taekook au where jeongguk doesn't get along with hybrids, so when his best friend jimin asks him to look after taehyung, his tiger hybrid, things take a turn he didn't expect.

he never thought a hybrid could make him moan so much.

#taekookau #vkookau

I'm already starting this:
- please don't reply to the thread, just quote
- this will have smut, fluff, angst
- some sensitive topics about how some hybrids are treated
- English is not my first language so bear with me
- mostly written, sometimes social media

enjoy!!!

Jimin bought a hybrid three years ago. Still has him.

Jeongguk is completely indifferent. Always has been when it came to hybrids.

But now it's Jimin /and/ his hybrid. The hybrid of his best friend. The hybrid that Jeongguk advised him to buy... In a sense.

That was a piece of advice that he kinda regrets giving.

Whatever.

The indifference loses in the face of responsibility and the fact that he loves Jimin too damn much.

"You have to give me more details if you want things to go smoothly," Jeongguk says, shrugging his shoulders, two empty cups of tea in his hand. From behind him, Jimin makes a small but happy sound.

Too happy. Jeongguk snorts softly, then puts the still-warm cups in the sink.

"I promise that after two weeks I will take him off your hands. Maybe even less, I have to see how desperate Aunt Jiu is to make a stop in Paris,” a hand full of silver rings appeared between his to put the ashtray full of butt cigarettes in the sink.

Jeongguk wrinkles his nose and opens the water to flow over all the dirty dishes at the same time when Jimin adds, "But as far as I know her, I promise nothing."

Ah. Aunt Jiu. The madwoman full of hasty dreams and enough money to put his bizarre plans in motion.

She found a toyboy that's dumb enough to want to marry her, and Jimin's mother was too kind and indulgent to ignore her younger sister, no matter how crazy she was.

Jimin leaves to the Caribbean in two days with his family, but without his hybrid, because he is afraid of flying.

Plus, Aunt Jiu is asking too many uncomfortable questions whenever she sees him. Jimin's explanations also contained involuntary swears that seem pretty justified, but Jeongguk won't ask anyways.

Jimin's family is a little too much for him sometimes.

The scent of cigarettes sticks with Jimin more than his sweet vanilla perfume. Jeongguk can smell it clearly as he walks behind him without a particular direction. He is agitated, so agitated.

The younger can't remember if Jimin has ever been separated from Taehyung for more than five days so far, he doesn't know if he's ever been told about it.

Jimin doesn't talk roo much about Taehyung with him, and Jeongguk didn't care until today.

Now he has to care.

Because that Taehyung will stay with him, and Jimin will be on another continent. Now that and thinks more about it, it may be too much of a responsibility for someone like him who has never had a hybrid in his life.

Maybe he should tell Jimin to find someone more capable, who will have the experience and patience to deal with such a sensitive task.

But the words don't come out of his mouth as he turns to face Jimin.

The blonde sat back on his chair, looking at him with warm eyes and a soft smile on his face. All the stress he had when he knocked on his door was gone, and Jeongguk wasn't going to it back on his shoulders.

"Give me the towel, please," he murmurs instead, swallowing dryly all the doubts that start to grow. Jimin throws the towel in the air with a skeptical bite of his lip. "Try not to smoke during these weeks, right?"

try not to smoke during these weeks, yea?*

"It calms me."

"Not really," Jeongguk wipes his hands, then puts the towel on his shoulder with a twist of his wrist. "Look at your hands. Your trembling like a leaf. "

Jimin hides his hands between his thighs with a small noise and glances at him, "Jeonggukie..."

"Tell me if Taehyung has any allergies," Jeongguk changes the subject, crossing his arms so he doesn't start squirming himself

“No, but he doesn't like spicy food. And try not to give him too many sweets, especially chocolate. Or ice cream. Fruits make him energetic, hide the strawberries from him and you'll be fine. +

And don't forget to give him plenty of water. He tends to eat a lot and forgets to drink water, then complains of a sore stomach-"

It's like Jimin got on the autopilot. Jeongguk wasn't even sure if the blonde was aware of what he was saying right now.

