Closer than Ever

Chapter 43 - Home for the Holiday

It seems like I've only been sleeping for five minutes when my alarm goes off. Calling for a taxi and then prying myself out of Taehyung's warm arms takes the last ounce of my willpower, and it doesn't help at all that he watches my every move with a sleepy version of the Tata Mic expression on his face. I walk out of the bathroom and throw my toothbrush and hairbrush into the toiletries case, drop it into my suitcase, zip it up, and turn toward the bed.

"Don't go, Birdie!" he rasps.

I make a crying face and walk over to stand beside him. "I have to go, my love. My mama will kill me if I change my mind. Come with me!"

He sighs, and smiles up at me. "I want to. I wish I could!" He gently grabs my arm and pulls me down onto himself.

I giggle softly. "I'll be back in the middle of the night on Thursday. Video call me when you have a chance, babe? I want to introduce you to my family."

Tae stills, his eyes going huge. "Introduce me?"

"Yeah, just in an American way, like 'Hey, this is my sweetie man, everybody,' not like, 'Hey, we're getting married' or something. OK?"

He wraps his arms around me. "Yes. I want to see them, too." I smile at him and dot his pouty mouth with little kisses.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I groan. "I think my car is here, love. Be happy, be safe, stay healthy, OK?"

"OK. You too. I love you more than anything." He tightens his arms around me.

"I love you too, and I'll see you soon." He reluctantly lets me go, but watches me all the way to the bedroom door with his sad eyes.

I pout back at him and blow him a kiss, then square my shoulders and force myself to leave.

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My parents and Emily meet me at the front door for hugs, and mom's elderly dog Barkley ambles up to have his head scratched. It's really weird to be back at my parents' home after all these years. It seems simultaneously both completely familiar and very different from how I remembered it, and I look around me wide-eyed, trying to adjust.

"Are you hungry?" my mom wants to know. "Did you have breakfast and lunch?"

"I had coffee and a pastry in the airport, thanks, mama. I'm still kind of jetlagged, so my stomach doesn't know what time it is!"

"We watched the show last night, and your guys were amazing!" Emily chimes in.

"Yeah, they won the big one!" Dad adds. "We looked for you in the crowd shots, but didn't see you..."

I smile at them all fondly. "It's so, so good to see you guys. I confess, though, it was really hard to leave LA this morning."

"How's your guy, chica? Was he excited about winning all those awards?" Mom grins at me.

I smile. "I think they were all pretty excited to get a grand prize here, although it's old hat for them back home. Tae was much more excited about getting to perform for a live audience after two years, though. They all were. They're really anticipating the concerts this weekend and next week."

"Well, come in and sit down! Take a load off!" my dad says, and I slide my shoes off out of habit and leave them by the door. My family looks at my stocking feet, but they don't say anything.

Taehyung texts me almost as soon as I sit down on the sofa in the family room.

Birdie, did you arrive in Oregon?

Yes, babe, I just sat down with my family this minute! How are you doing?

Good. We have some rest time this afternoon, so we're trying to decide if we're going to visit a beach or play golf. I'm voting for golf.