TAE POV:

When (Y/N) asked us to go with her, it had been an automatic nod, agreement- because of course we'd go where she wanted to with us, of course I wouldn't hesitate to say yes especially when her words were so softly spoken, from the depths of her grieving aching heart, shadowed with vulnerability. 

But I didn't think it would be this.

I didn't think she'd quietly confess she wanted to go meet her parents, but first that she needed to call Ryan. Didn't think that in front of our eyes for years we'd been seeing the people who were the ones to raise our baby mate, to save her from drowning in despair and helped her become the beautiful soul she was today.

It made me wonder just how we'd never realised, how in all the times they'd even the slightest slipped out of their professional demeanour, it had always been around each other or to the phone to someone they fussed over. Hadn't realised on the other end of the phone was our mate.

Makes me wonder if we could've had the chance of seeing her in her childhood, of witnessing those moments precious and cherished to the three of them. Makes me yearn to see old photos, hear stories, lie on her lap for hours and just bask in the comfort of her voice as she told me about her past.

When Ryan does arrive, it's for a brief visit- eyes barely even glancing at us as he talks to her, as the two of them sit in the front garden, figures shadowed by the floral arch that overshadows a bench.

And now that we know, it's like its crystal clear, blindingly apparent to the eye- it had been there all along.

See the way his hand gently cradles her cheek, or the way she leans in for a hug and he automatically wraps her into his arms. There's definitely a close bond between them but it isn't one that's strictly parental- it's a mixture of friends, family and a teasing, playful nature intertwined through their gestures and acts.

But when he does leave she turns back towards the house, spots me perched on the windowsill and waves, gesturing for me to come over.

All of us pile out of the house and as we get into Jin hyung's car, the most warded and protected because none of us are taking chances, I recognise the Ims scent intertwined with (Y/N)'s. A proof of the claim they have on her too, maybe it had been a subtly left reminder that though we were her mates, they were her family.

(Y/N)'s silent on the hour drive, listlessly looking out of the window, hand loosely laced with mine. She's silent but not one that comes out of stiffness or grief or lost in your thoughts, its one that comes with a contemplative look, brows slightly furrowed as she peers out of the window- eyes never straying from the scenery that changes into a slightly busy city. But she does perk up when Jin hyung pulls up into a nice, friendly looking street. Houses all made in welcoming colours, multiple shades running down the street.

And as she steps out, her hand leading me behind her. She stops to peer up at a welcoming looking house, the latticework and arch of flowers and vines around the door giving it a personal touch, a lived-in feel.

"Welcome to my home. To the place I grew up until the age of six." She says softly, but her words carry over loud and clear to each and every one of us.

Suddenly the house means so much more.

Because where we're about to go into is the same place our mate lived when she entered the world, where she grew from a baby to a toddler to a little girl. But it's also the place where her parents lost their lives, inhumanely slaughtered in front of her eyes.

And also where her mother sacrificed herself.

The house holds a lot of memories, preserved within the welcoming walls.

It turns out that perhaps the reason she'd needed to meet Ryan was because as we approach the door, her leading the way, she pulls out a chain that had been resting under her clothes, an amulet of sorts- I recognise it as a warding key, one vampires use to protect homes they don't frequently live in, or protecting their nest before they leave.

And right now when she holds that amulet in her hand and then reaches out for the door with the other, it gently gives way under her hand shifting back to open after she turns the key in the lock. And I realise that the house is safe because it's warded, safe and protected as her nest. Her home.

And Ryan and Deok-mi had done that for her.

Preserved her childhood home for her. 

Which means no-one has ever been able to enter it without the key.

As we step inside, I realise that more than that, it's a place stuck in time- everything left just as it had been fifteen years ago, the shoe rack filled, keys still hanging on the hooks and as we walk further into the hallway, photos still lining the wall.

"Home sweet home." (Y/N) murmurs, entering the living room.

And I feel those words tinged with melancholy and sadness, grief, and sorrow. But also solace, peace. Because this is where her story had begun.

Somehow the house is intact, no dust, no dirt nor cobwebs lining the untouched room. The air is still fresh too, lightly scented and the scent makes her relax, makes her shoulders loosen even as her eyes fill with pained nostalgia.

"Sit down all of you. I'll go get my mum and dad." She says softly, moving to the far end of the living room where on a clear glass display shelf sits one large urn, photos placed on either side. She reverently lifts it up bringing it back to set at the centre table, kneeling down in front of it.

Her hands brush and graze across the edges of it lightly and it's up close I see the words that line the urn, cover it- in beautiful script are messages of love and hope, the story of their death and the final words they've imparted to her.

"It's been a while mum and dad." She says softly.

The others shift closer, near but not hovering, moving to kneel on the floor, cushions lining the table. The silence is sombre, respectful, knowing.

"I brought my mates to meet you. I have seven. Remember how you always insisted you were each other's mates, how there was this tug, this tether bringing you to each other? I always thought you were just madly in love, but now I see...now I know just how true those words were." She says, hands tenderly cupping the side of the urn.

Her words are a mixture of sweet remembrance and pained recollection, her eyes flicker red as she raises her teary eyes to slowly look at all of us, to shoot us soft intimate smiles that nestle into our hearts. 

"I just came because I missed you. So, so much. It doesn't get easier at all. And Ryan oppa and Deok-mi unnie send their love. They said to tell you I don't listen to them at all." She adds, laughing- but the sound is cut off by a sniffle.

I can't stand the sight or sound of an upset mate, and to top it's my sad baby mate so I find myself shifting closer, knees touching and resting my hand on her leg.

