a continuation of previous a/b/o thoughts about pack omega yoongi who’s also aspec. a few months after the pack’s conversation about his wants and needs, yoongi wakes up one morning and realizes he’s in pre-heat....

look here for part one! https://twitter.com/plantdadjoon/status/1507335494845321219?t=Tr-KQkCOvhMMsl1cCf9USg&s=19

- ot7 pack with an established poly relationship
- little to no angst
- mostly writing this on the go so apologies for any typos
- because while yoon is aspec there will still be discussions of sex

before, yoongi had never even entertained the thought of having anyone with him while he went through the throes of his biology; even daydreaming up such scenarios tasted like overripe fruit. whenever his imagination ran wild, yoongi would put a stop to his thoughts immediately,

guilty knowing that he could never spend his heats with them in the way that his pack wanted.

but it turns out that the pack doesn’t want anything but to be there for yoongi. yes, they had their disagreements – after all they weren’t brought up together and are

different enough to have to face the rare obstacle of mending whatever damage had been done with hurtful comments during a fight. but when it comes to them as a pack, one that understood itself as a family, yoongi had learned that whatever he wanted would be respected and

not dismissed.

while the pack spends most of its time in the dorm, each of them have their own apartments they use for certain occasions. sometimes yoongi is in desperate need of a diifferent setting while he works on his music and sometimes all he wants is not to have a single

person around him for a few hours or a night. and then there are also the others' cycles that he tends to flee the dorm for. 

even if yoongi stays in his own room and only hears whoever’s currently participating in the orgies that heats and ruts usually turn into with as many as

six mates yoongi can’t help but feel as if he becomes a part of it too. and sure, he is always a part of the pack, but as soon as it comes to sex and sexual intimacy his stomach just starts churning, making him curl up on himself, hiding his prickling skin from view.

he doesn’t want them like that. 

at first yoongi thought that he needed to stay. especially ruts turned the pack’s alphas more possessive and they were easily unsettled when they couldn’t keep watch over the entire pack. but when he stayed, yoongi would, without fail, end up

in the corner of the dorm that was furthest away from the designated rut bedroom. unwillingly giving off the scent of Omega in Distress™ as he tried to keep calm.

it was jimin who found yoongi miserably cowering under a blanket in the laundry room one day where the scent

of arousal, pure pheromones, and sex.

the alpha had tried to get yoongi to settle but yoongi was worked up into such a state that he was nearly panicking. it didn’t make any sense to yoongi, why he was acting like that way. and yet hiding in this moment felt so integral

to his entire being that when jimin went to pull the blanket away, yoongi snapped his teeth at him and promptly dragged the fabric back over his head. 

had he shown the same behaviour in front of another one of his alphas, especially while a pack member was going through their

cycle, yoongi would have bren reminded of his place rather quickly: a deep growl that erased all of his thoughts, a set of sharp teeth against yoongi's mating mark, pressing into his skin just enough not to pierce through it, and the weight of a hand on his nape saying,

/watch out, little one./

but jimin, who was the alpha to pick up on the faintest traces of yoongi’s distress in the first place, simply tugged the blanket away again, only enough to expose yoongi’s eyes. and when yoongi moved to show jimin what he thought of that, the alpha

the alpha glared at him in an obvious display of disapproval – /you are acting like a child right now, hyung/ – more than enough to shut yoongi up.

and although yoongi was not above throwing a fit, jimin managed to drag him outside and around the block so

so that yoongi finally confessed what had confined him to the laundry room in the first place.

he asked jimin, pleaded with him not to tell the others, in too vulnerable of a headstate to face his own inability to communicate and instead choose to bottle shit up.

jimin had taken one look at yoongi and said: “i’m sorry, hyung. either you tell them, or i will. but we can do it together, if it makes you feel safer.”

in the end he had holed up in his studio the day he was supposed to open up about his struggles with the heats and ruts of

the pack so that jimin went directly to namjoon, pack alpha. who, later in the day, turned up at yoongi's studio door (but that’s a tale for another day.)

long story short: the earlier days of yoongi joining bangtan hadn't been exactly easy.

in the present a full-body shiver reminds yoongi of his current situation. yeah, the events of last week definitely become less confusing considering he woke up in pre-heat. playing it down as a bout of anxiety, yoongi has spent more time on his phone than usually to check up on

the others, waiting for their replies whenever they were too busy to answer, nervous about their whereabouts. in striking contrast, yoongi managed to finish a couple of tasks that have loomed over his head for weeks thanks to sudden spurts of restless energy. now he knows that

his omega had been preparing for what would essentially be his sick leave for the year.

