taehyung wriggled the doorknob of his bedroom door, sighing softly and letting himself slump back into his bed once he found that it was still locked. his stomach throbbed with a numb hunger and his throat felt dry from dehydration and crying and screaming the night before. he could vaguely remember the slap that had reverberated through the living room with a cruel whisper, and then the throb in his now bruised cheek when he had been shoved against the wall.

his phone rang then, just as his head hit the pillow with a soft thud. he stretched his arm over his stomach and felt his fingers wrap around his phone.

the caller id surprised him, and he almost couldn't remember who it was.

min yoongi.

and taehyung thanked whatever deity out there in the world that his drinking habits didn't include forgetting everything that happened whilst he was drunk.

he put the phone to his ear.

"hello?"

"hey, starboy. you sound exhausted."

"i am exhausted."

"but are you alright?"

i've been locked in my room for eighteen hours.

"i'm alive, aren't i?"

the lock clicked and the door opened slowly, the sound agonizing.

"taehyung, make dinner."

his mother left immediately after, her voice stiff even as she spoke those three words.

"i have to go, yoongi. i'll see you later."

"okay, stay safe, starboy."

taehyung hung up and scoffed.

stay safe, starboy.

safe?

safety didn't exist to taehyung.

* * *

taehyung stumbled into the diner, thin, weak legs trembling with a cold ripple.

"tae?"

jimin watched as taehyung fell into a booth, waving a hand hello helplessly.

"oh my god, you look terrible."

"are you implying that i'm ugly?"

"no, tae, have you been sleeping at all? you look like you're dying, shit, have you even been eating?"

jimin sat down beside him, round, golden eyes seeming to glint with concern that taehyung didn't deserve.

"i'm just tired, jimin."

"is your mom alright?"

taehyung merely smiled, lips whispering happy but eyes screaming otherwise.

"did she hit you again?"

and then taehyung looked away, smile falling even farther.

"taehyung..."

"just forget it, okay?"

and jimin hated how vulnerable taehyung sounded choking out those words. he hated how taehyung's eyes filled with tears that went away as quickly as they had come, and he hated how taehyung looked away when jimin flashed him a look of concern.

he hated it when taehyung walked into the diner for refuge, voice hoarse after crying and screaming at home all night and body weak from starvation. and jimin hated it the most how taehyung never took care of himself as if he didn't matter.

god, jimin hated it all.

but as always, he bit his lip and swallowed thickly and left to get taehyung something to eat.

when he came back with a plate of french fries, taehyung simply murmured a soft "thank you," still not able to look jimin in the eye.

and jimin hated that too.

* * *

yoongi found a strange, calming solitude in walking the streets of the city at night.

he liked the soft hum of cars as they drove by, and he liked the cold air that snaked whispers through his clothes, touching his skin and slipping away past his fingertips.

he pulled his jacket closer around himself, shivering slightly but ignoring it as he went to cross the bridge.

it was always nice on the bridge, its lit up railings flashing into the night as cars whizzed by with a sense of urgency yoongi didn't have. he'd watch the water below him, his throat still sour from cheap tequila as he breathed in the air that echoed off the waves.

yoongi stopped halfway down the bridge and froze at what he saw.

a boy leaned over the railing, dark bangs draping over his eyes like curtains over the sun, wearing a sweatshirt that looked three sizes too large. he was dangerously close to falling, eyes fluttering shut to the soporific sounds of the city and chest rising with his heavy breaths.

it was when his feet left the ground that yoongi rushed to him, wrapping both arms around the boy's waist, that really seemed far too small, and pulling him away from the edge.

his breath hitched at the face he saw.

"starboy?"

the boy himself was unfazed, eyes dazed and faraway, pink lips blowing light aerosols into the empty space between them.

"nice to see you again, yoongs."

"you nearly died."

"no fucking shit."

yoongi crouched down, holding taehyung in between his arms like a child. taehyung shivered, his weak body giving into the relentless weather.

"so it was on purpose?"

taehyung smirked, something that seemed unfit for the situation yet perfect at the same time.

"did you think it was accidental?"

"no, but i suppose i hoped it was."

yoongi stood up, helping taehyung get up with him.

"don't expect me to stay alive for much longer, yoongs," taehyung said, eyes flashing momentarily with a sort of sadness that tore yoongi's heart to pieces.

"what does that imply, starboy?"

"i'll find a way to kill myself eventually."

and yoongi cursed under his breath because, fuck, he sounded so hurt and young and frail.

a cold breeze whooshed past them and yoongi gasped as taehyung stumbled forwards, his thin legs giving into the cold. he caught him a foot before his body hit the ground and taehyung coughed a bit, his spine arching as he did so.

"are you alright?"

"yeah," taehyung breathed out heavily, blinking rapidly. "hey, mind taking me home again? i think i might pass out."

so yoongi pulled one of taehyung's arms around his shoulders, pulling his waist closer to support him.

they walked in comfortable silence, the air and lights filling the silence for them until yoongi started conversation again.

"starboy, why are you so weak?"

"in what way?"

"you're weak in every way, kid. why do you even ask?"

taehyung smiled, stumbling again as yoongi caught him.

"are you eating alright?"

"i'm eating as i always have, mom."

and taehyung didn't mention how sour the word mom tasted on his tongue.

"well, mom says you need to eat better," yoongi muttered. "you're falling over, starboy."

"no, mom says i'm fat, that's what she says."

taehyung's voice sounded bitter, the sound cutting through the darkness between them with pain that yoongi wished he wasn't able to hear.

"does she actually?"

"it's not like she's lying."

"bullshit," yoongi said. "you're so fucking tiny i could just snap your waist if i tried."

"no you couldn't, that was an obvious hyperbole."

"throwing literary terms onto me? really?" yoongi scoffed. "that's the one class i failed in middle school." he kept walking briskly, tugging taehyung along with him. he didn't tell taehyung that he wasn't taking him home. "either way, you need to eat better. i'll feed you myself if it comes to that."

taehyung smiled again, his grin seeming to light up his entire aura briefly. it flickered, like a candle flame, weak and vulnerable, but it didn't burn out.

"wait, yoongi."

taehyung stopped.

"what?"

"this isn't my apartment complex?"

it was a question, not a statement, because taehyung was profusely confused and now a little bit worried.

"yeah, it's my place."

"what the fuck, why?"

yoongi tugged taehyung a bit closer, beginning to walk again and pulling him up the stairs.

"starboy, anyone could tell that you don't want to go home."

ten feet down the hall, yoongi stopped at a light brown door, shoving a key into the lock and pushing it open.

"can you give me something to eat?" taehyung asked. "i'm hungry."

yoongi smiled, shaking off his shoes and helping taehyung to the couch.

"yeah, starboy," he said. "and maybe i'll let you drink a little too, just so i can watch you call everything stars again."

"you like it when i call things stars?"

"yes, i do."

"well then, look, it's a star."

and yoongi couldn't hold back his smile when taehyung pointed at him.