Hi :)

X: Taehyung 

"And I'm happy I can make you so happy."

The words stunned me a bit, since I was sure that Jungkook hated being here. Being with me. But when he looked at me, his brown eyes were soft and inviting, with no trace of hatred or bitterness. I smiled, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. He tried to squirm away but I held him tight, so he just laughed and let me. But before I showered him with affection, I needed to know something. Something important.

"Jungkook, I need you to answer my question honestly," I waited until he looked at me. "Are you afraid of me? Do you think I'm a monster?" I asked, watching his face for any reaction. Truthfully, I was a bit scared to hear his answer. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"It's true that I was afraid of you when we first met. I couldn't understand how a human like me was fated to be with a vampire king. You had so much power and control and everyone seemed scared of you. It also didn't help that your eyes had basically miniature flames burning in them." He giggled, and I smiled. "But... you're nicer than I ever imagined. You treat me well and even love me, and you haven't tried to kill me. When Yoongi accidentally threatened me in the kitchen, you were there to protect me and make me feel safe. I'm not afraid of you anymore, just... cautious, I guess. Also, you're not a monster. True, I didn't know you when you were heartbroken and killing people, but I don't think that's you anymore. Remember, you saved me from dying in the throne room. I trust you."

Hearing his words, I felt a foreign feeling in my non-beating heart. I hadn't felt this feeling in centuries after my parents died. It felt warm and fuzzy, almost like my heart was wrapped in cotton. I hugged Jungkook tighter to my chest, bringing my wings up to protectively cover him. He laughed, reaching out a hand to try and touch my wings. I let him, rubbing the feathers against his cheek affectionately.

"Thank you," I whispered. "No one has ever told me that before."

He didn't respond, but I could feel him smiling against my feathers. We stayed in that position for about 2 minutes before Jungkook broke the silence.

"Taehyung? Can I ask you a question?" I hummed in response.

"Where does that door lead to? The door in the kitchen I mean."

I stiffened. I knew that he would become curious about it sooner or later, but this was sooner than I had hoped for.

"I'll take you with me one day, my love," I promised, caressing his hair. "Right now is too dangerous."

"But why?" He asked, turning around to stare at me. "Why is it so dangerous?"

I looked at him. His face was confused and his eyes were wanting answers. So innocent. He probably had never experienced war, carnage, pain where it felt like your heart was ripped from your chest and pulverized. I didn't want him to ever have to feel that. Part of me just wanted to tuck him in a box and preserve his innocence forever. But I couldn't do that. The best I could do for him was a compromise.

"I can tell you how the door works, but you must promise me never to go in, do you understand? Especially not by yourself." He hesitated for a second, before nodding. "I promise."

"Good." I sighed, wondering where to start.

"The door is almost like a four-way portal," I said. "It leads to four different places, depending on where you want to go. Do you remember the pinwheel next to it? Well, that's kind of like the direction steerer. The red leads to any place in the vampire kingdom, the yellow leads to the human world, the green leads to my childhood home, and the black... " I looked into his eyes, making sure he was paying attention. "The black is the most dangerous of them all. If there is one door you shouldn't go into, it's the black. It leads to the shadow realm; the place most infected with death and monsters. And when I say monsters, I mean shadow spirits. Specters. They feed off the life force of the living, and can take any shape or form. The place switches from time to time, because the door seeks out the place most littered with death and destruction. Trust me, you don't want to go in."

Jungkook nodded, wrapping his cloak (or my cloak) tighter around himself and shivering. I pulled him into another hug, peppering kisses onto his hair. "I'm sorry if that scared you. I shouldn't have gone into such detail."

"N-no, it's fine," He whispered, though his grip on my arm didn't loosen. "I just didn't expect that small door to lead to such a horrible place, that's all." Suddenly, his eyes widened like a thought had struck him. "But you go in there all the time, don't you? How are you staying alive?"
I smiled, determined not to worry him. He had enough on his mind already. "I'm lucky enough to not meet the Specters often. Besides, I can always fly away if things get too out of hand." I flapped my wings lightly for emphasis. "I've been trained in fighting, so I have some skills if caught in a tough situation. Also, the Specters can't cross the barrier between the shadow realm and the door. I'm safe if I can cross into the Castle."

