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“Soup.”
Yoongi freezes for a good minute after.
He opens the door to his apartment, and the first thing his boyfriend says is “soup.” All human experience leading up to that moment has abandoned him— he doesn’t know how to respond.
Eventually, his brain provides, “Soup?”
The little embarrassed hiss Namjoon lets out shows Yoongi he just realized that’s all he’s said.
He shakes his head. “Sorry, I thought you were gonna ask what I was doing here the second you opened the door, but then I panicked and just...got the response out before you even said anything.”
“So... you’re here for soup?”
Namjoon lets out a groan. “No, I brought you soup. See?” He asks, raising up the takeout bag in his hands.
“Oh.”
“Hyung, can I come in? Please?”
And now, Yoongi knows Namjoon isn’t just asking to put the food down on the counter. He’s asking to come in. Spend time. Keep Yoongi company.
See, after Yoongi’s operation, he banned the rest of them from coming over to his place indefinitely. Not that he doesn’t love them or doesn’t appreciate them. Of course he does. However, he’s also extremely aware of the fact that his fellow members act like overexcited puppies when they’re all together, and he needs his shoulder to heal without a hitch.
But with Namjoon standing right in front of him with those puppy dog eyes and a pleading voice, Yoongi is utterly helpless.
Besides, Yoongi is very well aware of the date.
November 13th, 2020.
Exactly ten years since he met Namjoon— his best friend, his soulmate, his partner from day one till the very end.
Yoongi wouldn’t admit it to a single soul, but he was feeling disappointed this afternoon. He woke up from a nap, but when he checked his phone, there was nothing. No picture, no missed calls, not even a simple anniversary message from Namjoon. Not that Yoongi necessarily needs a sappy declaration, but ten years feel like something they should acknowledge.
Something special.
So as Yoongi opens the door wider to let Namjoon in, he doesn’t even try to bite back the smile spreading on his face.
“There any reason you brought me soup?” Yoongi asks, carefully maneuvering onto one of his barstools to not disturb his sling.
“To help your shoulder,” Namjoon says, beginning to open up all the little containers.
“Oh, I didn’t know it was magic soup.”
“Hyung,” Namjoon tuts, “I know it’s not magic, but it can still help just like when you’re sick. Like it’s not medicine, I know that. But, it’s warm and comforting. And besides, there’s plenty of vegetables and ginger in here, and those are anti-inflammatory so—”
“Kiss me,” Yoongi says in a slight trance.
Namjoon nearly drops the bowl in his hands. “What?”
“C’mere, I want a kiss.”
Namjoon’s mouth gapes open for a second, almost as if he’s conflicted between kissing Yoongi or telling him no.
He frowns down at the cast, and Yoongi’s heart does somersaults in his chest. “It’s okay, just be gentle.”
And gentle Namjoon is.
He doesn’t really touch Yoongi. Doesn’t pull him forward or jostle him too much. He merely hooks his index finger under Yoongi’s chin and tilts up slightly before pressing their lips together in the softest kiss. It’s far too chaste for Yoongi’s liking, but then Namjoon is kissing him once more.
On instinct, Yoongi tries to move his hands to grip onto Namjoon. To knot his fingers in Namjoon's shirt collar, to pull him closer. But one arm is caught in his stupid fucking sling, and he can’t.
Namjoon notices because Namjoon notices everything, and he pulls back so their lips are no longer touching. He’s still in Yoongi’s space, though. Still close enough for Yoongi to feel the warmth radiating from him and smell the honeydew milk tea lingering on his lips.
“Thank you for coming,” Yoongi admits quietly, hoping Namjoon can read between the lines.
Namjoon just moves to pour everything into the bowl and slides it back to Yoongi, “Eat up, love.”
Namjoon keeps him company in the kitchen, the two talking about bits and pieces of their lives they’ve missed since they last saw each other. It’s about halfway through the bowl that Yoongi’s movements get slower, and his speech slurs as his tongue grows heavy in his mouth.
“Tired, hyung?”
Yoongi pouts but nods. The pain meds he’s on have him perpetually drowsy, and he’s definitely due for another nap soon.
