Chapter Text
It's funny how things work. For almost two whole weeks, Taki and Maki were inseparable. It was definitely his fault that Maki eventually ended up scent drunk, thinking that Taki was his mate, but did they need to be so distant now?
It was one thing not to linger inside of his room or inside of their dorm, but they didn't even loiter in Kei's job anymore. And if they did, he wouldn't share their usual free coffee that they secretly got spotted. It was too drastic of a change far too fast.
Only being able to talk when they both had a break in between class schedules and on the walk back to work was maddening. It was driving Taki insane. His smiles got progressively more strained as days went by.
Unlike before, Taki was sitting at a table by himself zoned out while Kei sat the usual americano in front of him. He didn't even blink at him when he put it down. "No Maki again?" Kei asks, snapping him out of his daze.
It was just for a second, but the beta glares at him before he fixes it himself. "No.. he's been keeping his distance." As much as it saddens him to say, he's more irritated than anything. He can't help it. He's beyond tense ever since Maki stopped seeing him regularly.
Understanding, the older strokes the back of his hair like he always did when Taki got upset. "It's not forever. You'll go back to being best friends again," Koga assures him with his warm honeyed tone that matched his protective scenting.
Weakly, Taki smiles as Koga goes back to work. But he can't stop thinking about that. "Best friends" is all that he and Maki were seen as. Which, they were, but for some strange reason.. that didn't sit well with him.
Those intimate two weeks must have really fucked with his head. How dumb could Taki be? Of course they were just friends—why would they be anything but? Maki is an alpha. He's his dearest friend and nothing more. That's it.
ᐡ > ﻌ < ᐡ + ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ฅ ₎ა
But that was easier said than done. To treat Maki the same as before when Taki's been jerking off to the mere memory of being pinned against the floor underneath such hard-earned muscle—well, that'd be impossible.
Even more so since he's never satisfied. No matter how many times he does it, he's still feeling like something is missing. And that's new for him! Betas don't typically have such high sex drive, and he didn't before all of this mess. Now, he's locked in his room for at least an hour and a half as soon as school ends.
It's been so unbearable that he hasn't even collected his free coffe in almost a week No matter how badly it called to him, it couldn't be more annoying than his never-ending boners.
This dreadful level of dissatisfaction is what leaves him home alone on a Friday night, post nut clarity hitting hard. Fuma's working his ass off at the Macho Bar as usual while Taki is finishing round three.
Ashamed just thinking about it, he groans into the silence of his room, laying back on his pillows and stuffed animals that are probably scarred for life. The sound of his phone ringing just makes him groan a second time.
He looks over at it, limp like jelly and eyes adjusting through the post orgasmic gaze. When his eyes focus, he's suddenly got all of his bones back, sitting up immediately as he picks up the phone.
"Hey, Taki-kun," Maki says over the phone. "I was wondering if you were busy tonight?" That alone makes Taki want to do a backflip. Not only was Maki finally reaching out first, but he was thinking about him. Confidently about to say yes, Maki adds onto his question.
"See, my friend is trying to set me up on a date, and—" Taki removes the phone from his ear immediately. His heart sinks to his stomach and anger replaces it instead. Of course, this still makes him want to do a backflip; just preferably off the rooftops.
"Sorry, I'm busy." His mouth is on autopilot, hanging up before he can hear the rest of what he has to say. Unlike himself, he throws the glass of water at his bedside against the wall, watching it shatter as the tears fall against his cheeks.
His crying is hysterical the entire night. His hiccuping and shaking doesn't end when he gets in the shower nor does it end when he's readying himself for bed. This level of heartache is indescribably painful.
It hurts more than his lungs do from his sobs, more than his fingertips after picking up glass with bare hands, and more than his bruised knees from his legs giving out multiple times every time he remembers what Maki said.
Only does he fall asleep after bandaging his fingers that cling tightly against his body pillow and his body physically can't produce tears anymore.
ᐡ > ﻌ < ᐡ + ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ฅ ₎ა
After that, spotting Taki was rare. Sure, he still went to his classes, but he never left during the breaks. He hid himself from Maki by avoiding the café and staying in the cafeteria instead. It'd be impossible to pinpoint him with all those other pheromones around.
Besides, when he does happen to see Maki, he's always just fine with his other friends. His loud laugh is always carrying down the hall, rattling Taki's ever so frail heart.
It was Thursday again already. It's been almost two whole weeks of not going to the café, almost a whole week since he's last cooked anything, and nearing a full week since he's said anything to Maki.
Taki couldn't bring himself to do anything anymore. All he did was go to school when he had to, eat, sleep and bathe. And even with that he sometimes needed Fuma to remind him.
It was nearing 3pm and he still had yet to fulfill his basic need of eating, but he didn't care. As long as he came out and drank something, his roommate would let him be. Clad in a hoodie and basketball shorts that don't fit him in the slightest, he slow walks out of his room and into the kitchen with his head hung low.
