There was something about this forest that made Yoongi feel uneasy. He'd always been the one to scold others for their irrational fear of a nonexistent beast lurking through the shadows, or small existing ones on the ground somewhere. But this forest; it felt different somehow. It was thicker. He never saw anything move, which means it happened when he wasn't looking. It was darker. The fear of the place angered him, and he'd always believed that to rid yourself of fear, you have to surround yourself in whatever it is you're afraid of.

And so there he was.

He had been wandering there for a while, and his apprehension was beginning to fade a bit. He felt slightly more confident with every step. This wasn't so bad. At least that's what he had been telling himself until he saw a dark, human figure standing very still a hundred-some feet away. He froze. He'd been so sure he was the only one out here. He's the only one who'd dare to go so far into this forest.

He stared at the figure for a long, long time. There was no way that the other person could have noticed him, and yet for the several long minutes he watched them, they moved not. Eventually, he shook his hesitance away, and decided to approach them. He was brave enough for this. He wasn't afraid of what could happen.

With every step, he became more confused. He was positive he was in their view now, but still not even a small bit of movement. He furrowed his eyebrows, incredulous at the stillness. However, when he got close enough, he sighed deeply, shaking his head.

It was a statue. He hit himself in the head lightly. How could he have been so stupid? And yet, moments later, with a subtle, uncharacteristic curiosity bubbling in his mind, he trotted up to it.

The statue was of a handsome young man, smiling so his eyes were pressed into joyful little crescents. Yoongi stared for a few moments before he realized that he'd seen this young man before. He'd imagined him. His mind had created him; he was the one that the short, blonde man could only dream of being with.

So how was he here, carved in stone?

It made his heartbeat pick up, and carried his legs to stand directly in front of the statue. When he was up close, he could see writing inscribed on the statue's cheek.

Kiss me on the mouth and set me free.
But please don't bite.

He looked into the cheerful eyes of the statue, entranced. "Kiss me on the mouth and set me free." What did that mean? He cursed the superstition that boiled in his blood, but he needed to know. He needed to understand why this man he'd dreamed of was carved into stone, and this seemed like it held the answer.

He leaned forward, heart fluttering and eyes shutting, and pressed a tentative, soft kiss to the cold, solid lips of the statue. Suddenly, he felt the unpleasant roughness of the stone soften, and the lips against his were warm. His eyes flew open, and he found himself staring into the face of a real, living man, eyes shut in a sensation that looked like it could be a mixture of relief and passion.

He jumped back, startled. The man gave him a small, serene smile, not moving from his spot. Yoongi just stared at him for a while, wide eyed. The writing carved into his cheek remained, but now the words created a deep red affliction.

"Hello," the young man offered, smile widening a little in an attempt to comfort the other man. Yoongi reached up, running his fingers gently across the soft skin of the man's other, unharmed cheek. "You're real," he whispered, fascination and wonder sparking in his dark brown eyes. The man nodded, pressing his forehead to Yoongi's. "I'm real."

Yoongi ran his fingers through his soft hair in pleasant disbelief, leaning even closer to his face. He was truly everything that Yoongi had dreamed he'd be. That's what frightened him. "How?" he breathed.

"You don't want to find out," the man replied in a chilling whisper against his lips. Yoongi didn't like the sound of that, but his deep desire for this being pushed the doubt away, and he stole another short kiss. "Come with me, Jimin," he urged him, knowing that if this man was the one in his dreams, he would have the name he'd given him. He found one of Jimin's small hands and slipped it into his own. But younger shook his head.

"I can't. I'm trapped here," he told him sadly. Yoongi backed away slightly, numb shock creeping into his expression. "Trapped?" he repeated, voice low, cautious. Jimin nodded, eyes disappointed.

But Yoongi wasn't having it. He took the fragile little hand he was holding and pulled the man attached to it to follow him. Jimin stumbled forward, choking out, "Wait!" There was a spot between two trees where that little hand refused to move forward, like it had hit solid stone, slipping out of Yoongi's own and making his feet falter.

He turned around to see Jimin pressed up like a prisoner against thin air as if it were glass. "I'm trapped. I told you," he whimpered helplessly, looking at the ground. "I would come with you if I could," he added.

Yoongi stepped back into the area in which Jimin was bound. "What do I do?" he asked, searching his mind for any rational answer. Every sense in the air felt like it was attacking him right now, and he wasn't sure what was real. Was this truly happening?

"You can come back and see me. I'll always be here," Jimin told him gently. Yoongi squeezed his eyes shut in painful acceptance. "Okay," he replied after a while. He turned around. "Can I have one thing before I leave?"

Jimin widened his eyes slightly in expectation, waiting for the request. Yoongi walked up to him, tangling their fingers together again. "Can I dance with you?" He didn't know where the request came from himself, but he didn't take it back. Jimin smiled shyly. "I don't dance well."

Yoongi shook his head, smiling back. "That's okay," he murmured while situating their hands in the correct places. He began to move them both, slowly, Jimin stepping with embarrassed inexperience. Eventually, Yoongi stepped back to twirl him, a grin fixed on his usually frowning lips. Jimin giggled while spinning around slowly, clumsily. When he returned into their position, the joyful air between them blooming, Yoongi's expression turned gloomy. "I should probably go," he told him, reluctantly separating their hands.

"It's okay," Jimin responded honestly. "I'll be here when you return." Yoongi nodded at that, knowing that he would definitely return, before moving away completely. "Goodbye for now," he offered as he backed out of the circle of land Jimin was trapped inside. "Goodbye," Jimin returned the gesture, before Yoongi watched him turn slowly back to stone.

