Archive of Our Own

Taeyong hangs up with a small smile on his face. Jaehyun had been checking up on him lately, ever since he mentioned he was having a bit of a hard time socialising with his kind-of intimidating colleagues. He wasn’t actually having much of a problem — they were all very nice, especially Ten — but he had been feeling a little out of place.

He takes his time walking to lunch, to the cafeteria where Ten and company are. They wave him over as he enters, and he jogs to the table.

“Taeyongie! So nice of you to grace us with your presence,” Ten comments, scooting over to make space.

Taeyong smiles sheepishly, mumbling a small ‘sorry’ before settling down.

“Don’t sweat it,” Yuta says, from opposite him. “Anyway, Johnny boy here was just telling us about his latest… ah, love interest.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively. Johnny punches his arm, making Taeyong and Ten laugh.

“I, uh, yeah.” Johnny clears his throat. “I’m kind of ...wow, how should I tell you this?” He nervously glances at Taeyong. And automatically, Taeyong fears the worst; because Johnny can’t even have the slightest of crushes on him-

“I’m gay.”

“Me too,” Taeyong blurts out, relieved. There’s a second of silence.

“Well, this makes things easier.” Ten says. “Welcome to the no-hetero squad!”

Oh no. What have I got myself into?

It happens unexpectedly, but it isn’t unwelcome. They’re at lunch again, this time doting on Jaemin and his new boyfriend.

“You guys are so adorable!” Yuta squeals over Jaemin’s phone, where a photo of him and his boyfriend is being displayed.

Taeyong admits, they are adorable. His boyfriend has one arm wrapped around Jaemin, both pulling wide smiles.

“You guys are seriously so cute,” Taeyong compliments, handing the phone back to Jaemin. “Is that Dolce you’re at?” He asks, referring to the bakery they're standing in front of.

“Yeah.” Jaemin smiles. “It’s a bit expensive for a date, but he works there, so it was okay.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Jaehyunnie and I go there often,” he says.

“Who’s ‘Jaehyunnie?’” Ten cuts in.

“My boyfriend,” Taeyong mumbles, realising it’s too late to take his words back.

“Your what ?”

“Boyfriend,” He says, clearer and louder.

Four expectant pairs of eyes are on him. “What?”

“How come this is the first we’ve heard of this ‘Jaehyunnie?’” Johnny asks, very clearly amused.

“I’m more reserved about these things, guys, come on.” He insists, a bit uncomfortable now that they're scrutinizing him.

“Tell us more!” Jaemin pouts. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and not explain!”

And who can say no to Jaemin?

“He’s… really sweet.”

“That’s it?” Yuta deadpans.

“If you’d let me finish, Yuta,” Taeyong deadpans back. “Anyway, he’s one of the best people I know. He didn’t have too good of an impression on me when I first met him, but he’s grown since then.”

“How’d you guys meet?” Jaemin pesters.

“I used to work as a florist when I was in uni, he used to drop by every morning to buy flowers… it’s actually pretty cute, now that I think of it.”

“That is cute, Yongie. How long have you guys been together?” Johnny asks. He’s leaning across the table in interest.

“Four years, now,” Taeyong tells them. “It’s been a while.”

“Wow,” Ten says in awe. “That’s commitment right there.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong agrees. He can feel his cheeks warming up, a sure sign of the slight embarrassment he’s feeling. Attention is good in moderation.

“Uh, anyway,” He says. “Johnny? You were talking about your love interest?”

“Yes!” Yuta claps Johnny on the back. “Please continue.”

Taeyong looks down at his food, contemplates. It’s not like he doesn’t trust these people, it’s just that he’s… well, he’s shy.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he listens to Johnny go on about who he likes, and their hair and their oh-so-perfect smile . He pretends not to see Ten’s conflicted expression.

Ten looks down, curses at the floor.

“Did you drop something?”

“Petri dish,” Ten mutters, crouching low. He retrieves it with a small ‘aha,’ “Don’t worry, it was clean.”

Taeyong hums then returns to his work. He’s just adjusted the microscope at the length to see the bacteria on his slide when Ten lets out a loud ‘oh.’

“You good?”

“Damn, Yongie… nice shoes you got there.”

“Ah,” Taeyong blushes, somewhat embarrassed. “Yeah. Jaehyun got them for me on one of his trips.”

“Your boyfriend’s loaded dude, wow.” Ten marvels. “Does he travel often?”

“No, not really. He had to go for this important conference a few weeks ago,” Taeyong says, mind wandering. What is Jaehyun doing now?

“What does he do? Boring office job or something fun?” Ten asks. He’s got his petri dish, thankfully in one piece, and sets it down on the table. Then he hoists himself up onto said table, which means it’s gossip time.

“Boring office job, definitely,” Taeyong says, carefully recording his last results before facing Ten, sitting on the table opposite him.

“Wait, let’s call Johnny and Yuta down for this, it’s not every day we get to hear about your lovely boyfriend.”

Taeyong sighs playfully and doesn’t stop Ten when he invites them to their lab.

Ten minutes later, they’re sitting in a circle on the floor, and Jaemin has also joined them.

“So,” Ten starts. “I have called you all here today because Lee Taeyong,” Here, he pauses to gesture at Taeyong, “Was just telling me about his lovely boyfriend.”

“Bravo, bravo,” Yuta cheers. Ten shushes him.

“You see Taeyong’s amazing shoes?” Everyone looks at his shoes. “They were a gift from his one and only.”

“I wish I had a boyfriend,” Yuta says. “No one buys me anything.”

“I’ll get you something,” Taeyong blurts, sympathy surging through him. “You don’t need a boyfriend for that.”

“Yongie,” Yuta pouts, “You’re too nice for your own good.”

Taeyong blushes a bright red. “Uh, thanks, Yuta.”

Yuta ruffles his hair in response, teasing. “What else did he buy you?”

“This isn’t a common thing, guys.” He whines. “We weren’t travelling together that time.”

“He sounds like a real romantic…”

“He is,” Taeyong says. An unconscious smile tugs at his lips.

“Okay! Top three romantic things your significant other has done!” Ten claps. “I’m exempted from participating, by the way.”

“Hey,” Johnny complains. “Why?”

“I’ve never really had a romantic relationship, so…”

“That’s so sad, Ten-hyung,” Jaemin interrupts.

“You little brat.”

Jaemin grins his Cheshire grin.

“You’re going first.” Ten shoves him, lightly. Jaemin’s grin doesn’t falter.

“Number three: we took a hike to watch the sunrise —”

“That was my number one!”

“Sucks to suck, Johnny-hyung.” He deadpans.

“Anyway, number two: we took a couples boat ride.” Jaemin pauses in hopes of eliciting a reaction, but is disappointed when he only gets a ‘cute’ from Yuta.

“Number one: he won me a plushie at one of those rigged carnival games.” He finishes proudly.

“That’s cute,” Taeyong says, at the same time Johnny comments, “ That’s your number one?”

“Thank you, Taeyong-hyung. And yes, what of it?”

“Nothing,” Johnny backs off, picking up on Jaemin’s defensive tone.

“Very nice, Jaemin.” Ten settles the atmosphere. “Your turn, Yuta.”

“Hmm, okay. Number three: we went running together—”

“Oh, classy.”

“Shut it. Number two: we went wine-tasting — that was pretty fun, actually. And number one: we spent a weekend at her mountain lodge.” Yuta finishes off. “Not very romantic, I know.”

“No, it’s nice. I’m sure you guys had fun,” Ten placates.

“We sure did—"

“Johnny’s turn!”

“No, I literally have such lame standards —”

“Come on, Johnny-hyung,” Jaemin encourages. “I wanna know.”

