Yoongi forgot to buy the candy he promised Jiae.

Instead, of the candy, he has Taehyung by his side once he unlocks the door to their apartment. It's late – later than usual and all the lights are already out, Yoongi feels his way through the darkness of the living room trying not to alert his aunt and uncle who are already sleeping on the couch.

Taehyung doesn't follow him as gracefully, Yoongi is sure the younger takes a whole detour through the whole fucking living room and knocks against everything in it. The slight pang of annoyance shoots through Yoongi and he quickly grabs the back of the other's shirt to pull him into his own room. "Do you know how to be quiet?" He hisses once the door closes behind them. The walls are thin here and his aunt isn't the heaviest sleeper – he really doesn't want to explain why Taehyung is here again in the middle of the night.

"Sorry..." Taehyung mumbles and his shoulders sag. He looks like a little kid in the semi-darkness of the room – the only light coming from the open curtains –, lost in the middle of the cramped room. Yoongi just sighs and starts taking off his clothes. The last time he had changed while Taehyung was showering, this time he doesn't even care.

Yoongi pulls off his hoodie as he stalks over to his window, opening it to let the cold night air filter inside the stuffy room. His shirt follows and a chill runs up his spine as he hurries to pull on the large sweatshirt he usually wears to sleep. He can see Taehyung watching him from the corner of his eyes but it doesn't matter. He struggles to take off his tight jeans and finally gets rid of the socks as he falls face first onto his mattress. As he turns around again Taehyung is still standing in the same spot as before.

"I mean," Yoongi coughs slightly, shuffling to get his whole body under the blanket, "You can stay standing the whole night if you want to – but you can come down here and sleep on a mattress. Whatever you do," he faces the wall, snuggling deeper in the blanket and his voice takes on a drowsy tone, "Please shut the curtain."

There's shuffling behind him, he hears Taehyung timidly moving around and the tell-tale sound of rustling clothes. The curtain shuts and now everything is dark, pitch black despite his wide-open eyes. Yoongi can practically feel Taehyung's eyes on him, the weight of his gaze almost suffocating. He's about to say something again but then Taehyung seems to have made up his mind because there's a sudden weight settling behind Yoongi.

The last time he let Taehyung stay he had been almost asleep by the time the other had crawled next to him but today he's more than awake. Awake and aware of his surroundings. Especially aware of the sudden heat emerging from the body behind him. The mattress isn't big, it's a single one, comfortably fit for one person but here they are – two grown men, one slightly taller and broader than the other.

Yoongi doesn't move an inch as the other tries to get comfortable behind him. How is he even supposed to? One inch more forwards and his nose will be squished against the wall. They just don't fit comfortably on the mattress. Instead of turning his own back to Yoongi's, Taehyung has turned towards the elder male. Yoongi feels the hot puffs of the other's breath against the back of his neck and he shivers again – this time not because of the cold. The skin on the back of his neck has always been one of his most sensitive parts and he tries to curl in on himself a little to avoid the sensation of the other's breath.

The problem with this motion is that even though his neck is out of the other's reach, his back is now pressed flush against Taehyung's front. They're both under the blanket and the inch of space that had been between them before is now gone. Yoongi feels his own face flush in embarrassment but the mortification of now moving back again is even worse so he just stays put. Holding his breath and eyes squeezed shut. He could feel the erratic heartbeat of Taehyung against his back and after the first tense minutes pass there's a hesitant hand creeping up his side. He bites the inside of his cheek as Taehyung's fingers accidentally brush the patch of exposed skin right above his hip bone.

"Sorry..." The younger whispers and his voice has somehow dropped even lower than the deep rumble it usually has. Yoongi doesn't say anything, he thinks about the thought which has been building up in his mind since he decided to take Taehyung in one more time. He needs to approach this matter carefully – he might not be a big fan of Taehyung but he believes in people. He believes that everyone has a good side buried somewhere deep inside of them – after all, he himself comes across as a cold and uncaring asshole even though he is anything but that. He believes that behind Taehyung's obnoxious behavior is something else. That there's something good hidden to him. At least he hopes there is.

And he plans to find that good side in him. Hopefully, Taehyung might want to cooperate with him. If he doesn't... then Yoongi can comfortably forget about him and his mind won't return to the brunet male like it did over the last days. He has actually felt pretty bad for letting Taehyung out in the street again, despite the knowledge that the younger had planned to stay with a friend. Maybe this time will be different but it'll only work if Taehyung agrees to change.

Yoongi isn't sure where the idea of helping Taehyung came from. He doesn't dare dwelling deeper on the matter because he's a little afraid of what he might find out. But it shouldn't matter, right? Helping other's is what he does. It's what he lives, what he's been taught for all his life and it's what he's going to do for the younger.

Before he can proposition anything to Taehyung though, the other male is already speaking into the darkness of the room. "Why are you letting me stay?" The hand on Yoongi's side tightens slightly. "I mean, I've been nothing but an asshole. You hate people like me. I'm like the polar opposite of you, our lives are – were completely different and you're letting me stay. I don't understand that. I don't deserve this and I can give you nothing in exchange."

There's a tilt to the other's voice that Yoongi can't decipher. He takes a few seconds to think over the other's question. It's the problem he's faced with. The problem without a solution. Why is he doing this? He knows... kind of. Like, half of the reason. The other half is territory he refuses to enter. "I don't want anything in return. You know, money is not the key to everything. There are still people who rely on the kindness of others. I'm not heartless. I'm not going to let you sleep in the streets," Yoongi moves his own hand towards Taehyung's but right as he's about to touch it he hesitates, "You're right that I don't like you."

Taehyung tenses against him again and Yoongi bites his bottom lip. Yes, he's still not necessarily a big fan of the other but he plans to become one. To some extent. He's sure, Taehyung seriously can't be as superficial as he seems to be. But he's definitely unable to live without the comfort he had all over the years. (Yeah, okay, he might have been kind of researching the whole life of Kim Taehyung – the bits exposed to social media at least.) "You don't understand how life works when it's not handed to you on a silver platter. You value things that are totally unnecessary. You're spoiled. You think a pretty face and money is the only thing in life that matters. Yeah, I don't like you but you're still someone who needs help and I'm able to give it to you."

"So, you're doing this out of pity?" Taehyung asks tensely. The way he pronounces the word 'pity' is what makes something snap inside of Yoongi. The distaste with which he laces the word is so similar to the way Yoongi himself has talked about it for years now.

"I'm not like you," he replies calmly, "I'm doing this because I care about other people."

"Do you think I don't?" The voice of the younger has dropped to a mere whisper – just above a breath and Yoongi is only able to hear him because of the complete silence around them. He sounds unsure – like a little kid all over again.

"Not entirely..." Yoongi knows he might sound harsh right now but he just wants to tell Taehyung the truth. He doesn't know him but the way he acted and still acts – it shows a lot about him. "I think you value different things than me."

"Like?"

"Status. Fame. Money. Luxury. You think about yourself first. All of you people are like that." He knows it's harsh – it's obvious in the way Taehyung winces and the grip on Yoongi's hip falters. Harsh but true. Yoongi thinks that this might be the first time Taehyung gets confronted with these words. The first time anyone but himself might have accused him of being shallow.

"All of us?" The younger asks. Yoongi hesitates... he hesitates as he thinks about his answer because for once he wants to scream 'yes', yes he wants to throw all of Seoul's high society into one bowl and call them out on their shallowness and their fixation on money but at the same time, he doesn't want to generalize. He doesn't want to treat people the way he doesn't want to get treated. It's the same when he calls all rich guys superficial as if someone else generalizes him by saying he's poor, he looks like a delinquent so he's gotta be one, gotta be a shoplifting, drug addict in a gang or something. Just because he's poor.

He thinks about his choice of words because for once he wants to make clear why exactly he thinks so low of most rich people – it's just his perception of them. He's met a few at his job, seen them on Tv, in interviews, on radio and read about them. They're different from the people around him, different in a way he doesn't like. He doesn't like the way a big chunk of society gets treated like they're less worthy as other's just because they're poor. He hates that he has to put up with comments and prejudices because of what he looks like and where he comes from. There shouldn't be a thing like 'coming from the wrong neighborhood'. He knows kids who would be going places if they would just be offered the opportunity to. But no. Instead of helping the suffering part of their society the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Yoongi can't really explain to Taehyung all of this in depth right now. He opts for the easier way. It may hurt – scratch that. It will definitely hurt Taehyung but if the boy doesn't learn the harshness of reality there's nothing Yoongi could do for him. He might have to throw him in the cold water but it's for the best. He doesn't dare thinking about why he cares about Taehyung so much when he hated his guts just days ago – maybe it's the way his desperate eyes strangely remind him of his own just a few years ago. Maybe, Taehyung reminds him more of himself than he wants to admit.

"Don't you think your so-called 'friend' would have helped you if he had been really your friend and not just someone who was interested in you because you were like him? Rich? Famous?" He whispers the words into the darkness surrounding them but even he could feel their sharpness in the air. "Once you lose all that, you can see who your real friends are and it seems to me that you have none. They've all abandoned you, right?"

Taehyung doesn't answer him, not verbally at least. The hand on his hip vanishes and Yoongi can feel as Taehyung wipes his face just as much as he could hear the wet sniffle escaping the younger. Yoongi wants to turn around, he wants to turn around and cradle the crying boy's face in his hand but he doesn't. He doesn't because he is against caving in so quickly. Against giving in too fast. Like he always does. Too naïve, too soft – that's what he often is. He has a heart bigger than his body and he quickly takes other's in.

He knows, the second he looks at the crying boy he will let every resolve he built up fall down. All it took for Taehyung was to start crying and it activated Yoongi's motherly instincts. Maybe... The reason why he suddenly wants to help Taehyung is not only because he reminds him of himself but also because the Taehyung behind him right now is not the one he met at the café and it's neither the one who insulted him the morning after he let him stay. This Taehyung right now is crying, he's crying because he's desperate and alone. All alone in the world and there is no one voluntarily being there for him apart from Yoongi.

"You have me though," Yoongi says because of that and this time he doesn't hesitate. He shuffles a little, not completely laying on his back but not fully on his side either, whatever he does, it brings him closer to the younger boy. Actually, Yoongi is kind of grateful for the complete darkness around them now because Taehyung won't be able to see him. He searches blindly for the other's hand and laces their fingers together when he finds it. "Kind of... You can stay here as long as you need to. On one condition..."

Taehyung doesn't respond but Yoongi is sure he's listening. He takes a deep breath before continuing. "If you try to get up on your own feet you can stay here. You'll have to learn how the real world works. You can stay but you'll have to live by my rules. This is not your palace, you have no one who does the chores for you. Here, you have to work to get by. Every day. You can part of us here or you can go and try your luck alone on the streets again."

There's a long pause coming from the younger. The minutes of silence between them stretches and stretches but he never once lets go of Yoongi's hand. The elder has started to slowly stroke his thumb over Taehyung's hand in a reassuring manner, his own mother had always done that whenever he felt anxious. After a while, Yoongi suspects the other might have fallen asleep on him but then the grip on his hand tightens and there's a sharp intake of breath behind him.

"...Okay," His voice is so quiet that Yoongi almost doesn't catch the hushed words but he's glad he did, "Thank you..." And if he lets Taehyung slightly hug him through the night there's no need to tell anyone about it. It was only because he had been half asleep already anyway.

"Didn't you say he wasn't your boyfriend and that he won't come back?"

Yoongi should have known he wouldn't escape the questioning of his family first thing in the morning and of course it's Shin who sneaked into his room to wake him up once again and caught him with Taehyung's arms around him. He carefully frees himself from Taehyung's grip while trying to not wake the other up.

"Yes, and yes," Yoongi sighs, pulling Shin and Jiae, who also appeared in the door, out of the room again, "The first thing is still true but you see... Taehyung – He doesn't have a place to stay."

This wipes the suspicious look on his cousin's face away and instead, places one of sympathy on it. "Ah," Shin nods in understanding, one of his hand coming up to scratch at his chin, "I guess he can stay here. He looks nice?" Yoongi appreciates the effort. After Taehyung had left the last time Shin had told him that he seemed nice one minute and then changed the next second. A personality switch. Like it was with Yoongi and his temper. Shin always had a good perception, a good understanding when it comes to other people and their personality or feelings.

"Can I play with him?" Jiae excitedly asks and waves her doll in front of his face. Yoongi sighs, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to confront Taehyung with his hyper cousin the second he wakes up. Jiae can be... very demanding when it comes to playing. She's very energetic, demands all the attention of her play partner and Yoongi doesn't want to overwhelm the younger this early in the morning.

