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This time he’s back at their high school, some details are not that accurate but he knows more or less where he is. Taehyun might not have had that many opportunities to actually attend classes but it still felt familiar, a comfortable setting to be in. He’s at the back of his classroom where he used to sit with his classmates to chat and pass time, and sometimes just to share a meal in silence with his friends. It’s nice, especially when he’s with Beomgyu, who’s animatedly talking about a game he started playing recently. Taehyun doesn’t understand much, given he has no idea about most of the terms the other is using to describe a particular gameplay. Maybe it’s gibberish, it’s a dream after all.
“Is that how you see me?” An awfully familiar voice interrupts him and Beomgyu.
“Shit, what are you doing here?” Taehyun startles, turning to see another Beomgyu coming their way. This Beomgyu though, he’s the real one. Or at least, less of an unconsciously made up Beomgyu. Dream weaver Beomgyu? Real Beomgyu? This is confusing even to him. Dream Beomgyu looks at him oddly, asking him who he’s talking to.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Beomgyu sits by his other side, successfully trapping Taehyun in between the two of them. An odd situation to be in, especially because dream Beomgyu doesn’t seem to be able to see real Beomgyu.
“Hey, this is my dream, you don’t get to complain about what you see” Taehyun tries to defend himself, although he’s not sure why. It’s not like this is the first time he’s dreamt of the other without him actually being there. At this, dream Beomgyu gets annoyed, pulling at his shirt to get his attention, “Hey, it’s not funny, why are you acting like someone else is here? If I’m boring you, just tell me”.
“Ah, it’s not that” Taehyun apologizes to the figment of his imagination, feeling inexplicably endeared at his pouty expression.
“Hm, I guess you’re right…” Real Beomgyu comments after a beat, making him feel overwhelmed at being involved in two different conversations that take place at the same time without all the participants being aware of it. “Hey! why are you taller than me?” Real Beomgyu asks him, looking for all intent and purposes as offended as Yeonjun does when someone takes the last bite without asking him first.
“You’ve always been tiny, what do you mean?” He whispers when dream Beomgyu gets back into his story about how he beat an entire team or something. Taehyun can’t keep up with two Beomgyu’s.
“Is this like a secret desire of yours or something? do you want me to be smaller?” Real Beomgyu asks him, and Taehyun tries not to laugh, just in case Dream Beomgyu is saying something serious.
He shakes his head no, not wanting to make a sound.
The silence he gets in return is more than enough of an answer, so he casually turns his head the other way to mutter, “I just want to be taller, I guess. Don’t judge me”.
It seems he picked a bad time to reply, because dream Beomgyu whines again and starts complaining about being ignored. Taehyun laughs, trying his best to make the other calm down.
“Don’t laugh!” Both Beomgyu reply at the same time, making Taehyun laugh harder. He almost loses balance on his chair because of it, the timing was just too good. Maybe it should’ve been scary, but for Taehyun it wasn’t. It seems like he knows Beomgyu a lot better than he thought he did, being able to predict his reactions like this.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… you’re too cute” Taehyun says when he stops laughing, looking at each of them at a time with a smile on his face.
“Oh… that’s, uhm, of course I’m cute” Real Beomgyu replies, obviously embarrassed by the younger’s words.
“Why do you sound so uncertain then?” He asks him softly.
“Shut up, you’re not normally this forward” Real Beomgyu starts playing with the hem of his shirt, as he usually does when he wants to tranquilize himself.
“I think I actually am, you’re just bad at receiving compliments” Taehyun considers this carefully, trying to remember a time where the older didn’t get flustered when he complimented him. The usual response is a happy Beomgyu, shy but happy anyways.
“Only if it’s you, don’t get it twisted” Real Beomgyu deflates against his side, resting his head on Taehyun’s shoulder, as if admitting defeat.
“And why’s that?” Taehyun whispers into his hair, enjoying the warmth. His dream was nice enough before real Beomgyu walked in; now it’s better.
There’s something different about the way it feels when the other is present on them. More real, maybe. There are certain things that make it much more vivid and fun, like lucid dreaming but with a few adjustments.
Beomgyu doesn’t dignify him with an answer, so he decides to tease him a little more, “I’m your boyfriend, shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”
“No, never. You make me…” He quiets down, “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Let’s talk about you dreaming about me” He mumbles against him, not raising his head after he found a comfortable position to rest in, but it makes Taehyun’s neck hurt.
“Two Beomgyu’s, this must be hell” He lies, not wanting to give him the pleasure of knowing how much he’s enjoying this dream now that he’s actually here.
“Heaven, you mean! The disrespect I get from you” Beomgyu playfully replies, taking a deep breath in after.
“You must be getting old, you’re starting to sound like Yeonjun-hyung” Taehyun adjusts himself so he can wrap an arm around the older, pulling him closer. It’s not smooth and Beomgyu has to lift his head for a moment so he doesn’t hit him on the chin, but they find a better arrangement for the two of them after that.
“I’m going to bite you” The other threatens him when they finally find the perfect angle, but Taehyun knows he doesn’t mean it.
“You know that’s an empty threat, I can get you on the ground in five seconds top” It’s funny to even think about. Even if it’s just a dream, Taehyun is filled with a sudden urge to follow through and manhandle Beomgyu until he caves in.
“… Whatever” Beomgyu snorts, burying his nose against his neck, raising goosebumps on his skin.
It feels so real. Too real, even. He wonders not for the first time if Beomgyu leads a second life like this. It would certainly explain how he can get so tired some days, but the older never indulges him when he asks about his power and to what extent it drains him. Still, not every dream is a pleasant dream, so some of them have to take a toll on him. If that’s the case, he knows Beomgyu wouldn’t tell him, just because he hates worrying other people. That’s how he knows for certain that Beomgyu must be spending a lot of his energy taking care of the group behind closed doors, literally.
Dream Beomgyu interrupts his thoughts when he’s starting to worry too much, “Hey, are you listening to me?!” the other asks him with a pout.
“Am I that annoying to you?” Real Beomgyu complains by his side, annoyed at himself for asking so much attention even as a dream version of himself in Taehyun’s mind.
“Yes” No, I find it endearing. He replies to both of them, and then turns to Dream Beomgyu only, “Sorry, I was distracted. Could you repeat that, hyungie?”.
His voice must have come out much softer than intended, because Real Beomgyu observes the interaction with much interest, “You really love me, don’t you?”
Taehyun blushes despite himself. The awareness of this being a dream doesn’t help the warmth on his cheeks feeling very much real. Beomgyu really goes beyond everyone’s expectations in how he takes care of his members, is what Taehyun realizes right then. He knew, but it didn’t really settle in until now. If this is how real it feels to Taehyun, just how real does it feel for the older? How many nights have he spent making sure their dreams are peaceful and running smoothly? Just keeping them company until the following day comes along or even interfering? Taehyun promises he’s not going to make fun of how much the older sleeps when he wakes up. Hopefully he will remember this dream, but he’s got a feeling that he forgets most of them.