“You two look like warmed over.” Taehyung tells them over ice cream the next time they meet up after the Omega’s heat cycle ends. He sounds a lot like Namjoon when he says it, though the image of him an ice cream covered spoon while he says it ruins the effect of the serious tone in his voice.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Yoongi grumbles, shaking his newly dyed hair out of his eyes. He’s gone from the light pink to some sort of burnt red, giving his face a mature look as he mushes the ice cream in his bowl around.

Namjoon grunts next to him, his eyes covered by the cap he’s wearing. “Training.” He says hoarsely.

Namjoon’s training schedule had doubled the last week of school before summer break, and he’s sure it’s due to the rumors that there is some unrest in the North, some pack Alpha whose been turning the council surveyors away.

“You sure you don’t want anything for your throat?” Taehyung asks, and Namjoon shakes his head.

Yoongi continues to mush his ice cream around until it’s mostly liquid as Taehyung happily finishes his own order, and Namjoon dozes off and on, his body warm from the heat radiating off of Yoongi and the comfortable chill in the ice cream shop.

“Hey, Namjoon.” Yoongi nudges the Alpha. “We’re done and Tae wants to go see a movie. You should go home and sleep more.”

Namjoon yawns, about to contest Yoongi’s suggestion until he sees the concerned looks on both the Beta and Omega. “Oh ok. Don’t give me that look.” He grumbles.

He waves the pair off as they leave the shop, promising to text them when he gets home.

Namjoon’s half way there when he senses two wolves following him, and he looks at his phone. His training hasn’t progressed to the point where he’ll be checked on his ability to see if he’s tailed and Namjoon turns around quickly, hoping to spot whomever is following him.

It’s Kai, and he’s got a frown on his face that’s bordering on angry, along with another wolf that Namjoon’s sure he’s never seen before. It’s an Alpha, and the dominance he’s radiating has Namjoon swallowing down a spike of fear.

“What do you want Kai?” He asks, forcing himself to sound bored.

“Payback for what you did to me at school.” Kai sneers. “I am not some to submit to your scrawny .”

Namjoon growls. “I’m a trainee of the council Kai.” He warns, flexing his fingers.

“I don’t care what you are.” Kai chuckles. “We’re not in school, and nowhere near the council, so you can try all you want to scare me off but it won’t work.”

Namjoon remembers the first punch, remembers throwing a punch at someone who’d stepped between him and Kai and then he doesn’t remember anything at all.

**

When Namjoon doesn’t show up the next day at their spot, Yoongi shrugs it off as the Alpha either still sleeping, or he’d been pulled into training again. Taehyung, on the other hand, thinks somethings wrong.

“He’s not coming Tae.” Yoongi sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“Aren’t you worried about him hyung?” Taehyung asks, staring at the Beta with concerned eyes. “I mean, he was out of it last night before we sent him home, and he never texted to say he’d made it.”

Yoongi snaps his head up at Taehyung. “He didn’t text you?” He blinks.

“No. Did he text you?” Taehyung asks, bouncing from one foot to the other. He’s had a bad feeling ever since they’d left the movie early, Taehyung’s stomach becoming upset and Yoongi falling asleep during the viewing that they’d ditched it.

Yoongi looks at his phone, frowning. “No.” He says slowly. “Maybe he was too tired to text us?”

“He’s always made sure to tell us he made it.” Taehyung says. “Come on, let’s go check on him, please?”

Yoongi gets up knowing that Taehyung is right. They’ve both barely known the Alpha for 6 months and already he’s wormed his way into their dynamics this much. Yoongi lets Taehyung press close to him as they head towards the direction of the house Namjoon lives in with a couple of other council trainees.

They’re a few blocks away when Yoongi gets a whiff of blood, faint as it is, and he stops, seeing dried blood splatters on the ground. “Tae, stop.” He tells the Omega, crouching down to sniff at the blood. The scent is familiar, and Yoongi’s stomach clenches in fear. “I think Namjoon got into a fight.” He says.

“We’re only a couple blocks from his house.” Taehyung says, worry lacing his voice.

The rest of their walk is quiet, and Yoongi knocks on the door of the council house he knows Namjoon is staying at. Footsteps fall and then they are being greeted uncertainly by a tall thin male that Yoongi assumes is the house Omega, whose smile is a little strained as he looks at them. “Can I help you?” He asks.

“Is Namjoon home?” Yoongi asks politely.

“No, he never came home last night.” The male says. “Are you school friends of his?”

They nod, and the male waves at them. “Come in.” He says. “Do either of you want tea, water?”

