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It’s been a little over a year since they’ve seen each other in person. With Jeongguk having to stay in New York as the co-executive of the company he runs with Seokjin, being thrown into the task of running the American leg of the company, he’s had no time to come back to Taehyung like he so badly wants to. The days he gets off aren’t long enough, and he still has to work on those days anyway. It’s awful.
It hurts him more, how Taehyung is so understanding with it all. Sometimes he wishes Taehyung would beg him to come back, instead of just whispering “I miss you” on the other side of the line. Maybe he’d actually have been able to escape work that way. All he ever did at work was complain about missing his husband, yet he never got time. No one ever gave him time. Fuck the company, honestly. At least he got to give all of his money to Taehyung like he deserves—but sometimes it felt pointless when he’d go to sleep without his husband warm in his arms.
But now.
Now, he glances down at the plane tickets on his desk, thumbing at the smooth paper over and over. He tries not to burst into the smile that’s threatening to overtake his mouth; this was supposed to be a surprise.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Jeongguk sighs, trying to remain calm. Act natural. Act like he wasn’t going to see Taehyung in a little over fourteen hours. Home for Christmas Eve; home for Christmas.
“Don’t be. It’s fine,” Taehyung murmurs. He’s hugging a pillow to his stomach, and Jeongguk knows he isn’t really fine with it. God, he aches so much.
“It’s not,” he counters, just as softly. It gets a small smile on Taehyung’s face, one he’s been a little desperate to see. Which is selfish of him, really. Wishing Taehyung would smile when he’s left him alone for so long.
“You can’t really decide that though, can you?”
Jeongguk licks his lips. Valid point, as unfortunate as it is. “I need to quit my job.”
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung laughs, shaking his head at him, and Jeongguk can just barely trick himself into thinking Taehyung really is there with him, in arm’s reach. Not thousands of miles away.
“They should just fire me already.”
“You’re literally the one who fires people, Guk.”
“Okay, and? I’m incompetant. All I ever do is sulk around and cry about missing my husband. I don’t do shit—”
Taehyung’s watching him so fondly, and—fuck, Jeongguk loves him so much; he almost squeezes the tickets in his hand until they crumple, pent up energy about ready to burst.
He just wants to see him again. Just wants to hold him.
In due time, Jeon. Due time.
“You’re the hardest worker I know,” Taehyung tells him, sincerity so clear in his voice despite the slight muffle that occurs with the calls. And Jeongguk’s chest aches despite the warmth that Taehyung so easily fills him with, even while being oceans away.
It means a lot to him, hearing him say that. He leans back in his chair, swallowing past the lump in his throat, blinking away the moisture starting to coat his eyes. He brings the tickets to his lap, pressing them to his thigh, still away from Taehyung’s sight.
“The things I would do just to hold you right now,” Jeongguk whispers, loud enough for Taehyung to still pick up. And he means it as he traces the letters on the ticket. He tries to placate himself, knowing he really will be able to tomorrow.
“Soon,” Taehyung says with the loveliest smile on his lips. As if that wasn’t what they’ve been saying to each other for the past year.
He doesn’t know how right he is this time.
“Soon,” Jeongguk repeats. Conviction and sentiment poured into the word; soon.
“I’m going to be busy tomorrow, so I’ll probably put my phone on do not disturb. Don’t be alarmed if your calls don’t go through, yeah?”
“Okay,” Taehyung says, falling for it easily. And Jeongguk can’t wait to cup his beautiful face in his hands again, kiss him for hours until the sun comes around.
He’s so excited. So, so excited. And he can’t wait for Taehyung’s reaction to this surprise either. He hopes he’ll be as happy as he knows he himself will be.
“Okay. I have to go now—I love you.”
“I love you.”
“So much.”
“So much more.”
“No, me,” Jeongguk teases, even as he moves to stand up, hand on the mouse.
“No,” Taehyung laughs, but still waves at him from where he sits. Blows a kiss after Jeongguk does, and after watching each other for a few more moments, Jeongguk gives another kiss before he ends the call.
The tickets are still in his hand.
“Soon,” he whispers into the silent room.
· — 🎄 — ·
Taehyung sits on the couch, Yeontan sleeping peacefully beside him. He spends a lot of the winter evenings like this, curled on the couch in front of the lit fireplace, the room dark besides the glow of the crackling fire and the fairy lights Jimin had helped him decorate the room with the day before. The Christmas tree hasn’t been decorated yet—he hasn’t really felt very festive lately, even with Jimin pulling him along to buy decorations, Jimin’s boyfriend Yoongi helping him with getting the tree into the mansion Jeongguk and Taehyung live in.
He knows why he isn’t feeling very festive. He just can’t really bring himself to be, when the only present he could ever want is his husband to be by his side again. Christmas isn’t the same without him—he knew that last year, and it feels even worse this time.
Taehyung purses his lips down at the phone he cradles in his lap. The screen is dark, but he knows if he unlocked it, it’d be open to Jeongguk’s contact. He wonders if he’s still busy; it’s morning in New York now, he thinks. But he doesn’t want to risk it, in case he wakes up Jeongguk from the slumber he knows he needs. The man still has problems falling asleep, ever since he first moved to America.
Taehyung smiles softly at that, seeing his reflection in the black screen. Sometimes it soothes him, knowing that Jeongguk misses him just as much as he does—he feels a little guilty for that, reveling a little in his husband’s suffering, but he’s suffering too, so maybe it’s a little justified.
He remembers the day Jeongguk broke down on a Skype call a few weeks into being away over just how much he missed him, how awful he felt leaving Taehyung alone. How he was his husband, his job was to be by his side, yet here he was, miles away.
Taehyung had cried along with him, even as he tried to soothe him as best as he could. Even when they both knew the best way to soothe was to rock him in his arms until they both fell asleep, but there was no way to, not anytime soon when Jeongguk was busier than ever with starting the company in America.
It was a struggle, at first. The lingering doubts that had plagued them the first few months, never having been away from each other for so long. They never stopped reassuring each other, even though they both knew how they felt about the distance between them. And no matter how many times Taehyung would reassure Jeongguk that he wasn’t too lonely—he had Jimin and the other hyungs and Yeontan, after all—it was still never the whole truth.
How could it be, when Taehyung had to spray a little bit of Jeongguk’s perfume on the pillow that was meant for him whenever his scent started to fade? Sometimes rubbing his hair against the pillow after showering with Jeongguk’s favorite shampoo, Jeongguk’s favorite soap and body wash, Jeongguk Jeongguk Jeongguk.
Crying into it at nights when the loneliness hit harder than usual. Whispering I love you, I miss you in the dark, thinking about staying up until Jeongguk’s break so he could call him.
But it was all okay. Taehyung still held onto that pillow at night, and knows he always will, even if it takes forever for Jeongguk to come home.
And he knows that Jeongguk is the same. Knows he means it whenever he says he misses him, especially the nights where he whispers if Taehyung can stay on the call the entire night, to talk to him until he falls asleep. Taehyung would do anything for him. Anything.
He’s still smiling down at his phone—smiling at nothing, really. He flips the phone over, thumbing over the smooth plastic of his phone case. Right over the wedding picture he’d tucked under there, three years old and still in pristine condition. The polaroid of Taehyung’s euphoric grin so wide his eyes are almost gone, and Jeongguk beside him, pressing his lips to his cheek. So fancy in their suits, confetti still stuck to their hair, a little bit of cake on Jeongguk’s cheek and their ringed hands clasped and hovering for the world to see.
Taehyung thumbs at that same ring still on his hand, letting out a sigh that even he can admit sounds a little love-sick.
He’s about to stand up and head to the bedroom when the doorbell rings, the bright dinging of the bells flooding through the mansion. Both Taehyung and Yeontan lift their heads in shock, and he exchanges a look with his dog, confusion in his gaze. It’s almost 11 PM, who would come over at this hour?
Yeontan suddenly springs off the couch and runs out of the room, Taehyung calling after him in surprise. He hesitates, pressing his lips together, unlocking his phone to see no texts from anyone.
When Tannie starts barking, Taehyung finally gets up and walks out of the room to the entrance foyer. There’s a slight shake to his legs, but Yeontan doesn’t usually bark at people behind the door—not unless it’s someone familiar.
His tail is wagging when Taehyung gets there, paws up on the door and yipping some more. So Taehyung takes a deep breath, urging Yeontan aside so he can open it.
Maybe he should’ve looked through the peephole first. Maybe that would have prepared him a little better for the sight that he’s met with.
Because—there, in front of him, on the other side of the threshold, is Jeongguk.
Jeongguk.
Jeongguk.
