Work Text:
When someone thinks about where their home is, a city or an address usually comes to mind. The pattern seemed to be four walls and a roof, but for Kang Taehyun, home was a pair of tattoo-covered arms.
Falling in love is unexpected. It can happen suddenly, slowly, or not at all with someone exactly like you, or the total opposite. For one Kang Taehyun, it happened instantly, and with someone completely different from him. All it took was one fateful look into a pair of dark, hooded eyes for his heart to stop, eyes to widen, and a shiver to run down his spine. He remembered standing there dumbly for a few moments gaping at the other man before looking at the stranger’s body, eyes trailing up and down slowly as he observed as much as he could. Arms littered with tattoos, multiple silver hoops dangling from either earlobe, tight black jeans and shirt clinging to his form, Taehyun almost couldn’t tear his eyes away-
-until he heard a rough voice call out to him.
“What are you staring at?”
Taehyun almost booked it the hell out of there in fear of getting beat up, but was pleasantly surprised when the tattooed man offered him a smile instead, introducing himself as Choi Yeonjun. The lump in his throat disappeared as Yeonjun apologised for his rude tone of voice, asking if he frightened Taehyun before apologising again with a small frown on his pouty lips.
Making small talk with Yeonjun for several minutes, Taehyun found his eyes unable to avert their gaze from the handsome man in front of him. Silver jewellery, black fingernails, and the reddest pair of lips Taehyun had ever seen proved it extremely difficult to look away. He couldn’t remember how many times he’d blushed when Yeonjun asked him something, but he did remember blushing the deepest shade of red as was humanly possible when Yeonjun asked for his phone number in hopes of meeting again.
Although, Taehyun can faintly recall nearly passing out when Yeonjun called out to him again-
“Take a picture next time, it’ll last longer.”
With a wink, Yeonjun was gone, leaving Taehyun to melt in a puddle on the pavement. Taehyun’s eyes couldn’t help but wander up and down the tattooed male’s body as he walked away. Long legs clad in tight, black jeans with rips in the thighs, a form-fitting simple black T-shirt that clung to muscular biceps, and leather, fingerless gloves with tattoos peeking out of the edges had fully captured Taehyun’s attention. With his mouth hanging open slightly, he noticed Yeonjun had disappeared into a dimly-lit shop with a large sign that read TATTOO & BODY PIERCING in a jagged, white font.
They were going to be working close to each other? This was a dream come true. Tugging at the sleeves of his sweatshirt, Taehyun cleared his throat and made his way over to his own shop, the familiar surroundings and scents immediately sending a feeling of comfort through him. Flipping the door sign around to let passer bys know the store was open, Taehyun walked through aisles of brightly-coloured flowers and bouquets, a finger tapping at each one as he went past.
As the sky darkened and it was time to leave, Taehyun saw a familiar figure at the entrance of his shop.
“Flowers, huh? Cute.”
Taehyun couldn’t help but blush at that little comment, at the way Yeonjun’s eyebrows raised and the way white teeth peeked out from behind red lips.
“I’ll take you home, what do you say?”
Quickly, Taehyun smiled and responded back with an offer of his own, confidence oozing as he delivered the line without missing a beat.
Satisfied with how taken aback Yeonjun looked, Taehyun crossed his arms and smirked.
“I like a man who knows what he wants.” Yeonjun finally responded, his eyebrows raised. “I know a great BBQ place a few miles from here, I’d love to take you. I’m sure you’re starving."
Nodding, Taehyun agreed silently and accompanied Yeonjun to his car.
A chaste kiss followed their meal, Taehyun having to stand up a little taller and Yeonjun having to duck down just slightly to accommodate the shorter boy. The night concluded with Yeonjun asking when he’d be able to see Taehyun again.
It took only a few short weeks for Taehyun to learn nearly everything about Yeonjun, from where he was born, what he hopes to do in the future, to his favourite ice cream flavour. Yeonjun asked questions in return, getting shy and stammery answers from Taehyun as he stared at the other boy, watching the movements of his lips with intense eyes.
The more Yeonjun stared at him, the shyer Taehyun got, with his speech slowing down and the apples of his cheeks gradually turning a rosy shade of pink.
Preoccupied, the hours at work went by slowly for Taehyun, thoughts of Yeonjun filling his mind instead of flowers, shipments, numbers, and-
-work stuff.
As the sky turned black, Yeonjun started making his way over to Taehyun’s flower shop, ready to take the boy wherever he wanted for the night.
This became a bit of a routine over the coming weeks, one that Taehyun came to look forward to each day.
After a long month had passed, Yeonjun finally mustered up the courage to ask Taehyun if he’d be interested in being his boyfriend. Unable to contain his excitement, Taehyun nodded enthusiastically, delighting when he saw Yeonjun’s nervous expression soften into one of relief.
However, as the relationship progressed, Taehyun couldn’t help but wonder why Yeonjun was attracted to him. He wasn’t like Yeonjun; in fact, he was the exact opposite, with no tattoos, no piercings, and not a single article of black clothing owned, he was baffled as to why Yeonjun took interest in him. Not wanting to ask any time soon, Taehyun kept the question tucked in the back of his mind.
