Work Text:
Jeno has a small issue. Scratch that— he has a major issue and he doesn’t know how much longer he can last before he snaps and ruins absolutely everything.
What issue is Jeno currently facing that is on his mind at every hour of the day?
A boy. Not just a boy, a human boy. A sweet human that is causing Jeno’s heart to beat erratically in his chest which is funny since Jeno’s heart stopped beating years ago.
And it’s all because of–
“Mark?” Jaemin says out loud, staring at Jeno with a look that unnerves him. Jeno’s the only vampire here yet Jaemin makes him fidget in his seat half the time. “Mark’s the one that has you all worked up?”
Jeno blushes because yes, vampires can blush and get nervous. “I’m not—what? I’m not worked up, I don’t know where you got that from.”
Jaemin eyes him up and down and yeah Jenos extremely nervous right now but it’s not because of Mark, he swears. Anyone would be nervous in the presence of Jaemin, and again, Jaemin’s the human one here.
“Righttt,” Jaemin drawls out, clicking his tongue as he stares at Jeno with amusement. “So what’s the problem with you and Mark? Do you not like him as your roommate?”
“No,” Jeno says immediately.
Mark as a roommate is not an issue. Sure, Jeno was nervous at first. Jaemin used to be his roommate, he’s human just like Mark but he’s also known Jeno for years and because of that knew about his situation. Then Jaemin wanted to move out to live with his boyfriend and it left Jeno alone in an apartment too big for himself. Money wasn’t the issue, he was just lonely. He’d never admit that to Jaemin, but he thinks Jaemin knew since he was the one to introduce him to Mark.
After Jaemin moved out, Jeno made him promise to keep in touch even though Jaemin wouldn’t abandon him, but he needed that reassurance. Skip a few weeks after Jaemin moved out and they’re meeting for lunch one afternoon when Jaemin brings along a friend.
Jeno is always hesitant around new people, especially humans, but he felt himself warming up to Mark rather quickly. There was just something about Mark that made Jeno absolutely melt when he was around him. His smile was nice, his laugh even better. Jeno quickly became attached.
Jaemin noticed this because he noticed everything when it came to Jeno. It turns out Mark’s been looking for another place that was closer to his work so the commute time would be shorter. Jaemin oh so helpfully mentioned that Jeno was looking for a roommate and Jeno happened to be quite close to Mark’s work. It all just clicked into place.
Mark gave him those eyes, the big round sparkly ones when he found out Jeno has a spare bedroom and said, “Really, dude? Are you really looking for a roommate?”
Jeno felt himself melting in that moment. Before he knew it, Jeno was agreeing to having Mark as a roommate and then Mark was pulling him into a big hug.
Jenos cheeks were on fire and he knew right then and there, Mark’s dangerous.
Not actually dangerous, Mark wouldn’t even kill a spider that was living in the corner of his room, instead choosing to let it just live there. Jeno’s pretty sure he even named it.
But that’s besides the point, Mark’s dangerous for his heart. Very dangerous, so dangerous that it’s starting to drive Jeno crazy with how much Mark truly affects him.
Jaemin’s still staring at him, waiting, giving him that look. Jeno doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how much more to say because Jeno barely understands what he’s feeling. But he’s certain about one thing. “Mark’s a great roommate,” Jeno mumbles. He’s looking down at his hands as he says it and he knows he’s still blushing. Mark is so much more than just a great roommate, but it’s all he can say right now until he figures himself out.
Jaemin just nods, seemingly satisfied for now. Luckily, the door opens before Jaemin can try and dig deeper.
Donghyuck smiles at Jeno as soon as he lays his eyes on him. “Oh, hey! I didn’t know you would be here, do you want to stay for dinner?”
Jeno doesn’t know where to look when Jaemin takes Donghyuck into his arms and places him in his lap, peppering his cheek with kisses.
“It’s fine.” Jeno says, he doesn’t want to intrude. “I should probably get back before Mark starts questioning where I am.”
“Ok,” Donghyuck smiles as he tries to avoid kisses from a pouting Jaemin.
“Let me know how that goes,” Jaemin says knowingly, ignoring Donghyuck's curious look.
Jeno ignores the comment and leaves.
He needs to figure out whatever it is he’s feeling for Mark on his own for right now. Whatever it is he’s feeling, he’s still not sure.
