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Renjun is usually full of gratitude.
He currently has his dream job and he gets along well with his coworkers (slash roommates slash group members). Plus, he gets to travel, buy his family expensive things, and wear nice clothes.
Even more, he has access to great suppressants and birth control, high quality healthcare, and his company is pretty progressive with their management of omega idols.
These are all things he’s cognizant of and appropriately thankful for. But sometimes, when their schedules pile up at a relentless pace and unforeseen circumstances curb their promotions and further complicate things; and in this current case, when minor family issues from back home mix with the smallest issues from right here (yes, Mark misplacing his favorite yeezys is a small issue, in the grand scheme), Renjun feels fed up.
And unfortunately for him, everyone notices.
“You wanna watch a movie?” Jisung tries late at night. He peers over at Renjun from his desk chair, deep voice barely audible in the silence that blankets their bedroom.
Renjun has just gotten out of the shower, damp towel hanging around his neck, and is stuck trying to understand how his snappy remarks and grumpy silence on the drive back to the dorms could have possibly translated to wanting to spend even more time with his group mates after hours.
“Umm. No?”
He avoids making eye contact, hoping the youngest of their group will understand that Renjun’s social battery is resolutely depleted for the day (or week).
It’s not that Renjun is upset per se, he’s just exhausted. And even though he’s a self-proclaimed extrovert, everyone is allowed to be exhausted every once in a while, aren’t they?
+
“This helmet looks so cute on you. I’m serious!”
Mark’s scent peeks out from his suppressants when he reaches out for Renjun, who let’s himself be squeezed between Mark’s strong arms, noting that his familiar scent feels slightly sharper. Not stronger, but closer. As if the distance between them had somehow been erased.
Renjun isn’t sure what he’s done to merit the compliment, since they’re all dressed as firefighters and look, thanks to their talented stylists and MUA’s, cute and handsome. But when it comes to Mark (and most of his members, if he’s being honest), his mere existence as the only omega in the group is enough to have them doting and gushing.
Most times, Renjun enjoys this.
(Most times.)
Instead of responding to the elder, Renjun scoffs, grabbing the helmet in question and placing it on Mark’s head.
Beside them, Jaemin attempts to use a prop fire hose as a jump rope with the balance and skill of a toddler. Jeno stands nearby and idly studies his technique. They’re recording video content for their youtube channel, something that had originally been scheduled for earlier in the month. And thankfully, they’re wrapping up the shoot.
When Donghyuck walks over to their huddle, it doesn’t take long for him to draw a laugh from deep inside Renjun, something boyish and unrestrained, and unlike any of the forced laughs he’d been producing this week. And even Chenle, oblivious as he can be, perks up at the sound.
It’s like this often with Donghyuck, and Renjun wishes they wouldn’t show so much relief at this small moment of genuine, off-camera mirth.
Donghyuck doesn’t call him cute, but he jokes with him, showing him the misspelled english on the undershirt of their fake uniform. And Renjun is tired, sure, but the more he looks at the letters, the funnier it all seems.
Chenle’s high pitched giggle doesn’t grate on his nerves and Mark’s bilingual muttering doesn't hurt his head and Renjun lets his guard down just enough for Donghyuck to throw himself at him.
As they wait for staff to confirm the shoot is over and that they don’t need any more b-roll, Renjun finds himself under a pile of Donghyuck’s limbs. There are no cameras on them, but this is how Donghyuck is. The most tactile alpha Renjun knows.
“I’m going to die here.”
The omega’s voice comes out small and strained under the weight of him. And because Donghyuck is who he is, all he does is shift his weight obnoxiously.
“Your scent spiked.”
Donghyuck is teasing him, toeing close to a line that most of them stay clear from. Renjun usually doesn’t mind it because he knows Donghyuck does it because his love language is something like melting boundaries with pure affection. Plus the times when their pheromones have affected each other, it has always been purely biological (and justifiable) considering their young age and proximity.
Yet now Renjun feels slightly alarmed by it. Because it’s now clicking, with this flippant comment from Donghyuck, that there might be a legitimate and distinct cause for his recent bout of exhaustion and irritability.
Before Renjun can react, the director’s voice cuts through the air, calling wrap as crew members diligently begin tearing down set. Donghyuck is off him in seconds, more eager to pack his things than to continue playing with the grumpy omega.
They all move to find their respective glam teams, and Renjun, after momentarily deliberating on his discovery, scrambles to his feet and is quick to join them.
