Work Text:
5 Years Later
Yoongi stares at his reflection in the mirror. His bowtie is straighter than he is, which is a low bar, but something feels off. Is his suit too big? Or too small? Maybe his hair is weird. Is his hair weird?
Yoongi chews on his lip. He’s not used to dressing up, and he feels like he looks weird.
The door opens behind him. Yoonji folds her arms over her way-too-pink gown and frowns at him.
“Do I look okay?” Yoongi asks, feeling stupid for every letting those words out of his mouth.
“You look like a fool, but then again, so do I.” Yoonji walks over and straightens her brother’s bowtie to the best of her abilities. “Are you nervous?”
“Am I nervous?” Yoongi snorts. “I have to talk in front of like a million people-!”
“Three hundred.” Yoonji corrects him, adjusting Yoongi’s bowtie one more time.
“Three hundred! Fucking! People!” Yoongi feels sweat trickle down the side of his face.
“Calm your fucking tits,” Yoonji reaches into her purse for some tissue to wipe her brother’s face. “You’re going to be fine.”
“I don’t talk in front of people! I can’t!” Yoongi buries his face in his hands. “This is like that high school English class all over again.”
“Are you gonna throw up again?” Yoonji laughs, backing away from Yoongi a few steps. “Hurry up.”
“Weddings never start on time anyway.” Yoongi mutters.
Yoonji whacks him with her purse. “Don’t fucking ruin the fucking schedule I worked my ass off to plan this fucking wedding you better hurry your ass up so we can start the damn thing you fucking-”
“Fine, fine.” Yoongi looks in the mirror one last time, then takes a deep breath and heads out the door.
Taehyung gets pushed back by the crowd, knocking into his bodyguard, who’s standing behind him with a permanent frown on his face.
“Kim Taehyung! Look here!” Someone pushes their camera too close to Taehyung’s face.
Taehyung’s bodyguard swats them away. “Step back.”
He puts an arm around Taehyung’s shoulders, guiding him away from the crowd and into a waiting car.
Taehyung collapses into his seat. “Thanks.”
His bodyguard starts the engine, then pauses and reaches over to take Taehyung’s hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah, Kookie.” Taehyung sighs, tightening his grip on Jungkook’s hand. “Come on, I don’t want to be late for the wedding.”
“Daddy?”
Jin kneels down to fix the lopsided flower crown on his daughter’s head. “Yes, Puppy?”
“Why do people get married?” His daughter asks, picking up her basket of pink rose petals.
“Well, Yoojungie, because they love each other a lot and they want to spend the rest of their lives together.” Jin smiles at her, hoping she isn’t old enough to pick up on when he’s bullshitting. She’s only seven. She can’t possibly-
“Can’t you do that without getting married?” Yoojung asks, picking at the petals in her basket.
“Well, uh,” Jin grimaces. “You wouldn’t get to be a flower girl today if nobody got married.”
“Hm.” Yoojung shrugs. “I guess I like throwing things.”
Jin’s grimace widens. “You’re so much like your Dad.”
Hoseok nudges Jimin when Yoojung walks down the aisle, tossing flowers like she’s trying to hurt someone with them.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting it,” Jimin says, holding up his phone as he films the whole thing.
Hoseok smiles at Yoojung, who grins back at him as she tosses flowers savagely in his direction.
Hoseok clutches Jimin’s arm.
“Don’t shake me,” Jimin whines, struggling to keep his hands steady as the entourage start walking down the aisle.
“Sorry, baby,” Hoseok lets go, but drums his fingers on Jimin’s back. “But I really want a little girl, too.”
Jimin turns his head to smile at Hoseok. “Me too.”
“Don’t fucking trip or we’re both going down.” Yoongi mutters under his breath, as Yoonji hangs off his arm, teetering nervously in her heels.
“Fuck you.” Yoonji mutters through a smile for the official photographer.
“Nobody told you to wear 10-foot heels, you dumbass.”
“These are just 4 inches, you dumbass.”
“You’re the dumbass.” Yoonji stops going over all the lists and schedules in her mind to look up at the altar, where Namjoon’s chewing on his lip.
She flashes Namjoon a smile, and he tries to smile back, but he’s shaking like a leaf.
Namjoon is running through all the ways things could go wrong in his head. Well, first of all, his brother might show up out of the blue, even if they haven’t seen him in years, not since he bailed himself out of jail and joined some tech startup in San Jose.
His grandma might also cause a scene, because she’s looking like she’s just had a sip of vinegar, pursing her lips and frowning at everything in the room.
