Hyukjae growls in front of his laptop. He’s been trying to type something into his paper, but most of it is seems like mush. He tries reading it again, but it’s not up to his standards. He whines again, and makes a strange sound in the back of his throat.

“I’m never going to graduate!” He exclaims.

From the driver’s seat, with one arm propped coolly against the door and the other on the wheel, Donghae glances at his lover.

“Kid, it’s not due for another four months, calm down.”

“But I want to get this over with!”

Donghae chuckles. “Ugh, you’re so adorable.”

“That’s not helping!” Hyukjae continues to punch in meaningless words on his keyboard.

“Aw, does my baby need help?” Donghae cooes.

“Stop that, it’s creepy,” Hyukjae snaps. He slaps his laptop shut. He observes the navigation system, and Donghae misses an exit. “Yah!”

“Why are you so fussy, it’s okay, we can exit on the next one,” Donghae says.

“Stupid ,” Hyukjae murmurs under his breath.

“What’s that? My baby is being a bad boy? Does he need to get punished?” Donghae playfully drawls.

“Watch your mouth, Lee Donghae. I’ll rip it off your face.”

Donghae laughs, and throws his head back slightly. The car swerves a bit.

“Eyes on the road, you dumb ,” Hyukjae scolds.

“Will you rip it off my face with your lips?” Donghae hopefully suggests.

“No, I’ll take a knife and carve it off,” Hyukjae replies sarcastically.

“Ow, jeez, babe. I’m sorry.”

“You better be. Try me again, and you’re going to be begging for your life.”

Donghae slightly shivers.

“Also, you’re a driver. How the do you miss two exits?!”

“You were distracting me!”

~

They slowly drive through a narrow street, the tires rumbling against the rough road. Donghae’s jaw clenches from his anxiousness, and Hyukjae subconsciously fidgeted. They pull up in front of a house, where a bunch of plants decorated the front porch. They spot a little girl and the little boy that looked like Donghae, running around on the grass with a furry dog.

Donghae takes a deep breath, bracing his hand on the car handle.

“What should I say?” Donghae asks, clearly nervous.

“Say hi?”

“No , Sherlock.”

“Okay, definitely do not curse in front of them. Be nice.”

Donghae rolls his eyes. “I don’t even know their names.”

“The boy is Jeno, and the girl, is Haeeun.”

Donghae takes one more look at Hyukjae, and then opens the door. He steps out and squints under the sun.

“Daddy!” The little girl gasps and screams.

Donghae lifts his hand up to his eyes, and finds a little girl running towards him. Suddenly, the little girl hugs him around the waist. Hyukjae stares at them, feeling like he’s letting Donghae go piece by piece. Everytime he brings up a part of Donghae’s past, the more he finds that he doesn’t really know Donghae that well.

He’s so scared of being forgotten by Donghae, of being left alone by him who attached himself to every single minute of his life.

“What’s wrong?” Haeeun asks, looking up with her innocent eyes.

Jeno slowly walks toward his father, scrutinizing him as if he was a mere stranger.

“Hey,” Donghae greets awkwardly. He looks behind him in the car to meet Hyukjae’s gaze, trying to ask him for help.

Hyukjae can only shrug.

~

“Hey, Yoona.” Hyukjae greets as he discards his shoes by the doorway.

Yoona peeks out from the kitchen and offers Hyukjae a kind smile. “Is he…”

“Yeah, getting acquainted and all that.”

Hyukjae scans the interior, noticing pictures of Donghae and his family. They were memories of a lifetime, while his own pictures with Donghae seem like a slit in those times, puny and easily forgotten.

“What was his childhood like?” Hyukjae asks. “His condition could come from anything, childhood trauma, stress…”

Yoona takes out a tray from the oven with her mittens and sets it down on the dining table. “Donghae had an average childhood, it was when he was in his teens that things just went south for him.”

“How so?”

“His parents died in a car accident, along with his brother. He blames himself for it because he was being a distraction, arguing with his brother, then they all died, but he lived.”

Hyukjae nodded sadly. “He told you this?”

“Yeah, we were still in high school that time, but he started shutting himself off. I couldn’t get to him.” Yoona meets Hyukjae’s eyes. “But you did. How did that happen?”

Hyukjae touches his eyebrow with his ring finger. “Believe me, if I knew, I would know what to say. He’s the one who made the first move on me. Then, I just gave him a chance, and made an advance.”

Yoona nods, not missing the silver ring on Hyukjae’s finger. “He wasn't always a sad fellow. He was a happy kid.”

