Archive of Our Own

Renjun never understood the appeal of summer.

Unbearably hot weather that trapped Renjun in the confines of his airconditioned room, sweat stains that had him far too insecure about lifting his arms throughout the season, sunburns that hurt like a bitch, he didn’t understand why the hell anyone would consider it to be their favorite season. 

Really, the only reason why Renjun had ever looked forward to it was the fact that summer officially marked the end of the school year, and for two months, he no longer had to deal with public school shenanigans. Two months was enough to keep him from going insane, though, because he swore if he had to deal with another GSA kid trying to convince him to go to their meetings, he was officially going to come out as homophobic even if he was gay. 

But no school and summertime only meant one thing for the Huang family: their annual family vacation, which Renjun dreaded going to every year since he was maybe thirteen. Essentially, there was no winning for Renjun during the summer. He’s not in school, but he has to go to some lousy resort with his family and have his mom take away all his electronics for most of the day. He’s not at home, but he’s stuck in the blistering summer heat all day because his mother insisted that they don’t stay in their hotel rooms all day.

Except, okay, maybe his mother forcing him out of the hotel room every day to find something to do around the resort was a good thing. Not because Renjun found anything productive to do, God, no. Renjun thinks he’d rather die than do hot yoga taught by some all organic, vegan, white mom who believes vaccinations are the Devil’s creation.

Being forced out of the room was a good thing because Renjun wouldn’t have discovered the Godly creation that was Jeno Lee if he had stayed holed up in their room all day.

He’s a new face at the resort—Renjun knows this since they’ve been going to the resort since he was five, and not once has he ever seen Jeno wandering around or sitting upon the top of the lifeguard chair until this summer. So despite not knowing how to swim, Renjun’s spent every day for the last week lounging by the pool just hoping to get a glimpse of Jeno during one of his shifts.

It’s a little bit creepy. Renjun knows that, Xiaojun’s reminded him of that every chance he gets whenever Renjun gets his phone back at the end of the day, and they and Yangyang jump into a call to catch up. Jeno doesn’t even know Renjun’s name, and Renjun only knows Jeno’s because he heard it in passing. But in Renjun’s defense, his creepiness doesn’t go further past gawking at him at the pool every day and crushing on him from afar. Unlike Yangyang, who had very quickly found Jeno’s Instagram the first night Renjun told them about him.

(“I’m just making sure he’s single, so you can shoot your shot!” Yangyang said after the collective groan over the FaceTime call from Renjun and Xiaojun. 

“How’d you even find his Instagram? You’re fucking insane. I just think he’s hot, that’s all.” Renjun huffed.

“It was easy. There’s only one high school in that area, and he just so happens to be on the swim team. So finding him on the school’s Instagram was easy. You’ve got your very own Troy Bolton, Renjun. You could’ve lived your High School Musical 2 moment, but since you don’t want to know if he’s single or not….”

“Well, I never said that, did I?”)

So, it’s become routine for Renjun to wake up bright and early with the rest of his family, spending maybe a little too much time getting ready just to sit out in the sun all day, and quickly shoveling down breakfast at the restaurant’s buffet so he can be excused for the rest of the day. Then Renjun will rush up to their hotel room, quickly packing his bag with a few essentials (A book, so he can quickly pretend like he wasn’t staring at Jeno. A pair of sunglasses, to act as his disguise. Extra sunscreen, because his mom won’t let him leave without it) before he’s rushing down to the pool area to watch Jeno finally make his way out of the resort and take over for the lifeguard who was there in the mornings.

Renjun’s claimed a seat as his own by the end of their first week. It sits at the edge of the grassy landscape that surrounds the resort, only a couple of feet away from the actual pool area, and it only took a couple of trial-and-error attempts to find that it provided the best view of Jeno. And the pool, he supposes, to keep an eye out on Chenle on the days their mom forces him to take his younger brother with him so they can spend some “bonding time” together. Which, really, is just Chenle annoying the hell out of Renjun by disturbing him every five minutes.

“Gross,” Chenle says, his face scrunched up in disgust as he follows Renjun’s gaze across the pool. “You’re drooling over a stupid boy. That’s stupid.” He adds on, and it takes everything within Renjun not to fling the virgin pina colada he picked up at the bar just minutes before settling down in his pool chair at Chenle. He considers it for a split second, though, but ultimately decides against it once he realizes that his mom would murder him if Renjun laid a hand on their child prodigy son. Renjun learned that a few years ago when he had shoved Chenle a little too hard while walking down the stairs on Christmas morning after Chenle made an annoying comment. Christmas 2017 was celebrated in the ER with a new cast and terrible hospital food for supper. Renjun felt bad for a total of six hours before Chenle went back to his annoying ways and was the reason why Renjun ended up grounded for the next three months. 

“Get the fuck out of the way.” Renjun huffs, leaning over to shove Chenle out of his view. Chenle stumbles a few steps, letting go of the towel he’s wrapped around his shoulders as he tries to regain his balance. Renjun can’t find himself caring, though. Not when shoving Chenle out of the way now gives him full access to the beautiful sight in front of him. Jeno walks around the edge of the pool, his thin tank top hanging loose from his body that sways gently with the cool breeze. Renjun doesn’t doubt Chenle’s claim of him drooling over Jeno, but that’s only because he doesn’t understand how someone doesn’t salivate at the sight of his ginormous arms with muscles that flex every time he goes to take a sip from his massive water jug that he carries around everywhere. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I like bothering you. It’s fun.” Chenle looks proud of himself as he says it, a disgusting smirk on his face as he shuffles back to disturb Renjun’s view of Jeno once more. His flip-flops make an awful squelching sound with every step, his feet still soaked from just having left the pool, and Renjun cringes as he’s forced to listen to it. Renjun cringes whenever he has to listen to anything caused by Chenle, though.

“I’m going to make sure mom and dad accidentally leave you in a gas station bathroom on the way back home.”  Renjun pushes his sunglasses atop his head so he can glare at Chenle. Chenle only scowls back, and though his own glasses cover his eyes, Renjun can tell he’s sending a glare right back at him. “Now, leave me the fuck alone before I tell Jisung from your algebra class that you have a crush on him when we get back home.” He scolds, leaning back against the plastic pool chair, retreating underneath the shade the umbrella above him provided. Although his mom wouldn’t let him step foot outside of their hotel room until he was lathered in at least five layers of sunscreen, Renjun was not about to risk ending up with sunburns and completely embarrassing himself in front of Jeno.

Renjun sways his hand, motioning Chenle to walk away, and Chenle looks as if he’s contemplating his decision for a couple of seconds before he finally speaks up again. “Fine.” He gives in, wrapping his towel around his shoulders again. “Mom said to be back at the hotel room by five to start getting ready to go to the boardwalk later. I hope you barf on the teacups like you did last year.” This time, Renjun doesn’t hesitate in taking out his frustration on his younger brother. He grabs the paper umbrella stuck into his drink and flings it in Chenle’s direction, missing him only because Chenle used his towel to act as a shield.

Chenle scurries off after that, and admittedly, Renjun’s shocked it didn’t take much else to get him to go away. Not that he’s complaining, though. He’s grateful it only took a tiny umbrella toothpick for Chenle to finally leave Renjun to be, and leaving Renjun to celebrate his summer the way he wants to spend it—Which is just watching Jeno work. By work, Renjun means just watching Jeno sit and be hot. Jeno only ever had to jump into the pool once to save some five-year-old who swam too deep into the pool, and Renjun’s crush on him only grew since then.

Except Renjun’s leisure time doesn’t get to last long. Of course, it doesn’t when he has Chenle-Fucking-Huang as a demonic younger brother who seems to make it his life goal to do anything and everything to make Renjun’s life a living hell ever since he was born thirteen years ago.

Renjun’s eyes very quickly find themselves back on Jeno, watching as he walks around the edge of the pool. The visor he’s wearing hides far too much of his face than Renjun prefers, the shadow preventing him from seeing the way Jeno’s features glisten in the sun, but Renjun supposes it’s alright. He has the rest of his body to gawk at, watching Jeno’s every movement from afar and quickly diverting his gaze to his book whenever he thinks Jeno’s about to turn and look in his direction. Renjun’s gotten good at it over the course of the last couple of days, and luckily enough, Jeno had only caught him staring once . Sent Renjun that gorgeous smile Renjun’s grown to love since they first arrived at the resort, and Renjun gushed over it on the phone that night with Yangyang and Xiaojun.

Then there’s a finger poking at Jeno’s side, trying to gain his attention. A finger that’s attached to a hand which is attached to an arm, and it’s only when Renjun catches sight of a certain scar from a broken bone he caused that Renjun realizes it’s none other than fucking Chenle. Chenle, who’s now tugging at Jeno’s tank top until Jeno ultimately turns his attention towards him.

They’re talking. Chenle’s fucking talking to Jeno, and Renjun’s brain is malfunctioning at the worst time because he can’t find it within himself to do anything. All he can do is sit in his plastic pool chair, stunned as he stares at the pair talking, until Chenle’s pointing directly towards him, and Jeno starts turning his head to look. It’s only then that his brain starts to function once more, and he’s hopping out of his chair, throwing his book behind him as he dashes as fast as he can off the grassy landscape and into the busy pool area. He’s dodging people left and right, hoping he can pull Chenle away before he can reveal anything too embarrassing to Jeno, and he’s so close, can see the sweat dripping down Jeno’s body, when his ankle fails on him.

It twists, painfully bending to the side, but Renjun only has half a second to focus on the pain until he’s falling into the chlorinated water. There’s a loud splash, and suddenly all Renjun can see is blue from the tiled flooring. No matter how far he sinks, the bottoms of his feet can’t seem to hit the floor, and Renjun knows he’s fallen into the deep end. But once again, his brain malfunctions, and all Renjun’s body can seem to do is flail his limbs, desperately trying to latch onto something that’ll keep him afloat. He’s thrashing, and the few seconds above water that Renjun gets every now and then simply isn’t enough , especially not with the liquid that enters his mouth due to his own thrashing.

Renjun-Fucking-Huang is going to die single. He’s going to die never having a single boyfriend in his life, and he’s going to die right in front of his fucking crush. Maybe he should’ve taken those swim classes his mother tried to convince him to take five years ago. 

Renjun doesn’t know how much time has passed. Seconds, minutes, hours, it all feels the same. Time goes far too quickly and painfully slow at the same time when stuck underwater. There’s a sudden splash of water near him that Renjun can feel, though Renjun isn’t sure if that’s someone finally coming in to save him, or simply his limbs thrashing around that causes the splash. He only finds his answer when a strong pair of arms hook underneath his arms, and he’s pulled above the surface once again.

The first thing Renjun notices is that he can breathe. His lungs can take in a satisfactory amount of air before he’s sputtering up chlorinated water that he’s accidentally swallowed. The second is that his feet can finally touch the tiled flooring of the pool, and he figures whoever must’ve jumped in to save him has dragged him into the shallow end of the pool. 

His skin is cold as more of his body leaves the water, and all Renjun can do is weakly rub his eyes to clear his vision. Which Renjun quickly regrets for two simple reasons. One, people are staring at him. There are far too many pairs of eyes trained on him than Renjun would like as he’s finally dragged out of the water. Renjun didn’t spend three years in high school avoiding nearly every social situation and having only maybe two friends for nothing. Two, Renjun finally gets to see who rescued him, and Renjun thinks perhaps he should’ve drowned instead.

Jeno’s holding onto him. Jeno fucking Lee, the boy Renjun’s been thirsting after since the beginning of their vacation. As if to make things worse, Jeno’s soaked. Droplets of water fall from his hair, hitting Renjun’s chest, and his tank top clings to his body in all the right places now that it’s soaked. At least it’s a good view to see after he’s nearly died, but he can’t say the same about himself. Renjun’s willing to bet he looks like a wet dog, and it’s that thought that makes him consider jumping back into the pool and let the water take him again.

“Can you hear me?” Jeno asks, and although Renjun’s ears are still full of water, he definitely can hear Jeno’s voice. It’s full of air as he pants, trying to regain his breath from dragging Renjun out of the pool. “Are you okay? Should we call an ambulance for you?”

Definitely not. Renjun shakes his head quickly to turn down the offer because he knows his dad would lose his mind if their vacation were cut short because Renjun had to be sent to the emergency room after almost drowning. “I’m fine,” Renjun rasps out, though his words are followed by another fit of coughs as his body tries to rid of all the chlorine that’s so rudely entered his system. Of course, it’s only a half-lie. He isn’t in danger of dying anymore, but he still feels fucking awful . He’s two seconds from vomiting and passing out from the terrible feeling of having water get in his nose, but he refuses to embarrass himself even more in front of Jeno. “Just cold.”

“Right.” Jeno nods before he’s looking over his shoulder, presumably at the other lifeguard on duty. There’s no verbal communication, but she seems to know what Jeno is requesting, and she starts jogging to hopefully get Renjun a towel. He’s freezing, shivering, and he can only rub his own arms to warm himself up. Most people have already started to turn their attention elsewhere, resuming their usual activities now that everything seemed to have died down. Unfortunately, most people doesn’t include Chenle. Who, although looks at him with slight guilt written in his expression, is still standing, staring at the pair, and Renjun wants nothing more than to choke him.

“You brat! ” Renjun scoffs, pushing himself off the floor and ignoring the pain in his ankle as he wobbles over to Chenle as fast as he can. He hisses with each step, only getting more frustrated as Chenle backs away even further. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jeno rushes in front of Renjun, placing his hands on Renjun’s shoulders, hoping to coax him into taking things down a notch. His tall and broad build stops Renjun from getting a clear view of Chenle, and he figures Jeno’s attempt at calming him down works. Renjun can’t be mad when Jeno’s touching him, and he has a full view of Jeno’s soaked tank top that clings beautifully to his chest.

Jeno lets out a bit of a nervous laugh as he gently guides Renjun to the nearest vacant pool chair, helping him sit down while they wait for their towels to arrive. “Let’s take things easy, alright? You just went through something probably traumatic—Just take things easy, relax for a second. You can chase after your brother another time.” Jeno’s not wrong. They’ll definitely find something else to fight about later on, except Renjun doesn’t think he’ll be running for a while. Not with his ankle, which throbs in pain now that Renjun has time to think about it rather than trying not to drown.

“I’m gonna kill him the next time I see him,” Renjun says it under his breath. It’s more of a promise to himself, not meaning for anyone else to hear it. But if Renjun were serious, he’d be a terrible murderer because Jeno seems to pick up on it right away.

“At least do it off property, please . I don’t want my paycheck being affected because of the resort having to deal with the legalities of that.” Jeno jokes, offering Renjun a genuine laugh this time as his cheeks firm up and his eyes turn into tiny crescent shapes that has Renjun’s heart fluttering in his chest. Renjun doesn’t think he’s ever met anyone with such a kind smile. It’s sweet like the virgin drinks he’s been ordering at the bar the past week, yet it’s so addicting that Renjun’s head feels fuzzy and drunk from overwhelming admiration for Jeno.

Jeno’s coworker returns, handing off the two towels to Jeno, and Jeno says something to her that Renjun can’t quite hear over the sound of his own heart racing in his chest. It’s pathetic, Renjun tells himself, how his body reacts to being in front of Jeno, and actually interacting with him after a week of purely staring at him from across the pool. He knows better than to develop actual, real feelings over someone purely based on looks, but it’s hard not to squeal inside because of how weak at the knees Jeno’s handsomely good looks make him. Or, more appropriately, weak in the ankles. Renjun expected to go home never having spoken to Jeno, getting over his small crush as soon as he and his family pulled out of the parking lot. But here he was, and the delusional part of his brain tells him that maybe he does have a shot at having a stupid summer fling. The delusional part of his brain sounds a lot like Yangyang, now that Renjun thinks about it.

“Jungeun’s going to go grab the first-aid kit. I think we’ve got some bandages in there so I can help wrap up your ankle.” Jeno’s voice breaks Renjun out of his slight trance, and he’s holding out one of the resort towels that’s branded with their logo over to Renjun to wrap himself in. Renjun takes it with a small “thank you,” and although the towel isn’t the fluffiest, it’s enough to keep Renjun from freezing as he dries himself off.

