A/N: 

For my beautiful hermanita, FallingKookie, who has been around since pretty much day one.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU ADORABLE BEAN. *snuggles* I love you to pieces

Warnings: This is unbetaed because Life™ (for both me and my beta). But also, at the very end, there are mentions of people who have passed away. But!! The characters never actually appeared in the story, and they died from natural causes like old age and stuff. Oh and lets say Tae is only one year older than Jungkook.

 

---

 

He startled when he saw a pair of hands appear on the windowsill, knuckles white from the strain of pulling up whatever monstrous body they were connected to. Jungkook wasn’t sure it was a monster (it might have been a ghost or the boogeyman), but his insticks kicked in after a moment, and he dived under his blankets as fast as his little body would carry him. His mama always said he had good insticks. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but he was pretty sure it was the reason his body had moved like he was the Flash just now.

His thoughts were brought back to the very present danger outside his window when he heard a knock on the glass. Did ghosts knock? Could ghosts knock? Maybe it was the boogeyman after all. The knock came again a moment later, louder this time, and Jungkook wondered why the boogeyman would bother knocking. Perhaps his mama had taught him to be polite, too.

Alright. He decided that if he just peeked outside his blanket, it wouldn’t really count as leaving it, so he would still be safe if it was a monster. He lifted the covers just a smidgen, and peered curiously at the figure crouching on the sill.

It took him a moment to realize the grotesque face pushed against the glass was actually just Taehyung, and not a horrible monster, as he had initially thought. He climbed out of bed to let the unexpected visitor inside, and squeaked when Taehyung lept the entire distance to the bed, rather than hopping to the floor, whisper shouting the whole way. Jungkook crawled up after him, giggling.

“Howdja get up here TaeTae?” Jungkook asked, awed. Taehyung puffed up proudly like those penguins they saw on the Discovery Channel, and proceeded to the jacket he was wearing. Jungkook yelped in surprise when a little bundle of fur came tumbling out and onto his Ironman comforter.

“Well I couldn’t miss the wedding, now could I?” Taehyung whispered gleefully, picking up the puppy he had brought with him. “I climbed up the tree outside. You should try it sometime. It’s fun!”

“But Mama said I might break something if I did that,” Jungkook whispered, shaking his head with wide eyes.

“Yeah, but then you would get to wear a cool cast like Namjoon-hyung did last year,” Taehyung pointed out. Jungkook considered this for a moment as he pet the dog lying rather sleepily in Taehyung’s arms.

“Hyung is pretty cool…”

“Yeah! And I would get to sign it first cos we’re best friends. And, and - if you climb the tree too - next time you could come to my room at night,” Taehyung added, wiggling excitedly. They crowed quietly, grinning at the thought of more midnight shenanigans and secret sleepovers.

Jungkook thought Taehyung had a good grin. They were both missing teeth, which Jungkook thought was pretty cool, but he was jealous because Taehyung lost both front teeth at the same time. Namjoon-hyung had accidentally elbowed him pretty hard in the face while he was showing them how to ice skate last week. There was a lot of blood, and Mrs. Kim freaked out. It was awesome .

“Wait, where’s Sasuke?” Taehyung asked, glancing around.

“Oh, he sleeps with my parents,” Jungkook answered. Sasuke always slept with his parents. Jungkook frowned in confusion when Taehyung groaned, burying his face in the fur of the puppy actually present.

“Jungkookie, how are Naruto and Sasuke supposed to get married right now if Sasuke is in your parents’ room?” Taehyung asked, clearly exasperated that Jungkook hadn’t thought this through.

“But I didn’t know they were getting married,” Jungkook defended, crossing his little arms. “How was I s’posed to know?”

Taehyung looked at him like he had just said there was no such thing as aliens.

