Work Text:
The soft sound of cars driving off in the distance was all that could be heard in the small studio apartment. The only source of light being from the dimmed phone's screen was the only disturbance to the otherwise still room. The boy that laid on the couch scrolled through Instagram lazily in an effort to pass the time, hoping it would make his boyfriend's return all the more quicker from his point of view.
It was eleven p.m. on a Tuesday night, meaning Minho was working a longer shift than usual. Decided it might be cute to surprise his boyfriend with a late night snack, Jisung finally let his screen turn to black before he got up from the couch. He shuddered as he repositioned the blanket around his shoulders, not wanting to seperate with the warmth it had created around his body.
Humming an unfamiliar tune, he turned on one of the LED-strips that lit up the small kitchen counter. Filling the kettle with some water, he reached over in one of the cabinets to get two packets of chocolate powder. He would've heated up milk if it wasn't for the fact that he was feeling extra lazy today. Besides, the taste was pretty much the same with boiled water as it was with warm milk.
Just as he was stirring the powder around the cups that he'd previously filled with the scorching water, he heard the familiar rustling of Minho's keys at the door. You know how every set of keys sounded different from one another? For Minho's, it was because he had more keychains than actual keys attached to it. Each of the little pendants were given to him by Jisung, who bought one on every holiday they'd been on together. Japan, India, New Zealand and even Austria, each of those countries had a keychain that held their memories.
Minho finally stepped through the door, hair rustled wildly in all the wrong directions. He took of his shoes before walking into the room, giving his boyfriend a tired smile when their eyes landed upon one another.
"Hey baby, I made you some hot coco. Because you deserve it." Jisung smiled, kissing Minho on the lips like they did every time the two got reunited. Some might call it dramatic; they had shared breakfast that morning like always, but to them it was their little greeting that showed just how much they loved each other.
"Hey honey. That sounds great, honestly." The older reached for the steaming cup, taking it as he impatiently took a sip only to burn his tongue in doing so. A curse escaped his lips, allowing Jisung to simply laugh as a response.
"So, how was your shift?"
"Oh— it went by faster than usual, thankfully. No code blues today." Jisung's eyes softened, glad to know his boyfriend's day wasn't filled with an unnecessary amount of stress.
"Good, good." He responded softly, blowing air towards his drink in an effort to cool it down a bit.
"How about you? What did you do today?"
"Hmm, not that much." Jisung frowned a bit, thinking back on how he spent a solid amount of time remodeling his entire island in Animal Crossing, only to end up hating everything he'd changed. "I just played some games, grew tired of playing games, then proceeded to scroll through Tiktok and Instagram for a couple hours."
"Sounds pretty relaxing, right?" Minho responded with a smile, not wanting to say anything that could potentially cause Jisung to overthink his words. The younger had taken a (forced) break from his job after being basically burnt out from it. Any small things could get him upset nowadays, so Minho did his best to only be supportive when there was no reason not to be.
He quickly glanced at the clock, seeing he should get his plan moving before it was too late. His friends were waiting for them, he had to start moving.
"Yeah, it was nice I guess."
"Sung-ah, do you want to go on a walk with me? Along the river? I'm not that tired yet... and I could really do with some fresh air."
"At this hour? Wouldn't it be nicer to just stay inside, all warm and cuddled up on the couch?" His boyfriend protested, the introvert within him clearly not wanting to leave the house.
"Please? I think it would be good for you as well. You've had a bit of a cold, so some fresh air might help out with that."
"Okay, sure. Let me pour my coco in a tumbler, so I can keep my hands warm." Minho watched his boyfriend immediately turn around and reach into a cupboard, chuckling slightly.
"So you're not even going to hold my hand?"
"Dummy, I have two hands? You can't hold both of them whilst we walk, that shit's impossible."
"I can definitely try." The older smuggly replied before gulping down the drink that was honestly still too hot. He was an avid fan of coffee however, it kept him up during his 20 hour work shifts at the hospital, so he was definitely used to hot beverages. His boyfriend however... not so much.
