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city life, apple pie | CH. 02

> pairing | alpha!changbin x omega!reader

> chapter word count | 12.9k

> genre | a/b/o, friends to lovers, brother's best friend, fluff, smut, romcom vibe, MDNI.

> chapter warnings | a/b/o dynamics, explicit language, mentions of past assault (nothing graphic), implied sexual content, ruts and heats.

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02. like the late afternoon on the countryside

Hyunjin had been blabbering about it for a week already. It started out tame, a little comment here and there, a casual drop in conversation, the mention of an idea. It took him a couple of days to ask it straight away. Right now we had reached begging territory. Your personal favorite.

“Please please please it sounds perfect, I have the entire thing thought out”

“No”, you barely lift your lips from your coffee mug to say it.

“On the moon, literally what do I have to dooooooo?”

You can’t lie and say you are not enjoying it. It’s rare that you have such an upper hand against him. And you can tell it’s just as entertaining to your other friends, sitting at the table with you.

Jeongin leans closer to Seungmin, “I thought she didn’t mind people listening to her songs?”

“I don’t think she does, she’s just seeing how har he is willing to go”, your friend replies. Seungmin knows you too well. You have to refrain from smiling, overhearing them but keeping your eyes locked with your twin.

“Can you two shut up?” Hyunjin’s neck snap towards your friends anyway.

“Whoa, calm down flower boy, it’s not that serious”, you knew how much your brother disliked the nickname but, as if on cue, his scent flares up, the predominant whiff of roses hitting your nose alongside the burned leaves he usually sports when his mood has gone sour.

“Well you gigantic fruit salad”, he starts, giving you a taste of your own medicine, “can you just tell me what it would take?”

“It’s an orchard”, Changbin’s voice is small and he keeps scrolling on his phone, it’s like a thought that ran astray, not meant to be said out loud. Every single person at the table turns their attention to him. The quiet makes him look up, “what?”

Jeongin looks from Changbin to you and back, “an orchard?”

Changbin catches on, cheeks going slightly pink. He eyes you and your brother first before turning to your friends, “yeah, the Hwangs have like a grass smell? His is more flowery, like a garden. Hers is fruity, like an orchard.”

“Huh”, is all Seungmin says.

Hyunjin’s expression softens, probably thinking about the same thing as you. Your family all had fresh nature smells, yours was by far the sweetest. Your grandma used to say the same thing about the orchard smell, adding that it reminded her of her childhood on the countryside. But no one else in your closer circle ever reached that same conclusion. It made your heart do a little flip, something light and happy.

You’re afraid someone might say something and ruin the moment, so you turn your attention back to your twin.

“Hmm you know what, little brother?” you have a certain glint to your eyes.

All softness is erased from his face in a second. He squints at you.

“No”, Hyunjin’s entire demeanor changes.

“Well that’s fine by me”, you shrug your shoulders, takes another sip, starts to turn towards your other friends.

“You are SO annoying, dude”, he says, and that’s how you know you won.

A lifetime of actually being annoying thought you that it usually gets you places. That’s part of the reason why you keep it up. It is also very fun.

“Hmm?”, is all you give him, unbothered. You see Seungmin forcing down his own smile. He knows what’s coming too. It’s been a topic of conversation a few times amongst those the same age as you.

Hyunjin takes a deep breath, closes his eyes.

Even Chan looks away from his computer to watch.

You can see Jisung over your brother’s shoulder, leaning in at the counter, trying to hear it too.

“Please noona, can I use your song for the dance contest?” he spits it out. You consider denying it again, to make him repeat it, to say it once more but with a little more heart to it. But you also know your limits.

“Of course, baby brother, you should have asked sooner”, your voice is as sweet as you can make it.

“Wait so you’re the oldest?” Changbin is not phased by Hyunjin’s dramatics, your twin having dropped his forehead to rest at the table, gently but rhythmically pounding it against the wood of the surface.

“We don’t know”, you both say it at the same time. One of those weird twin synchronicities both of you hate but can’t escape.

“Mum never told us” Hyunjin mumbles, his face too closely pressed to the table for the words to come out right.

“But don’t I give off older sister vibes?” you smile triumphantly, trying to ignore Chan’s huff across from you, keeping your eyes locked to Changbin.

“They’ve been doing this for years, how have you never noticed it?” Jisung pipes in, coming closer to bring Hyunjin a sweet treat. A sweet treat your brother had not ordered. A clear show of favouritism. You’re about to point that out when Changbin’s reply distracts you.

“I think I only assumed Hyunjin was older”

“What?” you say at the same time as Hyunjin lifts his head, his smile almost splitting his face in half.

“I don’t know, you just give off ‘needs to be looked after’ vibes?” Changbin seems confused but you are genuinely irritated now.

Hyunjin is almost floating off of his seat.

“What the fuck, that is such a prejudiced mindset”, you know it’s not that deep, but old habits die hard and you had similar discussions all your life.

“What? Why?” Changbin seems genuinely confused. It does nothing to appraise your anger.

“I need looking after? That’s such an alpha thing to say, specially to an omega”

Jeongin and Seungmin start to act out eating popcorn out of imaginary bowls.

“That’s not what I mean!” Changbin starts to smell very gingerly all of a sudden. Chan gets a wrinkle on his nose, clearly sensing it too. You’ve been told that’s what Changbin smells like when he’s nervous, embarrassed, although you had never smelled it properly like that yourself. Good.

“Besides, you know that the person who munches off of you is him, right?” You point to your brother, who has joined the other two youngest boys in their popcorn-eating antics.

“Hey!” Hyunjin breaks the act to protest.

“He doesn’t munch off of me” Changbin tries to defend himself, but the tip of his ears are turning red. You didn’t mean to scold him but it didn’t feel wrong, exactly, to be doing it.

“He does”, Seungmin comes to your aid.

Hyunjin pauses, looks at his friend, relents. “…I do”.

“I, however, am my sole caretaker”, and you’re proud of that.

Your parents would not have had enough to help you through university, so you did it all yourself. You got multiple scholarships to help through your undergrad and was now almost done with your post-grad doing just the same. You lived at a cheap apartment far from everything, but you had furnished it entirely by yourself. The life you led was not one that would have been allowed even as soon as fifty years ago. It was something to brag about.

You open your mouth to say just that but are interrupted by an alarm going off. Seungmin quickly pulls out his phone to silence it.

He then takes out his backpack, fishes a pill bottle from inside and throws one of the little white circles down his throat before storing it away again.

“What is that?” Hyunjin asks. The whole table had watched the ritual in silence.

“Suppressants”, Minho replies, instead of Seungmin himself, having approached to signal Jisung he needed the younger back behind the counter.

“I didn’t know you took those?” Hyunjin is confused but not judgmental.

You knew. Those kinds of talks always came around when it was just the omegas together, eventually. You had always had an irregular cycle and, early into your friendship with Seungmin, he had asked you why you didn’t take heat suppressants to help every now and then.

As much as you appreciated his concern, you had a bad track with those, so you preferred to stay away. There was a phrase during your late teens when you were constantly on them. It didn’t do you any good, and it only rewarded you with a couple of trips to the hospital. Safe to say your body did not like that and you almost seriously injured yourself.

