Work Text:
Johnny had the privilege of working a nice cushy desk job that wasn’t so hectic that he couldn’t chance a look at his phone every once in a while. So when Taeyong’s special text tone sounded from the corner of his desk, Johnny had no qualms answering it.
From: Taeyongie~ <3
I have a surprise waiting for you at home~
Do you want a sneak preview?
To: Taeyongie~ <3
Please don’t sext me while I’m at work
Johnny put his phone away then for fear of what Taeyong could do – because Taeyong was a brat and he very well would sext Johnny at work no matter the consequences. Thank god he wasn’t using a work-provided phone.
His attempts to ignore his boyfriend were marred by a sudden chorus of notifications, all from Taeyong, all loud enough that his co-workers in the cubicles around him shot him dirty looks. Taeyong and his parents were the only people Johnny turned notifications permanently on for, and that was mainly because none of them messaged him enough times to be a bother. Other people’s phones went off much more often than his.
Sheepishly, Johnny turned his phone off for the rest of the working day.
……………
It wasn’t until he was waiting at the station for his train that he checked Taeyong’s barrage of messages.
From: Taeyongie~ <3
NO
BABE
I’M NOT GOING TO SEXT YOU AT WORK I’M NOT AN ANIMAL
I mean I could be later
Anyway no I swear this isn’t a sex thing I promise!!!
It’s an innocent surprise look
[IMAGE ATTACHED]
To: Taeyongie~ <3
Awwww what a cute turtle!
Whose it is?
From: Taeyongie~ <3
Ours
To: Taeyongie~ <3
What
……………
Johnny arrived at his townhouse looking like a mess, having run the entire length of the twelve-minute walk from the local train station. The fact that his long legs couldn’t run at super speed was excruciating and unfair.
“Hey, babe,” Taeyong called out, appearing at the door of their bedroom, carrying a small turtle in his hand.
Johnny’s eyes bored into the creature’s shell. “It’s real.”
Taeyong scoffed, “Of course she’s real. Why would I buy us a fake turtle?”
Johnny eyed his boyfriend and the turtle for a minute, letting his backpack slide off his shoulder and down to his hand, and then fall to the floor with a thud. Taeyong tutted; he did hate when Johnny left things lying around. He walked over and gently shoved the backpack aside with his foot.
“Here,” Taeyong said gently, holding the turtle out for Johnny to take. Johnny didn’t. “I haven’t named her yet. I thought I should wait for you to get home.”
“Why the hell did you get a turtle?”
Taeyong frowned. “What do you mean? I told you a while back I wanted to have a reptile. Just be glad I didn’t get a snake, because I was seriously considering that.”
“You can’t just,” Johnny pinched the bridge of his nose, “You can’t just bring an animal into our house without discussing it with me!”
“Technically I did, when I told you I wanted a reptile.” Taeyong sniffed. “And besides, this was meant to be a surprise! You always complain about how unromantic I am, so I’m trying to make an effort. I thought you would appreciate that.”
“You’re the one that wanted the pet, though. Not me.”
“So consider it a win-win situation! I get a turtle and you get the romantic boyfriend you’ve always wanted!”
“It’s not just – ugh.” Johnny groaned, stalking past Taeyong to pace up and down the living room. “Pets are a lot of work, Taeyong! I’m working all day and your schedule’s unpredictable, so we can’t even schedule feeding times and have you thought about insurance? Because we have to get the full cover, not just accidents and illnesses because lord knows how expensive turtle surgery is.”
“Johnny –”
“Not to mention tank maintenance! And how much is turtle food? What do turtles eat? Do they have to get vaccinated? Do they have to be desexed? Do they desex turtles?”
“No, they don’t. Johnny,” Taeyong shifted the turtle into one hand so he could rub his boyfriend’s arm with the other. “You’re thinking too hard.”
