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Taeyang reties the ponytail low on his head, hands shaking nervously as the people a few rows in front of him walk down the aisle of the plane. His hair has been growing out for awhile and he likes it more like this: bleach blonde and able to reach long past his jaw. Intak always tells him how pretty it looks, but he is a little (a lot) biased.
He’s probably—no, scratch that, definitely—too heavily dressed for a flight. Especially one that was eleven hours long. That was landing in LA. During summer. Not that he cares that much, he’s just glad he wore his glasses instead of his contacts. Sure, he’s been sweating for…awhile, and the AC hasn’t been doing too much for him.
But beauty is pain, or something. Sue him, he wants to look nice. Even if his internal body temperature is a bit higher than it probably should be. The sweater he picked was simple but on the thicker side. A casual white with black stripes. He knows it looks nice on him so it was an easy choice after roughly thirty minutes of overthinking.
His brother had laughed at him when he watched how Taeyang pouted at each of the outfits in his closet.
“Hyung, seriously, you don’t need to stress about this.”
“I’m allowed to want to look nice for my boyfriend!”
“You could wear a trash bag and he’d still tell you that you look like an angel. Or something else equally gross.”
“If that was your way of trying to trick me into wearing a trash bag, it did not work.”
And, yeah, maybe Taeyang is thinking about how he looks much more than he usually does. He’s nervous. He wants to look pretty and make a good first impression. Does it count as a first impression if they already know each other?
In that case, he made his first impression a while ago and he doesn’t think it was a particularly confident one. He’s only gotten marginally better at flirting since Intak first messaged him. He’d downloaded a dating app as a joke—a dumb joke, yes, but he could still convince himself that he was using it ironically—though it had quickly stopped being one when Intak’s message bubble had popped up on his screen. A few others had messaged him before that, but it was beyond easy to ignore them when he had Intak to talk to.
There was no doubt he’d been painfully awkward and unprepared. He wasn’t expecting to actually find someone he enjoyed being around on a fucking dating app.
The more he learned about him the harder and faster he fell. He’d caught himself smiling—or even worse, giggling—at the pictures and videos Intak would send him too many times to count them properly. They were never ending, really. Intak seemed to relish the chance to show him as much of his life as a message, a video, or a picture would allow. And if Taeyang found that extremely endearing and cute, well, he would never admit it out loud. So it doesn’t count.
They’d spoken for about a month before exchanging their actual numbers, and Taeyang deleted the app a few days after. There really wasn’t any need for it once he and Intak had found each other. He doesn’t need other people trying to flirt with him to know that he has something special with Intak. He’d go as far as to call Intak his soulmate—but that’s painfully sappy and cliche, yet another thing he would never speak into the ether.
And, sure, the time difference was a little daunting: seventeen hours is a lot. But they’d learned to adjust rather quickly. At some point early on it had become an unspoken fact that they were both taking this seriously and would do most anything in order to keep it going. They’d memorized each other's schedules, even if they hadn’t entirely meant to, and kept each other updated on daily changes. Small things that made communication easier.
It’s been well over two years since they’d first spoken, now steadily approaching their third year together. Taeyang can’t begin to imagine his day without Intak in it—even if it’s only been via his phone and computer up until now.
He grabs his backpack from between his feet and slings it over his shoulder while he takes his suitcase from the overhead bin. His rings dig into his skin when he grips the handle of his suitcase too harshly.
He’s nervous, only an amount he thinks is normal. There’s no saying how they’ll interact once finally face to face. They've been trying to plan this for so long it feels like an eternity, but life is an ever changing thing that can disorganize things as it has for them time and time again. Maybe it was a sign this was a bad idea, that they should stay separated by screens and a vast ocean. He knows it’s an irrational train of thought. He knows they’re going to be completely fine.
The airport is…overwhelming. To say the least. There’s people everywhere and each person he sees seems more stressed than the last. It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to stop staring around like he’s never been inside a large building before. When he finds an empty seat he takes it and pulls out his phone.
Me
landed!
looking for the pick up area now
Intak <3
hehe~
we got here a little bit ago
cant wait to see you baby
Taeyang can feel his ears turning red while he giggles. Leave it to Intak to make him feel stupidly giddy over a few messages. His shaky hands type out a response that only makes his face warmer.
Me
im gonna jump on you and give you a kiss the second i see you
Intak <3
is that a promise?
Me
pinky promise
He’s bouncing on his heels by the time he finds the sign that leads to the pick up area. Excitement coils around his stomach while he waddles onto the escalator and tries not to drop his suitcase down it.
