Namjoon tenderly kissed the top of the girl's head as they rode the taxi back from Ilsan-gu. It wasn't a long drive, only about half an hour, but Nari had already fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He didn't mind though. With jet lag and all the excitement from the week, it was only natural for her to crash sooner or later. She's still just a kid, after all.

He picked up the spiral bound notebook that Nari had taken from his old room, flipping through the it nostalgically. The worn red cover read CALCULUS written in faded sharpie, but the inside was filled with so much more than just math problems. All the anger, all the frustration, the feelings of hopelessness and despair trapped in those pages...it occurred to him how much he'd changed over the years. The Namjoon in this notebook felt so much but said so little.

But things were better now. Better because of her, because of Nari's presence in his life. He truly did love her with his whole heart.

Even though the girl had already fallen asleep, there was one more place on the itinerary. Somewhere that Namjoon had been thinking about for a long time, but only realized just a few hours ago how much he needed to go. The taxi stopped in front of a small building, waking the girl from her nap.

"Hm? Are we home?"

"Not yet," Namjoon replied and gently nudged her side, "There's just one more place. Follow me, okay? I promise that you'll like it."

Nari yawned and stretched as soon as she got out of the car. They were somewhere that she didn't quite recognize, but the girl trusted Namjoon and walked into the shop alongside him. Bold artwork covered the walls and rock music blared from the speakers as her eyes widened when she realized where they were.

"Tattoo shop?" Nari excitedly turned to the boy, "You brought me to a tattoo shop? I thought you said that I wasn't allowed to get one until I'm older."

Namjoon smiled and ruffled her hair, "You're right, I'm not going to let you get a tattoo until you're 18, but I can get one whenever I want."

"Hey! It's Namjoon!" A man covered in ink and piercings came out from behind the counter and greeted him with a hug, "I knew you'd be in here someday!" He greeted younger girl and offered her his hand, "And you must be Nari. Hello! I'm Hyun, the official tattoo artist for BTS. I heard that you want some of these when you're older."

Nari blushed and accepted his handshake, "Uh huh. Jungkook said he would draw one for me."

"That's awesome!" Hyun smiled brightly, "I look forward to working with you in a few years." He turned to the other boy, "Now, Namjoon, tell me your vision: What can I do for you today?"

"I want a small tattoo, maybe a 6 or 7 centimeters long," Namjoon started, "of a black and white leaf with the number nine on it. That's it."

The girl's heart melted, "Like my wishing leaf." She said softly.

"Exactly like your wishing leaf." He answered, placing a hand on her shoulder, "The day that you caught that leaf was the day that my life changed forever. You bring us so much happiness and joy, my sweet lily, especially to me. I want to remember that day forever, I want to relive the first time I told you that you were loved."

"Namjoon," Nari could help the tears that were forming in her eyes as she gave him a hug, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, darling," The boy answered, "And do you know why the number nine is so special? You were born on November 9th and we adopted you on March 9th, Suga's birthday. My birthday is in September, the 9th month of the year. So many good things happen on nines, which is why it's my lucky number."

She smiled brightly, "You're my lucky person."

"That's too cute," He laughed and turned to the artist, "Oh, Hyun? Can Nari get her ears pierced while I'm getting my tattoo?"

Hyun nodded, "Sure. I'll get Lea from the back."

"My ears?" Nari asked the older boy, "I didn't know I was allowed to get my ears pierced."

"Well, why not?" Namjoon shrugged, "It would be pretty unfair of me to take you here and not get you anything, and I figured that would be a good comprise since the lip ring is definitely out of the question. Plus we all have our ears pierced so you might as well match. Well, except for Hobi," His voice lowered to a whisper, "He says that it's because pierced ears aren't manly...but we all know it's because he's afraid of needles. But you didn't hear that from me, by the way."

"Alright, let's get started!" Hyun reappeared with a tall woman with long dark hair and a ear gauges, "Nari, this is Lea. She'll be doing your piercings today. RM, you can follow me and we'll get that tattoo started. All in all, it should take about half an hour."

Namjoon gave the girl's hand a reassuring squeeze before disappearing to a room in the back, "I'll see you soon, darling. Be good."

"It's Nari, isn't it?" The remaining woman asked, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Lea and I'll be taking care of you today."

Nari nodded shyly and followed her back to a room behind the counter. She sat in the specified chair, nervous butterflies rising in her stomach. However, they soon subsided when she thought about Namjoon in the next room over. He had always been so resistant when it came to tattoos. For him to finally get one, it meant a lot.

