Rating: PG-13

Warning: mention of suicidal thoughts 

Word Count: 1840

Summary: A short story in which the boys are a tight knit group trying to survive in a dystopian world. It's nearing winter and Tae Hyung confides to Seok Jin about his worries.

Tae Hyung places a hand behind his head and stares up at the gaping hole of the abandoned warehouse they'd all decided to take refuge in. It's quiet and the stars in the night sky are shining brighter than usual he thinks and he wonders outloud if there's anyone else admiring the view up above the way he is. 

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Seok Jin asks as he makes his way to the younger boy thick jackets in his arms.

Tae Hyung flinches surprised at the fact that he hadn't heard anyone walk in and sits up turning his head towards the approaching figures. "I...well. I was waiting for you guys." he replies getting to his feet eager to help with anything he can. He's doesn't like sitting and waiting for the older boys when they go out to retreive items they'd hidden away during passed seasons. It makes him feel useless and anxious knowing they don't exactly have a way to contact one another if anything bad were to happen.

"You really didn't have to." Seok Jin smiles nodding his head in the direction of the two behind him. "We've got it." 

Tae Hyung hovers despite that though and watches as Seok Jin, Yoon Gi, and Ho Seok lay out winter clothes and proceed to put them in backpacks for them all to carry when the sun rises. They're going to be moving south, like they always do during this time of year in hopes for somewhat warmer weather, but to be completely honest Tae Hyung thinks that maybe they've miscalculated their departure considering the nights are getting chillier and they'd always left before it got to this point.

"We'll just have to move faster." Yoon Gi says though when Tae Hyung brings up his concern, but he's not exactly convinced and nearly speaks up again when Seok Jin gives him a look that tells him not to because it's not a good time. 

Nam Joon enters at this point ready to tap out from his night watch and rubs his hands together. "It's getting cold outside." he says simply. Tae Hyung gives the older boys a look that reads I told you so before high fiving Nam Joon in a tag team kind of way and jogs up the stairs to the roof where he'll keep watch for the rest of the night.

It's incredibly boring work looking out into the dark city that was what he had remembered to be Seoul at some point. There isn't much to look at aside from broken buildings like the one they resided in. There are no lights relatively no noise that indicated others being out there. So aside from being bored it also makes Tae Hyung feel really sad thinking about how very little there actually is out there now.

The door to the roof creaks open and Tae Hyung turns around quickly before turning his gaze back to the city. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he says repeating what the other had said to him only moments ago.

"I'm not sleepy." is the reply he gets as Seok Jin takes a seat beside him.

"I call bull." Tae Hyung says a small smile appearing on his face as he glances at the other from the corner of his eye. 

"What makes you think that?" the older of the two questions an eyebrow raised.

"You yawned earlier while you were packing backpacks. You probably thought no one noticed but I did." he states matter of factly leaning back onto his elbows before looking at the other.

"You pay too much attention to me." Seok Jin says simply poking the boy's forehead with his finger. "Don't you have better things to do?"

"Not really." Tae Hyung smiles "Plus, is it wrong for me to want to look at pretty things every once in a while?" 

Seok Jin rolls his eyes and scoffs at his statement "Yeah right. I think our environment has messed up your idea of what's pretty." 

"Mmm nah, I think my idea of what pretty is is still spot on." he mused. When Tae Hyung first met Seok Jin they had already both been scruffy so he never had the chance to see him clean cut and all that but during the times they were able to clean up even the slightest bit Tae Hyung thought that Seok Jin looked the best of them all although he never outright told the other that.

Seok Jin looks down embarrassed at what Tae Hyung's saying but looks happy none the less at the compliment, something Tae Hyung as always catches without even trying. 

"You should really go to sleep." he says to Seok Jin right as a yawn escapes his hyung's mouth. "Don't tell me you're not even the slightest bit tired."

"Yeah... okay." Seok Jin sighs slumping his shoulders in defeat and closing his eyes. 

Tae Hyung looks at the other in a rather confused albeit amused way as he stares at the male. "Hey." he nudges "Get out of here." 

Seok Jin opens an eye shaking his head. "Shh I'm trying to sleep."

"Hey, seriously. Go downstairs it's cold up here you can't get sick before we leave." They shouldn't get sick at all period but he had thought it was something one would normally say in such a situation and Tae Hyung was always looking for ways to be normal even just a little. 