The pair shake their heads and sit on the couch as the male gets himself something to drink. “I’m Kim Seokjin, but you can call me Jin.” He tells the two, seeing how the Omega clings to the Beta. He knows neither of them are mated since he can smell their scents. “And you two are?”

“Oh, I’m Min Yoongi, and this is my best friend Kim Taehyung.” Yoongi says, bowing to Jin.

Jin’s face changes in recognition of the names. “OH! You two are the ones Namjoon’s been hanging out with when he’s not training.”

They make some small talk until they hear the door open and a lanky male comes in, his face haggard even though he looks much younger than anyone in the room. “I found Namjoon hyung.” He yells.

Jin stands, going to the entryway. “We have guests.” He hisses. “Friends of Namjoon’s.”

“Sorry Jin hyung.” The male bows his head.

Jin turns to Yoongi and Taehyung. “This is my mate Jeon Jungkook.” He says. “He’s been out searching for Namjoon since he missed curfew.”

“You said you found him?” Taehyung asks, peering up at Jungkook.

Jungkook nods. “He’s been admitted to the hospital not far from here.” He says. “Looks like it was pretty bad too.”

“Can we go see him?” Yoongi asks, his voice strangely hoarse.

“They’re waiting for him to wake up to talk to him before he can have visitors.” Jungkook says. “But we could go down there to see if we can sit with him.”

Taehyung’s already at the door, his shoes on and bouncing again as he waits for the others to get their own shoes on. “Calm down Tae.” Yoongi grumbles. He’s not liking the tight feeling in his chest that had shown up the moment Jungkook had said Namjoon was in the hospital.

Yoongi makes sure that Taehyung’s close to him as they head out the door and suddenly he realizes that Jungkook’s behind them and Jin’s in front as they walk. “You two are unmated and it’s not exactly safe to walk about without protection in this area.” Jin explains.

“Has it been bad recently?” Taehyung asks.

“We’ve heard reports of Alpha’s attempting to take mates forcefully.” Jungkook explains, his face drawn in a frown that mirrors Jin’s. “The council doesn’t have enough people to enforce the rules in the city because there was a pack out in the northwest that tried to take out 3 other pack Alphas recently.”

“Oh.” Taehyung swallows audibly, pressing closer to Yoongi.

“You two look cute together.” Jungkook blurts out suddenly as they cross the street.

Yoongi and Taehyung both look at each other. “We haven’t told Namjoon hyung yet about us.” Taehyung admits.

“That you two are dating?” Jin asks as they slow down for the light ahead.

“We’ve been together ever since I presented.” Taehyung says, voice solemn. “We’ve….we’ve had some trouble at school and Namjoon saved me from one of our classmates who tried to force the mark on me.”

Jungkook frowns. “What’s his name, the classmate who tried to mark you I mean?”

“His name is Kim Jongin but everyone calls him Kai.” Yoongi says when Taehyung doesn’t answer. “He’s been after Tae for the better part of a year.”

“He’s that overly aggressive wolf I told you about Kookie.” Jin says.

“Well that explains a lot.” Jungkook sighs. “Kai escaped last night from his bunk in rehab.” He admits. “That’s why I was called out before curfew.”

Jin’s shoulders fall and Taehyung finds himself crowding into Yoongi, unconsciously whimpering. “Shhh.” Yoongi reaches up to rub Taehyung’s shoulders. “You’re ok. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The mates’ crowd closer to them as they walk the last block to the hospital and Yoongi feels grateful that their reassurance helped calm Taehyung down.

When they arrive at the front desk, Jungkook takes charge, and it dawns on Yoongi suddenly that the boy, who can’t be older than 12 or 13 in his eyes, is an Alpha. And then he realizes he’s standing with the infamous early maturing couple that there’d been whispers about from the Alpha’s in council training and he’s suddenly thankful that they were the mates that Namjoon had talked about being roomed with from the council.

The tightness in his chest however, only grows as they wait for the doctor and the council judge who’s standing outside of Namjoon’s room to give them the ok to go in.

Jungkook’s over with the judge, explaining who Yoongi and Taehyung are to the beaten Alpha in the room, and the judge’s eyes sweep over Yoongi before landing on Taehyung and he frowns.

Jungkook beckons them over a moment later. “I’ve got a bad feeling that this Kai who’s been harassing you Taehyung, is the same one who beat Namjoon, or had some friends helping him.” The judge says. “I don’t think I really need to state it, but if you and Yoongi here are dating, and you are thinking about becoming mates down the road, I would like to speak to your parents and see if that can’t happen a little sooner.” Mating before the age of 20 in the city isn’t illegal, but highly frowned upon since they don’t have to worry about ensuring the survival of the pack as much since the city is heavily populated.

