Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

Soobin was a bit of a mess. Because now that the math test was officially out of the way he had exactly twenty-four hours to figure out how the hell he was going to spend the night with Yeonjun and not expose himself as an omega.

He had Kai in their bathroom with a pile of clothes he was currently trying to vigorously scent mark so they would smell like a beta.

“Hyung, I don’t think it’s working,” Kai called through the door as Soobin frantically researched possible side effects of sleeping in a scent blocking patch. “Should we try the scent-neutralizing spray again?”

“Please,” Soobin called back, his eyes continuing to frantically scan the back of the scent blocker box. It didn’t say anything about the product being unsafe to sleep in. He was intentionally ignoring the table at the bottom that explained how long the different kinds of patches were safe to wear.

Maybe if he came back to the dorm following his last class and spent a bit of time “packing” with the patch off, it wouldn’t be so bad.

He felt bad doing it, but he grabbed his phone off his bed and dialed Beomgyu’s number. Beomgyu had already made it pretty clear that he thought the sleepover was a stupid idea, even worse than the cheer team slumber party, and he wanted no part in it. But maybe Soobin needed to hear how much of an idiot he was being. It would smack some sense into him.

He was a bit surprised when the other line picked up and instead of hearing Beomgyu’s deep satoori he was instead hearing Taehyun’s voice crackle through the speaker. He pulled the phone away from his ear to check again.

Nope, he’d definitely called Beomgyu.

“Taehyun-ah? Why do you have Beomgyu’s phone?”

“Beomgyu’s phone?”

There was a beat of silence and then some shuffling noises and hushed voices (and was that the creaking of bed springs?) before Beomgyu’s voice boomed through the phone. “Oh! Um, we were just studying,” he said like Soobin had accused him of having an affair.

“Sure,” Soobin drawled. He wasn’t buying that for a second, but he decided to show them some mercy. At least temporarily.

“What did you need?”

Soobin fought back a smile, Beomgyu couldn’t see him, but he didn’t want to wind up laughing over how eager and antsy Beomgyu clearly was to get Soobin off the phone so he could get back to whatever studying he was doing with Taehyun. If Soobin hadn’t been so distressed he would’ve teased him. Taken advantage of the moment to get in a few licks. Probably a joke about how he didn’t know their school offered classes on anatomy. But, it was hard to organize a straight thought to make fun of him with when Soobin’s stream of consciousness currently sounded like: ohmygodwhatareBeomgyuandTaehyundoingtogetherissleepinginmyextranstrengthscentblockingpatchgoingtomakemesickwouldYeonjunhyungstillwanttodatemeifheknewIwasanomegahowbadwoulditbeifIjustcamecleanmaybeIshouldletKaioutofthebathroombutwhatifIgetkickedofftheteamandthenthiswasallfornothingwehaven’tevengonetonationalsyetletaloneworldsohmygodwhatdoIdo?

“Oh,” Soobin choked out. “Nothing, nothing. Forget it…have fun studying.”

Excuses started pouring from Beomgyu’s lips. Exclamations about how they really were just studying, but Soobin didn’t hear any of them. He hung up and tossed his phone onto his bed before placing his hands on his hips and sighing. Okay, so no Beomgyu to help him this time…he’d have to figure something out on his own. No biggie.

***

Yeonjun lived in an alphas only dorm, but also an upperclassmen dorm. And it showed. They had elevators instead of just a staircase, hardwood floors, a large kitchen and laundry room, and central air. And those were just the common spaces.

As much as Soobin would’ve loved to stop and look at all the fancy amenities, they didn’t have time. Soobin was being snuck inside and that required speed above all else. They slipped past the dorm monitor quickly and stepped into the elevator. As the doors slid shut behind them, Yeonjun turned to give Soobin a grin. They’d gotten away with it!

Soobin watched as Yeonjun’s shoulders relaxed. The easy way he sauntered out of the elevator once they’d reached his floor and the bravado with which he threw open his door to let Soobin inside. Soobin clutched his overnight bag tighter to his chest. His heart was racing, his muscles tight…he still couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. He really had gone from being cheer crazy to being Yeonjun crazy practically overnight.

“This is my side of the room,” Yeonjun said, smacking his twin XL bed as he did so.

Soobin took a minute to really take everything in. The room smelled strongly of alpha, the whole building did. Yeonjun’s scent intermingling with the scent of his roommate. If Soobin hadn’t spent the better part of the school year thus far inhaling stinky alpha pheromones at cheer practice it probably would’ve knocked him over with just how strong it all was. As he inched closer to Yeonjun’s bed, his scent grew more concentrated. That heady floral scent…Soobin inhaled deeply, he would’ve been embarrassed if Yeonjun hadn’t looked so pleased.

