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Jaehyun doesn’t really understand why people look at him funny when he tells them about Taeyong. Not when he tells them about where Taeyong took him last weekend or what he tried cooking for his hyung last Thursday night. Not even when he brags about Taeyong’s little achievements, like when he finally got that stupid wisdom tooth removed the other day.
No. People look at him funny when he tells them who Taeyong is. Or what he and Taeyong are.
“You’re just roommates?” the car salesman echoes, as if the thought of it is ridiculous. His eye darts to the other end of the showroom where Taeyong is admiring a sexy red convertible. Well… less admiring, more fanboying, really.
“Yes?” Jaehyun answers because well, that’s what they are. Roommates. For… what—three? Four years? “You know what, I’m feeling a bit generous today so I guess I can call him my best friend,” he muses. They practically know everything about each other anyway. “Why?”
“Nothing, Sir,” the other man answers. “You two just don’t seem like—I mean, we don’t usually get roommates as customers here.”
“Yeah?” Jaehyun mutters, almost absent-mindedly. He’s a little bit distracted that Taeyong is taking a selfie with every angle of the convertible and quite largely concerned that his hyung is falling in love with it. They can’t afford that car. Hell, it doesn’t even have enough space to fit all of Jaehyun’s take-home paperworks and Taeyong’s art materials. It’s practically useless. “What do you usually get?”
The man hums thoughtfully. “Bachelors. Old rich people. Children of old rich people.” He makes a face and shrugs. “But mostly couples.”
“Oh.” Jaehyun frowns, forcibly tearing his gaze away from his hyung for a moment. “And what did you think we were?”
The salesman regards him carefully. “Well, you’re certainly not old and you obviously came here together. So I just assumed—”
“Jaehyunie!” Taeyong calls, his entire face lighting up like a thousand fireflies. “What if I take this one out for a test drive?”
Jaehyun laughs nervously. “I don’t think that’s a wise idea, hyung,” he replies before turning to the salesman, mumbling, “He’s a really bad driver but he’s also really persuasive, so you have to think of an excuse to say no. Fast.”
The salesman looks at him as if he’s joking.
“He failed his driver’s license test twice.”
That seemed to convince him. The poor man springs up in panic. He jogs towards the other end of the room and whispers something to Taeyong who bows at him politely then smiles. The salesman walks towards what seems to be their office while Taeyong returns to where he was supposed to be—right beside Jaehyun.
“What did he say?” Jaehyun asks, smirking.
“What did you tell him?” Taeyong grumbles as he marches towards the younger.
“The truth.” Jaehyun only shrugs. That earns him a light punch on the shoulder. “Come on, hyung. He’s only doing his job,” he reasons in between groans and giggles. Taeyong is convinced he sabotaged his only chance at crashing —sorry, driving a convertible.
Someone clears their throat from a distance followed by the sound of clinking. “Here are the keys to your preferred vehicle,” the salesman announces.
Their ‘preferred vehicle’ is a beautiful white compact SUV that has enough trunk space for all their junk from daily work activities to occasional weekend beach trips. It may not be as sexy as the convertible but practicality-wise? It’s perfect.
Taeyong doesn’t think twice before grabbing the keys and making his way to the driver’s side. He sticks his tongue out at Jaehyun before opening the door. “He promised me I would get to do the test drive on this one if I stopped pushing it with Ruby.”
“You named the convertible Ruby,” Jaehyun points out.
“What, it’s gorgeously red.” As if that’s enough of an excuse.
“We still can’t afford it.”
“Not with that attitude, we can’t.” Taeyong winks before turning to the salesman. “Give us a few years. I’ll come back for her.”
“No, we won’t.” Jaehyun has barely rolled his eyes when Taeyong enters the car. Part of him wonders if Taeyong has already named the SUV, too, but a greater part of him is worried about the test drive. He can only sigh. “Well, at least if he scratches this one, we can afford to buy it.”
Taeyong pumps the car horn twice. “This sounds great!” He does it again.
“God, he’s gonna be the death of me,” Jaehyun groans.
“Just roommates, sir, you say?” The salesman looks at him with an eye smile.
“That’s right, I definitely take back the best friend thing. Why?”
“Nothing.” The man chuckles. “I usually witness this kind of affectionate bickering from the couples.”
“Well, consider us an exception.”
♡ ♡ ♡
The funny thing about it is that they weren’t even supposed to be roommates at first. Jaehyun hated the idea of living with strangers. Initially, they were just co-workers. Co-baristas? Whatever. They used to work as part-timers at that little cafe inside the campus. The owner was kind of a dick but he paid them well. Plus working together made it bearable somehow. Oh, and the free coffee, too. That was great. Taeyong makes a mean cafe latte.