“Go get comfy. I’ll wash the dishes.”
“Mkay.” Yoongi doesn’t even attempt protesting. He pads through the apartment to his recliner and settles in.
It’s not long at all before Namjoon is back at his side. He presses a shy kiss to the top of Yoongi’s head, but before he can leave, Yoongi reaches out and grabs his wrist. “Stay?”
“Okay, get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Comforted by Namjoon’s mere presence, Yoongi throws his head back and allows sleep to take him.
It’s about two hours later when Yoongi wakes up. Sweat clings to him like a second skin, and his mouth feels gritty and dry. He grimaces as he stretches, throwing everything off of himself without a single care as to where they land.
“Good morning, grumpy," he hears Namjoon chuckle. His boyfriend is sitting on the couch adjacent to him, flipping through one of the coffee table books Yoongi keeps out.
Yoongi offers a grunt in return before croaking out, “Be back, lemme wash up.”
He takes his time in the washroom, scrubbing his face to help wake him up and swishing some mouthwash from cheek to cheek. He still feels a bit of sleep lingering in his bones, but he’s not about to spend the rest of his anniversary unconscious.
When he makes it back to the main living room, Namjoon’s turned his attention to the full-length windows watching the colors of the sunset begin to creep into the sky.
Yoongi sits down, back pressed against Namjoon’s chest, in relative silence. Yoongi hums a song that’s been stuck in his head for days, and Namjoon continues to simply watch out at the world, occasionally pressing kisses into Yoongi’s hair.
“I can’t believe it’s been ten years,” Namjoon finally says.
Yoongi cranes his head back. “Me neither. Imagine telling baby Namjoon and Yoongi this is the life they’d be living now— penthouse apartments instead of sharing one room with five other people.”
Yoongi feels Namjoon smile against the shell of his ear. ‘I’m glad we made it, hyung.”
“I’m glad too. We’ve worked hard for it.”
“Hmm yeah, but also,” Namjoon pauses to lace their right hands together, “I’m glad we made it. A part of me knows all this success is even sweeter with you by my side.”
“Joon-ah,” Yoongi says, voice dripping with pure admiration. He gets up and straddles Namjoon’s lap, trusting the other to hold on to him.
“I love you,” Yoongi whispers against his lips.
“I love you too, hyung.” Namjoon looks up into his eyes. “I love you so much.”
For the next few minutes, all they know is warm mouths and gentle sighs. Namjoon cradles his cheek so carefully that Yoongi could almost cry. The tenderness is something that’s been cultivated over a number of years. It wasn’t always like this. They started off hungrier. More impatient. They used to have so much fire in them that when they kissed, Yoongi felt like he was burning from the inside out.
Not that they’ve lost that passion or that spark. But Namjoon and Yoongi have come to appreciate the beauty of all kinds of flames— from raging wildfires down to soft, candlelit glows.
When Namjoon breaks away, he stares up at Yoongi in reverence. His lips drag across Yoongi’s jawline, down the column of his neck, and across his collarbones. Even without words, Yoongi feels like he’s being worshipped. Every kiss a sacrament to keep Namjoon blessed.
It’s when Namjoon comes back up and runs his tongue along the seam of Yoongi’s lips does he finally pull away. “Okay, calm down, tiger. I’m still indisposed at the moment.”
Namjoon buries his face in Yoongi’s neck, blushing. “I know, hyung. It’s just— you’re so pretty.”
“You’re pretty too, Namjoon-ah. Can you believe the gorgeous, sexy leader of Billboard #1 group BTS is my boyfriend?”
“Oh, shut up.” Namjoon laughs.
After holding Yoongi for a moment, Namjoon clears his throat.
‘Yoongi?”
“Yeah?”
“I...I wanna do something. I wanna do it so badly because it feels So. Right. But it’s scary, hyung. I’m terrified.”
Yoongi’s eyebrows furrow together, “Well, why are you scared?”
Namjoon brushes away the wisps of hair on Yoongi’s forehead. “Well, if I do it and I don’t get the reaction I’m hoping for, then...”