it would also explain why yoongi is wearing a shirt that is decidedly not his. he doesn't remember who owned it originally since they share their clothes way too often – but yoongi can tell

by the scent of fresh cut grass and lavender that it's jungkook who last wore it. had he stolen it right from the maknae's closet? no. had he waited for jungkookie to finish showering so he could run into the bathroom and snatch the shirt before it would wander into the laundry

basket? 

well, at least yoongi is a tiny bit embarrassed about it, okay. he hadn't understood why everything in him screamed to get kookie's shirt last night, but yoongi-in-heat always had the youngest on his mind, the innate need to take care of his pack and make sure that his

family is safe only letting him fall asleep last night once he had slipped jungkook's shirt on.

yoongi is both too warm and too cold. he frowns at his position: starfishing across the mattress which suddenly appears way too spacious. knowing his body, his heat will hit the day

after tomorrow, so he should take today especially to put in a notice that his projects have to be put on hold. he also needs to pack a bag for when he leaves for his apartment, put in a grocery delivery too, go through his nesting supplies, tell his pack–

his pack.

there's a squishy wiggly weight at the bottom of yoongi's stomach and it reminds him that a few months back he had mentioned wanting to try to have someone there during his heat.

but not all six. yoongi loves them like he loves nothing else except for holly maybe,

but having the whole pack dote on him during his heat would send him into overwhelm – and if being prone to overstimulation is already a pain in the ass for him during everyday life it's even worse when in heat.

yoongi muffles his groan by squishing his face into the mattress.

but how is he supposed to choose then? maybe yoongi can let them decide…? no, that wouldn't be fair. and apart from that they would tease him for not wanting to make a decision that desperately. though, what if one of his mates has an important appointment,

a scheduled event they cannot miss? then again yoongi knows his pack and knows that bangtan comes over anything else.

he huffs in frustration, rolls over to the left, then to the right, until he is wrapped tightly into his duvet. gimbap. once again a very specific thought stirs

in his mind: why can't yoongi just be normal? why can't he be like his mates who always spend their heats and ruts together, properly?

yoongi closes his eyes. he can pretty much hear seokjin put a hand on his hip and scold him in a voice that's rising in volume with every word.

/you are perfectly normal. what if it was hobi or taehyungie that didn't want to have sex? would you talk to him the same way that you talk to yourself?/

of course he wouldn't! he'd rather cry himself to sleep than say such bullshit to his mates. but there's a difference

about saying it to someone else compared to yourself and yoongi really doesn't want to think about What It Means that he's an ass to himself.

he tries to pull his knees to his chest but with his arms caught in the blanket, this becomes nearly impossible. yoongi needs to get up

anyway. his phone seems to be somewhere very far away because he doesn't even remember where he put it before going to sleep. he might as well grab some coffee and get shit done.

yoongi's bare feet meet the hardwood floor in a series of little taps. he opens the blinds and

a window to let fresh air into his room and chase away the lingering air of his pre-heat. he ruffles through his hair, bleached to a paleness he last sported… uh.

man, yoongi really needs that coffee. his brain isn't working.

he opens his bedroom door and walks over

to the kitchen counter and only when yoongi goes onto the tips of his toes to retrieve a mug does he notice he isn't alone.

someone clears their throat.

yoongi sets his mug down and turns around. his eyes widen when he sees the entire pack settled at the table,

the sight not exactly unusual – but to see all of them dressed and no longer in their pjs though is incredibly confusing for yoongi who finds he can only focus on one thing at a time right now.

also: they are staring.

yoongi squints and takes a sip of his coffee.

looks down at himself. nothing out of the ordinary; pale and skinny legs, pink knees, hell, they can't even see his briefs because his shirt is so large, turning him into a shapeless entity. plus his ridiculous bedhead and his eyes swollen and cheeks puffy from sleep?

how /incredibly/ enticing.

"what? do i have something on my face?"

he surveys the table and notices how quickly they shake their heads. hoseok is snacking on a banana but his eyes are so fixed on yoongi that he misses his mouth the next time he goes to take a bite from the

fruit and pokes his nose instead.

"then stop looking at me like i'm a bowl of ramyeon. you're weirding me out."

"but hyung," taehyung whines. yoongi shoots him a glare, mentally daring him to shut up. but taehyung is very much taehyung, no matter how early or late in the day,

so when he decides that he wants to let the world in on his inner monologue, he is going to shout it from the rooftops. "you look so cute. like a creampuff."

what the hell. "like a– /what/?"