“How long are you, uh, staying for?” Jeno attempts at small talk. His question comes off painfully awkward, and Renjun internally cringes at the almost stale tension between them now that they’re left alone. The only thing that keeps Renjun from passing out from the awkward air is Jeno patting himself dry, rubbing the towel into his hair in an attempt to dry it. It’s terrifyingly cute, and it only gets cuter when Jeno pulls his head away to shake it instead, flinging droplets of water in all directions.

“About three weeks. We usually stay for the entire month.” Renjun’s reply is just as stiff, and he wants to tear his hair out over how he’s possibly ruining his own shot with Jeno. He stops moving his towel, wrapping it around his shoulders and pulling it tight around his body to both warm himself up and provide the slightest bit of comfort. “What about you?” Maybe Renjun should’ve put a little more effort into socializing with people throughout his years of high school. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so painfully awkward interacting with Jeno.

“About another month, right up until school starts again.” Jungeun returns to them, handing off the small, white first-aid box to Jeno without another word before she’s heading back to her lifeguard stand. Renjun can’t decide if it’s a blessing or a curse. “Could you prop your foot up onto my knee? Just so I can bandage your ankle.” Jeno says it without looking at Renjun, too busy digging through the box to find the small roll of elastic bandage stored inside.

Renjun listens, although it doesn’t help the slight awkwardness between them as he lifts his leg, gently laying the heel of his foot as far off Jeno’s knee that he can. Jeno’s quick to readjust the positioning, his hand wrapping around Renjun’s calf and maneuvering his leg so Renjun’s foot rests against his mid-thigh instead. “I’m just trying to earn a little bit of extra cash for college. I’m also saving up for a car. Just got my license a couple of months ago.” Jeno finally looks up, offering Renjun another smile that makes Renjun turn his head away in fear of his cheeks heating up at the sight.

“Are you a senior?” Renjun swallows, and he can feel Jeno start to wrap the bandage around his foot. His hands work fast, yet delicately, careful not to hurt Renjun’s already injured ankle. He starts towards the front of Renjun’s foot, wrapping it around a couple of times before crossing it over and wrapping it around Renjun’s ankle. “I’m, uh, about to be one. When school starts up again.” Renjun wishes he could somehow secretly call Yangyang and Xiaojun, and they can whisper prompts into his ears to make the conversation less tense. Because although Yangyang is fucking insane, and Xiaojun’s one freak out away from bursting a blood vessel, they knew far more about flirting than Renjun did.

“I am, yeah,” Jeno fastens the bandages together with the clips provided before guiding Renjun’s ankle off his thigh and onto the long pool chair he’s sat in. “You don’t—You don’t go to school around here, right? I feel like I would remember you if you did. And I doubt you’d be staying at a resort if you were from around here.” Jeno rambles, nervous laughter laced between his words. Renjun isn’t sure if his eyes are deceiving him, or maybe Jeno didn’t put on enough sunscreen before his shift, but he swears he can see the bridge of his nose and his cheeks tint pink. Jeno attempts to make eye contact with Renjun again, but their eyes only meet for a few short seconds before it’s Jeno’s turn to shyly avert his gaze elsewhere. He’s so fucking cute, and if Yangyang hadn’t told him that Jeno was, in fact, single, Renjun doesn’t think he’d ever believe how someone so perfect could not be taken.

“I live about three hours north. We drive down here every summer for vacation.” Renjun picks at the hotel towel wrapped around his shoulders to try and calm down his racing heart. If he didn’t die by drowning, he’s sure he’ll succumb to a painful death via heart attack caused by Jeno Lee.

“Right,” Jeno nods. Silence falls between them momentarily, and Renjun almost wishes Chenle would come over and do something stupid so he could scold at him instead of having to deal with the awkward silence that falls over him and Jeno. But Jeno swallows, and Renjun watches as his Adam’s apple bobs as he does. His posture straightens, and his chest puffs as he takes in a deep breath and then exhales, almost trying to prepare himself to do something. “Renjun, right? I mean–That’s your name, right? Can I ask you a question?”

Renjun’s eyebrows furrow. Jeno knows Renjun’s name. And while hearing Jeno speak it makes half of Renjun’s brain feel woozy over how dreamy it sounds with Jeno’s low voice, the other half of his brain wonders how the hell he figured it out. It isn’t like his name is branded on him anywhere, not splayed across the back of his shirt like a jersey or written in gold around his neck like a necklace. “How do you know my name?” His words come off slightly harsher than he intends them to be, and he wants to smack himself when he sees how Jeno reacts. His eyes widen, and he comically freezes at the tone of Renjun’s voice.

“Your brother—He told me your name earlier when he came up to me.” Jeno’s quick to explain, desperately trying to defend himself from coming across creepy. Though it would be hypocritical if Renjun judged him for that, he’ll admit it. “I hope that’s alright. I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything.” 

Renjun groans. Of course, it had been Chenle who had told Jeno his name. Chenle’s been the root of all of Renjun’s problems for as long as he’s been alive. “It’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off so harsh.” Renjun huffs. “But please tell me he didn’t say anything else.”

“Well,” The return of Jeno’s nervous laughter makes Renjun’s stomach churn, twisting and turning until he thinks he might vomit up any leftover chlorinated water in his body. Chenle has officially ruined his summer for him, and it isn’t like Renjun can run away and hide from Jeno forever. They still have another three whole weeks at the resort. Another three weeks of embarrassing himself in front of Jeno until they finally leave, and Renjun picks up another petty crush for the month. “That’s actually what I wanted to ask you about, but I was kinda unsure if it’s the right moment, considering what just happened.” Renjun understands Jeno is trying to be considerate, but the reminder that he almost drowned in front of him is more cringe-worthy rather than traumatic for him at this point in time. His upturned stomach doesn’t appreciate the anticipation of what Jeno’s about to say, either, and Renjun wishes Jeno would simply just get to the point so he can start planning ways to avoid him. “He told me that, uh, you think I’m cute? Is that true?”

Renjun officially wants to bash his head into the wall. Because although Jeno doesn’t say it in a demeaning tone and really shows no sign of being annoyed or mad about the information, it’s still embarrassing, and Renjun’s just waiting for Jeno to reject him. Hit him with the “I really appreciate it, but I’m not interested. Hope your ankle heals well!” before he leaves Renjun to wallow in his humiliation for the next ten years of his life. 

“I should probably get going,” Renjun says, choosing to ignore Jeno’s question altogether to save him from the rejection. He slowly lowers his leg to the ground, pushing himself off the pool chair, and almost instantaneously regrets his decision. Even the slight weight he places on the ankle sends a searing pain up his leg, and he nearly yelps the second he feels it. “My mom wanted to head to the boardwalk tonight. See you later?” He speaks through gritted teeth, holding back a hiss as he tries to wobble away. He doesn’t get very far because Jeno’s standing up and reaching out for him just barely two steps in.

“You shouldn’t be putting so much weight on your ankle. You’re just going to delay the healing time if you do.” Jeno throws his head over his shoulder, looking over at the lifeguard post where Jungeun now stands, watching over the pool that’s now just as active as it had been before Renjun fell in. “Let me help you back to your room—You can, uh, lean on me for support.” Jeno turns back to face Renjun, and the slight sparkle in his eyes has Renjun melting like the ice cream he and his family had after dinner last night. 

“You have a job to do, and I’ve already inconvenienced you enough, Jeno.” Jeno’s name slips between his lips so naturally that it takes a second for Renjun to realize that he’s said it. The ends of Jeno’s lips quirk up into a smile, while doom falls onto Renjun once realization has finally started to simmer in his system.

“So you know my name?” Jeno’s words come out with a ridiculously cute giggle, but Renjun has no time to swoon over it with the overwhelming dread he feels.

“It’s—You work here! Your coworkers are always saying it!” Renjun manages to stumble out, his words coming out in a frantic attempt to explain himself. Renjun can feel his chances with Jeno decreasing tremendously with every second, and he knows he’s going to take advantage of the dessert bar at the all-you-can-eat buffet his family will probably go to that night. Possibly sneak away a couple of desserts for him to eat while he sobs onto the phone with Yangyang and Xiaojun over how embarrassed he is.

Jeno doesn’t reply to him with much more than laughter and an endearing smile, shaking his head as pink starts to tinge his face again. “Jungeun’s looking after the pool right now. She’ll be okay for the next ten minutes, I think.” The hand wrapped around Renjun’s wrist tightens his grip slightly, almost reaffirming his offer to assist Renjun up to his room. “It’s really not an issue. I’d really like to, actually. Because, um, if what your brother said was true….” Jeno trails off for a second, his free hand going to the back of his head, scratching his scalp in anxiousness as he contemplates his next words. “I think—I think you’re pretty cute, too. I’ve noticed you around here the past couple of days—You’re not that great at disguises.”

“You’re fucking with me.” It’s an auto-response because there’s nothing that could’ve prepared Renjun’s brain to process this information Jeno’s giving him. Renjun never expected to interact with Jeno, nonetheless hear from Jeno himself that Jeno thinks he’s cute. Even if it is true, he knows that Yangyang will call bullshit later on in the day when Renjun calls him and Xiaojun and explains the entire decision. Because in what Disney Channel original film universe is Renjun living in for him to not only be quite literally saved by Jeno but interact with him and then find out that, hey, Jeno thinks he’s cute and is now offering to take him up to his room?

“What—No! No, I really mean it. I probably would’ve been too scared to say anything if your brother didn’t come up to me earlier. I’m really hoping he wasn’t fucking with me, or else this is really fucking embarrassing, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want me to talk to you ever again.” Poor, poor Jeno. Renjun feels bad looking at him because even with Renjun’s own insecurities and his brain’s innate want to object Jeno’s feelings about him, there’s absolutely no denying that Jeno looks fucking nervous . His heart is beating loud and clear, exposed on his sleeve for Renjun to see. He’s being serious.

“You look constipated. Relax.” Renjun breathes out, though he probably isn’t one to speak. He probably looks just as anxious as Jeno, his body just as tense, and maybe, just maybe, he needs to listen to his own advice. “I—Yeah. Chenle may be a fucking brat, but he wasn’t lying to you.” Renjun swallows, his words slurring together towards the end of his sentence as he mutters the words out. Somehow, Jeno manages to decipher it, and he almost instantly brightens up.

“So can I walk you up to your room?” Jeno looks hopeful, almost pleading with his eyes as he looks at Renjun. “And maybe—I don’t know, if you’re interested, I can give you my number?”  Jeno sends him a sheepish smile, filled with embarrassment and joy and anxiety, and oh, Renjun doesn’t understand how someone can ever be so infatuated with someone they’ve barely interacted with. But here he is, standing in front of Jeno, two seconds away from opening his chest and letting Jeno rip his heart out.

Renjun can hear Yangyang yelling in his head. He can hear him screaming to say yes already and encouraging him to be just as bold and make the next move. Maybe ask Jeno if he would want to get ice cream at a nearby ice cream parlor or perhaps walk along the shore of the beach not too far from the resort. He can also hear Xiaojun screaming at him, telling him to be careful, to shelter his vulnerable heart, and save himself from heartbreak because who knows how things will end up once Renjun inevitably needs to leave for the summer. Renjun knows maybe he should listen to Xiaojun, and although he won’t admit it, Xiaojun is right most of the time—But it’s summer, and Renjun thinks he’d be stupid to refuse the opportunity of possibly having a summer romance with Jeno Lee when Jeno’s the one making the first moves so far.

“Yeah,” Renjun finally nods, and even if he weren’t already so enamored of Jeno, the sight of his saccharine smile, so full of genuine joy and excitement, Renjun thinks he would’ve fallen apart for him. “I’d really like that. I just need to grab my stuff before we head up.” Renjun just hopes his mom and dad are still out of the room. His mom busy with her pilates class, and his dad caught up at the golf course on the resort because he did not feel like being interrogated by them for the rest of their trip over this new “friend” Renjun’s made. 

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, that’s fine. Just, uh, throw your arm over my shoulder and lean against me. Try not to put too much weight on that ankle.” Jeno instructs him, and Renjun feels far too giddy about listening to him than he probably should. He wraps his arm around Jeno’s shoulder, and, Jesus, Renjun knows Jeno is broad, but actually getting to feel how broad his shoulders are makes his brain feel fuzzy. His skin is still just slightly damp from just having jumped into the pool, but the combination of the hot summer air and the towel he used to dry himself off with saves Renjun’s arm from completely slipping off. His skin is warm, and his fingers glide across the muscles he’s been staring at for the past week, and Renjun feels like he’s dreaming.

Renjun leans against Jeno just like he had told him to, awkwardly shuffling out of the space between the pool chairs before Jeno’s sliding his arm around Renjun’s waist. His hold is strong, and Renjun can’t express how glad he is that Jeno’s practically holding him up because he thinks his feet might fail on him again over how giddy he feels. Yangyang and Xiaojun definitely were going to have a hard time believing him later on.

“Can I ask you another question?” Jeno asks as they wobble over to the chair Renjun had been sitting at before he had fallen into the pool. His book lays pathetically splayed out on the seat, and Renjun knows a couple of the poor pages would be creased from its awkward positioning. Not like he cared much about the book, anyway. All it was ever used for was to quickly hide his face whenever he thought Jeno was about to look his away. Apparently, it didn’t do that good of a job at that anyway.

“You don’t need to ask permission to ask me something.” A small laugh comes out with his words, but like most things about Jeno, Renjun finds it ridiculously cute how Jeno seemingly couldn’t ask Renjun anything without being granted permission to do so.

“Sorry. Force of habit.” Jeno clears his throat. He gently lets Renjun go so he can sit down at the end of his pool chair, and Renjun makes quick work in shoving his belongings into his bag. His now damaged book, his sunglasses that must’ve fallen off his head when he jumped up to run after Chenle, and the extra bottle of sunscreen his mother always slips into his bag every morning and reminds him to reapply every so often. “I’m not judging! Just wanted to preface with that just in case—But do you not know how to swim?”

No. Renjun thinks maybe it should’ve been obvious that he doesn’t based on the fact that he nearly drowned not too long ago. If it were Yangyang or Xiaojun he was replying to, he’d, admittedly, may have been a bit of a dick about it. Answered with some sarcastic comment, perhaps calling them a dumbass depending on the mood he’s in. But he’s talking to Jeno, who has a striking resemblance to a dog that’s just heard the doorbell ring whenever he smiles, and his question is so innocent that Renjun can’t even get the sarcastic part of his brain to churn out a response.

“I don’t.” Renjun finally responds. He motions for Jeno to help him up from the chair, and Jeno’s quick to assist him. His arm once again wraps around Renjun’s waist, and he doesn’t even allow Renjun to think about picking up his bag before he does it for him. Fake Louis Vuitton looks good on him, Renjun decides. The real thing would probably look better. Renjun isn’t quite sure yet what Jeno’s aspirations are in life, but he thinks Jeno should maybe consider entering the modeling industry so he can show off the real thing on runways in Milan. He has the bone structure for it. 

“Are you scared of water?” Is the next thing Jeno asks, and Renjun’s just mildly proud that he doesn’t ask for permission this time. Renjun leans against Jeno once more, throwing his arm over his broad shoulders so they can hobble over to the nearest entrance of the resort. Which, thankfully, isn’t too far from the pool area. Because even with Jeno helping him and doing most of the work, his ankle still stings from the small amount of weight he does have to put on it.

“Only open water. Oceans are fucking scary. ” Renjun shivers as he says it. “Even if I knew how to swim, I’m not walking any further than ankle-deep into the water at a beach. That’s a death wish.” Renjun shrugs as best as he can as they make their way through a crowd of people. The automatic doors slide open as they approach the entrance, and the cold air conditioning hits them as soon as they step foot into the lobby. Renjun thinks his teeth might start to chatter if they don't get into an elevator soon. “I don’t know. I guess I was just never interested in learning to swim. It just never appealed to me. My mom even wanted me to apply for those swim classes you guys host here one year, but I turned it down.”

Jeno leans forward, pressing his finger into the button to call for an elevator. “You should still learn to swim. Just in case, you know?” Renjun can sense Jeno’s shyness slowly starting to creep back in on him. His neck turns as red as the numbers on the screen above the elevator to show what floor it’s on, and his teeth gnaw at his lower lip whenever he isn’t speaking. “Maybe if your ankle heals soon enough, I can teach you? I’m not a professional or anything, but I think I know enough to be qualified.” The elevator finally dings, the doors opening and Renjun only has the brainpower to hobble inside with Jeno’s assistance. “But until then, maybe we can do something?”