"No," he gently says, patting her head, "He's still sleeping maybe you can play with Chul?" The pout on his little cousin's face doesn't really look like she's excited to play with her brother.

"He's not up!" She complains, stomps her foot once and before Yoongi can scold her for this behavior she has already dashed off – unfortunately in the direction of his room. Great, Taehyung will have a great time waking up now. Not that he cares, right? Right. Totally right...

Yoongi sighs once, turning towards Shin who is still standing in front of him, "Go and wake up your brother," he tells him, only to get another annoyed groan in return. "But Chul is so hard to wake up!" He complains loudly, throwing his hands up in the air as he stomps away towards their shared bedroom, "Why don't you go?"

"I have to talk to your parents now," He yells after him, a chuckle on his lips as he adds, "And please tell Jiae not to bother Taehyung, okay?"

"Can't make promises!"

Yoongi just rolls his eyes. His gaze strays towards the kitchen where his aunt is working, dread settles in his stomach. He shouldn't have promised Taehyung anything – not when he hasn't talked to his family beforehand. Throwing the younger out again after promising him to help him change his life is kind of a thing he doesn't want to do? Like, really not.

He nervously chews on his bottom lip as he enters the kitchen. His aunt is humming along to the old antenna radio in the corner, turning around before he even gets a chance to speak. Not that Yoongi would have had any idea of what he could have said to start the conversation. 'Hey, remember the guy I let sleep here a few days ago? The one I couldn't stop complaining about after he left? Telling you how annoying and what a total brat he is? Yeah, can he stay permanently now? At least for as long as it takes for him to turn his life around again and be able to live alone – and afford it.'

He couldn't just say that.

"Taehyung is back, huh?" His aunt asks with a soft smile. There's a glint in her eyes like she knows exactly what goes on in Yoongi's mind and what he's about to ask her. Sometimes he thinks she can read minds and scarily she often actually knows what's going on in other people's mind.

"Yeah... I should have asked if it's okay," He mumbles, eyes still downcast – should he ask now?

"No, I didn't mean it like that." His aunt is walking around the kitchen while talking, Yoongi follows the movement of her feet with his eyes. "He's the actor, right?" She asks before lowering her voice to a suspicious whisper, "Kim Taehyung? The one with the – the scandals?"

Yoongi momentarily freezes. He hadn't considered that the others of his family might know about the rather unfortunate situation of the younger. What's he supposed to say now? "Yeah..." He awkwardly replies, scratching slightly behind his ear – a nervous tick he developed since early childhood, "He's all alone now." Now, he thinks, asks her now. This is the best opportunity to casually drop it in this conversation. He takes a deep breath, "And he needs a place to stay. To stay for longer than a few days or even weeks..."

"So, you want to help him?" Yoongi has closed his eyes as if that would protect him from the answer of his aunt. Well, she hasn't really given him an answer yet but there definitely hadn't been a 'no' coming from her lips either.

"I want to help him, yes – I don't know. I think I do. It just doesn't feel right to let him wander the streets alone. He has no idea how life works. I can't let him go out there alone and probably starve himself to death or get himself thrown in jail or something." His explanation doesn't particularly sound weak but his aunt must see right through him. He has no idea why he feels so... so responsible for Taehyung suddenly. The younger isn't his responsibility, he shouldn't feel pressured to make sure everything is fine with him but like he said, it just doesn't feel right to leave him alone. It's similar to the sudden parental urge to care for the hurt cat he once found when he was ten years old. Taehyung is like the cat with two broken legs, he can't survive on his own and Yoongi can't just tell him 'no'. There's nothing more to it. Definitely not...

"You've always been such a good guy," His aunt smiles, one hand combing gently through his hair and Yoongi feels his chest tightening. The gesture so familiar and nice but awakening painful memories at the same time. "Your parents would be so proud of you." He swallows the small sob threatening to spill over his lips back down, instead, plastering a wobbling smile on his face.

When he returns to the living room he sees Taehyung on the couch, Jiae is sitting next to him, her doll in her hands as she gestures wildly with it, mouth never stopping to move as she talks like there's no tomorrow. Yoongi expected the younger to look at least a little annoyed with her but instead, he looks genuinely interested in what she's telling him. His eyes are wide, solely trained on her as he nods along to her story. His reaction to her words are exaggerated, wide-open mouth, a vehement shake of the head and dramatic gasps – Just like Jiae likes it.