“I... alright. But seriously, it’s nothing special.” He concedes. “Number three: we went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Number two: we spent a day at a food festival, and number one: we took a hike to watch the sunrise.”

“That’s not bad, Johnny,” Ten says. “I’d love to do something like that with someone.”

Oh , Taeyong knows this tone, this longing. The look Johnny shoots Ten when he’s looking away isn’t as inconspicuous as he thinks it is.

“Yongie!”

Ten’s sudden exclamation shakes Taeyong out of his thoughts. “Yeah?”

“Your turn.” Ten snaps his fingers in front of his face for good measure.

“Oh, yeah,” Taeyong says, still a bit out of it. “Top three romantic things…”

“Right,” He starts after a second of thinking. “Number three: we went sightseeing around Seville in a carriage. Number two: dinner at the Eiffel tower.” Taeyong stops, put off by the expressions on everyone’s faces. I shouldn’t have said that…

“What’s number one?” Jaemin finally asks. Taeyong self-consciously looks at the ground.

“Number one is a candlelight dinner at our apartment, like the whole set-up with rose petals and stuff...” He trails off, really regretting his words now.

“That’s… really fucking romantic,” Yuta speaks up after the awkward silence gnawing at them. “Your boyfriend’s rich.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess he is...” Taeyong wrings his fingers together, twisting and turning.

“We knew that because of the shoes,” Ten adds on. He probably doesn’t mean to, but the atmosphere gets heavier.

“Looks expensive,” Jaemin comments, tilting his head to the side to get a better look. “It’s Louis Vuitton, nice.”

“Thanks,” Taeyong mumbles, consciously tucking into himself.

“Hey, c’mon guys, don’t make him uncomfortable,” Johnny says, eyeing Ten with a reproachful look.

“I’m okay,” Taeyong insists. “But can we talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Ten says. “Johnny, take the stage.”

“God, no. I can’t listen to him go on about this mystery person for another sec—”

“I’m glad you asked, Ten!”

Taeyong smiles. He’s really thankful for his friends, really... though they’re a bit much at times.

“- and afterwards we went to the nice cafe down the street—"

“Why? Didn’t you say you were tired?”

“Yeah, I wanted coffee, so he took me,” Taeyong explains, simply.

“Sure, Yongie. Any other nice dreams you had?” Ten asks.

“C’mon, Ten. He’s real! You’ve heard about him so much!”

“You could always be making things up,” Ten shrugs, before getting back to his computer. He types something, back-spaces it, and types again. After hitting a definite ‘enter,’ he faces Taeyong again.

“Look, Yongie, I think you and your boyfriend—"

“His name is Jaehyun.”

“I think you and Jaehyun seem like a great pair, but I just refuse to believe he’s real… Or, well, yeah, he exists, but he can’t be that perfect.”

Taeyong sighs. After working with Ten for a few months, he thought he’d be comfortable sharing a chunk of his personal life with him. Which, well, he was , but Ten can’t wrap his head around the fact that Taeyong’s boyfriend is what Taeyong makes him out to be.

The problem is, it isn’t only Ten; it’s Johnny and Yuta, too, from the lab upstairs, and it’s also Jaemin, their new intern.

“C’mon, stop sulking, Yongie. Finish your report and you can go home to your boyfriend ,” Ten teases.

Taeyong childishly ignores him but takes his advice. He finishes his report and proof-reads it for good measure. There’s a slightly tense atmosphere in the lab as he packs up, but he blames it on Ten for ruining his mood. Still, he calls a ‘good night!’ as he leaves, and Ten echoes it back.

Once he’s out in the cool evening air, after having wrapped a scarf around his neck for protection, he calls Jaehyun. It takes him a couple of rings to pick up.

“Are you still at work?” Taeyong forgoes any greeting, and begins walking to the bus stop.

“Hmm, yeah,” Jaehyun says back, voice metallic.

“When do you plan to leave?”

“Soon, twenty minutes or so,” Jaehyun replies. “Are you on your way home?”

“Yeah, just going to catch the bus,” Taeyong says. The bus stop is still out of his line of sight. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Anything’s good.” He pauses. “Wait, isn’t it my day?”

“It is, but you’re tired,” Taeyong explains. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll handle dinner tonight.”

“God, you’re the best.” He hears Jaehyun say. “What have I done to deserve you?”

“Existed.”

He can imagine Jaehyun blushing, his ears turning a beautiful pink.

“I can’t take this,” Jaehyun says.

“You’re going to have to live with it, I hope you’re aware,” Taeyong tells him. He’s smiling now, and the bus stop is also in view.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way, I hope you’re aware.” Comes the reply, all matter-of-factly.

Taeyong hums. “I know, I know.” There’s silence over the line, for a second, until he remembers something. “You didn’t tell me what you want to eat.”

“I did. Anything’s good.”

“I can’t work with ‘anything’s good,’” He complains.

“But I’m serious! Anything you make is good.” Jaehyun retorts, with that endearing, petulant edge to his voice.

“Broccoli soup it is, then,” Taeyong says. He’s reached the bus stop now, and it indicates the next bus will be there in a couple of minutes.

“... I see what you’re doing, and I don’t like it.”

“Mmh, don’t care.”

“How about… pasta?” Jaehyun suggests.

“I can work with that, yeah,” Taeyong affirms. “Anyway, how’s the new acquisition shit coming along?”

“Please don’t ask. I never realised how incompetent some of these people are,” Jaehyun says. Taeyong can almost see the sour face he’s pulling. “I hope I don’t have to stay late today.”

“Yeah, I hope so, too.”

“What’s worse is that Father’s breathing down my neck about it, so I can’t even take it slow.”

“Oh, yikes.” Taeyong grimaces. The bus’ lights flash in the distance. “Try not to stay too long, okay?”

“Of course, love. I’d hate to.”

“I shouldn’t be as happy as I am, hearing that.”

Jaehyun chuckles. “Neither should I.”

“I’ve got to go now, Hyunnie. Bus is here.”

“See you at home, then.”

“Yeah, see you.” Taeyong smiles, hangs up, and pockets his phone.

He gets on the bus, happily noticing an empty window seat, and settles there. He then proceeds to do his favourite bus activity; sleep. After all, he has to cook when he gets home, and with Jaehyun, that tends to be tiring.

The door clicks open, then clicks closed. There’s a sound of shoes being taken off, of a coat being hung up. Taeyong hears footsteps, and before he can say much, two arms wrap around him from behind.

“Hello to you too,” Taeyong laughs, light and airy. He feels Jaehyun smile into the side of his neck, where he leaves a kiss just a second after.

“Hello, love.”

“How was your day?” He asks, lowering the flame on the stove and turning around.

“Alright. I had some… challenging cases to deal with, but other than that it went pretty smooth,” Jaehyun says, a hand loosening his tie. “How about yours?”

“Good, good. Got some important work out of the way, so tomorrow should be a breeze,” Taeyong tells him. “Though… Ten still doesn’t believe you’re...” he gestures vaguely. “You know, you .”

“You can’t be serious,” Jaehyun admonishes. He’s taken his tie off now, and is working on the next couple of buttons on his shirt.

“I wish I was joking. And it isn’t only Ten, none of my friends does.”

“But why?”

“What can I say…” Taeyong sighs. “They think you’re too good to be true.”

“Oh?” A playful eyebrow shoots up.

“Yeah, don’t let it get to your head.” He replies drily.

“You don’t think I’m ‘too good to be true?’” Jaehyun asks — pouts, really — with faux-hurt. “That’s terrible of you, as my boyfriend.”

