Chapter Text
“You two make such a handsome couple. Where did you find such a wonderful alpha, Prince Jimin? Such a catch.”
“Thank you Madame Choi.” The Prince inclines his head. “I’m just so happy that destiny decided for us to meet.” He plasters a fake smile on his face and Yoongi would know. He’s been on the receiving end of that smile plenty of times in the last couple of weeks.
A sharp elbow to his ribs has him coming to attention. “Yes, thank you Madame Choi. And I am the lucky one to capture the eye of such an amazing omega. A real Prince. Why he picked me, I’ll never know.” Yoongi wraps his arm around the Prince’s waist, pulling him in close. He can feel the omega bristle underneath him, which makes him tighten his hold. If Yoongi has to attend these asinine events, he needs to get his kicks whichever way he can. Antagonizing the Prince just so happens to be one of them.
After Madame Choi walks away, the Prince unceremoniously stomps on Yoongi’s foot making him drop his arm from the omega’s waist. Another couple walks past and the fake smile appears on the Prince’s face once again.
“Do that again and I will end you,” the Prince mutters under his breath through gritted teeth.
Yoongi huffs in amusement, but ultimately decides not to push his luck any further today. Besides there is still plenty of time for him to antagonize the Prince later.
The rest of the god-awful evening is filled with more fake smiles, rubbing elbows with the elite, making the stupidest of small talk and portraying the image of a ‘perfect couple’ for all those around them. Yoongi’s social battery is close to empty as the night continues to drag on and on. He’s not sure how much more he can take. Then out of thin air, the Prince’s personal assistant appears.
“Prince Jimin, Mr. Min,” The assistant bows to each of them in turn. “I think it’s safe to call this a night.” He pulls out his phone, scrolling like he is reviewing a list, “You made your rounds, and you took several aesthetically pleasing photos. I’ll personally see to it that they are on all the pertinent news sites with the appropriate tags. You two are already trending on all social media, so it will be easy enough.” The assistant slips his phone back into his pocket, looking up at them both with a heart shaped smile on his face, “Today was a job well done, go home and get some rest.”
“Thank you, Hoseok,” The Prince murmurs, his face starting to betray slightly just how tired he really is, but his mask quickly goes back up. Yoongi is sure that a ‘normal’ person wouldn’t be able to zero in on that, but after spending time together over the last couple weeks, he likes to think he’s gotten to know the Prince’s tells.
“I am only doing my job, Your Highness.” Hoseok replies with a wide smile. It really should be illegal for a person to be that chipper. “Make sure to post a picture of you two on your socials tonight. We’ll debrief in the morning. The car should be here any minute now, head towards the pick up location.”
Yoongi is already daydreaming about what he’ll do when he finally makes it back home, when the rest of Mr. Jung’s words finally register to him. “Car?” He asks in confusion, normally he just finds his own way home. The Prince sends him a scathing look, like how dare he talk in his presence, but quickly makes his face blank, schooling his features.
“It’s time for phase two, you two need to be seen arriving and leaving together now. If you were to leave the function separately it would cause gossip sites to speculate, and when they start that it’s never anything good. We only want positive posts about your relationship, no speculation at this time. Have a good night. Mr. Min. Prince Jimin.” Mr. Jung bows one last time, already pulling his phone back out as he hurries off.
“Well— we better get this over with boyfriend,” The Prince says with a roll of his eyes as he grabs Yoongi’s hand, interlocking their fingers together. His face looks less than pleased but they still do have an act to sell afterall. In no time, that familiar mask is back over the Prince’s face.
Hand in hand they walk out of the function together. Yoongi immediately uses his free hand to cover his eyes as the bright lights from all the cameras start flashing their direction. Seriously, how does the Prince put up with this all the time? It’s exhausting. Quickly they make their way to the awaiting black SUV. Yoongi opens the door first, helping the Prince inside first before crawling in after him. Almost simultaneously, they let out twin heavy sighs.
The peace was short lived though.
“Did you seriously have to touch me at every turn?” The Prince is glaring daggers his way. If looks could kill, Yoongi is sure he would be dead right now. “You are getting your stinky alpha scent all over me!” The Prince adds in fake gagging sounds for good measure, no longer worried about his image now that they are out of the public eye.
“Well, I’m sorry,” Yoongi retorts, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sorry for trying to make our relationship look believable,” he scoffs. “Like you’re any help,” the alpha rolls his eyes. “If it wasn’t for me, no one would buy it.”
The Prince throws up his hands in frustration, “You are so insufferable! I cannot wait until this stupid charade is over! Ugh!”
“You and me both, Your Highness.” He says mockingly, turning his body away from the Prince, essentially ending the conversation and doing his best to ignore the seething omega beside him. He keeps his attention on looking out the window.
The buildings and trees seem to blur together as they’re driven through the city. Yoongi is losing himself to the mindlessness of it all. Honestly, it gives his brain a little reprieve from all the ‘faking’ he had to do earlier. His social battery has officially been depleted, he doesn’t want to deal with anybody for the next 72 hours. All he wants to do is get back home, crawl into his bed and not wake up for a number of hours.
The SUV comes to a stop outside an expensive high-rise building, one that caters to the richest of the rich; with many well-known celebrities and the elite residing here. Of course the Prince would have a penthouse here, Yoongi thinks with a roll of his eyes. Speaking of the Prince, the omega gives Yoongi a single finger salute before exiting the SUV, walking promptly into the building without looking back.
“You certainly have your work cut out for you.” The voice sounds amused, Yoongi can hear the smirk in it even though he cannot see the man.
“Don’t start with me, Namjoon— I am not in the mood.” Yoongi growls, glaring at the back of the driver’s head.
“You heading home or back to headquarters?” Namjoon asks as he maneuvers the SUV back onto the road, seamlessly merging with traffic.
“Headquarters.” Yoongi might as well get his debriefing out of the way so that he can get back home as soon as possible. His bed is calling his name.
The ride to headquarters is smooth and uneventful, the SUV coming to a stop in front of a nondescript office building. One that no one would pay attention to if they walked past it on the street. Which made it perfect for what it was.
“Do you want me to wait?”
“Nah— go ahead and get on out of here.” Yoongi says while stepping out of the SUV, “I’ll find my own way home, plus who knows how long the boss will want to talk.”
Yoongi watches the SUV drive off before heading inside, tugging at his neck collar to loosen the buttons. He absolutely hates wearing this fancy shit but right now it’s a must. He wonders if he has a spare hoodie or something else in the office that he can change into. Cursing under his breath, Yoongi strides into the building.
At the sound of the door closing, a young man sitting behind an array of computers pops his head up. A wicked gleam in his eye.
“Looks like you were having a good time tonight!” The voice teases him.
“Fuck off, Kook— Not in the mood.” Yoongi holds up his middle finger as he keeps strolling through the office.
“You mean you don’t like rubbing elbows with high society. That’s a shame. You have the best eye candy of all!” Jungkook calls after him, laughing the entire time.
“That man is not eye candy,” Yoongi growls, “He’s a pain in my ass!”
Not even bothering to knock, he pushes open the door and walks right in. If his boss has a problem with it, he can fire him. And both Yoongi and him know that is never going to happen.
“What if I was getting hot and heavy in here with my man, Yoongi— what then?!?” His boss exclaims. “You think you can barge into my office without knocking. The audacity!”
“Psh— We both know wouldn’t fire me, plus your boyfriend was still at the event. You and I both know he won’t be getting back til late. Besides, he’s probably too busy plotting the next steps of this fake relationship.” Yoongi plops down in a free chair and slouches down. “Jin, you ready for this debriefing or not? Because there are some better things I could be doing with my time.”
