Chapter Text
“So are you gonna meet me at my house when I get there, or are you going to make me drive all the way over to your house even though I’ve already spent an ungodly amount of time driving today?” Kai asked his boyfriend of three years as he took the exit off the highway that would lead him to his neighborhood. They hadn’t seen each other since they had left to go to their respective universities at the end of the summer, and Kai didn’t want to have to wait the extra fifteen minutes it would take to drive to Sehun’s house to see him.
“Uh, here’s the thing,” Sehun started to say, already sounding apologetic. “I kind of have some stuff to do, so I’m not going to be able to see you tonight.”
“Seriously? Sehun, you knew I was coming home tonight, why would you make other plans?” Kai asked, maybe a little whinier than he had intended to be. It was late, he was tired, and he just wanted to curl up in his bed with his personal space heater until about noon the next day. Was that really too much to ask for?
“I’m sorry. We’ve got someone coming in from out of town, and my parents are both at my dad’s company Christmas party, so I have to pick them up from the airport. I promise I’ll make it up to you soon.”
“Yeah, sure,” Kai mumbled petulantly. Just then he heard another voice through the phone. He couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it was apparent they were talking to Sehun.
“Hey, I gotta go now,” Sehun said loudly, like he was trying to talk over the other person.
“Wait, who’s-“
“I’ll talk to you later, ok? I love you,” Sehun rushed out. Kai barely had time to manage a quick ‘love you, too’ before the line went dead. Well that definitely wasn’t how Kai wanted to start his winter break.
Finally making it home, Kai let himself sit in the parked car and pout for a minute before opening the door and letting in a blast of frigid air. As quickly as he could, he grabbed his bags from the back seat and ran to the front door, narrowly avoiding a patch of ice at the bottom of the porch steps. Just as he was pulling his key out of his pocket, he heard the lock click and then the door flew open.
“Kai!” His mother immediately enveloped him in a bone-breaking hug. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so happy to see you!” she gushed, smothering him with kisses. Kai couldn’t help but laugh and pretend to struggle to get away. “Where’s Sehun? I haven’t seen him yet.”
Sighing sadly, Kai picked up the bag he had dropped when he was hug-tackled and followed his mom inside. “He said he had to pick someone up from the airport because his parents are at a Christmas party, so he won’t be here tonight.”
“Aww, sweetie, I’m sorry. But I’m sure you’ll see him soon. Did you eat dinner yet? Do you want me to make you something?”
“I’m good, but thanks. I’m honestly just tired, so I’m probably gonna go to bed,” Kai said, punctuating his statement with a yawn. With one last hug from his mom, Kai made his way up to his room.
***
Kai woke up the next morning in a better mood than when he went to sleep. He sent Sehun a quick ‘good morning’ text like he did every day, then grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom for a shower. The nearly scalding water worked wonders to ease the tension that had built up in his muscles from sitting in the car for so long the day before, and he spent a good amount of time just standing under the spray and enjoying it.
By the time he finally left the bathroom-turned-sauna, he was much more relaxed… and Sehun still hadn’t texted him back. It had easily been half an hour, what the hell? Ok, chill out, Kai, it’s still only 10:30, maybe he’s sleeping. It is a holiday after all. Almost satisfied with his own reasoning, Kai sighed dejectedly and went downstairs to find something for breakfast.
There was a note on the kitchen table from his mom telling him that she had specifically bought his favorite foods when she went grocery shopping that week, so he had better plan on eating at home instead of going out, and that she loved him and would see him for dinner. Kai smiled fondly ad set the note back down.
Looking through the fridge and cupboards he realized that his mom wasn’t kidding; she really had gotten all of his most favorite things. Unfortunately he wasn’t the most successful person in front of the stove, so he would have to wait for her to get home if he wanted it done right. He was pretty capable of handling something as simple as eggs and toast, thought, so he would settle for that in the meantime. Just as he was setting his plate on the table, he finally heard his phone’s text notification sound.
From Sehun 10:52 AM
morning. sorry i didn’t answer sooner. i’ve been busy
Well that was vague.
To Sehun 10:53 AM
Busy with what?
Kai was sure he wouldn’t have to wait as long for a response this time since Sehun had literally just texted him, so he kept his phone in his hand, waiting for his reply. When the screen went black with no new messages, he huffed in annoyance and turned his attention to his food. It wasn’t until after he had finished eating and washed all of his dishes that he finally got an answer.
From Sehun 11:14 AM
just stuff
Really?
To Sehun 11:15 AM
Well when will you be done with “just stuff”? Will I get to see you today?