Seungmin’s cycles were shorter than yours and, for someone who took his routine so seriously, it made sense that he would take the suppressant route that many omegas did, to only get his heat every other month, like doctors considered healthy for someone your age. You sometimes got yours every month, sometimes went without one for three or four months. It would drive Seungmin insane.

“You shouldn’t take those too frequently”, Hyunjin pipes in. He witnessed it first hand what suppressing every single heat for a year could do. That alone kept him away from taking rut suppressants, even when it would really benefit him.

“As long as he’s being safe”, it’s your turn to come to your friend’s defense.

“I don’t know man, why would you even have to take those? They can really fuck you up” Changbin, apparently recovered from you earlier scolding, seems to think it’s safe to butt in again.

It isn’t.

“Well not every omega is lucky enough to only get their heats every once in a while, or not have them for months like her” he points at you and you try to not feel attacked, this is not about you.

“I get taking them every now and then but like-”

“At least I’m not stinking up the place all the time” Seungmin cuts Changbin off, almost snarling at the older man.

“I’m not stinking up the place” Changbin deflates immediately, tries to say it confidently but turns to Hyunjin next, leaning closer, lowering his voice, “am I stinking up the place?”

“No, baby, you’re fine” Hyunjin pats his friend’s thigh and you can’t hold back your snort.

“What?” Changbin’s head snaps to you, ears going red once more.

“Hyunjin is also always stinking up the place so how would he know?” Seungmin provides the answer, voicing your exact thoughts.

“No I’m not”

“Yes you are”, you confirm.

“You can’t even smell me that well, how would you know?” and he’s right.

Although you could read his moods depending on how his scent flared just like you could your own, biology and the whole growing-up-together made his smell a lot more muted for you.

“I have ears and Minho likes bitching about your dance practices”

“That doesn’t count!”

“You kinda overdo it with the territorial thing at the studio, mate” Chan is the one to add, joining the conversation briefly but standing up to head for the register, probably getting himself another drink.

“But that’s the one place I have to!” Hyunjin tries to defend himself, “Minho is an omega and Lix is treated as if he was one too, I’m just keeping it safe for them!”

“Safe for them?” you point over his shoulder, towards the counter, where Minho prepares a drink for Felix who had just came in, both chatting amicably with Chan, “those two over there?”

Hyunjin doesn’t even turn to look at them, “yes, why is that so hard to believe?”

“You mean to tell me that the boxer and the taekwondo black belt need your scent to feel safe?”

And it’s Hyunjin’s turn to visibly deflate.

Seungmin high fives you, childishly.

Jeongin looks between the two of you.

“You’re scary”, he says, eyeing the alphas beside him, suddenly very small on their own frames.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

When Minho is not at the cafe, he is at the gym.

He started going just to lift, maybe do some light cardio, more as a friendly gesture towards Changbin on those early days of the business than anything else. But then Changbin added the boxing ring and Minho started spending more time there after work. That was around the time you first met him, after your brother dragged you and your friends to the cafe, using you as proof that he was a chill cool alpha, when trying to convince Minho to join his dance team. The older later got roped into a dance competition with Felix and Hyunjin. You had the theory that he only did it to get closer to Jisung - who, at the time, was very antisocial and only really hung out with people he already knew, but again, you’d have to find the time to broach that conversation with one of them later.

No matter the details though, years later Minho would still come straight to the gym after closing the cafe, sometimes to box, sometimes to join the dancers. You, however, was never one to be at the gym. Therefore Minho, after hearing your whole ‘I don’t need protection’ speech a few weeks ago, was convinced that you could use with a personal defense class.

You don’t tell him that you’ve taken those before when you agree to come with.

It could be fun and you had been feeling a little anxious lately. A little exercise couldn’t hurt. So you meet him at the cafe, just in time to hear him instructing Jisung on what should be done before closing. You get his last pour of the day, gladly taking the americano as part of the bribe to walk across the street and into the gym with him.

“Ya hyung, you’re late” Changbin is saying, before he spots you besides Minho.

He says your name with confusion written all over his face.

You smile brightly back at him, lifts your takeaway coffee cup in a little cheer, “hi to you too!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Can’t I visit?”

Before he can reply, Jeongin walks in from the back room, “noona? You really made it?”

“Why is everyone surprised that I came?”

“I thought you were joking when you said you were coming by earlier”

You had a meeting with a professor earlier and bumped into Jeongin and Seungmin at the university. You mentioned to the younger that you’d see him again later and both of them joked about it, but you assumed they took you seriously after you kept confirming it over and over again.

Jeongin had his training attire on as well. Minho had been sparing with him lately and thought the maknae could use someone with less experience to practice with, hence you.

“We had a bet going on”, Felix chimes in from behind the front desk. You look at him quizzically and he continues, “we thought you didn’t even have workout clothes.”

You look down to check your own body. Running shoes? Check. A pair of sweatpants? Normal enough. Large T-Shirt you stole from your brother forever ago? Not specially fitness-guru appropriate but you had a gym top on underneath in case you got too warm while boxing as well. Seemed good enough for you.

So you do a twirl and finish it off with a little pose, popping out your hip.

Changbin is standing right in front of you and his eyes follow the line of your body. You half expect him to make a joke about you not having proper clothes to work out on but he locks his jaw and remains quiet, his adam’s apple moving as he forces down a gulp.

Minho nudges you, “stop playing around, let’s fight”

“You know just how to charm a girl”, you say back, but follow him nonetheless.

He makes you and Jeongin stretch and run in place to warm up for a bit, before taking your hand to wrap it up, preparing it for the gloves. He completes your right hand but then Jeongin calls him over to help, so you stay in place, holding the gloves and the tape on the corner of the mat, like an NPC whose turn to interact had not came yet.

You feel a light tap on your leg and look down to see Changbin leaning in on the ropes.

“Need help with that?”

You wordlessly lift the rope to help him step up and in, handing him the tape so he can finish wrapping your other hand for you.

He’s focused on getting it right but you can tell he doesn’t have much practice with it. You could help him but that would blow your cover way too soon. So you just keep your silent watch. It’s endearing, really, how much attention he’s giving to the menial task.

“Is that too tight?”

You shake your head no. Can’t help the small smile that escapes you, directed at the big men holding your hand who’s too scared of hurting you.

His patches have probably already worn out. It starts to smell warm, almost like a chai latte - your personal favorite. All of Changbin’s usual spices, but sweeter. If it was anyone else you’d probably warn him about it. But you knew it was almost closing time for the general public as well, your friends making for the majority of the people still around.

And you knew Changbin had a long day.

And he has such a nice smell, you couldn’t really imagine anyone complaining about it.

“Hey, you ready?” Minho calls you over from the center of the mat.

Changbin steps aside and moves out of the ring again, allowing you to join the other two at the center.

At first Minho goes over a couple basic moves. You control your strength, takes in his corrections, plays it dumb but takes it seriously. He’s a good teacher. Jeongin is also holding back, you can tell. But you think he’s none the wiser about how you’re mapping out his actions with precision because of that.

Minho finally allows you to spar without much guidance, and you can’t help but get a punch in when you see an opening.

Jeongin steps back with betrayal written all over his face. You know your eyes are sparkling with victory right back. You sneak a glance at Minho and he’s already watching you with his eyebrows raised. You don’t see Changbin but you can sense him behind you, too. His scent taking a turn to something you can’t quite place. You tilt your head facing Jeongin, faking innocence. Beginners luck, surely.

