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Jo finds Harua rather… cute.
Which some might say is unbefitting of an alpha, but Harua knows it is in his birthright to be called cute and who is Jo to deny him that? Even when they were still in the earliest stages of their relationship, red eared and cheeks sore from the smiling and the giggling, Harua insisted that he loved being called cute.
He’s even got the habits to accompany the affection. From his chewing large bites of food at a time to his bunny stamps in frustration or anger, or even the cute way his voice changes when he’s particularly flustered or lying to Jo.
So today, in the height of the holiday season and just before their big fifth year anniversary, Harua’s waking Jo up rather early. Jo’s pinned to the bed, Harua’s thighs straddling his stomach and eyes bright and full of mischief. He’s got something planned, and he’s got Jo trapped because it’s something he might object to.
“Good morning,” Jo mumbles, wiping sleep from his eyes.
He could easily flip this over and pin the alpha to the bed, leave him breathless and bewildered as Jo makes his escape into the kitchen for something to wake him up. Instead he lets Harua have his way, amused by the way Harua’s face turns all pink and he squirms a little in his seating position. “Don’t ‘good morning’ me with that tone,” Harua whines.
He means Jo’s morning voice. A tad deeper, a lot scratchier than his normal speaking. Harua’s often complimented him, gushing over the way it makes him half-hard and unable to think clearly in the morning. The alpha shakes his head, muttering something about how unfair it is to him before continuing, “I want to go shopping today.”
Jo blinks.
What’s the big deal about shopping? “Okay,” he says. “We can go shopping.”
“No no, Jo-kun. Shopping.” As if emphasizing it would mean anything significant to Jo at this hour in the day.
He has to really think hard about it. What could possibly be shopping to the alpha without the most obvious answers? Harua’s just staring at him fondly, wriggling a little bit where he sits. Which Jo considers to be unfairly hot distraction and he groans before he can stop himself. Then it hits Jo right in the stomach.
“Oh,” Jo mutters. “Shopping.”
Shopping means going to the coven and being prodded by Harua’s witchy friends until something new is discovered. It’s easily Jo’s least favorite of Harua’s shopping trips, usually because it ends up with Jo getting some kind of witch-flu from whatever concoction Nicholas brews for him to try specifically. The last one tasted like apricot and made him bedridden for three days. Apparently it meant an allergic reaction to the spell Nicholas used.
Whatever that meant.
Jo’s learned to never ask them questions and instead trusting them. Which to be fair has never worked in his favor, either. “Awe, my little beta is finally learning,” Harua coos, leaning forward to press the world’s wettest kiss on Jo’s lips before pulling back. “We leave in an hour. Better be ready to go in thirty.”
Harua says it like a joke, but Jo knows he’s serious.
With sleep heavy limbs, Jo finally crawls out of bed and mentally prepares for the day ahead.
Jo is a little less than prepared for the abundant smell of omega walking into Nicholas’ shop. He shares the living space with his Familiar, Euijoo, and an alpha couple. Jo’s sense of smell isn’t the best given he’s lacking the nerve that strengthens sense of smell for omegas or alphas and some betas, but whenever Nicholas is close to his heat cycle his scent is very potent. Jo waves his head around his face to dispel some of the strength of the orangish-citrus scent. Nicholas is casually sitting in the recliner he has situated by his growing collection of what can only be described as morally questionable and banned magic books. Jo still has no idea how he manages to keep them around.
Euijoo rounds the corner, fluffy golden tail tagging behind him. It’s strange to see him in this form, even after five years of knowing them. Jo thinks it’s because Euijoo’s reserved about revealing his half-human appearance to people. “Ah, yes,” Euijoo mumbles. “Harua did say he would be bringing you today.”
It’s almost like Euijoo’s finally coming around to Jo’s presence.
Nicholas looks up and smiles. “There you are, my alpha!” He beams, rushing over to grab him in a tight hug.
It used to make Jo jealous. To hear someone else call Harua their alpha, but he’s come to learn that Nicholas loves Harua because they’ve been through some pretty rough things together and not romantically. “Gosh, Nichol, you smell like an orange tree farm,” Harua teases, smiling widely.
Nicholas glares at him. There’s absolutely no malice in a glare like Nicholas’. At least not once you get to know him. “I’ve prepared the spell you wanted,” Nicholas says with a weird tone of voice.
Jo walks over to join them, resting against the wooden counter. He looks at Harua suspiciously, but the alpha maintains a neutral, almost annoying expression glued to his face. He supposes he’ll have to learn the hard way just what the pair mean. “This will be so fun.”
