Kim Taehyung awoke with three messages on his phone- one telling him he had an e-mail from his teacher, one from Seokjin, and one from Hoseok. He had a missed call from Jungkook; he decided to deal with that first.

"Hello! Jeon Jungkook's house. He's currently getting dressed, fresh out of the shower, but he'll be down to get the phone in a few minutes if you don't mind waiting."

Taehyung chuckled. This wasn't the first time he'd called Jungkook to hear Jimin's fluent voice through the receiver. He had been quite shocked by the tone the first time he'd called Jungkook to have the boy not pick up right away, but he hadn't reacted badly. "I'll wait, Jimin."

"Taehyung! Hi!" Jimin said excitedly, immediately recognizing Taehyung's voice. Taehyung had discovered, in the time that he'd gotten to know Jimin just a little bit, that Jimin had an extremely good memory. He remembered Taehyung's name, voice, and a few things Taehyung had told about himself after the first time they'd met. Taehyung might be able to do the same had he not been too lazy to remember people well.

"Hello, Jimin. How are you- well? Jungkook?" Taehyung asked.  He shifted, threw his blanket off his legs and got up. He figured he could start making himself breakfast while he was on the phone- would rather not waste time in his already tight morning schedule.

"Yes! Jungkook is well too, but he hurt himself last night. He was dancing, and he twisted his leg, so we had to take him to the hospital." Jimin said, and he sounded a little pouty as he was saying it. Taehyung's eyes went wide, stopping in the middle of his kitchen.

"He didn't break anything, did he?" Taehyung asked, relieved when Jimin said no. He moved on with his morning routine- pulled out a bowl so he could make himself oatmeal- something quick and easy enough that it only took half a brain cell to make. Good. Taehyung only really had a few working brain cells this early in the morning- and for the next couple hours. It was a miracle he wasn't completely failing his first class.

"Oh! Jungkook is coming downstairs!" Jimin said. His voice was a little muffled in his next words; he must have pulled the phone away from his ear. "Kookie! Your friend called! His name is Taehyung. I think he's sleepy, but he still wants to talk to you. That's so sweet, hmm?"

"Thanks, Jimin." Jungkook's voice was a little faraway, but Taehyung could still hear the soft chuckle in his voice. And then his voice was clear, loud as it always was on the phone. (He felt the need to speak louder with a phone pressed to his ear, for whatever reason.) "Good morning, hyung!"

"Morning." Taehyung said, yawned. He looked at the clock; he still had an hour before he had to leave to his next class. He was a little more fortunate than Jungkook to have recently moved into a dorm on campus, one he shared with a quiet boy called Jijoon, so he could leave as soon as first bell rang and be in class by the time second bell rang. Taehyung yawned again. "You called earlier. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could pick me up, hyung? I hurt my ankle pretty bad dancing last night." Jungkook said, and Taehyung could hear Jimin in the background-- "It still hurts, Kookie? You must be careful! Do you want me to look at it again? Do you need to go to the doctor again?"

"Mmm, Jimin told me you hurt yourself. Do you have a sprain?" Taehyung asked. He dumped his oatmeal and a decent amount of water into the bowl, shoved it in the microwave. He grabbed some fruit- grapes- from his refrigerator to cut up so he could put them in his oatmeal when it had finished cooking.

"Yeah. I twisted it real bad- but I can still walk. I just don't think my ankle could handle carrying me to school." Jungkook said, and his tone of voice had Taehyung imagining him fiddling with his fingers- something he always did when he asked a favor out of someone, as if he felt bad for doing it. "I know it takes time out of your morning but-"

"No, it's alright. Let me eat and shower, and I'll be over to pick you up soon, okay?" Taehyung asked, and Jungkook thanked him all but a million times. Taehyung was chuckling when Jungkook finally hung up. He dumped his chopped-up grapes into his oatmeal and sat, began to eat as he went through his messages.

Well, it's been two months and Jungkook doesn't hate him yet. Proud of me? ;P

Taehyung laughed. Seokjin had been messaging him every day about Jimin and how Jungkook was holding up with him. Jungkook had had Jimin for about fifty-nine days- something Taehyung only knew because Seokjin just kept telling him. Taehyung swore Seokjin was marking the days on his damn calender- probably writing notes as he crossed off the days.

Yes, hyung. I'm very proud of you-- keep up the good work!

Taehyung always played along, but he really was proud of Seokjin. , the man made a person with his bare hands (and a little bit of technology- but still, the fact that he had the know-how was amazing). Taehyung could barely make oatmeal in the morning; it was watered-down and mostly tasted like the grapes he'd added to it. But, so be it. He would have a better lunch.

