Work Text:
5. March 2015
Yoongi doesn't talk to Taehyung much the first couple years after the group forms, not unless he has to when the cameras are on. As a result, everything he knows about Taehyung he picks up by watching everyone else interact with him. He knows Taehyung calls his parents every day because Hoseok will remind him when he's too wrapped up playing video games with Jungkook and Jimin. He knows Taehyung likes romantic dramas because Jimin teases him about how obsessed he gets over the plot lines. He knows Taehyung listens to a lot of different types of music, but enjoys jazz the most because Namjoon will give him recommendations sometimes. And he knows Taehyung can't cook because he's always pleading for Jungkook or Seokjin to make something for him.
The last one is a little bothersome, because Yoongi can cook too, yet Taehyung never approaches him. Every time Yoongi finds himself thinking about it, he grows defensive for no reason, then gets even more ruffled that he gets hung up on it. Because he's cooked for the group countless times at this point and Taehyung's even complimented him, and yet.
It's not a big deal. It isn't. And yet.
It's almost two in the morning and Yoongi knows it's a mistake to be venturing into their tiny kitchen when they have another full day of rehearsals tomorrow, but he can't sleep and can't ignore how hungry he is either. He doesn't want to deal with being bloated and lethargic tomorrow so he passes by the box of ramyun they have just sitting on the floor. There's still rice leftover and he he pokes his head into the fridge, grabbing a few side dishes and vegetables. He fills up a small pot of water and waits for it to boil.
The nice thing about cooking by himself in the middle of the night is that the dorm is finally quiet. The bad thing is that the dorm is finally quiet and it's too easy to get caught up in his thoughts.
Their debut is two years behind them now, which feels like eons ago and just yesterday all at once. Despite how hard they've worked, their performance on charts haven't been great and he knows some of the other guys are starting to wonder whether it's worth it to keep going. He hasn't cornered Namjoon about it yet, too afraid to know the answer, but he's heard whispers that the company is treating this comeback as a last ditch effort. If it fails — that's the part he doesn't want to know.
The sound of footsteps approaching from the bedroom makes Yoongi look up and he straightens up, having expected Jungkook or Jimin, but it's Taehyung who's standing there and he seems equally surprised to see Yoongi.
"Hyung. I didn't think anyone else was up." Taehyung looks unsure about whether to stay and again Yoongi wonders what it is about him that Taehyung is so uncomfortable with.
"Are you hungry?" Yoongi says, as if there's any other reason for Taehyung to venture out here. The water is boiling now, quite angrily. He turns the heat down and nods for Taehyung to sit. "There's enough for two."
Taehyung stares at the counter stool before climbing onto it. Yoongi makes quick work of washing the bean sprouts and spinach, dropping handfuls of both into the pot to blanch. Neither of them say anything this entire time. Yoongi is generally a quiet person at home, but it's strange for Taehyung to be silent for so long. Yet when Yoongi glances over, Taehyung is watching studiously.
"Couldn't sleep?" Yoongi says, stirring the vegetables around.
"Sort of. I took a nap earlier."
Yoongi vaguely recalls Seokjin telling Taehyung not to nap because it'll ruin his already perilous sleep schedule.
"How about you, hyung?"
"No nap. I just can't sleep." Yoongi turns the stove off and drains the water. He grabs a large bowl and starts assembling everything, dumping in all the rice and leftover side dishes along with the vegetables. He grabs a second spoon and hands it to Taehyung while he starts to mix.
"Is everything okay?"
Yoongi's instinct is to say yes, to not worry anyone especially the younger ones, but it's just the two of them and he doesn't want to lie. "Could be better. Nervous about the comeback."
"I get it. Me too." Taehyung peeks into the bowl. "Can I have a fried egg?"
Even though it's more effort, Yoongi finds the request cute and nods, heating up a pan this time. "You've been worried?" Like always, Namjoon has been using Yoongi as a sounding board about his worries from their music to the group and not once has he brought up that there might be something going on with Taehyung. But Yoongi supposes he's been too wrapped up in things to notice either.
Taehyung shrugs and pushes his hair back. He's been letting it grow out until they all go to the stylist for new dye jobs. "Everyone's worried, aren't they? What to do if the comeback doesn't work out."
As the leader, Namjoon's been trying to be positive about everything, so Yoongi wonders if Taehyung's just seen through the facade or they've been too careless. Yoongi checks that the pan is hot enough and cracks open an egg, wincing when the oil splatters.
"But hyung, I think this time will be different. I think we're going to get number one."
Wouldn't that be nice? If they got number one, it would change everything. More sales, more CFs, and they might even be able to move out of this tiny dorm to a place that has more than two stove tops. Yoongi turns off the flame and carefully slides the fried egg on top of the bibimbap Taehyung still hasn't touched. "Can I trust you?"
"Hyung!" Taehyung grins and winks at Yoongi. "Of course." He taps his spoon in the middle of the yolk to break it and is halfway through mixing it in when his face falls. "I should've taken a picture."
"It's just bibimbap. It's not like I won't ever make it again."
Taehyung considers this, eyes focused upwards, then nods and resumes mixing. Once he's satisfied, he spoons up a huge bite and carefully fits it into his mouth. He's barely chewed twice when his eyes go wide and he grabs Yoongi's hand. "Hyung, this is so good!"
"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Yoongi says, but he's not exactly displeased by the rave review. He leans forward and takes a bite for himself. It is pretty good.
Half the bowl is gone when Taehyung sighs wistfully. "Hyung, seriously, seriously, this makes me want to marry you."
Yoongi coughs, but Taehyung is smiling around another bite. "You're so strange sometimes." But that just makes Taehyung grin harder.
A week later when Taehyung drops down next to Yoongi and begs him to make a snack, half the members in the room share Yoongi's surprise.
But Yoongi isn't bothered. It's not a big deal at all.
4. April 2018
After the fact, Yoongi doesn't know why he did it. He stares at his phone and a wall of text stares back at him. It's not that he regrets sending it because he certainly isn't the type to say these things out loud.
But he also isn't the type to write them down either.
He stares for so long that he sees the tiny '1' disappear next to his lengthy message and panics, tossing his phone across the bed.
It's not even midnight so he knew Taehyung would still be awake, but Taehyung and Jungkook have also been preoccupied with a new video game lately, squeezing in play time every chance they get.
The minutes tick by, but Yoongi's phone doesn't chime with a new message. He rolls over onto his stomach. Maybe he went too far. Maybe his words weren't comforting at all. The sentiment probably would have been better coming from Namjoon or Jimin.
Just, it's been eating at him lately. During their schedules Taehyung was zoning out more than usual, clearly with a lot on his mind. A couple of them always joke about whether anything goes on in Taehyung's head when he blanks like that, but Yoongi knows he's always thinking about something. The past few weeks though, Taehyung's been keeping more and more things to himself.
