HER BELOVED

4

Jin snapped his eyes open and froze to find himself face to face with Nao. "It's snowing" her voice rang with enthusiasm and his heart skipped a few beats. He looked down, she was straddling his hips, her hands on the pillow on either side of his head, her hair falling over his face and he could smell the vanilla and lavender of the shampoo she had fallen in love with. His body tensed and he swallowed nervously, thankful that Nao wasn't sitting higher or she would have felt the bulge caused by the position they were in.

"Can we go for a walk?" her question snapped him out of his thoughts. "Baby, it's dangerous..." her eyes watered and her lower lip quivered. "In the yard?" he suggested quickly and she squealed happily, bouncing on his hips. Her pure unadulterated childish reaction to something as simple as snow was simply captivating and driving Jin crazy. Every time she reacted like this to something so small, his desire to protect her from the ugliness of this world became painfully overwhelming.

"Okay, go get dressed and we'll meet at the door?" she nodded and ran out of his bedroom and he breathed a sigh of relief, looking down at the bulge that was lifting his covers. If he didn't do something soon, it would become an ocean of cold water that he used every time she turned him on. He pushed back the covers and stood up, sitting on the edge of the bed and running his fingers through his hair.

Half an hour later he was shivering with cold, hands deep in his pockets, while Nao bounced merrily around him, trying to catch snowflakes with his hand, wincing every time they melted. "Is she really 24 years old?" he thought, watching her with a small smile. She walked around him and he frowned as the sound of her footsteps died away. Jin turned around and a ball of snow hit his face.

He spat, trying to brush the snow off his face, but the first ball was followed by a second, then a third. "Ah, you little savage!" he growled and walked towards her, Nao squealed and ran and Jin smirked chasing after her. Nao burst out laughing, Jin had almost caught up with her when she slipped. "Jin!" she waved her arms comically and first one leg flew into the air, then the other. Jin reached out to catch her, but he himself slipped, lost his balance and fell heavily on his back.

Nao landed heavily in a puddle and gasped for breath. "Nao!" Jin stood up quickly and gave her a hand, helping her to her feet. "Did you hit yourself, are you okay?" he looked around her worriedly, she burst out laughing. "You have snow in your hair!" he snapped, shaking his head. "And you're soaked, come on, before you catch a cold." he shook his head, shaking the snow from his hair and led a sullen Nao by the hand back to the house.

Jin helped her take off her wet coat and she went into the bathroom and he turned and left the wet coat on the bed frame and walked towards the door. "Jin!" her scream literally launched him back into the bathroom and he flew in, swinging the door open with a loud bang. "Baby?" she was leaning against the sink counter with her head bowed and her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "Are you okay, does it hurt somewhere?" he asked anxiously, lifting her chin to meet her eyes.

She shook her head but avoided his gaze and her face turned so red that Jin was sure Nao might burst like a balloon. "What's up little one?" he asked her and tilted his head slightly, looking at her nervous expression. "Jin?" he hummed softly and she worked up the courage to look him in the eye. "Do you regret it?" she suddenly asked in a hoarse voice and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "To regret what?" she shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around her body. "That you married me" Nao whispered uncertainly and Jin blinked startled.

"What.." she cut him off. "I know I'm a big kid sometimes, most of the time actually, and there's probably a woman out there somewhere whose heart was broken because of our marriage. And that you probably hate me for that, but you're nice to me because of my brother, so I want to I apologize and let me tell you that if you want to divorce, there is no problem, even though I started to like you a lot, I will not be angry with you and we can remain friends" at the end of her tirade, her breath almost stopped and her voice was more whispers.