Jinki rolls onto his back, exposing one of his legs to the cool air of the room and effectively balancing out his body temperature. He lets out a long sigh as his eyelids flutter, his eyes only opening into tiny slits. The amount of sunlight flowing into his room through the window and lack of Minho to his right in bed alerts him that it is, in fact, morning. Jinki hates mornings. He promptly grabs his boyfriend’s pillow, brings it to his face, and squeezes his eyes back shut as an invitation for sleep to take him once more. Unfortunately this doesn’t last long, as a sudden ball of energy bounds into his room in the form of an overly excited Minho.

            “Jinkiii~!” He all but sings as he bounces onto the bed, landing on his stomach beside the older man. He rests his arms and head on Jinki’s chest, then yanks the pillow away from his face. “Good morning, birthday boy!”

            Jinki groans, squinting at the younger boy in displeasure. As happy as he is to see his handsome face, it’s just too dang early to function for Jinki, plus now he’s practically being blinded by the sun without his pillow barrier. “Mm… that is today, isn’t it?” He finally speaks, voice completely groggy from sleep. Minho nods enthusiastically in response, and Jinki feels his morning grumpiness dissipate as he grins back at the love of his life for being this hyper. He has a huge weakness for this side of the younger man and they both know it.

            “Mhm! And we only get one day to celebrate! So, come on!” Minho sits up and begins vigorously shaking Jinki’s right shoulder as he chants, “Get up, get up, get up!”

            The older man rolls his eyes playfully as he sits up facing Minho. “Okay, okay, okay!” He giggles, “I’m up! Calm down!” Minho chuckles, holding his hands up in a joke apology.

            “Sorry. I’m just a little bit excited.”

            “I can tell,” Jinki teases, “and it feels so very familiar. Didn’t we just do this exact same thing last week?” A light shade of pink tints Minho’s cheeks.

            “Not exactly the same thing…”

            “You’re right. Last week you woke me up because you were excited about it being your birthday!” The older man chuckles as he recalls his boyfriend jumping on his bed at an early hour in the morning the week prior, unable to wait any longer on getting started with the birthday plans Jinki had made for him. Jinki notices the pink coloring Minho’s cheeks. He nudges the younger man playfully. “I’m just messing with you. I think it’s adorable that you get so excited about these things. It’s like a kid on Christmas!”

            “Shut up.” Minho mumbles as the pink tint on his cheeks turns red. Minho knows that he is forever doomed to be affected by the older man’s words and to melt under his gaze. It’s completely unfair, he thinks. He quickly recovers from his blushy moment though, able to shake it off by reminding himself why he’s here. “Anyway,” Minho leans forward and pecks Jinki on the lips, only the softest press of lips, “Happy Birthday.”

            “Thank you.” They share a heart-warming smile, lasting a few moments before Minho breaks the silence.

            “So, what do you propose we do today, birthday boy?”

            “Me? You mean,” Jinki leans in curiously, “you don’t have every minute of today planned already?”

            “I didn’t say that.”

            “Oh… so you do, then?” Minho shrugs, a sly smirk on his face. “Okay,” Jinki eyes the younger man suspiciously, “what do you propose then, hm?”

            “Me?” Jinki nods. “Personally, I propose…” Minho takes his boyfriend’s hand in his, the other reaching into the pocket of his pajama pants. Jinki watches as the younger man pulls out a black ring box and places it in his hand. As he opens it to reveal a silver band with five channel-set diamonds on top, he continues speaking, “that you marry me, Lee Jinki.”

            Goosebumps rise across Jinki’s skin as his boyfriend utters the words he’s only ever imagined. He’s in complete shock and his mind is running a million miles an hour in at least ten different directions trying to process the whole situation. He’s nodding, however, before he even properly can process it because is mind doesn’t need to be caught up for his body to know that yes, absolutely, no questions asked, he will marry Minho. He’s wanted to marry Minho since the first day he met the shy, lanky boy as a trainee at SM (okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but give him a break here, he’s still in a bit of shock).

            “Is that a… yes?” Minho asks, awkwardly holding the box out towards the older man.

            “Yes, yes of course I’ll marry you, Minho!” Jinki breathes out. The younger man flashes a thousand-watt smile before taking the ring from its box to place on Jinki’s finger. He pauses, holding it closer to the older man’s face.

            “I, um, I also got it engraved.” He chews on his lip nervously. Jinki takes the ring and looks to the cursive lettering on the inside of it, reading:

            It’s a beautiful life… with you.

            Jinki has to blink back the tears that are forming in his eyes as he proudly slips the ring on with a smile. He looks up again, his gaze falling on Minho, now sporting a shy smile as he continues chewing on his bottom lip. Jinki takes chance to grab his boyfriend, now fiancé’s face and smash their lips together passionately, thinking that’s the best way to properly thank him. As they fall over on the bed, giggling happily against each other’s lips, Jinki has a feeling that this is going to be his best birthday ever.