He wouldn't have thought much about it because most of the time Taehyung was still his usual self — making too much noise, getting into too much trouble with Jungkook or Jimin. But on their trip a few weeks ago, when the soju and makgeolli chipped at their guards enough to say the words out loud, to wonder whether it still made sense to keep going as a group, that was the first time he saw Taehyung quiet.
It was a conversation that he and Namjoon dominated without meaning to and he remembers quite vividly still looking across the room at Taehyung who seemed so small tucked into the corner of the couch, eyes closed as if he were imagining himself to be somewhere else.
In the weeks since Taehyung has behaved as if nothing's wrong. He's pretty good at acting, but in the end he wears his heart on his sleeve and Yoongi knows he is not imagining how quickly Taehyung's smile disappears when the cameras turn off.
Which brings him to right now, staring at the longest text he's ever sent because words came easier like this than in person. Especially the ones at the end: 'I know I never say it, but you know I love you, right?'
It's the sort of thing that Taehyung likes, yet his silence now has Yoongi wondering how his sudden seriousness is being received. Ten minutes turns into an hour and soon Yoongi is too tired to keep waiting. He rolls out of bed to wash up and figures he'll find out in the morning whether his sudden outpouring of feelings made any difference.
+
Taehyung doesn't bring it up. The only acknowledgement he gives Yoongi is a shy smile and barest nod when they show up in the studio to finish recording their next single and even then Yoongi isn't sure he's reading that right.
He supposes it's normal. What did he expect? They're surrounded by people from the moment they wake up. Did he think Taehyung was going to have a conversation out in the open? Yell across a room full of stylists and the other members?
A few days pass before he knows it. They're in the practice room sweating hard as they learn new choreography. They've earned a quick break and Yoongi has just chugged half a bottle of water when a weight presses against his back.
"Hey, hyung," says Taehyung, squeezing his arms around Yoongi's waist. "You're still sure you won't marry me?" It's been years, yet Yoongi immediately knows what Taehyung means by 'still'.
"Stop playing around," Yoongi says, though partly relieved because Taehyung is feeling good enough again to joke.
"Ah, hyung, maybe one day," Taehyung says, then much quieter, "Thank you." One more squeeze and he releases Yoongi.
When Yoongi turns around, Taehyung is already halfway across the room.
3. June 2020
After years of filming Bon Voyage, the trip out to the countryside has a semblance of familiarity that Yoongi is grateful for. They can't perform, can't plan for anything more than a month out, so being able to escape even if it's just a few hours drive is enough.
They fall into their usual roles with ease and Yoongi finds that he's missed the unique challenge of planning and cooking for seven people. It's long been an open secret that this is how he shows his love for others. No matter what anyone says, he's always felt like there's not much he's capable of. So the few things he can do — feeding them, channeling their creativity into a cute and silly theme song — it comforts him.
They finished dinner an hour ago and Yoongi has allowed Seokjin to drag him back in front of the computers to squeeze in a couple more games before they get too tired. Mostly he is just watching Seokjin play while he gives uninvited commentary and nurses a beer.
A couple of the others barrel in, but Yoongi doesn't look to see who. He gets wrapped up as Seokjin gets closer to winning, both of them making increasingly pitched noises at the screen. For all their fuss, Seokjin loses in the end and they sit there for a total of five seconds in mourning before Yoongi slaps his thighs and stands up.
He goes to the kitchen to toss his empty can and finds Taehyung standing pensively in front of the fridge.
"The food's going to go bad if you keep the door open," Yoongi says, peeking into the sole bedroom in this lower house. It's empty. "Weren't you with Jimin or Jungkook?"
"Yeah. They went back to the other house to workout."
"Of course they did."
Taehyung closes the fridge and turns to face the counter, tapping his neatly manicured nails on the surface.
"Do you need some help? Are you hungry again?"
Taehyung hesitates to answer. "I can just make some ramyeon."
"Do you want something else?" Yoongi opens the fridge again. The staff restocked it sometime today. "If you do, just say so."
"It's okay." Taehyung takes two steps out of the kitchen, but Yoongi grabs the back of his shirt to stop him.
"There's still some left over, isn't there?" Yoongi says, nodding toward the rice cooker sitting on the floor. "You want fried rice?" He's already pulling out the tub of kimchi and some cut of pork that'll suffice. "Grab some eggs."
There's more liveliness to Taehyung now as he moves to follow Yoongi's instructions. Whatever cooking skills Taehyung is lacking he makes up for in being a decent assistant and not twenty minutes later Yoongi is sliding a bowl of fried rice in front of Taehyung.
Seokjin wanders in just as Taehyung takes his first bite with gusto, half chewing, half exhaling with his mouth wide open because it's still too hot to eat.
"Did you make any for me?" says Seokjin.
Yoongi drops the pan he used into the sink to soak. "Nope. You said you were going to bed after playing."
"You didn't even make any for yourself? Just Taehyung?"
Taehyung grins big and bright at Seokjin as if to gloat. "I keep asking hyung to marry me, but he never answers."
Seokjin laughs. "You mean those comments you always read? Why are you bringing that up?"
"I started asking him way before all of that," says Taehyung, a little too defensive for Yoongi's liking. "Yoongi-hyung pretends like he doesn't know anything, but he always knows what I want."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Yoongi says, glancing at the sink. "I'm going to bed, leave the dishes for the morning." He shuffles past the other two and leaves the house for the short trek to the camper van.
Normally he uses the bathroom in the house to wash up, but since Taehyung and Seokjin are still in there, he makes do with brushing his teeth over the little kitchenette sink and wipes his face clean with some makeup remover sheets. He's in the middle of removing his mic pack when the door opens and Seokjin leans his upper body in, then climbs up without waiting for Yoongi to say something.
"This thing is tiny," Seokjin says, which sounds about right for someone who could cross the entire length of this van in two large strides. "Is that the bed? Don't you get claustrophobic?"
"I like it," says Yoongi, changing into pajamas. He is not expecting Seokjin to unplug his mic and toss the waist strap onto the table. Coming in here like this, removing that — it means he's going to say something Yoongi doesn't want to hear.
"You know, he does say it a lot."
Yoongi doesn't respond as if ignoring Seokjin will make him drop it. It's never worked before, but he could always hope.
"You ever think about it?" Seokjin says, as he pokes around in all the cupboards, like he's asking about a shopping list. "I know people say all that stuff about dating in the workplace, but you can't help who you fall in love with."
"What sort of weird drivel are you spouting?"
"Not everything he says is a joke. Most things he says aren't."
"Not a joke? Which part of randomly proposing marriage isn't a joke?"
"Why are you asking me and not him?"
"You're the one who came in here!"
Seokjin looks mildly insulted for a moment, then shrugs and grabs his mic pack. "Do what you want. But I think it's interesting that it's the proposal you think is silly and not the rest of what I said."