It's somehow fascinating to see Jimin talking about someone in such detail and with such a sweet tone. His eyes sparkle too gingerly for someone who recites a whole list of annoyances.

"Tae is ... he's very clingy," Jimin pauses for a second, blinks at him slowly, cautiously. "I'll tell him to give you space, but, uh, it's a matter of instinct."

"Instinct," Jeongguk repeats. He is too afraid to ask properly.

Jimin wiggles on the chair for a second then takes a breath. It seems that these things were harder to discuss than dislikes, "Um, scenting. Tigers are very territorial, or at least my Tae is. Scenting is what he does to feel comfortable, to relax. ”

"Even with strangers?"

"Here's the problem, he knows you a little bit," rubbing his bottom lip with two fingers, Jimin looks at him shyly.“I talk a lot about you. You're an acquaintance to him. Kinda. I wouldn't have left him with you if you weren't.+

However, um, tame might Tae be, tigers are not good with strangers."

And Jeongguk feels it again. Uncertainty. Fucking persistent. It causes itching whenever he thinks that a hybrid will be in his presence for a long period.

Maybe that's his instinct. Habit. You will never see him coo at baby hybrids or equally adorable grown-ups.

He won't stare at someone's ears, tail, whether they are decorated with pretty earrings or delicate chains.

Jimin does it every time the two go out to eat. Go clubbing. He's not afraid of dancing with hybrids, flirting with them, stopping on the street to ask them about things

that don't make sense to Jeongguk.

But Jimin is someone with a hybrid at home, an expensive breed of predator for whom he devotes hours and hours, cancels plans at any time, misses dance classes.

He's sure of himself, full of useless and useful information. In love with this, this life. Happy with all the sacrifices.

Jimin is part of an experience Jeongguk looks at from the sidelines.

"It's okay to be nervous," Jimin's soft voice makes him come out of the stupor with a trembling breath. "It's ok if... if..."

Jeongguk looks at him, and his insecurity clashes with another kind of doubt, the one dancing in the blond's eyes, among the sweet twinkles with which

Jimin always seems to look at him.

"I just-," he doesn't finish. Frets a little, leaves the towel on the kitchen counter. His hands are somehow aching. "I don't want to ruin... I don't want anything bad to happen."

I'm not good at this.

I'm not good enough.

I never was. I won't be. Not when it comes to them.

"You won't ruin anything," says Jimin, shrugging his shoulders with a sweet, almost naive conviction. Jeongguk feels the corners of his mouth twitch. "Nothing will happen. I trust you. I trust him."

The younger says nothing. He doesn't smile like he wants to. Confidence is nice, especially from someone as important as Jimin. Someone who knows. A lot.

But trust doesn't guarantee him anything.

"What do I do," Jeongguk begins in a soft tone, eyes wide open fixed on Jimin's wild hair, it sticks in every angle after being tousled too many times. "If something happens. What do I do?"

Jimin opens his mouth, closes it again with a thoughtful puff.

The Chanel necklace on his neck was twisted from where he played with it while they drank tea, danced around the subject with cautious words and not so subtle looks.

He's been here for several hours, his socks thrown in Jeongguk's living room, the jacket in the bathroom.

The pack of cigarettes was on the table, almost empty. He's been here for several hours and Jeongguk still has so much to ask.

"Taehyung will never leave a situation that bothers him unresolved," the blonde's smile is a little tired, familiar. Towering.

"He will tell you. He will look you in the eye and tell you what upsets him. He likes blunt, you don't sugarcoat anything. Talk... Then resolve it. "

Maybe it's weird. It probably is. After three years in which Jimin avoided opening any topic related to his dear hybrid to him.

