Work Text:
His fingers grip the sheets, his sweat causing the fabric to stick to his forehead. A moan is muffled by the pillow as a shiver runs down Beomgyu’s spine. Everything is a mess of sensation, pleasure, heat. So warm, so inviting that all he craves is more. More of something he’ll never quite reach. The thirst can’t be quenched, even as his thighs shake and his moans are swallowed by the pillow.
Beomgyu angles his head up and tries to swallow the grunts of the alpha behind him. He wants to taste, feel, every moment. It’s like he’s perpetually trying to work through the haze his heat brings on, trying to maintain a sense of control even when every ounce of his body is telling him to submit. It’s an instinct he only gives into when necessary, and always within limits.
The same lips meet his as they always do, hungry and craving for a distraction. Beomgyu doesn’t think about that though. He’s only driven by sensation; the way chapped lips brush against his, the stubble that’s slowly leaving a burn along his skin. Every nerve ending in his body flares, hyper-sensitive to every brush of the skin, to the lips that trail along the column of his neck. He squirms, nerves going haywire as he inhales the urgency of the kiss before teeth brush against his pulse point, and he’s so close that it’s almost enough to push him over the edge.
Beomgyu whines when the teeth retract without breaching the skin. He feels the knot start to form inside him, pushing him past his limits. And he wants it, wants it so much, his instincts craving for that final step. But now isn’t the time for that, because a knot means something. And this -- him and Taehyun -- means nothing beyond an instinctual need being met. Being made bearable.
It could be noon or midnight, Beomgyu can never be sure. The fog of heat jumbles any sense of time when he’s like this. There is only need, want. Time has no place here, in his bed. How many times has he come already? And yet each time is never enough, the heat seemingly refusing to break without a knot that will never come. Taehyun’s patient though, tending to Beomgyu the best he can. Sometimes, like now, that means Beomgyu is face down on the mattress. Other times it’s comforting circles on his back while Beomgyu drifts off, or food in between waves of heat. Whatever it might be, Taehyun knows the routine well.
But there are some things Taehyun can’t give him, a knot being the main one. They aren’t mates, and each time Taehyun denies him the final step and slides out just in time, Beomgyu feels empty. He knows it’s the right thing to do, and it’s one of the reasons he trusts Taehyun even when he’s at his most vulnerable. That doesn’t mean his body doesn’t crave for more just as Taehyun begins to pull out.
Everything about this moment is so familiar: Taehyun’s scent, the excruciating pleasure of being full but not full enough, the agony of emptiness that comes with a weak grunt in his ear and the sensation of cum spilling on his back, the hand that wraps around his cock seconds later, pumping until Beomgyu feels the stick on the sheets beneath himself. And then heavy breaths against his back as he drifts off once again.
The sheets are empty when Beomgyu wakes in the morning. Beomgyu stirs at the sound of Taehyun zipping his pants. There’s a soft, sleepy brush of fingers along his forehead and a quiet “goodbye” before Taehyun slips out the front door.
The first time they’d done this, Beomgyu had told Taehyun it was okay to leave once the heat broke. Since then, it’s become a pattern: Beomgyu drifts off and Taehyun fades away. Taehyun has an auto shop to run, Beomgyu has the studio to get back to. Still, Taehyun’s scent lingers on Beomgyu’s skin, sticking to the sheets all afternoon until Beomgyu forces himself to wash them.
But something is different this time. Beomgyu smells it before he sees it when he finally emerges into his living room: Taehyun’s sweatshirt hanging over the arm of his couch. He remembers taking it off in haste two days previous.
He doesn’t remember Taehyun ever leaving something behind before.
The end of his heat means back to work for Beomgyu. The first thing he notices is that there’s a coffee splatter across the page of the music left on his desk that definitely wasn’t there when he left on Friday. Kai may look sturdy at first glance -- all long limbs and a solid core -- but all that muscle has yet to translate into an ability to juggle music sheets and the coffee he’s always drinking.
“Welcome back, boss.” Kai appears on cue in the doorway of the studio, cell phone in one hand, coffee in the other.
“I see you managed to make a mess without me?” Beomgyu points towards the sheets with a quirked brow.
Kai just laughs. “You honestly can’t expect me to work over the weekend without tripling my coffee consumption. How else am I going to keep up with Namjoon?”
“That’s fair enough.”
Kai’s smile turns more devious as he steps closer to Beomgyu. “And how was your long weekend?”
Beomgyu knows the implications of Kai’s question -- everyone in the small studio knows when an omega goes on heat leave. Thankfully, his heat is somewhat predictable and he has a floating leave: when the early symptoms start, Beomgyu won’t be in the office, otherwise occupied.
“It was fine, the usual.” Truthfully, the weekend is a bit of a blur of scent and pleasure to Beomgyu at this point. The details are always a little fuzzy after the heat breaks, and he doesn’t feel the need to dwell on it. He does need to text Taehyun to say thank you, though.
“You smell…” Kai leans closer to sniff around Beomgyu. “Unsatisfied.”
Were it anyone else he works with, Beomgyu might be offended. But this is Kai, his friend who has a way of making backhanded compliments more playful than accusatory. Really, Beomgyu knows Kai is just fishing for more details. He always wants to know more about Beomgyu’s mystery heat partner.
“Thanks for the concern.” Beomgyu playfully shoves Kai’s nose away from his neck. “But I’m just fine.”
Kai almost pouts at once again being denied any further details of Beomgyu’s private life. The beta doesn’t know any better, and Beomgyu won’t fault him for that. Heat sex is something betas never really get to experience -- at least not with the same intensity as an omega like Beomgyu. And while Beomgyu may not need an alpha to get through his heat, having one like Taehyun available does make the experience significantly better. Kai knows that much, and it keeps him curious.
“You know, someday I’d like to meet this alpha of yours.” Kai leans against the soundboard, careful to not touch any controls. Kai’s miscalculations of the size of his ass have resulted in weird sound effects being added to more than one demo at this point, and he is trying his best.
“How do you know it was the same alpha?” Beomgyu doesn't acknowledge the small feeling of panic in his chest at the suggestion. Instead, he focuses on booting up the computer and sound equipment. “and he’s not mine,” Beomgyu adds as an afterthought.
“Just because I’m a beta doesn’t mean I can’t smell you -- or him for that matter -- each time you come back from heat leave. You’re definitely getting your brains fucked out by the same alpha regularly.”
“Maybe you should put that nose to better use,” Beomgyu changes the subject before any more lewd comments can slip from Kai’s mouth. “Like tracking down Namjoon and Chaewon, their recording session starts in about 45 minutes and we still have vocal warm-ups to get through.”
It’s getting to be crunch time for Chaewon’s EP release in a couple weeks, and it’s amazing Beomgyu managed to take three days off at all. Even with Kai covering him all weekend, there’s still much to be done and not a lot of time to do it. Namjoon, being an alpha, never respects Beomgyu’s heat leave, so he’d returned to the real world with 52 messages from the manager from everything about the sound mixing on the single to complaining about Kai’s tragic crush on Chaewon.
Kai pouts, making a show of pulling out his phone and opening his text messages. “Fine, boss.”
“If you get them both in here within ten minutes, I’ll talk you up to Chaewon at the next staff dinner.”
That has Kai practically running out of the sound room, his coffee thermos left precariously balanced on the soundboard.
With Kai gone, Beomgyu can finally settle back into his routine. While working as the main producer for an indie label is more stressful than he could have imagined, he loves this part of his life: the soundboard laid out before him, the artists he gets to work with, and the control he has whenever he steps foot in the studio. It’s his space to do as he pleases and call the shots. It’s nice to have that liberty in at least one aspect of his life.
Soon, his heat and all the events of the weekend are forgotten, and Beomgyu is back in his element.
Beomgyu
Thank you for the weekend
and for cleaning up
you didn’t have to
Taehyun
Thank you for the weekend ;)
And you needed rest, couldn’t make you clean up after all that.
Good luck at work this week.
Forgetting about the heat isn’t as easy as Beomgyu anticipates because the sweatshirt still sits on the armrest of the couch when Beomgyu crawls back into his apartment well after sun-down. Beomgyu doesn’t know what to make of it. Should he wash it? Return it? Hold on to it until Taehyun inevitably knocks on his door a few weeks from now?
It’s not like they don’t converse occasionally between heats -- texts to confirm when Beomgyu’s heat is starting, Taehyun sending picture of show fliers he sees around his neighborhood for groups he knows Beomgyu produces, and Beomgyu occasionally sending Taehyun exercise memes because he knows Taehyun’s a secret gym bro. But, even with these occasional exchanges, there are some lines they’ve never breached, like offering to drop off the sweatshirt at Taehyun’s auto shop after work.
Beomgyu’s never even been to Taehyun’s auto shop. Okay, that’s a lie. He went once, the second time Taehyun helped him through his heat. The time that established their relationship as heat partners. Beomgyu still isn’t sure what came over him, what compelled him to text Soobin and ask for the address to the shop. All he knows is that his heat was starting and soon he was standing in the middle of the garage, pheromones running wild, and Taehyun looked at him with wide eyes before telling his worker they were closing early and leading Beomgyu out. That was that.
Yeah, probably best to not visit again. Without the pretense of heat, it will be far too awkward. He could always pass the sweatshirt off to Yeonjun, who could give it to Soobin to take with him to give to his boss. But Yeonjun would probably not appreciate being Beomgyu’s go-between, even if he’s the one who introduced Beomgyu to the mechanic in the first place.
Beomgyu’s had his share of heat-sex partners before, but finding an alpha like Taehyun is rare. And maybe that’s what keeps Beomgyu coming back. Even then, he hadn’t planned for their relationship to turn out this way the first night they met at Soobin’s birthday dinner, Beomgyu on the cusp of his heat and Taehyun the only unmated alpha in the room who didn’t try to take advantage of that situation.
He’d taken Taehyun home that night, which led to Taehyun staying all weekend until the heat broke. Unlike previous alpha heat partners, Taehyun waited for Beomgyu to request what he wanted, never letting his alpha sensibilities take over in the moment. Beomgyu had woken up the following Tuesday feeling more satiated than he had in years. The new contact in his phone, and the toast waiting for him on the nightstand, only made him feel more secure.
