XXIV

"Let's go on a trip" – those had been the words Donghae had greeted him with during breakfast.

Eunhyuk had thought that with this the younger had meant a short trip to another city, maybe even the south… Now he was walking next to him through Shiba Park in the dark and still wondered how Donghae had managed to pull this whole thing through. There would be the last concert of their second tour in a few days and normally they weren’t allowed to leave the country on their own at such times without having a real purpose in a trip like this. Apart from that it had all happened really quickly; Donghae had told him about his plans in the morning and now they were already here.

"I can't believe that you really did this", Eunhyuk said and turned his head to look at the other. Donghae had the hood of his jacket pulled so deep into his face that Eunhyuk could barely see him and wore a facemask just like he did it so that they wouldn’t be recognized at first sight. The younger grinned; the raven head could see it in his eyes.

"Did what?" he asked amused.

"Kidnapping me and bringing me to Japan without even asking me if I wanted to go with you."

Donghae laughed hearty. "I knew you would want to come with me. Or am I wrong?"

He shook his head, smirking. "No, but it really would've been better if you would've told me about this a bit sooner."

"That wasn’t possible."

"Why?"

"Because I had this idea last night, there was no time for explanations."

Eunhyuk shook his head, laughed and pushed the other away. Donghae laughed with him and grinned like he always did when the both of them were together.           
For about a month he was allowed to call Eunhyuk his boyfriend now and in that short amount of time, he thought a lot of things had changed. Sure, Eunhyuk was still very hesitant to show him any kind of affection when the other members were around, but when it was only them… Well, let's just say Donghae had never been happier.

He had never doubted that Eunhyuk could be it, but the raven head really was the perfect boyfriend. Maybe he still was too blinded by all the love he felt for him, but whenever they were together or shared a bed at night: Eunhyuk was so caring, so calm and lovable that Donghae couldn’t think of anything that he could do to be better. He was perfect to him and he didn’t think that he would ever think about him in any other way. Donghae loved him, he loved him more than any words could ever express, and he didn’t want to waste a thought with what would happen if someday their feelings for each other would change. He simply hoped that this would never happen.

Donghae grabbed him by his wrist even though he wanted to hold his hand and pulled him along. Their destination was the Tokyo Tower and because Eunhyuk didn’t really have the right to decide anything about this trip, he didn’t struggle. This whole thing was one big surprise to him and so he gladly followed Donghae to wherever they were about to go. He even trusted him to find their hotel on their way back and this wasn’t something that could be taken for granted.

They made their way to one of the viewing platforms of the tower. Donghae was still giggling and even ran a bit so they could reach the railing faster. They both let out exclaims of awe as they came to a stand and especially Donghae's eyes were glistening like those of a small child as his gaze travelled over all the city lights in the dark that turned Tokyo into a wonderland. Every color was present somewhere in the dark and it looked breathtakingly beautiful from where they stood.

Eunhyuk turned his head, swiftly looked around and noticed with satisfaction that they were alone. With a smirk on his lips he reached out a hand and pulled back the younger's hood to finally get a glimpse of Donghae's face that was so much more beautiful to him than any skyline could ever be. He also freed the other from his facemask, pulled down his own and grinned as he revealed the younger's smile that was able to make him forget where he was for a second.

"There's something I want to give you", Donghae said after some time and his voice was very silent all of a sudden, now that they were so close to each other. Eunhyuk came another step closer and had to keep his hands from finding to the other's body.

"What is it?" he asked. Donghae laughed sheepishly.

"I can't tell."

"Why not?"

"It's a present."

Eunhyuk chuckled. "Don’t tell me that you got a present for me. You know that we don’t do that. The other members don’t get any presents from me or you and-"

"But you're not like the other members to me", Donghae interrupted him and he was so shy afterwards that he had to avert his gaze. The smile on Eunhyuk's lips was gentle as he watched him pulling a small package out of his jacket's pocket and as it was pushed into his hands, he almost didn’t want to accept it.

"Donghae…"

"It's nothing big or something but… Now that we're… Well… This is your first birthday as my boyfriend so I wanted to make it something special."

Eunhyuk grinned and had to keep himself from leaning in and kissing him because Donghae looked so cute and nervous like this that it made his heart swell. His gaze eventually landed on the small package in his hands and he laughed again. "Thank you."

The younger beamed like only he was able to do it. "You're welcome, Hyukkie."

He giggled softly and slowly opened the package; his eyes widened significantly as he saw what was inside. "Donghae", he breathed and stared at the present in shock before he looked back up to the other with disbelief in his eyes. "This… This is-"

"You said you wanted to have it so I bought it", Donghae said like it was the most normal thing in the world. Eunhyuk's eyes were glued to the watch in his hands and his mind travelled back to the price tag right next to it when he had seen it the last time. He shook his head in denial.

"Yeah, but I didn’t buy it because it's so damn expensive! I can't accept this, I'm sorry but-"

"I want you to have it", the brunet explained and closed the small box to shove it in Eunhyuk's pocket. "Take it as a gift for the love you give me."