"So, you got adopted by BTS," Lea started as she washed her hands, "That's pretty cool. I did Jungkook's helix piercings and I've talked to him a few times when he came in for tattoos. He's always very nice." She finished and handed her a small display case of simple silver stud earrings with a shiny rhinestone on top, "Choose one of these. Any color you want is fine."

The girl took the case and studied the available choices. It didn't take her long to decide.

"Purple, please."

"So it'll match your hair? Cute."

Lea chose the selected jewelry and sanitized the girl's right earlobe before making a dot with a small marker. She held up a needle and spoke softly, "Alright, I'm going make a little hole with this needle and then I'll put the earring in. It'll only pinch for a second, just like getting a shot. You ready?"

Nari nodded nervously, "Uh huh."

"Hey, take a deep breath," The woman chuckled and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder encouragingly, "You're in good hands, Nari. RM is on the other side of this wall if you need him. You'll be okay."

"Okay." She exhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm ready."

"Alright. Three, two, one."

Nari winced as she felt a sharp pain in her earlobe. But just like Lea said, it only hurt for a second. She cracked one eye open to see the woman grinning widely and holding a new needle.

"See? You did great!" Lea said cheerfully, "Now let's do the other one, okay?"

The girl obediantley closed her eyes and prepared herself for the next prick of the needle, which came a few seconds later. Nari breathed a sigh of relief and opened her eyes. It's finally over.

"You look awesome!" Lea held up a mirror to reveal two little violet colored jewels on the girl's earlobes, matching her hair. Nari smiled. Somehow she felt a little closer to them now.

The woman spent the next few minutes explaining to the girl how to take care of her new piercings and gave her a small instruction manual. Nari hopped up from the chair, "Thank you, Lea. Can I see Namjoon?"

"Yeah, sure." She shrugged, "I don't see why not."

Nari eagerly followed her to the next room over where Hyun was bent over the older boy's arm, amid the steady buzzing of the tattoo gun. Namjoon noticed them at the doorway and managed a small wave with his other hand, "Hey, darling. Your ears look great."

"Is it okay if she watches?" Lea asked Hyun, who looked up from his work.

"Yeah, of course," Hyun replied, "Nari, you can go to RM's other side and hold his hand. I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

The girl nodded gratefully and took a seat beside him, holding his left hand tightly. She looked into the boy's dark eyes and smiled, "Namjoon, I didn't even cry."

"Hey that's great! I'm proud of you!" Namjoon said happily, but flinched in pain, "Can't really say the same for me though, this hurts."

"It's okay, " Nari squeezed his hand reassuringly, "I'm gonna text Jin to make sure that he got ice cream at the store this week. When we go home we can all eat ice cream and watch a movie. Is that okay?"

The boy laughed, "That's great, darling. Ice cream actually sounds perfect right now." He went silent for a moment and it was then that the girl realized his eyes had filled with tears. "Nari, do you know how much I love you?"

"Of course," She answered softly, "More than all the stars in the sky."

"Good," Namjoon closed his eyes and as a lone tear trickled down his cheek, "For such a long time I felt this void, this emptiness, in my heart. I kept wishing and waiting for something to come along and make me whole again." He winced as the needle made its way across his skin, "Then I met you, and finally....finally....I felt complete. Did you know that I was a different person back then? Like you saw in that old notebook, I used to be so bitter and angry. I hated the world for the things that it did to me and the people I loved, I hated it so much."

The boy allowed a small smile to form at the corners of his lips, "I admire your strength, Nari. You've been though so many awful things, and yet you've never given up on this world. You're never angry or resentful like me. All you do is grow, you blossom into the person that you're meant to be. You inspire me to let go of all those negative emotions and replace them with love."

Nari tenderly wiped the tears from his eyes, just like he had done time and time again for her, "It's okay, Namjoon. It's only because of all of you that I can grow. If it wasn't for you, and only you, I would still be wasting away at that orphanage." She gently pressed a kiss against his cheek, "You saved me when I had given up on the rest of the world, given up on love. Thank you, Namjoon. For everything."

"Of course, my sweet lily," He said softly, "And hey, you saved yourself. You chose to accept my love. I can't take the credit for that." Namjoon smiled, "Nari, baby girl, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I mean it."

"Alright, you're done." Hyun spoke up and stepped back from the older boy's arm, "What do you think?"

A simple black and white oval shaped leaf stood out on Namjoon's inner bicep. It wasn't big, definitely less than 10 centimeters long, but Nari loved it more than anything. The edges of the leaf curled delicately and she could see the number nine hidden in the stem.

"It's perfect," Namjoon answered, "Thank you so much, Hyun."

