Jimin was eating a bowl of cereal the next afternoon, leaning on the kitchen counter connected to the living room. Jungkook was sprawled out on the couch—and Jimin was dying.

He had put so much care into making the living room cozy and artsy. It was made up of overlapping vinyl shelves, hanging potted plants, and warm lights spilling over the walls. Blankets were thrown over thrift stools for his friends, and comfy pillows were scattered to make the ample space feel smaller. It was dangerously toeing the line of an omega nest, but as Mingyu and Jimin were omegas, Jimin had leaned into it when decorating.

Jimin's close circle was made up of another omega, Seokjin. He was Namjoon's mate, who was an alpha, and then another alpha, Taehyung, who was Jimin's childhood friend. Seokjin loved Jimin's apartment for its nest-like charm, but Namjoon and Taehyung never looked out of place in the omega's overly cozy living room. Namjoon was all arms and legs, but the tall wolf loved to sink into Jimin's couch. His introspective, calm energy added another color to the space. While Taehyung's aura, a musician made up of slow dancing and jazz, harmonized with it. They melted seamlessly into the space like watercolor paints blending on a canvas.

So. It wasn't that alphas, in general, looked out of place. It was just Jungkook.

Jimin nibbled on his spoon in thought, the metal resting against his bottom lip as he observed the jock like an Australian observing the Amazon. Jungkook was - first of all - still wearing a backward baseball cap, which Jimin had already found wild to do unironically. A plain black compression shirt was tight around his shoulders and waist. He wore regular grey sweatpants with Calvin Klein boxer's poking above the waistband. It was the actualization of every hetero thirst trap Jimin had ever scrolled past on TikTok.

Jimin was used to muscles, but in the art circles, people usually had that lean, more gender-neutral presentation. He hadn't really been this close to a jock before, and so it was hard not to notice the way Jungkook carried his own strength. How did he even find tight shirts for how broad his shoulders were? How did the fabric not rip? The tattoos were wild, too. Did it hurt to get so many? Did he even feel the tattoo needle when his bones were so buried?

Despite his size, the baseball player was surprisingly respectful of Jimin's apartment. Well, sort of. Instead of tidying up Jimin's organized chaos, like the makeshift nest of blankets, Jungkook simply worked around it. He didn't straighten the furniture or fold the blankets, which Jimin appreciated. Instead, he just pushed things aside to make room for his larger frame. The alpha was drinking a protein shake, scrolling on his phone, with his back on the couch cushions, elbow on a stool next to it, and knee on the coffee table in front of it.

Jimin took another spoon of cereal into his mouth, tilting his head. Honestly, Jungkook with an alternative or stoner styling would go crazy. Jimin imagined him in some oversized t-shirts and baggy cargo pants, throwing on silver jewelers to go with it. He had the waist and pretty eyes for it. The image was almost cute. Did Jungkook go for sweatpants every day? They couldn't be that comfortable. Jimin's omega coo-ed in the back of his head, and he scowled at it. This situation is annoying; he reminded his wolf as if the ancient spirit would possibly care.

The alpha's scent was starting to drive Jimin crazy, too. It was a blend, and Jimin's omega would have absolutely borne its neck if it had come from literally anyone other than the athlete. It was this sweet lemon scent mixed with notes of orange and bergamot and smoked wood. The layers belonged to a struggling musician, someone who played gigs at bars, wrote poetry, and smoked cigarettes on rooftops while dreaming of reaching the stars. Not this baseball player who probably couldn't tell a crayon from a colored pencil.

Jungkook hadn't even been here half a week, but he already started scenting the space. It drove Jimin to a near-murderous rage. His apartment was a labor of love. Mingyu hadn't spent nearly as much time in it as Jimin or put even a fraction of the money and effort Jimin had poured into transforming it from a shitty two-bed-two-bath into what it was now. And the alpha had the fucking nerve to scent it?

Who the fuck did he think he was? Jimin grumbled, stabbing his cereal. Jungkook hadn't noticed that Jimin was staring, and Jimin couldn't place it if it was because the jock was too dumb to see or too bored to care.

"So," Jimin said, rolling his eyes when Jungkook blinked in surprise. "Your parents were really sweet."

"Yeah," Jungkook said, shifting to sit on the couch instead of lying on it. He man-spread like crazy as he leaned back, scratching the back of his neck.

Jimin's omega whined when Jungkook's shirt rode up to reveal his boxer waistband again. Jimin rolled his eyes internally at his wolf. We like depth, he reminded his wolf.

He could feel his omega growl, urging Jimin to give the alpha a chance before he judged him. But Jimin was an art student, an apprentice under a fellowship with a bachelor's degree. His days were filled with existential conversations, bonds formed by offered hardships or shared traumas, and taping people back together while simultaneously pulling himself apart for material to paint from. He didn't really know where to begin with talking to Jungkook.

