So, Tzuyu loves Jeongyeon, he really does, anyone who sees them together understands they were made for each other. But one thing Tzuyu wishes was different was his boyfriend’s tendencies to go overboard whenever he was having fun. They had gone camping with both families, it had been planned for a while, the parents coordinating to get a few days off together and both Seungyeon and Sujin being told to just deal with getting the trip days off by themselves (it really wasn’t a problem).

They could be camping camping, but with ten people, mrs Chou and mr Yoo found it better to rent out a small cottage rather than having them all set up tents to sleep in. First, the Yoo girls and their boyfriends had zero skills to set up and take care of a tent, then the parents were too old to sleep on the ground for four nights and get out unscathered, Jeongyeon and Tzuyu had been boy scouts and knew how to handle themselves, but they also didn’t like the idea of having to ruin their backs if they could avoid it.

And by ‘small cottage’ I mean one of those big camping area dormitories, they did need, at least, five bedrooms, a few bathrooms and a big living room. Neither the Chous nor the Yoos were complaining, both couples had always enjoyed having big families, mrs Yoo and mr Chou came from big families and, despite restraining themselves, grew up enjoying full houses. When they arrived, the Yoo girls had claimed the upstairs rooms, only to be thrown out by the parents as the rooms in question were the ensuites. But there were two other rooms upstairs they the girls begrudgingly dragged their boyfriends to, complaining under their breath about it the entire time.

Jeongyeon and Tzuyu were left with the one room downstairs, the girls didn’t want it because it was just beside the big living room and there could be a lot of late night and early morning noise, their parents didn’t want that room because they wanted the ensuites, obviously. But it was the biggest one and had a view of the lake, with a lot of natural light and a complete bathroom just beside it, the boys were overjoyed that the girls didn’t even spare a glance before dashing upstairs. Tzuyu was clearly the one who loved animals the most, but Jeongyeon loved nature as a whole, he loved being in the mountains, smelling the grass and the trees, breathing the fresh air and getting his hands dirty.

Tzuyu knew this was paradise for his boyfriend, to be able to wake up with the sunrise, open the window and smell the morning dew, to wake up, open the door and let the dogs run free in the grass. Jeongyeon always did a lot to please the younger boy, he got into summer school just to spend more time with Tzuyu, despite not needing the extra work at all, he got a summer job at a bakery because the younger one loved pastries. Those were just two things the older boy did and only this summer, all the time Jeongyeon tried his very best for the younger one, and it’s not like Tzuyu didn’t also tried his hardest to pamper his boyfriend, but he always felt lacking in that department.

Mr and mrs Yoo knew their youngest had been a bit stressed lately, with his best friends both in trouble, the lack of feedback from the colleges he had been trying to get a scholarship at, Tzuyu skipping a grade and being unsure of how to handle the transition. Jeongyeon was always one to internalize everything, trying to find a way to handle things on his own, thinking he would be bothering if he reached out to someone. The fact that he grew up with two very needy and very vocal sisters, and with both parents working, might have helped enforce the idea that he had to handle things all on his own.

Mrs Yoo and the girls also loved getting out of the busy city life, but this trip was mostly about Jeongyeon resting and, hopefully, opening up about his problems. Tzuyu had talked to his parents, asking them if they could go camping by a lake or something during summer because he wanted to do something nice for his boyfriend. Mrs Chou was happy to help right away, fishing her phone and texting the other couple about camping with the boys, while mr Chou cooed over his son and how cute he was. Tzuyu, then, explained how the older boy loved nature and how he had been bottling up some stress late and needed to relax for real before summer break was over. 

Both boys had already finished their summer work, done the readings to prepare for the beginning of classes and even began studying for the college entrance exams, they had even coordinated and came up with a schedule for the school year. Realistically, they had absolutely nothing else to do for the rest of their summer vacation. The adults couldn’t spend the whole two weeks at the lake house, but they came up with a great plan. They two families would spend four days all together there, then the Chous would take the first five days and then the Yoos would come back and take the last five days. It was a pity the sisters could only get two days off and weren’t able to stay past the first four days, but it was nice enough everyone was able to gather like this at all.

“Talk to me.” Tzuyu asks, coming up behind the older boy looking at the lake.

“This is very nice, you know.” Jeongyeon stretches his hand to invite his boyfriend closer.

“I’m glad you are enjoying it.”

“We are in the middle of the mountains, right by a lake and we are staying for the rest of summer break, of course I’m loving it!” The shorter boy exclaims.

Tzuyu giggles and hugs Jeongyeon tight. They remain in silence, watching the morning sun shining upon the lake and hearing the dogs playing freely somewhere near. Jeongyeon loved this kind of life, but after a while together, Tzuyu learned to enjoy this as well. Maybe in the future they can get a small house in the mountains and Tzuyu can work with the farmers around, and Jeongyeon can open the pharmacy he always talked about back when grandpa Yoo was still alive and the boys went to visit him. The old man lived in a very small village that didn’t have it’s own pharmacy, so they had to go to the nearest town for it.

Yeah, a calm life with some dogs and being able to enjoy mornings like this didn’t look too bad for our twin towers. But that would be in a few years, perhaps more than a few, right now, they should head back inside and check if everyone has finished settling in, and also ask around what everyone was thinking about lunch. If they were fishing, they should head out right away, if it was a barbecue, they should start the fire, so on and so forth. Plus, there was some loud talking happening and the boys wanted to watch whatever was happening. Seungyeon and Sujin together for too long was bound to end in a fight, sometimes they would swing at each other as well.