“Jeon Jungkookie. I just got a new dog and named it Naruto , and you didn’t know they were getting married?” Taehyung let the dog settle on the bed and threw his arms in the air in disbelief. “Of course our dogs are gonna get married! They’re Naruto and Sasuke, they’re gonna be best friends! Like you and me! We’re gonna get married someday too!”

Jungkook considered this for a moment before nodding in agreement. It made sense. Taehyung was right, he should have realized.

“Well.. we could always sneak in and get Sasuke without waking up my parents.” Taehyung perked up immediately at the suggestion.

“Like spies!”

“Yeah! They’ll never know we were there,” Jungkook beamed.

 

 

Jungkook’s parents found them the next morning in a pile of fur and little limbs and blankets. The boys had to explain that the marker on dog’s paws had been necessary so they could sign their wedding contracts like a stamp, because that was how dogs signed things.

 

 

 

***

 

 

“Trust me , Kook, I’m a professional.”

“Tae, matchmaking for our dogs when we were kids doesn’t exactly count as-”

“Kook, no, I’m actually a professional. Look, here, I have a business card and a website and an office and everything.”

“Oh.”

“I need a partner for my new location in San Jose. I want it to be you. And I think they would be perfect together, so please help a out and do this.”

“...fine. But I’m not promising to be your business partner. I’m not promising anything. The only thing I’m saying I’ll do is give Yugyeom Bambam’s number, and even that is only because I know those idiots are into each other. But that’s it. ”

Taehyung grinned widely at the bartender, and Jungkook had a sinking feeling that this conversation wouldn’t be the last he heard about Taehyung and his supposed matchmaking business. He gave the elder his best stink eye before trudging to the other end of the bar.

He shook together a few ingredients, poured it into a shooter glass, and grabbed a napkin to scribble the number down on. With both in hand, he wandered toward Kim Yugyeom, the handsome businessman who frequented the bar.

“This one’s on the house,” Jungkook said as he placed the napkin down and the glass on top of it. Yugyeom looked curious but willing, until he saw the number. He tried to protest, but Jungkook cut him off quickly. “That’s not mine. I get the feeling you’ll need this if you want to see Bambam outside of work hours,” Jungkook explained, doing his best to appear nonchalant about it, and even adding in a lazy wink to complete the confident imagine.

ing Kim Taehyung and the things Jungkook did for him. He’d been back in town for what, a couple weeks? And Jungkook was already back to doing ridiculous . Unbelievable.

Jungkook watched with a twinge of delight, however, as Yugyeom downed the blue concoction. This was the best part of the whole ordeal, in his humble opinion. Yugyeom’s eyes widened, and he grinned up at Jungkook, the expected question already forming on his lips.

“What is this? It’s good!” Ah yes. Jungkook’s favorite question.

“Blue balls,” Jungkook winked, and tried to hold back his laughter as the other choked slightly and turned a fascinating shade of red. “Hopefully the last time you’ll be experiencing that for a while, if you put that number to good use. Have a good night,” Jungkook finished cheekily before sauntering back to his side of the counter.

He wasn’t surprised when Bambam appeared at his elbow a moment later.

“What the hell was that? Don’t go flirting with my regulars! You and I both know Yugyeom tips well, but he’s mine.” Bambam pinched his arm, and Jungkook just rolled his eyes, swatting at the attack.

“Oh trust me, I was doing you a favor. Now do me a favor and get out of my space. I have old women to charm and handsome young men to woo,” Jungkook said, waving Bambam away. He turned back to the particular young man that had coerced him into the whole thing to begin with, annoyed by the big boxy grin Taehyung had stretching across his face.

“Oh yeah, you’re perfect, and this is gonna work so well,” Taehyung said, nodding and sipping at the mojito that he knew Jungkook hated him for ordering.

Jungkook didn’t really have a good feeling about any of this.

 

 

***

 

 

“Remember when you said you wouldn’t be my business partner?”

“Pretty sure I said I wasn’t making any promises.”

“Mmmmmmmmmhm.”

