Chapter Text
You‘re the star I look for every night, when it’s dark you stick right by my side
22nd August, 4:38 pm
Hyunjin is exhausted, his legs hurt and his ears burn and if he is being very, very dramatic he could say he is about to slip into a migraine. Nari is finally down, after her third tantrum today, she finally decided to grant Hyunjin some peace. He is lying on the couch, splayed out like a starfish, while the silence in the apartment seems like a trick. His daughter is sleeping in her crib, holding on to the plush shark that Chan got her. Hyunjin can hear his stomach growl and his hand lands on it before he groans and blinks at the ceiling. He doesn’t want to move, he doesn’t want to cook or eat - he just wants to sleep.
His phone chimes and he swallows before tilting his head. The device is sitting on the coffee table, just out of reach for him. He debates if he can just ignore the message, maybe it is just a notification from some social media app and he will not move for that. Ever. But then his phone chimes again - twice. He sighs and rolls onto his side, sitting up and blinking before grabbing the phone, looking down on the messages.
Jeongin
Need your help
Why are you offline?
Hellooo?
Urgh. “What could a college student possibly need help with?” Hyunjin whines, but he presses the call button and then the phone against his ear. Jeongin doesn’t pick up and Hyunjin frowns. Its been a minute, tops. Why is his brother suddenly not picking up? Did he throw his phone away? Annoyed, Hyunjin blinks at the screen, watches as three dots appear and a second later, Jeongin’s answer.
Jeongin
I’ll call you tomorrow
Just got to my friends.
Hyunjin sighs and puts his phone back down, his eyes darting towards the bedroom, where Nari is sleeping. She shouldn’t be, it is way too early and Hyunjin will regret it tomorrow morning, when Nari is up and about at like 5am. But she had been crying for thirty minutes because something was wrong and Hyunjin had not been able to find the solution. Nari screamed herself to sleep and after that, Hyunjin just dropped onto the couch. His stomach growls again and he sighs. Food. Right.
He shuffles into the kitchen and opens the fridge, where he is met with neatly packed boxes full of food. Right, he doesn’t have to cook, he just needs to reheat. Chan started meal prepping, apparently he does this everytime he has too many thoughts, and he somehow decided to prepare different meals for Hyunjin and Nari. Hyunjin can’t help but smile, his scent slowly turning even sweeter than it already is. He sighs and grabs one of the boxes, filling the food into a bowl and putting it in the microwave. While he waits for his food to be done, he starts cleaning up. The kitchen is a mess, there is food and a spoon on the floor, after Nari threw it at nothing specific, and he cleans up the baby toys around the living room.
The ping of the microwave causes him to flinch, then he rubs his chin and exhales. With a sigh, Hyunjin drops the toys in the box they belong in and then shuffles back into the kitchen, where he takes the bowl and sits down to eat. He closes his eyes and yawns before taking his first bites. The flavour is rich and so incredibly good despite the fact he reheated it, that Hyunjin almost starts to cry.
He manages to refrain from it.
Around half past 5, Hyunjin feels too tired for anything, his eyes drooping close every few seconds. The lock of the front door clicks and a few seconds later, Hyunjin’s mind is fogged with the scent of an alpha. The tang of seawater, so unmistakably Chan, hits Hyunjin first, bracing and clean with some hint or wildness - like waves crashing. Then it softens immediately, even though just slightly, by the grounding force of earthy, sun-warmed worn leather. Hyunjin can’t help but smile as he turns around.
Chan sneaks in, still wearing a loose shirt and jeans, the cap on his head hiding his curls. He clicks the door shut and stops in his tracks when his eyes fall onto Hyunjin. “Oh… I thought you were taking Nari down…” He whispers, his skin shimmering. He was at the pool, probably training. Hyunjin licks his lips and smiles slightly. “She went down an hour ago, had about seven trazillion tantrums and then knocked out right after.” Hyunjin smiles, soft and sweet and Chan smiles right back.
