Your movements are slow and hesitant as you let your head fall on his shoulder, and you can only hope the closeness gives him some sort of comfort, a warmth you've always tried to provide for him even though you've failed so many times. It's ironic— how you're supposed to be his protector, but instead he's always the one that makes you feel consoled, like you belong here even though this is not your world anymore. Taehyung still hasn't let go of your hand and you don't mind how he holds it tighter, a grasp that'd be painful if there was still blood circulating through your veins.
"It makes me wonder if I truly have a place here... if I'll ever be able to do something good."
His words hurt you deep, like a lacerated wound in the middle of your chest that's too profound to heal. But i let him speak— i let him spill out the words that have been hidden for too long, getting lost in the bitter atmosphere as they take Taehyung's dark shadows with them, emptying out all the venom that had settled in the dark corners of his mind.
It's not enough, because years of pain are not easy to mend, but the grimy ghosts are gone for now and suddenly the air's not so biting anymore.
"Tae," i say after a few minutes of silence. A slight blush is still coloring his cheeks, tainting his skin since the moment he started venting. "Let's go home."
My hands are still joined as we leave the unknown neighborhood, the surroundings almost turning blurry as you soak in the addictive glow of Taehyung's reassuring proximity. He only speaks up to ask for your name, the only thing you're sure of since you died— and the way he smiles even though his lips still hurt makes you glad you still held to that knowledge, one that you never gave much importance until now.
Taehyung's house is empty and the fact that his uncle is probably at some bar drinking his worries away goes unspoken— he takes you upstairs towards his room, and my ghostly form is almost buzzing with anticipation, finally letting go of his hand as he opens the windows to allow the fresh breeze to slither its way inside.
