Taeyong wakes up feeling well rested and for the first time in two years, he feels at peace. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was able to get to talk to Yuta, see Yuta or the fact that Yuta wanted to be with him again. He feels pathetic, yes, to be letting Yuta just come into his life again; but he really can’t deny the fact that he still loves Yuta and he still wants to be with him–just hoping that this time around, they’ll do it right and will be more honest with each other.

He sits up to stretch and realises Doyoung wasn’t beside him but then he sees his phone by the bedside table. He checks the time on his own phone and sees it was still early, maybe Doyoung was running or something since he couldn’t hear noises from the bathroom. He goes to freshen up and decides to take a bath after breakfast. Maybe he can cook breakfast for Doyoung since he was a guest and part of the reason why he was feeling happy.

Taeyong makes his way to the kitchen and notices there was already something cooking. He chuckles and thinks that maybe Doyoung cooked them breakfast then his jaw drops when he sees blonde white hair.

“Yuta?” he says in disbelief

Yuta was standing by the stove, cooking and Doyoung was grumbling while sipping his coffee; he was seated by the counter.

“Oh, don’t be too impressed.” Doyoung says, rolling his eyes at Yuta then looking at Taeyong with him just noticing his best friend. “He bought that ready-to-eat and is just heating it up in the pan to make it look like he cooked it himself.”

Yuta gives him an exasperated look, “You’re making me look bad here, Doyoung.” he says but then smiles at Taeyong. “Good morning, Tyong.”

Taeyong just says a soft, “g’morning” and sits beside his best friend, nudging him with his elbow.

“Well, I’m not here to build you up, Yuta.” Doyoung retorts, which makes Yuta laugh, shaking his head. “If I have to win you over to get through you to Taeyong, I will, Doyoung.” Doyoung scoffs while Yuta walks over to them and serves them their breakfast which consists of (slightly burnt) scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.

“Thank you.” Taeyong smiles at Yuta and takes a bite of his toast. “Are you not going to eat?” he asks Yuta, he shakes his head. “I don’t normally eat before training.”

Taeyong looks at him with wide eyes, just remembering that Yuta told him he had early morning training. “Didn’t you say your practice starts early today? What are you doing here?”

“Well, first, you left your bag in my car last night.” he gestures to the living room where Taeyong’s bag and bouquet were placed, “Second, I told them I have something important and will be late. They won’t mind. They’re usually used to me not coming to practices on time since I normally have other schedules.”

“Oh, okay. But how did you know where my unit is? I haven’t told you-”

“Yuta’s fanboy told him.” Doyoung cuts him off, sighing. “He called Jaehyun since I wouldn’t answer his calls. You know how big of a fan Jaehyun is, he wouldn’t not tell Yuta. It’s so embarrassing.”

Yuta raises a brow at Doyoung. “So, you mean all my fans are embarrassing?” he leans on the counter, teasing.

“Shut up. I just meant Jaehyun is embarrassing considering you have been friends since high school and he’s like a fanboy of an idol he’s never met in real life. He has posters of you in his room, for god’s sake, and I can’t have him take them off. , I see you whenever we in his room and it’s disgusting!” 

They were quiet for a while then Taeyong and Yuta suddenly laughed, making Doyoung groan and scowl at them as he starts eating his breakfast.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want.” he grumbles and harshly bites on his toast. “Aren’t you going to leave now, Yuta? We have to go to work.”

“Oh…I was actually planning on driving you to work.” Yuta looks at Taeyong and Taeyong looks at him with wide eyes, glancing at Doyoung then back to Yuta.

“Oh, uhm, you don’t have to. My workplace is not far from here, besides, you have practice.” Taeyong says even though, in his mind, he wanted to add “I don’t want to get used to this…” as he was afraid and that he didn’t know and wasn’t sure where all of this was going. What if Yuta suddenly realized that it was better that they broke up?

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” he smiles and sips on his coffee, peeking at Doyoung, “I’ll drop you off as well, Dong.”

Doyoung lets out a low growl of annoyance, he hates it when someone uses his real name and he knows Yuta knows that. “No need, Nakamoto.”

Yuta grins at him, “Oh, but I want to. Besides, you better get used to me since you might be seeing more of me…more than Taeyong himself.”

