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He sat on the couch, gripping their hands, shaking uncontrollably. Nothing was his fault, right? Saeyoung never abandoned him… Right? And with them here… Everything will be fine, right? Please, give me some closure… He begged to himself.
“So I... I didn’t do anything wrong?” Saeran asked, looking up at them. They cupped Saeran's cheeks into their hands and tilted his head up, smiling.
“Of course not. Everything will be okay, Saeran.” They said softly, stroking his cheek. His eyes began to swell up with tears as he felt their warm hands on his cheek. He hated showing his emotions, but they taught him that it was okay to give up sometimes. That it was okay to rely on someone - that is was okay to love and care for someone. Maybe just this one time, he’ll cry for just a little bit.
Saeran felt them squeeze his hands, and it was that moment he began letting out the tears that he had been holding back for who knows how long. He forgot how good it felt to cry - and how it felt to have someone beside him. Is it really okay to have someone so sweet? Despite him doing unjust things, he was still accepted…
“It’s okay now, Saeran. I’m here with you.” Their voice became a whisper, almost inaudible, as they leaned down to his eye level. They opened their arms out, and Saeran instinctively clung onto them. He wrapped his arms around them, crying uncontrollably. He buried his face into their shoulders to help mute his cries from the world. They embraced the hug, and slowly ran their fingers through his hair.
The two of them remained still as Saeran continued to cry and listen to their words of comfort. As he came to the realization that things would be better, his constant cries started to end, and by the time he stopped crying, he felt relieved - he felt like he was reborn again. Perhaps things would be okay again. His constant shaking began to end, and before he knew it, he felt calm. His eyes were red from the tears, but it didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry…” Saeran whispered quietly, pulling back from the embrace.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Saeran.” They replied, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
“No, I meant your shirt… I didn’t mean to cry so much, and now your shirt’s all wet…”
“Oh?” When they saw how drenched the shirt was from Saeran’s tears, they couldn’t help but to laugh and pat his head. “Saeran, you’re so silly. I don’t mind at all.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You, you uh… You have to pinky promise me.”
“Pinky promise you?” They asked, curiously. He nodded and looked away, but he held out his pinky.
“Yeah. Pinky promise. That means you really mean it.” As soon as Saeran finished saying his sentence, they instantly wrapped their pinky around his. When he looked back to see their pinkies intertwined, he saw their warm smile, and couldn’t help but to blush. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks for no apparent reason; and seeing this, they smiled brightly.
“Stay here, Saeran. I’ll go get something for you to drink. I’ll be right back.” They said, playing with his hair momentarily before taking a nearby blanket and wrapping it around Saeran. He gripped it tightly, and watched as they stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare some kind of drink.
He watched silently as they moved back and forth from one cabinet to another. Even if they were literally right there, he felt lonely. Saeran quietly got up, and holding the blanket as a cape, he walked to the kitchen.
As they were pouring the water into the the cup, a warm sensation pressed onto their back. They turned their head to see Saeran nuzzling their shoulder while holding the blanket.
“I don’t want to be alone…” He said quietly. Once they had mixed everything together, they turned around and brought Saeran into a hug.
“You’re not alone. I’m right here with you, okay?” They replied, playing with his hair once again.
He liked that. Whenever they touched his hair, he felt safe. As if nothing could touch him again. He smiled, and leaned closer.
“Ah, Saeran. Try this. It’s hot chocolate.” They said, pulling away momentarily and showing him the drink.
“... Is it good?”
“Of course it is. It was made by me, of course.” They said proudly.
He took the cup of hot chocolate and stared down at it. It was steaming. Which meant it was hot. He blew into the cup a few times, before slowly taking a sip of the hot chocolate. At the moment’s touch, he recoiled instantly.
“It’s hot.”
“You’re supposed to blow it on it some more, Saeran. Let’s do it together, okay?”
“Okay.”
“One, two, three!” At the sound of three, the two of them blew into the cup to cool it down. After their teamwork, Saeran tried to drink the hot chocolate once again.
… It was warm. Comforting, even. It felt like her warm embrace; everything that they made him feel was projected into this simple cup of hot chocolate. But even if it was just a beverage, it soothed his heart- it helped relieve a pain in his heart. He loved how warm and comforting it felt; despite it being hot, he drank the whole cup instantly.
“Was it good?”
“Yeah.” He answered, and showed them a small smile. It felt wonderful to have someone as kind as them in his life. He loved them. As Saeran thought about how much of an impact they had on his life, he began to remember his past life before he met them. What cruel things he did before he met them. It was true they made him a better person, but is it okay to put what he did into the past? Did he deserve to be in a happy environment? He didn’t feel so - but if they say that it’s okay… He remained silent for a second before opening his mouth.
“Is it okay for me to be happy like this?” He asked them, frantically searching into their eyes for the answer. He had done so many things wrong without even knowing it… Can he really take this and accept it? Was it okay for him to enjoy life with someone so caring?
They took the cup away from his hands and put it on the counter. Then, they stood on their tiptoes and pressed their lips against his, staying still for even a brief second. But it ended as soon as it started, and once he realized they had just kissed him, he blushed profusely.
“Of course it’s okay for you to be happy. I’ll always be there with you - because I love you!”