A few days had passed since his meeting with Blue. In those past few days, Blue didn't say much, nothing more than simple good mornings, good nights, and how are you's. Although Taehyung, of course, did try asking questions, but they were avoided with mere apologies. And what bewildered Tae was that he still didn't know why Blue was apologizing.

It bothered him, as did their in-person conversation, from that silver bracelet to the topic of the black market. The mention of such a thing instilled in Taehyung a kind of anxiety he had never experienced before. Sure, he had always been paranoid of people secretly wanting to study him, but to know that there were actually people who had these sorts of intentions made him nauseous.

Don't worry, you don't have to worry about them, Blue had assured him at one point. He wished he could have rested easy at those words.

And he tried. He tried distracting himself with tv, cartoons and whatnot, whenever he had a little free time to spare. And, needless to say, he texted Yoongi frequently as well, as the boy's friend always helped to ease him at least somewhat.

But Yoongi was a busy man and couldn't text him constantly.

Late on this autumn evening, Taehyung sat alone on his couch, bundled up in more covers than he needed for warmth but he liked the feeling of them as he watched cartoons which surprisingly served as a good distraction from his negative thoughts.

He didn't check the time but he was sure it was close to 9 or 10 at this point.

There was a knock at the door. Despite believing he had suppressed his thoughts of Blue for the time being, his masked friend was the first thing that came to mind. With his covers still wrapped around him Taehyung crept over to the door.

"Who is it?"

"...uh, Jungkook."

Tae pulled his head back in confusion. "What? What are you doing here?"

"...uhh..."

Frustrated by the delayed response, Taehyung opened the door and prepared to fire the boy a reprimanding look, but stopped abruptly at the sight of him.

Jungkook had three bags on hand, two of which were duffel bags slung over his shoulders, the other a moderately-sized suitcase resting beside his leg. He had on the guiltiest expression, gaze avoiding Taehyung's own.

"What's with all this?" He demanded. Still, Jungkook avoided his gaze, his tiny smile present, but evidently forced. "Jungkook, explain yourself."

"Just curious if we could, you know, have a sleepover..."

"What?"

"...a sleepover..."

"No, I'm serious, what's your problem?"

Silence. Shameful silence.

"Jungkook-"

"I lost my job and got kicked out of my apartment."

Taehyung stared, wide-eyed and in disbelief. He could see that Jungkook's hair and clothes were quite damp, making Tae jump to the conclusion the boy had spent a lot of time in contemplation, possibly outside in the rain, before deciding to finally approach him. It was stupid. Stupid, cliche, and most of all Taehyung really didn't like how his chest hurt a little looking upon Jungkook's despondent expression right now.

"Get inside."

The boy lifted his head suddenly at the invitation. "Really? You mean it-?"

"Just shut up and get moving."

A brighter, yet still guilt-stained smile tugged at Jungkook's lips as he followed Taehyung into his apartment, carrying along his bags which were stuffed to their absolute max. He closed the door behind him and turned to Tae. "I owe you my life, I won't forget this, Taehyung." He dropped his bags on the floor. "I promise I won't make you regret it, I'll clean up after myself, I'll try to find a job as soon as possible until I can afford a place of my own, I'll-"

"What happened?"

The interruption didn't just put a pause in Jungkook's rambling, but a complete stop. He looked down at his hands as Taehyung reclaimed his seat on the couch.

"Jungkook," Tae said sternly, "tell me what happened. You're one of the last people I've met who I can ever imagine getting fired. Or was there some other reason? And you said you got kicked out of your apartment?"

"They didn't both happen today," Jungkook said with a nervous laugh, twiddling his thumbs. "I actually got fired from my job a couple days ago, but...well, I didn't say anything. And as for getting kicked out..." He let out a deep breath, acquiring a new type of smile which almost seemed in spite of himself. "I've always had an issue with paying rent on time," he chuckled again, "and getting fired didn't really help with that. Neither does having a really cranky landlord."

Taehyung was in awe. For what felt like a solid five minutes, he stared at Jungkook, not really knowing how to react to this news, until he finally managed to raise the question, "How did you get fired?"

No answer.

"Jungkook, how did you—...oh."

The sight of those watery eyes cut him off. Shut him up real good, actually. At least his questions.

He didn't like not knowing things but perhaps, Taehyung considered, the boy had a valid reason to be upset and not want to talk about it.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook, forget I asked."

