They start slowly, only having breakfast and dinner together, casually chatting about small little things like how their day was at uni - and at work for Seokjin -, or what kind of projects they're working on.
To Yoongi's surprise, he doesn't feel as awkward around Seokjin as he thought he would, and he talks more freely with him. Well, there are some things he's still not ready to talk about, but hey, it's a start.

Sometimes he even comes back to the dorm right after his classes end and studies at home, sitting on the couch, reading his notes or working on his laptop. At one point Seokjin asks if he would like to invite Namjoon to come over, and Yoongi promises that he will do it in the foreseeable future.

Before Yoongi can realise, it's already their last week of the spring semester, kicking him on the butt. Sleepless nights, stressful exams, upcoming deadlines - Yoongi feels so exhausted he barely has any energy to eat or have a shower before sleeping. One time he's sure he fell asleep on the couch with his notes in his hands, but when he wakes up the next morning, he's in his bed, covered with his blanket, his notes laying on his desk. Seokjin probably took him into his bed, which makes his inner Omega purr, and Yoongi's not sure he's as annoyed about it as he should be.

After their last exam, while they walk towards the dorm building where Yoongi's in, Namjoon stretches his arms, raising them up into the air before he lowers them and looks at Yoongi.

"We should celebrate," Namjoon says.

"Celebrate what?" Yoongi asks with a frown.

"That we're done with all of our exams," Namjoon rolls his eyes playfully. "Oh, we should invite Seokjin-ssi too!" He adds, smiling widely.

"He's not going to come," Yoongi says, and at Namjoon's raised eyebrow he explains, "he's working until late night today." Seokjin told him last night, during their dinner that after his exams he has to go to work - just like them, most of the uni students want to go out after their last exams, so Seokjin's boss told him to go in as they'll need every employee.

"Oh, I see," Namjoon says, trying not to smile as he looks at Yoongi.

"What?" Yoongi asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Namjoon tries, but after Yoongi gives him a glare he sighs. "You just... you looked sad a little as you said that."

"No, I'm not sad," Yoongi snorts, rolling his eyes. He definitely did not pout when he replied to Namjoon. No, absolutely not.

"Mhm," Namjoon hums, clearly unimpressed.

"Should we take a visit to Seokjin?" Namjoon asks after a short while. Yoongi stops, a few meters from the entrance of the dorms. He looks at his friend like he just grew a second head.

"Why should we do that?"

"I'm sure he would be happy to see you," Namjoon says with a knowing smile.

"He'll be busy, and I don't want to distract him from work, his boss might scold him because of it," Yoongi reasons, ignoring how his cheeks are burning. He doesn't want to be a burden for Seokjin, and distracting him from work would definitely be a distraction.

"Alright," Namjoon says, and Yoongi can tell by his tone that his friend won't try to force it onto him. "Where should we go then?" He asks instead.

"I don't know," Yoongi replies with a pout.

"Oh!" Namjoon lets out, and Yoongi can almost see that light bulb above his friend's head. "There's a music store that opened a short while ago, but I didn't have time to check it out," he explains what he just remembered, a wide smile playing on his lips. "What do you think? Should we take a look?"

Yoongi smiles back at his friend - the enthusiasm and excitement Namjoon has is so adorable, it makes him look younger than his actual age. And looking at that dimpled smile, how could Yoongi say no?

★★★

"Oh?" Yoongi lets out when a young man stops next to him, scanning the guitar in front of them. The guy has a bit longer hair and big, brown eyes, and even though he has a hook piercing around his bottom lip, his slightly agape mouth gave him an innocent look. At Yoongi's voice, the young man looks at him, his already big eyes widening a little.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Even his voice is so soft, gentle, his apologetic smile makes him look like a bunny.

"It's alright, you just surprised me a little, that's all," Yoongi says, his cheeks burning.

