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Chapter Text

Jihyo barely had time to pull open the door, catching a glimpse of Taehyung bouncing restlessly next to his mother, before the little omega was zipping past her into the house with a shouted “hi, auntie Jihyo!”

“That boy,” Taehyung’s mother huffed as she stared after him with the partly fond, partly baffled expression she always seemed to wear when it came to her oldest son. “He’s been acting like a crazy monkey for the past two weeks. Five days ago he actually started bargaining with me. He promised to never complain about having to eat all his vegetables if I just let him visit Jungkook. He even said he’d stop pestering me about getting him a puppy. I was a second away from saying yes, just stop him from looking at me like I was a monster for keeping him away from Jungkook.”

The female alpha knew just too well what Taehyung’s mother must have had gone through. Her son had been a tiny bundle of misery as well and Jihyo knew for a fact that the absence of Taehyung at his side had had a lot more to do with it than his severe cold and tonsillitis. Not a day had gone by without her little pup pleading her to let his best friend come over, eyes watery and swollen, but the risk of Taehyung getting sick as well had simply been too high. Telling her baby no and watching the heart-break flash across his still slightly chubby face over and over again had been almost unbearable.

“I thought this damn cold was never going to go away. It honestly felt like two months instead of weeks.”

“Thank God that is over now.” They exchanged a quick glance of shared understanding and suffering, before Taehyung’s mother stepped down from her porch with a relieved sigh. ”I better get back home and make sure my other two monkeys didn’t burn down the house while I was gone.”

“I’ll call you when Taehyung is ready to go home.”

“Talk to you in a week then,” was all Taehyung’s mother had to say to that, amusement evident on her face and pulling a startled laugh from Jihyo as she waved her goodbye.

Stepping back into the house and heading straight for the living room, where she’d left Jungkook in a nest of blankets on the couch, she entered the room just in time to hear her son let out his first, trembling wail. She recognized it as a sound of overwhelming relief, rather than pain or fear, but still the alpha and mother in her pushed her forward to make sure he was okay. By the time she stopped next to the couch, Taehyung was already looking up at her with big, spooked eyes, his small hand softly patting the top of her son’s head, and for a moment the tightness in her chest was almost too much to speak through.

“Is Kookie hurt?”

She watched the boy’s bottom lip tremble and felt her protective instincts kicking up with the urge to hug both of them close to her chest. Instead she kneeled down in front of the boys on the couch and pitched her voice in a way she knew would make the small omega and her son feel save and at ease – not that Taehyung had ever shown signs of being intimidated by her or her husband’s and son’s status as alphas.

“Don’t worry, Taehyung. Jungkook’s not hurt, he’s just relieved you’re finally here. That’s why he’s crying. He missed you a lot.”

That seemed to placate the omega at least a little bit, even though he seemed to consider the sight of his best friend's agitated tears a personal offense. Then Jungkook was suddenly moving, determinedly crawling into Taehyung’s lap, while his body was still shaken by hiccupping sniffles.

“They said- they said you weren’t allowed to c-come see m-me.” The utter misery in his voice would have probably sent Jihyo to her knees if she hadn’t already been there. “They said I-I’d make you- make you sick too.”

At this point Jungkook was just full-out sobbing into Taehyung’s bright orange shirt, small hands clutching the fabric like he was scared his best friend would have to leave again if he let go. And the look Taehyung sent her this time was baleful, full of innocent outrage and Jihyo really had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep the threatening smile in check. She was about 99% sure that any attempts of interfering or separating them would end with a tiny omega growling and snarling at her, so she quietly rose back to her feet and moved to the table where she had abandoned her book a few minutes ago at the ring of the doorbell.

“I’m here now, Kookie. I’m staying as long as you want.”

It was a hushed whisper, clearly meant for her son’s ears only.

“P-promise?”

“I swear it on my Game Boy. No one’s taking me away from you ever again.”

The fierce determination in Taehyung’s voice had Jihyo freezing in her seat, the omega’s tone plucking at something inside of her. He didn’t sound like a seven-year-old omega, didn’t sound like a child. Instead he sounded unflinching, almost ferally protective and one quick glance at the two kids on the couch revealed that his expression matched the tone of his voice. His brows were pulled together, his eyes almost glowing with determination and his lips pressed together into a straight line as he stared down at the top of her son’s head.

Jungkook had his face hidden against Taehyung’s shoulder, but he was ceaselessly nodding his head and squirming closer to his best friend, tension visibly draining out of his small body. Jihyo doubted he would let go anytime soon and satisfied she returned her attention to the book in front of her. It was only five minutes later that she felt the hair at the back of her neck rising in suspicion. It was completely silent in the room. No more sniffles, no more hushed whispers or any of the giggles that hard started up maybe ten seconds after the sniffling had subsided. Just silence.

Jihyo couldn’t even count the number of times she’d found Jungkook and his partner in crime neck-deep into trouble after they’d somehow managed to sneak away from her. Those two were more slippery than a pair of grease monkeys, so silence was never a good thing. That meant all her maternal instincts were blaring an alarm in the back of her mind – already preparing her for the impending hunt of a mischievous pair of pups – when she quickly raised her gaze from the pages of her book, only to realize her son and his best friend had fallen asleep on the couch.

Her baby was still holding on to Taehyung with all his might, tiny fists clutching his best friend’s t-shirt, while the omega had curled himself around Jungkook like he was trying to protect him from all the evils in the world. With his nose buried in Jungkook’s mop of fluffy hair – too long since her son had refused to let her cut it – and his short arms holding on tightly to the young alpha, he looked like he was planning to stay right there by his side forever.

And Jihyo didn’t know where the conviction came from, but a part of her simply knew that those two wouldn’t let go of each other.

Ever.

Chapter Text

Shoveling in another spoon-full of cereal, Jungkook just barely avoided dripping milk down his chin and onto the table when he heard the unmistakable sound of Taehyung coming down the stairs.
His mother didn’t look the least bit surprised when Taehyung all but stumbled into the kitchen, still dressed in the shirt and basketball shorts he’d borrowed from Jungkook, his eyes barely open and with an impressive pillow crease on his cheek. She simply got out another bowl and spoon and put them down on the table next to Jungkook.

“You could have just used the door, baby.”

Her voice would have sounded exasperated, if it hadn’t been for the fond softness buried beneath and when Jungkook looked up from his breakfast she was straightening the unruly tufts of Taehyung’s sleep-rumpled hair. The smile on his best friend’s face was broad, sleepy and completely unrepentant.

“That’s so unimaginative though. Everyone uses the door. Also people in movies always crawl in through their best friend’s window in the middle of the night, I wanted to try it as well.”

“Yeah, but people in the movies usually climb in through windows without making enough racket to wake the dead.”

Jungkook almost snorted milk up his nose at his mother’s dry tone.

“Sorry about that,” his best friend apologized with a sheepish grin. “I’ll try to be more graceful and quiet next time.”

“If you break your leg I’m not visiting you in the hospital,” was his mother’s only reply, before she turned back to meals she was packing up for Jungkook and herself.

“Awww, aunt Jihyo! That’s mean, but Kookie will come visit me, so it’s fine.”

“Can’t. I have finals to study for,” Jungkook mumbled through a mouth full of cereal.

A gasp, followed by an outraged protest. “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! What kind of best friend are you?”

“The kind of best friend that wants to make it to his senior year?”

Taehyung was clutching his chest like Jungkook had just cold-heartedly stabbed him with a knife, but when his best friend dramatically lowered himself onto the seat next to his, the alpha could clearly make out the smile the older boy was trying to hide from him.

“You’re a cruel, cruel man, Jeon Jungkook. It’s hard to believe you used to be such a cute little alpha that cried whenever he missed me.”

“I did not cry because I missed you. Stop making stuff up,” Jungkook hissed defensively, ducking his head, while simultaneously pulling up his shoulders.

His mother’s snort was almost drowned out by Taehyung’s scoffed “yeah, right” and the two reactions had Jungkook’s ears growing hot with embarrassment. So for the remainder of the breakfast, Jungkook stubbornly kept his eyes on his rapidly vanishing, milk-soaked cereal and completely ignored the weak jabs of Taehyung’s elbow to his side. And when his best friend and mother started reminiscing about all the times he’d supposedly hid himself beneath Taehyung’s bed because he hadn’t wanted to leave, Jungkook quickly pushed his chair away from the table, deposited his empty bowl in the sink and attempted to make his escape with a mumbled “need to take a shower”.

His mother’s voice had him freezing in the open doorway though. “Wait a minute, pup.”

Turning around, he found his mother looking at him with a surprisingly somber expression, so different from the teasing, fond smile he’d worn just a few seconds ago and when he flicked Taehyung a quick glance, he realized that his best friend had obviously picked up on the sudden shift of moods as well. His happy smile – the one he wore whenever he had a chance to make fun of Jungkook for something – was steadily being replaced by an almost anxious expression and he fleetingly met Jungkook’s gaze, before returning his attention to the female alpha.

“Listen, you two. I know you’re worried about Taehyung leaving for college soon.” It didn’t surprise Jungkook in the least that his mother had picked up on the reason for Taehyung’s late night visit. The reason for Taehyung’s sudden need to crawl in through Jungkook’s window and into the his bed to spend the remainder of the night curled up against the alpha. She’d always been eerily good at picking up on their moods and the younger alpha always wondered if it were her maternal or alpha instincts at work. “I know a year apart seems like an awfully long time now, but Jungkook, you’ll be busy with your last year of high school. And Taehyung, you’re going to have your hands full with settling in at college. You’ll be meeting new people, trying to get a sense of the place and getting used to a completely new environment. The year will be over before you know it. There are two months of summer break and Tae will come home at the end of his second term and in March you’ll already be going to Seoul together. It’s gonna be okay. And who knows, the distance might even do you some good. It’ll teach you not to take each other for granted. You’ll probably come out even closer friends at the end of this school year.”

Jungkook doubted that was even possible, but he grasped onto his mother words like a drowning person clinging to a life ring.

The January morning was freezing and Jungkook tugged up a loose fold of his scarf until it covered the icy tip of his nose. Next to him, Taehyung barely even seemed to notice the sub-zero temperatures, happily droning on about his strange new co-worker and Jungkook wondered why anyone would voluntarily spend more time outside in this weather. Taehyung didn’t even need to be at work until after lunch and the crazy kid had decided that walking Jungkook to school would be a great idea. Not that he was complaining. Having Taehyung there made the morning walk at least somewhat bearable.

“Okay, what’s wrong? I’ve been practically talking to myself ever since we left your house,” Taehyung huffed, throwing him an exasperated glance. “I mean, I’m used to doing most of the talking and I know you’re going through your teenage brooding phase, but I usually get at least a few reactions out of you. What are you so worried about?”

“Who says I’m worrying about something?” Jungkook hedged, completely ignoring Taehyung’s brooding jab. He was not going through some kind of phase. His best friend could just go and suck it.

“Kookie, I can practically feel the anxiousness rolling off you in waves. So stop stalling and tell me what’s going on.”

Caught, Jungkook thought, nervously biting down on his slightly chapped lower lip.

It was something his mother had said after breakfast. He hadn’t really given it too much thought at first, but his mind had circled back to it in the shower and now he just couldn’t stop thinking about it, worry an incessant weight in his stomach.

But still, it didn’t mean he wanted to tell Taehyung about it. He already felt foolish enough as it was, but Taehyung was looking at him the way he always did when he was determined to coax – or shake – the truth out of him, head tilted to the side and one eyebrow raised challengingly.

For a few delusional seconds Jungkook considered keeping his mouth shut, but then Taehyung slowly raised his other brow as well and the alpha knew surrendering was the only way to keep things from turning ugly. He didn’t know which idiot had come up with the bullshit about omegas having gentle and naturally submissive personalities, but the guy – it had to have been a guy, probably an alpha too – had clearly never met his best friend.

Dictionaries all over the world probably had a picture of Taehyung printed beneath the word obstinate.

“You’re not going find a new best friend in college, right?” Jungkook blurted the words out before he lost his nerve again and they had Taehyung coming to an abrupt stop next to him, eyes wide and almost outraged as he fixed the alpha with a disbelieving stare.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Uneasily averting his gaze, Jungkook started kicking at the packed snow at his feet, the tip of his boot digging into the ice with a satisfying crunch.

“It’s just... you’ll be in Seoul, meeting all these new people. And let’s be honest, they’ll be older and more experienced and more interesting than me. And I’ll just be the kid from your hometown that still goes to high school and used to live down the street from you.”

Jungkook couldn’t really tell if saying the words out loud made him feel better or worse. There was a certain relief in telling Taehyung what had been weighing on him, but at the same time the weight in his chest just seemed to be getting heavier the longer he thought about his best friend away at college, while he was stuck in this town for another year. The image alone had his stomach twisting with unease and anxiety.

The next swing of his boot-clad foot cleared away the last remainder of snow beneath and the scraping sound his sole made against the concrete was jarring in the silence between them.

But not nearly as jarring as the way his body suddenly pitched forward. He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he’d expected from Taehyung, but the hand grabbing the front of his jacket and giving him a sharp, sudden yank definitely hadn’t been it. Head snapping up with a low gasp of surprise, he found himself practically nose to nose with his best friend, the omega’s eyes alight with a seething kind of temper.

“Take that back.”

The underlying growl in Taehyung’s voice had the alpha in him snapping to attention, testily yanking at its leash, but the thrum of his base instincts interpreting Taehyung’s behavior as a blatant challenge of dominance was almost completely drowned out by the shock of being faced with his best friend’s sudden flare or anger. Jungkook had seen Taehyung angry before. It was the farthest thing from a common occurrence, but he’d seen that dark flash of emotion in his eyes, had felt his body poised for aggression. But until now that anger had never been directed at him. Not like this.

The parts of Taehyung’s cheeks that weren’t covered by his scarf were turning a bright red and Jungkook knew it had nothing to do with the cold, while the glint in his eyes turned hard and furious.

“You can just go fuck yourself if you think I’ll let you insult me like that.” Taehyung was outright snarling at him and Jungkook could do nothing but stare in total disbelieve. “I’ve been driving myself half-crazy at the thought of being away from you that long and you seriously think I’d just throw you over for the next best person coming my way? Fuck you, Jeon Jungkook. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember, I trust you more than I trust my own family and you just...”

With a sinking feeling in his stomach the young alpha watched Taehyung’s bottom lip tremble, as he cut himself off in the middle of his sentence, felt his grip tighten around the fabric of his jacket and the temper in his eyes flickering out to be replaced by a flash of bone-deep hurt.

“Do you really think I could just give you up like that?”

Any hint of aggression was gone, the growl completely erased from his voice, and all of a sudden Taehyung just looked horribly lost. Like he just couldn’t comprehend his best friend’s insulting lack of trust.

Jungkook’s arms shot forward before his mind had time to catch up with the instinctive movement, the same moment that a wave of crushing shame rose up from his stomach. Cold fingers curling into the back of Taehyung’s coat kept the omega from moving away, not that he was trying very hard, and Jungkook’s tongue felt strangely numb in his mouth, as he clumsily stumbled over his own words.

“I didn’t... that’s not what I... I mean... shit.”

Letting his head fall forward and resting his forehead against his best friend’s shoulder, he turned to the side until he could muffle his next words in the fabric of Taehyung’s scarf. It made being truthful just a little bit easier.

“I’m sorry, Tae. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just... the thought of you leaving me here scares the shit out of me. I know I’m your best friend, I know that my mom was right and that we’ll be just fine, even if you’re in Seoul and I’ll stay back here, but even the 0.0001% chance of you meeting someone that you’ll like more than me makes me feel a little bit- a lot insane.”

The sharp, icy wind tugged at them where they were standing in the middle of the walkway, but even like this Jungkook could pick up Taehyung’s soothingly familiar scent. The alpha just stayed where he was, nose buried in the folds of Taehyung’s scarf, the older boy’s body tense against his own, but he felt his grip on his jacket loosen, felt the omega press his palm flat against Jungkook’s chest instead.

“Is your alpha side giving you a hard time again?”

“I don’t know,” Jungkook rasped, nuzzling deeper into Taehyung’s scarf. “I feel like my alpha and human sides might be both going through a little crisis right now.”

And just like that the omega went pliant against him. Taehyung was always so ready to look past his occasional moments of stupidity and the way he softly rubbed his temple against the top of Jungkook’s head told him he was already forgiven. It was that easy.

Jungkook would have probably felt guilty about it, if he hadn’t been so busy battling the relief weakening his knees.

“You’re an idiot, Kookie.”

The unspoken ‘but I love you anyway’ hovered in the air between them – acknowledged and understood by both of them.

“You’re not telling me anything new here.”

“Then you’ll also know that I’d hide you in my suitcase and take you with me if I could, but there’s no way we’d be able to fit all those damn muscles of yours in there.”

“Shut up,” the alpha scoffed, lightly pushing away from Taehyung, but he stayed close enough that their shoulders were still brushing up against each other. The move clearly didn’t escape Taehyung and the smile blooming on his face looked as relieved as Jungkook felt.

“You’re my favorite, Kookie. You’ll always be my favorite.”

The way Taehyung said the words almost made them sound like a joke, but his eyes glowed with a fondness that had been nearly two decades in the making and Jungkook felt the icy tips of his ears heating up in immediate response. Trying not to be too obvious about the way those words had warmth blooming inside of him, Jungkook burrowed deeper into his scarf until only his eyes were showing, while Taehyung looked at him with his box-shaped and knowing grin. He really had no idea how the omega could say those things so easily, when Jungkook barely managed to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

“You’re my favorite too.”

So what if his words were barely comprehensible, muffled by the fabric wrapped around his neck and face? Taehyung had clearly understood him, because only a moment later he was throwing his arm over his shoulders with a happy laugh and started walking again, Jungkook tucked against his side.

“Of course I am.”

For the next minute the wind and steady crunch and of the snow beneath their feet were the only sounds interrupting the peaceful quiet of the early morning and Jungkook decided it was probably save to risk a quick glance at Taehyung. Gone were any remnants of the anger that had erupted so suddenly and Jungkook was relieved to see that the horribly hurt expression had made room for a content half-smile.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you that angry.” The alpha’s voice was small and he had to take a few steps and several deep breaths before he could make himself continue. “I really didn’t think my stupid comment would piss you off that much.”

Taehyung’s groan sounded almost embarrassed, as he let his head drop to the side until it was resting against Jungkook’s.

“It’s the suppressants. My doctor says I’ll probably have to change them because they make me hormonal as hell. I’m mood swings central right now. I actually cried over a puppy yesterday.”

“That’s nothing new though. You do that all the time.”

Taehyung slightly turned his head to give him a look that made it very clear how unimpressed he was with him at the moment, but ignored his quip in favor of pushing forward with his explanation. “It wasn’t even a real puppy. It was just a picture of one. And I never thought I’d say this, but it was actually a really ugly one. It looked like a pug got frisky with a rat.”

That startled a snorting giggle out of Jungkook and it took him way too long to cut off the embarrassing sound.

“So don’t worry too much about it. That blow-up was probably twice as bad as it normally would have been because of my meds. And I get it, I’m worried about leaving for Seoul too. It’s just that me replacing you as my best friend is honestly the last thing you have to worry about, so stop being stupid.”

“I’m a teenage boy and an alpha, what did you expect? We all know that’s the worst combination anyone could think of,” Jungkook half-joked, rubbing his cheek against Taehyung’s shoulder and feeling a flicker of mischief stirring inside his chest. “The suppressants thing explains a lot though.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but you’ve been kinda wacky these past few weeks,” Jungkook mumbled, trying very hard to keep the laughter out of his voice and failing miserably when Taehyung’s arm tightened around him with a hissed ‘brat’. Jungkook twisted out of his best friend’s hold with a choked-up laugh – a laugh that quickly turned into an alarmed yelp when Taehyung bent down to scoop up an excessively large snowball.

“I’ll show you wacky,” Taehyung growled and Jungkook’s instinct of self-preservation had him diving behind the car parked at the side of a road. But there was no hiding the smile stretching across his face, because not even the threat of being squashed by the Mt. Everest of snowballs could dampen the warm glow of Taehyung’s reassurance in chest.

Physical distance meant jack shit when you were lucky enough to have a best friend like Kim Taehyung at your side.

Chapter Text

Taehyung caught sight of Jungkook the second he crossed the street and broke free of the big group of pedestrians. The late afternoon air was brisk, right on the edge of turning too cool for comfort and the damned idiot hadn’t gone inside like Taehyung had told him to. Instead he was waiting in front of the coffee shop, hands buried in the pockets of his denim jacket, hair peeking out from beneath his blue beanie and black backpack hanging carelessly off one shoulder. Stubborn idiot alpha.

My idiot.

The thought came sudden and completely unbidden, so embarrassingly sappy, Taehyung was momentarily tempted to roll his eyes at himself. But then Jungkook’s gaze was suddenly on him and his self-depreciating thoughts simply jumped to the back of his mind. They hadn’t been able to catch each other unaware for a while now, tuned in to each other’s approach like they had suddenly developed an additional sense and Taehyung wasn’t about to admit how much he loved that. But it still didn’t keep the smile from taking over his face as he let his long legs eat up the ground between him and his boyfriend, only growing bigger when the alpha mirrored his downright goofy expression.

Close enough to make out the way Jungkook’s smile crinkled up the corners of his eyes, the pull behind his rib cage only seemed to intensify. So Taehyung didn’t stop moving until he was chest to chest with Jungkook, delight a slow, subtle pulse inside of him when the alpha immediately leaned in to meet Taehyung’s silent demand for a kiss. But it was the affectionate nuzzle against Taehyung’s cheek, before he angled his head to press their lips together, that had the omega’s heart kicking wildly in his chest. Bringing his arms up around Jungkook’s neck, he let himself sink against the alpha, pressed together all the way down to their thighs, and wasn’t surprised when he felt something settle contently inside of him.

It was almost worrisome how quickly he’d gotten used to – had grown almost dependent on – all of Jungkook’s reactions. The happy, little sigh, reliable like clockwork whenever one of them leaned in for a kiss. The gentle spike of the alpha’s scent. The way his hands immediately settled on Taehyung’s waist to hold him close.

They had gotten a lot of practice in over the last couple of weeks and there was nothing hesitant or unsure about the way Jungkook kissed him these days. Jungkook knew just how to angle his head and when to cup a warm, protective hand over his nape to have Taehyung pushing onto his toes to keep the kiss going for just a few more heartbeats. Just like Taehyung knew that Jungkook was especially weak for soft little pecks to the corners of his mouth and fingers carding gently through his hair.

“Hey there, babe,” Taehyung greeted Jungkook through a content grin and felt the warmth of the alpha’s choking exhale against his still tingling lips.

“You’re really just gonna keep calling me that?”

“I like the way it sounds.”

Taehyung saw no reason to hide the fact, knowing fully well that his smile was growing bigger by the second. Especially as he watched Jungkook make a heroic effort to hold his gaze, only for it to flicker to the side mere seconds later. Because nothing beat the way the alpha stubbornly returned it after a bracing breath, big brown eyes meeting Taehyung’s with newfound determination. It never failed to give him that little buzz of joy and he almost resented Jungkook’s beanie for depriving him of the sight of his doubtlessly glowing ears. His boyfriend rarely let himself go as far as blush at Taehyung’s purposefully provocative teasing, but the tips of his ears were always a dead giveaway.

“Let’s go inside.”

Letting the poor baby off the hook and humming happily when Jungkook reached out to tangle their fingers, he followed Jungkook into the fragrant warmth of the coffee shop, keeping close to his side and letting his eyes scan the place in an almost automatic sweep.

