Protect My Wounded Heart (for everyone)
Title: Protect My Wounded Heart
Recipient: everyone
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,120
Warning(s): none
Summary: Jinyoung’s been abandoned by his family, so Jaebum takes him home.
A/N: I hope you like it! :)
Jaebum is soaked to the bone. He’d been walking home from the subway where he usually spends his free time dancing to earn some money. As he climbed up the stairs on his way out, putting away the money he'd earned, he sighed heavily as the sound of rain smacking the ground grew louder. Of all the days for him to forget his umbrella.
He had made it three quarters of the way home before stopping for refuge in an alleyway to catch his breath. As he shakes the rain out of his hair, a rustling behind him catches him by surprise. He squints into the darkness before taking a few cautious steps forward. "E-excuse me?" He calls out and a face look up at him, eyes wide.
"Are you alright?" Jaebum asks taking a few steps closer. He realizes that the face belongs to a boy, probably around the same age as him, face smudged with dirt. He's back in the rain now, inching closer to the boy and he reaches a hand out.
The boy flinches. "It's alright. I'm fine. I don't need help," the boy says, eyes on the ground. Jaebum has been told on several occasions that he looks cold and uncaring, but Jaebum couldn’t help how his face looks. The truth was the sudden urge to protect the boy washes over him in a wave; he couldn’t just let him sit out in the rain.
Jaebum crouches down and reaches out a hand. “You’re gonna catch a cold. C’mon you don’t even have a jacket. Let’s get you warmed up” The boy still isn’t looking at him, but he slowly stands up, ignoring Jaebum’s outstretched hand. As he steps out of the shadows Jaebum notices a pair of pointy, black ears on his head and Jaebum’s heart breaks. This boy is sitting in a dark alleyway in the rain without a jacket because he’s a hybrid. Hybrids tend to be abandoned, kicked out of their homes because people don’t view them as equals. They’re treated less than human and Jaebum feels a hot rush of anger wash over him.
He doesn’t let his eyes linger on the ears too long. “Come on.” He says and steps back out into the rain. The boy follows.
+
The boy is sitting at the small table in Jaebum’s kitchen as Jaebum opens and closes his cabinets, trying to find something edible.
The walk back home had been silent save for the sound of rain colliding with the pavement. He wonders what kind of heartlessness it takes to abandon your own child. He can’t imagine ever hurting someone he loves in such a way. He snaps back to reality when the water begins to boil over the pot. He adds some ramen to the water and grabs bowls from the cabinet. He hops up on the counter to face the boy. Jaebum notices his long tail is black to match his ears.
“So what’s your name anyway?”
The boy looks up cautiously before answering, “Jinyoung.”
“Jinyoung? That’s pretty. My name’s Jaebum.”
No response.
“Well Jinyoung, you can stay here if you want. It’s only gonna get colder from here. That alleyway isn’t going to offer much protection.”
“I can take care of myself.” He snaps
“I never said you couldn’t” Jaebum retorts and hops of the counter. He fills the two bowls, places one in front of Jinyoung, keeps one for himself and resumes his position on the counter. They eat in silence and for a moment Jaebum asks himself what the fuck he was thinking bringing back a stranger- a hybrid-back to his apartment.
But he looks at the way Jinyoung loudly slurps heaps of his noodles into his mouth and Jaebum thinks he looks pretty harmless.
“You can sleep there for the night” Jaebum says, pointing his chin in the direction of his couch.
Jinyoung pauses, noodles dangling from his chopsticks. “Thanks…” his eyes never meet Jaebum’s.
Jaebum hops off the counter, sets his bowl down and heads to his room. He rifles through his drawers until he surfaces with an old t-shirt and pajama pants. He folds them neatly, grabs a towel and a new toothbrush from the bathroom and sets them down on the couch. When he looks into the kitchen, he sees his and Jinyoung’s bowls drying on a dish towel. He pretends not to notice.
“Here you can wear these and wash up if you want.”