He scoffs and adjust his feet. You resume the game, keep going at each other. You go back to holding back and keeps your focus mostly at avoiding Jeongin’s punches. You smell your brother before you see him as well, his patches also having reached the end of their life after hours of sweating through them.

“What are they doing?” You hear his voice behind you, probably having joined Changbin in watching. You keep your focus on Jeongin.

“Boxing,” Changbin says, a distracted sound to the reply.

“Ok, but why?” Hyunjin insists, and Jeongin almost manages to sneak in a punch while your attention shifts to the conversation happening behind you.

“I don’t know, Minho hyung wanted your sister to be able to defend herself”, Changin’s reply comes with more words but keep that aloof characteristic to it. He has probably seen how you barely escaped Jeongin’s touch.

Hyunjin cackles and it almost allows for your attention to slip, but you lean out of Jeongin’s reach again just in time.

“Her!?” Your brothers voice is loud, he wants you to hear it. You feel your cheeks begin to heat up, your cover is about to be blown and you prepare for it, “she’s been boxing for years!”

No reason to hold back anymore, so you choose to square a lethal punch that breaks into Jeongin’s defenses.

“Ya, noona!” the younger boy spits as you turn back to your sibling, already starting to free your hands.

“Why can’t you ever let me have fun?” you throw one of the gloves at Hyunjin at the same time as he’s extending a water bottle to you, old routine, old habits. He used to come watch you practice often enough for the motion to feel natural.

“It’s not fair to them,” he points dramatically at what you can only assume are two very confused men behind you. Changbin is still leaning onto the ropes, staring up at you with his mouth hanging open.

“Yeah noona, what the fuck?” Jeongin sounds winded and you turn to see him also taking off his gloves and passing them on to Minho, who already has his own hands wrapped.

“My turn then”, the older lifts an eyebrow, challenging. A smile takes over your face. Now that would be much more fun.

“That hardly sounds fair either”, Changbin finally breaks his silence.

“Huh, I think I’ll be alright”, you shrug your shoulders, trading the water back for the gloves with Hyunjin, turning to wink at Changbin at the last second.

He blushes, but you’re already focused on the omega in front of you, posture locked in place.

Neither you nor Minho hold back this time. Both sneaking enough hits that you’re sure you’ll have a couple of bruises the next morning.

When he finally gives you a signal to stop, Hyunjin and Changbin are still where you last left them, joined by Jeongin, Felix and Chan.

“That was hot”, the oldest one says, earning himself an elbow to the side from your brother, “what?”

“He’s right”, Jeongin adds, and Hyunjin has to reach behind Changbin to slap the younger boy behind his head.

“Thats my sister, please shut up”

“I was talking about Minho hyung”, Jeongin replies, patting his head where Hyunjin had hit him.

“I was not”, Chan doubles down, with a rare glint of mischief on his eyes.

You blow him a kiss once you have your hands free. Again Changbin’s scent flares, a different smell you never got from him before.

“I recorded if you want to see it later”, Felix adds, directed at Chan but meant for you to hear. Or so you think.

“Don’t”, Minho says, approaching to hand you a water bottle.

“But hyung, Jisung would love to see it”, Felix puts on his best puppy face, the effect being enhanced by the fact that you were still standing above him on the ring.

Minho rolls his eyes but says nothing as he steps down. Felix and Chan exchange a look that communicates more than you are able to decipher. You start to follow Minho out of the ring when you see Changbin’s hand suddenly extended to you, helping you out.

“Thank you”, you murmur, not willing to admit your legs do feel wobbly after all that exercise. It’s been a while since you last practiced and Minho really was much better than you, you could admit as much.

“Same time next week?” your new boxing instructor calls from across the place, where he’s already following your brother and Felix up to the dance studio.

You nod and wave him goodbye, moving the other way behind Jeongin, with Changbin still by your side. He must have taken control of his scent, as you could barely smell him now, even standing much closer. You hate how much you immediately miss it.

“How are you getting home?” He asks quietly, just for you to hear.

“I’ll probably take the bus”, he reaches behind the counter where you had dropped your bag earlier, hands it to you.

“Want me to drive you?” he offers, already grabbing his keys and backpack too, “Jeongin can finish closing up”

“Hey!” the younger complains, but that’s as far as it goes when Changbin looks his way, a whole conversation happening within those looks. You hate being left out of it, again. Jeongin exhales, defeated, “okay, yeah, I can close”

“Than yeah, that’d be great”, you agree, shaking away the odd feeling. You try to dismiss your insecurities about the way you must smell. You probably had sweated through your scent patches too, and your hair is sticking to your forehead and to the back of your neck. There’s an uncomfortable feeling creeping up your spine that you can’t place. Maybe just your anxiety acting up again, so much for exercise helping you with it.

Changbin pulls something out of his backpack before handing it to you, “it will be cold out and you’re still warm, you should put this on”

It’s his hoodie.

You smile in appreciation and immediately puts it on.

The smell is overwhelming in the best way possible. You feel a lot calmer already, the anxiety melting away. You have to hold back a purr, what the fuck?

Trying to play it cool, you follow him to his car in silence but, just as you make yourself comfortable in the passenger seat, your stomach grumbles loudly.

“Oh my god, that’s embarrassing”, you say out loud, an arm crossing over your midsection, the other covering your eyes.

Changbin laughs. It’s not a mocking laugh though, its something different. Familiar, gentle, fond.

“I could eat”, is all he says.

“There’s this pizza place near my apartment that’s pretty good”, you offer back, appreciative of his indirect offer.

So you help guide the way, directing him through the weird twists and turns of your neighbourhood. The restaurant is not full, but you take a seat outside anyway. It’s starting to grow chilly so you keep his hoodie on. If you bring your nose closer to the collar every now and then to sniff it, is nobody’s business.

You have a pretty similar taste in food, is what you find out. You have eaten together before many times, but it was usually more of a group setting. It’s amazing how fast you decide on flavours to share - specially knowing Changbin was not much of a sharer himself.

And it never got awkward.

The two of you could talk for hours and not run out of things to say, which was nice. And you knew that already, of course, but you are glad to find out that it didn’t only hold up when you were all hanging out at the cafe or at a house party, with your other friends around you. It remained just the same when it was only you and him.

“So, how did you become so good at boxing?” he finally breaches the subject, moving from the previous topic seamlessly. You feel a slight awkwardness though, try to mask it as best as you could.

“Have you ever seen my brother? He has such a punchable face, I couldn’t help it”, you joke. Changbin laughs politely but waits for you to continue.

You force your shoulder to relax. This is not a story you like to share, part of the reason why only your brother knew about your early adulthood hyper fixation in fighting styles. When you said yes to boxing with Minho you thought it would be something you could keep from the others. And truth be told, you missed the freedom, the release that fighting allowed you.

“It’s not that interesting of a story”, you start, and Changbin waves his hand, signalling for you to keep going, before picking up the final slice of pizza.

You look around. The restaurant was not particularly packed but there were still enough people around you to overhear.

“It’s not really light dinner conversation either”, you insist. You hope he drops it, but you also know him better than that.

“That’s alright, I could walk for a bit, I ate too much”, and once again, you appreciate the out he gives you, so you nod along.

He asks for the tab and insists on paying, “Minho hyung’s face when he realised you could actually fight was priceless, this is the least I can do.”

