Work Text:
A Yeosang in heat is a very clingy Yeosang, Yunho has found, though it’s mostly on his own terms.
Even normally, Yeosang is someone who only likes skinship to a certain degree; nothing more, nothing less. This is only exacerbated by his heat, when he too much or too little of something can get him worked up into a dizzy spiral.
Yunho’s learnt how to roll with it, how to make sure that everything is perfect the week of Yeosang’s pre-heat, leading up to his actual heat.
Yunho has a plan. The apartment is barricaded, the living room is cleared out to make space, and every other pack member is barred entry until and unless Yeosang says otherwise.
He stockpiles on snacks, health drinks with lots of electrolytes, comfort food that he knows Yeosang enjoys (yangnyeom chicken, amongst other things).
He acquires various articles of clothing from their other packmates, raids San’s veritable mountain (hah!) of plushies, and procures some of Hongjoong’s favourite hoodies so that, when Yeosang decides it’s time for him to start nesting, he has a large selection of items to choose from.
It’s not like the responsibility really falls upon him — he simply took it upon himself. They live together, after all; and Yunho is a good alpha. The very best, even. A good alpha and a good mate, if only he could get Yeosang to see it that way.
Unfortunately, he remains oblivious.
This is both, for Yunho, a blessing and a curse; because Yeosang never notices the longing gazes cast his way, and takes every act of courting Yunho does for him as typical friendship, but he is so sweet about it anyways.
Yunho can’t help but want to take care of him.
They have a group calendar, where they schedule their heats (for the omegas), ruts (for the alphas), and decompression days (for the betas), so the company doesn’t get blindsided. It helps that their cycles have started to sync up and they can manoeuvre schedules around the dates with overlap.
Yeosang’s heat coincides with Wooyoung’s rut, the same way Mingi’s decompression days coincide with Yunho’s rut.
So 2 days after Wooyoung’s rut ends, Yunho is ready.
The very first sign that Yeosang’s heat is approaching is the smell. His soft, light, salted vanilla and peach scent starts to gain a heaviness to it that hangs in the air. It clings, not overwhelming but more obtrusive than normal.
Then he starts to get antsy. He can’t stop the spikes of anxiety that occur, and only settles when surrounded by the familiar scents of his pack members.
It comes to a head at dinner, when Yeosang slumps into Jongho, face flushed with heat, and the scent of burning caramel becomes overpowering. Jongho’s ears are bright red, though he doesn’t move.
Before anyone can say anything, Yunho is already bundling Yeosang up in his sweater and scooping him up bridal-style. Too used to this turn of events, no one even bats an eye — apart from Seonghwa, who says he’ll call it in to the manager hyungs so they can give Yeosang and Yunho time off.
Yeosang, dizzy with heat-sickness, lolls his head against Yunho’s collarbone, nosing against his scent gland. Yunho’s pulse picks up.
It’s not a long trip to their apartment, but Yunho sure is glad he does all his heat-prep a few days in advance, because it means everything is ready for Yeosang, whom Yunho deposits in his bed, because Yeosang likes cuddling with Pudeongie.
He dotes on the plushie, tucking it close to his chest, gently rubbing his scent all over it, like one would do with a pup. It leads Yunho down a rabbit hole of fantasies and dreams that he can’t really afford to entertain at the moment: like what Yeosang would look like with pups of his own, soft and delicate and gentle, absent-minded at times but never passing up the chance to coo over them.
His eyes are half-lidded and he makes a noise of discontent as Yunho strips him out of his jeans and t-shirt with a clinical efficiency, knowing how scratchy fabrics only exacerbate Yeosang’s anxiety during heats.
Yunho fishes out a (spider-man) hoodie of his own from the closet, not bothering with pants since most of his clothes fall to mid-thigh on Yeosang. He’s careful to rub all clothing against his own scent glands, so that his peppermint and dewy grass scent are heavily prominent, before he pulls it over Yeosang’s head.
Yeosang sighs, delicately, curling in on himself, Pudeongie held in his lax grip. Yunho carefully tucks him under the covers, then takes a moment to pull the hood over his head. Fluffy strands of brown hair fall into his eyes.
Yunho hopes the fondness in his gaze doesn’t translate into his scent. It doesn’t stop him from pressing a gentle kiss to Yeosang’s forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
Once outside, he starts gathering necessities. Electrolyte-heavy drinks, snacks that boost energy so the sugar cravings lessen, heat packs, cold packs, all of those are stacked onto the kitchen counter for easy access, so Yunho can grab-and-go the second Yeosang needs him.
