A/N: Thank you for the encouragement and love! Don't hesitate to leave feedback so I can improve my writing ^^

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Jin yells.

Jungkook whirls around, grabs me roughly by the arm, and pulls me away into a run. We will not get caught. Not this time, not now. And certainly not by J-Hope.

"I'm right BEHIND YOUUU!"

J-Hope's screech reaches our ears loud and clear. Jungkook runs impossibly faster and I fight harder, pushing my feet against the rough soil underneath us as we travel deeper into the heart of the woods. We fly over tree roots and underbrushes. My vision shakes with every step.

J-Hope remains hot on our tails.

"You're not getting away this time!"

We don't waste energy trying to speak. I simply follow Jungkook's lead like I've always done, trusting him to find the best way out.

The light in the sky slowly fades away the further we run. The world above us, a crystal blue before, turns into a canopy of rough branches. But the distance between us and J-Hope remains the same as ever in our endless race...

"Safety," I yell to Jungkook. Our code word for 'I'm tired and I can't keep this up much longer'.

"There's no safety this time!" J-Hope sings. "No escape!"

Jungkook looks ahead, gauging the distance, then glances back at me. He holds up two fingers. Two more minutes.

I nod. I can do that.

The grass keeps our footsteps silent. The only sound that reaches my ears is our breathing and the excited racing of my heartbeat. It feels so good to be running again, to feel the wind fly past me and through my hair. I watch Jungkook's jacket billow behind him to distract myself from exhaustion.

I will not slow down. Slowing down means defeat.

J-Hope is still right behind us but he's not yelling anymore, which means he must be getting tired too.

The woods become so dense that, even with our air powers, it's very difficult to make a clear path and travel quickly. J-Hope is at a disadvantage now because he can only bend light, not physical objects. Jungkook points at a nearby tree.

"This one?"

"The trunk is too smooth," I shake my head.

"How 'bout this one?"

I look up at the top of the second tree, which still has a fair amount of branches at the top. "Seems good enough."

"Come on!"

We climb like our lives depend on it. Whenever there's a branch that's too flimsy to stand on, we pull up on the air to make ourselves lighter - a skill that we've mastered playing intense tag every chance we got.

"Hey, that's cheating!" J-Hope yells.

"Anything is fair game!" Jungkook yells back. "That's what you said when you turned yourself invisible, remember?"

We ignore the rest of J-Hope's miffed commentary as we climb higher and higher. A windy breeze welcomes us when we finally emerge at the top, which feels amazing. It cools us down and energizes us. Jungkook flattens out the upper branches and we settle down next to each other to rest.

"Looks like he's given up," Jungkook says.

I look down below us. Sure enough, J-Hope is nowhere in sight. But we silently agree to stay up here anyway because it's peaceful and we're still tired from the long run.

The view up here would've looked incredible in the summer. I could imagine the endless green stretching over the trees and mountain ranges, how fresh and wild this place could've been - a paradise for Taehyung. Now it's just empty branches and dead leaves.

It's not cold enough for snow yet, but at least the view sparkles - a layer of frost has settled over everything, perfect lumosity achieved by a gentle fog of sunshine.

It's a beautiful view of late autumn. We zip our jackets tighter in the peaceful cold.

"GOTCHA BACK!" A voice echoes from the distance.

"NOOOOOOOO!!"

I smile. "Back to Jin."

"We've gotta be more careful now," Jungkook says. "Jin could actually burn down the trees if he wanted to."

I nod in agreement.

After adjusting to our new lives out here, tag became our go-to activity. It simulated running away and using our powers to escape an enemy - a great replacement for training. And not only that, it was fun.

It's been four days.

Jungkook and I haven't been tagged once.

I wonder how much longer we can last, and how much longer it'll take the rest of them to figure out that they could gang up if they wanted to. Five against two. Would the odds still be in our favor then?

What makes me more anxious, though, is what could happen in a few days' time. Namjoon has been staying in his tent all week, brainstorming and finalizing our plans with Jin's occasional help. He's nearly finished. But even if we get Jimin and Suga back, it's still eight of us against who-knows-how-many. Hundreds, possibly thousands.

What could happen to us then, if we failed? The stake of pride in a tag game is nothing compared to what could happen out there.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?"

"You just... you had that look on your face," Jungkook tilts his head. "You were deep in thought."

I blink. "You were staring at me?"

"Ya! Don't put it that way," he smiles. "No I wasn't staring at you. I was observing."

I shake my head fondly.

"So... what was on your mind?"

"I've been anxious," I mumble. "Namjoon's close to finishing his plans but I just feel like we're getting closer to our doom. And on top of that, a group of six, you know... it's not the same."

His eyes soften. "I get you."

Jungkook's been with them even longer than I have, so whatever I'm feeling is probably nothing compared to his emotions.

"Hey, don't think about it too much," Jungkook says as he shifts closer to me. "Jimin used to tell us that if we have bad thoughts, we gotta find things to do. Busy ourselves. If you just sit there and keep thinking about it, then you'll think yourself into a dark tunnel you'll never get out of."

