KOOK POV:

I go barrelling out of my room that's filled with my art equipment, gaming equipment and discarded sports gear- rushing down to the hallway where all the bedrooms are and hollering for all of them as I continue to fly down the next set of stairs- hearing the beginnings of the others being drawn out by my yells.

Just as I'm jumping the last five steps, because running is such a waste of time, I find myself propelled in the air for a second and then caught in a pair of strong arms, arms that heft my thighs around their waist as they hold me.

"Hobi hyung!" I chirp noting who's caught me.

And he's looking at me with both fondness and amused exasperation.

"No jumping off stairs Kookie! I can't forget the last time you and Tae did that and ended up with bandaged heads!" he shakes his head at me.

Even though the excessive bandaging had been him going into over worrying mode for the small cut we'd gotten.

"And what's gotten you in such a tizz?" he asks, walking with me still safely wrapped around him to the living room, not setting me down but rather falling back into the couch with me still wrapped around him.

The others move into the room with looks of confusion, some amused and some fond.

"Kookie what's got you yelling around the house?" Jin hyung asks, perching on the arm of the opposite couch, Joon hyung leaning into him readily- Jin hyung's hand carding through his hair.

I wiggle excitedly on Hobi hyung's lap, only then realising I'm straddling him and unable to see the others. I shift, turning around even as Hobi hyung lets out a muffled protest of complaint.

"Did you guys not see the news?" I ask, looking incredulously at Yoongi hyung and Joon hyung especially.

Everyone shakes their heads.

Tae laments aloud.

"Kook-ah hurry up...I was going to have a bath with Jiminie!" he pouts, shifting closer to Jiminie hyung, the way he plasters himself across him is familiar and habitual.

I grin.

"Amparo's having another exhibition! It's coming up really soon...next week actually." I say waving my phone around where the article is still open.

There's a period of silence until Hobi hyung plucks the phone from my lap, peering at it before letting out an excited squeal- the sound rousing eagerness and fitful anticipation from everyone else. All in their unique ways celebrating the news and wondering what we'll get to see this time.

The news make the room well up with bright energy, everyone shifting happily.

But my eyes habitually scan for (Y/N), my baby mate who isn't here. Who's still out somewhere, doing something. And my eyes dart to the clock on the wall, hear the steady constant ticking and note that each tick only serves to remind that she's not here.

I shift uneasily.

I want her to be here.

I want to tell her the news first.

And yet miraculously, I hear the sound of the door shifting open- this innate sense of feeling complete and know she's stepped through just now. And bolt off hyung's lap, barely feeling the way his arms tighten in alarm before loosening.

And appear in the hallway to see her straightening up, shoe rack sliding back now that she's standing up again.

"(Y/N)!" I chirp before rushing towards her, seeing her eyes flare red for an instant and yet she seems unprepared for when I reach her, scooping her up close and twirling her around- breathing in the scent of her and feeling myself be calmed knowing she's back home.

"Hey Koo." She mumbles, nestling her head in to the crook of my neck. But just as I set her down, I find myself being nudged aside as Tae hyung pulls her into a hug, face lingering close to her neck and taking the time to place lingering kisses onto each mark on her skin- seven slow kisses for the seven claiming marks. And I watch as each kiss makes her melt against him and how with each kiss, he tugs her in further, breathing her in and holding her without the intention of letting go.

And then realise that perhaps her recent activity which has caused her to stay away from the nest for longer must be stirring up his instincts to shift- the restlessness that comes with knowing a mate isn't home making those instincts buzz, push against the barrier that holds them back.

"Tae hyung...do you need to shift?" I ask gently, feeling an arm slide around my waist as Jiminie hyung appears- watching the scene with soft glowing red eyes.

He mumbles, lifting his head to shake it.

"Just feel a bit restless." He mumbles.

(Y/N)'s face shifts.

"I'm sorry Tae, it's because of me isn't it? Because I haven't been home until night. Just a little while longer I promise." she says, gently carding fingers through his dark curls, I watch as he leans into the touch- pushing her hand closer as he angles his head.

