Flashback

"Hyung!" Hongki called gleefully as Heechul came into his line of vision. "You came."

"Of course." Heechul adjusted his ever present sunglasses. "It's not every day my dongsaeng calls me up requesting to shop. I usually have to beg you."

"You're such a liar!" Hongki laughed, lightly slapping Heechul's arm before walking away from him.

"So, Hongki, what are we shopping for today?" Heechul asked as he followed Hongki, his long legs easily catching Hongki. He swung an arm around Hongki's shoulder, pulling the younger closer to him.

"It's our anniversary this weekend." Hongki muttered, a light blush on his cheeks.

"How long have we been married now, darling?" Heechul asked, a grin on his face as a passing old lady gave them a dirty look.

Hongki elbowed Heechul in the ribs. "Shut up." He sighed, footsteps slowing. "We've been together six months hyung, and I have no idea what to get him. I'm praying I get some inspiration today."

"Well, my dear," Heechul said dramatically, "you've come to the right person! The only person I know that likes to shop as much as me is Kibum, and after your last encounter with him, I doubt you'll be calling him for advice."

"He's a ." Hongki announced, "I'm glad I only worked with him the once."

"He didn't have good words for you either, princess." Heechul countered, dragging Hongki towards one of the shops that lined the streets of Myeong Dong, the window lit with neon lights. "How does Jonghun feel about toys?"

"NO!" Hongki called out, abruptly stopping, causing passers-by to stare at him before carrying on with their journeys. "I am not buying Jonghun a toy." He hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at the older male.

"Geez." Heechul ran a hand through his hair. "Drama queen. I was joking. This," Heechul pointed to the store, "is an alternative fashion store. Maybe you could get him some ripped jeans or something, show off his amazing thighs."

Hongki rolled his eyes before walking away from the store, looking in the window of each store he passed as he waited for Heechul to catch up with him once again. "I want serious ideas, hyung." Hongki said as he felt Heechul's arm against his.

"Clothing is serious." Heechul said, readjusting his sunglasses. "What about fragrance? Or a new guitar?" Heechul sighed, "you could always do the couple thing."

"Hyung, you are a genius!" Hongki stopped as he considered his options. "Maybe phone charms, or teeshirts. Teeshirts are more practical."

"Why not go the whole hog and get rings?" Heechul said sarcastically, "the whole couple thing is lame."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Hongki asked himself. "Hyung, where are the jewellers?" He turned to Heechul, eyes pleading with the older man.

"You're serious?"

Hongki nodded. "I can show Jonghun how serious I am about him, as well as making sure no one flirts with him while I'm at work."

"You're really serious?" Heechul asked again.

"Hyung, shut up." Hongki felt his cheek heat under Heechul pointed look. "I love him."

"Yet, you haven't told him that." Heechul said with a smirk, leading Hongki along the streets of Myeong Dong.

"That's because I can't think of the right words to say." Hongki muttered, allowing himself to be dragged along.

"I love you tends to work in those kind of situations, so I'm told." Heechul advised, bracing himself for the smack that was bound to come his way.

"It doesn't seem like enough though." Hongki said, eyes downcast. "He's everything, the first thing I think about in the morning, the last thing I think about at night. He's on my mind every second of every minute of every hour of every day."

"Alright, I get it." Heechul rolled his eyes. "I'm really the wrong person to be talking about this to. I have no experience with this mushy stuff." The older male pulled a face, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Just help me to find the perfect rings." Hongki sighed, knowing that Heechul wasn't one for settling down. He enjoyed flirting, with members of either , far too much.

~###~
 

"What about these?" The sales assistant asked, holding out a blue velvet coated box, nestled inside were two plain gold rings.

Hongki took the box from the assistant, inspecting the rings. He and Heechul were now in their fourth jewellery store, none of the rings shown to Hongki so far had taken his interest. "They're plain."

"They can be engraved." The sales assistant said quickly, sensing Hongki losing interest.

"Really?" Hongki asked, taking one of the rings out of the box and slipping it on his finger.

"Yes, up to three characters." The sales assistant confirmed.

"One last question." Hongki said, placing the ring back into the box, pausing for dramatic effect before handing the small box back to the sales assistant. "Do these come in silver? Gold doesn't suit Jonghun's skin tone."

The sales assistant smiled, "of course, sir."

~###~
 

Hongki stood outside of Jonghun's apartment, pacing back and forth, fumbling with the blue velvet coated box that housed their rings. "Get it together, Hongki!" He said to himself, slipping the box back into his jacket pocket. He was more nervous than their first date, his stomach doing butterflies at the thought of presenting Jonghun with the rings, at the possibility of Jonghun rejecting them. Hongki shook his head, trying to think positively before knocking on the familiar door, wondering briefly how Jonghun managed to stay in student accommodation even though he had finished his qualification. Hongki heard shuffling and a loud curse before the door swung open, revealing Jonghun, his hair mussed and jeans hanging open.

