Archive of Our Own

Yoongi sat on his couch, folding his shirts onto the coffee table when he heard a rattling at his door. The senior glanced over at the clicking of the knob unlocking, which let him know exactly who was entering since only one person had the spare key.

Sure enough, Taehyung came trudging through the threshold, closing the door and dropping the keys in the dish. He clomped over to Yoongi as the omega paused his show and put his laundry basket down from the couch to make room.

“Hey.” Yoongi greeted the alpha. “How’d it go?”

Taehyung sighed and plopped down on the sofa with Yoongi, resting his head on the omega’s lap.

“Exactly how I’d hoped it wouldn’t.” Taehyung gave another heavy sigh.

“I’m guessing he professed his feelings for you?”

“Yup.” Taehyung huffed while Yoongi acted as a stand-in psychologist, his worn-down sofa being Taehyung’s therapy couch. “This is why I’ve given up on making friends with other omegas.”

“What was it this time?” Yoongi asked, gently carding his fingers through the alpha’s hair.

“He said he figured I liked him since I held the door open for him a few weeks ago and helped him down from the bus.” Taehyung explained. “I don’t understand. I’m just being nice? This is why I get so fed up with my instincts, but I can’t help it, and these omegas always put me in positions where I end up taking care of them. I don’t run into this problem with any other subgender, just omegas.”

“It’s because you’re an alpha, and they probably have shitty experiences with them.” Yoongi pointed out.

“But you have bad experiences with alphas too, and you don’t go falling for the few that are nice.” Taehyung refuted.

No, Yoongi didn’t go falling for any alpha that was nice to him, because he was already hopelessly devoted to the one currently sprawled out on his couch.

“That’s kind of different. I don’t have any interest in dating alphas.” Yoongi lied.

Taehyung accepted the fabrication as fact, however, simply closing his eyes and letting himself sink further into Yoongi’s couch. 

“This is why you’re the only omega I can be friends with.” Taehyung said with a tired breath. “I haven’t met a single omega, and hardly any alphas, that don’t want a traditional relationship. It’s so stupid.”

Yoongi’s eyes traveled from Taehyung’s hair to the coffee table before them, adorned with a couple succulents and crocheted coasters the alpha had gifted him.

“Yeah.” Yoongi said, his eyes locked on the prickles of the cactus. “It is.”

Once Taehyung got all his grievances out, he found it in himself to grin up at the omega. “At least we have each other, and our backup plan.”

Taehyung was referring to their deal to get married for tax write-offs if they didn’t find a mate by the time they turned forty. The alpha had an amused look on his face, and Yoongi tried to match his energy, but he couldn’t do it as convincingly. It’s true, he hated hanging out with alphas and Taehyung was the only one he’d managed to maintain a platonic relationship with. Only, it wasn’t platonic—not to Yoongi. But Taehyung could never know that.

“Yoongi?” Taehyung’s deep voice pulled Yoongi out from his head and back into the moment. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Yoongi cleared his throat. “Just have something on my mind.”

“Are you stressed about your exam?” Taehyung asked, because of course he remembered about Yoongi’s exams—and anything Yoongi ever told the alpha. Taehyung was an extremely attentive friend.

“Yeah, it’s been hard to get sleep. I think I’m just a little tired.”

Taehyung laughed lightly, sitting up and scooting closer to the omega. “Why didn’t you say you were having trouble sleeping? I can calm you down.”

Yoongi had to focus with all his might not to blush as he knew what was coming. “I didn’t want to add more onto your plate.”

Taehyung gave a warm smile. The kind that made all omegas, including Yoongi, melt. Yoongi had just reached an expert level of hiding it.

“First of all, I will always make enough time for you. Second of all, it takes two seconds.” Taehyung said, motioning Yoongi to scoot closer. “Come here.”

The gentle command had Yoongi swallowing nervously. He got closer to Taehyung, the alpha placing his hand on the back of Yoongi’s head and pressing his face into the omega’s neck, scenting him with calming pheromones and instantly relaxing him. Yoongi’s eyes went droopy as Taehyung released him, an endeared smile on his face at seeing the omega so sleepy.

“You should go to bed now.” Taehyung said, beginning to stand up when Yoongi shook his head, not wanting the alpha to leave.

“Just lemme finish this last episode.” Yoongi made up a weak excuse to stay with Taehyung longer, relieved when it worked.

“Alright, one last episode and then it’s bedtime for you.”

The omega sank back into the couch and pressed play, his heavy eyelids hardly capable of muscling through another five minutes before he was out cold. The last thing he remembered was the scent of Taehyung’s chest as the alpha lifted Yoongi in his arms and carried the omega to his room, placing him in bed and tucking him in.

“Goodnight, Yoongi.” Taehyung whispered, raking the omega’s bangs out of his face before exiting, taking the spare keys with him as he went home

Even in his delirious, half asleep state, Yoongi felt butterflies from the action, and he knew wholeheartedly that he would be dreaming about the alpha all night.

❃°•°❀°•°❃

“You look well rested.” Jimin commented. “Did Taehyung put you to bed?”

Of course that’s the first question asked following a comment about Yoongi looking not tired for once. The only time he ever slept exponentially well was when Taehyung scented him before bed.

“Yeah. He came over after he hung out with that omega from his class.” Yoongi said, pulling up a chair to sit next to Jimin at the counter. “He confessed his feelings for Taehyung, so Tae was venting about it.”

“You ought to start charging that guy for playing intern therapist.” Jimin shook his head.

“You weren’t much better.” Yoongi pointed out to the younger omega with an arched brow.

“Okay, I was a little picky, but nothing like him. I just wanted to find the right person.” Jimin defended himself, leaning against Jungkook. “So far, the only thing Taehyung seems to know is what he doesn’t want—which is all omegas. That leaves a pretty wide range of selection to choose from, and yet he’s never satisfied with anyone.”

“Do you think he’s aromantic?” Jungkook asked.

“I don’t know, possibly? Or he just has a very specific type of person he’s looking for and he doesn’t even know what it is.” Yoongi shrugged, causing his friends to happily segue into the next topic.

“Well, speaking of trying to find what you’re looking for—”

“For the love of god, please stop trying to set me up.” Yoongi groaned, already rubbing his temple from what was sure to be a headache after another round of this.

“Come on, Yoongi! This one is different.”

“Jimin, you say that every time.” Yoongi side eyed him. “And every time I end up texting you to call me and pretend there’s an emergency so I can get out of there.”

“Okay, but I swear this guy is better.” Jimin promised, receiving an unimpressed look from the older. “C’mon, Yoongi! Most people have found who they’re gonna mate by now. Graduation is just around the corner and you haven’t even dated someone longer than a few months. I’m just trying to save you from eternal loneliness.”

“That’s extremely dramatic.” Yoongi rolled his eyes. “I’ve tried, I just don’t like any of the people here.”

Actually, he did like one person. In fact, he was in love with that one person, which is why it was so impossible to date anyone else as long as Yoongi was around said person he had unrequited love for.

“Well you’re gonna have even less to pick from after you graduate, so might as well at least choose someone to try and leave this place with, even if you break up a few months down the line.” Jimin told him.

Yoongi sighed, looking at each of them with an unamused look. “You already set us up on a blind date, didn’t you?”

“I promise you’ll like him!” Jimin insisted, pulling out his phone to show pictures of yet another potential suitor. “He’s in your grade, and he’s majoring in engineering.”

Yoongi huffed and sat prisoner while Jimin and Jungkook crowded around him, explaining the blind date that the omega had zero interest in attending, but knew he had to in order to get his friends off his back.

The omega was practically crawling to freedom after multiple hours of Jungkook and Jimin trying to convince Yoongi to go on the blind date. Once he was out of the complex and on his way back to his own apartment, Yoongi shoved his hands in his pockets and counted the lines on the sidewalk as he went along.

The words of his friends rang in his head:

“You’re a catch Yoongi, anyone would be lucky to be with you!”

“You’ve gotta find someone before you graduate, what’s kept you from even going on a second date for your entire college experience?”

“If you stopped wasting all your days playing therapist for Taehyung, you’d have time to go on your own dates!”

“Sooner or later Taehyung will get a mate, and you don’t want to be the last single one of your friends!”

These words might have felt superficial if they weren’t so true. Jimin had been his best friend since elementary school, and he knew Yoongi wanted to find a forever partner. The omega would never disclose that information to Taehyung for fear of sounding pathetic, but he did indeed want to be with someone forever. 

The only problem is that Yoongi had found someone he wanted to be with forever, and that someone would be so disappointed if he knew about it.

Yoongi let out a deep breath, kicking a pebble on the pavement and watching it bounce into the grass. As his graduation came up, the omega found himself increasingly thinking back to when he’d first met Taehyung—AKA, the night he first realized he didn’t want to be with anyone else. 

Once Jimin graduated high school and got into the same university as Yoongi, he’d immediately started dragging the sophomore out of his room and bringing him to social events to meet people and make memories. At his first house party, Yoongi had found himself drinking far more than he should have in order to subdue some of his social anxiety, and ended up separated from Jimin and wandering around the house aimlessly. An alpha from his art history club had spotted Yoongi and started following him around, much to the omega’s grievance. He’d known the reputation of that alpha, and he had zero intent to find out whether or not it was true.

The alpha had been negging Yoongi and getting handsy when all of a sudden the omega fell against another alpha. Yoongi had not been all too excited about having a second alpha in his proximity, until he’d turned and looked up to see Taehyung. Even with his blurred vision due to the excess amount of alcohol in his system, Yoongi could tell that Taehyung was by far the most attractive person he’d ever been blessed to lay eyes on.

Yoongi wasn’t quite sure what the interaction between the two alphas was, due to the mixture of Yoongi’s trance with Taehyung’s beauty as well as his intoxicated state of being. Whatever Taehyung had said to the other alpha bothering Yoongi had made him go away, and soon Yoongi could gather that Taehyung was asking him who he came here with and if he needed Taehyung to call a cab for him to get home safely.

Taehyung must have found Jimin because Yoongi only remembered a couple faint snapshots of hanging over the alpha’s shoulder and then waking up on Jimin’s couch. The younger omega had told Yoongi about Taehyung carrying him to Jimin’s the night before, and scolded Yoongi to go thank him. When Yoongi knocked on Taehyung’s door after an hour of asking around for him, and the alpha invited him in, the rest was history.

The pair had quickly become inseparable. Taehyung had apologized if he’d crossed any lines, and Yoongi had thanked him for getting the other alpha to go away. Yoongi—as well as almost everyone who ever came into contact with Taehyung—was immediately enamored with the alpha. 

While Yoongi had never put much thought into who he dated before, after meeting Taehyung, the alpha was all Yoongi could think about. He would fantasize about Taehyung during the day and dream about him at night. He would anxiously check his phone to see if Taehyung had texted him, and he hung onto each and every word that Taehyung said to him.

It didn’t help Yoongi’s delusions that Taehyung seemed just as tied to the omega. He’d quickly found Yoongi to be one of his best friends, and constantly invited Yoongi everywhere. Yoongi had never spent as much time with anyone as he did with Taehyung—even making Jimin jealous of the time Yoongi was spending with someone other than him until the younger omega started dating Jungkook. 

What made it even more complicated was that, despite Taehyung quickly disclosing his detestation for traditional alpha/omega relationships, he is still a good alpha by nature. He would take care of Yoongi and keep him safe just the same as he did their first night together. Even though Taehyung didn’t like omegas putting him in the position to be in charge, the alpha would end up taking on the responsibilities anyway just based on his instincts.

He didn’t posture or brag or try to prove that he was an alpha like so many others did. No, Taehyung was by far the most impressive alpha Yoongi had ever met, and he didn’t even have to try. That’s just how he was, and he hated when omegas took advantage of that part about him.

He’d had countless omegas spend time with him under the guise of friendship, only to find out that they were just looking to date Taehyung…or even more pervasive, ask him to be their heat partner. Yoongi had never seen Taehyung get really angry before, except when an omega sprung a heat partner proposal on the alpha out of nowhere, and Taehyung would storm out and go straight to Yoongi to rant about it.

Yoongi would listen and comfort him, and Taehyung would say he was glad that he knew at least Yoongi would never use him like that. And Yoongi would nod along sincerely, because he did feel bad for Taehyung, and he would never use the alpha like that. But he was lying when he said he’d never fall for Taehyung the way the other omegas do, because he’d fallen for him from the first drunken night that he’d met him.

Taehyung would talk about how much he disliked dating omegas, and he would listen to Yoongi talk about his awful experiences dating alphas and validate him, and Taehyung would constantly express his relief that at least they had each other to share these grievances with and feel confident that no feelings would ever be confused within their friendship.

It was Yoongi’s reserved nature that had saved him from being put in the same omega box Taehyung had placed all his prior negative experiences with. If Yoongi had been bold like Jimin, he probably would have made a move the first day that the alpha invited him in. But Yoongi had been too shy and solemn, and Taehyung had taken that as a sign that Yoongi was a safe omega to keep as a friend. Now, three years later, they were still in the same situation.

The two best friends were attached at the hip, only Yoongi was madly in love with Taehyung, and the alpha was completely oblivious and lived in ignorant bliss that Yoongi would never like him the way that most omegas did. It pierced Yoongi’s heart every time Taehyung talked about how they were on the same page with not wanting a traditional relationship, and it twisted the knife deeper when Taehyung would then talk about who he was dating.

It was never an omega. It would be an alpha girl or a beta man or a submissive alpha man or a powerful beta woman. He’d gone through endless variations, but no matter what, he always steered clear of omegas. The people Taehyung chose to date were always pretty different from one another, but they were never what Yoongi was: an omega.

Yoongi got back to his apartment and flopped onto the couch. Hoseok and Jin were fucking in the room adjacent to Yoongi’s, but he was too mentally drained from playing bachelor to vacate his apartment once again, and opted to plug in his noise canceling earphones to block out the betas while he stared at the cracks in the ceiling. 

He listened to the slow jazz music—a playlist Taehyung had made for them when they took long drives—and closed his eyes, once again letting his mind wander to an imaginary place where Taehyung was driving them off into their future together. He knew it was toxic to himself, he knew that there was no reason he should be putting himself through this pain and suffering. 

If Yoongi had any sense of self-preservation, he would have taken an opportunity to study abroad in any other country for his senior year, and spend the last of his college experience away from the alpha to try and get over him before getting spat out into the real world. He would have taken the blind dates Jimin and Jungkook set him up on seriously, or he would have simply made excuses not to spend as much time with Taehyung as he did.

But he could never do that. He needed Taehyung, his heart called for the alpha, and even though he knew it would break him past the point of repair when Taehyung finally found someone to mate, Yoongi couldn’t let him go yet. It was nearing the end of Taehyung’s college experience too, with only one year left, he knew the alpha would soon take dating more seriously, leaving Yoongi all alone once Taehyung inevitably fell in love and settled down with a mate. 

Yoongi had no business holding onto the time he had left with Taehyung like this—being the reasonable omega he was in every other area of life, but the alpha had too much power over him. Taehyung had no idea that his friendship with Yoongi was secretly the exact prelude of his biggest grievance with omegas, and it was Yoongi’s mission to make sure the alpha would never find out.

No, Yoongi had to simply wait and watch Taehyung date beta after beta, alpha after alpha, and listen as his best friend ventured on repeated quests to find love, all the while chipping off another piece of Yoongi's nearly shattered heart. In the omega’s mind, he was just grateful to cherish the time he still had with Taehyung, and he thanked the universe that his composed nature protected him from revealing his feelings to the alpha so that Taehyung never knew that Yoongi was the exact scenario that he despised: another omega falling for him when he just wanted to be friends.

Yoongi didn’t realize he’d dozed off for a surprisingly long nap until he felt a nudge on his arm. He opened his eyes to find Hoseok leaning over him, his hair damp from showering what Yoongi could only assume was the sweat from being pounded into the mattress by Jin. One glance around the room and Yoongi could deduce that Jin had left, meaning that Hoseok was probably about to ask Yoongi what he wanted to do for dinner.

“Taehyung has been calling you.” Hoseok informed Yoongi, resulting in the omega shooting up and looking over at his phone on the coffee table.

He snatched it up and opened the messages the alpha had sent him, asking if he wanted to go to the crafts store for some new paints and get dinner after.

“Shit.” Yoongi responded immediately with a ‘yeah let’s do it’ before grunting as he sat up. He really ought to be more concerned with how many old man mannerisms he was adopting, but he avoided it for now and just let his friends tease him about it. “Thanks for waking me. Are you okay to do dinner without me?”

“Yeah I’m okay, I’ll go out with Jin when he comes back.” Hoseok told him. “You two are welcome to join us if you want?”

“That’s alright, we’re going to the crafts store first, which most likely means we’ll be stopping at the nursery on the way to wherever we decide on to eat.” Yoongi rubbed his eyes, yawning the sleepiness out of his voice. “You guys will probably be done by the time we’re even on our way to dinner.”

Hoseok nodded and stood out of the way for Yoongi, watching the omega scurry to his room to change. 

Out of all the people in Yoongi’s life, Hoseok was the only one who had the slightest inkling of an idea that the omega felt more for Taehyung than just friendship. Even though Jimin was Yoongi’s childhood best friend, Hoseok was the one who lived with the placid omega. He regularly saw Yoongi’s entire demeanor change the minute Taehyung texted him, and experienced the frantic rush that his typically sluggish roommate had at times when he was getting ready to see Taehyung.

He was also the only one to overhear their conversations, and he listened to Taehyung talk about all omegas except Yoongi in such a negative tone, and he could catch glimpses of Yoongi’s reaction every time Taehyung said he wouldn’t be able to date an omega, and that he was so grateful for the safety of his friendship with Yoongi—the only omega who hadn’t tried to trick him into a relationship.