After receiving no response, Jaebum awkwardly nods to no one in particular and returns to his room. He shuts his door and leans against it, a long sigh escaping from his lips. He thinks of his friend Mark who had adopted his hybrid, a dog named Jackson, a few years back. Jackson loves people and will instantly crawl into anyone’s lap as soon as they sat down. Jackson is one of the lucky ones. His parents hadn’t been able to afford to take care of him, so they sent him to a nice shelter overseas. Mark had adopted him and more or less fell in love with Jackson, and after a year of being together, Mark had taken him on a trip to China to reunite with his parents.
Although Jinyoung hasn’t said anything about his parents, (or anything at all, for that matter), Jaebum knows his circumstances are not as fortunate as Jackson’s. As Jaebum pulls the covers up and under his chin, he thinks that it would take a long while for Jinyoung to get as comfortable with Jaebum as Jackson is with Mark. But he had always wanted a cat to keep him company in his apartment…
+
Jaebum doesn’t have to worry about getting close to Jinyoung however, because when he walks into his living room the next morning his towel and blanket are folded on top of the couch and there is no sign of the other boy. He circles the inside of his apartment twice (which takes all of two minutes) and comes up empty handed. He plops down at the table and scrubs his hands over his face. He’s really not sure what he expected, not sure why he thought an abandoned hybrid would want to stay with a complete stranger.
+
For whatever reason, Jaebum can’t remove Jinyoung from his head. He’ll be sitting in class, staring into space when that face will pop up into view. He pictures those pointy ears on top of a mess of dark hair and wonders if he’s okay. It isn’t safe for a hybrid to be on the streets. He remembers reading news articles of hybrids being snatched off the streets and the thought makes his stomach churn. He wonders if Jinyoung is getting any food, or if he can sleep okay on the ground of that alley and if he had managed to stay dry because it’s been raining for the past few days and-he snaps out of his thoughts when he realizes he’s the only one left in the lecture hall. He plonks his head down onto the desk and groans.
He tries to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach for the rest of the day.
+
Every night on his way home from class, he checks the alleyway for any signs of Jinyoung, but there’s no trace of him. It’s been two weeks since Jaebum had brought Jinyoung in from the rain. He manages to convince himself that Jinyoung’s fine, that he can take care of himself, but he can’t shake the worry that lingers in the back of his mind.
+
Jaebum closes his textbook with a yawn, lets his highlighter roll out of his hand and onto the floor.
He’s sleepily brushing his teeth when he hears a knock on the door. The clock reads 1:02 AM and Jaebum wonders who the fuck could be needed him right now. He’s grumbling to himself as he makes his way over to the door, a few more knocks come, and he’s yanking the door open only to see Jinyoung.
“Jinyoung?”
“Can I stay here for the night?” he asks in a tiny voice. His eyes are to the floor and his arms are clutched around his stomach, as if trying to make himself smaller.
“Yeah, of course. Are you okay?” Jinyoung nods, but Jaebum is not convinced.
“C-can I take a bath or something quickly. Sorry, I just- I know it’s late but-”
Jaebum cuts him off “no, it’s fine, come on” and he’s leading Jinyoung into his bathroom. He leans down to fill up the tub with water and goes out to find some clean clothes for Jinyoung to sleep in. He places them along with a towel on the edge of the sink and closes the door behind him.
He collapses face first into his bed. He had wanted to see Jinyoung again but this wasn’t what he was expecting. He tries to close his eyes and get some sleep but he’s too wired. His heart is pounding against his ribcage and his skin is burning. He considers sending a panicked text to Mark, something along the lines of “Help i met a hybrid a few days ago and he just showed up at my door and now he’s in my bathtub what do I do???” but he deletes it with a groan.
After staring at his wall for a solid 30 minutes he realizes he hasn’t heard any noises from the bathroom in a while. Oh my god, this kid is going to drown himself in my bathtub, Jaebum thinks to himself, leaping out of bed and running to the bathroom. He knocks on the door.
