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"Why did you become a thief?"

Jungkook's words were soft, but they were piercing. The room was dead silent, the only sound being heard between them being their own breaths. Jimin knew that telling Jungkook he could have one of his secrets would end interestingly.

"Ask a different question." Jimin answered, keeping his gaze off of the younger male as he picked at the fabric of his jeans. He could hear Jungkook scoff though, and smiled softly.

"You said I could ask anything." Jungkook frowned, his brows furrowed as he stared Jimin down. "I won't refuse any of your questions, so it's really only fair that you do the same." He brushed a few pieces of hair out of his eyes, watching as Jimin sighed heavily.

"I don't usually like to play fair." The older male replied shortly, picking up the TV remote in front of him. He shut the screen off - the blue light beginning to hurt his eyes. "You really just had to go straight to the point didn't you?"

Jungkook shrugged, his lips turning up into a smile. The bruises that Jimin had given him had finally started to fade, softening his overall appearance completely.

"You said it yourself - I don't sugarcoat anything." He spoke. Jimin finally looked back to him, locking his gaze onto Jungkook's. "I just ask what I want to know."

Jimin scanned Jungkook's expression, taking in everything about the male who sat in front of him. He was so young, but his mind seemed to be well past his years. Anybody else his age was probably still going through their schooling, wondering about their future - but Jungkook was here. Sat in front of him.

"Why were you at the bank that night?" He couldn't help but ask, watching with a frown as the smile slipped from Jungkook's face.

"Answer my question first." He was steadfast, eyes determined as he held eye contact with Jimin effortlessly. The older male gulped, folding his hands together and taking a deep breath.

"No, and you know that's not how this works." He answered, gesturing between the two of them with a shaky hand. He hoped that Jungkook couldn't tell how much his composure was cracking, not daring to fall into the trap the younger boy was trying to set for him. "I want to know why you were at the bank that night, I want to know why somebody as young as you could need that much money."

Jungkook looked away from him, Jimin noticing the guilty expression that washed over his face before he did. "You tell me that, and I'll tell you why I became a thief."

He watched as Jungkook picked at his fingernails, fidgeting with his fingers as he silently tried to contain his anxiety. It seemed the both of them were were wearing a mask of confidence.

"I could give you the long version, or I could give you the short version." Jungkook glanced over at Jimin, who hadn't stopped looking at him. "Depends how much you want to know about me."

"I want to know everything about you." Jimin didn't even mind when the words left his lips, because he knew that he wouldn't have been able to hold them back either way. He was just so fascinated with the boy who sat in front of him. Every time he looked at him, Jimin could think of more questions to ask.

They held each other's gaze for a moment, both of them learning that silence had become their new best friend.

"Then let me learn everything about you." Jungkook finally answered, Jimin swallowing thickly and taking a slow breath. "And maybe you will."

Jimin realized then that maybe it was a good thing they had met and become partners. If they didn't, they would probably be rivals.

"If you really want to know, I don't really know when I 'fell off the right track' as people like to put it." Jungkook spoke again, surprising Jimin. "If you want to go way back, my mom died when I was barely a toddler, and so having a single dad left me unsupervised pretty often."

He leaned back more comfortably on the couch that they both sat on, expression solemn as he recalled his personal history. "I remember feeling lonely, for a lot of my childhood. Though he would never admit it, my dad favoured my brother - and we all knew that. He had good reason too, because my brother is better than me at basically everything important in life."

Jimin leaned back as well, resting his head on his hand and watching as Jungkook organized his thoughts. "I got really into technology for awhile, but my dad really didn't care about that when you factored in all of my other bad assets. It got to a point where I realized that there was no hope in trying to compete. I would always fall short, so what was the point in even trying to prove him wrong?"

His fingers were still fidgeting, Jimin noticed, fingernails turning jagged as he picked at them. "I got into stealing before I got into drugs." The words seemed to be difficult for him to say, as he squeezed his fingers lightly. "When I was around fourteen, I pickpocketed an older guy at the mall and ended up couple bills and a really small bag of weed. I knew what it was at the time, and so I saved it in my bedside drawer for a couple weeks as I worked up the courage to try it."