+
Thanks to his suppressants, Renjun only gets his heat once a year. But they don’t really get to decide or pinpoint when it’ll happen. Thankfully his body gives him clues, and if he catches them quickly enough he could have as much as two weeks to prepare.
Currently, if his guess is correct, he has five days.
How he missed the clues from earlier, is not a mystery. The stress of the comeback likely distracted him. It’s a valid excuse and he tries adamantly not to be too angry with himself for failing to notice.
The first person he tells (after his manager) is Yangyang, who is both an omega and close friend.
“Dude…”
“I know,” Renjun groans. They’ve ordered in and are now just finishing up their overpriced specialty drinks.
“Well good news is, they probably already figured it out.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, you’ve been kinda pissy lately.”
“Fuck off,” Renjun curses dejectedly. “It makes sense though, because I randomly started thinking about death? And my grandma is getting so old you know? But she’s still not old at all, like, she does so much! She types her own text messages. And grocery shops, and uses Pinterest.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” Renjun pouts. “And mom got in trouble when she returned the car lease because of the mileage on the car. And my dad got so mad. Which, honestly? An overreaction. But I get it. And then Chenle’s foot, we thought it wasn’t healing correctly. But the doctor’s office got the x-rays mixed up. Who the hell does that?”
“Wait seriously?”
“Yes. It’s so stupid. And stressful. And there are these wage issues in the company. Has Kun told you? It’s like…it feels weird knowing our production crew might not be getting paid right.”
“Kun did bring it up, but Renjun. That’s not really in your control. None of these things are, right? I get you, it’s a lot at once. But…but chill.”
Renjun twists his rings, liking the way they pull at his skin near the base of his sweaty fingers. If only it were that easy. He can feel himself pouting, can feel the tickling sensation in his nose that means he’s about to have an embarrassingly emotional response. And worst of all, he’s finished his jasmine almond milk tea.
Yangyang’s scent is warm and gentle. It encompasses him just as the omega shuffles over to nuzzle his nose near Renjun’s temple. “It’s gonna be okay. You already told your manager. He’ll make arrangements and handle the boring stuff. Just chill out. Last year it wasn’t bad at all.”
“Last year, I was on break when it happened. The timing was perfect.” Renjun counters stubbornly, but with Yangyang’s honey scent, his shoulders fall as he slowly un-tenses his back muscles.
“Dude, if anything the guys are gonna be so grateful for the interruption. You guys have been working hard! Especially Hyuck and Mark.”
“Hm.”
“Text them now. Let them know. And go home and start making your nest. You’re so good at that.”
Yangyang’s praise is genuine and it makes a pleased feeling flower in Renjun’s chest. He’s not the neatest nest maker, but he enjoys the process a lot. He’s thorough, and meticulous, and it feels a lot like making art, or cooking. But it’s not a marked canvas or a meal, but a home. A home within a home. And it’s Renjun’s.
“Okay.”
+
The group chat blows up immediately.
The members are supportive—of course they are—and it’s not that Renjun had expected any differently, but that the chemicals in his head are all messed up, and had tricked him into doubting them. So he’s a little bit emotional as he travels home from the WayV dorms and scrolls through their chat.
Once home, Jeno approaches him and tells him, in his own nonchalant way, that everything is fine and that having a member who has an unpredictable mating cycle is really not a big deal.
He’s a beta and he knows (they all do) that there’s inequity in the field of heat and rut research. How they’ve managed to pretty much eradicate ruts but still struggle to treat heats is a point of contention more and more these days. But all they can really do for now is endure and wait for answers.
And Renjun tells him he’s grateful that they’re all accommodating him so easily, but Renjun can’t really continue the conversation for much longer because right now there’s a slight war going on beneath his skin. With his body temperature fluctuating and his olfactory system becoming increasingly sensitive, he can easily pick up the smell of Donghyuck's discarded sweatshirt in the living room. And he’s been wanting to grab it since he walked in.
He nods stupidly, and lets Jeno tenderly hug him before he hurries to grab the article of clothing. He balls it as tight as he can, hiding it under his arm when he walks into his room where he knows Jisung is.
If Jisung catches a whiff of Donghyuck, he tactfully says nothing of it.
+
For two more days, they continue with their programs.
Professionalism comes naturally to all of them. Even Renjun, with his body rampant with preheat hormones, can maintain a commendable semblance of normalcy throughout recordings. But he’s especially grateful for the blocker patches that help mute his intensifying scent. If the members and crew are extra affectionate towards him, with their words and with their touches, he does his best to seem unfazed. Laughing them off, or pushing them away with a sarcastic laugh. But the truth is, he likes it. He likes the attention, and their touches calm his nerves.
