(of proposals and exchanging cooties)

Krystal is embarrassed, very much so, the day Taemin brings up the topic of marrying her. (She’s embarrassed for days, actually.) He told her on their two-year anniversary, no less. (That's probably half the reason why she is so embarrassed.)

The thing is though, that embarrassed as she was, she was not surprised.

He has been nothing but faithful and loving, and to be honest, she has (on more than one occasion) thought about marrying him in passing.

But because Taemin has said that, because he has given a concrete idea as to what type of life he wants with her, Krystal can’t help herself.

She can’t help thinking about it; she’s half-driving herself crazy and almost wishes that he never said, “but I want to marry you some day.” She wishes she never heard that because even though she is okay with passing thoughts of, “Oh, he would make a good husband,” or “I want to live my life with him,” she is not okay with constantly thinking about it.

She is not okay with constantly thinking about how Taemin wants to marry her (and how she wants to marry him).

It’s true that marriage is basically just a certificate, a contract, in the basics of all forms. No one really needs a ceremony or an actual wedding; a certificate is enough to be registered as married.

Krystal doesn’t particularly care about that part; what she does care about though, is the meaning behind it all.

A couple of years ago, she would have laughed and said that a wedding is just a wedding. Taemin probably would have laughed alongside her (because that is the type of friends that they were). But things have changed, and he is no longer just a friend.

(Because so much for being just friends.)

Krystal wants the bond that comes with marriage, the showing of public of affection and proclamation. She wants that thing that will solidify what she already knows as “in sickness and in health, until death do us part”. She already has it in her, all these feelings, in her heart, but she wants it so badly because-

She wants it so badly because Taemin wants it.

They both have that mindset, the same heart, the love for each other that tells them no one else in this life or the next (or the one after that) will do.

They already know what they want.

She is young, and so is he. People may disapprove or call them stupid for being so serious in a relationship that might not last.

(And then Krystal will glare a little and Taemin has to move her away before she says something she might regret- but as he moves her away, he takes the part of glaring at whoever doubts their relationship on himself.)

Young as they both may be, they are already set and already on the same page.

Taemin saying, “but I want to marry you some day,” is the final confirmation for her. She wants to be with him for the rest of her life. Call her foolish or blindly in love, but Krystal just won’t care.

She knows what she wants, what she needs, and she can’t stop thinking about it.

That is why, within the second week after their second anniversary, Krystal is already thinking about a proposal plan.

--

Krystal thinks and thinks and thinks about the perfect way to propose. (She knows that he will accept it- she has no doubt about that. She just wants it to be as perfect and meaningful as possible.)

She stresses and pouts and Taemin is left wondering what the hell is going on.

(“Babe, you’re starting to get worry lines.”

“Shut up, I am not.”)

It isn’t until later, when she is staring at her ice cream blankly, that Taemin walks up to her and asks, “What? Is it time to refill the secret stash?” that she finally knows what to do.

(Well, she knows what to do after she asks him, “When the hell did you get into my house?”)

--

She picks up her cell phone the minute Taemin leaves her house that day. “Hey, Ssul.”

“Soojungie!” she hears.

“I need your help.” Krystal says. “And Kai’s.” she says, as an afterthought. “And Minho oppa’s too.” Her tone is a little sheepish, but she needs these three people to help complete her plan.

Jinri laughs a little and listens with an attentive ear on what her best friend has to say.

--

“Hey Soojung, what are you going to do with an ice cream cake?” It is a week later when this scene occurs at the Jung household.

Krystal smiles cheerfully at her older sister before looking at the ice cream cake she has in her hands. She ordered one once she was sure of her plan of action; she proceeded to cut it into three pieces the moment she received it (and the pieces were, admittedly, huge). “Hi Jessica unnie!” She pauses a little to form the words in a sentence, and ends up saying, “I am just going to go propose to Taemin with it.”

“Oh, okay, just come back so- You’re doing what?” Krystal is already outside the door, setting her plan into motion.

--

Krystal’s plan, essentially, is to lead Taemin through a wild goose chase. If she is going to do this, she is going to have fun with it.

Sulli grins at her as she receives one piece of cake. Minho shakes his head but smiles in amusement when Krystal gives him his share. And Kai just smirks as he takes his.

--

Taemin is sitting at home, working on one of his papers, when the doorbell rings. He walks to the door slowly, finding no real reason to hurry.

