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For their anniversary, Patrick books them a table at the same restaurant where they had their first date.
They actually get seated at the same table, which Patrick claims is a ‘coincidence’, but Jonny’s been with him for a year now and knows that there’s no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to the blond across from him.
They eat a four-course meal, much to their meal plan’s disdain, and try to make up for it by sharing a slice of rich, chocolate cake.
Jonny’s so distracted by the obscene way Patrick’s lips encase his fork and his tongue slips out to pick up any rogue crumbs, that he doesn’t realize he’s being talked to right away.
“So, it’s kind of cool we made it a year without ripping each other’s throats out,” Patrick speaks through a bite of cake, taking a pause to swallow.
“We had some close calls, but I’d say you made it one of the better years I’ve had.”
“Not the best?” Patrick scoffs, pulling his napkin from his lap and tossing it on the table with a flurry of movements. The warm smile that spreads across Jonny’s lips is reserved strictly for children under the age of six, and the man sitting across from him acting like a six-year-old.
“To another great year,” Jonny cheers, lifting his champagne flute to lightly tap Patrick’s.
“Yeah, about that,” Patrick starts, “I really mean it, I love you, Jonny, and this has been the best year of my life. You make me the happiest guy alive.”
Oh fuck, Jonny thinks to himself, a bead of sweat forming on his brow, he’s not going to propose, is he?
“I just can’t explain how awesome it’s been being with you, and I can’t wait for many more years to come.” He’s definitely proposing, Jonny feels his heartbeat pick up, frantically looking around the restaurant for any sign of someone he recognizes. It’d be so like Patrick to make a grand gesture like this, inviting their parents down to surprise him. He doesn’t see anyone, but he knows better than to underestimate his boyfriend.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is I want to lock this down,” Patrick looks so earnest, the nervousness showing in his furrowed brow. “So, Jonathan Bryan Toews,” Jonny can’t help but tug at his collar awkwardly, in some vain attempt to show his discomfort and halt Patrick in his tracks before it’s too late. “Will you move in with me?”
Relief washes over him instantaneously, he even goes as far as letting out a deep sigh. Patrick looks more nervous than before, but Jonny’s quick to reach across the table and touch his shoulder softly.
“Of course I’ll move in with you, you idiot.” He speaks softly, rubbing him tenderly as he gets a rueful smile in response. “Trying opening with that next time, though.”
Patrick huffs as he reaches the top of the mountain, breath coming out hot and heavy. The bright, Peru sun blazing down on him, bringing out the freckles on his shoulders and the apples of his cheeks.
“You should have put on sunscreen,” Jonny tsks, ever the hypocrite as his bronze skin shines in the sun.
It’s actually unfair how much he resembles a Greek god.
“Whatever, Zeus,” Patrick grumbles, rolling his eyes at the moment of confusion that crossed Jonny’s face before he seemingly accepted the fact that Patrick just called him by the name of a god. “You know I love you Jonny, but why the hell did you want to climb Machu Picchu for our anniversary?”
Jonny grins, taking a gulp of water, splashing a good amount on his face and letting the liquid drip down to his torso. If Patrick hadn’t just used his endurance training to climb to the top of this mountain, he’d be bending his boyfriend over a rock to punish him for being so goddamn sexy.
His eyes tracked Jonny’s body as he bent down slowly, muscles straining as he moved into a kneeling position.
Patrick felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.
“What the fuck are you doing, Jonathan?” He yelped, in a very manly way. “Are you insane?”
Jonny slowly raised his gaze, instead of a put-out or sad face he looked… bewildered?
It’s then that Patrick looked down and noticed that his shoelace had become undone.
For their third anniversary, they decide to have some friends and family over for a housewarming party.
Jonny loves the house, it has enough bedrooms to house a little league team (which, if Patrick has any say, is exactly how many children they’ll have... Not that Jonny disagrees.)
He takes a sip of his beer, a craft one, which Patrick won’t get off his ass about him being ‘pretentious’ and a ‘beer snob’. He takes a minute to survey the scene of teammates and family alike meandering around their ample backyard. The swingset is a hit with the kids, and likely the adults later, after a few drinks.
“Are you ready for your present?” A voice whispers into his ear, and Jonny feels his body automatically relax from the close proximity to his boyfriend. He nods and watches the grin spread on Patrick’s face before he lets out a sharp whistle.
Everyone turns to watch as a tiny ball of fur comes stumbling towards them, something hanging off its collar catching the light.
Jonny feels a pressure build behind his eyes but holds back the tears.
He will not be 'that' guy who cries over his proposal.
Patrick urges him as he unties the box from the puppy, taking the note from atop the box and unraveling it.
