Archive of Our Own

“My head is light, I play without any fear. No matter what they say, cover your ears and just be yourself” 

— NCT DREAM, Arcade.

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🎮

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It was spring, for Jaemin's happiness. 

The sun was shining above the city and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky; just a clear blue horizon. He was feeling a bit sad since the weather was so nice that being in the city was a total waste of it. Jaemin then stopped himself from feeling depressed because damn, was he spending too much time with Jisung’s friend? 

Renjun was the one to get all moppy on sunny days, not him. 

Although it sounded good the idea of going far from the busy and noisy city, to enjoy a perfect and shiny day with his boyfriend, just the two of them against the world. He unconsciously smiled while staring at the window, his eyes sparkling at the thought of Jisung’s cute face and smile, only for him. 

Suddenly, Donghyuck smacked him on the arm out of nowhere, knocking him out of his thoughts, before running away giggling. Jaemin complained out loud with a whiny tone, following the omega with quick steps until the little bastard hid behind the blonde-haired alpha, who was chuckling at them. 

Jaemin didn’t know why, could it be because he was a younger alpha or a bit smaller than Mark, but he stopped in front of him almost automatically; as a sign of respect from one alpha to another alpha. 

It wasn’t like Mark was someone to get all overprotective with his omega, mostly because Jaemin himself was one of his friends, but there are times when their instinct just acted out of nowhere. Harming the omega of the alpha who was your friend, and you respected, was like treason; but then again, Mark was okay with that because he knew Jaemin would never hurt Donghyuck. Just as Jaemin knew Mark and Jeno would never hurt Jisung, not if they wanted to continue being his friends. 

Ah, his cute little omega. 

It was when Donghyuck mocked again, hiding behind his alpha’s back that he got back to reality. 

“Hyung, move and let me give him a tiny little punch on the face,” Jaemin asked nicely, smiling as if he was asking for candies from his older brother. Mark admitted to himself that the alpha looked harmless. “I swear I’ll be gentle.”

Then the black-haired alpha who was watching them from afar while taking his apron off laughed out loud; Jeno mentally thanked his friends for entertaining him while checking out early. He had asked for permission so he could hang out with them, and of course, his dad didn’t refuse.

It was Friday afternoon, and when Jaemin arrived to pick up his best friend he found Mark and Donghyuck hanging out there already. 

“I know he’s a pain in the ass,” Mark said as he shoved an arm around his mate’s shoulders and pulled him closer, giving a glance to the omega and then again to his friend. “But he’s still my mate so… settle for pinching him?” he offered with a tiny smile and Jaemin considered it. 

Both looked like two businessmen making an important deal. 

“Hey, you’re supposed to protect me!” the only omega between them complained with a whiny voice, frowning and hitting Mark on his chest.

“Says who?”

“Me!” 

Jaemin sighed, not wanting to hear the couple flirt with each other in such a weird way as discussing, and turned around to see his best friend telling Soyeon that he would be heading out, the female alpha just nodded and continued preparing an iced americano. Then, Jeno walked straight to Jaemin and smiled, totally ignoring the whiny voice from the omega and the calm answers from the alpha.

“Ready to go and pick your cute baby at college?” he teased him while bumping his shoulder and Jaemin stuck his tongue out while mimicking him. 

“It’ll be the first time and, I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit nervous,” he confessed, twiddling his thumbs. 

Since they started dating, Jaemin had respected the omega’s space so much and wouldn’t offer to pick him up from any place; such as college. After all, he didn’t want to seem overbearing or too intrusive in Jisung’s life. His courting consisted more in showing how good a boyfriend and mate he was than trying to control and dominate his omega; he didn’t like the idea of making Jisung submit to him just because he was an alpha.

No. 

Jaemin wanted his omega to willingly submit to him because he loved him, entirely.

So, the alpha decided it was time for him to pamper his cute baby more and take another step. Yesterday he told him they would go on a date after college, and Jaemin would pick him up. The omega had shown his excitement with many love words and emojis, so yeah, he was sure Jisung would love to see him out there, waiting for him after a tiring day.

“Oh, but there’s no need to be!” suddenly, Donghyuck appeared between them, and both friends asked themselves when had the pair stopped arguing. “You’ll just stand at the entrance, all tall and handsome, look extremely cool as you greet him, and cutely peck his cheek when he comes closer,” he shoved Jeno to the side, not caring about the growl he made, and moved his hands to massage Jaemin’s shoulders as if the alpha was preparing for the fight of his life. Jaemin raised his eyebrow. “Then everyone will look at you and coo!” Donghyuck opened his arms wide and moved his fingers as if sparkles would be out of them; the alphas stared at him.

“Life isn’t like that,” Jeno tsked, crossing his veiny arms over his chest.

“It could be if you want!” Donghyuck crossed his arms too and stared at him, not letting the alpha win.

“How many romantic novels has he read?” the brown-haired one whispered to Mark, both watching the omega glare at  Jeno before they started arguing out loud.

“I’ve lost count since last fall,” the older one answered, a bit ashamed of his mate’s cliché ideas but sweetly smiled because, in his eyes, the omega was so adorable. 

Jaemin just sighed.

He had met Donghyuck through Jeno, since the black-haired alpha works at the Cafe he sees a lot of people every day, the omega was one particular client that would always greet him with his confident personality, loud voice, and cocky comments. Jeno found him annoying the very first time he came, but Donghyuck wasn't a mean person and won the alpha's friendship naturally. 