Hoseok never confronted Yoongi about it, and had no plans to, especially since he could sense the omega’s determination to remain sensible around Taehyung. But he was the only one out of everyone in Yoongi’s life who had caught onto the omega’s unrequited feelings, and he hoped that sooner or later Yoongi would find peace; whether it be from ending up with the alpha, or finally letting him go.

Yoongi rushed out of the apartment and met up with Taehyung at the crafts store twenty minutes later. The alpha had an umbrella in preparation for the rain that was surely on its way to start drizzling, and he greeted Yoongi with a smile.

“Thanks for being down.” Taehyung held the door open for Yoongi.

“Anytime.” Yoongi said casually, though he meant it with every fiber in his being.

“So, remember that alpha girl I told you about?” Taehyung asked as the two walked through the acrylic paints on either side of the aisles.

“Yeah, how’s that going?” Yoongi asked, internally preparing himself for the emotional torment this conversation was going to put him through.

“We went on a sunrise hike this morning.” Taehyung continued. “Turns out she’s into cliff diving too. When we got to the top we impulsively decided to jump into the water instead of climbing back down. It was really fun.”

Yoongi remembered going on that hike with Taehyung. The alpha knew that Yoongi wasn’t a fan of heights, so he would never even dream of bringing up something like cliff diving to the omega. But this girl apparently partook in one of Taehyung’s favorite activities on only their third date.

“That sounds fun. It’s lucky she likes all the same things as you.” Yoongi responded, his eyes glued to his fingers grazing over the paint brush bristles.

Taehyung started telling Yoongi what he’d learned about her, and the things he disclosed to her, and Yoongi just nodded along. He held onto every word the alpha said, even when it hurt him like these words did.

As the pair exited the crafts store with Taehyung’s purchases, Yoongi found himself observing the couples around them on the streets. He glanced over and saw a couple, clearly an alpha and omega. The alpha was on the outer part of the sidewalk, his arm around the omega’s waist. His eyes drifted over to another alpha and omega couple, the alpha sweeping the omega up to carry across a puddle. It wasn’t anything Taehyung didn’t do for Yoongi—actually, Taehyung did both of those things regularly for Yoongi. 

But for Taehyung, it was being a good friend with alpha tendencies. For these couples, they stared into each other’s eyes or huddled into one another with adoration. The looks Yoongi wanted to give Taehyung, but knew he couldn’t.

Yoongi didn’t even realize he was approaching the same puddle until his feet were swept out from under him, and his arms naturally locked around Taehyung’s neck as the alpha carried him across. The omega blushed, trying to act unaffected as Taehyung let his boots get wet so Yoongi’s converse didn’t. 

It was such a natural move for Taehyung to do as an alpha, that he didn’t think anything of it…but it meant everything to Yoongi. The omega fought with every muscle in his face not to expose the giddy smile that nearly forced its presence.

“I think it might work out with her.” 

Yoongi’s tiny bubble of delusion instantly burst the moment Taehyung brought attention to their reality, and there was no longer the threat of the omega’s elation revealing itself as his hopes fell.

“Really?” Yoongi asked in a calm voice as they reached the other side of the street and Taehyung set the omega down.

“Yeah. She’s putting in the same amount of effort as me, without trying to be dominant about it.” Taehyung said. “I think we’re both on the same page in regards to how we feel about traditional relationships.”

“That’s awesome, Tae.” Yoongi commented, his heart breaking as usual as the alpha went on. “I’m glad you’re starting to like someone again.”

“Thanks, Yoongi.” Taehyung grinned down at him. “It’s still early on, but I’m having fun. It’s been a while since I’ve met someone with the same outlook as us.”

Us. 

As usual, when speaking of his disdain for traditional relationships, he looped Yoongi into his belief system. All of Yoongi’s efforts to make Taehyung think he felt the same manifested itself into conversations like this, only, as his time in university neared its end, it became increasingly more painful to keep up the façade with the alpha. True, Yoongi didn’t want to repeat the horrid experiences he’d had dating alphas, and shared that precedent with Taehyung repeatedly, only further validating Taehyung’s beliefs that they were on the same page about traditional relationships.

 The only thing was that there was one alpha Yoongi really, really did want to date, and that alpha disdained romance with omegas just the same as he thought Yoongi disdained romance with all alphas. And, to keep the alpha in his life, Yoongi needed to pretend that was true.

The pair ended up back at Taehyung’s apartment for the alpha to situate his plants and get started on the water coloring book he’d purchased. Taehyung’s boombox was playing the mixtape he’d found at some thrift store, and soon Taehyung passed the water colors off for Yoongi to play with so the alpha could touch up his nail polish. 

Yoongi watched, completely mesmerized as Taehyung painted each nail bed with such precision, not a smidge of polish touching the cuticles around it. He’d gone for alternating indigo and black this time, as opposed to his white and sage green from the week before. Taehyung spoke so casually, and actively listened to Yoongi while managing to keep his painting neat. 

Yoongi felt hypnotized while analyzing Taehyung’s fingers whenever the alpha did anything with them, like painting or knitting or piecing a puzzle together or gently misting his plants, and he secretly envied the alpha’s gentle yet skillful coordination. The one time Yoongi had tried to paint his nails with Taehyung, he’d made a mess all over his fingers and the alpha ended up with a red stain on his weathered coffee table that remained to this day. 

Yoongi had apologized profusely and promised to save up enough money to replace it, but Taehyung had insisted that it added personality, and ended up using the remains of old nail polish to paint a mural onto the wood, as only someone as creative as Taehyung could think to do.

After Taehyung had fed Yoongi ramen and hot cheetos, the two ended up in the alpha’s bed watching some soap opera from the forties. Taehyung had gently transferred all the teddy bears on his bed onto the bean bag in his room to make a place for the two of them as Yoongi pinned up the old sheet on the wall for Taehyung to project the grainy film on.

“That’s the kind of train we’re studying right now in my mechanical engineering class.” Yoongi commented as the main character arrived at the station and awaited her lover. “We’re going on a field trip to some old station that looks exactly like this one.

“You are?” Taehyung asked, rolling his head to the side to see the omega.

“Yeah, next Friday.” Yoongi said with uncertainty. “I honestly think it’s gonna be more of a history lesson than actually studying the machinery, but we’re still going.”

His professor’s last attempt at field work was when the class went to the Titanic museum to learn about the mechanics in early 20th century ships, and ended up with the same tour as a group of second graders on a school field trip, and learned absolutely nothing about the machinery of the sunken ship.

“I’m pretty sure Heather is in your club.” Taehyung commented as he took a sip of his spiked lemonade.

“Heather?” Yoongi’s eyebrows raised. “How do you know her?”

“She’s the alpha I’m seeing.” Taehyung answered, Yoongi feeling it like a blow to his gut. “She didn’t say what class it was for, but she did mention that they were going on a trip this week to some train museum.”

“Oh. Yeah, she’s in my class.” Yoongi cleared his throat, realizing what he needed to do to be a good friend and braced himself for it. “We’re allowed to bring a plus one. I can tell her you’re free if you wanna go with her.”

“What?” Taehyung’s eyebrows knitted together. “But I’m always your plus one.”

“Yeah, but we hang out every day. This could be your chance to spend more time with her.”

It physically pained Yoongi to be setting up an opportunity for Taehyung to enhance his relationship with someone else, but he knew that if he had the chance to make Taehyung happy, he’d do everything within his power to act on it.

“I can take her out on plenty of dates, but your field trips are our thing.” Taehyung insisted. “I’ll be your plus one.”

Yoongi grinned, selfishly grateful that he didn’t have to be alone while Taehyung and Heather were flirting across the room.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to leave you two together on the train and during lunch break.” Yoongi said. “Just try not to die of boredom from the train tours when you’re with me.”

Taehyung just chuckled after taking another sip and glancing over at Yoongi. “As long as I’m with you, I could never be bored.”

He’d said it in reference to their loving platonic status, but it caused Yoongi’s stomach to flip. It lasted for only a moment before the ache of knowing that it didn’t mean the same thing to Taehyung replaced the temporary glee Yoongi initially felt. 

Eventually, the soft music and old fashioned cadence that the characters spoke in sent both of the friends to sleep. As usual, when Taehyung didn’t have his pillows and plushies to cuddle, he ended up latching onto Yoongi. 

It was how every sleepover ended with them, and Yoongi just had to feel Taehyung’s arm around his waist holding him close and remind himself that he could only enjoy this for a few hours before the sun came up. Then, he had to come to terms with the fact that this cuddling only signified Yoongi as a replacement for Taehyung’s regular bed adornments, not that he was the love of Taehyung’s life like the alpha was for Yoongi.

❃°•°❀°•°❃

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize so many people were going that we’d be separated like this.” Yoongi said sheepishly. “I’m sure once we’re there we’ll be able to reconvene.”

The two were squeezed onto a bench on the metro over to the train station, very much separated from Heather. Yoongi had assumed that only a handful of his class would attend, until he realized that the trip counted for extra credit, which explained why this entire metro was filled with grumpy college students

“It’s okay, Yoongi.” Taehyung grinned at him. “I came here for you, not her. We’ll have other opportunities to go on dates.”

It was bittersweet for Yoongi to hear. Taehyung prioritizing him felt gratifying, however, he did remind Yoongi that he was still dating that girl.

The museum took far longer to get to than the omega was anticipating, and after about a half hour, Yoongi’s eyelids started to droop, and he noticed his head nodding forward as he fought his body’s yearn to doze off. There was a gentle nudge on his arm, jostling the omega just enough to look up in the direction of where it was coming from, and found Taehyung’s big, beautiful eyes on him.

“You can sleep on my shoulder.” Taehyung encouraged the omega.

Yoongi glanced around to see if Taehyung’s crush was anywhere near, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. However, Taehyung didn’t seem too bothered by the possibility, as he led Yoongi’s tired head to rest on his shoulder when he could tell what the omega was doing. Yoongi didn’t stand much of a chance when he finally had a familiar place to lay his head, and when Taehyung situated himself so his position was more comfortable for Yoongi, the omega was out almost instantly.

An hour later, Yoongi blinked his eyes open, slightly swollen from napping for that long of a time. He realized he was still on Taehyung’s shoulder, and the omega subtly glanced up to see the alpha looking out the window calmly. His sharp jaw was defined and his honey skin seemed to glow in the sunlight, bringing attention to the perfect highlights in his brunette hair. Yoongi grinned and snuggled into Taehyung, curling his leg up to fully embrace the interaction. 

Taehyung had never been a particularly touchy person with anyone else, but when it came to taking care of omegas, he put aside his lack of affinity for physical affection so he could perform what needed to be done to make sure they were safe. Especially for Yoongi, seeing as they were best friends, Taehyung seemed to completely disregard any semblance of distaste for physicality, which Yoongi had mixed feelings about. 

On one hand, Yoongi absolutely relished being able to cuddle up to the boy he was in love with and feel the warmth of the alpha’s body on his. But on another, less selfish note, Yoongi did feel guilty about letting Taehyung follow his dedication to his protective instincts spurred on by his alpha side, despite physical interaction not being something he would typically want to do. 

Yoongi repeatedly told Taehyung he didn’t have to, and the alpha always reassured Yoongi that he wanted to, and that he wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t. He also said that especially when it came to Yoongi, he couldn’t possibly avoid his instincts of protecting him, which did nothing for Yoongi’s efforts to get over his overwhelming love for the alpha.

When they arrived at the destination, all of the students exited the metro. Taehyung got off first and turned to grip Yoongi’s waist and lift him over the gap and onto the platform so he didn’t trip like he was prone to with his clumsiness. Yoongi looked away as usual to hide his blushing as they fell in line with each other and started following the tour guide. Taehyung stayed glued to Yoongi’s side the whole time, and the omega could sense Taehyung constantly keeping an eye on how enclosed the spaces they entered were, ensuring that Yoongi was never too crowded with his claustrophobia.

Yoongi could feel the omegas around him taking note of Taehyung’s behavior toward him, some of which whom had confessed their feelings to the alpha and now glared at Yoongi bitterly. It disgusted Yoongi with himself that deep down, there was a spiteful part of him that secretly relished that they were jealous over him. In his fantasies, they had tried to take his alpha from him, and now they had to watch Taehyung repeatedly prove his loyalty to Yoongi, shoving it in their faces after he had rejected each of them. 

But then Yoongi realized how pathetic it was to be imagining such a scenario, and shoved those thoughts from his mind. Taehyung was not his, and he would be appalled if he ever found out that Yoongi had been thinking in such a way. Such a traditional, possessive omega way. That’s not how either of them were…that’s not how Yoongi would let himself be, despite the fact that he secretly really, really wanted to.

When the tour guide passed out samples of molasses candy from the time period, Taehyung made sure Yoongi got his first, giving him the bigger piece. The two kept up with the tour guide, sucking on their molasses lollipops, until they reached the end of the tours, where everyone had a chance to eat in the food court before going home. All of the different groups were released into the food court, and Heather walked in with her friends, her eyes immediately landing on Taehyung. He was simply tossing both his and Yoongi’s candy wrappers in the trash, when the omega subconsciously held on tighter to Taehyung’s arm.

“Yoongi?” Taehyung’s silky voice brought him back into focus. “You okay?”

The omega didn’t understand why the alpha had abruptly asked him that until he looked down and noticed what he was doing. He released Taehyung, immediately embarrassed of his unwarranted exhibit of jealous behavior.

“Sorry.” Yoongi tried to play it off as he took a step away from Taehyung. “I was just thinking of something.”

Clearly that answer wasn’t distinctive enough, because the alpha’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, thinking that perhaps Yoongi was getting overstimulated from the crowds.

“Is everything alright? Do you wanna go outside for some air?”

Yes. Yoongi very much wanted to go be alone with Taehyung, away from the other alpha who he was currently dating. But he knew that Taehyung probably wanted to go be with his budding love interest, so Yoongi had to let it go.

“I’m good.” Yoongi said, nodding his head in the alpha girl’s direction. “You should go sit with Heather and her friends, she’s looking at you.”

Yoongi forced a smile, which Taehyung had a hard time believing. 

“Aren’t you gonna eat?” Taehyung asked. “You should come with us.”

“I’m okay, I had a big breakfast.” Yoongi lied, and before Taehyung could question further, the omega waved at the alpha girl, summoning her over. 

By the time she got to the two of them, Yoongi had slipped away to give them privacy, sneaking off to the gift shop. Taehyung watched after him, not super big on the idea of losing sight of Yoongi, but the omega needed to facilitate the opportunity for his best friend to bond with the girl he was dating.

Once he was safely out of sight, Yoongi took a moment to mosey around the giftshop, inspecting the trinkets and keychains on the shelves. He had to concede that, despite this trip having almost no information about the inner workings of trains, Yoongi was still fascinated regardless. He had, admittedly, been a train kid growing up, and there were multiple pictures in his childhood bedroom of him in a conductor’s hat and that old fashioned whistle to really sell the part.

He ran his fingers over some of the little plastic trains, a fond grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he reminisced the toys he had as kids. As he got to the edge of the shelf, he found the final product, which was a little stuffed bear wearing a conductor’s outfit, much like the one he wore as a toddler. Yoongi was immediately endeared, picking up the silly stuffed toy and checking the tag, then quickly replacing it where he’d found it.

Perhaps after he graduated if he had some more expendable cash, he could afford such a purchase. But the price of the little plushie was enough for nearly three cheap meals, and though it brought a rush of nostalgia, he couldn’t possibly justify such frivolous spending.

Yoongi eyed the grandfather clock on the wall, realizing they only had about ten minutes left before they had to file back into the metro and head home. The omega figured there wasn’t much use wandering around alone, so he made his way out to the platform and waited at one of the benches. As usual, he leaned back, opting to spend his final minutes people watching.

More and more, his vision tended to focus on couples, letting the feeling of envy and self pity continue to rot inside of him. He really ought to knock it off with this self destructive habit, but he couldn’t help it. Especially traditional couples, he couldn’t resist the spike of bitterness that festered in his chest, mixed with a healthy dose of sorrow over loss from something that was never his to lose in the first place.

“There you are.” Taehyung’s warm voice interrupted Yoongi from his internally petulant episode as the alpha plopped down next to him on the bench. “I wasn’t sure where you wandered off to.”

“I just figured I’d wait since we’re almost done.” Yoongi said as the other students started to gather out on the platform. “Where’s Heather?”

“She went back with her friends.” Taehyung said, handing Yoongi a smoothie he’d bought for him, knowing the omega skipped out on eating a meal before their trek back. “We can get a bigger meal for you once we’re home.”

Yoongi took it gladly, taking too big of a sip which resulted in giving himself goosebumps as he trembled from the sudden chill.

“Did you want to sit with her?” Yoongi questioned, an unexpected gust of wind blowing crisp autumn air over his exposed arms and only intensifying his goosebumps.

“No, I want to sit with you.” Taehyung said, instantly shedding off his jacket to wrap around Yoongi’s shoulders.

Yoongi felt the eyes of multiple classmates on them—some jealous, and others simply curious at what they assumed to be a rather unexpected couple. 

“Tae?” Yoongi asked as Taehyung secured his jacket on the omega. “Aren’t you worried that this will look weird?” 

Taehyung gave Yoongi a look of confusion, completely oblivious to what Yoongi was referring to. “No, why?” 

“You’re kind of dating someone.” Yoongi pointed out, his thumb picking at the lid of the smoothie. “Don’t you think it’s kind of weird that you’re not giving her your jacket and sitting with her on the ride home?”

“She’s an alpha too, she understands. Plus, she knows how we are, she wouldn’t try to come between that.” Taehyung said, fixing the collar so it didn’t curve up into Yoongi’s skin. “This is why I don’t date omegas, they would take this the wrong way.”

Yoongi felt even colder from Taehyung’s words than the external forces bringing the omega to shiver. 

