Namjoon woke up, his hand still entangled with Yoongi and Jungkook's. His back was killing him from sleeping in that horrible old hospital chair, but the more concerning thing was the crying coming from somewhere in the room. The salmon haired lifted his head off Yoongi's and blinked a little, trying to get a clear view of the hospital room. Yoongi was still fast asleep, but Jungkook, Jungkook was crying, nearly sobbing, and seemed to be as awake as he could be.

"Jungkook..?"

Yoongi seemed to stir upon hearing a voice and groaned as he raised his head off Namjoon's shoulder.

"Are you okay? Why are you crying?"

The word crying seemed to send Yoongi out of his grogginess and straight into worry mode, "What's wrong, Kookie?"

Jungkook stopped crying abruptly and used his available hand to wipe away the tears, "N-N-Nothing, I'm ok-o-okay."

Yoongi reached out to wipe the rest of the boy's tears away, "You don't look okay-" He was cut off as Jungkook flinched away from his touch.

The mint haired's eyes widened in a mix of hurt and confusion as he pulled his hand away from the brunette. Jungkook looked a little confused at why he'd done that himself, the guilt rising in his face over time before he finally had to lower it towards his blanket covered lap.

He was scared. The poor kid was scared and either didn't seem to know or was just refusing to acknowledge it. Namjoon guessed it was the latter. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, so much more than an eighteen year old ever deserved to go through. There was so much to fear in these few minutes since he awoke. Waking up to the cold pavement instead of the hospital bed. Not finding his two friends but empty chairs next to him instead. His friends being disgusted with him. His friends leaving him. Having to go back to his parents because he has nowhere to go. Being all alone all over again with the bruises all over his skin being the only testament that he was really alive.

It, in its own weird way, reminded Namjoon of his own fears. Fears when he came home to a dark apartment despite it being Baekhyun's day off. Fears when he found nothing of the older's in their usual place. Fears when he saw that damned letter. Fears like no one would ever love him again. He was becoming unloveable. That he'd have to go back to his parents and say the three words he thought he'd never utter, "He left me". That he'd return to a dollar store job where he wasn't happy. That his parents and sister would look at him differently because he insisted that Baekhyun would never do anything to hurt him and he had stayed with an alcoholic who turned out to be cheating on him. He was scared that he'd lose the apartment. That he'd have to give up schooling. That he really would have to go back to Incheon with his head held low and his tail between his legs. He'd have to leave his friends and new opportunities behind.

So much had drifted through his brain. Too much all at one time. He hadn't been able to clear his head for weeks, maybe even months, after. He had no one to help him, give him kind words. It wasn't until Seokjin had come to him after graduation with the business proposal that he finally found someone who could offer him those words.

Jungkook was lucky that he'd already found that someone. Namjoon. He would gladly step up and say what the young brunette needed because he understood the pain of them not being said once. He knew the boy wouldn't believe them at first, hell, Namjoon probably wouldn't have, but he knew that they'd resonate through his head and eventually he'd see the truth in them. It would take time, yes, but it was better than months without them.

"Kook-ah." Namjoon said as softly as he could. Jungkook lifted his head slightly to look at the salmon haired, "We don't hate you. We're not going to leave you." He placed his hand on the mattress.

Yoongi looked at him and seemed to sense what the salmon haired was thinking and placed his hand on the mattress as well, "We could never leave you, Kookie. Not because of anything."

Jungkook looked at their hands, tears beginning to shine in his eyes. He shakily placed his hand on theirs and held them tight as a quiet sob slipped past his lips.

"I-I-I was s-so sca-sc-scared." Jungkook murmured as his tears slid away from their previous position, "I didn't th-t-think I'd g-get to see y-y-you ever again."

"Oh, Kookie." Yoongi said softly.

"H-He was so m-ma-mad. I-It hurt s-s-so much, H-Hyung."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Kook. I wish we had been there to protect you." Namjoon said, rubbing his thumb over the younger's knuckles.

"I-It's my own f-fa-fault for being so dis-d-disgusting. I-I'm so-sorry, Hyungies."

"You aren't disgusting. Whoever told you that is a liar." Namjoon said.

"You are the most amazing and beautiful person I've ever met. There's no way you could ever be disgusting." Yoongi said, his voice quivering somewhat.

"B-Bu-"

"No buts. You are gorgeous, Kook."

Jungkook sniffled slightly, "Th-t-thank you."

Namjoon held the younger boy's hand a bit tighter. It could only be assumed that these words that seemed to be ingrained in the brunette's head were the result of his parents. Scratch that, he knew they were there because of those people. He hated that they hadn't noticed. The guilt was building up and he knew that Jungkook wouldn't want him to feel this way. In fact, it might make the boy feel more guilty, though he shouldn't be feeling like that at all.

Despite the circumstances, there was no place Namjoon would rather have been all night than by the boy's side. He could only hope that the words he had spoken had planted a seed of doubt in his brain, that doubt being that whatever was circulating in his head was not actually true. He had tried to say what he thought the brunette needed to hear in this kind of situation and he hoped that Jungkook had truly listened to them and let them enter his circulation train.

