Unstitched Wounds

Chapter 2; Defenders of the Light

-You won't lose me-

Stepping into the street from the apartment complex, Yoongi stuffs his hands into his pockets and closes his eyes. He exhales in a whoosh, allowing the night air to brush over his features and the scents of the city that he calls home drape over him like a welcoming blanket. He glances at the clock, noting that he has about twenty minutes before the start of patrol.

Yoongi sets off in the direction of the Lantern, but his mind wanders.

---10 years earlier---

"Mom, I'm fine." Jeongguk waves off his mother's frantic worry with a smile. "I can still eat on my own without choking, you know?"

The words are light and tinged with laughter. Unperturbed or worried, even though Yoongi can see the genuine worry etched into the deep grooves that have begun to make homes within the lines of her face.

"I know you can, sweetheart, it's just..."

Jeongguk doesn't even falter. "You're just worried, I know. I'm fine though! I feel great today anyways."

As if to prove his point, Jeongguk picks up his chopsticks in his skeletal fingers that tremble. It takes him a few minutes to pick up a piece of his mother's gimbap, but he finally manages and chews with a hint of triumphant pride.

Yoongi suddenly doesn't feel hungry at all.

Appeased, his mother takes her place across from him and starts to fill her plate with some pieces of the meal. "So, Yoongi-yah, your mother tells me that you've already being getting great grades at the academy?"

Swallowing, Yoongi flickers his gaze towards Jeongguk who is struggling to pick up a larger piece with his frail grip of his partially paralyzed hand. He bawls his hands into fists in his lap to keep from reaching over to do it for him.

"Well, yeah. It's only been two months since the start of term, so it isn't anything that great."

"Oh, don't be so modest, hyungie." Jeongguk gives up on the last piece of gimbap and drops his chopsticks. He smiles warmly at Yoongi. "What's it like? Is the academy as amazing as everyone says?"

Yoongi thinks of the rolling fields and hallowed halls, sadness clutching his heart with the devastating realization that Jeongguk will never, ever be able to walk them. "Better than you can imagine, Guk-ah. I'll take pictures and send them to you when I'm back. A picture of every room."

The smile on Jeongguk's face doesn't even flutter. "You don't have to do that for me, hyungie."

Yes, I do.

"It's no trouble, Guk-ah."

The rest of the dinner passes peacefully with idle, comfortable chatter that Yoongi cradles close to his heart since he knows that tomorrow afternoon he is on a flight back to the academy. There won't be lighthearted laughter and precious bunny smiles from Jeongguk.

After helping Jeongguk's mother with the dishes, Yoongi follows behind Jeongguk's wheelchair as he leads the way to his bedroom. He resists the urge to push the wheelchair, reminding himself of his silent promise to himself.

I will not do until asked.

For Jeongguk is not weak and will therefore not be treated as such.

They get ready to go to bed the way they always do; soft smiles and no words needing to be shared in the dimly lit room.