Archive of Our Own

“Stay here,” Jungkook’s brother ordered, slamming the door to Jungkook’s nest room closed and locking it from the outside. Jungkook thought that was a little unnecessary, he wouldn’t go anywhere else, but—

There was pounding on the front door, angry voices saying “Open up, Jeon, we know you’re in there,” and Jungkook realized the locks weren’t to keep him in.

He heard the door break open, he heard loud voices in the living room, he heard arguments that he couldn’t make out, his brother angry, then pleading, then whimpering, and—

“Take what you want,” his brother said, nasally. Jungkook could hear that much. He was standing in front of Jungkook’s door now, but he didn’t unlock it. He stood there, guarding it, like he always guarded Jungkook, like he had since Jungkook had presented years ago, protecting him from the big scary world and the bigger scarier alphas who would do terrible, terrible things to him, but they couldn’t get to him if he listened to the only good alpha who cared for him dearly—

There were more sounds, crashes, glass breaking through their apartment.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Some of the mean scary alphas wanted more than they deserved, his brother told him so. Twice before, mean scary alphas had broken into their home and took away some of the shiny treasures that Jungkook loved to look at, like his brother’s watches with pretty gems on the faces that no longer worked or the silky collars from their late dam or fragile figures that must have been worth more than the toys Jungkook treated them as.

Most of Jungkook’s favorite things were in his nest room, and maybe some of them would be taken this time, but most of the valuable ones had been taken already.

“Lucky that you treasure worthless things,” his brother had said after the first time, petting Jungkook’s hair as the omega sat at his feet, what remained of his pretty things on the table in front of him. It was a little mean to say, but the way he touched him made up for it. The praise he gave him made up for it even more. “You’re allowed to love worthless things, Jungkook-ah, don’t look so sour. You are priceless. You are worth more than you could ever know.”

“To mean scary alphas?” Jungkook asked, a shiver of fear in his chest. He had been young the first time, not even thirteen.

“To the entire world, not just alphas. You’re a rare treasure, Jungkookie. Omegas are special. I’m very lucky to have you.”

“And I’m lucky to have you,” Jungkook said. He had been told so many times before.

“That’s right. I’m not a mean, scary alpha, am I?” He tugged Jungkook’s hair and Jungkook giggled, hugging his leg and shaking his head. “I’ll protect you, Jungkook. You just have to listen to me.”

Jungkook always listened. He listened when his brother came home angry and needed to take his frustration out, Jungkook’s tears and marked skin calming him down. He listened when his brother was happy and let Jungkook bundle him into his nest, like he was one of the pretty treasures he had been given throughout his life. He listened when his brother said to stay away from the windows during the day or when the lights were on at night. He listened when his brother gave him a cloth and told him to scent it well and put it in a wrapped up box after, even when he was in preheat, even when he was in heat, drenching it in his scent and shyly giving it back to him, his brother locking the door behind him after. He never left during his heat, but he heard him leave the apartment as soon as it ended, and he never saw those cloths again.

He listened to his brother and stayed quiet and stayed put and stayed in the apartment, always, never, ever going outside. Not that he would want to. Even from the safety of their home, he could hear fights in the street. He heard about deadly diseases on the radio between songs from years and years ago, because no one was able to make new music anymore. There was violence and meanness and scariness and greed, it wasn’t just alphas Jungkook had to fear.

He listened now, because his brother told him to stay quiet and still and he didn’t have to tell him to stay away from the door, Jungkook bundled up in his nest, heart racing painfully, hugging a pillow tightly in his arms, strange voices getting closer and closer—

“We’ll forgive your debts, Jeon,” someone said, a voice that was so deep and alpha and serious that it made Jungkook shake more than he already was, “if you give us what’s behind this door.”

“There’s—there’s nothing, it’s storage, just junk. Stuff—stuff to trade.”

“We’re asking for a trade, aren’t we? You know you’re in deep shit this time. You’re lucky we haven’t killed you yet. But don’t worry, there’s still time.”

Jungkook’s brother said nothing, and Jungkook felt a rising dread. He didn’t want his brother to die. He needed him, and he loved him. Everyone else had died, he didn’t want to lose his brother, too. What would they do, though, when they opened the door and found nothing but Jungkook? There weren’t treasures to trade like his brother had said, there weren’t valuable electronics or metals or luxuries that were harder and harder to come by. There was just him.

“There’s nothing,” his brother tried once more.

The other alpha was silent. There must have been some sort of conversation, though, one Jungkook couldn’t understand or couldn’t hear. Because he heard the snicks of the locks on his door. The chain at the top, the two latches under it, the ones with keys that his brother only locked when he was going to leave for more than a few hours but that he’d locked this time. He heard them, each and every one.

“Give me a moment,” his brother said. He sounded hollow, like he had when their parents had died and he was responsible for an unpresented pup in an unpredictable and dangerous world. “Please.”

“If you run—”

“There aren’t any windows. There’s nowhere for me to run. Please.”

“A minute. I’m counting.”

Jungkook’s brother let himself into the room and closed the door behind him, hurrying to kneel beside Jungkook.

“What’s happening?” Jungkook whispered shakily.

“You know you’re my greatest treasure, don’t you, Kook-ah?” he asked, taking Jungkook’s hands in his own and squeezing them tight enough to hurt. Jungkook nodded timidly, searching his eyes. “I’ve kept you fed and safe, haven’t I? You’ve been happy?”

“I-I’m happy. Of course I am. What—?”

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” Jungkook said without thinking, though anything seemed much, much, much bigger than it had even thirty minutes ago.

“I need you—” he swallowed thickly, tears rising to his eyes. Jungkook had never seen his brother cry. He trilled quietly, hurrying to nuzzle his neck comfortingly. “Ah, Jungkookie,” he laughed quietly, shakily. He hugged Jungkook close, pressing a kiss to his hair. “I need you to go with these men. I’m asking a lot of you, I know. But I need—this is what I need from you, Jungkook-ah. To—to repay every kindness I’ve ever shown.”

Jungkook felt light-headed all at once. Confused. Dizzy. “G-go?”

“If you’re a good omega for them—” his breath hitched. He didn’t seem to know how to finish. Instead, he gently pushed Jungkook away, hurriedly stripping one of his pillows to get the pillowcase. He took Jungkook’s favorite stuffed animals without asking, shoving them inside. “What else do you want to take?”

“Ten seconds,” the voice outside the door said grimly.

His brother didn’t answer. He didn’t meet Jungkook’s eyes as he grabbed things at random.

“I-I’ll be good for you,” Jungkook whispered. His brother stilled at that, barely breathing.

“I know, Jungkook,” he said finally. 

The door opened, and the alpha’s eyes widened, his scent spiking. “Well, well,” he said lowly. “What do we have here?”

“I’m sorry, Jungkook,” his brother said. He handed him the pillowcase and stepped back, unable to look at anyone.

-

Jungkook was terrified. Terrified. He felt disembodied and was almost glad for it. If he was fully in himself, he wouldn’t be able to walk or breathe or anything. As it was, he just let the alpha lead him out of the apartment with a strong hand around his arm. His brother didn’t follow.

There were two other alphas beside him, both of their scents spiked like the deep-voiced alpha, something like a grim excitement radiating between the three of them. Perhaps it wasn’t really grim. That might have only been in Jungkook’s heart.

“He doesn’t have shoes,” one of the alphas said. Jungkook just barely stifled a yelp when the deep-voiced alpha swept him into his arms, Jungkook throwing his arms around his neck without any thought, dropping his pillowcase that he was quickly realizing contained everything he would ever see of his old life. He whimpered loudly at the loss, almost clambering out of the alpha’s arms to grab it again, but one of the others grabbed it before he could.

He touched Jungkook’s back after, and it was soothing. Jungkook’s whimper faded, but he couldn’t stop looking at the makeshift bag, scared to lose it again.

The alpha carried him down the stairs silently. They lived nine floors up, Jungkook remembered that from when he was able to leave, before he presented and, before that, before the world fell apart. The elevator had stopped working long ago, and there was no management to fix it anymore.

“Where are you taking me?” he whispered when they reached the lobby, passing the open and empty mailboxes, broken glass from the front windows swept to the side.

“Little omega,” the alpha said, voice deep and almost pleasant. He stopped and looked down at Jungkook in his arms. “We’re taking you home.”

-

They had a car. Jungkook hadn’t been in a car since he was little, before he had presented. Gas had become one of the rarest commodities very quickly, and they didn’t live in one of the rich neighborhoods where it was even remotely accessible. The cars parked on the street that he could just barely see from the windows had been torn apart for scrap metal and whatever else before they were picked apart entirely, enough that they practically disappeared.

Seeing the world move by so quickly after being inside for so long and not in a car even before that—

“Ah, little omega,” one of the alphas cooed, the one who had said he didn’t have shoes. He had buckled him into the middle seat, too, and sat beside him. He was close enough to touch Jungkook, but he hadn’t—until now. The alpha put his strong arm around Jungkook’s shoulders and tucked him to his side. “You look a little lightheaded. Are you dizzy?”

Jungkook froze under his touch before relaxing just a little, not trying to pull away or even move his face from the alpha’s chest. He nodded but he didn’t want to close his eyes. He might be a tiny bit nauseated, but this was a sight he never thought he’d see again. It was much less nice than what he remembered, when the greenery was maintained and there weren’t piles of discarded junk on the sidewalks or boarded and barricaded doors, but it was still exciting.

The alpha cooed again, wordlessly this time. He rubbed Jungkook’s shoulder, his unmasked scent coming out in a strong wave. It was—nice, Jungkook thought. Woodsy and a little spiced, like the nice autumn day when he went out for a picnic with his family, when he was seven and the world was kind and his parents were alive.

“Hyungs wouldn’t be happy if I let you get sick on my watch,” he said, his thumb brushing the line of Jungkook’s jaw. “Close your eyes, pretty thing. You’ll be able to see much nicer things than this later.”

Jungkook was a good boy. He was a good omega. He always listened to his alpha brother, and his alpha brother had told him he was to listen to these alphas now. He closed his eyes and leaned a little more on the alpha’s chest and felt the sun occasionally reach past the buildings to warm his face.

“Who would have ever thought we would find such a treasure,” the alpha in the front seat said wryly. “We came expecting a watch or sugar, and now—”

“He’s plenty sweet,” the alpha holding him said, nuzzling the top of Jungkook’s head. While it wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, it was still surprising, but the alpha only laughed at his tiny jump and quiet startled noise. Jungkook held onto his shirt shyly.

“Are you scared, Jungkook?” the alpha driving asked.

He had been surprised to be touched, but much more surprised to be asked a real question with none of the teasing before. He was worried the truth wouldn’t be the right answer, but if he lied, he wouldn’t be good.

“Yes,” he admitted quietly. 

The alpha holding him stilled before adjusting him, guiding Jungkook to look at him with a firm but gentle hand on his cheek. “Omega,” he said, but he seemed to falter over his words after that, like they weren’t his to say.

“We won’t hurt you, little omega,” the alpha in the passenger seat assured, voice so serious it was almost dark. “You have nothing to fear from us.”

Jungkook bit his lip and glanced at him, though he was the most intimidating to look at out of all three of them. He didn’t mean to be skeptical, and he certainly didn’t meant for it to come across on his face, but the alpha didn’t reach back to punish him for it.

“I promise, pretty thing. Jungkook, was it?” The alpha smiled when Jungkook nodded timidly, and even though his teeth looked sharp, they didn’t look like they would bite him, at least not right away. “We would never harm an omega, certainly not one as sweet as you. And certainly not one so brave.”

Jungkook blinked. “Brave?”

“You’re being such a brave omega, even for someone who doesn’t deserve it.” He changed directions when Jungkook’s face started to pinch. “You’re being brave for your brother, aren’t you? Going on an adventure even if it’s scary?”

Jungkook thought it over for a moment before nodding. “Brave.”

“And we’ll make sure we’re worth being brave for.”

The alpha next to him tucked him to his chest again, though he didn’t guide his face away from the one in front. The kiss he pressed to his head was soft and perhaps overly familiar, but Jungkook found that he didn’t mind. It even made something settle in his chest, an ache that was getting more and more pronounced the farther they drove from all he had ever known.

But nothing could settle it like the dragon-eyed alpha who had called him pretty and sweet and brave when he said, “I’m your pack alpha now, Jungkook. You can call me Namjoon-hyung.”

And Jungkook was more stupid than brave when he immediately disobeyed and blurted out with overwhelmed foggy quickly-approaching omega-space, “Namjoon-alpha.”

