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One day after returning
It takes almost an entire day of traveling for Jeongguk and Taehyung to arrive back in Seoul, so when they did, they picked up Yeontan and went straight to bed at Jeongguk’s apartment, as it’s closer to Jimin’s.
Taehyung wakes up almost twelve hours later, when he hears the front door of the apartment click shut. He sits up on the bed, the spot next to him now cooling down, which tells him Jeongguk has been gone for a little while now. He stretches his limbs over his head, groaning a little when Jeongguk’s footsteps start approaching the bedroom. Following closely, claws rattling on the hardwood floors, comes Yeontan.
“So you’re up at last,” Jeongguk says as he walks back into the room. He looks fresh and awake, already having had a shower and changed into sweatpants and a grey hoodie. “I was so bored I even went to fetch the mail. You never realize how much shit you get sent until you’re away for a week.”
Taehyung lets out a chuckle at that, sounding throatier than usual because of how little he’s been awake for. “I’m not sure I can relate. You’re just popular,” Taehyung says, at the time Jeongguk drops a bunch of envelopes on top of the duvet. Yeontan climbs onto the mattress then, curiously sniffing the letters resting in between Taehyung’s parted legs.
“Popular with... my bank, the electrical company, the townhouse...” Jeongguk says, distractedly reading the logos on some of the envelopes. “Wait—Tannie, what’ve you got there?”
That’s enough to bring Taehyung’s attention away from Jeongguk’s face and back to the dog, who’s pawing away at the letters. He only truly sees what Jeongguk meant when he picks Yeontan up, pulling him away from them. There, half-buried by a white envelope, is a very familiar-looking postcard, the Eiffel tower printed on it.
“Well, well,” Jeongguk says, Taehyung looking at him and catching the smile on his face as he reaches for the postcard. “Paris. Wonder who sent this.”
“You were meant to see this when it arrived,” Taehyung says, feeling his cheeks heat up as Yeontan wiggles around in his hold. “When I was not around.”
“Why? Are you feeling shy?” Jeongguk teases, a lopsided grin plastered all over his handsome face. Taehyung rolls his eyes, avoiding looking at Jeongguk as he reads out loud, “I’m really, really sorry. I promise I will explain everything and make it up to you. I’m not leaving you again—”
“Read to yourself,” Taehyung says, Jeongguk snorting a bit.
“—there’s nothing I regret more than doing so the first time. I think about you all the time, and I miss you. I love you. Aw, babe. That’s sweet,” Jeongguk says, still with that smug smile hanging on his lips. Taehyung groans, letting go of Yeontan so he can throw a pillow at Jeongguk, who dodges it effortlessly. “I don’t think you love me as much as you did when you wrote this.”
“What can I say? You make me rethink my choices every day,” Taehyung replies, Jeongguk giggling as he lies down on the bed next to him. Taehyung’s still sitting up, looking down at his boyfriend as he points out, “You forgot something.”
“P.S.: You never bother me,” Jeongguk says, holding the postcard to his eyes before he drops his hand to his side. “Not even now?”
“Now, maybe a little bit,” Taehyung says. He’s determined to milk the situation as much as possible, and so he adds, “But you can easily make it up to me.”
“How?”
“Making me breakfast,” Taehyung says, giving Jeongguk the most innocent of expressions.
“In bed?” Jeongguk asks, to which Taehyung nods. He starts moving to get up then, despite adding, “I don’t think my offense guarantees something this good to make it up to you, but you’re lucky I like you so much.”
“Is that all?” Taehyung asks, looking up at Jeongguk, who’s now standing back up. Jeongguk gives him a funny look, and so Taehyung juts his lips out in a pout.
“I love you so much,” Jeongguk corrects himself, Taehyung unable to contain a smile at that. They’ve been saying it a lot these days, so much one would think it’d stop making him feel giddy to hear it, but that’s not the case.
“Much better,” Taehyung says happily, as Jeongguk leans down to press a kiss to the crown of his head.
Jeongguk makes his way to the kitchen then, Yeontan jumping off the bed and following. It’s only when Jeongguk is out of the bedroom, and away from Taehyung’s sight, that he says back, “I love you way more, by the way.”
Jeongguk laughs at that, muffled by the clinking of plates. “Sure thing, sweetheart.”
