Authors Note: Ask and you shall receive! Stranded won the vote for the update :) Now prepare yourself because this is a lot~
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"Yoongi, it's been a minute. You're supposed to say something," you reminded your boyfriend in the quiet darkness. Your voice echoed through the tunnel the two of you were slowly shuffling through, and your grip tightened on the rope that Yoongi held the other end of.
"Fine. Are you OK?" He questioned in slight irritation, repeating the same thing he asked every minute. Your aching leg throbbed a bit, but you managed a weak smile.
"Yeah," you lied once more, keeping up your act so you wouldn't worry him. A bit ahead, Jeb chattered as if urging the two of you forward in the rumbling dark tunnel.
"Don't worry Jebby, mamas coming!" You assured your pet. You bit your lower lip and tried to move faster while ignoring the pain from the gash in your leg. Unable to see, you accidentally tripped on the slack rope and ran into Yoongi's back.
"Slower I said!" He chided, "We don't know what's in these tunnels. Stop trying to go faster, we need to take our time in order to be safe."
You sighed and rolled your eyes. You had agreed to the slow pace happily at first because it would be easier to hide your injury. Now you were irritated with his grandpa pace and wanted to go faster in fear of dying before finding any sort of escape.
"Sorry Yoongi, I'm just worried about Jeb and-"
"Still worried about the monkey?! Why! That's the same kind of thinking that got us into this mess!"
His irritation echoed about the tunnel. You quickly shut your mouth and shied away from talking knowing he was right. After a long minute of silence, Yoongi sighed.
"Sorry." He spoke simply, keeping his vow to talk every minute. Your heart lightened a bit once more. "I shouldn't have said that. Even if it is your fault, who knows what might have happened if we were above ground right now."
You didn't want to know. The cave tunnels continued to lightly vibrate, and you couldn't help but feel as if the air had grown extremely hot. The island was usually warm during the day, even in the slow change of seasons. It was now so warm that you couldn't help but pant a bit.
"I-Is it getting hot in here?" You questioned, wincing knowing your sweat most likely didn't cause an amazing odor.
"Yes." Yoongi spoke simply, and you licked your chapped lower lip thinking once again how you didn't want to know what was happening above ground. You clutched your journal to your chest and waiting for another minute to pass so Yoongi would speak again.
The seconds ticked by slowly; your anticipation rising as it became a minute.
"Are you OK?" He asked simply, and you sighed.
"Yeah I'm fine."
You focused on how hot you were getting as sweat stuck to the fabric of your clothes. You were feeling uncomfortable and scared, and you wanted to talk to Yoongi. Another minute passed, and soon his voice came with his usual statement.
"Are you OK?"
"Yoongi!" You protested, getting slightly annoyed with his inability to mix things up. "Yes! I'm fine! Can't you come up with anything else to say? It's sweet and all, but come on, I'm scared and bored. Say something else next time?"
He didn't reply, and you grew impatient as another minute of the two of you slowly making your way through the tunnels passed.
"Are you OK?" He asked again smugly, and you gaped in anger.
"Yoongi! Stop! I said something else! That's so annoying!"
"How so?"
"Because you're doing it on purpose! And I know you're smirking right now!" You retorted, knowing without the darkness his face would surly display a teasing expression. You knew how bizarre it was to argue about something so minuscule and pointless, but it brought you a sort of comfort. You thought maybe Yoongi felt this comfort too, and you heard him chuckle.
"Alright alright. I promise I'll say something different next time."
You grinned triumphantly in the darkness and began counting the seconds mentally. If he said the same thing, you would refuse to talk to him until you died.
However, upon reaching the thirty second mark, Yoongi suddenly stopped walking.
"Wha-"
"Shh!" He hissed, you feeling his arm in front of you as he forced you to stop. You obeyed and froze under the action. "Did you hear that?"
You blinked; wiping the sweat from your brow and breathing out heavily as you tried to listen for whatever he had been referring to. You were only met with silence. Wait... silence?
"The tunnel stopped vibrating!" You spoke in a gasp, "I think the eruption is over!"
"Not that," Yoongi spoke, hushing you again as he tried to listen for whatever his ears had originally detected. You as well became quiet once more.
A sudden screeching sound filled the tunnel, and you jumped on Yoongi's back in fear as he struggled to support you without any warning in the darkness. Soon you found your fear silly as the sound was quickly identified as Jeb.