The couple grabbed their coats, the older bringing his keys and wallet as he locked the place up behind them. Jisung snuggled closer into his scarf as his left hand interlocked with Minho's. Even though autumn had only just started it had been surprisingly chilly, causing the usually cold Jisung to bring out his winter coat and scarf already. Thankfully for him, Minho's hands were always really warm... and eager to hold his own.
"Do you remember the first time we went on a walk here?" The older suddenly asked as they walked on the trail leading to the path along the river. Jisung sipped from his tumbler, swaying their hands slowly as a smile reached his lips.
"Of course, I remember all of our dates! But this one is extra special, because I remember Jeongin stood us up on purpose."
"Yeah, that little shit 'suddenly couldn't make it' and just left us to ourselves. Does that technically even count as a date, if it wasn't planned?"
"It does to me... and seeing you also thought of this as our first date, it seems you agree!"
"Yeah, how could I forget the way you fell asleep on my shoulder on that swinging bench? My heart really tugged when you did that, god I was so whipped for you already." Minho laughed at the end of his sentence, shaking his head as he remembered his feelings from back then.
"I was so fucking embarrassed, god damn. I already had a major crush on you and then I just did that?! Accidentally?! I mean god bless college for the sleep deprivation because me doing that surely sped up our friendship, but still. I wanted to bang my head into a wall when Chan hyung laughed when I told him."
"And he still would even though it's been eight years since then."
"Oh, definitely..."
The two boys fell silent for a moment, both eyes showing the happiness alongside their smiles. Minho pulled out his phone for a moment, probably responding to a text as Jisung watched the boy struggle to type with one hand from his peripheral vision.
"You can let go of my hand too, you know?" His suggestion was met with an exaggerated gasp.
"Let go? Of your hand?? I could never."
"Okay okay! I get it Romeo." Jisung rolled his eyes before he watched Minho put his phone back into his pocket. He just responded with a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"I'm glad I don't have to flirt with you anymore, I can just make poor attempts and you can't do anything about it. You're stuck with me already." Minho continued as he glanced over at his boyfriend, who had started taking sips of his drink again.
"Hmm, you can also actually flirt with me, it's kinda hot when you do."
"Still? After dating for so long?"
"Dude, you're my boyfriend. Anything you do is hot to me, come on now." Jisung admitted bluntly, causing Minho to be at a loss of words.
Their infamous swinging bench came into view and to neithers surprise; it was vacant. At this time of day, not many people were out anymore even though it usually was quite a busy spot to work out.
The two only had to make eye contact as both shared the exact same though. Jisung's eyes held a glimpse of mischievousness and before it could register in the older's mind, the boy's hand was detached from his and he was now running towards the swing.
All Minho could do was laugh at his boyfriend, who seemed ecstatic over his victory in the unannounced race. He joined Jisung moments later, whom was already sprawled out on the seat as it rocked back and forth ever so slightly.
"Move your ass, bitch."
"Ass moved, asshole."
Minho sat down beside Jisung as he wrapped one of his arms around the younger. The two stared at the water in silence, the smile they had worn all evening still not dissapearing from their features. The older reached into the pocket of his jacket, breathing a sigh of relief before starting yet another conversation.
"Do you believe in the red string of fate?"
"No... but I'm wearing red underwear?"
"... Jesus Christ Jisung, I'm trying to create a moment here." Minho laughed in slight disbelief, wondering why and how Jisung's mind worked in the way it did. The latter laughed as well, shrugging his shoulders ever so slightly.
"My bad? But either way; I don't need some 'red string of fate' to know that you're the only one I'll ever love." Jisung said as he took his gaze away from the water, now staring into Minho's eyes which had widened slightly.
"You're such a smooth talker." He then said, pecking the younger's lips quickly.
"What can I say? It's probably the red underwear." Both boys laughed, Minho shaking his head as he tried to recompose himself. He pulled back the arm that was still resting on Jisung's shoulder as he straightened his back a bit.
"Anyways— what I was going to say before you rudely gave me the wrong answer..." he paused, faking a glare at Jisung who could only roll his eyes as a response, before he continued, "I was going to say that I always feel like we're connected. Whenever I'm away from you, I only wish to see you more. When you're next to me, I want to pull you even closer. So I believe that whether a red string exists or not, there is definitely something that keeps us together."
