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Jeno has always been an open book. Even with the tsundere allegations thrusted onto her, she’s never really tried to hide how she feels. She jokingly sulks about having to chop vegetables when Jaemin’s hosting dinner, and then does it anyway. She’s ready to spend hours building Renjun’s bookshelf for her when asked. The point is: Jeno has always worn her heart on her sleeve.
So Chenle must be really dense to still not have realised that Jeno likes her.
It’s been a year and a half since it clicked in Jeno’s brain that she had genuine feelings for her friend, a year and a half of stewing in her own head. And confessing hadn’t even seemed worth it because Chenle was just so straight.
She was a wonderful ally, being in a friend group full of useless lesbians and loser bisexuals, and she would kill for any of them if anyone said anything against them. But she had also talked everyone’s ears off about how she had really, really thought about it, and she was so sure she was straight because she didn’t feel anything special when she thought about girls, but of course she still supports them all and on and on and on. Everyone else had faked snores or walked out, but Jeno had listened to everything, as much as the topic of discussion had pained her. She always listened to everything Chenle said.
Just like now, as Chenle drapes herself over her as she quietly does the dishes. Chenle’s hands are fixed on Jeno’s arms, mindlessly roving up and down her biceps as she yaps about her day at work. She nuzzles into Jeno’s neck, her long hair tickling Jeno as it brushes against her uncovered skin. Jeno should be used to this by now, considering how clingy Chenle is as a friend to all of them, but it still catches her off-guard when Chenle does it with her, and then Jeno has to go through a whole cycle of does-she-like-me-does-she-not until she sees Chenle cling to someone else.
There’s this strange possessiveness that she has to grapple with when she sees Chenle with any of their other friends – an irrational hatred and annoyance towards their friends that she has to suppress immediately and condone in her mind. Chenle is their friend just as much as Jeno is; she’s allowed to be touchy and cuddly with them as much as she wants, and she doesn’t owe Jeno anything. It doesn’t stop the thrill that streaks through her when Chenle does sidle up to her though, and it’s enough to keep her craving more.
The smart thing would be to stop, of course, to set boundaries, if Jeno had any sense of self-preservation. But that’s the other thing everyone else fails to consider: Jeno is selfish. It doesn’t matter that Chenle may not feel the same way; even if it hurts to see her date stupid men and then complain to Jeno when they’re shitty to her. It doesn’t matter, because in the end it’s Jeno that she grumbles and whines about her day with. Sure, she tells their other friends and is generally quite tactile with them too, but when she’s there in that moment with Jeno, eyes sparkling as she grins up at her, it feels like something. And that’s enough for Jeno.
–
Donghyuck looks thoroughly unimpressed, when Jeno tells her and Jaemin all of this when they ask her how she still feels about Chenle. Jaemin just looks at her like she’s a kicked puppy, even though she’s not, she’s right where she wants to be!
“That’s so stupid,” Donghyuck says. “You’re supposed to be the sensible one in our group, Jeno!”
Jeno scowls. “I never claimed to be the sensible one, it’s not my fault that you assumed that.”
Jaemin just pats her head. “Are we actually sure that Chenle doesn’t feel that way about Jeno though? Sometimes, she’s very… difficult to read.”
“I don’t think she does, honestly,” Donghyuck says, plopping down on the bed in front of her friends with blush and a beauty blender in either hand. “Do you see the guys she dates? Only a straight girl is capable of all that. And I say this with all the love in my heart.”
“Or a repressed lesbian with bad taste!” Jaemin replies.
Donghyuck rolls her eyes before addressing Jeno. “Doesn’t the ambiguity hurt? Not knowing where you stand?”
Jeno looks down at her hands and thinks for a second. “Sometimes,” she begins hesitantly, “I wonder if I’d be better off just getting it out of the way and moving on. But I like having this with her, the small touches, the cuddling, the cheek pinching.”