Yeonjun took him out wherever he wanted, whether it be to grab a couple burgers at a drive thru or order a couple of milk teas and drink them hand-in-hand as they strolled through the park, any time spent with Taehyun was time that Yeonjun cherished greatly. Loving the feeling of Taehyun’s arm wrapping around his when they were out, Yeonjun made sure to return the favour by draping an arm around Taehyun’s waist, pulling the smaller boy closer to him as they walked.
Never having been a fan of tattoos, Taehyun found it a little difficult to get used to the plethora of ink that seemed to cover every inch of Yeonjun’s skin. Arms, thighs, and chest decorated with black designs, Taehyun tried to get accustomed to the tattoos by running his fingers along the patterns and sometimes tickling Yeonjun on accident, especially with the tattoos on his stomach.
Taehyun was raised with the belief that people who had tattoos weren’t as good as everyone else, that they were damaged in some way. Recalling how his father sneered at tattooed baristas or waiters years ago, or how his father would repeatedly tell him that if he ever thought of getting a piercing or tattoo, people wouldn’t look at him the same way. Even with that philosophy ingrained in his mind, Taehyun found himself unable to judge Yeonjun the way his father would, despite the fact that the other man was nearly covered in black ink.
Any empty spaces that Yeonjun had on his skin were quickly covered up by more designs, and Taehyun found himself smiling bigger and bigger at each and every new addition.
With months continuing to go by, Taehyun grew to love Yeonjun’s tattoos and found himself tracing the black designs idly without realising it. No longer did he think tattoos were a trashy waste of money like his father insisted, instead, that they were a beautiful way to tell a story and express yourself. Taehyun quite liked them on Yeonjun, and even just admiring them on other people from afar, but he couldn’t see himself ever sporting one, not even a simple, tiny one. Taehyun felt like there was still a reputation associated with people with tattoos, and even though he harboured no bad feelings towards them, he knew that there were people like his father out there, who would automatically treat someone differently upon seeing even the tiniest tattoo.
It wasn’t until several weeks later he found himself questioning that thought.
“Would you ever get a tattoo, babe?” Yeonjun asked huskily, his voice lower than usual but still seeming to echo through the bedroom. He grabbed at Taehyun’s hand and led him over to the bed, lying down first and picking Taehyun up after, placing the other boy on top of him comfortably and wrapping his tattooed arms around Taehyun’s slim waist. He ran a hand through Taehyun’s hair lazily, massaging the other boy’s head with the tips of his fingers.
Taehyun shuddered at the sensation of Yeonjun’s short fingernails dragging along his scalp. It was almost erotic, and Taehyun found himself biting down on his lip to suppress the moan that threatened to slip out. Looking at Yeonjun now, a shy smile appeared on Taehyun’s lips as he shook his head slowly, giving his answer silently.
“I think you’d look super hot with one, babe-” Yeonjun teased, his hands coming to rest on Taehyun’s hips. “-just saying.” Winking at Taehyun, he leaned forward to press a kiss to the tip of his boyfriend’s pointy nose.
“Flattery gets you nothing and nowhere-” Taehyun argued back with a pout on his face.
“Really, now?” Yeonjun frowned. “Come on, babe-” He urged, voice seductive and low as he looked at Taehyun with hooded eyes, hands rubbing up and down the smaller boy’s sides tenderly.
“Jjuni-” Taehyun groaned, wanting to smack Yeonjun’s hands away but ultimately deciding against it, not wanting him to stop. “-we already did it today-” A blush dusted his cheeks as he spoke, finding it slightly more difficult to look into Yeonjun’s eyes, opting instead for laying his head on his chest.
“I just wanted a kiss-” Yeonjun pouted.
Blushing even more, Taehyun rolled his eyes before positioning himself so that he was straddling Yeonjun, his butt coming to rest comfortably on the other man’s tattooed thighs. Dipping down to kiss Yeonjun, he felt a pair of hands glide up to his waist before pulling him down lower, chests flush against each other and lips slotting together.
Passionate and warm, Taehyun found himself melting into the kiss, into Yeonjun’s touch. Small, breathy moans escaped Taehyun’s lips each time their mouths broke apart slightly, causing Yeonjun to tighten his grip on Taehyun and tilt his head more towards the right, deepening the kiss and wanting more. His breathing growing heavier, Yeonjun pulled back slightly to run his tongue over Taehyun’s plump bottom lip, nibbling at it and swallowing the moan it elicited from Taehyun. Breaking apart for good this time, Yeonjun removed his hands from Taehyun’s waist to cup either side of his face, their noses just centimetres apart as they looked into each other’s eyes. Taehyun panted heavily, his warm breath ghosting over Yeonjun’s face as Yeonjun just continued to stare with a soft expression on his face. Looking up at the boy on top of him, Yeonjun just admired the sight as he let his mouth hang open just a bit. Hair tousled, thick lips red, swollen, and slightly parted, face flushed the prettiest shade of pink, Taehyun looked absolutely sinful but Yeonjun still wanted nothing more than to hold the boy close to him.