Jungkook still didn't look convinced, but before he could talk, a big yawn interrupted whatever he was going to say. I chuckled, and his cheeks blushed red, which I found adorable. "Did you get any sleep last night?" I asked him, and he shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "Well, then sleep now my love. You have a long day tomorrow," I gently brought his head down on my shoulder, and he contentedly snuggled up to me. It took all my efforts not to coo at him as he shut his eyes and leaned on my shoulder.

You crave love, and yet you are afraid of it, The little revenant had said. Yes, I thought. I'm afraid of love. I'm afraid of seeing the people I love get hurt. But some things are worth the risk. I glanced down at Jungkook, just to find him snoring lightly and using my right wing as a pillow. He must have been very tired to be asleep so fast. Smiling, I adjusted the cloak so that it was better covering his shoulders. Looking out the window, I saw that sunrise was already underway, meaning that it must be about 7 in the morning.

Carefully picking Jungkook up bridal style, I walked towards the reading room door, internally cooing at the way he immediately buried his head in my chest and clutched at my shirt. As I turned towards the corridor which led to his room, Jimin passed us and his eyes widened when he saw me carrying Jungkook. I motioned for him to be quiet and he nodded, though I could tell he was bursting to say something.

Leaving Jimin to internally fangirl in the middle of the hallway, I opened the door to Jungkook's room, careful to make as little noise as I could. Walking over to his bed, I gently laid him on the soft mattress and pulled the velvet covers over him, making sure that he would stay warm. He looked so peaceful, swaddled in blankets and lightly snoring, that I cooed.

Leaning down to kiss his forehead one last time, I turned around and walked to the door. Snapping my fingers to lower the drapes, I took one last look at his sleeping figure. "Goodnight," I whispered, before turning the door handle and walking out.

When I opened the door, I heard someone's muffled "Ow!" from the other side. Closing it, I was met with the sight of Jimin holding his nose and desperately trying to look like he hadn't been spying. "You open things too fast Taehyung," He grumbled. "Next time, make sure that you don't break someone's nose!"

"Your nose isn't broken," I scoffed. "And if it is, serves you right for trying to eavesdrop."

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop! It just sort of... happened." Jimin had the wisdom to look sheepish, but his eyes were sparkling. "So, are you and Jungkook a thing?"

"A thing?" I repeated, confused.

"Yeah. Isn't that the word that people use nowadays to say that two people are together? Hold on... I looked it up yesterday on this site called the 'Urban Dictionary." Jimin pulled a pure-black iPad from thin air and started scrolling. "I love human technology. So efficient!"

"Um, not yet," I said, raking a hand through my hair. "I think he's warmed up to me a little, but I don't want to rush him. We did kidnap him and bring him here after all. It's natural for him to feel a bit cautious around me. I just hope that one day he'll love me the same way I love him."

Jimin cooed, throwing up the iPad and watching it disappear into the air. "Of course he will Taehyung. Just give it time. Yoongi and I didn't get along perfectly at first either. But he'll grow to love you eventually. I'm sure of it."

I smiled, grateful for his support. "Thank you Jimin."

"That's what friends are for." He winked at me before patting me on the back. "Oh, and before I forget, Hoseok came back today. He has some messages for you. Namjoon's here too."

My face darkened. Messages from the eastern border were never good. But at least Jin would be happy that his soulmate was back. "Tell him I'll be right there." I started to walk down the hall, then paused.

"Oh, and Jimin?" I waited until he looked at me. "Don't let anyone wake Jungkook up. He's had a long night. I don't want him getting woken up before his body is fully rested."

Jimin smirked. "Are you sure it's not just because you're possessive as fuck and don't want anybody seeing him sleep?"

My cheeks burned, and I growled. "Just do it," I muttered, before turning around. I swore I could hear Jimin's loud laughter even when I reached the bottom of the stairs. But he was right. I did want Jungkook all to myself. I was selfish like that. 

And I wasn't planning on sharing.