Chapter Text
The first time Sion saw a rainbow, he was three years old.
The skies had cleared after a light rain, and in it's wake the rainbow had surfaced, sparkling against the clouds.
Truthfully, that might not have been his first time witnessing one, but it's the first rainbow he remembers. Against the backdrop of the sky, the colours are less vivid than he had imagined, liquid and translucent as they danced atop the blue and white background. To three year-old Sion, it was magic.
That night, Daeyoung was born.
Just shy of the strawberry moon, Daeyoung was the third miracle that visited the Kim's. Sion thought the waxing gibbous moon was a fitting birth moon for an omega as diligent and caring as him, one with a heart so big and full of love.
That night, the pup's cries echoed across the village. Accompanied by the cheers that erupted from the rest of the pack, the cries sounded like a song. It was a celebration, for every pup was a miracle, every single birth precious. Mama Kim hadn't had a difficult pregnancy, Daeyoung already her third, but she was loved all the same, well-fed, protected, and happily pregnant.
The very same morning, she had held onto Sion's hand as they walked along the stream. Her older pups were running ahead, catching the water droplets from the sky as they splat lightly against their faces. As the rain cleared, she had gestured to the sky with one hand, the other cradling her belly. Showered with the magic of the rainbow, she had told Sion to look up and to always dream of a beautiful sky, to new beginnings.
"Isn't it just gorgeous, Sion?" She said reverently. Her eyes never left the phenomenon, never strayed from it's awe-inspiring colours. "Rainbows mean new beginnings, pup. Rainbows bring change. "
"I don't like change." Sion had muttered. A serene smile overtook her face as she tore her eyes away from the rainbow to gaze gently at Sion.
"Even the good ones?" Sion remained quiet. "Rainbows symbolise transformation, pup. It's pretty, isn't it? It means there are better days that await us, along with the change."
Sion pondered over the words, but his little head had been full of questions. He was too young of a pup to truly understand. Mama Kim had simply ruffled his sweaty hair.
"Every day, I remain thankful for the gift of sight, for the gift of time, and for the blessings from the moon that allow me to be happy with my mate, with my pups, with the pack."
"With me?" Sion had asked back, blinking up at her innocently. She'd broke into a joyful smile, patted his little cheek and nodded. She clasped onto his little hand tightly.
"With Sionie. Soon, with the little one as well!" She patted her engorged stomach, eyes returning to the sky.
Sion hadn't thought soon would be that very night. When Daeyoung's parents had finally allowed visitors, allowed little Sion to trot in to see the newborn, Sion had been awestruck by the tiny pup. Mesmerised by its little eyes, button nose, and triangle shaped lips , the older pup had reached a small hand out to touch the little one's puffy cheek.
"It's wrinkly." Sion said.
The newborn had let out a burst of giggles – as if laughing at his words – a wet sound that glistened in the quiet night. Its little eyes curved into small crescents, like the shape of the moon Sion loved, mouth opening wide. It had no teeth, mouth an abyss. Sion had stuck a finger in to find out how deep it was, only to be chastised for his behaviour. He barely remembers the way its mouth had closed around his tiny digit.
"What's its name, mama?" Sion had whispered to his mother, his words small, quiet, but full of wonder.
"Daeyoung, honey, his name is Daeyoung." Her words floated back to him, like a magic spell in the night.
His mother had guided his small hands towards the pup's, let him rest a finger upon Daeyoung's even tinier hands. The newborn had gurgled happily, closed his chubby hands around Sion's single finger.
Despite the presence of Daeyoung's parents, brothers, and even Sion's parents – the pack alpha and omega – in the room, the newborn had clutched tightly onto Sion's finger, held onto him like he never wanted to let go.
"He likes you." Mama Kim had declared amusedly. Her third pup, her youngest baby; she had painstakingly pushed him out into the world hours ago and yet here he was, already smitten with another wolf.
That night, Sion briefly considered the great things that change could possibly bring him.
༺☆༻
When Sion was born, a waning crescent moon was hanging up in the sky.
That was what mama had told him, what papa had whispered when he celebrated turning three, before Daeyoung had been born. Mama had cupped his cheeks, nuzzled her face into his soft baby hair.
"It means you're a special pup, honey. That you are blessed by the moon goddess, you are gifted." Mama had said, smoothing out his unruly hair and pressing light kisses to his eyelids.
"Like the sky, mama?"
"Beautiful like the sky, resilient like the moon." His mother caressed his hair again. "You'll grow up to be a strong boy, won't you honey? Quiet, resilient, and strong like the moon."
Sion had taken those words to heart. As he grew older and into his alpha, Sion learnt of resilience. He learnt of a quiet strength, of silent support and grounding love, and thought maybe the moon goddess did choose for him to be special, for him to be a leader.
Sion's parents are pack alpha and omega, and as their first baby boy, Sion grew up loved – revered, even – by their whole pack. The pack watched him moon after moon, anticipated his maturity. They knew then and they know now, that Sion was born to be a leader. He was born to be pack alpha.
True to mama's word, Sion was indeed a blessed pup. Energetic, boisterous, and topped with a hint of mischief, he'd run around the village playing pranks on everyone no matter young or old, big or small, laughter and giggles following after him. With his bubbly personality and natural charisma, he naturally found himself surrounded by the younger pups, helping the older wolves watch them while they busied themselves with pack duties. The elders praised him, always had compliments to spare for the golden boy.
Once, while they were kicking a ball around in the center of the village, Yushi had slipped and fell on his butt. The younger pouted, upset at himself. Sion toddled over, pulled him up by the elbow and dusted off the dirt on his cheek. Comforted by the simple gesture, Yushi beamed up at him.
"A perfect one, isn't he? Look at him taking care of the other pups. He'll grow up to be such a wonderful pack leader!"
Even at a young age, Sion had a knack for hunting. While he wasn't allowed to scamper off with such a dangerous duty on his shoulders just yet, he was allowed to scavenge. When he wasn't, he was let into the kitchens to help cook or prepare the pack meals.
Besides his never-ending list of talents and compliments from the elders, something else followed Sion like a shadow.
Unsurprisingly, Daeyoung had grown into the habit of following Sion around. It was like his wolf had known, from the very moment he was born, that Sion was his to love. He had stuck to his hyung like glue, refused to let go. Secretly, Sion was pleased by the way Daeyoung waddled after him, footsteps unsteady.
When he had been much younger, Sion would carry Daeyoung around wherever he went. With the help of his mother, he bundled the baby onto his tiny back, stumbled around like the foolish pup he looked. He had cradled the precious pup in his arms and soothed him to sleep. Half a year later, Daeyoung gained the ability to crawl. With its new ability unlocked, the pup made it his mission to wipe the ground on which Sion laid foot. Another half a year later, the baby took his first steps, and instead of towards his mother, they're in the direction of his hyung, his Sion hyung, who had his little arms wide open for the pup to fall into when his footsteps faltered.
At one and four years old, the two pups were practically inseparable. Once Daeyoung had started walking, all he ever did was run after Sion, trailing after him like a baby duckling. Back then, Sion had slowed his footsteps, made sure he wasn't moving too quickly so Daeyoung could always catch up. It had hindered his errands, slowed him down, but the rest of the pack had enjoyed the spectacle. They joked that Sion had a slow shadow that dragged far behind him.
Meal times meant sitting next to Sion, who fed him haphazardly, spoon shaking in his equally tiny hands. He'd scoop mouthfuls of soup into the little pup's mouth, patting his back when he choked ever so slightly on the food. The soup got everywhere; pups ate messily, and Sion wiped his mouth every time he smeared the liquid on his lips. After their meal, he would pick Daeyoung up and burp him, plop him down gently in his cot so he could take his afternoon naps.
Daeyoung doesn't remember much, obviously, but Yushi and Riku tell him lots about his times as a pup. They tell him things the elders whispered, gossiped about over tea and snacks in the pack hall. The conversations were the same: how Daeyoung was a sticky pup, clinging to Sion and whining when they'd separated to their own homes, Sion's little shadow. He'd basked in Sion's undivided love and attention, because he was the pup that had chosen him, had held onto his finger and fell asleep to Sion's gentle lullabies.