Euijoo huffs, turning his back to them to find something off Nicholas’ shelf of trinkets. “Can I ask what’s happening?” Jo asks cautiously.
Harua’s mind is worth a research paper. Jo almost never knows what he’ll do next, or how he’ll respond to mundane questions. Sometimes he’ll switch up his plans in the middle of the drive and Jo will have to make a turn down a sketchy alleyway to go the other direction.
Harua shrugs. “It’s a gift for you,” he says simply.
Ah right. A gift. That needs a magical spell from Harua’s witchy best friend. It makes perfectly no sense.
Nicholas glances at him with sharp eyes, expression softening when he realizes Jo’s anxiety. It’s hard to tell with Nicholas just how he’s feeling, but Jo gets the feeling he’s more sympathetic now than anything. “It’s harmless and it won’t take but a second for me to finish,” Nicholas says reassuringly.
Euijoo returns with a vial in hand and a soft smile. “You know, this is an incredibly cliche gift to give someone, Harua,” Euijoo teases. “When did our little Rua get so romantic?”
Harua scoffs and bounces on his feet a few steps. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Oh, we’re embarrassing him in front of his mate,” Nicholas laughs. “This is cute.”
Jo can feel the heat burning in his ears but he’s too curious to look away. The pair have known Harua longer than Jo has known him and know more about him. Harua’s always been a little closed off, save for the occasional drops of backstory Jo gets in their delirious late nights or when Harua’s feeling particularly emotional. Just small things, though. Grew up in a house with one witch-parent but never manifested his own abilities, been an honorary member of the coven Nicholas started for nearly a decade now. Surely they know more about Harua’s past relationships or his own worries about dating Jo before things became more serious.
Nicholas is still teasing Harua when Jo slips back into reality. Euijoo is working on some kind of drink—a potion Jo should say. “So, how about it?” Nicholas asks Jo.
“Huh?”
Harua snorts, leaning over to bump his head into Jo’s arm. Harua calls it affection. “He asked if you wanted to participate in the spell.”
“What is it?”
Nicholas licks his lips. “It’s basically a spell that takes your scent and infuses it with this potion Euijoo has, and then it will be used to make whatever you want.”
“I suggested a candle,” Harua adds. “One of their everlasting ones. We’d never run out.”
“My… scent?” Jo’s never thought about it. He can’t really smell anyone’s scent, much less his own. He barely catches hints of Harua’s, even during hit ruts. Nicholas is just overwhelmingly sweet when it’s close to his heat cycles that anyone could smell it. “Why?”
Harua smiles. “Because you’ve never smelled yourself before.”
Harua says it so sweetly. How could Jo resist? Harua’s right, too. Jo’s never smelled himself, even when scenting Harua. His scent is already muted being a beta, but his alpha is tempting him. “Sure.”
Euijoo’s tail wags excitedly. It’s like he’s been secretly waiting for this day. “Perfect,” he says. “So, to extract some of your scent I’ll need um… your wrist. The scent gland there is least invasive.”
“What will you have to do?”
“Oh it’s not that bad. Just a simple extraction spell… It’ll only tickle a little bit but your fingers might um… go numb for a moment.”
Euijoo, despite his words, sounds extremely confident in his spell. Like he’s definitely done it before and Jo should have nothing to worry about. Harua wouldn’t bring him here if anything were to be dangerous so Jo lifts his hand to Euijoo. He thumbs over Jo’s scent gland, humming. “You humans are so interesting,” Euijoo mumbles.
“Aren’t we like, modeled after you?” Harua asks in earnest.
Jo snorts. He must mean the whole secondary gender thing. Euijoo stares flatly over Jo’s shoulder. “Not funny, Harua.”
“It was a genuine question!”
Euijoo ignores him, lifting his hand slightly over Jo’s wrist. “Okay, I’m starting the spell.”
Jo braces himself, but it ends up being mostly unnecessary. The spell doesn’t hurt, and he hardly feels a thing except for his pinky finger going numb just briefly. It feels surprisingly warm. After a few moments, Euijoo grabs a vial and moves his hand. A strange, almost green liquid pours out of thin air. “Is that…?”
“It’s your scent.”
“So, if I can’t smell it normally, how does this spell…?”
“We’ll turn it into a normal scent,” Nicholas answers. “Like whenever you smell food.”
“Or laundry.”
Harua giggles. “No wonder it’s green.”
Jo turns to him. “Why?”