"Ah, it's just Jeb!" You spoke wearily with a laugh; climbing down from Yoongi while he muttered something negative about your monkey. Too soon had you brought your guard down however as you realized that Jeb didn't usually screech like that for no reason.
A fluttering noise filled your ears and fear gripped your heart as realization swept through you.
"DOWN!" Yoongi shouted under the sudden panicked shrieking of Jeb attempting to warn the two of you of the new presence. You felt his hand reach for your arm and grip onto it; pulling you down to the hard floor of the tunnel. You bit your lip harshly as your open wound collided with it and your hands brushed against rocks, but stiffled any sounds of pain so it wouldn't be known.
The fluttering noise buzzed past your head and you cowered over, Yoongi doing the same.
"What is that?!" You spoke with a shriek as something brushed against you and you swore the flapping noise was inches from your ear.
"Bat!" He responded urgently, "Maybe more than one! Come on, stay low, but we have to run!"
Run?
Did you even have the ability to run? You throbbing leg spoke otherwise, but you swallowed your pain and nodded even though he couldn't see. Yoongi's hand found yours, and the two of you blindly took off as you clenched your journal tight to your chest and tried to wave off the creature that seemed to be following you.
A different screeching sound penetrated your ears that you recognized to be the bat's, and you ducked while screaming a little as the animal seemed to swoop lower.
"It won't go away!" You cried, Yoongi's grip on you tightening at your words. You didn't think you could take it much longer under the pain that shot through your leg at every step. You thought quickly; head spinning as you tried to figure out how to dispose of the bat.
You remembered when Yoongi had initially pushed you to the floor and your hands had caught rocks littered against the side of the tunnel. You scoffed at yourself for the ridiculous notion of actually trying to hit the bat, but upon the great pain that suddenly shot up your leg, you stopped abruptly and knew you had to try.
"What are you doing?!" Yoongi spoke over the frantic fluttering and screeching of the pest above. You were scared of getting bitten, but you swallowed your fear and stepped in front of Yoongi before kneeling down.
"Stay behind me," You informed him, using your hand to feel for large rocks as you waved off the creature buzzing around your head. Your fingers curled around a rock, and when the creature swooped down, you blindly chucked the rock at where you thought the bat was.
A sharp screech and thunk of the rock hitting the ground confirmed that you had hit it, but the animal was still in the air and now...
Angry. The island had deprived you of many things, and nutrition was definitely one of them. Your throwing arm wasn't all that strong anymore and couldn't do any harm to the animal with the small rock.
"(Y/N)?" Yoongi questioned with fear littered in his voice as he heard the rock crash with the ground.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," You waved him off, teeth clenched in determination as you felt hatred for the animal that now further pestered the two of you. You heard Yoongi gasp and flail his arms as the bat attacked him, and you bit your lower lip in anger.
Your mind suddenly formed an idea. One that was probably ridiculous. Thinking quickly and not hesitating, you knelt down and allowed your fingers to trail against another rock. Gripping it tightly, you ran forward a bit and pushed through the pain to lead the bat away from Yoongi.
It worked, and the creature now swarmed you. You needed to act quickly if you didn't want to get bitten. You reached behind you and unclipped your bra, thanking the darkness so Yoongi couldn't see and knowing you would have found the situation humorous if you weren't being plagued by the angry bat.
You pulled the bra from under your shirt so that you now had it in your hands and wondered if you were out of your mind.
The answer was yes.
Placing the rock in the makeshift slingshot, you pulled back as far as you could and tried to figure out where the creature was. You listened for the fluttering and your heart beat in anticipation.
Your eyes strained in the effort, and suddenly you thought maybe you made out the shadow of the animal. At the movement, you released your bra and sent the rock flying. Luck was on your side, and you listened in astonishment as a thunk was heard and the animal was penetrated by the rock. You didn't think you killed it, but after a shriek, you no longer heard the animal and had to assume it had flown away in panic to deal with it's wounds.
You were left panting in astonishment as you couldn't believe that you had just hit a bat using your bra as a slingshot. Your mother would be so proud.
"What's happening?!" Yoongi asked frantically, you laughing as you heard him shuffle in the dark in search for you.
"Don't worry, I hit the bat with a rock," You informed him, his eyes widening as he listened and became rather impressed.
"Wow, you did? That's really-"
"Using my bra. Like a slingshot!"
Yoongi bit his tongue at this, not knowing how to react as unknown flustered shock flooded his body. Every time he thought he was used to you, you surprised him.
