It was difficult to sit up. So much so, in fact, that I was having a hard time eating. It was Jungkook who was, once again, quick to my rescue. He helped prop me up, squeezing behind me on my cot. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was up to until he gently pulled me back to lean against his chest. “Easy,” his voice was calm and soothing. I was a bit taken aback by his sudden gentleness, recalling his short fuse from earlier in the day.

“Thanks,” I managed to mumble under my breath as I relaxed into him. He straddled me, his long legs on either side of my hips, keeping me still. Despite our daily mandated intimacy, I still felt heat rise in my face. I focused on the plate of food in my lap to distract myself. At least I was propped up enough to eat without too much trouble. I took it slow, careful not to jostle myself.

Jungkook rested his chin on my shoulder, his proximity setting me slightly on edge. The very idea of Jungkook expressing anything even remotely akin to affection was strange to me. “Hey,” his voice was right in my ear as he murmured, “look how pissed off Yoongi looks,” his voice was oddly smug, and I could practically hear the wide-toothed smirk on his face.

Sure enough, though, when I took a break from my food to scan the room, I caught Yoongi watching me, his mouth creased into a rather impressive scowl. As soon as he caught my eye, he looked away quickly, pushing his food around in what looked like frustration. “I wish he wouldn’t beat himself up so much. It wasn’t his fault,” I murmured back quietly, looking back down.

“Oh is that what he’s mad about?” Jungkook’s voice was full of smug mirth, as if he knew something that I didn’t. I tilted my face slightly to catch a glimpse of his. His large, dark chestnut eyes met mine, and as I suspected, a wide smirk was pulling at his face, his front teeth resting gently on his bottom lip. I could only frown slightly, trying to read his expression. I knew him well enough to know when he was being snarky. However, he cut off that thought when he gently took my chin between his fingers and turned my face back forward, “Now, now,” he whispered with a little chuckle, “Don’t hurt yourself. You need to eat something before we give you more pills.” He lifted his chin from my shoulder, leaning back against the wall behind him.

With a little sigh, I complied, continuing to pick at my food. Over time, I took the opportunity to glance around, the rest of the boys fully engrossed in their meal times. Every now and then, however, I caught Namjoon and Jin taking turns peeking at me. Well, peeking at us I should say. Neither of them were exactly being subtle. I knew they were talking about Jungkook and me together. This is ridiculous, I thought to myself as I sighed slightly, finishing off what food I could handle. As a reward, Jungkook gave me my pain medication. I was excited at the prospect of some relief from the constant pulsing in my head.

I felt him shift behind me. “Hey,” he spoke as he swung one of his legs around so he could stand. “Your doctor says you get a break from me for a few days, too,” it was hard to place the tone of his quiet voice. Mostly, it was relief: a sentiment I shared. As much as our nightly ‘breeding’ didn’t faze me anymore, the thought of a three day reprieve was rather nice. Jungkook helped me lay back down, his hands gentle. He gave me a genuine little smile as he took my plate from me. Once again I couldn’t help but think how strange it was to see him that way.

“Thanks, Jungkook,” I smiled back up at him, heaving a heavy sigh once he was gone.  However, I was alone for a grand total of maybe four seconds before I felt another body looming beside me. When a gentle hand touched my shoulder, a grin broke out over my face. Even though he could talk now, Taehyung’s nonverbal communication was still familiar to me. “Hey TaeTae,” I greeted, flicking my eyes to catch a glimpse of his face. As was a habit of his, he was peering at me over the rim of my cot frame, only his eyes and red-brown hair visible. Once he caught my eye, he popped up like a groundhog, revealing his little smile.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked gently, retracting his hand on my shoulder to rest on my bedframe.

I fought not to laugh, “I’m fine,” I insisted, resisting the urge to turn my head to get a better look at him. “Hopefully the meds kick in soon,” I murmured, letting my eyes close for a moment, allowing myself a moment to feel the radiating pain from my wound. I could faintly feel the tightness from the stitches in my scalp and the adhesive bandage pulling very slightly at my hair.

