Chapter Text
The apartment was quiet when nightfall came. Qin was with Duang at his house and Pik was also there with Jai. Ghlai was relieved to hear that they were together, that they talked and surprising enough he didn't race home the way he thought he would because Duang was there, so he didn't have to worry about Jai.
Punlee was also surprised when Ghlai didn't immediately race to the door to go home because he knew his mate well enough to know that he cared about his family a lot and sometimes his anxiety only settles when he sees with his own eyes that things were okay.
Lee was even more surprised when Ghlai walked up to his bedroom like he always does when he wants to go lay down. Punlee decided to follow him and when he stepped into his bedroom the omega’s scent hit him the second he stepped inside. Ghlai's scent was sharp with residual anger, undercut by the familiar bonded sweetness that still made Punlee’s chest tighten. So Ghlai was missing him too?
Ghlai stood in front of the window, arms crossed, barefoot, his face said a million things and nothing at all. His usual calmness was nowhere in sight. His warm and welcoming brown eyes were dark and locked on Punlee the moment the door shut.
“I hate what you said about Jai. He's an asshole, but he's my brother Lee. He's also your brother's mate,” Ghlai said flatly.
Punlee sat down in the little single couch in his room. “I know.”
“You know.” Ghlai let out a short, humourless laugh. “You insulted my brother in front of me. In front of Duang AND Qin. You didn't care what you were saying or how it might make me feel,” Ghlai said. “Lee, how am I supposed to forgive you?”
Punlee’s jaw flexed. He had replayed the moment a hundred times. The words he spoke about Jai had slipped out because he was so blinded by anger and the sight of how his own brother wailed. He recalled the way Ghlai’s face had gone completely blank before the explosion. Ghlai, who almost never raised his voice, had lost it completely.
“I was wrong,” Punlee said. Quiet. Steady. “I shouldn’t have said it. Any of it. Jai didn’t deserve that, and you sure as hell didn’t deserve to hear it.”
Ghlai’s arms stayed crossed, but something in his shoulders loosened a bit. “You didn't come to me.”
“Because...” Punlee got up from his seat and stood next to Ghlai. “I hurt you. I hurt your family. Our family.”
Ghlai’s scent flickered, anger still there, but softer now, threaded with the deeper bond-scent that always rose when they were near each other. He looked away for a second.
“You’re an asshole,” he muttered.
“Yeah.”
“A hot-headed, mouthy alpha asshole.”
Punlee’s mouth twitched.
“True.”
Ghlai finally looked at him again. The fight drained out of his eyes slowly, like someone letting go of a rope they’d been holding too tight. “I hated being mad at you,” he admitted, voice quieter. “I hated sleeping without you. I can't get over the fact that you didn’t come after me the first night, I hated seeing no calls or texts.”
“I know you probably wanted to give me space, but I didn’t want space.” Ghlai’s voice cracked just slightly. “I wanted you to fix it.”
Punlee closed some distance. He didn’t touch yet. Just stood closer, his arms then slowly wrapped around Ghlai. “Then let me fix it.”
Ghlai stared at him for a long second. Then he reached up and yanked him down into a hard and messy kiss.
It wasn’t gentle at first. Teeth, tongue, and the sharp edge of leftover anger. Punlee groaned into it, hands finally settling on Ghlai’s waist, pulling him in. Ghlai bit his lower lip, hard enough to sting, then soothed it with his tongue.
“I'm still mad,” Ghlai muttered against his mouth.
“I know, baby.”
“Gonna make you work for it for the rest of your life.”
-TWO MONTHS LATER-
It was quiet except for the soft sound of the humidifier humming in the corner. No one guessed that Jai and Pik would be the first to get their own apartment, but after accepting their bond the first thing they did was move out. Yellow lamplight painted the bed in warm gold; the mood was set.
Two months of careful distance of therapy that left them both scraped raw, and of learning how to exist near each other without the old fight still bleeding between them. It was Jai's idea to go to therapy, they went to couples therapy for a month, but he was still doing individual therapy. Jai realized his issues were deep rooted, and he wanted to be the alpha that Pik deserved.
Jai was already lying on the bed watching Pik sit down at the edge on the mattress. For a moment they just looked at each other. Jai looked at Pik like he was something sacred he had finally been allowed to want.
Pik crawled between his knees, fingers running up Jai's thigh. The alpha’s scent was making him lightheaded; it smelled so good.