When he opens his door, he sees no one. When he looks down, the only thing he sees is a plate with the words, “Where is Soojung?” written on them.

He stares a little before he starts panicking. “WHAT. WHAT IS THAT EVEN SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” He automatically thinks of things that make him panic, and suddenly he is in a hurry to get his shoes on.

(Taemin will only realize later that he knows the handwriting on the plate- it is undeniably Krystal’s.)

He is almost out the door completely when he pauses. “Wait a minute.” he mutters. He gets his cell phone and calls Krystal’s phone. He gets nothing but her voicemail- which makes him pause.

“Krystal can’t answer the phone right now, but maybe her old track team partner can?”

His first thought is something along the lines of, “Oh hey, that’s weird. That’s not Krystal’s usual message.”

And then he actually processes what was said. “Track team...?" He pauses for a moment before almost screaming, "MINHO HYUNG KIDNAPPED HER?” He runs out the door in an enraged panic, before turning back and closing it, and then continuing his run to where he thinks Minho would be.

It’s not hard to find him- he practically lives at the university’s soccer field. He runs down the bleachers in a rush (and almost trips), but finds Minho easily. “You!” he shouts. He is still a little ways away, but he can’t help himself. “You fiend!” Minho turns around at that; his amused smile is evident as he watches Taemin run the rest of the way, until he is right in front of him.

“Why did you kidnap Soojung?” he asks, scowl on her face. “What did you do with her?” Minho opens his mouth to reply, but Taemin isn’t done talking. “Hyung, you know she’s mine. You were my favorite upperclassman in high school, but you can’t go around stealing my girlfriend. That’s not right, hyung.”

Minho chuckles a little at how Taemin is acting and decides to pat Taemin on the head. “Wait here.” Taemin finds himself complying as Minho walks towards an ice chest.

He wonders for a horrified moment if Minho has somehow stashed Soojung in there-

And then the older male comes back holding a piece of what looks to be cake.

“What is that?” Taemin deadpans as Minho gestures for Taemin to take the cake from him. Minho hands him a plastic fork right after.

“It’s a slice of ice cream cake.” he explains, grinning. “And it’s how you’re going to find Soojung.”

“Great!” he exclaims, ready to flip the whole cake over. He figures that there is no other way to get the cake to tell him its secrets.

“Wait-” Minho says, tone a little mischievous. “You have to eat it, that’s how you find the next clue.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” he mutters. The slice of cake was ridiculously huge.

Minho shrugs and merely says, “Well…if you don’t want to find Soojung…”

Taemin gapes at him, wonders what kind of sick game this is, and proceeds to stuff his face with as much ice cream cake as humanly possible.

(He chokes a little and Minho has to hand him a bottle of water, but he will tell no one this.)

A couple of aggravating coughs and a bottle of water later, Taemin sees words written on the plate. “A girl’s best friend is supposed to be diamonds, but Soojung’s is?”

“Lee Taemin.” he answers, confidently.

Minho laughs and chides him lightly. “You can’t answer with yourself!”

“Seriously though. I’m already right here, the clue can’t lead me to myself.” Taemin is being completely serious, which only makes Minho laugh harder.

“Think harder, Taemin.” says Minho, patting the younger’s head once more.

“But I really am-” Taemin stops short and pouts. “Okay, fine, so there may be one other person that this could apply to.”

“Have fun going to that person then.” Minho says. He waves Taemin off with a smile, while Taemin pouts. He realizes that this is going to turn into a strange scavenger hunt.

Minho smiles fondly as he watches Taemin walk away. He didn’t think that things would turn out this way- because really, imagine his surprise when he found out that his favorite dongsaeng suddenly became friends with his track team partner. They had no mutual friends, nor any mutual interests. From what he heard, their meeting was strange. He figured that it was only a matter of time before they started dating though. Any fool could see how quickly Taemin fell in love with her. (He realizes with a snicker that he has indirectly called Krystal a fool.) Minho’s happy that she managed to realize and reciprocate her own feelings for him.

He was surprised when Sulli called him up; he hasn't heard from her since high school, and he almost forgot that they were once friends, but he is glad to have received thec all. He notes that they’ll be a wonderful married couple with a smile before he gets back to doing his own thing.

--

Taemin ends up hailing a cab to the shopping district and walks like he has a purpose. (He really does have one though.)

He already knows where to go.

