#my remote for my fairy lights and my space heater

[diegos-butt]

Electricity Chapter 5

Summary: For the first time in her life, Melody Williams is moving out of her hometown to Minnesota where she got a job as a crime journalist for the Minnesota Daily. But this city does not only have a new job for her to offer. What will happen when she crosses paths with detective Walter Marshall? Heads up, a little electricity is involved ✨

Walter Marshall x Melody Williams (Curvy OFC)

Warnings: none (fluff I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Wordcount: 4k.

A/N: hope you will like this chapter 🙈

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 /Chapter 3 / Chapter 4

•••

“Sure thing doll.” Once those words had left his mouth, I felt my heart beating so fast, I was worried I’d have a heart attack in his car. Instead, a smiled formed on my face and I muttered a thank you. Doll, he called me doll. Does he want me to faint or something?

He turned the car off, let go of my hand and stepped out. Before he closed the door, he looked at me. “Wait there.”

He walked around the car and opened my door. He held out his hand, which I gratefully took, and stepped out as well. After he closed the door and locked the car, we walked towards the entrance of my apartment building in the rain. We climbed the set of stairs and soon we reached my front door. I unlocked it and walked in. He followed close after me and shut it. He took the keys out of my hand and locked the door.

We stood in my hallway, silently, next to each other. I could see a few drops of rain on his forehead, and I had to fight the urge to wipe them away. When I looked down his eyes were already looking at me.

“Come here,” he said and gestured me to turn around. At, first I didn’t understand why but once I turned around, I understood. He wanted to help me out of my jacket. Can this man get even more attractive? He got rid of his own too and we walked to the living area.

“So, this is my home. It’s not much, but enough for now,” I said awkwardly, twisting on my feet.

“It is nice,” he answered and looked around. He stood a few feet away from me, and that gave me room to admire his physique once more. He was wearing a dark blue, cosy looking sweater and a pair of jeans. Everything fitted him so well and all I wanted to do was walk over to him and let my hands wander over his chest. Come on Mel, after what happened tonight you seriously cannot be thinking about this right now.

To shake those thoughts off, I turned on my fairy lights and a few small lamps. Once I was done, I suddenly felt cold and shivered.

“Why don’t you take a warm shower? I’ll make you some tea or food in the meanwhile,” he offered.

“That might be a good idea,” I answered and gave him a smile. “Alright, I’m gonna go take a shower then.” I walked to my bedroom, and once I reached the door I looked around over my shoulder. He was already in my kitchen, looking through the cabinets. I smiled to myself. That was a sight I could get used to.

After I had taken a shower, I had put on sweatpants and a t-shirt. I stared into the mirror, even though I looked tired, I wasn’t completely repulsed by the way I looked, so I didn’t bother to put make-up on. My hair was still damp, I decided to put it up in a bun.

I walked out of my bedroom, and I saw Walter was cooking something in the kitchen. Slowly I walked towards him, and once I stood next to him, I noticed he was making soup.

“You are making soup?” I said surprised. “I didn’t even know I had the ingredients to make this.”

“I thought you would like something warm.” He stirred in the soup and he looked at me with a soft look in his eyes. “Grab some bowls, would you?”

I nodded and grabbed two bowls and spoons. He filled the bowls and placed them on my little dining table. We both sat down and started eating.

“This is nice,” I said, trying to break the silence.

“The soup or having a late-night dinner with me?” He looked at me with a grin. I noticed his knee was touching mine. The combination of the comment, his grin, and the fact that his knee was touching mine made my cheeks burn. Mel, he is flirting with you. Flirt back. Wait, what if he is just messing with you? What if he is just being nice? I quickly swallowed some soup, but nearly choked on it because I forgot how to swallow. He is just making small talk. Calm down. Just say something instead of choking.

