~ ♥ ~

"This one's called... um... a daisy... I think..." Hoya pointed out, scratching his head. After the day he had given Woohyun his first flower, he had asked his mother who was an avid gardener everything he wanted to know about flowers. He remembered seeing this particular one in bunches in his mother's garden (which he had gone off secretly and pulled out) and thought that Woohyun would like it.

"Wah~ It's really pretty! Thank you Howon!" Woohyun sniffed the flower and grinned as he twirled it in between his fingers. "And for you, I actually invented a new heart!"

"Whoa, you did?"

"Yup, hold my flower for me while I show you." He handed the daisy to Hoya as he curved both of his hands into a heart shape in front of his chest, and while keeping his thumbs together, he wiggled his other fingers in a flying motion towards Hoya. "I call it a 'flying heart'. Do you like it?"

"Yeah," Hoya laughed cheerfully. "It's really cute."

Woohyun joined in his laughter as they continued playing in the grassy field, an occasional game of tag or soccer, or just more showing of Woohyun's hearts and Hoya's talk of flowers.

As they parted for the day, Woohyun threw Hoya a last flying heart and a wave goodbye.

The next day, Woohyun came running up to Hoya once again, only this time his face didn't show a feeling of excitement or giddiness, or even happiness in that matter.

"H-Ho– Howo– Howon!" Woohyun ran, his fist balled up tight, Hoya seeing his eyes watering and cheeks stained with tears, his voice a half-choked sob and a plead all at once. 

"Woohyun! What's wrong?!"

The other ended up crying some more as he sniffled, trying to form a coherent sentence. "H-Howon, I– T-The–"

"What? What?!"

Woohyun uncurled his fist, and in it was the flower, but the petals were fallen and the leaves dried, the color darkening as if the life were out of it.

Hoya released a relieved breath and shook his head. "Woohyun, that's normal," he addressed matter-of-factly.

"I-It is?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "My mom said... uh, something about... how flowers can only stay alive if they're in soil. They have... roots, I think she said, that give them their food to live and grow. So... when you pick it, you break it off from its roots."

"...Oh." Woohyun sniffled, wiping his nose on his shirt sleeve. He bent down and pulled out the grass on a small spot, digging a tiny hole and placing the dead flower inside. He sniffed again and placed the dirt over it, patting it solemnly before standing back up.

"It's alright, Woohyun. I can get you another one."

"Really?" Woohyun's eyes lit up.

"Yup, no problem. Only don't tell my mom, I'm getting it from her garden."

Woohyun giggled, and Hoya grinned at the look of happiness back on his friend's face. "Come on!" Hoya grabbed Woohyun's hand and led him towards his mother's garden. His mother was at work, so Hoya wasn't worried about getting caught. Once they arrived, Woohyun was in complete awe at the different arrays of colorful flowers. From the flower beds to shelved flowers to hanging pots above them, he stood with his mouth agape and eyes widened.

"Whoa, Howon, this is awesome!" Woohyun exclaimed cheerfully.

Hoya smiled and pointed him over the flower bed which contained the daisies of many different colors. Woohyun settled on a dainty, red flower and pulled it softly until the stem broke "Thank you Howon!"

They both took a seat on the white bench placed in the middle amidst the garden. Woohyun dangled his legs, holding gently onto the daisy in his hand, and looked at all the different flowers around him. His eyes were attracted to one in particular. "Hey Howon, what are these?" He pointed to a batch of beautiful, red flowers. "They're really pretty."

"That one... what did my mom call it... ah! Those are roses."

"Roses..." Woohyun jumped down from the seat and walked closer to the batch of flowers. He bent down and took a closer look. 

"Wait, Woohyun–"

Before Hoya could warn him, Woohyun curiously grabbed at the stem of the plant, but he felt something sharp jab into his skin and the pain shot throughout his hand. He immediately retracted with a loud "Ow!" and saw his blood leaking from his palm.

"Woohyun, are you okay?!"

Woohyun began crying in response, and one look at the blood on Woohyun's palm caused Hoya to run around frantically, rambling on about "Woohyun I was going to tell you there were thorns!" and "I was going to tell you to be careful but-" and "What do I do? What do I do?!"

"Bandage!" Hoya yelled abruptly. "Stay here!" He ran inside his house and rummaged through the drawer, quickly finding the box of bandages and pulling one out. Rushing back outside, he found Woohyun still crouched next to the rosebed, quietly crying and wiping the blood on his shirt.

"Here," Hoya bent down next to him and ripped open the paper, placing a bright purple bandage onto the wound on Woohyun's palm.

"It still hurts..." Woohyun sniffled.

Hoya furrowed his eyebrows. That's odd, when Hoya got cuts his mother treated them and he felt better instantly. He tried remembering what she would do.

"Oh! I forgot!" Hoya took Woohyun's hand and brought his palm up to his lips, planting a gentle kiss against the top of the bandage. "Now does it feel better?"

Woohyun broke into a small smile and nodded.

