It’s hot and damp in the practice room and Taehyung’s really starting to think that wearing a long-sleeved shirt to dance practice today wasn’t really such a great idea after all, tugging at the collar of said shirt and spreading his limbs out on the wooden floor, looking like a big sweaty starfish with a shock of orange hair on its top tentacle. The air conditioner’s buzzing pleasantly and he knows that it’s only a matter of time before his body will react to it and cool itself down, but he really doesn’t want to wait until that happens, honestly.

A sweaty Jungkook lands heavily on the floor next to him, folding his legs and giving Taehyung a tiny, tired smile. Taehyung smiles back, of course; Jungkook is his best friend and he can tell that something’s wrong, although he can’t quite pinpoint it out yet. If you want to know about Jungkook’s problems you have to wait until he talks, and that’s exactly the problem- he almost never does.

"Hey," Taehyung says, and Jungkook pokes him in the stomach with a harsh finger, an expression of amused affection appearing in his eyes when the older moans in pain and curls in on himself, rubbing his injured tummy. "Hey yourself," the younger says eventually when Taehyung rolls himself a little closer to him, resting his head on the maknae’s thigh. Jungkook’s fingers run through his damp hair and the older hums in approval, closing his eyes and letting his aching muscles relax for a bit.

Jungkook sings to himself and the noise of Jimin’s complaining is blocked out immediately, although Taehyung’s pretty sure no one’s listening to his rant anyway. A content sigh escapes him. “I’m tired.”

"Take a nap then," the younger suggests lightly, shifting a little to get the hair out of his eyes. "I’ll wake you up when the break is over."

So Taehyung does just that; he nods and sinks a little more into Jungkook’s skin, pressing his cheek to the other’s thigh and letting the fingers in his hair and the quiet humming of the air conditioner lull him into a somewhat sleeping state- he’s not asleep, he’s sure of that, but he’s also not awake. The floor is harsh beneath him and the soft noises of the practice room turn into a distant blur, buzzing and shifting and vibrating in the background. Jungkook stays and that’s all that really matters, Taehyung figures; if he’s there, he can still help.

———

"Good job, kids!" The dance instructor announces loudly as he switches the big speakers off, and they all nearly collapse in exhaustion; well, all except for one.

Jungkook nods and bolts out of the room like a bullet fired from a gun, pushing the door open while furiously wiping at his nose with his sleeve; the door closes behind him with a decisive click and they all stare for a moment before Taehyung (regrettably) climbs to his feet with a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll go check on him.”

And he’s out before Hoseok can tag along, stepping out of the room and staring at the digital screen just above the elevator, the one that signals on which floor the elevator is currently at. Right now it says “2” and the numbers keep on shifting before the elevator stops at the last floor- “ROOF”.

Determined to reach his best friend, Taehyung jabs at the calling button and waits for about two seconds before looking to his left and realizing that oh, right, there’s the staircase as well. The hall is just as stuffy as the practice room and at first he’s very reluctant to do this, but the elevator stops at the third floor and Taehyung decides to just it, pushing the door to the staircase open and jumping up the stairs two at a time.

"The things I do for you, Jeon Jungkook," he breathes as he advances to the fourth floor, stopping for a minute to make sure the flaming in his lungs doesn’t spread to the rest of his body like a wildfire.

The door to the roof is already slammed open when Taehyung finally reaches it, a panting and sweaty mess of a human being. It’s windy and the sky’s a mix of pastel pink and baby blue bleeding into each other and Jungkook’s sitting with his back to the door, leaning against the wall with his knees pulled to his chest and his jet black hair shining in the slowly dimming light. He looks small and tired and awfully young and Taehyung approaches carefully, biting on his lower lip.

"Kook?"

It’s quiet for a few seconds; Jungkook’s body tenses up and Taehyung can literally feel him thinking “Oh, ”. He lifts his head and his cheeks are tear streaked and puffy and he tries to smile.

“Sorry,” he says in a choked voice. “Sorry, I’m just a little tired.”

Taehyung shakes his head as he sits down next to his best friend, groaning at his aching back. “No, that’s not it. Tell me what’s really bothering you.”

The wind picks up and dry leaves twirl at them, playing a pointless game of tag. Jungkook sighs. “I made a mistake in practice today,” he whispers, and Taehyung’s eyebrows shoot up because he did NOT expect that. “I was supposed to be in the center, but I think I was too tired and I missed a step somehow and then I ended up being slightly to the left. And usually it wouldn’t bother me, it really wouldn’t but…” another sigh. “I don’t know. This is stupid.”

It’s not that stupid, though; Jungkook’s a perfectionist and making mistakes at something he’s supposed to be good at probably ruined his self esteem, even if it was just a small mistake. Taehyung shakes his head again and wraps an arm around Jungkook’s shoulders, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. His heart is heavy and he’s trying to think about something to say other than “There there” or “It’s not that bad”- anything, as long as it doesn’t sound too cliché.

"I know being good at everything you do is important to you," he starts hesitantly as the younger leans his head on his shoulder, "but it’s okay not to be good at everything. I mean… ugh, how do I say this. You’re already doing so good at everything you do, you know what I mean? And you shouldn’t let one mistake ruin your self esteem."

Jungkook just makes a bitter noise and curls further into the older’s side, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. “It does, though,” he mumbles finally, and it takes Taehyung a few more minutes to stop thinking about how close they are right now and focus on the matter at hand.

"You’re awesome, okay?" He snaps in the end, his arm tightening around Jungkook’s shoulders. "You’re awesome and amazing and I’m not the only person who thinks that way. Your parents and your fans and Namjoon and Seokjin and Yoongi and everyone else think you’re the most talented person there is, and you are, Jungkook, you really are. You’re amazing. So stop beating yourself over a small mistake and stand up tall, okay? Give them hell, kiddo."

During his speech Jungkook slowly returned to life, it seems; his back straightened and he turned to look at Taehyung and life returned to his eyes, bit by bit. By the time the older says the last word Jungkook already has his arms circling Taehyung’s neck and then they’re hugging for god knows how long, their arms around each other and their chests pressed close and Taehyung can feel the younger’s heart beating through the layers of clothing separating them and the warmth he emits is seeping into his body and he smiles and buries his face in Jungkook’s shoulder, patting him on the back with force.

"Give them hell, kiddo."

———

It’s evening and Taehyung and Jungkook are on their way out of the dorm for dinner when Namjoon looks at them from the living room, craning his neck backwards in a rather painful looking position so he can look at them properly. “What are you two up to?” He asks, and the two smile and look at each other before answering in unison.

"No good."