Renjun thinks he’s simultaneously having the worst and best day of his life. Because sure, yeah, he nearly drowned, and the realization of it will probably hit him later on when he’s trying to sleep at night. He’s surely embarrassed himself in front of Jeno and looks like a drenched cat as Jeno drags him around the resort to get him back into his room. But Jeno has also not only said he was cute, not only offered to give Renjun his phone number, but now he’s also blatantly asking Renjun out on a date. Not even just one date, at least two different dates. Renjun may have no experience with boys whatsoever, but he isn’t dumb. 

“Or not. No pressure whatsoever, but there’s this ice cream shop not too far away that I’ve been going to since I was a kid. I was gonna suggest the boardwalk, but you probably shouldn’t be doing much walking right now.” Jeno’s quick to add on. It comes out as a rambled mess, making his anxiety known, and if Jeno had gone on any longer, Renjun thinks he might’ve needed to interject to remind Jeno to breathe because he’s just freaking himself out. But terribly enough, it brings Renjun some comfort knowing he’s not the only one just as awkward and anxious about the entire situation. He blames his inexperience for that.

“That sounds... nice , yeah,” Renjun clears his throat. This time, it’s him who leans forward as best as he can so he can press the button labeled with 16  so the elevator doors can finally shut and bring them up to his floor. Renjun can feel Jeno’s tense muscles relaxing at Renjun’s confirmation, visibly seeing the stress flush out of his system. “I’m fine with anything. I could use a bit of excitement. I haven’t been really doing much of anything since we got here.” Renjun turns his head to the side, looking up at Jeno. Though Jeno’s just barely a couple of inches taller than him, Renjun stupidly adores the small gap between them that fills his stomach with that fluttery sensation of butterflies.

“Besides watching me at the pool?” Jeno teases, though there’s some hesitance in his words. As if he’s unsure if it’s too early to tease or unsure if Renjun’s even okay with it in the first place. 

“I—” Renjun starts, and his brain desperately tries to rack through a folder of witty comebacks he can snap back with like he would with Yangyang or Xiaojun. But he can’t come up with anything , and his brain comes to the conclusion that it’s just because it’s true. Besides family meals, or family activities, all Renjun has been doing is going out to the pool every day hoping to see Jeno and then leaving a couple of minutes after Jeno’s shift seemingly ends. So with a heavy puff of air that he exhales, he furrows his eyebrows and admits defeat. “Yeah. Besides watching you at the pool.”

Jeno looks so fucking happy drawing the response out of Renjun. It’s probably just an ego boost, but Renjun hopes Jeno’s also dealing with that same fluttering feeling in his stomach and the rapid beat of his heart like Renjun has. “In my defense, though, you’re a new face here. My family basically knows every employee here because we’ve come here so often. I was just curious. Especially because you’re my age and also,” Renjun tears his eyes away from Jeno, choosing to instead wander his gaze around the elevator. “You’re cute, alright?” Though it’s no longer a secret, and Renjun admitted it not too long ago, it’s still embarrassing to say out loud and to Jeno at that. “I’m a seventeen-year-old boy going the summer without my phone most of the time. Staring at hot, shirtless men all day at the pool or the beach is honestly the most entertainment I’m going to get if I can’t text my friends back home all day. It’s a tough life I live, alright?”

Jeno only offers him a laugh in response, his grip around his waist tightening. Renjun can feel the rumble of Jeno’s chest as he laughs and, God, Renjun thinks it might be his new favorite sound. Well, second favorite. He thinks that Jeno saying his name might have to take the number one spot on the list.

The elevator dings once more, coming to a sudden halt that has Renjun stumbling just slightly from the unexpectedness of it. He just narrowly avoids toppling over thanks to Jeno allowing him to lean against him, and he barely has any time to gather himself together before they exit the elevator.

Their hotel room is just down the hallway. Renjun can see it even from the elevators, and sudden dread starts to wash over him at the realization he’ll have to say goodbye to Jeno. Even if it’s only temporarily, and he knows he’ll see Jeno again (Unless Jeno is an asshole and ghosts him—Which is a possibility, but Renjun really doubts Jeno’s that kind of guy), Renjun doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet. But, alas, Jeno is still technically on duty, and he’s probably already spent far too much time with Renjun than he should’ve after pulling him out of the pool.

“Lead the way.” Jeno’s voice breaks the temporary silence between them, echoing in vacant hallways. It’s midday, and most people have already left their rooms to go out and explore, leaving it eerily quiet across the entire floor. Renjun only nods his head in the direction of his room, and Jeno seems to understand as they shift their bodies to begin their short walk.

“So, you don’t have your phone?” Jeno attempts to reel back the conversation. His steps are considerably slower than they were downstairs, an almost desperate attempt to prolong their time together. Renjun doesn’t say anything about it, even if he does notice it and his cheeks heat up despite his still freezing skin.

“My mom locks up like all of our electronics for most of the day. She wants us to unplug and enjoy the vacation.” Renjun sighs out, rolling his eyes as he thinks about it. The cursed box that Renjun and Chenle are forced to put their devices in every night sits on the television stand, taunting Renjun when he’s up all night because he can’t sleep. If his mother didn’t keep the keys on her at all times, Renjun would’ve probably attempted to snatch them and sneak in a couple of extra minutes on his phone. “She started doing it a couple of years ago. We only get them back until after dinner for like an hour or two before she makes us go to bed. I’m seventeen and have a bedtime. Isn’t that stupid?”

“If it’s any consolation, my parents throw this huge Christmas party every year, and we’re not allowed near any electronics, even if they’re gifts.”  Jeno shakes his head at the memory, and although he talks about it in distaste, Renjun can see the corners of his lips quirking up. “Everyone has to be in bed by eight to keep up the whole ‘Santa is real’ lie for the younger kids.” 

Renjun stops his steps as they reach the front of his door, and the corners of Jeno’s lips that had just quirked up quickly fall as he realizes that they’ve made it to Renjun’s room. “You can come inside really quickly,” Renjun says. There’s an unwanted uneasiness that fills the air, it’s pungent, putrid, and Renjun can’t imagine how much worse it’ll be when he has to leave for the summer if things between them were to bloom into something more within the next few weeks. Renjun motions for his bag, and Jeno’s quick to hand it over so Renjun can dig through it for the small card key he uses to unlock the door. “So you can write your number down. If you want.” Renjun quickly adds on the last few words as he pushes the door handle down, opening the door that leads into their room. He can already feel the heat from having turned off the air condition before he left start to seep out of the room, and his skin is grateful for the warmth.

“Yeah,” Jeno says, visibly perking up. He’s embarrassed by his own enthusiasm, deflating and clearing his throat almost immediately when he catches himself. “Yeah, that sounds fine—Just can’t stay long at all. I really need to get back to the pool.” But Jeno’s arm is already sliding back onto Renjun’s waist, helping him limp into the hotel room enough for the door to close shut behind them. 

It doesn’t take long for Renjun to spot the notepad provided by the hotel lying on top of a wooden dresser not too far from the doorway. The first note has his mother’s handwriting scribbled onto it, addressed to Renjun and Chenle and reminding them of the news Chenle had already delivered to him down at the pool. He tears it off, sliding it to the side and handing the now blank memo pad to Jeno with the pen that had been left beside it. “Here—And thanks again. For, you know, saving my life or whatever.” Renjun swallows as he watches Jeno take the paper and pen, scribbling down his number. “Also, for helping me up here.”

“I was just doing my job,” Jeno lets out a soft laugh as he finishes writing, looking up from the notepad with a fond smile. “But it’s not a problem.” Jeno hands the notepad back to Renjun, and Renjun’s almost tempted to hold it against his chest in awe. He had Jeno Lee’s fucking phone number. But his shirt is still drenched, and he isn’t about to risk letting the ink smudge and bleed into an unreadable mess before he has the chance to add Jeno to his contacts later that night. “I really have to go, but, uh, I’ll look forward to your text later?” Renjun feels like his heart is about to leap out of his chest. “Keep your ankle elevated and try to ice it every now and then. But could you maybe do me a favor?”

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, anything.” Renjun’s quick to respond. It’s the least Renjun can do for Jeno—Grade school-like crushes aside, Jeno had done more than necessary to make sure Renjun was okay, and he figures doing some silly little favor is some way he can repay Jeno.

“If you come down to the pool again tomorrow, do you mind maybe moving your usual chair closer to the lifeguard post?” Renjun doesn’t understand how Jeno manages to be so shy yet so painfully flirty at the same time. He also doesn’t understand how it gets to him every single time—The same giddy smile making its way to Renjun’s face and the familiar feeling of his blush rushing up to fill his cheeks with color. It’s sick, Renjun thinks.

“Fine,” Renjun finally manages to get out after the initial embarrassment. “But that’s only if you still have a job by tomorrow. I’ve been holding you up for too long, and I don’t want to be the reason why you’re fired. I’ll be fine for now, but I’ll text you later?” Renjun bites down on his tongue to try and suppress his smile, but it proves to be a challenge. His cheeks ache, and Renjun hopes his parents don’t force him to go to the boardwalk later because of his ankle. Maybe his mom would show him some mercy, allow him to use his phone, and he can dump all of his feelings onto Yangyang and Xiaojun.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Jeno starts to back away, shuffling towards the door, and Renjun can feel the warmth of Jeno’s presence slowly dissipating the further he moves. “I’ll talk to you later, though, yeah?” Jeno’s hand is on the door handle, pressing just enough weight against it for the door to make a low ringing noise to alert that it’s been unlocked.

“Yeah,” Renjun nods. He lifts a hand from the dresser he’s leaning against, waving a weak goodbye to Jeno. “I’ll talk to you later.” He confirms. With that, Jeno gives him one last smile before pushing the door open and walking out.

The first thing Renjun wants to do is scream. But, unfortunately for him, Jeno is undoubtedly still only a couple of feet away from his hotel room and would for sure hear him if he did. Even if he did limp over to the bed and press his face against his pillows, he’s certain at least someone will hear him and probably file a noise complaint. Which would probably result in him getting in trouble and having his phone taken away altogether, which Renjun cannot have happen. Not when he finally has a hot boy’s number that he can finally enter into his contacts with a thousand heart emojis right by his name. 

The second thing Renjun wants to do is get in the shower and wash away the disgusting smell of chlorine from his body. He doubts he’ll be able to stand, but he’s fine with that. He isn’t unused to sitting on the shower floor, though that usually happens on the days he really just needs to get a good cry out and doesn’t want to be disturbed by Chenle walking in without knocking first (Because he’s a pest twenty-four-seven and not just when they’re on vacation.) This time he’ll just be able to sit and stare at the tiled floor thinking about what the fuck just happened for a good twenty minutes before actually deciding to get clean.

But the ring of the door returns before Renjun can decide on what to do, and he only has the brainpower to scramble to flip the notepad upside down against the dresser to hide the number that’s written down. The door opens only a split second later, and relief instantly washes over Renjun when he notices that it’s only Chenle who marches in, a trail of water following him from not even attempting to fully dry himself down at the pool.

“I saw him come out of our room.”  Is the first thing Chenle says, standing still at the doorway. The him in question is blatantly obvious, and Renjun doesn’t try to refute his claim.

“And what about it?” Renjun huffs, snatching the notepad back up as he struggles to hobble over to his suitcase to pull out a new set of clothes. 

“I’m gonna tell mom and dad you had someone over without their permission.” Renjun freezes. He knows his parents will murder him if they found out he had someone over, even if only for two minutes. It took a year of convincing for them to finally allow Yangyang and Xiaojun over, even if it was just to work on something for school. Renjun’s not willing to be grounded, and it’s the same reason why he hasn’t screamed into his pillow just yet. 

“Tell her, and I’ll tell her that you’re the reason why her eldest son almost fucking died. I’ll make sure you have your laptop taken away for the next fucking year.” If Renjun hadn’t been so far away at that point, he thinks he might’ve launched forward and wrapped his hands around Chenle’s throat instead. He can’t speak if he’s dead.

“ Don’t.” It’s said in the same warning tone as Renjun’s voice. He’s stomping towards Renjun and his suitcase, dragging the trail of water to the center of the room with him. “Jisung and I are in the middle of building our Minecraft world.”

“Then don’t tell mom about Jeno.” Renjun scolds, digging through his bag. “Now go fucking change. You’re getting water all over the place.”

🌊🌊🌊

“Renjun Huang, you’re a  fucking legend! ”

There’s a couple of good things that came out of nearly drowning and spraining his ankle:

One, for starters, actually interacting with Jeno rather than lovingly staring at him for hours at the pool nearly every day. Which really only makes his feelings for Jeno grow past physical admiration into something deeper, even if they did only talk for a couple of minutes. Who knew someone so hot could also have such an adorable personality? Jeno is, without a doubt, made for sappy Disney channel romances. Really, Jeno could’ve told Renjun he just hopped out of some teenage-romcom script, and Renjun would believe him.

Two, Jeno Lee’s phone number is now in his contact list. Saved, just as Renjun thought about, with every single heart emoji that exists on his keyboard. Saved doesn’t mean he’s actually sent a message to Jeno yet, though. Renjun spent approximately an hour typing out different variations of “hey!” before giving up and calling Yangyang and Xiaojun for help. Too many i’s in a “hi” may have been annoying, and which emojis should he use, if any, to not come off strong?

Three, Jeno Lee wants to take him out on a date. Okay, Jeno hasn’t officially called it a date, but Renjun thinks that there’s a silent agreement that it is one. With Jeno’s flirting, there’s no way it could possibly be just two dudes hanging out! Renjun is inexperienced with boys, but he’s not dumb.

Four, his mom let him have his phone while she and the rest of his family went out to the boardwalk because of his ankle. Which Renjun is eternally grateful for because Renjun desperately needs to let out all of his thoughts to fully process everything that’s happened. Although he’ll call Yangyang and Xiaojun annoying every chance he gets, he’ll admit that they’re always there to listen to him ramble, and he loves them for that (Gross.)

Which is how Renjun finds himself on the phone with them so early on in the day, spilling all of the details of what had happened to him to Yangyang and Xiaojun while they sat in their rooms and listened. 

“You guys don’t understand. I think I might be in love.” Renjun says, dramatically falling back onto the bed. A dreamy sigh escapes from his lips, that same giddy feeling finding its way back to him as thoughts of nothing but Jeno run through his mind. “He’s literally perfect. I wish you guys could meet him. He’s so fucking sweet and so fucking pretty. Why aren’t there boys who like him at our school? It’s so fucking unfair! ” Renjun whines, dramatically hitting the mattress with his free arm.

“You’re being overdramatic. Just the other month, you were thirsting after Donghyuck Lee from your English class, and then the month before that, it was Sungchan.” Xiaojun so rudely interrupts, but he’s only met with scowls from both Renjun and Yangyang. “I’m just saying. It’s not bad to have small crushes, but, Renjun, you need to be a little realistic here. I know you’re not dumb.” Renjun can see Xiaojun sitting up from his bed, face stoic and far too serious for his liking. “You’re going to be leaving in like three weeks, and Jeno’s just gonna be another one of your little crushes.”

“So let him indulge it for those three weeks!” Yangyang cries out. He’s practically jumping out of his gaming chair as he speaks, clearly passionate over his words. “You wouldn’t get it. You’re straight,” Yangyang says in faux disgust, his tone matching his expression before he’s turning back to his television screen to focus on the game he’s playing. “It’s summer, we’re going into senior year, and Renjun’s never had a boyfriend before! This is the closest he’s gotten!” It’s such a backhanded statement that Renjun almost wants to feel offended. Almost, only because it’s pathetically true. “Did Donghyuck from English class offer to take Renjun on an ice cream date? Did Sungchan offer to teach Renjun how to swim? Didn’t think so! Renjun probably only has Donghyuck’s number because Donghyuck asked him to send him the work he missed when he was absent.”

“Alright!” Renjun finally speaks up, interrupting Yangyang purely because he’s fed up hearing how pathetic his life is. “That’s enough. We get it. I’m a fucking loser. No need to rub it in.” He feels himself deflating almost immediately, dropping down from the high he was riding on just seconds before. “Xiaojun, I appreciate the concern, but Jeno Lee is worth it. Seriously. He’s fucking perfect! He literally saved my life!”