It was an average looking dorm room, but there was something distinctly Yeonjun-y about it. He had a string of lights with photos clipped to them. Pictures of a fluffy white puppy, the beach, a group of kids with their arms around each other, Yeonjun in a middle school uniform… There was a mini fridge under the bed and sitting on his desk was the issue of Cheer! magazine that had him on the cover. The drawers were a bit messy, a shirt sleeve peeking out here and there, a telltale sign that Yeonjun had done some last minute tidying earlier that day.

Yeonjun sat on the bed and motioned for Soobin to sit with him, so Soobin set his bag on the floor and eased onto Yeonjun’s bed, his fingers twisted themselves up in the blankets. They were rather plain. Just soft and grey…but they smelled heavenly.

“Your room is so much bigger than mine,” Soobin said while looking at the wide gap between the two beds. “If I stretch too far in the morning I run the risk of slapping Kai in the face.”

Yeonjun chuckled. “They say it’s because we’re upperclassmen so we deserve more room…but I think it’s because sometimes the alphas can get a little territorial. Especially during rut.”

“Oh…” Soobin hadn’t even considered that. Ruts didn’t happen as often as heats, but he did wonder…when was Yeonjun’s rut? It felt inappropriate to ask. Like if he asked it would mean he had a motive, a reason for wanting to know. There would be intention there. And while Yeonjun would undoubtedly look very sexy during rut (he looked very sexy all the time), it was probably best that Soobin not picture him all sweaty, panting and whining as he humped the bed. (Too late, he was already picturing it. He had to pinch his own forearm, hard, to keep himself from slicking up.)

Soobin hummed thoughtfully. He wondered if the upperclassmen who were omegas got to have rooms of this size because of their territorial instincts during heats. Probably not. He remembered seeing the New Omega Dorms on his tour of campus with his parents. The rooms had been so tiny, most of them hadn’t even been wide enough for two beds to stand side by side, most of them winding up with bunk beds. Hardly an ideal space to make a nest, Soobin thought.

“Do you want to shower first while I make us some dinner?”

Soobin smiled and elbowed Yeonjun’s side playfully.

“You’re gonna cook?”

Soobin was glad that the swanky alpha dorms came with en suite bathrooms. This way he didn’t have to worry about anyone catching a whiff should the shower water ruin his scent blocking patch or if he wasn’t fast enough re-applying his scent blocking cream.

Yeonjun blushed. “Well, I’m gonna make a frozen pizza.”

“Ooh, how gourmet.”

Yeonjun laughed and stood, he opened the mini fridge at the foot of his bed and pulled a frozen pizza package out of the very tiny freezer section. How he’d managed to wedge the box into the tiny drawer was beyond Soobin.

Soobin smiled and giggled as Yeonjun grabbed his wrist and led him into the bathroom, he showed him how to turn the hot water on and ducked out, his ears still an adorable shade of red.

He waited until he heard the door to Yeonjun’s room shut before he began to strip and step into the shower. If he was smart, he would’ve insisted on showering at his dorm before coming over. But Soobin was quite greedy and rather reckless when it came to Yeonjun. His inner omega had only to imagine smelling like Yeonjun’s musky body wash once and suddenly nothing else would do. Just the thought of trudging back to his dorm and using his scent absolving body wash had made him feel a little ill. He’d made up his mind, showering at Yeonjun’s was a risk he was very stupidly willing to make.

After his shower, he rushed to top up his scent blocking cream and checked on his extra strength scent blocking patch. He was practically purring the whole time, so content to smell like Yeonjun even just a little bit.

And then he reached into his bag to grab his pajamas and froze. They didn’t smell like Kai’s soft baby powder. No, no, no. They smelled like Soobin. A soft sea breeze scent, tinged with coconut, something distincly omegan.

Shit, he must’ve packed the wrong ones!

Maybe Taehyun was right. He had a theory that between the two of them Beomgyu had inherited all the common sense. He really hadn’t meant to prove him right - he was sure Taehyun had meant it as a joke, but he groaned as he stuffed the pajamas back down into his bag, zipping it shut in an effort to keep the smell contained. He couldn’t wear them.

“Soobin-ah, are you alright in there?”

Soobin froze. Yeonjun was back from making the pizza. He looked at his skin, glistening pink from the heat of the water and how long he’d spent lathering himself up with Yeonjun’s soap. He must’ve showered for longer than he’d thought.

