Chapter Text
To this day, Taki isn't so sure how he's become part of such a large pack. He's been with Koga since he was in middle school, but it's a blur of exactly when everyone else came into the picture.
It started with just Koga (or "Kei" like he's been telling people since high school) and him. Kei was his older neighbor and Taki's parents often had to leave early in the day and left Taki and his sister into the late nights. It only made sense they chose Koga; he was 8 years older than Taki.
And then he started to linger even after that. He was there for Taki's not only late, but lackluster presentation as a beta on his 16th birthday. Then every birthday after that. While Kei was at college, he ended up meeting Fuma on the track team.
While Taki was wrapping up middle school Harua became his best friend after sitting next to him the entire school year. Harua's other friends Jo and Yuma had graduated the year before them and were already waiting for them in high school. Naturally, while those two were there, they became friends with Eujoo and Nicholas.
By 10th grade their pack was already so crowded, but one more person managed to squeeze in before the end. That was Maki—he had been going to school in Germany before he came back to Japan in 11th grade. Apparently, he was super smart. He should have been in the 10th grade but was able to jump right into 11th without a struggle.
At first, Taki thought it was a waste to only do 2 years in high school, but he was the one who became attached the fastest. For the rest of high school, he, Harua, and Maki were the trio. Always helping each other with work and clinging to one another far more than necessary.
By the time they all graduated (with the other 6 in attendance that day), it slowly became less frequent for the three of them to be so clingy. But none of them minded. Really, it made sense—Harua and Yuma were courting poor Jo so fiercely and Harua wasn't just going to go around doing puppy piles without thinking anymore.
Taki's a rare case of beta. He can detect all of their scents by now and he could see where Harua was coming from. Going to court two people whose scents are matcha and blackcurrant while smelling like tea and cedarwood was a bad look.
Thus started the regular hangouts between he and Maki. While in the middle of their breaks between classes, Taki learned a lot from Maki. He wasn't so good at English before, but with Maki (and Nicholas) always having conversations in English and Taki often feeling left out, he decided to learn.
Their lessons usually involved loitering in the café that Kei works in. He wasn't allowed to spot them each a drink anymore, but the two youngest were more than used to sharing drinks and food by now. They shared a large iced americano and were supposed to leave almost 20 minutes ago.
Clearly, they shouldn't have underestimated a lunch rush because the only rush Taki feels is cold water soaking his shirt. "Well, shit." That was something he knew how to say in English for sure. Then he smelt it–the worry on Koga and Maki.
Bolting out of his seat before either of them could say anything and the waiter responsible could apologize again, he flails his arms around. "Everyone, I'm fine!" He's mainly talking to the two worried alphas. Perhaps Maki the most. His worry went to irritation rather fast.
When Maki bolts up too, Taki's hands bolt to Maki's. "Hey, hey! It's just water! It could have been worse!" Taki quickly lifts his wrist to Maki's nose as a quick solution. This is what betas were for, right? They're supposed to calm down their pack and step in. He's just doing his job.
When Maki calms down again, he nods along. Taki was right. At least it was water when it could have been hot coffee. Now that he would have been pissed about. But what matters is that Taki is fine and he gets that wet shirt off.
He didn't expect even himself to get so worked up over the smallest accident, but he did. Maki's never rid himself of a hoodie faster, unzipping it at lightning speed. "Go put this on. You'll get sick." And since Taki wasn't much of an arguer and could already feel the chill down his spine, he hurried his ass into the café bathroom.
Once he was changed into Maki's hoodie, he slings the wet shirt over his shoulder. After one spill, he's finally listening to Kei and is quick to part with this café. Not without waving on the way out, out course.
It didn't take long to get to the dorms. All 9 of them were in the same building, but they were all separated. When they all first moved in, they tried to split their groups up as logically as possible. Koga and Taki were roommates because they were the only alphas unmated. If either went into rut, they would know how to assist one another.
Jo, Harua, and Yuma were successfully dating after almost an entire year of them all courting another so naturally, they all ended up in the same place. Euijoo and Nicholas.. they were playing some sort of long game that nobody wanted to get in the middle of. And then just the two betas, Taki and Fuma in one housing.
Even though Maki's dorm was two floors above him, he still walked Taki to his dorm. When Taki finally unlocked the door, cutting their aimless chatter short. Just when he's about to turn in for the next few hours (possibly the rest of the day), he remembers that he's wearing Maki's hoodie.
"Oh! Wait," Taki laughs at his own mistake, handing his drying shirt to Maki so he can take the hoodie off. Because he was a beta, Taki often got careless. He thought that being a beta suddenly made him undesirable to the masses. This was surely one of those times.
Taki unzips the hoodie, flashing Maki the sudden sight of bare skin. The second that Maki sees a nipple, he's zipping the hoodie right back up. "Hell no." Maki looks at him like he's crazy, but Taki is just confused. "Just keep it bro."
Taki doesn't think he's ever seen anyone leave faster than Fuma. He shrugs it off. He'll get it back to him at some point.
