Due to how tired the 2 were, the result is them eating take-out at 11:30PM, and Brian convincing Jae that it's still considered dinner.

They ordered in from the diner, they're in the living room and Jae's laying in Brian's arms, feeding his boyfriend every now and then as a horror movie plays in front of them.

"Hey, Bri?"

"Hm?"

They share a long moment of eye contact before Jae shakes his head,

"Nevermind,"

"You already know I'm going to ask until you tell me."

"It was nothing,"

Brian rolls his eyes before placing kisses on Jae's neck, and Jae can't help but smile. Brian proceeds to tickle him with light kisses,

"C'mon, tell me."

"No," Jae says between light laughter, squirming as Brian tickles his sides.

"Really? You won't?" and Jae's too busy laughing to answer.

"Fine," Brian admits defeat, wrapping his arms around Jae and pulling him closer to place a loving kiss on his neck.

"I just wanted to ask something..."

"Oh, so now you talk?"

"You were tickling me," he defends,

"Because you were refusing to tell me."

"Yeah, 'cause it's embarrassing..."

His interest is peaked at that, curious and eager to know why Jae's cheeks are flushing a rosy pink, and what his boyfriend finds embarrassing after what they just did.

"What could be so embarrassing after what we-"

"See, this is why I said nevermind," Jae cuts him off.

Jae doesn't like the way he feels so embarrassed. He's 24, and Lord knows he's not the most holy young man, yet he becomes this school girl who can't avoid blushing at her crush. He wonders how people go about their lives after a one night stand with a stranger, because he's malfunctioning after a night with his boyfriend. It's dumb, and completely out of character for him, but then again, Brian's changed him. 

"Okay, sorry. You don't have to tell me," Brian says and kisses his cheek, returning his focus to the movie.

They don't talk to each other for a while, the storyline building and actually grabbing their attention.

It's in the middle of a relatively boring, calm scene where the lead is trying to get some cellphone service, when Jae mutters,

"Was it... I mean, was I... Was I good enough?"

If they weren't cuddling so closely, Brian wouldn't have heard it, but he's pretty glad he did. Hearing those words made Brian want to carry Jae back to bed to mark him again, to have him at the mercy of his fingertips again. However, the way Jae asked so meekly results in Brian saying,

"Hey... Look at me."

Jae complies, and as soon as he's turned enough, Brian captures his lips in a sweet kiss. He pulls away but whispers in Jae's ear,

"You're perfect... Good enough?" his laugh is a low rumble as he gives a playful nip at Jae's ear,

"Don't even get me started on how you're too good for me."

"I'm not." Jae replies, and he gives a loving smile as he adds,

"We're perfect for each other."

"There's my boyfriend," Brian teases and Jae just gives a quick peck on the nose.

They settle back into silence as the paranormal occurences resume to pick up, the lead actually murdering her boyfriend which she thought was the entity haunting her.

"Babe?"

Jae's voice as well as that petname catch Brian off guard,

"Sorry, was just trying it out..." 

"You drive me crazy."

"I know," Jae practically sings,

"What a tease." Brian says,

"Gotta have some form of defense against you,"

"Against me? I'm innocent and unarmed, what could you possibly need to defend against?"

"Hmm," Jae hums in thought and decides he'll play around with his boyfriend, fire back at the sarcasm Brian's voice is dripping with.

"That smooth voice, your piercing eyes, the way your hips dip down..." 

Jae doesn't have to turn around for Brian to know he's smiling,

"Your collar bones, your shoulder blades and the way your back muscles move. Gotta defend against those broad shoulders, and your strong arms that make me-"

"Jae, you're pushing it."

"You don't seem to hate it," Jae teases as he shifts in Brian's lap,

"Jae." he warns again,

"Yes, babe?"

Brian rolls his eyes before attacking Jae's sides, ignoring the horror movie as Jae's laughter fills their living room. He knows Jae's probably still sore, so he holds back and decides to just tickle him. Maybe add a few more hickeys, but Jae doesn't complain.

Jae's under Brian, out of breath from laughing so much and he's staring up at his boyfriend with a gorgeous smile. Brian places a quick kiss on his lips and says,

"I love you."

