Chapter Text
The walk back to Jimin‘s place was quiet.
Not quiet in the uncomfortable, charged or awkward way.
Nothing at all like the silence around the barbecue table had, at times, been that night.
Which, Yoongi knew with certainty, had unsettled all five of his mates a lot.
It would have unsettled him, too, if it hadn’t been for his bond with Jimin.
A bond that had told him that his instinctual mate was very much ok with letting them all sit in silence for a while, despite the heavy atmosphere.
Jimin had been calm throughout the whole evening, making sure to lean into their bond enough to let Yoongi know that they were doing ok, that everything was under control, that the unnerving silence was not unexpected – and that it maybe even had been something they needed.
It had taken Yoongi a little while to figure that last part out.
He had noticed right away that Jimin seemed to be content with letting the silence grow between them. If it had bothered him, he would have cut in, said something to get a conversation going, to ease the tension in any way possible.
That much Yoongi was sure of.
Jimin wasn’t the type to shy away from addressing something that bothered him.
So when he hadn’t ended the silence and their bond had stayed calm, Yoongi had taken that as his cue to not step in himself, too.
At first, he hadn’t quite understood why Jimin had not seemed bothered about the whole situation, though. But as he watched things unfold, it slowly had dawned on him that the nerve-wracking silence had served its very own function.
Because sometimes silence was louder than words.
Sometimes silence allowed for the uncomfortable truth to surface easier than words ever could.
Which was exactly what had happened for them.
The silence had grown and grown, giving room to doubts and fears and worries until they couldn’t be hidden behind strained politeness anymore.
When the words finally had come, they had been unfiltered and raw.
Accusing.
Judging.
Unspoken thoughts pushing their way past barriers each mate had erected around himself in order to avoid yet another painful blow-up. One they all had known they most likely wouldn’t survive if it came down to that.
None of them had wanted to be the one to voice concerns about the others. Understandably so, given the fact that each time they had tried to talk out their differences before, their pack had fractured more and more.
But that didn’t erase the fact that misunderstandings and doubt and prejudices had grown between them – and in order to move forward, those did need to be cleared up. If nobody dared to speak up about them, how could they even begin to start over?
The silence had shattered their fragile attempt at trying to avoid the elephant in the room. It had been loud, awkward, uncomfortable and painful.
None of them had known what to say.
Which was so very much not them that it had only driven home the fracture between them even more.
And yet, speaking up had been difficult –
Until Namjoon ordered the deluxe course and holding back in the already strained atmosphere became impossible for some of them.
The words spoken then had been harsh.
Hurtful, telling by Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s reaction.
But they had also displayed the current state of their pack very accurately and the unspoken thoughts they all were quietly sitting with.
The silence that had surrounded them up to here, the lack of background noise that might have drowned out details and nuances, had amplified every single word spoken.
There had been no trivial conversation that could have been used as a shield to hide behind and ignore what was being said.
Just the plain, painful truths they all carried mostly locked away inside ever since their pack had started to fall apart.
Doubts, worries, fears none of them had even known how to begin to voice.
And yet, they had done so tonight.
Or at least some of them had.
Yoongi had known that Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook were on the verge of losing hope for their pack to ever reconcile. That they, for some reason he didn’t fully understand, were not comfortable with Jimin being around their other two mates; that they doubted the two could or would change.
And yet, none of the three would probably have dared to voice any of their suspicions at all if it hadn’t been for that heavy silence surrounding them all.
A silence that had pressed heavily on Yoongi already – and he had known through his bond with Jimin that it hadn’t been unwelcome.
A silence that, when Jimin had asked Namjoon to order for them all, eventually had drawn a reaction that had exposed his younger mates’ insecurities, fears and doubts in a way had made it impossible to ignore them.
In hindsight, Yoongi was pretty sure that Jimin had known exactly what he was doing when he all but recreated that first fallout moment between him and the rest of the pack.
What better way to get someone to voice their doubts and worries than by putting them back into one of the very situations that had caused them in the first place?
If Yoongi hadn’t been clued in by Jimin about him calling Namjoon and Seokjin hyungs now, too; if he hadn’t been informed beforehand that the three of them had already talked about it and agreed on the Deluxe Course for this time – if he hadn’t known, Yoongi most likely would have reacted the same way his other three mates had reacted.
With indignation about a repeat of the past despite everything.
With resignation because his fears would have seemed to have been confirmed.
No change at all.
Of course they had spoken up at that moment.
The heavy silence around the table had made it impossible to take the words back or hide them in a different context. And with the tension that had already built around them, the first cracks in their carefully constructed façade had appeared.
The words had hung in the air.
Heavy, accusing, resigned.
The indignation his younger mates’ had shown the moment they had suspected that Jimin was being singled out again, had both warmed Yoongi’s heart and made the gap between the pack members painfully visible.
And then there had been Namjoon and Seokjin.
Yoongi’s heart clenched even now as he thought back to the situation around the table after Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook reacted to Namjoon’s order.
He could still see the way Seokjin and Namjoon had shrunken in on themselves more and more as the other three argued their case to Jimin.
Yoongi had never seen either of them look as small and lost as in that very moment, sitting at the table as though they were invisible while more than half of their mates spoke about them as though they weren’t even in the room at all.
As if they already didn’t belong anymore.
They had heard every single word spoken about them.
And not once had they even attempted to defend themselves.
That’s what had struck Yoongi the most.
That they hadn’t even tried to set things right.
Despite not having done anything wrong in this case.
Jimin had asked Namjoon to order.
They had agreed on the course beforehand.
Looking back at the situation now, as they walked along the river in comfortable silence, Yoongi would bet that Jimin had not clued his other three mates in about those facts on purpose.
Not to hurt them, never that.
But to create an opening where they could voice their fears and prejudices and hopefully also learn that they are wrong about them.
He had drawn their worries and suspicions out into the open and the silence that had engulfed their table from the start had served as an amplifier to them.
There had been no background noise to hide behind.
No ongoing conversation to join and pretend not to notice what was happening.
Nothing at all.
Just the plain truth laid bare in front of all of them:
Three mates still prejudiced, still not convinced that two of them had changed their minds, still worried about a repeat of the past, still expecting the worst of this whole meeting.
The way they had reacted had spoken for itself.
As had the way Seokjin and Namjoon had taken the whole situation.
Yoongi had watched them intently from the moment the other three started to complain to Jimin. He had listened to every word being spoken, but his focus had been on his other two mates – who had stayed utterly and eerily silent.
There had been no anger in their expressions, no sign of fight in their postures.
Just –
Resignation.
Defeat.
Their eyes had stayed glued to the table in front of them as they slowly curled in on themselves.
Pale faces.
No protests.
Not a single word.
Almost as though they had expected this.
No, not just expected it.
Accepted it, too.
They had been in the right, but neither of them had even tried to defend themselves.
Yoongi’s mind kept circling back to that fact.
They hadn’t even tried to speak up once.
Instead, they had just let it happen.
The silent resignation in their postures and expressions had deeply unsettled Yoongi.
Still deeply unsettled him even now, thinking back to it.
Just how far had this gone for two of their mates to not even dare speak up for themselves around the rest of them anymore?
And just how much had the two of them been hurting throughout all of this?
Yoongi still didn’t fully understand just what had happened to make Namjoon and Seokjin act and react the way they did back then around Jimin – and afterwards, consequently, around his other three mates.
But the way they had held themselves during that part of the dinner had made him realize that the situation was not and probably never had been all black and white.
All of them had made mistakes.
Yoongi himself included.
And the silence at the dinner table had made it more obvious than ever that none of them were unaffected by this whole mess.
Or innocent in bringing it about.
All of them had played their part in it.
And all of them were hurting now.
Namjoon and Seokjin maybe even more than the rest of them.
They had looked so – out of place.
The thought alone hurt.
How could they have allowed for any of their mates to feel that left out in the first place?
Yoongi had been about ready to say something back then, had been about to reach out to the two of them, his urge to make sure they knew they still belonged having grown stronger with every second that passed.
But then Jimin had almost casually mentioned that he was the one who asked Namjoon to order and finally, things had begun to fall into place for Yoongi.
Jimin had made use of the uncomfortable silence to achieve several things at once: Draw out lingering but kept quiet about misconceptions and doubts – and deliver the proof that they were unfounded, that things had indeed changed, that this particular obstacle had already been overcome.
Suddenly, Jimin not telling Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook about the change in his relationship with Namjoon and Seokjin had made sense to Yoongi.
The three would most likely not have believed it without actual proof.
On the contrary.
With their doubts having festered for so long, simply being told things had changed might only have fueled their insecurities and worries about this. Might have caused them to theorize about motives and it all being an act.
But back there, in that private dining room at the restaurant, things had been different.
They hadn’t just been told.
They had witnessed the interaction first.
