｡꙳☼moon jar｡☽ ｡꙳|| jikook ||

｡꙳☼8｡☽ ｡꙳

Jimin shouldn't be agitated. But he is.

He watches the branding iron as it starts to glow in the burner, Minjun stoking the embers occasionally.

Jungkook, on the other hand, doesn't seem bothered at all. He's sitting on the steps that line the inside of the courtyard, his chin propped on his palms.

He still isn't wearing a shirt.

Jimin wants to ask about his tattoos. Maybe it would help distract him from what's about to happen, but he doesn't really feel like they’re close enough that he can. So instead he paces.

Jimin's rational brain knows that the pack brand isn't a big deal. Pups get branded at thirteen and barely squeal and Jungkook also clearly has a high pain tolerance given the ink all over his skin.

So, there’s no reason for Jimin to be so agitated about it. But he is.

He's somehow feeling instinctively like Minjun is a threat and is hyper alert to him, desperately holding a snarl from breaking free every time Minjun turns the branding iron.

'Fuck. Jimin, can you calm the fuck down please? You're making me want to shift!'

'What?' He snaps his head up and meets Minjun's eyes.

'You, this,' he gestures, 'I can sense you're like one step from challenging me and it's making me restless. Can you try and calm down please? Your overgrown pup will be fine, look at him! Gods.'

'I'm not…it's not…' Jimin looks at Jungkook as he stutters and is further humiliated to see how annoyed he looks.

'Sure.’ Minjun grimaces. ‘Why don't you shift? Might make you feel better.'

'Oh, no, it's OK.'

Minjun is probably right but he somehow feels like Jungkook would hate that even more.

'Look, your bond's fresh, you're sensitive - I get it,' Minjun sighs, straightening up, 'but we're going to end up scrapping and we need to get this done. Maybe you could just leave?'

Jimin feels a snarl rip out of his throat before he can even think and he's suddenly squaring up to Minjun.

'I'm not leaving him alone with you!' He growls.

'Well, maybe–'

'--Jimin?'

Jimin immediately gulps in a lungful of air at the sound of Jungkook's voice. He tries to form his face into a calmer expression and then turns around slowly.

'I–' He starts.

'--it's OK. Will you come sit here with me?' Jungkook asks, his voice measured and calm.

Jimin takes another deep breath and sits next to him on the steps.

Minjun cracks his neck and turns back to the fire with an eye roll.

Jimin's kind of mortified. His reaction would be fine if they really did have a bond, which they don't, and which Jungkook is obviously well aware of.

'You, uh, you think that little brand is going to be a problem for me?' Jungkook murmurs next to him. 'Look at me!'

'Yeah, yeah you're very strong I know–'

'--no, I mean yes, but I meant my tattoos…look.' He says and Jimin lifts his head and looks where he’s pointing to his elbow. 'This is one of the most painful places to have a tattoo - people literally pass out - and mine is totally filled in. It hurt, but I was fine.'

Jimin looks at it, the tattoo depicts a sun, completely filled in black in the middle with waves of rays radiating outwards. The centre of the sun sits at the point of Jungkook's elbow.

'Hmm.'

'And this one,' Jungkook gestures to his neck, where leaves and flowers spread up from his shoulder to behind his ear, 'anything face and neck is bad too, all fine. I'll be fine, OK?'

'I know, I'm sorry…it wasn't what it seemed. Just Minjun pissing me off…' Jimin adds, lamely, trying to cover for his weird behaviour at least a little.

Minjun snorts from the fire, definitely having heard him.

'OK, this is ready,' he says, spitting onto the iron brand which hisses, 'you gonna behave Jimin or does Jiyoon need to come over and hold you back?'

'He's going to behave,' Jungkook answers, making Jimin flush red, 'because that alpha posturing is fucking gross. Right?'

Minjun howls with laughter.

'Come on then, pup. So, the pack brand is a moon, right, it looks like this completed,' he gestures at his own mark, 'but you'll get the crescent now and then we'll fill in the rest at a full moon ceremony if you stick around and get fully accepted. All clear?'

'A moon, how original,' Jungkook sighs.

Jimin tenses and watches Minjun scowl, hand hovering above the branding iron.

'And how human, to prize originality above unity and tradition,' a voice cuts in.

They all whip their heads around to see Namjoon coming out of the record office, Yoongi beside him, head ducked.

'I mean, it looks like something from the cover of twilight but go off,' Jungkook shrugs.

Namjoon just laughs and gestures for Yoongi to sit next to Jungkook.

'You alright, Min? You stink?' Namjoon asks, peering at Jimin curiously.

'Stressing out about me hurting his omega,' Minjun snorts, 'you might wanna hold him for this.'

As Minjun approaches Jungkook with the branding iron, white hot at the tip, Jimin is so fucking grateful Jungkook doesn't have any wolf senses yet. Stress and anguish roll off him in waves and he can tell everybody else in the vicinity is affected by it.

Yoongi in particular seems to get worked up and anxious in response, darting furtive looks at Jimin like he's a bomb set to detonate.

The only person unaffected is Jungkook, who takes the pack brand - pressed into the top of his arm - like he barely feels it. He even watches with seeming curiosity as the brand makes contact with his skin.

'Well, fuck, that hurts like a bitch,' he grins as the iron is pulled away, leaving a red crescent scar cauterised into his skin.

'Leave it for three days, no water anywhere near it. After that you can apply balm.' Minjun nods, returning the iron to the fire. 'You next, little thing?' He turns to Yoongi who nods, still shaking like a leaf and shooting furtive glances at Jimin.

Jimin focuses on breathing and forcing his heart rate back to normal.

Yoongi unties the front of his shirt and lets one side fall off his shoulder revealing the top of his arm.

Jimin shoots a look at Namjoon in surprise. There are three marks on Yoongi's arm, two already burned through and one in the shape of an eye.

Minjun turns and assesses him too.

'Huh, we'll cauterise that one first,' he shrugs, 'then do the brand. Same arm?'

'Yeah,' Yoongi nods, 'same is fine.'