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“Hey look what I found,” Taehyung exclaimed to Jungkook who was sitting on a blanket on the floor, “it’s a radio.”
Taehyung planted himself next to Jungkook on the floor and started to fiddle with it. Jungkook looked up and smiled at him. It was a sad sort of smile - one that had hardly any hope and happiness left in it but it still spread along his lisps because of Taehyung's presence.
He watched Taehyung play around with the nobs and listen to the constant static, he was reminded of their home back in Seoul. He was reminded of the lazy Saturdays they would spend together in the living room watching TV or listening to music on the radio. Tears pooled in his eyes but he didn’t want them to fall, he wanted to watch Taehyung be happy and carefree for a little while more.
The alarm declaring the fifth heat wave this week had rang a few minutes ago and they knew that there was nowhere left to run. They were in the ruins of the only city left; they had been running from the wave for months now. They were unaware of any problems when the solar flares began and the asteroids rained down on the earth. It started in Namibia but it was ignored as just another weather phenomenon happening due to the countries closeness to the sun but it was so much more.
Somehow, the eruptions of the sun caused a rift in space causing time to stop all over the word. People dubbed it "The Stop" as the world was coming to its inevitable stop.
The flares and the time phenomenon spread to the countries around Namibia slowly but surely. Soon, the entire world was on high alert about both the solar flares and the asteroids, the world plunged into darkness and fear ruled people everywhere. Many satellites were destroyed because of the energy released from the sun. The radio Taehyung found must have been connected to one of the remaining satellites.
The United Nations tried to provide for the people and the countries but without any resources left, it was of no use. As the flares spread people started to escape from their countries to avoid an early death but it was soon obvious that it was unavoidable. If the flares didn’t get you then time stop would and if that didn’t get you then the asteroids would. The time stop often followed a sudden rise in temperature and in most cases a wave of heat would follow and disintegrate everything in it’s path.
Both Taehyung and Jungkook had escaped to Norway and they had been walking through the country running every time they heard the warning alarms. The major powers of the world supplied all resources to finding a pattern to the destruction, they tried their level best to preserve the human race and they did find a pattern but they found no way to stop it.
“Tae the wave” Jungkook whispered softly. He had felt the sudden rise in temperature around them. They couldn’t run anymore, both of them were sick and tired. They didn’t want to run anymore. They had decided when they stopped in the ruins they were currently sitting in that this was their last resting spot but still Jungkook felt uneasy.
He didn’t want to die; he wanted to return to his one bedroom apartment, which he shared with the one person he was truly in love with. He wanted to return to the safety of returning home and either having Taehyung waiting for him or knowing that in a little while Taehyung would return from work as well. Jungkook wanted to go back to sharing hot chocolate and watching cartoons when it was cold out.
He wanted to return to loudly yelling at the actors in disastrous horror movies and throwing popcorn at them. He wanted to go back to cooking dinner with Taehyung in the kitchen. He wanted to return to cuddling with him on the couch until they both fell asleep and woke up the next morning with stiff backs.
Jungkook wanted to go back to the life he shared with his beloved.
“Let’s dance!” Taehyung replied getting up, the radio had picked up very low signals of a song and it was playing. The words and tune could hardly be heard but it was there, softly playing in the background.
“Dance?” Jungkook asked perplexed. The situation definitely wasn’t one to dance in. The temperature was steadily increasing with every passing minute and even though they couldn’t see the wave yet they were more than aware that it was approaching.
“Ya, c’mon I want to dance with you.” Taehyung said, hiding his fear behind enthusiasm and stuck his hand out to Jungkook.
Jungkook stared at him for a few seconds but grabbed Taehyung’s hand nonetheless, Taehyung smiled at him gratefully. They placed the radio on the broken remains of something and tried to turn the volume up as high as possible. The song that was playing was one they knew, it was one they sang to each other in times of difficulty. It was the song they sang when one forgot how to love themselves. It was their song.
Jungkook started to sing the words first, he put his hands around Taehyung’s waist and Taehyung wrapped his hands around Jungkook’s neck. They slowly moved to the soft music from the radio, the silence brought on by the end of the world and Jungkook’s voice.
“You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine . “
Jungkook stared into Taehyung's eyes as he sang, there was so much he needed to tell Taehyung but they had no more time left. Tears formed in Jungkook’s eyes and Taehyung simply smiled as if to say he knew.
“You make me happy,
When skies are gray.”
Taehyung started to sing as well and Jungkook stopped wanting to hear his voice one last time. Taehyung watched Jungkook’s face as if he trying to memorize each inch of his face. Taehyung wanted nothing more than to protect his Jungkook but what was he to do.
“You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.”
The heat was practically unbearable at this point but both boys continued to sing together, they smiled at each other as the world fell to bits around, they knew that soon they would be stopped, their lives would be put on hold until the flare claimed their bodies. Though the heat was incredible the two took neither their eyes nor their hands off the other. They didn’t utter any words except for the words they were singing and that seemed to be enough.
“Please don't take my sunshine away.”
As they sang the last lines of the song they moved closer in unison, wanting to feel the others lips for one last time. Wanting to taste the other, wanting to never forget.
“Please don't take my sunshine away.”
But as life would have it seconds before their lips could touch time stopped around them and they were frozen in place.
So close yet so far.