Kyuhyun's POV

"You're being unfair!"

I hissed, eyeing my parents coldly.  They stared right back, unmoved by my fury.

"Kyuhyun, this is the life you have chosen for yourself, it's only natural that you face the consequences"

I glared at my mother, but bit my tongue, there really wasn't much to say... I was tired of arguing with her. 

"Fine!" I grumbled, stalking out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

I stomped down the hall, trying to burn off some of my irritation.  I clenched my hands into fists and contemplated punching the expensive vase and shattering it into thousands of pieces.

"Don't do it Kyu"

I spun around but relaxed slightly when I saw Henry watching me with crossed arms, a knowing look on his face.

I slowly unclenched my fists, but I couldn't dispel my anger.

"It's just so ing unfair!"

Henry came up to me and patted my shoulder in understanding.

"Just be grateful, they could have done so much worse.  At least they didn't make you marry Seohyun"

I scoffed,

"They just refuse to acknowledge the fact that Ryeowook is a human being, and pretend like I don't love him"

Henry winced slightly.  It was no secret that my parents hated Ryeowook.  The only reason they allowed him to stay with me was because my parents respected the Kims and the fact that our investors seemed to support our relationship.  It seemed the drama at the failed wedding earned us many fans and in turn, earned my parents many new business partners.

Henry and I walked down the hall, heading towards the elevator.  I wanted to get out of the house, I couldn't stand to be there when my parents were present.  Their presence was stifling and unpleasant and I always felt like I was being smother by their disapproval.  I thanked the gods that they would be leaving tonight for the U.S., I pitied the poor Americans.

We walked out the front door, walking down the path that led to the pond.  I knew Ryeowook would be there and he was the only one capable of calming me down after arguing with my parents.

Sure enough, we found Ryeowook sitting at the water's edge, Zhoumi and Sungmin at his side.  Ryeowook had been eager to return to Cho Manor, but he refused to leave his Chinese friend, it was only natural that he come back to Korea with us.  Despite the language barrier, Sungmin and Zhoumi seemed to hit it off, immediately bonding over their tendency to be over-protective when it came to Ryeowook.

Sungmin spotted us first, smiling and waving us over.  I smiled tensely and the pink-loving man seemed to catch onto my mood.

He quickly stood, saying something about calling Yesung.  Zhoumi quickly followed suit, linking arms with my brother and walking off, both of them talking rapidly in Mandarin. 

Ryeowook smiled and stood up, looking at me expectantly.  He immediately opened his arms for me and I didn't hesitate to accept his hug.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I sighed and sat down, pulling him onto my lap.  He leaned against my chest and I his hair.

"I wish I was an orphan" I grumbled hatefully.

He craned his neck until he could meet my eye.

"Your parents again?" he asked worriedly.

I frowned and nodded curtly, my lips curling in disgust.

"I can't stand them!" I hissed, my anger bubbling back to the surface.

I heard Ryeowook sigh softly, this wasn't exactly a new occurrence.  By this time it had become quite apparent that I didn't see eye to eye with my parents.  Sometimes I even wondered if I had the same blood as them.

"What started it this time?" he asked.

I growled in irritation and answered him through clenched teeth,

"They still refuse to let us get married.  They think if they ignore our relationship it will just go away!  They're so deluded it's almost sad"

I felt Ryeowook nod.

"Don't think badly of them, they're not bad people" he soothed.

I shook my head.  As rude and cold as they were to Ryeowook, my lover never spoke an ill word about them.  I could never understand where his patience and kindness came from.  If I had been in his situation, I would have smacked them by now.

As if reading my mind, he shifted and looked up at me, smiling gently,

"I could never hate them, they gave me you"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but grin at his cheesiness.  He reached up and caressed my cheek sweetly.  I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes.

"I just want you to be mine already" I whispered softly.

He dropped his hands and wrapped his arms around me, resting his cheek against my chest.

"Silly boy, don't you know I've been yours from the very beginning?"

I smiled and rested my chin on the top of his head.

"I just love you so much.  I want the rest of the world to know, I want the world to call you Cho Ryeowook"

I felt him press a soft kiss against my shirt,

"Just be patient Kyu, everything will be okay in the end"

I encircled his thin body with my arms, feeling the tension leave my body.  I smiled slightly, Ryeowook really was the only one who could handle me.  He was the only one who could make everything better.

We sat like that in silence, finding easy comfort in each others arms.  The world continued to swirl on around us, but for that brief moment of time we were spared the bitter taste of reality.

Ryeowook's POV

"It really doesn't bother you?"

I glanced up at Sungmin and smiled sadly,

"Of course it bothers me, I want to get married just as badly as Kyu.  But what can I do about it?"

Zhoumi patted my knee comfortingly replying somewhat awkwardly in Korean,

"Well you guys could always elope"

I giggled at the thought, taking it as a joke.  However, my laughter faltered when I saw Sungmin's eyes light up.

"Oh no Minnie!  Don't even think about it!" I warned, practically seeing the wheels turning in his mind.

"But Mimi has a valid point, why don't you guys just elope already?!"

I groaned and covered my face with a pillow,

"If we did that then his parents would really hate me.  They might actually kill me this time"

Zhoumi shook his head, obviously getting excited by the new idea,

"Well we could just have a ceremony, it would be unofficial, but you would still get the feeling of getting married"

Minnie began bouncing up and down, nodding his head vigorously.  I bit my lip, thinking about their idea.  It wasn't bad, and I liked the idea of commemorating my relationship with Kyuhyun.  My friends could see me wavering and they shared a triumphant look.