Yoongi catches himself smiling at them.

"He reminds you of yourself, right?" He flinches at the sudden voice behind him.

"Huh?" His uncle is chuckling behind him, settling down on one of the stools around the table.

"He's like you," He says and gestures for Yoongi to sit down too. He does, only because he's curious though. Why should Taehyung remind him of himself? They don't have anything in common. His uncle chuckles at his obvious confusion before he explains, "Lost and without someone to guide him. Desperate, scared and all alone. I know what you think about people like him but... he seems different. I don't know but he has the same vibe coming from him you had when we took you in. I think there is a lot more to him than what he reveals to the outside."

"Maybe... But maybe not," Yoongi carefully says, eyes straying again to the couch where he sees Taehyung acting out a story for Jiae. He's smiling wide, arms thrown in the air and voice full of emotion as he makes her laugh. "Maybe he'll break the second he gets his old life offered back. Maybe he thinks he's different when in reality he's not."

"You shouldn't be too sure about that, Yoongi." Yoongi doesn't miss the warning undertone in the voice of his uncle and he knows. He knows. "Don't judge too soon, right?" He knows he shouldn't judge too soon but sometimes it's just too easy to do so. He wants to treat everyone the way he wants to get treated. He wants to trust what Taehyung said last night, he wants to trust him that he actually wants to try to change and learn from him, stay here. But there's still doubt rooted deep inside of him. The last time he let Taehyung stay he had also thought the younger was actually a nice person and then like someone flipped a switch, he had reverted back to an asshole. He doesn't want that to happen again.

"This is already the second chance I'm giving him to prove himself, there won't be a third," Yoongi sighs, running a hand through his hair, "He already let me down once, I really hope it won't happen a second time."

"I think it won't." Yoongi just shrugs as he makes his way over to Taehyung and Jiae.

"My aunt and my uncle don't have anything against you staying here for longer." Is the first thing Yoongi says as Taehyung finally notices him standing in front of him. He had been too engrossed in the story he just told Jiae. His brain needs a few seconds to process the information before his heart leaps in his chest. He could stay?

"You sure? I really don't want to be a bother..." Due to the excitement his voice trembles slightly. God, he feels like he might actually cry any second.

"It's okay, Taehyung." The smile which spreads his lips is so wide that it actually hurts his cheeks. Yoongi might not understand it, but those three words are so important for Taehyung that he just wants to hug the elder male. He doesn't though.

It's okay, Taehyung. He repeats it in his head a few times. Oh, how he wishes someone would have said that to him a few times before already...

Yoongi sits down on the couch next to them and closes his eyes. Taehyung watches him for a few minutes before he dares to call out to him again. But to no avail. He only reacts when Taehyung carefully shakes his shoulder to get his attention. He's almost too shy to ask, "Can I shower here again?"

"Uhm, of course – don't be too long though and be prepared for interruptions," Yoongi smiles but the rise of his lips doesn't look that nice – kind of the opposite actually. Taehyung gulps at the mischievous glint in the other's eyes. Something's up.

"Interruptions...?" He carefully asks but Yoongi doesn't elaborate on his strange statement.

"You'll see." He winks before leaving for his own room again. Definitely weird but Taehyung just shrugs, excusing himself from a pouting Jiae as he makes his way to the small bathroom. He enters it and closes the door behind him, instantly he's hit by some kind of claustrophobic feeling.

Like every other room, this one's tiny too. The shower cabin has a flower patterned curtain, right next to it is the sink with various toothbrushes on it, a stepstool standing right under it on the floor. The toilet is forced in the last possible corner and the only other free wall has a shelf hanging from it with – yeah, with all kinds of things. In the middle of the room is a bright pink fluffy carpet which feels even fluffier once Taehyung gets rid of his socks. He throws another look over his shoulder at the closed door – it kind of bothers him that he can't lock it but he'll deal with it.