But that’s as far as it goes. Beomgyu is secure in the fact that Taehyun doesn’t push for more and lets Beomgyu call the shots. As far as Beomgyu is concerned, their relationship begins and ends with his heat. If only the damn sweatshirt didn’t complicate things and have him thinking about Taehyun as he tries to unwind on his couch.
Yes, he’ll have to do something about it soon.
Taehyun
Soobin told me that tonight is game night.
Kick Yeonjun’s ass in my honor.
Beomgyu
I’ll do my best, fair maiden.
Even if Beomgyu’s overwhelmed at work, he never skips their monthly game night. With their busy schedules, it can be hard for the friend group to get together. Thankfully Yeonjun and his competitive disposition came up with a monthly poker night on the first Friday of every month. Unfortunately for Beomgyu, he did forget that it’s his week to host -- which has him frantically cleaning up the living room before Yeonjun, Kai, and Chanhee arrive.
“What’s that?” Yeonjun points to the tied plastic bag on Beomgyu’s entry table as he lets himself into the apartment without knocking.
“It’s…” Beomgyu doesn’t have to look up from the coffee table he’s currently wiping down to know what Yeonjun’s referring to. “...Taehyun’s sweatshirt. He left it here last weekend.”
“So you sealed it off and quarantined it?” Yeonjun picks the bag up and inspects it. His nose scrunches in disgust when he realizes Beomgyu hasn’t bothered to wash it and when he’d taken the liberty of finally removing the piece of clothing a week previous, Taehyun had been more than a little aroused. Yeonjun sets it back down with a thump. “Or are you just keeping it around as a kind of alpha diffuser in your entryway? Not gonna lie, this thing reeks.”
“I didn’t know what else to do with it, really.” Beomgyu admits as casually as possible. Yeonjun doesn’t need to know that he’s been obsessing about what to do with a piece of clothing for the past few days; that he’s thought about locking it away in his wardrobe, but then all his clothes would smell like Taehyun and that’s far from ideal. So by the door it waits until Beomgyu can think of something better.
“You know you could always just… return it, right? Or at least wash it.”
Beomgyu tucks a lip under his teeth, shifting his weight. “I was actually hoping you could pass it on to Soobin…” Asking Yeonjun for favors related to Taehyun is always risky, and he must proceed with caution. “Then he could return it to Taehyun?”
Just as he expects, Yeonjun’s face immediately falls into a glare.
“We are not your courier service, Beomgyu. Just call Taehyun and tell him you have it,” Yeonjun says.
It’s been nine months, but Yeonjun still wants no part in whatever goes on between Taehyun and Beomgyu. And Beomgyu gets it, so he tries to tread carefully. He is essentially fucking Soobin’s boss, and if anything goes sour, it’s Soobin who might face the consequences. It’s only natural for Yeonjun to want to protect his partner from any work life complications, even if Yeonjun will be the first to tell anyone that Taehyun is a stand up guy.
“He lives around here anyway.” Yeonjun continues as he sits down on the couch behind Beomgyu.
“He does?” That’s new information for Beomgyu, and he kind of feels like an idiot for not knowing.
Yeonjun releases an exasperated sigh. “You’ve never been to his place? All that heat sex and you don’t know where he lives?”
Beomgyu hadn’t given much thought to it before. He barely manages to keep his wits about him with Taehyun’s alpha pheromones filling his own apartment. One step in the alpha’s apartment during his heat would be a sensory overload, and very likely cause the thin thread of control he manages to maintain during his heat to snap. That’s something Taehyun’s always inherently understood, too. Seeing as Yeonjun has been mated for over a year now, that effect is something he must have forgotten about.
“We always just come here.” He defends.
“In more ways than one,” Yeonjun jokes, earning a slap to the shoulder from Beomgyu. “Now, when is Chanhee getting here? I plan on fully cleaning him out tonight.”
Just in time, a knock is heard and Yeonjun sighs in relief. Beomgyu makes his way to the door while Yeonjun wanders off into the kitchen to dig through the fridge. Beomgyu opens the door to find Kai holding a bag of beer and Chanhee’s nose scrunched just like Yeonjun’s had been a few minutes ago.
“Jesus, where is the horny alpha?” Chanhee says in lieu of a greeting. Maybe Chanhee’s omega senses are more sensitive to Taehyun’s scent, or maybe it’s just that he’s more blunt about what exactly his nose picks up.
“Um? A hello would be nice.”
“Hi,” Kai instantly provides while Chanhee locates the sweater and holds it up for inspection just like Yeonjun had done.
“There’s no alpha on the premises, just one of Beomgyu’s sex souvenirs.” Yeonjun shouts from the kitchen.
“Ah, the mystery alpha.” Kai nods to himself, setting the bag of beer on the floor as he unties his shoes. Beomgyu is surprised Kai doesn’t lean in to sniff the bag just like the two omegas had done, but he supposes that Kai has indirectly taken in enough of Taehyun’s scent to not need further confirmation.
“You’re gross, Beomgyu. We have washing machines for a reason.” Chanhee waves a finger at Beomgyu before he winks. “He smells great, though. When do we get to meet him?”
“Preferably never.” Beomgyu states just as a flush begins to creep up his neck. He doesn’t need Chanhee and Kai meeting Taehyun and asking all the questions Beomgyu’s never bothered to ask. At least not until Beomgyu’s had a chance to ask them first.
Chanhee also has a tendency to flirt with any unmarked alpha he crosses paths with, and the idea of having to witness that has something unfamiliar turning in Beomgyu’s stomach.
No, there’s definitely no reason for them to meet.
“There’s a new beta that moved into my building, and he is gorgeous.”
They make it exactly eight minutes into the first game before Chanhee inevitably turns the conversation to potential mates.
“Is finding a mate all you think about?” Beomgyu saw it coming, but he rolls his eyes all the same.
“Not all of us are like you, Beomgyu. Some of us actually want a partner outside of using one as a heat humping post. Right, Yeonjun?”
“Hey, that’s all you.” Yeonjun looks up from his cards. “I wasn’t looking for an alpha, Soobin kind of just happened.”
“What you mean is that you finally found an alpha taller than you who let you be the big spoon?” Kai jumps in.
“I mean yes, but also, he is the love of my life.”
Beomgyu pretends to gag, even if he knows Yeonjun is nothing but genuine. At the same time he laughs because it’s so easy to remember Yeonjun before Soobin, the Yeonjun who had no interest in mating because he was enough of an alpha in his heart to not need anyone else. That was what he and Beomgyu bonded over, and look at them now.
“And maybe Sunwoo will be the love of mine.” Chanhee huffs.
“You say that about every unmarked person you think is hot.” Yeonjun and Beomgyu have been through this routine enough at this point to know Chanhee’s approach to love. It’s Sunwoo this week, someone new next week… but Beomgyu does have to give it to him, at least Chanhee tries. Beomgyu’s omega status has never motivated him to seek out a partner outside of heat. He has bigger interests, and mating is… complicated. Too complicated for him to deal with when his second home is his studio and he’s unwilling to compromise his independence.
“All I’m saying is, you never know…”
“I know that I have a full house, and you just lost.” Beomgyu cuts the conversation there. He’s done enough thinking about alphas for the night and he much prefers to watch the way Yeonjun and Chanhee whine in unison when he lays down his cards.
The night ends with Chanhee’s wallet empty, Yeonjun smiling victoriously over the poker chips as he clears off the table, and Kai drunkenly venting to Beomgyu about Chaewon’s upcoming EP. Namjoon, like Beomgyu, is a perfectionist about these things -- and he only wants the best for Chaewon after two years of managing her career. Unfortunately, with Beomgyu busy the past weekend, Kai was the main recipient of Namjoon’s anxiety.
Beomgyu feels a little guilty for having left Kai to deal with all the work last weekend, so he makes up for it with calming rubs to his stomach and promises that all the stress will be over soon. They only have three weeks until the album’s release, and with his heat out of the way, no new roadblocks should spring up.
Beomgyu spoke too soon.
He should be halfway to the studio by now. Instead, he’s sitting in the underground lot of his apartment building groaning into the steering wheel. This is the price he pays for driving a car that is nearly as old as he is because he’s too busy to properly shop for a newer one.
Beomgyu
My car wont start
Taehyun
Is the engine turning over? Any clicking?
Beomgyu
It’s not the battery
I already tried to get a jump from my neighbor
No luck
Taehyun
I’ll be there in 20.
Beomgyu
You don’t have to
Taehyun
I know that.
I want to.
Beomgyu doesn’t mean to text Taehyun in desperation, not really. But he needs to be at the studio in the next half hour or Namjoon might have a full blown panic attack -- and no one can handle frantic Namjoon, even caffeinated Kai.
Despite knowing that there’s no point to it, he still tries in vain to get the car to start while he waits. Turning the ignition over and over takes his mind off the nerves that come from knowing Taehyun is on his way, that Taehyun is rushing over to help Beomgyu. He worries that maybe he’s overstepping the boundaries of whatever relationship they have. Maybe he should have called Soobin instead, however his fingers had a mind of their own.
It takes Taehyun less than twenty minutes to arrive in the parking garage. He never took Taehyun for a motorcycle type of guy, but at the same time it doesn’t surprise him.
What does surprise him is that Taehyun climbs off his motorcycle in dress pants and a button down and tie, a far cry from the mechanic overalls he expects to see in Taehyun’s weekday wardrobe. It’s striking, but no less pleasing to see Taehyun all put together -- his hair combed back and his shirt tucked in. Beomgyu had almost forgotten what it’s like to just look at Taehyun without the inevitability of clothes quickly being discarded.
“Do mechanics generally make house calls?” Beomgyu asks as he climbs out of the driver’s seat to meet him by the hood of his car.
Keeping any comments about the age of Beomgyu’s car at bay, Taehyun regards the car skeptically before turning his attention back to Beomgyu. “No, we usually leave that job to tow truck drivers, but I occasionally make exceptions.”
Beomgyu didn’t take into account that simply smelling Taehyun would have an effect outside of his heat, but one small breeze and an inhale later, he finds himself feeling much more at ease than he had a couple of minutes ago. Odd.
“Oh yeah?” Beomgyu leans against the hood, hoping Taehyun doesn’t catch the flush of his cheeks. “I’m flattered.”
