Any one of the members had lost track of the sheer amount of times that TXT found their oldest member, and their middle member, arguing over the years they'd spent with one another.

Sometimes the leader came up to break up their arguments, alternating between intimidating and placating. Sometimes he just gave up, letting the two of them argue with one another, over what seemed almost trivial, pulling his boyfriend away before anything stupid took place.

This wasn't one of those days, however. Seeing as Soobin had gone out with the maknae line to get something, leaving his pouting boyfriend and Beomgyu behind.

So of course, as they always did, they argued about ice cream again.

And they'd been doing it for hours.

"Vanilla is the best ice cream flavour-"

"No it's not, mint chocolate is the BEST!"

Beomgyu rolled his eyes at his hyung, for what seemed to be the fifteenth time today. "No way! It tastes like toothpaste! Ice cream is a dessert, who the heck would want to be reminded of brushing their teeth while eating something that's meant to be a treat?" He proclaimed.

"T-that's not true!" Yeonjun sputtered, countering with a " And Vanilla barely tastes of anything, anyway!"

Incoming dramatic gasp: "How can you say that?" Beomgyu gaped, clutching his chest as if the words burned his heart. "Vanilla used to be exquisite, I'll have you know- it was a valuable spice!"

"Yeah, yeah," Yeonjun rolled his eyes. "But it's so common now-"

"So is mint ice cream!"

"But it has more flavour!" Yeonjun shot back- "You get the best flavours of both worlds- mint and chocolate chip!"

"Vanilla tastes just as good too-"

"No it doesn't! And anyway, it's scientifically proven that- " but before Yeonjun could finish his sentence, something hard whacked his forehead, cutting him off. Thwack.

What the-

Oh fuck- that was not...exactly what he'd meant to do. He'd wanted him to pause for a moment because they'd been going back and forth for hours, and he was not giving in, but uhm...

That wasn't really the best way to get his hyung to shut up.

(Not that he'd admit it, anyways.)

"What did you-" Yeonjun started again, rubbing his forehead. Beomgyu felt his pulse shoot up, internally praying that Yeonjun would be merciful. Though he did just whack his head. Somehow, the anxiety meant his own head hurt a little less.

"I wanted you to shut up, okay? It was the only thing I could think of to cut you off-" Beomgyu shot back, almost immediately, before he was rudely cut off by his hyung again.

"You can't just go around hitting people's foreheads to shut them up, Beomgyu! It doesn't- it doesn't make sense!" Yeonjun yelled, still in partial disbelief over what just happened. Who....knocks people in the head to shut them up? (Beomgyu, apparently) " What if you give someone a concussion? It doesn't always work like that-" Someone please tell me he didn't do this to someone else...

"Does too!" Beomgyu stuck out his tongue, "It worked on Taehyun!"

But the moment the words left his lips, something else hit him- "but I did do that on the lips..." oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.

Yeonjun blinked for a good minute, trying to register what he'd just heard. Beomgyu..."You....WHAT?"

"I....may or may not have kissed Taehyun," Beomgyu whispered, in the softest voice Yeonjun had ever heard from him. He looked down, starting to play with the cuffs of his fluffy sweater. It was one of his favourites, one with bears covered over it. "And he might have kissed back, and now I don't know what to do,"

Yeonjun continued staring at Beomgyu like he was an alien for a good two minutes, before he burst out again, this time with glee in his voice.

"You finally corrupted Taehyun!"

This time, Beomgyu was the one blinking. Out of all the reactions he'd expected, this wasn't one of them. He thought his hyung might be confused, even a little angry, but knew he'd come around eventually.

What he did not expect was the look of absolute joy on his face, his fox eyes blindingly bright, almost mischievous. Or the shit-eating grin he flashed, as if he'd known all along. Maybe he had known all along. That's when the realisation hit.

"You're so mean, hyung." Beomgyu pouted, sticking his tongue out. He looked like a puppy who got scolded. But the question still plagued him. "But...was I that obvious?"