Although they bicker a lot, they cared for each other. 

Eventually, Jaemin met him. And he instantly knew that the omega was a handful, but he still befriended him because Donghyuck was good at giving advice, pretty smart, and often would help them out with a big smile. Jaemin noticed that the omega was like a sun, always full of energy and happiness. Even though he puts limits, Donghyuck never complained about them and still hung out with Jaemin. The alpha was grateful and couldn't help but accept him as his friend too.

“Stop touching my phone!” Jeno said with a tired voice, not wanting to chase the smirking omega. Jaemin didn’t even notice when Donghyuck had stolen his best friend’s phone.

“Let's see… Where is Chenle's chat?” the alpha opened his eyes wide and felt his body freeze. “I'm gonna send him one of these random photos of your camera roll!”

“Lee Donghyuck!” and even before Jeno could try to chase the omega, Mark already got his mate trapped by his shirt's neck. The omega immediately pouted.

“I sometimes forget you behave like a child,” the blonde-haired alpha sighed, trying his best not to smile. 

“We’re just having fun!” he defended himself, making puppy eyes for winning over the alpha’s heart.

Oh. The good Mark always tries to control his mate's mischief.

Jaemin and Jeno met him through the omega, and they were very surprised to hear they were dating. Not because Donghyuck wasn't worthy of Mark or vice versa, but how could someone have so much patience with that smartly evil omega? Only Mark Lee. Although sometimes even he would lose his mind over Donghyuck's antics. The omega then would have to act cutely and try to get his alpha's forgiveness, which wasn't difficult because Mark was so whipped for him. 

Their dynamic was unique, but it worked for them perfectly, so Jaemin and Jeno did nothing else than get used to it. 

“You know I love watching your usual Tom & Jerry moments, but can we go to pick up my boyfriend now?” Jaemin pleaded, feeling his tummy twirling after saying that word. He still couldn't believe that Jisung was his boyfriend. 

Jeno noticed how lovey-dovey Jaemin was getting, so after quickly snatching his phone back, he jogged up to his best friend. 

“Let's go then!” Jeno smiled, and Jaemin nodded excitedly. 

Behind them, the alpha gave a few pats on his mate's butt and whispered some words, making Donghyuck blush.

“Y-Yeah, let's head out,” the omega said before holding Mark's hand to follow his friends. 

Jaemin and Jeno did their best to pretend they didn't notice anything. 

“Mark, where did you park?” Jeno asked as his eyes tried to find that iconic Spark, and it was easy to spot it because of how shining it was. “Found it!” he jogged to the vehicle, asking with his eyes for the older alpha to unlock it. 

“I still can’t believe you chose the most electric blue in the catalog…” that was Donghyuck, scanning the whole car again as he frowns. 

Jaemin still remembers the day Mark came to the Cafe with a big smile and excited voice, shaking his car keys over their faces as if they couldn’t notice them. The alpha had just turned 23 years old and his parents helped him to buy a car; which was a Spark, since he didn’t need other than a hatchback car, and he was so happy. 

But Donghyuck wanted the white one. 

Oh, the discussion they had because of the color was ridiculous and Jaemin wished never to hear it again.

He and Jeno were so thankful to avoid using public transport from time to time. After all, Jeno used his father’s car and it wasn’t always available, so they were already grateful for Mark having a car, they didn’t mind the color of it.

“Hey! It’s quite cool,” Mark defended himself, already unlocking his car while staring at his mate.

“I don’t mind the color but I do mind arriving late to pick up my boyfriend,” Jaemin murmured with a pout. 

The older alpha gave him a few pats on his back with a smile, nodding before getting in his front seat. Donghyuck was in the co-pilot seat and proclaimed himself as the DJ, making Jeno nag about it. But Jaemin could only think about meeting his mate for their date; he smiled excitedly. 

“I’ll pay total attention when you get a car and Jisung wants it to be electric lime or some extravagant color,” the omega said as he searched for a playlist to play, and Jaemin rolled his eyes. 

“That’s a nice color though,” Mark added, already driving out of the parking lot.

“Of course you think it’s a nice color,” the black-haired alpha chuckled, getting a glare from the oldest of them.

“Jisung would like it to be white,” Jaemin commented, earning the attention of his friends, he then proudly added, “That’s his favorite color after all.”

Jeno and Mark smiled at how their friend sounded so in love, meanwhile, Donghyuck dramatically sobbed out loud, almost like crying out and stilling the attention of the trio into his fake cries. 

“That’s so cute, Jaemin! Oh God, I’m gonna cry, my boy is so gay!” he continued sobbing, turning to look at the alpha and then reaching his mate’s hand, caressing it. “They grow up so fast, Makku,” he then smiled sadly, as if he was Jaemin’s mother.

“You’re such a drama king!” Jeno frowned, refusing to admit it was a funny scene to watch. 

“Your envy feeds my ego,” the omega dismissed the alpha’s comment.

Jaemin laughed when the car was full of Jeno’s and Donghyuck’s words and yells, while Mark was only vibing and focusing on driving safely; he found himself being happy with his friends. 

And he couldn’t wait to have his date with his cute baby.

Jisung couldn't focus on his class. 

The words and explanations of his professor weren't registering in his memory and for sure his attention wasn’t on the blackboard. He kept looking at his watch, waiting for the moment he could push everything inside his backpack, run away to the exit and meet his lovely mate. 

Oh, that handsome golden brown-haired alpha.

