Archive of Our Own

It’s a rare morning off when Yushi wakes up to the smell of burning sandalwood, his door slamming open, and his alpha boyfriend, who may or may not be humping his leg, clinging onto him in the first stage of his rut.

It’s Riku at the door. He looks like he’s only just rolled out of bed. 

“Is he in rut already?” He asks Yushi, not even addressing the six foot tall alpha who is pressed along his back, panting into his ear. Yushi is overcome with the scent first and foremost. An alpha in rut has never appealed to him, but it’s kind of scary how Daeyoung never smells bad even in the throes of it. And it’s scary how much Riku’s scent, omegan and fertile, always bothers him whenever he comes near his alpha. Who is one of the heads of their pack, as good as mated, practically Daeyoung’s dame… and yet…

Riku clears his throat. Yushi isn’t even properly awake. 

“Yeah,” he says. “He’s… um.”

Well. Yushi can feel an alphan erection against his lower back. Daeyoung is holding him tight by the waist. Not grinding or anything - Yushi had thought, when he first woke up, that he might’ve been - but just holding him close. Daeyoung growls when Riku pulls Yushi out of his grip. His growl turns into a whine when Yushi goes along with him. “No, hyung-”

“Down, boy,” Riku scolds. “You’re lucky I didn’t let hyung in here. He wanted to be the one to get you to the heat room.”

It’s a familiar song and dance. Riku is always in charge of getting their alphas ready for their ruts - as Sion’s mate and as Daeyoung’s… well. Dame isn’t quite the word. But it’s something similar. As pack omega, he holds all of the authority. He scents them in and out if they need it. He’s at their beck and call while they do whatever alphas do in ruts. Besides popping and knots and whining, Yushi isn’t very sure.

Daeyoung is lucid enough to use his pleading puppy eyes. “But I just wanted to cuddle.”

“Go to the heat room,” Yushi scolds. He squeezes his alpha’s hand as Riku gets him out of bed by the arm. “You’re like two seconds away from popping a knot.”

“You can cuddle with your fleshlight,” Riku agrees, solemn. He’s busy picking up hoodies off the floor of Yushi’s room, shoving them into Daeyoung’s arms. Takes his pillow, for extra measure, though the poor thing may not survive another rut cycle with the baby alpha who seems to have a penchant for biting. He’s torn a few others to shreds. “Come on. You don’t have long and I’d rather not hear about whatever you have to say about Yushi once you’re in your cycle.”

Daeyoung’s face is scarlet, scandalized. “Hyung.”

Yushi feels similar. A little scandalized, mostly just embarrassed. Not because Riku is exaggerating, or because it’s not the truth. Because it is. And it’s something he’s still getting used to - the fact that Daeyoung wants him so badly, even in the throes of his rut. 

So:

“Go!” Yushi pushes him out of the door, face burning red. 

Daeyoung grumbles, but Riku threatens to scruff him if he doesn’t behave, so he goes. The scent wakes the whole dorm up, if Ryo and Sakuya’s doors slamming open are anything to go by. Yushi takes a lap around his room, breathing in the smell of his rutting alpha and trying not to pout when the dorm scent neutralizers turn on and it starts to fade. It smells too good, which is something he’s too ashamed to admit to anyone, not even Riku. Though the omega probably already knows. 

Once he’s tired of staring at his bed like the damn thing personally offended him, he goes out of his room and finds Sion hunkered down in the kitchen with a coffee. Looking a little put out. Whiny and petulant. 

Yushi’s stomach rumbles. Whatever’s wrong with their pack alpha can wait. 

“You can’t do this every time,” he comments, hip-checking Sion out of the way of the fridge for a protein shake. Who goes easily, slumping down against the counter like a miserable little thing. 

“I’m not doing anything,” Sion says, a little grumbling in his tone. “I just don’t see why I can’t take care of Daeyoung instead of Riku.”

“Because he’d try and bite your head off,” Ryo supplies from where he’s draped over the couch out in the living room. Yushi hadn’t noticed him there. Ryo always rotates cycle duties with Riku, so once one of them is in rut or heat, he makes himself useful. “Riku’s the only one that doesn’t rile him up.”

