Yoongi's POV-

"It feels incredibly strange to be wearing this shirt." I chuckle, keeping my eyes on the t-shirt as I walk back into the room.

When I don't hear Taehyung offer a sarcastic remark or laugh along with me I look up to see him asleep with his phone clutched tightly in his hand on the pillow next to him.

In the silence I can barely hear what sounds like singing. I take a few quiet steps closer to the bed. Once stood beside the bed I lean over to get closer to the phone, trying to hear a little better when he suddenly speaks, scaring the shit out of me.

"You could hear it better if you laid down."

"O-oh," I mumble before I clear my throat. "I'm sorry if I woke you up." I say quietly.

"You didn't. I was just resting." He says as he cracks one eye open to look at his phone, pausing whatever was playing before rolling onto his back and throwing the corner of the blanket closest to me aside so that I can get under it with him.

When I don't move from my spot he opens both eyes to look up at me. He studies me for a few seconds before getting out from under the blanket and climbing off the bed.

I watch him as he walks around the bed, past me and into the bathroom. I hear the cupboard open and shut from inside moments before he comes out with a hand towel.

I look down at the towel then back up to him, confused. Before I can ask what he's doing he explains.

"If you're going to lay on Koo's pillow we better make sure your hair is dry. It's practically dripping wet." He chuckles as he walks to me.

As I'm about to reach out for the towel he keeps his grip on it and says, "I'll do it. You're obviously not very good at it." He teases as he steps towards me. "Sit down."

I follow directions embarrassingly fast, taking steps back until the back of my knees hit the bed then take a seat.

After a few surprisingly gentle swipes of the towel through my hair I decide to ask what he was listening to.

"That was Koo," He pauses. "I recorded him singing so that even if he isn't here I can hear it."

"What song is it? I've been wondering that since the first time I'd heard it. Albeit I couldn't hear it all that well, but it sounded beautiful." I smile softly, replaying how Kook'a voice sounded those brief moments I'd heard him. "I tried to think if I'd heard it before, but I have yet to place it."

"It's a song I wrote." He says softly.

I'm taken back by his words. So much so that I turn around while he still has the towel going over my hair to look up at him.

I'm about to ask if I can listen to the recording more closely, but when I see him he looks to be blinking back tears, which makes my heart drop.

"Damn it, I'm so sorry. I'm supposed to be making you feel better." I say as I pull him into a hug.

"It's okay Hyung." I hear him say in a muffled voice against my shoulder.

I smile at the words because I was right. He did call me that.

"You've never called me that before."

"I never liked you before." He answers back quickly.

I know there is more truth than teasing in that comment, but it makes me laugh nonetheless and it doesn't take long before he's laughing lightly as well.

"Why don't you lay down and I'll finish drying my hair." I say, loosening my hold around him.

He pulls away from the hug and shakes his head. "No. I want something to do. Something to focus on."

I nod before turning around and sitting back down on the bed.

It's quiet as he goes back to drying my hair until he asks, "What do you do when Koo has nightmares?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you calm him down so he'll go back to sleep."

"Well," I sigh. "Thankfully he hasn't had one for a little while, but as you already know, his nightmares were violent. He would thrash and punch in his sleep.

"If he got too violent I would have to hold him so he wouldn't hurt himself and then talk him down until my words would break through his subconscious so he would know he was safe."

"You would do all that until he would wake up? No matter how long it would take, you would let him hit you?"

"Yes." I answer without hesitation. "It usually wasn't very long. Every once in a while it would take a little while, but I'd endure it. And besides, the bruises weren't that bad."

"Yes they were. And they looked worse because your skin is so fair." He says.

"I know it is. I hate it." I pout.

"Your skin is beautiful, Hyung. You look like a porcelain doll." He says before letting out a chuckle and adding. "You're also the size of a porcelain doll."

I scoff before turning around to scowl up at him. I'm trying to hold my offended expression in place but as his smile slowly widens I can't keep it in place.

"It's still quite remarkable to me how you can go from straight faced and intimidating to that big bright smile of yours that makes you look like a giddy child within seconds."