Namjoon, though, only looked pleased. Beyond pleased. Jungkook felt a flurry of something in his tummy. Pride, maybe, at being good. A thrill, definitely, at being in the presence of a strong omega, the likes of which he had never, ever known.

The alpha holding him hummed happily, nuzzling Jungkook’s hair. “I’m your Taehyung-alpha, pretty Jungkookie. Can you say my name?”

It was almost infantilizing, the way he cooed at him, but it made Jungkook shiver instead of flinch away. “Taehyung-alpha,” he repeated. He met the driving alpha’s eyes in the rearview mirror and didn’t have to ask.

“Hoseok-alpha, cutie.”

“Hoseok-alpha, cutie,” he repeated, voice lispy in the way it got when he started drifting. He didn’t feel that drifty, but—he felt nice. He felt nice quickly and easily, in a way he would have never expected to feel when he was being carried down the stairs away from his nest, his home, his brother. But then again—

He whined without meaning to at the thought of it all, though, a high-pitched pitiful keen that couldn’t go ignored.

Taehyung’s quiet “What is it, baby?” couldn’t be ignored either. He was a good boy, and good boys answered when they were asked.

“Nest,” he explained with a sad little whimper. “Nest.”

“Oh, sweet thing. You can build the biggest and bestest nest when we get home, alright? You can use anything, make it as perfect as you.”

“We should wash his things,” Hoseok told Namjoon in the front, and though they knew Jungkook could hear them, it clearly wasn’t for him. Even if it was, he couldn’t argue, no matter how the thought of the very few things he had losing the scent of his nest-home-brother made his chest ache. That was the purpose, he supposed.

“Oh—” Taehyung gasped quietly, giving Jungkook a gentle squeeze. “Can I bathe the puppy?”

It took Jungkook a moment to realize that the puppy was him, and it brought a preemptively humiliated blush to his cheeks.

“The puppy is able to bathe on his own, I believe,” Hoseok said sternly, settling Jungkook’s nerves before they could take over. “I know we’ll want to have him within arm’s reach at all times, we have to remember that it’s not feasible. That being said—” he briefly met Jungkook’s eye in the mirror, “if the puppy wants help, he will have plenty of alphas to ask.”

Jungkook glanced between the three of them. He wouldn’t ask for help, of course, but—he did have three alphas who seemed to be claiming that they were at his beck and call.

“There are six of us,” Namjoon said, and Jungkook blanched a little.

“Alphas?” he asked nervously. His vision shook a little when Namjoon hummed his agreement.

“They’ll behave, darling,” Namjoon promised. “They’ll be excited out of their minds to meet you, though. Never in a million years were we expecting to come home with an omega. And with one so pretty as you?” He let out a dramatic sound from the back of his throat.

And because Jungkook was apparently just as silly and simple as his brother always teased that he was, prompted, “Pretty?”

Taehyung gave his hair another kiss. “Pretty. The very prettiest. I haven’t seen many omegas but I have truly never seen an omega as pretty as you, our little Jungkookie. We’re so lucky to have found you.”

Jungkook bit his lip again before nuzzling back against Taehyung’s chest, everything suddenly too much to stay fully up and aware.

Taehyung muttered assurances, he thought, but he could only really hear the cadence of his voice rather than the words he said. It was just too much. Even if the alphas weren’t that scary, even if the windows were enticing to look out of, even if—no matter what even ifs there were, it was all too much.

Jungkook fell asleep right there against a strange alpha’s chest, breathing in his autumny scent and clinging loosely to his jacket, like it was where he had belonged this whole time.

-

When he began to stir, not only were there more voices, he was also not tucked up to Taehyung’s chest. He wasn’t tucked up to anyone, actually. He wasn’t even in the car. He was laying flat on something soft, covered in a heavy blanket that was drenched with scent (but not enough, his omega whispered), and when he popped his head out, afternoon light was streaming through tall windows and his favorite bunny was propped against the pillow he had been resting on, devoid of any familiar scent but smelling faintly like the blanket, and when he sat up all at once and held his bunny close—the room fell silent. He hadn’t even realized it was loud.

He blinked, glancing around. Taehyung, Hoseok, Namjoon—four, five, and six. All alphas. All staring at him.

“You’re awake!” one of the unknown alphas said brightly, coming close to kneel beside the pallet on the living room floor. Jungkook flinched just a little, but didn’t dart away like he felt he should feel like doing. “I hope you had a nice nap.”

Jungkook nodded after a second, gripping his bunny. He swallowed and looked to Taehyung and Namjoon sitting side by side, needing some familiarity—he’d known them for all of maybe an hour, sure, but they were so much more familiar than this florally alpha smiling sweetly at him.

Namjoon gave him a smile, too, and something in it made some of the nerves held in Jungkook’s shoulders relax. “Your other alpha-hyungs have been excited to meet you, sweetheart. Can you say hi?”

Jungkook blushed, nearly hiding his face behind his bunny. That wouldn’t do much to contest the babying, though. “Hi,” he offered quietly, just barely glancing at the florally alpha, eyes darting over the two other unknowns.

“You’re so sweet,” the floral one gushed. He was only stopped from throwing himself at Jungkook by a stern click of Namjoon’s tongue, though he still pouted at him as he sat back on his heels.

“Jimin,” Namjoon said, stern but gentle. “Give him some space. He’s scared.”

Perhaps he should have been, perhaps he should have at least said he was, but Jungkook was an honest boy and had never held anything close to his chest. “M’not that scared.”

Florally Jimin awwed, and even with Namjoon’s warning, he leaned in to cup Jungkook’s cheek. Jungkook’s nose twitched as he sniffed him, turning his face closer to his wrist.

“I like flowers,” he said quietly, lisp slipping out once again.

Jimin didn’t look like the alphas in Jungkook’s head, not like Namjoon and Taehyung and Hoseok did. He looked almost delicate, and he certainly smelled it. But Namjoon and Taehyung and Hoseok had kind eyes, even if they were intimidating, and Jimin’s were almost even kinder. They went even softer at Jungkook’s confession and Jimin let out a soft sigh, thumb brushing over Jungkook’s cheek.

“Well,” Jimin said after a moment, “your alphas will make sure you have all the flowers you want.”

“Pretty thing, can I ask—” one of the other alphas started, leaning forward. He was pretty. He was calling Jungkook a pretty thing? It threw him off enough that he could only blink at him, not even thinking to avert his eyes. “How often did you leave your den, hm?”

Jungkook blinked. “Huh?”

“Your nest. Your home. How often did you leave?”

That was such an absurd question that Jungkook had to giggle. “Never?” 

His brother had told him over and over and over again that the outside world was bad, it was nothing like he remembered, it was scary and dangerous and filled with prowling alphas who would snatch Jungkook up and hurt him. He guessed he was snatched up, but he didn’t think these alphas would hurt him. They were nice.

There had been no reason to leave the apartment, and every reason in the world to stay there, locked up and protected and safe from the mean streets below.

“Never? For how long?”

“For—” Jungkook frowned and counted on his fingers. “Um, nine years, I think. I’m twenty-three now, and I presented when I was fourteen.”

The alphas didn’t say anything, though there was a tinge of displeasure to the scents mingling in the air now. It made Jungkook curl into himself a little, a quiet omega keen escaping his throat, a natural instinct to plead for mercy and appeal to an alpha’s instinct to protect what was theirs. Because that was what Jungkook was now. Theirs.

He whimpered when there was suddenly a hand on his head, petting his hair. He looked around with wide eyes and saw the final unknown alpha kneeling behind him, on the very edge of the pallet.

“Namjoon-ah and I enjoy gardening. I believe you’ll like all the flowers. Perhaps we can plant more together, hm?”

Jungkook blinked. “Outside?”

“Outside,” he confirmed. “There are lots of nice nap spots, too, if you’d like to join me sometime.”

Jungkook blinked again. He liked naps. He didn’t have many things to do in the apartment, so that was one of his favorites. “Okay.”

The alpha smiled, just a twitch of the corners of his mouth, cute and endearing. “Ah, inviting you to nap before I’ve even introduced myself. I’m your Yoongi-hyung.”

As Jungkook had done with Namjoon, he didn’t think before repeating, “Yoongi-alpha.”

The alpha, Yoongi, stilled for a moment before his smile transformed into a bright, gummy thing, laughing to himself as he ducked his head. “Ah, omega.”

Omega made Jungkook genuinely and visibly shiver. “Omega. Me.”

“Omega, you,” Yoongi agreed.

“Well—” The alpha who had asked about outside stood, pushing up on his knees with a sigh, “if no one else is going to feed him—”

Jimin made an offended noise. “Hyung! You don’t get to be the only one—”

“I made the food, I do so.”

“I made it, too,” Yoongi said, but just looked amused, putting a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze before standing. “Jin-hyung, let the baby smell you before you go.”

Jungkook blinked yet again. “Baby? Me?”

“Baby, you,” Yoongi confirmed.

Jin took Yoongi’s invitation and nudged him aside to kneel in his place, Yoongi going with only an annoyed huff. He offered his wrist and Jungkook hesitantly leaned to sniff. Honeysuckles, sweet and pretty and reminding Jungkook of a home that wasn’t his own but one that was warm and welcoming in its own right.

Without thinking, and it seemed he couldn’t think at all around them, he grabbed his wrist to rub his nose against it, needing the scent to stick there as long as it could. The alpha froze before letting his scent bloom, surrounding Jungkook and flooding his senses. Soft, pretty, bright—and very, very smug.

“That’s right, puppy,” he cooed. “You like your Seokjinnie-alpha’s scent, don’t you?”

Puppy. Jungkook was puppy. Jungkook was puppy and baby and omega and sweetheart, and these alphas were not the scary ones he’d always been afraid of. He nodded against his wrist, whining when Seokjin pulled it away but letting out an appeased and interested keen when he brought it to Jungkook’s neck, rubbing it against his skin, scenting him, really and truly.

“I should have been the first to scent him,” he could vaguely hear Namjoon grumble. He had more important things to do than listen. Or one important thing, at least. The most important thing was to let Seokjinnie-alpha scent him so he could smell his nice-homey-honeysuckle all day long.

“I’m the oldest,” Seokjin dismissed. “And he likes me best.”

Taehyung made an affronted sound and Jungkook itched to reach for him, but—he was busy. Seokjin pulled away and didn’t even come back when Jungkook whined.

“I’m going to get the pretty puppy something to eat. I don’t think he’s been fed as well as he should have.”

Jungkook frowned, no longer yearning for Seokjin to scent him (as much). “My brother fed me.” Seokjin hummed and Jungkook’s frown deepened. “He did. My brother made sure I ate well. He’s good.”

Seokjin didn’t push, thankfully. “Well, your alphas will make sure you eat even better. No matter how good you think your brother was—there was no way he could feed you fruit.”

That was true. That was very true. And Jungkook had craved it, but he had never, never, never expected his brother to bring back anything like that. It was so rare, and so expensive, he knew, even more than it had been when society started to cave in and imports became fewer and farther in between. Seokjin had acknowledged that his brother was good, if in a kind of roundabout way, and he was alluding to something rare and expensive and, if Jungkook was honest, unbelievable.

“Fruit?” he asked skeptically.

Seokjin smirked and gave his nose a gentle tap. “Hang tight, omega. Your Jinnie-alpha is going to spoil you so nicely.”

“Not too much,” Yoongi warned. “I don’t think he’s had fresh food in a while. Have you?” He gave Jungkook a look before adding, “That isn’t a judgement, sweetheart. We know that fresh is hard to come by, even for us sometimes.”

He frowned and shook his head. “Mostly—mostly cans. ‘Nd instant packs. But—” he perked up. “I can make bread! Hyung got flour whenever he could and I made bread for us when we had enough gas for the oven. I only made it around our birthdays but—but it was good, hyung even said so and I don’t think he ever lied to me—”

“You’re a talented puppy,” Jimin cooed. “Would you bake some for us, Jungkook-ah? After you rest for a while, of course, we can’t tire you out so terribly.”

Jungkook blinked. “You have flour? And—and gas?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Jimin dismissed. “We have plenty. And if we ever need anything—or if you ever want anything—you just let me know and I’ll get it for you,” he snapped his fingers, “quick as that.”

Before he could even consider stopping himself, Jungkook blurted, “Samgyeopsal?”

Seokjin froze to stare at him for a moment, just long enough that apologies began to tumble from his lips. They stopped abruptly when Seokjin said with all the seriousness in the world, “Alphas are going to feed you so well, Jungkookie,” and disappeared down the hall.

“You have samgyeopsal?” Jungkook whispered to no one, mystified.