“Jinyoung? Everything okay?” No response. “Fuck,” he cracks open the door. “Are you…” he stops midsentence when he sees Jinyoung sitting in the tub, face flushed red, and tears running down his cheeks. Jinyoung turns to look at him and he’s suddenly rooted to the spot under his gaze.
“He tried to,” falls out of Jinyoung’s mouth, voice a wreck. “He kept touching me. He tried to- to” he’s cut off by a sob that wracks his entire frame. Jaebum feels as if he’s been punched in the gut. He fucking knew something bad would happen.
He grabs the towel from the sink and wraps it around Jinyoung as he tugs him out of the water. He’s clutching onto Jaebum, soaking his shirt, and cries and cries and cries.
“It’s okay,” Jaebum says over the sobs, “no one can hurt you here. You’re okay.”
Jinyoung calms down eventually, sobs turning into sniffles and he pulls away from Jaebum.
“Sorry,” he says and his cheeks turn a darker shade of red as if just realizing he’s standing in front of Jaebum in just a towel.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Jaebum questions.
“No. I’m fine.”
Jaebum sighs. “Get dressed. You can sleep in my room.” He says and walks out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He changes out of his wet shirt and grabs a mat from his closet and lays it out on the floor with some pillows and a spare blanket.
Jinyoung shuffles in, clad in Jaebum’s too big shirt and sweatpants. “Thank you,” he says, ears flat against his head.
“Don’t worry about it, get some sleep.” Jaebum turns out the lights and crawls under his sheets.
+
When Jaebum wakes up Jinyoung is still asleep. He looks so calm, that crease between his eyebrows smoothed out, doesn’t look so scared. Jaebum steps around him, getting dressed quietly and shoving books into his backpack. He scribbles down a note that reads “there’s food in the kitchen, you can make whatever you want. I’ll be back after class.” He sticks it on the back of his bedroom door and shuts it behind him. Jaebum isn’t exactly sure why the urge to punch the nearest object overcame him when Jinyoung had told him what happened to him last night. He barely knows anything about Jinyoung except for his name.
He sighs and heads out the door.
+
It’s five o’clock and the only thing running through Jaebum’s head is fuck statistics. He turns the key in the knob and the smell of food greets him. He drops his bag and pokes his head into the kitchen only to see Jinyoung stirring a pot on the stove, tail swaying back and forth.
“Hi,” Jaebum says.
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I made some tteobokki for us. I know it’s not much, but I figured you’d be hungry and you had rice cakes in the fridge.” Jinyoung says, eyes flicking between the ground and Jaebum’s, clutching a spoon to his chest.
Jaebum blinks a few times, noticing this is the most Jinyoung has ever spoken and smiles at him.
“Thanks, it smells really good!”
Jinyoung gives a sheepish smile, “it’s almost ready.”
Jaebum sits down at the table and Jinyoung puts a bowl and a set of chopsticks down in front of him. He gives the pot a final stir before pouring some out into Jaebum’s bowl. He fills up his own bowl and sits across from Jaebum.
“Mmm, it’s yummy.”
“Thanks,” comes Jinyoung’s shy response and Jaebum notices the way he’s shifting around in his seat uncomfortably. “Um, I wanted to- I. Thank you for letting me in last night. And sorry if I was rude the last time I was here. I probably would’ve gotten sick if you hadn’t found me. I have a hard time trusting people, so…” he trails off, filling his mouth with food instead of looking up at Jaebum.
“Don’t worry about it. You can stay here as long as you need.” He pauses, “does your family know where you are?”
And Jinyoung immediately tenses up. “No, they’re the reason I sleep in that alley. I…don’t really want to talk about it.”
Jaebum sighs and tries to quell the anger he can feel coursing through him. He changes the subject, “what year were you born?”
“1994.” He says to his bowl.
“Oh, me too. What month?
“September.”
“Ah, I’m your hyung then.” Jaebum gives a cheesy grin in attempts to get Jinyoung to smile.