He then forfeits his car for the sake of waking you home.

It is a nice evening, the skies are clear and the moon is out, almost full. You can feel your omega happy while you look up at the bright orb during your stroll.

Changbin keeps his hands on his pockets but walks a little bit closer, his body warmth reaching you. Your hands also stay on your pockets but, every now and then, you allow your shoulder to brush his side.

He doesn’t push the subject but you can feel it hanging between you.

“So, the boxing”, you start.

He hums, letting you know he’s listening.

It’s been a while since you last told the story, so you try to not overthink as the words come to you.

“There was this accident, when I was younger”

You give yourself time, Changbin moves a little bit closer.

“I presented a bit late”, you start again, “everyone kinda thought I’d be an alpha like Hyunjin”

Changbin puffs out air in amusement, “I can see that”

“Yeah, he presented almost a whole year before me and when I finally did it, it was a surprise for everyone”, you allow the amusement to show on your voice.

Back then it had been really confusing, but now you could laugh at the expectations, the way everyone had tried to mask their shock when you shared the news of what the goddess had assigned you.

“When was that?”

“I was sixteen, almost seventeen”, you keep going, not giving your brain time to process before you move on, “it was our last year of school and I was having a little bit of trouble keeping up”

“You?” he exaggerates the ask, trying to keep the mood light, probably feeling the switch on your posture.

“Yeah, I know, shocker! I’m the brains and Hyunjin is the looks”, you roll your eyes but it’s in good humor, you don’t really mind the distinction, Changbin opens his mouth to protest but you don’t let him, “it’s fine, I’ve heard that all my life”

He closes his mouth but shakes his head in disagreement. You don’t want to decipher what that means so you move on.

“But you know I have really irregular heats, right?” you ask and he nods his acknowledgment, it was a pretty well known fact amongst your friend group, with you flaking on enough plans last minute for them to notice.

“Has it always been like that?”

“Pretty much, yeah”, you confirm and he nods in understanding, “but back then I couldn’t really tell when it was coming up, I still can’t, a lot of the times, but I got used to skipping pre-heat entirely and nowadays I’m better prepared for it, I can pick up on the signs faster”

You stop in place. Is it weird to be discussing this with an alpha? Even if society has moved to a point where omegas talking about their heats was no longer a big taboo, it was not really something discussed that straightforward. And here you are, sun already long set, out in the open with an alpha, talking about one of your biggest insecurities like it is nothing.

“You alright?” Changbin stops a couple steps ahead of you when he notices you’re not following.

“Is this weird?”

“What?”

“Us. Talking about this?”

He seems to think about it for an instant before lightly shrugging his shoulder, “I don’t think so”.

“Would you talk about your ruts like this?” You’re still not convinced.

“With you?” You nod your head yes, “probably, yeah”

That checks out. You feel comfortable with him, always had. You were glad to know it seemed to go both ways, so you resume your walking. There’s a little bit of extra trust placed there, it feels like a step forward between the friendship the two of you share.

“So there was this one time, right”, you continue as if you had never stopped, “I had to stay late to study because my heats had been making me miss a lot of classes and I couldn’t keep up that well”

He keeps his pace beside you, looking straight ahead instead of at you.

“I really wanted to go to university and so did Hyunjinnie. My parents had already said they could only afford to send one of us, so I was doing my best to try and get some sort of financial aid. I wanted to find a way so that we both could go. We both know Hyunjin never had the grades for a scholarship so I assumed I was our best shot. All of a sudden I present and like, six months in and my grades are already slipping. And! And! It’s my final year, yeah? So the worst possible timing for it to happen.”

Changbin suddenly places a hand on the small of your back, guiding you closer to him so you don’t step on a cracked piece of the sidewalk you didn’t even realize you were heading towards. His hand retreats immediately as you move past it. You have to swallow the urge to ask for the touch back.

“Thank you”, you murmur, shake your head, gets back to the story, “Hyunjin had left already, that day. My parents were still at work and there was some sort of strike going on, so no buses were running. I had been alone at the library for most of the afternoon so I couldn’t really tell anything was weird at first”

You laugh at yourself, thinking back to the day. How you barely had any appetite, how your brain had felt scattered even as you tried to stay focused on the books in front of you.

“It was the fucking librarian that said I should probably go home. She just came up to my table and said, loud and clear, ‘hey honey I think your heat is starting, can you get home safely?’” you do air quotes while remembering it, mimics the tone of her voice.

You had replayed that interaction many times over the years, always reaching the conclusion that it was that moment where something could’ve gone differently. If you had not felt so immediately embarrassed maybe you could’ve sensed the care on her voice, the gentle way she had approached you.

“And I felt so ashamed because I knew she was right, I don’t even know if I said anything back, I just packed my stuff and left as fast as possible. I think it was alright at first”, you pause, considering how to put it, “do you remember how patches used to be back then? And they were expeeeeeensive so I could never afford the really good ones. But I remember thinking it should be alright, it was just a few blocks and the street was mostly empty anyway.”

You can tell Changbin is growing tense, he has stopped controlling his scent a while ago, and you could smell it becoming more and more sour after every word you said. So you decide to cut to the chase, it felt like you were dragging both of you along at that point.

“Nothing really bad happened”, you start and he finally turns to look at you, he does not believe it, not really.

You take a deep breath in, you never like remembering this part.

“There were these guys, you know, I think they were coming back from the park near my house, one of them was carrying a basketball, they must’ve been only a couple years older than me”

A whole group of alphas. Their smell reaching you even before they turned the street corner. You had to urge your feet to keep going because what would they do, anyway? It was the modern world, omegas should not feel unsafe just walking on the street anymore.

But you were a young omega in heat and, when met with bad people, instincts could easily take over.

It had started out with looks. You kept your head down towards the pavement, avoided eye contact. But then one called to you. At first you could ignore it, even as other voices joined him. But when the calls grew more specific, you looked up.

They were right in front of you. One reached to touch your face. You stepped back and noticed every little change of his expression.

Two of them exchanged a look behind the first one. To this day you could not decipher what it meant. A warning? An agreement? A question?

Even if your brain had trouble following, your body knew what to do. And you ran.

You were fast but not that fast. Adrenaline made you sprint at first, but you grew tired way too quickly. You could still smell them behind you, so you took the first turn into an alley and kept going. While jumping over a fence you felt the wire cut into the material of your pants. That’s when your own smell hit you, the pain making it hard for you to control the roll out of your own scent.

That only seemed to entice them more. They kept chasing you, the fence only slightly slowing them down. You reach the park near your house and just as your legs are threatening to give out, you see your brother.

Hyunjin is already running towards you, a mixture of fear and anger written all over his face, an expression you had never seen before, and witnessed very few times since.

The man chasing you slow down, but don’t fully stop. Hyunjin might have been an alpha, but he was a scrawny teenager just like yourself. Not far behind him, however, you recognised the ajumma that ran the grocery shop nearby. There were a few older woman with her, people you had seen around the neighbourhood before but never talked to.

Later you would learn that, in your dazed confusion, blinded by fear, you ran right past the grocery shop - and didn’t even think of coming in, of asking for help. The ajumma recognised you and called your place immediately, having the number from the recurring orders your mom placed with her. Pure dumb luck was the fact that your brother had been at home and picked up, leaving in a hurry. He had detected your scent straight away, so strong he had no trouble tracking you. The other women had been either at the store or nearby, and recognized the smell of a scared omega, coming along to see what was the trouble. And thank goodness for them.