“Both are nice,” I managed to spill out. He chuckled and focussed his gaze back on his bowl. We finished eating in silence and once we were done, he got up and put the bowls in the sink. Even though we didn’t speak much, it was comfortable. The silence between us wasn’t awkward at all much to my surprise.

I didn’t even notice I had gotten cold, again, until I shivered. In response, Walter took off his sweater. Revealing a black t-shirt underneath it, a little bit of chest hair peeking out on top of it. Oh, how I would like to run my hands through that.

“Here.” He offered me the sweater. “Maybe you should have put on a sweater after you showered. Or is this your way of asking for my sweater?” His grin had grown even wider.

“No, no it’s fine. I’m not that cold,” I mumbled.

“No, take it.” He stepped closer to me and pushed the sweater in my hands.

The soft material felt nice in my hands, and the conflict in my head started. Just put it on, you know you want to. I know I want to, but what if it doesn’t fit? That would be humiliating. I could just go to my room and grab one of my own.

“What’s wrong?” he asked once I stood up.

“Nothing, just going to grab a sweater from my room.”

“What is wrong with mine?”

I hesitated for a moment, but he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I knew he wouldn’t let go. He wanted an answer, and he was definitely not buying my excuses.

“Look, I don’t know if it’s going to fit,” I said quietly.

“It will, trust me.” My eyes met his, and all I could see was sincerity. He was sure. “Put it on.”

I nodded, and I slowly tried it on. He was right. It did fit me, it fitted me perfectly. The sleeves were even a little too long. I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face. You have now officially lost this sweater. No way you’re getting it back.

“See? Now, would you still like me to stay? We could watch something,” he said as he stepped closer to me and touched my upper arm.

“Yeah, that would be nice.” We moved to the couch, and I grabbed the remote control while he sat down. My couch wasn’t very big, it was a small two-persons couch and because Walter was already quite large, I had to squeeze into the room on the couch that was left. Our legs, torsos, arms, everything touched. He was so warm and all I wanted to do was crawl under his arm and cuddle up against him. Focus, maybe put on a tv show first.

I turned the tv on and scrolled through Netflix. The Office popped up on the screen, and I looked at him. He nodded in approval and I pressed play.

We managed to get through an episode without me crawling on his lap. We just watched the episode and laughed when something funny happened. Another episode started, and I started feeling tired. It had been a long day after all and it was getting late.

I slouched down a little, and my head unintentionally rested on his shoulder. I felt him looking at me and I wanted to sit up straight again, but he rested his hand on my thigh. Oh lord help me.

The smell of his cologne reached my nose, and boy, that smelled good. Really good. I had a hard time focussing on the television. We sat like that for a few minutes, until I yawned.

“A bit tired?” he chuckled next to me.

“What makes you think that?” I smiled and looked up at him. His blue eyes looked at me, and he had an adorable expression on his face I couldn’t place. What is this look and what does it mean? Is it not an appropriate time to just crawl on his lap, right? No Mel, behave please. Don’t scare him off.

He smiled at me, and before I knew it, he had put his arm around my shoulders. My head was now resting on his chest, and I felt a spark of electricity going down my spine. This man was doing things to me.

At first it was a little awkward, my legs felt a little out of place in this position. Just throw your legs over his lap. Just do it Mel. It’s not weird. He put his arm around you for fucks sake!

I decided to be bold. I cleared my throat and threw my legs in his lap. My eyes never left the television, I couldn’t handle looking at him at that moment.

What I didn’t noticed, is that once my legs were on his lap, he smiled. He looked at me adoringly and he put his hand on my thigh again, indicating this was more than okay.

It felt so good, to just cuddle with him. The warmth coming from his body felt welcoming, and he smelled so good. He was like a personal space heater. I never wanted this moment to be over.

Apparently, he didn’t either. We watched another episode, and another, and another. He kept pulling me closer to him, and I didn’t complain. Is he comforting me or is he just as touch starved as me?

Before I could overthink it, I got sleepy. I drowsed off, snuggling into his side more and more and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

I woke up in my bed. Still in Walter’s sweater and my sweatpants. I was under my covers, so I was burning up from all the clothes I was still wearing. Kicking the covers off, I wondered how I had gotten into my bed. I was convinced I had not fallen asleep there.

I sat up, confused, and grabbed my phone which was on my nightstand. Underneath was a piece of paper.

Give me a call when you wake up. W

I stared at it, trying to untangle my thoughts. Wait a minute. I remembered everything from last night, from the stupid stunt I pulled to watching The Office with Walter on my couch.

Hold up. I fell asleep on the couch. Next to him. Alright, more like on top of him. But still. I did not fall asleep here. Does that mean he carried me to bed?!

Confused I rubbed my eyes. So, Walter must have carried me to bed. And I have no recollection of that. No one has ever carried me or whatsoever. I swear, he has to pull this stunt again someday. I need to know how that feels. I groaned and laid back down.

My phone buzzed and I noticed I had several messages. Apparently, Gia and Carmen were up to date to what happened the night before. They had texted and called me multiple times.

Alright, first things first. Let’s call Walter. I called his number and he picked up straight away.

“Look who’s finally woken up,” he pointed out.

“In my defence, I have literally just woken up and I have no idea what time it is exactly,” I answered. I looked at the clock and froze. “Oh shit. Is it really already 9am? I have to get to work!”

“Don’t worry, I have already called your boss and explained the situation. You have the day off. Or two if you need it,” he explained.

I fell silent, and almost forgot to answer. “Wait, you actually called my boss for me? That, that is so considerate of you. Thank you.”

“No problem doll. How are you feeling?” he asked. My heart jumped at hearing the word doll.

“I guess I’m fine? I don’t know honestly. I feel fine. A little tired maybe, but I just woke up so that’s nothing new,” I answered.

“Shouldn’t you not feel tired after just waking up?” he quickly responded.

“I always feel tired after waking up. Besides, I need a moment to wake up,” I laughed. “I did sleep really good though. Thank you for staying with me last night.” I bit on my finger, anxious of what he might say next.

“Anytime,” he said. “Oh, hang on a second.”

I heard him talking to someone else and after a few seconds he spoke to me again. “Hey, sorry but I have to go.”

“Yeah, of course!” I hesitated for a moment, but added: “Can I maybe buy you lunch or coffee sometime as a thank you?” I said it with a voice so soft, he could barely hear it.

“Absolutely. My lunch break won’t be long today, but we could get coffee this afternoon? I know a place.”

After my call with Walter, I had called Carmen who was at work. She insisted on meeting me for lunch with Gia. She didn’t ask many questions about the stunt I pulled, which raised a few questions for me. Normally she would want to know everything right away, but I figured she wanted to talk face to face about this, so I didn’t mention it.

Now, I was sitting in a small restaurant with Gia and Carmen, and I had just told them what happened. I told them everything, from me forgetting to text Walter to ending up with him on my couch.

“Let me get this right, you actually did the most stupid thing ever, and still ended up with him on your couch? In his sweater? I don’t know how you did that, but girl, it’s a shame you fell asleep or that night would have ended very different,” Gia speculated.

I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, right. I’m surprised he even stayed that long honestly. One last thing though, I fell asleep on the couch, but I woke up in my bed,” I said and quickly took a sip of my cappuccino.

“Oh my god! Mel! That is so sweet! He carried you to bed! I’m so jealous right now you have no idea,” Gia yelled.

“That is goals, serious goals,” Carmen added.

“I know, but I don’t even remember it! And that is definitely something I need to actively experience, ‘cause I’m having a hard time believing this actually happened,” I said frustrated.

Before Gia or Carmen could answer, the door of the restaurant opened, and two detectives walked in. I looked to the side, and saw Carmen smile adoringly at one of them. They walked over to us, and Liam pressed a kiss on Carmen’s cheek.

