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Taehyung is jealous. It's stupid and rather selfish but he can't help it.
It all started the very same day that Jungkook stepped his foot inside the Min household. Taehyung had been overwhelmed with so many emotions inside of him; he was excited and relieved and happy. But when he had hugged his bunny, those lovely giggles had abruptly died. Jungkook had tensed up and Taehyung noticed he was looking behind the tiger hybrid.
"Hyung?"
Jungkook did not refer to Taehyung but the person behind him. Min Yoongi, the cat hybrid that Taehyung had become familiar with during the time he had already spent living there.
"Welcome home Kookie."
Jungkook's surprise turned into pure joy and excitement. He let go of Taehyung and with the widest smile ran into Yoongi's arms.
Ouch.
Taehyung had been worried about not seeing the other again and now that they had finally reunited...the reunion was shadowed by another. Still, Taehyung had heard that Yoongi knew Jungkook and the bunny looked really happy meeting his old friend again so Taehyung had to swallow down all the bitterness. He should be happy for them and he tried to do just that.
The first few days Taehyung could take it. It turned out that the two had been best of friends and had a lot of catching up to do. It was okay, Jungkook deserved it. Taehyung could cope with feeling lonely for a little longer.
After an entire week passed, and then another, Taehyung started becoming impatient. He and Jungkook had been everything they had, he was not used to being ignored by the other. He was even growing to think that Yoongi was annoying and could not figure out why the cat hybrid was more interesting to Jungkook than he was.
Taehyung was jealous and that leads us to the current moment.
According to rule 6 (they had voted on ten rules which were then framed and hung on the kitchen wall), Saturdays are reserved for movie nights. This time it’s Jungkook’s turn to choose a movie, which means that he’s already in the living room half an hour before the agreed time. That’s where Taehyung finds him, sitting on the soft couch and browsing through a list of movies found on the streaming service.
Taehyung sits down close to him, craving for cuddles. He hugs Jungkook’s left arm, leaning into him. Jungkook smells like home and just as Taehyung is getting comfortable, a voice shatters the serene moment.
“Oh. You two are already here.”
It’s Yoongi. Taehyung doesn’t even look at him, wanting to ignore the cat hybrid.
“Yeah. I’m looking for something to watch,” Jungkook answers and Taehyung can hear the smile in his voice.
“I thought it was Tae’s turn to get the snacks,” Yoongi laughs, looking at the way the tiger hybrid is tangled around the other. He thinks it’s cute.
Taehyung growls lowly, displeased. It was their owner’s turn, didn’t Yoongi know that? The tiger hybrid is soothed by a hand in his hair, almost making him purr.
“Can you move a little? We should make room for hyung,” Jungkook asked softly.
Taehyung shakes his head but Jungkook isn’t having it, moving them so that Yoongi could sit on his other side. Taehyung is pouting but the bunny doesn’t notice, his eyes on the screen.
“Ooh! They have Kiki's delivery service!” Jungkook exclaims, excited.
“That brings back memories,” Yoongi hums. “We used to watch it together a lot.”
“We did,” Jungkook agrees.
Taehyung feels that unwelcome emotion rear its ugly head again. He can’t help but be jealous of Yoongi because of all the years the cat hybrid had known Jungkook.
“We should introduce Tae to our tradition too,” Jungkook says and Taehyung’s heart leaps.
“I think so too,” Yoongi smiles. Taehyung doesn’t care about his opinion but still nods against Jungkook’s shoulder anyway.
“Then it’s decided! Now we just need the snacks…”
Taehyung pushes all his negative thoughts aside to enjoy the movie. It’s cute and he can totally get why Jungkook likes it so much. Even Cho-noona seems immersed in the story.
The best part, however, is Jungkook softly scratching behind Taehyung's ears and caressing his hair. The bunny hybrid must be doing it unconsciously, but that just means that it comes naturally to him. Taehyung may be the predator hybrid but he feels safe with the familiarity of the touch. So much so that he's getting sleepy.
It's so warm.
Taehyung is still in that state in-between sleep and awareness when he hears whispering near him. The voices are hushed but so familiar. He can almost make out what they're saying, he just needs to get through the drowsy haze.
"...but Tae…"
What about me?
Taehyung yawns and turns his head, nose touching Jungkook's stomach. Turns out he has been sleeping with his head on the other's lap.
"I think he's waking up," Jungkook says. His voice sounds fond.
"He seems more like a kitten than a tiger," Yoongi muses.
"You just haven't seen the tiger side of him."
"I assume you have?"
Jungkook's hand is back in Taehyung's hair and the latter makes a content noise.
"Yeah," Jungkook whispers, impossibly soft. “I thought it would be scary. But he protected me.”
-
When Taehyung wakes up fully, he’s in his bed. He slept in quite a bit but it’s okay. According to rule 7, Sundays are for visiting friends but that’s only after lunch. And this week Min family are the hosts.
Taehyung heard that the hybrid coming over was Yoongi’s friend. Maybe that would mean he could have Jungkook for himself today.
Full of hope, Taehyung gets up and heads to the shower. Usually he hated showering and kept avoiding it until the last moment but he knew Jungkook preferred being clean. And of course Taehyung would do anything for him.
After showering and getting dressed, Taehyung goes to find the others. It’s already almost lunch time, if the delicious smell coming from the kitchen is anything to go by.