Jimin giggled. “You’re so cute. Forget samgyeopsal, I could eat you up.”

His brother had warned him that alphas hungry and vicious enough would put him in a stew after having their way with him. He blanched, chest squeezing painfully. “Eat me up?”

“Not really—” Jimin quickly assured, taking Jungkook’s hand in his own. He stared at their hands, how Jimin’s were dainty and pretty and small. He didn’t look like he ate omegas. “Not really eat you, sweetheart. I’m just teasing.Your Jiminie would never hurt you, none of us would. Now—does the puppy want to look around, hm?”

“First,” Namjoon said, drawing Jungkook’s attention immediately. “Jin-hyung might have gotten to scent you first, but your pack alpha wants a turn. Come here, omega.”

It wasn’t an alpha command, like the ones his brother had very rarely given him, but Jungkook felt compelled to obey anyway. He pushed himself to his feet shakily, clutching his bunny to his chest once again. He followed Namjoon’s inviting arm without question, hovering right in front of him until the alpha tugged him onto his lap, holding the omega sideways. 

Jungkook gasped and threw his arms around his neck, bunny tumbling—but Namjoon acted before Jungkook could, catching the plush and placing it back on Jungkook’s lap, giving its head a pat. It was so nice and kind and sweet and made Jungkook’s heart flutter, but not nearly as much as when Namjoon guided Jungkook’s head to the crook of his neck where his scent was strongest.

“Would you scent alpha, pretty thing? I want to carry my omega’s scent.”

“Your omega?” Jungkook mumbled, not trying to pull away—not wanting to. His lips brushed Namjoon’s skin almost like a kiss. 

It wasn’t a question, not really. All the alphas had said they were his hyungs, Namjoon had said he was his pack alpha, but no one had claimed him quite so clearly.

When his brother had told him to go with him, when he had him promise to be good, Jungkook knew he wouldn’t be going back. He knew he had seen his home and his little nest and his brother for the very last time. He knew that he was no longer his, nor was he his own, because he had never been his own. But now the alpha who introduced himself as Jungkook’s was claiming Jungkook as his own.

“My omega,” Namjoon said, hand rubbing the small of Jungkook’s back comfortingly. “Aren’t you?”

Jungkook answered by burying himself in his neck, scenting him with a flood of his own clean airy scent, marking him boldly in a way that was purely instinctual at first, but it quickly morphed into Jungkook’s own will. He even pulled away with a furrow-browed frown after a moment, but before Namjoon could ask what was wrong or clear his surprised face at Jungkook’s abrupt departure, Jungkook straddled his lap to more easily nuzzle the other size, huffing into the line of his jaw to measure how much Jungkook he could smell. Not enough, not yet.

Tokki was trapped between their stomachs—he’d get Namjoon and Seokjin to scent it soon, at the very least. He’d have to vet everyone else’s scents first.

He breathed Namjoon in before getting to work once again, rubbing his cheek against his neck, going so far as to lick his scent gland, something he had never, never done, but needing to taste his alpha—

It was all happening so quickly. It was all so unexpected. He was in a new place with new people and hadn’t been anywhere but his home with his brother for nine years and suddenly he had six alpha-hyungs and a pack alpha who wanted him to scent him and a new house with a garden and maybe even with fruit and meat, and—

“Oh, sweetheart,” Namjoon said gently, guiding Jungkook’s face away to frown at his tears. He didn’t scold him for immediately burying himself in his little hiding space again, quiet, hiccuppy sobs starting up all at once. Namjoon held him close, rubbing his back under Jungkook’s thin and worn shirt, pressing a kiss to his temple. “It’s alright. I’ve got you. It’s alright.”

“Alpha,” Jungkook sobbed out, clinging to him.

“Alpha’s got you. Alpha will keep you safe. Feel anything you need to feel, and I’ll be right here.”

Jungkook nodded quickly and gripped his shirt before thinking otherwise, grabbing Tokki to trap him between their chests before gripping his shirt again, Namjoon petting him and projecting comfort all the while.

These alphas weren’t mean. His alphas weren’t mean. And Jungkook—Jungkook would be good for them. He wanted to be.

-

He managed to slow his sobs by the time Seokjin called for them to “bring the baby here!” Though Namjoon still dabbed at his cheeks with his sleeve, giving him a gentle look of concern.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Namjoon cooed quietly. “Do you feel better?”

Jungkook hadn’t felt bad before, but he did feel a little lighter now, the weight on his chest not quite so heavy. “Uh-huh.”

“Good.” He stood with Jungkook in his arms, the omega letting out a gasp and throwing his arms around him again. Tokki was still trapped between them but Jungkook quickly grabbed him so he wouldn’t hit the floor again. “Let’s see what our Jinnie has made for you.”

“Our Jinnie is going to spoil you within an inch of your life,” Hoseok grinned, touching the small of Jungkook’s back as he passed. “Not like the rest of us aren’t.”

Jungkook frowned a little. “Why?”

Namjoon huffed a laugh, squeezing him close. “You don’t even know how precious you are, do you?”

“My brother says I’m a good boy.”

Hoseok smiled, reaching up to give his cheek a gentle pinch. “Ah, you are, we can already tell. A good, precious, rare, beautiful boy.”

“A hidden gem,” Namjoon agreed. “Just waiting for us to find him.”

The idea was something of absolute fantasy. Jungkook’s brother had brought him books when he found them, wanting to give Jungkook anything he could to occupy his time. If he had read the romance paperback before giving it to Jungkook, it probably would have never ended up in his hands at all. But as it was, Jungkook had hidden it away in his room, read the pages until they were worn thin, and had let romantic thoughts drift through his mind. Never believing them, of course, he was a smart boy even if he was an omega, and he knew that romance had no place in an omega’s life, especially after the world had fallen apart. But the notion that he had been waiting for them, without even knowing it, just an omega who already belonged to an alpha—alphas—before they even knew the other existed. Was that what happened? Had Jungkook been theirs from the beginning? From his presentation, from birth? Pledged by soul to these alphas who smelled nice and were nice and touched nice and—

Jungkook let out a quiet, pleased, distinctly omegan keen and kicked his feet, a cute grin breaking out on his face that he hid against Namjoon’s shoulder.

“I think you’re right, Joon-ah,” Hoseok said, voice more than a little amazed. “He was meant to be ours.”

The only thing that broke Jungkook from his giddy little butterfly-tummy hiding spot was the scent of meat that wafted through the doorway to the kitchen. His eyes widened and his head shot up to search out the source, nose twitching and mouth falling open like he could taste it. He hadn’t had fresh meat, meat that smelled like that, in so, so long. Years and years. And when his brother could find it, it was usually tough stew cuts of beef or dry chicken. Jungkook was always thrilled about it, of course, always grateful, and he’d basically forgotten the taste of anything else. But he was very, very excited to remember the taste of this.

“Samgyeopsal,” he whispered reverently.

If he felt able at all to look away from the plate of pork belly to look at Seokjin’s face, he would have seen the absolute smugness that had taken the alpha over, and would have probably seen the teasing nudges he was receiving from Jimin that he was ignoring entirely. But he was not able to look away.

“How?” he had to ask.

“Ah, your alphas have ways,” Namjoon said. He sat in one of the chairs at the table, Jungkook still on his lap.

Yoongi snorted. “Anything is possible with enough money and the right connections.”

Money and connections were not an omega’s concern, but Jungkook’s concern was how to get meat in his tummy.

“I—I don’t have money but can I—”

Seokjin stopped him by holding a cut of samgyeopsal to Jungkook’s lips, and he could not imagine doing anything but eating it. He must look silly, he knew, and not the proper elegant omega he sometimes liked to pretend to be, but his eyes practically rolled into the back of his head as he chewed, savoring and tasting and remembering and—

“Oh, baby, why are you crying—”

He wiped his tears before anyone else could. They might try to get him to stop chewing and talk.

“You can swallow,” someone said, half-concerned and half-amused. “You can have as much as you’d like, you don’t have to wait for it to disintegrate.”

Jungkook didn’t want to swallow, because what if it wasn’t true and then he’d never taste it again? But—alphas were nice. Alphas hadn’t lied yet. Maybe they wouldn’t at all.

Sure enough, when he swallowed and gave the plate of meat a longing glance, Seokjin held out another piece, and another and another and another and—

“Puppy,” Yoongi said, giving Jungkook a fond look. “You’re full, aren’t you? It will still be here whenever you get hungry again. How about one more piece and then you can have more later so you don’t get a tummy ache.”

Jungkook’s brows unfurrowed just so they could furrow again. After swallowing, he glanced around the table. “M’being selfish.”

“You—” Jimin started, but Jungkook shook his head.

“Alphas aren’t eating.” Jungkook frowned, fiddling with Namjoon’s sleeve. “Promise m’not greedy.”

“Oh, baby—” Seokjin clicked his tongue. “Hyung made this just for you. You’re not being selfish or greedy or anything like that at all. You’re eating well for alpha.”

“We’re full watching you eat,” Yoongi agreed. “We promise to have some later, how about that?”

Jungkook frowned in consideration for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Yoongi held out his pinky and Jungkook hooked it with his own without a second thought, pressing their thumbs together. He didn’t let go after that, though, leaving his hand in Yoongi’s.

“One more piece?”

Seokjin grinned and picked out the best one he could, holding it to Jungkook’s lips and looking incredibly proud when he took it eagerly. “You ate well for hyung, little omega. Thank you.”

Jungkook remembered his manners and quickly covered his mouth before doing his best to bow while still cuddled in Namjoon’s lap. “Thank you for the meal, alpha—”

“Aish, it’s my pleasure.”

“Oh!” Jimin pouted, slumping onto the table. “Baby is too full for fruit—”

Jungkook swallowed and opened his mouth, and Jimin beamed, hurrying to get the lovingly cut watermelon from the counter that Jungkook hadn’t noticed at all over the allure of the pork belly, popping one into Jungkook’s mouth with his fingers.

Jungkook’s eyes brightened as he ate it, though Yoongi tutted when Jimin tried to give him another piece. “I don’t want our omega to spend his first night with us sick, Jimin-ah. Later.” He turned to Jungkook, giving his hair a soothing pat. “Later, puppy.”

First night. The melon tasted a little sour in his mouth now. His tattered romance novel had a first night in it, too, and while it was a good one for the alpha and omega characters, it had still made Jungkook worry late at night, anxious about an omega’s sacrifice even if he didn’t think he’d ever have his own first night. His brother kept him nice and safe and locked away, and there were no alphas who would want to—take him. He didn’t expect this, to be handed over to six alphas who were nice and kind and fed him meat and fruit and—

“What’s that face about, darling?” Namjoon asked. Jungkook jumped and didn’t meet his eyes. “You can have one more if you’d really, really like.”

Jungkook nodded hesitantly. He was a good boy and good boys should be honest—but he wasn’t sure alphas would like that honesty.

-

When night came—the first night, Jungkook fretted as the sunlight faded from the tall windows—the alphas didn’t suddenly turn into dark-eyed wanting creatures, though. They got—cozier, almost, turning on the lights (lights! Electric lights! Jungkook and his brother had an hour of electricity every other day, one that came seemingly at random, and they mostly spent it heating up water for a luxuriously warm scrub down on the rusty burner he had traded their grandfather’s pocket watch for.), drawing the curtains, and settling into the sitting room in a way that was so practiced and familiar to them that it must have been a nightly routine.

No one pounced on Jungkook, though he was tucked close between Namjoon and Taehyung Only Taehyung’s spot had been fought over. Being pack alpha seemed to mean Namjoon’s right to him was undeniable. But Namjoon wasn’t claiming any other pack alpha rights. He wasn’t on Jungkook like a wolf like the alpha in his book, his teeth didn’t look like they were growing into fangs that would claim him, his eyes weren’t enticingly predatory and he wasn’t prowling and—

Namjoon was staring at him, he realized. He froze. Like the omega in his book, he did feel like deer in the headlights.

But Namjoon didn’t seem to sense his worries. “You must be tired, sweetheart. You’ve had a long day.” 

Jungkook nodded shallowly.

 “Let me show you to your room.”

Taehyung whined an objection but Namjoon dismissed it with a shake of his head as he stood, holding out his hand for Jungkook to take and pulling him up easily.

“He doesn’t need to be overwhelmed with scents tonight.” Namjoon’s voice was gentle, not only for Jungkook’s benefit. “Jin-hyung prepared it for you,” he told Jungkook, “since we know you like his scent best.”

