in your corner (part seven) : lee jeno
pairing â boxer!jeno x med-student f!reader
warnings â language, smut, alcohol, violence
[ boxer!nct dream mini series ]
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, end!
note â lengthy parts, so be aware but mostly enjoy..!
itâs four a.m. when jeno knocks on your door two weeks later.
you, like most people at this time of the very early morning, are in bed when you hear the frantic knocking on your front door. youâd been asleep for less than two hours, having only made it back home from that nightâs match at two a.m. (jeno had dislocated his opponentâs shoulder, as well as split the skin of his forehead, and it took you some time to clean them up), and almost doesnât get up. your neighbors have no problem with making as much noise as they see fit at any time of the day, and you assume itâs one of their drunk friends trying to find a place to stay overnight. thinking youâll just wait for them to go away, you pull your comforter up to your chin tightly.
and then the person knocks again. and again. and again.
once itâs clear that you wonât be getting any sleep until you dealt with whoever is pounding on your front door, you angrily pull yourself out from under your covers, throwing a hoodie over your tank top to cover yourself. Â you grumble to yourself as you walk from your bed to your front door, ready to curse out whoever it is that gets so drunk that they canât remember which apartment their friends live in.
he looks more or less the same as he did when you left him at the gym two hours ago, save for the black eye thatâs darkened in your absence. his hair is wild, falling carelessly over his forehead to dust the lid of his eyes. heâs dressed in casual street clothes, his expression, like always, is unreadable, but when you meet jenoâs eyes after he looks you up and down, you can define one thing: longing.
then again, you may just be imagining that as a symptom of sleep deprivation.
âjeno, what are you doing here?â you demand, opening your door a little wider once you realize that heâs not a stranger. âitâs four in the morning!â
âi know. iâm sorry.â jeno glances over your shoulder, as if heâs checking to make sure youâre alone. âcan i come in?â
your mouth drops open in confusion, but you still take a step back from the door. where else is he supposed to go at this time of night? âiâyeah. alright.â
jeno walks into your apartment slowly, his eyes scanning your living space like heâs seeing it for the first time. you think that maybe he doesnât remember much about it from when he was last here, seeing he had been drunk and in pain at the time. still, you didnât appreciate how he seems to be evaluating how you live, especially when he smirks as he spots the teddy bear on your bed that you had hidden when he was last there.
âdid i wake you?â jeno asks slowly, as if the idea that you had been sleeping had just occurred to him.
âitâs four in the morning.â you repeat in a deadpan voice. âyes. you woke me, and you better have a damn good reason for it.â your eyes scan over his body again, in case thereâs an injury from the fight that you didnât notice before. or a stab wound. honestly, with jeno, you felt like there were any number of things that he could show up at your door to ask for help with.
and you knew that youâd help him. no matter what.
jeno rakes a hand through his hair, and you wonder how his rings donât get caught as he does it. then you tell yourself to stop looking at his rings, because if you look at his rings, youâll look at his hands, and if you look at his handsâ
âmy dad left when i was a kid.â
jenoâs voice snaps you out of your thoughts. you refocus on him, watching as the cracks in his façade slowly open up again to reveal the nervousness behind his words.
âwhat?â you ask, brow furrowing in confusion. you think that you should tell him to sit, but by the energy radiating off of jeno, you donât think heâll listen.
âmy dad left when i was a kid.â jeno repeats, his voice wavering for just a second. he clears his throat before continuing. âi was around seven when he ran off, and then it was just my mom, my sister, and i. my mom did her best to take care of us herself, but itâit was hard. we never really had much, and what we did have, she spent on my sister and i, to make sure that we were alright.â
âjeno, i donât understand.â you reach for him hesitantly, but pause before your fingers actually make contact with his jacket. âwhy are you telling me this?â
jeno licks his lips once, and you watch as he flexes and unflexes his right hand. âiâm trying toâŠto be open. to be honest.â
a beat passes between you both before you comprehend his words. âyouâwhat?â
âyou said i had to be honest with you.â jenoâs teeth worry his bottom lip, chewing it for a moment before he continues. âand i-i want to try it. i want to make this workâmake us work. iâve been thinking about it for the last few weeks, but tonight, when you were helping me after the match, i justââ the words are spilling out of him faster than they ever have before, like a dam has burst, and jeno is getting washed away in the flood. and taking you with him. âi wanted to kiss you. i almost did, but that wouldnât be right of me, because you told me what you wanted, and what you needed, so i went home, but i couldnât stop thinking about you, and missing you, and wanting you, because i want you so bad, y/nââ
âjeno.â you touched his shoulder this time, rubbing your hand against him in soothing circles. âtake a deep breath, yeah? slow down. how about we sit down on the couch, and iâll get us a drink, and then weâll talk, okay?â
jenoâs eyes soften at the suggestion, and color rushes to his cheeks, flushing his pale skin to a light pink. âyeah.â he mumbles, his hands rubbing over the sleeves of his jacket. âi want that.â
the way he says, âi want that,â such a simple phrase, causes your heart to thump in your chest. thereâs something so sincere in his tone, but you didnât want to let yourself hope. you need to hear everything he has to say before you let yourself be that foolish.