His hand was doodling on the notebook, while the professor kept talking about neuroanatomy. The omega feels kind of bad because he was supposed to be paying attention, taking notes, or asking doubts, but his mind was only focusing on one thing; his date with Jaemin. 

“The power of love,” Chenle sighed while glancing at his friend in the seat next to him. 

It was funny to see the chestnut brown-haired one like that, more because it was one of Jisung’s favorite classes and he could only think of his boyfriend. 

“Will I be the same when I get a mate?” the omega asked, thinking out loud. He then shook his body as if getting rid of a nasty feeling. “I hope not.”

Jisung didn't even flinch at his friend's thoughts. All he could do was feel a bit nervous yet excited about today. All week he's been assimilating that indeed, Jaemin was ready to be more like a mate, not only a mere boyfriend. 

The alpha tried his best to be a gentleman, always being thoughtful, polite, and respectful to him. Not even a single time in those months of courting has Jaemin pushed or forced Jisung into something the omega didn’t feel prepared for. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was still pretty young or because he was a truly shy and awkward omega, but he was so happy that Jaemin had his opinions always in his mind. 

Not a minute later but just as soon as the professor ended his class, Jisung stood up and saved his notebook quickly, putting his black backpack on his shoulder and grabbing his bottle of water. Chenle only blinked before the omega was already halfway out of the classroom, shoving the bottle into his backpack too.

“Meet me with Renjun at the entrance!” that’s the only thing the chestnut brown-haired one said before disappearing.

He dashed out of the building, avoiding colliding with the other students and trying his best to control the big smile that wanted to show on his face. His quick steps led him to the principal entrance where he stood still while scanning the front of the faculty. 

The sky was clear and the blue was stunning his eyes, also the sun shined above them with its whole glory, sure he loved winter but he must admit spring was a good season too. Although, nothing could ever replace his love for snow. His eyes stopped analyzing how good the weather was to search between all those people; he then saw Jaemin there. 

There he was, wearing a denim jacket, a simple white shirt, and white pants. The alpha's eyes were rolling as he had to hear how Donghyuck and Jeno started bickering again, while Mark was laughing out loud. 

Jisung started to release his pheromones without realizing it. The feeling of being loved and filled with energy was overwhelming, just by seeing Jaemin waiting for him, under the sun, and with his two annoying friends. He felt like a blessed boy. 

As he walked closer, he could feel like everything was in slow motion, the energizing vibes he was getting from only seeing his handsome boyfriend waiting for him were unexplainable. Jisung was recharging himself just by admiring the alpha’s existence, and when Jaemin’s eyes landed on him, the omega showed the biggest smile and jogged to his arms. 

“Hi, baby. How-” the alpha was cut off by the strong hug his omega gave him, both of Jisung’s arms holding him with love. Jaemin quickly grabbed him by his waist and raised him to spin his little boyfriend a bit, enjoying the view of a surprised Jisung. “Oh, I’m happy to see you too!” he exclaimed excitedly, pecking his mate’s cheek as he put him down.

“I’m so excited about this date,” Jisung chuckled timidly while ruffling his hair, trying to look cute. 

“Well, I know you’re in love and all but it’s so rude of you Jisunggie to ignore us like we’re not even here,” Donghyuck's sassy comment provoked the brown-haired alpha to growl lowly, but Jisung only smiled and went directly hugged the other omega. “Oh, you’re so cute!” Such an easy way to calm down an omega; hugs.

Jaemin rolled his eyes and waited until Jisung ended up saying hi to his friends, pouting when his mate greeted Mark for more than two minutes; he silently walked back to hug him, resting his chin on Jisung’s shoulder.

“Someone’s no longer happy,” Jeno mocked about the possessive Jaemin, who stuck his tongue out to him.

“Yeah, Jisung, go and calm your alpha, he’s glaring at mine,” Donghyuck joined and evilly smiled at the brown-haired alpha, who also stuck his tongue out to him.

“Nana, behave yourself,” the omega turned around to poke Jaemin’s cheeks, who frowned and grabbed both of his hands. 

“Don’t poke me, that’s my thing,” he whined as he poked Jisung’s cheeks, and his mate blushed a little because of it. 

“Hello, losers!” everyone heard that loud voice and immediately knew it was from Chenle. The omega was walking side by side with Renjun, and soon both were close enough to them. “Oh, poor Jeno Hyung, he’s the fifth wheeler.”

Said alpha forced himself to smile and just walked closer to grab the omega’s arm making Chenle whine, but laugh too as he nervously tried to calm Jeno down. 

Jisung shook his head while holding his need to mock his best friend, instead, he focused on his mate. He felt so warm when he turned his head and found Jaemin already looking at him, fondly. 

“Nana, are we going to the arcade?” he tried his best to initiate the conversation, anxiously playing with the strings of his backpack. Jaemin stared at him before answering. 

“Yeah, later, baby,” he moved to take the backpack off Jisung’s back, and held it himself on his shoulder, smiling at his cute baby who was shyly looking at him. “First, we’ll go to eat, okay?” he waited for his omega to nod and then passed an arm around his waist, to guide him. 

Jisung internally started screaming, and he knew Chenle noticed it. 

“We’re not going to fit in Mark’s tiny car,” that’s the observation the only beta of the group made, and said alpha nodded to his words but then realized how he called it.

“It’s not tiny though…” the alpha murmured, and Donghyuck was the one to pat his mate back, comforting him. 

“Yeah… We didn’t think about it…” Jeno said, scratching his neck. 