Jaemin coos lovingly at her words. Donghyuck, however, raises her eyebrows at her in disbelief. “Don’t look at me like that,” Jeno adds, “what you have with Doyoung is so much worse.”
Donghyuck lets out an indignant squawk. “No, it’s not! At least I know she likes me back!”
“And you still have problems in your relationship, so now what?”
Donghyuck gasps. “Okay, fuck you too then!”
“You started it!”
“Okay, stop fighting!” Jaemin interrupts, holding her hand up like a referee. Donghyuck mutters something under her breath, and Jeno tries to kick her before she’s pulled back by Jaemin. “You both are literally children,” she says before turning around to face Jeno. “What do you think will happen if you confess? Are you just gonna sit with this for the rest of your life?”
“It’s not like I’m not obvious about it, literally everyone knows. Even Kun looked at me pitifully the other day. Do you know how bad it is when even your crush’s ex boyfriend-turned-friend knows how you feel?”
“Kun is very perceptive and an empath, so I don’t think it’s your fault,” Donghyuck calls out, her back to them as she does her makeup in the mirror. “That being said, you still are pretty obvious.”
Even Jaemin, who always has Jeno’s side, nods in agreement. “That you are.”
Jeno groans and leans back against the headboard. "You see what I mean? If everyone knows, then she might also know! What if she's just staying silent to protect both of us? I mean, if I confess, it might change everything, you know?"
“But what if she doesn’t know? Maybe confessing is what will set things in motion! For better, or for worse,” Jaemin says softly, hand coming to rest on Jeno’s.
Even Donghyuck turns around and nods, her face now soft with concern. “We’re just looking out for you, you know. We don’t want you to be hurt.”
Her friends are assholes (mostly only Donghyuck), but sometimes, they’re also wise. Jeno pouts as various possible scenarios zoom around in her head for the millionth time. She feels like she’s already so open about how she feels; maybe confessing really is all that’s left.
But her friends don’t let her spiral. Jaemin scratches her head comfortingly and pulls away. “Anyway!” She slaps her hands on her lap, snapping Jeno out of her rumination. Donghyuck grins knowingly. “We have a party to get ready for!”
–
After another two hours of getting ready (aka Donghyuck and Jaemin painstakingly doing Jeno’s makeup for her to make her “drop-dead gorgeous, Chenle’s gonna lose her mind for sure”) and pre-gaming a couple of shots, they end up at Ningning’s mansion.
Most of their friend group don’t know Ningning like that, but Chenle is close to her, so they had all ended up getting invited anyway. Jeno would rather be at home watching TV, of course – she has never been one much for parties or anything involving crowds. But any anxiety or hesitation she might have had instantly vanishes when she sees Chenle, miniskirt swishing as she saunters towards her, cheshire grin stretched across her face. Jeno can see her eyeshadow glittering even in the dim lighting. Donghyuck teases her about her open awestruck mouth, and she elbows her friend in the side just before Chenle reaches her.
“Jenooooo,” Chenle greets, tone cloyingly sweet as always, and pulls Jeno into a hug. It’s not often that Chenle is this dressed up, jock that she is, and it’s also not often that she smells like flowers and gardens. This night is going to be harder to get through than she thought.
Her conversation with Donghyuck and Jaemin stays at the forefront of her mind as she lets herself get pulled around by Chenle, the drink in her other hand sloshing around. They get separated from the others, and then run into Renjun and Minhyung, and then separated again, and then into Jisung and Jaemin, and then into Doyoung and Johnny and Donghyuck, and into Ningning herself, and then separated from Jisung, and everything starts to blur together in Jeno’s mind. After so many social interactions, she stops paying full attention to who they’re talking to or dancing with.
The one thing that remains constant is Chenle’s hand in hers, gripping tight as she is pulled around the party. The drink tastes absolutely horrendous. Chenle’s lips are a pinkish-red, so pretty, even as the colour fades the more she sips her beer. Jeno wonders what her lips would taste like.