﹤୨♡୧﹥
Some might say Mark is useless as a roommate, (those people being their friends, but nevermind on that). Mark doesn’t do a lot of cooking. He’s tried, Jeno can definitely say he’s tried. He felt bad that Jeno was doing all the cooking, so he attempted to cook dinner one night. The problem with that is Mark only knows how to cook like three things, and the one thing he did attempt to cook, (a frozen pizza you put in the oven), it ended in the fire department being called because Mark left it in the oven too long. So it ended in a bit of a disaster and Mark was the one to pick up the phone and order pizza from this nice place down the street, after apologizing profusely to the landlord that is. Here’s another thing, Jeno actually doesn’t eat human food. You might say it’s silly for a vampire who doesn’t eat food to cook for a human, but Jeno likes doing it. He likes being able to give back just a little for all the kindness Mark has given him. And that’s the big thing, their friends only see them from the outside.
Their friends don’t see when Mark calls him at work because Jeno mentioned having to talk to a tough client and it was making him anxious, or when Mark holds his hand in public when he notices Jeno starts to get overwhelmed. Being around so many unknown humans, smelling all that blood, it can be a lot for Jeno sometimes. Mark doesn’t know this, he doesn’t know the reason, but he still goes out of his way to find a quiet place for Jeno to calm down in. It’s things like this that makes Jeno feel addicted to Mark. To his touch, his smell, everything about him Jeno is absolutely addicted to.
When Jeno enters their apartment he finds Mark sitting on the couch, his laptop in his lap as he adjusts his glasses and looks up from the screen to smile at Jeno.
“Hey, where were you?”
Jeno shrugs off his jacket and shoes and just stands there. “I was at Jaemin’s.” He feels strange when he looks at Mark, so he doesn’t. He chooses to stare at his hands as he thinks. He really wants Mark to wrap his arms around him, it always makes Jeno feel safe and warm.
As if Mark can read his mind, he stands up and pulls Jeno into his arms. Jeno melts right into them, letting out a happy sigh as the older boy wraps his arms around his body.
“Are you ok?” Mark mutters into his hair.
Jeno hums and nods his head. He always feels calmer when he has Mark like this.
Mark pulls back and looks into his eyes. He studies Jeno’s face carefully. “Ok,” Mark smiles. “Want to watch a movie? I’ll make popcorn.”
Jeno's eyes light up as he nods his head excitedly, he loves movie night. He doesn’t eat any of the snacks Mark brings out, but Mark is usually too invested in the movie to really notice. Once Mark sits down with the drinks and popcorn in his hands, Jeno looks at Mark expectantly. He waits for Mark to free his hands before scooting a little closer and pouting.
Mark catches on immediately. “Want to lay in my lap?”
Jeno nods and gets comfortable in Mark’s lap before the movie starts. The lights are off and Mark hits play, already chatting about the movie that has barely even started. Jeno thinks he hears Mark talk about the characters he’s read about online, but Jeno is too focused on Mark’s hand going gently through his hair. He feels his eyes start to shut, but he tries to stay up for Mark.
About halfway through the movie Mark stops talking and looks down at Jeno, noticing he’s trying to fight off sleep. Mark chuckles and pauses the movie. “How about we finish it tomorrow?”
“Will you be free tomorrow?” Jeno pouts, refusing to move because if Mark will be busy with work then Jeno would rather stay up and spend this little bit of time with him.
“I will be.”
Jeno nods and finally sits up. “Ok.”
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Mark asks as he begins to clean up. Just like Jeno hoped, Mark doesn’t notice that Jeno hasn’t touched the popcorn or anything else he brought out.
“Just an appointment then work, but I’ll be free after.”
Mark nods his head and leaves it at that. Jeno’s always vague about these ‘appointments’ he has, but Mark never pushes so he really appreciates that.
Mark doesn’t need to know what it is he does there.
﹤୨♡୧﹥
Jeno wakes up early, before Mark has even gotten up. He gets dressed quickly, throwing his hoodie over his head and putting on his ripped jeans. He whips up something small for Mark to eat when he wakes up. He knows if he doesn’t then the only thing Mark will eat before work is some kind of snack or energy bar.
He puts his hood up and keeps his head down as he walks down the streets, his appointment isn’t that far from his place so he considers himself lucky. He enters the building, the door jingles above his head to alert the receptionist to his presence. This one doesn’t seem as friendly as the others as she motions for Jeno to sign in. She’s giving him this unfriendly stare, a stare that’s filled with something Jeno’s all too familiar with. The person to take him to his room is a lot more friendlier and even spares Jeno an understanding smile. Jeno appreciates it, it’s weird enough that he has to come here to begin with, but being hit with judgmental stares is even worse.
