Summary: Taehyung is the designer who makes stunning wedding dresses - always for others, never for himself. One day he meets an intriguing customer.

-

Taehyung adores his job.

He absolutely does. Sometimes he has to pinch himself to make sure it's all real, being a fashion designer that works on suits and dresses for weddings in Manhattan. It didn't come overnight - he started with nothing but a dream, of making bespoke peices, each unique but with classic and subdued glamor. Slowly words travelled by mouth, and he builds a reputation amongst the young and privileged crowd.

Taehyung prefers to work at night, in his little studio upstairs inside an old heritage building. Watching the clamoring nightlife on the street, while listening to classical music and cutting fabrics for weddings after weddings. Always for someone else's best day of life, never his own. Such is life, maybe nobody can have it all, he muses.

And one day a young couple makes an appointment with him for custom made dress and suit, the money-is-no object kind. Victoria is young, beautiful and bubbly, used to a good life, excited about the wedding. Taehyung designs a vintage piece for her with choker neckline and lace and crystals, she is ecstatic, over the moon, hugging him over and over. The groom to be, Yoongi, however, is more somber. What would you prefer, Taehyung asks, trying to decipher his impassive eyes and getting nothing. Anything you think is suitable, he answers and flutter his hand slightly, thoughts far away. Taehyung nods.

They make a few more appointments. One day, Yoongi comes back for a fitting. Taehyung has designed a modern tux for him, but with grey twill and subtle herringbone pattern to fit for the fall wedding. He pins each section carefully as Yoongi stands in front of the mirror silently.

"You lost weight, the measurements are a bit off now," Taehyung comments quietly. Yoongi hums, making a gesture to comment but his hand drops wordlessly.

They work in silence for a while, Taehyung feeling content with how the piece is turning out, imagining how lovely it will look in the fall with colorful leaves surrounding him and the autumn sun casting it in a warm golden sheen. He pipes up finally, voice upbeat, "everything will look so amazing for the wedding, I'm happy for both of you. It will be a perfect day."

"Will it?" Yoongi retorts, the flatness in his tone catches Taehyung by surprise, but he lets it slide, people get nervous, marriage is not a trifle thing, he's seen it before.

The air feels stifled so Taehyung tried to lighten the mood, this time commenting on the fabric instead, "you chose a great fabric, one of my favorites. A little unusual for a tux but I love it."

He feels Yoongi's eyes lingering on him, assessing. His response is nonchalant, "would you have picked it for your own wedding?"

Tae glances at him, feeling a little awkward but inexplicably, he answers cautiously but honestly, "maybe, if I ever find the right person." He pauses, keeping his eyes on the fabric, before continuing, "sometimes I feel like I've poured too much romance into all the wedding pieces I've worked on, and there's so little of it left in my own life."

It's not like him to share something so personal to a customer, so Taehyung laughs it off and hopes Yoongi drops the subject. He moves down to the pant legs, and can still feel the gaze tracking his every move thoughtfully.

Finally he hears Yoong respond quietly, "romance is a nice word when you say it. You make amazing work of art, because you believe in it, you believe in the dream."

The words are casual and polite, but the tone irritates tae, grates on his ears. He frowns and keeps to himself but his hand slips and a pin stabs his finger. Taehyung gasps and draws back, but sees the drop of dark crimson on the fabric.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes, "it will be dry cleaned off right away, I promise."

Yoongi bends down to inspect the spot, and Taehyung catches a tiny spark of warmth in his eyes when he looks up. Yoongi responds, "it's ok. I hope you don't think this sounds weird, but in a way, you have put so much of yourself into this suit. Every stitch, every cut. It's really quite appreciated."

His voice is soft, and Taehyung realizes he really looks much younger when the coldness is gone, even if temporarily. Yoongi continues, "it's nice, to wear something so hopeful. So thoughtfully made."

---

Taehyung works on the other pieces for the wedding over the weeks. Victoria has given him full trust of the entire wardrobe, which is a dream for a designer. He cuts long gossamer fabric for the veil and sews crystals and lace details at the end, and dyes her satin shoes to match Yoongi's suit. Everything is so pretty and fairytale like, as Taehyung pours himself into it all, he can't help but feel wistful, curbing the thought that he will never find someone of his own, to even dare to dream of a wedding of his own.

