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Heard Them Talk

Summary:

The guy reaches for Namjoon’s tail again and Jeongguk can’t take minding his own business anymore. Gym bag thrown to the ground, his feet carry him forward in a thoughtless fury.
“Don’t fucking touch my boyfriend!” he hollers and shoves the guy’s hand away.

Notes:

hi!! so as you'll see, daemons in this au aren't quite the same as the traditional/original version of them, mainly that they don't talk, but a lot of things are similar, and they're more tied to the person's essence than the traditional idea of familiars, so I went with calling them daemons. ANYWAY I'm having a lot of fun writing all the tropes and not giving the damns so I hope you enjoy <3

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

 

“I told you not to fucking touch me,” Namjoon hisses, trying to slide sideways along the concrete wall to escape.

“What’re you gonna do?” The guy laughs a big jackass laugh and elbows his big jackass friend. “Cute little kitty kitty.”

The guy reaches for Namjoon’s tail again and Jeongguk can’t take minding his own business anymore. Gym bag thrown to the ground, his feet carry him forward in a thoughtless fury.

“Don’t fucking touch my boyfriend!” he hollers and shoves the guy’s hand away.

He stumbles back, pissed, but Jeongguk still has his rugby uniform on and a wild look on his face. The black eye from last week’s game probably helps. And the tattoos. And the mis-founded notion everyone’s created about him over the years that he's never bothered to correct.

“The hybrid is your boyfriend?” The guy looks doubtful, tries to laugh like the idea is ridiculous.

“Yeah he fuckin’ is,” Jeongguk answers, a little terrified now that he’s involved himself but he winds an arm through Namjoon’s and gives his best I’ll-fuck-you-up look. “If someone says don’t touch me, you don’t fucking touch,” he says through gritted teeth and wonders if Namjoon can feel him shaking.

The guy rolls his eyes, friend already acting too bored for a lecture, scrolling through his phone a few feet away. “Fuck off,” the guy mutters, uninterested in fighting someone who could actually win. He strolls off to catch up with his friend. They almost never want to fight, once he starts it.

“Sorry,” Jeongguk tugs his arm free from Namjoon's, too embarrassed to look at him now that the moment has passed. Covers it in a practiced nonchalant scowl. “Sorry, you probably didn’t need me to do that, I shouldn’t-“

But Namjoon catches his hand to keep him from leaving. “Please stay. It’d be a lot easier for me if they like, really think we’re dating. Just until they leave?”

Humiliation clings around his eyes, but relief too. Maybe a little bit of fear, and Jeongguk remembers his reputation all over again. Namjoon’s tail is swishing in irritation behind him, rounded brown ears still flattened back against his head. “I mean, if you’re busy, you don’t have to stay, obviously, it’s just they always fucking bother me and they aren’t the only ones and- nevermind, it isn’t your problem. And you already helped me, thank you, by the way.”

“No, it’s fine! My bus won’t be here for a while anyway.” The two guys from before glance back at them from across the courtyard and Jeongguk is glad Namjoon is still holding his wrist. He takes Namjoon’s other hand in his and glares at them.

“Fucking dicks,” he mutters.

“Thanks for hating them,” Namjoon laughs, a little defeated.

“Are they always like that?”

Namjoon nods, tugging him by the hand to the benches to sit with a wary glance around the little courtyard full of students milling around. “Them and anyone else who isn’t trying to pretend I don’t exist.”

He frowns, embarrassed for his hometown, and it wouldn’t be the first time. Small minds in a small town, people more interested in talking about kindness than actually practicing it. There were a few other hybrids, but Namjoon was the only one at the college.

“I’m not a cat,” Namjoon says abruptly.

“Hm? Oh yeah, no I know.”

That seems to take him by surprise. “What am I, then?” A hint of a smile that Jeongguk has only ever seen when Namjoon has lost himself in a good book in the cafeteria.

“Ferret?” he winces, hopeful that he hadn’t offended.

“Ferret?!” he scoffs, and breaks into laughter when Jeongguk looks horrified with himself.

