The first time Jungkook really noticed Niko wasn’t during that awkward group introduction his friends had pushed him into—it was a week later, on a quiet Tuesday morning, when the hallways were still sleepy and the filtered air hummed soft through the vents.

Jungkook’s senses were sharp as always, an Alpha’s instincts tuned even though the school’s air filters kept everything muted. The faint chemical tang of the heat-antibodies clung to every classroom, making it almost impossible for Omegas to cycle. Safe. Controlled. Predictable.

But even through all that, he smelled it.

Vanilla.

Warm. Soft. Sweet in a way that didn’t belong to any of the air-purifier additives.

And he knew exactly who it came from.

Niko.

He stood by his locker, smaller frame tucked close to the metal door, sorting through books—quiet, focused, not surrounded by a crowd the way Jungkook always was. The Alpha slowed down without realizing he had, his own friends still talking behind him, voices fading into background noise.

Niko had been shy that first meeting, barely speaking while Jimin pushed him forward with a grin. Jungkook remembered the way Niko bowed his head, the faint vanilla drifting over the table, and he’d wondered—just for a second—why someone with such a warm scent looked like they were trying to disappear.

Now, Jungkook stepped a little closer, pretending to check his bag.

He didn’t speak yet. Alphas didn’t usually approach Omegas so early in the morning; the filters were weaker before the full system powered up, and scents could slip through a little more. But Jungkook wasn’t the type to worry about things like that.

He leaned against the locker beside him, head tilted down slightly to match Niko’s height difference.

"Morning," Jungkook said, voice low, almost lazy. "Didn’t expect to see you this early."

A couple of passing Omegas slowed and glanced over—he was used to that, since many of them hovered around him—but his attention stayed locked on the smaller boy beside him.

Jungkook’s scent was strong even when he wasn’t trying—clean, thunderstorm-cool, warm at the edges like heated skin after practice. Not aggressive. Just undeniably Alpha.

"Heading to class already?" he asked, softening his tone because Niko never seemed to like loud crowds or harsh voices. Jungkook had noticed that too, quietly cataloguing things about him without meaning to.

He shifted a little closer—not enough to overwhelm, but enough that Niko would know he was choosing to be there, choosing to talk to him instead of anyone else.

And he smiled, that easy, warm curve of his mouth.

"You wanna walk together?"