Sometimes Taehyung feels like he doesn't belong in this world, but of some bygone era, something older and traditional, of hands clasping gently over walks in the park, and shy kisses with the same person for the rest of his life. Modern dating turns him off, the anxiety, the restlessness of it all, that need to find a trophy of a mate, the pursuit of a quick perfect fix for a lonely heart.
He's never been into it. He'd rather be alone, in his studio, creating other people's romance, than to be out there being someone else entirely. Maybe Yoongi is right, loneliness is ok, as long as you can still dream.

But he's unsure why Yoongi intrigues him, in his enigmatic ways. Prolly just another spoiled trust fund kid, rich kids blues, over nothing in particular. Tae tells himself, but deep down inside, he knows he's not convinced.

How can you be so gloomy, if you have found your perfect love? It seems almost a little ungrateful. Taehyung is baffled.

That mix of intrigue and disdain stays on his mind, until one night, after the crowds outside have died down, and the night hides all the glaring details of the day in shades of grey, Taehyung gets a text from Yoongi, asking if he could bring back some of the bridesmaid dresses in that moment since he'll be too busy to do so the next day. When he finally arrives, Taehyung tries to make small talk and offers him a drink, but Yoongi's brows are knitted, quieter than usual. He lingers, not showing any sign of leaving. So Taehyung relents, starts to work on the wedding dress and lets him be.

Yoongi sits in the shadow and listens, as Taehyung rambles on about the origin of each piece of fabric, the inspiration of every design detail, cheeks flushed and eyes starting to gleam. Taehyung realizes Yoongi has a sharp eye for things, and gives very concise responses, but always with a deep respect for his passion. The thoughts buried deep inside finally got to him, and he blurted out, "how did you and Victoria meet?"

The radio in the studio switches to some nostalgic Sinatra tunes in the background, but when Yoongi responds, between sips of scotch on the rocks, the tone is decidedly matter of factly - they've known each other since high school, first love. Everything fits, family, friends, two lives growing into one. Frankly everyone's surprised they didn't marry earlier.

"Yeah but how did you really meet? Was it love at first sight? Did you always know?" Taes voice is dreamlike, wistful.

"I think it was through friends. It was so long again, I honestly don't remember. Feels like we've been together forever. She's family." Yoongi responds.

Taehyung asks more questions, and the story slowly unfolds in front of his eyes. Yoongi's words are flat, almost clinical - Victoria is really a nice person, of different interests but shared memories of many years. And of course they fight, who doesn't, but every time they argue, Yoongi feels this responsibility towards her, to come back to her and take care of her. She's like family now. This is how it's suppose to be.

It all sounds fine, but something feels off to tae. Maybe it's the scotch, but Taehyung speaks his mind, "well, family and responsibility can still have sparks of romance, right?"

"You and that word," Yoongi scoffs, "not everyone's like that. Sometimes you owe it to the person to see it through, you've already invested your lives into each other, isn't that enough."

Taehyung knows this is when he's suppose to agree politely and end the subject, possibly the whole night. But something in Yoongi's eyes, that air of stubbornness, makes him continue. He starts to tell Yoongi about something entirely differently, of the history of the building they are in - how it use to be storage space for old movie costumes, then a department store that sold dazzling couture pieces in the 50's. He shows Yoongi sketches he does for fun, of architectural details of the building - tile patterns of the lobby, intricate flourishes of the ceiling moulding.

"You might be talking to someone that's obviously biased by his profession," Taehyung smiles self deprecatingly and speaks, "but romance is not all fireworks and dramatic moves, it just means seeing the magical in the mundane, in the everyday. And I think everyone deserves that, absolutely everyone."

Taehyung's impulsive words linger in the air, and he suddenly feels self conscious, and a little guilty for judging Yoongi. As usual, he makes a silly face and tries to laugh it off, "but then again, you are the one with the beautiful wedding, and I'm the pathetic loner with nothing but piles of fabrics. So it's quite possible that I've got this all wrong..."

Yoongi stares into his eyes, and for a while they are silent. Eventually he pipes up, words casual but carefully chosen, "no, I think you are fine the way you are. I hope you never change."

---

Yoongi starts to visit Taehyung more, always late at night, never for long, just over a few drinks. They talk about wedding details for a bit, then about nothing and everything. Strangely, Taehyung finds Yoongi's presence soothing, and the way he sees logic in everything at first glance is both a little annoying but also reliable in its reassuring way.