"Yeah, I know." Jae replies,

"Good. Don't forget," Brian says,

"Isn't that my line?"

"I think I've proved myself, no? If I ever do forget, I'm sure I'll fall for you all over again."

Jae stares at him, and says,

"Yeah. I don't doubt that," and the smile Brian gives him is radiant.

They reposition themselves, Jae refusing to settle back into Brian's lap until he promised not to tickle him again.

They decide fall asleep in the living room, not before putting on a comedy movie which serves as background noise as their voices reduce to whispers. Jae falls asleep first, as he usually does, but Brian follows into slumber quickly after.

Jae wakes up to faint talking, and despite their voices being soft, he recognizes them right away. He takes a look at the clock, and decides he should get up from the couch, considering it's already 11AM.

"Oh, morning," Brian says, noticing Jae first as he waddles into their kitchen.

Brian, Sungjin and Wonpil are standing at the island, talkling over some, what Jae assumes, coffee.

"Morning," he replies with a smile, and then notices the way Wonpil's staring at him.

"What?"

Sungjin lets out a short snort of a laugh, quickly hushing himself.

"Damn." Wonpil says, and Jae tilts his head in confusion,

"Brian marked you good."

Sungjin laughs at that, joined by Brian who's mainly laughing at Jae's shocked expression.

"I hate you-"

Jae says, and lunges toward his bestfriend but halts when the pain comes back, and Sungjin just laughs harder at Jae's face that flinches at the pain.

"Jesus, he seriously did you-"

"Oh my God, shut up!" the author cuts Wonpil off,

"How could you talk about it so casually?" Jae asks, making his way to the fridge to grab some milk.

"Well, you waltzed in the kitchen practically showing off those hickeys."

"I did not waltz," he tries to defend and Wonpil's smirking as he replies,

"Oh that's right, you waddled because last night-"

"I hate you, you're fired from being my best friend."

Wonpil's laugh fills the kitchen as Jae chugs a glass of milk,

"Why're you guys here anyway?"

"Haven't seen you for a while, so we figured we'd drop by. Didn't mean to while you were still sensitive," Sungjin answers and is smiling when he adds a not so sincere,

"Sorry!"

They laugh it off, and decide to go out for brunch. Luckily, no attacks happen, instead a fan asks for Jae's autograph which he gladly gives.

"You thinking of writing a new book soon?" Sungjin asks as he feeds a bite of his french toast to Wonpil,

"Yeah, definitely."

"It's been over a year since you released 'Float On...', so that seems like a good idea." Wonpil adds,

"Seriously? Over a year?"

"Damn... Time flies."

Jae and Brian look at each other, and both of them realize that means it's been over a year since they met.

It's been over a year since Brian's life as he knew it completely changed, but he wouldn't complain.

It's been over a year since Jae met a guy that looked like Younghyun at a cafe, and although he didn't get Younghyun back, he got Brian, and he wouldn't complain.

"What the Hell did I do the past year?" Sungjin asks himself out loud, and it makes their table laugh.

"Met the love of your life," Wonpil answers and gives a wink and Brian fake gags when Sungjin places a big kiss on his boyfriend's cheek.

"Very true,"

Wonpil smiles and says,

"As for these guys, their year was rough."

"Also very true," Brian says,

"I didn't know a man in dinosaur pyjamas could change my life." he reflects, and Jae's about to defend his choice in attire that day but he decides not to interrupt the sound of 3 familiar laughters he's grown to adore.

They talk and catch up, even after their meals are done and they're sipping on their coffee to avoid getting kicked out. The 4 part ways after making plans for a hang-out next week, all of them refusing to call it a double-date but to anyone else, it would be.

Jae and Brian are in the car when Brian says,

"Can I meet your parents formally?"

It's a random question that catches Jae off guard, but he can't help but smile when he says.

"Yeah, is the end of this week good?"

That's a little sooner than Brian expected, but he reminds himself that they've been dating for a while and he owes the Park family a visit. He gives a nod with a smile, and then they go on to talk about Brian's interview with the music company tomorrow.