Hyunjin watches as the alpha drops his bag and slowly shifts out of his shoes before moving towards him. “I just wanted to check if you guys have eaten yet!” He mutters and Hyunjin smiles, stepping up to him. “I just did.” He nods and Chan seems relieved. For some reason, the alpha seems to be more worried about Hyunjin for the last few weeks.
Maybe he knows.
Instead of saying anything, Hyunjin reaches out and pulls Chan in. His tired body allows himself to melt against the students broad chest and his head drops right on Chan’s shoulders. He doesn’t even notice the slight swell of his scent gland on his neck, Hyunjin’s eyes falling shut immediately. “I am so tired,” he groans as Chan wraps his arms around him. “I can see… long day, hm?” Chan whispers, his cheek softly pressed against Hyunjin’s forehead. Hyunjin hums in response. “Oh, baby. Okay, how about you got to bed and I will get outta your hair, hm?” Chan whispers.
Hyunjin protests in the form of squeezing himself even closer to Chan. The alpha snorts and smiles. “Okay, let's get you changed and then we can just lay around.” He offers. Hyunjin sighs. “Yes please!” He yawns before Chan starts moving them around the room towards the bedroom.
The buttery, golden, with sugar and zest laced scent that is Hyunjin’s own, is present in the room. The fresh, springlike smell of daffodils and yellow freesia lingering in the corners. The bed is still unmade, most of Hyunjin’s pillows form a circle. “You still have your nest?” Chan asks quietly as he sits Hyunjin down on the bed. Hyunjin shrugs. “I can sleep better like that.” He whispers, swaying while taking his shirt off. Chan helps him change into his pajamas, a gentle touch on him as he does. “Fair enough, but you should start to try and sleep without it again, no?” He asks.
Hyunjin shakes his head and blinks at Chan, who snorts. “Look at you being completely exhausted and ready to go to sleep at 5:40pm.” Chan muses and kisses his forehead before Hyunjin crawls into the bed and under the sheets. The curtains are drawn and Hyunjin sighs. “Stay?” He asks quietly and Chan does not make him ask twice; ripping off his shirt and jeans before joining Hyunjin under the blanket, wrapping his arms around him. “Are you using new shampoo?” He asks as he nuzzles his nose into Hyunjin’s hair. “Why?” Hyunjin murmurs. “You smell… different.” Chan shrugs.
“Must be the new detergent.” Hyunjin answers, cuddling closer and shutting his eyes. Chan’s hands roam until they find their resting place right on Hyunjin’s hip and stomach. And some sort of warmth goes through both of them.
Jeongin sits on the sofa like he is about to get scolded. Hyunjin blinks at him and tilts his head. “Innie, what is up?” He asks and raises his eyebrows. His brother scrunches his nose before he blinks at Hyunjin. “Remember how you said you would always love me? No matter what?” He asks and Hyunjin stops in his movements. Nari is currently playing with his hair, seated on Hyunjin’s lap, while Hyunjin is trying to fix her own hair. Now he glances at Jeongin. “Innie… what is… what? Of course I do. And that will never change.” He says and his brother shifts slightly, nodding.
“Can I ask you something ?” For a moment, the question lingers between them, filling the room. “You can ask me anything, Innie.” Hyunjin answers with softness and fondness in his voice while he looks at his brother, ignoring the sting of Nari pulling his hair. Jeongin clears his throat, squeezing the pillow in his hands. He had placed it on his lap before sitting down. Hyunjin smells the sting of nervousness in his sweet tea heavy, accentuated by roses, scent. “Okay, what did you do, hm?” He wants to know and wraps his arm a little tighter around Nari to keep her upright on his lap.
His brother looks like he is about to commit a murder, something awful and cruel, and Hyunjin raises an eyebrow. “Out with it, I need to know if I have to ask for bail money.” Hyunjin clicks his tongue and Jeongin sends him a look before he groans in protest and sinks into the couch. “Okay so… uhm… I.. well, I met someone.” He pushes out and Hyunjin lets the words linger for a moment, tilting his head. Then he shifts, setting Nari down between them. The girl grabs at Jeongin’s big hands with her tiny ones and Jeongin swallows, lifting his pinky so Nari can take it. She coos. “Why do you sound like this is something bad, though?” Hyunjin asks and Jeongin’s free hand squeezes the pillow to death.