The beta sighed, and then took out his car keys, everyone’s eyes went directly to those i10’s keys with the cute keyring on them. Renjun proudly smiled. 

“I knew you dumbasses would forget something like this,” he admitted. Jisung felt glad to have such a smart friend. “Let’s split.”

In the end, Renjun had gone with Chenle and Jeno, even though the omega wanted to ride in Mark’s car, and almost throws a tantrum that Jeno avoided by promising an ice cream to the whiny omega. Donghyuck had pulled Jisung and Jaemin with them even before the couple could say anything, and the oldest alpha of the group didn’t refuse. 

That’s how the two vehicles went directly to El Dorado, a small but nice resto-bar pretty famous for college students and young adults. The owner was friends with Mark, and when Jisung went the first time he was surprised to see how cool the local was. The main colors were gold and black, also elegant tables and comfy chairs, but the most important thing was the food, which was always delicious. 

It wasn’t that far but walking under the sun was something they wanted to avoid. 

Jaemin asked the blonde-haired alpha to open up the trunk for leaving Jisung’s backpack, and once finished, he entered the car. His omega was calmly chatting with Donghyuck, and he didn’t want to interrupt them abruptly. So, Jaemin put his seatbelt on but still managed to lay down on the backseats, only to rest his head on his omega’s thighs. Silently asking for attention, his mate noticed right away.

“Nana, we’re going to arrive quickly,” Jisung said so he didn’t get too comfortable, but the alpha didn’t pay attention and closed his eyes, enjoying the touch of his boyfriend’s fingers on his hair. Both felt the car engine turn on, and that vibration only helped the alpha to get sleepy. “You can’t fall asleep here.”

“If it’s with you, I could sleep anywhere,” Jaemin answered with a cute smile, cuddling more. 

Even before Jisung could keep trying to convince his alpha to get up, Mark noticed his friend’s position, and he immediately put on a serious face. He has always been like the older brother of all of them, and mostly the very responsible adult that would scold his friends from time to time. And of course, since Mark was the one driving and the owner of the car, he didn’t like that the golden brown-haired alpha wasn’t sitting correctly. 

“Jaemin, sit correctly,” that’s all Mark needed to say for the omegas to look at him, internally recognizing him as the alpha leader. 

While Donghyuck turned back to see his friends, Jisung felt the need to protect his mate from Mark and quickly tried to get him up. Jaemin was the one who nagged about it and immediately tried to convince the other alpha.

“But Hyung, it’s not-” 

“Jaemin,” he said firmly. There wasn’t any chance for discussion. The golden brown-haired alpha sighed and sat up. 

“Alright, alright, I’m up,” he lifted both of his hands and connect his eyes with Mark’s through the rearview mirror, and he received a smile.

More often than Jaemin would like to admit, he listens to whatever Mark says because he was the oldest and strongest alpha between them after all. He didn’t want to fight or discuss with him, not in a severe way at least. Oh, because Jaemin loved dumb and silly fights over ridiculous things, he was a professional, and Mark couldn’t care less for that kind of childish behavior.

Donghyuck dared to whistle while letting his palm hit his mate's thigh, making a loud noise. 

“You look so hot when you’re the alpha leader,” he flirted, and his alpha only laughed nervously.

Jisung didn’t want to hear their conversation, so he turned his head and focused on his alpha, who was pouting like an angry kid. 

The omega found it cute. 

“Nana, we can still hold hands,” he said, and Jaemin didn’t need him to repeat it. 

“Hello, Markkie!” as soon they entered the resto-bar, they were greeted by Minseok. A beta, who loved seeing his little friend arrive with his gang. 

“Hi, Minseokkie Hyung,” the blonde-haired alpha answered with happiness. 

Jisung noticed there were many people at the local, an old couple having a date and a college group of friends enjoying some drinks; it was kind of weird having older adults but the place was pretty popular after all. 

The whole group was guided to a big table in the corner, and the beta immediately gave them the menu to order later, Minseok then went to attend to other tables. 

The brown-haired alpha pulled Jisung closer to him and nuzzled into his neck. The omega shivered and felt a blush rising to his cheeks, his eyes glanced at the couple, who thankfully were looking at the menu, being busy deciding what to order. Jisung then patted his boyfriend’s back and smiled, he knew Jaemin loved public displays of affection.

“Nana, have you decided what to order?” he asked, noticing how his alpha just sighed and sat up correctly, glaring at him. “W-What?”

“Why are you so cute?” Jaemin growled in low voice, making his omega gulp. He then dragged the menu closer and analyzed it for a few seconds the dishes. “I want to eat you but we’re in public.”

Oh, dear Lord.

Jisung hid in his mate's shoulder, not wanting anyone to notice how red he was.

“Don’t say things like that in public…” he whined softly, only for the golden brown-haired alpha to listen.

Jaemin smirked.

Their other friends arrived a couple of minutes later, and the table was full of funny comments, wheezing laughs, and unstoppable discussions. Chenle brought up the topic of Renjun being a hater of qualitative investigation when the beta rolled his eyes, starting to defend himself. Jeno joined to say that Chenle has always been unique and it was normal for him to support the minority, but the omega solely stuck his tongue at him, making Donghyuck laugh out loud; that provoked them to fight, again. Mark ended up being all nervous about all the chaos they were provoking at the resto-bar and constantly asked them to lower their voice. 

Jisung stayed quiet for a few seconds until Chenle started to roast him, saying he was all distracted today and being like an excited puppy, wagging his tail at the idea of seeing Jaemin. The omega jumped to shut him right away. 