“Yeah,” Soobin croaked out. “Just forgot to pack pajamas.”

He pulled his towel tighter around him, hastily smearing more scent blocking lotion on himself as he waited for Yeonjun to respond.

“Oh,” Yeonjun cleared his throat. “Do you…do you want to borrow some?”

Soobin felt his stomach do a somersault as he thought about getting to wear Yeonjun’s clothes. Then he’d really smell like the alpha. He sat there for a moment, rationalizing why he should say yes. Being covered in Yeonjun’s scent could help hide his own if something happened, for starters. It might also calm him down, though logically, Soobin knew the chance of that was slim. He was too nervous and far too into Yeonjun for it to do anything but work him up more.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Beomgyu’s was telling him to fake a stomach ache and just go back to his own dorm. But, Soobin made the executive decision to ignore that voice.

“Yes,” Soobin said. “Thank you, hyung.”

The door cracked open, barely a sliver, and Yeonjun’s arm slipped inside, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in his hands. Gingerly, Soobin accepted them. The door slipped shut again. He waited until he heard the soft click before he dropped his towel and got dressed in Yeonjun’s clothes.

The sweatpants were a bit too large around the waist. Soobin folded the waist band over a few times in an attempt to get them to stay up. He looked down at where his toes had sunk into the plush bathmat and wriggled them, admiring how the hem of the pants still pooled around his ankles. He knew that Yeonjun wore his sleep pants a bit long and oversized, he’d seen it at the cheer slumber party, but it still had his inner omega preening a bit. It made him feel small to know the pants were also too long for him. He wasn’t used to being too short for things. The shirt was also too big. Soft and worn, it slipped off Soobin’s shoulder as he moved to leave the bathroom, his shoulders not as broad as Yeonjun’s.

He could smell the pizza and he got a bit distracted as his gaze zeroed in on the Spicy Italian sausage, cooling off on Yeonjun’s desk. His stomach grumbled a bit and it would’ve been embarrassing if he hadn’t looked up to see Yeonjun looking at him like he was on the menu for dinner.

“Hyung?”

Yeonjun jerked a bit, he turned so he wasn’t facing Soobin. He’d already changed into his own pajamas. A white tank top and some more low slung sweatpants. When he reached over to grab his laptop and set it up on his bed, his top rose up and flashed a sliver of skin in Soobin’s direction. Soobin’s stomach did another somersault.

He was going to die in Yeonjun’s dorm room. Death by nervous breakdown. And horniness.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Yeonjun said, motioning toward the bed. Soobin climbed up onto it, but left his legs dangling off the side. He watched as Yeonjun grabbed the pizza and joined him, balancing the plate on his knee as he moved to sit cross legged, back against the wall. He patted the spot beside him and Soobin scooted back to join him, shivering slightly as they found themselves pressed against each other. Shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh.

Alphas didn’t nest, not really, but Soobin would compare the feeling of sitting in Yeonjun’s bed to that of being in another omega’s nest. It felt like he’d been wrapped in a Yeonjun blanket. Everything smelled like him. His skin was buzzing as they shared the pizza. Distantly, he registered that they were watching a movie. But, much like when he was just relaxing in his nest, he felt a bit slow. Like his bones had been replaced with cotton. He struggled to stay above the surface. He couldn’t let himself slip, he had to stay alert.

Yeonjun chuckled a bit as his nose twitched with a little sniff. “Whoever snuck an omega in earlier must’ve left.”

Soobin froze. “What?”

“You couldn’t smell it earlier? It smelled like omega, especially in the bathroom. I think the guy next to me snuck an omega over.”

The scent of an omega in the bathroom? Soobin mentally slapped himself for not thinking to ventilate after he’d opened his bag to his very much omega scented pajamas. He should’ve cracked a window. Or sprayed some of Yeonjun’s expensive body spray to cover it up.

“Oh,” he squeaked out. “I couldn’t smell it…”

Luckily, Yeonjun didn’t bat an eye at that. Beta noses were supposed to be less sensitive.

They finished the pizza quite quickly between the two of them and as they watched whatever silly movie Yeonjun had queued up for them, the alpha’s head found its way to Soobin’s shoulder. Soobin shivered a bit at the contact. When Yeonjun picked up his hand to absentmindedly play with his fingers, Soobin let out a shuddering breath. And when Yeonjun turned and rubbed his nose along Soobin’s scent blocking patch, his face still tucked under Soobin’s chin, Soobin’s free hand curled in on itself until his nails were digging into the skin of his palm. Anything to keep himself grounded, to keep him from doing something stupid like presenting his neck or slicking up.

