Yoongi knew it was a big step asking Jungkook to live with him, even if it was just for a short period of time. The boy wasn't used to such kindness despite being around his older friends and it showed on his face when the mint haired had said those four words. He had tried to refuse and claim that he would only be a bother, but the older wouldn't hear any of it. He had simply insisted that he wouldn't have it any other way and that the brunette would be staying with him. Jungkook had quit trying to argue shortly after.

A doctor had stopped by at some point to tell Jungkook that he should stop talking as it was straining him and to get some sleep. The brunette nodded to the order and the doctor escorted Yoongi and Namjoon out of the room and into the hall. He had told the two that Jungkook would be able to leave in two days time as they wanted to ensure nothing else was wrong and get him the right care.

The next day, Yoongi and Namjoon stopped at the police station and did just as they planned: they left a report. The officer on duty said they'd look into it and turned back to whatever was on her computer screen. The rest of the day was spent with Jungkook who seemed a bit quiet. The doctor from the day prior came and ushered them out at around eight and cheerfully told them that the boy would be all ready for discharge at twelve the next day.

Yoongi had landed in his bed with an excited smile on his face. He couldn't help but to be excited for tomorrow. There was so much to look forward to. He would get to spend more time with Jungkook, get to know him in a different way then before, he'd get to be under the same roof as the brunette.

Although the circumstances weren't the best, Yoongi couldn't help but think that all of this had happened for a reason. Like something, somewhere, had wanted Jungkook to be in a better place than he had been before. It had wanted a change in how the brunette was living and had thus brought an event that would do so: Namjoon and Yoongi's being brought into the light of what was happening with the younger boy. It had placed him safely in the mint and salmon haired's arms and allowed them to help rebuild all that had been broken. He was now going to be in a place where he could have endless love and reassurance, something that Yoongi was promising himself he would never stop giving. The younger deserved so much better and the mint haired was going to prove that to him. He knew that there were going to be those kinds of doubts in the brunette's head, no matter how much he didn't want them to be there, and it was up to him and Namjoon to convince him that they were just that, doubts.

Who knows, maybe because of this shift in environment, Jungkook would realize that the places he was employed to weren't exactly the best and decide to go elsewhere. Maybe he would leave working three position behind and instead work one where he wasn't just doing it to stay away from his apartment. Maybe he'd discover that not all homes are like the ones he's been in. There's nothing to fear, and Yoongi was sure he could teach the brunette just that.

He couldn't help but be proud of Namjoon too. Through all of this, he continued to be a shining pillar, supporting all of them with a brave face. Yoongi looked up to and respected the salmon haired male even more  for that. It was something he certainly could not have done. Everything had been so stressful and he continued chugging along without so much as a complication. He hoped Namjoon knew how much they appreciated him for everything. They couldn't have done this without him, and that became more and more obvious as the days went by.

Dawn broke with a splinter of sunlight raining down on Yoongi's face and an alarm blasting one of the various songs on the mint haired's phone. He climbed out of bed without a complaint, which was a first, especially for him, and changed into a polo shirt and black jeans with a pair of tennis shoes on his feet. His next thought was placed upon getting a cup of coffee, anything to make him seem slightly more awake than he was.

The apartment had been thoroughly cleaned the night before, even though it had been pretty spotless before, in preparation for Jungkook's arrival. The guest room was all set up and ready with fresh sheets and blankets and had been emptied of all Yoongi's old or yet to be used music equipment. Everything was ready, all that was needed now was Jungkook himself and Namjoon's Hyundai to get there and back.

The two had decided that it would be best if they carpooled to the hospital and back to Yoongi's place. Jungkook was used to Namjoon's car and the both of them being there might make him slightly more comfortable. That was all that was on their minds: Making the brunette comfortable. Yoongi knew the stresses of having something like this slip and friends knowing.

Namjoon's loud knocking filled the room and Yoongi quickly sprang from the couch to greet the salmon haired with a smile and a, "Hello."

Namjoon smiled back, "Hey, you ready to go?"

Yoongi hummed as a yes and grabbed his phone before locking the apartment door.

The walk down to the car was quiet, way more than normal. Something was slightly off with the younger. He just seemed.. stiff, nervous almost. Yoongi thought it would change upon getting into the car but it remained the same. Something was going on in that head of his.

"Are you okay?" Yoongi asked as he fastened his seatbelt.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You seem a bit tense."

"I'm nervous about picking up Jungkook, that's all. I don't want anything to change between him and us because of all of this."

"They won't, you said this yourself. We'll make sure he knows that."

Namjoon nodded before clearing his throat, obviously trying to redirect the conversation and saying, "I called the hospital before I came. They said he's all ready to go when we are."

"Alright, thank you for calling ahead. I think sitting in the waiting room would just stress me out further."

"That's exactly why I called."

Yoongi nodded. Good ol' reliable Namjoon.

"Have you figured out where Jungkook is sleeping?"

"I have the guest room all set and ready." Yoongi fidgeted with his fingers, "I'm really nervous about all of this. What if he doesn't like it?"

"Judging from where he was before, Yoongs, I know he'll like it." A pause before an almost whispered, "I know he'll like being with you."

"Are you sure? What if he doesn't want to stay with me or-"

"Don't worry, Hyung. I'm positive that Jungkook will be happy staying with you. It's better than being in a crappy apartment or a hospital."

Yoongi sighed, "You're right, you're right. It's just- just so easy to give in to thinking like that."

"You're really nervous. It's understandable."

A silence, not a very comfortable one, enveloped them before Yoongi spoke up and slit the tension with a knife.

"I'm so excited to pick him up. I just want him to be away from there and home already." Yoongi said.

"I know, I hate how slow traffic is today." Namjoon scowled up at the stop light, "We should be there soon."

Yoongi hummed, "How have you been, Joon?"

"Ah, slightly stressed, as to be expected, but other than that, fine."

"Yeah, I think we've all been pretty stressed these past few days. How's the café?"

"Good, Jin Hyung has been running it since I took time off and he seems to be giving back a positive report."

"That's good, always great to know that my place of employment will be open another day."

Namjoon chuckled and turned into the hospital parking lot. He parked and got out before walking next to Yoongi towards the entrance, "The nurse on the phone said to alert one of the on call nurses who we're here for and then to wait where they tell us to for him."

"Alright." Yoongi said, following slightly behind Namjoon.

Namjoon approached a nurse sitting behind a desk, "Um, hi, my friend and I are here to pick up Jeon Jungkook?"

"Ah, you're the boys that called this morning. He's been really anxious to see you." The nurse smiled before picking up the phone, "I'll call someone to go get him for you. Wait over there, will you?" She pointed in the direction of a small waiting room.

"Thank you."

She nodded before talking into the phone.

Yoongi took a seat with Namjoon next to him, "He's right through that door." He said, looking at the double door into the main hospital.

Namjoon hummed, "He'll be here soon."

"Excuse me," The nurse from the desk said, walking over with a clipboard in hand, "I just need you to sign off on a few things and he'll be all ready to go."

"Alright, thank you." Namjoon said smiling and accepting the clipboard.

The nurse went back to her seat and Namjoon pulled the pen out away from the clip on the board.

"This is sad that I don't know his birthday." Namjoon sighed as he scanned over the paper.

"September first, I think?"

"'97? I'm going to go with that." Namjoon hesitated, "Reason for visit? I don't think even we know what happened."

"Just write what you do know. That we found our friend injured and brought him here. Make sure to list what we saw."

"Alright." Namjoon said, beginning to write it out.

Yoongi leaned back in the hard seat and took a deep breath. He didn't want Jungkook feeling like he was going to lose his friends, because he wasn't. There was no way in hell that they would ever leave him. What happened those short few nights ago was only to go make that feeling stronger. They wanted to protect him, to show him that not everyone wants to leave or hurt him. That he doesn't have to fear. He wants to show him that people do love him and that he shouldn't always expect the worst. That his friends, the true ones, and those close to him will always be there for him, much like what Sanggyun showed him.

Yoongi had had to face the same fears Jungkook was, and is, about two months before he left for college. Sanggyun had just explained how he felt about long distance and the two agreed to remain friends. Of course that had hurt. He had wanted Sanggyun to be his for the rest of his life, but he had to admit that even he wondered if long distance might strain their relationship. Of course, after the same doubt had been planted in his boyfriend's head, Yoongi knew it wasn't going to work and decided to just pursue a friendship. Surprisingly, the break up didn't affect them too much other than their actions towards the other. No awkwardness, no weird silences. Everything seemed to be okay on that end.