He never bothered Jeongguk, didn't hide the fact that he knows what to do, say. He adapts, never pushes for an answer.

Just one day to say everything he needs to, explain details that Jeongguk finds overwhelming but put a smile on Jimin's face. It's too much. For both.

A twisted contrast.

Three years cannot be explained in a few hours. Jimin's smiles cannot be deciphered among broken words and eyes full of foreign memories.

"We'll manage," Jeongguk says after a moment of tense silence, softening his frown. "And if not, well then I'll try not to step on his tail when we avoid each other."

Jimin's grin is harsh around the edges, unfamiliar. The surprise in his eyes, however, is welcomed.

His hands aren't trembling anymore, but his lips do. A soft, vulnerable tremor. "Thank you, Ggukie."

And Jeongguk only nods, he does it a few times. The too-long strands of hair escape from behind his ear, cover his eyes but he doesn't feel the need to remove them.

For now.

From there, the discussion slid down another slope. They talk about unnecessary things. Details. About too many blankets and soft pillows in bed, the couch is a sacred place to nap. Tiger hair is removed in the washing machine, the apartment doesn't have to be too hot at night.

The sound of the TV shouldn't be loud, don't leave cables randomly in the house. Apparently, balls of thread are a taboo.

Jeongguk added them all to a list in one corner of his mind. He rewrote them, recited them in mind.

Some are merged with others, a routine that he could easily fit into his everyday one.

Hybrid tigers love water. Showers. Taehyung loves shampoo that smells like chocolate or vanilla. Like Jimin.

A shopping session tonight won't hurt anyone.

He didn't want to make an impression on his head before it happened.

Jimin left his apartment yesterday with a small smile on his face and satisfied exhaustion in his posture. He had done his part. Or so it seemed, at least.

Jeongguk is convinced that all those details can form a pretty clear image in one's head, something that can be relied upon. But a person, being, is not just one-dimensional.

And he never met Taehyung face to face.

He never heard his voice, observed his habits, saw his expressions. Never felt his presence, aura. His scent. How could he imagine anything? From words said in a fond tone?

The pictures on Jimin's phone always showed him the same thing, even after three years.

The blonde puts them as his wallpaper, each month a different picture. Hair colors change, clothes do the same, but the same square smile and loving eyes remain every time.

But those are for Jimin, only for him. Jeongguk doesn't want to make himself hopeful, he doesn't want to

say that something is going to be one way and he wakes up with something else on his doorstep.

A picture can only do so much.

So he didn't think about it at all. He went and bought a lot of things that might be useful, might not. Took a shower, stayed in there for an hour.

Being clean is important, the nose of a hybrid is a hundred times more sensitive.

He did everything he could to stay busy. Never thinking. One day is not much, he can do it.

He can do this.

Jimin sent him a message the next morning, telling him that he can't deliver Taehyung to his door, something about a problem with his passport, not having much time to resolve it. The tiger hybrid will come alone.

After a few brief moments of panic, Jeongguk took a breath, sending him back that it was fine. It's not a big deal. Is not.

It didn't have to be.

Jeongguk didn't cook breakfast like he planned to. His hands didn't seem to want to cooperate too soon.

Suddenly, his scented candles smelled too strong, superficial. /He/ smelled superficial.

His thoughts were a disaster, so many questions, so many things that could go wrong in just one second. Is his little home warm enough? Too warm?

Should he put more blankets around the apartment? Maybe buy more decorative pillows? Hide the sweets in the top drawers?

How tall was Taehyung? Fuck.

The scar on his thigh pulsed in a mocking manner. It almost cut his breath away.

The bell rang throughout the apartment.

It was almost funny how he ran through the whole apartment, almost dropped on the floor, because his socks where fucking traitors. His heart was pounding, it was ringing in his ears louder than the second bell ringing.

And seriously, Jeongguk really tried not to make any kind of impressions about someone he knows almost nothing about.

He is human, however, and some things were impossible. His thoughts are impossible to control.

