Jin took his nose out of the stack of papers he was grading. Taehyung looked so peaceful, like an angel. He had fallen asleep on his desk during the last few minutes in class and he didn't have the heart to wake him. He had to grade these papers anyway, so he might as well do it here and let him get a little more sleep. For the last two weeks Taehyung had been incredibly dedicated and hardworking, it really was inspiring to see. He had even passed the last two exams, barely, but passing was passing, giving them both hope. He was so proud of him he was literally bursting, wanting to shout it from the rooftops. He did worry that he was working him to the ground though, since a couple of days ago he had started falling asleep anywhere and everywhere. Was he not sleeping at night? He pushed his worries to the back of his head, focusing on the paper in front of him.

Out the corner of his eye he could see Taehyung shiver slightly. Oh, no! It would be awful for him to catch a cold, that would set them too far back in their study schedule, maybe so far that it would be hard to come back from it. He had better take preemptive measures. He stood up, extra careful to be quiet, the chair betraying him by making a tiny squeaky sound. He froze for a second, holding his breath, watching the sleeping puppy for any signs of consciousness. One careful step at a time, he tiptoed all the way to Taehyung's desk. Taehyung's head was resting on his tanned, muscular forearm, his face blissfully expressionless. He was so handsome, beautiful really. He spread the sweater out and gently placed it over his shoulders, actively ignoring a warm feeling that was welling up inside him. It was just a teacher caring for his student kind of warmth, that was all it was.

After an awkwardly long pause, he tore his eyes away from the world's greatest masterpiece, stopping them from scanning every little detail into memory. They had been focused on Taehyung's eyelashes. So delicate. He shook his head, trying to get the image of them out of his head. He wanted to hurry back, but forgot to mind his surroundings and stubbed his toe on one of the chairs in his way. Not only did it hurt like hell, but it also produced quite the racket. The pain was a welcome distraction but the sudden loud sound disturbed the sleeping beauty, who opened his sleep drunken eyes and looked at him disoriented. Meanwhile, his hand explored what this thing was on his shoulders, pulling the sweater off them to investigate this foreign object. He looked at Jin, who was only halfway back to his desk, and then at the sweater, and then back at Jin. A bright lightbulb appeared over his head, he had pieced the puzzle together. A huge smile erased the puffy after-effects of the nap.

"Finders keepers!“ he waved the sweater in the air, chuckling sweetly before he disappeared out the door.

Jin wasn't sure how long he had just been standing there, but he finally snapped out of it, going to gather his stuff to go home.

Jin woke up in a frenzy, his heart beating a mile a minute. He felt like there was something that had woken him up, but he had no idea what it was. He could hear the wind pounding against the window. The news had warned of a storm. The sound made him shiver so he drew the covers up to his chin, wishing he had someone next to him, someone to hold him. He was tired of feeling lonely all the time. He had convinced himself he was used to it, that he didn't care anymore, but it was all lies. Maybe it was time to try dating again. Last time had been an absolute disaster, it had been too soon. He hadn't gotten over... he didn't want to think about him. Especially at night, when his heart was at its weakest.

Loud, heavy pounding interrupted his thoughts. It wasn't just the wind. A tree maybe? The sound came from the living room. The five year old inside him felt scared and unsafe, telling him to hide under the covers. Instead he got out of bed to investigate. If it was a tree being tossed against the building by the wind, it could do some permanent damage. Entering the living room, he realized the sound wasn't coming from the window, it was the door. Who could it be at this hour, knocking so relentlessly?

Apprehensive, he opened the door. Nothing could have prepared him for what he found. Taehyung was standing in front of him, completely drenched. He looked like a lost puppy that had gotten caught in the rain. Hopeless and frightened, it couldn't find its way back home. Taehyung just stood there, not saying anything, his sad, hopeless eyes looking at him, pleading. Jin got a pang of panic in his gut. How did he know where he lived? Every fiber of his being wanted to save him, wanted to rescue him from the pound and make him his own. That was the problem. It wasn't allowed. He couldn't keep him. He was his teacher, getting involved would only create trouble for both of them. He resisted the urge to hug him. He was about to send him away when he just barged in. Taking a sharp, panicked breath, he closed the door before anyone could see. This was dangerous. He could feel it in his bones, a last warning, a red alert.

"What.. how...“ Jin started in a harsh tone, wanting to come off disapproving, but not really knowing what to say. He was beyond confused.

“I didn't know where else to go.“ Taehyung said in a low, apologetic voice. He looked so tattered, like life had chewed him up and spat him out at his doorstep. Jin melted before he could even think of a way to brush him off. Taehyung was so wet that there was a big puddle forming on the floor beneath him. He was shaking something fierce. Jin couldn't just ignore it. He sighed and popped to the bathroom, reappearing with a stack of towels.

"Let's get you cleaned up and try and figure this out.“ He said in a soft voice, handing him a towel and taking one himself to help him dry off. “How are you so wet, did you walk here?!“ he asked baffled as the third towel went down for the count. Taehyung nodded. Jin's jaw fell to the floor. He was being sarcastic, he had never expected him to say yes. He actually walked here, in that crazy storm?! That was downright dangerous.

"What... why?!“ he asked incredulously.

