Gwangsuk was really good at thinking up creative and fun dates for the two of them to go on. If there was one thing about Gwangsuk, it was that there was never a dull moment with him. It had taken him a while to realize that Gwangsuk was trying hard to impress him and make sure that Hongbin was never bored on their dates. So Hongbin had made a point of asking Gwangsuk out on a date, and then he had brought Gwangsuk over to his apartment with the intention of cooking for him, but Gwangsuk had insisted on helping. So they had cooked together, twirling around Hongbin's kitchen, catching each other for kisses, eaten by candle light, telling each other anything and everything that came to mind and then they'd fallen asleep, cuddled together on the couch marathoning the Lord of the Rings movies.

 

Gwangsuk had woken up just past 3:30 and he'd tried to pick Hongbin up and carry him to his bed without waking him up but Hongbin was a light enough sleeper to wake up as Gwangsuk was putting him down on his bed and still asleep enough to not second guess himself before asking Gwangsuk if he wanted to just stay the rest of the night, there was enough room for both of them in the bed. Gwangsuk was sleepy enough to crawl into Hongbin's bed and spoon up behind him without too much shyness. When Hongbin's alarm had gone off three hours later and Hongbin had fought open his eyelids, he'd been greeted by his first experience with morning Gwangsuk: hair all over the place, shirt riding up, mouth open with a little bit of drool at the corner.

 

He'd found it adorable and he thought about how nice it had been to spend a quiet night with Gwangsuk and how good it felt to wake up to him, he thought he wouldn't mind doing this every day and the thought snuck in, that Gwangsuk could very well be the man he to marry.

 

 

 

When Hongbin had broken his arm, the first time he'd tried to wash his hair in the shower had been a nightmare. The doctor had told him to cover his cast, so he'd had a plastic bag around his immobile (of course dominant) arm, while trying to wash himself and his hair with the other. He'd spent half of the day complaining about it, enough that Gwangsuk had hesitantly offered to help Hongbin in the shower. They were still pretty new as a couple, they had yet to do anything intimate, so it was a little uncomfortable for him to offer and Hongbin had been shy to accept, but in the end he did.

 

That night Gwangsuk had gone home with Hongbin, shy but ready to help out. Hongbin had led him to the bathroom, blushing as he asked Gwangsuk how he wanted to go about this.
Gwangsuk had run a bath for him and, after asking if he needed help, had sweetly given him privacy to get himself settled in the tub and then he had gently washed Hongbin. He'd scrubbed Hongbin clean and shampooed and conditioned his hair, Hongbin had nearly fallen asleep to the feeling of his boyfriend gently combing his fingers through his hair.

 

When Hongbin was squeaky clean, prune-y and barely keeping his eyes open, Gwangsuk had helped him up and out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. He'd gently towelled Hongbin's hair and after Hongbin had shimmied into a clean pair of boxers, Gwangsuk had helped him get a shirt around his cast and over his head. As Gwangsuk had led Hongbin to his bed, Hongbin had questioned – a little confused – why Gwangsuk hadn't tried anything or even really looked at him while he was and Gwangsuk had tucked him into bed telling him that Hongbin was so beautiful but he loved him and would never do anything to take advantage of him, and that their first time doing 'things like that' wouldn't be while Hongbin was hurt and vulnerable, because, Gwangsuk had told him, Hongbin was worth waiting for.

 

Hongbin had told Gwangsuk to stay, pulling him into the bed beside him, wrapping himself around his boyfriend, his injured arm propped safely on Gwangsuk's stomach and echoed Gwangsuk's feelings. And as Hongbin had fallen asleep, head on Gwangsuk's chest, listening to his heartbeat, he sleepily thought that the man in his arms was the man he wanted to marry.

 

 

 

 

Almost a year later, Hongbin had been baby-sitting for his cousin. His cousin had been having a hard time, so when she'd asked him to watch Hyemi for the weekend, he'd agreed. The morning she'd dropped Hyemi off, it hit Hongbin that he was going to be stuck with this baby for the weekend, the anxiety hit. Gwangsuk, his knight in shining armour had told Hongbin he'd be willing to come baby sit with Hongbin, he didn't have to do it alone. Hongbin agree, knowing that just Gwangsuk's presence would make everything so much better.

 

The three of them had a fantastic weekend, they'd taken Hyemi to the park together, bought her a new outfit from the mall and despite Hongbin's worries, she'd been a little angel. She'd eaten well, she'd gone down for all her naps without a problem and whenever she'd started to cry, he or Gwangsuk had been able to soothe her within a few minutes. And Saturday night, after Hongbin had finished washing the dishes after dinner and had gone to their temporary nursery to help Gwangsuk put down Hyemi for the night, he'd entered the room to see Gwangsuk, rocking in the rocking chair, softly singing to the freshly bathed baby who was asleep against his chest.

 

As he watched from his spot against the door frame, he could see his future and it entered Hongbin's mind that this man was the man he was going to marry.

