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Yeonjun says that love lasts three years. Soobin says that he isn’t a romantic person. Taehyun doesn’t agree with either of them.
And yet, however, right now he is basically forced to listen to Yeonjun blabbering about his take on love — firstly, because he is a good friend, but mostly because Yeonjun didn’t quite leave him a choice and just flew into their apartment, uninvited but graceful as ever. Taehyun tried to insist that this isn’t the best time, and that just because he’s got a remote job it doesn’t mean that he can afford adding gossip tea time with Yeonjun to his long to-do list, but arguing with Yeonjun rarely makes any sense, and, well, he brought Taehyun’s favorite sweets anyway.
As for Soobin, it is true that Taehyun had to remind him just this morning that it’s their wedding anniversary so that his husband would remember to buy ingredients for the pie that they bake together every year. Still, it doesn’t detract from that romantic side that Soobin has to him, it’s just that he can’t remember dates to save his life and sometimes forgets about his own birthday, like he did this year. Anniversaries? Don’t trust him with that.
Taehyun is totally fine with this, it has always been him remembering dates in their relationship anyway, but this doesn’t mean that Soobin loves him any less or that the little things that he does for Taehyun on a daily basis are not romantic. It’s just that Soobin is a fan of literature, especially that from the nineteenth century period, and it apparently sometimes makes him think that if he doesn’t take Taehyun out to fancy restaurants every weekend and doesn’t leave long love letters under his tea mug every morning, then he isn’t romantic enough.
By Taehyun’s standards, which are reasonably high, Soobin is an amazing husband, one that many would dream of, and if it takes him a little extra effort to never let Soobin fall into the pit of feeling self-conscious, he doesn’t mind that at all. It’s the little things that matter for him way more than the grand and pretentious dates — that is Yeonjun’s favorite thing, not his, so he would much rather have them try out a new pie recipe together and then cuddle for the rest of the evening with a little bit of wine and a lot of sweet kisses than go through the stress of actually having a big celebration someplace expensive.
“I wish I was lying, but according to a whole bunch of surveys most divorces happen during the third year together,” Yeonjun mumbles while trying to chew three cookies at the same time.
Taehyun just sighs at the sight and those words, because cookie crumbs are now all over the table and Yeonjun’s ass expensive hoodie, but he doesn’t say anything just yet and just keeps silently sipping his tea as he prays for Soobin to finish work early today. He knows that it’s not happening, but that one thought alone helps him stay calm and actually listen to whatever his friend is trying to prove him with those silly surveys that he barely ever reads till the end.
Taehyun loves him, really, Yeonjun has been his close friend even before he and Soobin started dating, they were all in the same friend group, but Yeonjun is so full of the most random and questionable quirks — like this one — that sometimes it’s hard to take him seriously. Another thing is, Yeonjun doesn’t seem to have a filter in his brain, so he often shares things that he isn’t supposed to be telling anyone, or says things that can be borderline offensive — not because he wants to insult you, but because he is a bit too blunt and has a really poor choice of words.
Other than that, Yeonjun is a great friend, who is always eager to help when needed and will be there for you at any time of the day, no questions asked, and usually Taehyun is patient enough to listen to whatever new silly things he has discovered recently, just… not today. Today he would prefer some peace and quiet after another tiring day at work, but since there is nothing he can do other than tolerate Yeonjun’s presence in his kitchen until either Soobin comes back home or Beomgyu starts looking for his boyfriend, Taehyun chooses to focus on the cookies too.
“You guys have always been a great couple,” Yeonjun continues, and he isn’t bothered in the slightest by the fact that Taehyun is just listening silently and pays more attention to his tea. “But it’s your third anniversary today, right? And I noticed that lately you two haven’t been… as affectionate as before. Like last week, when we gathered to play games, I didn’t mean to be nosy, but you spent the whole night with Gyu, and when you touched Soobin’s shoulder later, he grimaced like he didn’t want this, and— I mean, you barely talked after. Are you guys okay?”
“Last week?” Taehyun frowns, trying to remember what his friend is even talking about. “Ah, that. He lost a bet and I made him go to the gym with me, which he wasn’t happy about, because you know he would rather die than have to exercise. So the next day his muscles were sore even if we didn’t do anything serious, and Soobin is a big baby when it comes to pain, he didn’t want to be touched because it hurt. I still had to give him a massage later because he wouldn’t stop complaining, but we’re good, you really don’t have to worry about it.”
