Mix and Match ~ TK

66

"Where's he?"

Jin motioned to the stairs, indicating that the brunette was in his bedroom. Taehyung was discharged the same day and Jimin didn't even greet anyone before jumping up, two stairs at a time to reunite with his soulmate.

Taehyung had been zoning in and out for the entire night. He didn't know what time it was and he felt the wounds over his body slowly heal themselves. It wasn't taking away any of the ache though, wincing whenever he as much as blinked.
Self-inflicted injuries didn't close up as fast as others. Taehyung was well aware of it, and he was conscious of the riot he had caused as he overheard his brother's conversation with the Council.
Sometimes, his dear sibling forgot that he had ears and that he could listen if he wanted to.
That conversation however wasn't intentionally overheard, he was barely opening his eyes and he had sensed the trepidation weighing him down, drowning the entire house.

Apparently, he passed out at a very inconvenient moment and it was the same evening the meeting with the Council was due. Oh they were in so much trouble.
The Council didn't depart as Namjoon had hoped and they left two investigators behind them, arguing that they were to stay in case the rogues they temporarily imprisoned had any feisty friends around.
Only now, these two investigators were a royal pain in their ass.
And they appear to take a particular interest in the youngest Kim's case.

Taehyung didn't need to hear more to know he would be bombarded with questions as soon as they get word of him waking up. Currently, Taehyung was slowly reminiscing prior events to his passing out without much difficulty since he noticed that his mind was full of memories from the past. He remembers everything.
However, Taehyung was not telling this to anyone as of now.

Taehyung was practicing breathing exercices, trying to force his heart into a steady rythme when the door to his bedroom flew wide open and an angel came in.

It was all a blur of breaths and hugs and pain—because Jimin tends to forget we weights more than he thinks— and the best friends were hugging as if there was no tomorrow.

"I won't ask, don't worry."

Taehyung needed only to hear that in order to completely slack against the beta's arms.

"I missed you."

"Missed you too." The brunette mumbled, closing his eyes and sniffing his best friend's familiar scent.
Taehyung felt as if another piece of him got into place.

-

Jungkook went directly to his apartment and closed the door behind him. He was breathing with difficulty and he had a throbbing headache. He needed to do something.
Something that would shake him awake from this nightmare.
His neck hurt, his chest constricted, his eyes stung. He was heaving. He wasn't thinking because he simply couldn't anymore. Jungkook was losing control and his true blood wolf was going berserk.
He did in fact leave their mate on that clinical bed and walked away.
Jungkook was divided: his logical side told him that he made the best choice and that nothing he would've done would have helped Taehyung anymore. He had lost him. His animal side however, wasn't getting any of this, refusing to accept the fact that there was a valid reason for leaving their other half. Refusing to believe that Jeon Jungkook was rejecting his side of the mate bond.
Didn't he know that it was going to kill him? He did.
Didn't he care? He did not.

Jungkook had taken too many hits in the same spot and his heart suffered too much. The entire game came to a halt at the ultimatum: save himself or save his mate.
The alpha initially would've chosen easily, he couldn't care about himself. But something along the way had changed, he couldn't grasp it yet but he knew his principles were shifting. It was dangerous, risky, unknown. But the change was there.
Jungkook couldn't save what can't be saved.
His sanity was more worth it, he decided.

And thankfully, he wasn't alone.

"I heard what happened."

Jungkook shook his head, refusing to talk about it nor even think about it.
He only started breathing properly again when a pair of familiar arms circled around his waist and head was resting on his left shoulder, closing the gap between their bodies.

"You don't have to choose. It's not a competition Kookie."

Goddess, how did he always knew what to say and when to say it?

"Why don't you rest and think it through tomorrow?"

Jungkook nodded with no ounce of motivation whatsoever but smiled faintly at the gentle squeeze around him, nuzzling his head in the other's neck with a pleasing hum.

He will think about it all tomorrow.

-

"Why did you ignore all my texts and calls?" The blonde scolded after a few meaningless conversations and Jimin's interesting—incomplete—mating story.

"They came in late."

Jimin couldn't stop the hand slapping his best friend's arm.

"You brat! I was mad at you still. Of course I wouldn't text you right away!"

"I was mad too." Taehyung pouted while Jimin adjusted the freshly changed bandages on his face, "I'm sorry Minnie. For lashing out and for being impulsive, as always."

Jimin's own lip wobbled as he shook his head, golden strands flailing around.

"Apology accepted." He took Taehyung's other hand and applied the ointment on the still-healing wounds delicately. "I'm sorry for the things I said to you, too."

Taehyung barely moved his other hand in a dismissing manner. Nothing changed, Taehyung still never accepted apologies and everything was back to normal between the soulmates. Except, everything else wasn't.

"Where's Jungkook?"

Jimin's eyes caught Taehyung's own looking away.

"Tae Tae..." he sighed heavily. "What did you do?"

"Why do you automatically assume it was me?!" Taehyung dramatically rolled his brown eyes.

"Because it always is." Jimin affirmed, pressing rather harshly on of the scratches making the brunette hiss and glare.

"I didn't do shit! He's way too sensitive, not my damn fault."

"Taehyung." Jimin wiped his hands with a handkerchief and threw the old bandages away along with the used cloth. "I was talking to him, you know that right? He told me you guys were... in a calmer place, that you found a common ground."

Taehyung hummed, eyes on the window in contemplation.

"Then what happened? Why isn't he here? Why wasn't he here when-"

"I don't know, Jimin. Why don't you ask him yourself since you talk to him everyday?"

Jimin sighed again, giving up. He only just made up with his best friend, he wasn't about to ruin it all in a blink.

"Let's eat? I'm starving!"

"Whatever."

"Say ah-"

"Don't you fucking dare."

Jimin only threw his hands up in defeat, pushing the tray with the soup to the brunette to eat by himself.

-