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It’s obvious when Kai starts nesting. Sheets, blankets, and pillows go missing. Sometimes clothing does too, but nobody begrudges Kai from taking their belongings; as their only omega, it’s hard not to dote on him.
It’s just that more often than not, it’s Soobin’s clothing. It’s normally not an issue as Kai washes everything immediately and returns them, but sometimes the barest hint of his scent clings onto them and it drives Soobin crazy. He doesn’t know why he’s still so affected by it—Yeonjun and Beomgyu are alphas too, but Kai’s scent doesn’t seem to bother them as much ever since he went on suppressants. As a beta, Taehyun’s even comfortable enough around Kai to where they can still share a room when Kai’s in the middle of his heat. More often than not, it’s Taehyun who cares for him.
Soobin feels heavily unsettled by that, jealous even. He feels useless as a leader, as a hyung, as an—
Alpha, his mind whispers.
(He tries to convince himself that he’s mostly concerned through his capacity as a leader, as someone who’s supposed to be reliable.)
Yet, when he scents Kai’s distress in the air, it’s not Leader Soobin who responds, it’s not Hyung Soobin, it’s Alpha Soobin. It’s the protectiveness that’s amplified by his biology, it’s the part of him that he represses because he is not supposed to feel this way towards his group member.
But Kai whimpers again, and he’s up like a shot. Taehyun’s out getting food with Yeonjun, which means that Kai is alone.
“Soobin?” Beomgyu says carefully from his seat on the couch. He doesn’t get up, aware that any sudden moves may set the alpha off. Soobin is flooding the air with concern and desperation and an underlying hint of desire.
“I need to go,” Soobin says, tongue heavy in his mouth. “I-If you scent something off, come immediately.” I can control myself.
I can control myself…
“Ok hyung,” Beomgyu says simply. “I trust you.”
Soobin feels relieved that the younger alpha trusts in him. “I’ll be back.”
Beomgyu smiles secretively. Would he, though?
The door is unlocked, so Soobin doesn’t bother with knocking. He’s instantly hit with a wall of Kai’s scent—the smell of ocean breeze, sweet pineapple, and ambrosia underneath it all is dizzying and he stumbles in the doorway, overwhelmed.
“Soobinie?” Kai calls out, uncertain. It’s too early for Taehyun to return, and Soobin’s scent of pine and vanilla is unmistakable. He would get up to check, but he’s exhausted and sensitive. He can barely reign in his omega instincts, which are delighted that an alpha is in the room.
Soobin closes the door behind him, taking care to keep it unlocked. Kai’s nest is on the floor—it would never be able to fit on the top bunk he usually sleeps on. It’s not the first time Soobin has seen Kai’s nest, but it’s the first time he’s here alone with him. He grabs a water bottle from the pack that’s on the floor and sits down as close as he can without actually entering the nest.
“Hey,” Soobin says softly, brushing Kai’s sweaty bangs off his forehead. Something in him preens when the younger leans into his touch. “How can hyung help?”
Kai bites his lip. His body always craved physical touch during his heats—he likes cuddling with Taehyun, because it’s pleasant and the beta isn’t affected by his pheromones. He doesn’t want Taehyun like that either, so aside from taking up a bit of Taehyun’s time, neither of them suffered too much.
But Soobin?
Well, those feelings were somewhat troubling…
Soobin’s scent is already relaxing him, Kai honestly thinks his heat would pass smoother if he just stays right next to him. The alpha opens a water bottle and nudges it into his hand, and he sits up gratefully. He drains the bottle; he hadn’t realized he was so thirsty. He can feel a couple of drops escape down his throat, and he wipes at them self-consciously—he doesn’t want to appear messy in front of Soobin.
Soobin’s eyes are fixed on the column of Kai’s neck, wanting nothing more than to leave a trail of kisses there, to—
He swallows and looks away, feeling guilty. How much of his want can he blame on his Alpha?
“You’re already helping by just being here,” Kai says as he bundles himself up with the blanket again. He snuggles into one of the pillows, faintly aware that it’s wrapped in one of Soobin’s sweatshirts. He thinks he’s tired enough to sleep, but there’s an itching underneath his skin, a burning need that won’t go away.
Kai’s not lying, Soobin’s presence is helping, but him being around definitely amplifies his need to be touched. He buries his face into the pillow, hoping that urge goes away if he waits it out like it sometimes does, but if anything, it seems to strengthen. He bites his lips so he doesn’t make any embarrassing sounds, but he doesn’t expect Soobin’s fingers to card through his hair, and the relief is so intense he almost cries.
“Kai,” Soobin says, sounding worried. “Are you sure? You don’t…sound sure.”