Obviously there are exceptions, such as is the case with Jin and Jungkook, but Yoongi suspects there is much more to the young mated couple than what the council’s released to the public. Yoongi feels Taehyung’s hand squeezing his as the Beta considers the words the Judge has spoken until he realizes what the Judge is implying. Yoongi freezes up, his chest tightening more. “What….what about Namjoon?” Taehyung asks, beating Yoongi to the question.

“What about him? Do you both like him more than a friend? Are you having trouble deciding between them, Taehyung?” The judge seems to know the right questions to ask as Taehyung looks at Yoongi.

It clicks the moment they look at each other. They’re both in love with the goofy Alpha they’ve come to know in such a short time, and the tightness in Yoongi’s chest loosens to the point he gasps. “Hyung?” Taehyung asks, worried.

“I think…we need to tell Namjoon when he wakes, Tae.” Yoongi says, waving off the concern. “I want you both as my mates. Not just you, not just Namjoon. Both.” He says firmly and knows it to be true as his heart beats wildly in his chest.

Yoongi’s never really talked the mating talk with Taehyung, though he assumed that once they’d graduated high school, he’d ask the Omega then if they were still dating but he doesn’t want to cause Taehyung to be limited in his work choices so soon after graduating as mated Omega’s are automatically given certain jobs because they’ll typically be gone from the workforce once they’ve gotten pregnant. They’d never really discussed what they will do when they graduate high school, though Yoongi’s heart lays with music and he’s already got a side gig lined up during summer break to intern at the local radio station.

His parents don’t give two s about him, they’re more concerned about their own lives, and didn’t even protest when he announced he was moving to the city from his home pack for school. Yoongi straightens up and looks at the judge. “My parents don’t care about me sir.” He says. “They don’t live in the city. I’ve been living with a friend since I moved here.” He says. “So they won’t be a problem.”

Taehyung throws his arms around Yoongi, pressing himself into the Beta’s side. “Hyung.” He whines. “Do you mean it? Both of us?” He asks, looking up at Yoongi with wide eyes.

Yoongi smiles down at Taehyung. “Yes Taehyung. I’m serious.” He says, squeezing the Omega back. “But before we make any decisions, we need to see how he feels about us. I don’t want to scare him off if he doesn’t want us that way.”

The judge and the doctor look at each other. “I think we should let them in.” The doctor finally sighs. “The nurse said he’s just not waking up, and I don’t want to think there is any brain damage from being beaten up.  They may be good for Namjoon’s healing if his wolf likes them the same way they do him.”

The judge nods. “I’ll warn you both now, he’s pretty beaten up. Whoever it was had the element of surprise, and he’s got 2 black eyes, a badly bruised nose, bruised ribs and they broke one of his arms.”

The pair listen to him attentively, Taehyung squeezing Yoongi tighter the more the judge tells them.

**

Namjoon, for all the training he’s had, doesn’t remember preparing for the beating of his life when he opens his eyes and finds he can’t move his hands though one of them feels funny. He blinks, groans coming out as his eyes focus and he realizes he’s in the hospital.

“.” He moans. His head throbs, his body aches all over, and…

Namjoon blinks as he realizes that the weights holding down his hands are Taehyung and Yoongi, one on each side, both passed out as they each are holding tightly onto his hands.

The ache dulls a little, and Namjoon allows himself the luxury of looking first at Taehyung, whose soft snores don’t detract from his natural beauty. His sandy brown hair is crowding to one side due to his position, and Namjoon wants to smooth the hair out suddenly, his other hand twitching.

Not to be deterred, Namjoon moves his appraisal down Taehyung’s face. His eyelids fluttering as the Omega sleeps, though Namjoon knows the warm cocoa eyes that hide beneath the eyelids as if the Omega was staring up at him, his eyes crinkling a bit. The long nose below the eyes that fits so well in contrast to Taehyung’s smooth lips, his face devoid of any facial hair that Namjoon can see, and he thinks maybe he’s learned somewhere that Omega’s tend to not have any extra body hair, though it’s not like he actually knows from seeing one .

Namjoon’s eyes stray to Taehyung’s lips and he finds himself unconsciously his own, tasting the blood that’s dried on them, remind himself that he’s in the hospital, but he can’t help to wonder what it’d be like to kiss Taehyung just once.

A soft noise on his other side has Namjoon blushing as he remembers Yoongi. He looks at the Beta, realizing his heart rate is speeding up. The Beta’s face is soft in slumber, and it makes him look years younger than Namjoon knows he is.

