Jungkook held her bags even though she'd told him several times not to because of his injuries. Together, they browsed a news shop for snacks and magazines while Hoseok spoke with the airline attendant behind the desk.
"I bet I can pick your favorite snack," he said with a bunny grin.
She smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I've never snacked around you."
He said, "Give me three tries."
Grey gestured to the shelves expectantly. A variety of candies, chips, and healthier alternatives dangled from spokes in the wall. He reached for a bag of Haribo gummy bears and a box of Pocky sticks. For his third pick, he grabbed a stick of Hi-Chew.
"How did I do?"
She gaped at the selections as he handed them off. "I love all three," she said.
He chuckled. "I know. Do you want anything else?"
Hoseok snapped his fingers behind them. Grey and Jungkook turned, glancing at the display of tickets in his hand. "You kids ready?"
Grey giggled, rolling her eyes. "We're kids now?"
He smiled, pinching her cheek. "You are all my ducklings while Jin is asleep. Follow Uncle Hobi."
Jungkook paid for the snacks--against her pleading--and at least let her carry that little bag. The three of them reunited with the larger group that had gotten comfortable at a sitting area near ticketing. Each angel and monarch grabbed their luggage. Amelia yanked her suitcase to her side before Namjoon could even look at it. But, as Grey expected her to walk at her side, her best friend stayed put next to the leader, giving her a small smile when their eyes met.
"Grey," Vanity whispered. Grey startled, whipping her head to the side where Vanity snuck up on her. The human girl put a hand over her heart.
"What do you need?"
The Queen opened her mouth, then faltered. Her stride remained elegant, regal even until she stepped onto the escalator next to Grey. "I-I don't know how to phrase this," she began, lowering her gaze shyly, "Would you be able to give me a makeover?"
A silk scarf covered Vanity's head. Large sunglasses hung from the collar of her shirt. The paint on her nails chipped and some of those sharp nails were broken to stubs.
The irony, Grey thought. Her name still meant pride.
"I'm not the fashionable one," Grey said, already seeing the dilemma as her eyes cut to Amelia.
Before she could backtrack, Vanity said, "She would know what to do, but I'm the last person she would help. It's really my hair that needs the most assistance." She diligently slid the scarf back. Her formerly scarlet roots were white and rose gold. Grey still couldn't get over the nails.
"It's a lot of things," the human girl corrected. "We'd need to do serious work."
Vanity sighed. "There is nothing I can do to convince your friend that it wasn't me entering her mind. Is there any chance she'll see that?"
Grey said, "No, and honestly she'll struggle with it. In her mind, Aelith's face is yours."
"But I'm not--"
"The guys know that. I know that. You're the free real estate lady. Have you ever thought of showing Amelia who she is?" Grey asked.
Vanity frowned, her cheekbones sharpening as she pouted. "No. She won't even let me come close."
"Well, for one, you're way too formal. Amelia appreciates genuine communication, not speech frosted with manners and niceties. Talking without contractions works for Nico, but when you do it it's too polite." Grey counted to two on her fingers. "Secondly, let your actions lead. When she tells you to leave her alone, listen."
"I've been trying to keep things as polite as possible, but you're telling me to release a bit of that kindness?" Vanity furrowed her brows, which had grown a bit wild without proper care.
"Amelia and I aren't about kindness. We're about honesty. You'd be wise to improve on that too."
"Grey," Vanity sighed, "fine. Since you value honesty, I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I would do it again and again if it meant getting my body back."
Grey rolled her eyes. "About time you said it."
"I am not your enemy."
"Prove it." Grey paced ahead, leaving the Queen in her wake. By the time she wriggled to the front of the group, they had reached the security checkpoint. Officers in formal uniforms faced the head of a single, tremendously long line. Person by person, the guards observed passports and boarding passes. Grey put her bag down at the end of the queue and stood on her tiptoes to check how far back she was. Amelia joined her, frowning as Hoseok strolled past the mass of humans like they weren't there.
