By popular demand :) Takes place after college graduation...and I'll leave the rest to you.

And if you please, when it comes out, read my new story. I had so many ideas that they just came right out, and I hope to update quickly.

For the first time in about a millenium, Jongin was dressed up in his nicest shirt and newest slim jeans. Kyungsoo eyed his boyfriend suspiciously. 

"I thought we were just getting dinner," the cat hybrid said, brushing his just-cut-and-dyed hair off his forehead. 

"Yeah, but it's a nice restaurant." Jongin patted his shirt down carefully.

"No, it's not. I don't remember it being...was it?"

"Nice, as in it's clean."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. "I sure would hope so."

The city was a new environment; the pair had moved about a year ago, and Jongin was still routinely taking the wrong subway to get to work. Kyungsoo had trouble sleeping at night because of the sirens and cars, and both of them weren't used to not being able to see the stars. But the city fit; the arts abounded here, and Jongin had found a job right out of school. Even better, as the wolf hybrid liked to say, all the food you could ever want to eat was within walking distance, one example being Silver Lining, an upscale fusion place with the kind of contemporary architecture Kyungsoo liked (and the chicken curry Jongin ate too much of).

This time was different. When Kyungsoo and Jongin came through the door, a waitress ushered the pair into one of the private, party-sized dining rooms in the back. Kyungsoo looked over his shoulder as he rounded the corner, then gave Jongin a strange look. The wolf hybrid shrugged, faking surprise. In reality, he knew exactly what was going to happen, and his heart started pounding against his ribcage.

Inside the dining room, about a dozen people sat around a massive table with a Lazy Susan that Kyungsoo could sleep on. A huge glass window with sliding doors spanned the back wall, looking out onto a balcony over a park with blooming flowers. Two empty seats sat with their backs facing the window, their velvet backs lit like dying fire.

The people at the table stood up when the door opened, and Kyungsoo squealed.

Every single one of their old high school friends--Kris, Tao, Chen, Hyemi, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Xiumin, Luhan, Lay, Sehun, Suho, Amber, Yonghwa--was smiling and cheering, as familiar as if they had never parted ways. 

Baekhyun cried out unintelligibly and raced to catch Kyungsoo in a bear's death grip. Chanyeol patted Jongin on the back, and Sehun tackled his friend around the waist. Suho followed with his usual friendly smile and handshake, and Hyemi hugged them both. Kris and Tao stood back with identical folded arms, and Lay waved excitedly.

"Oh my G-d," Kyungsoo said, all the other words in his vocabulary failing him.

Amber, still shorter and still scary, squished Kyungsoo's cheeks. "You got skinnier," she said. "Eat more." Something glinted on her hand when she released the cat hybrid, and Kyungsoo grabbed her wrist, then stared. Amber followed his eyes, then laughed. 

"Right, forgot to mention. I, uh, got engaged." She pulled her wrist free and played with the diamond on her ring finger.

"To who?" 

Amber cleared and pointed back at Yonghwa, standing awkwardly behind his chair in a too-big suit jacket. He grinned and held up his own hand.

Kyungsoo squealed again, and Jongin glanced at Sehun, who snickered and slapped him on the shoulder.

"You got it," he said.

Dinner was a noisy affair, full of jokes and chatter and catching up. Lay was planning on moving to the city soon, too, and Kyungsoo was intent on convincing Baekhyun and Chanyeol.  

"Aren't you going to invite us here, too?" Sehun demanded, raising an eyebrow at Jongin.

Jongin pretended to choke. "I want to be as far away from you as possible," he deadpanned.

Finally, as the plates were being cleared and the dessert menu was called in, Jongin gave Baekhyun The Look. The Lab hybrid winked and stood up with a spoon and a glass, then tapped the glass gently.

"Oh, s , that's louder than I thought," he said. Regaining his composure, Baekhyun put both back on the table and folded his hands. "I, uh, I guess I should say some things, because it's a special day. We're all meeting again for the first time in, what, seven years? Some even longer--" He gestured towards the former Dragons. "--and I'm happy to say no one has forgotten each other yet."

Jongin stood up from his seat, whispering to Kyungsoo that he needed to go to the bathroom. The cat hybrid huffed and rolled his eyes, not noticing the small box Jongin took with him.

A waiter was already outside, holding flowers and a camera. "You ready?"

Jongin took a deep breath. "No."

The waiter laughed. "Didn't think so. But you'll do great."

He led the wolf hybrid through an employee-only hallway and the kitchen. They emerged outside, on a small concrete slab between the balconies of the private dining rooms. 

The waiter clapped Jongin on the shoulder and handed him the flowers. "You go and kill it."

Jongin nodded, mind racing, then stepped over the low fencing of the balcony. He took another deep breath and let it puff out. As quietly as he could, he stepped into the middle of the balcony, hiding the flowers and box behind his back.

From inside, Baekhyun finished his speech with a toast, followed by thumping at the table and clapping. Kyungsoo was uneasy, Jongin could tell, even from behind. His ears were turning ever which way, and his tail was stiff.

Baekhyun met Jongin's eyes quickly, and a huge smile crossed his face. He said something Jongin couldn't hear, and everyone at the table laughed. 

Good actors, Jongin thought, relaxing just a bit.

Sehun stood up and pointed at Jongin on the balcony, and everyone turned, all feigning surprise except Kyungsoo, who got up quickly and threw open the sliding door. "Kai, how did you--" He noticed the waiter on the bridge between the balconies. "What's going on?"

The people inside the dining room clustered around the open door, whispering under their breaths.

Time seemed to slow down, a snail's crawl, as Jongin revealed the flowers behind his back. Kyungsoo's hands went to his mouth, and his eyes seemed to say, No way.

It was perfect: sun painting the sky a delicate purple and orange, the hushed voices of people who knew something was about to happen, an air gently touched by the smell of flowers from somewhere far away.

Jongin dropped to one knee and opened the black box in his hand, the silver ring inside shining brightly in the fading sunlight. "Kyungsoo," he said, voice very loud in his own ears. "Will you marry me?"

The men and women inside the restaurant, including a few from the next room over who seemed to know something was going on and crept onto their balcony, exploded into cheers. Kyungsoo was crying now, hands going up to wipe at the sudden tears. He nodded vigorously, throat too closed up to say anything.

Jongin stood up shakily, then slipped the ring onto Kyungsoo's ring finger, the one that he had threaded between his own so many times. Kyungsoo stared at the silver band, wordless, then looked up at Jongin, almost afraid that the whole thing was a dream. 

"Oh my G-d," he said.

Jongin stepped in to plant a kiss on Kyungsoo's lips, so familiar and all of a sudden so new.

Something called love bloomed in the summer air.