 

 

 

On their third anniversary, Gwangsuk had arranged for them to go to a Park Hyo Shin concert, he'd even gotten the two of them VIP tickets, so that Hongbin could actually meet and have a picture taken with his idol. For the two weeks leading up to the concert, all their friends kept making jokes about how Hongbin wouldn't be leaving that concert with Hongbin. It was non-stop jokes about how Hongbin would run away with Park Hyo Shin, how Hongbin had been in love with that man since he was a young teen and how Park Hyo Shin would take one look at Hongbin and it would be all over for Gwangsuk. Hongbin had laughed but told them all that they were silly and Gwangsuk had rolled his eyes at his idiot friends, only agree once – that Park Hyo Shin would definitely fall in love with Hongbin, he was no judge of men it he didn't, but he didn't get upset like they'd all expected.

 

When they'd been in bed later that night, Hongbin had needed to verify that Gwangsuk knew there was nothing to worry about. Gwangsuk had replied that he knew Hongbin loved him, he felt it every day and he considered himself so blessed to be the man that Hongbin had chosen and he knew that he always would..but, he had continued, Hongbin's happiness was the most important thing to him and if that meant that one day Hongbin fell in love with a better man than him, he would still consider himself blessed for the time he'd gotten. Hongbin had smacked him, angrily and told him that he was an idiot, there was no better man and if he ever said something like that again, he would be sleeping on the couch for who even knows how long. Then he had nudged Gwangsuk over and spooned up behind him, whispering against the back of Gwangsuk's neck that Gwangsuk was his soulmate and he wasn't allowed to ever do anything to break his heart. Gwangsuk had pulled Hongbin's arms around him and snuggled back into him, whispering back that there was nothing in the world that could make him want to do that.

 

The two of them had gone to the concert, Gwangsuk had taken a picture of Hongbin standing with Park Hyo Shin and listened to him gush about how wonderful he was and at the end, Gwangsuk had taken his hand, laced their fingers together and smiled as Hongbin had continued to gush all the way back to the car. When Hongbin had finally fallen silent, Gwangsuk had smiled at him, so genuine and full of love, and he'd said that he was so happy Hongbin had enjoyed his birthday present and then kissed him, slow and sweet.

 

The thing that struck Hongbin was that the kiss wasn't possessive, he didn't feel like Gwangsuk was trying to prove some kind of 'ownership' over him, there was no feel of jealousy spurred on by Hongbin's endless praise of another man, or that man's arm around Hongbin's waist less than an hour before. Hongbin only felt safe and loved in the arms of the man that he loved more than anything in the world, and he kissed back, knowing that this man, who selflessly and endlessly returned Hongbin's love, was the man Hongbin was going to marry.

 

 

 

 

It was less than a year later when their friends started quietly questioning Gwangsuk about that as a reality. They all figured the two had been together long enough, when was he planning to pop the question. Gwangsuk had playfully scolded them for being nosey and promised that when the time came, they would get their call right away. Gwangsuk spent many nights awake, trying to think of a proposal that was exciting and perfect enough for his perfect soon-to-be (he hoped) fiance.

 

One weekend in February, just before his birthday, Gwangsuk booked a bus ticket to Busan. He was going to go home for a few days, celebrate his birthday a little early with his family-- they insisted that it had been too long since he had come home for a visit – and while he was there, he was going to buy a ring and tell his parents about his plan to propose. It would have been better if Honbin could have come too, but he just couldn't get the time off work.

 

The morning of his departure, Hongbin and Gwangsuk both bundled up, protecting themselves against the harsh February weather and Hongbin escorted his boyfriend to the depot. Gwangsuk, when he told the story later on, would complain about how he'd been telling Hongbin how much he was going to miss him until he noticed that Hongbin wasn't next to him anymore – and Hongbin would always in, laughing about how glad he was that Gwangsuk finally noticed, it would have been embarrassing if he hadn't. Noticing he was talking to himself, Gwangsuk had turned around, to see his boyfriend kneeling in the snow. His first reaction had been to rush to Hongbin's side, concerned that he'd slipped on an icy patch and hurt himself, when he'd gotten there, Hongbin had looked up at him and told him that he'd known for years that he would never find any man more perfect for him than Gwangsuk, that he could barely stand the idea of a few days apart, not spending their lives together was unthinkable and he had pulled a jewellery box out of his coat pocket and asked Gwangsuk those four words: will you marry me?

Gwangsuk had picked him up of the ground, tears flowing, kissing him, 'Yes. of course. Yes'.

He'd whiped Gwangsuk's tears away, laughing out a few tears of his ownwhen Gwangsuk had told him about his plan to buy a ring in Busan.

 

Gwangsuk had nearly missed his bus, too busy kissing his fiance and Hongbin had stayed long enough to wave to him as the bus drove away, teary and over-flowing with joy because Gwangsuk was the man he was going to marry.