“Hang on, when did that happen and why haven’t you told us?!” Gia stated. Liam and Carmen laughed and Gia looked at me confused. I shook my head, letting her know I had no idea what was happening.

“Well, after we have met, we stayed in touch,” Carmen began. “And we have been on a few dates now. I didn’t tell you guys because I wanted to figure out what it was first.”

“We both did, but we decided to give it a serious go over dinner yesterday. Before I had to go to work again,” Liam added and looked at me.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I said.

“That is really cute and all and I’m happy for you, but from now on you will tell me, us, everything young lady.” Gia pointed at Carmen and laughed. She was jumping up and down her chair with excitement.

“It does make sense now that you didn’t ask me questions about what happened yesterday over the phone this morning. You obviously already knew!” I said and hid my face behind my hands.

“Sorry girl,” Carmen grinned.

The conversation continued, but I didn’t pay attention anymore. Walter had rested his hand on my shoulder, and I looked up in his bright blue eyes.

“Hi,” I said softly. He gave me a small smile in return.

“We are just here to pick up lunch. But I’ll pick you up at home this afternoon once I’m done at the station, alright?” he asked.

“Yes, sure,” I nodded.

One of the waitresses came over and handed Walter a few boxes. “Your order detective.” He said thank you and paid. Liam said goodbye to Carmen, and Walter whispered a ‘see you later’ in my ear. Before I could answer, they had already left. Smiling, I stared to the door. I can’t wait for that coffee.

After I finished lunch with Gia and Carmen, and they threated to hurt me if I ever did something stupid again, I went home. I cleaned up a bit, did some laundry and enjoyed my day off. The day went by quick, and before I knew it, I had a text from Walter, saying he would pick me up soon.

Anxiously, I looked out of the window, waiting for him to show up. Mel relax, you are just getting coffee with this man. Uh, the most handsome man I have ever seen but okay. No need to panic. Just be yourself, it will be alright. I took a few deep breaths. My mind kept spiralling, I had no idea what this meant or what I could mean. Thankfully, I had no time to overthink the situation too much because I saw Walter’s truck pull up in front of my apartment building. He parked it and stepped out.

I quickly grabbed my jacket and rushed to the front door, opened it, and walked downstairs. Once I was outside, I saw him leaning against his truck, waiting for me. He spotted me, he immediately stood up straight and smiled at me. I waved awkwardly and walked over.

We exchanged a ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’. After that we faced each other a little awkward.

“So, where are we going?” I broke the silence.

“There is a place a few blocks away, we can walk there,” he answered and nodded with his head down the street.

“Sounds good,” I smiled.

We started walking, and we discussed how our days had been. He had been busy with a case, but he didn’t want to tell me anything about that. He joked he didn’t wanted me involved in another case. The sound of his laugh send a shiver down my spine. It was a sound I already could never get tired of.

Occasionally, our hands brushed against each other as we kept walking. We fell silent for a moment and I remembered what it had felt like to hold his hand. Is it weird if I just grabbed his hand now? Yes, Mel, that is weird. Don’t do it. Wait, it’s not that weird. He’s held your hand before, just do it! I couldn’t start a discussion with myself because Walter started talking.

“So, before we get coffee, can I now yell at you and tell you how stupid and reckless you were last night?” He bumped his hip against mine and chuckled.

“You could try and see what happens,” I answered. Oh no, was that answer too bold?

“Hmm, enlighten me doll. Tell me what would happen,” he teased. Doll. Doll. I’m considering changing my name to doll now. He should never use my name again. Just call me doll. I swooned on the inside. I looked at him, and noticed he licked his lips. Oh, how I just wish he would kiss me. I don’t even care we are in public right now. Everyone can see it. I don’t care.

