The sun beaming down at the prison spread its rays and sprinkled them across the field- giving life to the vegetables growing underneath the emerald green leaves of the plants. The light slid along the sharp edge of a dagger as it sunk into the ruby red apple grasped between Jungkook's hands and carved a slice out of it.

The bunny boy was leaning against the side of the car Daryl would take on their run - gaze directed towards the salivating apple, yet ears fixated on the sound of Daryl tinkering with the car to make sure everything was alright.

Just as Jungkook stabbed the tip of his dagger into the apple slice and lifted it up to his mouth for his teeth to take a chunk out of Bob came striding towards them with a bag slung over his shoulder and a question dangling on the tip of his tongue.

"Everything alright?" Bob questioned, sparing a brief glance at Jungkook before focusing his attention on Daryl. The latter hummed and slammed the car shut, he took a rag out of his pants and wiped away the oil sticking to his palms.

"Zack kept this thing running pretty good." Daryl exhaled the words, patting the roof of the car and eyeing the sleek black paint glossed over it.

Jungkook winced at the mention of the boy's name, feeling the gloomy presence of grief looming over him as the memories fluttered their wings in his face and made him remember the screams Zack let out before he was crushed by the helicopter. Thankfully Jungkook didn't have to dwell much on the thought that he was leaning on Zack's old car - the same car that made Zack so excited that the boy woke up every morning for a week to go admire it and make sure it wasn't something he had dreamt.

Bob seemed to be just as uncomfortable with the idea of driving in a car that belonged to a dead guy, which is exactly why Jungkook had decided to say no to going with them and chose to stay at the prison with Taehyung instead. Unfortunately, Bob had agreed to go with them and now he had no choice but to push through this experience.

"You sure you want me to come?" The question walked hand in hand with hesitation as it sauntered past Bob's lips. His eyes dragged along the car and shoulders straightened before he looked up at Jungkook and waved his hand at him, "Jungkook can go in my place."

The said boy's head swung up at the mention of his name, followed by him quickly pushing off of the car and blinking back at Daryl with a silent warning looming behind his irises. The apple slice squished between Jungkook's lips dangled out of his mouth with the juices rolling along the seam of his lips and dripping onto his chin.

Daryl's lip briefly curled into a small smirk, only to be swept away a second later by his words, "You have medical experience and Jungkook here wants to stay back," Daryl shook his head at Bob, earning himself a small nod from the black man and a breath of relief from Jungkook, only for Daryl to smack his lips open once more and release a continuation to his sentence, "Because of Taehyung."

Jungkook sucked in a sharp intake of breath, causing a small piece of apple to fly into the back of his throat. Harsh coughs shook the poor boy's body, resulting in a dust of redness seeping into his skin and pearls of tears rushing to his eyes. Jungkook hunched over with one hand resting on top of the car until, finally, he managed to splutter out the mushed apple stuck in his throat.

Jungkook wheezed and glared down at the remains of the apple, watching it mix with the pavement below before he snapped his head up and sent Daryl a glare, "It's not because of Taehyung." Jungkook grumbled through a pout, flicking his eyes over to Bob to test his reaction.

"Taehyung? The guy that showed up a few days ago?" The question that came out of Bob matched his furrowed brows and scowl of confusion. He kept glancing between the not so tamed smirk Daryl wore and the sour glare on Jungkook's face, "Wait..." the realisation crashed down on Bob's features, followed by a small chuckle blooming in his chest.

Jungkook's eyes narrowed even further and flung into the direction of Bob, instantly making the man stop chuckling, yet the ghost of a smile remained on his face, "Both of you suck, I'll go talk to Taehyung."

The lightness of the situation was immediately squashed into the ground by the sudden weight of Jungook's words. The smile on Daryl's face slipped away before the hunter straightened out and stopped the younger with his words, "Taehyung is busy, you should go help Carol clear the water pipes if you're staying here."

Jungkook's shoes screeched to a halt and face twisted into a grimace of confusion, "Didn't she clean them like an hour ago? I'm pretty sure she did." Jungkook whirled around and asked Daryl but before Daryl could provide him with an answer, the younger perked up once more, "That's okay, I can go help Taehyung with his chores." Bob snorted on his way to the car, just as Jungkook had turned to leave, "As friends." The younger clarified with a pointed glare in Bob's direction.

