(it's ya girl, back at it again with an unedited chapter and a potentially already used gif. enjoy~)

♥║ thirty ║♥

It takes both Jungkook and his mother to get Taehyung through the door, the poor boy's face swollen and throbbing, his side aching from the swift kick Bogum had left him with. Taehyung can hardly stand on his own from how off balanced he feels because of how badly his face had been hit. He collapses on the couch, his eyes already closed as if he's too weak to keep them open.

Mina is standing at the foot of the stairs, her eyes wide and her lip trembling. "M-Momma, is he okay?"

"Mina, honey, go back upstairs," his mother replies instead.

Mina's eyes are watering. "Why is Kookie crying?"

Jungkook had stopped crying, but his eyes are puffy and his cheeks are blotchy. "I'm okay, Mina."

"Come on," his mother says softly, ushering Mina up the stairs. "Let's go tuck you in, all right? It's late."

Mina follows, reluctantly, and the two disappear.

Jungkook goes to the hallway bathroom, getting a warm rag. He then goes to the kitchen, filling a glass with water and getting a bowl for Taehyung to spit it. He still needs to wash all the blood out.

Jungkook kneels in front of the couch, gingerly lifting Taehyung's head. "Hyung," he says quietly, and Taehyung's eyes flutter. "I brought you some water."

Taehyung mumbles something incoherent, then sits up with a grunt, Jungkook supporting him. He swishes some water in his mouth, spits into the bowl, then repeats until the water no longer spews out red. Jungkook will have to see if they have any spare toothbrushes.

He lifts the rag, but he's hesitant to touch Taehyung's face with how swollen it already is. "C-can I?"

Taehyung lays back down, closing his eyes once more while humming, "Mhmm."

Gently, the younger presses the cloth to Taehyung's cheek, carefully wiping the cut under his eyes. Taehyung doesn't even flinch, his breathing evening out as he starts to fall asleep.

Jungkook moves on to where Taehyung's nose had bled, and now dried, on his cheek, down to his chin. He's mindful of the boy sleeping, but he has to scrub a little harder since the liquid is stuck. He goes to the bathroom again, rinsing the rag, then adding a small fraction of soap to it, returning to the living room.

When he's cleaned Taehyung's face, he pauses, still kneeling in front of him. He can't bring himself to leave. He takes in how puffed up the left side of Taehyung's face is, already bruising. There's a cut on his lip, too, now visible with the blood being gone. Jungkook sucks in a breath after his analyzation, infuriated and deeply upset with how the night ended.

And for what reason?

Because Taehyung's brother is too ignorant to think you can love more than who society tells you to? Because Jungkook and Taehyung are apart of this disease spreading in the universe? Because Bogum is too insecure to think for himself?

It's not fair.

It's not fair.

Taehyung is the kindest, gentlest soul Jungkook has ever met his entire life. If anyone ever deserved to take a beating, Taehyung is definitely not that person.

Because Taehyung loves him.

He said that.

To Bogum.

Knowing the consequences.

That's why this is Jungkook's fault. He knew about Taehyung's situation and kept pressuring and pressuring him to move forward.

It should've been him taking that beating.

He would. If he could rewind time right now, he would see Bogum show up, and he would provoke Bogum to punching him instead. Because he deserves it far more than Taehyung ever would.

"He'll feel better when he wakes up," his mother suddenly says, stepping off the last stair. "I'll have some medicine and soup ready for him in the morning. You need to get some rest too, baby." She runs her fingers through his hair, holding his head a moment longer than usual.

Jungkook doesn't stand. He can't take his eyes off Taehyung. "I'll go to sleep soon," he tells her.

She sighs, squatting beside him. "Jungkook, I doubt he'll wake up until the morning since it's so late. Would you like me to sit up for a while to be sure?"

No, of course not. His mother rarely ever gets to be home this long. She needs more sleep than he does.

When he tells her this, she gives him a soft smile, dropping to the floor completely and crossing her legs. She takes his hands in hers, their eyes meeting. "Listen, I know how you are, and I know you're pinning this entire thing on yourself. But you can't do that, Jungkook. You hear me? The only person to blame is Taehyung's brother." Her nostrils flare when she mentions him. She was definitely not happy when Jungkook told her the whole story on the ride home.

"I should've stopped him," Jungkook whispers. "I wasn't brave enough."

She takes Jungkook's face in her hands. "You did stop him, though. You said it yourself that you did. He would've kept going if you hadn't said something."

"I was too late, though. I should've—"

"That's enough," she cuts him off, gentle but stern. "Taehyung himself doesn't put you at fault for this. I won't listen to you being so hard on yourself."

Jungkook hangs his head, stifling the rest of his argument.

She kisses his cheek. "We'll take good care of him, Jungkook. He'd want you to get some rest, too."

Jungkook nods slightly, but still makes no move to get up.

His mother sighs. Without saying anything, she gets up and scoots the coffee table back, then disappears down the hallway. When she returns, she's got comforters piled in her arms. She starts to lay them out on the floor, three on top of each other for a nice, plush surface. She goes up to Jungkook's room, comes back down with two of his bed pillows.

"Now you have no excuse," she says. "Go on. Lay down."

