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Seokjin has no idea what he’s looking for.
He doesn’t even know how to tell if a strawberry is ripe. It needs to be red, not green, he knows that much. But how red? How large? In the never-ending rows of strawberry bushes around him, how can he correctly gauge which ones will be just perfect?
With all these options, it’s no wonder his eye drifts elsewhere. As shiny and appealing as strawberries may be, he would much rather stare at the handsome young man wandering behind him. He dressed appropriately for the farm. Tan overalls, cuffed at the hem, over a white linen shirt, sleeves also cuffed to show off his toned, honey-colored arms. A straw hat sits atop his ash-blonde, almost silver, hair. The curls framing his face and delicate moles, like constellations, make him look like a porcelain doll. Seokjin wonders how such a fine creature could just be born like that - surely a divine being had to have crafted him with golden hands?
The young man reaches out and snips a strawberry off its stem with a pair of scissors and carefully places it in his basket. When he looks up again, he catches Seokjin’s eye and blushes. His smile is bashful, cheeks puffing up with his boxy grin. Seokjin cannot look away. He strides over without breaking eye contact.
“How do you know when a strawberry is ready to be picked?” The blond ducks his head, shy, and reaches out for another berry.
“You can squeeze them,” he explains. “They should have a little give and be soft to the touch. If they feel like you can crush them easily, they’re overripe.”
“Ah, I see,” Seokjin awes. He reaches out and brushes his fingertips over his elbow, light enough to make the man shiver. “And what about you?”
The blond’s cheeks turn pink. “What about me?”
Confident, Seokjin leans down and whispers in his ear, “Are you ripe for the picking?”
The younger breaths out a laugh. “I’m afraid I’ve already been picked.”
Seokjin leans back with a quirked eyebrow. “Oh? He must be a lucky one then. To pick the finest strawberry in the batch.”
The blond giggles. It’s sweet as honey, the sound, and infectious. Seokjin’s face breaks out into a wide smile.
“I’m the lucky one for getting picked,” the blond corrects as he steps closer to Seokjin. He slides the hand not holding his strawberry basket around Seokjin’s waist and leans in, stopping just as their noses brush. “I would say you’re soft to the touch,” he flirts. “Are you looking for someone to pick you?”
Seokjin manages a weak nod before Taehyung’s lips are on his. He sighs into it, his whole body relaxing into Taehyung’s embrace. His hand trails up from Taehyung’s elbow to the back of his head. He wants to clutch on, tilt Taehyung’s head back, and pry his mouth open, but they are in public. Instead, he caresses his thumb across the back of Taehyung’s neck tenderly. When Taehyung pulls away, he’s already smiling.
They pause, foreheads resting on each other’s, to catch their breaths. “Does that mean you pick me?” Seokjin asks teasingly.
Taehyung nods and pecks his lips one more time. “I’ll always pick you, hyung,” his boyfriend promises. “But I can’t bake you into a cake. So let’s keep looking, okay?”
Seokjin removes the basket from Taehyung’s hand and settles it over his elbow before linking their hands. “My love wants strawberries for a cake, and that’s what he’ll get.”
They wander the field. Seokjin will openly admit he was only half-searching for strawberries. The other half of the time he just stares at Taehyung. The younger is an excellent conversationalist. He jumps from topic to topic with abandon. He shares his ideas expressively. Seokjin doesn’t mind listening. Taehyung’s smooth baritone voice is more beautiful than any instrument. There is no topic that doesn’t sound interesting coming out of his mouth.
It astounds him that love could grow that much in the course of a year. When Taehyung (the bolder one) had asked Seokjin out, the seed of Seokjin’s affection had already been planted. Taehyung makes it easy to water. Seokjin finds everything the younger does endearing. Even Taehyung’s angry faces when they fight make Seokjin want to pinch his cheeks and shower him in affection.
“You’re giving me that look again,” Taehyung informs Seokjin as he pokes his nose.
Seokjin feigns innocence. “What look?”
“Your ‘whipped’ face, according to Yoongi.”
“He’s one to talk,” Seokjin snorts, “has he seen the one he gives Hoseok?”
Taehyung kisses Seokjin’s cheek with a wet smack. “I find it very cute, hyung.”
“You have one, too, you know,” Seokjin replies. “And it’s probably even sweeter. It’s sickening. You could give someone a cavity if they look at it too long.”
Taehyung fills their basket diligently. Multiple times, he offers to take it from Seokjin, but the elder refuses. “I’m a gentleman,” he says seriously. “I must carry my prince’s treasure.” Taehyung rolls his eyes but cannot hide the pleased blush creeping across his cheeks. When Taehyung has collected at least twenty-five strawberries, he decides he’s had enough.
“Why did you want to come here today, anyway?” Seokjin questions Taehyung and they make their way, still hand in hand, back to the check-out counter for their cartons. “Not that I’m complaining, but I would’ve expected a fancy dinner from you on our anniversary. Not a farm excursion.”
“A strawberry was the first thing you ever gave me, remember?” Taehyung reminds him. Seokjin and Taehyung met at the party of a mutual friend. They ended up spending most of it talking to each other, heads bowed together in deep conversation and ignoring the friends they had attended with. When over an hour had passed interrupted, Seokjin realized he’d yet to eat anything. Taehyung accompanied him to the table of desserts. As Taehyung searched for something to eat, Seokjin plucked a strawberry out of a bowl.
“It looks like a heart,” he’d gasped with delight. Feeling bold, Seokjin extended it to Taehyung and said, “You should take it.” After the smile Taehyung gave him, it’s a wonder Seokjin didn’t die on the spot.