Before Yoongi can retort, Seokjin leaves and closes the door with an irritating grin.
Yoongi thinks all of it is silly, of course he does. That was clearly implied. Dating a coworker, that's certainly one way to put it. They've all seen each others' worst and grossest habits. They've lived together for nearly a decade. The things Taehyung says rarely mean the same thing as if another person had said them. So yes, it's all silly.
Half an hour later Yoongi is lying in bed, in that little nook where there's barely enough headroom for him to stretch his arms up, when he hears the sound of footsteps over gravel.
They stop outside the camper, just under the little window next to him.
"Hyung, are you asleep?"
Yoongi stays completely still, yet would not be surprised if Taehyung had some sixth sense that could detect his lie.
"Hyung, there weren't that many dishes so I did them. Thanks for cooking just for me. I've kind of missed it." Taehyung doesn't say anything for a good thirty seconds and Yoongi almost responds, oddly unable to stand the silence. "Ah, the stars are so pretty out here. Good night, hyung."
Yoongi listens to Taehyung's footsteps until they can no longer be heard. He strains to find out if Taehyung says anything to Seokjin when he passes by the tent, but there's nothing.
Rolling over, Yoongi pulls up the blinds and peers outside. There's no one. But when he looks up at the night sky, hundreds of stars look back at him and he counts them until he falls asleep.
2. June 2022
Yoongi doesn't know when it becomes A Thing. It feels like one day it's just a tame joke someone, mostly Taehyung, says sometimes and the next he can't be anywhere without someone mentioning it.
How suddenly everyone is making the "marry me" comment.
He ignores it, forces it into the background noise, but the more he hears it the more it digs at something he can't quite pinpoint.
The group is taking a long-needed formal break soon. He can deal with it for just another couple of months and then once their solo schedules are in full swing this little inside joke that's blown out of proportion will lose steam. He can do that.
So he plays along at their concerts to make it fun, lets the other members say it as much as they want, acts shy when the stylists prod him about it. It's fine. It's fan service and it's the last time they'll be able to show this side of them as a group for a while. It's fun. It's fine.
But that something that makes him want to wince before he puts on a smile, it doesn't go away.
+
They've cut the cameras on recording the hoesik for their 9th anniversary. Yoongi's still a bit buzzed, but he glances in the mirror and sees that his face isn't too red anymore. They've only been staying here when there's overnight schedules, everyone having moved out in the past couple years. Yet now that the news is officially out there, a weight off their shoulders, it seems none of them are that quick to leave.
Seokjin is packing up leftovers, Jungkook and Taehyung are taking down the decorations, Hoseok and Jimin are clearing the rest of the table. Yoongi goes up to Namjoon and holds out his hand, earning an eye roll with the small bill that is handed to him.
"I can't believe you're profiting off my emotional vulnerability."
"Sounds like something a crybaby would say." Yoongi pockets the money. "You didn't have to accept the bet."
"He's just mad he didn't win his own," Jimin says, tying up a trash bag.
Yoongi looks at Namjoon who shrugs.
"I thought someone would try to lighten things up with a marry me joke."
Yoongi rolls his eyes, ready to retort, but then Hoseok jumps in with the made-up song he was teasing Yoongi with earlier at the music show recording, this time with a little dance too. The rubber gloves he's wearing makes it even more surreal.
"Are we proposing to Yoongi-hyung again?" Jungkook says, folding up a balloon he just deflated. "Hyung, how many times have you been asked this week?"
It's the only thing people have been shouting at him in public, it seems.
Yoongi looks across the room where Taehyung is balling up some of the streamers. He doesn't look like he's even paying attention to what's going on behind him and Yoongi is unexpectedly annoyed. This whole thing, after all, was Taehyung's doing. If he'd never started reading those comments out loud, it never would have ballooned into this.
Most of the staff leave as they're finishing up to bring all the lighting and equipment back to the office. It's just their managers and a couple PDs left and they're mostly keeping to themselves. Yoongi takes a couple of the trash bags and goes to bring them down the hall.
"Hyung, wait! Let me grab the recycling!"
Yoongi doesn't want Taehyung to go with him, but he waits at the door anyway. Taehyung appears with four bags brimming with recycling and Yoongi holds the door open silently.
"Hyung, do you think the fans will be mad when the news gets out?"
Yoongi shrugs. "I think most people will understand. All of our juniors are already doing solo work. We're the outlier. We've always kind of been, but there's a natural lifecycle to this stuff. Even if people are pissed, whatever. I don't want to drive this thing into the ground and wake up one day resenting all of you and I don't want you all to resent me either."
They arrive at the trash room and Yoongi heads over to toss out the bags he's carrying while Taehyung parks himself in front of the giant bins of recycling to sort through everything.
"I think I've already felt it a little," Taehyung says, unscrewing the cap from each bottle before discarding both. "Then it felt bad to feel bad and that's when I started to really want a break."
Yoongi thinks about what Taehyung had said on camera, about feeling guilty for even wondering if he could want something for himself. "What sort of stuff have you been thinking about doing?"
Taehyung finishes sorting through all the bottles and cans and moves on to the plastic. "I don't know exactly. Anything that lets people learn about Kim Taehyung, I guess."
It's something that Yoongi gets, but also feels foreign. He has many names he's produced content under, but not once has he wanted to make something as Min Yoongi.
Taehyung takes his time and this is a silence that Yoongi doesn't mind. He stands off to the side with his arms crossed, kicking at a bottle cap that had been dropped.
"Hyung, you looked a little annoyed earlier," Taehyung says, turning to Yoongi once he's done. "You know you can tell us when a joke isn't funny anymore."
Yoongi frowns. He doesn't like the way Taehyung uses "us", even though just earlier he was blaming him for the whole thing.
"You know how something is fine in the beginning but then by the time everyone starts doing it, it somehow feels different?" This is ridiculous. He's all but admitting that he didn't mind when it was just something Taehyung would joke about.
Taehyung purses his lips pensively and nods. Then he takes a step towards Yoongi and quickly flicks his fingers under Yoongi's chin, grinning now. "Hyung, did you like when it was just me saying it?" He practically coos at Yoongi, tapping his cheek this time.
Yoongi bats Taehyung away half-heartedly. "That's not what I meant." He starts to head back, hands shoved in his pockets, refusing to make eye contact when Taehyung falls into step beside him.
Their kitchen and dining area is more or less back to normal. Yoongi passes by Jungkook and Jimin who are sitting at the table poking at Jungkook's tattoos.
"Oh, Yunki!" Jungkook says, head popping up. Jimin bursts out laughing like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard. "Yunki, marry—!" His mouth snaps shut when Yoongi flicks his ear.
"Quit it. Find a new joke."
Jungkook rubs his ear and pouts. "Yah, don't you know what I do for a living?"