Namjoon locks eyes with Yoonji, who probably hasn’t slept in the past few weeks, and looks tired under all her makeup. She smiles at him, so he smiles back.
The pause after the entourage settle down is too long, and Namjoon starts to twiddle his fingers anxiously.
Then the doors swing open again, and Nara walks in, one hand wrapped around her mother’s arm, and the other lifting her long white skirt.
Namjoon heaves a sigh.
Yoongi pulls his phone out of his pocket again, but Jin grabs his thigh. “Don’t read, I’m sure you memorize that by now.”
“I’m going to fucking forget everything,” Yoongi says.
“Then make something up.” Jin says.
Yoongi’s about to spit out a retort when the emcee calls Namjoon’s best man up to the stage.
Yoongi drags his feet up the steps, and holds onto the microphone for dear life.
He looks out at the three hundred people seated in round tables in front of him, and instantly forgets the entire speech he’d stayed up all night making.
“So, I, uh,” Yoongi grips the microphone tight, scanning the crowd, which is looking back at him expectantly.
Yoonji taps her wrist impatiently, like she’s got a watch there.
Yoongi gulps. “I, uh, Namjoon and I…”
He catches sight of Jin, with Yoojung in his lap, the both of them looking at him with so much pride Yoongi flushes a faint pink.
“Uh, the first time I met Nara, she thought that Namjoon and I were dating. For some reason.” Yoongi says, pausing as the entire room laughs. “It wasn’t true, but it kinda might as well have been, because Namjoon was such a good friend to me that sometimes I wondered if he had an ulterior motive in being so nice. Nobody’s that nice. Except Namjoon.”
Yoongi pulls the mic out of the stand. “When I met Namjoon on his first day of work fresh out of university, I thought, wow, this kid’s so nice, but he’s going to get tired of it eventually and crack like the rest of us. But after three years of working together, Namjoon was still the same kind, overly caring person he was on day one – always the designated driver and never the piss-drunk. I was wondering, why do all these douchebags I know have girlfriends, but Namjoon doesn’t?”
Nara flicks Namjoon on the arm playfully, and Namjoon blushes down into his lap.
“Then once, probably five years ago now, I heard him talk about his brother’s girlfriend – Shit, I’m sorry for mentioning this at your wedding, I’m sorry.” Yoongi grimaces, but Namjoon smiles at him and waves a hand to tell him to go on.
“Anyway,” Yoongi continues. “When I heard him talk about Nara, I realized why he was single. He was so whipped – I mean, in love with her, it was embarrassing to watch. He was the kind of person who fell in love with one person, and even though things weren’t working out to let them happen, he didn’t – he probably couldn’t stop loving her anyway. I should know, it takes one to know one.”
Jin bites his lip.
“And well, Namjoon seemed like he was ready to live the rest of his life that way – God knows how – but that’s not how the universe wanted things to turn out, so… Well to cut a very long story short the universe pretty much shoved Nara and Namjoon at each other, and I still can’t believe that I’m actually here at their wedding, bullshitting my way through this speech-”
Yoongi catches the warning looks on Yoonji and Jin’s faces, and closes his mouth. Yoonji taps her imaginary watch again.
“Anyway, congrats to my best friend and your wife, I’m sure you’ll be happy together, you deserve only the best, bye.”
Yoongi barely waits for the waiter to finish pouring his third glass of champagne before chugging it down.
Yoonji flops onto the seat next to him, taking Jin’s glass of champagne and chugging it down too, much to the horror of a French connoisseur somewhere. “I’m so tired and the fucking wedding singer hasn’t fucking arrived.”
“Who did you get?” Yoongi asks, reaching to pluck a canape off an unsuspecting server’s tray.
“Junghwan.” Yoonji checks her phone.
Yoongi almost chokes on an olive. “Junghwan? No wonder he’s late as fuck, he probably isn’t even gonna show-”
“What am I gonna do? We’re gonna start dinner soon and we need something-”
“What’s wrong, Yoonji?” Jin asks, holding Yoojung’s hand as he walks back to their table.
“The wedding singer hasn’t shown up.” Yoongi says. “She hired fucking Junghwan.”
“What’s wrong with Junghwan?” Jin asks defensively, helping Yoojung into her chair.
“He’s not here, that’s what’s wrong with him.” Yoonji says.
“Daddy can sing.” Yoojung offers.
Yoonji blinks at her for a moment. “Your Daddy… can not sing at Auntie Nara’s wedding.”
“Why not?” Yoojung tries to grab a canape from a passing waiter, but her arms are too short.
“Because…” Yoonji furrows her brow, then turns to Jin and Yoongi, who are sipping champagne innocently. “You guys explain this to her!”
