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Jeno Lee.
How does one even begin to describe Jeno Lee?
Jeno Lee. Jaemin knew him from the very beginning, right by the swing set in their neighborhood. He wore glasses back then, but still had that same crescent-eye smile. He knew Jeno before he knew anyone, before he knew anything else. As if he learned how to speak Jeno’s name before he learned how to say his own. As if he memorized every little thing about him, engraved every detail in his mind, and kept them stashed away and safe.
He knows Jeno so incredibly well. Better than anyone, he might say so himself.
Yet at the same time, Jeno Lee is like an enigma to him. Full of mysteries and secrets that keep Jaemin wanting to know more and more about him. There will always be space in his mind for Jeno, for anything new or old about him.
He knows Jeno Lee so well, but he wants to know him even more. It seems that Jaemin will never be satisfied with what he already has in the little (humongous) corner of his mind saved for his best friend since kindergarten. He will always want to know and see more of Jeno.
He will always want to have more of Jeno Lee. And every new thing that he discovers about Jeno – every new detail, every new piece, every new part of him – makes Jaemin love him even more.
Like now as they sit on the floor of their shared apartment and the last day of the first semester is finally over, he finds that Jeno Lee is a filthy, scheming, cheater .
“Come on, that’s unfair!” Jaemin whines as Jeno quickly takes the final slice of pizza after winning a game of rock paper scissors. “We should’ve played ‘til 3 points!”
The older just laughs, chewing with a big smile as he shrugs teasingly.
Jaemin sighs, arms crossed on his chest. He wordlessly crawls over so he’s situated next to his best friend, and naturally, Jeno stretches his hand out a bit to let him take a bite.
“Thanks,” he mumbles, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Like that, they share the slice of pizza, fair and square after all. Afterward, they get a couple mugs of hot chocolate and put some music on.
“How are your parents?” Jeno asks when he’s halfway through his mug.
Jaemin hums. “Oh, you know. The usual. Mom’s moved in with her boyfriend. Dad is … I don’t even know what’s up with dad. All I know is no one’s home right now. I think the divorce will be official in like, a couple days?” he shrugs nonchalantly as he takes a sip.
He notices the way the older looks at him concernedly, and he promptly looks away. Jeno doesn’t say anything about it, not immediately or directly at least, and Jaemin does appreciate that – the way they don’t need words to feel each other’s comfort and presence, to know that they’re there for one another.
A minute later, Jeno speaks again. “Are you just staying here for Christmas then?”
Jaemin shrugs once more at the question. “Probably,” he murmurs on the rim of his orange mug. “I don’t mind though.”
When he looks at his best friend, he sees the gears turning in his brain, like he always does when the older has something to say, but isn’t a hundred and one percent sure if it’s alright. Jaemin doesn’t do anything though, just waits for Jeno to say what he’s going to say.
Finally, Jeno turns to him.
“Wanna come home with me?”
A soft smile grows on Jaemin’s features. He nods.
“Sure.”
❄︎
Jeno’s hometown is a few hours away, so they leave early in the morning, then arrive just when the sun is beginning to get warmer. Mrs. Lee greets Jaemin with a hug, and Mr. Lee gives him a warm handshake. Jeno’s older sister also welcomes him by roughing up his hair. Bongshik, Seol, and Lal meow loudly at him, before gathering at his feet and rubbing themselves on his jeans.
They both settle into Jeno’s room after chatter and cups of coffee. The moment Jaemin enters, everything is so extremely familiar, yet nostalgic at the same time. It definitely isn’t his first time in Jeno’s room, but the fact that he’s sleeping over – with his bags on his arms and his favorite plush bunny in his grasp – makes him feel like they’re in middle school all over again, long before the two of them moved away for university and before Jaemin’s parents started fighting every single night.
All the good memories spent in this room come rushing back to Jaemin, and a warm smile makes its way onto his face.
“Wow,” he sighs.
“Yeah,” Jeno chuckles alongside him. “It’s exactly the way I left it. Exactly the way it’s always been.”
“You forgot about the fact that you used to have a Power Rangers poster on that wall,” Jaemin says as he walks past him and plops down onto the bed, straight on his back and staring at the ceiling. “And that your bedspread was royal blue.”
Jeno drops down next to him, staring at the ceiling too. “Yours was rainbow,” he snorts.
“I was an openly gay kid, okay? Mom picked that out for me,” he tells Jeno with a little huff, as if he doesn’t already know that he’s going to reply, “I know,” no bite at all to it. When he does, Jaemin can feel the way he chuckles softly next to him.