It works before Jinyoung is covering his smile with the back of his hand.
Jaebum still feels victorious.
+
Jinyoung ends up staying with Jaebum for a while.
He waits patiently for Jaebum to come home from his classes and he opens up little by little, talking more and more. He stays long enough for Jaebum to notice his ribs become a little less prominent and to discover how he melts when his ears are scratched. He stays long enough to meet Mark and Jackson and Jaebum notices how shy he gets, barely saying a word. But there’s Jackson, who can turn the shyest people into chatterboxes, and he makes Jinyoung laugh, loud and open.
He stays long enough for Jaebum to realize he might be a little bit in love with Jinyoung. He notices it when he had woken Jinyoung up one morning and the way he sleepily smiled up at Jinyoung made his stomach swoop. Noticed it every time their hands brushed and sparks of electricity ran up Jaebum’s arms.
He does his best to ignore that feeling, but it doesn’t work out too well.
+
They’re huddled together on the couch watching a sappy drama on Jaebum’s small TV. Jaebum’s dozing off, but Jinyoung is enthralled. He opens his eyes in time to see the main characters kiss, and he closes his eyes again.”
“What was your first kiss like, hyung?”
“Huh?” Jaebum’s eyes fly open.
“Your first kiss… what was it like?”
“Hmm, I think I was around 14. With my ‘girlfriend,’ we broke up like a week later it wasn’t that great.” Jaebum chuckles, “what about you?” he asks without thinking.
“Oh. I’ve never kissed anyone.” Jaebum sees his face go red. “I saw Mark and Jackson kiss once,” he says after a beat. They looked really happy, I wish I could have something like that.”
Ugh, this kid, thinks Jaebum. “You can have something like that, silly.” He reaches a hand up to wrap around Jinyoung’s neck and pull him closer. He leans forward presses his mouth to Jinyoung’s cheek. He kisses his way to the corner of his mouth, soft and slow, before slotting their lips together. Jinyoung sighs underneath him. He opens his mouth, letting Jinyoung fit in between his lips. Everything seems to soften around the edges and the only thing Jaebum can focus on is the feeling of Jinyoung’s lips on his, his thundering heartbeat under his palm, and the soft, sweet noises he’s making.
Jaebum reaches his hand up to Jinyoung’s ears, scratching at the base the way he likes, and curls his tongue into Jinyoung’s mouth, reveling in the warmth and the sweet taste of ice cream. He distantly hears a low rumbling sound coming from Jinyoung. He pulls away slowly, the hand on Jinyoung’s ear gradually stilling.
“Are you…Are you purring, Jinyoungie?” He immediately buries his head in the crook of Jaebum’s neck.
“I can’t help it,” comes his muffled response, “feels so good.” Jaebum smiles and drops a kiss onto Jinyoung’s neck.
“It’s cute.” Jaebum fits their lips together again, feeling Jinyoung’s nervous eagerness in the way he kisses.
He’s making these whiny, breathy noises, pressing them into Jaebum’s mouth as they kiss. His hands are squeezing onto Jaebum’s hips, fingers slipping underneath the fabric to touch bare skin.
“Please, Jaebum hyung, please,” he breathes out in between each kiss. Jaebum pulls away, hands still in Jinyoung’s hair.
“Hey,” he says, “Slow down. I’m not going anywhere.”
“’m sorry” he mumbles. Jaebum shushes him by latching his mouth onto the skin of Jinyoung’s neck. He gasps in response, then he’s pulling away, head down. “Sorry” he mumbles. “It’s too much I can’t… I’m sorry” and Jaebum squeezes the back of Jinyoung’s neck in reassurance.
“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it with practice, right?” Jaebum teases and watches as Jinyoung’s face turns crimson.
“I like you too, hyung.” Jinyoung says with a smile and Jaebum tackles him into the couch.
“Oh, my little kitten is so cute! My Jinyoungie!”
“You know what? I take it back. I don’t like you anymore.” Jinyoung declares. He leans forward to press a kiss to Jaebum’s cheek for emphasis.