“No, it isn’t. Think about it, Jaehyunnie; if I thought you were too good to be true, it implies that I think you aren’t what you seem.”

Jaehyun takes the words in. “Oh, yeah. I get it.” He stands there solemnly for a second before speaking up again, remembering something. “You forgot something, by the way.”

Taeyong’s eyes widen, and he immediately turns to the stove. Everything’s fine there, though.

“What…?”

Jaehyun pouts again, and it flips a switch in Taeyong’s mind.

“Come here, you big baby.”

He happily complies, expectantly standing in front of Taeyong, who throws his arms around his neck. Their lips meet halfway, gently at first, before Jaehyun gets a bit bold and lightly bites Taeyong’s lower lip. That sets off a chain reaction, with Taeyong lowly whining, and Jaehyun’s arms around his waist getting tighter, and a happy sigh into his mouth. Taeyong’s even begun working on the rest of Jaehyun’s shirt buttons, and he can feel hands slipping under his hoodie. He stands on his toes, pushes his mouth against Jaehyun’s more forcefully, breaths a breathy laugh when one of his cool hands slide over his side. Jaehyun pulls back a second later, face the picture of bliss.

“Welcome home,” Taeyong says. Jaehyun smiles, leaning in again, when a bubbling sound interrupts the quiet of the room.

Taeyong breaks away from him, rushing to the stove and turning the gas off.

See, this is what he meant when he said cooking with Jaehyun was tiring.

“Are you dropping me to work today?”

“What? No ‘good morning, darling’, hmm?”

Taeyong rolls over and glares at his boyfriend. “No, no ‘good morning, darling’ for you. Not when I’ll have to sweat in a fucking turtleneck the entire day.”

Jaehyun’s infuriatingly playful, which tends to be his morning-after default. “But you asked,” He whines. “And I only want to give you what you want.”

Taeyong pulls the blanket over his head, refusing to look at Jaehyun. Sometimes, even after four years, this gets a bit much for him.

“Taeyong,” Jaehyun whines, again. “Stop hiding.”

Reluctantly, Taeyong pushes the blanket down, meeting with perfection in the form of one Jung Jaehyun and his dimples. Seriously, who gave this man the right?

“What?” He pouts.

“Nothing. I love you.”

Taeyong looks at him. Properly, slightly analytically. His fingers brush over Jaehyun’s dimples, the curve of his ever-present smile. Usually, when this all gets a bit much for him, he takes it in, looks. Jaehyun understood that early on.

“I love you more.”

“Impossible—"

Taeyong cuts him off with a kiss. He relishes the way Jaehyun’s arms always find a home on his waist, the way his eyelashes tickle Taeyong’s cheeks.

They break apart a moment later.

“So, are you dropping me to work?”

“Do you think I can say no?”

“Good, that’s what I expected,” Taeyong says, finality in his tone. He settles in the sheets again — he can spare a few more minutes — and sighs a content sigh. Jaehyun’s hands are still snug around his waist, conspiringly.

“What are you—" Hands trail down his sides and fingers dig into his skin, with purpose, which seems to be torture. “You fucking —" Taeyong wheezes. Jaehyun doesn’t relent. “-Menace, oh my god—" He laughs uncontrollably. “Jung Jaehyun, I will kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Jaehyun whispers in his ear. He’s stopped now, thankfully. It takes Taeyong some time to recover and wipe tears away from his eyes.

“Why am I so ticklish,” He bemoans. He feels Jaehyun’s arms around him tightening and throws his boyfriend a glare. “Don’t you dare.”

Jaehyun shrugs, then pulls Taeyong closer and peppers his neck with kisses. Taeyong has a hard time controlling the blush overtaking his body, and he feels Jaehyun preen into his shoulder, smirking. Then he bites it.

Taeyong yelps. Jaehyun laughs at his misery.

“Stop,” He whines, trapping Jaehyun down on the bed by throwing his arms over his shoulders. “I already have enough hickeys to cover up as it is.”

“So do I,” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong acknowledges it with a hum, then lays himself down over Jaehyun. “Your suit covers everything.”

“Maybe you should try wearing a suit, then.”

“Ew.” He shudders. “No, thank you.”

“Suffer in your turtlenecks, then.”

Taeyong pulls a sour face. “Meanie.”

“But I’m your meanie.”

Scratch that. Jaehyun’s morning-after default is infuriatingly playful and unnaturally cheesy.

Taeyong knows how ridiculous he looks, bunched up in a green turtleneck and a lab coat. He quietly slips in, prays Ten isn’t around to chastise him for his appearance. Jaehyun had dropped him off at the gates of the institute with a kiss, promising he’ll handle dinner for the next two days. He smiles as he remembers it.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” A whistle comes. Taeyong winces.

“And what are you doing wearing a turtleneck? We’re having that annoying transitory weather,” Ten continues, eyeing his neck with interest.

“Uh, nothing. Just… felt cold?”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that. Who’d you hook up with?” Ten asks.

“... my boyfriend?” Taeyong concedes. “Who else?”

“Oh, sweetie. We don’t call random hook-ups our boyfriends around here.” Ten sighs, all-knowingly.

“Yeah, I don’t have the patience to deal with this.”

Lunchtime is a similar ordeal. When Taeyong sits at their usual table with his Wednesday-special assortment of dumplings, he’s grilled.

“What the fuck , Lee Taeyong. Are you getting some? And you didn’t tell us?” Johnny says, accusingly.

“I’ve been trying to tell you for a while now, but you don’t believe me.” Taeyong sighs.

“Oh,” Yuta says. “Your supposed boyfriend?”

“How many times, Yuta? He exists. His name is Jaehyun.”

“But he’s cute and nice? And he has abs? No, I refuse to believe that.”

Taeyong’s just about to interject when Jaemin approaches their table. He hasn’t completely grown out of his timid intern phase, and it’s an adorable thing.

“Hey, uh, can I sit with you?” He asks, nervously. Taeyong coos and shifts over to make space for him.

“What are we talking about?” Jaemin questions, once he’s settled.

“Our recent topic of discussion, Taeyong’s boyfriend.” Ten answers.

In all honesty, Taeyong knows it’s all in good humour, but he can’t help but be a little hurt.

“Oh, that’s nice. I haven’t heard much about him lately, how is he?” Jaemin faces him.

“He’s just…” Taeyong trails off. He can feel the expectant gazes on him, and he doesn’t like how his friends will probably mock him for whatever he’s about to say. “Nevermind, Jaemin. Let’s talk about your love life instead.”

“But we were talking about you,” Jaemin whines. He’s too cute to handle, and Taeyong feels the words slipping out of his mouth before he can stop to think about them.

“He’s, like, beyond perfection, I can’t even explain it to you—"

“According to Taeyong,” Ten cuts in, “He has dimples, is very attractive, works out, and—"

“He can sing, and he’s really understanding, he’s so warm all the time—"

“Is he any good in bed?” Yuta pipes up, and he thinks he’s finally found the one determining factor that’ll prove the existence of Taeyong’s apparent boyfriend.

“Unfairly so,” Taeyong answers. After a second of hesitation, he pulls the collar of his turtleneck down, showing the now-purpling bruises there.

“Woah,” Johnny whistles, lowly. “Wow, that’s impressive.”

“You should see the ones I leave on him, if you think this is impressive,” Taeyong says, smugly.

Yuta’s eyes seem like they’re about to pop out of their sockets. “That looks like it was painful,” he says, eventually.

“Well, yeah.” Taeyong carefully covers his neck again. “But we, how should I say this,” He blushes suddenly, then in a soft voice, omits, “We like that.”

“So he shares kinks with you, too?” Ten asks, disbelieving.