From Sehun 11:18 AM
i’m not sure. i’ll text you later
It was obvious to Kai then that he wasn’t going to have any luck having a decent conversation with him, so he gave up for the time being. He dropped his phone on the kitchen table and headed for the living room. There were plenty of episodes of his favorite shows saved on the DVR, and it suddenly seemed like the perfect time to catch up on all of them.
Six full hour-long episodes later, Kai was startled by the sound of the garage door opening. He untangled himself from the pile of blankets he had buried himself under and stood up from the couch, joints popping as he moved for the first time in hours, and went to welcome his mom home.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said in greeting when he walked into the kitchen just as she was coming in the door from the garage. “How was your day?” Kai grumbled an incomprehensible reply as he gave her a hug. “Are you the only one here?” Kai nodded against her shoulder. “I figured you and Sehun would be inseparable the minute you got home.”
Kai dropped his arms to his sides and turned sluggishly to pick his phone up from the table. “He had stuff to do today. He was supposed to text me when he was done, but I guess he’s still busy,” he explained, holding his phone up to show her the lack of notifications.
“Why don’t you ask him to come over for dinner?” she suggested, taking her coat off and walking past him to hang it up on the coat rack next to the front door.
After a moment of deliberation, Kai opened his contacts and found Sehun’s name. Figuring he would have better luck if he actually talked to him, he touched the dial button and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then listened to Sehun’s voice mail recording. He briefly considered leaving a message, but decided not to and hung up. He almost dropped his phone when it buzzed a few seconds later.
From Sehun 5:28 PM
sorry, can’t answer the phone right now. what’s up?
Oh, so he couldn’t answer the phone, but he could text? And couldn’t even do that without prompting?
To Sehun 5:29 PM
I was going to ask you to come over for dinner, but I guess you’re still busy.
From Sehun 5:31 PM
i am, sorry :( grandma wanted everyone to go to church for some christmas program she helped put together. it just started
“Is he going to be here?” Kai’s mom asked as she reentered the kitchen, work clothes exchanged for casual ones.
“No, he’s at church with his grandma,” Kai answered, once again abandoning his phone on the table.
“Well, maybe tomorrow,” his mom said encouragingly, enlisting him to help get everything together to start cooking.
***
Unfortunately Sehun couldn’t make it the next day, either. Every time Kai asked him to come over, or if Kai could go to his house, Sehun had an excuse for why it couldn’t happen.
To Sehun 10:45 AM
Good morning. What are you doing today?
From Sehun 10:52 AM
morning. busy busy. with mom to help her with last minute xmas shopping. this is the worst kind of torture
To Sehun 10:53 AM
Aww, sorry. Why didn’t you ask me to come? I could have kept you company.
From Sehun 11:02 AM
we’ve been out for 3 hours already. didn’t want to wake you up that early
To Sehun 11:03 AM
I’d give up a few hours of sleep to spend time with you.
***
To Sehun 3:32 PM
Hey, are you still with your mom?
From Sehun 3:37 PM
yeah. she decided to meet up with her friend like an hour away but I couldn’t go home because she needs me to help carry shit or something stupid like that
To Sehun 3:39 PM
You poor thing. Tell me when you get home and I’ll come give you a massage.
From Sehun 3:40 PM
sure thing, babe ;)
***
To Sehun 8:27 PM
So it’s like 8:30. Are you home yet?
From Sehun 8:33 PM
i just got here, but i’m leaving again in like 10. didn’t seem fair to tell you to come over when i have to leave again
To Sehun 8:34 PM
Where are you going?
From Sehun 8:37 PM
to dinner with my aunt. you know the one with the money? dad said we all had to go. i think he’s hoping we’ll all get checks for xmas or something
To Sehun 8:38 PM
Probably. Tell everyone I say hi at least. And call me before you go to bed. I haven’t talked to you in 17 years and I’ve forgotten how annoying your voice is.
From Sehun 8:40 PM
will do <3
***
To Sehun 10:18 AM
You never called me :(
From Sehun 10:42 AM
i’m sorry. we didn’t get home til midnight and I laid down for like 2 seconds and passed out
To Sehun 10:44 AM
Oh, ok. Well since you’re up now, do you want to come over? I need someone to help me attempt to make French toast :)
From Sehun 10:49 AM
i’ve gotta be somewhere in like 20, so i can’t
To Sehun 10:50 AM
How long do you think this thing is going to take?
From Sehun 10:51 AM
really not sure. might have to go to a few different places
To Sehun 10:52 AM
Maybe I can go with you? I can help with whatever you’re doing and you’ll be done sooner.
From Sehun 11:15 AM
that’s really nice of you to offer but i’m already here and you really can’t help
To Sehun 11:22 AM
You know what, never mind. It’s only been four months since we’ve seen each other, but you obviously don’t care, so I’ll stop bothering you. I won’t bug you for the rest of the day.
From Sehun 11:24 AM
Kai, I want to see you.
From Sehun 11:25 AM
I really do have something important to do today, and you really can’t help with it.
From Sehun 11:26 AM
I promise this is the last thing I have to do before I can see you, I just don’t know how long it’s going to take.
From Sehun 11:28 AM
I’ll let you know when I’m done, then we can hang out, ok?
From Sehun 11:36 AM
???
From Sehun 11:38 AM
Are you really going to be like this?
From Sehun 11:45 AM
Fine, I’m still going to call you later.
It was hard to do, but Kai managed to not respond to anything Sehun said to him, even when he started to use proper spelling and grammar. If Sehun was going to be too busy for Kai without even having the courtesy to tell him what he was doing, then Kai was going to be too busy for Sehun without talking to him either. Maybe if Sehun knew what it felt like to be continuously brushed off he would realize what he was doing to his boyfriend. Unless he wanted Kai to start ignoring him…
Oh no, that was it, wasn’t it? That must have been Sehun’s plan; he was going to make Kai act like the bad guy, nagging and being clingy and annoying, so Sehun wouldn’t feel bad breaking up with him. The distance must have finally gotten to be too much for him. Now he wanted to call it quits so he could start over with someone he could actually see every day instead of only summers and two or three holidays throughout the rest of the year-
Wait, that didn’t make any sense. He and Sehun had known each other most of their lives. Sehun wouldn’t do that to him. Sehun wasn’t that type of person.
Except he had mentioned hanging out with a new group of people at the beginning of the school year. Maybe they were assholes and had rubbed off on him too much so now he thought it was acceptable to break up with him in a really shitty way and-
No. No, Sehun wouldn’t do that. He just wouldn’t…
Kai’s thoughts went back and forth for a while. Just when he would convince himself he was being ridiculous, he would start to doubt himself again. Trying to distract himself, he started sorting the dirty laundry he had brought home with him. When that didn’t work he tried cleaning his room. Then the basement.
After three hours of working himself up, he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to talk to someone or he was going to have a spectacular freak out. Flopping down onto his bed and reaching across it to grab his phone from where it was half buried under a pillow, he unlocked it and dialed one of the few numbers he had memorized.
“Taemin, Sehun’s going to break up with me,” he sobbed dramatically into the phone as soon as his call was answered.
“What? No he’s not. You guys are the most disgustingly in love couple I know. It’s pretty gross, honestly,” Taemin said, not fazed by his friend’s dramatics after knowing him and having to deal with him for so long.
“Then why doesn’t he want to see me?”
“He always wants to see you.”
“Then why has he turned me down every time I’ve tried to spend time with him since I got home?”
“Maybe he has a super special Christmas gift for you that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from giving to you early if you were in the same room,” Taemin suggested.
“That’s… oddly specific. Do you know something about a special gift?” Kai inquired, momentarily distracted from his woes.
“If I did do you think I’d be allowed to tell you? Yes, that one, you liked it more the first time you saw it than any of the others we’ve seen. I think it’s perfect. Get it.”
“Umm, what? Where are you? Who are you talking to?” Kai asked, thoroughly confused.
“I’m helping a friend pick out an engagement ring,” Taemin answered like it was no big deal.
“What?! You know someone who’s getting married? Who is it?” Kai demanded. He and Taemin had a lot of mutual friends even though Taemin been a year ahead of him and had graduated the previous year, and Kai hadn’t heard any of them talk about getting married.
“I mean, technically no one yet. They’re literally buying the ring right now. The question has yet to be popped.”
“Whatever. Seriously, who is it? Do I have any classes with them? Did they graduate already?”
“No, they haven’t graduated, but you also don’t have any classes with them. I would love to tell you exactly who it is, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough anyway. This isn’t one of those ‘oh I’m gonna keep this ring in my dresser drawer for six months and chicken out every time I think about asking’ situations. They’re pretty committed.”
“Ugh, fine, whatever. Not like I would tell anyone else,” Kai grumbled. “Tell them I said good luck anyway.”
“Kai says good luck,” Taemin said, relaying the message diligently. Kai heard the person laugh in the background before Taemin spoke again. “Ok, I gotta go. The perfect ring has been purchased, so my job is done, and I have other places to be. Stop worrying about Sehun, he’s never going to leave you. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Thanks, Tae.” Kai dropped the phone on the pillow next to his head and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time in the last few days.
