Recovery wasn't easy, or romantic, or beautiful. Jeongguk watched as Taehyung threw up everything he ate, cried and yelled and shook with the urge to get high, got dizzy spells and headaches and coughing fits.

There was a point where Jeongguk was tempted to just give in. Taehyung was lying on the bathroom floor, one hand clutching his stomach, the other over his eyes, tiny hiccups and sobs escaping his lips.

"Please, Jeongguk, I'm- I- I can't, it hurts, I don't-" he'd stuttered, and Jeongguk's will had swayed. Yoongi, on the other hand, was firm, simply making Taehyung drink more water and ignoring his cries.

Back when Jeongguk had just met Yoongi, after his parents died, Jeongguk had been lost. He was at a party, barely eighteen, looking to forget about the plane crash, about the news articles and reporters. Yoongi had been there, a friend of his parent's friend, and had recognized Jeongguk. When he was drunk off his ass, walking home, two guys had tried to mug him. Yoongi had stepped in, beating them to a pulp and making sure Jeongguk got home safely.

Yoongi had gone clean shortly after he met Jeongguk, swayed by Jeongguk's promise to pay for his mixtape to be produced. Since then, Yoongi had blown up, and he and Jeongguk were inseparable.

Yoongi knew what it was like, so when Taehyung would cry, or yell, or beg, he'd deal with it. Jeongguk was moral support, but really, he was clueless in how to help Taehyung beat this ugly drug.

Two more days later, Taehyung was up and about, smiling more often and doing everyday activities.

Four days, Jeongguk was returning to work, leaving Taehyung and Yoongi.

Six, and Taehyung was preparing his meals, lunches and dinners and breakfasts, cleaning the house and doing his laundry.

On the nights he came home late, dinner would be in the fridge for him, Taehyung asleep on the couch with an anime playing on the T.V. It was so domestic, so loving and homey that Jeongguk found himself forgetting how he used to treat Taehyung. They still snapped sarcastic comments, but it was done as a friendly banter rather than a cold comeback.

Jeongguk wasn't used to sleeping beside someone else so constantly, so often, waking up to the same face every day. He didn't mind it, per say, but it was just unusual; Taehyung would be curled into his side, mouth agape, eyes fluttering as he dreamt.

Jeongguk found himself admiring Taehyung, even when the elder was doing the simplest of things. He noticed Taehyung cutting holes into the sleeves of his sweaters, telling Jeongguk it was "artistic" and "unique." He would watch Taehyung as the boy prepared homemade dog treats for the homeless dogs behind Jeongguk's apartment, cooing at them and gaining their love.

(He'd had to say no to Taehyung many times, unable to take care of a dog with their busy schedules.)

He admired Taehyung's compassion, despite his own horrible situation. He'd been through so much, dealt with so many terrible people in so many different terrible scenarios, yet still saw the good in everybody.

At some point, Taehyung began packing Jeongguk and Yoongi lunches, leaving them small little notes and sandwiches. Jeongguk's cast members laughed at him, asking if his mom was visiting, which Jeongguk brushed off easily, ignoring the warm feeling in his chest.

Yoongi started noticing Jeongguk's happier mood, warily glancing at the couple whenever they were snuggling on the couch. At one point, he encountered Jeongguk, the two of them drinking a beer together.

"You seem more lively, lately," Yoongi observed, taking a sip and not looking at Jeongguk. The younger nodded, scratching his head gently.

"Well, yeah, I've been... good," he admitted. Yoongi nodded. They were both nodding a lot.

"So..." Yoongi began awkwardly. Jeongguk sighed.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Taehyung," Yoongi admitted. "Do you, y'know... love him?"

Jeongguk's initial reaction was yes, yes, I love him so much , but he suppressed those thoughts, offering Yoongi a mild shrug.

"Dunno, why?"

"Well, you just... you're... ah, shit, alright. He's a prostitute. And you're famous," Yoongi blurted. Jeongguk narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth, but Yoongi stopped him by holding up a hand.

"Don't start, I know- I know Taehyung, I know he's great and more than just a hooker, yeah yeah. What I'm saying is, are you really okay with pushing a relationship like this? The scandal that'll revolve around it, the hate you'll get for even being gay, let alone dating somebody lesser than you-"

"Okay, I-"

"And then, to top it all off, the media will start chasing Taehyung around, then his whole joint'll probably get shut down, and all those people'll be out of jobs. Plus, can Taehyung handle fame like that? He'd get hate, too, maybe even more than you would," Yoongi continued. Jeongguk frowned.

"I... I wasn't planning on going public with it," Jeongguk said. Yoongi sighed.

"So, what? It's just for fun?" Yoongi questioned. Jeongguk shrugged.

"Basically, yes."

"Just... don't break the poor kid's heart, yeah?" Yoongi groaned. Jeongguk didn't reply.

Jeongguk had an interview, a big one that was premiering on three different stations. He was nervous, so incredibly so that Taehyung noticed. Taehyung led him to the bathroom and ran a hot bath, the two of them silently basking in the hot water, Taehyung massaging gentle, soapy circles into Jeongguk's hair and kissing his neck soothingly. Jeongguk found himself actually relaxing, letting his anxious mind and tense body melt into Taehyung's touch.

"You're going to do fine," Taehyung whispered into his collarbone, settled on Jeongguk's lap after their bath. Jeongguk let out a distressed noise, burying his face in Taehyung's damp hair. Taehyung pulled him away by the jaw, locking eyes with him and smiling in a way that made Jeongguk dizzy.

"Listen to me, yeah?" Taehyung grinned. "You're Jeon fucking Jeongguk. You're gonna kill it. And I'll be listening, okay? I'll support you from here."

"You're..." Jeongguk choked, suddenly urged to say so many things at once. Taehyung's smile softened, his eyes crinkling warmly at the corners and Jeongguk couldn't resist kissing him.

Hours later, when he was at the building, makeup being painted onto his face, he thought of Taehyung, of his words of encouragement. He thought of Taehyung as he as introduced to the interviewer, as the show was explained and as he walked on stage, smiling for the crowd.

The interviewer got straight to the point, addressing the rumours that Jeongguk had been dreading. He denied them all swiftly, said that he would never treat his crew poorly and made some jokes. It was very smooth sailing for the most part, Jeongguk breathing out a silent sigh of relief when he noticed that there was only a few minutes left.

"So, Jeongguk, before we end the show, I wanted to ask you one final, important question," the interviewer said dramatically. Jeongguk leaned forwards, pretending to be interested.

"How's your love life?" the interviewer asked. Jeongguk laughed, the mock-tense aura of the situation dissipating.

"Well, you know me. I'm a very busy man," Jeongguk admitted. The interviewer let out a gasp of disappointment.

"So, there's nobody that you're interested in right now?" the interviewer whined. Jeongguk shook his head before pausing.

"Well..." Jeongguk sighed, looking away. The interview pretended to looked shocked at the audience.

"Well?! Spill!" he laughed. Jeongguk smiled, leaning in once more as if he was about to tell a secret.

"You know... there is someone I really like," Jeongguk told him. "You know, they're not who you'd suspect."

"The suspense!" the interviewer yelled, making the audience laugh.

"Okay, okay, it's... don't judge me, alright? Nobody knows this yet. I didn't want to come public with it, but... Ahn Hyojin, the one I co-starred with last year. She's simply stunning," Jeongguk cooed, breathing out lies. The interviewer and audience ate it up, all of them clapping enthusiastically.

"We knew it! Will there be a scandal in the near future, Jeongguk?" the interviewer prompted. Jeongguk just plastered on a fake smirk and shrugged, even though he knew that there would never be a scandal.