“I mean, I suppose. We haven’t explored that much,” He vaguely says, gestures. Jaemin’s watching on with keen interest.

“What are we doing,” Yuta suddenly speaks up, dramatically. “We’re tainting the child!”

“It’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” Jaemin says, before getting back to his lunch. He looks up when he registers the silence on the table. “Why’d you stop talking?”

Taeyong hears his phone ring across the lab, and he almost drops the strain of bacteria he’s handling. Ten looks up at the sound, too. Taeyong sets his strain down and takes his gloves off, then picks up his phone. It’s very, very unusual for Jaehyun to call him during work hours.

“Hey, uh, I’m very, very lost,” Jaehyun says. Taeyong sighs out of relief, glad it isn’t something life-threatening, then steps out of the lab.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think they’re trying to rob me, like, spring onions can’t cost this much.”

“Oh, Jaehyunnie. When was the last time you went grocery shopping?”

“The week before last. With you.” Jaehyun deadpans.

Ah, right.

“I don’t see your problem, Jaehyun.”

“They’re so expensive!”

“And since when has that mattered to you?”

“I…”

“You?”

“I left my wallet at home,” Jaehyun gets out, in a hurry. “I don’t have much on me.”

Taeyong laughs lightly, content.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at my misery. I’m suffering over here,” he whines, child-like.

“I’d love to help you, but I can’t leave now, it’s just two-thirty… speaking of which, how come you’re grocery shopping?”

“A meeting got cancelled so I thought I’d be of use. Obviously, I am not.” Jaehyun sighs. Taeyong can imagine him, standing in his suit with spring onions, clutching onto the phone like a lifeline. It paints a rather sad, rather comical image.

“Mmh, I tell you what, run back to the office real quick and ask Jungwoo for a loan.”

“I’m not asking my secretary for money!” Jaehyun says, indignant.

“You can pay him back, Jaehyun. And he’s more of your… secondary emotional support, much less your secretary.”

“My secondary emotional support?”

“Ideally, you should be your primary emotional support. But since you haven’t quite reached that, I’m your primary emotional support. Or do you think otherwise?”

“Huh, no. I don’t think otherwise.” Jaehyun says. “Very eloquently put, I must say.”

“Thanks, babe.” There’s silence over the line, just them taking their words in.

“So, will you go do that, then?” Taeyong speaks, eventually.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll just go do that.” He sounds slightly out of it. After four years, it’s easy to tell when something less than enjoyable is approaching.

“Great, Hyunnie. You’ve got this!” Taeyong would cringe at his words. But they’re words of encouragement, regardless, and sometimes Jaehyun needs to hear them.

“Yeah, I, uh. I got this,” Jaehyun replies, weakly.

Taeyong finishes up early and powers through his report. Him and Ten have been silent for the past hour or so, and despite this being a usual occurrence, it feels a bit strained today.

“Uh, Ten?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m leaving,” Taeyong says. Ten looks up from his microscope.

“Okay. Bye, then.”

Taeyong hesitates at the door. He takes an indecisive step out, before coming back in walking up to Ten. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing, Taeyong. Drop it.”

And Taeyong would have, if it wasn’t for the waiver at the end of his words.

“Oh, Tennie. Is something bothering you?”

As Taeyong lays a hand on his shoulder, Ten takes a deep, shuddering breath. Taeyong quickly helps him take a seat and gets some water for him; he’s quite concerned now.

“Tennie,” He tries, once Ten’s sitting down and sipping on water. “Did something happen?” He kneels beside him.

“No, it’s just…” He sighs. “I’m just, I don’t know, overwhelmed, I guess.” His hands grip his hair, the heel of palms digging into his eyes. Gently, Taeyong coaxes his hands off his face.

“Talk to me, Ten.”

Ten looks up at him, eyes puffy, holding his tears back. He takes another breath, closes his eyes, opens them, and speaks.

“Look, this is going to sound stupid, but… well, it’s just… I’ve been feeling so, I don’t know, alone lately. Like, everyone around me is in a relationship or spending time with their families and just generally socialising while I’m not. And I know everyone does these things at their own pace and to their own abilities, but I feel like I can’t, or I don’t want to. It’s really confusing for me, and I don’t know what to do, Yongie. Then I overthink, which is another headache in itself.”

All throughout, Taeyong listens patiently. He gives Ten a few seconds to think about what he just said, what realisations he might have come to, before replying.

“Thanks for opening up to me, Ten.” He starts. “I’ll tell you what I think; you’re comparing yourself to others, and you’re determining your pace by looking at other people’s paces. Which, yeah, gives you an idea, but not a standard, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Ten looks dejected, faces the floor.

Taeyong takes his form in, the determined teeth he has dug into his lower lip — to stop it from trembling. He sighs.

“Tennie, hey.” Taeyong gets his attention. “Do you wanna do something fun?”

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to go home to?” Ten asks.

“Well, yeah, I’ll figure that bit out.” He says in a rush, already picking up his phone. “Finish your work.”

Ten stares after him, now confused. “What?”

“I’m going to make a call, Tennie. You better be done with your work once I’m back.” With that, he exits the lab again, Jaehyun’s number already dialled.

He picks up on the third ring, with a tired ‘hey, babe.’

“When will you be free?”

“Late, I think. Sooyoung’s keeping me hostage.” Jaehyun sighs.

“Oh?”

“Mmh. We have some additional paperwork to go over now that our CFO is on maternity leave.”

“Ah. Anyway, I called because I might be late, too.” Taeyong explains.

“How come?”

“Ten isn’t feeling too good, so I’m taking him out on a date.”

“That’s cute.” Taeyong can hear Jaehyun smile. “Is it anything serious?”

“I don’t think so. He’s just been a bit lonely, so I thought, why not?”

“That’s nice of you, love. Enjoy yourself, then.”

“I will, thanks,” Taeyong says. They’re quiet now. “I’ll be home before dinner.”

“Alright. See you.”

“See you.”

Taeyong waits for Jaehyun to hang up so he can go back in, but he doesn’t.

“Hyunnie? Something wrong?”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Like, physically?” Jaehyun asks.

“Yeah, physically.” Taeyong answers.

“I’m a bit tired, but fine.”

“And emotionally?”

“I…” Taeyong imagines him shaking his head no.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m just having a bad day… probably nothing.”

“Jaehyun, we talked about this.”

“Okay…” He prolongs it, a habit of his. Don’t want to face something? Stretch out the last word you said in hopes of Taeyong dropping the subject. Does it work? Never.

“I’m stressed because of the upcoming deal, Sooyoung’s nagging is driving me crazy, and I had to borrow money today.”

“And how does that make you feel?”

“Exhausted,” He says. “Mentally.”

Taeyong takes a second to think. “You have your headphones with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Put them on. Remember the playlist you made with Dr. Min?”

Jaehyun catches on. “So you’re saying I should sleep?”

“Exactly. Take a nap. Ask Jungwoo to wake you up in half an hour or so, okay?”

“I…” He sighs, thinking it over. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”

“Good. Take care, Hyunnie.”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun mutters. “I will.”

The conversation unsettles Taeyong, and he worries, then lets the worry fester and become something more profound. He takes a calming breath, and though it doesn’t have its intended effect, it grounds him enough to go back in and face Ten.

Ten, who looks much better than he had minutes ago. “Shall we?”

They go where their feet take them — past the fishy trinkets stall, away from the mini supermarket on their street. Taeyong finally recognises a road and takes him to a café he discovered during one of his and Jaehyun’s dates, a quaint place with traditional coffee.

Taeyong takes a picture of the cheesecake he orders, sends it to Jaehyun with a cheesy ‘thought of you <3.’