*****

It wasn't long before Yoongi was back in that forest, but this time, it wasn't to tame his fear. He walked, more quickly than before, to the spot in the forest that was already ingrained in his mind. Sure enough, his beloved statue was there, waiting for him. This time he had no hesitation in coming up and placing a kiss on the stone lips.

The inanimate material softened once again, into warmth and life, only now, he didn't back away when he felt the change beneath his skin. He continued to kiss the now living figure, and to his delight, he was being kissed back. He smiled into it, his hands gliding up onto Jimin's back to press them closer, if possible.

Eventually, they broke apart to smile into each other's eyes. "Hello," Jimin greeted cheerfully. "Hi," Yoongi chirped back. They just stared at each other for a while, soaking in every aspect of their faces; eyes, nose, lips, hair, skin. It once again struck Yoongi just how in accord he was in every way with the one Yoongi dreamed of. He wasn't afraid now, though. He felt only adoration.

He opened his mouth, beginning to speak to Jimin about everything and nothing. Jimin joined in and they eventually sat down on the leaf covered ground, talking about happy things, sad things. Things that could make anyone smile or sigh, laugh or tear up. The words they exchanged almost completely filtered out Yoongi's thought of time, until he noticed where the faint sun hung through the trees. He stopped in the middle of his sentence. "It's late," he mumbled, staring at the way the sun was beginning to turn orange. Jimin nodded his head in understanding, and was preparing to say goodbye, but when Yoongi turned to face him, there was a strange determination burning on his face. "I want to stay here," he stated, rooted to his spot. Pleasant surprise filled his pupils, and he smiled slightly. "But won't you get cold sleeping out here?" he murmured, quietly enough so that momentarily he feared his words had blown away in the wind.

However, Yoongi shook his head. "Not if you're sleeping next to me," he gushed, affection overflowing in his voice, and it hurt the statue boy. He was so loved, but he knew how this would end. Regretfully, he loved back, but he knew how this would end. He knew how it had to end.

He lowered himself back on the ground, and Yoongi did the same. Soon enough, the older had his arms around him, and he tried not to let the guilt seep into his smile. He really did care about the man next to him, but there was nothing he could do. It grew dark, and the moon was barely able to glow through the trees, but he knew that the smile filled with so much happiness was still fixed onto Yoongi's face. He wanted to cry, but he was silent, still, and pretended to be as happy as the other.

He knew how this would end.

"Good night," Yoongi whispered sleepily after a while. "Good night," Jimin offered back, and he turned gradually back into stone as Yoongi's breathing steadied, and he fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

When Yoongi awoke the next morning, he cheerfully pressed a kiss to Jimin's stone lips, and the gray faded into color, once again leaving the beautiful human with the writing etched into his cheek. Jimin gave him yet another fake smile. They both sat up, and much to groggy Yoongi's dismay, Jimin pushed himself all the way onto his feet. After a soft groan of discontentment, though, he joined him in the standing position. It was barely a few moments before he realized he wanted their lips to be together again. He stepped forward, and before Jimin could say a word, he pressed their mouths against each other.

Their lips melded perfectly together once again; after all, Jimin truly was made for him. They stayed this way, slowly, softly moving lips against lips. Soon, though, it became more passionate, and Jimin reached up to tangle his fingers in Yoongi's bright blonde hair, the elder's arms around him and pulling him in close by his lower back. Jimin's breathing became quicker, his cheeks flushed though there was a chilling wind blowing that morning. Yoongi took little pauses away from Jimin's pink, moving lips, trying to say something he didn't know how to say. Eventually, he managed to force out the younger's name.

"Yes?" Jimin whispered back, taking his own pause before continuing to kiss Yoongi like his life depended on it. It took a while, but Yoongi finally managed to pick the words he thought were right. He smiled into the kiss before pulling away for another moment. "I love you," he murmured.

And Jimin's breath caught in his throat.

He stopped moving his lips. His whole body froze. Yoongi backed away, letting go of the unmoving man. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. Jimin was now quivering, and a tear slipped out of his left eye. Yoongi's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god, did I say something wrong? I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Jimin," he rambled, reaching out to wipe the tear from Jimin's face. That was when it began.

To Yoongi's horror, human bite marks appeared over the words carved into Jimin's cheek. He winced in pain, another tear slipping from his eye. Yoongi's hand jolted away as he stumbled back in shock. "I'm sorry," Jimin choked out shakily. Blood was mixing with tears on his cheek. Yoongi stood there, frozen, watching it all unfold in front of him. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but no sound came out. A fuzziness began at the bottom of his vision. At first he thought it was his own shock affecting his senses, but then he noticed Jimin's small, slender legs deteriorating. He inhaled unsteadily. "Jimin," he breathed.

The tears continued down Jimin's face as his body crumbled into dust from his legs up. "Thank you. You've freed me," he confessed as the last of him blew into the suddenly bone-chilling, unforgiving wind. Yoongi reached out desparately, but his hand was just covered in granules of his dreams.

He felt a sudden sharp pain in his cheek, and only then did he really understand what was happening. His legs moved almost of their own accord to face him the other way. This was it. The scratching in his cheek stopped, and as his legs began to lose feeling, he ran his hand over the words he knew were there. He shut his eyes, his face contorted in a wince of defeat. He was done for. All too slowly, his body turned to stone, and was fixed into his position, hand running over those dreaded words.

Kiss me on the mouth and set me free.
But please don't bite.