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Y/n

New York City was as annoying as she remembered.

Stereotypes could be true, and in NYC's case, almost all of them were. Yes, the cars honked every two seconds. Yes, New Yorkers walked wherever they wanted. Yes, New Yorker's said I'm walking here with that classic accent. Bonus points if they said it's hot as a sauna out here, too.

Y/n strolled through the busy streets with her hands in her pockets and her mind set on one thing: food. Jessy needed food, and she had a soft spot for the local restaurants and vendors that made crappy stuff she probably shouldn't be eating, but Y/n knew it made the girl happy. Anything to keep her spirits up.

Speaking of, that was why Y/n was in NYC to begin with. As much as Y/n hated being in the City and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, she knew Jessy loved it and stayed for that. One day they'd find a more permanent home. But that day was not today, so Y/n ignored the small chilly breeze that passed through the scaffolding surrounding her and instead turned the corner to find a place to get takeout.

No shortage of restaurants were in NYC. Every step you took, you could smell (through all the sewage and smoke, anyway) the hot dogs and cheeseburgers. That led Y/n to wandering the streets of Manhattan and putting on her classic New York walk to get the beggars and scammers to avoid her. They preyed on the tourists since they were obvious. The wide eyes and coughs gave them away. Anyone not from a City tended to cough upon first arriving in the City. Something about the pollution set them off.

Y/n lived in the countryside of Hershey for a while, and when she had returned to the City, she too underwent the coughing fit, which led to some scammers approaching her. She hated those scammers, but she'd give them credit for one thing: they were observant. Observant to find prey. Not observant enough for anything else, though.

None of that mattered, though. Y/n took her mind off the chaos known as the City and set her sights on one of the countless hot dogs stands set up around the sidewalks. Although she wanted to see if she could do pizza instead, the hot dog smell enticed her too much, and she ended up gravitating toward the stand only for them to be out of hot dogs.

Yes, the hot dog stand was out of hot dogs. That was more common in New York than one might think. Tourists sold out the products often, and vendors didn't bother putting a sign up since they had other not-as-good products available.

So her plan returned to the pizza place, and she huffed and stomped her way across the street, making it to a classic New York pizza restaurant that offered to-go, like most. Owners had to be crazy to not offer takeout in a city as busy as NYC. People loved to take their food out in Times Square and devour it while seeing what all the fuss was about and why so many movies were shot there.

The place was quiet. That was what Y/n expected. Pizza places were either slammed or a ghost town, and Y/n came during the early afternoon while everyone was either at work or trying to get away from scammers.

Y/n approached the counter and ordered two pizzas to take home to Jessy. It'd be enough to keep them fed for the week. It wasn't like Jessy went through much food, considering her weight and appetite.

The smell of pizza was one of Y/n's favorites. She adored the saucy scent in the small vicinity, and she smiled at the fake vines hanging down from the ceiling. That seemed like a trademark of Italian restaurants. It made her laugh, for some reason. Although she hated being in the City, at least she had Jessy, so life was good. Life would keep getting better and bet-

"Y/n."

A male voice sounded off from behind her, speaking her name in such a soft, delicate tone that she swore she misheard at first. She hesitated, watching as the cashier prepared her food in front of the oven without noticing the commotion behind him. That meant she had no escape, and she had to turn to confront the man she never thought she'd see again.

Park Jimin stood there. Bags sunk his eyes, his hair had grown longer and lost much of its redness, and his skin had more blemishes than she ever would have expected from him. God, he was beautiful. Too fucking beautiful. But that was how it always went. The ones with the prettiest faces held the most lies in their souls.

"The universe hates me," she mumbled to herself, rubbing her temple when she realized there was no getting out of talking to him. Part of her wanted to. It wasn't like she had contacted him since she had kicked him out. "Alright, let's get this over with. Hi, Jimin."

Jimin approached but stopped a few feet away, leaning against the counter and staring at her. Long moments passed of him just gazing at her, and then, he cleared his throat.

