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Taehyung isn’t sad—okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch seeing as his usual bright eyes and beaming smile is nowhere on his face, and he hates that it’s not.
The thing is, Taehyung is one of those rare people that actually likes their job. He’s one of those baristas that remembers people’s names and order. The one that lets customers go if they’re a few cents short. The one that writes cute, uplifting messages on coffee cups when they particularly look one blink away from face planting on the counter or breaking down.
Today, however? He hasn’t really done any of that, and it’s bugging him more than it should because he doesn’t want to taint his name, dammit, but the holidays are right around the corner and it’s all he can find himself to bitterly think about.
Christmas is a few days away and then of course his birthday. Taehyung is the biggest Christmas enthusiast he knows, really, so for him to not be in the slightest excited about it, it's dampening his mood a lot more than he’s admitting.
Every Christmas he would spend it buried in a warm overhoodie (his boyfriends, to be precise), he’d wear those cozy fuzzy Santa socks his mom buys him yearly, and he’d settle on the couch with a hot cup of cocoa in his hands while he watched a marathon of Christmas movies, cuddling with Jeongguk.
This Christmas? He’s going to be spending it alone—okay, well, maybe not entirely alone because he’s still going to visit family and friends as per ususal, but his boyfriend won’t be here because he’s doing military service and Taehyung is fucking sad.
As proud as he is, constantly praising Jeongguk for being so fucking brave, doing something Taehyung wouldn’t ever have the guts to do, he can’t help but selfishly feel angry because it’s not fair he can’t spend the holiday’s with Jeongguk. It’s worse he can’t even spend his damn birthday with him either.
Jimin likes to say he’s being dramatic, but Taehyung knows damn well if Yoongi went away for Christmas—or better yet, went away for a few months to a year at a time in general, his best friend wouldn’t be so damn joyful either.
“That’ll be five-twenty,” Taehyung gives his ‘customer service’ smile and cheerful voice, but it falls flat. He can’t find it in him to wince because at this point it’s like he’s not even trying.
The old lady who frequents the coffee shop every morning at nine on the dot, who Taehyung’s come to learn is named Yuna, gives him a sympathetic frown. It seems he couldn’t even fool her into thinking he was fine. “Are you okay, Taehyung?”
Nodding once, Taehyung knows the smile on his face is forced. Fake. “Yeah, I’m sorry,” at least his apology is genuine because he sincerely hates when he’s in a bad mood around his favorite customers. “Just didn’t sleep well last night, but I’ll be okay.”
Yuna inserts her card in the chip slot, but her eyes don’t leave Taehyung’s face, and it makes the latter squirm uncomfortably at her attention. “I hope you get it all sorted out. It’s the holidays, you should be happier.”
Oh, trust me. I know. “Yeah. I’ll be better by tomorrow. Thanks, Yuna,” he replies kindly, ripping off the receipt when it prints out. He tries to hand it to her, but she waves her hand politely.
“I don’t need it, thanks,” she declines, so Taehyung crumbles it up in his hands. She has to move because there is a line behind her, customers waiting impatiently for their coffee, but she remains rooted to her spot. Taehyung doesn't have the heart to tell her she needs to leave, but if it’s not him telling her that, he’s positive it’ll be one of the angry customers soon enough. “Do me a favor, hm?”
Taehyung tilts his head, wondering what it can possibly be. Sure she’s a regular here so he sees her daily and they engage in small conversations on slow days, but she’s still a stranger to him to request an odd thing. “And that’s?”
“Promise me you won’t spend this Christmas moping over your loved one not being here.”
Taehyung blinks. And then he blinks some more because what? How in the hell did she know that? Is it written on his face? Did Jimin sneakily write ‘I’m upset my boyfriend isn’t here for the holidays’ on his forehead and he just somehow missed it when he looked in the mirror this morning? “What—”
Yuna winks teasingly, proudly showing her ring. “I’ve been there,” she empathizes while Taehyung studies the diamond with raised eyebrows. He’s seen her ring already a few times of course, it’d be impossible not to see how gorgeous it was. “My husband isn’t here here, lost him years ago, but I know how depressive holidays can get when they’re not here. So, promise me? No moping.”