“Look who finally woke up,” Min Cho laughs at the sight of him. “The food is almost ready. Jungkook has been a great help.”
Taehyung looks at him with a smile. His hard-working bunny.
“I barely did anything,” Jungkook denies, still a bit shy with their owner.
“Nonsense! Now why don’t you go get Yoongi so we can all eat together?”
Jungkook visibly perks up at that, happily hopping off to get his hyung. Taehyung stares after him, a little dejected.
“Is something wrong?” Min Cho asks gently.
Taehyung doesn’t know what to tell her. She’ll probably think he’s being childish.
“It’s just…”
Why Yoongi and not me?
“Jungkook really loves you, you know.”
Taehyung gets a little red at that. Apparently she could easily tell what his worries were.
“But I think he loves Yoongi more,” he grumbles, frowning when she laughs and pats his head.
“I wouldn’t be so worried about that.”
-
Taehyung is still washing the dishes when the doorbell rings. Their guests have arrived. Someone hurries to answer the door and Taehyung listens on curiously.
“...And this is Hoseok. My boyfriend.”
Boyfriend?
Taehyung stops scrubbing the plate to focus better on the conversation. The guests sound friendly and he can hear Yoongi laughing happily.
“Tae?”
The tiger hybrid startles at the voice coming just behind him.
“Jungkookie? Why are you here?”
“I…Do you need help with that?”
“I was almost finished. You can join the others.”
Jungkook clears his throat.
“I mean, can I help? Please.”
Taehyung doesn’t really understand where this is coming from but there’s no way he can say no to Jungkook.
“Okay,” he grins. “Please help me.”
Jungkook brightens up, smiling back at him. Taehyung feels pleasant warmth spreading inside his chest.
-
Eventually Taehyung and Jungkook join the others in the living room, the smaller hybrid trailing after the bigger and older. The bunny hybrid is clearly feeling shy, partly hiding behind Taehyung.
“You must be Taehyung and Jungkook,” the human says. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. Hoseok, is it?” Taehyung greets, smiling.
“Correct,” Hoseok grins. “And this is Seokjin.”
“Just call me Jin. Or you can call me hyung,” the wolf hybrid smiles.
Taehyung steps forward towards the armchair but stops in his tracks when Jungkook tugs his arm. He looks back at the bunny to see a pleading look on those starry eyes.
Is he scared? Taehyung wonders. He forgets the armchair and opts for the beanbag pushed near the wall, knowing that it can fit both him and Jungkook. The latter looks grateful, squeezing close to him.
It was mostly just Min Cho and Yoongi speaking with the guests, but sometimes someone would address one of them. At the beginning Taehyung answered in Jungkook’s place, the bunny whispering the answer to his shoulder for Taehyung to repeat in a louder voice. As more time passed, Jungkook overcame his shyness and became more relaxed.
By the time Hoseok and Seokjin are making their leave, Jungkook would softly giggle at the couple’s bickering. Taehyung finds it endearing.
When the door closes after the two, Taehyung’s smile drops. Not because their guests left, but because Jungkook let go of him. For the entirety of the visit, Jungkook had stayed close to him and nothing could prepare the tiger for the cold seeping in to replace the warmth of Jungkook.
The bunny is asking Yoongi something and Taehyung doesn’t stick around to listen.
-
Taehyung lies on his stomach, hiding under the covers despite it still being too early to go to bed. He doesn’t want to face the others, not when he’s feeling sour.
As difficult as it is to accept, Jungkook really must prefer Yoongi over him. And why wouldn’t he? Yoongi is smart and not at all childish like Taehyung. The only reason Jungkook clung to Taehyung was because he couldn’t go to Yoongi who was sitting with Jin and Hoseok. Yes, that’s what it was.
Taehyung is broken out of his thoughts by a soft knock on his door. When Taehyung doesn’t say anything, the door opens slightly. He doesn’t turn to look. It must be Cho-noona checking in on him.
“I told you,” Taehyung says, voice breaking a little. “He loves Yoongi more than me.”
The other breathes in sharply. Soon there are hurried footsteps across the room and a body toppling over his.
“What are you even saying?” Jungkook cries and Taehyung freezes under him. “Why…why would you think that…”
Taehyung swallows, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Do you not know how important you are to me? Today…today I only managed to meet them because you were there with me. When I’m around you, I feel less nervous,” Jungkook confesses.
Taehyung still stays in the shelter of his blanket when he replies, his heart demanding to be heard.
“I can’t help it. You’re always with Yoongi hyung, you know. It makes me miss the time it was just us.”
It makes me miss you.
“Tae… I just hadn’t seen him in a long time. Of course I care about you too. So much that I don’t know what to do. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed that it’s just easier to go to Yoongi.”
“Is that good or bad overwhelmed? Am I too much?”
“It’s good overwhelmed. I promise.”
Taehyung’s head peeks from under the blanket, as he looks at the other cautiously. Jungkook smiles at him, encouraging and warm. The tiger hybrid feels as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his chest.
Yoongi finds the pair of hybrids later, cuddling on Taehyung’s bed which now smells like both of them. He’s about to leave quietly and let them be, but then a voice calls him.
“Come cuddle with us, hyung.”
It’s not Jungkook who says it, but Taehyung. Yoongi doesn’t say anything, only gawks at the tiger hybrid’s inviting smile. The giggles of their bunny chime like bells and before Yoongi knows it, he’s making his way to two pairs of open arms.
-