Some time during his senior year, Jaehyun began getting tired of the hour-long commute between his house and the university. And for whatever reason, Taeyong’s roommate moved out, too. It was a great coincidence, Jaehyun thinks. And by that time, Taeyong was no longer a complete stranger, so he figured why not? Apparently, why not was right. They had a great time ditching college parties and watching drama series together.
After university, of course they had to get out of that stinky dorm room. Jaehyun found a small place by the outskirts of the city, a few blocks from where Taeyong will be working. He was recruited by a team of visual designers. Jaehyun also just happened to find a job nearby. Of course, it was only smart to share the rent with someone whose (gross) habits you already (partly) know, right?
Right. So here they are, nearly four years later. Jaehyun has gotten used to Taeyong’s nail biting habit and Taeyong no longer finds it annoying that Jaehyun literally slams everything on the table.
Of course, they learned some other stuff about each other, too. Like how Jaehyun can now tell when Taeyong is about to get sick before he admits it and how Taeyong has all of Jaehyun’s favorite songs memorized—yes, even How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees. Jaehyun doesn’t even like to admit it’s one of his favorites cause he’s not ancient, but Taeyong argues that’s impossible because they both sang it nonstop one summer after hearing it play on the radio at a local diner. Until now, they’d hum it together sometimes while preparing dinner.
Taeyong likes to sing the lower register, which is funny, because that’s how Jaehyun discovered he could hit some high notes pretty well. They actually do a pretty good duet. In fact, they got so into it one time that their downstairs neighbor filed a complaint against them for all the stomping and singing. They just laughed it out after. Then they shared a beer.
It’s a wonderful thing, what they have between them. The perfect friendship, if Jaehyun dares say so. They’re comfortable. Perhaps, that’s the right word for it.
Comfortable enough to walk around each other half-naked and barge into each other’s rooms unannounced; enough that they do Netflix marathons with legs entangled and heads resting on each other’s shoulder because it’s more comfortable that way; enough to start said marathons on Taeyong’s bed (because he has a better sound system) then move to Jaehyun’s room two movies after (because the mattress already feels too hot after having been sat on for too long).
Obviously, their little arrangement is special. But that’s what you get when you’ve lived with someone for as long as they have. Jaehyun’s pretty sure his friends would have similar relationships with their roommates given time. Except maybe Yuta, because for some reason, his roommates never last a year. And Johnny, because he’s already living with his fiancé so that’s already a given. That leaves Mark… who is a horrible example because he definitely has something going on with his roommate.
God. Jaehyun needs new friends.
But whatever. The point is he likes that Taeyong is his roommate and he wouldn’t really have it any other way.
♡ ♡ ♡
Three days after getting the car, Jaehyun offered Yuta a drive home and around the city—you know, just to show off. (“You so badly want to,” Taeyong jibed at him that morning. It’s true.)
“This is a sweet ride,” Yuta says as he runs a hand through the leather seat.
“Right?” Jaehyun grins. “Taeyong wanted to get a convertible. He even named it Ruby.”
Yuta gasps dramatically, sporting a fake-offended look. “And you didn’t let him have it?”
Jaehyun looks at him pointedly, sending Yuta in a burst of chuckles. Yuta likes to think Taeyong can make Jaehyun say yes to anything. Jaehyun begs to disagree, but there’s also a reason why he made the salesman talk Taeyong out of driving the convertible instead of just saying no to him himself.
“There was a funny thing that happened with the car dealer the other day,” Jaehyun says as he steers them out onto the highway. “He couldn’t believe Taeyong and I are just roommates. Pretty sure he thinks we’re just messing with him.”
Yuta chuckles. “Well, you can’t really blame him, can you? You’re not exactly typical roommates.”
“If you mean we’ve been roommates longer than most people, then yes,” Jaehyun mutters, barely caring. He’s really digging the way the car feels as it cruises on the asphalt.
“I also mean that college roommates don’t usually move in together after graduation, Jae. Hell, I can’t even remember the name of my college roommate,” Yuta retorts.
“That’s because you were a bit of an asshole during college.”
“That’s true,” Yuta agrees, “but that doesn’t change the fact that you and Taeyong? Not normal. I even used to think you guys just tell everyone you’re roommates cause you like to keep it lowkey”
At that, Jaehyun becomes incredulous. The car takes a sharp turn. "Is that what everyone thinks?"
