#nct drabbles
[4:11 p.m.]
the sun was just setting on the horizon when you visited him. you come over frequently, as the breaks in both of your schedules line up, allowing you guys time to see each other. the apartment is empty when you first walk in and all the lights are off. you chuckle, knowing he’s in his room doing whatever he does in his free time. it’s different each time. you kick off your shoes and walk to his bedroom, where you can hear quiet music playing.
his back is turned to you when you enter, only to quickly swivel around in his chair at the sound of your entrance.
“hey, sorry for not knocking.”
“that’s alright,” ten smiles. “i knew it was you when i heard the front door open.”
he was wearing an apron, with splotches of paint scattered across the fabric. in his hand laid a palette, filled with mellow colors of blue, black, green, brown, and white.
“were you expecting me?” you ask, pulling around a chair and sitting backwards so your head leaned against the backend.
“i always do,” ten responds, a teasing quip to his tongue.
you roll your eyes at his playful mannerism. it’s amazing how fast your heart beats whenever he opens his mouth, despite how often you visit. you guess you’re not used to it yet. maybe you never will be.
you fold your arms along the rear of the chair, chin resting atop of your hands. the sky is painted pink and yellow, casting a warm shadow onto the canvas in front of ten. within the intricate lines and sketches drawn in black, a woman is displayed, painted with the most detail and color.
“she’s beautiful,” you remark. ten’s eyes follow your gaze to the drawing, and the corners of his mouths quirk up into a smile.
“she reminds me of you.”
you let out a giggle of embarrassment and hide your face in your arms. ten bites his tongue to hold his excitement in.
“what movie should we watch tonight?” you ask, choosing to disregard ten’s last flirty comment for the sake of your composure.
“i was thinking pride and prejudice,” he states after a couple of seconds. ten sets down the palette and brush in his hands and replaces the two objects with your face instead. a quiet gasp leaves your lips at the proximity of your faces. “how does that sound, my lovely elizabeth bennett?”
you bite your lip and grin at the man awaiting an answer in front of you. the heat emanating off both of your faces is enough to warm you from the evening breeze seeping in from the cracked windows in his room. touching your nose with his, you can’t contain the grin that spreads from cheek to cheek as you whisper against ten’s lips. perhaps you could get used to this feeling after all.
“that sounds like a grand idea, mr. darcy.”
⚠️tw: tragic backstories and crippling angst lol, mentions of deceased parents, drowning mentions, implied suic*de, grief, renjun’s cute english (all mistakes in his dialogue are intentional. enjoy)
i had no idea this would get such enthusiastic reactions. thank you everyone who requested a continuation, hope this makes you feel something and answers some questions ♡
this is part three of merman!renjun, find parts oneandtwo here :))
1:44pm: “did it hurt?”
merman!renjun glanced up at runaway prince!jeno’s prompt, who stared expectantly at him through the bars of his cell.
“what?”
the prince gestured at renjun’s legs and spoke matter-of-factly. “your tail. it’s gone. did it hurt?”
“oh… yes.” he wiggled his toes. “it hurt.”
“a lot?”
renjun paused and hugged his knees a little closer into his chest. “yes.”
“and you… can’t transform back.” pirate!you lifted your chin to make eye contact with renjun, who pursed his lips and nodded in response.
“magic is no-come-back,” he said with a shrug.
“irreversible,” the prince offered.
“irressimble. no merperson ever come back from land.”
your heart and eyes sank to your lap. “right.”
poor haechan.
you found yourself getting to your feet. “i… i’m gonna leave you two to catch up.” dusting off your palms on your hips, you cleared your throat. “let me know if you, uh, need anything, alright?”
renjun nodded.
“right. um… your highness.” you offered a quick curtsey towards jeno, who scoffed lightly at the difference between your usual domineering behaviour and your attempt at character continuity.
as you made your way up the stairs, you remembered the time pirate!haechan had first opened up to you about his past. you had both been younger, yet already best of friends.
“cap'n the only family you got?” he tossed a grape into his mouth.
