Night Shift // nomin

12:10am

I tore open an individual pack of alcoholic wipes, my fingertips grasping onto the damp sheet. Jaemin patiently waited, his legs dangling off the floor as he sat on the register counter.

"This is gonna sting a little, okay?" I looked into his eyes for assurance as I stood between his legs. He nodded slightly.

I brushed the wipe across the fresh cuts on his upper forearm, his body stiffening as he inhaled sharply, biting his lip.

I glanced up at him every few seconds while cleaning the cuts on both of his arms. His facial expression soon relaxed, his tense muscles loosening.

After wrapping his forearms with adhesive gauze, my hands gently held his wrists.

My eyes lifted to his watery ones once again.

"Jaemin," I started, my thumbs gently rubbing circles on the back of his smooth hands.

"Whatever is making you do this, try your best to stop it from doing so. This is your body Jaemin, it's too beautiful to be destroyed."

My fingertips gently glided across his bandaged arms.

"I know that might be hard, taunting even. But remind yourself who's in control - it's you Jaemin, you rule your mind, your actions, your thoughts. Your feelings might be overwhelming sometimes, but you always have the authority in what actions you take to deal with them."

A droplet of water landed onto my hand, the wetness trailing across my skin.

"I don't blame you at all. I don't blame you for having this be your coping mechanism. But I'm here for you Jaemin. If you need to talk it out, get something off your chest, I'll listen." my voice became shaky.

I unconsciously squeezed his hands tighter, heaviness settling in my chest. My eyes lifted to meet his pained ones. Reaching out, I wiped a tear from his cheek.

"Just please, don't hurt yourself." my voice cracked, pain leaking through each word. "Please..."

His hands slipped from my grasp, finding their place on my shoulders, tugging me closer.

Before I could reply, his lips brushed against mine.

I stiffened, mainly stunned by his action. My heart hammered in my chest, warmth rushing into my cheeks when I started to kiss back. My arms snaked around his waist, his hands moving up and gripping my jaw, deepening our lip lock.

The kiss was full of emotions, straight from Jaemin's heart - both of our hearts for a matter a fact, my mind slipping away from reality. I found myself melting, melting into his touch, craving his soft, addictive lips.

Sliding my hands up his back and tangling my fingers into his hair (which was incredibly soft and felt like fluff underneath my fingertips), I pulled him closer, our upper bodies pressed against each other.

We kissed until our oxygen deprived lungs screamed for air, (unfortunately) causing us to pull back to take a breather, both of our cheeks painted a shade of red.

I leaned my forehead against his, his warm pants grazing my lips.

"Thank you Jeno." he breathed, his hands running through my hair.

"Of course Jaemin." I replied softly, voice airy.

His hand dropped from my hair as his forehead left mine. He lifted his legs to his chest, sleeves falling over his bandaged arms while he pressed his palms against the counter. He maneuvered himself around, feet landing on the floor on the other side.

Giving me one last glance with his classic toothless smile, he trotted out of the mart.

I ran my hand through my hair, heaving a deep sigh. My eyes drew to the deserted ice cream pint that was pushed off to the side of the register, I grabbed it and headed over to the freezer, returning it to its original place.

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