{getting to know you}

The headlights of the van shone bravely out into the night, only to be swallowed up by the pressing darkness. Night had fallen, wrapping the day in its dark blanket and filling the inky night sky with its white speckles of light. Namjoon and Hoseok were quick to find themselves on the outskirts of the city, tall black silhouettes of skyscrapers reaching towards the stars. Hoseok began inching his foot off the accelerator, slowing down until he had reached a stand still, metres away from the first city building. 

Switching off the ignition and unbuckling his seatbelt Hoseok turned in his seat, facing the two male's seated peacefully in the back of the van, "Can you check to see if Namjoon's following? I wanna be sure everyone's ready." Hoseok spoke, earning a nod from Jimin as he stood from the boxes, shuffling to the back of the van as he took a peek through the slim window of the door. 

"They're all good to go." Jimin said, giving a thumbs up as he made his way back to his seat. Across from Jimin, Yoongi sat cross legged on top of a box by the window, gun held firmly in his grasp as it rested on his lap. 

Yoongi ran a hand through his hair as he turned to Hoseok, "Could you explain something to me?" Yoongi piped up, earning Hoseok's full attention, "I know that runners and walkers are very common outside the city..." he paused as he took in a sharp breath, "How many clickers will there be in the city, in comparison?" he finished.

Hoseok heard a hint of slight concern in Yoongi's voice as he turned towards the blue haired male, "I'm not gonna sugar coat anything." he started, eyes tilting towards the floor, "It's mostly clickers... I'm sorry, but you're gonna really have your hands full." he explained. But instead of Yoongi worrying about himself, Hoseok was more then surprised when the stern male turned to face Jimin. 

"Jimin." Yoongi spoke, no expression in his voice as he clicked the barrel of his gun, "Leave the battles to me... got it?" His brows were knit together in a stern expression as he spoke to the blonde haired male. Clickers could only be taken down with a direct headshot, or if extremely lucky a powerful stab to the head. But Yoongi didn't want to take chances. It would be best if the close combat specialists stayed out of any encounters with the infected whilst located in the city. 

Yoongi was expecting Jimin to agree, but to his dismay, Jimin rose to his feet, stomping his way over towards Yoongi as he grabbed a hold of the male's black cotton shirt, pulling the male up from his seated position. Yoongi's eyes widened in complete surprise at the fuming male in front of him. "THATS A STUPID IDEA!" Jimin called, raising his voice to the point were Hoseok and Daisy were ready to step in to defuse the heated argument. 

Yoongi raised a hand, taking a firm hold of Jimin's wrist, trying to pry the male's hands from his shirt, "I'm trying to protect you Jimin! You're no match for clickers, compared to me you're just weak against them!" he spoke. 

Yoongi felt Jimin's hand flinch as the male's grip loosened, allowing for Yoongi to break free. Jimin's hands fell flatly to his sides, soft blonde strands of hair falling over his eyes as his gaze trailed to his feet, "I'm not weak Yoongi." he spoke softly. Yoongi's facial features softened with Jimin's tone of voice, "Just because your at more of an advantage, doesn't mean anyone else is any weaker." Jimin trailed on, voice becoming raised until he snapped, "Why do you think there're multiple roles in a team? Huh!?" he exclaimed, raising his head until his eyes met with Yoongi's, "I'm with you, okay? I've got your back!" 

In that moment Yoongi realised he'd been wrong in his actions, his words, his expressions for so many years... he felt as if he'd been speaking a language he couldn't understand. The moment Jimin's words had gotten through to him his world seemed to stop. Never before had someone had his back. It was always him, fighting, protecting and defending people against injustice. No one had ever wanted to protect him. Yoongi was at a loss for words as he began gnawing at the inside of his cheek. There was something good about Jimin, a selflessness that Yoongi craved. 

Hoseok cut through the silence of the van, "Jimin's right." he sighed, "We all need to keep a close eye on each other." 

Jimin nod as he turned from Hoseok to the male standing in front of him. Yoongi was still unusually silent, eyes landing anywhere but Jimin's. Jimin couldn't help but feel a smile creep its way across his face in the realisation that he had managed to break Yoongi. 

"Hoseok." Daisy spoke from up front, catching the attention of the orange haired male beside her, "we should take this opportunity to advance." she said, raising her had as she pointed a finger out the front window. 

The rugged pathway ahead had become clear as the clouds overhead had revealed the silver light of the moon. The ghostly sight sent a cold chill down Hoseok's spine as he remembered the times he would have to venture into the city. He was reluctant to do it again. Hoseok found himself turning around, buckling up his seatbelt and switching on the engine. Gripping tightly onto the leather steering wheel, Hoseok's eyes were narrowed in determination, any nerves suddenly suppressed by his willingness to get moving. "This is the last time we're doing this." he spoke to Daisy, eyes not leaving the road as he switched the gears to drive, "Then we're both settling peacefully in camp Beta, okay?"

Daisy hesitantly smiled, reaching over to place a hand over Hoseok's. She noticed the slight shakiness of his hand, "We will, I promise." And she smiled. That perfect smile where her freckles crinkled up with her eyes, as her smile cured his nerves. It was dark out, but Hoseok swore he caught a glimpse of the sun in her smile. 