"I see," the boy says, then he turns his gaze back to the guitar. Yoongi uses the opportunity and looks at the guy from head to toe. He's tall, wearing a simple black shirt with ripped jeans, one hand - covered with many tattoos, they run up even under the shirt - holding the stripe of his bag. Yoongi has to admit that he's handsome, pretty even. He knows he shouldn't start guessing the boy's secondary gender, but he can't help but wonder which one he could be.

Then, as the boy walks to his other side, Yoongi takes a whiff of his scent.

Pear, so juicy he can almost taste it on his tongue .

Yoongi's eyes widen, he's never met with another Omega who doesn't wear a scent blocker in public - because, let's be clear, he's sure that there are many Omega students in university but he only smelled the Alphas' scents as they usually like to let people know their secondary gender. But Omegas don't as they don't want to get attention from the Alphas - at least that's what Yoongi thinks.

But to meet with an Omega who lets everyone know their secondary gender is something he has never thought would happen.

"Hey, hyung, have you found anything you like?" Yoongi hears Namjoon from behind, but he's still in shock to give a response. "Hyung?" Namjoon tries again, and Yoongi feels a hand on his shoulder.

Yoongi turns his head back to look at his friend, earning a frown from him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Namjoon asks, his voice filled with worry.

"Ye-yeah," Yoongi manages to reply, his mind filled with many questions he wants to ask from the other Omega, but he's too scared to start talking with him.

"Are you sure?" Namjoon insists, and Yoongi comes to that conclusion again that he doesn't deserve such an amazing friend as Namjoon.

"Did something happen?" Yoongi hears the boy's voice.

"I'm not sure," Namjoon replies.

"He seemed fine a moment ago," the boy says. "Maybe I did scare him?" He mumbles, and Yoongi can hear that he's worried too.

"No, you didn't," Yoongi reassures him. "I just..." he trails off, too scared to admit why he's acting like this.

A few moments pass, then Yoongi feels Namjoon's grip tightening on his shoulder.

"Oh," Namjoon breathes out, earning both of their attention. The Beta looks at Yoongi who sees the realisation in his eyes.

"What is it?" The boy asks, even more worried now after Namjoon's reaction.

"It's- ah, how should I explain this?" Namjoon tries, and as Yoongi looks at the boy he sees how confused he is.

"It's your scent," Yoongi blurts out, his face heating up.

"O-oh," the Omega whispers, his cheeks turning pink.

"It doesn't bother me or anything!" Yoongi quickly adds, "it's just- I didn't expect it," he tries, cringing at his own words. Gosh, he's only making it worse.

"I see," the boy says, nibbling the piercing in his bottom lip.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Namjoon speaks up. "We can explain it, if you let us," he looks at Yoongi who gives a small nod. He wants to reassure the Omega that he did nothing wrong.

For a few seconds, it looks like the boy is going to say no. But as he looks at Yoongi, maybe he sees something, because his eyes sparkle with an emotion Yoongi can't figure out, then they soften a little.

"Alright," the Omega says.

They all agree to go somewhere they can talk privately, leaving the music store. As they walk to the park, Yoongi can smell the Omega's scent, and it somehow calms him down, but it's different from when he smells Seokjin's scent, but he can't figure out the difference, not yet.

They find a bench a bit further in the park where barely a few people walk by, Yoongi sits down next to the Omega while Namjoon stands in front of them. None of them knows what they should say, how they should start this conversation.

"First of all, I think it's best if we introduce ourselves," Namjoon breaks the awkward silence. "My name is Namjoon, and he's Yoongi. Nice to meet you," he says, Yoongi giving a slight bow as he's sitting.

"I'm Jungkook, nice to meet you too," the Omega bows back, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I'd like to explain my... weird reaction," Yoongi says, ignoring the nervousness that settles in his belly.

"As an Omega, I use a scent blocker as I'm scared of getting attention from Alphas," Yoongi starts, knowing that telling his secondary gender is not something people would admit to someone they just met. But he needs to tell it to make Jungkook understand why he reacted the way he did. "So, as you were next to me, I smelled your scent, and it caught me completely off guard as I've never met any other Omega who doesn't use a scent blocker in public."

