A/N: The epilogue, as promised :) I meant it when I said it's short and sweet.

“You smell good too.”

“I do?” Taeyeon asks skeptically. She’s pretty sure she smells like sweat and , not exactly the most fragrant of combinations.

Jessica smiles, soft and sweet. “Yeah, you smell like—you.”

Taeyeon is too exhausted to move, but she musters up the energy to lean forward and kiss Jessica.

“I have one of your sweaters,” Jessica says quietly. “Sometimes at night, when I can’t sleep, I use it as a pillow.”

Taeyeon swallows. “Does it help?”

“Mm hmm.” Jessica looks like she’s fighting to keep her eyes open. “It was kind of like having you here. Well, obviously it couldn’t compare, but it was better than nothing.”

“Do you still have it?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t smell like you anymore.”

Taeyeon traces her fingertips down Jessica’s cheek, reacquainting herself with skin that she thought she’s memorized. It turns out that memory isn’t as reliable as you’d like to think. “I listened to your interviews,” she admits. “Over and over again. Just so I could hear your voice.”

Jessica is silent for a long moment. “Do you want me to record a video message for you?”

Taeyeon smiles a little. “That would be nice.”

“Sure, I’ll do it.”

“But,” Taeyeon continues. “I would rather listen to you in real time.”

Another beat of silence.

“You have my number.”

“You’re not going to change it again, are you?”

Jessica’s eyes are dark, sad. “If I do, I’ll give you the new one.” She looks down for a moment, lashes dark and – Taeyeon is alarmed to see – damp. “Taeyeon.”

“Yeah?”

Jessica looks back up. “I know you said that you’re not going to let me give up on us.”

Taeyeon swallows. “I did. Are you going to try to change my mind?”

“No.” Jessica’s gaze is resolute. “I won’t give up on us either. Even if you want to get rid of me – well, too bad. You’re stuck with me.”

Taeyeon thinks back to her fear of getting stuck in a fantasy, and how, despite their best efforts, phone calls and voice recordings and old shirts, none of that could compare to this reality. None of that could compare to having Jessica in front of her, the distance finally erased between them in every sense.

“Tae?” Jessica asks in a voice that’s a lot soft and a little unsure.

“I can think of worse things to be stuck with,” Taeyeon says in a studiedly casual voice.

Jessica gives her a look that’s probably meant to look affronted but just looks fond. “You always had such a way with words.”

Taeyeon takes a breath. “I do have some words for you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Taeyeon steels herself. “Three words.”

Jessica looks at her, the intensity back in her eyes, and in that moment Taeyeon knows that she doesn’t really need to say those words, that Jessica knows anyway. However—

“I have some words for you too,” Jessica suddenly says.

“You go first,” Taeyeon says.

“You should get some new sheets. These are ugly.”

Taeyeon stares at Jessica, rendered speechless with disbelief, and Jessica gives a smile that leaves her speechless for a different reason.

“Taeyeon,” she says seriously. “I know. And I love you too.”

(“Was Tiffany in on this?” Taeyeon asks suspiciously.

Jessica raises an eyebrow. “Why do you think she suddenly left the apartment?”

“Well, she talked about some plans she had but I wasn’t listening.”

“What a great friend you are,” Jessica says. “Always paying attention to what she’s saying.”

“I don’t think my brain can process that many words said at that pace at that volume.”

“You’ve always been a little slow,” Jessica says, and it’s Taeyeon’s turn to pout. Jessica laughs and pokes her cheek. “Aww, don’t be sad, Tae. I like you even if you’re slow and have terrible taste in bedsheets.”

“I have good taste in other areas,” Taeyeon says, and then she doesn’t leave Jessica with room to speak.)

A/N: I hope you picked up on the significance of the title vs. the title of this chapter ;) After all the words they never said, they finally said That Word. *plays Taeyeon's Love, That One Word* I don't know why, but I wanted all the chapter titles to be a word that's both a noun and a verb, and I'm glad I managed to achieve that.

Deleted Scene:

“I don’t know if it’s the thing I want the most or the thing I’m the most afraid of.”

“Those go hand in hand sometimes.”

(I think this was supposed to be in one of Taeyeon and Tiffany's conversations, probably the one in the last chapter.)