Taehyung had called Yoongi minutes before pulling up to his apartment, essentially shouting into the phone that he needed help - those weren't the exact words he used, not in the slightest, but Yoongi gathered the message from his friend's hopeless cries.

He was outside waiting anxiously till the moment he saw his friend's car pull up. Next thing he knew, Yoongi watched as Tae hastily exited the driver's side, then opened the back door out of which he began to lift an unconscious Jungkook. At least he looked unconscious. Either way the pitiful state of the boy caused Yoongi's stomach to churn uneasily.

"Tae, Taehyung, what the hell??"

"Help me get him inside, Yoongi, please!"

Again, that panic in his voice. Yoongi ran over to him. "Tae, we should get him to a hospital, he's-"

"No!" An immediate cry of disapproval. "No, we're already here, just help me get him inside-"

"Taehyung, he's clearly been assaulted, he needs medical help!"

"We can help him! I don't need anyone else's help!!"

The raw emotion in those words reverberated like a bell in Yoongi's ears. He knew Taehyung well. He knew this wasn't just about him hating hospitals.

"This is my responsibility, I'm to blame for this happening, I won't let a stranger fix my mistake."

His voice trembled all the while as he stared at his friend in desperation. Yoongi couldn't turn him down. He was weak to those eyes of Taehyung's, those innocent eyes he had seen shed tears far too many times than he could count.

"Fine, but we need to hurry."

In case of running the risk that someone should see them, Yoongi pulled the hood of Jungkook's sweatshirt over the boy's head to at least somewhat shield his face. Then with great effort he and Taehyung labored in carrying Jungkook all the way to Tae's apartment, preparing to act as though this was nothing more than two guys assisting their drunk friend back home. Luckily no one happened to poke their heads out of their apartments so they didn't need to put on their acting skills after all.

They made it safely to Tae's place and lowered Jungkook on the couch while taking as much care as possible. Once he was out of their arms, Taehyung's panic switch flipped again, and he could hardly function whereas Yoongi had already raced to the kitchen to find something to wipe away the blood.

"Tae!" He called out suddenly. "Do you have bandages or anything around here? A first-aid kit? Anything??"

"Under the sink," Taehyung blurted.

He was only half-listening. The other half of his focus was on Jungkook's resting face, the ugly bruises, the sight of which made Taehyung's eyes begin to well with tears again.

"My fault, this is all my fault..."

"Tae, just relax," Yoongi said calmly once he had returned to the living room. He knelt down in front of the couch next to Taehyung. His uneasy gaze settled on Jungkook's heavily marked complexion. "Mostly bruises," he said in a soft voice, somewhat in relief. "He should be fine, bruises aren't difficult to treat, is that the only thing wrong with him?"

Taehyung didn't respond. His mind had been trapped in a loop of repeating the same words, over and over.

"Taehyung."

More firmly this time. Tae snapped into focus. "What, what is it??"

"Is it just bruises on his face?" Yoongi asked with urgency. "Do you know if he has a sprain or cuts anywhere? He wasn't stabbed, was he??"

"Stabbed??" In that moment Taehyung felt like he was stabbed, his heartbeat accelerating from the sheer level of anxiety bubbling in his body. "N-no, I don't think so, I don't know, I didn't-"

"Lift his shirt, make sure he's not bleeding there."

He wasn't in a state of mind to be embarrassed. Right now, the only thing he was concerned about was Jungkook being okay. So he did what Yoongi asked of him and lifted up Jungkook's shirt, all the way up to his chest just to make sure there weren't any missed spots. No stab wounds, fortunately. But there were more bruises there, and that certainly didn't help Taehyung feel much better.

"Tae, it's okay, you need to breathe just as much as he does-"

"No, no, I don't, I just need him to be okay-"

"And he will be." Yoongi cut him off sternly. "You need to distract yourself from your thoughts right now, Tae, why don't you go get some ice and wrap it in another rag? Okay?"

Again, he listened to Yoongi's sensible instructions as his friend got to work cleaning off the blood from Jungkook's face and from around the boy's mouth. There was a cut on his lip but it looked to have stopped bleeding. His nose, also, seemed to have stopped bleeding, the blood from which had already dried around the nostrils.

"What kind of gang fight did he get himself caught up in?"

