Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The first time is not his fault.

He was dreaming peacefully, he doesn’t know of what but it was probably tranquil, like sheep jumping over a fence or something.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Jumping up into a sitting position, Taehyung blinks blearily a few times.

Murky yellow light from the streetlamp outside his window allows him to take a quick survey of his room.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

He stares at the blinking red light on his ceiling.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

“Taehyung!”

There’s a series of bangs on his front door and he finally springs into action, jumping out of bed and hauling ass out of his bedroom.

When he pulls open his door, Jimin is standing there in a robe with his chihuahua tucked under his arm.

“Arf!” The chihuahua snaps and Taehyung’s head spins. Way too many sudden loud noises in the middle of the night.

“The fire alarm is going off, you dumb dumb! Let’s go,” the other omega says, already turning tail and heading down the hallway.

Taehyung fumbles to slip on some shoes. He follows Jimin into the hallway and sniffs. It smells like something is burning. He and the rest of the apartment tenants descend down the stairwell until they file outside. It’s only then that he realizes the shoes he grabbed are some thin Kakao Friends slippers, Ryan to be exact. They crunch against the thin layer of snow blanketing the ground and he shivers, pulling his arms tight against his chest.

“You look so dorky,” Jimin snorts, eyeing his pink cloud pajama pants and slippers.

“Thank you,” Taehyung sniffs.

Jimin chortles. He checks his phone and sighs. “It’s 3 AM. Do you know what happened? Did someone just burn popcorn or something?”

Shaking his head, Taehyung’s gaze roams over the small crowd of tenants sprawled out across the street and parking lot. They all look vaguely familiar; characters he’s all seen at least once in passing after two years of living here.

After another minute, the sound of sirens rings out through the air. Jimin and Taehyung look at each other, then turn to watch at the end of the street where a large red firetruck is making its way down the block.

“There’s an actual fire,” Jimin says, deadpan, as the firetruck pulls up in front of their building. Dept. 501, the white lettering says.

The back doors open to reveal two men in beige fire suits who jump out onto the snow-covered pavement.

“Everyone out of the way!” One of them shouts, motioning with his arms.

Taehyung and Jimin walk backward toward a parked car, while one of the firefighters dons some sort of breathing mask, Taehyung doesn’t know what it’s called, and takes off at a jog inside the building.

“Woah,” Taehyung breathes. He’s seen firefighters at the scene of an accident, but never actively fighting fires.

A second firefighter jogs inside with a red fire extinguisher in hand.

Taehyung tunes his ears in to the murmurings of his neighbors, but it seems no one knows the source or cause of the fire.

“Oh my god,” Taehyung suddenly jumps, eyes scanning the parking lot frantically.

“What?” Jimin asks.

“Have you seen Mrs. Lee?”

When Taehyung looks to Jimin, the other omega’s eyes are wide in alarm as well. “No…”

“I ran into her earlier today,” Taehyung says, working himself up into a mild panic. “She had this huge roast chicken,” he says, spreading his arms wide to demonstrate. “She said she was going to cook it tonight.”

They check the small crowd of tenants again.

“She’s not here,” Jimin breathes.

“Oh my god,” Taehyung says, taking two steps toward the entrance of the building. “Oh my god, she’s still in there.”

“Tae, what are you doing?” Jimin hisses. “You can’t go in there!”

He makes a split-second decision. “Maybe they don’t know where her apartment is!” He calls out as he runs over to the door.

“Tae, that’s —”

He doesn’t hear the end of Jimin’s protest as he has already pushed the entrance door wide open and is taking the steps two at a time.

He’s huffing by the time he reaches the landing of the third floor. Thin smoke sits lazily in the air, visible when the stairwell’s automatic lights flick on at his approach.

At the top of the stairs he sees one of the firefighters. Little old Mrs. Lee lays in his arms, looking frail and small next to the mass of the firefighter.

“What are you doing?” The firefighter barks. He begins taking steps down the stairs. “There’s a fire. Get out.”

“I just—” Taehyung stutters. He backs himself up against the wall as the firefighter approaches the landing.

“You nothing! Get the fuck out!” The firefighter, definitely an alpha, says, jerking his head toward the exit.

“Yeah, I—. Okay,” Taehyung says, following the firefighter more clumsily than him even though he's not the one holding an entire extra person in his arms.

He supposes the one good thing he did was prop the entrance door open for the firefighter to pass through with Mrs. Lee.

He joins Jimin again once outside, heart pounding in his chest. Shame flushes his cheeks from being scolded by the firefighter. He can’t believe he ran in there; he probably looked like such an idiot.

“Mrs. Lee,” Jimin says.

“Yeah,” Taehyung nods. She appears fine as the firefighter sets her on a stretcher from an ambulance. Filled with embarrassment as he is, he still finds relief in knowing Mrs. Lee is safe.

A minute later, the second firefighter exits the building.

He is carrying a large burnt piece of… something.

Ashes cover the outer layer of it but when a piece falls, it’s clear as day that it's a roast chicken.

Jimin groans. “She burnt the chicken.”

There’s a collective moan as the other tenants grumble over this as well.

Taehyung only watches as the firefighters, now with their masks removed, deal with the charred chicken and Mrs. Lee. A third firefighter comes out of the truck with a clipboard in hand and enters the building.

Against reason, Taehyung approaches the firetruck.

“Mrs. Lee?” He says to her where she's laid out on the stretcher, eyes closed. They're about to put her up inside the ambulance.

“Taehyung-ah,” she says, eyes fluttering open.

Taehyung sighs in relief and puts a hand over his heart. “Oh, thank god.”

Suddenly, a firefighter is standing between him and Mrs. Lee. Without his mask, Taehyung is able to see his face in the dim light. It’s smudged with a bit of dirt, and he looks much younger than Taehyung imagined a firefighter could be. His alpha scent permeates the air, faint but unmistakable.

“Weren’t you the one on the stairwell? Why the fuck would you run into a building on fire? What part of evacuation don’t you understand?”

Offended, Taehyung takes a step back and scoffs. “Sorry. I knew she had planned on cooking a chicken tonight and I didn’t see her in the lot. Thought I could help, that’s all.”

Mrs. Lee calls out from her stretcher. “Sorry dear, it looks like I fell asleep.”

“Ma’am, please remain quiet until someone can properly examine you,” the firefighter says to her in a gentle yet stern voice.

“Oh come on, that can’t be a real thing,” Taehyung says. It’s probably something he’s making up so he can get Taehyung to fuck off.

“Will you shut up for two seconds? Now you listen to me,” the alpha firefighter says, pointing a finger in his direction which Taehyung bats away with a grimace. “I don’t care what thought you knew. The next time there’s danger, leave it to the fucking professionals. This is how people get hurt,” the firefighter snaps.

As Taehyung is busy scoffing a few more times, the firefighter turns to help strap Mrs. Lee in the stretcher. The medics take over from there, and the alpha begins walking back to his firetruck.

“Yeah, well people also get hurt when their neighbors forget about them!” Taehyung calls, rather pettily, with his arms crossed.

The firefighter sneers at him.

Taehyung rolls his eyes and turns away. “I was just trying to help,” he grumbles. The ambulance takes off with Mrs. Lee strapped inside, siren wailing before it even turns onto the main street. The firetruck remains, maroon red in the night.

When Taehyung returns to Jimin’s side he finds his friend is muffling giggles behind his hand while his dog licks his cheek. “Made a new friend there, Tae?”

“Did everyone see that?” Taehyung asks, dejected, as he rubs the toe of his slipper into an untouched patch of snow.

“Yep,” Jimin chirps. At least one of them is amused.

“He’s such an asshole,” Taehyung mutters under his breath. Jimin simply hums.

After another few moments, the firefighter that entered with the clipboard comes out once again.

He stands at the foot of the firetruck bed and addresses the small huddle of tenants.

“Thank you everyone for your patience. It looks like there was a minor kitchen fire in the building. It’s been taken care of and fully extinguished, so you have nothing to worry about. You’re free to return to your homes and get some sleep.”

There is a lackluster round of applause, and he hops up onto the back of the truck to leave.

Taehyung glares at the Mr. Asshole Alpha in the back of the truck before the other firefighter is shutting the metal doors and obscuring him from view.

As everyone lines up to re-enter the building the firetruck is already making its way down the street and into the darkness. Taehyung gives a final long glance at it before he follows everyone else into the building.