Yoongi rolls his eyes and wanders off to the kitchen to grab some water, plus he wants to swipe the soup stock he saw in the fridge earlier before Seokjin can take it.
He grabs that and an unopened container of soybean paste. When he closes the door, Taehyung is standing there, lips pursed in thought. "Hyung, if I really asked," he says, then takes a deep breath and does nothing else.
Yoongi raises an eyebrow. "What?"
Taehyung laughs strangely. "Nothing. Hey, would you marry me if I said I would always take out the trash?"
Yoongi snorts. "That's your elevator pitch?" He slips past and heads to his old room which is now mostly bare. He puts everything in his bag and hears the door click shut when he zips it closed.
Taehyung is leaning against the wall, but pushes off when Yoongi looks up. He grabs Yoongi's arms right below the shoulders and his face is tense like he's going to say something. He looks so serious, so unlike how Yoongi's ever seen him.
But then Taehyung slowly deflates and he lets go, running his hand through his mop of hair.
"What?" Yoongi says.
Taehyung shakes his head with a small smile. "I'll ask you some other time." He opens the door and taps the frame. "I'll see you at the recording."
Days later, sitting backstage waiting to be called up, Taehyung is behaving like Taehyung again, yet Yoongi can't stop thinking about how he had looked when it was the two of them standing in that room.
He wonders if Taehyung will really ask him some other time and how long he'll have to wait.
1. September 2028
The weather is perfect on Namjoon's wedding day.
Yoongi is one of the last to arrive, but finds the table where everyone else is sitting easily enough. It is, after all, right at the front.
It's been a couple years since all of them have been in one place together. He sees Seokjin and Hoseok fairly often only because they always make him go out. Jungkook he sees a few times a year, usually to work on whatever next album or project he has going on. The kid, despite being 32 now, could give him a run for his money considering how much he works. He doesn't see Jimin or Namjoon in person often, probably not since earlier this year, but they keep in touch through text frequently.
Then there's Taehyung. Yoongi sees and hears about him more through the media and Jimin than anything directly. Always off filming something and when he's not he's sitting front row at a fashion show. Out of everyone, Yoongi was most skeptical of whether Taehyung would show up today but at the same time knew Taehyung wouldn't have missed this for the world.
The ceremony is nice. One of Namjoon's best friends is the MC and Jungkook, of course, sings to the couple. Yoongi has been going to more and more weddings lately. Getting to that age, he supposes.
It is a little shocking that it's taken this long for one of them to get married and even more so that Namjoon is the first. But he looks the happiest Yoongi's ever seen him standing up there and Yoongi wonders where the time has gone that he didn't pick up on how Namjoon being the first would be inevitable.
Afterwards while the couple is off to complete their pyebaek, so many people come up to their table that it feels like some only attended just to see them.
"I'd forgotten what it was like," says Seokjin, leaning over after taking a photo with yet another grandma. He's the one who spends the most time out of the limelight, having bought a home out in the countryside, making batches of fruit preserves that always sell out in seconds. He refuses to give freebies to the rest of them and tells them to experience the thrill of competition just like everyone else.
Yoongi had forgotten somewhat too. His last solo album is over three years old and he likes the relative low maintenance of simply being a producer. He's gotten used to being able to pop into a convenience store or coffee shop with the right hoodie on and having no one notice him.
There is literally a line twenty people deep waiting to take a photo with Taehyung. Seokjin asks for another bowl of noodles.
Yoongi tries to remember the last time he saw Taehyung in the flesh. It was right around the time his album was released and he was in the office to go over his promotions schedule. Taehyung had happened to be there too, but he was on his way out to the airport, jetting off to who knows where, but he'd run up and hugged Yoongi and proudly shown off how he'd had Yoongi's album on repeat since it came out.
There will be time later to talk to him, Yoongi supposes. Jimin has already wrestled all of them into agreeing to go out for a proper meal after this, Namjoon and his now wife included. So he quietly keeps to himself, politely taking a picture with anyone who asks, watches the rest of them charm the room one guest at a time.
He remembers all over again why he's so glad they have each other.
+
The restaurant they rent out is nice, a place with expensive beef that the owner personally inspects and buys every morning. Yoongi is one of the first to sit down and grabs the inside corner, tossing his jacket behind him and rolling up his sleeves. Hoseok settles in across the table and Jungkook is about to take the seat beside him when he's called away. Yoongi is looking at the menu when Jungkook finally sits down and asks how many servings of brisket they should get, but it's not Jungkook that answers.
"I don't eat as much as I used to, but let's get a lot anyway."
Yoongi looks over at Taehyung, who's smiling back at him, that innocent curious expression on his face as he peers over Yoongi's shoulder at the rest of the menu.
"Let's get five servings and five of the galbi. Oh and some steamed eggs." Taehyung looks over at where Jungkook is greeting Seokjin by pretending he's a punching bag. "Do you think when we're in our 70s they'll still be doing that?"
"I think they're looking forward to it."
Hoseok is the one who gets the rest of them to calm down. Namjoon isn't here yet, but they order first just to get meat on the grill. It's like Yoongi has been transported back five, ten years. Jimin is the one who orders three different types of soju despite Seokjin's objections that he's getting too old to drink like that, especially when Jungkook tells him to ignore the complaints.
Hoseok asks Taehyung about his last trip to the States and Taehyung says it was good, but the Korean food just isn't the same as here.
"When are you off again?" Yoongi says, helping to arrange the side dishes when they arrive. He takes the tongs and greases the grill with a piece of fat, starting with a mountain of brisket first. "Let me guess, back to Europe?"
"Ah, I have one schedule in Japan next week, but actually after that I think I'm staying put for a while." Taehyung says it kind of softly, the tone people use when they announce something big but don't actually want it to be a big deal. But it is. Taehyung's been traveling all over for so long, but Yoongi supposes that's all the more reason to stop.
"How come? Tired of the travel?"
"A little," Taehyung says, running his hands through his hair. He still doesn't have any grays, which is a bit infuriating yet completely unsurprising. "When I got the wedding invite, I just started thinking a lot. Like I'm probably not going to get my chance if I'm never in one spot for more than a week."
Yoongi feels like he's heard rumors of Taehyung dating over the years, but rumors are such that he doesn't even think they're worth asking about. If Taehyung was dating and it was serious enough, he eventually would have said something.
Namjoon arrives with his wife at the same time the first batch of meat is done. Jungkook is manning the other grill and waves excitedly for the two of them to sit at the end. It feels like after all these years, Jungkook still has a bit of hero worship for Namjoon which has now extended a bit to his wife too. She's a curator at a contemporary art museum in Seoul, which is so predictable and perfect that Yoongi is actually impressed. But it turns out she's a bit of an adrenaline junkie too and Jungkook almost convinced them to go to New Zealand for their honeymoon so that he could drop in for a few days and go bungee jumping with her. Yoongi isn't entirely sure that it still won't happen.
