The past week has got to be the busiest Donghae has been in his entire life. He doesn’t remember being this nervous, he just really needs to have this one day to be perfect. 

With Hyukjae out for work, Donghae’s got a lot of time to prepare for the surprise he has for his boyfriend’s birthday. Though Hyukjae was very adamant that he didn’t want to make a fuss, Donghae wants it to be a special day at least. So Donghae efficiently makes use of the time he has before his boyfriend gets home from work. 

It’s actually hilarious how they met. To this day, Donghae still can’t comprehend how their own failed blind dates were a perfect set-up for them to meet. 

It’s been over thirty minutes already and Donghae’s getting antsy. Admittedly, he didn’t want to go on the nth blind date his friends set up. And even though he’s given up on these blind dates, Donghae will still be a grateful friend and show up to them. He knows his friends only mean well. However, it looks like there’s a first in everything and it’s undeniable that Donghae has been stood up. 

‘So this is how it feels like’, although he wasn’t all for it, getting stood up still . At least he’s at his favorite restaurant, great food has never let him down.

“He still hasn’t shown up, hyung?“ Jeno, one of the few part-timers Donghae has grown close to, asks while he refills Donghae’s glass with water.

“Nah but it’s alright, I didn’t even want to go on this date in the first place.” 

“It’s their loss though,” Jeno pats his shoulder before leaning in to whisper, “by the way, the guy on the table next to you looks like your type. And he looks like he got stood up too.” 

Donghae chuckles at what Jeno is implying. He did, in fact, sneak a few too many glances at the guy on the table next to him. It would be a shameful lie if Donghae said he didn’t stare at the man the moment he entered the restaurant. Now that he thinks about it, Jeno’s the one who ushered and seated the attractive stranger at the table next to his. ‘He must think he’s so clever,’ sure enough, when Donghae meets Jeno’s eyes, the young waiter is already wearing a -eating grin. Like he’s waiting for Donghae to thank him for this great favor.

He throws a playful two- salute toward the young waiter before subtly glancing at the attractive stranger next to him. Like Donghae, he hasn’t ordered anything yet which is both a good and a bad thing. 

A good thing because if Donghae does a good job at striking up a conversation, he could easily join the attractive stranger’s table. It’s a bad thing because, well, if Donghae didn’t act now, the attractive stranger could easily just stand up and leave the restaurant right this second. 

‘Well, there’s always a first time for everything.’

Donghae puts on his best smile and purposefully faces the attractive stranger, “Hey, I apologize in advance for being too forward, but did you perhaps get stood up as well?”

Judging from the way the stranger’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, he wasn’t expecting anyone besides the waiter assigned to his table to interact with him. Now that Donghae has a more direct view of the stranger’s face, he’s definitely leaving a big fat tip for Jeno later. Regardless of whether tonight ends well or not.

“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. It’s just, I noticed you looked like someone who’s waiting for someone too.”

The stranger takes a few seconds before responding, he even does this cute head shake that’s doing things to Donghae’s heart, “You’re waiting for someone as well?”

“Yeah, my friends set up a blind date for me but I don’t think they have no plans showing up.”

“I think that’s slightly a better situation than mine,” the stranger replies, his whole body is now turned towards Donghae, “my date texted me ten minutes ago that he just got back with his ex.”

“Ouch, what a jerk.”

“No worries, I never really liked him. I only agreed ‘cause it’s my sister who set up the date.”

“Well, since a spot opened up, want to talk about failed blind dates?”

“I doubt you’ve had worse than tonight, I mean, anyone with eyes would see you’re attractive,” he says the last part a tad quieter like it was an afterthought but the words have already left his mouth. It’s a good thing Donghae caught that despite the distance between them.

“Prepare to have your mind changed then. I’m Donghae, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you Donghae, my name’s Hyukjae.”

Reminiscing their first meeting always brings a smile to Donghae’s face, not to mention it’s also a recurring subject whenever their friends gather together. How could it not? Scenarios like that only happen in movies and fanfiction, and with Donghae’s luck? It’s only a fever dream.

But now’s not the time to ponder about the stars aligning for Donghae that night, he really needs to get his out of the apartment and get started with his to-do list. 

