Chapter Text
“So, tell me again, what were you doing when this happened?”
Taeyong rolled his eyes, pouting as his boyfriend Doyoung carefully dabbed neosporin gel onto one of the half dozen scrapes that criss-crossed the elder’s leg.
“I was just trying to change a light bulb,” he huffed.
Doyoung looked up at him from over the rim of his glasses as he reached for another bandage from the box on the table.
“And how were you doing that, Taeyong?”
“I was standing on a rolly chair,” he grumbled.
“Right,” Doyoung hummed. “So like, the number one thing you shouldn’t ever stand on. Makes sense.”
It was Doyoung’s Friday and he had arrived at his boyfriend’s apartment for their usual movie and take-out night, but instead he found this nonsense. There was already the requisite amount of shouting and griping back and forth, with Doyoung wondering what on earth happened to him and Taeyong adamantly asserting that he was perfectly fine.
Doyoung’s lips had been pulled into a tight line of frustration since he had helped Taeyong hobble to the sink on his twisted ankle and clean out the cuts from the fall. His boyfriend was a klutz, but this was pretty bad, even for him.
They now found themselves sat at the small kitchen table, with Taeyong’s slender leg propped up in the other’s lap.
Taeyong slumped back in his chair and pushed a hand through his blonde hair while Doyoung began wrapping the rapidly swelling joint.
“Doyoung, I’m fi—”
“Oh, you’re ‘fine?’ Taeyong, this,” Doyoung gestured dramatically down at his leg. “Is not what I would classify as fine.”
Taeyong sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He avoided Doyoung’s eyes until he dropped them back down.
“Honestly, I might have to take you to a doctor tomorrow,” he muttered, more to himself than anything.
Taeyong chose to ignore it.
Once the younger was done, he carefully lowered Taeyong’s leg to the ground so he could get some ice from the freezer. He pulled a handful of cubes out and wrapped them in a dish towel before leaning down beside the elder. He tugged loose one of his boyfriend’s arms and looped it around his neck.
With a small huff, Taeyong let himself be lifted off the chair, leaning his weight onto the other. The pain of limping even the short distance from the kitchen to the living room made him wince, but it was a good distraction from Doyoung’s mood at the moment.
He was guided down onto the couch, where Doyoung lifted the more damaged leg up onto a couple of stacked pillows before settling the ice onto his swollen joint and standing upright once more.
He took in a slow, deep breath and Taeyong could tell he was currently making an effort to temper himself.
“Okay. I’m going to run out and grab some dinner—”
“From where?”
“The Thai place. They’re always pretty fast,” he said calmly. “Please just...don’t move.”
Taeyong nodded. He knew his boyfriend had exceeded the point of anger and was now in range of disappointment. Which made Taeyong even more annoyed.
He tried to grab for the TV remote off the coffee table, but it was just out of reach. All he could do was sit and stew as the front door closed behind his boyfriend.
\\\
Doyoung roamed the aisles of the convenience store beside their favorite Thai place. He stopped in after picking up their food, knowing Taeyong was now low on bandages.
In truth, he was feeling a little guilty for his reaction, even though he felt his irritation was valid. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened and Doyoung was frustrated that someone so careless could be so obstinate about living alone.
The pair had been together and committed for over a year. They’d talked about a future with each other often. And yet, Taeyong clung onto his rule about not wanting to move in together yet.
Thus, situations like this were bound to keep happening. It was almost exasperating.
“Why is he so ridiculous?” he murmured to himself, turning down the aisle with first aid supplies.
Doyoung examined the options and went to pull the value-sized box of band-aids off the shelf, but his hand wavered. Beside it was a tiny pack of Hello Kitty themed bandages – insanely overpriced but cute. It was exactly the kind of frivolous thing Taeyong would gravitate towards.
He plucked it from its spot along with the large box.
“He’s ridiculous, but he’s mine,” he sighed, resigned.
Doyoung continued to peruse, grabbing a basket from the end of the aisle. He walked slowly, picking up this, that, and the other to bring back to his boyfriend.
Ten minutes later, the clerk was ringing him up at the counter.
“That’ll be $112.74.”
Doyoung let out a huge exhale. Love was expensive but he had a point to make tonight.
While he pulled out his wallet, he noticed a keychain dangling from a rack about a foot away. It had a charm of a sleepy kitten with massive eyes that reminded him of his boyfriend.
“Can you add this too?”
The clerk hummed and soon Doyoung was on his way.
///
“I’m back.”
Taeyong called out a dreary “Okay.”
In the last half hour, being stuck alone with his thoughts, he had come around to feeling remorseful. He already knew how much Doyoung worried about him and he understood that he should be respectful of that and try to be more careful.
Taeyong was prepared to say all these things but was at once distracted by the extra bags hanging from the other’s hands.
“What’s all that?”
Doyoung set the paper bag containing their dinner on the coffee table in front of Taeyong along with the others.
