TW: Mentions of past child abuse

Thank you so much for your encouraging comments. I want to reply to you all, but couldn't get to do it because of my work. I read each one of them when I get email notifications. Your words so kind. Thank you! It always makes me smile.

The following days were a blur to Jimin. Taehyung was still recovering though he was now walking around. His mother visited often and Jimin was slowly warming up to her. He didn't see any others except for the doctor, who was kind and considerate as usual.

All his life, Jimin had no one to rely on except Taehyung. He still didn't understand why the alpha would even take interest in him and be his friend. He remembered everything as clear as a day though.

It was a summer before he presented. Jimin had always been the odd one out in school. He didn't know if it had to do with his upbringing. But he'd gotten used to staying quiet. His foster parents didn't like it when he got excited and talked too much. Sometimes they'd hit him or ground him by not giving him food when he did so.

Little Jimin didn't know he wasn't allowed to talk. After growing, he would learn his then foster parents only fostered him to look good in the public eye. They were both under probation for reasons he didn't understand. He didn't know who even allowed them permission to foster a child. But money was capable of doing anything he guessed.

One day, someone tripped him, causing him to fall flat in the playground. His bad time, he fell over a puddle of muddy water and scraped his palms. Not only did his clothes get dirty, but his shirt was torn as well.

Bullying was an abnormal event for Jimin. He was bullied a lot and ended up being the main target because of his silent nature. They tried to make him talk and when he did, they made fun of his weird dialect.

Jimin didn't know what he did wrong. He was made fun of for everything. It started from his oversized clothes, shoes that were a bit too small and caused his feet to hurt and then his overgrown unkempt hair he tried to tame very hard and failed.

He tried really hard to appear as presentable as the other children. He showered every day, even used his body soap to rinse his oily hair. But it often caused his hair to dry up and stick at odd angles. Little Jimin just didn't know how to handle it. He often used water to tame it, but it was the same once it dried.

So there he was that day, bullied as usual and was cleaning up in the washroom, wondering how he was going to explain all this to his foster parents. He could already imagine them chiding him for ruining the only good uniform they bought him this year after much contemplation. He knew they were going to punish him in some way.

He couldn't help the tears that spilled because he was too afraid to go home that evening. Last night was worse. His father was drunk and didn't like that Jimin came in front of him. In Jimin's defense, he just wanted to drink some water from the kitchen. The water pitcher in his room was empty.

The old man had backhanded him for intruding his private space. Jimin didn't really violate any house rules. He was in the permitted area of the house, still it got him a punishment for no reason.

He was thinking of ways to hide this from them without being caught and wondering how to fix the little tear in his shirt when he heard someone entering the room.

The boy smelled like fresh peppermints. Jimin found himself inhaling the air with a small smile. It was the same boy who transferred recently to his school. The one who gave him chocolate during their math class.

Kim Taehyung was his name. For some reason, this boy chose to sit with Jimin the very first day and stuck to him whenever they had classes together. The boy was clever and was enrolled into an advanced syllabus. Though they were in the same grades, the other children whispered that he'd graduate soon. Jimin didn't understand any of that though.

"Hey," the boy called when he sniffed out Jimin inside one of the stalls. "Jiminie...I heard you fell down."

This boy, unlike the others, was extremely kind to him. He even shared his lunch with him for the first time yesterday and brought an additional portion today. The wolf inside him whined and urged him to open the door and tell the boy everything.

Tears began to spill automatically upon hearing the gentleness in his voice. Jimin opened the door, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Oh my—"

"I don't have a spare," Jimin whimpered, bursting into tears. "I can't go home like this."

"Hey..." Taehyung was in front of him immediately. "Shh...You can have my shirt," he said without hesitation.

Jimin blinked up to him. "What about you? Won't your parents beat you if you gave me yours?" he asked innocently.

"Beat—" Taehyung's features hardened to a frightening level. "Your parents beat you."

Jimin nodded as if it was an ordinary thing every kid faced. "Yours don't?" he asked with a pout.

Taehyung shook his head. "Never." He frowned. "Here." He began to unbutton his shirt. "I have my football jersey I can wear to home."

Relief flooded Jimin as he hurried to grab Taehyung shirt, thanking him furiously as he changed into his shirt. Taehyung cleaned his palm and even walked him out of school.

They had stuck together since that day. The next day, the kids who bullied Jimin had come to him, apologizing and didn't bother him again. Till this day Jimin didn't know what Taehyung did to make them apologize. Whatever he did, he was grateful.

Their friendship bloomed and it only continued to thicken when Jimin presented earlier than any other omega in a tender age of eleven, unlike the most kids who presented between fourteen and sixteen. The doctors said it could be because of stress or hormone changes and it happened with some omegas. But tell that to his heightened senses and the discomfort associated with it.

Alpha pheromones nauseated him, made him confused and his body was acting weird. His first heat hit when he didn't even know the meaning of sex. He was locked in his room, crying out of pain until his mother practically threw him into the bathroom asking him to shower and stop stinking the place with his pheromones on the third day.

He remembered standing under a cold shower with shaky legs, scrubbing himself until his skin was red and sore. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop the slick pouring out of his ass. It kept coming. And no one had warned him about the bleeding that would occur after the third day. He legitimately believed he was dying and cried until they called the doctor.

Though the doctor had explained it was natural, the livid omega was in no state to understand. It took him years to learn to accept the pain. It was still hard but he managed with Taehyung's help. His scent eased his pain and the alpha was always there to hold him through it.

Jimin sighed. Taehyung had gone to vacate their apartment. He stared at his empty bed longingly. His omega wanted to nest. The past few days had been emotionally exhausting and he needed the comfort.

