that night, taehyung went to the cafe again.

the sky was dark, and the streets were pitch black except for the soft lights of stores along the sidewalks. he was surprised to see that the cafe was still open so late at night.

he walked inside and found it empty except for namjoon and hoseok in the back by the coffee machine and yoongi right behind the counter. it was quiet and calm, something that taehyung needed when his mind was so busy. he went to order.

"hi."

"hey, what can i get you?"

yoongi's skin was paler than usual under the soft glow of the lights in the cafe. his green hair covered his eyes just a bit.

"can i have a small black coffee?"

"sure. anything else?"

taehyung hesitated. the pastries behind the glass looked amazing, but he could imagine the calories and sugar adding up just from looking at them.

"no thank you."

seeing where his gaze was, yoongi raised an eyebrow. "your total is 1.85," he said.

taehyung paid and then stood by as he waited for the coffee.

when the coffee was done, yoongi handed it to him, sleeves rolled up again. taehyung tried not to look, he really did, but he couldn't help it, glancing at the white, raised scars on yoongi's wrist. yoongi seemed to either not notice or pretend he didn't, smiling gently at the clearly exhausted boy in front of him. taehyung sat down at a table by the window in the corner of the cafe, taking small sips of the coffee as he looked outside at the empty streets. the silence in the cafe and distant conversations of the three others in it gave taehyung a strange and overwhelming sense of serenity.

he felt his cigarette still sitting in his pocket, weighing him down yet acting as closure of the tragedy that had struck his sixteen year old self. his eyes felt heavy too, mind sinking deeper and deeper into nothingness as exhaustion finally lured him into its grasp.

his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

* * *

taehyung woke up to someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"hey," yoongi said. "wake up. we need to close the cafe for the night now."

taehyung groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "sorry, i didn't even realize how sleepy i was." he smiled and laughed lightly, standing up on shaky legs. he used the table to support himself, struggling because he was instantly dizzy the moment he stood.

"are you okay?" yoongi asked. "you look pale."

"yeah, i'm fine. it's just been a while since i ate." he laughed humorlessly, empty sounds leaving his lips. he started to walk towards the door but found himself stumbling right away; yoongi caught him a foot from the floor, concerned eyes raking over him. "yeah, sure you're just fine," he scoffed. "you obviously need something other than black coffee in your system before you pass out on the street."

taehyung pulled away from him, steadying himself with some difficulty. "i stood up a little too fast," he said. "i'm okay; don't worry about it. thank you for waking me up." he smiled. "i'll see you tomorrow."

he was about to leave the cafe when yoongi stopped him; taehyung tiredly faced the older boy, stumbling a bit before catching himself.

"you're going to pass out on your way home," yoongi said. "i'll walk with you."

"no, it's okay," taehyung insisted. "seriously, i don't want to bother you-"

"it's not a bother; i'm just a little concerned." yoongi's voice was gentle, deep and gravelly but warm all at once. "just give me a minute; i'll get my stuff."

reluctantly, taehyung let yoongi walk outside with him. namjoon and hoseok had already left earlier when yoongi offered to close up for them. the streets were silent and empty; the cafe was on a more discarded part of the city that was only busy during the day. at night, it was left completely deserted, abandoned buildings barely half a mile from the cafe falling apart brick by brick. at night, the place could only be described as dead, desolate.

"where do you live?" yoongi asked.

"right along the lake in the oldest apartment building on the street," taehyung said. "you'll know it when you see it."

there was a moment of silence before yoongi spoke up. "you saw my arm, right?"

taehyung's breath caught in his throat. "yeah," he choked out softly. "yeah, i... i did."

yoongi hesitated before he spoke again, brown eyes unable to find a place to land. "please don't tell namjoon or hoseok about the recent ones. i don't want them to know. okay?"

all around them was darkness; they were within it, covered by it. despite that, taehyung could see yoongi's pained expression, the clear conflict he felt upon having to hide something so important from such close friends. he looked oddly nervous.

"i won't," taehyung said.

yoongi forced a tight smile. "thanks," he murmured. "are you still dizzy?"

taehyung wanted to say yes. his vision was far from stable, distorted and spinning around him. his hearing was slightly foggy, almost as if he was underwater. he could feel his hands still shaking, and his legs were struggling to keep him upright, but taehyung settled for a half-honest answer.

"just a little."

as if meticulously planned by whatever deity in the world who wanted to humiliate him once more, taehyung completely lost his balance as soon as he replied with the small, harmless lie. he stumbled to his knees, trying to catch himself with his hands but failing miserably as his chest hit the ground hard. his cheek barely grazed the street, but it hurt enough for him to groan a quiet "fuck" as yoongi rushed down to his side.

"yeah, totally not dizzy," yoongi retorted. "why the fuck are you always lying?"

"no, why the fuck are you always lying?"

"this isn't about me so shut up and let me help you. shit, your hands are bloody."

taehyung looked down and saw drops of dark liquid all over his palms. there was also a slight burning sensation on his wrist, and there seemed to be a warm liquid dripping down there too. his cuts had probably opened again.

"i'm fine," taehyung said. "just help me up."

there was a moment of nothing, and then to his dismay, yoongi completely disregarded his request and picked him up from the ground in one quick movement. "you're not fucking walking another mile in this state," he said.

"will you stop overreacting? i'm too heavy," taehyung protested. he wiped his hands on his pants as he felt blood run down them. "you're not walking a whole mile carrying me, you fucktard."

"heavy?"

"heavy."

"actually, you're a little too light considering the fact that you're so tall," yoongi said.

"i don't care - shut the hell up and put me down."

"no," yoongi replied. "princess, just let me save your ass today. you can't even walk properly without falling over."

"princess?" taehyung almost yelled it out, intrigued but comically looking slightly horrified. "your sense of humor is absolutely abysmal."

"humor is subjective," yoongi said. "would you rather have me call you dickwad? besides, you're basically a damsel in distress at this point, no?"

taehyung stared, now completely appalled.

"yeah, i thought so. now shut it and let me carry you, princess."

a/n:
lol im so bad at taking things slow hahaha --- here's yoongi already taking tae home on day 1.

theres gonna be some cuteness (like in this chapter) and also some angst, so be prepared lmao.

thanks for reading! see you with the next update!