Jaemin is the first to begin struggling with it.
Despite the patches, physical exertion has Renjun’s glands sweating through the seal faster. And Jaemin, despite being a beta, has dominance on par with some alphas, and although this fact is pretty impressive under normal circumstances, it comes in as a handicap during times like these.
“Shit,” he groans, tearing off his in-ears the second the backing track ends, sprinting away from the rest of them the exact moments the live crew signals the end of the encore stage taping. Mark shuffles after him, throwing an apologetic look Renjun’s way as he runs to check in on their member.
The goodbye screams and parting cheers from the fans are loud and joyful as they move towards backstage and Renjun prays they hadn’t noticed anything too out of the ordinary from any of them.
There’s a text message from his manager saying he’ll be getting a separate ride home (“to avoid any escalations”) and the prospect of being alone so close to the peak of his preheat makes him want to throw a tantrum. He doesn't, of course, opting instead to carefully remove his temporary face jewels as he waits for his MUA to tell him where to store his stage outfits.
“Hey.”
Looking up from his seat at the vanity mirrors, the sight of Donghyuck walking into his secluded omega dressing room makes alarms go off in his head. But they’re overpowered by another, thicker sound of higher volume. His rapidly beating heart.
“You shouldn’t be here.” He says, by way of greeting. There’s no bite in his words, just a nervousness that comes from fear of getting in trouble. He doesn’t want to cause any more problems, and his nerves are starting to feel frayed at the edges.
“It’s alright,” he dismisses.
Getting closer, his eyes scan him, searching for signs of distress. He’s always had such control of his own pheromones, keeping his scent restrained like some sort of fairytale alpha written by omegas.
The two of them are the only omega and alpha in the group. It made sense for them to seek each other out during times like these. Renjun isn’t sure if there’s something more to it than that. All he knows is, he wants Donghyuck near him, and his mind is too fuzzy to make any further conclusions.
“Get closer,” Renjun demands (whines). Dutifully, Donghyuck does, passing his hand along Renjun’s jaw before bringing an arm around his head, cradling it to his chest. Donghyuck lets just the outer bounds of his scent cascade over Renjun, and it’s enough to have him humming audibly.
“Can you ride with me? I can have Soobin drop you off after. Or-or you can stay over? Jisung is staying with Chenle for the next week.”
Donghyuck blinks. “You sure?”
In response, Renjun let’s his preheat scent roam free, letting all the buzzing, tense energy within it tumble out against the alpha so near to him.
Once that’s clear, Renjun licks his lips.
“I’m sure.”
+
“It’s not perfect, I know. But I was thinking, rather than volume and height, it’s about balance. And also, color?”
Donghyuck is still standing a few feet away from Renjun’s bed. And so Renjun feels the need to explain the elaborate installation of used clothing and blankets and pillowcases (and one scarf Jaemin got from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter back in 2016) on his bed.
Eventually Donghyuck nods, glancing at the leopard print snuggie near the foot of his bed. “Oh, nice.”
“So, like, if I have a cool tone on this side,” Renjun points to one edge of the nest. “I tried to add some cool fabric on this side. And, I had to work around the principle of, best scents at top center, near my head.”
“That’s my sweater,” Donghyuck points at the “top center” area Renjun had just been gesturing at.
Renjun flushes. “Yes.”
“I love it. It’s amazing. Can I get in?”
“Hyuck, we haven’t even showered.”
Donghyuck shrugs.
“You really think it’s amazing?”
“Yes! I like this blanket next to your pillow.”
“Right? It keeps you warm without overheating.”
“It’s my favorite.”
Renjun knows it is. It still has some faint remnants of Donghyuck’s scent that likely seeped out while he slept with it. It’s Renjun’s favorite too. Suddenly, he’s overcome with excitement knowing it’ll soon be soaked in Donghyuck’s scent again.
He quickly changes into comfortable clothing, removing his patches and offering to grab a clean towel for Donghyuck. He pretends to be grossed out when Donghyuck insists that he doesn’t need to shower. It’s gross, objectively, but it’s perfect for a nest and Renjun is just happy that he doesn’t have to explain it to the alpha, that he already knows and understands this weird interest preheat-Renjun has with body sweat and musk.
When they’re under the covers, Donghyuck is on him in seconds.
Renjun chuckles at his enthusiasm at first but soon his firm kisses and nose nuzzles have him melting into putty.
