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“Doesn’t Taehyungie seem distant lately?” Hoseok muses quietly, the rap line sitting on the couch in the living room and watching Taehyung float through the kitchen with a serious expression, headphones in, moving his mouth silently and making precise eye contact with the air.
Namjoon nods, “I asked him and he said he’s just been working on music and it’s occupying his mind,” he pauses when Taehyung makes a small gesture that seems almost like he’s pulling the food in his hand out of reach from someone who isn’t there, “I don’t know how much I believe him though.”
“I haven’t seen him without headphones on in days.”
Yoongi listens to their conversation silently, nodding absentmindedly along, but his eyes are trained on Taehyung who’s now retreating back into his room, a glassy look in his eyes, like he’s somewhere else in his head, “He’s in his room all the time lately…”
“So are you usually,” Hoseok points out, poking his arm playfully. Yoongi furrows his brows.
“I know, that’s what’s worrying me.”
Namjoon glances at Hoseok who just shrugs, “What do you mean?”
“I’m worried his reason might be similar to mine,” Yoongi looks back at his two friends, “I’m sure it’s nothing, I’ll talk to him later.”
Later ends up being near two in the morning when Yoongi realizes Taehyung never came out for dinner, shut up in his room for hours, and when Yoongi peaks out Taehyung’s light is still on. He knocks and lets himself in when there’s no answer. Taehyung’s sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at the ground intently, completely silent. Yoongi crouches in front of him and notices the tears falling down his cheeks, “Tae…?”
“Seven hours,” Taehyung croaks, wiping his face, “I can’t remember what I was doing before I started, all I remember is the music and the images. My brain feels so empty now.”
“Before you started what, Taehyungie?”
“Daydreaming,” Taehyung looks up slowly, nearing Yoongi’s concerned eyes, his voice timid and shameful.
“Ah, Taehyungie,” Yoongi kneels down and pets Taehyung’s hair out of his face, “Don’t look so embarrassed.”
“But it’s childish! Everyone’s always told me that I’m in my head too much, and I spent seven hours today pacing and talking to myself! It is embarrassing!”
“It’s not childish,” Yoongi coos, wiping tears off Taehyung’s face, “It’s called maladaptive daydreaming and it’s perfectly normal, plenty of full grown adults do it. It's a normal emotional response when you feel upset.”
“Maladaptive daydreaming?” Taehyung puzzles, and Yoongi nods.
“It’s kind of like dissociation. You remember what that means, right?” Taehyung nods so Yoongi continues, “The difference is, instead of that feeling of being completely disconnected, you just connect to somewhere else that feels better, that makes you happier.”
Taehyung mulls over this before nodding, “That makes sense,” he mutters, leaning his face into Yoongi’s warm hand.
“Has something been bothering you lately?”
“Just stressed, I guess. I wasn’t lying when I said I was working on a song, I just haven’t been able to work very hard on it because of the mall- malad- mili-“
“Maladaptive daydreams.”
“Yeah, that. Everything has just been piling up.”
Yoongi traces the dark circles under the younger one's eyes, “Have you been struggling to sleep?”
“Not exactly. I sleep fine when I’m back in my room and realize how late it is.”
Yoongi smiles fondly at the sheepish look on Taehyung’s face as he stands, “Come on, it’s late already, time for bed.”
Taehyung lets himself be helped up, “Will you stay?”
“I wouldn’t dream of anything else,” Yoongi leads Taehyung to his bed, and lays him down. Taehyung grabs his hyung by the waist and pulls him down into his arms, and Yoongi lets Taehyung cuddle into him. With Yoongi’s arms against Taehyung’s chest and Taehyung’s arms around the former's waist, Taehyung sighs contently, “What do you dream about?”
Taehyung falters, taking a deep breath, “Lots of things. Sometimes I prince,” he smiles softly, “Sometimes it’s just us, the seven of us, but we live on my grandma's little strawberry farm, and we aren’t idols, and we’re happy, and Jiminie and Jungkookie don’t have to date in private.”
“Taehyungie…”
“It’s not that I don’t like what I have! I love ARMY, I love doing this with all of you, I love performing, but sometimes it’s a lot to deal with and it’s easier to back away,” Yoongi hums softly in understanding, “This morning that’s what I was dreaming about, but it was late at night, like right now, and you were holding me just like this,” Taehyung yawns, eyes drooping, “and you told me you loved me.”
Yoongi’s cheeks dust pink in the dark room, “What did you say?”
Taehyung smiles against Yoongi’s hair, chuckling when Yoongi hides his face in the crook of Taehyung’s neck, he kisses the top of Yoongi’s head lightly, “I love you too.”
Yoongi flushed darker, but before he can ask if Taehyung loves him, the way Yoongi loves him, or if he loves him the way Jungkook loves Namjoon, Taehyung is fast asleep.
Yoongi sighs, snuggling closer, “I love you.”