Jungkook blushed brightly but couldn’t deny it. Namjoon seemed to be mostly teasing, anyways, not truly aggravated by what could have been seen as a slight. Namjoon led him upstairs (there were more stairs when they got to the second floor, too, leading up to a third floor. He wondered if they’d owned this house before everything happened, or if they got really lucky in the initial fights for property), and down the hall, to a room near the very end.

“This is my room,” he said, pointing to the door across from him. “Taehyung’s is here, Jimin is often with him. Yoongi-hyung’s there—” He pointed out everything but Jungkook could barely take it in, especially when Namjoon opened the door to what he introduced as “Your room.”

It was—so nice, and airy, and clean, and windowy, and there was a fancy light fixture on the ceiling and a huge bed with fluffy white blankets and so many pillows and Jungkook was going to make such a good nest, alphas will be so proud, alphas will love it, alphas will scent it, alphas will—

Namjoon’s scent spiked with amusement but Jungkook ignored it, immediately going in to poke at everything curiously. The room smelled vaguely of all of the alphas combined, a light pack scent that permeated the house, but it was clear this bedroom was largely unused. The only scent he could truly distinguish was Seokjin’s, light honeysuckle all over the fabric, but not drenched like Jungkook wished it was. He wanted it to be covered in Namjoon’s scent, too, because pack alpha needed to be there, but he could fix that later, he needed to move this blanket there and make a wall with those pillows and the bed was way too off the floor to be safe but he could make it as safe as he could and it would be so nice and warm and perfect and, and, and.

He barely noticed Namjoon disappearing, or the alphas peeking in on him over the next however long he worked on his nest. He responded to their praises with a vague hum of acknowledgement, but only started really processing words after he had buried himself under the top blanket, his nest sufficiently safe enough for him to settle and come out of what his brother always called omega mode.

“We should brush his teeth,” he heard.

“It’s okay for tonight, I’d hate to take him out.”

“I don’t think we could.”

“Look how cozy he is! He’s so cute, I can’t believe he’s real—”

On and on, praises that weren’t even directed at him but made him feel so, so, so floaty and nice. When he peeked out at them, only his eyes and above visible, he was met with six alphas looking in from the door, cooing like he was a cute zoo animal showing his shy face. The attention made him duck back under the blankets, but they didn’t seem to mind.

“Night, Kookie,” someone called. The first night that he had worried about, and they left him nice, safe, and alone.

-

Jungkook shot awake some hours later, a sudden sense of wrongness taking over him. He was confused at first, trying to remember where he was, what was happening, how he ended up there—but once he remembered, that wasn’t even the problem. He wasn’t—scared, not necessarily, but everything was wrong.

His nest was nice, sure, but—there were windows and he didn’t want windows near his nest, no matter how novel it was to see the moonlight fall over it. The room was too big, too open, the bed was really too high, the scents were too unfamiliar and maybe it would help if they weren’t so light but they were, it just wasn’t right.

He didn’t think before grabbing his favorite of the pile of blankets Seokjin had left for him and tucking Tokki under his shirt, stumbling sleepily out into the dark hall. That was better immediately. No windows in the hall. Darker. Safer. But he could see halfway down the stairs and that was not good, it wouldn’t even have been better if he could see all the way down because it meant the first floor had plenty of room for somebody or something to creep around waiting to pounce. 

He pushed his way into nearest doorway, squinting into the dark and taking a sniff. Jimin, maybe. But it wasn’t right. The next was Yoongi, and that was almost right, and he thought about going straight to what he remembered was Namjoon’s because surely that was best, surely with pack alpha would be the safest, surely that was where an omega was meant to be, but he checked the door beside his first and—

Taehyung’s room smelled nice. It was dark and quiet and not too warm and Taehyung was snoring quietly from the bed and it was perfect. Jungkook closed the door behind him even though it was hard to traverse the unfamiliar floor in the dark. When he bumped his knee against the bed, Taehyung woke up. He didn’t need to see his eyes open to know that.

Jungkook froze, staring even though he couldn’t see Taehyung in the dark.

“Kookie?” Taehyung muttered.

“Uh-huh?”

Taehyung was quiet for a moment. “Get comfortable wherever. Want you to sleep well.”

That was the only permission that Jungkook needed. He felt around the wall until he found the knob he had spotted from the door, pulling it open to reveal Taehyung’s closet—as much as it could be revealed in the dark. Jungkook couldn’t see it and maybe it wouldn’t feel quite so perfect tomorrow, but for now—

He shut the door behind him, curled up happily on the floor with the heavy blanket over him with Tokki tucked under his shirt, comfy on the hard floor. He heard Taehyung’s own blankets rustle, but the alpha didn’t come to check on him or try to convince him to move somewhere—better. There was no better for Jungkook, not right now. The closet was warm enough, it was small and enclosed and safe.

And he couldn’t help but notice that, just like he did when his brother was on the other side of the door, he slept soundly, no doubt in his mind that the alpha would protect him.

Even when the morning brought frantic shouts of “Jungkook is missing!” that were muffled behind the door, he didn’t feel the need to scramble out or hide away, and even if he did, the urgency was calmed by Taehyung grumbling out “He’s in here, be quiet!”

“He’s in here?” Jimin asked when he burst into Taehyung’s room, undeniably jealous. He paused, surely seeing no sign of Jungkook in Taehyung’s bed. “What—?”

“In the closet, he came in at like, three. But can you be quiet, he might still be sleeping—”

Jungkook didn’t want to inconvenience them, nor did he want to lie, even if it was to just not tell them he was awake. He kneeled up and opened the door, blinking at them sleepily. Jimin gawked at him a little and Jungkook tried to pat down his bedhead self-consciously.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Aish, no need to be sorry,” Taehyung told him, still cuddled up in bed but turned on his side to look at Jungkook, blankets pulled up to his chin.

Jimin softened immediately. “Taehyungie’s right. You didn’t do anything wrong. Was your bed not—” he stumbled over the words, “soft? Enough?”

Jungkook giggled, shaking his head and pushing the door open more. “S’so nice n’soft. But—” he pursed his lips. He should be grateful, he knew, he shouldn’t complain, especially when these nice alphas had been so nice and given him his very own nest in his very own room and hadn’t been scary at all, even if it was the first night.

“But?” Jimin prompted. He came closer, sitting crosslegged to the side of the door. He was smart, Jungkook thought. He didn’t block it at all. He didn’t want to trap Jungkook, and he didn’t want Jungkook to feel trapped. “You can tell alpha, baby. We won’t be upset. We want you to be the happiest omega in the whole world. You can complain all you want and we’ll be happy with you.”

“Don’t wanna complain,” Jungkook pouted. “Alphas are so nice. Just—” He swallowed and frowned, squeezing the blanket in his hands. “Not safe.”

Jimin blinked. “Alphas aren’t safe?”

“His nest,” Taehyung mumbled. “Right, Koo?”

Jungkook nodded gratefully. “Windows. And—and bed is high, meanies could hide under it. And the room is big and I can’t see all of it and there’s more doors and—”

“I think,” Jimin interrupted gently, “that we can find the perfect nest room for you. You can poke around and pick your very best spot, okay? We’ll make it work.”

He blinked. “Taehyung-alpha’s closet is nice.”

“Yeah, he can stay—”

Jimin rolled his eyes but Jungkook wasn’t worried about him being annoyed, not when he could see fondness in his eyes. “If this is his very best spot after looking around, you’re welcome to pick it. But would pretty omega do us a favor and make sure there’s no other place you’d feel nice in?” He wrinkled his nose cutely, leaning in and putting a small hand over Jungkook’s. Jungkook startled a little, looking down at it with wide eyes. Not scared. Interested. “Taehyungie would get you all to himself! Can you imagine how much we would miss our omega if he was always with Taehyungie? Ah, we would all end up sleeping in here with you two.”

Six alphas didn’t seem that bad. But then again—

He frowned, looking back into the closet. Six alphas and one omega wouldn’t fit in there. And he didn’t want to leave the door open. And he should feel good about them being outside the door, but something in him felt discomforted by the thought. Maybe some could sleep outside the door, that would be safe, but it would be safe to have alphas in the nest, too, ready to attack.

He would look at his options, like Jimin had asked him to. “Kay.”

“Ah, good boy!” Jimin cooed, cupping his cheek with his other hand. “But that can wait til after breakfast.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened even more as he looked at him with all the hope in the world. “Samgyeopsal?”

Jimin’s laugh was pretty and charming and safe, and the smell of pork belly greeted him as soon as Jimin opened the door.

Once again, he was happily fed by Seokjin, but this time, Hoseok had beat Namjoon to pulling Jungkook into his lap. He was startled at first, but Hoseok smelled nice, too, and was nice and strong and had very nice thighs to sit on and the way his arms locked around Jungkook’s waist was safe and warm and kind of silly.

He giggled when Hoseok’s fingers danced over his tummy, and Hoseok didn’t seem mad at all when Jungkook instinctually pushed him away. In fact—

Jungkook stilled at the kiss that brushed his jaw, and Hoseok stilled after him, and Jungkook felt the very beginnings of a sorry on the alphas lips until he snuggled into him, wriggling on his lap and pressing his back more fully against him. Hoseok gave his jaw a chaste kiss again before kissing his ear and his cheek and his hair and all of it over again in a silly, giddy rush that had Jungkook giggling all over again.

When Namjoon came in, though, still drowsy and with lines on his face from his pillow and shirtless and in worn sweatpants—

Jungkook keened and everyone froze, Jungkook included.

Namjoon was the first to shake himself out of it. “Good morning, omega.”

“Morning,” Jungkook mumbled shyly. When Namjoon held out a hand to him, Jungkook didn’t even think before answering his call, stumbling off of Hoseok’s lap to be within arms’ reach, letting himself be tucked up to the pack alpha’s side easily. His bare side. Jungkook only just had the presence of mind to not bury his face into him imediately, even though his omegan hindbrain was trying to push itself to the front of his mind instead and was telling him to scent his armpit or sink his teeth into his shoulder or nuzzle into his pecs or lick his nipple or—

It was only Namjoon’s arm tightening around him that kept him from running upstairs and hiding in Taehyung’s closet for the rest of his life. Even he could smell the hint of slick that was escaping his hole. Because of alphas. Because of pack alpha. Because—

“Can I bathe?” he blurted. “I haven’t s-since—it’s—I’d like to—”

“Let me show you to the bathroom, baby,” Yoongi said. Jungkook followed him out gratefully, going so far as to grip his shirt. When they made it to the bathroom—a fancy one before the collapse, and by after standards, it was incredible—Yoongi turned to him and nudged his chin with a fond smile. “Don’t panic, omega. It’s alright. I’m sure a bath will feel nice. Or would you rather have a shower?”

Jungkook had not had a shower in years, and his astonishment must have been obvious given Yoongi’s grin.

Yoongi started it for him, testing the water. “It should stay hot for fifteen, twenty minutes. It’ll be warm after that, but—even for us, there’s only so much the water heater can do.”

“I won’t take that long,” Jungkook assured quickly. If it was a bath, he might have lingered, but the thought of taking up so much time and so much water and so much luxury went beyond indulgent and into selfish.

“Ah, don’t worry, baby. Take all the time you’d like. Hyungs will still be here when you get out.”

“Alphas,” Jungkook half-corrected, mostly to himself. 

He blushed when Yoongi grinned. “Alphas will be here. I’ll leave fresh clothes outside the door, okay? Here’s the hamper, towels and washcloths, use any product you’d like. Really, Kookie, take your time.”

Jungkook nodded. Maybe he’d take an extra few minutes, just for Yoongi. “Thank you, alpha-hyung.”

Yoongi’s eyes were so fond that Jungkook had to look away. “Of course, omega. I’ll leave you to it.”

As soon as Yoongi closed the door and Jungkook heard him take five steps away, Jungkook scrambled to strip off his clothes, just barely managing to toss them into the hamper before stepping into the shower, letting out what was surely an incredibly embarrassing moan as soon as the warm water hit him, but hopefully his alpha-hyungs’ hearing wasn’t so good they could hear it all the way downstairs.

It was so nice, it was so warm and even without scrubbing he already felt so much cleaner than he had before. He let himself have a minute of revelling in the fact that he was having a warm shower for the first time in years and years before forcing himself to move. He gave all of the bottles a cursory sniff before choosing, only just remembering to check if they were shampoo or conditioner or body wash or whatever fancy product the pack had access to.

Most of them smelled nice, but—he wasn’t used to fragrant things anymore, not really. The vanilla options were the lightest and didn’t send a little shock through his nose, so he went with those. Maybe he could experiment in the future, with the citruses and florals, but for now—he had a brief moment of worry that alphas wouldn’t like it before he remembered that this was their bath and their things.

