Page 59

Jamie

The following two days, Jesse had been resting a lot.

He still more or less insisted that he didn’t feel too badly right now, that it was just a bit of heart pain and nothing too serious.

But he did admit that he was very tired and didn’t feel like getting up and moving around a whole lot.

And when Jamie had suggested he stay home while Jamie went on their weekly grocery trip by himself, Jesse had actually admitted it was a good idea—and settled for a nap while Jamie shopped.

It had made him worry about Jesse all the more.

The first thing Jamie did when he got back home was check on him. He seemed fine for now; dozing kind of peacefully in bed. Jamie watched him for a while, tenderly running his hand over Jesse’s arm, before he went into the kitchen to put away the groceries.

How much things had changed…

The very first time he’d gone food-shopping with Jesse, everything had been so utterly overwhelming. The bright, colorful packaging on all the food, the cramped and crowded aisles, the music that played from the ceiling… he had felt like he was in some bizarre dream.

What would have happened to him if it weren’t for Jesse? Where would he be today?

The memory of when he had almost stepped out in front of traffic and Jesse had held him back and had to explain to him what would happen if he got hit came to him as well.

The way Jesse had rolled that tomato out into the road and watched as it was crushed under heavy tires, and warned Jamie he’d end up as ketchup if he wasn’t more careful.

The fact that Jamie hadn’t known what ketchup was until like a week later was beside the point .

A small smile tugged at his lips as he opened the fridge door and continued putting the groceries away.

But then, just as easily as it had come, the warmth faded.

If only they had been more careful from the start.

If only he had remembered about his powers earlier and had never—

“Hey,” a soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Gentle arms wrapped around him from behind, and Jesse’s lips pressed softly on his neck.

“H-hey,” Jamie breathed, closing the fridge door as he leaned into the soothing embrace. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, I’ve… been better,” Jesse admitted with a sigh.

It had been four hours only since Jamie had placed the last seal.

Jamie let out a quiet sigh himself, turning around in Jesse’s arms and putting a hand to his chest. The steady beating of his heart was a comfort, as it pulsed ever so faintly beneath Jamie’s fingertips.

But all Jamie could think about was the risk of having that heart stop beating, and it sent a deep chill down his spine.

He swallowed, trying to ignore the thought, as he focused on renewing the seal.

“That’s… really not the nicest feeling in the world,” Jesse complained, grimacing as Jamie carefully locked away the powers that rested within him.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie said with another sigh.

“If there were any other way to help you, I’d do that.

But until I get my memories back, this is the best I can do.

” After he finished securing the seal, Jamie leaned back a little, reaching out to gently brush a loose strand of black hair from Jesse’s forehead.

“I brought you something to eat, though.”

A grin settled on Jesse’s face. “Isn’t that the whole point of grocery shopping?” he teased.

“Oh, but I went above and beyond today,” Jamie teased back. “This isn’t just groceries—this is premium comfort food service.”

Jesse smirked, raising a brow. “Is that so? ”

Jamie didn’t answer, just grinned as he snuck out of Jesse’s arms and made his way toward the kitchen corner where he opened a takeout bag.

He’d brought tteokbokki, a Korean dish that he knew Jesse liked a lot.

The moment he lifted the lid, the spicy scent filled the room—and the rich, savory aroma made Jamie’s stomach growl loudly in response, as if something feral was lurking inside him.

“Sounds like someone’s hiding a dragon in there,” Jesse chuckled.

Jamie couldn’t help but snort as he handed him the small box, watching as Jesse grabbed some chopsticks from the drawer.

With practiced ease, Jesse picked up a piece of the chewy rice cake, and took a bite.

His eyes drifted shut, and as a soft sigh slipped from Jesse’s lips, Jamie could see the tension easing from Jesse’s shoulders, the color slowly returning to his pale cheeks.

It was such a simple thing—watching Jesse enjoy his food—but it was grounding, in a way Jamie couldn’t quite explain. Something in his chest swelled, full and steady, wrapping around his heart with a quiet kind of happiness.

“God, this is so good,” Jesse murmured, his eyes fluttering open with a lazy smile. He lifted his chopsticks for another bite, but then stopped mid-motion, giving Jamie a confused sort of look. “Wait, where’s yours?”