This thought sobers Jeno up a little, and she shakes her head to get it out. She knows she was staring, but Chenle doesn’t seem to notice; she just holds the sides of Jeno’s face and asks if she’s okay. Jeno can only wordlessly nod, Chenle’s palm hot against her cheek.
They somehow end up sprawled on a couch, Jeno’s arm wrapped around Chenle’s shoulder as she holds the other girl close. Chenle is pressed into Jeno’s side, gesturing animatedly as she talks to Renjun next to them. It’s in a quieter part of the house, thankfully, away from the loud EDM and the throng of sweaty bodies pressed together. Jeno only holds a solo cup filled with water now; she thinks that if she had drank anymore, she would have ended up kissing Chenle right then and there. But Chenle herself seems completely clueless about the thoughts running through Jeno’s mind, as she rubs a thumb over Jeno’s hand.
“But Yangyang is just so clueless, I don’t know how I can get her to see how I feel,” Renjun rants, voice full of anguish at the thought of her crush. I feel that, Jeno thinks to herself.
Chenle hums in response. “You should just be honest with her! You know, personally, I prefer it if people would just tell me straight up that they like me. Even if I don’t like them back, at least we can get it out of the way and move on, right?”
Renjun replies, but Jeno doesn’t hear anything, her brain buzzing with static. Of course, Chenle would prefer a straightforward confession; she’s always so honest with what she’s thinking and upfront about all of her feelings (sometimes to the point where it would be considered TMI by most people). It makes sense that that’s what Chenle expects from others, too. Jeno has never hidden her feelings, but she’s also never actually said the words out loud. Maybe that’s what makes the difference.
Jeno jumps to her feet, now knowing what needs to be done, and Chenle lets out a disgruntled whine. “I need some fresh air,” she says to clarify, and Chenle just nods and immediately stands up next to her.
“We’ll be right back, jiejie,” Chenle says to their friend casually, and pushes right back into the crowds without waiting for an answer. Jeno’s hand is safely enveloped in hers as she leads them through. Chenle doing things like this is what usually makes Jeno so very confused about how the other girl might feel towards her, but right now, all it does is cement her decision to confess within the next ten minutes.
They make it out onto the porch after a couple of minutes, the fresh air instantly clearing Jeno’s mind. She steels herself as she turns to face Chenle, who’s already making her way to one of the steps to sit down. Jeno grabs her by the hand and pulls her back gently. Chenle makes a confused noise.
“Chenle,” Jeno starts. “I need to talk to you about something.” Chenle’s eyes widen, and Jeno takes a deep breath. This is it, it’s now or never. She feels the world still around them for a second as she gathers her thoughts. Chenle’s bangs are slightly out of place, a layer of sweat behind them, her long hair falling around her shoulders. Her lipstick has almost faded, not having bothered to put on a second coating, but they still look ever so soft. Jeno’s eyes trace the edges of her face, her nose, her cheekbones, her jaw, her lips, and she feels a sense of acceptance settle over her. No matter what happens, this is her best friend. It’s gonna be okay.
She sees Chenle open her mouth to start asking a million questions, but Jeno knows well enough to cut her off before that. “I like you,” she says simply. Chenle makes another noise of confusion. “As in, I have very real romantic feelings for you, and I’ve had them for a while now.” She watches Chenle at a loss for words for once, mouth open in shock, and forges ahead. “You don’t have to like me back or do anything about it, I know you’re straight, and I’m happy to just be your friend. But you said you’d rather that someone confessed to you straight up, so here I am. Confessing to you. I like you.”