you walk to your tiny kitchen, pulling out two glasses and filling them halfway with whiskey and ice. the whiskey had been a gift from that yearâs secret santa gift exchange in the nursing program, and you had yet to open it, as you didnât have much of a taste for sipping liquors. however, tonight seems to call for something stronger than regular beer.
when you return to jeno, heâs stripped off his long jacket, but his patterned shirt doesnât seem to be warm enough to stop him from shivering. you hand the drink to him, frowning as you touch his arm.
âare you cold?â you ask in concern, despite his skin feeling as warm to your touch as it usually is. âi can get you a sweaterâŠâ
jeno shakes his head once, taking a long sip of the whiskey. âno, justânervous, i guess.â
you nod softly, pulling your feet under you to sit cross-legged on the couch. you want to watch jeno straight on as he speaks. âfinish what you were saying earlier.â you murmur. âifâŠyou can.â
âcanât remember how far into my speech i got.â jeno laughs once, short and anxious, his hand tugging on his hair again. âi was rehearsing it on my walk over, but i blanked the moment you opened the door.â
âthere was something aboutâŠâ you wrap your hands around your full glass. âneeding me?â
jenoâs cheeks pinken again. âright. yeah. thatâsâŠnew for me. iâve never needed someone before in aâin the way that i need you. i have my mom and sister, and doyoung, but youâŠyouâre different.â he busies himself with another sip of his drink. âitâs likeâŠitâs so confusing, y/n. i know i shouldnât. iâve had that talk with myself countless times, and with you, and iâve told myself that youâre so much better off without me, but i just canât make myself let you go.â
you purse your lips, your eyes dropping to your lap as you answer in a careful and controlled voice. âi feel the same. i havenât stopped thinking about you in weeks. i donât think iâm capable of it, really. youâreâyouâre under my skin. and itâs new, and strange, and uncomfortable, but only when iâm away from you. when iâm with you, it feels as easy as breathing.â
jeno rubs his lips, and you can tell that heâs still processing what you said, which you donât blame him for. when he continues with his story, instead of commenting on your response, you felt a sense of relief. heâs not retreating back into the familiarity of being guarded. not yet. âsoâŠso my dad left. and mom tried, but we werenât in a super good place. my sister wanted to go to college, so she took out loans, and my mom remortgaged the house, andâŠall the bills piled up at once. and i didnât even know until we were about to lose the house. i found her crying one day, my momâŠâ jenoâs eyes get a far away look in them. âshe said sheâŠfelt like she failed us, which is ridiculous, because sheâsâsheâs just the best,â a smile flickers on jenoâs face for a brief moment. âyouâd like her.â he takes another sip of whiskey before continuing. âwell, i had just graduated high school, and i didnât really have anyâŠplans.  college didnât seem that important at the moment, so i went to work. i had to take care of her, you know?â jeno fiddles with a ring on his finger. âi was the man of the house. i had to take care of her. so i went to work, and i boxed a bit in my free time, nothing serious, but it still wasnât quite enough. i knew that there wereâŠeasier ways to make money. and i could make a lot of money fast, and send it back home, and make sure that everything was okay. soâŠthatâs what i did.â
âi remember. johnny told me.â you bit your lip, tapping your fingers against your glass. âhe said that he sent you away at first.â
âhe did. it pissed me off.â irritation flickers through jenoâs eyes. âiâd come so far, only to be turned down because i didnât have as much muscle as the other fighters, when i knew i could fight three times as good. but i couldnât just go home, so i trained. i fought at some other gyms while training, but none of them paid as much as johnnyâs. boxing thereâŠi have enough money to send home to mom while living here. itâs high risk, but itâs high reward.â
you finally take a sip of your whiskey, trying your best to hide the grimace that crawls onto your features. âdo you really think youâre going to box for the rest of your life?â
âi do.â jeno answers immediately. âiâm no good at anything else. iâll box until my body gives out, and after that iâll train others, if i can. either wayâŠthis is my life. this is as far as i go, really. and youâŠâ
