The crystal dining room smelled like orange juice.
Arthur circled the table filling in each glass. Two bowls of fresh fruit sprinkled with sugar colored the silver table. Flaky Danishes resembled jelly-filled sunflowers. Fluffy eggs and a platter of meat were being passed from hand to hand. Morning filtered through the wide windows, brightening every bit of melon and berry that offered color to the display.
Grey yawned, surprised she was the first one downstairs. She and Taehyung stayed up until about 3:00am doing nothing but talking and laughing and playing around. He taught her how to cartwheel and handstand on a dewy patch of grass. He even kissed her every time she fell. They tumbled and flipped until they stopped to lay in the early morning haze and stare at the moon.
A fabulous memory; curled up in his jacket and in his arms pretending like the rain didn't exist long after it passed.
She covered her lips as Arthur gave her a brisk greeting. It felt like this smile of hers was supposed to be secret. Their evening and morning was supposed to stay between her and Taehyung. But as much as she enjoyed it, her smile couldn't reach her ears. Last night was a dream and that's all it was. She was selfish. Over-indulgent.
Impulsive.
She had given in to her emotions. Animalistic urges. But the questions remained, as true and resounding as permanent ink. If she weren't going through these bodily changes, would she have summoned him? Would she have acted that way on a normal evening? Falling into him was so easy. But maybe because it was easy... it also felt off-kilter.
The last thing she wanted to do was use him as an escape.
Arthur wiped his hands on a towel. "Ah. It seems like I've forgotten the pitcher of water." He turned on his heel and made for the side room where he'd been bustling in and out.
"I'll get it," Grey said, startling the older man. Arthur bowed politely and let her pass. Extra silverware rested on napkins along with extra plates and glasses. A pitcher of water glistened in the sunlight in the hallway alcove. Grey grabbed it and held it to her chest at the same time a figure entered the distant entrance.
Min Yoongi stared out the window as he walked. Upon hearing the ice clink against glass, his black eyes flicked in her direction. Her heart imploded, shyness blossoming through her chest as her cheeks heated. If he had seen the way she kissed Taehyung...
"Do you need help?"
The glass was beginning to slip from her hands. She readjusted her grip. "No."
His eyes narrowed, but he made no move to help her. "Are you sure?"
"I'm fine," she said, turning and beating him back to the dining room. Others had already filled in seats, smiling at Grey as she placed the pitcher on the tabletop and assumed a seat next to Amelia. Yoongi sat at the opposite end, his grimace adding storm clouds to the bright setting.
Amelia leaned over and whispered under her breath. "You didn't get home until late."
Yoongi cut his gaze at her sidelong. Grey shifted in her seat, aware of his eavesdropping.
"Let's talk about this later," Grey told Amelia. When he looked away she mouthed to her best friend. They are all listening. Amelia nodded and flashed a dazzling smile at their companions like she wasn't trying to sneak a conversation.
Taehyung marched into the dining room, taking the spot directly across from Grey. In the morning glow, his eyes were cobalt blue. He winked at her. She bit her lip, halfway out of pleasure and halfway from the amount of stares they received. She wondered what it would be like to liquify at the table, to be existing no more than the pitcher she carried. No one would scrutinize her or question her. They would act like she wasn't there. And they surely wouldn't openly assume the worst in their expressions.
Vanity's entrance thankfully eroded the tension.
The Queen's hair was a dashing auburn that lightened her brown eyes. A light sheen of gloss shaped her lips. Mascara and eyeshadow heightened the severity of her cheekbones and gaze. Combined with the pearl earrings in her ear, the makeover was shocking to say the least. The Queen of Angels was stunning before, but there was a certain softness that dashed the edge of scorned pride she dawned previously. This was not Aelith, this was Variel. A surprisingly human looking Variel.
Yoongi stood from his seat and moved to hers, pulling it out so that she could sit. Grey fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Vanity? Is that really you?" Luca hopped onto Namjoon's lap to see above the table.
The Queen giggled, brushing a piece of silky hair behind her ear. "I didn't believe it myself when I looked in the mirror this morning."
The angels chimed in compliments, the dining room overflowing with chatter and laughter. Grey used the opportunity to nudge Amelia.
"I thought you were just going to dye her hair?"
Amelia, unable to take her eyes off the Queen, scoffed. "I did! I also did her nails. The makeup and jewelry and all that? That's her doing."
"Seriously?"
"She's much savvier than she looks. Trust me."
Grey raised an eyebrow. "Now you're complimenting her? Don't tell me you two bonded."
"Thanks to your loud mouth, it happened on accident," Amelia snapped, grabbing for a plate of pastries with annoyance riddled on her lips. Grey, more bewildered than usual, took a sip of her juice.
Luca plopped a white paw onto the table. Namjoon politely ate around her. "Now that you are all awake, let us discuss what we wish to do with this Statue of Liberty nonsense."
"I think it's pretty simple," Jungkook said, tearing through a croissant, "we just need to show up and find it."
Vanity passed Amelia one of the fruit bowls with a soft grin. Amelia smiled back so sarcastically it seemed like she snatched the bowl when she only tugged it away lightly.
Jimin pushed eggs around on his plate. "It sounds simple, but Rowan wouldn't leave a piece of the sword out without a fight."
"Exactly," Luca said. "What do you all believe would be the best plan of action? Scouting the location may prove useful. There is also the option of retrieving what we are searching for during daylight."
A slice of pineapple burst in Grey's mouth. She closed her eyes and sighed, grateful for the meal. And really every free plate she received since the start of this journey. She decided to rejoin the table, surprised when she caught Jimin stifling laughter. He stared at her, his full lips pursing as he tried to remain serious. He and Grey both failed, giggling to one another.
Namjoon tossed a grape into his mouth. He quirked an eyebrow, addressing the entire group. "Has anyone thought about how easy it must be for Rowan to move these pieces? He hid them there. He has the power to hide them somewhere else."
No. No one had thought of that.
Yoongi rubbed his forehead. "We need to act fast then. Hit the targets before Solis can."
"I also advise we go at night. The riddle mentioned how the sword's pieces shone brightest at the darkest time,." Hoseok said.
"Then we'll be at a slight disadvantage," said Namjoon. "Irkans congregate at night."
"Which fits perfectly with Solis and his agenda. We could have seen this coming from miles away." Yoongi sat back in his chair. "He wants nothing more than to attack us with a swarm."
Hoseok shrugged. "Let him. During the daytime we can act as tourists. See the city and keep a low-profile. As soon as the sun goes down, we make our move."
"Then since that is settled," Namjoon said, glancing at Amelia with authority and poise, "what would you like to do?"
Anaphiel exchanged looks uneasily, shifting in their seats. Amelia paused with her teeth halfway sunken into a strawberry. Instead of putting it down, she finished her bite and swallowed, wide eyes scanning the table. She pointed at her chest. "Me?"
He concealed his grin. Grey knew by the way his dark eyes sparkled. He nodded. "What are the ladies going to do?"
"I, I uhh," Amelia stammered.
Grey interjected. "I have to be there, so, when you figure out my placement let me know."
Amelia envied Grey's certainty.
Vanity dabbed at her lips with her napkin. "I'll be your reinforcement for Rowan. If there's anyone he should be afraid of, it's me."
Grey leaned over the table to get a better look at her. "Do you have history with Solis or something?"
Vanity smiled, a gesture that explained the past and present and the ascension of a wickedly intelligent Queen. "Do I?"
Luca dragged a paw over her snout, shaking her tiny head like she held off a sneeze. "Variel and Solis have only battled once. It is a clash I still have yet to forget."
Amelia clapped Vanity on the back. "You're just full of secrets, aren't ya?"
The Queen's mischievous edge sharpened. Her happiness seemed unchanged, but the air around her... It was competitive. Alert. Far more awake than she let on. Grey accepted Amelia's cryptic warning. The Queen was one of a kind.
Vanity perked. "I am also the Fallen angel with the most power since I just assumed a human body. It should be enough to rival Solis's since he's been on Earth for so long."
"So you aren't denying that you're full of secrets?" Amelia asked under her breath.
Vanity continued, unfazed by the curious human girl. "Rowan, on the other hand, would be the most powerful of all of us if we found a way to free him from the sword."
"I do not know if that is possible," Luca said. "Rowan's aura would kill an ordinary human."
"Then the sword will just have to be enough." Vanity went back to eating her food.
Amelia took that as her cue to contribute. "I don't want to be left here all alone."
Grey chuckled. "I would kill for a night off. Be careful what you wish for."
Yoongi asked, "Do you have any experience with weapons? Attack or defensive maneuvers?"
Amelia shook her head.
"Then I think you should stay here."
The human scoffed. "Didn't see that coming."
Namjoon ran a hand down Luca's back. "She's a lot like me," he said. "No magic, but she has a brain, and I'm sure she also has survival skills."
"Everyone has survival skills," Yoongi countered. Amelia opened her mouth to protest, then let it close. It would be easy to get angry with him or say something slick. But as much as she hated the delivery, he had a point. She had yet to discover what differentiated her from the others. She wasn't the fastest runner and she didn't have powers. She obviously had talent for makeovers, but painting Rowan's nails wouldn't stop him from destroying them all. Besides being a part of collateral damage, why was she here?
Maybe she should have stayed back in Korea after all...
She said, "I'll just stay out of your guys' way. I know that I'm also a target, but I'll be old news the second Rowan finds out what you're going for."
"It's still risky," Taehyung said.
"But so is leaving her here," Luca said, hopping onto the table with a complete disregard for manners. "This townhouse does not have wards. It can be attacked at any time, and unless we propose that Amelia hide while we are gone, she ought to come so that we are all accounted for."
Hoseok crossed his arms. "I'll take care of her. We'll stay above ground while you're down there."
"Brilliant," Taehyung mused.
:::
The best way to appear as tourists was to split up. One sizable group of people drew more eyes than a few at a time, and as they decided on groups, they surprised Grey with giving her the option of roaming Manhattan by herself. The shock came not from their consensus. She knew what she'd done to earn this independence. She'd worked her ass off for it. The shock came from considering that for the first time in months, she could willingly embark on city streets without someone at her side.
She'd grown so accustomed to company or being watched. At one point, she counted on being watched, thought about what she could do to guess which angel supervised her during those hours. At the time there were so many, all mysterious and forged from different histories on earth, different perspectives. Now, she understood that even with such variance they worked as a well-oiled machine. Never too close to one another, but never too far.
Grey walked with her hands inside her coat, admiring the white puff of air that left her nose when she breathed. She strolled past other townhouses, heavy traffic, cracks in the sidewalk. She hadn't been on the east coast since she was thirteen.
The cat prowling next to her enjoyed their shared silence, soaking in every piece of the city that a cat could sink in. Now that Grey thought about it, what exactly did a cat see? Luca meowed occasionally, hopping over broken cement and fearlessly strutting by dogs on their morning walks. Grey would pick her up when they crossed the street, and put her down when they reached the other corner.
The foliage of Central Park surpassed her expectations. It extended upon the street and the middle of the city like the overgrowth of a massive forest. It seemed to be it's own separate state, welcoming and nurturing the people that casually strode over her bridges or swam through her lakes. Grey smiled at the first body of water and said to Luca, "For the hell of it you should drag me through another lake. See where we land."
Her kitten chirped. "You like to travel by lake. Who would have thought?"
"Well, I just figured this trip would be smoother. You don't have to send a bear after me. Why did you do that anyway?"
"Why did I bring the bear?" Luca asked.
"You didn't bring me anything else."
"Well, it was a special touch that was already following me from another realm. So, since it insisted on hunting me, I made it motivation for you to follow me."
Grey paused on the bridge, staring at the glass surface of the water. "That's sick, Luca."
"My humor can be quite dark." The cat sat on her hind legs and glanced through the railing at the lake's bank. "My, my. What do we have over there?"
Grey trailed her gaze to find two silhouettes squatting at the shore. In the man's hand was a bag of seeds. He would shake some of the bag's contents into the girl's hand and then focus on the cluster of birds that pecked aimlessly at the gravel road nearby. The tiny birds leapt closer hesitantly, but eventually flew over when they realized birdseed peppered the grass.
Namjoon and Amelia were feeding birds.
No wonder the girl didn't want to join Grey. And before Grey could get upset, she heard Amelia's squeal over the water, saw the way she shrunk back as a number of birds came closer. Namjoon rested his hand on the small of her back, and she calmed instantly. Even let a bird land on her hand.
"Luca," Grey said. "What do I do?"
"For them? Nothing. Nature runs it's course."
"No," said Grey, tearing her focus from the bird feeders and turning her back to the railing. "For me."
"Ah. You are a brilliant girl. You will figure it out."
"It's just so hard." She crossed her arms.
"Your path is not easy because it is yours. You have the most responsibility. If it helps, think about the person that understands your burden and even compliments it. There is no escaping your role, but with the right individual, a job may not feel like a job."
She sighed, nodding.
Luca continued. "In this matter, I am forced to stay neutral." The cat's ears perked, her tail flicking once. "I think I ought to take a walk."
"You're leaving me?" Grey frowned.
Luca smiled devilishly, feline eyes overflowing with surprise. "You ought to know by now, in this family you are never abandoned." She meowed at the other side of the bridge, turned on her paws, and trotted away. Grey found what she was walking away from.
Min Yoongi rounded the corner, obsidian eyes concentrated on the planks of the bridge. When he arrived at her side, he took a deep breath and arrested her with his grimace. In his irises were war and history, but in the tender way he beheld her was a man that hid his heart beneath piano keys.
"Can we talk?"
Grey's heart beat in her chest. "Sure."
"I don't like the way things are between us," he said. "After the cemetery, nothing has been the same."
She said, "Neither do I, but it's not entirely surprising."
"What do you mean?"
Grey ran a hand through her hair, shame blossoming through her chest even as she said it. "As soon as she arrived, things changed. It wasn't the cemetery. That was only a small part of it."
Yoongi closed his eyes, wintry air brushing over his face, anchoring him to his spot. "Vanity. She's got you this upset?"
Irritation seeped into her voice. "It's not just her."
She wasn't sure if she should say it. It felt like it would alter a course. Put them on entirely different sides of the road. But she couldn't lie. Not to him.
"You're a completely different person around her. More attentive, interactive, careful. I don't know." She ran straight ahead before she could turn back on her words. "You worship her."
"She's my Queen. I swore an oath to protect her--"
"You swore an oath to protect me too. You must have forgotten about that."
Yoongi glared daggers. "You don't need protection. You've been trained, and you like to rely on the others for comfort."
"Excuse me?" Grey blinked furiously, humorless laughter dripping from her lips.
"You have enough on your hands."
"You're right," she said, nodding in agreement, "I do. You know why? Because you're not here. You're in the Queen's lap. God forbid I disagree with your beautiful sovereign."
His voice lowered. "It's not like that. When are you going to stop acting like a child?"
A child?
Grey felt like she'd been slapped.
"You and Vanity have had disagreements, but she is the one I serve. There has never been anyone else."
There. He said it.
There has never been anyone else.
She held up a hand, willing herself to not get emotional. "I've heard enough." She sidestepped him and walked down the bridge.
He grabbed her arm. "Grey. That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
Please answer correctly. Please tell me what I need to hear.
He hesitated. His eyes flicked towards the lake, then to the treetops, then to her. "We aren't in a relationship, Grey. We're just friends, and barely that. We shouldn't even be fighting like this."
The bridge might as well have disappeared beneath her feet, because she felt submerged. Unable to hear or feel. Just cold, all around. And floating aimlessly.
"Friends."
She didn't know why she said it, but it seemed to help her resurface. She gently removed her arm from his grasp and carried on with her walk for the first time on her own in months.
:::
Grey didn't know how she landed in the middle of Times Square. After her encounter with Yoongi she just walked thoughtlessly, letting the screaming of nature and concrete stuff her ears and lungs.
Honking blared from the street. A maelstrom of advertisements colored the gray skies. Pedestrians bumped into her on the street either rambling over the phone or simply not caring about the fact that she stood there. She eventually leaned against a newspaper dispenser and and began watching folks on their daily commute.
She considered hailing a taxi or walking to the Metropolitan Museum. One of the angels would be there. Maybe she could dip into a coffee shop and surf her phone until late afternoon.
"Grey?"
She glanced at panting Jungkook, and guilt dared to tear at her insides until she swatted it away. Jungkook was not comfort. He never was. She genuinely liked him. Always had. And she wouldn't let Yoongi make her feel ashamed of talking to her friends or finding her way around this dimension.
"Hey," she said, smiling halfheartedly. "Why are you breathing so hard?"
"I've been trying to find you. You ready for a little taste of New York?" He extended a hand.
She placed hers in his. It was colder than the plummeted temperature. "I can try."
He frowned, pulling her hand closer to his side. "What's wrong?"
"I made a mistake."
He shouted over a car horn. "You want to talk about it?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "It's over now. And I should be happy I got clarity--"
His coat muffled the rest of her thoughts as he pulled her into a hug. His cold cheek nuzzled into her hair, his arms squeezed around her waist. Despite herself, she laughed, inhaling his cologne and... Christmas. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "Why do you smell like peppermint?"
"I don't know," he laughed. "Taehyung sprayed something on me before we left the house. You don't like it?"
"No, no. I do! Maybe a little too much." She sniffed again, giggling. This was not what she expected. She was supposed to be sulking, not indulging in the bodyguard. But how could she when he was so full of life? Moreover, there weren't any strings or conditions attached. She just enjoyed him.
He checked his watch then glanced at the large screens before grinning at her. "There's something I've never done that I've always wanted to do," he admitted. He glanced at his watch again. "Do you want to do it with me?"
"What is it?" She asked. "Are you late for something? You keep checking your watch."
"You have ten seconds to decide if you want to do it with me. Yes or no," he chuckled.
She nodded quickly. "Okay, fine. Yes."
"Three, two, one," he whispered aloud. At the end of his count, he pointed to one of the large screens in Time Square.
The advertisement changed to Grey. Her eyes widened. She covered her mouth.
"Is that.... is that me?"
A camera from somewhere within one of these building had found her and broadcast her across the Square. The wind had frayed her wild hair. Her face was entirely red, and shocked, and at the same time full of glee.
"Jungkook, did you do this?" she asked again.
He didn't answer, but she saw him in the screen too, watching her, marveling as though she were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. On screen, he fetched a box of chocolates from inside his coat pocket. She turned to find him holding a golden package wrapped with a scarlet bow.
Breathlessly, she asked, "Why?"
"I figured you would like it," he said, shrugging. "And it proves for the third time that I'm still good at finding you."
She playfully hit his shoulder. "Aren't we supposed to be low-profile?"
"Yeah, so?"
"The others are going to murder you."
"Let them."
Blood rushed to her cheeks as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pointed towards her face.
"Wave, Grey!"
As she basked in the moment, she remembered she wore his compass necklace today, as she did almost every day.
:::
(A/N) Patient Reader,
LITERALLY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING ON THIS UPDATE. The end of the semester is really hitting me hard guys. I have graduate exams to study for and finals to finish off this semester and I really have to double down. Hence the wacky, spaced-out schedule.
Also, who do you think is being the most irrational between Grey and Yoongi?
Either way, it's time for other ships to sail sis.
Next release: 11/15 (November 15)
I have so much love for you. Thank you TTS fam, for getting us to 15k reads. All of you never stop inspiring and motivating me. <3
With (a lot of freaking) love,
- M