He wishes Jimin a safe night of sleeping after everything and enters his apartment, toeing off his slippers and stepping onto the cold tile with bare feet once again.

He’s too keyed up to fall asleep right away, he knows. Instead he makes himself a cup of tea, his anger simmering away the whole time.

It pitches into a boil by the time his tea is ready, and he paces back and forth in his kitchen, seething.

“Who the fuck does he think he is?” Taehyung hisses.

“Yelling at me like that.”

“Okay… maybe I shouldn’t have ran into the building like that. But he also shouldn’t have yelled at me like that.”

“What an ASSHOLE! I hate alphas.”

“… I can’t believe he yelled at me like that.”

- - -

The second time is kind of his fault.

After the Mrs. Lee Chicken Incident, Taehyung resolves to simply erase that night from his memory. He spends about a day having flashbacks of it that make him cringe before he decides to just put it out of his mind. It’s not like he’s ever going to see Mr. Asshole Firefighter ever again.

Luckily for him, his job keeps him very busy. He’s an assistant to a busy fashion editor, and it’s just as draining and difficult as the Devil Wears Prada made working in fashion seem. And much less glamorous.

In fact he’s so busy that he complains about it often to Jimin.

“I feel so stressed,” he groans as he belly-flops down onto Jimin’s couch. He lets his face rest against the cushion for a moment before it crosses his mind just how many farts Jimin must have released on said cushion and he turns his head to the side, frowning. “You probably fart a lot,” he adds.

Jimin swats him with a rolled up magazine.

“Oh, shut it. If you feel so stressed, why don’t you go out more? I’m always inviting you. You just need to say yes.”

“But that’s just it,” Taehyung whines, kicking his feet like a child having a tantrum. "I already have too many things to do. I don’t need more. There’s just not enough time in the day. I wish I could pause time and do all the shit I need to do and then play it again.”

“Like Adam Sandler in Click?”

“Exactly like Adam Sandler in Click.”

Again Jimin swats him lightly with the magazine. “Then you’d also end up dying in the rain like he did. Figure it out in real time.”

Taehyung sighs. Jimin’s chihuahua comes to lick at his fingers hanging off the couch cushion. He may have forgotten to wash his hands after snacking on some chips before coming over.

“You’ll support me more than Jimin, won’t you Bruiser?” Taehyung asks.

The chihuahua gives him a long look with his flat, buggy eyes before he returns to licking Taehyung’s chip-residue fingers.

Jimin gasps and exclaims, “That’s it!” He rounds the couch and points a wooden spoon in Taehyung’s face. Taehyung goes cross-eyed trying to look at the end of it just past his nose.

“Our apartment allows pets,” Jimin continues. “Why don’t you get a dog? They help relieve stress. That way when you come home you can be happy with your little puppy and then be in a good mood for going clubbing with me at night.”

Taehyung frowns. He pushes at the spoon and Jimin aims it at Bruiser who begins licking it instead of Taehyung’s hand.

“Yeah, but I don’t even really like dogs. And they’re so much work. I’d probably have to wake up at 6 AM to take it outside to pee or something.”

Jimin tilts his head. “Fair point. What about something easier? Like a chinchilla?” He asks, grinning while his eyes get this half-crazed look about them.

“A chinchilla? I don’t even know what those are.”

“They’re so cute, Tae,” Jimin gushes, pulling the wooden spoon back. Bruiser follows it, jumping at his feet to try to get to it. “I always wanted one when I was a kid.”

Sitting up, Taehyung squints. “Okay, but this is my hypothetical animal we’re talking about, not yours. What about a hamster or a cat or something?”

Deflating, Jimin hangs his head. He realizes his dog is still licking the spoon and lifts it out of his reach. “I mean, both smell kind of bad. They poop and stuff.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “All animals poop, Jimin, including us.” Jimin wrinkles his nose. “What about a cat?” Taehyung says. “It would be nice to cuddle with it at night. I had a cat from when I was like 5 until it died when I was 10. I was kind of scared it was gonna claw my eyes out so I never cuddled with it that much. But I’m sure I could handle it now.”

Jimin gives him the side eye. “There’s always the possibility a cat will claw your eyes out.”

Taehyung purses his lips and points at Bruiser who’s laid down on the carpet, head on his paws. “There’s always a possibility your dog will claw your face off.”

Jimin gasps, “Don’t say that about him,” and then lifts the dog into his arms. “It’s okay, Bruise-Bruise, Uncle didn’t mean it,” Jimin coos as he walks back into the kitchen.

They let the topic drop for the night but Taehyung rolls it over in his mind between long hours at work and late nights at home in a quiet apartment. It’s winter, he thinks, it would be nice to have a cat to curl up with him in bed or on the couch, even just slink between his feet and meow at him for food. It would be some company.

He visits a shelter on his Sunday off. He wants to avoid buying a cat, would rather save one from the not-so-metaphorical chopping block but he’s also worried there won’t be any good ones at the shelter.

“We have some real sweethearts in right now,” is what the employee at the shelter says after Taehyung tells them what he’s looking for. He is walked to the back where there is a wall of stacked cages with one cat each inside. He feels bad for them, having to stay in such a small space.

“They are a bit stressed right now,” the employee tells him. He shows him to one cage with a white, long-haired cat. “This is Luna. She’s a little skittish at first but once she settles in she’s a real sweetie,” he explains.

The cat is thin but beautiful, with big blue eyes staring back at him. Taehyung coos at the cat as he presses the back of his finger in between the bars of the cage. In response, she shrinks to the back of the cage away from him.

There are some rooms for socializing with the cats, and the employee sets them up in one. After a minute or two, Luna approaches him looking for some pets.

“Aw, you’re a cutie,” he coos as he scratches under her chin. She reminds him of himself when he was younger. People always told him he was cold when they first met him, so they were surprised at how warm he was toward them once he opened up. It was just because he was shy, growing and still awkward in his body and sense of self.

The next day he’s allowed to take Luna home. He even gets a little cat carrier and everything for her. She meows nonstop on the taxi ride home and once he releases her in his apartment, she darts out of the cage and out of the living room entirely.

Taehyung sighs. He leaves food out and doesn’t see her for the rest of the day until that night. He is lying in bed, about to fall asleep when he hears a rustling in his room.

Heart taking off into a gallop, he freezes. What if there’s some creepy guy hiding under his bed, waiting to attack him? Or some devil monster like that horror movie he saw when he was twelve?

He almost lets out a yelp when something claws at his bedsheets. However, Luna appears a second later, pouncing onto his bed with grace and tentatively approaching him.

He breathes a sigh of relief and opens up his arms. It takes a minute but eventually she approaches and cuddles up close to him, purring.

He smiles as he gives Luna scritches and all the good stuff.

So having a cat turns out to be pretty low maintenance, good for his long hours. However there are some things he still needs to adapt to.

Leaving his window open when his room needs some circulation, for instance.

“Luna! I’m home!” He announces one Saturday afternoon. He needed to come in to the office for a few hours in the morning, but mercifully his work was done by noon.

He frowns when there's no jingle of the bell hung from Luna’s collar as she comes trotting over to greet him.

Hanging up his coat and keys, he calls out again but there's still no response. He pours some kibble into her metal bowl and shakes it a few times. “Luna!”

When he's again greeted with silence he starts to worry. He checks the living room and bathroom before the bedroom. Under the couch, under the bed, he shakes her food bowl, but Luna doesn't come running.

He’s beginning to worry, racking his brain for any time this morning he may have left the front door open for an extended period of time when she could have run out. That’s when he feels the cool breeze on his back and turns to his bedroom window.

His open bedroom window.

Gasping, he presses himself against the sill and looks down. It’s a 4 floor drop. They say cats always land on their feet, but he can’t imagine —

“Meow,” he hears. It sounds just like Luna.

“Luna? Luna?” He tries to look in the tree outside his window but he can’t see anything. Besides, the nearest branch is a good meter away, there’s no way —

“Meow,” he hears again.

Unless the tree has magically developed meowing capabilities, his cat is stuck in the fucking tree.

He calls out Luna’s name but still can’t get a glimpse of her. He instead exits his apartment again and jogs down the stairs. He stands at the foot of the tree outside his window and peers up. It’s tall, with a lot of spindly branches. He can’t quite see past them, but he calls out for his cat again.