“i just want to squish your cheeks.” taehyung reaches his hands out and it’s eerily

reminiscent of that time they had tae fluster him on camera. this time taehyung even makes grabby hands. yoongi takes another sip of his coffee, very much unimpressed. “and what’s with the rest of you?”

his only hyung has his chin in his hand, elbow propped up on the table. he clicks his tongue. “let us live. we’re all so in love with you it’s actually painful sometimes.”

yoongi would fake-gag under different circumstances. secretely he preens under the attention.

seokjin’s words are exactly what his omega wants to hear right now, be reassured that he’s welcomed and loved and, a bit selfishly, that they wouldn’t be okay if yoongi ever left. not that he has the intention to.

instead of answering he deflects. “how late is it actually?"

“we let you sleep in, hyung,” jungkook answers with a smile, teeth showing. “it’s eleven.”

yoongi chokes on his coffee. “/eleven?/ why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

“because you were sleeping so soundly! and we all know you barely get more than four hours of sleep a night. your

phone went off in the morning but when namjoon-hyung went to check on you he didn’t have the heart to wake you up.” jungkook frowns as if he’s daring yoongi to protest. he has his arms crossed in front of his chest. his lip piercing glints in the light that shines through the

windows.

yoongi’s not going to blame him. he focuses his glare on namjoon instead.

“you were drooling on your pillow,” namjoon says and simply shrugs as if that explains anything. jimin giggles and hoseok tries his best not to laugh out loud but his eyes water

yoongi’s cheeks bloom like a delicate red rose.

“don’t look so put out, hyung. you’ve been barely home last week and noticeably restless too, so when i found you sleeping in jungkookie’s shirt we were all glad to see you rest.” namjoon pauses and lifts a single eyebrow. he

looks stupidly handsome doing so, wearing a pair of glasses and a large white shirt with a v neck, all domestic and shit so that yoongi’s belly flutters. “actual rest that’s not on the couch in your studio.”

yoongi purses his lips. he can’t help but feel like he’s been set

up somehow. he doesn’t know for what but there’s this slinking suspicion looming over his head that his pack has been waiting for him for a while. “aaand you’re all here and not at work for what reason?”

“uh, because it’s saturday?”

yoongi blinks. “no, it’s friday.”

jimin shakes his head. “no, hyung. it’s saturday.”

saturdays are pack days. it’s a rule they’ve implemented since the beginning of time – one that can be altered to accommodate things like tour or interviews, but they had come up with the concept a few months after yoongi joined

the pack. on saturdays they spend time together: it doesn’t have to be anything grand and most of the time they end up curled up on the couches around the living room while taehyung acts out scenes he knows by heart from the movies they watch, and hoseok hides behind one of them

if the plot is even the least bit horror-adjacent (the second harry potter movie, for example. snakes and such). it sucks sometimes that they cannot easily make day trips since they are idols after all but it’s more than enough as long as they have the company of each other.

yoongi leans back against the kitchen cabinets and stares at the ring of coffee his cup has left on the counter. how has he gotten the days mixed up? he was so sure about yesterday being thursday because on thursdays he usually spends time with hoseok,

just enjoying each others presence while hoseok plays kirby or something else on his switch and yoongi watches him, making comments here and there. sometimes he borrows namjoon’s switch and they play together.

which means…

his heart skips a beat. yoongi puts his cup down and looks at hoseok. “i missed thursday evening,” he says.

immediately hoseok’s smile softens. “don’t worry about it, hyung.”

yoongi’s chest squeezes, hurts. “why didn’t you say anything?”

they pick up on the shift in his mood.

hoseok’s eyes widen in alarm. “yoongi-yah, it’s okay. you were finishing up the guide track for the mixtape, remember? you told me that morning over breakfast that you really wanted to finish it that day.”

yoongi remembers. in the end he had succeeded in sending the guide track

off and returned home late when his pack was already home. after sneaking around and accounting for those who hadn’t texted him back, yoongi almost fell asleep while brushing his teeth.

he bites down on his bottom lip. yoongi knows that hoseok meant well and that there is no real reason for him to be upset about it, but on top of his frankly frenzied week yoongi's now realizing that he has also messed up at home, outside of work, and it makes him feel, well.

inadequate.

“i’m sorry i forgot, hoseok-ah.” there’s a lump in his throat also for no fucking reason. “and i’m sorry if i upset any of you this week, no matter how,” yoongi addresses the whole pack. “or– or worried you, i don’t know. you can tell me, though. i know

this is a half-assed apology so–” he stops himself, shame accumulating like beads of sweat at his nape. fuck. a very small part of yoongi's brain rexognizes he's growing anxious and started spiraling downwards, that he's in a precarious headspace thanks to his pre-heat hormones,

but unfortunately his anxiety is something yoongi understands better when reflecting and not as he's in the situation.