The contrast to Jungkook, who barely paid attention to the other two alphas in the room, so secure in his dominance and knowledge that there was no one out there that would do him any harm, was almost jarring. But it was a constant in his life that Taehyung had come to terms with a long time ago, no longer something he was willing to waste any energy angsting over.

Getting their drinks and sliced of cake only took a few minutes, the coffee shop busy, but not overly so and they settled on a table by the window that Taehyung had watched open up just a minute ago. Happily sinking into one of the comfy armchairs he unwound his scarf form around his neck, but kept most of his attention on the alpha across the table from him. His boyfriend was currently shrugging out of his jacket and carelessly pulling the beanie off his head and the omega probably wouldn’t have torn his eyes away if someone had dumped his drink in his lap.

He really didn’t know why Jungkook thought it was okay for him to sit there in his black jeans and white shirt spanning his wide chest and just casually finger-comb his slightly ruffled hair out of his face. The alpha looked so effortlessly gorgeous, it made Taehyung want to ignore the fact that they were in public and just climb across the table and into his boyfriend’s lap. It probably was the reason why it took him several moments to realize that Jungkook was suddenly glaring at his own sweater with a look of moody annoyance. It had him quickly peeking down at his clothes with a jolt of alarm, expecting a stain or long tear in the fabric and finding nothing of the sort. Which just ratcheted his confusion up another notch.

It wasn’t like Jungkook to pay a lot of attention to the way Taehyung dressed. A few good-natured jokes here and there were not exactly news, but he’d never before stared at his choice of outfit with a look of such undisguised dislike. Not even his more eccentric combinations had triggered such a powerful reaction and the baby blue sweater he was wearing at the moment certainly didn’t deserve the unflinching glare. He was pretty sure he remembered Jungkook being there and saying he liked the sweater when Taehyung had bought it a few months ago.

“What? Does it smell?”

Tugging up his sweater he gave it a careful sniff, he had been wearing it for his full day of classes after all, but found no noteworthy scents other than the barest trace of laundry detergent lingering in the fabric.

Frown melting into a look of confusion, Jungkook forced his gaze a few inches upwards and blinked at Taehyung with that familiar tilt of his head. “Huh?”

“My sweater. Does it smell? You’re frowning at it as if it personally trash-talked GD’s entire discography.”

“No. What? You know you always smell great to me.”

It was said with such a lack of intent, like it was the logical response to an incredibly dumb question, Taehyung actually sat there for several moments at a complete loss for words and just stared at his boyfriend. Something that went entirely unnoticed by said alpha, as the younger man had gone right back to throwing stony looks at his sweater.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re a shit liar, babe.”

The fact that Jungkook didn’t even react to the pet name, was the only clue the omega needed to finally realize that he was dealing with some Actual Problem™ here.

In a seemingly automatic reaction to seeing his favorite alpha in a less than stellar mood, Taehyung gravitated forward until he was draped half-way over the table. But it took the alpha leaning into his touch with a barely discernable sound of pleasure, that Taehyung realized he was toying with the solid silver hoop in Jungkook’s left ear again. It was such a boyfriend Jungkook thing to do – quietly encouraging more, but too shy to ask for it outright – and Taehyung felt his chest pulse under a wave of overwhelming fondness.

Best friend Jungkook hadn’t been quite as hesitant at asking for affection, simply flopping down onto Taehyung’s lap or draping himself over his back whenever he wanted a bit of cuddling. But while his need for attention and skinship had grown even more powerful in the past couple of weeks, his willingness to ask for them hadn’t quite caught up yet. But then his best friend had always been a bit slow when it came to dealing with his own feelings, so Taehyung figured he’d give him a few more weeks to sort himself out before he’d bring it up to the thick-headed alpha. He had more pressing matters to address now.

“Come on, out with it. What’s bothering you? You were completely fine and then I took my coat off and suddenly you turned into Mr. Grumpy Pants. Now that I think of it, you’ve been randomly frowny for the last two weeks or so and I’d really like to know what’s up with that.”

It was enough to immediately erase any trace of ease his previous touches had brought the alpha and with an abrupt jerk Jungkook pulled away from Taehyung’s hand now petting through his hair and dropped back against the armchair.

It was clearly time to bring out the big guns.

“Tell Taehyungie what’s going on. I can’t make it better if you don’t talk to me.”

The sound that rumbled up from Jungkook’s chest at Taehyung’s obnoxious tone of voice was one he’d only heard a few times before. It was in no way threatening, but still enough to give Taehyung a momentary pause. In his peripheral vision he could just barely make out the person on the neighboring table freezing in the process of rising out of their chair, but paid them no mind, focus entirely on his so oddly behaving boyfriend.

“Did you just… growl at me?”

“Maybe,” Jungkook huffed, slumping down in his seat and refusing to meet Taehyung’s incredulous gaze. “You’re annoying when you talk about yourself in third person.”

It wasn’t exactly a claim he could deny, but Taehyung knew Jungkook better than any other person on the planet. He could tell when the alpha was attempting – and failing – to be evasive.

“Stop trying to change the topic and just spit it out.”

By some miracle Jungkook actually gave an answer that wasn’t an outright deflection this time – even though he looked like every word pained him immensely.

“You had your Mediation seminar and two other classes today, right?”

“Yes,” Taehyung replied, feeling completely mystified. He had absolutely no idea what that had to do with the accusatory glances Jungkook kept throwing at his choice of outfit.

“But you still went out without wearing one of my shirts.” Jungkook looked at him as if that was supposed to explain anything, when all it did was make Taehyung wonder where in the world his boyfriend was going with this.

“Because I don’t have to anymore.” Not even his unwavering confusing was able to drown out the little buzz of happiness the reminder gave him. “We scent-marked each other, remember?”

Contrary to his expectations that only seemed to deepen the frown line between Jungkook’s brows, bottom lip pushing forward into a pout he knew the alpha wasn’t even aware of.

“Seriously, Kookie. What’s going on here?”

For a few moments Jungkook simply sat there, looking conflicted and sulky and completely unwilling to speak up. It was a look he’d gotten quite familiar with during Jungkook’s teen years and it had the omega internally squaring up for a long, vicious battle to rattle the truth out of his best friend. There was no easy way to deal with the alpha when he got into one of his – now – rare, but intensely stubborn moods. To his complete astonishment, though, Jungkook continued speaking before Taehyung even had to move on with his plan of getting out of his seat and grabbing the alpha in a headlock.

“You never wear my clothes anymore.”

It was an almost soundless whisper, Jungkook’s eyes determinedly cast down at the cup of coffee in front him, arms crossed in front of his chest and his entire body slumped as low as possible in the leather armchair. It was like a trip down memory lane. Like he had fourteen-year-old Kookie sitting in front of him again, sulking over the fact that Taehyung was going to his first high school party without him and refusing to look at him, even after the omega promised him to come over the next day to play video games and give him a detailed rundown of everything that had happened. It would have been cute, if it wasn’t so completely absurd.

“Oh my god, Jungkook. Are you seriously sulking because I wear my own clothes these days instead of stealing yours?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“You’re literally slouching in your seat with your arms crossed in front of yourself like a petulant child.”

It took everything the omega had in him to keep from launching himself across the table when Jungkook’s nose scrunched up in displeasure at Taehyung’s dry comeback.

“I just don’t understand why you suddenly don’t want to wear my clothes anymore.” And now Jungkook most definitely sounded accusatory, even though he still hadn’t raised his voice above a hissed whisper. “You did it all the time, but not now that we’re actually dating? What kind of ass-backwards logic is that?”

“You always complained about that!”

“I complained about the never returning them part, not about you wearing them in the first place,” Jungkook grumbled, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment, before he released it with his next hushed sentence. “I liked that part.”

“What?”

“I said I liked that part!” Jungkook finally exploded, eyes bright and wide as he brought his gaze up with a defiant jerk of his head. “I like it when you wear my clothes.”

Taehyung wasn’t entirely sure what to call the emotion rising up from his chest at the unexpected confession, at the sight of Jungkook looking very much like an agitated bunny, eyes wild and cheeks blazing an intense, fiery red. All he knew was that it was too powerful, too all-compassing for it to be mere giddiness.

