Taehyung fidgeted with his sheets as he stared at the boy propped up against the foot of his bed. His face was cut up as though he had fallen on glass and his hands were bandaged as well as his left shoulder. Taehyung couldn’t see any other damage besides a bruise that made itself known around Jungkook’s leg through the holes in his jeans but he was sure there had to be more. He couldn’t figure out why he was the one in the hospital and their roles weren’t switched.

“Why do you keep going back? Jin has a place for you in his apartment. Your own room and everything.” He felt kind of lame stating that as he knew that Jungkook was already well aware of these things. Taehyung felt like an intruder into their relationship. Jin intended to use him as a bridge between the worlds but he just felt like he was sticking his nose into someone else’s business. It usually didn’t bother him to do so but with Jungkook’s big eyes trained on him he couldn’t think of much else besides how uncomfortable he felt. Jungkook wasn’t the only one who had hidden things and he knew how it felt.

“They’re my family. They’ll accept me eventually.” He voice was small but it was filled with conviction. To him, this wasn’t something that was up for debate.

“Jungkook, family doesn’t always mean everything to people. Anyone who is willing to hurt you so bad is probably incapable of feeling that pull. They’re probably incapable of feeling anything, really, if that’s half as bad as it looks.”

“Jin always puts too many wraps on. It’s not as bad as it looks.” Taehyung nodded his head slowly, not believing a word of it.

“How do you feel about Jin?” Jungkook looked confused at the question.

“What do you mean?”

“If someone asked you who Jin is, what would you say?”

“He’s one of my best friends.”

“Do you tell him everything? Hang out with him when you get bored? Bring him coffee when he’s had a long day?”

“I don’t see what this has to do with anything.” Jungkook looked as though he were going to hop off the bed and find Jin to alleviate the questioning.

“Just answer. What will it possibly hurt? You know Jin isn’t hovering outside the door. I won’t tell him.”

“No. We don’t do those things. It’s a bit different with him. He takes care of me and I help him out when I can. We bonded more through this,” he held up his wrapped hands, “than anything else. I don’t think we have all that much in common but it’s still fun to hang out with him. My friend Hoseok used to laugh at me and say he was my mom because he’d take me to school and it kind of stuck.”

“So you’d say he’s more of a brother to you. Or a mother, whichever you prefer.”

“Can you just tell me where you’re going with this?” He was getting fed up with the inquisition.

“Have you ever seen him look at you the way your parents do when they give you those marks?” Taehyung dropped the sheet he had been clenching and made a grab for Jungkook’s hands, “Jin is your family. And if this world is as small as it feels right now, I’m pretty sure I know your friend Hoseok too. You know Namjoon?” Jungkook nodded slowly. “Well I know Namjoon more than Hoseok and though they aren’t together anymore, I’d wager that anyone Namjoon liked at some point would treat you like family as well. He’s like an old man sometimes. Maybe that’s why Jin fell for him. Who knows?”

“So what are you getting at?”

“You’re really dense, kid.” Jungkook hit him on the arm lightly and scowled.

“I’m saying to leave your -backwards family for one that actually cares. You think family is everything so hang around those people who actually consider you more family than trash. You’re suicidal to go back to your piece of parents and I’m sure any of my nurses would agree. Part of you probably thinks you deserve it or some because that’s what they’ve been telling me nearly every session and I didn’t even stick around once I could. My dad’s still out there somewhere and though it bothers the hell out of me that I’ll never get revenge, I moved on. I’m moving on right now. You need to as well.”

“You’re awfully good at these speeches.” Taehyung preened under the compliment and flashed one of his boxy smiles.

“I try. With an emotional wreck like Jimin as a best friend you have to get good at them. He always needs a pep talk.” There was a chuckle behind Jungkook and he saw two boys there.

“How long have they been there? They didn’t hear…” He trailed off.

“You act like I haven’t seen you before you were all fixed up.” Yoongi dropped into a chair off to the side of their bed and Jimin walked up to the bed and stuck his hand towards the youngest.

“I’m Jimin. I heard Tae’s last speech and some from Jin. Why are you here? Do you know my Taehyunggie?” He cooed the last part with a sly look in his eyes and dodged as one of Taehyung’s legs came out to hit him.

“Uh, sort of. We met at a cafe before but Jin was actually the one who brought me here.”

“Are you an honorable type? I really can’t have you ing with my Tae’s emotions,” Taehyung started to protest but Jimin just talked over him and moved to pat his head before perching on the arm of the chair Yoongi was sitting in, “and he is in a very delicate position here. I’m afraid I have to intervene if you think you can sleep with him and then leave. He needs at least a week out of here before I’ll allow that.” Jungkook was blushing so hard he thought he was going to burn alive. He tried to stammer out something but Taehyung cut him off.

“How do you know my little speech wasn’t one to get in his pants, huh? Maybe I need a pick me up after only having you guys around for so long. A man has needs.” They shared a smirk that Jungkook was sure they had perfected over time and he buried his face in his hands.

“Eventually you get used to them doing like that. You said Jin was here?” Yoongi was looking at him with a half bored expression but Jungkook could see the way he leaned into Jimin’s hand through his hair and the way his own hand was curled protectively around the other’s leg.

“Yeah, I need to call him back. He’s probably out harassing some nurses. He said they thought he was part of a gang?” That set everyone into a fit of hysterics and he finally got the story from them as he texted Jin. Conversation flowed well even when Jin came in and scolded Jimin for making Taehyung too excitable.

It was several hours later before Jungkook really had the time to think about what Taehyung had said and while he didn’t think it was okay to leave his real family behind, he thought he might be able to get used to the idea of having this one. He had been rubbing one of Taehyung’s legs without even thinking about it and as he was flashed a devilish smile, he knew which he would choose if he could. They explained that Taehyung was going to be released tomorrow and he caught enough to know that it was something more psychological than physical wrong and from the bits Taehyung had dropped in their earlier conversation, he knew it had to do with his own family. Maybe one day he’d confront him about it but right now he was content. Eventually, Namjoon came and though he looked surprised to see Jungkook, he just clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. It stung but he smiled back through it. He was never one to have many close friends but here was a whole room of people who were willing to look past the marks he wore and ask no questions. He could get used to this.

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A/N: There will be one more chapter after this and then all that's left is an epilogue! You guys have been great <3 The start to my Hogwarts AU I mentioned a few chapters ago will be up within the week and I am currently going through and fixing errors in the next chapter for "The Center" so it should be up within the next few days as well!