"Jae, you two just bought a car together, for fuck's sake. And with a joint account at that," Yuta explains. "I mean, come on, what do you expect them to think? That you’re just two people who likes buying stuff together for fun?"
“Well, yeah?” The younger stumbles over his thoughts because only now is he beginning to entertain the possibility that perhaps, that's not really… common? Still, he tries to reason out. "It’s not as crazy as you think, hyung. We already live together and his work is on the way to mine anyway, so we figured it’d be more convenient to just get a car."
Yuta snorts. "Sure, if you plan to spend the rest of your lives together."
“It doesn’t work like that,” Jaehyun argues, but even that sounded weak to his ears. From his periphery, he can see Yuta making a face.
“Of course, it does, idiot. What if one of you moves out? Who gets the car? Did it even cross your mind how complicated this will be if either one of you starts dating someone?” Yuta asks. Then after about two seconds, he does that exaggerated gasp again. “Holy shit. Have either of you even dated anyone since college?”
“I haven’t. Too busy. And I don’t really feel like it,” Jaehyun replies as he smoothly overtakes a blue sedan. God, this car is sexy.
Yuta looks as if he wanted to say something but decided to gather more evidence first. Truly insufferable, this asshole. “And Taeyong?” he asks.
Jaehyun feels his breath hitch at that one for some reason. He racks his brain for any memory of Taeyong mentioning anything about a date or bringing anyone home. He vaguely recalls a guy with a weird name but he wasn’t sure if that was anything. No picture frames by his bedside either except the one with his sister. What he does have is a tiny photo of 6-year-old Jaehyunie that dropped from Jaehyun’s wallet one time. Taeyong likes to poke fun at it. He says Jaehyun looks like a dumpling with dimples. Of course, Jaehyun also attempted to steal one of Taeyong’s childhood photos just to get even, but Taeyong managed to get it back that same afternoon. What he doesn’t know though is that Jaehyun was able to snap a picture of it and it’s safely stored in his gallery’s Favorites folder.
“What is it?” Yuta asks, breaking him out of his reverie.
Jaehyun blinks. “What?”
“You’re smiling like a buffoon.”
“No, I wasn’t.” Jaehyun bites the inside of his cheek, trying to clear the image of little Taeyong on his mind. He was about to ask Yuta to repeat his question when the familiar sound of his ringtone started coming through the car speakers.
“Speaking of the devil.” Yuta grins.
Incoming Call: tyong, it says on Jaehyun’s screen. He presses a small button on the steering wheel because their car is cool like that.
“Hey,” Taeyong singsongs, drawling out the eyyy. “Are you out?”
“Hi Taeyong! We just got out of work,” Yuta answers before Jaehyun could, offering the latter a teasing side-eye.
“Oh hey! Is that Yuta? Hi!!! Is Jaehyun driving you home?”
“Yes. Like the good friend I am, of course,” Jaehyun replies. On the other line, he can hear Taeyong laughing.
Yuta only rolls his eyes and diverts the subject. “You got an awesome car here, Yong. Too bad Jae didn’t agree with the convertible.”
“God, I know, right? I just wish I could take that one out on drives, too,” Taeyong says with a dramatic sigh.
“Hey! You said it’s mine for the entire day,” Jaehyun whines. Also, he’s trying to hold on to the reality of having a gorgeous, scratchless car for as long as he could but don’t tell Taeyong that.
Taeyong giggles. “I know. I was kidding.”
Jaehyun chews on his lip for a moment, suddenly feeling conscious after his previous conversation with Yuta. “Are you home?”
“Yeah, but I forgot to get some things from the grocery store.” Jaehyun can imagine him biting his nails like he usually does when he’s worried about something. “ I was wondering if you can do a quick run for me?”
Jaehyun doesn’t think twice. “What do you need?”
Taeyong hums. “I’m still finalizing the list but I’ll send it to you as soon as I’m done. Is that fine?”
“‘Mkay,” Jaehyun answers. “Hey, can you add milk to that? I keep forgetting to buy some.”
“Oh, I already bought some last night. They’re at the back of the fridge.”
Jaehyun smiles as a nice, warm feeling starts bubbling up his chest. “Nice. I guess that’s it then.”
“Great. I’ll send it in a while,” Taeyong says. “Yuta! Nice hearing from you! You should come by sometime.”
“Fuck yes, I’d love to. Hit me up when you feel like it. I’m almost always available,” Yuta says, to which Jaehyun shakes his head.
Taeyong laughs. “Alright. Drive safe, you two. I’ll see you later, Jaehyunie. Don’t eat out.”
“Bye, Yong,” Jaehyun replies but the line is already dead.
