Thief

50

Jinyoung plopped himself in the chair across from the couch of Jaebum's tiny apartment's living room, an adorable pout on his lips. They had returned from Jackson's house a few days later, the group of four finally parting ways to settle into their changed lives. "Will we visit them again? I'll miss them..."

Jaebum smiled, wanting to kiss that pout away, but deciding to instead just seat himself on the couch. "Of course we'll visit. I'm glad we all could repair our relationships with each other. The three of us had real history together."

"I'm not apart of it..." Jinyoung mumbled, glancing down at the wooden floor under his feet.

"Baby come here." Jaebum beckoned, stretching his arms out for Jinyoung to fill. Jinyoung approached, yelping as Jaebum pulled him down onto his lap. "You may not be in my past, but I wasn't in yours either. I wish I was, so I could've helped you sooner, but unfortunately things didn't work out that way. It doesn't matter now though. You're my future, and all of my goals in life now have to do with you. We'll make our own history together, just me and you."

Jinyoung bit down on his bottom lip, trying to suppress the grin that threatened to show on his face. "I like that a lot. You have a way with words."

"I am a songwriter after all." Jaebum stated with a prideful smile.

Jinyoung looked away, his fingers toying with a strand of Jaebum's hair. "About that... do you... wanna know my dream?"

Jaebum's eyes lit up, remembering back to when Jinyoung firmly stated that he didn't have a dream. "Oh? You finally have one?"

"I've had it for a while, since I was a kid, but... I was told that it would never happen." Jinyoung mumbled.

Jaebum caressed Jinyoung's cheek, turning the younger's eyes towards him. "What is it?"

Jinyoung took in a breath before spilling it out. "I actually wanted to be a singer. That's why I admire Jackson so much. I wanted to be just like him, but with my own songs. Sounds kinda corny saying it out loud but... that's why I practiced singing and tried to help with your songs too."

Jaebum felt like he should've been surprised, but he honestly wasn't. Jinyoung's interest in music was pretty apparent, and he was more happy than anything that they had similar aspirations in life. "Do you have any songs?"

Jinyoung shook his head. "No, I didn't have any equipment to produce them with. Also I know nothing about the music making process, I just know how to sing, and I still need to work on my voice..."

"Your voice is beautiful already, why do you need to change it?" Jaebum asked, considering that he'd spend hours listening to Jinyoung's honey like voice if he could.

Jinyoung shrugged. "Not really change it just... make it better. Kind of a perfectionist thing, y'know?"

"Well... I mean... I had this thought when you first sang to me, but I didn't mention it because I didn't want to assume that you'd agree..." Jaebum trailed off, looking into Jinyoung's attentive eyes. He felt nervous suddenly bringing up this offer, but it was something he really wanted, and was hoping Jinyoung would want too. "... but... I really liked your voice a lot, and I imagined us possibly... working together? On songs and stuff? I mean, if you want to..."

Jinyoung took a few minutes to think about it, only leaving Jaebum more on edge. The silence between them was nerve wracking, and Jaebum nearly jumped out of his skin when Jinyoung finally responded. "Will you stop hiding your songs on your phone and actually put yourself out there if I agree?"

Jaebum looked away, letting out a sigh. "Jinyoung I..."

"Come on Jaebum. Do it for me. Please?" Jinyoung begged, cupping Jaebum's cheeks with his hands to make the elder look at him again. "What's the point of working together if we don't even really try? How is anyone gonna notice you if you don't put yourself out there?"

Jaebum took in a breath, thinking things over. He knew Jinyoung was right. Jinyoung was almost always right. But his own fear and hesitation got in the way of what he's been dreaming of having for so long. Exposing his work to the world was terrifying, and he knew that there would be critics and people who'd completely hate it. But if Jinyoung were to faithfully stick by his side through it all, maybe all of his worrying would turn out to be for nothing. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. I'll post them online or something..."

"And show them to the agency. You can get a job off of your work, you realize that, don't you? Don't be a janitor forever, please." Jinyoung begged.

Jaebum groaned, Jinyoung was really pushing it now. "But... what if they don't like anything I produce?"

"You'll never know if you don't try. Promise me you'll try." Jinyoung ordered, sticking his pinky finger out.

Jaebum let out a soft chuckle. This was exactly why he loved Jinyoung, he just refuses to take no for an answer. "Fine. I promise. So... it's a yes then? Are we... music partners now?"

Jinyoung grinned, nodding his head. "Sure."

Jaebum smiled back, gripping Jinyoung's jaw and pulling him in for a kiss. It felt unexplainably nice to be able to sit comfortably on his couch in his tiny apartment and express his immense love for Jinyoung, whether it were through kisses, touches, or words, Jaebum felt truly at home in Jinyoung's arms, and he was sure that the younger felt the same.

"Our first song together will be the one I was writing when we were at Mark's house." Jaebum mumbled against Jinyoung's lips as he slid an unruly strand of hair out of Jinyoung's face.

"The one I sang? Okay. But why?" Jinyoung asked.

"It's about you. I want to make that one our first song." Jaebum stated, watching as Jinyoung's jaw dropped open a bit at the revelation.

"D-Didn't you finish it yet?" Jinyoung stuttered out, his face flushing a light pink that Jaebum found adorable.

"No, I've only got one verse and a chorus down." Jaebum replied.

Jinyoung hummed, "Okay, well that could be our first song, as long as my verse can be about you."

Now Jaebum's face matched Jinyoung's red color, a dumb giggle escaping him as Jinyoung peppered kisses all over his face. There was really no explaining how much he loved this man, and though their future together was unknown, Jaebum silently promised to be the knight in shining armor that Jinyoung should've had a long time ago. He wanted to protect this love of his, and Jaebum for sure would do anything to do so.

"Sure, whatever you want." Jaebum happily replied, admiring the new beautiful life he shared with Jinyoung as it bloomed right before him.

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(*C U T E. I CAN'T. CAN SOMEONE TREAT ME LIKE THIS PLZ 😰? anyway~ omggg the end! 😭 I hope you enjoyed everything, I really had fun writing it and receiving feedback from you all!!*)