“You should be.” Taehyun gives an exaggerated wink as he sets down a rusty toolbox near the front of the car and rolls up his sleeves. “Anyway, pop the hood and I’ll take a look.”
Beomgyu complies and is left with little else to do than watch Taehyun as he works. It’s either that or wait for Namjoon to blow up his phone with texts once he realizes Beomyu is late. The choice is as easy as silencing his phone and pocketing it. While Taehyun is concentrating on whatever he’s examining under the hood, Beomgyu lets his eyes trace the features of Taehyun’s face.
He’s seen Taehyun’s face quite often even considering their status as practical strangers, like when Taehyun shows up at his apartment door biting down on his lip the second he gets a whiff of Beomgyu, or hovering over him, gazing down at him with a familiar unreadable expression that Beomgyu assumes is lust for an omega in heat… But he’s never seen him like this: quiet, focused, and in his element.
Taehyun’s handsome, Beomgyu’s always known, but today that handsomeness isn’t stirring up feelings of desperation like it usually does. He can’t help the fond tug of his lips when Taehyun swears at something under the hood, or the giggle he lets out when Taehyun squeaks a moment later in surprise. It’s almost cute and since no one is there to see, Beomgyu allows himself a moment of pride that he’s the reason the alpha is here. Is this what it feels like to have an alpha?
Maybe it’s the formal clothes – so anticipated but still fitting – or the general need to fill the silence with something to distract him from his own thoughts that have words slipping out of his mouth before he can stop himself.
“You look good today.”
Taehyun looks up from under the hood with a surprised, perhaps shy, smile on his face. “I was getting ready for a meeting with some suppliers when you texted.”
“So you don’t normally wear a suit and tie to the shop?” Beomgyu presses. He doesn’t know if he’s ever seen an alpha blush before – at least not because of something he said. It feels like a small victory.
“Considering I only own two dress shirts, ruining one with grease stains really wouldn’t work in my favor.”
That makes sense, and Beomgyu feels guilty knowing that Taehyun is taking that exact risk now because of him. His car is, admittedly, past its prime, and random fluid leaks are probably inevitable. If Taehyun went through the effort of dressing nicely, his meeting must be important. More important than Beomgyu’s lemon of a car, at least.
“I’m not making you late, am I?” As much as the omega side of him may preen at having an attractive alpha run to help him, that’s just instinctual and Beomgyu doesn’t want to get in the way of Taehyun’s real life. They have boundaries for a reason, even if Beomgyu crossed them first by reaching out this morning.
“I’m always early for stuff anyway.” Taehyun shrugs. “Don’t worry about it.”
Taehyun says it so casually that Beomgyu wants to believe him. He changes the subject.
“Any idea what’s wrong with my car?”
“Aside from it being ancient? I think they discontinued this model a decade ago...”
Beomgyu makes a face of mock offense, producing another good natured chuckle from Taheyun.
“The immediate problem is your starter. I think we’re gonna have to replace it. Maybe an oil change too...” Taehyun closes the hood and moves to return his toolbox to the back of his motorcycle. “Do you have somewhere you need to be right now? I can get Soobin to come fix it if you can wait.”
Beomgyu bites his lip. “Actually, I needed to be at work about… 15 minutes ago.”
“Okay, then I’ll just have Soobin come take care of this thing.” Taehyun pats the hood affectionately with a smile that is a touch too warm for Beomgyu to handle at 9am. “... And I can drive you to your studio. If that’s okay?”
Beomgyu’s in no place to turn down a free ride, and so he finds himself climbing onto the seat behind Taehyun. In such a cramped space, with his arms wrapped around Taehyun, Beomgyu is struck by just how familiar everything feels. Of course, everything smells like Taehyun -- but the heat influenced reaction he’s used to feeling around Taehyun is nowhere to be felt.
He only realizes after they’ve emerged from the parking garage that he had the opportunity to run upstairs and grab Taehyun’s sweatshirt while the alpha worked. But as it stands, Taehyun’s sweatshirt is forgotten, once again, on Beomgyu’s table.
“Was that your alpha who just dropped you off?” Kai nearly jumps on Beomgyu as soon as he walks through the building doors. “I always knew you liked them shorter. I saw the heart eyes you used to make at Yoongi when we worked on his album.”
It’s not that Beomgyu likes shorter guys, his tastes are more for lean and fit and not the obvious muscles so many alphas seem fond of showing off. But again, Kai doesn’t need to know that.
“Have you been scoping out the parking lot for the past half hour waiting for me to arrive?”
“No, I’ve been hiding from Namjoon for the past half hour, and the lobby, for some reason, happened to be the only place he wasn’t frantically pacing around looking for you.”
Beomgyu can only laugh at that. “He isn’t that scary, you know.”
“Says the dude who refused to answer any of his calls for the past half hour.”
Beomgyu had been so distracted by Taehyun, he didn’t even glance at his phone on the ride over. Sure enough, he turns on the screen to see 14 missed calls and unread texts, all from Namjoon.
“Ooops?”
Beomgyu is going to owe Kai a lot of coffee today.
The bass pounds through the sound system as Beomgyu watches Chaewon and her accompanying band set up on the main stage. It’s not quite loud enough to make his ribs shake, but just powerful enough to drown out the chatter of those around him. He didn’t have to come out tonight -- he isn’t her manager -- but he wanted to cheer her on, to sample the crowd reaction ahead of the actual EP release. He’s happy to see that the small venue is already pretty full, and the crowd doesn’t look too rowdy for a Friday evening.
The stage is Chaewon’s favorite place, so she doesn’t need much of a pep talk; the only nerves she’d shared with Beomgyu earlier involved how the audience will take to the new material. Transitioning from the acoustic songs she’s known for to a band sound is significant, and it’s best to do it in doses through preview performances like this one. What matters most is that she’s proud of the material. Nonetheless, Beomgyu watches as Namjoon pats her back in reassurance just as she catches Beomgyu’s eyes and gives him a full smile.
Chanhee managed to make it out for the show too, and Beomgyu can only assume the taller beta that trails behind him is the infamous Sunwoo after the series of excited texts Chanhee sent to the group chat earlier. Chanhee is in fine form tonight, snuggling closer to the beta at every opportunity as he introduces Beomgyu and getting his scent everywhere to make his claim very clear.
It’s not that courtship is foreign to Beomgyu, it’s just that Beomgyu has never wanted to participate in it. Easy flirting and heat sex he can do, but watching the way Chanhee interacts with Sunwoo reminds him of just how much he isn’t cut out for it. He’s not sure he could run a teasing hand down an alpha’s arm, play up his omega traits, or show off his neck the way Chanhee does without an ounce of inhibition. Nothing about that comes naturally to Beomgyu, and he’s not sure he wants it to.
Whatever Chanhee does appears to be working though, if the way Sunwoo so easily teases and flirts back is any indication. It’s too much to wrap his head around, and he’d rather leave Chanhee to it than third wheel.
It’s when he has bid the couple farewell and is ordering his beer at the bar that he catches a familiar scent. Of course there are alphas in the crowd, Beomgyu knows. But, he’s still a several weeks away from his next heat, and it doesn’t make sense for an average alpha smell to be so strong.
Unless… he shakes the thought away. The scent is too familiar, but there’s no reason for Taehyun to be here tonight. Yet, something begins to stir in his gut as he pushes through the crowd, letting his instincts guide him towards the center of the venue floor. Just as the stage lights dim, his gaze lands on a familiar pair of eyes that are equally searching and surprised as his own. Green lights flash across Taehyun’s face just as it lights up in a smile.
Beomgyu’s feet pull him closer without much thought, anxious to be closer to the scent that stands in stark contrast to all the sickeningly sweet pheromones Chanhee was releasing earlier. It’s warmer, calmer, and so familiar even in an unfamiliar setting for them to meet.
“What are you doing here?” He shouts just as Yunjin begins to count the band in, “I thought shows weren’t really your thing?”
Taehyun shrugs, the lights are purple now, making his hair glow an almost red color. “You’ve mentioned Chaewon a lot these past few months, when I saw her name on a show flier I thought I’d come check her out. I… wasn’t expecting to see you here though. You said you were busy.”
Beomgyu doesn’t know why that statement stings, but he smiles through it. He doesn’t remember bringing Chaewon up often, but he chalks it up to the half-delirious pillow talk they tend to have in between his waves of heat. He can’t believe Taehyun remembered it, much less that he decided to come out to a show.
“She’s playing some of the tracks on her new EP tonight before the official launch, so I thought I’d come cheer her on.” Beomgyu has to lean into Taehyun to shout into his ear as the bass finally kicks in.
“Songs you produced?”
“Yeah.”
As Chaewon sings the first line, an enthusiastic fan-boy behind Beomgyu jumps forward, sending half of Beomgyu’s beer into his shirt, and Beomgyu into Taehyun. In the next moment, there’s a gentle hand on his elbow, fingers holding him steady. Beomgyu doesn’t pull away as Taehyun chuckles into his hair.
“Be careful, beer and dance floors don’t go together.” Taehyun shouts over the music, and Beomgyu still hasn’t pulled away.
“You’d think I’d have learned that lesson by now,” Beomgyu laughs back. Something’s hammering in his chest, and Beomgyu writes it off as the bass.
Taehyun’s arm doesn’t retreat though. His fingers linger around Beomgyu’s elbow, his forearm against Beomgyu’s back, and their hips touching as the crowd compresses around them. Beomgyu’s been to hundreds of shows in his career, and he’s never felt the need to be protected from the chaos that is a venue floor; yet, the arm around him grounds him in a new way.
Beomgyu can do little else than exchange a small smile with Taehyun before leaning into the touch. There isn’t space to break away, and he’s not sure he wants to watch Taehyun disappear into the crowd just yet. He should at the very least thank Taehyun for coming out to support Chaewon first, once things quiet down. Fans start to dance around them, obviously taking to the new material, but Taehyun’s grip never falters.
Despite being completely new to both of them, the way Taehyun holds him feels familiar. Familiar enough to cheer with the rest of the audience as Chaewon introduces the second song before he surveys the crowd without even thinking of breaking free.
Unfortunately for Beomgyu, as he does so, his eyes land on Chanhee, standing a few meters over in nearly the same position with Sunwoo. Chanhee’s eyes are flared in glee – obviously he spotted Beomgyu first – and even if Beomgyu can’t hear him over the music, he can clearly read the words Chanhee mouths at him while pointing at Taehyun.