This is why I don’t date omegas . Aka, what Yoongi was. 

Taehyung would never date an omega, and he would never date Yoongi. He would never want Yoongi. Yoongi knew it too, but he endured the heartbreak and attempted to ignore that fact about Taehyung, no matter how heavily it weighed on his chest.

The metro arrived and Taehyung lifted Yoongi on before leading them to the first seats he could find. Once they were settled in and the metro was on route back home, Taehyung pulled up a little brown paper bag Yoongi hadn’t even noticed that the alpha had been carrying.

“I almost forgot, I got you something.” Taehyung said, pulling off the tape that the attendant had used to secure the bag closed.

“You did?” Yoongi gave him a puzzled look, glancing at the smoothie that the alpha had already purchased him. “When did you even have time?”

“Heather and I went to the giftshop after you’d apparently left.” Taehyung said, pulling out none other than the little teddy bear train conductor that Yoongi had been eyeing, and handing it over to the omega. “I saw you looking at this, and then immediately put it down after looking at the price.”

Taehyung was giving Yoongi an amused smile as the omega took it from his hands.

“How did you see that?” Yoongi chuckled, holding the bear close.

“I was keeping an eye on you after you walked away to make sure you didn’t get lost from the group.” Taehyung said, nonchalantly. “I figured you probably liked it because you used to be a train kid.”

Yoongi laughed and playfully nudged Taehyung. “Only a little.”

The omega studied the little bear, the stitched-on smile and adorable paws holding onto the whistle. He registered that this bear matched the vibe of the plushies on Taehyung’s bed, and the fact that it wasn’t exactly the cheapest item in the giftshop.

“You didn’t have to buy me anything, I feel bad.” Yoongi tried to hand it over to Taehyung. “You should keep it and add it to your stuffed animal mafia.”

“Nope, this is the bear that reflects you as a child. Plus, no offense, but this nerd wouldn’t last one day of initiation with my teddy bear mob.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, though he happily brought the bear back to himself to hold. “Thanks, Tae.”

The alpha gave Yoongi the same kind of endeared look that the omega had given the plushie…the same look that the omega gave Taehyung anytime stole glances at him when the alpha wasn’t looking. 

Taehyung fell asleep on the way home, using Yoongi’s head resting on his shoulder as his pillow. The omega kept his eyes on the stuffed bear in his lap, gently holding the plushie’s paw like he wished he could hold Taehyung’s hand.

❃°•°❀°•°❃

“I don’t want to do this.” Yoongi huffed, wincing as Jimin brushed out his hair.

“Well suck it up. I’m not going to let my best friend be alone the rest of his life.” Jimin dismissed Yoongi’s apprehension towards the subject as he prepared the older omega for his blind date.

“What’s so wrong with being single for the rest of my life?” 

“There’s nothing wrong with it for other people. But for you, it would be a serious problem.” Jimin said. “You’ve wanted a mate ever since we were kids, and you can’t have Taehyung as your stand-in boyfriend forever. You never know, if he ends up with this girl, you’re on your way to being the bitter single friend and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself since I’ve practically presented you a charcoochie of eligible bachelors, all of which you’ve rejected before you’d even had a nibble.”

“I think that’s my least favorite thing you’ve ever said.” Yoongi responded. “Both the analogy, and the fact that you mispronounced charcuterie in the nastiest way possible.”

“Eh, same difference.” Jimin shrugged it off, finally taking his fingers out of Yoongi’s hair as he analyzed his work, ending with a satisfied smile. “Perfect, you look beautiful. I mean, you’re always beautiful, but now you look like you might actually try to enjoy yourself.”

“I’m glad I look it, because I don’t feel it.” Yoongi said, receiving a swat from Jimin on his butt.

“Will you just try to at least be nice? This guy is sensitive, I don’t want your callous attitude to hurt his feelings.”

“A sensitive alpha?” Yoongi snorted. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Taehyung is a sensitive guy, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, but Taehyung is Taehyung. There’s no one in the world like him.”

Yoongi’s eyes went wide as it fell out of his mouth before he could stop it, shocked that he’d so carelessly exposed his feelings of adoration for his “platonic” best friend.

Thankfully, Jimin was too busy picking out a jacket for Yoongi to wear to have caught onto the older omega’s slip-up.

“Evidently not, because Namjoon is a softie too.” Jimin said, pulling the jean jacket onto Yoongi before getting one last outfit check on the older before ushering him to the door. “Alright, he’s gonna be at the park in ten minutes. Make sure to walk slowly so you’re not awkwardly waiting there for him, and text me if anything goes wrong, okay?”

“This is stupid.” Yoongi muttered as Jimin handed the older his keys.

“Just try to at least be nice, Eeyore.” Jimin scolded him, before giving one last, bright smile and wave. “Good luck!”

Yoongi grumbled to himself as he made his way out of Jimin’s apartment complex and down the street to the park, secretly glaring at all the couples as he went. He did not want to be doing this in the slightest, but he’d grown tired of Jimin and Jungkook constantly badgering him to go out and meet this alpha, so here he was. He tried his best to shove Taehyung from his thoughts and be present for this date, so he at least had reasons to give Jimin why he wouldn’t be going on another date, besides simply telling the other omega “I didn’t vibe with him,” like he had for every date so far.

As Yoongi approached, he saw a figure in a long coat standing before the pond, tossing pieces of bread from the slice in his hand to the ducks. When the omega got closer, he squinted to analyze who he’d assumed to be Namjoon. The alpha was very tall, with black hair long enough to tuck behind his ears, and full lips to compliment his masculine features. 

Yoongi didn’t realize how close he’d gotten until the alpha felt his presence and turned his head to eye Yoongi. The omega instantly noticed the cute dimple on Namjoon’s cheek as he smiled at Yoongi, turning to face him.

“Hi, are you Yoongi?” Namjoon asked, though he was already certain of it after seeing multiple pictures.

“Yeah, you’re Namjoon?”

“I am. It’s nice to meet you.” Namjoon waved, deciding to opt out of a polite hug that he might have given to a beta or another alpha so as not to make Yoongi uncomfortable. “Thanks for coming out with me today.”

“Thanks for offering.” Yoongi responded. “I don’t get out much these days.”

“That’s perfect, actually. I was gonna see if you were up for walking to the coffee shop? It’s just a few blocks away.”

Yoongi wasn’t the biggest fan of walking long distances when Taehyung wasn’t there to carry him over mud or puddles from the rainy day, but he knew he needed to detach himself from that. Especially because Jimin would probably ring his neck if he found out Yoongi didn’t go on another date just because Namjoon couldn’t predict his affinity for princess treatment.

“Yeah, sounds good.” 

Namjoon and Yoongi walked side by side, their conversation starting off as polite small talk about what they were majoring in and what they wanted to do with their degrees once they earned them. It didn’t take long for the conversation to get a bit more specific, with Namjoon asking Yoongi what made him get into mechanical engineering and then asking about his love for trains once the omega exposed his embarrassing childhood of train obsession.

What was going to be an hour-long first coffee date turned into three and a half hours. The two ended up walking around aimlessly and window shopping as they continued chatting long after finishing their coffees. Yoongi even found himself forgetting about his heartbreak over Taehyung momentarily as he enjoyed his conversation with the very introspective alpha, who admittedly did seem to be a pretty sweet alpha.

Eventually the sun started setting, and Namjoon realized he had to get going to meet with some club he was the president for. He walked Yoongi back to his apartment, perfectly timing it as it started to drizzle.

“Do you want me to give you a ride?” Yoongi asked.

“It’s alright, I have my umbrella.” Namjoon reached into his inner pocket and retrieved a tiny accessory, which extended and unfolded into an umbrella once he removed the sleeve. He looked down at Yoongi, covering both of them as the omega was still standing outside. “I had a really nice time with you today, Yoongi.”

“Me too.” Yoongi smiled up at the alpha. “Thanks again for coffee, and for spending the afternoon with me.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” Namjoon responded kindly. “I totally understand if you’re not comfortable with this, but I was wondering if perhaps I could get your number from Jimin if you want to set up another time to go out?”

He was specifically asking to go through the middle man so Yoongi had a way to opt out and tell Jimin not to give his number to Namjoon later, rather than having to reject Namjoon to his face by not pulling out his phone. Yoongi noticed it immediately, however, and he couldn’t deny that the alpha had consistently made him feel comfortable and safe the whole day, and he didn’t mind the idea of talking to Namjoon more.

“Sure, or I can get your number right now?” Yoongi offered, taking his phone out of his pocket.

Namjoon happily gave his contact to Yoongi, and the omega surprised himself by hugging the alpha quickly before heading back up to his apartment. He had a tiny smile on his face, and he couldn’t lie that he was pleasantly surprised by how the blind date had gone—especially given his history of blind dates via Jimin, and the fact that this one was an alpha.

“You look happy.” Hoseok commented as Yoongi opened the door, rubbing the bottoms of his shoes on the doormat before removing them. “What’d you just come from?”

“A blind date.” Yoongi answered, setting his keys in the dish. “Jimin set it up.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened, the many memories of Yoongi stomping straight from the front door to his room after yet another failed date set up by the younger omega.

“And…it went well?”

“Shockingly, yes.” Yoongi said in relief. “He’s nice.”

“Wow, this is quite shocking to see you in a good mood after another one of Jimin’s set-ups.” Hoseok chuckled. “I’m really happy it went well.”

“Same. I wasn’t expecting much from this guy, but he’s actually pretty cool.”

It was hard for Hoseok to fully read Yoongi this way, since the omega had almost never shown any semblance of interest in anyone outside of Taehyung. It was refreshing, although Hoseok couldn’t help but wonder what Yoongi would look like if he were coming back from a date with Taehyung. The omega would probably come floating in on a cloud with angel wings.

Before Hoseok could respond, Yoongi’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and once the omega’s face morphed as he stared at the screen, the beta knew immediately who it was that had contacted him.

“Taehyung?” Hoseok asked, getting a little sigh from Yoongi.

“Yeah.” He put his phone in his pocket after responding. “He’s coming over before his date.”

Though Hoseok felt pity for Yoongi, there was nothing he could do that the omega would hear. He’d seen how Yoongi had waved off any advice from Jimin and Jungkook on even the mention of distancing from Taehyung to give himself a chance at finding a mate. Hoseok couldn’t even imagine how poorly it would go over if he suggested something as absurd as Yoongi removing Taehyung from his life completely in order to heal his broken heart.

“That’s nice,” Was all Hoseok could think to say, giving the omega a comforting smile. “Tell him I wish him luck.”

Ten minutes later, Yoongi was opening the door for Taehyung. “Hi, Tae.”

“Hey.” Taehyung greeted, a content smile on his face upon seeing Yoongi, until he got a whiff of the omega, and the whimsical curve on his lips faded. 

Yoongi caught the shift instantly, and adopted a confused expression. “What’s wrong?” 

“You smell like an alpha.” Taehyung stated bluntly.

Yoongi had nearly forgotten about his date with Namjoon once Taehyung had texted him, and smiled weakly. “Oh yeah, I went on that blind date Jimin set me up with.”

“Right, I forgot about that.” Taehyung responded, visibly unsettled but trying to mask it.

Yoongi understood. Taehyung wasn’t used to smelling other alphas on his best friend, and he didn’t like the idea of it. If Yoongi and Namjoon continued on, Taehyung would have to get used to it, but for right now the omega granted his best friend an adjustment period.

“You can scent me if you want.” Yoongi offered, and nearly gasped at how fast Taehyung pulled him close and buried his face into the omega’s neck.

Yoongi swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he let Taehyung scent him, the alpha releasing him with a somewhat embarrassed expression as soon as he’d finished.

“Sorry.” Taehyung cleared his throat. “It’s just gonna take some getting used to.”

“It’s alright.” Yoongi tried to gather his thoughts and internally screamed at his knees not to give out after such a stupendous exhibit of ownership from the alpha.

Only, it wasn’t ownership, because Yoongi and Taehyung weren’t mates. It was simply Taehyung being protective of his friend, which would eventually come to fade with time as he progressed in his relationship with Heather.

“What time are you meeting up with her?” Yoongi shifted the topic, motioning for Taehyung to follow him to his room.

“Twenty minutes. I just wanted to stop in if I don’t get a chance to see you after.” 

The reason for Taehyung potentially not seeing Yoongi after his date most likely meant that Heather would be sleeping over at his place, since they were going to a pumpkin patch and then back to Taehyung’s to carve them while watching Halloween movies. 

It was something he and Yoongi had already done weeks prior, as they had for three years straight, but when Taehyung had told Heather she said she’d love to do the same. It felt a little bit like a trunk of bricks had dropped onto Yoongi’s chest when Taehyung asked the omega if it was okay for him to take Heather, but Yoongi had simply painted on a smile and told him that was a great idea, then provided a list of illegal streaming websites for his best friend to find movies for his date.

Yoongi wasn’t certain, but he felt that he might just collapse on the spot if he saw Taehyung the next morning and he smelled of her in the amount that only explicit intimacy could emit.

“Are you excited?” Yoongi asked, dreading Taehyung’s answer as the alpha hopped onto his bed.

“Yeah, she said she’ll bring her acrylic paints so we can go all out decorating the pumpkins.” Taehyung said, reaching over to grab the stuffed train conductor teddy bear on Yoongi’s bed. “She told me she’s really enjoying our dates. I kind of think she might tell me she wants to get more serious tonight.”

Yoongi nearly winced in agony from the news, and looked away to hide it from Taehyung. “That’s really awesome, Tae. I’m glad it’s going so well.”

“Me too. I’m just scared about whether or not the mate conversation will come up.”

Yoongi’s head snapped over at the alpha, eyes wide. “The mate conversation? As in mating each other?”

“Yeah.” Taehyung shrugged, focusing on the teddy bear in his hands. “We’re at that age where people talk about it so no one gets into a relationship and wastes their time if they find out they have different goals three years down the line.”

“I guess you’re right…” Yoongi hated to acknowledge what Jimin had told him about how now was the time where people were getting more intentional about trying to find a mate. “But don’t you think it’s a little early for that?”

“I think so, but I would understand if she wants to talk about it now.” Taehyung said. “It just sucks because I kind of think we might have different points of view.”

Yoongi was kind of feared asking any follow-up questions, since the conversation of Taehyung talking about mating someone else made him nauseous.

“Different points of view?”

“Yeah, like she values it a lot and I don’t.” Taehyung clarified.

It was a point Taehyng had made to Yoongi a few times in passing, and it only hurt marginally less than Taehyung saying he could never love an omega. In a way, it made Yoongi feel a pinch of relief that he wouldn’t have to see Taehyung mate someone else, but it also solidified the already concrete fact that he would never have the alpha in that way. Furthermore, all Yoongi wanted in the long run was for Taehyung to be happy, and though the alpha defied all societal norms, it was still hard on their instincts to carry out the rest of their lives without a mate.

“You really don’t think you’ll ever want a mate?” Yoongi asked.

“Probably not. I don’t want to date an omega, and there’s not really any reason for alphas to mate each other unless one of us would want to be bitched.” Taehyung went through his thought process. “As independent as she is, I have a slight feeling she’d be okay with that if she ends up with an alpha, and I just never want to be locked in with a traditional relationship, let alone be in one where I’m responsible for turning another alpha into an omega.”

Yoongi had no words to respond with. Hearing Taehyung explain his rationale regarding this topic always created a storm of clashing emotions inside of Yoongi, and he worried what would come out of his mouth if he didn’t keep a firm grip on his filter.

“Don’t you feel similar?” Taehyung asked Yoongi.

“What?” 

“I thought you felt the same way.” Taehyung said, puzzled why the omega wasn’t agreeing with him. “Did something change and you want a mate now?”

Yoongi hadn’t wanted just any mate, he wanted Taehyung.

“No, I feel more or less the same.” Yoongi responded. “I guess I just believe that, if there were to be some change of heart, I’d embrace it.”

Taehyung relented, shrugging in congruence. “True, you have a point. I guess for me, if I met that special person, I think I’d know right away.”

“Same.” Yoongi replied in a quiet voice, afraid to say anything else.

Yoongi didn’t think he’d be the type to know right away, he’d been proven to be someone who knows right away. Within a week of knowing Taehyung, Yoongi felt in his soul that something was right with him, and within a month, he knew he’d give anything for Taehyung to want to mate him.

The omega tried to think of something else to respond with, eyes scanning around the room until they landed on his dresser—specifically the jewelry box he and Taehyung had made together one night at a community art class they’d stumbled into.

“Oh, I forgot,” Yoongi lifted the lid of the box to peek inside. “I got you something.”

Taehyung perked up as he watched Yoongi sift through the jewelry for a moment, eventually pulling out a pearl necklace. The omega smiled proudly and presented it to Taehyung.

“I found it while antique shopping today.” Yoongi said, omitting the fact that he’d been with Namjoon. “I figured it’d go well with those earrings you’ve been wearing a lot these days.”

“Holy shit, was it expensive?” Taehyung asked, delicately taking the necklace from Yoongi’s fingers.

“Not too bad.” Yoongi lied. It hadn’t broken the bank, but it had certainly been more than Yoongi was preparing to spend with his limited, broke college student budget. “I saw it and I couldn’t pass it up since they literally look like a matching set with your earrings.”

When Yoongi looked closer, sure enough, Taehyung was wearing the pearl earrings he’d bought on a whim one day when they were shopping around the boutiques on a weekend trip to the seaside.

“Jesus, Yoongi. You didn’t have to buy me this.” Taehyung shook his head in guilt.

“I know, I wanted to.” Yoongi smiled at him. “Now put it on, I wanna see how well it goes with your outfit.”

Taehyung grinned, handing it back to Yoongi. “Can you put it on for me?”

