Stigma Love's Algorithm [ A BTS x Reader Poly ]

Chapter 68: Clay-Stained Kisses

"You didn't have to run. You'll never have to run again."

He exhales shakily.

"I know that now. Because you stayed. All of you. You held me up when I couldn't stand on my own."

I close my eyes for a second, breathing through the weight of his words.

Then I press our foreheads together, letting my hands cup his face.

"You don't have to thank me, Tae," I whisper. "You don't ever have to thank me for loving you."

He sniffles, his nose brushing against mine. "I know."

I kiss his temple, slow and lingering. "We're in this together. All of us."

He nods, his fingers trailing along my wrist. "Even for the trial?"

I tense slightly. "Especially for the trial."

He swallows. "It's in a month."

"I know."

He bites his lip. "I'm scared."

I nod, wrapping my arms around him, letting him sink into my chest. "I know, bear cub."

He exhales against my neck.
"But... I think what keeps me going-what keeps me breathing-is knowing I won't be standing there alone."

I press a kiss into his hair. "Never alone, Tae. Never again."

He melts into me, his heartbeat steady against mine.

And for a long moment, we just stay there.
Holding. Breathing. Existing.

____________________________

We've spent hours wandering the museum, losing ourselves in sculpture, in color, in the hush of high ceilings and stories carved in stone.

Tae has been restless, though. I've noticed it in the way his fingers twitch, in the way his gaze keeps flickering toward something unseen.

So when he suddenly grabs my hand and tugs, I barely have time to react.

"Tae-?"

"Come on," he says, his grip firm but his voice light, playful.

I don't resist, letting him lead me through the maze of exhibits.

He moves with purpose, weaving past couples lingering in front of oil paintings, past tourists admiring an intricately carved staircase.

The further we go, the quieter it gets, until the noise of the main halls fades into a hush.

The lighting shifts, warmer, more intimate.

My heart pounds-not from exertion, but from him. From the way he turns back to glance at me, lips curved in a secretive little smile, eyes glittering with excitement.

We step into a tucked-away gallery, and I barely have time to register the change in atmosphere before he pulls me through a side door.

"Tae, where are we-" I start, but then I see it.