But Jeongguk didn't expect much when he opened the door. So... fuck.

Fuck.

Kim Taehyung was tall. As tall as him. Maybe a centimeter taller, or his round tiger ears give him that impression.

Taehyung is also intimidating as hell. A beautiful kind of intimidating.

Gorgeous, really.

His unique smile was nowhere to be found, and his eyes. The love in them has evaporated. Gold. They were golden, with vertical pupils. Molten gold in the form of two feline eyes.

The artificial light in the hall reflected in them like white speckles.

Jeongguk didn't know how a prey felt like until those eyes were fixed on him and the pupils became even thinner. Like two sharp slits.

He's almost certain that Taehyung didn't do it intentionally. Probably out of instinct. That's what he hoped it is.

The air around them thickened, suddenly.

It was difficult to breathe. Exhale. Maybe it's in his imagination, but he could smell a spicy scent, just a little sweet. Not unpleasant, but it was tickling his eyes.

Taehyung's nose twitched, and Jeongguk's heart felt like it shattered in his chest. Powerfull. Overwhelming.

He couldn't afford to have a panic attack now, face to face with the person he is supposed to take care of. It was completely inappropriate, shameful―

"Mm... Hi?"

Oh, God.

What's with that voice? For such a delicate face?

Jeongguk swallows, moving his weight from one leg to the other. A shiver certainly did not go through his body. No way. Nor is it the case that low voices are a weakness for him. No.

No.

"Hi," said Jeongguk with a slightly breathless tone. He refrains from biting his lip when one of Taehyung's round ears flutters slightly, bending subtly in his direction. Probably to hear him better. Maybe out of instinct.

This is already too much.

Taehyung's eyes relax after another second, but his shoulders remain in the same strained position. He's so tense. Jeongguk doesn't blame him. This entire situation is awkward as fuck, it has him tight too. An irksome feeling at the base of his

spine, in his thighs.

The hybrid tilts his head a little, eyebrows pulled in a soft frown. His nose twitches again. "Can I-"

But he doesn't finish his sentence, just gestures with his free hand towards the apartment, the other still holding tightly the strap of his backpack.

Oh.

"Oh!" With a slight jump and red cheeks, Jeongguk drops his weight on the door and opens it wide, avoiding Taehyung's intense gaze as he breathes an uncomfortable laugh. "Sorry ... Sorry, come on in. Please."

The spiciness returns in full force as Taehyung steps forward. Jeongguk breathes in as subtle as he can, trying to figure out what it was, exactly. Nothing comes to mind, at least nothing that he knows of.

His nose is sensitive, not exactly like a hybrid, but there are some things he can't bear. The smoke from Jimin's cigarettes is suffocating, the smell of paint and watercolors in the art studio, that of perspiration and rubber in the dance studio.

Most men's perfumes are not for him. He still remembers all the overwhelming perfumes his first girlfriend bought him with the excuse that 'it goes perfect with hers.'

It was all for aesthetics, never about the fact that Jeongguk felt like he was pouring his canal water on him

every time they would go out.

But the smell that Taehyung emits doesn't seem to be perfume. It just spreads naturally in the air, like the cigarette smell Jimin always has on him, the earthy scent Yugyeom always has on his skin when they cuddle.

He can get used to it. The scented candles will most likely cover it, but he can get used to a natural scent in his home. An intriguing one, at that.

Jeongguk closes the door with a short breath, watching the hybrid as he quietly takes off his shoes and puts them close to all

the pairs of boots that Jeongguk usually leaves near his hanger.

The tiger doesn't seem to have brought much with him. Jeongguk was expecting at least a small suitcase, but the backpack looks surprisingly average. He probably has some clothes, toiletries or hybrid... stuff.

It would also be possible that Jimin to told him that Jeongguk went to buy stuff. Should he feel more confident about Taehyung having enough faith in him to not bring his whole house with him? Is he thinking too much about it?

