IN A HEARTBEAT ⋮ nomin

𝟭𝟵: happy together

Jeno stays over at Jaemin's place. This time, however, he texts Renjun about their situation. And you know what? Renjun thinks his plan worked, which makes Jeno laugh in his head.

Anyway, Jeno and Jaemin are lying in bed and watching YouTube videos. They almost have no space between them, but no one tries to hug or touch each other. It's like they're still shy about that.

"I'm thinking about our date," Jeno says out loud as he pauses the video.

"What about that?" Jaemin looks at him.

"Where should I take you?"

Jaemin laughs and rubs his eyes. He looks exhausted.

"Don't worry about that. The best date place for me is my home. Like this."

"We can't always date in bed."

"Why not? The reason why I leave my room is to study. If not for that, I'll stay here for hours."

"You don't like people?"

"People exhaust me," Jaemin scoffs. "But you don't. You work as a charger."

"Cute."

"You think so?"

Jaemin throws his arm on Jeno's torso and brings himself closer. He then rests his head on his boy's chest. Jeno melts. That's the first intimate thing that happens after their confession. They didn't kiss and hold hands yet.

But maybe that's not needed when they can cuddle like this.

"If you really want to take me out on a date, then let it be a sports date," Jaemin's words sound faint just because of the cheek that he has pressed on Jeno's chest. "I'll adjust to you."

"You don't have to do something for me. If you want to have dates here, I'm fine with that."

"You don't have to adjust to me either. If you want to go out and have fun, I'll understand that."

Jeno laughed. "We're so weird."

"I haven't dated in a while. Maybe that's why."

"Me too."

Hearing that, Jaemin lifts his head to meet Jeno's eyes. The half-demon melts yet again. The power of this human is enviable.

"When was the last time you dated?"

Jeno needs to dig into his memories to remember.

"Two months ago? It didn't last long. Something didn't work out."

Jaemin nods as much as his chin on Jeno's toned chest lets him.

"Was it a girl?"

"Yeah."

"So you're bisexual."

"It turns out," Jeno laughs. "What about you?"

"I think it has to be a year or more," Jaemin admits after a few seconds. "You see... I used to think that I'm not only asexual but also aromantic. I wasn't interested in relationships but then you appeared in my life."

Jeno wants to laugh out loud but does that in his head instead. If Jaemin is actually aromantic it's interesting how Renjun's magic works on him, but Jeno's powers don't when it comes to asexuality. That's why the half-demon thinks that Jaemin is confused about the aromantic part. There's no way that Renjun could mess with something like that and changed it. Or maybe the power of love is stronger than lust? Love is a virtue, lust is sin.

"Who was the last person you dated?"

"It was a male. But the very first one was a female. As I was confused about myself, I tried dating different gender people. It didn't work out. I thought the problem was them but turns out it's me."

"You're not a problem," Jeno says softly. "They weren't the right ones for you."

"Do you believe that you're the right one?"

"I hope so."

Jaemin smiles and puts his head back on Jeno's chest.

"I think so too. You make me feel things."

➷

They're dating for a week now.

If one date is outside, with people around, the next one is in Jaemin's room with both of them cuddling.

Jaemin loves cuddling. He loves touching Jeno and hugging him. He also blows kisses to the other male. But actual kisses never happen.

Jeno has read an article about asexuals and then even some forum topics. Most asexual people find kisses uncomfortable. Especially when the tongue gets involved. Some of them hate physical touches but Jeno knows that Jaemin is not like that.

It feels like with touches, Jaemin tries to make Jeno feel loved. Even when they don't talk about that, Jeno can tell that Jaemin knows they're missing something. But Jeno doesn't lack anything. He's completely fine with touches as it's still a form of love.

Of course, he has to deal with lust that comes out naturally when Jaemin is around or when they're cuddling. Jeno hates that sexual desires get in his way to enjoy his moment with Jaemin. He really wants to cuddle his boyfriend calmly, not with raging hormones.