One that, Yoongi had to admit, would have looked totally normal to any outsider.
Someone asking their hyung to order.
Said hyung placing the order.
There had been nothing wrong about the interaction.
The wrongness about it had only existed in their other three mates’ minds – and finally found its way to the surface the moment they thought their suspicions had been proven.
It had been necessary, Yoongi realized with a start.
The silence.
The drawing out of Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook’s worries and fears.
The exposure of Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s vulnerability.
All of it had been necessary.
They couldn’t begin to rebuild when the path ahead of them was still blocked, overgrown with prejudices, worries, doubts and fears.
If they wanted to do better, they needed to realize and acknowledge that they were all standing on the same side now, willing to move in the same direction.
As long as there was doubt about that, any heavier talk would be bound to fail.
The insecurities and doubts would flare again and again.
Accusations would fly whenever someone saw their unspoken worries confirmed.
Just like they had in the past.
Assumptions.
Accusations.
Arguments that hurt.
They already had had more than enough of those.
Any more, and they really might reach the point of no return for their pack.
Yoongi slowed his steps and turned his head to study Jimin’s profile.
His instinctual mate had known what he was doing there.
Maybe not all of it had been planned.
Most likely not.
There was no way to fully predict how a meeting like this would go.
But Jimin displaying his changed relationship with Namjoon and Seokjin in front of the other three – making them witness it rather than just hear about it – that much Yoongi was quite sure had been planned by his instinctual mate in some way.
Not to trick any of them, but to do what he had offered the pack from the moment they had that meeting up at the hill: To help them navigate the uncertain terrain and bring them to neutral grounds on which they could hopefully start rebuilding.
Yoongi glanced at Jimin again.
His instinctual mate.
How lucky could one person be to not only find their fated mate, but for them to also be as patient and understanding as Jimin?
Yoongi was no fool, he knew very well just how much trouble his pack issues were for Jimin, too.
Finding ones’ instinctual mate didn’t automatically make one responsible for said mate’s pack as well.
Jimin had no obligations to Yoongi’s mates at all.
Helping them figure out their differences was not his task.
It was the packs’ task.
Only they couldn’t figure it out alone.
Heck, Yoongi himself wouldn’t even be able to see half of what he was seeing now in their interactions and behavior if it wasn’t for the time he spent with Jimin; for the talks they had had and for the things he had learned from observing his fated mate interact with the kids, the community, vendors.
Their pack was lacking the skills needed to fix the situation they were currently in by themselves.
But that didn’t automatically make Jimin responsible for helping them figure things out.
He didn’t cause this mess, they did.
And yet, here he was.
Slowly building trust with each and every one of Yoongi’s mates.
Building bridges between them that some of them had already deemed too burned to ever rebuild.
Yoongi couldn’t help but look at Jimin yet again as they rounded a corner and made their way towards the bridge.
His instinctual mate looked a bit tired tonight.
Not much, but enough for Yoongi to notice.
He had spent enough time with Jimin by now to recognize the signs.
A tiny frown on his forehead.
A bit more silence.
A slightly more inward drawn expression on his face.
Nothing big.
Most people probably wouldn’t even realize.
But Yoongi had seen this before several times.
After spending time with the kids when they had been more energized than usual.
After days with very long dinner runs.
After serious community discussions with Haneul.
After difficult talks with Yoongi’s mates.
Jimin got tired, too.
Not alarmingly often, but still often enough for Yoongi to be able to read his signs by now.
Yoongi studied his instinctual mate’s profile again, wondering not for the first time just how he deserved someone like him in the first place.
How all of his pack deserved someone like him.
Someone who tried for all of them, again and again, even when he had initially been shown nothing but coldness and hostility.
Jimin could have called it quits after the first meeting.
Or after the second one.
He would have had enough reason to do so.
He could have just made Yoongi choose between him and his mates.
Or at the very least refused to have anything to do with them from here on out.
But Jimin had done the exact opposite.
He had not given up.
Not once.
Not even when the pack members themselves had been on the verge of giving up.
He had reached out to all of them again and again, even when he had been pushed away.
He had been patient and reassuring all throughout this utter mess.
Had listened, advised, guided when needed.
Without him, they most likely would have fallen apart by now.
Selfless.
The word floated through Yoongi’s thoughts again and again.
All Jimin ever did was give, didn’t he?
To the kids.
To the community.
To Yoongi.
To Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook.
To Namjoon and Seokjin.
To the pack as a whole.