“Because… they… uhm…” he looks around the living room, avoiding Hyunjin’s gaze and grinds his teeth ever so slightly. “They are an alpha, too.” He mutters and blinks. Nari is still cooing, kneading her uncle’s finger and waving her other hand around while she sits between them. Hyunjin sits, hands resting on his knees while he looks at Jeongin, who now ducks his head slightly. “Are you mad?” He whispers, looking at his older brother through his lashes. Hyunjin recognises the body language, knowing exactly where it stems from and what Jeongin is doing here and why he does it. The pang of shame in his chest makes him feel nauseous, which is not really a new feeling at the moment.
He recognises the way Jeongin holds himself because he looked the same when he told his parents that he got pregnant, when he had to admit to his father that the future he had planned for Hyunjin was not in the cards anymore. And Hyunjin understands what Jeongin is waiting for, why he is glancing at him like that. Scolding. Nari is giggling while latching her mouth onto Jeongin’s finger and they both blink down at her for a second. Hyunjin snorts before he shakes his head. “Yeni,” He says, “You are my baby brother, and I adore you like no other.” Jeongin looks at him with shame in his eyes. “No matter who you are dating. Alpha, Beta or Omega. I don’t care. Unless you are trying to go for Mrs Rosevelt from upstairs - her pot roast is not yours to claim! And she is like 100, so.”
There is a smile tugging on Jeongin’s lips and Hyunjin leans forward, nudging his brother’s knee with his own. “So… you two are dating?” He asks and Jeongin nods. “Yeah… for a few weeks now.” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow. “I wanted to tell you but… I.. wanted to wait until you have everything sorted out here.” Jeongin sighs and Hyunjin snorts again, amused by the words. “What do you mean?” He laughs while Nari grabs Jeongin’s whole hand, latching her mouth against them with glee. Hyunjin should get her one of those rings to chew on. “Well, the move and then the whole thing… with the guy next door..” Hyunjin’s cheeks flush and his brother starts grinning. “Oh shut up.” Hyunjin groans and shoves Jeongin slightly.
The alpha laughs and shrugs. “So… does Mom know?” Hyunjin asks, standing up. Jeongin puts the pillow away and takes Nari on his lap, letting her play with the string of his hoodie. “They know I am dating someone, yeah..” he nods and Hyunjin hums, slowly shuffling to the kitchen, where he grabs two glasses and a bottle of juice. “But they don’t know who.” He states and Jeongin nods when Hyunjin comes back. “Yeah…” he sighs and scrunches his nose. “That's why I need to ask you something..” Jeongin hesitates while Hyunjin puts the glasses down and pours juice into them, then he grabs Nari’s bottle and turns to look at his brother. “What?” He asks, a warning in his tone.
“They wanna meet them… but…” Jeongin starts, rubbing Nari’s sides. “I… Will you join us? They wanna have dinner and all but I fear I will die if..” He swallows and Hyunjin stares at him. He hasn’t talked to his father ever since he told them he was pregnant. He hasn’t been in the house he grew up in since then either. “If you don’t have a buffer there, hm?” He grunts out. Jeongin is quick to shake his head. “No. No, that is not what I meant. I mean I will probably die if I have to face them alone. Please, Hyune.” Jeongin whines and Nari starts whining with him, her eyes big and questioning. “Jeongin, you will have your partner there, no?” Hyunjin says.
For a moment, Jeongin grinds his teeth, then he nods. “But I need you there too, Hyune. Please. I need my brother.” The alpha says quietly and Hyunjin swallows, stunned by the silent plea in Jeongin’s eyes. When Hyunjin left to live on his own, Jeongin had begged him so many times to come back, not understanding that their parents had kicked Hyunjin out. Now, Jeongin seems to have a little bit more understanding but he still misses Hyunjin. “It will just be dinner and we can leave whenever.” Jeongin says and Hyunjin looks down at the bottle in his hands before he clears his throat. “You can bring the guy!” His brother tries. Hyunjin’s head snaps up and he looks at Jeongin with wide eyes. “Now why would I do that?” He asks.