“That’s bullshit!” he threatened his best friend with a fork, making the older boys laugh. “Don’t go around spreading lies, Zhong Chenle!” he whined, but the other omega started to hysterically laugh and didn’t pay him any attention. 

“It was a lie?” his friend mocked him, and Jisung frowned. “Look at Jaemin and tell him it was a lie,” he scoffed. 

The omega didn’t understand why but when he turned around to see his mate, determined to tell him that, he saw those sparkling eyes fondly looking at him. The alpha seemed so happy about the idea of Jisung being an excited puppy, that the omega just blushed hard and puffed his cheeks. He then dropped the fork and admitted his defeat.

“Owww, Jisunggie!” Jaemin cooed at him when the younger one hid between his arms, not wanting to see how everyone at the table chuckled at the funny scene. 

“Told ya,” Chenle smirked.

“Shut up,” Jisung managed to say. 

Minseok later arrived with their food, serving while scolding them about being too chaotic and noisy, but ended up chuckling because they were all cute. 

The food seemed delicious, as always. And even before Jisung noticed, Jaemin was feeding him from his plate, asking if he was enjoying his food and glancing at him from time to time. The omega was so happy about it that he couldn’t resist. He seemed curious about Jaemin’s food, often asking if he could try this or that. 

“Can I have that?” he asked softly, pointing to one dumpling. Jaemin nodded and immediately took it with his chopsticks. 

“Be careful, it’s hot,” the alpha warned after blowing a little at the dumpling. 

But even with his warning, the omega ate it in one bite, making Jaemin frown and look at him with angry eyes. 

“Yah, I told you it was hot!” he complained while watching the younger omega munch his food. Jisung couldn’t help but smile, trying to endure the hot dumpling in his mouth, while his alpha stared at him. “Is it good?” he sweetly asked, his face softening after seeing how adorable his boyfriend was with his cheeks full.

“It’s delicious,” the omega answered after munching, cutely smiling. 

And that was all Jaemin needed to be happy again. 

Chenle was the one to open the wide doors of the arcade, entering by himself since he was very excited. Renjun followed him only to drag him back, complaining that they should stay together. Jisung didn’t mind, he just wanted to stay by his boyfriend’s side and enjoy the evening with his friends. 

Soon, the group divided, against Renjun’s wish.

Donghyuck had seen the photo cabin and immediately nagged Mark until the alpha gave in and accepted to take pictures with his omega. Jisung rolled his eyes while watching how the older alpha hid his smile and looked fondly at an excited Donghyuck.

“Is Mark Hyung shy?” he asked Jaemin, totally curious about it, and the alpha chuckled. 

“He’s not,” he said while grabbing Jisung’s waist. “But if Donghyuck knows he likes it when he’s a spoiled omega, Mark won’t have it easy,” Jisung thought that made sense. 

While they were watching the couple go away, Chenle screamed out loud playing Pacman. He seemed pretty frustrated and refuse to let anyone else play until he defeated his record, Renjun soon got cranky about it but Jisung noticed how Jeno smiled in silence. 

The omega raised an eyebrow and looked at his boyfriend. Jaemin didn’t need much time to know what was the question his cute baby was asking him. 

“Yeah, he likes Chenle,” he admitted with a smile. “But don’t worry, he won’t try anything yet,” he assured him, and slightly pulled Jisung closer to him. 

“Okay, I’m just taking care of my friend,” he softly said, eyes looking directly at the alpha’s ones. 

“I know, but right now, I want you only for me,” Jaemin whispered while leaning his head on the omega’s shoulder, making the younger one chuckle and pat his head. 

“Alright, I have my eyes only on you,” Jisung sweetly said.

“What do you want to do first, baby?” Jaemin asked, raising to scan the arcade. “There’s shooting games, racing… Oh, I think that’s an air hockey table…” After hearing that, he felt his omega jump and scan the whole place with excitement. 

“Where is it!?” he asked smiling, full of anticipation. 

He looked like a cute puppy who had just heard his favorite toy squeak, and Jaemin melted at that view. 

“Let’s go and play, Nana!” Jisung joyfully said once he spotted the tables a bit far from they were standing. 

While dragging the older one, the omega made sure to let Renjun know where they would be, and the beta was already so heated up by not winning in the Pacman game that he just nodded without looking back. Jeno was the one that gave them a look and smiled, silently saying that they could go away; Jaemin winked at him, making the alpha growl lowly. 

The tables were on the corner of the local, only one of them was free and they soon approached it. Jisung immediately picked up the disc and waited for his boyfriend to be ready. 

“Don’t go easy on me,” the omega warned, making Jaemin laugh. 

“Okay!” he yelled with a weird smile.

Sure Jisung knew the alpha loved to be unique and act unexpectedly, but he still laughed every time Jaemin made a wrong move or started randomly dancing and faking his shots. His eyes kept closing due to the intense laughter attacking every time the alpha acted silly, and his hands often moved to cover his mouth, not wanting to show how hard he was laughing. 

“Yeah, what are you doing!?” Jisung asked with a tired smile, seeing their points were almost identical. “Are you distracting me on purpose?”

“I’m not that evil!” the alpha defended himself. 

Jisung ended up winning by two points, and even after Jaemin reassured him he wasn’t trying to make him lose, the omega didn’t believe him. The next game they tried was racing motorcycles, and after smiling at each other, they approached it.