Jeongguk, wrapped up warm in a fleece coat, fingers in his pockets. Standing there as snow falls gently around him—Taehyung didn’t even realize it had started snowing and, oh.
Taehyung thinks he’s dreaming. He doesn’t know if he’s still breathing, and they’re just staring at each other—he wonders if Jeongguk’s smile really is getting wider with every few seconds or if he’s just seeing things.
Taehyung tries to get his shit together, taking in a deep breath of cold air.
“Hi,” he lets out; he sounds so breathless to his own ears, but he can’t think much of it. Not when his mind is hooked solely on Jeongguk, at the way he grins fondly at him, the corners of eyes folding in crinkles.
“Hi,” the man in front of him repeats, familiar voice so clear, no static in its midst. Clear, there, right in front of him.
Taehyung swallows, eyes glistening. He tries to blink the tears away—he can’t let anything obscure his vision... but then he stops himself—what if Jeongguk disappears if he blinks too much? Oh, god.
He swallows again, before gathering more courage to speak up. “H-how can I help you?” Maybe he really is hallucinating. Maybe this isn’t Jeongguk, maybe he’s going crazy—
But the other’s face softens, eyes glittering with a fondness that Taehyung doesn’t fail to miss, and he watches him glance up at the mansion theatrically before looking back at him with a raised brow.
“Well, you see, I’m looking for—ah, who is it again?—a certain... Kim Taehyung? Do you know him, by any chance? He’s so handsome, prettier than all the stars in the sky, and holds all of the sun’s light in his smile. He’s warmer than all the blankets in the world if you hold him. He’s my husband—I feel like you might know him.”
Oh.
And Taehyung just can’t, can’t stop the tears from falling now. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, covering his face before Jeongguk sees him fully breakdown, but his voice cracks with the sob that shakes his shoulders. “I’m—Taehyung isn’t emotionally ready for this right now—”
And he tries to back away and shut the door on him, but Jeongguk is too quick, a hand coming up to stop the door from closing shut. And that soft laugh, that familiar chuckle is so clear, so close to his ear, and arms are around him, and—“Taehyung,” Jeongguk murmurs, lips soft on his temple.
Taehyung sobs harder, even as Jeongguk takes his hands and pulls them away from his face, kicking the door shut behind them. Seeing Jeongguk’s face through his watery vision—Taehyung doesn’t think he can handle this. He can’t, he can’t, Jeongguk is here, Jeongguk is here.
“Are you real?” Taehyung asks when he calms down a notch, and Jeongguk’s already fond smile grows warmer, softer, so full of love that Taehyung doesn’t think he should keep looking or else he’ll never stop crying—but, god, he can’t take his eyes away from the man he’s missed so much. So, so much.
“I’m real, baby. I left New York this morning—I wanted to surprise you,” Jeongguk murmurs, squeezing the hands he’s still holding. Jeongguk’s hands are cold from the low temperature outside, the snow crystals in his hair melting with the indoor heat of the mansion, and Jeongguk is so, so, so beautiful. “I'm here. I'm staying for a few more days with you.”
And with those words, Taehyung’s sobs come back in full force, pulling his hands away from Jeongguk’s to throw his arms around his neck, hugging as tight as he can. Relishing the feeling of Jeongguk holding him just as tightly, arms around his back, pulling him even closer.
“I'm here,” Jeongguk whispers in his ear, over and over, and Taehyung doesn’t think he’s ever felt so happy. Not since the day they said their vows, since they put on the rings that are still on their fingers—Taehyung saw Jeongguk’s, saw the familiar band when he squeezed his fingers, and.
He’s so happy. Happier than words can describe.
· — 🎄 — ·
Yeontan had been quiet the entire time, as if knowing to give them their space, but he yips and jumps about their legs when Jeongguk tries to waddle the two of them to the living room.
“Hey buddy,” Jeongguk murmurs, skillfully kicking his shoes off without letting go of Taehyung in his arms. Yeontan looks excited to see him, which is a little surprising considering how he usually has an agenda against him (somehow always peeing in his office of all places, like what the hell Tannie).
When Jeongguk safely urges Taehyung to sit on the couch, letting him go so he can sit as well, he finally succumbs to Yeontan’s attempts to get his attention, lifting him up into his lap and roughly smoothing his hands through his fur, cupping his face and making cooing sounds, pretending to bite his nose and getting a lick on the cheek from the dog instead.