Jaehyun responds once he and Ten have ordered their drinks and settled comfortably at a window table.

‘i’m always thinking about you’

Taeyong takes a deep, calming breath, types out a hurried ‘i love you,’ and faceplants onto the table.

“You okay?”

“Just having a general Jaehyun breakdown, nothing new.”

Ten laughs, and though it’s faked, it’s something.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Taeyong asks, eventually, once he’s recovered.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not just loneliness, there’s something else bothering you.”

“How could you tell?” Ten leans in with interest, having given up on trying to hide it.

Taeyong shrugs. “I’m just good at reading people.”

Ten observes him wearily for a second before dropping his act. “It’s been a day of confessions, so I might as well tell you — I like someone.”

“Johnny.”

“I- what?”

“You like Johnny, yeah, I know.”

“ How ?”

“I mean this in the least offensive way,” Ten’s expression darkens. “But you’re really obvious, Ten.”

“I am?” He asks meekly, ducking his head.

“Yep,” Taeyong affirms. “But don’t worry, so is Johnny.”

Ten almost throws coffee at him, but it’s all in good fun.

Taeyong hopes so, at least.

Taeyong comes home to a barely-lit apartment, the light in the dining room being the only sign of life. Jaehyun’s slumped over the table, head nestled in his arms, asleep. He’s snoring softly, which means his day must’ve been really draining.

“Hyunnie,” Taeyong says, gently running his fingers through Jaehyun’s hair. “Wake up, baby.”

Jaehyun stirs, slowly blinks his eyes open. “Chicken’s on the stove,” he mumbles. “Rice should be done by now.”

Taeyong leans down and leaves a kiss on Jaehyun’s forehead before heading to the kitchen. The rice cooker shows another minute for the rice to be cooked, so he quietly sets the table. Jaehyun joins him after a second, placing the plates and cutlery down. He’s still in his apron — which makes for an adorable sight — and his hair is tousled, fluffy, painting the picture of a rumpled puppy.

“Welcome home,” Jaehyun says, in his sleepy haze. He leans over and leaves a sloppy kiss on Taeyong’s cheek, making Taeyong squirm, but he appreciates it nonetheless.

“Come on, let’s eat.” Taeyong places the rice on the table and takes a seat. Jaehyun sits beside him, thankfully more awake after having a glass of cold water — courtesy of Taeyong.

“How was your date?” He asks, after they’ve demolished a good half of their meal.

“I think Ten’s a bit mad at me, though he knows he has no right.” Taeyong manages around a bite of food in his mouth.

“Oh?” Jaehyun rests his chin on his palm, propped up on the table with his elbow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Taeyong swallows a bite of food. “He’s mad because I insinuated his crush likes him — they’re so obvious, Jaehyunnie, I can’t even tell you — but he has no right to be mad because I’m a great friend.”

“Absolutely.”

“Right? I mean, any good person would do that, but still.”

When he meets Jaehyun’s eyes, they’re full of warmth. “What?”

“It’s nice hearing you praise yourself.”

Taeyong’s glad he isn’t chewing on anything; he surely would have choked. He smiles. “Thank you.”

“Always.” Jaehyun smiles back, reaches over for Taeyong’s hand.

They finish their meal with sparse conversation, and Jaehyun loads the dishes in the dishwasher despite Taeyong’s insistence that he’ll do it. Jaehyun shoos him away, telling him to take a much-deserved hot shower.

When Taeyong’s done with his shower, he finds Jaehyun sitting on their bed, typing away on his phone with some fervour.

“Everything okay?”

“Sooyoung’s taking tomorrow off,” Jaehyun replies, monotonous, as he gets when he’s preoccupied. “She’s going to see some place she wants to buy.”

“What, like a house or something?”

“Don’t know, she didn't say,” He mumbles.

Taeyong watches him reply rather enthusiastically to a text and turn his phone off. He blinks, owlishly, adorably, before falling down onto the bed.

Taeyong, who’s one with the pillows now, tuts and pushes a leg down, lightly catching Jaehyun in the ribs. He whines in response, a pout in place as he glares at Taeyong. “What?”

“Go change at least,” Taeyong pouts back in response. He nudges Jaehyun again for emphasis, and it works, because Jaehyun glares — again — before standing up and walking to the bathroom.

He returns ten minutes later, changed into pyjamas and breath smelling of toothpaste. His hair’s slightly damp, reminding Taeyong of how it’s getting in his eyes when he washes his face, and that he probably needs a hairband, or a haircut. Jaehyun quietly turns off the lights and pads to the bed, draping himself over Taeyong.

“Jaehyunnie.” Taeyong’s voice holds warning.

“Mmh, not moving.”

Taeyong playfully shoves Jaehyun off, to the unoccupied side of their bed. After a few minutes of shuffling, they find a comfortable position; Taeyong swaddled in Jaehyun’s arms, right against his chest. He hears the steady thudding of his heartbeat, and it’s calming.

“Yongie,” Jaehyun says, just as Taeyong’s about to fall asleep.

“Yeah?”

“Your suggestion really helped today.” He smiles, then realises Taeyong can’t see him. Gently, he untangles himself, until they’re face-to-face.

“When you told me to listen to the playlist, it really helped.”

“Oh,” Taeyong smiles, too. “I’m glad.”

“Jungwoo told me to,” Here, he pauses, clears his throat, and attempts his best Jungwoo impression; “ Oh my god, keep him. I swear, Jung Jaehyun, if you fuck this relationship up, I’ll fuck you up. ”

Taeyong raises his eyebrows.

“So, I’m just reminding you,” Jaehyun continues, “That I’m going to, uh, keep you.”

A thick silence envelopes them.

“How hard was it for you to say that?” Taeyong asks, eventually, once he’s tested Jaehyun’s patience enough.

“You’re terrible, you know that?”

Jaehyun sees him smirk, barely there, aided by the soft moonlight that passes through their translucent curtains.

“And yet you’ll keep me , hmm?”

“... And I already regret telling you.”

“You still love me.” Taeyong reclaims his position, tucking himself under Jaehyun’s chin.

“Of course I do,” Jaehyun says into his hair. He leaves a kiss there.

Warmth envelops them, the fruit of patience, perseverance, love . Life might not be treating them right, but they’re treating each other right. And at the end of the day, when all is done and dusted, when there’s only home to return to, they have each other. That’s more than enough.

Ten sports a better mood the next day. He happily greets Taeyong when they meet, even going as far as giving him a short hug.

“Morning, Ten,” Taeyong greets, a bit hesitant.

“Morning, Yongie! How are you? How’s Jaehyun? Did you have unbelievably good morning sex?” Ten rattles off, enthusiastically.

“I’m alright. Jaehyun’s good, and no, not this morning. Are you okay?”

“Just peachy!” He skips to his desk, leaving a very, very confused Taeyong behind.

“Did something happen?” He prods carefully, a bit scared because Ten’s grin is threatening to break his face.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Ten says playfully.

“O...kay.” Taeyong’s still very hesitant. Ten doesn’t seem drunk or high, just… unusually happy?

The door to the lab opens, and Johnny steps in. Maybe he has answers.

“Johnny—"

Before Taeyong can get a word in, Ten quite literally jumps in his awaiting arms. Oh. So that’s what happened.

Taeyong smiles to himself, watches the new couple for a second, and begins his day by tackling a codon analysis.

About two minutes in, he hears his name being called.

“Yeah?”

“Did you hear? Some CEO is coming by today,” Johnny says.

“Huh, I didn’t.” Taeyong looks up, finds Johnny holding onto a delighted Ten. “Do you know who? Or why?”

