we hit 10k!! *gives you all a big smooch on the cheek*
—

"So what, do you run this now or something?"

Like he had specified, Namjoon had actually ended up supplying Jungkook with a gun to protect himself. It was Namjoon's old one - Jungkook knew this because he had watched the older male take it with him on multiple occasions.

After they had met and talked in the convenience store, Jungkook had found himself following Namjoon back to his house, just because of the slightest glimmer of trust he could see in him. It had obviously payed off to listen to him though, because Jungkook now stood in front of Jimin with his own gun for the first time.

It was close to Jimin's in size, but was a lighter silver compared to the gunmetal colour of the older thief's gun.

Namjoon hadn't taught him how to use it properly, however, which was the reason that he found himself standing in front of Jimin right then. In the same abandoned building that Jimin had taught him in the first time, the older thief looked at him with a mixture of shock and amusement on his face.

Jungkook shrugged, turning the gun around a few times in his hand and getting used to how it felt in his hand. It felt foreign, but Jungkook knew that would never change, and so he simply shook off whatever fears could have weighed him down.

"I know people." He answered, not being able to bite back a smirk when Jimin looked taken aback by his response.

"Oh, do you?" Jimin took a few steps closer to Jungkook, pulling his gun out of his back pocket and making sure the safety was on.

It had been a few days since he had seen Jungkook, and a few days since they had last uttered a word to each other. It was obvious that there was a lot unspoken between them, but that was too much for Jimin to attempt to unpack right now. Yes, he had kissed Jungkook. And yes, it was just as breathtaking as he had imagined - but when he weighed the importance of addressing his feelings or working on the heist he quickly found himself favouring the latter.

"I do." Jungkook held his gun out to Jimin to observe. "I had to find something to do, considering that you didn't want to talk to me until now."

Jimin sighed and couldn't help but roll his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Jungkook.

"It's not that I didn't want to talk to you, I was just busy planning the heist that we're doing soon." Jimin answered, gesturing between the two of them. He paused for a moment, biting his bottom lip before adding on his next words. "Besides, you're the one who left when I was sleeping."

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, the look of hurt that flashed across the younger boy's face making him cringe internally. Waking up alone the morning after he had given in to his desires wasn't what he had expected, but maybe it was what he needed. If Jungkook had stayed, he probably would have ended up kissing him again.

And though that was what he wanted, it was the last thing he needed. Romance was a distraction, Jimin was convinced, and so he viewed the kiss as a slip up - something that he should forget about.

"Don't try that." Jungkook scoffed softly, his lips turning down into a frown as he stared the older male down. "I left because you gave me the most memorable kiss of my life, and then told me to forget about it. Would you have stayed?" He wasn't surprised when Jimin didn't answer, watching as the older male's graze dropped to the floor. "Exactly, so don't ask me to."

"We didn't come here to talk" Jimin sighed, rubbing his hand up and down his arm to try and subside the guilt he was feeling. "We came here so that you can get more comfortable with the gun you're holding right now. Can we just do that?"

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes and taking a few steps towards Jimin. The older male's expression was hardened, and it hurt Jungkook to see because it felt as if he had fallen down a few levels in Jimin's eyes.

"We have to talk eventually." He shot back, exasperated by how the older male was handling the situation. He knew that Jimin viewed it as a mistake, but he also knew that Jimin actually had feelings for him. The older male was just being stubborn. "We kissed, and both liked it. Take that truth and swallow it, because we won't get anywhere if you don't accept it."

Jimin gulped, breathing out a shaky breath and trying to think of anything that would help him get out of the conversation. They shouldn't talk about this. Couldn't, if Jimin was going to keep things going according to plan.

"I don't have anything to say about it." He answered softly, shrugging his shoulders. He picked at his fingernails anxiously, looking up to meet Jungkook's gaze. He look so distraught, and so confused. That was better than actually addressing the problem though, right?

"Really?" Jungkook asked incredulously, tilting his head to the side. "You have nothing to say." Jimin nodded once, and turned his head to the side to look away from the younger male. "You're a horrible liar."

