Bloodline ✦ Nomin

32

"Jeno, look!" Jaemin inhales sharply as he points towards a butterfly with royal blue wings resting peacefully on top of a white rose, "It's so beautiful."

"Eh..." Jeno responds in disagreeance, causing an offended Jaemin to look over his shoulder and scoff, "What? It's pretty, but I wouldn't call it beautiful."

"Why not?" Jaemin asks defensively.

"Because nothing will ever be as beautiful as you," Jeno hums as he finally breaks his judgmental façade with a grin.

Jaemin turns his head away just as a smile creeps on his face. Jeno knew he was hiding the blush that was surely tinting his cheeks a cute rosy hue.

"That was so lame and cheesy," he retorts, "And it doesn't make any sense. You can think I'm beautiful but that doesn't mean the butterfly can't be too, in its own way."

Jeno chuckles and wraps his arms around Jaemin's waist, hugging him from behind. He kisses Jaemin's neck before resting his head on his shoulder.

"Call it what you want, but I know it still made you blush," Jeno calls him out.

"Shut up," Jaemin sounds as if he's holding back a giggle.

"What's the fun in that?"

Jaemin lets out a faint laugh on the form of a forceful puff of air before silence falls over them. The only sounds that could be heard were the chirps of the birds and the faint rustling of leaves. It feels so placid and safe, like nothing bad could happen to them in that moment. It was like time was standing completely still with nothing and no one to disturb them. A rarity even in the 'normal' lives they lived in before coming here. Their schedules constantly conflicted, and with Jaemin looking to get a job, their time spent together was doomed to continue being minimized. Here, it felt like they had all the time in the world. Here, it felt like the only people who existed were Jeno and Jaemin.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," Jaemin speaks with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Jeno asks.

"Us being this close. Having this time alone. Not worrying about anything. Enjoying our time together," Jaemin answers almost sullenly.

Unsure of what to say to comfort Jaemin, Jeno just remains silent. He squeezes him slightly in his arms and kisses Jaemin's cheek.

"I know...but we have to head back to the cottage eventually. I mean, the faster we get this done, the faster we can get back home."

"I guess," Jaemin responds defeatedly.

"C'mon. Let's head back," Jeno gives him one last kiss on the cheek before letting go of Jaemin, causing the man to whine in protest and immediately snatch up his hand to hold on his. He makes sure to interlock their fingers while he's at it.

Jeno rolls his eyes with a faint smile on his face before leading Jaemin back towards the stone path that leads back to the cottage.

"Why couldn't we have asked Xiao to let us live somewhere like this when we were making agreements?" Jaemin says with a pout.

"Because we wanted a normal life," Jeno retorts, "Living off the grid in the middle of the woods isn't exactly what most would define as normal."

"It could've been our normal," Jaemin argues, "We could have all the time in the world to be together. We'd never have to leave each other's side."

Something about the way Jaemin was wording his point wasn't settling right with Jeno. It was almost...clingy. Jeno hated describing Jaemin's behavior in that way, but the sudden insistence that he wanted to be together as much as humanly possible seemed to be just that.