Recipient: everyone
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,120
Warning(s): none
Summary: Jinyoung’s been abandoned by his family, so Jaebum takes him home.
A/N: I hope you like it! :)
Jaebum is soaked to the bone. He’d been walking home from the subway where he usually spends his free time dancing to earn some money. As he climbed up the stairs on his way out, putting away the money he'd earned, he sighed heavily as the sound of rain smacking the ground grew louder. Of all the days for him to forget his umbrella.
He had made it three quarters of the way home before stopping for refuge in an alleyway to catch his breath. As he shakes the rain out of his hair, a rustling behind him catches him by surprise. He squints into the darkness before taking a few cautious steps forward. "E-excuse me?" He calls out and a face look up at him, eyes wide.
"Are you alright?" Jaebum asks taking a few steps closer. He realizes that the face belongs to a boy, probably around the same age as him, face smudged with dirt. He's back in the rain now, inching closer to the boy and he reaches a hand out.
The boy flinches. "It's alright. I'm fine. I don't need help," the boy says, eyes on the ground. Jaebum has been told on several occasions that he looks cold and uncaring, but Jaebum couldn’t help how his face looks. The truth was the sudden urge to protect the boy washes over him in a wave; he couldn’t just let him sit out in the rain.
Jaebum crouches down and reaches out a hand. “You’re gonna catch a cold. C’mon you don’t even have a jacket. Let’s get you warmed up” The boy still isn’t looking at him, but he slowly stands up, ignoring Jaebum’s outstretched hand. As he steps out of the shadows Jaebum notices a pair of pointy, black ears on his head and Jaebum’s heart breaks. This boy is sitting in a dark alleyway in the rain without a jacket because he’s a hybrid. Hybrids tend to be abandoned, kicked out of their homes because people don’t view them as equals. They’re treated less than human and Jaebum feels a hot rush of anger wash over him.
He doesn’t let his eyes linger on the ears too long. “Come on.” He says and steps back out into the rain. The boy follows.
+
The boy is sitting at the small table in Jaebum’s kitchen as Jaebum opens and closes his cabinets, trying to find something edible.
The walk back home had been silent save for the sound of rain colliding with the pavement. He wonders what kind of heartlessness it takes to abandon your own child. He can’t imagine ever hurting someone he loves in such a way. He snaps back to reality when the water begins to boil over the pot. He adds some ramen to the water and grabs bowls from the cabinet. He hops up on the counter to face the boy. Jaebum notices his long tail is black to match his ears.
“So what’s your name anyway?”
The boy looks up cautiously before answering, “Jinyoung.”
“Jinyoung? That’s pretty. My name’s Jaebum.”
No response.
“Well Jinyoung, you can stay here if you want. It’s only gonna get colder from here. That alleyway isn’t going to offer much protection.”
“I can take care of myself.” He snaps
“I never said you couldn’t” Jaebum retorts and hops of the counter. He fills the two bowls, places one in front of Jinyoung, keeps one for himself and resumes his position on the counter. They eat in silence and for a moment Jaebum asks himself what the fuck he was thinking bringing back a stranger- a hybrid-back to his apartment.
But he looks at the way Jinyoung loudly slurps heaps of his noodles into his mouth and Jaebum thinks he looks pretty harmless.
“You can sleep there for the night” Jaebum says, pointing his chin in the direction of his couch.
Jinyoung pauses, noodles dangling from his chopsticks. “Thanks…” his eyes never meet Jaebum’s.
Jaebum hops off the counter, sets his bowl down and heads to his room. He rifles through his drawers until he surfaces with an old t-shirt and pajama pants. He folds them neatly, grabs a towel and a new toothbrush from the bathroom and sets them down on the couch. When he looks into the kitchen, he sees his and Jinyoung’s bowls drying on a dish towel. He pretends not to notice.
“Here you can wear these and wash up if you want.”
