SAFE HAVEN, yoonkook

twenty one.

Yoongi let out a slow exhalation of air as he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling incredibly tired after a long day of not doing proper work. All he wanted to do was get home, to Jungkook and whatever drama the boy wanted to watch as they ate a whatever takeaway he picked up on the way home. But he couldn't -- he'd fallen behind on his research and he really wanted to find a way to reverse what had happened to Jungkook.

Hoseok walked into the room, two cups of coffee in his hands. He sat down beside the older male, handing one of the cups over to him.

"How much longer are you planning on staying here?" The brunette asked as he put his feet up on the chair and tucked his knees up against his chest. He took a sip from his coffee, looking at his friend.

"I don't know."

"This isn't going to fix itself over night, you know?"

"Yes. But if I spend a little extra time now, it's a little less time that I need to spend later." Yoongi responded, typing a little more into his computer as an idea came to him. He quickly realised this was a dead end, discovering a flaw. He groaned, deleting everything he'd just typed. Every deleted word felt like another step backwards, another second wasted.

"You're tired." Hoseok noted, taking in the male's slumped shoulders and drooping head. Even without his best friend insight, he'd be able to spot this; anyone with eyes would be able to tell that Yoongi was tired. "You don't work well when you're tired. Go home to Jungkook and call Namjoon in the morning. Find out what he knows and work from there."

"But the coffee--"

"No buts. C'mon." Hoseok forced the older male out of his chair, literally picking him up and dragging him to his feet. "Are you awake enough to drive? Or do you want me to drop you off?"

"I'll be fine." Maybe it was the way the blonde's eyes were slowly falling shut before quickly reopening, or the way Yoongi's words were slurred together to make one string of barely comprehensible words, but Hoseok quickly realised that Yoongi was anything but fine.

"I'll give you a lift." The younger male said, helping his friend pull on his coat. He couldn't blame the tiredness -- Yoongi had been staying back as late as he possibly could over the past couple of days. Coming in early, too; this research had started to take up a lot of his life.

It didn't take long to get to Yoongi's house, but in those few minutes the older male had nearly fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Hoseok had grown worried, as they pulled up into the driveway, the he might have to carry Yoongi inside. Thankfully, he didn't, and the blonde managed to make it inside without any help. The younger then left, returning to his own home and bed.

ー

A thick tension hung between the two scientists as they sat on either side of the desk. It created an awkward feeling for Jimin and Hoseok, who were stuck waiting as the other pair had their little stare-off. The pair glared at each other, trying to out-stare the other. Hoseok figured it was a dominance thing, and Jimin was inclined to agree.

"Why should I give you the information you were criticising last time we met?" Namjoon eventually spoke, breaking the eye contact to grab his coffee. He took a sip as he returned his gaze to the blonde, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Because what I want to do with the information will reverse your work. I don't want to cause any genetic mutations in people, I want to cure them."

"You want to destroy my life's work?"

"No, of course not! Look, your information is certainly valuable, but you're using it the wrong way." Yoongi sighed, shuffling forward in his seat as he tried to let his friend see the light. "Can't you see, Namjoon? You've become the same sort of corrupt scientist we used to talk crap about back in university -- you've become the stuff of sci-fi movies. I thought we promised we wouldn't become that."

"I'm not corrupt. There's nothing corrupt about what I'm doing. I'm doing what any scientist would do in my position: researching. Who knows where this might lead."

"Well, clearly you're that deluded you can't even see how bad you've become." Yoongi got up, signalling to Hoseok it was time to go. Honestly, the younger male wasn't even sure why he'd been made to come. Moral support, maybe. "Call me if you change your mind and decide to help me."

Yoongi leaves this as his closing remarks, giving the younger male one last cold (but secretly hopeful) look before he turns on his heels and walks out the door. Hoseok is close behind, pausing at the door to give a quick goodbye. When the pair had left, Namjoon exhaled slowly and looked at Jimin.

"What do you think?" He asked, and the younger shrugged.

"Birdy was never happy... Especially not when you started ignoring him."

"I only did it because he started going feral--"

"You took us all away from the adoption centres or off the streets, offering us a brief glimpse of hope, before locking us all in a room and experimenting on us. You can't blame a lot of them for wanting to escape. Heck, even I wanted to escape. The only reason I jumped at the opportunity of becoming your favourite because I thought it might give me the chance to." Jimin responded matter of factly. "And, I mean, you did show Birdy a lot of favouritism back then. It would've hurt more when you became so distant. It's no wonder he acted up: it was the only time you ever gave him attention."

"I'm a terrible person, aren't I?"

"No, I don't think so. Your judgement was just clouded, is all."

"So Yoongi's right." Jimin nodded. "I should help him then, shouldn't I?"

"It would redeem yourself. It would be even better if you actively helped in finding the reversal -- you know, rather than just giving him your current research."

A fond smile spread across Namjoon's lips as he looked at his assistant. "Where would I be without you?"

"Jail, maybe. Friendless at the very least." Jimin got up to his feet, yawning as he did so. "I've gotta go do the rounds. You collect the research while I do that, okay? I think we should go out for dinner, somewhere nice. We haven't eaten out in a while."

"How about that restaurant you like?"

"Nah, we went there last time." Jimin shrugged. "I'll look into it. I'll be back soon."

"Bye. Have fun."

ー
Should 2seok happen? Either that or vhope somehow... but Taehyung has his driver...