However, with one good thing came a bad one, that being his Mom returning to her needing him to have a watch or some other time telling device. It seemed like every day a new one appeared somewhere in his room. This was her last ditch effort to have a normal son and no amount of his asking her stop seemed to have an affect.

He and a group of friends had gone out earlier in the day and decided to all go back to Yoongi's place just to chill out after. As Yoongi opened his bedroom door, he saw it. The little red numbers of an analog clock glowing at him in the dark room. There was so many things he had wanted to do in that moment. Pick it up and chuck it right out his window, storm down to his Mom and demand that she remove the thing, break it into a million little pieces, but he didn't. He just bit his lip and stifled all those wants for the sake of his friends. He tried to ignore it, he really did. He was just so tired and stressed out that the clock held more of an effect on him than he had expected.

Was college really worth it? Was breaking up with the boy he loved really what he should've done? Wasn't there anything he could've done better in this situation to provide him the best use of his time? Was he just wasting his life on this? That stupid clock. That stupid, stupid clock. It was staring at him, flaunting that it won and beat him senseless. It was so proud that it scared him. That it made him cower beneath it and made him feel completely inferior to it. Which he was. Yoongi tried to regulate his anger towards it, he tried to breath, but his lungs wouldn't function and his feelings wouldn't cooperate. He tried to be strong, for Sanggyun mostly, who seemed to notice his inability to breath steadily.

He couldn't breath, he just couldn't. That was his breaking point. He'd had enough. He grabbed the clock, somewhat aggressively as everyone's attention moved to him. He stormed out of the room, clock in hand and threw it as hard as he could down the stairs where he knew his Mom was reading in the living room. He could hear it crunch against the hardwood and break apart causing the batteries to roll out and hit the walls.

He took a few deep, long breaths and turned back to his room where his friends were watching him from the door. He had apologized to them and hoped to move forward with the evening but the looks on their faces told him that it wouldn't be possible. They had questioned him about the clock and called him a freak, everything under the sun. He had tried to explain to them just what had happened with the clock, but nothing seemed to change with them. They were confused, he could tell, and that confusion was making them angry. No one but a freak would be scared or upset at clocks, they said. Why wouldn't you tell us that from the start, they asked. He couldn't say that he was scared, they'd just laugh more.

So, they laughed and left. Left him in a ball in the corner from what had been said and done. His fear had grown and pushed people away. Made them disgusted by him. He thought everyone had left until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and hug him tightly. Sanggyun. Sanggyun had stayed. He had stayed to comfort him. He told him that it was okay. That they weren't real friends if they hadn't accepted him for who he was and what problems he faced. He, on the other hand, would always be there for him, he'd help him try and move past the fear. He would always be there for him. Yoongi had cried. The cold, fierce, dark, Min Yoongi had cried. He had cried into Sanggyun's shoulder. He didn't know how long they had been like that, but it felt like a while. Just him and his ex, but still close friend, promising to always be there for each other.

It was something that had always stuck with Yoongi, that moment. He promised himself that day that he'd never let anyone he was close to ever go through that or feel the fear of losing everyone. He promised to always be there for them. And he was going to stick to that.

"Family of Jeon Jungkook?" A nurse called from the doorway into the main hospital.

"Yes?" Yoongi said while Namjoon stood up, the mint haired following shortly after.

"Wait one second," The nurse reentered the hospital and came back with Jungkook in a wheelchair, "Are his discharge forms ready?"

"Um, I'm not sure of his insurance provider. Everything else is filled out though." Namjoon said, looking down at the clipboard.

"That's fine, we can look into that with our database." The nurse smiled and accepted the form from the salmon haired.

"He's all yours then, just return the wheel chair once you've gotten him to your vehicle." She turned her attention to the brunette, "Now, you take it easy on your rib and take your medication, okay? I don't want to have to see you here again for a while."

"Yes, Sihyun noona." Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"Thank you." Yoongi bowed slightly as he took the wheel chair from the nurse.

"It's my pleasure, please make sure he rests. This kid gets hurt too much." The nurse, Sihyun, said before returning to the hospital.

Yoongi looked at the back of Jungkook's head as he pushed the wheelchair to Namjoon's car, the said male already there holding one of the doors open. Sihyun's words kept repeating themselves in his head. This kid gets hurt too much. This kid gets hurt too much.