His burnt red hair is a mess, although its cut close enough in front that it shows off Yoongi’s face instead of hiding it like his old hair had done. Even though Yoongi’s complained about his forehead being too wide for anyone to like him, Namjoon thinks it’s perfect for Yoongi’s face. The smoothness of it gives way to his near perfect eyes, the dark brown behind the eyelids are the kind Namjoon thinks he’s likes near equally to Taehyung’s dark cocoa ones.

Yoongi’s nose isn’t as defined as Taehyung’s, but it makes way for heart shaped lips that Namjoon wants to kiss as well and he doesn’t realize he’s whimpered until Yoongi’s eyes blink open and look up at him.

“You’re awake.” He says, voice hushed as he lets go of Namjoon’s hand to brush across his eyes.

Namjoon’s still a bit out of it and doesn’t stop to think before he blurts, “You’re beautiful when you sleep hyung.”

To Namjoon’s amazement, Yoongi blushes.

The sounds of talking stirs Taehyung, and he yawns as he blinks up at Namjoon, a smile flying onto his face as he realizes the Alpha is awake. “Oh thank god.” He breathes. “I was worried you’d never wake up and then we’d never get to talk to you or go to the movies or get ice cream and…”

“Taehyung.” Namjoon’s voice is filled with amusement as he interrupts the Omega.

“Yeah hyung?” Taehyung’s eyes connect with Namjoon’s and the Alpha swears the unspoken emotions in the younger boy are him in.

“I’m not dying or concussed.” Namjoon deadpans.

Taehyung blushes, ducking his head as he realizes he’d been thinking worst case scenario. “Sorry hyung.” He murmurs.

“It’s ok kid.” Namjoon reaches out with his other hand, ruffling the hair on Taehyung’s head. “I still think you’re adorable anyway.”

None of them talk about the unspoken tension in the room as a nurse peeks in and smiles. “Oh good, you’re awake!” And the flurry of activity as the nurse goes to inform the doctor that Namjoon’s awake, and the moment is lost as the doctor comes in, shooing the Beta and Omega out of the room to do a quick check over Namjoon’s body, telling the Alpha of the injuries they’d discovered on him.

“Your guardian is here too. He wants to talk to you about what happened while it’s still sort of fresh in your mind.” The doctor says, patting Namjoon’s good hand.

The reason why his other hand had felt odd was more from the fact he’d had the arm broken during the fight, and Namjoon grunts when he only remembers the first few moments, and the cast weighs heavily on his mind. If he’s this beaten up, what do the other guys look like? Did he even damage any of them at all?

The judge who’s sponsoring him on the council comes in, a recorder in hand and Namjoon tells him everything he can think of.

“You out?” The judge clarifies when Namjoon finishes a moment later.

“Yeah, like, I remember the first punch and throwing a punch, but it goes black after that.” Namjoon says, his good hand reaching up to scratch at an itch on his head that turns out to be a minor scrape he knows he doesn’t remember getting.

The judge sighs. “Ok.” He says. “Let me make some phone calls and we’ll see about getting you out of here. The others from the share house are here and the two friends are more than anxious to talk to you so I’ll let them do that.”

Namjoon nods, and before he knows it, Yoongi and Taehyung are back in the room, the Omega practically throwing himself at Namjoon. “When are you gonna discharge?” He asks, bouncing on his feet.

“I don’t know yet.” Namjoon tells him. He looks at Taehyung, then Yoongi in turn. “The judge said you two needed to talk to me?”

Taehyung goes quiet, looking up at Yoongi as the Beta opens and closes his mouth without words coming out. Namjoon waits patiently, knowing it can take a minute or so for the Beta to formulate the words how he wants to say them in his head.

Namjoon’s not ready for Yoongi to take a deep breath, grabbing Taehyung’s hand. “We’re dating and wesortofwanttodateyoutoo.” Yoongi jumbles the last bit together.

Namjoon’s brain freezes. “Wait, what?” He shakes his head. “Did you just say you two were dating?”

Yoongi nods and Taehyung, uncharacteristically stays silent. Namjoon can feel his heart drop as he forces a smile on his face, not realizing what Yoongi had jumbled together until a moment later, and he gasps. “What about dating me?”

“We both realized we like you.” Yoongi says, this time slower than before. “And…and we both want to date you.”

Namjoon’s fingers flex as he lets Yoongi’s words sink into his brain. “Come here.” He says, trying hard not to sound like it’s an order, but they act like it is anyway.

Namjoon never expected his first kiss to be while he’s in a hospital bed after a fight, but the way Yoongi’s lips, and then Taehyung’s lips feel against his bruised lips, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

A/N: I hope you are all liking the backstory of the three mates so far!

I will try to squeeze in another update this weekend as my uni semester starts next Monday, so be on the lookout for that.

comments and subs, (and subsequently upvotes) are love!!