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.”