It’s still early, so he changes into sweatpants and settles on the couch to game for a bit. A hour passes with just mindless TV, feet tucked beneath him.
The clock ticks on, up until 9PM, and Yunho is just about wondering if he should check up on Yeosang when the omega comes trudging out of the room, clutching Pudeongie in a vice grip. Yunho straightens up, turning the volume down and tucking his console away. “Yeosangie? Did you need anything —?”
Yeosang says nothing, just stumbles over to the couch, swaying slightly. This drunken behaviour freaked the fuck out of Yunho the first time he saw it, but now he knows it’s just the heat-sickness messing with Yeosang’s omega hindbrain.
He all but collapses on top of Yunho, face buried into the junction where neck meets shoulder. Yunho freezes, because Yeosang initiating skinship is a little like having a cat fall asleep on you — a rare event. He tries not to move, even though Yeosang’s chin is digging into his shoulder. “Tell me what you need?”
Pudeongie, long since abandoned in favour of a better cuddle buddy, rolls onto the floor, where she stares up at Yunho sadly.
Yeosang makes a muffled sound.
“Baby, you’ll have to speak up,” Yunho is gentle about it, carding his fingers through Yeosang’s hair. “I can’t hear you.”
The omega tugs at the fabric of Yunho’s shirt with more than a little vitriol. “Off. Take it off.”
One thing Yunho has learnt is that, if Yeosang is vocal in his demands, it doesn’t matter what he’s asking for — you’ll suck it up and give it to him. The alpha doesn’t hesitate to sit up, jostling Yeosang slightly, who whines in displeasure, as he pulls his shirt up over his head. “Sorry, sorry, baby, just a second.”
His shirt is discarded carelessly onto the floor next to Pudeongie, who Yunho sends a mental apology to. He doesn’t have much time to think about anything else, because Yeosang is now tugging at the fabric of his sweatpants.
“Off.” His pout is devastating and Yunho cannot deny him anything. His sweatpants are yanked off as fast as they can without dislodging the omega in his lap. As soon as the clothing barrier is gone, leaving Yunho in nothing but his boxers, Yeosang lets out a low, rumbling purr, straddling Yunho, the soft skin of his muscled thighs pressing down.
Yunho’s heart skips a beat.
Something else perks up in interest, but he wills his hard-on down because he’s heard that heats are comparable to periods in a way, and if he so much as suggested that he might want to have sex with a heat-sick omega — and Yeosang, at that — he would possibly lose the aforementioned organ.
Wooyoung does not play about Yeosang.
He satisfies himself with wrapping tentative arms around Yeosang in something that can be loosely classified as a hug.
Yeosang’s skin is hot to the touch, approaching feverish levels of burning, but, then again, they are called heats for a reason. Though the sweat clings, Yunho does nothing but turn up the AC, grateful that he had the foresight to keep it close by.
Minimal as it is, the contact seems to settle Yeosang, who snuggles deeper into Yunho’s hold, mumbling dazed rambles to himself. Yunho reaches up and begins to gently stroke his hair, pausing to see if he gets shaken off.
The omega does nothing but sigh happily, practically melting. He cranes his head upwards, until his nose brushes against Yunho’s scent gland.
Yunho stiffens.
Yeosang rubs his cheek against the gland, shrouding himself in Yunho’s slightly spicy scent. This happens a lot, Yunho’s found — Yeosang letting himself be claimed, and then claiming in turn. He never remembers after his heats are over, because they take a lot out of him, and Yunho would never push.
That’s not to say his members wish he would. It’s gotten to the point that they’ve given up on searching for another heat partner for Yeosang, knowing Yunho well enough to estimate that he’ll be taking on that role for the foreseeable future.
As the only other alpha in their group, Wooyoung does manage to extort some time to himself — he prefers that Yeosang is the one helping him through his ruts, and there are certain occasions when Wooyoung is, actually, the better choice for Yeosang when his heat-sickness is at its very worst.
He just hopes that, someday, he’ll be brave enough to take that one step off the metaphorical diving board and confess the depth of his feelings to Yeosang.
For now, Yunho has a lapful of sleepy, pliant, sweet-smelling Yeosang, and he’ll content himself with that fact until the next time these emotions come spilling out of him, like a bandaid over a stab wound.