Work Text:
Taehyun had always wondered how it was possible for people to fall asleep as soon as they closed their eyes. He just couldn't understand, didn't they have any thoughts to keep them up? Or maybe he had trouble falling asleep because his own eyes never closed completely?
He seemed restless even when he was sleeping, with his eyes half open. His roommate, on the other hand, was a member of the "I can fall asleep in less than ten seconds" club. He didn't necessarily need a comfortable surface to fall asleep on.
In fact, you could catch him napping on the library desks, on random benches in the campus' garden and even outside the dorm's door once, when he forgot the keys and was waiting for Taehyun to come back home.
Beomgyu turned his life upside down ever since he set foot in the dorm room at the beginning of that year. Taehyun had been sharing the room with his now-graduated-friend Soobin and lived peacefully alone for about a month. But hurricane Beomgyu arrived during a snowy January afternoon.
He still remembered how shy he seemed at first, all tucked into his scarf and beanie. Unfortunately, his shyness lasted for about five minutes, just until he asked Taehyun to take him on a campus tour.
The two boys started walking around and the newbie started talking, and talking, and talking again, explaining that he came from Daegu (which wasn't difficult to guess since his accent was pretty thick) and a thousand other things that were impossible to memorize at once.
Surprisingly enough, Taehyun didn't find his liveliness to be obnoxious. He was different from his previous roommate for sure, but maybe he needed someone who was more energetic. (Soobin was "the human sloth" in Taehyun's eyes, so it didn't actually take much to be less lazy than him)
What Taehyun didn't know was that even the most lively person on earth needed to rest sometimes. In Beomgyu's case, it was more than just sometimes. Less than a month after he arrived there, everyone knew who the Daegu boy was. Not because he fell asleep everywhere, but because he often ended up talking in his sleep.
It was pretty entertaining, especially for Taehyun, who shared a room with him. By the end of February, his phone's recordings were full of Beomgyu's babbling. Sometimes he would just scream a random name, or he would speak an alien language that made Taehyun wonder if he didn't actually need an exorcism. But the most entertaining parts were his heated debates and "philosophical" speeches.
Despite getting closer as the weeks went by, Taehyun still didn't want to tell him about the recordings. At first it was because he thought he would come off as a creep. Then, because he enjoyed the thought of a potential blackmail.
Of course it was a lighthearted inside joke for him, but you'll never know when your roommate's boyfriend will invade your dorm and you'll have to threaten your roommate with a video of him snoring and drooling. Which totally didn't happen. Maybe.
Luckily for Beomgyu, he was annoying in a way that didn't require any blackmailing, at least not yet. Taehyun actually started enjoying his personality more and more. Especially when he learned that there was something more behind that bubbly surface.
The Beomgyu he lived with was different from the Beomgyu other people saw. He was rather calm, spending most of his free time playing the guitar and reading books. Taehyun, on the other hand, was the embodiment of calm around strangers and usually became playful with the people he was comfortable with. He realized they weren't that different, they just "swapped roles" back and forth.
Beomgyu, who just searched for inner peace as soon as he set foot in the dorm, actually played along with Taehyun's newly-discovered playfulness. At first it was just a continuous exchange of jokes to break that thin layer of ice that was still standing between them.
Then it was them poking and pinching each other after cheating on games, anonymous prank calls to random phone numbers, daring the other to do the dumbest things (like taking shots of mouthwash), improvising concerts with Beomgyu's guitar and even writing a whole diss track for the school's principal.
And it always ended up with them laughing until their stomachs ached and Beomgyu's suggestions, which were either "wanna listen to some music?" or "wanna watch a movie?".
Their music taste was so much alike, they ended up sharing a playlist. Pretty gay of them, Beomgyu thought, but that's what made him enjoy it more. He couldn't deny the growing feeling inside his chest as the time went by.
Taehyun was breathtaking from every angle, it felt like looking at a masterpiece sculpted by Michelangelo himself. His confidence and bluntness were also extremely attractive, just like his flirty nature. And on top of that, he was also easygoing and probably the best listener he has ever met. There was nothing about Taehyun that would keep Beomgyu from having the biggest crush on him.
And there was nothing about Beomgyu that would keep Taehyun from doing the same. At least in theory. If the oldest was at peace with his feelings despite keeping them buried in the deepest layer of his heart, Taehyun was completely out of touch with his.
Beomgyu's beauty was delicate, from his fluffy hair to his dark eyes, framed by his long lashes to his soft features and slender figure. And he was really funny and laid back, which made his presence always enjoyable. But what fascinated Taehyun the most was his mind and soul. He was extremely thoughtful and sensitive, and always had a unique take on every topic.
He would spend hours listening to Beomgyu letting out his thoughts and fears, and always comforted him when he was getting too much into his own head. His vulnerability and insecurities weren't a flaw for Taehyun, they were just a part of his sensitivity. Still, the younger was completely in denial about what he felt, despite finding himself enjoying everything he got to know about Beomgyu so far.
It went on like that for some time, one continuously thinking about how much he would've loved to ask "wanna kiss?" instead of "wanna watch a movie?" and the other being too busy thinking about everything but his feelings. At least until realization hit Taehyun.