“yoongi,” he hears namjoon’s voice interrupt him gently, “can you come here for a second?”

he's not loud by any means but his voice cuts through his tension like a sword. yoongi inhales deeply and nods, still not looking up.

he rounds the kitchen counter and walks over to the dining area where namjoon is holding his arms wide open. and yoongi isn’t ashamed of being

an omega, he isn't, but in the beginning, when any of his mates had offered him comfort, yoongi shrunk away from blatant displays of affection like these. he couldn’t even explain it, really, too used to keeping his thoughts to himself – but after a while they realized that

yoongi tended to squirm when put in the limelight, thinking that he, as a hyung to most of them, didn’t need, didn’t deserve that kind of attention.

now vulnerability sits high at yoongi's neck, a sharp knife at his pulse point. he climbs into namjoon’s lap without a word and

only when yoongi has his nose pressed against the pack alpha’s neck does he let go of the breath he’s been holding.

namjoon’s palms come to rest on his back as he begins to softly run his fingernails over the length of yoongi’s spine. the sensation makes yoongi shiver.

his mind goes blissfully blank.

namjoon is soothing him in an old-world way: holding him tightly, letting yoongi hide his features in his neck so no one can look at him while simultaneously getting whiffs of the alpha’s scent, the smell of pine and… the clear and crisp air

near a forest brook on a snow day. yoongi makes himself smaller because that’s how it feels right. his fingers are burrowed into namjoon’s shirt.

he breathes and breathes, and only after a while does he realize that his pack has resumed talking. he’s thankful, thankful that

they are just letting him be.

namjoon’s hands never stop moving and faintly yoongi frets that he’s becoming too heavy and the alpha’s legs must surely have gone to sleep. but if there’s even one thing his alphas always manage to convey when they try to calm yoongi down then

that it’s okay to trust them. so yoongi does.

and right here, right now, nestled in namjoon's arms, he never wants to move again. his eyes flutter shut.

fingers rake through yoongi's hair. in his daze he starts to rub his nose right against where namjoon's scent emanates from,

against the gland, and namjoon's arms tighten around his waist. his omega gives a happy little chirp at that.

someone calls yoongi's name but it's so far away. he frowns. can't they bother him later? he's occupied.

"yoongi, come on."

a hand squeezes at the back of his neck

and yoongi opens his eyes, spine straightening. the hand stays there, a heavy weight that wakes him up, alerts him, makes him tune into his surroundings. and after a few more breaths yoongi begrudgingly peels himself from the juncture between namjoon's neck and shoulder.

he moves back, just enough to be able to look at the alpha. his vision is bleary and his limbs so tired, and a wave of warmth spreads from his tummy to all corners of his body. "wha'?" yoongi blinks at namjoon. his alpha, his leader, /his/. yoongi feels himself smile at

the thought.

namjoon's shoulders shake lightly. he's chuckling. "hi, sweetheart. feeling better?"

yoongi's smile widens. he nods, strands of his bleached hair falling into his eyes. he feels like he's on a cloud. he feels like he /is/ the cloud.

"god, what a good little omega."

yoongi turns his head at the sound of another voice, another happy flutter in his belly, and finds seokjin looking at him with adoration. his hyung. yoongi lets his head drop against namjoon's shoulder and basks in the fondness that's wafting

off of seokjin. a good omega. yoongi toes curl.

"i think /some/one got a bit scent-high."

yoongi turns to the other side and sees taehyung's eyes curled into half-moons.

the whole pack radiates a warmth that's similar to one lingering for the rest of the day after spending

an hour basking in the sun and yoongi fucking beams.

a dramatic gasp catches his attention. the maknae is clutching at his chest like a Shakespearan actor and fakes a swoon. "so cute, i'm dying!"

yoongi reveals his gums as he smiles. then he sits up, wants to be in jungkook's arms now, wants to smell like him /now/, but doesn't know how to get to that point. that he has a pair of functional legs doesn't register to his hazy mind.

clearly, jungkook can read his thoughts.

it's the only logical solution, kookie must be a wizard or something, because yoongi blinks once, twice, and then he picks him up like he weighs nothing. he wraps his legs around jungkook's waist and holds on oh so tightly.

"hyungie, do you wanna nest with all of us?"

yoongi shakes his head quickly. "no. that'd be wrong."

jungkook makes an inquisitive noise. he leans back to get a look at yoongi. "what do you mean 'wrong'?"

yoongi pouts. don't they know? "'s too early. heats not here yet."

a few beats of silence and then

there are those adorable bunny teeth, such a sweet sight on the young alpha. "yoongi-yah, are you going into heat? are you in pre-heat?"

yoongi nods and lays his head down on jungkook's shoulder again, clearly done explaining.