“Well, I stopped by the convenience store to pick up a few things,” he started, passing one bag to Taeyong.
He took it and set it on his tummy cautiously before rummaging through it.
“Band-aids… Two boxes…” Taeyong examined it more closely. “You bought me Hello Kitty bandages? That’s not very you.”
He quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Alright, look,” Doyoung started, holding his hands up apologetically. “I started to feel a little bad about how I reacted. You may be a mess, but you’re my mess. So I got you a few extra things.”
The corner of Taeyong’s lips turned up. “They’re very cute, thank you. I’m sure I’ll be using them soon.”
“Yeah I’m sure too. Keep going, there’s more.”
The elder nodded and delved back in the bag.
“Aw, well this guy is cute,” he cooed, pulling out an ultra-plushy stuffed teddy bear that held a little balloon which read ‘Congrats!’ in big, sparkly letters. “Congrats for...?”
“Congrats for being the biggest dumbass I know,” Doyoung explained. “Let it be a cute reminder to think before you do something stupid, like stand on a rolly chair.”
Taeyong blushed and looked up at his boyfriend. Giggles bubbled up in his throat, sputtering out in a goofy laugh. This was very on-brand for Doyoung’s humor which could only mean everything was okay between them, settled wordlessly.
This was why Taeyong loved him. Because despite caring for him deeply, Doyoung never seemed to pull any punches with him.
And somehow, the younger still managed to find ways to soften the blow.
“Okay, okay, that’s fair,” Taeyong chuckled. He rustled inside the bag again. “Chocolates… More chocolates… Ooh, fancy chocolates. Nice touch.”
He stacked the candy on the coffee table.
“Alright, this next one is weird: a medical bracelet? What’s the story here?”
“Um yeah, for your fucking life-threatening levels of clumsiness,” Doyoung said. “You’re practically a danger to society.”
Taeyong threw his head back against the arm of the sofa as he tried to stifle a horrible cackle.
“Wow, you’re such an ass,” he laughed. In all honesty, he couldn’t help but be impressed by how far his boyfriend was going for a stupid but weirdly adorable gag.
“Thank you,” Doyoung answered proudly, while Taeyong tried to regain a semblance of composure.
He took a deep breath and continued searching the bag.
“Um, let’s see... we got about a hundred Nerds Ropes?”
Taeyong struggled to clutch at the literally dozens of long, thin candies in their shiny wrappers.
“There was a sale,” Doyoung shrugged.
The elder tried to swallow his laughter again. “It, uh...kind of looks like you just took the whole display box off the shelf, babe.”
“Yes,” Doyoung said matter-of-factly. “It was a good sale. And you like sugar.”
Taeyong hummed, barely able to contain his grin. The bag had been emptied and he twirled his finger over the fluffy fur of the teddy bear.
“Is that all?”
“There’s more garbage in the other bag. I basically just grabbed every silly little thing I would normally have to talk you out of buying,” Doyoung said. “But there is one more important thing.”
“Oh?”
Doyoung knelt beside him and handed over a smaller bag. Taeyong took it and quickly dumped out the contents into his hand.
“Aw. It’s a cute kitty keychain, thank—,” he paused, eyes locking onto the brass key attached. “What’s this?”
He smiled at Doyoung, but the younger suddenly seemed a little more serious.
“I know you have your rule about not moving in with anyone until you’re engaged,” he said softly, taking the other’s thin hand in both of his. “I understand that. But I also understand that I hate being away from you. I hate living all the way across town. I hate that I can’t go to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning.”
“Doie, I—”
“God, just let me finish, please,” Doyoung groaned. “Taeyong, I love you so much. I know I want to be with you forever. I want to argue with you until I die. I want to take care of your helpless ass until I literally can’t take care of myself anymore. Move in with me. Marry me.”
Taeyong looked from the key to his boyfriend to the key again, gulping reflexively. He knew his answer already, despite being caught so off guard tonight.
But Doyoung’s eyes were so wide, pleading and hopeful that he couldn’t help but fuck with him.
“Is this really your proposal?”
“Yes, this is really my proposal,” Doyoung said, fighting off the urge to roll his eyes during this supposedly special moment. “So, yes or no?”
“Hmm…”
Doyoung pinched his eyes closed and sighed.
“I’m kidding. Obviously, I’m kidding,” Taeyong continued. The angle was awkward, but he took the other’s face in his hands and leaned forward for a kiss. “Yes, I will marry you.”
The younger smiled that gummy smile that Taeyong so adored and surged forward, smothering his new fiancé’s face with his lips.
“On the condition that you remembered to order the right spice level for my panang curry,” Taeyong giggled between kisses.
Doyoung huffed.
“You’re so annoying,” he mumbled before one last peck, marveling at the other’s giant, beautiful eyes. He’d be happy to get lost in them for the rest of his life. “But I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Taeyong whispered. “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”
~