ᐡ > ﻌ < ᐡ + ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ฅ ₎ა
The "some point" came sooner than expected. He's not exactly sure on the why (nor does he really care), but all he knows is that Maki is on his way over. If he recalls correctly, Maki had been out all day? He's the type to want to shower the second he gets home not lounge around in his potential filth and outside clothes.
Utterly pissed off, he barges into the betas apartment, slamming the door behind him. Taki figured something must have been wrong, but this was an entirely different type of wrong. "That fucking polycule of hell!" Maki scoffs, pointing up in the direction of their dorm.
"You know, most people would take the hint of being told their neighbors' schedules would obviously mean "have sex while I'm not here" right? No! They wait five minutes after I get home and try to get comfortable to start fucking like animals!"
Right. Koga and Maki had the unfortunate pick of ending up in the dorm right next to the only established couple in the pack. Multiple times a week the roommates would end up in the apartment of the betas. Sometimes, they'd be at their apartment before the owners themselves, waiting in the hallway like beggars.
"Hn.. None of them are supposed to be in heat or rut yet either," Taki supplies, only adding more rage to the alpha's boiling blood. "That's what I'm saying!" The smell of bitter cinnamon starts getting worse as he paces back in forth in the living room.
Quick to act, Taki catches him by the right the next time he paces over, leading him straight into his bedroom. Taki isn't one for physical force most times, but he pushes the young alpha in his room anyway. Surrounding him in his scent at a time like this would probably be more effective.
Just because Taki has scent awareness, doesn't mean the scent is that powerful.
Pulling the door shut behind them, he scrambles for the hoodie that he ended up keeping a few days ago. He never got around to washing it, just tossing it on top of a pile of clothes he was supposed to fold a while ago.
This works in their favor, though. Maki's already diving into the bedding, trying to catch the strongest hint of his scent to relax. Snatching the stolen hoodie from his clothes pile, Taki puts it right beside Maki, crawling into bed as well.
At the first dip in the bed Maki's already scrambling to nose at the gland on Taki's neck, snuggling into him. Used to this reaction, the beta slings his leg over the alpha's waist with a hand already playing in his hair.
Neither of them are really sure how long they stayed like that. Maki hadn't been mad at all anymore, yet neither of them thought about leaving until their legs started to fell asleep. Coincidentally, the time Fuma got home.
ᐡ > ﻌ < ᐡ + ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ฅ ₎ა
As it turns out, there was no need for him to return Maki's hoodie, washed or not. He and Kei ended up right back in he and Fuma's complex. Ironically, the hellish polycule actually did sharing their heats and rut together. But of course with them, it didn't start all on the same day.
How it goes is like this; Harua ends up starting his heat first. His heat causes Jo to start his rut after helping him, and after that, Yuma's heat starts up because of Jo's rut. Not to mention the fact that the cycles last at least two days.
Long story short, the alphas and betas would be bunking together. Not so much of Kei, but mostly Maki. Kei still has siblings he can mooch off and bother here in Japan. Maki does not. So really, it's just Fuma, Maki, and Taki.
Since it's just them, Taki decided that he'll take up some extra cooking this week. It's nothing special, really. Just some homemade gyudon per Maki's request. It works out for Taki; he said he'd post him making gyudon one of these days on his cooking channel and his friend gave him the perfect excuse.
Taki gets a full video out of just making dinner for his friends and possibly a bit of clout from Maki walking around in the background and peeking his head into the camera every now and then. Truly a win-win situation.
With Fuma having to work late at the bar tonight, Taki sets some aside for him in a bowl and puts it in the fridge for later. He pulls Maki into the frame of the camera. Anxiously excited, all Taki does is gesture towards the bowl on the counter in front of them. "Eat eat eat!"
Taki keeps chanting until Maki finally has chopsticks full of beef and rice. Waiting with what feels like bated breath, he watches every single reaction. "Dude," Maki mumbles with a stuffed mouth. Taki cluelessly blinks, needing more feedback than just a single English word.
With creased brows, finally swallowing his first bite. "You fried the rice?" He points at his bowl with his chopsticks, Taki giving a curt nod. "Yeah. Only half." Still curious, he tilts his head.
Dramatically, Maki's eyes roll to the back of his head. See, that meant something. He visibly brightens. "So fucking good," the taller basically moans while he says that and Taki can already forsee having to mute that.
"Okay everyone," Taki laughs, quickly trying to wrap this up before he had to mute any other clips. "I think he more than liked it, so my idea was a success!" Taki gives a thumbs up to the camera, Maki copying behind him as he eats like it's his first meal ever.
He closes the video with a wave, Maki copying that too. Then he shuts off his camera with a beep, his shoulders slumping immediately. He was starving and with the way the youngest was eating already told him that he should get some while he still can. And probably give Fuma a few extra scoops.
ᐡ > ﻌ < ᐡ + ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ฅ ₎ა
The whole weeks goes that way. Taki makes a meal every other day, always saving some for Fuma who's either away at work or catching up on sleep at 2pm because of work. They each make random appearances on one another's pages since they're glued at the hip for the time being. Going on campus together just to come back together since they couldn't rely on Fuma to let Maki in at any time before 2pm.