It’s hard to keep conversation going, when Donghyuck’s scenting gets so thorough and enthusiastic. His nose is everywhere, sniffling and finding the precise spots that need his gentle tongue and scent. Renjun begins to let out small mewls, becoming overstimulated in the best way, and it takes a full ten minutes for Donghyuck to finally take mercy on him, slowing down to lay featherlight kisses down the side of his face and along the curve of his jaw.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore. I’m okay.”
His abdomen had been cramping earlier in the day. His joints too had been sore and his nipples hurt when they rubbed against the thick material of his stage outfit. But that had begun going away by afternoon. And now with an alpha pressing his scent so carefully against his pores, he feels pampered and soothed. As if his restless inner omega were being medically sedated.
“Mm, good. When…when do you think it’ll start?”
“Probably in the morning?”
Donghyuck flicks his gaze at a mark he’d made by Renjun’s collarbone twice before looking back at him. “And just to be sure, you’re okay with, um, spending your heat with me?”
It would be the second year they do so. They had spent last year well, if his foggy memories and Donghyuck’s insistence that it was great is anything to go by.
“Yeah? I mean, yes. Please. I want it.”
“God, okay. You don’t need to beg,” Donghyuck teases.
“You’re so annoying,” Renjun whines. “I’m explicitly consenting.”
“Mm, sure.” He doesn’t fight back when Renjun shoves him, keeping the smirk on his face up until Renjun burrows his face near his scent gland and effectively redirects his attention elsewhere.
+
The next morning, Renjun wakes up alone in his nest.
But before he can panic, he catches the sound of Donghyuck’s soft humming coming from the kitchen. The smell of breakfast registers quickly after and Renjun allows himself to stretch his taught limbs and acclimate to being awake. He’s like a cat, curling into himself and pressing his cheek onto the disparate fabrics of his nest.
It sounds like it’s just the two of them in the dorm this morning. He doesn’t hear the regular sounds of Jaemin and Jeno thumping around their rooms as they are wont to do when afternoon approaches. Instead there’s the sound of Donghyuck kicking his bedroom door open and gingerly carrying a tray with their breakfast laid precariously on it.
Arguably, breakfast in bed is quite nice. But Donghyuck shirtless and reeking of familiarity and safety and dominant alpha is better. He can barely concentrate on his rice and eggs, attention roaming elsewhere as Donghyuck insists on him finishing his food.
“I need you to fuck me,” Renjun tries, just to see what Donghyuck does.
Donghyuck startles, not expecting Renjun to slip so soon. He searches for hints of fever, not completely convinced by this sudden heat-talk. “You fucker,” Donghyuck snorts. “I will but… Finish your food first.”
Renjun laughs, taking the aroused spike in Donghyuck’s scent as a win. Together they eat, and watch some news segment Taeyong had deemed pertinent enough to share on Donghyuck’s phone. It’s unexpectedly educational, taking itself very seriously, which makes them both laugh less than thirty seconds in. (“Why is Taeyong a seventy-year old man?” “I don’t know but I support it.”)
Later, Donghyuck shoves the omega in the shower and prepares their bedroom for the heat as best as he can (bringing a pack of unopen water bottles to the foot of Renjun’s bed and googling how to use the towel-under-the-door trick for noise reduction).
Renjun’s slick is uncontrollable under the stream of their shower head. More so than what he remembers from last year. Perhaps this is his body’s way of showing an increasingly impatient desire for a mate and kids. Whatever the reason, it brings awareness to his hole and he can’t help but touch himself and chase some relief.
He feels guilty as he makes his way back to his nest. But the alpha that waits for him is the picture of relaxation and comfort, reclined with his back against the headboard and phone in hand. Looking at him, at his willing alpha and heat partner, all the tension and embarrassment and hostility that have been building over the last few days dissolve in a way that is both staggering and delicious. It’s like a spell is cast, and the suddenness of it has his knees almost giving out as slick begins to dribble onto his underwear.
“Hey, don’t keep standing there. Come here.”
Moving towards him, crawling up the bed, and crashing his lips against Donghyuck’s is like landing a plane after days of tumultuous flight. He’s aggressive, throwing his body against his for relief, but also, to feel as much of him at once as he possibly can.
“Alpha.”
“I’m here. I’m right here.”
“I’m…” Renjun trails off, unsure of what he meant to say. His heat hits him like a truck, with a shockwave of primal desire setting his body in motion. He holds the alpha close with one hand on his neck, tonguing at his mouth while his free hand grabs at his side and waist. Donghyuck is right there with him, peeling his clothes off himself to grant them skin to skin.