“I kind of miss those times,” the older concludes.
Jaemin stays silent for a moment, before he whispers, “Me too.” He feels a hand hold his, and they both look at each other at the same time. They share a smile. Jeno squeezes his hand.
“You okay?”
Jaemin nods.
“Never been better.”
❄︎
Once they’ve unpacked all their things, the two of them go out to town. Jaemin recognizes many places easily, since this isn’t just Jeno’s hometown, but his own too. It’s just that someone else now stays in the home they used to live in, so he can’t come home to it like he used to in the past years.
The Na’s moved to the city the summer before the start of Jaemin’s university, which meant he still got to spend every school year with Jeno, but never any school break.
Well, until now.
Now, as they stroll the streets that Jaemin somehow finds comfort in, reminiscing the days when he was still very young and naive, with absolutely no clue that he liked his best friend. He remembers clearly the way his heart would beat out of his chest every time Jeno would pull him away with that big and beautiful smile of his, ever so carefree and full of happiness and hope. It still feels the same when Jeno takes his gloved hand now, the same pretty smile on his features and a blush on his cheeks from the cold.
“Lunch?”
“Yeah,” Jaemin nods, and their feet naturally bring them to the local chicken soup restaurant they used to eat at after a difficult exam in high school. Jeno tells him about how he still eats there every time he comes home, and that the server aunties recognize him well and give him extra side dishes.
When they enter, the servers do indeed recognize Jeno – “ handsome boy” and “ my dream son-in-law,” they call him – but not just that. They recognize Jaemin too, and the moment the ladies approach him with giggles and squeals of “you’ve grown up so well,” and “so handsome too,” it brings the warmest chuckle out of him. He meets his best friend’s eyes, which look at him amusedly. Jeno shrugs before they both laugh a bit more.
Jeno orders for the two of them, still knowing by heart how Jaemin likes his soup a little less milky and a bit more gingery. And as expected, their table is filled with endless side dishes of kimchi, fish cakes, eggs, and all kinds of vegetables. Jaemin loves it though, and he can tell that Jeno does too, by the look on his face as he chews.
“I think they like you more than me now,” he tells Jaemin as he shoves a spoonful into his mouth, chuckling and nudging his head towards the server aunties who are most definitely still looking at them. From where Jaemin is sitting, he can see them directly, so he smiles at them. The ladies smile back, mouthing ‘Eat some more.’ Jaemin replies by nodding and mouthing, ‘I will, thank you.’
When he turns back to Jeno, he has a questioning look on his face, an eyebrow raised teasingly.
“What?” Jaemin laughs as he continues eating. “You jealous? I’ve claimed your title of most ideal son-in-law.”
Jeno chuckles too then, shaking his head.
“At least we get double the side dishes.”
“Exactly,” Jaemin hums. “Could you ask for more rice?”
The older passes him his silver metal bowl of rice, half full. “You can take some of mine.”
“Okay. Want some of my chicken?”
“No, it’s fine,” Jeno says, but the chicken’s already being placed onto his bowl. Just as Jaemin thought, the older smiles brightly in response.
“Thanks, Jaemin-ah.”
“Dumbass,” he replies as he rolls his eyes (fondly). “Eat some more”
❄︎
A few days pass like a breeze and it’s finally Christmas Eve. Jaemin does his fair share in helping the Lees make dinner, simultaneously telling them embarrassing stories of Jeno back in their apartment in the city and in university. Jeno tries to defend himself, but he really puts no fight up at all. So he’s forced to let them laugh at him, simply laughing along too.
When all the food has been prepared, they all gather at the dining table to eat together. Jaemin naturally sits next to Jeno, and they continue their chatter as they go through their meal. A bottle of wine is brought out as well, causing louder laughter and squeals to resonate in the home.
Somewhere in the middle, Jaemin feels a bump on his foot under the table. He looks to his best friend, who’s already looking at him.
“You good?” Jeno mouths, to which he nods. Then, Jeno’s eyes turn into little crescents.
“Merry Christmas.”
Jaemin chuckles, cheeks lightly tinted crimson from the wine – or so he’d like to think – shaking his head before he turns back to the older.
“Merry Christmas,” he mouths back.
After dinner, they open their presents while having another bottle of wine. Jaemin receives a scarf knitted by Mrs. Lee, a water jug from Mr. Lee, and a scented candle from Jeno’s older sister. From Jeno, he receives a pair of sneakers. Unsurprisingly, he had bought Jeno sneakers too, and they all laugh amusedly when they realize it.