They do a toast now that everyone is here. Jimin is sweet with his words while Seokjin accuses Namjoon of betrayal because now the older adults around him will give him so much more grief for not settling down as well. Yoongi gets those comments too sometimes, but it's not a secret that Seokjin's mom is the loudest about not having a grandchild — or two.
After that, there is very little talking for a good ten minutes, not when there's meat just off the grill to eat. Yoongi pushes the cooked pieces off to the side for Hoseok and Taehyung to grab while he places more beef on, the sizzle melodic.
"Hyung, how long has it been since I've seen you take over grilling like this? You haven't changed at all."
"What are you talking about, we went out just a couple weeks ago."
Hoseok waves his chopsticks around. "Yeah, but you know," he says, then gestures along the table. "Not with everyone like this."
"Well, half of you still work a hundred hours a week when you could be like me and Seokjin instead, working a hundred hours a week at being a couch potato."
Hoseok snorts. "That's a lie. You're barely better now. We were the ones that practically had to shame you into working less."
"Didn't you register almost 30 songs last year?" Taehyung says.
Yoongi is a little surprised. "How do you know that?"
Taehyung looks a bit exasperated. "Hyung, I pay attention. It's not hard."
"You just seem busy yourself," Yoongi mumbles, placing more meat directly into Taehyung's bowl.
"I was. I am. But you know half of the job is waiting around for the next schedule to start so I'm usually listening to whatever the rest of you have been recording."
Yoongi thinks about all the times that Taehyung has messaged him to rave about a song or has shared Yoongi's work on his social media accounts. Part of him had thought it was just someone on his team doing the latter, but now he's not so sure.
"Namjoon-hyung looks really happy," says Taehyung, leaning back. "I'm jealous."
"I'm surprised it isn't you over there," Yoongi says. "Feels like you were the one we all thought would get married first."
"Could've been. I asked you to marry me so many times."
Yoongi nearly drops the spoon he's holding, but does spill some soup onto the table top. How many years has it been since he last heard Taehyung make that joke? He glances over at him and ignores the strange wheeze that Hoseok makes. Taehyung's face is, as always, deceptively serious.
"You're bringing that back?" Yoongi says, stabbing his chopsticks into the bowl of rice in front of him, but not actually eating anything. "Isn't that joke stale now?"
"Hyung." Taehyung slips his hand onto Yoongi's thigh. "How long are you going to keep doing this?"
"Doing what?" Yoongi says, noticing how Hoseok has gone quiet. He is furiously typing something on his phone and Yoongi is caught between suspecting it's gossip about him and feeling foolish for thinking it.
"You're the only one who ever called it a joke." Taehyung's hand comes up behind Yoongi's waist. "I've been asking for so long."
"Asking for so long what?" Yoongi wants to laugh. This is absurd. "To marry me? And I'm weird for calling it a joke?"
"I've never said it was. You always brushed it off."
"Because it's ridiculous!" Whatever conversation is happening at the other end of the table trails off at Yoongi's little outburst. It's not like their group is big enough for him to just pretend nothing is happening.
"Why is it ridiculous?" Taehyung says, frowning a little like Yoongi has offended him. "Is the idea of me that offensive?"
Jimin leans over to whisper something in Hoseok's ear, who responds in kind and Yoongi thinks there's a giant prank being played on him with the way Jimin's eyes go wide.
Yoongi doesn't even know how to answer. "I — because! What kind of strategy is it to keep asking someone to marry you and completely skip the dating? The actual relationship part?"
"Okay. So date me first."
It's completely quiet now. Everyone hears Taehyung say that and they're all waiting for Yoongi to reply.
"What are you — you're taking this too far."
"Hyung."
"No, stop. Just!" Yoongi picks up his spoon only to drop it back on the table. The back of his neck prickles from everyone staring at them. He's angry and he doesn't know why, but he suddenly doesn't want to be here so he pushes his chair back and mumbles something about getting some air.
No one stops him from leaving.
It's absurd, he thinks again, taking a deep breath once he's outside, the idea that Taehyung actually wants something to do with him. Yet he knows what Taehyung said was true. Never once has Taehyung claimed he was joking. But Yoongi couldn't comprehend how it had been anything but that.
Someone else comes out of the restaurant and Yoongi isn't surprised to see Taehyung come to stand beside him. Over the years, he's just become better in every way. More good looking, more confident, carrying himself with such a steady grace.
Anyone would be lucky to have him.
Yoongi drags his hands through his hair. It's been a few years since he last grew it out and it's just long enough again to be able to tie it up. Taehyung pulls a lighter out of his pocket and flicks at it, sparking a flame and snuffing it out, over and over.
"I think the first time I ever said it to you, I didn't really mean it literally, but the sentiment wasn't that far off. You were this hyung that was cool some of the time but was just a big music nerd most of the time. I still remember at the beginning how much you just tolerated us, especially when we wouldn't stop getting into trouble, but then you would always go out of your way to quietly take care of everyone. If there's one thing I'm really sorry for, it's how I should've cared more about how you were doing back then. You never complained, at least not in front of me, but knowing now all the things you were afraid of, that you worried about, I should've done better." Taehyung slips his hands back into his pockets and faces Yoongi who keeps his eyes forward. "I've always thought about you, hyung. I guess I just didn't want to get rejected so I told you in a way where I knew you wouldn't say anything one way or another."
Yoongi hooks his hands behind his neck and presses his lips together. It's been so long since they've really talked and hearing Taehyung speak so seriously just makes him nervous.
"If there's any chance, can we just try?" Taehyung says. He steps closer and the barest touch to Yoongi's arm makes him turn. He looks so earnest and hopeful, still so much like the younger version of himself that Yoongi first met and didn't know how to deal with.
"Back then, the last year we were living together, was this what you were going to ask me?"
Taehyung smiles a little. "You still remember that? Yeah, something like this. But everything else was changing and I didn't want to add something so important on top of it."
"So you waited until now." Yoongi hugs his arms, as if it's cold and not a calm late summer evening. "What if you're too late?"
Taehyung shrugs. "I'm an adult. I can handle it." He carefully raises his hand and tucks Yoongi's hair behind his ear. "Am I too late?"
Yoongi closes his eyes, wishing he could say that the small gesture was awkward or made him feel nothing. But the truth is the opposite and he curses how smooth Taehyung is, how such a tiny thing is able to undo almost every thread he's holding onto.
He doesn't tell Taehyung that he's too late. He doesn't say anything actually, which is an answer in itself. The warmth of Taehyung's hand gets closer again, this time caressing his cheek before settling against the back of Yoongi's neck.
Taehyung closes the last bit of distance between them and hugs Yoongi, enveloping him so tightly that Yoongi almost feels like he could disappear. It is, strangely, a comforting thought.
"Hyung, do you want to get out of here?"
Yoongi looks up. "Abandon Namjoon on his wedding day?"