Taehyung went on to check the message Hoseok had sent him. I miss you :( do you want to hang out tonight?? roomie and I are having a movie marathon

can I bring jijoon along? Taehyung's reply asked. Hoseok's roommate, Kyungri, was good friends with Jijoon. They'd been friends since the middle of the year- before Taehyung had ever met Jijoon. Kyungri was one of the most confident girls Taehyung had ever met; she left the house with pretty accessories and a plain outfit, or perhaps a pretty outfit and plain accessories. She never over-did her outfits, nor her make-up, and she was all-around lovely to be around, especially with her sense of humor.

please! I haven't seen him in a while, either was Hoseok's reply. Taehyung didn't say anything after that- would just talk to Hoseok later, when they met up in school. Taehyung glanced at the time. He still had a good forty minutes before he had to leave, but that didn't stop him from rushing, from washing his bowl, drying it, putting it away, and running off to the shower, leaving his phone on the kitchen counter. He showered rather quickly, because blow-drying and then styling his hair took a lot longer than he thought it should. He was down to about twenty minutes when he was dressed and out of the bathroom- good thing, too, because he had to go get Jungkook. He almost felt bad for recently moving out of his apartment to have a dorm on campus, because he could no longer meet Jungkook and walk him to school, but it was a little fortunate, also, that he could now drive Jungkook to the college.

Taehyung grabbed his keys, his bag, and headed off, covering his tired eyes with sunglasses. He tapped his feet along the floor of his car as he was driving, careful not to let his toes steer to far away from the gas and the brakes. Not too many people drove this early in the morning- because not many people who worked lived too close to the college, but Taehyung was cautious, anyway. He was always cautious behind the wheel.

"Jungkook!" Taehyung called as he was jogging up to Junkook's place, hand extending to knock on his door once he'd reached it. Jungkook had a small house, cute and simple, something he paid for himself so his parents wouldn't have to pay for his dorm room on top of his college and books. Taehyung thought that was completely insane, even with a partial scholarship thanks to the dramas Jungkook had been partaking in since he was little. But Jungkook was a hard worker, had recently gotten himself a part-time job to pay his rent. Jungkook often skipped over lunch to start his shift early, only ate at home because Jimin was there to take care of him.

(Thank God Seokjin made Jimin, Taehyung thought. If he hadn't, Taehyung could imagine he'd be trying to find Jungkook a boyfriend, could imagine he would tug Jungkook into his dorm just so he could make sure Jungkook was alright. Taehyung would be just a worried as Seokjin had been when he came up with Jimin.)

"Hyung!" Jungkook said excitedly, reaching out to tug Taehyung into a hug. He was limping a little, Taehyung noticed, as he stepped out of the house. Taehyung almost told Jungkook to take a sick day, especially from work so he wouldn't have to be on his feet. But- Jungkook would argue that he only had to stand to sell things, could lean on one leg as he was taking orders, so Taehyung didn't even try to argue.

"Morning, Jungkook- have you eaten?" Taehyung asked, and Jungkook nodded. Taehyung narrowed his eyes, peeked back into the house, eyes searching for Jimin as he called, "Jimin! Has Jungkook eaten this morning?"

"Yep!" Jimin called back, poking his head out of the hallway leading away from the living room. "I made him breakfast! He had toast and some cereal. But he didn't eat it all- so make sure he eats lunch today, okay?"

"Hyungs." Jungkook whined, but Jimin and Taehyung both hushed him softly, didn't let him protest. Jungkook only pouted for a moment, stopped when Jimin came over to kiss the back of his ear. As far as Taehyung knew, Jimin and Jungkook hadn't gotten together yet, but the admiration was definitely there on Jimin's side- had always been, and it was clear that Jungkook was so much more comfortable around Jimin. The way he melted back into Jimin's touch made it quite obvious.

"Come on- we've got to go, we'll be late." Taehyung said. He waved to Jimin as he took Jungkook down the steps of his porch, holding onto his hand carefully, walking slowly to make sure he didn't fall. Jimin didn't close the door until he'd seen that Jungkook made it safely into Taehyung's car. Then he pulled his head back, stopped peeking out of the frame and let the door fall shut.

"Thank you for picking me up, hyung." Jungkook said. He pulled his leg temporarily up on the seat of the car, letting his shoe hover over the seat. "I can't believe I hurt my ankle- now I won't be able to dance for a while."

"Don't worry, Jungkook. You need a break anyway. You're overworking yourself." Taehyung said, to which Jungkook rolled his eyes but didn't quite protest again. Taehyung smoothed his hand through Jungkook's hair, and Jungkook let his foot fall back against the car floor, landing it gently against the ground.