“Uh…” Jin grimaces.
“Your Daddy used to date Auntie Nara. It would be awkward if he sang on her wedding.” Yoongi says offhandedly, and Yoojung nods slowly.
“I thought Dad was your only love.” Yoojung asks Jin, who blushes.
“Did you really tell her that?” Yoonji makes a face.
“It’s true!” Jin says, taking on a defensive tone again. “It’s complicated, Princess, I’ll explain it when you’re old-”
“Your Daddy dated Auntie Nara even if he was really in love with me.” Yoongi says as he reaches for two canapes, placing one on Yoojung’s plate. “It was a bad thing to do.”
“The worst.” Jin agrees.
Yoojung frowns. “Why did you do that, Daddy?”
“I don’t know, Jin,” Yoongi smiles at Jin with a canape between his teeth. “Why did you?”
“Because, uh…” Jin’s smile wobbles. “I… uh…”
“Okay, that’s it, I’m out.” Yoonji lifts her hands in defeat as she gets up to go argue with the caterer for sport.
“I’m sorry, could I borrow Yoonji for a minute?” Hoseok takes Yoonji gently by the arm, pulling her away from the flustered caterer.
“Leave the poor guy alone, he’s trying to feed like a thousand people.” Jimin says, looking around the packed hall.
“Three hundred.” Yoonji corrects him. “But his roast beef isn’t even warm-”
“Shh, shh, my lady, it’ll be all right.” Hoseok says, rubbing Yoonji’s arm soothingly. “The roast beef is fine.”
Yoonji sighs and turns to Jimin. “Did you get a video of my beautiful niece?”
Jimin smiles and waves his phone. “Yup. You wanna see?”
“Maybe later.” Yoonji says, noticing a lost-looking Junghwan standing by the entrance to the hall. “The wedding singer’s here.”
Taehyung hugs Nara, who kisses him on the wet cheek.
“Aww, Taehyungie.” Nara laughs as Taehyung brings up a sleeve to dry his eyes.
“I’m sorry, noona,” Taehyung pouts. “I love weddings.”
Nara laughs and hands him a table napkin. “Did you bring your bodyguard today?”
“Yeah, I think he’s trying to find a drink stronger than champagne or something,” Taehyung squints around the hall.
“I’m sure there is one, Yoonji planned everything,” Nara says with another laugh. She stops. “Taehyung, are you crying again?”
Taehyung sniffles. “Yoonji planned everything?”
“Yeah…?”
Taehyung wipes his nose on his sleeve. “That’s so sweet of her.”
“Yeah, it is.” Nara smiles, just as Yoonji approaches her. “Speak of the devil,”
“What the hell were you saying about me?” Yoonji frowns.
“Nothing bad,” Taehyung assures her, but she’s not convinced.
“Whatever. I need a drink.” Yoonji plucks three glasses of champagne off an unsuspecting waiter’s tray. She hands one to Taehyung, who thanks her, then one to Nara, who says,
“Oh, no thanks.”
Yoonji frowns. “This isn’t like wine, you’re not gonna get drunk off one fucking glass-”
“I can’t drink.” Nara says pointedly.
Yoonji and Taehyung’s eyes dart down briefly to Nara’s stomach, which is hidden behind satin under piles of white lace.
“Ohmygosh.” Taehyung claps a hand over his mouth, barely covering an excited smile.
“How many months, you slut?” Yoonji asks with a grin.
“Shhh!” Nara hisses, pulling Yoonji and Taehyung away from the table full of Namjoon’s tipsy aunts. “Three and a half months.”
“What, really?” Taehyung frowns at Nara’s almost nonexistent belly.
“It’s a secret, okay, don’t tell-”
“Everyone’s gonna know when Namjoon Jr. pops out three months early, you know.” Yoonji says.
“Actually, it’s a girl,” Nara smiles. “And we’re planning to name her Namsoon.”
Taehyung squeals behind his hand like a stuck pig, and Yoonji whacks him on the arm.
Yoongi watches Jin try to teach Yoojung how to dance, though Jin himself clearly doesn’t know how. Hoseok has come to the rescue, teaching both of them how to do a few quick steps by the time Namjoon sits down next to Yoongi.
“Hey, Yoongi?”
“Oh. Hey.” Yoongi turns to Namjoon. “What’s up?”
Namjoon smiles. “Thanks for your speech awhile ago. It was really nice.”
Yoongi shrugs. “I guess.”
“Could I ask you for one more favor?”
Yoongi narrows his eyes. “What kind of favor?”