And what did he get in return?
Yoongi swallowed hard, unable to look away from his instinctual mate.
All Jimin ever did was give.
When was the last time someone had actually given something to him?
Other than support with his everyday life.
Other than material support.
Other than backup or emotional support from the kids or the community or Yoongi.
Those were constants in his life, yes.
Some had been for quite a while, others were new.
But what about Jimin himself?
What about his needs being met, his fears and worries being seen and acknowledged?
Had anyone truly done that for him?
It could only be done if someone knew, couldn’t it?
If someone saw past what he chose to show.
And Jimin rarely talked about himself in the first place.
Yoongi knew there was more to his past than what he had shared. He also knew that Jimin wasn’t really ready to talk about everything that had happened in his life. They had talked about that. And Yoongi was fine with waiting until Jimin was ready to share more. If he ever was. If not, Yoongi would not pressure for more, either.
But even if he didn’t know all the details, he knew enough, didn’t he?
His thoughts went back to the day after they bonded, to Jimin opening up to him for the first time. To him sharing about how he had come to live with the community, how he had met his hyungs.
‘I don’t think happiness is meant for me.’
That’s what Jimin had said back then.
‘Happiness is scary.’
Yoongi had never heard anyone speak about happiness like this.
‘I don’t know if I can be happy again, hyung. I- I don’t know if I can do it but I think I at least want to try.’
At the time, they had left it at that. Wanting to try again. Taking it step by step.
But where were those steps right now?
Everything they had done since was try to navigate the chaos that was Yoongi’s pack.
Yoongi inwardly curse himself, chancing yet another long look at Jimin.
How could he not have realized how much Jimin was giving and how little he received until now?
Why had he not taken steps to help him find a way forward, too?
He should have.
Jimin was his mate, too.
There was no doubt about that.
It didn’t matter that their bond was instinctual.
That they weren’t wearing each other’s marks.
Jimin was his mate.
And Yoongi had been heavily relying on him all this time.
The rest of his mates had.
Nobody had given anything back.
Not the way they should have.
Damn it.
A part of Yoongi wished he was alone right now, just so he could curse out loud or punch a wall or throw something or whatever.
But he couldn’t.
Not right now, not with Jimin walking next to him, looking so – Yoongi turned his head to study his fated mate for the umpteenth time since they started walking back – looking so tired and being more silent than usual.
‘You’re staring’, Jimin’s voice ripped Yoongi out of his thoughts. Belatedly he realized that Jimin had turned his head to look at him, too, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘And not for the first time. Not that I mind. But don’t blame me if you end up tripping.’
Yoongi straightened his shoulders, let out a huff and shook his head before returning his attention back to the street in front of him. ‘I dance in an idol group for a living. I don’t trip.’
‘Right’, Jimin nodded solemnly. ‘Because being an idol magically strips your feet of the ability to trip.
Yoongi sighed. ‘No. Because Hob-ah is our dance leader and trust me, you do not want to face him if you butcher the choreography by being unable to keep your own feet sorted.’
‘This isn’t a choreography, though’, Jimin pointed out with a smirk. ‘So the claim is invalid.’
‘Still valid’, Yoongi replied with a sigh as they reached the end of the bridge and began to walk down towards the river. ‘Once you let your guard down, habits establish fast.’ He cast Jimin another look. ‘That goes for tripping, too. You don’t just—’
His foot caught on an uneven patch on the ground. Yoongi’s arms came up, flailing wildly as he stumbled forward, all but bracing for impact already.
Jimin’s hand shot out and grabbed Yoongi’s arm, yanking him backwards with surprising strength, causing Yoongi to halfway turn around before he crashed into his instinctual mate instead of on the ground.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to still around them.
They were standing close, Yoongi realized when he looked up to meet Jimin’s eyes and found the beta’s face right in front of him.
So close.
Close enough to –
Jimin’s lips twitched.
Yoongi narrowed his eyes at him. ‘Not. A. Word.’
It was futile and he knew it.
He could see it in the way Jimin’s eyes lit up at his words, sparkling with unconcealed amusement.
‘Jimin-ah’, Yoongi tried again, knowing he was fighting a losing battle, but unwilling to give up. ‘You can’t possibly find it funny that I –‘, he broke off, eyes widening when he realized that he just maneuvered himself into a corner.
‘Tripped?’ Jimin supplied helpfully, his voice coming out shaky and a tiny bit too high. ‘Hyung, you –‘
‘I didn’t trip’, Yoongi protested weakly. ‘I never trip. I dance in an idol group.’