I sigh as I look back out at the view. "But what can we do?"

"I don't know," Jungkook shrugs. "Anything to get your mind off things. I just don't want to see you all stressed out."

We've done everything though - exercise with J-Hope, making dirt castles with Taehyung, fishing with Jin (who used to do it with Yoongi when they had free time), cooking with Jin, eating with Jin, running with Jungkook, tree-top sitting with Jungkook, training with Jungkook, and laughing with Jungkook.

So much time with Jungkook and everyone I've come to cherish.

But it never feels like enough.

I tear my gaze away from the view to actually look at him - the person that I'm most afraid to let go. I try to embed this moment into memory... like that day when he sang Euphoria to me in the treehouse.

This is a second snapshot.

I notice everything, every detail: the sunlight that reflects in his soft brown eyes. The shape of his eyebrows. His pretty lips. His perfectly windswept hair, which is still bright pink. I don't know what he did to it but the color hasn't faded at all.

And of course he chooses this moment to turn and look me in the eyes, the slightest smirk raising the corner of his lips. "Who's doing the staring now?"

I realize my mistake too late. "I was just looking!"

"With that expression? Please," he laughs. "You've must've been staring for a while."

"DINNER'S READY, YOU SQUIRRELS!"

"Jin?" Jungkook looks below us while I send Jin the biggest mental hug for saving me.

"Yeah, time out on tag!" I hear Jin yell. "Namjoon's putting the final touches on his plan and he wants to tell us over dinner in a few minutes!"

"Got it hyung!"

Jungkook gives me a look - raised eyebrows and a playful gleam in his eyes - before we set off. It passes by too quickly for me to decipher.

Getting down to the ground is much easier because we can glide most of the way. Once our feet hit solid dirt, we start walking back to camp. I'm practically skipping from another day of victory - a clean sweep! The title of 'Never Tagged' is still rightfully ours.

"Wait up," Jungkook says suddenly. "I'm going to take a detour."

We're still pretty far from camp and the sky is already getting dark. I look worriedly at our surroundings, then back to him. "Are we coming back?"

"Not 'we', only 'I'," he says, pointing at himself. "I gotta take a detour. I'll come back, don't worry."

"Did something happen?"

"No Y/n, I'll literally be right over there. See those bushes?"

I look at where he's pointing. It's quite far to be fair, down a pathway separated from the main forest path. There's a little clump of thick, scraggly bushes that sit together and form a protective circle.

My eyebrows furrow. "What are you going there for?"

"Uhh... it'll just take a few minutes."

"What'll take a few minutes?"

"... call of nature." Jungkook admits shyly.

"Huh?"

Jungkook tilts his head. "You know... bathroom? It's just, we've been playing tag all day, I didn't notice I needed to go till now -"

"Oh! Oh my gosh you're fine I'm so sorry," I facepalm myself as Jungkook laughs. "How did I not put that together? I'm an idiot!"

"No you're not."

"Yeah, I am!"

No, you're beautiful.

The faintest of whispers. Could that be...? I think it over, then quickly shake my head. No one would say that right now, least of all to me.

Must've been the wind.

"Anyways..." Jungkook clears his throat. "I'm gonna go now. Stay here okay?"

I nod furiously, taking this as a chance to redeem myself. "I won't move a single step."

"Thank you." He smiles.

And before I even notice the shrinking distance between us, he kisses my forehead.

Then turns around and leaves.

Wait.

My eyes widen.

Did that just -?

I stare after his figure, frozen in astonishment, and my right hand comes up to touch my forehead at the exact same place where he... kissed it. Without warning.

I blush furiously, glad that Jungkook can't see my face right now, and turn around so he wouldn't be able to see even if he looked over from the bushes.

That was new.

Sure we got much closer and more comfortable with each other through tag, but this was new.

He. Just. Did that!

I stand there like an idiot as I fangirl over what just happened and barely manage to suppress my excited squeal of joy. 

Suddenly I'm thinking back to all the times we sat together on treetops, and the times when we'd run away together from Taehyung's dirt tornados, and the times when we'd go fishing with an approving Jin, and the times when we snooped around the -

"Psst. Y/n!"

My smile disappears.

That wasn't Jungkook's voice.

I look around myself, heartbeat thumping in my ears as I listen on high alert. I hesitantly glance back into the forest to find Jungkook but he's nowhere in sight.

Please hurry up.

I consider running, but I already told him I wouldn't move a single step.

Why does everything happen the moment he leaves my side?

"Y/n, over here!"

My throat has gone dry. I want to call out for Jungkook, but I find myself unable to speak as I turn back around and finally spot someone behind a nearby tree. I squint at the person's figure.

Who are you?

It's difficult to be sure in dim lighting. The figure seems to notice this because he sheepishly steps away from the tree.

I recognize him.

The second I see who it is, my lungs fill with air and my eyes widen in disbelief as I prepare to let out the biggest scream that I've ever screamed in my whole life because oh my avocado toast it's actually him standing there in front of me -

But I don't.

He's already moved forward and clasped a hand over my mouth.