Take Me to the Sky | BTS+

Justice

Hoseok was careful with his hands, careful not to push or pull Shae roughly as he led her along with his large fingers cupping around her smaller, more delicate ones. The worn stone paths that they walked had a sunbaked smell and warmth rose up from the ground beneath their feet even as they walked in the shade between buildings.

Hoseok led Shae down one side street, then another, and they weaved their way further and further from the sounds of the crowds and from the shadow cast by the stands.

Hoseok peaked out of an alleyway and looked both ways--in time to see two bodies running down that open lane at rapid fire.

He didn't pause to see who; he curled the side of his body into the wall he and Shae were standing next to, tucking her small frame into his chest with one arm arched around her back--that back that was still covered by his plumb-pink suit jacket.

The sound of heels on cobblestone, of laughter, rushed quickly by the alley where Hoseok hid Shae in his shadow.

"Just some random couple," he muttered, relief in his voice after they had gone. "Alright then. Let's...."

Hoseok saw the flush in Shae's face as she glanced at his arm braced against her back. She glanced nervously up and saw the flush rise in his cheeks to match his red hair.

Shame, fear, and something else passed between them.

His arm slid off of her shoulder, though he still held her palm carefully in his other hand.

"We're almost there," he said, offering a warm and encouraging smile.

His eyes couldn't help but dance quickly over the red marks that were still branching down her legs, or in red lines up her throat. Both to her, and to himself, he added, "Don't worry."

She offered a small smile back, but said nothing.

They walked down a short stone flight of stairs that seemed to descend into the ground itself. There was no door, no hinges, just a stone doorway that opened up into shadow.

Hoseok and Shae stepped down and into that shadow, and all of a sudden small arms were latched in a vice grip around Shae's chest. Lilith had caught her in a tight embrace, just as Hoseok's hand slipped from Shae's.

Lilith's voice was a warm, feminine rush of words that felt like messy music to Shae's ears: "I'm so glad you're ok, please tell me you're ok, here let me look at you, come over here Shae, oh God you're not ok, what happened, tell me everything that happened, do you need anything, do you need me to get you anything, what about an ice pack, I think we have an emergency medi-pen around here somewhere that'll help, I can--"

Shae just reached out and hugged Lilith again, a little tighter this time, and the fierce little woman's words stopped.

Lilith's heart ached protectively. Shae may have been taller that she was, but the fire inside of Lilith gave her the rooted presence of a giant. I'll murder you for this later, Jung Hoseok, she thought quietly to herself.

Hoseok simply stood by, watching the trembling that entered Shae's knees all over again. He told himself that he wasn't aloud to look away. Don't hide your eyes from what you have done. Don't be like your enemies.

Lilith said quietly, "It's going to be alright, Shae. I swear it."

Shae took one unsteady, careful breath. Then another, steadier one. She let Lilith go, and then her eyes took in the dimly lit, stony underground corridor she had just entered. "Where are we?"

Hoseok spoke up, "We're in barracks that weave below the stadium."

"Why?" Shae asked.

Lilith said carefully, "Shae, I know it's a big ask, especially considering everything that you've already been through. But I'm going to need you to change into your combat gear. And I'm going to need you to trust us, ok?"