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Seokjin has been married to Yoongi for 4 years now, and he thinks he's never been so comfortable his whole life.
Yoongi's out on their patio and just started grilling the lamb cuts for his famed lamb skewers that Jungkook's always begging for when they host dinners, and he's wearing the pink apron with 'Chef Yoonie' printed in ostentatious black front on the front; Seokjin had bought them a matching set for their last anniversary and Yoongi had spent the entire morning of that day blushing every time he looked down at it.
Seokjin's so ridiculously in love, it disgusts him.
He lifts the lid of the ceramic pot that's been boiling away on the stove and shifts the boiling pasta inside. The group had decided Italian food would be the theme for this month's dinner and Seokjin wants to scoff; lamb skewers were obviously not part of the theme but Yoongi's always been soft for their youngest. Seokjin, on the other hand, commends himself on the strength it takes not to deck Jungkook in the face every time he mentions non-existent gray strands of hair on his head.
"Yoongi-yah!" he yells through the balcony opening.
"Yeah, hyung?" Yoongi pops his head into view, followed by the rest of him with tongs in his right hand. He's wearing black jeans and a thick green turtleneck that makes Yoongi look all kinds of warm, safe and snug. He's styled his hair to part in the middle and he's wearing his favorite dangley earrings; Seokjin's ready to pull out his phone and text everyone that dinner is cancelled, he will instead be spending the evening cuddling the fuck out of his husband on their very large and comfortable sofa.
"Uh." Seokjin murmurs. Fuck. He's lost his train of thought. What was he supposed to say?
"Hyung?" Yoongi's still looking at him expectantly and thankfully, that's when his brain kick-starts into functioning again.
"Can you find the fairy lights in the lights box? I can never find the damn thing myself, for some reason. Just leave 'em on the table and I'll set them up as soon as the bread’s done baking.'' he instructs, pivoting back to the boiling pot and the bread baking in the oven. He hears Yoongi saying "Yeah, sure" and he's pulling on his oven mitts to get the dinner rolls from the oven and rest before the others start arriving.
There's rummaging noise coming from the back of the house, where he knows their storage closet sits next to the staircase to the basement. He removes the rolls from the hot pan on the cooling rack and drains the water from the pot, tipping it towards the colander in the sink and running cold water from the tap. He sees Yoongi walking back into the dining room and placing the lights on the counter-top; "thanks honey" he says, and he makes his way from the kitchen to the patio, dropping a kiss to Yoongi's cheek on the way there.
Their dining table is set outside on the deck with all the cutlery already placed; they try to divide up responsibilities so Namjoon and Jimin are tasked with bringing the sauce for the pasta, along with a (store-bought) cake, while Taehyung, Hoseok and Jungkook bring the alcohol.
There's some french music playing on the speaker, and Yoongi's placed a few candles on the wooden railing that surrounds the deck.
"How's the lamb coming?" Seokjin asks, stepping up onto a chair and stringing the lights to a nail in the wall of the house. He's moving to a pole stuck on the other side when Yoongi replies.
"It's going okay. I just hope they're not under-cooked. That'd be a nightmare, ugh."
Seokjin laughs, "Yeah that was kinda funny. It was even better when I called Namjoon to warn him and all I can hear is Jimin puking his guts out into the toilet bowl."
"Oh fuck yeah, Namjoon was flipping his shit. They'd just started dating back then, right?" Yoongi's laughing too now, and his gums are out. He's never looked better (that's a lie, he always manages to look better everytime Seokjin sees him) but Seokjin's just an awful man in love, when would the butterflies even stop?
He should be used to it now, right? That tingling feeling under his skin every time Yoongi laughs at one of his jokes; the sense of safety when they're just watching Loan Sharks on Thursday nights with a bowl of popcorn in front of them (which is always forgotten when they inevitably start making out. you know. like a couple of teenagers ).