“And how is the love of my life?” Seokjin waggles his eyebrows. “I feel like you see Jung Hoseok more than I do at this point and I don’t know how I feel about that.” His boss leans back in his chair.
“Then you can start ‘fake dating’ the Prince. I’ll gladly trade you places.” Yoongi rolls his eyes before continuing. “Your boyfriend is maddening and too smiley like always. Catering to the Prince’s…” he says with quotation fingers “...every need. Seriously, how does he stand working with that guy? He’s so whiney and annoying.” Yoongi is not sure how he hasn’t lost all his braincells dealing with that man— or more like, man-child.
“Aish— come on now, Yoongi. The Prince isn’t all that bad. Hobi speaks highly of him. And you know my Hobi, he wouldn’t work for someone bad. You just keep seeing the worst in the Prince. If you give him a chance, I’m sure you would change your tune. Why do you dislike him so much, anyways?”
“You know I don’t like elitist type people. And I don’t have to like him. He is just a job and nothing more. I am literally counting down the days until this assignment is finally over.” Yoongi narrows his eyes as he glares Seokjin’s way, pointing his finger at the man, “You fuckin’ lied to me though. You told me this would be a short and easy job, but it’s been fuckin’ weeks and it’s still not over.”
Seokjin smirks as he leans back in his chair, “I never once told you that this would be an easy job, you just assumed that it would be. And the contract was signed for three months, it’s not my fault you didn’t read the fine print.”
Yoongi doesn’t grace Seokjin with a response, instead holding his middle finger up in the air. “How did you get Hobi to set this up anyhow? If he likes the Prince so much, why is he even helping us?”
The smile drops from Seokjin’s face as he quickly averts his eyes. Yoongi zeros in on it, oh this is going to be fuckin’ good.
“He doesn’t know does he?” Seokjin refuses to answer but his silence is damning enough. “So what did you tell your beloved boyfriend?” Yoongi smirks, my how the tables have turned.
“That we were looking into the King and his subordinates, and in order to do that easily it would be ideal, and simpler, to go through the Prince to do so.”
Yoongi’s eyes turn contemplative as he takes in all the information, analyzing it in his mind. “So that supposed scandal, that led to the Prince needing to ‘clean up his image,’ I’m assuming that was all your boyfriend’s doing?”
“Why ask the question when you already know the answer.” Seokjin deflects and Yoongi lets him. He needs to sit on this new information and analyze a little further. “Besides, I thought we had a debriefing to do.” Seokjin waves his hand at him, “Get to it.”
“Alright, so this is what I found out…”
“That ignorant alpha! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!” Jimin mutters to himself as he walks into the building. Plastering a smile on his face as soon as he is through the doors. There are eyes watching him everywhere, ready to report if anything seems unseemly. The only place he can truly be himself is his penthouse. And he’s almost there.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” the beta working the door smiles politely while inclining his head. The same happens with the beta manning the front desk.
Jimin keeps a smile on his face the entire way to the Royal elevator; a special elevator that goes directly to his floor, and can only be accessed with a special keycard. A keycard that only him, his personal assistant and his best friend Taehyung, have access to. The two people that he trusts the most. Not even his parents have access to his personal space. It is his and his alone.
As soon as the elevator door closes, the smile falls from his face. He leans against the wall, exhausted from the evening’s events. Having to mask constantly day in and day out is finally starting to wear on him. It’s not like he has much of a choice, though, Jimin was born into this life. And that means having to ‘act’ a certain way at all times.
The elevator dings and the door opens, revealing Jimin’s spacious penthouse suite. It’s one that his grandmother, the Omega Dowager Queen, gifted to him so that he would always have a place to call his own. A place that he could escape too and, most importantly, it was outside his parents’ reach. There was nothing that they could do about it.
Jimin kicked off his shoes in the entryway, deciding that the cleanup is a problem for the future. Right now he just wants to get clean and let his scent free. And the first item on that list is to take a nice, long, hot bath.
Thankfully, he had the foresight to lay out his pajamas by the tub before he left, so there was no reason to stop by his room. Instead, Jimin makes a beeline to the bathroom and straight over to the grand bathtub. He turns the knobs so that the water comes out at the perfect temperature; steam already filling the room.
His hands skim over the variety of bath bombs and oils on the shelves. This is the next important decision, what scent he wants to use. Ultimately he selects a calming lavender bath bomb to help him sleep, and a bottle of almond bathing oil, just because he likes the smell. Jimin adds a couple drops of oil to the already running water and sets the bath bomb off to the side. He likes to add that once he is already in the water, watching as it dissolves, it’s soothing.
Next he goes through a run down version of his skin care routine, focusing on getting all the make up off his face before quickly rubbing a rehydrating mask onto it. He rips off the scent blocker patches, throwing them into the trash, sighing in relief as his soft honey scent spreads throughout the room. Now that was so much better.
Eager to get into the water, Jimin removes his clothes, tossing them on the floor— that too, can be a problem for future him to deal with. The omega sinks into the water, letting out an audible sigh as his eyes close for a brief moment, taking everything in. And when he’s done, he reaches over for the bath bomb and tosses it in. He stares at it transfixed until it dissolves into nothing, leaving purple glittery swirls in its wake. The lavender combines beautifully with the almond oil, making him feel utterly relaxed.
Jimin jumps a little, making the water splash slightly, when a soft melodic tone emits from his phone. It’s the special tone that he uses for his best friend, his soulmate. Grinning, he props up his phone on the side of the tub before hitting accept. Within seconds his best friend’s face greets him. God how he has missed him.
“ChimChim! How was tonight? Give me all the details?!? What did your boyfriend do this time?”
“Tae,” Jimin whines. “Why do we have to talk about him?” His best friend was one of the few people that was privy to the real relationship deal between Jimin and Yoongi. It’s not like Jimin could lie to him anyhow, his best friend knows him better than he knows himself sometimes. “You know that I despise that alpha.”
“Because it’s entertaining,” Taehyung laughs on the other end of the screen. “I’ve never seen you so affected by someone before, it’s refreshing. Besides, what makes this alpha so different than any of the others? Why does he get under your skin so much?”
Thankfully, Taehyung isn’t here to see Jimin’s reactions in person or he would clock him right away. Taehyung knows him well— too well. At least over the phone Jimin can hide somewhat.
“He just thinks that he knows everything and that he is doing me some big favor by agreeing to this asinine plan.” Jimin rolls his eyes, “Plus, his scent makes me want to gag. We're not compatible at all. ”
Lies! His inner voice yells at him, but Jimin just tames it down.
Taehyung just harumphs, but doesn’t say another word, instead he cocks up his eyebrow like he doesn’t quite believe what Jimin is saying.
“And pray, do tell— what is this awful scent that makes you want to throw up?”
Jimin deflects, knowing if he tells Taehyung what Yoongi’s scent is, his best friend would know that he was lying right away. “What does it matter what his scent is? I don’t like it and that’s that..”
“Fine,” Taehyung rolls his eyes, “Keep your secrets. I’ll figure it out soon enough when I finally get to meet him.”
Meet him? “Wait! Are you coming back home!?!” Jimin exclaims, throwing himself forward in the water, making it splash on the sides as he tries to get closer to his phone. “You are coming home?”
Taehyung’s laughter fills the room. “Yes, I’m coming home. When exactly, I’m not entirely sure, but it is in the works.”
Jimin chirps happily, he has missed his best friend so much. He leans back against the tub and the two friends continue to catch up; Taehyung telling Jimin stories of his time away.
“Question, my dear ChimChim.”
“Hmmm.”
“How much longer do you have to ‘date’ this despicable alpha with the ‘awful’ scent, anyhow?”