It’s a sound Jeongguk has never heard in all his weeks of… noticing Namjoon. Definitely not pining or harboring a secret crush or anything. Just building an awareness of the hybrid’s soft, intelligent eyes and good taste in music and fidgety habits and luscious lips. That’s all. Definitely not pining. Not at all breathless because they’re actually talking right now, touching.

“I’m kidding, you’re actually really close. Really! I might as well be, I’m just being picky, I guess. You could call me a ferret actually, I’m a marten hybrid, but, you could- I mean, ferret is fine, honestly.”

His shoulders shrink up towards his ears the longer he rambles, flustered and self-effacing and it makes Jeongguk’s chest ache in a way he doesn’t have words for. “A marten? Hold on let me google it.”

“It doesn’t matter that much, seriously, it’s basically a ferret-”

“Oh my god, they’re so cute,” Jeongguk grins, looking at the picture of the long, silky creature and up at Namjoon’s small, brown ears in comparison. He realizes a beat late that he called Namjoon cute, in a way, and wonders where the hell all this flirtatious courage has come from. “Really cute,” he repeats while the courage holds out, big eyes locked to Namjoon’s.

Bashful, they both look away, still holding hands for the sake of the two assholes still lingering nearby. Despite the adrenaline surging through him, it’s nice to sit here together, watching people pass by.

Panic slaps him in the face; he hasn’t showered since walking off the field 20 minutes ago. He’d told Namjoon he was waiting for his bus but it was a lie; he’d been on his way to the locker rooms earlier. I must stink, fuck. Does he think I get on the bus like this and sweat all over the seats? Is he disgusted? Do Martens have a strong sense of smell? Should I just leave him alone? What if he thinks I’m just as weird as everyone else?

He can’t bring himself to look down, dirt and grass stains on his shins, he’s sure. Oh god, my black eye, he must think I’m a fucking menace, he’s probably too scared to tell me to go away.

“Sorry I-”

“Can we do this again?” Namjoon blurts out at the same time.

“Oh-”

“It’s just! If they see us together for a little while, they’ll really think we’re dating and maybe they'll actually leave me alone. I mean- if you don’t want people to think that, I totally understand. Sorry, nevermind. God, I don’t even know if you're already with someone, sorry, I-”

“No!” he says too loud. “No that’s fine! I don’t uh, have anything else going on. Anyone, I mean. Yeah we could totally, um, yeah!”

“Okay,” Namjoon smiles a little, peeking over at him to see if it’s really okay. “You really don’t have to,”

“I’ll give you my number!” Jeongguk lets go of his hand to pull his phone out of his bag.  

His hand wraps around soft, soft fur. “Get out of there, Bun,” he grumbles, pulling free a soft, peachy-brown bunny. “I keep telling you not to sleep in my gym bag, you’ll get all gross.”

“Your daemon is a bunny?” Namjoon says, soft and a little amused.

Normally, Jeongguk would have his defenses raised at the question already. Is that a fucking problem? Or What, I can’t play rugby and have a bunny daemon? Or whatever other reply he’s had to get good at giving to keep people from assuming who he is.

For years, he left Bun at home and withstood the headaches and dull irritation of being so far from his daemon. All the way through high school, until he met Seokjin in senior year, a rugby player from a rival team. He was cool, talented, took no one’s shit yet always had a smile. Exactly the type to make Jeongguk feel inferior and resentful. But then he saw Seokjin after a game, nuzzling his daemon, a black, floppy eared bunny, telling it how sweet it is.

Around the same time, he met Jimin and Taehyung, who were horrified that Jeongguk was always away from his daemon. They softened him, they made him angry, no longer at himself and Bun but at the people who deserved it. At their encouragement, he brought Bun to school. He got laughed at, he got called every stupid stereotype rabbit daemon's get called, vapid, needy, weak, slut. He got in fights every day. Only his coach could make him stop, warning him that if he didn't get expelled from school he'd kick him off the team anyway.

Jimin and Taehyung still try to convince him to forget what everyone says, but he can’t shake how it felt to be made so small, he’s still mad and knows he should be. So he let people remember Jeongguk as the ripped kid that'd fight anyone, he shut down anyone who had shit to say in freshman year of college and kept to himself and his few friends.