"It was crazy! I might have even killed it, but I think I just injured him." You shuffled as you attempted to get your bra back on in the high temperature of the dark cave. "Wow, I guess you were right to be afraid of bras, Yoongi. They can be dangerous."
"I'M NOT AFRAID OF BRAS!" He snapped, thankful for the darkness that hid his red and angry face as Jeb seemed to mock him in chatter from up ahead in the tunnel.
You laughed as you just managed to clip your bra and pick up the journal and the rope, but then paused in shock when you stood up and realized something. You had been able to make out the shadow of the bat, and right then, although it was faint and hard to make out, you could just see the shadowy flustered form of Yoongi in front of you.
"Y-Yoongi," You stammered, not wanting your heart to beat in hope but it not listening, "I, I can sort of see you!"
"What do you mean?" He snapped, still irritated and embarrassed by the bra statement and barely allowing what you said to reach him before he came to a similar conclusion as you. He couldn't really see you, but he could just make out what might have been your form. "Wait..."
"Is it getting lighter?!" You spoke in excitement, and Yoongi couldn't help but feel his own heart beat in anticipation as he picked up the other end of the rope. Jeb as well seemed to be cheering to this conclusion from further up the tunnel.
"Only one way to find out."
You both took off; not running, but walking briskly. You limped a little but were able to manage the pain with excitement as little by little you began to see more and more.
Your eyes had grown used to seeing nothing in the past hours, so the sudden ability to see your own hands shocked you. Your heart skipped a beat as Yoongi's excited form in front of you became more and more visible.
"There is light coming from somewhere!" You breathed out, Yoongi nodding and you feeling excitement tingle your senses knowing you could sort of see him preforming the motion. Were the two of you actually going to live and make it out of the cave? Could you go back to the shack Yoongi had built that you managed to call home?
Just hours ago, you had found surviving impossible and had deemed you and Yoongi trapped. Now you knew for sure that you and Yoongi were unstoppable and clearly had someone watching over the two of you. You were cheating death again, and survival was just in your grasp.
You could see now, and Yoongi held a determined but hopeful look on his dirt smeared face. He looked back at you, and you blinked in embarrassment knowing he could now see how dirty, sweaty, and overall bad you looked in the dim lighting. He smiled at you brightly in a way that showed his gums, and your heart melted before you smiled back.
Jeb was scampering about in excitement ahead as you winced in the ever growing brightness. Your eyes had adjusted well to the dark, and for a moment it hurt them to be in light once more. You got over this however as you made out the source of the light.
It pooled from what must had been an alternate cave entrance in the back, and it was just big enough for the two of you to walk out of. Jeb found his way back to your shoulder and you giggled while patting his head.
"Good boy," you praised the monkey, Yoongi rolling his eyes but unable to dispose of the smile on his face. You both walked forward; anxious to get out of the tunnel, but right at the presumed exit you both froze.
Yoongi grabbed your shoulder as you squeaked in surprise and almost toppled to your death out of the side of the cliff.
He pulled you back so you wouldn't fall, and your beating heart sped up in realization. The 'exit' was a hole dug in the other side of the giant hill. There was nothing below except the ocean and sharp rocks that lay in the shallow water far down where Yoongi peered before drawing back and wearily running his hand through his long hair.
"But... No!" You spoke in fear, unsure of what to do as your once hopeful heart sank and the breeze from the sea hit your hot and sweaty skin.
"Don't panic," Yoongi spoke simply, and he once again drew closer to the edge of the 'exit' to peer up and down again. You tried to not cry in the hopelessness you felt, but it was difficult. Yoongi lightly licked his lower lip and released an anxious sigh; coming to a conclusion.
"OK. So the way I see it there's only two options. One: we risk it and jump into the ocean. It's a long drop and the water clearly has rocks in it, but if we jump as far out as possible, we might maybe make it, but probably not. That's the worst choice but it's an option."
You swallowed hard.
"Two," Yoongi held up the rope and sighed before looking out of the exit that emitted the light. "We climb up the side of the cliff. It will lead to the top of the hill and from there we can make it back home."
Climb?!
Your heart stopped knowing there was no way you were strong enough to preform such a feat, not to mention the fact that you were secretly injured.
"That's our better option, b-but, it's sort of crazy. One slip ends us down there in the shallow water, and it would be hard to survive that."