Brian doesn't like it when Jae's visibly nervous. He also doesn't like feeling nervous himself. So, when the end of the week is before him and he's getting ready for the reserved dinner, he doesn't like how he's practically rehearsing responses to questions he thinks he'll be asked.

"Babe," Jae says, chuckling at Brian's expression as he buttons up his dress shirt

"You don't need to be so nervous, they're just my parents."

"Just your parents?!" Brian practically explodes, making Jae laugh a little louder,

"What if they hate me? Oh my God, they probably will... I'm the guy that left their son and didn't come back-"

"Brian, you met them at the hospital."

"Yeah, I woke up with bed hair and old clothes and met your parents, great first impression."

"You're being ridiculous,"

"I'm just... nervous."

Jae stares at his boyfriend, his platinum hair up in a neat quiff, his suit fitting him perfectly. Brian's looking at him, waiting for a reply and Jae just smiles before kissing him. 

"You don't have to be." Jae assures,

"They'll love you. 'Cause you're the one their son loves, and chose,"

Brian takes Jae's hand in his and gives it a squeeze, closing his eyes as he exhales. He loves how all the nerves seem to disappear when Jae's by his side.

However, the nerves are present again, even though Jae's at his side. They're sitting in a gorgeous restaurant, while Mr. and Mrs. Park are sitting in front of them. 

"So, Brian, how was the interview with the music company?" Jae's mom asks as they're waiting for their meal. 

"It was good. I hope I made a good impression," he replies and those words hold true not only for the interview. 

"Does that mean you're going to be a full-time musician?"

"If the company accepts me, then yes, that's the plan... U-Uh, is that off-putting? I mean, I think it'll pay well-"

"Honey, our son approached us with the intent of making a living off of words on paper." 

Brian gives a smile, noting how Mrs. Park's smile is so comforting, much like Jae's.

"Care to tell us about yourself, Brian?" 

Brian stiffens at the voice of Jae's dad, and Jae notices, so he finds his boyfriend's hand under the table, and links their fingers. 

The latter is telling the Parks about himself, about what he can remember, and what his current plans for the future are, not leaving Jae out of them. They're talking over a nice meal, and his nerves have finally calmed down; finding comfort in the warmth Jae's parents are accepting him with.

"I'll be right back," Jae says, walking towards the toilets and leaving his parents and Brian alone. The comfortable silence lasts a few moments before Brian says,

"Mr. and Mrs. Park... I know it's probably unsettling knowing your son is dating someone who can forget him in an instant... Someone who's caused him a lot of heartache which he didn't deserve, and left him waiting... But I want you to know that I'm in love with your son. Head over heels, and I swear that I'm in this for the long run."

They're looking at the young man with an expression he can't decipher, so he just decides to stare back. As if looking away would be admitting defeat, and giving up Jae.

"I like the tone of your voice," Mrs. Park says,

"You sound so sure about Jaehyung... And being completely certain may be rare for someone with your condition, so to hear that certainty in your voice, and see the determination in your eyes is comforting."

Brian lets himself smile, and is about to reply but Jae's dad beats him to it; his voice gentle yet firm.

"Brian."

He gulps, nervous that maybe he won't get the same approval and acceptance,

"Would you marry Jaehyung?"

"Yes." 

His answer comes in not even a second later, not a hint of hesitation or doubt in his voice.

"With your permission, I would love to be able to put a ring on his finger and call him mine forever."

"Our permission?" he asks, and Brian's about to beg for it when Mr. Park continues with a warm smile,

"You've had our permission since we saw the way you looked into our son's eyes."

Jae returns before Brian can reply, sitting down and asking,

"Did you guys order dessert already?"

"No, not yet," his mom answers, and Jae's too busy eyeing the various sweets on the menu that he doesn't notice the smile Brian's giving his parents.

The night continues on, conversation resuming over dessert. Brian's definitely a lot less nervous, and the atmosphere is overall brighter and Jae notices, causing him to wonder what they talked about while he was at the restroom.

They part ways, and upon sharing a hug, Mr. Park whispers in Brian's ear,

"Take care of him, son."