“we have an older sister. on land, though. runs an orphanage.”
he made a noise of interest. “parents?”
you shook your head as you reached for another grape. “shipwreck, funnily enough. you?”
“three siblings. all younger than me.”
you chortled at the thought. “you? the eldest?”
“i’m more responsible than you give me credit for,” he retorted, a dramatic hand placed on his chest in mock offence.
“yeah, right. i’ll give you credit when you don’t slack off.”
he laughed, and the two of you sat in silence for a moment.
you reached the top of the stairs, and took a moment to let yourself adjust to the sunlight. scanning the deck through squinted eyes, you spotted haechan at the bow of the ship, his back turned to you as he stared out at the ocean.
“your parents still around?” you had asked.
his brow had furrowed at the stars above and his chewing grew hesitant. you had started to apologise, realising you’d struck a nerve, but he shook his head and reassured you it wasn’t your fault.
“dad’s there, yeah. mum’s, uh… mum was a mermaid.”
a sound of surprise escaped your lips.
“—or so my father told us. she came to shore, grew legs and lived as a human. had my siblings and i… and loved my father. loved us.”
you chose to listen in silence and watch as he focused on peeling the skin off the grape he held in his hands.
“we were at the beach one day. i guess she missed her home, ‘cause she barely said anything and just stared out to sea.” he took a slow, shallow breath. “i asked her to come and… and play with us. and she… took my hands, told me she loved me… let me go, and—and just walked straight in. right through the waves. didn’t stop. never saw her again.”
you didn’t know what to say, so you went with the safe option. “i’m so sorry.”
“nah,” he said, trying to disguise his sniffling with a deep inhale, “all in the past. i used to be mad about it, but i’m over that now. she’s probably happier.”
you sighed at the sight of him. he was barely moving, but his loose shirt and hair whipped around in the wind. no, you aren’t.
leaning your elbows on the taffrail next to him, you watched the hull of the ship split the ocean surface, leaving waves in her wake and advancing still.
you weren’t taken aback when you turned towards haechan and was met with tears streaming steadily down his cheeks, their trail from his grief-stricken eyes shining in the sun.
he could barely maintain eye contact with you, his gaze drawn to the horizon again. a wet exhale left his lips before he pursed them tighter and gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.
“the merman’s telling the truth, then?” he managed, his tone laced with anger. “you can’t transform back once you grow legs?”
“haechan, i—”
“you can’t transform back, then what happened to my mum, huh?” he demanded, perhaps towards you, perhaps not. “you’re telling me she walked in to die? to drown in her own home?”
“haechan.”
“you mean i let her go for what? for nothing?”
“hey—”
he sniffed and shook his head, “no. no, it can’t be true. maybe he just doesn’t know her. my house is on the other end of the earth, he probably never even heard of someone returning because he’s never met—”
“haechan.” you caught his shoulder and he gripped your hand, to throw it off or for support, you couldn’t tell—until his breath was sucked out of his lungs, his head hung and he gave in to the sobs that racked his body. his weight fell forward as his knees buckled, and you caught him with practised foresight.
the two of you sank to your knees, his face buried in your shoulder and balled fists clutching the fabric of your shirt. murmuring your words of comfort and drawing circles on his back, you let him grieve his mother a second and final time.
when he finally exhausted himself and you stopped having to remove your hand from his head to wave away anyone who approached you, renjun climbed onto the deck in search of you. he frowned in confusion when he recognised haechan and stayed wary as he drew nearer.
haechan noticed his presence and pulled himself out of your arms and onto his feet. clearing his throat, he raised his eyes to the merman’s.
“i shouldn’t have touched you,” he began awkwardly, “i was… stupid, and… it almost cost you your life. i’m sorry.”
renjun looked like he didn’t know what to respond with. “you are welcome,” he replied hesitantly.
taken aback at the unexpected answer, haechan cleared his throat again and walked past the boy.
renjun turned back towards you, tilting his head in puzzlement. “why is he sad?”
you sighed deeply before standing up too. “haechan’s mother was a mermaid.”
renjun’s lips parted in shock.