The replying “Meow,” has him searching toward the left and then he sees a swish of a white tail.

He begins trudging back to his apartment when he spots their local halmeoni pushing her cart. Her corgi is unleashed and trots alongside her. Taehyung doesn’t know why she keeps it unleashed. He tried to pet the dog once and it barked at him until he shrieked and ran away.

“Hi, halmeoni,” he greets.

She turns and gives him a nod.

“Would you like some cardboard?” He asks.

“Sure.”

Once upstairs he gathers three empty folded up cardboard boxes from his closet. He kept meaning to take them out but forgot until now.

“Here,” he says as he returns downstairs, winded.

The old woman puts them in her cart, smushing them down on top of other layers of cardboard with a surprising amount of strength. She’ll sell them at the recycling center; Taehyung knows it’s not a lot of money but it must be getting her by.

“Thank you, dear,” she says.

“Halmeoni, have you seen my cat?” He tries.

She squints at him. Her face is covered in thick wrinkles and she stands hunched over. “No.”

“Oh. Or your dog, maybe?” He asks, pointing at it. The dog does not look happy so he stops doing that. “I think it jumped out of my window,” he adds.

“No. Sorry,” she says, already turning. “Goodbye, darling,” she says with a wave.

“…Bye."

He returns to his apartment and tries in vain to lure Luna back inside from the branch. He suspects she’s stuck or something because the mews keep coming from the same place.

The landlord doesn’t like to be bothered and rarely helps with his problems. Jimin is out with his boyfriend for the weekend. He even asked the neighborhood halmeoni, and… He’s out of options.

“119, what’s your emergency,” says the emergency line operator once he dials.

“Um. This is going to sound like a prank but my cat is stuck in a tree.”

The operator sighs. “That isn’t really an emergency, sir. I’m going to transfer you to the sheriff’s office.”

A bit peeved at being given the run-around, Taehyung curtly accepts waiting while the operator transfers him.

After two more calls someone finally tells him that they’re tied up so it might be a couple hours, but a fire truck could be dispatched out to help him.

He gratefully accepts and waits. And waits and waits. He tries luring Luna down with the click of a wet cat food can. It’s expensive but it’s her favorite, the bastard.

Regretfully nothing works and he spends a Saturday off staring out his bedroom window and waiting for a fire truck to arrive.

When it does he dashes down the stairs, peacoat flailing behind him.

One of the firefighters is just exiting the front booth when Taehyung approaches, slippers crunching over the thin layer of snow on the ground when he crosses over the grass.

The first firefighter looks around his age with sleek white-blonde hair. He is wearing a gray sweatshirt with the fire station's emblem and number, 501, stitched over the top right, and worn firefighter pants, the green reflective material still shining like it’s brand new.

“You call in about a cat?” He asks, shutting the door while the other firefighter exits.

Taehyung nods, walking over and pointing up at the 4-story-tall tree. “My apartment is right there. I think my cat jumped out of the window and into this tree.”

Taehyung hears a snort, then someone behind him says, “Who leaves their window wide open when they have a cat?”

Slowly Taehyung turns and locks eyes with the second firefighter. It’s none other than Mr. Asshole Firefighter from the Mrs. Lee Chicken Incident.

“People who just adopted a cat two weeks ago,” Taehyung says icily. “What firefighter insults the citizens they’re meant to help?”

The alpha huffs and ignores him. “Right. So what are we dealing with here?” He asks, walking under the tree and peering up. His neon reflective suspenders hang around his hips, clipped to his pants.

“I left my bedroom window open for ventilation,” Taehyung explains. “While I was at work this morning she must have jumped onto the nearest branch and gone further into the tree. But I think she’s stuck or something because she’s not moving.”

Just then they hear a ear-ringing yowl from the top of the tree. “Oh, yeah. And she’s been doing that for a couple of hours.”

“Alright,” the blonde firefighter says. “I’m going to reposition the truck. Jeongguk-ah, you go inside his apartment and see if you can’t reach the cat from the window.”

The asshole firefighter, Jeongguk, warily glances at him but then nods and begins walking toward the entrance. “Got it, Namjoon hyung.”

The next thing Taehyung knows, this Jeongguk guy is pausing outside the lobby doors and peering over his shoulder at Taehyung. “Well? Aren’t you going to show me inside?”

Irritation bubbles up inside Taehyung at the alpha’s attitude. He sends him a glare but goes and punches in the code to the lobby anyway. He walks up the flights of stairs with the firefighter clomping his boots up behind him all the way up. He hates going first because of the very real possibility the person behind him is staring at his ass, but. He has to show the guy where his apartment is, so he doesn’t have much of a choice.

Once he’s opened the door and shouldered it past the pile of shoes he’d left scattered in the entryway when he left, he looks back at this asshole firefighter guy.

He’s looking at Taehyung with a raised eyebrow. He looks down and makes a show of carefully stepping over the sprawled footwear. Taehyung snorts.

“Do I need to take my shoes off?” The alpha asks.

Taehyung turns. “No, it’s fine. The window’s in the bedroom. Follow me.”

He doesn’t even bother to tidy his still-unmade bed in the bedroom, just walks over to the painted white window ledge and shivers as the breeze kicks by.

“Nice digs,” the Jeongguk guy snorts as he stomps his way in to Taehyung’s bedroom.

Taehyung’s mouth pressing into a thin line, he says, “I’m saving.”

“For what?”

“For none of your goddamn business,” Taehyung snaps.

Jeongguk digs his tongue into his cheek as his brows tick upwards. “Yikes. Kitty’s got claws.”

Letting out a seething sigh, Taehyung clenches his jaw before turning to gesture out the window. “Care to take a look, Mr. Firefighter?”

Jeongguk smirks as he steps closer, into Taehyung’s space at the window. Taehyung takes a step back.

The guy seems to mess with the window for a few moments, sliding the glass right and left an inch. He reaches behind and drags the screen out, black netting blurring Taehyung’s view of the tree.

“This is a screen. Ever used it?”

Taehyung grits his teeth. “Yes,” he hisses. He pushes the screen backwards once again and throws a palm out the window. “And there is my cat that needs to be saved. Ever going to get to it?”

Jeongguk chuckles but pushes the window panels aside fully and leans out the frame. He reaches an arm out, fingertips brushing the flimsy branch that sits closest to the building.

“Hm,” the guy grunts, resting both palms against the window frame. Suddenly he pushes himself up and begins lifting a leg over the frame.

Instinctively, Taehyung yelps. “Stop! What are you doing?”

The firefighter chuckles. He’s facing Taehyung with his legs straddling the window frame, one inside and one dangling against the brick on the outside. “Relax.”

“Please get back inside,” Taehyung wheezes.

Jeongguk just laughs. He uses one hand on Taehyung’s bedroom wall as an anchor, and with the other reaches out to the branch once again.

His bicep bulges where he braces himself. He must be in way better shape than Taehyung because it looks like it’s easy for him to lean halfway out a window. He looks concentrated, brows furrowed and tongue peeking out between his lips slightly like a it’s a habit he’s tried to suppress. It’s a shame, Taehyung thinks, that he’d be cute if he weren’t such a grade A douchebag.

The alpha is able to reach a thicker part of the branch but it’s clear it’s too precarious for him to do much more. “Hmph,” he grunts once more.

“Yes, it’s a very compelling mystery,” Taehyung says sarcastically. “But I’ll skip to the ending for you. The cat is in the tree, and the cat cannot be reached from the window.”

In a weird, tension-filled moment, the firefighter looks at Taehyung, scans him from his face to his toes and back up again, and then nods and turns his head to look at the tree again. Taehyung blinks. He looks down at himself. He’s still in his ripped jeans and peacoat from work, but now with the addition of bunny slippers.

The firefighter has opened his mouth to speak, but Taehyung interrupts, says, “What? You don’t approve of my outfit?”

Jeongguk closes his mouth, surprise washing over his features for a split-second. Bingo. Taehyung managed to knock him off balance for once.

“Your outfit is fine,” the firefighter says, then grunts as he swings his leg back inside his apartment and thuds down to the worn wood floor. It brings a kick of his scent with him, muted because he’s probably using blockers during work, but Taehyung can still pick up on the heavy mint smell. “You’re cute, you know. Despite your messy apartment and questionable safety decisions. You got this attitude, I kinda like that.”