“Because you seem to be comfortable with him and we both need people in our corner?” Jeongin asks. Hyunjin bites his tongue and grinds his teeth. “When?” He caves and Jeongin exhales in relief. “In two weeks. Dad comes back next weekend and then Mom wants to host the dinner.” Hyunjin sighs and nods, turning back towards the kitchen. “Fine. But I am not bringing Nari.” He says, walking into the kitchen and filling up the bottle.
“He is acting kinda off..” Chan rubs his shoulder, water dripping from his hair down to his shoulders and from his swim shorts down to the floor. Changbin leans forward, his headphones pressing against his neck. “What exactly does that mean, Channie?” He asks and the alpha stretches himself a little. The swimming pool is quiet, aside from the buzzing of the vents and the soft swashes of waves from the water. They are alone, only the two of them, and Chan is trying to train for a competition in a few weeks, but his mind is still hanging onto Hyunjin and he is trying to make sense of it. “Well, first of all,” Chan rubs his head, shaking his hair a little before slipping the cap back on. “His heat was kinda… weird? And he is smelling different,” Changbin scrunches his nose and then rolls his eyes. “Why was his heat weird?” He asks and Chan licks his lips stepping up to the edge of the pool. “It was… different, not as intense as the last one?” Chan shrugs. “Shorter and stuff.. He wasn’t as… well..” Chan makes a hand movement and Changbin grunts. “Jesus, can you talk in complete sentences?”
Chan turns back around and stares at his friend. “Changbin, I am not gonna tell you about Hyunjin’s heat in detail, you do not need to know that.” He grunts and Changbin cackles. “So, maybe you had performance issues, hm?” Changbin teases and for a moment both of them stare at each other, then Chan turns around and shakes his head. “My performance is very good, I am happy to say.” He grunts before he dips into the water, the cold of it engulfing him as he starts pulling himself through the pool. He keeps his breathing even, his muscles play with every stroke he does and when his feet touch the wall and he pushes himself forward, his heart roars in glee. Chan loves swimming, its something that helps him focus on only one thing, keeps him distracted from the worries of the world and uni. But now, his head popping up out of the water, he is met with Changbin’s grin. “You gonna tell me why you think he is acting weird?” His friend asks from where he is sitting on a bench. Chan grunts and wipes his face.
“Something is different, I feel like he is pulling away from me again and this time I feel like I did not do anything wrong but I am really shit at figuring that out.” Chan grunts as he pulls himself out of the pool and stretches again. Changbin shakes his head. “No, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I mean you two are like some love sick puppies.” Changbin sighs and leans back again, grabbing his laptop and clicking the keys on the keyboard. “We are not… love sick puppies, Bin.” He grunts and Changbin snorts, not even glancing over the rim of his glasses. “What? We are not.” Chan defends himself but Changbin just shrugs. “You are in love, no?” He then asks and Chan swallows before walking over to the bench, grabbing his towel. “I am.” He grits out and Changbin grins. “Oh yeah I can tell, especially because you nestled yourself into the father role quite quickly and well too.” Changbin hums and the other alpha shifts while he dries himself. “I am not trying…” He starts but Changbin clicks his tongue. “You are trying to be a good man for Hyunjin and your instincts tell you exactly what that entails. There is nothing wrong with it, though.”
Changbin hums and rubs his nose before looking up at Chan, who is still dripping, the towel clutched between his hands while he blinks at his friend. “You don’t think… I am overstepping or doing too much or..” Changbin rolls his eyes in annoyance and closes his laptop before standing up. “Chris, come on. You need to calm down a little. You two are dating, which is cool, and Nari is a part of Hyunjin, you take care of both of them. What else do you wanna do?” Changbin raises an eyebrow and Chan snarls a little before he dries his hair and hangs the towel around his neck, holding the cap between his hands as he listens to the sounds of the pool. “I think, if you feel like something is wrong, you need to talk to Hyunjin. Because if you don’t, you will just spiral. Also, communication is key, right?” Chan stares at Changbin and narrows his eyes. “You want me to straight up ask?” He asks and Changbin shrugs. “That’s what we do. Whenever one of us feels like the other is mad, we talk. And look at how great we are doing.” Changbin stretches his arms out and grins as Chan tosses his swimming cap at him. “You fuck it out like teenagers, that's what you do.” Chan grunts and then they both start to laugh a little before Changbin pushes his notebook into his bag and throws the cap back to Chan.
