It’s a difficult process getting to Chen’s apartment with the storm still raging infinitely harsher. To your surprise you actually manage getting halfway before another horrid snap stops you short. This is when Chen decides it’d just be better if he carried you home. You didn’t put up much protest against it (though you still feel bad) barely able to stand, let alone speak coherently enough to make an argument. You will yourself to be lighter as you wear his backpack and cling to him guiltily.

He doesn’t seem affected, stronger than you give him credit for. The rest of the walk goes by in a dark blur, your eyes half shut the entire way. Pushing into the apartment building you slowly open your eyes, grateful for the cover from the storm. You make to hop off Chen’s back but he continues walking, keeping a firm hold on you. It takes you a moment to realize he doesn’t intend on letting you down and it confuses you enough to manage voicing your puzzlement.

“U-uh, Chen, you can let me down now…” you say pointing to the ground.

He ignores you and steps into the elevator with indignant steps. You nibble on your bottom lip uneasily. It’s not that you don’t want him to carry you, you feel bad that he’s carried you, wearing his backpack, at least three blocks with the added burden of your sopping clothes.

“Chen, seriously I feel bad. I can walk now.” you urge poking the side of his head.

“Nope, not on our anniversary you don’t.” he says looking back at you with a playful grin.

You instantly shut your mouth, suddenly very conscious of his carrying you. He’s kidding, you know that, but your feelings make it feel like he meant it. Exiting the elevator when it opens with a ding he takes you to the end of the hall and pushes open, his apparently unlocked, door. He still doesn’t set you down, carrying you all the way to the couch before setting you down with a wet squish.

“Wasn’t that fun?” he says with a grin as if the two of you strolled in a sunny valley for three blocks instead.

“You’re so painfully weird it hurts.” you retort rolling your eyes. That only makes him grin wider.

“Love you too, idiot.”

There it is again, that awful pang in your heart that physically hurts whenever the feeling plagues you.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, can I get my present now?” you say changing the subject while distractedly pulling off his backpack and studying your soaked clothes. You don’t have anything to change into, you notice a little stupidly, and there’s no way you’re going outside again to get a change of clothes.

“Not before you change into something that won’t give you hypothermia.” he says voicing your concern.

“Like?”

“I’m sure you’ve left something of yours here before. Oh! You know what, last time you were here you actually left a thing of pajamas! I’ll grab that, stay put.” he calls already halfway down the hall. You roll your eyes but thank your forgetfulness. Barely a minute passes before Chen comes back with a pair of pajama pants, you do note you’ve been missing for a while, and a large shirt, one of his own.

“I thought you left a shirt too but, I only found this so, here.” he says throwing the clothes at you. Catching the dry clothes you thank him and make your way down to the bathroom to change. Once inside you peel off layer after layer of burdensome clothes and appreciatively step into the warm cotton of your pajamas. Pulling on the large navy blue shirt you’re embraced by the familiar scent of Chen a hint of his morning coffee. Scooping up the pile of wet clothes you dump them where they belong in the heating vent and pad back into the living room.

Before you do the lights flick off, leaving you in the ominous dark. Startled you press yourself against the wall and panic. Did the storm cause a blackout? Are the lights ever going to come back on? Are you going to be stuck in the dark all night with the storm’s flashing lightning as your only source of light?

Where is Chen...

Slowly following the wall down the hall you make it imperative you find Chen this instant, lest you succumb to fear again. Your eyes gradually adjust to the sudden dark but it doesn’t do much good. Everything is one big black blur when you step into the living room, shapes indiscernible from one another.

“Chen..?” you call, voice faltering when light flashes behind the drawn curtains.

“I’m here.” he replies. It’s not that reassuring seeing as you don’t know where “here” is.

“That’s not helpful.” you mumble holding your hands out in front of you as you carefully step into the living room. With your coordination you’re sure to stumble over something sooner or later.

“Just follow the sound of my voice.” he instructs to your left. Doing as he says you make your way to the kitchen, keeping your hands out as a precaution, and try to squint through the blackness.

“Chen, seriously, where are you?” you whine narrowly avoiding a particularly painful shinning with a chair.

“You’re almost there.” he encourages not too far away this time.

“I’m going to fall over something just-” your complaint dies in your throat the lights coming back to life. Startled you let out a frightened yelp. Chen smiles beside the power box in the wall with his hands behind his back. There are decorations set up around him, similar to the balloons he’d gotten at the bakery, which read “Happy Anniversary!” in his neat script. There are bowls of pocky tied with bows and two happily whipped cream topped mugs of what you suspect to be hot chocolate.

“Chen, what..?” You’re dumbfounded, to say the least, at a complete loss for words.

“Ta-dah! Happy Anniversary!” he cheers holding out a silver box topped with a red ribbon.

“I—uh, thanks?” you stammer unsurely. Hesitantly taking the gift he gestures for you to open it and grabs his own present.

“We can open them together.”

And so, you do.

Carefully tearing away the shiny wrapping you’re surprised to see a cushiony black box engraved with grand looping gold letters. It reads “Luminescence” and you’re taken aback. That’s the name of the jewelry store you two saw the other day.

“Holy crap, did you make this?!” Chen shouts excitedly, pulling out the amazingly intact mini-cake. You nod, eyes glued to the box in your hands.

“This is the greatest thing I think I’ve ever received ever. Can I just marry this cake?” he says around a mouthful of the pocky creation. You don’t reply, intent on figuring out what could have possibly possessed Chen to buy you something this expensive. It doesn’t matter what it is, everything from Luminescence is atrociously overpriced.

“Hey, idiot, just get over it and open the box. It doesn’t matter how much it cost.” he chides, voicing your thoughts once again.

“Yeah, it does. This is ridiculous, it’s not even like it’s our real anniversary or anything. Just return it and get your money back.” you state ing the box at him. He rolls his eyes and takes it from you, flipping open the box and pulling out its contents.

You stare stunned at the ring he holds up with a mischievous grin.

“You didn’t.”

He just laughs taking your left hand. You jerk away and widen your eyes.

“What are you doing?”

He rolls his eyes and grabs your hand again, this time managing to slip on the ring around you fourth finger.

“Calm down, I’m not proposing if that’s what you’re thinking.” he jokes examining the silver band on your finger with a satisfied grin. You do the same. It’s the same ring he’d pointed out with the lightning bolt etched into its smooth surface with a lone diamond at its center.

He actually bought it. He bought you matching couple rings.

This dork…

“Look, now people will know.” he says slipping on his own ring. You try not to gape at him and shake your head disbelievingly.

“You are the biggest dork alive, you know that? You’re the only person I know who’d go this far to maintain a façade.” you say disapprovingly, eyes glued to your new accessory.

“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me and now everyone will know it.”

Cue that horrible pang in your chest and a furious blush spilling across your cheeks.

This “couple” thing just got that much harder for you.