“Why don’t you take this off?” Yeonjun whispered, his voice surprisingly husky sounding.

Soobin swallowed thickly.

Yeonjun’s nose brushed the scent blocking patch again. “All the stinky alphas would hide your scent.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Soobin had to think fast. “I just…,” Soobin trailed off as he felt Yeonjun’s plush lips meet the juncture where his jaw and neck came together, a breathy sigh fell from his lips. His breathing grew more ragged. He felt Yeonjun smile against his skin. Cocky. “I just would feel better if I kept it on…so we won’t get caught.”

“Cute,” Yeonjun huffed before sitting up completely and using his finger to turn Soobin’s face in his direction, brought their lips together.

And then, Soobin melted.

He loved kissing Yeonjun. He liked how soft the older’s lips were, the way he would tease Soobin’s bottom lip with his teeth, the low groans that would rattle around in his throat whenever Soobin did something he liked.

Yeonjun turned so he was hovering over Soobin, Soobin’s back pressed flat to the wall and deepened the kiss, his hand coming up to cradle the side of Soobin’s face. His laptop was kicked to the side. Not that the movie had been anything all that engaging to begin with, the dialogue of the characters faded into the background, becoming nothing more than white noise.

The hand cupping Soobin’s face slid back to his ear. Soobin whimpered as Yeonjun tugged on it making the older giggle into Soobin’s mouth. Their lips parted just long enough for Soobin to become aware of the string of saliva connecting them still, before Yeonjun was diving in again. Somehow even hungrier than before. Soobin’s hands found Yeonjun’s shoulders and he twisted his fingers into the fabric of his shirt as he attempted to tug him closer. And then, like Soobin wasn’t already seconds away from asphyxiation due to him having the tongue of the sexiest alpha ever down his throat, Yeonjun’s hand found his thigh and within seconds Soobin found himself straddling Yeonjun. He was fully seated in his lap. And like, sure he’d been backed up into and held up against just about every surface on campus, but there was something that just felt inherently more suggestive about that position. Maybe it was the fact that Soobin could feel it as Yeonjun started to fill out beneath him as they continued kissing. Maybe it was because they were on a bed. Or maybe Soobin was simply too horny for his own good.

Warm fingers crawled under his shirt and Soobin pulled away from the kiss with a sharp gasp as Yeonjun palmed at his back, dragging the shirt up as he did so, exposing Soobin’s skin to the harsh blasts from the aircon, making goosebumps form. All the while, Yeonjun’s mouth had latched back onto Soobin’s neck and even has he rather mindlessly seemed to suck little bruises onto his skin, he rather pointedly avoided the area where Soobin’s scent blocker patch lay. An extra ripple of pleasure curled through Soobin as he realized that Yeonjun wasn’t going to push it. Was just going to let him be with the scent blocking patch despite the fact that he likely wished he could smell Soobin the way Soobin was smelling him.

“Hyung,” Soobin gasped, his fingers tugging on Yeonjun’s hair as the older’s teeth grazed his collarbone.

“Hmmmm?” Yeonjun’s hands slid down to Soobin’s hips as he pulled back so they could look each other in the eye.

It took Soobin a moment to realize he was trembling. His brain struggled to catch up to what had just transpired. He didn’t regret it, but he was aware he was playing with fire. His breath hitched on the inhale as one of Yeonjun’s thumbs, seemingly inadvertently, swiped at his hip bone beneath the waistband of his sweatpants.

Soobin felt like he was going to explode. Or pass out. Maybe both.

And it was suddenly so warm.

The corners of Yeonjun’s lips tugged pup into a gentle smile as one hand came up to gently card through Soobin’s hair, pushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead. “Maybe…”

It was with great satisfaction that Soobin realized Yeonjun seemed just as worked up as him. His face was flushed and his chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Maybe we should cool down.”

And that would’ve been the smart thing to do. But Soobin could feel the way Yeonjun’s fingers dug into his sides, his hands slipped down to his chest and he could feel - right under his palm - the rhythmic thumping of Yeonjun’s heart beat. Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump. It matched Soobin’s own.

Soobin should’ve said yes and nodded his head. He should’ve crawled out of Yeonjun’s lap, put some space between them, and suggested a new movie.

Instead, Soobin ignored all the reasons he could think of to do the smart thing, the right thing. And he leaned back in.