He glances at the watch on his wrist, sighing again when he realizes that Soobin isn’t coming back for at least another half an hour, but probably even longer since traffic is crazy in the evenings before Christmas. The wind is howling outside, and just the thought of being there in the snow makes Taehyun shudder, but he knows that his big baby husband is all warm and cozy now because he makes sure to get up twenty minutes earlier every day just to put that huge scarf around Soobin’s neck before sending him off to work with a good luck kiss.
It’s not like Soobin isn’t capable of taking care of himself at all, he isn’t just a brainless tall tower, after all, but he is very forgetful and reckless sometimes, thinking that he will be okay if he skips breakfast just this once or won’t get sick in his thin coat that is only suitable for autumn, not those cold December mornings.
When Taehyun can, he prefers to keep all that under his control even if it costs him those thirty minutes that he could use to sleep instead; in their relationship — family now — Taehyun has always been the more practical one despite being younger, and it’s never one-sided anyway, because Soobin has his own ways of taking care of his baby, as he says.
It works for them, and by now Taehyun has long learned to ignore all the people who kept saying that their relationship wouldn’t last and that getting married to someone who spent more time at the office than home was a mistake. Soobin was born to be a leader, always so focused and responsible when it comes to his job as an editor, and if that comes in pair with neglecting his other sides of life like health and entertainment, well, Taehyun is more than happy to be the one reminding him to take that step back.
When Soobin is home, and that, contrary to what their friends all seem to believe, happens every evening, Taehyun gets to act like a true clingy baby with him, leaving all his seriousness behind and just enjoying how safe and comfortable he feels with his husband. Honestly? This is worth everything, and with each day spent like this Taehyun’s love and affection for Soobin only grows stronger, just like their bond does as they rarely fight or bicker and instead try to talk about their problems before those can get out of hand.
This is why Taehyun can’t understand what Yeonjun means by saying that he is a little worried about their relationship, because, as far as he knows, nothing has really changed between them lately. But then again, it’s Yeonjun and his new idea about love only lasting three years, and it seems like they are the only couple celebrating exactly three years together that he knows…
“…and maybe you should take a break from each other for a few weeks?”
Lost in his thoughts about Soobin, Taehyun misses whatever Yeonjun was talking about and only regains his focus on the conversation at this last phrase, which is utterly confusing to him. Why would they want to take a break? What is Yeonjun even up to with this?
“What?” he asks, looking at his friend with wide eyes as he blinks slowly to show that he is confused.
“I said that lately Soobinie looks like he is hiding something, and he is usually horrible at keeping secrets, so it must be something serious. I don’t know, if I were you, I would start suspecting things, especially with how late he comes home and everything.”
This assumption makes Taehyun want to laugh, but he somehow manages to keep a straight face and instead pretends to be offended — which he isn’t, because it’s hard to be mad at Yeonjun even when he says bullshit like this.
“Are you trying to imply that my husband is cheating on me?” he quirks an eyebrow at Yeonjun, who immediately panics and starts to realize how all that sounded.
“No-no-no, it’s not like that!” he tries. “I was just saying that maybe you need to spend some time apart, to, uhh, you know, reignite the spark between you. Bin wouldn’t hurt a fly, of course he’d never cheat on you, it’s just— three years, you know.”
Taehyun finds it really funny how when Yeonjun gets embarrassed or flustered, as well as when he tries to hurriedly explain things in panic, he starts to add this little you know to every sentence of his.
He isn’t hurt at all, though he does make a mental note to tell Soobin about this conversation later, and this whole situation once again reminds him why Beomgyu is the only person who could ever handle living together with Yeonjun — they bicker all the time, but the way they see the world is really similar, so they understand each other better than anyone else ever could. It’s like their brains are those puzzle pieces that you have no idea what to do with, because they don’t seem to fit with anything in your box, but then you look outside of that box — and boom, you find that one stray piece that is a perfect pair for it.
“Yeonjun, listen,” he sighs for what feels like the millionth time in the past half an hour. “First of all, if you paid just a tiny bit more attention to what you’re reading, you would know that this three years thing is about people getting divorced, so it applies to those who have been married for over three years. That’s just how it often happens, but it doesn’t mean that every pair is going to follow it, and you of all people should know that with how open-minded you are. Oh, and about the spark, we’re not like you and Gyu, we never had that. We got together because of how comfortable we felt with each other and because we both value steady life over crazy things unlike you two, so there’s nothing to reignite.”
