snowflake [2]; nomin

familiar yet different

―°❆ chapter nine ༺°―

A month has passed and it's about time, Jeno knows that and Jaemin knows that.

It's not like they won't be able to live in their house anymore because that's not the case. It's more the fact that the little fantasy world the two have been living in is going to be bulldozed down. The fact that reality will be a part of their lives again, and it might seem scary, but it's for the better. Jeno knows that and Jaemin knows that.

"Can you sing for me?"

Summer is approaching and the sun has already peeked out from the clouds. The two are cuddling on a blanket outside. Jaemin rests his head up against Jeno's shoulder. "Please," he begs in a whiny tone.

"I can't sing, Jaemin," the older mumbles.

"I don't care. I love when you sing, so sing for me."

Jeno sighs but clears his throat and starts singing a song he remembers from somewhere, his childhood probably. He doesn't know all lyrics and some parts are just a complete blur to him, so he mixes the lyrics he knows with a hum of the melody.

"This garden is filled with blossoming loneliness."

"I tied myself to this sandcastle filled with thorns."

"What is your name?"

"Do you even have a place to go?"

"Oh, could you tell me? I saw you hiding in this garden."

Jaemin feels his heart flutter as the words leave Jeno in a melodic way. Jeno's voice becomes a little deeper when singing yet somehow lighter and airy, and his voice has the tendency to vibrate on the lower tones, something Jaemin finds absolutely adorable. He reaches out for Jeno's hands and starts fiddling with the older's thumb, while the vocals go straight into his ears.

"You know that I can't."

"Show you me. Give you, me."

"I can't show you my weakness so I'm putting on a mask to go see you."

Jeno takes a deep breath.

"But I still want you..."

Jaemin smiles and places a kiss on Jeno's neck. "Thank you," he sings back, his raspy voice sending tickles through Jeno's body.

Jaehyun came by the following day. Jaemin packed a little bag for him and Jeno, and off they went, on a journey towards Fort Bangtan.

. * :. ❆

It feels like forever sitting in the truck. No matter how hard he clenches Jaemin's hand, his nerves still stay the same, anticipation growing and adrenaline traveling through his system. It feels like those old days when you were a kid and couldn't fall asleep because Christmas was the following day. Or the feeling when your parents told you they had a surprise for you.

He starts tapping his feet against each other when the familiar grey wall comes into his vision. He remembers the first time he saw it, stretching so far and hiding on who knows what. A monster? A safe place? Nothing? He didn't know then, only hiding in the back as Donghyuck tried convincing the guards that Mark's father was the head behind it all.

But the moment an intimidating young man walked out from there with a stare that could kill, red flaming hair and the two most daunting eyebrow slits he had ever seen, he knew. He knew what those metal walls had held.