But most of all Kim Taehyung was only that strong, so a moment later the was shooting out of his own seat, skirting the spindly table between them and dropping into his boyfriend’s lap with a sharp coo of delight. It had Jungkook jolting out of his slump with a surprised jerk of his body, the look in his eyes a mix between bewilderment and lingering mortification. And still he didn’t hesitate to curl an arm around the small of Taehyung’s back, where the omega was straddling his lap, completely uncaring of the eyes that were undoubtedly trained in their direction from all over the coffee shop.

Hands cupping Jungkook’s blazing cheeks and feeling the heat beneath his palms, he lowered his head until he brought their noses together for a soft, gentle nuzzle. And just like that he felt Jungkook melting, tension leaving his body like someone had simply flipped a switch inside of him.

“I love you, Jeon Jungkook. I love you fucking much.”

The hitch of the younger man’s breath was unmistakable, warm air hitting his lips in a quiet rush, before the alpha’s lips followed for a careful kiss that held so much tenderness, Taehyung felt his own throat lock up with emotion. Shuddering sigh breaking free and reaching up in an attempt to steady himself with a firm hand in Jungkook’s hair, he kept himself still and let the alpha kiss him the way he wanted to. Even if the way Jungkook trapped Taehyung’s bottom lip between his teeth for a painless, but firm nip at the end almost had him refusing to let his boyfriend pull away from him.

“Love you too. So much.”

The jolt of adrenaline that went through him at the hushed whisper was like a physical touch. And even though every single part of him wanted to make a big deal out of his boyfriend’s words, he consciously fought down the reaction of his body. Taehyung knew just too well that bringing attention to the rare declaration of feelings would just push his sweet, little alpha’s embarrassment to a whole new level.

A flustered Jungkook might be an adorable sight, but torturing him about this was the last thing he wanted to do. So instead he steered their conversation firmly back to the previous topic. He was pretty sure his scent had intensified enough for Jungkook to know what his confession had done to him, without having to voice his thoughts.

“I really thought you were just humoring me when you let me borrow your stuff all the time. I was holding back so much these last couple of weeks, trying to be a good boyfriend and not steal your clothes every day like I wanted to. You seriously have no idea how much self-restraint it took for me to keep my hands out of your wardrobe. And here you’ve been, sulking and feeling neglected all this time because I wasn’t walking around in your sweaters and shirts anymore.”

Jungkook just buried his face in the curve of Taehyung’s neck with an endearing whine, lips brushing over his skin and arms tightening their hold on him, until Taehyung found himself on the brink of purring like a satisfied kitten at the strong, unwavering hold. There was just nothing that compared to being all tangled up with his favorite alpha in the world.

“So you really want me to go back to wearing your clothes?”

A determined nod against his neck.

“Even though I might not return them until you steal them back yourself?”

Another nod and then Jungkook’s breath brushed against his skin in tiny puffs, courage obviously fueled by the fact that he didn’t have to look at Taehyung as he spoke. “I like the way you look in my clothes. I like that you look better in them than I do. But I love that you smell even more like me when you wear them the most.”

There was no way to keep his body from reacting to those words and Jungkook ran his nose against the skin of his neck with a happy, little growl. It was so different from the one that had rumbled up from his chest only a few minutes ago. This time the growl was soft, an almost gentle sound, as close to a purr as the alpha could probably get.

But eventually, eyelids coming down for two slow blinks, Jungkook pulled away from Taehyung’s neck and tipped his head until he could meet his gaze where he’d drawn back from resting his cheek against the top of the alpha’s head.

Taehyung scanned his boyfriend’s face for any trace of smugness, but found nothing but the steady glow of happy contentedness, eyes crinkling and big teeth flashing. So really, he couldn’t be blamed for the fact that his voice just automatically dipped down into another fond coo, as he pressed a smacking kiss to the tip of Jungkook’s slightly scrunched up nose.

“You are the cutest little alpha on the planet and I’m going to kiss the hell out of you when we get home. Preferably dressed in nothing but my briefs and one of your big-ass hoodies.”

There was the sound of a badly stifled choke coming from their left and Taehyung didn’t even try to hide his disappointment when the interruption had Jungkook tensing up – and not in the good way – instead of giving the omega the reaction he’d been hoping for.

“Alright. You can go back to your seat now. People are looking at us funnily.”

“Is that so?” Taehyung knew for a fact that Jungkook hadn’t taken his attention away from him for even a second. “How do you know?”

“I just do.”

The glowing ears were back and Taehyung simply couldn’t resist running the tip of his finger along the blushed helix, before giving the pierced lobe a careful squeeze. It had Jungkook going completely still beneath him, letting Taehyung do as he pleased for several moments, before he jolted out of submissive daze and shot the omega a quelling look that couldn’t have spelled out behave any more effectively. Even if there was still a little dazed glassiness to his gaze.

With a very put-upon sigh, Taehyung braced his hands against Jungkook’s shoulders and straightened up in the alpha’s lap, before a sudden thought had him stilling again.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go back to my own seat if you insist on being such a kill-joy. But just so you know, you’re wrong. I actually am wearing some of your clothes right now.”

Suddenly busy scanning the room for anyone looking in their direction, it seemed to take Jungkook a few moments to make sense of Taehyung’s words. But when he did, the way he visibly perked up almost had Taehyung moving back in for another quick kiss.

“You are?”

“I am. Your fluffy Iron Man socks are keeping my toes cozy and warm as we speak.”

There was a moment of complete silence, before the alpha’s gaze sharpened with the speed of a camera shutter coming down. The outrage blazing across his boyfriend’s face was enough to tell Taehyung that is was high time to surrender his spot in the alpha’s lap, no matter how comfortable he was in his current position.

“I knew I didn’t lose them! Come back here, you dirty little thief!”

Chapter Text

Jimin’s sharply indrawn breath caught in the back of his throat, muscles locking up and body going motionless in the blink of an eye. Logically he knew he was making the alpha in front of him out to be taller, more imposing than he actually was. His shoulders probably didn’t block out the light quite as much as it seemed in that moment. Chances were the other man wasn’t actually looming over him quite as threateningly or staring at him with a sharp warning in his gaze.

But none of that seemed to matter. The scent of alpha sank heavy like lead in his lungs, skin prickling with his mounting anxiousness, body frozen where he stood. Something about the scent tugged at the back of his mind, seemed impossibly familiar, but the rising nerves inside of him drowned out the feeble voice of reason.

It had only been three weeks since he’d started attending this college - after months and months of arguing with his overprotective parents - but those weeks had been enough to figure out that there was a kind of pattern to alpha scents. Some smelled cloyingly intense, pheromones coating the inside of his mouth and back of his throat whenever he passed them in the quad or found himself in a situation where he was forced to sit close to them in class. Others smelled almost safe, like warmth and protection and home. It was the type of scent he’d learned to associate with his fiercely protective alpha parents and Jimin felt a lot less anxious around those kinds of alphas.

The one standing in front of him fit neither of those categories. Because while there was something deceptively subtle about the way his scent curled around Jimin, as if it had been necessary for him to get close enough to experience the whole impact of his pheromones, there was also nothing safe or soothing about his scent. This alpha smelled powerful, dangerous in a way Jimin couldn’t explain. It had all his instincts on red alert, his heart beat like a trapped hummingbird in his chest. There was something beneath the mint and sharp ginger of his scent, that made him feel small - like prey in front of a predator.

He tried to convince his feet to unglue themselves from the middle of the hallway and move out of the other man’s way. But his omega instincts were screaming at him to stay still, to play dead and wait until the danger passed. And for all his determination to not be that person anymore, acting on said resolution was easier said than done. All those years in omega schools and the online college courses he’d taken for the past two years hadn’t prepared him for how daunting - downright overwhelming - it would be to face off with alphas that weren’t part of his family.

