HELLOOOOO this is so late and i am so sorry D:
i debated a lot on whether or not i should write this, but i thought it'd be right since i didn't really explain what happened to yujohnyong (i couldn't think of a better ship name leave me alone) and i only mentioned them like once in the epilogue and then moved on
THEREFORE i wanted to dedicate an extra final chapter to them and their relationship :] also thank you for all the support !! i can't believe this fic is still getting reads, i appreciate all of u <3
"johnny. oh, johnny," taeyong sang, prodding the sleeping figure in the bed. when he didn't immediately move, taeyong punched his shoulder. "johnny, wake up."
"5 more minutes," he mumbled, flipping onto his back. he squinted up at taeyong. "have you even gotten dressed yet?"
"yuta woke me up about half an hour ago and wanted to take a bath."
"really? he never takes a b— WHY ARE YOU DRIPPING WATER ALL OVER MY CARPET?"
"our carpet," taeyong corrected with a grin. "communism."
"what the fuck are you yelling about?" yuta called, stepping out of the bathroom. unlike taeyong, who had a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, yuta emerged completely exposed.
and dripping ungodly amounts of water on the carpet.
"you know what, just—" johnny forced himself up and pushed the other two back into the bathroom. "i'll make breakfast. come down whenever you're done."
"will do," taeyong replied with a mini salute, dropping the towel and stepping back into the tub. yuta remained at the door, pouting.
johnny sighed. "what?"
"it's my birthday, and you're not gonna give me a good morning kiss?"
"you—" he grabbed yuta by the waist and dipped him down, kissing him deeply. when he stood back up, he pulled away and patted yuta's cheek before walking out of their bedroom.
something that johnny and yuta didn't learn until they all moved in together was that taeyong could bake. when they asked why he never mentioned it, he never gave an exact answer, and they didn't try to force one out of him. this meant that johnny could leave the birthday cake to taeyong, which was a blessing, because he didn't have the energy to figure out how the hell a swiss roll worked.
not long after they moved in together, it felt like they began learning all sorts of things about each other that they never would've known otherwise. taeyong was borderline obsessive with how clean he kept everything, yuta was an incredibly caring boyfriend to them both and never bothered them for sex or anything related to it unless one of them initiated it, and according to the pair, johnny was a surprisingly good waffle maker.
"i smell waffles." yuta's voice boomed through the first floor of the house, and he practically sprinted into the kitchen, skidding to a stop in his socks. he had on a yellow sweater and grey sweatpants; behind him, taeyong was wearing a dark green sweater with a white button up underneath, both tucked into a pair of black pants and secured with a belt.
he was looking down at his phone, but looked up when he walked into the kitchen. "are they chocolate chip?"
"they are."
"oh my god, i could kiss you for that."
"taeyong, give the birthday boy 3 waffles and whatever he wants as toppings. i'm gonna go get changed." taeyong nodded, and as johnny went out of the kitchen and upstairs, he heard yuta ask if he could squirt the whipped cream into his mouth.
johnny's outfit of the day was a plain black shirt paired with a leather jacket and black pants. he thought he looked good, but when he went back downstairs, yuta asked through a mouthful of waffle, "why are you wearing a jacket inside?"
"because it's stylish. don't judge me."
"i'm judging you." he rolled his eyes and took one of the plates from taeyong, sitting down across from the pair.
as he cut into one of the waffles, he asked, "so yuta, what do you wanna do today?"
"have intense, passionate s—"
"yuta," taeyong interrupted, his ears turning red.
yuta mumbled an apology, kissing taeyong's cheek. "we could go to the mall, maybe. look around a little. see what there is to see."
"i don't think there's a lot to see at a mall."
"you never know. maybe you'll find your new favorite pen there."
•••••
when they got to the mall, taeyong went to the craft supplies store, and johnny let yuta drag him into gamestop. yuta loved playing video games and usually made johnny or taeyong play with him, but there were also days where he'd lock himself in their bedroom to finish a game on his own.
"where is it— aha! here!" he grabbed a game off the shelf and held it out to johnny.
it was a copy of animal crossing: new horizons, and johnny slowly dragged his eyes up to meet yuta's. "i have to pay for this, don't i?"
"duh. it's my birthday."
"you're lucky i love you," he muttered, taking the game and walking over to the checkout counter.
the game put a $60-sized dent in his bank account, but as long as he kept reminding himself it was for yuta, it didn't upset him. holding the birthday boy's hand, he took him to the food court and bought a milkshake for him.
"johnny?"
he handed the cup to yuta and turned, struggling to spot where the voice came from. suddenly, jaehyun popped up in his vision, followed by doyoung, and they both rushed over. "oh, hey. how's the engagement going?"
"it's going well," doyoung replied. "we haven't worked out an exact date for the wedding yet, but we were thinking sometime in may."
"are we invited?" yuta asked. "you better invite us."
"of course you are."
"i'll let taeyong know when he gets back."
"where is he, anyway?"
"went to the craft supplies store," johnny replied. "probably needed to get something for yuta's birthday."
"what are we talking about?"
they all yelled and whipped around to look at taeyong, who was smiling innocently. he had a shopping bag in his hand. "doyoung and jaehyun were just telling us about their wedding."
"oh, really? when is it?"
"sometime in may."
"that's ... vague," he muttered. "whenever it ends up being, just let us know and we'll be there."
"we will. we'll see you guys later, then."
jaehyun and doyoung waved goodbye and walked away, and taeyong spoke again. "any other stores you wanna go to?"
•••••
johnny didn't know how taeyong had done it, but somehow, there was a perfectly formed swiss roll on their kitchen counter, and 2 candles- two 2's, confusingly enough- were sticking out neatly in the center. yuta sat at the island with his eyes covered, and taeyong picked the plate up, nodding once at johnny. the older boy shut all the lights off and closed the curtains, and they both began to sing.
"happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear yuta—"
"that's me," yuta interrupted, his eyes still covered.
they both rolled their eyes. "happy birthday to you."
taeyong set the cake down, and yuta slowly uncovered his eyes, gasping at the sight in front of him. he looked up at taeyong and kissed him quickly, whispering, "thank you." turning his attention back to the cake, he thought long and hard before nodding once to himself and blowing the candles out.
the other two clapped, and as he turned the lights on, johnny asked, "what'd you wish for?"
"if i told you, it wouldn't be a wish anymore."
taeyong disposed of the candles and cut out slices— rolls?— of cake for each of them, making sure to give yuta the biggest. johnny sat down on his left, and taeyong sat on his right, and they both kissed his cheeks at the same time. "happy birthday, yuta," johnny said softly. yuta smiled at him.
"happy birthday to me."