The small crowd dispersed the men. One of the older woman had called the cops, you all had to give out statements. You remember your parents’ hushed voices those following days. How Hyunjin had been, loudly voicing his anger, his words carrying through the door and into your room, where you were locked in dealing with your heat. Because it’s not like it went away. Even after waiting at the police station, even after shaking on the back of your parent’s car.

You had never heard them so defeated. Nothing ever came out of the police search but a little bit of acquired trauma. Hyunjin would go on to never let you walk from school alone again, the habit bleeding into your first year of college. You were the one that had to finally put an end to it, well into your second year at the university you both coincidentally chose. Truth be told, you knew he followed you there.

You had studied hard, the anxiety about going out after the accident ended up helping you in that sense. Of course there were downsides. Most of your friends didn’t stick around, you started to depend on Hyunjin’s social life a lot. He had always been popular and pretty and fun. The rare times you went out, you were always with him. His friends saw you as his weird skittish sister, you knew as much. It took you years to find your sense of humor again.

But you did, eventually.

You went through therapy and picked up a couple of self defense classes, later going into boxing. That was encouraged by your parents, the only way you knew they’d feel okay with you living away. If that was not enough, though, you still had your twin.

When you got in, it took him only a couple of days to convince your mum and dad that the dance program your university offered was the best idea for him as well. Both of you lived at the dorms during that first year, separate quarters, based on your secondary genders, but still close enough.

You kept to yourself, most of the time, but could feel Hyunjin starting to grow tired of that once your first year had wrapped. He had thrived in uni. Well, not academically, that was more your realm. But socially? He was at every party, every event, every club. And he didn’t have as much time for you anymore. He never said anything, but you knew. You had the freakish twin powers, after all. He was tired of having to babysit you. Of having to drag you along.

So you decided you could look after yourself.

And you did.

It started right after summer.

There was a shared class with Seungmin, a professor that had slotted you two together for a project when you didn’t really know each other. The friendship seemed to have grown out of nowhere, you went from bickering and disagreeing to meeting up for breakfast before classes. It had been years since you last had a friend like him. Seungmin knew your brother already - who didn’t? They shared a friend you would later meet yourself, going on to share many post-grad classes with Jeongin years down the line. Seungmin also introduced you to Jisung, another anxious mess, and it was only when your brother took an immediate dislike to the other alpha that you decided enough was enough and that Hyunjin no longer needed to shadow you everywhere.

Little did you know that Hyunjin and Jisung would later become thick as thieves, but only after many years of you and Seungmin bringing Jisung along - partially only to mess with them.

“And thats it, the big villain origin story”, you say, trying to lighten the mood.

Changbin’s jaw is set and you can see him take a few breaths before finally turning to look at you.

“I’m sorry that happened”

You tap his arm a couple of times, lean in closer, “you have nothing to be sorry for, Bin, you weren’t there”

“Still.”

“And besides, because of that I stopped fighting with Hyunjin as much”, you take the liberty of lacing your arm through his, almost resting your head on his shoulder as both of you slow down the pace. You walk like that for a while.

“We’re almost at your place”, he says, quietly, almost scared to break the moment.

At least you think its a moment. Most of your friends don’t know any of that. You think Seungmin picked up on some of it over the years, but it was the first time you told the whole story out loud. It explained a lot about your dynamic with your sibling, about what your friend group meant to you, about why you were always deflecting with humor. You had many years without it, no point depraving yourself of it now. But it was still hard to talk about.

“Could you like”, you start, voice steady but with less of a bite than usual, “not tell anyone about this? It doesn’t really affect me too much nowadays but it ruins my whole badass persona.”

He side eyes you, a glint of humor back in his eyes.

“You have a badass persona?”

You draw back, unlacing your arm from his. He makes a movement to follow you, to maybe keep you where you were? But you’re not sure because, just as soon as the movement starts, it ceases. You pretend you don’t notice.

“Of course I have, why do you think Jisung is afraid of me?”

That drags a laugh out of him, “Jisung is not afraid of you”

“Yes he is, have you seen how he looks at me lately?”

“That’s not fear, that’s jealousy”

And the information surprises you, “what?”

“Yeah, notice how it only happens at the cafe.”

You think about it for a second. He’s right. Whenever the two of you hang out in there, he seems to avoid you, to make himself smaller. But that doesn’t really hold up anywhere else, in the few classes you share or at the studio - where you’ve been spending more and more time.

“Huh?” you fully stop on your tracks, “is it because of Minho?”

“Ding ding ding”, he says, mimicking sounding a bell with his hands as well, “we have a winner!”

“Oh my goddess, why?”

“I don’t know either, you’re clearly into Chan.”

That makes you stop again but this time you hold onto his shirt, making him stop with you, “what?”

“What?” it takes him half a second to notice you’re holding into him, dragging you along for another step before stopping.

“I’m not into Chan?” you say, holding eye contact.

Chan is cool and everything, but too burdened by the horrors of the world to be your type. You’re more into people that are steady, better at keeping things fun. Someone you can chat with and not feel like you’re being bothersome, who can distract you and keep your mind from spiralling even when you’re being sensitive or annoying or dramatic, someone like-

“You’re not?” He seems genuinely surprised, “but you’re always flirting with him”

“No I’m not”

“Yes you are”

“What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know, you’re always invading his personal space”

You look at the way the two of you are standing, your hand clinging into the fabric of his shirt, holding him as close to yourself as the position allows.

“Am I flirting with you?” you ask, genuinely, but the question makes you realize that yeah, maybe you are a little bit.

Changbin’s cheeks turn bright pink, “what, no, what?”

“I invade everyone’s personal space, that’s my whole thing when I get comfortable with people”, and you let go of his shirt, takes half a step back, “I didn’t know people were reading it differently”

Maybe you wanted Changbin to read it differently.

He grows quiet, you resume your walking, he follows.

“I’m not into Chan”, you say once more, as you reach the entrance to your building.

“I believe you”, he says.

But you’re not sure if he means it.

“Thank you for walking me home”, you’re about to open the door when his scent flares, making you think of what you’re still wearing, “oh yeah, I almost forgot…”

You start to take off his hoodie but he places a hand on your arm, stopping your movement midway.

“No, it’s alright, you can give it back to me later”

“Ok”, you won’t insist.

“Goodnight”, he says, voice unusually small for Changbin.

“Night, Bin”

The door closes behind you and you start missing his warmth immediately.

You bring the hem of the hoodie to your nose, it still smells like him.

After your shower, you put it back on. No one needs to know how you’re about to go to sleep wearing your friend’s scent. Something about the way his cinnamon clings to your skin, mixing perfectly with your fresh apples, reminds you of a time before life got in the way. It makes you feel like it could all be simple again.

Sleep is still avoiding you, and you take the time to think back on your entire night. It’s only then that you notice how the subject had shifted. How he went from bothered at your story to joking with you again, bantering back and forth, gossiping, distracting you. He always had a way with making you more comfortable then most.

He is always so kind, but so sturdy.

The memory of the weigh of his hand on your lower back makes your omega feel soothed, protected. You eventually fall asleep, thinking about the sound of his laugh.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

You had been feeling good the entire night up to that point.