"HA! i knew it!" taehyung yells.

"you knew bullshit, tae!"

"you're just pissed because i have a better nose than you, jiminie. even though i'm not an alpha," taehyung giggles and squeaks when jimin jumps up and starts tickling him.

hoseok jumps in his seat and snaps his fingers. "that's why his scent turned

sweeter! i thought i was imagining things."

with how jungkook's standing yoongi can glimpse at namjoon's face. his dimples are showing.

yoongi loves them so much.

who is the first to stay with yoon during his heat? scroll down for other options, please only vote on ONE poll! thank you

part two:

"morning, sunshine."

yoongi grumbles. when he makes an attempt to blink his eyes open, a dull ache spreads through his head. the light has been dimmed, blinds half-drawn, and for a moment he doesn't remember how he got here.

under different circumstances yoongi would sit up,

get light-headed from the adrenaline of finding himself somewhere else than he last remembered being. alas, his nose informs him of the unmistakable scent of his only hyung. because only seokjin would smell like a goddamn bakery.

yoongi's hungry.

"yooooongichi," seokjin singsongs. "wake up, yoongichi."

yoongi closes his eyes again and blindly reaches out for one of the pillows on the bed. he koala-bears around it and turns away from the noise.

seokjin fakes a gasp. yoongi is glad he can hide his smile in the pillow.

"maybe i should have let you sleep. you look so innocent and peaceful and nothing like the little gremlin you turn into when you're awake."

yoongi half-heartedly swats at seokjin.

"you didn't even get the direction right."

yoongi groans. "leave me alone."

"nope. you need to eat and drink something that's preferrably not coffee."

yoongi inhales.

"alcohol also doesn't count, jesus, don't even try me."

and yoongi pouts. the longer he spends awake, the more obvious the emptiness in his tummy gets. how long has he been asleep?

"just about three hours."

of course, all of yoongi's his plans have vanished into thin air. a finger gently traces the shell of his ear, flicks at one of his earrings once.

yoongi tries to shuffle away when seokjin simply says, "oh no, you won't," and pulls him forward by his

hips. yoongi knows he's being kind of a brat but he doesn't give a shit. he doesn't want to get up. doesn't want to eat when he knows he'll get nauseous really soon. doesn't want to look his hyung in the eye. he already feels too exposed.

"why am i here and not in my room?"

seokjin snorts. suspicious, yoongi finally turns around, opens one eye and glares at the bare face of his hyung. he has always thought that seokjin looked his prettiest right after waking up.

"you asked jungkookie to carry you to hyung's bed specifically."

man, his omega is really going all out, huh?

"sorry."

a wrinkle appears between seokjin's brows. "why are you apologizing?"

yoongi smoothes out the wrinkles on the bedspread, mostly to avoid seokjin's direct stare. "dunno. feel like i'm being very silly," he mumbles.

"you're going into heat and not transforming into a clown."

silence.

"hyung... you're not funny."

seokjin leans closer. yoongi's fingertips begin to tingle just from the impending skin contact. but when seokjin's breath hits the delicate stretch of yoongi's neck,

yoongi baring it like his omega wants him to, seokjin pauses.

"... hyung?"

and then seokjin blows a raspberry against his skin.

yoongi's reaction is entirely reflexive: he screeches, squeaks, and his legs kick out at seokjin with a force to send him flying, but

seokjin holds on as if a mouse had kicked at him and not an adult man.

"hyung! stop, stop!" yoongi yells and tries to wriggle out of seokjin's grasp. no chance. seokjin laughs his annoying(ly lovable) laugh at his desperation and moves to tickle at yoongi's sides.

"HYUNG!" tears spring from his and he doesn't know what he's dping harder, laughing or crying, but seokjin keeps the torture going until the bedroom door flies open. only then he stops, looking up at the newcomer.

yoongi seizes the opportunity.

with a cry yoongi throws himself over his hyung and slips his hands under seokjin's sweater in one smooth motion. tickling /over/ clothes? beginner's mistake.

immediately seokjin starts to scream for help and tries to throw yoongi off but yoongi's thighs are clamped tightly

around seokjin's waist.

"this is only payback!"

"oh my g– YOONGI. help! HELP!

"what the hell are you doing?"

yoongi lifts his head at the voice. and one second later he's thrown back into the mattress.

"you little–" seokjin growls with a grin but jimin puts an end to their play time.

"down!"

seokjin and yoongi turn towards him.