It was during a hot September evening, while watching "5cm per second" (in Beomgyu's opinion, one of the saddest anime movies ever made). They were sitting on the bottom bunk, which became Taehyun's after Soobin left, the laptop sitting on his lap and his back pressed against Beomgyu's chest. It was when Beomgyu's arms moved from their usual position, which was around Taehyun's waist, that he finally felt that wave of realization hitting him.
It wasn't a big deal for them to play with each other's hair, pinch the other's cheeks or just being affectionate in general. It happened with his friends all the time. But it was different in that moment.
For the first time, he was focusing on the way Beomgyu's fingers felt against his skin. His touch was silky and delicate, and it made Taehyun shiver. Why were his cheeks burning all of a sudden?
Everything around him felt like a song playing in the background the next days as he was too immersed into his own thoughts. He even tried to ignore Beomgyu as much as possible to not get too offtrack. The older was obviously confused by Taehyun's behavior but kept on acting like nothing was happening.
What if he confronted him about his weird attitude and he accidentally let something slip out of his mouth? He couldn't ruin their friendship like that, Beomgyu thought.
Maybe I should ruin our friendship, Taehyun thought a couple of weeks later, while watching Beomgyu playing the guitar. He was analyzing every little thing about him, from the way his hair fell on his eyes, covering them, to his concentrated expression and his fingers strumming the chords.
He had been observing every detail about the boy for the past days, and now he couldn't take his eyes off of him. Nothing much had changed in Beomgyu's eyes though. Taehyun was just being close and affectionate again after those inexplicable days.
He was too absorbed into admiring the younger's whole being, he didn't notice how his gaze had changed. But how was he supposed to notice if he was too busy daydreaming? And did anything about Taehyun really change?
The feelings had been sitting behind a door in his heart for some time, he just needed enough patience to find the key to open it.
Days were going by, and the two roommates were yearning for each other to the point everyone noticed. Everyone but them, of course.
They were so invested into their own feelings, they couldn't see what was standing right in front of them.
Of course they looked at each other, but "seeing" was a whole different thing.
Foolishly unaware, that's what they were. And foolishly in love too.
But while Beomgyu was struggling to shove his feelings deeper and deeper into his heart, Taehyun was trying to think of a way to confess. He didn't care if Beomgyu didn't like him back, he just had the urge to get everything off his chest. He just needed the perfect occasion.
The perfect occasion was late to come. But luckily time passes by quickly when you're busy studying, hanging out with friends and recording your crush sleep talking while trying not to wake him up with your laughter. He had been recording Beomgyu's sleep talking until one day, while he was scrolling through Twitter, he found what he thought it was "the best idea ever".
There was this tweet about a man who wrote what his girlfriend said in her sleep like a Rupi Kaur poem. So he started doing the same, writing down all of Beomgyu's nonsense on his notebook and even making drawings to match them. He could've slept instead, but writing those poems was far more entertaining than sleeping. Not that he slept a lot anyways.
Beomgyu was still clueless about everything and Taehyun was having so much fun, at least until he said something totally unexpected.
He was having his usual late night writing session when he heard the words "Taehyun, Taehyun, let me love you" coming from the person sleeping on the top bunk.
He didn't believe what he had just heard, but wrote it anyway. He even gave it a title, "what the fuck". It might have been an hallucination, or just a meaningless dream. But dreams always have meanings.
Maybe the long awaited occasion had finally arrived.
He decided he would tell him about the recordings and the little poems the next day, being sure he would laugh about that. Having that much blackmail material wasn't even important at that point, he just needed to confront him about that.
Even if Beomgyu said it was a meaningless dream, he would confess anyways. He had been waiting for too long.
The next afternoon the two boys were sitting in front of each other on Taehyun's bed, playing with cards. Suddenly, the younger started telling him about the recordings and the Rupi Kaur-inspired poems. Beomgyu just shrugged everything off with a laughter, he knew about his sleep talking habit and how entertaining it was for people around the campus.
Then Taehyun went on, taking his notebook and showing him his "works" until the very last page. He wanted explanations. Beomgyu stared at the page, fidgeting with his hoodie's strings. He was too embarrassed to look at Taehyun.
The question was still left unanswered. Was it just a meaningless babble, he asked again.
No answer yet. So Taehyun went on, saying he would let him love him. Because that's what he's been waiting for. Beomgyu finally looked at him in his eyes, a smile slowly appearing on his face.
He meant it. He wanted to give all of his love to the boy sitting in front of him. And he told him.
Taehyun smiled widely, putting the notebook down. Then he slowly moved his hand towards Beomgyu's, intertwining their fingers. They didn't break their eye contact even for a split second. He leaned in, getting closer to the other's face.
"I'll let you love me if you let me love you", the younger said. They were so close, they could feel the other's breath. "I will", he answered.
Their noses were now touching, rubbing against each other gently. Beomgyu tilted his head a bit, just enough to make their lips meet. It was sweet and slow, their lips slightly parting and their fingers still being intertwined.
The cards and the notebook were bending under their weight. Their hearts racing. That kiss made up for all those days spent waiting for something that was right in front of them, but that they were too blind to see.
It tasted like what you could imagine the word "finally" tastes like.