“Well, I would yell back. Obviously. I would get a little mad, you would get mad. Now we’re both yelling, maybe even throwing some insults. We would both get angry, and we’d both storm off,” I started. “In the days after that, I would realize you may have been right, and that I overreacted. At the same time, you would realize you also overreacted a little bit. We would both be too stubborn to admit it, so a few days go by. Then, like after 4 days, we would decide at the same time we should apologize. So, we go to see each other, but since we decided at the same time to apologize, we run each into other in a random place between our houses. I have to figure out where you live first though, now that I think of it,” I continued rambling.

He laughed and motioned for me to keep talking.

“We apologize to each other, we forgive each other and then you finally kiss me.”

“You want me to kiss you?” He stopped laughing, and stopped walking. His blue eyes pierced through mine.

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. “That was not supposed to be said out loud.” My cheeks burned up and I looked down at my shoes.

“Answer the question,” he said with a stern voice.

I stayed silent and kept looking at my shoes. He took a step closer to me, he was now so close I could smell his cologne, and I couldn’t think straight anymore. He grabbed my chin and made my eyes meet his. “I said, answer the question.”

“Yes,” I muttered.

I looked into his eyes, his pupils had grown wide, the bright blue nearly gone.

“Good, because you have no idea how badly I want to kiss you doll.”

He pressed his lips again mine. Softly, but eager. I melted against his frame, and I pressed my hands on his chest. The hand on my chin cupped my cheek, while the other found my waist and pulled me closer to him.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on mine. We stood like that for a few seconds, just comprehending what just happened before he kissed me again. This time a little more rough, more needy. My hands slipped around his neck. A shot of electricity going through my entire body.

The kiss broke again, and I looked into his eyes. He sighed happily, and I giggled. This feels good. This feels nice.

“Still want to get coffee?” he chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m a little thirsty,” I answered, completely unaware of the double meaning of that sentence.

“For coffee of me?” He cocked his eyebrow, and I slapped my hand on his chest.

“Oh, come on,” I laughed.

“Alright, let’s get some coffee.”

We started walking again, and this time, he grabbed my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine.

“So, since getting coffee is not really a date, when can I take you out on proper date?” he asked.

“This is a date? Us getting coffee?” I wondered.

“I thought that was obvious, but yes,” he responded. He squeezed my hand and gave me a smile.

“Does that mean you want to date me?” I questioned.

“Nothing I’d like more doll. I’d really want to get to know you.” Once he said that, my heart skipped a few beats. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

“So, dinner tomorrow night, 7pm,” he said.

“Are you asking or demanding?” I responded while trying to suppress a smile.

“Well, you better be home doll.”

He stopped walking and pressed his lips against mine again, making me shut up so I couldn’t answer with a witty comeback. Oh, I don’t think I can get tired of kissing you.

“But let’s get coffee first,” he smiled.

•••

Taglist: @keanureevesisbae / @klaine-92 / @xxxkatxo / @stxlemate / @oddsnendsfanfics / @amberangel112 / @seriouslygoodlookinggents / @sillyrabbit81 / @pixie88 / @cynic-spirit / @rn7rocks / @daddys-littlewhitegirl / @little-brattyangel / @omgkatinka / @myloveforhenrycavill / @eldarwen333 / @kebabgirl67

A/N: For now, this will be the last chapter of Electricity. I might write another chapter in the future though. But no worries, I have a few one shots planned for them and i'm going to focus on those first! I will post them as one shots, because I think they could be read without reading Electricity. but it's way more fun if you had read it 🤷🏼‍♀️

[thisbrokenmask]

Simply Meant To Be

pairing: female reader x Kim Taehyung

genre: fluff, romance

word count: 2,573

warnings: fluff. fluff. so much fluff. 

summary: unable to travel to see your families this christmas, you and taehyung decide to have your annual movie marathon on christmas eve, partly to distract you from being away from your families. while watching, taehyung ends up giving you one of your presents early. 

a/n: so, i started writing this ahead of taehyung’s surprise at midnight kst earlier today and i’m already in love with snow flower (and christmas love - i’m hoping to get something out for jimin soon, too!). this changed a few times while i was writing it, but i’m really happy with how it turned out! written for my ‘kim taehyung’ square on my @btsholidaybingo​ card 

*⋆⍋* merry christmas! *⍋⋆* 

“Are you sure we’ve got everything?” you call out as you move through the house, flicking the lights off as you go. “Once I get under that blanket I’m not planning on moving unless I need to pee and, as my personal heater, you’re not allowed to move either.”