After receiving no response, Jaebum awkwardly nods to no one in particular and returns to his room. He shuts his door and leans against it, a long sigh escaping from his lips. He thinks of his friend Mark who had adopted his hybrid, a dog named Jackson, a few years back. Jackson loves people and will instantly crawl into anyone’s lap as soon as they sat down. Jackson is one of the lucky ones. His parents hadn’t been able to afford to take care of him, so they sent him to a nice shelter overseas. Mark had adopted him and more or less fell in love with Jackson, and after a year of being together, Mark had taken him on a trip to China to reunite with his parents.
Although Jinyoung hasn’t said anything about his parents, (or anything at all, for that matter), Jaebum knows his circumstances are not as fortunate as Jackson’s. As Jaebum pulls the covers up and under his chin, he thinks that it would take a long while for Jinyoung to get as comfortable with Jaebum as Jackson is with Mark. But he had always wanted a cat to keep him company in his apartment…
+
Jaebum doesn’t have to worry about getting close to Jinyoung however, because when he walks into his living room the next morning his towel and blanket are folded on top of the couch and there is no sign of the other boy. He circles the inside of his apartment twice (which takes all of two minutes) and comes up empty handed. He plops down at the table and scrubs his hands over his face. He’s really not sure what he expected, not sure why he thought an abandoned hybrid would want to stay with a complete stranger.
+
For whatever reason, Jaebum can’t remove Jinyoung from his head. He’ll be sitting in class, staring into space when that face will pop up into view. He pictures those pointy ears on top of a mess of dark hair and wonders if he’s okay. It isn’t safe for a hybrid to be on the streets. He remembers reading news articles of hybrids being snatched off the streets and the thought makes his stomach churn. He wonders if Jinyoung is getting any food, or if he can sleep okay on the ground of that alley and if he had managed to stay dry because it’s been raining for the past few days and-he snaps out of his thoughts when he realizes he’s the only one left in the lecture hall. He plonks his head down onto the desk and groans.
He tries to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach for the rest of the day.
+
Every night on his way home from class, he checks the alleyway for any signs of Jinyoung, but there’s no trace of him. It’s been two weeks since Jaebum had brought Jinyoung in from the rain. He manages to convince himself that Jinyoung’s fine, that he can take care of himself, but he can’t shake the worry that lingers in the back of his mind.
+
Jaebum closes his textbook with a yawn, lets his highlighter roll out of his hand and onto the floor.
He’s sleepily brushing his teeth when he hears a knock on the door. The clock reads 1:02 AM and Jaebum wonders who the fuck could be needed him right now. He’s grumbling to himself as he makes his way over to the door, a few more knocks come, and he’s yanking the door open only to see Jinyoung.
“Jinyoung?”
“Can I stay here for the night?” he asks in a tiny voice. His eyes are to the floor and his arms are clutched around his stomach, as if trying to make himself smaller.
“Yeah, of course. Are you okay?” Jinyoung nods, but Jaebum is not convinced.
“C-can I take a bath or something quickly. Sorry, I just- I know it’s late but-”
Jaebum cuts him off “no, it’s fine, come on” and he’s leading Jinyoung into his bathroom. He leans down to fill up the tub with water and goes out to find some clean clothes for Jinyoung to sleep in. He places them along with a towel on the edge of the sink and closes the door behind him.
He collapses face first into his bed. He had wanted to see Jinyoung again but this wasn’t what he was expecting. He tries to close his eyes and get some sleep but he’s too wired. His heart is pounding against his ribcage and his skin is burning. He considers sending a panicked text to Mark, something along the lines of “Help i met a hybrid a few days ago and he just showed up at my door and now he’s in my bathtub what do I do???” but he deletes it with a groan.
After staring at his wall for a solid 30 minutes he realizes he hasn’t heard any noises from the bathroom in a while. Oh my god, this kid is going to drown himself in my bathtub, Jaebum thinks to himself, leaping out of bed and running to the bathroom. He knocks on the door.