The omega took the necklace, and waited for Taehyung to turn and crouch a little so Yoongi could fasten it around his neck. Instead, Taehyung remained facing Yoongi, and simply leaned down so the omega could reach around his neck and fasten it that way.

It was so unexpected, Yoongi blushed a little, recognizing how intimate of a position they were about to be in. Regardless, he stepped forward and went on his toes, looking over Taehyung’s shoulder to fasten the latch of the accessory around the alpha’s neck. Once it was secured, Yoongi took a step back so he was no longer nearly pressed up against Taehyung, looking up at his best friend.

“How do I look?” Taehyung asked, straightening the necklace so it rested properly over his collarbones.

“Perfect.” Yoongi answered instinctively, then quickly backpedaled. “It matches your earrings flawlessly.”

“Really?” Taehyung turned to examine himself in the mirror, tucking his hair behind his ears to assess how well the two went together. “Wow, it does look like a matching set.”

“Told you.” Yoongi chuckled. “It completes the look, if I do say so myself.”

“You’re right, as usual.” Taehyung played along, facing Yoongi once again. “What would I do without you?”

Yoongi’s hands balled into fists, which he subtly hid behind his back. He knew Taehyung was just teasing, but if Yoongi were to say such a thing, he would mean it with 100% sincerity.

“You’re so dramatic.” Yoongi brushed it off with a little grin. “Now go on, don’t keep her waiting.”

Taehyung smiled fondly and the omega walked him to his door, opening up to usher the alpha to his date. Taehyung paused as he walked past Yoongi, pulling the omega in for another, unexpected hug. Yoongi froze up, but eventually melted into it, wrapping his arms around Taehyung’s neck. He felt Taehyung’s face nuzzle into his neck, and it became clear what the sudden act of affection was stirred by.

“Are you just hugging me to scent me?” Yoongi asked, the alpha immediately releasing him with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Sorry, I promise I’ll get used to it.” Taehyung swore, though Yoongi secretly hoped he never would. He hoped Taehyung would never stop insisting that Yoongi smelled of him and only him.

“Yeah yeah, just go on your date.” Yoongi nudged him out the door. “Text me if you need anything.”

“Thanks again, Yoongi.” Taehyung waved him off before heading off to his date, each step hurting Yoongi as he felt the growing distance in his soul.

The omega barely had time to flop onto his couch when his phone started buzzing, and Jimin’s contact name came up on his phone. Yoongi debated not picking up, knowing exactly what his best friend would be calling about. 

An hour prior, Yoongi might have been in the mood for answering his friend’s bombardment of questions regarding his blind date. But now, after freshly sending off the love of his life to go find another mate, Yoongi didn’t really have the capacity for it.

Still, after another moment of consideration, he figured it’d be better to go be with Jimin than fester alone in his apartment, so he got to his feet and answered the phone.

“I’m guessing you checked my location?” Yoongi asked.

“Yep! We’re walking up to your apartment.” Jimin’s voice could be heard both on the phone and through the thin walls as the omega walked down his halls. “Is your door unlocked?”

Before Yoongi could answer, Jimin was walking in, with Jungkook trailing behind him.

“Yes.” Yoongi answered futility, hanging up the seconds-long phone call.

“You need to get me another spare.” Jimin slipped his shoes off at the front door.

“This would be your third spare key. Sooner or later the locksmith guy is going to put in a report for suspicious behavior on my file.”

“It’s fine, I’ll flirt with him.” Jimin said, receiving a pout from Jungkook, and he gave the beta his sultry eyes. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll make out with you right after he gives me the key.”

“Fine.” Jungkook let it go, unable to deny Jimin when he turned his charm on. He only took a whiff before looking up at Yoongi. “Was Taehyung here?”

“He literally left seconds before you. Didn’t you run into him?”

“No. We took the elevator.”

“To the second floor?” Yoongi asked. “It literally takes longer to wait for the elevator than to walk up the stairs.”

“Jimin said we take the elevator or I carry him.” Jungkook explained.

“Anyway.” Jimin hopped up onto Yoongi’s counter, helping himself to one of Hoseok’s cookies in the jar on the top shelf. “Give me updates. I was checking your location and you were with Namjoon for hours.”

Yoongi tried to properly recall the positive vibes he’d felt with the alpha on their date. “It was actually pretty nice. He’s a sweet guy.”

“Aww, you see? And you said all alphas are repugnant.” Jungkook cheered. 

Yoongi couldn’t even argue, because that’s pretty much verbatim what he had told the couple as they’d been trying to set him up.

“I’m so proud of you for putting yourself out there!” Jimin chimed in with excitement.

“I didn’t really put myself out there as much as you aggressively shoved me into it.” Yoongi responded flatly.

“Regardless, it’s nice to see you finally come back without horror stories from a date.” Jimin hummed in satisfaction. “Okay so, what’d you guys do? What’d you talk about? Tell me everything.”

“We just got coffee and walked around. He’s pretty easy to talk to.” Yoongi tried to find more exciting details. “He’s really into music, but not in an annoying, snobby way. He really likes bunnies even though he’s allergic. He’s a big fan of jazz, he plays saxophone, and he goes swing dancing even though he says he’s no good. He invited me to go with him next week.”

“Ooh, are you going to?” Jungkook asked.

“Maybe, if I see him like one more time to make sure we vibe enough to commit to a whole lesson.”

“Wait, you actually want to see him again?” Jimin asked, utterly shocked.

“I mean, if we’re going to go to an entire dance class, then yeah I’d probably like to see him one more time.”

“Interesting.” Jimin flashed Jungkook a quick glance when Yoongi was grabbing a tangerine from the bowl on the counter top. “We should go out and celebrate this miraculous victory, and I know just the place.”

Yoongi stopped mid-peeling the fruit to give Jimin a reluctant look, unsure whether or not he wanted clarification on what his friend was referring to. “What place?”

“There’s a party tonight for the cycling club.” Jimin answered, further perplexing Yoongi.

“Since when do you cycle? You refuse to climb one flight of stairs.” Yoongi questioned.

“Perhaps I just need a little inspiration to start my health journey.” Jimin gave his half assed answer. “Anyway, wanna come?”

“I’m not quite sure why you’re asking me. It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice on the matter.” 

“Perfect! So that’s a yes.” Jimin clapped his hands together, ignoring Yoongi’s apprehension towards it.

Once again, Yoongi let Jimin play dress up with him as the doll, and the three of them pregamed to get a moderate buzz before walking a few blocks to the house party. Yoongi had barely made it five steps in, when Jimin grabbed his arm and pointed in the distance.

“Well would you look at that?” Jimin led, causing Yoongi to foolishly look in the direction of Jimin’s finger.

“Look at what?” Yoongi asked.

When there was no response, he turned and saw that Jimin and Jungkook were gone. It was so fast it might have been magic, and it was certainly intentional, at that. Yoongi groaned and decided he would give his friends ten minutes to reveal themselves before the senior gave up and walked back to his apartment to go to bed.

He was squeezing through the crowds, pushing aside his unease with the amount of people in the room as he searched for his friends.

“Yoongi?”

The omega heard a familiar voice come from behind him, and turned to find none other than the handsome alpha he’d gone on a date with earlier that day.

“Oh, hi.” Yoongi greeted Namjoon, surprised by the sudden reunion with him after only hours apart.

“Hey. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Namjoon smiled down at Yoongi.

“Jimin invited me.” Yoongi said, looking around for the other omega, who he spotted scurrying away with Jungkook—no doubt, the two had calculated this little impromptu meetup. The omega sighed before looking back up at the alpha. “What brings you here?”

“This is the club I’m the president for.” Namjoon shared, making Yoongi widen his eyes.

“This?” Yoongi questioned. “I remember you told me you enjoy riding your bike, but I didn’t know you’d have a club dedicated to it.”

“I forgot to mention it while we were out today, but yeah, this is my club.” Namjoon’s smile morphed into a look of remorse. “I’m sorry I didn’t invite you. I remember you saying that you hate parties, so I didn’t want to make you feel obligated to come. Had I known, I would’ve asked you.”

“It’s okay, I’m really not a party person, but Jimin forced me out. As usual.” Yoongi sighed, making Namjoon laugh lightly.

“I’m actually not much of a party person either, but we have to host events for people to get to know us and join the club.” Namjoon said, his dimple showing with the smile he had while speaking to Yoongi. “Since you’re here, can I get you a drink?”

Yoongi was about to accept the offer when he felt a presence behind him. Namjoon’s eyes looked up from Yoongi and into the eyes of the person towering over the omega, a confused expression transforming Namjoon’s friendly face as he took in the shift aura. Yoongi turned to see Taehyung there, the typically approachable air to him completely abandoned as he stared coldly at the alpha that Yoongi was speaking to.

“Oh, hey.” Yoongi greeted his best friend in confusion. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Heather were going to your place after dinner.”

“We were, but she wanted to stop by the party her club was hosting.” Taehyung answered.

“Wait, you know Heather?” Namjoon chimed in, giving a friendly smile to Taehyung. “She’s the vice president of our club. Are you Taehyung?”

“Yeah.” Taehyung answered Namjoon with one word before looking back down at Yoongi. “What are you doing here?”

Yoongi was understandably befuddled by Taehyung’s bizarre behavior, and chalked it up to potentially being annoyed that his date plans were intercepted. It didn’t make much sense, since Taehyung was always a pretty “go with the flow” type of guy, but it was the only reason Yoongi could come up with to explain this unfamiliar, frigid demeanor his best friend was exhibiting.

“Jimin invited me.” Yoongi said, then looked over at Namjoon so the other alpha didn’t feel ostracized from the conversation. “Namjoon, this is my best friend, Taehyung. Although, you’ve probably heard of him since he’s apparently dating your vice president.”

Even through Taehyung’s off-putting hostility, Namjoon still tried to be friendly.  

“Hey man, it’s nice to finally meet you. Heather’s told me great things.” Namjoon smiled through the discomfort of the introduction, holding out his hand for Taehyung. 

When Yoongi looked up at his friend, he was shocked to see how alarmingly unfriendly Taehyung stared at the other alpha. His jaw was slightly tensed, and the omega realized that Taehyung’s hand had subconsciously gone to Yoongi’s hip.

“Hi.” Taehyung responded flatly, begrudgingly shaking Namjoon’s hand firmly once. “You’re the one Yoongi went out with today?”

Neither Namjoon nor Yoongi were prepared for this shift in energy, especially since the omega had never experienced Taehyung like this outside of the handful of times that the alpha had protected Yoongi from other unwelcome alphas hitting on him. But Namjoon wasn’t some random alpha, he was the alpha that Yoongi had talked about and gone out with already. Taehyung had never seemed particularly enthused by Yoongi dating others, seeing as he never believed anyone to be good enough for his best friend. But watching Taehyung act this unwelcoming to Yoongi’s potential love interest was rather jarring, to say the least.

“Yeah, we just got coffee and went for a walk.” Namjoon kept the smile on his face, though visibly uncomfortable with the growing tension presented from Taehyung’s presence.

“Did you make sure he had time to sit down?” Taehyung questioned, as if putting Namjoon to the test. “He gets tired walking in rain boots.”

Yoongi was getting a little embarrassed by Taehyung’s behavior, which was an entirely unforeseen sensation for the omega to feel around his best friend.

“Uh…yeah, we were sitting down for coffee.” Namjoon laughed to try and ease the atmosphere. 

Before Taehyung could respond, Yoongi decided to cut in.

“Did you wanna get a drink?” The omega asked Namjoon, precluding whatever cold response was on the tip of his best friend’s tongue.

“That sounds good.” Namjoon spoke, obviously relieved to escape from the situation as he motioned for Yoongi to follow, looking up hesitantly at the other alpha. “It was nice to meet you.”

The omega only took a few steps before he noticed Taehyung trailing behind him. Yoongi halted and turned to look up into the alpha’s eyes.

“I’m okay, I promise.” He tried to soothe his best friend’s unsettled nerves.

“I don’t get a good feeling about him.” Taehyung said, causing Yoongi to grin weakly.

“I’ll call you if I’m uncomfortable, okay? I just want to get to know him a little more.” Yoongi said. “Plus, you’re going out to finish your date with Heather, right?”

He looked over and saw the female alpha saying goodbye to her friends, his vision landing on the two best friends and giving a friendly wave at Yoongi. He returned it before looking back up at Taehyung.

“Have fun, I’ll talk to you later.” Yoongi gave Taehyung a more convincing smile before waving and hurrying after Namjoon. 

He couldn’t quite shake the unease that the situation had left him with, so he took the beer that Namjoon handed him and immediately started drinking the bitter liquid to try and calm his nerves.

“Taehyung seems nice.” Namjoon gave his best attempt to lie convincingly.

“He normally is, I’m not sure why he’s so tense tonight. It’s probably stress.” Yoongi said to veer away from the conversation. “So, tell me about the cycling club.”

The two ended up chatting for a while, until their voices grew tired of yelling over the music. Namjoon led Yoongi up to his room in the house, where they sat on his bed and talked while the alcohol started to ease both of them into a relaxed state.

“You know, Jimin warned me that you hate alphas.” Namjoon joked as they both laid back on his bed, staring at his ceiling. “I was honestly really surprised you agreed to meet me.”

“I’m surprised you wanted to go on a date with me.” Yoongi chuckled. “I don’t necessarily hate alphas, I just haven’t had the best experiences with them.”

“Yeah, I kind of assumed that when I saw Taehyung and you said he was your best friend.” Namjoon said, rolling his head to the side to look at Yoongi. “I’m sorry you’ve had bad experiences with alphas. My sister is an omega and she has horror stories of trying to date them.”

“Female omegas definitely have it worse, but yeah, it’s kind of just the old fashioned beliefs that result in a lack of respect.” Yoongi expanded on it. “They’ll act super gentlemanly at first and then by date two they reveal themselves.”

“That’s what my sister told me.” Namjoon shook his head. “Hopefully my mom raised me better than that, but please tell me if I ever make you feel uncomfortable or say something fucked up.”

“You’ve been really sweet so far.” Yoongi gave him an encouraging grin. “Jimin wouldn’t have brought me here if he could tell I had a bad time with you.”

The sudden compliment had Namjoon blushing, and he lifted himself onto his elbows in a reclined position to get a better view of the omega.

“I’m really glad you came out tonight. I was hoping I’d get to see you again.”

Yoongi smiled bashfully, certain his cheeks were getting even rosier than from the alcohol causing his pale skin to redden. Namjoon reached over and tucked a loose hair behind Yoongi’s ear, staring into his eyes.

“Can I kiss you, Yoongi?”

The omega kept his shy smile and nodded, closing his eyes as the alpha leaned in. He felt Namjoon’s plump lips pressed against his own, and he couldn’t deny that their softness was a pleasant sensation against his slightly chapped lips. He could taste the beer on Namjoon’s mouth when the kiss heated up and the alpha slipped his tongue past Yoongi’s lips.

The omega slid his hand up Namjoon’s cheek and into his thick hair, admiring the softness of the black locks. They felt just as silky as Taehyung’s hair, and immediately Yoongi lifted his other arm to wrap around so he could feel the alpha’s broad shoulders better—also mirroring the size of Taehyung’s frame.

Namjoon’s hands went to Yoongi’s waist, and the omega couldn’t help but wonder if his fingers were as long as Taehyung’s, and if this is how it would feel for his best friend to be grabbing him in this way. Namjoon rolled over so he was sitting against the headboard, inadvertently causing Yoongi to situate himself on top of the alpha, straddling his hips as they continued to kiss.

Yoongi was losing himself in the engagement of such lewd actions, gripping Namjoon’s neck as the alpha began kissing over his skin. His tongue running along his throat was sure to scent him, and Yoongi’s mind started thinking about how Namjoon must be ignoring the fact that Yoongi probably still reeked of Taehyung. Perhaps the alpha was trying to mask the previous scenting, and with his tongue gliding over Yoongi’s scent glands, he was certain to fulfill the task.

Only, Yoongi wasn’t so sure he wanted that. The omega loved smelling like Taehyung, he loved that it reminded him of his best friend holding him close and shoving his face into Yoongi’s neck, and he loved that Taehyung was always so eager to do it. Yoongi worried what it would feel like for him to go to sleep with a different alpha’s scent, and wondered if he would even be able to.

Perhaps Namjoon expected Yoongi to sleep over, and perhaps he expected Yoongi to have sex tonight. It’s probably what most people would be anticipating in this scenario, and it started to freak Yoongi out, as he was the one on Namjoon’s lap, pulling him close and encouraging the scenting.

Suddenly the omega was far too anxious, and pulled away. 

“Wait, wait.”

Namjoon’s lustful eyes morphed into those of worry as he looked up at Yoongi with concern. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just been a while since I’ve been with an alpha.” Yoongi explained, lifting himself off of Namjoon and sitting on the other side of the mattress. “It’s a lot all at once.”

“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry if I pushed any boundaries.” Namjoon apologized sincerely.

“No no, you didn’t. It’s just me.” Yoongi reassured him. “I also just haven’t gotten with anyone in a while, period, so physical intimacy is kind of foreign to me at this point.”

“I feel you.” Namjoon nodded, relieved that he hadn’t put Yoongi in a place of feeling pressured. “Is there a reason you haven’t gotten with anyone in a while?”

Yes.

“Not particularly, I guess I just haven’t felt the urge to.”

He hadn’t been able to get turned on by anyone who didn’t have the same scent as Taehyung, or the same look as Taehyung, or the same personality as Taehyung. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to get turned on by anyone who wasn’t Taehyung.

“I get that, I go through dips in my sex drive.” Namjoon nodded understandingly. 

This was true, but not the case for Yoongi. He knew exactly who he was and exactly what he wanted, and the fact that he could never have it.

“Yeah, it’s a weird time. We’re all figuring things out.” Yoongi agreed.

