Stay (BTS x Reader-Polyamorous romance)

Chapter 22

Namjoon POV:

"Thank you. Please come again soon." Taehyung directed his bright smile at the customer as they left. Turning to me with a grin, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Wow. That was busier than normal."

Nodding my head, I returned the smile. "Yeah it sure was. I think they come to see you since you're so handsome." Pinching his cheek, I laughed when he blushed, but his bashful smile gave it away that he enjoyed the compliment.

Taehyung went to say something else, but was interrupted when Owen came in from the kitchen. "Hey Joon. Is Y/N feeling any better?"

"Yeah she is." I gave my boss a smile. "Whoever said doctors and nurses make the worst patients was correct. She said to tell you and Maribel thank you for the fruit basket." Owen and his wife, Maribel, had met Y/N a couple times when she had come into the coffee shop and had instantly hit if off. When my poor mate came down with a bug, they sent her a beautiful fruit basket. A fancy arrangement with cut up melons, pineapple, strawberries, and grapes all put together like flowers. Y/N had been touched by their kindness, her already watery eyes leaking more tears.

After Owen went back into the kitchen, a gentle touch to my shoulder had me turning around to see Taehyung, his pretty brown eyes filled with worry. "Is... is Y/N okay?"

Although I was hesitant to talk about my human mate with him, I could see the clear distress in his face. "Um... yeah she's okay. She was sick for a little while, but she is feeling better now." I could see he wanted to know more, but when I said nothing, his shoulders slumped in a clear dejected manner. I felt a twinge of guilt for keeping information from him, but my three youngest mates had made their decision and there was nothing I could do about it. If I tried to push, it would only make it worse for all of us and that was something I was not willing to do. The tension between us all had finally settled down a little bit and even though Yoongi was still reluctant to visit, he had agreed to meet them for dinner at least once. The meal had been awkward, but I knew we all needed it. Jin, Hoseok, Yoongi and I were very careful not to mention anything about Y/N and Jungkook's disappointment was clear. He wouldn't ask about her; his pride wouldn't let him, but I knew he was curious, knew he was missing her.

"Um... can you tell... tell her that I said I hope she feels better?" Taehyung's voice was filled with pleading and I knew being separated from his human mate was hard. Although I had been frustrated with him for just going along with Jimin, I had also tried to understand why he did. Taehyung didn't know Y/N like Jin did and his last experience with humans had ended him up in the hospital with an infected leg and damage to his beautiful golden wing. He didn't know that Y/N was the sweetest, most caring person in the world and since she had respected Jimin's wishes of staying away from them, he hadn't gotten the chance of getting to know them.

"Yeah. Of course I will." I hated lying to my mate, but I just couldn't do it. Although Y/N reassured us all the time that she didn't mind if we talked about the other three around her, I could see the hint of sadness in her eyes, especially when Jungkook was mentioned. She hadn't gotten the chance to really know Taehyung and Jimin, but I knew she was hurting because of them. With Taehyung it was more the fact that she was pushed away from him before she was able to get close. And with Jimin? I knew it was more fear than anything else. I had heard her mention it to Jin one night and the knowledge that my human mate was afraid of Jimin had broken my heart just a little bit more. "She's doing better now though. Back to work and all."

Taehyung hung on every word and I could tell he was anxious for any news, any information about her, but when I said nothing else, his shoulders slumped again. "Oh... um... that's good to know."