High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Dec 16, 2019 23:13:46 GMT -8
Yunjin and Theo had been talking about the idea of the future and where they saw themselves going for a while off and on. Yunjin was pretty sure that they were on the same page, but they'd been living together for a while now. It was especially feeling real as the kids were starting to move out. Thomas first, to Korea for university and to be close to Kangwan, which was to be expected, since he was the eldest. Then Tai, also to Korea to become a trainee, which had surprised Yunjin only in how soon it had happened. He was glad that Thomas was there to watch out for Tai though because it would have been hard for him to move himself there with how fast the whole process went. Teagan was coming up on the end of high school and looking at various programs, and Yunjin figured that it would only be a matter of time until he moved out too, though it was less certain. Yunjin and Theo had both been put in the position of taking on the parenting role too young, and it was strange to be reaching his late twenties and suddenly not having much in the way of parenting duties left.
He finally felt ready to actually push the conversation a little bit further of where their future was leading them. He was pretty sure that he wanted to marry Theo if Theo wanted that too, so he'd been plotting for a while to propose to Theo in a setting that they wouldn't get interrupted.
He'd kept track of their schedules, and about a week before, he'd asked Theo if he wanted to go out to dinner at Shabuway as a date on a night that they both had free. It had been where they'd had their very first date, a good four years ago now. He'd not gotten a ring, that was something that he wanted to do together, but he'd gotten a fancy red envelope, one of the ones with double happiness on the front and a dragon and a phoenix making a heart. It was a sappy envelope, but he liked it. He'd printed some pictures of the two of them, and of things that made him think of the two of them in there, and in the middle of the stack, he'd put a piece of paper with the question on it, written in his nicest handwriting with rainbow lettering.
He felt a little bit silly at how antsy he was about it, and he just hoped that the date night would go according to plan. He had just gotten home, and he slipped off his shoes, calling out, "I'm home!"
He wasn't sure if he'd beaten Theo back to the house or not. Sheng knew what was up, so he had made himself scarce for the evening, though that wasn't hard with his coaching schedule. Teagan had been planning to go over to a friend's after school for a while last Yunjin had checked, but he was old enough that he could be home alone for a while, and he'd been warned that Theo and Yunjin were going out.
Theo Fan
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Feb 17, 2020 19:38:39 GMT -8
Theo had wanted to propose to Yunjin for a while now, but he was trying to figure out the right moment. when Yunjin mentioned wanting to go on a date to Shabuway, he felt like the location of their first date was a good place to make more memories. He didn't have a ring, per say, but his work had held a kid-friendly fundraiser for Valentine's Day and passed out cute rubber bracelets with hearts on a rainbow background, and he collected enough candy hearts left over from the event to actually find one that said "marry me." It was probably the silliest proposal gift someone could give, but he felt like it was one Yunjin would appreciate. He had the two items packed in a small box, and it was sitting in his pocket. He had left work a little early that day to make it home before or at the same time as Yunjin, and he was thankful he did so because he came across three different accidents on his way home, one of them rather nasty looking, which caused a minor panic attack on his part, though thankfully nothing serious, and some breathing exercises and a splash of cold water to the face helped him significantly.
He had enough time to sort out his thoughts, and so by the time Yunjin got home, he was dressed slightly nicer than the clothes he had worn to work, and his hair was pulled back from his face by a few braids on either side. He appeared in view of where he heard Yunjin's, giving him a smile. "Welcome home!" He said chipperly.
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Mar 15, 2020 14:24:31 GMT -8
Yunjin went up the stairs and wrapped Theo in a quick hug and said, "Give me a few minutes to freshen up and put down my work stuff, and then I'll be ready to go. I'm looking forward to spending the evening with you, and I'm starving. Didn't have enough time to eat all of my lunch at work today."
He grinned sheepishly as he stepped away and went to set down his bag on his desk. He slipped into their bedroom to change into something a little bit nicer and make sure that his hair wasn't a mess. He carefully pocketed the pair of matching rings that he'd gotten, having sneakily borrowed a fashion ring of Theo's for sizing purposes. They weren't the fanciest thing ever or the most expensive, but they were thin silver bands with cranes engraved that had caught his eye, and he'd liked them. He hoped that Theo would too. He knew that engagement rings weren't always a thing that guys did, but he'd liked the idea of it, plus Theo already liked jewelry. It didn't seem like much of a stretch.
