Chapter Text
With a sea of paper petals spread out in front of him, Jimin crouched, a long thin paintbrush in hand. He stretched to pick up another plain petal, dragging his paintbrush over it and watching the watery purple paint bleed down onto the paper, blooming against the white. After a moment he handed it to Taehyung, who filled in the bottom with pink paint, letting the colors merge into a beautiful gradient before setting it out with the others to dry. In the welcome warmth of late spring, it didn't take long.
They worked to the beat of the drums in the street just outside the open door - their pack mates practicing for the parade that night. After what sounded like a few failed attempts to get a groove right, the player managed to nail it, and Taehyung lifted his head with a grin.
"Thought he'd never hit that," he chuckled.
"I can hear you!" Hoseok called, out of sight.
Jimin's nose scrunched in delight as he grinned and painted another petal, passing it on.
"You're doing great, Hob-ah!" Seokjin called over his shoulder as he made his way inside and smiled fondly at the omegas and their paints taking up most of his floor.
Taehyung stood from his crouch, tip-toeing barefoot through the paper petals until he reached his alpha and stopped to be scented.
With both arms around Seokjin's neck, he sighed, pleased. "You're home early."
"Yah, I thought I'd come help," Seokjin said as he glanced at the array of still blank petals.
"Please," Jimin said, grateful. "I always forget how long it takes to make these."
"Art takes time and patience," Taehyung insisted.
"I have neither," Jimin teased, painting two petals at once.
With the three of them the task sped along at a better pace, even though Seokjin's stories and their sweet teasing banter left Jimin laughing too hard to paint straight more than once. Seokjin had set about gluing the layers of petals down to each lantern base, and once they finished their painting, the omegas joined him to complete the process.
"They're going to be beautiful," Seokjin insisted, holding up the string of several lanterns once he'd finished tying the ends off. "Better than anybody else's."
"You have to say that, you're our Jin-hyung," Jimin pointed out, and Seokjin grinned at him.
"I can be biased and right," he said.
"It's Jeonggukie's first Yeondeunghoe, isn't it?" Taehyung asked, gathering a handful of lotus lanterns himself.
"It is," Jimin smiled, eyes bright. "He's never seen it before."
Tae bounced on his toes excitedly as he worked, and Jimin laughed softly at him as he moved in time with the beat of the drums outside.
Settling against the doorframe after a moment, Jimin watched his pack mates move through the streets, some carrying their own completed paper lanterns, or the pieces of what would later become one. He glanced at the mixed group of drum players and earned a grin and a wave from Hoseok.
The village had reacted three different ways to the news of Jimin's mating with Jeongguk. The majority had shown no great surprise, and accepted it for what it was. His friends had celebrated, happy for them both. A small minority had objected, as he'd expected them to, and were given a choice; they could either accept Jeongguk's place in the pack and apologize for any disharmony, or they could leave.
He was unsurprised to see Haneul depart. Hana's apologies, and the apologies from the others at Dongji, had felt honest enough. What had shocked him most, though, was that Jinae had begged to stay.
When she approached him and asked respectfully for his forgiveness, he'd hesitated at first. She'd already been stripped of her position with the hunters, and offered a place with a neighboring pack, but her loyalty, she swore, was to Pack Alpha Kim, and she would do all in her power to prove it going ahead. The only condition Namjoon had given her to stay was to make things right with Jimin and Jeongguk.
Jimin didn't really know how he'd found it in himself to forgive her, and the tanner, for their part. Both had seemed deeply sorrowful and sincere in their regret, and in the end, that had been enough. He left the ultimate decision up to Jeongguk, who had followed his lead, leaning toward mercy.
Spring had been kind to them after that. The garden had flourished, and their world bloomed anew with light and life and color.
Now it was time for the yearly night of the lotus lanterns, and they'd come to the village early in the morning to help prepare. Jeongguk was still with the hyungs, talking to Namjoon about some project he'd been working on, and Jimin cast a glance towards the pack alpha cabin to see if he'd emerged yet.