Taehyung pulls a face. "He's already married. We were there for the most important parts. You know they're talking about us anyway."
That's all true. If they stay, it will just be poorly disguised stares or prodding questions. Not only does Yoongi not want to sit through that, he is impatient to know what this thing between him and Taehyung is supposed to be.
"Okay. Let's go."
+
It feels like it should be a little awkward figuring out how to act now that things are technically different, but it's not. They return to Taehyung's apartment because it's closer and because Taehyung asked if that would be all right.
It looks much different now than the first time Yoongi saw it, but Taehyung's personality is still effused throughout the place in much the same way. It looks surprisingly lived in considering how often he's away, evidence of Taehyung's travel and work over the years visible here and there. A bunch of instruments are tucked in the corner: a keyboard, a guitar, a violin safely in its case.
It could be considered a first date, but Taehyung doesn't say anything about it and Yoongi doesn't ask. Who knows if two people with a history like theirs can even have one. But if it is, it's not a very glamorous one. Yoongi kind of likes it that way. Taehyung gives Yoongi a pair of pajamas to change into and makes some instant decaf coffee for the both of them. They sit on the floor around the coffee table and Taehyung shows him photos of all the cities he's visited just this year.
They're nice pictures, artistic in a way that suits Taehyung. It's enough to make anyone have wanderlust and he says as much, realizing just how long it's been that he's traveled anywhere.
"Go with me somewhere," says Taehyung, looking excited. "We can go next week, next month, whenever your schedule is free."
They were always like that, him and Jimin and Jungkook — happy to hop on a plane the very next morning to spend a few days somewhere. Back when they were traveling eleven months out of the year, all Yoongi wanted was to be home in his own bed, under the soft sheets and blankets he spent so much money on. It's taken a long time for him to want to be away again.
"Where do you want to go?" Taehyung says, placing his hand over Yoongi's as he scoots closer. "Europe? Somewhere with nice beaches?"
Both sound nice, but he thinks of the nice camera collecting dust in his studio and how Taehyung has always looked so irritatingly natural among worn cobblestone streets and old buildings.
"Spain's nice in the fall, isn't it?" Yoongi says, also thinking about how if he turns his hand over right now it would slip right into Taehyung's.
"I don't remember, but we can find out!" Taehyung laughs, almost a giggle. He rests his arm on the table and drops his head against it, just staring and smiling at Yoongi. It would be enough to make the most stoic blush, so Yoongi doesn't stand a chance.
Yoongi's coffee is cold now, so he just stares into the bottom of his mug. Taehyung slides his hand up to Yoongi's wrist.
"Are you going to stay over? You can have your pick of the spare bedrooms."
"Okay," Yoongi says without needing to think about it. It would feel wrong somehow if he went home.
It's long past midnight and Yoongi's normal bedtime when they finally turn in. Taehyung digs out a new toothbrush for him and he takes his time washing up, squeezing in a shower because it's been a long day.
There's two bedrooms on the opposite end of the apartment. Yoongi peeks into both of them and heads to Taehyung's room. He stands in the doorway and doesn't have to knock — Taehyung is sitting on his bed checking his phone and notices Yoongi right away.
Taehyung's bed is big, plenty of room for two people. Yoongi enters and heads for the other side, feeling Taehyung's eyes follow him as he silently crawls under the covers. He pulls the blanket up to his chest and glances at Taehyung who smiles and sets his phone down on the nightstand.
"You didn't like the other rooms?" Taehyung says, joining Yoongi.
"They were fine," Yoongi says, staring at the ceiling. It's very faint, but he can feel Taehyung's body heat. "It's not like we've never shared a bed. We all shared that tiny closet of a room for years."
There's also just things Yoongi thinks they should talk about, because they haven't really said anything so far. He doesn't know if lying in Taehyung's bed together is the best avenue for it, but then again, are there any rules for this?
"Do you really think this will work?"
Taehyung hums. "I don't know. But I know I want to find out for myself. What about you?"
"It's strange to think that you feel something for me. I'm scared a lot will be ruined if it goes wrong."
"I like you a lot, hyung," says Taehyung softly. "I've admired you since the beginning. It made me jealous sometimes, even mad. I've imagined this for a long time."
"When were you mad at me?"
"At the beginning when I used to get into fights with Jungkook or Jimin. I think because you and I were so different and still too stubborn, you were always more sympathetic toward them and I hated it. I was angry that you never thought about me first."
Yoongi thinks back to that time, which almost feels like a different life now. It took a while for him to begin to figure Taehyung out and even now he's not sure despite the pull he feels toward him.
Taehyung reaches over and takes Yoongi's hand, holding it between them, linking their fingers together. He turns off the light, but it's a full moon tonight and it's bright enough through the windows that Yoongi's eyes don't even need to adjust. It's nice to just lie here and hold Taehyung's hand, but he also wonders what it would be like if he just—
The bed shifts and Yoongi can tell without looking that Taehyung has rolled onto his side, moving just a little closer.
"Hyung, you haven't changed at all," Taehyung says softly. "Do you even age?"
"I have a bunch of gray hairs."
"I can't see them."
"What? Some of them are right here in the front." Yoongi touches the top of his hairline.
"Isn't that just the moonlight?"
Yoongi rolls his eyes. "Stop being ridiculous." He turns his head and whatever he was going to say next disappears off his tongue. Taehyung is hovering just centimeters away, peering so seriously at his hair before his gaze drops to Yoongi's face.
It feels like a game of wits. Yoongi doesn't know who wins by moving first, or if they both did at the same time. But Yoongi has just enough time to suck in a quick breath before Taehyung's mouth presses against his.
It's a chaste kiss compared to how fast Yoongi's heart is beating. Taehyung's lips are dry and soft and he can smell the mild citrus of whatever moisturizer he used before bed. Yoongi's had a couple partners the past few years, but he always underestimates how much he craves physical touch until he tastes it after a dry spell. Just this simple kiss has him digging his hand into Taehyung's shirt, tethering them together just to keep Taehyung against him for a few more seconds.
There is still that moment of disappointment when Taehyung pulls back, even if it's just enough for them to look at each other. "Was that okay? Was it weird?"
Yoongi gives some thought to it. "It was, a little. But I liked it. It was nice."
A stray lock of hair falls over Taehyung's eyes. It taunts Yoongi whose throat goes dry. Taehyung slides Yoongi's hand up and presses it into the bed as he moves on top.
"You're pretty under the moonlight, hyung."
"Shut up."
Taehyung lets out a soft puff of laughter. "Can I kiss you again?"
Right away, Yoongi knows the answer is yes, but he doesn't want to give his desperation away. He counts to three in his head and nods slightly, just enough that it can't be mistaken for anything else.
"Ah, hyung," Taehyung says, touching their foreheads together. He sounds so fond, as if this position they're in is something that's happened hundreds of times before. Maybe in some different life, but in this one it's the first time.