“I’m so-lucky. I get. To see you like. This.”
Renjun just hums, feeling slightly pathetic. The words do register, and he knows they’re sweet, that Donghyuck is a sweet boy, but it just makes him want to surrender further to the feeling and give Donghyuck more. To let himself be vulnerable with someone that’s already seen him be so many things.
He’s made more aware of just how empty he is, even with Donghyuck’s hot breath so far down his throat. It’s crazy how quickly he can get like this, how candidly he will beg to be filled.
“Please.” He says it rather quietly considering how rough his kisses and hands have been. But Donghyuck hears him perfectly. He nods, nipping at his cheeks and palming his ass.
“Of course, baby. Get on your hands and knees.”
The pet name has a strangely powerful effect on Renjun. He blushes, acknowledging somewhere that even outside of heat, if spoken by the right person, the pet name would surely have heat coiling in his belly. For now he scrambles to his hands and knees, wanting to get to the part where Donghyuck is inside of him as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, Donghyuck appears to have other plans. Much too slowly, his hands roam over the hot skin of Renjun’s thighs, his own musk swirling between them. The air becomes a clear sign of an aroused alpha—a promise of a knot—and Renjun is so excited for it he’s smiling, giggling at the teasing remark Donghyuck makes about the cute constellation of moles near his ass.
When Donghyuck eases his first finger in, he quickly switches it for two, responding to how loose Renjun has already made himself. He makes an appreciative sound and it’s enough encouragement to make Renjun lean back into his hand, sucking him in hungrily.
“How long are you gonna-gonna make me wait?” He breathes, dropping the weight of his upper body on his elbows, allowing his back to arch deeper as he spreads his knees further apart.
The movement has slick rushing out of him in sloppy amounts. It’s a hint of his readiness. But Donghyuck is careful, even if breathless. Eventually, he tells him he’s going in. As in, with his cock. As if he were narrating a video game ambush. Renjun wants to roll his eyes at his phrasing, but he has no time to react before the intrusion is stretching him in the most distracting and fulfilling way.
“Oh.”
Donghyuck bottoms out. And Renjun sees stars.
The alpha’s hands are firm, grabbing his hips and keeping him rooted as he quickly works up to a fierce pace. Donghyuck really enjoys this position, and his confidence betrays the animal satisfaction at the core of his scent. His dominance skyrockets like this, and Renjun deeply loves to indulge him and play the part of the supple omega. To be able to submit. He likes hearing him grunt, and smelling his heady alpha scent go more and more rogue.
“Y-yeah. Yeah, Hyuck.”
“Feel so good. So wet and tight for me.”
“For you. Yes, for you.” Renjun is babbling, he can distantly tell his voice fills the hot air. Whether he’s saying words, he’s not sure. Donghyuck is lifting him onto his lap, changing the angle at which he enters him, and forcing a sharp moan from Renjun. It feels amazing, hitting parts inside him that pulse pleasure through his core. The sensation is overwhelming and he can’t think, can’t focus on his own limbs; the movement of his arms, where to put his hands. He feels light, like a rag doll, and Donghyuck is strong and doing so much of the work. It’s embarrassing, but Donghyuck groans behind him and licks his ear lobe and tells him he’s perfect just like this.
There’s so much gratification from Donghyuck’s reaction alone, Renjun can feel himself dribbling from his tip, can feel his first orgasm (second, if we’re counting the one from his shower) building like a nuclear reaction. So when Donghyuck palms him, it’s too much too fast. His breath gets stuck in his throat when he comes. But when Donghyuck’s knot begins to grow deep within him, his voice releases in irregular gasps that are embarrassingly pornographic (if he were capable of feeling shame).
Lips pressed to his; arms around his stomach. Donghyuck infiltrates his senses, bringing him back to the present, if only in slow increments. “…Take my knot well…”
It’s so stupid. Of course Renjun does, his body was designed for it. But a part of him loves so much to hear Donghyuck say it. He preens, feeling the knot press against his walls, milking itself with them. Renjun didn’t really want to be an omega. No one does. But he can’t really complain with how it’s all turned out, can he? It’s nice being so perceptive, so attuned to other people. He really does believe it makes him a better person.
Donghyuck’s knot is big, so big it doesn’t make sense. How can it all fit inside him? He moans absentmindedly, the mewl stuck in his throat. And Donghyuck kisses him, thinking it’s because it hurts. But it doesn’t. Or maybe it does, but Renjun likes it. It’s filthy, and Renjun briefly contemplates telling Donghyuck how much he likes being torn open, but the alpha maneuvers them to a lying position right then and Renjun forgets to speak. He squeezes his eyes shut as muted pleasure throbs up his spine.
