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It all started when they were seventeen, when Sieun was just beginning to present, still wholly unsure of himself and all of the changes happening to his body. Suho had seen every part of him, the good and the ugly. Even when Suho was already an established Alpha, undoubtedly being pursued by numerous Omegas, deep down he knew that he'd been promised to Sieun a long time ago, perhaps before they even met.
When Sieun went through his first heat, the only person he could think to have with him through it all was his best friend, his bed a mess of soaked sheets as he murmured Suho's name like a prayer as if he would magically be able to hear his pleas all the way from the other side of town.
It took all of Sieun's energy for him to find his phone to dial Suho's number and beg him to come over, his voice whiny and brittle as it echoed through the line. Suho was there in a flash – albeit just as inexperienced himself, he took care of Sieun in all the right ways. It all felt ten times easier with Suho there – like his lifeline, his anchor.
When Sieun's heat finally subsided, they both knew there was no way Suho would ever let him spend another heat alone, or worse – with another Alpha.
Suho tried with all his might to take things slow for Sieun's sake, though it only took another heat coming along for Sieun himself to lose control and mewl for Suho to mark him, his own teeth already rubbing against Suho's mating gland in waiting.
Not everything came easy. They were just two young adults trying to navigate a world neither of them knew after all, each baby step coming down on them like an awkward pang of reality.
One step they've failed to take yet, though, is Sieun inviting Suho into his nest. Of course, Suho has never been invited to an Omega's nest before. He's never seen one outside of the depictions on TV in all those cheesy movies and shows, and vague memories of his grandma's nest when she took him in as a young pup, the sickly sweet scent of vanilla and his grandma's homemade cookies clouding his softest memories.
He’s always been eager to gain that privilege, to earn his Omega's trust. He never rushed Sieun, but he has occasionally dropped hints. Sieun always finds an excuse.
On one random night as they lay snuggled up underneath Suho's sheets, Sieun feels so safe and protected in such unprecedented ways, enveloped by everything that is Suho, that he caves and tells him the truth.
“My mom never taught me.” Sieun traces circles over Suho's bare chest with his fingertips while Suho runs a hand through his hair. “She was always too busy. She said I would figure it out on my own eventually, but it never feels right.” His voice grows softer. “When we started dating I tried my hardest to make it perfect. I knew I wanted to nest with you one day, even then.”
Suho can't hold himself back from kissing that pathetic pout off of Sieun's lips. His thumb dances across the apple of his cheek.
“As long as you feel safe enough to let me in, I don't care if it's not perfect.” Suho brushes Sieun's bangs away from his forehead to press a featherlight kiss to his skin. “We can go tomorrow. How's that?”
Maybe partly due to how at ease Sieun feels in Suho's presence, in his bed, he agrees so quickly.
Tomorrow comes, though, and Sieun feels like he could hurl at any moment as they walk through his house, his usual suave scent being overpowered by an unpleasant bitterness, almost headache inducing.
Suho walks just a few steps behind him, a hand resting on the small of his back to reassure him. When they finally make it to Sieun's room, Sieun pushes Suho in first before he can think twice about it.
Suho takes in the sight.
A few pillows are strewn across a mattress Suho hasn't seen before. It's a lot bigger than the one they laid in the only time Sieun let him into his room. An assortment of fluffy blankets are thrown every which way. A pile of Sieun's clothes sits in a tiny space in the middle, some oversized sweatshirts and t-shirts, even some old pairs of pajama pants. The space is just big enough for Sieun to curl up in, though it can't be very comfortable.
His eyes lock onto one of the pillows, resting inside of the makeshift nest. Instead of a pillowcase, it's encased in a shirt – Suho's shirt. He lent it to Sieun one night when he forgot to bring a spare change of clothes to his house.
“It didn't really smell like you by the time I got home…” Sieun's voice trembles. The faint scratching of his fingernails against each other permeates the heavy silence.