“I um… didn’t have enough money to buy two,” Jamie admitted. “This is just for you.” His stomach gave another traitorous protest. He hadn’t even bought a single chocolate bar for himself today.

Once again, Jesse raised a brow—and literally out of nowhere, Jamie suddenly realized how much he loved it when Jesse did that.

Love…

It felt so long ago that Jesse had to explain what love even meant…

That it meant to care about someone so much that you can’t imagine being without them anymore.

That you want to hold them tight and never let go.

That you want to protect this person, and make sure nothing bad happens to them.

Jamie remembered Jesse’s words as clear as if it had been only yesterday .

But now that he actually knew what love was, now that he felt it inside him, he also knew that it was so much more than even that.

Deeper.

Warmer.

When you can’t be with them, it’s torture.

“Here,” Jesse’s voice pulled him back to the present once more. “It’s better when it’s shared.”

Jamie blinked at the bite Jesse was holding out for him with his chopsticks, hesitating for a split second before the warmth in Jesse’s eyes melted any resistance.

Leaning forward, he accepted the bite. The familiar, spicy heat filled his mouth, comforting and rich.

But it wasn’t just about the tteokbokki.

It was the way they cared for each other. Just love. Just being there.

They continued like that, passing the chopsticks back and forth, sharing the food and the silence, until the container was empty. Then, while Jesse threw it away, Jamie casually reached up to the cupboard to take out two glasses, filled them with water, and handed one of them to his partner.

“Guess I better get ready for my night shift now,” Jesse sighed as he accepted the glass, emptying it in one go.

Jamie couldn’t ignore the uneasy feeling the thought alone caused. “I really don’t like that. You should rest for another day or two.”

“I know, but I kinda have no choice,” Jesse said. “I’ve already taken way too much time off this year as it is. If I keep it up, they’ll just fire me.”

“Getting sick isn’t ‘taking time off,’” Jamie replied.

“It is in the eyes of the corporation that runs the restaurant chain,” Jesse explained, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.

“Technically, I would’ve been fired months ago, if I weren’t a good enough worker to make up for how much I’m not there.

And this time, I don’t even have a doctor’s note saying I had a heart attack to prove I wasn’t lying. ”

“Who would lie about having a heart attack?!”

“Ehh, it’s not about who would or wouldn’t,” Jesse shrugged.

“It’s about the fact that I can’t prove I’m not, so Corporate would assume I am.

So, since I’m mostly alright, I really should get back to work.

Rent doesn’t pay itself, after all. But if I start feeling too badly, I’ll call in sick or come home early, I promise. ”

“I still say you shouldn’t go at all,” Jamie insisted, bringing his glass to his mouth and taking a sip—and then, trying for a joke; “Don’t make me put you to sleep again.”

Jesse chuckled a little at his teasing. “I still can’t even believe you can do that. It’d be creepy, if I didn’t trust you so much.”

“Creepy?” Jamie repeated, pretending to be offended by letting out a scoff. “I thought I was cute!”

“Only when you’re not being creepy.”

They both giggled a bit at that before Jamie sobered again, taking another sip. “If you really insist on going back to work, then we need to find a way to meet every four hours, so I can place a new seal before the pain gets too much.”

“I can skip one or two sessions, it’s fine. I make it through the whole night without a renewal, anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal.“

Jamie stared at him over the rim of his glass. “…You didn’t notice?”

“N-notice what?”

“I can… tell when it wears off,” Jamie told him quietly, lowering his glass just enough to speak. “Because your breathing changes. So I… always renew it before it gets too hard for you.”

Jesse opened his mouth and then closed it again, his brows knitting together as the weight of Jamie’s words seemed to settle in.

For a moment, Jesse just stared at him. Then, a warm—and somehow sad—smile appeared on his lips, though his eyes still betrayed the lingering shock.

“Every four hours it is then, huh.” He took a steadying breath, his voice soft but resolute.

“We’ll find a way. I can come to Hazel’s studio, and you can visit me at school or work, or we’ll meet somewhere in between.

I don’t think it will be all too difficult with some proper planning. ”

Maybe. It just still felt wrong that Jesse insisted on going back to work in the first place.

“You should keep resting,” Jamie tried again. “If your job is so bad that they would fire you for being sick, then they don’t deserve to have you anyway. Besides, I can also find a way to handle rent. The tips from street performing are pretty goo—”