The cork of the champagne bottle popped out of the bottle with a resounding noise. Seungyoun ducked with a squeal when instead of hitting Wooyoung as planned, the cork came right back at him. Wooyoung laughed about the spooked look on his features.

As the adult he was, Yongguk took the bottle from Seungyoun and poured their drinks. Seungyoun's and Wooyoung's childish bickering drowned out after a few moments.

Once everyone had received their glasses and was ready to toast, Yongguk rose his drink first.

"Here's to the successful wrap-up of Wooyoung's duties. Congrats on a job well done."

Wooyoung toasted with a clink of their glasses, delighted over the praise he got. Seungyoun gave a celebratory hoot before they all sipped from their drinks. Tingling in his throat, the fancy drink passed Wooyoung's mouth. Yongguk had brought the bottle, so it was a good one.

Seungyoun smacked his lips at the taste and giggled when Wooyoung glared at him in disgust. To distract him, Wooyoung got the honours of cutting the chocolate cake they had got him at the bakery around the corner. With a struggle, he divided the pieces off and put them on the plates the three of them had prepared.

"So, how do you feel? Hold a little speech," Seungyoun suggested. At the roll of Wooyoung's eyes, his smile broadened.

"Nothing much to say. I'm glad it's over, but I had fun doing it." With a shrug, Wooyoung tried his cake. The chocolatey delight melted on his tongue.

"You met San, though," Seungyoun pointed out.

"Yeah, that was the best part of it."

Yongguk sat by their side in quiet content as he ate his cake slowly. He hadn't sent Wooyoung's reports off to the people in the pharmaceutical industry yet that eagerly awaited their reply to mix potions. When he had asked Wooyoung about his confidence in his conclusion in the privacy of his office earlier, Wooyoung had confessed his hesitation. Maybe Yongguk would keep the report for now and hand it back if Wooyoung came up with something else. They were researching something huge, after all. No need to rush.

"I can't wait to meet him. I heard so much about the dude; he feels like that one coworker who never comes to group outings," Seungyoun giggled. He ate his cake twice as fast as Yongguk and reached for a second piece while their boss still cumbersomely worked through the first half of his.

"I'm ready. I will give him the card I wrote tomorrow and then he is free to drop by whenever he can. I told him to keep his distance before so him lingering here for twenty years to get in wouldn't look suspicious on his not-ageing face." Proud, Wooyoung grinned to himself. All preparations were finished now. He just needed to know whether San might need more time after the wars. If he wanted to meet in ten years after a long holiday in Asia, then Wooyoung would wait for him just how San had waited for Wooyoung.

It was the least he could do for his lover.

"No breaks?" Yongguk asked, as expected. The gaze he gave Wooyoung over the rim of his glass was that of a worried parent.

"I miss him too much for breaks. I will tell him to come two weeks after the time I return, though. So I really get to set my flat up for him. Unless he wants his space, of course. I would be heartbroken if he seeks distance depending on how he made it through the wars... I only have limited time, after all." Wooyoung frowned at his plate.

Seungyoun's hand patted his shoulder brotherly.

"Don't worry. You two are so close to each other now. I'm sure he is so into you he wouldn't miss out on the chance to meet you as regular boyfriends. There are more than a hundred years in between, too. He can rest in that time."

The positive validation eased Wooyoung's heart. He was nervous to meet San as his boring old self in his big hoodies and the unspectacular black hair that covered his face.

He believed in San; he knew he did. He only feared that the San from back then might change throughout the wars and the limited time in between that brought so much cultural difference and that he would lose interest in Wooyoung after having lived in the same era for a while.

They had waited this long to make sure Wooyoung prioritised work, and San would stay by his side. He shouldn't falter now.

"Yeah, I will mention it to him. I hope he stayed far away from all fighting circumstances." Sighing, Wooyoung stared at the Christmas tree in the corner of their meeting room. The small fir had been loaded with lights, decorations and tinsel until its branches groaned under the weight. Seungyoun had made sure it was a bomb of Christmas spirit in their otherwise humble surrounding so that none of the three men had an excuse to skip on the festivities.

Wooyoung loved Christmas and its pretty lights and warm atmosphere. Ever since he was a child, it was his favourite celebration to look forward to. Now that they forced Yongguk to celebrate with them, however, he imagined it would be even more fun if San were around already.

With his head in the clouds about San, romantic Christmas dates, and sex at the fireplace, Wooyoung listened with one ear to Seungyoun talking Yongguk's ear off about gingerbread and its healing properties. (The man lived off basically nothing else as soon as they hit the stores.)

Later that day, it snowed outside. Thick and promising for a beautiful winter, the snow tumbled from the sky in front of their window. Cosy inside the building, the men watched it fall.

They called their celebratory meeting a day when it got dark outside and they had finished the cake. Yongguk wanted to wander right off to hog his office, but Seungyoun and Wooyoung grabbed him by one arm each and dragged him outside. On the crossway, they parted ways and Yongguk wandered off into the distance with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black woollen coat. He grumbled about missing work but looked at the falling snow like a child in wonder.