"I could say the same thing about you. You can go from looking uninterested and aloof, to soft or caring or pouty, also like a child, within seconds."

"That's not true."

"You know it is." He giggles.

"Is my hair dry yet?" I ask with a sigh.

"Basically. It's still a little damp, but not nearly as wet as it was before." He says as he takes a step away to throw the towel through the open bathroom door.

As I begin to crawl up the bed to get under the covers I hear him call my name softly.

I hum as I pull the blanket up to my chest and get comfortable.

"Would you like to hear the song?"

I snap my eyes to him, searching his face to gauge if this is really okay with him or not. I don't want him to be sad, but I also would love to hear the song. To actually hear Kook's voice.

"If you're okay with that, I would love to."

He smiles before he walks to the bed, crawling over me to get to the other side instead of walking around then dropping himself down beside me.

He searches the blankets for a few seconds before pulling his phone out and tapping around on the display.

As the recording begins he places his phone on the bed between the pillows then turns off the lamp on his side of the bed, causing the only light in the room to be coming from the phone.

The quality of the recording is a little distracting, causing me to wish that I could talk Kook and Taehyung into letting me record it with my equipment, but even that can't over shadow the delicate voice delivering the lyrics.

"You wrote this?" I ask in astonishment, laying on my back facing the ceiling as I listen closely to what's being played.

"I did." He whispers from beside me.

"I would love to help put together a backtrack for the song and produce it." I mumble, still in awe as I continue to listen.

The lyrics are so illustrative and tell a beautifully sad story of lost love...

As I begin to process the message of the song in its entirety my eyes begin to tear up. I know what the answer will likely be, but I have to ask.

I pause, trying to stabilize my voice before speaking. "Is this about-"

"Yes." He says softly, not even letting me finish the question.

My eyes begin to water as I slowly turn my head to look at him. He is already laying on his side, facing me but with his eyes closed.

"This is the song I would sing to him when he had trouble sleeping. Now he sings it to me." He says barely above a whisper.

I turn onto my side as well so I'm facing him. Keeping a distance of course as I don't want to invade his space, although he does seem to be more comfortable with me.

I think both of us are feeling less tense. I guess it's true. Misery does love company, and we all are surely miserable with life right now and have bonded because of it.

"I'm so sorry, Taehyung. I just keep thinking how things would be if-"

"Stop." He says abruptly, eyes opening to look at me with a cold stare that makes my breath hitch in my throat.

"You're putting all of this on your shoulders when it has nothing to do with you. You didn't cause this and you certainly didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. It's shitty and heartbreaking and more than any person should have to deal with in their lifetime, but it's happened and it is no ones fault but hers."

"Y-you really believe that?" I whisper, searching his face for any sign of doubt.

"I do." He says, matching my quiet tone. "You give yourself too much credit."

My eyes begin to tear up again and I subconsciously move closer to him, holding eye contact. What he's said warms my heart and give me so much comfort, but I'm wondering if he tells these things to himself. What he has said sounds like what he needs to hear himself.

"Everything you just said is true, but not just for me. You didn't cause any of this either, Taehyung. You also had no control over it. This is far from your fault. You've done nothing but given everything you've had to help Kook, Yeol, me, all of us. You've done nothing wrong or fallen short in any facet."

I'm surprised when instead of tears clouding his eyes, they are soft and kind as he looks back at me.

"Thank you for saying that."

"It's true, Taehyung." I say before pursing my lips momentarily. "How about we make a deal."

"A deal?" He asks curiously.

"I won't blame myself for what's happened and neither will you."

I see doubt flash across his face as his brows begin to furrow. I know he is about to question or try to retort what I've said, so I continue with my thoughts to explain what I mean.

"We will get through this, Taehyung. It's going to take a lot of work, but we'll get through this. And, I know it's impossible for me to know exactly what you're going through, but I do know that Kook and I are the only ones that can even remotely relate and understand what you are feeling.

"I think that's true for each of us. We have gone through this all together for the most part. And the three of us are so completely broken, we can't heal on our own. At least I know I can't. So, let's work together. Deal?"