“44 days, 20 hours and 5 minutes” Jimin sighs, He can hear Taehyung laughing in response. Sue him— so what if Jimin has a countdown on his phone that he checks religiously. He just wants it to be over already. “TaeTae— I don’t think I’m going to be able to survive another 44 days, 20 hours and 4 minutes.”
“Just remember why you’re doing all this. You need to stay on your parents’ good side.”
“I know TaeTae— I know.”
It’s not like Jimin could forget what happened, his parents were almost ready to disown him over it. They would honestly find any reason for it, really. Jimin was photographed with an ‘unknown’ alpha in a compromising position. From the pictures, it was clear that it was Jimin in the photos, but it was hard to decipher who the alpha was. Nevertheless, it was ‘unbecoming’ for a Royal Omega to be seen this way. Even though all he and the alpha were doing was talking, the angle of the photo was suggestive and made it seem like so much more.
The Royal Family’s social media team worked fast to devise a solution, one that would hopefully paint Jimin in a favorable light. It was decided that the ‘unknown’ alpha would be revealed to be Jimin’s ‘secret boyfriend’; someone that he was keeping out of the public eye because he was a ‘normal’ person.
Enter Yoongi, who from the back looked similar to the alpha that was in the photo. Where Hoseok found that alpha, Jimin has no idea, or why Yoongi even agreed to it when he was such a disagreeable personality. Yoongi must really need the money or something. Jimin thought that this would be an easy three months, ‘fake dating’ the alpha stand-in, and then after that, they would both go on their own merry ways.
What he didn’t expect, or anticipate, was just how much the public loved their relationship. Jimin had been expecting to face some backlash from dating a non-royal – someone who was just a commoner – however he was soon proven wrong. Somehow the whole scenario made Jimin more likable in the public’s eye, more down to earth. And most surprisingly, was that his parents approved of it as well. More accurately, they approved of the way it painted the royal in a favorable light, and who doesn’t love good publicity.
“Earth to Jimin.”
The omega jerks slightly as he comes back to awareness, “Sorry, TaeTae, I zoned out for a moment. I think the day’s events are finally getting to me. I’m gonna finish my bath and head to bed. I’ll text you later?”
“You better! I miss you Chim!”
“I miss you too!”
After ending the call, Jimin quickly rinses off, then slides into his pajamas and heads toward his bed. Right as he gets to the door of his room, he stops.
Nest.
His inner omega is right, his nest is exactly what he needs tonight. Jimin moves away from his bedroom and goes to a different door at the end of the hall. The one that houses his nesting room. Opening the door, he chips happily, feeling how the room is covered in his scent and his scent only. Sighing with relief, he sinks down into his nest, snuggling into the soft blankets and pillows. And, finally relaxed after a hectic day, Jimin drifts off to dreamland easily.
The bass is heavy and thumping as the blue, purple and pink lights awash the walls and the pulsating bodies below.. Yoongi cannot believe that he is in a place like this. He could fuckin’ kill Hoseok for suggesting it, but at least he is in the VIP section and not down with the masses. He tips the whisky glass to his mouth, taking a healthy swallow. Top shelf booze just hits differently. And it’s probably the only perk of being in a place like this.
His eyes skim the crowd, looking for the so-called ‘boyfriend’ that he is supposedly here with; finding the omega dancing off to the side with some people that he knows. Tonight was some noble’s birthday party or something like that. Yoongi can admit that he really didn’t pay any attention when Hoseok gave him the briefing. Though, he was explicitly told that they needed to make an appearance together. So here they are.
Yoongi tries not to stare, tipping the glass to his lips, he really does, but the way that the Prince moves, it’s absolutely captivating. It should be illegal for him to move his hips like that. It’s like he is trying to perform some type of mating dance. The alpha averts his eyes, taking another sip of his drink, grimacing when he realizes that it’s empty.
Fuck.
Well he might as well head down there and get this over with, right? It would be odd if there were no ‘photos’ of them together. So why delay the inevitable? Yoongi gives one last forlorn look at his empty glass before slamming it down on the table. Then, letting out a big sigh, the alpha makes his way down to the lower level.
The Prince sends him a scathing look when Yoongi appears, but quickly schools his expression. He plasters a fake smile on his face as he runs up to Yoongi, throwing his arms around the alpha.
“Here is my Yoonie,” he coos with an evil glint in his eyes, pinching Yoongi’s cheek for good measure.
Yoongi accidentally let it slip in front of the Prince how much he despises cutesy nicknames. So of course the Prince has taken to calling him by several different obnoxious names. This one was actually one of the tamer ones, but he still didn’t like it.
In response, Yoongi begins to rock the two of them to the beat of the music before spinning the Prince around, pressing himself along the Prince’s back. His hands grab the omega’s hips, keeping him close as they dance. The Prince looks over his shoulder, a smile on his face but his eyes hold a glare, his lips mouthing, ‘I hate you.’
Yoongi smirks in response. He knows that the omega wants nothing more than to haul off and smack him right now. But that would make a scene and be ‘unbecoming’ of a Prince. And of course, that would be the last thing the Prince wants to do. So if the Prince wants to call him stupid nicknames, Yoongi will do what he can to antagonize the Prince in return.
The Prince makes it through two songs with Yoongi before begging off to go to the bathroom. Feeling parched, Yoongi makes his way to the bar and orders a water, greedily sucking down the cold liquid. His eyes scan the vicinity, noting all the exits and potential issues out of habit. A quick glance at his watch indicates that they still have to be here for at least another hour before they can leave for the night. But knowing the Prince, he will probably come up with some reason to stay longer and further torment Yoongi.
After a little while, the Prince returns from the bathroom and Yoongi watches him stumble slightly. His brows furrow, he’s had his eye on the omega all night and he knows that the Prince has not had nearly enough to drink to warrant stumbling around quite like that. However, when the Prince returns to his ‘friend’ group, he seems relatively normal again; a wide smile on his face as he resumes dancing. Maybe it was just a fluke. The Prince could be quite clumsy at times. Regardless, Yoongi decides to keep a closer eye on the omega.
It’s not until an unknown alpha tries to dance with the Prince that Yoongi decides to step in. He can hear the faint hint of the omega’s giggles over the thumping bass. Why would the Prince be flirting with this alpha? Doesn’t he know what that looks like? The Prince wouldn’t jeopardize their ‘fake relationship’ like this. What is going on?
When Yoongi appears at the Prince’s side, a beaming smile appears on his face. “Yoonie!” he exclaims as he throws himself into Yoongi’s arms, which reflexively tighten around the omega. Yep— something is definitely off.
The omega nuzzles into Yoongi’s neck, his nose brushing against the alpha’s scent gland. Yoongi lets out a soft gasp as his hands go to the Prince’s shoulder, pushing him away slightly. The omega beams up at him and Yoongi instantly notices the blown pupils and the glassiness of his eyes. Then the Prince’s scent hits him.
Oh.
Oh no.
This is not good— not good at all. Yoongi knows the Prince’s schedule front and back, and the omega isn’t due for his heat anytime soon. But the scent that is slowly seeping out of him would beg to differ. Yoongi needs to get the omega out of here now, and he needs to do it fast.
“Yoonie,” the Prince sways slightly in his spot, a frown appearing on his face, “I don’t feel so good,” he slurs before slumping forward into Yoongi’s chest.
Fuck.
“Let’s get you out of here, Your Highness.” Yoongi wraps his arm around the omega, not wanting to waste more time. If anyone sees them leaving right now, they’ll just think they were a ‘couple’ rushing off to be together. He makes sure to keep the Prince’s face turned towards him and away from any cameras that could be pointed their direction as he leads them directly out of the club. Luckily for them, Namjoon already has the car there waiting at the curb. Yoongi quickly opens the door to the SUV and ushers the Prince inside.
“It’s not time…” Namjoon turns around in his seat to look at them.