Following the silent routine of filling his thermos with ice and water, he zones out as he watches it fill to the brim. Once he seals the lid and turns around, his heart nearly stops at the unexpected sight of Fuma behind him.
"Son of a bitch—" Taki swears, holding his chest as he slumps against the fridge. "Sorry, but you weren't answering after the fourth "Taki", so." Seeing the other beta's confusion, he gestures toward the couches.
Once he looks over, he immediately understands. Somehow, Taki managed to ignore the extra people in the room. Koga, Euijoo, Nicholas, and even Harua. All of which are beyond concerned about him at this point.
"Since when do you swear?" Nicholas gawks at him. Nonverbal, Taki shrugs as he shuffles from behind the counter. Scratching his head, he sits at the very most edge of the couch somewhere around where Harua is.
Saddened by that, Harua tries to reach out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he stiffens before he can make contact. "Taki-chan.." Harua frowns, looking at the older people in the room.
Before Euijoo can ask, Taki looks at him. "Juju, I'm okay." That worried, freshwater scent carries to his nose in no time. He knows that he's worried—they all are—but he doesn't want to trouble them with something he doesn't even understand himself yet. But it's clear that nobody believes him in the slightest.
Whereas others are more worried, the only one who has a scent of anger to them is Koga. Between the multiple sweet smells of everyone else, only does he smell like grapefruit. Harua's scent also gets a bit citrusy when angry, but not on the extent that Kei's does.
Maybe it's that he's the closest to Taki, the one who treats him most like a sibling. He's been there even before he presented. Whether they were blood related or not, Kei is his brother, and as such, he has to be the one to be up front with him.
Kei squints at him, arms across his chest as he leans back into the couch. "Is it Maki?" Caught off guard, the youngest in the room sputters. "What? No, I—" "Taki. Everyone thinks so."
It must be true with how shaky everyone's eyes get when Taki looks around the room. What's he supposed to do? Lie again? He couldn't when it was so obviously true. Hence why Kei doesn't let up in the slightest.
He points to Taki's clothes, giving him a once over. "You're so out of it that you're wearing his clothes." Taki looks down at his clothes in shock. He didn't even know why he had them on. He's been attached to them since Maki last called. He even went out of his way to wash them again so he could keep wearing them.
"You didn't even come visit me like usual. You don't reply to my texts, and if I call you and even mention that Maki is going to be coming, suddenly you're busy." Koga leans forward, pointing at Taki in disbelief.
While he has the ammunition to keep going, Fuma holds him back, patting him on the leg to tell him to stop. "Kei hyung, I think he gets it," Euijoo chimes in, looking at Taki. He barely holds it together, instinctively covering his eyes before he starts crying.
All of Kei's anger evaporated at Taki's tell of tears to come. When he gets up, everyone else slides down one seat out of habit, knowing that as tough as he just was on him, he'd always be the first to comfort him.
"He went on a date," he hics. "I don't know why, but it hurt so bad. I've broken three cups and my knees give out every time I think about it." Taki dips his face into Kei's neck, trying to engulf himself in vanilla and honey.
"I'm so depressed that I can barely eat. I need Fuma to remind me to do basic things like shower and drink water every day." Sniffling, he lay his head against his shoulder, Kei cradling him like a newborn. "I was sad that I had to wash these clothes.. I wanted to keep smelling him."
Kei hums along, focusing on keeping him close and rubbing his hand against his back while Taki lets it all out. Compared to when he was alone, it felt easier to breathe during this cry. He didn't have any panic attack or hyperventilate like before. He cried, but it was quieter, easier on his heart.
"Taki-chan," Nicholas calls him gently, fighting back a smile of sorts after sharing a look with Harua. "You know.. that sounds an awful lot like how omegas act without their mate." He and Harua snicker while Fuma is shocked. On the other hand, Euijoo slaps Nicholas on the arm for bringing that up.
Clearing his throat, Euijoo takes the lead instead. "What he means is that all your unintentional courting and scenting confused your body. Your body is giving out because you've been neglected by who it thinks your mate is."
Never having heard that before, he pulls away from Koga for a little bit to look at him, Harua, and Nicholas. Not that he thinks Euijoo would lie to him like that, but he's curious if any of them ever experienced that.
"Mm. It's true," Harua nods. "It doesn't only happen to omegas, though. It happened to Jo when Yuma and I went on vacation with our families." It's a little reassuring to know that perhaps the same could have or could be happening to Maki as well. And selfishly, Taki hopes that it is. That his nonchalance is just a facade for those outside he and Kei's dorm.
Sighing in defeat, he slumps against Kei again. "Must be hard being a broken beta," Fuma teases. He's glad that he'll never have any of these difficulties that Taki is having (or so he says).
"This would be way easier if I was," Taki groans. Patting him on the butt, Koga nods along. "Tell me about it."