Suho's heart swells in his chest. He can't get the image of Sieun desperately trying to build the perfect nest for him out of his head. He probably spent weeks researching it on his own, picking out the right blankets, fluffing out and rearranging the pillows. Letting out that cute, low huff when it still didn't feel right—
Sieun sniffles beside him. Suho's attention immediately falls to him as he engulfs a teary-eyed Sieun in his arms. Sieun presses his nose into the side of his neck, letting Suho's woody scent slowly soothe the anxious flutter in his stomach. His hands knead at the soft fabric of Suho's shirt.
Suho presses a light kiss to Sieun's forehead through his bangs. “You know you can always ask me for more clothes. Right, baby?”
“I know,” Sieun croaks out, “I just wanted to be good. Wanted you to be proud—”
“Of course I am,” Suho cuts him off as he takes Sieun's face into his hands. “But I don't want you to stress yourself out.” His thumb traces Sieun's under-eyelids, drying out the tears that threatened to spill over. “We're a team now, aren't we?”
Sieun nods meekly.
“Then we can figure it out together. Hm?” Suho tilts his head.
Sieun inhales a shaky breath through his nose. He nods again, clunky and rushed. Suho gives him a quick peck before he pulls away to reach for his phone. He should probably go home and get Sieun more of his clothes.
“You just wait here, and I'll—”
Suho looks up at Sieun, brought back to reality by Sieun's glossy eyes and trembling lips as he stares at him expectantly.
He absolutely can't – in his right mind – leave Sieun alone right now.
He brings a hand up to trace Sieun's shoulder as he bows his head and squeezes his eyes shut, racking his brain for any possible solution. He can just scent Sieun's clothes instead, right? That's probably enough.
“Actually—It’s fine, I think. I just need to get—”
Suho has absolutely no idea what he's doing either. Sieun lets out a quiet giggle. When Suho looks up – Sieun is still crying, a now wobbly smile etching his features.
Before Suho can question it, Sieun practically lunges at him, throwing his arms around his neck as he pulls him down into a hug. His fists dig into Suho's shoulder blades. Suho doesn't care about that as he wraps his arms around his waist protectively, as if he could somehow shield Sieun from the harsh corners of his mind.
“We can figure it out,” Sieun parrots Suho's words in a hushed whisper.
A minute or two go by before Suho taps Sieun's lower back lightly. “Okay, you have to let go of me, baby.” He smiles against Sieun's skin.
Sieun reluctantly pulls away. He scratches his temple awkwardly.
They start by pulling everything apart into neat piles on the floor so they can work from the ground up.
As it turns out, Suho was dead wrong. Sieun hasn't done an ounce of research into nesting. His jaw nearly drops to the floor when Sieun admits it.
“Baby, baby, my love. Who are you?” Suho jokingly asks as he grabs Sieun's shoulders and jostles him. He brings the back of his hand up to Sieun's forehead as if he's checking his temperature. “My Omega wasn't a total nerd about this? Are you his evil twin?” He pretends to check the side of Sieun's neck where his bond mark sits, and leans in to check his scent.
Sieun cracks a bittersweet smile. He shakes his head. “I'm supposed to know this already, Suho-yah. I doubt the internet would help me.”
Suho tuts. “You don't know because nobody taught you,” he corrects him. “I bet there's a ton of other Omega's that have gone through the same thing.”
Suho pulls his phone out of his pocket. He sits on the edge of the empty mattress and urges Sieun to sit beside him.
Suho was right. There are countless posts on various forums from lost Omegas, insecure about their inability to make a comfortable nest despite the media telling them it's all part of their natural instinct. There's also the occasional post from a concerned young Alpha, looking for tips on how to help their Omega nest after an unexpected heat started, or because their Omega is too far along in their pregnancy to comfortably do it themselves.
Before Suho can get carried away imagining Sieun's swollen belly carrying one of his pups – maybe even more, he scrolls down to the replies on one of the posts.
Sieun lets out a still tense sigh beside him when he sees that they're all very supportive, that it's completely normal and natural to feel confused on what to do, especially as a late bloomer. Suho reaches his free hand out to take Sieun's in his, stroking his knuckles with his thumb.