When the night is over, they’re both a little bit drunker than they should be. But it doesn’t really matter, because there’s no room for worry or judgement, only for familiarity and understanding. They end up falling asleep on top of each other on Jeno’s bed.
❄︎
Jaemin wakes up first. It’s not the first time that the two of them have slept with their limbs tangled together, but when he flutters his eyes open and the view he gets is Jeno’s face only an inch away from his, it somehow still brings warmth to his cheeks, a leap in his heart, a singular butterfly in his stomach.
He stays there for a minute, unmoving. He observes the way Jeno’s long eyelashes lay on his cheeks. He listens to the soft hum of his breath and feels the way it slightly hits his own skin. They all bring a smile to his face, well aware –– too aware of the way his heart beats out of his chest at the simple fact, the very thought, the raw evidence that Jeno Lee exists.
He resists the urge to run a few fingers through his hair, and instead slowly gets out of bed.
When he gets to the living room, he realizes that no one else is awake yet – not even the cats. It’s pretty early, and they did have a long night, so he begins to brew coffee in the Lee’s coffee machine that’s been there since he was eleven.
Just as he’s about to take a sip from the white mug he took from the very back of the cupboard, he hears light footsteps approaching him. His ears naturally perk up, and his eyes also find their way to where he knows Jeno should be in right about 2 seconds.
And there comes Jeno Lee, eyes squinting when he passes by the part of the room where the sun enters through the window, hair sticking out in different directions.
“Morning,” Jaemin hums, finally getting a taste of the coffee.
Instead of answering immediately, Jeno walks up to him. He produces his own mug from the cabinet, before pouring some coffee and mixing in just a teaspoon of sugar. He settles next to his best friend, their backs leaning on the countertop.
After taking a sip, and releasing a satisfied ‘ah,’ he finally speaks. “Good morning.”
Jaemin doesn’t say anything – doesn’t need to, and it’s only when he’s halfway through his mug that one of them makes another sound.
“Did you sleep well?” Jeno asks him.
“Mhm. Like a log,” he replies after another sip. “You?”
“Me too.”
A comfortable silence falls upon them again for a minute, before Jaemin speaks.
“I had so much fun last night, honestly. I love your family.”
He hears the soft and low rumble of Jeno’s chuckle.
“They love you too.”
Jaemin meets his eyes and smiles. He doesn’t need to say anything else for Jeno to know that he’s grateful.
“Do you want to go out today? Just go around town, have fun in the snow,” Jeno asks him after they finish their coffees.
“Your parents? Don’t they have any plans?”
“Nope,” Jeno chuckles. “They’ll probably do the same, so we can ride with them if we need to. B-But we can also just take my car, if you want to. They might be noisy – you know how they are.”
Jaemin would like to think Jeno offered to ride in his car because he wanted to be alone with him too. He hides that desire though, that wishful thinking in fear of being wrong. Instead, he glances over at Jeno and smiles.
“Okay.”
❄︎
The drive to town is not too long, especially when it’s filled with conversations about the most random things between the two of them. They decided to take Jeno’s car, so they can go around freely wherever they want to. They end up at the town square, getting warm hotteok like they used to do when they were kids.
“Delicious,” Jaemin hums as he eats his, which is filled with chocolate. “Wanna try?” he hands his piece to his best friend who’s sat beside him, eating his own brown sugar-filled hotteok.
Jeno nods, leaning close to take a bite. He also hums in satisfaction afterward, bringing a soft chuckle out of the younger.
“Wanna try mine?”
Jaemin nods. He leans in to take a bite, wiping his lip after.
“Good too, right?” Jeno says.
“Really, really good.”
They share one look, just one or two seconds of complete understanding, and that’s all it takes. They switch their two hotteoks, chuckling a bit as they take a bite of the different fillings.
“Just like old days, huh?” Jeno recalls the time they would come eat hotteok at the town square after class. Jaemin would always get chocolate, and he would always get brown sugar for the filling. They would always switch somewhere in the middle, never learning from their past mistakes. Perhaps they just wanted a little bit of each, like the way they share little bits of each other too. And moving to the city or not eating hotteok as often never changed that.
“Yeah,” Jaemin breathes out, nodding. He sighs, looking around the town he grew up in. “It’s good to be back.”
❄︎
They walk around for a bit more, enjoying each other’s company. They have samgyeopsal for lunch, and Jeno treats Jaemin since he’s technically the guest. He seems to have eaten more though, since the younger keeps placing strips of cooked meat onto his bowl.
