This Mask of Mine

79

Jungkook came to Jimin's quarters two days after being asked if he wanted to mate with Namjoon and Seokjin. Jimin was still feeling crummy from the barn and his one-sided fight with Yoongi. He'd been holing himself up in his quarters with his siblings both to escape the cold and escape other people.

They all piled onto the bed like they did when they were pups, mindful of Jimin's sister's bump, when the alpha spoke.

"Would you be mad if Seokjin and Namjoon wanted me?" Soft, shy, anxious. Jimin smoothed back his hair and pecked the top of his head. His brother threw a leg around Jungkook's hip from behind, curling into his shoulder.

"Never. Do you want them too?"

"I don't know," he admitted, letting out a little huff. "I really like being with them in all ways—" Jimin's ears burned— "but I'm worried that won't be the same if I'm with them all the time. I get anxious if someone pokes around, but being comforted by them that they'll take care of anything is nice. I want to help them with everything and want to take care of them too, but I'm worried I might not like our thing as much if it was okay."

"You like the risk?"

Jungkook grumbled in his neck. "I don't know. Maybe? I like being told everything's going to be okay. I like how they bring me down from my anxiety. I like how they fit me between them kinda like this, but more soft and intimate. I like how they touch me, kiss me, and love me. But I don't know if they'll want to do that when they realize I'm not as great as they think."

"Why would you think that? I think you're amazing," Jimin frowned, his brother humming in agreement. His sister must have fallen asleep. Good, she needed it.

"I'm anxious all the time," Jungkook mumbled, scent souring some. "I'd be a burden."

"No, you would not. They've helped you through some of your attacks, did they make you feel like a burden those times?"

"No..."

"Then why would they think you were a burden if you mated?"

"Because I'm supposed to be strong..."

"You don't have to be all the time. It's good to be vulnerable or taken care of from time to time. It's good to be told things different from your own perspective."

Jimin grimly remembered the furs by the fire. Maybe he should take his own advice.