âi still have more school ahead of me.â you run your finger over the rim of your glass as you replied. âbut iâm notâi said it before. you want to paint me as good, when we both ended up at that gym. i needed the money too.â
jeno shifts on the couch, repositioning himself to look at you better. âi was open with you. iâŠshared. will you share with me, now?â
you hesitate, but knew you couldnât say no. âshare what?â
it takes jeno a moment to settle on a question. âyou had clothes from an ex.â he says finally. âwhat happened with them?â
you sigh, leaning your head against the back of the couch. âhis name was jaehyun. we met in high school. we started dating in our junior year, and continued dating until last year. he goes to school at university of seoul. weâŠi was in love with him. very in love with him.â you glance at jeno, watching how his jaw tenses as you said that. âand, um, it didnât work out. well, at first, actually, it did. kind of. he proposed to me about eighteen months ago, and i said yes.â you look down at your left ring finger, the only finger on your hands that has no ring tan line. âand then he started talking about me transferring, leaving gachon, so i could be with him, and then that conversation changed to me dropping out altogether, so i could plan the wedding, get married, have kids, and justâjust be what he wanted.â your voice cracks in a mixture of hurt and anger, and you knew both emotions were apparent in your eyes when you met jenoâs gaze. âhe wanted a wife. he didnât want me. so i sent back the ring about six months before i met you, and i havenât heard from him since. the clothes are justâŠtheyâre left over from when he came to visit me. i know i should get rid of them, but itâsâŠhard, you know? to let go of someoneâŠâ
âi know.â jeno twists one of his rings around his finger, the same one that he always fidgets with, a plain silver band. âthis is my dadâs wedding ring. i found it in my momâs room before i left. i didnât know she still had it, or why she still had it, and i donât know why i took it, but i just looked at it andâŠfelt like i needed it.â
you set down your drink before taking jenoâs hand in your own, rubbing your thumb over the band. âheâs your dad. itâs alright.â
jeno stares at your intertwined hands, and his voice is thick when he replies. âiâve never told anyone that. about the ring, or my dad leaving. Â i never really talk about it.â
âiâm glad you told me.â you kept your voice soft as you move closer to him. âi meant it when i said i wanted to know you. that means the bad as well as the good.â
âi know you say that now, butâbut no one stays forever, y/n.â jenoâs voice drops impossibly low. âeveryone leaves eventually. you will, too, once you see what iâm like.â
âi donât care. i really donât.â you shake your head fiercely. âiâve seen what youâre like. iâve seen you happy and angry and irritated and guarded, and i want it all. do you know how long iâve waited to feel this way about someone?â you play with his fingers as you spoke, adoring the familiar warmth that you feel in his skin. âit was never like this with jaehyun.â
âyou said you didnât want a protector. and all i want to do is protect you.â jeno brings your hand to his lips, kissing the inside of your wrist gently. âi donât want to force something that you donât wantââ
âitâs different if weâreâif you and iââ you flush as you watch him kiss along your wrist and hand. âiâll be your protector as much as youâll be mine. weâll protect each other. weâll be equal.â
ây/n, youâre so muchâweâll never beââ
âweâll be equal.â you repeat firmly, unfolding your legs from beneath you. you sit up on your knees right next to jeno, cupping his cheeks with both hands. âthatâs all iâve ever wanted. can you give that to me?â
a soft breath leaves jenoâs lips, and it washes over you in the sweetest way. âyes.â he says sincerely.
âgood.â you swallow hard as a fire starts to burn in your core. âwill you give that to me?â
âyes.â jenoâs hands shift to your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him until youâre straddling his lap.
you rub your thumbs along jenoâs jaw. âdo you need me?â
jenoâs brown irises flicker to your lips and back again. youâre starting to get better at reading his eyes, you think, although youâre still not as good as youâd like to be. you still canât see exactly whatâs swirling inside them, but in this moment, you think you have an idea of it.