“Pine, baby. Your scent is pine-rich. There’s something kind of… sweet in it too? Like um…” Harua trails off to think about what he wants to say. Jo can’t imagine sweet. Not for himself, that is. Harua’s is sweet, from what faint glimpses of it Jo can capture. Something cherry-like, something warm and heavy. “Anyways. You’ll smell it later.”
Jo has always loved seeing magic in action. Harua’s called his fascination almost childlike. But something about the way Euijoo and Nicholas work together so well, especially now. Euijoo brings the vial over to Nicholas’ work station, and while neither of them speak they work around each other beautifully. He supposes that’s what a witch and familiar bond should look like. After a few minutes and the spell or whatever is on Nicholas’ work table turns a vibrant purple, they bring something back to the counter. “Okay. You said you wanted a candle?” Nicholas asks.
Jo hums.
A candle does sound nice. “Happy anniversary, Jo-kun,” Harua whispers.
“A candle works,” Jo chokes out.
Nicholas smiles. “We’ll let Kei know and it should be ready in two days.”
“Perfect! You guys are the best.”
Jo can’t stop thinking about it.
About the candle, about the fact that he has nothing to one up Harua’s gift to him. It’s not like he has to give him anything, Harua’s said it many times that a gift does not need to be reciprocated. Still, Jo feels bad. Until he doesn’t. Until he thinks a little too hard about what that candle would smell like, how Harua might suggest they use it and how Jo can’t stop thinking about smelling himself for once.
It sounds so weird. So complicated and so awkward. He hasn’t told Harua about his thoughts, unsure of how to convey them without sounding like some kind of self-obsessed maniac. The waiting days between the scent extraction and Kei’s candle making skills are long and exhausting. He catches himself staring at the clock waiting for it to magically turn into the next day.
Harua sits next to him on the couch, totally focused on rambling about the show they’re watching together. Jo isn’t listening, but it’s not like he’s choosing not to. He just can’t seem to think about anything but the gift. “Jo-kun? Are you okay?” Harua asks.
He presses his palm deep into Jo’s thigh, tearing his gaze away from the turned off television to Harua. He’s looking at him with nothing but fake innocence and a sweet smile. “I’m fine,” Jo squeaks out. It sounds like a total lie.
“Fine? You’re sitting here half-hard and I only just walked into the room.”
Jo’s face is burning. Harua’s too good at prying information out of him with so little effort. “Um. I’m thinking.”
“Thinking? About what?” Harua’s hand not-so-subtly trails up Jo’s inner thigh.
“The candle,” Jo says quickly. “I’m excited to smell it.”
Harua laughs, effectively killing whatever mood had been building up between the two. Jo swears he might explode from embarrassment or shame or even both. “I promise I’m not laughing at you,” Harua says between a fit of giggles. He breathes out heavily in attempt to stop himself. “It’s just… are you that excited to smell yourself?”
Jo nods. “It’s weird, I know.”
Harua’s face softens into an open-mouth smile. He’s no longer laughing, just taking in Jo’s latest obsession. Then he leans forward and presses a kiss to Jo’s lips. Not long enough for Jo to kiss back, but a brief moment of communication. Reassurance. “It’s not weird at all,” Harua breathes out. “Nothing’s weird about you, Jo-kun.”
Jo doesn’t feel great when he wakes up.
His body is stiff, his head is so full that moving it even an inch makes him lightheaded. Harua’s not in bed with him, but his spot is still warm when Jo runs his fingers over the sheets. This is what happens every time he visits Nicholas and the coven. Any time they run a new spell on him he gets sick.
He thinks Euijoo said once that it’s just an allergy to magic. Strange but it happens. Harmless to people without magic, but can be deadly for anyone with magic running through them. He groans, burying his head into the pillow to hopefully stop the dizziness. Jo hears Harua enter the room again, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. “Sick?”
“As always,” Jo mutters.
Harua hums, kissing Jo’s neck. “I’ll be back, then.”
Jo doesn’t know when Harua leaves, or when he returns. He’s in and out of sleep for what feels like ages, refusing to move more than just a few inches at a time to avoid the world spinning faster than it should be. He feels warm. His clothes are sticking to him. There’s something crawling under his skin that burns and itches but Jo can’t do more than just groan at the sensation.
It’s worse than the last flu magic gave him.
Jo whines.
“Shh, I’m here,” Harua says.
When Jo opens his eyes he’s setting something down on the nightstand and bringing a bag over. “Nicholas gave me something that should help with the fever and the dizziness.”
“More magic?” Jo groans.
“No, actual medicine.”
Considering it’s Nicholas giving him this, Jo has to assume it’ll actually fix his symptoms. With Harua’s help he sits up, drinks the vial of medicine and breathes out softly. “I’m so sorry,” Harua says softly. “I didn’t mean for you to get sick.”