Gradually, it becomes obvious to Taehyung that Yoongi and Victoria have probably grown apart a long time ago, and Yoongi just doesn't know how to leave.

How to break apart a first love and to enter the unknown again, to find that spark in a stranger.

But these are not lessons that can be taught, heck, Taehyung is no better himself. So he keeps quiet, just lets Yoongi stick around the studio, both of them drawing some strange sense of comfort from the late night conversations.

And one night, Yoongi texts again, Taehyung thinks nothing of it and lets him up, only to see him distraught, reeking of alcohol and with frustration and pain in his eyes. Tae has to carry him to a couch and feed him water to calm him down. He's used to seeing Yoongi cold and distant, but never like this, in pain and cursing and deeply abrasive.

Yoongi is drunk, and angry and maybe something more. He asked Victoria again to wear his mother's ring for the wedding, but she refused, having never liked the ring. The argument grew bigger, dragging up all the disagreements they have of the future. Yoongi ended up leaving and binge drinks with friends. Taehyung watches as Yoongi's typical calm and collected exterior crumples, and all his insecurities and doubts about the marriage rush to the surface, no longer hidden under control. Yoongi becomes almost teary, talking about watching his parents go through divorce and being afraid of going through the same himself. Of how worn out he feels, but feeling trapped and not knowing what to do. And there's nothing Taehyung can say. It's not his place, not his relationship. So he listens, sitting on the floor next to the couch, holding onto the glass of water for Yoongi, he listens, and tries in his gentle ways to calm Yoongi down.

They talk for what feels like forever. Taehyung tries to cheer up Yoongi by talking about all the happy optimistic things he could think of. He talks about ditching a degree in commerce to go to fashion school (they both laugh about how Taehyung went to one business course for a week for his parents sake and ditched the effort right away), and how some of his earlier work failed miserably (like how he literally burned the studio down in the first year).

And when he runs out of things to say, when Yoongi asks him to continue because his voice is soothing ("your life is just as fucked up as mine, but please don't stop, just a little more, a little more until I fall asleep"), Taehyung finds himself leaning into the edge of the couch, eyes closed and mind drifting into sleep. He talks about this dream wedding, of wild flowers and twinkling lights in the trees, of songs he loves sung by friends, and of that one kiss, at the rustic little arch made out of branches and blooming flowers, the kiss that he will remember for the rest of his life. He's sure Yoongi has already fallen asleep by the end of it, as he allows himself to drift into slumber. When he wakes a few hours later, the first ray of dawn has already creeped through the window, and Yoongi is gone, saved for a note on his sewing table, two simple words, "thank you".

---

One day there's torrential rain in the city, and the roof of the old building is damaged and Taehyung's studio is flooded by rainwater. He has to rush through many of the orders and rebuild some of the pieces. When he feels in despair, yoon shows up out of nowhere, and ends up helping him in his clumsy ways ("Stop trying to cut fabrics, Yoon, you are literally butchering through all my inventory. Maybe you can help me iron out the pieces. Wait, you know how to iron, right?") all night until things are somewhat back in order.

Taehyung is all bleary eyed in the morning but so very grateful. He ends up hugging Yoongi, and Yoongi's hands hover around him awkwardly, before finally resting on his back gingerly. Tae smells the familiar scent of Yoongi's cologne and feels guilt wash over him. Not his relationship, not his place to be, no matter how wonderful Yoongi may be.

One day, Taehyung gets the call he's been half expecting all along. Victoria wants to cancel the whole order for the wedding. In her not so subtle way, she tells Taehyung that she will ensure his reputation is ruined in the city, before hanging up resolutely. She didn't even sound threatened, prolly just a blip in their relationship, some service person that doesn't deserve her attention. Taehyung's used to it, deep down inside, he knows he deserves it.

That afternoon, Yoongi visits the studio to clear out the bills. He looks uncertain, not his usual collected self, and as much as Taehyung misses the glimmer of warmth in his gaze, he realizes that they almost never see each other in daylight. At night, it's easy to be in denial and ignore the fine details of reality, and everything takes on a dreamlike quality. But with the afternoon sun streaming through the windows, Yoongi looks different, unsure of things, just as inexperienced in relationship as Taehyung. But he's a good person, and Taehyung desperately wants to preserve that, refuses to let some guilt ridden ambiguous thing ruin Yoongi's life. So when Yoongi looks at him pleadingly and asks, tell me what to do, Taehyung responds weakly, "responsibilities and family, those are important."