It wasn’t until the sudden, loud sound of a door slamming shut somewhere behind his back had Jimin flinching in his spot, that he jolted backwards from where he was facing off with the alpha. It was more than enough to break the frozen stalemate they’d been caught up in. He watched the alpha jerk in response to Jimin’s near-violent flinch and felt his own throat give another squeeze of panic at the man’s sharp movement. But before he could give voice to his fear with a timid whimper - a sound he’d hate himself for later - the alpha took a quick step away from Jimin.

“Hey, you okay?”

It was the way the question slipped over the alpha’s lips - unexpectedly soft-spoken, almost faint - even more than the obvious look of alarmed concern on the other man’s face that gave the mounting panic in Jimin’s chest a confused pause. Now that he was focusing on something other than the subtly powerful nature of his scent, Jimin realized there was nothing even remotely threatening about the way the alpha was confronting him.

He didn’t loom like so many alphas had the habit of doing, didn’t crowd into Jimin’s personal space like it was his very own playing ground. Nonetheless there was a quiet confidence to the way the man held himself. Shoulders relaxed and a surprising lack of tension in his body - like he didn’t feel the need to appear taller, more imposing than he actually was. It was a sight so unusual on an alpha in front of an unmated omega, Jimin found himself at a complete loss for words.

And where his previous silence had been rooted in pure intimidation, this one came in tow with a lot less anxiousness.

“I’m… “

He didn’t quite get the chance to figure out his answer to the alpha’s question. Before he could get out more than one slightly shaky word, the sound of someone calling the alpha’s name suddenly cut him off. At least he thought it was his name, judging by the way the man’s gaze snapped up to focus on something over Jimin’s shoulder without hesitation.

“Jungkook!”

The voice was deep and bold, echoing slightly in the hallway. And where curiosity would have had Jimin turning around, his complete aversion to presenting his back to an unknown alpha had him staying carefully still.

It took Jimin several seconds to recognize the man coming to a stop next to them a few moments later. He recognized the scent and voice, had heard the other omega speak up enough times during the one class they shared - had found himself silently admiring the other man, even as he felt himself grow more and more intimated with every week. As if Kim Taehyung’s outspoken personality hadn’t been reason enough, the alpha scent clinging to his clothes had always been completely unnerving to Jimin’s most basic instincts.

This time though, the omega wasn’t wearing one of his usual oversized hoodies or tshirts. Instead a boldly patterned, wine red shirt was draped over his wide shoulders, a beret perched on top of his head. It was a look so unlike anything Jimin had seen Taehyung in, there was something genuinely loud and bright about it, but he couldn’t deny that it fit the omega surprisingly well.

And it was in that moment - with Taehyung taking in the way Jimin was standing there with his shoulders drawn up - that something clicked in the back of Jimin’s mind. Suddenly he realized why Jungkook’s scent had seemed so oddly familiar when he’d all but run into him before.

His train of thought was cut off by Taehyung giving him another quick once-over, before he rounded on Jungkook with dangerously narrowed eyes.

“What’d you do to him?”

The look of total affront on the alpha’s face at the question would have been funny as hell, if it weren’t for the way Jimin’s heart was still racing like a trapped bird in his chest.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Then why does he look like you just tried to steal his lunch money and threatened to stuff him into the next locker?”

“What lockers? Exactly what kind of high school movie do you think this is, Tae?”

“What do I know? Maybe this is one of your new phases. After your emo phase in high school, you’re now mentally regressing into an alpha bully phase. Is the stress of college finally getting to you? You can tell me.”

The words had the alpha’s expression melting into one of pure judgement.

“I don’t have phases. Fuck off.”

“Remember those two months during your junior year of high school where you wore your dad’s old leather jacket every single day and constantly put gel in your hair?” There was something downright gleeful flickering in Taehyung’s eyes. “You thought you were such hot shit.”

The look on Jungkook’s face was enough for Jimin to realize the alpha had a few choice words prepared for his omega. So before the situation could escalate into a full-blown argument, Jimin forced himself to speak past the nervous lump in his throat.

“No, it was my fault,” he gasped out, voice embarrassingly breathless. “He really didn’t do anything! I just didn’t watch where I was going and almost crashed into your mate, I’m sorry.”

For some reason the words had the pair going motionless in their bickering, a moment of total silence encompassing their little group, before Taehyung broke it with an amused snort and swung his attention towards Jimin.

“Mate, my ass.”

It took Jimin another moment of staring between Taehyung and the alpha, who was looking almost shy all of a sudden, that he realized what was going on.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I just assumed,” Jimin scrambled to get out his apology, mortified at having put his foot in his mouth like that. “You just- you always smell like him, so I thought… I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it, Jimin. People assuming I’m mated, or at least taken is what I’m actually aiming for. I have my Critical Reasoning class first thing in the morning on Wednesdays and I usually wear Kook’s clothes on that day because the class is full of over-ambitious alphas and betas. Barely another omega in sight and I really have other things to worry about than dealing with their obnoxious flirting. Those alphas are insufferable enough as it is, but if I had to suffer through them making passes at me, I would already be looking for a shrink to help me deal with my anger issues.”

Jimin found himself nodding along to the flood of information, equal parts impressed and mystified. He didn’t think he’d ever met an omega quite as… blunt. Or one as unapologetic about it. Taehyung’s alpha friend - Jungkook, Jimin reminded himself - just stood there, watching the omega with a barely-there smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. It was surprisingly soft and unbothered, considering Taehyung wasn’t exactly subtle about his less than favorable opinion of Jungkook’s fellow alphas.

And now that he looked a bit closer at the alpha’s hoodie, he was pretty sure he remembered Taehyung wearing it during that first class at the start of the term. It certainly explained the completely contrasting look Taehyung was sporting today, which Jimin figured was entirely more his style than the t-shirts and hoodies he apparently borrowed from his friend.

Almost as if he had read Jimin’s mind, the other omega winked at him with a clearly mischievous grin spreading across his face.

“Also, don’t worry about bumping into Kook before, Jimin. With a face and fashion style as boring as his, it’s really no wonder you didn’t see him. I forget about his existence all the time.”

Breath catching in his throat at the casual jab towards the alpha, Jimin braced himself for the ensuing reaction. Expecting an angry outburst or at least a sharp growl, he once again found himself thoroughly puzzled by the alpha’s quiet eye-roll. Reaching up to give Taehyung’s slightly over-long hair a quick, but totally harmless tug, the alpha returned his gaze toward Jimin for a look that couldn’t have spelled ‘I don’t know why I put up with him’ any clearer.

And despite the fact that Jimin couldn’t hold the man’s gaze for more than a moment, he still felt the corners of his mouth tug up in an involuntary smile. There was just something about the alpha’s long-suffering expression and Taehyung’s unconcerned laughter that eased most of the remaining anxiousness in Jimin’s chest.

“Do you have class now, Jimin?”

The unexpected question had the omega freezing momentarily, before he told himself to get a grip and met Taehyung’s curious gaze.

“No, I was just planning to go to the library for an hour.”

“Well, we were gonna meet some of our friends at the dining hall for lunch. You wanna come with us?”

Feeling his own eyes go wide with surprise, he let his gaze move from Taehyung’s encouraging smile, to the alpha next to him. Jimin had no idea how to read the expression on Jungkook’s face, not helped by the compulsion to quickly avert his gaze. But it was the way the alpha held himself, tucked slightly behind Taehyung and head tipped toward the omega, as if he trying to appear as unthreatening as possible, that made it easy for Jimin to decide.

He had promised himself at the start of the term that he wouldn’t let himself feel cowed, that he’d embrace his chance at experiencing the life of a real college student. But for these past weeks he had done nothing but run scared and shy away from new opportunities. It was time he stopped and actually started doing what he’d fought over with his parents for months.

So what if he’d been standing scared and frozen in front of Jungkook only five minutes ago? What if he had avoided the crowded dining hall like the plague so far? This was his chance to finally get out there, meet new people and leave the life of sheltered Park Jimin behind for good.

Steeling himself on a deep, bracing breath, he raised his eyes and met Taehyung’s and then Jungkook’s gaze head on.