You lean against the door frame in the entrance to the lounge, giving your boyfriend a pointed look. He grins lazily from where he sits on the sofa, thick blankets drapes across his lap and an empty space beside him. A few candles are dotted about the room, but the main source of light is the Christmas tree in the corner, its layers of fairy lights bathing the room in a warm yellow glow. The television is dark, a film waiting on pause on the dimmed screen, so the lights of the tree and the dancing flames of the candles are clearly reflected back to you in Taehyung’s dark eyes when he looks up at you.

“I think we’ve got everything, baby,” he assures you fondly, his voice slightly lower than normal from his increasing state of relaxation. He makes a sweeping gesture over the table, where you’ve already prepared a collection of snacks alongside several different drinks for each of you. There are pillows on the floor ready for if either of you wants to get more comfortable, spare blankets folded over the back of the sofa and extra pairs of socks for if either of you find your toes getting chilly. 

You glance over everything once again, making sure nothing else comes to mind in preparation for your Christmas movie marathon. This has been yours and Taehyung’s tradition for the last several years since you first started dating, although the designated day for it has changed nearly every year. 

The first year, when you’d met in the summer between your first and second years at university, you decided to get together over the last weekend before you both went home for the winter holidays. You’d planned on going around some of the Christmas markets held in your university’s city, but a freak snowstorm had kept you both stuck inside. Taehyung had managed to get to your apartment, but he was so cold and soaked through with melting snow that you’d insisted you both stay inside until the snow passed, and a Christmas movie marathon had seemed like a perfectly good alternative to going out. Luckily, you had bought him some pyjamas to keep at yours, so you’d spent nearly the whole weekend cuddled up together in flannel and fleece.  

The following year, with nearly 18 months of a relationship under your belts, Taehyung had surprised you by setting up what could only be described as a mountain of blankets, quilts, pillows and cushions in his bedroom, even though his other roommates were already gone for Christmas. The two of you had decided to wait until after graduation the following summer before you moved in together, telling your parents you were going to move to wherever you could both get jobs. The truth was that you were both a little worried you wouldn’t study enough if you lived together, already insatiable whenever you saw each other: being around each other all the time meant that the two of you burrowing down in bed together all day was pretty much guaranteed. You’d very quickly found it difficult to differentiate between your love and your lust, such a strong desire to always be with him making it difficult to focus on anything else whenever you were together. 

By the time your third Christmas together rolled around, you had matching keys in your pockets and a whole lounge to yourselves. You’d bundled up together the weekend before Christmas, your plans meaning that you would be spending Christmas Eve with your parents before driving over to Taehyung’s on Christmas night. 

This year, however, you were unable to travel to either of your childhood homes. With the pandemic still ravaging the world and leaving despair in its wake, your family plans revolved around several video calls at different times on Christmas Day. 

With no one’s house to drive to this year, Taehyung had suggested the two of you had your at-home cinema night on Christmas Eve instead. Not only did he try to cheer you up by pointing out it would be your first Christmas alone as a couple, letting you start some new traditions of your own, it would also distract you from the fact that neither of you could be with your parents, your siblings or your grandparents. 

And so, here you were, running around the house to make sure you had everything you could possibly want to ensure you didn’t have to move from Taehyung’s arms unless absolutely necessary. It was your first Christmas Eve together, just the two of you, and you wanted to spend as much of it wrapped up in each other’s arms as possible. 

