Bloodline ✦ Nomin

01

⊱ ─── { Jeno } ─── ⊰

Jeno lies awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling of his room. He gnaws on his bottom lip as Jaemin sleeps beside him. He can't help but think about Mark. About Donghyuck. His heart weighs heavy in his chest like an anchor. He hadn't wanted to sacrifice Mark. He showed Jeno compassion and understanding when he had every right not to trust him. And as much as Donghyuck got on his nerves, seeing him completely and utterly devastated for the loss of his soulmate had Jeno feeling empathetic for him. Guilty, even. Jeno wonders if he would be the same way if he lost Jaemin. He couldn't deny the fear he felt strike him to the core when he saw Xiao had strung Jaemin up to a tree to hang himself. Maybe he was afraid to lose Jaemin. Maybe he really did care about him deeper than he lead himself to believe. He had been aware that he didn't want Jaemin to die, but it truly frightens him the more he thinks about such a thing happening. He's not sure what he would define what he felt towards Jaemin, but the raw, visceral feeling he gets when thinking about if they had been in Mark and Donghyuck's place scares Jeno. His feelings towards him were clearly deeper than he had anticipated, and considering he was well aware that they were soulmates, he couldn't deny the gravity of the situation.

Jeno is startled out of his thoughts as Jaemin begins to thrash around and scream at the top of his lungs in a brutal cry of terror. Jeno props himself up onto his forearm and grasps Jaemin's bicep firmly.

"Jaemin? Jaemin!" he says loudly as he tries to wake him, "Jaemin!"

It takes a few moments, but Jaemin's eyes abruptly open as he takes a sharp inhale.

"Jaemin, are you okay? You started screaming in your sleep," Jeno states in a worrisome tone.

Jaemin shakes his head and sits upright in bed. His heart races so quickly that it's practically vibrating rather than beating.

"What happened?" Jeno asks as he sits up as well.

"I-I dreamt you...you were crying..." Jaemin whispers weakly, "You were begging someone not to...to leave you. I...I tried to do something but...Xiaoj-jun stopped me. I c-couldn't scream or yell or run away."

Jeno frowns deeply at Jaemin's words. He rests his hand gently on Jaemin's shoulder and rubs small circles into the fabric of his borrowed shirt. It felt odd for him to comfort the younger as he becomes aware of what he was doing, yet the action was so instinctive. It was such a natural, autonomic response akin to breathing or blinking.

"It was just a nightmare, okay? You're safe. I'm safe. We're okay," Jeno assures him, earning a nod in return.

Silence falls upon the two, and it drives Jeno insane. He tries to listen to Jaemin's thoughts to get some sort of idea of how he was feeling in that moment. His mind is racing with thoughts about his nightmare as well as how much he wished he could stop thinking about it.

"Hey..." Jeno utters softly, "It's going to be okay. Xiaojun won't hurt you."

"And wh-what if he does?" Jaemin asks pointedly, "H-he's tried to tw-twice already."

"I'm not gonna let him. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. I promise. They'll have to go through me first," Jeno assures him.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep," Jaemin retorts.

Jeno stares at Jaemin with a disbelieving expression on his face. He hated being told he couldn't promise Jaemin's safety. But it didn't anger him. It made him even more determined to prove himself to Jaemin and ensure that he would be okay. Jeno proceeds to cup Jaemin's face in his hands and turn his head to properly look at him.