Work Text:
“Minseok! You left your sketchpad again!” Jongdae screams while shutting the door with a loud bang.
The answer comes from behind the door, “I’m changing!”
“Should I leave it on the couch?!” Jongdae quickly makes a beeline for the bedroom. “I’ll just get going then!”
The door opens in a crack with Minseok’s head peeking out – smiling sheepishly. He makes a waiting motion before the door shuts again. Jongdae sighs in annoyance because this has been their routine for past five months – a month since Jongdae officially got the job, exactly.
Minseok always forgets his sketchpad – or his lucky pen or just anything in general – when he visits Jongdae’s workplace. Then Jongdae would be a considerate guy and bring them back to Minseok’s flat and then before he can leave Minseok would say –
“Hey, since you’re already here and all,” The door opens with soft click. “How about we have dinner together?”
– well, exactly that.
“Please don’t make a habit out of this, hyung,” he threatens, but it held no bite at all.
Minseok apparently knows this too because he just shrugs and walks past Jongdae, heading to the pantry. He whistles a little while Jongdae prepares the table – he knows the drill. Sometimes when his things litter every corner of Minseok’s flat and he has his own toothbrush and spare clothes, Jongdae thinks he practically lives here. And why bother? Hasn’t he been wooing Minseok for years now?
Well, the point is, Minseok is nothing but dense as hell.
(“Hyung, I have something to say. Listen out, okay.”
Minseok nodded, seeming concerned.
He took a deep breath before blurted, “I like you a lot. Have for year now.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect that,” Minseok said. “I like you too, Jongdae. You’re my favorite even though Sehun might be second close,” He added with a wide smile.
“No! I mean, I love you.”
Minseok waits for some minutes. “Yeah? Well, I love you, too. What is this all about, Dae?”
And Jongdae is nothing but a coward.)
The last rejection – if one can call it that – still stung and he just wanted to be bitter about it in the confines of his dorm. Not with Minseok smiling and happy and oblivious in front of him. The guy even whistling their favorite song, god help him.
“Oh, have you seen the drama I told you about?”
Jongdae shakes his head, poking the fruit inside the basket. “Nah, what is it again?”
“The mermaid one, Jongdae. And you’ve been missing out! Did you know that they can cry pearls? Wow, they must be super rich!”
Jongdae snorts. They could be but in fact they’re not. He knows one merman for sure, who can cry black pearls as his tears – they can cry diamonds and other gems, too! – and in Jongdae’s dictionary he was far from rich. “That’s bullshit.”
“What?” Minseok’s eyebrows rose. “Did I hear you wrong? I thought you just insulted me?”
“No? I said that mermaid thing is bullshit.”
“It’s not?! They’re very real, Jongdae! Merpeople are real and they can be our closest friend or the kind lady who works in the bakery down the street!”
“But you said they cry pearls! What would they need the job for?!”
“For disguise!”
Jongdae rubs his temple. ‘I know merpeople are real and that they hate land as much as we people hate slow internet connections, okay? Because Junmyeon swears by his great ancestor that he would rather die than experiencing the knife-stabbing feeling in his feet when he walks or just being out of water in general. And they don’t need the pearls in the first pace, they’re pretty useless and no merpeople can get rich from them.’
He would love to say all of that, of course. But instead he says, “Like that Cullen Dude?”
“Yes! Do you get it now?”
Because Minseok’s smile or the way his eyes lights up when he talks about supernatural things is what Jongdae strives for.
.
Minseok is attracting supernatural creatures it seems.
"Jongdae, have you realized Tao has been clinging to Minseok like crazy?"
Jongdae knows.
"Like, I wonder if he follows him to the bathroom, too," Chanyeol muses out loud.
"What?!"
"Oh just, you know Tao is scared to bathe alone, right?" When Jongdae shakes his head in horror Chanyeol chuckles awkwardly. "Well, now you did? He's scared of ghosts even though he is one."
The next day, after he scolds Tao, Minseok comes to his workplace with a bright smile. "Jongdae! It feels like I haven't felt this good in months! I'll buy you dinner this time!"
Tao cowers in the corner when he glares daggers at him.
.
"Let's watch Twilight!"
