Crossing Over

Thirty Two

The sun was setting by the time Dae and Yoongi left her room. A hush fell over the living room as they walked down the stairs. Everyone but Hobi and Tae seemed to be in a daze. They could finally see the glow the ghosts had been going on about. 

Dae's entire body glowed with a golden light. It was exactly as they had described it. From the top of her head down the the bottom of her feet, the light shone brightly. She paused to look around at them gathered in the room. Yoongi moved past her to where Jimin stood with Namjoon, Hobi, and Jin. 

"I guess it's time to get started," she said. Her nervousness had been replaced with a calm she had never known before.

Tae stepped forward first. He gave Jungkook a drawn out hug before pulling back to place both hands on the boy's face. "No matter what happens, I meant it when I said you were my best friend. Even if you did beat me today," he smiled,  "You've never wavered in your faith in me. No matter how often I tried to push you away so you wouldn't get caught up in the middle of all of this, you stuck by me. Thank you Kookie." 

He turned to look at Jin and Namjoon. "You two didn't have to help us, but you did. I'm grateful for that. I love the bond you have and I can only hope that you always keep it. Take care of each other and Dae." 

He grinned at Jimin. "You may not have been my older brother but you were always the best older brother. I'm so glad Kookie had someone so loving and kind to look out for him. Thanks for always worrying about me. It meant the world to me." 

He paused when he looked at Yoongi and Hobi. His voice cracked when he began to speak. "I love you two so much. You did your best for me and I know you feel like you let me down, you didn't. Please know that none of this was your fault. We had a rough situation and it didn't turn out in our favor. If there is a next life, I hope we meet again. If not, I'll be waiting at whatever gate we end up at." 

It was finally time. Tae turned to face Dae. He stepped closer to her, the light she was emitting washed over him. "You showed me so much kindness when you didn't have to. I hope you never forget me because I'll never forget you. If there is an afterlife, I'll meet you at the gate as well. If there's another life after this, don't think for a moment that we won't see each other there." He closed the distance between them. His arms closed around her. Dae opened herself up to him and he stepped through. Just like that, he was gone. An overwhelming amount of warmth washed over her.

No one spoke for a minute as they watched Tae disappear. It almost seemed too good to be true for Yoongi and Hobi. Tears silently streamed down Jungkook's face. His best friend was gone. He wanted to scream but he knew it was for the best.  Tae had been trapped. Now he was free and Jungkook could finally start to heal.

Hobi stepped forward next. His eyes had been focused on the clock counting down the seconds. "I think this is about the time," he turned to Jimin and Jungkook. 

"You two kept me grounded for so long. No matter how rough things were here, you always had bright smiles for me. You helped me so much and I don't think I can ever express that. Thank you." 

He grinned when his gaze fell on Jin. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Our talks really helped me more than you'll ever know. You were the first person to really treat me like a person after.. yeah. All that. Thank you for seeing me as a person." 

His smile didn't falter as he looked over at Namjoon. "Don't give up. I know what you want and you've got the potential. You'll make it." 

It was only when he looked at Yoongi that his eyes started to water. "You promised and we're here. It took longer than we thought it would but we're finally here. We're leaving. I'll see you on the other side." 

Hobi stepped in closer to Dae and smiled down at her. "You are the most beautiful firefly I've ever seen. Thank you so much for this. I am eternally grateful to you. I wish you nothing but the most beautiful moments in life." 

She opened her arms to him and he smiled as he stepped through her. Her throat felt tight for a moment at the gratitude he'd expressed along with Tae. She knew what was coming and she was going to miss all three of them. Just like with Tae, she felt the warmth rushing over her.

All eyes in the room fell on Yoongi. Like Jungkook, he had tears slipping down his cheeks. He looked up to the others in the room slowly. "Thank you all. For not giving up on us, for helping us get to this moment. Kookie, Jimin, you two were great friends. You always gave us a place to escape to and you were amazing. Jin, even when you were afraid you stood up for your family. That speaks volumes. Don't' ever change." He turned his whole body towards Namjoon. "I left something for you on your bed. It's as much of my lyrics and writing that I can remember. I want you to have it. Use it. You're going to go far and I'm going to be watching." 

He took a breath and approached Dae slowly. "Hobi was right. You're breathtaking right now. But you always were. Thank you for everything you've done. You made me feel like I was finally enough just by being me. I wish I had met you before everything happened. You would have made an amazing friend. Either way, you still managed to be one so thank you." 

Dae wrapped her arms around him and held him for a moment. She wanted just one more second of contact with him before she opened herself up to him and he disappeared. 

The light slowly started to fade from around her. Her arms were wrapped around herself where Yoongi had been. No one dared to speak. For the first time in years, the house was quiet. 

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Someone hold me. There's still the epilogue so stick around ;)