They both looked at Yuta in confusion, he shrugs. “You seem to hate me so much. I’ll have to win you over first before I get to Taeyong.”

Doyoung laughs and shakes his head, wiping his eyes, “Oh my, I’m pretty sure that’ll be hard to do, Yuta. You broke my best friend’s heart, it took him two years to finally start healing and now you’re here again… to, what? Break him again?”

“Dodo…” Taeyong begins helplessly, looking at them both.

“I know…and I still feel guilty but I promise… I’ll be better this time around and I won’t ever break your heart anymore, Taeyong.” he reaches over to hold Taeyong’s hands, “I’m the one who broke it and I will try to put it back together and heal it. I know it won’t be easy and I’m not asking you to forgive me or take me back right away, I just hope you’ll let me try to make up for it and be better for you. No matter how long it takes. Taeyong, I-uhmf.” Yuta gets cut off when Doyoung stuffed his toast in his mouth, laughing at how he looked. Taeyong was surprised but eventually laughed as well, shaking his head and taking a sip of his water.

“You’re both silly.” Taeyong says and hands Yuta a napkin to wipe his lips while he angrily chews on the toast Doyoung fed him.

“Too many words, Nakamoto. Action speaks louder than words.” He finishes his breakfast and stands, bringing his plate and mug to the sink to wash it, “If you ever hurt Taeyong again, I promise you, you won’t be able to play football ever again.”

Yuta looks at him, hopeful. “Does that mean you’re okay with me now, Doyoung?”

Doyoung laughed and shook his head, walking over to the two of them on the breakfast counter and pats Yuta’s back. “Yeah, in your dreams.” he faces Taeyong, “I’ll shower now. Can I rummage through your closet?”

Taeyong just nods at him with a smile and gestures to his bedroom then turns his attention back to Yuta. “You should eat, Yuta. You need strength to train.” Taeyong says and gestures to his plate, “I won’t be able to finish this all. That is if you’re okay with sharing.”

Yuta grins and nods, grabbing a fork and eating off Taeyong’s plate and feeling giddy and he wasn’t doing anything to hide what he was feeling.

“Thank you, though, Tyong, for giving me another chance. I mean, I don’t deserve it but I promise you this time I’ll make it right. I’ll be right for you.”

Taeyong grins at him, teasing as he tilts his head a little to the side, “did I say I was going to give you a second chance, Yuta-ssi?”

Yuta looks at him with wide eyes, his fork floating just outside his mouth, “u-uhm, I’m sorry, I assumed…” he stared at Taeyong and watched him as he’s laughing and wasn’t even embarrassed or insulted; Taeyong laughing is such a beautiful sight that he just wanted to kiss him and he did. The fork just falls and Taeyong wasn’t able to fully register everything as he was just laughing and now Yuta’s lips were on his and he didn’t make any move to push him away as his body was betraying him and he pulls Yuta closer by the collar, kissing him back with all the longing he’s been keeping the years they were apart. Yuta slides his hands around Taeyong’s waist to press his body closer to him but careful not to pull him off his seat and kisses him deeper, humming when Taeyong’s hands on his collar were suddenly on his shoulders.

The bathroom door opening had them breaking away from each other, panting and laughing when they realized how they seemed to be kids not wanting to be found kissing. Yuta reaches over to wipe Taeyong’s lips. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” Yuta says in a quiet voice, Taeyong just nods and instinctively touches his blushing cheeks; smiling shyly at Yuta.

“Well, I assume that was you telling me you’re giving me a second chance?” Yuta laughed at Taeyong’s surprised face, shaking his head. “No, sorry, I didn’t kiss you for that. I just…I can’t help it. Your face…your lips…” he smiles apologetically at Taeyong, “that wasn’t my intention, I promise.”

Taeyong huffs and jumps off the chair, “You’ll have to get through Doyoung twice before you get that second chance, Nakamoto.” he grins and lightly pats on Yuta’s face before walking over to his bedroom then faces Yuta, “Oh, finish your breakfast and just leave the dishes in the sink.” he winks playfully and goes to get ready for work.

Yuta just chuckles and finishes what’s left of their plate and washes the dishes anyways then goes to wait for Taeyong and Doyoung to get ready so he could drive them to work.

Despite Doyoung grumbling non-sense in the car, the whole car ride was actually entertaining with their conversations and even though it was still awkward, they were actually having fun. The three of them were once close friends that just got ruined when Yuta and Taeyong broke up and even though Doyoung is closer to Taeyong, he was still Yuta’s friend although he’d prefer to lean more on his friendship with Taeyong.

“This is my stop.” Doyoung says as they get closer to his workplace and Yuta slows to a stop. He gets out of the car and leans down Taeyong’s side of the car and he opens the window. “Drive him safely, Nakamoto. And take him to work. Unlike you, we actually need to work to pay our bills.”

Yuta just laughs and nods, “I’ll make sure he’s safe. Bye, Dongyoung!”

“Shut up!” Doyoung steps back as Yuta drives away, waving at them although shaking his head as he enters his office building.

Taeyong and Yuta were quiet when Doyoung left but Yuta broke the silence. “Did you sleep well?” he asks Taeyong.

Taeyong smiles and nods, he actually did sleep pretty well the previous night. “I did, mostly because I wasn’t able to rest the night before last night but yeah, I did sleep well.” he faces Yuta, “What about you?”

“I did. Dreamt of you, actually. It was nice.” Yuta replies with a soft smile remembering the dream he had about him and Taeyong having a picnic at the park. It was actually quite cheesy but he wouldn’t mind doing it with Taeyong if he wanted to. He glances at Taeyong and doesn't miss the blush on his cheeks, he smirks a bit then chuckles. “It was wholesome, Tyong. Just us having a picnic, made me feel giddy.” he admits, realizing how good it feels to be honest about his feelings; something he never did before.

Taeyong just nods, not really sure what to say then he remembers their kiss this morning.

“Uhm, Yuta, about earlier…”

They stop at a stop light and Yuta faces Taeyong, “Yeah, uhm, I’m really sorry, Tyong. I just couldn’t help it and I know that’s not an excuse but–”

“It’s fine.” Taeyong cuts him off, “Don’t worry about it just…let’s not do it again, okay? It’s dangerous, for us both. Look, Yuta…” he takes a deep breath before continuing, “Are you really certain you want to get back with me?” he faces him, “I am going to be very honest with you. You see, I love you… I still love you and I honestly hate to admit it because I hated you for two years. I–”

They heard honking from behind them and it was like they were suddenly recalled back to their senses and Yuta had to drive again but found a safe place to stop so Taeyong can continue and he did.

“Well, as I was saying, I hated you for hurting me and it didn’t occur to me that you were hurting because I never did anything to hurt you. And I’m assuming that’s still the case, although talking to you again, you weren’t entirely responsible for the falling out of our relationship. I’m still hurting, Yuta. My pathetic self is happy to be talking to you again, to have you this close but my heart is still hurting and I’m still afraid that you might start getting embarrassed of me again and I don’t blame you for that. I know how hard it is to be outed in public especially if you’re as famous as you and even an athlete. But Yuta…” he takes another deep breath, “Even with all this, I am willing to try with you again because I believe we can be better. Just, I just want you to be sure. I am not worried about my image, I have nothing to protect, but you…you’re not ordinary like me. Yuta…”

Taeyong suddenly stopped talking as he was suddenly sobbing, he didn’t plan to talk to Yuta about this all of a sudden as he knew he was gonna cry and that was what was happening now.

“Tyong…”

He shakes his head. “I just want you to be sure of what you want, Yuta, of your feelings. Please. I don’t want you… us to go through what we went through years ago. Yuta, I can’t help but think that maybe you think you still want me because you remember how we were before our falling out or maybe you’re guilty and want to somehow make it right and–”

“Taeyong, please.” Yuta tries and Taeyong stops talking, mainly because he was suddenly at a loss for words, Yuta continues. “When I saw you that night, I was actually debating with myself internally because I honestly still have feelings for you and I’m sorry I foolishly didn’t reach out to you after that last message you sent me. I still have that and I used to look at it whenever I miss you and it hurts me to know I hurt you like that when I know deep in my heart I love you so much. I wanted to talk to you but you obviously seemed reluctant to even look at me so I didn’t attempt since I didn’t know if you would want to still talk to me but when I saw you outside I couldn’t help approaching you.