“she had legs, too, and lived on land. but she missed the sea, so she said goodbye and went back.” you gestured over his shoulder at haechan’s disappearing figure down the stairs, his gaze following your hand. “he never knew merpeople couldn’t transform back, so he thought she was still alive.”
the boy didn’t meet your eyes when he turned back around. a moment of silence smothered any further words you might have said.
“and he tried help me and push me back in water.”
“… yes. he thought… you would be happier in the water.”
another beat.
“he is not happy.”
“no, he isn’t.”
you paused to let him contemplate.
“but. she was happy.”
“hmm?”
“his mother. she was happy.”
then it was your turn to tilt your head to the side.
“mermaids choose legs,” he explained, “his mother choose land.”
“merpeople choose to transform permanently?”
he nodded eagerly, “choose to t…ransform pernamamently. i choose because you protect.”
“because i protected you?”
“yes. i am in danger and you protec-ted me. i choose tarnsform tail to legs.”
you mulled over this consideration. “i… i’ll let him know. thank you, renjun.”
“you are welcome,” he responded with certainty, offering you his first smile, albeit small.
you managed to smile back. “alright,” you declared, “how about some lunch? you hungry?”
i reckon there’s room for part four.. hm hm thoughts thoughts
taglist:@whattaweeb@radiorenjun
⚠️tw: swearing, violence, haechan’s a bit of an ass in this, but he has his reasons
this is part two of this au!
1:24pm: “will someone remind me why it is we’re taking him with us?” pirate!haechandemanded.
pirate!you shot him a look. “he stays.”
he scowled back at you. “look at him,” he said, nudging his chin in merman!renjun’s general direction, “he can barely walk.”
glancing over, you had to admit that haechan’s observations were right—having given up attempting to stand a while ago, renjun sat alone on the edge of the deck. he was staring down at the wood under his new feet with a slight frown, like he was wondering why the dark grains weren’t rolling over each other as waves would. the clothes given to him were too big for his frame, and his hands and feet were barely visible in the sea of sleeves.
“he doesn’t belong here. why he’s stupid enough to stay, i couldn’t say.” turning around, haechan started to scrub the railing with more aggression than ever.
“well, he obviously didn’t want to go back, so lay off it, will you?”
haechan scoffed like he had given up. “you know what? fine.” throwing the rag back into the bucket, he shrugged rather dramatically. “i’ll just accept that i can’t possibly fathom why a merman won’t go back into the ocean.” with that, he left, stomping away with as much dignity as he could muster despite leaving his chore half-finished.
sighing in frustration at both yourself and him, you picked up his bucket and continued his job.
you decided not to chase him up—you knew the grudge he held, and you weren’t about to sour his mood further just for the sake of it.
you also knew haechan wasn’t being ridiculous, nor was his reasoning questionable. you remembered the terror in renjun’s eyes when he turned back at you, the wordless pleas to save him, his desperate hands clutching at your shoulder. you only had the capacity to be confused after you led him back onboard.
tossing the rest of the water in the bucket over the railing, you carried it below deck, then remembered you had yet to offer renjun some food. visiting cook!kunandcook!chenle in the kitchen, you cleared your throat to announce your presence over the rapid chinese conversation the two were engaged in. they poured you a bowl of a simple soup, and you blew on it softly to cool it down on your way above deck—you were sure renjun wasn’t used to steaming hot meals.
shouts and sounds of a scuffle caught your attention midway up the flight of stairs, and you rushed out to see what the commotion was about.
alarm overrode your senses as you recognised renjun in the crowd gathered at the far end of the ship—pinned down onto the railing by none other than haechan, who was yelling in renjun’s face about something you couldn’t quite make out. even in the chaos, renjun spotted you in his peripheral vision, and opened his mouth to scream for you.
you dropped the bowl and broke into a sprint, your breath hitching as haechan reached down and hooked his arm under renjun’s knees. panicking, the boy kicked out, which only aided haechan in lifting him completely off the deck. you almost swore his hand was searching for something to hold onto as he plummeted.
it all happened so fast, and you were so far—one moment, he was scrabbling at haechan, the next, he was slipping off the railing… then he was airborne, but not for long.