"Yeah, they did. Jimin reeled in a good one, huh?" he swallows nervously, hoping Yoongi hasn't noticed his brief space-out; Yoongi would never let him live it down.
"Yeah. Namjoon-ah's good for him. Jimin's always been running, you know? Namjoon makes him just," Yoongi pauses, contemplating what to say before, "make him stop and just, breathe for a second."
"Yeah...they've been dating a while now. It seems like it's going well." Seokjin ties the last string and dusts his hand, leaning his hip next to the grill and kisses Yoongi full on the lips. Seokjin's hand rests on Yoongi’s shoulder and then slides up to the side of his neck. Yoongi, in turn, has his hand cupping Seokjin's cheek and he's ever so slightly tilted his head up. The kiss is chaste but deep, and Seokjin's pouring all the love in his heart into the lips connecting the both of them.
"Well." Yoongi starts, separating himself from Seokjin, "don't do that again." He swats a towel at Seokjin, to which he yelps.
"What the hell?" Seokjin's rubbing at his shoulder.
"I need full concentration if you want us all to enjoy this meat and have it stay down our throats and not come back up, so shoo!" Yoongi scolds.
The doorbell rings before he can respond. "Oh they're already here." They both start moving but Seokjin waves his hand, "Stay and finish grilling, I'll get the door. "
There's incessant knocking and ringing of the doorbell, and Seokjin stops just before picking up the umbrella by the door; Taehyung, Hoseok and Jungkook stand outside and Seokjin makes to threaten hitting all three of them with an umbrella, "I swear to god, you children -"
"Love you too, hyung" Jungkook brags, ducking under Seokjin's outstretched arm with two full bags in his arms. Neither Taehyung nor Hoseok hold anything, choosing to greet him with a "hi hyung" as they also pass him by. Hoseok pats him on the shoulder in sympathy, and Seokjin catches a glimpse of his nails before they walk into the house too.
He's mentally and physically huffing but just as he's about to close the door, he sees Jimin and Namjoon pull up to the driveway and waits outside to greet them too. Namjoon bends down into the boot of the car and lifts a pot, and Jimin's holding another bag carefully balanced on open palms.
They each greet him with a "Hi, hyung" and Seokjin walks halfway to meet Namjoon in their front yard, clutches the other handle of the pot and they start waddling into the house. With a loud huff, both men drop the pot on the counter-top, and Seokjin gets to transferring the sauce into a bowl for them to use at the table. He hears a chorus of greetings to Yoongi outside, all of them complimenting the aroma of spices that floats around.
Jimin delicately sets the cake into a shelf on the fridge and he catches Seokjin staring at Yoongi.
"Ew, hyung."
Seokjin's looking at Jimin, who has a knowing smirk on his face. "Yah, mind your own business, you rascal!"
"You look so love-sick hyung. You've been married for years now, and you've known Yoongi for years before that too. Shouldn't you be over that dopey look in your eyes?" Jimin banters, picking up the cooling rack and sauntering out onto the deck, leaving Seokjin rolling his eyes.
There's a chorus of cheers when he wobbles his way over to the table with bowls of pasta and sauce; the others have already taken their seats and opened the wine, glasses filled and waiting for Seokjin to begin. There's a chair empty next to Jimin, and Seokjin assumes that it's meant to be Yoongi's spot, who's grilling the last cut and gripping the edges of the plate over to the table. Yoongi settles into his seat and drops another kiss to Seokjin's surprise - he's never been one to be openly affectionate but he won't complain.
To Seokjin's right, Hoseok is fiddling with cutting the dinner roll in exactly half, while Taehyung eggs Jungkook on for a drinking competition - who can deal with consuming the most amount of gross alcohol ("Jeon Jungkook, I saw you basically inhaling the wine from last week, don't pretend like you don't enjoy it either" yells Hoseok. They're wielding a butter knife in their hand and it would be mildly threatening if it came from anyone other than Hoseok.) and Yoongi's already complaining about next week's work load to Namjoon (both working as producers in the same company).