"Okay, okay." Bob held up his hands in surrender, yet never lost the tilt in his lips. Jungkook pursued his lips and rolled his eyes slightly, turning to leave once more, only to be stopped by Daryl yet again.

"Rick gave him a task to do, you should do something too."

Jungkook's shoulders dropped, along with his face, before he turned around once more and crossed his arms over his broad chest, "You're being suspicious."

Daryl merely gave him an unimpressed look before glancing at someone over Jungkook's shoulder. The latter twisted around to see who was coming, only for Michonne and Tyreese to brush past him with their own bags in their hands.

"Got room for one more?" Tyreese asked Daryl, clenching his fist tighter around the bag hanging off of his fingers. The bruises on his face had darkened from Rick's fist and one of his eyes had swollen shut - hiding the melted chocolate swimming around his iris.

Daryl eyed him before nodding, "Hell yeah." The archer didn't look bothered by Tyreese's presence, or the glare Jungkook dangled over his back. He merely picked up his crossbow and flung it into the car before climbing in after it.

Bob and Tyreese followed after Daryl, while Michonne sent Jungkook a wordless glance. The scowl on Jungkook's face sunk its claws deeper into his features as he watched the last door smack shut and the car purr to life.

"Stupid." Jungkook huffed, kicking away a small rock that rolled across the gravel road, fell through a hole in the fence and disappeared into the grass. His eyes flickered back over to the car and he took a step back, swatting away the smoke that puffed out of the car with his hand.

Jungkook's eyes stayed stuck on the car's rear as it drove forward - through the gate and across the field until, finally, slowing to a halt in front of the outer fence of the prison. Jungkook's palms smacked onto his hips and the tip of his shoe tapped against the ground, he watched Maggie rush out of the watchtower and over to the car in order to open the gate for Daryl in order to let them leave.

Daryl's weird reaction towards Jungkook trying to seek out Taehyung gently took a hold of the bells hanging in his head and swung them side to side. The screeching sound of suspicion rung through his head and created a swarm of questions around his mind, leaving behind their own whispered theories about Daryl's weird reaction. Yet Jungkook swatted away the thoughts and stopped the bells from ringing, instead, he focused on the sound of another motor of a car rumbling behind him and the sounds of gravel cracking under rolling wheels.

Jungkook's eyes lifted off of Daryl's car just as they drove through the gate and disappeared behind the curtain of trees. He twisted around on his heel and blinked in confusion at the sight of Rick and Carol rolling closer to him with a car of their own.

The sight in front of Jungkook threw a lasso of curiosity around his legs and ripped them forward, "Where the hell are you going?" Jungkook exclaimed, marching around the car and smacking his hand on the roof of it before peeking inside through the window.

Rick lowered the window a bit more and draped his hand over the windowsill, he peered back at Jungkook with a small shrug of his shoulder, "Just a small supply run to clear our heads." The leader mumbled, dipping each word in a cloud of lightness.

Jungkook didn't believe the lightness of his words, he could taste an undertone of tension lingering in the air between Rick and Carol, which left a bitter taste along Jungkook's tastebuds. Yet the bunny boy didn't comment on it, judging by the glint looming behind Rick's eyes and the way Carol avoided looking in their direction, this was the worst time to point out the unspoken questions hanging over their heads.

"Right..." Jungkook dragged out with a heavy huff of his breath, he straightened out and glanced at the gate that led out of the prison - already seeing Maggie's form standing by the gate and gazing in their direction, "Guess it's just me and Tae then."

"What do you mean?"

Jungkook's head snapped down at Rick and a noise of confusion bubbled in the back of his throat at Rick's sudden question. The leader eyed him strangely, tightening his grip on the wheel and shifting awkwardly in the seat as he told Jungkook, "Taehyung is in Block A."

The ice cold claws of fear slashed into Jungkook's back and dragged their claws down his skin - leaving behind marks of tension and denial in each move he made. Jungkook's tongue felt numb and feet trembled, he blinked down at the leader with a stuttered breath- barely managing to glide his tongue along his teeth in order to form a coherent sentence, "B..but the Block A..." Jungkook trailed off with a shake of his head, brushing away the knowledge of what block A was made for and instead he carved pitiful excuses in the crevices of his mind in order to soothe his pounding heart.

