𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬﹕heeseung

－ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

(Chapter might be triggering as it consists: minor character death, family issues)

Third person.

"Aera." Drawn by the voice she knows calling her, she turns around.

"Appa!" She cries, running to the man she hasn't seen in a while. She misses him so much she just wanted to put her arms around his figure, yet as she was going to, what she came in contact with was the thin cold air.

"Appa?" She looks around, and suddenly, the eight-year-old Aera felt lost in this huge world, again. 

Eerie sounds echo through every corner of pitch black as if calling her name. She drops to hug herself and covers her ears, wanting nothing more but to wake up. She felt so young, so weak, and so... fragile. She just wanted to be saved and healed.

"Aera?"

"Go away!"

"Hey, hey, Aera."

"Stop, stop, stop." She squirms and tightly closes her eyes.

"Aera, Aera, wake up." And at last, she did.

The girl's eyes fully shot open. She sees Heeseung, only to realize that the last voice was his. His hands were placed on her shoulder and the crown of her head, his face lacing with panic and worry.

"Heeseung...?" She murmurs his name, earning a diligent nod.

"It's me. I'm here." Heeseung replied almost immediately, reassuring her that this is not a dream anymore.

"Heeseung. Heeseung." Upon being reassured that he's here, Aera finally sheds her tears.

She encircles her arms around him, and Heeseung understood as he held her even tighter. She buried her face in the crook of his neck while crying frantically. She couldn't get away from the image of her father's smile, pushing her breakdown even more.

"Shh, I got you. you're safe, you're okay." Heeseung whispers into her ear soothingly. Aera shuts her mouth and pulls apart to wipe her tears whilst covering her face.

"Look at me. Deep breaths with me, yeah?" Heeseung inhaled for Aera to follow with shaky breaths. They went on until Aera was able to calm herself down, suddenly mindful of his shirt wet with tears because of her.

"That's it, pretty, well done." Heeseung smiles comfortingly, hugging her once again and drawing circles on her back.

The silence was comforting with just the two of them without a gap. With the lamp being the only source of light in the room, Heeseung's embrace was enough to comfort her, it being clear for Aera to figure out that he wasn't letting go first.

"Heeseung?" Aera softly calls him.

"Yeah?" Heeseung whispers to reply.

"Have you ever lost someone and felt like you lost everything?" With this, she asks, still her voice croaking. 

As though Heeseung understands the meaning of her words, and that yes he had, perhaps the best option as an answer was to listen. He'd rather choose to be the reason why she's able to open up and validate her feelings to him than be able to relate his life to hers. Because it was certain that even the amount of similarities they have doesn't change the differences between the two worlds they live in.