Suho finds a reply with an easy, comprehensive list: “Step 1. Build protective, solid walls for your nest with pillows or otherwise soft cushions.” That seems easy enough.
Suho guides Sieun off the bed as he moves to grab the pillows. He arranges them into neat rows and columns around the edge of the mattress. He looks up at Sieun, eyebrows creased as he gages his reaction. Sieun nods in approval.
They breeze through the next few steps. Sieun lays a few of the bigger blankets over the empty nest as extra cushioning, while Suho makes his way into the kitchen to find Sieun's favorite snacks to keep on hand.
Suho brings one of Sieun's shirts up to the scent gland on the right side of his neck, pressing down and rubbing the fabric across his skin lightly.
Once he thinks he's scented it enough, he passes the shirt to Sieun, holding it near his nose. “Is this good?”
Sieun leans in closer and sniffs. His eyes widen, pupils dilating as he looks up at Suho and nods enthusiastically. Suho chuckles and drops the shirt onto the bed.
He makes quick work of scenting the rest of the clothes, even grabbing a few more from Sieun's closet – of course, with his approval.
In the end, they're able to arrange an inviting, soft bed of clothes between the comforting walls of pillows. Suho throws on the last blanket, a soft, thick wool for Sieun to snuggle under.
Finally, Suho plucks the last pillow off the ground – the one encased in his shirt. He thinks for a long time before ripping the shirt off of it, and walking behind Sieun to throw it in his closet. Sieun turns to face him, speechless.
Suho moves closer and wraps his arms around Sieun's waist. “Don't need that when you have the real thing, do you?” He teases, leaning down to bump their foreheads together.
Heat rises to Sieun's cheeks, painting his face a deep pink as he lightly pushes Suho back, though the smile on his face tells a different story.
“Let me know how you like it, baby.” Suho guides Sieun back to the nest and watches as he climbs in, his shirt now pressed tightly against his scent gland so that he can add it to the nest too.
It doesn't take long for Sieun to get comfortable. Suho can see how he practically melts into it, all of the tension in his body subsiding entirely. He curls up, clutching onto a fistful of shirts, blissfully swimming in his Alpha's scent.
Sieun doesn't move from his spot again. He mumbles a small, almost sleepy, “Thank you.”
Suho chuckles. He leans down to press a kiss on the side of Sieun's head but Sieun moves before he can. He grabs onto Suho's collar tightly and pulls him down. Suho falls on top of him, into his nest.
“Get in,” Sieun urges.
Suho moves quickly, maneuvering himself over Sieun onto the empty side of the nest that was wordlessly reserved for him. The pile of shirts quickly gets replaced by Suho himself as Sieun tries to drag Suho closer to him, but ends up pulling himself into Suho's chest instead.
Another burst of laughter blooms from deep within Suho. He pushes Sieun's face away so that he can attack him with a flurry of kisses. He croons against Sieun's lips when Sieun sleepily reciprocates a few sporadic kisses.
“You're too cute. What am I gonna do with you?” Suho's voice is honey sweet, no doubt also being tempted by sleep. He rubs Sieun's back softly.
Suho buries his face in Sieun's neck, inhaling his silky sweet coconut scent. His lips brush along his soft skin in search of the mark he left just a few months ago, earning the tiniest gasp from Sieun when he does. His kisses trail every last indent that his teeth left.
Sieun's low purrs fill the room. He noses along the side of Suho's neck until he finds the mark that matches his own. He cranes his mouth open slightly and gently presses his teeth down on the indents.
“You want me to stay?” Suho asks between trailing kisses up to Sieun's jaw.
“Maybe we could stay forever,” Sieun mumbles into Suho's collarbone. It's more of a statement than a question.
Suho's heart thumps at the choice of words. We. A word as easy as breathing for them.
He chuckles, hot breath against Sieun's skin. The thick blanket weighs heavy over their bodies, flushed and pliant.
“Of course.”