Seungmin isn’t used to from his boyfriend. The pink on his cheeks spreads further, up his ears and disappears beneath his scarf and Seungmin suspects it's no longer from the cold. “Can we go somewhere quieter? I— there's too many people.”
“Okay,” Seungmin nods, pressing a quick kiss to Minho’s forehead before pulling back to grab a few dollars from his wallet, dropping them in the musician’s open guitar case. He thanks them for the music with a bow and wraps an arm around Minho’s shoulders, leading him away from the busy sidewalk and towards the closest park. There will probably still be people there, but it might be easier to find a quiet spot.
Minho is quick to pull Seungmin away from prying eyes once they reach the park, into a small space under some trees with a clear view of the moon and stars above. Minho inhales, resting his hands on Seungmin’s arms as the latter rests his own hands on Minho’s waist. Seungmin is a little concerned, Minho is acting a little strange— actually, he has been since the underwater tunnel, when Seungmin joked about him proposing.
“Bunny,” Seungmin calls softly, lifting Minho’s chin with a gentle finger. Minho’s eyebrows draw together when their eyes meet. “Was there a special occasion for today? I mean, besides everything up until now.”
Even though Minho inhales shakily, a clear sign he’s nervous about something, he smiles cheekily and tilts his head to the side. “What, I can’t just treat my boyfriend to a nice day every once in a while?”
“And that’s why you’re nervous?” Seungmin arches a brow. Usually, he’d shoot back with something a little more lighthearted, but he really can’t help being mildly worried about his boyfriend. “I mean, did you break something or…”
“No, I didn’t break anything,” Minho rolls his eyes, shaking his head slightly. “Come on, Carrot Stick, you have no faith in me, do you?”
Seungmin scowls. “Minho.”
“Okay, okay, I just— ah, let me show you,” The laugh Minho lets out is nothing more than a weak puff of air as he reaches into his coat pocket, brandishing a little black velvet box a moment later.
Seungmin feels his heart shoot up through his chest and attempt to escape through his mouth, but he swallows it down, eyes flickering between Minho and the box. He probably should’ve assumed when he woke up this morning and Minho told him to bring the ring in his own pocket— or maybe in the underwater tunnel— or literally any moment up until now. If he wasn’t so frozen with shock right now, he might’ve laughed honestly. He’s been proposing to Minho since August, and Minho always skirted it— was it because he wanted to be the one to do it? Minho has always been stubborn, after all.
“I got this shortly before you mentioned getting married the first time,” Minho interrupts Seungmin’s thoughts. He fiddles with the box, turning it over in his hands just to have something else to focus on besides Seungmin’s eyes boring holes into his head. “Originally, I was going to propose on your birthday when I got it, but then you mentioned marriage, and I-I don’t know, I got nervous. I guess it caught me a little off guard, so I just— ran with it. I figured I would mention the ring later on or just propose when I planned to. But then you got your stupid ring, and you kept beating me to it— not that I should’ve been surprised, once you set your mind to something you always follow through— so I just—”
Minho pauses and inhales, swallowing down the tears making his voice waver. Seungmin fists the fabric of Minho’s jacket, biting down on the inside of his lip to fight back his own tears. Honestly, this whole time he thought Minho just wasn’t ready or was starting to grow tired of Seungmin bringing up the ring so much. He realizes that Minho never actually said no, he always gave some excuse as to why they should wait, always a not yet, but never a solid, no. This time he laughs weakly, and he bumps his forehead against Minho’s to hide the wetness in his eyes. Minho fists one hand in his scarf for some sort of stability.
“I don’t know why I didn’t just say yes at any point you asked, I guess I was just being— stubborn because I got my ring first so I wanted to be the one to do it, but that’s stupid— I shouldn’t have turned proposing into a race because I want to spend forever with you regardless, so why did it really matter who got there first, right?” Minho snorts but his bottom lip quivers; he’s as close to tears as Seungmin is at this point.
“I just wanted to do it because you’re always doing all this stuff— like your memory box and making an effort to remember all of our best moments, and I— I suck at being romantic, so I wanted to prove that I want this just as much as you and— oh god, fuck, you’re crying—”
“Sorry, sorry,” Seungmin breathes, leaning into Minho’s touch when his boyfriend dabs at his face with his sleeve. “Sorry, I just— I really love you.”
Minho laughs, patting his cheek with a gentle hand. “So is that a yes?”
“First of all, you haven’t actually asked anything,” Seungmin scoffs, grabbing Minho’s wrist and lifting the hand with the box in it. “Secondly, I’ve proposed to you five times now, what do you think?”
“Hey, you know, for all I know you could be done with my shit,” Minho shrugs, opening the ring box to reveal a simple silver band with a tiny bunny head engraved on the inside. Minho may not be great with words or big gestures, but even just that little design on a ring that leads them through that door and into the other side of something new is bigger than anything Seungmin has ever done for him. Minho has finally stepped over the line with him, ready to follow him into whatever the unknown holds for them.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Lee Minho,” Seungmin rests a hand on the side of Minho’s face, leaning back to meet his eyes. “Ball and chain, remember? We threw the key away a long time ago.”
“Okay, so you’ll marry me?” Minho wiggles the box a little, arching a brow at Seungmin. The corners of his lips are twitching slightly, as though he’s physically stopping himself from a proper smile until he hears an answer from Seungmin. “You better say yes or this whole thing is going to be really awkward.”
Seungmin laughs, because this whole thing is just so Minho that it makes his heart swell with adoration for his boyfriend.
“Yes, I want to spend forever with you, too, Bunny— oh, wait!” Seungmin gasps, holding a finger up between them as he fishes the ring out of his own pocket. He brandishes it as proudly as he always does, beaming happily at Minho. “Two for one?”
Minho’s laugh is music to Seungmin’s ears, better than any song he’s ever heard. They take turns sliding the rings onto each other’s fingers, and Seungmin just barely manages to plant a kiss on the ring sitting pretty on Minho’s finger before Minho throws his arms over Seungmin’s shoulders, pulling him into a kiss that is equal parts desperate and tender. Whatever the future holds for them is up to them to decide, but at least it’ll be together, hand in hand. Boyfriends, fiances, husbands; it doesn’t matter in the end what they call each other— to them, they’re just Seungmin and Minho— or more affectionately: Bunny and Carrot Stick.
“The future is ours,” Minho whispers in the space between them, his voice honey sweet and smooth.
“Promise?” Seungmin holds his pinky up, bumping his forehead against Minho’s.
And the way Minho links his own pinky with Seungmin’s, firm and without hesitation, is enough to seal their intertwined fates forever.
Fin.