The next afternoon, Hoya waited at their usual spot. He held a small flower pot carefully in his hands and gently set on the ground as he took a seat on the damp grass. He eyed the flower in the pot, playing gently with the leaf. He had asked his mother for it, a vibrant red rose which he would give to Woohyun, remembering his fascination towards it the other day.

"What's up?" he heard his friend's voice from behind him. He turned and found Woohyun peeking from behind the tree, but he immediately sprang into view once he saw what Hoya brought with him. "Whoa, is that a rose?"

"Yup," Hoya stood and gave the pot to Woohyun. "My mom cut off the pointy things so it won't hurt. It's for you."

Woohyun smiled widely. "Thank you! I love it!"

They both sat under the tree for a while, until Woohyun remembered something that made his nose scrunch up in confusion. "Hey, Howon."

"Hm?"

"My mom... I told my mom about the pretty roses at your garden yesterday. She said... that roses, when someone gives it to you..." Woohyun poked at the soft soil in the pot. "She said that roses were a meaning of love, and when someone gives one to you it means they love you." Woohyun turned to look at Hoya.

"Do you love me, Howon?"

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

"I can't hear you~"

"Nam Woohyun, I'm not saying it again."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please... Howonnie?"

Hearing the nickname always caused him to give in, and Hoya hated how Woohyun knew that. "Fine!" He sighed. "...I love you, Woohyun."

Woohyun grinned victoriously. "I love you too."

Hoya didn't really know why he was saying no in the first place, maybe because his 23-year-old boyfriend was acting like a child, but he would say it all the time if he felt like it. He'd shout his love for Woohyun on the tallest mountain, and make everyone know that Lee Howon is madly in love with Nam Woohyun.

"You know, you really act like a child for a guy who's older than me."

"Only by a month!" Woohyun laughed. "But you still love me anyway."

Hoya rolled his eyes. "I know." He planted a kiss on the other's forehead and held him closer in their shared bed, Woohyun laying his head against Hoya's chest and the soft, thin fabric of his shirt. He eyed the vase sitting on the bedside table with a fresh bundle of flowers inside. Hoya knew Woohyun never liked the sight of dead flowers, so he always made sure to put lively, new ones once the previous flowers would wilt. 

Hoya smiled. I really love you, Woohyun.

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

"I wrote a song... for you," Woohyun said quietly, tracing circles on Hoya's skin.

"Really?" Hoya turned to look at the top of Woohyun's head on his chest. The little light coming from the moon at their window barely shone against him with the darkness of nighttime around them.

"Yeah... it's... about you... the song."

Hoya smiled and placed his hand atop Woohyun's, the front of his hand with his thumb. "Let me hear it?"

"I don't have everything down yet, but..." Woohyun cleared his throat.

"Baby my love beautiful, 

I love you."

Hoya closed his eyes and let Woohyun's voice fill the air.

"Even by just looking at you,

even when I just think about you,

my heart flutters.

Even at this moment where I'm looking at you,

I miss you when I close my eyes.

Would you understand my heart that's like this?"

Woohyun stopped and Hoya opened his eyes, already missing the soothing melody of his singing voice.

"That's all I have so far..." Woohyun mumbled.

Hoya gave the other's hand a gentle squeeze. "It's beautiful, Woohyunnie."

Woohyun turned his hand and intertwined their fingers together. "That's what I named it. 'Beautiful'."

"When you have more of it down, I'd like to hear it, hm?"

Woohyun hummed in response, snuggling closer into Hoya's warmth as they both closed their eyes and drifted to sleep.

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

"I have a surprise for you," Hoya said, watching as Woohyun placed a big tray of cookies in the oven.

"What is it?"

"Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, wouldn't it? You'll have to see for yourself, but it's somewhere else."

"But it's almost dark out," Woohyun addressed, wiping the flour on his apron and peeking out the window at the setting sun.

"Then it's perfect for your surprise." Hoya grabbed a loose chocolate chip and popped it in his mouth. "Let's go?"

"But the cookies..." Woohyun whined. "We have to wait or they'll burn..."

Hoya scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully. "Fine, but only because you make really good cookies. How long will it take?"

Woohyun slipped off his apron. "Well, they're small cookies and there's not a lot, so it should be done in less than fifteen minutes."

Hoya smirked. "Perfect." He gripped at Woohyun's waist and pressed the other's lips against his own, instantly tasting the slight sweetness of cookie batter on his lips.

"Mm– Howon-ah–" Woohyun face flushed red as he tried pushing Hoya away, but the second he felt Hoya's tongue slip into his mouth, he couldn't help the moan that escaped from his lips.

The cookies ended up burning anyway, but they couldn't care less.

"Now let's go?"

"Wait," Woohyun threw a rag in the other's face. "That's for burning my cookies."

Hoya laughed and shook his head, locking his fingers with Woohyun's and leading him out the door of their house. Hoya ushered him into their car and drove a short distance to a tall building nearby.