“I wasn’t gonna ask, but Nara really wants you to play the piano for her.” Namjoon scratches at his hair absently.
Yoongi snorts. “That’s it? No problem.”
“Oh thank god,” Namjoon sighs, collapsing against the seat. “She’s been bugging me about that for years.”
“Years?”
“She said she didn’t want to get married unless you would play at her wedding.” Namjoon laughs. “I thought she was just drunk that one time but she kept saying it- Anyway, thanks for doing this, it means a lot to me.”
Yoongi grins. “You’re still so whipped.”
“So are you.” Namjoon glances over his shoulder at Jin, who’s pretty much being dragged across the dance floor by his daughter, who’s actually good at dancing.
“Hmph.”
Taehyung takes Jungkook by the hand when Yoongi starts playing with the live band.
“Tae,” Jungkook warns him, looking around cautiously. “People are going to talk if you start dancing with your bodyguard.”
“People will always talk.” Taehyung holds Jungkook’s hand as he whirls him around once. “Are bodyguards not supposed to have fun?”
“No.” Jungkook answers honestly. He notices Nara’s mother looking their way, and drops Taehyung’s hand. “If we get caught, you’re going to end up like Seokjin-hyung.”
Taehyung smiles. “Happily settled down with his boyfriend and their daughter?”
Jungkook can’t help but snicker. “No, Taehyung, jobless.”
“Come on, he had a movie the other year,” Taehyung reaches out again and takes Jungkook’s hands, swinging them to the beat.
“Indie movies don’t count.”
Taehyung pouts. “That’s not nice.”
“It’s the truth.” Jungkook tugs Taehyung behind a large column, making sure no one can see them as he pulls Taehyung closer.
Taehyung rests his head against Jungkook’s as they sway to the beat. “What happened to someone’s gonna see us?”
“We can say…” Jungkook places his hands firmly on Taehyung’s back. “That I’m protecting you from… something.”
“Protecting me, sure.” Taehyung scoffs, but he presses closer to Jungkook as another, slower song starts. “What a joke.”
“Hey, I actually protect you.”
“Uh-huh.”
Yoonji frowns at her brother, who’s hammering out another song with the band like they’d practiced it. He’d better not ask her for some kind of fee, because the budget is not gonna reach-
“Dance with me,” Jimin places a hand on Yoonji’s waist and guides her out onto the dance floor she had sworn not to set foot on.
“No.” Yoonji says.
“Come on,” Jimin pulls her against him, stepping lightly to the beat. He leans in to whisper, “I won’t fuck you later if you don’t dance with me.”
“This is blackmail.” Yoonji says, placing a hand on Jimin’s shoulder.
“Oldest trick in the book.” Jimin smiles, leading her into a few steps, then spinning her.
“Is that what you teach the kids at school?” Yoonji asks, failing to hide her grin as Jimin dips her quickly.
“College students are hardly kids,” Jimin says, swinging Yoonji into another spin. “And yes.”
“Can I cut in?”
They turn to Namjoon’s grandmother, who’s standing next to them all of a sudden.
“Uh…” Yoonji frowns. “Which one of us?”
Namjoon’s grandmother nudges Jimin aside as she takes one of Yoonji’s hands.
“You know, I thought you’d be the one up there with my grandson…”
“It didn’t work out.” Yoonji makes a face.
“Funny that you planned his wedding, then.”
“I’m friends with Nara-unnie.”
Namjoon’s grandmother scowls. “That woman-”
“That woman is your grandson’s wife. She’s part of your family now whether you like it or not,” Yoonji says flatly. “So you’d better start treating her like it.”
Namjoon’s grandmother lets go of Yoonji’s hands. “How is your PhD going? The one I’m paying for?”
“Oh, great.” Yoonji smiles. “I’m gonna be done in a few months, don’t worry. I’ll be out of your hair soon. Nara-unnie, on the other hand-”
“Excuse me, I think someone’s calling me.” Namjoon’s grandmother storms off.
Jimin takes Yoonji by the hand again, his other hand sliding easily onto her waist. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to bite the hand that feeds?”
“I’m kind of rabid, I’ll bite anything.” Yoonji shrugs.
“What if she cuts your scholarship out of spite?” Jimin swings Yoonji into a quick spin.
Yoonji stumbles to regain her footing, but Jimin catches her. “I’m already paid for the semester.”
Yoojung folds her arms, tired of playing games with Uncle Hoseok. “They said we were going home already, it’s been like 10 hours.”
Hoseok laughs. “Come on, your dads haven’t seen some of their friends in a while.”
“But they’ve seen them now,” Yoojung groans. “Can’t we go home?”