When he looks to his side, he sees Taehyung watching him. Beautiful, beautiful Taehyung, somehow still looking as gorgeous as ever with his red-rimmed eyes, red nose, face a little puffy from crying. There’s a small smile on his lips, and Jeongguk wants him closer, wants to hold him in all his beautiful glory, soak in the way he looks in the grey hoodie he’s wearing—one he recognizes as one of his gifts to Taehyung from a few months back.
Jeongguk’s hands go limp, and Yeontan, satisfied with their little giving-him-attention session, jumps off his lap and curls up in a ball by their feet, ready to sleep.
So now Taehyung has his undivided attention.
“Hey,” Jeongguk murmurs softly, smile so natural on his lips.
Taehyung licks his own, eyes darting as if examining every detail on his face, like he still hasn’t gotten his fill in the past few minutes. “Hey… I'm still? I'm still wondering if I'm dreaming.”
And he couldn’t have that, could he. “Come here,” Jeongguk tells him, a soft order, and then both of them are shifting, Taehyung crawling closer to climb into his lap and Jeongguk scooting sideways so he can sit back against the armrest of the couch, legs stretching out once Taehyung’s secured on his thighs.
And it feels so natural, a familiarity he’s ached to have for the past fourteen months. Being this close, Taehyung’s fingers drifting up his chest before curling around his shoulders, Jeongguk’s hand burying in Taehyung’s soft hazelnut locks. Smoothing down to cup the back of Taehyung’s neck, guiding him closer as he closes the little distance between their mouths, connecting them together.
And they both sigh at the same time, easily melding their lips together. Slowly, languidly savoring the feeling. The feeling they’ve missed out on for much too long. Taehyung licking at the seam of Jeongguk’s lips, urging him to open up after Jeongguk had sucked Taehyung’s bottom lip in his mouth. Maybe Jeongguk understands what Taehyung meant by saying all of this feels like a dream—letting Taehyung in and their tongues meeting, both of them humming at the warmth and wetness, Taehyung’s grip tightening on his jacket—Jeongguk feels like he’s in a haze of warmth, of longing. Of happiness.
This, Jeongguk thinks as he pulls back enough to look at his husband through hooded eyes, Taehyung barely being able to open his own before Jeongguk’s kissing him again. This is the feeling he’s felt so empty without—the feeling of being home.
Not once has his penthouse suite in New York felt like home to him. The days exhausting, the bed he unfortunately grew used to becoming a constant, but never something he truly looked forward to. Not like this, not like the way his breath had hitched when he pulled up to the mansion. Not like the way his heart almost burst out of his chest when the door opened to Taehyung right there, in the flesh.
The mansion is one thing, but Taehyung—Taehyung is his true home. The one he was homesick for, the only one he could possibly feel complete with. Even if they weren’t under this roof, Jeongguk knew he’d feel that sweet warmth in his chest as long as Taehyung was by his side. As long as he was this close, kissing him fervently, just like this.
Jeongguk feels whole again. Feels fourteen exhausting months wither away as if they never happened, feels like his batteries have finally been fully-charged. Feels himself overflowing with love as he pulls away again, lifting his hands to cup Taehyung’s warm cheeks, thumbing away another tear that had fallen.
In the orange glow of the fireplace, Jeongguk can just barely see the rosy tint to Taehyung’s cheeks and those wet, glimmering eyes, and he just looks so beautiful. So perfect. Looking exactly like the man he had married three years ago, had fallen in love with even longer.
The love of his life. His precious miracle.
“Realized I'm real yet?” Jeongguk whispers, pressing their foreheads together. Taehyung takes a moment to respond, basking in the moment a little longer before fluttering his eyes open.
“I guess,” Taehyung answers under his breath, a hand coming up to grasp at his wrist. Jeongguk lets him pull it down, and Taehyung plays with the ring on his finger, glancing up to see Jeongguk’s smile.
“I'm just… how?” Taehyung asks. His voice is honey soft, a little worn out from crying and kissing and just finally being in Jeongguk’s presence.
Jeongguk raises a brow at him. “What do you mean ‘how’? By plane, silly.”
Taehyung scoffs, hitting his chest, but Jeongguk continues. “Wait, no. Scratch that—actually, I came in Santa’s sleigh, he dropped me off—”
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung laughs, hitting him again. Jeongguk is quite offended, if he does say so himself.
“What? It’s only fitting, since I'm your Christmas present after all.”
