In the dark

56

Peri and the boys had made it to the venue in a less dramatic fashion. This time, Peri knew what to expect. She was still acutely aware of what was happening around her but wasn't flickering or disappearing as she made her way to the dressing room. 

What the boys mostly noticed was her mood. Yes, she was calmer than the previous day, but she also seemed a little bit more giddy. Especially when stealing glances at the leader. The others could watch the two of them. They would watch as they tried to hide their bashful smiles and pink cheeks by turning their heads and looking away whenever their eyes met. If those two weren't the cutest thing, this side of the Thames. 

All of them had made a makeshift picnic area in their dressing room and began to eat their lunches before the members headed out onto the stage for rehearsals. "After we eat, do you want to walk around the stadium?" Hobi asked her. Peri gave a nervous smile and shook her head no.

"There aren't that many people out there," Jimin encouraged. Peri looked at him skeptically as she took a bit of her apple chip.

"Not yet, anyway. They'll all come later when we do the fan rehearsal," Tae announced.

"TAEHYUNG-AH!" Namjoon yelled out, seemingly annoyed at what Taehyung had just said.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before, but I love you," Tae responded with wide eyes.

"Taehyung, you're so cool!" Hobi laughed.

"I love you too!" Jimin shouted back.

"Familiar tone for today. Namjoon, I love you," Tae told him when he turned to look at Namjoon. 

"You think you're so cool?? Taehyung, you're so cool," He told Tae, wiping his hands after the meal. Namjoon reached out his hand and shook Tae's. Tae only smiled at him before they both returned to the conversation. 

Namjoon smiled at Peri as she looked at the pair in disbelief. "Did that really just happen? That was it?"

Yoongi was sitting next to Peri. He wrapped his arm around her and guided her to his chest. "We don't stay mad at each other for long," he told her. Peri used her hands as a makeshift pillow as her thoughts swirled in her head. 'Was Joon even mad? Did Tae say sorry? Was that really it? No yelling or screaming. It almost seemed normal. Like that was is supposed to happen, not what happens in my nightmares.'

Peri felt a light tickle on her head that brought her back to the present. Peri looked up and saw Yoongi staring straight down at her. He took his index finger to her forehead and gave her three light taps. "What's going on in there?" he asked her.

"Oh! You do not want to know what is going on in there. It's terrifying in there."

"Good thing the only thing I'm afraid of is fireworks, then."

"Loud, unexpected booms. I can see that."

Yoongi uncurled his arm around Peri and dropped it on her lap; hand splayed open as he waited for Peri to intertwine their fingers. Once her fingers were interlocked, he spoke again. "He wasn't trying to pressure you. I know you'll come out when you are ready."

"I know he didn't," Peri told him with a tiny shake of her head as if to refute the comment that Yoongi made. Never once did Peri feel pressured by the seven of them. If anything, they were always patient with her. While her scars were invisible, Peri had slowly been revealing them. Her boys never waivered when she would show them. They would only lean in further, showing Peri what her world could truly look like. 

Peri snuggled up closely to Yoongi. They kept their hands linked together and put their heads together. Peri nuzzled her nose into Yoongi's hair and took in his whiskey-soaked cherry scent. Yoongi kissed her bare shoulders and buried his nose into the crook of her neck. Peri smelled different than she had before, but somehow there were still notes from his bothers mixed into it. He felt like he was holding a glass of wine in the middle of a fruit farm after a summer shower with a soft floral scent lingering in the air.