Jungkook chucked an eraser at Taehyung from his end of the couch. They were lounging in their living room after having left the office, Jungkook making some last minute phone calls for the lavish event they were holding that weekend, and Taehyung was doing… whatever it was that Taehyung did.

Taehyung was the mastermind behind the whole business, as well as the public face. He was constantly on social media and attending (and hosting) events that only the biggest names in Silicon Valley had entrance to. He had started with celebrities, back when he was still in L.A. and had accidentally made connections with upcoming names in Hollywood, but he missed The Bay. He had rece Hoseok (his glowing protégé) had learned the ropes of matchmaking and party planning and getting all the gossip well enough to play matchmaker for the stars. It wasn’t difficult when secrets and money both flowed easily, and Taehyung trained him in carefully analyzing and figuring out who would fit whose life and personality most effortlessly and pleasantly, based on all the information they gathered. 

Jungkook was pretty sure their deceptive natures didn’t hurt either. He knew Hoseok pretty well now, and the guy was just like Taehyung, in some ways. Both were outwardly exuberant and friendly and seemed just a bit empty-headed, but anyone that got to know them knew better than to believe that. Jungkook had always thought Taehyung to be the most secretly observant and calculating person he knew, but he thought now that Hoseok might be able to give Tae a run for his money. At least they put their powers to good. The matches were almost always perfect, whether it be celebrities in Hollywood or rich engineers in The Bay.

“Speaking of perfect matches…” Jungkook muttered, glancing at his watch. It was almost 6:30 PM, which meant it was that time. He sat up, chuckling at the whine Taehyung let out at the sudden shift in their position. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, tired from the long day. The event that weekend really needed to go smoothly, as they were finally bringing together the potential new couple they had been eyeballing for the past few weeks.

However. There was another couple even more important that needed immediate attention.

Jungkook untangled his legs from Taehyung’s, stretched for a moment, then crawled forward onto the other man. He ducked under the arms Taehyung was still using to hold up his phone, ignoring the other’s noises of protest, and settled against Taehyung’s chest, humming happily.

“Jungkookieeee. But I’m not done yet,” Taehyung whined, wiggling slightly beneath him. Jungkook shook his head, adamant.

“You’re never done Tae. Put it away. It’s snuggle time,” Jungkook said firmly, popping up to give Taehyung his most serious stare. Taehyung glared at him for a moment before sighing dramatically and tossing his phone on the floor.

“Fine. But I demand kisses for this horrible interruption of my work,” Taehyung insisted, already dragging Jungkook in by the collar. Their lips met, and Jungkook hummed again, content to let Taehyung kiss him until they were both breathless and giggling.

Jungkook had become Taehyung’s business partner all those years ago, but he had also become so much more. They had slipped easily back into the old patterns of their friendship, but this time around there had been something more (or perhaps that had always been there too), and they settled into that easily as well.

Best friends, husbands, business partners; Jungkook spent his days helping Taehyung play matchmaker for everyone else, but the most important match, for him, would always be their own.

“I. Love. You,” Jungkook murmured, pressing soft kisses to Taehyung’s lips between each word. Taehyung smiled, leaning up to press a longer kiss to his husband’s lips.

“I love you too.”

 

 

***

 

“Do you ever think about it?” Jungkook asked, groaning as he lowered tired bones onto the cushion of the porch swing. He sighed when he was finally seated, and moved his cane to rest on the floor. He loved sitting on the porch with Taehyung. He was glad they had been shameless enough to get a house like this in their youth. He liked having a big backyard, and the little garden they had kept them both active. The porch was pretty nice too.

Goodness, when did they get old? Life was so long, and yet he couldn’t believe how quickly it all seemed to go past.

“What?” Taehyung rumbled next to him, adjusting his glasses before reaching out a hand to hold Jungkook’s. They laced their fingers together, and even in their old age, with wrinkly skin, and blue veins, and sunspots, Jungkook thought it was beautiful.

“When you snuck into my room and we married our dogs, you said we would get married someday. I almost forgot… but I wrote about it in that diary I had when I was a kid. I was reading it today,” Jungkook said slowly, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin of Taehyung’s hand. “I remembered not questioning it. At the time, it just seemed so obvious.” Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head. “I hadn’t even fully realized I was pan yet. I didn’t even know that term existed.”

Taehyung hummed, smiling and remembering.

They had spent their childhood together as neighbors; years of sneaking into each other’s rooms, and playing in each other’s backyards, and whispering secrets in impenetrable pillow forts. Their dogs really had grown close, as had their families. Jungkook remembered catching Namjoon kissing a girl when he barged into the elder’s room unannounced one day. He also remembered catching him kissing a boy, and the conversation they had had later about it. Jungkook had been amazed to discover that people could like more than just boys or girls.

He had been sad when the Kim family moved away to Southern California right before his first year of high school.

It was in college that Jungkook discovered that his own affections weren’t dependent on gender or uality. He still remembered there was a trans boy… was he blonde? He was Korean, which Jungkook had appreciated, and he was short and surly and swore he would someday be a famous rapper. Jungkook couldn’t remember his name. He wondered what ever became of him.

It was in his late twenties that Taehyung returned, dragging him away from his office job (but not his weekend bartending) in favor of a partnership in their matchmaking business. Taehyung always was a whirlwind of energy and he had a way of just making things happen.

They spent decades with the wealthy and brilliant minds of Silicon Valley, matchmaking and throwing events to bring them all together and test the waters for each client. Jungkook was proud of the number of lives they had improved, the number of couples that had come together because of their work.

But perhaps his most proud moment was watching Jimin walk at his college graduation. They had adopted the boy while they were in their thirties. Taehyung had mentioned adoption in passing, once, but Jungkook could recognize the deep desire settled in his husband’s heart, even if Taehyung tried to act as if there was no such thing there.

Jungkook had looked into it, reassuring Taehyung that he wanted it too, and when he held the newborn in his arms for the first time, it was like a puzzle piece had slid into place that he hadn’t even realized had been missing from the picture. Now he felt like Jimin occupied the entire other half of the picture, right next to Taehyung, who occupied the first half.

“Ugh, Kook, when did we get so old? I’m gonna be blind soon and you’ll be in a walker,” Taehyung groaned, leaning his head back and pulling Jungkook away from his thoughts. “Ah, to be young again. I can’t imagine climbing a tree for anyone at this point.”

Jungkook groaned as well and squeezed Taehyung’s hand. They weren’t that bad yet. Besides, Taehyung needed to keep his sight for whenever their granddaughter, Hyejin, blessed them with the title of great-grandparents. Well, if. She was like her dads, though. Neither Seokjin nor Jimin had thought they would ever marry. Jungkook still remembered Taehyung’s shock when Jimin came out as aual and aromantic (which he later amended to demi-ual and demi-romantic), not because he took any issue with it, but because he just couldn’t imagine not desiring . But that was just because Taehyung never could seem to get enough of it himself.

Ah, to be young again.

“Tae?”

“Mmm?”

“There’s no one I would have rather spent my life with.”

Taehyung looked at him, smiling softly. His face was lined from years of smiles and sunshine and laughter, and Jungkook reached over to cup it with all the love and gentleness it deserved.

“Me too, Kook. Me too.”

Jungkook leaned in, and although they were no longer lovesick youngsters with pretty skin and a spring in each step, he still felt a rush of warmth when they kissed. It was soft, and chaste, and Jungkook thought, perhaps, that he appreciated it more now than ever.

 

 

---

A/N:

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
As always, thank you for reading, and feel free to come yell at me on tumblr.

If you liked this, feel free to subscribe, comment, upvote, whatever you're comfortable with! I always love to hear back from you guys ~<3