Bloodline ✦ Nomin

12

Though Jeno quickly gains consciousness, he struggles to fully wake as he struggles with heavy eyelids begging to remain shut. It takes him several long minutes to open them, but when he does, he immediately he is immediately met with the sight of an empty bed. He isn't certain how much time has passed or what time of day it is due to the curtains being closed, but if he had only been unconscious for a few hours, Jaemin should be in bed already. This thought fills him with a sense of panic and dread to find out.

Jeno tries to sit up, but doing so makes him feel incredibly lethargic. He wanted nothing more than to lie back down, yet his determination to find out where Jaemin had gone was far too strong for him to ignore. He slings his legs over the side of the bed and tries to stand, but practically the second his feet touch the carpeted floor, Jeno drops to his knees.

"Jaemin?" he calls out, hoping the man would still be home, "Jaemin."

Hearing quick thumping sounds approach the door to his and Jaemin's bedroom, Jeno recognizes it to be fast-paced footsteps. The door swings open, and Jeno watches as Jaemin rushes to his side.

"Jeno! What are you doing?" he exclaims wildly as he grabs ahold of Jeno's forearm, immediately pulling him up to his feet.

"I tried getting up to go look for you," he allows Jaemin to help him sit back down on the bed, "What happened?"

"I should be asking you the same question," Jaemin retorts, "You come back home and collapse, tell me you had a headache, then refuse medical help. I would have ignored you and taken you to a hospital, but I wasn't willing to waste precious time after you passed out."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I used my powers to check if you were okay. I'm sorry for breaking our promise, but you're worrying me to death. I can't risk your stubbornness getting in the way of your well-being," Jaemin lectures him, "And worse yet, I noticed something really off when I was trying to help you and heal you."

"What?"

"There was nothing wrong with you physically. There seemed to be nothing for me to heal. When I tried to figure out exactly what was wrong, it felt like I was being blocked from doing it," Jaemin sits down beside Jeno and looks at him with a furrowed brow.

"Well...that's a good thing, right? It means nothing is wrong with me, so...we could go on our trip now, right?" Jeno tries to redirect the focus of the conversation at hand.

"Absolutely not," Jaemin denies without hesitation, "Something is very wrong here, and I think you know more than you're telling me."

"Why would I–"

"Jeno, I swear to god, don't you dare lie to me," Jaemin snaps as he raises his voice at him.

Jeno's eyes land on Jaemin, finding his lips pursed and nostrils flared out. He was pissed just at the mere start of a flimsy excuse. Part of Jeno was weary of Jaemin reading his thoughts in the current moment. It would be against their promise, but so would Jeno lying. He needed to say something, anything that would appease him.

"The headaches have been going on longer than I told you," he finally speaks, "They started not long after we moved here. I just hid them from you and pretended I wasn't getting them. I only told you because they were getting worse and I couldn't hide it anymore. I tried to fight off the last one I had, but it weakened me a lot. I'm sorry, Jaemin. I didn't want to worry you."

"That doesn't explain why you refused to go to the hospital or why I can't figure out what's wrong with you," Jaemin fires back.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, either. I swear. As for refusing to go to the hospital, I just didn't want to go. I wanted rest. I couldn't think about anything else aside from getting home to you and resting," Jeno places his hand atop Jaemin's, but the latter withdraws his own.

"I don't believe you."

Jeno's heart sinks at these four simple words. Jaemin had every right not to trust him. Even after promising not to lie to him, he kept secrets anyhow and pretended as if everything was fine. He deserved this.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix the fact you broke my trust."

Jaemin stands up and starts to walk away, causing panic to surge through Jeno like a shock of electricity.

"Jaemin, wait!" he says frantically as he clings to the man's hand.

The second they meet each other's gaze, Jeno impulsively utters an incantation under his breath. Jaemin's eyes shut as he takes a deep breath. When they open, his irises twinkle with a sort of faint pink hue that lasts for a few moments before fading. A smile forms on Jaemin's lips as he looks at Jeno with a sort of kind lovingness that juxtaposed the entire argument they just went through.

Oh god...what have I done?

Jeno's stomach ties in knots, discomfort and immediate regret spreading through his entire being.

"J-Jaemin?"

"Why don't you get some more rest, baby? You have work tomorrow. You'll need all the energy you can get," his boyfriend speaks softly before kissing him.

As if he hadn't screwed up bad enough already, of course Jeno had to make things a million times worse with such a desperate, impulsive action. He was digging himself a hole six feet deep, and he was more than certain his time would soon come to lie in it.

"I love you so much," Jaemin utters quietly.

"I love you, too," Jeno responds with a pang in his chest, knowing these weren't Jaemin's words. They were a product of a trance forcing rose-tinted glasses onto Jaemin. A love incantation erasing all of Jaemin's capacity to hate him and feel betrayed by his inability to tell the truth.

Jeno knows the best course of action is to undo it, but he never learned how. He only learned the incantation to influence people. He just cursed Jaemin to remain loving and affectionate for an indeterminate amount of time. If not permanently.

He wants to slam his head into a wall and scream in anger at himself for what he's done, but aside from lacking the energy to do so, Jeno couldn't bear Jaemin's reaction to seeing him do such a thing. He would surely try and stop him. He would most certainly comfort him, even, but Jeno didn't deserve that treatment. Not from a man under the influence of his powers.

"C'mon," Jaemin hums as he pulls the covers back a little more, prompting Jeno to lie back down. Surrendering to Jaemin's wishes, Jeno does just that and allows him to tuck him in.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he whispers.

"Shh everything's fine. Don't apologize. You just focus on getting better," Jaemin replies as quietly as Jeno, "I'm gonna put the last few dishes away then I'll come join you. Okay?"

Jeno nods slightly, and Jaemin smiles warmly at him. He plants a gentle kiss to Jeno's forehead and promptly leaves the room. Left to his own devices, Jeno feels an intense ache in his chest.

Why did he always have to fuck everything up?