rewrite the stars - jaywon

chapter 43

Jungwon paused at the doormat to their family's front door. He looked down, at the 'Welcome' printed in bold across it. He thought of his parents, wondered where they might be, whether they'd already gone to bed, what they'd eaten for dinner without Jay there to cook for them. He wondered how they'd react, how their faces would twist, when he told them the truth of where he and Jay had been, of what he had found out about what they had done to Jay.

Jungwon felt a tremor start to appear, just a slight shake in his hand. He tried to ignore it, and tried to quash his nerves. He rummaged for his keys, but he fumbled as fished them out of his pocket and they fell to the mat below.

"Shit."

Jungwon knelt, reaching for the keys only for Jay's hand to close over them first. Jungwon's gaze rose from Jay's hand to Jay's eyes. Jungwon's cheeks were burning-- he couldn't even take out his keys without messing it up. His embarrassment worsened because couldn't see much in the dim light. He couldn't tell why Jay was looking at him so intently.

Jungwon cast his eyes down as Jay took his hand and guided him up, kept them fixed to the ground as he pressed the keys into Jungwon's grasp. Jay hesitated to pull his hand away, and that's when Jungwon knew he'd been found out. There was no way Jay could have missed the tremor.

"Jungwon," Jay's voice was soft-- out of fear of being overheard or something less obvious, Jungwon couldn't have said, "We can pull this off. Your parents may not think too highly of me, but they'll listen to you."

Jungwon didn't have the heart to tell Jay that they hadn't had any problems with ignoring him before, when they'd turned around and erased Jay right after he'd told them how he felt towards the robot. He curled his fingers into a fist over the keys, grasping them hard enough that the plastic edges dug into his palm. Then Jungwon looked up at Jay, and plastered on a smile.

"Yeah, of course. You're right," he tried a laugh, grasping for something more he could say, "Hey, a good luck kiss couldn't hurt though, could it?"

Jungwon had the feeling they'd need all the luck they could get.

Jay's mouth twisted. Jungwon waited for a beat, then another, holding his breath. Then, Jay shook his head and smiled, and Jungwon could breathe again.

"Is that a real thing people do or do you just want another kiss?"

Suddenly, it wasn't so hard to maintain his smile. Jungwon grinned.

"Yes."

Jay's hand flew up to his mouth, but his fingers poorly masked the unmistakable sound of laughter. Jungwon, as hopeless as he was, felt like laughing along with him.

"You're unbelievable, you know?" Jay drew his hand down. His grin was gone, replaced with a soft smile, "Nothing about you makes sense, not even the things you say."

"Ah, well, there's no fun in making sense. Thought it was worth a try to ask, anyways."

Jungwon twirled his keys around his finger. He only maintained the spin briefly, before they started to slip off and he had to scramble to catch them. He laughed a short, discomfited laugh-- hoping that slip up had escaped Jay's notice-- then moved to scan his key.

And Jungwon realized, sometime when he hadn't even been looking, the tremor had nearly vanished. His hand was barely shaking at all. He wanted to turn, to share one last look with Jay while they remained alone, before they faced his parents.

Before he could, though, he was stopped in his tracks.

Lips, warm and softer than anything, pressed flush to Jungwon's cheek. They were gone in an instant, but the tingling sensation they left in their wake lasted.

Jungwon turned to Jay, as he'd first planned, but he was sure he looked less composed than he had intended. His face was heated, all over, but the point where Jay had kissed him burned hotter than the rest.

Jay was wearing an uncertain expression.

"For luck, right?" he asked, seemingly seeking confirmation he hadn't mistaken Jungwon.

Jungwon peered into Jay's eyes, shining in the night. He desired nothing other than to pause the world and live with Jay, in that moment in time, forever.

"Yeah," But Jungwon couldn't do that. One way or another, he'd have to face his parents, "For luck."

— the end of chapter 43 ♡