“what are you doing?!” you screamed, almost shoving haechan to the side.
“putting the fish back where he belongs,” he replied breathlessly, barely looking at you. “why? you gonna tell me i shouldn’t have?”
you caught the railing in your hands, leaning over to search for renjun in the water. a cloud of bubbles had risen to mark where the merman had landed, and you held your own breath as you waited, not knowing what to expect. was he just going to swim away? would he wave goodbye?
when most of the bubbles cleared, you caught a glimpse of the white shirt he had been wearing.
even though the blue of the ocean blurred your view of him, the pit in your stomach grew as you realised the shirt wasn’t sinking, and neither was it still. in fact, the sleeves were still flailing around erratically, the unnatural movements slowed by the density of the water.
barely thinking, you kicked off your shoes and threw off your hat. you were about to shake off your jacket when a hand pulled your shoulder back and away from the edge. you let out a cry of shock, whipping your head around to see captain!taeyong, who shook his head at you sternly. you tried to shrug him off, but he only held on tighter.
“haechan,” he said, “fish-boy’s drowning. you go get him.”
the boy’s face turned incredulous. “why me?”
“you threw him over. you get him. go.”
you weren’t shocked when haechan audibly swore under his breath, but started kicking off his shoes anyway. he wasn’t one to cross the captain’s orders, and he wasn’t about to start.
still grumbling, he jumped onto the railing, calculating the distance from the ledge to the water below. he spat out to the side, swore, then pin-dropped perfectly.
you watched as haechan disappeared under the surface, and reemerged a few moments later with a panicking renjun in his arms, yelling at him to shut up and relax.
two of your crewmates had lowered the rowboat onto the water when haechan had jumped. he dragged renjun towards it, pulled himself up and helped renjun in before leaning back and waiting for the crew to haul the boat back up.
when they were both back on deck, renjun was still spluttering up water from his lungs. you crouched next to him and thumped your hand on his back rhythmically, encouraging him to cough it out. tears flowed down his cheeks as he struggled for breath—he had obviously never experienced coughing before.
“for the stars’ sake,” haechan challenged, “why is he still here, inconveniencing everyone? huh?” he leaned into renjun’s face threateningly, “you get caught accidentally, we let you go, and you ignore that? you could have just transformed back and swam away, but no. you just had to make me get my clothes wet, didn’t you? why? you determined to piss me off?”
still doubled over on his knees, renjun had managed to stop coughing. he didn’t move from his position, his chest still heaving as he panted. you noticed his fingertips pressing into the wooden planks under his palms, his nails turning white with the pressure. his shoulders quivered and jaw was clenched tight.
your lips parted in realisation.
“he can’t.”
haechan probably hadn’t heard you over the sound of his own blood roaring in his ears. “what?”
“hecan’t,” you repeated, looking up at him, “he can’t transform back.”
renjun’s silence only confirmed your theory.
haechan blinked. his hands slipped off his hips, and his jaw went slack.
you could only imagine how haechan must have been feeling. how his chest must have tightened with the confronting truth, how he must have forgotten the world around him.
that you could only guess—you knew what thought was whirling through his mind.
“come on,” you said gently, gripping renjun’s shoulders. “can you stand?”
he nodded shakily, and you thought you heard him choke back a sob.
leaving haechan to some space to himself, you led a trembling renjun below deck to get warm. you sat him down on a crate next to the brig, murmuring reassurances to him, and started searching for a spare blanket.
“what the—renjun?”
you had almost forgotten the brig wasn’t empty, so you weren’t alone below deck. you turned to see runaway prince!jeno, who was usually rarely awake, clutching at the bars of his prison.
you frowned in confusion as renjun cried out incoherently, launching himself off the crate to kneel in front of the prison. “je-no!” he exclaimed, sounding just as shocked as the prince through his accent.
“you two… know each other?”
jeno glanced at you, then back at the merman. “renjun freed me and saved my life.” the boy nodded profusely in support.