He'd gotten better at being apart from Jeongguk, though it'd been difficult right after the mating. The first time Jeongguk had gone hunting, Jimin couldn't sit still all day, too anxious to stop moving. It had eased a little with time, but he still felt the pull towards his mate when they were apart, like something invisible tied them to each other.
When Jeongguk finally came out, with Namjoon and Yoongi in tow, Jimin grinned and rushed down the street to meet them. Jeongguk glanced up and his face split into a bright smile as he caught his omega mid jump, both of them laughing.
Behind him Namjoon let out a soft chuckle. "One day he's gonna be too slow, Minnie, and you'll end up in the dirt."
"That'll never happen," Jeongguk promised, expression turning quizzical. "You're purple?"
Jimin looked at his hands, stained with paint. "I am! We finished the lanterns."
Jeongguk beamed. "I can't wait to see."
"We made one for each of us," Jimin said over Jeongguk's shoulder, aimed at the hyungs.
"Thank you, Jimin-ah," Yoongi said. "We've been a little busy."
"Yah, what was this project about?" Jimin asked as Jeongguk finally put him down.
Jeongguk and Namjoon exchanged glances, and Jeongguk took Jimin's hand to walk alongside him.
"Namjoon-hyung has had some visitors lately," Jeongguk began. "Emissaries from the other packs."
"The other packs?"
"The Min pack and the Lee pack," he said. "Both of them want to see me."
"See you?" Jimin furrowed his brow. "What do you mean see you?"
"They want to learn , Jimin-ah," Yoongi said as he walked behind him. "They want to know all there is to know about his people, to educate their packs."
"Most people in the boundaries are like you, and most of them are there by choice," Jeongguk explained gently. "Most of them don't want pack life. A few are exiles. But then there's the ones like me. People who are born out there, who don't know any different, who don't realize there's another life here that they could have if they were just - accepted."
"The other werewolves?" Jimin asked, and Jeongguk nodded, gilded eyes glassy with emotion.
Jimin felt a rush of adoration for his mate, and for his hyungs for thinking of such a thing. Then he realized what it might mean.
"Are - wait, are you going?" he asked, expression falling into despair.
Jeongguk stopped and turned to face him. "That's what we need to talk about."
"You're taking him?" Jimin turned to Namjoon, distraught.
Namjoon held up both hands placatingly. "Nothing's decided yet."
Yoongi stepped forward and started scenting Jimin lightly, shooting a glare at his mate. "If you two could please use your fucking words."
Namjoon huffed a laugh. "Nothing is set in stone. We have two requests, that's all. We need to establish whether the others might want a part of this, too. And we need to decide if it would be better for Jeongguk and a small group to go around to each of the packs and stay for a few days, what he'd teach them and show them, things like that."
"You would come with me," Jeongguk said immediately. "If you wanted to."
Jimin felt the churning in his gut finally begin to subside and let out a relieved sigh.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Yoongi said curtly, stepping aside.
Nearby, the sound of the drums was distracting, and Jimin's heart was picking up speed with the beat. There was so much that could happen on a trip like that, and his mind was racing with all the possible catastrophes. But then, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little thrill of excitement; what an adventure that would be. To see the other packs, and meet the other leaders. To teach, to learn, to see new things, and to do all of it with the person he loved most.
After a pause, Jimin stepped forward again.
"Wherever you go, I'll go," he said softly.
Jeongguk fixed him with that same adoring gaze, the one that made his heart melt and his stomach flutter, and he craned his neck to kiss the tip of Jeongguk's nose.
Between the laughter and the stories and plans shared over tea, the afternoon slipped quickly by, and evening crickets sang to herald the coming night. With lanterns lit and hung from post to post, dangling on strings and carried under arms, they gathered around the four direction tables and joined in the feast of their pack.
Jimin found a quiet moment just to sit back and look around him at the six of them, his family, gathered all together again. Throat thick with emotion, he leaned against his mate, and closed his eyes to listen to the music and the thumping beat of the drums.
When a lantern caught the wind and lifted off the table, Jeongguk stood to fetch it, kneeling down as it lost the breeze and dropped. Just as he did, a young pup came racing along, distractedly swinging a streamer, and collided with him. She landed on her bottom in the dirt, blinking, and then stared up at the werewolf looming over her with wide eyes.