There was so much that Namjoon had wanted to hear when he'd been at this stage of things, scared of so much. He'd wanted to hear that this wasn't his fault. That this had been an experience and he could learn from it. That someone would love him and love him the right way. That whatever Baekhyun was giving him was not love. But he didn't have anyone to sit down next to him and take his burdens as if they were their own. He didn't have anyone to look him in the eye and speak the truths he so desperately needed to hear or to sow a place for a little seed to grow into a plant and present him with the fruit called realization. He'd had to do that all by himself and had some added water and fertilizer thanks to Seokjin. He had a bit more than before now that he had these two boys by him. They gave him hope. Hope that maybe there was someone, excuse him, that there were two gorgeous people who would love him like he deserved.

Yoongi nudged Namjoon, the younger turning his eyes to the mint haired who was looking at the spaced out Jungkook.

Yoongi waved Namjoon closer and the salmon haired leaned in a bit, "I think- no, no, I want to contact the police about this. I want to keep him safe and I don't want to have this happen again and it would be the only way."

"I agree, Hyung." Namjoon eyed the brunette, "We need him to agree though."

"I don't know if he'll want to."

"He does, he's just scared."

"We need to try and calm him down then, right?"

"Yeah, just be as caring as you can."

"I would even if he wasn't in this situation."

Namjoon smiled slightly, "Good." His eyes shifted back to Jungkook who was playing with the hospital blanket nervously, "Jungkook?"

The younger boy turned his attention to the salmon haired.

"I know it's still fresh but-"

"Y-Y-You want to k-know what ha-h-happened." Jungkook interjected.

"I do. I'm sure Yoongi does too."

The brunette seemed hesitant, like the words were stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

Yoongi cleared his throat, "We want-" He stopped, his eyes drifting over to Namjoon as if to ask if he should even say what he was about to. Namjoon nodded, the boy deserved to know. It was his consent that was going to get the case to court, after all. "We want to file a police report."

Jungkook's eyes widened, "N-No! No, you ca-c-can't!"

"It'll help you-"

"No! No, it w-won't. I-It-It won't. I d-de-deserve it. I deserve wh-what they did. It's m-m-my fault, real-re-really Hyungies. I p-promise. Please d-d-don't tell them. Pl-Please." There was so much fear in those words. Not fear of being discovered, no, it was something else.

"You didn't deserve that. No one does, especially you. What they did to you was wrong and this'll help stop it. Please, Kookie, we don't want to see you hurt anymore." Yoongi said.

"B-Bu-But they'll hurt me i-i-if you do. They'll h-hurt you too. I do-don't want to s-s-see you hurt be-b-because of me." There it was. The whole reason for this whole protest. He was fearful for them. He wasn't concerned for himself and while Namjoon found that flattering, he didn't want the boy thinking like that.

"Thank you for worrying about us, Kook, but you are the main concern here. We'd much rather you be safe than put in harm's way for our sake. Wouldn't we, Yoongi?" Namjoon said, turning to the mint haired next to him.

Yoongi nodded somewhat vigorously.

Namjoon turned back to Jungkook, "If we file a police report, it'll prevent them from being able to hurt you or anyone else. We want you to be safe." Namjoon squeezed the brunette's hand.

"They won't ever touch you again because we'll protect you." Yoongi added.

Jungkook coughed a little, probably because of all the talking the two were making him do, and teared up slightly, Namjoon being unable to tell if it was from coughing or just pure emotion, "T-They didn't l-li-like me com-coming home w-wi-ith you. Dad got re-rea-really mad. It was wor-wo-worse than usual-al. He w-w-wouldn't stop kic-kicking. He just w-wo-wouldn't stop."

Yoongi scooted his chair closer to the bedside and tightened his grip on the pair's hands, "It's okay, Kookie. You're far away from them and you aren't going back."

"Then-n wh-where will I-I-I go? I d-do-don't hav-ve my a-apar-apartment anymore."

Silence enveloped the room. Where would the brunette go? Namjoon was sure he could find a place near at least one of his jobs and be able to adapt, but would he want to? The salmon haired was sure that Jungkook would never return to that way of living if he didn't have to. He had always seemed so shaken upon even mentioning returning to his own place of residence, Namjoon now understanding why. There was so much to the word home, all of which Jungkook was sure to want no part of based on his own experiences with it. It explained the barren walls and the empty rooms. He had wanted to distance himself from that horrid word and had done a pretty good job of it.

Now, he would have to start over completely with a little more of himself gone than before and that could only end badly. They couldn't leave him alone, he'd only destroy himself and wear out sooner. He'd take on more jobs just to stay away from what was sure to be a crappier apartment that held emotions so heated and painful that the salmon haired could only imagine the struggle to even stay in it rather than run out and never look back.

He'd distance himself all over again because this experience taught him that he shouldn't have people close. He would block out everything and Namjoon couldn't imagine a world without that bunny toothed smile. His doe eyes that gleamed when he was excited. The way his dialect came out when he spoke too fast or when he just wasn't thinking about it. His cuteness that coated a personality that couldn't compare to anyone else's. He didn't want a life without him and Namjoon was sure Yoongi was thinking the same thing.

The mint haired parted his pink lips, "You'll stay with me."

Word Count: 2228

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I'm not sure about this chapter haha. I agree though, Namjoon needs more focus. He'll be getting that spotlight soon promise 🤞
I'm excited to present you with my new fic, got a lot going for that. I think you all will like it. It's got a bit of Sci-Fi elements to it :)
Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next week!