âyes.â jeno says again, his hands moving up your back. âi need you.â
you press a chaste kiss over jenoâs forehead scar, down his temple, his cheek, his jaw, delighting in every soft breath and sigh that escapes him. âdo you want me?â
your voice is barely above a whisper when you ask, and jeno matches your tone perfectly as his fingers press into your back. âmore than anything.â he breathes, tilting his head back as you kiss his neck. âi want you more than anything.â
you kiss across his neck, down to his collarbones, before traveling up the other side of his face. you kiss across jenoâs jaw again, his cheek, back to the scar-free side of his forehead, planting one last kiss in the center of it before pressing your own forehead to his. âthen kiss me.â you whisper, half panting the words.
jenoâs breath is just as ragged as yours as one of his hands tangles in your sleep-mussed hair, pulling you both together until your lips meet.  the contrast between the softness of his lips and the roughness of his tongue delights you, and you found yourself pressing closer and closer to him just to feel it more. your arms wrap around his shoulders as you try to get as close to him as possible. after spending so long waiting, you want to feel him close to you. you want to be his, in every sense of the word.
a wrecked moan falls from your mouth as jenoâs teeth graze your lips, his tongue immediately soothing the spot after he nips at you. he repeats the action over and over, anything to hear you moan again, and you have to pull away to collect yourself. youâre not sure if itâs the whiskey or jeno, but your head is spinning in the best way.
undeterred, jenoâs lips move to your neck, kissing and nipping just as much as they did before. âis this alright?â he mutters between kisses, his hands pushing up your hoodie to get a grip on your bare skin. âi-iâll stop if itâsââ
âdonât you dare.â you moan, throwing your head back to allow him better access. âif you stop now, iâll never forgive you.â
ânoted.â jeno mumbles the word against your jugular, letting his teeth scrape your skin before sucking over the spot. a guttural moan slips from your mouth as a shock runs through you, and you can feel the smirk on jenoâs lips as he licks over the mark heâs made.
the fabric of jenoâs shirt is soft to the touch when you gather it in your fists, tugging on it enough to get jenoâs attention. âtake it off.â you say in a low voice, your eyes locking with jenoâs as he pulls away from your neck. âdoctorâs orders.â
a groan rolls out from the back of jenoâs throat. âgod, thatâs so fucking hot.â he mutters, kissing you once more. âin a totally respectful and non-objectifying way.â
you laugh into the kiss, tugging on the hem of his shirt again. âmhmm. just take it off, will you?â
jenoâs hands replace your own as he tugs his shirt over his head, letting it drop to the floor before attempting to kiss you again. you, however, had other plans, and begins to run your hands down jenoâs chest.
âiâve wanted to do this for weeks.â you murmur, tracing your fingers over his bare skin. âso handsomeâŠâ you scratch your nail over jenoâs chest, adoring how his eyelids flutter at the feeling.
âthat feels soâŠâ jeno closes his eyes completely, letting his head rest on the back of the couch to fully lose himself in your touches. âkeep going.â
you lean in and kiss his neck again, spreading the pecks all along his collar bones and shoulders while your fingers continue to trace the contours of jenoâs body. you work them over his chest, grazing over his nipples just enough to make his body jump beneath you.
jenoâs eyes open, and the tenderness in his dark eyes is unmistakable.
you knew that your eyes match the tenderness in jenoâs, and you kiss him once more before continuing to move your hand lower. you trace your finger over the buckle of his belt as your teeth tug on jenoâs lip lightly.
âcan i?â you ask gently, your breath blowing across his lips. âplease?â
jeno strokes your cheek, letting the back of his knuckles drag across your skin. you lean into his touch wholeheartedly, wanting jeno to know that youâve never once been afraid of his hands and what they can do.
âis it the doctorâs orders?â jeno asks, his teasing tone disguising the need in his voice.
you let out a light laugh, and itâs then that you knew that you and jeno are meant to be. when two people can be so intimate together while still laughing and giggling and teasing each otherâŠyou knew that was something good, despite never having it before.
âyes.â you work your hand over his belt, and the only sounds in the room are each othersâ labored breathing and the gentle clinking of the metal buckle. when itâs finally free, you busied yourself with the button and zipper of his jeans.