‘Then what was that just now?’ Jimin asked with sparkling eyes.
‘I – That –‘, Yoongi sighed and shook his head. ‘That was gravity asking me to bless the ground with my signature.’
Jimin burst out laughing, doubling over where he stood, still so very close to Yoongi, almost folding himself in half as peals of laughter broke free.
A tiny smile played on Yoongi’s lips.
He loved hearing Jimin laugh this unrestraint.
It hadn’t happened all that often, but he had treasured every single time.
Jimin looked – younger like this.
Less mature.
Less rigid.
Less grown up and committed.
Just a young man having fun.
As he should have.
It had been too long, Yoongi thought wistfully.
Far too long since he had last heard Jimin laugh like this.
They had been so swept up in working on their respective ends of getting the pack to reconcile.
Swept up to the point where they hadn’t spent much special time together at all.
They had seen each other every single day, yes.
In the mornings, before Yoongi went to his studio and Jimin to run errands with Seokjin and Namjoon.
Sometimes for lunch or dinner, but then mostly always with the kids around.
More often only after coming back to Jimin’s place in the evenings, updating each other on their progress, then sitting together. Yoongi working on some lyrics, Jimin either joining him on a bean bag or keeping him company halfway buried under one of the duvets on the mattress.
It still counted as time together, yes.
But it had become almost routine.
A nice routine, but routine nevertheless.
Focused on the pack and only the pack.
Only, this wasn’t just about the pack.
It was about them, too.
Instinctual mates.
Chosen by fate because they supposedly completed each other.
Which meant if Jimin had something to give to Yoongi, surely Yoongi would have something to give to Jimin as well.
Like this moment right now.
Pure, unfiltered laughter spilling freely.
Eyes sparkling with amusement.
No guardedness, no calculations, no worries.
Just happiness.
‘I don’t think happiness is meant for me.’
Yoongi watched as Jimin slowly calmed down, silently wishing he could capture this moment forever.
‘Happiness is scary.’
Yet here they were.
With Jimin laughing as though he had no care in the world.
Happy.
Yoongi knew he had to be careful with this.
But he wasn’t about to just let it slip away, either.
‘You’re still staring’, Jimin finally managed to huff out after having managed to pull himself together.
Yoongi shrugged his shoulders. ‘How can I not?’ He smiled as he gestured towards his instinctual mate with soft eyes. ‘Happiness suits you, Jimin-ah.’
Happiness.
Jimin froze, eyes widening as realization slowly settled in.
Yoongi watched him carefully. He hadn’t thought about the words before they left his mouth. All he had known was that he had to say something. That if he let this moment pass without naming it, Jimin would not even recognize it for what it was.
And he couldn’t let that happen.
‘Happiness’, Jimin finally whispered, eyes darting between Yoongi and their surroundings.
Nodding, Yoongi took a tiny step closer. ‘Happiness’, he replied quietly. ‘You wanted to try, didn’t you?’ He smiled at Jimin. ‘Looks like it’s working. Think we can keep on trying a bit longer?’
For a long moment, it almost looked like Jimin wouldn’t answer. He just stood there, eyes searching Yoongi’s as he contemplated the question.
Yoongi could practically see the battle play out inside of Jimin: the fear of losing everything yet again warring with the longing to stay in this moment for at least a little while longer.
In the end, Yoongi knew he couldn’t make this decision for his instinctual mate. That would be Jimin’s call alone. But he could maybe make it a bit easier to choose.
Just the tiniest bit easier.
‘Happiness doesn’t always wait for us to chase it’, he said quietly, eyes never leaving Jimin’s face. ‘Sometimes it comes uninvited, too. Do we chase it away then?’
Slowly, Jimin shook his head. ‘I don’t – want it gone.’
Yoongi let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
‘But –‘, Jimin sighed and shook his head. ‘It still scares me.’
‘There’s a lot that currently is scaring me, too, Jimin-ah’, Yoongi replied quietly. ‘The situation with the pack, for example. I’m scared of hoping for this to end well. And the situation with the band. I’m scared the company will dissolve it if this situation continues for too long.’
He paused, allowing for his words to settle in for a moment before adding: ‘But I’m still trying my best for the pack to get through this. And I’m still writing songs for the team even now. So –‘, a tiny smile played on Yoongi’s lips as he looked at Jimin. ‘Let’s be scared together, Jimin-ah.’