At that, Taehyung smiles his first sincere smile that morning. Is it small? Yeah, but it’s there, and that seems to be enough for them both. “Thank you. I can’t really promise much, but I can promise I’ll try.”
“That’s all I want,” Yuna mirrors his smile, finally moving before the customers can start bitching, although Taehyung’s sure he heard someone mumbling under their breath already. “Have a nice day, Taehyung.”
“You, too, Yuna,” he watches her walk to the ‘pick-up’ counter and then he takes the next customer's order. At least this time his tone is a tad bit lighter than how it sounded when he first clocked in.
💍
Taehyung is in the break room, scrolling through his phone with boredom. He doesn’t know what he was waiting on. A text from Jeongguk? A call? No. They’re not allowed to use personal phones over there. Ridiculous. That’s what he’s being.
Fuck, Taehyung really can’t go one holiday without his boyfriend, huh? Has he really become that dependent on Jeongguk? It’s almost humiliating.
Right now it’s his lunch break and usually Taehyung would spend it out in the front, but he didn’t want to today. Too many cheesy couples feeding each other with sickening smiles on their faces, laughing and holding hands across the table. It’s like a slap to the face, and yeah, he’s being overly dramatic, but he doesn’t care. Taehyung would rather spend his break back here, alone, wallowing in self-pity.
Plus, it’s not like he can distract himself with his friends since Jimin and Kihyun called out today, leaving him, Hoseok and Hyungseo to handle the shop by themselves. It’s why they all had to end up taking separate breaks so they don’t get overflooded. Days like these were always the worst during the holidays, especially mornings.
“Taehyung?” Hyungseo’s voice echoes before she’s walking to the back, huffing out with her hands on her hips, resembling a disappointed mother. “There you are. Hoseok said you were in the bathroom, that lying fucker.”
“I was,” Taehyung answers, turning off his phone and pocketing it so he can give her all his attention. “But I left. Like ten minutes ago. What’s up?”
Hyungseo looks like she wants to argue more about it, but the feigned annoyance is wiped from her face to be replaced with a wide secretive grin. She holds out her hand in offering. “Come with me somewhere. There’s a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Taehyung quirks a brow, swatting Hyungseo’s hands away when the younger tries to help him up excitedly. “We can’t go anywhere, and if I remember correctly, you’re not on break yet.”
“Hoseok said he got it for now, plus Jin and Jackson are coming in to cover our shift.”
“Why?” Taehyung is suspicious now. Seokjin is the owner, so he always shows up unannounced, that’s not anything new, but Jackson willingly covering one of their shifts on his off day? It’s almost unbelievable. He’s always the first to leave when Seokjin asks if anyone wants to go home early on days that are super slow.
Hyungseo looks up at the ceiling tiredly. “Can you just get up and come with me?” She impatiently asks Taehyung, piquing the elders interest because Hyungseo rarely gets this jumpy over a surprise. “Trust me, you’ll be very happy.”
Taehyung narrows his eyes, not buying it. “This better be worth it, Hyungseo. Or I will get you coal for Christmas for making me clock out early.”
Hyungseo just laughs, helping him up finally when Taehyung now accepts her help, holding out his hand with a small pout. “It’s a deal. But just know imma say I told you so.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Taehyung mindlessly replies, puffing his cheeks and walking out of the break room with Hyungseo.
💍
“How is this a surprise?” Taehyung groans when his apartment building comes into view. As much as he hates being at work and seeing all those lovey-dovey couples, being at home is much worse because everything reminds him of Jeongguk. He’d much rather be at work, distracting himself with money that he’s losing out on because he clocked out five hours early.
“Can you stop complaining and asking so many questions?” Hyungseo rolls her eyes, but it’s all in good nature since there’s a sly smile on her face that shows she’s not serious, but she drops it entirely when Taehyung glances over at her skeptically. “Come on,” she claps her hands to get her point across after turning off her car. “Out we go.”
