In His Arms - Wonheon ( Wonho x Jooheon )

Chapter 43 : The Woods

The very second that Jooheon steps through the threshold of the back door, the sunlight that slips onto his face makes him want to cry.

His eyes close as he tips his head back slightly, just for a second, to embrace the natural warmth that he hasn’t felt in so so long.

He hasn’t felt in so many months that it actually feels like it burns his skin. He’s seen his reflection in the mirror every time he enters and exits the shower and he knows how pale he’s become, how the slight tan that he’s always had since childhood has vanished and left pale, pasty skin in it’s departure. In the sunlight now, Jooheon wants to reach up and shade his face because it stings and he can feel the rays sinking into his skin each and every second he stays out there, but he wants to feel it. When he gets into the shower later, he wants to see his cheeks pink, even if only for a few days because it’ll remind him that he actually got out.

Sure he isn’t actually out out , but he’s not going to ignore the small victories.

Besides, even if he truly wanted to run and get as far away as he could, Wonho’s hand is wrapped around him like a manicle, even tighter than the wrist cuff the blond had put on him that very first day. Jooheon has no doubt Wonho’s fingers will leave bruises and he also has no doubt that if he tried to yank free, tried to twist his arm and run, Wonho would break his wrist with an easy squeeze.

And Jooheon’s never been one for pain. If he can avoid it, he’s damn well going to. He still grimaces remembering how badly he sprained his wrist, remembering how it had taken weeks until the aches had finally gone away. So now, Jooheon stays in step with Wonho, making sure he doesn’t get too far behind or ahead, just to show that he doesn’t plan on bolting-- or at least that’s what Wonho will think.

They walk down the steps of the patio hand in hand, and Wonho starts pointing and explaining what certain areas are going to be, what parts of their plan will be put into effect and how, but Jooheon hears none of it. He nods his head pretending to be going along with what Wonho’s saying but instead, his gaze trickles across the yard and to the trees in the distance. His eyes dart back and forth trying to find a break in the woods, perhaps spot a house he could run to or a road or-- or something .

But there’s nothing. Truly nothing but trees and leaves and more fucking trees and leaves. It’s all so isolated, with Wonho’s house seemingly existing in the middle of fucking nowhere. Seeing how alone they really are makes Jooheon remember those days in the beginning when he screamed his head off until his voice went out. He remembers shouting for someone to help him, to find him, but seeing how far they are from anyone or anything, makes him realize just how right Wonho had been when the blond had said no one would hear him. All of his efforts weren’t worth a damn out here.

It feels like a pit of hopelessness blooms deep in his stomach, something dark and twisted that makes him want to run until he can’t feel his legs any longer, until he would collapse and never have to wake up again. The woods surrounding them represent Jooheon’s freedom, yet they also represent his isolation to the rest of the world.

He wonders that if he screams right then and there, someone might hear him. But if there was no one, then it would just show Wonho that he wants to get away and if Jooheon ever wants this small slice of freedom to be repeated, he can’t risk that.

There’s too much to risk running off into the woods.

Jooheon’s hand tightens around Wonho’s as they trail further into the woods, with Wonho leading the way. The blond is careful to watch where they step, pulling Jooheon one way when there’s a large rock jutting out of the earth or a dip in the ground that could easily make him lose his footing. The further they go, the more wild the nature becomes. There’s fallen trees, fields of rocks the size of Jooheon’s head, even plants that look too much like poison ivy to be taken lightly. It looks more than dangerous and there’s no way in hell that Jooheon could run more than ten feet without twisting an ankle or breaking his fucking leg.