"Y-Yoongi," you stammered, not knowing what to say as Jeb played with your hair. He met your eyes and neither of you had to say anything to know how terrified both of you were.
"We could sit here and think about it, but at this point that won't do us much good."
"Climbing is the better option," You agreed, gripping tightly onto the rope that Yoongi had been so adamant about taking.
You thought for a moment, realizing that if one of you climbed up successfully; then the other could pull them up with the rope. Yoongi seemed to have the same idea.
"I'll climb up and-" You both started at the exact same time, and you blinked in surprise at the fact that you and he now thought so similarly. He seemed surprised that you had stolen the same words he had been using before his face showed clear disagreement.
"No way," He spoke, forbidding you from climbing up alone without rope. "I'm doing it."
Your mouth fell open in irritation before your eyes landed on his arm and your heart dropped. It seemed as if time slowed down as he also caught notice of your leg for the first time.
His arm was badly battered and bruised. Dried blood etched against a painful looking long cut that must have been a result of the cave-in during the eruption. His eyes widened as he noticed your equally damaged leg, and you both caught each others eyes before an explosion of words echoed through the tunnel.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!?!"
"THAT LOOKS SO HORRIBLE! WE SHOULD HAVE TREATED IT IMMEDIATELY!"
"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! THIS IS PRACTICALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF LYING TO ME!"
You both breathed heavily in anger as you attempted to control your emotions. While you were hiding your injury, Min Yoongi had been hiding one of similar proportions. It was such a ridiculous and helpless situation that you didn't even know what to do. Yoongi's eyes glistened in anger.
"There's no way you're climbing that cliff with that injury," He snapped, and your eyes widened in anger.
"Then by that logic you aren't either!" You retorted, "Because your arm looks horrible!"
"Then we both die here in these stupid tunnels!"
"Good! It's better than only one of us dying. I can't take that, Yoongi!"
Silence filled the air as even Jeb seemed to feel the tension. You swallowed hard; your throat dry from the heat and lack of water. Seconds ticked by as you held eye contact with him. Ten, then thirty, then forty five seconds passed. It was almost a minute, and your eyes glistened as Yoongi remembered his promise to speak every minute.
"I love you," He finally spoke as the sixty second mark hit, his face now showing a begging look rather than an angry one as your heart stopped under the words. Finally, now, you could say what you had wanted to for so long.
"I love you too, Min Yoongi. I wanted to say it a long time ago, but you beat me to it."
You watched as red flooded his hopelessly pale cheeks that even the sun hadn't been able to cure. Your words made him close his eyes and breathe out slowly as he tried not to smile in the hopelessness of the situation.
"Then what do we do? I've given up on rescue, but you're what I care about more than anything else. How can I save you this time, (Y/N)?"
You bit your lower lip in thought as you peered at your boyfriend who was the only reason you were standing there alive.
"Stop playing the hero, Yoongi," You spoke, this slightly taking him off guard. "You've never been alone in what you've been feeling. I care about you too, and I love you. How about we stop trying to save each other for once and survive together."
He looked a bit confused, and watched as you tied the rope around your waist before moving forward and tying it around his waist as well. His eyes cleared as he seemed to understand what you were insinuating.
"We go together," You clarified. "If one of us falls, we both fall. At this point, it's only fair. We can survive together Min Yoongi, and if we can't, then at least we won't be alone. We can do it. I couldn't live here for very long without you anyway."
He looked at you with a pained expression before he seemed to give in.
"I couldn't survive here for long without you either."
You nodded, managing a smile as his face shone in determination.
"We can do this. We've made it this far! We've lived through a storm in the middle of the ocean, sharks, quicksand, horrible weather conditions, snakes, lack of food, a cave in, bats, and more! This is just some stupid cliff, I mean, whatever right?"
Yoongi chuckled and bit his inner cheek.
"You forgot to mention surviving through you being annoying."
"Hey," you hissed, pretending to be irritated but unable to stop your smile. Even if you died now, being able to experience the love story you had always dreamed of was good enough. Yes you had regrets when it came to your family and friends back home, and yes you wished for a happier ending, but right then you couldn't help but feel fulfilled.
Yoongi seemed to feel this as well, and you admired his battered yet cute features before he breathed out in nervousness.
"Ready?" He questioned, and you tucked your journal in your pants and patted Jeb's head before responding in a nod.