Being called son, that acknowledgement and acceptance, was probably enough to make Brian cry; but he doesn't. Instead, he gives a radiant smile and says,

"I will."

He gives Jae's mom a hug and she also says words that make Brian feel warm inside,

"You know, the way you look at Jae is really precious." and he just smiles, not knowing what he looks like when he's staring at Jae, but assumes it's similar to the way Mr. Park looks at her.

They're in the car, and almost home when Jae asks,

"Babe, what were you talking about while I was gone?"

"You," he answers,

"Me? What were you guys saying?"

"You don't need to know." Brian says, with a mischievous smirk and it's because of that, that Jae knows questioning will go no where, so he shrugs it off.

"I'll find out one day,"

"Not if I forget" his boyfriend jokes, and Jae smacks him in the arm.

"They wanna sign me!" Brian exclaims, after hanging up the phone. Jae yells, runs and jumps to hug Brian, wrapping his legs around him and Brian spins him around as they're laughing in excitement.

It's been 2 weeks since Brian's inverview, and they were starting to lose hope on Brian pursuing music professionally, he even started looking into becoming a music teacher rather than a professional musician. He's been at the cafe a lot, and Jae's been in touch with Jinhae and his editor, the new storyline coming along and making good progress. The company apologized for taking so long, and reasoned that they were dealing with other talents as well as studio renovations.

"Congrats, baby," Jae says with huge smile, before giving Brian a kiss.

"Couldn't have done it without you,"

"Yeah I know, Jinhae says you're welcome." he jokes and his boyfriend laughs.

"They want me in the studio next week, they liked some songs I already have written and wanna record that."

"You're already starting recording?"

"Yeah I know, I'm shocked too... But I'm not complaining. The sooner I get content out, the sooner I can stand on stage," the twinkle in his eyes is stunning, and Jae smiles as he replies,

"I'll be in front row when you do."

With that, time passes with both of them being occupied with their jobs, Brian often being in the studio while Jae's been meeting with his team a lot. However, when they saw each other at home, nothing changed. They still had movie nights, even when they had to wake up insanely early the next morning, they went on dates that ranged from drive-in movies and dinner at the diner, to well aged wine at luxurious restaurants that's topped off with dress clothes on their bedroom floor.

"Bri, we'll need you on stage in 5, yeah?"

Brian gives a nod, and watches as the stage crew member hurries back, holding her ear piece as she nods as if the person on the other end can see her. 

He's looking at himself in the mirror, his hair's darker now, a tint of blue reflecting as the light shines down on him. He exhales, and his mind is on the verge of breaking down but there's this stillness within that he finds comfort in. Maybe it's his chaotic mind, but Brian can swear he can hear the buzz of the crowd waiting his arrival. 

It's not too big of a venue, but it's definitely bigger than the small audience of that live club he used to frequent.

Brian feels the nerves he's come to more or less control, all because he knows that a tall blonde man will always be there to soothe them.

He's in a daze, or maybe it's more accurate to describe it as a hazy high from adrenaline and the excitement of performing. Brian doesn't even process he's standing on stage surrounded by people that love him and his music until he's done the first song and the cheers are loud. He stares out into the crowd, and his smile is blinding. 

He grabs the mic and says,

"Hi... Thank you all so much for coming out here tonight."

The crowd responds with a roar of cheers which causes his smile to go wider,

"Uh, being able to stand here in front of you guys... It's surreal. About 7? 8?" he shakes his head as he fails to decipher the days, and he can hear some laughter as he simply shrugs and continues,

"months ago now, I was lucky enough to be signed. I was also lucky enough to release my music and actually gain an audience, you guys here tonight." he gives a wave around the venue,

"I know this concert may seem really rushed, so I'm so grateful that each of you came... Especially to that one tall guy with the blonde hair, glasses and a sweater in the front row."