“After you fell asleep, I was actually thinking if this was what I really wanted, if I really wanted to be with you again or if it was just familiarity that I missed that I was feeling. I’m sorry I stared at you while you were sleeping, you’re still so beautiful I just…”

He stops when Taeyong suddenly chuckles, it kind of clears the air between the two of them, Yuta smiles.

He reaches over to hold Taeyong’s hands, “but I’m serious, Taeyong, I thought about this a lot and I still really love you, too, and I want you back again; I need you back again. I realized I can’t and don’t want to be without you again. My life is so much better with you in it and I’m sorry I didn’t realize it before.  I promise you I’ll make it right this time, we’ll go slow if that’s what you want. I won’t rush you, I promise.”

Taeyong chuckles and wiggles their hands playfully, “You’re making a lot of promises, Mr. Nakamoto. What if you broke any of them?”

“Doyoung would know what to do with me.” This got Taeyong to laugh and suddenly he was nodding.

“Okay, Yuta. We’ll take it slow, we’ll do it right. And we won’t be kissing again anytime soon. I don’t think being intimate this early would help with the “taking slow” part, you know?”

Yuta nods and raises Taeyong’s hands to press a kiss on each knuckle, “Thank you, Taeyong. I’m still not sure if I deserve this second chance but really, thank you.”

“I’m not even sure I’m worth it, Yuta. But you know what? I think we’re both late.”

“, you’re right. Sorry.” Yuta starts driving again, realizing they both have work to do.

~

“Sooooo… spill!”

Ten corners Taeyong with their other friends when lunch time came, they all crowded his table.

“Wh-what?” Taeyong stuttered, blinking up at all of them.

“Oh, don’t play dumb, Taeyong hyung. Nakamoto Yuta!” Hendery rolls his eyes at him.

“I don’t have anything to spill” he says, trying to be dismissive but the look on Ten’s face shows him that he doesn’t believe it.

“Riiiiight. The dinner and the bouquet, though?” Ten pushes.

Taeyong sighs, “can we atleast get some food first? I’m starving, I hardly had breakfast.”

They all decide to go to the cafeteria and continue interrogating Taeyong to which they did after they’ve ordered food and started eating.

“So, hyung…” Ten started, “Mr. Nakamoto came here yesterday with flowers and asked you out to dinner…what’s the tea?”

Taeyong looks at all his office friends and sighs, “can you promise me this stays in our circle?” he asks in a low voice leaning on the table to have them do the same “he’s famous, I’m not…you know how that is.”

They all nod, he trusts his office friends. “We dated in high school up until college but broke up after he was recruited by the national team.” This earns him giddy giggles from Ten and Hendery, the others, Jaemin and Jeno, letting out “ohhh’s”.

“What happened, though, hyung?” Jaemin suddenly asks. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Ah, always the polite Jaemin. Taeyong gave him a smile.

“It was difficult, we had different lives. That’s all I can say for now.” Taeyong says and Jaemin just nods at him in understanding.

“Okay, so… are you two trying to get back together again?” Ten wasn’t done with the juicy questions, Taeyong just nods.

“This is honestly such juicy gossip that will shake both the sports and entertainment world but we promise you, this will stay between us. Unless the both of you decide to take it to the public.” Ten continues and they all nod their agreement, warming Taeyong’s heart.

“Dessert is on me, then.” Taeyong laughs as they all get excited and runs to get their desserts although Ten stays behind. “Oh, why aren’t you getting anything?” he asks.

“I’m quite full. Hyung…” he leans closer to Taeyong, making him nervous, “I’m actually glad to see you like this. I’ve known you for more than a year now and this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Your glow is different and I’m very happy for you.”

Ten was one of his friends from the office that was always number one in getting gossip and making his friends happy with his wit and humor, but he was also number one in making sure his friends are very cared for and he always succeeds.

“Thank you so much, Ten.” Taeyong reaches out to pat him on the shoulder, appreciating him.

Taeyong smiles happy and content, feeling blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends.