for you page × chensung

nine

[ relationships do not rely solely on how much people love each other but on their desire to make love flourish in the darkest of times. ]

Jisung noticed two things over the week since he eavesdropped on Jeno's conversation. One was that Jeno clearly held a lot of hostility towards him, and it was painfully obvious once you knew of it. And two was that Jeno spiked his water with vodka and pretended to be sober when Jaemin arrived home. The latter was a newer development as far as Jisung knew, but his trust in his perceptions was slipping with every dirty secret revealed. Jeno was a baby alcoholic who hated Jisung's being, Chenle wasn't the shy, innocent person he thought, and Jaemin harbored regrets deeper than the growing holes in his pocket.

College, the apartment, his ugly-ass car, and his severely underpaying job were catching up to him. He was twenty-years-old with the responsibilities of a middle-aged man with children. It was no wonder he ignored the vodka on Jeno's tongue and the slurs in his speech for a moment of freedom. Jeno made him feel like a teenager while he lived an adult life.

On Day One of Jisung's Week of Revealed Secrets, or JWRS, for short, Jeno poured three shots of vodka into his water bottle before grabbing his keys and leaving. Jisung didn't know where he went, but when he returned, the bottle was empty, and his breath reeked of orange tic tacs. He greeted Jisung with a grunt and scowled as he kicked away a pair of Jisung's sneakers. Jaemin came home humming the tune to some pop-song and discarded his keys on the coffee table.

"Hello, Jisungie," he sang, planting a wet kiss on Jisung's forehead and hugging his brother close. Jisung could see Jeno's annoyed grimace over Jaemin's shoulder and softly nudged his brother in Jeno's direction.

On Day Two, Jeno came home shit-faced and cursing like a pissed-off sailor. The words tumbled from his mouth as he tried to untie his shoes, leaning against the wall and falling forward every few seconds. It was pitiful, really, and Jisung laughed from his spot on the couch. His feet were propped on the armrest, and he was idly scrolling through his TikTok feed, commenting on Chenle's posts. His laugh got Jeno's attention, and the drunk man whirled on Jisung so fast he slammed his elbow into the door handle.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" He slurred, shoving Jisung's feet off the armrest. "Fucking bitch. You and your brother are always so fucking condescending." Jeno stumbled but caught himself on the back of the couch. "What? You think you're better than me because I'm drunk?"

Jisung shook his head. "I never said that, Jeno."

"Fuck you and your annoying brother."

Jisung shoved Jeno, and the man hit the kitchen table before tumbling to the floor. "You can talk your shit, Jeno, but at the end of the day, my annoying brother is the only reason you have a house." Jisung spat. "So if we're that fucking irritating, you can pack your shit and leave."

Jeno stared, wide-eyed and red-cheeked, as he walked away.

On Day Three of JWRS, Chenle came (both definitions) to his house while Jaemin was working, and Jeno was somewhere with a bottle in his hands. He arrived with a knock and a box.

"Uh, should I be scared? Are you gonna blow up my house like in Peter Pan?" Jisung waved Chenle inside and wearily eyed the box in his hands. It was small, with snowman wrapping paper and a sticky red bow. Jisung quietly hoped it wasn't supposed to be an early Christmas present because he hadn't even thought of what he was getting Chenle, or even if he was buying him anything.

"Like Peter Pan? Don't you mean The Addams Family?" Chenle asked, wrapping his arms around Jisung's waist and reaching up to place a kiss on the underside of Jisung's jaw.

"No! I mean Peter Pan! Don't tell me you've never seen it?"

Chenle shook his head, and Jisung gasped. "Traitor. I'm forcing you to watch it with me, and I don't care what you say."

"Fine, but you have to open your present first."

"So it is a gift." Jisung detached his body from Chenle's and grabbed the box. When he shook it, a metal object clanked inside. "Are we celebrating something?" He asked as he ripped through Chenle's careful wrapping.

Chenle rested his head on Jisung's shoulder, his fingers rubbing shapes into the skin between his hips and ribs. He shrugged. "We're celebrating me getting railed, I guess."

Jisung faltered, and Chenle giggled. "Open the box, bubby."

The wrapping paper revealed a cardboard Amazon box, and Jisung peeled open the crisscrossed cardboard, almost scared of what he'd find. The metal clanking he heard before was a pair of pink, fluffy handcuffs and a matching set of keys. Chenle laughed at Jisung's dumbfounded expression.

"Do you want the rest of your present?" He teased, and Jisung nodded his head, completely speechless. "Well, then you better come take off the wrapping." Chenle grabbed his face and tackled him in a searing kiss that left Jisung breathless.

They never did end up watching Peter Pan.

On Day Four, Jisung saw the aftermath of a fight between drunk Jeno and furious Jaemin. Jaemin came home before Jeno could mask his breath with every stick of gum and Lifesaver in the house, and the smell of cheap beer and soju permeated every inch of the living room. Jisung decided the moment he saw Jeno come home with a plastic bag full of bottles that he would spend his afternoon finishing the work from his History of Dance class in the safety of his bedroom.

He heard the front door shut and Jaemin's peppy call of "I'm home!" before silence overtook every inch of the apartment. Even the rat Jisung swore was living in his walls stopped scurrying to listen to the volcano about to explode.

"Goddammit, Jeno!" Jaemin cursed. "I thought you stopped with the fucking drinking. What happened to the AA meetings?"

"I went, I promise, but it wasn't for me. I'm not like those people, Jaem. I don't have alcoholism and daddy issues. They're addicts!"

"So are you, you selfish douchebag!" Jaemin screamed. Glass shattered in the kitchen, and Jisung rushed in to see Jaemin throwing every bottle he could find onto the kitchen floor. He had tears running down his cheeks and blood dripping across his wrists where the bottle shards made a large gash on his palm. Jeno was pleading with him to stop, desperately trying to salvage any bottles untouched by Jaemin's wrath. Jisung didn't know what to do.

Jaemin was furious, but the smile on his face was liberating. Every smash of a bottle made his smile wider, and Jisung realized that Jaemin found freedom in his ministrations.

"Jaemin, please, stop!" Jeno sobbed, stepping carefully over glass shards and liquid. It was a miracle he made it to the center of the mess without slicing his foot into a bloody pulp with how drunk he was.

"Why? Why should I stop? Are you worried about the floor? Well, let me ease your conscience, Jeno." Jaemin dropped the final bottle to the floor and ripped the shining engagement ring off his finger. "Rings don't fucking stain." And he dropped it into the mess of broken bottles and liquor before grabbing Jisung's hand and storming out of the house.

On Day Five, all of Jeno's stuff was gone, and Jaemin's fragile heart shattered in Jisung's arms.