Yeonjun sat stock still as Soobin pressed kisses to the crown of his head, the tip of his nose, the mole by his eye…he exhaled a shaky whine when Soobin nosed at the underside of his jaw, lips brushing his exposed scent gland.

“Fuck,” Yeonjun sighed as Soobin pressed an open mouthed kiss, right over the place a mating mark would go one day.

A steady rumble built up in Yeonjun’s chest, Soobin matching it with a soft purr of his own.

“I-I didn’t know betas could purr,” Yeonjun panted, his voice contained a bit of awe.

Soobin barely even registered the observation. He just hummed against the hollow of Yeonjun’s throat before kissing him again. “Of course, we can,” he murmured into his skin.

Yeonjun’s fingers tangled themselves into Soobin’s hair and he maneuvered them so they were lip to lip once more. Messy open mouthed kisses, Soobin was distantly aware that he was whining, that Yeonjun’s body was reacting to him, and he squirmed in his lap. But he was so focused on how good it felt that he missed the large, red caution signs that should’ve been blinking in his brain. That would’ve been noticed if he’d been less preoccupied.

Soobin had never slipped into omega space before. But he’d learned about it. He knew the signs. But, that was the tricky part…to notice yourself slipping into omega space you had to be alert. And by definition, omega space made you the opposite of alert. His health class teacher at his old school had described it as hazy and dreamlike.

For Soobin, it kind of felt like he was being wrapped up in a warm, cashmere blanket. Like his head was full of nothing but clouds. Like his bones were turning to jelly.

He should’ve realized what was happening and stopped. But it wasn’t until he was blinking his eyes open, looking down at where Yeonjun’s face was - the older’s lips parted and eyes wide in concern. He could see that he was being asked a question, but his brain was slow to process it.

Are you okay?

The words seem to reach Soobin minutes after they’d actually been spoken. But Soobin wasn’t sure if it had actually been that long or if he was just…just…Oh.

Soobin blinked and blinked once more. Was he really moving so slowly? Why was doing something as simply as opening his mouth to speak so hard. He frowned as he struggled to get the words out. His tongue clumsy in his mouth, his lips not making the right shapes. He wanted to tell Yeonjun that he was okay, but his body wouldn’t respond. Not the way it needed to.

So, when Soobin finally managed to get his tongue to move, to force a sound to come out of him, what was produced was not a word, but instead a nervous whimper.

And as soon as Yeonjun heard it, his pupils blew wide.

The purring had stopped. Soobin wondered when. He was shaking again, but not out of pleasure anymore. Distantly, Soobin was aware that there was a reason this was especially bad. While, he couldn’t remember what that reason was, he just knew Yeonjun shouldn’t be seeing him like that. So vulnerable, so soft, so…omega-like.

The longer Yeonjun sat, staring at him like that where Soobin could see the gears in his brain turning and working to figure out what was going on…the scarier the whole situation felt.

Yeonjun leaned forward, Soobin’s eyes snapped shut and he whimpered again. But Yeonjun went nowhere near his neck or his scent blocking patch. Instead, he nuzzled Soobin’s cheek and whispered, every so softly, “Oh, baby…what do you need?”

Relief flooded Soobin’s body and he felt himself collapse into Yeonjun’s chest. Let the other wrap his around him and arrange them so they were lying on their sides, face to face - so close their noses brushed. Words continued to be too hard, so instead Soobin rubbed his nose against Yeonjun’s as a happy little chirping noise flitted from his lips.

Yeonjun’s hands were all over him, but differently than before. Each stroke was meant to calm, not to tantalize - a soft kiss was pressed to his lips before his face was being guided into the crook of Yeonjun’s neck, right where his scent was the most concentrated. It smelled like springtime, Soobin realized. Like freshly bloomed flowers dewey with morning mist, a little musky liked the woods…like a fresh start.

Soobin’s body grew heavier and heavier, until it was nearly impossible to open his eyes, until it felt like he was sinking into the bed. He registered that he was being enveloped in something soft and warm that smelled a lot like Yeonjun. Distantly, someone cooed, though he couldn’t imagine why. More fingers gently ran through his hair, someone was humming softly, and slowly Soobin fell asleep.

***

Waking up felt like a chore. His head was pounding, his throat dry, and he was groggy. Yet, it was the most well-rested he’d felt since starting school.

The first thing he did, before even prying his eyes open, was try to sit up. And this simply proved to him that he couldn’t. Something, or rather someone, heavy was on top of him. And they were grumbling and whining in his ear about how it was early and he needed to stay put.