“I don’t know who, but I think they wanna make this place a subsidiary of their company. They’re looking into genetics and stuff.” Johnny explains.

“Oh, interesting,” Taeyong replies, but it’s to deaf ears, because Ten’s whispering something to Johnny now. They’re pretty cute, in Taeyong’s opinion. The lab coats are a nice, scientific addition.

He shakes his head and looks back down to his work, vaguely registering it when the door shuts. In a minute, Ten is upon him.

“Thank for yesterday, Yong.”

“You’re welcome, Ten.” Taeyong says. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”

Ten smiles widely. “Yeah, me too.” He skips over his table, happily humming to himself.

It’s going to be a good day, Taeyong thinks.

Sometime after eleven, there’s a disturbance at the door. Ten and Taeyong look up at the commotion; someone’s talking loudly.

The door opens to reveal their boss — Mr. Han — an old, kindly man who used to be a college professor, and straight-backed, smart woman. With all-too-familiar black hair, and an all-too-familiar shade of red lipstick. Taeyong sighs.

It’s Park Sooyoung. Thankfully, she’s absorbed in whatever Mr. Han is talking about, leaving a window for Taeyong to find a hiding place.

“So, here is the first lab, Ms. Park. It’s quite spacious and the equipment was replaced just last year — all the models are up-to-date. This is Ten and —”

“Taeyongie!”

Taeyong cringes. Ten eyes him curiously.

“Ah, so you two know each other? I can give you some time to catch up.” Mr. Han offers, and for the first time, Taeyong wishes he weren’t so nice.

Sooyoung thanks him before approaching Taeyong and a very bemused Ten.

“Hello, Yongie. How’ve you been? Wait, not that I have to ask you — Jaehyun never stops talking about you.” She smirks, sitting on one of the stools in the lab.

“Hello, Sooyoung,” Taeyong grimaces. After giving Sooyoung a polite nod, he gets back to sorting DNA samples.

“Why the long face, Lee?”

Taeyong clears his throat. “No reason.”

Ten, more confused than ever now, pipes up. “Um, sorry, but how do you guys know each other?”

“I’m his boyfriend’s ex-fianceé.”

Taeyong squeezes the micropipette he’s holding a bit too hard, takes a deep breath.

“Oh,” Ten looks between them, between Taeyong’s resolutely turned away face and Sooyoung’s cool expression. There has to be more to this , Ten justifies. Taeyong isn’t the jealous type, is he?

“Come on , Yongie. Loosen up a bit,” Sooyoung encourages. She looks at Ten and rolls her eyes, and it’s meant to be a familiar gesture, but Ten doesn’t get it.

“You can’t call me that,” Taeyong says coolly. He’s still very focused on his work; hands working with precision and speed.

“Seriously? Dude, the past is in the pa—"

“Cut it, Sooyoung.” Taeyong’s jaw is tight, and his grip is tighter. He inhales deeply before setting his micropipette down. “I need some air.”

Ten watches as Taeyong leaves to ‘get some air,’ then turns to Sooyoung.

“What…?”

Sooyoung shrugs. “He hates me for some reason.”

He isn’t jealous… right?

“No, I doubt it’s jealousy.”

Ten didn’t realise he said that out loud.

“We have some history,” She continues. “But I think it’s high time he let it go. He’s just so stubborn…”

Ten keeps to himself, doesn’t respond. He quietly gets back to his work, mind a whirlwind. What on earth pissed calm, even-tempered Lee Taeyong off to this point?

He gets his answers at lunch. Taeyong strode back into the lab a few minutes after the CEO left and didn’t say a word until Ten asked him if everything was fine. Even then, he replied with a simple ‘yes,’ and got back to his work.

When Yuta asks Taeyong why he’s being so harsh on his food, Ten doesn’t expect him to go beyond a couple of words.

“You would do the same if you knew how Park Sooyoung affects me.”

“Who now?”

“The woman who came by today… remember?” Johnny supplies. “You know her?” he turns to Taeyong.

Stab . “Unfortunately.” Stab, stab.

“Spare the poor lettuce, Taeyong-hyung,” Jaemin quips.

“Shut up.” Stab. “Eat your food.”

No one brings up the topic after that.

“Babe, you will not believe the day I’ve had.” The harsh crunch of dried leaves under Taeyong’s shoes are a source of comfort for his addled mind as he walks.

“Same here,” Jaehyun says through the phone. “With Sooyoung gone this place was a mess.”

“I’d bet. Guess where she went.”

“I don’t know, Tae—"

“She showed up at the lab. She tried to talk to me.” His footsteps gain strength, the poor leaves under him suffer, but they’re already dead, so where’s the harm?

“Yongie, you’ll have to face her, you know that?” Jaehyun’s voice cuts through the crunch. “She’s my best friend, you can’t just… keep going like you are.”

“I —” This is too common a topic of discussion between them.

“Baby, I know why you don’t like her, and I completely understand, too. But nothing can be done now, right? We can’t change it.”

“Jaehyun, for something so serious —”

“But it isn’t as serious as you think it is,” Jaehyun continues, tone smooth and placating. “Look, even I’ve made mistakes, even I’ve done things to her —”

“You were a child! She was a fully grown, mature adult, she knew the consequences.”

“And then you’d also know what lead her to do what she did, right, Yongie?”

“Come on, I hardly think the two can be compared.”

“She doesn’t value things the way you do, what might seem trivial to you is important to her, isn’t it?”

“It is , yeah, but…”

“But?”

“But…” Taeyong sighs. “Nothing. I won’t fight with you about this.”

“Good. We’ll have a nice, civil conversation at home, okay?” Jaehyun speaks as if he’s talking to a child. As much as Taeyong would like to protest to this, he decides he probably deserves it.

“Okay. See you.”

“See you, love.”

Two years worth of living together has made Taeyong well aware of Jaehyun, well acquainted with his moods and his, on a few occasions, emotional outbursts. So when Jaehyun tries to hide his obviously red nose from Taeyong, he has a low success rate.

“What are you making?” Taeyong asks as soon as he’s home, front door shut and scarf hung up.

“Soup.”

Jaehyun’s voice is rather nasal, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s happened.

“You’re sick, Hyunnie. Go sit down, okay?” Taeyong coaxes softly.

Jaehyun sighs, giving the pot one final, longing stir, and takes a reluctant seat at the table.

“What happened?” Taeyong asks. He resumes where Jaehyun left off, tasting the soup and adding spices.

“Dunno. I guess I’m just coming down with something.”

Taeyong hums. “I think it’s because you’re working so much.”

“I’m not!”

“With Sooyoung and your CFO gone, you did thrice the work today. It’s okay, Hyunnie.” He comments. “You’ve been working hard, baby.” He forgets the weight of his words.

Jaehyun doesn’t respond. Taeyong takes it as a sign of him having fallen asleep, which makes absolute sense in his head.

It’s perfectly reasonable when he yelps as Jaehyun’s arms wrap around his waist. There’s a pleasant laugh in his ear the next moment, and he squirms as Jaehyun plants a small kiss at the side of his neck.

“Go get changed,” He tells Taeyong, whispering in his ear. “I’ll finish making the soup.”

Taeyong wears a stupid smile as he recounts this moment when he’s washing his face. He catches his reflection in the mirror and his smile falters.

They’d all asked him today. What did she do to you? Do you hate her? Why do you hate her?

He splashes water on his face and turns the faucet off. Why do I hate her?

It’s simple. She’s done some selfish things, gained off them, not repented.

But , Jaehyun’s voice plays in his mind. I’ve done some selfish things, too.

I know you have, and I love you regardless.