He stares at me with narrowed eyes as he begins to chew lightly on his bottom lip.

I don't really see what is so hard to contemplate about this. Unless he just wants it to be he and Kook... And even though that thought breaks my heart, if that is what will help him I understand.

I'm about to backtrack and tell him that I understand if he isn't ready to be friends or in the type of relationship like that, but he speaks first.

"You should come."

I stare at him with wide eyes, leaning away from him as I again study his face. Huh? Did he mean come or... What?

His eyes widen as well a few seconds later as he begins to realize how what he's said has sounded.

"Sorry, I meant you should come with us when we leave."

"We?"

He nods. "Koo and I. When the General came to see us earlier he said that when I was ready, the three of us could go. He said they have confirmed the terrorists aren't looking for Koo. We were planning on talking to you about it, but didn't quite get a chance before you showed up.

"He said when I was ready he would send some protection and take us wherever and I think I'm ready. I can't be here with her. Not when she can just come and try to burst in the door at any time."

He pauses, pouting his lips in thought before saying, "Remember how Koo was going to force me into talking to him after our fight? How determined he was to get his way whether I was ready to talk to him or not? His stubbornness comes from her and she is going to do the same thing.

"She isn't going to stop trying to see me if I'm here and I don't want to have to worry about her bursting in the door at any given time on top of everything else. So, when we leave, will you come with us?"

"I will have to talk to Yeol and Hyuk first. I don't want to leave them here without adequate help, but whenever you're ready to go back to the city-"

He shakes his head. "I'm not going back there. Not yet."

"Okay, where would you like to go?"

Loud knocking abruptly fills the room, stopping our conversation and making us both jump.

I get out of the bed quickly. Once at the door, I open it just a crack to see Hyuk holding Kook in his arms.

"What happened?!" I gasp as I flip the light switch inside the door on before stepping out of the way.

"Turn the lights off, they're going to hurt his head. Switch on that lamp instead."

I do as Hyuk says and Taehyung does the same, turning on the lamp beside his side of the bed.

"He passed out." Hyuk says as he brings Kook through the doorway carefully.

"Tae, do you know if he brought any of his medications?" Yeol says quickly as he follow Hyuk into the room.

"I think so," He says before rushing over to Kook's suitcase to look for the medicine.

I turn towards Yeol with wide eyes. "Did he have an episode?"

"He was talking to his mother and it didn't go well." Hyuk says as he lowers Kook onto the bed.

I rush to Kook's side as Hyuk steps away, making room for me to kneel beside him. Now that I'm closer I can see that he is sweaty, his cheeks are red and his breathing is shallow.

"Yooni..." I hear him whisper.

"I'm here. Taehyung is here too. He's getting some medicine for your head. Try to stay awake for just a little longer love." I then turn to Yeol. "Can you get a washcloth from the cabinet under the bathroom sink and soak it with cold water?" I say as I press my hand lightly to his forehead.

"It's too hot." Kook says in the same lowered voice as he attempts to reach for the hem of his shirt.

"You want your shirt off?"

He nods, eyes still closed.

I sit him up and Hyuk moves beside me again to hold him in a seated position while I help remove the shirt.

As I'm getting his shirt pulled off over his head, Tae comes to us with a bottle of water and some of Kook's medication.

Once the shirt is off I use it to dab at some of the sweat that's gathered on his forehead before I toss it to the side.

I have one arm wrapped around his waist and when his head begins to lull back and forth I use my free hand to bring it so it can test against mine.

"Taehyung has some pain killers for your head love." I say in a lowered voice when I feel Taehyung kneel down beside me.

"Trade me places." I say to him before turning to Hyuk, "Can you hold his head while he helps him take the medication?"

He nods as he moves his hand up to the back of his neck to try to steady Kook's head so Taehyung can help Kook take the medicine.

While they are helping Kook, I meet Yeol as he's coming out of the bathroom.

"He said you and Hi needed his help with something. Was that something forcing him to talk to his mother?" I ask, feeling annoyed enough to want to raise my voice but I'm managing to keep my volume under control.

