ONE

Namjoon tilted the plastic coke bottle to his lips, more out of boredom than real thirst; the last few mouthfuls were room temperature at best, and very nearly flat. But still -

The sudden dull thud from behind wasn't enough warning; the plastic chair jerked beneath him, and he abruptly jolted forward. Namjoon could only watch as soda slopped from the open mouth of the bottle, spilling over his hand and down the front of his jacket in sticky rivulets.

He swiveled in his seat, irritation building unchecked as he pinned a heated glare on the miscreant.

"Jungkook-ah!" The bark of warning in his tired voice immediately drew the maknae's attention, his dark head snapping up from his transfixed study of the tiled floor.

Namjoon easily recognized Kookie's patented 'deer-in-headlights' look of 'Oh shit, that sounds like I'm in trouble' as the kid took in the wet stained jacket and coke bottle still in Namjoon's hand. Putting seven and twelve together to correctly surmise that he'd just been responsible for spilling coke all over his tired (and now very irritated) leader, Jungkook instantaneously stilled his swinging legs, managing to stop just shy of kicking the back of Namjoon's chair again.

Tucking his legs safely beneath his seat, Jungkook pulled himself up a little straighter, fingers worrying the hem of his jacket; no doubt sensing that Namjoon was genuinely upset with his juvenile behaviour, something that never led anywhere good for him.

His head dropped slightly, Jungkook glancing up through his lashes with a wince, his voice soft and apologetic as he murmured, "I'm really sorry, hyung. I didn't mean to".

Namjoon sighed. He knew that.

If he'd thought the brat had intended for him to upend the bottle of coke all over himself while they were delayed here for who knew how many more hours, well… there would have been more than just words exchanged.

Patting half-heartedly at the spilled soda that was still dribbling down the front of his jacket Namjoon heaved a disgruntled sigh and gave it up as a futile effort. He stripped out of the wet material and shoved it through the straps of his bag near his feet.

When he looked back up, Kookie had crossed his arms over his chest; his shoulders hunched a little. Even with his face tilted toward the floor, Namjoon could see the tell-tale pink flush. He didn't know if the embarrassment stemmed more from the scolding or having made his hyung spill soda all over himself, but –

It had been an accident. Just some spilled soda and a wet jacket.

Not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things (not that big of a deal in any scheme of things, to be honest.)

Certainly not reason enough for Kookie to be looking at him like that, with big remorseful eyes and small white teeth worrying at his bottom lip, all but squirming in his seat.

Aish. Now he felt guilty.

Turning more fully in his uncomfortable plastic seat, Namjoon stretched across and carded his fingers into the kid's hair, gentle pressure prompting the younger to look up properly.

Dark hesitant eyes met his, and that wouldn't do at all.

Scratching lightly at the top of Kookie's skull for a second prompted a surprised squawk of dissent, as already messy hair tangled into complete disarray. Namjoon smiled, relenting; trailing his fingers down to squeeze the back of Jungkook's neck gently instead, as he apologized, "…sorry I snapped, Kook-ah. You're not in trouble- I know it was an accident".

Kookies scolded puppy face dissolved into his hopeful bunny face; which didn't do much for Namjoon's heartstrings, but at least it tugged them in a more pleasant direction.

Suddenly feeling much less dissatisfied with the world in general, Namjoon continued lightly, "We're all tired and bored kiddo, and everyone's getting a little on the irritated side…so just try to behave for a bit longer, okay? Hopefully, we'll have an update soon."

'Soon' couldn't come fast enough for Namjoon; This was supposed to have been an hour stop-over before a connecting flight, and yet, they'd been stuck here for nearly three hours already, their flight delayed twice, and now officially postponed. Once the extended interruption had been confirmed, Sejin-manager had organized their use of a closed lounge that was about to undergo refurbishment; getting the idol group out of the busy public area of the airport, leaving their small security team to secure only the two doors of the room.

He'd then disappeared to try and get some more precise information about the travel situation out of the city. That had been over an hour ago.

The natives were beginning to get restless. And by natives, Namjoon meant their maknae line.

Jungkook was nodding obediently, smiling again now that the looming wrath had apparently dissipated, although Namjoon noticed that his legs had already started swinging again.

Sighing, Namjoon turned to look further down the row of chairs, just in time to catch as the (previously) peacefully dozing Yoongi managed to land a half-hearted swat against Jimin's thigh before the youngster danced back out of reach.

Namjoon could hear the little troll giggling like a deranged hyena.

The maknae line needed sleep.

They all needed sleep. But the maknae line needed sleep, asap. The hyung line needed the maknae line to get some sleep, asap.

Namjoon could feel the imminent explosion building; all that remained to be seen was which volcano would blow first. He was sure it wouldn't be long before one (or more) of their maknae welcomed an uninvited intervention of some means, and right at that very second, all his money was on Jiminie.

TiredJiminie, who had the self-preservation of a Mayfly.

Luckily, he was cute.

Mischief was playing with fire, and Namjoon doubted he'd still be giggling when it lashed out to burn him. Or less metaphorically, Jimin, embracing the hell out of his aggressively hyper stage of sleep deprivation, wouldn't be laughing if he goaded their worn-out Yoongi-hyung beyond the few lazily irritated swipes he'd responded with so far.

It seemed J-hope agreed because before Namjoon could drag his tired body upright and perform his leaderly duties by intervening, the older dancer intercepted his dongsaengs next brush with mortality.

One arm wrapped around Jimin's neck, the other his waist, Hobi carry-dragged the younger dancer across the room before shoving him to the carpeted floor on the far side of the lounge. Jimin didn't seem particularly perturbed by the rough treatment, giggles still spilling from him in a riot of chortles that sounded altogether too pleased (and somewhat maniacal) to Namjoon's ears.

He watched the pair for a moment longer; Hoseok fiddling with his phone for a second before setting it on a nearby seat and starting to step out a series of increasingly complex moves to the softly echoing beat. Jimin scrambled eagerly to his feet to mirror him a step or two behind.

Namjoon grinned, of course, dancing was the one true unbeatable method of distraction with Jiminie.

With any luck, Hobi would get him to expend whatever insane reserves of frenzied energy he'd managed to tap-

From the corner of his eye, he saw Jungkook's fingers drumming along in time with the music.

They'd managed to tap into-

He turned to look fully at the maknae- "Go on-"

He hadn't even finished the sentence, and Jungkook was on his feet, halfway across the room.

Namjoon grinned again. So, predictable.

Hoseok caught his eye and returned the smile, and Namjoon added a nod of appreciation, thankful that Hoseok had stepped up to play 'sacrificial lamb' to distract the children.

Hobi followed through with a complicated triple twist, and like a pair of fluffy ducklings, the two maknae replicated the move flawlessly. Graceful, talented, fluffy ducklings. Hoseok clapped quietly, grin wide with pride. It didn't look like he minded playing mother duck overly much.

Speaking of babies though, Namjoon realized he hadn't seen their second youngest for a while. Or heard. Likely because, for once, Taehyung didn't seem to be making a nuisance of himself.

He glanced across to where Tae had flopped down across five upholstered chairs when they'd initially entered the room; arm draped across his forehead dramatically as he'd bemoaned their current situation and prodded at Jimin with his foot.

He wasn't there anymore.

Namjoon stood slowly. He wasn't overly concerned (yet); they'd been here nearly an hour after all, and Namjoon had dozed for part of that; most of the members had shuffled and reshuffled about the room over that period. But. But he'd been gazing around for the past few minutes, eyes following Jimin's tomfoolery and the three dancers subsequent move across the room, and he hadn't seen Tae's dark head or his favored black and white jacket.

Namjoon's gaze was a little more goal focused now, as he searched for where his last maknae had relocated to, making sure to examine high as well as low. He knew Taehyung's habit of climbing under or onto furniture all too well; it was a constant point of contention between the two of them.

For the most part, Namjoon didn't care.

Sure, spend the whole of movie night under the couch for no apparent reason. Perch on the kitchen bench if you want to (You're on your own with Jin-Hyung though, he might have something different to say) Go ahead, use the tv cabinet as a lair. Play pretend in your closet (It locks from the outside. It's fine.)

Just, don't climb up the 7-foot bookshelf. Don't stand on three saucepans balanced on two chairs and a side table to try and see into the manhole in the hallway. Don't sleep in the dryer. Don't sit on the sill of the open third story window…

Namjoon wasn't sure exactly what ill-advised stunt Tae could get into in a half-stripped airport lounge, especially with every other member in the room (some of them even awake) but he'd learned long ago never to underestimate Kim Taehyung's penchant for finding trouble.

He swept his eyes over the room again, actively cataloging this time.

Hobi, Jimin, and Kookie were still on the far side of the lounge, although Namjoon could see that the dancing had devolved into Jungkook clinging to Hoseok's back like a monkey while the elder spun Jimin around and around beneath his arm like a ballerina on speed.

Yoongi appeared to be fast asleep again, although he'd moved slightly to sprawl fully across the middle row of chairs, and Namjoon could see the earbud he'd stuck in his ear, no doubt pumping music to drown out the dance line's shenanigans behind him.

A quick glance toward the back of the room and Namjoon spotted the top of Jin's head over the far row of chairs, the eldest seated on the floor, leaning against the wall beneath the large tarp-covered windows. Namjoon deduced that Jin's attention was occupied by his phone, from the soft glow lighting his face.

That was 1,2,3,4,5, - Kookie, Jiminie, Hobi, Yoongi, and Jin... but no Tae.

Now Namjoon was beginning to worry.

It wasn't an overly large room; there was only so many ridiculous, implausible places that Tae could somehow manage to half-conceal himself. He'd even checked the adjoining bathroom, without luck.

And if Taehyung wasn't in the lounge...

Namjoon's gaze flitted towards the closest door.

He wouldn't have.

Only- Taehyung wasn't exactly known for his self-preservation skills. If he'd slipped into his fanciful 'grasp the world with both hands and shake it' mood... very little could sway him from whatever notion had got into his head.

One of the only things that could settle the younger, on occasion, was Namjoon's leader-voice, infused with just the right amount of 'I mean it. Cross me, and you will regret it'.

And before he'd dozed off, Namjoon had used just that voice to give explicit instructions not to leave the room. For all that it had been a blanket directive, he'd been looking pointedly at the maknae line when he'd spoken.

Where they went, trouble usually followed. Or so the trio insisted; Namjoon was more than a little convinced that they often went looking for trouble. Not content unless they were actively trying to give their hyungs heart attacks.

Like Tae right now, for instance.

The airport was relatively small and hadn't been very busy when they'd arrived, but over the several hours since then the noise from the build-up of travelers from delayed and canceled flights had become audible, even in the closed-off lounge.

If Taehyung had gone out there, into the push and shove of the crowd, alone-

It didn't matter that Taehyung was an adult (ha! Namjoon was pretty sure someone had screwed the definition of that word up), he was also far too trusting and overly friendly, his innocence bordering on naivete.

It would only take one sasaeng fan.

One over-zealous fanatic; for Taehyung to be exposed, overwhelmed, frightened, hurt, god- taken...

Namjoon strode purposefully toward the door. He was going to kill Taehyung. He was going to find the little brat, make sure he was okay, and then kill him.

No, not kill. Maim. Just a little.

"Namjoon-ah."

Namjoon turned instinctively at the call of his name, recognizing the soft roll of syllables as being off Jin's tongue. From his new vantage point closer to the door, Namjoon could just make out the older member, reclined in the shadow of the wall, his long legs stretched out before him, crossed at the ankle.

"He's here" Jin continued softly, peering up at him over the soft light of the phone, one hand gesturing lazily to his lap.

Peripherally aware of Yoongi cracking an eye open and shifting slightly at the quite conversation (and now Namjoon knew that the earbud was just for show). The older rapper looked thoughtful for a second, his gaze dancing between Namjoon, Jin (and Jin's limpet), before he smirked teasingly, dropping back to the couch with a shake of his head.

Namjoon grimaced at his own oversight. He hadn't even asked if anyone had seen Tae. Aigoo, he was such a worry-wart sometimes, his concern getting in the way of logic.

He padded across the room, stopping beside Jin, who put the phone down and looked up questioningly, "All cubs accounted for, Papa bear?" the older asked, his voice laced with amusement.

"Oh, shut it, like you're any better. Look at you, baby bear all curled up beside you..." Namjoon shot back, sinking to his heels to get a better look at Tae in the dark shadows. Just to be sure, of course; Jin would have woken him if anything were wrong.

Jin, to his credit, shrugged agreeably, answering, "Point. Except... he's more like a toddler-bear. Well into his terrible two's if earlier was any indication..."

Namjoon frowned, asking "He was being a brat?"

Jin grinned, "Oh yeah, an absolute little shit. He came 'this' close" Jin pinched his fingers completely together, and Namjoon snorted, as the singer continued, "to a visiting Lapland for a brief attitude adjustment, but- ." One hand dropped to card gently through long strands of dark hair, hushing Taehyung when he stirred at the sound of voices above him.

"But?" Namjoon prompted, settling back to sit properly, legs crossed in front of him.

"Well, you know how Tae gets when he's really exhausted... He was just overtired and sulky and more than ready to pick a fight with Jiminie. And Jimin certainly wasn't helping any, all hyper and pushy- much like he still is right now, gosh that kid needs some sleep- Anyway, I separated them, and as soon as Tae curled up beside me, he was out like a lightbulb." Jin explained.

Namjoon did know. He knew how all seven of them got when tired (unfortunately it was unavoidable with the lifestyle they led), and had seen evidence of pretty much everyone's traits this evening. His own snappishness, Yoongi's surly short temper, Jungkook's fidgety brattiness, Jimin, aggravatingly hyperactive and Tae, fretful and petulant. Only Hobi's sunny disposition and Jin's calm attentiveness were holding up.

Namjoon was broken from his musings by Taehyung shifting slightly, whining something drowsily against Jin's coat, muffled where his face was mushed into the soft material.

It sounded like "'m not 'sleep-," but Namjoon couldn't really believe such a blatant lie. Jin huffed a breathy chuckle, his fingers sliding down to squeeze the back of Tae's neck gently, voice indulgent as he replied, "Sure, baby. You're not asleep. Just resting."

"'ust resting-" Tae agreed, snuggling in closer, one hand coming up to fist in the material of Jin's jacket.

Namjoon sniggered, unable to resist running his own hand down Tae's curved spine, adding, "Good Boy, you behave for Jin-hyung and rest some more."

Namjoon wouldn't have minded an extended Tae-cuddle right about then, but Jin looked pretty satisfied with Taehyung curled into his side, the youngster's regular soft huffs of breath audible, although softened by dual layers of material, so Namjoon contented himself with leaning against the wall on Jin's other side.

He sighed, wondering how much longer they would have to wait before Sejin-hyung finally came back.

The answer it turned out, was four minutes.

"-edicting it to be the worst blizzard of the season, and all flights are definitely grounded for at least the next 24 hours." Sejin finished, eyeing the seven gathered before him in something that could loosely be defined as a semi-circle.

Namjoon knew their manager was worried. He knew why too.

They all looked exhausted. Drained, mentally and physically by the past few weeks, concerts, and fan meets, and Vlive's and practice and traveling and unfamiliar beds, weird hours, plane seats, too many strange eyes on them to relax, too much to see and do, too excited, and just- too much.

Yoongi was yawning into one hand, his other cupped over Hoseok's left knee, his arm wrapped around the dancer's leg, head resting against his thigh. He'd initially been on his feet, his arm around Hobi's shoulders to keep himself standing, but as Sejin had taken several long minutes to explain the situation, Yoongi had slumped to the ground, only his grip on Hobi keeping him marginally upright.

Taehyung was plastered down Jin's left side, both arms wrapped around the eldest's chest, his head pillowed against Jin's shoulder, Jin's strong arm wrapped around his waist supporting his weight.

Jimin had attempted to mirror him on the opposite side but Tae, disturbed by Jimin's fidgeting, had whined and grumbled that 'I was here first!' pushing peevishly at Jimin until the younger dancer had been drawn away by Hoseok wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Sejin had mentioned to Namjoon before that he felt honored that the team was comfortable around him enough to just be themselves, but Aish, they were such little brats.

Kookie was attempting to behave; he might have been half-draped over Namjoon's back, but at least the maknae was listening attentively to what Sejin-manager was explaining.

Namjoon was pretty sure Tae was asleep again. He'd have been angry at the brat's disrespect, except Tae had been fighting valiantly to keep his eyes open for the past 20 minutes, head dropping forward and then jerking back up, blinking indolently in Sejin's direction.

It had been both painfully endearing and pitifully cute, and Jin had eventually taken mercy and soothed the youngster into sleep, his head resting against Jin's shoulder.

"What are our options then?"

That was Jin, and Namjoon tuned back in, making himself pay attention; he was the leader, this was his responsibility.

Sejin answered, "Well…I guess it's really up to you guys. We can find you a hotel in the city, and you can lay up until the airport opens- hopefully, early enough to get you to your concert night after tomorrow, or- if we leave now, we can drive through the night and still make it to the Sunrise Breakfast in time."

The 'Sunrise Breakfast' was a special charity auction that they'd organized, with only seven tickets sold off, and all proceeds donated to each individual member's charity of choice. The incredibly generous winners were being flown to the destination, where they would meet BTS privately for breakfast at sunrise. They would then have several hours to just sit and chat and soak up the friendship that made BTS such global social phenomenon.

All flights, accommodation, and meals, as well as VIP tickets to the BTS concert the following night, were also included.

And it looked as though if they wanted to wait and take the convenient short flight sometime the next day, they'd be canceling (at best postponing indeterminately) the specially designed charity function that they'd hatched, planned and arranged themselves.

Namjoon was almost sure he was speaking true for everyone when he answered, "ARMY doesn't let us down, we won't let them down. Let's drive- we can sleep on the way".

Jungkook suddenly broke into song, chanting excitedly into Namjoon's ear, "We're going on a road trip!"

Jimin shoving away from Hobi, and falling into a little shuffling dance, echoed him, "We're going on a road trip!"

Jungkook slithered down from where Namjoon had all but been piggy-backing him, scooting across to grab Jimin's hand, adding his own steps as he shouted the next line, "It's gonna be a long one!"

"Gonna be a long one!" Jimin cackled, high-fiving Jungkook.

And then, "I'm not tired!" rang through the room.

The two dancing maknae spun toward their suddenly awake middle member, dragging Tae into some weird conga line, repeating "I'm not tired!" as they gyrated and hopped around the lounge.

Jin was giggling, Yoongi was asleep again, and Hobi had joined the conga line. Sejin-hyung looked slightly bemused as if he couldn't quite believe that had actually happened. Namjoon just dropped his head into his hands at the prospect of a 'whoever knew how long' road trip through an unfamiliar country, during some of the worst weather expected this year, with them.

He blinked suddenly and called after Sejin's retreating back, the man leaving to organize the vehicles, "Sejin-hyung! Just how long is this drive!?


Nine hours.

Namjoon had to be cooped up in this van with these lunatics for the next nine hours.

He wondered if it was too late to ask to ride on the bus with the backup dancers.

Jimin, Tae, and Jungkook were all jammed into the far rear seat; Kookie having the pleasure as the youngest, of being smooshed between the older two.

Already they'd been treated to a rousing rendition of "The Wheels On The Bus, with 'Bus' of course, correctly changed to 'Van.' That had devolved into, "I've Been Everywhere Man," with every town name changed to whatever random correct syllable word was on the tip of Jimin's tongue at the time. Jungkook had then led a rather animated version of 'She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain", complete with semi-suitable in-car choreography.

They'd only been traveling for 15 minutes.

Namjoon had hoped, still hoped (god, how he hoped), that the three would wear off some of their hyper excitement in the first few kilometers, and then settle in for the long haul.

Though, the whispering from the back didn't bode well.

"One hundred and eleven million, three hundred and thirty-three green boootttles, hanging on the wa-"

"Just shut-up and let me go to sleep!" Yoongi shouted, swiveling in his, (much hated, but he was the shortest. Jin and Namjoon needed the extra leg room) middle seat, glaring eyes of utter death into the back seat.

Namjoon thought their resident cranky-pants had been unusually tolerant; he'd been waiting for Yoongi to flip his shit since 'The Wheels On The Bus.'

The singing cut off abruptly; Namjoon was sure he heard at least one set of teeth audibly clack shut. He turned in his own seat to glance over his shoulder, quickly turning back to the front, so he didn't have to conceal his smile.

The maknae line had frozen, mid-action, each hamming up the weirdest facial expression and dance position for maximum entertainment value. Namjoon felt Yoongi huff a restrained snort before he melted back into his seat, slumping against Jin in the same fluid motion, eyes slipping closed in the sudden silence.

A precipitate deep intake of breath from the back and Namjoon would have groaned had he had time.

They burst back into song, harmonizing terribly, atrociously,"-wall, and if one of those bottles should accidentally faaaall, there will b-"

Yoongi was upright again, turned in his seat before Namjoon registered him moving, striking smooth and deadly like a viper in the night. The rapper leaned over the back seat, voice snarling quietly, much scarier than a shout (they all knew the varying levels of warning) "Stop. Singing. Quiet. Be. Quiet. Now."

The entire van was silent.

Yoongi slowly retreated, sliding down the seat, body turning back to the front, head still craned (creepily as fuck) toward the rear, dark eyes relaying his message until the very last second. Then he turned and curled back into Jin's side, a pleased smile on his face at the absolute hush of the vehicle.

Namjoon didn't bother to hide his grin as he leaned against his window, rearranging his neck pillow. Min Yoongi strikes again; putting fear into any god-fearing maknae-

A tiny flicker of movement caught in his peripheral vision was all the warning he received-

"-One hundred and eleven million, three hundred and thirty-two green bo-"

Sudden movement erupted to his left, and Namjoon found himself physically dragging Yoongi back into his seat. The older boy had flung his seatbelt off and was attempting to climb over the middle backrest-

The triad (apparently erroneously believing they were out of reach of repercussion in the back while traveling at speed) started giggling like particularly loud, particularly rambunctious three-year-olds.

Namjoon left Jin to strain the ridiculous muscles he liked to hide under equally ridiculous clothes, pulling Yoongi back down into his seat, and fighting his oldest dongsaeng back into his seatbelt, hissing furiously into the rapper's ear as he did so. Namjoon was only able to make out the words, safety, example, and moron.

He guessed he'd better step up and deal with the ratbags in the back, still gasping through giggles and sniggers.

Loosening the shoulder strap of his own seatbelt, Namjoon turned in his seat, rising up to rest his crossed arms over his headrest, staring at his suddenly trepidatious and silent maknae line.

Jimin dipped his head, Kookie gulped loudly, and Tae offered a slightly wincing, apologetic smile.

Namjoon hid his exasperated grin, knowing that if any of them got even a hint of it, it would only encourage them. Instead, he pinned them with a relatively mild glare, voice firm as he reached out and flicked Jimin, the closest, on the forehead before the younger even realized what was happening.

"Ow! Hyung! Ow! Ow! -" Jiminie stared back with wide, devastated eyes, before slumping over, hands clasped to his forehead as if Namjoon had hit him with a hammer, rather than a mere finger flick.

"Oh hush, you big baby. Behave. Everyone is tired. " he reprimanded gently, before turning to his next target.

Namjoon smothered a snort; their 'fearless' golden maknae was leaning as far away as possible, head tipped back over the seat, forehead well out of reach of his fingers. Namjoon could barely hear the whining reassurances, muffled as they were by the angle of Kookie's neck, "I'm good! I'll stop! I'll be good!", his hands outstretched as if to ward off evil spirits, and/or scolding hyungs.

Aish, he was cute.

But such a brat.

Namjoon, not about to risk a Jin-lecture by taking his own seatbelt off, shrugged and swatted gently at Jungkook's hand, the smack sounding much louder than Jimin's finger-flick.

Jungkook jerked upright, pulling his hands to his chest with a surprised gasp, his eyes widening, mouth open for what was likely to be a stringent objection, (or wounded wailing), but Namjoon followed the swat with the intended punishment, a finger flick, landing neatly between expressive dark eyes.

Kookie yelped, hands flying to his head, much the same as Jimin's had, "Aiigh! Hyuuung..." the maknae whined, wilting into his seat like a well-scolded dongsaeng.

Namjoon shook his head at the dramatics, before actually delivering the gentle scolding, "Yoongi-hyung is really tired Kook-ah, you need to quiet down, okay?"

Jungkook glanced over the seat at the back of Yoongi's head, taking in how his hyung was slumped bonelessly against Jin. Yoongi had been up longer than all of them; he'd ended up seated in front of a kicking child on the long first leg of their flight but had refused to swap or complain, knowing everyone else was just as exhausted.

Kookie nodded, contrite, voice soft as he apologized, "Sorry, Yoongi-Hyung."

"Yes, I'm sorry too Yoongi-Hyung!" Tae echoed, and Namjoon turned his attention to his second youngest.

On the far side of the trio, Taehyung was well and truly out of Namjoon's reach, especially so with the way the youngster had scramble mostly off the bench seat and into the crevice beside the wall of the van- basically as far from Namjoon as possible.

The apology was genuine, he could hear it in Tae's voice, but the big eyes that stared at him beseechingly, apparently hoped that it would be enough to save him from the penalty of being a gremlin in the first place.

Guess again, little brat.

Namjoon stretched out an arm, steady gaze serious as the held Tae's, crooking a finger in the universal 'Come Here' signal.

Taehyung blanched, biting his lip as he realized Namjoon wanted him to 'walk to his own execution,' his eyes skittering away.

The reaction was 90% exaggerated; after all, Namjoon was only going to flick his forehead, hardly a severe punishment, but-

At least 10% of Namjoon's ire was real; he was tired, they were tired, everyone was tired, and the three maknae were insisting on behaving like little hellions. And if that word was a touch strong, well- they certainly weren't being the little angels that Namjoon knew they could be.

So, at least 10% of Taehyung's timid eyes and bashful reluctance was real as well, because-

None of the maknae-line enjoyed being scolded, at all.

It did make Namjoon wonder why one particular member of the three seemed to invite it so much sometimes, but well-

Natural Born Troublemaker.

Taehyung's eyes glance back to meet his as if checking to see if he'd softened any.

He hadn't.

A faint whine escaped the second youngest, miserable and unwilling, his voice wretched as he wheedled, "But- hyuuung..."

Namjoon's eyes hardened- he'd already established that everyone was tired.

Taehyung swallowed thickly, eyes dancing away again as he contemplated his options.

Namjoon saw him mapping the distance between them, and decided to give the brat just a little push-

He cleared his throat, waited patiently until Taehyung dragged his molasses heavy gaze to his, and then, Namjoon pointedly directed his own look to Jin-hyung.

Who was directly in front of Tae, well within reach, and mostly asleep.

The inference was clear; if Taehyung didn't get closer now, Namjoon would involve Jin-Hyung, who would not be pleased to be woken, and Tae's utter disobedience to Namjoon might just be enough to push the mostly joking scolding into a completely serious scolding.

Taehyung seemed to come to the intended conclusion, his eyes widening to shoot Namjoon a 'You wouldn't!' look.

Namjoon's was pretty sure his raised eyebrows were sufficient enough reply.

Defiance crumbling into resignation, Taehyung slowly leaned forward, stretching across Kookie to get closer to Namjoon.

His brows were lowered over tightly clenched eyes, his nose scrunched up and his lips pursed. Tae half tensed as if he wanted to pull back into himself or turn his face away, but was fighting against the desire.

It was entirely too fracking adorable, and Namjoon couldn't do it.

He also couldn't not, if only because such an unjust turn of events would bring the wrath of Jimin and Jungkook down on both of them. The very loud, very boisterous wrath.

The flick, when he finally delivered it, was more a two-fingered shove against the center of Tae's forehead, but it seemed to satisfy the unholy trinity; Jimin and Jungkook content that all were equally accountable for their joint mischief, and Tae bemoaning his 'harsh punishment.'

Namjoon shook his head at the sheer ridiculousness that was their maknae line.

Taehyung's hand drifted from rubbing against his forehead to covering his mouth, grousing suddenly cut off by a jaw-splitting yawn.

Thank God. About time.

About bed time, Namjoon fervently hoped, turning his serious 'leader-in-charge-heed-me' look on the riffraff, "Okay, you've had your fun, brats. Knock it off and show a little bit of common courtesy, everyone else is exhausted..."

Tae glanced at Jimin, who glanced at Jungkook who glanced at Tae.

"Yes, hyung, sorry, hyung," came the perfectly timed answer, in triplicate.

Namjoon thought he even heard Yoongi snort in amusement besides him.

"Mhmm. You just remember that, because if you stir Yoongi-hyung up again, I'm not going to interfere." Namjoon warned, completely serious.

He meant it. He was going to try and get some sleep, and if their ridiculous maknae line invited the wrath of Yoongi again, well...as far as Namjoon was concerned, they could take everything coming to them.

The three must have sensed that he was serious though because they did settle, almost immediately, the drive becoming a much quieter affair. Only the occasional observation or question tossed out intermittently, sporadic soft giggling from the back seat, or the odd brief murmur between differing combinations of the members breaking the silence.

And soon enough, not even that.

Namjoon could feel sleep creeping up on him, caressing his drowsy mind with beckoning fingers, but he held out long enough to pass one last glance over the team; just to be sure that everyone was as comfortable and content as possible within the cramped confines of the van.

He could just make out Hoseok's face by the light of the dashboard buttons and displays, J-hope having drawn the long straw and pulling shotgun in the front (the fact that he was the one most likely to get car sick was coincidence entirely) with the driver and his shift double. The passenger seat was tilted back slightly, and Hobi's facial features were lax with sleep.

Namjoon turned his attention to the two sharing the middle bench seat with him. Jin had listed to the side, head lolling back in the small gap between the headrest and the van wall, one arm tucked up beside his face as a buffer from the hard plastic. Mr. Worldwide Handsome's mouth was hanging open, and he was snoring softly.

Yoongi had turned sideways at some stage, and he was slumped forward, his head pillowed against jin's chest. He had his legs drawn up onto the seat, tucked in against his own body, and his arms were hidden between. It looked hellishly uncomfortable, but Yoongi was asleep and Namjoon sure as hell wasn't waking him to tell him he 'looked uncomfortable.'

He wasn't that brave.

The little fiends in the back were finally asleep as well. Namjoon couldn't make them out very well in the darkness, beyond a vague silhouette of pillows, blankets, and maknae-line all tangled together in a haphazard pile.

He could, however, make out Jimin's pinched face. The youngster's pillow was scrunched up between his shoulder and the van wall, but his head was missing the buffer of soft material entirely, pressed against the cold window in a way that made his breath send tendrils of steam over the glass every few seconds.

Namjoon sighed, twisting to turn awkwardly in his seat, being careful not to jostle Yoongi as he pulled himself to his knees- only to come eyes to toes with what he was sure was Taehyung's bare foot sticking out above his headrest.

Aish.

Namjoon rolled his eyes, wrapped his fingers around Tae's ankle, and gently guided the foot back into the rear of the van. He'd attempt to tuck it under a blanket but knew from experience that Tae would only stick it back out again.

Beside Taehyung, Kookies entire body was missing under a mountain of blankets, and Namjoon leaned closer to confirm that the maknae still had his seatbelt on and could - well, breathe. Kookie was fine though, slumped over to half-smother Taehyung with his weight, just his nose poking out of a small cave created in the blanket.

Minor side-missions dealt with, Namjoon turned back to his main quest; Jimin.

Reaching over with both hands, his upper body supported by the headrest, Namjoon tugged gently on the corner of Jimin's pillow, attempting to pull it further up, so the dancer was using it for its intended purpose.

Jimin growled at him, one hand coming up to swat at his fingers.

Namjoon blinked, about to give in (he wasn't going to offer help where it wasn't welcomed), and then Jimin whined tiredly, "Lea'mme 'lone, TaeTae."

Well yes, Namjoon supposed, when one was conditioned to expect Kim Taehyung's particular brand of nuisance, someone tugging on your pillow probably meant trouble.

He grinned, leaned further forward and slipped his hand between the window and Jimin's head, lifting him away slightly. Jimin blinked tired eyes open, a grumble already on his lips, "Taeta-

Hyung?"

"Shh, go back to sleep Jiminie-" Namjoon murmured quietly in reply, quickly tugging the pillow straight, and settling Jimin back against the soft material.

Jimin sighed wistfully, and just like that, was asleep again.

Namjoon shook his head in bemusement and leaned back, eyes raking over the trio fondly as he turned and sank back down into his own seat. Content that all was well, for now, he let his eyes flutter closed.

He startled awake when the van coughed and spluttered loudly, and Namjoon shook himself, claws of sleep still grasping tightly.

He felt Yoongi twitching to sullen wakefulness beside him and noted Jin was leaning forward to speak to Hoseok down the passenger wall side of the fan. He could hear various quiet exclamations of confused questioning from behind, and then Jimin's voice came from above, laced with confusion, to ask, "What's happening, Hyung?".

Namjoon tilted his head backward to see the youngster peering down at him from over the headrest. Levering himself into a more upright position, ignoring the twinge of his lower back protesting to having obviously been in an awkward position for far too long, Namjoon turned to face Jimin in a way that didn't provide a direct up-nostril view, answering, "I'm not sure Jiminie, sounds like car trouble. Give me a minute."

Namjoon turned away, leaning forward into the front, settling a hand on Hoseok's tense shoulder as he asked, "What's going on?"

Their driver was busy easing the slowing van off the highway, and Namjoon waited patiently until they'd stopped altogether.

"We started to overheat a little while back, and I was pretty sure we were going to do the radiator, which we just did, by the way. I've already spoken to Sejin-manager, and there should be enough room on the bus for all of us for the last hour or so, if you don't mind squishing in- they were only a little ahead, they should be- yeah…"

He gestured to the hill in the near distance, and sure enough, headlights were beginning to make their way down, transforming from dull shadowy bulk into the sleek silver of the bus within seconds.

Namjoon twisted in his seat and clapped his hands twice; silence fell.

"Okay, guys, we're all getting on the bus, so shoes and jackets on, gather up your bags and blankets. Check you've got wallets and phones...I'm talking to you, Kook-ah." He explained, ignoring the offended yelp from the back as he reached down to tug his own shoes back on, grabbing his small bag from between his feet.

Around him the others blinked blearily, half awake and yawning as they began to dig around for shoes and blankets and phones and bags. Namjoon waited patiently for Jin to finish tying his laces so he could open the door and get out, letting the rest of them follow.

Jungkook did not wait patiently.

Namjoon 'oomphed', suddenly finding himself with an armful of compact maknae, Kookie having dragged himself over the seat, not bothering to wait for his intended landing zone to be cleared.

"Aish, you little- " Yoongi growled, recovering from the sudden unexpected face full of pillow, he turned, pulling Kookie away from Namjoon and dragging the maknae over his own lap, hand coming down in a flurry of none-too-gentle swats.

Thankfully, for both Namjoon and Jungkook, the kid was swaddled in at least three blankets and was clutching a pillow to his chest, wheezing through laughter under Yoongi's attack.

Jin slid the door open, no doubt to escape the madness that it was way too early to risk being pulled into, and slowly they piled out into the cold. Namjoon grinned as he watched Hoseok drop his own blanket over Jimin, one of his arms wrapping around the younger dancers shoulders to keep it in place; the boy was weighed down by what Namjoon assumed was all three of the maknae-lines bags.

Shivering and huffing breaths of warm air into rapidly cooling fingers, they made a beeline for the warm, inviting interior of the bus, the van going quiet and dark behind them.

The bus doors snicked open, and Sejin-manager greeted them with a smile, offering a hand to Namjoon to pull him up the steps as he joked, "It seems you boys just can't win tonight- anyone have anything they'd like to confess? Karma has a way of coming back to bite you!"

Namjoon replied as he pushed his way down to the smattering of cleared seats toward the rear of the bus, "The one you definitely want to speak to is Min Yoongi…he's been threatening to maim the maknaes again."

Sejin was laughing and giving a gummily grinning (for the first time that night) Yoongi a hard time as he faded out of earshot.

Namjoon fell into the nearest open seat and snagged the closest member of the maknae line, tugging Jimin down onto his lap as he passed, "Share with me, Jiminie, so neither of us ends up with Suga-hyung" he jokingly begged.

Jimin giggled, voice muffled as he bent to shove the three bags under the seat in front of him, "Okay, just as long as you don't try to steal my pillow again-" he straightened, laughing at the wounded look Namjoon glued to his face.

"Aigoo, you brat- I'm not Tae! I was helping you! C'm here-", Namjoon shot back, reaching out and dragging Jimin down beside him, the seat cramped but not unbearably so, especially once Jimin twisted sideways, throwing his legs over Namjoon's, settling in for the long haul.

As they slowly got under way again, Namjoon turned, still grumbling under his breath about ungrateful dongsaengs. He swept his gaze across the darkening interior of the bus as everyone settled again, just checking.

Jimin was sprawled half on top of him, Jin and Yoongi were two seats back on the left, whispering quietly with J-hope who was in the row behind them. Namjoon found Jungkook and Tae a further three back on the right and had to grin; the two had already fallen back to sleep. Tae was slumped against the window, black and white jacket tucked close, hood pulled almost the entire way around his face. Jungkook had flopped against his youngest hyung, Tae's blanket, as well as his own, tucked about his shoulders.

Everyone else calm and settled; Namjoon tugged Jimin closer to be better able to appropriate half his (Hoseok's) blanket, his eyes falling closed as the bus picked up speed.

Sejin gently shook him awake, explaining quietly, "Joonie-ah, do you want to start waking the others? We're about five minutes away."

Namjoon glanced at his watch; nearly 4: OO am. They should have time for quick showers and a change of clothes before they had to meet with the winners. Namjoon was so looking forward to a warm shower and fresh clothes.

Turning his head, he noticed that Jin and J-hope were already awake, and seemed to be working on prodding Yoongi into the same state. It didn't look to be going overly well, but Namjoon decided to leave them to it. Too many chiefs and all that.

And he was an absolute coward.

He noticed that Kookie was also- well, Namjoon wasn't sure he would classify it as 'awake,' but the maknae was at least making some semblance of an effort, stretching while trying to smother an enormous yawn, eyes still glued shut.

It didn't look like Taehyung had even moved yet.

He'd leave Kookie to deal with Tae though, while Namjoon dealt with his own half of the 95 line.

At some stage during the last hour, Jimin had curled into Namjoon's side and dragged the blanket up over his head, and it appeared he was intent on it staying there, the material fisted in his grip, along with a decent handful of Namjoon's own jacket.

"Jimin-ah? Jiminie? Wakey-wakey... " he sing-songed sweetly, poking at where Jimin's stomach should be beneath the blanket, gently jostling the swaddled monster...and just generally working on being as annoying as humanly possible.

He was pretty good at it; after all, he'd been dealing with Tae, Jimin, and Kookie for several years now. He'd learned from masters of the game.

Jimin's head popped out from beneath the blanket, scowl completely undermined by the lazy giggles that spilled from his lips.

"Namjoon-hyung?"

It was Jungkook's voice, calling from his seat, several rows away. Kookie's voice, but not his usual playful voice, nor his tired, whiny voice. It was the maknaes confused, worried voice, and Namjoon turned immediately, meeting dark, troubled eyes.

About the absolute last thing he expected to fall from Jungkook's mouth was, "Where's TaeTae?"

Namjoon moved slowly, a suddenly wide-awake Jimin sliding off his lap to allow him to stand and step out into the aisle. Jin-hyung was already on his feet.

If Jungkook was joking….

Namjoon already knew he wasn't joking, the maknae's genuine growing concern and anxiety evident, even with the distance between them.

He couldn't stop his gaze swiveling to Kookies right, settling on Tae-

Except it wasn't Tae.

The jacket was right; black and white Puma Windbreaker, and the build (lean and slim, belying true height) similar enough to fool….

And fool them it had.

Namjoon's knees felt weak, his blood cold. "Kim-," his voice broke on the first attempt, and he had to swallow thickly before he could make the second, "Kim Taehyung, if you're on this bus stand up. Right now."

The quiet hum of chattering ceased, the interior of the bus nigh on silent as the realization started to sink in.

There was no movement.

Taehyung was not on the bus.

Taehyung had been left behind.

They'd left Taehyung behind; alone, on the side of the road, in the dark and the freezing cold, with no idea where he was or what to do.


TWO

Taehyung registered blearily that he was cold.

He whined a sleepy protest, wondering if Jimin had asked for the heater to be turned down again. Just because someone ran hot, didn't mean that everyone did, Taehyung thought with a little scowl. He curled tighter into himself, drawing his legs in closer as he fought doggedly against actual wakefulness.

He shivered again, and whined pitifully, hoping it might garner some attention, and someone would take pity on him and snuggle him.

Nothing, and he was still cold.

He was going to have to wake up. Aish.

"'ngkookie…" he muttered, patting at the seat beside him-

And encountered nothing but cloth upholstery and thin air.

His nose wrinkled as his tired mind tried to process, to work out…

Yawning, he slowly pushed himself up with one arm, the other fist rubbing at heavy eyes that resolutely struggled against opening.

And then his mind suddenly decided to fire it's many neurons, dragging him completely from dreamland-

And he realised; he wasn't moving.

His eyes popped open, a question on his lips-

Taehyung froze-

The van was silent, dark, and most significantly; empty.

He clambered over into the middle seat, flopping into Yoongi's (empty) spot, leaning forward to stick his head into the front, just in case Hobi was still sleeping or-

Everyone was gone.

Taehyung swallowed thickly, eyes darting to the sliding door as he managed a tumultuous smile.

This had to be a prank.

A joke.

They were obviously just outside, snickering and giggling as they listened to him-

He grabbed the door handle-

Aish- They'd even locked him in!

He flicked the locking mechanism and slid the door open.

The frigidly cold breeze wafted into the van, and Taehyung realized that it was still a lot warmer inside than out.

At least his despicable team was suffering for their terrible sense of humour, hiding outside in this weather.

Dropping to the ground outside the van, Taehyung shivered against the strong breeze.

"Guys?!", he called loudly, his voice resonating hollowly in the silent darkness.

He slowly padded around the bulk of the van, expecting at any second to hear Hobi's giggling or to see Jiminie's head pop up, smile wide and teasing.

He got back to the side door, where he'd started.

Nothing.

He turned to look beyond the cleared edge of the road where the van was parked, the open space allowing weak moonlight to sliver through low hanging cloud cover. The van itself was silver and almost seemed to be acting like a reflective beacon, brightening the area in the meter or so around the vehicle.

Everywhere else was just murky clinging darkness.

Taehyung began to tremble from more than just the cold.

"Very funny, guys! Just hilarious! Aigoo, it's cold! I'm cold!" He shouted again, taking a few steps forward.

Was he meant to go find them?

He eyed the darkly shadowed cover of the tree line a few meters in front of him- the inky blackness of the forest sprawled away on each side of the road, ominous and scary.

Taehyung didn't want to go in there.

A few more faltering steps forward, the ground soft under the soles of his shoes. The overwhelming darkness of the surrounds suddenly seeming to be inching towards him, devouring the weak light of the overhead moon-

"Hyungs? Kookie-ah?" he whispered plaintively, volume failing as he brought his arms up around himself, taking a stumbling step backward.

"Hyungs! This isn't funny anymore! Where are you?!" He shouted, allowing growing fear and suspicion to bolster his voice, letting it carry into the darkness, echoing back at him.

Nothing.

"Hyung…?!" his voice wanted to wobble, and Taehyung let it, swallowing thickly against the rising panic and fear, "h-yung!?"- his voice cracked- he didn't even know which one he was calling for anymore, and it didn't matter-

He already knew.

They wouldn't come.

They weren't out there.

It wasn't a joke, because none of his hyungs would continue to play a joke like this on him.

The moment they'd noticed he was genuinely afraid, they'd have stopped. He'd have been swept up Jin-hyungs arms and murmured apologies so fast he wouldn't even have had time to get stroppy at them for being too mean.

He'd really been left behind.

Turning, Taehyung stumbled his way back to the van, propelling himself through the still-open door and pulled it shut behind himself. He lay sprawled across the middle seat for a moment, before dragging his legs up against his chest, curling into as small a ball as possible-

They'd left him behind.

He trembled violently, feeling heat prickle behind his eyelids.

How had they left him behind!?

Had they even noticed yet?

Where they on their way back yet?

Tae realized he didn't have any idea what time it was-

How long had they been driving before they'd stopped? How long had he slept after they'd left? Was it bare moments after he'd fallen asleep, or nearing sunrise? What if the others had driven all through the night without noticing he wasn't there?

How had they not noticed he wasn't there?!

Was he that easy to overlook!?

Aish. No.

It had to have been an accident. A mistake.

Had to have been.

He knew that.

It didn't make it hurt any less.

It didn't make him doubt himself any less. What if he was wrong, what if he thought they cared more than they did? (how do you just leave someone behind?!)

"Stop it." he told himself aloud, voice as firm as Namjoon at his most unyielding- the voice that said he was going to do what was asked, and there had best be no argument.

Strangely, it made him feel a little better. More in control.

"Now, get up, TaeTae and see what you can do to sort out the situation yourself." Tae grinned shakily as he imitated Namjoon again, slowly pushing himself up.

It would be cool to have solved the problem before they got back. He was resourceful. He was intelligent and creative. Surely, he could work out how to fix this.

"Okay, first-" And then he face-palmed.

He was going to feel like an absolute idiot if he'd had his phone the whole time.

A quick run over his body revealed that it wasn't hiding in any of his pockets (that would have been the worst. And the best). He clambered back over into the far seat, reaching up to flick at the overhead light hopefully, but signing resignedly when it remained dark (that would have been too easy), it seemed the vehicle needed to be on for the interior lighting to work.

He wished he had his phone so he could use the torch-

Taehyung snorted.

With a sigh, he began to run his hands over and around the seat, feeling for the hard surface of his phone, half hoping that serendipity might play a hand and one of the others would try ringing him so it would light up if it was here.

And you know…he could talk to whichever member was suddenly his favorite. (It would probably be Jungkook-ah, being the golden maknae and all…)

A few minutes later he'd managed to find an empty juice box, two wrapped candy (thankyou Kookie!) and the book Jin had been reading last month. Jimin (it had all been Jimin, honest) had wanted their eldest's attention, so he'd swiped the book from his hands, and Tae had been forced! into helping him hide it from their outraged hyung.

Apparently, they'd never given it back. Tae made a note to do so later, with the most innocent, cherubic smile he could muster. (He didn't want to get swatted).

(He'd probably still get swatted, likely with the book, but Jin would be laughing so it would be worth it).

But no phone.

His bag was also missing (likely where his phone was), as were his pillow and blanket. Kookie and Jiminie must have been helping him. Taehyung couldn't help but feel warmed by the thoughtful actions, even though he wished with equal fervor that they'd been less caring and just left him to carry all his own stuff. At least he'd have his pillow and blanket, and his bag (not to mention his phone).

But he didn't, and it was "No use crying over spilled milk, Tae" he sniggered as one of Jin's trademark phrases tumbled smoothly from his lips.

He pulled his last find into his lap. Namjoon's jacket. It was still sticky and damp from the spilled soda. Taehyung pulled it on anyway. It was warm and smelled like safetycomfort.

He tumbled back over the seat into the middle, the movement at least helping warm him a little, he wasn't as shaky now.

A brief foray into the glovebox and dash compartments in the front didn't turn up anything useful (he'd been hoping for a company cell phone) (or some gum), and he briefly settled into the driver's seat as he contemplated his next move.

Absently, he fiddled with the lighting lever to the side of the steering wheel, suddenly gasping when the headlights flared to life, high beams tracking light several hundred feet out the front window-

There was a hill.

The headlights were shining directly up the road, lighting the hardened surface clear to the top, likely visible from the other side.

What was the likelihood he'd be able to see the venue from the top of that hill?

Taehyung didn't actually know, but if he didn't walk to the top of that hill, and when they finally came to get him the resort turned out to be literally just on the other side…. He'd never live it down.

Besides, it wouldn't make anything worse by having a look.


It certainly made things a hell of a lot colder.

His breath was pluming before him in steamy white vapor, and Taehyung chafed his hands together, trying to warm his fingers, before tucking them back under his armpits.

Aish, but it was cold.

His nose was starting to run, stinging in the cold air, and he hunched down lower in Namjoon's jacket as he continued to jog slowly up the hill. He was already regretting leaving the van again, it was freezing, and seemed a whole hell of a lot further up this hill than it had peering out the front windscreen of the van.

But he was more than halfway, so he kept plodding along, determined to make it to the top (so, so hopeful that he'd see lights once he did).

He didn't see lights.

Taehyung collapsed to his knees to the side of the road, his legs feeling like he'd just started learning new choreography, necessitating six or eight hour long sessions in the studio. The decline on the other side of the hill rushed up to meet him. Darkness; deep and seeming to spread all the way to the horizon; turned a writhing, coiling liquid mass by wisps of thick fog he could just make out, clinging to snarled stretching fingers of half dead tree branches, jutting from the mist into the air.

It was so fucking creepy.

There was no way in hell he was going down into that.

"If separated, wait where we last saw you." Jin's voice again.

He was going to wait in the van.

Taehyung turned to-

And was met with the same sight; inky blue-black fog hanging low over the valley below, churned into a dizzying roiling mess by the glacial breeze. As Taehyung watched, it continued to grow, starting to creep up the side of the hill toward him.

He realized with sudden anxiety that couldn't see the van; only the twin beams of light that lit the fog like a golden beacon, piercing out to shine uninhibited only feet below where he was standing.

He didn't want to go down into that.

But he didn't want to stay up here, either.

Tae shifted his weight from foot to foot, dread raking her cold fingers down his spine, leaving him feeling faintly ill. He shook himself, he didn't have a choice.

Yoongi's no-nonsense voice underlay his own as he tried to bolster his courage, "You have to go back to the van. They'll be looking for you at the van. They won't be looking for you at the top of the hill. Move, Kim Taehyung!"

Knowing he had no alternative, Taehyung forced himself to fumble his way forward, keeping his eyes on the light that bit through the shadows in front of him.

Just follow the light.

The bitumen, hard and reassuring beneath his tentative steps fell away as he veered off the road, and he gasped, stumbling slightly. He glanced briefly to the left, but only cold blackness stared back- the road had seemingly disappeared. He knew logically that a step or two would bring him back to it, but-

You're fine, just follow the light.

Moving back towards the road was the opposite direction to the headlight beams of the van. He swallowed thickly, rational mind justifying that the van was parked a fair way from the road, well off the shoulder so as not to be an accident hazard… it was probably also safer for him to be off the road as well.

Just follow the light.

The ground was rough and uneven beneath his feet, squelching slightly against the rubber of his shoes, but it wasn't unmanageable, and Tae kept moving, his shivering starting to become all out vibration, teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Two more steps and the heavy cloying fog swallowed him from sight.

It swirled around him as he moved, dense and wet, damp against his skin and dripping condensation down the side of his throat. Tae pulled the hood of his jacket tighter, startled to feel that the outside of the material was sodden.

No wonder it didn't seem to be doing much to keep him warm.

Movement, unnatural and disjointed flashed in his peripheral vision, long and spindly and so black. Determinedly ignoring the instinct that told him to freeze, hide, Tae blinkered his sight with his hands, staring at the light that drew him onward. Don't look. Don't look.

Just follow the light.

The closer he got to the base of the hill, the louder the wind seemed to howl, screaming its way through the tree's and surrounding landscape to create a terrifying melody. He couldn't clamp his hands over his ears and shield his vision at the same time, and the screeching gusts set the hair on the back of his neck prickling.

Just follow the light.

Something touched the side of his face, sharp and spindly, and even as his mind registered that it was probably just a low hanging branch, Tae felt the scream building in the back of his throat. He gasped in a huge gulping breath to stop it and felt his chest spasm painfully with the sudden rush of icy air.

The gasping and spluttering bent him double, hands braced against his knees as he wheezed breath into lungs that didn't seem to want to accommodate it any longer. Desperately coughing and choking on air that still tried to seize in his chest, Tae closed his eyes against the pain.

When he finally got himself under control a moment later, tiny little shaky breaths all he was daring to trust, he looked up-

The light was gone.

It was there, it was there. You were looking right at it. It was just there.

The logical side of his mind was calmly explaining that the head lights in the vehicle had obviously turned off; that they'd run flat or were on an automatic shut-off timer. It sounded like Namjoon-hyung, or maybe Jimin when Tae was having a particularly bad day. Automatically reassuring.

The emotional side of his brain was just screeching and yelling; pure instinctual panic. It sounded like Hoseok-hyung. It was basically just urging him to run.

Taehyung ran.

The wind whipped around him, tearing at his clothes and leaving his eyes streaming as he squinted into the cloying darkness, shadowy shapes playing into every fear his overactive imagination was inventing.

Pain lashed against his arm, catching fast in the sleeve of his jacket, pulling in a way that threatened to tug him clean off his feet, before suddenly releasing, sending him stumbling forward in a windmill of arms and darkness.

Where was-

His foot caught on something jutting from the ground, and he pitched forward in a staggering uncontrolled fall, instinctively curling as he hit the ground, rolling in an uncontrolled scraping, jolting, tangled mess. A rock, or branch perhaps, planted itself in his stomach and his breath thumped out of him, leaving his chest feeling like a hollow drum with the skin stretch too tight, aching and jarring.

His surroundings were glimpsed only in the stinging scrape of flesh against ground, the roll, thud, roll of his body as hundreds of tiny points of contact painted an incomplete, unclear, frankly terrifying picture of the surrounding darkness.

He skidded a final foot to a jarring, shaking stop.

He lay there on the cold muddy ground; a trembling, shuddering mess. The breath whistled from his lips painfully, twinges and bruises and the stinging of scraped, tattered flesh all fighting to make themselves known.

How would he ever find his way-

He opened his eyes, just for a second-

The shadowy bulk was enormous and dark, looming over him, completely blotting out his vision, and Tae felt his heart stutter with fright, adrenaline beginning to course as he started to scramble backward-

And maybe it was the sudden change of angle, or his vision clearing, perhaps a momentary gap in the fog that the moonlight broke through-

Taehyung broke into wet giggles as sharp, intense relief rose to engulf him.

He dragged himself to his feet shakily, swaying slightly; his entire body throbbing– and pulled the door of the van open, climbing in to sprawl in an aching trembling mess across the middle seat.


Everything ached.

He was cold, wet, miserable, sore and frightened- but he'd found his way back to the van.

Taehyung broke into relieved giggles.

He wasn't leaving the van again.

He genuinely wasn't sure if he'd leave it when the others finally come back to get him.

Surely, it'd been hours.

It felt like hours.

He felt tears build behind his closed eyelids, and reached up to dash them away angrily-

Maybe…

Sudden light shone through the front window, illuminating the interior of the van and Tae started to shoot upright, the move dragging a gasp of pain from his lips-

What if it wasn't them?

The sound of the approaching engine was dull over the roar of the wind but got steadily louder as they neared. Taehyung bit his lip, waiting.

The vehicle stopped.

Right outside.

The light was brighter; they were obviously shining directly at the van.

Tae didn't move, didn't breathe-

If it was them… if it was Joonie or Jin-hyung- They'd come to him. They'd come to get him.

If it wasn't…

The likelihood was that it was just a Good Samaritan, wanting to help.

But what it if it wasn't?

They had probably just pulled over to check that the van hadn't been in an accident.

What if they were thinking about burglarizing or stealing the van?

They'd probably have a phone, and he'd be able to call Namjoon-hyung.

He heard a car door slam.

"If they're good, that's great…but if they're not? That's worse.", he whispered to himself, voice hushed and fearful, trying to infuse some of Jin's calm.

Who stopped at the abandoned van on the creepiest section of deserted single lane road between there and who knew where, in the freezing cold in the middle of the night?

Footsteps crunched on the ground outside.

Every horror kidnapping story he'd ever heard suddenly seemed to be within easy reach of his memory.

Taehyung slipped off the seat into the foot-well, trying to curl into the darkness where the light couldn't reach so they couldn't see him if they peered through the windscreen.

Shaking violently, he pressed his face to his knees.

If he went missing from here, no one would even know where to start looking.

Had he locked the door?

The handle clicked as it was tugged on.

He hadn't.


THREE

He couldn't stand it any longer.

On the far end of the limousine bench-seat, Yoongi was a twitching wall of tense anxiety and disquiet, and beside him, Hoseok seemed to only just be resisting the urge to literally wring his hands with worry. Jimin, tucked in against Hoseok's side, (and perhaps the only reason that the older wasn't actively freaking out) looked on the verge of crying. Jungkook had drawn his legs up to wrap his arms around; only his eyes visible, enormous and dark against the worryingly pale skin. The maknae hadn't said a word since they'd left.

The heavy cloying consuming guilt in the enclosed space was suffocating, and beside him, Namjoon glanced at his watch for the third time in as many minutes.

'Aish, how much longer?!' he heard their leader whisper desperately, and he got it -

Then he heard Namjoon flinch, so obviously tearing strips from himself internally, that-

Jin couldn't stand it any longer.

"Joon-ah, Tae knows we're coming as fast as we can-" he murmured, trying to reassure, to soothe.

Namjoon glanced up at him, seeming surprised that someone had broken the dense silence, before he shook his head and replied with a self-deprecating grimace, "It's not that. Well, it is, but- If I'm feeling like this? How unbearably slow must time be passing for TaeTae? Alone, in the cold and dark?" He wet his lips, adding softly, almost hesitantly, as if saying it aloud would somehow make it more real, "I left him behind. Hyung- I left him behind.".

Jin sucked in a painful breath, the sheer level of anguish in his dongsaeng's voice trying to undo his determination to hold himself together until Tae was safe and preferably in his arms. Kookie's strangled gasp didn't help.

Turning slightly, Jin murmured softly, " …Namjoon-ah-"

What to say?

Jin wished that there was room on the bench seat for one more. He'd really like to be able to wrap his arms around…well, all of them – but he'd start with Namjoon.

As it was, the best he could manage was reaching across the gap from the end bench seat, and wrap his fingers around Namjoon's bicep- "We. Namjoon- 'we' left him behind. All of us- "

"I'm the leader. I did the headcount-" Namjoon insisted, before being cut off-

"So did I," Jin replied, at the same time both Jimin and Yoongi proved they were also listening to the conversation. "I checked too-" "I thought-"

Silence.

And then Jimin leaned forward a little, to look down the line at Namjoon and Jin, continuing, "I thought he was there. It was, I mean…it was Tae. He was there…why would he not be there, right beside Kookie-"

Jungkook gave a suppressed whimper, and Jin winced. Yeah, he was having trouble getting over that part too. What were the chances? Seriously, If Kookie had been sitting anywhere else on the bus, they probably would have at least checked. But, in that jacket, with Kookie leaning against him?

Jimin's eyes were wide and pleading, begging to be told it wasn't his fault…and Jin didn't know if he could do that.

But he could do something, for all of them.

"This was not any one person's fault. We all did this. We're all responsible for this, and we're all responsible for fixing it." He insisted firmly, continuing with a forced half-smile, "I guarantee that Tae's going to be equally pissed with all of us."

Jin thought he saw the hint of a few tumultuous smiles, but only Jimin managed a watery giggle, replying, "I'm going to owe him snacks and cuddles for eternity…"

That's it…

Hoseok managed a weak grin as well, adding, "It's Tae…he's probably having a lovely time, off frolicking in the moonlight…"

Come on…

Yoongi snorted, "He's probably still asleep, and hasn't even noticed…"

"You'd still be asleep…" Namjoon shot back, and half-hearted chuckles filled the limo.

'Not good', Jin thought, especially eyeing the still silent Kookie. 'But better', and Jin would take what he could get.


"-doesn't - -anket."

The half-heard murmur from near his bicep drew Namjoon from his self-recrimination, and he turned, looking over Jungkook's downturned head, to where Jimin was absently staring down at his phone (probably watching the time).

"What was that Jiminie?" Namjoon prompted, having only half-heard the whisper.

Jimin looked up, startled, his face questioningly blank. He didn't even seem aware that he'd spoken aloud.

Namjoon prompted, "You said something?"

"I did?- oh- Just that-" he glanced back down at his phone, turning the screen slightly toward Namjoon, "It's only 4 degrees…Tae doesn't even have a blanket."

He looked so incredibly worried that Namjoon couldn't not try to reassure him, no matter how he was feeling himself, "Yeah, it's uncomfortably cold, but if he stays in the van he should be fine..."

Jimin didn't look overly reassured, his face getting more miserable if possible, as he whispered, "…Tae hates being cold."

Namjoon knew that too, he'd just been not thinking about it.

Sighing, he stretched an arm across Jungkook's shoulders, and gently wrapped his hand around the back of Jimin's neck, squeezing comfortingly.

Jungkook shrugged him off.

Namjoon looked down, startled.

"Kook-ah?"

The maknae shook his head, pressing his face further into his drawn-up legs.

Namjoon looked up to check on Jimin; in time to see Hoseok wrap an arm around his back and scoot the younger closer until he was pressed down the length of his side.

Well, at least one of his maknae was being comforted.

He looked down at Jungkook again with a sigh.

"Kook-ah?" he tried again, and something in his tone must have told the maknae that he wouldn't accept another brush off, literal or verbal-

The limo suddenly started to slow.

Before Namjoon could react, Jungkook was practically on his feet, lunging across to peer out the window. Over the younger's shoulder, (finally) Namjoon could make out the dark shape of the van through the fog.

It was dark and silent, exactly as they'd left it over two hours ago.

Two hours.

Namjoon didn't know what he was going to do if Taehyung wasn't where they'd left him.

They'd left him.

The car was still rolling to a slow stop in front of the van, but Jin was out the nearest door before it had stopped moving.

He was only vaguely aware of Namjoon's voice behind him, insisting that the others stayed in the limo- that it was "cold and dark and they weren't losing anyone else!"

The first thing Jin noticed as he stumbled on uneven ground, was that the surrounding area was creepy, with mist and deadened trees and the crescent moon hanging low. He felt the skin on the back of his neck crawl, and he fumbled to drag his phone out and activate the torch app.

It was dark. Even with the headlights of the limo breaking through the darkness, writhing silhouettes and ghostly fog slunk into every corner, bathing the roadside with eerie shadows. Jin held his phone up before him, carefully following the half-crescent of light towards the van-

Why hadn't Taehyung appeared; sulky and hurt and angry upset…but fine, for all of that?

Jin paused in his reach for the van door. What if it was empty? What if Tae was just…gone?

What if-

What if's and could haves…

All that mattered was what was.

Jin grasped the handle and pulled the door open.

He was met with the empty middle seat.

His heart rocketed into his throat, and Jin could feel a wave of hot/cold shivering/burning nausea roll down his spine-

He hadn't even registered Namjoon arrive at his side, peering in over his shoulder until the ghost of a word puffed past his ear.

"-Tae?"…an exhalation, a breathed prayer-

One that was answered as Taehyung suddenly popped up in the beam of the torch-

Jin felt like relief should have been his strongest emotion, his knees weak with it… except it was still overshadowed by concern.

Taehyung looked dreadful.

Ghastly pale skin, eyes enormous and blown dark with panic and confusion, over lips bitten flushed and bruised.

What the hell had happened?

"-'hyung?" it was breathed, almost inaudible, but so full of terrified hope that Jin didn't know how he'd missed the harsh, ragged gasps of building hysteria.

"Yeah Tae-baby, It's-" He didn't even get the sentence out before Taehyung's bottom lip trembled, and he listed drunkenly towards the door, arms coming up-

-and he burst into loud broken sobs, uncontrollable and painful sounding.

Jin launched himself into the van, catching Taehyung about the waist, dragging him up and into a crushing embrace.


For all that they'd only left him two hours ago, Namjoon realized he hadn't actually set eyes on Tae for nearly- God, ten hours.

He'd passed one last glance over his team, the unholy trinity, asleep in the back, limbs, pillows, and blankets tangled together in a puppy-pile, despite all three still wearing seatbelts (Namjoon had checked)

But still, Tae had been fine- happy for at least eight of those hours, sleeping peacefully, warm beneath blankets and half-smothered by Jungkookie draping himself all over his youngest hyung.

What on earth had happened in the last two hours?

Taehyung didn't look someone who'd been left behind by accident for a couple of hours.

He looked someone who'd been through hell.

Almost unconsciously, his eyes still glued to Taehyung, Namjoon reached out to help support Jin as he stepped down out of the van, one hand at Jin's elbow, the other settling on Tae's quivering back-

"-he's saturated!" he blurted, speaking loudly to be heard over the howl of the wind. He slid his fingers through the sopping wet material of Tae's jacket to slip under the collar of the t-shirt, beneath the wet coat, searching for skin-

Icy cold skin that felt damp and clammy against the Namjoon's fingertips, "Aish, Jin-hyung, he's freezing!" he continued, dismayed.

Jin nodded, pulling Tae closer, balancing his weight as he straightened slightly. He replied voice underlined with worry, "I know. I wanted to calm him down first; I don't want to scare the others, but he's too cold. He must have been outside. He's not- I think he's in shock. Let's get him into the car, where it's warmer- can you hold the phone?"

The soft light provided by the phone had been engulfed within the folds of Taehyung's jacket as Jin had moved, but even in only the dimness of the moonlight, Namjoon could see the violent trembling wracking Taehyung's slender frame.

From cold?

Fear?

Liberating the phone, he pulled the light back, sweeping it briefly over Taehyung's back, careful to avoid Jin's eyes-

The younger boy had buried his face in Jin's jacket and Namjoon could see his shoulders quivering, but all sound was muffled by Jin's chest or the wind that whipped about them.

"Aish, look at him! What the hell, Tae?! " Namjoon lamented, voice rough with concern and self-reproach. He didn't bother waiting for a reply, the sooner they could get Tae out of this weather...

Namjoon turned toward the waiting vehicle-

And couldn't see it.

Less than 20 feet away, and not a hint; the thickening fog had swallowed it all.

Only the light of the head beams glowing through the swirling white showed them which direction they needed to go. Namjoon shuddered- Tae had been alone in this? Without the light?!

He was beginning to see how Taehyung, with his ever-active over-imagination, might have got himself into his current state.

(And they'd left him behind for it to happen).

Namjoon led the way slowly, picking over the soft sludgy ground, uneven and slippery beneath his feet. One hand he pushed into the crook of Jin's elbow where it was curved around Taehyung's shoulder- drawing him along through the deceptive fog.

It was slow going.

Jin was strong, but Taehyung was no featherweight, all muscle on his lean frame. The way he was clinging, shivering violently didn't make the feat any easier. Namjoon helped where he could, his arm below Jin's at Tae's back, muscles pressing upward to help brace the weight of his upper body, but between picking across the slippery ground in near blindness, and getting the phone torch to provide maximum light…they were struggling.

A shadowy figure suddenly appeared in the fog two feet from the sphere of their light, and Namjoon felt his heart rate triple in the second it took to solidify into Min Yoongi, his own phone torch held out before him.

Namjoon was so pleased to see him that he didn't care that he'd told them all to wait in the car.

As friend, leader, dongsaeng, and brother, Namjoon had had many reasons to be proud and impressed with Yoongi over the years, but in the next five seconds, Namjoon added a whole new level to his respect. Upon seeing Taehyung held against Jin's chest like a trembling damaged ragdoll (instead of the snippy, petulant brat he'd been expecting) Yoongi had telegraphed profound shock and concern. Yet, instead of giving into his own demands to panic and insist on answers, the older man had immediately stepped into position on Jin's other side, his free arm wrapping beneath Tae's legs.

Between the three of them, they managed to get back to the limousine, the door popping open as they approached, J-hope's worried face disappearing as he backed out of the way.

Namjoon clambered in first, scrambling out of Yoongi's way as the other rapper followed him, turning to help Jin with Taehyung.

A quick glance confirmed that Jimin was still tucked in beside Hoseok, as he'd left them.

For a second though, Namjoon didn't see Jungkook, and he wondered exactly how many shocks his heart could take in one night….

But surely Hoseok or Jimin would have stopped their maknae, or at least look a whole lot more worried if he'd had run off half cocked-

Who was he kidding? If Jungkook had managed to leave, the vehicle would have been empty when he'd climbed in.

Namjoon swept his gaze over the interior again-

"Oh, Jungkook-ah-" he breathed, and Kookie's head snapped up from where he was curled, barely visible in the suitcase/small luggage gap between the seat and the car wall.

His eyes (red-rimmed, Namjoon noticed) widened when he saw that their leader (and ostensibly Taehyung) were back, Namjoon wondered just how out of it the maknae had been to not notice the chilly air wafting through the open door.

He didn't have time to question it though, as Jungkook was pushing past him, and helping Yoongi guide Jin through the open door, one hand protecting Tae's head from the frame as they climbed in awkwardly.

Yoongi pulled the door closed behind them, and then they were already pulling back onto the road, leaving the abandoned van in the rear-view.

Namjoon was (not for the first time) absurdly grateful for their fantastic staff. Their driver had been the definition of tactful and professional since the moment the team had piled into the back of it at the venue, the breathless rush of at least three voices pleading to be driven an hour into the wilderness and completely off-schedule.

The driver hadn't batted an eyelid, simply replied that his use was at their discretion for the duration of their visit, and to just let him know if they required anything more.

Now, with the privacy screen a darkened barrier of elite professionalism between them, he was returning them to the venue post-haste, no questions asked.

Namjoon started counting heads. Checking. Just to be sure.

Jin could feel eyes on them, worried and distressed, and he didn't blame them.

They'd probably been expecting silent-treatment and anger and moody, petulant, sulky behavior- Jin knew he had.

And even though it wasn't a Taehyung they often encountered (Tae was naturally bright-spirited, he wasn't a member of the 'sunshine line' for nothing) they had all been ready to deal with Quarrelsome-Tae. Ready to apologize, explain, grovel, crawl, cuddle, snuggle and spoil Tae stupid while begging for forgiveness.

Because they'd hurt him, and even if he recognized it was an accident, Taehyung would need to rebuild his trust in them. Need to know, that no matter what he said or did, they wouldn't let him down again (leave him behind again).

So, they'd been ready for that.

Ready for cranky, stroppy Taehyung, combative and petulant and- …hurt.

They hadn't been ready for distraught Taehyung; trembling and clingy, sobbing softly against Jin's chest.

Jin-

Jin had never seen Taehyung go to pieces like this either, (and never, ever again- please…), but-

He'd wiped tears away after nightmares, brushed sweaty hair back from fevered skin, scolded, pressed ice to injuries, been woken at 2 am by shenanigans. He'd praised, rescued from man-eating closets, carried sleeping brats to bed, cooked hundreds of meals for, played hide and seek with, been hugged, and offered hugs for no reason beyond wanting to-

Jin was pretty sure he was one of the leading authorities on all things 'Loving Kim Taehyung'-

And he'd be damned if that (if they) wouldn't be enough to fix this.

He rocked back and forth slowly, murmuring softly, a repeated litany into Taehyung's ear, quiet calming nonsense, "-hey… hey Tae-baby, you're okay. We're here. We've got you. It's Jin-Hyung- Shh, baby..."

God, how could this have happened?

Tae should have been fine. Angry and upset…but okay.

This was not 'okay' by any definition.

Taehyung was trembling violently against him, and Jin could still feel the tears that soaked through his jacket, his shirt, seeming to seep right into his heart below, scalding and painful-

And then long fingers appeared, slipping the hood deftly off Taehyung's head, and carding gently through cold, damp hair. Jin glanced up- Namjoon.

A second hand, small- Jimin – tentatively reached across to stroke down Taehyung's arm before sweeping back up, and the oldest maknaes voice joined his, soft and familiar in the silence of the vehicle- "TaeTae? It's Jiminie…- 'he glanced up, and Jin nodded encouragingly.

Hoseok pulled Taehyung's dangling feet into his lap, one hand wrapped warmly about an ankle beneath sopping wet trouser cuffs, the other starting to loosen mud encrusted shoelaces.

With a determined look, Yoongi slid from his spot beside Namjoon, knees hitting the carpeted floor by their side, leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around Tae from behind.

Pressing in close, Yoongi mumbled, "Hey, brat-," he paused, then pulled back just slightly- nose wrinkling as he continued, "…Aish! He's all wet- gross! ", his voice every bit the verbal equivalent of a disgusted grimace.

Namjoon gaped at his hyung, seeming nearly speechless, "Hyung! What-? Seriously!-"… and giving up, he just reached out with his free hand and swatted at the back of Yoongi's head-

Jin looked down because Taehyung was wheezing –

-was laughing, weakly, giggles bubbling wetly from his lips, half muffled by Jin's shirt-

Jin guessed he wasn't the only one who knew 'how' to love Kim Taehyung.


FOUR

The door handle clicked.

In the shadowy darkness of the footwell Taehyung curled further into himself, pressing his face against his updrawn knees, arms wrapped tightly around his legs.

Why hadn't he locked the door?

Namjoon-hyung was going to be so mad.

'Taehyung-ah! I just walked right in here- you need to remember to lock the door!'

'Why, is the front door unlocked, TaeTae?'

'Tae, is your room door locked?'

'Kim Taehyung! Again! The door was unlocked, again! '

It was a problem. Tae didn't mean to do it- he just... forgot.

He'd left his hotel room unlocked only a few nights ago; Namjoon had nearly had an aneurysm. "Jaenjang, Taehyung! Anyone could have walked in here! Reporters, Sasaeng fans, Paparazzi- "

Sudden reverberation traveled up into his body in little quivering waves, and Tae frowned, confused-

And then the freezing draft of air bit at him through wet clothing-

His head pounded as reality crashed back down, dragging him back from the foggy numbness of his vague daydream.

Unlocked Door.

Open door.

The subtle shuddering vibration was lost entirely to his reawakened trembling, and he flinched violently as panic swept back to the forefront of his mind-

Whowasitwhowasitwhowasit-

Biting down on his lip to stifle the wheezing gasp that tore at his throat, Taehyung tried to slow his breathing, to calm-

He heard a sharp intake of breath from above-

Eyes squeezed shut, back pressed against the wall of the van, Taehyung felt the cold leeching from the metal exterior of the vehicle, seeping into his already chilled body. Heartbeat pounding staccato in his ears, he waited for his fears to be realized. For something-

Something terrible and frightening.

But.

That voice.

And then-

"…Tae?"

Taehyung knew that voice.

He was shooting upright before he'd even registered his decision to move, ignoring aches and twinges; heartbeat an echoing thump in his ears, blood roaring and nerves screaming-

He was blinded by sudden light, eyes watering as he blinked against the harsh beam, only half-seeing the two large shadowed figures in the open doorway-

But-

"-'hyung?" The word bubbled from his throat along with a harsh ball of growing hysteria, formed on the back of overwhelming relief.

He barely understood the answer, only registering the familiar smooth, lilting cadence of the gentle voice that replied.

His lips trembled, and he swallowed thickly- He just needed-

He reached-

Shadow-Jin leaned toward him, and Tae-

Felt himself come undone.

The wall he'd been desperately fortifying began to crumble; the wave of withheld terror, fear and worry suddenly swelling toward the surface; only to crash and break, disintegrating beneath the weight of sudden crushing relief that exploded out of him in a surge of desperate, frantic need-

He just-

If Jin-hyung would just-

He wanted-

Taehyung staggered forward, reeling on legs half-numb from having been curled so tightly, so tensely into the foot-well. His eyes dropped to the floor of the van as he stumbled-

Biting down a hitched breath of sudden panic, he snapped his gaze back towards the door (To check. To make sure he hadn't imagined-

He caught Jin's eyes; shiny with torchlight and concern-

The heavy clinging dread that had been settled over his shoulders seemed to flee at the sudden overwhelming feeling of comfort, leaving him disturbingly lightheaded. Taehyung felt himself sway alarmingly, he blinked- and his vision dissolved into dark spots and flares of blinding light spiralling around him in a dizzying array of flashes and darkness.

His knees buckled; tilting him headfirst-

Only, instead of falling, he was suddenly being lifted, swept up into arms; blissfully warm arms, crushing him to muscle and strength, surrounding him, engulfing him in comfortsafetyprotection.

And Tae had exactly what he'd needed.

He was okay.

He was safe.

He'd promptly burst into tears.

Jin was holding him so tightly that under almost any other circumstances Taehyung would have assumed it was a surprise cuddle attack by Joonie-hyung. He'd be gasping and choking against the hold, raining weak blows as he mock-struggled, breathless and absolutely giddy with laughter.

At the moment though?

He just wished Jin-hyung would hug him tighter.

Twisted awkwardly in the narrow middle section of the darkened van, seats jutting out, backrests in the way, bent almost double for the low roof clearance; Jin had still managed to completely enfold Taehyung up and into his arms.

He wasn't just being hugged, he was being cradled.

He didn't have to support himself at all.

He could let go.

For the first time in hours, he wasn't worried, he wasn't afraid. He wasn't terrified that he was going to be lost forever in a dark forest or imagining chilling scenarios of being kidnapped, tortured and killed, or frightened that he'd been left all alone in the middle of the darkest night, on the side of an unbelievably eerie deserted road. In a foreign country, where he didn't speak the language or know the customs, with no idea where the others were or if anyone was coming-

But Jin had him now.

He felt safe.


He felt dreadful.

He was shivering- no, shaking violently; so much so that he wasn't sure how Jin was managing to keep him in his arms (Oh god, don't put me down- Please-) and it wasn't the cold. Not that he wasn't cold- he was freezing, 'ice-cold right through to his bones' freezing. But this uncontrollable spasming quiver- it was something else.

Part of something heavy. Uncontainable.

Something that made him shiver and tremble from the inside out and made his skin feel stretched painfully tight. Something that made his heart beat in hard thumping jolts, almost physically painful against his breastbone, sending blood rushing through his veins, roaring in his ears. Something that amplified everything; every choking, gasping breath, every forced swallow echoing hollowly in the back of his head. Something that made it hard to breathe and impossible to stop crying-

Harsh, jagged sobs he'd barely noticed, now suddenly all he could focus on; scalding hot where they ran over his cheeks, burning tracks down the side of his throat, dripping away into oblivion. His chest heaved and ached with every gasping lungful, his breath a raspy stuttering mess through wet tears.

Something like panic, but not born of fear, stress or worry.

Something born of relief.

They'd come back for him.

He was okay. Safe.

They'd come back.

He couldn't stop crying-

Jin suddenly shifted, and Taehyung felt his heart falter, a gasping sob morphing into a whimper as a wave of unexplainable panic swept over him. He dragged an uncoordinated arm out from between them, throwing it haphazardly over Jin's shoulder, hooking himself closer-

Don't! Don't leave me alone-

Jin's chest rumbled reassuringapologeticdistresssoothing below his ear, and he dragged him closer; Taehyung relaxed slightly, burying his face against the base of Jin's throat, tears coming faster.

He was vaguely aware that Jin was moving again, but his arms were firm around Taehyung, and that was all Tae cared about-

A weight settled lightly at the center of his back, and through cotton wool from a thousand miles away, Tae heard-

"-he's saturated!"

Was he? That would explain a lot, Taehyung thought vaguely. He was more interested in the person the voice belonged to; Namjoon-hyung. Any residual anxiety he'd been hoarding seemed to just seep out of him as he registered the presence of their leader-

Namjoon-hyung was here too.

Namjoon and Jin.

Joonie and Jin.

NamJin.

JinandJoon.

JamJin.

JamTin.

He was safe.


He was cold.

Joonie-hyungs fingers (he assumed. Jin didn't have three hands, last time he'd checked) had slithered their way beneath the collar of his jacket, slipping beneath wet cotton to brush painful burning heat against his bare chest.

"Aish, Jin-hyung, he's freezing!"

Taehyung didn't disagree with the on-point observation but felt that he really ought to point out that Namjoon-hyung wasn't really in any position to be casting stones, considering that Tae was sure that their leader was on fire. He scowled through the stupid blinding tears, squirming slightly until the too hot fingers fell away.

His unsettledness seemed to incite Jin to pull him closer, hitching him higher into his grasp, so Taehyung counted it as an even payoff for the too close encounter with the hand of hell.

"I know. I wanted to calm him down first; I don't want to scare the others, but he's too cold. He must have been outside. He's not- I think he's in shock. Let's get him into the car, where it's warmer- can you hold the phone?"

Taehyung tried to decipher the sudden chunk of information; Car? Warmer? Gods yes, he wanted to be warmer. He was pretty sure he was never going to be warm enough again. The others? He didn't have to think hard to work out who that could be. Thankfully, because thinking hard seemed to be beyond him at that moment.

Scare the others? Why would the others be scared? He wasn't up to pulling pranks; besides, they almost always backfired on him (Except for Hobi-hyung. Poor Hobi-hyung.) And Jiminie was too soft to want to frighten too much (and his revenge was the scariest). Kook-ah wasn't really afraid of anything (except failure and disappointing his hyungs, fears Tae also understood very well. And thunderstorms, but he would never dream of using something like that to frighten his only dongsaeng. Not ever. It wouldn't be funny at all. Heartbreaking, maybe, but not funny.)

Taehyung wriggled slightly in frustration (what had Jin meant!?)- but froze immediately when his savior seemed to stumble, his grip loosening slightly-

No! Don't let me go-

He only relaxed when a second arm banded beneath his back; shivering as cold, wet fabric was pressed flush against his equally freezing skin.

Namjoon-hyung.

He wouldn't fall.

'Calm him down first.' Jin-hyung had said.

Taehyung had to admit, calming down was something he would also appreciate. The hitching gasping sobs catching around wheezing breaths was hurting his chest and making his throat and jaw ache. And he was still shivering uncontrollably-

Namjoon's voice cut through his pitiful musings, "Aish, look at him! What the hell, Tae?! " -

Look at him?

What had Joon-

He'd been too worked up and relieved to realize before, to think about it; the way he'd thrown himself at Jin, desperate to be held, how he was clinging, whimpering and begging not to be put down. Not to be left alone. Wet and messy and shivering. Sobbing uncontrollably and being carried like a baby.

Pathetic. Humiliating.

Tae did not want to be seen like this.

Did not want them to see him like this.

He wasn't a child; wasn't weak or defenseless or easily frightened.

But he still definitely did not want to be put down.

His head seemed to throb in time to his muddled yo-yo-ing thoughts; the need to suck it up and act in an appropriate reasonable way, and the desire to stay curled into his haven of safety and reassurance…

His sudden disquiet and confusion seemed to link hands with his slowly realized need for embarrassment; before crashing bodily into his already overwhelming jumble of panicked overwrought emotions. His stomach twisted uncomfortably, and Tae swallowed thickly against anxious butterflies that fluttered against the back of his throat in an aching ball he could barely seem to breathe past.

He didn't want to- But he didn't want to-

He just wanted-

His sobbing turned heavier, more desperate with his conflicting desires, and he gave in, pressing his face more closely against Jin's chest, unable to help seeking comfort, despite his shame at the need.

In the back of his head, he reassured himself. 'It's okay. It' just Jin-hyung. Jin-hyung who dries tears and gives the best cuddles and checks for temperatures with cool fingers against too warm skin.

And Joonie-hyung, who carries dongsaengs to bed when they inevitably stay up too late, who doesn't mind when his softest warmest sweaters go missing. Who builds pillow forts, and then destroys them to have pillow fights…It's Jin and Namjoon. It's okay.'

But-

Yoongi-Hyung, who hid his heart behind plate steel; strong, stoic and cold. Yoongi- hyung who hated unnecessary fuss, and dramatics with a passion and intensity bordering on scary. Who's raised eyebrow was enough to give pause to even their most rebellious, mischievous bratty maknae shenanigans. Yoongi-Hyung who'd stepped out and made it on his own, who was the strongest, bravest person Tae knew.

Tae didn't want to get the 'it's my duty to look like I respect/like you' gaze, instead of his patented look of 'you're an absolute brat, and you definitely did not catch me smiling a second ago, you'd better shut up before I…'

Yoongi thought weakness was pathetic.

Yoongi-hyung would think he was pathetic.

Tae didn't want Yoongi-hyung to think he was pathetic.

And Hoseok-hyung?

Well, to be honest, Tae didn't think Hobi would really look down on him; Tae didn't think Hobi could look down on him. On anyone. Not sweet, playful, patient, gentle J-Hope.

But Hobi would panic.

Tae still remembered catching Hoseok that time Jungkook almost got hit by a truck. The shaking hands clutching at him as Hobi had swayed, panic stealing his typical smile, skin parchment white, eyes blown wide with anxiety.

Taehyung didn't want to be responsible for Hobi looking like that. Ever.

Or Jiminie.

It would be different to Hobi; nothing so obvious. But Jimin-ah would be so worried. Tae was- Jimin always took care of him, protected him. Jimin would be scared. Jimin would want to coddle him, baby him, treat him like spun glass- and Taehyung was okay with that because that was Jimin. That was Jimin and Tae.

But Tae also wanted Jimin to be proud of him, to know he could rely on Taehyung. Tae wanted Jimin to think he was strong and capable.

How could Jimin do that if Taehyung went to pieces over just being left alone for a while?

And Kook-ah?

Kookie was arguably the worst because Tae was older. The only one he was older than. The only one he got to be big and brave for. Inherently cool for. The only one who didn't naturally see him as a younger brother. Jungkook who was already so much better, stronger, braver…that Jungkook wouldn't look at Taehyung like he hung the moon anymore.

Taehyung didn't want them to see him like this.

He felt another arm join Jin's at his legs- who?

Who else was seeing him sobbing and crying like a baby?

Taehyung shifted slightly, lifting his head to look-

The shriek of the buffeting wind instantly found his unmuffled ears, the softly glowing wispy fog bled into inky darkness only meters in front of them. The skin at the back of his neck prickled; Taehyung could just make out the swaying tendrils of wickedly bent blackness curling, coiling, reaching towards them-

Jin suddenly stopped, and Taehyung felt himself being lowered-

No, no, no-nonononono-

"No! Please-!", the terrified whimpering plea escaped his gasping lips before he could quash it- salty tears overflowing, tracking scalding stinging trails down his cheeks.

Jin dragged him back to his chest immediately; rocking, swaying, bouncing gently as he whispered in Tae's ear, "Shhsh- Shh, Tae-baby…I've got you. I won't- Shhh-"

Taehyung screwed his eyes shut, threw both arms around Jin's neck in a stranglehold and buried his face back into Jin's shoulder to muffle the whimpering tears as full body shivers wracked his frame.

Tae-baby.

He was a baby. Weak. Scared.

He was shivering uncontrollably, his head was throbbing, he ached all over and he Could. Not. Stop. Crying.

So, he simply stopped trying.

The only evidence Taehyung had that they were in the previously mentioned car, (apart from the spectacularly awkward twisting crawling manoeuvre he'd made Jin do to get them inside without putting him down; Taehyung could still feel the heat in his cheeks, he was glad his face was hidden against Jin's chest. He was ridiculous-) was the dull hum of road noise that surrounded them. He probably wouldn't have even noticed it, but the vacuum from the sudden lack of roaring wind made it seem particularly loud.

He was sure it was also making his hitched sobbing very noticeable, no matter how much he was trying to use Jin's jacket to muffle the sounds. Giving up on stopping the tears had been a terrible idea.

This was mortifying.

The hot embarrassment trickling through his already frayed emotions wasn't making it any easier to stop the flow of tears. And it was so quiet; no one was talking, no one was moving; hell, Taehyung wasn't sure anyone was even breathing. But he could feel the stares as they swept over him, sliding like oil over his wet clothes- heavy and full of – what? Pity? Fear? Disgust? Worry? Anger? Disappointment? Shame?

Humiliation splashed scorching heat over the freezing ice that had settled within his bones, cold sweat breaking out to mingle unnoticed with salty tears. Hot, cold, hot, cold; the sensation was intensely nauseating, rolling waves of heat sweeping from head to toe, but leaving him shivering more violently than ever.

And they were just sitting there, watching him-

And then something touched his forehead, and Taehyung startled violently before he could register that someone was pulling the hood of his jacket back- They'd want to see his face, they'd make him look at them, and they'd-

Taehyung tensed miserably as the hood came away, but long fingers just sank into the cold, damp hair at the back of his head, carding gently.

A second hand, stupidly (adorably) tiny- Jimin – wrapped itself around his bicep, squeezing reassuringly before loosening to run down the length of his arm in a comforting sweep. Taehyung was so focused on the touch that the tentative voice from his left broke through the panicked haze of his mind- "TaeTae? It's Jiminie…"

He didn't sound-

Well, he just sounded like Jiminie.

Kind, gentle Jimin-ah.

He sounded scared.

Now that he was listening, the faintly humming background noise he'd disregarded slowly morphed into Jin-Hyungs soft voice, "-hey… hey Tae-baby, you're okay. We're here. We've got you. It's Jin-Hyung- Shh, baby..."

It was gentle and seemed almost unconscious- parts of it repeating over and over. Jin didn't sound disgusted or angry- just, soothing. But-

'Tae-baby.' 'Baby.'

How long had Jin-hyung been calling him that? Years.

Baby.

Cry-baby.

A pair of hands suddenly pulled his dangling feet up into someone's lap, one hand wrapping around his ankle, almost uncomfortably warm against his icy skin. It dragged his attention away from Jin's voice-

Just as arms unexpectedly wrapped around him from behind, hot breath ghosting over his ear and the left side of his face, "Hey, brat-".

Yoongi-hyung.

Hugging him.

Yoongi-hyung was hugging him.

Not that Yoongi didn't hug them all on occasion (When they deserved it. Or needed it. Which was relatively often. Huh.) but Yoongi didn't-

Yoongi didn't suffer fools kindly, nor foolish, unnecessary behavior. And he wasn't shy about telling it either, with a savagely scathing verbal retort, glare of instant dismissal- or worse…

Yoongi must have thought he deserved it. Or needed it.

"…Aish! He's all wet- gross!" Yoongi's voice broke through his fumbling musings, sounding so disgusted, so offended…so, Yoongi-

The older didn't pull away though- if anything his embrace got tighter and Taehyung could hear it-

The grumpy indulgent exasperation that Yoongi-hyung almost always used to mask genuine affection.

He felt half hysterical relieved giggles bubbling up from within, pressing against lips, half muffled by Jin's jacket-

Massive chest heaving gasping sobs, sputtering and gurgling as nigh on uncontrollable giggles escaped between them-

He wasn't afraid. Not anymore. The darkness was gone, well and truly banished. The things that had moved on the edge of his vision were but memory and imagination now.

He wasn't even worried. Jin hyung had him, and Namjoon-hyung could deal with everything else.

No one seemed disgusted by his pathetic, ridiculous behaviour.

The deluge of hysterical relief had tempered off slightly to a more tolerable level, one that Taehyung was quite content to bask in for the foreseeable future.

He had no reason to cry.

He had to stop.

He dragged in a shaking shuddering breath, hitching around a sob he tried to catch-

He vaguely heard Jin's voice above him, but ignored it in favor of pressing his face into the elder's chest, unsuccessfully trying to stifle the uncontrollable tears.

Just stop!

Desperately trying to hold his breath, he shuddered in Jin's hold- this was stupid. He was being stupid.

Beyond the shivering, he felt shaky; light-headed and faint, his chest aching with every hitched breath. The sobs seeming to become more vicious and uncontrolled the more effort he used to attempt to stifle them.

He gave up on using Jin's chest to muffle the sounds, his own fist a better alternative; he was able to bite down-

Jin slumped slightly with relief-

Taehyung was laughing weakly, the sound bubbling wetly where his face was pressed against the base of Jin's throat.

A giggling Tae was synonymous with rainbows, cotton candy and the world turning correctly on its axis.

Jin suddenly felt a lot better about the whole situation.

He flicked a smile at Yoongi, the younger curled around Taehyung's back, still sporting his disgusted 'how is this my life' face...and his incredibly soft eyes.

Jin wasn't exactly surprised; he would put money on Min Yoongi being able to coax Taehyung into just about anything with an eyebrow raise and his crooked little smirk. The two had formed a strong bond through their Daegu familiarities (and their matching remarkably sketchy senses of humor).

So Jin wasn't surprised, but still very glad. He'd been growing increasingly concerned- Taehyung had been hysterical. Confused. Numb and non-responsive. Clingy and desperate.

Except, two minutes later, Taehyung was still giggling, still crying, and Jin was no longer smiling.

He was concerned again. He'd been concerned from the moment he'd opened the van door (He'd been concerned from the second they'd released Tae was missing), but he'd allowed the anxiety to take a backseat to the need to get Tae somewhere warm and dry.

To get them all back together, where Jin could see everyone.

Jin could see all of them. They were all safe. And now he let himself be concerned.

"Tae? TaeTae? Are you with us?" he questioned mildly, squeezing gently to reaffirm the solidity of his hold. For Taehyung.

Tae didn't respond, just burrowed closer, turning his face to press more fully against Jin's chest.

"Tae?" Jin started, and then frowned; it felt like Taehyung was holding his breath-

He didn't get a chance to say anything, Taehyung leaning back slightly to thread an arm into the gap between them, and suddenly the tears seemed to stop abruptly.

Which just didn't happen. That wasn't how crying worked.

Eyes weren't taps; able to be turned on and off at will. Crying jags tapered off. There should be sniffles and slowly fading sobs. Tears clinging to eyelashes and occasional hiccups.

Not sudden absolute stillness-

And then Taehyung quivered, the spasm rocking his upper body enough to move Jin as well, and Jin was sure they all heard the muffled, rasping sound of the harshly stifled sob-

Only, what-

Jin's eyes widened suspiciously, and he leaned back, pushing Teahyung away slightly. He felt Tae tense, and stilled immediately-

Yoongi, bless his heart, seemed to figure out what Jin was trying to do. He pressed in closer, pulling Taehyung back more fully against himself; leaving the younger staring up at Jin with wide eyes, over lips that trembled worryingly, even pressed as they were around the fleshy part of his hand at the base of his thumb.

Jin could see teeth marks further down; skin close to broken amongst the splatters of half dried filthy mud, bruising already appearing in a few places-

"Tae-baby..." Jin breathed, aghast. He immediately reached out and wrapped long fingers around Taehyung's wrist, pulling-

Taehyung resisted, but at the sound of someone's horrified whimper from their left, the fight seeped out of him, and his hand relaxed into Jin's grasp.

Jin drew it away gently, and immediately; without anything to muffle them, harsh grating sobs echoed loudly in the vacuum like the silence of the car.

Uncontrolled, painful; with near hyperventilation behind them.

Jin felt his heart skip a beat and then pick back up somewhere thrice its usual speed. Had he missed something? Was Tae really hurt? Had something terrible happened?

He leaned closer, eyes already scanning for blood, awkwardly splayed limbs or ripped clothing. Panic ran away with his mouth without his prior authority- "Hey- Hey, Shh... TaeTae- are you hurt?! Where does it hurt- "

Jin noticed Namjoon's hands starting to trail down Tae's left arm, touch firm and searching. Checking-

Taehyung bit air around words that got snagged on broken sobs, all but incomprehensible through the harsh breathy tears, but he shook his head adamantly.

No.

Jin believed him. And managed to decipher two words from the next garbled messy sentence. "Can't- stop-"

And, of course. Jin had already said it earlier.

Obviously worked up by the fact that he couldn't calm down enough to get the words out clearly, Taehyung hitched a breath, a breathy whining whimper escaping as he drew his free hand up toward his face. Jin assumed it was going to his mouth, to replace the one being gently squeezed between Jimin's, and reached out to stop him-

Only for Tae to press it over his eyes instead, hiding in the only privacy he could create-

And now that he wasn't picturing broken limbs or internal bleeding, Jin could see that the boy was absolutely mortified and confused by his bodies excessive reaction.

He drew the hand away gently, Tae letting him with only a pointedly placed sob speaking to his reluctance.

"Oh Tae-baby, I think you're in shock, honey. You're okay- "

"D-does it f-fucking look li- like I'm fucking o-okay!?" Tae shot back, voice wavering between a whimper and a snarl, and of course, clear as slightly smudged crystal.

Yoongi's warning "Yah!-' cut across Namjoon's shocked reprimand, "Kim Taehyung!", both half drowned out by the multiple gasps of startled disbelief from everyone else, Jin included.

On occasion, when tempers were short and fraying, they all said things they didn't mean, and the infrequent vile word slipped out, although generally aimed at the situation or themselves. It was usually met with stringent disapproval, and Namjoon swore if he had to threaten Jungkook with a soapy mouth one more time, he just might follow through.

But Taehyung cussing at Jin was like… in fact, Jin couldn't remember any other instance that the kid had run his mouth with such disrespectful abandon.

But then, he also couldn't remember Taehyung ever being in quite this state before either. He looked up at his indignant (on his behalf) dongsaengs, and shook his head with a quelling look.

Taehyung himself seemed more startled than the rest of them combined; Jin doubted he even realized what he'd been about to say before the desperate plea for help (disrespectful though it had been) had escaped his lips.

He dropped his hands from where they'd been gently squeezing Tae's forearms, eyes narrowing as he took in the heaving chest beneath harsh gasping sobs, wide red-rimmed eyes, sweeps of flushed heat brushed across pale skin, "I'm going to let that one slide. That's your only get out of jail free card though, got it?"

Taehyung dropped his gaze shamefully, "-s 'orry I'm-so s- sor - Jin-hy - h-hy.. it jus't 'urts-", distressed sobs mauling his apology into a barely decipherable mess as he contorted in Yoongi's grasp, trying to curl in on himself.

Jin sighed, his chest hurting,"-Shh- I know, It's okay. I know you didn't mean it. Shh, it hurts, I know… It's okay to cry- hell, I feel like crying." he reassured, his hands coming up to frame Tae's face, cheeks warm and trembling beneath his fingers.

"- ju- just c-can't- s-st- st- ...h-hyung, so stu- st- !" Teahyung fisted his hands against Yoongi's thighs as he forced each jagged edged syllable through trembling lips.

Thumbs gently wiping away angry tears beneath swollen eyes, Jin spoke soothingly, gently, "Hey, no - no, Tae-baby. You're not stupid! ...shock does funny things to people; your heads already worked out that you're okay, just give your emotions a chance to catch up-"

Tae reached forward, arms circling Jin's middle and Jin immediately pulled him closer, smiling as Yoongi gracefully relinquished his hold, although the rapper kept one at the small of Tae's back, rubbing gentle circles.

Jin was once again reminded that Taehyung was absolutely saturated and still trembling violently.

"TaeTae, you're all wet and cold- that can't be helping...how about we get this wet jacket off-"

"Nooo-" Tae whined pathetically, burying his face against Jin's chest, clutching the jacket closer, fighting through tears to get the words out- " 's Joonie-'ungs. D-don' wan- "

"Hey, hey- shh- It's gotta come off baby, It's freezing cold. Don't you want to be warm?" Jin coaxed, tugging slightly at the wet material, vaguely registering that it was indeed Namjoon's.

Tae was ridiculously clingy when he was feeling well. If Taehyung had had even half as shitty a night as Jin suspected, Namjoon's jacket was no doubt acting as make-shift security blanket.

A very wet, cold, muddy security blanket that needed to come off, asap.

"How about I give you this one?" Namjoon injected, gently pulling one of Tae's hands toward himself, unzipping the thick cotton hoodie he had on, and tucking Tae's hand in over his stomach, adding, "See, it's nice and warm too. How about that?"

Tae mewled pitifully, and his hand fisted in Namjoon's T-shirt.

Jin didn't know if it was agreement or argument, but he quickly unzipped the wet jacket and dragged it down Tae's left arm, sighing with relief when Tae tried to help rather than hindered the process.

He didn't know if he had the energy or the heart to wrangle a disgruntled reluctant Tae.

Jin reached down, setting a hand for balance against Tae's t-shirt covered shoulder-

Jaenjang.

"He's saturated through. I could wring water out of his shirt, and-" he ran a hand down Taehyung's leg, continuing with grimace "-his jeans are drenched- Aish, TaeTae, what did you do, have a nap in the snow?"

Tae frowned at him, wounded, "No. -f-fell over, 'yung." he whined, pitifully, and Jin felt his chest constrict at the pathetically woebegone look on his pale face. The huge wet eyes and tear stained cheeks didn't help.

"Poor baby, my poor Tae-baby,' Jin murmured, dropping a kiss to damp hair that smelled of sweat and Tae.

"No one grabbed their bag, but he can have my track pants until we get to the venue- my sweater is long enough." Jimin offered, already scrambling out of the loose pants.

They'd be ridiculously short, more like three-quarter pants on the much taller Taehyung, but they'd be warm and dry. Jin smiled his thanks.

With Yoongi and Namjoon's assistance, he made quick work of the pants exchange, throwing Tae's wet jeans into the corner. Jin deftly stripped off the wet T-shirt and replaced it with his own pale pink v-neck. Shrugging back into his cardigan, ignoring the itch of the material against his bare skin, he accepted the sweater from Hoseok, dragging it over Taehyung's head. Namjoon pulled his hoody down over it, completing the wardrobe change.

