TWO FOR ONE.

十八

Jimin remained quiet throughout the introduction. He was slightly shaken and cautious of the stranger who stood way too close to Taehyung for his liking. To a large irrational extent, Jimin felt threatened by the psychiatrist, Doctor Jung Hoseok even if he knew his motive for being here to assist in his and Taehyung's recovery from the trauma of their long-term abusive relationship with him.

Jimin was rattled with a sudden shudder of disquietude. He wondered- he really couldn't help it, but he wondered: what would he do if he found out they were seeking help to break out of the ways he taught them? The ways he taught them to become accustomed to. The things he told them they were to be, do, say and worst of all- believe.

"Jimin-ah." Seokjin called out as he made a hasty turn to Jimin to hold him up by his waist. "Jimin what's wrong? Speak to me."

"I can't- I-I can't..." He trailed off with thick, deep breaths blocking his airways.

Taehyung watched in horror as Jimin's knees buckled and mouth gaped as he tried to draw in as much oxygen as possible.

"Daddy! Gu-Gukkie- daddy!" He screeched as his eyes filled with tears.

Jeongguk wrapped his right arm around Taehyung's head, allowing him to bury his head in the crook of his neck as his left arm snaked around his waist to pull their bodies together. Jeongguk turned his head to press a soft kiss to Taehyung's right temple.

Seokjin chewed his bottom lip as he turned his head towards Hoseok's direction, his coppery eyes filled with excessive pleads for guidance. For once he was lost. He didn't know what he could say to Jimin that could calm him down. The only thing he could do to help him was hold him up in attempts to stop him from collapsing onto the cold, marble flooring. Seokjin knew that Jimin's sudden panic attack was something that could not be controlled with chamomile tea and a deep, meaningful conversation.

Hoseok was quick to spot Seokjin's pleas and acted upon it. He dropped his black leather briefcase then shimmied out of his camel double breasted coat and threw it over the backrest of the couch.

"Hyung, lets sit him on the couch." He spoke in a slow, controlled voice.

Hoseok wrapped an arm around Jimin's waist as he and Seokjin walked Jimin to the couch and sat him down. Hoseok grabbed a cushion and wrapped an arm around Jimin's upper back to pull him forward to secure the cushion behind him for extra comfort. He then took Jimin's trembling hands into his own which made the younger man stare into his solemn, tranquil eyes. For a spilt second, Jimin felt as if each breath of oxygen he had been gasped for finally filled his lungs as he stared at Doctor Jung Hoseok.

"Jimin. Listen to me. I need you to concentrate on your breathing, stay in the present. Take a breath with me okay?" He uttered serenely.

Jimin could only nod vigorously, desperate to compose himself and regulate his breathing.

Hoseok smiled small. "On a count of three. One, two... three."

Hoseok opened his mouth to draw in a deep breath- Jimin imitating his actions and the two exhaled simultaneously. Hoseok gave Jimin a bright, wide smile as he nodded.

"Well done, Jimin. You're doing so well. I'm proud of you." Hoseok told him as he slowly shook his left hand out of Jimin's tight hold and managed to place his hand on his cheek. "Again now. Breath with me. On a count of three- one, two, three."

Jimin closed his eyes and he nuzzled his head into Hoseok's soft, warm touch and opened his mouth to inhale, then exhaled through his nose. He opened his eyes to see Hoseok smiling at him. He searched the man's chocolate eyes for anything that would give him the feeling of animus, but to his suprise, he found nothing but compassion, composure and capability.

"Da-daddy's okay now? Can I go to daddy?" Taehyung asked as he looked up at Jungkook, a deep pout painted upon his lips.

"No baby, you gotta give daddy his space. But in the meantime, Gukkie can give you all the cuddles you want. Hm? How does that sound?"

Taehyung nodded as he wrapped his frail arms around Jeongguk's waist tighter. "Okay."

Hoseok gave a light chuckle at Jimin's ambiguous expression. "I'm really proud of you Jimin, you did a good job."

"Tell me what you need. Do you need anything?"

Jimin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out but a small croak which made Hoseok chuckle again. It may be very wrong of him to have such a thought about someone who was about to become a patient of his, but he found Jimin to be intriguingly winsome.

"Would you like a glass of water?" He asked as he squeezed Jimin's hands lightly.

Jimin looked to Seokjin who jumped a little from the sudden contact but moved to grab Jimin a rather large glass of water. Jimin turned to look back at Hoseok and gave him a hesitant nod.

"Okay. I think Seokjin hyung is already on the case." He humoured. "Are you okay for me to talk to you?"

Jimin gave another small nod.

"Okay, so, I'm Doctor Jung Hoseok. I'm a psychiatrist and I want to help you and Taehyung through any psychological issue affecting your lives. Is that... okay?"

Again, Jimin nodded.

"Great. You're not much of a talker are you? Can I ask why?" He questioned cautiously.

Jimin gulped as he pulled his hand out of Hoseok's gentle hold and pointed at him with his index finger. "S-stranger danger."

Just as that was said, Seokjin put the glass of water in front of Jimin on the coffee table. Jimin looked up at Seokjin who ruffled his hair, which forced him to emit a squeaky giggle as his eyes shrunk.

Hoseok glanced at the glass of water then at Jimin. He raised a brow. "Jimin. Do you want me to help you drink your water?"

Jimin's eyes lit up as he nodded, still not trusting his own voice.

Hoseok shuffled to the edge of the couch and reached out for the glass of water. He picked it up and raised it up to Jimin's lip. Jimin made a small 'ahhh' as his lips pursed around the edge of the glass. Hoseok tilted the glass and Jimin took the water into his mouth and gulped it down quickly until the glass was empty. He pulled of the glass and let out a giggle as he leaned back into the couch and rubbed his tummy.

Hoseok set the glass down before side eyeing Jimin. "Huh."

"Huh? Huh what? Is Jimin hyung okay?"Jeongguk quizzed.

"Oh no, he's perfectly fine... in a sense. He's not hurt but, Jimin- he is going through age regression."

Seokjin stepped forward to sit on the armrest of the couch, next to Jimin who was staring up at the ceiling in childlike wonder.

"Are you saying that Jimin's also like Taehyung?" He asked as he raised his hand to stroke Jimin's soft locks.

"Yes. Although, Jimin is quite apprehensive. Even in his state of regression. Jeongguk, Seokjin hyung- this is going to take a lot longer than a month to get to the bottom of. It's worse than we anticipated."

Jimin flinched in his seat and sat upright. He stared at Hoseok warily and to give himself further reassurance of his safety, he shuffled closer to Seokjin. Seokjin sighed and wrapped his arms around Jimin's neck and rested his chin a top his head.

"Stranger danger, danger stranger." He mumbled into Seokjin's strong hands.

"I know sweetheart. You're safe." Seokjin whispered in his ear.

Hoseok raised a brow at Jimin. "We're also going to need to find means of making sure Jimin is comfortable with being in the same room as me."