“Jinyoung? Everything okay?” No response. “Fuck,” he cracks open the door. “Are you…” he stops midsentence when he sees Jinyoung sitting in the tub, face flushed red, and tears running down his cheeks. Jinyoung turns to look at him and he’s suddenly rooted to the spot under his gaze.
“He tried to,” falls out of Jinyoung’s mouth, voice a wreck. “He kept touching me. He tried to- to” he’s cut off by a sob that wracks his entire frame. Jaebum feels as if he’s been punched in the gut. He fucking knew something bad would happen.
He grabs the towel from the sink and wraps it around Jinyoung as he tugs him out of the water. He’s clutching onto Jaebum, soaking his shirt, and cries and cries and cries.
“It’s okay,” Jaebum says over the sobs, “no one can hurt you here. You’re okay.”
Jinyoung calms down eventually, sobs turning into sniffles and he pulls away from Jaebum.
“Sorry,” he says and his cheeks turn a darker shade of red as if just realizing he’s standing in front of Jaebum in just a towel.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Jaebum questions.
“No. I’m fine.”
Jaebum sighs. “Get dressed. You can sleep in my room.” He says and walks out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He changes out of his wet shirt and grabs a mat from his closet and lays it out on the floor with some pillows and a spare blanket.
Jinyoung shuffles in, clad in Jaebum’s too big shirt and sweatpants. “Thank you,” he says, ears flat against his head.
“Don’t worry about it, get some sleep.” Jaebum turns out the lights and crawls under his sheets.
+
When Jaebum wakes up Jinyoung is still asleep. He looks so calm, that crease between his eyebrows smoothed out, doesn’t look so scared. Jaebum steps around him, getting dressed quietly and shoving books into his backpack. He scribbles down a note that reads “there’s food in the kitchen, you can make whatever you want. I’ll be back after class.” He sticks it on the back of his bedroom door and shuts it behind him. Jaebum isn’t exactly sure why the urge to punch the nearest object overcame him when Jinyoung had told him what happened to him last night. He barely knows anything about Jinyoung except for his name.
He sighs and heads out the door.
+
It’s five o’clock and the only thing running through Jaebum’s head is fuck statistics. He turns the key in the knob and the smell of food greets him. He drops his bag and pokes his head into the kitchen only to see Jinyoung stirring a pot on the stove, tail swaying back and forth.
“Hi,” Jaebum says.
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I made some tteobokki for us. I know it’s not much, but I figured you’d be hungry and you had rice cakes in the fridge.” Jinyoung says, eyes flicking between the ground and Jaebum’s, clutching a spoon to his chest.
Jaebum blinks a few times, noticing this is the most Jinyoung has ever spoken and smiles at him.
“Thanks, it smells really good!”
Jinyoung gives a sheepish smile, “it’s almost ready.”
Jaebum sits down at the table and Jinyoung puts a bowl and a set of chopsticks down in front of him. He gives the pot a final stir before pouring some out into Jaebum’s bowl. He fills up his own bowl and sits across from Jaebum.
“Mmm, it’s yummy.”
“Thanks,” comes Jinyoung’s shy response and Jaebum notices the way he’s shifting around in his seat uncomfortably. “Um, I wanted to- I. Thank you for letting me in last night. And sorry if I was rude the last time I was here. I probably would’ve gotten sick if you hadn’t found me. I have a hard time trusting people, so…” he trails off, filling his mouth with food instead of looking up at Jaebum.
“Don’t worry about it. You can stay here as long as you need.” He pauses, “does your family know where you are?”
And Jinyoung immediately tenses up. “No, they’re the reason I sleep in that alley. I…don’t really want to talk about it.”
Jaebum sighs and tries to quell the anger he can feel coursing through him. He changes the subject, “what year were you born?”
“1994.” He says to his bowl.
“Oh, me too. What month?
“September.”
“Ah, I’m your hyung then.” Jaebum gives a cheesy grin in attempts to get Jinyoung to smile.
It works before Jinyoung is covering his smile with the back of his hand.