That turns out to be the last time they see each other. Victoria is true to her words, Taehyung's business dwindles and he closes down his little studio in Manhattan and moves to Brooklyn. The orders for expensive custom outfits are far and in between, and Taehyung ends up doing a lot of alteration work instead, fixing other people's work, in the faded rental space that feels as worn out as he does. Some nights, Taehyung can't be sure if he is still his old self, as tears soak up his pillow. He is still hopeful of the future, although it becomes harder with each passing day.

Against his best judgement, one day he googles up Yoongi and Victoria's wedding. To his surprise, nothing comes up, no record of the wedding. Taehyung doesn't know what to make of it, and forces himself to forget.

---

Half a year later, as dusk shrouds the world in sombreness and he locks the studio up, Taehyung feels a set of eyes gazing up onto him.

It was a little boy, no more than ten, with a stem of wildflower in his hand.

"Are you lost, sweetie?" He bends down to talk to him, and sees the boy shaking his head sweetly and hands him the little stem of flower. There's a note attached to it, simple and matter of factly: take the Q line to central park.

Taehyung asks the boy more questions, but it's clear he has no clue. He considers tossing the note away, it must be a practical joke. The act is almost cruel, reminding him of what he use to like, the romantic and the unexpected. But now, he just feels tired and skeptical.

What good would it do.

But the boy smiles sweetly and says he promised he'd delivered the message properly, so Taehyung sighs and goes to the train station. As the train whooshes through the tunnels, he feels his heart hammering against his chest, afraid to hope, afraid to believe something wonderful will finally happen at the end of the journey.

When he gets to the other station, there's another kid waiting for him, with another stem of flower. The note says to walk into the park. And on and on, one messenger after another, until he's deep into the park, with nothing but a bouquet of mixed flowers in his hand. He sees the twinkling lights in the trees, so many lights, and in a small clearing, under a simple arch made of aspen branches, a figure stands facing him.

The night has fallen, and Taehyung's lips tremble as he walks towards the figure, into the unknown. He realizes, that when love finally happens, it's nothing like in the black n white movies he loves to watch. It's not fluffy and cotton candy like, but full of fear and trepidation, of heartaches and doubts. It's not white like the gowns he loves making, but in shades of grey and navy, like the night that puts the two of them in a dreamlike trance, away from the grimness of the real world.

He traces the outline of Yoongi's profile, familiar and blurred by the darkness. Yoongi is walking towards him, and his voice is deep and slow, each word chosen carefully.

"Sorry it took me so long. I'm sorry for everything. I just wanted to let you know, that you deserve a perfect beginning, something magical."

Taehyung's eyes sting and he blinks away the mist, "it's ok, I was naive, it's not your fault."

He feels Yoongi's arms around him, it feels different this time, no longer hesitant, but full of warmth and makes his heart tremble. Yoongi's breath faintly hits his skin, as he continues to speak, "you're fine, please don't change. Please, I need you to show me, all the wonderful things you talked about, all the romance that only you can see so clearly. Tae, I never believed in romance, I thought it was just all wishful thinking, something that's not for me. But with you, only with you, I can feel it, I can see the magic."

Taehyung sighs and averts his eyes, afraid to look at Yoongi, afraid of what he'll see. He lowers his head and retracts into himself, unsure of what to do. But Yoongi keeps talking, his words earnest, picking up pace, impossible to ignore.

"I know I'm a cynic, just work and home, boring and with nothing to offer you. And I suck at cutting fabric, can't handle alcohol, and took half a year just to build up the courage to talk to you again. I'm pretty much the worst. But life just doesn't look the same anymore, ever since I talked to you. If what you show me is a dream, then I'd rather let go of life and stay in the dream forever. So please, please tell me what to do, so we can start fresh again."

Taehyung is silent, and he pauses and sighs again. Yoongi begins to glance at him nervously, when Taehyung finally speaks, "well, in the books, in this kind of moment-" he gestures all around them shyly, eyes gazing into the twinkling lights in the trees, "-it usually starts with a kiss..."

When Yoongi dips in and their lips brush, it's soft and chaste, all so very simple. Yet Taehyung feels something stir in his heart. As he closes his eyes, he smells the hints of grass and the forest in the air, and wills himself to capture the serenity of the moment on his mind.

Winter is finally over, and all around them, whispers the magic and romance of the spring.

FIN