T&J

catch my hand, i'll be fightin for ya

Later rolls around, and Jeongguk is still grumpy, still feels guilty, and still hasn't made any real progress on his lyrics. He probably does need a break, but he's far too stubborn to admit that right now.

There's a brief knock on his door, and then Jimin appears, looking a little haggard. It's been a long week for all of them, and Jimin is probably the most similar to him when it comes to stress management (or lack thereof).

"Hey," he says, nodding vaguely in Jeongguk's direction as he starts rummaging through his closet. They've lived together for long enough, shared essentially everything, that this sort of intrusion doesn't register as odd anymore. "Have you seen that beige turtleneck I have, the really soft one? I can't find it."

"No, sorry," Jeongguk shakes his head. He puts his pencil down and presses his face into his notebook. "I think I'm dying, Jimin."

"Tell me about it," Jimin nods sympathetically. "This morning I got out of the shower and then had to get right back in because I couldn't remember if I washed my hair."

Jeongguk snorts, but he so knows that feeling. There's so much going on right now that his brain can barely keep up.

"What's up with you?" Jimin asks, hopping up on Jeongguk's desk. "Tell me your troubles."

"I can't do anything," Jeongguk groans, pressing his palms against his forehead and messing up his fringe. "I keep fucking stuff up."

"You know, just because you make it look effortless doesn't mean it actually has to be effortless," Jimin says sagely. Jeongguk lifts his head to look at him. "You always work so hard, you'll get there. Just... don't be so hard on yourself all the time. It's okay to need a break every now and then."

"You're one to talk," Jeongguk says, but there's no malice behind it.

Jimin smiles ruefully, shrugging. "I know. We both need to work on it."

"Thanks, Jiminie," Jeongguk says, and Jimin pats his cheek.

"Jeongguk?" comes Taehyung's tentative voice, and they both look over to see him hovering in the doorway. "Sorry, I just - wanted to check on you."

Jeongguk's heart cracks a little at how small and cautious Taehyung looks. "Oh," he says, seized by a fresh wave of guilt. "Thanks, hi."

"Hi," Taehyung replies, his gaze flitting briefly from Jeongguk to Jimin.

Jeongguk checks the time on his phone. "Give me like thirty minutes and I'll come to your room, yeah?"

Taehyung's face falls slightly, but then he offers a small smile and nods. "Okay."

As soon as he disappears back into the hallway, Jimin rounds on Jeongguk, frowning at him suspiciously. Jeongguk has been on the receiving end of that look enough times to know he's in for a lecture, but this time he thinks he deserves it. "What's up with you two?" Jimin asks.

Jeongguk sighs, running an agitated hand through his hair. "I snapped at him earlier," he admits, the guilt still weighing on him. "I didn't mean to, I just - you know."

"Jeongguk!" Jimin admonishes, smacking his arm. "You know how sensitive he gets, especially when it's you."

"I know," Jeongguk groans miserably. "I'm an asshole."

"No you're not, don't be dramatic," Jimin says, rolling his eyes. "Just go fix it."

Jeongguk nods, and he really does intend to do that. Except when Jimin leaves, he moves over to his bed to take one last pass at his lyrics. His eyelids feel heavy, so he decides to rest them, just for a second, and then...