Taemin runs into a clothing boutique and is not disappointed to see Sulli behind a register, smiling happily to a customer. He waits in line for a little bit, but the moment he meets her face-to-face, he demands to know, “Where is my clue?”

She gives him an innocent look- and he doesn’t believe it for a second. “What clue?”

He knows her well; besides him, there is no other person closer to Soojung as a friend than Choi Jinri. Hence, Jinrin and Taemin were forced to befriend each other. 

“My cake, Jinri.” he almost whines at her.

“Cake?” her expression morphs into a shocked one. “I want cake!” she says, holding her hand out to him.

“Jinri~~” he whines. He is pouting- but he knows that won’t work on her. Instead, he scrunches up his nose and purses his lips, glaring at her.

She holds the shocked expression for the entirety of seven seconds before she ends up in a bout of giggles. “Your face, Taemin oppa!” She concedes defeat and brings out a slice of cake from the freezer in the back room.

“Did it have to be ice cream cake though?” he huffs, gladly taking the plastic fork Sulli hands to him. She slides the cake over to him and just shrugs.

 “It fits.” is all she says.

He scowls at her before taking the cake and eating as quickly as he can (but he avoids stuffing his face; he has learned his lesson.)

He is awarded with the words “SOOJUNG IS TO TAEMIN AS JINRI IS TO ____.” He stares at the plate in disbelief as Sulli continues to smile at him. “What the hell does that even-” And then he looks at her smiling face and it kind of clicks. “Oh.” He waves goodbye to her happily. “Later, Jinri!”

She waves goodbye to him with a little laugh. Sulli is happy to be a part of this little proposal, even if Taemin has yet to see it as such.

Jinri is happy that her Soojung is going to marry Taemin (because she knows that Taemin will not say no). All she has ever wanted for Soojung was for her to be happy; Jinri knows that Taemin is a key part in the happiness that will last a lifetime for her best friend. (Although, she admits, she was a little skeptical after hearing how they met.)

(Jinri sees how much Taemin loves Soojung- and that makes her happy.)

--

Taemin enters a specific dance studio without any hesitation.

(He ran a rather long distance, but he doesn't care. He needs to be here.)

He enters without hesitation because he knows that his clue to Soojung is here.

(He also enters without hesitation because he has danced here before, but that is besides the point.)

“Kai?” No one is there. “Kai?” he calls out once more. The studio is strangely deserted when it should not be. Taemin knows for a fact that Kai always practices here at this time (not because he is a creep; sometimes, Jinri tells him things that he doesn’t want to know), so the question is, where is he hiding? “Kim Jongin, where are you~?”

Taemin scowls a little bit; Kai would try to make things harder for him.

He walks around the room, checks in the closest, tries to open another door (but it is locked), and looks under a desk.

There is no Kai to be seen.

He is getting a little bored of this game- and he really wants to find his Soojung already. He sighs; he wants to get a move on in this game. “For your love of Jinri, come out.”

Kai walks out from behind a door (the one that was previously locked) that was only a couple feet away from Taemin wearing a pout. “That’s cheap.”

Taemin shrugs a little and asks with a smile, “Cake, please?” 

Kai goes back into the room, pout still on his face. “So how was seeing Minho hyung and Jinri?”

Taemin lets out a sigh (an exaggerated one) and exclaims, “I almost died when seeing Minho!” And it is true; Taemin almost choked on ice cream cake. Kai walks back out with the cake slice. (The cake is not melted at all- the power of a mini freezer.) Kai is about to hand the slice over when Taemin continues talking. “And Jinri was being difficult-”

Kai quickly scowls and moves the slice of cake away, just as Taemin grabs for it. “No cake for you!”

“Why?” Taemin hears himself whining. He makes a grabbing motion with his hands.

“Because you were badmouthing my girlfriend, that’s why!” retorts Kai, hiding the piece of cake behind his back.

Taemin stares blankly at him, and then he fully realizes his wrong. This is Kim Jongin, and he will not take any statement remotely bad about Choi Jinri. “In my defense, she really was being difficult.” Taemin explains while trying to subtly grab the cake slice.

His hand gets slapped away lightly. “Remember that one time when you wouldn’t give me a change of clothes because I called Soojung mean for pushing me in the pool?” asks Kai.

Taemin nods- of course he remembers, it happened two weeks ago. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, this is kind of the same thing.” Kai explains.