Yoongi stays silent, letting the words sink in for Jungkook. Thankfully Jungkook doesn't seem angry, just a bit surprised.

"Sorry if I offended you or anything like that! I had no intention to do that," Yoongi breaks the silence after a short while, his nervousness kicking him on the butt.

"Ah, you didn't offend me at all, don't worry!" Jungkook reassures him. "It's just - I feel like I did something wrong that made you react like that," he explains, his lips forming a pout.

"You did nothing wrong!" Yoongi quickly says. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"I just... I got so tired of using the blocker, and that I had to hide myself that I stopped using it," Jungkook explains, a hand running through his hair, giving a glimpse of his pierced eyebrow. "Since then I feel much more comfortable in my own skin."

"But... don't you get remarks from Alphas? Don't they try to pick you up and stuff like that?" Yoongi asks, genuinely curious.

"Well, I won't say that sometimes they don't try, but I tell them to leave me alone, and they let me be," the young Omega says. "Thankfully they don't push it after they realise they have no chance."

Yoongi just stares at Jungkook with wide eyes and parted lips. He wishes he could be as strong as Jungkook, to gather enough courage to stop giving a shit about others opinions and ignore their prying eyes. His life would be so much easier, and he wouldn't take things so slowly with Seokjin as he does.

A hand on his shoulder pulls him out from his thoughts; he looks up to Namjoon who shows him a sad smile, a way to tell him that one day he'll get there. Yoongi's chest tightens, his eyes burn, but he manages to smile back at his best friend. He turns his head towards Jungkook, still smiling.

"Thank you for answering my questions," Yoongi says, bowing his head a little. "It was nice to meet and talk with you, Jungkook-ssi."

"Don't even mention it," Jungkook waves with his hand. "I hope my answers made sense to you and were helpful. And..." he trails off, then starts fumbling with his bag, grabbing a pen and one of his notebooks. He writes something onto a clean page and tears it off, reaching it towards Yoongi. "If you want to talk with someone, feel free to call me," his cheeks turn pink, but he still smiles.

"Ah, thank you!" Yoongi says, taking the paper from Jungkook. He looks at it for a few moments before he focuses on Jungkook again.

"I mean what I said, okay?" Jungkook asks as he stands up, taking his bag back onto his shoulder. Yoongi silently nods, and after they bid their goodbyes Jungkook leaves.

"I think you found a new friend, hyung," Namjoon breaks the silence, making Yoongi look at him. There's something in his expression Yoongi can't recognise, but it's... different. He smiles as he looks at the young Omega's way, watching him mingle in the walking people.

"I think I did," he says, smiling.

★★★

"Hyung, please serve table thirteen," Seokjin turns his head to look at his colleague.

"Why? It's your table, Seok!" Seokjin asks with a frown which deepens when Hoseok smiles at him oh-so-knowingly.

"They specifically asked you," Hoseok says, and without another word he rushes towards the kitchen to get the meals he has to serve.

"I can't believe this brat," Seokjin mumbles, but he still goes to the table. The restaurant is full, as his boss guessed the university students came here to celebrate that they finished their spring semester. He barely had any free time all afternoon, serving one table after the other, balancing the plates on his arms, trying his best to keep smiling at the customers. But now, as he has to serve besides his own tables so close to the end of his shift, it's a bit harder to smile.

Seokjin's opinion changes as soon as he recognises those who are sitting at said table. His eyes widen, a surprised, happy smile crosses his face.

"What are you two doing here?" He asks, but he's grinning. Gosh, he wants to hug them so much, but he can't do that, he's at work after all.

"We thought we should visit our friend," one of them replies, smiling so widely that his eyes become little crescents.

"Was it a bad decision?" the other asks with his big, puppy eyes, his lips forming a pout.