One might think it was a problem and nobody should resort to violence, especially girls, like that, but this was the way the girls developed to get everything out of their chest and settle their differences. Why was Jeongyeon so peaceful towards his sisters, then? Because grandpa Yoo drilled in his head from an early age that he was to never raise a hand against a woman, no matter the situation, and his sisters loved and pampered him too much. He was the youngest, the only boy and a lot younger than both his sisters, he was practically their living doll during his early years, which also contributed to Jeongyeon’s taste for ‘traditionally’ female clothes. 

Tzuyu found it incredibly cute and endearing whenever the older boy felt like fluffy skirts and heels, not to mention Jeongyeon’s looked amazing in heels and our taiwanese giant would never say no to that. The fight, however, was between mrs Yoo and mrs Chou, both women wanted to make lunch and neither was agreeing with the other about what to make. Mrs Yoo wanted braised pork and mrs Chou demanded fried fish, both very good choices, but they would have to compromise with one. They could solve that between themselves, so our boys headed out to the back, finding Seungyeon and mr Chou preparing to go fishing. They did bring some, but nothing like the taste of those you freshly caught yourself.

“Jeong! We are heading into the lake this afternoon, you coming?” Seungyeon asks, not stopping whatever she was doing.

“Absolutely!” The boy beams. “I’ll prepare my stuff later, though. Tzu and I are going for a walk around the lake.”

“Have fun and be careful about where you step. Also, bring a radio, it’s never bad to be cautious.” Mr Chou advises.

“Good thinking, dad. I’ll go get it.” Tzuyu says as he jogs to the house to get the radio.

Jeongyeon stays talking to his fishing companions while his boyfriend gets them, not just the radio, but also a few energy bars and water. Although Tzuyu loved sportive fishing, and went out with Jihyo and Sana to practice it, he wasn’t very fond of this fishing for funsies his father enjoyed, but Jeongyeon loved it, sure, the older boy went mostly to watch nature from the middle of the lake, like a 360 postcard but real. So, Tzuyu would be staying behind to busy himself around the house, maybe finish unpacking their bags and getting them settled in their room, not wanting to risk one of the girls demanding they switch with them.

“Now, let’s talk.” Tzuyu prompts, once they are out of sight on the forest trail.

“We talk all the time, no?”

“We do, but we don’t? I know there are things you don’t say and mostly it’s because you don’t want others to know, but we are engaged and I really wanna marry you, and I’d appreciate it if you talked to me honestly.”

Jeongyeon huffs and drags a hand through his hair, Tzuyu was right, but he has a lot of difficulty to open up about his feelings. The older boy, however, slightly tightens his grip on his boyfriend’s hand and tugs him closer, his way of saying it was alright and he would try. The young couple had arrived at a clearing, near the water and full of little wild daisies scattered around, the scenery was beautiful. Tzuyu, as the hopeless romantic he was, liked immortalizing everything, so he got out his little tripod, placed his phone correctly and headed over to where Jeongyeon had set their towel down. The pictures? Technology is really magical, and a simple smart band helped not needing to walk over to the phone nor set a timer.

The boys sat in the shade and enjoyed the fresh mist coming from the lake, the little critters venturing out around them, the sound of the wind rushing through the trees, and, most of all, just being with each other. It was one of the rare moments when neither had to think about anything, nor worry about what was happening in the real world. They stayed for who knows how long, Tzuyu taking pictures here and there, he even changed the phone location a few times to get more angles. It was a nice time, until Jeongyeon started getting really hungry and they decided it was better to just head back.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright when I go out fishing?” Jeongyeon asks as they near the house.

“I’ll be fine.” The younger boy assures. “But, if you feel bad about it, I’ll take early cuddles tonight.”

“I can definitely do early cuddles.” The older laughs. “But you know Sujin is planning a bonfire and will throw a fit about us leaving early.”

“Let me handle your sisters.” Tzuyu dismisses the worries. “You just get those arms ready and get yourself smelling great and don’t worry about anything else.”

“Just don’t terrorize my sisters.” Jeongyeon sighs.

“I’m not making any promises.” The younger one smirks devilishly. 

“Why do I love you again?”

“Because you want this y body and can’t live without my cute face looking at you only.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

The boys laugh and enter the house, it seemed like lunch was produced, and none of the options they had left their mothers with was chosen, Seungyeon pointed at mr Yoo when she saw the boys’ questioning looks, that explained the cold noodles and beef with broccoli, the man loved to make it, especially when he was making it for a lot of people. Good thing as well, since they could have ended up without lunch if the two women had been left to their own devices, it has happened before, it was a difficult day.

When lunch was over, Jeong and Tzu took the first shift of doing the dishes, things always did escalate after the first meal whenever the two families got together, and taking the first dish duty was the best choice. That meant that they would be exempt for the rest of the weekend, and wouldn’t be dragged into the cooking war their parents had already started, all their parents took great pride in their ability to pull off big meals with finesse, and each meal would become more elaborate and bigger than the last. Usually nobody wanted to take the first turn, they were still settling in and tired from the trip, our boys had already understood the patterns in their families and maneuvered their way through the easier paths.

When done, Jeongyeon dragged them to the back porch, with two steaming cups of tea, so he could prepare his fishing gear in time to head out into the lake. It was a very calm time, the two boys talking calmly with each other, sipping their tea and enjoying the piny breese. Mr and mrs Yoo were out front, probably talking to the couple in the next cottage over, mr and mrs Chou had decided to take a nap, Seungyeon and her boyfriend went to unpack, despite the boy having a point when he said they were just staying for four days and there was no point in actually unpacking, Sujin and her boyfriend went out for a walk around the lake. Sujin would be radioing in soon to ask for somebody to go and get them, probably Tzuyu.

All in all, things were shaping up to be a great summer vacation. Everything our boys needed to take their minds off everything and truly enjoy summer vacations.