FRIENDS

853 words | pg-13 | friendship

"Wait," Jongin mumbles, a hand shooting out to hold on to Sehun's wrist. He is surprised he has enough strength left to do that, and Sehun is seemingly surprised as well, eyes wide for a moment before his expression morphs back into a grim and angry one.

"Let go," Sehun hisses, but otherwise he stays still, although it would be easy for him to pull away. Despite his scrawny frame, he's got more strength than Jongin. It all comes from taekwondo classes Sehun told him before, but Jongin suspects it's also because Sehun is a skilled and experienced fighter. Sehun is not in a gang, but he might as well be, considering the number of times he has been caught in a fight.

"No," Jongin says, voice quiet, but firm. He looks away, not wanting to see the expression of hurt and worry on the other's face. Sehun has never understood why Jongin would let people beat him up without fighting back, and Sehun has never understood why Jongin wouldn't want to seek revenge either. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, people say, but the result would be a never-ending cycle of revenge, and Jongin doesn't want that.

"If you let go of me now I can quickly catch up and beat the hell out of them," Sehun says, tone unexpectedly soft. "But that's not what you want, huh?"

There's a long silence after that and Jongin loosens his grip. He expects Sehun to run away to hunt the bullies down, but instead Jongin finds himself being lifted up. It's comforting to be in Sehun's strong arms, but unsettling all the same, so Jongin buries his face in Sehun's shoulder to hide the light blush on his cheeks. Sehun's cologne smells nice, he thinks and almost doesn't hear what the other is saying.

"I'll take you to the infirmary."

"Okay," Jongin mumbles against Sehun's neck.

"Hold still," Sehun hisses when Jongin tries to pull away. The antiseptic sti