Unfortunately for Daeyoung, by the time he'd started running well enough on his own, Sion had his hands full – quite literally – with Sakuya. After his baby cousin was born, Sion, the experienced baby-sitter, was tasked to watch the newborn pup despite being very much a pup himself. Sometimes, he was tasked to watch all the pups. Most times, he was asked to watch Sakuya and Ryo. His aunt and uncle, like his parents, were busy with pack duties, shoulders heavy with the responsibilities of pack, and Sion had stepped up to the task. He'd grown a little faster, a little quicker than other pups did.
Daeyoung had maybe only been a little jealous. He had Riku and Yushi to play with, even if they laughed every time he sulked visibly when Sion had to go home to watch Sakuya.
In the peak of summer, the hyungs dragged Daeyoung out to the stream to play in the water. Like the good older pup he was, Sion was stuck babysitting as always. They joked around in the water, had fun in a way only pups could, busied themselves only with dunking others in the water and making the biggest splashes.
Riku and Yushi are stellar at being older pups, too. They'd entertain Daeyoung and the other pups, especially when Sion was preoccupied, and did their best to keep them happy. Their discovery of Daeyoung's debilitating crush on Sion made no difference, not when he was just like any other pup in the village.
"Daeyoungie, don't be mad at Sion hyung alright?" Riku said as be splashed the cool water at the younger.They were in the stream, the water calm enough for them to play in. Yushi was next to him, submerged, and he and Riku stood in the water that came up to their crotch and bellies.
"I'm not mad at hyung." Daeyoung replied. He could never be mad at Sion. He was just sad, because hyung hadn't been spending much time with him at all. It made him a little unhappy. Sometimes, he cried at night missing his hyung. He kept those moments to himself. Maybe if he grew up faster, too, he'd be able to spend more time with Sion again.
"Why don't you hang out with your own hyungs, then?" Yushi asked, popping out from the water unceremoniously. Riku giggled at the display, scooping a handful of water to throw at Yushi. The latter scowled. "Stop it!"
"Hyungs are busy too." That was a bit of a lie; Daehyun and Daehwan would always choose to spend time with their little brother. If only he'd ask. They loved their little brother to bits, adored him so much they were jealous of Sion, like how Daeyoung was jealous of Sakuya and Ryo. But at the end of the day, the only person Daeyoung ever asked for was Sion. "Besides, I know hyung is busy with pack stuff."
"Yeah," Riku replied wistfully. "It sucks. He has to do so much stuff."
"Uh-huh. He's busy like the grown-ups, no time for pups like us." Yushi agreed quietly.
Between the three of them, the silence grew. They all missed Sion, wanted him around. Sion was around their age, too, but he never got to play with them in the stream, never got to run around playing soccer. The responsibilities of being pack alpha and omega's pup had in some cruel way robbed Sion of his childhood.
Perhaps that was why Sion had presented early too. Much earlier than all the other pups his age.
When Sion presented as an alpha, the pack had erupted into a chaos. Just his luck; it was the full moon, which meant pack alpha and omega were out on the pack run. Sion was only thirteen, he wasn't allowed on hunting trips, much less pack runs. Sion was only thirteen, wasn't old enough to protect himself. They had him caring for the pups, but he could barely care for himself.
He shouldn't have presented at thirteen years young.
No one had been prepared for the presentation. Obvious reasons aside, the pack run took precedence during the full moon. Tradition called for the elders to run during the event, a ritual to indulge their wolves and respond to the call of the moon goddess. Every month, the pack gathered at the village boundary, sent off their wolves to run the territory. The pups stayed behind, accompanied by several other elders who either chose not to run, or preferred to stay to watch the pups.
The village has been safe for many years, so safe that full moon runs meant almost every adult was gone. Needless to say, Sion's parents weren't around to supervise Sion or notice the young pup was headed towards his presentation. Only a handful of healers were left in the village, barely any elders around. A young healer rushed Sion to the rut cabin, had made sure he was safe as he fussed, worried at the sudden onset of a fever.
