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1.
“Somehow, when you invited me to dinner after I graduated,” Jeongguk sniped as they walked past yet another cafe they couldn’t afford, “I didn't think you meant starve me to death, hyung.”
Taehyung at least had the decency to look ashamed, tipping his head down to make contact with his chest. “Don't be an asshole, Guk, it was an honest mistake.” Taehyung had gone ahead and, in typical Taehyung fashion, fucked the evening up by forgetting his wallet at home. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have been a problem, seeing as Jeongguk was usually more than ready to pay off their meals even as his student budget groaned. But this time, the younger had forgone his wallet, completely depending on the elder being responsible. His mistake, really.
Still, he could see Taehyung felt horrible, so he placed a placating hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, hyung, really,” he said, “You being here is enough.” And then he immediately clammed up, flushing, because they were totally platonic heterosexual bros who did not say things like you being here is enough while lovingly looking into each other’s eyes.
After a few seconds of only slightly awkward silence, Jeongguk decided to speak up again. Taehyung applauded the effort. “I don’t even have anything on me right now, except for this stupid class ring,” he complained, tossing the offending ring into the air as if to emphasize on just how useless it was. Fate must hate a certain Jeon Jeongguk, because the ring immediately clattered to the ground in front of them.
He groaned, bending down to retrieve the ring when a squeal cut through the silent air. “Oh my god!” he heard a woman’s voice call next to him, right before another, more demure, female voice hissed shut up, let the dude finish first. Jeongguk looked at Taehyung in confusion, then followed his hyung's gaze to two waitresses from the nearby open air cafe staring at them. In response to their attention, the shorter one (presumably the owner of the shriller voice) flushed a deep shade of red.
“I'm so sorry!” she called, “I didn't mean to interrupt your proposal! But please, if you would like, your meal is on us on this special day!”
Jeongguk, tired and hungry, took a little while to work through this long, loudly delivered sentence. The first thing he heard was proposal, which made him furrow his brow until he reassessed his and Taehyung’s current situation. Indeed, Jeongguk on one knee with a ring in his hand in front of Tae, did mirror a proposal.
He then heard your meal is on us, and finally made eye contact with Taehyung. They exchanged a few lines of that wordless communication they always did.
Weird? Definitely.
Free food?
Let’s do it.
Jeongguk cleared his throat slightly, turning away from the girls and up to the messy haired, flushed boy who he loved a little too much for his own good.
“Taehyung, you are the most important person to me in this world. Every day is spend with you is even better than the next, and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. Everything about you is my favourite thing about you, I love you, hyung.” Jeongguk cleared his throat again, trying to remove the lump that had grown from sharing his true feeling towards his hyung. Tae had tears in his eyes, ones that Jeongguk wasn't sure even the theatre major could fake quite so convincingly. “So... will you marry me?”
Taehyung nodded his head yes, and pressed their lips together. To the others, it was just a solemnization of their love. But to Jeongguk, it was everything he had been waiting for, for years. The moment their lips had touched, Jeongguk knew somehow that it wasn't just play acting, the way the confession hadn’t been either.
That night brought with it more than just (absolutely delicious) New York style pizza and fries, but also the beginning of a relationship that was truly the best thing in his life.
2.
This time, it was Taehyung grumbling. “Can you believe Namjoon hyung stole some poor girl’s ring by mistake?” he asked, as the two of them trudged through the ink black streets of Busan to exchange the simple golden band for the more elaborate, pink diamond ring their hyung had chosen out for his fiancée.
Had it been anyone else, one might have wondered as to Namjoon having suspicious motives like skirted payments; however, the jeweller knew of their hyung’s absentmindedness just as well as they did. She had been the one who had replaced the charm pendant he had dropped into the ocean while trying to gift it to Seokjin on their two year anniversary, and pink gold cufflinks on their third. (Also ocean.)
Jeongguk grinned widely, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. Their own fourth year together was quickly approaching, and he still felt that same little flutter in his chest every time he held Taehyung. “You can’t blame him, Tae,” he snarked, “If I was dating Jin-hyung, I would be a little starstruck all the time, too.”
Taehyung shoved him playfully, “So I’m just not pretty enough to distract you, huh, Guk-ah?” Jeongguk stuck his tongue out in a childish response, regretting it when his lover followed his childishness en suite by starting a tickle fight. He stopped soon after, though. Not because of Jeongguk’s gasped pleadings or weak shoves, but because he spotted a bakery nearby.
Jeongguk looked to it in confusion, only to see what his lover was so excited about soon after. There were Turkish Delights sitting, soft and enticing, in the window display; a rare sight in Korean bakeries. Jeongguk wasn't that much of a fan, but he knew Taehyung absolutely loved them. He thought they were elegant.
(Taehyung’s obsession with elegance didn't make much sense to Jeongguk at all times. Especially times when they would cuddle together on their ratty old couch with ramyeon in their pajamas that had more holes than actual cloth. But he still accepted and loved it, as he did all of Taehyung’s eccentricities, and there was always a box of Turkish Delights carried home when he spotted them anywhere.)
“Hey, Gukkie,” Taehyung spoke up, his tone instantly informing Jeongguk that he was plotting. “Tae, what are you-“
His question was answered when he saw Taehyung draw the ring box out of his pocket. “One more messed up proposal won’t hurt, right?” his lover asked with a glint in his eye, “In fact, it’ll help whoever it belongs to. Third time’s the charm, right Gukkie?”
Jeongguk could have listed everything that was wrong with this idea (they had to go back to Namjoon’s so he could attempt another proposal, it was freezing, Jin-hyung’s food was going cold, etc) but as always, Taehyung darted forward and Jeongguk, helplessly in love, followed.