Seungyoun and Wooyoung went in the other direction and walked along the river on their way home.

Wooyoung was hung up in his thoughts about San, about his yearning and his excitement, and the worry about how he would find the man tomorrow. If San was distraught and needed Wooyoung to stay with him for a week, he would comply in a heartbeat. They could hide somewhere, maybe go back to Italy and be among themselves for a while. As long as San was ready to let Wooyoung go and spend the last few years between them patiently waiting, Wooyoung was glad as well. Two weeks sounded long now but they would pass in a flash and soon, the day San would turn up in front of their door would surprise Wooyoung.

"What are your long-term plans with San? Once he's here, you can't keep him around forever. In ten, twenty years, people will start asking questions about why he doesn't age. Assuming he doesn't come out as immortal, of course." Seungyoun's breath was a white cloud in the snow-ridden air. He looked up to marvel at the shining fairy lights surrounding the church tower and illuminating the skies.

"I don't know yet. I want him to meet my parents. Maybe he will stay with them in Salerno for a while when we can't continue to live here. His regular relocations would give me a good reason to switch regions and professions as well, so it doesn't get boring. We wanted to return to Florence, too. There are many places we could be at."

Seungyoun nodded thoughtfully. The soft mixture of snow and water squished under their shoes as they passed some stores that were open late and showcased their ware in their brightly lit windows. Some toys waved at Wooyoung from the corner of his eye as they walked past.

When the chilly breeze bit at Wooyoung's ears, he ducked his head into the collar of his jacket. Time to wear a beanie.

"That's a good idea. He will keep you on your toes, that's what you need for an exciting life. Who knows if I will ever get so far. My work on my honours will take me years still." Seungyoun sighed.

The honours in their line of work was a rare application that only the most successful employees got through. It was a long process of judicial and medical processes, but the end product was simple. Seungyoun would get to travel back in time, without a travel remote, without a means to come back and spend his life in a time that he felt comfortable in. The process would allow him to leave their modern society for an older, maybe even antique one to fend for himself there.

It wasn't easy to get, but Seungyoun had his eyes dead set on it. The options their modern world offered were just not attractive enough for him.

Wooyoung had considered it for a while, too. After studying the past, he wouldn't see a problem living in Babylon or Italy, maybe until the end of his days. But he didn't want to take the chance from Seungyoun, since their government hated to let intelligent scientists in this rare field go. Now that San was in the picture, Wooyoung's yearning for the past might just find an end, as well. With San around, he had something to look forward to in the present and the future every day.

In the tranquillity of the park where only a few people passed and they couldn't hear the noise from the main street, their sombre mood had Wooyoung chuckle.

"I'm sure you will get there. Yongguk will do everything to get your application through. Then you find that delight, as well."

Yongguk himself had failed at earning his honours. The frequency with which people in their line of work wanted to escape to a time before the peaceful trot of the present was scarily high. In Yongguk's case, he had even picked this career path because he wanted to take off to the past and live in medieval Japan.

Seungyoun grinned down at Wooyoung as they reached the block where their ways would part.

"When will you be at the institute tomorrow?" Seungyoun asked as he tightened his scarf around his neck. Wooyoung hummed.

"At eight I think. Want to make time pass quicker."

Seungyoun snorted, but the malice wasn't real.

"Making me get up early to get you your clothes, huh? I hate you sometimes, but that's what love does to people. See you at eight."

Wooyoung smiled at him warmly before he turned to leave.

"Get home safely!" He called after Seungyoun as the man took off. Seungyoun waved over his shoulder without looking back.

"You too, good night!"

With a smile on his face, Wooyoung trotted off to his own home. After five minutes more in the snowy alleys, he stepped through the door to his home and shook off the snow clinging to his coat. His cheeks gradually warmed back up as he stripped out of his jacket and his boots. On days like these, he wondered if he should invest in a fireplace, but his flat was only rented.

With the heater doing its best to warm him up, Wooyoung made himself some food and got ready for the evening. Yongguk had texted him again and told Wooyoung he wouldn't be in over the holidays since his family dragged him out of the office successfully. If he needed anything, Wooyoung was welcome to text.

Wooyoung wrote back that he would be fine. Yongguk deserved a few days off, even if only for the three Christmas days. Now that Wooyoung had no more reports to hand in, both of them could enjoy their off days.

Before he went to bed, Wooyoung regarded the card he had made for San once more. He had written it on white cardboard with thick black letters decorated with golden swirls in the edges. He had laminated it was well, in case San ever carried it around in the rain. With it on his body, he would find their institute no trouble.

Wooyoung had checked as well, and the building was already a public place in 1950. It got handed to the time travel division around 2050, but San could memorise the path before if he wanted to.

With his heart throbbing in his chest from joy and hopes that San would be elated to see him as soon as possible, Wooyoung fell asleep to get as much rest as possible before he would meet his lover in the depressing remainders of post-war Germany.