Sion was burning hot. He was on fire. The flames grew as they took over him, his head pounded as his chest ached. His jaw had hurt, too, and he couldn't control it when he snapped at the healer, at the unfamiliar hands trying to guide him into the hut. The smell of rotten fish was acrid, but the healer pressed through, held his breath and his scent in as he helped the presenting pup indoors.
"There, there, Sion, into the hut you go. It's okay, I won't touch you." Healer Lee replied calmly, gesturing for Sion to enter instead of nudging him in physically. The newly presented alpha bristled at the hands that approached him, but obliged. It was helpful that healer Lee was a beta, had no scent to trigger the alpha.
Sion entered the hut quietly and in the same way he entered spent the next five days inside. His first rut passed quietly at thirteen years young.
No one thought it had been a terrible presentation. He had been so quiet – barely a growl or even any noise – as he fought through his first rut.
Inside the hut, however, Sion had been burning hot, even as his body grew cold and confused. It had been late spring, so it shouldn't be crazy temperatures, but the effects of his rut were showing. The fever consumed him. His head spun as he wandered to the corner of the room, tucked himself into it in search of security. He brought his knees to his chest, heaved as quietly as he could, sobbed silently as his teeth ached, as his hands trembled. His body was changing, and he was not prepared for any of it.
His alpha growled restlessly, anxiously, waiting for something that would never come.
Outside, Daeyoung sat at the wooden door in silent support. Sion could smell him, the milky scent of a the pup permeating through the only thing holding them apart. He was so close, yet it had felt so far. Daeyoung, his sweet Daeyoung, had sat outside, whispered to him words of comfort as he ached.
"Hyung, Sion hyung, I heard what happened." Daeyoung had come running immediately when he'd heard the news, stricken. "I'll stay out here, keep you company, okay?"
Sion hadn't replied, but Daeyoung heard him scratch the wooden floorboards with his new claws. He couldn't control it, the partial transformation. Daeyoung had thought it was cute. He was ten, and everything Sion did was cool. But Sion in his rut had felt so soft, so vulnerable and so broken. He committed those noises to memory, the sounds no one but Daeyoung heard. He'd remembered how Sion had growled and snarled, both from the pain and the fear.
His hyung was older than him, but his hyung was still a pup. Why had the moon goddess forced him to grow up so fast?
Back plastered against the wooden door, Daeyoung had vowed that whatever he presented as in the future, he'd have his hyung's back, protect him through thick and thin so he'll never have to hurt again.
"Hyung, the stars are pretty tonight. The full moon is out, obviously, but the stars are peeking at us too. They're congratulating you, probably, for your presentation." Daeyoung paused. "You're the moon goddess' chosen one, hyung. Even the stars are shining for you."
Sion's heart thudded in his chest, the sound loud and coarse in his ears that wouldn't stop ringing. He clawed at his arms, ground his teeth numbly. He wished Daeyoung could be beside him instead of outside on the cold hard ground, out of reach. Still in a crouch, Sion crawled over to the door, planting his back against it with a soft thud.
Behind him, Daeyoung laughed merrily, a tinkling noise that shook Sion's heart, held it in a chokehold. Sion wondered if Daeyoung could hear even his heart threatening to jump out of his chest over the sounds of his painful snarling.
"You can see through the window, hyung. The stars are saying hello." Listening, Sion looked through the curtains at the night sky. He'd expected it to be dark, Daeyoung's words a hoax, but the sky was indeed littered with little specks of white. They glittered, constellations splattered across the darkness of the night. The full moon illuminated it as it hung in the sky, glimmering hopefully. The sight had been magical, and it reminded Sion of when he had first seen a rainbow before Daeyoung had been born.
A rainbow meant new beginnings. A full moon meant the same. Sion revisited those feelings, returned to the time when Daeyoung had been born. Perhaps he could learn to embrace change and the great things it could possibly bring him.
Daeyoung stayed, the only constant that comforted Sion's restless heart. The night grew, and eventually, the elders returned from their run. Sion had been relieved – it meant his parents were coming. At the same time, he lamented his loss – Daeyoung would be sent home.
Upon hearing the news, his parents indeed came rushing to the hut to congratulate him, burst into the room to coddle him a little, bring him necessities and provisions for the rut. Through the gap of the door, Sion spied Daeyoung waiting. He mouthed the words to him, a glint in his eyes, shiny with a reflection of the starry sky.