Smiling, Soobin gave in and flopped back onto the bed. Yeonjun was curled up on top of him like a cat. He laid there, basking in the feeling of being completely wrapped up in Yeonjun’s blankets in his bed, of being crushed (lovingly) under the alpha himself. Beomgyu had been so, totally, and completely wrong about this being a bad idea.

And as soon as he’d had the though, almost like a jinx, Soobin suddenly remembered how he’d gone to sleep.

Yeonjun and his scent had sent him into an omega space. For the first time ever. His breath hitched in his throat. How the hell was he supposed to explain that? The last time he checked, betas didn’t go into omega space. He was so fucked. So, so, so fucked…

Or, if Yeonjun had never been with an omega before then maybe he didn’t realize what had happened. He couldn’t imagine a school that had just started letting in omegas would teach their alphas and betas about things like omega space in sex ed.

All hope of that being the case died as Yeonjun pushed himself up into a sitting position and stretched before looking over at Soobin with a dopey grin and droopy eyes, the last traces of sleep still clinging to him and his puffy cheeks.

“How’re you feeling?” Yeonjun asked. “That was…” He briefly looked away and gnawed on his lower lip. “Was that…did you…”

Soobin was hit with a surge of feelings. Possessive feelings. He hated thinking that other people might’ve possibly gotten to see Yeonjun like this. He hated even more the idea of others getting to see that smile being aimed at them first thing in the morning.

His brain must’ve still been sluggish because it was only after he’d processed his own unnecessary jealousy that he realized what Yeonjun was implying. Soobin’s mouth opened and shut repeatedly as he struggled to find the words.

He’d fucked it all up, hadn’t he? Blown everything, all his cheerleading dreams, all Beomgyu’s sacrifices, all his friends help, on something as silly as a boy. Except, that wasn’t even true anymore, either. At this point, Yeonjun was much more than a boy to him. It was a bit scary to admit. That he was just as afraid of losing Yeonjun as he was of losing the cheer team. Maybe…maybe even more afraid.

Soobin’s insides felt all tangled, the guilt over all his secrets and lies, the guilt over the fact that he’d come so far just to throw it all away because he lacked self-control. It made him feel a little nauseous.

“I-I’m sorry,” Soobin whispered. He could feel the tears pricking at his eyes as he curled in on himself, putting some space between him and Yeonjun. “I didn’t know that would happen.”

God, Yeonjun was going to kick him off the team and break whatever it was they were doing off. Soobin was going to get kicked out of school for forging his papers and then he was going to be grounded until the end of the century.

Yeonjun gasped and lurched forward to wrap his arms around Soobin. “Hey, no, it’s alright. I mean, I also didn’t know betas had beta space or whatever.”

Soobin froze. What? He raised his head to look at Yeonjun. His eyes roamed his face carefully searching for traces of insincerity. But…his hyung looked dead serious. Soobin’s mouth parted in shock. Was Yeonjun dumber than he’d realized? Uninformed on other sub genders? Or…was he fooling himself? Just blindly trusting Soobin? Every single option just made Soobin feel sicker. Deep down…Yeonjun had to know. There was no way he didn’t have an inkling. Not after how quickly he’d reacted, soothing Soobin and helping him go to sleep while Soobin had been busy freaking out.

Yeonjun’s fingers swiped at his tears. Soobin leaned into the touch. He craved it, even. But the little nagging voice in his head no longer sounded like Beomgyu, it sounded like Soobin, and it was more than happy to let him know he was being selfish.

***

It was the closest Soobin had ever come to a walk of shame, heading back into his dorm room that afternoon (he had let Yeonjun cook him brunch - toaster waffles, so many toaster waffles). And, of course, like they were waiting for a status update (he had to remind himself they very likely were) on whether or not he’d blown his cover, Beomgyu and Taehyun had crammed themselves onto Kai's bed with him.

Beomgyu spoke first. “How was it?” His nose was turned up in the air and his arms were crossed over his chest. It was a stance that let Soobin know his cousin was doing his best to not look like he cared, but the way Soobin could see his eyes following him in the mirror made it clear he did.

In that moment, Soobin made the decision to not tell them about how he’d…dropped. The omega space thing could stay between him and Yeonjun. He felt bad about essentially lying…though maybe lying through omission didn’t count? But, he didn’t want to worry them further, especially since Yeonjun had apparently made up his mind to reason the crux of the issue away for him.

If Yeonjun didn’t think he was an omega, then really, did that information even need to be shared?

And beyond that, dropping into omega space was kind of intimate. It was a bit embarrassing to even think about explaining it to them in any capacity.

