“We’re going to die,” the voice was soft with tender realisation.

“I know.”

Tiffany wondered how Taeyeon could have been so calm and collected, especially at a moment like this. She wondered how Taeyeon’s sturdy, calloused hands didn’t tremble as she pressed them against the door. She wondered how Taeyeon’s face was blank and smooth, devoid of emotion, when they were going to die. It made Tiffany wonder if the blonde girl was even human.

But she had to be, Tiffany told herself. She wouldn’t have fallen in love otherwise.

Tiffany knew that she could have avoided this, that she could have escaped this route and go on living a normal life without having to face such circumstances. A small part of Tiffany knew that, and another knew that Taeyeon felt guilty for not being able to give her that much. It wasn’t said, but Tiffany could hear the unspoken words, the silent apology. It was in Taeyeon’s melancholy eyes, it was in the gentle caresses Taeyeon gave her, it was in the sweet, small kisses they had. It proved everything to Tiffany. A life wasn’t normal without Taeyeon in it. There was a time when Tiffany doubted this and told herself that it wouldn’t work, but she couldn’t leave, not when she was so close to finding love that she had fantasised of since young. It wasn’t perfect, no, but it was damn near. And Tiffany wasn’t going to let go of it.

“They’re going to kill us,” Tiffany said again, her eyes scouring the floor.

Truthfully, she was afraid. The foreign place they called death was a frightening one. And Tiffany wasn’t spared of that fear. Like everyone, she was afraid of death, she was afraid of the shadows lurking in every shadow. But, if she was afraid of death, she wouldn’t have fallen in love with Kim Taeyeon in the first place.

Taeyeon lived in the shadow of death, death being her constant companion. She seemed like a plague at first, but eventually, Tiffany saw Taeyeon as salvation, a salvation she had learned to love.

Taeyeon stood motionless at the door. They were surrounded and greatly outnumbered, Taeyeon knew that. Any idiot would see that it wasn’t much of a fight and let’s face reality, they were going to die. But that didn’t pain her. It pained her to hear Tiffany’s soft voice, knowing that she was the reason why they were cornered in this very room, surrounded and awaiting death.

She was sorry. God, Tiffany could never understand how sorry she was just for being herself. She was sorry that she couldn’t give Tiffany the life she deserved. She was sorry, but she didn’t regret it.

Taeyeon could hear the anxious clicks of firearms shifting in their arms and heavy boots scruff the carpeted floor. She heard the held breath of many men and the fight they had been expecting from the notorious Kim Taeyeon. Taeyeon wasn’t going to give them no such fight. She wasn’t going to fight for her life; she was going to fight for Tiffany’s love. She was going to fight and she wasn’t going to stop until they pry Tiffany from her own dead body. She made sure of that.

Turning from the door, she growled, “Might as well make it worth it.”

She pounced on Tiffany, her hands on the brunette’s cheeks, feeling the hot tears that Tiffany had unsuccessfully suppressed. She kissed those tears, tasting the salty moistness. She wasn’t going to play games, not when she had that much time. She was aware of the limited time they had, and the desperation grew with every second that passed.

Finally, breathless, they broke apart. Tiffany looked up, staring straight into onyx eyes that had softened into an impossible black sky. It felt as if Tiffany was searching for stars in that black sky, almost as if Tiffany was looking up into the endless night sky.

“Look at me. It doesn’t matter what happens. Just look at me,” Taeyeon said.

Tiffany obliged and she was no longer able to see the room she was in. She could only see the smooth contours of Taeyeon’s face that had matured even more now that she was studying the nearly flawless skin, the eyelashes that never seemed to end and her lips that had been Tiffany’s one subject of attraction. Tiffany was aware of the arms that had tightened around her and the tears that had stopped flowing altogether. She wasn’t afraid anymore.

Sometime ago, Tiffany would have ran away and left Taeyeon for her own good. Sometime ago, Taeyeon would have woken up to an empty bed where Tiffany used to be. Sometime ago, Tiffany would have gladly walked away without turning around. But now, Tiffany was glad that she didn’t.

“Will you hold me?”

“Until my very last breath.”

She didn’t hear the door breaking open, or the gunshots that fired. She didn’t see the unfamiliar faces that bore no mercy or remorse. All she was Taeyeon, all she felt was Taeyeon, all she heard was Taeyeon.

She wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

Readers’ Note:

Yeah, I’ve been slacking around, dealing with writer’s block and a couple of other things that has been a pain. Time isn’t going any slower, and I feel rather…guilty? So, I’ll just post this one-shot I actually found somewhere in my desktop, swimming among the other crap I have in there.

Thank you for reading!

Yours Sincerely
Jazzign