Jaehwan scooted closer to him. “Hey, are you okay?” Taekwoon only nodded, a usual response for him. He could hear the voices of the men getting quieter and quieter.. slowly fading away. He only focused on making them go away completely and pushing them out of his head and out of his thoughts, for the moment at least.

The younger man did not believe him in the slightest, and frowned at the fact that Taekwoon wasn’t being honest with him. “Jung Taekwoon,” he started, taking him by the shoulders and directing the other man’s attention to himself. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that you are really okay. That nothing is wrong.” Taekwoon met Jaehwan’s worried gaze with his own. “I’m…” He tried to do as he’d been instructed, he tried to assure him that he was okay, but the words just wouldn’t come out. His gaze fell down to his lap, as he quietly spoke. “I can’t tell you that..”

“I didn’t think you could.” Jaehwan confessed. “I mean, it isn’t very hard to tell that something is wrong. You had a nightmare last night for one thing, and that is never a good sign. Then, several hours later, I wake up and you’re awake before me. Not only that, but you’re just sitting there, lost in thought.. I mean, did you even sleep at all?” One thing that was certain was that Jaehwan could read Taekwoon’s emotions better than anyone he had ever met. He read into the little details, so that even if he was wearing a pokerface that fooled everyone else into thinking he was emotionless, Jaehwan would know whatever it was that he was really feeling.

The only downside to this is that on the occasion that something was amiss in Taekwoon’s emotions, he wouldn’t fool his lover into believing he was really alright. He didn’t want Jaehwan to know about his negative emotions, because he knew that he would only worry him, and that Jaehwan would stop at nothing to find out what was wrong.

“Yes, I did sleep.” He shuddered slightly, remembering the white-washed place of his recent memory.

Jaehwan noticed this, and frowned once again. He suspected that he had had another one of his nightmares. He never wanted to see Taekwoon in distress, especially over something that wasn’t real. Well, of course he knew how real they felt to Taekwoon, that was about the only thing that he ever had told him about them. He never got specific, never really went into detail about them. He mentioned small things, or said that it involved Jaehwan not being there, but he knew that they have to be much worse than only that.

Taekwoon, still confused by what he’d seen and heard, still didn’t know which was actually reality, but he decided very clearly that if he had to choose one of them, it would be here. He was definitely freaked out and worried about the other scene in his mind, but he didn’t want to focus on that. Right now, he wanted to be happy. He wanted his spirits lifted, and he knew just the right person. Who else but Jaehwan? The one who can make him smile by doing the dumbest things to entertain him. But Jaehwan was not focusing on making jokes. He was deeply concerned for his lover, and he was determined to get Taekwoon to talk to him.

“I want you to tell me about the dreams you have, Taekwoon.” Jaehwan’s expression displayed a mixture of seriousness, worry, concern, and a little bit of sadness, as well. “You always avoid the subject. You think that the best way to handle it is to keep it to yourself, because you don’t want to be a burden. I know it’s what has been upsetting you lately. And.. And I don’t think that it’s going to get better if you keep bottling it all up.”

Now it was Taekwoon’s turn to frown. “I don’t talk about them because I don’t want to remember them, Jaehwan.. When I’m not having nightmares, I want to be happy, and I want to not think about them.” He sighed. “Of course I want them to stop.. I want that more than anything. But.. I just don’t think that talking about them will do that..”

Jaehwan looked at him seriously. “You never know that until you try it. I mean, we have got to start somewhere, right? But, maybe, if you don’t want to talk to me, we can see about getting you in to see a psychiatr-”

An image of the man in the white coat flashed through Taekwoon’s mind, striking a moment of fear into him. “No!” Jaehwan raised a brow at him questioningly. “S-Sorry.. Please, no psychiatrists. I just want you to cheer me up. Please.”

The younger man sighed slightly. “Okay. This time, I will. But, if your nightmares continue, or they get worse.. Then we are going to have to do something about it, no exceptions! No ifs, ands, or buts! I want to respect your wishes, but I can’t if it will just hurt you even more in the end. I won’t let that happen. Because I care about you too much. I love you too much.”

Taekwoon blushed slightly. He had been with Jaehwan for a long time, but often there were times when just the simplest phrases or actions from him either caught him off guard, or just flat out embarrassed him. He wasn’t sure which one this was, but he liked the feeling of it. Feelings are a sign that right here, and right now, is real, which he liked even more.

 

The older man smiled. Already, the negative thoughts were out of his mind and were replaced with the pure and delicate joy that one could only feel when they were with the person that they loved and cared for the most. Getting up from the bed, he held out a hand to help Jaehwan up. “Let’s make breakfast.”

Jaehwan smiled back at him, and accepted his hand, also getting up. He wouldn’t forget about the issue that they were just discussing, but, for now, the very least he could do is spend time with Taekwoon.