Now Jongdae feels a little bit of regret that he mentioned Cullen. "Again?"
"But it's fun!" Minseok washes the last plate and give it to Jongdae for drying. "And Jacob is awesome! I mean, werewolves in general are so awesome already."
"Yeah?"
"Uh-uh and the whole not aging thing? It's just so cool."
"But I thought we were past this discussion? I mean, that's clearly scientifically impossible and all."
Minseok ignored him and makes himself cozy on the sofa, hands busy fiddling with the controller. So Jongdae took that his job was to bring in the snack and drinks - he can handle it.
"So, you are saying," Minseok says before gulping down the juice. "That werewolves aren't real because they're scientifically impossible?" He makes the quotation mark with a judging stare.
"Well, maybe they are real. But they're age and live like normal people - why are we having this argument again?"
"Because you're being a brat."
But Minseok rested his head on Jongdae’s shoulder and makes himself at home, so he leaves it at that.
.
Jongdae can feel Minseok’s fears – or his apprehension – as clear as he can hear the loud thumps from his chest. It’s partly because he’s a werewolf, but also he can feel Minseok’s better since he’s imprinted on the said man. So when Minseok comes to the bookstore with a cautious step, Jongdae’s guard is up almost immediately.
“What happened?”
Minseok doesn’t even surprise when he corners him. “Something big.”
“What? Is it bad?” He quickly tangles his hand with Minseok’s own, giving it a light squeeze. “You know you can tell me everything, right?”
“Jongdae, I might get the internship after all.”
“What? That’s great!” He hugs Minseok tightly before realizes the anxious feeling has grown stronger. “Why? You don’t want the internship?”
“No!” Minseok shakes his head hastily. “It’s just – I'm too young, Dae. What if I messed everything up?”
And Jongdae understands. He whispers encouragements until another customer comes in and eyes them weirdly.
.
Strangely, Minseok seems understand him as well.
They are currently sitting in the cafeteria, well at least they were. Because Minseok is excusing himself to go to the restroom and now Jongdae is all alone. Until a very flustered Jongin comes over, joining him and sits down without being asked to.
"You don't happen to have some very peculiar Bloodroot Seeds, right?" Jongin asks with a sheepish smile.
"No, why would I have those?"
"Its Soojung, she's been giving me a headache! Hyung, you have to help me!"
Not ready to hear Jongin ramble, he knocks Minseok's milkshake from the table, the chocolate smell wafting through the air. He quickly grabs the spare napkin while wrinkling his nose - Minseok would be so mad if he knew this.
"Shit! Calm down, kid. Geez, what is your problem?"
"Sorry! But it really is her fault! Sehun has been eating something weird and he's acting strange! So we come to her - cause she's the best witch in town you know - and she said I had to ask for the ingredients from a mated werewolf!"
"And you ask me?!"
"What?" Jongin scowls. "You haven't told Minseok-hyung? It's been years, hyung! Just tell him, 'Minseok, I'm a werewolf. Sehun is a vampire, that's why he's so pale and his boyfriend, Jongin is a siren.' See? What's so hard about that, really?"
"It's not as easy as you think, you brat! Why me, anyway."
"Well, you never ignore a witch’s advice and she said - "
"A witch? What witch?" Minseok voice comes from Jongdae back.
He startled. "Nothing!"
Jongin must be too focused if he talks without thinking about the people who might be listening in. And Jongdae can't smell Minseok because the chocolate smell is so strong he feels sick. But this is not how he imagined Minseok would find out about his world. He prays for the older man to forget he heard anything.
Minseok eyes him suspiciously. "But I heard -" When Jongdae fidgets nervously he sighs. "Okay, forget it."
.
But like what people always say, often the picture that goes so well that it has to be broken. the pitcher goes so often to the well that it is broken at last. It happens when he least expects it. Minseok has been busy with his internship and Jongdae is left with no one to keep him company.
Someone knocks on his door with rapid succession, and only stops once he opens the door with annoyed face.
"Hyung! We need to talk," Jongin says.
"What is it?"
Jongin takes scissors from his bag and stares at him with determination. Apparently, in Soojung’s 'How To Cure A Sick Vampire' book, they need a werewolf's fur. A brown-mated-wolf's fur.