Taehyung’s fists clench. “Are you seriously hitting on me right now?”

The firefighter crosses his arms and leans against the wall. “Depends,” he says, suave. “Are you into it?”

Taehyung grimaces and pushes the guy’s shoulder until he’s stumbling away from the wall and has to scramble to catch himself. “I’m not into alpha men who insult me on first meeting, sorry.”

“So you are into alpha men?” The firefighter says without missing a beat.

A sudden urge to scream into a pillow comes over Taehyung, but he grits his teeth through it. He turns around abruptly and gets in the guy’s face. “I’m very much into alpha men. But I will never be into you.”

Jeongguk simply raises an eyebrow, smirk still playing across his lips. “Damn. That’s cold.”

“I can’t even be here anymore,” he mutters, throwing open his door. “I’m going downstairs.”

Outside, the nice firefighter has reparked the truck to sit at an angle to the tree. The snow is melting, leaving greenish-brown slush in its wake over the grass where the truck has embedded tire prints.

“My colleague radioed down to me, looks like we’re going to try the extension ladder,” he tells him.

That doesn’t mean a lot to Taehyung but he nods along anyway.

The Jeongguk guy comes back down and there are some ropes and machinery and eventually Taehyung watches as the ladder gets extended under the tree.

It’s Jeongguk who climbs up with a yellow hard hat that reflects the winter sun which has decided to make an appearance this afternoon.

Taehyung stands under the tree on the other side, which the firefighter really told him not to do but he can’t be arsed to give a fuck in the moment. Jeongguk’s torso disappears into the thick of tree branches, leaving only his reflective pants visible behind the trunk. There’s some more maneuvering but after just a few minutes Jeongguk begins his descent down the ladder and Taehyung gasps when he sees a white fluffy ball tucked under his arm.

He runs over when Jeongguk reaches the truck and climbs down with cat in hand. Luna doesn’t look happy, she’s fighting against him and digging her claws into the fabric covering Jeongguk’s arm but to his credit he doesn’t budge.

“Here,” he huffs, handing Luna over to Taehyung.

“Oh thank god,” Taehyung breathes as he takes her. She seems to settle after she recognizes him and Taehyung scratches behind her ears.

“Thank you so much,” he says, breathless. He kisses Luna’s head twice.

“No problem,” the firefighter says, chest expanding as he puffs it up before he fits his hands in his pockets. “So, uh. Now that I’ve saved your cat… Could I get your number?”

Taehyung looks up at him, face flat. “Sorry. Must’ve forgotten who I was talking to. No. Go fuck yourself.”

He takes Luna back to the apartment and the blond firefighter comes and asks him for his information for the report he’ll have to file.

He’s happy enough to have his cat back that he doesn’t think much of the incident much the rest of the week.

- - -

On Friday Jimin calls him.

“I wanted to remind you about Yoongi’s party tomorrow night,” Jimin says.

Taehyung squints. He’s swiftly thumbing through a stack of papers in the copy room. He desperately needs to send some faxes or else his boss will slice his head clean off with her sharp nails, and Taehyung would rather that happen on a Monday.

“What party?”

“The one I invited you to a couple weeks ago,” Jimin intones. “You know, for finishing all his EMT training.”

Taehyung’s sure this is the first time he’s hearing it but he goes along with it anyway. “I’d love to. What time tomorrow?”

He arrives at Yoongi’s apartment at 8 o’clock with a case of some bougie beer he picked up from the organic grocery store tucked under one arm.

He’s had the day off, did some yoga and chores, and he’s feeling loose and good. Nothing could throw him off his good mood right now.

He’s welcomed into Yoongi’s apartment with the usual cheer from Jimin and aloofness of Yoongi himself, but he wouldn’t expect anything else. The place is already filled with their friends and friends of friends, most of which Taehyung has met once or twice.

Jimin is a good host — there’s mood lighting, snacks, and what appears to be an unlimited supply of alcohol.

“What’s up, Tae,” Taehyung hears Jin’s voice behind himself not long after arriving, stood in the kitchen. He turns, and promptly shrieks.

Around Jin’s neck is a tan colored snake, the ends of it resting on his broad shoulders. Its head hovers in the air like it’s searching for something.

Taehyung jumps back and puts his hands up warily. “Why do you have a snake.”

“My boss is on vacation,” Jin says breezily, then strokes the snake with the back of his hand. “I’m watching his snake. Her name is Princess, don’t you love her?”

“Nope. No, not really,” Taehyung says, inching away. There’s only so many times one can watch Snakes on a Plane before the fear of snakes becomes inherent and unshakeable.

Jin calls him back but Taehyung skitters out of his view and into the living room.

“You see the snake?” Jimin asks him where they’re stood by the snack table.

“Yes, oh my god. I’m traumatized. I need some of your chocolates to recover,” he says, holding out his hand. Jimin gives him a look but drops some of the chocolates from his palm into Taehyung’s.

“So I wanted to tell you something funny that happened at work…” Jimin starts. It’s always easy with Jimin, Taehyung never has to think too hard about what to say or when to laugh.

“And then—” Jimin starts, speaking through the smile etched over his face. He pauses however when there is a loud commotion in the hallway — voices and the thump of shoes being dropped on the floor. A moment later some burly alphas spill out from the hallway and into the living room.

“Ugh,” Jimin sighs. “Yoongi’s EMS friends. Like we didn’t have enough people as it is.”

Taehyung shrugs, about to brush it off and turn around when he spots a familiar face walk into the room.

“Oh. My god,” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What? An ex?”

“No,” Taehyung says under his breath. Taehyung has now turned to stare at the wall so the guy can’t catch a look at his face. “It’s that firefighter. Remember? From when we had to evacuate in the middle of the night?”

Jimin squints at the other end of the living room and nods before taking another swig of his drink. “Sure, I guess. Looks familiar.”

“Well remember how I told you about my cat?” He asks, to which Jimin nods. “I didn’t mention this but he was one of the firefighters called out. And he was a real dick again.”

Jimin snorts, wrapping his fingers and his glass and spinning on his heels to face Taehyung while he presses the glass to the underside of his lip. “Yeah, but he’s hot. Go talk to him.”

Grimacing, Taehyung says, “I would rather be water boarded.”

Jimin blinks. “You mean wake boarding? That’s not so bad.”

“No, like —”

“Oh!” Jimin cuts him off as he spots someone on the other side of the room. He lifts his arm high in the air and waves. “Gotta go, sorry. Talk later.”

“Okay,” Taehyung sighs, deflating. He picks at some chips before he’s decided he’s had enough. He’s a grown omega, damn it. He’s not going to be intimated at his friend’s party. He’s going to pretend this Jeongguk guy doesn’t even exist.

And so he mingles, catching up with friends and acquaintances he hasn’t seen for a few months. His old friend Lisa even gets him dancing to the music Yoongi has been DJing from his phone, and he laughs and has a good time. Sure, the apartment is kind of small and he does have to work especially hard to avoid eye contact with Jeongguk, but — he’ll be damned if he lets him get the best of him.

It’s not like the guy is doing anything interesting anyway, just standing there with a beer in his hand, talking in hushed tones with his friends and doing a good job of seeming very Alpha.

“Alright, everyone,” Jimin says at one point, addressing the living room with his palms up. “Tonight is about Yoongi. We’re here to celebrate the official completion of all his medic training.”

A cheer goes up and people raise their glasses in the air before taking a sip.

Jimin smiles. “It looks like everyone is here so we’re going to start the game portion of the night.”

Taehyung glances around warily. Games?

Jimin procures two sets of Cards Against Humanity. He instructs everyone to split up into two groups and explains how to play. Taehyung is initially on Jeongguk’s side of the room and very deliberately crosses over to the other side in order to avoid him.

The game is fun, taking long enough that Taehyung gets a snack from the kitchen and drinks enough to feel somewhat tipsy.

“The next game,” Jimin announces once both games are finished. “Is hide and seek. Yoongi is the man of the hour so he’ll be it. But there’s a twist,” he grins as he holds up a long piece of fabric. “He’ll have to find you blindfolded. Your job is to find someplace to hide and not be discovered by him. You can’t move once you’ve found a hiding place.”

Taehyung nods. Easy enough, he’ll hide in the bathroom. He doesn’t really care if he gets caught.