He stepped back out, glad that his getting ready had only taken about five minutes, and asked, "You ready to go?"
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Apr 6, 2020 19:11:41 GMT -8
"Yeah, no problem." Theo replied as he reciprocated the quick hug. He double-checked he had everything, and then checked his appearance using his camera app. He snapped a couple pictures with a short chuckle at himself. It had been a long time since he gone for this kind of look, and he liked it. He brought his phone down and put it back in his pocket at Yunjin reemerged. "You look nice." He said softly, giving his boyfriend a smile. He nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready when you are."
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on May 22, 2020 0:12:40 GMT -8
Yunjin smiled and said, "You look nice too! Let's go then, I'm starving. Today was a relatively long but good sort of workday, but I may have worked on grading through most of lunch and not eaten as much as I'd meant to."
He grabbed the car keys and hooked his arm with his boyfriend's as he led the way down to the car, pausing to get on shoes and grab things at the base of the stairs before going out the door.
When they reached the car, and Yunjin adjusted the seat so that it was actually in the right place for him instead of whoever had driven it last, he asked, "How was your day?"
It wasn't a long drive to the restaurant, since it was in town, and Yunjin had a reservation though he was pretty sure that he didn't absolutely need one. It meant that he'd been able to request a corner booth so that they would have a little bit more privacy.
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Jul 19, 2020 19:02:18 GMT -8
Theo frowned at Yunjin's confession about not eating lunch. "Shame on you." He scolded cutely. He followed Yunjin back out to the car, arm in arm with his boyfriend and a silly smile on his face.
As they settled in the car, Theo nodded, before making a face, "Work was fine, but on the way there were three separate accidents on my route." He said honestly. "It was... distressing."
As they got to the restaurant, Theo was thankful for the relative privacy their spot allowed them. It meant he could subtly propose, as he was pretty sure neither of them would appreciate a public proposal. "This is a nice spot." He commented as he sat down.
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Jul 19, 2020 19:30:29 GMT -8
Yunjin grinned and said, "It's the same spot we sat the first time we came here, but I asked for it specifically this time, that way we'd be out of the way and not have too many people around while we actually had some time to ourselves."
He reached out and squeezed his boyfriend's hand, like he hadn't been able to do in the car because he'd been driving and said, "I'm sorry about seeing the accidents on the way to work. That's rough. You doing OK?"
He looked over the menu, though he pretty much always went with the same basic order here. He mostly wanted to stall until after they'd ordered and gotten enough through their meal, though he wanted to have pleasant conversation too. He was antsy enough about his plan and the ring in his pocket that it was making him a little bit nervous in conversation though.
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Dec 21, 2020 16:31:05 GMT -8
Theo nodded approvingly, "It's probably one of my favorite spots in the restaurant... And not just because there's good memories now attached to it."
He nodded again, squeezing Yunjin's hand and giving him a smile. "I am, thank you."
He looked down at the menu but already knew what he wanted, so he set it back down on the table and fidgeted with the edge. "I know what I want..." He muttered awkwardly. The thought of proposing was catching up to him, and he only hoped his nerves didn't make him change his mind on actually doing it.
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Feb 7, 2021 22:42:56 GMT -8
Yunjin smiled politely at the waitress when she arrived, giving his usual order fairly quickly. He glanced at Theo, hoping that he wasn't coming off as impatient or strange. Theo seemed nervous about something too though, and Yunjin wondered if maybe he shouldn't say anything, but they'd both been looking forward to this date, and unless he was missing something, whatever was making Theo nervous wasn't this being a date.
Once the waitress had headed off with their orders, he reached out with the hand that wasn't toying with the envelope in his pocket and caught one of Theo's hands. He said softly, "I've missed getting to do this regularly. We've been busy lately. It seems like things are settling down a little though."