Tae sobbed through the entire process. Jin had to admit, even though he knew it wasn't anything that he was doing (Tae was gladly welcoming the clothing change, all but snuggling into Namjoon's jacket), but the tears, messy breathing and wet eyelashes made him feel like a monster.

He was thankful when he could drag a still shivering but much warmer and comfortable Taehyung back into his arms.

Jin could feel where tears slowly saturated a new patch of his jacket but noticed that they seemed less- savage, now that Tae had stopped fighting them. Jin closed his eyes, rocking slowly, murmuring nonsense against the side of the youngers face, Namjoon's fingers brushing his cheek occasionally as he carded his long fingers through Tae's slowly drying hair.

It seemed to Jin only a few moments and yet also somehow seemed to span several hours; no one speaking beyond the sound of his own nonsensical rambling, Taehyungs muffled crying and the soft hum of the car.

The atmosphere was heady and cloying, confusion and worry almost palpable in the air. Jin understood how the others must be feeling; he could only begin to comprehend exactly how Taehyung had been reduced to such a shocking state.

The younger boy had been left on the side of the road for barely two hours- what had happened to him? What on earth could have led to this?

Jin was desperate to find out, but-

Comfort was more important first.

Slowly, much too slowly for Jin's liking; the loud sobbing faded into gentle tears, and the heaving of Tae's chest lessened until only the odd hitched breath, muffled whimpers and occasional hiccup persisted.

"H-hyung- I..."

Jin opened his eyes. Taehyung, still trembling against him, leaned back slightly and looked up from beneath wet clingy lashes; eyes red and sore, nose dripping and cheeks wet. He looked absolutely miserable, but the tears had stopped.

Why then, could Jin still hear crying?

He squeezed Tae, still rocking slowly as his gaze swept the car-

Jungkook.

The maknae was scrunched as far down the seat as he could get, a gap of at least two feet between himself and Hoseok. He was sitting sideways on the bench, legs drawn up, arms wrapped around them. His wide eyes stared over the top of knees, pinned on Tae, bottomless and horrified. His tears were near silent, Jin had only noticed because he'd been pointedly listening.

The oldest felt his heart wither just that little bit more. Taehyung has always been Jungkook's…something. His closest confidant, his partner in crime, his best friend.

Jin hadn't been joking when he'd said he felt like crying himself.

Taehyung looked so- broken. Needlessly, painfully damaged.

Jin understood Kookies sympathetic distress and desperately wanted to drag the maknae into a hug, but with his arms full of shivering sniffling Tae, half burrowed into his coat, he couldn't exactly-

"Oh, Kookie-ah..."

Thankfully, Jungkook has plenty of other observant hyungs, and Jin sighed with relief as Namjoon noticed where his hyungs errant gaze had settled; his own eyes widening as they fell on the other upset boy.

He hurried to cross to the youngers side, slipping onto the seat in the gap beside him, reaching-

Jungkook shoved him away, the movement immediately drawing everyone else's attention.

"Kookie?" Namjoon's worried voice ventured, falling into the stunned silence between them, and Jungkook's eyes swept sideways... back to Taehyung.

He held the gaze for only seconds, before Jungkook broke away, spinning to face the tinted separator window, leaving his back to them.

His quivering shoulders were accompanied by a much louder sob.

Namjoon immediately tried to blanket him from behind, wrapping long arms around the youngers tightly coiled body, resisting when Jungkook tried to shrug him off.

It seemed that upon realizing he wasn't going to be able to physically remove his hyung, Kookie resorted to verbal tactics.

"Let me go! How can you- I don't- Please, let go! Look at him! Look at him! Look at what I did to him!" The last was almost shouted, and the tears seemed to dry up, leaving Jungkook vibrating with internalized fury.

Aish. Their silly maknae and his apparent desire to assume all responsibility for anything and everything that even looked like it might go wrong within a 50ft radius.

Namjoon clearly agreed, he looked mildly appalled as he hurried to adamantly reassure, "No. No, Jungkook-ah! We already discussed this, it was no one's fault and everyone's fault- It was a mistake, an accident! A terrible, stupid accident...but Kookie, you didn't know- "

"I knew."

"You're just ups- What?" Namjoon paused, pulling back slightly, sure he'd misheard, "You knew... what, exactly?"

Jungkook took a deep, steadying breath, and then- it all just seemed to tumble out, "I knew he didn't get out of the van or on the bus. I knew he was still asleep. I meant to say something, and then Yoongi attacked me, and I- I forgot. We got on the bus, and I was so sleepy, and everyone was moving around and- I forgot. A-and he- TaeTa- Tae-"

Jungkook couldn't seem to get another word out, tears too heavy to fight, and Jin slid along the seat a little, desperate to get closer. Desperate to comfort, despite not having the ability to drag the maknae into his arms like he wanted to, what with Taehyung curled in his lap, still shivering violently, sniffling miserably through the occasional hitched breath-

Except, Taehyung was also suddenly twisting to the side, wiggling forward in an unmistakable 'let me down' gesture.

Jin frowned, Tae was white as a sheet, and one hand was still fisted inside Jin's jacket, clenched tightly in his shirt. There was also a pinch between his eyebrows that practically screamed 'budding-headache' in Tae-language. Jin had absolutely no intention of letting him shift even an inch away-

Except, those eyes that were peering up at him through wet eyelashes were all kinds of determined and insistent, telling him something he couldn't refute; that it had to be Tae.

Jin found himself slowly releasing his hold.

At the far end of the seat, Namjoon pulled away from Jungkook entirely, and Jin felt his chest clench when Kookie curled in on himself miserably, sobbing his heart out- like he honestly believed that they'd rejected him. And like he deserved it.

Namjoon had only pulled back though, so that Taehyung could shoulder his way between the divider and Jungkook's body, giving the younger no choice but to indulge him or have them both fall off the seat because of his persistent wiggling.

Taehyung swayed precariously, shivering violently (Jin raised an eyebrow…his TaeTae-hyung senses were telling him that something wasn't quite right. What are you up to Kim Taehyung?).

Jin still tensed in preparation of moving; he doubted that Kookie needed to be responsible for sending Tae headfirst into the car floor any more than Tae needed to end up there right now.

He needn't have worried, Namjoon's hand settled on the small of Tae's back, and Hobi shifted slightly closer, just in case.

Tae slumped forward to drop his head onto the youngers shoulder, and Jin winced upon hearing his soft, raspy voice, raw and painful sounding (and not even a bit exaggerated), as he spoke quietly, "Hey, Kook-ah? Snug me? I'm cold."

Who was going to resist that? No one. That's who.

But even as Kookies arms were curling around Taehyungs waist, Jin overheard his whispered reply, "-Don't- don't hug me back-"

Jin had thought his heart had already experienced its maximum allotment of 'rip me to shreds and stomp on me.' He'd thought wrong.

Hoseok's strangled gasp told him he wasn't the only one who'd overheard, and he spared a glance for Hobi, wincing at the look of physical pain decorating the youngers face. He seemed to be squeezing Jimin to within an inch of breaking their third maknae, but the dancer didn't appear to mind overly.

Thankfully, Taehyung played about as much mind to Kookies demands as he usually did; namely none, and threw his arms around Jungkook's chest in something akin to a strangle hold.

"You're an idiot" was Taehyung's first observation, and for once Jin happened to agree and didn't even have the slightest urge to scold Tae for name calling.

He could also hear that Taehyung was on the verge of tears again himself, in could tell that the younger was valiantly holding them back. As it was, his voice shook dangerously, and he sniffled a little as he pulled the unwilling Jungkook further into his arms.

"You're an idiot" he repeated, continuing "Because you forget you're human and allowed to forget things and make mistakes. And you're not responsible for me. I'm older. I'm responsible for you."

Jungkook huffed a breathless laugh, seemingly against his better judgment, because he immediately followed it with, "But- Hyung…- If I'd just remembered to tell someone! And- -I mean.. "

Tae raised an eyebrow, seemingly having forgotten about the rest of them, his attention solely on Kookie, "What?" he prompted-

"Look at you! You're-"

Tae raised a warning eyebrow, " A pathetic crybaby. I know, thank-you very much-"

Jungkook crossed his eyes, speaking over the end of Tae's protest, "Now who's the idiot? I'm crying too… moron." the last was whispered under his breath, and, in a complete reversal of only moments before, Jin was now completely okay with Jungkook getting away with the name calling.

Tae didn't actually think they thought less of him for crying, did he? Moron.

Kookie was already continuing, and Jin turned his attention back to the little melodrama unfolding between their two youngest, just in time to pick-up the end of Jungkook's explanation, "-I was going to say that you're… I don't know. A mess? Hurt? That you had a really awful time? I don't know- But-"

"If you say it was your fault again, I'm going to smack you.", Taehyung threatened, raising his hand menacingly.

Jin snorted. Taehyung smacking Jungkook was like...their five-year-old threatening their three-year-old. It would just result in a squabble that he'd have to deal with.

Jungkook frowned "Stop putting words in my mouth. I wasn't going to say it was my fault. Even if it was. Which it was. Aih, wait! Wait! I was going to say... that I'm sorry. Really, really sorry, hyung. I don't – I can't even…I mean, look at you!"

Taehyung shot back, "Again with the 'look at you!'", he whined, clutching at his chest dramatically as he exclaimed, "You're going to give me a complex, Kookie! "

Jin pinpointed exactly what was setting off his Hyung Senses; Taehyung was in serious discomfort. The younger was masking it well, for Kookies sake, but now that he was looking, Jin could see the price Tae was paying by trying to maintain his usual levels of enthusiastic energy.

Tae might not be near hysterical and half catatonic anymore (an oxymoron if Jin had ever heard one, but when dealing with Tae...), but he was still pale and trembling. Jin could tell his headache was developing into an absolute killer; the little crease between his eyes now accompanied by the occasional wincing squint.

He wanted to pull Tae back, get him to lie down, rest; but he doubted Tae would listen even if he said something. Not yet. Not while his only dongsaeng was upset and blaming himself for something only Tae could allay.

Jin would wonder where he got that trait from but, well…if Tae was the pot, Jin knew the team had a hell of a lot of black kettles.

"Seriously Kook-ah, I know you'd never have done it on purpose- It was a stupid mistake, and it's practically your job to make stupid mistakes, and mine to forgive them. It's like the unwritten rule of dongsaengs and hyungs."

Jungkook did not look convinced by Taehyung's argument, and the older was quick to assert, continuing, "No, really! Remember last month when I unplugged Hobi-hyung's phone and borrowed the charger? And then his phone went flat, and the alarm didn't go off, and he overslept and tripped down the stairs in his rush because he was late and he sprained his ankle and couldn't dance for like three days, and it hurt every time he walked, and I felt absolutely awful because it was all my fault and I should have remembered to ask before borrowing his charger, or brought it back, or checked how much charge he had, but I didn't, and Hobi-hyung got hurt, and it was all my fault-"

Taehyung hadn't paused for breath in the entire past 40 seconds, words tumbling over themselves in a rush, as he was sometimes wont to do when he was getting upset; apparently, unnecessary guilt hoarding was something that must be inherent to their maknae line.

Jin was about to interrupt, to settle them again (Tae wasn't in any state to be getting so worked up) when someone far more relevant beat him to it.

Hoseok reached over Jungkook to settle a hand on Tae's shoulder, squeezing as he interrupted, "Tae. TaeTae. Breathe. We already discussed this. I forgave you, like, the second I saw the look on your face...which you're making again now, by the way. You were already way sorrier for it than I would ever want you to be. It was just an accident. A silly mistake-"

"Oh", the gravitas of Kookie's quiet exclamation of sudden understanding seemed to cut right through Hoseok's monolog, and the older turned to look at their youngest questioningly-

And appeared to realize exactly what he'd been saying the exact time Taehyung raised one eyebrow with a smug little tilt of his head.

'Oh,' indeed, Jin thought, unable to find it in himself to be surprised, despite not having cottoned on to exactly what Tae had perfectly executed until sudden realization dawned on everyone, including Jungkook.

Taehyung had played their maknae like a fiddle, and he'd even managed to get Hobi do all the heavy lifting. And Jungkook was backed into a corner; by refuting Tae's insistence that it wasn't something he should feel so guilty for, he'd also be saying that Tae was every bit at fault for Hobi's accident.

Which Hoseok had already refuted quite clearly.

Jin smiled. TaeTae was a quite the impossible force to stand against, and an even worse ally to have when trying to be hard on yourself. He was also just terrible at letting his friends tear themselves down.

Hobi, realizing that he'd been used but figuring it was for a good cause, turned slightly to speak to Kookie, "...I also got like, all the Tae cuddles for the rest of the week. Seriously, I'm pretty sure no one else got any. I got them all."

Kookie curled his arms around Taehyung with enough intensity that Jin figured the youngest had well and truly understood Hoseok's hidden message.

"I'm still really, really sorry hyung- " Kookie repeated forlornly, and Taehyung sighed, eyes rolling in a clear 'what more can you do?' gesture, before he slumped forward against Kookie's chest with a groan.

Dropping his face into the convenient cradle that was the curve between Jungkook's shoulder and neck, Tae mumbled a reply, "I know Kookie, and that's why I'm not even upset anymore- It's okay. Whatever happened, however I got left behind? I'm not angry or upset, and I forgive you although I don't think you did anything that really needs forgiving-"

And of course, only Tae would apparently forgive them without even knowing what they'd actually done. Jin sighed. Kim Taehyung was going to be the death of him.

"TaeTae- " Jin started but was cut off-

"-Hyung?"

Despite the non-specific honorific that could apply to everyone in the vehicle, Jin somehow knew that their maknae was addressing him explicitly; some intangible feel of concern-come-query that Jin responded to instinctively.

Sure enough, Kookie was looking directly at him, his tiny 'I think, maybe…I'm not sure...should I say?' tilt of his head accompanied by his 'Jin-hyung will fix it' eyes.

Kookie glanced down to where Tae's head was still pressed into his shoulder, and then back up at Jin as he spoke, "...He feels really hot, Hyung. I think- maybe he has a fever?"

Tae stirred slightly, sitting up and leaning back to look at Jungkook, denying- "Huh- what? No, I'm fine, Kookie- just-"

"Hush, you-" Jin admonished absently (fine, huh!), tilting Tae's head up with one hand beneath his chin, before slipping it around to cradle from the base of his skull.

Red-rimmed eyes, shadowed with dark bruises of exhaustion blinked up at him owlishly, and Jin suspected the kid was running on dregs of adrenaline and discomfort.

Beneath the fading salty tear induced blotchiness, Tae was starting to flush high across his cheekbones; the telltale pink down the bridge of his nose Tae-indicative of an encroaching fever. Pressing his wrist against the youngers forehead, Jin frowned at the unnatural heat, Kookie-ah was right, Tae was definitely working on a temperature.

Taehyung's eyes had closed under the close scrutiny and didn't seem overly bothered to reopen. The weight of his head was resting entirely in Jin's strength, lolling back trustingly in his hand.

Jin was content to let him sleep, rest would be the best thing after the night Tae seemed to have had. But scrunched up between Jungkook and the driver divider, while cozy, wasn't exactly conducive to decent sleep.

Although he really just wanted to let Taehyung curl up in his own lap, Jin knew he was also not a very good contender; he was still more than a little damp from Tae's wet clothes earlier. Tae needed warm, dry and stable.

He looked up- Namjoon would be best.

"Joon-ah, Tae needs to lie down, can you- ?" Jin trailed off, Namjoon already reaching for Taehyung.

The confines of the car weren't exactly helpful in allowing the reallocation of Taehyungs nearly six-foot frame, and Namjoon wrapped his hand around the youngers to tug him to his feet gently-

Taehyung jack-knifed upright like he'd been struck by lightning, a yelp of pain falling unchecked from his lips as he dragged his hand from Namjoon's grasp, cradling it to his chest.

"Tae!" someone (more than someone?) exclaimed, and Jin immediately dropped to the floor beside the youngster, gently elbowing Namjoon sideways, so they'd both have room.

His concern ratcheted to another level entirely when he noticed the tears Tae was rapidly blinking away.

It was Jungkook looking worried and frightened in his peripheral vision that drew Jin out of his own startled shock, and he breathed deeply, speaking calmly, "TaeTae, where are you hurt?"

Tae blinked up at him, wide awake again, and then glanced back down at his hands as he answered, "I don't know- I fell over, but...I don't know, I must have scratched up my hands?"

Jin remembered Tae saying he'd fallen, but it hadn't really registered. Fallen how? Where? Landed on what?

Joonie spoke from his left, "Can I see your hand again, TaeTae? I'll be more gentle, I promise-" he coaxed carefully, and Taehyung tentatively set his hand back in Namjoon's.