Okay it's time to reign them all in , Seokjin thinks; with that, there's a slap on the table that catches everyone's attention.
"Okay, let's eat!"
Between the seven of them, they've managed to get through four whole bottles of wine and Seokjin can tell how it's gotten to Taehyung and Jimin, both moderately drunk and singing their hearts out to a random girl group song. If Seokjin shift his frame, he can see Yoongi and Jungkook occupying the bean bags near the fire that's lit, deep in conversation; Taehyung and Jimin are too loud and they're too far for Seokjin to be able to make out the contents of the conversation. He thinks it might be something related to Jungkook's studio. For all he knows, they could even be talking about which spices Yoongi decided to use this time to grill the meat.
The light of the fire reflects off of Yoongi's face and it's almost like he's shining. He looks so happy, laughing, shoulders shaking with the movement. Seokjin's been in love with Yoongi for so long now, and not a day goes by that he doesn't think of how much he loves this man.
When Seokjin comes back from a long and tiring work day, Yoongi knows to prepare his favorite tea and light the lavender scented candle. He knows when Seokjin's just gotten off the phone with his mother, angry and frustrated at her subtle refusal to accept her son for who he is, that he needs a movie and cuddling time on the couch with the lights dimmed low. And he knows when Seokjin's happy, to call ahead and make a reservation at their special restaurant, where they had their first date all those years ago.
This man loves Seokjin so much. And Seokjin loves him back just the same.
There's a sound of chair scraping and Hoseok leans over a plate to get the bottle of wine for a refill. "A penny for your thoughts, hyung?" they say, taking a sip from their glass.
Hoseok, at surface-level, appears to be the type of person who's always talking, and incapable of keeping any kind of secrets. Seokjin's known them long enough though, to know the kind of depth of appreciation and love they have, especially for all the people here today. They've shared several drunk nights together, especially when Seokjin was first painfully pining for Yoongi in silence and lamenting over the weirdest of details (like when Yoongi went blonde and Seokjin was ready to have a heart attack at the tender age of 27).
"Just," Seokjin starts, but he doesn't know if he can let the words come out, “You know. Stuff."
"You're not fooling me, hyung. Spill."
"I'm so in love , Hoseok-ah." he sighs. "When I look at Yoongi and he's happy and smiling, it feels like my heart is gonna break out of my chest and I just want to kiss him crazy. Even when he's angry and we're fighting, sometimes, I can't even take him seriously because his lips do the pout thing and he's so adorable and ahhh. Listen to me, I sound like a child. I've hit 35 and I'm acting like I'm 15 ."
There’s a pause where both of them stare at the table.
"I can't imagine my life with anyone else, Hoseok-ah. He's my soulmate." Seokjin shrugs, and chugs the last of the wine in his own glass.
"I get it, hyung." they respond, their hand resting over his shoulder, "Sometimes I think about how lucky I got to land not one, but two gorgeous men who want me just as much as I want them."
"So much time has passed and it feels like yesterday that I was asking Yoongi out, and he thought I was so suave and smooth." he recalls. "He had no idea how I felt like my insides were being fucking chomped on in anxiety."
"Hmm."
Seokjin turns back to look at Hoseok and says "I love your nails, by the way. Where'd you get them done?" He reaches out his own hand to get a better look, noting the light pink coat with the black heart designs on alternating fingers.
"There's a new place that's just opened up in our neighborhood, hyung! They're so good, you should get them done there!" they tell Seokjin excitedly, "and it's run by this grandmother who tries to employ single parents, she's the sweetest lady."
"No shit? That sounds great, I might just do that." He glances down at his nail and considers that it might be time for a manicure after all.
Taehyung and Jimin have moved on to singing 'Careless Whisper' and both men dance ridiculously with each other, both wagging their eyebrows at their significant others as they holler "guilty feelings GOT NO RHYTHM."