Probably. Fuck. He needs to calm down.

"Welcome to your new home for the next few weeks, I guess," Jeongguk murmurs, keeping his eyes up when he accidentally spots the movement of a long tail. God. "If- If you need anything, just tell me."

Taehyung glanced at him over his shoulder, blinking a few times. His nose twitched again, and Jeongguk felt something like someone kicked him in the stomach when the tiger's soft frown deepened.

The hybrid had delicate features but at the same time, he didn't.

His nose was elegant. His eyes, with all their intensity, had a soft feline shape. His plump lips, painted in a tender pink.

But right now, his sharp jaw was even more prominent, his thick eyebrows furrowed, the way his nose was wrinkled. Irritation.

Discomfort.

Taehyung is not ok.

Jeongguk tried not to show the rapid panic that was spreading on his skin, in his blood. He tried not to tense his shoulders when Taehyung's soft-looking ears quivered and hid in his brown locks.

He even tried not to look as if he was ready to run for his life, but Taehyung is an unknown predator that Jeongguk imagined - involuntarily - as this cute hybrid with a unique smile.

There is no cute hybrid in front of him. Just a stressed tiger. A stressed tiger that's looking

at him like Jeongguk just tugged his tail.

It's kind of hard to hide your chaotic panicked tendencies in moments like these. Jeongguk swallowed dryly, trying to put a small smile on his lips.

It didn't work.

"Is... something wrong?" He asks in the softest tone possible, feeling as if it would be better to whisper right now, just to avoid fucking up again.

What exactly did he fuck up, exactly? Hard to say. Jeongguk won't try his luck by asking that.

Taehyung doesn't answer him for a few seconds. He moves his gaze in another direction while putting his backpack down, and only then, when his nose twitches once more, did the hybrid open his mouth.

Two small fangs could be barely seen, but Jeongguk felt like a gust of wind had just hit him in the face anyway. Oh, God.

"What did you do?"

"Uh, wha-"

"What did you do to your apartment?" Taehyung's voice was not accusatory, it didn't have the same disgust as his expression, but those golden eyes could suffocate him if they stared like that for too long. "It doesn't smell like you. At all."

It doesn't smell like-

Jeongguk gaped at him, feeling- He didn't even know how to feel about this, about what it means. Well, certainly not a good thing.

It's not a good thing that the apartment doesn't smell like him.

Huh.

It gives him the inexplicable urge to ask how /he/ smells, exactly, but this is probably a question for later. Much later.

Jeongguk knows he shouldn't feel this warm over something so stupid, but a smile still appears on his face, just a little fond. It makes Taehyung narrow his

eyes at him, long tail appearing with a fluid motion, curling around his waist.

Almost defensive. Probably defensive.

Maybe small, fond smiles are not for right now either. Fuck, okay.

"Jimin said you're, um, territorial," gesturing awkwardly towards the living room, Jeongguk curls his toes in his socks. "So I bought some candles that kinda smell like him so that, you know... Thought you'd be more comfortable if you had a familiar smell around you."

The explanation sounded pretty logical in his head, but Taehyung is looking at him like he's off his rocker, and Jeongguk's not so sure anymore. The tiger's expression morphs into one of judgemental confusion, or at least that's how Jeongguk sees it.

The truth is, it's hard to decipher Taehyung.

"How Jimin smells to you has nothing to do with how he smells to me," Taehyung says, and his voice is so gentle that it sounds more like a low grumble. Soothing. Not at all judgemental. "They are completely different smells."

"Oh," is the only thing that comes out of him. Jeongguk closes his eyes for a moment, refraining from slapping himself for the fact that he didn't think about it. Of course, a hybrid smells different. "You want- Is it better if I throw them? I don't want you to feel like you have

to endure if it bothers you-”

Without finishing, Jeongguk rushes to the living room to do just that. So you can actually fuck everything up in just a few seconds after a hybrid enters your home.