Taehyung’s entire face softens at that, looking thoughtful as he unzips Jeongguk’s coat, urging him to take it off before he gets too hot. (Jeongguk would say that the coat can’t stop him from being hot, but Taehyung might kick him off the couch.)
“You wouldn’t fit in any of the stockings. Or under the tree,” Taehyung comments, hands moving over the black sweater Jeongguk was wearing underneath the coat. Jeongguk’s own hands fiddle with the end of Taehyung’s hoodie, hoping his fingers have warmed enough as he slips them under, feeling at his warm skin.
Jeongguk’s about to say a dead body could fit under that tree, but when he glances at it, he notices how it’s barren. “The tree isn’t decorated?”
“Yeah,” Taehyung says, glancing behind him to look at it as well. He looks a bit sheepish. “I wasn’t really up for it, since I just. Really missed you.”
Jeongguk thinks this is the hundredth time he’s melted for his husband in the past ten minutes. “I'm here now,” he whispers, pressing a hand to Taehyung’s cheek to get him to look at him again. “You get to spend Christmas with me this time.”
Taehyung’s eyes shine in the golden light; Jeongguk watches him swallow, watches him glance down at the space between their bodies and press his face more against Jeongguk’s hand. Jeongguk pulls him down, and Taehyung shifts to properly lay on him, curling against his chest and laying his head on Jeongguk’s shoulder, head tucked right under his chin.
“I missed you everyday, you know,” Taehyung murmurs. Jeongguk does know, but he just curls his arms around his love tighter. “Every single day I woke up and told you I missed you, even if I couldn’t say it to you through the phone—I missed you so much.”
“Me too,” Jeongguk whispers, looking up at the ceiling. “Everyday I wished I could come home already and fall asleep while holding you in my arms like this.”
“It’s funny—you’re the only present I wanted for Christmas. And here you are.” Taehyung laughs softly, almost in disbelief as he pushes up to look at him again. Those hooded eyes of his, framed with the longest lashes Jeongguk loves to touch and press kisses to—they look so pretty in the firelight, and Jeongguk closes his eyes when Taehyung lets their lips meet again.
“Should’ve just put a bow on my head,” Jeongguk mumbles between kisses, making Taehyung snort. But the conversation suddenly reminds him of something, making a sound resonate in the back of his throat as he gently presses at Taehyung’s shoulder.
“Ah—I almost forgot.” Taehyung pulls back curiously, Jeongguk pressing him back down to his chest to relax. He digs into the pocket of his dress pants, smiling when his fingers latch onto the box. “Speaking of presents; I know it’s not quite Christmas yet, but I'm impatient, so.”
He pulls it out, smiling at the way Taehyung’s eyes widen, raising a brow at him. “Are you proposing to me again?”
He knows he’s joking—it’s not quite a ring box, but he still raises a brow to match his husband’s. Jeongguk would go on one knee if their position wasn’t so comfortable. “Kim Taehyung, do you take me, Jeon Jeongguk, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to h—”
“Guk!” Taehyung laughs, cutting him off with a hard slap to his chest. Jeongguk yelps, rubbing at the skin with a pout as Taehyung rips the box from his hand, deciding to open it himself.
“You’re ignoring my proposal,” Jeongguk complains, situating his arms around Taehyung’s waist again, but Taehyung ignores him to open the box. And the gasp he lets out when he does, looking up at Jeongguk in awe—it’s satisfying, Jeongguk silently praying that he likes it.
It being a necklace, the pendant a tear-shaped gem made of sapphire and turquoise, the contrasting shades of blue mixing together in an almost yin-yang design. Taehyung recognizes their birthstones immediately—it’s the same design as the little gem on their wedding bands.
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung whispers, taking in the soft, knowing smile Jeongguk’s looking at him with.
“It matches with our rings,” Jeongguk states the obvious, pulling the neckline of his sweater down to show the very same necklace hanging proudly around his neck. Taehyung gapes at it before gazing down at the one in the box made for him, his fingers moving to press at the smooth gem, stroking it gently.
“Do you like it?” he asks softly, watching Taehyung’s face intently. And Taehyung lifts his head, his eyes so wide and earnest when he meets his.
“I love it,” Taehyung breathes, lifting himself up to kiss him, and Jeongguk melts into it, relief making his chest feel light as he kisses him back, deep and slow. “Put it on me?”
So he does, skillfully putting it around Taehyung’s neck without Taehyung having to get up much. It looks beautiful on him; Jeongguk knows it’d look gorgeous against his golden skin.