"Hello," Jeongguk said, smiling gently. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, dumbstruck.
"What's your name?"
"Eu- Eunji," she said. "You're the wolf man."
Jeongguk laughed softly. "I am. Where are your parents?"
She blinked again, and then looked over her shoulder to where her alpha mother was standing nearby, looking amusedly at her. The mother gave a gesture to Jeongguk that it was alright, and he bowed back to her.
"Eunji," he said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling something out. "I want you to take this for me. I made it and I didn't know who it belonged to until now."
Jimin watched and listened, intrigued, as Jeongguk held out a little whittled wooden wolf to the girl.
Eunji's eyes went even wider as she reached for it, snatching it and observing it for a moment before it was clutched possessively to her chest.
"Say thank you, Eunji-yah," the mother called.
"Thank you!" Eunji said, and Jeongguk offered both his hands out to help her to her feet.
She ignored him, getting up herself as her mother laughed nearby. With that she turned and ran back, wolf toy clutched tight under her arm like a precious doll, streamer forgotten in the dirt.
As Jeongguk scooped up the lost lantern and moved back to the table, Jimin watched him, the weight of his love almost unbearable in his chest.
"I want one of those," Taehyung said, tugging on Seokjin's sleeve and earning a bright peel of surprised laughter.
"I can't whittle," Seokjin said, attempting to be serious.
"Not what I meant and you know it," Tae whined.
Hoseok giggled into his drink before tossing the rest of it back.
"You're good with pups," Jimin said softly to Jeongguk.
"Never met one before, not properly," Jeongguk admitted. "Hence the bribe."
Jimin laughed with a high and musical sound. "Is that what that was?"
Jeongguk grinned, nodding along.
When Namjoon began to talk about the festival, Jimin tuned out, knowing the story all too well. He looked around the rest of the pack, swinging their lanterns and enjoying good food and drink, and the pleasure of each other's company. Not a one of them was looking at him or at Jeongguk. He realized then that nobody all day long had stopped to gossip. Nobody at all.
He tuned back in to hear the others telling stories of lantern festival nights past, and huffed a soft laugh.
"What do the lanterns mean?" Jeongguk asked, curious.
"Light and peace, I think?" Seokjin said.
"The lantern's glow is meant to light up the world," Namjoon said, "and unite us."
"That's beautiful," Hoseok grinned.
"It is," Jimin agreed.
It felt fitting, all the same.
The conversation carried on amidst the buzz of other voices at nearby tables, and Yoongi met Jimin's eyes after a short while as he was gazing around at each of them in turn, soaking in the joy of their company and leaning against his alpha's shoulder.
Yoongi tipped his head to the side, eyes soft and knowing.
Jimin smiled back at him, fighting down tears and the thick lump of emotion that caught in his throat. He didn't know how long he’d get to have with them, just the seven of them together, but he was going to hang on to every second.
Jeongguk caught the tiny change in his scent and wrapped an arm around him tight, pulling their bodies closer together.
Closing his eyes, soaking in the warmth of the lantern's glow and firelight, Jimin let out a soft sigh, and sank into his alpha's embrace. For some reason in that moment he remembered the first time he saw Jeongguk, through the window of Namjoon's cabin. He remembered the press of his fingertips to the glass, the flash of blood on Jeongguk's chest, the way he'd known somehow in that moment that he had to see Jeongguk again - no matter what it cost him.
He thought of their meeting in the woods, how Jeongguk had heard him singing, and had to see him - just one glimpse, he'd said. Just one look at something beautiful.
Jimin let the sound of all of their voices wash over him like a warm breeze, comforting and heady with their combined scents. He reached out and traced a purple-stained finger over the petals of his lotus lantern, blooming and flickering in the soft breeze, like it was filled with fireflies.
Maybe they really were all tethered together by some great invisible string, twined around each of them, drawing them back to each other, certain as the sun. Maybe it was within their power to keep it just that way.
He smiled, and in his mind, reached out for it with all his might.
And held on tight.