They'll get there though.
0. August 2032
"Hyung, have you seen my golf shirt?"
"You have at least twenty golf shirts."
Taehyung pops into Yoongi's studio. "I found it," he says, voice muffled when he pulls the shirt on. "I meant my lucky one."
Yoongi turns around and just sees a normal white polo and says as much.
"It's lucky!" Taehyung turns around and points at a faint green stain off center. "I tripped and fell on hole seven, but then miraculously pulled ahead from last place to win the whole thing."
"Ah, that story you've told a hundred times."
Taehyung beams and goes over to drop a kiss to Yoongi's forehead. "I might stay out for dinner. I'll let you know if it looks that way." He's out the door after blowing one more kiss and Yoongi settles back into the silence.
It's been almost ten years since Taehyung's picked up a golf club, but one of his actor friends got back into it a few months ago, which means Taehyung inevitably followed.
The quiet afternoons have been nice. Yoongi has a bunch of songs he's working on for multiple artists with comebacks scheduled for the fall and the solitude allows him to focus and get shit done. Taehyung had just finished filming a drama before rediscovering his hobby and had a habit of constantly distracting Yoongi with all the free time he had. It was always an extremely pleasurable distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.
After all these years — two decades now since they first met — his willpower against Taehyung is still near zero.
It's late into the afternoon when Yoongi decides to call it quits for the day. He finished mixing two demos and sends them off for initial feedback. His phone chimes just as he saves down all his files and he finds a video of Taehyung running around the golf cart with his arms pumped high in celebration.
"Yeah! The lucky shirt does it again for best golfer Kim Taeh—AH!"
Yoongi almost chokes on his laughter when Taehyung suddenly wipes out, feet sliding out from under him as he lands on his back. He hears Taehyung groan as he rolls around in pain.
"Watch out, you're too old to be falling down and not risk breaking a hip."
It's a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that Taehyung's probably going to be feeling that for a few days.
It's no surprise that Taehyung doesn't stay out and slinks home a couple hours later.
"Hyung."
Yoongi is watching TV while hanging up some laundry to dry and answers without looking. "You're back. Did you win?"
A forlorn sigh. "No." Taehyung comes up behind Yoongi and hugs him, ignoring the complaint about all the dirt on him. "I was until I fell and then I had the worst luck the rest of the game."
"Guess all the luck fell out of your shirt."
Taehyung whines as if he's still that 20-year-old pestering Yoongi to buy him ice cream. "Do you wanna make me feel better?"
Yoongi smacks Taehyung's arm and nudges him away. "I just told you you're sweaty and filthy."
"Okay, but if I get you sweaty and filthy too then we can be gross together and get clean together too." Taehyung holds his arms out like he's checkmated Yoongi.
"No."
Taehyung's face falls and his shoulders sag. "Fine, I'll go wash up," he says, turning around to shuffle sadly down the hall.
While Taehyung is in the shower, a message comes through in the group chat all seven of them still maintain. It's from Jungkook and that alone catches Yoongi's attention. Even now, Jungkook is still the one who messages the least.
"Hyung, did you see Jungkook's message?" says Taehyung from down the hall. He appears drying his hair. "He wants us all to meet this weekend?" He drops onto the couch next to Yoongi and his mouth hangs slack. "Oh my god, do you think he's going to tell us he wants to be a monk?"
"Well, considering he has a girlfriend, I don't think that's it." Yoongi leans against Taehyung and watches him ask Jungkook anyway, plus a slew of other increasingly unlikely scenarios. "Really? Is he going to join a global space team to stop an asteroid from colliding with Earth?"
"If I go ridiculous enough, maybe he'll get annoyed and just tell us the real reason."
"I'm pretty sure you're going to annoy Hobi first with all the messages — oh, see, yup, he's annoyed he used that one smiley face."
Both of them know why Jungkook wants to see all of them. He and his girlfriend have been together for over two years now and he probably wants to announce that they're finally going to get married. It's not like Jungkook's been that subtle about it, asking all of them separately over the past few months if they think he should ask.
Taehyung pockets his phone and cards his fingers through Yoongi's hair. "Since I'm squeaky clean now, do you want to order chicken and then race to see if we can fit in a quickie before it gets here?"
Yoongi rolls his eyes, but he doesn't say no.
+
They still get recognized pretty easily when they go out, but it's no longer a risk to their personal safety. These days, it's usually a parent out with their kid who comes up to them gushing about how big a fan they used to be while their kid looks cluelessly on. Sometimes younger people recognize Taehyung since he's on TV so often and every time it happens Taehyung is ecstatic.
Jungkook has reserved a private dining room at a nice hotel. Hoseok and Seokjin are already there and Jungkook strolls in a minute after Yoongi and Taehyung arrive. It actually hasn't been too long since they've all seen each other. They have an unofficial rule these days to have a get-together at one of their homes at least once every other month.
"Hi, sorry I'm late," says Namjoon when he barrels in. Considering the ambience of the place, he's only in a set of sweats, but Yoongi can't blame him when he just welcomed a second kid three months ago. "Dahye was being a little fussy after her nap."
"A toddler and a newborn," says Seokjin. "I don't envy you."
"You still beat Jimin so you're not really late," says Hoseok.
"He probably went to bed at dawn again," says Jungkook. "He just got back from Paris two days ago."
"Are we sure he knows he's in this timezone now?" Yoongi says.
"Hey, it's called being fashionably late." Jimin stands in the doorway, big sunglasses perched on his face like he's hungover. So he definitely went to bed when the sun was coming up.
"Where's the fashion?" says Taehyung.
"Be quiet." Jimin smacks the back of Taehyung's head as he passes by to take the last empty chair. "So are we pretending we don't know why we're here? Has our Jungkook finally popped the question?"
Seokjin throws down his napkin. "Why are you ruining the surprise? Let him have the surprise."
"What surprise? We all know!" Jimin turns to Namjoon. "You knew, right?"
Namjoon's mouth opens and closes without a sound, doing an incredibly poor job of stealing glances in Jungkook's direction to see his reaction.
"How are you all so old and still the worst?" Jungkook says, face blank like he completely expected this.
"We are only two years apart!" Jimin says, grabbing the menu sitting between him and Seokjin. "What's the most expensive thing here?"
They can't demolish as much as they used to in their 20s, but still order enough to fill most of the table. The food is almost gone when Jungkook casually mentions that the wedding is in three months. He's the only one that keeps eating, though he pauses when everyone stays quiet.
"What?" Jungkook says, eyes wide as they scan around the table. "Why are you all being like this? You said you all knew."
"I don't know, why are we being like this?" Hoseok says, his expression a bit morose like how he gets when he drinks.
It does feel sad, somehow. Joking about it is one thing, but to hear Jungkook actually say it just seems to drive home just how much time has gone by.