“We don’t have to,” Pik said softly, even though they both knew the words were more habit than truth. “We can keep going slow.”
Jai shook his head once. His hands settled on Pik’s hips, thumbs stroking the bare skin just above the waistband of his soft sleep pants. “I’m ready,” he said, voice low and rough but steady. “I’ve been ready.”
Pik smiled and leaned in to press their foreheads together. Their scents tangled, perfectly then Jai tipped his face up. The kiss started slow and soft then deeper and when they finally broke apart, Jai’s eyes were dark and clear.
“Lie down with me.”
They undressed each other without hurry. Hands mapped skin they already knew by heart, but tonight every touch felt new. Jai’s palms slid down Pik's body then cupped Pik’s ass, squeezed gently, then let his fingers drift forward to brush the soft length of Pik. Pik was already half-hard, and he shivered.
Pik’s fingers traced the strong line of Jai’s shoulders, the place where an alpha’s scent was strongest.
When Pik lay back against the pillows, Jai followed, settling between his thighs like he belonged there and he did. He kissed the soft skin of Pik’s throat, lingered over his scent gland and breathed him in. Then he moved lower, trailing wet kisses down Pik’s chest, over a nipple and down his stomach. He didn't realize how much he missed Pik's body until he tasted the familiar taste of his mate’s skin. Mate… he loved saying that. Jai nuzzled the base of Pik’s length, inhaled the sweet omega scent of him, and then took him into his mouth. Pik’s head fell back with a quiet, broken sound
Jai pulled off with a wet sound, lips shiny, and looked up. “You’re so wet for me already,” he murmured, voice rough with want. “Even without a heat. Just for me.”
Pik nodded, cheeks flushed. “Always for you.”
Jai kissed his way back up, settled between Pik’s thighs again, and lined himself up and he pushed in slowly, watching every expression on Pik’s face. When he was completely buried inside, they both exhaled a breath none of them knew they were holding. Pik’s legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer, and they stayed like that for a long moment just breathing together, foreheads touching.
The rhythm they found was unhurried. Deep, rolling thrusts that never rushed. Jai kept his eyes open, watching Pik’s face the entire time, one hand laced tightly with his, the other gently holding Pik's head. Every time Pik’s breath hitched, Jai kissed him. Every time Pik’s scent sweetened with pleasure, Jai couldn't contain his moans.
Jai angled his hips and thrust deeper, grinding against the spot that made Pik’s back arch.
“Feel that?” he whispered against Pik’s mouth. “Feel how deep I am inside you?”
“Yes, Jai-” Pik’s voice cracked. His free hand clutched at Jai’s shoulder, nails digging into his flesh. Jai was definitely going to have marks the next morning, but he didn't care not when Pik was like this begging him not to stop.
When the instinct rose, Jai’s canines ached and the need to claim became something he no longer wanted to fight. He suddenly paused still buried deep inside Pik then he looked at him, silently asking if this was okay.
“Please,” Pik whispered, tilting his head to the side, baring the vulnerable line of his neck. “I’m ready too. Mark me. Make me yours.” That did it, Jai’s mouth found the spot just below Pik’s ear. He kissed it once, then bit down with careful, deliberate pressure. The mark bloomed under his teeth as the bond snapped fully into place, both of them overcome with feelings of warmth and love in all its overwhelming rightness. Pik cried out, body tightening hard around Jai and he came.
The tight, wet heat of Pik’s orgasm dragged Jai over the edge with him. He groaned against the fresh mark, hips stuttering as he spilled deep inside Pik's body. His knot began to swell almost immediately, locking them together.
Jai kept grinding through it in tiny, helpless circles, prolonging their pleasure until the aftershocks finally eased. They stayed locked together afterward, Jai’s knot full and grounding rather than urgent. He licked the mark clean with slow, soothing strokes of his tongue, murmuring soft things against Pik’s neck. Pik’s fingers combed through his hair, grounding them both. Slick and come mixed between them, warm and messy.
Eventually Jai shifted just enough to pull Pik fully into his arms, their bodies still joined, limbs tangled. He pressed a kiss to the top of Pik’s head, then another to the fresh mark.
“I love you,” he said, simple and true. “I’ve got you. We’re okay now.”
Pik smiled against his chest, the new mark warm and already settling, the thick knot still holding them locked. “Yeah,” he answered, voice soft with sleep and certainty.
“We are.”
Outside, the city kept moving, but here inside their bedroom wrapped in each other's arms everything finally felt still.