“I don’t rile him up,” Yushi frowns. He takes out a tupperware of fried eggs the dorm ahjumma left them this morning. Gets a plate out and piles them on. 

“You do,” Sakuya says sagely as he slips into the kitchen. Not even so much as telling them hi or anything. He beelines for the Keurig. “But you only rile him up in the gross way. We can all smell it.”

And, well, Yushi supposes that’s true. He doesn’t really go near Daeyoung when he’s in rut, but sometimes he’ll stand outside of the door of the heat room. It’s scent-proof, so they can’t smell each other, but Yushi can hear him. Whining for his mate. For his favorite beta. At first, he listened in because he had a hard time believing Riku when he told him that Daeyoung, even deep in his rut, didn’t want an omega - no, he wanted Yushi. But now, four months later…

Well. It’s hard to deny the obvious.

Yushi takes a sip of his drink and stares down at the floor, ears pink. Trying to pretend like the idea of riling up his rutting alpha doesn’t make him feel a little pleased. 

“Oh, gross,” Sakuya mutters, side eyeing him.

Yushi flings a chopstick at his head. Watches their maknae duck, using Sion for cover, who does little more than say hey, can we not, maybe. So much for being a strong pack alpha. Yushi grins to himself, self-satisfied. 

It still hasn’t even been a whole year since Daeyoung presented, so he’s a little… inconsistent, you could say. His pre-ruts can be tumultuous. Sometimes he’ll go a month without a rut, sometimes he’ll get two in one cycle. He’s got a good handle on his pheromones, for the most part, but he sticks to Yushi like a leech in his pre-rut and is prone to being territorial over the whole group if Sion doesn’t keep him in check. It’s pretty standard stuff for a baby alpha, and yet Daeyoung always gets so embarrassed when his instincts take over. Not that any of them blame him, but still. He goes red in the face whenever Yushi points out how thoroughly he’s been scented, or when Sion tells him that he doesn’t need to walk the pups to the bathroom when they’re at MCountdown because they’ll be fine, actually. It takes a few years to adjust, Sion says, and Yushi can attest to that. Sion himself presented early, and he was a menace for a good while in his late teen years. 

However, your best friend being an annoying alpha is one thing. Your boyfriend being an annoying alpha is a whole other thing.

To be perfectly honest, Yushi doesn’t care much when Daeyoung gets a little bit possessive, or when he stinks up the dorm, or when he gets a little touch-crazy around his rut. He actually thinks it’s kind of cute. Like having a big, angry puppy. He would never tell anyone this, of course, but it’s not something he really minds all that much.

The only thing is that Daeyoung’s… well. His proclivities, you could call them, have made the progress in their relationship more difficult than Yushi thought.

As in, they have had zero sex.

It’s not a super big deal. Yushi isn’t really a horny guy, and he’s largely content just having the big dumb alpha wrap him up in his arms and call it a day. But besides some fervid making out and a messy handjob, once, they haven’t done anything remotely sexy. Which is fine. But the issue is that Yushi kind of wants more.

He’s curious about what it would be like to have more.

It’s not that he’s inexperienced, because that would be a lie. His trainee days were interesting in that regard. But it’s just that he sometimes gets excited at the prospect of having a six foot tall, handsome boyfriend who likes to whine in his ears and call him hyung with those big, sparkly eyes whenever Yushi nips at the spot he likes on his neck. He had whimpered through the sloppy handjob Yushi gave him back when they were on tour, in the privacy of their shared hotel room - had whined for him, had begged, had promised to be good. Having such a potent alpha at your disposal like that isn’t easy to come by. It kind of gets Yushi’s blood boiling whenever he thinks about it. 

Kim Daeyoung, the one single tolerable alpha Yushi has ever known, would never do anything that Yushi doesn’t want to do.

But Yushi wants to do more.

It doesn’t take long before Riku joins them, having shut Daeyoung up in the heat room. He reeks of sandalwood and rut. Looks exhausted, doesn’t even comment on it when all of them turn their noses up at the smell. 