Seokjin and Hoseok burst out laughing and he's so grateful they only have one neighbor, an elderly couple who definitely wouldn't be able to hear the ruckus created.
For the first time in the entire evening, Seokjin manages to get Yoongi alone where they sit on the bean bags by the fire. Yoongi's always felt cold so easily; it's given Seokjin prime cuddling opportunities over the years of their relationship. He's wrapped around Yoongi's frame, arms rounding Yoongi's shoulders and to clasp in front of his sternum. Their chests move in tandem and it almost feels like they're in their own little bubble; the only sounds he can hear their mutual inhales and exhales, along with the crackle of the fire.
Seokjin drops a kiss to his hair, and Yoongi squirms in his arms with a "Hyuuung."
He knows Yoongi secretly enjoys the physical token; they're both easily awkward that way.
Seokjin's in a perfect state of drunk at the moment; not too much that he's uncomfortable, but just enough that he's a little stupidly happy.
"I'm halfway through my mixtape, I think" Yoongi whispers, voice low and soft. He's fiddling with a stray thread at the bottom of his sweater.
"That's so exciting, Yoongi, I'm so proud of you!" he exclaims. "Is that why you've been working late this whole week?"
Yoongi hums in response and they lapse into silence. There's something else on his mind, Seokjin can tell but he knows Yoongi would confide in him if he wants to.
"Oh I forgot to tell you; it's my turn to bring snacks for the support group next week" Yoongi prompts, hand coming up to get Seokjin's attention.
"Did you want me to bake something or should we pick up stuff at the store?"
"Was that big meeting next week or the week after? I don't want you to stress over it." Yoongi points out. Seokjin's trying to remember which meeting he's talking about, and then it hits him.
"Oh, that was pushed to next month, don't worry about it." he answers, "I can bake some cookies for it."
"That'd be great, hyung. Thank you." Yoongi drops a kiss to Seokjin's hand. He turns his head and gives him a shy smile, and then he's leaning up to kiss Seokjin full on the lips. Yoongi tastes of his strawberry lip balm and wine, sweet and slightly tart. His hand is making its way into Yoongi's hair and the other cupping his cheek, thumb brushing the smooth skin. Yoongi's hand holds tight to Seokjin's shoulder and all he can hear is the sound of his heartbeat in his ears. Their lips move together and they are so in sync.
Yoongi pulls away first, and he's looking into Seokjin's eyes, staring right into his soul. Yoongi's hand continues to stroke Seokjin's cheek, and then.
"I love you hyung."
This isn't new; they've exchanged i love you's probably hundreds of times but there's still a warmth that can't be coming from the fire. They're married , for god's sake. But sometimes, he feels like the love he has for Yoongi is going to spill out of his body and he can't hold back the waves of tenderness threatening to break over the walls of his body.
"I love you too baby. Always have."
There's hushed whispers that bring Seokjin back to reality; their best friends surround the couple and they're all actively gossiping to each other.
"Gross, hyungs, y'all are sickly in love"
"Wah, really hyungs, just ignoring your friends like this."
"Hyuuung, my eyes, I'm too young to see this!" And the last one spurs Seokjin to respond, eyes narrowing at Jungkook, the culprit of the last statement.
"Jeon Jungkook," he almost yells, "I've caught you with your hand down your pants watching porn, you can't keep using that as an excuse."
The fire's dying down and they all agree to move inside, the chill setting in rapidly in the backyard without the heat of the fire. Seokjin and Yoongi instruct the others on what to leave where (unnecessary, at this point, they've all become accustomed to each other's houses already) and they tuck into different positions in the living room, space heaters and blankets distributed around the group. Seokjin sits on the floor between Yoongi's knees and his fingers sift through Seokjin's hair absentmindedly.
He gets to spend the rest of his life in this comfort, this intimacy, this passion. He gets to spend the rest of his life with the love of his life.