Yoongi looked out at the ocean before gingerly taking his first step and gripping onto the side of the cliff; pulling himself upwards as he began the fearful climb. You trembled as you remembered his arm and saw him wince.
You followed suit, and your shaky hands gripped onto the hard rocky edge of the cliff while you tried to find a good place to catch your footing.
"Careful, go slow," Yoongi called down, and you clenched your eyes shut as Jeb chattered in your ear. Your leg throbbed and you gasped in pain as suddenly you were supporting your weight on the cliff.
You weren't strong enough for this. There was no way. But your human will to live kept you gripping onto the side of the cliff as you and Yoongi attempted to climb the steep structure.
You couldn't look up at him as you were more focused on your own fear and ability to pull your body upwards. It was a miracle. Somehow, you were slowly making your way up. You hadn't moved far, but under the beating of your heart you were able to make out the cave exit slowly moving further and further away below you.
Human will to live in an intense power, but perhaps one even stronger than that is clumsiness. Your hand slipped, and you screamed as you almost lost your footing. Yoongi tightly gripped onto the rope by removing one of his hands and stabilizing you; he grimacing in pain and panting as his injury throbbed but he refused to let go of you. It was a long drop.
You saw this and pressed your body against the cliff once more; heart pounding knowing what you had almost caused.
"I-I'm sorry!" You tried to call up, but the wind carried away your words. You bit your tongue in the struggle and focused as sweat built up in the physical strain. This was the hardest thing you had ever attempted. Knowing you were connected to Yoongi however kept you going. One step in front of the other, you slowly made your way up.
You couldn't believe it. Somehow, Yoongi was reaching up for the last step and was soon pulling his body over the side of the top of the hill. You whimpered in emotion as he quickly scrambled to his feet and gripped the rope tightly to help you the rest of the way up, and you used it to your advantage as you forced your leg to take the final step over the cliff.
Tackling him, you both collapsed to the floor together and not caring about anything else as you cried and tried to control your breathing. You couldn't even move but clutched onto him as you felt him weakly press kisses into your hair regardless of Jeb's presence.
"We did it!" You sobbed, Jeb moving to Yoongi's shoulder and for the first time he not complaining. "We're alive!"
You felt liquid hit your shoulder as he held you tightly and a tear fell down his face. His heart beat loudly from the effort and fear. Yours echoed his. You held him tighter and cried in relief and shock. You were both still alive. You had lived another day. This feeling of joy didn't last long, and suddenly you realized it was hard to breathe.
You allowed your teary eyes to open and you rolled off of him, still panting before fear once again consumed your heart as you finally paid notice to the grass that was littered with flakes of ash. You allowed your eyes to trail upwards and you tried to hold back a panicked gasp. Yoongi sat up straighter and looked the direction you were looking.
Of course. Nothing could ever have worked out this well.
"N-No!" You stammered, somehow finding the energy to stand as you looked on towards the horror and destruction. The island was... destroyed.
Ash and smoke blew about in the air and even entered your lungs as you collapsed and fell to your knees. You could barely see through it, but it was just enough to know what had happened. The volcano had taken out everything; a black hardened rock now coating the living green of the jungle in the valleys. On the hill that had remained out of harms way, you were able to witness this destruction as you could hardly believe what you were seeing.
Your island. Your and Yoongi's island. Had been destroyed by the volcano.
You knew life would grow and thrive once more in a matter of years, but for the two of you that had counted on the lush greenery and had made a home in the now destroyed land, this meant... devastation. All hope left you at the sight, and Yoongi said nothing as similar feeling of despair penetrated his heart.
Memories swept past you as your tears of joy turned to those of grief.
You felt Yoongi reach for you, and you leaned into him again as he held you once more.
As sure as you were that someone was looking out for you, it seemed as if misfortune and death were always one step ahead. You knew Yoongi would know what to do, but ultimately right then you just wanted to cry. How had everything gone so wrong?!
Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, but right then, the forces that couldn't seem to figure out what to do with you and Yoongi acted once more. It was like a see saw; a back and forth game of conflict and unsure relief. Now, the see saw seemed to be rocking so quickly that neither of you were sure what was good or what was bad or if you believed anything anymore.
You both froze as a distantly familiar but unbelievable sound hit your ears.
It couldn't be... There was no way...
You and Yoongi looked at each other through the ash that polluted the air in shock before looking up.
What you saw confirmed what your ears had teased, and you wondered if you were hallucinating.
It was a helicopter.