Namjoon rushed to pick up her suitcase, using it as an opportunity to finally take charge. To both Grey and Amelia he whispered, "Come with us."
Hesitantly, the girls left their place and wandered to the side of the checkpoint where no one waited at all. The group sidestepped not only a string of people, but also the entire process of getting their ID's checked and the subsequent lanes where others removed shoes and laptops from their bags. Realizing that they were doing so, Grey tapped Jungkook on the shoulder.
"We should probably get back in line," she said.
A security guard ran towards them, his hands already motioning for them to step back. Grey halted in her tracks, grabbing on Jungkook's arm to pull him away. He didn't budge, using that superhuman strength to stay right where he was and stare at the officer.
In a dangerously low voice, Jungkook said, "Do not cause a scene. Treat us kindly and let us pass."
The officer furrowed his thin brows and prepared to protest as he began to shake his head--but, he froze and replaced his displeasure with a friendly smile. "Do you need help with your bags?"
Grey snuck closer to Jungkook, bewildered by the sudden change in demeanor.
The bodyguard smiled halfheartedly at the guard. "No, we will be on our way."
The officer stepped forward. "But you have an animal. Surely, we should check that?"
"The cat is fine. Go back to your colleagues and forget this happened, okay?"
Security guard practically skipped away. The group charged onward into the terminal.
"I forgot you guys could do that," Grey said.
Jungkook threw an arm around her shoulders. "I forget too."
Luca chirped happily from the pet bag Vanity carried. "Thank God. No one's putting me under the plane."
"Talk again and I'll put you under there myself." Taehyung purposefully kneed the pet bag.
Luca hissed. Namjoon snapped his finger. "Behave, both of you."
Grey peered over Jungkook's arm to glance at Taehyung, who locked gazes with her shamelessly as he said, "I don't like to behave."
The human girl swallowed and turned back around. He did not relent.
"We all have to be a little wild sometimes," Taehyung said. "Don't you agree, Grey?"
Amelia scrutinized the exchange, narrowing her eyes at the Beast. Grey, on the other hand, said nothing. Jungkook did, however, feel her shrug.
:::
Namjoon placed Amelia's luggage in the overhead compartment and sat in the aisle seat to form their own personal row. The first class seats were so spacious, yet being next to her was the complete opposite. Her presence alone seemed to fill up the entire lavish section with a silent strength and poise.
Amelia grew more comfortable with the leader as this little trip to the airport continued. On the way here, he answered every single one of her thousand questions. Even the ones she didn't ask. As they arrived, he mindfully directed her to the rest of the group, functioning as a cushion between her and the others. He did such a swell job at being the mediator that she even managed to look at Yoongi for more than two seconds without accidentally leering. Now, as he took his spot next to her, she glanced out of her window. Though it shouldn't have, her heart skipped a beat.
Surely, that soft skipping that persisted in her chest was justified. He was handsome, funny, clever. He was also an alien. Or an angel--whatever, she was still going to call him an alien. It was weird sitting next to aliens. It was even weirder that no man had the confidence to approach her the way the extraterrestrial did.
"You're hogging my armrest," Namjoon said.
Her first instinct was to laugh, but she bit it back and swallowed it down. "It's not too late to change seats, right?"
Namjoon flicked his gaze across the plane to where Jungkook and Grey sat together. Her head rested on the bodyguard's shoulder, and from the small white wires entangled by their ears, Namjoon deduced that they were probably watching a funny video on his phone. Their chuckles reached a few seats beyond theirs. Hoseok watched the pair like a proud father. Taehyung and Jimin snuck peeks. Namjoon caught Yoongi secretly turning up his music.
"Grey seems a bit preoccupied right now," The leader said. "Unless you'd ask Jungkook to move."
Amelia blurted, "You'd love that." She didn't realize the implication of her statement until the words hung in the air like dirty laundry.
"I'm fine right where I am," he said evenly.