Kai whines in frustration. It’s impossible to hide anything in his scent when he’s in heat. The suppressants help, but he takes a weaker dosage to prevent possible damage to his health. It’s unavoidable; he’ll have to take them for a prolonged period of time. He turns so he can see Soobin.
“Can you come cuddle me?” he asks in a small voice. “Being touched...helps.”
Soobin knows the basics of omega biology, but since nesting and heats varied wildly depending on individual biology and whether or not suppressants were being used, he had been uncertain in how Taehyun had been “helping” Kai. He’s a bit relieved but jealous at the same time. Soobin knows Kai detects the flare of jealousy from the way his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Of course,” Soobin says, voice slightly cracking, because if anything is going to challenge him to keep his composure, it’s this. He toes off his shoes and enters Kai’s nest—it’s piled high with sheets and blankets and unsurprisingly, extremely warm and soft.
Kai’s scent is all over and Soobin has to stop to take some breaths through his mouth or risk losing control. His hands ball up into fists to prevent them from shaking. God, he wants to run his hands all over the omega, wants to kiss those enticing lips, wants to Claim him—
“Are you ok?” the younger asks tentatively, and Soobin’s heart drops because why does Kai look worried, omegas are supposed to feel the safest in their nests (or with their alphas, his mind reminds him unhelpfully), Kai’s not supposed to be concerned about him, he’s not allowed to.
“Don’t worry about me,” Soobin says, trying to relax so Kai can relax too. Kai ushers him underneath the blanket, and Soobin notes they’re slightly damp from sweat, but not uncomfortable. He doesn’t debate how he’s going to hold his om—Kai—he just follows his instincts, anything else would have him overthinking. He slings an arm around Kai’s hips and pulls him closer; the omega shudders at the contact but automatically tucks himself under Soobin’s chin, his face buried in his chest.
Kai breathes deeply. Though he kept Soobin’s clothes strewn around in his nest, they couldn’t compare to Soobin himself, the scent that he’s so drawn to that he could pick it out easily in a crowd. Soobin smells soothing, delicious, and unattainable all at once. Cuddling with Soobin is different than cuddling with Taehyun. Soobin is the only person he knows that’s bigger than him, and as an omega it’s somewhat stressful. He wants to feel protected and secure, and with Soobin, it’s possible.
Soobin hums and holds Kai closer, acutely feeling the younger’s nervousness quickly thaw into a warm feeling of affection and content. It mellows him out too, and Soobin knows it’s a side effect of the omega’s pheromones, but he’s happy that Kai is feeling better.
“Gonna sleep,” he hears Kai say drowsily, and he can feel Kai’s body going slack against his.
“Good night baby,” Soobin says softly, congratulating himself. That wasn’t as...hard...as he thought it was going to be. Maybe he can ask Taehyun if he wanted to switch off. He knows none of them would mind helping Kai through his heat, but it could be time-consuming, and he’s sure Taehyun wouldn’t mind having an extra day off.
Though…he bristles when he thinks about Yeonjun or Beomgyu touching his om—touching Kai, and that’s when Kai sleepily nuzzles his neck and Choi Soobin completely and utterly knows he is fucking gone for Huening Kai. There’s no way he would feel this territorial over him if he wasn’t.
He absentmindedly strokes Kai’s hair—it’s getting long, but Soobin had always thought Kai looked beautiful with it. The younger’s soft breathing calms him, and it’s not long before he’s lulled to sleep too.
Taehyun smiles in the living room. “Took him long enough.”
Yeonjun high-fives Beomgyu. Their omega is filling the house with feelings of contentment.
“When do you think he’ll notice they should be mates?” Beomgyu asks. The two were extremely obvious to everyone else apart from themselves.
Yeonjun grimaces. “Knowing Soobin, that might be a while.”
Taehyun grins conspiratorially. “How about I sleep with Beomie tonight, and we let them figure it out in the morning?”
Soobin wakes up feeling extremely hot. Kai is still pressed completely flush against him, but his scent is a lot more manageable now. It seems that his heat broke early. Soobin’s Alpha feels smug, obviously his contributions helped.
Soobin presses his nose against Kai’s hair—his scent was always so sweet and calming. He takes a moment to enjoy how domestic it all feels, a moment to capture the feeling and tuck it away. Then he returns to reality and he nudges Kai awake.
“Mm?” The younger wakes up in bleary confusion.
“Are you feeling better?”
Kai blinks in surprise as he sits up. Soobin’s relieved—he can finally breathe and get out from under the blanket. “That’s odd,” he mutters. “It’s never over this fast.” Soobin’s heart melts when Kai tilts his head, looking adorable and gorgeous with his fluffy bed hair. He bites his lip, and Soobin has to brush a thumb over Kai’s lip in concern.
