A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

24. The Woman, the Myth, the Legend

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mara pursed her lips, eyeing Jimin fearfully. He sat across from her, Jin standing beside them and watching their interaction with a raised brow. They had retreated back into the infirmary to avoid waking everyone up with Mara's antics—she still wasn't all too convinced.

"She still thinks you're a ghost-" Jin explained.

"I think I've lost my marbles," Mara mumbled.

"I'm real, look touch me—"

Mara reached out to poke Jimin, poking and prodding a few times, and even pinching the skin of his forearm. He flinched and rubbed his arm with a pout.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

Mara gulped, "You're really here..."

Mara stared at Jimin in disbelief, a whirlwind of emotions behind her glass eyes.  On the outside the ambience was silent and motionless, yet inside her mind there was a cacophony of joy and devastation. Joy for life and new beginnings, devastation for the loss of time and company—for the harsh reality to come.

There was a newfound dullness—a certain opaqueness—to Jimin's eyes. His gaze switched between each of her eyes in deep thought. Though he seemed to have grown quiet after Mara's discovery, he sighed in relief at her well-being.

"You are, too," he slowly smiled, eyes crinkling and beginning to fill with a warmth that Mara lacked. She didn't quite think she would be seeing his face again.

Jimin huffed when Mara's body collided with his, embedded with a roughness that spoke of desperation. Mara nuzzled into Jimin, eyes squeezed shut as she felt how cozy he was on such a cold night. Jimin held onto her delicately, restraining himself from holding too tight in the fear of hurting her. Her thinner frame had caught his attention the first time he saw her, right after her gaunt features. He refrained from mentioning it, assuming that Mara was well aware and wouldn't quite like being reminded.

Jimin's smile was gentle, and he remained composed as Mara cried on his shoulder.

The fear that had pervaded every corner of Mara's thoughts had dissipated, dulled into a serene quietude in which Mara and Jimin whispered animatedly back and forth. They spilled their thoughts, their memories and filled each other in on the events unfurled at the absence of the other. It was a short moment of disbelief in which Mara stared wide-eyed at Jimin, who was slightly amused but also holding a tad bit of hurt in his warm brown eyes.

Jin didn't spend too long in the infirmary with the pair, opting to give them space and retreat to his room (it totally wasn't because he only wanted to go back to sleep). He bid a tired goodnight and reminded Jimin he had nightwatch duties he could not ignore.

Though there were several questions to be asked of the day in which things had gone awry, both decided it was best to avoid that topic for the time being. There was guilt and resentment, abandonment and loneliness—a very toxic concoction. However, Mara was simply glad that she was definitely in safe hands now. Not that she doubted Jin, but she somehow feared that things would flip upside down again, and chaos would ensue for the umpteenth time.

Jimin's smile was warm when he spoke to Mara, and there was no better sense of comfort than knowing he was alive and in one piece (as opposed to being torn apart by brutes). He was healthy and safe with the people he loved most and that was all that really mattered to her. The past was a flurry of unfortunate events, but Mara believed it was worth it in the end. All she had to do was push through the moments in which giving up seemed like a far better option—because staying was worth it, right? Things could only get better once you hit rock bottom, and the only way to go was up...or something.