Interesting, Amelia thought. She poked at his brain with hundreds of questions pertaining to the supernatural, what she missed while she was unexposed to this secret, even his taste in music. Not once had she asked about him and Grey. Maybe she should have? Grey had been in that penthouse with these guys for a long time. She probably laid claim on them at least once... and if that were true then...
"If you want to have that conversation, let me know," he said. "Do you?"
"I wasn't thinking about that," she countered. "That's not what I meant."
"What are you planning to do on this flight?"
She pursed her lips. "Sleep. Try to adjust to the time change."
"Wrong answer."
She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You should have known better than to sit here if you wanted sleep," he said, fishing his bag from under the seat in front of him. "I have crosswords, I have sudoku, I have mad libs. We can play some multiplayer stuff on my phone."
Amelia scoffed, running hands over her face. "You're kidding. I knew you were a bookworm, but come on. This flight is like 14 hours!"
He pulled out his favorite crossword book and put it on his lap. "You're going to do great at this."
"Who said I was going to be great? I'm not even playing!"
"Give me a 9-letter word meaning 'ability to sway the will of another.'"
"Influence, duh."
Namjoon's dimples couldn't let her catch a break when he smiled. She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her grin. Still, she reclined her seat and turned on her side, the opposite way from his light and his books and his brain.
Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep--aww damnit.
She bolted upright, peering down at the book. "What's the next word?"
:::
Time flew within dreams.
Grey's eyes fluttered open to an onslaught of amber sunlight as dusk streamed through her window. The seatbelt sign shone. Flight attendants sashayed down the aisle with trash bags. Jungkook, already awake, tried not to disturb her. Her head was still on his shoulder and he needed to throw all her candy wrappers away. She sniffled and yawned, stretching her arms.
His cold thumb ran across her cheek. She no longer jumped at his temperature. "My jacket made a mark on your face," he said, laughing.
She blinked sleep from her eyes, allowing him to move curls out of her face. "Are we there?"
"We just landed. Are you hungry?"
Amelia's cackling surprised them both. A few rows back and to the side, she covered her mouth to keep quiet and failed miserably. "Jimin eats underwear, Taehyung gets slapped by a duck, and Yoongi gets eaten by my great-aunt bear at Grey's wedding?! WHAT?"
Namjoon shushed her amidst a fit of laughter. It was already too late. The entire first class cabin--all of Anaphiel--were paying attention.
"I don't eat underwear," Jimin said, grimacing.
"No," Amelia said breathlessly, "We know. We played Mad Libs earlier."
Taehyung asked expectantly, "Can I slap the duck back?"
Yoongi smacked his lips together like he'd just woken from a nap. He untied his seatbelt and shimmied out of his row. "Namjoon, you can't write anything about anyone else. You lost your passport fifty years ago and still haven't ordered a new one."
Amelia giggled from her heart. Namjoon said, "I would rather have jams than a passport."
Jimin glared at him sidelong.
Jungkook nudged Grey, returning her to their conversation. "We can get dinner anywhere you want after you get settled in. I know this place near Central Park, it serves the best brunch I've ever had."
She undid her seatbelt. "You've been here?"
Now that she thought about it, it sounded dumb. He didn't judge her for it. "I lived here for a while."
"It's 7:30pm though, there's no such thing as brunch."
"All I have to do is talk to a chef, Grey." He winked. She laughed, not quite sure with how to deal with this special treatment.
Deplaning was easy since they were first to come off. Together, they made their way through JFK airport. Vanity helped Namjoon pass through Customs since he lacked proper identification. And besides that misstep, they made their way towards the street.
Hoseok politely excused himself and put himself in between the bodyguard and Grey. The Raven pat Jungkook on the shoulder. "Are the lodging arrangements prepared?"
"I called as soon as you booked the flights," Jungkook said.
"How much space are we talking?"
"7 beds, 14 baths. You can do room assignments, I really don't care."
Grey tripped over her own two feet. Hoseok kept her upright by grabbing her arm. "You alright?"
"Fine," she croaked.
:::
Blue sirens whooped down the darkening streets. Two police motorcycles led four black SUV's down the busy road, and two police motorcycles flanked the back of the entourage. There were so many taxis. So many skyscrapers. Lights flashed on mega television screens. Headlines of varying degrees flashed in ribbons at their bottoms, giving live updates on world news as that same world slowly spun on her axis. It smelled a bit like frigid air and a hint of cigarette smoke. It tasted like hot dogs and knishes and opportunity... which was a peculiar combination to Grey, but a completely normal combination to New York City, the city that stopped for no one.
They eventually arrived at a town house on E 76th Street. Vanity's voice sang through their skulls.
No one move. Give me a few seconds.
Grey immediately checked on Amelia, who closed her eyes and gripped her seatbelt until her knuckles paled.
Get out of the car.
Jungkook was first to tumble out. He surged to the foot of two French doors and rang the doorbell. While he waited, the rest of them huddled behind. At last, one of those doors gave way. An older man of at least sixty years old stuck his gray head through the crack and smiled widely. He wore a starched white dress shirt and black pants. The black bowtie around his neck almost made him look like a penguin.
Throwing the door open, he said, "Master Jungkook! It is wonderful to see you again!"
Master Jungkook?
Grey crossed the threshold, eager to escape the chill. The old man's eyes lit up as Taehyung, Jimin, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Namjoon joined him in the foyer. "My favorite ensemble! What brings you to Master's old home?"
Jimin enveloped the butler in a hug. "Business."
"Grey." Jungkook smiled shyly. "Meet Arthur, my friend."
Arthur, an aged Englishman that had more youth in his eyes than even Grey, flippantly waved the compliment away. "His trusted confidant and butler, more like," to Jungkook he said, "I always appreciate the praise."
"It's nice to meet you," Grey said. Arthur bowed slightly.
Amelia sidled next to Grey and introduced herself. The butler offered his respects and turned towards his boss. He said, "Every room has been tended to, so has the outdoor kitchen on the first terrace and the seating area on the second terrace. What would you like to have prepared for dinner?"
Jungkook looked to Grey for an answer. She shrugged and told him, "American Chinese?"
Arthur's eyes widened in curiosity. Jungkook chuckled at his reaction. "We'll have takeout, Arthur."
The butler left the room soundlessly.
"Too simple?" Grey asked.
"Perfect," Jungkook answered.
"So, since no one else wants to address the freaking police escort, I will." Amelia placed a hand on her chest dramatically. "I feel like foreign royalty!"
Jungkook began to walk upstairs. The entire group followed. He took off his sweatshirt and folded it. "The last person I rented this place to was royalty. They insisted on a police escort, and to make it look like he's staying here again, we had to do the same thing."
Grey felt more awake with each step she had to climb. "Why'd you tell us to wait, Vanity?"
"I needed to change your appearances with a quick glamour."
Amelia tugged the back of Grey's coat and hissed between her teeth. "I didn't even feel anything."
The second floor was a black and white living room. The walls were gray, but the fireplace mantel that stretched over the entire length of the wall was bone white with red flames licking over a few scorched logs. Red lamps sat on black side tables and ivory couches draped with plush throws and black pillows invited guests to sit and stare into Manhattan by the warmth of the fire. Luca sat on the fur rug and meowed.
Jungkook said, "Everyone get comfortable. Go ahead and pick your rooms."
"I will make it easy for you all," Luca chimed. "First four people to claim single rooms raise your hands."
Jimin, Jungkook, Namjoon, and Yoongi stuck their hands up first.
"All settled," Luca chirped.
Amelia guffawed. "That quick? I demand a recount."
The cat's ears twitched. "Actually, this ought to give all you ladies time to reach common ground. I believe the suite on the top floor has two beds."
Vanity and Grey nodded. Amelia held back a scowl.
:::
In their suite, Vanity excused herself to the restroom. True to Luca's word, there were two beds in the top room. Amelia sat on the edge of the one closest to the door and glowered at Grey, who was just putting her luggage in nearby drawers.
"You make me sleep with her and you won't wake up tomorrow," Amelia seethed.
Grey held a finger over her lips. "They hear through walls."
"Do they?" Amelia whipped out her phone and raised her voice. "Hey Siri, how do I kill an immortal?"
Grey slapped her forehead. "Can you stop? Just like put your hands at your sides and breathe?"
Amelia excitedly crawled onto the sheets, ruffling their perfectly straight folds. "That makes it easier for her to get into my head!"
Vanity came out of the bathroom. Grey's heart dropped. "I'm so sorry--"
Amelia gasped and covered her mouth. "Those split ends!"
Vanity blinked and then sighed heavily. "Feast your eyes on my calamity."
"What happened to you?" Amelia brought her knees to her chin, literally shrinking away from the Fallen Queen. "Your face? Your stubby nails?"
"If you could be a little less insulting it would really help." Vanity marched into the bathroom and came out seconds later with her silk scarf back on.
Grey smacked her lips. "Vanity, would you give us a moment?"
The Queen couldn't have walked from the room any faster. Amelia gawked at Grey. "What happened to the wicked witch?"
"Her cleansing happened. She's not a demon anymore, she's an angel," Grey said, noting the way Amelia's fingernails were digging into the covers. She tried to speak faster. "Before you cut me off, I need your help giving her a makeover!"
Amelia growled, "Give her a makeover? She deserves to look raggedy."
"No she doesn't, no one does. I know you have your emergency cosmetic kit. I'm sure Jungkook has some hair dye. Help her out!"
"Why can't you?"
"Amelia you work at Vogue. You breathe fashion. Please do this."
"If you leave her to me, I'm making her bald. I will shave her eyebrows off."
Grey stomped her foot, the irritation soaring through her tone. "If you want to be childish, let's be childish! You mistreat her in any way and I'm going out there and telling everyone you like Namjoon."
"Namjoon?" Amelia's face twisted. "Seriously? Are you in fifth grade?"
"Oh, please." Grey's eyes rolled all the way into her brain. "Who plays Mad Libs? You are a fifth grader. Give her a makeover and I'll preserve your tough girl act. If you don't I'm exposing you."
Amelia punched the mattress. "Fine! I don't have a crush on Namjoon! But, fine!"
"Thank you! Keep the peace!" Grey slapped her thighs in exasperation. But that stress and excitement lingered. It whirled through her brain, continuing to infuriate her until she couldn't even focus on unpacking. Rather, she needed to do more than unpack. Energy zipped through her bones, into her cheeks, her ears. The clock somehow sped up and things around her moved quicker than she could keep up with.
Not now. Any time but now.
If she didn't get help, her fist would crash through another wall.
Her "heavenly" powers called. She had no choice but to answer.
Amelia said warily, "Grey, are you alright?"
"I-I-I--," Grey stuttered. She lurched forward, pushing past her best friend to the door where Vanity waited on the other side seeming ready to knock. At the sight of her, Vanity stumbled back and let her pass. Amelia flew into the threshold, watching the other girl sprint down the hall and disappear down the staircase at the end wall.
Letting her go, Amelia slowly faced the Queen after a few seconds. It was going to take everythin she had to pull her attitude together. But, for the sake of establishing dominance in this hierarchy, Amelia decided to show a bit of teeth. "I don't know who you pray to, but you should thank them that Grey changed my mind."
Vanity's golden eyes blazed in the shadows of the corridor. Her full lips, unsullied by her less groomed features, curled into a smirk.
"Namjoon, huh?"
:::
Grey dashed up and down the halls, her heart racing faster than a hummingbird's.
She found her target in the living room. He had Jungkook in a headlock on the floor, his dark blue eyes crinkled in joy. Jimin and Hoseok watched, laughing at their own jokes. She caught her breath in the archway, slamming her hand onto a wall to get their attention. Thankfully, it did not crack.
The festivities stopped, all eyes turning to her.
"Taehyung," she breathed. Her throat was closing. It was almost like her body was upset that she chose to stop and talk rather than move. "Take a walk?"
