Safe place (Markhyuck)

24

Across town the weekend plays out differently...

Jeno lost his courage on Friday and now that Saturday has rolled around he has to man up, he's waited too long already. Renjun has been hiding in his room for most of the week and weekend and Jaemin thinks it's odd because he was such a social butterfly before. It's around noon when Jeno gets his text from Mark and rather than go into detail that he hasn't even told him yet he says it's fine. After he washes lunch dishes on his insistence he is planning to tell him, but he doesn't get a chance to stop him from knocking on Renjun's door.

"You should come out of there every now and then you know." Jaemin says to a frightened Renjun. He looks past him and notices the curtains are pulled and none of his newly acquired stuff is unpacked.
"Do you want help unpacking?" Jaemin asks stepping in.
"Uh w-well I uh am looking for a place still. I d-don't want to burden you guys anymore." He barely gets the words out before collapsing on the bed sobbing uncontrollably. Jaemin instinctively goes to hold him and Jeno is tearing up just watching.

"No p-please, go l-leave me alone. I d-don't deserve your kindness." He tries his best to shoo him off but Jaemin feels sad for him, for whatever he's going through. It takes Jeno to come in and peel him away.
After they close the door he ushers Jaemin to sit down and he takes his hands.

"Baby, I need to tell you something." Jaemin's eyebrows crease and he starts to notice Jeno is shaking.
"When I helped him get his stuff the other night, he was really happy and he uh, he kissed me and I maybe kissed him back." Jaemin pulls his hands away making Jeno's heart hurt.
"There is no maybe either you did or you didn't. So which is it?" He says with gritted teeth.
"I did, I kissed him too." Jeno cries as he watches the love of his life coming to terms with it.
Jaemin angrily stands and charges toward Renjun's room.

"Where are you going?" He quickly gets up to follow him and as soon as Renjun's door is open Jaemin raises his hand to slap him but Jeno is quick to cover the already cowering Renjun.
"Don't hit him, his boyfriend did that enough. Hit me instead. I'm the one you should be mad at anyway." Jaemin softens slightly when he finally notices just how scared Renjun is then he slaps Jeno across the face.

"Fuck you." He says before storming off and slamming his bedroom door. Renjun tries to go up to Jeno but realizes it's not his place and quickly retreats to the corner of his bed and silently cries as Jeno slowly leaves the room and shuts the door behind him.
Jeno doesn't know what to do with himself. Jaemin has locked the door and seemingly has no plans to let him in anytime soon so he sits on the floor outside the room. He cries quietly and hopes he didn't fuck up his perfect relationship with his perfect boyfriend.

After a few hours of complete silence the door cracks open slightly causing Jeno to almost fall back into it.
He looks at Jaemin both of them have puffy faces and red eyes.
"I keep telling myself, it was just a kiss. Don't be such a baby, but I think there is more to it than that. You went with him to protect him, why?" He doesn't wait for an answer and just answers for him.
"Because you care about him." Jeno starts to try to protest as he stands to be at Jaemin's level.
"Don't bullshit me Jeno, fuck I care about him so I know you do to. I'm trying to figure out just how much you care though, so I want both of you to sit here and tell me everything that happened and why." He stoically sits on the couch just staring ahead.
"Go get him please, we need to get this over with." Jeno nods swallowing down the lump in his throat. He can see just how hurt his other half is and it's breaking him.

Jeno knocks and receives a meek "come in".
"J-Jaemin wants to talk to us." Renjun nods and he too with his puffy red eyes joins the other two.
Jeno and Renjun both sit on chairs in front of the couch and wait for Jaemin to start.
"Did your boyfriend hit you a lot?" Renjun looks down.
"Only when I made him angry." Jaemin winces.
" I'm sorry for trying to slap you." He says.
"So I'm assuming you told Jeno, for him to want to protect you?" Renjun takes a deep breath.
"Yes, I asked him to come because I was afraid I would get hurt and I knew that he wouldn't touch me if Jeno was with." He pauses and lets his tears fall.
He lifts his shirt and stands to show a massive bruise on his stomach and his back.
"This is from the day before, I tried to go myself and h-he k-kicked m-me." Jeno has the urge to hug him but sits frozen, to his surprise though Jaemin goes to him and holds him tightly allowing him to cry on his shoulder. Renjun starts to back away and Jaemin pulls him in again.

