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It was three in the morning when Taehyung stood in front of the very familiar house. A house to which he knew the way by heart. A house in which he spent more time than his own. A house that has seen many of his vulnerable moments. A house that shelters his love. A house in which his home resides.
A home that he had shattered with his own hands. And maybe that is the reason why he stands here in the street in the middle of the night like the homeless person, that he is.
He watches the clock tick away further into the night as his fingers hover over the send button. A message that he had typed three hours ago blinks on his screen waiting to be sent to its receiver. He looks up at the window on the first floor of the house, inside it's dark and still, no traces of the person being awake.
He lets out a deep sigh, maybe it's the best time to send it. This way he wouldn’t have to be worried about being confronted immediately. But as his fingers press on the button, a fleeting hope of wanting to be confronted immediately flashes through him and then he releases the button, sending the message to its owner.
‘Happy Birthday, Kookie’ the long halted message has finally been sent.
His chest fills with the ache to see the person behind the dark window, at least for one last time. But this is what he wanted right? To push his home far away so that he can never find his way back. But his heart did. It picked up the traces of his love and followed its trail all the way back to his home . And that too after a year of fighting his own demons, his heart won his mind and took him back to his home.
But the question is, is he welcomed? He doesn’t know the answer to that but he hopes to be welcomed once again.
He will never leave, never push away, if only he is welcomed one last time.
The hope weighs heavy on his chest as he glances at the dark window, as if to feed his flicker of hope, the darkness lights up. Faint yellow lights gleam through the window and just then his phone vibrates in his hand.
Without a second thought, Taehyung lifts his phone and sees his screen blink with a new notification.
From: My love
Hyung?
Jungkook replied.
Taehyung’s chest tightens and eyes burn with tears as he reads the message. It's just a word, probably to express his confusion as to why a man who left him for months has the audacity to reach out to him on his birthday.
But for Taehyung it’s enough.
It's enough, not because it soothes his pain, rather it burns him that he can feel the traces of the burns getting etched in his heart.
It burns because even after all this time Jungkook is willing to reply to him.
It burns because he knows what he lost.
It burns him because he burned his own heart.
He looks at the window and watches a shadow appear behind the curtain. A silhouette that he can identify anywhere anytime. A silhouette whose skin Taehyung has worshiped with his lips so many times under this same darkness.
He panics when the curtains move to the side and the person behind it comes to his view. There under the faint yellow lights he sees the eyes that has captured all the stars from the sky, letting them shine bright in those dark orbs that leaves Taehyung mesmerised every single time.
There under the yellow glow stands his home, Jungkook.
Taehyung sees Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise when he sees Taehyung standing before his house. He watches the curtains close and the shadow move further into the room until it disappears.
Taehyung stands there with heart thumping louder and louder with every passing minute. His legs stay rooted as he watches the front door open to reveal Jungkook.
There stands the boy he fell in love with, in his half awakened state with crumpled pajamas and messy hair.
There stands the boy who cried for Taehyung to not leave him and there stands the boy who Taehyung had left despite his cries.
Now Taehyung stands in front of him with his wounded heart hoping for one last chance. Taehyung doesn’t know when he started crying, he doesn’t feel the hot tears that coat his cold skin. That is until Jungkook rushes to stand before him and wipe off his tears.
Jungkook with his warm fingers wipes off his tears even when he himself sheds a few. Taehyung’s hand itches to reciprocate the action and he doesn’t try to defy the itch.
He slowly raises his trembling hands and cups Jungkook's face to gently wipe his tears. It was long overdue. He shouldn’t have caused these tears in the first place. But now all he hopes for is to be allowed to soothe the heart which he broke.
A few minutes later Jungkook suddenly steps back and withdraws his hand. Taehyung's eyes threaten to spill again at the withdrawal of the contact.
“What are you doing here?” Jungkook's voice sounds cold but Taehyung can feel the warmth through the cracks.
“It's your birthday. I just wanted to see you” Taehyung says, with a teary smile.
“Don’t you think it’s too late?” Jungkook asks and Taehyung knows the younger doesn’t mean the hour of the day, rather it's the months that Taehyung pushed him away.
“Am I?” Taehyung asks as his voice cracks and a single tear rolls down his cheek. He desperately hopes he isn’t too late.
He watches Jungkook clench his fist and he doesn’t know what to make out of it. Is it anger? Is it hurt? He doesn’t know. But whatever it is he wants to make it right.
“You left” Jungkook says as if it pains to utter those words.
“You left. You broke your promise. You broke my heart” Jungkook speaks and Taehyung can’t do anything but listen to him. If letting it all out makes it easier for Jungkook then he will stand here and listen to him until the pain fades.
“Why?” Jungkook asks, looking into Taehyung's eyes.
And Taehyung looks right back into those starry orbs as he says “I was scared. I was scared that my fire would burn you. I was scared that I might scar you. When I realised what my power is I also realised how dangerous it is for you. I’m fire and I was scared to burn you in my flames. So I left. I left not because I stopped loving you. I left because I loved you too much to let you burn in my flames.”
“What changed now?” Jungkook asks with tears spilling out of those starry orbs.
Taehyung steps forward and reaches out to wipe off the younger’s tears.
“Nothing changed but I realised that in the fear of scaring you I burned our love. I realised that it wasn’t my power that scared you, it was my fear that broke us apart. Ever since I left you I have been burning in my own flames. And it was only then I realised you were the water to my fire. I hurt you so much and I don’t deserve your forgiveness but please give me one last chance to make everything right. Please Jungkook, it hurts so much to not have you in my embrace, please give me one last chance. I promise to never leave again. I promise to never break this promise ever again.” Taehyung cries.
Jungkook steps closer and falls into Taehyung’s arms, engulfing him in a hug “I’m the moth that was drawn to your flames. I'm not scared of getting hurt because this fire is mine . This fire could never hurt me because I know it would rather die than burn me. I know you wouldn’t let your powers hurt me Hyung. You shouldn’t have left. It was your fire that kept me warm and safe. The fire is you and I know you enough to trust you to not hurt me.” he sniffles in Taehyung’s embrace.
“I missed you so much Hyung. I waited for you to come back every single day. Even though you hurt me I still missed you and I still love you. Promise me you won’t leave me again” Jungkook says looking at Taehyung, eyes filled with tears of hope.
Taehyung slowly leans down “I promise to never leave you again” he whispers with his lips brushing against Jungkook’s.
A soft smile appears on their lips before they join them for a kiss. The kiss is short yet soothing the burns in Taehyung’s chest while warming Jungkook’s heart.
When they pull apart Taehyung cups Jungkook’s face and says “Happy birthday baby, do you wanna see a trick?” Taehyung asks with his boxy smile on display.
Jungkook giggles softly and nods his head.
Taehyung wraps one of his arms around Jungkook's waist and raises the other towards the sky. He then flexes his palms and fingers towards the sky and closes his eyes as he manifests the fire in him. When he opens his eyes, his orbs flicker with a shade of gold and suddenly the sky bursts with fireworks.
Jungkook lets out a gasp and his lips stretch into the brightest grin as the fire dances over the dark sky. “Beautiful” Jungkook murmurs as he turns to look at Taehyung.
“Will you be my boyfriend again?” Taehyung asks with the gold flickering in his eyes.
“Only if you promise to show me more of your tricks,” Jungkook replies with a fond chuckle.
“I promise,” Taehyung says as another burst of golden yellow fire splatters over the sky.
⋆ ✩₊˚ ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊✩⋆