“Winner gets—” Jimin pauses for dramatic effect as he holds two tickets up in the air. “Two tickets to Taylor Swift’s next concert!”

Now — Taehyung’s not even that big of a Swiftie. It’s just, these fucking tickets sell for like $5,000 and Taehyung knows Jimin’s got a legit hookup because his dad is a venue manager.

Suddenly he very much cares if he is found.

“You have one minute to find a hiding place… Go!”

It’s a scramble of people in all directions. When he checks the bathroom he’s dismayed to find three people already claimed it. The closet opposite it is taken, too. He walks down the end of the hall and tries the back closet that he only knows about because he’s been here so many times.

It’s blissfully empty. But also dark and cold inside the small closet. Taehyung closes the door and sets his drink on the floor while he blindly searches for a blanket in the mess of things on the shelves.

Before he can register it, there is the sound of metal squeaking and then another person shuffling into the space, foot hitting Taehyung’s drink right as they close the door.

“Hey!” Taehyung cries, dropping the blanket he’s found in favor of blindly leaning down and searching for his cup. His fingers graze cotton socks, rough jeans.

“Sorry,” the person says, and Taehyung stills.

It is no other than Mr. Asshole Firefighter.

“You,” he hisses, returning to full height. “Why are you in here?”

“What, I’m not allowed to hide here?”

“No!” Taehyung whispers. “You’re not. Get out.”

“That’s it!” They hear faintly from the hall. “Time’s up, no more moving from your hiding place!”

Jeongguk chuckles and shuffles forward further, causing a wet sound to echo in the closet. “Sorry. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Taehyung huffs. He turns and roots around the shelves, feeling for a towel this time. “And you knocked my drink over.”

“Oh yeah. I’m sorry about that. Here, let me help.”

Suddenly there is a warm shoulder pressing up against Taehyung’s own. “You didn’t bring your phone?” Taehyung asks.

“It’s in my jacket in the living room,” Jeongguk says. “Did you?”

“No,” sighs Taehyung. “I left it on the kitchen counter.”

“’S alright,” Jeongguk slurs. He smells like alpha and cologne and beer, must be tipsy by this point just as Taehyung is. “I think I found something.”

Jeongguk’s hand wraps around Taehyung’s wrist. He puts a cloth in his palm and Taehyung takes it with a muttered, “Thank you.”

He bends down and begins sopping up the drink in complete darkness. There is shuffling and then he thinks Jeongguk is down on the floor with him, moving another rag over the mess to sop it up. When Taehyung moves his head, his cheek gets tickled by Jeongguk’s hair, so he avoids doing that.

“I think that’s good,” Taehyung says, grazing his hand over the laminate until he can’t feel any more liquid.

“Yeah,” Jeongguk sighs. He shifts in the space and Taehyung hears a distinct thump on the floor.

“Did you just sit down?” Taehyung asks.

“Yes…?”

“Why? You need to get out.”

Jeongguk snorts. “I’m not leaving. I want those tickets.”

“You want those tickets?” Taehyung hisses. “I need those tickets.”

Jeongguk doesn’t say anything, only the sound of his breath sounds in the close space. “Well, I’m not moving. So it looks like you’re shit out of luck.”

Taehyung huffs. If Jeongguk can sit he doesn’t see why he should be denied it, so he tosses the rags somewhere and sits as well. It doesn’t work too well, especially not with Jeongguk’s legs in the way.

“Keep your legs out of my area,” Taehyung whispers, giving a shove to Jeongguk’s ankle with his foot.

“I’ll keep my legs wherever I damn well please,” the alpha retorts.

A silent growl scratches along Taehyung’s throat. “You are so irritating, I swear to god. If you’re going to insist on being in here with me, at least let me sit.”

While Taehyung’s wigging around on his ass trying to get comfortable, Jeongguk finally sighs and says, “Fine.” He gently wraps a hand around one of Taehyung’s ankles and pulls it to his side. He shifts, allowing space for both of Taehyung’s legs to stretch out against his side.

Jeongguk does the same, leg brushing against Taehyung’s hip when they both stretch out. The space is too small for both of them to sit criss-cross so they’re stuck with this method, Taehyung realizes.

“This is so uncomfortable,” Taehyung mutters, shifting so a different part of his ass is on the hardwood. “My butt is too bony.”

“Is it really?” Jeongguk murmurs. It takes Taehyung off guard how close his voice is. “Looked pretty cushy to me.”

“Ugh,” Taehyung says, digging his heel into Jeongguk’s hip. “Are your only two modes asshole and flirting?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Jeongguk says, fingers wrapping around the bare skin of Taehyung’s ankle and keeping it in contact with his hip. He brushes his thumb over the soft skin at the bottom of his shin, back and forth once before Taehyung jerks away.

“Knock it off. Didn’t know I was getting into a closet with a foot fetish-er.”

“That’s not a word.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what they call them, foot fetish master o’ mine.”

Jeongguk huffs but releases Taehyung’s ankle. The skin there feels weirdly cold after he does, sending a shiver up Taehyung’s spine.

The firefighter doesn’t say anything else and Taehyung doesn’t either. They sit there in silence, in the stale air of the closet in absolute darkness. Why oh why didn’t he bring his phone?

“This is boring,” Taehyung whispers under his breath after a minute or two, shifting on his ass again.

“What, you’ve never tried to entertain yourself without devices before?” Jeongguk says.

“Of course I have,” Taehyung snaps. “Just never with someone who I don’t like talking to.”

“You’ve never really tried to talk to me, you know. How would you know what it’s like?”

“You’re joking, right,” Taehyung deadpans. “That’s all we’ve done ever since we met, just talk and disagree.”

Jeongguk makes a noise in his throat. “I wouldn’t say that. I seem to remember you checking me out a few times.”

“Oh, you wish,” Taehyung grits out. “You’re the last man on earth I would want to check out.”

Jeongguk’s silent for a few moments while that lands. Oh how Taehyung wishes he could see his face.

“I see,” he finally says, and then, flatly, “Sorry I’ve repulsed you so much.”

Taehyung’s brows furrow and he scratches his neck. He doesn’t quite know what to do with that. “When I’m looking for a partner I take more than just looks into consideration,” he finally settles on.

Jeongguk hums. Taehyung feels a caress on the outside of his leg along his calf, reaching up toward his knee. “Who said anything about a partner? What’s wrong with a little no-strings-attached every now and then?”

Jerking his knee to throw Jeongguk’s hand off, Taehyung says, “Stop. I’m not into that.”

“Oh,” Jeongguk says, sounding like his hand is dropping into his lap. “It was worth a shot.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes to himself. It’s quiet for another minute. He tips his head back against the cold sheetrock of the wall, eyes up to the ceiling that is indistinguishable in the blanket of darkness.

“I wonder where Yoongi is,” he wonders aloud, head tilting toward the door. He hears some shuffling and giggling from outside, then some distant-sounding voices.

“Probably running into things,” Jeongguk says, shifting his legs against Taehyung’s hip. “As long as we’re stuck in here, we should play a game or something. I promise I won’t come on to you or anything.”

Fat chance, Taehyung thinks, but he mulls it over anyway. “Okay,” he agrees. How could it be worse than stewing in his own thoughts and general distaste of the person he’s sharing a space with? “As long as you don’t make it weird.”

“Won’t make it weird,” Jeongguk says. “Let’s play truth or dare.”

“Truth or dare,” Taehyung hums. “What happens if I don’t want to do the truth or the dare?”

“You lose, and I get the tickets,” Jeongguk says. “If I don’t want to do the truth or the dare, you get the tickets.”

Taehyung’s eyebrows raise. Now that makes it interesting. He bets he can win. “Alright. Sure,” he says, shifting to sit up straighter. “Who goes first?”

“I’ll go first,” Jeongguk says. “Give you something easy.”

Taehyung purses his lips but doesn’t object. “Shoot.”

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Taehyung decides easily.

“When did you lose your virginity?”

Taehyung takes a stunned inhale the same time saliva trickles down his throat and he coughs. “What the fuck? How is that an easy question?” He coughs some more into his elbow.

Jeongguk snickers. “Sorry. Okay, how about this… how often do you jerk off?”

