The True Alpha: Bad Blood //jjk

26: Ties

The scene played in front of her eyes in slow motion, and bit by bit, she felt her heart retrieving something the previous days had stolen from her. Fai happily ran, giggling as he wiggled the wooden wolf up and down in his hands. Swiftly, he was picked up and thrown into the sky, only to fall safely in the Alpha's arms again. They smiled at one another and Fai hid his face in Jungkook's chest, while the older boy ruffled his hair. Perplexed and overwhelmed, Hani observed them from where her feet were, rooted to the ground. A wave of emotions crashed on her, her heart beat drunkenly in her chest: out of tune, stumbling on its own beat, stopping only to quicken its pace. There was a disarray of thoughts going through her head. Her feet were trembling, uncertain if they should move or not. Their eyes met, neither of them looked away. Passionately, they dived into one another, saying and speaking words only they could understand. A strong breeze blew, shaking the leaves, whispering things between the trees. Hani's hair covered her eyes, hiding her gaze from the Alpha whose heart shakingly beat in his chest, unsure if it was alive or not. In that fleeting second, a tear fell from her eyes, hidden by the gentle protection of the wind.

The breeze vanished, unveiling the girl's tender, mellow, loving eyes. Their gazes were still glued to one another, tightly wrapped around the other. Almost as if they were scared to let go, to close, to look away. Perhaps they believed that insignificant, minimal, gesture would be fatal to both. And as their gaze searched for the other again in that scenery – regretful that they had moved away, craving to see them once again – no longer would the other be there; and like the breeze, they'd vanish before they could speak, before they could tell them to stay.

Up and down, they scanned one another, taking notice of every night spent awake, every meal they struggled to enjoy, every tear shed, every pain felt. All of this they took notice of. Somehow, it reassured them, it lessened the insecurity and uncertainty that trapped their feet to the ground. Neither of them hid that vulnerability from the other, they only brought it forward into the daylight. A silent message, maybe, or a code; a way of letting the other know that they still cared, they still loved, that they were waiting for the other to make a move.

However, it was actually Fai the one who broke the intimate eye contact that froze the mates in their place. Wiggling in Jungkook's arms, Fai fussed and turned. It stole the Alpha's attention from Hani and hurriedly he put the toddler down. He assumed he wanted to go back to Hani; needless to say, it surprised him when he felt Fai trying to reach for his hand. The toddler was clutching onto his pants for support while, on the tip of his toes, he tried to hold Jungkook's hand. Chuckling softly, Jungkook leaned his body slightly downward. Pleased, Fai wrapped his hand around Jungkook's index finger; his hands appeared to be even smaller, next to Jungkook's - it made the Alpha's lips blossom into a smile. With strong determinate steps, or as the toddler assumed them to be – in reality, it was small, unbalanced steps that he took -, by the hand, he guided Jungkook forward. It took the Alpha a while to realize that the toddler was actually, bringing him closer to Hani who hadn't moved at all; neither was she aware of the toddler's intentions. Realization only hit the mates, when Fai stopped. Their gazes, who had been previously centred only on the tiny boy, faced one another. Hani felt Fai's tiny hand holding hers, causing her stare to fall from Jungkook and instead, focus on the cheerful toddler. He let go of Jungkook's hand and confidently, he grasped Hani's; however, it wasn't him who was going to hold it. His eyes sparked with enthusiasm, their light reflected on Jungkook who dumbfounded and baffled, stared at him like a lost puppy. Still, the boy pressed on and, grabbing Hani's hand, he reached it out for Jungkook to take.

"You want me to hold her hand?" Slightly stuttering, Jungkook asked the toddler; even if he knew that most likely, he wasn't going to get an answer. Hesitantly, he looked at his mate, fumbling with the words in his brain; however, they became more and more at disarray, the longer he stared at her. In a rush of sudden bravery, he asked her, despite how shy his voice spoke. "Is... Is it okay? If I hold your hand?"