For a while, it’s quiet except for the gentle thrum of the engine and the soft hum of the heater. Jaehyun was only beginning to enjoy the peace and calmness of it when Yuta started laughing in his seat.
“What’s funny?!” Jaehyun shoots him a look.
“Nothing,” the older answers in between chortles. “I was totally right with what I said earlier.”
“You’ve said a lot of things, jackass. Which one?”
Yuta’s laughter dies down in a gentle sigh. “You two are definitely going to spend the rest of your lives together.”
♡ ♡ ♡
Jaehyun opens the door to their apartment. “I’m home,” he announces as he kicks off his shoes.
“Hey!” Taeyong pops his head out from the kitchen with a wide smile. “Did you get them?”
Jaehyun points to the paper bag in his hand. He glances at the counter and suddenly, it makes sense why Taeyong’s grocery list included a shitload of McCormick Spices. He went on a freaking meat shopping spree.
“What’s the celebration?” Jaehyun asks as he slams—sorry, sets down the paper bag on the kitchen counter.
“Nothing, really. There’s just a huge sale on that meat place near 62 Chicken and I couldn’t help going crazy on it. They were really cheap. Plus, you said you had that big meeting today, right? So I thought we can have a little steak night,” Taeyong explains with a shrug as he rummages through the paper bag, arranging the spices in their spice rack as he goes. “How’d it go by the way?”
“The meeting? It got cancelled,” Jaehyun says. He was a bit disappointed about it earlier. After all, he spent a few sleepless nights preparing for it. But now, for some reason, he can’t stop smiling.
Taeyong looks at him in disbelief. “Seriously? But you worked so hard.”
“Yeah, well. We’re doing it on Friday instead. Boss says it’s his only available time.”
“What a dick,” Taeyong exclaims, hands already on his waist.
“It’s fine.” Jaehyun just chuckles but it dies down in his throat after a second. “Wait, this doesn’t mean steak night’s cancelled too, does it?”
Taeyong gestures to their dining table. “I’ve already prepped them, so…”
“You’re amazing. Seriously,” Jaehyun mumbles as he walks to Taeyong’s side and silently takes over arranging the spices. Taeyong has nearly covered all of it though so after about three spices, Jaehyun was already pulling the gloves. “What do you need these for, by the way?”
Taeyong frowns. “I didn’t ask for those.”
“It was on the list.” Of course, to prove his point, Jaehyun shows him the list.
The older gasps. “Shit!” He laughs, incredulous. “That was supposed to be cloves. Garlic cloves!”
“Oh.” Jaehyun makes a face and pulls something from the paper bag. “I guess it’s good I got those, too, then.”
Taeyong grins and gives him a light pat on the cheek, nose scrunched up and eyes glinting. “You’re the best, you know that?”
Jaehyun shrugs. “I do, but I don’t mind you reminding me once in a while.”
“I take it back,” Taeyong mutters, rolling his eyes.
“Too late.” Jaehyun chuckles, settling the last of the groceries on the counter and folding up the empty paper bag. “So… what else can I help you with?”
They settle into a fairly nice system pretty quickly. It’s not the first time that they prepared meals together after all. Jaehyun silently butter bastes the steak the “proper way,” according to Gordon Ramsay (a.k.a. Taeyong who has watched way too many seasons of Hell’s Kitchen), while Taeyong busies himself with fine tuning the mushroom soup and baking the potatoes.
The older ladles a bit of soup on a spoon and brings it to Jaehyun’s mouth to taste. “I feel like something’s missing. I can’t tell what.”
Jaehyun lets the liquid sit on his tongue, thinking. “I can’t tell yet, either.”
Taeyong pouts. “Ah, whatever. We’ll figure it out later,” he mumbles before returning to chopping some parsley.
“Can you check the steak? Is it done?” Jaehyun asks, poking at it like a pretend professional.
Taeyong does it, too, but he knows what he’s talking about. “Yeah, pull them out and let them rest for a bit.”
Jaehyun does as told.
It didn’t take long before the rest of their shared habit hit. Jaehyun hears it first from Taeyong—the melody of How Deep Is Your Love in his hyung’s deep, gentle voice—and he feels the fire lighting up inside of him.
“And you come to me on a summer breeze,” Taeyong sings, grabbing the wooden spoon that he used to stir the soup and using it as a mic. “Keep me warm in your love, then you softly leave. And it’s—” He points the spoon to Jaehyun who’s now washing his hands in the sink.
No prompting needed. Jaehyun tilts his head and sings the high part, “ —me you need to show! How deep is your love?”
