Kibum sighed, closed the book he was reading and flopped down sideways on the large, soft bed in his new bedroom, burying his face in his pillow. His eyes were tired from staring at thousands of pages for the entirety of the day. He really should get up and eat something, since he hadn’t eaten all day, but food was not something he needed now that he was dead and not corporeal anymore. It was just something that could give extra energy in case he didn’t want to sleep, which he still needed unless he ate.

But he hadn’t slept in days and he actually wanted to escape into unconsciousness so he could stop worrying about Jonghyun for a few hours.

Today’s search for an answer to Jonghyun and Jinki's predicament had been as unsuccessful as it had been for the past month. Neither he, nor Jinki, nor Minho were any nearer to finding a solution to having Jonghyun back with them in the realm of gods when it finally was his time. They had admittedly not gotten very far in their search, but Jinki had told him he had already read through all the libraries in the realm and found nothing, though he hoped a fresh set of eyes could maybe find something he had missed.

So far they had made it through about five percent of all the books they had found. And they each read about four to five books – more appropriately called tomes – a day.

The door to his room banged open and he shot up, nearly tipping over the other way in his surprise. The sight of Taemin storming inside met him, face dark and furious. He stopped abruptly when he noticed Kibum on the bed, then looked around in surprise.

“Oh,” he said.

Kibum blinked at him, still a little taken aback by his sudden appearance.

They hadn’t really spoken much the past month as Taemin was actively avoiding him for some reason or the other. Kibum had no idea why. Taemin had simply told him to take his room since it was the largest and most comfortable out of all the rooms in his quarters. Then he had promptly chosen another room to sleep in and do whatever it was he did during the days and nights. Kibum wondered if Taemin still read all those scrolls he had had in the underworld.

“Hey,” Kibum greeted and scooted to the edge of the bed. “What happened?”

Taemin's face fell into a scowl and he tensed.

“Nothing,” he muttered. “I apologise for interrupting you in your work. In my anger I forgot this is not my room anymore. I will leave now.”

He turned to stomp out the door and Kibum jumped off the bed to swiftly make his way over and grab his arm. He was much faster and more graceful now, when he didn’t have a mortal body weighing him down. A thrill still rushed through him, even after a whole month, every time he slid over the floor as if he weren’t really walking, but hovering, when he wished to travel fast.

“Wait,” he said.

Taemin stopped and looked down at the hand on his arm. Then his gaze travelled up to meet Kibum's. Kibum tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace, and he pulled Taemin over to the humongous armchairs that stood in one corner of the room, pushing him down into the softest looking one and taking a seat beside him on the armrest, burying his toes under Taemin's thigh.

Taemin stared blankly at his feet.

“Tell me?” Kibum asked after a few moments of silence wherein he watched Taemin while he continued watching his feet.

Taemin shrugged listlessly and sighed.

“It was a mistake to think I could live here,” he muttered. “I am happier on my own, after all.”

Frowning, Kibum reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet his eyes.

“You don’t mean that,” he said. “Was it Athena?”

Taemin snorted.

“Her, and all the others,” he answered. “I have no place here, which they have made quite clear. My existence is wrong and I cannot live up to the standards of this place.”

“What?!” Kibum exclaimed a little louder than he intended and Taemin jerked in surprise, releasing Kibum's grip on him. Kibum had known Taemin might not think the best of himself, but this was just wrong. “Why is your existence wrong?”

Taemin frowned as if he couldn’t understand Kibum's confusion.

“I am not like my brothers,” he explained. “And I make mistakes.”

Kibum raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, because no other god has ever made mistakes,” he scoffed.

“What?”

“Taemin, do you think your brothers are perfect?” Kibum asked. “Or any other god for that matter?”

Taemin opened his mouth to answer but Kibum cut him off, since he was quite certain he would say yes.

“No, don’t answer that. They’ve all made mistakes,” he said. “One way or the other. They have gotten people killed, cities destroyed, and more often than not they hang on to their pride so tightly it causes wars.”

Taemin's face went blank and he stared at Kibum incredulously.

“Take Minho for example,” Kibum continued. “He got so mad at Prometheus for stealing fire that he gave his wife Pandora’s jar. He’s responsible for some of the bad things that exist in the human world today. And Athena and Jinki have started wars simply because they don’t like each other, which makes them no better.”

Taemin blinked at him.

“So, really, you’re not that bad,” Kibum finished. “I’d say all of Olympus is a bunch of troublemakers. Some more than others, but gods are prideful, there’s no denying that.”

