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Taehyung’s blood was boiling. With an actor’s precision, he kept his face schooled into a mask of calm, but it was definitely a mask. A well-crafted one, but a mask nonetheless. His social studies class was discussing a turbulent time in history- the 1970s, when the omegan rights movement really picked up. In the 60s, it had just been starting, Most people didn’t believe that it would really get going, many omegas included. However, by the late 70s, laws that gave omegas more rights were slowly being drafted and passed, which was a sweet sweet reward for the activists.
While most alphas and betas were delighted and talked in satisfied tones when they discussed the movement, there were always a few disgusting and endlessly frustrating ones who would comment that it shouldn't have happened and omegas deserved nothing more than living at home and taking care of everything for their alpha. Teachers would shut this toxic opinion down very quickly, but for someone like Taehyung, passionate about rights and equality, it was still infuriating.
The class was almost over, and Taehyung was relieved. His leather scent, strong enough to make others cough sometimes, was becoming more and more potent, and more and more cloying. He knew he smelled like rage, but there wasn't much he could do about it besides try to calm down. The betas sitting next to him and the alpha in front of him raised their heads and gave him significant looks. He mumbled an apology and tried to calm down. Breathing in and out through his mouth, he thought of everything calming he could possibly come up with.
The first thing that came to mind was Jimin. His best friend, his soulmate, his other half. Also... maybe his crush. He and Jimin had toed the line with their playful flirting for so long that he didn’t even know what he felt anymore, and he knew that Jimin felt the same. It was still confusing, because they continued to flirt, even if they knew it meant a little more. They had discussed it and decided to just let it be what it was. What was it? Scenting each other, wearing each others' clothing, not dating anyone else, occasional telepathy, and lots and lots of cuddles.
Taehyung knew that he needed to get to Jimin, knew that it would calm his frayed nerves and make him feel secure. As soon as the class ended, he briefly apologized more loudly and packed up his things in record time. The weather was chilly- as an alpha, he was less affected by temperature than omegas or even betas, which meant that he was not feeling all that cold. He speedwalked to Jimin and Hoseok’s dorm, hoping against hope that Hobi would be out for lunch or something. The other alpha was very affected by scents, and Taehyung did not want to have a dominance battle.
He would inevitably back down, and he didn’t mind backing down once in a while, but it always came with feelings of inadequacy and hurt, a result of many years of evolution for alphas. Evolutionarily, winning a dominance battle, no matter how small, was an advantage, because omegas, evolutionarily, like alphas and betas who won, which meant that the more they cared about winning, the more likely their genes were to be passed on. After centuries of this, it was instinctual to feel nearly physical pain when losing and direct dominance battle, even if it was irrelevant. He reached his friends’ dorm in record time, using the key he had been given years previous to get in. He inhaled cautiously through his nose and breathed a sigh of relief when he detected no smell of oranges or summer. Instead he was met with the homey mixture of their dorm, and a bit of tension left his shoulders. He walked to Jimin’s room, knowing that he wouldn’t mind if Taehyung borrowed one of his sweaters.
Rummaging through his closet, he found a beige sweater that was warm and soft, and it smelled of strawberries and roses. He put it on over his eccentrically patterned geometric shirt and felt omegan warmth descend upon him. The tightness coiled in his gut slowly dissipated as he felt the scent blend with his own, and he smiled. The knots of threads of thought in his head were slowly unraveling and he could think more easily. He knew that despite the sweater that could be described as aggressively omega, he still radiated alpha.
When he realized he was still standing in the middle of Jimin’s room, breathing in and out like a fool, he left and grabbed his bag. Locking the front door behind him, he headed to the library to get some studying done. A few weeks previously, he had discovered a corner of the library that was just couches. He had never seen anyone else there, and it seemed like a place nobody really knew about. An enclave where he could relax and work without bothering others or being bothered. He sat down with his laptop and started to work on an essay he had been procrastinating on.
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Jimin walked slowly to his dorm, shivering a bit. He had not anticipated the cold when he had left for his first lecture, and had consequently begun to feel very chilly when he left. He walked a little faster, knowing that distressed pheromones could begin to be released any second, and he did not want random strangers coming up to him and asking how he was, no matter how considerate.
When he got to his dorm he breathed a soft sigh of relief and let himself in. Warmth from the indoors cascaded over him like a waterfall of love and reassurance, and his shivering slowed down. He walked to his room and opened his closet doors, looking for his favorite sweater. As he rifled through his winter clothes, he realized that it was gone.
He sighed and opened up his phone.
To: Taetae <3
Did u take my sweater?
To: bby jiminie
yea
Y?
To: Taetae <3
I want it
where are you
To: bby jiminie
Im in the library
Couch land
Come find me
To: Taetae <3
Ok ill be there in a few
Jimin put his phone away and rearranged his bag to make sure he had the things he would need to study but nothing extra.
As he walked to the library, he felt himself getting colder and colder once again. Not only had he forgotten to get a jacket while at his dorm, he had left the thin hoodie that was the only thing he had that morning at the dorm as well.
