Taehyung stared down at his hands. The car slowed to a stop, the door on his left sliding open.

"Tae?" Jin asked gently. "You ready?"

He looked up at one of the most important people in his life, and smiled. It was a poor attempt at pretending to be okay, but Jin knew that. How could he not? He'd been with him this whole time, at his side every day since the fire. He knew him too well.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"It's okay," his manager answered softly, knowingly. "We're here."

Taehyung sighed, bracing himself; tightened his hands into fists, as if it would help. He stepped out and made his way around the car. As soon as he came into sight, hundreds of cameras flashed their lights at him, blinding him.

Together, the pair made their way to the outside stage. Namjoon was already there, stood with two microphones in his hand, waiting. Taehyung left Jin's side and stepped up, then he and Namjoon turned to face the press. The words they had prepared burned into their minds, hours of preparing culminating to this moment.

They had had enough. And the world was going to know.

"Hello," Namjoon started. "Thank you for coming. We realise this is unusual, you don't know why you're here yet, but you will not regret it. We politely request you keep your questions until the very end."

Taehyung grit his teeth, eyes darkening under the emotions which had tormented him for the last three weeks. Namjoon's voice was firm, grounding, so he listened and waited.

"You might have heard from us in the news recently, for multiple reasons. The first thing we will address however, is the fire."

Flashes kept going here and there, but mostly the crowd fell silent. The entirety of South Korea had been kept in the dark until now, the police reluctant to spread any information. But it was their company's right to divulge it, if they so chose.

And they had decided. They had had enough.

"It was not an accident. After investigation, it became clear that a bomb was set up inside our offices, and as it was set off, it started the blaze. Although we may not reveal their names, we can say that on the day of the fire which tore down Big Hit Entertainment, two people had broken into the building. They are now in police custody awaiting trial, and our lawyers will be making sure they each pay for the lives they stole. We will show them no mercy under the full strength of judicial law."

Shouts and questions erupted from the press corps, but Namjoon silenced them with one withering glare.

"There were four hundred and eighty-two people in the building on that day. Forty-six people did not make it out. A hundred and three needed medical care which may follow them into future years. Twelve people are still in an ICU ward."

He let that sink in, no one brave enough to interrupt the silence this time, as the death toll burrowed into their minds. This was the most up-to-date figure, the gravest. They'd known it was bad, but still... Forty-six people, some still teetering on the edge...

"I take this time to think about those lost souls. I knew every single one of them, had worked with some for years, and even now, after this conference, I will go back to the hospital and pray for my colleagues who are still fighting for their lives."

Taehyung felt his nails try to sink into the flesh of his palms under the pressure of his shaking fists, but he didn't care. Focussed on the pain instead of the thought of the tall white building he had only just left.

Then Namjoon read out those forty-six names, one by one, his voice wavering as he struggled and forced himself to continue. Of those deceased, one had been their boss, another had worked with him, right there in the editing department. But Namjoon had always been incredibly strong when it mattered, and he was intent on getting his message through.

"Particularly, I would like to draw attention to the two lives lost who belonged to fire-fighters: Kim Min-Sok and Daichi Kitajima. They died saving us, and we are eternally grateful."

Taehyung took a deep breath, knew it would be his turn to speak soon. He just hoped he could keep his voice steady, and so he let the anger simmering inside of him rise to the surface.

"The two terrorists," Namjoon continued, his voice quivering with fury, "these two bombers who targeted us, took much more than what they originally set out to destroy."

"They had come for me."

The crowd turned their eyes on Taehyung in a single movement.

"You may have heard of me coming out several months ago now."

He spoke with strength and fury, calmness empowering him, his eyes blazing. No one spoke, no one even dared nod at him.

"As it turns out, some people disagreed with that. They seemed to think my songs about loving yourself and opening up would poison younger generations... That my homosexuality would be a virus, contagious to anyone who heard about me."

The chuckle which left his throat was void of amusement; a dark toiling rumble.

"Those two people were murderers," he hissed, watching people flinch, smirking at them. "What? Don't want me to call them what they are? They are murderers."

By his side, Namjoon set a comforting hand on his back, pulling him back from the anger, silent communication reminding him: logic would fight this battle, not anger. He took a deep breath, and it rattled in his chest. Dissipating his fury, however, came at a cost. Unrelenting sadness and despair seemed to wash over him, attempted to drown him. He pushed it back with all his might, focussing on the script he knew by heart.

