The sun crept up in the horizon, but their day had already started. The two had already jumped off their bed and gotten ready to face their tasks, once the first beams of sunshine peeked through their kitchen window, they were already finished with their breakfast and heading out to work. The younger of the two kissed her wife for good measure and hopped onto her truck, heading up the mountains. The other one, just gave the wife a fond smile, before grabbing her hat and calling their dog to follow.

Chaeyoung headed to the greenhouses, the time to harvest her strawberries was almost right, but work was never done in her farm, she needed to ensure a perfect harvest, just for her own pride as a farmer, not so much as anything else. Their bloodhound would follow her around through the day, Ko Minjoon the second, he was just a big cat, but she enjoyed the company anyways.

Tzuyu, on the other hand, would drive into the forest alone, being a lumberjack wasn’t really that much of a safe environment for animals, that didn’t stop Dahyun from bringing her cat, actually a cat this time, along sometimes. Nayeon would always give the woman an earful and a few days on the couch whenever she did, what never really stopped the other from doing anything.

Their days would go by in very different paces for each, Chaeyoung’s would drag out lazily as she would, most times, be too efficient and only take half the time she had predicted. So she would alway find herself on her art room (a shed Tzuyu had built her just by their house, which she had also built) working on her next masterpiece. For Tzuyu, on the other hand, there were never enough hours, she would always be surprised and incredulous when Dahyun would come by and tell her it was time to go home.

Their nights, however, would be dedicated to each other, and that was never negotiable. Tzuyu would come home and head directly to the shower and wash the sweat, sawdust and moss away before even looking at Chaeyoung, who would be waiting for her to return with warm dinner, a warm heart and open arms. She knew Tzuyu would be spent after a entire day of heavy labor, and that it was how her wife was trying to give her a good life, but she did wish the other could take it a bit slower.

Their dinners would go about the same way their breakfasts would, Tzuyu would appreciate anything Chaeyoung made for her, even if the food was bad, and Chae would hope she stopped eating bad food just to get a stomachache after. After eating, there would, without fail, be an argument about why Tzuyu shouldn’t be the one doing the dishes and just go light up the fireplace so they could cuddle and watch something until it was time to sleep.

Chae would win everytime, but the younger would never be able to deny her anyhow, and just resigned to preparing the couch for their nightly routine, nights at their farm were always cold. But being at the step of a mountain and just by a river never really helped much with warmth, not that any would complain. It was a great excuse to spend their night huddled up together and just bask in each other’s presence.

Their friends would come over to visit every once in a while, mostly weekends, since they knew, although Chae would work everyday, Tzuyu would take weekends off and just try to help around the house, so they wouldn’t find the young woman sleeping while standing up. The most common would be Dahyun and Nayeon, they owned the farm right next to theirs, Nayeon growed peaches, though.

Jihyo and Momo would make sure to come by, at least, once a month, they lived in town, and the drive was rather long to take every single weekend. Neither minded the company, though, the couple would always leave with lighter steps then when they came, and the gifts they brought were never unwelcome. That, and they would never mind restocking Chaeyoung’s art supplies whenever it was needed, an appreciated gesture, but the younger couple never failed to argue that they should pay for them.

Mina, Sana and Jeongyeon’s visits were a treat whenever they happened, Tzuyu thought they happened too much, but would never say it aloud. They owned a dairy farm a bit further away, Sana and Jeongyeon would take care of the farm, while Mina worked as a furniture builder, she would take demolition wood and shape it to the most beautiful crafts one could think of. Tzuyu took an interest in it and planned to start working with the woman soon.

Sana was responsible for their dairy production, she would come up with new and better ways to produce cheese, yogurt, you name it, she did it, Jeong made sure they were making enough to support her experiments, and have the farm working as it should. But their responsibilities would never stop them from dropping by and staying a week at a time, Mina would go with Tzuyu, saying she wanted to find fallen wood for her crafts, she would bring a small truck that, sometimes, wasn’t enough to take everything home with her.

The trio always left their fridge filled to the brim, so no complaints there, Tzuyu would take the wood to Mina’s workshop anytime if that meant they would have a month’s worth of Sana’s cheese. Don’t blame her, Sana was a genius craftswoman when it came to dairy, and bacon, don’t forget her home-steamed bacon.

“Chae?” Tzuyu asks one night after a particularly grueling day at work.

“Want more hot chocolate?” Chaeyoung asks, not really moving from her wife’s arms.

“Yes, but that’s not what I want to talk about.” Tzuyu answers, putting her cup down and holding her wife closer.

“What is it, something wrong?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just. I’ll have my vacation soon, and I was thinking….”

“You were thinking?”

“Maybe we could go for a vacation? You know, travel a little?”

“You mean you want to take a trip somewhere?”

“Yes, a short trip. I’ll only have two weeks, afterall. And I would like to spend a few days lazing around the house as well.”

“Maybe we could go visit Jihyo and Momo at the city?”

“Maybe. But do you want to do that?”

“We HAVE been promising them a visit for quite some time. Might as well just go.”

“That’s true. So, should I call them?”

“Depends, when are we going? And what about Minjoon?”

“I planned to get off work right after your harvest, and we can ask Mina to care for Minjoon for a few days.”

“Oh, aren’t you a prepared young lady?!”

“Shush you. I’m getting more hot chocolate, you want more?”

“Always. Your hot chocolate is the best!”

Tzuyu, then, gets out o the couch with much difficulty, she was never really that fond of letting go from Chaeyoung if she didn’t have to. But she was happy that they would go on a vacation together, visiting the two that introduced them to each other. She took the opportunity to finish the order for new wedding rings for her and Chaeyoung, who had to have hers cut off her fingers after a particularly frightening farming accident.

Tzuyu has been taking extra hours to make enough money to buy Chaeyoung custom made rings, and she knew the older was truly sad when her ring was ruined, and that it was kept in a pretty blue velvet box in their safe, for Chae was always very fond of them. Back then, they were the best Tzuyu could afford, and she wouldn’t take the other’s money to help, even if it meant she had to sell the mint conditioned atari she had been so fond of, since she got it from her brother.

Chaeyoung knew how much her wife loved her, and she was sure something special was being planned, so she decided she wouldn’t just be on the receiving end this time, she would plan the best date they could have. Revisiting all the places they went to when they started dating, they lived in that city before graduating and taking over Chaeyoung’s family farm. Tzuyu would likely do something about their rings, she had been honestly saddened about Chae’s accident, and Chaeyoung knew her wife had been coming home later than usual, no matter how she tried to talk her way around it.

But, could one really blame them? They were a couple that loved one another more than they loved whatever they possessed, whatever money they had in their bank accounts, they would never let the difficulties they faced, or were to face, shake their love for each other. Both knew that memories would last a lifetime, so neither ever really cared for what they had to let go of to be by each other’s said.

It didn’t bother Tzuyu when she left her comfortable townhouse and the comfortable life her father could provide for her. It certainly didn’t matter for Chaeyoung when she headed out to the valley to take over for her grandparents, for her parents refused, and her brother certainly wouldn’t, as Tzuyu was with her. They both knew everything the other had left behind, and were ever grateful that none of the things they left behind has ever been an accessory to their happiness.

They were very happy with each other, with the family they were about to start, but Chaeyoung hadn’t told Tzuyu about it yet, with their old dog that would be their faithful companion to the end, with their friends who made sure to check on them and ensure they were well, with their farm, their little place in the middle of nowhere.