Shadows of Us

She leaned in just enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath despite the cold steel between them.
"Say it, Taehyung," she whispered, her voice low, dangerous. "Are you mine... or do I put you down here?"

The weight of the question wasn't in the words-it was in the way her eyes dared him to call her bluff. She wanted his answer, but more than that, she wanted to see if he would flinch, if he would betray the chaos burning inside him.

Taehyung's jaw tightened. His gun didn't move, but his heart slammed against his ribs, every beat loud enough in his ears to drown the sirens still screaming in the distance. He should've felt fear. Instead, he felt alive. Her venom was intoxicating, her challenge a drug.

He let out a sharp laugh-too quiet, too bitter.
"You think you can end me, Aera?" His voice was gravel, lined with adrenaline. His finger pressed the trigger just enough for her to feel the intent. "No one decides my fate. Not even you."

For a second, neither of them moved. Just two guns, two shadows, and a thousand unsaid things burning between them.

Then-Aera tilted her head, her smirk curling, soft yet lethal. Her gun pressed harder against his skin, but her eyes softened in a way no one else would've noticed.
"Then prove it," she murmured.