“It’s the best present ever,” Taehyung whispers once he tucks it under his hoodie, leaning back in to kiss him.
“But not better than me, right?”
Half of him is expecting him to deny it just to be cheeky, but Taehyung smiles warmly at him, cute teeth peeking out when he bites at his bottom lip. “Okay, nothing can beat you.”
Jeongguk hums at that, satisfied as he presses a kiss to the corner of Taehyung’s lip, before taking the box and putting it on the tea table in front of them. “Good, because I have another present for you and I don’t want that to beat my Best Present status either.”
“Another?” Taehyung snorts, pleasantly surprised. “You spoil me, babe.”
“Mm, I don’t spoil you enough.” He thumbs at the fabric of the hoodie Taehyung is wearing, remembering the exact day he’d seen it in a display in New York and hadn’t even bothered to look at the price before he bought it. The cursive letters spelling ‘love’ in English—it was simple, yet Jeongguk was overcome with the need to get it for his husband. Seeing him wearing it even after all these months, wearing one of his gifts is immensely satisfying; he wants to bury his face in it, in him, so that’s what he does.
Taehyung huffs softly at him when he buries his face into Taehyung’s torso, but easily runs his hand through his hair, his other arm wrapping around his neck, hugging him closer to his chest.
“You buy me something every week, Guk, what are you talking about.”
“Not enough,” Jeongguk complains, voice muffled as he nuzzles into his hoodie, fingers finding his warm skin of his waist underneath and sighing at how comforting it is, being so close to someone so familiar. Like all the years with him are back at full force, rediscovering.
“What’s the present? I'm curious.” He pats Jeongguk’s head, and he sighs as he straightens to meet his gaze. For some reason, he feels a little nervous—he shouldn’t be, especially since it’s good news, wonderful news he’s absolutely ecstatic about. But what if Taehyung didn’t feel the same somehow?
There’s a lingering doubt, and Taehyung can probably sense it. Jeongguk feels Taehyung’s hands in his hair again, soothing against his scalp, and he closes his eyes to bask in the feeling for a moment, regaining his confidence. Taehyung watches him curiously, a little worried—Jeongguk hopes to rid him of the latter emotion.
“I'm really excited about this,” Jeongguk admits, a bit breathless, fingers pressing at the skin of Taehyung’s back. Taehyung hums, telling him he’s listening, and lets him shift them a bit in order to sit up more.
“You know how I help run the company in America?”
“Yeah?” Taehyung nods, watching him curiously, shivering a little when Jeongguk’s fingers travel absentmindedly up his back, the hoodie bunching up a little with it.
“Well,” Jeongguk starts. He pulls his hands back out, fixing Taehyung’s hoodie back on his frame before lifting them up, fingers cupping the sides of Taehyung’s face. Watching his eyelids flutter at the touch as he brushes at his bangs, tucking some hair behind his ear.
“The company is going really well over there—I’ve helped enough for it to be pretty stable, so they’re—well. The management team is willing to hire a replacement for me so I can come back and work in Korea again.”
The way Taehyung is staring at him right now—it brings a smile to his face so easily. He looks confused, eyes wide and glossy and his lips parted, as if he’s not believing what he’s hearing. Like the words haven’t registered yet, struggling to understand.
“Baby,” Jeongguk chuckles softly, leaning in closer, brushing their noses together. “I'm—I'm coming back. I’ll be back to you—for good.”
And watching Taehyung’s face crumple into a sob all over again before he’s throwing his arms around him, so hard that Jeongguk falls back against the armrest—it brings tears to Jeongguk’s eyes. Ones he’s tried so hard to keep back ever since his sight landed on the mansion that had his beloved in it—he knows Taehyung will just sob harder if he sees him crying as well.
But he can’t help the tears that spill down his cheeks at Taehyung holding him so tightly, at the prospect of finally, finally being with Taehyung again, for always. No more restless nights aching for his husband beside him, no more cold, empty hands in winter mornings.
Because Taehyung will be beside him again. In his arms, holding his hand. And he couldn’t ask for anything more.
“It’ll take some time,” Jeongguk explains after taking a shuddering breath, burying his nose into Taehyung’s hair. “We have to actually find someone capable of keeping things going, and then making sure the transitioning in both countries will be okay, since I have to get used to working in Korea again. So it might take a month or two, maybe, but—”
Taehyung cuts him off by pulling back and pressing their lips together, a startled noise getting coaxed out of Jeongguk’s mouth before he kisses back just as fervently. The warmth that barrels through him with every passionate kiss—more tears spill from his watery eyes.