The screen lit up from the place he’d put his phone on the bedside table. He reached over and saw that it was from Taehyung, asking if he’d gotten home safe. Yoongi let out a deep breath, scooting to the edge of the bed to get to his feet.

“Thanks a lot for the drink, and for spending the party with me.” Yoongi said. “I’m really sorry if I kept you from your friends.”

“You don’t have to feel sorry. I’m happy I got to hang out with you.” Namjoon gave Yoongi a comforting smile, also getting to his feet. “Are you heading out?”

“Yeah, Taehyung wants to make sure I’m alive.” Yoongi chuckled, though Namjoon hadn’t really shaken off the bizarre interaction just a few hours prior.

“I don’t wanna impose, but,” Namjoon spoke as though he was walking on thin ice. “Did you guys ever have a thing?”

“No, we’re just best friends, and he’s really protective since I’m the only omega he’s close with.” Yoongi answered, always wilting a bit when he had to explain that no, they were not dating, despite the fact that it’s all the omega wanted.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Namjoon said, though it really didn’t. “Sorry to ask, when we met it was just kinda…”

“I’m really sorry about that. Like I said, I just haven’t really gotten close with an alpha in a long time, and due to my past, he’s really wary of when I get with alphas until he trusts them.” Yoongi said, sliding on his shoes.

Namjoon had no option but to accept it, dropping the subject as he walked Yoongi out. Almost everyone at the party had either gone home or was sobering up on the couches watching TV, so Namjoon felt alright to leave and walk Yoongi all the way to Taehyung’s building just to be safe.

“You really didn’t have to.” Yoongi grinned up at him, though honestly he was pretty grateful for the alpha. They lived in a safe neighborhood, but on a Saturday night there were always drunken shenanigans going on, and sometimes it wasn’t the best situation for an omega to land in if a frat of alphas were prowling around trying to wreak havoc.

“No problem, I wouldn’t have felt right sending you out by yourself.” Namjoon said. “Are you sober now?”

“Yeah, my buzz had already worn off by the time we left the house.” Yoongi shed off Namjoon’s jacket that the alpha had draped over his shoulders, handing it back to him. “Thanks again for everything, Namjoon.”

“No problem.” Namjoon’s dimple appeared on his cheek again as he opened his arms for Yoongi to embrace the alpha in a hug. “Thanks for coming out. I’ll text you tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” Yoongi promised as he pulled away. Namjoon leaned in to kiss his cheek before waving to the omega and heading back in the direction of his home.

Yoongi appreciated how kind and gentle Namjoon was, though he felt nothing different as he walked up to Taehyung’s apartment complex. He knew for a fact that when he wore Taehyung’s jacket, a sense of warmth and tranquility enveloped him, and he hugged the clothing around him to try and completely bury himself in the alpha’s scent. When he hugged Taehyung, he felt as though he was embracing sunlight itself, and he knew that if Taehyung kissed his cheek, Yoongi would be internally transcending to heaven in his mind, and the lingering feeling of the alpha’s lips on Yoongi’s cheek would have his face tingling until morning.

Yoongi sighed as he knocked on Taehyung’s door, abandoning all thoughts of Namjoon as he waited for his best friend to come fetch him. He heard the sound of Taehyung’s footsteps approaching, and he braced himself to fall in love all over again.

When Taehyung opened the door, he had a relieved grin on his perfect face as his eyes landed on Yoongi. That is, until he took one whiff, then his expression instantly twisted into one of disapproval. 

“You got with Namjoon?” Taehyung asked as Yoongi entered his apartment.

“Yeah, we hung out in his room for the rest of the night.” Yoongi said, slipping his shoes off at the door before walking into the familiar apartment, the alpha following behind him.

“You had sex with him?”

Yoongi’s eyes went wide, the idea of it leaving the feeling of a pit in his stomach as he turned to look into Taehyung’s eyes. “Uh…no, I stopped it before we got that far.”

“Did he force you?”

Yoongi noticed Taehyung’s fist tightening and his jaw clenching at the mere idea of anyone forcing Yoongi to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with, and immediately the omega set the records straight and defended Namjoon’s name.

“What? No. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Good.” Taehyung said, although he didn’t look that much more content. “I didn’t know you knew him well enough to be certain he wouldn’t.”

“It’s just a vibe I got from him.” Yoongi shrugged. “Jungkook and Jimin wouldn’t have introduced us if he was sketchy like that.”

He only just registered how close Taehyung was to him, and realized that Taehyung did not seem happy in the slightest, despite Yoongi confirming that Namjoon had not harmed him. The omega was only confused for a moment longer until he remembered that he had indeed just been with another alpha, and he was now in Taehyung’s apartment—where Taehyung was very particular about everything smelling like himself.

“Oh shit, sorry, you probably don’t want the scent of other alphas in here.” Yoongi said. “Do you wanna scent me before I sit down?”

Yoongi wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Taehyung move so fast in his life. He grabbed Yoongi and pulled him flush against his body, burying his face into the omega’s neck. Yoongi gasped, losing his footing as he slammed into the alpha, clutching onto Taehyung’s shoulders to try and stabilize himself. Taehyung scented him so fervently that it had Yoongi feeling weak at the proximity, being pressed against the boy he was in love with like this as the alpha switched to scent the other side of Yoongi’s neck.

Taehyung had never been so diligent about scenting Yoongi before, and it had Yoongi gnawing on his lip to keep the whimpers pressing against his lips from escaping. He had to situate himself so his growing erection was out of the way of Taehyung potentially feeling it. He thought he might explode as Taehyung went back to the original spot once more, until he finally felt satisfied and released Yoongi from his hold.

The omega was momentarily dazed from the intensity of it, his legs weak. 

“Sorry.” Taehyung apologized, steadying Yoongi. “That was pretty annoyingly alpha of me, I just haven’t had another scent in here in a while. I didn’t realize how much it would bother me.”

“I-It’s all good. It’s not annoying.” Yoongi struggled to get out, his knees still a bit shaky. “Sorry, I should’ve disclaimed that I was coming from hanging out with him.”

“No, you don’t need to do that.” Taehyung shook his head. “I’m not in charge of you, I shouldn’t have gotten so weird about the scent thing.”

“It’s okay, Tae.” Yoongi laughed lightly, making his way to the couch to plop himself down before looking up at Taehyung. “So, Heather didn’t come over?”

“Nah, she was tired.” Taehyung said hesitantly, slowly advancing towards the couch, still a bit on edge.

“Did you do anything after the party?” Yoongi asked, making small talk to try and ease into comfortable conversation after the bizarre air left from Taehyung scenting him with such zeal.

“Not really, we just got ice cream then I walked her home.” Taehyung answered, confusing Yoongi when the alpha wouldn’t settle down onto the sofa. “Uh…not to be weird, but would you mind changing?” 

Yoongi furrowed his brows at the abrupt request and looked down at his outfit. “Why? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing, you look good. It’s just that you still smell like him a little.” 

“Really? Damn, he must have a strong scent.” Yoongi said.

“Were you by chance wearing his clothes?” Taehyung inquired, appearing questionably on edge.

“Oh, yeah, he let me wear his jacket on the way home.” Yoongi confirmed, still somewhat caught off guard by Taehyung’s vigilance to the other alpha’s presence on him. “Want me to head home? I don’t wanna make your place stink of him.”

“No, it’s not that bad. It’s just that it’s on you.” Taehyung explained, though it didn’t really make much sense to him. “I have the sweats you usually borrow that you can change into.”

Yoongi acquiesced and followed Taehyung to his room, the alpha handing them to him and leaving for the omega to get changed. Taehyung sighed in satisfaction once the clothes were on the omega, three sizes too big. Taehyung’s scent was all around him, and there was nothing Yoongi loved more than the feeling of being completely engulfed in Taehyung’s scent this way.

“Thanks, sorry again about being so particular.” Taehyung apologized sheepishly as he led the omega back to the couch.

“Seriously, it’s alright. You don’t have to be sorry.” Yoongi chuckled, grabbing the remote to power on the screen, scrolling to the movie they’d gotten three quarters of the way through. “Do you wanna finish ‘Ella Enchanted?’”

When Yoongi glanced over at Taehyung, he felt the alpha looking at him, still seemingly on edge.

“Tae?”

“I’m sorry, it just still kinda smells like him.” Taehyung said in remorse, looking like he was fighting an internal battle with himself.

Yoongi was truly amazed that Namjoon’s scent could possibly still be lingering on him, and guilt started to wrack through the omega for how clearly uncomfortable it was making his best friend.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to head home? I really don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“No no, I don’t want you to go.” Taehyung shook his head.

Yoongi tried to think of further solutions, drawing a blank on anything else before shrugging. “I mean, if you think it’ll help, you can scent me as much as you need?”

Taehyung instantly wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s waist, burying his face in the omega’s neck again as they watched. Yoongi froze up, completely unprepared for how fast the alpha would take him up on his offer.

“Sorry.” Taehyung said once he’s finished scenting Yoongi for the fourth time. “I just didn’t realize how much I hate smelling other alphas on you since you’re never around them.”

“O-Oh…” Yoongi responded, a little speechless from the sudden proximity. “I’m really sorry, I’ll shower before I come over after seeing him.”

Taehyung didn’t respond, only scenting Yoongi again. The omega sighed in content, letting himself sink back into the alpha. He was practically on Taehyung’s lap at this point, hardly paying attention to the movie as he felt the warmth of Taehyung’s golden skin radiating onto his neck from the alpha scenting him.

“I’m sorry you didn’t finish everything on the itinerary with Heather.” Yoongi said in an attempt to remind himself that this meant nothing for Taehyung like it did for the omega.

“It’s fine. We’re gonna hang out tomorrow.” Taehyung answered, not appearing to be too engaged in the conversation surrounding the other alpha.

“You guys are cute together.” Yoongi forced out, his eyes downcast as he feigned excitement for his best friend moving onto the next potential love interest.

Taehyung didn’t say anything in response to that comment. The alpha didn’t release Yoongi, and the friends finished the movie like that. By the ending scene, the omega’s eyelids were heavy and he found himself fighting off a yawn every other minute.

“Are you sleeping over?” Taehyung asked as the credits rolled.

“I wasn’t planning on it, why?”

“You still smell a little like alcohol.” Taehyung said. “I don’t want you getting hurt on the way home.”

“I’ll be okay.” Yoongi shrugged, making a move to get up, only to find Taehyung’s arms locked around him.

“I’ll walk you back then.” Taehyung said.

“What? That’s silly, I promise I’m fine.” Yoongi shook his head. When the alpha didn’t respond, Yoongi realized he ought to take up the offer while it was on the table. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay over.”

“I don’t mind.” Taehyung said instantly. “Are you tired?”

“A little.” 

“Wanna sleep?” Taehyung questioned.

Yoongi kind of wanted to stay awake and enjoy Taehyung’s presence longer, but he already felt guilty barging in on his best friend with another strong alpha scent, causing Taehyung to worry over Yoongi.

“I probably should.” 

Taehyung’s face was in Yoongi’s neck immediately, releasing calming pheromones. The exhausted omega almost immediately knocked out, always unaware of how worn out he was until the alpha made him zen. He felt Taehyung gather him up into his arms and take him to bed, the omega passing out before he even got to the alpha’s room.

Yoongi woke the next morning, his eyes landing on Taehyung’s sticker-covered laptop and nearly-finished Picasso puzzle. The omega yawned, enjoying the scent of Taehyung being all around him as he stretched. 

He felt arms tighten around his waist, causing Yoongi to gasp and turn his head to find Taehyung there, holding the omega close in his grasp. Yoongi covered his mouth to mask his elation, knowing well that Taehyung was just feeling extra protective after Yoongi had been out with an alpha that he didn’t know. 

His buzzing phone was what broke Yoongi from his immersion, as he reached over to the bedside table to find an endless stream of texts from his friend. This is exactly why Yoongi was relieved the “Find my friends” option existed, because if Jimin didn’t have access to see Yoongi’s location, his paranoid ass would be calling the older omega every other hour to make sure he was alive. 

Ever since Yoongi got lost on a forest hike once when they were kids, Jimin had never forgotten the terror of not knowing where his best friend was. Though Yoongi hardly remembered the situation, seeing as the park ranger had found him within twenty minutes, Jimin remembered every second of fear that he’d endured while looking for Yoongi, and now he kept consistent tabs on Yoongi’s whereabouts as if the senior were going to go get lost in a forest again at his grown age.

Sure enough, Jimin had been texting Yoongi asking how it was with Namjoon and why he ended up at Taehyung’s. Yoongi sighed, sleeping his phone and rubbing his eyes, preparing himself to be interrogated by the other omega. Taehyung felt the movement enough that it awoke him, and he grumbled in his sleep, not yet prepared to wake up.

“Tae?” Yoongi poked the alpha’s forearm. “I gotta go.”

Taehyung just made an indignant noise and held Yoongi closer, making the omega laugh lazily. 

“Jimin is gonna come kick down your door if I’m not over there in the next twenty minutes.” 

Taehyung paused, before ultimately letting go. Even though Taehyung didn’t know Jimin on a very personal level, he did know enough to understand that the omega’s wrath was one not to trifle with. Though the alpha would do anything to keep Yoongi safe, Taehyung hadn’t a doubt in his mind that Jimin had more power to destroy someone’s life if they crossed his childhood best friend, and he didn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of Jimin’s vengeance.

Yoongi got up and changed back into his clothes from the night before, much to Taehyung’s distaste. Any hint of Namjoon’s scent was erased and the omega was now drenched in the scent of Taehyung, but he still didn’t like the memory of seeing Yoongi at his doorstep in this exact outfit, reeking of another alpha.

“Do you need anything for the way?” Taehyung asked as he walked Yoongi to the door. 

Yoongi shook his head, yawned before giving a tired smile up at Taehyung. “I’m okay. Thanks for letting me stay over.” 

“Any time.” Taehyung said, pulling Yoongi in for another tight embrace, and the omega wasn’t surprised one bit when he felt the alpha scenting him.

It was pretty humorous at this point, though a tiny piece of Yoongi mourned that the scenting was due to his friend’s protectiveness and not his mate’s possessiveness.

“You’re going out with Heather again, right?” Yoongi asked as Taehyung finally released him.

“Yeah, we’re driving out to the mountains to go rock climbing.” 

“Okay, be safe and have fun.” Yoongi waved as he walked out. “I’ll talk to you later.

Yoongi couldn’t shake the warm, tingly feeling of Taehyung’s arms around him the entire walk to Jimin’s. Sure, the alpha usually hugged Yoongi to sleep if he was on his bed in place of his stuffed animals and pillows, but the incessant scenting from the night prior had the omega pressed closer to Taehyung than ever before, and he couldn’t stop the butterflies in his stomach and the simultaneous weight in his chest over it.

When Jimin opened the door for Yoongi, his excited smile quickly soured upon one whiff. 

“Jesus, Yoongi. Did Taehyung scent you all night?”

Practically.

“No.” Yoongi walked into the apartment. “Do you have any cold brew? I’m half awake.”

Yoongi entered the kitchen area of the apartment, only to find Jungkook already making coffee. Like his boyfriend, the beta’s face instantly twisted into one of distaste as Yoongi got closer.

“Good god, what did Taehyung do to you?”

“Can you both stop exaggerating?” Yoongi grumbled, snatching the iced coffee from Jungkook’s hand.

“I know I can be theatrical, but it really does reek of Taehyung in here.” Jimin said in sincerity. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to stop letting him scent you, or it’s gonna give the wrong impression.”

“What do you mean?” Yoongi frowned. “He doesn’t scent me every time, it’s just when I’ve been around other alphas.”

“Yeah, and he’s gonna have to get used to it pretty soon and cut it out with this.” Jungkook said, taking a seat at one of the bar stools. 

“He’s been scenting you so much more these days that my apartment is starting to smell like him just from you coming over.” Jimin gave him a disapproving expression. “If you keep going everywhere smelling like him, people are going to think you’re mates.”

The mere idea of it made Yoongi’s stomach do a little flip, but he maintained his flat expression flawlessly.

“I think this is why no other omegas want to hang out with you.” Jungkook chuckled. “You smell like who they all want but can’t have.”

“Oh my god, you’re both being so dramatic. We’re acting like normal friends.”

“Normal friends?” Jimin arched an eyebrow. “Normal friends don’t act the way he does towards you. Scenting you all the time, protecting you in the most low-risk situations, practically babying you. If I wasn’t so close to you I absolutely would have thought you two were together.”

“It’s just an alpha thing.” Yoongi shrugged it off. “He’s got strong instincts, and I’m the only omega he hangs out with.”

“Well, whatever it is, you need to tell him to lay off. He’s scaring away potential suitors.” Jimin chided him, then switched gears as he segued into the topic at hand. “Speaking of which…”

Yoongi gave him an unamused reaction. “Yeah, thanks for tricking me with the party and ditching me with Namjoon.”

“It wasn’t my idea.” Jungkook butted in. “I told Jimin we should warn you, but he said if we told you then you wouldn’t go because you’d be afraid of coming off creepy.”

“And you’d be correct.” Yoongi affirmed. “I was indeed very worried that I came off creepy.”

“Well, it worked out, didn’t it?” Jimin clapped his fingers together. “Namjoon looked thrilled you showed up, and it was so cute seeing you two together all night.”

“Does this mean you may actually not hate an alpha that isn’t Taehyung?” Jungkook teased, to which Yoongi rolled his eyes before answering honestly.

“Yeah. He’s really cool.” The senior said plainly.

“Just cool? C’mon, we saw you walk up to his room with him and you were there until we left.” Jungkook wiggled his eyebrows at Yoongi.

“Yeah, we just talked in his room and made out for a little.”

“That’s it?” Jimin asked, visibly disappointed.