“Daeyoungie’s out of it, so leave him alone for now,” Riku announces. “It’ll be a few hours before he’s in his right mind again.” Yushi watches, deeply entertained, as Sion’s nostrils flare. He’s not the only one who notices. Riku adds: “I’m going to take a shower right now.”

Sion starts: “I can-”

“No, you won’t,” Riku says breezily. Which, thank god, because they can all hear it whenever they’re having shower sex. “You’re gonna make me breakfast like a good alpha and I’ll let you scent me when I’m done.”

Sakuya looks like he’s two seconds away from throwing up. Ryo has closed his eyes and plugged his ears. 

“Fine,” Sion grumbles. “Use my body wash.”

Riku grins. “Okay, hyung.”

A collective sigh of relief is exhaled when their pack omega leaves the kitchen. Sion casts his eyes down to the floor, face red. Good. It’s what he gets.

“That was really embarrassing, hyung,” Ryo comments.

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that,” Sakuya says.

Yushi hums in agreement. 

“Shut up,” Sion says. He’s sulking properly, getting his phone out of his pocket. “I’m gonna call manager hyung. Tell him that Youngie’s out this week. Text me in the group chat if you need me.”

They chorus out their understanding as Sion stalks out of the kitchen and down the hallway, towards his room. They’ll be avoiding him and Riku for as long as they can - Sion’s preferred way of scenting his omega isn’t anything they like witnessing.

“We’ll never be like them, right?” Sakuya asks Yushi.

Yushi shrugs. “You can kill me if I ever am.”

Besides that, the day is uneventful. Riku and Ryo take their turns attending to Daeyoung. Yushi goes over to SM when he starts feeling antsy, knowing that his alpha is whining for him just down the hall. He and Shotaro hyung both have a free afternoon, so they do some free-styling together and get Chinese for lunch. He returns back to the dorms when Riku texts him, saying that the bad part of Daeyoung’s rut has broken and Yushi should check on him. Which he does, of course. 

The door stays closed, but Yushi leans back against it. Knocks, just to be annoying.

“Young-ah.”

There’s some shuffling in the room; a big, heavy body moving around. “Hyung,” comes Daeyoung. His voice is deep, hoarse. There’s a thud against the door as he slides against it on the other side. “Hi. I missed you.”

Yushi can’t help but crack a smile. “You did, huh?”

“I did,” Daeyoung insists. He’s more whiny like this, susceptible to his hormones. It’s always cute, way cuter than Yushi would ever admit. “It’ll probably be bad again tomorrow, sorry. I know we had a date scheduled.”

This silly boy. 

“We knew your rut was coming, don’t apologize,” Yushi huffs. “I can go out with Sion. See the sights, or whatever, I think he wanted to take the pups to Hongdae to go shopping. Riku already volunteered to stay here.”

“Okay,” Daeyoung says. His voice is quiet, low. “I wish it was you instead.”

He never talks about it outside his ruts, the way he whines for Yushi to be the one with him. Yushi has never brought it up and Daeyoung always denies it when Riku mentions it to tease him. But whenever he’s in the throes of it, or even in the downtime of it, he always says it. How much he wishes it was Yushi instead. How much he misses him. Yushi wonders, sometimes, if he even remembers how much he desires to be together once his cycle’s all said and done.

“I know,” Yushi says. “Me too.”

And that’s the truth. 

He wishes he could attend to Daeyoung’s needs, be the one soaked in his pheromones, help him get off. Sion doesn’t really have anything against it, them being together during his rut (it’s not like any accidental pregnancies could come of it or anything, never mind that they’re all on high-grade suppressants and birth control given to them by SM), but the thing is that Daeyoung has never asked him to do it, and Yushi won’t be the one to ask first. It hurts, sometimes. Makes him wonder just how much Daeyoung really wants him. But it’s as Riku always says - instincts don’t lie.

Daeyoung, who wants him in rut, wants him all the time. And he’d be an idiot to think anything otherwise. 

“Ugh, a new wave is coming on,” Daeyoung groans. Another thud against the door. “Wish I could smell you. Miss you, hyung. Miss holding you.”

Yushi bites down on his lip so he doesn’t say anything stupid. Like how he could just open the door and lay in Daeyoung’s arms and let the alpha use him as a chew toy. 

“Just a few more days,” is what he says instead. “And then we’ll go on a date, yeah?”

That’s a lie. Their schedules are packed for weeks. But it’s the thought that counts.

“Okay, yeah,” Daeyoung says, already sounding distant. Distracted. “See you soon.”

Yushi escapes to his room before he has to hear anything unsavory, like the squelch of Daeyoung’s cock in his fist, or worse, the fucking fleshlight that he uses in his ruts. It’s not that Yushi is jealous of the thing, he’s maybe just a little mad at it.

That should be me, he grumbles as he flops into bed and pouts into a pillow. That should be me.

It’s not anything to dwell on, really. Maybe they’re just not ready for that next step, not yet. They’re young, and they’ve only been dating for four months, and Daeyoung still gets shy, sometimes, when they kiss. But then he thinks about Sion and Riku, who never leave each other alone in their nest, who never have to worry that they’re not wanted. Yushi isn’t jealous of them, not really - they’re actually kinda gross, to be honest - but he can’t help being a little bitter. 

Maybe they’re not ready. But Yushi sure wishes that they were. 

-

By the end of the week, Daeyoung is out of his rut and back to his normal self.

They’re too busy with comeback preparations for Yushi to mind much when his post-rut alpha sticks to him like a second skin and keeps him scented to the point where he probably smells like an alpha himself. He doesn’t mind much in general, only blushing when Riku and the maknaes tease him (and letting Sion get one (1) joke in before Yushi snaps back at him). Daeyoung, as always, goes pink-faced at their teasing, and yet never eases up. Holds Yushi firm to his chest when they crawl into bed in the wee hours of the morning. Wakes Yushi up with his mouth to his scent gland. How in the world he’s embarrassed by the teasing but not using Yushi like a scented toy is a big mystery.

But again. It’s not like Yushi cares. 

It’s kind of nice, in all honesty. Definitely amusing. Sometimes Daeyoung will pin him to the bed with his lips on Yushi’s neck, only to go bright red once he realizes the position they’re in. It can be frustrating, at times, when the alpha apologizes and backs off. It makes Yushi want to see more - makes him want to see his boyfriend lose that last bit of control.

Not that he ever does. Lose control, that is. But Yushi craves it all the same. 

“Morning, hyung,” Daeyoung murmurs before he’s properly awake. He’s got his nose buried in the nape of Yushi’s neck, as he often does. Yushi’s scent is faint, non-existent at times, but Daeyoung always insists he can smell it. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mm, yeah,” Yushi mumbles, not really awake either. He feels around to squeeze Daeyoung’s arms, firm around his waist. “Did the alarm go off?”

“Soon,” Daeyoung says. Runs his teeth along his scent gland. Probably even doesn’t realize he’s doing it.

Yushi tries not to squirm.

How, exactly, is he supposed to act normal when this is the kind of shit he wakes up to every morning? His alpha covers him in his scent, does it so thoroughly that the rest of the pack comments on it once they’re in the small confines of the van, and yet still blushes when Yushi kisses him. It’s a little annoying. It gets a lot annoying when Daeyoung still covers himself up when they change in front of each other, as if all six of them haven't seen the others naked a million times. It’s not like Yushi is proud of the fact that he knows what Sion’s dick looks like - the least his alpha can do is distract him with his abs!

“Come here,” Yushi mutters, a little petulant. “Come kiss me.”

Daeyoung stills along his nape. Pulls back a little bit - Yushi follows him, pressing back more.

“Hyung, we-”

“The alarm hasn’t gone off yet,” Yushi says more firmly. Turns around in Daeyoung’s hold, squirming out of the tight grip. He rolls on top of his stupid alpha boyfriend, leans up so they’re chest-to-chest. Daeyoung’s eyes are blown wide, shaking. So nervous. “Come here and kiss me.”