Again, it took Jimin a moment to answer.
Faint music drifted down to them from a bar just above the rivershore. Yoongi half-registered the soothing, soulful piano melody, a faint idea forming in his mind as he watched his instinctual mate battle with himself.
Whatever Jimin’s answer would be, he would accept it.
Healing wasn’t linear, he had learned that by now.
And it couldn’t be rushed.
Besides, from what he had observed so far from Jimin’s interactions with the kids, Haneul, other community members and vendors, his instinctual mate didn’t often allow himself to show personal weakness. Not in front of others, not in the way he did with Yoongi every now and then.
Like right now.
Yoongi didn’t take that for granted at all, either.
The fact that Jimin didn’t feel like he had to keep his walls up around him the way he did around others; that he allowed himself to be vulnerable with Yoongi, made something warm stir in his chest.
Jimin had chosen to trust him with a side of himself he barely ever showed.
And Yoongi would protect that trust in any way he could.
Jimin let out another sigh, then cast Yoongi the tiniest of smiles. ‘I’m not sure that that’s how this works, hyung. Overcoming fear, I mean.’ He paused, shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. ‘But – being scared together sounds better than being scared alone.’
A wave of relief rushed through Yoongi. ‘Is that a yes, then?’
Jimin smiled a little brighter. ‘Yes, hyung. Let’s be scared together.’
Let’s be scared together.
Such a simple sentence.
So much meaning behind it.
Let’s be brave together.
Let’s face our fears together.
Let’s not give up hope.
Let’s chase happiness.
Even if it’s scary.
It wasn’t a magical cure to anything.
Both of them were obviously aware of that.
This wasn’t about overcoming fears, it was about finding the courage of facing them.
And that was easier done knowing that there was someone who understood. Someone who would listen without judging. Someone who might give advice when asked, but who didn’t expect big leaps or fast solutions.
Jimin had become that someone for Yoongi quite a while ago.
And now, it seemed, Yoongi was becoming that someone for Jimin as well.
Yoongi smiled at Jimin. ‘Thanks, Jimin-ah. For being brave.’
Jimin snorted. ‘I’m not brave, I’m terrified.’
‘One doesn’t exclude the other’, Yoongi pointed out softly.
‘I know’, Jimin nodded slowly. ‘But sometimes it feels that way.’
There was nothing Yoongi could say to argue against that.
He had experienced that much himself several times over the last three months.
They stood close to each other in comfortable silence for a long moment.
The music from the bar above had shifted to something a bit slower.
Yoongi’s mind stirred with yet another memory.
I used to love dancing.
I think it made me really happy.
But I haven’t danced in years, not since – well not since I was a child.
Would you like to dance again?
I- I don’t know, hyung. It’s scary and I- I don’t know if it would still be the same or if it would only hurt. M-Maybe someday but not- maybe someday.
Someday.
Maybe someday.
That’s what Jimin had said back then, after they had freshly bonded.
And they had left it at that.
Maybe someday
Yoongi turned his head, weighing his options.
He had already pushed a lot tonight, he was well aware of that.
But Jimin was strong.
And he had just expressed desire to move forward.
Plus, for some reason Yoongi’s mind kept circling the word someday again and again now, as if it was significant in this very moment.
As if maybe, just maybe, that someday was now.
Maybe it was instinct.
Maybe it wasn’t.
But if it was, then it most likely was right.
And if Yoongi really wanted to help Jimin the way Jimin was helping him and the pack, he had to at least try, didn’t he?
‘Jimin-ah’, he said softly, waiting for his bond mate to look at him before he continued. ‘I know this is sudden. And you can say no. You can always say no. But there’s music right now and I was wondering –‘ Yoongi slowly extended a hand. ‘Would you like to dance with me?’
For a minute or two, the world seemed to freeze.
Jimin stared at the extended hand with an unreadable expression for so long that Yoongi’s mind began to race, trying to phrase reassurances and apologies.
Too much.
Too fast.
He should have waited.
Now wasn’t the time –
Fingers closed around his hand, squeezing tightly enough for it to almost hurt.
Yoongi squeezed back on instinct, trying to reassure, as he stared at their hands for a moment before lifting his eyes to meet Jimin’s.
There was fear there, visible now.
But also something else.
A mixture of nostalgia and a longing so painful it made Yoongi’s heart clench.
‘Please, hyung’, Jimin whispered barely audibly.
It was all Yoongi needed to pull Jimin closer.
And they danced.