"She's actually a beautiful miracle. We're so, so lucky to have her." I speak up, darting a small smile at her.

"She's so headstrong and passionate." Namjoon hyung speaks.

"She's always putting others before herself. She doesn't care if people don't like her for it but she always speaks up when something wrong is being done." Jiminie says with a proud, reflective smile.

"She's always giving us heart attacks. Whether she's being adorable, sweet, playful, or even just herself. We find our eyes following her, searching for her." Hobi hyung says, eyes darting to glance at her even now, even as he speaks.

"She loves and lives so boldly, so intensely- making sure every moment isn't wasted. I told her that her time and love would be wasted on me, she told me she wanted to." Yoongi hyung confesses, lips curved in a small smile. So meaningful, so knowing. Reminding me again just how in the dark we'd been, how sudden it had been to find out that he'd been resisting the urge to bond to protect her.

"She was the person who for me shattered everything my parents had taught me, who made me realise everything we're told isn't true. And showed me just how big her heart is when she gave me another chance. And I will spend every day for the rest of my existence loving her." Jin hyung says, eyes flickering with pain and shame, soothed when (Y/N) reaches out to squeeze his hand.

"She's my only youngest mate. And I'll protect her with everything I am. Because when I saw her in pain, I knew I would do anything to end it." Kookie says softly.

Her soft sobs shatter the silence that falls.

I move closer, unable to part even the slightest distance from her- especially when she's so vulnerable and hurting.

"I got lucky with them didn't I mum? You and dad would've loved them. Just as I do." She says, now from the respite of my arms now.

"I love you too jagi." I murmur back.

The teary smile she gives me makes my heart melt.

We're the lucky ones.

(Y/N) POV:

It's a while later when I get up to put their urn away, that Jinnie oppa smiles- beating to me it, hands carefully cradling the urn as he carries it back, placing it on the shelf and bowing in respect.

The gesture warms me. 

That they respect my parents, that they all took turns to talk about me to them. Knowing it was both reassuring and soothing. As if all of our words would get to them.

Then Joonie oppa shoots me a smile- sweet and soft and just for me when he holds his hand out.

"Why don't you show us the photos around the house?" he says.

But there's excitement and eagerness as they follow me out, traipsing down the hallways and pausing in front of each photo- asking for details and the story behind them all.

My memories are faint from the ones where I'm younger but as my fingers brush against the glass, it's almost as if the glass fades and I feel each captured emotion in the photo, hear the echo of their laughter and their words, at the way they laughed as the wind ruffled through the skirt of my mum's dress and my dad scrabbles to help, her arms filled with holding me. Or hearing my young laughter pealing as I chase after my dad, my ice-cream held just out of my reach. 

It's a warm feeling showing them my past, feel the pleasant squirm of happiness when they coo over each photo; pointing out with excitement the different milestones noted, my first birthday, my first step, photos where I'm smiling and my full set of teeth are yet to appear.

Moving through the house is a new experience for them and the feeling of trekking through my past for me, knowing its perfectly preserved state has got to do with the ward protection Deok-mi unnie and Ryan oppa had cast on the house.

There's still the school letter on the fridge door, held in place by magnets that spell out 'trip', magnet souvenirs from the places we'd visited.

And when we walk up the stairs, I'm more than happy to let them into my bedroom, the bed sheets made and not ruffled like they had been that night, room filled with toys and cupboards still filled with clothes, pictures stuck up on the wall.

And the master bedroom next door, where I hesitate outside and feel panic well up inside me- knowing rationally that it's not the same horror scene I stepped out of that day but feeling scared nonetheless.

"Small steps little one." Yoongi oppa murmurs, hand coming to rest against my back in a silent show of support.

I can do this.

I can do this.

But even as I open the door I can't help the full-bodied flinch when my eyes rove to the bed immediately, mind flashing with the phantom sight of red-stained sheets.

But the sheets are changed, clean and unmarked, pillows still plumped and piled more heavily on the right- just as my mum used to habitually keep. 

And the window is shut, and when my hand carefully touches the sheets, they're dry. 

It's not the same scene from that night, not my from my dreams either. This is the room as if it had been untouched by the horrors that plagued me to this date, looking as if it was simply waiting for my parents to appear in the doorway.

The house has been wiped of the horrors it had held for the span of one night.

And that thought helped settle me. As if the memory of it couldn't linger or stain the memories we'd made here.

It was cleansed from it.

And now all that had to be cleansed was my burdened soul.

(A VERY EMOTIONAL REUNION SCENE OF SORTS AND I HOPED YOU ALL LIKED IT! UNLIKE THEIR URN BEING KEPT IN A MEMORIAL CENTRE, IT'S IN THEIR HOME- WARDED AND PROTECTED AND PRESERVED. LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!! I FELT THIS MOMENT OF REFLECTION AND KIND OF DIPPING BACK INTO THE PAST WAS NEEDED- BECAUSE NOW SHE KNOWS THAT THIS IS WHAT SHE'S FIGHTING FOR, THIS IS WHAT SHE'S BEEN TRYING TO RETURN TO, THAT UNTOUCHED HOME. AND SHE IS NOT LETTING HER HOME WITH HER MATES GET RUINED, SHE WANTS TO PRESERVE THAT- THIS IS WHAT THIS CHAPTER WAS MEANT TO SHOW. SO I HOPE IT DID! I CAN'T WAIT TO READ YOUR REACTIONS AND THOUGHTS- STAY SAFE AND TAKE CARE TOO MY LOVES!)

In an always changing world, we can try to stay the same, the people we are, the people we will grow to be will be the constant in our life. So seek and strive to be the best version of you, so you can take on the world and all its changes.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3