"You look... good."

"You don't."

"No shit." Jimin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Have you been doing okay? How's Jessy?"

"I've been doing great, and I would tell you about Jessy, but I have a feeling you'd find a way to make her life miserable, so I don't think I will."

Y/n dug her nails into her palms. She had spent months upon months trying to forget that night, but seeing Jimin again brought back flashes she didn't want, and it had her stiffening. No, not again. She had tried again and again to figure out why she had frozen all that time ago, yet there she was, doing it again. Again and again and again. No end in sight.

"Okay," Jimin said, his voice quiet. "I understand. But how about Harry? Would you feel comfortable telling me about him?"

No, not at all. The only "comfortable" thing she could do was walk away, but with her pizza in the oven and the cashier vacating to the back to probably search for more supplies, she was stuck there. Or maybe she wasn't. Maybe it was just her brain telling her she was. It wasn't like her body would move either way.

"He's fine. Happy. Still loves carrots and eating my hair."

Jimin chuckled. "Classic Harry. He a squeaker as always?"

"As always."

"Good. I'm so glad, Y/n," Jimin said, tapping his fingers against the counter. He sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to talk to you to beg for another chance or some bullshit like that, it's just that fate put us here, and I'd be a fool not to at least try to say something."

"I didn't know you believed in fate."

"I didn't, but then I met you." He sucked in a breath. It sounded painful. "I love you, Y/n. I will always love you, and I don't expect you to share those feelings now or ever, but I want you to know that if you ever, and I mean ever, need anything, let me know. My number will never change. No questions asked, either. Just whatever you need, nothing expected in return. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"And I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make up for anything, but I want you to know that I am."

"You're right. Sorry doesn't change what I went through because of you. Do you have any idea how many scars I have now?" Y/n released her palm, letting her nails relax and not cause any more marks to invade her. No. No more pain would belong to Jimin. From then on, her pain belonged to her and her alone.

"I understand. Not in a personal way... No, I could never understand on a personal level, but I understand why you can never forgive me, and why Lucy made me confess. It was like something compelled me to, but I know now it was Lucifer pulling the strings."

"So you wouldn't have said anything if Lucifer didn't make you, is that it? You would've let me live the rest of my life not knowing you were the one who caused that night? That you were the one who took Harry? That you tried to send me into a realm of suffering so you could live forever?"

"No, I..." Jimin stopped and slumped his shoulders. "I love you, Y/n. I'm sorry I realized it too late."

"Yeah." Y/n poked her tongue against her cheek and averted her eyes. "Me too."

It went quiet after that. Not that she had anything to say, that was. She doubted Jimin did, either. So, they stood there until the cashier came back and dished out her pizza, handing two cardboard boxes to her. She scooped them up, thanked him, and backed away, peeking over at Jimin. His spot hadn't changed the whole time.

"You're never going to hear anything from me again, even if I need something. So this is goodbye."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. I'm sorry, and I love you. Goodbye, Y/n."

Y/n held her boxes against her chest and met Jimin's eyes for the last time. They were the same hickory shade as always. Deep, dark, and full of beauty. But she realized they weren't the same. They weren't as beautiful as dad's. They weren't as beautiful as Harry's.

And they weren't as beautiful as Jessy's.

"Goodbye, Park Jimin," she whispered, unsure if she said the words or if they were stuck in her mind. When Jimin's eyes widened, she realized they had been verbal, and that gave her body permission to unfreeze. She could move; no more stiffness infected her. Maybe she could even breathe.

Y/n lingered, and then, she backed away and departed the store, leaving Jimin behind. The demon was long gone, leaving an empty shell of a man in his wake, but Y/n didn't care. She had a future ahead. A future with herself, growing stronger and keeping the teachings of her father close. She knew her father would be proud if he could see her, and that was enough. She had her father, she had Harry, and she had Jessy.

They were all she ever needed.

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A/N: The next chapter is the last one.

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