dazed and confused - norenmin

seven

renjun

renjun was having a dream.
he dreamt that that he was lying on a cloud.
it was indescribably soft, and cradled him gently, making him feel secure.

he wasn't alone, however.
there was a boy lying on either side of him, one brown-haired, the other raven.
he couldn't make out their faces,
the tendrils of cloud concealed them behind a hazy screen,
but he could feel the reassurance that their presence gave him.
this, surely, was heaven.

he didn't want to wake up,
but his body was rested,
and his brain knew it was time to leave this dreamland.

his eyes opened,
and he was instantly faced with reality.
he was alone.
there was no sign of either jaemin or jeno.

still squinting sleepily and rubbing his eyes with one hand,
he used the other to push open the bedroom door.

there was jaemin, dozing on the sofa,
body curled up tightly as if to protect himself.
renjun couldn't see jeno anywhere,
and for the moment concentrated his attention on the boy before him.

he debated whether or not to wake the younger boy,
but he looked so peaceful that renjun couldn't bring himself to disturb him.
instead he fetched a blanket from the bedroom and carefully draped it over him,
his eyes grazing over jaemin's tranquil face.
some unknown urge prompted him to touch his cheek.
it was unimaginably soft, softer even than the cloud in his dream.
he ran his fingers gently over jaemin's features,
marvelling at his beauty.

renjun knew that he should get up and leave him in peace,
but something about jaemin compelled him to stay by his side.
as he traced a heart on his cheek,
jaemin suddenly stirred.
renjun lept back, imagining the awkwardness if jaemin saw him there.

he was tip-toeing back into the bedroom,
when he heard jaemin mumble something that made his heart stop.

"jeno..."

"jeno, is that you?"

renjun froze.
glancing back over his shoulder,
he saw that jaemin had sat up and was now looking at him in confusion.
it was only now that he noticed the traces of rivers drawn by since-dried tears,
marking jaemin's perfect face with sadness.

"were you crying?"

jaemin rubbed at his cheeks self-consciously, and looked down at the floor.

"maybe"

"..."

"yes"

renjun felt empathy stir in him, and quickly walked back over to jaemin.
the other boy's eyes followed his movements in silence,
but when renjun hesitantly wrapped his arms around him,
jaemin let out a shaky breath.

"wanna talk about it?"

"maybe in a bit"

"that's fine. whenever you're ready."

"thank you"

they stayed like that for a while,
until renjun began to worry that jaemin was uncomfortable,
and so started untangling himself.
he was shifting slightly away from jaemin to give him some room,
when the younger boy impulsively clutched his hoodie,
winding the fabric around his hands.

"junnie?"

"yeah?"

"can you...stay with me?"

"always."

*****

renjun's thoughts:

why is he sad
don't be sad jaemin...

...minnie.

jaemin's thoughts:

is that jeno?
why is he stroking my cheek
that feels really nice
wait it was renjun
cute
omg he's coming back
he's hugging me
calm down
calm down
this is fine

jeno's thoughts:

why the fuck am i not in this chapter?

author's note

sorry jeno, you'll be in the next one

ok this is really soft
i like this concept
NOT jaemin being sad, but renjun comforting him

xxx