Yoongi follows the omega into the backseat and slams the door shut. “Joon— just get us out of here, now. Something isn’t right.”
The alpha doesn’t even try to act like Namjoon is ‘just the driver,’ and that he barely even knows him. Even though Yoongi has worked with Namjoon for close to 14 years now. Time is of the essence, and the Prince is too out of it to notice.
The Prince keeps cuddling up to his side, and Yoongi tries to distance himself, to no avail. He keeps scooting himself over until he is right up against the door. The omega plastered to his side, rubbing himself all along Yoongi. Now he definitely knows that the Prince must’ve been slipped something, because the Prince would sooner be caught dead than cuddling with him.
Namjoon doesn’t ask any questions, he just pulls the SUV out onto the road. Yoongi can see the way that his eyes keep widening when he sees how the Prince is acting in the backseat.
“Your Highness,” Yoongi tries to reason, attempting to push the omega away. “You need to stop.”
“Yoonie,” he whines, “Stop being mean.” The Prince fights against him until he is back where he wants to be, his nose buried in Yoongi’s neck. Letting out little chirps and purrs as he continues to scent the alpha, the car soon filling with the Prince’s honey scent.
“Hy..hyung?” Namjoon cranes his head back to look at them, but then quickly puts his eyes back to the road.
“I think he was… Hey, cut it out!”
Yoongi pushes against the omega, who just had the audacity to lick his scent gland. The Prince sticks out his lower lip in a pout, a whimper leaving him. Yoongi sighs, “Fine but keep your lips and hands to yourself!”
The omega chirps happily, returning to his previous position.
“As I was saying, I think he was slipped something to mimic heat symptoms, or something to start his heat. I don’t know exactly, but we need to get him back to his place before it starts to get bad. And call Hoseok. He’ll know what to do with the Prince.”
Namjoon attempts to call Hoseok but all it does is ring. The Prince’s personal assistant just doesn’t answer. Namjoon tries again and again. Hell, Yoongi even sent off an SOS text and got zero response. What the hell is Hoseok doing? He’s always glued to his phone.
The omega pushes himself even closer until he is practically in Yoongi’s lap. The Prince’s scent continues to spread through the vehicle, making Yoongi feel more than a little insane.
They arrive at the Prince’s building in record time, but there’s still no answer from Hoseok.
“Joon, what am I supposed to do?” Yoongi asks, his arms currently full of the omega in his lap, chirping happily as he continues to cover Yoongi in his scent.
“You’ll have to be the one that goes up with him. You can’t let him go in there alone, who knows what will happen. I’ll keep trying to call Hoseok and wait for you here. Get him inside and settled, then we can leave.”
“Yeah—” Yoongi replies but he doesn’t sound too sure of himself. He has a feeling that the Prince is going to make it difficult for him. “Come on, Your Highness, let’s get you inside.”
“Don’t call me that,” The Prince finally pries himself away from Yoongi’s neck.
“Call you what?” The Prince pouts, “Your Highness?” The Prince’s lower lip sticks out even further. “What do you want me to call you then? Come on, we need to go.”
Yoongi is dumbfounded, he doesn’t know what the Prince wants. They’ve never called each other by their actual names. Only ‘nick-names’, to get on the other’s nerves. This is uncharted territory for him, but he also doesn’t have time to deal with this right now.
“No.”
“Listen, Your Highness…”
The Prince stares blankly at him, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Jimin?” He tries next.
Nothing.
Feeling a pair of eyes on him. He looks over to see Namjoon’s amused face looking at him from the reflection of the rearview mirror.
“Minnie?”
The omega chips happily, a genuine smile on his face.
“Come on then, Minnie, let’s get you inside. Okay?” If calling him ‘Minnie’ is what it takes to get the omega to finally move, he’ll take it.
Yoongi opens up the car door, stepping out before reaching back up to grab the omega’s hand. He doesn’t entirely trust him not to bolt or something. Plus, if any paparazzi were around, it will just look like he’s helping his ‘boyfriend’ out of the car, taking him home after a night out. The Prince sways on his feet slightly when they hit the ground, but Yoongi is right there to steady him, keeping his arm around the Prince’s shoulders as he leads them inside.
Once in the lobby, Yoongi doesn’t know what to do next. The front desk person is starting to give him strange looks. He doesn’t even know if he has clearance to enter the Prince’s apartment but he hasn’t been stopped yet.
“Minnie,” he whispers, “Where do we need to go?” He really doesn’t like the looks they are starting to get as they linger there.
Thankfully the omega giggles while linking their hands together, pulling Yoongi towards an elevator in the back of the lobby. The Prince fumbles in his pockets until finally he brandishes a keycard.
“A-ha!” He says triumphantly, waving it at the little black box on the wall, causing the elevator doors to open. Before Yoongi realizes it, he is pulled inside. The door closes and the elevator immediately starts moving.
The Prince’s scent is growing heavier by the minute. Yoongi does his best to breathe through his mouth, calling on all the different aspects of his training. It’s not the first time he’s had to resist an omega in heat. But there is something about the Prince’s scent that makes it hard. Especially with the omega rubbing himself and his scent all over Yoongi. He reminds himself that all he really needs to do is to get the Prince safely to his bed, then he’ll be home free.
Yoongi’s eyes widen as the door opens revealing the Prince’s penthouse suite. Wow— is this how the other half lives? Because this is absolutely crazy. The omega chirps happily at being back in his home, kicking off his shoes in the entryway before pulling Yoongi along.
“Your Highness!” Yoongi exclaims, the Prince sends him a glare. “I mean Minnie,” A blooming smile appears on the omega’s face. “You’re back home now, you’re safe. I need to go.”
“Alpha wants to leave?” The Prince says in a small voice, his face dropping as his scent instantly sours. “Alpha doesn’t want to see Minnie’s nest?” He steps away from Yoongi, looking forlorn as he kicks his feet against the floor.
No matter how much Yoongi hates this fake dating nonsense, he knows he cannot leave the Prince like this. He is not that heartless. So maybe it’s just going to take him a little bit longer to get out of here than he thought.
“Minnie,” the omega looks up, “Will you show me your nest?”
The sourness in the Prince’s scent dissipates as he grabs Yoongi’s hand and eagerly leads him through the suite and straight to his nest. The room is absolutely saturated in his scent. A big mattress takes up most of the floor, covered in a variety of pillows, blankets and plushies. The omega immediately starts rearranging until there is a spot in the center of the nest big enough to fit two people.
The omega chirps happily, clapping his hands, but then he frowns when he notices the shoes still on Yoongi’s feet. Once he has them off the Prince shoves him into the nest, following close behind, straddling Yoongi’s hips and nuzzling at his neck once again.
“Minnie,” Yoongi tries to reason, “It’s been a long day, you need to get some sleep. Just come lay down beside me.”
“No. Alpha will leave if Minnie moves off him.”
Yoongi inwardly groans. Why does the Prince have to make everything so difficult?
“I promise not to leave. But I have to text Namjoon and tell him to go home.”
“Alpha no leave?”
Yoongi sighs. “Alpha no leave.”
The Prince rolls off of him but immediately plasters himself to Yoongi’s side, throwing one arm and leg over the man. There was no way Yoongi was getting out of this one.
He pulls out his phone and shoots Namjoon a quick message.
It looks like he will be here awhile.
Errrgh— why does his mouth feel like sawdust? It’s drier than the Sahara desert. Just how much did he have to drink last night? Jimin doesn’t usually drink excessively when he goes out— so feeling this hung over, it’s odd. And the better question is, why is it so hot in here? Did he turn up the heat or something before he passed out last night? There is a dull throb behind his eyelids, which makes Jimin dread opening up his eyes. He just knows it’s going to be miserable.