"Of course, anytime," The man cheerfully replied and wrapped the tattoo with a clear bandage after applying some ointment, "Remove this after 2 hours and rinse your tattoo a couple times a day for the next few weeks. If you have any trouble, ask Jungkook. I'm sure he'd be willing to help you." Hyun turned to the girl and smiled, "And for you, miss Nari, I'll save the design. I have a feeling that the next time I see you here, you'll be needing it."

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"God, you guys took forever," Jimin complained as they took their coats off at the door, "Namjoon, I thought your parents were only like 20 minutes away? Was traffic bad or something?" His eye caught the shiny plastic on the boy's arm, "Dude. Did you get a tattoo?"

Namjoon sheepishly held up his arm, "Surprise."

"Yo, that's cool as fuck!" Jimin exclaimed and shot up from the couch, "Tae! Hobi! Get over here! Joon got a tattoo!"

Before he had time to scold Jimin for swearing, Namjoon was surrounded by his bandmates. "Do not touch it!" He slapped away Jungkook's curious hand, "I just got it like an hour ago, it still hurts!"

"Well yeah, no shit," The youngest boy retorted, "You got it on your inner arm, one of the most painful places to get a tattoo. Couldn't you have started with your wrist or calf or something?" His eyes widened as he caught sight of the girl, "Wait, did Nari get her ears pierced too?"

She blushed as all of the boy's attention turned to her. J-Hope gently touched the jewelry in her earlobes, "Aw, you look so good Nari-bun!"

"Thank you," Nari smiled, "When are you going to get your ears pierced, Hobi?"

"I would literally rather die," He replied instantly, "Hobi and needles don't really, um, get along."

Taehyung elbowed him, "You're such a coward. Now you're the only person in the whole house without piercings."

As the boys playfully argued, Nari slipped up the stairs and into her room. The girl sighed and collapsed on the familiar mattress. It felt good to be home. She slid off of the bed and went over to Sonia's cage in the corner of the room and smiled widely to see that the small animal was just as adorable as before.

"You look great, lovely," She looked up to see Suga smiling and leaning against the doorframe, "I can't believe Namjoon got a tattoo for you. That's pretty cool."

Nari nodded as she petted Sonia, "It is. He cried and said it hurt though, that made me feel kinda bad."

"Nah, it's fine," He kneeled down next to her and brushed his fingers against the rabbit's soft fur, "He cries way more than you think he does. We all do, honestly." Suga stood up and beckoned for the girl to accompany him, "Come on, let's go."

Nari followed him back downstairs and grabbed a tub of ice cream and a couple spoons from the freezer before settling down on the couch next to Jin. He greeted her warmly, resting his arm around her shoulders, "Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

"Really good." She smiled and offered him a spoon, which he gladly took.

Jin dug out a big chunk of ice cream, "Hell yeah, cookie dough. You're the best."

"Dude! Gimmie!" Taehyung squeezed inbetween the boy and the container of ice cream with a spoon of his own, "This is mine! I bought it and I don't want your weird Jin germs all over it." He turned to Nari with a bright smile, "Princess, you can have as much as you want. You deserve it."

The oldest boy rolled his eyes, "This is why you're the worst influence. So stingy." He picked up the remote and scrolled through Netflix, "I get to choose the movie then."

Before long, all seven boys gathered in the living room with various frozen treats. Nari cuddled into Taehyung's chest. Like always, his steady heartbeat and rhythmic breathing calmed her mind.

Nari's phone buzzed from in the pocket of her hoodie. She unlocked the screen to see a new twitter DM from Iris.

i hope you made it home safely. miss you already 💕

"Who's that?" Taehyung asked, noticing the gentle blush spreading across the girl's cheeks.

"It's nothing," She quickly shoved her phone back into her pocket and turned her attention to the screen, "Just Iris. That's all."

"Just Iris, huh?" The boy couldn't help but tease her between spoonfuls of slightly melty ice cream, "How was that Pocky, by the way?"

Nari's face turned an ever deeper shade of red, remembering the sensation of their soft lips on her own. How did he know? She and Iris were all alone.

Taehyung laughed with a playful wink, "Big brothers always know, my dear Nari," He placed a kiss on the top of her head, "Don't worry, I won't say anything. It's not my story to tell. I love you lots and lots and that'll never change. No matter what."

"I love you too, Tae," The girl breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed into his loving embrace, "You really are my knight."

"Of course. Forever and always, princess."

Nari smiled and looked to the room around her. Everyone was exactly where they should be, not a spot out of place. All of this because of a leaf and a wish, She pondered, I wonder where I would be without that leaf. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. This is where I belong and this is where I'm going to stay.

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so here's the last official chapter of the fic! i have an epilogue and maybe an afterword too so don't worry it's not OVER over quite yet.

have a great day guys! i luv yall!