"We didn't force him, Yoongs. Hi thought he would be able to help calm his mother down. She's been worried that he hates her so Hi thought it would be good if he just went and spoke with her. Especially if he went to her so she wouldn't try to see he and Tae both again. And we didn't send him in alone. I asked him if he wanted it to just be them and he said no. I was there the whole time."

"Please tell me how it got to this point." I ask. I know his mother is upset, but him going to talk to her should not have escalated to this.

"It didn't go well. Obviously. She asked how Tae was doing pretty early on and... Well, you know how Jungkook is. He was honest. He told her exactly how he was, what he's been going through, and she insinuated that Tae was being dramatic."

"She what?" I hiss as I begin to clench my jaw.

"She said he has always been sensitive." He shakes his head while poking the inside of this cheek with his tongue. "She minimized not only what Tae is going through, but basically this whole thing.

"Jungkook tried to get her to open her eyes to what's happening, but she would just deflect away from herself and blame everyone else. So many awful things were said but he did well keeping his anger at bay considering.

"He went into the talk with the goal of not making her feel attacked, so he tried to keep his emotions in check, but I don't think he was prepared for the way she talked about you. That seemed to be the last straw. I think he started getting so frustrated with how she was acting that it became too much for him."

"What did she say about me?"

He doesn't answer, but the way he's looking at me, the way he looks to be silently apologizing, it doesn't sit well with me.

"Yeol." I say, waiting for him to explain why he appears to feel sorry for me.

"Can I have the washcloth?" Taehyung asks from the bed. "And he is asking for you Yoongi."

Yeol quickly hands the cloth to Taehyung and I walk towards the bed. When I'm closer Kook weakly reaches his hand toward me as he asks if I will stay with him.

"Of course love."

He tries to move himself towards the center of the bed to give me room to get on the bed next to him, but he doesn't have enough strength to do so.

Taehyung, seeing his struggle, moves to the opposite side of the bed to help lift and slide him to make room for me.

I sit on the bed beside him with my back rested against the pillows while Kook rolls slowly onto his side before wrapping his arms around my waist.

I wrap my arms around him as well before looking at Taehyung. He is patting Kook's neck as well as the side of his face with the damp washcloth, face full of concern.

"We have to get out of here." He says before bringing his eyes up to mine. "This place isn't good for any of us."

I nod. "I'll talk to the General. I'll see if-"

"He's not going to let you leave." He says, gesturing to Kook.

"I'll tell him." Hyuk says. "We'll get rides arranged to take the four of you back to Seoul in the morning."

"No, there's too much for you and Hi to do by yourselves!" Yeol speaks up quickly. "I can stay until it's done."

"We have already kept you from school and your other responsibilities longer than we should have. And you didn't even have notice that you were coming here. You don't have any bags with clothes or other necessities.

"I have some people here on base I can reach out to and my contact should be here later tonight with the cell phone. She is going to be coming with another trusted colleague who should be able to assist as well. We will manage. You all need food and sleep."

"Are you going to talk to him now?" Yeol asks.

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll go with you." He says before looking at me. "Yoongs, will you three be okay for a little while?"

"We'll be okay." Taehyung answers, to which I nod in agreement.

"Alright. I'll see if I can stop and get some food food for us before I come back."

I smile gratefully. "That would be great. Thank you."

He gives a wave over his shoulder as he and Hyuk leave the room.

"Tae." I hear Kook say softly.

I look up at Taehyung and he seems to have missed Kook's words, so I direct his attention towards Kook.

"Yeah, Koo. I'm here." Taehyung says as he leans closer to Kook.

"I... need him..."

I look between the two, puzzled. I'm not understanding what he's talking about but apparently Taehyung does because he answers.

"I know." He sighs as he leans his forehead against Kook's shoulder. "I think we both do."

I keep my eyes on them, waiting for some sort of explanation or anything, but it remains quiet until Kook starts to snore.

I stay still with my arms around him when I hear Tae let out a heavy sigh before he sits back up.