🎂

“Thanks so much for this Wookie, I don’t know what I’d do without your help.” Donghae hasn’t let go of Ryeowook since the latter opened the door to his apartment. Admittedly, Donghae’s cooking skills are decent, well, both of them are decent cooks. Yet if given the choice of getting takeout or cooking a meal from scratch, they’d both reach for their phones in a heartbeat. 

But tonight isn’t any other night, tonight’s the birthday of the love of his life and Hyukjae deserves all the best things in life. And yes, even if it means that he’s got to elicit the help of their friend group’s resident chef.

“It’s no problem at all Hae, you know my stress reliever is grocery shopping.” that is true, Ryeowook’s fridge and small pantry are always stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, choice cut organic meats, and snacks of all kinds, shapes, and sizes.

“You’re literally godsent Wookie, I don’t mind spending more money if it’s your food I’m getting.”

“There’s no need to grovel any more than you already have, Lee Donghae. You’ve got the goods now get your out of here, I’m sure you still have a lot on your list to accomplish.” Donghae exits Ryeowook’s apartment as fast as he enters it, in his clutches is the full course meal he paid his very dear friend to prepare for him. And knowing Ryeowook, he probably even included a very detailed step-by-step guide on how to cook and baste the steaks properly. 

Their meal for tonight is in good hands.

Donghae has two other stops, the patisserie and the florist, before going back to the apartment. Beforehand, Donghae had already placed a cake order at the patisserie and talked to the florist about the type of bouquets he wanted. So picking up both the cake and bouquets was quick and easy.

He arrives home a little past twelve-fifteen. Donghae makes a beeline for the fridge, quickly but carefully putting away the cake and the steak and vegetables for dinner. The next thing he does is unravel the wrapping to the bouquet of lilies and white roses. Hyukjae’s been meaning to replace the wilted flowers on the vase on their kitchen countertop, unfortunately, his boyfriend has been busy with work lately so he always forgets to drop by at the florist. 

Luckily, he’s got an amazing boyfriend in the form of the one and only, Lee Donghae. But now is not the time to indulge in patting himself on the back, tonight is still far from perfect and until it is, Donghae has not yet fully earned that ‘amazing boyfriend’ title.

🎂

It was ten minutes after six when Donghae hears the familiar chime of the keypad and then the opening of the door a few seconds after. Right on schedule. He’s just taken the steaks off the grill and onto a clean cutting board to let them rest. The table is already set, everything is in its place and the man of the hour had just arrived. Only a few more minutes till perfection.

“Hae? I’m home! You wouldn’t believe what the guys at work gave me as a gift—what’s all this?” Hyukjae stops in his tracks, the paper bags he’s holding look heavy but his focus is a hundred percent on Donghae and their dinner table that’s fully set up behind him.

Donghae decides to break his boyfriend’s trance and fully block his line of vision, “It’s part one of the many birthday gifts I have for you, dummy.” Hyukjae vehemently scoffs at the ‘endearment’ his boyfriend has thrown his way, “Okay, well, I know I said I didn’t want anything but it’s still my birthday so... I think calling me dummy is a little inappropriate.” 

“Well, I do have boyfriend privileges which means I say dummy out of love.” Donghae flashes on of Hyukjae his “Happy birthday, dummy.” Donghae doesn’t wait for Hyukjae’s retort and instead closes the little distance between them to plant a sweet kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. “Mm, is this the second part of my birthday gift?”

“It’s a bonus for looking so good in a suit. C’mon, let’s eat dinner before it gets cold.” Donghae untangles himself from his boyfriend and takes the paper bags from his hands so that he could place them on their couch. Right as he turns around, he sees Hyukjae admiring the fresh lilies and white roses on the kitchen countertop. “Is this part of my birthday gift?” 

This is exactly why he wanted to do this birthday surprise, even the most simple objects turn Hyukjae giddy like a kid opening gifts on Christmas morning. The simple flower arrangement has his boyfriend’s eyes sparkling as he’s admiring the fresh flowers. 

“It’s not but I figured I’d change the wilted flowers for you since you’re often forgetting about it.” Donghae pulls out the other bouquet safely hidden on one of the countertop’s stools, “This, however, is part of your birthday gift.” he then gently hands the bouquet to Hyukjae who lets out a loud gasp once his eyes land on the bouquet consisting of sunflowers, daisies, and yellow, orange, and pink roses. 