It was a little unfortunate that he had been cleaning his omega parts when he felt that thought run through him, but at least he was able to wash the fresh ` of slick away before he could smell his own embarrassment.

Once he finished cleaning himself and had started his mental timer to obey Yoongi’s as-long-as-you-want, he felt—clear. Clearer than he had since they had brought him home.

He felt a surge of something unidentifiable but wholly unpleasant and he buried his face in his hands, letting the slowly-cooling water warm his back.

What was he doing?

He was being good for his brother (and his brother had given him away, his most valuable treasure, his little brother, his omega who he cared for and loved and took care of and it all led to this), but—but was he supposed to just be—like this? Wasn’t he supposed to be terrified? Wasn’t he supposed to be scared? Wasn’t he supposed to be wary of alphas, the way he’d been taught, the way he knew he should be? It wasn’t just his brother wanting to keep him docile, he didn’t lie to him about the terrible alphas that prowled the streets now. Even betas needed to be extremely cautious, omegas—? Omegas were practically nonexistent now. A rarity, treasured and locked away by anyone who had them, and they could only pray to any and every god that they wouldn’t be so hurt that life was no longer worth living.

And now he was one of those omegas who had been captured, who had been won or traded for or taken, and he was in a den of alphas, of six alphas, who had every right to do anything they wanted to him and even if they didn’t have the right they could do what they wanted anyways, and shouldn’t he be scared?

He was just a silly omega, he knew. He wasn’t smart like his brother, he hadn’t even been that clever in school, he’d even been glad those first few years of the downfall that he didn’t have to worry about going to high school or even finishing middle school. He was silly and simple and had gotten so lucky to have a brother who cared for him even after their parents passed, who didn’t sell him off immediately, but—what did that say about him now? That he hadn’t even missed the nest he’d been ripped from?

Silly, simple, stupid. These alphas could destroy him. And he hadn’t fought for himself at all.

They hadn’t given him a reason to fight, though, a quiet little voice whispered, a gentle little creature who had always soothed him when he felt sad or bad or overwhelmed. A little nudge from his omega that wasn’t quite so primal, keeping him happy and hopeful, or at least content to survive.

They hadn’t, that was true. They hadn’t been mean at all. They hadn’t even been scary since that first time they leered over him when his brother had opened the door. That had been scary. That had been terrifying. And yet—Namjoon had scooped him up and held him close and Taehyung had soothed him and tucked him to his side and Hoseok had taken him through the streets to safety, to the pack’s home, to their den—

And even now, he wanted to hurry back to them, even when he had run away from his own humiliation, because he was so not scared that he had slicked up—

It was so much. It was too much.

And yet, he stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off and he smelled nice and vanilla-y and not enough like alphas and he was scared of not being scared and he had all these problems that didn’t have any solution and the only thing that would fix it was alphas, his alphas, the alphas who owned him.

He was sure that his distress hadn’t stayed in the steamy bathroom, but he still hurried down the stairs after he got dressed in the soft, silky pajama set that Yoongi had left outside the door. He crashed into Namjoon’s chest as soon as he spotted it, still shirtless but inspiring less feral instincts than before. Right now, he wanted to bury his face in him still, of course, but not to scent or claim or anything, but just to feel pack alpha, close, close, close.

Namjoon didn’t disappoint. He let out a low alpha rumble after he broke out of a brief moment of shock, big, strong arms wrapping around Jungkook and practically encompassing him.

“Little omega,” he said, lips moving against Jungkook’s wet hair. “What’s wrong?”

Jungkook shook his head quickly, squeezing his eyes against the tears that were rising quickly.

Namjoon didn’t push. He rubbed Jungkook’s back and walked him to one of the dining chairs, sitting down and pulling him onto his lap, never prying him away or pushing him away or doing anything but exuding warmth and safety.

He should be scared.

“Alpha?” he managed to get out when Namjoon kissed his hair. Namjoon hummed, big hand splayed between Jungkook’s shoulderblades. “Please don’t hurt me.”

The air around them stilled and so did Jungkook’s heart. It only restarted when Namjoon pulled him away from his chest by the nape of his neck and looked him in the eyes. Jungkook couldn’t look away even if he tried; he was almost sure there was a silent alpha command holding him there. Namjoon’s face held all the stern honesty in the world, the crease between his brows and the set of his jaw and the line of his lips all projecting a truthful believe me loud and clear.

“I will never hurt you, omega. We are your pack now. It’s a pack’s duty to protect their own, and you will never, never need to worry about harm coming to you, from me, or us, or anyone. We would burn the world down for you, Jungkook. And if anyone ever lays a hand on you, they will burn along with it.”

Jungkook stared at him, every part of his mind silent as Namjoon’s words ran through it. He believed him.

He nodded once and Namjoon didn’t stop him from hiding against his chest again, throwing his arms around Namjoon’s neck and breathing him in, breath coming shakily but tears never coming.

Jungkook recognized Taehyung’s touch when he took the seat next to Namjoon and leaned on his shoulder, hugging around them both. It made Jungkook relax all the more, each shaky breath becoming steadier, and each breath letting him sink into the feeling of touch and the sensation of scent. Pack alpha scent, pack scent, not-scary, not-mean scent.

“Alphas won’t hurt,” he mumbled, reassuring himself, letting the words sink in along with the belief that they were true. “Alphas won’t hurt me.”

“That’s right, omega,” Namjoon said. His chest rumbled, the sound echoing in Jungkook’s ear, vibrating in Jungkook’s chest. “Alphas will never hurt you.”

-

Alphas didn’t hurt. Alphas didn’t do anything but pet Jungkook’s hair when he sat beside them and rub his back when he laid on the floor; alphas fed him meat and vegetables and even the occasional sweet; alphas kissed his temples and his cheeks and his hands and his tummy and alphas were nice.

Alphas were nice, and Jungkook couldn’t even feel silly letting himself trust them. Even when he teared up in his nest when he missed his brother, even when he didn’t realize one of them was close until he caught their scent and jumped in fright, even when he closed his eyes and remembered all the scary, scary things he’d been taught to expect from alphas.

Alphas checked on him when they heard him sniffle, offering cuddles that he crawled into as easily and instinctively as he would have with his brother. Alphas chuckled when he jumped, coming close to apologize for frightening him, giving his neck a gentle scenting, holding him until he calmed down. Alphas didn’t hurt him, not a single time, not once. Alphas never made him scared of being hurt, alphas never raised a hand to him, alphas didn’t pin him down and take and take and take—

Jungkook felt more than a little greedy wanting to take from them, though it was in much different ways.

There was always someone in the pack home, even if most of them were out doing whatever they did. Jungkook didn’t really want to know, and he didn’t care, besides. That wasn’t an omega’s business. They wouldn’t have hunted him down if he wanted to spend time alone or if he intentionally made himself scarce, but the thing was—Jungkook didn’t want to be alone, not usually. He wanted to be close enough to sniff the air and know there was an alpha there (one of his alphas). He wanted to be able to reach out and be met halfway with a friendly, welcoming hand and a bright smile even if it was an alpha’s sharp-toothed one. He liked being wanted, and liked being liked.

And alphas didn’t hurt, and alphas liked him. Alphas loved him. They said so. They’d known him a week, and alphas said they loved him, and alphas meant it.

He wanted to hear it now. He had been fussing around in his new room, formerly Namjoon’s second library, the overflow of books rehomed to various shelves and corners around the house. Jungkook had snuck a few back in, though. The pages smelled like Namjoon, even if they hadn’t been scented. But he hadn’t been able to make his nest quite perfect, yet, though it was good enough to sleep in without any kind of discomfort. He kept finding things to rearrange and things to add and things to subtly (he thought, though alphas certainly knew) prompt alphas to scent a little more.

He huffed, sitting back on his heels with one of Jimin’s shirts in hand. He needed it to be scented more, but he wanted Taehyung’s scent to mingle with it, but Jin was the only one home. He could use it as an excuse to search the alpha out, but then it would smell wrong, and he’d have to steal a different, less-perfect shirt from Jimin’s laundry, and he didn’t want to.

So instead of an excuse—

Jungkook tucked the shirt back into the nest with the intent to get it thoroughly scented by both of them later and emerged from his nest room. He poked his head into each room upstairs, knowing alphas didn’t care when he came into their space. No Jin, though, which wasn’t necessarily surprising. Jungkook hoped he was in his room downstairs. It always smelled so nice. He still made sure he wasn’t in any of the bathrooms. Jungkook liked sitting in the steam when he took showers, even if he blushed the whole time, averting his eyes from the nudity hidden by shower curtains or glass walls.

He went downstairs after an unfruitful search, perking up when he heard his alpha-hyung humming down the hall, the door to his room open—just for Jungkook, he felt with an eager little flurry. They wanted him to be able to find them any time he wanted. And he wanted now.

He didn’t need to announce himself for Jin to know he was there, but he didn’t turn around from his vanity even though Jungkook could see his knowing little smirk. He teased Jungkook more than anyone else.

Jungkook stood at the door just to try to make him say something, but he whined and gave in after he went unacknowledged a little too long. “Alpha.”

Jin turned in his chair, beaming at him. “Ah, my baby! Do you need something?”

He knew Jungkook didn’t need anything he was willing to ask for and just grinned when Jungkook shook his head.

“No? Just wanted to see hyung’s handsome face?”

Jungkook went pink and pouted, averting his eyes. Yes. He wanted to see alpha’s handsome face. He wanted to sniff alpha without being teased, too, but he knew every little twitch of his nose would go noticed and later bragged about it to the others.

“Who could blame you? Come, bunny, sit with hyung.”

Jungkook took the invitation gladly, hurrying in and waiting to be tugged onto Jin’s lap. He didn’t disappoint, putting an arm around his waist and pulling him close, giving him an exaggerated cradling cuddle as he adjusted him. Jungkook giggled, nosing Jin’s shoulder as he made them both comfortable.

He kissed the soft spot behind Jungkook’s ear just to make him keen quietly, a flood of honeyed scent flowing between them.

“Hyung’s going through some old jewelry. Now that my baby’s here, your silly alphas have started spoiling you, thank god. Now I can actually get rid of things without them being immediately replaced.”

Jin didn’t even give him the chance to feel guilty about taking attention away from him and Jungkook just hummed, kicking out his foot a little. The bunny in him, they liked to say. Kicking and jumping and stomping and nibbling and burrowing. Their bunny.

He looked at the treasures spread out on the vanity curiously, but didn’t dare reach out to touch, even when his fingers itched to do so. Jin knew him, though, and gave him a little nudge. “Would you help me? My favorites are already stored away but I’m not sure what to do with these.”

Jungkook sat forward, hovering over the shiny golds and silvers and gems and jewels with eager interest. “Pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you,” Jin said automatically, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Not by a long shot.”

Jungkook giggled but—

There was one piece that stood out to him and he found it impossible to look away from it. A thin gold chain with a singular little diamond, a dangly thing that was nowhere near as impressive as most of the things laid out beside it, but so perfect and so pretty and when he figured out which piece he was looking at, Jin picked it up and Jungkook whined, wanting to keep looking.

Jin clicked his tongue and Jungkook keeps his whines to himself, chastised. All tiny traces of shame disappeared when Jin held the necklace in his hand in front of him, though, the diamond resting against his palm. “You like it?”

Jungkook nodded.

“I have bigger diamonds, baby. I have a whole chain of emeralds that would look so pretty against your neck, too. Wouldn’t you like—”

“No,” Jungkook interrupted, still staring. “Alpha?”

Jin didn’t even give him a nudge for being rude. His lips ghosted over his nape instead. “Let me put it on you.”

Jungkook let out a quiet, astounded breath. “Me?”

“Of course you. Sit up for me.”

Jungkook obeyed but made a little sound when Jin went to put it around his neck. When Jin paused, Jungkook glanced back, pouting. “Wanna see it.”

Jin hummed before holding out his hand. “Give me your hand.”

Jungkook didn’t think before obeying and gasped quietly when Jin wrapped the necklace around his wrist, making sure the diamond rested nicely against where his pulse and scent were strongest. “Oh.”

“You’ll have to be careful, it might slip off.”

“M’careful,” Jungkook lisped. “Nini-alpha-hyung.”

Jin’s scent bloomed, honeysuckle blossoming, his arms so nice and strong and warm holding Jungkook close. “My Koobaby,” he cooed, nosing his neck. “My Koo-omega-baby.”

Jungkook trilled, leaning back onto his chest. “Nicest in the world.”

“Me or the necklace?” 

It was mostly teasing, but Jungkook looked back at him with wide, honest eyes. “Alpha.” He blinked, looking at the necklace again. “Both.”