He had been here before, more than just a few times. More times than a kid should be showing up to a hospital. They had hurt him so much, for so long. It was all becoming clear how far back this spanned. So far back that nurses recognized him and he them. That he knew them by first name and they could talk to each other so casually. So long. It all must have felt natural lying to the nurses and doctors. Telling them one thing but knowing something different actually happened.

He wondered how this had gone on for so long. One lie was one thing, but years worth of them? How did no one catch on? There were only so many lies and excuses in the world for child abuse, wouldn't they have to repeat at some point? So many questions and only one person capable of answering. Someone who would probably not want to talk about it. Not for a long while.

Yoongi helped Jungkook out of the chair and into the car and Namjoon grabbed it to wheel back to the hospital. Jungkook shuffled a bit in the seat as he tried to get comfortable, well, as comfortable as he could with a broken rib. His brown doe eyes turned up towards the still open car door and at Yoongi, as if questioning why he was still standing there.

Yoongi cleared his throat and said, "Would you mind if I sat back here with you?"

"Not at all, Hyung." Jungkook winced as he slid over to give room to the mint haired who took a seat and closed the door.

Namjoon returned and started the car before pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road towards Yoongi's apartment.

"How are you feeling?" Namjoon said, looking at Jungkook through the rearview mirror.

"As okay as a broken rib can make me feel. I'll be fine though, thanks for asking, Hyung." Jungkook said, rubbing his side lightly.

"I'm excited to have you living with me, Kookie." Yoongi said.

"He was up late last night cleaning and setting up the guest room." Namjoon added.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you. You really didn't have to do all of that. I would've been fine with just the room itself."

"I told you." Namjoon grinned.

Yoongi scowled at him, "I wasn't going to give you just a room. I want you to feel safe and at home while you're staying with me. I don't care if it's only temporary, you're going to get the best."

"Thank you, Yoongi Hyung."

"It's my pleasure." Yoongi smiled, "Oh, also, we have your stuff at my place."

"Alright, that's good. I thought I wouldn't get any of it back."

"Well, it's safe and sound in your room."

Jungkook fiddled with his shirt a bit before saying, "Thank you, hyungs, so much. Thank you for coming back and helping me. For continuing to help me. I'm just sorry that you had to see me like that."

"Of course, Kook. We'll always help you." Namjoon said.

"I agree with Namjoon. We won't ever leave you and there's nothing to be sorry for. We're just glad you're sitting in this car with us."

"I'm glad I'm here too." Jungkook leaned into Yoongi's shoulder and held onto his arm tight.

Yoongi put his head on the younger's and shortly after heard soft snores coming from the brunette.

"He's asleep." Yoongi murmured quietly.

"I can tell." Namjoon whispered.

"I'll carry him in so you can go home and get some rest. You look and sound tired, Joon."

"I can carry him in-"

"No, I want you to get some sleep, alright?"

"...Alright."

"Good. We're getting close."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. We'll be fine. Thanks for the concern."

Namjoon took a deep breath as a retort and kept quiet.

The salmon haired turned into the apartment complex parking lot and pulled up to the curb by the door and stopped, the engine still running.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" He asked.

"I should be there, yeah." Yoongi said as he slid out of the car and pulled Jungkook out with him.

"Be careful and I'll see you tomorrow." Namjoon called as Yoongi closed the door.

"See you!" Yoongi said. He paused, stopping and turning to look at the Hyundai's driver, "And Namjoon, thank you for everything. Really."

The salmon haired smile before driving off, leaving Yoongi to carry the brunette to the elevator. He was unsurprisingly light and the mint haired felt little to no strain within his body. He pressed his floor's button and the elevator rocked into motion.

It stopped and Yoongi climbed out and walked to his apartment. The younger shifted lightly in his arms as the mint haired fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He entered and made his way back to the guest room and set Jungkook on the bed and covered him with the blanket. As he left the room and looked back at the brunette sound asleep on the bed, he knew for a definite sure that there was no way he could ever leave him. Him or Namjoon both.

Word Count: 3785

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I worked to include some more Namjoon focused pieces in this chapter. I just realized how repetitive I'm getting with these chapters haha.. Nearly over folks. Six chapters left I believe? Not long.
Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next week!