“Ugh.” An arm tightens around his waist pulling Jimin back against something warm. The voice continues to mumble something unintelligible before the sound of soft snores is heard.
Jimin’s eyes shoot open. Just who the hell is in his bed? Wait!? This isn’t his bed— it’s his nest! No one is allowed in his nest but him. Looking down, Jimin sees slender knobby fingers splayed across his stomach. And whoever is behind him, their scent blockers must’ve worn off because his nesting room is filled with an utterly delicious, almost familiar, scent that has his inner omega purring in absolute delight.
Just what the hell happened last night?
Okay, Jimin— You just need to try and re-piece the previous night back together. He remembers calling Yoongi that cringe worthy nickname to get a rise out of the alpha. And it worked somewhat. Then there was dancing— a lot of it. Mostly with his friends, then a song or two with the alpha, and some solo. After a couple drinks, he remembers excusing himself to go to the bathroom.
And…
And…?
Well, things got quite hazy after that. No matter how much he tries to recall it, his memories from after the bathroom are quite fuzzy. Jimin vaguely remembers cuddling up to someone on the dance floor, then a car ride home filled with warmth. But there are some large gaps in his memory, and he doesn’t like that one bit. Whoever brought him home last night apparently never left.
Wait!
Panic starts to set in as he does a quick survey of his own body. Besides his throbbing head, nothing else hurts. Bringing a hand up to his lips, he notices that they feel normal; not a hint of swollenness. Oh— he’s still fully dressed, too! His nose crinkles as he realizes he’s still wearing last night’s clothes. He is not a fan of wearing outside clothes in his nest, so that just shows how out of it he was last night.
So, who brought him home? And never left?
Jimin tries to wriggle away but the arm around him tightens, keeping him firmly in place.
“Too early, stop moving,” the voice slurs out, roughened with sleep. The soft snores returning quickly after.
This time, Jimin moves a little more carefully, he doesn’t want to cause a scene until he has eyes on who is behind him. Rolling over to his stomach, he shimmies himself out from the strange alpha’s arms.
Finally.
An involuntary shiver leaves him now that he has shifted away from the alpha’s warmth. But it’s time to figure out just who in the hell is in his nest. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself before looking over to the stranger, his vision immediately goes red. He cocks back his arm and starts swinging.
“Just what… the hell… do you think… you are doing!?” Jimin lands a hit on the alpha’s shoulder with each space in the sentence, “Coming into my nest like this!” Another hit. “Why I oughta…”
Yoongi throws his arms in front of his face, protecting himself. “Ow—” Another hit, “Whatsit?” then another, “Minnie will you stop already!”
Jimin’s eyes widen in anger. Where does this nobody get off talking to him in this informal way? He’s the Prince! He will be spoken to with respect!
“It’s ‘your highness’, to you!” He swings again but this time the alpha rolls out of the way. But that doesn’t stop him— Jimin follows after Yoongi.
The alpha keeps dodging Jimin’s swings, until finally he’s had enough. The next time the Prince swings, Yoongi catches Jimin’s hands into his own. He tries to pull himself free but the alpha holds firm. “Will you just cut it out!”
“No! You’ve invaded my space!” Jimin keeps trying to pull his hands free to no avail, “You invaded my nest!” Jimin can feel the tears start to form at the corners of his eyes. His nest is his sacred place, just for him. No one, and he means no one, is allowed in it.
“Minnie, listen.”
“It’s ‘Your Highness’!” Jimin yells again, startling Yoongi enough to be finally able to pull his arms free. He cocks back his arm to take another swing at the alpha, but the door to his nesting room suddenly bursts open.
“Prince Jimin! Mr. Min!”
“Hoseok!” Jimin cries in relief, “This— This neanderthal!” He points an accusing finger Yoongi’s way, “Invaded my nest!”
“Hey!” Yoongi calls out, defending himself. “I’ve been trying to tell you why I’m here, but you insist on hitting me instead of listening!”
Jimin crosses his arms over his chest, his gaze narrowed at the alpha.
“Ask Hoseok if you don’t believe me, I only called him at least a dozen times or more last night!”
The omega rolls his eyes, “Likely story. Don’t lie to… ”
“It’s true.” Hoseok pipes in. “Mr. Min called me several times last night, left some messages too.”
“What?” Jimin mutters in confusion. The alpha was telling the truth? His eyes flit back and forth between the pair of them. What is going on?
“Are you going to listen now?” Yoongi huffs with a roll of his eyes. Jimin can hear him muttering under his breath about spoiled Princes and that he didn’t sign up for this.
Jimin gives the alpha his undivided attention, but doesn’t dignify him with a response. He’ll listen to what the alpha has to say, hopefully it will fill in the gaps missing in his memory. If Jimin doesn’t like it or believe his story, he’ll insist that Hoseok break their contract. Jimin will just have to deal with the consequences from his parents later.
“Last night— after you came back from the bathroom, something wasn’t right. You weren’t acting like yourself, more clumsy than usual and you practically glued yourself to my side. I knew something had to be up. If I had to hazard a guess, you were probably slipped something. What, I don’t know. I just knew something was definitely up because your scent…”
“My scent?” What could the alpha mean by that? He does a quick sniff— his scent seems normal to him.
“Your blockers started wearing off and your scent, it was different. It had a tinge of heat to it, I wasn’t sure if it was preheat or what,” Yoongi said bluntly, causing Jimin to gasp. “So I acted fast, and got you the hell out of there before something bad could happen. I tried calling Hoseok, but he never answered the damn phone. And when your driver dropped us off at your place, I couldn’t just let you walk inside alone, plus you wouldn’t let go of me, no matter how hard I tried to get away.”
Jimin rolled his eyes, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. The audacity of this alpha but.. he could sense the truth in his words and he didn’t quite know how he felt about that.
“When we got to your suite and I knew that you were ‘safe’, I tried to leave but you insisted on me seeing your nest.”
“Lies!” Jimin shouts, he doesn’t let anyone into his nest— no one! Yet here they all are, in his nesting room…
“Why would I lie about this?” Yoongi waves his arm towards the room. “Why would I lie about any of this?”
“Blackmail,” Jimin throws up his arms in frustration, “Or something else, I don’t know!” At that moment a vague memory appears before him. In it Jimin pushes the alpha into his nest, and curls up beside him. Jimin can feel the tips of his ears start to heat up, but he would rather die than admit to that alpha that he was right.
“If you don’t believe me, ask your driver. You got mad when I called you ‘Your Highness’, would only respond when I called you ‘Minnie.’ I had every intention of leaving after you went to sleep, but You. Wouldn’t. Let. Go. Of. Me.” Yoongi punctuates each work with a point of his finger. “Believe me this is the last place on earth that I wanted to spend the night.”
Jimin has to hold in the hurt that his omega feels at the statement. Alpha doesn’t like our nest. Then he realizes just how stupid thinking that is. His omega is just confused, that’s all. Whatever he was slipped last night must still be in his system. At this point, though, he’s heard enough.
“If this is the last place you want to be then leave. The door is right there.” Jimin angrily points to the door before crossing his arms back over his chest.
“Fine by me.” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “...If I walk past, are you going to hit me again?”
Jimin shakes his head, all the fight has left him. Now he is just filled with confusion.“Just go— now.”
The alpha walks right by him, not sparing Jimin a second glance. He looks over towards Hoseok, noticing that he’s silently watching the interaction between the two of them. When he notices Jimin looking his direction, he raises his brow.
Jimin sighs, “Wait—”
The alpha pauses at the doorway but doesn’t turn around, instead he glances over his shoulder.
“Thank you for getting me home— safely.” Even if all the alpha does is drive him crazy and Jimin cannot wait for their ‘fake relationship’ to be over, he knows when to give thanks when it is due.