"I'm mad, not heartless." Renjun gives in and cuddles into him and Jeno dares crack a smile. Renjun finally sits again and finishes explaining.
"I get why you would be really happy but why the kiss?" Renjun plays with his fingers nervously.
"I don't know, since I've moved in here I thought the both of you were so very pretty and I guess in my excitement I just lost myself and kissed the pretty boy in front of me. I'm so sorry, I don't want you to break up because of me. I already feel awful." Jaemin sighs.

"I'm not planning to break up with him, but I would like to know Jeno, why it took you so long to be honest with me?" Now it's Jeno's turn to be nervous.
"I was scared because I knew that you would not trust me anymore after telling you. I knew I was going to hurt you and I desperately don't want to lose you. I love you so much." Jaemin frowns again in deep thought.

"Show me." He says shocking the two.
"What? No I'm not going to..." Jaemin cuts him off.
"Show me what happened please? I need this." The two awkwardly stand and face each other. Jeno is frozen in place. He feels like this is a test he will fail no matter what.
Renjun goes to him and grabs his face in his hands much like he did that day and smashes his lips to the others. Jeno responds just like he did before, it wasn't very long and it wasn't very passionate, just a simple kiss. Jaemin watches, when they pull apart they tear their gazes away from each other and look Jaemin in the eyes.
"Do it again." Jeno scoffs and turns to leave the room.
"No, Jaemin. I won't." He walks to the kitchen and grabs a beer, downing it in just a couple gulps. Jaemin follows him and grabs one for himself.

"What are you doing? You don't like beer." Jaemin sighs.
"Tonight I do. Can I ask you something in private?" Jeno nods and opens another beer.
"Do you like him? Do you think he's attractive? Should I be worried?" Jeno sighs again.
"Honestly I like him a little and I think he is pretty and I felt the need to protect him and I liked the kiss ok? But no, you one hundred percent do not have to worry, because those small feelings I feel for him are nothing compared to what I feel for you. I'm sorry if this truth hurts you and isn't what you want to hear but it is the truth and if I ever want to earn your trust again I have to put all my cards on the table right?"

He leans on the counter holding back the urge to punch the cabinet. He's angry with himself and wants to punish himself. With Jaemin's silence he thinks he's left the room so he does it, hard. He didn't mean to break it but it is what it is. He looks at his bloody knuckles and feels it's not enough so he uses the same hand to punch the counter until he hears Jaemin screaming for him to stop.

"I'm so sorry Jaem, I'm such a dick. I fucked up something beautiful, I'm selfish and I hate myself for it." He tries to hit it again but Jaemin holds his hand back. He turns him around and hugs him and when he sees Renjun walk in with the first aid kit he feels these pangs in his chest, it's not bad but he feels like Renjun is caring and sweet and he can see why Jeno has those feelings and he finds it hard to blame him for something that he has too.

He sits Jeno in a chair and Renjun helps clean him up and Jaemin dresses his wound. Jaemin instructs Renjun to grab more beer and follow them. They sit on the couch and Jaemin cuddles into Jeno's side.
"I can't stay mad at you if I feel the same things right? It's not fair of me to blame you for something that given the right circumstances it could have happened to me? I'm sitting here trying to figure out why you two kissing didn't make me angry or sad but made me feel good." Jeno rubs his arm and Renjun just sits awkwardly across from them before getting up, he tries to leave the room.
"Stay please. I know this is uncomfortable but we need to get through this and you are just as much a part of it." Jaemin says.

They end up talking for hours, drinking beer after beer. With the undeniable attraction on all of their parts it's no wonder that Jeno wakes up with two naked bodies on him. He remembers everything clearly though and gently wakes Jaemin who looks like he's going to have a melt down at any moment.
"Shh, baby. It's ok. I love you, you did nothing wrong." He whispers, hoping that this isn't going to break them.