Trusting (KTH)

Chapter 25

While almost everything around them felt like distinctly bad news, in good news Taehyung had both today and tomorrow off from public events since they were preparing to change cities. They were supposed to record some content later today but that could be put off for the moment.

When the meeting concluded Taehyung leaned over to Clara. "My love, I know things are difficult but I think it would be good for us to spend a bit of time with just the two of us. What do you think?"

"I don't want to be away from the boys right now. Especially the cub, he needs me."

Taehyung offered her every possible option to watch the boys in an effort to convince Clara. They could be with Sooyun, Namjoon, Kookie. Clara declined each proposal. Eventually she was convinced to leave the boys with Namjoon and Dr. Park together but only if they were in the same suite so she could go to the twins immediately if either became upset.

With the boys settled with their temporary caretakers Taehyung intertwined his fingers with Clara's and pulled her into the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him.

"I want to do two things, ok? First I want to give you a bath. I know you sometimes sacrifice taking care of yourself when the boys need you so I want to make sure you have the opportunity to wash up while the boys are being watched. Then I want to snuggle up together and you can tell me everything you are thinking. Can we do that together?"

Clara nodded while looking at the ground, too emotional to even make eye contact.

Taehyung left Clara on the bed while he went to get everything ready. When the warm bath was full and soft comfortable clothes set to the side he came back for Clara. Carefully undressing her he helped her into the tub while he knelt down next to her. Taehyung spent the entire bath kissing her temple and whispering words of encouragement as his hands gently soaped her body and hair.

Sometimes he felt her begin to shake with emotions so he'd pause and just wrap his arms around her for a few moments, inviting her to rest her head against his chest. It was a slow bath, and while Taehyung wanted to show her his love and closeness, he wasn't sexual in his touch. Just gentle as he treated Clara like the precious treasure she was to him.

After he was finished washing her Taehyung helped Clara out of the tub and patted her dry with a towel, helping her slip on her underclothes and comfortable sweatpants and a sweatshirt he'd pulled from his own luggage. He sat her on a stool in front of the vanity and carefully brushed and braided her hair, knowing she wouldn't want to spend much time caring for it over the next few days.

Then he intertwined their fingers again, tugging her toward the bed. He sat down first, leaning upright against the headboard. Patting his legs she came and straddled his lap, her arms around his neck and face buried tight against him. Taehyung gently rubbed her back, rocking them back and forth.

The dam broke. Everything came rushing to Clara at once. Clara realized that she had suddenly become known to everyone yet she felt more invisible than ever. All that people knew of her was from a snip of video and wild assumptions. She was the mother of V's children. A monster. A groupie. Someone who ruined lives. She was no longer Clara, she was just someone to be criticized and gossiped about in her relationship to V.

It seemed like people forgot she might have feelings too. She'd seen stories where people speculated that she had killed her fiancé to get Taehyung's sympathy. Not onto was her own grieving invalidated, but to call her a murderer? The weight of it was crushing. She'd built her life around loving and caring fiercely for those around her, it was erased in a moment in a thoughtless comment or a harsh article.

She wept for the boys. She wept for Taehyung. She wept for Namsoo and his parents. She wept for her own parents. She wept for her injuries that would never fully heal. She wept for the rest of the members. She even wept for Taehyung's parents. And she wept for herself and the challenges in her own life.

Taehyung didn't try to quiet her, he just encouraged her to let everything out. As she broke down bit by bit he began to weep too. Normally he tried to be strong for Clara but this time there was nothing that could be done. He opened his own heart and hurt and emotions to her. As each went further into their tears they clutched more and more tightly to each other, bodies melding together as they both held onto each other as their anchor.

Eventually Taehyung quieted and Clara followed soon after. They were both exhausted. Lack of sleep and the emotional strain of the day overwhelmed them. Taehyung slid down so he could lay flat with Clara still on his chest, legs splayed on either side of him, and pulled a blanket over them. It was only a few moments until both were asleep, still pressed as tightly together as possible.

They napped for several hours. Taehyung eventually took his own shirt off, wanting to give Clara a softer place to rest her cheek directly on his chest. Beyond that they hardly stirred. The few times they shifted positions they ended up tucked just as tightly together as before, desperate for the safety and comfort they found in each other.

Eventually Clara was woken by the increasingly insistent squawking of one of the twins. As soon as she slid away from Taehyung to climb out of bed he woke up too. He pulled her back for one last kiss on the forehead and a reminder of how much he loved her before he let her go, moving to sit up himself so he could follow her.

The little tiger was in Namjoon's arms and he was trying to quiet him, but the little boy was ready for some milk. Clara gave Namjoon a small smile while she took the boy from his hands. "Were they ok for you? I apologize for leaving them so long, I guess I didn't realize how tired I was."

"They were perfect," Dr. Park assured her. "And it was good for you to rest. Remember, you need to lean on others so the boys can lean on you, got it?"

Clara blushed and nodded, taking the small boy into the room so she could feed him in private.

Namjoon patted Taehyung on the back. "Are you guys ok? It sounded pretty rough in there for a while."

"Yeah Hyung. I think that we both needed that. Thanks for watching the boys. Really."

Namjoon just nodded his head. "I need to go check in on the press release and the security plans. By the way I heard your parents have arranged their return to Korea. I don't know if it means anything but I think they were feeling bad about how things turned out. I know you probably aren't ready to deal with it right now but eventually you are going to need to fix things with them."

"I know. And thanks for watching out for us. I appreciate it. To be honest we're going to need all the help we can get."

Taehyung eventually had to return to work, recording some web content for the fans. It was hard to be upbeat with everything that was happening. Everyone felt like they were barely dragging in for filming but as soon as the cameras started rolling they were all smiles, jokes, and their regular sunny selves. As expected some of the members, particularly Jin and Hobi leaned harder into carrying the weight of the games, giving Taehyung extra space to breathe.

Clara was left with both Yoonseo as extra security and Dr. Park. Every time the little cub squirmed or whined she'd immediately become anxious. Dr.Park's presence comforted her and assured her that help was right if anything went seriously wrong.

She spent time talking with her parents. Mostly they assured her that everything would work out, reminiscing about similar experiences that Namjoon had that at the time were incredibly frustrating but by now were now a distant memory. They watched the twins on the video call and reminded Clara that they would be with them in only a couple of days and couldn't wait to wrap all of them up in a hug.

They spent time trying to distract Clara from the dark discouragement of what had happened and assure her that Namjoon was just as committed to her safety as Taehyung, so she would most certainly be fine. They also promised to talk to Taehyung's parents on their behalf to try to calm the awkward situation.

By the time they hung up Clara was in a much better place. She knew her parents had inconvenienced themselves by calling her in the middle of the night their time but it was exactly what she needed and she was so thankful for everyone surrounding her. She knew they had a long way to go to calm things down again, but she hoped they were well on their way.