His words are taken the wrong way though and Seok Jin assumes Tae Hyung doesn't want his company. "Do you want to be alone or something?" he asks in an offended tone leaving the other boy in a frenzy of attempted explanations.

"No, no! That's not it. It's just. You know it's. I want you here but you don't really want to be here right? Aish I just want you to rest hyung."

Seok Jin looks at the other at first slightly bewildered but ultimately impressed with the reaction he was able to get from the other at the end before placing his head on Tae Hyung's lap. "I'm fine resting here. It's not that cold anyway plus I want to be here."

Tae Hyung sighs in defeat before looking down at Seok Jin who has a cheeky look on his face. Most times he'd be annoyed but he can't even feel that way for too long when Seok Jin asks him something that catches him off guard.

"What's on your mind?"

"Right now it's how heavy your head is." he replies teasing of course. Seok Jin tsks.

"You were mumbling something earlier when you were staring at the sky. Is something wrong?"

Tae Hyung looks up at that moment as if trying to remenisce over something before replying. "Hyung...do you wonder where everyone is? I mean. The other survivors there has to be more of us right? "

There had been instances where they had come across others. Both with good and bad intentions but they'd ever only see them once and once they parted ways they'd never see them again. Which had the younger wondering if maybe they'd just been extremely lucky surviving so long and now they were the only ones left.

Seok Jin falls silent only fuelling Tae Hyung's worries. 

"What happens...if we can't reproduce?" 

A suppressed laugh leaves Seok Jin's nose and he can't help but snort at the words coming out of Tae Hyung's mouth. He knows he's serious about what he's saying but he had never thought the day would come where they, especially Tae Hyung, would be worrying about keeping the human race from going extinct. 

"Don't laugh. I'm being serious." Tae Hyung says a serious look on his face.

Seok Jin reaches up and pinches his cheek. "You're too cute. Don't think about it. It doesn't matter."

"It does though." Tae Hyung replies his cheek is still in Seok Jin's hand so he pulls away and rubs it sighing for the nth time.

"Really? To who? If we go extinct who will worry about it? Humans were kind of the ones worrying about that stuff when it came to other animals, but if it's us...it doesn't really matter anymore right? So it doesn't matter."

Their conversation gets dark faster than either of them intends so they stop talking for a while. Tae Hyung stares out into the city again and Seok Jin looks up at the sky till his gaze returns to the parts of Tae Hyung's face that he can see. 

"Are you mad?" Seok Jin finally asks breaking the silence. 

"Yeah...but not at you." his eyes begin watering and before he knows it his tears are coming out more than he wants and they fall onto Seok Jin's face. "Sorry." he says wiping at his cheeks with the back of his hands before attempting to dry Seok Jin's face only for his efforts to go in vain when he begins to cry too. 

"I think about it too. What will happen to us? How much longer are we going to do this for? It's a rotten thought but sometimes I wish that I hadn't survived because I don't want to worry about these things anymore." 

It feels like he's been punched in the face. The idea that at some point during the time they'd all spent together they could have lost Seok Jin. The thought that there wouldn't be anyone to tell them to stop their walks and work just to appreciate the flowers that had recently bloomed in the spring. It makes Tae Hyung feel sick and scared but really it just makes him cry even more because he hadn't known till now that he was feeling this way. Of all the things he usually noticed how come he hadn't noticed the sadness Seok Jin had been feeling.

"Please don't ever think about things like that again." he says between sobs "Don't think about leaving us."

Seok Jin lets out a short laugh while trying to stop himself from crying. "Don't worry I won't. It's just...don't worry okay?" he sits up and wraps his arms around the crying boy. "I won't leave you guys." he mutters against Tae Hyung's hair holding him closer.

Tae Hyung holds onto Seok Jin's arm a part of him afraid now that if he were to let go he'd disappear. "Stay with me." he says "Sleep if you want don't if you don't but just stay here." 

Seok Jin smiles slightly letting Tae Hyung go and nodding without a word before positioning himself on the ground again, head on Tae Hyung's lap. He turns his head to look out at the city this time looking out into the darkness till he falls asleep. 

Tae Hyung looks out too with eyes tired from crying, but he stays awake. Awake watching the city and awake watching Seok Jin's chest go up and down as he snores through his sleep and awake waiting for the night to end and for the new day to begin.