Is that??
Beomgyu can only nod reluctantly. Chanhee knows him well, knows that Beomgyu wouldn’t let any random alpha wrap their arm around him in the middle of a venue floor, so there’s no point in lying.
Chanhee proceeds to make several wild hand gestures around his face and body followed by a wink and thumbs up. He looks ridiculous, but Sunwoo seems none the wiser.
Good job.
Shut up. Beomgyu mouths back through clenched teeth. The last thing Beomgyu wants is for Taehyun to witness the exchange, but today is his unlucky day because when he turns to his left to check, Taehyun is watching them both with an amused smile.
“A friend of yours?”
“I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
Taehyun laughs, properly laughs, for the first time since Beomgyu met him, with his eyes squished into crescents and all his teeth on full display.
Seeing Taehyun look so carefree has Beomgyu’s mind wandering back to Soobin’s birthday party when they were first introduced. As an omega on the cusp of his monthly heat, Taehyun was a lovely sight to behold: Handsome, lean, a polite smile with eyes that lit up at every new face but didn’t throw himself into the conversation like other alphas are so fond of doing. Beomgyu especially liked the way Taehyun’s eyes actually met his own the first time they shook hands, and the way his scent instantly invaded Beomgyu’s mind. Encountering alphas so close to a heat can bring a sense of unease to unmated omegas, but with Taehyun in that moment, Beomgyu felt nothing but warmth.
There they were: Taehyun with his guarded smiles and careful steps, and Beomgyu with his looming heat that he knew Taehyun could smell. There were other alphas, but that night Taehyun made Beomgyu feel safe because he didn’t try to be an alpha around Beomgyu just to show off – yet his scent stirred something within him that only a strong alpha could. The contradiction was fascinating, and Beomgyu couldn’t resist smiling over the rim of his beer and asking Taehyun if he’d like to help him along after about the fifth time he’d caught Taehyun trying to not sniff him.
He feels that same security he felt that night through the rest of the set with Taehyun’s arm around him. There’s no pressure, and Taehyun’s hands never wander. He just… holds him, calms him in a sea of scents that could otherwise overwhelm Beomgyu. Chanhee’s pheromones could be going wild, or another alpha could be nearing a rut, and Beomgyu’s mind wouldn’t focus on anything else because he’s secured in Taehyun’s grip.
Beomgyu knows he could slip out of the hold and put Taehyun at a distance. But what would the point be in that? Taehyun is enjoying the set, even to the point of swaying with Beomgyu and their shoulders bumping. There’s no reason to push him away, so Beomgyu will leave it to later – when he’s alone and no longer fogged by the scent of the familiar alpha – to sort out exactly why that is.
“So is that the kind of stuff you usually work on?” Taehyun speaks up on their way to the subway. They have to catch different lines, but Taehyun insisted, and Beomgyu didn’t turn him down on the offer to walk him back first. They walk side by side, Taehyun’s hands making no move to hold him again and letting Beomgyu lead the way.
Seeing Taehyun at all outside of his heat is foreign, seeing him twice in one week is even more unanticipated. Beomgyu turns to take him in again now that they’re a safe distance apart – a part of him wanting to write casual Taehyun to memory in his jeans and t-shirt. It’s a nice contrast to the Taehyun he knows best: naked, powered by lust and instincts in the privacy of Beomgyu’s apartment.
As he does so, he realizes that Taehyun’s already looking at him, his round eyes hyper focused on each movement of Beomgyu’s face as he waits for a reply. Right, Taehyun asked him a question.
“Chaewon is kind of a one off,” Beomgyu manages to say, only half embarrassed that he was caught staring. “The label is testing the market for female soloists. Usually I work with bands that are a lot louder. Rowdier. But that’s kind of to be expected with an indie label.”
Taehyun nods in understanding, breaking their eye contact as he does so. “That suits you, somehow.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beomgyu asks with a bump to Taehyun’s shoulder. It’s playful, almost like something Beomgyu would do with any of his friends when they tease him. Do Taehyun and himself count as friends now?
“You seem…” Taehyun pauses to think, perhaps collecting his thoughts so that he won’t offend Beomgyu. “Like someone who needs to play by their own rules. I don’t know, the whole rock and roll lifestyle suits you.”
Beomgyu’s life is far from the rock and roll Taehyun imagines it to be – he spends just about as much time dealing with bureaucracy within the label as he does working with bands – but it’s cute all the same that Taehyun has noticed as much about him through their limited time together. That there’s not an ounce of judgment in his voice as he thinks aloud.
“If I worked for a bigger label, I’d probably just be locked in a sound studio by myself most of the time working through Zoom and dealing with ‘concepts’ as opposed to actual songs.” Beomgyu rolls his eyes just thinking about it. “I like that I can be more hands on where I am. That I can help artists refine the music they create for themselves and want to share.”
Beomgyu has had offers to move up in the industry, but he’s always thought his talents would be less useful at a bigger label. He isn’t interested in the songs he’s credited on charting, he wants to be part of a creative process that he can devote himself to.
“I bet it’s even more satisfying when the music is actually released.” Taehyun’s hands are in his pockets now, his eyes back on Beomgyu. The streetlights cast silly shadows across his face, and Beomgyu briefly wonders if Taehyun looks at everyone so fondly.
“It is.” Beomgyu tries to conceal his smile but fails. “The whole process is stressful as fuck, but when I hear the album, I can remember all the love everyone put into it. That’s the best part.”
“When’s the release?” Taehyun changes the subject. They’re almost at the subway entrance now. Beomgyu feels a little disappointed at that fact, even if he’s tired from a long day of work followed by a night out.
“Next week. It’s going to be the biggest launch party this year for our label,” Beomgyu replies.
Namjoon is going all out, too. He’s planned a proper launch party and even pulled a few strings to get some big name executives to attend in the hopes of getting Chaewon connections to more established distributors. Beomgyu is less than excited about that part – industry people are usually pricks – but if it helps Chaewon, he can endure it for an evening.
They’re at the subway entrance now. This is the point where Taehyun can bid Beomgyu farewell and disappear like he usually does. Instead, Taehyun turns to face him when they come to a stop at the top of the stairs. His lip is pulled between his teeth as he shifts his weight on his feet for a moment. If Beomgyu didn’t know better, he would think Taehyun is nervous.
“Are you going to dress up for it?” Taehyun finally asks.
It’s an odd question, one Beomgyu can’t say he sees coming. He blinks a few times trying to register exactly what Taehyun is asking him.
“Maybe.” Beomgyu tells a half truth, just to see how Taehyun reacts. He definitely will have to wear a suit, but he’d prefer not to think about that just yet. Industry pretentiousness has never been his thing.
“You should send me a picture.” Taehyun looks up from his feet to meet Beomgyu’s eyes as he makes the request. His gaze doesn’t waver even when Beomgyu’s face scrunches up in confusion.
“Why would I do that?” Funny how they went from Beomgyu answering Taehyun’s questions directly to dancing around each other in the span of a minute.
Confidence returns to Taehyun’s features as he smirks. The sudden shift is jarring, but no less convincing to Beomgyu. “You got to see me dressed up on Monday. It’s only fair.”
“Fine.” Beomgyu pretends to concede with an air of nonchalance. He holds up a finger in warning. “But I will accept no critiques of my outfit.”
“I’m sure I won’t have any.” Taehyun’s face again lights up as he laughs to himself, warmth radiating in his eyes that are still on Beomgyu.
And then Beomgyu feels it: a pull from deep inside of him that he’s never felt for an alpha outside of his heat. So deep and instinctual that it has him reeling back, terrified of just how easily it sprung up with a simple smile from Taehyun.
Flirting is one thing, this is something else entirely, and he has to get away from it. Away from Taehyun before his instincts can act up any further.
“Well, good night.” Beomgyu says abruptly, already turning his back away from the confusion on Taehyun’s face at the sudden change to his mood.
“Night, Beomgyu.” The alpha makes no moves to follow him as he starts down the stairs of the entrance. “Get home safe?”
The release party is everything Beomgyu expects it to be. Namjoon is in fine form, charming the invited executives and talking up Chaewon while Kai runs around with his tablet making sure everything is going according to schedule. For her part, Chaewon is more nervous than Beomgyu’s ever seen her, but as the small audience watches her live performance with Yunjin and Eunchae backing her up, he watches her come to life on the stage.
This is why he does what does. Moments like this when he can watch someone so talented finally show off. It doesn’t matter that the live tracks are slightly different than the studio version of the EP; what matters is that people are listening, and Chaewon’s confidence is boosted with each loud cheer from the audience. It feels like a proper celebration of all their hard work, and it makes the weekends spent in the studio more than worth it.
But after the listening session comes Beomgyu’s least favorite part of launch parties: the mandatory sucking up to label executives and forced pleasantries that he’s never excelled at.
Beomgyu is used to alphas. Being the only omega in his family growing up, he had no choice but to be. His first real omega friend was Yeonjun in university, and Yeonjun is far from a typical omega. Because of that, Beomgyu knows how to carry himself even when his omega instincts are overwhelmed by the pheromones around him and the overt display of power each alpha is putting on in the crowded corner booth.
“So, how long have you been producing?” The alpha executive Beomgyu has already forgotten the name of leans closer to ask.
Beomgyu looks at Kai and Chaewon with envy. As betas, they can carry on with small talk and enjoy themselves, oblivious to the executive sitting next to Beomgyu who is making a show of his own scent. The man has been hovering around Beomgyu all night, annoying Beomgyu with his masquerade of business talk but is nothing more than an attempt to show off.
“I’ve worked for the label for about three years now.”
Beomgyu hates this. He’s happy to talk about music, about Chaewon’s hard work, or Namjoon’s excellent leadership, but not when he can tell that the alpha isn’t actually listening to him – that he doesn’t care at all about what Beomgyu has to say.
“You must be really good at what you do,” The alpha begins, just as he scoots closer in the booth. Obviously, if the alpha paid any attention to the actual EP and not cornering Beomgyu with his pheromones, he would know that already. Empty flattery only earns the alpha an eye roll from Beomgyu, who wants nothing more than to move over to the other side of the booth. Or away from this event all together.