Jeno feels like a heavy weight’s been lifted off her chest. Saying it out loud only makes it feel even more real, and everything in her feels like she’s been set on fire, electricity running through her veins. Chenle just continues to gaze at her slack-jawed, and it belatedly occurs to Jeno that she hadn’t prepared to deal with a speechless Chenle. She had expected a kind but firm rejection, and a tinier, smaller part inside her had hoped for reciprocation. She’s not sure what to do, now that Chenle is looking at her like a pair of horns have sprouted from her head. Jeno shrinks into herself, her panic slowly growing as the silence painfully stretches on. They stare at each other for what feels like a lifetime, till Jaemin and Minhyung step out of the house and come to her rescue.
“Hey, gu– Is everything okay?” Minhyung asks, and Jeno nods fervently. She grabs Jaemin’s hand and turns away, throwing back a “I have to go, goodbye!” at Minhyung and Chenle before booking it out of there, dragging Jaemin behind her. When she glances back, she sees Chenle finally moving, murmuring something to their friend out of earshot. Jeno turns away again, the twisting of her loud, beating heart drowning out Jaemin’s worried questions. Maybe she was wrong to think that everything would be okay. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she ruined it all.
–
Jaemin and Donghyuck are very good friends, because they take care of her that night and hold her as she falls asleep. Even then, Chenle’s flowery perfume from the party still haunts her. She spends the next couple of days going through the motions as dread slowly takes over every inch of her body.
Donghyuck hugs her through it all, tells her that everything will turn out okay. Jaemin pets her hair and tells her that Chenle is just trying to figure it out right now, and to give it some time. The good part of them all being friends is that Jaemin probably isn’t saying this just to console Jeno; she might have heard it firsthand from Chenle herself, or from one of the others. But when Jeno’s phone is silent with zero texts or calls from Chenle, her wonderful friends’ attempts to ease her worry do very little.
She’s tempted to make contact first, to reach out and tell Chenle to forget about it, just so that she can have the other girl next to her again, talking her ear off and clinging to her like always. Jaemin is gentle yet firm with her, however, as she tells her to give Chenle some space. More than anything else, that’s what tells Jeno that Jaemin knows more than she lets on. She would probably answer Jeno’s questions if she were to ask any, but Jeno just stays silent, letting herself sink further into her own self-pity.
–
It takes a week for things to change, and they change dramatically.
Chenle shows up at her doorstep on Saturday night, a full eight days after the party. She’s barefaced and prettier than ever, and looks mostly fine except for the slight dark circles under her eyes. Jeno’s heart swoops, and she has to stop herself from surging forward to pull the other close. One week without Chenle at her side had left her feeling all sorts of topsy-turvy.
“Hi,” Chenle says, meek. It’s a little unexpected to see her like this, when she’s usually so loud and confident. “Can we talk?” she asks.
Jeno nods quietly, letting her in. The energy is so different than usual, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. A part of her hates that she made this choice and changed everything between them, and it intensifies when Chenle sits far away from her, on the opposite side of the couch. A sharp pang of hurt courses through her heart.
“How long have you liked me?” Chenle asks, not beating around the bush. So straightforward as always. Jeno is actually a little thankful for it; perhaps a direct conversation is what they need to get past this phase and go back to normal.
“Around a year and a half. Maybe longer. But I realised it around that time, when we all went on that beach trip together.”
Chenle’s mouth forms a perfect o, and then she nods. “I really had no idea, you know,” she says. She looks past Jeno at the bookshelf behind her, pondering something else as she speaks. “Apparently everyone else knew. Renjun called me a dumbass. Jisung thought I knew how you felt but was just figuring it out.”
Jeno giggles at the image of Renjun cussing out Chenle. “I haven’t exactly been hiding my feelings, you know. I’ve been very open about them.” Chenle looks back at Jeno with raised eyebrows, and Jeno just shrugs. “I mean, the way I am around you is so very different to how I am around the others, haven’t you noticed that? Donghyuck’s always teasing me about how down bad I act.”
Chenle’s eyes widen at her words, and then she pouts. “I thought you were just fond of me…”
“Well, that too.” Jeno smiles, eyes crinkling, at the other girl. Chenle had been sitting upright till that point, but Jeno sees some of the tension visibly melt away. Jeno feels some of her own tension leave her spine.
