Tastebuds (And Photos of You)

- six

Children had always gravitated to Seokmin. He had no idea why, but he definitely wasn't opposed to it. This affinity children had with him was actually the reason he had decided to become a teacher. Seokmin wanted children to carry their joy into adulthood, along with a passion for learning. He believed that was his purpose in the world.

Soonyoung felt relatively the same. The only difference between the two was this: Soonyoung wanted to preserve that joy in time, freeze it, and keep those children young forever. "That's why I take photos," Soonyoung explained as they walked to the park. "Because every child deserves to live in their youth for as long as they can."

Soonyoung inspired Seokmin in a way that he had never been inspired before. He wanted to change the world, and treasure the environment, and make his life the best he could with Soonyoung.

Seokmin froze.

The air swirled around him, the clouds still hung in the sky, Soonyoung stood by his side, and Seokmin felt too much.

He felt Soonyoung's hand laying gently on his shoulder, and he felt his words enter his ears, but they sounded fuzzy.

He felt his tongue swelling in his throat, and felt the spices crawling up his windpipe, but there was nothing he could do.

I want a future with Soonyoung.

He felt his breathing become rapid in his panic, and he felt Soonyoung's hand travel carefully to the back of his neck. Felt it rake through the short hair there, and his own hand being gathered in Soonyoung's free one.

He saw Soonyoung's eyes, and they looked the same as his mother's when she knew all the words he couldn't say, and she understood.

Soonyoung understood.

Seokmin's breathing calmed, and the spice coating his tongue turned to something sweeter. He couldn't put a finger on what the taste was.

It was honey tea on a cold morning, and the warm biscuits his mother made on New Year's Eve, and the butter cookies his father brought home from work when he was younger, and the comfort he felt whenever those flavors consumed his tastebuds.

Soonyoung was his comfort, and the signs had all been there. Seokmin just wasn't looking in the right places for them.

Soonyoung intertwined their fingers, pulled Seokmin closer to him, and rested their foreheads together. Soonyoung tapped Seokmin on the cheek, and looked into his eyes. Soonyoung's eyes looked like the entire night sky, pierced with stars of pure safety. A few breaths passed before Soonyoung spoke:

"I want a future with you, too, Seokmin."

Seokmin's tongue nearly burst into flames.

He took a deep breath because, he said that out loud, oh god, and because Soonyoung basically just confessed to him.

The spice creeped back into Seokmin's throat, and he looked up into Soonyoung's eyes. He hadn't even noticed that Soonyoung had separated their hands and brought his camera close to his chest.

"I'm your soulmate, Seokmin."

Soonyoung's face bloomed into the most gorgeous smile Seokmin had ever seen, and he knew that Soonyoung was the most radiant person he'd ever laid eyes on.

Seokmin sucked in a breath, and he couldn't help himself when he mirrored Soonyoung's expression.

Click.