“He was literally just doing his job. ” Xiaojun’s quick to quip back. “My point is that he’s probably just one of your crushes you’ll get over as soon as you leave. And if it happens not to be that, then you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak, Renjun. You’re leaving in a couple of weeks, and Jeno lives fucking far. Just be careful.”

Xiaojun raises some good points, but Renjun wasn’t completely expecting to leave the resort with a boyfriend. His expectations with Jeno were already low enough, never expecting to even interact with him. And although now they’ve interacted and Jeno has not only given him his number but asked him out, Renjun’t not expecting anything to turn into anything other than a stupid summer romance for him to reminisce about later on in his life. A casual fling. With lots of making out involved. Renjun would definitely like to make out with Jeno before the summer ends.

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” Renjun huffs. “Now help me figure out what I should text him. That’s the whole reason why I called you guys anyway.”

“Fuck you. Don’t act like you didn’t almost cry when you said bye to us just before you left.”

🌊🌊🌊

Okay. Renjun is in a lot more trouble than he had initially anticipated. Not falling for Jeno, it turns out, is a lot harder to do than he thought, and Renjun doesn’t believe he can be as careful as he promised Xiaojun he would be. It’s hard, though. Because Jeno is so fucking ridiculously cute, both in person and over text, that Renjun doesn’t understand how someone wouldn’t melt and sigh over how incredibly dreamy he is.

It all starts with a selfie. A stupid fucking selfie that Renjun nearly screams over when Jeno sends it after Renjun finally texts him (All he sent was a simple “hey! It’s renjun :)” after fighting about it with Yangyang and Xiaojun for approximately thirty minutes on the phone.) Jeno’s hair is still wet, but he doesn’t look like he's at the resort anymore. The background is dark, and most of his features are only being illuminated with the purple glow of some LED lights, yet it still makes Renjun’s insides twist and turn. Jeno so kindly replies with the longest first message Renjun’s ever read, filled with emojis and questions on asking Renjun how his ankle is doing and also letting him know that he’s just gotten home from work. (“He’s so considerate,” Renjun sighs into the phone with Yangyang and Xiaojun. “Asking me how I’m doing? He’s so sweet.”)

Something about Jeno radiates pure joy. Even through a phone screen, he somehow feels like a hot summer day, running through fields of flowers and listening to the buzz of bees that flew around. Jeno feels like the first refreshing sip of lemonade after a long day. The sweet citrusy taste making him sigh out in relief, the condensation on the glass dripping down onto his chest with every sip. Jeno feels fresh, new, revitalizing Renjun’s bland life and finally bringing in some sort of excitement that Renjun didn’t know he was in desperate need of. Every text Jeno sends is met with Renjun’s heart growing more and more, and Renjun isn’t sure how much he can handle. Even when Jeno starts talking about school, which makes Renjun gag just slightly because he does not want to hear about high school when he’s on summer vacation, Renjun can’t help but feel giddy. Renjun realizes that maybe, just maybe, Xiaojun’s warning came a bit too late.

If it weren’t for his mother taking away his phone, locking it up in the small box atop of the dresser, Renjun thinks he may have stayed up all night continuing meaningless conversation between games of 8Ball and word hunt. But he was fine with it, falling fast asleep to the sound of his own heart thumping in his chest. He knew in a matter of hours he’ll see Jeno again right by the pool, not because he knew Jeno’s schedule from the week of admiring him from afar, but because Jeno ended their conversation with “Goodnight! I work tomorrow from 11 to 2. Come visit me? :) <3”

Which Renjun does. He rushes to get ready, and if it weren’t for his injured ankle, he thinks he might’ve rushed even faster. Admittedly, though, Renjun does put in slightly more effort getting ready now that he’s aware Jeno will actually perceive him. Which he does also admit is fucking stupid because why the hell does he need to put in more effort in hopes of a boy liking him? But he’s already gone through five different outfits and finally settled on one, so there’s no going back, especially when he finally gets into the elevator as eleven rolls around.

Jeno’s already by the pool when Renjun hobbles over, greeting him with a smile as bright as the beaming sun that has him placing a hand on his brow bone so he can see Renjun clearly. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ghost me.” Is the first thing he says, stepping towards Renjun to help him the rest of the way.  Renjun doesn’t deny his assistance, immediately throwing his arm over Jeno’s shoulder for support. “Is your ankle doing any better?”

“Just a little. Thanks to you.” Though it still stings as they walk, the pain had subsided considerably since the previous day. Renjun credits it to following Jeno’s tips (And also his mother doting on him and taking care of him as if he were on his deathbed. But he won’t tell Jeno that. He doesn’t need to embarrass himself any further by revealing any details of his overbearing mother.) “What do you mean you were hoping I wouldn’t ghost you?” Renjun lets out a pathetic little laugh as they reach the pool chair closest to the lifeguard post, carefully settling himself down. “I should be the one afraid of being ghosted. I totally fucking embarrassed myself in front of you yesterday.”

“I was afraid you were maybe too mad at me for beating you at all those iMessage games to even show up.” Jeno grins, and Renjun has to hold back the urge to jump on Jeno and murder him right then and there. He already has to deal with slander coming from Yangyang and Xiaojun, and now he has to deal with it coming from his crush. Great. 

Renjun settles for a weak slap against Jeno’s arm, scoffing at him as he slowly props his leg up on the chair. “You don’t have an annoying brother who won’t stop bothering you twenty-four-seven. I could’ve beaten you at least a couple of times if Chenle hadn’t been yapping in my ear the entire time.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” Jeno gives him a sheepish smile as he moves to stand beside Renjun’s chair. His eyes no longer lay on Renjun. Rather, they’re directed over at the mostly empty pool. It’d undoubtedly fill up soon, and Renjun doubts he’ll have the time to speak to Jeno as much as he is now. At least Renjun will be getting an even better view of Jeno in lifeguard mode. Which, honestly, is probably just Jeno directing a couple of lost kids to their families or letting people know that, no, you cannot pee in the pool, and there’s a bathroom in the lobby of the resort. “Because I’m the younger brother. I can’t say that I don’t see where Chenle’s coming from because I was probably the same.”

“Oh no,” Renjun falls back into his chair dramatically, holding his hand to his chest as he looks up at Jeno. “You’re a younger sibling? Not even a middle child? That’s a deal-breaker. Please tell me you’re at least a middle child. I don’t think I have the capacity to deal with anyone else who’s the youngest sibling.”

“Not even a middle child,” Jeno confirms, turning back to look at him for a brief second and shrugging his shoulders. “I have an older sister, and that’s it. I annoyed the hell out of her when I was in middle school, but all middle schoolers are annoying, aren’t they?”

“They’re even worse when they’re the youngest sibling. I think I might have to delete your number later. Send your sister my apologies, will you? I understand her struggle.” Renjun’s only joking. Although learning Jeno is the youngest sibling is, in fact, frightening, Renjun thinks he’s maybe in a little too deep and can look past that information for now. It pulls a laugh out of Jeno, though, and it only proves how deep Renjun actually is because Renjun can feel his cheeks burning up at the sound of his melodic laughter.

Being a teenager is fucking stupid. It’s stupid for the simple fact that Jeno could do almost anything, and he’ll have the urge to fawn over it, feel his whole body set ablaze because Jeno laughed at a joke he made, or simply just breathed in his general direction.

“That’s a shame then. I was gonna ask if maybe you wanted to go out after my shift if your ankle is actually starting to feel better,” Jeno’s voice is teasing, but his body language shows that he’s nothing but shy as he speaks. His arms cross over his chest even in the sweltering heat, desperately trying to comfort himself. His feet shuffle against the pavement, his eyes once again diverting from Renjun and his head facing the ground. It’s so painfully cute that even if Renjun were mad at Jeno for being a younger sibling, all feelings of anger would dissipate in just a matter of seconds.

“Okay, fine,” Renjun sighs out, faux annoyance in his voice though he can’t suppress the smile that creeps onto his face. “I guess I can make an exception just this once—For saving my life or whatever.” Renjun bites down on his tongue for just a second, fidgeting with the strap of his bag for a second as he contemplates his next couple of words. “And also because you’re really cute. I’d sort of like to go back to school and tell my friends about the cute boy I met and all the cute shit we did.”

Jeno sputters out something that sounds like a mixture of a laugh and a noise of disbelief, his arms flexing as he tightens his hold around himself. Yet he still throws his head over his shoulder almost comically fast, and his eyes widen as he looks at Renjun once more. “Someone’s bold.” Jeno coughs out, trying to cover it up with a laugh.

“Says you . You were flirting with me the entire time you helped me up to my room and through text.” Renjun scoffs. Blood rushes up to his cheeks so quickly that Renjun feels slightly lightheaded, and he can feel himself curling into himself in some attempt to comfort himself as Jeno stares at him.

“Not with nearly as much confidence as you.” Jeno sputters out. Renjun watches the column of Jeno’s neck as he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he does. If his cheeks weren’t already so pink, he thinks just the sight would leave him flustered. “But, uh, yeah. We can do something after my shift. For sure—Do you like ice cream?”

🌊🌊🌊

Renjun fucking loves ice cream.

Or, more accurately, he loves the sight of Jeno across from him, desperately licking at his cone to stop it from melting onto his hands and leaving him with a sticky mess to deal with. It’s far more attractive than Renjun could have ever anticipated, and he thanks God that it’s hot outside so he can use that as an excuse as to why he’s sweating.

Renjun doesn’t know how much time has passed by. He just knows that he suddenly wishes things would slow down, so his last few weeks of vacation don’t fly by. Jeno’s a joy to be around, especially as they start to feel more comfortable around each other and finally let go of any of the awkward tension between them. Jeno doesn’t blush and look away from Renjun with every mildly flirtatious comment from Renjun, and Renjun doesn’t second guess all of his words before he speaks. Jeno makes it easy to lose track of time.

Jeno’s voice is charming. There’s something about it that makes Renjun want to listen to it constantly. It’s low, full of emotion, and Renjun wonders if Jeno realizes just how many job opportunities he has hanging in front of his face. An athlete, a model, and now the host of what probably would be a successful podcast on Spotify. Seriously, Renjun would pay good money to listen to Jeno’s voice as he fell asleep each night. He won’t admit that, though. Not unless they continued to talk after Renjun left to go back home, and Renjun was able to fall asleep using his phone again.  Maybe then he’ll subtly hint to Jeno that he wants him to call him and talk to him until they both fall asleep.

“Jaemin’s my best friend, though. We met back in middle school because we had the same algebra class.” Jeno says between licks. While Jeno’s desperately trying to finish his treat to avoid the mess, Renjun shamefully has been letting his sit and melt in its cup, far too invested in Jeno’s tales and stories to think about scooping artificially flavored vanilla into his mouth. “He’s hard to explain. Some days he’s loud, and I can barely keep up with his energy, and other days I have to go to his house and drag him out of bed because I’m not sure if he’s even alive because he won’t reply to my texts.” Jeno shrugs, pulling his cone away. His tongue swipes over his lips, wiping off any of the excess ice cream off them. It makes Renjun shiver. “But I love him, I guess. Too bad he left me for the summer to travel with his family. I’ve honestly been bored all summer until you showed up. I guess we sort of were each other’s saving grace, weren’t we?”

“Definitely,” Renjun shoves a spoonful of his melted ice cream into his mouth in an attempt to cool himself down. Also to not waste any of Jeno’s money, because even though Renjun put up a fight to pay, Jeno had ultimately won. “I’ve spent the last two years pretty much doing nothing at the resort. I’m not sure if I would be able to handle another year of wasting away my summer. I would’ve rather spent my time back at home with my friends. But you’re way better than them, so I guess it isn’t all that bad my parents dragged me out here again.”

The comment makes Jeno smile behind his ice cream, and though his face doesn’t fill with color anymore, Renjun can still spot the familiar glint in his eyes from Renjun’s words. “Do your friends know about me?” Definitely. Probably maybe a little too much, especially Yangyang, who found Jeno’s Instagram, but Renjun will never let Jeno know that. “I told Jaemin and Mark about you—I hope you don’t mind. I was just sort of excited.”

Once again, Renjun’s met with the overwhelming urge to scream, but he’d rather die than draw any more attention to himself than he already has this summer. Jeno’s talked about him, and Renjun’s both filled with excitement and also embarrassment over what Jeno could have possibly said about him. “Please tell me you didn’t tell them about the pool incident.” Renjun looks across the table at Jeno with pleading eyes, but the look Jeno sends back is one of almost a silent apology. 

“That wasn’t all I told them if that makes anything better,” Jeno attempts to console him, sending him a weak smile. 

Renjun sighs out, his shoulders dropping as he looks down at his melted ice cream. He absentmindedly stirs the spoon around in the sticky mess, thinking for a second before actually answering Jeno’s question. “My friends do know about you. I mean, you’re pretty much the only thing making this trip exciting, so you’re all I pretty much ever talk about with them.” Jeno perks up at that, his smile widening at Renjun’s words. “All I really do is tell them how cute I think you are. Yangyang sort of has been bugging me to talk to you and make a move on you since I saw you for the first time. Xiaojun’s been telling me to just be careful because, you know, I’ll have to go back home in a couple of weeks.” Renjun looks up only momentarily, giving Jeno a somber smile as he shrugs his shoulders. 

It goes silent between them for a few seconds, and Renjun curses at himself for dampening the mood. Everything was going so well , and if it had continued, who knows where the rest of the date would’ve ended up. Renjun regrets even speaking in the first place, and just like his ice cream, he wishes he can melt away into a soupy mess to disappear from the now seemingly tense atmosphere that he created.

“Well,” Jeno finally speaks up. His voice seems far louder than it probably actually is, booming over the noise of tourists that make their way to the boardwalk and seagulls that fly overhead. He lays his arm on the table, extending his hand out for Renjun to take. All feelings of shyness that Renjun thought they had left back at the resort suddenly start to hit him again, and his stomach fills with the same butterflies he did his best to trample on as he slowly reaches to interlock his fingers with Jeno. His hands are warm, rough, and although they’re slightly sticky from the ice cream, Renjun doesn’t want to let go of them anytime soon. “Let’s make it a memorable couple of weeks then, yeah?”

🌊🌊🌊

Jeno walks him back to his room again under the ruse that Renjun’s ankle is still injured, and he should help make sure Renjun gets back to his room safely. They both know that although it’s a partial truth, they both really just don’t want to say goodbye to each other just yet. But the sun slowly starting to fall below the ocean’s horizon, turning the sky shades of cotton candy pink and peachy oranges, meant Renjun absolutely had to be back at his room before his mother called for a search party for him. 

The drive back to the resort is fairly silent, though not uncomfortable, and Renjun figures he simply just enjoys being in the presence of Jeno. Enjoying his company without many words exchanged, simply just their hands interlocked over the center console of Jeno’s dad’s old car. Jeno had grabbed his hand again at some point, and Renjun still isn’t sure if he meant to do it intentionally or if it were a subconscious thing, but neither of them pulls away, even if their hands were still sticky despite washing them off in the bathroom soon after throwing away whatever was left of their ice cream.

Even when they do have to pull their hands away to get out of the car after pulling into the resort, they quickly find their way back to each other as they walk (In Renjun’s case, stumble) into the lobby. The scene is so familiar it almost makes Renjun want to laugh as they approach the elevators. Crowds of people zoom past them, staring at them because Jeno’s so desperately trying to support Renjun’s weight while still holding his hand, but at least this time, neither of them are dripping pool water throughout the hotel lobby and into the elevator as Jeno helps him to his room.

“Did you have fun?” Jeno’s voice breaks their silence as they exit the elevator once it brings them up to Renjun’s floor, startling Renjun just enough for him to slightly flinch against Jeno. Jeno just laughs, crossing his free arm over his chest to place his hand on Renjun’s shoulder in hopes of steadying him. “I hope it wasn’t too boring. It was super out of nowhere, and I didn’t really have much planned.” He admits. Renjun wants to scream at him and tell him that he could’ve taken Renjun to the local dump, and Renjun would’ve still fawned over Jeno the entire time, but he won’t, because although he’s lost most of his pride and dignity this summer already, he’s clutching onto the last bit that he has left.