Taemin seemed pretty sure of the fact that Sehun wasn’t, in fact, going to break his heart. Two years ago he wouldn’t have trusted that opinion (mainly because Taemin would have been telling Kai to break up with him first. It had taken a while for the two of them to get along after their initial meeting. Sehun had to apologize more than once before they could move on and actually start to become friends, which did eventually happen), but now he mostly trusted it. Hearing him say it so matter-of-factly was actually really reassuring. Before he could let the anxiety start to creep back in and exhaust him further, Kai decided he was going to take a short nap before he tried to talk to Sehun again.
***
He was woken up sometime later by someone crawling into his bed behind him, obviously trying to do so careful so as not to wake him. Blinking open his eyes, he turned his head to see who it was.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, closing his eyes again and letting his face fall back into the pillow so it was half muffled.
“Well that’s not the enthusiastic greeting I was expecting,” Sehun said amusedly, wrapping his arms around Kai’s waist. Kai grumbled a bit, but didn’t make any move to stop him.
“I figured you would have just been annoyed since I’ve been bothering you too much lately.”
“You haven’t been bothering me, I’ve just been busy,” Sehun said.
“Too busy to see me,” Kai said accusingly.
“Yes, too busy to see you,” Sehun agreed. “And I’m going to break up with you, too.” Kai’s eyes shot open, his entire body tensing at hearing what he had most dreaded. “Or that’s what Taemin tells me anyway,” Sehun added before Kai could have a panic attack.
“You’re an ass,” Kai whined.
“I know,” Sehun said, laughing. “You have to know I would never actually break up with you, though. You know too many of my secrets.”
Kai finally started to relax then. It was obvious to him now that Sehun was finally with him that he had been overreacting. “Yeah, I know,” he mumbled into his pillow.
They laid there in silence for a while then. Sehun’s hand found its way just under the hem of Kai’s shirt where he started drawing random patterns against his skin in an effort to calm him even further. Kai relaxed into the touch until something Sehun said registered in his mind.
“Wait, when did you talk to Taemin?” Kai asked. “He said he was busy today. I only talked to him for like five minutes.”
“Oh, it was probably about two hours ago,” Sehun said. A quick glance at the alarm clock next to the bed told Kai that that would have been around three o’clock, right around the time Kai had talked to him, which meant-
“He said he was helping someone pick out an engagement ring earlier. Did he tell you who it was? He wouldn’t tell me,” Kai said, looking back at sehun over his shoulder.
“No, he didn’t tell me,” Sehun said, and Kai flopped back onto his face, frustrated at being kept in the dark about something so interesting. “But I know who it is anyway,” Sehun whispered in his ear conspiratorially. Kai rolled over quickly to face him.
“How do you know who it is if he didn’t… tell…” The rest of his sentence died out and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when Sehun calmly pulled a small black box out of his pocket and held it in front of Kai’s face. “No fucking way, that is not what I think it is,” he whispered in shock, sitting up abruptly and staring at it like it would disappear if he took his eyes off it.
“I guess that depends on what you think it is. If you think it’s a unicorn, then you’re right, it’s not what you think it is. But if you think it’s a very specific piece of jewelry,” Sehun said, opening the box to reveal a simple but stunning white gold band with a single diamond set in the center, “then I hate to say it, but you’re wrong.”
Kai’s jaw dropped and he may have forgotten how to breathe.
“This isn’t exactly how I planned for this to happen, but you never answered any of my calls or texts to ask if you would meet me for dinner tonight, so I had to come over and make sure you weren’t dead or anything.”
Kai tore his eyes away from the ring to check his phone which did, indeed, show several missed calls and texts from the other. “Sorry,” he mumbled absentmindedly.
“No worries,” Sehun said with a soft smile, honestly not looking bothered by it one bit. “So, even though this is now the least romantic proposal in the history of proposals, what do you say; do you feel like being stuck with me forever?” he asked from where he was still casually lounging on Kai’s bed.
Kai looked up at Sehun’s face, taking in the happy, hopeful expression he was wearing. The emotions suddenly bombarding him were too much to handle, and the only thing he could do to express them was burst into laughter.
“Uh, rude,” Sehun said, feigning offense.
“Oh my god this is ridiculous,” Kai choked out between gasps for air. “Is this actually happening right now? I’m not dreaming, right?” Sehun pinched him. “Ow, fucker! That hurt!” Kai yelped, smacking him back.
“Not dreaming,” Sehun confirmed, ignoring the return abuse to his arm. “And, I mean, we’ve always been pretty ridiculous, so this is pretty much par for the course.” He pulled the ring out of the box and grabbed Kai’s left hand, sliding it onto his finger. “So?” he prompted Kai, once again looking up at him expectantly.
Kai leaned down and gave him a quick kiss through the light chuckles that just wouldn’t stop. “Yes, obviously.”