“No, we talk and then we fuck. There is a healthy balance.” Changbin hums and stands up, stepping up to Chan. “You should try that.” He grins and Chan shoves him slightly, causing them both to chuckle before Chan shakes his head. “Guess I will ask if something is wrong… maybe he is still… struggling with something, I don’t know.” Chan sighs and Changbin nods, patting his shoulders. “But please don’t become all whiny and shit when he is actually angry with you, that is just not it.” The teasing tone in Changbin’s words saved him from Chan shoving him into the pool. Instead he shrugs his bag on and sighs. “I’m gonna wait outside, do not take hours in the shower again, man.” And with that Changbin leaves the pool through the public entrance. Chan rubs his nose and nods before moving towards the locker rooms, where he grabs his stuff and heads to take a shower. After cleaning the chlorine off of him, and getting dressed, Chan steps outside onto campus. The late August sun is warming the asphalt and concrete around him. Changbin is leaning against Chan’s car, he can see him standing in the car park. Chan turns his face towards the sun and closes his eyes before exhaling deeply. For a moment he thinks about his family, his sister and home, then his thoughts wander to Hyunjin and Nari and how warm they make him feel - Chan feels home in them too.
He sucks in a breath and opens his eyes again, shouldering his bag and fidgeting with the keys in his hands. Home. Chan feels home in Hyunjin, warmth of comfort and something deeper. And he can not put words for it into the world as of right now, just the feeling of overbearing protectiveness in his chest, that catches on to Nari too, to the little girl with wild locks and her mother’s sweetness. Chan clears his throat and walks over to the car park where Changbin is tapping against the hood of Chan’s car, waiting. “Hey, we should go grab some sushi from that place downtown, Lix is craving it for days and Sungie is wailing my ears off about it…” He says when Chan is in range and Chan grunts a little. “Sure, why not, let's appease the goddesses.” Chan grins and Changbin puffs up his chest a little. “They are, my goddesses, yes.” He grins and Chan shakes his head before pulling his phone out and tapping on the screen. “What you doing?” Changbin asks, but the swimmer just surrounds his car, pushing the phone against his ear. It rings twice, then a sweet voice answers. “Hey you,” Chan hums and he can hear the smile in Hyunjin’s voice, when he answers. “Hey, everything okay?” The doors of the car open and Changbin slips right next to Chan into the vehicle. “Yeah, I wanted to know if you want some sushi, too. Changbin insists on getting some-” Changbin quips in between, interrupting Chan’s sentence. “Hey, I am not insisting, I have made a suggestion!”
Hyunjin chuckles on the other end of the phone, a soft and warm sound that wraps around Chan’s heart like cellophane wrap. Chan smiles, the sound of Hyunjin happy makes him happy too. “Thank you but I don’t feel like sushi at the moment..” There is some sort of hesitation in Hyunjin’s voice and Chan frowns for a moment, he shifts but then Hyunjin hums into the phone. “You could bring me some Tteokbokki, I mean only if you-” Hyunjin starts but Chan just interrupts with a quick “No problem, do you want anything else?” and Hyunjin goes quiet for a moment. Changbin pokes at Chan and Chan swats his hands away as the younger alpha starts to giggle. “Ice cream, please?” Hyunjin answers and Chan smiles even more. “Ice cream it is.” He hums and Changbin sighs. “Okay, love, see you later.” With that Chan hangs up and starts the car. Changbin grins at him but Chan ignores it. “Jisung and Felix are rubbing off on you, Bin.” He grumbles and his friend starts to cackle while Chan concentrates on the street.