The worst part is that Beomgyu knows that the other alphas can sense what he’s doing, even Namjoon who is seated across from him, but when have other alphas ever looked out for a random omega? They probably assume he wants the attention, that he wants to be claimed.
“Beomgyu is the best producer I’ve ever worked with,” Chaewon pipes up, pulling the alpha’s attention away from Beomgyu and back to her. He’s the only professional producer she’s ever worked with, but Beomgyu lets it slide because the alpha’s gaze is finally not on him. “He really understood my creative process and didn’t try to force anything on me that I wouldn’t want to do. He never made me feel uncomfortable.”
There’s a lilt to Chaewon’s words that tells Beomgyu that she’s observed more than she’s let on, even as a beta. She speaks with her usual charm that can mask any serious anger, but Beomgyu feels it nonetheless. He mouths a thank you to which she responds with a wink.
Unfortunately, the alpha doesn’t pick up on her tone, his hand moving to fully grip Beomgyu’s thigh as he responds. “He must be a very good producer then.”
Beomgyu’s body jolts.
It’s not that an alpha has touched his thigh without permission that has him so off – he’s dealt with assholes before. It’s the fact that the second the alpha’s hand makes contact with him, his brain screams at him that it’s the wrong alpha. And that is a new thought. One that has him sliding out of the booth and away from the alpha’s touch without a second glance.
“I need to use the restroom.”
Namjoon will berate him later for being “unprofessional” or whatever term he comes up with, but right now, Beomgyu needs to get away. Away from the alpha, and back to something familiar.
Beomgyu swore to himself after the incident at the subway entrance that he would put distance between himself and Taehyun, at least until his next heat. But the events of the night, however trivial they were, have Beomgyu hailing a taxi and rattling off the address of Taehyun’s auto shop and not his own. He second guesses it the entire ride, wondering if it’s best to shoot Taehyun a text or just tell the driver he changed his mind and just go home. A part of him won’t let him do that, though. That part of him is seeking a specific comfort that returning home to an empty apartment won’t provide.
He knows Taehyun works late because Soobin let it slip casually once or twice that he wonders if Taehyun sometimes sleeps at the shop instead of going home. He hopes tonight is one of those nights, and he’s relieved to see the shop lights lit up as he pays the driver and climbs out of the taxi fifteen minutes later.
Girl group pop music blasts through the garage, and Beomgyu laughs to himself at how unexpected it is. He takes in the grease splatters on the floor, and the clank of metal coming from across the garage. It’s a sensory overload, so much noise, so many new smells -- some of which he recognizes from the clothes Taehyun’s accidentally left at his apartment.
“Beomgyu?” The pop track stops and Taehyun’s voice calls from somewhere in the back, startling Beomgyu.
“How’d you know I was here?” Beomgyu responds before Taehyun appears. Instantly, a wave of relief washes over him. Taehyun is in jeans and a t-shirt again, a towel in his hands as he wipes the grease off of them.
“I smelled you.”
“You can smell me from that far away?” Beomgyu questions further. Of course the entire garage smells like Taehyun, but are his pheromones really running so wild that Taehyun could sense him the moment he walked in?
Taehyun gives a nervous smile. “I’d be a little disappointed if I couldn’t at this point.”
Beomgyu had done the exact same thing at Chaewon’s show last week. It must be because of his heats and that stupid sweatshirt. They’ve familiarized him with the alpha’s scent, making it all the more potent even in new spaces.
“What brings you by?” Taehyun sets the rag down and takes a tentative step forward. “Don’t you have, like, a while before we need to meet up?”
“Uh, we do. I just… I was in the neighborhood and.. You said you wanted to see my suit.” The words sound even more stupid in Beomgyu’s head after he voices them. He had almost sent the selfies to Taehyun earlier, too. But then he remembered the promise he made to himself to keep a distance. That promise has obviously gone to shit now.
“In this neighborhood?” Taehyun merely raises an eyebrow, his lips almost quirking into a smile. “And I believe I asked you to send me a picture. But I’m not objecting to seeing it in real life. You look good.”
“That’s my line.” The usual flirty edge to his banter is missing as Beomgyu shuffles in place, feeling a little silly standing in the middle of the dirty garage in formal wear. What’s he doing here anyway? But his feet aren’t ready to pull him away just yet. The nerves from before still linger in his gut, and the smell of the garage quells them just enough. He leans on the hood of the car behind him. “So this is your shop?”
Taehyun regards him warily for a moment, clearly aware that Beomgyu is acting strange. But he doesn’t push it, and instead answers Beomgyu’s question.
“Yup. It’s not much, but it’s grown a lot since I took over from my dad.”
“It’s a family business?” That’s new information to Beomgyu. They haven’t really talked about Taehyun’s life before. There’s a heaviness to that reality, but it’s canceled out by the way Taehyun is approaching him with tentative steps, his eyes still looking on Beomgyu with concern.
“Used to be.” Taehyun is closer now, and Beomgyu leans back against the hood. “Then my parents retired and moved to Gangneung. So now it’s just me. And Soobin and Changbin, of course.”
With every step Taehyun takes toward him, Beomgyu feels himself simultaneously relieved and more on edge than ever. He tries to distract himself with further small talk, allowing any thought to fall from his mouth just to fill the air between them.
“Soobin really likes it here.” Beomgyu says, half because Yeonjun would kill him if he found out Beomgyu showed up at the shop, and half because he wants to keep Soobin in Taehyun’s good graces regardless of whatever mess of stress and pheromones he is right now.
Taehyun is close enough now to touch, coming to a stop in front of Beomgyu on the hood of the car. Their knees brush, but frustratingly, Taehyun’s hands remain at his sides as Beomgyu looks up at him. Beomgyu wants to beg him to do something, anything to dispel his jumbled thoughts.
“I swear that guy can’t touch an engine or even a tire without breaking something or injuring himself.” Taehyun laughs under his breath. It’s soothing in Beomgyu’s ears. “But he’s the best electrician I’ve ever met.”
“Yeonjun always says that his role as Soobin’s mate is to protect Soobin from himself.”
Since Taehyun seems so set on not touching him, Beomgyu decides to be bold. He needs something right now, and he’s sure that just one touch will help him get there. He lets his hand reach out to tug at the fabric of Taehyun’s shirt and pull him closer. The alpha doesn’t object, but he doesn’t react either.
“He’s not exaggerating. We keep a special first aid kit just for Soobin in the tool kit.”
Beomgyu’s not really listening at this point, his senses have been overridden with the need to feel. It’s a different need than when he is in heat; there’s no lust compelling him in his actions. He just wants to be closer, to indulge the pull he’s felt all evening to be in this exact spot. Maybe if he breathes in enough of Taehyun’s calming scent, it will go away and he can return back to his normal life without the unease he’s felt all evening.
Without thinking, he leans in – just close enough for his nose to brush against the fabric of Taehyun’s t-shirt. When the alpha doesn’t move away, he takes it as a sign to pull the alpha towards him. Somehow, Taehyun’s scent grounds him. He isn’t thinking of the alpha before who touched him, and instead is reveling in the control he feels he has at this moment.
“Beomgyu?”
“Hmm?” Beomgyu responds without looking up. He wants to touch more, to let his hands properly wander.
“Are you alright?” Taehyun asks from above him. His voice is soft, patient, but no less concerned.
“Mmm.” Maybe he wasn’t before, but he’s better now. Now that he has a familiar alpha scent to ward away the smells from the rest of his evening. He’ll be embarrassed about this later, he knows. But right now he wants nothing more than to press closer and run his nose along the fabric of Taehyun’s t-shirt, to push it into the firm muscles below the shirt and soothe his inner omega after a night of stress.
“Do you…” Taehyun’s breath hitches when Beomgyu looks up. “... Want me to scent you?”
Beomgyu breathes a sigh into Taehyun’s shirt at the question, causing the alpha to shiver. He wasn’t aware that that’s what he’s basically doing against Taehyun’s clothed stomach, yet it makes perfect sense. Another thought to sort through later.
But with the offer out in the open, it’s easy enough to agree with a quiet “Would you?”
Beomgyu’s never been scented by an alpha that wasn’t family before. He doesn’t know what to expect as Taehyun gingerly runs his fingers through his hair and trails them down the back of his neck. It’s only a moment later, once Beomgyu doesn’t show any sign of objection, that Taehyun bends down to nose along Beomgyu’s jaw.
Beomgyu is so caught up in the way Taehyun’s pheromones blanket him that he barely registers the small licks to his pulse point, or the way Taehyun’s forehead rests against his cheek as he inhales at Beomgyu’s scent gland. Taehyun sighs, his weight falling into Beomgyu at the same moment Beomgyu’s hands find purchase on Taehyun’s waist.
There aren’t any words between them as Taehyun continues his journey along Beomgyu’s skin. He never kisses, just nuzzles and licks. It’s calming and so distinctive from their usual exchanges when they hold each other this close. His mouth is so close to the spot where a mating mark would be, but Beomgyu feels no unease at that fact. Actually, there’s nothing erotic about it at all. Beomgyu feels completely safe like this with Taehyun so near.
Surely, Taehyun can smell the other alphas on him. Beomgyu wonders if Taehyun gets the same satisfaction covering those scents with his own as Beomgyu does as they disappear.
Taehyun’s too nice, doing this for Beomgyu. He’s always been too nice, too giving of an alpha for Beomgyu to really wrap his head around. He lets himself be used by Beomgyu for heat, and now for comfort, without expecting anything back. Beomgyu’s never had a problem with being selfish to protect himself, but tonight it feels wrong to just take.
So, he lifts Taehyun’s shirt to nuzzle against the now exposed bare skin. He follows his instincts, allowing his pheromones to act on their own as Taehyun’s breaths become deeper and even more relaxed. He licks the defined skin of Taehyun’s abs once, twice, just like he’d felt the alpha do against his own neck moments ago. His skin tastes sweeter than Beomgyu remembers, addictively so. It’s just a taste, but it satiates something deep within Beomgyu.
A low growl reverberates in Taehyun’s throat as Beomgyu pulls away, satisfied with himself.
“Better?” Taehyun whispers as his hand leaves Beomgyu’s hair.
“Yeah.” Beomgyu forces a weak smile. His thoughts are still too hazy to do much else. But the edge from before is gone. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Taehyun’s expression is equally dazed. “Let’s get you home?”
“Whoa, now I know where you disappeared to last night,” Kai says in lieu of a greeting the following day.
Taehyun must have done a damn good job scenting him because even after a thorough shower he’s been getting strange looks all morning. Just like a few of his other co-workers, Kai’s eyes immediately move to inspect Beomgyu’s neck. He looks just as confused as they did to find no new mark.
Beomgyu just nods. What is he supposed to say? Yes, another alpha touched me so my little omega ass ran to my heat partner to be scented? As true as the words may be, they go against everything he’s told himself about how much control he has over his own instincts, and he’s not ready to own up to that just yet.
“Sorry about not helping you out last night.” Kai continues, looking much more guilty than moments before. “I didn’t even notice that the exec was being creepy until Chaewon spoke up.”
“It’s not your fault. He was just an ass.” Beomgyu waves his hand dismissively. “No big deal.”
Beomgyu doesn’t need to be saved from asshole alphas. He knows how to handle himself, and last night was just an unfortunate one-off where his omega side got the better of him. It’s nothing Kai should have to feel remotely responsible for.
When his phone pings on his desk a beat later and a text preview pops up, Beomgyu realizes that the real person he needs saving from is Yeonjun.
Yeonjun
We need to talk.
Usual bar at 7?
No excuses.
Beomgyu is so dead.
“Tell me why the shop reeked of you today?” Are the first words out of Yeonjun’s mouth when Beomgyu takes a seat at the table across from him. Just as Beomgyu expected, Yeonjun doesn’t look pleased.
“How do you know that?” Beomgyu plays dumb even if Yeonjun can probably smell Taehyun on him right now. An angry Yeonjun is a scary Yeonjun, and when Yeonjun is angry because he’s protecting his mate, Beomgyu has every right to proceed with caution.
“Soobin could smell you… and Taehyun.” Yeonjun narrows his eyes before taking a deep breath and leaning back in his seat. “Look, I can accept that he’s your heat partner, but for the love of god please do not have sex on the hoods of cars that my alpha has to work with the next day. Have some decency.”
Beomgyu can’t help but laugh a little at the disgusted face Yeonjun is pulling. Of course he understands why Yeonjun would be upset, but it’s funny all the same to think of the conclusions Yeonjun jumped to.
“Nothing happened.” Beomgyu defends.
“Sure.”
“Really nothing happened.” Beomgyu pushes with more enthusiasm. “I’m clearly not even in my heat. He just scented me a little and I caught a cab home.”
“He scented you?” Yeonjun’s eyes blow wide in disbelief. Scenting is intimate, and of course Yeonjun knows that. All the rage in Yeonjun’s eyes is gone in favor of inspecting Beomgyu’s face for any kind of explanation. “Like, on purpose?”
Beomgyu confirms with a nod.
“And you let him?”
“I kind of asked him to…?” Beomgyu admits. Although Taehyun made the official offer, it was only after Beomgyu made a show of sniffing his abs. Not one of his prouder moments, in retrospect.
“Soobin doesn’t even scent me unless we’re going to be apart for days. Why would Taehyun scent you? In the middle of a garage?”
“I was stressed, and he helped me calm down.”
Yeonjun gives up with a resigned sigh. “You two are so weird.”
As if Yeonjun has ever been conventional.
Beomgyu takes his time playing with the coaster on the table as he tries to formulate his thoughts, Yeonjun’s watchful eyes on him all the while. He has a few questions he’s been turning over in his head, and Yeonjun is the ideal person to ask them to. Especially now that he’s settled into a state of resigned disbelief.
“How did you know Soobin was your mate?” He finally asks a few beats later.
“It wasn’t some sudden realization,” Yeonjun laughs to himself. “The more I knew him, the more I knew I wanted him.”
It sounds so simple when Yeonjun talks about it now. However, Beomgyu remembers how set Yeonjun was about never having a mate. Beomgyu may not like alphas much, but it was Yeonjun who was practically averse to them. That is, until Soobin tripped into his life (literally), and the world seemed to tilt on its axis.
“But did you feel like you didn’t have a choice? That your omega side chose him?” It’s a question Beomgyu’s always had: how much of mating is just instinct? With the way his own omega instincts have been pulling him to Taehyun recently, he’s more perplexed than ever.
“No. I chose him.” Yeonjun’s voice is nothing short of resolute.
“How do you know?”
“It’s not like I just got a whiff of him as a complete stranger and decided to devote my life to him because he was a big strong alpha. Have you seen Soobin? The guy can barely cook in our kitchen without banging his head on the cupboard every five minutes, and he’s scared of spiders.” Yeonjun smiles as he thinks of his partner. He has a point though, ‘big strong alpha’ is a phrase few people would use to describe Soobin, despite his above average height.
“There was a pull when we met, but we dated what? A year? Before we exchanged marks,” Yeonjun continues, his eyes growing ever more fond as he does so. “We built a bond as partners, and when we decided to mate it was with both the human and omega sides of me knowing it was what I wanted. He was what I wanted.”
“So you aren’t true mates?” Beomgyu has always wondered.
“Truthfully, I think the destined mate thing is bullshit. We choose mates because all of us wants them, not just our omega instincts. I’d still have chosen Soobin if he weren’t an alpha. He could be a beta or even an omega and it wouldn’t change anything. Is it nice that he’s an alpha? Sure, I suppose when I’m in heat it’s nice. But that’s not why I love him. You know?”
“I guess.” Beomgyu knows that Yeonjun is nothing but honest when it comes to his feelings for Soobin. And there is some relief in knowing how firmly Yeonjun sees his decision to mate as his own, one that he doesn’t regret.
As Beomgyu contemplates Yeonjun’s words, his friend leans across the table to observe him.
“Why are you asking about mates all of the sudden?”
“I’ve just been feeling weird lately, I guess.” Weird is an understatement. So many of Beomgyu’s thoughts have been filled with Taehyun lately, and he doesn’t know what to make of it.
Yeonjun raises an eyebrow. “And does showing up at the shop to be scented by Taehyun have anything to do with that?”
“It’s part of it.”
Something clicks for Yeonjun, and he leans back in his seat with a devious smile on his face.
“You know, it’s not every day you find an alpha who is willing to close their shop early or be late to important meetings for someone that isn’t their mate…” Yeonjun reminds him, there’s an edge to Yeonjun’s words that tells Beomgyu he knows far more than he is saying. “Or scents them without marking…”
“Taehyun’s just a really good guy.” Even if he doesn’t fully understand his own feelings for the alpha, Beomgyu knows how true his own words are.
“He is.” Yeonjun agrees without missing a beat. “But don’t forget, you always have a choice.”
Beomgyu starts to feel weird a few days later.
It begins with him zoning out during his morning meeting with Kai and Namjoon, followed by a thin layer of sweat that collects along his hairline by lunch and a heightened awareness of all the pheromones in the office. The symptoms are exactly that of pre-heat, but Beomgyu isn’t due for his heat for another week. It doesn’t make sense.
Nonetheless, by the time he’s getting ready to clock out – and Kai affectionately tells him he stinks – Beomgyu knows his body has betrayed him and gone into heat early. He quickly sends out an email to the necessary staff before pulling out his phone to text Taehyun.
Beomgyu
My heat came early
Taehyun
You’re in heat now?
Beomgyu
😭
I have the next three days off
Taehyun
Fuck.
I’m out of town.
Beomgyu’s stomach drops. The heat is sneaking up on him, which means his inner omega is equally upset, practically howling at Beomgyu to go track Taehyun down before it officially starts. His body craves a partner, an alpha to help him. But if it’s not Taehyun, then…?
His heat is still in its early stages by the time he arrives home. Regardless, his omega sensibilities have already started to overtake his thought process. If there isn’t an alpha around, the best he can do is try to nest to try and soothe himself.
Seeking familiar comfort, Beomgyu removes Taehyun’s sweater from the bag and curls up on the couch in his boxers. Taehyun’s scent is barely left on the fabric after so much time, but with his heightened senses during heat, it’s more than enough to wrap himself in and feel some relief. To feel the illusion of an alpha’s presence.
It’s not that he needs a heat partner, but without one, he’s left for three days of sweating, moping, and digging through his toys to eventually stuff himself full enough to not cry in a ball on the floor. He groans just thinking about it as he burrows into the cushions and pulls out his phone. He has other contacts, other alphas he knows from the past. One of them would probably be willing to help him out, but each time his finger hovers over the message icon, he gets another whiff of Taehyun’s scent and changes his mind. It’s like he’s browsing a delivery app, but none of the restaurants serve what he wants. He wants…
Beomgyu turns off his phone. It’s better to get some sleep now while he still can before the hell that he knows tomorrow will be without an alpha around.
A knock on the door surprises him out of his sleep. Beomgyu doesn’t know what time it is, or how long he was out. What he does know is that his heat has arrived in full force now, an ache curling his gut and his thoughts fuzzy. He’s in no state to welcome guests. That is until he hears a second round of knocking followed by a familiar voice.
“Beomgyu?”
Beomgyu’s legs carry him to the door before his brain catches up with what’s happening. It feels like a fever dream when he tugs the door open to see Taehyun standing in front of him, once again in slacks and a dress shirt. He doesn’t know which option is more concerning: his omega wanting the alpha so bad that he’s conjured up a well-dressed hallucination of him, or Taehyun actually here in front of him despite being out of town as of a few hours ago.
“What are you… How?” Words are hard to put together. His body, though, is already responding to the alpha. Beomgyu feels the slick leaking out, and were it anyone but Taehyun – who’s seen him in this state many times – in front of him, he would be embarrassed by that fact. “Out of town…?”
“Gangneung isn’t that far.” Taehyun’s eyes flare with concern when Beomgyu falls forward to bury his face in Taehyun’s chest. It’s sturdy, familiar, and very much not a hallucination. The contact list on his phone is long forgotten and replaced with the feeling of Taehyun’s palm running along his back and the calming pheromones he’s releasing. This is how it’s supposed to be. “Are you okay?”
“Better now.”
They usually don’t kiss much in the wind-up. Kissing is more of a distraction tactic during sex because it’s easy to get carried away and accidentally bite. But tonight, from the moment Beomgyu angles his head up and their lips connect in his doorway, he can’t seem to pull himself away. Taehyun, too, holds Beomgyu’s jaw in place with a gentle grip so that he can kiss him deeper, push him back towards Beomgyu’s bedroom and kick the front door shut without breaking the kiss.