He keeps his eyes on Kook, running his fingers through his hair while I watch him closely.

"Did he need Yeol?"

He glances up at me through his lashes before looking back down at Kook. "He was talking about you."

"O-oh." I say before furrowing my brows even closer together. "You said you both need me."

"We do. And I know it might sound selfish because we seem to need more comforting than you do, but I know Koo can't be without you and you have been surprisingly helpful to me. It goes without saying that he wants you there, but I want you to be with us too."

"Thank you for letting me come with you." I say with a fond smile.

"Thank you for agreeing." He smiles back.

"So, where are you wanting to go?"

He pouts his lips out with furrowed brows in thought. He moves his eyes around aimlessly in contemplation as he continues to think about his answer before they land on my t-shirt.

He begins to chuckle before he looks up to meet my eyes. "I forgot you were wearing that."

"It's actually quite comfortable. I have half a mind to steal it." I say as I chuckle along with him.

"Like I said, I have plenty to go around. No need to result to theft."

We both laugh lightly at his comment before he says, "Back to your first question, I don't know where I would go."

"Did they give you a budget? Or a time limit?"

He shakes his head. "No. He just said that he would assist with accommodations for wherever I would like to go."

"Well, hypothetically speaking, if this were an open offer to go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?"

"Hypothetically," He repeats before saying, "I'd love to go somewhere that has snow. It'd be so fun to spend all day sledding and then warm up by a nice big fireplace drinking hot chocolate at night.

"Or on the opposite end, I think beaches are fun. And Koo loves swimming so I'm sure he would love to do that. We could go out on a boat and snorkel or something."

"Like, Hawaii?"

"Yeah!" He exclaims loudly.

We both immediately look down at Kook, thinking the outburst would've woken him up, but we're relieved when his only reaction is to nuzzle his head further against my stomach still quietly snoring.

"Which of his medications did you give him?" I ask before looking back up at Taehyung.

"It was the stronger one. The one that makes him tired." He says before meeting my eyes. "Is it okay that I gave him that one? It was just the first bottle I saw."

He's got his big glistening, puppy eyes on full display and it melts my heart.

His expression reminds me of that night in the meeting room with everyone all those months ago. When he asked me if Kook could stay with him. Seeing him looking at me with these same eyes that night made me actually hesitant to say no.

"I don't see this facial expression often from you. Not that I'm encouraging you to use it on me, but it's very impactful."

His innocent expression quickly turns into a mischievous smirk. "I've come to learn that when it comes to the dynamic between you and I, not only is it more fun for me but it seems to work better if I am more direct."

"The dynamic between us? You mean how we're constantly at odds with one another?" I tease.

"Exactly." He beams. "I might regret saying this later, but I like that you'll fight me on things. It doesn't happen to me often. There's a different sense of pride I feel when I can explain to you my reasoning behind talking you in or out of something and you agreeing with me then I would feel if I were to get my way by being cute-"

"I didn't say you were cute."

"You didn't have to. Your eyes did." He teases before saying, "Actually, you've been looking at me a lot with that look since we've been here."

"And what would that look be?" I ask as I tilt my head.

"One I haven't seen since before Koo's accident. A look that doesn't show that your unhappy with me or that you hate me." He comments before pressing his lips together.

"I've never hated you, Taehyung. I've been envious of you, but I've never hated you."

He slumps his shoulders as he pouts. "Now I feel like an asshole..."

"Why, because you've hated me?" I chuckle. "I would have been more surprised if you'd said you never did. I also would have called you out for lying to me. To your Hyung."

His eyes widen, surprised that I've referred to myself this way, before he breaks out into a wide smile. "My pretty Hyung."

Now it's my turn to be flustered as my own eyes widen and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Don't call me t-that." I stutter before letting out an annoyed huff when he begins to giggle, obviously amused that he can fluster me so easily.

"Jimin's right. You are a flirt." I mumble.

"Oh please." He rolls his eyes before locking them with mine.

As if in slow motion, I watch his childlishly giddy expression turn into a more dark, dare I say seductive one. He keeps his faintly hooded eyes on mine for a few seconds, leaning towards me, before he slowly drops them down to my lips.

