Detonate Me, Granulate Me | BTS

Chapter 15

It's already July, hot, sweltering July, before the thought crosses Jungkook's mind.

Honestly, everything here is pretty much covered for, save for the lack of space. Yoongi and Namjoon provide for them pretty damn well, considering that they have absolutely no obligation to do anything for the three of them. They are patient with their explanations when any of them have questions (Namjoon more so that Yoongi, who just grunts and waves them off in Namjoon's direction) and keep the three of them updated on stuff happening within Paradisus.

The only thing they haven't touched on—and Jungkook doesn't know if it's because they're not familiar with it, don't know the answer, or just Jungkook crossed their minds—is the question of what happens to Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin's heats now that they're no longer receiving inducement shots.

If they were still in Paradisus, Jungkook would be receiving his second inducement of the year now. The others in his grade would've just completed their July gradings, which means two weeks of scheduled inducements following right after.

Evidently, Jungkook's uneasiness shows, because Taehyung comes up to Jungkook when he's at the kitchen table, chopping up the tomatoes for the dinner stew, and leans against the counter, resting on his elbows.

"Hey," Taehyung says, grinning, bright green eyes searching Jungkook's face. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Jungkook says, biting his lower lip. "It's just..." His tail flicks, catching the tip of Taehyung's tail, curling around it, and Taehyung laughs in understanding.

"You're worried about your heat," he says softly. "You were scheduled for inducement soon, weren't you?"

Jungkook nods, setting the knife down. "Neither Namjoon or Yoongi have mentioned anything about it. Should we... Should we ask?"

This is how the five of them end up sitting around the dining table that night, an awkward silence hanging over them.

"So," Taehyung says cheerily. "Heats!"

Namjoon raises his eyebrows when Taehyung doesn't elaborate. "Heats?"

"What he means," Jungkook murmurs, face buried in his hands, "is what's going to happen to our heats now that we're not getting induced? I was due for inducement this month. Are you going to induce us or...?"

Namjoon and Yoongi exchange looks.

"Well," Namjoon starts, slowly. "This is a little embarrassing, but we don't have the drugs they use for inducement, so we can't do it."

"What?" Jimin blurts out, eyes wide. "Wait, so what's going to happen to us?"

"Calm down," Namjoon says, waving his hands around and looking each of them in the eye. "Seokjin told us was that the inducements aren't necessary. You won't die if you don't get induced, nothing will happen. They just did it because they wanted all the Hybrida to be predictable in their cycles instead of having rough sex all the time on every surface imaginable." Taehyung shuffles, giggling, Jimin coughs a little, cheeks flushed, and Jungkook can't look either of them in the eye.

"What's wrong with you?" Yoongi asks, quirking an eyebrow. "You're acting like you've never talked about this before."

"We don't..." Jungkook glances at Taehyung. "Well, we weren't really allowed to talk about it outside of our heat partners. It was a bit of a taboo within Paradisus. Everyone knows it happens, but none of us really discuss it."

"Whatever, we're not going do that here," Yoongi says, shrugging. "Nothing is off-limits. Talk about whatever you want. Do whatever you want, just don't break the furniture. We're not here for your censorship or to suppress your..." Yoongi narrows his eyes, and Jungkook feels himself shrinking under Yoongi's gaze. "Animalistic urges," he finishes delicately.

"Does that mean we're allowed to pee on our territory?" Taehyung pipes up, and everyone turns to stare at him. "What about scratching the furniture to keep our claws sharp? Just asking."

"The only thing is," Namjoon interjects, ignoring Taehyung's ridiculous questions, "we're not quite sure how your body will react to a natural heat instead of an induced one. So, uh, if you feel weird, feverish or hot or dizzy or anything, come to me, hmm?"

"Yessir," Taehyung singsongs, saluting Namjoon, and Namjoon nods, clapping his hands together once and getting out of his seat.

"We're going to finish off coding some sequences now. Let me know if you need anything else."

Then Namjoon and Yoongi are gone, heading back upstairs to their labs, and it's just the three of them sitting around the table, Jungkook almost melting into his chair from mortification.

"So," Jimin says, clearing his throat. "I've always been kind of curious. I know you've kind of mentioned them before, way back when we were still in Paradisus, but what are Felidae heats actually like?"

"Fun," Taehyung says, without missing a beat. He loops his arm around Jungkook's neck, bringing Jungkook close in, and grins. "It's the only time that this one lets me have my way with him." Jungkook buries his head in his hands again, tip of his ears hot.

"So I guess," Jimin waves his hand between the two of them and tries to keep his tone casual, but the way he shifts in his seat and flattens his ears is anything but. "You're exclusive? What they call, uh, heat partners or something?"

"My one and only," Taehyung says proudly. Jungkook looks up at this moment to find Jimin's eyes focused on him, an intense, blue piercing gaze. Jungkook whips his head away. Oh god. Jimin is probably imagining the two of them in heat, fucking each other into the mattress. Jungkook's sure that his entire face has just gone a couple of shades redder. "What about you?"

Jimin laughs. "I never had a heat partner. Dealt with it myself—and probably for the better too, considering there are no Canidae around here."

"Hey," Taehyung says, flicking his tail in Jimin's face playfully. "Who says the heat partners have to be between the same Domus?" Taehyung waggles his eyebrows. Jimin gives Taehyung a pointed look while Jungkook slinks further down in his chair, crying inside. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I don't have an actual cat dick or anything. That shit is barbed. Just saying."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Jimin asks, batting Taehyung's tail away as he flicks it in Jimin's face again, and Taehyung simply gives him a very, very wide grin, yawning and stretching out on the table. "I, uh," Jimin flushes again, scratching the back of his neck. "You know how long Canidae heats last for, right?"

"A couple of days? Nothing we can't handle," Taehyung says dismissively. Jungkook punches Taehyung in the arm, and Jimin breaks out into a coughing fit.

"With..." Jimin glances over at Jungkook. "With Jungkook?"

"He should've been a Canidae," Jungkook moans. "He should've been a fucking Canidae."

Taehyung shrugs. "Hey, it'll be fine. Friends help each other out in times of need, yeah?"

"I guess," Jimin says, locking eyes with Jungkook, and Jungkook feels a full body shiver run down his spine. The corner of Jimin's lip curls up into a smirk, and Jungkook can't stop his heart from thumping in his chest. "Yeah. I'm okay with it if you are. But we don't even know what's going to happen, now that we're not sticking to our inducement schedule. We might not react the same way we usually do. It could be completely unpredictable."

"Well then," Taehyung says, looking Jimin up and down, shit-eating grin on his face. He thumps Jungkook on the back, rubbing circles near his shoulder blades, and Jungkook lets out a sigh of defeat. "Whatever happens, bring it on."