"Jungkook.." Rick's voice tugged on Jungkook's attention, causing his bambi eyes to shift down at the leader, only to be met with Rick's gloomy expression, "Jungkook, Taehyung has the virus."

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"TAEHYUNG!"

The loud bellow of his name ripped Taehyung out of the honeyed slumber he had been tangled in, causing his eyes to flicker open and shallow breath to falter between his chapped lips. His vision blurred into a mush as he drank in the sight of the chipped concrete wall hovering in front of his face - wafting his breath right back against his nose.

Taehyung blinked, then shifted his stiff arm to slide it underneath his head. He thought that the call of his name was just his imagination playing cruel tricks on him to steal away the last shards of his peace. Taehyung tried to ignore the heavy chains of exhaustion wrapped around his limbs and the pressure placed on his lungs, tried to ignore the looming presence of a cough hovering in the back of his throat and the soft nudges of pain against his head.

"Taehyung...."

Another whisper of his name followed the first shout of alarm that had shattered his dreams of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Taehyung blinked his eyes open once more- allowing them to linger on the wall in front of him before forcing his arm to shift and turn his body around on the bed.

The light from the hallway spilled onto his face, illuminating the yellow tint to his skin and the sweat licking at his brow, it left soothing kisses along the blue splatters of colour underneath his eyes and the crusted blood on the corner of his mouth. Taehyung winced at the harsh light, pushing himself up on his elbow and lifting his hand to shield his fragile eyes from the harsh light.

Once he brushed away the curtain of blurriness from his vision with a sweep of his lashes, Taehyung could see Caleb - the doctor in charge of taking care of the infected - hovering in the doorway and eying Taehyung with equally sick eyes.

"Yes?"

The words clawed through Taehyung's vocal cords and dragged past his lips - the scratchiness and low rumble of breath earning him a wince and a bottle of water from the doctor. Taehyung accepted the bottle with a trembling hand before allowing it to fall back into his lap. He blinked down at the concrete ground as he struggled to unscrew the bottle until the cap slid off and landed on the ground. Taehyung's eyes followed the bottle-cap as it rolled across the floor, all while pressing the edge of the bottle against his lips and tilting it back to allow the water to slide down his parched throat.

The soft glide of the water against his throat made Taehyung sink further into his bed with a breath of relief. He gulped it down in mere seconds before ripping the bottle away as a harsh cough bounced past his lips. Taehyung hunched over and shoved his face into the crook of his elbow as the coughs rocked his body and made his lungs curl into themselves. He could feel something building up in his throat as he continued to cough before he splattered it out and was able to breathe once more.

The arm pressed against Taehyung's mouth was pulled back, revealing the splatters of blood tainting the grey shirt he wore. His eyes lingered and expression soured, he dropped his hand against his thigh, just as Caleb spoke up once more.

"There's someone here to see you."

Taehyung stilled at that, momentarily straightening out and glancing up at Caleb in surprise before scrunching up his nose and shaking his head, "Whoever it is, please..." Taehyung trailed off with a small grimace, not meeting Caleb's eyes as he breathed out the words, "Please, send them away." He exhaled and lowered himself back onto the bed.

Taehyung's eyes slid shut and hand curled around the shirt of his stomach, only for Caleb to snort in a way to try and bring some light into the situation they were trapped in, "He seems to be quite...persistent. I fear that the only way the others will be able to get some rest is if you go tell him that yourself."

"Of course..." Taehyung shook his head once he realised who had come to see him. He forced his eyes to peel open and hand to brush away a strand of sweaty hair sticking to the side of his face. Taehyung thought about Jungkook, about facing the younger in this state and seeing the look of horror...no, maybe it would be sadness and grief at the realisation that Taehyung could die, perhaps even despair? Taehyung didn't know, but what he knew was that he didn't want the younger to see him like this.

