Betrothed (NoRen)

6

It's been four months and Jeno is a shell of himself. Mark isn't much better. As much as he was willing to, Jeno and Taeyong talked him out of stalking the poor boy.

They carry on with business as usual but of course it sits with them. Taeyong encourages them to get out there and try to find them in a non stalking way but they don't have the time or energy for that.

Renjun has been busying himself with working at a grocery store. It barely covers rent but it's just enough to keep him going until he can find something better.
When he left the hospital completely healed, he got an inventory on his charges. He will pay this back if it's the death of him.
Of the million dollars he was gifted, which was a ridiculous amount in his eyes considering his crappy apartment is only $150 a month, he has most of it still in the envelope. He used some only out of complete desperation to keep his apartment and pay his bills. He ate conservatively as usual to keep the amount to a minimum. Now whenever he has a small amount of extra each month, he puts it in the envelope.

He's currently searching for jobs he can apply for that are within his education level. While all the other kids went off to college after school he was stuck working part time jobs until he landed the job at the factory. He was hoping for full time benefits and raises and such but could never achieve this goal for some reason. He never questioned it, didn't want to ruffle any feathers. He kept his head down and showed up for work everyday. Look where that got him.

He finds a few administrative assistant jobs and figures even if he doesn't get the job, it doesn't hurt to send in his resume. He applies at a few factory's too. Even though they told him things have changed and his job is secure, he doesn't want to step foot in that place again.

He dresses decently for a party Haechan caught wind of and throws on a jacket and scarf. It's colder now and there is snow in the forecast. This is the first time they've went partying since his illness. He's a little nervous and even though it wasn't related, he's a little scared to drink, but he wants to get back out there.

As he walks the cold lonely streets his mind wanders to Jeno again. He's thought about him a lot. He feels kind of bad for being so mean that night but his pride is bigger than his whole body. He's still forever great full to him and still remembers how beautiful he was and how comforting his touch was, even though it was small. In a perfect world, he would love to be with someone like him. Of course they are way too different for that to even be a dream of his. While Jeno is rich and powerful, he is a nobody who is poorly educated. He is way out of his league.
By the time he gets done with all his depressing thoughts, he is at Haechan's doorstep.

"Are you ready?" Haechan asks.
"Yes, where are we headed?" Haechan smiles widely.
"Tonight we are going to the rich end of town. A friend from work invited us, he said it would be a little dry at first but by the time we get there it should be in full swing." Renjun's eyes glow with happiness.
"I called a cab so we could both get wasted on expensive liquor and not have to worry about getting home." He bounces excitedly and has Haechan check to see if he's dressed nice enough for that part of town which of course he thinks he looks adorable in his cream sweater and tan corduroy pants.
"You look great baby."

The ride only takes a half hour which isn't bad considering traffic. The house is huge.
"Wow. It's so nice." Haechan says in awe.
"We are way out of our league here, this place is worth more than my life." Renjun says earning an elbow from the other.
"Ouch, you big bully!" He says as he rubs his arm.
"Your life is precious, don't ever talk that way in front of me." He senses the seriousness in his voice and hugs him quickly.
"I'm sorry, you went through a rough time because of me." Haechan shakes his head.
"Just behave." He smiles widely and salutes earning a chuckle from the other.

They are quickly let in and Haechan makes his first
Mission to find a drink, then his friend.
They quickly find a huge bar that looks to be permanently placed, with a bartender of course.
They order a drink each and sip it slowly as they walk through the crowd.
"Ahh. There he is. Hey Johnny. This is Renjun my best friend I was telling you about." He looks at the smaller one beside Haechan and smiles warmly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm so glad you are feeling better. Drink up tonight. The booze is expensive and paid for." Haechan chuckles.
"How do you even know people who are this rich?" Haechan asks quietly.
"I went to school with him. This is technically a work party but he told me to invite anyone I wanted." Haechan nods.
"Is Ten here? I'd like to meet him." He smiles brightly.
"Speaking of, there he is, my angel, or devil, whatever he's in the mood for." They watch as a pretty man comes up and smacks his chest.

After all the introductions they head to the dance floor as a group and spend quite a long time there. Ten turns out to be quite a lot of fun. The drinks keep flowing and they are all feeling good.

"Renjun." He hears behind him from an unmistakable voice. He whips around and loses his balance a bit so the man catches him.
"Jeno? You saved me again." He says slurring his words a bit. Jeno smiles softly, finding him adorable.
"Dance with me!" Renjun says excitedly, taking the other off guard.
"I don't really dance." Renjun scoffs.
"It's ok, I'll lead." He grabs his hands and tries to position them then just wraps his arms around Jeno's waist and snuggles into his chest. Jeno is surprised but allows at and gently wraps his arms around the smaller.

This goes on for probably an hour. The song changes were crazy but they slow dance the whole time. Soon Jeno feels him go limp in his arms so he scoops him up into his arms. He carries him through the thinned out crowd toward the stairs.
"Hey, where are you taking him?" Haechan asks as he peeks over Mark's shoulder who asked him to dance as soon as Renjun was with the other.
"He fell asleep, I'm going to put him in the guest room. You can join him later if you like or come and get him when you are ready to leave?" He nods reluctantly.
"Second door on the left." Jeno says as he climbs the stairs with ease.

He carefully pulls the blankets down and gently lays him down. He brushes the hair off his forehead as he admires his beauty before taking his shoes off and setting them by the end of the bed.
"Good night." He whispers as he pulls the blanket up.
He lingers in the room, the feeling in his veins that Renjun fills him with hasn't left since he sensed him there earlier.
As he starts to walk away he hears a small noise and turns.
"Stay with me, I want cuddles." He pouts. Jeno can't look away from his doe eyes.
"Ok." He says easily. He was invited, he won't pass it up. He takes off his jacket and tie, then unbuttons his shirt and removes it. He's left in his pants and t-shirt as he lays down beside him.
As soon as he gets laid down Renjun curls into him.
He hears snoring instantly and smiles.
He would do this every night for eternity if he could.