Feeling like a toddler, he does as he's told, climbing onto the blankets and plopping his head onto the pillows. His mother grabs a blanket and drapes it over him, then drapes one over Taehyung too.

"I'll be in my room if you need anything, okay?" she says softly, bending down to kiss his forehead.

And God, Jungkook never thought he'd admit it, but having his mother treat him like he's six again is really what he needed right now.

"I love you," he says quietly when she turns off the lamp, heading for her room.

"I love you more," she promises, then her door gingerly clicks shut.

Jungkook turns over so he's facing Taehyung, albeit he can't see the older's face from his low-level on the floor. It's still comforting enough to be next to him, knowing Jungkook will be here the instant Taehyung needs something.

He curls his knees into his chest, balling the blanket into his fists and nuzzling his face against it.

He falls asleep to the soft breaths leaving Taehyung's lips.

***

When Jungkook wakes up in the morning to the smell of his mother cooking breakfast, he expects Taehyung to already be awake. However, the elder is still snoozing, now on his stomach with his cheek smooshed against the pillow, the blanket wrapped around one leg and revealing his jeans on the other. That's when Jungkook realizes that he never changed last night either.

He watches Taehyung closely a moment, just to ensure that he's still breathing.

He hesitates, debating if he could take a quick shower now or if he should wait until Taehyung wakes up. He'll take a speed shower, just long enough to clean himself good. He nearly runs up the stairs to collect his clothes.

When he steps out of the bathroom later in sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, he glides down the stairs and peeks over the back of the couch.

Taehyung is still laying there, but he's on his phone, seeming to be texting someone.

Jungkook goes to the kitchen so he doesn't appear to be snooping.

"Good morning, honey," his mom says with a smile. "Sleep well?"

He did actually.

Mina speaks before he can. "So is Taehyung-oppa awake yet? Momma says we can't eat breakfast without him and I'm starving."

His mother tsks. "I didn't say you can't eat, Mina. I said it would be polite to wait."

"That was you telling me to wait," Mina clarifies, giving her mom a look.

"Jungkook," his mother says. "Take this to Taehyung, would you? I think I saw him stirring a few minutes ago."

She hands him a bowl of hot soup, then drops two pills into his other hand, undoubtedly for the pain Taehyung surely feels in his face right now.

Jungkook walks back into the living room, and now Taehyung is sitting up, gently poking the bruised side of his face with a grimace.

"Morning," Jungkook murmurs, kicking his pallet out the way so he can pull the coffee table back to its original spot. "Mom made you some soup. And here's some painkillers."

Taehyung chuckles. "Luxury treatment. She didn't have to."

"She would have anyways."

"I appreciate it," he murmurs, crossing his legs as he picks up the soup bowl, tasting it. "This is delicious, what the hell?"

Jungkook grins, sitting beside him. "Did I ever tell you she wanted to be a chef once?"

"She should've pursued it."

"She wanted to save lives instead."

"Well, that's boring."

Jungkook snorts.

"That is simultaneously the ugliest and cutest sound I've ever heard you make," Taehyung muses, confusing himself.

"Thanks?"

There's a small silence that settles over them, the question lurking in the air. Jungkook decides to just get to the point. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Taehyung answers honestly. "I can't feel the left side of my face, my jaw feels numb, and I feel like the lowest scum on the face of the earth."

Jungkook swears his heart cracks. "Hyung..."

Taehyung shakes his head. "Don't, okay? It's fine. Truly. I know that Bogum is the scum and not me, but... It still hurts, Jungkookie. I just got him back and now I've lost him forever."

"You don't know that," Jungkook mumbles. "He may come around."

"Yeah, he seemed real enthusiastic about trying to understand last night."

Jungkook frowns, staring down at his hands.

Taehyung uses his finger to turn Jungkook's head so their eyes meet, Taehyung's wide and sincere. "I'm not blaming you. I swear. Okay? Let's not talk about that twat anymore." Taehyung then gestures to the pile of blankets on the floor. "Did you really sleep on the floor all night?"

Jungkook blushes. "Maybe. I-I couldn't bring myself to leave you."

Taehyung gives him a soft smile. Then, in a hushed voice, "Would you mom freak out if she walked in and I was kissing you?"

Jungkook's eyebrows furrow. "I don't think she'd freak out but—"

Too late.

It's merely a peck, just long enough for Jungkook to get the taste of him before he pulls away. And...

It wasn't pleasant.

When Jungkook screws up his face, Taehyung's eyes bulge. "Oh God, I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

Jungkook bursts into a fit of laughter, more amused than disgusted. It's not like it was an actual kiss. Just a peck of their lips, and Jungkook remembered all the blood from the night prior. Not to say he tasted it, but the thought of tasting it...

"Well, that was a turn off, wasn't it?"

Right when Jungkook chokes on his own spit after hearing Taehyung say that, his mom pokes her head in. "How's the soup, dear?"

Taehyung grins, both amused at his effect on Jungkook and honest about the soup. "Delicious, ma'am. Thank you very much."

"Absolutely."

She disappears, then pokes her head back in. "Oh, and Jungkook?"

"Yes?"

"There's spare toothbrushes in the cabinet upstairs in the bathroom."

Jungkook's cheeks turn a bright shade of red as his mom leaves once more, Taehyung in the middle of hysterics.