When Taehyung pulls back slowly and sees his wet cheeks, he lets out a soft noise of complaint, cupping his cheeks like Jeongguk had been doing for him earlier. Thumbing away the tears with the warmest expression despite the wetness to his face as well; Jeongguk all but melts as he leans back in to press their foreheads together again, keeping each other as close as can be.
“You’ll really be here with me again?” Taehyung whispers, as if saying it too loudly would make it untrue.
“Really,” he affirms, and Taehyung tilts their faces to kiss again, so softly, the gentlest press of lips Jeongguk could ever experience. Taehyung’s lips being so soft and plush and he could kiss him for hours. He really wants to.
“I have more, actual presents for you,” Jeongguk admits, and Taehyung’s eyes widen before he lets out a laugh of disbelief.
“More? Guk.”
“What? They’re in the car. I'm just too comfortable to get them right now.” He buries his face into Taehyung’s neck for emphasis, biting at the hoodie to get access to more of his warm skin.
“Won’t they freeze out there?”
Jeongguk pauses, considering. Then he shrugs. “Whatever.”
“Guk,” Taehyung groans with a giggle, shaking his head at him even when Jeongguk can’t see. “Go park your car in the garage.”
“No. Later.” And he curls his arms around Taehyung tighter, and that was that.
Taehyung shakes his head again, glancing behind him. “Well, now we can put them under the—oh.” He looks back down at Jeongguk’s head, stroking his dark locks of hair gently. “You want to decorate the tree with me in the morning?”
Of course he does. He’d do everything with him, anything Taehyung ever wanted. “Maybe in the afternoon?” he suggests a touch shyly, “because, you know… jetlag.”
Taehyung snorts. “Ah yes, jetlag. The bane of mankind. Next thing you know you’ll be saying we should just decorate the tree on the twenty-sixth.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung groans again, and Jeongguk finally straightens to grin mischievously at him. “Christmas would be over then, dumbass.”
“Who cares. We can do that anytime—I'm going to spend all of Christmas loving you.”
Taehyung knows what that implies, seeing his hooded gaze, the little smirk to his lips. His heart beats a little faster, but he smiles sweetly, lifting a hand from around his shoulders to gently poke his nose.
“After we decorate the tree.” Jeongguk purses his lips but doesn’t complain—Taehyung doesn’t let him, kissing those puckered lips just as softly as usual with a bright laugh. So overtaken with love, the most familiar feeling of all.
They spend a lot of time on the couch like that, snuggled together, kissing lazily over and over, “getting back all the kisses I missed out on,” in Jeongguk’s words when Taehyung complains about his lips feeling swollen.
Taehyung’s phone starts pinging where he left it on the tea table after a bit, and when he checks it, he finds that it’s become midnight and he’s gotten messages from the hyungs.
jimin:
merry christmas taetae! hope you enjoy your present ;)
yoongi:
u better be cuddling with guk rn I didn't work hard to drop his car off at the airport for nothing
hoseok:
merry christmas tae!!! say that to guk for me too
seokjin:
namjoon and I say merry christmas to the two of you <3
“Why can’t they just text ‘Merry Christmas’ to me too,” Jeongguk grumbles when he sees the texts, and Taehyung laughs at the annoyed expression on his face, shaking his head.
“Merry Christmas, Gukkie,” Taehyung whispers, and Jeongguk softens, repeats the words warmly against his lips.
And when they head to the bedroom to sleep, basking in the feeling of laying next to a warm body once again—it’s the best feeling in the world.
“I'm sorry I have to leave again soon,” Jeongguk whispers into Taehyung’s hair, curling his arms around his waist tighter.
But Taehyung shushes him. “If I can wait that long for this, I can wait a little longer for even more. Especially since you’ll come back to me for real.”
He will. But for now, he cherishes this moment all he can, pressing kisses to Taehyung’s face. Kissing the ring on his finger—he’ll never stop feeling relieved that Taehyung is the one he’s decided to spend his entire life with. Because the man in his arms makes everyday worth it, even if they’re apart—it only gives him the incentive to work harder to see him again.
And it’s definitely paid off. Because soon, he’ll get this everyday again: holding the love of his life in his arms.
Merry Christmas to them, indeed.