“Oh…” Yeonjun stills for a moment, with that last cookie halfway to his mouth, and it looks almost comical. “Well, I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get divorced, okay? You’re like… the most inspiring example of a loving family, but don’t tell Gyu that I said that.”
“I won’t,” Taehyun laughs and gets to his feet to start cleaning up. “Now, if you really want my family to keep prospering, I gotta start with the dough, so I’m afraid you’ll have to go.”
He doesn’t mean to kick Yeonjun out, in fact, he could even be helpful if that was happening on some other day, but today is their wedding anniversary and having their friend third-wheel them the entire evening doesn’t sound fun at all. Yeonjun knows that today is a big day (it really isn’t that big, but Yeonjun is dramatic and romantic all at once), so he nods and soon leaves, thankfully without mentioning that they are probably going to break up next week because Soobin keeps forgetting all their important dates.
The apartment gets quiet after that, but not for too long, because not even fifteen minutes later Taehyun hears some shuffling outside and then the door opens, letting in a gust of cold wind and, though maybe it’s just his imagination, the familiar warmth that Soobin exudes in any weather and season. Taehyun wants to skip to the hallway excitedly like he always does, wants to get on his toes and wrap his arms around Soobin’s neck to give him a peck as a way to greet him, but he is in the middle of kneading the dough, because he is running behind his imaginary schedule today and because of Yeonjun.
Soobin doesn’t say anything as he goes into the bathroom to wash his hands, and, honestly, as mature as he always wants to be, Taehyun is almost dying from how impatient he is right now to just get his portion of evening cuddles and kisses from his beloved husband. It feels like a whole eternity passes by the time Soobin finally appears in the kitchen, still in his large sweater that somehow manages to swallow his tall body, carrying two bags of groceries, and Taehyun can barely hold back a smile when he notices that he put the fruits on top of other things — it took a lot of reminders from his side to achieve that.
“Hi,” he grins, hoping that Soobin wants to kiss him just as much as he does right now.
And of course Soobin does: he carefully sets the bags on the floor by the fridge and walks up to envelop Taehyun’s small body in his warm embrace — somehow, it’s still warm even though it’s so cold outside. Soobin’s sweater smells like a mix of cinnamon, warm honey and oranges, that’s the perfume that he asked Taehyun to get him for his birthday this year, because Soobin likes comforting scents and Christmas is his favorite holiday. Taehyun barely manages to stay focused on the dough, that is how badly he wants to just turn around in his husband’s arms and bury his face in Soobin’s chest, inhale that home-like scent and just stay like this for a few minutes.
He keeps kneading, but fails to resist the urge to at least turn his head around, and when he does so, he can’t help smiling again, because Soobin greets him with a wide smile that is showing his dimples. Those cute dimples that Taehyun loves poking so much, and that appear on Soobin’s face every time their eyes meet, because Soobin is unable to control his smile when around Taehyun — a very flattering fact, to be honest.
“Hi baby,” Soobin murmurs. “You’ve got flour on your face.”
“I do?” Taehyun blinks, and it’s one of those rare moments where he just goes so weak for Soobin that his brain completely turns off.
“Mhm, from the dough,” Soobin laughs and then gently cleans his face. “There, that’s better. Kiss?”
“Why would you even ask—”
Taehyun doesn’t get to pout because Soobin leans down and shushes him with a sweet kiss. His lips are cold, and so are his large hands that he now put on Taehyun’s cheeks, but Taehyun nearly melts into that kiss, because he loves feeling small in Soobin’s arms despite being the stronger one, because he is extremely clingy even if he won’t ever admit it, and kisses with Soobin are his second favorite thing after cuddling with him, with hand holding coming third.
“How was your day?”
Soobin gets on with unpacking and organizing everything that he bought (yes, Taehyun had to give him a list of the things that they needed, but hey, he wasn’t the one paying and carrying the bags) while Taehyun sets the dough aside and crawls to the sink to wash his hands and do the dishes at the same time. This is exactly the kind of domestic that they both love and feel happy about, and, apparently, exactly what Yeonjun called “the best example of a loving family”, and that thought makes the corners of Taehyun’s lips go up.
“Work was a little tiring, but it’s nothing serious, just the usual annoying things,” he starts from afar as he carefully washes Soobin’s favorite mug. “Oh, but Yeonjun dropped by just an hour before you came home. He said hi and begged us to not get divorced. You look really tired, did they make a fuss over nothing again?”