"I didn't have money for the bus.“ Taehyung admitted, visibly embarrassed. Jin was speechless. Had he been robbed or had he lost his wallet? What was he doing in this part of town anyway, he didn't exactly live close to the school. He had chosen a place away from school on purpose, wanting to protect his privacy from nosy coworkers and students. He didn't want history to repeat itself.

"You couldn't just walk home? Or ask someone to pick you up?“ Jin asked concerned. Taehyung shook his head, avoiding eye contact. How had he found his address? He was getting more and more uneasy about this strange situation. Maybe there was a perfectly simple explanation for the whole thing, but Taehyung was shivering, so the priority was to get him dry and into some clean clothes.

“Come on, hop on in to the bathroom, I'll bring you some dry clothes at least.” Jin caved, pointing him in the direction of the bathroom. He went to get him a jogging suit, nearly having a heart attack at the sight of his open closet, with the shirt Taehyung ruined hanging front and center like some kind of shrine. He closed it quickly, regretting not having a lock on his bedroom closet.

“So... where do you need to go? I can drive you...” Jin offered when Taehyung sat comfortable and warm under a blanket on the sofa, sipping hot coffee. Taehyung bit his lip, looking uneasy.

“You really don't have anywhere else to go? Nowhere?” he asked, even though he really didn't want to know the answer. He just wanted him out of there. This was a bad idea on every level. Nothing good could come of this.

“I mean... where do you normally stay...” he desperately tried to grasp at straws.

“I... uhm... am kind of homeless at the moment.” Taehyung grinned sheepishly. How could he smile at a moment like this?

“I've been crashing at friends' places and... you know... overnighting here and there... but uhm... a couple of days ago I got kicked out of the last place I was staying, and I've kind of overstayed my welcome everywhere... “ he shrugged, like he was talking about something he read in the paper. “It's no big deal, it's not the first time.. normally I'm fine staying outside, you know, or going to a sauna... but with this storm... and the hours we're spending on studying... I had to cut down on my part time work so I'm a little bit skinned at the moment... and I kind of...” he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “...I got scared. The wind tossed me like a couple of blocks. Messed up my hand a bit.”.

“What? You're hurt? Where? Show me!” Jin couldn't believe he was just telling him that now. He ran into the kitchen to get the first aid kit, and was back before Taehyung even had a chance to roll his sleeve all the way up. Taehyung chuckled at how flustered he was. He ignored it, getting a close look at the wound. Thankfully it was just a flesh wound, it could have been so much worse. He disinfected it, Taehyung being a total baby about it, hissing at every touch of the cue tip. It was ridiculously cute. He also worked very hard to ignore the jolts of electricity shooting up his fingertips whenever he touched Taehyung's arm. It was as he had feared. He liked him. The worry knot in his stomach doubled in size. No matter what, he had to keep this a secret. Nobody could find out, least of all Taehyung.

“So can I stay?” Taehyung smiled sweetly when he had finished putting the bandages on.

“This is highly unorthodox.” he answered coldly. Taehyung gave him the puppy eyes. That was just not fair.

“Fine. But just for tonight. And you better not tell anyone about it. I could lose my teacher's licence for this.” he said sternly and sighed. This was bad. Very bad.

“I won't!” Taehyung declared happily, before jumping up and starting to rummage around his living room.

“Who's this?” Taehyung held up a picture of him and Namjoon, Namjoon had his arm around him, smiling proudly. He got a sharp sting in his heart, like a very thin needle had pierced right through it.

“Oh.. uh.... just an old friend.” he said, careful not to let it show how much it hurt to say that.

“He looks like a model.” Taehyung commented cheerfully. He was not wrong. Namjoon was absolutely gorgeous. And those dimples of his, they could pretty much make you do anything. They were all cute and endearing, until they stabbed you in the back.

“Alright. Time for bed.” he threw Taehyung an extra blanket so he could cozy up on the sofa and headed for the bedroom. They had actually had a surprisingly nice night. They had just played video games together and laughed. Simple, but nice. Too nice. But he was sure Taehyung didn't suspect a thing, and he was going to keep it that way.

He let out a deep breath, trying to get his brain to quiet down so he could fall asleep. His brain kept replaying every single smile Taehyung had made that night. He was so hopeless. Falling for a student. How cliché and incredibly wrong. He stretched his arms and turned over on his side. He would be okay as long as he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Pure professionalism from now on.

As he started to drift off he could feel something tug on his duvet. He froze. There was someone there. He could feel cold water trickling down his spine. Holding his breath, he turned over, finding Taehyung cozily tucked in under his duvet, eyes closed.

“What do you think you are doing?!?” he yelled, yanking the duvet off him, regretting it instantaneously since Taehyung was bare chested and mindblowingly fit. It took all he had not to stare. His smooth sunkissed abdomen was going to haunt him for all eternity.

“It's cold out there.” Taehyung mumbled, pulling the duvet back. He was shaking slightly.

“Then turn on the heating.” he solved his problem, wanting him out of his bed five minutes ago.

“That takes too long.” Taehyung complained tiredly, burying his head into the pillow, half-asleep already.

“Then put on some clothes.” he suggested as an obvious solution.

“That's uncomfortable, I can't sleep like that.” Taehyung shook his head with his eyes closed.

“You can't sleep here!” he put his foot down, getting desperate.

“Uhh.. I'm tired... you can yell at me tomorrow.” Taehyung smiled and snuggled up under the covers like a little bear cub, falling right asleep.