💍
Taehyung is walking up the hallway steps with Hyungseo right behind him, hot on his heels. She has this subtle smile on her face that she’s honestly terrible at hiding, so Taehyung can’t help but look over his shoulder curiously every few seconds, wondering what the hell has her on edge.
When he gets to his door, he unlocks it with ease. That’s when he notices Hyungseo giving him two encouraging thumbs up after Taehyung opens the door. Snorting at her continuous weird behavior, he immediately stops in his tracks when he turns around and sees who’s in his house.
“Hi, gorgeous. I hope it wasn’t a bother to bring you out here, but I asked Hyungseo if she could bring me the sweetest thing there is and here you stand.”
Taehyung’s heart begins to race and his throat gets dry within record time. No. No, it can’t be? “Oh my god,” he breathes out, eyes watery as he stares up at his boyfriend.
Jeongguk. Jeongguk is right in front of him.
Jeongguk is fucking in front of him.
“It’s actually Jeongguk, but I’ll take it,” Jeongguk teases with a wink. Taehyung vaguely notices the younger’s still in his uniform, notices there’s his duffel bag on the couch which means he probably came straight from the airport, and Taehyung doesn’t have the time to wonder who picked him up because Jeongguk is here.
There’s lit candles all over the place. On the counter, on the coffee table, even some on the floor that’s surrounding Jeongguk. Taehyung can also see the rose petals scattered on the floor, leaving a trail that ends at Jeongguk’s feet. It was everything to the elder and more.
“Jeongguk, I—” within that moment, he doesn’t care that he accidentally slams his door closed on Hyungseo. Doesn’t care that he nearly trips on his own feet with how quickly he runs up to Jeongguk without any ounce of shame. He throws himself at Jeongguk with a sob and his boyfriend easily catches him.
“I missed you so much, baby.”
“I missed you,” Taehyung enunciates, but he can’t speak all that well because he gets choked up and the tears start pouring out like a faucet. He hides his face in Jeongguk’s neck, tightening his hold on him, trembling because it’s real. It’s real, and his boyfriend is here. Holding him like it’s all he’d ever do. “You’re here,” he stutters out with a gasp, missing the feel and smell of his boyfriend after months. “You’re here.”
“I am,” Jeongguk slightly pulls him away so he can stare at Taehyung, brushing his bangs away and his eyes are red with his own pool of tears. “I’m here.”
Taehyung doesn’t care if it shows his evident desperation. He leans in and kisses Jeongguk silly, like it’s going to be his last. Kisses him to show his boyfriend how much he missed him. Kisses him to show him how content Taehyung is that Jeongguk is standing right in front of him.
Jeongguk slowly lets him down so he can cup Taehyung’s face and continue kissing him deeply, showing the elder how much he missed him back, and Taehyung melts into it, pulling Jeongguk closer. All he can taste is his tears mixed with Jeongguk’s, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love you,” Taehyung murmurs when they pull away for a breather. “I love you. I love you,” he chants, too excited and shocked to find it in himself to calm down.
Jeongguk grins. He grins that smile that makes Taehyung feel like he’s falling in love all over again. “I love you, too, angel. So much,” he pecks his lips again and Taehyung’s heart flutters. “My unannounced arrival isn’t the only surprise, by the way.”
“It isn’t?” Taehyung slides his hands down so they rest on Jeongguk’s chest. He’s still shaking from what just happened, and Jeongguk telling him he has something else for him makes him nervous. “What is it?”
Jeongguk lets go of him completely to back up a bit more, and Taehyung has half a mind to whine in protest, shake his head and pull Jeongguk closer again because he missed his warmth and hugs—except he doesn’t, because what comes next has his entire world stopping.
The loudest gasp leaves Taehyung’s mouth when Jeongguk gets down on one knee. Taehyung can see the way the youngers hands are shaking in the slightest when he opens the ring box and holds it up, smiling up at him. “Maybe proposing at our house isn’t that ideal, maybe it’s kind of lame,” Jeongguk lowly chuckles after he says it, cheeks shaded a bright red. “But I’ve been thinking about this for months now, thinking about it on the plane ride here, and I thought, what better way than now? I love you so damn much, Taehyung, that sometimes it terrifies me. But what terrifies me more than that is not spending forever with you.”
