Summer night

[g / fluff / domestic au]

That summer night, when I dragged you to ride the ferris wheel with me, when I sat across from you with a red face, when I asked you to be mine, and when you gawked at me as we touched the sky. That summer night, do you still remember?

Kyungsoo takes off his glasses and lets out a soft sigh. The whirring of his computer gradually whizzes to a stop until it shuts off with a click. Outside, the sun is setting but the evening is still bright. A million and one lights flicker on and they illuminate the bustling city. Kyungsoo sits by his work table and dazes out at the colourful sunset on the horizon, enjoying the rare moment of peace.

However, the buzzing of his phone soon interrupts the quiet in the apartment and Kyungsoo glances at the flashing screen. A fond smile slowly crawls up his face as he reads the incoming message and standing up from his seat, he strolls into the bedroom. He picks up the black t-shirt with a classic Mickey Mouse print already laid out for him on the bed and quickly changes into it. Then throwing on a hoodie visibly one size too large for him, he packs his backpack and gets ready to leave. Placing the glasses back on his nose bridge, he walks out the apartment and locks the door behind him.

There are more people on the streets than usual and Kyungsoo carefully threads through the rushing crowd. Squeezing onto the packed subway, he tucks himself into an inconspicuous corner and plugs in his headphones. The rich voice of Aretha Franklin fills his world as he sways back and forth with the rhythm of the moving train. Hidden behind circular lens, his curious eyes quietly observe the strangers coming and going in front of him. Whether it is the lady with red heels or the gentleman wary of his balding head, Kyungsoo imagines a story for each one of them.

It was their favourite past time when they used to ride the subway together as boys. The many stories they used to make up, Kyungsoo retained and treasures them all in his memoirs. How they’d used to giggle with their heads huddled together, as if afraid their secret game would be discovered by other people; he remembers everything.

When the subway pulls up to his station, Kyungsoo shuffles out of the train. Swept into the crowd, he shifts along the path. The sun has completely set when he makes it to the surface again and taking a moment as the world continued its course around him, he snaps a picture of the first stars in the sky. They are barely visible, but that does not deter Kyungsoo from attempting to capture their beauties.

He misses the sky they saw together many years ago as they ran away to the country side in rebellion. It was the first time they spent a night together all alone as they laid side by side in a field of grass, staring wordlessly at the Milky Way until sleep overtook them. But despite the many stars they saw that night, Kyungsoo liked the reflections of the starry night in the other boy’s bright eyes the best.

Rejoining the crowd, Kyungsoo makes his way to the cluster of light and music. The fair is in town again and the city is alive. Gleeful laughs and excited screams echo in the night, mixed with the jangles and clatters from the noisy game stalls and amusement rides. Amidst the neon lights and swirling machines carrying thrill seekers of all ages, the timeless ferries wheel stands tall. Kyungsoo’s gaze softens as he glances at the slow spinning wheel in nostalgia and a gentle smiles blooms on his face. Even though more than a decade has passed, his heart still beats fast as he recalls that summer night when they were seventeen.

Suddenly his phone buzzes in his pocket and he picks up right away. The same booming and deep voice strains over the speaker and Kyungsoo cannot help but smile a little wider. Following the directions given to him over the phone, he weaves through the crowd until he is standing right below the colourfully lit wheel and a trio of excited man and boys wave eagerly at him. The boys running towards him have their faces painted to resemble their favourite super heroes and Kyungsoo squats down to welcome them. He laughs heartily as his sons crash into his open arms, shouting like the excited five year olds they are.

“Papa, papa! Daddy says we can only ride the ferries wheel when you’re here!”

“Papa, we rode on the roller coaster with daddy! Sehun cried a little but I didn’t!”

“No, Jongin is lying! I didn’t cry! Papa, can we please go ride the ferris wheel now?”

“Yah, I want to ride it too!”

Kyungsoo plants a kiss on each of their foreheads where it is not covered in paint and he looks up at the taller man watching them with smiling eyes. There is so much love and tenderness reflected in his partner’s bright eyes that it makes Kyungsoo’s stomach twists into a knot. Squatting down also, Chanyeol wraps the boys in a constraining bear hug, much to their displeasure, and he pulls them away from their papa. Then leaning in until the tips of their noses are almost touching, he presses a feathery kiss on Kyungsoo’s grinning lips.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

As their compartment rises higher into the sky, the boys quiet down. Kneeling on the bench with their faces pressed against the glass, they stare in awe at the colourful and shimmering world down below. On the opposite side, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo watch their sons with adoring eyes as they sit close by, their arms brushing and fingers intertwined. Turning his head to face his partner, Chanyeol grins coyly and whispers the same question he asks every year since that summer night.

“Doh Kyungsoo, will you be mine?”

Kyungsoo grins in return and like every year, he leans in and kisses the taller man.

I remember that summer night, when our faces were blushing bright red. As the ferries wheel carried us up to the sky, I kissed you under the star light. Our lips were trembling as our hearts, and I’ll never forget the surprise and relief in your widened eyes. That summer night of when we were seventeen, I still remember; and until our children leave home and until our hair is bleached white by time, I will always remember.