"don't say you love me like that; like you're saying goodbye."
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in which yoongi and taehyung are ex-lovers who meet once again in tokyo, spending one last night together, learning how to both love and let go.
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a taegi short story; @springbts...
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For a while, the two of them could only stare at each other; it was a moment where words would have failed them, so they didn't really speak.
But somehow all seems to be said, because then Taehyung's lips swings up into a hesitant tiny smile, almost like a question mark - and Yoongi's heart tides, warm waves of relief shoring the ocean, pooling around his feet.
He lets out a small sound in answer; something like a quiet laugh, a relieved puff of air.
The warmth that swirls in his stomach mingles with a bitterness in his throat, something like sadness and nostalgia, and he presses them down hard.
Yoongi's voice is scratchy when he speaks at last.
"Today I was scared shitless."
Taehyung's fingers stop fiddling, and the younger's eyes lift to meet Yoongi's. He looks a bit surprised, as if he didn't expect this. A strand of brown hair nearly falls into his eyes, and Yoongi's hand suddenly itch to sweep it away.
Instead he swallows, continues in hesitance, "it was my big debut, and...and I had a million visions of me. Me going on stage and not being able to breathe. Me not going on stage, and running out on the show itself. Me going on stage, playing, but somehow I mess up the notes, and the audience would look at me with the most disappointed faces, and I'd end up breaking down right there, on that piano bench."
Taehyung doesn't interrupt, only moves his fingers to gently rest on Yoongi's arm. It's okay, hyung. Go ahead. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.
Yoongi's stomach flips at the feeling of Taehyung's warm touch. A small blaze flickers in the middle of his chest. He lets the flames dance for a little, and then he raises his fingers to quietly pat Taehyung's hand once, twice. To tell him it's okay, he's okay.
Taehyung still doesn't let go. The flame burns brighter.
"And I think I was still scared, even when I walked to the bench, even when muscle memory took over, even through my first song. But then..." Yoongi pauses, bites the inside of his cheek. Continues, slow, like he's still trying to piece his thoughts together, "but then at some point, maybe the second song, I don't know which. But at some point, I remembered you, too."
Yoongi can feel Taehyung's gaze still on him. And then the words are forming themselves now, a bit shaky and hesitant, because Yoongi knows he's treading on past memories and that has always been a soft spot for him, a sensitive little thing, and he chooses his words carefully.
