Chapter Text
Jeno sighs as he finishes cleaning the floral boutique.
Sales were slow that day, Jeno already gritting his teeth at the looming rent a few days away. It's been weeks with no profit due to the winter months and his bank account has slowly been dwindling down. If it carries on like this, he has no choice but to close his shop down and nothing else would break his heart.
"We'll think of something yeah?"
The florist talks to the flower that had been a tight bud only days ago and now beginning to open, blooming to deeper blush of pink. The winter should still be in force but steadily, spring pushes it back to moderate temperatures and the kind of gentle breeze one doesn't notice. Jeno stretch his fingers out to touch the silky pink petals, they're cooler than he'd expected, smoother too. Even thinking of giving up such beauty has him gripping unto the counter to ground himself.
The familiar sound of tingling bells stop his pity party.
"I'm sorry but the shop has clo-"
It's almost cliche how Jeno gulps his words down at the sight of the boy's eyes. They are brown but not the kind of shade that's easy to describe. It's almost like they are both brown and caramel at the same time, with yellow creeping in around the edges as if it's trying to take over. He blinks and the beauty is momentarily covered by the shield of his eyelashes; naturally long and soft looking - feminine compared to the rest of his well structured features. By the time the boy's eyes opened again, Jeno still hasn't recovered.
The stranger looks as equally as dumbstruck at something, eyes narrowing as if he's trying to figure something out.
Jeno clears his throat, "Can I help you?"
"Yeah." The boy advances, studying Jeno closely before sighing in frustration. "I just thought I smelled something in here."
It's almost comical how bright Jeno's face turns at the mention of scent, "It's probably my flowers. They lure a lot of people because of their smell!" He skips towards the boy's side, pointing to the corner which is particularly perfumed by the heavy scent of the lilies. Their white petals striking against the backdrop of stone walls, "Maybe these are the ones you smelled?"
When Jeno turns around, he nearly yelps with surprise. The boy is so close to him, eyes furrowed close. "No, definitely not the lilies. Something sweeter. Spicier." He growls in frustration and Jeno has to turn away to hide his blush at the sound.
"I don't think we sell those scents in here. Maybe a mistake?"
The other nods but he doesn't look entirely convinced. "What do I smell like?"
Jeno sputters out a response, "Pardon?"
"Me." He crowds Jeno's space as he unbuttons his shirt. Jeno would've surely fainted if it wasn't for the white tank underneath, "What do I smell like?"
And then Jeno smells it. It's subtle, but it's there. It smells like damp earth but yet clean. Like wet leaves. Like, "-after rain."
The other stills for a moment before hurriedly buttoning his shirt and scrambling away, "How?"
Jeno barely formulates an answer and then he was gone. The sound of running feet the only sign of his previous presence.
Sighing in confusion, Jeno decides to continue closing up, trying to forget the weird incident. By the time he's done, the shop is clean and organised, ready for another day tomorrow. There's no longer sunlight outside, the night having already fallen. He bites the inside of his cheek, hearing the wind howl as he leaves the shop after locking up.
Jeno curses as he frigidly fights against the harsh winter wind. Tomorrow the promise of spring will blossom as flowers do, yet today the wind blows cold. He feels the wetness in his feet as the remnants of snow seep into his shoes while walking. He hates himself for not wearing more layers, thinking he could toughen the day out with only a shirt and jacket. It's one of those days when normal clothes aren't enough, when they feel thinner than they are. His breaths rise in puffs before him, arms hugging himself.
He almost rejoices when he sees his apartment complex at the end of the street. He looks around the street, checking for any vehicles before sprinting towards his home. Bad idea.
"What the fuck are you doing!"
The sound of skidding wheels snatch his attention. He starts talking before he processes what happened.
"I'm so sorry!" He turns towards the bike, the rider looking less than happy as he studies Jeno for injuries from afar.