There was a little pause before I could feel him shifting, tugging on my blanket slightly. I cracked my eye open again to catch a glance at him. He clutched something in his hands. “Yoongi helped me make this for you,” he finally spoke, his deep voice sounding surprisingly childish as he shyly offered what was in his hands. It was a blanket that had been taped up tightly into a shape resembling a neck-pillow. I raised my eyebrows as I took it in my hands. It was a good idea, actually. “We were worried you might hurt yourself in your sleep, so maybe this will help,” he quickly explained as he stood, helping me place the little makeshift pillow behind my head and neck. I had the sinking feeling Taehyung would be sleeping without a blanket that night, but I decided not to protest. I knew better than to think he would accept anything different.

I reached out, searching with the aid of my limited peripheral vision until I found one of his hands. “Thanks Taehyung,” I spoke, my voice growing weary. I could feel the chemicals of the medication taking effect, easing my pain but also clouding my mind. Sleep would take me soon. “Tell Yoongi thanks for me, too,” I whispered. As my eyes fell shut again, I felt him squeeze my hand very gently.

He was still holding my hand when I woke up again. Out of habit, I tried to sit up, but the intense throbbing at the back of my head reminded me that moving was generally not a good idea. I managed to catch a glimpse of Taehyung, still holding my hand as he slept against the frame of my cot. That couldn’t have been comfortable. It must have been incredibly early, judging by the very pale light coming in through the dusty windows. I tried to just close my eyes and go back to sleep, but the pain was creeping up on me, clawing at my wound. Trying not to groan audibly, I took a long, shuttering breath to try and push it away.

“Zoey?” a groggy, but deep voice spoke. “Are you okay?” this time he sounded more awake and alert, the beginnings of panic in his voice.

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, “I’m okay,” I managed to croak, “It just hurts a bit.” Cracking my eyes open again, I tried to catch another glimpse of his face.

He popped up, suddenly coming into my proper field of view. His mouth turned down into a comical frown, his extremely expressive face accentuating his concern. “Stay there,” he suddenly spoke as he turned and shuffled away.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I chuckled to myself as I watched him retreat. The motion, however, was ill-advised, as I instantly groaned, “Ow,” I forced one of my eyes shut again. This was getting obnoxious. Luckily I didn’t have to wait long until Taehyung was back, glass of water and fist full of medication in hand.

He handed me the water before helping me sit up slightly, lifting me out of his neck pillow brace thing he and Yoongi made. “I hope this works,” he mumbled, his deep frown still creasing his face as he held me steady. I managed to take the pills, gripping his shoulder with my free hand as I drank from the water glass.

I coughed slightly as I glanced around. Our little ruckus had luckily only woken up one other. Hobie stirred, and I could hear him moan as he stretched. He sat up, yawning as he looked around. Once he spotted us, he quickly covered his mouth, though there was no obscuring that wide-mouthed yawn of his. With a little snicker, he revealed a smile as he stood from his bed, quietly tip-toeing around Namjoon’s and Taehyung’s beds to meet us. “You okay?” he asked me quietly, glancing between Taehyung and me as he knelt at my bedside.

“Yeah,” I breathed, “Taehyung got me my meds.” I tried my best to genuinely smile for him, but the pain was still distracting me.

He nodded, his smile fading a bit as he searched my face. Finally, he looked over to Taehyung, who admittedly looked absolutely exhausted. “TaeTae, I’ll take over,” Hobie spoke low, “Go on and sleep in my bed so you have a blanket.” As much as his voice and face were kind, it was clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Taehyung seemed to hesitate anyway, giving me a long, worried look. “You need your rest so you can keep her company the rest of the day, right?” Hobie encouraged.

That seemed to do the trick. Taehyung gave me one last wide smile before he scurried away as instructed. “With these meds, I won’t be much company,” I murmured once he was gone, glancing to Hobie.

“That might be true,” he gave me another smile, his long, even teeth as brilliant as ever. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to stick to you