âwait.â jeno grasps your wrist carefully, stopping you before you can attempt to pull his jeans down. âi didnâtâi came here to take care of you.â he murmurs as he pushes your hands away. his own hands move to your thighs, grasping them tightly before picking you up with ease. you gasped, your hands flying to his shoulders as jeno carries you to your bed, laying you down gently on the mussed sheets.
âlet me take care of you.â he repeats the sentiment as his hands move to the hem of your hoodie, slowly and carefully removing the article of clothing, along with the tank top underneath. you knew that his pace was intentional, giving you plenty of time to refuse, but stopping jeno was the last thing you wanted to do.
when your top is off, the first thing jeno does is kiss you. he moves you carefully as he does, so your head is supported by your pillows.
before you can gather yourself enough to give a retort, his mouth is on your breast.
with your hands immediately tangling in jenoâs hair, you let out another whine in sync with your tugging.
although you didnât have your eyes on the boxer, you can feel the smirk thatâs on his face, and just knew that heâs adoring the way that youâre reacting to him. while thereâs a small part of you thatâs irritated at his smugness, thereâs a bigger part of you telling you to react more. moan more. pull his hair more. anything to make him happy.
you want to make him happy.
while his mouth works over one breast, his hand works over the other. jenoâs ring covered fingers tweak your nipple, tugging and twisting just enough to work more whimpers out of you. Â when his teeth graze one nipple at the same time that he tugs on the other, you drag the nails of one hand down jenoâs warm back, and it quickly becomes your turn to delight in the whine that leaves his mouth.
it almost becomes a competition then, with both of you working to see who can make the other moan more. jeno switches his mouth to your other breast while you alternate between tugging on his hair and pushing your hand down the waistband of his jeans, your fingers rubbing over his defined hip bones. the competition, however, yields no winners, and is quickly forgotten in the pursuit of pulling the other closer, touching the other harder, dragging the other deeper into the safe space youâve both created on your bed.
when jeno lets your nipple fall out of his mouth, his lips are bright red, shining with saliva almost as much as his eyes are shining with lust. you quickly pull him up to kiss you, and fingers a strand of his hair as you take a shaking breath.
jeno brushes a thumb over your cheekbone, delighting in the heat he feels beneath his fingers.
you move from under him and reach over to your bedside table, opening the drawer and pulling out a condom. your fingers pause over the lube, remembering the last time that you had used it with jeno, and you canât help the smile that flickers over your face as you held up the bottle. âremember this?â
jeno laughs breathlessly as he rubs his eyes. âdonât remind me. i was a fucking mess that night.â
âa bit, but i didnât mind.â you placed the lube back in the drawer before shutting it. âthat was the night that i knew i wanted you.â
âwas it?â jeno raises an eyebrow, you smile and shrug your shoulders before ripping the condom packaging with your teeth, retrieving the latex disc from inside. jeno quickly removes his pants, and you pump him once before sliding the condom on, making sure that itâs positioned correctly.
you throw your leg over him, straddling his lower stomach as you lean down to kiss him. Â the tone between you both fade into one of lust and affection and need as jenoâs lips move against yours, and youâre both panting when you pull away to press your forehead against his.
âare you comfortable like this?â you ask, worry seeping into your tone. âi know your ribs are still bothering you a bit, so i figured that this would beââ
jeno cuts you off with another kiss, this one wilder and more passionate than the last. âiâm fine, y/n. you donât have to worry about me.â he says, despite the flutter in his stomach at the idea of you worrying about him.
âi always worry, jeno.â you reach underneath to grip his cock, rubbing the tip of it over your slit as you balance yourself with one hand on his pelvis. jenoâs hands grip your hips to give you more stability. âyouâre soâfuckâreckless that it drives meââ you gasp loudly as you begin to sink down on jenoâs cock. âinsane.â
jenoâs first instinct at the feeling of your warm walls hugging his cock is to throw his head back, close his eyes, and let the pleasure take over. however, he uses every ounce of willpower he has to do the opposite, and thanks god that he does, because he gets to see you take his cock for the first time.
your entire body is flushed, and you knew that the heat practically rolling off of you is because of jeno. everything that youâre feeling, from the fullness in your core that extends to your stomach, to the fluttering of your body, to the overwhelming sense of something just being right, is all because of jeno.
after giving yourself a moment to adjust to his size, you begin to move. jeno helps guide your hips up and down slowly, and you decide from the first moment that youâre going to take your time building up your speed. you wanted this to last.