It’s impossibly good, and the chemicals in his head have him feeling giddy again, knowing fully well that this is the perfect beginning to his days-long heat.
+
“Exactly! That’s what I said. So hopefully it doesn't become a big deal.”
The next day, the alpha and omega pair lay close in bed, munching on snacks as Donghyuck fills Renjun in on some 127 dorm drama. They don’t really get many opportunities to talk aimlessly like this, with their separate living arrangements and conflicting schedules. Plus, Donghyuck isn’t very good at gossip. He forgets most of the details and ends up paraphrasing everything in ways that make little sense. But his intentions are good and Renjun likes to listen, if only to get a better sense of the inner workings of Donghyuck’s maze-like mind.
It’s almost four in the morning, but both of them had slept through most of the daylight hours. Their sleeping schedule is constantly fluctuating, so Renjun doesn’t feel too out of sorts. The only thing is, there’s that nagging voice in his head reminding him he needs to get fucked soon.
Donghyuck seems to be done talking about his altercation with Johnny, moving now to talk about how Mark’s yeezys are likely with Shotaro since he wears the same size and has a similar pair (or two, or three). Renjun hums, moving his hand to play with the charm on Donghyuck’s necklace. It’s gold and thin, and Renjun had focused acutely on the way it hit Donghyuck’s chin as he grinded into him an hour earlier. It’s a very pretty necklace.
“Can we have sex again?”
Donghyuck snorts. “Is it fine if my breath tastes like…” he glances at the discarded wrapper of his protein bar. “Honey oats and quinoa?”
Renjun shrugs, fighting back a smile. He can sense his pheromones thickening again, working to seduce the alpha beside him. It’s almost out of his control, but he doesn’t really apologize for it. Donghyuck leans over him, eyes not nearly as aggressive as his scent. They’re gentle, very lucid, and they study Renjun’s face with a glint of something that has Renjun’s heart going just a bit weak.
Carefully, Donghyuck lays his upper body partially on top of him, mouthing at his chest and leaving faint, indulgent blemishes as he makes his way up the column of Renjun’s throat. The way he teases him is simultaneously frustrating and sexy (frustratingly sexy?). Renjun huffs, bringing his hands up to Donghyuck’s head and guiding him impatiently to his mouth.
He’s not sure what heat partners are expected to do. If it’s just stick around to fuck or if it’s supposed to be playful and dynamic like this. Renjun looked it up last time but people online all seemed to have conflicting experiences. It was an inconclusive investigation. Plus, Donghyuck is a close friend and coworker, so maybe “heat partner” is just not an adequate enough title to start with anyway.
When Donghyuck finally slides into him, he does so from behind, the both of them laying on their side as he rocks into him. Their thighs are tangled, his arms around Renjun, cradling him. It’s a lot of touch to take in.
The drag of his cock is perfect, but it’s the persistent thump of his heartbeat right against his spine that makes Renjun’s breathing falter. Donghyuck is mostly quiet, keeping his thrusts rhythmic and shallow. His breath hits between his shoulder blades, his musk mixing with Renjun’s own sticky scent. There’s no space between them, Renjun doesn’t know where his body ends and Donghyuck’s begins and his arousal is like molten lead in his veins. Teeth digging into his lower lip, he bites back a moan, trying valiantly not to disturb Jeno and Jaemin sleeping nearby.
But Donghyuck coaxes sounds from him, begging to hear him, to listen to his words confirming that he likes it. Renjun can’t speak, so he turns his head, tries to ask for a kiss. It’s sloppy, but it’s saccharine. And Renjun, for some reason, feels his chest erupt, eyes becoming wet when Donghyuck comes inside him, nearly dry this time. His lips are close, at the corner of Renjun’s mouth, at his jaw, on his ears. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s not enough. Renjun cries, his orgasm somehow demanding. His body wants more and his face is very wet, and Donghyuck is shushing him, wiping his tears as he slips out.
The emptiness is terrible.
Donghyuck whines. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing. Just.”
Renjun turns around to face him, and clings. He can’t remember feeling like this before. His nipples are hard and he shivers when Donghyuck tries wiping his cum off his chest. He feels like he could come again. He needs to. But it’s too much. They’re both tired, he can tell.