Taehyung’s barely surprised. “That’s worse. Alright, you really want to know? I was 23 when I lost it,” he says. Jeongguk snorts and he continues, “I was waiting for someone special, okay? Shut up,” he says, nudging Jeongguk’s hip.

“Not judging,” Jeongguk placates him. “That’s actually smart. And was it special for you?”

Taehyung winces. “No. It was — pretty terrible, actually. This alpha played me. Made me think I was special to him, but dumped me after we had sex.”

“Damn,” Jeongguk says. “That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

Flustered, Taehyung shifts. “Whatever. I shouldn’t have even told you that, it’s not part of the game.”

“Suit yourself,” Jeongguk says. “I don’t mind, though.”

“Right,” Taehyung huffs. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Jeongguk says.

“When did you lose your virginity?”

“Really creative,” Jeongguk says dryly. “I was 15.” Taehyung brows raise and Jeongguk goes on without him prompting, “It was… a rough time in my life. I was pretty self-destructive. But I wouldn’t say it was bad,” he says, sighing and stretching his legs out before relaxing them again. “Just wish I would have waited. Let myself be a kid for longer.”

Taehyung’s tongue runs along his teeth. He lets the words sink in around them. “Sorry,” he says, again mirroring Jeongguk. “That’s rough, too. It was an omega?”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk huffs. “It was stupid, but. We were two of only a few presented kids in our grade.”

Taehyung nods. He remembers the early presenters in his class, the way they were ostracized for a year or two before everyone else caught up. “Sounds lonely.”

Jeongguk is silent, swallows. “Isn’t it always in high school?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung nods. He tries not to think about it too much. “Can’t believe how much better my life is now.”

“Exactly,” Jeongguk laughs. “Who thought it was a good idea to shove a thousand teenagers together and make them see each other every day for four years?”

Taehyung laughs, covering his mouth with his hand. “A sadist, that’s who.”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk agrees, sighing. “Alright. Your turn again. Truth or dare?”

Taehyung licks his lips. “Dare.”

Jeongguk rumbles out a laugh, shifting in the small space. Taehyung’s stomach swoops, already regretting his decision.

“Dare? You realize we’re working with a pretty limited space here, Kim.”

“How do you know my name.”

“The reports, genius. Remember when we had to take your name down?”

“Oh,” Taehyung purses his lips. “Well, whatever. You don’t think I can handle one of your dares?” He says, chin held high.

Jeongguk sucks in a breath. “We’ll find out. I dare you to touch my abs.”

Taehyung gives the biggest eye roll of the night. “How humble of you.”

Jeongguk sounds like he’s smirking when he laughs and he shifts until he’s on his knees next to Taehyung. “Well?”

Taehyung grimaces but he lifts his hand, reaching out in the dark. There’s an awkward moment where his hand hits Jeongguk’s thigh rather, and then when Jeongguk’s hand brushes but misses his own, before Jeongguk finally gets a hold of his wrist and leads it to his abdomen. This is definitely making it weird Taehyung thinks.

There’s a shock of warm skin when Taehyung’s fingertips make contact, apparently the guy already pulled up his shirt. Jeongguk presses his palm into his skin, flattening it against his stomach before he lets him go.

Free to roam, he spreads his fingers. He lets his hand travel up, gliding along smooth planes and ridges under Jeongguk’s skin. The man didn’t lie, he does have abs.

Before he can reach his chest, he slides his hand back down, across his belly button to his other side. The skin is taut, and so hot in comparison to Taehyung’s hand that he feels the guy shiver.

“Um,” Taehyung coughs, removing his hand like he’s been burnt. “Okay. Done.”

Jeongguk makes that laugh again like’s totally goading and Taehyung curses himself. He should have done the technical minimum, touch for one second and pull away.

“How did you like it?” Jeongguk asks.

“I’m not obligated to answer that.”

“Sure,” Jeongguk says, and Taehyung’s cheeks burn. “My turn.”

“Truth or dare,” Taehyung prompts, but he feels he already knows the answer.

“Dare,” Jeongguk says all too quickly, confirming it.

“Okay, um…” Taehyung racks his brain, eyes darting around the space fruitlessly because there’s not a damn thing to be seen.

“Um…”

He’d rather not have any more physical touching occur but that limits his options.

“Put your sock in your mouth.”

In the silence following he cringes at himself and then Jeongguk laughs. “Seriously?”

“Well what else could you do? We’re trapped in a dark room with no phones.”

As Jeongguk shifts his legs he chuckles and says under his breath, “I can think of lots of things.”

Jeongguk’s arms shove against Taehyung’s own legs and he hears the rustle of clothing.

“It’s off. There. You see?”

No, he can’t, but Jeongguk must be waving the sock in front of his face because he can certainly smell it.

“Ugh. Yes,” he says with a wrinkle of his nose.

“So how do you want to do this?” Jeongguk asks. “Should I kiss you? Like how will you know it’s in my mouth?”

“I’ll just believe you,” he says, because he really does not care all that much but he wants the damn sock to go into Jeongguk’s mouth on principle of retaliation.

“Suit yourself,” Jeongguk says. There is a wet breathing noise in the air and Taehyung figures it must be Jeongguk opening his trap as wide as it’ll go.

“’S ’n. ’N ‘rr?”

“Alright, alright,” Taehyung laughs, giving a gentle push to Jeongguk’s knee. “I believe you. Sock is in mouth.”

There is a another wet slopping sound that Taehyung grimaces at and then Jeongguk is smacking his lips. “Ew. That is really disgusting. Why’d you make my punishment so much worse? You got to touch my sexy abs.”

“Believe me, that was much more of a punishment than I think you realize.”

Jeongguk huffs as he puts his sock back on. “Why, because it made you realize how attracted to this hot bod you are?”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, buster.”

“Buster? Is this your version of affectionate pet names? I’m weirdly into it.”

“No. Shut up. It’s your turn to ask me now.”

Taehyung gets jostled as Jeongguk puts his wet sock back on, and momentarily feels guilty for that specifically as it’s one of the worst feelings ever.

Jeongguk sighs, pleased. “Ah yes. I hold the cards once again. Kim Taehyung, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Taehyung says. He doesn’t want to imagine what the next dare from Jeongguk would escalate to.

Jeongguk hums. “What’s your ideal partner like?”

Taehyung chews on his lip. “My ideal partner?”

“Yeah. You know, like what kind of job you like in a partner, or their personality. Little things, too. I like it when my partner is more forward in meeting new people ‘cause I can get kind of shy. Things like that.”

A tender look passes over Taehyung’s face, a look that he’s glad is hidden from Jeongguk in the dark. He never expected this amount of sensitivity from him.

“Um… I’ve never really thought about it. The alphas I’ve dated have all been really different.”

“Just give it your best guess. Doesn’t have to be set in stone.”

Taehyung nods. “Alright. Job, I guess… something that can complement my weird hours. I work in fashion and it’s never consistent so I want someone who understands that. Not someone who’ll be waiting up for me at midnight wondering where I am.”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk says softly. “What else?”

Taehyung holds his forefinger to his lips as he thinks. “Someone who can show their sweet side to me. I mean not all the time because then they’re probably a pushover but… I guess I have a weak spot for alphas who act all tough and then are a teddy bear once we’re alone,” he laughs, remembering a brief fling.

“Someone who can cook because I can’t be bothered to do it,” Taehyung adds. “I get takeout 90% of the time, don’t tell my mom.” Jeongguk chuckles and Taehyung smiles.

“I’m pretty good with finances and spreadsheets and shit like that so I feel like I’ve got that covered. I’d rather work on that kind of stuff than clean the house, if you know what I mean.

“But at the end of the day… that’s just some stupid checklist. What matters to me most is that I can come home to that person and smile every time. No relationship is going to be perfect. For me, I think… it just needs to be good enough.”

A wrinkle forms between his brows as he imagines it, a faceless form that he would want to cuddle up to at night, go on vacations with, maybe start a family together with one day. It all seems so distant.

“That’s really wise,” Jeongguk says.

His voice startles Taehyung and he realizes how much he opened up to this asshole. He feels a bit foolish, wonders when he let his guard down. He forces it to raise back up, an invisible but solid barrier between him and Jeongguk. He makes a non-committal noise and shrugs.

“Your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Jeongguk says.

“Okay,” Taehyung sighs, wrapping one arm around his knees. “Why did you decide to become a firefighter?”