Jin laughed and squeezed him again, kissing whatever parts of his face he could.

His eyes went back to the necklace, tilting his hand to see it glint in the light. “Alpha?” Jin hummed against his shoulder. “Collar.”

Jin froze, honeysuckle freezing with it, but with an odd intentionality. “What do you mean?”

“S’like a collar.”

“And—” Jin cleared his throat. “And how do you feel about that?”

Jungkook furrowed his brows, wriggling on his lap. “Huh?”

“Do you like that it’s like a collar?”

That was a silly question. Jungkook was just a silly omega, but he at least knew that. “Uh-huh.”

Honeysuckle blossomed again, surrounding him and making him purr without really meaning to, but it felt nice in his chest and his heart and he didn’t want to stop.

“We’ll have to get you a real collar, then. Something as pretty as you, if such a thing even exists.”

Jungkook giggled. “Alpha likes me.”

“Alpha likes you so much. I’ll get you every collar in the world if it makes you happy. Every jewel, too. Point and it’s yours. Think and it’s yours.”

“Like this,” Jungkook smiled, bringing the necklace to his lips to give it a careful kiss. “Don’t want anything else.”

“What if we want to give you more?”

Jungkook considered, tilting his head as he looked at his prettiest treasure. “I like alpha’s gifts.”

Jin laughed and ran a hand through Jungkook’s hair. “If you tell anyone else that, you’ll wake up to your nest looking like a dragon’s hoard. You’ll never escape the gold and jewels and everything else.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened and he looked up at him. “You know about dragons?”

“Do you?”

“One of my bestest books was about dragons. Someone took it a few years ago, even though hyung said it wasn’t worth anything at all.”

Jin pet his hair again. “I don’t know that we have any books about dragons, but we can let Namjoonie know to look for some. He’d love to read to you, you know?”

Jungkook frowned a little, leaning into his touch. “Waste of time.”

“Nothing is a waste of time when it’s with you, my Koo. Don’t worry about that.”

Jungkook would worry about it, but he knew better than to question alphas. He didn’t really want to question alphas, anyways, especially not his. 

“I don’t understand a lot,” he admitted, though they probably already knew. “Even if alpha-hyung doesn’t mind, it might be a little bit useless. I don’t—I’m not smart like alpha-hyung. Any alpha hyungs.”

“You’re smart enough, baby doll. We have too many big brains in our pack, we need someone who doesn’t need to think about all the problems in the world. We need a sweet boy who dreams of dragons and likes being cuddled and getting presents from the alphas who love them.”

Jungkook couldn’t stop the whole body shiver that ran through him, and Jin clearly noticed. He stilled, but kept Jungkook close, waiting for him to give some sort of hint about what he felt. His scent had muted itself as soon as he heard the words come out, but Jin’s continued to envelope him like comfort embodied.

He hadn’t questioned it before, even though they’d said it, even though he’d come to Jin seeking it out. But now—Jin sounded so genuine and they were all alone, and Jin hadn’t gotten mad at him even a little bit, even when he was a silly, stupid omega.

“Love?” he whispered a moment later.

“Love,” Jin agreed easily. “How could we not love our omega? How could we not love our Koo?”

Jungkook’s foot bounced again, an absentminded bunny kick as he thought. “Alphas haven’t known me for many days.”

“And yet it feels like we’ve known you forever.”

Jungkook didn’t remember much of what had happened that first day, when they’d found him locked away in his nest. He remembered being scared, then not being scared, then alphas being so nice and kind and not mean at all, even though they’d been plenty mean to his brother and he knew better than to expect them to not be mean to him. But a tiny whisper of a memory broke through, when Hoseok had said something about how he was meant to be theirs. It had been comfort then, as strange as that comfort felt in his tummy. And now, after only a few days, really, just a week—

“Meant to be yours?” he asked, and he knew what Jin would say.

Honeysuckle bloomed and Jungkook’s scent finally rose to meet it, making the room a nice spring garden perfect for a picnic and a nap and a dream.

“Yes. You were meant to be ours, Jungkook-ah. Don’t you think so?”

“Was waiting for alpha-hyungs, I think,” he agreed quietly. “I didn’t know it til you got me. Was waiting to be yours.”

Jin hugged him close again, kissing his hair before loosening his hold so he could look into Jungkook’s eyes again. “You know, we were waiting to be yours, too. I can’t imagine another omega—”

Jungkook’s scent soured immediately, a pursed-lip scowl appearing without his say-so. Jin just laughed, giving his slightly-wrinkled nose a pinch.

“See? If you weren’t ours and if we weren’t yours, I don’t think you’d care about the thought nearly as much. But you don’t have to worry about that at all, little omega. You’re the only one for us.”

“Only,” Jungkook insisted, scowl turning into a pout. “Right?”

Jin laughed again. “Yes, baby. Our only omega. The only omega we need and the only one we want. So how could we not love you? We loved you since the second we met, it’s only growing and growing every day.”

Jungkook thought it over before nodding. “I love alphas.”

It was Jin’s turn to bloom now, even more than before. “Yeah?”

Jungkook nodded. “Uh-huh. Love alpha-hyungs. Love being yours.”

“I don’t—” Jin took a breath before clutching him almost painfully close. “I don’t understand how anyone can be as sweet as you, pretty thing. How are you so perfect, hm?”

“Perfect for alphas. Nobody else.”

Jin laughed. “For alphas and nobody else. That’s right.”

There were things he wanted to ask Jin, and they weren’t even silly things, not really. He kissed the necklace around his wrist, just a brush of his lips, and he wondered if they would ever do the same to him. He wondered if he would ever have a bite on his neck like the omegas in his romance books. He wondered if they’d take him like he’d been so scared of that first night. He wondered if it would hurt or if his suspicions that it might hurt but be maybe-good would be true. 

He had questions about kisses and about mating and about all kinds of other things, but just as he opened his mouth to ask them, a voice from downstairs called out “My babies! I have treats!” and all questions disappeared in favor of running to greet Taehyung at the door and let the alpha feed him the way they all loved to do.

Jin yelped his disapproval when Jungkook abandoned him in favor of treats and praise from another alpha, but he followed him downstairs, if just to scold Taehyung for calling him baby and stealing his omega away.

Thoughts of kisses and mating and hurt were chased away with the taste of extra-special tanghulu Taehyung fed him as he kneeled happily at his feet, praising him with each bite.

Any thoughts at all disappeared when he gave Taehyung an easy “Love you,” and he was bundled into the casual nest Jungkook had built in the living room, covered in alpha-scent and alpha-happy and alpha-love.

-

As silly as Jungkook was, he wasn’t silly enough to not have moments of sober self-reflection. It wasn’t the first time it had happened; usually he would cuddle up in his only-Jungkook-nest, safe in Namjoon’s former library, and feel all the bad feelings that the alphas seemed to keep at bay take over. They didn’t usually happen when alphas were there.

Namjoon was the only one in the room, and Jungkook didn’t know if that was the best case or worst case scenario. Jungkook had been invited to sit at Namjoon’s feet—coaxed like a puppy with teasing clicks of Namjoon’s tongue and pats on his lap, which Jungkook blushed bright at but still crawled forward with a pretty happy tinge to his scent. The alpha absently pet his hair now, reading his book aloud because Jin had hinted to him that Jungkook would like it, and Namjoon had latched onto the idea eagerly.

He tried to pay attention to Namjoon’s words, but the pleasant deep lull of his voice was all he really heard. It was soothing, but not soothing enough to stifle the thoughts building up in Jungkook’s head.

He only noticed that Namjoon stopped reading when his hand stilled on his hair. Namjoon was looking down at him when Jungkook glanced up with a pout on his lips that he expected to go unseen. He startled enough at the attention to straighten his expression out, but Namjoon didn’t chastise him for it, just as he never chastised him for anything ever. But he might now.

“Jungkook-ah?” Namjoon prompted quietly.

Jungkook rolled words in his mouth, not sure which ones to choose or what order to put them in. “Alpha,” he decided on. That word was one of his favorites now.

“Omega,” Namjoon returned with a smile, giving his nose a little tap. “Come sit with me.”

Jungkook liked his place against Namjoon’s legs but he pushed himself up onto the sofa anyways, pressing their sides together just a little, timidly grabbing one of Namjoon’s big hands to play with. Namjoon didn’t rush him. None of them ever rushed them. But he was worried they would rush him into other things, eventually, when they got bored.

“Alpha?”

“Omega?”

Jungkook pursed his lips, focusing on the way Namjoon so patiently let him play feel his fingers and trace the lines of his palm. “Alphas don’t hurt.”

“That’s right,” Namjoon agreed quietly, as he had several times before, whenever Jungkook needed to hear it again and again. “Alphas don’t hurt.”

Jungkook nodded. “Are alphas—” He frowned. That wasn’t quite right. “Will alphas—” That wasn’t right either. But he needed to know something more specific first, more reassuring. “Do alphas want to mate me?”

Namjoon went still, even his hand going rigid in Jungkook’s own until Jungkook whined and Namjoon turned it over to hold his hand properly. “Does omega want us to mate him?”

Jungkook frowned, kicking out a leg. “I asked first.”

Namjoon huffed a laugh, squeezing his hand. “You did. Alphas want to mate you, Jungkook-ah. Of course we do. How could we not?” He brushed his thumb over the back of Jungkook’s hand when he didn’t respond. “How does that make you feel?”

“Good,” Jungkook said immediately, because he was an honest boy, even if he was silly. Maybe he was sillier because of it. “I—I want alphas to want me.”

“It doesn’t sound all the way good, bunny.”

Jungkook pouted at being known. “Scary. Scared. Mating ‘sposed to be—hurt. But alphas don’t hurt.”

“Alphas don’t hurt and alphas won’t hurt. And alphas won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

“But I’m your omega.”

“You are, but you’re our omega already, aren’t you? We haven’t mated and you’re still our omega. Will you answer alpha’s question now, sweetheart?” Jungkook hummed. “Does omega want us to mate him?”

Jungkook thought hard for a moment before nodding, shy but resolute. “Scared,” he said again.

“We won’t do anything at all until our omega wants it, baby. And the second you do—” he brought Jungkook’s hand to his lips, brushing a kiss over his knuckles, “your pack alpha will be the very first.”

Jungkook couldn’t hold back his full-body shiver, nor could he stop himself from looking at Namjoon with wide eyes. He let out a little oing of a noise, because there were no words that could work for everything he felt.

“Omega likes that,” Namjoon said smugly, because there was also no way Jungkook could stifle his scent.

Jungkook could only nod before letting go of Namjoon’s hand and promptly burrowing into his side, ignoring Namjoon’s laugh as he pulled him half onto his lap. “Pack alpha. Alpha-alpha.”

Namjoon’s grin was evident where it was pressed against his neck. “Puppy loves that, doesn’t he? And—” he pressed a kiss to his neck, and another a little lower, and another a little below that, “if my omega wants, I’ll give you my bite right here.”

Jungkook keened, quivering. “Bite?”

“Mm. Make you even more ours. Even more mine. Does my omega want that, hm? Does my pretty boy want alpha’s bite?”

Jungkook didn’t need to think before nodding quickly. He reached up to squeeze Namjoon’s shoulder insistently, though, glad when he knew what Jungkook wanted and pressed his smile against his neck—where his bite would be—once more.

“Should be scared,” Jungkook mumbled. His thighs ached as they shook.

“But you’re not.”

“But m’not.”

“Alphas will keep you safe. I think—” he kissed his neck, smugness fading just a little as he held him close, wrapping his arms around his waist. “I think you know that, deep inside. I think you know we really won’t hurt you. I know alphas can be scary, and alphas can be mean and violent and hurt, but never to you. Want to know something, baby? A little secret?”

“Secret?”