you know that jeno has the capacity to fuck you. you know that, if you asked, heâd flip you over and bend you over the edge of the bed and fuck you as fast as he possibly could until you screamed his name. but, as much as the thought intrigues you, thatâs not what you want right now. there will be time for fucking later, you think. there will be time for loud moans and teeth clicking together and bruises in the shape of a loverâs hand left on thighs and necks. right now, all you want is to feel every inch of jeno inside of you, and to listen to his quiet yet desperate moans as you gradually increase your pace.
with one of his hands still guiding your hips, jeno gently grips the back of your neck, pulling your chest down to press against his. both of your lips find each other quickly, kissing and nipping as you feel yourself beginning to fall apart.
âjeno.â you breathe against his lips. âiâm so closeâŠâ a choked moan stumbles out of your mouth as jenoâs hand shifts from your neck to your clit, rubbing small circles with two nimble fingers.
âi can feel it.â jenoâs breath is hot on your ear as he presses open mouthed kisses to your neck. âcan feel you squeezing meâŠâ
you bite your lip hard, almost enough to draw blood as the movement of your hips begins to stutter. âi-i want you toâjenoââ you dig your nails into his shoulder when jenoâs fingers speed up, and within a moment, an orgasm sending shockwaves through your body.
jeno can tell the moment it happens, and a grunt leaves his throat as he begins to lift his hips to meet your movements. he buries his face into your neck, inhaling the scent of your perfume and sweat thatâs more intoxicating than anything else heâs ever smelled. âfuck, y/nââ his words cut off in a strangled moan as your walls squeeze his sensitive member.
although youâve barely come down from your high, you take it upon yourself to guide jeno through his orgasm like heâs done for you. one of your hands moves from his marked shoulder to his hair, pushing the sweaty strands back from his eyes in a repeated motion as you murmur in his ear. âlet go, jenoâŠfeels so goodâŠâ you can feel the jerking of his hips as he finishes inside the condom, and for a split second, you wished that there wasnât a barrier of latex between the two of you, despite knowing that protection is mandatory.
you wait until jenoâs managed to catch his breath before you carefully climb down from him, missing the feeling of him inside you the moment youâre empty. you lie down on your rumpled sheets next to his exhausted body, and hope that you look just as pretty in your post-sex haze as jeno.
now that youâve begun to touch him, you canât stop. your hands continue to rub tenderly over his sweat-soaked chest, feeling the thumping beat of his heart beneath you as jeno carefully removes and ties off the used condom. Â although a small grumble leaves your when he gets up to throw it away, you canât help but smile when he returns with two glasses of water in his hands.
âhere.â jeno hands you a glass before getting back on the bed, situating his naked form back into the position he was in a moment ago. âyou need to hydrate. doctorâs orders.â
you let out a breathless laugh before taking a sip of the cool liquid. âso youâre the doctor now, huh?â
âgod, no. iâm not nearly as smart as you. iâm just smart enough to remember what you tell me.â jeno gulps down his own glass, setting it on the bedside table once itâs empty. his arms then move to encircle your body, pulling your chests together so your weight lies on top of him.
you donât miss the small wince that the movement causes, and you set your own glass down before moving back to your position next to him. âyou need to be more careful.â you murmur, resuming your motion of rubbing over his chest. youâre not sure why the motion is so soothing, but you donât fight it, loving the feeling of jenoâs warm skin beneath your hand. âjohnny wonât forgive me if i put his best fighter out of commission.â
âno, he probably wonât.â jeno muses, settling for wrapping one arm around your body. âhe might fire you.â
âand then who will clean up your messes?â you cock an eyebrow teasingly. âor clean you up, when youâre a mess?â
âiâd just have to stumble my way to your apartment in the middle of the night again.â a laugh rumbles deep in jenoâs chest. âand then after you bandage me up, we can have a quick round. itâll be a nice routine.â
you roll your eyes. âmhmm. nice try.â
jenoâs laughter trails off after a moment as his fingers begin to trace shapes on your back. âseriously, thoughâŠâ his eyes grow sober. âhow do you want toâŠhandle this?â
you bite your lip. âhow do you want to handle this?â
a sigh leaves jenoâs lips. âi wantâŠyou. i want you to be mine. and i donât want to hide it, but if you feel like thatâs best, thenâŠâ
âitâs justâi donât know. itâs complicated.â your eyes focus on the way his chest rise and falls as he breathes. âyeah. complicated.â
âyouâre nervous about johnny knowing.â jeno states simply.