The elder shook his head again, but laughed as he pulled Donghae into a hug. "You really shouldn’t have done this."

"Only the best for the best", Donghae replied and as Eunhyuk withdrew from him to be able to look at him, both of them had to fight with themselves to not just lean in and kiss.

"You're so corny", Eunhyuk mumbled and made him grin.

"You're too."

They kept looking at each other for some time and Eunhyuk didn’t have the will to turn his head to see the beautiful scenario right next to them. Donghae was everything he could think about, no matter how rare an opportunity like this was.

"So you… brought me all the way to Japan just to give me your present?" he asked silently and with the smile still tucking on his lips. "You could've done this in Korea too."

Donghae let out a negative hum. "There's something else…"

"What is it?"

"There's another surprise waiting for you at the hotel and apart from that…" He smiled gently and made Eunhyuk's mind go blank with it. "I always wanted to kiss on top of the Tokyo Tower."

It seemed like it was the easiest thing to do for Donghae, making Eunhyuk speechless.           
He wasn’t at a loss for words because of what the brunet had actually said, though. It was simply because Donghae was so calm, so collected, and his voice was so tender and soothing that Eunhyuk was far away from fearing anything. The younger made his fears and doubts disappear like they were nothing; they didn’t even dare to show up when he was with him. Donghae was like a haven, the haven of his courage, and he was so brave when it was just the two of them. He was what he had never thought he could be when they were together and Eunhyuk hoped that with time he would be able to show it to the world too, the love he felt for him.              
Little did he know that he was braver than he thought he was – and most of all he was ready to fight, to protect what was the dearest to him. He was indestructible without knowing it.

Eunhyuk reached his hands out, placed them on Donghae's cheeks. It was hard for him to tear his eyes away from the younger to quickly look around and as their gazes met again, he couldn’t stop himself from grinning. His heart was racing in his chest as he leaned in, but it wasn’t because he was nervous. No, Eunhyuk just still had this fluttering sensation in his stomach whenever they kissed and it made him feel like a teenager, hiding somewhere in an empty hall to kiss his first love.

And as his lips met with Donghae's to kiss him under a thousand stars, he wished that this feeling would never go away.

***

Eunhyuk closed his eyes and nearly moaned as he chewed the food in his mouth. "Really, we should come to Japan more often simply to have sushi..." he mumbled.

Donghae nodded his head with a soft smile on his lips, but it quickly faded as he watched the happy expression on the other's face. He couldn’t tell why, but seeing him like this made him think about the last time when Eunhyuk had been so far away from a smile. His gaze landed on the still prominent wound at the other's knuckles and his mind was thrown back to the day when he had found Eunhyuk in the middle of all the chaos in his room. They had never really talked about this, but with the things he had in mind for today, he didn’t want this to be a secret between them any longer.

"Hyukkie?"

Eunhyuk's eyes fluttered open. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

A smile stretched the other's lips. "Sure."

Donghae's gaze fell to the table and to his own food that he hadn't really touched yet. He needed a moment to find the right words, chewed on his lip in a nervous manner. "The day when you broke up with Soojin… I know that you don’t want to talk about this, but… I'd like to know what she said to you so that you reacted like this."

It took some time before he looked up and as he did, the smile had left Eunhyuk's face. The other clenched his jaw slightly and now was the one avoiding eye-contact. "Do you really have to ask this?"

The brunet bit his lip, but didn’t change his mind. "Yes. Because I see that it still burdens you."

Eunhyuk heaved a sigh and kept quiet for a moment. He didn’t have to think for long to remember Soojin's words; they were still as present in his head like she had just spoken them out. "Well, she… couldn’t understand that I fell for a man. I didn’t tell her that it's you, but she still said that it has to be someone else's fault for… making me sick."

The raven head shortly looked up to him and as he saw the hurt in the younger's eyes, he was reminded of the reason why he actually didn’t want to talk about this. But Donghae didn’t let up. "What else did she say?"

"She very nicely reminded me of the fact that I won't be able to have a family", he said and couldn’t stand looking Donghae in the eyes as he did so. "And of all the things that will happen if the media finds out about us. She said that there are so many things I can destroy with my love for you and… If you want me to be honest then she told me everything that I ever was afraid to hear… I didn’t want to hear that, Donghae. It was hard enough for me to not think about the bad things only and right when I managed to that, she comes up with this…"

"It hurt you, right?" Donghae asked silently. "That's why you cried."

The other nodded his head. "Yes... It hurt because I was so afraid of hearing it. I thought that she was right with the things she said and maybe she still is. She didn’t only speak out fantasies. If someone finds out about us, everything will be in danger and I still don’t know what our families think about this. It's hard to stand by your opinion when someone tells you that everything you think is right is actually wrong. And it took me so long to even think that it's right. That's why it was so hard to stand her words."

"Are you scared of that? Of what will happen then, I mean?"

Eunhyuk shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know. What I was more afraid of back then was you leavi