“Yes, why is that surprising?”

“I don’t know, he’s pretty hot and it’s been a long time since you got laid. We figured you’d have wanted to do a little more.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy for me.” Yoongi rested his chin on his hand.

“Why not?” Jungkook asked. “Do you not get aroused anymore?”

No, he was definitely not that. He was very, very horny, but his eyes were set on one person, and even with the influence of alcohol, Yoongi couldn’t manage to pursue sex with anyone else besides that one person.

“I’m not sure.” 

“Do you not like Namjoon that much?” Jimin asked.

“I don’t know, can we just drop it?” Yoongi huffed, his patience starting to run thin.

“Yoongi, you’re the one who said you wanted to find a mate in college.” Jimin pointed out, a little taken aback by Yoongi’s short response. “All throughout high school, you said this is what you wanted. University is when everyone pairs up, and you’ve barely even tried. Your time is almost up, and we’re doing our best to help you, but you’ve barely given any of the fine bachelors we’ve presented you even a sliver of a chance.”

“I just don’t like any of them.” Yoongi defended himself.

“But why? How could you not like any of them? We’ve set you up with at least twelve guys just this year alone, and you never even gave any one of them a second date.”

“It just didn’t feel right.” Yoongi said, getting off the stool and walking to the living room to try and escape the suddenly unwelcome influx of questions.

“Why? We found guys that were like your celebrity crushes, your hometown crushes, practically carbon copies of you and guys who couldn’t be more opposite than you. We’ve found almost every type of guy under the sun for you and you give up on them before you’ve even gone on the date.”

“I can’t help that I’m not attracted to any of them. None of them are what I want in a partner.”

“I don’t understand what you want at all!” Jimin groaned, finally losing his patience. “You talk about being single and lonely all the time, but every time I introduce you to someone you bail on the date or leave the date early or turn them down when they ask to see you again. What is the problem? Why don’t you let yourself fall for anyone?” 

“I’m not good enough for any of them.” Yoongi said with a shrug, refusing to meet either of their eyes.

“Yoongi, that’s bullshit, and you know it. Don’t even try to fool us with that.” Jimin called him on his bluff. “We’ve introduced you to betas, omegas, and every one of the few alphas we found, you immediately hated before even talking to them. You’ve said all the omegas were too winey and submissive, and all the betas were too horny. You didn’t even give any of the alphas a chance until Namjoon, and even after enjoying him you’re about to reject him! You’ve been completely uninterested in everyone we’ve tried to set you up with, and you won’t even go near any alpha unless it’s Tae—”

Jimin cut himself off, his eyes finally widening as Yoongi shrunk beneath him.

“Oh my god.” Jimin said as he finally put the pieces together. “You’re in love with Taehyung.”

Yoongi looked down at the floor, wrapping his arms around himself. He couldn’t even respond, because he couldn’t admit the truth, and he knew that the two of them would call him out on any lie. It was a silent ten seconds where either of them tried to find the words to respond, knowing that Yoongi wasn’t going to.

It was deafeningly silent for a painful few moments as Jimin and Jungkook processed it. Years of Yoongi being in love with his best friend right under their noses, and never once had they even imagined it. 

Jimin particularly felt betrayed—not only by Yoongi, but also himself. He’d been best friends with Yoongi since they were children, and he felt he knew Yoongi so well that he would have for sure picked up on anyone the omega had feelings for. Their whole life, anytime Yoongi had a crush on someone, Jimin called it out immediately. He had no idea his best friend was capable of concealing something so significant as being in love, and the truth hit him like a truck when he realized he’d been blind to it all along.

“...Is that why you won’t go around any alphas?” Jungkook asked softly. “You’re worried it would bother Taehyung?”

Yoongi didn’t respond, far too humiliated to speak. His silence told Jungkook the answer, although all it took was the younger saying it out loud to realize the truth. He didn’t even need to see Yoongi’s reaction to connect all the dots, reflect on all of their interactions with the alpha and their history and how Yoongi would act around him and talk about him.

“You’ve hid it so well.” Jungkook said. “I had no idea.” 

“Yeah.” Yoongi looked away sadly.

“I can’t believe you were able to keep it from me.” Jimin said, incapable of even pretending to hide how much it hurt to learn. “You’ve never hidden anything from me.”

“I’m sorry, Jimin.” Yoongi looked at his best friend with remorseful, sullen eyes. “I could never admit it out loud, not even to myself.”

“How long have you been in love with him?” Jimin asked, his voice softening to try and get Yoongi to calm down and answer honestly.

The omega shrugged, though he could finally produce some form of response. “Pretty soon after meeting him.”

The two winced thinking about it. Yoongi met Taehyung three years ago—that’s a long time to be in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same back.

“You’ve never considered telling him?”

“And say what? He doesn’t even like interacting with omegas, he’d never even dream of dating one.” Yoongi’s words came out so pitiful. “I’m the only omega he hangs out with, and it’s because I’m the only omega friend he’s had that didn’t confess their love to him.”

“You are in love with him, though.” Jungkook responded softly.

“I know, but I don’t want to lose him, which I will if I tell him how I feel.” Yoongi sighed in defeat. 

“Yoongi, you’re just torturing yourself this way.” Jungkook said. 

“It’s fine.” Yoongi lied. “I’d rather be around him and sad than be away from him and never see him again.”

“You’ve never even tried.” Jungkook continued.

“What is there to try? He doesn’t want to date omegas. That’s that.”

“But he doesn’t consistently date or even want anyone.” Jimin cut in, putting aside his hurt as he began to make a revelation for the sake of his best friend. “Maybe he says all that, but it’s because you’re the exception.”

“You’re cruel for even attempting to get my hopes up.” Yoongi said, sourly.

“I’m not trying to get your hopes up, you know I wouldn’t say something to you unless I meant it.” Jimin refuted. “Maybe the reason he hasn’t settled down for anyone, and you’re the only omega he’ll be friends with, is because he likes you back?”

“Taehyung is the most confident, unconventional person I’ve ever met. There’s no way he would ever settle for a traditional relationship.”

“C’mon, Yoongi. I know you think that, but we still do have instincts.” Jimin said. “He can’t fight his instincts anymore than you can fight yours. I’m amazed you’ve made it this far.”

“What if you wouldn’t be losing him as a friend?” Jungkook pondered. “Maybe you’d be gaining him as a partner? Or even a mate?”

“He would never have an omega partner.” Yoongi reiterated. “He thinks those relationships are old fashioned and he doesn’t want to be put in that position. And I can’t be one of those omegas if I want to maintain our friendship.”

“It’s okay to give into your instincts, Yoongi.” Jimin said, getting a little defensive. “I’m in charge of everything in my life and I always have been independent and I like it that way, but I wasn’t ashamed of dating alphas in the past. It didn’t make me any less capable, and I was just as independent then as I am now with Jungkook.”

Yoongi forgot that Jimin had had a long term alpha boyfriend prior to Jungkook, and he didn’t think about how talking down on traditional relationships could easily be interpreted as a low blow to Jimin.

“You’re a strong guy, Yoongi.” Jungkook told the older. “Stronger than most betas and even a decent number of alphas I know. You don’t fall into the ‘pick-me’ category that Taehyung has such a distaste for. He’s never been able to withstand even spending an hour alone with any omega from what you tell us, but he’s always been by your side and protective of you.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know it, but he’d also like to give into his instincts and be with an omega?” Jimin suggested.

“There’s no way in hell.” Yoongi shook his head.

“I mean, who else is he gonna date?” Jimin questioned. “He’s dated all types of betas, all types of alphas, and a handful of more established omegas, and he hasn’t truly liked any of them—pretty much the same dating history as you.”

“I think he’s aromantic and he just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“That could be, or it might just be that he likes you.” Jimin said.

“Guys, I understand that you want things to work out for me, but telling him how I feel would be a nightmare.” Yoongi insisted. “We’re best friends, and if I tell him I like him then he’ll get just as angry as all the other times and never talk to me again. I’d rather live in agonizing heartbreak and at least still be friends with him, then live in agonizing heartbreak and I don’t ever get to see him again.”

His friends stared at him in sympathy, detesting how hopeless of a situation Yoongi was in.

“I’m sorry you have to know now. This is exactly why I never told anyone.” Yoongi let out a heavy, sorrowful breath. “Look, I promise I’m fine. I’ve been in love with him long enough this way, I know I can keep going if it means I get to keep him.”

“Yoongi?” Jimin asked, causing the omega to look up at him. “If he wanted to mate you, would you let him?”

It was a severe question. Dating was one thing, but mates? That was an entirely different story…and yet, it’s exactly what Yoongi wanted. It’s what he’d wanted since the first month of knowing Taehyung. As much as he hated to admit to himself that he was an omega who wanted a traditional relationship with an alpha, he hated to admit even more that the alpha he was in love with, he truly believed to be his unrequited soulmate.

Yoongi’s silence to Jimin’s question was all either needed for their answer, and the two friends just sighed.

“You say you’re fine, but I really don’t know how long you can go on like this.” Jungkook said.

“If it’s to the point that you want him to mate you, which I truly believe you do, there’s only so much you can withstand before you break.” Jimin added.

Yoongi wanted to deny it—to say that he’d be able to stay with Taehyung as best friends forever this way—but he knew deep down that what Jungkook said was true.

“Then I’ll just treasure the time I have left with him before I do.”

❃°•°❀°•°❃

Yoongi opted to be alone the rest of the day. The dread of telling his childhood best friend was too much for him to handle, and he’d left not long after. He didn’t want to go home, and he didn’t want to potentially run into Taehyung if he walked around the city, so he hopped on the metro and just let it take him.

He looked out the window as they passed through each city, watching couples as they cozied up and did stupid couple shit. He wished he’d brought his headphones to try and drown out the conversations around him, but he’d been too impulsive to even do that, so he just listened to the rattling of the train on the tracks, the muffled voices on the train, the recorded announcements at each stop.

It wasn’t until the metro was pulling up to the train station that they’d been a week prior that Yoongi realized he needed to get off and head back. He spent a bit of time however, just wandering around the museum he’d been too distracted by his own feelings to really pay attention to.

It didn’t help much more this time around, since he was still just as heartbroken but this time with a paired load of humiliation. Jimin and Jungkook’s words rang through his cranium as he tried to eavesdrop on tour guides—how they’d told him to finally confront Taehyung, get his feelings out and off of his chest, and find out what the alpha had to say in response.

But that was just it. He was petrified by what Taehyung might say in response, because it could only go one of two ways—and the way that it was certain to go, was certain to shatter the last shard of Yoongi’s broken heart left.

The museum was closing, and the sun had long since set. Yoongi was getting texts and calls from Jimin and Jungkook and Taehyung, and Hoseok, who no doubt had wondered where Yoongi had been all day long. With nowhere else to go, the omega finally got back on the metro and headed back to his apartment, texting everyone on the way and telling them he was fine, making up some excuse about forgetting something at the train museum and needing to come all the way back to get it. Obviously none of them believed him, but he didn’t expect them to anyway.

By the time he hopped off the metro, Jimin and Jungkook were waiting for him. They both walked Yoongi back to his apartment, apologizing for pushing the topic followed by Jimin scolding Yoongi for acting so rashly and disappearing like that. 

Yoongi accepted their apologies and promised not to do anything that impulsive again, and eventually he’d managed to send them off and end up alone in the apartment. Hoseok was out somewhere with Jin, and Taehyung was driving home early from his rock climbing trip with Heather to make sure Yoongi was okay, despite Yoongi telling him what’d happened and not to worry.

Yoongi stared at the blank television screen for about an hour when he finally heard the door handle jiggle. He didn’t bother turning his head to know it was Hoseok coming in with Jin in tow. 

“Yoongi?” Hoseok called to him upon finding the omega in such a questionable state.

“Hey, Hoseok. Hey, Jin.” Yoongi greeted them, his eyes still locked on the powered off screen.

“Hey, Yoongi.” Jin responded hesitantly.

Hoseok gave his boyfriend a knowing look, and Jin retreated to the bedroom. The beta walked over, lowering himself onto the recliner next to Yoongi.

“You alright?” Hoseok asked. “We were getting a little worried.”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Yoongi nodded. “Sorry to scare you.”

The omega had yet to break eye contact with the black screen.

“Is everything alright?” Hoseok asked.

“Not particularly, but I’ll be fine.”

Hoseok had a hunch about what happened, but he was terrified to ask. He didn’t want to push Yoongi any farther than what the omega had clearly gone through today, but it didn’t sit right with him to simply leave him in this state.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Yoongi remained silent for a moment, before finally shifting his gaze over to his roommate. “You knew, didn’t you?”

Hoseok couldn’t even try to pretend he didn’t know what Yoongi was talking about. Instead, he simply sighed in defeat, looking down at his hands.

“I had a hunch.”

Yoongi looked back at the screen. “I must look pretty pathetic.”

“No.” Hoseok responded immediately. “I think you’re feeling the same way anyone in your position would.”

“Like a lovesick omega?”

“Like someone who’s been shown love by another person in a way that only a mate would.” Hoseok countered immediately. “Yoongi, there’s a reason people always mistake you two for mates, and I don’t think it’s fair for you to be so hard on yourself. It’s not like you had no reason to feel the way you did. If I had someone treating me the way he treats you, I’d fall in love too. Anyone would.”

“It’s not fair to him.” Yoongi shook his head, hanging his head. “He’s just being a caring alpha to his omega friend, and I took it in a way he doesn’t mean it. This is exactly why he doesn’t befriend omegas.”

“I’m sorry, but the way he treats you is not normal for friends, and it’s not a standard alpha, either.” Hoseok insisted. “It doesn’t matter that he has his alpha instincts or whatever. I’ve seen plenty of alpha and omega friends, and they don’t act the way you two do.”

“It’s just because his instincts are strong.”

“Okay, but even if that is the case, it’s affected you heavily, as it would anyone in your position.” Hoseok told him. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I’ve been watching you deteriorate over him for two years, and I really don’t think it’s unreasonable to say something to him before you graduate.”

“I can’t tell him how I feel.”

“If not that, then maybe set up some boundaries?” Hoseok suggested a compromise. “If you really want to preserve the friendship without breaking your heart every day, tell him to stop scenting you and babying you and treating you like his mate, and also to stop talking about his love interests.”

“That would create just as much of a rift in our friendship as if I just told him flat out how I feel.”

Hoseok let out another dejected breath, all of his suggestions falling flat on his roommate.

“Again, I can’t tell you what to do, Yoongi.” Hoseok said softly. “But I do care about you, and it’s really hard seeing this day in and day out, watching in front row seats. I really wish something would change so you could enjoy the last bit of your senior year—not even to find a mate, but just to actually enjoy it.”

“It won’t be any more enjoyable without him.” Yoongi shook his head. 

He saw his phone screen light up on the table, and they both knew who it was without needing to look. The omega sighed as he picked up the phone and texted Taehyung not to come over like the alpha was planning to after he’d dropped off Heather. Yoongi said that he’d just meet the alpha at his apartment, then put the phone in his pocket and finally looked over at Hoseok.

“I want to apologize for putting you in this position.” Yoongi told the beta in remorse. “And I also want to thank you for your advice. It means a lot to me that you care so much about my happiness.”

Hoseok gave him a weak smile, feeling as though his efforts were just as fruitless as Jimin and Jungkook’s.

“Of course, Yoongi.” Hoseok stood, ready to join Jin in his room. “I really hope you figure out some way to find peace for this last bit of your college experience.”

With that, Hoseok retreated to go to sleep with his boyfriend while Yoongi grabbed his keys and headed out to Taehyung’s apartment.

The alpha opened the door, immediately tugging Yoongi in and holding the omega close.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Taehyung asked, hugging him tight. “Jimin and I were worried sick. I was speeding down the mountain when Jimin told me you’d disappeared.”

“I’m sorry.” Yoongi said, his cheek squished against Taehyung’s chest. “I just needed to go for a ride.”

Taehyung pulled away enough to look down at Yoongi. “So you didn’t leave something at the train museum?”

“No.” Yoongi shook his head. “I just had a few things on my mind.”

“Like what?” Taehyung asked in concern.

“Just thoughts about what I’m gonna do after college.” Yoongi gave the generic but understandable answer. “I’m okay, I think I’m gonna go home next weekend to visit my parents and get some more clarity.”

Actually, Yoongi was probably going to start going home on the weekends to get away from campus, ergo away from Taehyung. As much as it would hurt to leave his best friend alone like that, he took Hoseok’s words to heart. He did need to distance from Taehyung if he ever wanted to heal and potentially move on, and he didn’t have the willpower unless he was off of the school campus.

Taehyung’s disappointment showed clearly on his face, feeling dejected that he couldn’t help solve Yoongi’s problems for him, but he didn’t push unsolicited advice onto the omega.

“I understand. I’m glad you’re taking the time you need.” Taehyung said, finally releasing Yoongi and fixing his hair that had been ruffled from the alpha’s embrace.

Yoongi let himself enjoy it for a moment before he remembered what his plan of action was, and stepped away. It was subtle enough not to cause concern to Taehyung, but it was something Yoongi never would have done before his revelation.

“I’m really sorry I ruined your rock climbing trip with Heather.” Yoongi apologized in earnest.

“It’s alright, we were both pretty tired anyway.” Taehyung said, the date evidently not even somewhat on his mind given what had happened with Yoongi.

“Was it fun on the drive at least?” Yoongi asked, making his way to the living room.

Taehyung wasn’t a huge fan of dropping the topic of Yoongi’s unrest which clearly weighed heavily on the omega’s shoulders, but he knew better than to push Yoongi when he was done talking about a subject, so he simply followed to the couch.

“It was okay, we talked the whole time.” Taehyung said. “She did end up bringing up the mates thing.”

Yoongi couldn’t look at Taehyung, simply focusing on the patterns of his coffee table.