“Mm-hm. Alpha’s very own silly dream.” Jungkook made an interested little noise and Namjoon pressed yet another kiss to the crook of his neck. “I wish we had met under better circumstances, so you never had to see us being mean. I know you must have felt so scared when we found you, hm? Our little omega didn’t know what was happening, he didn’t know alphas wouldn’t be mean to him. My silly little secret is that I have a—fantasy, I suppose, a dream, that we would find you before the world fell. We were a pack then, too, did you know? Young and foolish and not nearly as powerful, but we were together, and we loved each other deeply, we were loyal to each other then, just as we are now. I wish we had met you then, ran into you—ah, somewhere innocuous, normal, like a coffee shop or at university or even just on the street. We would know you were ours immediately, of course, just as we knew now. We’d court you like old-fashioned alphas, win your heart, make you want to be ours before we took you home. We’d fall in love together, we’d mate and exchange bites and live together—we never wanted a white picket fence life, but if our omega wanted it, we’d give it to you. If our omega wanted a high-rise in the middle of the city, we’d give it to you. If our omega wanted any life, anywhere, anything—it would be yours. Our choices are more limited now, but—”

Jungkook didn’t realize he was crying until he hiccupped, breath catching in his throat. “Alpha—”

“Oh!” Namjoon fretted, guiding him away from his hiding spot to cup his cheek, looking at him with clear concern. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, baby—”

“Meant to be yours,” Jungkook managed to cry out, Namjoon’s touch so warm as it brushed away his tears. “S’nice, thinking—thinking of—but I was meant to be yours always, maybe even specially now. Meant to be, I’m alpha’s, I’m all of alphas, I want—”

“Anything,” Namjoon promised. “Anything, Jungkook.”

“I want alpha’s bite. I want—I want to feel alpha always, I never want to leave, never want alphas to hurt, want alphas to love me n’want me n’kiss me—”

The press of Namjoon’s lips against his own made him fall silent. It made the world fall silent around him, everything fading into a white noise lull, nothing as important as what he was feeling, what he was experiencing, what alpha was doing, what alpha wanted to do.

It was only when Namjoon’s eyes opened that Jungkook realized he’d been staring at him in wide-eyed shock even as their lips touched.

Namjoon’s laugh was gruff huff in his chest, fondness blooming in his scent. He took Jungkook’s hand and rubbed his wrist with his thumb, a casual and familiar scenting that Jungkook remembered his own parents doing when there had been nothing to stress about and nothing to watch out for except for each other. He remembered wrinkling his nose, ewwing along with his brother, and his parents had just done it again with more exaggerated movements just to tease their sons.

He understood it now. His scent met Namjoon’s, curious and happy, and the alpha smiled.

“You can close your eyes,” Namjoon told him, voice low and warm. “If you’d like to.”

Jungkook closed his eyes immediately and didn’t have to ask with a whine or whimper or pucker for his alpha to kiss him again.

The world faded to complete unimportance again as their lips moved together, with the occasional flick of Namjoon’s tongue against his. Jungkook let him lead, of course. It was his first kiss, or second now, he supposed, he didn’t know what he was doing beyond instinct. And he didn’t want to be in charge, anyways, ever, at all. He wanted Namjoon to take care of him, to protect him, to kiss him, to love him—

He barely realized that Namjoon had pressed him onto the sofa, half his weight on Jungkook as they kissed (Jungkook wasn’t sure it counted as just kissing anymore, though), Jungkook’s legs spread to accommodate him, needy noises coming from his mouth at every other movement, breath all shaky when he caught it in the rare moments their lips parted, everything good, nothing bad, everything perfect—

There was a gasp from the door and Jungkook startled, though he still whined when his own reaction made Namjoon sit up.

He didn’t expect that gasp to come from Yoongi, though. He’d thought it would be Jimin or Taehyung, who seemed to love treating Jungkook like their pet when they weren’t treating him like a friend. Usually it was both at the same time, though. Jungkook loved it. But Yoongi was solid and thoughtful and he was so careful when he tucked Jungkook close when he was working on something Jungkook didn’t understand and so even-keeled when he was teased by the pack, and so unshakeable—

But he seemed shaken now, and not in a bad way. At least Jungkook thought it wasn’t. He was just looking at Jungkook and his very-kissed lips, and Jungkook was looking back at him with a confusing little flurry in his stomach that he didn’t understand until Namjoon pet his hair and asked, “Do you want your Yoongi-alpha to kiss you, too, baby?”

Jungkook nodded quickly but gripped Namjoon’s arms before he could move off him. He liked how heavy Namjoon was. He liked being pinned down and comfortable and warm and his. Namjoon grinned and settled back down on him, jerking his head to invite Yoongi over.

Yoongi stumbled over like he wasn’t the one controlling his own legs. Jungkook liked confident Yoongi, but he found that he also really, really liked the thought that maybe his alpha wanted to kiss him as much as Jungkook wanted to kiss his alpha and he couldn’t stay all the way in his own mind, just like Jungkook couldn’t.

But when Yoongi kneeled beside the sofa and put his hand on Jungkook’s cheek and led him into a warm, less-than-chaste kiss, there was no sign of anything but confidence, but pride and possession and love. Maybe it was just that Jungkook now considered himself a very experienced omega when it came to kissing, but this one was particularly nice.

What made it more than nice, what pushed it into perfect and thrilling and incredible and insane, was Namjoon pulling Yoongi away by the nape of his neck and kissing him, kissing Yoongi, his alphas kissing above him, letting Jungkook watch with wide eyes as they were much more toothy and much less careful with each other. He knew alphas were together. He knew alphas were affectionate. He knew alphas must—do what alphas do. But to see it right there, something so much more intense than touches on their lower backs or the occasional peck on the cheek—

He could only just bring himself to feel self-conscious about the veritable wave of slick that poured out of him, the scent of it settling on his tongue almost immediately. He couldn’t run away, pinned under Namjoon. It made his heart race, thumping rabbit-fast, a whimper escaping him when both alphas looked at him with knowing eyes, because of course they could sense it, of course they could smell it, of course they could feel his pulse under his touch, see it on his neck—

But “You’re okay,” was what Yoongi said. He put a hand on Namjoon’s hip to keep him from moving to let Jungkook up, and Jungkook was amazed, because how did Yoongi know that was exactly what he needed even if his heart was threatening to leap out of his chest? Namjoon was watching him carefully, but not like a predatory alpha who wanted to see the source for himself. He was watching like he was Jungkook’s protector, his hyung, his alpha who cared.

Jungkook whimpered and Namjoon pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay. Alphas are here.”

“Alphas here,” Jungkook breathed. He wondered if the color of his cheeks matched the heat he felt in them. “I—” He couldn’t put any words together, at least not coherently. Did he want to say he was sorry? He wasn’t sure what else he should want to do, but that certainly wasn’t it.

“It’s okay, Jungkookie. You’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” he repeated, a quiet mumble. “N-not—not bad?”

Namjoon cooed, kissing his lips briefly, reassuringly. “No, baby. You’re not bad at all. You’re so good for us, really, aren’t you? Letting alphas know you want them. We like when you’re happy, baby, you know that. This is just another happiness.”

“‘Nother happiness,” Jungkook repeated. He wasn’t sure if he believed it at first, but then— “M’happy.”

Namjoon looked at him like he had said the most magical thing on earth, his golden skin glowing even more than usual, his sharp eyes warm. “Are you really, Jungkook-ah?”

Jungkook thought hard, making sure. He didn’t want to lie to alpha. Every thought led right to the same conclusion. “Uh-huh. M’happy.”

Namjoon kissed him again and Jungkook didn’t flinch at the slick that joined the rest, though he now sure his cheeks were as pink as he had worried given the chuckle Yoongi let out, followed by the gentle stroke of his temple.

“Like being kissed,” Jungkook confessed when Namjoon stopped kissing him enough to do so, and Namjoon immediately kissed him again until Yoongi scoffed and shoved his shoulder, claiming Jungkook’s mouth for his own.

“I’m glad,” Yoongi said between soft brushes of their lips. “Our omega is going to be kissed a lot.”

(It was only when Yoongi grumbled that he can’t eat if he was being kissed that made the other alphas pull away from him at all. As soon as they discovered this new permitted way to show their affection, Jungkook found himself surrounded on all sides, going between happy, giggly pecks and messy, inexperienced make-outs.

“You’re only saying that because you got to kiss him more,” Jimin had grumbled back, but tugged Jungkook onto his lap and kissed him between each bite.)

-

Another week later, alphas had not hurt him. Two weeks, alphas hadn’t hurt. Three weeks—

Jungkook didn’t think before plopping himself down in Jin’s lap, nuzzling against his shoulder until Jin acquiesced and tilted his head to give Jungkook unfettered access to his neck. Jin just wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. He pressed a hand against his tummy as he liked to do, making sure he was gaining enough weight. He was too skinny, he’d said many, many times before. He was only just becoming well-fed enough for Seokjin’s tastes.

“Needy boy,” he teased, giving Jungkook’s side a tickle.

Jungkook didn’t argue. He nodded and scented him restlessly. He had thought about going to one of the others because he knew what his Jinnie-alpha’s reaction would be, but his omega made him shy away from everyone else he passed on his way to find him. Jin might baby him, but his omega was sure he would be able to fix it.

“Tummy hurts,” he admitted, mouthing at his scent gland. It made his tummy feel better. Settle down a little bit.

Jin froze before pulling him out of his favorite place, frowning even when Jungkook whined at the loss. “Ah, baby—how long has it hurt?”

Jungkook shrugged, trying to subtly lean back into his neck but stopped by a stern hand on his sternum to keep him from it.

“Omega.”

There was a hint of an alpha command in his voice; Jungkook could have obeyed it with another shrug, but he pouted and answered truthfully. “Few hours. Not bad, but—but doesn’t feel right.”

“Is it something you ate? Does anything else feel off?”

Jungkook shook his head, looking longing at Jin’s neck as his alpha-hyung tutted, asking questions mostly to himself. When he felt Jungkook’s forehead with the back of his hand, though, he froze. Jungkook forced his eyes from his neck to trill questioningly at him.

“You’re running a little hot,” he muttered. He trailed his hand down to feel Jungkook’s pulse below his jaw, brows furrowing deeper and deeper. He felt Jungkook’s lymph nodes, found nothing unusual, and traced under them to find his scent glands and—

Jungkook whined without even meaning to, head lolling submissively. That helped. The nice pressure, his scent releasing, his alpha claiming him even a little.

Jin watched his face and Jungkook blinked slowly at him, doing his best to plead without pleading.

“Omega,” Jin started, no alpha command but also no nonsense. “When was your last heat?”

Jungkook’s eyes went wide, the haze that had begun to quickly cover his mind clearing all at once. “Oh.”

“When?”

“Five months ago,” he answered, his own voice sounding a little distant. “I forgot.”

Jin raised his brows. “You forgot?”

“I’ve been busy!” Jungkook defended. 

Jin huffed a laugh when he realized he was right. Jungkook had been ‘busy’ with six new alphas who left him alone only when Jungkook asked very politely for them to do so (or closed and locked the door to his nest room, formerly Namjoon’s smaller library, yelling from behind it that he wants to nap by himself please, only for him to come drag someone else into his nest barely half an hour later).

“How often do your heats usually come, baby?”

Jungkook worried at his lip. “Every four months. I’ve never—I’ve never been late before.”

“Okay,” Jin said easily, like Jungkook couldn’t scent the anxiety that was building up in his scent. 

He frowned. His alpha hyung shouldn’t be anxious. He whined and took advantage of Jin’s distraction to nuzzle his way into his neck again, lapping at his scent gland reassuringly. “Alpha.”

“Okay.” Jin took a deep breath. “Okay. We should—I should—”

“Should cuddle me.”

“Should cuddle you,” Jin agreed, for lack of another idea of how to make it better. 

There wasn’t really a way, though, especially so early on. Usually Jungkook just took naps and drank an herbal tea he saved for heats and heated up water for the hot water bottle he’d managed to keep over the years.

Hopefully, he added, “‘Nd tell Taehyungie-alpha to make me tea.”

“And tell—” Jin covered Jungkook’s ears before yelling, “Taehyung-ah!”

Jungkook kissed Jin’s scent gland as he called their alphas to do his bidding. Taehyung got tea, Yoongi got blankets, Hoseok got a soothing broth, and Jimin—Jimin got Namjoon.

“Little omega,” Namjoon said when he came in, and it took nothing else to send Jungkook straight into heat.

“Namjoon!” Yoongi scolded, and Namjoon had the mind to be at least a little contrite. 

Jungkook’s body had been preparing itself for heat without him even noticing, and that was the only reason skipping noticeable preheat didn’t hurt. He had already been primed to slick up liberally, had already become more lax and pleasantly foggy, and even he usually cramped horribly, especially during the first wave, it barely even hurt. Or maybe he just had a very compelling distraction.

“Alpha,” Jungkook called out, and everything that wasn’t Namjoon disappeared from his vision.

It seemed that Jungkook was the only one in Namjoon’s world, too. His alpha came close with deliberate slow steps, watching Jungkook’s face for any sign that he should stop. Jungkook, of course, gave no sign at all, letting out a quiet trill that spurred him on just the tiniest bit faster.

Any other time, the other alphas would have put up at least a little bit of a fuss or fight, if only for the fun of it. But Jimin and Taehyung stayed silent, he felt Hoseok and Yoongi’s eyes on the side of his face, Jin held his waist but with almost-lax hands that would voluntarily let him if their pack alpha demanded it.