Taemin can’t argue with that. “Man, the hint leading to you was perfect.” He finds himself complaining instead.

“What was it?” asked Kai. He was purely curious.

“Soojung is to Taemin as Jinri is to- and then there was a blank. The blank being you.” Taemin explains, pouting.

Kai looks at him blankly for a moment before he shrugs, saying, “I can’t argue with that.” He doesn’t move the cake from where he is guarding it though. He does find himself agreeing with the hint, he just doesn't want to give in to Taemin so easily; Soojung is to Taemin as Jinri is to himself because, well, they are two guys that can easily say they have found the love of their life.

But because it does not look like Kai is about to move any time soon, Taemin pulls his ultimate card that he has on the younger boy. “I need the cake. Do me a favor, Jongin. I introduced you to Jinri.” Taemin says this with a victorious grin on his face.

(It is true- he did. Jinri has always been Soojung’s best friend, and Taemin has known Kai for a while because they belonged to the same dance group for a while. And because Jinri became his friend via Soojung, he felt that comfortable enough to introduce a prospective dating candidate.

He credits himself for the creation of what he calls “KaiLi”.)

Kai scowls and hands him the cake slice begrudgingly. “You never play fair.”

He gives a toothy grin to Kai before attacking the dessert; Kai almost feels like he has to look away.

Taemin finishes in record time and looks rather proud of himself (and slightly bloated- he doesn't know why he feels the need to eat it all, but he figures that he should in the spirit of this scavenger hunt).  “BEHIND KAI!” the plate reads. He steps to the side and looks past Kai, but does not see Krystal. He blankly stares at Kai, like the younger boy has somehow hidden his girlfriend from him.

Kai rolls his eyes and points behind him playfully. “You have to go about three hundred feet away from here.”

Taemin nods and waves both his thanks and his goodbye.

Kai watches him go with a little smile on his face. For him, he is grateful to Lee Taemin because he has introduced him to Choi Jinri- who he loves more than anyone else.

But he has known Taemin for a long time; besides being grateful to him, he is also happy for him. When he looks at Taemin and Krystal, he believes in a type of magical love, one that is only supposed to exist in fairytales. He figures that their love story has somehow escaped from Jinri’s book of fairytales, but he thinks that it’s okay. It’s especially okay when Jinri tells him that Taemin and Krystal's love story is not the only magical one.

--

He is at the final destination; there will be no more running or wandering around after this. He knows this because he sees Krystal in the distance and he starts jogging towards her.

She greets him with a smile and Taemin finally realizes where he is.

Krystal has led him to a playground- or more specifically, a slide. She has led him (via paper plates and their friends) to the slide where they first met.

She looks a little shy and unsure and Taemin can’t help but joke around a little to relieve the tension. “You’re not breaking up with me, right?” She rolls her eyes at him and he quirks a little smile. “So why the ice cream cake?” he wonders.

Krystal shrugs a little and is slightly embarrassed. “Ice cream is important in our relationship, but it melts too fast. The next best thing was ice cream cake.” He laughs a little at her explanation, but accepts it.

“So why did you feel the need to make me run around most of the city?” he wonders. He knows that today is no special occasion (but it would be, soon enough).

“You were the creep in the park that made me feel better (Taemin lets out a little “hey!” to that), my friend, my best friend, and then my boyfriend.” says Krystal. She is sitting on top of the swirly slide, waiting for him impatiently. She gestures for him to climb up, like how he had done so several years ago, and he can’t help but comply. Just like how he was so many years ago, he is undeniably and inexplicably drawn to her. “Now, will you be my husband?”

Taemin chokes on air when he hears this- “Come again?”

She frowns a little at him and asks with an embarrassed pout, “Will you marry me?”

His reaction- which was to hug her and smile and accept her proposal- caused them to topple over, tumbling down the slide (just like how she made him tumble).

He didn’t care. (She did, a little bit.) He was happy. He was going to marry Krystal. His “some day” turned out to come a lot sooner than he thought it would.

--

Even though Krystal had been the one to propose, she still felt her emotions go haywire and mildly wanted to throw up each time the wedding plans were discussed.

Taemin, on the contrary, was all smiles and cheerfulness whenever he heard the word “wedding”. Yes, he was a little irked that Krystal had beaten him to proposing, but he was still happy.