"did you just 'down' us like a dog?" seokjin asks in disbelief. yoongi's chest is heaving. the light from the hallway puts a halo behind jimin's

head. he has his hands on his waist. "yes, i did. and it worked." he's being smug. "dinner is done, please come to the kitchen." and with that he leaves.

yoongi looks at seokjin. his cheeks are a stark red, hair ruffled, smile on his face. yoongi guesses he isn't faring any

better.

seokjin notices his stare. he ducks down to place a peck on yoongi's nose and climbs off the bed, reaching out a hand to pull yoongi up.

apparently his life is a k-drama now because as soon as he stands, yoongi's legs wobble and he falls right into seokjin's arms.

he catches yoongi. there's no universe where kim seokjin wouldn't catch him.

when he wants to move them along, yoongi keeps still. seokjin makes a confused noise. yoongi feels him move but he chooses to hide his face in seokjin's chest – therefore he doesn't have to see his

expression.

"yoon, come on."

"i don't want to eat," he mutters.

seokjin exhales and wraps his arms around yoongi's torso. "we can see about food but you need to keep hydrated. you're already getting warmer. you can choose between water or tea."

"amazing."

seokjin laughs.

"right? you can go back to sleep or whatever you want to do after. but the others want to see you too."

yoongi tries to burrow deeper into seokjin's embrace. when he decided to be more open about his heat, he didn't consider that they would see him act like... this.

"i can

hear you think your useless thoughts, yoongichi."

yoongi huffs. he's needy when in heat. constantly swaying between just taking what he wants, and feeling guilty for doing that. and this is just his pre-heat. god.

"if you keep spiraling like this,

joon is just going to scent you again, you know. and then we get to baby your scent-high ass again."

and with that, yoongi pushes away from seokjin. "you know it's not my fault that my body reacts like this! maybe your scents are just too strong, ever considered that"

he

stomps out of the bedroom. seokjin follows him, cackling.

when he gets to the living room, the pack is spread out over the couches, munching on what smells like fried rice. even being in the same room as them gives yoongi such a sense of comfort that a good amount of tension

drops from his shoulders.

seokjin sidles up to him and hands yoongi an already opened bottle of ice cold water, a metal straw put inside. he gestures him to drink and smiles when yoongi empties almost half the bottle.

"want something to eat?"

yoongi watches seokjin move

around the kitchen while he keeps taking sips. the cool water helps with his headache.

"some... plain rice?" yoongi asks. he mulls it over, tries to gauge what he can stomach. "maybe a banana," he adds meakly.

yoongi's toes curl with something akin to getting your first crush

as he watches seokjin prepare their food. when he reaches out his hands for his plate, seokjin shakes his head. "go sit down, i'll join you."

so yoongi is a good dongsaeng and does as he's told. none of his mates pay too much attention to him, knowing yoongi gets uncomfortable

easily. before he can think too much about it, yoongi clambers onto a couch occupied by taehyung, hoseok sitting criss-cross on the ground.

taehyung is exceptionally talented in many categories but being subtle isn't exactly one of them. so it doesn't come as a surprise to

yoongi that the minute he sits down, tae tugs at him in a fashion very similar to when they share a bed. yoongi doesn't protest, just keeps holding onto his bottle as taehyung moves him to his liking, and by the end of it he's basically become personal property for tae to cuddle

however he wants to.

tae's chest rises and falls behind him, yoongi's back pressed to it, and the rhythm does wonders for his overactive mind. taehyung hooks his chin over his shoulder and keeps watching the drama that's playing on their tv.

a minute later seokjin joins them

and hands yoongi a bowl of plain rice, puts a second, smaller one on the coffee table in front of them.

when jungkook perks up at the bite-sized pieces of banana and strawberry all it needs is a single look from seokjin before kookie ducks his head, giving a little nod to

himself. yoongi can actually hear jungkook's inner monologue: /right. that's food for yoongi-hyung because hyung needs to eat because hyung is going into heat./

yoongi shoves some rice into his mouth so he won't outright giggle at the maknae's serious expression.

when he's done with the rice yoongi puts the empty bowl onto the coffee table and leans back against taehyung. tae carries the sticky-sweet smell of cherries, grounded in an earthen undertone. it lures yoongi in.

the younger’s arms are wrapped around yoongi’s torso. tae blankets him with his body, and without meaning too, yoongi's eyes slip shut again.

"you have to keep him awake."

"but he's so warm and cuddly, hyung…"

"he won't be anywhere near as cuddly when he wakes up and gets mad at you for letting him sleep because he wanted to prepare instead.”

taehyung gives a low whine at the back of his throat and shuffles away from the noise. he props yoongi up so that he’s nestled even

closer to tae’s chest.

“hyung is right, tae,” namjoon says.

somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, yoongi notices movement at his feet. then: “jagiya,” hoseok hums close to his ear.

yoongi frowns. his reaction prompts stifled giggles out of his mates.