“I had fun,” Renjun swallows, grounding himself before looking up at Jeno. “Don’t worry about it—I liked spending time with you.” His confession is met with shy laughter from the both of them, Jeno’s hold on his hand tightening as well. The door to his room gets closer and closer with each step, and Renjun wishes his parents weren’t so adamant about getting dinner together every night so he could enjoy at least a little more time with Jeno, even if they did spend most of the day together already. 

“Me too—I mean, I really liked spending time with you. I’m glad you aren’t just staring at me from across the pool anymore.” Renjun can only roll his eyes in response. He stops their walking just a couple of feet from their room in fear of his parents possibly overhearing their conversation if they were to walk any closer to the door.

“Can I ask you something?” Renjun gulps, leaning against one of the walls of the resort’s hallways. The paint is cool against his skin, providing temporary relief for his warm skin. Both from the sun and the shyness that overwhelms him once more. “Was this a date? No problem if it wasn’t, but, you know, since I think you’re cute, and you think I’m cute….” Renjun trails off. He looks at the patterned carpet in embarrassment. 

“I think so,” Jeno replies, and the slight breathiness of his voice and stutter in his words makes it known that he’s just as timid as Renjun. “I wouldn’t mind calling it a date—Do you want it to be a date?”

“Yeah,” Renjun admits, and maybe a bit too fast because he suddenly wants to curl in on himself when he hears Jeno's laughter return. Soft and shy, yet still so pleasing to hear if Renjun weren’t so embarrassed over his own eagerness. “I’d like for it to be a date.”

“Then it was a date,” Jeno says, and Renjun thinks he's a second away from his legs giving up on him and falling as he listens to Jeno confirm it. “And maybe I can take you on another one? If you want to?” Renjun’s going to have so much more to tell Yangyang and Xiaojun that night. Although he knows Xiaojun will probably once again warn him, while Yangyang encourages him to speed things up, Renjun just needs to unpack everything that happened to make sure it was real.

“Yeah,” Renjun nods, squeezing Jeno’s hand in affirmation as he does. Night can’t come any quicker because Renjun’s two seconds away from losing his mind over a boy he only started talking to just the previous day. “I’d like that. A lot, actually.” He tilts his head up again, finally facing Jeno once more, though he instantly regrets it when he sees Jeno smiling down at him. “I, uh, really need to go, but I’ll text you tonight when I get my phone back? We can talk about details there?”

“Sounds good,” There’s a moment of hesitation from Jeno before he’s reluctantly pulling their hands apart, and a part of Renjun wants to reach out and grab Jeno’s hand again because he already misses the feeling. But he knows he has to get back into his hotel room, and Jeno needs to drive back home before his mother starts to blow up his phone with messages like she did while they were driving back to the resort. At least Renjun knows he’s not the only one with a slightly overbearing and overprotective mom. “I work again tomorrow, twelve to four.  Meet me by the pool again?” 

Renjun would never say no to that.

🌊🌊🌊

Time continues to pass by faster than Renjun would like it to because a week passes by far quicker than Renjun could’ve ever anticipated it to. Which is weird to him, only because he doesn’t remember time moving as quickly as it is for the past two summers at the resort. Time went agonizingly slow then, each day dragging on far longer than it should have, and the end of their vacation couldn’t have come any sooner than it did.

Renjun supposes that time really does fly when you’re having fun because Jeno has been filling his days with so much excitement and joy that he doesn’t even realize when day turns into night until he begins to shiver from the lack of sun.

Even if Renjun’s just lounging by the pool all day with Jeno while he works, conversation between them flows as smooth as it would with Yangyang or Xiaojun. Except Jeno isn’t annoying, and Renjun can easily spend all his days with Jeno in comfort.

Jeno takes him places that Renjun’s never been before—Literally. After his shifts, he’ll drag Renjun off to hole-in-the-wall restaurants Renjun’s never even heard of despite his many years of visiting the resort, but Jeno grew up going to. He shares the places he would hang out at with Jaemin and Mark or the small shops with owners that immediately recognize Jeno and greet him by his name. He does it all with his hand in Renjun’s. Renjun only wishes he had more time to explore this new side of the town he’s never seen before. But only if Jeno’s his tour guide, of course.

“This is where Jaemin went to on his first date. Mark and I were hiding in that booth over there to spy on him to make sure everything was going fine,” Jeno points over to a booth across from them. The diner’s mostly empty, aside from a few older couples sat in booths far away from them. “We were still freshmen, and Mark was a sophomore. Mark totally blew our cover, though. Halfway through the date, I guess he forgot we were supposed to be undercover because he laughed a little too loud, and Jaemin heard him. Jaemin was pissed at us, and wouldn't talk to us for like a week.”

“And now you’re taking me here?” Renjun grins, stirring his drink with his straw. The other is still holding onto Jeno’s, refusing to let go even if they were seated ten minutes ago. Jeno doesn’t seem to mind, though. He even encourages it, using the pad of his thumb to trace circles onto the back of Renjun’s hand that sends a shiver down Renjun’s spine. “Are Jaemin and Mark here too?” He jokes, pushing himself off the booth to peek over at the others. They’re all empty, as expected, but the loud laughter it draws out of Jeno makes it worth it as he sits himself back down. “I get it, though. If my friends were here, they’d totally snoop on me, especially since I’ve never dated anyone.”

“You’ve never dated anyone before?” Jeno’s laughter ceases after Renjun’s words, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Never even gone on a date before?” He’s in complete disbelief yet doesn’t let go of Renjun’s hand, which eases Renjun only slightly. At least he’s not turned off by the admission, teasing Renjun for being seventeen yet completely inexperienced when it came to dating.

“Never dated anyone, and I’ve never even gone on a date before. If we, uh, count that time we got ice cream as a date, then that would be considered my first date ever. I know it’s a bit pathetic, but,” Renjun shrugs, tightening his hold on Jeno’s hand ever so slightly to feel a bit more comfortable. “I’m picky and also shy, so I’ve never really had the guts to make the first move with anyone I am interested in. I probably wouldn’t have ever talked to you if the pool incident never happened.”

“It’s not pathetic. Stop that,” Jeno huffs, lightly slapping at Renjun’s forearm. “If I had known it was your first date ever, I would’ve put a little more effort into planning it. All I did was take you out for ice cream when I was still sweaty from work.” Renjun would argue that spending his first date across from an incredibly hot guy eating ice cream while still covered in sweat was probably the best way to spend a first date. It’s an incredible sight. Renjun won’t ever get tired of it. “Next date will be special, promise. I need to make it up to you.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Renjun laughs as he shakes his head, leaning back in his booth. He weakly attempts to pull his hand away, but Jeno doesn’t let him, holding onto it even tighter. “I mean it, really. I like the way things are.” For the first time in a while, Renjun looks down in embarrassment at his own confession, hiding the way his face tints pink. Maybe it is because it’s his first time ever pursuing anything romantic with someone, but everything he does with Jeno feels so new . Going to an old mom-and-pop diner with his friends back home wouldn’t be as fun. Going downtown to explore all the local shops definitely wouldn’t be as interesting. They’d be boring, bland, yet something about doing them with Jeno has him on the tips of his toes and his cheeks aching because he’s been smiling too much. Jeno’s presence brightens up any dull situation. They could sit by the resort’s pool all day, and he wouldn’t have a problem with it. It even makes Renjun want to gag, but he’s fine with doing anything, as long as he does it with Jeno.

“But I want to. I promise I won’t do anything huge if it makes you uncomfortable, but at least let me make up for how pathetic our first one was just because it was so impromptu. You deserve better than a shitty ice cream date.” Jeno pleads. His other arm hits the table, extending his other hand for Renjun to take, and Renjun very quickly complies, interlocking their fingers without a second thought. “We need to do something special before you leave.”

Ugh. The disgusting reminder that Renjun does have to leave Jeno eventually and the two weeks left with each other simply isn’t enough. Although it’s something they’ve both been doing their best to avoid talking about, they both know it’s coming, and they don’t have much time left together. Between Jeno’s busy personal life and Renjun’s family actually wanting to go out to do things together, they truly don’t even have the entire two weeks together left before they pack up their car and start the drive back home. So Jeno does raise a good point. Maybe they should do something a little more special together to remember in the future, even if things between them didn’t go past some silly little summer romance.

“Alright. Yeah. Let’s do it.” Renjun finally agrees. Jeno’s overjoyed by the response, his back straightening and his hands squeezing Renjun’s in excitement. “But not to make up for our first date. I liked how it went, and I promise you have nothing to make up for there. Let’s just do something special, so we have something to remember when I have to leave.” 

“As if I would forget you,” Jeno drags their hands up, forcing their elbows to dig into the wooden table in front of them. It isn’t necessarily comfortable, but Renjun doesn’t have the heart to complain about it as Jeno leans to rest his cheek against one pair of their hands, a subtle smile pulling at his lips as he looks over at Renjun. Although Renjun’s painfully inexperienced, the look of adoration in Jeno’s eyes is unmistakable, and Renjun can feel a warmth spreading throughout his chest before it makes its way throughout his entire body. Even with the summer sun blazing down on them, he welcomes the warmth, even craves it when he and Jeno eventually part ways at his hotel room whenever Jeno drops him off at the resort. Jeno stares at him with nothing but fondness, saying nothing about his admiration, but Renjun can see it all in his eyes, and he adores it. “But alright. It’s a date then.” Jeno grins, and Renjun’s heart is beating so fast in his chest that he thinks it might jump out of his chest and into the basket full of free dinner rolls their waitress had given them. “Give me a little time to figure things out, and then I’ll get back to you on the details.”

Renjun wants to remind Jeno that they don’t have much time left, and it’s better that they figure things out sooner rather than later, but he figures that Jeno’s already aware of that. So he nods his head, letting Jeno know that he’s fine with that. They don’t have much time left, and Renjun refuses to waste another second of it be spent on the sour reminder that their summer will end in just a few short days. They’ll deal with the tragic reality of being separated when that day comes closer. For now, Renjun simply wants to enjoy the moment they share together, their fingers laced together at the diner Jeno grew up going to. Admiration in both of their eyes and another date to look forward to.

🌊🌊🌊

Renjun isn’t sure how long it takes for something to become a tradition, but he thinks Jeno walking him up to his room after every time they see each other might be one. It becomes routine for them, really. Their goodbyes never happen in the resort parking lot after Jeno drives them back from wherever they’ve wandered off to that day. They don’t even think to say goodbye as they walk into the resort’s lobby hand-in-hand, waiting for the elevator that’ll bring them up to Renjun’s floor. Goodbyes only cross their mind once the elevator dings and the doors open to reveal the familiar scenery of Renjun’s floor.

They aim to spend every second together that they can, desperate to make each second count as they slowly pace towards Renjun’s door. Jeno’s hand will tighten around Renjun’s, and Renjun welcomes it, invites it, even. Xiaojun calls it dramatic when Renjun tells him about it on the phone, but with knowing how fast time goes by, Renjun doesn’t want to regret not getting in even those last couple of seconds with Jeno by his hotel room.

“Text me when you get your phone back?” Jeno asks, though there’s no point in it other than prolonging their goodbyes as much as possible. Renjun has started sending Jeno texts first before even thinking to look at the group chat he has with Yangyang and Xiaojun. ( “hes whipped, your honor” is what Yangyang sent when they found out. Renjun can’t fight it because it’s the truth) 

Jeno’s leaning against the wall, reaching his hand out to grab Renjun’s other hand and keeping them both in front of their bodies. Jeno, Renjun’s come to learn, is extremely affectionate, even if he doesn’t realize it. Not that Renjun’s complaining, though. He adores the affection, indulges in it, and doesn’t ever refuse the opportunity to hold Jeno’s hand or hug him as they greet each other. Their bodies are close, Renjun can see the small beads of sweat falling from Jeno’s hairline although they’re in the air-conditioned resort, can see his chest rise and fall with every breath, and Renjun feels just ever so slightly intimidated. 

“I always do.” Renjun finally replies, tilting his head to the side, resting the side of his head to his shoulder as he looks up at Jeno with a giddy smile. “Will you text me when you get back home even though I won’t see it for probably another few hours?” He bites down on his tongue, stepping just the tiniest bit closer to Jeno as he swings their hands. Jeno also makes a step forward, and their chests are just an inch apart. Renjun can hear his heart start to pick up its pace again. The air is tense, though not in a bad way. It’s unfamiliar, full of anxiety, but not the type that has Renjun worrying over what’s to come. It’s the exciting sort of anxiety—The anxiousness that settles into someone’s bones as they wait in line for a rollercoaster or finally step foot onto an airplane for a vacation they’ve been planning forever. His palms start to sweat, and he almost wants to let go of Jeno’s hands so he can wipe his hands off on his clothes. But he doesn’t, and he allows the unfamiliar atmosphere to linger undisturbed.

“I always do.” Jeno mimics, and although they’re already so close, he continues to lean in, curling his back to lean into Renjun. He’s still smiling, but his eyes wander, and it only takes a second for Renjun to realize that his gaze flickers from Renjun’s eyes to his lips, and oh god, is Jeno going to kiss him? Silence falls between them, and the sound of his heart thumping in his own chest is far too loud. Jeno’s going to kiss him. Renjun’s terrified. Excited, but terrified. He’s only ever kissed someone once—Some girl back in middle school before he discovered that he doesn’t swing that way . It was messy, gross, only done for some stupid $10 dare during his homeroom, and it was quickly stopped by a teacher scolding them both for the incredulous act done upon school grounds. He was only thirteen, barely counts it as an actual kiss. But now he’s seventeen, and he’s going to have his first real kiss with a really fucking cute guy.

Renjun’s body goes lax as Jeno leans in closer and closer, and Renjun feels like he’s about to explode when their lips are just barely touching each other. He can feel Jeno’s breath against his mouth, and he feels so fucking lightheaded when Jeno continues to tease him, moving his head ever so slightly into tricking Renjun that he’s finally going to just connect their lips. Renjun thinks he’s finally about to as Jeno’s eyes flutter shut, his long eyelashes splaying against his cheeks, but Renjun only had half a second to admire him before he’s closing his eyes too, leaning in, just barely a centimeter from each other. Then the door clicks unlock.

Instinctually, Renjun lets go of Jeno’s hands, pushing at his chest in an attempt to quickly get Jeno to back away from him in case it was his parents who were about to walk out of the room. He doesn’t want to—god, pushing Jeno away from him when they were about to kiss is the last thing Renjun wants—but he absolutely refuses to let his parents walk out to see him kissing some cute guy in front of their hotel room. Jeno looks mildly hurt, his smile dragging down into a slight frown that fills Renjun with guilt.

All of that, yet it isn’t even Renjun’s parents who stroll out of the hotel room. Renjun can’t decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing because it’s Chenle who walks out of their room instead, freezing at the doorway as he looks between Renjun and Jeno. Arguably, him walking out of the room is even worse than his parents, especially with the look of disgust he eyes them down with. “Gross.” He gags, shivering as he walks past them. Renjun wants to tackle him to the ground, but he figures beating his younger brother up in front of Jeno wouldn’t be too attractive, so he holds himself back, allowing Chenle to walk down the hallway. He isn’t sure where he’s headed and doesn’t care to figure it out.

“I’m sorry about that.” Renjun swallows as he turns back to face Jeno. Although he apologizes, Jeno still stands in front of him awkwardly, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

“It’s fine, no worries,” Jeno attempts to laugh it off, but Renjun still feels terrible . He thinks he might actually take the chances of getting in trouble and scream into his pillow the second he walks in, and then again when he calls Yangyang and Xiaojun that night. Jeno’s shifting his weight from foot to foot, swaying just slightly as he finally drops his hand from the back of his neck. “Just a bit embarrassing that we were interrupted when we were about to— yeah.” Jeno can’t even say they were about to kiss, and Renjun wants to drop fucking dead. At least Jeno hasn’t run off, telling Renjun that maybe they should stay just friends before blocking his number as soon as he got into the elevator.

“I know,” Renjun sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. His teeth dig into his lower lip out of anxiety, his fingers picking at the sleeve of his shirt in some attempt to calm his anxious thoughts. “But, I don’t know,” He coughs out, avoiding eye contact with Jeno at all costs. His gaze stays on the patterned carpet beneath their feet, watching as Jeno’s rocking motions continue. “Maybe next time?” Renjun manages to squeak out. He can see Jeno’s feet coming to a stop, his body freezing. “Hopefully, the next date is in a Chenle-Free zone.”