There’s a short pause, Chenle chewing on her own lip as she thinks, gaze far away. Jeno decides to break the silence, to say that she just wants to be friends and have Chenle in her life. This past week of nothingness has been terrible, and she wants nothing more than to just move on and go back to normal. Just as she opens her mouth to speak, Chenle’s gaze refocuses on Jeno, determination in her eyes.
“I want to try dating you.”
Jeno somehow chokes on her own breath, and she goes into a coughing fit. Chenle hurriedly goes to fetch her some water, the fit taking a couple of minutes to subside. Jeno’s brain is once again full of static; did she hear that correctly?
“Are you okay?” Chenle asks, and Jeno just nods.
“Can you please repeat that? There’s no way I heard that correctly.”
“I said, I want to try dating you.” This time, it’s Jeno’s turn to be slack-jawed, but that doesn’t stop Chenle from talking. It’s one of Jeno’s favourite things about her – if she has something to say, she will say it – even if it’s currently giving Jeno a heart attack. “I was really confused this last week, you know, you really threw me for a loop. I thought I was straight, and I thought I had already tried thinking about all of you that way to see how I felt, but I guess I didn’t really think about it well, because when you told me you like me I was like ‘Woah, Jeno likes me? That makes no sense!’” She pauses for a breath, and then goes right back into her spiel, complete with animated gesturing.
“But then I thought about it more, and I like being around you, and maybe I really do like girls, you know? And then it occurred to me that the best way to really know is by actually dating someone, and I already like being with you, so it makes sense to try with you, right? And Renjun said I was being really selfish with this idea, but I don’t know! With you, it just makes sense–”
At this point, Jeno’s brain shuts down fully, and she slumps into the sofa. Is this real? Is she dreaming? What is going on?
Chenle waves her hand in front of Jeno’s face. “Are you still listening?” she asks. Jeno nods weakly. Surely, this is some kind of fever dream.
“It’s not a dream!” Chenle huffs. “Hey, I really thought a lot about this.” Jeno doesn’t doubt that she did, but it doesn’t stop her from feeling dizzy.
Chenle pauses for a second, letting it sink in. She continues a few moments later, quieter than before. “I know Renjun is right, I know it’s a selfish thing to ask. But I’ll take good care of you, you know.”
Chenle wrings her hands, and even through the haze of Jeno’s mind, she notices the other girl’s anxiety. Maybe, just maybe, Chenle is just as scared of losing Jeno as she is of losing Chenle. It hadn’t ever occurred to her that the fear might go both ways.
“And even if you don’t want to, I completely understand, and we can just be friends, of course we can. But I just thought I’d try asking anyway… I trust you more than anything. So, I thought it’d be okay,” Chenle says.
When it comes down to it, this is what Jeno admires so much about her, that she goes for what she wants without hesitation, tries her hardest if she wants it to happen. And if she fails, then she can say that she at least tried. That’s what she always says, and Jeno can see that that’s exactly what she’s doing now, and even though it’s a very selfish idea, Jeno can’t ever fault her for asking.
“Do you want me to leave?” Chenle asks again after a few moments of silence. Jeno vigorously shakes her head. That’s the last thing she wants.
“Sorry, I’m just trying to process this.” She looks directly into Chenle’s eyes, hoping she can get the message across. “Please don’t leave.” The other girl looks a little taken aback at the intensity in Jeno’s gaze, but nods. She perks up again a second later.
“Have you had dinner? I can cook dinner!” she concludes, when Jeno shakes her head in reply. She grabs Jeno’s arm and squeezes reassuringly, her basketball-induced calluses pressing into her skin. “What do you have in your fridge?’ Chenle bounces into the kitchen, talking brightly about her day as if nothing had ever happened. How she knows that this is the kind of normalcy Jeno currently needs to stabilize herself, Jeno doesn’t understand, but she’ll take it.