“No problem, Your Highness.” The alpha gives a mocking bow before strolling off. Jimin can faintly hear the sound of the elevator opening and closing, followed by the soft hum as it moves down the floors.
“Jimin—” Hoseok starts, not bothering with his title now that they are alone. “Are you okay?” He rubs his hands up and down the omega’s arms, trying to soothe him.
“I— I don’t know.” He doesn’t know what to think, where to even start. His memory of last night is fragmented and that scares him more than anything. Things could’ve been worse— a lot worse. But that neanderthal of an alpha— somehow he took care of him, made sure he was safe.
“Mr. Min really did call me multiple times last night. I’m so sorry! I had my phone off, I’ll make sure to never have it off again.”
“That’s silly, Hobi, it was your night off. You are not expected to answer your phone on your night off.”
“But I have a duty and it was an emergency!”
“You are not indebted to me 24/7, I gave you the night off. Regardless of you answering your phone or not, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. I was slipped something and it caused me to have a false heat?” Jimin didn’t know what to call it, “Do you think anyone else noticed anything?”
Hoseok shakes his head, “I don’t think so. There are photos floating on social media but the chatter is all positive. Honestly it just looks like you two were a couple eager to get home and be with one another.”
Jimin doesn’t know if he likes the sound of that, he needs to see these photos.
“Let me see.”
Jimin holds out his hand and Hoseok places his phone in it. His eyes scan the picture in front of him, taking in all the details. The alpha has his arm around Jimin, his head bent down slightly, like he is listening to Jimin speak. From the photo he can tell that his face is buried in the alpha’s neck, his hand holding on tight to the front of the alpha’s shirt. Hoseok is right— the photo definitely looks like a couple eagerly leaving the club to find somewhere more private.
There is no doubt about it, the alpha was telling the truth. But the thing most surprising to Jimin is that his omega apparently felt safe the entire time, and that was a little unsettling. Especially with the gaps in his memory, Jimin just knows that the alpha took care of him. That he didn’t take advantage of the situation at all.
“Cancel my schedule for the day— and tomorrow while you’re at it.” Jimin hands Hoseok back his phone. “Call my physician to come check me out. If there are any traces of whatever I was slipped left in my system, I want to know about it.”
“Right away, Prince Jimin.” Gone is his friend Hobi, and back is his personal assistant Hoseok. All business. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No,” Jimin shakes his head softly. “I think— I think I want to be alone for now.”
“Are you sure?” The omega nods his head. “Okay— I’ll get started on this right away.”
“Thank you.”
Jimin turns to look out his window as Hoseok leaves. He doesn’t know how long he spends standing there, just staring out into the city below. His mind is utter chaos and his feelings all over the place, he just doesn’t know what to think anymore. The alpha isn’t quite what he seems, and Jimin isn’t sure how he feels about that— his omega seems quite taken with him. Maybe there is more here than meets the eye? That, however, is a question for a different time.
Right now the bigger questions linger in Jimin’s mind. Who slipped him something? Who would benefit from Jimin falling into disgrace?
Yoongi kept his head down as exited the elevator, he gave a slight nod to the doorman and kept going. That infernal omega infuriates him to no end sometimes. He basically saved the Prince’s ass and what did he get in thanks? Beat up— that’s what he got. His shoulder smarts a little where the omega had smacked him. Repeatedly.
Once outside the building he takes a big gulp of fresh air, when he notices a familiar car parked down the street. Perfect. He can do the debriefing and get a ride home at the same time, multitasking at its finest.
Yoongi strolls up to the car, rapping his knuckles on the window, causing the man inside to jump. Which brings Yoongi a small amount of joy. At this point he will take what he can get.
The man rolls down his window. “What the hell do you want?”
“You. Owe. Me.” Yoongi crosses his arms in front of him. “You were too busy dickin’ down your boyfriend last night that he didn’t answer his fuckin’ phone.”
“Psh— it was his night off.” Seokjin waves his hand, like Yoongi’s words didn’t matter. “We had plans last night.” He waggled his eyebrows with a smirk on his face. Yoongi scoffs in disgust, he really didn’t need that mental image.
“Fuck you.” Yoongi retorts, reaching his arm in the window and hitting the button to unlock the door before wrenching it open and hopping inside. “Now we can either do the debriefing here or back at headquarters, I don’t care but can we do it quickly. I want to shower and go back to bed.”
“Does being saturated in the Prince’s scent have anything to do with the reason why you want to get out of here so quickly?”
Yoongi looked at Seokjin unamused. “Just drive.” Then after a moment of thought, “How do you know what the Prince’s scent is?”
“Oh, you forget, my dear Yoonie,” Seokjin is rewarded with a glare. “I know everything. And besides, I’m not going anywhere. My lovely boyfriend is still inside and I just can’t leave him behind. I am here for him, not you.”
“I swear to god if you start calling me Yoonie, I’ll sneak into your place and dull all your favorite knives.” Seokjin gasps dramatically, his eyes and mouth wide, hand on his chest. Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Your boyfriend is dealing with the Prince. I’m sure he’s getting reprimanded or some shit, it will probably be a while.”
“You know the Prince better than that, Yoonie”
BBRRIINNNGGG BBBRRRIIINNNGGG BRRRIIIINNNNGG
“There’s my darling now.” Seokjin answers the call, “Yes, apple of my eye, my truest love.”
“Sorry babe, I’m going to have to take a rain check on brunch. I need to handle a couple things for the Prince.”
Yoongi snorts, of course he’s already back to work.
“Oh— is that Yoongi I hear?”
“Yeah— he found me. Do you need me to drop you off at your office?”
“Hey!” Yoongi interrupted, “When I asked you to drop me off, you gave me a hard time!”
“Well, you don’t suck my dick now do you?” Seokjin retorted. “So, do you?”
“I already called Joon and he’s on his way. Thanks though, babe. Yoongi, are you still there?”
“Unfortunately.”
”Thank you again for taking care of the Prince. I absolutely dread what could’ve happened if you were not there.”
“Meh—” Yoongi really doesn’t like the attention, “I was just doing my job.” He much prefers to get in and out quietly.
“But still— thank you.” Hoseok says earnestly. “You be safe driving, babe, I love you! See you later at home.”
“I love you more!” Seokjin replies back before ending the call.
Yoongi fake throws up and Seokjin smacks him on the shoulder right where the Prince landed a hit earlier, causing him to wince. He sends his boss a glare as he rubs at the sore spot.
Seokjin rolls up the windows before pulling out onto the street, merging into the morning traffic. They drive in silence for a couple minutes.
“So— start talking.”
“Last night, the Prince was slipped something that appeared to mimic a false or pseudo heat. He was stumbling around, and his scent took on this spicy edge.” Yoongi wrinkles his nose as he remembers, “And he was so god damn clingy, plastered himself to my side and wouldn’t let go. Kept trying to scent me. So, I got him the hell out of there before anyone caught on that something was wrong.”
“Did you happen to see who did it?”
Yoongi shakes his head, “I would’ve led with that if I did. The Prince was fine when he went to the bathroom, and when he returned— he wasn’t. Does the club have any type of surveillance?”
“I already have Jungkook on it.” Seokjin effortlessly makes a right hand turn.
The alpha narrows his eyes, something is suspicious, how would Seokjin know to have Jungkook look into it already? “And pray, do tell. When did you tell Jungkook to start looking into it?”
“Last night.” Seokjin says with a smirk.
“You got to be fuckin’ kidding me.” Yoongi turns in his seat to glare at the man.
Seokjin smirks as he makes another turn. “Well, after Joon debriefed me, I knew something was up. So I messaged Kook and told him to look into the club’s surveillance.”
