Reflection

Seven

The night after Taehyung healed him made Namjoon feel strange, he felt better than he had in years and couldn't place what felt different, but something definitely was. No one had noticed anything about him, it wasn't like they paid much attention to him to begin with, so his Master and his henchmen didn't say anything when they happened to check in on him. To goad him a little bit and poke at the monster. But, he felt good. Better then good even. He was grateful that the phoenix had healed him, but even then he hoped that the other would listen to his words and never come here again. That he and his sisters boyfriend would get her to safety and away from Namjoon, away from his Master and then away from them. All of those hopes were dashed however when that night Taehyung appeared before him once more, much like the night before, and crouched in front of his cage.

"Kyungmin is stubborn you know," Taehyung sat on the ground and started digging around in his shirt for something before pulling out a folded piece of paper. "She wrote this for you."

Namjoon looked at the paper in Taehyung's hand and ignored it, "I can't take this."

"She spent a lot of time writing this so, yes, you can," Taehyung looked like he wanted to say more but Namjoon suddenly scooted closer to the bars of the cage and reached out his hand towards him. For a moment, the phoenix's eyes widened and looked fearful, but grew annoyed once more when he realized that Namjoon only pushed his hand outside of the cage and gave the note back to him.

"There is nowhere I can hide this, and even if I did I couldn't read the words that she had written. I haven't read anything since coming here."

Both creatures were quiet, neither willing to break the silence and both seeming lost. "I could read it to you." Taehyung finally said, letter clutched firmly in his hands. Namjoon didn't know what to say to the gesture so he nodded and sat back down at the far end of his cage.

Unfolding the note Taehyung began to read, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the pain I have been causing you throughout the years. If it wasn't for me, then you wouldn't be here." The words seemed hard for Taehyung to read because he paused, and Namjoon stiffened. "You wouldn't be trapped if I had never called out for you that night. If I had stayed hidden like mom and dad told us to and hadn't of ran like I did. If I had never have caused you to transform. This is all my fault. But, it's ok now. You do not have to protect me any-"

"Stop," His voice was watery even to his own ears, "I don't want to hear anymore. She doesn't kno-"

Taehyung spoke over his words, "It's now time to let me protect you. For far too long you have been staying there getting tortured just in my name and I can't allow you to do this any long-"

"Taehyung-" Namjoon's voice was a growl, his eye's turning black shadows as he suddenly collided with the bars of the cage and ripped the paper from his hands and tore it to shreds. "Enough!"

Teahyung was now gripping at his neck, but Namjoon stood his ground, "I wasn't done reading that! What is wrong with you!"

That's when the tears fell, "I won't allow her to get killed because of me!"

The light's kicked on in one of the windows above them and they both stiffened, "Get out of here, and don't come back." Taehyung looked like he wanted to argue but he closed his gaping mouth, set his jaw and disappered into the night without a trace of him left behind. When a man came to check to see what was going on minutes later, all that was there was Namjoon, hiding his face in his hands deep within the corner of his cage so that they wouldn't see his tears.

----

"Didn't I tell you not to come back here," Namjoon was tired. He hadn't been fed again and he could only wonder how long his Master was going to punish him for this time. After last night he had gotten a beating for disturbing their 'Well earned sleep' as his Master had put it, then sentenced to no food. He never gave an end date so Namjoon could only guess to how long it would be this time around, and the last thing he wanted to see was the phoenix's scowling face staring at him through the bars of his cage.