He sits in one of the chairs in the room. It’s beside one of those beds you usually find in hospital rooms. He debates calling Jaemin to help him calm down, but he thinks the other boy is at work right now, so he doesn’t bother. Eventually, the door opens and Jeno feels his shoulders relax when he sees the smiling face.
“Jeno!” Chenle runs at him and hugs him, squishing his cheek against Jeno’s chest.
“Hey,” Jeno smiles, glad that it’s someone he’s comfortable with today. “I didn’t know you were giving blood today.”
Chenle hops onto the table and shrugs. “I could use the extra money so I figured why not.”
Jeno doesn’t argue with that. “You ate and drank lots of water before coming here, right?”
“Please, Jeno. This isn’t my first time doing this.”
Jeno pouts.
Chenle rolls his eyes, but there’s still a bright smile on his face so Jeno knows he’s not actually annoyed. “Yes, I did. Jisung wouldn’t let me leave until I did.”
Jeno’s satisfied with that. He makes sure there’s water and more snacks set to the side for Chenle once they’re done. Jeno’s never really enjoyed this part of being a vampire. Humans always feel so fragile in Jeno’s hands, he’s afraid they’ll break easily so that’s why he tries to be extra gentle when drinking from them.
“Pinch my arm if you need me to stop,” Jeno mutters and waits for Chenle to nod before biting him.
“Here, I got it,” Jeno mutters as he unwrapped the bandage and places it over the bite marks on Chenle’s neck.
“Thank you,” Chenle replies with a mouth full of chocolate.
Jeno giggles as he pulls back. “Do you want another one?”
Chenle shakes his head. “I’m fine, can you hand me some water?”
Jeno does just that. He even opens the water despite Chenle’s whines that he can do it himself.
“I’m not fragile, I can take care of myself,” Chenle grumbles as he snatches the water bottle out of his hands and blushes.
“I know, I just like doing this,” Jeno says shyly.
There’s one thing about Chenle that Jeno likes. It’s not like other humans he feeds from, most people try to get out and away from Jeno as fast as they can, but not Chenle. Chenle wants to talk and ask how Jeno has been. Sometimes they find themselves being forced out of the room because of how long they spend talking. It’s usually Chenle doing most of the talking half the time, but Jeno likes that.
But today’s a little different because Chenle mentions the one thing Jeno’s not sure he’s ready to talk about.
“So how’s your new roommate,” Chenle asks as he begins to put his jacket back on.
Jeno frowns. That’s a loaded question. There’s a lot Jeno can say about Mark.
“He’s nice,” Jeno chooses to say instead.
Chenle narrows his eyes at Jeno. “Just nice? If he’s just nice then why are you blushing?” Chenle pokes his pink cheeks.
Jeno puffs his cheeks out and looks away. “He’s nice, that’s it.”
“Rightttt,” Chenle sings, exactly what Jaemin said earlier. Jeno guesses he’s not very believable. “Well, you seem happy,” Chenle smiles to himself. “So I approve of him.”
“I don’t need your approval,” Jeno grumbles under his breath, but Chenle either doesn’t hear him or ignores him as he links arms with Jeno and begins to chat away as they walk out of the room.
﹤୨♡୧﹥
Jeno keeps his eyes on the clock. He only has a few minutes left of work and then he plans to message Mark to see what time he gets off. Sometimes Mark works late and it makes Jeno anxious when he walks home alone at night. He wishes he was there to keep Mark safe, but instead he’s forced to sit on his couch and count down the clock until he finally gets home safely.
“You seem anxious.” Renjun stops at Jeno’s desk as he’s passing by. “What’s wrong?”
Jeno frowns as he continues to stare at his messages with Mark. “I don’t know what time Mark is coming home. Sometimes he works late.”
Jeno’s frown must deepen because Renjun asks, “And you don’t like that?”
Jeno shakes his head, frown turning into more of a pout. “I get worried when he walks home alone.”
Renjun’s eyes turn kind as he looks at Jeno squirm anxiously in his seat. “Why don’t you walk him home?”
“Hm?” Jeno perks up. “I could do that?”
Renjun chuckles and pats his head lovingly, “Of course you can. If you’re worried I think you should.”
Jeno nods his head with determination. “I think I will.”