“So you knew I was at the Prince’s penthouse and did nothing about it?” Yoongi snarls. “You didn’t think to get me out of there or something? You fuckin’ left me there and he attacked me in the morning!”
“What were you doing to deserve being attacked, I wonder…” Yoongi gives him the finger. “Besides I hardly think the Prince did any lasting damage.” Seokjin laughed. “I knew you were in a safe place, if I thought you were in any danger, I would’ve gotten you out. I hardly think sleeping with a gorgeous omega is cause for alarm.”
Yoongi doesn’t even bother responding, instead he rolls his eyes before turning his attention out the window. Looking out towards the buildings as they drive past, his mind lost in thought. After last night he feels conflicted— confused even.
Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but the Prince is not quite who Yoongi thought he would be. Don’t get him wrong, the Prince is definitely spoiled, there is no doubt about that. But he’s maybe not as big of a spoiled brat that Yoongi originally thought. The Prince is actually quite kind, typically has a nice word for everyone, he keeps his cool and never intentionally makes a scene. The so-called ‘dossier’ that he got on the Prince seems all wrong, he’s not an ‘evil’ person like it made him out to be.
Bangtan Inc. was hired to get information on the Prince, stuff that could ruin the Prince’s reputation. Something so bad that he could be dropped from the line of royal succession; be blacklisted and have a ‘fall from grace’. The more time Yoongi spends with the Prince, the more he realizes that the Prince isn’t as bad as he seems. And the more that Yoongi thinks about it, the more he is starting to believe that maybe this job isn’t quite what it was described to be.
Why would Seokjin take a job like this? Normally they work to expose corrupt politicians and the like, but the Prince wasn’t corrupt… Did Seokjin make the right call when he accepted this job?
“Who hired us anyway?”
“You know that information is confidential.” Seokjin keeps his eyes focused on the road.
“Seokjin.”
“Don’t Seokjin me. You know I never reveal that information. It’s not pertinent to the job. You have the details you need, that should be good enough.”
“Yeah— but something just seems off.” Yoongi looks back off the windows. “I— I just have a gut feeling.”
“I know what you mean,” Seokjin says solemnly. “But keep doing what you’ve been doing. Let me handle the rest. You only got what like a month and a half left? You think you can last that long?”
“Yeah—” Seokjin stops the car in front of Yoongi’s apartment building. He hops out of the car. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Rest up and maybe wash up— you reek of omega.”
Yoongi gives him a two finger salute before heading inside. Trudging up a couple flights of stairs to get to his apartment, bemoaning why he picked out a place that didn’t have an elevator. He lets out a large groan when he finally makes it inside his apartment, finding comfort in the familiar four walls. His apartment might be modest and small but it was his— all his.
He makes a beeline for his bathroom, eager to take a shower to wash the sweat and scent of the night off of him. Just as he’s reaching for the knobs of the shower, something inside of him makes him stop. Yoongi’s alpha is going crazy, howling at the idea of washing away the omega’s scent. At war with himself, Yoongi steps away from the shower and his alpha instantly calms down. Maybe— he’ll just shower later?
“Fuck,” he groans, stomping out of his bathroom. Perhaps he just needs some food and then his alpha would be more amenable to taking a shower, and washing all traces of the royal omega off of his body.
Jimin double checks his appearance in the mirror, making sure nothing was out of place. His eye liner was sharp, his eyeshadow on point and a fitted suit that accentuated all of his best parts.He looked good— real good. He reaches for a bottle on the counter, but then hesitates. Scent enhancing cologne might be a little too much, especially since he’ll be in public and he should be hiding his scent anyway. He shakes his head at himself, not knowing why he would suddenly think scent enchanting cologne would be a good idea? He reaches for the box of heavy duty scent blocker patches.
“You can do this,” he tells himself in the mirror. “Just stick close to Mr. Min and everything will be okay. Don’t take anything that wasn’t open or prepared right in front of you. Everything will be just fine.”
It’s been a couple weeks since that incident at the club. Jimin and the alpha have ‘gone out’ since but it was a mix of ‘quiet nights in’ with artfully arranged photos showing glimpses of their time together, all taken at the royal palace. Small public outings, like to a cafe or diner. The public has been absolutely eating it up, Jimin and the alpha were almost always trending for one thing or another.
Tonight, however, was different. This will be the first ‘big’ outing since that night. To say Jimin is a little nervous is an understatement. There will be a lot more people around— what if he got slipped something again? What if something happened to the alpha and he wouldn’t be there to help him out this time? Jimin knows he was being a little dramatic, but it’s just how his mind works at times. And right now he is starting to spiral.
Even after the investigation, they were still not able to figure out who had slipped the Prince something. They could pinpoint the general timeline, but the culprit was still at large. Hence Jimin had become a little paranoid about his food and drink; especially when out with others or in a new place. Jimin decided not to tell his parents about the incident because mostly he didn’t want to listen to their criticism.
The first time they went out to dinner after the incident, Jimin almost had a panic attack in public. When the food and drinks came out, he found that he couldn’t even try it, worried that there could possibly be something in it. The alpha surprisingly (or, well, maybe unsurprisingly) rolled with it, taking a bite of each food item and a sip from his cup.
To those watching their every move, it just looked like a cute couple sharing their food. Whereas Jimin knew what it really was— it was the alpha showing him that the food and drink were safe to consume. It calmed his omega like no other. And in his mind Jimin started to refer to him as ‘Yoongi’ after that.
Things felt different between them after that. Jimin started to see Yoongi in a different light, like maybe the alpha wasn’t so bad after all. Of course they still bickered, but it wasn’t as sharp and biting as it was before, and there was a certain type of softness under their words, a familiarity that was comforting.
Jimin found himself becoming more and more comfortable in the alpha’s presence. His omega preening any time that they spent time together. It was something that he tried to ignore, but it was hard when he and Yoongi had to portray a certain amount of ‘affection’ in public. It made the lines blurry and sometimes Jimin had trouble remembering that everything was fake.
“You almost done in there, Prince Jimin? We only have a couple minutes before we are supposed to leave!” Hoseok knocks on the door to the bathroom.
“Coming!” Jimin takes one final look at himself. Satisfied, he hurries out of the bathroom.
“Oh, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.” Hoseok’s eyes grow wide as he claps his hands excitedly at Jimin’s appearance. “You are going to be trending on all of the pages. Just you wait and see.” His phone vibrates in his hand, “Ah— perfect. Our ride is already here. Let’s go.”
His driver, Namjoon, is standing there waiting for them. As they approach, the tall man holds open the back door to the large SUV, helping Jimin inside. Hoseok hops into the front seat, already pulling out his phone and mumbling as he scrolls. Namjoon pulls away from the curb and slowly merges into traffic.
Jimin tries to act nonchalant, looking out the corner of his eye at the Alpha in the seat next to him. Of course Yoongi would clean up well; he looked especially delectable in his black suit. Not that Jimin had seen him actually wear any other color than black. His hair was styled away from his forehead, light make up on his face naturally enhancing his best features.
“Alright,” Hoseok claps his hands from the front seat. “Let’s go over the itinerary for the evening. When we arrive, it will be cocktail hour. Get your drinks and mingle with others. There will be a great photo op by the fountain, so let’s make sure we get a photo. After that there’s the charity dinner. Taehyung will be at your table, Prince Jimin, so you’ll have someone there that you know. The night will end with the band and some dancing. And then another couple of photo ops, after which you both will be home free. Any questions?”
“No.” Jimin murmurs, his fingers tapping on his leg, betraying his nervousness. He feels Yoongi’s eyes on him for a brief moment. It’s the first ‘big’ night out since the club.