"So, what are your parents like? Any siblings?" Jimin asked. "It was nice of them to move you in."

"My parents?" Jungkook repeated as if he was processing the question. "They're awesome. And no, I'm the only one. I've got lots of cousins, though." He put his phone down, giving Jimin his full attention. Jimin finished the last of his cereal, turning his back to wash the bowl out, before walking to the living space and sitting in a low cushioned seat near Jungkook. Seokjin had broken it in perfectly, the seat squeaking as Jimin sank into it.

"My mom's already obsessed with you, by the way," Jungkook added with a lopsided grin.

"So, you're close to your mom then?"

"My mom's the best. She's a badass. I started playing baseball because I wanted to be as cool as her."

Jimin nodded. No trauma or hardship there. It was sweet, though. Maybe a lot sweeter than Jimin was willing to admit.

"How about your dad?"

"No, he's cool too. We go hiking a lot." Jungkook said. "We're climbing Halla Mountain in Jeju in the winter, so I've started running more to prep for that. My dad can hike like crazy."

Jimin nodded again. Alright. He furrowed his brows. "They're both alphas, right? Does that mean you were adopted?" The question wasn't necessarily an abrasive one. Same-sex couples weren't taboo like two or three generations ago, so topics of adoption or surrogates had grown into a more familiar and celebrated conversation.

Jungkook shrugged. "Yeah."

"How do you feel about that?" Now, Jimin was actually prying.

"I think it's neat. My birth mom was my aunt, but she came with the pup right before she was supposed to start high school. My mom's ten years older than her, so she took me in so my aunt could graduate college. The plan was that my mom would take care of me until my birth mom got her degree. But then my mom met my dad, and when they got married, they realized they could never have their own pups since they're both alphas. My dad always says cheesy things about it, like I was a gift to them or something. My birth mom graduated, and they all decided that my mom and dad would continue to raise me. But no, I mean I love my family. It's like I have two moms now. It's awesome."

Jimin nodded, and some of his reservations melted. The story was so sweet, and as an omega, his heart went out to Jungkook's aunt, followed by a secondary wave of overwhelming warmth at the devotion Jungkook's mom to raise her sister's pup as her own. He wanted to ask more, but the way Jungkook said it, it didn't seem like there was anything more to it than that.

Jimin was a little taken aback by how healthy Jungkook's perspective seemed. Jimin's entire community was built from supporting each other's hardships and recognizing endurance. That's not to say that he and his friends are in some constant struggle or agony because that wasn't true, but they found their roots through confiding in one another. There didn't seem to be much Jungkook needed support with.

He just seemed – healthy. Jimin kind of didn't know what exactly to do with that.

"Do you ever think about what it would have been like to be raised by your aunt?" Jimin asked, now straight up being inappropriate, but he was genuinely curious. He'd painted a mural of empty hallways in the past, each path meant to represent the life he could have lived, or one luckily avoided. It was a topic that was on his mind often.

Jungkook didn't seem phased by the question. His brows scrunched, and his expression resembled a bunny's as he thought about it. "Like I said, my mom's a badass, and I love my birth mom. I wouldn't trade getting to be my parent's son even for a chance to meet Son Hyungmin. Well. Actually?" Jungkook blinked. "Depends on if it's pre or post world cup for how much I'd hesitate before I answer no. Did you watch it last year? Messi versus Ronaldo? Korea bodied. My mom went crazy for the final game against France. We went to a bar in Busan for it, and the streets were packed. She got so heated over a goal that we got kicked out of the bar and bought street food, watching through the window with many other kicked-out fans instead. It was really fun."

Jungkook's scent turned sweeter, the woody undernotes overpowered by the light citrus as the memory ramped him up. Jimin couldn't help the endeared smile growing on his lips. He almost wished he could paint it – Jungkook's wide eyes soaking in a soccer game through a rainy glass, surrounded by cheering strangers.

Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, what were we talking about? Oh right. Parents. Yeah, mine are dope. What's your family like?"

Jimin huffed at the use of 'dope' after such a cute story, wanting to hear what a group of Jungkook's friends talking to each other sounded like. If it was a chorus of dopes and neats and sicks. Weirdly, that warmed Jimin's grin just a touch further.

"My relationship with my mom is pretty complicated." Jimin started, his grin dropping. His voice stayed neutral, and his demeanor was casual. He'd shared this part of himself so often that the words were nearly rehearsed on his tongue. It was one of the first stories to follow meeting someone new, though it was usually shared draped over couches during wine nights at an apartment party or trading lives with a barista while he waited for his best friend to get off his shift.

"My dad's not really present in my life." He said as he leaned back on his arms and tilted his head. "He caught my mom with another alpha years ago, and he's slowly drifted away from us ever since." Jimin rubbed his forehead with his thumb. "It felt like a slow death for my family. I was angry at my mom for so long, channeling all my grief and pain toward her. Now that I'm older, it feels more complicated. Maybe she did cheat on him, but she stayed and raised me while he left and never looked back."

Jimin was watching Jungkook's reaction, and he was almost rendered speechless. Jungkook's eyes were just so naturally wide and full of wonder, but not in the introspective way he was used to. More like there was no deeper thought behind them. It seemed like he was soaking the whole world in for the first time.

"Sorry. Is this too much? It's okay if it is. It can be hard to tell if I'm oversharing sometimes."

Jungkook shook his head like Jimin had asked him if his coffee was too hot. "Nah, you're good."

This was the part where Jimin usually felt walls between him and the person he was talking to fall, some sort of rope of understanding thrown where complicated feelings or growing pains created a basis for learning each other as people. Jungkook, though – Jimin might as well be talking about what he ate yesterday. The man stared at him like a goldfish and even blinked as slowly as Jimin imagined a goldfish might. If fish even could blink.

"Um," Jimin said, giving Jungkook the option to opt-out. Jungkook waited for Jimin to continue.

"Apparently, my dad was my mom's second real relationship." Jimin continued apprehensively. "The first one lasted years with someone much older who was much more insecure and manipulative. It took her a while to leave him, and my dad knew about the whole thing when they got together. The way my mom explained it, the cheating made her feel safer after that first relationship, like a defense mechanism. So, on the one hand, I can understand her, but on the other hand, it ripped my family apart. So I don't know...my relationship with them both is complicated, to say the least."

Jungkook pursed his lips and gave him what Jimin could only describe as a 'bro-nod' with a single, quick dip of his chin. "Damn, man, that's tough."

Jimin snorted. What – what was happening right now. He looked around, trying to find a hidden camera in his apartment. He felt like he was going crazy, somehow trapped in The Truman Show, where everyone but Jimin was an actor.

The alpha didn't follow up with anything else, seemingly satisfied with his response.

"Right." Jimin blinked. Jimin was so surrounded by queer or alt spaces – he genuinely couldn't remember the last time he talked to someone who was just so...not. To the point that he almost forgot a majority culture existed of baseball and BBQ and dab-ups.

Did...did jocks know to dig deeper? How often did they ask about each other's lives? Did they want to know what makes up the mosaic of their friends – or were they like Jungkook. Kind and clearly loving, but content with someone's surface level. His eyes were wide and trusting, reflecting nothing but a single, steady, bright glow. It was fascinating to live life in such an uncomplicated way.

"Wait. Stay there." Jimin said, struck by the blank canvas of a wolf before him. He could feel his hands itching to sketch before the spark was gone. He ran to the storage closet that he'd turned into an art studio and returned with a sketchbook and some charcoal. Jungkook raised a brow.

"Is it okay if I sketch you? I've been trying to crack a submission prompt for an art show for weeks." Jimin said, nearly buzzing from the creative energy pouring through him. Jungkook was beautiful yet so strange - and still. So still. What was it like to live so unburdened and unwavering by thought?

Jungkook blinked. "What? I mean, sure, I'm all here for the art thing. That's like from Fast and Furriest, right? Draw me like one of your hot omegas."

Jimin gaped. "Are you trying to quote First 'Mate'? It's draw me like one of your French girls."

Jungkook snorted, rolling his eyes. "Fuck. Right. I watched that with my dad. He likes the soundtrack." The alpha grinned and winked. "I liked the omegas."

Jimin rolled his eyes.

"If First 'Mate' is a passion of your dad's, then I'm guessing your mom loves Fast and Furriest?"

Jungkook blinked. "No. She hates that movie."

A real laugh escaped Jimin then, nearly toppling the omega over. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to collect himself. A single, wild sound had left his lips like a violent extrusion of pure wonder and shock.

The alpha made the sweetest, most confused look on his beautiful face. His heart-shaped lips were scrunched, and he scratched his head through his baseball cap. Jimin melted. This guy had to be six feet, and somehow, here Jimin was, finding him adorable.

Jimin couldn't wait to get his hands on his paints, the overall project already forming in front of his eyes. His fellowship required a near-wall-stretching canvas for submission, and he'd been digging himself into a hole the past couple of weeks trying to come up with something inspired. Now, he could barely wait to get started on the preliminary sketch.

Jimin was completely earnest as he looked into Jungkook's chocolate brown eyes and said: "Your mind is a perfectly still pond. There's not even a single ripple disrupting it. I've never seen water so still in someone before. Genuinely, I mean this to my core, I am dying to capture it."