There's some fumbling and a sharp inhale. Only then did Jeno notice there is another figure behind the driver. His face is hidden behind a helmet but he still hears the panicked voice.
"Mark let's go." The voice hisses and Jeno struggles to connect it to a face he's seen before.
"Watch where you're going next time. You could've been hit." Mark nods his head at Jeno one last time before slipping his helmet on and driving away.
Jeno turns to apologise once more only to catch the unmistakeable scent of fresh rain.
Jeno can't help but compare the night with his own state of mind. Just like pitter patter of rain outside, his insides are in a chaos. A mess. Something is bothering him. Something aches inside him. Something feels so wrong, so invalid but Jeno can't tell what. He tries to pin point the cause for this unexplained... emptiness but fails. Everything feels so out of place, just like a jumbled set of a puzzle.
He clicks on his phone to check the time.
2:24 am.
He has to wake up in 4 hours to prepare for the flower shop but there's not an ounce of slumber in his system. So he gets up instead, slides the reading glasses from his bedside and puts his shoes on from under his bed. It isn't the first time insomnia disturbs his sleep, but certainly never before has he felt this thrumming under his veins so deep into dawn.
He tiptoes as he greets the night outside. The rain has stopped and he smells the scent of fresh rain, a scent he's recently been obsessing over. Usually it would be the smell of his flowers that he'd seek. But not that night. He breathes it all in.
The streets always look different at night. Even with the glasses, everything has an unfamiliar slant to it. As if the daytime trees and flowers and stones had gone to bed and sent slightly more ominous versions of themselves to take their places.
Jeno can't tell which version of his street he prefers.
And then there it is.
The sweet, fresh, powerfully evocative smell of fresh rain.
It doesn't make sense how he can isolate the smell from the identical ones around him, but he does.
His feet unconsciously drag him towards where the scent is strongest, and he doesn't even realise it's in an alleyway until the last ray of the streetlights gets covered. There is the unmistakable feel of eyes following his every move, but he foolishly keeps on walking. Jeno doesn't like the feeling of being watched yet he doesn't turn to look in case the smell of rain disappears.
The decision is made for him however when he hears a low growl coming from the darkness... Now he's terrified.
From the shadows comes a wolf, yet no ordinary one. It moves to block the alley exit, staring at Jeno with almost human eyes. The only sound in the entire street is it's breathing, flaring nostrils taking in Jeno's scent. It curls it's mouth to reveal sharp teeth and then lets out a low rumbling growl.
He doesn't know why he talks, but he later blames it on nerves, "Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to disturb I just thought I smelled something."
The wolf continues to stare, unblinking.
"I don't mean no harm. I just- I couldn't sleep and the night. It- it calms me I'm so sorry..." His sobs echo across the alley, his knees buckling under him. This is it, he thinks. He's going to get mauled by a rabid animal just because he thought he smelled something, stupid, stupid-
He hears a whimper. The wolf is suddenly beside him, crouching down and nudging Jeno's hands with it's head. It doesn't look so scary anymore, more like a dog begging to be pet. So he does, and it's fur is so soft. And it smells like rain.
"You had a shower in the rain little guy-" Jeno realises it doesn't like being called little when it gently nips at Jeno's hand, "Ok, ok, not little... You're not gonna hurt me are you?"
Jeno's utterly surprised when the wolf shakes his head as if it were human disagreeing. He huffs a laugh in disbelief.
"You can understand me-" There's a clang behind them that disrupts his sentence, and apparently disrupts his newfound friend too as it scrambles away, back into the darkness. "No wait!"
It's no use. There is no longer a sign of the animal, Jeno grunts in frustration.
"For someone who doesn't like getting called little, you're awfully flighty... I'll come back tomorrow then. I'll bring some food for you, please come back then."
Jeno waits a few more beats before standing up and patting himself down.
"We'll see each other tomorrow I guess..."
Walking back to the way of his apartment, he realises that the feeling of being watched hasn't stopped.