Resting his head on Yeonjun’s chest again, Taehyun sighed happily as he felt a hand come up to stroke at his hair.
“Mmh, you know I love you, Taehyunnie, right?”
Taehyun nodded against Yeonjun’s chest. “Who wouldn’t?” He replied snarkily, yelping as he felt Yeonjun pinch his stomach in retaliation. “I’m playing-” Taehyun laughed. “-I love you too, Jjuni.”
It became a bit of a habit, coming home together after work. A rather pleasant habit that Taehyun welcomed into his life with open arms.
Taehyun’s flat was barely used as the year went by, and Yeonjun noticed-
-so he asked Taehyun to stay with him in his flat instead.
This new kind of domestic intimacy shared from living together was different than the sexual intimacy the pair had shared before. It was comfortable, familiar, and it made Taehyun feel at home. He noticed little things about Yeonjun now, how his boyfriend liked to walk around their flat with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist after a shower, how he let the dirty dishes pile up in the kitchen sink until it was nearly impossible to see, and especially how he liked to sneak up behind Taehyun while he was cooking to wrap a strong pair of tattooed arms around his waist, mumbling sweet nothings into his ear before pressing gentle kisses all along Taehyun’s jaw and neck.
Taehyun grew to love the sight of those ink-covered arms wrapping around him, squeezing him gently against Yeonjun and keeping him safe.
Safe.
That was the word Taehyun used frequently to describe how he felt around Yeonjun. Yeonjun seemed to radiate an aura of security when the pair went out out together, and Taehyun decided to chalk it up to his boyfriend’s rough appearance. Complete with sleeves of black tattoos that disappeared under the edges of his shirt, silver hoops that dangled from the lobes of his ear, and now his nose, to leather, fingerless gloves that exposed painted fingernails, Taehyun wondered how someone so rough-looking could be so gentle. Looking at himself now, the fact that he was the exact opposite of Yeonjun was becoming more apparent by the second. Taehyun thought himself a bit plain compared to his boyfriend; usually dressed in a casual pair of blue jeans paired with a solid-coloured shirt, the question of why Yeonjun was attracted to him made its way into his head again.
“I don’t think you’re boring, babe-” Yeonjun pouted at Taehyun’s question. “-why would you even think that?” He furrowed his brows at Taehyun and patted at the empty space on the bed next to him, hoping Taehyun would walk over.
“Just-” Taehyun sighed and walked over to Yeonjun, his legs dangling off the edge of the bed. “-you look so cool and different from me. I feel like I’m too boring for you.” He shrugged his shoulders sadly.
Yeonjun draped an arm around Taehyun. “Babe, are you trying to break up with me?”
Taehyun felt his heart break at those words, at the way Yeonjun said them. Like he’d ever give up his happiness.
Taehyun almost shrieked. “No!” Pushing Yeonjun down onto the bed and climbing on top of him, Taehyun attacked his boyfriend with a hug and a series of light, feathery kisses. “No, Jjuni-” He shook his head. “-I just wanted to know if you thought I was too plain for you.”
“You’re not.” Yeonjun assured, running his hands through Taehyun’s hair comfortingly. “I wouldn’t ask you to change anything.”
Relieved, Taehyun never thought about that question again.
Back at work, he found a perpetual smile plastered on his face-
-and so did Yeonjun.
Running into Yeonjun’s arms each day after work quickly became Taehyun’s favourite thing in the world. The faint smell of Yeonjun’s cologne mixing with the sweet scent that came from handling flowers all day filled his nose, causing his eyes to flutter shut against Yeonjun’s neck as he held him close.
As another year passed, Taehyun didn’t think it was possible to fall deeper in love with Yeonjun-
-until it happened.
“I know it’s not legal here yet-” Yeonjun said from the floor, looking up at Taehyun with a small, velvet box in his hand and a lovestruck expression on his face. The apples of his cheeks were raised high as the biggest smile graced his face, his eyes morphing into the softest crescents as he continued talking. “-but we can go to America or something!” He said hopefully, his free hand coming to graze against Taehyun’s before linking their fingers together lightly.
Tears welled up in Taehyun’s eyes, threatening to blur his vision before he shut them completely, the tears rolling down his cheeks slowly, and nodded.
Yeonjun jumped up from the floor to hold Taehyun close to him, arms wrapping around Taehyun’s little waist. He brought his thumbs up to wipe the tears away from Taehyun’s face, pressing a kiss to each cheek after. His voice low and comforting, he let his hands glide up and down Taehyun’s sides languidly, whispering words of affection into his ear.
His face buried in Yeonjun’s neck, all Taehyun could do was sob and nod as he felt a hand come up, fingers carding through his hair.
Feeling warm, safe, and loved in Yeonjun’s tight embrace, Taehyun sighed happily.
He was home.
When someone thinks about where their home is, a city or an address usually comes to mind. The pattern seemed to be four walls and a roof, but for Kang Taehyun, home was a pair of tattoo-covered arms.