At that, Yeonjun simply raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint. "What do you think, Beomgyu-ssi?"

Beomgyu felt his stomach do a flip. Mentally, he tried to count every moment he'd stared at the younger boy for slightly too long, or when he smiled just looking at him. Every touch, every flutter, sent his heart into a spiral, the warmth of his hand travelling down to his stomach every time they touched. He lost track of counting.

Maybe, just maybe, it was obvious.

And what was wrong with that?

"Maybe it was obvious," he answered himself, not quite sure if he was talking to Yeonjun anymore, the ice cream forgotten. "But there isn't anything wrong with that, is there?"

But as the words left his mouth, Beomgyu felt them tip into uncertainty. Half of him wondered what that meant for the group. What it meant for their dynamic, now, and what would happen if it ever got out. He could imagine the possible comments flashing through his mind, rage by the haters intermingled with support by fans, but truly- what would it mean for them?

The world was as harsh a place as it was wonderful, and if they were out, or if anyone suspected- that something was real, Beomgyu wasn't sure what he imagined the outcome would be.

But the most irrational thought that flashed at the front of his mind, were the members- half of his mind knew that the members would most likely accept them, and even support them, but he couldn't really push down the irrational fear of "what-if" in his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

Maybe that's why he'd hesitated for so many years, so long, until even the very first concrete move he'd made was by accident.

This time, Yeonjun simply smiled, his voice soft. "There's nothing wrong with that, Beomgyu. Anyone of us can tell how much you adore him, and even if we don't all love him the same way you do, we do love him, and we love you. We'd love you either way, Beomgyu. No matter what."

Hearing that, Beomgyu felt the rims of his eyes moistening. "Fuck," he whispered, before finally letting out a sob. " I hate crying. Thank you, hyung. I really needed that."

Wordlessly, he shifted closer to his hyung, before going in for a hug. Warm arms wrapped protectively around him, in a way that Beomgyu knew meant that he would be safe.

Now all that was left was to figure out what to do.

They stood in comfortable silence for a while, broken only by the soft pats given to Beomgyu. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

"You okay?"

Beomgyu paused for a moment, letting the cold air rush into him again, stabilising him. "Yeah," he breathed out, "I think so."

"Good, that's good." But Yeonjun continued patting his back softly, hoping it'd bring him at least some semblance of comfort. "Do you wanna talk more about it?"

"I'm not sure, hyung," he answered truthfully. "Can we keep this as it is for now?"

"Sure, Gyu." Yeonjun smiled, wiping his tears away with his thumb. Beomgyu smiled at the nickname. He wasn't sure when the last time he'd heard it was, but it always made him feel like a kid again, always chasing after either one of his dongsaengs, or following one of his hyungs. "Whatever you want. Just know that we'll always be here to support you, mm?"

"I know, hyung." Quietly, Yeonjun began rubbing circles into his back, only stopping when Beomgyu drew away, taking in another deep breath to compose himself. I'm okay, it'll be okay. And with that, he felt like he could finally breathe again.

"Thank you," he breathed out, "and please, under no circumstances, ever tell Hueningkai- I don't care if you tell Soobin-hyung, though, as long as he keeps his mouth shut for a few days."

Hearing that, Yeonjun was momentarily stunned for a while. Before he let out a soft chuckle, a small smile crossing his face, looking at his dongsaeng get his energy back again. "Noted, Gyu. And I promise."

Hearing that, Beomgyu simply nodded, letting his shoulders fall back again.

Everything would be okay.

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A/N: 1450 words! okay, so this AU had been in my brain for the last few days! In most likelihood, I don't think most people will read this, but I really enjoyed writing it- it was supposed to be more lighthearted and fun, but somehow it turned into this- if you're here, I hope you've enjoyed reading this! I'm supposed to be sleeping right now, lol- but somehow ended up writing instead-
Not sure if I'll write a part 2 to this...

Either ways, author signing off! I hope you guys will enjoy your day! ❤️