Johnny grimaced. “I don’t think you’re thinking hard enough. You only brought up getting a pet two weeks ago –”
“And I’ve done my research since then.” Taeyong squeezed his arm. “We can afford a turtle. I start working full-time next week, remember? My schedule will be more regular then. We’ll plan feeding and cleaning times and everything else around that. And I’ll be earning enough to help you out with the mortgage, so we’re okay.”
Johnny relaxed under Taeyong’s touch. He had a point. They might have been short on money now, but things would get much better once Taeyong started earning a salary instead of an hourly wage. It was difficult when they first bought their home together and neither of them had steady jobs – they barely scraped through a deposit after three years of saving up, and between mortgage and taxes and other bills, they were mostly sucked dry. Neither of them had been very good at saving.
Neither of them regretted anything, though.
“Come,” Taeyong said, tugging at Johnny’s hand. “You haven’t seen the tank, yet.”
The tank was large and extravagant. Taeyong must have spent the whole day working on it – it probably helped that Johnny didn’t usually come home till very, very late. His boyfriend had a good eye for things too – he’d placed it against a very empty wall that Johnny had been meaning to hang a painting over to brighten it up. The turtle’s tank was filled with greenery and logs and was big enough that Johnny didn’t feel claustrophic looking at it; it was decidedly better than a painting.
And, Johnny thought to himself as Taeyong placed the new addition to their household into his tank, the turtle was super, super cute.
“What’s the average lifespan of a turtle?” Johnny asked, kneeling to get a better look at it – at her.
“About twenty years. Could go up to thirty.”
Johnny squinted up at his boyfriend. “That’s a long time.”
“It is.”
“What if we break up? Who’s going to keep the turtle?”
“I will.” Taeyong grinned down at him. “But do you see us breaking up any time soon?”
Johnny thought briefly to the ring he kept in the drawer of his desk at work. “No.”
“Then don’t worry about it.”
“What if one of us dies?”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there.” Johnny felt Taeyong’s palm knead into his shoulder, something Taeyong often did to wordlessly tell him to chill. “You’re being so negative, babe. I thought that was my job.”
“You know I had to give my dog away when I was a kid.”
“That’s not going to happen this time. Your parents thought of your dog as another job, and you’re doing the same thing right now. Think of it like… we’re raising the turtle together. Like a child. A fur baby!” Taeyong paused. “Or a scale baby. A leather baby?”
“…I don’t want to think about her as leather.”
“Aw, you’re warming up to her already!” Taeyong laughed.
Johnny sighed, leaning against Taeyong’s stomach. “I guess I don’t mind being a turtle parent that much.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
“It’s just stressful.”
“I know, babe.” He placed a peck on the crown of Johnny’s head. “But it’ll be great practice for when we have kids.”
“True.”
Taeyong walked away, mumbling something about having to heat up dinner, but Johnny chose to stay back and stare at their turtle for a while. She looked like she was having the time of her life, swimming around the water. Her eyes were huge and her mouth looked like it was perpetually smiling.
“Maybe we should build a pond in the backyard,” Johnny mused.
Taeyong hummed. “That’s a dumb idea. What if our kid turns out to like sport? I wouldn’t want to put our turtle in danger.”
“True but… imagine. A tiny pond in our backyard. With gnomes on edge.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s cute!”
Taeyong didn’t grace Johnny with a response, so Johnny continued. “We really should name her.”
“We should. I was thinking Yuta, since he helped me set up the tank.”
“We are not naming our turtle after Yuta. I’m not allowing him that legacy.” Johnny turned around and sat on the ground in front of the tank, watching Taeyong move around and about in the kitchen. “What about Squirtle? Or one of the ninja turtles? No, those are all dudes. Oh! I know! Shelly!”
“We’re definitely not naming our turtle Shelly.”
Johnny gasped, “Mi-shell!”
“No.”
“Ooh, what about Meghan Markle? I like her.”
Taeyong chuckled. “I’m so happy you’re so into this. I can’t wait till our puppy arrives next month.”
Johnny’s smile dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”