"I thought a bath might take the edge off. You know how sleepy and fuzzy he gets when you cuddle him after a hot soak." Jiminie hyung murmurs, drawing images of Tae pliant and happy and snuggling up to any one of us after he's had a bath with us, curls slightly damp and lips making slow kisses against the neck of one of our mates'. Tactile comfort is the easiest way to help reassure him, and it looks as if he's trying to fulfil it all at once, no intention of letting her go.

"Tae let (Y/N) come inside. Hogging her in the hallway isn't very romantic is it?" Jiminie hyung teases.

"I can be romantic! (Y/N) tell him about what we did in your special room." He says lifting his head to glare at Jiminie hyung, eyes more smug and glowing red with satisfaction than any hint of ire.

(Y/N) flushes, a soft rosy hue that decorates her cheeks as she lightly digs her elbow into him.

"Stop that Tae!" she hisses, eyes sliding away.

Yet her evasive answer stirs up my curiosity. I wonder what they did.

"Jagi~ did our time together bonding mean nothing? I'm hurt." he grouses, shifting so he can hug her from behind, arms resting loosely on her waist.

"I...it did...Tae!" she splutters, sliding out of his arms to move forward, lips twitching when he whines for her as she makes her way to hug Jiminie hyung, giving him a small peck on the lips.

And when she's greeted everyone and sits down next to Hobi hyung, I dart back towards her to give her the news.

"(Y/N)! Amparo's new exhibition will be next week, will you come with us?" I ask, bouncing excitedly on Hobi hyung's lap as I look at her, at the way she'd been curled into his side when she suddenly straightens up, eyes widening. Surprise filtering through the bond.

Guess she didn't know.

"Please? We'd love to share this part of us with you." Joon hyung adds, voice soft.

She nods her head quickly.

"Of course. It's clear how much the exhibition means to you. I'd love to go." She says easily.

And when she shakes her head to Jin hyung's question of whether she's had dinner yet, she allows Yoongi hyung to lead her away, hand holding hers.

And I can't stop fidgeting with excitement with how this exhibition will be so much different.

Because we'll have our final mate with us. Because for the first time we'll go as a complete coven.

(Y/N) POV:

"Thanks for feeding me oppa." I say, leaning forward to peck his cheek before standing up to go clean the dishes in the sink.

There's the warmth that comes with simple domesticity as I wash the dishes and watch as the suds are rinsed off, leaning the plates sparkling underneath. And then Yoongi oppa comes to wrap his arms around me, spooning me from behind, content to just hold me.

But then his hands retreat so he can begin drying them, but not once does he shift to leave from behind me- he's perfectly content to dry them with this closeness so I can feel the slight warmth from him, feel the way his head leans over my shoulder and his arm comes out to place them onto the rack.

"Are you sure you want to come to the exhibition? I know that Amparo's paintings can bring up a lot of emotions." He says gently, voice soft and understanding.

The tap turns off automatically and I turn to give him my attention, back pressed against the edge of the sink as I look at him.

"I'm sure. I guess I'll also get to see how you all see their paintings too." I murmur.

He nods, eyes dark and soft.

"Amparo means something different to all of us. But they're also really important to us." he murmurs.

"How so?" I ask.

He reaches down to intertwine my hand.

"Let me show you." is all he says as he leads me out of the kitchen, down the hallway and up the stairs until we're in the large spacious gallery they've dedicated to Amparo's work...to my work.

He doesn't say anything as he takes me on a slow walk around the gallery, the size far larger than one I've ever exhibited my works in- because this holds the vast majority of my works- map the changes in my style, my life in chronological order as he takes me around them until we reach the beginning again.

"What did you see?" he asks.

"So much. There's just so much in their work." I breathe, never able to find those words that could aptly describe each raw emotion I'd experienced in a sentence.

He nods.

"For us, Amparo is someone we can relate to. That we see proof that someone can go through so much and keep on going, that whoever they are; they're a strong person, they fight against the world, against each injustice and yet still feel so intensely." He says, voice reflective and thoughtful.

I turn to see the way his eyes flash from brown to red and then to brown again. As if warring with those inner instincts, those inner emotions.