"No, not at all!" Seokjin reassures him, earning a big, boxy grin he loves to see. "I just can't talk to you that much right now," Seokjin explains, a sad smile appearing on his face.

"It's okay, hyung, don't worry!"

"We came now because we hope that we can chat a little after your shift ends," they end each other's sentences, making Seokjin internally coo.

"Don't you two wanna bring your man home?" Seokjin asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, we might take you home with us as well," there's that boxy smile again, but it pairs with those eyes that sparkle with mischief Seokjin knows so well. Back then he flirted back so easily, but now, as he's imprinted with Yoongi, he hesitates which doesn't go unnoticed.

"Oh, did we miss something?" One of them asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I gotta go back to work," Seokjin excuses, nervously laughing. "The usual, right?" Without getting an answer Seokjin turns over and walks towards the kitchen. He gives the meal he knows his friends love and makes his way out and walks to the side to take a deep breath.

Guilt bubbles up in his stomach - Seokjin still didn't mention the imprint to them. To his defense, he never saw a good time to let them know about it - they were all so busy with the university and work that they barely met in the past three months. And this is not something he can just tell via text messages.

Still, Seokjin feels like he's a shitty friend.

Maybe today he can finally tell them about Yoongi.

Once he made up his mind, Seokjin decides to go to check out his tables, but he barely takes a few steps when he sees Hoseok walking towards him with a concerned look.

Shit.

"Hyung, is there something you haven't told us?" Hoseok asks right away, not giving Seokjin a chance to flee. "Taehyungie and Jiminie said you got flustered by their flirting which you never do."

"It's- it's complicated," Seokjin starts, but it only deepens the frown between Hoseok's brows. "I'll explain everything later, okay?" He tries again, and his friend probably sees something on his face that convinces him.

"Alright," Hoseok nods, and after they look at each other for a few more moments, Hoseok steps away and walks by next to him, patting his shoulder as he does. Seokjin lets out a relieved sigh - he won about one or two more hours for himself.

He needs to think of a way to explain what he hasn't told them without hurting their feelings.

Gosh, this is going to be hard, isn't it?

Seokjin still doesn't feel ready as he looks at his best friends sitting on the couch. They all stare at him, waiting. There's no way back now, he has to tell them what he should have done months ago.

"First of all, I would like to apologise. I have no excuse for why I haven't talked about this with you. I mean, university started, Hob-ah and I worked as well, and... I felt like this would be a bother to you, so I wanted to keep this for myself as I'm the only one who has to deal with this."

"Hyung, what are you talking about?" Hoseok asks with a frown. Both Taehyung and Jimin snuggle closer against Hoseok's sides, their eyes filled with worry.

"Remember the new roommate I told you about? The one who moved in with me at the start of this semester?"

"Oh, the one you said is cute?" Jimin asks back. Of course he would remember that.

"Yeah," Seokjin replies. He takes a deep breath, trying to gather enough courage to speak. "The day he moved in, we looked into each other's eyes and we... my Alpha got imprinted with his Omega," not feeling brave enough to keep eye contact, Seokjin looks at his own hands in his lap. He hears a gasp from one of them, but he keeps his focus on his hands.

So many thoughts run through Seokjin's head, scared of what kinds of reactions they are going to have. Are they going to be mad at him? Or feel betrayed?

...are they going to leave him and end their friendship?

The last thought makes his chest tighten, his eyes burn.

"I- I'm so sorry that I haven't told you about it sooner," he whispers, fisting his pants as he tries not to cry. "I understand if you guys are mad at me or don't want to see me a-" his breath hitches in his throat when a body bumps against his. Long arms curl around him, big, warm palms rest on his back, and without acknowledging it, Seokjin already hugs him back, snuggling his head at the crook of Taehyung's neck.

"We're not mad at you at all, hyung," Taehyung says, his chest resonating as he speaks. "Please don't feel sad, okay?"

"If anything, we're happy for you hyung," Jimin adds, and as Seokjin slowly looks at them, he sees how Hoseok smiles at him as well.