“Jun? Talk to me.“
“It’s…” Renjun sits up shakily. His skin is sticky with old and new sweat alike. His sweat and Donghyuck’s sweat alike. He drops his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder, wanting a moment to gather his thoughts. He keeps replaying the feeling of the alpha spooning him, fucking him from behind and cradling him like he were some precious marvel. The feeling of being held, surrounded, filled. The feeling of Donghyuck’s scent stuffed into him. Is it supposed to elicit a response so…emotional?
Renjun wishes he could think. But he can’t, not yet. Instead, he kisses Donghyuck’s shoulder, carefully approaching his scent gland and letting his scent console Donghyuck, who is still confused by Renjun’s needy outburst.
With fingers in his hair, Donghyuck accepts his ministrations. A yawn escapes him, and it’s cute. Donghyuck could be cute like this, when he isn’t trying.
The alpha chuckles and Renjun is mortified to learn he’d said this out loud.
The dorm is so quiet this late into the night and there’s nothing to distract Renjun from their bubble, from their damp and used and lived in nest. It smells so good. Renjun dreads the idea of ever having to leave it, to see Donghyuck move away from it. It’s a weird thought, but it’s true.
He’s dreading the end of his heat. The heat he’s spent the whole year dreading to begin with.
“Renjun, let’s try to sleep for a bit. Let’s watch something and then sleep.”
Renjun barely processes it. He picks at a shirt near the foot of his bed, rearranging it so it’s no longer dangling off the edge. He does this with a lot of the items that have fallen off throughout the day. Minutes pass, and Donghyuck let’s him work. Renjun is conscious, even if trance-like. He thinks about the remaining leg of their promotions and the travel they have booked for the end of the month. His father’s birthday is soon. He has to respond to Dejun’s text message. He thinks of Donghyuck’s heartbeat against his bare back earlier, how intimate it’d felt. As if Renjun himself had been inside his ribcage.
“Looks great, Jun.” Donghyuck comments earnestly. The responding flush on the omega’s face makes him glow, nose scrunching cutely.
Sleep overcomes them quickly, both grateful for the respite in equal measure.
+
Perhaps it’s the comfort of knowing they’re home alone. Perhaps it’s the repertoire they’ve established in their two and a half days of being in each other’s company.
Regardless of the reason, Renjun is very vocal this time. Riding his alpha with energy that seems to come from a supernatural source. Like this, he finds the angle that elicits the most pleasure, getting off even, from the painful burn in his quads and abs. His moans are unrestrained and wanton.
And Donghyuck doesn’t last long.
It’s his first knot of the day, and Renjun hadn’t been expecting it. He yelps as he feels it press against his rim and Donghyuck smirks, his face so flushed beneath him. Renjun comes again, minutes after the previous orgasm (dry this time), and he deflates against Donghyuck’s heaving chest.
He stays like that for too long. Donghyuck pokes his side. “You good?” He’s trying to be funny, but concern seeps into his words.
“You’re so good, Hyuck,” Renjun whispers, face burrowed in Donghyuck’s chest. “So sweet.”
Hesitation creates silence. And Renjun is fine with it. He just wanted to let Donghyuck know, is all. He couldn’t possibly keep his thoughts withheld, it was beginning to make him restless.
“You deserve the best.”
Donghyuck says it like he means it, like he’s convinced of it. Renjun doesn’t know what he’s done to produce that conviction. But the way Donghyuck says it makes it hard to doubt. Inside him, emotions tumble near his gut.
Renjun doesn’t really think of the events of his life in terms of whether he deserved them happening or not. He's just very lucky. Whether he deserves Donghyuck’s gentle treatment and care doesn’t feel like an adequate question here. And acknowledging it and complimenting him for it doesn’t feel nowhere near enough either. It’s too big, the emotion is too big.
Filled to the point of having a slight protrusion in his belly, Donghyuck helps him maneuver off his stomach, and carefully helps with inserting a plug they’d found and cleaned earlier. It keeps his gunk safe inside of him, the way omegas love.
The feeling of being plugged up gets to Renjun’s head. In a good way. He’s pleased, docile, affectionate. He lets Donghyuck enter other parts of the apartment and talk to the others when they arrive home and begin cooking dinner. He helps wash Donghyuck’s hair when they shower together. He sighs despondently when they remove the plug in the shower, but perks up when Donghyuck offers to eat him out.
The following days of the heat are calmer, with greater periods of rest between sex. It’s precisely this reason that they’re both caught off guard when on day four of heat Renjun breathlessly asks Donghyuck to mate him.