“How deep is your love? How deep is your love?” Taeyong continues with the lower register, his hips already swaying on their own. “I really mean to learn.”
The rest of the chorus, they sing together, even attempting to harmonize and failing gloriously. “Cause we’re living in a world of fools, breaking us down when they all should let us be. We belong to you and me.”
Jaehyun finishes washing his hands and splashes Taeyong in the face. The latter gets rid of the wooden spoon and smacks Jaehyun on the shoulder. Jaehyun just laughs, distracting his hyung by continuing the song to the second verse.
“I believe in you. You know the door to my very soul. You’re the light in my deepest, darkest hour. You’re my savior when I fall,” Jaehyun sings, booping Taeyong on the nose at the last line just because.
Taeyong eats up the distraction, of course. “I get the next line. Don’t you dare continue,” he says, his expression quickly shifting from excited to dramatic. “And you may not think that I care for you, but you know down inside that I really do. And it’s me you need to—” he tosses the high part back to Jaehyun, who is suddenly in a completely different trail of thought.
“Cheese!” he exclaims.
Taeyong frowns massively. “What?!”
“Sorry,” Jaehyun says. He couldn't help breaking down in giggles as he realized how ridiculous it sounded. “The soup. I just realized what’s missing. Parmesan cheese.”
Taeyong’s entire face lights up. “Ohmygod. We have a bottle of grated parmesan here somewhere, don’t we? Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you put the bottle on the top shelf of the cupboard last time and you probably forgot it was there?” Jaehyun tries.
The older sighs and waves a finger dismissively. “You’re probably right.”
Behind them, the oven dings. Their baked chives are ready. “How about you get the potatoes, I get the cheese?” Jaehyun suggests, to which Taeyong readily agrees.
Jaehyun retrieves the cheese without effort. On the other hand, Taeyong sets the potatoes on the counter to cool. Then they both get back to the soup, still humming the song as they go. Jaehyun watches quietly as Taeyong pours quite an amount of grated parmesan on the simmering soup. He stirs it for a while, singing the chorus once again.
Once he’s content, Taeyong brings the wooden spoon back to his mouth. Jaehyun stares as the muscles in his face and neck shift, the subtle changes in his expression. He’s crazy pretty, his hyung. And he cooks really well. He has prepared an entire meal to celebrate Jaehyun’s cancelled meeting and here he is right now, trying to decide if adding cheese to his soup was a good idea.
Shit, Jaehyun thinks as a wave of realization hits him. It was quick. Like a huge slap across the face. Mind-numbing. Yuta’s right, he thinks. He never likes it when Yuta’s right, but maybe he’ll let this one go. Because god, Jaehyun likes the thought of it—that the rest of his life would look like this, too.
And maybe it’s that overwhelming wave or maybe he’s just a huge idiot, but it's almost as if something has pushed him forward. Gentle. And the next thing he knows, he’s planting a kiss on Taeyong’s temple as the older takes another sip of the soup. It was swift and soft, almost nothing. But he’s sure Taeyong felt it somehow, because he stopped humming.
Jaehyun is about to step back and apologize for overstepping, but Taeyong turns to him, almost unfazed if it weren’t for the soft tinge of pink on his cheeks and the ghost of a smile on his lips. He asks Jaehyun for another taste test. “Is that better?”
Jaehyun nods. It’s way better, but his head is way too hazy to admit that. It’s good enough for Taeyong though. He gives the soup a few stirs before finally turning the stove off.
Meanwhile, Jaehyun’s insides are restless. “Was, um—” he clears his throat because his voice sounded too raspy. “Was it okay? For you?”
“Yeah,” Taeyong answers easily with a shrug. He looks at Jaehyun again with a slight smirk. “I couldn’t really put a finger on it at first, but now I realize that’s exactly what was missing all along.” He continues to hum the song under his breath like nothing happened, both hands and feet moving to arrange and rearrange the stuff on their dining table as Jaehyun remains frozen in his place, trying to digest what Taeyong just said.
“Jaehyunie,” Taeyong calls as he comes with an arm around Jaehyun’s waist from behind. “I know you look amazing just standing there but it’d be more awesome if you actually help me move these trays cause I’m already starving, hm?” And he, too, is probably a huge idiot as well because he also plants a small, barely-there kiss on Jaehyun’s cheek.
Of course, the younger idiot feels like he’s lit himself up on fireworks. His knees are growing weak and his insides are melting like butter, but all he can think about was thanking Yuta for some reason because god , spending the rest of his life preparing dinners and humming Bee Gees songs with Taeyong doesn’t sound like a bad idea after all.