“Really? How’d that go?”

“She said she feels the same as me.” Taehyung said. “She doesn’t want to mate an alpha and either get bitched or bitch another alpha, but she said she doesn’t want a traditional relationship either.”

“That is the same as you.” Yoongi said in a quiet voice. “That’s really fortunate. Now you can keep pursuing her without fear of running into a roadblock, right?”

“Yeah, except, I’m not sure how much she means that.” Taehyung said, causing Yoongi to glance up at him.

“Huh?”

“When the mates topic came up, she was really insistent that I shared my stance first.” Taehyung explained. “I kind of feel like she was just waiting to hear my answer so she could base hers off mine. I wish I’d asked her to share first, because I’m not certain she’s actually okay living without a mate.”

“What if she does mean it though?” Yoongi asked, unwelcome bitterness seeping out from his core.

“What do you mean?”

“What if she’s serious, and it just so happens that you’re lucky enough to find someone who feels the same way you do?” Yoongi asked, trying his best to hold back the spite trying to escape his lips.

“I guess, it just felt like kind of weird pacing.” Taehyung shrugged. “I don’t know, what do you think?”

Something about being asked the question seemed to be the last drop of water that broke the dam, and finally Yoongi no longer had any power to keep his pent up emotions in.

“I think she’s falling in love with you, so you should just do it.” Yoongi said, his tone of finality causing Taehyung to pause and look at his friend in confusion. 

“What?”

“I said, she’s clearly falling head over heels for you, just like everyone you ever date does, so you should just date her already.” Yoongi said, a bit more frustrated the second time.

“...You seem annoyed.” Taehyung postulated, a bit thrown off by Yoongi’s out of character response. “Was it something I said?”

“No, Taehyung. You didn’t say anything wrong, because you never do. You’re just talking about who to date for the hundredth time.” Yoongi responded in a cold tone as he hoisted himself off of the couch and began walking away, the alpha getting up and following him in confusion. “You go on date after date and they all fall in love with you and you never end up wanting to settle down with any of them, so why don’t you just do it for once? Just pick any of the thousands of alphas or betas or omegas that fall in love with you and go!”

Taehyung took a step back, furrowing his brows together at Yoongi’s unforeseen reaction to what was a calm, typical conversation.

“What’s gotten into you?” Taehyung asked, completely bewildered.

Yoongi clenched his fists and spun around, glaring at Taehyung from across the room.

“Nothing! I’ve just spent the last three years listening to you talk about date after date after friend who’s fallen for you after friend who’s made a move on you after a stranger at a bar after ex reaching out to you, and watched you contemplate one person after the next. For years. It’s just one after another and you’re always on the brink of catching feelings for someone and it’s never ever been with me.”

Taehyung froze, as he finally heard the cracking in Yoongi’s voice. He squinted to see the tears welled in the omega’s eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Taehyung asked, his expression unreadable.

The tears began spilling over the omega’s lash line as his lip trembled with the vulnerability that finally made a presence. Taehyung’s face softened as he took a step closer to try and determine what to do with the situation he was completely unprepared for.

“Yoongi?”

“I’m sorry. I tried so hard to stop, but I just can’t.” Yoongi relinquished his frustration, giving into his torn heart and bowed his head in shame, tears streaming down his face. “I’m in love with you, and I have been for years. And I know you don’t want someone like me, and I’m just a stupid omega who fell in love with an alpha like I’m biologically wired to, but I’m in love with you.”

Yoongi still couldn’t look Taehyung in the eyes as he clenched his own shut, only squeezing out more tears in the process as he tried to hide his face from the alpha.

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I don’t think I can do this anymore. I can’t watch you date and fall in love and ask me for advice when it’s physically killing me.” Yoongi confessed. “I’m sorry I’m a shitty friend, and I’m sorry I’ll never be what you wa—” 

Yoongi was cut off by Taehyung cupping his cheeks, pulling him close to press a passionate kiss on his lips. Yoongi gasped, but swiftly melted into it. His hands slowly lifted to rest on Taehyung’s shoulders, the younger’s arms looping around Yoongi’s waist as he deepened the kiss.

Yoongi was far too drunk on having Taehyung touch him this way to ask any questions when the alpha hooked his hands under the omega’s thighs and hoisted him up, wrapping Yoongi’s legs around his waist. The omega gasped at the display of strength, which Taehyung swallowed in the kiss as he took Yoongi to his bedroom.

He kicked the door closed behind them as he brought Yoongi to his bed, pushing off the teddy bears before laying the omega down and getting on top of him. Yoongi was in a state of euphoria as Taehyung kissed down his jaw to his neck, slowly unbuttoning the omega’s shirt as he kissed over his collarbones. The omega’s head tilted back in pleasure as Taehyung trailed back up to his neck, nipping and sucking at the skin and growling when Yoongi let out a whimper. 

The alpha gathered Yoongi’s wrists in his large hands, pinning him down in a demonstration of dominance that Yoongi never imagined he would see from the gentle alpha. It finally started to hit Yoongi where he was and what he was doing, and he turned his head away from the kiss as Taehyung returned to his lips.

“W-Wait, Tae.” Yoongi gasped, the alpha instantly stopping and pulling off of the omega. 

He looked down into the omega’s eyes, wide with pupils dilated from lust and lips puffy from Taehyung kissing him so passionately.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Taehyung asked in concern.

“No, but just…” Yoongi struggled to make eye contact, but he knew he needed to. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve been in love with you for years, Yoongi.” Taehyung said, feeling like the weight of the world was off his chest once he finally confessed. 

Yoongi felt as though everything in the universe froze as his breath caught in his throat, his heart skipping a beat.

“You have?” Yoongi questioned, completely astounded. “I thought you never wanted to date an omega?”

“I didn’t want to date anyone. Just you.” 

“But…I’m, like, a regular omega.” Yoongi admitted in shame. “I want all the things the omegas you’ve dated want in a traditional dynamic. I pretended I didn’t because I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me. I didn’t want to be that way, but I am.”

“I want to be in a traditional relationship with you too, Yoongi.” Taehyung affirmed. “I didn’t want anyone else putting me in that position except you, especially another omega, because I knew I’d always be wishing it was you. I want to take care of you and make you feel good and be everything you need me to, just like you’re everything I need.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened and his lips parted at Taehyung’s confession. “You do?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve wanted this for years.” Taehyung told him. “I’ve been in love with you since the week I met you, but I never thought you’d ever love me back, so I tried to pretend I didn’t want a mate or an omega so you’d never find out. Turns out we’re both clowns in this situation, huh?”

Yoongi couldn’t keep his laughter in, because it truly was so absurd. The two best friends hopelessly in love with one another, both echoing the exact same lie to one another to try and convince each other that there were no feelings on either side.

“I can’t believe you want me.” Yoongi shook his head. “I truly thought you disliked the idea of ever being with an omega.”

“I dislike the idea of being with any omega or any person period that isn’t you.” He reiterated. “I’ve never wanted to be with anyone else ever since I’ve met you, and the idea of having a mate grosses me out unless it’s you. I’ve dreamt about being mates with you almost every night since I fell for you back in freshman year.”

Yoongi desperately tried to hold back his tears, struggling to believe what was happening.

“I’ve only ever wanted you as my mate too.” Yoongi choked out. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything, and I was so certain you’d never want to be in control or in charge of an omega like a traditional mate.”

“I don’t want to own you, but I definitely want to take care of you and protect you more than anything.” Taehyung said, his warm eyes slowly darkening with lust as he continued. “I also want to be in charge in bed…I want to absolutely break you and your sexy body and mold you back together as my omega. I wanna make you mine.”

Yoongi hiccuped at Taehyung’s lewd confession. “I want all of that too. I want to be good for you, I want you to take control and tell me what you want me to do.”

“Right now, the only thing I want you to do is be an obedient omega and take what I give you.” Taehyung growled. “You bring out the alpha in me, and it feels so fucking good. I only want this with you, and I’ve only ever wanted it with you.”

“I want all of that too.” Yoongi whined in desperation. “I’ve wanted this more than anything for years.”

“That works out well.” Taehyung smiled at him salaciously. “Because I’m gonna give it to you.”

Taehyung went back in to capture Yoongi’s lips, immediately slipping his tongue into the omega’s eager mouth. Yoongi arched up until the alpha, his body screaming for Taehyung to take him and do whatever he wanted.

Taehyung grabbed the hem of Yoongi’s shirt, yanking it over his head and tossing it on the floor, wasting no time to pull off the rest of the omega’s clothes and leave him completely bare. Yoongi grabbed at Taehyung’s shirt, the alpha catching on and instantly throwing it off. It wasn’t the first time Yoongi had seen Taehyung’s bare chest, since the alpha often opted to go shirtless in the comfort of his apartment. Yoongi would have to keep his focus in check so the alpha never caught the senior eyeing him hungrily.

However, in this context, Yoongi felt as though he was seeing the alpha’s beautiful body for the first time. He’d never let himself focus on Taehyung’s figure for too long, but now that it was on display just for him, Yoongi’s eyes followed the pretty tattoos on the alpha’s forearm, his honey skin, the faint outline of his abs, his broad shoulders and strong arms. Yoongi was mesmerized by Taehyung’s beauty even more than before, and it didn’t take long for him to feel self conscious about his own figure in the presence of Taehyung’s greek god-like physique.

The omega might have tried to cover himself if Taehyung wasn’t staring down at him with dilated pupils, biting his lip and practically devouring Yoongi with his eyes. Yoongi could see Taehyung’s boner rising from under his sweats, and it had the omega swallowing in anticipation.

“Fuck, Yoongi.” Taehyung groaned. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

Yoongi’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away bashfully in response, unsure what to say. Taehyung laid between Yoongi’s legs, kissing the omega again before quickly traveling down his chest to his stomach and landing at his thighs. The omega was producing copious amounts of slick from the arousal of finally being with the alpha, and Taehyung tossed Yoongi’s legs over either shoulder and pressed his tongue to his hole, causing Yoongi to moan out and grip the sheets.

Taehyung rimmed Yoongi for a moment, savoring the sweet taste of the omega until he sat up and looked down at Yoongi with wild eyes. “Yoongi, I want to worship every inch of your body, but I truly believe I might nut if I don’t fuck you like right now.”

Yoongi couldn’t agree more, arching up into Taehyung in response. “Please fuck me, Tae. I need you so bad.”

Taehyung spread Yoongi’s legs, reaching down to circle his finger around the omega’s hole, teasing him for just a moment before slowly pushing past the ring of muscles. Yoongi’s years of admiring Taehyung’s hands were coming to a head as the alpha’s fingers entered him, diligently stretching him out to prepare. It only took a couple times curling his fingers to find the omega’s prostate, and Yoongi nearly shrieked in the sudden burst of euphoric pleasure surging through him upon impact.

The alpha smirked, easily sliding three fingers into Yoongi and massaging the omega’s prostate. He watched in smug satisfaction as the omega slowly melted beneath him, giving himself completely and enthusiastically to Taehyung. It only fed into his alpha, and he had to clench his jaw to resist the urge to bite and mate Yoongi right there after watching the alpha submit himself so fervently.

It only hit Taehyung as he was about to pull out his fingers that it’d been quite a while since he’d heard Yoongi ever talk about being intimate. 

“When’s the last time you had sex?” Taehyung asked in concern.

“A little over a year ago.” 

The answer only caused the alpha to hesitate, worried that Yoongi wouldn’t be able to take his size. Yoongi caught on immediately, and whined.

“I’ll be fine.” Yoongi insisted. “Please don’t hold back, I can take it. I need you.”

Taehyung paused his fingering, leaning down to kiss up Yoongi’s neck to his ear, his lips hovering just over the shell. “Tell me if you need me to stop, alright?”

“I promise.” Yoongi vowed.

Taehyung pressed a delicate kiss to Yoongi’s lips before standing off the bed to remove his pants. He kept eye contact with Yoongi as he did so, moving slowly. The omega’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes flickered down to the alpha’s erection, intimidated by the size. Taehyung immediately noted it and halted.

Yoongi’s eyes snapped back up to Taehyung, staring at him with resolve. 

“I’m okay.” Yoongi reassured him before the alpha could ask. “I want this. I want you.”

Taehyung gave a small grin, crawling onto the bed between Yoongi’s legs. He didn’t need lube from how much slick the omega was producing, and simply jerked his rock hard erection for a moment before pressing the head to Yoongi’s hole. He looked into the omega’s eyes, to which Yoongi nodded to give him consent. 

Taehyung did not break his gaze as he pushed in, pausing every time Yoongi winced from the pain. He really was huge, and Yoongi had overestimated his ability to take Taehyung’s length so easily, but he wasn’t going to back down. He’d been dreaming of this for three years, and he could hardly believe it was even reality to be in Taehyung’s bed with him, the alpha professing his feelings and making love to him.

“You okay?” Taehyung checked in with the omega nervously.

“I’m good.” Yoongi immediately responded. “Please don’t stop.”

Taehyung leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to the omega’s lips.

“I’ll go slow.” Taehyung promised in a soft voice. “I’ll take care of you.”

Yoongi whimpered and wrapped his arms around Taehyung, hiding into his neck as the alpha inched his way inside. The omega was certain that if it were someone else, he would have tapped out by now. But since it was Taehyung, Yoongi simply coped with the pain, knowing the pleasure was soon to follow.

And sure enough, once Taehyung was lodged inside, it only took him shifting once to brush against Yoongi’s sweet spot, evoking a moan from the omega. The sound lit a fire inside of Taehyung, and the alpha had to control his instincts as he slowly pulled out just a couple inches before pushing back in. Yoongi moaned in a higher pitch, his fingers pressing into Taehyung’s skin at the erotic pleasure.

Taehyung took his time in working up his pace, transitioning from shallow, slow thrusts to a moderate pace. With every thrust inside, he managed to hit Yoongi’s prostate, causing the omega to squirm and clench around Taehyung, further testing the alpha’s ability to hold himself back from taking Yoongi how he’d been dreaming of for years.

Yoongi was leaking precum all over his stomach as his hands went to Taehyung’s shoulders when the alpha began fucking him faster, spurred on by the lecherous moans coming from the omega’s soft lips.

“Tae…” Yoongi breathed, wrapping his legs around Taehyung’s waist to try and pull him in. “Faster.”

Taehyung growled, gripping the sheets and speeding up, feeling a sense of relief at Yoongi’s request though he still ached to fuck the omega with all the passion pent up inside of him. Yoongi bucked his hips up, chasing the pleasure and nonverbally begging Taehyung for more.

“Faster, please.” Yoongi pleaded, bringing Taehyung very close to his breaking point. “Alpha, please fuck me harder.”

Any semblance of restraint left in Taehyung’s body dissolved with the plea, and soon Yoongi found his wrists pinned to the mattress as the alpha pulled out just to the tip before slamming back into the omega. Yoongi yelped as his cock twitched, leaking more precum on his pale skin and his toes curled as he started to see stars.

“Oh, fuck, Tae.” Yoongi whined in desperation. “Take me.”

Taehyung growled and fucked into the omega mercilessly, his bedframe slamming against the wall and the springs squeaking tirelessly with every thrust. Yoongi was crying out Taehyung’s name over and over, his voice reaching higher pitches every time the alpha rammed into his prostate. 

“You’re so fuckin’ good, Yoongi.” Taehyung groaned, jackhammering mercilessly into the whining omega. “You’re so fucking perfect, and mine.”

“Yours.” Yoongi promised, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy. “Just yours.”

The omega leaned his head back to present his neck to Taehyung in complete submission. Taehyung dove in, sucking hickeys all over Yoongi’s pale skin and nipping at certain areas, safely away from where his branding mark would go if he were to mate the omega.

The urge to bite that part of Yoongi’s neck became too overwhelming, and Taehyung pulled out to flip the omega over before fucking right back into him. Yoongi's cheek lay flat against the mattress, unable to push himself up even if he wanted to. He was completely under the control of Taehyung, just like he’d always dreamed of.

Taehyung gripped Yoongi's waist hard enough to leave bruises, admiring the omega’s perfect ass as it rippled every time Taehyung thrusted into him. Yoongi couldn’t produce any coherent words if he tried, hardly capable of moving at all as he surrendered himself to the pleasure of Taehyung fucking him just how he wanted. His hands squabbled around, looking for any form of purchase as Taehyung’s dick sent him into another dimension of desire.

Yoongi eventually gripped onto something fuzzy, and with much labor managed to look up and find that it was one of the plushies on Taehyung’s bed that the alpha had missed when knocking them all off to make room for the two of them. The omega pulled it to himself, holding on for dear life as Taehyung fucked him with the fervor of a man repressing his passion for three years.

There was something inherently taboo about it—holding onto one of Taehyung’s cute little stuffed animals while getting absolutely railed in the alpha’s bed. Yoongi might have had the tact to simply toss the plushie off and grab a pillow instead if he had any piece of his right mind left at all. Instead, his tongue was lolled out, a puddle of drool forming on the mattress as Taehyung made Yoongi his bitch.

“You look so beautiful laid out on my bed, getting fucked by me just like you’re supposed to.” Taehyung smirked, his bangs falling over his sweaty forehead with the exertion of fucking Yoongi within an inch of his life. “Now, I’m gonna do what I’ve been waiting for all these years.”

“W-what?” Yoongi hardly managed to get out, his eyes glazed over in desire.

“I’m gonna fucking knot you.” Taehyung’s voice was low and gravelly as he delivered the news.. “You’re gonna take it like you were born to do. This is what you were made for, to take my dick like a good little omega. Like my good little omega.”

Yoongi scrambled to piece together a sentence through the blinding pleasure. “I want that so bad. Please knot me, I need you. I need you, alpha.”