Jimin had gotten so much more than he had bargained for, his mind soaking up every single bit of information it could as Jungkook relayed his story. He knew he had picked the right question, absolutely engrossed in what the younger male was saying.

"If I could go back, I think I would have thrown it out." Jungkook continued, bring a hand up to run through his hair. "I liked it, of course, because it lifted the loneliness off of my chest for a few hours. On particularly bad days, I would just get so high that I would pass out - preferring that over being awake." He sighed heavily. "I ran out quickly, and then came the task of finding someone who could give me some more. It wasn't easy at first, because of how young I was. Then, I ran into Namjoon."

It was then that the younger boy finally opened his eyes, looking over to meet Jimin's. "Namjoon was originally being tutored by my brother, as his grades were horrible. He was seventeen at the time, but despite the age gap he still decided to take me under his wing. Not long after I met him, my dad kicked me out."

Jungkook pulled the sleeves of his sweater over his fingers, curling his hands into fists. "Namjoon sold, or I guess still sells a lot of drugs. He's pretty well off from it, and extremely cocky because of that. I hate people like that, and so I stole from him."

Jimin's eyes widened, his brain slowly connecting each of the dots Jungkook had placed.

"Did he find out you stole from him?" It seemed like it had been awhile since he had spoke, Jungkook finding Jimin's voice to be a welcome change from his own. The younger male nodded. "I think I'm starting to get it."

Jungkook let out a heavy sigh, nodding again and letting his head fall back against the couch cushions.

"I'm guessing you owed him a lot of money, and given that you're seventeen, you really had no means to get it." Jimin added, Jungkook humming in approval. "And so, as a last ditch resort, you rob a bank."

"Bingo." The younger male sighed.

"I don't mean to sound insensitive, but, a bank?" Jimin couldn't help but let a small chuckle leave his lips. "I realize that you didn't really have a lot of options, but I'm surprised that your brain even went there. It's not something I would've considered, when I was your age."

Having a professional thief say those words to him, really put things into perspective for a moment. It was true, and he really did forget how young he was in the grand scheme of things. He had just always hung around older people and the things they were concerned with. Had he ever truly been a child? He couldn't remember.

"I couldn't think of anything else." Jungkook's voice was shaky. "It was getting to the point where I either had to pay up, or something bad was bound to happen to me." He looked down. "That's why I stopped defending myself, when you were going to shoot me. If I failed that, I would have probably just ended up dead anyway. Why would it matter?"

Jimin could feel his chest ache for a moment, toughened mind not being able to keep back all of the emotions he felt when the younger boy spoke. He knew from the start that there was something tragic hiding behind Jungkook's eyes. He knew now, that it was a lack of will to live.

Jimin never thought about it until then, but he realized he had never seen it before. The look in somebody's eyes as they stop against fighting against death. Unnervingly calm, almost serene despite their hollowness. The exact moment Jungkook gave up, you could see the spark behind his eyes fading out.

Thank god Jimin hadn't stomped it out fully.

"Why would it matter now?" Jimin's words immediately sounded harsh, forcing him to clarify. "Do you have anything now, that would make you fight back?"

Jungkook thought for a moment, his expression dark. The fact that he even had to think this hard to answer Jimin's question, was painful to watch.

"Not really." He finally answered, voice almost too soft to hear. "Maybe Taehyung, but I don't know if it would actually be that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things."

His gaze met Jimin's, learning quickly that the older male was often watching him. "I think if I had to pick something, the only thing that would really make me fight back now is my refusal to lose to you."

Jungkook's words caused a fire to ignite in Jimin's veins. It had been awhile since something as simple as a few words caused his stomach to flip. It seemed that Jungkook couldn't quite find his purpose before now, and when presented with Jimin - he quickly became dedicated to stand on the same level.

Yoongi had never been more right, this was exciting.

"Jungkook," He started, leaning forward onto his knees and making the younger's breathing halt. "Do you really want to know why I became a thief?"

The younger boy's eyes widened, and he nodded vigourously.

"Are you really going to tell me?" Jungkook beamed with excitement, Jimin's swearing he could see stars in the younger's eyes as they looked at each other.

"It's only fair."

—
a/n

ugh cuties just kiss already

- Charlie :)