“wow, look at that pure unfiltered love on his face.”

hoseok shushes them or, well, at least he tries because if one of them is laughing, hoseok isn't far from joining right in.

"wakey wakey, jagiya." hoseok's suppressed laughter sends his hot breath against the side

of yoongi's face. a few strands of his hair are sent flying and yoongi scrunches up his nose.

the last straw, though, that guides him back into consciousness is when hoseok's fingers tickle the underside of yoongi's chin.

yoongi opens his eyes when the pack gives way to their

laughter.

yoongi's protest falls flat. "why won't you leave me alone," he mumbles. but even taehyung's shaking behind him, chuckles reaching yoongi's ears.

"the whole pretending you don't love it shtick has never worked with us, hyung," jimin grins as hoseok's

pretty much just hanging off of jimin's shoulder, still laughing.

yoongi moves to climb out of tae's lap but the boy doesn't budge. he pats at tae's hands atop of his belly and when that doesn't work, taehyung completely oblivious to his attempts, yoongi growls.

it makes them all shut up rather quickly.

taehyung releases him as if he's burnt himself and yoongi clambers to the free end of the couch where he pulls his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them. he's a bit embarrassed that he didn't just use his words because

yoongi rarely growls and now his mates are all looking at him in concern. but his skin is starting to do the thing where it itches all over, his heat quite literally wanting to crawl out of his body. from this point it's not going to get exactly easier.

when no one speaks up yoongi deems it necessary to mumble a quiet 'sorry' and nervously scratches at his underarms because that's where his shirt doesn't cover his skin.

"you're anxious, it's okay."

yoongi exhales a stuttering breath and decides to cut to the chase.

"i have to leave tomorrow." he looks at the bitten skin around his fingernails. "who's coming with me?"

"we actually talked about it a little."

yoongi lifts his head and stares at namjoon. they did?

"when?"

"after you had your coffee and went to bed again."

yoongi doesn't know what to think. apparently it shows.

"we had to talk because heats are different for you and that's more than okay," namjoon continues. "but because you go into heat so rarely it's difficult for us to to even smell it on you. you'd think i'd recognise

that one of my mates is in pre-heat but..." he gives a little shrug.

it's not you, yoongi wants to say. but he also doesn't want to interrupt namjoon.

"so we talked whether anyone had noticed anything. also for the next time this happens." the corners of yoongi's mouth lift.

always the leader, the pack alpha, trying to figure out how to be an even better mate to them. it's so typical of namjoon to think of others first, and then of himself. "and also about what would happen this time. do you still want one of us to be there for your heat?"

namjoon looks at him out of kind eyes. "if you changed your mind none of us will mind. or if you decided that you never want any of us with you for your heats. as long as you are comfortable and okay."

yoongi ducks his head. he's being doted on, it's not hard to understand,

and yet he wishes the roles were reversed. doting on his mates comes easier to yoongi.

yoongi picks at a loose thread on his shirt and nods.

"have you thought about who you'd like to stay with you?" jimin asks.

"i have thought about leaving the decision to you and then going through the seven stages of your teasing," yoongi deadpans. "i know you're going to tell me it's stupid but i don't want you to feel like i favor one of you over the other."

seokjin sighs and brings his hands down on his knees. "yoongichi, i promise you i will not cry myself to sleep for more than six days if it's not me."

yoongi looks at him. "thank you, hyung. appreciate it."

seokjin blows him a kiss.

"honestly, even if you favored one of us,

that would be fine. you should have seen namjoon-ah during his last rut, with the way he behaved you'd think hyung and i weren't even part of the pack," hoseok laughs.

yoongi perks up. he tries to search for a spike in hoseok's scent – anything to show that he's actually upset –

but yoongi comes up empty. all he can detect is amusement and a lingering fondness.

namjoon is rubbing his temple. "i told you i was sorry but yeah, sure, bring it up once more to my /utter/ mortification."

"aww, it's okay, hyungie. we enjoyed ourselves!" tae chimes in.

namjoon hides his face in his hands. the tips of his ears have turned red. yoongi can't help himself but grin.

"we talk about having favorite hyungs too, you know." jungkook shifts in his seat, nibbling at the nail on his thumb. he's wearing a monstrosity of a sweater,

dark purple and thick, and yoongi kind of wants to slip under it.

"and of course we're joking but sometimes it's also a bit true? like when you hyperfixate on a specific midi board for a while, hyung."

yoongi blinks at the maknae. the comparison makes sense, oddly enough. he

shouldn't be surprised by jungkook's ability to hit the bullseye.

jungkook holds his gaze with his lips curled into a small smile until yoongi nods his understanding.