The rest of the ride passes uneventfully, Hoseok chiming with information on different attendees, who Jimin should try and speak with and who to avoid. The SUV pulls up to the ‘red carpet’ and comes to a stop. Yoongi gets out first and walks around to Jimin’s side of the car. The alpha opens up the door and holds out his hand. Without hesitation, Jimin takes it, linking their fingers together as he steps out of the SUV. Together they face the onslaught of bright lights as the cameras go off and words are screamed at them.
Jimin puts on his royal persona; a smile plastered on his face as they make their way down the red carpet. They stop to pose for photos as they continue, Yoongi a steady presence by his side.
Once they make it into the venue, there is a brief reprieve. Yoongi gives his hand a small squeeze and then they are off again. Jimin smiles and talks to the key people of the evening. The ones that Hoseok briefed him on earlier in the SUV. Yoongi stays by his side throughout all of it, mostly silent but making noises of agreement here and there. If this was a couple weeks ago, Jimin would’ve been annoyed beyond belief but now he takes strength from it.
A server walks by handing them two flutes of champagne and, wordlessly, Yoongi takes both their drinks in hand. He takes a sip from both of them before handing one over to Jimin. He offers a smile of thanks, taking a small sip of the bubbly liquid.
“Chim! Chimmy!” The smile that appears on Jimin’s face this time is genuine. A soft grunt leaves him when Taehyung throws his arms around him. “I’ve missed you.”
“Cut it out, Tae,” Jimin bemoans good-naturedly, but doesn’t make any attempt to push the alpha off, instead squeezing him tight. He’s missed his best friend so much. Things are not the same when he is gone.
“So is this your alpha?” Taehyung asks with a smirk when he pulls away. He eyes Yoongi up and down, “I guess he is passable.”
“Tae,” Jimin warns.
“Fine. Let’s go to our table.” Taehyung links their arms together and off they go. Jimin looks back over his shoulder to see Yoongi staring after them, nonplussed but following them nonetheless. When he sees Jimin’s eyes on him, the alpha smirks and raises his brow, Jimin quickly turns back around.
As they are walking Taehyung leans in close whispering, “I know that I’ve seen pictures of your alpha, but they don’t do him any justice. So— when are you going to go for that, my darling Chim? Make the most of the situation.”
“He’s not my alpha,” Jimin nervously looks around, making sure no one can hear them. “Cut it out!”
“Whatever you say, darling.”
Yoongi cannot help but stare as he watches the duo saunter off. It really should be illegal or something for the Prince to be wearing a suit like that, the way it hugs his ass…
“You’re staring there. Might want to wipe the drool – that I know is there – away from your mouth.”
It takes everything in him to not roll his eyes, or say a response back. Instead he turns towards one of the many mirrors in the hall and wordlessly ‘gives himself’ the finger; resulting in incoming laughter from the small earwig in his ear. Yoongi cannot wait for this evening to be over, so he can get rid of the annoying voices in his ear for the night.
With a silent sigh, he hurries after the duo, arriving just in time to pull the seat out for the Prince. He is rewarded with a soft smile, and he can hear the teasing erupt in his ear once again. He wants nothing more than to rip the earwig from his ear. This is going to be a long, long night…
Especially since Seokjin and Jungkook seem to have decided that Yoongi is their entertainment for the evening, even though they are on a ‘job.’
The servers drop off another round of drinks and without even thinking, Yoongi reaches for a glass, taking the first sip before sitting it down in front of the omega. He misses the way that Taehyung’s eyebrow raises at the gesture, because Yoongi’s eyes are already scanning the room. Making sure to take in all the different entrances and exits; noting where certain Lords and Ladies are sitting.
“Yoongi look towards your three o’clock at the pair in yellow at the table two over from yours.”
Yoongi discreetly turns his head at Seokjin’s instructions. Silently observing the alpha-omega female pair together, he tries to figure out what his boss could possibly want from watching them. They seem like a normal couple, nothing out of the ordinary— then a male omega approaches, kissing the female alpha on the cheek and taking a seat at the table.
“Ah— now you get it. The pair in yellow are not a couple. The male omega is Lord Hwang married to Lady Choi. But Lady Choi is extremely close to Lady Baek. There have been rumors…”
He watches them for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the Prince and his friend. Yoongi is quite sure he’s never seen the Prince so animated before nor this relaxed in a public setting. Oftentimes the omega has a mask on, not really showing any emotion and trying to ‘act proper’ at all times. It’s refreshing to see him relaxing a little, or relaxing as much as he can, given who he is and where they are at.
The last couple of weeks, Yoongi’s attitude towards the Prince has gradually changed. Don’t get him wrong, he still finds the omega infuriating beyond belief most days, but it’s not as off putting as it was before. Not that he would admit it, but Yoongi has found himself enjoying the Prince’s company. The omega has a certain wit and charm about him that just melds so well with his own personality.
The more time they spend together, the more it makes Yoongi confused as to why someone (or someones) would want to ‘ruin’ the omega. Who wants to see the Prince fall? Things are just not adding up.
Dinner goes off without a hitch, Yoongi makes sure to take a bite of everything off the Prince’s plate and tries to ignore the way the omega’s soft smiles make him feel. It doesn’t help that Seokjin and Jungkook keep a running commentary going in his ear. And much to Yoongi’s surprise, Taehyung was actually great company for the dinner. Regaling the whole table with stories of his travels and keeping everyone engaged and the attention off of the Prince.
After the dinner, the band for the night takes the stage and the drinks begin to flow more heavily. Yoongi watches in slightly stunned silence as the ‘upper class,’ ‘the rich of the rich,’ get rip-roaring drunk. Their inhibitions loosening as the night carries on.
The Prince spends some time dancing with Taehyung, but always returns to Yoongi’s side when he isn’t with his friend. Yoongi knows they should probably take a turn on the dance floor together, but before he can say anything the Prince speaks up.
“Hoseok sent me a message, something about the gardens being extremely pretty at this time of night with all the lights and whatnot. Says it’s a perfect photo opportunity.”
Yoongi can hear Seokjin and Jungkook laughing in his ear, which he pointedly ignores. The alpha doesn’t say a word, instead holding out his arm for the Prince to take as they make their way outside to the gardens.
“Wow.” Jungkook’s voice says in awe.
Wow indeed. There are strings of lights hanging above, fairy lights looped around various poles and the small fountain in the center that slowly changes colors. It was truly a sight, magical, ethereal even. Yoongi has to give Hoseok props when props are due— this scene will make for a beautiful picture.
“So how are we going to do this?” Yoongi asks as he looks around. It is just the two of them out here.
“I thought maybe we would do a selfie? Or I can prop up my phone here,” the Prince points to a little bench near the fountain, “and we could set a timer.”
“Alright.”
“Let’s try the selfie first. Come here.” The Prince pulls Yoongi towards the fountain, making sure they are standing close together. He holds out his phone but frowns, “You need to be closer, put your head right next to mine.”
Yoongi doesn’t try to hide the roll of his eyes which causes the Prince to giggle. The omega takes a couple selfies, making sure to assess them each time and making minor adjustments to their poses. However after the last selfie, the Prince turns his head towards Yoongi a little too quickly and freezes.
The heart in Yoongi’s chest starts to quicken. The Prince has been standing close to him the entire time but this is different. His face is right in front of Yoongi. It would only take a small lean forward and then their lips would touch. The Prince stares at him, his eyes wide, searching. Without even thinking, Yoongi raises his hand up to cup the Prince’s cheek. A soft gasp leaves the omega.
The alpha takes a small step forward, pressing them even closer together. Just as he starts to lean forward, Yoongi notices something red on the omega’s face. Yoongi’s brows furrow for a moment, that doesn’t make any sense— none of the lights here are red. Yoongi’s eyes widen in realization and a split second later, he yanks them both to the ground right as a shot lets out.