"Yo-you are?" He manages to ask, still uncertain if he heard them correctly.

"Mhm," Jimin nods, his earrings slightly swaying as he does. "It's a pretty big thing, so I understand why you hesitated to tell it to us."

Taehyung leans back and cups Seokjin's cheeks between his big palms. Seokjin looks at his face, but he doesn't see sadness or hurt at all. No, his friend looks genuinely happy, his eyes sparkling, his lips curling up to a huge smile.

"We'll forgive you if you tell us a little about him," Taehyung says, knowingly raising his eyebrow.

"Taehyung-ah," Hoseok says with a warning tone.

"I'm just joking!" Taehyung rolls his eyes, making Seokjin chuckle a bit. "But still, I would love to get to know a few things about him..." he mumbles so only Seokjin can hear him as he looks at him with puppy eyes.

Gosh, one day his big heart is going to get him into trouble.

"You know, maybe I can tell you a thing or two," Seokjin says, his lips curling up when he sees how his best friends's head perks up with interest.

They all listen carefully while Seokjin tells everything - how they met, how hard their relationship started and got better, one step after the other - giving clothes they can scent to each other, Seokjin making dinner while Yoongi makes breakfast, that they stopped using scent blockers back at the dorm -, until now where they spend breakfasts and dinners together while they're having short conversations.

After he finishes, he stays silent, giving them time to process everything they heard. It's quite a lot to take in, so it takes them a few minutes until Taehyung looks at him.

"So, you two are basically courting each other?" Taehyung asks.

Seokjin can only blink at him, his lips part a little. He never thought about it this way.

"I mean, you two cook for each other on a daily basis, gave clothes for one another and all," Taehyung explains, and Seokjin has to admit that he's probably right.

"Well, if you put it that way," Hoseok mumbles what Seokjin is thinking.

"Yeah, maybe we do," Seokjin says slowly, his cheeks burning once the realisation hits him.

"That's so cute!" Taehyung chirps cheerfully.

"Cooking for your love interest is such a sweet way of courting," Jimin says, his eyes becoming little crescents again.

"I hoped you liked how I courted you..." Hoseok says with a small pout.

"Of course I did!" Jimin reassures him, cupping the Beta's face with his small hands. "Your gifts were so meaningful, I cherish them all to this day," he adds and gives a peck onto Hoseok's lips.

"I agree with Jimin-ah!" Taehyung adds, hugging Hoseok, rubbing his face at the crook of his neck. "You have a great sense of what I want, and you've never given anything that I didn't like."

Hoseok smiles fondly, his doubts quickly fading away as he hugs his boyfriends. Seokjin's heart swells at the sight, gosh how much he loves his best friends. He wonders if he and Yoongi will ever be like that. His Alpha lets out a low whine, wishing that to become true.

Maybe one day.

Maybe.

★★★

It still feels so strange for Seokjin to smell Yoongi's scent when he comes back to the dorm - the whiff of tangerine and ginger hits his nose, making his Alpha sigh in relief. He takes off his jacket and shoes before he walks in, but he stops when he notices that Yoongi's on the couch - the edge of a blanket partly covers the right arm, a sign that someone must be there.

"Hey there, you're still awa- oh," Seokjin stops mid-sentence once he stops in front of the sofa - Yoongi's curled up under the blanket, sleeping. A book is laying on the floor - the Omega was probably reading until he fell asleep.

He looks so cute like this, Seokjin can't tear his eyes off of Yoongi. He uses this opportunity to look at him, his nice skin, his cute nose, his pretty lips, how his hair partly covers his eyes. Seokjin feels the urge to reach out and caress Yoongi's cheek, but he stays still as he knows that Yoongi wouldn't like it. Seokjin has to wait a bit longer.

But he has to wake up Yoongi and lead him into his room; sleeping in an uncomfortable position can hurt like hell the next morning. With that in mind, Seokjin puts his hand onto Yoongi's shoulder, leaning a bit closer to him.