He was up from the floor faster than she could blink, grabbing her arm and showing her down the steps. Running down them helped, and when she burst through the front doors onto the street, her shoulders shimmied from the stimulus of cold, night air wrapping about her shoulders. Unsure of where to go, she turned to look at him, catching his endearing, boxy smile. He took her hand and ran.
Together, they stormed over the sidewalk. She yelped in the fresh wind, unable to control this bliss--this ecstasy of unleashing the inner wild. He slowed only to brush a hand through her ponytail. Her hair came apart, the night sky combing through it as the free strands whipped at her back. And with her, he howled.
A clap of thunder echoed from above. She looked up, letting him guide her through the streets, trusting him with her life. Black clouds drifted into the corners of her vision, blocking the stars and preying on the full moon.
When she looked back down, she did not recognize her surroundings. Ateliers, restaurants, high-end bars passed in a blur at her sides. Like someone uncontrollable, someone not bound in chains to money or luxury or esteem, Taehyung barreled past them.
An emblem of freedom, her freedom.
His long hair fluttered back in the wind just like hers, and as she stared at him, she wondered how it was so easy to forget about the external. How could someone bring you further into the world yet deeper into yourself? How could someone have so much raw, untapped desire that it was contagious? Because his energy and hers combined rippled through New York like it could cut out the lights in Times Square.
What was she feeling?
This giddiness bubbled through her chest and stomach. It made giggles erupt from her lips. She wanted to get lost. She wanted to never return. If she could keep this forever, she would. One thousand times over. She would and would and would.
Thanks to him. Thanks to the Prince of Beasts. She wore his crown and relished the title. She was fire, wilderness, and power.
For this moment, she was his Queen.
She stopped abruptly, causing him to nearly lose balance. He whirled on her, all wild eyes and questioning.
She questioned nothing. Both of her hands hands bundled his shirt into fists. She shoved him against warehouse doors meant to close off some stupid designer boutique, and she crashed her lips onto his. He smiled through her kiss, biting her bottom lip. She purred, willing him closer even though his hands wrapped around her lower back, even though no more space remained.
"Grey," he said, pulling away momentarily. She tried to capture him again, he wouldn't let her.
"What?" She blinked furiously. He noticed that the moon reflected in her eyes.
Taehyung said, "Are you sure?"
She shook her head. "No."
She told him the absolute truth.
Because she was not certain about anything. She was unsure in everything she did when it came to Anaphiel, to her place within this dimension. She wanted to find her path. Her fit.
"No," she repeated.
So, the question was truly for Taehyung. Because if he allowed her to wear his crown, it would never feel the same on his head alone. If he took this plunge, if he kissed her again, he was really agreeing to the terms. Agreeing to be at her mercy. Agreeing to share his throne.
Agreeing to whomever she chose.
He released a shaky breath.
It could be me, he thought. He nodded slightly, causing her to tilt her head. A raindrop fell on her cute nose.
"What are you thinking about?"
He kissed the drop away, tasting the clouds on his tongue. "Nothing," he said. "I'm thinking of you."
He kissed her again and again and again as the darkness closed in. The rain fell at their feet.
The moon never disappeared from her irises.
:::
(A/N) Caring Reader,
Ya'll I am so proud of Taehyung. You can blame this entire last scene on She's In The Rain - The Rose. It got me in my feelings. It made me do this.
Also, it was a blast actually going on real-estate websites and doing "writer's research" by looking at actual NYC penthouses for inspiration. If you want to know the price of the penthouse I based Jungkook's off of, just inline comment. Let's just say it made me shake in my boots.
I actually had to shorten this ending, but I'll send out this tidbit of info now:
Upcoming chapters will be longer.
If I want to properly end the story at 60-65 chapters incorporating romance, plot, character interaction, and a major final battle, then yeah. I've gotta add to my length. To compensate, my release dates will not be as frequent. You may wait a little longer, but you'll get even more chapter (and all the tea included).
Next release: 10/31 (October 31st) ~ don't think this was done by coincidence.
Thank you for reading <3