By the time he got to the library he was shaking pitifully. Jimin looked at the entrance like it was the gates of heaven, and he didn’t hesitate before entering. Walking through the large doors of the library felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. The soft lights around the main room were calming, and the countless students murmuring at the tables made a pleasant background noise.
He walked to the couch corner of the library, knowing that the only person there would be Taehyung. When he arrived he saw the alpha sitting with furrowed brows and back hunched over. He was staring intently at his laptop and typing furiously. Jimin took a deep inhale through his nose and the smell of leather hit him like a truck, the calming undertones of caramel in Taehyung’s scent nearly indistinguishable.
Almost falling to his knees with the force of the smell, his brain was trying to catch up to his body. Before he knew it he was rushing over to his best friend and collapsing into his arms. He seemed to have discarded his backpack somewhere along the way, and it was lucky that Taehyung’s laptop was on the table and not perched on his knees. His thighs ended up around Taehyung's waist, and he was fully sat in his lap. It was more comfortable than he would have liked to admit.
Taehyung folded his long arms around Jimin and nuzzled his hair, work easily forgotten. Tucking Jimin under his chin he rumbled quietly, satisfied that Jimin was safely in his arms. At this, Jimin went pliant and melted into Taehyung's warm embrace. He pulled Jimin impossibly closer and rubbed his back. When he felt how the omega was still shivering a little bit, he rubbed his arms and then his back to try to get him to warm up.
Jimin directly pressed his nose into the junction between Taehyung’s neck and shoulder, shuddering in the alpha’s arms when he got a full nose of aggressive pheromones. In response, Taehyung let his head fall into Jimin's shoulder, breathing in his scent with deep gulps. After a little while of just sitting and soaking up each other’s presence, Jimin rotated and began to move his nose around Taehyung’s scent glands. He rubbed the side of his jaw against the scent glands, and their scents began to mingle pleasantly until they smelled of each other, their combined scent.
When alphas and omegas scent each other, they start to have what is called a ‘couple scent’ which is the general smell of their scents on each other. Jimin and Taehyung’s couple scent is one reminiscent of going horseback riding in a rose garden, maybe a scene from a drama; of sitting on cracked leather seats in a 50s diner and drinking strawberry milkshakes at midnight spontaneously; of unpredictable decisions and unconditional love; of being wild and free to laugh and care. After years and years of mutual scenting, they had started to smell faintly of each other even without scenting, something usually reserved for mated pairs. It got to the point that often, they scented each other purely because it was uncomfortable not to.
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Taehyung was on cloud nine. When his best friend arrived with his things to study, he had originally been a little disappointed. He knew his friend well and if Jimin was determined to get some studying done, then by all things scary or determined, he would get some studying done. He had then been pleasantly surprised when the Jimin had launched himself at him, immediately going to surround the omega with his pheromones and his warmth.
While Jimin’s sweater was warm and smelled like him, like comfort, having the real thing was infinitely better. The anger that had been festering under the surface of his calm demeanor since his class in the morning was dissipating, replaced with Jimin and comfort and home. With his friend draped over him like a blanket, everything was soft and bright, and perfect.
Happiness and content could be the only words used to describe how he felt when Jimin began to scent him. Usually it was a thing only couples did, to show their claim on each other. Jimin and Taehyung had been doing it platonically for years, Jimin wanting the protection from random alphas the scent offered him and Taehyung wanting to help protect his friend. For the past few months some of their interactions had started to cross the line between platonic and romantic, and they both found that neither of them minded all that much.
For this very reason, Jimin was not shocked when Taehyung kissed the crown of his head, instead choosing to snuggle closer to his chest and hum contentedly. The whole process of the morning was making the sleepy and sated mind of Taehyung turn. Jimin was his anchor, and when he was angry he first thought of Jimin to calm himself down. This was also a thing usually reserved for couples. Alphas who felt a strong- even lifelong- bond to an omega would usually start to feel positive, calm, and contented emotions even when angry if the omega is there to calm them down. Likewise, omegas who trust an alpha unconditionally find it easy to be vulnerable around them, and can become uncomfortable without their scent near.
Taehyung pushed Jimin back a little bit so he could look at his face and felt a twang in his chest. Jimin’s eyes began to well with tears. It was a known fact that people are more sensitive after scenting and/or mating, so this was nothing out of the ordinary. What Taehyung wanted to say was too important to wait, however, and while Jimin whined a little and reached out to cuddle more, Taehyung held back. He rubbed circles into Jimin’s sides and waited for him to calm down.
“Could I take you on a date?” Jimin startled and looked up at Taehyung with wide eyes. Taehyung rested his forehead against Jimin’s and waited for his answer, heartbeat too fast to be warranted. Jimin was shaking a little bit, and Taehyung resumed the calming strokes down Jimin’s sides. Jimin looked up at him, and their noses brushed with how close their faces were. He smiled his dazzling eye smile and replied, “Sure, Taetae.” He pressed a quick kiss to Taehyung’s cheek and hid his face in his chest immediately after. Cheeks painted a slight rosy red color, Taehyung hugged Jimin close and breathed with him.