It is the end of the semester - and the first time you properly got to dress up in what feels like forever. The university gala was at full force around you.

At first you laughed at the concept of attending. Some fancy event most of the faculty had to go to but despised, with some post-grad and PHD students being dragged along. You had always seen it as just a way for the university to show off their scholarship students - well, the successful ones. To parole them around so that investors could see where their money was going.

That was before you were one of those success cases.

At least you had Jeongin with you too, which made the night less unbearable. Even fun.

Free food, unlimited drinks and even a photobooth that was hired for the event. You could think of worst ways to spend an evening. So what if you had to entertain some old guy in a suit for a little bit, talk about your research, your aspirations, while they pretended to care? You were easily bought, all it took was the offer of a couple glasses of wine.

Jeongin had just stepped out of the photobooth, waiting with you as it finished printing your images. It was four shots, you had your faces pressed together, glasses in hand, pulling faces from goofy to serious. You hold the strip of photos for him to take a picture with his own phone to send it to the group chat, trying your best to avoid the reflection of the light, the tips of your manicured fingers unavoidably staying in frame.

felix you look so gooooooood

jisung i should try for a scholarship next semester

you i think its too late for you buddy

jisung ☹️

chan have fun!

You were feeling light, a little buzzed from the alcohol. The night was still young, the party had started before sunset but it was only just picking up. The speeches had been closed, the drinks were flowing and you were happily laughing with one of your favorite people, both avoiding your own professors.

So that’s why it takes you way too long to realize what is happening.

There’s a waiter passing by Jeongin holding tiny snacks, you have barely eaten all day and, although you’re not hungry, you know you should put some food in you, drink some water - otherwise the next day would be hell. You reach to get the waiters attention, ends up getting a little too close to Jeongin. He smells vaguely citrusy, like lemons and oranges mixed together.

Next thing you know, you have your cheek pressed against his neck, eyes closed, drowning in his scent.

To his merit, he only rests a hand on your waist to help hold you in place, completely unfazed by how you are so openly scenting him.

“Sorry”, you murmur, finding your balance again.

“You good?” He keeps his voice down but his expression has changed into something filled with concern.

“It’s my damn heat coming out of nowhere again”, you were not good at noticing the very first signs but, had you not been drinking, you could probably have figured it out sooner.

Your last heat was a little over two months ago, so you should’ve been more in tune with it coming again soon. The rare times you kept a somehow regulated cycle, it would usually be on a sixty-days rotation.

“You should leave, right?” Jeongin was far from an expert, everything he knew about omegas he had picked up from your friends, but an omega openly in heat was far from ideal. That was basic common sense.

“Probably, yeah, if I don’t want to embarrass myself and lose this sponsorship”

“I can go with you”, his hand is still gently on your lower back, you appreciate how it helps ground you.

“No, no, they will notice if the two of us leave, you still have to make us poor smart people look good”

The joke doesn’t have the effect you hope, Jeongin frowns.

“Are you sure? I don’t like the idea of you leaving by yourself”

“I’ll take a taxi, it’ll be fine”, you squeeze his hand this time, bringing it away from your body but holding onto it, “I’d appreciate if you could, like…”

You don’t need to finish, he moves closer, steps into your orbit. Presses his own cheek to yours, rubs your necks together as discreetly as he can. People that didn’t know you would just assume you were dating, people that knew you would not find it weird at all, you were always smelling a bit like each other anyway.

Jeongin’s scent is comforting. It lands somewhere between your fruity one and Hyunjin’s fresh cut grass on an early spring day. It’s not as strong, or as sweet, with the maknae being a beta. But it gets the job done. It’s familiar, fraternal. You try not to cling to it too much.

It takes you longer than you would like to admit to get yourself under control. You gently push him back, he still doesn’t seem fully convinced about letting you go by yourself. There’s a staring contest in place before you realize it, a battle of wills. You win. You usually do. He breathes out.

“Please be safe?”

You nod, kisses his cheek goodbye.

“You know that I can defend myself”, and you punch him lightly on the belly, for good measure.

He lets go of you to massage the place your fist connected to him, exaggerating his reaction for your benefit. It works, makes you giggle. Jeongin has your back.

On your way out you avoid making eye contact with anyone you knew, trying to keep your head down. You don’t have much time before your scent starts giving you away, before it’s so strong not even the recent scenting would be enough to cover it up. You hear a colleague wish you goodbye, you wave back without slowing down or turning back. Someone else wishes you a good break. You don’t respond to that.

Because of course your heat would arrive right before the university break. You were looking forward to making the trip back home for the week. Now you would probably spend at least half of the days off stuck at your shitty apartment, while Hyunjin drives down for days of being pampered by your parents. And then, after having to deal with the hell that was another heat alone, you would have to take the bus home. Hours stuck with strangers right when you were at your most sensitive, just for the sake of being a filial daughter.

A nightmare.

But you had to keep your place as the favorite.

You only have to wait a couple of minutes for the taxi you called on the app to pull in. You slide in already confirming your address to the driver, not really bothering to look up as you are distracted drafting a message to your brother. You had just hit send on the text letting him know he’d have to drive by himself tomorrow when the smell hits you.

The man is not wearing blockers at all. His scent is so strong you physically recoil. It smells metallic, rusty, wrong. It feels like a punch to your senses, and it’s unmistakably alpha.

He seems to sense a shift, looking you over the rearview mirror. That look is all it takes to set off all your internal alarms.

You have to get out of this taxi.

But it’s already moving and the guy knows where you live. This is not good.

You look down to your lap again, unlocks your phone, swipes into the group chat.

you where is everyone?

chan studio

seungmin home

jisung hell

It all comes in quick succession. You sneak a glance to the man again, try to keep your breathing steady, control your scent. Your phone buzzes again.

jisung i mean the cafe

Ok. That’s good. You can figure something out with that.

you can you meet me at the door?

jisung ughhhhh i’m closing up will you take too long?

Jisung probably thinks you want a free coffee. You should not have been taking advantage of that. There’s no time to clarify what you mean before your phone starts ringing. It’s Minho. You pick up, hating how you know what you should do immediately. Hating that you’re put in that situation at all. You make your voice saccharine sweet, pitch high.

“Hey baby!”

Minho says your name back, confused. You can imagine him pulling the phone away from his ear to check if he has the right person. It’s not like you could explain it. You hope he catches on.

“Yeah, I’m almost home, just got in the taxi”, you start, as if your friend had asked you a question. The driver looks through the rearview mirror again, you look away fast but try to play it cool, push the next words out as confidently as possible, “should I come over?”

Minho does catch on, voice as serious as you ever heard, “are you safe?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” you keep your tone light.

“Can you make it to the cafe?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s on my way home anyway”, you guard you expression and holds in your scent as much as possible when you direct your attention to the driver, “sorry, do you think you can drop me off at a different location?”

He does not look pleased, his scent sours, “I don’t know, miss”

“You don’t have to change the route, just drop me off a little earlier”, you play it naively, “I’ll pay for the full ride anyway”.

The driver gives you a short nod but keeps his face stone cold, starting to look at you through the rearview mirror at every turn. You pretend that you don’t notice.

“Is it the driver?” Minho’s voice drags your attention back.