"it's not our place to judge what makes you comfortable."

yoongi's heart aches. "and i won't judge if one of

you decides they're not up for it." he crosses his arms in front of his chest, hoping some of the discomfort will wane when he presses his arms into his stomach. "because, uhm." yoongi bites down on his lip as he mulls over his thoughts. "none of you know what i'm like during

my heat. so it would be fair to, to not. want. to do that."

"what are you like when you're in heat? what is it like for you, hyung?" jimin asks. half of his hair is held back by a hair tie, the rest of it framing his face. "if you want to tell us."

yoongi lets his head tilt

back and takes a deep breath. he owes it to his pack that they have made him comfortable enough to share this with them.

safe. he's safe; yoongi knows it without thinking, this particular certainty stashed inside of yoongi where embers gleam with how fiercely he loves his pack.

"they're hard, i guess." yoongi doesn't want to lie about this. "i'm in pain most of the time. feels like i'm on fire, not because of the fever, but all my muscles just..." he swallows. "i have prescription painkillers i can take but they only help so much. usually they last for

five days but i'm lacking any sense of relief you're supposed to get when it's over, that's why i get the full week off. because i'm exhausted." yoongi swallows and lets that sit for a moment. "and it's not like i don't have any urges, i mentioned this before, because

when my hormones are raging a part of my brain thinks that i should listen to my instincts, let you fuck and knot me because my omega knows who i belong to and that you're mine."

yoongi is surprised to see his hands shaking when he brushes his hair away from his brow.

"it's been a long time since i've had sex during my heat. years. sometimes it got so bad i wondered whether i should just try again, one more time, because maybe i would like it by know or maybe it would be better with a different partner." his throat feels so dry. "and all that

other bullshit people say when you mention you don't have sex. but sometimes it's hard not to let it get to you. especially because i know that it would make my heat end more quickly."

tae's voice sounds hoarse when he speaks. "that does sound exhausting, hyung."

yoongi nods.

"it's one of the reasons i wanted to be alone. because when i'm in heat there's always a point where i will beg for a knot and i was too scared that my partners would give in eventually. i had heat partners question my decision enough times to know that few would actually

understand." finally, yoongi lowers his head. "but i'm not scared of you. i trust you."

it's nearly unbearable, nearly smothering – but how could their love ever smother yoongi? he breathes it in and lets it calm his nerves.

namjoon breaks the silence. "thank you, hyung."

the three words are spoken with such earnestness that yoongi /has/ to deflect with a vague wave of his hand.

"i'm probably just going to be a big fucking pain in the ass, to be honest."

hoseok chokes on his drink and jungkook moves to rub his back.

"wow." seokjin says.

"beautifully said."

yoongi simply shrugs. "i'm seriously trying to be honest. i'm going to be insufferable. i cry a lot during my heat and i don't know if that's going to become worse or better."

"just out of curiosity," jimin asks. "why do you want us to be there, then?"

it's a valid question. and a good one. because, let's face it, yoongi could spend the rest of his life going through heats on his own and his pack would not bat an eyelash as long as it's what he wants.

but that's the thing, right?

yoongi started to want something different.

only because he's completely sure that he is safe with his mates. only because he loves them more than yoongi thought he'd be able to. when he was younger he thought that his purpose in life was anything but to love. that yoongi wasn't meant to be loved.

but these things change.

so he tells them what has changed for him.

"i don't want to be alone anymore," yoongi whispers, only loud enough for his mates to hear. he doesn't give them a chance to respond: "that's why i want to try."

a hand sneaks over and grazes over yoongi's ankle, only wrapping around

it when yoongi doesn't pull away. and then more: a head in his lap, arms around his waist, kisses on yoongi's hair. he doesn't dare to move, feels like the spell would break and make him burst into ugly tears.

but then a pair of hands wrap around his cheeks. yoongi recognizes

them immediately from the softness, the callouses in specific places from hefting weights, but above all the inked skin when yoongi opens his eyes. no one would believe him when he'd say this and yet yoongi had known that it would be jungkook who would ask,

"hyung?"

yoongi searches jungkook's eyes. they have always held entire novels of stories to him.

"can i stay with you during your heat?"

the smile on yoongi's face appears all on its own.

i might start a new thread for the next part considering the thread is already getting looong but this is definitely not over yet

top of the thread for ya: https://twitter.com/plantdadjoon/status/1521142898984685569?t=QfiqRRKfJDT-7DvtsoqWug&s=19

also i have a ko-fi for tips, always appreciated but not necessary at all http://ko-fi.com/plantdadjoon