(Actually, Taemin had whined and pouted and flailed around for the entirety of a day because she had beaten him to it. It was to the extent where he had sulked so much that he ended up buying an engagement ring of his own so that he could do his own proposal. Krystal laughed at him- but she accepted it nonetheless.

“Taemin! You can’t propose to me when I already proposed to you!”

“Are you going to take this ring and my hand in marriage or not?”

And so they wore matching engagement rings; not exactly part of the normal wedding ritual, but they made it work.)

--

It is the night before Krystal is going to be married and she is sitting outside on her porch, more solemn than she should be.

She can hear her sister arguing with one of the caterers and she can see Jonghyun sitting in a chair near her sister; he is making the last minute decorations with as much care as he is able to.

Krystal lets out a little sigh and bites her lip; she feels anticipation and anxiousness. She figures that she is supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows at the moment, but she just can’t find it in herself.

“Hey babe.” she hears. She turns around a little and she says Taemin walking towards her with a smile.

“Hi.” she greets him. He takes a seat next to her and they both say nothing for a little while.

“What’s wrong?” he asks her. And she hates how he always knows how she’s feeling- she wonders if he is always supposed to know, but then she remembers that they started out as best friends.

She doesn’t bother replying to him. He pulls on her, pulls her towards him, and in the next ten seconds, she finds herself sitting in his lap as he hugs her close to him. “What’s wrong?” he repeats.

Krystal purses her lips and sighs, relaxing into her newfound sitting position. She leans back against his chest and she admits it. “I’m scared for tomorrow.”

She knows that he’s frowning now. “Why would you be scared?” Krystal just shrugs; she doesn’t know why.

“Are you scared to marry me?” he asks.

She doesn’t think before she answers. “No, of course not.” And after hearing herself reply like that, say that so confidently, she feels a little better. She is talking to Taemin, after all. He has always had that type of effect on her.

He is smiling and Krystal can hear it in his voice. “Great, because I have been waiting to marry you for a while!” She wonders why she was scared at all. She knows he will treat her will, that he loves her. There is no other person that she would rather spend her whole life with in holy matrimony.

Krystal rolls her eyes at him and she feels like being snarky. “And yet I am the one who proposed.”

“Hey! Don’t bring that into this! I proposed after anyway!”

They spend the next hour sitting outside, bickering playfully and teasing each other while reminiscing.

He doesn’t let go of her.

--

On the day of the actual wedding, Krystal’s nerves were soothed and she was as calm as she could be due to the talk she had the night prior with Taemin.

The same could not be said for the actual husband-to-be.

“Breathe, Taemin. Breathe. Breathe.” He is saying to himself. He is already wearing his tuxedo and he just got his hair done and- he is getting married, for goodness sake.

He feels like throwing up.

“Oh my god, oh my god.” He is pacing around and his best man (which, ironically, turned out to be Kim Jonghyun), is laughing at him.

(They formed a strange friendship after Taemin demanded to meet the guy that made Krystal realize she had feelings for her best friend. They clicked instantly, which amused Krystal to no end.)

“Dude, calm down.” Jonghyun laughs at him.

“I can’t, I can’t. I’m getting married, hyung.” Taemin panics at him (obviously not with him; Jonghyun looks as calm as a summer’s breeze~). He is not scared- no, he had that conversation with Krystal last night. But something that he has wanted for a long time is coming true, and he is excited, happy, anxious. He is all of those things.

Jonghyun looks thoughtfully at him and wonders, “I wonder if Krystal is freaking out as much as you.”

Taemin brightens immediately at her name and figures something out. “I bet if I saw her, I would be able to calm down!” He moves towards the door, determined to find his wife-to-be, when Jonghyun stops him with his body, effectively blocking the way out.

“Woah there, Taem! You know the rules! You can’t see the bride before it is time.” Jonghyun wags a playful finger at him.

“But I want to see her right now.” he pouts. “She would make me feel better.”

Sometimes Jonghyun feels like bashing his head into a wall with how sweet Taemin and Krystal are to each other. This is one of those times. “You’ll have the rest of your life to see her- she’s going to be your wife, man. You just can’t see her right now~ It is a tradition.”

Taemin continues to pout and Jonghyun rolls his eyes. “Well, I’m going to go check on Krystal now.” the older man says. He never did like Taemin pouting for too long.

The groom gapes at him and almost shouts (whines?), “You can see her, but I can’t?”