Seeming to register the other had seen the approaching tears, Jungkook hastily rubbed his eyes and sniffled, forcing yet another smile as he struggled still to look at Taehyung. "N-no, I'm the sorry one, I'm inconveniencing you, you didn't even have to let me inside, but you did, 'cause you're amazing, and-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough with that nonsense..." Sighing, Tae gestured for the boy to come towards the couch, disheartened by the immediate reaction of hesitance. "C'mon, just leave your bags there for now, I don't really care. Just sit down."

"On the couch?"

"Where else?"

"Beside you?"

"Where else?" He groaned and stood up from his comfortable seat, just to seize the teary-eyed Jungkook by his forearm and drag him over to the couch. "Sit."

"I never learned that trick."

"Crack another joke and I'll kick you out of this apartment, too."

Jungkook turned his head down.

Oh, my gosh, I'm such an awful person. "I'm sorry, shouldn't have said that..."

The other boy sniffled. "No, it's fine, I'm just a crybaby..."

"I never said that..."

"That's 'cus you're really nice."

"No, if I were nice I wouldn't have said what I just said."

"It's okay, 'cus you didn't mean it..."

"...do you want me to get you some tissues...?"

"...can I ask for a substitute?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"...like...a hug, or something..."

"...can the 'or something' be a tissue?"

A pout. He's actually pouting. How old is he?

Taehyung didn't want to. Namely because of the expectant look on Jungkook's face as he now gazed into his eyes, and he could feel a blush threatening to rise on his cheeks. That being said, Tae gave in and opened his arms to hug the boy, just briefly, but it clearly made all the difference to Jungkook.

"See..." Another quiet sniffle. "You are nice."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not-"

Out of nowhere Jungkook took hold of Taehyung's shoulders and at about ten centimeters from his face, aggressively whispered "you are" which in turn triggered the blush the surface thanks to the closeness of the two's faces. Taehyung raised his hand just to slap the other's shoulder.

"Ah, cute, it's back-"

"You're really pushing your luck, Jungkook."

"Sorry." A soft giggle. "It's just really pretty. I've mentioned, I know I have."

The purple on the boy's cheeks only deepened at this. "Well," he muttered, "please don't mention it again."

"Can't help it."

"If you don't stop staring, you're sleeping on the couch."

"Well, where else would I sleep?"

"Wait, no scratch that, the couch is my spot-" He threw out a hand to direct Jungkook's attention to a door on the other side of the room. "There, you can sleep on my bed, I'll take the couch."

"Your bed?"

"Yes, I'm more accustomed to the couch and I like it better, so you can sleep in my room," Tae said firmly, "so whenever you feel yourself getting sleepy, kindly transport yourself there, okay? Jungkook.......hello.....?"

"Mhm."

A look of pure gratitude radiated from Jungkook's now half-lidded eyes, warm and wholesome. He seemed dazed, distracted.

"...you really are amazing, Taehyung."

Again with this. "I told you enough with the nonsense, why don't you take your bags to the room?"

"I will." His smile broadened. "And I promise I'll find a job as soon as I can so I can pay you back. I'll go job-hunting first thing tomorrow after classes."

"That's not necessary," Taehyung said, sighing almost in pity. "You don't...have to rush yourself. Take your time."

It was mere moments after he had uttered these words that an idea came to mind.

"Better yet," he added before Jungkook could stand up fully. "Better yet...why don't you just come to the Fermata Pavilion?"

"What?" Puzzlement, followed by clear-cut shock. "Wait, for real?"

"Yeah, why not?" Taehyung shrugged. "You're a music major. You can sing or play or instrument I'm sure."

"I-I can, but-"

"Then it's a perfect opportunity. You'll go in tomorrow, yeah? I'll introduce you to my boss. Guarantee, if I give you a good word he'll hire you on the spot, no audition needed. He's always looking for good performers."

Stunned. For the longest time, Jungkook's doe eyes remained open and their gaze frozen in place, stuck on Taehyung as though they, along with his brain, were still processing the situation.

The end result was another hug initiated, obviously, by Jungkook, who just about tackled the other boy and thus earning himself another admonishing slap to the shoulder.

"Sorry. Just wanted to show my thanks."

"There are other ways," Taehyung grumbled. "Like with words."

"You're amazing."

"Okay, enough."

*
*
*

end of chapter fourteen.