Chapter Text
Kang Bio could feel the shivers racking his body as he tried to snuggle into his sweatshirt, seeking any semblance of warmth possible. The cold wind swept down the street, hitting him in the face as he exhaled sharply. The boy besides him, however, appeared to be the least bothered. His oversized jacket covered the entirety of his frame, hands buried deep in its warm pockets and a skip in his steps. Bio felt a familiar envy gnawing at him as he cast a short glance at Jeong-yo's picture-perfect face.
The boy looked back at him, a soft smile engulfing his face as he elbowed him against the ribs.
“What’s bothering you?” He asked, his eyes assessing as they scanned him from head to toe.
“Nothing,” Bio replied curtly, turning his face away as he scrunched his nose. He could feel himself getting sick with every passing minute, his hands shivering and his voice hoarse. The scent patches on his neck glands itched, painful in the way they pressed against it.
“If you’re sure,” Jeong-yo shrugged, his body stiffer than it had been a few moments ago.
They walked slowly, Bio rubbing his palms to maintain some leftover warmth. He would be damned if anything happened to his fingers as well as his wrists.
Lost in thought, he barely noticed when they stopped in front of a store, until Jeong-yo’s voice broke through the wind, whispering for him to stay put and that he’d be back in a minute. Bio felt his eyes twitch, but he obliged with a wave of his hand.
His glands felt numb, frozen by the icy cold, the one near his wrists scrubbed raw with dry flakes of skin peeling around it. A fever took root, dulling his senses as Bio barely balanced himself enough to not sway on the spot.
“Bio,” A voice called for him through the fog, “Bio! Can you hear me?”
He blinked twice, clearing his sight. His pupils zeroed in on the figure of Jeong-yo standing in front of him, waving his hands frantically in front of his face.
Bio was nothing if not stubborn, he pushed the younger boy away to start walking in the direction of his house. “I’m fine,” he whispered hoarsely, picking up his pace so Jeong-yo had to play catch up with him.
“Hey wait!” The other boy called, running up beside him and pulling at his wrist. Bio hissed, doubling over from the pain in his scent glands.
Jeong-yo watched him for a second, cradling his wrist much more gently now. “I brought this for you,” he said, producing a pair of gloves from the small bag he was carrying, which had gone unnoticed by Bio.
The older boy’s eyes widened, as Jeong-yo started sliding them on his hands. “I can’t possibly accept this!” he gasped, trying to move his hand away.
Jeong-yo sent a deadpanned look his way, “So you would rather freeze to death? Wear it, it’ll help with the cold.”
Bio watched with widened eyes as he started adjusting the glove on his palms, his movements careful of the glands on his wrist. Their scent in the air, previously controlled and subtle, now wafted for everyone to smell. The undertones of scent patches were still present, but having been rendered useless from the harsh winter winds allowed a lot more of their scents to leak out.
Jeong-yo’s scent washed over him, the smell of hot chocolate engulfing his senses. He subtly tried to breathe it in, his omega preening from having an alpha's presence so close, Jeong-yo’s presence so close.
Suddenly, Jeong-yo shrugged off his jacket, stepping even closer to throw it around Bio’s shoulders. The scent was so much stronger in close quarters, and his fever laden brain didn’t even protest from having a piece of clothing scented so thoroughly by an alpha around his body.
“There,” Jeong-yo whispered, their breaths mingling, “You’ll be warmer this way.”
Bio took a step back. Jeong-yo blinked his eyes from where he stood, his posture straightening. “Thanks.”
A cheeky smile adorned Jeong-yo’s face, “Anytime,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Bio stared at him for a moment before gesturing towards the path headed down the hill from where they stood. “I’ll head back home now.” He cleared his throat. “My place is only a minute’s walk from here.”
Jeong-yo raised a hesitant hand, “I can walk you home”
“There’s no need.” Bio brushed past him, pulling the jacket tighter around his body. He paused, glancing back “Thank you”
Without waiting for a reply, he headed down the street. Shivers wracked his body, the gusty wind strong and icy, felt in the way it blew on his face. Yet the glove and the jacket around his frame offered a warmth and protection lacking before. Maybe, just maybe Bio could admit the scent of hot chocolate around him helped all the more.
It was nobody’s business but his own if the jacket became a permanent fixture in his nest. One he held onto while riding out his next heat, nose buried into its soft material, wherever the alpha’s smell was the strongest. Jeong-yo, fortuitously, did not ask about the whereabouts of the jacket either. It remained a little secret just for the two of them.