⨳
One week after returning
Monthly dinners are still a thing when Taehyung and Jeongguk come back, so they figure that they’re pretty much the perfect setting for telling their parents that they’re officially together. Not that they haven’t tried to snoop—Taehyung’s mom has been asking questions hinting at it, so has Ms. Jang, and Miyoung... Well, Miyoung has bluntly asked, but all she got from Taehyung was a stop being nosy and go back to study.
Plus, Taehyung has always been one for dramatic announcements. Jeongguk not so much, but he’s actually on board with this one.
So on board, that he’s the one who eventually says, “I would like to say something.” When four pairs of eyes are on him, Taehyung’s family, and his own mom, Jeongguk looks at Taehyung and adds, “We would like to say something.”
Taehyung clears his throat after it’s obvious Jeongguk won’t say anything else, starting with, “This is something that all of you suspected.” There’s a pause, no one in the room saying anything until he adds, “Jeongguk and I are together.”
And then, it almost feels like the room explodes. There’s a gasp from Taehyung’s mother, a cheer from Jeongguk’s, but Miyoung is the first to properly react, saying, “At last!” She looks tempted almost to stand up, adding, “Was it in Paris that you got together? I thought it’d never happen.”
Taehyung’s mom turns to look at her daughter, eyebrows raised in shock as she asks, “You knew? And you didn’t say anything when I asked?”
“It’s the sibling code, mom,” Taehyung interjects in her favor. “I asked her not to tell you until things were more secure.”
“Well, that’s just wonderful,” Mrs. Jang, smiling wide at them from across the table. “Congratulations to you two.”
Taehyung’s eyes land on his father even before he starts speaking, relieved to find him with a small grin on his lips. He repeats Mrs. Jang’s words, saying, “Congratulations, indeed. It was a long time coming.” Taehyung steals a glance at Jeongguk then, who just grins and looks down at his lap. “And Jeongguk—welcome to the family.”
“Please,” Taehyung says as he rolls his eyes, thinking back to every time his dad has called Jeongguk son, or every time he’s squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of approval more intimate than he’d have with any other employee. “As if he wasn’t part of the family already.”
Months ago, Taehyung would have made the same comment, although it would have felt... different. It would have been bitter, jealous; envious, even. But right now, there’s none of that. As Taehyung reaches for Jeongguk’s hand over the table, locking their fingers together, there really is no poison behind his words. Just sincerity, affection, and the realization of how fucking lucky he is.
⨳
One month after returning
Jeongguk proves himself to be a pretty much perfect boyfriend, in every sense of the word—he’s attentive, affectionate, loving, and he’s generous in every way, too. Including in bed. And among his many virtues is that he never, no matter how in the right he was, is one to say I told you so.
And, let’s be honest—Taehyung deserves to hear that sometimes.
Sometimes being today, when he’s running late for work even after Jeongguk told him time after time to get out of bed, that he’d be late. Taehyung has never been much of a morning person, and he didn’t get much sleep last night, so he felt a bit lazy after his alarm went off. He lingered in bed for more than he should have, then stayed half-asleep under the spray of the shower for far too long.
Jeongguk doesn’t exactly help, despite his multiple warnings. He comes behind him while he’s trying to fix his hair, kissing his shoulders and obviously distracting him. He gets chatty when they have breakfast together, knowing full-well Taehyung is bound to get distracted by him talking.
This leads him to now—struggling to get into his pants at the same time that he brushes his teeth, with Jeongguk giving him a funny look as he fixes his tie to get ready to head to the office. He’s painfully calm, almost like he has nowhere to be. Sure, he woke up half an hour before Taehyung, when their alarm went off; and sure, he’s supposed to be there fifteen minutes after Taehyung’s expected to arrive at his own job. But there’s one last, vital difference between the two of them. Taehyung is the boss, Jeongguk isn’t. If he’s late, then no one’s going to be there to scold him. As opposed to Jeongguk’s case.
“I’m gonna be so late,” Taehyung moans around his toothbrush, half-jogging his way back to the bathroom so he can spit in the sink. He rinses his mouth and looks at himself in the mirror one last time, tucking his shirt into his pants almost frantically.
“Your ass looks good in those,” Jeongguk compliments from the bedroom, Taehyung rolling his eyes at his own reflection. He still smiles a little, though.
“No time for that now,” Taehyung says, walking back to the bedroom where his jacket is. He puts it on, not wasting any time before he makes his way to the hallway of Jeongguk’s apartment in long strides, adding, “Tell me that at 5 PM, though. I’ll be more receptive.”