Jeno follows her into the kitchen, and they catch up on the last week, on how Chenle’s drowning at work, on Jeno’s dance classes, on Donghyuck’s dating problems with Doyoung, all while they smoothly move around each other like a practiced dance, Jeno washing and chopping vegetables as Chenle cooks.
In the meantime, Jeno turns over Chenle’s words in the back of her mind.
I want to try dating you.
I’ll take good care of you, you know.
Jeno doesn’t doubt that; she knows how Chenle is with their friends, and with Jeno herself. She whines to get things done her way, and she’ll talk with no qualms till it’s all out of her system, but she also won’t hesitate to do things for them, take care of them, make sure they’re okay. Of course it’s a selfish thing to ask someone after they’ve just confessed their feelings to you. But Jeno can’t bring herself to care much, not when Chenle’s loud laugh fills her house like this. Not when even the most casual brush of skin threatens to explode her burgeoning heart. Jeno is just as selfish.
Half an hour later, they sit down to eat the fried rice that Chenle threw together with ease. “How does it taste?” Chenle asks, not waiting for Jeno’s response before trying it herself and exclaiming. “Ah, it came out well!”
Jeno chuckles. “Yeah, it did. You’re always a good cook.” Surprisingly, Chenle flushes, murmuring her thanks. “Are you seriously shy over this? I always compliment your cooking!”
“Yeah, but that was before I knew you liked me like that!” The tips of Chenle’s ears are red, and the sight of it fills Jeno with a hunger and greed that she hasn’t ever experienced before. She needs this in her life all the time. She can’t care right now about it possibly being short-lived, or of how it could end, or the consequences if it didn’t work out. She knows it’s a foolhardy thing to agree to, and Donghyuck is going to call her stupid. But at the same time, Jeno would be such an idiot if she let this opportunity go, when she could have Chenle like this all to herself even for just a little while.
“Okay,” she says resolutely. Chenle looks up from her bowl, blinking in question. “Let’s date.”
Chenle looks taken aback for a second, but it dissolves almost immediately into a blinding grin. “I’ll be such a good girlfriend, just you wait.” The ends of Jeno’s mouth pull up without her control. She doesn’t doubt it for a second.
–
Donghyuck does call her stupid, and so does Renjun. Jaemin just nods her head knowingly as if she saw this coming. Jisung pulls her aside and tells her that she doesn’t know how Jeno can stomach it, because she’d never be able to agree to something like this. It’s not like Jeno has it all figured out either, to be fair. But that night after Chenle and her had come to an agreement, they had nestled under a blanket and watched a movie together after dinner. Jeno had woken up to Chenle’s hair tickling her nose, arms wrapped tightly around each other’s torsos, face squished into her neck. If this was what trial dating was like, Jeno could not complain.
Chenle couldn’t care less what the others have to say about their new trial relationship, as expected. She had Jeno’s approval, and apparently that was all she needed to go all in on the dating. She absolutely spoils Jeno, dragging her around the city to fancy dinner spots, picnics in the park, some cute pottery café on the other side of town that was recommended to her. She cooks dinner for both of them, picks her up from work, and when Jeno complains about being too tired to go out (her introverted self can only handle so much), Chenle will nod and put on a movie and yap through most of it.
It’s perfect. Jeno doesn’t remember Chenle treating any of her boyfriends this way; most of them were dunderheads anyway, with the exception of Kun. Either way, Jeno loves this feeling of having Chenle all to herself.
They spend the following two weeks attached at the hip, so much so that even their friends jokingly gag at how close they are. To Chenle’s credit, she doesn’t seem to be getting bored of any of this, her grin brighter than ever when she looks at Jeno. It feels like they’re attached everywhere else too, because Chenle is even more touchy than before, hands roaming freely when she would only mostly stick to her arms and abs before. It only feeds the hungry monster in Jeno that just wants to eat her whole. But she persists, pushing down all her desires to kiss the other girl senseless.