He definitely wanted to wait for the food to get there and the waitress to not be likely to be back for a while before he pulled out the envelope and ring boxes.
[[OOC: I apparently decided the Yunjin had prepared two different things over the course of this thread. I'm just going to roll with it.]]
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Jul 2, 2021 16:57:29 GMT -8
Theo also gave his order to the waitress fairly quickly, stealing glances at Yunjin. He finally looked at his boyfriend properly and smiled after Yunjin's comment. "I agree. It's been a long time, and I'm glad things are calming down on both our ends that we can enjoy this without having our minds full of other thoughts." He said, his tone matching Yunjin's.
He felt hyper aware of the little gift box in his pocket, waiting for just the right moment. Perhaps after the waitress checks in with us the first time. Usually they leave you alone for a long while after that. He thought to himself.
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Jul 14, 2021 7:20:09 GMT -8
The food fortunately came out quickly. Just like with their first date there, they'd picked an earlier time than the usual crowd, so the restaurant wasn't busy, and they had a certain degree of privacy that they might not have gotten a few hours later.
Yunjin fiddled with his food for a few minutes, trying to talk himself into actually pulling the box out of his pocket. He was pretty sure with the conversations that they'd been having that they were ready for this step. They lived together, they'd basically merged their lives together already. They'd even talked about the idea of marriage some, in a general, future things, sort of way. Yunjin was nervous anyhow.
He reached for the ring box a couple of times, watching Theo for a good moment in their meal, and felt like everything that he'd been planning to say was just escaping from his brain. He was glad that the food was good as usual, and that it kept his hands busy, but this was the perfect timing, when they were in the long stretch where the waitress was unlikely to come back over.
He finally reached into his pocket, fingers lingering around the ring box and said, "Um, there was a reason that I specifically requested this spot in our reservation."
He pulled the ring box out of his pocket, not bringing it out to show Theo yet though, and giving himself a moment to compose himself. He wondered if Theo suspected his reasons.
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Aug 10, 2021 15:01:53 GMT -8
Theo was also playing with his food a bit, barely munching on it. He wondered when he should show Yunjin what he got. He glanced up when Yunjin started talking, not quite processing what the other man was saying until a good few seconds after he boyfriend had finished his sentence. "Oh?" He asked. He looked around, wondering what the reason was. Because it was romantic to be in the same spot they'd been when they had their first date? Dates were meant to be romantic, so that wasn't surprising. But he'd humor Yunjin. "Why?"
|
|
High School Music/Language Teacher.
Gay.
Engaged to Theo.
01/29/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Yunjin Lin on Aug 20, 2021 11:10:11 GMT -8
Yunjin was more nervous about this than he'd expected to be. They'd been talking about the future. He was pretty sure that he knew where this was going, and what Theo would say in response to the proposal. But even then, there was that uncertainty, that maybe it was somehow the wrong time.
He pulled the box and envelope out of his pocket, but kept it out of line of sight, below the table. He took a deep breath and put the envelope, with it's pictures inside, fewer than he would have liked, of the two of them, and the question hidden among the pictures on the table, other hand still toying with the box with the matching rings under the table. He wasn't entirely sure that Theo would recognize the symbolism of what was on the red envelope.
He said softly, "You should look inside, it will explain once you get through all of it. I've been, um, thinking about the future, and what's next, especially with the kids moving out and getting to be adults, and just having more time and space to ourselves."
He hoped that Theo would like what he'd prepared, would like the pair of matching rings, would like the idea of the two of them being married in the not too distant future.
|
|
Office Manager at LGBT Center.
Homosexual.
Engaged to Yunjin Lin.
02/04/1992.
32.
Background
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Theo Fan on Feb 5, 2022 22:15:58 GMT -8
Theo looked through the pictures curiously, smiling at each of them, and his face fell into focus as he found the question. He shifted, and laughed. "Well, this is awkward." He said. He pulled out the box from his pocket and handed it to Yunjin. He was still smiling in amusement, wiggling the question paper in his hands. "You'll get my answer from that, by the way," he added, motioning to the gift box.
|
|