Soobin works as an editor in their big local newspaper, and he is basically responsible for everything that gets published, from which articles he chooses to place where and to the placement and size of the pictures, so if something goes wrong, he is also the one who gets scolded for that. The amount of work always gets crazy by Christmas, and since people don’t like thinking about their job just a week away from the big holiday, they are all easily irritated, so Soobin inevitably gets at least one unpleasant call or meeting during his day at the office.
“Nothing I wouldn’t be able to handle,” Soobin shrugs at his question. “Did Yeonjun really say that?”
He sounds totally unbothered as he keeps sorting through the groceries and passes the fruit bowl for Taehyun to wash while he’s still at it. It makes sense: after all, Soobin and Yeonjun have been best friends since forever, so there really isn’t anything in the world that could surprise Soobin when it comes to Yeonjun.
“Mhm,” Taehyun confirms and places the bowl back on the table. “I’ll peel the peaches. Yeonjun said that love only lasts three years, and since it’s our third anniversary, he got worried about our family. I tried to explain that it doesn’t work like that, but you know him… He told me that we need a break from each other to ‘reignite the spark’ between us, and that you’ve been really suspicious lately, so you must be hiding something from me.”
“Oh really?” Soobin hums, voice still showing no sign of surprise. “What did you say?”
Taehyun briefly retells the conversation that they had with Yeonjun and at the same time he cuts the fruits, occasionally feeding them to his husband, who is definitely hungry after work. Soobin listens to that with his full attention, and Taehyun finds it really sweet that Soobin always listens to him like that, whether he is actually explaining something important or just sharing some gibberish like this. That little moment once again makes him wonder where Yeonjun could possibly notice any hints at them falling out of love and growing distant, when everything is still as peaceful and soft between them as it’s always been.
“I think we should let Beomgyu know about this,” Soobin says with a quiet giggle once Taehyun finishes and then feeds him one of the sweetest strawberries too.
He says that he’s not a romantic, and yet still always picks the best food for his husband, huh?
“I guess so,” Taehyun has to agree. “Who knows what this idiot will come up with for their third anniversary with that mindset…”
“They’re actually both idiots,” Soobin corrects him with a smile, but Taehyun decides to take it further and teases him about it too.
“And you are one as well,” he winks, not even flinching when Soobin suddenly pulls him close, placing both hands on his tiny waist — he expected that, because Soobin is predictable and Taehyun loves it more than he would ever admit.
“Say that again?”
“You’re an idiot, too,” Taehyun repeats, but still fails to hold back a smile because he just loves Soobin too much. “But you’re my favorite, I can’t ever see myself baking anniversary pies with anyone else in the world.”
That’s not exactly a love confession Soobin probably expects to hear from him, but Taehyun still gets his favorite bright grin and a forehead kiss, and that is when he notices that Soobin somehow managed to get flour all over his sweater. It sounds nearly impossible, since the only time he touched the flour was when he helped clean Taehyun’s face, but that’s how things are; yet, when he quietly mentions that, Soobin just shrugs and says that he’ll shake it all off later, instead pulling him even closer to give him a proper kiss on the lips.
They finish the pie together, not really talking but still feeling comfortable just sharing one space with each other, but later, once everything is ready for their small anniversary dinner, the wine is out and the pie is waiting for them in the fridge, Soobin comes back to this topic. Taehyun almost chokes on his piece of meat, quirking an eyebrow at him as though asking “ seriously, now of all times?”, but Soobin just laughs at his dumbfounded expression and reaches across the table to wipe away the sauce that was on his lips.
It totally doesn’t make Taehyun blush, nope, such little sweet gestures definitely never send his heart on a crazy race.
“Yeonjun was right about one thing: I was hiding something from you for the past month.”
Now that is interesting, because Soobin is almost physically incapable of keeping secrets, but obviously, as long as those are his secrets — or, rather, supposedly secrets, because they stop being secrets as soon as he sees someone that he’s close with. That’s just how he is, and Taehyun often wishes that he didn’t share things like that so easily, but he can’t really influence Soobin with this, so he tries his best to at least keep those secrets from spreading around.
“I’m all ears,” Taehyun hums, curious to find out what was so important that Soobin managed to keep his mouth shut about it for a whole month.
“Let’s go on a honeymoon again?” Soobin doesn’t make him wait any longer, blurts that out with another wide grin, and Taehyun just can’t do anything about the smile that spreads across his face. “I know that you have two weeks off in February, so I worked really hard to get my boss to approve me changing my leave to that time too. Remember you wanted to go to Hawaii? We could do that together, spend some time away from everyone and just relax.”