"He..he can't see me like this." Taehyung managed to push his tongue against his teeth to form the unstable words. He didn't dare meet Caleb's confusion-filled eyes as he sat up in the bed and struggled to throw his legs over the edge of it. His socked feet smacked against the ground and elbows rested against his knees as he lowered his head into the palms of his hands

"He's not gonna leave." Caleb tested the waters with Taehyung by dipping the words into the lake of thoughts around him. Yet the only reaction from Taehyung was a sharp exhale of breath and his shoulders tensing up. Caleb lingered, drinking in the sight of Taehyung before glancing back out of the cell - into the direction of where Jungkook was waiting behind a wall of glass.

"Listen..." Caleb drawled with hesitance shadowing his words, he twisted his attention back onto Taehyung and offered him his comforting words, "Jungkook won't care about how you look at the moment, he just wants to see you."

"But that's the thing." Taehyung's head snapped up and eyes narrowed, holding captive the tears that softened the edges of his piercing gaze, "If he sees me like this and I die, then whenever he thinks about me, he will remember this version of me." Taehyung spat harshly, causing the plastic smile on Caleb's face to crack and reveal the frown hidden underneath.

At the silver thread of exhaustion revealed to him, Taehyung lowered his head and mumbled a quiet apology- realising that he was being too harsh on the doctor after everything he has gone through. Taehyung was well aware of the people that had died here and how many of them had to be put down by Caleb, this little trivial problem of his suddenly seemed microscopic next to the big picture presented to him.

"I'll go see him." Taehyung murmured in defeat, finally being able to swat away the anxiety and his worries that gnawed on his skin. He pressed his fingers against the mattress next to him and stumbled up to his stiff legs with a small huff of breath.

Caleb gently took a hold of his hand as reached him, "At least if anything happens he'll get to say goodbye." The doctor murmured and released his grip on Taehyung, allowing him to slip towards the exit of the cell. As he brushed past Caleb, his socked foot slammed into the doorway, causing him to stumble forward and get caught by the doctor.

"Shit." Taehyung hissed through a grimace of pain, blinking down at his throbbing little toe. He shook his feet as if he could shake away the pain clinging onto his bones before glancing up at the doctor with a sleazy smirk, "Sorry, doc." Taehyung murmured and straightened out, patting Caleb on the chest as he continued to drag himself in the direction of where Jungkook waited for him.

Taehyung could feel the lingering traces of Caleb's concerned eyes on his back, just like he could feel the anticipation intertwining their fingers together with each foot he placed forward. He walked past the cells with the sick, coughing prisoners. He didn't dare turn his eyes away from the door leading him to Jungkook, in fear of catching a glimpse of the sickly, dying faces that would haunt him until his last intake of breath.

When Taehyung reached the door and pressed his fingers against the door handle, he paused and listened.

The muffled sound of shoes smacking against the concrete ground and the quiet grumbling of a certain bunny boy trailed along the shell of his ears. Taehyung exhaled a breath at the sound and squeezed his eyes shut, doubt began to pool into his eyes in the form of tears before he pressed his thumbs against them and swept them away. Taehyung dropped his hand from the handle, took a step back and just as he was ready to bolt away, a rough cough tore past his lips and sliced through the air.

The footsteps behind the door stopped, followed by a stuttered exhale of Taehyung's name, "Tae?" The uncertainty and small tremor in the voice made Taehyung shift on his feet and chew on the corner of his lip.

The metallic taste of blood bloomed on Taehyung's tastebuds when his tongue touched the crusted blood on his lip. Taehyung was quick to press his dirty sleeve against his mouth and wipe away the blood before running his fingers through his hair to tame the unruly strands.

"Tae?"

Taehyung stilled once more- one hand tangled in his hair and the other pressed against his mouth. The silence that flooded into the air around him felt suffocating until, finally, Taehyung dropped his hand onto the door handle and cracked the door open with a harsh gulp.

He forced a smile onto his face, trying to hide the exhaustion painted along the seams of his features as he stepped through the door. Taehyung's eyes immediately fell on Jungkook, who was standing on the other side of a glass wall - face blooming with the flowers of sadness that wilted and fell to the ground in the form of distress.

A gruff chuckle wrapped around Taehyung's lungs, "Don't look so glum, you look stupid." He insulted lightheartedly, trying to replace the tension between them with humour.

