"Jungkook, could you set the table please." Her sweet tone said from the window that offered the kitchen a view of the garden.

The teenager looked up from his dribbles, kicking the ball to the goal at the back of the small garden then jogging back to the house.

"Clean your hands." His mother asked, feeding him a piece of the grilled meat she had just prepared.

A small moan came from his throat as he nodded at the great taste, his hands scrubbing the dirt from under his nails.

A few minutes later, the were both sitting in front of each other, eating their meals peacefully.

"Jungkook-ah." His mother called gently after taking a sip of her water.

"Mhm?" He hummed, his mouth still full.

"That boy, Taehyung, have you ever been to his house?"

The question was unexpected, so much so he stopped chewing on the food to look at her questioningly.

"No, why?"

She took in a sharp breath, and Jungkook could just see how she was stalling to tell him something and that scared him. his mother was never one to beat around the bush, she would just drop the nuke on him in one sentence

"Well, he- he seemed a bit jumpy yesterday. I was thinking things may be a little harsh at his house." She voiced softly, looking down at her bowl as only the sound of metal chopsticks against porcelain bowl broke the heavy silence that slowly enveloped them.

Flashes of Taehyung flinching at teachers for no apparent reason, and the occasional ematomas that painted his skin drifted in Jungkook's mind.

"Come to think if it," he started, clearing his throat uncomfortably, "he has come with bruises, I asked if he was getting bullied but he said no one did, I didn't think..." he trailed off.

His mother nodded.

"I think your friend Taehyung might be going through child abuse."

The sentence, although implicit throughout their conversation, had struck Jungkook very hard. Because he had read books about it and saw articles on Tv, but he would never have imagined it to happen so close to him.

He was so lucky, to be graced with a mother that he loved so dearly and with whom he was so close.

Though he lacked a paternal image to refer to, he would never exchange his situation for the world, perfectly satisfied with his relationship with his mother, to whom he told pretty much everything. Even though he hadn't told Taehyung, his mother new about the true nature of their relationship, simply because Jungkook had told her.

He couldn't imagine not having any parental support, let alone being physically abused by them.

"You should be really careful with him Jungkook. I think he needs you, to forget perhaps." His mother smiled.

And that's when Jungkook realised, just how much more he and Taehyung were, beyond being "Fuck buddies".

***

After dinner, Jungkook had immediately jumped on his bike and peddled off to the smaller, poorer, parts of the city.

His best friend, Seokjin, had moved there ever since they had started high school.

After his parents divorce, he had decided that he would rather live with neither of them instead of having to choose between the two. So he had moved out on his own, granted his appartement was small, but it was largely sufficient for one person.

Jungkook hid the bike in it's usual spot behind the cabin of the old elevator, behind the rundown janitors closet, and walked up the stairs to his best friend's flat (he didn't trust the elevator).

Both growing up together as only children, they had become close to brothers, though Jungkook hadn't told him about his adventures with Taehyung, he was planning on doing so as soon as he stepped foot into the apartment (he knew the passcode to the door of course) .

He certainly didn't expect to find Taehyung laying down in the couch, with an ice pack on his stomach and a sleepy Seokjin dozing off next to him.

Jungkook felt a little betrayed in a way.

He who had though he'd finally become closer to Taehyung to the point he could ask him about his honest feelings, was now discovering said boy sleeping in his best friend's house. it meant that as close as Jungkook thought they were, Taehyung would rather go to his best friend for help.

Or was this feeling jealousy?

Seokjin looked up from his place leaning against the couch, jump hard at the new figure that stood at the entrance of his living room.

"Jungkook, holy shit! You scared me." He whisper yelled.

Jungkook stood there, not knowing how to react to the scene in front of him. His best friend and his fuck buddy were in the same room, that was something that somehow didn't sit quite well with him. His thoughts tangled as his eyes fell upon Taehyung, who still looked a pretty as ever despirt the bruise on his lip, the one on his arm and the icepack on his stomach.

"I know you two have something going on. I just met him at the doorstep don't worry" Seokjin suddenly said, breaking the silence as he started to clean up his first aid kit.

Jungkook's eyes widened at that, shooting up from Taehyung to his best friend, his cheeks heating up.

"What?! Me and Taehyung?! We're not dating!" He tried to defend himself, he and Taehyung weren't a thing and the last thing he wanted was for Taehyung to know he liked him.

Wait-

"But you like him." Seokjin seemed to read his mind out loud.

"W-what?!" Jungkook followed Seokjin back to the bathroom.

"I see how you look at him Jungkook. I'm not blind."

And as much as Jungkook wanted to argue, he knew this was the end of the discussion, Seokjin would never let him win in an argument, especially if it was about his supposed crush.

"So what is he doing here?" Jungkook asked, taking a few steps closer and sitting on the floor next to Seokjin.

"Remember that time i told you about my neighbours when we were at the lamb skewers place? The couple that always fight?" Seokjin said, to which Jungkook nodded, the elder looking away from his him, soft eyes falling upon Taehyung. "Well, turns out Taehyung's their kid."

Jungkook's eyes widened, following Seokjin's gaze to Taehyung. Flashes of bruises on his skin and conversations about parenthood being dodged went through his mind as his heart thumped in his ears.

Why hadn't he noticed sooner?

Or rather, why didn't he do anything when he had?

"I-i-is he okay?" Jungkook asked, feeling terrible for doing so because, in a way, he was supposed to be closer to Taehyung than Seokjin, he should know better.

The elder sighed, jolting his head to the side slightly to get his long, black bangs out of his eyes.

"I'm not sure." He breathed out. "He's being abused by his parents, but it's like he's used to it."

Jungkook frowned;

"So what, if he's used to it, being abused by your parents is suddenly okay?" His voice was voluntarily darker, he glared at Seokjin, who now wore a surprised expression.

"Kook, you know that's not what i meant..." He whispered. "I asked if he wanted to call the cops but he refused i-"

Jungkook was fuming at this point.

"If i got abused by my mom would you just leave me in my house to suffer?!" His words were slowly getting more and more loud, making Seokjin nervous he would wake Taehyung up.

"Well no, but that's different! because you're my best friend, your bullshit is my bullshit, and my bullshit is your bullshit! But I have no right to get into Taehyung's business!" he whisper yelled, hoping Jungkook would do the same.

Jungkook stayed silent, it had been a long time since they hadn't gotten this close to an argument (except that one time he broke one of his Mario figurines, that's when all hell truly broke loose, before they signed a peace treaty). He simply breathed in deeply and remained calm, deciding not to say anything he would regret later.

Seokjin saw this and deemed it a better choice to just walk away and give his best friend some space. He stood up, saying he'd go to the kitchen to make some dinner.

The younger stayed in the living room, eyes going from the spot he was staring at on the floor to calm himself, back to Taehyung's sleeping figure, detailing his face with a softening gaze.

His body jolted when he felt an arm wrap around his neck, bringing him into Taehyung's chest, another arm joining the first in a bone crushing embrace.

"Thanks, Jungkookie." he murmured, Jungkook's heart doing a backflip with the deep voice of Taehyung to his ear, softly pronouncing his name like no one else did.

A/N:

hey guys!

thank you so much for 900 reads!

This story is slowly developing and it makes me excited to unravel more and more of the plot :)

what do you think of the story so far?