They both had their own rooms on this floor. He didn't know how long this arrangement was going to be. But he liked it. It was spacious and luxurious. The color was plain but Taehyung promised to help him decorate the room once he returned. They could paint the walls or maybe just decorate it to make it look better. He hasn't decided yet.

With a sigh he waited for Taehyung to come back.

***

Jimin was immersed in building his best that he didn't hear the knocks. He almost jumped out of his skin when the door slammed to the wall.

A startled squeak left his mouth followed by a threatening growl. In the doorway, stood the alpha, tall and his posture alert and ready to fight.

Jimin's eyes widened when he noticed who it was and immediately averted his gaze in submission. Someone barged into his room and his natural reaction was to protect his den. Moreover, nesting was one of the emotional and vulnerable moments of an omega. He just didn't expect the alpha to visit him.

Jungkook's posture relaxed. "Apologies, when you didn't open the door I thought..." he trailed off. He eyed his incomplete nest and Jimin grew suddenly conscious. His distressed scent began to permeate the room. His nest was messy and the alpha shouldn't see that. What if he thought he was incapable of building his own nest? "I'll come by later then."

Jungkook spun on his heel and Jimin tensed.

"Wait!" He scrambled to his feet and off the bed hurrying after the alpha who was already in the corridor. He stepped outside and shut the door behind him to obscure the view of his nest from the alpha's view.

There was a moment of silence when Jimin stood awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. He stared at the alpha's chest, unable to meet his intense gaze. However, that posed to be a problem because his buttons were open once again and he saw the swirls of his ink underneath. His heart skipped a beat. This was his alpha. This handsome man had claimed him as his omega though they were far from a couple.

He hadn't seen the alpha in almost a week. He ate his food in his room with Taehyung and didn't even know what was happening outside.

Jungkook cleared his throat and Jimin immediately averted his gaze to the floor.

"We are practically strangers and didn't know each other until a week ago. I need time to get used to this and I firmly believe it's the same for you."

Jimin nodded, taken by surprise. His gaze flicked to the alpha's face only to be met with the same impassive look.

"You cannot claim that you're my omega and walk around without my scent on you," Jungkook continued. "There's a gala in a couple of weeks. You'll join me as my omega in public." He lifted the left side of his blazer, fishing for something. "Your wolf has to warm up to my scent first." He produced a scented scarf. It was beautiful, hand knitted and smelled wonderful. "Here. Keep it with you in your room. May I have something of yours too?"

Jimin blinked a few times before nodding wordlessly. It was considerate of an alpha to let him get used to his scent first. He appreciated the thoughtful gesture. His hands trembled when he took the scarf and shuffled on his feet into his room.

His wolf wanted to take a whiff, curious as ever to new scents. He stood in the middle of his room for a moment wondering where to put the scarf. He eyed the nest. No, it was too early for that. He wasn't comfortable with anything other than Taehyung's scent there.

He nibbled at his bottom lip and finally decided to put it on the bedside table for the time being. Then he rummaged through his nesting supplies carefully, searching for a piece of clothing he can give Jungkook in return.

The omega felt giddy at the prospect of exchanging his scented cloth to someone for the first time. He grabbed a few shawls and hoodies, rejecting the idea immediately. Giving him his personal clothing felt too personal.

The omega fidgeted with his fingers when his eyes settled on a little chick plushy. It was a cute little thing in yellow color with glasses and pouty beak. Taehyung won that for him in a fair, claiming it looked just like him when he pouted.

Jimin grabbed the chick, teeth sinking into his bottom lip, contemplating. It was doused in his scent since he went to sleep with that every day. It was personal but wasn't very personal like a piece of his clothing.

After making his mind, he went outside to see the alpha waiting patiently. He had both his hands pushed inside his pockets, shirt strained across his chest. Jimin swallowed, averting his gaze to the floor again.

He padded toward the alpha and held the plushy in front of him, eying him from the corner of his eyes. The small rise in his scent hinted at his surprise yet told him the alpha was pleased. Jimin saw the corners of his alpha's lips twitching before he clenched his jaw.

He took it from him in a careful grip, holding it against his body with the same hand. Once again, silence stretched between them.

"There's one more thing I need to ask," Jungkook broke the silence. "The world believes that you and I have been together for a long time. But we kept it a secret for your safety. That's the story we will spin."

Jimin nodded.

"When we are in public, I'll have to touch you from time to time. Do I have your permission for that? I'm asking you now because I won't be able to warn you every time we are in public."

Jimin's eyes widened and his heart beat erratically. His cheeks flamed but also an unknown fear began to rise.

"W-What type of touch?"

"Holding hands, holding you..." the alpha drawled. "Hand on your lower back. We will have to pose for photos and you know the usual. Maybe a kiss on your forehead."

"Oh."

Silence stretched between them once again.

"I'll never do anything you aren't comfortable with. This is for your safety, Jimin. People will not believe we are a couple if we aren't touching at all. So do I have your consent?"

Jimin's throat constricted. His eyes stung. No one had ever asked him about such a thing. His consent never mattered to anyone before.

He nodded with tears in his eyes. "Y-Yes. You can t-touch me."

Jungkook nodded, closing the distance between them. He lifted his hand to touch his face, pausing when he was an inch away.

"May I?"

Jimin's gaze flicked to his face. He didn't realize his tears were falling. He nodded mutely. He watched as Jungkook's thumb wiped his tears off, his touch so gentle and feather-like. The gentleness of it all caused more tears to flow.

"The only time my omega is allowed to have tears in his eyes is when he's overwhelmed with pleasure or joy," his voice was husky and Jimin shivered.

With that, Jungkook retreated, leaving Jimin alone to his thoughts.

Some Visuals: