[TAENYFic] Grow old with me?

27>Together

Author POV
It was the sun that lured her away from the sweet lull of slumber. Slowly, Tiffany blinked her eyes open and squinted at the harsh light, bringing a hand up to block the imposing brightness. A few moments passed before reality returned to the forefront of her mind like oil drifting along the surface of water.
Two days. It had been two days since she sacrificed her whole life, betrayed her fans, doom all her friends' future, left everyone, to go with Taeyeon. She kept waiting for that reality to sink in and overwhelm her with guilt. It was like walking on eggshells waiting for the realization that she'd left everything for one girl to hit her. She was so terrified that the shame and guilt would aim its gun at her and shatter everything she'd worked for.
But two days had passed and she still felt like she'd made the right decision. Maybe it was post-traumatic stress or something, but every time her brain drifted to the thought of everyone left behind in Seoul...her brain just replied, but Taeng is okay now. Everything is okay.
In fact, Tiffany felt perfectly content with where she was at the moment, despite the kink in her neck that would surely make itself known later. Admittedly, it was a bit of an odd sleeping position. Her head was resting on Taeyeon's lap and they had fallen asleep in the blonde girl's truck because they didn't have a place to stay but they'd been exhausted from driving all day.
Tiffany shifted slightly so she could look up at the other girl. The scene was strangely picture-esque, Taeyeon's hair cast against her cheek, the sun hitting and reflecting off her eyelashes, how peaceful and immortal she looked as she slept, the slightly silly way her head was resting against the seat belt that was still clicked in. Tiffany felt a surge of adoration and something else she couldn't quite name rise in her chest.
It felt right. Fuck Saesang fans, or fate, or whatever the fuck that wanted to come between the two of them. They'd proven enough times by now that they could handle it. She was probably going to Hell, if such a place existed. She was still haunted by all the harassment, by everything they did to her best friend, the choices she'd made and the things she'd seen...but the girl above her seemed to make it all worth it, despite how selfish and terrible that fact was.
Almost as though she sensed Tiffany's gaze on her, Taeyeon opened her eyes and blinked when she saw the other girl staring at her. A lazy little smile spread on her face that made Tiffany's stomach flutter. "Hey, you."
"Hey," the brunette replied sitting up. Sure enough, her neck cried in protest, stiff from the odd position. She stretched her arms and legs as much as she could in the confinements of the passenger seat before asking, "How'd you sleep?"
"As well as one can expect in the drivers' seat of a truck."
"We should try to find a hotel soon so we can sleep in an actual bed."
"Hell yeah, except we don't exactly have a shit-ton of funds. Between gas and food these past few days, I'm not sure how we're gonna make it to your parent's house."
Tiffany was quiet for a long time after that, feeling herself slip into a trance as Taeyeon went on about something. Eventually the other girl started snapping her fingers in Tiffany's face. "Hello? Earth to Flower Pig? Feel free to respond whenever."
When Tiffany snapped out of it and looked at her though, something about her expression must have brought Taeng down to the ground immediately. "Fany-ah?" she asked quietly, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
Tiffany looked her directly in the eyes and just asked, in a somewhat broken tone, "Is this okay? Is it okay that I don't even feel bad?"
Taeng couldn't respond. She didn't know how to.
So the brunette kept going on. "It's just, I couldn't watch you lose yourself again. I couldn't stand it. I've watched you do that so many times now..." Tiffany tried to hold back her tears, tried to hold back the surge of emotions. She really did. But her voice started cracking and she felt as though the dam that was her brain had cracked and everything was flooding through now. "A-and then...that was the second time you've asked me to sing for you. I just—I couldn't fucking do it. I know you would do something terrible and I wanted—no I needed—you in my life and I don't feel bad about it. You left and I had to too. I just..."
"Hey," Taeyeon responded softly, pulling Tiffany over and tucking the girl into her side. Taeyeon's right hand idly rubbed Tiffany's arm as her tears began to fall. Maybe it wasn't the best thing to say, but Taeyeon had never been good at comforting people and it was all the petite blonde's mind could offer. "We'll go back and ask those girls for forgiveness. I'm sure...I'm sure that they would."
"B-b-but I know more than enough people are ruin because of me! And the worst part is the fact that I can't even find it in myself to care!" Tiffany brought her gaze up to Taeyeon's face. "I only care about you."
That line made the blonde's heart both shatter and warm up at the same time. The expression on her best friend's face was so broken and helpless that it made Taeyeon wish she had superpowers of her own. Ones that could allow her to take the person in front of her away to some alternate reality created just for them and only them. A place where they could escape everything and just be happy without a care in the world. Where they could just lounge around in bed all morning and afternoon long and not worry about shit.
But she couldn't do that. All she could do was hold the girl as close as she could and pray to whatever greater power existed—because at this point she was pretty sure that things would be okay. She whispered little blurbs that she hoped were comforting into her friend's ear as she wept. It was a while before Tiffany's shaking form stilled and her tears began to slow.
Eventually the girl looked up at Taeyeon, unsure of what to say.
"Feeling better now?"
"Not...not really. Everything is fucked. But I'm glad you're here."
"Me too." And it was when Taeyeon grinned at her in that sweet and beautiful and amazing and genuine way that she realized how all the little puzzle pieces her brain had presented to her clicked together. It made so much sense in that moment that she found it difficult to breath, like her lungs had suddenly decided that they'd forgotten how to work. It was so glaringly obvious.
Because in that moment, Hwang Miyoung realized how terribly head-over-heels she was for Kim Bipolar. She realized that she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice a million towns and cities if it meant that the blonde idiot would be by her side. And having that sudden reality—one that was very much true—at the forefront of her mind was both a blessing and a curse. A weight off her shoulders while also one too heavy to bare.
So it wasn't exactly surprising in retrospect that the words just tumbled from her mouth because the weight of that knowledge was like an anvil that demanded to sink to the ocean floor. "Taetae, I—" she hesitated for only one second because her breath hitched, before the words were out in the air, floating in front of her face. "I'm ridiculously in love with you."
If it were even possible, Taeyeon's grin grew even wider in response before she looked down. When she looked back up, her expression had softened significantly, but she couldn't seem to completely erase the smile that she figured was permanently stained on her lips now. "G-god. I don't think I'll ever be able to express how grateful I am to you. A thousand words couldn't even begin to—" she topped mid-sentence and laughed. "Geeze, look at this shit. I'm getting all sappy."
Tiffany did a sort of half-giggle before pulling back some to properly look Taeyeon in the eyes. "I love you," she repeated. "So, so, so much. I never want to see you like that again. Never. I don't know if I can handle it."
This time her expression really did smash Taeyeon's heart to little pieces, and every fiber in her being commanded her to remove that look from her face. So she slipped her hand around the back of Tiffany's neck and tugged her forward until their faces were mere inches apart.
"I'm really not good enough for you. I don't know why you put up with my shit."
"Stop that," Tiffany replied softly, closing her eyes with a sigh as she rested her forehead against Taeyeon's. "You're my everything now. We've come this far and I'm not going to give you up."
"Thank you. For everything. For sticking with me till the end."
Tiffany was the one who brought their lips together because she couldn't resist the feelings crawling around in her gut anymore. The kiss was fleeting; it was a delicate little thing that slowly transformed into something deeper. Something that ran so deep it likely touched the very core of both their souls.
Taeyeon tried her best to convey all the emotions that were rumbling in her chest with that kiss. She poured everything into it. All the words she couldn't even attempt to express out loud were infused into it as their lips molded together as though the universe had created them for each other. Somewhere in the back of her head, not even consciously because she was so focused on Tiffany, she thought about how fucked up that was. Of course the universe would design them so that they were meant to be together, only to try its best to make sure they were apart.
They parted for breath after a few moments. "I love you too, Hwang Miyoung," Taeyeon whispered against her lips. "More than you'll ever know."
"I know," Tiffany said as she exhaled and stuffed her face in the other girl's neck. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other close as the sun crept higher and higher in the sky before them. It was nice just basking in the presence of one another. The feeling was inexplicably peaceful and nice, something that was much appreciated after the week they'd just had.
"We'll get through this. Together."