"It would be great!  We could hold it by the pond, and it would be a small thing, just us and your parents.  It would be amazing Wookie!"

I nodded slowly, warming up to the idea even more.

"We should surprise Kyu, he'll never see it coming!" Sungmin chirped, clapping his hands in glee.

Zhoumi already had his phone out, typing up a list of things we would need to pull everything off.  I fell back onto the bed, smiling as the idea floated around my head.  I would make Kyu happy yet.

**********

"Wookie, is the blindfold really necessary?" Kyuhyun asked, sounding uneasy.

"Completely" I replied, waving my hand in front of his face to make sure he wasn't peeking.

When I was satisfied that he really was blind, I grabbed his arm, leading him out of the mansion.  He smirked when he realized we were outside.  He seemed to perk up and he asked,

"Are we going to do something ?"

"W-what!?" I spluttered, not understanding how he could have reached that conclusion.

"I don't know, the blindfold is kinda throwing me off.  I thought we were gonna have outdoors "

I resisted the urge to smack him, and rolled my eyes.  At least he had the decency to look abashed, a small sheepish smile painting his lips along with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Sorry, no , but I do have a surprise for you"

He tensed at the word 'surprise'.

"You know I hate surprises right?" he asked suspiciously.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me,

"Trust me, I think you'll like this one"

He still looked doubtful, but I ignored him, pulling him faster.  I was eager to reach our destination.

**********

Kyuhyun looked around, obviously confused when I removed the blindfold.  He glanced at our friends and my parents before turning back to me.

"Why are they all smiling like that?  It's creeping me out"

I didn't get a chance to answer as Henry suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through Kyuhyun's complaints.

"Today we are here, not to celebrate a simply marriage, but the bonding of soul mates.  The union of two hearts into one"

Kyuhyun stared at me with wide eyes and smiled happily at him, grabbing his hand before turning back to face Henry.

"Although this may not be an official marriage ceremony, it doesn't matter.  The love that is shared is enough of a validation.  No marriage license could ever capture the true depth of this relationship"

He smiled at both of us, addressing us directly now,

"Both of you have experienced so much.  You've had heartbreak and sorrow, pain and loneliness.  But your love was strong enough to fight back and win.  Both of you have changed so much, but your bond remains unchanging, unburdened by the erosion of time.  I know that no matter what, you two will make it through together"

Henry lost his serious face and chuckled slightly,

"Enough of this cheesy crap!  Just kiss already!"

I giggled, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but in a way it was so much better.  Kyuhyun looked down at me, his eyes dancing with joy.  He squeezed my hand before planting a gentle kiss on my lips. 

Everyone burst into applause, cheering loudly.  I blushed slightly, but didn't hide the giddy smile on my face.

"I now pronounce you as two as one"

I laughed again, Henry's ad-lib was unconventional, but it just seemed to fit.  Our friends descended on us, laughing and hugging us happily.  They continued their boisterous behavior as we walked back up to the mansion to celebrate further.

**********

"Why are we going in here?" I asked curiously as we stood before the solid metal door.

"I suppose I'm being nostalgic" he mused, "This room holds so many memories"

He squeezed my hand before pushing open the door.  He flicked on the light and I smiled faintly in remembrance.  I looked at the small playground that stood in the middle of the room.  It still amazed me that Kyuhyun had salvaged it even after all these years.

My eyes flittered to the walls and I took in the hundreds of photos that looked back at me.

"It's our childhood" Kyuhyun murmured, hugging me from behind, "our childhood where everything started"

I looked down in surprise when I felt him slip something cold and hard onto my finger.  I gasped at the beautiful ring that graced my finger.  The band was made of white gold and the diamond was a startling shade of red.

"I hope it's an improvement on your last one" he joked, pulling the cheap, plastic ring out for comparison.

I gasped and grabbed the bauble from his hands, kissing it happily.  He laughed at my reaction and teased,

"You would like the one that cost a quarter.  I could have saved a ton of cash!"

I smacked him, grinning as I caught sight of the matching blue ring he wore on his finger.

I held up the plastic ring, smiling as it glinted in the light,

"This is my past.  It may be old and scratched, but it's still important to me"

I lifted the hand that sported my new ring, watching as it shimmered and almost seemed to glow.

"This is my future, it's beautiful and new and it's amazing"

I looked up at Kyuhyun who was watching me with soft eyes, his lips curled into a tender smile.

I stood up on my tippy toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.  When I pulled away, I rested my forehead against his and whispered,

"And you are my present, you are my everything, and you will always be"

He smiled, the light making his eyes sparkle more luminously than any gemstone in the world.

We kissed again, and I knew.  It didn't matter what had happened in my past, and it didn't matter what the future might bring.

All that mattered was the present.

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Oh Shisus it's done...

*grabs kleenex and sobs*

But lol, I just had to finish it with some cheesy fluff XD- sad endings just don't exist in my world!

Honestly, thank you guys from the bottom of my heart.  This story gave me so much trouble and I wanted to just give up so many times, but it was your encouragement that kept me going.  I really do love you guys!!!! ~<3

*oh no, tears are back...*

*regains composure*

Now it's time for some shameless advertising!!!!

-shot-

Please read and subscribe to my Kyuwook/Yewook story "Too Close to Love You", (click title!)  it's not as fluffy as my usual stuff, but please check it out!

Kk, I'm gonna stop rambling and killing your brain cells now! ^^

Bye!!!!!!

Mood: sad but also really satisfied

Location: the present (see what I did there?)

Music: "Now" by Super Junior (you guys seeing a theme here?)