He knows that look. Growing pupils, hungry. But Daeyoung is loosening his grip on him, trying to back away. 

“But-”

Yushi growls. It’s not anything threatening - he’s a beta after all. He presses in closer. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to kiss me?”

Daeyoung frowns. Shakes his head. “I do.”

Yushi smiles when Daeyoung bites down his lip, his gaze going to his mouth. “So be a good little alpha and kiss me, Youngie.”

And, well. At least that works.

Daeyoung is hesitant, as he always is, pressing their lips together all slowly and shyly. An innocent little peck. Yushi curls his hands firm over Daeyoung’s shoulders and leans in more insistently, kissing him harder. Closed-mouthed, very unsexy. But they’re working on it. Daeyoung whines when Yushi nips at his bottom lip. Whines even more when Yushi gets his jaw open and licks into his mouth. His hands hold him by the waist, fingers pressing into bare skin right above the elastic band of his boxers, moaning when Yushi sucks on his tongue.

He’s so shy and virginal and soft and Yushi wants to eat him.  

“Hyung,” Daeyoung pants, sounding panicked, when Yushi pulls away to nip at his jaw and suck at the skin of his neck. Yushi can feel him hardening up in his sweats, slow and insistent. “Hyung-”

“What d’you want?” Yushi asks, saccharine sweet. He mouths at Daeyoung’s scent gland, covering his alpha musk with mint. “Could get you off, if you want it.”

“Oh my god,” Daeyoung gasps. His hips jump at the suggestion, pressing his length against Yushi’s thigh. He tries to pull away afterwards, ashamed, but Yushi only clings on tighter. And Daeyoung could overpower him so easily, and yet he doesn’t. His big, strong alpha wants more, doesn’t he? “Hyung,” he whines again. “Hyung, please-”

“Want you,” Yushi mutters, kissing his way back to Daeyoung’s mouth. Rolling his hips down when Daeyung’s grip on him tightens again. “Want you, wanna see you panting for it. You’re such a good alpha-”

“Oh, god,” Daeyoung moans. “Oh my god-”

Yushi grinds down on him. He’s aching. “Want it, Youngie, please, want you with me-”

They’re interrupted by their shrill alarm going off on Daeyoung’s phone, which is arguably one of the loudest things in the world and therefore the most surefire way to kill a boner. Their little bubble of intimacy is popped immediately, as Yushi rolls off of Daeyoung with a groan, softening up in seconds. Daeyoung takes the opportunity to jump out of bed, turning off the alarm, and putting at least five feet of distance between them. Strolls right over to the wardrobe, getting out clothes to change into. Yushi watches the expanse of his wide shoulders with a frown on his face.

“Yushi?” Their manager knocks on the door. “Daeyoungie? Are you-”

“We’re awake,” Yushi says bitterly, curling up in bed and pouting. He glares at Daeyoung, who is changing into jeans, pretending like they weren’t about to frot no less than a minute ago. 

“Okay, we have breakfast,” manager hyung says. “And coffee, so-”

“Be right out!” Daeyoung says cheerfully, the bastard. Yushi scowls. And then scowls even harder when Daeyoung turns to him, innocent smile on his face. “You need help getting out of bed, hyung?”

“I don’t,” Yushi grumbles. Swats his boyfriend away when Daeyoung comes over to pull at his wrist anyway. “No, leave me alone. And you don’t get to scent me any more, either.”

Yushi hates the fact that he has a thing for this silly alpha in the first place, let alone as he looks down at him with those puppy eyes, dressed in an oversized t-shirt and zip up hoodie and looking more boy-ish than sexy or suave or anything else. 

“No scenting?” Daeyoung asks with a pout. “Really?”

Yeah, Yushi hates himself. Hates that he lets this dumb baby alpha use him as a chew toy only to get nothing in return. Hates that he likes it this way.

“Maybe just a little scenting,” Yushi mumbles. Lets Daeyoung pull him to his feet. “But only a little bit.”

Daeyoung’s grin, in response, is cloyingly sweet. