With You for Christmas

pt.4

"Hyung, would you like to go on an adventure with me?"

We were walking back to the Slytherin Dorm (Taehyung wanted to grab his scarf because he felt cold) when I asked that. I studied his side profile until he turned his face towards mine. Then I was sucked into his eyes. They were endless depths of darkness, warmth in them only if you knew where to look for it.

I did.

I've seen him laughing with Jimin Hyung enough to find that touch of warmth the moment he looked into my eyes.

Head tilted, he gave me a curious look, not replying to my question.

"We can explore the Castle if you want," I said, dropping my gaze to my feet. His gaze didn't make me feel stupid for asking. If anything, I felt like I had surprised him by suggesting what I did. And he didn't answer me out of shock, it was nothing else.

"Okay."

His voice was deceptively soft. I wouldn't have heard it at all if the hallway we were walking on was deserted or if I had been even an inch further away from him. I didn't realise he even said it until he added, "Let's do that. Let's go exploring."

His voice gained momentum as he kept talking. It grew louder and mischievous, a sparkle in his eyes as he looked back at me. "In fact, how about we show each other all the secret spots we found through the Castle. Let's see how many we have found?"

I nodded my head in an instant, loving the idea.

"We can guess if it's somewhere we have already found on our own, count how many of those as well," I said, brightening up with the idea. Taehyung chuckled, brushing the hair out of his eyes. Then he shook his head, grabbed my hand and sped up.

We laughed as we all but ran back to the dorm to get his scarf and start on our adventure.

Right before we stopped in front of the barrel that was the entrance to the Slytherin common room, he stopped short and cleared his throat, properly composing himself. Wiping the smile off his lip in favour of his usual expressionless mask, he tugged at his shirt, straightening it out. He shot me a quick smile, fingers tightening around mine in a vice-like grip (out of nervousness or to keep me close, I couldn't tell).

Heads turned our way, eyes narrowing at our linked hands, girls throwing heated glares at me. Taehyung ignored them. He held his head high as he walked, as if he were unbothered by all the attention.

It was the iron grip he had on my hand that gave away the fact that their attention bothered him.

I tried my best not to wince, keeping my head down as I followed him. He kept his pace leisurely, not hurrying along. The hand that wasn't holding mine was tucked into his pocket: he looked the perfect example of unbothered.

Entering the seventh years' bedroom, he closed the door with immeasurable patience. The death grip he had on my hand didn't release until the lock of the door clicked shut and we were plunged into the darkness of the room, the silence somehow louder than a word either of us could say.

A light flickered on, followed by a sigh. I looked up to find Taehyung with his wand out, back to me as he walked over to his trunk.

My fingers tingled as blood rushed back into them. I shook them out, throwing a glance at Taehyung, who seemed to have lost all of his light the moment we stepped into the Slytherin common room.

"Hyung."

I took a hesitant step towards him, feeling like I was walking on eggshells. Humming, he looked over his shoulder at me, looking no different than normal. No smile. Straight faced.