Hearing Yoongi call him that lit Taehyung aflame and he took the alpha’s wrists again, holding them down and pistoning into him with no remorse. He watched in sinful satisfaction as Yoongi squirmed and writhed beneath him, drunk off of lecherous euphoria and incapable of muttering a single coherent sentence as he pounded into the omega and brought him to a point of deliria with his continued assaults on Yoongi’s prostate. Taehyung leaned over, sucking another hickey onto Yoongi’s neck.

“I want you so fucking bad, Yoongi.” Taehyung rasped into his skin, drunk off desire while kissing over the designated spot on Yoongi’s neck. “I wanna make you mine, I’ve wanted to since I first saw you.”

“Do it.” Yoongi gathered the last bit of sanity left, mainly mustered by his heart begging him to. “Please do it, please mate me.”

“Fuck, Yoongi.” Taehyung cursed, thrusting into the omega as he sucked hickeys onto Yoongi’s shoulder.

“I-I mean it, I love you. I’ve only ever wanted you.” Yoongi choked out, but his voice was tapering off into high pitches as Taehyung repeatedly rammed into his prostate and sent him levitating into another realm of euphoria.

But he wanted this. He really, really wanted this deep in his soul, and he had for the last 3 years. Just like Taehyung.

“You really want me to?” Taehyung asked, slowing down his thrusts just enough to be able to speak over the creaky mattress. “You want to be mine?”

“Yes!” Yoongi pleaded, tears gathering in his eyes. “Mate me, Tae. Please, I want it so bad. I wanna be yours.”

“Just mine?”

“Just yours.”

Taehyung growled and pulled out, flipping Yoongi over once more before thrusting right back into him. He kissed Yoongi passionately before pulling away just enough to look into the omega’s eyes, keeping still while lodged inside of Yoongi.

“Ask me again.” Taehyung told him. “Look me in the eyes and ask me. I need to know you mean it, I need to know that you actually, truly want this.”

“I mean it.” Yoongi nodded desperately, placing his trembling hands on Taehyung’s face and looking up into his big, warm eyes. “I’ve never wanted anything more. Please mate me, Taehyung.”

The alpha leaned in to kiss him hungrily once more, taking both his hands and interlocking their fingers, now gently pinning the omega to the bed. He kissed down Yoongi’s jaw, beginning to thrust into him again as he got to the omega’s neck. Yoongi moaned as Taehyung brought him back to the unchaste domain of pleasure, slowly tipping him over as he sucked on the spot as a preview of what was to come.

“I’m gonna make you mine.” Taehyung whispered, Yoongi clenching his eyes and holding Taehyung’s hands tighter in anticipation. “Only mine.”

Taehyung thrusted in until Yoongi was writhing, softly crying for the alpha, his pelvis coated in his own precum. His vision was fading into a blanket of white as he felt Taehyung’s knot start to form with each thrust, the base beginning to snag at Yoongi’s rim. The alpha was speeding up until his knot was too large, and he could hardly thrust inside, his tip just consistently pressed against Yoongi’s prostate.

“Fuck, take it Yoongi.” Taehyung grunted. “Take my fucking knot like a good omega.”

Taehyung thrust once more before his knot was fully formed, locking him inside of Yoongi, his dick shoved against the omega’s prostate.

“Tae!” Yoongi sobbed as he reached his orgasm, cumming all over himself, gripping onto the alpha’s hands so hard his knuckles turned white.

Taehyung cursed as he released inside of Yoongi, waiting until they were both at the peak of their orgasms before leaning down to the spot where the omega’s shoulder and neck connected and fit his teeth over the area before clamping down. Yoongi’s eyes screwed shut as his entire body tensed while his orgasm subsided, before going limp. Taehyung completely emptied his load inside of Yoongi, waiting to finish before releasing his bite.

He looked down to see Yoongi hanging onto consciousness by a thread, his eyelids halfway down and his bangs wet with sweat, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his ability to breathe. Taehyung raked the omega’s sweaty bangs back, cupping his face and leaning in to kiss Yoongi, the older only managing to engage for a second before passing out.

Taehyung grinned, kissing his forehead and cheek before situating them so that the alpha was sitting against the headboard with Yoongi straddling his lap. He cradled the omega’s head and led Yoongi to rest against his shoulder while they waited for the alpha’s knot to go down. Taehyung ran his hand soothingly over Yoongi’s back, occasionally pressing gentle kisses to the mate mark forming on his neck.

“You’re finally mine.” Taehyung whispered, hiding his face in Yoongi’s shoulder. “I never thought I’d get to have you.”

“I’ve always been yours.” Yoongi responded, gradually coming back into consciousness. “I just never thought you’d want me back.”

“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.” Taehyung said sincerely, pulling away enough to look up into the omega’s eyes. “I love you.”

Yoongi blushed, smiling shyly as he pressed his forehead to Taehyung’s. 

“I love you too.” He whispered.

As expected, Taehyung took care of everything as Yoongi recovered his strength. Once his knot went down he cleaned the omega up, showered him off, dressed him in his sweats, and carried him to the kitchen for water and snacks to replenish his depleted energy. Yoongi was clinging onto Taehyung far more than he would normally allow himself to be, unable to stop his omega instincts from giving in to the neediness he felt to be near his alpha after freshly getting mated.

Taehyung didn’t mind a single bit, feeling the same level of attachment to Yoongi now that they were bonded together. Soon he had Yoongi in his lap on the couch as he made sure the omega was eating the crackers and fruit juice he’d provided for him. Yoongi’s head rested in the crook of Taehyung’s neck and shoulder, enjoying the alpha’s fingers gently sliding over his back as he held the senior close.

“So,” Yoongi’s voice was still low and tired, “What’s gonna happen with Heather?”

“Oh, she knew I was in love with you the moment she saw you.” Taehyung said, a little grin coming to his face. “After we talked about the mates thing and she saw how hesitant I was, she confessed that she could tell how I felt about you, and that she was pretty sure you were in love with me too, which I thought was outlandish until now of course. She said she was okay to be my backup plan, but made me promise to go for it if you ever confessed, since she knew I wouldn't because I was too afraid to end our friendship.”

It was pretty sad to hear that Heather was so willing to be someone Taehyung settled for, but then again Yoongi's entire existence for the past three years had been pretty pathetic given what he'd put himself through for the alpha.

“Damn, what is it with the most random people predicting us?” Yoongi chuckled. “Jimin and Jungkook had no idea I was in love with you, but Hoseok somehow did.”

“Maybe our close friends know us so well they figured it would’ve come out by now.” Taehyung hypothesized. “Hoseok and Heather don’t know us well enough to be weirded out by how diligently we can keep a secret.”

“Evidently.” Yoongi cuddled into Taehyung. “I’m glad she wasn’t too hurt by it.”

“Nah, she knew nothing real would come of us. She could tell I wouldn’t be able to move on from you.” Taehyung said. “Honestly, I think she just wanted a lifelong rock climbing buddy.”

Yoongi laughed, looking into Taehyung’s mesmerizing eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t go rock climbing with you.”

“I’m glad you don’t want to, to be honest.” Taehyung admitted. “I already worry about your safety all the time. I think watching you rock climb would make me pass out knowing how much danger you’re putting yourself in that I have minimal power to protect you from.”

“I might try to scold you on your protective nature, but since I hate most physically demanding hobbies, I’ll let it go this time.”

Taehyung laughed and held Yoongi closer, the omega feeling the vibrations against Taehyung’s chest.

“Does it hurt?” Taehyun asked uneasily.

“My neck or my ass?”

“Both.” Taehyung answered seriously. “Did I go too hard?”

“No.” Yoongi situated himself so he was straddling Taehyung, putting his juice and pretzels aside. “I’ve never felt this incredible in my life.”

Taehyung’s teeth glistened even in the dimly lit apartment as his arms wrapped around Yoongi’s waist, pulling him flush against his chest.

“Same.” Taehyung kissed him tenderly. “I still kind of can’t believe this is real.”

Yoongi wrapped his arms around Taehyung holding him close.

“Neither can I.” Yoongi said, enjoying the wholesome moment before letting his instincts get the better of him. “I also can’t believe how quick my turnaround time is now that you mated me.”

It didn’t take two seconds before Yoongi felt Taehyung’s dick coming to life, his boner pressing against Yoongi through his sweatpants.

“You just passed out from my dick, and you’re already wanting to go again?” Taehyung questioned, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, we are freshly mated.” Yoongi curled one of Taehyung’s thick locks in his finger. “They say that now is when we’re horniest while our bodies try to sink up my heat with your rut.”

Of course they’d been taught that in health class back in high school, but Taehyung didn’t understand just how powerful that truth was until his new mate was in his lap, giving him bedroom eyes with pretzel crumbs still littered on his lips.

“Do you not have enough energy?” Yoongi teased, instantly giving a squeak as Taehyung delivered a warning smack on the omega’s ass.

“I don’t think you want to tease me, darling.” Taehyung smirked at him devilishly. “This is my first time fully letting loose on my instincts, I don’t want you to have to face my wrath by catching an attitude.”

Yoongi’s dick hardened just as Taehyung’s did, and the omega decided that he did indeed want to experience this wrath from his new alpha.

“I don’t know, sounds like empty threats.” Yoongi shrugged wryly. “I think you’re just tired.”

In a moment Taehyung was on his feet, Yoongi’s body draped over his shoulder as the alpha carried him to his room.

“I guess now you’re gonna find out what happens when you mock your alpha.” Taehyung said, patting Yoongi’s butt as the excited omega squirmed over his shoulder.

“Another empty threat?” Yoongi teased, welcoming his fate.

Taehyung scoffed, pushing his teddy bears off his freshly made bed before slinging Yoongi down onto it.

“Little one, you’re about to learn a lesson on respect towards your alpha.”

Yoongi simply smirked, looking up at Taehyung with a challenging glint to his eyes. 

“I’d like to see you try.”

❃°•°❀°•°❃

“Is he almost here?” Jungkook asked Jimin, who was consistently tracking Yoongi’s location.

“Yeah. I assume he’s taking an uber with how fast he’s going.” Jimin sighed, looking over at Jungkook. “I’m really nervous what state he’ll be in.”

Jungkook had managed to convince Jimin not to bombard Yoongi’s phone with incessant text messages asking him why he’d been at Taehyung’s so long. Even though Jungkook also wanted to make sure Yoongi was alright, given the state that they’d last seen the senior in, Jungkook figured it best to let Yoongi have his time.

“Maybe they just fell asleep to movies.” Jungkook suggested.

“For a day and a half?” Jimin gave Jungkook a discrediting look before going back to watch Yoongi’s location. “I have a hunch that Taehyung was just talking about Heather all night and Yoongi was holding back tears.”

“Or, perhaps he defied all odds and actually confessed his feelings to Taehyung?”

Jimin didn’t even humor Jungkook in what felt like an absurd suggestion. His eyes widened as the pinpoint rapidly approached, indicating that Yoongi was just a few feet from the house.

“He’s here.” Jimin informed Jungkook. “Just be nice and don’t say anything about it unless he does. Tonight’s about cheering him up.”

Jungkook nodded in agreement as the two watched the door like hawks, waiting for the senior omega to walk in. 

Within seconds, their eyes landed on Yoongi, a breath of relief coming to both of them, until they both shifted their eyes to see who was with him. Yoongi’s face was pink as he walked in with Taehyung’s arm around his shoulders. His eyes landed on his friends, who stared at him in initial astonishment, then eventual smugness.

They watched as Yoongi tugged on Taehyung’s sleeve and motioned to his friends, the alpha glancing over and waving to them before kissing Yoongi’s forehead and walking away to let him have his time with Jimin and Jungkook. Yoongi approached them, all of their eyes instantly falling to the branded mark on his neck.

“Well well well.” Jungkook smirked, crossing his arms. “What do you know? Yoongi swears he’ll never admit his feelings to his crush, then shows up limping with a claiming mark on his neck the next day.”

Yoongi couldn’t even say anything snarky back since they were 100% right.

“I’m letting you know, that even though you deserve it, I’m too nice to say ‘I told you so.’” Jungkook said.

“I’m not.” Jimin butted in. “I told you so.”

Yoongi just blushed and covered his face to conceal his embarrassment of being proven completely right by his friends after vehemently denying their claims that Taehyung was in love with him.

Jimin couldn’t even maintain his snarky façade for long before throwing his arms around Yoongi, holding his friend tight in elation.

“I figured he’d like you back, but this is even more.” Jimin giggled with glee, releasing the other omega. “After all these years saying there was no mate for you, you end up being mated first out of all of us.”

“Yeah, I can’t really believe it.” Yoongi couldn’t hide the excitement on his face. “After he confessed he’d been feeling the same way, it just felt right.”

“Sounds like soulmates.” Jungkook suggested, making Yoongi’s stomach flip in jubilation. 

“Could be. Knowing you, there’s no way you’d ever mate someone so quickly unless you’d known from the start.”

Yoongi’s best friends solidifying his decision only added to Yoongi’s joyfulness over his drastic shift in emotional conditions—at last, in his favor.

“So, does this mean he can finally join our wine nights?” Jungkook asked, referring to the fact that Yoongi had been selfish over his personal time with Taehyung.

“Potentially, if you two swear never to bring up our previous conversations.”

“As if I could ever even attempt to promise such a ridiculous request.” Jimin laughed to himself. “It’s okay, I still have his number from the night we first met and he asked me to text him and tell him you were alright. I’ll just add him to the groupchat.”

Before Yoongi could protest, the deed was done. The omega’s eyes searched for his mate, quickly spotting him standing in the living room, surprisingly talking with Namjoon and Heather. Taehyung got the vibration from his phone, and pulled it out to see the notification that he’d been added to the groupchat.

He felt Yoongi’s eyes on him and looked up with a fond grin, meeting the omega’s stare and giving him that charming smile and a playful wink, before putting his phone back into his pocket and continuing to play wingman to the very unexpected pair. Yoongi’s cheeks flushed at the alpha’s ability to make him swoon, grateful that he no longer had to hide it.

“Oh, gross.” Jimin pretended to be annoyed by the puppy love, though he found it extremely adorable. “Normally I would chastise you for such corny behavior, but since you’re in love, I’ll give you a pass for two weeks.”

“Just two weeks?” Yoongi questioned. “You still act this way with Jungkook, and it’s been two years.”

“Fine, a month.” Jimin compromised—though still a bit imbalanced in terms of fairness. “But if he ends up ruining the vibe of wine nights, I’m removing him from the groupchat.”

“Please don’t be hostile to him, he’s already afraid of you.”

“That’s appropriate.” Jimin hummed in approval. “Now give me more details before he comes over here and I have to listen to both perspectives of your idiots to lovers arc.”

After a few hours at the party, both with Jimin and Jungkook and then with Taehyung joining in later, Yoongi was exhausted and tugging on his alpha’s sleeve to go home. Yoongi wished Jimin and Jungkook goodnight along with Taehyung before pulling him out the door.

On their way out, Yoongi caught glance of Namjoon still talking with Heather. A twinge of guilt pinged through Yoongi, until Namjoon caught his glance. He gave him an encouraging grin and a tiny wave, along with Heather. He wasn’t sure whether Taehyung told Namjoon or Heather did, but clearly neither of them held any hard feelings, and they looked rather cozy speaking so closely with each other as Yoongi and Taehyung exited the party.

Taehyung walked on the outer part of the sidewalk while Yoongi looped his arms around the alpha’s bicep, clinging close to his mate and yawning theatrically.

“You act like we just spent the day at a festival.” Taehyung teased. “It’s only midnight.”

“After the past 24 hours, we might as well have exerted as much energy as a weekend long festival.” Yoongi pointed out, to which Taehyung couldn’t disagree.

“Alright, you got me there.” Taehyung chuckled, kissing Yoongi’s temple. “Thanks for letting me finally hang out with your friends.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, because soon Jimin is going to start sending you the same non-negotiable invites since you’re my permanent plus 1.”

“I don’t think I’d try to push back against Jimin on anything.” Taehyung said, admitting his fear of the tiny omega in his grade. “But, I’d still want to go regardless.”

Yoongi smiled, holding Taehyung’s arm tighter. “So…I saw you talking Heather and Namjoon.”

Taehyung just laughed sheepishly, aware the conversation was bound to come up.

“Yeah, I apologized about how I treated Namjoon, but apparently Heather already explained. He was really cool about it.” Taehyung said. “I was also picking up on some flirty vibes between them, which surprised me since they’ve been in the cycling club for so long. But I guess Namjoon didn’t think Heather would be into alphas until he saw me and her together, so he might be acting on his crush now that he realizes he has a chance.”

“Well look at us playing indirect wingmen.” Yoongi hummed contently. “All it took was you being a dick to Namjoon to get the ball rolling with them.”

”I wasn’t that much of a dick to him.” Taehyung weakly tried to defend himself, to which Yoongi gave the alpha a smug grin in response. “Okay, so maybe I could’ve been a tad bit nicer. But I was just possessive of my mate.”

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s waist as they walked, kissing the omega’s fresh mate mark and making the older giggle.

“I wasn’t even your mate yet.”

“You are now.” Taehyung gave Yoongi a mischievous arch of his eyebrow. “Unless you need a reminder?”

“You’re ridiculous.” Yoongi squirmed out of Taehyung’s hold, though he maintained his arms wrapped around his satisfied mate’s elbow.

The two chatted as they made their way back to Taehyung’s apartment. The streets were wet from the afternoon rain, and as they were about to cross the street, they came across a large puddle.

As expected, Taehyung scooped Yoongi up, and carried him across so the omega’s feet didn’t get wet and soggy. Yoongi waited for the alpha to set him down on the other side, however, Taehyung did no such thing. Instead, Taehyung gave his omega that signature wink and kept Yoongi in his arms, carrying him all the way to the alpha’s apartment and straight to his bed.