“It’s not like I am the one getting married to her!” snorts Jonghyun, closing (and barricading, just in case Taemin actually tries to go see his bride) the door behind him.

“DAMN STRAIGHT YOU’RE NOT.” He hears Taemin yell this and he can’t help but snicker.

“I hope you’re as funny as your husband-to-be, Krystal.” says Jonghyun, walking down to the designated area for the bride.

Expectedly, the place is in complete and utter chaos.

People (bridesmaids), are running around, he sees a whole team of make up artists, several people holding strange types of weaponry (consisting of hair curlers and pins), and Krystal in the center of it all.

She looks calm, almost at peace in the midst of it all. Jonghyun snorts and figures that she won’t be as fun to mess with as Taemin.

“Hey Krystal.” He walks over to her, grinning. (Someone tries to push him out of the way, but he knew that working out would pay off eventually. Some bridesmaid falls as she tries to get Jonghyun out of the way. He looks and her and she scampers away, embarrassed.) “How are you doing?”

She smiles at him and replies, “Couldn’t be doing any better.”

“You’re awfully calm.” says Jonghyun. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that this isn’t your first wedding.” he teases her and she smacks him (none too lightly).

“Oppa!”

“I kid, I kid!” he pretends to be hurt and she just rolls her eyes at him. “It’s just funny that Taemin is freaking out down the hall and you’re sitting here all calm.”

She shrugs at him and says, “I have no reason to not be calm.” She pauses before she looks incredulously at him. “He’s freaking out? He’s spent the last six months telling me not to freak out.”

Jonghyun shrugs a little before saying “Taemin is weird like that.” Krystal hits him playfully, but says nothing. “So why do you have no reason to not be calm, baby Jung?” he asks, patting her head and going to fluff out her hair.

She hums a little at the attention he is giving her and she replies back to him, “I’ve been freaking out all this time up until now, and I just kind of had a wake up call.” she admits. “There’s no reason to freak out because I am marrying Taemin.”

Jonghyun sighs at her and pats her head again. “Sometimes, you and Taemin really want to make me throw up.”

Krystal snorts at him and retorts with, “Says the guy that gave me that cheesy, mushy love advice all those years ago!”

“Hey!” Jonghyun sounds indignant. “My advice was not cheesy and mushy!” She stares at him blankly and he concedes a little. “Okay, so maybe it was a little bit! But I have nothing on how cheesy you and Taemin are with each other!”

--

After Jonghyun’s quick exit, Taemin had been left to his own devices.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t left alone for that long.

There was a knock on his door and he sprinted to it, expecting to see the face of his best man. “HYU-” The word died in his throat as he was not face-to-face with Kim Jonghyun, but instead with Jessica Jung.

“N-noona.” he coughs lightly, gesturing politely for her to come inside.

“Hi Taemin.” she greets him lightly. She is already all prettied up and looks ready to walk the runway- but he can tell she is tired. Jessica is the maid of honor after all, and her little sister is getting married.

They stare at each other awkwardly for a moment before Jessica coughs to break it. “I just want to say that although we haven’t always gotten along…” Taemin recalls with a grimace how Jessica attacked him, thinking that he was some weirdo that followed Krystal home from the park. She smiles at him gently, and suddenly Taemin feels like he hasn’t panicked at all today. “I am happy that Soojung is marrying you.”

He gapes at the praise; this is probably the nicest thing that Jessica has ever said to him. She continues, not even bothering to let him sputter a reply. “I know you’ll treat her right. There is no one in this world…” she pauses before smiling again, “There is no one in this world that loves Soojung like you do.”

He finds himself nodding and Jessica laughs again. “Make her happy, Taemin.” The threat of what will happen if he doesn’t hangs in the air, but Jessica is looking playful. “She wants to marry you just as much as you want to marry her.” 

She leaves without another word; Jessica leaves him to think through his own thoughts and goes to visit her baby sister.

(It probably wasn’t Jessica’s intention, but she has calmed Taemin’s mind. He has always been sure about this, about marrying Krystal, but now he has the approval and the blessing of Jessica- one of the biggest influences and loves of Krystal’s life. It’s true- no one in this world loves Soojung like he does. But no one in this world loves Soojung the way Jessica does either.)

--

Before Krystal can argue over the fact that Jonghyun is a cheesier cheeseball than either her or Taemin, there is a knock on the door. Jessica pops her head into the room and squeals once she sees her baby sister. “You look beautiful, baby!” She says, warm smile on her face. She walks over and pushes Jonghyun away, gently and affectionately giving her sister a hug.