He quickly gets under the warm spray of the water – well, warm is an understatement. To be honest, Taehyung personally prefers water with a temperature bordering on boiling but here he is glad for at least lukewarm water. He quickly starts rubbing himself down, getting rid of the grease in his hair when there's suddenly a noise. A noise which suspiciously sounds like a door opening. He stops his movements for a second to listen intensely but when he doesn't hear anything else he's convinced he just imagined it. He almost shrieks when someone suddenly pulls the curtain slightly back to look inside.

"TaTa?" The face of Jiae greets him and he had quickly dropped his hand to his private parts, trying very hard not to combust from the embarrassment.

"O-Oh," He carefully takes another part of the curtain to hold it in front of him as some kind of shield. The little girl is sitting on the toilet, pants pooling at her feet and Taehyung feels like a fucking creep. What the hell is he even supposed to do now? What the fuck? He tugs at the curtain a little more insistently but Jiae doesn't budge. "Hi Jiae..." he mumbles, "Can I have the curtain back?" With a shrug, she lets go and he breathes a sigh of relief. What a motherfucking morning.

He's resuming showering when there's suddenly another voice in the room. "Wait!" That's definitely the smaller of Yoongi's cousins. Taehyung isn't too sure about his name – Chun? Chul? Something like that. "He's showering, Jiae," the boy scolds his little sister, "The water will turn cold when you flush now, wait until he's finished."

"Right!" She yells with a giggle and Taehyung hears her tiny footsteps as she runs out of the room. There's still tension in the air – one cousin gone but the other right back in the room. And as if that isn't enough already the eldest boy is also rushing inside.

"Move over," Shin demands and something stumbles in the curtain. Taehyung almost falls flat on his ass from the shock. "I wanna brush my teeth too!"

"Don't push me!"

He can hear them struggling a bit and prays to whatever god or deity there might be that none of them pushes the other so hard that they'll end up in the shower with him. He would seriously never recover from this embarrassment.

"I swear to god, you two can't stop fighting for a second –" Taehyung swears he's never been more relieved to hear Yoongi's voice. Hopefully, he'll get his cousins in check. "– You stand there and you go there – Seriously." He can still hear them grumbling under their breath but then the noise gets replaced by brushing and Taehyung sighs.

"Yoongi?" He asks tentatively, reaching out for the curtain to stick only his head out and check the surroundings while Yoongi seems to have the same idea. Ripping the curtain back to stick his head inside.

"Yeah?" This time Taehyung shrieks, stumbling back against the wall and knocking a bottle of shampoo over. The elder just smirks at him before retreating again, chuckling as he does so. "Told you there would be interruptions. We have one bathroom and many people having to get ready in the morning."

"You could have warned me a little better," Taehyung pouts as he picks the bottle up again, almost slipping on the wet tiles.

"Sorry," Yoongi apologizes and doesn't sound sorry at all. Taehyung has turned off the water by now and the second he starts thinking about how he'll reach the towel by the door without showing everyone everything he has when Yoongi sticks his arm behind the curtain, towel in hand. "I've brought you fresh underwear – uhm, the rest of the... the clothes. We'll figure that out after you're dressed again."

When Taehyung has dressed in his own clothes again – and Yoongi's boxers – he notices that the elder must have tried to get rid of a few stains on his things. His clothes still look ready for the garbage but hey, Yoongi tried and somehow, it makes a smile bloom on Taehyung's lips. Just a small, little, innocent smile. It's barely there but he can feel it.

Yoongi stands in front of him, his right hand is scratching behind his ear as he chews on his bottom lip, eyes jumping around without ever focusing on anything. He looks nervous, Taehyung just doesn't have any idea why. He should be nervous. After all, he is the one who doesn't have anything at the moment. He is the one who could be thrown out of this apartment any second again. He is the one who has to rely on someone else's help at the moment.

"Do you want to wash your clothes?" Yoongi asks carefully, nodding towards the dirty clothes on his body, "I sure hope you do because they stink. You can wear some of mine but yeah, we established already that they're too small..." Now he looks embarrassed, Taehyung almost chuckles at the slight blush on the elder's cheeks.

"I... yes, I mean, I have nothing but this..." He chokes out, stumbling over his words. (Why again does his mind only supply him with the word cute when he looks at Yoongi? Somebody should explain this to him.)

"Okay, maybe we should work on that first, I have friends about your height," Yoongi holds his hand up to Taehyung's height, measuring him, "Maybe they have some clothes to spare because I can't take you out running around like this anymore."