There’s a noise that comes from the back of Jeno’s throat, high pitched and surprised, before Jeno tries to cut it off with a cough and nervous laughter. “Yeah,” Jeno says, and Renjun finally manages to gain the courage to look back up again at Jeno. He’s nodding his head, his eyes crinkled up to show as much joy as his smile does, and Renjun swoons at the sight as if he hasn’t seen it possibly hundreds of times in the past two weeks. “Next time. Definitely. It’ll be Chenle-free, promise.”

Renjun doesn’t respond, only unwraps his arms from around himself in favor of wrapping around Jeno's neck instead. It catches Jeno off guard, taking him a second to realize Renjun’s got him pulled into a hug before he snakes his arms around Renjun’s waist, squeezing him gently. Neither of them wants to pull away, so they don’t, not until they have to because Renjun’s parents are probably waiting for him, and Jeno should probably head home before it begins to turn dark outside. Even then, they’re reluctant, pulling away from each other’s bodies as slow as they can.

Jeno’s arms slip away from around Renjun’s waist, but his hands stay gently planted on Renjun’s hips, trying to prolong the situation as much as he can. But it’s enough for Renjun to lean back, getting a full view of Jeno’s face. “I’ll talk to you later.” He promises, though his eyes can’t help but wander over Jeno’s features. Renjun doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to fully grasp just how beautiful Jeno actually is—His perfectly chiseled bone structure, his stupidly charming smile that gets his heart racing, and stupidly cute eye smile that matches it. The iconic mole that lays just beneath his eye and the way his eyelashes flutter shut onto it every time he blinks. It makes it too much of a challenge to try and not lean in again, kiss Jeno right then and there like he should’ve just a couple of minutes ago before they were disturbed, but he holds himself back. The next date. He can wait until then to press his lips against Jeno’s. But for now, he leans in, planting a quick kiss onto Jeno’s cheek before completely pulling his body away from him. “Drive home safe.” 

“I will.” Jeno swallows. His neck is flushed red, matching one of the tank tops he’s forced to wear on the job. All he can do is raise a weak hand, waving at Renjun while Renjun pulls his key card out of his pocket, pressing it against the doorknob to unlock it. 

Renjun’s parents scold him for showing up back to the hotel room late that evening, but Renjun thinks it was worth it. Even if he didn’t get to kiss Jeno, their promise is just enough to not let his parents ruin his mood and enough to get him through the next few days.

🌊🌊🌊

Jeno Lee is fucking insane. But Renjun thinks he might be crazier for ever listening to him.

“Can you sneak out of your room tonight?”  Jeno’s words came out of nowhere that afternoon. He didn’t even look at Renjun as he said it, keeping his eyes trained on the busy pool. Renjun almost refused to believe that Jeno was serious, letting out a short laugh in disbelief as he looked over the magazine he was flipping through. There was no way Jeno was serious, and if he was, Renjun thought he must’ve misheard him. But he didn’t, and after a minute without gracing him without an answer, Jeno finally turned to look at him. “For our date. I finally managed to work things out—If you still wanted to go out.”

It had been days since the last time he and Jeno managed to spend time together, the longest amount of time both of them had gone without seeing each other since first speaking. Jeno had been busy with family matters, leaving Renjun to rot by the pool for the past few days with only Jeno’s text messages at night keeping him from actually passing away from boredom. A part of Renjun had even thought Jeno forgot about the date completely since Jeno hadn’t mentioned it since their last goodbye by Renjun’s hotel room. Apparently not.

Renjun almost wanted to call Jeno crazy, tell him that there was absolutely no way he’d be able to sneak out later that night without being caught by his parents, or at least by Chenle, who would then snitch on him. But Jeno looked at him with hopeful eyes, almost silently begging, and Renjun couldn’t say no. Especially not when he wanted to go out with Jeno.

“I’ll try and figure something out.”

Which he does. Renjun doesn’t consider himself a bad kid—Alright, he’s gotten in trouble here and there, grounded because he’s too behind on schoolwork, or because he fought with Chenle, but it isn’t like he rebels. He’ll complain about the rules his parents set, talk openly about how much he hates them, but he doesn’t go out of his way to break them. He never sneaks out of his window at night to go to parties and never comes home some sort of inebriated. He’s never been tempted to break any kind of rule until now, tip-toeing out of bed and out of their hotel room for a boy. He tells himself it's ridiculous, but it doesn’t stop him from rushing down to the lobby to meet Jeno at midnight.

It’s a new sensation—the anxiety and the adrenaline that mixes together in his veins. The excitement of seeing Jeno again and the fear of his parents finding out he snuck out. The anticipation of possibly kissing Jeno, the dread of possibly fucking up. It’s a lot for Renjun to handle, and he swears he’s seconds away from being sick when the elevator comes to a sudden halt, delivering him to the first floor.

Renjun quickly spots Jeno. His bright red lifeguard hoodie doesn’t make it hard for Renjun to find him, especially when there’s only a couple of people sporadically spread in the lobby at that time of night. Despite temperatures surely dropping from earlier on in the day, he’s still in shorts and a pair of flip flops that makes Renjun shiver at the sight. There’s a hop in his step as he tries to warm himself up as he walks towards Jeno, but cheesily enough, he almost hopes Jeno’s embrace would warm him up instead.

Jeno’s looking down at his phone. He’s painfully unaware of his surroundings, leaning against a pillar without any concern, waiting and hoping that Renjun actually shows up at the time they’ve arranged. All communication between them had been cut off just two hours prior when Renjun’s mother had taken away his phone when she officially called for all lights to be turned off. For two hours, Renjun’s just been tossing and turning in his bed next to Chenle, full of excitement and anxiety for their date to come.

“You should be a little more aware of your surroundings. Especially so late at night.” Renjun doesn’t mean for his voice to startle Jeno, but the unexpectedness makes Jeno almost jump from his skin. He’s cradling his phone against his chest to avoid dropping it in shock, and all Renjun can do is laugh as he watches Jeno’s chest rise and fall rapidly as he tries to compose himself. Their volume attracts the attention of the few people still wandering the lobby, turning to look at them with scours.

“Jesus fucking Christ , Renjun,” Jeno pants out. His panicked look switches to joy as he looks over at Renjun laughing, shaking his hand as he reaches out to grab ahold of Renjun’s waist. Renjun can feel Jeno’s fingers jabbing at sides, making him almost want to yelp out, but he refuses to cause more of a scene than they already have. So he resorts to smacking Jeno’s chest, pushing him away, but still latching his hand onto Jeno’s in hopes that’ll stop Jeno from trying to tickle him again.

“You’re an asshole. ” Renjun scowls, though there’s no true venom behind his words. Renjun doesn’t think he could ever playfully insult Jeno with as much bite as he would with Xiaojun or Yangyang. Probably because he’s so smitten with Jeno.

“So, should I cancel our date?” Even though Jeno jokes about it, he still tugs at Renjun’s arm, nodding his head over at the elevator for Renjun to follow him. Which Renjun so pliantly does, not only because he still definitely wants to go on this date with Jeno (Whatever it may actually be,)  but because Renjun had already gone through the anxiety of sneaking out of their hotel room, and he isn’t about to already give up and go back upstairs.

“Shut up,” Renjun rolls his eyes, though he still leans into Jeno’s side, crossing his other arm over his chest to latch onto Jeno’s bicep as they walk. “What did you even plan that requires me sneaking out at midnight for us to do?” He asks, watching Jeno lean forward and call for an elevator. Renjun’s been curious ever since Jeno brought it up that afternoon. His brain racked through lists of possibilities of what Jeno might’ve planned, yet nothing seemed to make any sense the more he thought about them. He only feels more confused now that Jeno’s dragged them towards the elevators rather than the exit of the resort.

“One of my coworkers owed me a favor,” Jeno hums, looking over at Renjun for a brief second before turning back to the elevator. “And remember how I said I was going to teach you how to swim?” The elevator dings before Renjun can respond, and Jeno’s quick to tug him inside. “Managed to get him to agree to let us use the indoor pool for an hour before it gets cleaned for the night. But until then, it’s all ours.”  

“Jeno Lee, you are fucking insane,” Renjun does his best not to screech, even if they’re the only people in the elevator as the doors close and they start to descend after Jeno’s pressed the button to go to the basement. “Couldn’t you guys get fucking fired for this?” Is the first concern that Renjun has. The second is that he’s terribly underprepared, having nothing prepared for a swim date because Jeno hadn’t even told him what to at least have ready for tonight. The third is just simply pure gay panic over the thought of seeing Jeno half-naked for the first time. Because, sure, he’s seen Jeno soaked with his white tank top sticking to his muscles, but it simply isn’t the same thing as seeing Jeno with his shirt completely off. He figures, though, that’s the least of his concerns, and he doesn’t have to deal with that until they finally get to the pool.

“Maybe.” Jeno shrugs, and he seems completely unbothered by the possibility of being fired. Perhaps it’s because the chances are low, so he isn’t entirely concerned about it, or maybe Jeno’s secretly tired of the job and its minimum wage pay. Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to scare Jeno. “But as long as no one catches us—Which I doubt anyone will—We’ll be fine.” He says. The elevator ride is quick, taking less than a minute since they’ve only gone a floor down, and Jeno once again tugs at his hand to pull him in his direction as he steps out of the elevator.

The lights are dim in the basement, hotel staff probably assuming not many patrons would find themselves in the basement at this hour, but it isn’t completely dark. Renjun can still spot the highlights of Jeno’s face as they walk down the narrow hallway, passing by the indoor gym located inside of the hotel before they finally approach the glass doors that bring them to the pool. “I don’t even have a bathing suit—I don’t even think I own one.” 

“I brought an extra pair of trunks that you can use—I came prepared, don’t worry.” Jeno squeezes Renjun’s hand in reassurance, his other hand slipping inside the front pocket of his hoodie to pull out a pair of keys.

Renjun still has a lot of questions. What if the trunks don’t fit? What happens if they get caught? Would Jeno get fired? Would Renjun’s parents find out he snuck out? Does Jeno remember their promise from the end of their last date?

But he chooses not to ask any of them. Just watches as Jeno inserts the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door and pushing it open for them to walk inside. Though slightly brighter than the hallways, the inside pool area is still dim, just lit enough for them to navigate the room without tripping over. The chlorinated water reflects the lights, turning everything it hits a soft hue of blue. From the white pool chairs to the beige shirt he’s wearing to Jeno’s skin as Renjun turns to look up at him. It’s quiet, and for the first time since they’ve met, they’re completely alone. Not surrounded by tourists or patrons of the resort or stuck in traffic in Jeno’s dad’s old car as Jeno drives them around town. It’s just the slightest bit intimidating.

Two of the plastic pool chairs have blankets laid across them, Jeno’s duffle bag from work sat on one of them, and it’s clear to Renjun that Jeno had been lingering around the resort longer than he thought. “There’s a bathroom right over there, so you can change,” Jeno’s voice echoes loud in the room, and Renjun thinks he might faint hearing Jeno’s voice so amplified. He’s pointing past the deep end of the pool, the wall behind it cutting into two doorways, and although Renjun can’t read the signs next to them, he can only assume they indicate one bathroom leading into the men’s room and the other the women’s.

Jeno loosens himself from Renjun’s hold, much to Renjun’s dismay, reaching for his duffle bag to unzip it. He pulls out a pair of charcoal grey swim trunks—Which Renjun can tell he’ll already have to tie multiple times to get them to stay around his waist—handing them over without a word. “What about you?” Renjun swallows, taking the swimsuit from Jeno as he hands them over.

“Already wearing them,” Jeno pats his thighs, definitely trying to draw attention to the navy blue swim trunks he has on that Renjun had confused for actual shorts, but Renjun’s eyes are really only paying any mind towards Jeno’s thighs. Renjun wonders if the blue lighting of the room would make his undoubtedly red cheeks appear purple. “I got ready before I went up to the lobby to wait for you. Since we only have an hour here, I figured I’d get ready.”

Right. They have a time limit. Which Renjun already knows will go by faster than either of them realize it, just from past experience. Jeno’s shifts end as soon as they start with conversation flowing between them, the bright blue sky turning a mixed palette of oranges and pinks within what seemed like minutes of them just messing around. An hour isn’t a lot of time, especially in Jeno’s presence, and each second without any communication between either of them seems like a waste. “I’ll go change then.” Renjun nods his head towards the bathroom, making small steps in its direction.

“And I’ll be waiting for you.” Is the only reply Jeno graces him with, seating himself next to his duffle bag. He sends Renjun a smile, which Renjun takes as his cue to quicken his steps towards the bathroom. He changes out of his clothing as quickly as he can, hopping around as he struggles to pull the shorts on with his sneakers still on his feet (He refuses to step barefoot on the floor of a public bathroom.) The swimsuit isn’t as loose as he initially thought it’d be, only having to tie it twice to cinch it to his own waist, which only then leads Renjun to freak out over how tiny Jeno’s waist actually is for a minute before he’s grabbing his clothes and exiting the bathroom again.

Jeno’s still sat at the same pool chair as he was when Renjun left him just a mere few minutes ago, but this time, his upper half is completely exposed, leaving nothing for Renjun to imagine. Especially when Jeno straightens his back as he hears Renjun approaching and then promptly stands up, extending his arms to take Renjun’s clothes from him. “You’re going to swim with your sneakers on?” He jokes, nodding towards the shoes still on Renjun’s feet as he works to put Renjun’s clothes in his duffle bag. Presumably to keep them dry in case they managed to get water by their small set up.

“Shut up,” Renjun mutters out, and Jeno’s words are just enough to pull Renjun out of his gay panic to kick his shoes off, bending down to pull off his socks as well. “I wasn’t going to walk around the bathroom without shoes on and risk catching something. Public bathrooms are nasty, no matter how seemingly clean they look.” 

“Next time, I’ll give you a little more of a heads up.” Jeno reaches out again once Renjun stands straight, but this time, his hands slip onto Renjun’s waist. His grip is gentle, no more than just softly placing his hands upon his bare skin, yet Renjun still feels trapped in his touch. Jeno’s skin is warm, his touch against Renjun’s cold body, and Renjun can feel as thousands of goosebumps litter his body. It takes a second for Renjun to convince himself to return the touch, planting his hands flat against Jeno’s chest and swallowing as he tilts his head up ever so slightly to get a better view of Jeno’s face. “Last person into the pool pays for the next date?”

Jeno doesn’t give Renjun any time to think. His hands immediately leave Renjun’s waist, and then he’s dashing off to the left, jumping into the pool just a couple of feet away. Renjun doesn’t even start to comprehend what happened until Jeno hits the water, and water splashes onto Renjun’s feet and legs from where he’s standing.

“ You—” Renjun scoffs, shaking his legs to rid them of the water as best he can, even though he’ll be entering the pool in just a few short minutes. “That’s not fair! You didn’t warn me, and I can’t swim!” He whines, watching as Jeno’s head pops out of the water. He sends even more water flinging in Renjun’s direction as he shakes his head like a dog after a bath, laughing as Renjun squeals and tries to run from it. 

“So join me,” Jeno grins, lifting a hand to push his hair back from his face. It’s more attractive than it probably should be. Renjun figures that all this date really is going to be is Jeno giving him twenty more reasons to continue to thirst after him, even after the summer is over and he heads back home. “Join me, and I can teach you how to swim. For next time.”

Renjun only lets out a loud sigh, standing in place for just a moment before giving in and walking towards the stairs at the shallow end of the pool. Jeno lets out something like a cheer behind him, clapping his hands in victory, and Renjun rolls his eyes despite how sickeningly adorable it is. He can fawn over it later once he gets over the initial nerves of entering the pool, which looks slightly more menacing with each step, even if he isn’t afraid of the water itself.

“You can do it!” Jeno shouts in encouragement from the pool as Renjun finally approaches the steps. He’s sending him two thumbs up, his smile bright enough to be seen even from so many feet away. The small bit of encouragement pathetically does help, though, and Renjun’s taking in a deep breath, reaching out to hold onto the railing of the stairs that lead into the pool before finally dipping his toes in.

Immediately, the first thing Renjun can recognize is how fucking cold the water is. Even with just his toes dipping into the water, he feels like his whole body has been frozen, and he yelps as he retracts his foot from the water. “It’s fucking freezing!” He screeches, and his voice echoes the empty room so loudly that he’s sure someone could hear him from just down the hallway. “Jesus fucking Christ, how the fuck are you okay in there?” He scoffs, listening as Jeno’s laughs bounce off the walls. Jeno’s already soaked, chest-deep in the water. The lower half of his body is completely distorted through the view of the water, and Renjun’s just mildly disappointed to lose the sight of his bare chest. Alright, maybe a little more than mildly.

“You’ll get used to it. It isn’t that bad. Just sit on the ledge with your feet in the water to get used to it if you really can’t handle it.” There’s a large splash behind Jeno as he kicks off to paddle towards the shallow end of the pool. “But we don’t have much time, and I did wanna try to teach you at least a little. I’ll be pretty upset if you don’t at least get into the water with me.” Jeno fakes a pout as he throws his arms over the ledge of the shoulder to lean against them. His cheek presses against his forearm as he looks over at Renjun with eyes that sparkle even with just the limited light provided. It takes everything for Renjun not to jump into the pool and kiss him right then and there. He holds himself back. He can’t kiss Jeno if he’s drowning for a second time that summer.

Jeno’s right, though. Because although it is a date (God, Renjun’s stomach still fills with stupid butterflies thinking about all the times Jeno confirms that it is one), Jeno still brought him there with just the tiniest hope of teaching him how to swim as he promised on the first day they started speaking. Fuck, Jeno even went the extra mile to probably beg his coworker to lend him the keys for the indoor pool so far after curfew. Jeno probably put his job on the line to do something cute for him. Renjun thinks the least he can do is step foot into the pool and hang out in the shallow end.

“Okay,” Renjun sighs out, loosening his grip on the railing. Instead, he reaches his hand out, silently inviting Jeno to assist him. Jeno understands the cue almost immediately, reaching forward to latch onto Renjun’s hand and guiding him down the steps. Renjun lets out another subdued yelp as the water hits his skin once he finally steps in, squeezing Jeno’s hand and hearing him laugh in response. “If I die of hypothermia, Jeno Lee, I swear I’m going to haunt you in the afterlife. You will never see another day of peace.” He groans, whining as he reluctantly steps deeper and deeper into the pool. By the time he reaches the last step, the water is up to his hips, and Renjun’s almost tempted to snatch his hand back so he can wrap his arms around himself for warmth.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jeno grins, pulling Renjun in closer, and this time, Renjun stops him by planting his free hand on Jeno’s chest. He extends his arm, pushing himself as far away as he can from Jeno.

“Last time you did this, you jumped into the pool. Who’s to say you don’t have something else planned?” Renjun huffs. He wraps his arms around his torso, hands rubbing at his skin to try and warm himself up as he watches Jeno pout.

“Renjun, babe,” Jeno coos, and the pet name almost makes Renjun want to squeal in pathetic joy from the way it makes his heart pick up. The corners of his lips quirk up, and he has to fight his body’s overwhelming need to blush and smile over it. Jeno knows what he’s doing, trying to weaken Renjun, and Renjun can’t say that it isn’t working. “I was just trying to give you affection. Is that so wrong of me?” His arms spread open, walking towards Renjun, and Renjun’s eyes immediately shoot open as he realizes what Jeno is trying to do.

“Do not hug me. You’re still wet and cold,” Renjun warns, but it doesn’t stop Jeno from stepping towards him. Renjun does his best to escape his fate, running as fast as he can against the water away from Jeno, but it proves pointless as Jeno catches up to him almost immediately. His arms wrap around Renjun’s body, pulling him in tight as Renjun squeals. Jeno’s body is just as Renjun expected: cold and wet, and Renjun can’t say it’s all that pleasant of an experience as he whines and squirms in Jeno’s arms. Jeno’s clearly amused by his own actions, laughing as he keeps his arms wrapped tight around Renjun.

Renjun can only manage to set one of his arms free from Jeno’s hold, using it to weakly attempt at splashing water in Jeno’s direction in hopes of getting him to let go, but it only proves to do the opposite. His grip around Renjun’s waist only tightens, and Renjun can feel himself lowering closer and closer to the water as Jeno slowly starts to tip him. “Do not—” Renjun tries to warn Jeno again, but it’s already too late. He can feel his lower back start to submerge in the water, and Renjun yelps as the freezing water hits his skin. He instinctively jumps, wrapping his legs around Jeno’s waist and hooking his arms around Jeno’s neck to keep himself from fully falling into the water even if they’re on the shallow end.

“You’re the worst.” Renjun groans out, feeling as his back is completely submerged under the water. Jeno doesn’t tip him far enough for his neck or head to touch the water, which Renjun does slightly appreciate, but he’s thoroughly convinced he’s going to freeze if he tries to get out of the water and the air hits his cold skin. “You’re so lucky you’re cute, and I like you, or else I would’ve murdered you.”

“So you like me?” Jeno grins, slowly tilting Renjun up from the water. The cold water runs down Renjun’s back, making him cringe and shiver as the cool air hits his wet skin, and his nails can’t help but dig into Jeno’s skin slightly.

“I didn’t think either of us were really hiding it,” Renjun’s nose is still scrunched up in mild discomfort. He knows he can easily plant his feet back down onto the pool floor instead of keeping them wrapped around Jeno’s waist, but Renjun enjoys how close their bodies are and the intimacy it brings. Their chests are nearly pressed flush against each other, faces only a couple of inches apart. It’s not a bad sight by any means, and Renjun isn’t in any rush to take his eyes off of Jeno. “We sort of have been making it really obvious. You know, all the dates, the texts….” Renjun clears his throat before speaking again. “What almost happened at the end of our last date.”

“I know. It’s just nice hearing you say it.” Jeno shrugs, closing in the small amount of space between their chests. The splashing and noises between them stop, and the room is once again filled with silence, but Renjun thinks the sound of his heart beating might start echoing in the room soon enough.  “I really like hearing you say it because I like you a lot.” Jeno’s right. It is nice hearing it. Because although it’s blatantly obvious Jeno’s attracted to him, hearing Jeno confirm that he does like Renjun and it isn’t just something he’s made up in his delusional thoughts is reassuring. It also makes him feel like he’s two seconds from throwing his heart up, and Renjun decides that he can no longer look Jeno in the eyes. He’s far too stupidly shy from the confession.

Which Jeno doesn’t allow because as soon as Renjun’s turning his head away, Jeno’s lifting a hand above the water, turning Renjun’s head back towards him. His hand tucked beneath his chin, his hold so gentle that Renjun can pull away if he wants to, but he doesn’t. “Now you’re gonna get all smooth and flirty with me again after what just happened?” Renjun jokes, and he can feel Jeno’s chest vibrating as he lets out soft laughter in response. “Still kinda wanna murder you for it.”

“Even if I can make it up to you?” Jeno’s pitch rises towards the end of his sentence, his words hopeful as he looks down at Renjun. His hand finally lets go of Renjun’s chin in favor of falling back into the water. Both of his hands move to hook under Renjun’s thighs instead, keeping him up as Renjun keeps his legs wrapped around his waist, and Renjun shivers at the contact. “I’m pretty sure it’s a Chenle-Free zone here. Unless he somehow snuck out and followed you here.” 

Renjun has to resist the urge to turn his head away again out of timidness at the realization of what exactly Jeno is implying.  Jeno wants to kiss him. Again, even after the disaster that happened last time. He’s trying to kiss him, almost subtly asking Renjun for permission to do so before he actually does it. Which only earns Jeno more points on his attractiveness scale because although obtaining consent really is the bare minimum, it’s still hot that Jeno respects Renjun’s possible boundaries. 

“He wouldn’t,” Renjun swallows, shaking his head. “Once he’s asleep, it’s pretty much impossible to wake him up.” Renjun knows Jeno’s joking, yet he can’t help his nervous rambling. One of his hands keeps itself on Jeno’s shoulder, gripping onto it as the other slowly slides up Jeno’s neck, gently cupping Jeno’s face. His thumb passes over his cheekbone, and Renjun can just feel his heart continue to steadily increase its pace with every passing second. “I’ll decide if I forgive you based on how well you make it up to me.” 

Their noses don’t nuzzle against each other this time, their lips not even bothering to ghost over each other for even a second. They’ve already waited long enough for this moment, and neither of them sees it necessary to put off the sensation of their lips meeting any longer than they already have. Which Renjun is incredibly grateful for because the second Jeno’s lips meet his, Renjun’s already obsessed. Jeno’s lips taste strongly of mint, perhaps a bit too strong, as if Jeno had chewed a whole pack of gum before they met because he knew this was going to happen. Renjun regrets not doing the same and only hopes that the toothpaste he used to brush his teeth with a couple of hours ago works well enough to keep his breath from smelling foul.

If it does, Jeno doesn’t say anything about it or try and end the kiss just seconds after it’s started. His mouth just continues to move against Renjun’s, his hands still on the back of Renjun’s thighs, and it’s so glaringly obvious that Jeno knows what he’s doing. Renjun’s just doing his best to keep up with Jeno’s pace, following his lead as their lips smack together, not loud enough to echo in the room but enough for it to echo in Renjun’s ears. His hand slides from Jeno’s cheek and into his hair, his fingers gripping onto the strands, and he didn’t know kissing would be this nice. Maybe it’s just the pure emotion and intimacy behind it that makes it so enjoyable, but all he knows is that kissing Jeno is far superior to kissing some girl from middle school.

They only pull away not because they want to, but because they need to breathe, though neither of them moves very far apart from each other. Their foreheads rest against each other, mouths still just centimeters apart, and Renjun can feel Jeno’s pants against his face as they both try to make up for the loss of air. It’s tempting to just lean forward and reconnect their mouths, though. Especially as Renjun watches through half-lidded eyes how Jeno’s gaze seems to shift up and down from his eyes to his lips. “Was that a good enough way to make it up to you?” He jokes, and Renjun can’t hold back the small laugh that leaves his mouth.

“Mmm,” Renjun hums, his fingers still fiddling with the wet strands of hair at the back of Jeno’s head, nuzzling his nose against Jeno’s. He’s already leaning back in again, their lips practically touching as he speaks, “Not sure yet. I think we need to do that again for me to figure it out.” 

Jeno wastes no time delivering what Renjun wants, and Renjun knows that they’re definitely going to waste the hour they have together making out rather than teaching Renjun how to doggy paddle. Renjun blames it on the fact that kissing Jeno is already so damn addicting, and he welcomes Jeno’s mouth back against his with no hesitation. The cold he felt just minutes ago has completely vanished, warmth spreading throughout his body the longer Jeno continues to hold him, kiss him, and Renjun already knows he’ll yearn for this feeling when he has to go back home. 

Their mouths still move against each other as Renjun moves his hand off Jeno’s shoulder, dipping it into the pool. He cups his hand, gathering as much water as he can in the small cupped palm of his hand, quickly transferring and dumping the water atop Jeno’s head. Though it isn’t much, it’s enough to get Jeno to pull away from the kiss in shock, letting out a small noise of surprise while Renjun laughs, pulling himself from Jeno’s hold before Jeno can retaliate. “ Payback, ” Renjun grins, flinging even more water in Jeno’s direction. “I forgive you now.”

Jeno stands frozen for a few moments, almost trying to comprehend what exactly had happened before he even thinks to take action again. “You’re going to regret that.” Jeno says, and he’s swinging his arm under the warm, sending another large splash towards Renjun that has him squealing as he desperately tries running away again.

Renjun knows he’s going to knock out from exhaustion when he gets back to his room. He’ll probably still be exhausted in the morning when his parents force him and Chenle out of bed for the night. But Renjun knows it’ll all be worth it. Between splashing water at each other and kisses shared inside the pool, Renjun knows he’ll always look back upon the memories with nothing but fondness.

🌊🌊🌊

Renjun still doesn’t know how to swim by the time their hour is up. Both of them are okay with it. Makeout sessions in the pool are far more interesting than learning whatever the fuck a butterfly stroke is.

If Renjun hadn’t been convinced Jeno wasn’t pulled out of some rom-com before, he’s thoroughly convinced now that he’s gotten to know Jeno over the course of the last few weeks. Jeno’s perfect. From the date he had planned, to the way he kisses, to the way he insists Renjun wears his hoodie as they walk back towards the elevator after getting redressed, to literally just everything about him. Renjun doesn’t know how he’ll say goodbye to Jeno when the time comes to it, nor does he even want to prepare himself for it. Preparing himself means thinking about it, and that’s the last thing Renjun wants. His first romantic relationship and his first heartbreak. He’ll have to think of ways to thank Xiaojun and Yangyang for dealing with him once he comes home depressed.

“I’m free tomorrow. The entire day—If you wanted to go out. Maybe we can go on a picnic to that little park you liked downtown.” Jeno’s voice is quiet as they walk down the hallway, their fingers intertwined. They continue their tradition of walking back to Renjun’s hotel room, even as the time nears two in the morning, spending a little more time with each other even when they were kicked out of the indoor pool, simply walking laps around the resort. Until both of them decided that they probably should get back to their families in case anyone woke up.

“I don’t care what we do,” Renjun hums, leaning into Jeno’s side with a tired smile on his face. He isn’t sure how long it’s been there. He just knows that his cheeks ache, yet he can’t stop himself. He’s so fucking exhausted, but he feels so elated, like he’s floating, and he knows he shouldn’t be this head over heels for a boy he met just a couple of weeks ago, but here he is. “I just wanna be with you. Wanna kiss you some more,  too.” His words come out so lazily, a slurred whisper. Renjun wishes he could just fall asleep with his head on Jeno’s chest, legs tangled together. But that isn’t possible, and instead, he’ll have to return to the cold reality of pushing Chenle over so he can have enough space to lay down in their shared bed.

“We can do that. Definitely.” Jeno’s reply is almost instant, gently guiding Renjun against the wall just a few feet away from Renjun’s hotel room. Renjun should protest, tell Jeno that they both really need to get going, and warn Jeno that either of his parents could either hear them or walk out and see them at any point. He doesn’t, though. Maybe it’s the exhaustion, or maybe he’s just that addicted to Jeno’s touch already, but he just lets Jeno’s hands find his waist, holding him in place as he starts to lean in again.

Renjun’s lips are probably swollen, a brighter shade of pink than usual, from all the kissing they’ve done. Since their first one in the pool, neither of them could even stand to think about going more than a couple of minutes without pressing their mouths together. The quiet hallway is filled with nothing but the soft smacks of their lips and the small noises in content they both let out as they pull away for just a second before going back in for more. The only thing that breaks them up is the elevator dinging from down the hall and a crowd of noisy, drunk patrons stumbling out and presumably making their way to their hotel room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Jeno asks, pulling away just enough for him to get a full view of Renjun’s face. His grip on Renjun’s waist loosens, almost silently giving Renjun permission to leave his embrace at any time so he can get back into his hotel room.

“Yeah,” Renjun nods. He doesn’t try to leave Jeno’s touch just yet, allowing himself to indulge in it for as long as he can. He slips his hand into the pocket of his joggers, pulling out the plastic key card that’ll grant him access into the room just a couple of inches away from him. “Meet me by the pool at twelve?” Only when Jeno nods does Renjun reluctantly pull himself away, making slow steps towards the door. “Get home safe.”

“I will.” Jeno leans over, pressing another quick peck to Renjun’s lips before he steps away. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He’s already walking backward, moving towards the elevator at the end of the hall, just waiting for a response from Renjun before he turns around.

“Yeah.” Renjun nods. “I’ll see you.” With that, he presses his card against the sensor, watching Jeno smile and wave before he’s turning around and heading towards the elevators.  Renjun’s almost ecstatic to be back in his room. Not because he didn’t enjoy his time with Jeno (because that isn’t close to the truth at all, it’s probably his favorite date he and Jeno have ever gone on,) but because he’s exhausted. He’s tired, having consistently gone to bed at eleven at night since vacation started, his body isn’t used to being up so late anymore. Renjun knows he’ll pass out the second he hits the bed.

