Mix and Match ~ TK

61

"Who are you?" The alpha asked, eyes looking at the blonde figure before him in a daze.

"Hello, Hoseok. I'm Jimin."

"H-hobi?" Suga stuttered from behind the seemingly calm blonde.
Jimin felt movement behind him and suddenly the white haired beta was crouched in front of his mate, hands trembling and eyes wide.

"You talked!"

Hoseok's eyes were heavy as he seemed to take in his surroundings and really look for what felt like the first time in forever at his mate's face.

"Sugar?"

Yoongi frantically nodded his head, fingers fumbling with the alpha's ones.
Jimin felt like a third wheel at this exact moment. Oddly enough though, he didn't feel the need to get away. He knew the couple were having a moment and by the looks of it, it was something that Yoongi has been waiting desperately for.
The blonde only made a few steps back to give them some privacy while watching the interaction with an interested glint.

Abruptly, he was taken out of his contemplation when he felt two pair of eyes staring at him.

"What?" He asked, unsure. Yoongi only offered him a small smile.

"Hobi, this is Jimin. He is my.."

"Second chance?" Hoseok finished his hesitant presentation.

"How did you know?" Yoongi asked, now turned towards his mate in confusion. The latter only shrugged.

"He's looking at you." The red haired pointed out. "The same way I look at you."

Jimin momentarily froze. Was he that obvious? He felt a bit awkward and decided to avert his gaze downwards to avoid outing himself any more.

"Hey, it's okay." Jimin startled when he felt a gentle hand grazing his own. He looked up to find that Hoseok was offering him a shy lift of his lips. Jimin was mesmerized by the brightness that appeared to shine through the alpha's small smile. It warmed the beta's insides considerably. "Come join us?"

Jimin didn't speak up as he was led to the bed where the wolf had been unconscious on. Now Hoseok's face, albeit still pale, seemed livelier with life coming back to flush blood into his cheeks and his scent flowing around in a more heightened dosage, the smell of strawberries and mint mingled together with both the betas neutral ones.

In the middle of the large mattress, Jimin, Yoongi and Hoseok were sitting in a circle, moments of liberating silence filling the atmosphere with their limbs all touching in some way or another.
Yoongi's knee was on top of Hoseok's thigh, Hoseok's arm brushing against Jimin's own and Jimin's shoulder grazing Yoongi's one.

"I know I should feel like I'm not okay with this." The red haired alpha started, somehow avoiding eye contact as he seemed to gather his thoughts. "But I am." He added on a more affirmative tone. "Being here, alone and even after you came back Yoongi, I felt like I was dying. I don't understand what went on. I was unimaginably angry at you when you left but thinking back, it wasn't even that big of a deal. It always felt like it though. The smallest disagreement looked cumbersome to me. I know our relationship never was smooth sailing like everyone thinks it is. But I just can't believe I had to nearly die in order to understand how much I need you in my life." Hoseok's sudden speech left both the other wolves shaken. Jimin once again felt like he was intruding in a very private conversation and Yoongi's eyes were swimming in tears.

"You.. you didn't want to talk to me. I thought... I thought I lost you."

"I'm sorry, sugar. When you were gone and my condition started to worsen, I stated having these hallucinations and the more time went by the realer they got." The alpha was thrown into a fit of coughing, his words appearing to be taking him a lot more effort than necessary with his weakened state. He kept going nevertheless, "The mind healer told me that I had to ignore them in order not to lose my mind at some point. Somehow, you coming back hadn't fully registered inside my head I'm afraid."

Yoongi shook his head in an a way that told the alpha he forgave him and doesn't want him to feel bad about anything. The beta did share half the guilt after all.

"But.." he struggled to find words. "How did you-"

"How did I just wake up and speak?" He guessed, Yoongi nodded. "Even asleep, I'm aware of what's going on around me. The healer came by earlier along with your father. They told me that someone came from very far to help me. I didn't understand anything and quickly slept again but..." he trailed off, eyes locking with Jimin's wide blue ones. "I think I get it now."

"I'm n-" Jimin began explaining but was gently cut off.

"You're not my mate, no." Hoseok confirmed, seemingly knowing what the young beta was going to say. "You're the reason why Yoongi's end of the bond was intact when mine was stretching to ripping point. I know it sounds crazy, but I think that in my state of fading away, the thought of Yoongi's bond still intact made me hold onto it. I knew there was a reason. I knew something out there was keeping me alive and keeping my mate from suffering the same way I was." Hoseok's eyes never left the blonde, his very fragile health not hindering the feelings and gratefulness he wants to show the younger wolf.

"Jimin is not my second chance." Yoongi suddenly muttered as understanding dawned on him after a few seconds. Hoseok smiled while Jimin looked overly confused.

"Jimin is our second chance both, isn't it?"

-

Park Jimin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, back on the wall, contemplating the way his life has taken a sharp turn of events.

"How are you feeling, son?"

"I.. I don't know." Came the reluctant answer.

The old woman smiled encouragingly at the young wolf.

"What don't you know, exactly?"

Jimin shrugged.

"Everything. I don't understand how I am their second chance? I mean... I know that Yoongi is my mate, I felt it the first time we met. But Hoseok?"

The woman only stared at him, aging eyes holding wonders of the long intriguing life she's had; studying, assessing but most importantly helping the young beta.

"Hoseok is not my mate." Jimin said, more to himself than to the shaman, trying to get a hold on the situation.

"Not your fated one, that's for sure." She agreed.

"Then how.. what am I supposed to do? I can't- I don't want to separate them.. I refuse to do this."

"Who said anything about separating them?"

"I don't know.. isn't that what this is all about? Yoongi is my mate and Hoseok is his mate and I'm their second chance? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Hmm." Jimin's frustration was growing by the second and the healer only stared at him with kind scrutiny. "You don't want to intrude into their relationship but they insist you are their missing half- third rather. Something about this bothers you, why is that?"

Jimin took a minute to analyze the question. Yoongi and Hoseok were fated mates but in some sort of twisted turn of events their bond was meant to be broken. Yoongi found Jimin who then turned out to be his fated second mate. Jimin comes here, Hoseok wakes up, alive and now he was in the middle of them both.
If Jimin wants to crystallize this relationship at some point, he will have to accept not only his fated mate, but his fated mate's mate. Okay?
What the actual love triangle rom-com shit is this...
Oh.
Jimin's eyes widened as sudden realization settled in.

"I have two mates."

The shaman cracked a genuine smile and Jimin's heart raced from his final conclusion.

"The moon Goddess chose Yoongi for you. But you can choose Hoseok for yourself." The mind healer completed his enlightenment.

Jimin's cheeks flushed. Both anticipation and exhilaration sparked through him. Jimin finally understood that he, as a matter of fact, had the privilege of getting not one, but two souls to share the rest of his life with.

-