"Yoongi, here."

Taehyung's shaky voice stole back Yoongi's attention, and he turned to find his friend holding out a rag, tied at the top and filled with ice. He gestured at Jungkook's face. "Hold it against the bruises," he said. "It helps reduce bloodflow. We'll wrap them later, at least the ones we can wrap. Can you hear me, Tae?"

"I can, I do, I hear you," the boy answered. He swallowed his breath nervously and fell to his knees, then began to press the ice against Jungkook's bruised face. Yoongi had cleaned the blood from it by this point. He sat back for a moment just to watch Taehyung. The expression his friend wore right now wasn't like anything he ever remembered seeing on the boy. Of course he had seen Tae panic before - excessively so. But this panic was directed towards another person.

'We don't mean anything to each other,' that boy had claimed. If Yoongi hadn't already held the suspicion those words weren't entirely true, this scene in front of him confirmed it. The way Taehyung watched Jungkook's face right now, silently pleading for him to wake up as he struggled not to let the water escape from his eyes.

And this went on for quite a while. Taehyung, kneeling down beside Jungkook by the couch, applying the ice to the bruised areas and even getting up once to go get more ice, as the ice he had already started to melt.

There wasn't much else for Yoongi to do. At this point, it was primarily a matter of minimizing Jungkook's physical activity so that the bruises could heal most efficiently. All the blood stains had been taken care of, cleaned with care, there was nothing that had been infected, no deep cuts.

That being said, Yoongi left it to Taehyung. Because it was obvious the boy had wanted to take care of it himself to begin with. So Yoongi just stood in the background and kept a caring eye on them.

Taehyung had blocked out everything he couldn't see right in front of him. Everything but Jungkook. He held the boy's hand in his own.

Tenderly.

He refused to let go of it.

And he refused to look away from Jungkook's face, swearing to himself he wouldn't leave the boy's side until his eyes were opened again.

It took some time. But they finally did.

Gradually, peeling apart as if having been sealed shut by some other force, they opened, only but a centimeter of space between them, but it was enough.

Taehyung reacted faster than his own heart beat. A crooked smile slapped itself across his countenance but faded just as quickly.

"Jungkook, it's okay, you're okay, we're at the apartment now," he whispered breathlessly. "You're okay, Kook, you're okay."

A ragged breath escaped Jungkook's barely parted lips.

"I'm here, Kookie, I'm here, it's okay..."

The boy's gaze found Taehyung's own and shattered his composure on impact. Those tears of Tae's spilled over. He pursed his lips tightly but it didn't help.

"Kookie, I'm so sorry..."

He couldn't take it. Everything about this moment, for some reason, overwhelmed him, and Taehyung gave in to the sudden urge to just press his forehead against Jungkook's as though the closeness was the only thing that could calm him right now.

It didn't stop there, though. In this atmosphere of uncontrollable emotion, Taehyung kissed him.

Pressing his lips against Jungkook's bruised own, he kissed him softly as the tears continued rolling down his cheeks. He kissed Jungkook, taking a second every so often to whisper 'it's okay, you're gonna be okay,' and 'I'm so sorry' over and over again. He kissed the bruises covering Jungkook's face, even over the boy's delicate eyelids.

He most likely would have continued for a while had Yoongi not stepped in.

"You should let him rest for now," he said, stepping once again into the living room. Taehyung spun his head around to look back at his friend, then back at Jungkook.

Jungkook's eyes began to drift close. Yoongi was right. Again. If there were anything Jungkook needed right now, it was to rest. So Taehyung gave in and rose to his feet, unsteadily, because he lost track of how long he had been on his knees, to the point where they were starting to numb. But he found his balance soon enough.

"Come sit with me in the kitchen, Tae."

"He needs a blanket-"

"I'll get him a blanket, just go sit."

Reluctantly, Taehyung sauntered over to the kitchen and pulled out a seat for himself, pouting like a child that had just received a minor punishment for a mild misdemeanor. Meanwhile Yoongi picked off the floor his own blanket he had left there earlier that day and draped it over Jungkook.

"There, he's tucked in goodnight," he said, soon pulling out a chair at the kitchen table to join Taehyung. "You can wipe away your tears, Tiger. He's gonna be okay."