"What are we doing here?" Woohyun asked, inspecting the height of the building and the streetlights around it, already flashing on in time for the approaching night.

"You'll see, your surprise is at the rooftop." Hoya grinned and grabbed for Woohyun's hand again as they walked inside and stepped into the elevator. He pressed the button leading to the top, humming a soft tune while sneaking glances at the side of Woohyun's face. When they arrived at the door to the rooftop, Hoya gave Woohyun's hand a gentle squeeze, the other hand gripped on the door knob.

"Ready?"

Woohyun nodded in response and Hoya swung the door open.

"Welcome to our paradise!"

He looked around, the lights from the city shining from below, but the actual view of the rooftop area couldn't be seen with the night, the only things Woohyun could see in front of him were dark silhouettes. "Uh, Howon-ah–"

He felt Hoya's grip slide out of his hand, and suddenly he was left alone in the darkness. "Howon...?"

He heard a soft click and bright lights began shining in every direction, the entire rooftop now lit with strings of lights. Woohyun looked around him, the whole area covered with various, colorful flowers, and in the middle of the garden was a dinner table set for both of them.

"Do you like it, Hyun?" Woohyun heard Hoya whisper and felt the other's arms slowly slip their way around his waist from behind.

Woohyun turned his head and smiled brightly. "I love it."

Hoya showed Woohyun the flowers around him, picking out a few here and there and gathering them into a bouquet that he placed into a vase at the table. They spent the rest of their time eating dinner at the table, talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company.

"Remember when we were kids?" Woohyun began. "You said that you'd give me flowers in exchange for my heart-throwing."

Hoya laughed. "Well then? Where's my heart? I prefer your cute little 'flying heart' this time." He crossed his arms and waited playfully.

Woohyun instead took Hoya's hand and planted a small peck against his knuckles. "How about instead," he smiled and placed Hoya's hand flat against his chest. "I give you my heart?"

Hoya's face instantly flushed at Woohyun's overly cheesy comment, but one look at the charming expression in Woohyun's eyes caused his body to feel like mush, completely entranced in everything about Woohyun at that moment. The way the other's eyes indulged deeply into his, the soft hand tenderly holding his own, the gentle heartbeat he feels against Woohyun's chest, and the ever-so annoying smirk Woohyun still has plastered on his face that Hoya wants to kiss so badly. 

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

"Roses. Your favorite right, Woohyun-ah?" Hoya said to himself and smiled, sniffing the fresh bouquet of flowers. He stepped out of his car and fixed his jacket; he would be meeting with Woohyun soon. Today was their anniversary, and every year on this day Hoya would specially give Woohyun a bouquet of roses.

He stared at the vast, green field and searched for Woohyun. He smiled softly when he found him.

"Woohyun, how have you been?"

The other didn't answer.

"You know what today is right?" His voice cracked. "It's been ten years since we've been together." He took a seat on the dry ground. "And it's been a year since I last saw you."

Hoya grazed his fingertips along the cold, flat stone. He traced the engraved letters slowly. Nam Woohyun.

"Remember when I took you to that rooftop garden? We called it our 'paradise'." He forced back his tears. "But you're in paradise now, right?"

He bit his lip, a tear escaping and streaming down his cheek.

"I brought you something," he smiled and placed the bouquet nearer to the stone. "Roses, your favorite," he forced a small laugh. "Ever since we were little kids..."

He laid his back on the grass, gazing at the sky and watched. "Woohyun-ah, you're watching me, right?" He stared at the passing clouds and let silence fill the air. "Hyun, up there in paradise, are you in a big field of flowers?" A soft breeze blew and Hoya pulled his jacket closer to his chest. "Mm, I'll see when I get there, we'll be together in that big field one day, ok? Wait for me."

He took one last look at the sky and smiled sadly. Wait for me.

"Oh," Hoya sat up, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a folded piece of paper. "I found this... hidden at the bottom of the drawer." Another tear slipped down his cheek. "You never got to sing the rest to me." He unfolded it and looked at the scribbles of Woohyun's handwriting. "Would you like me to sing it for you? I know my singing voice isn't as good as yours, though." He wiped his tears and started, instantly remembering the melody of Woohyun's voice.

"Baby my love beautiful,

I love you.

Even when I close my eyes,

my heart beats just at thoughts of you."

This time, he couldn't stop the tears that threatened to fall, dropping and bleeding through the ink on the page. Woohyun...

"Baby my love beautiful,

I love you.

I'll make a promise that I'll be with you forever by your side.

The hurt that comes from farewells, even at that moment,

make sure you won't forget the memories that we had together.

I'll go a step towards you, and fill it with my heart, and protect you."

His grip on the paper became tighter. I should have protected you.

"I love you.

I'll make a promise that I'll be forever by your side."

A slightly stronger breeze blew this time, a petal from one of the roses escaping and drifting off along the rush of air.

Hoya broke down into a sob.

Woohyun, I miss you.

~ ♥ ~