Intak <3
you didnt send me a picture of youuu
how am i supposed to know when you walk out?
Me
you know what i look like dont you?
just look for a blonde, hehe~
Taeyang is only getting slightly pushed around by the crowd when he looks around for an exit. It’s a little suffocating, but he understands. It is summer break—everyone is trying to get somewhere. He wonders how many others are meeting a loved face-to-face for the first time.
The air is a dry warmth that hits him, not as uncomfortable as he’d thought it would be. He glances around at every person and car within view. He knows that Intak isn’t alone, he’d driven to the airport with two college friends he’s been rooming with ever since. Jiung and Keeho, if he hasn’t already forgotten.
They’re in lots of his social media posts—Taeyang is confident he can recognize them. Plus, Jiung’s hair is bright blue. Which certainly helps when it comes to spotting the three of them in a crowd.
Intak had seemed hesitant when first bringing up the idea of the two coming along.
“Well—I don’t know. You don’t really know them and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything-”
“But they’re important to you. I doubt they’ll make me feel uncomfortable, and if they do I’ll tell you. Besides, someone has to take the ‘online couple meets for the first time’ photos, and you know I am not asking some random person to do that.”
Taeyang isn’t surprised when he finds a mop of short blue hair amongst the waves of people, he’s proud of himself for recognizing one of Intak’s friends so quickly, but there’s a deep exhale pulled from his chest when he actually sees Intak.
He’s standing next to Jiung, obviously, eyes trained intently on the crowd while he says something to his friends. Keeho is behind them, but Taeyang finds it hard to even spare the man a glance when Intak is right there.
He doesn't realize that he’s completely frozen in the middle of the sidewalk until someone roughly bumps into his shoulder and makes him stumble forward. When he looks back, Keeho is staring directly at him with a small, amused smile on his face. It’s clear he hasn’t said anything though. Intak would probably be running at high speeds towards him, and they would both go tumbling onto the pavement in each other’s arms.
There’s something so sweet about the way that Intak’s eyes, wide with anticipation, scan around for any blondes in his immediate vision. They’re so bright—Taeyang can see them so clearly even from where he’s standing. So he does the first thing his mind comes up with.
He runs to him.
It’s like there’s wind under his feet, carrying them closer and closer. He feels a little bad as he pushes his way through the crowd, trying to get to Intak like this is the last thing he’ll ever be able to do.
Taeyang stays true to his word, he jumps on Intak the second he’s close enough to do so. He can hear Keeho and Jiung laughing at his eagerness somewhere off to the side, but he doesn’t pay it much attention. As far as he cares, right now they’re the only two people on the face of the entire damn planet.
“Oof!- Taeyang?”
He giggles while he stays firmly attached to Intak’s neck, arms locked. “Who else would it be?”
“You- I’m- Where did you even?-”
Intak’s hands wander around his body carefully, like he could shatter or disappear at any moment. There’s an adorable amount of disbelief in his eyes while he rubs his thumbs into the soft fabric of Taeyang’s sweater. Taeyang runs his fingers through Intak’s short, dark hair, along his jaw, over his cheekbones—anywhere he can, really.
He’s here. In front of him. A tangible thing that he can touch and appreciate.
It only takes a moment of staring at him for Taeyang to decide that his phone screen never did the man justice. No matter the quality of the camera, it could never capture how incredibly gorgeous he is.
“You’re so- I can’t believe you’re real,” Intak says. His voice is so soft, like a gentle breeze against his ears.
“Did you think I was a catfish or something?”
“No!- Of course not, you’re just…God, Taeyang, you’re absolutely stunning. How am I ever supposed to stop looking at you?” He brushes a stray piece of hair behind one of Taeyang’s ears. “I love you so much.”
They’ve said ‘I love you’ plenty of times before, and Taeyang has meant it every time. He’s never had to lie to Intak or even himself about how he feels. Intak is so easy to love, how could he not have fallen for him?
Still, his eyes begin to water, not enough for him to worry he’ll start bawling in the middle of the airport pick up, but enough that he knows Intak can see it. How could they not?
Intak loves him. For some strange reason, out of all the people in the world, Intak’s heart chose him. He loves him—so much that he helped pay a stupid amount of money to fly him out so they could finally spend a few weeks together, that he stays up for hours upon hours to talk to him when Taeyang can’t sleep, that he writes him entire songs just to try to fully verbalize how strong his feelings are.
It’s like Intak can hear all of his thoughts as he whispers the three words again. He slides his thumbs across along Taeyang’s flushed cheeks and presses a kiss against his forehead. Taeyang buries his face into Intak’s shoulder the first chance he gets, and laughs when he feels Intak immediately start to play with his ponytail.
Much to his own relief, he doesn’t cry. His waterline dries while he tangles his fingers in the white shirt under Intak’s jacket. The warmness of the shirt contrasts heavily to the coolness of the leather jacket, but it's a nice difference that Taeyang welcomes.
“I love you, too,” he whispers.
He giggles silently when Intak kisses the crown of his head, and he takes a step back to look up at him. He presses a chaste kiss on Intak’s mouth—they are still in public—and smiles uncontrollably when Intak beams at him. Really, his face is going to be unbelievably sore from smiling.
“Alright- this is extremely cute, but I would like to sit down.”
Keeho swats Jiung’s arm with his free hand—wait, he’s been holding a camera?—and scowls at him.
“Don’t be rude!”
“I wasn’t being rude! I was just statin- ow! Stop hitting me!”
“Oh, it was just a tap!”
Taeyang decides to give in first and lets go of Intak’s shirt, though the pout he puts on almost makes him regret it, and goes to grab his suitcase and backpack off of the floor. Of course, Intak beats him to it and swiftly carries his things to the trunk of the car. Taeyang rolls his eyes with a smile. When he shuts the back he immediately goes back to Taeyang’s side, interlocking their fingers with the happiest grin on his face.
“Thank you,” Jiung sighs. “I apologize for the state of our apartment in advance- I promise I tried to get these two to clean, but they never do, so I have absolutely no clue how terrible Intak’s room looks right now.”
Taeyang practically cackles at that. “I expected nothing less.” Yeah, he loves the man to death, but he definitely didn’t fall for him because of his organization skills.
Intak smiles sheepishly while he pulls Taeyang into the back seats of the car. “I mean…I tidied up a little.”
“What does ‘a little’ mean, because I think I can confidently say that there will still be shit all over your floor-”
“I’m not that bad-”
“Try saying that after living with you for like six years!”
“Hey!”
Taeyang smiles and rests his head on Intak’s shoulder, their intertwined fingers resting on his thigh. He decides that he likes hearing them bicker with each other even if it’s about nothing, it makes him feel like he’s truly apart their lives—of Intak’s life. Like he fits into their day-to-day life as though he was always meant to be there.
And he thinks he is.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, baby?” He doesn’t have to look up to know Intak is grinning like a complete dork.
He hums softly, squeezing his hand. “You.”
“Oh, yeah?” Intak fidgets around with Taeyang’s fingers. “Good or bad?” He jokes.
“I’m still deciding.” He bumps his head against Intak’s neck with a wide smile. He’s doing his best not to let the jet lag win over him, though he thinks he currently has the lead by a little. “You’ve got time to get on my good side, though.”
“What can I do to get there?”
“Well, you could kiss m-”
Keeho starts laughing when Jiung sighs so loudly Taeyang swears it rattled the car. “Can you two please stop being gross in the backseat of my car. I’m trying to drive us home, not into a ditch.”
“I can kiss my boyfriend wherever I want to!”
“Not when I’m driving!”
He decides to shut his eyes and let the jet lag catch up to him. It’ll be awhile before they get to the apartment. Home.
Taeyang squeezes Intak’s hand while he curls up into his side. Intak’s arm wraps around him, keeping him close. He feels so safe like this—so loved. He can’t find any word for it other than comfort.
It’s nice. Intak is nice.
“I’ll wake you up when we get home, okay?” Intak whispers. He hums quietly and hopes that's a good enough response.
It’s nice. He likes that Intak already considers his apartment a place Taeyang can call his home. He wouldn’t mind that—if they had a space they could both consider home. Maybe, for now, that could just be Intak’s room, or even the whole apartment itself. Maybe, someday, they could find a place together, when Taeyang wasn’t flying out to visit but instead to move.
He’s only been able to hold Intak for such a short amount of time, so short he could probably count the minutes on his fingers, but it’s enough for him to know that he never wants it to end. He never wants to let go of him.
He can feel himself slowly drifting off to sleep. Intak’s shoulder is strangely comfortable.
Maybe Intak can be his home. Homes are comfortable and warm. Safe. Intak is easily all of those things for him.
Taeyang smiles when Intak pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose to make sure they don’t fall off. He brushes the fallen hairs off of his forehead back to the rest of his blonde locks. He mumbles something to him, but Taeyang is far from lucid enough to have truly processed it. All he could hear was ‘love’, which is more than enough for him.
Yeah, Intak can be his home.