Work Text:
Time stood still amongst the dust and cobwebs. The attic preserved generations of forgotten family ties as rays of the setting sun seeped through the dirty windows. Jungkook sang a quiet tune, his angelic voice bouncing off the old wooden walls. He had his back to you, sifting through old letters and age-stained documents. He tsked to himself, slightly quirking his head to the side, and set whatever he was looking at aside.
You pushed yourself up on the landing from the ladder, the old floors creaking beneath your feet. That sweet melody of his ceased and he turned to the noise. His eyes crinkled as he smiled at you over his shoulder before turning back to the birth certificate in his hand.
“Did you find it?” you asked, tip-toeing your way between ruined furniture and abandoned knick knacks. A little toy car hid from your line of sight and you stepped on it, squealing in surprise at the little squeak that left it. You froze in your place, trying to lean over the stack of books that blocked you for seeing what the hell that was. For all you knew it could’ve been a mouse or something of that nature.
Jungkook, about to answer, turned back to you, concern washed over his face. He chuckled to himself when he saw your terrified expression. “Babe, it’s just a toy,” he smiled, taking two big steps around the mess that kept you too apart. He held his hand out for you and you took it, letting him guide you to where he was previously standing. There was very little space by that particular box he was looking through, your bodies pressed together when you finally reached him.
You looked up at him, eyes wide as you took in his features up close. “Hi,” you giggled. Puckering your lips, you only just reach up to peck the little dot beneath his lip.
Jungkook breathed a chuckle, warm air fanning over your face. He kissed your temple, smiling down at you. “Hey,” he replied, “how are things downstairs?”
You shrugged, before turning your body to box, picking up the letters he set down to go help you. Your new position forced him out of the way. He chuckled to himself and quickly adapted, positioning himself behind you. His arms wrapped around your waist, the side of his face pressed to yours as he read the letter over your shoulder.
“Are they still arguing over how to properly tape a box?” he asked. You could hear the smirk in his voice and, without even having to look over your shoulder, you knew that his eyes were sparkling with amusement.
You shook your head. “No, your dad’s cleaning up the mess in the living room now,” you replied. “And your mom gave me and your brother an earful about how to properly pick out pretty plate settings for special dinners.”
Jungkook sighed, kissing your cheek tenderly. “I’m sorry,” he chuckled. You could tell he was feeling bad for forcing you to stop by his grandmother’s house with his family before your planned trip to Tokyo. “I promise the moment we find that stupid music box, we’re gone. We don’t even have to stay for dinner.”
You froze, turning your head to look up at him. “You put me through six lessons of plate picking and now you wanna deprive me of a meal?” you jokingly asked. He chuckled, looking down guiltily at the letter. You knew he was wanting to change the subject, to slip away from the question quietly, and that only made you laugh harder.
You kissed his cheek when you settled down a bit, catching him by surprise, then giggled. “I’m just teasing you, kookie. You know I really like your family. Your dad always grumbles things under his breath about your mom. And when he thinks she’s not around, he’d teach us the real way of picking plate settings.”
Jungkook laughed, shaking his head. “Yup, that sounds like him. Has she caught him yet?”
“Nope,” you smiled, “but your brother and I came up with a signal so if she does neither of us will miss it.”
His face didn’t reflect the same excitement as yours, eyes slowly turning vacant as if he was lost in a trace. Your smile wavered a bit as you gazed up at him. You bit your lip, wondering if you had maybe said something offensive, or taken this whole teasing his parents thing too far.
“Do you like the house?” he suddenly whispered, tightening his arms around you. Your back was flush against his chest now and he rested his forehead on yours.
You nodded, voice caught in your throat. His eyes looked so lost, searching for something within your gaze. “It’s been in your family for generations, right?” you whispered.
“Hm,” he hummed in agreement. “The entire Jeon line lived in this house at one point. My mom used to make us stay over the summer.”
“So you’ve been up here a lot,” you murmured only to have him shake his head.
He licked his lips, flickering his gaze down to your mouth before continuing, “only once before when I was ten, I think. My grandma wanted me to place a box of her things up here. I put it right here,” he said, glancing at the box before you. “It was early in the morning. I saw the light hit something shiny in there so I opened the box and found the most beautiful music box. It was placed over a pile of letters and photos. I wanted to open it, but she called on me at the bottom of the ladder.”