Great. What a great start.

He was about to grab the candle on the coffee table, but another hand, a warmer one, grabs his wrist. Jeongguk looks up at an amused Taehyung, feeling all the air in his lungs leave him.

Do all hybrids have such a charming grin? He never knew that fangs could be attractive.

What the fuck.

"You have to calm down first," Taehyung tells him. "I won't bite your head off if you make a mistake. It's ok, really."

Good to know, but Jeongguk doesn't feel relieved. Avoiding those gold eyes, the sudden kindness in them, he bites his lip as he takes a step back to put some distance between them.

"I just- I promised Jimin that I would take care of everything and-," taking a trembling breath, Jeongguk meets his gaze, rubbing his sweaty hands on his jeans. "I won't lie, I have no idea what the hell I have to do."

"And I don't expect you to," Taehyung doesn't move, giving him the space he needs, but his ears rise and flutter softly, attentive. "But I'm not a baby that you have to hold in your arms all day and force-feed-"

"Oh, God, I didn't want to sound like-"

"I know what you meant," again, the hybrid gives him a funny look, a small but amused grin. "Jimin told me you're a little shy. Kind of awkward, too. Told me you never interacted with a hybrid before."

Jeongguk gave a short laugh, pulling his wide sleeves over his hands.

"Well, he's kinda right about the first two, but... Uh, I've interacted with hybrids before. Two, actually. Not much, but I did.”

Taehyung seems to be taken aback at this, letting out a surprised hum as he looks at him for a few seconds with big eyes. Jeongguk doesn't know what's going on in his head, if he thinks he's lying to him, or if he wonders why Jimin, his best friend, doesn't know about this.

Eventually, Taehyung smiles with a corner of his mouth, tilting his head to one side. His tail began to swing slowly, left and right, a mesmerizing rhythm. Does that mean he's somewhat relaxed?

"Any predator?" He asks, tone simple, but Jeongguk has a hunch that the hybrid already knows the answer.

"No," he says anyway, crossing his arms over his chest when he feels like shaking a little. A conversation while standing still in the middle of the living room is harder

than his final English exam, and that's not ok.

Taehyung nods, and his ears followed the movement with a small jerk. "We are not so different. Predators, prey. There are some big distinctions, of course, but those are obvious. In rest ... All hybrids are hybrids."

"Are you trying to calm me down by telling me you're like a rabbit?"

This earned him a smile, not too big or too small. Enough to turn Taehyung's captivating eyes into tiny crescents. "Let's just say, I want you to know that you don't have to tiptoe around me. Relax. "

Easy to say. Jeongguk doesn't comment. But it's nice to know that Taehyung is trying to calm him down. It makes him feel warm all over, a nice feeling among the apprehensive ones.

Biting his lip quickly, he nods, letting his shoulders loosen. If Taehyung felt him being nervous, there was no doubt that he would continue doing so during these weeks. It can't happen. When someone's tense all the time, it makes you jittery as well.

Jeongguk really needs to get his shit together.

"I'm still going to throw the candles," he murmurs, staring at the one next to the TV as if it had done some personal harm to him.

He hears Taehyung chuckling softly, and no, his cheeks just didn't catch on fire because of that. It's just a nice sound. Amused, maybe a little tender. Pleasant.

"And I'll help," says Taehyung, which makes Jeongguk look shyly at him. The hybrid already has the candle on the coffee table in his hand, his nose twitching every few seconds. "God, it stinks even more once I touch it. What are they made of?"

Jeongguk purses his lips to stop the little giggle from coming out, hurrying to take the candles put randomly on the furniture. "Sorry, I should've asked if it's okay to buy something like this."

The only answer Taehyung gives him is a small grumble which, maybe a few minutes ago would have been a reason to lift Jeongguk's anxiety, but right now it makes him want to hide the little smile that curves his lips.

They picked up all the candles in silence,