In Another Lifetime

One

No one said anything. We all knew, because we knew Taehyung so well, that this would affect him in ways he may not even realize. We also knew that there wasn't a thing any of us could do to prevent it, because Tae wasn't going to listen to us.

JIMIN'S POV

"What can we do?" I asked, hoping that Jin had an idea, something, anything. Anything would be better than nothing.

Jin sighed, his hand coming up to cover his eyes, his thumb and index finger massaging his temples before he looked around the table at everyone.

"I really don't think there is anything we can do. The more we try to tell him what we think is best, the more he's going to pull away. All we can do is be there for him. He's made up his mind."

Every one of us sighed in resignation. Yoongi looked angry. Jungkook looked like someone just died. Hobi looked hopeless.

"Jin is right," Namjoon said, "and it's no different than what any of us would do in Taehyung's shoes. We just have to respect his decision. He's not a kid. We can't make decisions for him."

"Why did she have to show up and mess things up for Tae? He was just starting to act like himself again." Yoongi grumbled.

"It's not her fault Hyung," Jungkook said harshly. "How was she supposed to know when she made her wish that it would be granted. You can't blame her. Besides, who says she's messing things up. Tae seems happier than I've seen him in a long time."

Yoongi's features softened a little, but he still didn't look the least bit happy. "Sure, he's happy right now. But wait until she's gone. We all know damn well that he's going to break down, and cry for days, hardly able to function, not wanting to practice, or eat, and barely getting any sleep."

Jin shook his head. "That may be true, and if it is, then we all need to be there for him, and be his strength. But I have a feeling it might not go that way. He knows he won't be able to recall her name, and I can only imagine that he is trying to figure out ways to be able to do that, knowing it won't be easy, if it's even possible. I think that is going to be his top priority once she's gone, and I think we should try to think of ways to help him remember."

We all nodded our agreement. There had to be a way to help him remember.

DELANEY'S POV

Tae held me for a good 15 minutes after Jimin left, not letting go of me at all. He cradled me in his arms, his lips against my head, and didn't say a word. I could hear him breathing, and his heart was beating against my ear that was nestled against his chest.

I sat in his arms, and in a moment of clarity, it hit me that I was sitting in a bed with Kim Taehyung, a man who I never imagined I would be this close to. He was holding me, he cared about me, he didn't want to lose me, and my heart beat with the realization that this was actually happening. It didn't matter that it was all because of a wish I'd made. I was here. I was alive, flesh and blood, breathing, seeing, feeling, loving.

As much as I thought I had accepted that it was happening, maybe I hadn't. It felt so unreal to be sitting here, yet I knew I was. It kind of just hit me very hard that even though this wasn't my reality, it was his reality, and it was the reality of right now.

"We should sleep," he finally whispered.

It took me a second to shake myself from my thoughts, because I was suddenly in awe of the fact that I was in this mans arms, that I had experienced all the things I had with him. I think I had just been following along, and though I was very aware of everything that had happened, it was almost as if I had been in a dreamlike state, expecting to wake up at any moment.  I finally realized what he'd said.