Jeongguk laughs at that, happy and cheery, and maybe Taehyung does have a moment amidst all the hecticness to appreciate Jeongguk’s pretty laughter. Just one.
“Copy that,” Jeongguk says, trailing behind Taehyung as he heads for the front door. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Am I?” Taehyung asks, turning around to look at Jeongguk with his head slightly tilted. He doesn’t recall anything missing, to be fair. Everything he needs is back at the office, but then— “Oh!”
He leans forward, pressing what was intended to be a quick peck against Jeongguk’s lips. But Taehyung’s mouth lingers there for a little longer, happily parting into a grin when he feels Jeongguk’s hand on the small of his back. As busy as his morning is, there’s no way in hell he’s leaving without a kiss.
But the time to depart finally comes, and so he has to peel himself away from his boyfriend and open the front door, saying, “Right, I’ll—”
“That was cute, but it’s not what I meant,” Jeongguk interrupts. Before Taehyung has the chance to react, Jeongguk lifts his hand, holding a dark, leather wallet. Taehyung’s wallet, he’s quick to notice. “You dropped it on the bedroom floor.”
“Fuck,” he curses, taking the wallet from Jeongguk and quickly shoving it into his pocket. “You’re a lifesaver, Jeongguk-ah.”
Just for that, Jeongguk deserves another kiss—this one more fleeting, a press of Taehyung’s lips to one of his cheeks.
“What would you do without me?” Jeongguk calls, a stupidly smug smirk dancing on his lips as Taehyung takes one last look at him. Might be controversial, but Taehyung wants to kiss it. For hours if possible.
“Probably wither away and be late everywhere,” Taehyung jokes. “I’ll see you later, Gukkie.”
“I’ll see you later, baby,” Jeongguk calls after him, right before Taehyung pulls the door closed and heads to the elevator.
Truth is, if it weren’t for Jeongguk, he’d get a lot more sleep, which means it’d be far easier to get out of bed come morning. Without him, even if he might have made it to work without his wallet, he’d have figured something out—he could always go back and pick it up. Sure, Taehyung could manage perfectly well without Jeongguk.
But luckily, he doesn’t need to. And if everything goes according to plan, he won’t ever have to again.
⨳
Six months after returning
“Hey, babe,” Jeongguk calls from behind him, to which Taehyung replies with a hum. “Do you know where the box with my toiletries went?”
Taehyung turns around from his wardrobe, scanning his entire loft in search of the small box labeled as BATHROOM, but he doesn’t see it. He frowns, watching as Tannie sniffs one of the cardboard boxes with a wagging tail, then says, “We didn’t forget it at your place, right? I double-checked we didn’t forget anything.”
“So did I,” Jeongguk says with a sigh. “We must have left it in the car. Was it in the trunk?”
“Backseat, I think,” Taehyung says, turning around to his wardrobe again.
He reaches inside, picking up the next piece of clothing hanging in front of him, and only then it clicks what it is—a white shirt, frills adorning the chest area. He takes a long look at it, thinking back of the event where a rather tipsy Jeongguk tried flirting with him for the very first time, right after his previous boyfriend dumped him. It seems like all of that happened ages ago, but it was just last year. It’s kind of wild how much things have changed ever since then, and how Jeongguk stopped being someone he dreaded to run into, to what they’re now. Boyfriends. Boyfriends who are moving in together.
“You know,” Taehyung says, placing the shirt back where it was. “Realistically, you have a lot fewer clothes than I do.”
There’s a pause before Jeongguk replies, admitting, “I do, yeah.”
“So you don’t really need as much wardrobe space as I do,” Taehyung reasons. “You’re not that into fashion, anyway.”
Jeongguk lets out a choked-out chuckle at that, approaching Taehyung as he says, “I still need somewhere to put my clothes, babe.”
Taehyung sighs, slouching a little right before Jeongguk comes from behind and hugs him. He hooks his chin over Taehyung’s shoulder, arms wrapping around his middle as his hands come to rest right on top of Taehyung’s tummy. Taehyung doesn’t waste a second before covering Jeongguk’s hands with his own.
“It’s simply not possible,” Taehyung says, as Jeongguk squishes his cheek against the side of his neck. “I can’t bring it down to half of what it is. I can’t.”
“So where are my clothes going, then?” Jeongguk asks, his voice sweet, so close to Taehyung’s ears. “The kitchen?”
Taehyung is quiet for a moment, eyes flickering between the wardrobe and the empty space to both sides. “You know,” Taehyung says out loud, tapping his fingers on Jeongguk’s knuckles, “I think we could fit another wardrobe of the same size on this wall. If we move this to the right...”