“H-How do you use this?” the omega asked, already sitting on the motorbike but not knowing how to move. Jaemin walked closer and instantly shook the whole motorbike, making Jisung shake too and tremble while gasping. “OMG, wait!” he chuckled nervously while trying to steady the motorbike. 

“A bit like that,” Jaemin said, answering the question he made. Then, the omega opened his mouth wide and nodded, finally understanding. 

“Hey, get on behind!” Jisung excitedly requested, posing like a real biker. The alpha bit his lip and obey him, watching the chestnut brown-haired one be all happy.

Soon, both were wiggling as they played one round, but as Jaemin couldn’t reach the floor he was getting tired, so almost at the end, he stood up grabbing his butt. 

“Jisung, I think I no longer have a butt…” he murmured, but his boyfriend was more focused on continuing racing. 

“Nana, look,” Jisung smiled. “ I’m first place!”

Jaemin wanted to praise him but soon noticed the chestnut-haired boy was wrong.

“No… You’re the last one,” the alpha chuckled after seeing the omega get surprised.

“Ah, that’s why there’s nothing around me…” he let out some giggles while keeping his eyes on the screen, noticing it was more complicated than he thought to play this game. “Wow, this is hard!” Jisung soon found himself in trouble, as he continued to hit the guardrail and get out of the track. “Oh, I’m gonna lose this one…” 

“Well, at least you tried,” Jaemin patted his back after the omega lost. “Wanna go against me?” he asked, and the omega immediately nodded. 

Jisung was wiggling again in panic meanwhile his boyfriend was peacefully swinging and riding the motorcycle, already reaching number one place. No need to say the alpha won. 

“Wow, Nana, you’re pretty good!” Jisung recognized and clapped as he saw Jaemin stand up. 

“You did better on the second round,” he comforted him with a sweet smile, not wanting his cute baby to feel sad about losing. 

But gladly, the omega didn’t mind at all. Jisung was more focused on how good his alpha looked with the colorful lighting of the place.

“Let’s go meet the others,” the older one said while extending his hand for his boyfriend to hold, feeling so good with his touch.

Both were having a good time. 

Competitiveness, the possession of a strong desire to be more successful than others; is something Jaemin didn’t have and didn’t want anyway.

He had always acted gentlemanly over matches and often let others win because he genuinely didn’t care to win. 

Years ago, when he and Jeno had to participate in a 4x400 meters relay race, Jaemin had been the first one to run, but the two teammates screw it up in the middle, making it impossible to win the race. Jeno had been upset about losing, but Jaemin said ‘Whatever, let’s buy ice cream’. 

So yeah, Jaemin couldn’t care less about losing. Which was a bit weird coming from an alpha, since they were supposed to be competitive to earn respect and power, even status. His mom used to be worried when he was little because Jaemin wasn’t showing any signs of this typically alpha trait, but she learned that his boy was different, and that wasn’t something to worry about. 

It could happen, anyways. Either an alpha that had omega or beta traits, an omega that had alpha traits, or whatever; like Chenle being extremely competitive or Renjun having short temper. Their friend group was aware of it and didn’t mind. More importantly, Jisung didn’t care and often loved that his alpha was very easygoing with other alphas and didn’t fight to win every time he could. 

So there was Jaemin, having an entertaining moment watching the omega fight with Jeno on the basketball shots. 

“You won’t beat me,” Chenle confidently said, crossing his arms over his chest with a pretentious smile. 

And Jeno took that personally. 

Jaemin sighed and continue to watch how his best friend struggled to win the omega’s heart. He was standing behind them, waiting for his cute baby to come back from the photo booth with Renjun. Then, he smelled the heavy scent of chocolate and almonds, mixed with sandalwood; the alpha knew it belonged to Mark and Donghyuck, so he didn’t flinch when the omega appeared and started to annoy Jeno, while Mark stood next to him. 

“Where are the others?” The older one asked automatically, almost like he needed to have all of them located geographically. Jaemin glanced at him while holding a chuckle, he found the alpha cute. “Nevermind, I found them,” Mark added as soon as he spotted the duo in the photo booth. 

They had a few minutes of silence, just watching their friends playing at the basketball shots before Donghyuck ran up to them, dragging Mark by his arm while frowning. Both alphas raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You’ll see, Makku is excellent at this game!” he was smiling proudly, looking at Jeno. “He’ll beat your ass,” the omega stated while pushing gently the older one to the machine. 

“What?” Mark was a bit lost at the beginning, earning a deep sigh from his boyfriend, who started explaining the situation. 

Jaemin found the situation funny and decided to walk closer, leaning on Chenle’s shoulder, the omega was quiet looking at how they tried to beat his record. 

After the oldest alpha understood the assignment his omega asked of him, Donghyuck started the machine and the basketball balls were rolling down to Mark’s hands, the blonde-haired alpha didn’t think twice before starting to throw shots at the basket, now focusing on making points. 

“He won’t beat me,” Chenle confidently said, and the other omega stuck out his tongue. 

“He will!” 

“Hyuckie, don’t pressure me…” the alpha was getting nervous, because deep down Mark wanted to please his omega. 

Jeno kept quiet, sharp eyes watching his friend play, and when Mark scored higher than him, he sighed heavily. The older one did get a higher score, but he didn’t win over Chenle’s one, who remained unbeatable. The difference was 50 points, and that was enough to make Donghyuck smile. 

“Wow, Markie! You did good!” the omega quickly congratulated his boyfriend, and hugged him from behind. 