"Seokjin offered to help me pay for my rent." Jungkook said. He tapped his fingers along his thighs, and Taehyung knew he was feeling bad about himself. But he didn't quite interrupt- "But I didn't let him, because he already helps me pay for my food. I just- I don't like needing so much help. I don't even make my own food, hyung-"

"We're all just looking out for you, you know." Taehyung said, hand moving to Jungkook's shoulder again, but he only spared a glance at the younger. "When I offered to help, I was just looking out for you. We're all just- you've always been our youngest friend, it's hard not to be worried."

"I know." Jungkook said, rubbed the back of his neck. "And I might- I think I might move into a dorm on campus... because winter is coming soon and oil is really, really expensive. I just- I don't think I could afford it, and I'd hate to be cold every night."

Taehyung opened his mouth to tell Jungkook that that was a good idea, but Jungkook shook his head. "But, just- what about Jimin? He isn't a student. He can't live with me if I get a dorm. I know it'll be cheaper, but...."

Jungkook  in a deep breath. "Hyung, I'm really, really attached."

Taehyung nodded softly to tell he understood. "Well. We both know Seokjin, and we both know that if you asked to move in with him for a little while, even if just over the winter... he wouldn't mind."

"But-"

"And you could pay rent. If you kept your job, you could pay him rent." Taehyung said. He glanced over at Jungkook again. Jungkook was looking right at him. "I know his place is a little farther from the college than yours, but I wouldn't mind picking you up. And he might drive you to school some days.

"But he has a life." Jungkook whispered, and Taehyung strained to hear him- even if Jungkook might not want him to hear at this point. "And he's- he's given me so much.... I'll just- I'll keep my house, hyung. I'll figure something out.

Taehyung looked at him. Jungkook gave a tiny smile that didn't seem genuine enough for Taehyung to stop worrying, but he let the issue rest for now, and he moved his gaze back to the road. Jungkook went on to talk about school instead. He'd been mentioning Namjoon a lot lately, which had Taehyung thinking he probably talked to Namjoon a lot. Taehyung knew Seokjin had been hanging around Namjoon quite a bit recently; and Taehyung wondered if perhaps the two of them had something going on. (Was that a reason Jungkook hesitated to move in with Seokjin? Because he had Namjoon over a lot?)

"Thanks for driving me, hyung." Jungkook said as they were pulling up on campus. He leaned in and kissed Taehyung's cheek, got out of the car before Taehyung could say anything. He began to walk towards the school, steps slow and a bit stuttered. Taehyung got out of his car after watching Jungkook for a few moments. He thought about helping the younger boy up to his first class, but he saw Hoseok looking at him, waving him down- and he hoped Jungkook would be alright on his own.

"Hey, Hobi." Taehyung said, letting the older tug him into a hug. "What movies are we watching tonight? Horror?"

"Some horror, some comedy. Who knows? It's a Friday night and we're probably not going to get any weekend assignments done." Hoseok said, pulled away from the hug. "But. On the bright side, we can get piss drunk and make a lot of prank calls."

"That sounds like fun." Taehyung chuckled. A chill hit him from a gust of late autumn wind, and his bit down on his bottom lip as he thought, again, about what Jungkook had been telling him earlier, about how winter was coming and he probably wouldn't be able to afford oil. God, Jungkook's insane, Taehyung thought, because he still wanted to keep his house. It was a lovely house. It really was, and Taehyung remembered how difficult it had been to move out of the pretty apartment he used to live in. But- he was so happy, now, that he lived on campus. It was so much easier, with so little stress when it came to bills. Taehyung wished he had a way to convince Jungkook that living on campus was so much better.

But, then, Jungkook had Jimin now, and even if Seokjin would keep Jimin plenty protected, plenty entertained while Jungkook was out, Taehyung could imagine it would be hard to let him go for a while. It was kind of like Taehyung making a sacrifice that would cut these minutes with Hoseok in the morning away. Taehyung wouldn't really want to do it.

"Tae? Something wrong?" Hoseok asked; he must have noticed the way Taehyung was frowning. Taehyung briefly considered telling Hoseok about Jungkook's concern, because Hoseok was a bigger hyung, a more moving hyung- he might be able to help convince Jungkook that the dorm life was a lot better, much more stress-free than living off of campus, right? But, Taehyung was never one to go and tell people other people's problems, especially when the people with problems were his friends, especially when the other people were people that his friends weren't all that close with.

"No. I was just- thinking." Taehyung said. He let his expression change, smile spreading across his lips, "I'll worry about it later."

/

A/N: It had been my plan to keep this story focused completely in on Jungkook and Jimin, but then I got bored ;; sorry- and sorry, also, for the random time skip. I tend to do that a lot ><