“I’d really like that.”

Chapter Text

“I really need to get going now, I’ll be late.”

“Okay,” Jungkook agreed, before leaning in and pressing another kiss to the corner of Taehyung’s mouth. He followed it up with a silly nuzzle of his nose to the omega’s cheek and was only satisfied when Taehyung rewarded him with a happy giggle against his lips.

Letting his boyfriend pull away was hard, when all his instincts urged him to stick as close as possible. The affectionate scratch Taehyung gave the soft hair at his nape helped, but apparently not enough to keep the accusatory look off his face. Because the omega’s next words were mock-stern as he gave Jungkook a little push away from him.

“I told you, I’m perfectly capable of going on my own and you have class in twenty minutes.”

Taehyung was scheduled for another follow-up appointment at the hospital and Jungkook had been determined to come along. But one mention of skipping class had been enough for his boyfriend to immediately shoot him down. His suggestion had earned him brows pulled together in disapproval and a very firm, “don’t even think about it.” Jungkook hadn’t argued - much. Not with that familiar “you know better than to mess with me” look directed right at him.

“Let me know when you get there. Also when you’re called in. And of course as soon as you get your results.”

He knew the glint in Taehyung’s eyes meant he wanted to laugh at him, but Jungkook couldn’t find it in himself to care. It was only logical for him to be worried about his boyfriend’s health. If Taehyung wanted to make fun of him for being too much of an alpha again, then so be it.

Still, the omega didn’t protest when Jungkook pulled him close again, tilting his head to the side so the alpha had plenty of room to nuzzle into the curve of his neck. He was scenting his boyfriend and they both knew it. But judging by the mellow and relaxed tinge to Taehyung’s scent and the hand that came up to curl into Jungkook’s hair, the omega didn’t mind one bit.

“Alright, we get it. You’re in love. Now break it up already. Jungkook has class soon and we still need to grab some food.”

Yoongi’s deep, bored voice broke the spell with impressive efficiency. Taehyung spun around towards their friends and Jungkook leaned slightly sidewards, just enough to look past his boyfriend. Eyebrow raised, the alpha slowly let his gaze sink to Yoongi’s hands - hands that were firmly holding on to one of Hoseok’s at one side and one of Jimin’s at the other. He let it rest there for a few, meaningful moments, before he lifted it back up to meet Yoongi’s gaze. The complete lack of expression on the beta’s face didn’t fool him for one second, when the look in his eyes so clearly dared him to say something about it.

He knew better of course. So instead he simply raised his eyebrow a second time and watched Yoongi’s jaw twitch slightly in response. It was as big of a reaction as he was going to get out of the older man.

“Alright, alright. I’ll get going.”

Head snapping back around to face Taehyung, Jungkook exhaled on a little huff, just to keep it from turning into a whine as it wanted to. He really, really, really didn’t like Taehyung going to the hospital on his own.

“Stop pouting, you big baby,” Taehyung scolded, all effect lost when he ended it on a laugh and gave Jungkook’s slightly pursed lips one more smacking kiss. “Now shoo, before Yoongi starts as well. You know how he gets when he’s hungry and no one wants to see that.”

“Rude,” came Yoongi’s grumbled complaint, partially drowned out by Jimin’s and Hoseok’s laughter.

Jungkook didn’t exactly burst through the door of his apartment, but it was a close thing. Kicking off his shoes and dropping his backpack maybe two steps into the hallway, his jacket followed shortly behind, carelessly abandoned to the floor. Taehyung’s last texts had been nothing but cryptic and borderline evasive and Jungkook didn’t consider his current, half-panicked state an over-reaction as Yoongi had claimed.

After getting his last suggestion to come along shot down, he’d limited himself to checking in with his boyfriend by text every few minutes. Luckily Taehyung had indulged him, sending obviously amused replies to all of them. Until the omega had texted him he’d been called in for his examination. All he’d gotten after that was a frustratingly cryptic, I’m fine, we’ll talk when I get back, twenty minutes later and no amount of pleading had managed to pry more information out of the older man.

To say Jungkook was a nervous wreck when he all but tumbled into the living room wouldn’t have been too much of an exaggeration.

Taehyung shot upright on the couch, out of his curled up position, clearly startled at Jungkook’s less than graceful entrance.

“Jungkook, what the-”

He mostly looked caught off guard, like he had yanked him out of deep thought, and the lack of visible distress went a long way of settling the worst of Jungkook’s agitation. Nevertheless he dropped into a crouch in front of his boyfriend and gave the omega’s body a careful sweep with his eyes. Jungkook didn’t miss Taehyung’s choice of outfit. He was dressed in one of his hoodies, as well as his sweats, always a dead give-away that he’d wanted the comfort of Jungkook’s scent.

He did that on a regular basis. When he’d had a long day of classes and Jungkook wasn’t there to cuddle him. When he was working on a particularly difficult assignment that stressed him out. When their busy schedules kept them away from each other for more than a day. Or just because he felt particularly affectionate or needy for contact. It wasn’t so much an immediate red flag as it was a sign that something was clearly on Taehyung’s mind.

“You okay?”

“I told you, I’m fine. Why do you look and smell like you’re a few seconds away from going all protective alpha on me?”

Taehyung looked caught between puzzlement and amusement, enough to have more of the nervous tension leaving Jungkook’s body. He breathed out on a quiet sigh, before drawing in Taehyung’s familiar scent, reassuringly free of any hint of anxiety or fear. But now that he had time to focus on it completely, he did notice that it was just slightly more pronounced than usual. As if some kind of emotion had given it a tiny spike a while ago.

“Well, you followed up your I’m fine with a complete refusal to tell me anything that came out of your appointment, so excuse me for getting a bit worried.”

“A bit, huh?”

There was no more mistaking the amusement in Taehyung’s deep voice. Or the warmth in his eyes as he reached out to brush Jungkook’s fringe out of his face, smile taking over when the alpha immediately moved into the touch. Jungkook’s heart felt dangerously full when Taehyung smiled at him like that. With pure, undiluted affection in his gaze, despite the fact that the alpha’s reaction to his touch was nothing new. Every time Taehyung touched him, Jungkook was immediately ready to move closer, to keep his hands on him for as long as possible.

“Come up here, Kook.”

The omega’s order had him moving at once, Jungkook joining his boyfriend on the couch. They shifted around until they were both stretched out on the cushions, legs tangled and faces so close that Jungkook simply had to lean in and press a quick kiss to Taehyung’s lips. The resulting smile had the omega’s entire face lighting up and Jungkook’s chest filling with warm contentment.

“Sorry for worrying you,” Taehyung murmured into the barely there space between them. “It’s nothing bad, just... not something I wanted to talk to you about via texts.”

Which was reassuring, but also telling enough to keep him from relaxing entirely into the warmth of his boyfriend’s body. Because the result of Taehyung’s doctor’s appointment was apparently significant enough to warrant an actual face-to-face conversation. At the same time the worry inside of him no longer felt like a chained beast tearing at its leash, now that Jungkook had a relatively relaxed Taehyung savely curled up in his arms.

“Like I said, there’s no need to worry, but the doctor wants me to wait with going back on my suppressants.” Taehyung held Jungkook’s gaze as he dropped the small bomb, unflinching despite the fact that his body curled instinctively closer, clearly looking for the reassurance of Jungkook’s touch. The alpha was tightening the hold of his arms around Taehyung before his brain even had a chance to process the significance of the omega’s words.

“Apparently my hormone levels haven’t normalized yet. The fact that I was on a wrong dose for a while and had to use my emergency medication seems to have messed with my hormone levels more than expected. He recommends going through my next heat normally. Basically my body needs to reset so we can figure out the right kind of suppressants for me. He doesn’t want to risk prescribing me too strong meds this time and doing more damage than good.”

Complete silence in the room as Taehyung gave Jungkook time to work through the flood of information he’d just dumped on him.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung scoffs. “That was my first reaction as well, to be honest.”

No wonder his boyfriend had wanted to talk to him about this in person.