“Yeah”, you reply as you would, tone slightly off, you recognise the trace of fear in your own voice. You recover, remembering that you must keep the facade up, relax your face, ”I should be there in five minutes, babe”

“Can you stay on the line with me?”

You know you are about to run out of battery. Jeongin and you really took a lot of pictures during the few hours at the event. You don’t want to say any of that out lout though, don’t want to risk having your phone turn off while you’re still inside the taxi.

“Love you too, see you in a bit”, and you hang up, still hearing Minho’s voice protesting on the other side.

The streets are already familiar, you’re close enough to the cafe to be able to get there by yourself already. Your heart starts to calm down.

“Was that your boyfriend, miss?” the driver asks.

You fake a smile and nods your head yes.

“Why was he not with you at the party?” he presses.

You look at the darkened screen of your phone. 2% left. You can make it.

It lights up again.

hyunjin home, why?

And again.

changbin just leaving the gym

jeongin did you make it home noona?

You shouldn’t text back. Can’t risk your battery running out.

minho she’s coming to the cafe something’s wrong

The texts keep coming. Your battery flashes 1%. You lock your phone and flips it on your lap. You should say something back to the driver. You look up to see him already staring at you.

“He had to work.”

He doesn’t seem phased by the late reply, “if I had an omega like you, I’d never let her out of my sight”

You keep your lips pressed together, as close to a smile as you can muster.

“Is that so?”, your voice is light.

You’re almost there.

“You could find a better alpha if you tried”, his scent grows stronger, he’s one push away from choking you to death with it.

You can’t take it anymore.

“Hey you can drop me off here”, you try to not sound panicked but is not sure if it worked.

The cafe is close enough. It’s dark out but some places are still open, even if there is not a lot of people outside. You can make it, Minho should be waiting for you, probably Jisung too.

The car slows down. He doesn’t seem pleased by your request, but pulls over anyway. You undo the seatbelt before the vehicle has fully stopped, reaching for your purse, fishing for your wallet. All as fast as you can while trying to remain natural.

You hand him enough to cover two times the trip, hoping it will distract him for long enough to allow you to step out. He seems to sense something is off. Instead of reaching for the money, he holds onto your wrist.

Hand open immediately, the bills fall to his lap and instincts kick in. Years of practice for moments like this, paying off. You turn your arm, a swift but forceful motion, setting yourself free. Your other hand is already pulling the door open, feet hitting the floor.

You force yourself to walk. Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run. Because that’s basic safety knowledge every omega learns early in life. You had learned it through experience. If you trigger their chase instinct, specially when you know your scent smells like it does now, you’re as good as gone. Don’t turn yourself into prey.

But then his smell reaches you, because he also stepped out of the car.

And suddenly you’re a teenager again, the ugly scar on your leg, long healed, aches as if it is brand new. Your scent flares rotten, like fruits that dropped to the floor and had been taken over by maggots. But it seems like he doesn’t care, because his scent turns stronger, a direct reaction.

You run against your better judgement.

The chase is immediate. Are you about to become a statistic? You are wearing a long dress and strappy heels, coming back from a gala, for fuck’s sake! It feels so unfair, you never even had a chance.

You can already see the police report. The line about how you were drunk. How you were in active heat at a public place. How you pretty much asked for it.

He’s close. But the cafe is right around the corner. One turn, two more blocks. You could make it.

His smell is overpowering you, it almost makes you slow down. You can hear him too, now. His breathing is steady, a raspiness to it. If he decides to voice that growl building up on his chest, you don’t know how your body would react. You know your omega feels cornered, but would she make you stop if commanded by an alpha?

Your legs are starting to tire, your stomach is starting to cramp. You’re about to give up and fight, before he can do anything else. Maybe the surprise element will give you an advantage. The basic forms are running through your mind when someone runs past you. You hear the moment their bodies collide, but doesn’t dare to stop and look back. A path of black pepper guides you forward.

When your eyes focus, Minho and Jisung are running towards you. Minho opens his arms and you thrown yourself on his chest. You’re shaking but he circles your form and holds tight.

Safe. safe. safe. safe.

He screams something but you can only tell because of how his chest vibrates. It feels like you’re drowning, already too far away from the surface to understand what’s above it.

“You’re okay, I got you”, he whispers right on your ear, not a trace of the anger. It feels like a hand reaching out to pull you out of the deep end, “can you walk?”

You nod faintly and tries to take a step, your knees almost give out.

“I’ll pick you up, okay?” He doesn’t wait for your reply, lifting you in one swift motion, one hand under your knees, another behind your back.

You hide your face on his neck. You’re scared and hurt and embarrassed, but Minho smells like caramel coffee and bourbon. It had aways been considered strong for an omega but to you it is comforting, familiar, safe.

He starts walking towards the cafe, you look over his shoulder in time to see a police car approaching. Both Jisung and Changbin are holding the man down. Changbin looks up at you for a second, as if feeling your eyes on him. You can’t hold his gaze, the concern it holds almost makes you gasp, so close to the surface but not there yet. You hide your face on Minho again.

He keeps a steady pace, you should be only a block away from the safety of his cafe. But, when you hear Jisung’s voice calling, Minho freezes. You look up to find that your goofy producer friend has a black eye. It breaks your heart and Minho’s entire posture shifts.

You want to tell him to put you down, you know he wants to tend to Jisung, but you’re selfish - and too scared that your legs won’t be able to hold you up still.

“Here, can I help?” it’s Changbin, stepping closer to Minho, arms already held out. Minho hesitates until you nod, and then he passes you over as if you weigh nothing.

The effect is immediate. You can finally breath. Minho’s arms had felt safe, but now it feels like nothing could ever touch you again.

Changbin doesn’t straight out react at all when you rub your cheek to the soft spot on his neck, needing to be rid of any smell remaining from the driver. But his scent flares. It’s all black peppers for a moment still, pure anger. But the cinnamon slowly creeps back in and, as you stay longer, it mixes with the overly sweet apples of your heat.

He turns his head so you can have more access and you hungrily takes it.

It smells like the late afternoon on the countryside. A cozy night in, disconnected from the world. A freshly baked apple pie at the end of the summer, when the cold breeze makes your body shiver after a day laying in the sun.

You make it to the cafe. You feel the vibration of Changbin’s throat as he explains to Minho what has happened, but you can barely focus on the words, too busy lost in the mental image you have created.

All you care about is that your safe, that his arms are holding you, that his smell is enveloping you.

You’re sure that if anyone were to look, your eyes would be flashing blue in that unique way they do when your omega is too close to the surface. It has happened before. She’s in distress still but biology is letting her take over and all she cares about is her alpha, to keep her alpha’s scent close to-. Not an alpha. Changbin. Changbin’s scent. Changbin, who’s your friend who just happens to be an alpha.

The bell over the door of the cafe chimes again, Hyunjin’s voice calls for you with a tone so unlike him it forces you away from the farm during nightfall, back to the real world.

Your cheeks are wet but you have no idea when you had started to cry.

Changbin tenses for a moment, as if caught between what his body and what his mind wants, but he puts you down, gently, just in time for your brother to reach you.

Hyunjin holds you closer than any time recent memory can recall. You feel his heart thrumming on his chest.

“I’m okay”, you don’t sound convincing, but he nods.

“You’re okay”, he says back. You nod.

None of you fully believe it.