He didn’t have to demand it, though.

Jungkook’s legs shook as he stood, never looking away from his alpha’s intense eyes. They were dragon-like on the best days, even when they were filled with warmth as he looked at his pack or self-depracating embarrassment after tripping down the same stairs he’d taken every day for however many years. But now—

His dragon eyes were filled with want, and Jungkook wanted him right back.

“Do you remember what we talked about, little omega?” Namjoon asked, voice low.

Jungkook nodded shallowly, breath catching in his chest. 

(They’d talked a lot, about a lot of things. But there was a conversation that had led to “Alpha will mate you and give you his bite when your heat hits, Jungkook-ah, if you’d like that,” and Jungkook had come in his pants and ran to blush and shower and change before coming back and confidently saying, “Yes, alpha. I want that,” and pretending Namjoon’s charmed and charming grin didn’t nearly make him come all over again.)

“And do you still want it?”

Jungkook nodded again, quicker and more confidently. He tried to say “Want it,” but it probably came out garbled or hoarsely or not at all, but Namjoon seemed to understand.

“Nest,” he did manage to say, because sure, alpha’s attention was important, but it would be so much better in his nest. “Nest,” he repeated more insistently. 

Namjoon took his hand and walked him down the hall, up the stairs, the rest of the pack following, prowling silently like obedient, watchful wolves. Jungkook huffed when Namjoon stopped in front of Jungkook’s nest room, though. Did he think they’d all fit in there the way Jungkook wanted them to? Sure, they could, but he needed space, he needed to work them into the borders and walls and have them stand guard and all fit. And maybe he hadn’t actually realized he was doing it at all, thinking he was in a dream, but when he tugged Namjoon further down the hall into his own room, the nest he’d very lovingly constructed in his dream was really there.

Namjoon paused in the doorway for just a moment before letting out a laugh. “My omega has been busy.”

And though Jungkook knew it was a good nest, a perfect nest, he looked at him expectantly.

“You built such a nice nest for us, Jungkookie. You wanted to be in alpha’s bed, hm?”

Jungkook hadn’t been in alpha’s bed before, not really. He’d slept with the others sometimes, and sometimes Namjoon would be there, and sometimes Namjoon would pet his hair or rub his back or pretend to not laugh when Jungkook bundled himself up to his chest with his nose twitching like a puppy’s as he took him in. But in Namjoon’s bed—? And yet, building a nest there, uninvited, with only some of his usual nesting materials and instead using stolen (and freely given) items from the rest of the pack—it felt natural. He was meant to be there. He was Namjoon’s omega.

And he would be, for real. He’d be his and nobody could ever, ever, ever take him from them, and he’d be all of his alphas’ but he’d be his alpha-alpha’s and—

“Baby,” Namjoon half-choked when Jungkook stripped his clothes off clumsily, throwing them to the side. He’d been naked in front of them before, because they liked bathing him and dressing him and making sure he was okay when he skinned his knee in the garden or bruised a hip on the counter. They’d seen his sensitive nipples (had played with them, over his shirt), they’d pet his soft tummy, they’d patted his clothed ass, they’d seen his pussy even though he whined when they asked if they could touch him there because it still felt like too much, too embarrassing. He turned away in the shower to clean himself even if it didn’t do much to hide him, but the way their scents spiked at even the barest glance at his dusty rose lips kept him from feeling too self-conscious or worried that maybe they wouldn’t think he was good enough.

So they’d seen glances, but never this.

Jungkook presented for Namjoon like he’d done it every night for as long as he could remember, as if it wasn’t the very first time. His chest pressed against Namjoon’s bed, face near the pillow that held Namjoon’s scent the very most, ass in the air, legs spread, his most special, sweet, intimate place on display, his pretty petals still shyly closed, not revealing the shiny pink at the center, but so brazenly, wantonly out there—

Namjoon’s reaction didn’t disappoint.

The scent of alpha, need, want flooded the room from all directions. From the alphas on either side of the nest, watching with a keen eye and careful to not disturb Jungkook’s carefully-constructed barrier; from the alphas standing at Namjoon’s side, just a step back, deferring to their pack alpha even when, if Jungkook let himself look, he could see the obvious bulge that he’d averted his eyes from before; from Namjoon himself, stronger than all the rest, overpowering even Jungkook’s favorite Jin-honeysuckle, even the Taehyung-petrichor that was closest to his nose.

Namjoon wanted to fuck him. Jungkook could tell, from his scent and eyes and stance and everything. Namjoon wanted to mate him. Namjoon wanted to—

“Claim me,” Jungkook begged, clinging to the sheets desperately, needing to hold something but mostly needing to hold Namjoon, and he couldn’t do that until he was close enough. “Mate me, alpha. Bite me. Claim me.”

“My omega,” Namjoon said, and from then on, everything was a blur.

Jungkook taking Namjoon’s cock as easy as anything, like his body was made just for him, just for Namjoon, just for pack alpha, made to be mated and claimed and marked by Jungkook’s alpha, the knot that stretched his cunt and made him make an absolute mess of the sheets, even more than his slick already had, felt like a key for a lock Jungkook hadn’t even known was locked, hadn’t known the key was missing at all.

Except—it wasn’t just made for Namjoon, because his alphas took him one by one, claiming him, mating him, marking him on the other side of his neck. His right side was for Namjoon’s bite, and Namjoon’s only. But his left held overlapping marks, deep indents of teeth, marking him forever and ever and ever. He took their come, he took their knots, he took their bites; he took his own, too, his smaller teeth even sharper where they sank into their necks and left his own mark on them, just as forever-and-ever-and-ever as his own. He was theirs, they were his, he was pack, everything was right.

He’d never had a heat like that (of course he hadn’t, he hadn’t spent his heat with anyone, it was a brand new experience and one Jungkook would always remember, no matter how pleasantly foggy his memories of most of it were). He’d always cramped terribly, he’d always cried from how empty he felt, from how alone and sad and in pain he was, from how he never knew it could be better. But now—

“Didn’t hurt,” he mumbled, spreading his legs pliantly as Yoongi took his turn cleaning his cunt, checking him for tears with deft fingers and soothing his stretched rim (rims, because he’d begged them to take him there too, and he hadn’t even known that was something he could beg for) with cold salve and comforting pets. He was sure he’d said it before, because it was still so surprising, even though alphas had never hurt.

He was sure the bites hurt, they had to. But they didn’t feel like it. They felt like immediate belonging, immediately natural, a dull, pleasant ache like after he ran laps in their large garden with Namjoon. He’d had his wrists caught in an alpha’s stern grip more than once over the past few days when he reached up to poke at them just to feel the pleasant spike of happy ouch again.

Yoongi asked him everything they asked every time they cleaned him and checked him over. Does this hurt, does that hurt, do you feel sore here, or here, or here, does baby feel another wave coming on, does omega need anything, does Jungkookie want pack alpha to knot him again or can we have a turn, on and on. 

No and no, yes, no, yes, and this time—Jungkook frowned and shook his head.

“No?” Yoongi asked, crooking his fingers and raising his brows when it drew nothing but a quiet little gasp from Jungkook. He took his fingers out and licked them clean, humming as he popped them out of his mouth. “You don’t taste as heady.”

“Good?”

Yoongi laughed and kissed his ankle before standing, sitting between his legs to rub his tummy and give him pleasant scritches above his pussy. Jungkook’s cocklet barely twitched. “Good, silly omega. The tastiest in the world.”

Namjoon’s arms tightened around Jungkook, a single loud snore going directly into Jungkook’s ear. Jungkook just giggled and lifted his hips so Yoongi would renew his pets and scritches. If his pack alpha was sleeping so deeply, he was sure his heat really was ending. He’d been so attentive the whole time, sensing the next wave before Jungkook could, somehow knowing exactly what Jungkook wanted to eat before he knew himself, what he needed to hear, what would make him feel at ease. Namjoon was the perfect alpha, the perfect pack alpha, the perfect mate.

Jungkook reached up to prod his bite and Yoongi caught his hand before he could do it, only raising a brow at Jungkook’s petulant whine. 

“Want alpha scent me,” Jungkook pouted, like it was what he had been after all along. 

Yoongi knew it wasn’t, of course, but it was still a demand that was impossible to ignore. Much to Jungkook’s giggly delight, he kept hold of Jungkook’s wrists but leaned down to pepper kisses onto Jungkook’s thigh, nuzzling into the sensitive crook between his leg and crotch, cheek pressing against the reddened and pleasantly-raw skin of his lips. It wasn’t a traditional scenting, necessarily, but it sent a flurry of giddiness through Jungkook at the thought of carrying more alpha-scent so intimately.

“Alpha,” he giggled, spreading his legs more.

Yoongi grumbled and let go of his wrists to pull them back together, encasing his head more. He grabbed his hands again before Jungkook could finish sneaking them up to his neck. He hummed contentedly to himself as Yoongi scented him thoroughly in between kisses, nosing at his cocklet as he moved to scent the other side.

Jungkook was spent. He could go again if alphas wanted, but he felt a surge of relief when it only twitched a tiny bit in response. “Alpha.”

Yoongi hummed and kissed it again before looking up.

“Want kisses, too. These ones,” he puckered his lips.

Yoongi laughed Jungkook’s favorite Yoongi-laugh, all gummy and happy. He crawled up his body and Jungkook wrapped his arms and legs around him as soon as he could, kissing him eagerly. He was still inexperienced (or, as Taehyung insisted just to make him pout, naturally messy) but it made it all the more thrilling. It still felt brand new, even though he had a month’s worth of kisses by now.

“Is it over?” Jimin mourned when he came back to the nest at Jungkook’s eager beckon, his nose twitching as he took in the already-fading musk of the room.

“You’re saying that like he won’t be our needy baby out of heat, too.” Yoongi snapped his teeth at Jimin when the alpha nudged him out of the way to claim half of Jungkook’s chest for himself, only brushing Jungkook’s nipple once before stopping at his high-pitched whine. He didn’t need to say it was too sensitive to be pleasant for Jimin to know.

“Mm, I guess you’re right,” Jimin sighed, kissing Jungkook’s jaw before settling down. Jungkook liked being small and tiny and cute and omega, but he also really, really liked being big enough to be alpha-hyungs’ pillow. “I love our needy baby.”

“I do, too,” Yoongi agreed, as if he didn’t hear Jungkook’s “I’m not that needy” from under him. “And now, we’ll be able to love him in the garden and feed him sweets and fuck him while he’s coherent if he lets us—”

“Let you,” Jungkook agreed immediately. “Want. Let you.” He paused. “Not now.”

Yoongi laughed. “Not for a few days at least, little omega, whether you want us to or not. We need to give your pretty little cunt time to recover.”

Jungkook squirmed a little. “Pretty?” he prompted.

Yoongi laughed again, reaching up to tug his hair. “The prettiest, baby. The cutest, sweetest, yummiest cunt this world has ever seen. There will never be another as pretty as yours.”

Jungkook squirmed again, now content. “Pretty.”

Namjoon made himself known as he woke, shoving his alphas with no regard for how they crashed into each other as he pulled Jungkook close, claiming him for himself. 

Jungkook laughed, scent blooming into something bright and delighted. “Alpha-alpha.”

“My mate,” Namjoon said, voice deep with sleep and pack alpha possessiveness.

Jungkook wriggled because he couldn’t keep himself still. He needed to get at least a little energy out. “Mate.”

“He’s our mate, too, you know,” Jimin said.

Namjoon pointedly ignored him.

Hoseok came in just in time to squawk “Do not! Bite him again, Kim Namjoon!” Maybe Jungkook should have felt odd about the way Hoseok smacked Namjoon away, maybe he should have seen it as a challenge of power, but all he saw was his alphas being his alphas and his alphas loving each other and his alphas loving him.

His scent bloomed even more as he went a little foggy, entering an unexpected last wave of heat, one that didn’t demand more attention than every-alpha cuddles that were easily acquired with a single trill. Maybe he was that needy.

“Alpha,” Jungkook whispered to Namjoon when Hoseok had finished jostling him. “Maybe if we’re really quiet, you can bite me and they won’t notice.”

Jungkook lost himself in his own little whirlwind of giggles and laughs as he was tickled and cuddled and kissed and teased, each of his pack members loving on him simultaneously and in turns, so smooth and perfectly that it seemed natural, like they’d been doing the same thing for years and years and not a matter of weeks.

He couldn’t imagine that it was possible for it to get better, but—he was more than willing to give it time to see.