"But- I don't have mate, yet?!"
Jongin doesn't care, just keeps trying to disrobe him. "She specifically told me to get yours. You don't have to fully change, just - quick, hyung."
Reluctantly, Jongdae focuses on his wolf. He's halfway through the transformation with Jongin's hands hovering nearby with the scissors glinting sharply, when the door bursts open and Minseok's grin comes in view.
Everything freezes.
.
Jongdae fidgets nervously away from the older man’s judging stare. Jongin has gone, leaving them with an awkward smile ("I'll just cut this - and um.. goodbye, hyung. You too, Minseok-hyung.") and a hasty exit.
"You're a werewolf."
An angry Minseok is a scary Minseok, so Jongdae just nods submissively. There's nothing else he can do, really. Minseok seems pissed and he can feel hurt radiating through their bond.
"And you never told me." Minseok prods further, "Why?"
"It never mattered until now-"
"I shouldn't know that you're a werewolf?! Is it funny to you that all these years we’ve spent together I kept ranting about werewolves and vampires and that stupid stuff- for god sake, Jongdae!"
He cowers a bit more. "I'm sorry."
"I don't know, Jongdae." Minseok sighs. "You don't trust me and I feel betrayed right now. You don't happen to have any other secrets right?"
Damn.
"What?!" Minseok screeches. "You do?!"
It's a mess, really.
So he blurts out, "I imprinted on you."
.
Looking back, Minseok took the news rather well. Most people would freak out because he's a werewolf first before the betrayed feeling settled in. Maybe Minseok’s side job as a supernatural fanatic fan helped with that.
They're still sitting in his living room. Minseok has passed his freaked out stage and is now calmly counting the dots on his cup.
"What about ghosts?"
"Real."
Minseok perks up at that. "Really? Are they scary? Blood everywhere and all?"
"Nope," He says casually. "There's actually one at my workplace, a Chinese ghost."
"That's cool!"
He snorts. If Minseok knows Tao has been clinging to him and following him for months, it wouldn't be that cool at all. Minseok might even not visit his workplace for year.
"Does anyone know?"
"Um.. Chanyeol knows, he's a werewolf, too."
"What?! That's.. unexpected," Minseok mumbles.
"Well, you didn't expect me to be one either, so..."
“So.. are you an alpha, then?”
“What?”
Minseok swirls his coffee, blatantly refusing to make eye contact. “I'm just wondering, since you imprinted on me and all, you know. Does that make me an omega?”
Jongdae is rendered speechless, people and their weird twisting of stories, really. Just how many years left for him to be able to steer Minseok in the right way? At least he can tell Minseok to his face this time. Maybe he can bring him to Soojung’s house so he can see her brewing those frogs and toenails for Sehun. Or he can bring him to the beach and have him poke Junmyeon until the merman cries.
“It’s just – I don’t peg myself as an omega?”
“Silly, the alpha/beta/omega dynamic is nonsense. We don’t live our life like that.”
Jongdae is confused when he smells disappointment radiating from Minseok’s warm body. He’s just about to ask why when Minseok lowers his head and whimpers. “So, you won’t have it then?”
“Have what? Alpha’s trait? I don’t think so, all werewolves have equal rights so no one is more superior that the other and vice versa.”
“No! I mean, the knot?!”
Huh? “I'm sorry, what?”
“The knot, Dae. Is it just another legend?”
Jongdae can feel his cheeks heat. “What? Why would you want that?
“Why not? So I can be your official mate of course.” Minseok chuckles a little before he adds, “Wait that’s funny, I mean, why knot? Why not knot?”
His face must be a deeper shade of red now that they’re joking about his reproductive organ – well Minseok is, he’s not that keen on laughing about it.
“You don’t have it, then?” Minseok pokes his lower rib. “That’s a shame but I won’t be mad or anything –”
“I do, actually.”
Now, the slow arousal and the deep unconcealed spark of want is what Jongdae feels shared through the bond within. Because when Minseok jumps on him, he can’t stop himself and lets out a needy whine.
“Damn, Minseok –”
Minseok face shows his predatory grin. “Then show me.”
Well, he can always educate Minseok about supernatural creatures later. Because right now he can teach him something else and it's far more important. Much, much later.