Taehyung couldn't sleep.

As he stared at the sliver of starry sky visible from a slit in the overhead cover of their caravan, he wondered how everyone back home would be doing. His hyungs would have been crazed with worry. His parents.. He couldn't even begin to imagine how worried and distraught they would be because of his absence.

It was December already. Soon it would be Christmas and the year would end. He would have spent more than half a year in this time zone, away from everyone he loved.

'Well, not everyone.' He thought as he looked down. 

He took in Y/N's tiny frame sleeping soundly in a corner of the caravan, curled into herself. She liked to bury her head in the nook of her own arm as she slept, as if shielding herself from something. Recently whenever she got scared at night, she would crawl into his bed soundlessly and curl up next to him like a cat. He would wake up in the morning to find her tangled in his arms, clutching his body for dear life.

Those were the best mornings honestly. When Y/N was with him he didn't think of all his troubles. He could push his worries out of his mind and just get lost in her presence. 

His angel.

It was funny how he had saved her in the beginning, but right now she was the one saving him and she didn't even know it. Without her, he would have fallen apart long ago.

It had been a week since they got the terrible news. Taehyung had carved out a new path in the map for them to travel. Tomorrow they would reach a town just south of Albertville, which is where they would part ways with this caravan owner. From here, they would use all their leftover money to travel deeper into Switzerland and find a place to settle down for a little while. After all, they did not have a set destination anymore.

Taehyung wondered again about what he was going to do. His original plan was to meet with the scientists, try to understand the phenomenon that led him here, and then replicate it to return to his time. If it was at all possible, he would even ask Y/N to come with him. He wasn't sure if she would agree, but he had a feeling she would. Because sadly enough,  she had no one left in this world to hold her back.

It would have been difficult, but he would have helped her adapt. He would have taken care of her. He had planned how he would introduce her to his hyungs, how they would talk about everything that had happened back in Carcassonne where they first met and his hyungs would laugh at the crazy and unbelievable tale. But now? Now everything had gone to shit.

"Fuck." He cursed softly, running his hands through his hair. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, mostly because he just could not stop dreaming about everyone who would be looking for him in 2019. How had it come to this?

"Tae?" The soft voice broke him out of his reverie. Y/N was looking at him with wide eyes, pushing herself up with her hands. Her messy hair fell over her face slightly and she pushed it back with one hand. Taehyung licked his lips, taking his bottom one between his teeth immediately after.

"Go to sleep darling." He said, not wanting to worry her.

"Too late." She piped, smiling softly as she got up on her knees and made her way to him. She sat right beside him, their bodies touching lightly, and used her blanket to cover up the both of them. Taehyung instantly felt her warmth and sighed contentedly.

"What would I do without you?" He whispered, looking at her face and taking in her sleep laden eyes.

"I wonder the same thing." She said, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. In turn, he rested his on top of her head and they laid like that for a while. The breeze was cool that night, the winter was coming on harshly.

"Travel will soon become too hard. We should settle down someplace." Taehyung said, breaking the silence.

"Okay." She agreed, testing out the new word.

"You learn so quickly." Taehyung laughed, wondering when the transition from 'alright' to 'okay' had happened. Y/N picked up more and more new words and slangs from him everyday.

"It's an unfortunate thing, really. Soon I will not be able to communicate with anyone other than you because nobody will understand what I say." She laughed, her angelic voice filling Taehyung's heart to the brim.

They stayed silent for a little bit more, before Y/N broke the silence.

"Tae?"

"Hmm?"

"I... I had a dream."

"Go on." He encouraged.

"It was about what you told me that night. You know... the "making love" and everything."

Taehyung sat upright abruptly, his fists balling up all on their own and his ears turning hot. Y/N fell a little to the side but she braced herself and sat up as well. He groaned lightly, his breath coming hot.

"Y/N oh my god. Why do you say these things with your damn innocent voice? It drives me fucking insane."

Y/N's eyes widened. Taehyung rarely ever swore around her.

"Wha.. I thought you'd be happy to know." She said, her expression confused.

"I'd be happy to know that you had an erotic dream about me? Trust me darling I'm fucking ecstatic but the point is I can't do anything about it."

The he laughed slightly, a little bitter.

"It's almost like you're torturing me. Do you know how hard it is to control TaeTae Junior around your darned cute face?" He stopped himself from calling it his 'dick' because he felt it was too vulgar a word to use in front of Y/N.

Y/N cocked her head to the side as she stared up at him.

"TaeTae what?" She questioned.

Taehyung closed his eyes for a second, shaking his head while a smile on his face.

"Ah what am I going to do with you?" He said to no one in particular, pushing her head back into his shoulder to avoid explaining further.

"You never tell me anything." Y/N complained, her voice muffled.

"Because I don't want to ruin your mind."

"But I'm very intelligent. I can take in a lot of information. I used to read so many books in my father's library and I-"

"It's not that kind of ruin." Taehyung laughed, cutting her off.

"Then explain please."

"How about I tell you more about what we were discussing yesterday evening? Hm?" Taehyung attempted to switch the topic. He knew he succeeded when he saw the twinkle in Y/N's eyes and the change in her expression.

"Yes yes! Please. I want to know more about space travel." She begged like a little child, making Taehyung smile widely. God he loved her so much. So much that sometimes it hurt.

"Okay, so who was the first man on the moon?" He quizzed her as he usually did.

"Neil Armstrong." She answered quickly.

"Yes, and when did he land there?"

"Uh.. 1969?"

"Yes. What was the name of the space shuttle?"

"Apollo 11." She answered with confidence.

"Good girl."

"What about other planets? You told me there's 8. Did anyone visit any of those?"

"No. Not yet. Although, I think Mars might be the first one we ever visit."

"Why that one?"

"They say it's a little similar to the Earth and has some water trapped on surface. It also has an atmosphere I think, so human life may be possible sometime in the future."

Y/N's eyes twinkled even more, reflecting the tiny sliver of sky still visible from the slit.

"What is atmosphere?"

Taehyung explained, and explained. After a while they both started getting tired, so Taehyung pulled her down to lie with him, her head resting on his extended arm and his other arm resting on her waist. Y/N snuggled closer to him under the blanket, relishing in the familiar touch of her love. She moved her head around a little until she found the most comfortable spot, making Taehyung laugh.

'Ah, she's like a little mouse. So cute.'

They continued talking in that position, talking about any and all knowledge that Taehyung could remember from his time. It fascinated Y/N to know how many things had been discovered by the year 2019, her brain exploding with questions, many of which Taehyung couldn't even answer but he attempted his level best.

Nobody knew who fell asleep first, but eventually they both did. A peaceful sleep in each other's embrace, away from nightmares and old memories.

__________________

Meanwhile, a hundred kilometers away, a man stood in what had been Y/N and Taehyung's recent home in Valence. He walked slowly, his hands tucked behind his back. His eyes searched for all clues that could have been left behind, and he was rewarded when he saw a forgotten little mirror placed near the bedside table.

The man bent down to pick it up and inspected it under the moonlight, instantly recognizing it to be a Johnson family heirloom. He grinned widely.

"David." He called out. A guard came rushing forward instantly, bowing his head to greet his overlord.

"Seems like we are on the right track. Show a sketch of her to the people around here and ask for her whereabouts. She must not have left too long ago. Ask if there was someone with her as well."

"Oui, Monsieur." David bowed again, taking his leave.

The man twirled the mirror around in his hand and then held it up, inspecting his own face. What stared back at him was a clean reflection of the only son of the Herring family. He smiled at the mirror, pleased with both his discovery and his own vision.

"How long will you hide, little Y/N?"