At the extreme words, Donghyuck slows from his already languid pace, unsure of whether to acknowledge the statement or pretend he’d heard nothing to save Renjun the embarrassment. But he can’t ignore it for long, because Renjun’s eyes are moistening, mouth in a deep frown as he relemoves his hands from Donghyuck’s chest to cover his face. “I mean—“
“Jun?”
“No, don’t stop. K-keep going—“
“What did you say?”
“Hyuck, please. I need to come—“
Donghyuck nods dutifully, grabbing Renjun’s cock and pumping quickly. The extra stimulation is more than enough to tip him over the edge. But it’s like before. Renjun isn’t satisfied. His alpha’s seed isn’t enough. He whines, frustrated and fatigued. The emotions and sensations are too much. There’s an onslaught of cogent thoughts trickling in through the fog in his head and it’s beginning to get confusing. He whimpers, and Donghyuck carefully creates some space between them. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No.”
Donghyuck is his friend. A good friend. His groupmate who has, over the years, become a loved one. He’s lanky and flexible and good with his fingers. He’s intelligent and hardworking and obnoxious and kind. He never really does anything wrong . Mistakes yes, but even those seem inconsequential. Donghyuck is a good person, and he’s hot, and he’s done absolutely nothing wrong.
“Hyuck, I’m sorry. I’m making this weird.”
Renjun turns to his side, burying his face into his pheromone soaked pillow. This could all just be the heat. But Renjun knows himself very well, he’s done the hours of therapy to prove it. These feelings aren’t hormonal.
“Weird how? Why is it weird? Did you say what I think you said? You want to mate?”
“Shh!”
“You want to mate?”
“Hyuck, stop. I’m crazy, leave me alone.”
Donghyuck doesn't, in fact, leave him alone. He stays sitting up, peering at him owlishly as he waits for Renjun to stop suffocating himself on his pillow and say more things. He doesn’t.
“I’ve had a crush on you for a little over a year.”
For a few seconds, Renjun goes still. And there’s a brief moment where Donghyuck panics because what if Renjun had been cutting off airflow—but then he’s rising into a sitting position, eyes bewildered.
“What do you mean?“
“I mean that, I’ve had a crush on you for a little over a year,” Donghyuck repeats in a deadpan statement. “And I’ve been just kind of…waiting for it to go away. It hasn’t, by the way.”
“Oh.”
“So! If you want to, perhaps, elaborate on what you said earlier…”
“I…I just.” Renjun finds himself in a rare moment of speechlessness. He blames his poor sleeping schedule, and loss of body fluids, and general overexertion. He blames the handsome boy sharing his bed. “I’m grateful. You’ve been so good to me. But it’s…it’s not just gratitude. I…I like how you are with me. But also, just in general. You help me feel good. And it’s not just because you’re an alpha. That’s stupid. I mean now, for the heat, it’s nice. But outside of that. We…together. It’s good. You’re so good. I like …that-you. I like you.”
Across from him, Donghyuck is stunned. His eyes are large, and mouth agape. It feels very real now. Because Donghyuck clearly wasn’t joking around. The crush is real and Renjun can’t believe he hadn’t noticed.
But Donghyuck, even with his pink cheeks and smirk, doesn’t seem fully convinced. It makes Renjun wince, understanding immediately. A year is a long time and Renjun is still technically in heat.
“We-we can talk about this more after? I…I really…I mean, not that anything has to change. But. We can say more things. And. Explain. If you want. No mating because that’s a bit rash. Ha! But I. I like you, Donghyuck. And I know myself well and I’ll still like you tomorrow when I’m over the heat. And the next day. And next week. So just. Let me know if you want to go there. Because…yes.”
At those extra words, the special glint in Donghyuck’s eyes returns. He smiles eventually, a soft grin this time, and leans over to kiss Renjun’s cheek. It’s just like the hundreds of kisses Donghyuck has stolen from him already, but this one has a distinct weight to it. A promise.
There’s no guarantee to how things will play out, but Renjun is just happy to be in a position where he can go forward and find out.
The confession sort of rushes in the break of his heat, as if his inner omega used the inconvenient heat as a grand ploy to get them to address their feelings. Donghyuck clings to him all night, his own alpha behavior making him protective over Renjun. They stay in bed late into the morning and when he wakes Renjun expects for things to be different, but they’re not. At least not outwardly. Inside, it’s changed, if only because there’s a bright buzz of hope waiting to softly ignite.
He’s grateful for a lot of things, and maybe he’ll never really be grateful for presenting as an omega. But he is happy for everything in his path that led him to intimately know the alpha who rests soundlessly beside him.