Taehyung is crying again. His hand is clasped on his mouth and his tears are blurring his vision, making it difficult to see Jeongguk clearly. His head that was once buzzing with his own racing thoughts is now complete haywire, his heart thudding in his chest erratically.
“I want to grow old with you. Have our last names changed because Jeon-Kim most certainly has a ring to it, don’t you agree?” And Taehyung chokes out a wet laugh at that. Leave it to Jeongguk to still crack a joke during moments like these. “I’m sorry, I don’t really have a whole speech planned? I know I had months to think this through, but you and I both know I was never good with words.”
Taehyung nods at that, laughing once again, feeling light on his toes. His boyfriend is way better at showing than telling.
“If you’d let me, I’d love to be your fiancé and then later on, your husband. So, Tae, will you marry me?”
Taehyung sees the way Jeongguk waits with bitten lips and wide eyes, sees the way he’s holding his own breath. It seems he’s scared of the slim possibility of Taehyung declining, but the answer is so, so simple.
“Yes,” Taehyung breathes out. Then, because he’s afraid Jeongguk didn’t hear him, he nods and chants it a bit louder. “Yes, yes!”
Jeongguk shakily slides the ring on his finger, dropping the box somewhere to stand up and wrap his arms around Taehyung’s waist, kissing him breathlessly. His front door and room door bursts open, and he swears he hears his friends erupt in cheers and claps, but it all sounds so distant with how hard Taehyung’s heart is pounding. All he can hear is I’m marrying Jeongguk, I’m marrying Jeongguk, I’m marrying Jeongguk.
“Congrats, man!” Hyungseo yells happily, rushing over to hug them and that’s when Taehyung sees Jimin and Kihyun right behind her.
No way, did they know about this? Is this why they both called out of work? They both said something about ‘coming down with the flu’ and now it all makes sense. He’s not mad at all, of course. Just shocked and appreciative.
“Lemme see, lemme see it!” Jimin urges, grabbing Taehyung’s hand to observe the diamond. It’s beautiful without a doubt, even he can’t stop the tears when he examines it with Jimin. The ring on his finger feels heavy in the best way possible and Taehyung wants to stay in this moment, like this, forever.
💍
It may not be Christmas yet, but cuddling with Jeongguk on their bed while a Christmas movie softly plays in the background is everything he could’ve wanted this upcoming holiday.
They languidly make out, basking in each other's presence and touch, wasting no second to stay glued to each other. It helps Taehyung feel less like the needy one—feels good to know his fiancé feels the same as him.
Fiancé. The word still has him biting his cheeks to keep from spazzing out with euphoric screams. He’s already done that enough times to have Jeongguk chuckle fondly and pepper his face with endless amounts of kisses and “I love you’s.”
“So, how did you manage to do it?” Taehyung curiously asks, tracing invisible shapes on Jeongguk’s chest. There’s a scar on his peck, one that Jeongguk had covered up with a tattoo because he was ashamed of it at first. It still pains Taehyung to think about.
“Do what?” Jeongguk hums, running the pads of his fingers up and down Taehyung’s back soothingly. If he continues with it, Taehyung will, in fact, accidentally knock out—and he doesn’t want that. He wants to stay awake for as long as he can, afraid that when he wakes up, the younger will be gone once again.
“Get all of our friends on it? Manage to leave? I have so many questions.”
Jeongguk smirks, looking down at him when Taehyung glances up through his eyelashes. The younger simply plants a kiss on Taehyung’s forehead, that satisfied grin on his lips growing larger by the second. “Hmm, wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Yeah,” Taehyung huffs at Jeongguk being a jackass for his own entertainment instead of answering the burning questions. “Duh, it’s why I asked.”
“I guess it’ll remain unanswered,” Jeongguk replies smartly, winking when Taehyung lifts his head up from his chest, frowning pitifully to try and get his way. “Uh uh,” the younger tuts, bopping Taehyung on the nose playfully. “That look won’t work for me.”
