Chapter Text
No texts.
That was okay, he knew it did not have a deeper meaning than they were busy, just like he had been this whole time.
It really did not matter, he’d be seeing them in just a few hours so he did not need texts when soon he would have their voices, their scents and their arms around him and that was so much better than a ‘how are you’ text that was just standard.
He packed the last of the items he had brought to this ‘training camp’ his company had sent him to. He was still rather annoyed about it as he was pretty sure he did not need it. The company had decided that Jungkook did not have ‘enough attitude’ on stage since he presented and they had ‘ignored’ the fact and stopped him sometimes being given rap lines and made him vocals only but this comeback- that was rapidly approaching- he had wanted to be allowed to rap again and this was the company's compromise. Jungkook had to go to this ‘rap camp for omegas’ to learn how to have more ‘attitude’ on stage. Really it was the company assuming that since he was an omega he was sweet and gentle and typically he was when he was not working but when he was working he behaved however he was asked to.
He did not tell his mates all about this, he said the company offered him a chance to develop his skills and he took it, something they had all done over the years for various reasons and they understood that decision and supported it.
After a week away from his pack though he was really regretting listening to the company and their assumptions on omegas and what he needed to do to be the best idol he possibly could for ARMY. He felt as if he learned nothing that his Hyungs could have just taught him and most of the stuff he knew already so all he had really done was put himself through a week of being away from his pack wallowing in misery without his pack- something he hated with his whole being. He had been with them almost every day of his life since being a thirteen year old pup who walked into their shared dorm before Jimin and Taehyung were even trainees at BigHit and they were not even a pack yet.
Namjoon had presented at that point, slightly early at around fifteen and a half, presenting at the same time as Hoseok who was only a few months older than him and had recently turned sixteen. Yoongi had been an alpha for about a year when Jungkook had joined them and Seokjin who joined a few days after days later had been a beta for just over a year. That was when they had first started to become a sort of pack- a natural occurrence from the older members being of the age people start to form a pack and they got along so easily that it felt natural for them to choose each other. Jungkook had not joined then as pups did not but they cared for him as if he was part of the pack and they made sure he never felt left out- if an alpha got a rut then at least one of the betas stayed with him at all time and whenever there was a pack decision to be made they encouraged him to tell them what he wanted as they could all see him being part of their in the future. At the time they all wanted him to join and thought of it being a very platonic pack, caring and loving for him but not in a romantic sense, that part of their relationship did not take form until after he presented, slightly late at eighteen as an omega.
Taehyung and Jimin had also joined them as pups, in that order a year apart and it had always know that the two of them would be together and there was a strong sense that they would also be romantically involved with Jungkook but it was never spoken of or acted on until after the youngest presented. Jimin had presented a month after his birthday and Taehyung presented a month before his seventeenth birthday, the same time as Jimin and they went through it together- both presenting as an alpha at the same time.
They had all been so happy with their set up from the beginning, Jungkook could not think of a better pack to belong to and until he presented he never questioned it, he was always so content and happy. When he presented he was happy for the first two weeks before he had to tell the company what he presented as and they decided to not mention to ARMY that he presents ‘until we figure out the best way to tell them’ which they tried to convince the pack was them trying to make something out of telling their fans that the final member of BTS had presented but Jungkook did not fall for it, he saw the disappointment in the members of BigHit and worry over the fans that might stop following them as they had spent years imagining an alpha Jungkook, with fanfiction and fanart all over the internet of it- despite Jungkook always showing signs of being an omega since he was very young.
They were not wrong to be worried either, there were many fans who were upset that Jungkook was not an alpha- it ruined the fantasy that filled their heads, as if Jungkook being an alpha would aid in them being together when there was never any chance of Jungkook being with any of these people. That did not matter though, many people were unhappy with him being an omega and despite being aware there were still negative stereotypes around omegas he never realised the prevalence of these stereotypes and it was the first time he started to feel insecure about who he was and worried about if he was good enough to be part of BTS if they lost support over him presenting and how it could affect them as a pack.
His hyungs always supported him through it all though and they always helped him when his insecurities hit and after what the company had done to him- sending him away for unnecessary training- he really needed their reassurance and support.
So it did not matter that they had not texted him since last night so even texted him all that much while he was away because they were very busy at the minute and that is what happened sometimes with the job that they had and he really did understand that- even if it stung a little bit.
Tonight though he would have a bath- probably drag one of his hyungs in with him as he did not feel like being alone- and they would all curl up together after watching a movie with homemade food before he would either sleep in their main nest with them (the first thing he did as an omega and had remade more time than he could count) or he would sleep in one of their beds with at least one extra hyung with him and forget about this week and everything that it entailed.
So he put his phone away and finished packing up before heading to his car, ready to drive home as quick as he could- without breaking the speed limit of course.
~~~~~~~~
Getting back home was the best feeling in the world, for all of a minute.
He stepped through the door and the first thing he did was take in a deep breath and smile lightly as he took in the scents of his mates, a small purr escaping him as he took his shoes off- put them to the side- and then took his jacket off before walking further into the house.
“Hyungs?” He called out as none of them came to see him, they normally picked up on his scent and ran over to him and while that was really overwhelming for him and often did more harm than good he would be lying if he said he had not looked forward to it this time- maybe even needed it.
“Kookie, is that you, baby?” He heard Jin say as said beta walked out of the kitchen with Hoseok following him, “Hello, my love, welcome home.”
Jungkook smiled and dropped his bag on the floor before running over to Jin and Hoseok, wrapping his arms around them, already forgetting everything he had been going through for the past week.
“Hey, sweetie,” Hoseok said, kissing the top of his head and smiling brightly, “We missed you,” He said as he held him closer.