I gulp at the sight, undoubtably looking like a deer in headlights as I watch him lean towards me, just as he did earlier.

I glance down at Kook who is still holding tightly onto me before looking back up at him. Is he going to do this in front of Kook? Asleep or not, this isn't okay. I have to stop him.

"Tae-"

"Quiet." He says in a deep, dour tone.

I let out a small squeak before snapping my mouth shut.

As he's gotten closer, neither of us has broken the eye contact until I involuntary glance down, noticing he is nibbling softly on his bottom lip.

I look back up at his eyes and he gives me an amused smile as he tilts his head. "If I was flirting with you, you would know it."

Then he reaches behind me to take the water bottle he had gotten for Kook from the bedside table before pulling away and sitting back where he was before.

I stare at him, confused and unsure of what exactly just happened.

"What was that?" I manage to ask.

He shrugs his shoulders as he removes the lid from the bottle and takes a drink.

After he's done, and has lowered the bottle from his lips he says, "I was just showing you the differenc between having a conversation with me and me flirting with you. That way next time you'll know the difference." He says as he puts the lid back on the bottle.

"Next time?"

"Yeah." He says before leaning over to the table on his side of the bed to place the bottle down. "If we're going to be friends you can't just be thinking me teasing you is me coming onto you all the time. I may be a flirt, but there's a difference between trying to make you blush for sport and trying to get in your pants."

"O-oh my God. This is so inappropriate." I say, moving Kook off me just enough to slide down so I'm in a more laying position.

"Am I going to have to show you the difference between appropriate and inappropriate as well, Hyung?" He says in a cheeky tone as he reaches to take something out of the bedside table's drawer.

"Absolutely not." I huff. "And the next time you need something that's behind me, tell me and I'll get it for you."

"Will do." He giggles as he lays back on his pillow with his phone in his hands. "You like anime right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know Japanese?" He asks.

"Do you?" I ask with a raised brow.

"I do." He smiles. "I started a new show and I'm only on the first episode. I can start it over if you want to watch it with me." He says before turning to me. "I would turn the subtitles on for you."

I stare at him, perplexed. "Your duality gives me whiplash. I've never met anyone as multifaceted as you."

"What can I say. I'm a complex human being." He says as he wiggles his head around the pillow so he can get comfortable, all while tapping around the screen on his phone to get the show started.

I continue to observe his movements as I let out a yawn.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep instead and I'll put my headphones in."

"No, you don't have to do that. I don't mind the sound." I say with another yawn.

"Okay, but if you change your mind just tell me."

"I will." I answer, before I remove my arms from around Kook, press my palms into the bed so I can slide myself down to lay on my back, causing Kook to be laying with his had on my chest before I bring my arms around him again.

"Thank you Taehyung."

"You're welcome pretty Hyung."

"You cannot call me that." I groan.

"Shh, it's okay. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Just get some sleep." He says with a dismissive wave of his hand.

I sigh but don't object to the nickname any further.

"Do you have enough room or do I need to move him more onto my side?" I ask instead.

"I'm fine. It's good to know this sized bed will fit us all. I'll make sure there's at least one bed this size wherever we'll be going." He says in a serious tone, before breaking into a smile and giggling.

"Goodnight Taehyung." I say, burying my face into Kook's hair to hide my reddening cheeks.

If tonight is any indication of how things will be going forward, I need to figure out how to get my shit together and not blush like a teenager whenever he makes these types of comments, teasing me "for sport."

It's either that or I'll have to learn how to tease him back. Except that I don't know how Kook will feel about me teasing Taehyung back. I wouldn't be at the same level of flirtatiousness as Taehyung, but I don't want to make Kook uncomfortable.

I really hope me being there with he and Taehyung won't make him uncomfortable as well.

Shit, I should have talked to him before I told Taehyung I would go with them.

I guess nothing is for sure though. I can still back out if he does think it should just be he and Taehyung. We'll just have to make sure to talk about it tomorrow. All three of us.