Beomgyu’s heat is ignited. Whatever discomfort he was feeling moments ago is replaced by every nerve going haywire and his legs practically turning to jelly with each inhale. He’s overwhelmed by Taehyun’s scent, his lips, the firm grip Taehyun has through the sweatshirt that he’s made no move to remove yet.
Soon, Beomgyu feels himself eased backwards atop his own bed before Taehyun is hovering over him, his gaze unreadable. Beomgyu is already gone, and when Taehyun brushes his cheek with the back of his fingers, he lets out a whine so weak, and needy that it surprises them both. His skin feels like it’s on fire in the wake of Taehyun’s fingers, and Beomgyu doesn’t want to have any space between them. He wants Taehyun’s skin against his, pulling that same feeling of warmth on his cheek and spreading it over his entire body. His fingers play with the hem of Taehyun’s shirt only for a moment before he’s trying to pull it over the alpha’s head.
Taehyun’s chest is flushed when Beomgyu runs his hands along the newly exposed skin. Soon, he’ll be too gone to appreciate this – his thoughts only concerned with being filled and fucked properly – so he takes the opportunity to watch the way the alpha’s muscles flex underneath his fingertips while he still can. The alpha doesn’t rush him either; he lets Beomgyu take his time while his own hands run up and along the skin of Beomgyu’s thighs.
Beomgyu’s hard and leaking through his boxers already which is to be expected, but the lack of friction has him cutting his moment short to pull Taehyun back down and rut against him and move things along. Quick work is made of Beomgyu’s boxers, and Taehyun’s pants. But when Beomgyu attempts to pull his arms out of the sweatshirt, he’s stopped by a low growl that sends a shiver down his spine in the best way.
“Leave it on.”
“But…”
“Just a little bit longer, please.” Taehyun almost pleads.
Beomgyu is in no state to deny an alpha’s request, especially one asked so earnestly. At least Taehyun soon lifts the sweatshirt up just enough to lick down the planes of Beomgyu’s stomach. Beomgyu wants to wiggle because even his heat crazed mind, it still tickles. That thought is quickly abandoned when Taehyun’s lips move to suck along his hip bones, nibbling at the skin there but never breaking it, before he moves his attention to Beomgyu’s thighs do the same there.
Beomgyu’s thighs shake as Taehyun kisses the expanse of them before his tongue gently brushes against Beomgyu’s rim, tasting his slick and causing him to gasp. One advantage of fucking Beomgyu for the better part of a year means that Taehyun knows how to eat him out; he knows just how to tease Beomgyu’s rim before pushing his tongue inside to make Beomgyu squirm. Beomgyu likes it fast, almost aggressive, and Taehyun takes great care in getting him off exactly the way he likes.
His fingers tangle in Taehyun’s hair, and he tugs with each wave of pleasure that courses through him. Each harsh pull grants him another low growl that reverates through his entire body. Beomgyu’s mind is half gone, lost in the familiar sensation as he gives in fully to the heat that envelops him, the orgasm that he can already feel building inside of him. But it’s not enough. Just cumming is never enough…
“Taehyun, I need…” a knot, a bite, to feel more than Taehyun’s tongue and fingers inside of him because the build up is excruciating and he needs Taehyun to just take him already.
“I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.” And Beomgyu would never doubt that.
Beomgyu comes for the first time this heat on Taehyun’s fingers and tongue – not on any of the toys he thought he’d be stuck with because Taehyun is there for him. Like always.
The next wave of heat hits a few hours later, stronger than the first. This time Taehyun knows better than to deny Beomgyu the pleasure of being properly fucked for the second time, even if the first orgasm was enough to satiate Beomgyu for a couple hours.
Taehyun is atop him now, their chests flush with each other as the alpha pistons his hips. He hits Beomgyu exactly where he wants, stimulating every point of his body with his warm skin that sticks to Beomgyu’s own. Beomgyu is completely enveloped in Taehyun’s scent, the world around him fading away entirely as he comes for the second time.
And then there are Taehyun’s lips, the ones that have started to trail along his jaw, against his cheek, down to his neck as he comes down from the high. Without thinking, Beomgyu reaches up to card his fingers through Taehyun’s hair to press him closer into his neck, right where a mating mark would be.
When Beomgyu gasps at the sensation, Taehyun abruptly pulls away.
Although his omega whines at the sudden distance between them, Beomgyu feels safe. So safe that something akin to affection starts to build within his chest for the alpha above him. The alpha with big brown eyes and messy hair who didn’t leave him on his own. As Taehyun’s eyes remain glued on him in fascination, Beomgyu cranes his neck to the side, baring it to the alpha for the first time.
Taehyun looks at him with wide eyes, imploring Beomgyu for answers, but all Beomgyu can do is plead with a whimper. Taehyun finally leans in to sniff along the spot Beomgyu is so desperate for him to touch. His movements are slow, calculated, and despite the fire that is burning within Beomgyu, he lies completely still beneath the alpha. Beomgyu can feel the canines press against his pulse, scraping the skin. He keens, wanting it, his hands in Taehyun’s hair holding him closer like he’s begging.
A lick to his pulse point, a small kiss, and then the warmth is gone. Taehyun pulls himself back up to look down at Beomgyu with a pained expression on his face, but all Beomgyu can see is pity.
It stings like a rejection. One he has no right to feel because Taehyun is doing the right thing. He hates the vulnerability that creeps into him, making him feel inadequate, unsatisfied. He wants to curl in on himself, comfort himself in some way to make up for the blank space on his neck where his instincts scream that a bite should be by now.
But he can’t. He’s not Taehyun’s to claim.
There aren’t really any easy words between them, especially with Beomgyu’s heat crowding his thoughts and his omega feeling jilted. So, Beomgyu lets himself be rolled over onto his side, and tries to hold back the irrational tears that threaten to fall. Taehyun runs a soothing hand along Beomgyu’s back to placate him, but it’s not enough. It’s easy enough to blame it all on the heat that sends his emotions into a spiral with his instincts only wanting one thing.
It’s just his heat, he’ll get over it, he knows.
When Taehyun fucks him through the next few waves of heat, he chooses positions that keep him as far from Beomgyu’s neck as possible. Beomgyu knows it’s the right thing to do, but he misses the feeling of Taehyun’s skin against his, their bodies pressed close enough to each other that he can inhale Taehyun’s scent and lick his skin. There’s a distance between them now that isn’t just physical, and Beomgyu’s still too deep in his heat to really work through it just yet. He knows, on some level, he fucked up. But he also knows that a simple fuck up in the middle of heat shouldn’t leave him feeling so empty. It’s more than not getting a knot, or even a bite, like the omega side of him begs for.
It’s the way that Taehyun barely looks at him, and when he does, he looks hurt.
Beomgyu doesn’t think his inner omega has ever been more disappointed than when Taehyun slips out early on the morning of the third day without even a goodbye. He pulls himself together though, enough to waddle into the living room with the blanket that still smells like Taehyun wrapped around him and dig his phone out from between the cushions where he left it three days ago.
The expected messages from Namjoon and Kai are there, even one from Yeonjun asking him if he managed to get off okay without an alpha. But it’s the one at the bottom of the list that hits him right in the gut.
Taehyun
I’ll be there in three hours.
Can you wait for me?
Beomgyu expects rationality to take hold after the fog from his heat clears to kick his ass back into normality. However, by the third day that Taehyun still hasn’t responded to his thank you text — or any of his subsequent texts — Beomgyu is more on edge than ever.
He needs to talk to Taehyun, maybe apologize for putting him on the spot like that in the middle of heat sex, anything to rid himself of the guilt he feels. He needs them to sort it out because he doesn’t want another heat partner, his inner omega won’t even allow him to think about it, and he’s afraid he might have messed things up beyond repair.
So, by the fourth day, Beomgyu finds himself back at Taehyun’s shop. Awkwardly standing in the door as Soobin looks at him in question.
“Is Taehyun here?”
“He’s not gonna be in this week.” Soobin says, setting the tire iron down and wiping his hands on his overalls. Beomgyu notices the little duck band aids that decorate his fingers. Probably Yeonjun’s handiwork. “I’m running the shop until he gets back.”
“Is he traveling or something?” Taehyun’s gone out of town a few times since they met, he’s mentioned it in passing to Beomgyu. Did he need to get away?
“No.” Soobin shakes his head. It looks like he’s turning words over in his mind for another breath before he speaks. “He’s uh… in his rut right now.”
“Oh.” Beomgyu doesn’t know much about alpha ruts. He’s always likened them to an alpha version of a heat, only longer and far less frequent. “I could have helped him with it.”
Soobin’s face turns even more serious in a way Beomgyu has never seen before. It’s almost as scary as Yeonjun’s angry face. “You, especially, couldn’t have.”
Beomgyu doesn’t know why he’s offended by the statement. Surely, helping Taehyun through a rut would only be fair considering how many times Taehyun has been there for him just in the past month alone.
“Why not?”
Soobin breathes in a heavy sigh. “Because alpha ruts… are different. More intense than heat. When alphas go into a rut, there’s only one thing on their mind -- and that’s mating.” Soobin’s voice drops even lower as he corrects himself, his cheeks flushing as he does so. “Breeding.”
“He could have told me?” Beomgyu suggests. He knows there’s more implications to what Soobin is telling him -- that Taehyun’s alpha instincts are telling him to mate.
“Yeah, he could have.” Soobin agrees. “But he has his reasons for keeping it to himself.”
Right, because they aren’t mates. They aren’t even courting each other. Taehyun is free to keep things to himself, but if Beomgyu wasn’t there, does that mean…?
“Does he have someone to help him?” The words sting leaving his throat. For all he knows Taehyun could have another omega he knows, he has every right to.
“I can’t say. I’m not even sure I was supposed to tell you about the rut in the first place.”
Beomgyu doesn’t let himself pout because Soobin is right. Beomgyu has no right to put him in a messy situation with his boss just because he’s curious and basically asked the alpha to mark him in the middle of heat and feels guilty about it.