"They did this because they believed I was deserving of death for my love."

Another breath, he forced another in, despite the pain, despite his legs begging to run away.

"I have never hated others. Not when I was being controlled, not when I was being attacked, not even now. I do not hate them. Instead, I am heartbroken. For out there, I know there are still people who will think these terrorists had their heart in the right place."

One camera flashed, capturing the moment his eyes lifted through a glaze of angry unshed tears.

"And I am telling you, no matter how well planned you think you could be, no matter how small your actions, no matter whatever excuse you will think up to allow yourself to hurt others, you will never foresee the consequences of your actions. If you pick anger and retaliation, this is what will come of it: death and heartbreak. Innocent people hurt or killed, families crushed in the aftershocks."

Deep breath.

"I refuse to lie down and accept that these people will not stop. I will continue to walk this earth with my head high, spreading as much positivity as I can. In six months, I will be going on tour, so I may continue spreading that message."

The press rose to their feet with questions, but Taehyung wasn't answering any. He let his arm fall back to his side, clutching onto the microphone for something to focus on.

"We are not letting this ruin us," Namjoon took over, voice booming over the racket. "The movie will also resume it's course."

More shouts and questions, taking longer than expected to quieten.

"BigHit Entertainment will rebuild itself, moving forward into an age of acceptance. and with us we will carry those forty-six colleagues we lost. "

From the side of the stage a shout suddenly erupted. The men on stage and their audience all turned to see Jin running up, phone grasped in a white-knuckled grip, eyes boring into Taehyung's.

"Jungkook woke up!"

The world stopped turning. Every particle disappearing but for the image of Seokjin looking at him.

For a second he couldn't move, silence pounding in his ears. His eyes searching the other's, begging. And Jin knew, of course he did, he always seemed to know what he was thinking. He gave him one sharp nod, and it brought time crashing back into normality. He spun towards Namjoon, ready to apologise, but the elder's hand was already stretched out, waiting for Tae to give him the microphone. A silent message clearly conveyed:

/Go!/

Taehyung ran off the stage and into the car. As Jin sped through the streets of Seoul, Taehyung's knees bounced up and down, heart beating wildly in his chest.

Back on stage, Namjoon watched them go, continuing his speech, ignoring the script they had written so carefully. He stared down at the press corps and spoke from his heart.

~~ "I would like to talk about myself for a minute." ~~

After the fire, Taehyung had come back to the real world to the sounds of sirens and rushing medics. At his side, Jin had been sobbing into his shoulder as the ambulance hurtled towards the hospital.

He'd been confused, mind reeling. He'd asked to see his Jungkookie, but no one would say anything, medics just moving as fast as they could around them, Jin staring wide-eyed, his lips unmoving. That's when he'd known something was wrong.

~~"I grew up just an ordinary boy. I would look up at the night sky in wonder and dream the dreams of a boy. I used to imagine that I was a superhero, saving the world."~~

They had told him about Jeon Jungkook the next day. Jimin had walked in with Yoongi, Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin. And the six of them had talked. About what was happening to Jungkook, about how his lungs were struggling to heal, about what kind of person he was. For hours, they told him about how his Kookie was a brat, a rebellious boy with dreams of photography who'd only just learnt that it was okay to follow your dreams. Namjoon had said he had never seen the boy so motivated; so blissfully happy.

~~"I had one sanctuary, and that was movies. There was a small voice in me that said, 'Wake up, man, and listen to yourself!" But it took me a long time to hear film calling my name. I entered editing, and for a while I ignored that voice, I simply edited other people's work. But I'm done with that, tired of being silent." ~~

Jeon Jungkook had been asleep for three weeks now, as the car devoured the space between them and him. The doctors had been optimistic, but every day drew more and more hunger from Taehyung. Every night he dreamt of darkness, heard screams echoing around him and the angry crackling of fire. When he woke up it was always in sweat, his only thoughts being of his Kookie. He feared the bunny boy was stuck in that horrible landscape, their dreams having always been a gateway to each other.

But now he was awake.

His Kookie, His Kookie, His Kookie.

~~ "So I'm reaching out to you, to anyone out there watching this: Tell me your story. I want to hear your voice, and I want to hear your conviction. No matter who you are, where you're from, your skin colour, gender identity: speak yourself." ~~

Taehyung was out the car before it had fully stopped, his feet hitting the pavement like a waves crashing onto the shore. He pushed through the doors of the hospital, ignoring Jin's shouts to wait for him. Feet carried him as fast as possible down the path he had memorised by heart. They brought him closer and closer.