Jo shakes his head. “It always happens, right?”
Harua pouts. “Still. I could’ve picked out some other gift. I was just—”
Jo grabs Harua weakly by his face, bringing their foreheads together. Harua squeaks, grabbing onto Jo’s wrists. “It’s a lovely gift, Rua. Thank you for the gift.”
“You’re sick…” Harua mumbles.
Jo knows he can’t kiss Harua right now. Even if Harua’s magic never manifested, Jo knows better than to take that risk. So he pokes his nose with one finger, smiling when Harua jumps. “I am. But that doesn’t change the fact that I love the gift. I’m excited to finally know what I smell like.”
Harua giggles.
Maybe that is a weird thing to say.
Harua kisses Jo awake the day his fever breaks. Jo doesn’t know what’s happening first, until the kisses get slower and more sensitive. He groans at the feeling, grabbing Harua by his shoulders and pushing him back. “Someone’s energetic this morning,” Jo mumbles.
“You’re not sick,” Harua says back.
He’s right.
The fever is gone, the itchiness is nothing but a small buzz in his skin, and his world isn’t spinning. He isn’t seeing two of his mate, he isn’t ready to keel over and let sleep take him once again. Harua smiles softly. “Didn’t you want to use your gift?”
Jo hums, pressing another kiss to Harua’s lips. The alpha is amused, giggling into the kisses. “You’re being awfully sweet this morning,” Harua mumbles.
“How should we use it?”
Harua hums, leaning back a little. “I think… we should be lazy today. Light a candle, watch a few shitty movies.”
Jo hums.
Best way to spend the day celebrating their relationship. They have lazy days far more often than they have days separated from morning until evening. Jo’s job allows him the flexibility to write up his own schedule, and Harua’s a freelancer that works mostly with the coven.
Jo thinks it’s perfect.
Harua prepares the blankets and the living room with a spare mattress for maximum comfort while Jo makes a few snacks. He’s not allowed to cook just yet, Harua still worries he’ll burn down the apartment doing anything too complex. But he’s learning and Harua lets him do some things. Jo returns with his preparations—just simple snacks and some leftover rice.
His alpha hands him the lighter and the candle, smiling. “You should be the one to light it.”
Suddenly Jo’s nervous. He has no idea what to expect. Will it be overwhelming? Will Harua secretly hate having the scent linger more potently in the air? Is Jo gonna hate it? Does— “Stop thinking, Jo-kun. It’ll be fine.”
He lights the candle with shaky hands.
At first, nothing changes. There’s a lit, slightly wavering flame inside the glass container Kei poured the candle into. There’s no scent other than the slight burning smell of the wick. Harua hooks his chin on Jo’s shoulder, watching the flame with him.
Then the air changes.
The candle gets warmer, the scent of it gets warmer. Jo breathes in as much of it as he can but he almost knocks the flame out when he breathes out. Still, he smells it. That pine-forward, slightly sweet scent that Harua had been talking about. Jo can’t pinpoint the sweetness. Maybe mint? Is mint even sweet? “This is what you smell?” Jo whispers.
He too scared to extinguish the flame and have to start over again. Harua hums, nosing Jo’s neck. “Yes, it is.”
Jo’s overwhelmed in a good way. He’s warm and fuzzy and his scent is engulfing the both of them, overtaking the smell of the snacks on the table in front of them. It tangles in to the slight cherry scent he picks up from Harua sitting so close to him. He hums, body swaying in the fragrance. Harua giggles. “Are you going to get scent-drunk off your own scent?” He asks.
It should sound teasing, maybe even degrading. But Harua’s tone gives it away. He’s endeared by it. Happy and excited that Jo could truly be affected this much. Even Jo hadn’t expected it. “It’s so… good.”
“It is. It drives me crazy when I’m in rut,” Harua says. “Makes me want to do nothing more than take you apart little by little.”
Jo shivers.
“We should make a candle of my scent, too. So you can have it if you miss me and I’m not around,” Harua continues. Jo groans.
“You’re crazy.”
Harua smiles, eyes half-lidded. “Could we light it next time we…?” Harua’s hand slips downward to make a point. “I think it’d be fun.”
Jo groans at the thought. If he’s this affected just from a few minutes of his scent in the air, how overwhelming would it be when he’s buried inside Harua? He shakes his head aggressively, setting the candle on the table. “Don’t think about that right now,” Jo mumbles. “Let’s just focus on celebrating.”
“That would be a celebrating.”
Harua makes a great point.