you nod. âhe specifically told me not to get involved with any boxers. he said thatâŠno good men come there.â
jenoâs hand moves over his jaw, scratching lightly. âyeah. he wasnât wrong.â
his answer bothers you, and you move to sit up more in bed, making him look you in the eyes. âyouâre a good man, jeno. i know that.â
âiâm not.â jeno shakes his head once, his voice growing rougher. âi have a lot of shit that iâmâŠtrying to work through. iâm not that good.â when he sees how your face shifts at his words, his tone changes. âbut iâd neverâŠthat has nothing to do with you. any of my issues, my pride, my anger, anything like that, itâs allâitâs separate from you.â he cups your cheek gently. âiâd never hurt you.â
âi know that, jeno.â you repeat as you place your hand over his, weaving both of your fingers together. âi trust you. i just wish youâd trust yourself.â
âi trust myself more when iâm with you.â jeno admits. âiâve never really feltâŠregret for what iâve done. the ring is an equal playing field, right? but that night when you said you thought i was too harshâŠâ
you bite your lip. âdid that bother you?â
âi was worried i scared you off.â his eyes close for a moment as he remembers. âi thoughtâŠi donât know. i thought you already disliked me just for being a boxer, and now iâm the boxer that breaks bones, and thereâs no way youâd ever want to be around me.â
âi probably shouldnât want it.â you admit. âwhen you phrase it like that. but iâve told you beforeâŠyouâre different when youâre with me.â
âonly with you. only for you.â jenoâs voice grows tender as he holds you close to him. âso if you want to keep it private, i understand. i just want you to be mine.â
your finger brushes over one of jenoâs rings. itâs a beautifully sculpted silver rose, and thereâs something so wonderful to you in how jeno chooses to wear flowers on the hands that have done so much damage.
you twist the ring around his finger before pulling it off. itâs too big to fit on your ring or middle finger, so after a moment of consideration, you slip it onto your thumb. âthen iâm yours.â
jenoâs eyes darken at the sight of you with his ring on your finger. âyeah. youâre mine.â
the feeling of jenoâs ring on your finger makes you feel so complete, and you want to share it with him, so you ignore jenoâs whine of protest as you climb out of bed to walk to your dresser. a little ceramic dish with your jewelry in it sits on top, and you sort through the rings and bracelets before setting on something that he can wear while in the ring. you cup it in your palms before returning to bed, an excited but shy smile on your face.
âhere.â you place it in jenoâs hand. âyou can put this on your chain with your cross.â
the silver caduceus looks small in jenoâs palm, and he brings it closer to his eyes to examine it. âwhat is it?â
âitâs a caduceus. itâs the medical symbol, the one i wear on my jacket to the ring.â you explain, your cheeks feeling warm at your words. âitâs from greek mythology, but doctors adopted it, andâyeah. just something to show thatâŠyouâre mine, too.â
a small smile plays on the corner of jenoâs lips. âwill you put it on me?â
you nod, and although your fingers are shaking a bit, you manage to undo the clasp on jenoâs chain, and slips the pendant on before refastening it around his neck. you settle the caduceus and cross pendants on his chest.
âit looks pretty on you.â you murmur, your hand brushing down his abdomen. âreally nice.â
âitâll be my good luck charm in the ring.â jeno brings your hand to his mouth, kissing over the rose ring. âi wonât take it off, as long as you donât take my ring off. deal?â
âdeal.â you lay your head back down on jenoâs chest. ânow get some sleep. doctorâs orders.â
a playful groan falls out of jenoâs mouth. âis that going to be a new thing? are you going to get me to do everything by saying itâs doctorâs orders?â
âi wouldnât have to if you took better care of yourself.â you match his playful tone. âbut we both know that you have a tendency to ignore your instinctsââ
âmy instincts are good!â
âlike your instinct to fight with a sprained hand was good?â
the corner of jenoâs mouth twitches. âfine. letâs go to sleep.â
sunlight is beginning to spill through the curtains as jeno closes his eyes, bathing his entire face in a golden glow. his skin glows under the light, save for the purplish bruise that rings one of his eyes. you press a gentle kiss to the darkened area before settling yourself down in jenoâs arms.
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