The bakery was warm and inviting, a nice contrast to the cold night air they had been wandering in after they had been tasked with retrieving the right ring. Almost immediately, Taehyung turned around to face him expectantly and Jeongguk was forced to compile a mental list as to why he loved this idiot (his lean body made the best pillow for some strange reason, he played Overwatch with Jeongguk constantly and without complaint, he sang horribly in the shower even though he had the voice of an angel because shower singing has to be bad, Gukkie.)
Sighing mentally, Jeongguk got down on one knee and presented the golden band that he knew for sure was way too big for Taehyung’s knobby fingers. “Kim Taehyung, my love,” he said, too tired to be poetic, but enough in love with the man in front of him that the words came naturally, “It’s been three years since I met you, and every day is as beautiful as they last. Thank you for making my world beautiful. Will you marry me?”
As Taehyung gasped a yes, Jeongguk couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like to see that look in Taehyung’s eyes genuinely, see how it would feel to slide a ring that fit him onto his finger, and place a kiss on his fiancé's lips.
Jeongguk was still wondering these things as he watched Taehyung make up some bullshit excuse about being allergic to chocolate when the server offered him a free brownie, and asked for Turkish Delights instead.
(Seokjin said yes.)
3.
The last time was in the park in the evening- a picturesque setting if there ever was one. Unfortunately, the temperature was much less so. Jeongguk could feel his shirt drenched with sweat, even more so as Taehyung elected to back-hug him despite the heat, in his typical fashion. Their asses were completely broke after moving into a bigger apartment, and even ice cream seemed like a bit of a luxury, especially the mint flavour Jeongguk knew Tae loved and always insisted he get even if his wallet complained.
This time, they didn't even have a ring. Taehyung just hissed, make up some Jimin style new age bullshit, before practically shoving his boyfriend onto one knee. Jeongguk figured new age bullshit allowed for less sap-iness, so he just said, “Baby, will you marry me?”
Taehyung said a grinning yes, grinning even wider as he licked his mint ice cream while Joengguk struggled to explain the philosophy behind not buying a ring.
+1
Jeongguk was going to die.
Logically, he knew Taehyung loved the shit out of him, and would never say no. He knew Taehyung loved him because of many little things, which he listed out in his head to convince himself further (Taehyung bought lamb skewers because Jeongguk loved them, even though he didn't like them much himself, he made Jeongguk shower first in winters so he got hot water, he didn't mind when Jeongguk curled into him at night even though it was already sweaty in summer.)
Still, sitting in the restaurant that he had booked a private room in (though their nosy, oblivious to privacy friends were waiting right next door) was nerve-wracking. Taehyung was due any moment and his heart was going to beat out of his chest and-
Oh, there he was.
Taehyung entered, and the sight of him that usually calmed Jeongguk only made him more nervous this time. “Hey baby,” the elder greeted, bending down to press their lips together. It wasn't overly passionate or leading to anything. It was the kind of kiss you give when you’re with someone you love and are sure about, who you know you have forever to spend with.
The food had already been laid out for them, and Taehyung moaned appreciatively at the sight, no doubt hungry after a long day at the primary school he taught at. When their meal was tucked away, Jeongguk somehow managing to swallow down some, and keep it down, he figured it was go time.
Taehyung had, as always, naturally gravitated towards him. The private room allowed for even more intimacy that usual and the elder was almost in his lap, head rested sideways into the crook of Jeongguk’s neck. It was warm and familiar and suddenly Jeongguk calmed, because this, here, was love and home, and he had nothing to be nervous about at all.
Jeongguk pulled away slightly, so he could face his lover, who looked at him questioningly. Taking a deep breath, Jeongguk pulled out the ring box, presenting it to the man in front of him.
Taehyung looked less surprised than he had expected, “Isn’t that a bit ambitious, baby? I mean, this place is pretty expensive. That might get us dessert, but not much else.”
Wait, what?
Yeah, Jeongguk was back to wishing he was dead. He was proposing to the love of his life, and the aforementioned love of his life thought he was pretending.
Taehyung, oblivious to Jeongguk’s turmoil, was not observing the ring, turning it over. “Wow, baby, this looks genuine, where’d you get it from. Did Namjoon hyung misplace another piece of jewellery? Or did Jimin finally get over himself and put a ring on Yoongi hyung’s finger?”
He laughed a little at his own joke, box smile fading a little when he realised Jeongguk was almost in tears. “Baby,” he gasped out, neglecting the ring in favour of cupping Jeongguk’s face, tracing soothing circles on his cheeks, “What’s wrong?”
Jeongguk opened his mouth to speak, failing twice before he managed to get any coherent words out. “I- Tae, it’s real, the ring is real.”
Now that was the reaction he was waiting for, mouth wide in shock, hand cupped over it, eyes brimming with tears and love and the answer Jeongguk wanted and was waiting for. “Gukkie, baby, are you serious?”
Jeongguk was blubbering a little, too, he had to admit, as he reached for the ring with one hand and his lover with the other. “Yeah, baby, of course I am. We’ve had enough romantic proposal speeches to last us, don’t you think? So, will you marry me baby? I love you so much.”
Taehyung gasped out a yes, and Jeongguk slid the ring onto his finger. This time, the ring wasn't meant for something else, for someone else or non-existent. It was Tae’s and it was his and Jeongguk knew life would be beautiful, just as it always was when he was with Taehyung.
Later as they sat in the room with the invading friends, as Jin critiqued the free dessert, Hoseok performed cringe worthy aegyo at the sight of the ring, and Jimin explained his reasoning behind the futility of marriage (“Bullshit, Gukkie. Wait till I tell him about honeymoon sex, he won’t be so sure then.”) Jeongguk made yet another mental list-
Pros of Marrying Taehyung
- Honeymoon sex
- Married sex
- Can use ring to get free food when required
- Lifetime with love of my life