After both men were up, Taekwoon hesitated a second before rather awkwardly pulling the other into a tight embrace. Caught off guard, Jaehwan blinked for a few moments before he realized what was going on. In turn, he wrapped his arms around Taekwoon tightly, returning the embrace tenfold. Meanwhile, Taekwoon took in every detail about the moment. From the warmth of Jaehwan’s body, to the sweet scent of him. From the way Jaehwan felt in his arms, to the way that he hugged back with such a tight grip that he was surprised that he could still breath. He wanted to remember this moment forever, no matter what.

Taekwoon was so wrapped up in the moment that he didn’t even notice when Jaehwan’s stomach rumbled, even though it did so rather loudly. “Ah, I know I’m cute, but I’m also very hungry.~ Can we eat, now?” The older man pulled back slightly and nodded. “We should do something fun today. Go somewhere maybe.” He commented casually as he turned toward the bedroom door, kitchen bound.

Jaehwan smiled, as he usually had to be the one to suggest they go out and do something together. Excited, he followed Taekwoon out of the room. “Yeah! We could go to the mall! Or maybe we could go to the movies. Ooh, ooh! We could even have a picnic at the pa-” He was cut off by a small chuckle emitted from Taekwoon’s lips.

“What’s so funny?” Jaehwan pouted. “Here I am, trying to suggest ideas and you’re there, laughing at me! How rude.” He put on a fake hurt face.

Taekwoon shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Nothing. You’re just being cute. Like always.” He smirked slightly as the younger boy’s face turned a light pink color, a blush ornamenting his cheeks. “We’ll go to the park for a picnic at lunch time.. If you want to, that is?” He raised his eyebrows slightly to his partner, who nodded happily in response.

Soon enough, lunch time came. Taekwoon had quickly prepared the picnic lunch and placed it into a basket while Jaehwan was showering. Normally, if he were preparing food, he wouldn’t mind Jaehwan lingering around in the kitchen, as long as he didn’t get in his way. This time, though, he wanted to surprise him with his favorite kind of sandwich, and even an extra treat for them to share.

Taekwoon quickly covered the contents of the basket with a blanket when he heard the running of the water stop. Taking a quick glance at his appearance, he nodded to himself in approval in his choice of casual clothing, which consisted of black skinny jeans and a white long sleeved shirt that fit loosely on his body. He took a deep breath, a bit nervous. He always got nervous when he went on dates, no matter how much time had passed since the couple had started dating.

Jaehwan soon stepped out of the bathroom, only his lower half clothed, which made Taekwoon admire the sight. He didn’t think he could ever grow tired of his boyfriend’s abs. Though they weren’t the best, they were perfect to him. Jaehwan noticed Taekwoon was staring, and headed to their shared room, blushing. He had dropped his shirt on his way to the shower and hadn’t realized it until he’d gotten out. Placing it on his body, he gave his hair a bit of a touch up before deeming himself ready to leave.

They had decided to walk to the park, partly because it was a nice day out, but mainly because the park wasn’t that far away anyway. Taekwoon held the picnic basket in one hand and his lover’s hand in the other. He smiled to himself as they approached their destination.

“Where do you want to set up?” Jaehwan asked Taekwoon, tilting his head a bit.

Taekwoon shrugged. “Anywhere, really. It’s up to you.”

Jaehwan decided on a spot that was away from other people, where there were some a few trees nearby, but the sky was still in plain view. Taekwoon went to work, laying out the blanket and setting down the basket. Jaehwan snooped in the basket, already hungry, to which Taekwoon lightly slapped his hand away. The younger man pouted slightly.

“You can wait.” Taekwoon replied quietly, but sternly. He didn’t want Jaehwan to spoil the surprise he’d made for him. He could deal with him seeing the sandwiches because the main thing he was concerned about, was the small chocolate cake he had prepared for his boyfriend, since it was his favorite.

Both the day and the picnic went on without a hitch. After they’d eaten their lunch, Taekwoon revealed the treat to Jaehwan, to which he responded happily by almost immediately digging in. They were meant to split it half and half, but Jaehwan ended up eating closer to three-fourths of it, if not more. Taekwoon didn’t mind much, though. As long as they were happy.

As cliche as it sounds, the two then decided to lay back and look at the clouds. Well, more like Jaehwan looking at the clouds and finding endless tales in their shapes while Taekwoon tried to keep up with him and his stories. When he did manage to keep up with them, he laughed, his boyfriend being able to find humor in literally everything he saw.

They spent the day happily, just how Taekwoon had needed to spend it.

By the time it came for them to go to bed, Taekwoon’s nightmares and worries were all out of his mind. For the moment, at least.