He watched Jisung nod his head, not interrupting him as the boy probably noticed Minho hadn't finished talking yet. He took in a deep breath before he continued on. Hand reaching into his pocket again, this time he firmly grasped the small box as he stood up, confusing Jisung in the process.
"I want to experience these feelings for you— and with you, forever." The younger's eyes widened slightly as he got an idea of what was happening. His mouth parted slightly in shock as he watched Minho go on one knee in front of him, hands reaching upwards automatically to hide his shock. The black box came into view and it took less than a second for Jisung's eyes to start watering, completely overwhelmed by all of his emotions.
"We've been together for eight years now and even though we can't legally get married, we can at least be legally engaged. So, will you do the honors of being not only my boyfriend, but my fiancé as well?" Minho finished, watching his boyfriend with the worst feeling of anticipation and anxiety he's ever felt in his entire life. Jisung only stared back at him for a moment, before his hands moved from before his mouth to hold onto Minho's, encasing the box containing a beautiful ring between them.
"Y-Yes! Yes! I'll be your fiancé!" He yelled out at last before he let himself fall forward to hug his boyfr— fiancé. Minho's eyes finally started tearing up too, stress being replaced by an unhealthy amount of relief. He hugged Jisung back, nudging his head into the crook of his neck.
Their sweet moment was interrupted by loud cheering coming from either side of them. Minho instantly smiled and when he pulled back from Jisung, he could see the confusion plastered on the latter's face.
All their friends were now surrounding them, Hyunjin holding a camera whilst Felix and Chan were also filming on their phones.
"Congratulations!" Everyone yelled simultaneously whilst the ones with their hands free applauded the two boys.
"T-Thanks? You guys knew?"
"Duh. Do you really think Minho hyung went to work today? He was over at my place all day today, uncontrollably nervous and a jittery mess!" Changbin explained, causing Jisung's expression to go from surprised to betrayed.
"And Seungmin and I were sitting on this bench for like an hour waiting for a text from Minho, to make sure no random couple stole the spot from you." Chan added, causing Jisung's frown to deepen even more.
"I'm never trusting you all again, holy shit. How come you can be so coordinated when it comes to this, yet we can never decide on what to order for takeout." He grumbled, squinting his eyes at all of them as he pretended to be mad. His facade fell quickly though, as he realised his boyfriend seemed eager to gain his attention.
"Can I put the damned ring on you already?" He chuckled as Jisung smiled shyly before he nodded, having forgotten all about that part. Hyunjin took a step closer to zoom in on the special moment and for once, the group of eight was silent. The silence was short lived because as soon as Minho had carefully slipped on the ring, Felix began screaming again.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" He yelled as a few stray tears cascaded down his cheeks.
"Thank you, you can be the bridesmaid, Lixie." Jisung laughed, everyone joining along when it seemed to make their friend forget about his tears instantly.
The group chatted for around an hour more until no sane human would want to be out on the streets anymore, and so everyone began to say goodbye.
The fresh pair of fiancé's walked slowly, hands intertwined as the two spoke softly amongst themselves.
"Did you expect me to propose?"
"Honestly, not really? At least not today. I truly had no idea until you suddenly stood up after bringing up a deep subject." Jisung responded with a giggle as he glanced over to spot a grin on Minho's face.
"I'm glad to hear that, honestly. I know we've talked about marriage before... and the fact we can't actually get married. But disregarding that, we both wanted to? So I knew you wouldn't oppose the idea to be engaged, but it was still scary. And it also ment that I had to be a bit sneakier with the planning, knowing we'd discussed it before and how you might grow suspicious."
"You truly did great, hyung. Anywhere and any time would have been fine, but knowing you chose the evening because I love the moon and the place where we had our first date made it perfect."
"I'm glad you realised I did it for the moon, even though it was quite cloudy tonight."
"It's okay, it's the thoughts and effort that count. We might not have seen it but it's still up there in the sky, just not visible to us."
"Just like the red string of fate."
"Just like my underwear."
"Ji—"
"What?! It's true!"