“Come here, baby,” Taehyung beckons you over, holding his arms wide as he stretches his legs out across the sofa, inviting you to come and lie on his chest like you always did. Unable to resist him and the inviting promise of his embrace, you shuffle across the room, rolling your eyes playfully at the triumphant grin on his face. As soon as you are in his reach, a large hand wraps around your wrist and gently tugs you closer, impatient to feel your body against his. Despite his eagerness, you still take care to gently climb over him and position yourself between his legs, your chest resting just below his own and your head tucked under his chin. 

You giggle into his neck, wrapping your arms around him and holding on tightly as he throws the blankets over both of you, jostling you slightly as he makes sure they cover your feet. When he is satisfied you’re both tucked in and comfortable, he leans back into the pillow propped up behind his head and sighs happily. 

“Finally, feels like a lifetime since I’ve held you,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to your crown, his arms easily wrapping around your torso and encasing you in his warmth. You laugh against him, nuzzling your nose against his pulse point and basking in the subtle teakwood cologne he knows you love. 

“It’s literally been a few hours-”

“A lifetime,” he repeats with emphasis, holding you as close to himself as he could, a chuckle vibrating in his chest when you continue to laugh happily against him. While your plans are to watch all of your favourite Christmas films back-to-back until you fall asleep, neither of you are rushing to end the quiet cuddle session you’d fallen into, each of you closing your eyes to revel in the moment of peace and calm. 

Eventually, though, you shift slightly to get more comfortable and the moment is broken, your eyes slowly opening to see Taehyung looking down at you. It still amazes you after all these years how deep and dark his eyes are, so easy as it was for you to get lost in their rich depths. With the candles and fairy lights twinkling in them, it’s like staring into your own little private pools of the starry night sky, but it’s the unadulterated love that you find there that is the final push in taking your breath away every time . 

“I love you,” he says, his deep timbre rumbling in his chest beneath you. 

“I love you, too,” you return, reaching up to press a chaste kiss to his mouth, pulling back before you could get lost in the softness of his lips. You could easily lose an evening that way. “Are you comfortable?” you ask, your hand snaking out from under the blankets to grab the remote.

“Incredibly,” he confirms, pulling you tighter again once the screen comes to life. 

You mostly watched the same films every year, revisiting the classics from your childhood and reliving the wonder of Christmas from your younger years, although a few new films had snuck onto the list over the years, pushing others off the roster of the big event. They were still watched throughout December, but only your favourites were saved for the movie marathon. 

It’s partway through The Nightmare Before Christmas, your third film of the night, and you’re quietly singing along to Jack and Sally’s declarations of being ‘simply meant to be’ (as you do every year), when you feel eyes on you. You glance up to see Taehyung watching you, not the film, with an unfamiliar look in his eyes that makes your voice die in your throat.

You hold his gaze for a few seconds, tilting your head with a little smile to ask him if he’s okay, but he simply continues to study you fondly, as if he’s seeing you for the first time. You’ve seen this look many times over the years, knowing that you’re just as guilty of getting caught up in Taehyung as he is in you. 

But something about this particular time feels different. Maybe it’s the way he doesn’t shake his head to pull himself out of his daydreams after a few seconds, or maybe it’s the way he gently lifts his hand to brush your hair from your face, letting his palm rest against your cheek afterwards. You can feel a rapid heartbeat against your ribcage but you’re not sure if it’s yours or Taehyung’s, or both. 

The intensity of Taehyung’s gaze took a little while for you to get used to when you’d first started dating over four years ago, but it had been a long time since it had made you as nervous as it did now. Assuming Taehyung was simply lost in his thoughts, you slowly lowered your head back down to his chest, but two fingers under your chin gently guided you back to look at him. 

He stares directly into your eyes, wets his lips and swallows.

“Marry me.”

