Prompt fill: gifts
Romantic pairing
Niko x Aj
Niko couldn't contain his giddiness. He had planned this for months now, and he hoped Aj liked it.
They had been very busy the last couple of weeks, and Niko thought their anniversary would be the perfect opportunity to surprise his boyfriend with a short vacation.
He had packed both of their bags already and booked the plane ticket. All that was left was convincing Aj to put on a blindfold for the next 2-3 hours so he wouldn't know where Niko planned on taking him.
"Niko, I'm home!" Aj's voice rang out. Niko quickly took Aj's suitcase and started carrying it downstairs.
When he got to the foyer, he saw Aj inspecting his bag, which he had carried down earlier. "Are you going somewhere?", his boyfriend asked confused.
"We are going somewhere!" Niko grinned, putting Aj's suitcase down next to his and pulling his boyfriend in a kiss.
"To film?" Aj frowned, "our anniversary is tomorrow. I thought it could be just us."
Niko leaned down, capturing Aj's face in his hands and kissing the pout right off his lips. "I know, which is why this is a surprise. I'm taking you on holiday!"
His boyfriend looked up excited, "Really? Oh my god, it has been so long since we went! Where're we going?" Aj grabbed Niko's shoulders and bounced up and down on his toes.
Niko laughed with him, holding him close in his arms and kissing his forhead. "It's a surprise. But we are flying, so I might need you to put on a blindfold and headphones for a bit?"
Aj bit his lip, looking up at the taller man. "For a long time?"
Niko started swaying them back and forth a bit, knowing how much Aj hated not knowing where he was and where he was going. He smiled down at his lover, "Only from the airport til the landing. But you don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable, darling."
Aj shook his head, "No, you wanted it to be a surprise, it'll be a surprise. Just - you'll stay close, yeah?"
"Of course! Imma be holding your hand the whole time, promise." Niko looked into Aj's eyes and stroked his fingers over his back. "Come on, let's get going!", he whispered enthusiastically.
Aj's grin was back on his face and he turned towards the door, grabbing his suitcase.
Niko laughed and grabbed his own bag. Together, they walked up to the car and put their stuff in the trunk.
Aj was practically bouncing in the passenger seat, barely containing his excitement. Niko stole glances at him over the entirety of their drive to the airport, heart doing flicflacs in his chest.
God, he was nervous. As it turned out, keeping secrets from Aj was incredibly hard, not because his boyfriend was so noisy- or well, not only because his boyfriend was so noisy, but also because Niko loved telling Aj new things. Especially new things that made him smile this big and act that carefree.
Arriving at the airport, Niko parked the car, and together, they walked into the entry hall. Putting their bags on the floor for a moment, Niko pulled out a blindfold and headphones. "You don't have to, you know that, right?"
Aj grinned slightly nervous back. "I know, but I wanna. You'll be there." He looked up at Niko, looking for confirmation in his boyfriends face.
"I won't ever leave." Niko kissed Aj one last time before carefully placing the blindfold over his eyes and letting Aj put the headphones on.
"Aj?", Niko asked lowly, "can you still hear me?"
After receiving no reaction, he gently grabbed Aj's hand, smoothing over the skin of his knuckles, when Aj lightly flinched at the unexpected touch.
Letting him carry the smaller bag, he took the bigger, more unhandy one and led them carefully to their gate.
Getting through security was a pain in the ass naturally, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, considering one of them was blindfolded and couldn't hear anything, Niko supposed.
And then they were already sitting in their seats on the plane. Niko breathed out deeply and squeezed Aj's hand between both of his, smiling fondly when Aj squeezed back.
At one point, Aj's head fell down on Niko's shoulder and his breathing evened out. Niko pressed a kiss on his boyfriend's head, turning to the monitor with their flight information and watching the little airplane move closer to their destination.
The landing was as eventful as their departure, but this time, Niko felt more nervous, leading Aj into the hall, where there was a giant sign welcoming them in Iceland.
Tapping Aj on the shoulder and gently removing the headphones and blindfold he grinned uncertainly. "Surprise!"
Aj blinked a few times, trying to wake himself up more from sleeping on the plane and adjusting to the light. He raised his head, mouth falling open in shock.
"Iceland?", he turned to his boyfriend, holding onto his arms. "Niko - Niko, are we gonna see the lights?" Aj's voice was barely lauder than a whisper, skipping breaths and leaning closer to Niko's face in excitement.
"We're gonna see the lights, Aj." Niko whispered back, grinning widely when his boyfriend flung his arms around his neck, cheering and pulling him close in a hug.
Seeing the northern lights had been a dream for both of them, but ever since they started dating, Aj had expressed how much he wanted to watch them together with Niko, because for some reason, in his mind, that was the most romantic thing he could ever imagine.
The drive to the hotel was filled with Aj's delighted babbles and Niko staring at him completely enamoured.
Upon arrival, they got their bags out of the rental car and checked into their room. "Go get ready for the hot tub and then we can watch the lights in the water." Niko nudged his boyfriend in the direction of the bathroom, swimming trunks in hand.
Aj grinned endearingly up at Niko and moved to get ready. Niko breathed out slowly, getting a tray and putting some essentials on it, like towels, some chocolates and another little surprise box hidden underneath the napkins.
He couldn't wait for this night, he had planned this for such a long time and he was so incredibly nervous.
Then, a few minutes later, sitting with Aj in the hot tub on their indoor balcony and starring up at the sky through the glass ceiling, admiring the aurora, he couldn't be happier.
Counting down the seconds to midnight, he roped an arm around Aj's waist, pulling him close and in a long, soft kiss, until the next day had officially began. "Happy anniversary, love."
Aj looked up at him and stroked a hand over his cheek, "Happy anniversary, Niko."
Aj's gaze found the sky with a soft smile again, body leaning close, but Niko couldn't stop looking at his boyfriend.
"Aj" he began, "I love you."
"I love you, too." Aj replied, focus back on Niko, who had taken a step back and was holding his hands above the water surface.
"No, I meant -" Niko breathed out very slowly. It seemed as if that's the only thing he did lately but he couldn't help it.
"I love you every second of every day. I miss you when you're not around and I don't ever want to be apart from you. I love how you look and I love your mind and your soul and your heart." He reached over to the tray on the side and took out the little box.
Taking Aj's hand again, he met his boyfriend's gaze, tearing up himself after seeing Aj's already teary eyes.
"I love living my life with you and I love how you make me a better person. I love falling asleep next you and I love waking up beside you."
He snapped the box open to reveal a ring.
"I'm not ever going to let you go. I want to grow old with you and love you every second of every day that's ever gonna come."
They were both smiling widely now, unable to hold the tears in. Niko stroked his fingers over Aj's knuckles.
"Marry me?"
~ the end
[1375 words]
[Aj says yes obvs. It's grossly cute and they both cry. Probs to Niko for choosing the location.]
[I love the aurora. Also a vacation can be a gift in the widest sense so the prompt fill is valid right? And I stole the inspo from every other beta squad fanfiction writer, since they all be going on vacation in all the updates for some reason. I'm here for it tho.]