“I could have done better…” 

“Tell me, how does it feel to lose?” the younger omega asked with arrogance, making both alphas growl.

Jaemin chuckled again, and before he could say something, he saw his boyfriend returning to their group with Renjun. His cute baby walked to his side automatically and looked at the others a bit lost, but after Chenle told him what happened, Jisung looked at Mark with shining eyes. 

Something that made Jaemin feel weird. 

“You got 50 points away from Chenle!?” he squealed while smiling, then covered his mouth. And with an amazed expression, Jisung walked closer and patted Mark’s head. “That’s so cool, Hyung!” The alpha got shy after getting praised by another omega.

“I know, right? My alpha is the best,” that was Donghyuck speaking, nuzzling at the older one’s back. 

Jaemin looked at the scene from afar, his eyes getting darker and darker as he waited, but oh, Jisung didn’t say anything else; and that stung him. 

Usually, he wouldn’t take this kind of thing personally, and he truly isn’t jealous of Mark or getting possessive over Jisung, but his entire mind and body were restless while watching his boyfriend praise another alpha.

Jaemin found the uncontrollable need to impress his omega take over him, and soon he was starting the machine by himself with determined eyes. Hands ready and mind focused on one thing; showing Jisung that he was better than any other alpha. 

“Jaemin?” Jeno asked while raising an eyebrow, noticing his best friend’s acts.

“Huh, Jaemin, are you sure you want to be part of this?” Renjun asked, more focused on admiring the pictures he had just taken with Jisung. 

“That’s okay, he can try,” for Chenle it was just another alpha trying to impress some omega, and he was fully confident that Jaemin wouldn’t beat him.

Meanwhile, the couple noticed too, and soon Donghyuck was cheering for Jaemin to win over Jeno’s record. It seemed all he wanted was Jeno to be the last one on the ranking, and the alpha growled at the annoying omega.

On the other hand, Jisung was too stunned to speak. 

His alpha; his sweet, caring, and kind alpha was now looking so fierce while throwing the basketballs with so much preciseness that he could look like a professional player. The aura of his boyfriend was very competitive and that was an unexpected thing because Jaemin isn’t the one to act like this. 

Well, Jisung needed to admit that the older one looked very hot right now. 

“You can do it, Nana!” he cheered him up after realizing it was actually happening. 

Jaemin smirked while noticing his omega walking away from Mark, who continued to glance a bit surprised by his friend’s unexpected actions.

Basketball wasn’t his favorite sport, since he wasn’t a big fan of any sport, but right now he was using all the things he had learned from being friends with three basketball players, and more than anything, the lucky fortune to be taller than Mark and reach better the basket. When he finished, he felt his arms getting sore, but it was worth it when he saw his score; 10 points over Chenle’s. 

Everyone stayed quiet, processing that fact. Even Jaemin himself stood there, analyzing what just happened

“You beat me up,” the omega whispered, not believing what his eyes were looking at.

“He did,” Jeno added, glancing between Jaemin and Chenle, who were looking at each other with surprised faces. “And it was his first try…”

“Well, this is a plot twist,” Renjun said after a few seconds of silence, he then clapped his hands over Chenle’s face. “Wake up already, it wasn’t impossible after all.”

Jisung squealed loudly, then did little jumps around his alpha before hugging him tightly. 

He didn’t mind his boyfriend being indifferent to winning or losing, since the omega himself didn’t mind either; but he could feel that this time it was different. Somehow, deep down, Jisung knew that his alpha needed to win and that made the omega get excited too. 

“Oh my God! Nana, you won!” he said, totally happy about that fact. 

“I won, Jissungie!” the alpha hugged him too, and smiled big. 

Getting praised by his omega was making him feel a thousand times happier than actually winning over Chenle’s score. Maybe it was something primitive, but it made him feel accomplished, and Jaemin was pleased with that. 

Jisung had to deal with a happy and proud Jaemin the rest of the night, who didn’t exactly act competitively over every game they play, but he did try to impress his omega anytime. Their friends soon started to annoy him, mostly Donghyuck, but the alpha didn’t mind and controlled without much effort the annoying omega. 

“Okay, I’m getting tired of this weird version of Jaemin, he’s beating me at every game!” the tanned boy nagged while walking ahead of the group, his eyes sending killing stares at the alpha who only winked at him. 

“You’re taking it too personally,” Renjun said as he drank his soda, immediately offering it to Mark. The blonde-haired alpha smiled while drinking too. 

Jisung chuckled while watching a nagging Donghyuck complaining to his alpha, and Mark seemed tired of it, but the older alpha still comforted his boyfriend. He then stared at Jeno and Chenle, both behind their group chewing some candies they bought, not minding the fuss Donghyuck was making. When he looked at Jaemin, he smiled sweetly and felt his hand warm, his eyes went down to appreciate their holding hands, and it made him very happy. 

“Oh, what about the dancing machine?” Chenle suddenly asked, pointing to the big machine placed right by their side, the neon lights and dubstep music inviting them to play. “We could play against each other.”

“To be honest, I’m tired, I say we should get dinner already,” Jeno commented quickly, not letting Donghyuck speak because he knew the omega would play only to win over Jaemin. 

“Tired?” Chenle asked, evil eyes shining while looking at the black-haired alpha. “Of what? Losing?” the omega stepped back after getting a growl from Jeno, and then smiled in surrender. “Okay, okay, let’s get dinner,” he said cutely, trying to calm Jeno down.

Meanwhile, Donghyuck’s eyes lighten up and smiled widely. 