“Doesn’t it hurt when you do that all the time?” he chastises.
Kai looks at him with wide doe eyes, and Soobin hastily draws back, only for Kai to grab his hand at the last second.
“Soobinie-hyung? Can I ask you something?” The omega laces their fingers together. This happens too frequently for Soobin to feel nervous, but he does anyway, because the younger is looking at him meaningfully and Soobin doesn’t know what he’s going to ask. He squeezes Kai’s hand, though whether the reassurance is meant for him or the omega is anyone’s guess.
“What is it?”
“Did you…” Kai’s chewing his lip again, and Soobin tries not to bristle, because any harder and his lips will bleed and he doesn’t want to see his omega hurt in any capacity. But his brain short-circuits when Kai looks at him through his long lashes, obviously shy, and asks, “Did you call me baby last night before I fell asleep? I’m not sure if it was a dream or not…”
Soobin’s mouth dries as he fumbles for an appropriate answer. “Sorry, I—yeah.” He remembers the endearment slipping out before he could stop himself. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
Kai ducks his head, and Soobin is taken aback by the pink flush overtaking his cheeks. “I wasn’t uncomfortable,” he mumbles, “I liked it.”
“Oh,” Soobin says, because he’s at a complete loss for words. When Kai peeks up to steal a glance, pretty and pink-faced and with his lower lip snagged between his teeth, Soobin absolutely loses it. He tugs Kai closer by pulling on their intertwined hands, carefully scenting the air as he leans in to make sure the omega is okay with his intentions. Kai smells of anticipation and desire, and it’s enough to push him over the edge—Soobin kisses him, slow and tentative. His heart pounds when Kai responds, hesitant at first, but increasingly enthusiastic as they explore the boundaries of their first kiss together. Kai tastes sweet and tantalizing and better than he’d imagined, but then Soobin catches a hint of metal that is jarringly out of place. He frowns as he pulls away, but the way Kai looks at him, dazed and slightly disappointed, is irresistible. Soobin returns to press soft kisses against Kai’s lips until the taste of metal dissipates.
“You worry me, baby,” Soobin murmurs as he cups Kai’s cheek. “Stop biting your lips so hard, you’ll bleed and hurt yourself.”
Kai blushes prettily again, busying himself with kneading the edge of a blanket.
“Is this going to happen every time?” Soobin teases, gathering the omega to hold in his arms. Kai snuffles into the side of his neck. “You’re adorable.”
“Do you want to find out, Alpha?” Kai says, breath warm against Soobin’s neck and dangerously close to his scent gland, and the older subconsciously grips him tighter, because even if Kai doesn’t mean the invitation, there are implications in the way he calls Soobin his alpha. It now makes sense why Kai reacted so positively to Soobin calling him ‘baby.’
Soobin’s voice is rough when he responds. “You want me to make you mine?”
“Maybe,” Kai responds quietly, leaning up to kiss Soobin again to cover up his embarrassment. Soobin doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of Kai’s kisses, but he steels himself before breaking away. He needs to, before the kiss leads into something else, like him pressing Kai against the sheets of the nest and marking him, Claiming him. Kai whines, and Soobin is just so endeared—of course he’s like this, of course he’s needy and bratty when he doesn’t get what he wants.
“Since when?” Soobin asks as he presses his nose against Kai’s neck. The omega trembles, teeth sinking into his lips again, and Soobin temporarily halts what he’s doing. “Baby, I’m going to stop if you keep doing that.”
Kai whimpers so softly that Soobin almost misses it, but he obediently stops biting his lip. The alpha continues his nuzzling, covering Kai in his scent. He won’t mark him, it’s too dangerous—but it’ll be clear to everyone else what Soobin’s intentions are.
“Don’t know,” Kai mumbles. “I realized a week ago, but I wanted you for longer than that.”
The alpha swallows. Kai needs to be careful with his words, because although Soobin is patient, he’s not a saint. “There. You’re mine,” he says, and his Alpha puffs up with pride when Kai sniffs delicately.
“I smell like you,” the omega confirms. He also smells a bit like a candle from all of the different scents, but pleasantly so; their scents mix well together. “My turn?”
Soobin obviously hadn’t thought that far ahead because he gasps lightly when Kai reciprocates the scenting. The omega’s pleased pheromones settle over him like a warm quilt, and when all was said and done, they nestle against each other on top of the sheets.
“Mine,” Kai says contentedly before startling. “Wait, do you think everyone already knows?”
Soobin thinks back to Beomgyu’s knowing smile, and Yeonjun’s and Taehyun’s teasing. “Probably. And yes—” Soobin kisses Kai on the forehead, “Yours.”