toxic | nct dream

37. he gets it

—-

—-

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," Xia replied in a breathy voice.

He flipped the covers open so she could crawl back into bed.

Turned on to his side, he immediately wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, facing him. He noticed the lost look in her eyes even as they were staring into his own.

"Are you sure? You seem a little out of it." His hand trailed down to her leg in a comforting gesture of affection, however it only caused her to shudder at his touch.

He gave her a questioning look due to her oddly familiar but out of place reaction.

Wait, his eyes said. Are you...

Carefully his fingers worked the way up her inner thigh to her heat, feeling the prominent wet spot that lined her underwear.

"Lele!" She gasped in a hushed voice. Cheeks burning red.

He felt flattered and confused at the same time. She wasn't one to act shy when they were intimate.

"Baby," Chenle cooed, a soft yet confident expression on his face. "Why are you acting embarrassed? You could've just told me you were ready for more."

She wanted to contest his presumptive assessment of the situation, but being so close to completing her dream — even if it was with another man — prevented her from doing so.

"Give me a moment and I'll help you with that."

Once he removed his hand from her heat to pull off what was left of his sleepwear, the girl snapped out of it.

"Chenle, wait. It's not..." Xia didn't know how to explain it to him in a way that would get her point across but not reveal the whole truth. She didn't want to hurt or concern him.

He stopped his movements and waited patiently for her to finish.

God, look at those kind eyes. He's too good for this.

"I just... can't right now."

"Oh... okay." He sounded almost dejected. It only made her feel worse. "If you want I can," he glanced down between her legs, tongue unconsciously wetting his lips. "Or..."

His hand began to make its way back up her thigh. She grabbed onto it before he could go any further.

"Lele, it's alright." She pulled his arm to wrap around her shoulder, and carefully laid on his chest. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, running her fingers along his side.

His hand began to rub her upper back soothingly. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize."

Xia absorbed his words, letting them fester for a moment. Her face warping into a conflicted mess.

He deserves better.

The girl let out a little whine before pushing herself up to meet his eyes. They held for a second, and then she leaned down and kissed him in a force of passion.

It came as a shock to Chenle, but he obliged her sudden change of mind.

That is, until she reached down to palm him through his boxers in what he could tell was an action meant to please him.

She was frantic and he just couldn't go through with it.

"Woah, Baby, wait," he said the second he could pull away. He stared up at her disheartened face. That cute pout making itself prominent.

"Xi, really, we don't have to do this." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Don't get me wrong, I want to. But I can't enjoy it if you aren't."

An easiness flooded through Xia's chest.

He gets it.

She dropped her head next to his, letting out a deep breath.

"I love you."

Chenle stayed quiet, his hand continuing to caress the back of her head. After a long, drawn-out minute he carefully lifted her face just enough to leave a tender kiss on the crown of her head.

The girl didn't expect any different from him. In another moment she would lament for something more, but in that moment she was content with being held in his arms.

"Xi?" He broke the silence that had contained them for a while.

She hummed in response.

"Why were you upset today, leaving the studio?"

"I told you, I was tired."

Those cogs were back to turning. They took a couple minutes before churning out the 'perfect' response.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

The question hit her like a bag of bricks. It was more than familiar, it was a key phrase that had once changed the trajectory of their relationship.

• • •