Taeyong takes a deep breath. He knows he’s over this, over whatever Sooyoung has done. But that’s the problem, right? That’s how his and Jaehyun’s relationship began. If Jaehyun hadn’t fought with his parents that day, he’d have never thought to take him to the amusement park. They would have had a coffee date — it wouldn’t even have been a date — and parted ways.

He takes another deep breath, not quite ready to plunge into memories just yet. The scent of peppermint is a catalyst, though. He remembers what happened, how and why things turned out the way they did.

Jaehyun came to pick him up early for their date that day. Taeyong was blow-drying his hair, he hadn’t heard the doorbell ringing at first. He remembers feeling excited but unusually dreadful; some kind of odd clairvoyance, because their date didn’t gone well. Conversation was dull and Jaehyun was uncharacteristically monosyllabic.

“ Yongie, I should tell you something, ” He said. “ Sooyoung… things aren’t going well. ”

Taeyong waited for him to continue. Jaehyun was fidgeting, so he quickly enveloped one of his hands in his own. Jaehyun pulled back.

“ I just… ” He inhaled sharply. “ Remember that day you took me to the fair? ”

“ Yeah? ”

“ So, uh, what had happened was that I lost a deal, and my dad kind of exploded at me and, well, yeah, it isn’t really important. ” He shook his head. “ But Sooyoung’s parents blamed her for it, which was very unfair. ”

Taeyong listened. There wasn’t much else he could do.

“ I told you earlier that I wasn’t too close with her, ” Jaehyun said. “ But, well, that was only because I wanted to… like, talk to you more, I guess. So that you’d think that Sooyoung and I weren’t serious.

“ Which, well, we weren’t. But our families were riding on this arrangement, and they thought that because we both were close, they could make it work. I don’t know. ”

“ Jaehyun, you aren’t making much sense. ”

“I… the point is, I caused a rift between us because of what happened that day, and honestly, I haven’t been the best person. I remember even when we were kids, I would be so proud of always one-upping her.” He laughed bitterly. “Her parents always compared her to me, and I never stopped to think of its consequences. Sooyoung only wants to make her parents happy, but I ruined that for her. And, well, it’s been a couple of months, I thought she’d get over it, but…”

“ But? ” Taeyong leaned forward, across the table.

“ She — god, how do I say this? — she outed me to my parents. ”

Taeyong sighs. It’s been years since then, and while Jaehyun and Sooyoung settled their differences, Taeyong never got the chance to. He knows there’s some internal factors playing into this. His parents had always been distant — he doesn’t even talk to them much anymore — but this, when Jaehyun’s parents lashed out on him, when Jaehyun didn’t come back for a week, it hurt him. It hurt him deeply, because he knew how Jaehyun felt. Nevermind the arguments; just the distance, the hollowness of not having that kind of support, he’s known it his entire life. He hates that Jaehyun needed to go through the same.

The past is in the past.

It isn’t that simple.

That night, Taeyong keeps a box of tissues and a jug of water by Jaehyun’s side of the bed. He makes sure the room is warm and that he has the herbal remedy Mrs. Han introduced him to; very effective for colds , she’d claimed.

“Wanna tell me about today?”

Taeyong jumps. He’d been so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Jaehyun come out of the bathroom.

“Yeah, yeah,” Taeyong says. He stands up. “I’ll just, uh, I’ll brush and come.”

Jaehyun can tell he’s stalling, but he lets him. Taeyong’s never been able to hide anything from him, anyway.

A few minutes later, the bed dips beside Jaehyun. He props himself up and gently holds back the arm Taeyong outstretched to turn the bedside lamp — their only source of light — off.

“Talk to me, Yongie.”

Taeyong sighs, knowing full well that he cannot escape this conversation.

“I should be over it, shouldn’t I?” He chuckles a self-deprecating chuckle. The arm Jaehyun had previously latched onto his forearm now reaches downwards, finding his fingers and entwining them in a sure grip.

“Even I’m a bit conflicted about that. I mean, these things take time, right?” Jaehyun thinks aloud. “It’s like… we all have our own way of dealing with issues, and unfortunately, both of us are prone to internalising things.”

“I know ,” Taeyong argues. But that’s it, isn’t it? He knows; knows that things are in the past. He knows he’s over it, over whatever emotional withdrawal Jaehyun went through because of Sooyoung; what marked the lowest point of their relationship, just three months in.

“Of course you know, Yongie. You’re smart. You know yourself.”

“Jaehyun,” Taeyong sighs, squeezing the hand in his, “Where are you going with this?”

“I just…” Jaehyun clears his throat, averts his eyes. “I think you’re over it, but you don’t want to admit it.”

Taeyong feels like he’s sighed enough for that night.

“I am,” He confesses. “I am, you know I am. I’m sure even Sooyoung knows I am…” What now? “Jae, I don’t… I don’t want to talk about this.”

Jaehyun’s nasally voice cuts through a long stretch of silence. “We don’t have to.” Their joined hands feel clammy now.

“Let’s sleep, yeah?”

“Yeah. Good night, Hyunnie.”

“Good night, love.”

The following morning isn’t as per usual. For once, they get up on opposite sides of the bed and not in the middle.

Getting ready in the morning takes less time when they aren’t distracting each other, and they didn’t even waste time bickering in bed.

It’s an unforgiving quiet. Taeyong only breaks it when he realises he has ten minutes to wile away before he can even think of leaving the house.

“Your cold is gone,” He says, scrutinizing Jaehyun. They sit at their dining table, Taeyong with a cup of hot chocolate and Jaehyun with his cereal.

“Huh, I didn’t notice.”

”You haven’t looked away from your phone all morning. Of course you didn’t notice.”

Jaehyun stares guiltily at the device lying next to his bowl of cereal. He’d rather sew his mouth shut than admit he’s scared of a silent Taeyong — because that takes the cake in Taeyong’s upset tendencies.

“What is it, Jaehyun?” Taeyong’s tone is ice pricking the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to force you to talk about it.”

“You didn’t force me,” He says. “Jaehyun, I’m not angry at you.”

“Yeah, you’re upset.” Jaehyun takes a tentative bite of his cereal.

“Mm, yeah.” Taeyong sighs. “I know we should talk about it, but I really, really don’t want to.”

“That’s okay. We can talk when you’re ready.”

“I… that’s the thing, Jae. I don’t know when I’ll be ready.” He wraps his hands around his cup, hoping some warmth will seep into him. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Jaehyun placates. “This isn’t your fault — if anything, it’s mine.”

“Let’s agree that it isn’t either of our faults.”

“That seems ideal.” Jaehyun looks at him, corners of his lips turning into a hopeful smile.

“But I’m still in a bad mood, so don’t expect anything from me.” Taeyong pouts playfully.

“Oh? See if you can resist me.” Jaehyun punctuates with a raise of his eyebrows and mischief evident in his eyes. He quickly dumps his bowl in the sink before washing his hands, Taeyong’s voice carrying through to the kitchen.

“I can,” Taeyong says. “I’ve been with you for —”

“Your existence is a blessing to my world.” Jaehyun drapes his arms over Taeyong’s shoulders from the back, resting his chin atop Taeyong’s head. “I love you so much more than you can imagine —”

“Shut up .”

Jaehyun doesn’t even have to look down to imagine what deep shade of red his boyfriend’s face has become.

“Hyunnie,” Taeyong says, after he’s got his voice back.

Jaehyun leaves a kiss in his hair. “Hm?”

“You’re a blessing to my world, too.”

Taeyong can confidently say he had a happy morning. Three hours into his day at work, though, he feels like his head has never hurt as much this.

“Tennie, can you pass me my phone?” His words are barely decipherable through the lab coat he pulled over his head.

