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

Chapter 90: A Lantern in the Dark

We became one again.

One tangled heap of arms and tears and sighs and words that hadn't been spoken but had always lived in the silence between us.

We stayed like that on the floor.

Talking.
Crying.
Apologizing again, even when we didn't need to.

We talked about Jungkook-what he meant to us, what it felt like to lose him before we really had him. About how the ache hadn't faded, but at least now it had names and voices to echo back to.

Understanding that pain doesn't have to separate us.

That love isn't fragile.
It bends, but it doesn't break.

Not when it's real.
Not when it's us.

And somewhere in the quiet between sobs and forgiveness, a small flame rekindled.

Not joy. Not yet.

But hope.
A flicker of it.

That maybe we hadn't lost everything.
That maybe love wasn't a finite thing.
That even grief could be shared.

Eventually, we all sank down into the couch and floor together. A tangled mess of limbs and breath and hearts trying to find their rhythm again.

Jin leaned against Yoongi's shoulder.
Y/N held Tae's hand tightly.
I sat with my arm around Tae's back, grounding him.

We stayed like that for hours.

Grief doesn't disappear. But it softens when you share it.

Tonight, we didn't need to be strong.
Tonight, we just needed to feel.

And for the first time since Jungkook disappeared from our lives... it felt like maybe, just maybe, we'd survive this too.

Together.

____________________________

Y/N's POV

The morning light spilled across Yoongi's apartment like soft forgiveness.

It painted golden lines along the floorboards, warmed the tops of our tangled blankets, and kissed Wacha's ears where she dozed on the couch beside me.

Yeontan was curled up between my knees, his tiny body a comforting weight I hadn't realized I needed.

Yoongi and Jin oppa were still asleep-Yoongi slumped against the armrest with a blanket hanging off his shoulder, Oppa snoring softly with one arm over his eyes.

Namjoon had taken the guest bed hours ago, and Taehyung had fallen asleep on the floor beside Yeontan, his breathing deep, his face finally peaceful again.

For the first time in days, the storm inside this apartment had quieted.

The air wasn't thick with unspoken words. It felt... still.

Like we had survived something.
But my heart hadn't.
Not yet.

I stared at the ceiling, letting my fingers run gently through Yeontan's fur.

My mind wouldn't stop spinning-not with everything Taehyung had said last night, not with the way Yoongi's arms had shaken around me, not with the way Oppa, strong as he is broke down, not with the way Joon's voice had cracked like something inside him had finally given way.

They were all hurting.

All of them.
And I couldn't take it anymore.

If there was one thing I knew with crystal clarity now, it was this, I couldn't sit back and watch the people I love shatter-not without trying.