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Jean loved Mondays. It was his day off so he could spend it with his husband, whether that meant going out for lunch or staying inside sat on the sofa, he was happy. This Monday was one of the latter. He woke around ten in the morning, unsurprised that Armin was still fast asleep, sprawled across the bed in a tangle of sheets, hair and limbs. Jean couldn’t help but smile at the dried drool on the side of his mouth and at his lack of underwear. The small kiss Jean placed on his temple made him stir, but he only shifted slightly before settling into sleep again.
Jean left the bedroom went downstairs to get a coffee, turned on the xbox and stayed there for three hours playing Skyrim (again). He was raiding a bandit camp when he heard the thundering footsteps of someone running down the stairs faster than is deemed safe. Jean was about to call out to warn Armin when the man in question popped into the door frame, hands either side of the entrance. “Jean! I’ve had a brilliant idea!”
Just like that he was gone again, rushing off to his study no doubt. Jean paused the game just in time for Armin to run into the TV room and sitting on the couch with a jump. Jean set down the controller on the coffee table and turned to the man sat cross legged next to him, now turning on his laptop. “What’s your brilliant idea Arm?” Jean loved listening to Armin talk about his stories. Armin was a successful writer, writing articles for title newspapers and short stories for adults and children, an impressive feat for someone aged twenty-eight.
“Okay it came to me last night- well when I was dreaming - well more like when I woke up-”
“Armin!”
Armin blushed pink and began typing furiously away on his laptop. Sometimes when he lost focus Jean would have to snap him back to reality. “So last night I had a lucid dream and it gave me this idea, right.”
“What’s a lucid dream?” Jean interrupted.
Armin huffed a small sigh. “It’s basically a dream where you’re aware that you’re dreaming and you can control what happens so-”
“So I could just make myself turn into a dragon.” Jean asks with a grin, imagining him flying across snowy plains, giant beautiful wings beating hard as he glides above the mountains.
“Yes. So I woke up from my lucid dream and-”
“What did you dream about?”
Armins cheeks and ears turned red as he avoided eye contact with Jean. “That is irrelevant to the story ask me later. Stop interrupting! Anyway, they’re really realistic so I thought, what if you could be in a lucid dream with someone else and make them think it’s reality. So for example,” Armin halted typing in favor of using his hands to talk. Something that he’s always done. “We could both be in a lucid dream together and I could unlock memories or knowledge held in your subconscious, but you wouldn’t know cause we’d be at Walmart!”
Jean could tell it was a good idea but his brain was numb from video games and he was never too interested in philosophy. “You lost me.”
Armin goes back to typing, the soft glow of the laptop making his face seem slightly blue. It drowns out his eyes. “In our subconscious, basically the part of our brain we don’t actively use, we store all kinds of shit. Repressed memories, secrets, forgotten facts, the fridge et cetera. So when we dream, all the things we see come from our subconscious. So I’m thinking like a modern universe, spy thriller where the technology exists so that we can link our subconsciouses and dream lucidly together. But, only the CIA or MI6 have this kind of technology and it’s used to find confidential information about a war or terrorists or something.” Armin turns his head back down to the screen and starts to type again. “I haven’t got that far.”
The concept sounds somewhat familiar to Jean, but he can’t quite place it. “Wouldn’t you need the person you want secrets from to be dreaming with you though. I doubt spies could get their consent for that.”
Armin ponders this for a moment. “Maybe I should make it a heist then. Con men using the technology to steal money from banks and casinos. I think that may be better received.”
Then it all clicks in Jeans mind. The blurred line between dream and reality. Mutual dreaming. Changing your surroundings. “Inception.”
Armin eyes flicked up but he kept typing. “What was that?”
“Inception.” Jean huffed out a laugh. “You just described Inception.”
“Leonardo Di Caprio was trying to plant information. Not extract it.” Armin looked visibly annoyed. His typing got heavier as his anger increased. “And he wasn’t trying to steal money from the second biggest casino in Vegas.” His speech was short and clipped and Jean knew it was time to real back.
“Yeah you’re right totally different. Sorry babe.” Jean reached for his controller again. “So what did you dream about last night?” Jean hit play, going back to fighting bandits while talking. He didn’t notice Armin had stopped typing. He did notice when he didn’t get an answer.
His eyes flicked over. “Armin?”
“I had the most vivid sex dream in my entire life!” Armin squeaked. Closing his laptop shut with a click and burying his face in his hands. “I came in my sleep and then I also had to get myself off when I woke up. It was incredibly intense and I just thought, what if I could share that experience with you or something!” Though he couldn’t see Armins face, Jean could tell through the muffled confession that Armin was very embarrassed.
He paused the game, saved and put the controller back on the coffee table. In the most seductive voice he could manage he proposed, “Maybe you can.”
Armin unburied his face from his hands calmly. Put the laptop to one side and stood up. He walked out of the room, towards the stairs and his clear voice resonated through the house. “You coming?” He called.
“I will be.” Jean gave a cocky grin, running after Armin to the bedroom.
Jean loved Mondays.