“What triggered it though?” Beomgyu voices to himself. Ruts aren’t that common for alphas without a mate, unless the alpha has already found a mate but has yet to mark them…
“Do you really have to ask that?” Soobin clicks his tongue, and Beomgyu’s stomach nearly falls out his ass because Taehyun’s alpha is ready to mate with someone, and it might not be Beomgyu.
Beomgyu
Is Taehyun back at the shop?
Yeonjun
You mean has his rut ended?
Beomgyu
👉🏼👈🏼
Yeonjun
Just ask him yourself 😝
Revelations aren’t really Beomgyu’s thing. He likes to think of his life as pretty straight forward: he has a job he loves, good friends, and his omega side is something he accepts but doesn’t feel the need to center his life around. Heats are an inconvenience, and alphas are complicated. That mentality has always worked for him up to this point.
However, the knowledge that Taehyun not only went into a rut, but may have spent it alone, or worse, with another omega has awoken a different side to Beomgyu, one he isn’t sure he likes. He has no physical claim over Taehyun, and yet a feeling akin to possession takes over just at the thought of Taehyun touching someone else the way he touches him. That same feeling is coupled with hurt that Taehyun could just not tell him.
Things get even worse when he tries to think of another alpha. Admittedly, Beomgyu’s never paid much attention to alphas. But as he goes through the motions of working the next week, his body is on high alert to each one he encounters. Not because he’s annoyed by their general presence, but because for each one he encounters, all he can do is compare them to Taehyun. They act differently. They’re too big. Too loud. They don’t look at him the way he wants to be looked at, or at the very least, in the way his omega has decided it deserves to be looked at.
Giving into the omega side of himself – letting it fill such a space in his thoughts – is foreign. Beomgyu is used to making his own choices, and feeling like his instincts are making a decision for him scares him. He’s still not over the fact that he bared his neck to Taehyun, but he doesn’t know if that’s more because he’s upset with himself, or if the thought of Taehyun rejecting him is too much to bear.
His real revelation comes from the simple fact that he likes Taehyun. Sure, his omega side might be more set on Taehyun than his human side, but Beomgyu doesn’t want to lose him in either way. He knows himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t have acted that way with any other alpha: letting himself be held in public, scenting, baring his neck. He trusts Taehyun, deeply, even if there’s so much they don’t know about each other. And that has to count for something.
He needs to talk with Taehyun before it’s too late.
Beomgyu
Can you meet me after work today?
Please?
Beomgyu doesn’t expect much, especially when his text is left on read all afternoon. Kai’s been trying to cheer him up all week, and when Beomgyu gives up on Taehyun talking to him today, he agrees to go out for drinks after work. At least it will take his mind off of things – or give him a chance to overdo it and rant to Kai about alphas being frustrating even when they’re hot and kind and kind of perfect.
He’s prepared to do just that as they exit the lobby, Kai’s arm around his shoulder, when Kai suddenly stops in his tracks. Beomgyu looks at him in question before following Kai’s gaze to the person standing a few meters ahead of them with his hands in his pockets.
“I think we’re going to have to reschedule drinks.” Beomgyu says dumbly, refusing to take his eyes off of Taehyun as he approaches them slowly.
“You’re the mystery alpha, right?” Kai greets as soon as Taehyun is within hearing range, and Beomgyu wants to facepalm on the spot.
“Uh?” Taehyun looks between Beomgyu and Kai in question. “I’m Taehyun?”
“We were just on our way to get drunk and talk about you.” Kai smiles in glee at the same time Beomgyu scrunches his features in embarrassment. This is why he never wanted them to meet. “Kind of disappointed because now he won’t tell me anything until you make him sad again.”
“I um…” Taehyun blinks away his confusion at Kai’s introduction, turning instead to look at Beomgyu who is so flabbergasted by both Kai’s oversharing and Taehyun’s sudden appearance that he has yet to formulate a proper sentence. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah.” Beomgyu nods. “We should.”
“I can’t wait to tell Chanhee about this.”
“Kai?”
“Right, right.” Kai bows, shooting Beomgyu a wink. “I’ll see you tomorrow, boss. Good luck.”
Beomgyu leads them to a bench in the park adjacent to his office, and Taehyun trails behind. The air between them is awkward, heavy with all the unsaid truths they both need to let out, as they take a seat.
“I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your texts. I—”
“Went into a rut.” There’s no easy way to segue into the conversation, so Beomgyu just dives in.
“Did Soobin tell you?” Taehyun blinks in surprise. “He shouldn’t have told you that.”
“Maybe not.” Beomgyu agrees, trying to mask his hurt. “But when he did, I wished that you had told me instead.”
Taehyun lowers his head. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Or is it that you didn’t want me around?” Beomgyu has pushed too many limits lately, limits he himself set to keep things casual. If Taehyun wanted space, that’s completely understandable. It still hurts to say out loud, though.
Taehyun heaves a heavy sigh, his cheeks flushing a little as he squirms on the bench next to Beomgyu.
“That’s definitely not it. In fact, it’s the complete opposite of that.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Trust me, it took more willpower than I knew I had to not text message you and beg you to come over. To leave you before your heat had properly broken.” Taehyun laughs to himself, but it’s empty. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. But I knew better. You wouldn’t have been… safe… with me. Especially after what happened.”
“Did that… trigger it?” Beomgyu ventures to ask, his apology on the tip of his tongue. He tries to meet Taehyun’s eyes, but the alpha’s gaze remains fixed on his hands.
“The bite? No.” Taehyun shakes his head. “That was a warning sign that the rut was coming. I would have never come that close to biting you otherwise. I know better.”
“I see.” Beomgyu nods, only half understanding. There are some alpha things that are beyond him, and ruts are one of them.
“Ruts aren’t brought on by incidents. They’re triggered by…”
“Omegas.” Beomgyu supplies for Taehyun.
“No.” Taehyun laughs weakly. “I mean yes they can be, but only special omegas.”
“Special?” Beomgyu feels his cheeks flush.
“A part of me… it decided I’ve found a potential mate.” Taehyun’s big eyes finally search Beomgyu’s, pleading for understanding of what he’s trying to say.
Beomgyu gets it. “Oh. Oh..”
“Yup. And I’ve known it for a while, but I pushed it to the back of my mind because I didn’t want to stress you out or something – I know you’re not looking for a mate – but…”
“You want me as a mate.” Beomgyu states definitively, more to himself than Taehyun. And although his mind is still swirling in disbelief, the revelation doesn’t scare him to say it like he thought it would. “Or at least, your alpha does.”
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s all of me.” Beomgyu’s relieved to see Taehyun finally smile as he continues, “Mind and body are in agreement on this one.”
Beomgyu scoots a little closer to Taehyun on the bench, he can smell Taehyun’s nerves mixing with his own anxieties. The closer proximity calms him, just a little. “But we haven’t even really dated.”
“I know. Which makes it incredibly lame that I couldn’t manage to just ask you out when I’d already decided on you months ago. Instead I resorted to trying to court you by subconsciously scent marking and forcing myself into a rut.”
The mention of Taehyun’s scent has him remembering the stupid sweatshirt that he still hasn’t returned, and something clicks.
“So you’re saying you left the sweatshirt on purpose?” Beomgyu smiles, not knowing why that makes him happy. “To ward off other alphas?”
“Hey, I said subconsciously. But I can tell you it felt amazing to walk into your apartment and smell myself there. To see you in my sweatshirt.” Taehyun beams victoriously, and it makes Beomgyu laugh into his shoulder without a second thought. He still smells so nice, even warmer now, more inviting. Beomgyu can smell the relief, hear the steady pounding of his heart. It feels right.
“Rest assured, there aren’t any other alphas frequenting my apartment. Unless you count Soobin, but he basically ran out of the place as soon as he smelled that thing last time he and Yeonjun visited.” Beomgyu recalls the moment fondly, loving the way both Soobin and Yeonjun treated the fabric like it was toxic waste, despite both of them being used to Taehyun’s scent.
“I know it wasn’t conventional,” Taehyun sighs. “But I wanted to test the waters. To see if you rejected me flat out and put me back in my place, or if you maybe felt the same way…”
Taehyun’s nervous, being so open, and it’s cute. Cute enough for Beomgyu to match his honesty, even if it scares him.
“When Soobin told me you went into a rut, the first thing that I thought was that I didn’t want you to have someone else. I wanted it to be me that helped you, and that scared me.” Now Beomgyu is the one looking down at his thumbs, trying to fight the flush of his cheeks.
“Why?” Beomgyu can hear the hope in Taehyun’s voice.
“If I’m being completely honest, I think my omega side might be just as set as you are.” Taehyun leans down to brush his nose against Beomgyu’s hair, so gentle and affectionate that Beomgyu almost misses it. Beomgyu can smell the happiness emanating from the alpha as he takes another deep breath. “But… Beomgyu the human needs more time, you know, to actually be with you. Outside of a heat, or serendipitous run-ins.”
“I can live with that.” Taehyun nods in resolution. “I still want to court you, too. Properly.”
Beomgyu laughs outright at Taehyun sounding so eager before he lifts his head from Taehyun’s shoulder to look at him properly. “You’re so old fashioned.”
“I just like to work for what I want.” Taehyun shrugs. Taehyun’s eyes on him make it clear exactly what it is that he’s talking about.
Beomgyu really doesn’t have anything to say to that. He can see the nerves in Taehyun’s smile, the small flickers of vulnerability in his eyes.
“Do I get to court you too?” Beomgyu asks.
Taehyun pretends to consider for a moment. “It’s the twenty-first century, you can do whatever you want.”
He’s obviously not aware of how little Beomgyu actually knows about courtship, but Beomgyu figures that that’s okay for now. In fact, he’d like to put his knowledge to the test. Better to embarrass himself early on and let Taehyun know just what he’s gotten himself into.
“So if I ask you out on a real date right now…?”
Taehyun beams, and it’s a smile that’s quickly reciprocated. “I’d say I’m starving, and I hope you know a good restaurant nearby.”
“You’re in luck.”
It’s Beomgyu who chooses to take Taehyun’s hand in his own and lead them down the street. It’s also Beomgyu who leans in to kiss Taehyun goodnight when he’s dropped off a few hours later with unfamiliar butterflies in his stomach because it’s all so new.
That same newness makes it a little scary, but for once Beomgyu decides that it’s okay to leave a few things up in the air and see where it goes. He has Taehyun who will be right by his side as he figures it all out.