“Why does this sound like you’re redoing your proposal?” Taehyun really tries to hide his smile behind the wine glass, but fails at it terribly, because of course Soobin always notices the slightest change in his face or voice.
Soobin, who claims that he isn’t romantic enough, notices every little thing about Taehyun, always ready to do anything that will make him feel better when he’s down or double his happiness when everything is good. Going to Hawaii has been on his wishlist for over a year now, right from that time when their mutual friend Kai moved to the place where he was born and started spamming them with beautiful pictures and videos. Visiting that place together with his husband? Sign him up!
“Well, I wouldn’t mind going down on one knee for you again if you wanted that, but I think we’re past this stage now,” Soobin laughs and raises his own glass. “Honeymoon though? Definitely worth repeating, especially that part when—”
“Yeah-yeah, I got it,” Taehyun cuts him off, all flustered now. “We can plan it after dinner then..?”
“Sounds perfect to me.”
When Soobin places his hand on top of Taehyun’s, the gesture more intimate and gentle than anything else in the world, Taehyun mouths an uncontrollable I love you and makes a wish that their love can last forever.
////
Beomgyu texts him about the prank that he decided to do on Yeonjun the day after their own third anniversary, when he and Soobin are right in the middle of enjoying their Hawaii vacation. To be fair, Taehyun usually doesn’t approve of stupid things like this when such a great thing as communication exists, but Beomgyu almost begged them to play along and help with getting that three years bullshit out of Yeonjun’s mind, so, after discussing it with his husband, Taehyun eventually agreed.
“Gyu told me this morning that we need to take a little break from each other,” Yeonjun’s voice sounds grim even over the phone, and Taehyun’s heart genuinely aches for him, but it also hurts for Beomgyu, too. “He left me a damn note and doesn’t pick up his phone now, but everything was great just yesterday! Gosh, can I please come to your place right now?..”
“Aww, I’m sorry to hear about that,” Taehyun says sincerely, though at the same time he’s all sprawled on Soobin’s lap with his hand over his husband’s mouth to keep him from giggling and spoiling everything. “Let’s hope that he changes his mind soon, it would be too bad if he confirmed that three years theory of yours… You can surely come there, but I’m currently on my trip to Hawaii, so—”
“You’re what?!” Yeonjun sounds so shocked that it is now Soobin’s turn to try and calm down his quiet laughter.
“Hawaii,” he repeats, struggling to keep the prank going. “You were right. Soobin and I talked that evening, and we decided that we needed some time apart to see if our life goals and values are still the same…”
Taehyun finds this story amusing, but it’s really hard for him to lie when Yeonjun sounds so devastated and almost heartbroken, so he waits for the right time to reveal the truth in hopes that they’ll have a good laugh about it later. Beomgyu’s weird decision is another thing that needs to be taken care of, but they can’t influence that, and it’s not up to them anyway.
Yeonjun keeps quiet for so long that Taehyun even exchanges a worried glance with Soobin, but then a sigh from the other side finally breaks the silence.
“I didn’t mean to, uhh, ruin your relationship with that,” Yeonjun says eventually, and he sounds so sad that Taehyun knows that it’s time to tell him the truth. “And mine too.”
Taehyun lightly nudges Soobin to take the phone from him and braces for at the very least some yelling from Yeonjun at the grand reveal, but, to his surprise, their friend takes it a lot better than they expected. Taehyun knows that he must be worried about his relationship with Beomgyu, and he almost regrets agreeing to this whole thing, but that’s how things work between those two, and it’s not his secret to tell, so he forces himself to stay quiet about it — and hopes that they will soon learn to actually talk to each other, even if talking to the stubborn Yeonjun makes little to no sense sometimes.
“Relax, dude, we’re just on our second honeymoon, partly thanks to you, by the way,” is what Soobin tells their friend, because they couldn’t think of anything better than this.
“I hate you both,” Yeonjun simply snorts and hangs up, making Soobin let out a loud laugh with that.
Taehyun? He might feel guilty about it, but the moment Soobin pulls him up and dives in for a kiss, Taehyun immediately forgets about all the things in the world that aren’t Soobin’s lips or his broad hands that fit so perfectly on his waist.
Beomgyu and Yeonjun can resolve their tension perfectly without their participation, he thinks to himself, and steals another sweet kiss, making a note in his mind to suggest going on such honeymoon-like vacations every year. But all that can wait for later, and now Taehyun demands kisses and cuddles, and he knows that he’s going to get all that and more — because their love only grows stronger after those three years together.