To His Kookie, His Kookie, His Kookie.

~~ "I have many faults and I have many fears, but I am going to embrace myself as hard as I can, and I'm starting to love myself, little by little." ~~

He screeched to a halt in front of the closed door, chest heaving, panting, eyes streaming, fear coursing through him painfully. Before he could put his hand on the handle, it slid open. There stood Yoongi. He'd been waiting for him. And Taehyung just stared at the mint-haired man, eyes begging, searching. A smile greeted him.

"See him for yourself, you numpty."

He stepped aside, and Taehyung took one shaking step forward. Took another and rounded the corner.

The wind was knocked out of his lungs. For there he was, His Kookie. His Jungkookie. Doe eyes staring at him, wide.

And he smiled that bunny smile, bringing every wall Tae had erected crumbling down.

Taehyung launched himself forward, into waiting arms, sobs taking over and several hands coming to rest on his back, soothing. Just there. The six of them huddled together, thanking the gods for their lives. Together, they turned to look at the TV in the corner of the room. Together, they watched as Kim Namjoon ended a speech which was about to change the world.

~~ "What is your name? Speak Yourself." ~~

And equally unknowing of how they had just changed the course of history, Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook cried in each other's arms, hearts shining cerulean blue.

***

[Disclaimer: anything between these signs: ~~ : were exerts of Kim Namjoon's UN speech, I take no credit for those words.]

***

"You know," Mother Fate said, as they watched over the pair, several months later. "If it weren't for those two, I wouldn't have been there, watching the Singularity Star for so long. And then maybe you wouldn't have been either, Lady Han."

The goddess of the Present looked up at her, her eyes no longer carrying the hatred they used to in her presence. They were at peace now, friends even. Through this all they'd come to understand the importance of the other, and how they were meant to balance each other out: destiny against choice.

"We only saved a couple hundred souls," she muttered back. "It's not like we changed the world ourselves."

"But we did, Han. Those couple hundred souls we helped happened to work in one place. Together they survived the trauma and rebuilt themselves, and together they changed paths. In one day, you managed to change so many souls into beacons of hope, and they in return spread that to the world. Like a butterfly effect: one small change altered an entire planet's future. I will never underestimate the power of the Present, you have my word on that, Lady of Here and Now."

She winked at the strange, beautiful creature, causing her to blush.

"We did that together," Lady Han said despite the flutters simmering inside her immortal body. "We turned one moment, one Singularity Star, into a positive one."

"You know, Future told me what would have happened in the other timeline."

"Oh?" she asked, sidling along to sit closer the other deity. When courage unexpectedly surged through her, she leaned her head onto the others shoulder, and together they gazed down at the happy humans. Fate's skin seemed to hum with contented magic where they touched.

"Those vines which spread over the globe in my vision... Instead of being ones of hope, of good people standing up to oppression, they would have been ones of defeat. All over the globe, people would have broken out into fights, spurred on by despair, by the thought that being yourself would lead to attacks. What started off with one bomb would turns into wars, and the reason for their beginning would soon be lost to history. Before long, humans would wipe each other out. I don't know the details, but Future foresaw it. Saw the domino effect this one terrible act would engender, he just didn't care the way we do. In his eyes, the planet would have been rid of humans, flourishing once more as an animal kingdom. He saw no problem with it. So that's why the Singularity Star was so strong: because the attack was always destined to be spread by the media. But in the end, it wasn't a symbol of despair and hatred, and so the vines turned positive."

"It's mysterious."

"Mhm... A sheer stroke of Luck, my dear."

"Actually..." Han said, her voice giddy with wonder. "I think something else intervened, other than us."

"Really?" Fate looked down at the goddess and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer. "Like what?"

"Ah... I don't know. Just something Verse said awhile back had me thinking."

"About what?"

Han hummed to herself, thinking.

"Simply put, it may be that the DreamScape developed its own thoughts, its own powers. It was born from Verse's subconscious, after all, it had the power to be great. I think it knew something unstoppable was coming, and so it adapted, used its purpose to change the course of history."

Mother Fate sighed_ a happy sound, a curious sound.

"You know Darling, that wouldn't surprise me."

They lapsed into silence, content with the thought that there were still things left in this world for them to discover. Things that they, perhaps, would discover together.