Or well, she tries to. She doesn’t last very long, because on a summer night two and a half weeks after their initial talk (and two weeks after their first “trial” date), the two of them are sprawled out on a blanket at the park, gazing at the stars and talking. Summer is already drawing to a close, so the weather that night is slightly chilly, serving as just enough of an excuse to be right next to each other, hips and legs and hands brushing against each other.
Chenle is fully laid out on the blanket, telling her about some webtoon that she’s been reading, but Jeno can barely focus, warm all over from how close they are. Neither of them had made a move to kiss the other up till then, but now she feels like a kettle about to boil over. In all the time she’s had feelings for Chenle, she has never wanted to kiss the other girl as much as in this moment.
Chenle’s bangs go wonky when she props herself up to sit, Jeno absentmindedly reaching out to fix them. She tucks a loose strand of Chenle’s hair behind her ear, fingers grazing against her skin. Chenle doesn’t acknowledge any of this, but her ears go fully red.
And so, Jeno boils over. “Can I kiss you?” she asks, and her hunger grows as the red slowly inches onto Chenle’s face.
The other girl nods, surprisingly quiet, and then says, “I haven’t ever kissed a girl before though, so fair warning, I might be bad at it.”
“Oh, where’s all your usual cockiness?” Jeno shifts her hand slightly so that it’s now on Chenle’s jaw, thumb rubbing behind her ear. Chenle takes a big gulp of air, much to Jeno’s delight. She loves seeing her be this affected. “Plus, you’ve been wining and dining me all this time with no trouble, right? Maybe I can take the lead on this, then.”
Chenle’s eyes widen, and she just nods again, staring directly at Jeno’s lips. Before either of them can think too much about it, Jeno leans forward and presses her lips to Chenle’s, leaving a few light pecks. Chenle doesn’t really respond, so she doesn’t push any further, slightly worried that she might have fucked it up.
Jeno goes to pull away, but before that, Chenle surges forward, pulling Jeno in by the back of her head. Jeno’s stomach swoops, electricity once again coursing through her veins, as she finally, finally, gets to kiss the girl of her dreams.
With her fingers fully tangled in Jeno’s short hair, Chenle breaks the kiss in the middle, causing Jeno to let out a soft whine in protest. Chenle murmurs, “You know, I always hated your girlfriends, but I never had a good reason as to why, so I thought I was just being a bad friend.” She opens her eyes to fully look at Jeno, eyes shining in the moonlight. “I think I finally understand why now.”
Jeno has two wolves in her. One feels so very vindicated at her statement – Chenle may have felt the same way about her all this time, it wasn’t just in her head, Chenle wants this too! The other wolf in her wants to pin Chenle to the ground and take her right then and there, or maybe let Chenle take her, she doesn’t really care, but it’s a public park and neither of them should be doing any taking lest they get charged with public indecency.
So she takes a deep breath, looks Chenle in the eyes, and calmly asks, “Do you want to go home?”
Maybe she didn’t succeed at sounding calm, because Chenle grins at her cheekily as if she already knows all of the filthy things Jeno is thinking. “Home sounds great.”
–
Jeno makes it to work the next day with much effort, barely able to get out of bed after some two hours of sleep. Chenle looks completely fine, except for the marks on her neck that trail down into her shirt and further below. Jeno didn’t even do all that much, in her defense; Chenle just bruises fast, every part of her turning red just as easily as the tips of her ears. Of course, Jeno couldn’t hold herself back after that discovery. As it turns out, they discovered a lot of things about each other last night, a lot of things that would keep her properly distracted during work.
Chenle dabs some concealer onto the marks on Jeno’s own neck and arms (that also crawl over her back, but that doesn’t require concealer) with bare minimum effort, mostly whining about how Jeno’s abandoning her. And then just as she’s about to leave for work, Chenle pins her against the door, erasing most of the already half-assed makeup. Jeno ends up fifteen minutes late to work, and has to brush off several comments from her coworkers about the “attack” on her neck, but she couldn’t care less. Jeno feels like she’s walking across the clouds right now.