“Huh?” Ten replies, loudly. It only makes Taeyong wince.

“I asked —”

“Hey, Ten, was it?”

Taeyong doesn’t need to hear that voice, especially not now.

“Oh, is Taeyong okay?”

No, Taeyong is not okay.

“He doesn’t seem okay…” Ten says.

“Is he asleep? Sick?” Sooyoung continues.

“I’ll just check up on him.”

Taeyong hears the footsteps approach him. He doesn’t look up until he can feel Ten’s presence beside him.

“My head hurts,” He grumbles, the mere action of raising it causing spikes of pain through his temples.

“Oh, Yongie,” Ten sighs. “I’ll get you some medicine.”

Taeyong doesn’t want him to leave, he doesn’t want to be in the same room as Park Sooyoung. Alas, he can’t do much, barely managing to pull his lab coat off himself before Ten jogs out the door. He groans.

“Should I text Jaehyun?” Sooyoung asks. Taeyong looks at her in acknowledgement, then lets out a croaky ‘please.’ He would have asked her to call him, but he doubts she’ll take kindly to him demanding things from her.

After a few tense seconds, Sooyoung speaks up again. “He says he’s coming as soon as possible.”

Taeyong hums out a thanks. Having his forehead planted on the table is doing something to him, paired with his sickness, making him unusually stimulated. He feels like he could do one of those brain training puzzles that claim to reduce your risk of getting Alzhimer’s like this. But more importantly, he feels like he can confront people like this.

“Hey, Sooyoung.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve to be treated the way I treat you.”

She looks at him skeptically, her expression fluctuating between disbelief and confusion. “You must be really sick.”

“I guess I am,” Taeyong says. “But my words are sincere.”

“Sure, Lee.”

Taeyong lets it drop. If she doesn’t believe him, it isn’t his fault, right? He’s done his part.

Stop finding excuses.

Goodness, when did the all-knowing voice in his head start sounding like Jaehyun?

Fortunately or unfortunately, Ten arrives just then. He’s armed with a small water bottle and a leaf of pills. He quickly plucks one pristine, white pill out, and hands it to Taeyong along with the bottle.

“Pop your pills,” Ten commands, airily.

Taeyong snorts and obliges, dutifully downing one with a gulp of water. He promptly places his forehead back atop the table.

“I think I’m going to sleep.”

He doesn’t hear Ten’s response; he’s already knocked out.

“Yeah, cancel it…no, no, no, Woo, listen to me! It’s okay, just cancel it.”

“Yeah, rescheduling works, too.”

“No Woo, Woo, Woo. Listen to me. I don’t care if we’ll have to wait another five months.”

“Okay, I’m hanging up now. No, no. Jungwoo. I’m hanging up. Yeah, bye. Bye, bye, bye .”

Taeyong blinks his eyes open. The noise had woken him up. He straightens up and rolls his shoulders, feeling a dull ache in his head. In the doorway, Jaehyun’s hastily handling his phone while trying to take off his coat. He looks good , Taeyong thinks idily.

He observes as Jaehyun pockets his phone and accepts the lab coat handed to him, then walks inside.

Taeyong moves to signal him over, but with a turn of his head, the pain comes back in full force. He grimaces then bites his lip.

“Hey, hey, Yongie.” Jaehyun’s beside him in an instant. “You okay?”

“Very clearly not,” Taeyong replies bluntly. “But a bit better now that you’re here.”

Jaehyun smiles. He leans over a kisses his forehead, then gently runs his fingers over Taeyong’s scalp.

“I’m taking you home,” He declares.

“Mmh, yeah,” Taeyong sighs. Jaehyun’s ministrations feel good, soothing. He could fall asleep then and there, with the harsh but forgiving overhead lights and Jaehyun beside him, the picture of serenity.

“Where are your friends?” Jaehyun interrupts, looking around. “You work with Ten, right?”

“He’s… around. I think.” Taeyong mutters. “Oh, yeah. It’s lunch time. He must be with everyone else.”

“You haven’t eaten?”

He attempts to shake his head, only later realising how it adds to the throbbing sensation.

“I’ll make you something at home, then,” Jaehyun says. The hands in Taeyong’s hair stop momentarily, and he whines at the loss.

“You big baby,” Jaehyun tuts, but stokes his fingers through Taeyong’s hair nonetheless.

“Can we just… wait here for a bit? It’s very quiet,” Taeyong suggests. His voice takes on slight hoarseness, and Jaehyun sympathises.

“Sure. As long as you want.”

Taeyong smiles. With great effort, he shifts his stool forward so he can easily lean on Jaehyun. Warm arms embrace him a second later, and he feels Jaehyun’s hair brush the side of his face.

It’s relaxing, until Ten’s voice echoes from outside.

“Yeah, he’s asleep.”

“Poor thing. Is he coming down with something?”

“That’s Ten and Johnny,” Taeyong whispers to Jaehyun.

“Mm.” Jaehyun acknowledges, keeping his voice low. “Your lunch break is over then?”

“I suppose. Is it one-thirty?”

One of the arms around Taeyong lifts; Jaehyun must be checking the time.

“Almost.” Jaehyun’s arm returns. “Can we leave soon?”

“Yeah.”

“Look, I told you he was — Oh, hi.” Ten says, from the doorway with Johnny in tow. “I didn’t know we had a guest.”

Taeyong detaches himself from Jaehyun. “Hey, Tennie. This is Jaehyun.”

“Oh? This is Jaehyun ? Jung Jaehyun, in the flesh? He’s real?”

“Ten, you can’t just say that,” Johnny reprimands.

Taeyong raises an eyebrow at Jaehyun, as if to say, ‘see what I mean?’

“Hi,” Jaehyun responds, confused and slightly offended. “It’s nice to meet you, Ten and…”

“Johnny,” Johnny says, much more polite than his boyfriend. “It’s nice to meet you too. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“... Johnny,” Taeyong says, a warning edge to his tone.

Jaehyun shoots Taeyong a grin, but it’s one of his I'm-disguising-my-real-intentions-grin, and that’s never a good sign.

“Johnny, Ten,” Taeyong abruptly starts. “Jaehyun and I were just about to leave.”

“We were? But I want to talk to your friends —”

Taeyong stands up in a hurry and almost falls if it isn’t for Jaehyun’s grip on his arm.

“Be careful, baby,” Jaehyun lowly comments. He helps Taeyong stand properly, curling an arm around his waist.

“I want to go home, Hyunnie,” He whines, already burying himself against Jaehyun’s chest.

“Then let’s go home.” Jaehyun responds simply. “Do you have everything you need?”

“Phone, wallet,” Taeyong feels around his pockets, “and Jaehyun. Yeah, I have everything I need.”

Somewhere behind them, Ten gags.

Jaehyun leaves a chaste kiss on his forehead. “Come.”

Taeyong falls asleep in the car, Jaehyun’s overcoat covering him and the hum of the car’s engine aiding him.

Somewhere between being awake and being asleep, as sunlight glares through the window, as Jaehyun quietly swears at every other car, he feels at peace. At home.

And at the end of day, does it matter what his friends think? What Ten doesn’t believe, what Yuta thinks is made-up. At the end of the day, does it matter what any of them have to say? What Sooyoung wants to spread, what Jaehyun’s parents think. Does it matter, when he’s got Jaehyun here, with him? Does it matter when he knows Jaehyun would drop everything for him, when he knows he’d do the same for Jaehyun?

A hand squeezes his. When he looks up, they’re outside their apartment complex.

“We’re home, Yongie. Wake up,” Jaehyun says.

Yes, Taeyong thinks, as Jaehyun lightly brushes aside the strands of hair on his forehead. I’m home.