“You suck,” Taehyung pouts, sticking out his tongue.
“Let’s just say I have my connections and ways,” Jeongguk eventually answers, kissing the false pout right off Taehyung’s face. “Don’t be so sad, baby.”
Taehyung isn’t, obviously. Sure, he would love to know how Jeongguk planned all this, but maybe he doesn’t have to know how it was orchestrated. He guesses that’s the element of surprise, and he’s not bitter over it. How could he be when it ended up with Jeongguk coming back home and proposing to him?
Still, Taehyung loves the amount of attention Jeongguk is giving him, so he further keeps up his fabricated petulant attitude. “Fine,” he sniffs, sitting up and getting ready to turn the other way so he can give Jeongguk his back. It’s mostly to hide his growing smile. “Don’t tell me.”
“Excuse me, did I say you can turn around?” Jeongguk jokes, holding him in place. Taehyung can feel Jeongguk’s muscles bulging when he tries to free himself from his fiancé’s grip. He’s not too embarrassed to admit they’re kind of turning him on.
“I said so,” Taehyung argues, but an abrupt giggle leaves his mouth when Jeongguk plays dirty by leaving fleeting gentle kisses on his neck, knowing that’s the elder’s weak spot. “H-hey! No fair!” Taehyung yells with another laugh, shivering in his hold.
“Mhm, is it not?” Jeongguk mumbles, his lips tickling Taehyung’s neck. He grins, laying Taehyung on his back to hover over him, his hands caging him in. “Want me to stop?” he asks, but they both know Taehyung didn’t want him to. All it takes is the elder instantly shaking his head no and Jeongguk starts trailing the kisses downward slowly.
Taehyung sighs happily, eyes fluttering closed when Jeongguk goes lower and lower, stopping right at his stomach. Jeongguk is very spontaneous, unpredictable, so Taehyung doesn’t know what to expect when it comes to the younger sometimes—but he supposes Jeongguk blowing raspberries on his stomach should’ve been one of those options.
Laughing again, Taehyung lifts his head up to look down at Jeongguk’s shit-eating grin. “Really?” he playfully questions, but he’s not surprised. This is Jeongguk, after all.
“You love it,” Jeongguk murmurs, kissing right above Taehyung’s belly button, his breath tickling him, causing goosebumps to arise dangerously fast on Taehyung’s skin.
Taehyung does. A lot. “I love you,” he says instead, happy and so, so in love.
Jeongguk perks up, his smile warm and content. “I love you, too, baby,” he whispers, leaning up to kiss Taehyung. And then he kisses him some more and Taehyung cheerfully kisses back without any hesitation.
💍
“Oh, and what’s this?” Yuna asks, gesturing to his left hand. The same hand that has the beautiful ring on it.
Taehyung blushes, staring at it like it’s his first time—like that’s not what he’s been doing this past week. Squealing every time he gets a glimpse of it. “I’m engaged now.”
Yuna’s eyes twinkle, her smile sincere. “I’m so happy for you, congratulations, Tae. Whoever is marrying you is one lucky person.”
“More like I’m the one that’s lucky,” he gushes without hesitation. He looks up and sees Yuna looking at him with that soft smile on her face. “His name is Jeongguk.”
Taehyung was almost nervous to tell her because Yuna is super sweet, he really likes her—but she’s old, and Taehyung knows tradition comes with old age. But Yuna just smiles wider, wagging her finger playfully. “Tell Jeongguk he better do everything in his power to keep you happy. Smiles look good on you.”
His lips quirk up. “He does,” he promises. Yuna seems to like the sound of that. And before she can walk away to the pick-up counter, Taehyung stops her. “I held up my promise to you,” he teases and Yuna looks confused. There’s mirth in his eyes when he announces, “I’m not moping.”
Yuna lets out a laugh, shaking her head out of fondness. “Yes, you’re not moping, and I’m truly happy you’re not.”
Taehyung’s happy he’s not, too.