“I want to go home too.” Yoonji flops onto a chair next to her niece, sweating.
“Nobody told you to dance that much, my lady,” Hoseok says, handing her a glass of water.
“Thanks, baby.”
Yoojung looks up at Jimin, who’s plucked a glass off water off a nearby waiter’s tray. “Uncle Jimin.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you ask Dad and Daddy if we can go home now?”
Jimin laughs. “I’m way younger than them, Yoojungie, why would they listen?”
“Because you’re cool.”
Yoonji and Hoseok burst out laughing while Yoojung frowns.
“Yoojungie,” Jin comes over, his face slightly red from a few drinks. “Say goodbye to your aunt and uncles, we’re going home now.”
“Really?” Yoojung asks. “You said that like 100 hours ago.”
Yoonji, Jimin, and Hoseok laugh so hard Jin shoots them and angry look. He puts an arm around Yoojung. “Yes, we are really. You spend too much time with your Dad.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yoongi asks, folding his arms.
“Nothing, Yoongi-yah,” Jin hands him the car keys. “Can you drive? I think I’m tipsy.”
“Really?” Yoongi asks. “You just want to sleep.”
“Maybe.” Jin picks Yoojung up even if she’s getting too big for it, because her eyes have started to get dark around the edges from sleepiness.
_
A few weeks later
Yoongi stretches his back, letting out a series of cracks. The sun’s barely creeping through the thin curtains. It’s still too early for him to be awake, and his back is complaining.
“Come here, old man,” Jin says, squirming over in bed to massage Yoongi’s back. “My poor old man.”
“Who’re you calling an old man, old man?” Yoongi mutters, letting out a faint moan as Jin’s hands knead his back.
Jin laughs against Yoongi’s neck.
“Don’t stop.” Yoongi whines, wiggling his back closer to Jin. “Hey. Keep going.”
Jin squeezes Yoongi in a tight embrace. “Is Yoojung still asleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Wanna make out?”
“Screw that,” Yoongi says. “Wanna fuck?”
Jin smirks as Yoongi climbs on top of him, kissing him heavily.
They’re interrupted by the faint sound of Spring Day blaring from Yoongi’s phone.
“It’s so weird,” Jin says, holding Yoongi by the hips. “That our first baby is a ringtone.”
“Kinda.” Yoongi picks up his phone. “Hello?”
“Yoongi?”
Yoongi frowns. “Hey Namjoon, what’s up?”
Jin’s mouthing something at Yoongi that Yoongi doesn’t understand, because he’s just staring at Jin’s lips.
“I, uh, sorry, Namjoon, I didn’t catch that.”
“Sorry, is it too early?”
“No, it’s fine.” Yoongi lies. “What’s up?”
“I just, uh, I wanted to ask,” Namjoon clears his throat. “What do I need to get ready for twins?”
“Wha- Twins?” Yoongi laughs out loud, and Jin frowns at him. “Didn’t you just get married? Now you’re having twins? Calm the fuck down, Namjoon!”
“Come on, Yoongi, I’m being serious here.” Namjoon says. “They’re a boy and a girl.”
“That’s going to be living hell.” Yoongi says. “From experience.”
“I know that much.” Namjoon says. “From experience.”
“Well then, you’re all set.” Yoongi says. “Good luck to you and Nara.”
“Will we need it that bad?”
“Well,” Yoongi shifts to sit up on Jin’s lap. “It’s like having one baby, but twice as hard.”
“Yoongi.”
“I don’t know, dude, I didn’t raise myself,” Yoongi says. “And we only have one kid right now.”
“Yeah, okay.” Namjoon takes a deep breath. “Thanks anyway, Yoongi.”
“Congrats.”
Yoongi puts the phone back on the bedside table, then turns back to Jin. “Where were we?”
Jin smiles at him. “You said right now.”
“What?”
“You said, we only have one kid right now.” Jin’s smile widens. “Do you want more?”
Yoongi flicks Jin on the reconstructed nose. “Do you even have to ask?”
Jin kisses Yoongi, sucking on Yoongi’s lips slightly as he draws away. “Well, there’s this boy at the same orphanage Yoojung’s from… actually they’re two kids…”
“Kim Seokjin.” Yoongi frowns. “We can’t just adopt kids left and right we don’t have steady jobs-”
“Please?”
Yoongi tries to keep his mouth in a straight line, but he can’t resist Jin’s pout. He never could. “Fine. Just one more. One more.”
“Okay, okay, just one more.” Jin grins into a kiss. “I love you, Yoongi-yah.”
Yoongi kisses him back and says, as slowly as he can muster, “I love you, too.”