Jungkook straightened and smacked his lips shut, he watched Taehyung walk through the room until he reached the wooden chair in front of the mirror and plopped down on it. That's when Jungkook gulped down the sight of Taehyung's hollow cheeks, the unhealthy glow of his skin and his jerky movements, nor could he ignore the way Taehyung's eyes seemed to be puffy with exhaustion and the blood on his tongue contrasted against his pale lips.

"You look like shit." Jungkook breathed out, taking a step closer to the glass between them. His uttered words gained him a small snort from Taehyung and a genuine twist of his lips, "Comforting words to a dying man." Taehyung mumbled as he sunk into the chair and laid his arms along the armrests.

At Taehyung's uttered words, Jungkook immediately straightened and stared at Taehyung owlishly, "You're not dying! Daryl and a few others already went outside to get the cure from a place somewhere near. In a few hours, the cure will be here and y-"

"Do you still draw, Jungkook-ah?"

Jungkook stopped talking as soon as his sentence was sliced in half by Taehyung's low voice and cracked Korean. His eyes connected with the calm ones of Taehyung before he gently nodded, causing Taehyung's eyes to squint and lips to stretch into a small grin.

"Draw me like one of your french girls." Taehyung snickered, not being able to stop himself from releasing a laugh that turned into a shallow cough at the end. The smile was wiped off of his face at the sudden presence of a cough, he pressed a palm against his mouth and allowed his eyes to drop away from Jungkook's worried ones as he continued coughing into his palm.

"That's not funny." Jungkook exhaled the words just as Taehyung stopped coughing and dropped his hand back into his lap. Yet despite no longer being taunted by the virus, Taehyung's eyes remained glued to the ground in front of him, "Taehyung." Jungkook murmured softly, stepping even closer to the glass. He pressed his palm against it, leaving behind a sweaty mark of his hand and allowing the moisture of his breath to fan against the glass and fog up, "Taehyung, you're gonna get out of there. Daryl will be back with the cure and you'll be alright, I won't let you die, I pro-"

Taehyung's head whipped up at Jungkook's words and eyes narrowed, "You better stay behind that glass, Jeon." The words came out in the form of a low, warning growl. They matched the deadly expression on Taehyung's face and made Jungkook step away from the glass and drop his hand back to his side.

Jungkook's bambi eyes were wide and cautious as they flickered between Taehyung's obsidian ones, he could see the warning looming among the shadows of his face, yet he still squinted his eyes and offered Taehyung a glare of his own in return, "Daryl will be back with the cure, so, if you want me to stay on this side of the glass, you better fight for your life to the best of your ability for a few more hours." Jungkook gritted back at Taehyung, wiping away the glare and clenched jaw the latter possessed.

The silence spreads its vines along the little nooks and crevices of the room, allowing them to trail along the floor and climb onto the ceiling, yet Taehyung's and Jungkook's eyes never left one another's. Not until Taehyung peeled his lips open and tried to push down the smile threatening to climb onto the throne of his lips, "So, your only demand is for me to live until they bring back the cure and then you'll stay on the other side of that glass?" He murmured without being able to stop himself from chuckling into the palm of his hand, "Seems like a reasonable demand."

"It is." Jungkook exhaled in return with his chin pointed upward and lips pursued. The expression on his face was still entangled with the threads of seriousness towards this entire situation, while Taehyung watched him with a glint of amusement glossing over his eyes.

"I accept your proposal." Taehyung finally nodded, still trying not to smile as he drummed his fingers against his thigh and sunk further into the chair.

Jungkook's shoulders finally sagged in relief and a needle of happiness poked away the ballon of frustration stretching inside his stomach, "Good." He grumbled, lowering his head ever so slightly without looking away from Taehyung's shimmering eyes.

"Good." The obsidian eyed man mocked with a growing grin, raising his hand and waving it at Jungkook as if he was a king sitting on a throne of gold, "Now fetch your sketchbook, I want to watch you draw." Jungkook's brows knitted together and lips parted to protest, only for Taehyung's expression to soften and cheeks to redden and the next words he mumbled, "Please, watching you draw calms me."

That was all Jungkook needed for him to leave the room and go grab his sketchbook.