Eyes trailing back over to the road ahead, Hoseok slipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans, taking out the walkie talkie and contacting Namjoon, "Turn off your headlights," he explained over the line, "We'll attract unwanted attention... lets go as far as possible tonight by following the light of the moon." he explained, chucking the walkie talkie onto the dashboard as soon as he heard an agreement from Namjoon. 

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Namjoon found the moon guiding him through the night, its calming presence settling his nerves as he followed the dimly lit road ahead of him. He found the darkness strange. Living in camp Beta, he had grown used to having the warm orange glow of streetlamps outside his window, their light filtering through the gaps of the curtains. This however was blackness he couldn't recall seeing before - one that was almost absolute. The only signs of light were when he tilted his head skyward, seeing the millions of bright stars dotted over the black canvas of the night sky. Who would have thought that one day you could see the milky way from inside the city?

The darkness was of no bother to Taehyung and Jungkook, seated cross legged in the back of the van. Taehyung had placed a cardboard box upside down on the floor, a small candle lit lamp placed in the centre as he sprawled his pages of confusing formulas across the set up table in front of him. Soft orange glow illuminating his features, Jungkook watched on from the other side of the table as Taehyung began examining his notes, eyes trailing over every inch of every piece of worn paper. He could tell Taehyung had been through a lot judging by the condition of his notes. Smudged ink stains, burnt corners, crinkled patches were water had hit the surface, and neat cursive writing trailing into a messy blur showing how Taehyung must've been in a terrible rush at some point. 

Jungkook couldn't help but find himself growing more curious as time ticked on, "What are your notes about?" he spoke up, gesturing towards the formulas as Taehyung was snapped out of his trance. 

The burning flame housed inside the lamp flickered as the roads outside became more rugged. Taehyung was reluctant to answer, but saw the pure look of curiosity in Jungkook eyes "They're notes for my temporary antidote. Most of them are mine, but some of them are my fathers or my cousin's findings." he explained, hand running over the papers, "My fathers notes are the most helpful, but sadly most of them are located on the other side of the city, back were our old high school used to be." he finished. 

Jungkook nod in acknowledgement before cocking a brow, "Where's your cousin now?" he spoke, watching as the candle began to flicker more violently inside the van. 

Taehyung tensed in position, lips pressing tightly together as his eyes trailed off to the side. Jungkook guessed it was a touchy subject, so deciding it was best for Taehyung to concentrate, Jungkook stood to his feet, making his way over to a seat by the window. 

However, before the brunette could even make it to the window, the van hit a massive road bump. Jungkook found himself tripping over his own feet, arms reaching out to try and grab a hold of anything in reach as his body fell backwards. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jungkook braced himself for the painful contact with the hard floor but was surprised when he was met by warmth instead. Jungkook's lips parted in surprise when he slowly opened his eyes, brown chocolate orbs coming into contact with Taehyung. Arms wrapped securely around his fallen form, Jungkook found himself breathless as he subconsciously began admiring Taehyung's dimly lit appearance. His sharp jawline gave him a stern expression, but the warm glow of the candle light casted across his face gave his features a softer look about them. His soft unkept hair fell ever so slightly over his eyes, as Taehyung too found himself pausing to take in Jungkook's appearance. 

But Taehyung was quick to snap out of his trance, letting an all too familiar smirk make its way across his face, "This isn't a romance Jungkook." Taehyung chuckled, pushing Jungkook out of his lap and onto the cold hard floor in front of him. 

Jungkook let out a small grunt, sitting himself up as he rubbed his head in pain, "As if I'd ever fall for you." Jungkook huffed, standing up and turning himself away as he brushed himself off. Jungkook shuffled over to the seat beside the window, leaning his head against the cool glass in an attempt to suppress the heat that was rising to his cheeks. The joke was on him... 

because Jungkook had already fallen for Taehyung years ago. 

Perched on top of a box Jungkook watched Taehyung from the corner of his eye. The brunette had quickly gone back to thoroughly looking through his research notes, eyebrows knitting together every so often in question. He was so steady and focused, as if everything that happened a second ago had been erased from his mind to make room for more important things. It had only just occurred to Jungkook, but Taehyung was an entirely different person compared to the one he sat behind in class. Only small outbursts of the old, cocky Kim Taehyung were seen here and there. 

Which was the real Taehyung? 

Were they both just a fake?

Jungkook couldn't tell...

The sound of static radio waves snapped Jungkook out of his trance. Namjoon let out a lace of curses as he answered the walkie talkie, inching his foot off the accelerator until the van came to a complete standstill. "Hoseok? What's the hold up?" Namjoon spoke into the speaker, taking his thumb off the button as he awaited a reply. 

"A building's fallen over the road. I know a route around it, but it's too dark to see any landmarks. We need to reevaluate." Hoseok explained. And that's when Jungkook felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

"So that means-"

"Yes Namjoon, we're staying here for the night."

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{Author Note}

Number 2 in fan fiction!? I'm so honoured! Thank you all for enjoying this story so much! There will be another update coming your way tomorrow. 

(unedited)