"Amparo for me was someone who truly helped me. It helped me realise and accept everything I'd been through, helped me see things with a new light and made me love our mates that much more." He says, stepping close as he comes to hold me again.

My back is to his so I don't turn as I speak, voicing the question that had been one of the most troubled thoughts for me.

"You say you all find comfort in Amparo but did you ever wonder the possibility that they could be a human artist?" I ask, feeling him stiffen slightly.

"What do you mean?" he asks, voice a mixture of confused and yet there's a hint of understanding. At what I'm getting at.

"You know...did you ever wonder that the emotions and stories Amparo tells could be a human's story about their life? That it's not only vampires that suffer but a human could too?" I say, feeling him drop his head onto my shoulder, arms tightening slightly.

"I did." He says honestly, nothing but sincere genuineness in his voice.

"And? Did their work become different? Did you see it as something less?" I ask, feeling my heart squeeze in painful anticipation.

He turns to peck my neck before speaking again.

"It did become different." He says bluntly.

I feel my heart shatter.

"It became different because even if we were once a vampire-exclusive coven, I thought that it just went to show that humans felt intensely too, that perhaps humans hurt far more than us because they were mortal- they didn't have eternity to get over it." He says.

His words strike deeply in my heart.

I feel the pressure behind my eyes begin to build. The threat of tears growing imminent as he pours out his heart to me. 

"For me I don't care whether Amparo is human or vampire. I know the others don't either- we've talked about this. For us...Amparo has this way of transcending these divides that our kinds have enforced against each other. With their art- it's not about two co-existing races, it's about art; and how that ignores all these divides and brings people together." He says.

And that's when the pressure reaches it's peak, and tears spill down my cheeks, silently and slowly as I process his words.

That even if I don't know how any other person perceives my work, my mates- seven of the most important people in my life see it for what it truly is, is more than enough.

"What about you?" he gently asks.

I don't answer, trying to will my heart to stop weeping blood, for my soul to stop aching.

When he doesn't get an answer, he shifts me around, tilting my jaw up towards him- eyes burning red suddenly when he spots the tears.

Yet he doesn't say anything as his long slender fingers come to wipe away those tears.

"Amparo...Amparo's work is an escape for me." I whisper.

It's the truth, just not with the final push of detail. It could be so easy to say it, so easy to open my mouth and just tell him.

But he nods understandingly, lips pressed to my forehead, the soft pressure lingering even as he moves back.

"I'm glad you found an escape. And when you want...we'll gladly be your escape too." He says.

And there's nothing more that needs to be said with how overwhelmed and overfilled my heart feels, emotions welling out and spilling as I feel our bond burn and shine brightly- strengthening as we confide to each other.

I begin to realise that I can do it, I can tell them. That when the opportunity arises I'll let them know. I'll give away the rawest and most vulnerable part of me to them. Because I know they'll look after it and accept it.

Just as they had accepted me without knowing my past.

Just as they'd accepted me as their mate and I had accepted them as mine.

Because I'd learnt life was too fleeting to keep things bottled up.

(THERE YOU GO! A SLIGHTLY HURTY HINT OF ANGST CHAPTER ISH I GUESS? I DIDN'T PLAN FOR IT TO TURN ALL SAD BUT IT DID BUT I ALSO DON'T REGRET IT, NOT WITH HOW IT MEANS SHE GETS CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING THAT IT'S FINE IF SHE TELLS THEM AND THAT WHEN SHE DOES- THEY'LL BE THERE TO SUPPORT, LOVE AND DOTE ON HER EVERY STEP OF THE WAY! I JUST REALISED THAT THIS PART IS KIND OF LIKE THE PHOTO EXHIBITION EUNWOO DID AND YET WE ARE STILL NOT NEAR THAT LEVEL OF INTIMACY! WHAT IS GOING ON?! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS MY LOVE AND HOW YOU THINK THEY'LL REACT?? CHOOSE A COLOUR TOO! AHHH SO EXCITED AND NERVOUS TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER! STAY SAFE AND ENJOY!)

Remember there are infinite ways to see something, everyone sees the world differently to us.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3