Looking over their leader's shoulder, Jin reached out, one hand coming up to cradle both Namjoon's and Taehyungs; he carefully manipulated them for a better angle to see the edges of raw red flesh, torn and frayed at the edges of the mud. The other hand was the same.

"Aish, TaeTae..." Namjoon breathed, glancing up at Jin, continuing, "We're going to need to soak these- we'll have to see if we can find a bowl and some salt at the hotel-"

Tae winced, pulling his hands away at the mention of salt and water.

"I know, Tae, but we need to get the mud off, and the cuts underneath need to be clean. We don't want them to get infected, do we?" Jin comforted as he helped carefully pull Taehyung to his feet and push him back into Namjoon's waiting lap.

"Did you hurt anything else when you fell?" Jin asked, keeping his voice calm through sheer effort and natural instinct- what the hell had happened? He should have been safe inside the van. Cold and pissed-off, but safe and unhurt.

Tae shook his head, "My side a little, but it's okay, just a bit achy. I think I rolled over a rock or a branch."

Jin nodded his understanding, lifting Tae's feet up into Hobi's waiting grasp, "Lie back, I need to see-"

Namjoon gently pressed Taehyung flat across his thighs, and Jin carefully tugged the multiple layers of clothing up; he hadn't noticed anything when they'd dressed him earlier, but then- Jin hadn't been looking.

He was looking now.

And wasn't reassured by what he was seeing; faint mottled bruising just starting to appear scattered over Taehyungs ribs and down his side.

Tae was going to need to see a doctor. Internal injuries could be deceiving, and he had been quite confused earlier. If he'd hit his head...

Admittedly, Jin hadn't seen or felt a lump in the whole time he'd had his hands in Tae's hair, and the confusion had cleared up once he'd calmed down. But Jin wasn't going to take chances with something so potentially life-threatening, no matter how slim the chance.

He patted Tae's stomach, and then gently tugged his shirts and jacket back down.

He'd get Joonie to ask Sejin-hyung to organize a doctor ASAP once business opened in a few hours, and until then, Jin would monitor the youngster with hyper awareness...at the first sign of anything untoward, they'd be calling an ambulance.

But Tae, curled into Namjoon's side and trembling less than he'd been since they'd picked him up, didn't need to know way of that just yet.

He needed snuggles and comfort.

Jin aimed to provide.

"-And who goes looking for a puzzle piece that isn't missing?" Namjoon concluded as if his logic should be obvious.

..Except it was missing" Yoongi, ever the realist, reminded them, shifting slightly so Jungkook's shoulder was under his arm, and not digging him in the ear every time the car turned.

Namjoon sighed, voice long suffering as he explained, "Yeah, but you don't know that it's missing-"

"-Because there's another that looks a hell of a lot like it, and it seems to fit almost perfectly in the missing one's place-" Jimin piped up helpfully, leaning across Jin and Hobi to meet Tae's half hooded eyes.

Jungkook snorted self-depreciatingly, "Yeah, except the piece that belongs beside it should have noticed that the cuttie-out bits wouldn't fit no matter how much they looked like they should-"

"Wait- the puzzle is sentient now?" Yoongi mumbled, and Jin snorted; Taehyung wasn't taking any of this in at all. He was more asleep than anything else, but the lull of their voices washing over him seemed comforting, so Jin added his own two cents, "And then later when you realize that the piece you thought was right is actually wrong-"

"-Very, very, very wrong. Like, 'how the hell could we have not noticed?' wrong-"Jungkook added extra emphases. A lot of extra emphases. It wasn't unwarranted.

Joonie nodded his agreement, running his fingers through Taehyung's hair, the gentle movement tugging Tae's unfocused gaze upward. Namjoon continued his explanation, "Yeah, at least that wrong. That's when you realize that there is a piece missing, and it doesn't matter where you look, you just can't find it anywhere- "

"And the puzzle you thought was beautiful and whole and perfect, suddenly has a gaping hole that you can't fill, because of that one special missing piece-" Hoseok chimed in, completely overdoing the sappy corniness, but it made Taehyung smile, so Jin hoped he'd keep doing it.

Jimin wiggled onto J-hopes lap to get closer, eyes practically liquid chocolate as he wailed dramatically- "And you suddenly remember where you last saw that particular piece, and you desperately hope it's still there because otherwise you're probably just gonna sit on the ground and cry-"

"-You'd call the police, dumbass." Yoongi again, of course, but he did follow that lovely sentiment with, "So then the whole puzzle rushes to go and retrieve its special piece because well, the puzzle is incomplete without it… and what use is an incomplete puzzle?" and Jin is inclined to forgive him just about anything.

"But when you get there, the piece is-" Jungkook trailed off, unsure how to put exactly what he wanted to say into delicate and acceptable words.

Namjoon came to his rescue, finishing," a bit tattered and emotionally damaged!"

"I was not!" Taehyung whined, and it was the first he'd spoken since the entire ridiculous conversation had started. Jin would have missed the flush of embarrassment beneath the blush of fever, if not for the way the tips of Tae's ears practically glowed; he opened his mouth to bring the conversation to a close because 'Taehyung awake and upset again' was nowhere on his to do list anytime in the near future.

But Namjoon, not having noticed Tae's budding discomfort from his vantage point of directly above, beat him to it, adding, "And you wonder how on earth that could have happened because you left the puzzle piece in a safe enclosed environment-"

Too late.

"It was cold, and you guys weren't there, and I didn't know what had happened- " Tae's voice was edging into defensive, and he wasn't anywhere near adorably drowsy anymore.

Suddenly they weren't talking puzzles anymore.

Namjoon, to his credit (and because he was the absolute best leader any team could have, and the best friend, best older brother, confidant and father-figure all rolled into one) noticed immediately that Tae hadn't take his remark in the light spirit it had been intended.

He shifted slightly, his hand threading out of Tae's hair to follow a path down the side of his face, cool against too warm skin as he reassured gently, "Hey, hey- no one is teasing you TaeTade. No one thinks any less of you for being upset. "

Taehyung's eyes skittered away uncomfortable, but Namjoon drew them back, continuing, "Hey, look at me, I'm serious. We- I was worried- really worried. I was even worried when I just thought you'd been left sitting in the cold and dark on the side of the road. I was worried that you'd be upset and hurt. That maybe you'd think we just didn't care. I definitely care, TaeTae, I'm sorrier than I have words to express, that even that much happened. That you just got left behind. "

Namjoon trailed off, Tae staring up at him silently, absorbing and digesting each word. Namjoon licked his lips, struggling to find just the right way to explain how he, how they felt

"But, to find you like we did- god Tae…I don't know what happened, but you were terrified tonight..."

Taehyung whined softly, attempting to drop his gaze again as if it was a rebuke (how he could possibly think that when Namjoon used that tone of voice, Jin had no idea. Must be the fever.)

Namjoon, keeping Tae's eyes snared in his own steady gaze, continued mercilessly, "Tae, you were terrified tonight. And I love you, so I was terrified tonight too-"

Silence reigned for all of a second or two, and then overwhelmed, Taehyung twisted away, hiding his face against Namjoon's stomach, and Namjoon let him go, hands moving to trail warm pressure down Tae's spine in long comforting sweeps.

"Ditto."

"Couldn't have said it better myself-"

"Me too."

"Yeah what he said."

Jin was pretty sure that the sudden quivering of Tae's shoulders was a result of laughter at the peanut gallery. He hoped it wasn't more tears; Tae had shed enough for one night.

Jin, able to tell that their youngest ray of sunshine was feeling well and truly overly emotional exposed and raw, slid off the seat beside the pair and leaned in close to whisper in Taehyung's ear, quietly, privately, "Are you okay, Tae-baby?"

Tae nodded into Namjoon's stomach, but Jin didn't relax until Tae twisted back slightly to peer up at him with, thankfully, dry eyes as he spoke quietly, "I'm okay, Jin-Hyung- I'm- It just- It's so stupid. I should have just stayed in the van. I should have known you were coming back. I mean, I did know that I guess- but- I didn't know what time it was, or how far away you were, and it was dark and cold- and I just... "

Tae shuddered, and Namjoon lifted him, curling him into an engulfing embrace, as the maknae continued, "I'm okay. No- really- I mean, I'm obviously not 'okay okay' - but... don't go imagining boogie-men and monsters and bad, terrible things happening to me..."

He trailed off, but the others waited patiently, something poignant in the air telling them he wasn't quite finished, that he was working u to something. Sure enough, he continued, half self-mockingly, "That's why I'm in half the state I am. My imagination ran away with me-"

Jin suddenly understood the reluctance. How many times had Tae heard he had a far too active imagination? That he needed to stop his fanciful daydreaming and come back to reality?

Jin was struggling to come up with the best way to reply when someone else took the reins, and Jin reflected as he listened; the perfect answer from the perfect person.

"Hey... Hey- it's okay to have been scared Tae. I was only out of the car for the few minutes it took to go and get you, and I was scared. I had a light, and the knowledge that everyone else was only a little way away, and I was still creeped out as fuck-", Yoongi glanced up at Jin, apologetic, but Jin waved it away, Yoongi was spot on, it had been creepy as fuck.

The rapper continued," And Tae- your imagination is fantastic on a dull day...I can't even imagine what shenanigans it got up to under those conditions- "

Yoongi trailed off, eyes as wide and earnest as Jin had ever seen, practically begging Taehyung to feel his sincerity, his genuine honesty; no one was going to look down on Tae for having been scared. Heaven help any who tried because Min Yoongi certainly wouldn't.

Tae blinked, considering, and then answered, "Well then, in the interest of full disclosure, and for nightmare watch later; I also legitimately thought you guys might be going to kidnap, torture and murder me when you pulled up. "

And yeah, Jin thought, that might just be enough to reduce someone to a shivering sobbing wreck of relief when they realized they weren't about to be chopped up and eaten.

And were instead going to simply be snuggled half to death by over-protective hyungs and one overly-guilty dongsaeng.

By his watch (and their driver's update), Namjoon figured they were only twenty minutes away.

And he was counting every single second.

Taehyung was very nearly asleep again, having relocated to Yoongi's lap when Namjoon had moved to take a phone call from Sejin-hyung, but it was obvious the kid was not feeling well, and his fever seemed to be climbing with each passing kilometer.

Namjoon just wanted to get him back to the room, so they could find a doctor, get his hands taken care of and let the poor brat curl up in whatever makeshift snuggle-nest Jimin and Jungkook could construct by raiding every pillow, mattress, blanket, cushion and item of clothing they could find.

Namjoon would personally apologize to the cleaning staff before they left, and tip generously.

Manager-hyung had said he would organize both the doctor and some food to be waiting for them when they arrive, and he'd sorted out the fan-meeting to a very satisfactory deal for everyone involved. It had included free concert tickets and a huge haul of merchandise as well as signatures all around for their charity winners, but it was an easy compromise for the members.

Namjoon had no plans for the rest of the day beyond coddling Tae and watching the others coddle Tae.

"Oh- wow, pretty!" Jimin exclaimed softly from his left and Namjoon turned to where the dancer had turned and hooked his chin over Hoseok's shoulder to peer out of the window behind them.

Namjoon followed his gaze and saw the sun just starting to crest the thick treeline to the left of the road, sending whirls of soft pastel light edged in gold scrawling across the sky.

The giant ball of burning gas grabbed Taehyung's attention (shiny things had a habit of doing that), and he blinked slowly, shifting to mirror Jimin. Although his exhaustion led him to simply melting against Yoongi's chest and letting his hyung keep him stable as he peered out the window at the glorious sunrise-

Jaenjang.

Taehyung's sudden gasp took everyone else by surprise, and all five immediately turned their attention to him, worry leaping to the front of their minds-

Tae looked devastated.

"Did- did you cancel the sunrise breakfast because of me?"

Namjoon saw some of the others slowly relax again and frowned slightly. Yes, Tae was okay, but he was clearly also upset thinking that he was the cause of them having let the fans down.

Jin-hyung didn't let it pass without reassurance, "No, TaeTae - we're going to do it tomorrow morning instead. Sejin-hyung is handling it."

Tae blinked, not placated at all, and he immediately protested, "-the whole point of driving all this way was to not let the fans down... -"

His voice was borderline whiny, and Namjoon recognized tired, fussy, unreasonable Tae lurking behind a very short, overly sensitive fuse.

He had a feeling he was borderline dealing with sick-Tae.

Still, he attempted to explain, voice reasonable and calm, "Tae- your health is more important than-"

"But, I'm fine!" Taehyung exclaimed, starting to slide to his feet, and no doubt would have just kept going all the way to the carpeted floor of the vehicle if Yoongi hadn't tugged him back.

Namjoon replied, straight to the point and not pulling any punches, "You're not fine, Taehyung. Less than 30 minutes ago you were hysterical. You're still shivering and running something of a temperature. You have a killer-headache, you're paler than Yoongi-hyung, and you're filthy! "

"But, Hyung-"

"Kim Taehyung!"

Tae's mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and he turned away from the harsh reprimand in Namjoon's voice, staring mulishly at the carpet.

He looked as stubborn and reticent as Tae ever did when he got an idea or course of action in his head, but Namjoon could also see that his lower lip was trembling, and he could detect those long eyelashes flutter rapidly against Tae's cheeks.

It just reinforced that he'd made the right call to postpone the charity breakfast. Taehyung wasn't fine. The younger would have pressed the matter at least three steps further (one of those too far), before finally dropping it (amidst threats of bodily harm) if he'd been feeling okay.

Still, he had no intention of making the brat cry.

He slid across, closer to Yoongi.

Taehyung was still staring at the floor, but Namjoon wasn't fooled, it wasn't stubborn mulishness this time, it was sensitivity floating too close to the surface.

Aish, he hated hurting Tae's feelings.

"Hey-" he called softly, aware of several heavy gazes on the back of his head that were basically ordering him to 'fix this or else.' Namjoon kind of wanted to point out waspishly, that he hadn't done anything wrong...but he also kind of felt the same, so he said nothing and focused on his task instead.

Tae didn't even glance at him, but his lips pressed together in a thin line.

Jaenjang.

"TaeTae- look at me? Please?" and like always, Taehyung could shrug off demands and orders, but he could never resist soft, gentle requests, just shades away from begging.

He looked up slowly, biting his lip when he noticed everyone was watching him again.

Namjoon held his tentative gaze, speaking firmly but with understanding, "I'm not angry with you Tae, just worried. I know you've had a particularly awful few hours and that was at least partially my fault- hush, no. It was... I'm older. I'm responsible for you."

The corner of Tae's mouth quirked up at having his own words from earlier thrown back him, and Namjoon knew he had him. Gentle handling would mean Tae-tantrum averted.

Thank god.

And then Tae opened his mouth again, tentative but determined. "I really am feeling okay. We still could-"

Aigoo, Namjoon had to admire his persistence, even if it did make him want to lock himself in a closet and blast Save Me until his ears bled.

Namjoon cut him off, gently but with a finality that Tae would definitely recognise, "Taehyung, I know you're frustrated and really wanted to do the breakfast this morning. I do too. So do the others. Because they're important to us. Our fans. Did you know I initially said that Jimin, Kookie, Hobi, and Suga-hyung would stay and start the breakfast without us? While Jin-hyung and I went back to get you?"

Tae looked up at him with wide eyes, and Namjoon smiled, "Do you know who changed my mind? Jiminie. He said that the fans are important to us, but we're equally important to the fans. And we're more important to each other. Jimin thought that one of the reasons ARMY love us so much is because of who we are, and how we care for each other. That connection, that bond that spills over from real life into our stage personas... that's what the fans love. And they'd prefer we were happy together and all safe; then separated and hurting just to try and make them happy."

Namjoon glanced to where Jimin was staring at him. This was all news to the younger, Namjoon having chosen not to reveal what had suddenly changed his mind earlier.

"I know, right?" he continued, seeing Tae's devoted glance at his 95-linemate, but his own gaze didn't leave Jimin as he added, "Our Jiminie is a clever one. He gets what makes us us. He knew that we needed. That we all needed to put you first this morning, before our fans, our own desire to please our fans, and each other. And we need you to put our needs first in the same way..."

Taehyung stared at him, unblinking and Namjoon felt frustration starting to build behind his desperation to make him understand.

"Tae, please- "

Great. Now he was honest to god begging...which wasn't a problem at all if it made Tae do that-

By 'that', Namjoon meant slowly melt back into Yoongi's lap, curling against the rapper as he pressed his face against the bare skin at Yoongi's throat in a shameless attempt to absorb the coolness into his fever-flushed cheeks.

As ever, when Taehyung caved, he caved gracefully, "Well, fine- but I want cuddles, lots of cuddles. And piggybacks anywhere we have to walk more than ten meters. And choice at the next seven movie nights. And ice-cream for dinner for a month-"

"A week." Jin injected.

"A week." Tae corrected smoothly. "Triple chocolate?" he checked.

As Jin mmhm his approval, Namjoon smiled; feeling particularly accommodating toward his second youngest dongsaeng for some inexplicable reason (like having left him behind on the side of the road to be terrified and traumatized) he figured he could probably get Jin to agree to the month.