“Yes, a couple against a couple!” he held Mark’s hand and put it up, seeming overly excited about his idea. 

“This is getting interesting, I wanna be the judge,” Renjun commented while sitting down near the machine, ready for the dancing show.

Jisung blinked once, then twice. He loved to dance, it was his hobby and passion since he was a kid, but those machines needed more coordination and focus than truly dancing skills, and if Jaemin was there to watch him… Maybe he couldn’t focus well. 

“Let’s do it,” the golden brown-haired alpha patted his back, smiling sweetly and calming down his omega with pheromones. “It’ll be fun!”

Jisung could only smile, feeling confident now. 

Since Donghyuck had been obsessed with winning over Jaemin for a few hours, he suggested they could try alpha against omega, so it will be Mark vs Jisung and Jaemin vs Donghyuck. At first, Mark refused.

“I don’t think it’s okay,” he crossed his arms. Renjun rolled his eyes, and with a cocky face walked near them. 

“Jisung, who do you think would win? You or Mark?” the beta knew what he was doing, and with an evil smile waited for his friend’s answer.

“Me, obviously,” the omega said confidently, not truly meaning any harm, but those words were enough to turn on a primitive instinct inside Mark. 

Donghyuck raised both of his eyebrows and Jaemin smiled proudly. 

“Okay, let’s go then,” the alpha said, jumping first into the machine, ready to play. 

As soon as Jisung ended up emptying his pockets, he joined the alpha. The machine had two difficulties, and they chose to play the hard one because according to Donghyuck it would be funnier. Soon, the music started and both moved their feet quickly to press the right buttons; Jisung couldn’t help but giggle while hearing Mark’s heavy breathing. 

The alpha was so serious that he could only look at the screen, and hear how Donghyuck yelled and cheer him up. Jisung even took the audacity to look at Jaemin, and when he saw him there, standing with a relaxed posture, leaning on the machine and fondly looking at him… Oh, his tummy felt butterflies.

Then before Jisung knew the game was over. He glanced at Mark and the alpha was grabbing his chest, panting a little while looking at the screen. Renjun came closer with a noisy Chenle behind him, Jeno was the one who stayed sat. 

“Told you I was better,” Jisung dared to say with a smug smile after watching the scores; he won over by 500 points. 

Mark sighed and then smiled, chuckling while accepting his defeat. Donghyuck was now pouting and making another scene, and the alpha stepped down to go and calm him down.

Jaemin pulled closer his omega by the waist and kissed his cheek while placing his head over his shoulder and back hugging him. 

“You are awesome,” the alpha whispered, making Jisung blush and get shy. 

“Well, I had an advantage…”

“You’re still awesome,” Jaemin insisted and tighten his grip as if saying to not discuss it. 

There’s no need to say that Donghyuck ended up losing too, but he sure made a good show with his charismatic personality and funny jokes. The group ended up having a good time and Mark made sure that his omega had it too, Donghyuck admitted it was one of the best days he had this month. 

They went to buy prices with their tickets, and Jisung found a cute white bunny plushie perfect for his alpha, while Jaemin bought his omega a snuggly hamster plushie. Both smiled and hugged their prices, finding happiness at the thought they bought one for each other. For sure, those plushies would become a meaningful gift in their memories.

“I want the bear!” Donghyuck nagged, while Mark had a funny face on his face; the alpha didn’t have enough tickets for it. 

“Can I have the dolphin?” Chenle asked the girl, who explained that he didn’t have enough tickets for it. It was an expensive plushie.

“I’ll put the rest, buy it,” Jeno walked closer, and he quickly gave all the tickets to the girl, not letting the omega refuse. 

Jaemin smirked. 

In the end, they all got one plushie, even Donghyuck who received a generous donation from Jisung and could buy his bear plushie. And then there was Renjun who instead of a plushie bought a frame for their photos, he was all excited about arriving home and put it on his desk. 

After having dinner, they said goodbye to each other and divided themselves into groups again.

Jisung got a thumbs up from their friends and he just dismissed them with an embarrassed face. On the other hand, Jaemin got a strong smack on his chest from Jeno, who received a kick in his ass from the other alpha. Both laughed at each other after it.

Renjun took the duo home. And the four boys stayed for a few minutes talking, just enjoying the cool breeze of the starry night. 

Jisung kept smiling while looking at the sky, suddenly realizing he felt so happy at this right moment, and he didn’t want it to end. The thought of going home, having school tomorrow, and not seeing Jaemin was poisoning his happiness, suddenly making him sigh. He wished all days could be like this.

But he had to go to school, and do his homework and Jaemin couldn’t be with him all day long; the older one was still searching for a job and had his own life. And Jisung knew it, but how could he not miss his alpha?

Jaemin seemed to notice the sudden gloomy mood his cute baby had, and he immediately grabbed him by his waist and raised him from the ground with a funny face. 

“Nana!?” the omega screamed and his hands automatically went to the older’s ones.

“You can’t be moppy!” Jaemin said out loud, earning the attention of the other couple. “I’m right here for you!” 

Jisung smiled full of joy at the attention his alpha was giving him. So he pushed all his worries into the trash, enjoying the present. 

Yeah, he couldn’t stick to Jaemin all day long, but he was sure that the alpha would make sure to remember Jisung that he was always there for him. 

The omega felt his heart beating faster and his hands trembling; he was so in love. 

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🎮

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“I stand in the center and unfold everything. In an instant, it's game over” 

— NCT DREAM, Arcade.