"Yoongi, wake up," he whispers while he slightly shakes the latter's shoulder. Yoongi squeezes his eyes before he slowly opens them, and he needs a few seconds to focus on Seokjin's face.

"Hyungie?" Yoongi asks which makes Seokjin blush - Yoongi never called him like that before, and Seokjin has to convince himself that it must be because he just woke up.

Seokjin is still under the effect of the unexpected nickname when Yoongi reaches out and touches his cheek.

"You're really here?" Yoongi asks, his lips turning into a pout.

"Yes, I am," Seokjin replies as he tries his best to not freak out. Has Yoongi always been so bold when he's sleepy? There are still so many things Seokjin wants to find out about the Omega.

"Why did you come back so late? I was waiting for you," Yoongi mumbles, still pouting.

"I hung out with my friends after work," Seokjin explains, sliding his hand from Yoongi's shoulder to his upper arm. "Sorry I kept you waiting," he adds with an apologetic smile.

"'ts okay, just please don't do that again," Yoongi says as he closes his eyes, his hand slowly sliding down from Seokjin's cheek.

"Hey, don't fall asleep again," Seokjin kindly says, gently squeezing Yoongi's arm as an attempt to keep him awake.

"But 'm sleepy," Yoongi mumbles, and gosh he's so cute like this.

"You should sleep in your bed then," Seokjin suggests.

"'kay, just... gimme five minutes," Yoongi says, already half asleep.

"Ah, what should I do with you?" Seokjin asks, knowing that he won't get an answer. "Yoongi?" He tries again, but it's no use; the Omega is sleeping already. With a sigh, Seokjin leans in and carefully takes Yoongi into his arms in bridal style - the blanket still covering him -, adjusting to make sure he won't drop him.

"Let's get you to bed," he whispers, but he stays for a few more moments to look at Yoongi - his pretty face, his cute nose, his slightly parted lips as he's taking long, deep breaths.

Damn, he's going to end up falling in love with him if he's not careful enough. He can't let that happen, not when Yoongi just started to be more friendly with him - Seokjin's almost sure that their relationship will never go further than simple friendship, and he's scared if it will be enough to settle their wolves down.

"Mhm," Yoongi hums as he snuggles in Seokjin's hold, rubbing his nose against Seokjin's chest. Even though Seokjin did put his scent blocker on in the morning, it wore off after such a long and tiring day, so Yoongi probably can smell his scent.

"You're way too cute for your own good," Seokjin mumbles as he makes his way towards Yoongi's room, only stopping at the edge of the bed. Seokjin slowly leans over as he gently puts Yoongi onto the mattress, but as he tries to stand back he feels a slight pull, his breath hitching in his throat.

"Huh?" Seokjin lets out as he lowers his gaze. Yoongi must've grabbed his shirt in his sleep while he was in Seokjin's hold, and didn't let him go since then - he still has a fistful of the cloth in his hand.

"Alpha," Yoongi murmurs in his sleep, tightening his grip. Seokjin wonders what the fully awake Yoongi would think of this cute, clingy, sleepy version of himself, and he's sure that the Omega would deny everything he's done or said in his sleep.

"Want me to stay?" Seokjin asks, and after he hears a clear hum of agreement he lets out a small sigh. "You're unbelievable," he comments as he carefully sneaks next to Yoongi and covers them both with the blanket. It only takes a few seconds for Yoongi to snuggle closer to him while he pulls his leg up between themselves.

As much as Seokjin wants to go closer to Yoongi, he doesn't as he's worried about how Yoongi's going to react the next morning - because he's sure that the Omega will freak out.
But for now, Seokjin's too tired to care about it at this point, so he closes his eyes, and it takes him less than a few minutes to fall asleep.

He has dreams of a certain Omega with the scent of tangerine and ginger, someone who Seokjin might have fallen in love with already but he tries his best to deny it.