“It went well, he made us pizza and we watched a movie. Fell asleep early. He made waffles this morning.” Soobin kept his back turned to them as he spoke, busying himself with unpacking his overnight bag.

“I think you did a bit more than that, hyung,” Kai teased.

Soobin felt his ears turn red as Taehyun laughed along.

“Kai-ah’s right, you kind of reek of Yeonjun hyung right now.”

“Isn’t that his shirt?” Kai added (un)helpfully. “Did I scent those pajamas for you for nothing?”

Soobin looked down at where he was still wearing Yeonjun’s clothes. He’d like to say he hadn’t even noticed, but the truth was he’d wanted to keep his clothes on. It satisfied his inner omega in a way. So, instead of saying anything Soobin just kept his mouth shut. The others just continued to snicker behind him.

It was only when Beomgyu coughed out a soft, “They’re so gross,” under his breath that Soobin whirled around.

He pointed a finger accusingly at Beomgyu before turning his gaze to Taehyun. “Oh yeah? Care to explain what you two were doing together the other day?”

The both of them turned red in the face.

“Why do you look so flustered,” Soobin giggled. “I thought you were just studying.”

“Shut up,” Beomgyu groaned, before grabbing a pillow off Kai’s bed and hurling it across the room. His aim was off and he missed Soobin by a good meter or two, knocking the little cup of pencils Soobin kept on his desk instead.

Kai immediately turned his teasing words and gaze onto the other two, never wanting to miss an opportunity to make fun of any of his hyungs, Beomgyu included.

Satisfied that he’d successfully managed to derail what was sure to have been a little interrogation, Soobin moved over to his desk chair and collapsed into the seat. He turned to check his email and saw two new pieces of mail waiting for him in his inbox.

The first was from his parents. He grimaced and decided he’d look at that one later. The next was from the secretary for the headmaster, an email to confirm the day and time of their meeting. Soobin gasped. He hadn’t realized it was so soon!

***

Preparing for the meeting was a doozy. But, luckily, he had help. Mingi helped him put together some paperwork from the athletics side of things. Applications for the members of the omega squad to transfer teams, evidence regarding paperwork filed to attempt to get faulty equipment in the old gym fixed, emails showing how they’d been ignored and looked over while the “varsity” teams were continually showered in money and attention from the administration.

Taehyun did the brunt of the academic research. He sent Soobin so many different charts and graphs and excel sheets that Soobin was beginning to have nightmares about numbers, something that hadn’t even happened when he’d been on the verge of getting kicked off the squad because of his math grades.

Other members of the team helped, too. Yeonjun and Seungkwan passed around a petition and got all the different members of the cheer squad, plus some other students, to sign it. It was all compiled into a red folder that Soobin covered in stickers from the school book store - maybe the school spirit would win him some brownie points.

But, as the date of the meeting drew closer, Soobin started to feel worse and worse about it. He’d requested a meeting with all the administration. He’d wanted to talk to everyone, all the coaches and other staff members included. So why was he only meeting with the headmaster?

“The headmasters pretty nice,” Yeonjun had told him as they’d left practice together, hand in hand, the night before.

Soobin had just nodded. He’d heard similar things before. And while the headmaster maybe didn’t know Soobin was an omega, he’d just had things happen too often for it to be a coincidence. Bad experiences with alphas in power who looked down on him for being an omega. Who treated him differently. They’d be nice to betas or alphas they knew, perfectly normal, but the second an omega was in their midst…

He shook his head. It was probably best not to think about it too hard. He was probably, hopefully nervous for nothing. Or at least he hoped he was.

***

Soobin sat outside the headmaster’s office, his leg bouncing up and down as he anxiously awaited the time of their meeting. Taehyun had helped him put together some data that would hopefully help legitimize his appeal for the omegas to join the varsity squad. He’d gotten help from Yeonjun to get dressed nicely. And, the entire team had been so supportive when he’d brought it up at the end of their last practice, several of them even voicing how they were surprised no one had thought to propose the idea sooner.

Still, they weren’t omegas. So while they were all confident, Soobin was anxious. He knew the kind of casual discrimination omegas faced every day. It wasn’t anything overt or even alarming, especially not to those it didn’t concern. Just the casual dismissal of their ideas and abilities. The idea that being an omega was a detriment, that they were successful in spite of it. Never because of it. Even in omega dominated fields like nursing and teaching, it was just expected that alphas would be better and the only reason omegas held such prominent positions in these fields was because they were beneath everyone else (a bit silly, Soobin thought, when these jobs were so essential to civilization as they knew it). So, it was a stupid ideology, but it was so deeply culturally ingrained that people often assumed these things without even realizing.