The words take several seconds to sink in and register in your brain. You almost ask him to repeat himself, unsure you aren’t just daydreaming about this moment like you had started to do more frequently as of late, but the sincerity in his eyes is all the confirmation you need to know that you heard him loud and clear. 

The fingers under your chin gently traced along the slope of your jawline until his palm once again cupped your cheek. Taehyung waited patiently, his thumb gently caressing the apple of your cheek as he gave you the time to process.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” is all you can think to say, and Taehyung laughs.

“I know I’ve caught you off guard,” he says quietly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I’ll admit this isn’t how I was planning to do this, but I couldn’t wait any longer. Not even another day,” he chuckles, throwing a quick glance to the smaller-than-usual pile of presents under the tree. 

He looks back to you, taking in your wide, teary eyes and he almost melts into the sofa cushions with how much he loves you. He’s certain he’s thought about what he would say in this moment over a thousand times in the last few weeks, but in this moment, with you lying on his chest in the glow of candles and the Christmas tree, he’s forgotten every word he planned to say. He simply opens his heart and lets everything pour out.

“I’ve loved you unreservedly for the last four and a half years, and I’ve known I’ve wanted to marry you since our third date, when I felt sick and you not only said it was fine, but took me home, took care of me and tucked me in.” 

You smiled at the memory despite the tears beginning to pool in your eyes, the realisation that he’d wanted to marry you for so long filling your heart beyond capacity. It hadn’t been long after that night that you yourself had realised you wanted to spend a long time with Taehyung - your whole life, if he would let you - when he’d sent you a massive bouquet of your favourite flowers to say thank you for taking care of him. He’d been incredibly apologetic, offering to redo the date whenever you wanted, and you’d realised that you hadn’t minded looking after him at all. 

“I realised then just how wonderful you were, that you were not only willing to end a date early on my behalf without complaint, but you also selflessly gave up the rest of your evening to look after a guy you’d only known for two weeks.”

You didn’t know how to explain to him that you’d already known then that you loved him, that you were willing to give up any evening to make sure he was okay and happy, so you simply nodded with a watery smile. You brought your own hand up to cover his where it still rested against your cheek, the other still pressed into his chest where it had been all evening. 

“I was planning on doing this tomorrow,” he says, the smallest frown pulling at his brows as he looks away for a second, almost like he’s disappointed in himself for not being able to hold out for a few more hours. “The ring is under the tree, hidden in one of your other presents,” he says, looking back to you. “I can get it now, if you want-” you clutch his hand tightly and shake your head, not ready to be even a few feet apart from him, and he laughs. “-or I can still propose to you in the morning?” You nod fiercely, a strangled laugh escaping through the tears that now flow freely down your cheeks. Taehyung wipes your tears away with his thumb, allowing you to see that his own eyes are glassy. “Okay, tomorrow. I’ll give you the ring tomorrow,” he concedes, gaze soft. “I’m still proposing now, though. I want to spend my life with you, y/n. I can’t imagine waking up with anyone else, watching Christmas movies and building blanket forts with anyone else… starting a family with anyone else.”

He can’t help a chuckle or two slipping past his lips when your eyes widen comically, but he simply turns his hand around to take a hold of yours, lacing your fingers together. 

“We’ll get to that,” he says. “I just know that I want that with you, y/n. And the longer I’m with you, the more I know I want it. And the harder it gets to figure out when the right moment is, because every moment is the right moment to tell you how much I love you. So will you, y/n? Will you marry me?”

You feel his hand squeeze yours, his heart beating strongly against your chest, the film still playing on forgotten beside you. You look up at the man you’ve spent your last few years beside, and realise that you can’t remember a time when you didn’t consider him to be your future. Details changed with the seasons, unable to choose between a large rural getaway or a piece of suburban paradise, but there was one constant, and that was Kim Taehyung. 

“Yes,” you whispered, leaning up to press your lips together. “A million times, yes.”

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