There are a few wordless seconds, almost like Jeongguk is contemplating the suggestion and trying to envision what Taehyung is talking about. It’s not long before he asks, “Should we make a trip to IKEA, then?”
“Looks like it’s our only solution,” Taehyung says, turning around in Jeongguk’s hold so he’s facing him. Jeongguk’s hands are now on the small of his back, Taehyung’s own arms wrapping loosely around his neck as he says, “I love IKEA trips, you know that.”
Jeongguk snorts at that, but still leans in and presses a quick peck to the corner of Taehyung’s mouth before he lets go, saying, “Let’s head to the car, then. Maybe we’ll find my toiletries there.”
“C’mon, then,” Taehyung says, lightly patting Jeongguk’s ass as he walks past him.
They’ve been to IKEA a couple of times this week already, in preparation for Jeongguk finally moving in, but it seems like they always forget something. Taehyung doesn’t mind, though—as he said, he loves trips to IKEA. And he loves trips to IKEA with Jeongguk even a little bit more.
⨳
One year and a half after returning
Taehyung and Jeongguk get married in spring. It’s the middle of May, and Taehyung’s sister whines incessantly about how it’s still too cold for a wedding outside—until she has a few glasses of champagne, her cheeks turning warm and red.
He spends half the day feeling nervous, with a tight knot at the pit of his stomach and his knees feeling like they’ll give up on him every time he stands. That lasts until the ceremony is over; until both he and Jeongguk have a white-gold band around their ring fingers, and they’re officially husbands. Husbands. It feels so surreal and too good to be true.
He never realized how stressful weddings were until his own came along. Until he had to be behind all the organization and preparation; he and Jeongguk split all the work, which didn’t save them a few arguments about venues, flowers, the music—anything was a good enough reason to argue. But then they made up, and they fell into bed together with Jeongguk’s body melting into his, and Taehyung was reminded time and time again of why they were doing this. Why he so desperately wanted to make Jeongguk his husband.
All throughout his life, he’s always heard people talk about their weddings as one of the happiest days of their lives. And despite the nerves, despite the painstakingly slow and long photography session, despite how hungry he’s feeling by the time he finally, finally gets to sit down at the table with Jeongguk, their parents at each side of them at the table, Taehyung thinks he understands.
They don’t go too overboard with guests, just a handful of people that they absolutely didn’t want to see missing. It’s cozy, and Taehyung can’t keep the smile from his face for as long as the food and drinks are served. Especially during Seokjin’s speech—he and Jeongguk agreed for him to be the best man, something Taehyung almost regretted when he found himself holding his breath in case Seokjin brought up embarrassing anecdotes. He does, in the end, but Taehyung finds himself laughing along with the rest of the guests as Seokjin recalls those times where he and Jeongguk did nothing but argue. Even as he goes over Taehyung’s pettiest moments, which he’s not very proud of.
Jeongguk cries, which makes Taehyung laugh a little as he leans closer to kiss his cheek. But as it turns, Taehyung’s turn to cry comes shortly after, when his dad takes the mic and gives his very own speech, bringing him to tears. And he’s not the only one—Miyoung tears up as well, and so does Jeongguk, one more time.
But the best moment, and the one that he knows he’ll remember forever, is the first dance. He’s a little too aware of all the eyes on them, which in turn makes him a little clumsier than he was when they practiced, stepping on Jeongguk’s toes every now and then. But there’s still nothing better than the feeling of his palm pressing against Jeongguk’s back, the feeling of his husband’s weight on his arm as they dance. They steal looks at each other, almost like giggly teenagers dancing together for the first time instead of a couple that just got married.
“I love you,” Taehyung says, grinning sheepishly at Jeongguk. He promised himself he wouldn’t be so cheesy in public, but he can’t help it; it’s half the happiness he’s feeling in every cell of his body speaking, half the wine and champagne that he’s had so far.
“And I love you more, husband,” Jeongguk says, hand squeezing tighter around Taehyung’s bicep, making his grin grow impossibly wide.
Now that it’s official, he should be starting to get used to it, but the word sounds almost foreign to his ears. He can’t wrap his head around it, despite how much time and effort has gone into preparing for this very moment.
Luckily, Taehyung has lots of time to come to terms with it; to get to a point where calling Jeongguk his husband becomes second nature to him. If everything goes according to plan, he has the rest of their lives.