Jae's looking up at his boyfriend with a huge smile, and he gives a small wave. They share this second of eye contact, and he works his magic again as Brian feels the nerves disappear. He smiles at Jae and gives a playful wink, continuing on,

"This is my first time performing in front of you all, so hope I won't disappoint-" he's cut off with a loud protest from the crowd, and he can decipher a few "you won't!"s and he smiles before finishing up his opening ment with,

"Let's have a good show!" and the venue is once again filled with cheers as the bassline of the next song starts to fade in.

Brian runs backstage, his adrenaline running and excitement through the roof after finishing his first concert. He can still hear the roar of the crowd, the way they sang along to his songs, and the glow of the simple lightsticks that lit up the darkness. 

"Hey," Jae says once his boyfriend's in front of him. He's holding a bouquet of flowers, and a bag of food from the diner, both for the sweaty man whose guitar is still slung around his body.

"Hi." Brian replies, and they just stare at each other.

"These are for you," 

"Thank you," Brian says as he accepts them, and it's only a matter of seconds before he quickly puts the items down on the counter and grabs Jae, pulling him into a kiss. Jae melts into it, wrapping his arms around Brian's neck, and once they pull away, he whispers against his boyfriend's lips,

"Congratulations, baby." and Brian responds with a quick peck on Jae's lips.

"Happy Anniversary," he says and Jae smiles,

"2 years down," he informs,

"And eternity to go," his boyfriend responds and they're about to kiss again when Sungjin and Wonpil walk in,

"Get a room!" Sungjin teases, and smiles as he gives Brian a congratulatory hug, and Wonpil follows suit.

"You finally did it," Brian looks at his best friend and replies,

"Yeah. You should definitely come busking with me one day, they gotta hear your voice."

"Mine's nothing special..."

"Are you kidding? That rasp is y... Especially when-" Wonpil gets cut off by Jae clapping his hands, not wanting to know where he was going with that.

They talk about Brian's experience on stage, the songs they liked and recognized, and Jinhae joined in halfway through, being there to support Brian and also meet up with his girlfriend who happened to be Brian's manager. Minri and Eunyi also showed up, surprising Brian who thanked them sincerely, and the group just conversed in comfort, losing track of time and only realizing how long they were talking when the venue staff asked for them to leave, as they were closing up.

Jae and Brian are at home now, Jae in the bed on his phone as he usually is when he's waiting for Brian to get out of the shower. He's looking at this one post from a fansite, there's 2 pictures side by side. One of them is Brian from tonight, his eyes gleaming and his smile so wide one would think it hurt, and the other is one of Brian looking at Jae, probably taken on one of their dates, he assumes.

What causes the smile on the author's face, is the caption the fansite put.

'the only time brian looks as happy as he did tonight, is when he's with jae!'

"What're you looking at?"

"A picture of you," Jae answers as Brian makes his way to the bed,

"Why look at a picture when I'm right here?" he says, and his tone of voice causes goosebumps as Brian adds,

"It's our 2 year anniversary... I think there are things you can be holding other than your phone," 

Jae raises a brow as he places his phone on the night stand,

"Oh really?" 

Brian's hovering over Jae at this point, fresh from the shower even though he'll probably have to take another one in an hour or 2.

Brian nods and smiles before leaning down to kiss Jae, and his boyfriend's arms naturally wrap around his neck. 

Although Jae manages to calm him down when he's nervous, there are many times, like at this moment, where being with Jae causes all his senses to heighten, every nerve becoming more sensitive, but Brian's not complaining.

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

hi hello guys! ;) <3 first off, i would just like to thank you all for reaching 240+ comments! that's so crazy! we also reached over 200 subscribers, so thank you all! :D secondly! this is the second last chapter of this story, as i did skip through some time in this chapter (and will do so in the next one) so the next time i update, you'll see the Completed thing! LOL 

hope this chapter wasn't too bad! as always, please please pleaaseee! leave a comment, i love talking to you guys, and hearing your thoughts! thank you to everyone that comments, i love you (love you too, silent readers. don't be shy tho :D) and yeah! please upvote this story if y0u're enjoying it (imagine if this got featured. a day6 story.. oh my god LOL) and subscribe to be notified when the last chapter comes out! 

i'll try and update soon, so that you guys get the ending, which i already have all planned out, and i'll see you then! but until then, peace! - zen