Seokjin smirks at his boyfriend, endeared. “That hardly counts,” he tries to argue, but Taehyung shakes his head aggressively.
“That’s our love strawberry, Jin-ah, you can’t erase it from history.”
“Our love strawberry? Please inform me of this cultural tradition that apparently I had no idea existed.”
“That strawberry predicted we would fall in love,” Taehyung explains as if it’s obvious.
“I didn’t know strawberries could be used in divination.” Seokjin gestures wildly at their basket, “Look at all these futures we can read! What will the strawberries tell us next?”
Taehyung bursts into laughter, loud enough that another couple a few yards away snap their heads. Taehyung’s eyes sparkle when they meet Seokjin’s. For another moment, Seokjin forgets where they are again. All he can see is Taehyung’s dazzling smile, happiness radiating off of him in waves. Taehyung reaches out for Seokjin’s face with both hands to cup his jaw.
“I hope they tell me I have more time with you,” the younger admits. Seokjin moves closer, nuzzling his nose against Taehyung’s before kissing his cheek.
“You have all the time in the world,” Seokjin assures him. “You shouldn’t need a strawberry to tell you I’m yours. Forever.”
Taehyung’s giggle rumbles against Seokjin’s chest. “I’ll have to ask the strawberries about other things then.”
It’s impressive, really, how easily Taehyung pulls affection out of Seokjin. Before, he’d never been one for public displays, always refusing more than hand-holding with his partner. With Taehyung, it’s like he cannot get enough. He always wants to touch him, wants to feel the heat of his body and the rise and fall of his breathing. He craves the taste of his lips and the tender look in his eyes when Seokjin withdraws. Even after a year, he’s unaccustomed to wanting this much. At this point, he doesn’t think the adjustment will ever happen. His desire for the younger is simply insatiable.
“Before we met, I’d never been kissed so much,” Seokjin tells him.
“I would call that a crime, but the thought of anyone else kissing you brings me distress.” Seokjin dips his head onto Taehyung’s shoulder as he laughs, hugging him closer. “Your lips are too delectable, hyung, they’re like cherries.”
“I think that’s just my lip balm, darling.” Taehyung pinches his side. “Yah, alright! Whatever you say.”
They continue back to the market. When they reach the cashier, Seokjin drops Taehyung’s hand to lift the basket onto the counter with both hands. The cashier, a woman around their age, smiles brightly at him.
“This looks like a good selection,” she praises. “You came at the perfect time.”
Seokjin is not a fool. He’s looked in a mirror before - he knows he’s attractive. He can also recognize flirting when he sees it and he definitely recognizes the glint in her eye and a suggestive smirk on her lips. So he does what any good boyfriend would do. He deflects to Taehyung and, as adoringly as possible, says, “See? You’re a master farmer, after all.”
Unshockingly, Taehyung has also caught on. He glides one hand up Seokjin’s back, more sensual than necessary, until it lands on Seokjin’s shoulder. Seokjin knows from experience it’ll probably stay glued there for a while, until Taehyung is sure everyone within a mile knows who Seokjin belongs to.
The cashier cools her advances. They leave with the strawberries in a bag on Seokjin’s arm, Taehyung’s hand still holding Seokjin close by the shoulder. The second they step back outside, Seokjin turns his head to kiss Taehyung’s cheek.
“Are you gonna stay like this the rest of the day?” He lightly teases. Taehyung nods solemnly.
“It’s dangerous having a handsome boyfriend, hyung. I have to make it clear that you’re taken or they might try to snatch you away,” he declares with a pout.
Seokjin snickers, overwhelmed with fondness. “That’s impossible,” Seokjin confidently declares. He leans over until his lips brush the helix of Taehyung’s ear. “I’m down bad for you, baby,” he whispers before kissing Taehyung’s temple. “Should we go get something to eat before we leave?”
“Yes, please,” Taehyung says, pout quickly turning into a satisfied smile.
“We could be like those YouTubers that eat an entire menu if you want.”
Taehyung barks out a laugh. “As delightful as that sounds, I very much want to have sex with my boyfriend tonight.” Taehyung raises a knowing eyebrow at him. “And I doubt that would mix well.”
“Mm, good point,” Seokjin concedes. “Just some ice cream then?”
Once their strawberry ice cream is on hand, Taehyung gestures to a patch of grass under a tree, a little ways away from the picnic tables occupied by families. “Let’s sit over there, hyung,” he suggests. Who is Seokjin to say no to that sweet face?
Seokjin sits with his back against the trunk of the tree, arms open and ready to receive Taehyung, who plops down next to him and removes his hat. He slumps over and fidgets until Seokjin has him cradled between his propped-up knee and chest. One arm holds Taehyung’s head while the other holds his strawberry ice cream cone. Taehyung smiles up at him, strawberry ice cream on his lips, and Seokjin cannot help but lean down and kiss it away. “My handsome prince,” he mutters. “I really love you.”
Taehyung uses his free hand to brush the black hair from Seokjin’s face and stroke his cheek. “When we’re older, do you think we’ll celebrate our anniversary with our kids here, too?” Every time Taehyung talks about the future like this, Seokjin gets butterflies in his chest. He says it so casually, like it’s inevitable. Like it’s already happened — them, with children, on this strawberry farm. More anniversaries. More Taehyung and Seokjin, sitting together.
“If that’s what you want to do,” Seokjin promises.
“I do.” Taehyung takes the elder’s crooked fingers in his hand and kisses each one. Seokjin is not sure if the younger is aware of his lips lingering on his fourth finger but decides not to point it out for now. “I really love you, too, by the way.”
And you know what? Seokjin thinks, Maybe it is inevitable.