Jaebum still feels victorious.
+
Jinyoung ends up staying with Jaebum for a while.
He waits patiently for Jaebum to come home from his classes and he opens up little by little, talking more and more. He stays long enough for Jaebum to notice his ribs become a little less prominent and to discover how he melts when his ears are scratched. He stays long enough to meet Mark and Jackson and Jaebum notices how shy he gets, barely saying a word. But there’s Jackson, who can turn the shyest people into chatterboxes, and he makes Jinyoung laugh, loud and open.
He stays long enough for Jaebum to realize he might be a little bit in love with Jinyoung. He notices it when he had woken Jinyoung up one morning and the way he sleepily smiled up at Jinyoung made his stomach swoop. Noticed it every time their hands brushed and sparks of electricity ran up Jaebum’s arms.
He does his best to ignore that feeling, but it doesn’t work out too well.
+
They’re huddled together on the couch watching a sappy drama on Jaebum’s small TV. Jaebum’s dozing off, but Jinyoung is enthralled. He opens his eyes in time to see the main characters kiss, and he closes his eyes again.”
“What was your first kiss like, hyung?”
“Huh?” Jaebum’s eyes fly open.
“Your first kiss… what was it like?”
“Hmm, I think I was around 14. With my ‘girlfriend,’ we broke up like a week later it wasn’t that great.” Jaebum chuckles, “what about you?” he asks without thinking.
“Oh. I’ve never kissed anyone.” Jaebum sees his face go red. “I saw Mark and Jackson kiss once,” he says after a beat. They looked really happy, I wish I could have something like that.”
Ugh, this kid, thinks Jaebum. “You can have something like that, silly.” He reaches a hand up to wrap around Jinyoung’s neck and pull him closer. He leans forward presses his mouth to Jinyoung’s cheek. He kisses his way to the corner of his mouth, soft and slow, before slotting their lips together. Jinyoung sighs underneath him. He opens his mouth, letting Jinyoung fit in between his lips. Everything seems to soften around the edges and the only thing Jaebum can focus on is the feeling of Jinyoung’s lips on his, his thundering heartbeat under his palm, and the soft, sweet noises he’s making.
Jaebum reaches his hand up to Jinyoung’s ears, scratching at the base the way he likes, and curls his tongue into Jinyoung’s mouth, reveling in the warmth and the sweet taste of ice cream. He distantly hears a low rumbling sound coming from Jinyoung. He pulls away slowly, the hand on Jinyoung’s ear gradually stilling.
“Are you…Are you purring, Jinyoungie?” He immediately buries his head in the crook of Jaebum’s neck.
“I can’t help it,” comes his muffled response, “feels so good.” Jaebum smiles and drops a kiss onto Jinyoung’s neck.
“It’s cute.” Jaebum fits their lips together again, feeling Jinyoung’s nervous eagerness in the way he kisses.
He’s making these whiny, breathy noises, pressing them into Jaebum’s mouth as they kiss. His hands are squeezing onto Jaebum’s hips, fingers slipping underneath the fabric to touch bare skin.
“Please, Jaebum hyung, please,” he breathes out in between each kiss. Jaebum pulls away, hands still in Jinyoung’s hair.
“Hey,” he says, “Slow down. I’m not going anywhere.”
“’m sorry” he mumbles. Jaebum shushes him by latching his mouth onto the skin of Jinyoung’s neck. He gasps in response, then he’s pulling away, head down. “Sorry” he mumbles. “It’s too much I can’t… I’m sorry” and Jaebum squeezes the back of Jinyoung’s neck in reassurance.
“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it with practice, right?” Jaebum teases and watches as Jinyoung’s face turns crimson.
“I like you too, hyung.” Jinyoung says with a smile and Jaebum tackles him into the couch.
“Oh, my little kitten is so cute! My Jinyoungie!”
“You know what? I take it back. I don’t like you anymore.” Jinyoung declares. He leans forward to press a kiss to Jaebum’s cheek for emphasis.