There’s silence from Jeongguk, a pause in the air that goes on for slightly too long and makes it heavy.

“You don’t have to —” Taehyung starts, realizing he may have overstepped.

“No, no,” Jeongguk says. “It’s fine. I want to talk about it. Uh…” he trails off, shifting before he clears his throat.

“My mom and little sister died in a fire when I was twelve,” he says.

Taehyung gasps silently as he brings a fist to his mouth. He didn’t realize the question he asked would have such a personal answer.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he says, canned and robotic but he’s grasping at straws.

“Thanks,” Jeongguk says. “It’s fine, really. It was a long time ago.”

“How did they — Were you there?” Taehyung asks, stumbling over forming a polite question. “You were okay?”

“Uh — well. I’ll just tell you the story.”

“Jeongguk, if it’s really personal, you don’t have to.”

Jeongguk laughs, “Really, it’s fine. We have time to kill, why not. Um,” he says, and Taehyung feels his arms wrap around his own legs.

“My dad had been drinking too much that night. He went out to buy a pack of smokes. He left the radiator in his and my mom’s bedroom on when he left, but he didn’t realize he had dropped a shirt on it. My mom and sister were asleep in there. Me and my brother were sleeping upstairs in our room.”

He pauses for a minute, probably just gathering his thoughts but it’s enough time to allow Taehyung to imagine the horror that must have unfolded.

“The radiator caught on fire,” he says, and the smoothness with which he says it tells Taehyung that it’s practiced, probably many times over throughout the years.

“My parent’s bedroom went up in flames. My mom and sister probably passed out from smoke inhalation first. Our building was old. Smoke detectors out of date. Sprinklers non-existent. It was only when my dad came back and found the fire in the hallway that anyone even knew anything was wrong.

He called the police. He tried to fight it with what he had. He tried to go in to get my mom and sister but it was just too much. He ran upstairs. Got me and my brother out in time.”

His speech is rehearsed yet still disjointed enough that Taehyung has a difficult time telling whether he’s finished or not.

“…Do you remember it?” Taehyung asks.

“Of course,” Jeongguk says. “I remember the smell of the smoke.” He sniffs, like it’s in his nostrils now. “I remember a bunch of firetrucks and firefighters. I remember one of them wrapped me up in an emergency blanket and told me everything was going to be okay. My dad was… either screaming and trying to enter the building or paralyzed in shock. I realized he couldn’t help me at all. But that firefighter, the one in a helmet and big jacket and looking larger than life while he gave me some water and patted my head… it felt like he was someone I could rely on.”

Taehyung sniffles as tears collect in the corners of his eyes. “Oh, god. That’s really heartbreaking, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk chuckles. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you cry. It is a tearjerker, I guess. Anyway. It was just me, my dad and my older brother after that. My dad became just this… shell of a human. My older brother completely disconnected from us. I think he wanted to be there for me but he was just barely holding himself together. He couldn’t afford to expend anything else.”

Taehyung swallows a thick lump in his throat.

“I don’t blame him,” Jeongguk goes on. “I really don’t. I’m happy that he looked out for himself. He’s doing really well now, has a job and a little baby girl.”

Taehyung reaches a hand out in the darkness, wondering if he should offer some kind of knee pat or something.

“But… well. I guess this is my roundabout way of saying to you that I’m sorry for being an asshole.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “No, don’t be.”

“No, really. I shouldn’t act like that. I’m trying. It’s just… My dad was so messed up. Before it even happened he was messed up and then after he was… the worst version of himself so much that he was unrecognizable. I think I just picked up his asshole traits because that was the only thing…” he sighs. He doesn’t finish the thought.

“Do you ever…” Taehyung says. He lets his hand lower to rest on Jeongguk’s jean-clad knee. “Does it ever get hard? Being so close to it?”

“Firefighting?” Jeongguk asks.

“Yeah.”

“It does,” Jeongguk admits. “But it’s like the more I see fires, the more what happened to me becomes neutral. It’s not a crime to get drunk. It’s not a crime to leave a shirt on a radiator. It was just something that happened.”

Taehyung hums. Jeongguk places his hand on top of Taehyung’s resting on his knee.

“I think,” Taehyung says. “That if twelve year old you met you now, he would be so proud of you,” he says, the only comfort he can think to offer.

After a moment there’s a loud sniffle. “Fuck, Tae,” Jeongguk says, voice wobbly and rough. “Didn’t think you were going to make me cry.”

Taehyung laughs. “Oh my god. Stop. Are you really crying right now? Softie.”

Jeongguk snorts wetly and gulps. He sighs and nudges Taehyung’s leg, sliding his foot under his own. “You got me. Will you sit in my lap? C’mere.”

Taehyung purses his lips and pulls his hand off the alpha’s knee. “No, thanks.”

A breath leaves Jeongguk, not sounding frustrated or otherwise denied, just sounding… tired. “Taehyung, please? I just really want a hug. You don’t have to sit in my lap I just really need a hug right now.”

Damn his soft spot for secretly sweet tough boys. What a curse. He grumbles as he brings himself into a kneeling position with knees on either side of Jeongguk’s legs. He shuffles forward, Jeongguk’s warm hands finding his waist as he goes.

Taehyung feels out blindly, mainly finding the wall, until one hand brushes over Jeongguk’s shoulder, the soft Dept. 501 issue T-shirt under his fingertips.

Once he’s close enough Jeongguk wraps his arms around his waist, pulling him nearly flush to him.

“Oh!” Taehyung gasps, hands finding Jeongguk’s neck and looping around it. He hasn’t sat so Jeongguk’s face is in his stomach area, breath puffing out against his arm.

Taehyung sighs, accepting it. He lowers himself until his ass is finding a seat on Jeongguk’s thighs, the heat of him seeping through his pants.

He fits himself closer against Jeongguk, arms over his shoulders as he hooks his chin over his shoulder. If someone had told him he would be in this position at the beginning of the night he would have laughed in their face. For a long time.

“Can’t tell if you actually need comfort or if you’re just trying to make a move,” Taehyung murmurs, fingers brushing over the hair at the nape of Jeongguk’s neck, buzzed much shorter than his own.

“Mm,” Jeongguk hums, and Taehyung feels something like his cheek rubbing over his shoulder. “Why can’t it be both?”

Taehyung huffs.

“C’mon, Tae, I bare my soul to you and this is what I get? Suspicion?”

Taehyung quirks his mouth, thinking over that. Jeongguk’s hair is soft under his fingers. His alpha scent is definitely strong but muted under old blockers. Over that, his skin smells like some drugstore men’s shower product that offers the fantasy of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in one bottle.

“You’re actually kind of my type but you’re totally undateable,” Taehyung admits.

“Why?” Jeongguk murmurs against his neck right under his ear.

It sends a hot shiver down Taehyung’s spine, one he tries to hide. “Because you use Old Spice 3 in 1 body wash.”

Jeongguk nearly barks out a laugh, surprising him, then dissolves into smaller chuckles against Taehyung’s ear. “No, I don’t.”

“You totally do,” Taehyung insists.

“No, I swear. I would never. Okay, well, maybe in the firehouse showers, there’s some Old Spice 3 in 1 Fiji…”

“I fucking knew it was Fiji.”

Jeongguk laughs, and loosens his hold on Taehyung as he pulls back. Before Taehyung has realized what’s happened, Jeongguk has a warm, calloused hand cupped against his cheek and his breath is puffing out in front of his face.

“I love that smart mouth of yours,” Jeongguk says, brushing a thumb over the corner of his mouth.

Taehyung blinks, dazed. He surprised by how comfortable he feels, how much he wants to completely melt into Jeongguk. Must be pheromones.

“Jeongguk, I’m sorry for asking you that question,” Taehyung says, something that’s been tugging at his mind.

“Ah, Tae,” Jeongguk says, sucking in air through his teeth. “Don’t feel bad. It was good, actually. If we’re going to date, you should see the real me.”

“Who said we were going to date?!” Taehyung squeaks. Jeongguk’s thumb is so gentle on his cheek, rubbing the corner of his nose before dragging back down to his bottom lip.

“Me. Will you go out with me, Taehyung?” Jeongguk’s lips are closer now, breath mingling with his own puffing out of his open mouth.

“I…” Taehyung trails off. His head feels fuzzy, feels like the room is turned upside-down.