After lunch, it begins to snow, and it sparks an idea in Jaemin’s head.
“Wanna go ice skating?”
Jeno shakes his head profusely. “No, I’m awful at it, Jaem.”
“What? You’re telling me you don’t go ice skating anymore?” Jaemin asks unbelievingly.
Unfortunately, the older chuckles and shakes his head. “Yeah, I don’t. I just never had a reason to go-” And then he’s getting dragged away to the ice skating rink.
“Now you do!”
The skating rink is full of people, and Jaemin can literally feel Jeno’s nerves as they put on their skates while sitting on a bench.
“You’re scared,” he tilts his head to the side.
“N-No, I’m not,” Jeno quickly replies, but alas, they’re not best friends for nothing. When he sees the way Jaemin looks at him with a raised brow, he sighs defeatedly. “I just don’t want to embarrass myself, okay?”
And to that, Jaemin stands up and reaches a hand down to him. “What’s a little embarrassment if you’re going to have fun?”
At that, Jeno smiles, takes his hand, and stands up.
So, they skate. And embarrassing, it indeed is when Jeno falls a third time in a span of five minutes of being in the rink. Jaemin can’t help the chuckles that fall from his lips, unable to say the same for himself because of his formal ice skating training as a child. He skates over to where Jeno has fallen, right by the railing.
He stops in front of him, looking down. “You okay?”
“Do I look okay?”
Jaemin laughs, shaking his head. He stretches a hand down to Jeno, successfully pulling him up.
“Thanks,” Jeno mumbles, wiping the crusty ice on his butt. He looks to the younger with a frown. “Can we get out now?”
“And waste the 30,000 won we spent?” Jaemin asks, as if a mom would, earning him a very, very, very deep frown from Jeno. He wants to kiss it away.
But for now, he pushes away that urge and instead extends his two hands out to him. “Come on,” he nudges softly. “We’ll go slow.”
Jeno sighs, seems to ponder about it for a minute, before ultimately grumbling, “Fine.” And it brings a grin to Jaemin’s lips.
Slowly, as promised, Jaemin guides the two of them to the center of the rink without letting go of each other’s hands.
Jeno’s clearly nervous, clearly scared of feeling that hard and cold surface on his ass again. He’s looking down at where his skates are gliding on the ice, a little too smoothly for his liking, to the point that he almost loses control of them. They’re definitely not moving in a straight line, more like squiggly ones that curve whenever he lets out soft curses and stutters under his breath.
Jaemin could laugh, he really could because Jeno really does look funny – a twenty-two year old, struggling to get his balance on an ice skating rink in his hometown, which is otherwise filled with either preteens or senior citizens.
But, he doesn’t. Instead, Jaemin looks at his best friend sweetly, as if being clumsy is his favorite thing about him, and you know what, maybe it is.
Jaemin watches him with kind eyes as he holds onto his forearms for dear life, muttering out a stressed, “Jaemin, s-slow down.”
He chuckles lightly then, before sighing.
“Jeno-ya.”
The older is still staring at the ice below them. “W-What?”
Jaemin resists the urge to laugh again.
“Look at me, Jeno.”
It seems to take everything in him to bring his eyes up. When he does, he meets his best friend’s soft smile.
“Relax,” Jaemin says, gradually slipping his arms out of Jeno’s tight grip.
“W-What are you doing?” the older immediately panics, eyes back on the ice as he frantically tries to hold onto Jaemin.
The younger rolls his eyes and sighs.
“Jen, you need to-”
“N-No! Whatever you’re trying to do, i-it’s not going to work. I am not getting frostbite on my ass, not today, Na Jaemin-”
“Jeno!”
Jeno finally looks up again. Jaemin softens when he looks at him like a lost puppy.
“Just, calm down first, okay?”
Jeno swallows. But, he nods nonetheless. He listens.
“Okay. Good,” Jaemin breathes out, as if he’s nervous for the other too. “Now, if you’d let me just-” he starts, letting his actions finish his sentence as he slowly pulls his arms out of Jeno’s grasp.
Immediately, the older panics again, looking down at where he’s losing balance. “W-Wait, I don’t-”
“Jeno, look at me .”
It takes a bit more than a second, but Jeno complies.
“Okay,” Jaemin exhales with a smile, a small poof of smoke coming between them. “Now, breathe. Don’t look down, just look at me. Focus on me.”