Will you be my dad? - Sharpy
Jonny feels his breath catch, his excitement waning like a dying fire as he slowly lifts the lid of the jewelry box. Instead of seeing a ring, he’s greeted with the sight of a beautiful gold chain.
“Happy anniversary, baby,” Patrick whispers, pressing a kiss to his lips.
Christmas is Patrick’s favorite holiday. It means families are together, gifts are shared and love is everywhere. Every year feels like the first with Jonny, can’t imagine it without him now, how he fits so well in his life that everything they do feels exactly how it’s supposed to be.
“Earth to Kaner,” Jonny laughs, waving a candy cane in front of his face, drawing him abruptly out of his thoughts. It’s Christmas morning and they were opening their presents privately before their families make their way over for the first holiday at their new home.
“Sorry, was lost in space for a second,” Patrick replies, but by the fond smile on Jonny’s face, he wasn’t really offended.
“Open this first,” Jonny urges, handing Patrick his stuffed stocking.
Instead of taking everything out one at a time like a normal person, Patrick upturns the oversized sock, dumping its contents on the floor.
A black velvet ring box lands on top of the pile of miscellaneous stick and sock tape.
Tears spring to the corner of Patrick’s eyes, a single one escaping as he looks up to see Jonny’s own watery smile. He hadn’t foreseen a Christmas proposal, something too corny for Jonny to even fathom, but the surprise makes his heart soar.
He lifts the box to his face, slowly pulling it back to reveal…
A gold chain with a personalized pendant hanging from it.
The pendant was elegant, the Blackhawks symbol on the front and a personal inscription of their anniversary date on the back.
It’s not a proposal, but it’s damn near perfect.
Jonny can’t believe the restaurant Patrick takes them to for their fourth anniversary.
The only thing on the menu with prices is the wine list, and he doesn’t miss how Patrick splurges and orders Louis Roederer Cristal ‘04 as their champagne to cheers with. Unlike other tables though, their glasses aren’t already there.
This is it, Jonny thinks, trying desperately not to get his hopes up, when he sees the waiter returning with two flutes of champagne on his tray.
His excitement grows as the waiter makes sure to hand Jonny his first, and he can’t help himself, they’ve been putting this off for so long.
So he chugs the bubbly down, careful to keep his teeth closed as a filter for something that shouldn’t be there.
All that gets him is an empty flute and Patrick staring at him like he’s lost his mind, and okay, maybe he has.
“Tazer, if you were that thirsty, why didn’t you drink the water and not the twelve-thousand-dollar champagne?” Patrick asks, being understandably flabbergasted.
Jonny can’t help the disappointment that washes over him, and he wishes he could enjoy the clearly expensive meal that follows, but his mind is elsewhere.
Clearly, Jonny is trying to out-do Patrick’s anniversary dinner from last year, because he went and rented out the entirety of Navy Pier for their own enjoyment.
They finish the Ferris wheel and are grabbing a cotton candy to share when Patrick turns and wraps himself around Jonny, not unlike a monkey, pulling him in tight.
“Is that a ring box in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” He jokes, feeling something hard against his leg. It’s on his bucket list to hook up in public, and what better time to do that than right now.
Instead of feeling laughter or a long-winded sigh beneath him, Jonny stiffens in Patrick's arms. He becomes rigid and removes himself from the embrace, frustration evident on his face.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jonny lifts his head to yell at the sky, and Patrick is taken aback.
The silence is tense, broken only when Jonny starts pacing back and forth.
“I’ve been planning this for over a year, methodically, backup plans even!” Jonny continues in a loud pitch, stopping his pacing to squat, putting his face in his hands. “What if it rains? What if you didn’t want to come to the Pier? Should I do it on the Ferris Wheel? Maybe I win you a stuffed crocodile? There were so many factors to consider, and it’s just so hard to think of the perfect way to ask the person you love most in this world to agree to marry you.” He finishes in a huff, transitioning into a kneel before Patrick in a second.
“And there is no perfect way. We aren’t perfect, far from it actually, but you make me a better person. I’ve been thinking about proposing since our first anniversary, I think that says a lot about how serious I’ve thought this was from the start. You are perfect for me, I love you so fucking much Patrick Timothy Kane, and I couldn’t see my life being anything without you, and Sharpy, the dog not the dick , and all fifteen of our future children. Or however many you want, because I want the same things you do, I want to make you happy and I want to marry you. Will you do me the honour of being my husband?”
The tears come suddenly, and Patrick has to nod, his voice too full of emotion to even attempt a response. He quickly pulls Jonny to his feet and presses a kiss to his lips, sealing the deal.
“I’d love to marry you,” Patrick breathes against his lips, looking into the eyes he plans on getting lost in for the rest of his life.