“uh… you’re still very much imprisoned, your highness.”
“no, no, no—” the prince started to correct you. “—in the merpeople’s palace.”
wise words from Jaehyun.
:: if yall mfs dropped him or the other 97 liners then yall need to do some reflection️️ sk aint even in lockdown what are yall on yall prolly the type of people who reads articles from koreaboo haha
wise words from Jisung
wise words from Johnny
꒰ʰⁱᵗˢ ᵇˡᵘⁿᵗ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ꒱
Manager: Okay, I’ve called you all to this meeting because some of us don’t seem to get along.
Doyoung: Me and Taeyong are literally the only ones you called here.
y'all mind if renjun expresses his feelings for you?
keeping it family-friendly y'all
kun: ten, why is there a green bird knocking on our door?
ten:*rapidly locking the windows* i didn’t finish today’s duolingo lesson
johnny:you’re going to regret this. mark my words.
mark: *running over with a dictionary*
johnny: thank you mark
[8:37pm]:you sat on your bed, upset with everything. you so badly wanted jaemin to leave his date behind and see you, even though you knew it was wrong.
“he has a girlfriend,” you said while looking at the stars twinkle in the sky, “it’s- it’s wrong, i can’t think about him.” you said sighing. you let a tear slip down your cheek. you couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that you knew that he was happier with her.
you hear the doorbell ring, you wipe your tears away as you dragged yourself to the door
you open it and there stands jaemin, with flowers in his hand, you can’t help but let the tears fall down your cheeks as you cry into his shirt, he dropped what he was holding and immediately holds your face in his hands and wipes the tears away with his thumb
and there you share a kiss, a kiss you were longing for, a kiss with electricity that surged through your entire body. a kiss that just felt meant to be. you felt him smirk into the kiss and you pull away to catch your breath
your eyes shimmer underneath the moonlight through the window and you hear him speak
“i- i think i love you.” he said slightly out of breath.
that’s when you put it together, it was so wrong but it felt so, so right.
Johnny: It’s really muggy outside today….
Doyoung: If all of our mugs are out on the front porch when I step outside, I’m going to hurt you.
Johnny: *sips coffee from a bowl*
jaehyun: you’re smiling, did something bad happen?
haechan: can’t i just smile because i feel like it?
taeyong: mark tripped and fell in the parking lot.
*at nct 127 intervention*
taeyong: mark, we’ve all gathered to discuss this problem.
doyoung: you have to stop using those phrases incorrec-
mark: oh, cry me a table doyoung!
johnny: i-
[11:47PM]“Hyuck, you told me to come over just so we could spend time together.” You sulked as you watched your dear boyfriend busy giving his full attention to the screen in front of him.
“Just one more round, baby. I promise!” The male shouted, fingers furiously clicking on the mouse.
You looked down at your textbook before letting out a huff, “But that’s what you said 20 minutes ago.”
….
Donghyuck sighed, finally putting his headphones down as he shuts off his pc. Turning around in his gaming chair he spotted you on his bed, already fallen asleep with your face stuffed in between the open textbook.
The boy let out a laugh at your current state before getting up from his seat and walked towards you.
You felt a hand on your shoulder softly shaking your body. Letting out a whine, you finally lift your head up to face him.
“Sweetheart, let’s get you into a more comfortable position, yeah?” The male spoke up, taking the textbook away.
Nodding your head, you quickly shifted into an even more comfortable position, “Are you finally done with your games now?”
Donghyuck let out a chuckle, swiftly looking at the clock as he sat down next to you on the bed. The audacity of this man to laugh at you.
He pulled you closer, hands wrapped around your waist. You snuggled up with him, taking a wiff of his cologne.
“I’m sorry for not giving you attention earlier on, baby.” Hyuck spoke up, the hand that was around your waist now traveling up under your sweater to rub your back.
Giggling softly, you gave him a quick peck on his plump lips as way to say that you accept his apology.
[2:36AM] The sound of rain droplets softly tapping against your bedroom window fills the room. You let out a sigh, snuggling into your pillow bringing the blanket up to your chest.