Jeno follows, looking into Jaemin’s eyes deeply. Suddenly he doesn’t know if this was a good idea at all, his heartbeat steadily rising to a crescendo from the way Jeno gazes into his eyes, from the way everything becomes muted around them, from the way the rest of the world falls away – until all he can see, and feel, and hold is Jeno . Jaemin wonders if it’s the same for him.
It works just like magic though, because Jeno doesn’t realize the way Jaemin’s arms slip out of his grasp, doesn’t notice the way hands hold his – loosely, but there. A sense of security and comfort, but not formed or built from fear.
At the realization, Jeno lets out a soft chuckle. And easily, Jaemin is swayed to do the same. They share laughter, uncaring of the middle school kids and the old ladies that can only stare at them in wonder. They’ve always been in their own world, in their own little bubble, and Jaemin loves their friendship that way.
“See?” he tilts his head, smiling brightly.
Jeno laughs a bit more. “Thanks.”
“Oh, what would you do without me?” Jaemin sighs, still guiding the two of them through the ice. Jeno opens his mouth to reply, but Jaemin beats him to it.
“Guess it’s time to find out!”
That’s all the warning Jeno gets before he’s left alone, Jaemin successfully skating away from him.
“J-Jaemin!” he immediately calls out, eyes down on the ice again. “Come back here! Jaemin! I’m going to kill-”
The words get stuck in his throat when he feels a gloved hand take one of his, familiar and warm, guiding him easily. When he gazes up to his side, Jaemin has a smug smile.
“You really thought you could get rid of me, huh?”
Jeno huffs, rolling his eyes.
“Fuck you,” he grumbles, though he’s clearly happy that he’s now skating smoothly.
“I love you too, Jeno~”
❄︎
When they get home, it’s to freshly roasted sweet potatoes that Mrs. Lee had just finished. They eat hefty servings, before making their way up to Jeno’s bedroom. They talk endlessly while packing their bags on the floor, since they’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.
“Can’t believe it’s our last night,” Jaemin sighs as he zips up his last bag.
“You know we could always stay a bit more if you want to,” Jeno says, leaning back.
“I know,” he hums. “But I don’t wanna burden your family anymore.”
“Hey, you’re not a burden to them; they love you.”
“Still, it’s an extra mouth to feed, ya know?” Jaemin shrugs, hugging his knees. “I better just burden you ,” he turns to the older with a sarcastic grin.
Jeno, however, doesn’t reply with a joke like Jaemin expects him to. Instead, he watches as his best friend draws circles on his floor to floor carpeting with his index finger.
“You’re not a burden to me,” he hears, soft but clear, sincere . “You never are.”
Jaemin feels his heart beat faster again. But like always, he hides it behind his easy smile.
“Thanks, Jen.”
Jeno smiles back at him. Beautiful.
He gets up then, dusting his palms on his pants.
“Let’s do something fun for our last night then, shall we?”
And for Jeno and Jaemin, it’s no surprise that fun comes in the form of an old Christmas movie after dinner with mugs of hot chocolate. They get together under the comforter, shoulders touching like magnets. After the movie comes some music on Jaemin’s Bluetooth speakers, something he had brought with him on the trip.
“Remember Sunhee? Now that was something,” Jaemin teases as he sits up from where he was laying his head on the other’s shoulder.
“Oh, so we’re bringing up middle school crushes now,” Jeno playfully says as he settles on his knees, clearing his throat, preparing to say his argument against the younger. “What about Jaehyun hyung, huh? You had a crazy crush on him all the way ‘til the beginning of high school.”
“Oh, shut up, everyone had a crush on him!” Jaemin defends, getting on his knees too. “I’m sure you did too, right?”
Jeno rolls his eyes, shaking his head as they both laugh.
“I did not .”
“What!” Jaemin exclaims, unbelieving. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying,” Jeno shrugs nonchalantly, which is followed by a chuckle as he watches the younger settle back onto the headboard, expression so incredibly confused.
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, come on. Then you must’ve had a crush on someone so spectacular at the time for you not to like Jung Jaehyun. Can’t believe I don’t even know this,” Jaemin kids, laughing at his own statement as he puts down his mug on Jeno’s white nightstand. When he looks back at his best friend though, he isn’t laughing. He’s just looking into nothing, in complete silence.
There it is again; the gears turning in his brain. Jaemin sees them, hears the metal hitting each other as Jeno furrows his eyebrows. He’d be stupid not to see and hear them, he’s been in love with Jeno all his life anyway.
He notices every little detail about him, like the way his jaw locks as the gears turn, or how his fingers tense up, as if they’re part of the thought process. He notices everything about Jeno — unintentionally, unconsciously, but never, unfortunately. He always wants to know more about Jeno, to see more of him, as much as he will allow him.