“Hello there~” there is charm in Jonghyun’s voice and both Jessica and Krystal can’t help but roll their eyes. The statement is clearly directed to the older Jung though.

“Since you’re the best man, you have to line up with the other groomsman soon.” declares Jessica, staring at him blankly. Jessica looks at Krystal again and smiles brightly and warmly. "I'll see you outside, Soojung ah. I have to make sure everything is perfect for you." She pinches Krystals cheek affectionately before exiting the room without another glance to Jonghyun.

“Hey Krystal, can you do me a favor and throw your bouquet at your sister before we do that honorary best man-maid of honor thing? I want her to know that she should be the next one to marry.” says Jonghyun, looking thoughtfully at the closed door.

“Still trying to get at my sister, I see.” notes Krystal, amused smile on her face.

“What can I say?” shrugs Jonghyun. “Jessica is-”

Jonghyun hears Jessica calling for him from outside the door and a wide grin makes its way onto his face. “Later Krystal, Jessica’s calling.” He exits the room without another glance.

--

Taemin has never felt more impatient in his life as he stands there, waiting for Krystal.

Every little second of waiting suddenly becomes worth it though as the music starts and Krystal enters the room- she is stunning (always has been, always will be) and he feels so much affection as she walks slowly towards him.

Everything is a blur for both Taemin and Krystal until the exchanging of vows come up. She demanded that she get to say her vows first, and so, she got to begin.

“I promise to always share my secret stash of ice cream with you, to love and to hold you in both sickness and health, and to always think of you before I sleep and when I wake up.” grinned Krystal. “Until death to us part.” Krystal takes Taemin’s hand into hers and slides a ring onto his expectant ring finger.

He can’t help smiling at her. She would write her vows like that.

“I vow to never let your secret stash of ice cream become empty, to love and to hold you in both sickness and in health, to always climb back up when you kick me down a swirly slide, and to always be in love with you.” He grins back at her. “Until death to us part.” They didn’t plan their vows to match up in the way that they did; it just happened like that. Taemin caresses her hands before slowly sliding a band of white gold onto her ring finer. She beams at him and he feels sick- but in the good way. (Krystal begrudgingly admits that she was wrong- it is possible to feel sick, but in a good way. She owes Jonghyun an apology.)

“Then do you, Lee Taemin, take Krystal Jung Soojung as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“And do you, Krystal Jung Soojung, take Lee Taemin as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Duh- I mean. I do.” She slips up a little, which caused the whole audience to laugh a little, but it was nothing to her. She just grins, winking playfully at her soon-to-be-husband. (Husband, in like, three seconds.)

The priest has to wait for the guests to quiet down before he clears his throat to continue. “Then with the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

“Can I kiss her yet?” asked Taemin, looking impatiently at the priest. She slaps his arm playfully but plays along.

“Can he kiss me yet?” asked Krystal, smiling widely.

The priest couldn’t help but roll his eyes and mutter, “These kids.” under his breath. “You may now kiss the bride.”

And then there are obnoxious cheers, whoops, and screams as Taemin takes his wife into his arms and kisses her as deeply and comfortably as he can in a holy church. They break a part after a little kid (the flower girl, Krystal remembers) asks, “Are they breathing?” and laugh. They are still holding each other close together, smiling and looking into each other’s eyes.

She instigates a slow, gentle kiss (as the ring boy says, “Eww, they’re exchanging cooties again”) and she whispers to him, “I love you, babe.”

“You stole my line, babe.”

--end.

FLUFF, FLUFF, AND MORE FLUFF. THAT IS ALL THAT THIS IS. TaeStal <3 I need to write some angst now- the cliché fluff has left my system ><

Oh. Uhm. The wedding part. It’s all I remember from the movies- sorry if anything is inaccurate, but I haven’t tied the knot yet, so- yeah, movies work :D

I have successfully sneaked in some KaiLi ;D And JongSica (kind of?) xD They weren’t even supposed to be in this, I swear ><

Have I ever expressed my love for the pet name “babe”? xD TaeStal makes it just that much cuter <3 haha.

Anyway, thanks for reading/subscribing/commenting, lovelies! <3 Until next time! (Which will probably be soon- I can’t stay away from TaeStal, after all.)