silence - nct, norenmin

⍣ 25 ⍣

"please, mom, can i?"

"jaemin... are you sure it's a good idea?" jaemin's mother answered on the other side of the phone.

the sole idea of her son sleeping at someone else's house was a bit disturbing for her.

jaemin had always been with her, and she wasn't ready to let him leave her yet.

jaemin had had to force a lot just to go to school.

his mother was too protective.

i mean, who wouldn't be if they had almost lost their son...?

"it's just for one night mom." jaemin pleaded, giving a glance at jeno who was patiently waiting next to him.

"well..."

there was a long silence.

you could hear jaemin's mother overthinking about everything.

but in the end, she accepted.

"okay. you can sleep at jeno's." she sighed, making jaemin jump up and down in excitement.

jaemin hung up a few seconds after, looking at jeno with a smile.

"she said yes!"

jeno smiled back, feeling his heart fluttering at the idea of jaemin having a sleepover.

"good. let's call renjun now."

⍣ 

renjun was currently standing in front of jeno's front door.

the boy had called him an hour ago, claiming that they should talk. and for that, jeno had asked renjun to go to his house.

so, here renjun was, his heart beating erratically in his chest, imagining the worst scenarios possible.

when renjun was about to knock, the door opened, revealing a smiling jeno.

"took you some time to decide knocking." jeno told, inviting renjun in.

"i... yeah?" renjun gulped. "you... you wanted to talk?"

"yes."

renjun leaned on the dining table, facing jeno.

"tell me..." renjun said, never meeting jeno's eyes.

the atmosphere was rather awkward due to the fact none of them had talked to each other for a few days. and what made it worse was the fact they hadn't talked because of relationship problems.

"so..." jeno rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "a few days ago, i got mad at you..."

renjun felt the urge to approve, but he didn't. he kept his mouth shut, trying his best to stay calm and not break into tears.

"i got mad at you because you told me you had developed feelings for jaemin."

renjun nodded, already imagining the worst things jeno could say.

"first of all, i want to apologize for the horrible things i told you. you are an amazing person renjun, and i didn't think anything i told at that time. i was blinded by confusion." jeno explained.

"it's okay..." renjun told. "i should have been more careful..."

"no. that's not true. i am happy that you said that. it means that you are completely relaxed when you are with me, to the point you don't even think about what you're going to say. you spoke with your heart, in all honesty, and i completely respect that."

renjun replayed the scene in his mind, jeno's both hurt and confused face reminding him how much of a bad boyfriend he was.

"but- "

"you were honest with me renjun. you did the right thing." jeno cut him. "but i wasn't being honest."

renjun felt his heart stop beating at jeno's words.

jeno hadn't been honest with him?

what could that mean?

"w-what...?" renjun asked in a high-pitched voice, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"renjun... when he argued... i was confused myself. and that's why i snapped." jeno said, his eyes looking at the clean floor of his house.

"jeno, please." renjun spoke, catching jeno's attention.

renjun had tears in his eyes, and his bottom lip was quivering hard, alarming jeno.

renjun was about so break down. it was imminent.

"if you're breaking up with me, please be quick." he let out, voice slightly trembling.

"what? no!" jeno exclaimed, approaching renjun. "i'm not breaking up with you, renjun. don't cry."

"w-why are y-you nervous then...?" renjun asked, trying his best not to have his voice breaking down.

"in fact, i did catch feelings for jaemin too." jeno told. "and i refused to face the truth. so... when you told me you had feelings for him, even if deep inside i was the happiest boy on the planet, i got mad at you..."

hearing these words, renjun broke into a crying mess, falling on his knees on the floor while sobbing uncontrollably.

he felt all the stress that had been bloated up inside his body evaporate, and this exhausted him.

"r-renjun?" jeno asked, pulling the boy up again and embracing him in a hug to calm him down.

renjun sobbed into the crook of jeno's neck, holding onto his boyfriend for dear life.

"i love you." he told between sobs.

"i love you too, renjun." jeno replied, a smile appearing on his face.

after a few long minutes, renjun calmed down, wiping his cheeks and his nose with the back of his hand.

jeno smiled at him and dropped a wet, sloppy kiss on his pinkish lips.

renjun kissed back immediately. the feeling of his boyfriend's lips against his after so long felt amazing.

they held their eye contact after detaching from their kiss, looking at each other in the eye.

"so... you like jaemin..." renjun told, a smirk appearing on his face.

"he is very likable." jeno answered.

"he is." renjun nodded. "and... i don't know... do you think that we could maybe... tell him?"

jeno smiled, pecking renjun's lips another time.

"that's what he is in my bedroom for."

"jaemin is wHeRe?!"