Taemin continued staring at him, his mouth slightly open. Moments passed, eternities even, before he spoke.

“I… have never thought of it in such a way,” he said at last.

Kibum smiled.

“I kind of got that,” he teased and Taemin cracked the smallest smile. “I have a question for you though.”

Taemin gave a nod for him to continue.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

He froze momentarily, looking like a deer caught in headlights, before averting his eyes, grimacing at his knees.

“I have not,” he said quietly, which did nothing but make Kibum more certain he actually had actively been keeping a distance.

Kibum scoffed and crossed his arms.

“Well, yeah, you were with me when I woke up, but you didn’t really talk to me until three days later when you told me to go say goodbye to Jonghyun,” he said. “Other than that, I’ve barely seen you the past month, except the few glimpses I’ve caught of you in the hallways.”

Pressing his lips together, Taemin shrugged, still refusing to meet Kibum's eyes.

“I thought we at least had become friends after all that time spent in your castle,” Kibum murmured.

Taemin did look at him then, though his expression was unreadable, much like it had been those first days Kibum had stayed with him.

“You wish to continue associating with me?” he asked, and Kibum would have laughed at the absurdity of Taemin’s question had it not been asked in such a grave and quiet way.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he wondered.

“I kidnapped you,” Taemin stated as if it explained everything. “I imprisoned you, I made you miserable, and you even died for me. How do you even stand speaking to me?”

Kibum blinked.

“Because…” His voice died out and he frowned in thought.

Well, when Taemin put it that way it really did sound terrible. And Kibum might have felt like that the first days of his stay in the underworld.

But then this whole other side of Taemin had begun coming out. The awkward, fumbling, uncertain side, and Kibum had realised he wasn’t the monster everyone thought he was. He was lonely and depressed, so much so he even considered self-destruction. And Kibum's heart had ached with that realisation. It still did whenever he thought of it.

He knew Taemin could be happy. He knew he could make Taemin happy. And he knew he wanted to make Taemin happy in the same way Taemin wanted to make him happy.

When the silence stretched out, Taemin gave a small, wistful smile and sighed.

“You clearly do not remember the horrible things I’ve done to you,” he said. “I am glad I reminded you. You should not associate with me. I’ve only hurt you and I might do so again.”

Kibum's heart stuttered painfully, his breath shaky, because that wasn’t it. That wasn’t it at all.

Taemin's pained eyes met his and he reached up to caress Kibum's cheek, so light it was barely a touch before he rose from the armchair. A lump lodged itself in Kibum's throat and he had to swallow around it a few times before he found his voice.

“Wait,” he said, his voice thick.

Taemin was already halfway to the door. He stopped but didn’t turn. Kibum swallowed another time and a tear escaped. He didn’t know why he was crying, but he couldn’t stop it. He got off the armrest and approached Taemin, whose shoulders were drawn, hands clenched into fists. Kibum reached out and gently took one of Taemin's hands into his, coaxing it open and interlacing their fingers.

A wave of déjà vu washed over him as he was taken back for a moment to Taemin's study when he first had held his hand. Taemin must have thought of the same thing because he stopped breathing, freezing to his spot.

“Hey,” Kibum whispered. “Look at me.”

He watched Taemin swallow harshly before he slowly turned. He didn’t look directly at Kibum, staring somewhere to the right of his head. Kibum brought his other hand up to cup his cheek and force him to meet his eyes.

“I don’t hate you, Taemin,” he said softly. “I never did. I might have been angry those first few days, but then I got to know you.”

Taemin looked a little fearful but kept his eyes locked with Kibum's.

“And I liked what I got to know,” Kibum continued.

The astonished look on Taemin's face would have been funny had the situation not been so serious. Kibum still smiled softly. Then he pulled Taemin into a kiss, which he was wholly unprepared for, judging by the jolt going through him. He seemed to gather himself soon enough and kissed Kibum back with a passion so fierce it made Kibum's heart skip several beats. When Taemin finally pulled back he looked so dazed Kibum had to laugh.

To his astonishment, Taemin began chuckling as well, which sent a thrill though Kibum. He threw his arms around Taemin's neck and kissed him again. Taemin's arms wound around his waist, pulling him as close as he could, and Kibum could swear he could feel him smile into the kiss.

And he was happy, because finally, Taemin was as well.

A/N: So, you know that little extra thingie I talked about? This is it :) I just wanted to give Kibum and Taemin a little ending of their own, and I've had half of this written out for a while, so I decided to just finish it.

I haven't proofread anything, so please excuse all the mistakes you find! Dx

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little extra!

Love<3

Bye~!