Did they though? Jungkook felt guilty for thinking that but where were Jimin, Taehyung, Namjoon and Yoongi? “I missed you too,” He said as he pulled back from the hug so he could look at them, “Where are the others? Are they still at work?” He asked, never had they all failed to be here when one of them returned home from being away, all of them desiring to be united again after any time apart.
“They are out today, Jimin and Taehyung were a little bit restless after working so much recently so Namjoon and Yoongi took them back. They will be back soon which is why I have started cooking dinner for us all.” Jin said as he turned to head back into the kitchen, checking on what he was making.
“Oh, okay,” Jungkook said, glad his scent was still blocked, he had worn scent blockers while at the camp, hoping to avoid some of the prejudices of others if he at least did not smell an omega. Since he had not taken them off yet so any negative feelings he had would not show them in his scent- all he had to do was not show them on his face now. “I’m really excited to see them, I’ve missed you all,” he said as he followed Jin but stayed close to Hoseok, wanting to at least have the two of them if he could not have all of his mates.
“We did too,” Hoseok said as he took Jungkook’s hand and walked him into the kitchen. The kitchen had a small table in the middle for when they had breakfast and did not have time to set the dining room before work. Jungkook normally had blankets on the backs of the chairs so at least it was more cosy for them all when they did not have much time- wanting them to at least have some small comforts.
Only, now they were not there. The blankets that he placed in the room were gone and the room was devoid of his small editions to give his mates comfort. He thought they had liked the change when he had started adding them, but he guessed maybe they did not like the change to the kitchen table. He kind of wished they told him earlier and just spoke about it but he pushed it to the side and sat on the counter by Jin.
“Kookie, I need that space, please sit at the table,” Jin said, lightly nudging his youngest mate, needing all the bench space he could prepare their meal better, after all he was making enough to feed all seven of them and with the appetite of his mates Jin had to make a banquet nearly every meal.
“Okay,” Jungkook said, biting his lip to prevent himself from frowning at Jin wanting him to move away. He had not let go of Hoseok’s hand this whole time and he moved to cuddle into the younger of the two beta, starting to feel a little bit more insecure than before.
“Do you need help plating up?” Hoseok asked Jin, letting go of Jungkook’s hand, “Kookie, can you go set up the dining room table?” He asked their omega with a smile.
“Of course,” Jungkook said with a small nod, his heart clenching as he was now asked to even be in a separate room from his mates and alone again. Although, he guessed he was exaggerating a little bit, acting like he was being sent away all over again when all he was doing was setting the table for them in the next room.
He walked out of the room and into the next one to start setting the table when he noticed another one of his changes were gone. Normally there would be a soft carpet under the table, something Jungkook had bought as he really liked something soft beneath his feet and he felt like it made the place seem softer and nicer, but now it was gone.
‘Stop it,’ Jungkook thought to himself, ‘you’re making things out of nothing, there will be very reasonable explanations and they’ll tell you later when they catch you up on anything you have missed’ he thought, not wanting to let his insecurities make a mess for himself or his pack. He had just come home and he knew his mates would have been busy when he was away with their comeback not being far off, they did not have the time to deal with any silly insecurities that he had.
As he finished setting the table he heard the main door opening and he felt his spirits rais again, running out of the room to go and see his alphas, knowing it was them by their scents already filling the house. He was sure his insecurities would be all better now that he had all of them with him, he was probably just feeling insecure and making a big deal out of nothing because he had missed them and he always felt shaky without them around him.
As he walked out to see them he saw Jin with Tae and Jimin held tightly in his arms, and he was sure it was once again his insecurities acting up but he was sure Jin was holding them closer and tighter than he had been.
“Alphas?” Jungkook said, a little worried about approaching them since they had not seemed to notice him, which was so unlike them, especially Jimin and Taehyung. Normally they would get excited and grab him the second he saw them after only being away from him for an hour or more, yet right now they were cuddled into Jin and had not even looked over to him. Namjoon and Yoongi had not acknowledged him just yet either, it was like in the space of a week his pack got used to him not being there, were used to him being gone and were happy with just having each other. Maybe they did not want him in the pack as much as he always thought they did.
“Jungkook, you’re back,” Yoongi said, not noticing Jungkook’s flinching at the use of his real name rather than a shortened version or a cute nickname like he was so used to. “How was the camp? Did you learn much? I heard it is a really good camp.”
“Yeah, it was amazing, I learned a lot from them,” Jungkook said, seeing Yoongi look so happy and excited about the camp he could not tell him how awful it was, how he felt worthless the whole time and like he held no value, “But I really missed you guys, I’m glad to be home.”
“We’re glad your home to, Koo, this place just is not the same without you,” Jimin said as he and Taehyung finally came over time and wrapped their arms around him.
“Well I’m back now,” Jungkook said as he cuddled into him, taking in their scents to try and feel a little bit more settled and like himself again.
“Come on guys, time for food,” Jin said as he took Taehyung’s hand and lightly pulled him away from Jungkook, “Let me feed my pups.”
Jungkook bit back a whimper as Taehyung was taken away from him, clutching onto Jimin’s hand, he really needed some contact with one of his mates right now, a grounding force to make him feel like he really was wanted here.
“Come on Kookie, let’s get you some homemade food, I bet you miss Jin-Hyung’s cooking while away,” Jimin said as he pulled Jungkook behind him into the dining room, “I’m going to make sure you eat so much food.”
“We’ll be back in a little bit, we’re going to get changed,” Namjoon said, speaking for the first time since entering the house, before walking away from them with Yoongi without approaching Jungkook to give him a hug or even say hi to him.
‘Maybe they’re not happy that I’m home,’ Jungkook thought as he continued letting Jimin guide him, thinking even if no one else was happy at least Jimin seemed to want him around, he just hoped that would last.