The alpha smiled goofily like his wolf's tail was wagging again. He clearly had no idea what Jimin meant but thought the words sounded pretty. It made Jimin's wolf restless - like the omega wanted to come out and play, nipping at Jungkook's arms like they were pups.

"Can I put a game on while you do that?" Jungkook asked, already moving on to the next thought.

Jimin shrugged in a semi-sassy way as if to say I won't stop you, before shifting on the floor so that he was sitting cross-legged on the other side of the coffee table. Jungkook leaned back on the couch, a baseball game coming to life on the screen in a roar of cheers and deep-voiced announcers. The colorful jerseys and lights of the stadium framed the back of Jimin's head like a halo, brushing the light pink color of his cheeks as his hands began to move across his sketchbook, and he began to draw the wolf in front of him.

Jungkook watched the game, and Jimin sketched. Both were focused on their separate tasks, but the lack of conversation wasn't eerie or uncomfortable. If anything, it was the opposite. Time passed quicker than Jimin could imagine, the two wolves stealing glances at each other every now and then, melting into amused grins if they caught each other before returning to either the game or the sketchbook.

It took Jimin hours to finish the simple sketch. When he realized it was complete, he felt a pang of disappointment at the thought of packing up. Jungkook had gotten up to grab them both glasses of water, and Jimin noticed the alpha flinched slightly in concern when he came back, worried the omega might leave after the first sketch. He seemed relieved when Jimin began a new one, which made Jimin grin just a little.

Jimin wasn't sure what made him do it, but at some point, he found his voice again and asked Jungkook to explain how baseball actually worked. The omega had peeked at the game every now and then, growing more and more confused each time he tried to watch. More than that, he was unsure what about it made Jungkook's eyes dance so brightly. Besides, Jimin's fingers had started to cramp, and he craved a break from collecting charcoal on the side of his palm.

Jungkook's lips turned into this violent grin, a little bit of surprise twinkling in his eyes. Jimin flushed, unsure if he sounded dumb asking about the popular sport. But Jungkook was extremely gentle as he explained it, pointing out random players on the screen and describing their positions or how points were scored. Jungkook glanced at Jimin to see if he was confused and then explained again using different words if it looked like Jimin wasn't entirely following. Jimin was used to condescending wolves who preferred to mock anyone who wasn't an expert in their niche interest, but Jungkook was extremely gentle in how he shared the game details. The kindness took Jimin by surprise.

Jungkook looked over at Jimin's second sketch, which was Jimin just casually outlining the living room, and it prompted him to ask Jimin about charcoal since it was what Jimin was currently working with. Jimin was gentle in turn, taking Jungkook through the methodology of why he created his initial sketches with the medium. He liked to start with charcoal because he could better envision how he wanted to paint depth into his art before transferring the sketch onto a canvas. He tried to explain the next steps of backsplashing a canvas with a single oil color, letting it dry, and returning to paint the actual colors afterward. Jungkook wasn't fully following, but he was trying to, and that was more than enough.

While Jimin couldn't say fully that he was happy about the sudden change in roommates, he had to admit that he was having fun clashing worlds with Jungkook. When Jungkook asked if Jimin knew a famous athlete, Jimin would stare blankly at him. Then, Jimin would ask if Jungkook knew an artist who was recently the talk of the art-social circles, and Jungkook would stare back at him. It turned into a bit of a game between them, ending in either wolf laughing the more and more mainstream they went with who they named. What was obvious to one was a brand new world to the other. Jungkook looked genuinely concerned by Jimin not knowing who Shohei Ohtani was from the LA Dodgers while Jimin nearly threw up when Jungkook wasn't sure if Picasso was an artist or a musician.

The baseball game ended too soon, and the two wolves sat before the darkened TV screen. Jungkook shut the TV off and the sound left with it, leaving a new quiet between them. Jimin cleared his throat, and Jungkook looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. It was nearing midnight, and sleep was calling them, but it seemed neither wolf had jumped on the opportunity to leave the living room. They awkwardly cleaned up their water glasses when neither could come up with an excuse to stay before saying goodnight.

Jimin put his art supplies away, ignoring his omega's approving hum when he realized he was still smiling. When Jimin finally cuddled up in his bed, his eyes traced the outline of the sketch he'd worked on, racing under his closed lids, overlapping the lines of Jungkook's silhouette. The jock's laugh rang in his ears, lulling him to sleep, with the final thought that maybe Jungkook wasn't 'the worst thing' after all.

_________

A/N:

I'm splitting up chapter 1 and 2 so it's more user friendly!! Sorry for the false update!! Next chapter will be tomorrow <3

For readers finding this after the split, hey sexy, I hope you're having fun with it so far~

- Vio