Sometimes Soobin wondered if the team would be so supportive if they knew the truth about his own subgender. He didn’t like to dwell on those thoughts for too long. He would hope they would treat him the same regardless, but that just wasn’t an idea that lined up with the reality of Soobin’s life up to that point. Because, the truth of the matter was this: Soobin had been the only one curious about the state of omegan athletics at their school. And even he hadn’t been so proactive as to look into it before the opportunity had coincidentally fallen right into his lap. That if he hadn’t lied he wouldn’t even be in a position where he could advocate for the omega cheer team.

“Soobin-ssi, Headmaster Song can see you now.”

The headmaster’s office was the opposite of inviting, Soobin noted as he walked in. A tall wingback chair that felt like it was leering down at you as you sat in the rickety wooden chair across from it. The deep dark wood of the desk, the dark wallpaper, all the plaques and awards displayed on the walls gave off this air of superiority, like the decor itself was letting you know you were in the presence of someone far superior.

Even as Headmaster Song smiled at him in greeting, Soobin’s leg continued to shake under the desk as he mumbled out a greeting back.

“So, what brings you here today?”

Soobin swallowed, the saliva that had gathered in his mouth feeling more like sand than anything else. What about this room was so oppressive that he suddenly felt like curling up in a ball on the floor?

“It’s about the omega cheer team, sir,” he managed to say with only the slightest waver in his voice.

The headmaster’s head tipped to the side, his bright smile stayed plastered on. “Oh, what about them?”

Soobin realized then what was happening. The headmaster’s scent, one of a deep, dark roast coffee, blended in so well with the general atmosphere of the office that he hadn’t even realized that he wasn’t wearing a scent blocker. That he was sitting across from Soobin reeking of intimidation.

“Um, well, there’s so few of them… and their practice facilities aren’t exactly up to par. We were thinking…maybe…they could join the varsity squad.” Soobin opened the folder he’d brought with him, the one he’d been clutching in his sweaty hands like a lifeline the whole time. He pulled out some charts about stats from squads at Worlds. “If you look here, you’ll see that a cheer squad with all three subgenders is about seventy-six percent more likely to win at Worlds and ninety percent more likely to hit podium and bring back an award for placing in the top thr-“

“That’s all good and well for those other squads. But we didn’t not make it to worlds last year because there were no omegas. And there are other studies that show that omegas just aren’t as athletically inclined. Or that having them in some of those compromising positions cheerleaders and dancers find themselves in can make it difficult for others to focus on the actual sport of it all.”

Soobin’s jaw dropped. He’d expected pushback, not blatant discrimination. He frowned and flipped through the documents they’d prepared to pull out the article that they’d printed specifically to debunk this type of rhetoric (just in case, Taehyun had said, but he clearly hadn’t thought Soobin would need it). Yet, before he could even pull the article out all the way Headmaster Song was laying his hand over Soobin’s shaking ones.

“It’s alright, I don’t need to see anything else. I’m afraid that until I see an omega bring something necessary to an athletic team I can’t sign off on anything that could potentially have an adverse affect on the athletes or the athletics programs here.”

“But-“

“Really, Mr. Choi, you can go now."

He hadn’t even been given a chance to show the petition! Or to talk about how skilled and uniquely qualified the omega cheer squad was. He thought about all the lines on Mingi’s application, listing the numerous awards he’d won for dancing and cheering. The way all his talent and skill was going to waste in his senior year all because his parents had chosen to send him to St. Edward’s.

Soobin walked out of the office in a daze. He was feeling a bit dizzy due to the intensity of the headmaster’s pheromones, sure, but he was also unbelievably angry. The headmaster had had the gall to even be so dismissive as to suggest that the omegas on their teams weren’t even real athletes. He half wondered why the school had even bothered to open its doors to omegas when they so clearly weren’t valued or even wanted by the administration.

He gave himself the entire five minute walk back to his dorm to feel defeated. To agonize over how backward Headmaster Song was and how mean and vindictive he’d been. Someone had clearly figured out what Soobin wanted to talk to him about and tipped him off. That was why he’d wanted to meet Soobin alone. Why he’d been trying to intimidate him from the moment he’d walked into the room.

But Soobin couldn’t let him win, not like that. He couldn’t just take this lying down. The omegas deserved more. He deserved more!

If that was how Headmaster Song had treated him when he’d thought he was a beta, Soobin could only imagine how horrible he’d have been to an omega student looking to get help.

So, he needed a new plan. And fast.