Congratulations, hyung.
When their eyes met, a spark sizzled and blew out as quickly as the eye contact was severed. Darting away, Sion pretended it had never happened. The fire had grown within him, and he knew not what to make of it.
Five days later, Sion had emerged from his rut, triumphant. Pack alpha and omega's son, Oh Sion, announced as the alpha everyone had known he would have presented as. He went about the village receiving congratulations. Everyone threw him flowers, sung praises of his otherwise uneventful rut as they celebrated his maturity. It had been a little early, but they'd seen it coming, regardless. Our future pack alpha, a natural leader, leading the pack even in his presentation.
As with every pup who hit maturity, Sion was faced with a decision to make. He'd chosen then to hunt till the end of his life, provide for the pack and everyone till his last breath.
"Ah, our pack alpha's pup has some grit! But you're just a little rascal, gonna need some older wolves there to protect you, won't you?"
Sion simply grinned at the merciless taunting, not one bit discouraged. He'd come out of his rut reborn.
"I don't need protection. I can protect myself and the pack." He was only thirteen years old, the rascal, but the pack hunters cheered at the confident response, emboldened. The pack alpha's son was a strong alpha destined for the greatest.
Amongst the rowdy pack, Daeyoung withered silently at his hyungs words. At that time, he wondered – as he wonders every now and then – if his hyung would ever need him like he needed his hyung, desperate for his attention, for his approval, for his love. Every time, he concluded to himself: Sion needed no one's approval, needed no one's attention. He had enough of those and enough love to last a lifetime, whether or not Daeyoung was in the picture.
༺☆༻
At the tender age of five, when Sion was merely eight, Sion scaled one of the trees nearby, shouting about seeing the village from a bird's eye view. Daeyoung attempted to follow, tried with all his might to climb the tree behind Sion, but he had failed miserably, hands and feet too small and uncoordinated for the act.
"Hyung!" He'd yelled. Tried to catch Sion's attention. "Hyung!"
From that high up, Sion couldn't hear him; he was basking in the warmth of the sun, catching the breeze between his fingertips. His hair swayed in the wind, smile exceedingly bright as he stood tall on the highest branch of the tree. The tears had gathered in Daeyoung's eyes, moist and warm behind his eyelids, but they never fell, not a single drop escaping him.
Daeyoung opened his mouth, ready to call out to his hyung again, gain his attention. But it shut wordlessly as he found himself at a loss for words, silence consuming him. Because Daeyoung's head had tilted towards the sky, gaze never straying from Sion. The older was up in the tree, so Daeyoung's gaze had naturally followed.
The tears melded back into his eyes unknowingly as if he blinked them away. The sun had been glaring, but Sion had looked beautiful nested in the tree, surrounded by the greens. The sun shined behind him like a halo, and he had the widest smile hanging on his face, glowing. It was gorgeous; it was ethereal. Daeyoung felt like he was looking straight at the moon goddess reincarnated before his eyes.
He'd decided not to call out to him anymore, content to watch from the bottom of the tree. Sion had sat in its branch, above everyone else, gazed at the sky, surveyed the village. Eventually, he'd looked down, shouted at Daeyoung only to tell him how wonderful it was to see everything from up there, how glorious it felt.
"It's like I'm on the top of the world, looking down on everything like this!"
He must've told Yushi and Riku, because that tale followed him to this day. The hyungs then hadn't took pity on him, Sion's little shadow, because he wasn't the only little pup who was starstruck and in love. Almost every pup in the village harboured a harmless little crush on pack alpha's golden boy. They'd grow out of it eventually.
Luckily for Daeyoung, Sion was a regular on hunting trips. Half the time, he was out hunting, providing for the pack. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and so Daeyoung's fondness expands inside his little chest, inflates and grows until it might burst at the weight of it all.
At thirteen years old, Sion had been allowed to go hunting; he never looked back since. Every time they parted, Daeyoung yearned for his return back in the village. Even as he grew older, moon after moon, Daeyoung only grew in age and fondness, and never out of love.