You feel Minho’s presence behind you, he’s purposefully letting out calming pheromones and you are so grateful for it.

“Come, I’ll take you home”, his voice is gentle but commanding.

Hyunjin does not let go of you for a second, going as far as climbing into the backseat, leaving Minho in the front to drive alone. The older looks back at every red light to check on you. Your brother is the one to help with the directions to your place, besides yourself, he’s probably the only one that has the path fully memorised.

Your body feels too warm. You know you are about to hit a peak on your heat but your nervous system is too fried to care.

When you park in front of your building, Hyunjin stays in the car while Minho walks up with you.

You appreciate the silent care, another omega on your space has never been an issue. Your brother wouldn’t usually be a bother either, but this time around you would rather play it safe. You don’t need to say any of that, though, both man falling into their roles unprompted.

“Go to your room, I’ll make you some food so you can have that in hand”

You nod weekly and goes in.

When you look at your bed, it is already halfway there to a perfect nest. Maybe this time there were signs, after all, you were just too dumb to notice them. You don’t dwell on it, instead making your way directly to the shower. There are too many smells clinging to you and it’s slowly building up to a sensory nightmare.

As you start to undress, however, you catch another wave of Changbin on your dress, and think twice before putting it away with the rest of the laundry.

You ride the first wave of your heat in pain, more than anything else. Your body is trying to recover from the chock while also experiencing all types of early heat effects. So you curl on the floor of the shower, switches from the cold water helping with the burn of your skin, to warm water, helping alleviate the stabbing of the cramps.

When you finally make it onto the kitchen again, your phone has been plugged in to charge and Minho had left you enough food prepared for a few days. There’s a note stuck on your fridge, his small handwriting letting you know he’d be back on the next day to check on you.

And he does, but you don’t really see him, only noticing his presence after he is gone, when food is waiting for you at the counter and water had been left on the other side of your door.

You text him and the others in between waves, letting them know you are okay - even if you are far from it.

It’s a weird heat. You’re skittish, anxious, sad, mopey and mostly in pain for the better part of it. The cramps never give you a break. You use your toys but your brain is attached to the whole being chased thing, and the mixed messages confuse your omega. So you are never satisfied, but never really needy either. You just feel like something is missing, most of all.

By the end of it, you’re just glad it’s over and you can forget the whole thing.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Once the door swings to a close after Minho and Hyunjin leave with you, Changbin feels like he is about to go insane.

He is so angry.

He had managed for a little bit there, when you were pressing your face to him so hard he thought for a second you might merge into him. Move in inside his chest. Live where he could always make sure you were alright.

You’re out of danger and Minho did the right thing by calling the cops before you even got there, they had seen what happened while it happened, so not a lot of explanation was required on their part - much less from yours.

Changbin kept thinking about how this time it should be different.

The driver had other offences under his name, he would definitely be behind bars for a little while and the cops said they’d be in touch if they needed any more information from anyone involved.

But it didn’t feel like enough.

Changbin had managed a couple of hits before they had the guy pinned down.

Jisung got the short end of the stick by having a lot of strength but zero coordination. At least the black eye got him pity points with Minho immediately.

But Changbin still feels the adrenaline coursing through him.

His alpha is like a trapped animal.

He smells like you. You scented him so thoroughly he can’t really move without getting a whiff of apples drenched in syrup.

Hyunjin and Minho are pack, his alpha has never seen either of them as threats. It still took him all of his willpower to let you go with them.

Why couldn’t you stay with him?

He would make sure you were safe.

He would cover you in his scent so no other alpha would ever dare to even look your way again.

He would -oh

He is about to go into rut.

It is at least a fortnight too early but the signs are all there.

“Dude, you okay?” Jisung asks and Changbin realises he had been quiet for too long. He unclenches his fists.

“I think I’m going into rut”

“What?” Jisung eyes widen.

“Do you know if Minho has suppressants over anywhere?”

“His won’t work on you”

Changbin knows Jisung is right, omega suppressants and alpha suppressants are very different. But he’s about to lose it, he is willing to try anything.

“Fuck my life”, Changbin starts pacing back and forth.

He didn’t want to go into rut, he couldn’t go into rut. What if you needed anything? He needs to be ready, to be available if you need him. If only he could go to your place, only to make sure-

Get a hold of yourself.

“Chan has suppressants”, Jisung blurts out.

It makes Changbin stops his aimless walking, “what?”

“He has them, I’ve seen him taking it before”, and Jisung is already moving towards the door.

Changbin tries to remain calm, work on his breathing. If he allows his body to overheat it will only speed up the process.

Chan lives nearby, closer than Changbin’s own place.

When Jisung makes it back, Changbin is halfway through becoming a monk with how deep he has been breathing.

“Here”, the younger hands over the prescription bottle.

Changbin does not bother trying to remember what his recommended dose is. He shakes what looks like enough onto his own hand and throws it back, swallowing without water.

It’s quiet but he can feel Jisung’s eyes on him.

“That was intense”, his friend breaks the silence.

Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but Changbin can already feel the pills starting to work, his mind becoming more grounded.

“Yeah…”

“Are you okay? What was that?”

“I don’t know, I think it was the scenting, it drove me over the edge”, Changbin can only guess.

“Minho hyung should not have passed her to you”, and Jisung looks regretful, as if he knows it only happened because he got hurt.

“No, I’m glad he did, I think it would drive me mad if he didn’t”, a truth he had known before.

He studies it in his mind. Even if you were not in heat, even if biology was not pulling him in, he would still feel the need to hold you, to make sure you were not hurt.

“You like her.” Jisung says it as a statement, not a question, so Changbin doesn’t feel like he needs to respond.

“Have they said anything?” Changbin doesn’t know where his phone is. He is pretty sure he left it at the gym, after calling Minho to understand what was going on once he read the texts that had been sent to the group chat. He sprinted over as soon as the call disconnected.

“Minho hyung told me they dropped her off, he’s just making her some food while Hyunjin waits in the car”

“Good, good”

The silence stretches.

“Do you feel better?” Jisung is not one to pry, their dynamic is usually one of banter, not heart to heart.

“Yeah”, he doesn’t want to elaborate.

“Have you ever taken those before?” Jisung points at the pill bottle.

Changbin nods his head yes but the younger man is waiting for more, so he continues, “when I was younger, I don’t get many side effects besides my next rut being absolutely miserable”

“Why did you take them now?”

Changbin considers lying but ends up giving up, it’s been a long day, he’s tired. Hiding his feelings is too much of a hassle right now and Jisung has already guessed close enough anyway, “in case she needs me, I want to be around”.

“Oh you really like her”

This time Changbin acknowledges it with a nod.

Jisung pats him on the shoulder and fishes his keys out of his pocket.

“Let’s go you big softie, I have to put these back in Chan’s studio before he notices it. Then we’ll get some food, my treat”

And it’s so unlike Jisung that Changbin just follows him out of the cafe on a daze, still wondering if you’ll really be alright.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

> a/n | This is the one actually angsty chapter of this fic, promise! Also, I'm having so much fun writing the bickering parts I sometimes lose track of how long the chapters turn out lol

> taglist | @soumyeaig @i-bitch-you-bitch @leeknowsbigtoe @goatsareawesomesstuff @strawberristhings @cyrenescave @chasingxran @binsown

> taglist is open!

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