"Sorry, Hongki, I'm running a little late." Jonghun bowed his head. "Please come in, I won't be long."

Hongki stared at Jonghun, the usually straightened hair was far ier mussed, reminding Hongki of the younger male's hair after bedroom activities, the flush on his face making him look cuter and younger. "Don't." Hongki said, following Jonghun into the dorm room.

Jonghun turned to look at Hongki. "Don't what?" He asked.

"Don't straighten your hair, it's y like that." Hongki said, feeling his cheeks heat with each word he spoke.

Jonghun chucked lightly, running a hand through his hair, "you like it like this? I guess I'm too used to wearing it straight." He fastened his jeans, grabbing a jacket before offering his hand to Hongki, "shall we go?"

Hongki nodded, taking Jonghun's hand in his. "Yeah, I'm excited to see what you have planned for this date."

Jonghun had insisted on planning this date, after all, Hongki had planned their first date, it was only fair that he plan an important date too. Jonghun squeezed Hongki's hand, leading him out of the dorms and into the street's of Seoul. "Don't have too high expectations, I don't earn as much money as you." Jonghun warned.

"We could eat street food and go to a noraebang, and I'd still think it was the best date ever, just because it was with you." Hongki said sweetly, lifting their clasped hands and pressing a kiss to the back of Jonghun's hand.

Jonghun blushed, "you're too cheesy."

~###~

"We're eating here?" Hongki asked, looking up at the sign above the restaurant entrance.

"You don't want to?" Jonghun asked, turning to face Hongki. "You weren't serious about eating street food were you?"

Hongki chuckled at the look on Jonghun's face, before squeezing his hand once again. "I'm just surprised that you want to eat here again after last time." Jonghun had led them to the same Italian restaurant that they had eaten at for their first date.

"There are good memories here." Jonghun flushed as he spoke, tugging on Hongki's arm. "Let's just go somewhere else."

Hongki shook his head, standing firm. "No, let's eat here. Maybe we'll get the same waiter as before." Hongki grinned at Jonghun before leading him into the familiar restaurant.

~###~

As it turned out, they didn't have the same waiter as their previous visit. The clumsy waiter had been replaced by a tall, bug eyed male who reminded Hongki of a frog.

"Can I get you any dessert?" The wide eyed waiter asked, eyes flicking between Hongki and Jonghun as he waited for an answer.

"I'll have gelato." Hongki answered, sending a brief smile the waiters way.

"And you?" The waiter turned to Jonghun.

"Tiramisu, please." Jonghun requested.

Hongki watched as the waiter retreated towards the kitchen. The box in his jacket seemed to get heavier and heavier, and Hongki could feel it press against his chest with each small movement he made. "I'm glad you chose this restaurant." Hongki said after a moments silence, resting a hand over Jonghun's, manipulating their hands until their fingers were interlinked. "It does have good memories."

Jonghun smiled, "happy anniversary, Hongki. These six months have been amazing."

Hongki nodded, "yeah, they have." He slowly removed his hand from Jonghun's, reaching into his pocket. His heart started to beat quicker, and he could feel beads of perspiration start to gather on his forehead (thankfully hidden by his hair style). "You mean so much to me, Jonghun." He wrapped his hand around the box, pulling it from his pocket and holding it out. "I got you a present."

Jonghun stared at the blue velvet coated box, his hands moving of their own accord to take it from Hongki. "You didn't need to get me anything." Jonghun's breath stilled as he opened the box, gasping as he saw the two rings. "Hongki?"

"They're couple rings." Hongki smiled, gently taking the box from Jonghun and removing the slightly thinner band. "This is yours, you accept it, right?" Hongki asked, taking Jonghun's hand in his, sliding the ring onto his left hand ring finger. Hongki watched Jonghun nod, the small movement making his heart feel light, relief washing over him like a wave. He smiled as he slid his own ring onto the corresponding finger. "You're mine, Choi Jonghun, I want everyone to know."

Jonghun laughed at the statement, "I think everyone already knows. You tell people every chance to you get."

"Well," Hongki stuttered, "this makes it more official." He looked down as he spoke the next words. "There's an engraving inside."

Jonghun's eyes widened as he slid the ring from his finger, holding it up to his eye level as he examined it, finally finding the three characters. "Yeong-wonhi (Forever)."

Hongki nodded, "Forever."
 

Minho the waiter. I have to sneak my SHINee bias in here somewhere.

The posting schedule I have at the moment is likely to be disrupted, I am rapidly running out of chapters to post, and not writing enough to replace them at the moment. I keep getting distracted by new ideas...

Alright, own up... Who unsubscribed???? You're going to miss out on some awesome in the next chapter, complete with Jonghun topping.