“Hm?” Jeongguk hums, a hand rubbing down his waist to his low back. “I can be your teddy bear, Tae,” he says, teasing him.

Taehyung licks his lips, and Jeongguk’s close enough now that their noses brush together. “That’s…”

He’s about to say That’s a low blow but the words get absolutely lost as Jeongguk presses his lips against his, the gentlest kiss he thinks he’s ever experienced.

Maybe Jeongguk’s figured out his weak spot or maybe Jeongguk’s personality is his weak spot. He positively melts, shoulders slumping and arms looping tighter around Jeongguk’s neck as he kisses back, sucking against those silky soft lips of his.

Jeongguk tilts his head, and suddenly it’s so deep, filthy and wet. Jeongguk kisses like he’s been starving for him, like he’s so hungry for him that he can’t help but be sloppy, sucking on his lip and leaving a trail of spit over his cheek when he presses a few kisses there.

They break to breathe and Taehyung’s fingers tighten in Jeongguk’s hair, he arches, rocking his hips because he’s fucking turned on and he meets Jeongguk’s bulge in his pants, bumping up against his own. Jeongguk’s scent has thickened in the air, something clean and musky, just on the sharp edge of minty that sticks heavy in Taehyung’s nose, like it wants to leave a mark.

Jeongguk moans openly, broken and rough, and both hands splay wide on Taehyung’s lower back. As he brings their lips together again he slides his hands down and grabs two handfuls of Taehyung’s ass, helping him rock forward into him.

The strength in it sends a wave of heat through Taehyung and he groans against Jeongguk’s mouth.

“Fuck, Tae,” Jeongguk says wetly against his mouth. “You’re so fucking sexy.”

Taehyung shuts him up with an erotic, wet kiss that gets him even harder, makes him want to hump against Jeongguk’s cock.

And he doesn’t — doesn’t do this, doesn’t get like this. Doesn’t make out with guys who tell him he’s fucking sexy before they’ve even gone on one date. He’s breaking all his rules, and it makes him feel like he’s in free fall, stomach swooping with it.

Jeongguk’s using his grip on his ass to push his hips against him, and he’s letting out these rough moans that make Taehyung positively salivate. Slick leaks out of him in globs, his hole winking around it.

When Jeongguk fits his fingers in his underwear, hands against his bare skin to fit in and grip his ass, Taehyung loses his composure. He moans brokenly against Jeongguk’s lips, cock pulsing. All he’d probably need is some rough friction and a some brushes against his hole and he’d either be cumming in his pants or turning around and begging to be fucked.

Light floods the closet as a rush of cool air hits him like a wall.

“What the fuck?”

Taehyung’s eyes trail upwards — socks and leggings and oversized baby blue sweater. It’s Jimin. Mouth dropped open, blinking in shock.

Taehyung can only imagine what he’s walking in on — Taehyung straddling Jeongguk, Jeongguk’s hands down his pants fondling his ass, both of their hair probably fucked up, and lips red and slick and swollen for sure.

“Oh my god,” Jimin laughs suddenly, breaking the moment of mutual stunned silence.

Taehyung pulls back, pushing against Jeongguk’s shoulders. “Get your hands out of my fucking pants,” he hisses, which makes Jimin laugh even harder, of course.

Stumbling to his feet, Taehyung doesn’t even look back at Jeongguk as he makes a beeline for the bathroom down the hall.

He shuts and locks the door. From his glimpse towards the living room he could see the music playing and people mingling like normal. Was the game a total figment of his imagination?

As he’s staring at himself in the mirror with both palms pressed against the counter, there is a knock on the door.

“It’s me,” Jimin giggles. “Let me in!”

Fuck it. Taehyung swings open the door and pulls Jimin in by the front of his sweater before locking the door once again.

He starts getting his shit together, fixing his hair and smoothing his shirt as Jimin doubles over laughing in front of the sink.

“Oh my god,” he says. “I cannot-” he laughs, hiccups. “Believe you! You slut!”

“Shut up,” Taehyung hisses. He sighs and presses his palm to his forehead under his bangs. He needs to cool down, Jesus. He turns on the sink and hip checks Jimin out of the way to splash ice-cold winter water over his face.

“That was so priceless oh my god,” Jimin giggles. “You should have seen your fucking faces! I wish I’d taken a picture, oh my lord…”

Taehyung huffs out a sigh and presses his face into the faded green hand towel on the hook. “Glad you’re entertained,” he says muffled into the terry fabric.

“Whew,” Jimin sighs, wiping sweat off his brow like it was so much exertion to laugh at him.

“Was the game still going on?” Taehyung asks, returning his attention to fixing his hair.

“No,” Jimin giggles. “We finished but we couldn’t find you guys. So I went looking for you. Forgot you knew Yoongi’s apartment so well. Oh, that’s classic,” he sighs, laughs petering out. “Getting seduced in the closet by the guy you swore was an asshole. Couldn’t have asked for a better night.”

Taehyung’s face twitches into a scowl at that, a wrinkle forming between his brows. He looks at his reflection in the mirror, the red flush spreading over his cheeks and neck and his lips, blood filling and swelling them.

“Seduced?” He mumbles to himself. He looks to the door like he can see past it, like he can see Jeongguk on the other side. “He was so sweet…”

“Yeah,” Jimin says bluntly. “That’s how alphas usually act when they’re trying to get into your pants.”

Taehyung frowns at the sink.

“Oh, come on,” Jimin sighs, patting Taehyung’s shoulder. “Nothing wrong with a little hook up every now and again. Why don’t you two head back to your place or something? It’s pretty close. I won’t make a big fuss if you guys leave.”

Rapidly Taehyung shakes his head. “No, no, I…” He clenches his jaw. He doesn’t like to think he was tricked. Was he? Jeongguk was acting like such a dick, but then he opened up to him so much, Taehyung felt like he was seeing the real him… but then again it wasn’t like he was being a reserved gentleman when they were kissing…

“Tae, it’s fine,” Jimin says, smile fading away as he wraps his arm around his shoulder and looks at their reflections in the mirror. “What’s the matter? He’s hot. Just go home with him.”

In the moment he feels the opposite of Jimin - Jimin with platinum blonde hair, bright clothing, a sunny smile. Him with his slacks and black T-shirt, undyed hair with a months-old perm, fringe falling into his eyes with a frown on his face. He doesn’t know why but something ugly twists in his stomach, and he turns away from their reflection.

“I’m not like you Jimin, I can’t just—” He cuts himself off. “I get attached too easily.” It’s what his first ex said when he broke up with him. Said Taehyung was too serious, no fun, and too clingy. He’s tried so long to shake that belief yet it’s what he thinks of now first. He was played, again, by a guy who just wants a hook up.

He shrugs Jimin’s arm off his shoulder and turns to grab the door handle. “I’m going to head home, tell Yoongi great party, ‘kay?”

“Tae?” Jimin calls as he exits the bathroom. “I think you won the tickets!”

Without looking back Taehyung swiftly walks down the hall. Jin’s standing there with his snake but he brushes past him.

“Woah,” Jin says to his back. “You look more spooked than when you met Princess.”

It’s one of those times when all Taehyung is thinking is get me out of here. He turns, avoiding the party and heading down the other hall toward the front door.

The hooks next to the front door are overstuffed with jackets. He riffles through them until he finds his own suede jacket, practically rips it off the hook until he can fit it over his shoulders. He slips on his shoes, not even bothering to put them fully on and instead stepping on the heels.

“Taehyung?” He hears, a quiet but familiar voice.

He turns, finding Jeongguk in the open doorway from the front hall to the kitchen. He’s looking at Taehyung with big eyes, looking less confident than Taehyung has ever seen him before.

“Sorry, I got carried away,” Jeongguk says, tongue poking out to wet his dry lips like he’s nervous. “Are you okay?”

Taehyung ignores the question and swings open the front door.

Jeongguk steps out, sliding on his socks into the hall. “Wait! Can I get your number before you go?”

Taehyung has already shut the door behind himself by the time Jeongguk finishes his sentence. He quickly starts jogging down the stairs, and as soon as he hits the halfway landing he hears the door open again.

“Taehyung!”

But Taehyung doesn’t stop. He just keeps going, until he’s walking down the street, down the block and another one until he’s finding the subway station entrance and disappearing into the thick of people swiping their cards at the turnstiles.

- - -