Then when Fuma isn't there, they're back to being side by side again. And they're sleeping in Taki's bed together because of course they are. The rest of the pack are shocked that neither of them wanted to just chew each other's head off by now after spending so much time together.
And even after such detailed explanation of their week together, it seems that Koga and Euijoo still find this hard to believe. "You wake up together, go to school together, spend your free time together, eat together, and then end the day sleeping together?" Euijoo frowns, him and Koga doing an inspection.
Taki is fine, probably the best he's ever felt. "It's not like we've been doing anything different! We share food and drinks with each other and cuddle like we always did." They've always had that sort of dynamic. Maki didn't mind being clung to, and Taki liked clinging. What's the big deal?
"And you're not doing anything different at all?" Kei asks, ever the skeptic. Especially when it came to Taki. Great intentions, stupid solution. Now Taki was doubting his judgment too. "Uh.. well.. He's been asking for my scent more. So I've been doing that whenever we cuddle. Sometimes I do it until one of us falls asleep."
Just the silence that follows after he says that tells him that he fucked up. "Taki.." Euijoo tries to figure out how to put this nicely but not before a hidden Maki does a waltz into the middle of their conversation.
"Hoodie?" The simple question alone is enough for Taki to understand him. Without a second thought about it, Taki was unzipping his hoodie while Maki came over to collect it. No "thanks" in return or anything. He just goes back to Taki's room like he owns it.
When he looks back at the other two alphas, he's confused. "Why are you guys looking like that?" Kei scoffs at him, nudging the beta right on the forehead. "Taki, we didn't even know he was here. You can't even smell him unless he's close!"
Worried, Euijoo puts a hand on Taki's knee. "You need to be careful. Whether you're aware of it or not, you're courting him like a mate. If you're not willing to go down that path with him, you can't keep scenting him all crazy. Save it for the emergencies."
Sulky, Taki retorts, "It's not a big deal." It wasn't often that any of them talked back to K or Euijoo, let alone both at the same time. What shocks them more is that it's coming from Taki of all people. The older two just sigh, wordlessly getting up from the couch.
He didn't need to hear anything to know they were disappointed to hear him talking back. Even if it wasn't a strong rebuttal, he still said it. He's lucky to have gotten off the hook this time around. Probably because it's the first time.
Taki sprawls out on the the carpeted area of the living room, right in front of the couch, quick to think about how those two will treat him next time since he disobeyed them now. He can already smell the worry on himself.
He doesn't focus on it for very long at all since he can hear the sound of Maki padding closer to him on the hardwood floors. The youngest looms over him, clearly eyeing where he can fit in. He nudges Taki's legs apart with his knee, almost immediately getting results.
Settled between his legs, Maki lays right on top of him, ignoring Taki's oof from underneath him. Choosing not to heed the warnings, Taki exhales under the large frame, letting out all of his tension in the form of his scent. It was like he was being covered by a weighted blanket. He quite liked it.
Maki nosing at his scent gland was okay too. He must really like how he smells these days since he's always asking for it. Taki shivers a little bit when Maki suddenly kissing his gland, but he assumes nothing of it. He had a bit of a kissing streak himself, so he couldn't be too mad.
But.. he's never done it so many times. Nor does he let them linger. "Maki?" The barrage of kisses don't stop. Maybe he wasn't speaking clearly enough. So he tries again. "Maki," Taki says louder this time. This time there's no way he didn't hear him.
When he tries to make a third attempt, his voice dies in his throat because for some reason, Maki is licking his gland like a man starved. And as much as he wants to hate it, he doesn't. It's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.
Those nerves start to take the forefront though when Maki slurs something in his ear about biting him all over. "You can't," Taki whines, not convincing anyone. "Your mate.. You need to save it for your mate."
For the first time since he started, Maki takes a pause, pulling back to look at Taki. "Isn't it you?" He's basically pleading for that to be the answer. "It's you, right?" He asks again, kissing him on the jaw. A hand claws over Taki's throat.
"Let me bite you." Letting his instinct take over, he licks his teeth. He bares his teeth against Taki's neck and all he can do is cower with his eyes shut.
Just when he expects the aching pain of being a mate, his body gets lighter. "That's enough," Fuma grumbles as he and Koga pry Maki off like some sort of parasite. He fights back against them, thrashing with his whole body.
"He's scent drunk." Kei glares at Taki on the floor, still trying to catch his breath. "'No big deal', was that right?" And suddenly Taki felt his face get hot from more than just stupid lust.
With iron grip, the two eldest try to escort Maki back to his room. Or anywhere far enough from Taki's scent. "You can get yelled at later. Just—" Kei gestures towards his lower body. "Go set yourself straight."
Sitting up with suddenly army level reflexes, Taki covers his boner as he scrambles to his feet. "Yeah. Okay." The young beta simply rushes off to his room after that, far too ashamed and horny to think about showing his face for the rest of the night.
So what if he got off to the thought of Maki claiming him for real?