But with Namjoon, a hybrid, a ferret- no, a marten, the fear of judgement isn’t there. He smiles and nods, petting at his tiny daemon’s soft fur.  

“What’s your number? I’ll text you.”

Namjoon recites it and Jeongguk mutters “Kim...Namjoon…” as he saves it in his contacts and messages a short hello. Doesn’t see the puzzled smile of shock on Namjoon’s face that he knows his name.

Beeping from a block down catches his attention. “Oh, my bus! Are you gonna be okay here?” Jeongguk glares over at the two guys who haven’t left yet.

“I’ve been okay so far,” Namjoon shrugs.

“Sucks that you have to feel like this,” he mutters, tucking Bun into the bag she’s supposed to sleep in when he doesn't have a hoodie pocket to put her in. “Come here,” he tugs Namjoon to standing and into a big hug before he can chicken out of it.

He rocks him back and forth, playful like a couple might. “Sorry, just until they notice.”

“Thanks,” Namjoon answers, holding him awkwardly but melting into it.

Jeongguk melts too, eyes fluttering shut as he rocks him gently in the faded pre-sunset light of late spring.

A little motion, shy and overthought, Namjoon wraps his hand a little higher up his shoulder.

His eyes fly open. “Shit, I’m so sorry! I’m so sweaty, I forgot! Fuck, I usually shower right after practice I swear!”

Namjoon lets Jeongguk hold him out at arm’s length and shrugs, pink cheeked and flustered. “I really don’t mind.” He points up at the little display screen. “Your bus is leaving in one minute.”

“Yeah. Okay yeah, message me if you um-“ the two guys from earlier pass by, lingering close for the next bus. “When you get home, baby.”

Just a little louder in case they’re listening. The breath swells in Namjoon’s chest, ears perked, and Jeongguk is sure his face is on fire. He waves and jogs onto the bus.



 

“Yoongi!” Namjoon yells into the little apartment as he toes off his shoes. “Yoongi!!”

“What, christ,” Yoongi yawns, strolling into the living room with his long sleek tail hovering behind him.

“I have a boyfriend.” He nearly wiggles where he stands. Never did he ever think it's an announcement he'd be able to make.

Yoongi is dumbfounded and half-asleep and Namjoon doesn’t wait for him to react. “Sort of. I mean… sort of a fake boyfriend. Maybe a pity boyfriend…” he mumbles to himself. “But the point is, I said ‘Can we do this again so no one bothers me since this really seemed to work?’ and he said yes! And he said my ears are cute. I think,” he frowns, trying to recall exactly how the conversation went.  

Yoongi pouts in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Jeon Jeongguk,” Namjoon claps his hands to his cheeks that ache from smiling. “Jeon Jeongguk called me baby and held my hand. I mean, just because those dickheads that always bother me were watching, but still.”

“What the fuck,” Yoongi chuckles, amused.

“Oh! He said to message him when I got home. I don’t think… I don’t think he really meant it but I should say thanks anyway.”

Yoongi frowns a smile and watches as Namjoon wiggles up into his favorite chair and texts with a big lip-bitten grin on his face, fluffy tail swishing around him.

“I’m home!” Hoseok announces from the front door flung wide. He puts his shoes on the rack and reaches to put away Namjoon’s too. “Hey kitten.”

Yoongi shrinks in on himself with a shy smile at the tone in Hoseok’s voice. His tail betrays him, twitching with interest, and he knows Hoseok notices. “Hey,” he says softly, holding his hand out when Hoseok’s daemon flies toward him. “Hey cutie,” he murmurs, letting the little parrot nibble on his shirt the way it always wants to.

Hoseok watches for a second, months past apologizing. It’s supposed to be embarrassing, a daemon letting someone else touch. Even in established relationships, people hesitate and refrain in public, the intimacy too heavy for other's eyes. But even if Hoseok won’t say how he feels, his daemon being this comfortable with Yoongi says it all. A weird, precarious balance of unspoken and half understood feelings, but it seems to work for now.

“Namjoon has a boyfriend,” Yoongi informs him. “A fake one, or something.”

“He’s just helping me out,” Namjoon calls out from the chair.

“It’s Jeon Jeongguk,” Yoongi adds emphatically, moving Hoseok’s daemon to his shoulder.

