Namjoon leaves you his card, saying he'll contact you again once he finds new leads. While you add his number to your phonebook, V quickly throws together a couple of sandwiches, which will serve as your dinner.

You and V eat together wordlessly, both ruminating. While V seems completely lost in his thoughts, you keep sneaking glances at him, wondering what it is that's running through his head, how he's feeling about everything that Namjoon had just revealed.

Suddenly, V sighs and places his half-eaten sandwich down on the plate.

"Okay, out with it," he says, crossing his arms.

"Uhm..." you blink a couple of times, feeling a bit lost, "out with what?"

"You're obviously dying to ask something," V rolls his eyes, "so ask."

'Am I really so obvious all the time, or is V just able to read me so well?'

"I'm just wondering how you're taking all this," you say, "It's... quite a lot."

V shrugs, picking his sandwich back up.

"Nothing that agent said really surprised me. There are a lot of terrible people out there," he waves his sandwich in the general direction of, presumably, other people, "capable of incredible cruelty and violence." He takes a bite.

"Oh," is all you manage to say in response.

Your face must look absolutely crestfallen, since V adds, "Not to say there aren't good people too, like you and Taehyung's friends."

"No, it's okay, I understand," you say, waving your hand, "You're right. All of that... It shouldn't have happened in the first place. It's unforgiveable!"

"And yet it did," V says matter-of-factly, "And now, we're left to deal with the consequences."

"But it's not right!" you cry, unable to control the well of your emotions, "It's not fair!"

V smirks, but it's bitter rather than cocky.

"What? Do you still think the world is fair?"

You flush with anger, ready to strike back.

"I---"

But words escape you, once again.

"I'm sorry," V says, not sounding sorry at all, "but this is our reality. We just make the most out of the cards we've been dealt. We just need to do our best for Taehyung."

"And for you."

This visibly takes V by surprise, and you feel some satisfaction at being the one to take him off guard for a change.

"You're always talking about how you need to protect Taehyung," you say earnestly, "but V, what about you? Who's going to protect you?"

V scowls.

"I can protect myself!"

You sigh, deciding not to dignify his stubborn insistence with any response. You stand up and start clearing up the dishes, and V wordlessly helps you. After loading them into the dishwasher, you turn to go, but V grabs your wrist. You turn back and watch as V seems to struggle within himself to come to a decision.

Then, he finally asks, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"V, what are you talking about? You literally live here," you tell him, wondering why you need to state the obvious, if he's experiencing a temporary bout of amnesia... or insanity. "You don't need to ask for my permission to---"

V's pointed stare makes you realize that you are the one missing the point here.

"O-oh, you mean..." you trail off, not feeling brave enough to voice the thought. V simply nods.

You close your eyes and take a deep, shaky breath, in an attempt to calm your suddenly racing heart. Then, you look up at V... and you're struck by the raw vulnerability in his eyes.

It strikes you then that it's not just Taehyung having a hard time going through all this. Of course.

'Perhaps, V also needs me just as much as Taehyung does.'

Your hearts softens so much that, if you were to look down at that very moment and see it puddled around your feet, you wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

"Yeah, of course," you tell V in the gentlest tone of voice you could muster, "you can stay with me tonight."

He breathes out as if he had been holding his breath waiting for your answer. That he even thought you would refuse him this stings a little.

"Great. Thanks," he says, overly casual, "It's not even like I'm going to sleep," he scratches his nose, "I just want to be there, you know?"

"Yeap, I know."

"In return, I'll sing you to sleep again," he adds gruffly, "You like that, right?"

"I don't really need anything in exchange but," you smile at him fondly, "yes, I would love that."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You and V get ready for bed, brushing your teeth together, which feels so 'domestic' somehow.

You crawl into bed, and V settles himself by your feet. Warmth radiates from his body, and you wonder if all Hybrids are naturally warmer than average. The warmth calls to you, and you feel the urge to scoot closer to V, to better bask in this warmth... You sit up.

"Is something wrong, little one?" V asks.

"Uhm, no. I just..." You fidget. "Can I... That is, if it's okay---"

Without another word, V pats the space beside him. Gratefully, you shuffle towards him, dragging your blanket with you. You lay down next to him, curled up like a cat, the top of your head just barely brushing the outer part of his left thigh. You feel him lay a hand on top of the blanket you had pulled over you, right around where your shoulder is. Even through multiple layers of fabric, you feel the heat of his palm.

'He's warm. So, so, so, so warm.'

V's dulcet tones start filling the room.

~ "In this moment, I see you. It always comes around as I believed." ~

His voice settles on you like a weighted blanket, making your limbs feel heavier.

~ "When the rain stops, you shine on me. Your light's the only thing that keeps the cold out." ~

It becomes harder and harder to keep your eyes open.

~ "So I'll tell you a million tiny things that you have never known. It all gets tangled up inside." ~

Slowly, you sink down... down to the Dreaming.

~ "And I'll tell you a million little reasons I'm falling for your eyes. I just want to be where you are." ~

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Come morning, you're greeted by the sight of souffle, fresh fruits, and what appears to be steaming mugs of hot chocolate... served with a side of V.

"Dig in!' he says, waving a hand over the breakfast spread with a flourish.

The souffle shudders as you poke it with your fork. You take a chunk of it with some of the fruits, then sip a little of the thick hot chocolate.

'The combination is heavenly!'

"So, I was thinking..." V says while you feast on the breakfast he prepared, "How about I pick you up after work today, then we go see the sunset at that bridge you and Taehyung's friends went to?"

"Huh?" you say through a mouthful of souffle, "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

V lifts his shoulders in one of his languid shrugs.

"Just making the most out of my time with you." He looks away. "I'm greedy." Then, he turns back to you, staring at you with what seems like defiance in his gaze. "Besides, don't you think we could both use a break? Take our mind off things?"

You huff, considering what V is saying. Somehow, it feels wrong to have a night out when you still don't know what's been happening to Taehyung. But at the same time, V has a point. Saying you've had an eventful week is understating it.

'It's tempting...'

You look at V and let yourself be persuaded both by his very valid point, and by his very beautiful face.

"You're right, it would be nice to unwind for a bit."

A giant smile breaks across V's face, and once again you glimpse a tiny bit of Taehyung shining through.

"It's a date, then!" he proclaims heartily.

'A... date???'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You immediately spot V waiting at the lobby of your office building.

Unfortunately, so does pretty much everyone else. Yet another installment in the saga of V attracting everyone's rapt attention.

Once more, you feel the need to keep him away from all these admiring gazes. You stride quickly towards the exit, motioning for V to follow.

"Let's go!"

V does follow, but his long, relaxed strides are far too slow for your liking, and you gesture at him to pick up the pace.

"Well someone's in a hurry," he comments drily. Once you're outside, he tips your chin up and stares into your eyes, one side of his mouth quirked in amusement. "You have nothing to worry about. I only have eyes for you."

You push his hand away.

"Don't be so full of yourself!" you snap, "I'm just worried we'll miss the sunset!"

Face red, you whirl around and walk away.

Whistling a jaunty tune, V follows close behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had just turned dusk by the time you get to the bridge. The sky stretches before you, a canvass streaked with shades pink and purple, and you can't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Are sunsets always this pretty?"

V smiles down at you, and you can see mischief dancing in those amber eyes. In the warm glow of the setting sun, they look like molten gold.

"They're always pretty," he answers simply, "but today's sunset is made even prettier by your presence."

"That doesn't make sense!" you retort, flustered, "My presence doesn't affect the color of the sky during sunset!"

"No, but it affects me."

You sputter, and V laughs. Huffing, you walk to the railing and lean your elbows against it, looking out at the reflection of the sky on the water down below. V joins you.

"I guess people nowadays are so busy going through their daily lives," he says, "that they forget how they're constantly surrounded by so much beauty, all they have to do is look."

You turn your gaze up at the sky, the color now gradating from a deep indigo to pastel pink. Then, you look at V, wearing a serene expression, the likes of which you've never seen on him. You can't decide which sight is more breathtaking. You feel the intense desire to capture this moment and stow it away in the secret place inside your heart you reserve for your most precious memories.

After the sun has set fully, you and V start heading back towards Main Street.

The first time you feel V's hand graze yours, you dismiss it as accidental. But then, you feel his (long, lovely, perfect) fingers slide against your wrist, glide down towards your palm... and you realize his intention.

So you slide your hand up to meet him halfway.

Your fingers meet, then intertwine, like it's the most natural thing to do. Like breathing. You marvel at this feeling of... wholeness. Of completion. Like you've finally found the missing pieces of your being and slotted them into place.

You and V walk along the bridge like that, fingers interlaced, linked hands swaying slightly with the cadence of your steps. Pretending, just for this short moment, that this is okay.

Pretending that this simple, innocent act isn't something society would shun you for.

Just as you're about to turn left, heading back to Main Street, V suddenly pulls you right.

"There's something I want to show you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You walk into the dark, empty room with hesitation.

"What is this place?" you ask, looking at the floor-length mirrors lining one wall, then at the glass doors opening to a balcony that overlooks the city. Moonlight filters in through the glass, lighting the room up with a cold blue glow.

"It's an old dance studio," V says, coming up beside you, "Jimin took Taehyung here once."

"Jimin?" you ask, surprised, "As in, Jiminie? Taehyung's bestfriend Jiminie?"

"Jungkook would take offense at you calling Jimin Taehyung's best friend," V chides jokingly, "but yes, that Jimin." He waves a hand at the mirrors you noticed. "He's an aspiring dancer."

With a start, you realize that you're in an abandoned dance studio.

'So that's what all the mirrors are for.'

"Jimin juggles working at the rice cake shop and training for admission to Neo-Seoul's top contemporary dance college," V expounds.

"Wow, that's amazing!" you exclaim, genuinely impressed, "I would love to see Jimin dance one day! I'm sure he's awesome!"

V smiles at you fondly, like you're the most precious thing he's ever beheld. You have to avert your eyes, overwhelmed by the intensity of that gaze. The silence is making it worse somehow, making the tension thicker, so you decide to fill it with something, anything.

"Wh---" you clear your throat, "Why did you take me here, though?"

V prowls around the room, in that unhurried manner you still find slightly unsettling. Like a predator so sure in its prey's inability to escape, that it takes its sweet time before striking.

"When I was still living in the orphanage," V says, "I would escape here sometimes. It became kind of like my safe haven." He stops walking and fixes his full attention on you once more. "Here, I feel insulated from the world."

"So it's... like your special place?"

V nods.

Suddenly, you want to cry.

"Thank you," you manage to choke out through the lump in your throat, "f-for bringing me here. Thank you."

Wordlessly, V takes out his phone. A few taps later, music starts wafting out from its speaker. V extends his hand out towards you.

"Shall we dance?"

Your breath hitches in your throat.

"Wh-what? Here?"

"There's no one watching," V states, "We have this place to ourselves."

Your eyes widen. V is right. This dark, abandoned room... being here feels like being in your own little world.

'Our microcosmos.'

You extend your hand out to V, and you see that it's trembling. V takes it, engulfing it within his own, and draws you closer... until your bodies are almost flush against one another.

This close, you have to crane your neck to stare up into V's face, and you see that he is looking intently down into yours, a slight smile playing on his lips, eyes twinkling. This close, the cold moonlight playing on his features that are the perfect combination of soft and sharp, he is more breath-takingly handsome than ever.

~ "Stay with me 'til the end of the day..." ~

There are times when you wonder if V/Taehyung is a dream, conjured from your heart's deepest desires... desires so deep you weren't even aware of them.

But this... This right here is proof that he is truly, achingly real. Here, just beneath your palms, blood and bone and sinew. Here, pressed against your ribcage, a living being, heart-beating, warmth-emitting, blood-rushing, oxygen-consuming.

~ "Maybe we could be slow dancing until the morning..." ~

V wraps his free arm around your waist and starts moving you both to the beat of the music.

~ "We could be romancing the night away..." ~

You spin and glide and twirl and slide until your surroundings blur and fade. Until all that's left are glowing eyes and soft lips, the flutter of lashes and whispers of breath, the tap-tap-tap of feet and the thump-thump-thump of hearts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's strange. You're both silent all the way home.

But it's not an awkward kind of silence. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's the companionable silence of two people who have lived decades of life together, who know each other intimately, down to the most secret parts of their soul.

"Home sweet home," V says the moment you set foot inside your apartment.

"Yup," you say, locking the door behind you.

You and V stand there for a while, just looking at one another, an indefinable something hanging in the air between you.

"Thank you," V finally says, breaking the silence, "for everything."

You notice something odd about the way he says it, a strangeness in his tone.

"Uhm, it's a pleasure, as always," you respond, still nonplussed, "Thank you for everything too."

"Goodnight, little one."

Even V's goodnight feels so tender it makes your heart ache.

"Goodnight, V."

Even as you turn and walk to your room, you feel V's eyes on you.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You lay in bed, reliving the events of the day.

You and V just had the loveliest night together... so you wonder why you have this strange feeling in your chest.

'Why did tonight... oddly feel like a goodbye?'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: I just wanted to share an edit made by one of my readers with some scenes from My Hybrid's Duality, inspired by this chapter in particular. Thank you, Saxxy!

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