Yoongi doesn’t rush him, just lets Namjoon take his time getting whatever this is off his chest.
“Then I’m scared I’ll lose you forever.”
Yoongi pauses for a moment, trying to find the best words to get through to him.
“I think over the years, you’ve made a lot of tough decisions. Enough to have a gut feeling about whatever this is now. And I can’t guarantee that the outcome will be what you want. What you dreamed of it to be. But I can tell you that you could never lose me forever, Joon-ah. Never.”
“Okay,” Namjoon lets out with a shudder. He places one more kiss to Yoongi’s lips before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small velvet pouch. He pulls open the drawstrings before holding it out for Yoongi to take a peek inside.
Yoongi reaches into the bag until he pulls out what’s inside.
He gasps, “Are these—?
“Yeah,” Namjoon affirms.
“Joon-ah,” Yoongi begins to tear up for real now, looking down at the two rings— one silver and one gold. “Is the silver one mine?”
“Duh.”
“Good. Otherwise, I would’ve asked you to switch. I can’t imagine wearing gold all the time,” Yoongi laughs wetly, trying his best not to let the tears cloud his vision.
‘Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean?”
“Yes, I’m saying yes.”
Yoongi expects a smile, a squeal, maybe another kiss. What he doesn’t expect is for Namjoon to start whining.
“Hyung, you can’t just say yes. I had a whole speech and everything.”
Yoongi wipes his tears away with a giggle, “Okay. Yeah, sorry. Carry on.”
“Anyways,” Namjoon drags out, “before you so rudely interrupted.”
“Ru— Rudely interrupted? You know what, I changed my mind. No.”
“Hyung!”
Yoongi snickers, “Come on, lemme hear how in love you are with me. Maybe I can be persuaded to say yes again.”
Namjoon shakes his head, chuckling, “That’s the thing, Yoongi. I am in love with you. So unbelievably, terribly in love with you.”
He continues, “When I think about how we first met, we were just quiet teens with big dreams, you know? We worked side by side, day and night, just to catch a break. For someone to give us a chance so we could prove ourselves. And it took years, but then everything started changing.
“The sales were growing, the stages we performed on got bigger and bigger, and we were flying higher than we ever dreamed. And hyung, it’s overwhelming sometimes. But when everything is too loud, and the world is spinning too fast, I can just look at you and know everything’s gonna be alright.”
“Baby,” Yoongi cries, taking every ounce of inner strength to keep himself from succumbing to shaking sobs.
Namjoon holds Yoongi’s face in both hands, palms cold against his feverish skin. His thumbs swipe underneath Yoongi’s eyes. “Don’t cry, Yoongi.”
“You hypocrite, you’re literally crying too.”
“Yeah, I know,” Namjoon shrugs. “God, I can’t believe you interrupted again.”
Yoongi rolls his eyes and kisses Namjoon’s nose, letting him continue.
“Like I was saying, I can just look at you and know everything’s gonna be alright. Our worlds completely transformed over the last ten years, but you,” Namjoon says, poking Yoongi’s chest right over his heart, “you were my only constant through it all. Namjoon and Yoongi. RM and SUGA. The leader and his first hyung. But even when this is all over. When the last album with all of us is out, and the final tour wraps up, and our contract ends, I don’t wanna give you up. I wanna marry you, Yoongi. I wanna be by your side for as long as time will let me.
“So what do you say, hyung? Will you marry me?”
Yoongi wipes his nose with the collar of his t-shirt before blubbering out a “Yes.”
When Namjoon smiles at him, Yoongi’s heart clenches with love. This is his fiancé now— his soon-to-be husband.
He didn’t imagine their anniversary or proposal to go this way at all. He envisioned running off to some faraway island for a weekend or at least go out to dinner. But with the world at a standstill and his arm needing time to heal, they had to adjust. Just as they always have.
It would’ve been easy to keep waiting. To hold on until everything set itself back in place. But at the end of the day, no matter the situation, it’s always been Namjoon and Yoongi.
Yoongi and Namjoon.
Just two souls slowly becoming one.
“To ten years,” Yoongi smiles, gummy and bright.
“And every ten after.”