too fragile for your love (too strong for your heart)

and under the moonlight (i become all yours) pt three

when he catches sight of jay settling down in the middle row of his morning physics lecture, he's nonplussed, to say the least. he drops into the seat beside the older man, and before he can even open his mouth, jay starts talking.

"yes, i'm taking this class now, no, you cannot ask why, do i know anything about college-level physics in the first place? no, but i have you here to help me, so, i think i will do just fine."

"did heeseung hyung ask you to do this?" he says, more of a statement than a question.

jay's mouth snaps shut. after a few seconds, during which he looks like he's contemplating how to solve world hunger, he replies, "no."

jake looks away, opting to pull his textbooks out of his bag, instead of calling jay out on his blatant lie. "i told him i was fine," he says, in a low voice. "you can tell him that this is unnecessary."

"okay, first of all," jay begins, holding up a finger. "you do not, and i mean it, do not tell heeseung hyung that ensuring the safety of his coven mates is unnecessary. second of all, i'm here because i want to be. and, third? you're not fine, jake. i can see your hands shaking. have you taken your weekly dose of blood, yet?"

he likes being around jay. the fact that they're both returnees, and share similar tastes in music and food, made them bond a lot faster than the others. but, right now, with jay showing up at a college he isn't even enrolled in, and acting like a mother hen, because jake made heeseung think that he needs babysitting, he isn't feeling very friendly.

"jake, look," jay sighs, when he doesn't say anything. "i'm worried about you. we're worried about you. and, it's fine. you're a part of our coven, now, and we look out for each other."

"i know," he mumbles, feeling ashamed all of a sudden. "i just wish you didn't have to."

jay claps him on the shoulder a couple of times. "there's nothing wrong with needing help. you made your first kill, less than eight hours ago. it's bound to mess you up. we're here for you, alright?"

he nods, feeling the words first kill sink into his skin, like a stain he will never be able to get rid of, no matter how much he scrubs. as jay starts flipping through one of his textbooks with a disgusted look on his face, mumbling random thermodynamics terms under his breath, he wonders if there will be a second.

***

it's as they're heading to his next class, jay a few steps behind, absorbed in his phone, that jake notices the scents.

it's a dizzying array of smells, strawberry and cinnamon and vanilla and petrichor, and so many more that he can't even begin to identify all of them. they swirl around in the air, light and heavy and then, light again, as if they're travelling from one end of the corridor to the other, like actual, physical entities.

"jay," he turns around, and grabs the preoccupied vampire's sleeve, making them halt in the middle of the hallway. "jay, do you smell that?"

"hmm?" jay says, questioningly as he looks up. "smell what?"

"it smells like someone lit up a whole bunch of those scented candles, from bath and body works," he says, wincing. his head hurts something awful, because of the chaotic medley of scents attacking his olfactory senses, without any sign of give.

"oh, those!" jay exclaims, brightening up. "congratulations, jake! you've finally become a man!"

"what are you talking about?" he demands, barely noticing the amused looks of other students passing by them, who've definitely heard jay's words, with how loud he's been.