You listened carefully, letting his sweet voice lull you into this dream-like memory of his. “Why’s this music box so special to you?” you quietly questioned. You had been wanting to ask him that question since he brought it up two nights ago when he announced your detour.
He kissed each of your cheeks then the tip of your nose, making you blush. “This place has a certain charm, don’t you think?” he asked instead.
You were too flustered by his tender kisses to fight him on the topic change. “Charm seems to be a Jeon family trait,” you teased, biting your lip.
He chuckled, nudging his nose against yours. You laughed along with him, that vacant look resurfacing.
“Baby, could you be happy here with me?” His voice was barely above a whisper, only just reaching your ears. The husk in his voice sparked wild nerves up and down your spine, making you all but shiver against his strong embrace.
“Yes,” you breathed, gaze flickering down to his lips.
He smiled then pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was the most gentle you’ve ever shared, his precious lips softly pushing upon yours. You were still gasping for air when he pulled away, remaining in the trance of his kiss with your eyes still shut.
“I asked my grandma about the music box when I came down,” he continued the tale, picking up where he left off. “She told me that it was an heirloom, passed down from father to son when the son met the woman he loved. My parents had returned it to my grandmother when they were moving to a smaller place, wanting to keep it safe here.”
He tucked his face in your neck, peppering your skin with little kisses. “ I asked my dad about it a few days ago,” he muttered against the crook of your neck. “He told me it was still somewhere up here and that they were coming here over the weekend so I could come look for it then if I wanted to.”
You inhaled sharply as he sucked on that particular spot, licking the little mark when he was done, and kissed it. “What exactly are you trying to tell me, Jeon?” you basically gasped, eyes fluttering open.
“That I love you, baby,” Jungkook replied with very little hesitance. He met your gaze again and you finally realized what that look was, that vacant, dazed look he’d been holding this entire time. It was admiration; the look of a goofy, dorky man in love.
You smiled, a little giggle escaping you. You were about to tell him that you loved him too, when a strangled bird’s call sounded.
Jungkook’s face contorted with disgust as he looked around the attic for the source. “What the fuck was that?”
“The signal!” you shouted, quickly turning around to make your way back to the ladder.
In the midst of the excitement, you seemed to forget how little space there was for the two of you to move at the same time and you ended up tripping over your own feet, reaching for the box in front of you while Jungkook reached for your frame, trying to catch you before you fell.
The piles and bounds of letters and loose documents spilled out, a small little white box, tumbling out with them.
“Fuck, are you okay?” Jungkook asked, pulling you up. He had his hands on your hips, looking up and down your frame to make sure there weren’t any cuts or little bruises you collected from your fall.
You pushed his left hand away so you could bend down and pick the dusty little box. Jungkook fell silent beside you. Even covered with a thick layer of dust and dirt, it was still beautiful. You wiped the grim off with your finger as you stood back up, examining the tiger lily painted on the top. You looked up at him, silently asking to open it.
Jungkook smiled and nodded, eager to see what was inside too. You unclasped the gold hook and gently pushed it open. The soft, dream-like tune echoed in the room and you snapped your head up at Jungkook, immediately recognizing it. “How did you-”
“I didn’t,” he quickly replied, looking just as shocked as you did. “My grandma used to sing that to me all the time when I’d visit,” he explained.
The choked caw of a bird returned, louder this time, cutting over the sweet tune.
“Of all the signals to come up with,” Jungkook smirked. “You picked the sound of a dead bird?”
“It’s a dove,” you corrected.
He rolled his eyes, muttering a little “whatever” under his breath. You ignored him, about to walk back to the ladder when he suddenly picked you up.
“You have no idea how to get through here, babe, let’s not kid ourselves,” he chuckled as he carried you to the exit.
You descended down first, looking up at him. He was looking down at you, waiting for you to fully land on your feet before following. His eyes redirected to the right for a moment as a smile played on his lips. “What?” he nervously chuckled. “You’re missing the scolding.”
You reached up and pressed your lips to his softly, just as he had done to you earlier. “Thanks for the music box,” you smiled.
He looked up at the ceiling, trying to fight off a smile. “When did I say it was for you?” he teased as you descended down the ladder.
“Because I’ve been holding it since we found it and you hadn’t asked for it back at all.”
He jumped down the last few steps, turning to look at you. He bit his lip to hold back his grin but it only made him want to smile even more. “I would like it back no-”
“Too late; it’s mine,” you declared, running away from him.
“(Y/N)!”
“Jungkook!”