Chapter Text
The village was still buzzing with voices.. children running through narrow lanes, the scent of cooking fires clinging to the wind. But here, by the lake, it was quiet.
Only the ripple of water against the shore, and the occasional hum of summer insects filled the air.
Jungkook had chosen this spot because it was far from the murmurs, far from the prying eyes of elders and packmates who always seemed to watch them a little too closely. Here, it was just him and Taehyung, and the world felt softer.
Taehyung sat between his legs, his back pressed against Jungkook’s chest, the curve of his shoulder fitting perfectly beneath Jungkook’s chin. A pile of small wildflowers rested in Taehyung’s lap. Blue, yellow, and pale white things Jungkook had spent half the afternoon plucking for him, as if each petal was a tribute.
“You’re wasting the meadow,” Taehyung had teased at first, but he hadn’t pushed the flowers away. Instead, he let them pile higher, his fingers brushing over the delicate stems absentmindedly, as if savoring the gift in silence.
Jungkook reached forward, plucking one from the bundle. He tucked it gently behind Taehyung’s ear. Brushing back strands of dark hair with such admiration that made Taehyung’s chest ache.
The Omega tilted his head slightly, his voice light but carrying that quiet curiosity that always surfaced when they were alone.
“Jungkook… would you still love me if I wasn’t me?”
Jungkook’s hands stilled against his hair. “What do you mean?”
Taehyung turned a little, just enough so Jungkook could see the playful curve of his lips.
“If I was a stone. Just lying here by the water, quiet, lifeless, nothing special. Would you love me then?”
For a moment, Jungkook didn’t answer. His gaze lingered on Taehyung, on the sunlight glinting off his skin. His lashes brushed his cheeks when he looked down. And then Jungkook smiled.. the kind of smile that always made Taehyung’s breath catch, because it was too soft, too certain.
“I’d carry you in my pocket,” Jungkook murmured. “Everywhere I went, I’d keep you close. And I’d still talk to you like I do now. You’d never be just a stone to me.”
Heat flared across Taehyung’s face, his cheeks turning pink as he quickly looked back toward the lake.
“You always know what to say,” he muttered, his voice betraying the way his heart fluttered.
Jungkook chuckled softly, leaning forward to press his nose against Taehyung’s hair, inhaling the faint sweetness of his scent. “It’s the truth.”
Taehyung plucked a flower from his lap, twirling it between his fingers before speaking again. “What if I was a bird? Just flying somewhere far away… where you couldn’t reach me?”
“Then I’d grow wings too. I’d follow you across the sky until you got tired of running, and when you landed, I’d be there waiting.”
Taehyung’s blush deepened, his lips parting as if to argue, but nothing came out. Instead, his hand lifted unconsciously, brushing the flower Jungkook had tucked behind his ear.
A silence stretched between them, comfortable but heavy with the things unsaid. The world felt smaller here, quieter, as if time itself had paused to let them exist like this.
Finally, Taehyung whispered, “And if I was the lake itself? Always shifting, never the same, too deep and too wide for you to hold?”
Jungkook tilted his head, resting his cheek against Taehyung’s shoulder. His arms slid slowly around Taehyung’s waist, not pulling, just holding. “Then I’d spend every day learning you,” he said softly. “I’d swim until I knew every depth, every current. I’d let myself drown in you a thousand times, if that’s what it meant to love you.”
Taehyung shut his eyes, breath catching in his throat. His blush reached all the way to the tips of his ears, and he bit down on a smile that threatened to break free.
Jungkook, feeling the tremor in him, only tightened his arms slightly, lips brushing the shell of Taehyung’s ear.
“No matter what you are, no matter how you change… I’ll always love you.” Jungkook buried his face in the crook of Taehyung’s neck, breathing him in like he always did, grounding himself in the familiar sweetness. Jasmine.. soft, steady, the scent that was home to him now. It mixed effortlessly with his own damp, earthy musk, wrapping around them like a secret no one else was allowed to share.
But beneath the jasmine, beneath the warmth of summer grass and lake water, there was something else. Subtle, faint, like the ghost of a note only he would notice. If he hadn’t known Taehyung for years, he might have missed it entirely.
But Jungkook knew.
His arms tightened instinctively, chest pressing a little harder against Taehyung’s back, as though holding him closer might soothe the restless flicker already beginning in his wolf.
His heart thudded once, twice, heavy with a mix of longing and restraint.
“Taehyung…” he murmured, his voice so low it almost dissolved into the breeze. Taehyung hummed in response, his hand absently brushing over Jungkook’s forearm where it circled his waist. He didn’t seem to notice the shift, the way Jungkook’s breath had deepened, grown heavier with each inhale.
“You’ll have your heat soon,” Jungkook said softly, more a truth than a question.
Taehyung froze for a second, but Jungkook felt it. The stillness in his body, the sudden tension in his shoulders. Then, just as quickly, Taehyung forced a smile and tilted his head back a little, eyes fixed on the shimmering water as though nothing had changed.
“You notice too much,” he whispered, trying to sound light. Jungkook pressed his lips together, his throat tight. He could taste the words he wanted to say.. the ones he’d been swallowing down every season.
‘Let me help you. Don’t go through it alone. I can take care of you.’
But he said none of them. Instead, he buried his nose deeper against Taehyung’s skin, inhaling until the jasmine blurred into something dizzying. His voice came out rough, almost pleading despite his best attempt at control.
“I just don’t want you to suffer.”
Taehyung’s lashes lowered, hiding his eyes. His fingers curled around Jungkook’s wrist, not pushing him away, but not pulling him closer either. The silence stretched, filled only by the rustle of leaves overhead and the steady lap of water against the shore. When Taehyung finally spoke, it was quiet. “I’ll be fine.”
And Jungkook… said nothing. Because he knew that tone. Knew it meant the conversation was already over. So he just held him tighter, pretending the warmth of Taehyung’s back against his chest was enough to silence the ache in his bones, pretending that love alone would soothe the restless growl of instinct clawing at the edges of his restraint.