Donghae actually took his time choosing each flower that made up the bouquet, he wanted something that screams ‘Lee Hyukjae’ the moment you laid your eyes on it.  The dominant yellows and oranges from the sunflowers and the roses in itself is already very ‘Lee Hyukjae’. It’s vibrant and warm, like his boyfriend’s overall aura. Hyukjae could be sitting alone in the corner table of their favorite cafe yet he’d be all smiles and giggles because of the cake he’s enjoying. Heck, it isn’t that hard to pull out a gummy smile from Hyukjae yet Donghae still tries his hardest because he loves the pretty blush painting his boyfriend’s cheeks. 

“It’s so beautiful Hae, thank you.” 

“Anything for you Hyukkie. Are you hungry? You’re going to love the dinner I prepared for you.” Donghae offers his right arm, to which Hyukjae gladly loops his left hand into, “Lead the way, kind sir.”

“You’re in for a treat. Fair warning, I haven’t tasted anything but it’s Ryeowook’s recipe and I followed everything, down to the last letter.”

“Now, this day is perfect.”

🎂

Donghae stands to put away the plates, he’s feeling really good about tonight, he’s got everything in his list ticked off and their dinner tasted so good. Donghae was actually a bit nervous when he was watching Hyukjae take the first bite but after waiting with bated breath, his boyfriend breaks into a dopey smile. He’s definitely patting himself on the back for successfully following Ryeowook’s instructions and judging from Hyukjae’s constant praises, tonight was more than perfect. 

Just as he turns around to grab the other plates, he sees Hyukjae on one knee with a ring box in his hand.

Oh my god.

“What are you doing?” 

“Hopefully, make this night even more perfect.” Hyukjae throws that goofy smile at Donghae like he didn’t just punch out all the air from Donghae’s lungs. 

Donghae tries to get his thoughts together, not like he doesn’t already have a concrete answer to Hyukjae’s unspoken question. “But-but it's already perfect” 

“I know babe and just remember,” Hyukjae stands from being on one knee but he doesn’t put away the ring box. Instead, he holds the box in his right hand and gently takes Donghae’s with his left. “I'll treasure this night forever, regardless of the outcome. Heck, you prepared and cooked a full course dinner for me, there's no way I'm forgetting this night.”

“I didn't prepare it per se, it was mostly Wookie but I—”

“But you cooked a perfect medium-well steak on your own! Without Wookie hovering over you like a mother hen.” the gentle smile directed at him makes him shy, Donghae’s really happy that his boyfriend enjoyed the dinner he made for his birthday. His Hyukjae deserves all the best things in life.

“Yeah, but he had written very precise instructions so it's kinda like he was there supervising—”

“Still not physically here though, so I wouldn't count that as supervising.”

“I guess that does make sense”

“Anyway, Lee Donghae I love you. So so much. That night at the restaurant couldn't be any more perfect, no matter how many times our friends tease us for being cringy. I'd gladly be cringy with and for you for as long as you let me.” thinking about all the times their friends tease them brings out goofy smiles on both their faces. They could tease them both all they want, Donghae and Hyukjae wouldn’t want to meet any other way. “The moment I fell in love with you I knew that I just couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with someone other than you. And though we basically already have the same surnames, I'd make me the happiest person alive to be legally and officially yours.” tears are already welling up in Donghae’s eyes and they only start falling when Hyukjae goes back down on one knee “Will you marry me?”

“Oh my god, yes—you upstaged my surprise but I’ll gladly marry you anyway, you dummy.” Donghae lunges at Hyukjae in his excitement, it’s a good thing Hyukjae is already in tune with his boyfriend’s tendencies when he’s excited as he catches Donghae just in time before they both stumble flat on the cold floor. 

They’re a giggly and teary mess on the kitchen floor, already deep inside their own bubble despite being in the comfort of their own apartment. Hyukjae has yet to fit the ring on Donghae’s finger but the latter doesn’t show any signs of loosening his grip on Hyukjae (not that he’s complaining). No matter, they’ve already got the same surnames anyway, so they’re technically already married. 

“Best birthday, ever,” Hyukjae says softly into Donghae’s ear, followed by a tender kiss on his temple. 

Tonight was indeed perfect. 

And for the second time around, Donghae’s glad that tonight didn’t end according to plan.

🎂

 

Sunflower - unwavering faith and unconditional love

Daisy - purity and innocence

Yellow rose - joy and happiness

Orange rose - peace, health, and happiness 

Pink rose - appreciation, gratitude, and recognition