The boy sniffled one last time before rubbing his eyes and grabbing a napkin to blow his nose. Yoongi sighed at the sight. He paused for a quiet minute before speaking again.

"I don't mean to sound like a disappointed parent," he began in a gentle voice, "but I think you owe me a bit of explaining."

Taehyung's shameful gaze dropped to his hands which he now rested on the table's surface. "I know," he replied.

"So you two are dating then?"

"Dating?? No, we're-"

"Taehyung."

"We're not dating..."

"Then you're in love with him."

Taehyung tried to argue but the approaching tears shut his mouth before he could get out another word.

"He's asleep, Tae. You can tell me."

The boy kept his silence. Another sigh passed through Yoongi's lips.

"I'm not gonna accuse you of anything, Tiger," he said, "because clearly there's something going on, but I'm just saying...the way you were looking at him-"

"I was worried," Tae blurted in defense.

"So if you were worried about me you would kiss me like that? Is that what you're saying?"

"N-no, I wouldn't do that..."

"Taehyung, I just want you to talk to me."

Solemn-spoken, but gentle at the same time. He relaxed as Yoongi massaged his shoulder. Right then, he could have cried again but managed to hold it back.

"It's been so much," the boy said vaguely at first. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Yoongi, I just didn't want you worrying about me, you had a job to manage...but, people found out about my blood, Yoongi. And it was just like high school, they all looked at me weird and wondered why I wouldn't go to the hospital, and-..."

He hesitated to glance over at Jungkook.

"He tried to help," Tae continued. "After it happened, and I ran all the way back to my apartment, and that idiot followed me, just because I left my phone in the classroom and he wanted to return it."

Yoongi made a face. "He followed you? Like from your college campus?"

"Yeah," Taehyung scoffed at the memory. "And you know he didn't even give it back right away. He refused to until I let him inside and talked."

"That's kinda..."

"Weird, I know. But I was already too exhausted to argue with him so I just gave in and let him inside. He wanted to help treat the scratches I had...he was such a weirdo...still is..."

"He didn't react weirdly to your blood being purple?" Yoongi asked.

"No," the other replied. "In fact, he wouldn't shut up about how 'pretty' it was. He's even gone to the effort of purposely embarrassing me just to see my face turn purple..."

"Well, you are quite cute when you blush."

"He seems to think so..."

"Sounds to me he has a crush on you."

As Yoongi smiled, Taehyung shrunk into himself, rubbing the back of his neck as memories surfaced in his head, Jungkook's selfless actions, his kind words, even the way he looked at Tae. In a way no one had, at least not since his secret had been made known to them. Regardless of all of it, Jungkook was unfazed. By the stares, the gossip, the rude comments he received for hanging around Taehyung.

Even going as far as to fight someone in public and get fired from his job. Just for sticking up for Tae.

"Maybe," he whispered. "Or maybe he's just an idiot."

"Maybe both, that's a possibility, too," Yoongi chuckled. "But I'd bet money it's his heart piloting his actions. Yours, too, from what I've seen just today. You wouldn't kiss someone who's just a friend like that. I'm not that dumb, Tiger."

"I didn't...say you were..."

Yoongi nodded, smile still on his lips as his gaze washed over his friend's expression. He didn't want to ruin this lighthearted mood, but deep in his chest Yoongi held a question he had been putting off asking since that morning. So he dared to ask now.

"Tae, are you friends with your next door neighbor?"

The boy's eyes widened noticeably at this. He looked at Yoongi, then looked away as some degree of frustration took form around him.

"He mentioned my name when I accidentally knocked on his door," Yoongi continued. "You sent me the wrong address. He saw me and freaked out before running back inside and yelling at me to go away. You must have talked about me to him, right?"

"Jimin's a liar, he's not my friend."

Such an undeniably harsh statement. Yoongi narrowed his eyes. "A liar?"

"He played with my trust, Yoongi, I don't wanna talk about him. Maybe later, but not now. I don't feel like getting mad again."

"Okay..."

Yoongi felt the need to massage his friend's shoulder again to ease approaching nerves.

"It's okay, Tiger, I understand. Why don't you get some sleep, then? Been a long day."

"Yeah," Tae said softly. "It has..."

*
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end of chapter twenty.