"Ah, our youngest is all grown up," Namjoon says, dropping his hand on Jungkook's shoulder.
"I've been grown," Jungkook says. "It's weird for you to keep saying that when I'm 35. Jin-hyung is fort—" He doesn't finish because Seokjin cuts him off with a sustained yell, but eventually he runs out of air. "—Forty."
Seokjin sets down his chopsticks. "I've lost my appetite."
Yoongi knows that Seokjin goes back and forth between not caring at all that he turned 40 this year and caring very much. He gets it — after all, he's just one year behind. It's not something he thinks about either until something reminds him that the first digit of his age is about to change. He tries to remember what it was like turning 30, but they were still so busy then that it came and went like nothing.
Jimin nudges Seokjin. "Jin-hyung, you should hurry up and marry someone before your mom gets another invitation from one of us."
"I'm trying, do you not think I'm trying?" Seokjin pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. "I don't even visit her anymore unless my brother is there too so she's too distracted by the grandchildren to chastise me."
"Hyung," says Jimin, grinning across the table at Hoseok. "Who do you think is next between you and me?"
"Hey, it could be me!" Seokjin says, making everyone laugh.
Well, Yoongi doesn't. He's still stuck on the part where Jimin only included himself and Hoseok. What he understands even less is why Taehyung is laughing with everyone else and being the loudest, riling Jimin up by insisting it's not going to be him.
Taehyung who used to propose to him practically as a greeting, but hasn't said the words — even as a joke — for years.
"Why not us?" Yoongi says. The laughter dies down, but no one seems to get what he's saying.
"Why not you, what?" Jimin says.
"Why aren't Taehyung and I included? We could be next." Yoongi looks at Taehyung to back him up, but receives the same clueless expression.
"Hyung, uh, we can't? Legally?" Taehyung says it like he didn't expect Yoongi to forget such a major detail.
"But you used to ask me all the time."
"I—" Taehyung glances at the others who don't say anything. Jimin looks like he's enjoying this too much. "To get your attention. But it was — I mean, you took it as a joke. Then it became one big not-so-inside joke."
"When we got together, you said you never treated it like one." Yoongi frowns and Taehyung's face crumbles in panic.
"Right! Because not that I wouldn't want to!" Taehyung says, waving his hands frantically before clutching onto Yoongi's. "Hyung, of course it could — we could definitely be next! We should definitely — Jimin, why didn't you include us!"
For a moment, Jimin looks just as panicked and starts sputtering out excuses, but Yoongi doesn't care about the hypothetical scenario anymore. He knows who it will be.
"Marry me."
Taehyung stares at Yoongi, mouth agape for a good three seconds before he snaps his jaw shut. His eyes do the talking, asking if Yoongi is actually being serious.
Yoongi thinks about how long it took them to get to where they are and how he doesn't want there to be any doubt about how he wants to spend the next twenty, thirty years, however long they'll get.
"Taehyung, marry me."
The disbelief on Taehyung's face slowly melts away and a smile stretches across his face. He laughs softly and covers his eyes, a quiet sniffle escaping. "Geez, hyung." He's as stunning as ever when he raises his head, even though his eyes and the tip of his nose are turning red. "Before I say yes, you're going to give me a ring, right?"
Yoongi would go right now to buy one if Taehyung said so, but he just nods and, after a moment of consideration given who's still gawking at them, he lifts his hand to sweep his thumb under Taehyung's eyes. It kind of makes things worse, but in the most endearing way.
"I can't believe you asked me in front of everyone. You hate this sort of stuff."
"Yeah, and you still haven't actually answered. I'm going to start feeling bad soon."
Taehyung cups Yoongi's face with both hands and kisses him, lingering for a good five seconds probably just to milk this moment for what it's worth. "Yes," he says against Yoongi's mouth, grinning as his shoulders pull up. "Yes. Yes! Wow."
Suddenly, Yoongi wishes they weren't here in front of everyone because he wants to keep this sight of Taehyung filled with nothing but pure joy all to himself. Since it's not possible he does his best to ignore the rest of the room, feeling like for Taehyung he can be a little sappy in public. He's the one who leans in for a kiss this time, wondering if he has enough guts to just drag Taehyung out of there.
"Yeahhh! Yoongi-hyung and our Taehyungie!"
Yoongi doesn't need to look to know Hoseok is recording this, probably has been from the start. No one has camera reflexes like him.
Hoseok lets out a slew of celebratory buzzer noises. "Congrats! Can't believe we got a proposal when this was supposed to be Jungkook's thing. Jungkook! How do you feel ab— oh my god, are you crying?"
Yoongi and Taehyung break apart at the same time, heads swiveling in Jungkook's direction along with everyone else.
And he is crying. Now that everyone is looking at him, he cries harder.
"Jungkook?" Yoongi says, shocked by the reaction. "I — sorry, this was supposed to about you and I didn't mean to—"
Jungkook shakes his head and grabs a wad of napkins to wipe at his eyes. He gives a hiccup-y sigh. "I don't care about that, I'm—I'm just so h-happy for you guys. That was really romantic." His eyes and nose are red, the former also looking a bit swollen.
"Buddy," Jimin says, laughing as he hugs Jungkook whose composure crumples again. Hoseok gets out of his chair so he can get the camera right in Jungkook's face.
"It was pretty touching," Seokjin says. "Never thought Yoongi would be the one to do it."
Yoongi shrugs. "I can still pull off a surprise or two."
"We should call Jin-hyung's mom with the news!" Jimin says, making the blood drain from Seokjin's face. "Tell her her son is in the bottom three."
"We should not call my mother," says Seokjin. "Why would you do that? Why would you even suggest that?"
"You're right, I should convince Hobi-hyung first that we should just become eternal roommates and then we can call your mom."
The room descends into mild chaos, the way it inevitably does every time they're all together. Yoongi, like always, stays out of it but it's unusual for Taehyung to do the same, though he probably has a good reason this time.
"Let's have a destination wedding," says Taehyung, his tone suggesting he already has his top five choices in his head.
"Why can't we just rent a nice venue here?" Yoongi says, undeterred by the importance of the event to keep him from expending as little effort as possible. He just knows if Taehyung has his way, he's going to drop Yoongi on a beach somewhere and it's going to be hot and walking in sand is so exhausting.
"Or," says Taehyung, raising both eyebrows. "Don't you think we could do that and have a destination wedding? Huh? It's perfect."
Yoongi knows how this ends. It's been the same old song and dance day after day, year after year. One eager or longing gaze from Taehyung and he crumbles.
But doing all that makes him happy. It's part of why he asked.
"Think about it," Taehyung says, knocking his head against Yoongi's gently. He grins, some of that childish laughter slipping through, then slides out of his chair to go join in on teasing Jungkook.
That's just the thing though. Yoongi doesn't have to think about it. His answer to Taehyung is — has always been — yes.