Jeno texts Mark a little after he gets off work and just like Jeno predicted, he texts back that he’s going to be home a late. Usually, Jeno waits anxiously at home for him to get back, but this time is different. It’s already dark by the time Jeno starts his walk to Mark’s work. He stops on the way to get Mark dinner since he won’t already be making it at home. Their works are close to each other so Jeno’s surprised he’s never thought to do this sooner.
He spots Mark outside the entrance, concentrating hard as he quickly types on his phone. Probably in the middle of sending him a message, so Jeno shouts his name and Mark quickly looks up and smiles.
“Hey!” Mark beams at him as he runs up to meet him. “I was just about to text you, what are you doing here?”
Jeno smiles back a little shyly. “I thought we could walk home together. Also,” Jeno holds up the bag of food, “I got us dinner.” Well he got Mark dinner, he always lets Mark finish his portion too.
Mark’s eyes light up, “Thanks, dude. I’m starving.” He pulls Jeno into a hug. He’s not sure he’ll ever get used to Mark’s touches. His skin always feels warm whenever Mark touches him, usually Jeno is cold, but never when Mark’s body is touching him. Mark pulls back and Jeno almost throws everything away to pull him in again, but he holds himself back.
He’s dangerous.
Mark smiles at him with his big, sparkly eyes and takes the bag of food from Jeno then nods in the direction of home. “You ready?”
Jeno swallows then nods his head, “Yeah.”
Jeno misses Mark's warmth as they walk home in the cold. Mark’s talking about his day, some issue his company had with a client that he was able to solve, but Jeno’s eyes are locked on his hand. Jeno could easily reach out and grab it, squeeze it, feel its warmth.
“Jeno?” Mark asks.
Jeno finally tears his eyes from Mark’s hand to look him in the eyes, “Hm?”
But Mark’s not looking at him anywhere, his gaze is pointed down and before Jeno knows it, there’s something warm closing around his hand.
Mark smiles at him, “Is that better?”
Jeno blushes and glances at their hands clasped together. He nods, “Yeah.”
Dangerous for his heart.
﹤୨♡୧﹥
Jeno struggled finding a job. He can’t blame anybody, it’s hard to hire a vampire. What will the customers think? Or, what if you attack somebody? Jeno was constantly being told the same thing as he was applying to job after job. Finally, he found a place. It wasn’t the most accepting place, but it was good enough. He met Renjun there who became his comfort person whenever he went there, it didn’t matter what others thought because he had Renjun who could give less fucks what Jeno was (his words). So it was usually ok, whenever he felt overwhelmed and needed someone to go to at work, that’s who he went to.
But Renjun isn’t always there.
He felt something was off as soon as he stepped into the building. He walked past Renjun;s empty desk and that feeling turned into a pit of dread in his stomach. The whole day he felt anxious, like something was going to happen. He hates bothering Mark or Jaemin while they’re at their own respective jobs, which is why he usually goes to Renjun, but he’s not here today.
So he spent the whole day on edge, wondering when something was going to go wrong.
And this time he was right.
Jeno knows there’s people out there who hate his existence. He knows by the way people look at him or avoid him, but it’s not everyday he gets it yelled right in his face. Most of the clients get told beforehand what Jeno is, but it looks like this one wasn’t aware.
He feels himself still trembling as he goes back to his desk. His boss came over after a solid five minutes of hearing that man shout and yell at how much he hated Jeno. He gathers his things as fast as he possibly can, thankful his boss let him go home early because Jeno honestly doesn’t know if he can sit here for another hour without breaking down.
Jeno goes home in what felt like a blur. He didn’t even realize he was home until he was already walking through his door.
He feels numb as he goes to his room and lays down in his bed.
Jeno feels something gently stroking his hair. He enjoys the touch for a moment longer before finally opening his eyes and blinking at the person above him.
“Mark?” Jeno whispers.
Mark smiles at him, his thumb wipes at jeno’s wet cheeks. Jeno didn’t even realize he was crying.
“Hey,” Mark says. He doesn’t ask if Jeno’s ok, doesn’t ask what happened, all he asks is, “Can I join you?”
Jeno nods his head and scoots over so Mark can join him. As soon as Mark is laying down, Jeno is pressing himself against Mark’s body, as close as they can be. All thoughts are out of his head, all he wants is to be close to Mark.
“How are you feeling?” Mark mutters.
“I’m ok.” Jeno says, taking a deep breath in, letting Mark’s scent wash over him. He hugs Mark even tighter, “I’m ok now that you’re here.”