As soon as you were about to fall asleep, soft scratching noises could be heard from outside your bedroom door. “You can come in, Jeno.” You spoke, sitting up as the door opened revealing Jeno. Adorable white ears perched on top of his now messy black hair along with his fluffy tail slightly wagging from side to side. Cute.
“Can I sleep with you tonight? The thunders are scaring me,” The hybrid spoke with a pout visible on his lips.
Nodding your head, the male happily walked over to the other side of the bed and moved under the blanket. You laid back down on the pillow, gesturing Jeno to come closer.
He wrapped his arms around your waist, hiding his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent. “You’re safe with me, pup. Sleep now, I know you’re tired, love.” You caressed his hair, soothing the hybrid when another thunder struck.
Soon enough, soft snores could be heard from him. You smiled, leaving a kiss on the top of his head before muttering a soft ‘I love you’, falling asleep right after that.
got this idea when I was rewatching 7llin’ in the dream couldn’t resist writing about Jeno because he looked really adorable there :(
Jeno gets sulky easily, especially when one of his friends was taking your attention away.
“Y/n, come dance with us! I know you really like this song,” Haechan whined tugging on your sleeve. You playfully rolled your eyes before letting him drag you away from the hammock.
Your boyfriend watched you from afar, his lips slowly turning into a pout as he watched you dance along to the music along with his two friends not seeming to notice that he was there since you were having fun.
The male dragged himself to the hammock, softly pushing Chenle before laying down beside the younger. He was still sulking.
Chenle seems to notice the behavior of the boy beside him has changed. Chuckling at the older’s childish act, he pinched Jeno’s cheek before sitting up, now making his way to Jaemin.
“Alright I’m tired now, you guys can dance together I’m gonna rest.” You said while making your way to your boyfriend.
He noticed that you were coming his way, he was happy to finally get all of your attention to himself again. But he was still sulky.
You sat down on the hammock, reaching your hands out to pet Jeno’s messy black hair. His pout was still visible.
“What’s got you sulking so much, baby?” You asked, even though you already knew the answer. The boy in front of you lets out a huff.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s because you were busy giving all your attention to my friends instead of your beloved boyfriend,”
You let out a giggle. Jeno heard it and his eyebrows furrowed, “Oh so you think this is funny?” He moved your hand away from his head, crossing his arms.
You can’t help but laugh again, slowly moving your body to lay down beside him. Wrapping your arms around the black-haired boy.
“No baby, of course not. You just look really cute right now, I’m sorry alright? You got all of my attention now, will kisses make you feel better, baby?” You spoke, Jeno couldn’t hold in his smile any longer.
Of course it will, he loves your kisses.
The male looks at you with big doe eyes, lips puckering. You leaned in gently smashing your lips against his slightly chapped ones.
It lasted for quite some time before Renjun decides to interrupt, “Y'know I’m cool with you two being lovey-dovey but please try not to suck each other’s faces off in front of us,”
You and Jeno both giggled at his comment. The poor boy had a disgusted look on his face.
Before you even had a chance to respond to the other male, Jeno had wrapped his arms around you pulling you close to his chest.
He placed a quick peck on your forehead, “I love you, y/n.”
“are you stupid? i don’t like you.” you spoke, staring into mark’s eyes. the poor boy froze, not knowing what to do when you started walking closer to him.
“but i..” you paused, moving your head closer to his ear. lips ghosting just right above the shell of his ear before speaking again. “really, really, really love you..”
mark’s heart was thumping really loudly. a deep shade of red slowly creeping up to his cheeks, oh how he wish you would move away already so he could finally breathe in.
after what seemed like forever, you finally moved back to create some space between the both of you. “how’d i do? was that great?” you smiled at his current state, he looked so cute right now.
the black haired boy cleared his throat before straightening his position, looking everywhere around the room besides your eyes. “t-that was great, (y/n). im sure your crush would be flustered..” he stuttered.
oh little did he knew it was for him.
© hyvckluvr on tumblr, 2021.
