Work Text:
*ding-dong*
The loud sound of the doorbell wakes Ren up from his deep slumber. He turns on his bedside lamp and glances at the wooden clock on the nightstand. It flashes 12:45 AM. He feels a sudden unwelcomed rush of uneasiness and immediately throws the blanket before rushing to the door. He immediately throws the blanket away and takes his sweater as he rushes to the front door.
Ren lets out a loud gasp with his hand over his mouth when two dirty faces show up behind the door. One of them has blood dripping from his thigh where his leg was severed from the rest of his body and the other is hoisting him up, blood staining his white shirt and suit. They both are flashing a weak apologetic smile.
Ren instantly steps out from the doorway, letting them go inside. Fortunately, this time he can keep his emotion in check until Aaron finishes putting Jonghyun on the sofa.
“You sure you don’t want to stay to treat your wound? Or at least stay for some tea, Hyung,” Ren speaks with his shaky voice when Aaron walks out the door.
“No, Rennie. It’s just some scratch for me. Just focus on Jonghyun, okay? One of the guards bit him and they are komodo hybrids, so you better take care of the wound. I need to go back to the office to make reports.” Aron, the dog hybrid, gives him a reassuring smile and a light tap on his shoulder. He can see by the way Ren holds the door handle tight and how he is full of worry, that the younger one is panicked and scared.
“I’m only one call away, Mingi-ya.”
Ren nods his head slowly. He knows for sure that Aaron will immediately come if something happens to him or Jonghyun.
After closing the door, Ren walks to the storage shelf under the television right across the sofa. He puts his hand inside, rustles through every drawer and stops when he finds a first aid kit and a set of minor surgery instruments. He doesn’t notice, or more likely doesn’t care, that Jonghyun’s eyes are always glued to him starting from when he was talking to Aaron, to when he sits next to Jonghyun.
Ren observes the wound. There are bone fragments peeking between the flesh, tattered skin hanging around the edge, blood still squirting a bit despite the ripped cloth that ties his limb as an emergency tourniquet, and dried blood staining the other side of his pants. Ren pulls out several bandages with a bottle of antiseptic and prepares them on the table. He cuts the bandages into small squares and wets them with antiseptic before he taps the gauze to clean the wound. Even though the silence in the room is deafening for both of them, no one dares to utter any word.
“Rennie, it hurts,” Jonghyun finally lets out a sound. He winces when Ren intentionally presses harder on his wound. Ren doesn't reply and instead keeps wrapping the bandages around his wound.
Ren stops treating the wound when he feels tears start rolling down his plump cheeks.
“I know you can grow your limbs overnight, but that doesn’t mean they can put you on the frontline!” Ren is frustrated. He squeezes the bloody gauze in his grasp. He doesn’t give a fuck about staining their fancy carpet.
“But Rennie...” Jonghyun reaches out to Ren. He tries to hold Ren’s arms, hoping that it would calm him down.
Jonghyun knows this is all his fault, but he can’t do anything. It’s his job to protect the city by undergoing several undercover missions. It’s hard for axolotl hybrids to find jobs that suit them, but right now he will do anything for money. He needed to do anything, earn anything for Ren to cure him of his disease. Ren is suffering from a metabolic bone disease that there is not much he can do. There is one doctor that specializes in metabolic diseases, but every therapy session costs a fortune and Ren needs at least two sessions in a month.
At first, he felt like he was indebted to Ren. Jonghyun lost his family when a tsunami hit his hometown and Ren saved him when the tide washed him all the way to the sea. For the first several years, Jonghyun could not completely control his emotions. The memory he had was so vivid, he always woke up every night covered in cold sweats, his hands trembling in fear.
But Ren has always been there for him. He will hold Jonghyun’s arms every time he has nightmares, shower him with kisses and hugs until Jonghyun falls asleep.
Jonghyun has always been there for Ren too. Once, Ren’s disease was acting up, leaving Ren unable to move on his bed—he would always be there to care for him. It was painful to watch Ren suffering from his disease. It was as if every joint in his body twisted and separated. And it was because of that Jonghyun decided to stay with Ren, and postpone his opportunity to study overseas.
But everything changed in their early twenties. When Jonghyun saw the fireworks’ reflection in Ren's eyes at New Year's Eve, he finally realized that what he felt about Ren wasn't brotherly love. The way the spark was not only lighting up the sky, but also his heart, made him feel a strange fluttery sensation in his stomach as if someone had set dozens of butterflies free. Jonghyun remembered how he ended up sleeping on the same bed with Ren that night.
The feelings are mutual. But they couldn't officially announce their relationship since human and hybrid relationships are banned. So they opted to sneak out to the nearest beach, sharing each other’s warmth, sharing kisses, not afraid to show their feelings for each other. It continued for years until they finally got engaged right after the government officially passed the Human-Hybrid Law last year.
Ren brushes Jonghyun’s hands off and wraps his own arms around himself.
“Don’t you know how worried I am every time you go on those stupid missions to the extent that I have nightmares every night about someone calling me and telling me that you won't come back? And that maybe next time you won’t just lose your limbs, but your head! Don’t remind me about that one time I got a call informing me that you were in the hospital, lying unconscious for a week because you offered yourself to ambush those stinky lizards’ hideouts and they took you, poisoned you and then ditched you in the middle of nowhere. You are not immortal for god’s sake!”
Ren's muffled cry breaks Jonghyun’s heart. He shifts his seat near Ren and hugs the younger tightly. He leans forward, breathing in the scent of his lover’s scent. It has been weeks since he can smell this familiar scent. He can’t deny that he misses this.
“You know I have to do this,” Jonghyun whispers softly before he pulls away. He slowly caresses Ren’s cheek, wiping away the tears with the tip of his sleeve.
“But I don’t want to lose you.” Ren observes as Jonghyun stares at him with a gaze filled with love and a gentle smile.
“I can’t lose you either, Mingi-ya,” Jonghyun’s fingers combed through Ren’s hair before he rests his hand on Ren’s hip. Jonghyun leans in and puts his forehead against Ren’s. “I promised you I won’t die before you, didn’t I? Right now that’s all I can offer for you to hold. I know that doesn’t suffice to ease your heart, but hey, did I ever lie to you or break our promise?”
“No...” Ren's cry turns into a sob.
“There, you know it,” Jonghyun gives a little peck each on Ren's eyes, then to his cheeks, and finally his lips.
They stay in that position for several minutes, committing each other’s warmth to memory—until a loud growl comes from Jonghyun’s tummy. Ren laughs and Jonghyun tries to hide his embarrassment.
“There is some leftover curry, do you want me to warm it up?” Ren pulls his hand away, releasing his body from Jonghyun’s hug.
“That would be perfect!”