That night, they have dinner together and discuss what they are, because Jeno will be damned if she loses Chenle to miscommunication of all things.
“I don’t want to put a label on myself right now,” Chenle says, in between bites of scrambled egg. “If something feels right at some point, then sure, but I just don’t care enough right now, you get what I mean?” Jeno nods understandingly. She would never push anyone to label themself if they didn’t want to. “In any case, I’m kinda obsessed with you, and that’s all that matters.”
Jeno chokes on her food, going into a coughing fit for the second time in less than a month thanks to Chenle. The other girl rushes to get her some water, and pats her back to help Jeno breathe again. “Are you trying to kill me?” Jeno wheezes in between coughs. “You can’t just say shit like that.”
Chenle grins. “What, it’s the truth!”
Jeno shakes her head. Chenle is going to be the death of her. “Will you be my girlfriend?” she asks, the words spilling out of her before she can stop herself. She hadn’t wanted to ask Chenle before so as to not pressure her, but Jeno feels like they’ve gone from 0 to 100 in less than a day.
Chenle just tilts her head in confusion. “I thought we were already girlfriends? I told everyone that we are…”
Jeno’s jaw drops. “I thought we were still in the trial phase!”
“Trial phase?”
“You said you wanted to try dating me!”
Chenle cackles. “Oh, Jeno. Maybe the useless lesbian stereotype is real after all.”
“Shut uuuup, I was just trying to give you the space to figure things out,” Jeno groans. She buries her head in her hands, and Chenle rubs her hand reassuringly.
“I figured it out on the first date, when you got me flowers and I felt like my heart was going to explode. I don’t feel that way about just anyone, you know.” Jeno peeks through her fingers, and sees Chenle beaming down at her, looking like she just won a game. Jeno might be in love.
“You’re so annoying,” is what Jeno says instead, and her girlfriend’s sweet giggles fill her ears.
–
A week later, Chenle and Jeno are in each other’s arms again, as has become their norm now. The night slips by as they watch a movie together after dinner, which consists of them mostly making out. Chenle sighs contentedly as the credits roll, her fingers scratching at the nape of Jeno’s neck. Jeno has taken the opportunity to be the little spoon this time, head nestled on Chenle’s boobs as they cuddle. Jeno is exactly where she wants to be. “By the way, I’m kinda obsessed with you too, but you already knew that,” she murmurs.
Chenle hums. “Yeah, but it’s always nice to hear it.”
“You just want me for my compliments,” Jeno says, rolling her eyes in fake exasperation.
Chenle giggles and makes a show of groping her arms. “Yeah, and for your muscles.”
“If that’s all it takes, then maybe I should have started working out earlier,” Jeno says jokingly, but the other girl goes quiet, hand moving back to scratching at her nape.
“Poor Jeno, it must have been so hard for you, huh?” Chenle says, after a beat. Jeno makes a questioning noise, and attempts to look up at Chenle from where she’s laying. Chenle continues, “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out, but I’m here now.”
Jeno pouts; she didn’t think Chenle worried about that, not when Jeno herself didn’t care. She props herself up on her elbows and moves up the sofa to be hovering over Chenle, looking her directly in the eyes. Chenle’s hand repositions to the side of her face, thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. She’s pouting too, like she genuinely feels bad about it, and Jeno can’t have that.
“I don’t care about any of that,” Jeno says, leaning down to peck her on the lips. “You’re here with me. That’s all that matters.”
Chenle doesn’t respond for a second, studying Jeno’s face in thoughtful silence. Then her face breaks into the most beautiful smile, lighting up her whole face, and as her girlfriend pulls her down into a kiss, Jeno can’t help the smile tugging at her own lips.