“The rugby player you never shut up about?” Much more interested now, Hoseok throws himself on the chair and waits for answers.

Namjoon can hardly contain himself. “He held my hand. Look, he uses cute emojis, he’s so fucking cute, fuck.” Namjoon turns the phone for Hoseok to see.

“What’s the fake part?”

“Oh, I just asked him if we could act like we’re dating, so it’d seem like we really were. You know, so people would leave me the fuck alone. Who wants to mess with Jeon Jeongguk’s boyfriend, you know? Did you know his daemon is a bunny?”

Hoseok frowns a little at the delirious look of joy on his face. “So you’re fake dating, even though you unfake have a massive, nasty, fanboy crush on him. That’s...” he looks at Yoongi for support, who just shrugs.

“It’s not nasty,” Namjoon scoffs, and immediately regrets it when both of them jump in to quote things he’s said about Jeongguk in the past. “What if he really likes me, after a while?” Namjoon says shyly, opening up the text again though nothing has changed since the cute emoji.

“Okay, that’s exactly what I’m-“

“I’m not expecting him to,” Namjoon interrupts, not wanting to hear it, not now when his heart is soaring. “I know, okay? Really. I’m a hybrid and I’m… I’m me, so. Yeah, I’m not expecting it, I’m just-“ he heaves a heavy sigh, joy on his face clouded over now. “God, he’s so fucking cute,” he grins again, recalling how gently he rocked him by the bus stop.

Hoseok rolls his eyes but keeps his mouth shut, wary of making Namjoon feel bad about himself. He’s always been so shy, so down on himself despite how smart and kind he is, resolutely rejecting any notions of being handsome no matter how anyone tries to convince him.


 

 

“Jimin! Park Jimin!” Jeongguk hollers as he kicks off his shoes, dropping his gym bag and letting Bun run free before lining his shoes up by the door. “Jimin! Ji! Min! Ji-”

“Can I fucking help you?” Jimin sticks his head out of the bathroom, still dripping wet from the shower.

“I have a boyfriend!” His face crinkles into a big grin as he waits for Jimin’s reaction.

“You- what! Who! How!”

“Kim Namjoon!”

“Who?”

“Nam- the hybrid.”

“Ohhh. Oh my god.”

“He’s sort of…not really my boyfriend. But-“

“Okay, hold the fuck on.” Jimin disappears into the bathroom and immediately reappears in Taehyung’s floor length silk bathrobe and pulls Jeongguk to the little dining room table, Taehyung's little fox daemon trotting after him. “Okay. What now?”

Jeongguk sighs. “These guys were messing with him and… it’s not the first time I’ve seen it and it just, fucking pisses me off. So I kinda… didn’t think and ran over all, ‘don’t fucking touch my boyfriend!’ And it worked, because people are stupid and scared of me because of, I dunno, rugby and-“

“And you starting fights with every bully in school,” Jimin provides, knowing Jeongguk would just wave the idea away.

“And he asked if I could keep pretending I really was his boyfriend, so they would fuck off, you know. So we sat there a while and he- we held hands so they, y’know, and he, um,”

Jimin watches as fondness seeps into his voice and smile as he recalls the moment. “You actually like him, don’t you. Oh my fucking god this is so!” He falls over on the table and laughs loud. “You aren’t even denying it! Oh my god, I can't wait 'til Taehyung gets home.”

“Whatever,” he mumbles, half-hearted at best, feeding Bun a yogurt treat and placing her on the floor.

“Our Jeonggukie,” Jimin coos in the way he knows he hates and pats him on the head. He grimaces at his hand, and then Jeongguk’s sweaty hair. “I can’t believe you actually have a crush, much less concocted a scheme to date him!”

“I didn’t concoct anything! I just- I don’t know what the hell happened, I- oh,” he opens his phone and smiles at a message from Namjoon, I’m home! with a cute thank you sticker.

“Lemme see,” Jimin giggles, reaching across the table when Jeongguk yanks his phone away. “Lemme see! Come on, what makes our Jeonggukie smile like he’s in loooove,” he teases.

“I’m gonna take a shower!” Jeongguk says loudly, and ignores the rest.