Jimin's head snapped back in Jungkook's direction and he narrowed his eyes, scanning his gaze across the younger male. He had a face of disbelief on, his piercing glinting in the light as a small amused smile tugged at his lips.

"I'm not." He defended, eyes widening when Jungkook took a few steps closer. They were already so close to each other, and so his motives were immediately picked up on.

"You are." Jungkook's were soft, but as they stood alone in the abandoned building Jimin could swear he heard them echo. "You don't get to see yourself through my eyes, so you don't get to see how bad at it you really are."

Jungkook reached down slowly, taking hold of Jimin's hand gently within his own. "You don't get to see how you pick at your fingernails when we're talking about something that makes you anxious." He let go of Jimin's hand, slowly letting his hand travel up Jimin's chest until it rested lightly on the back of his neck. "You don't get to hear the shaky breaths you take, when I'm telling the truth but you don't want to admit it."

Jimin closed his eyes, his chest erupting with excitement and anxiety as he let the younger boy roam his fingers across his skin. Every touch from Jungkook was electrifying, he just didn't want to admit it. "And most of all, you don't get to see how you always look away when I say something that's too much for you to handle."

Jimin breathed out a shaky breath, trying to calm his brain down and keep his composure as Jungkook's hands left burning trails on his skin and his words danced through his mind. "So tell me again, do you really have nothing to say?"

Jimin swallowed thickly, opening his eyes and looking up to meet Jungkook's.

If tension could kill, Jimin and Jungkook would both be dead men. Jungkook's eyes seemed to stare straight through him, as if he was reading all of Jimin's thoughts while they looked into each other's eyes.

"Nothing." Jimin confirmed, bringing his arms up and pushing Jungkook away from him lightly. The lack of space between them definitely wasn't helping him think more clearly. "And even if I did, I don't have to tell you if I don't want to. That's how stuff works around here, remember?"

Jimin gestured between the two of them, watching as Jungkook's confused expression turned into an offended one.

"That's how things used to work, when we first met, but I don't know if you've noticed but things have changed!" Jungkook shot back, his eyes pleading for Jimin to give him something, anything, to work with. "You don't treat me like you used to, and you don't think of me like you used to. So whatever rules we used to have, obviously don't apply anymore." He exhaled a shaky breath, bringing his free hand up to run through his hair. "If you want me to be your partner, you need to talk to me. I don't even care at this point if it's a rejection. Just let me know what's going on in your head, so that we can figure it out together."

Jimin sighed, Jungkook's words and expression tugging on his heart strings. It made his chest ache to watch the younger boy plead with him like this, and maybe he didn't expect Jungkook to actually be interested, but he really didn't expect the younger male to not let him ignore this. Truly though, one of the reasons that Jimin had taken him in was due to his strong will and ability to stand up for himself - so it really shouldn't have been a surprise.

He put his gun in his back pocket, taking a rep forward and reaching out to place his hand on top of the gun Jungkook was holding.

"I understand that." Jimin spoke softly, looking up and scanning Jungkook's eyes. "But I also understand that all of this," He gestured between the two of them. "Is distracting us from what we actually teamed up to do."

Jungkook looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but seemed to calm himself down - not interrupting and instead letting Jimin continue.

"We came here, so that you can figure out how to use this." Jimin grabbed hold of Jungkook's wrist, holding up the hand that held his gun.

He let go of Jungkook's hand, walking a few steps away to pick up an empty beer bottle from off of the ground. When the younger boy tried to say something, Jimin brought one finger up to shush him.

After a few moments, Jimin had collected six discarded bottles and had lined them up in a row on a broken table not far from where the two of them were standing. Some were partially broken, some smaller, and some bigger.

"If you can shoot and break four out of these six bottles, then I'll talk to you." He finally answered, making Jungkook's eyes widen. "If you can't, then we're going to practice until you can." He met Jungkook's gaze. "Those are my conditions. Deal?"

"Deal."

—
a/n:

I finally have a day off of work today so I get to do a lot of catching up on writing and editinggg wooo!!!

- Charlie :)