Hyukjae sighs. “How did he fall for you?”

“To be honest, I don’t really know, but he did say it was because of my smile.”

Hyukjae feels like crumpling right then and there. His smile was the first thing that Donghae noticed about him. “I love him, Yoona,” he confesses. He couldn't keep this from her, but also, it was his last resort to grab him away.

Hurt flashes across Yoona’s features, but she knew that it would be like this. “He does too. I can see it on his face. It’s like a weight has been lifted off him when he’s with you.”

Hyukjae purses his lips. “I’m so sorry.”

Yoona shakes her head. “Don’t be.” She sighs heavily. “Just promise me, you’ll take care of him. I’ll get our marriage annulled or something.”

Hyukjae stares at her in shock. “But-”

“He’s unhappy here. If him being another person means he gets to be happy, then I’ll cheer him on.”

“Yoona…” Hyukjae’s throat closes up. “Why are you so nice? Shouldn’t you at least slap me across the face?”

Yoona gives him a soft look. “Is it your fault? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He has kids,” Hyukjae whispers, afraid.

“And they managed well without him. They don’t need a father who only does things out of obligation.”

Hyukjae brings his palm to his eyes, feeling a tear escape.

Yoona comes around the dining table, and pulls him into her arms. “It’s okay, Hyukjae. It’s okay.”

~

The drive back home was silent. Hyukjae kept his eyes on the road, thinking about a hundred things and turning them over, examining each view until he lets it go to another stream of thought. Donghae keeps glancing at him, a bit worried, but he gives Hyukjae some space. He also needed the silence to think about those children he apparently left behind. He did feel sorry for them, but he never felt any fatherly instinct to raise them or even make an effort to stay with them. His life is with Hyukjae, and maybe, it was cruel of him to think this way about them.

“Let’s get married,” Hyukjae suddenly blurts out.

Donghae’s eyes widened, and he signals to pull up on the shoulder of the road. “What?” He puts the car in park.

Hyukjae keeps his eyes locked ahead. “I said, let’s get married.”

Donghae turns his body towards Hyukjae. “Can you please look at me when you say that?”

Hyukjae faces him, his dark eyes determined. “Marry me. You said it’s up to me, that when I’m ready, you’ll get us rings. So let’s do it.”

“Are you mad at me?” Donghae asks, a little confused. Hyukjae sounds like anything but happy.

Hyukjae stares into his solemn gaze, feeling like he’s in an ocean, drowning helplessly. He didn’t want to let go of Donghae, that much he knew. For once, he wants to be selfish. If marrying Donghae will keep him by his side, then yes, he will do everything.

“No, but I realized so many things today.”

Donghae leans forward, urging him to continue.

“First, you fell for my smile, but for me, I fell for you when you went out of your way to take care of me and the people that I love. You always took me seriously,” Hyukjae said. “Second, you said I’m the love of your life. Do you know what that means?”

Donghae smiles at him, ever so tenderly. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Donghae, that means you’re choosing me above everything. Are you ready for that?”

Donghae takes his hand. “Of course I am. I wouldn’t even court you in the first place if I had no intention to do be with you.”

“And third, I realized that I want to keep you after all. I don’t want you to stray far from me. I’m forcing you to stay, even if you don’t want to anymore.”

Donghae’s eyes widen a little. “Where is this coming from?”

“Let me finish,” Hyukjae cuts him off. His gaze softens, and glances at their entwined hands. “I want a future with you, whatever that looks like. As long as I’m with you.”

Donghae brings Hyukjae’s hand to his lips. “Okay, but make sure you know what you’re getting into. You’re mine, from the moment you stepped into my life. Remember that.”

Hyukjae shivers from his words. Nothing about them is stable, and it feels like he’s throwing more gas into a growing fire. Hyukjae was a man who ran away from so many things, had along the way used Donghae to compensate for the pain he felt, but Donghae was also a man with no past, who only knew him and will continue to know him as long as they are in this slit of time.

Time stops for no man, Hyukjae knows that much, but he would very like to make it pause for a fraction of its minute, so he can fit all of his tomorrows with Donghae.

“Lee Hyukjae, will you marry me?” Donghae murmurs. A few cars pass by them.

“Yes.” If this will let me lock you down. I won’t let you go, Donghae. So whoever you are, whoever you will be, I will fight for you.

A/N: I don't know about you guys, but I have a thing for the 8th chapters in my stories lol. This is probably my favorite part. Almost done aaaaaaah