It was what they did, after all. They talked stuff through, no matter how difficult or potentially mortifying. Even if it sometimes took them a while to work up to it. Like it had taken Taehyung literal years to let Jungkook in on the fact that he was in love with him. Not that Jungkook was in any place to judge. At least the omega had been in possession of enough self-awareness to realize his own feelings, something that certainly couldn’t be said for Jungkook. He hadn’t clued in on the fact that Taehyung wasn’t only his best friend, but also the love of his life. Not until after they had literally been mated to each other. Talk about being slow on the uptake.

“Are you okay with it? Going through your heat, I mean?”

Taehyung wiggled closer with a nonsensical grumble. “I mean, it’s a bit scary, but there are a lot of omegas that aren’t even on any suppressants and they have to deal with their heats four to five times a year. I can go through one if my doctor says it’ll be better for me in the long run.”

Leaning forward, Jungkook brushed his lips over Taehyung’s forehead and down the bridge of his nose, before he gave the mole on the tip the softest of kisses. He’d always been a bit bad with words, so he hoped the omega would recognize it as the silent show of support it was meant to be.

“He promised me it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as the last one. The reason it was so intense and painful was because the heat was literally fighting against my suppressants. The meds weren’t strong enough to actually suppress my heat, but they were definitely influencing it enough for my body to feel like it had to work extra hard to cancel them out. At least that’s the way I understood it.”

It made sense, Jungkook thought. He obviously didn’t have a lot of experience when it came to heats, but from what he’d learned, omegas weren’t supposed to be in any actual pain. Which Taehyung certainly had been. The memory alone had Jungkook’s jaw clenching tightly.

“Now that there are no meds messing with my cycle it should be a lot easier to handle. He also said there are some natural and mild soothers he can prescribe me. Nothing that will mess with my hormones.”

The pause that followed felt strangely loaded and Jungkook caught himself tensing up in preparation of what was about to come. Even Taehyung, teeth biting down on his lower lip, looked uncertain for maybe two more seconds, before he seemed to come to a decision, visibly steeling himself.

“Also… uhm… having you there would probably make it a lot more bearable.”

For the first time since they’d started talking, Taehyung looked genuinely nervous, his scent spiking and the grip he had on Jungkook’s shirt tightening on reflex. It had the alpha’s instincts battering at him to do something, to soothe his omega with quiet words and a gentle stroke down the length of his spine. But for several seconds he just lay there, completely overwhelmed with the possible implications and how completely unprepared he was.

Jungkook had only been present for one of Taehyung’s heats and at that time everything had happened so fast, there’d been no time to really think. Back then the only thing that had mattered was getting Taehyung to the safety of his dorm and getting him his emergency meds. After that he’d just wanted the omega to stop hurting, to stop feeling so vulnerable and helpless.

It wouldn’t be like that this time around.

“Jungkook?” Taehyung’s voice, tentative and careful, made it clear that he’d spaced out for way too long.

“Shit, sorry. I just… I, uhm…” Jungkook scrambled to come up with the right words to explain.

“You freaked out.”

He wanted to protest, every alpha part of him wanted to be able to deny the words, but there was really no use in trying. Not when Taehyung was so completely right.

“A bit, yeah.”

The whispered confession had Taehyung closing the last bit of distance between them. With his head tucked underneath Jungkook’s chin, he rubbed his cheek against the alpha’s neck, scent transfering to his skin in a way that had all the anxious tension immediately melting out of Jungkook. That cinnamon and tangerine scent was so familiar, so soothing, he felt his sped up pulse evening out and hands finally moving to touch Taehyung the way he had wanted to.

Seconds, maybe even minutes ticked by as they simply held each other like that, hands burrowing under clothes to create as much skin to skin contact as possible. It were those moments that had him feeling completely at peace with himself and the world around him. Because Taehyung was there right next to him, his skin warm against his own and their scents mingling in a way that called to something deep inside of him.

“I want to stay with you for your heat if that’s what you want as well. I want to be there for you and help as much as I can.” Jungkook wasn’t sure if Taehyung was even aware of the relieved little whimper that left him at the words, but he made sure to keep him pressed against his body as closely as possible. “But… and I don’t know if that’s even something you’d want, but I’m… I just…”

Struggling for the right words, Jungkook made himself pause. This was Taehyung in front of him. His best friend. The most important person in his life. He’d understand. He’d never make Jungkook feel small for his insecurities or doubts.

“I’ll hold you and cuddle you as much as you want, I’m just… uhm... not sure if I’m ready to sleep with you during your heat.”

He knew he’d all but whispered the words, but still they sounded unnaturally loud, like he’d shouted them at Taehyung instead. He shouldn’t feel anxious about admitting his feelings, shouldn’t feel like he was letting Taehyung down. But there was a niggling voice in the back of his mind that just wouldn’t quiet down. It sounded a lot like his middle school teacher, a woman with a lot of opinions on how an alpha should act and no qualms about voicing them to her students on a regular basis.

His parents, as well as Taehyung had been more than insistent on letting him know those claims were complete and utter bullshit, but now and then he still caught himself thinking back on them.

It was a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw that had Jungkook’s breath leaving him on a shaky whoosh and the little knot of anxiety in his chest unraveling, making it so much easier for him to keep talking.

“I’ve definitely thought about doing… uhm… other stuff with you,” Jungkook admitted, voice breathy and not entirely steady. “I mean, you’re literally the most gorgeous person on earth and I have all of these feelings for you inside of me, like all the time. But I also don’t think I’m ready to help you through a heat with sex yet.”

Some people - ignorant and deluded people like his old teacher - would probably say Jungkook should be ashamed for saying things like this as an alpha. But Taehyung didn’t look at him like he needed to be embarrassed. Instead he was looking at him with the softest, most gentle smile blooming on his face and the words that had gotten stuck in Jungkook’s throat tumbled out before he could overthink again. “I like that we’re taking things slow. I like that we’ll take the next step together when we’re both ready for it, not because we’re kinda mated. So when we have sex with each other I don’t want it to happen because you’re an omega and I’m an alpha and your hormones are driving both of us a little crazy, you know?”

“I know,” came Taehyung’s immediate reassurance, as he leaned back slightly and rested his hand against the side of Jungkook’s face. As if he wanted to make sure Jungkook was giving him all of his attention. “I really like that we’re going slow with stuff as well.” It sounded like an admission and encouragement at the same time. “There is nothing wrong with you not being ready to have sex with me during my heat. You know that, right?”

Only at Jungkook’s nod of acknowledgement did Taehyung tuck himself back against the alpha’s chest, palm and spread-out fingers pressed over his heart.

“Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes you get me so worked up, I feel a little crazy with it anyway, no heat hormones necessary.” He said it with a playful growl, voice deep and his chest rumbling against Jungkook’s. It was honestly a lot and the younger man didn’t resist the urge to lean down and press his teeth to his boyfriend’s jaw for a harmless bite. The immediate spike of Taehyung’s scent had them both going still, before they unfroze with Jungkook’s happy - and admittedly satisfied - giggle. “But yes, I don’t want my heat to put a timer on our first time either. Just having you there for it will be all I need.”

“You’re sure?”

“Completely sure, Kook. You’ll always be more than enough.”

Both his human and alpha side wanted to purr at the reassurance in lazy contentment.

"Hey, Tae?"

"Hm?"

The omega sounded sleepy, like he'd been about to drift off. Which Jungkook really couldn't blame him for. Their conversation had been emotionally draining and tangled together on the couch like this, he felt completely relaxed and content, surrounded by their fusing scents and the combined warmth of their bodies.

“How do you feel about going home to Busan for a weekend? Only once things have settled down here, of course. When your heat is over and the whole suppressants thing is taken care of, I mean. I'd really like to tell my parents in person that we're together now."

“Let’s do it,” was Taehyung’s immediate, if slightly slurred reply. The sleepy amusement in his voice was unmistakable as he continued. “Your mom’s going to freak out. Right before ripping you a new one for not telling her sooner.”

Jungkook smothered his whine against the crown of Taehyung’s head. “Believe me, I know.”