And so, he patiently awaits the gears to slow to a stop. He’s calm, Jeno’s probably going to say he still liked girls then, or that he liked Minhyung their best friend, or maybe that younger boy across the street named Sungchan.
He sees the gears stop. He waits for Jeno to look at him. But he doesn’t.
He only says, above a whisper,
“I liked you.”
“What?” Jaemin can’t help his reaction. He sits up, subconsciously approaching Jeno.
Jeno looks him in the eyes, dead serious.
“I liked you, alright?” he shrugs, raising his hands in the air and bringing them back down on his lap.
“You liked … me?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?” Jeno chuckles. “You were so beautiful, so handsome and smart. You understood me so well, you knew everything I liked and didn’t. You were this person I-I looked up to, this person I leaned on. I would’ve been stupid not to fall in love with you.”
Jaemin feels a tear roll down his cheek, and before he knows it, Jeno’s coming up to wipe it away, completely worried and shocked.
“W-What’s wrong? Was it something I said? Oh god, I’m so sorry, Jaem. Fuck, I-”
Jaemin shuts him up just by looking up at him, more words in his eyes than his tongue could ever speak.
“Jaemin?” Jeno whispers, nervous. “Did you … like me too?”
Jaemin lets out a broken laugh.
“Yeah,” he whispers. “I loved you too. I always did. I still … I still do.”
And then it all comes crashing down.
He’s said it. He’s done it. Eighteen years gone down the drain. All because of his feelings, and all because he couldn’t keep them to himself anymore. He can’t even be mad about it, he can’t even blame himself. Jeno deserves to know, to know how loved he is.
When he feels the hands cupping his face begin to slip away, he prepares himself for the fall. The crash on the stone. The bullet in his heart. The knife in his soul.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, because there’s nothing else to say.
He cries there silently. He doesn’t even sob, doesn’t even wipe the tears away, doesn’t even look up to see if Jeno has gone away or if he’s still just sitting there and crying too. All he knows is that it’s done, it’s over. It was bound to come to this, it always was.
He lets the tears stream down, lets them block his vision. He lets them consume him, lets time pass because he doesn’t know what else to do.
He sees Jeno’s shadow come closer, leaning down towards him. And then there are soft lips swiftly capturing his own.
He doesn’t need to open his eyes to know who it is. He knows too well the nose that brushes against his, the eyelashes that flutter on his cheeks, the hands that begin to caress his face, the warmth that settles inside of him when he closes his eyes and returns the kiss.
It feels a million times better than the million times that he dreamed about it.
When they pull away, he opens his eyes. And his heart swells at the sight of Jeno smiling at him, cheeks glossed with tears as well, their foreheads leaning on each other.
“I love you, Jaemin,” Jeno whispers longingly, as if he’d been in love with Jaemin since the day they met, just like Jaemin was. Just like Jaemin is.
Jaemin’s lips tremble, but they curve up into a wide smile.
“I love you too, Jeno.”
They share a laugh, intimate and warm and everything that feels like home to Jaemin. They lean in close to each other, so that they can see all the words in each other’s eyes, all the pages they’ve written about each other in their minds, in their hearts.
Naturally, their lips find each other again. They smile into the kiss, knowing that they have been wanting nothing more than this, have been waiting their entire lives for this. And now that it’s here, it’s nothing less of what they expected. If anything, it’s more, and Jaemin knows it will always be that way.
Jeno will always be more than enough, and more than worth it.
They fall asleep in each other’s arms.
❄︎
When Jaemin wakes up the next morning, it’s to Jeno already looking at him. And the first thing he hears, sweet and sincere and surreal, is
“Good morning, my love.”
It’s only when they come down for breakfast that they realize they’ve woken up late, everyone already done with their meals and cleaning up the table. They don’t mention anything about last night to them, but somehow, Jaemin thinks that Jeno’s family already knows. He appreciates the way they smile a little more at them, as if they can see the happiness radiating between the two of them, and as if they had been waiting for this moment too.
On the way home, Jaemin never once let Jeno go a minute without showing him how much he loves him. It could be as simple as holding his hand, or placing a kiss on his cheek, or playing his favorite songs, or taking a photo of him. He’s always wanted to do this, and now that he can, he takes every opportunity the world gives him.
Even in the next days, he does. In the next weeks. In the next months. In the next years.
He’ll always, always love Jeno. This Christmas, and all the Christmases for the rest of his life.