Renjun’s feet lazily drag across the carpeted floor into the hotel room, closing the door behind him as gently as possible to not wake anyone up. Which is useless because as he steps further into the room, he notices the bathroom light has turned on through the small gap underneath the door, and someone’s undoubtedly noticed his disappearance. Renjun can only hope it's Chenle because although Chenle will undoubtedly use it as blackmail material, it's much better than either of his parents finding out that he’s snuck out of their hotel room during their vacation. Renjun wonders what the consequences of that would be. If his parents would take away all his devices completely for a week or two, or if he wouldn’t be allowed to go out with Xiaojun and Yangyang once he got back home. Whatever it is, Renjun doesn’t want to deal with it, and he’s far more awake than he was when he first walked back into the room.

Renjun does his best to quickly rush past the bathroom before the door opens up and whoever's inside notices he’s come back. Maybe he can trick them into thinking it was some dream sequence if he finds himself back in bed before they come out, and they completely forget about the missing figure in his and Chenle’s bed when they wake up and see Renjun passed out in bed. Except life doesn’t seem to ever be on Renjun’s side, as the faucet in the bathroom turns off, and the bathroom door swings open just before he can lift the covers to get back into bed.

“Renjun?” The voice is groggy, yet Renjun can still recognize it as belonging to his mother before he even gets a chance to turn around and see her. He’s almost too afraid to do so, not wanting to hear the scolding he’s possibly going to get if he can’t somehow fib his way out of things. But he does eventually turn, facing his mother, who stands by the bathroom door. Only the warm light from the bathroom illuminates her face, showing her droopy eyes in her half-awake state. She’s squinting, almost trying to make sure it’s her son in the room and not some stranger who’s found their way in. “Where’d you go?”

“I wanted to get some ice for my water,” Renjun swallows, quickly plucking the half-empty water bottle off his nightstand to show it off as to make his lie more believable. “But the ice machine is down on our floor. Tried going to the floor above, too, but they’re all out. Someone’s gotta tell the front desk about it.”  He sends her a sheepish smile, though he doubts she’ll be able to see it in her sleepy state and the dim lighting.

Either she doesn’t believe it and just wants to go back to bed, or her exhausted brain makes Renjun’s lie sound believable. She just nods her head, reaching her hand back into the bathroom to turn off the light. “Go back to bed. It’s late.” Is all she says, and Renjun can feel his muscles relaxing in relief as he watches her shuffle back to bed.

Renjun goes to bed still wearing Jeno’s bright red hoodie, burying his nose into the neckline. Despite sweltering temperatures, even with the air conditioning blasting into their room, Renjun doesn’t have the heart to take it off. If he can’t fall asleep with his annoyingly hot crush by his side, he can at least fall asleep breathing in his comforting scent.

🌊🌊🌊

Summer almost always goes by the quickest right as it's about to end. When the back-to-school commercials are played one after the other, when bright green leaves on trees are starting to dry and wither away, when Renjun’s just finally getting into the joy of the season. Because the end of his vacation is fast approaching, and Renjun can’t seem to escape the reminder of it no matter how hard he tries.

His mother tells him to start buying souvenirs for his friends back home. His father starts telling him to slowly start packing his bags. Chenle talks about how excited he is to get back home to his PC to play games with Jisung in just a couple of days. Everyone and their sunburns are excited to finally get back home after their month-long vacation. Everyone besides Renjun, of course.

Him and Jeno don’t talk about it. They never do, but especially not now when reality seems to be coming closer and closer with each day they get to spend with each other. They don’t talk about it, but they know what the other is thinking as their kisses last a second longer, or their hugs are that much tighter whenever they say goodbye to each other at the end of the night. Renjun knows they maybe should talk about things, maybe ask Jeno if he wants to give long distance a shot, but he’s afraid of rejection and doesn’t want to waste any of their time with depressing conversations. They’ll save it for the very last second when Renjun’s suitcase is stuffed to the brim again and shoved in the back of his dad’s car the night before they’re supposed to leave.

Which comes faster than either of them wants it to. Renjun only cries a little bit about it in the shower the morning of their last date. Okay, maybe more than a little, but he knows he still has more tears left to cry later on and probably when they get home. He just has to get it all out then because he refuses to cry in front of Jeno and let Jeno’s last memories with him be him sobbing with snot running from his nose.

They attempt to make things as normal as possible. Jeno meets him by the pool as usual, although Jeno requested the day off so he can spend the entirety of it with Renjun. Which is nice, except for the fact that it meant that Jeno would then have to work the next day. Work when Renjun actually leaves. It’s upsetting, but neither of them can do anything about it. 

Renjun nearly flings himself into Jeno’s arms when he sees him. He never thought he’d be the affectionate type, yet Renjun yearns for it every night when he leaves Jeno. Misses his hugs and the warmth he brings, misses his kisses and the comfort they bring. He wastes no time pressing his lips against Jeno’s, causing Jeno to stumble back in surprise, but he doesn’t push Renjun away. He just brings Renjun in even closer, tightening his arms around Renjun’s waist as he kisses back, and the other patrons of the hotel are probably staring at them with judging eyes for their dramatic act. Neither of them can care.

Even when they reluctantly pull away, Renjun holds onto Jeno’s face, letting his fingers caress his smooth skin. Renjun doesn’t think he’ll ever get over how gorgeous Jeno is, allowing himself to fully appreciate his sight before he even thinks about speaking. “Hi,” Renjun hums, letting out a soft laugh as he watches as his words cause a smile to appear on Jeno’s face. “Where are you taking me today?”

“The boardwalk.” Jeno hums back, leaning forward to press another quick peck to Renjun’s lips before moving his arms from around Renjun’s waist. Renjun misses his touch almost immediately, but Jeno’s quick to grab his hand before he can even think about whining at Jeno for letting go of him. “We’ve spent so many weeks together, yet I haven’t taken you there yet.”

Renjun doesn’t have the heart to tell Jeno that he’s already been to the boardwalk about three times with his family. Not like it matters, though. It doesn’t matter wherever they end up, and however they spend their last few hours together, Renjun just wants to be with Jeno. It’s so disgustingly cliche that even Renjun wants to gag over how incredibly cheesy he’s gotten since meeting Jeno.

“Only if you win me a stuffed animal from one of those rigged boardwalk games. What kind of—” Renjun pauses for a second, only because he isn’t sure what he can even call Jeno since they’ve avoided all conversation of what they were. Too early to say they’re dating, yet their feelings are so strong Renjun’s going to go home feeling like he’s just been dumped anyway. “ Person would you be if you let me go home without winning me one?”

Renjun and Jeno have done everything they can to avoid the conversation about the end. The end of summer, the end of their dates, the end of them. Always finding an excuse to put it off, pushing it to the very last second because they can’t stand to think of an end to whatever they are and whatever they’re doing. But Renjun starts to regret avoiding it for so long. Because the end is near, and whether they like it or not, they have to come up with answers for all the questions they’ve pushed away by the end of the night. Having so many unanswered questions leaves the air with a bitterness that follows them as they walk towards the boardwalk. It lingers over their shoulders, and although positive conversation flows between them, affection shared in the form of their sweaty hands clasped together, it’s just as unavoidable as the conversation they need to have. Yet they still push it off.

They ignore the bitterness for kisses shared in line for rides, for feeding each other sugar and greased-filled snacks that’ll have them feeling ill in the morning. They ignore it through laughter shared as Jeno sheds out another five dollars to get another chance at throwing petty bean bags at weighted milk jugs to win him a stuffed animal. They ignore it as the sun goes down and the carriage of their ferris wheel goes up, and Jeno holds onto Renjun’s hand so tight that Renjun thinks his bones might be crushed into dust. They ignore it until they can’t, when the sun’s finally disappeared, and the moon has taken its place in the sky. Their feet sink into the sand as they walk along the beach, Renjun clutching onto the stuffed animal Jeno spent too much money trying to win for him, finally spotting a place to sit. Things between them are finally quiet, and the bitterness of avoiding the conversation finally catches up to them. The view ahead of them is beautiful, the night sky littered with stars that twinkle as bright as the lights lining the roller coasters on the boardwalk, yet neither of them pays any mind to it. Their heads are turned towards each other, far more interested in each other than anything else.

Despite how busy the boardwalk is and how loud it is from screams of people on rollercoasters to terrible remixes of pop songs that blare out of the speakers, Renjun only has all his senses on Jeno. Jeno’s lips are shiny with grease from the fried dough they just ate, and when Renjun leans in to kiss him, they’re just as sweet as the powdered sugar that was sprinkled on top. He can feel Jeno’s hand gently cupping the side of his face as they kiss. The scent of fair foods, sweet and salty alike, is infused in the hoodie Jeno wears, and all he can hear is the soft hums Jeno lets out throughout the kiss and the words he speaks when they finally pull away. “I’m going to miss you.”

Renjun promised himself in the shower after his morning cry that he wouldn’t cry in front of Jeno. Now that he’s sat in front of Jeno and can feel the lump rising in his throat, he isn’t completely sure if he can keep that promise.  “Yeah,” Renjun swallows, nodding his head in agreement. He takes in a deep breath, trying to compose himself. “I’m gonna miss you, too. A lot.”

“Can I ask you something?” Jeno says, and immediately Renjun wants to shut him down and say no. Only because he knows he’ll tear up even more if he has to continue speaking and needs a second to compose himself, but also because he knows the conversation is about to start. Which fills Renjun with enough anxiety in itself, but also because it just officially marks the beginning of the end. “What do you want to happen to us when you leave?” Jeno’s tone sounds just as dreary as his own, almost dreading the conversation as well. He looks at Renjun with hopeful eyes, and either they’re sparkling, or he’s tearing up as well, Renjun isn’t sure.

Renjun’s not ready to leave. He isn’t ready for summer to be over and isn’t ready for whatever they have and share to be over either. Maybe he should’ve listened to Xiaojun’s advice weeks ago, stopped himself from falling so hard for Jeno so he wouldn’t be in the position now. “I like you a lot.” Is all Renjun starts off with. His hand goes up to his chest, rubbing it through the bright red hoodie Jeno had given him just a couple of days ago in hopes of pushing down the lump that rises. “I wish I had more time with you. I wish I had the fucking guts to come up to you earlier so we could at least have a couple of extra days together.” Renjun can feel Jeno’s hand rubbing his lower back, an attempt to comfort him as he speaks and his words audibly begin to waver. “I don’t want to stop seeing you. Maybe it’s too early to make things official , but,” Renjun shrugs his shoulders, his arm wrapping around the stuffed animal Jeno won for him even tighter. “I think we put way too much fucking effort into whatever is going on between us for it to be just a summer fling.”

Jeno doesn’t respond immediately. His hand still rubs circles on Renjun’s back, and although it’s to provide comfort, Jeno’s silence only makes Renjun more uneasy. Worst of all, Jeno doesn’t even look at him any longer. His eyes flicker from the sand to the ocean to the sky, moving everywhere except back to Renjun as he’s lost in thought.  Renjun sort of wishes Jeno would just reject him already so he can begin his process of wallowing in his embarrassment and sadness for the next month already.

“You’re only three hours away,” Jeno finally speaks up, but his eyes don’t return to Renjun just yet. “It could be worse, right? It isn’t like you live across the country. We don’t even have a time difference.” Renjun can hear Jeno clearing his throat before the hand on his lower back moves to grab Renjun by his elbow. His free hand pats his lap, inviting Renjun to sit in it. Renjun would usually be shy about clambering into Jeno’s lap, especially so out in public, but he can’t find himself caring this time, desperate to be near Jeno. He throws a leg over Jeno’s thighs, straddling him, and almost immediately, he can feel Jeno’s arms wrapping around his waist and his face nuzzling into the crook of Renjun’s neck. Renjun returns the affection, cradling Jeno’s head and letting his cheek rest against the top of it. “I think we can make it work. Long-distance, I mean. I can visit you, or you can visit me whenever we have breaks from school, or maybe even on long weekends.” He speaks into Renjun’s neck, and the breath that hits Renjun’s neck with every word makes him shiver. “When you get your phone back I’ll facetime you every day until you’re sick of me.”

“Funny that you think I’ll ever get sick of you,” Renjun sniffles, but he still lets out a short laugh as he dabs at his eyes with his sleeve to wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall. “But I would like that. A lot. Even though I’m going to miss you literally all the fucking time.” This time, Jeno laughs, his arms tightening around Renjun’s as he gently pulls away his upper half enough to look up at Renjun. “You better make the drive to take me to the homecoming dance this fall. My mom always forces me to go, and I’ve never had a fucking date. I wanna show off the cute boy I met over the summer.”  Renjun jokes, wiping at his eyes once more before his hands slip down to cup Jeno’s face instead. Jeno leans into his touch, looking up at Renjun with nothing but admiration, the corners of his lips curled up into a slightly somber smile.

“I’ll be there. I’ll even make the drive for prom, as long as you promise to come down for mine, too. You’re not the only one who needs to show off their pretty date.” Jeno hums, puckering his lips for Renjun to lean in and kiss him. Which Renjun does because he’s terribly addicted to the feeling of Jeno’s lips on his, and he isn’t sure how he’ll ever go weeks without the feeling. Pulling away from it is difficult, but Renjun knows they’ll spend much more time kissing later on until Renjun absolutely has to go back to his room, and Jeno has to go back home before his mother starts blowing up his phone.

“Can you do me a favor?” Renjun asks, throwing his stuffed animal between their bodies so he can tangle all of his fingers into the strands of Jeno’s sweaty hair. It’s admittedly slightly gross, but Renjun’s desperate for whatever affection he can give or take as their final hour together starts to tick down.

“Anything.” Jeno’s quick to reply. His hands slip underneath the hoodie Renjun’s wearing, placing his hands on Renjun’s waist with just the thin layer of his shirt separating their skin.

“Can we make things official for like two minutes so I can say I had a super hot boyfriend over the summer? Then we can break up and go back to normal.” Renjun’s request pulls a laugh out of Jeno, his head thrown back in joy, and Renjun doesn’t think it’s humanly possible not to join in on the laughter when looking at Jeno. 

It’s so fucking stupid , they both know it, but it’s so ridiculous that Jeno can’t help but give in to Renjun’s request. He lifts his head back up, looking down at Renjun with laughter still lingering in his breath as he finally speaks up. “Renjun Huang, will you please be my boyfriend for the next two minutes so we can both go back to school and brag about being in a relationship over the summer to our friends?” They’re just joking around, yet Renjun still feels his neck heating up as Jeno speaks. Being his boyfriend, even if just for a couple of minutes, makes Renjun’s heart almost want to jump out of his chest, and he can’t hold back the giddy jitters that hit him over Jeno’s proposal.

“I’d love to,” Renjun responds almost immediately, leaning forward to almost seal the deal with a kiss upon Jeno’s lips. Which Jeno accepts with a smile, their teeth clashing against each other as they fail to keep a straight face while their mouths move in sync. Soft giggles disrupt their kiss, and it’s messier than usual just because they’re both so overwhelmed with adoration for each other, yet it’s perfect, and Renjun doesn’t think he could ask for anything better. He doesn’t think he could ask for any one better to be his first boyfriend.

“Jeno?” Renjun hums once they finally pull away. Smiles are still plastered on both of their faces, and Renjun’s cheeks are starting to ache because of it. Yet Renjun can’t stop himself, nor does he even try to. He knows his attempts will fail regardless of how hard he tries. “I think maybe we should break up.” He says, which only sends him into another fit of laughter as he watches as Jeno rolls his eyes, his fingers jabbing into Renjun’s sides in response. “Sorry. I can’t go home and tell my friends that my first boyfriend dumped me.” He jokes. He pets Jeno’s hair in an attempt to console Jeno’s faux annoyance, listening to him whine for a second before his fingers scratch at his scalp. He deems his attempt a success when his whines silence and all that’s left is a pout that Renjun quickly pecks away.

“You’re ridiculous.” Jeno sighs out, and Renjun almost wants to quip back that Jeno loves it just to tease him, but he holds it back. Silence fills the air between them, and Renjun finally allows his senses to open up to everything around them. The sounds of the waves crashing into the shore, the smell of salt and sunscreen, the feeling of the warm sand between his toes. The taste of the powdered sugar that Jeno transferred onto his lips and the future that’s in sight for him and Jeno. They’ll find a way to make things work. They’ll figure things out, even if the distance between them makes things difficult.  

“Hey, Renjun?” Jeno’s voice breaks the quiet between them. Renjun only replies with a soft hum in acknowledgment. “Next summer, I’m really going to teach you how to swim.”