Collision

Chapter 48

Inching towards the piano, Yoongi's stomach knotted. Exhaustion weighed heavily on his bones as he finally pulled out the bench and sat on it. He shivered, though this time the cold had nothing to do with it, and licked his lips.

He eyed the ivory keys that glistened in the dull light, noting how they all blended together, and yet Yoongi still knew where his hands should go.

Shaking fingers caressed the white jade keys, a memory of something that once was but long forgotten. Tears stung at his eyes as he pressed down, the sound clear, wailing out and breaking the tranquil night.

There was no resistance. Notes danced with each press of the finger, twirling in the air in a gleeful greeting. A welcome back.

Trembling, a tear ran down his cheek. The notes were so familiar, warm like candlelight, and he felt his insides quiver.

"The corners of my memory, a brown piano taking up space on one side," he murmured, fingering at the familiar notes. His eyes fluttered closed, letting his muscles recall the notes and his mind to spill the words that had once been a promise.

Agony fell over him and Yoongi bowed his head, but his fingers kept playing, and his mouth spilled the words he knew better than he knew his own image that he saw in the blurry mirror.

A distorted version of himself.

The notes rang true. They never wavered, they never failed, and his tongue spewed his pain, his memories, his wishes. He couldn't stop.

"Without you, I am nothing."

Notes tangled faster, words like a prayer on his tongue. Lost in the music, he kept his eyes closed, swaying in time with the melody. Weight lifted from his shoulder, as if wings had broken from his back, and he could touch the sky.

"In the corner of my childhood house, a brown piano settled on one side ."

Notes tampering off, Yoongi panted lightly. Tears dripped from his cheeks, fingers trembling from where they were being held by the ivory keys.

Hands touched his back, the scent of pine tangling in his nose. Warm fingers brushed through his snowy fringe, pushing away the hair as lips pressed against his forehead.

Jeongguk didn't speak. He only settled by his side, thighs pressed against his own, and his shoulder brushing over his. His sable hair fell in front of his amber eyes that stared at the piano.

"My first love," Yoongi whispered into the darkness. "It was the piano."

"It never let go of your hand," Jeongguk said faintly, listing his long finger and tracing one of the keys without adding any pressure.

"I am scared." The words were loud amongst the silence. He felt Jeongguk's sharp inhale, the way his shoulders tightened, and Yoongi found himself wiping at his cheeks. "You're right."

"I am too," Jeongguk confessed breathlessly. Yoongi glanced over. "I'm scared too. Everything I know, I left behind. I don't know how to be human, or... or how to be with one. Yoongi, I'm scared of you."

Yoongi frowned, hand grappling in the dark to find Jeongguk's. The wolf clasps them together, inhaling with a shudder that wracked his whole body.

"Scared of me?"

"I'm scared to lose you. You're not a wolf, you're not- what if you don't want a wolf anymore? What if I am not- what if I am not human enough," Jeongguk continued, smiling weakly. "I told Jin that. He told me that- that even though aren't a wolf, you love as fiercely as one."

Yoongi squeezed Jeongguk's hand, closing his eyes and leaning his head on Jeongguk's shoulder. "I'm not a wolf, you're right." Jeongguk gasped, biting his lip to silence the sound. "And I am sorry that I can't be that for you. But I can be something steady for you. I can be the person you want to come home to, or to be yourself no matter what form you take. I can be... I can be yours. Fuck, I am already am yours."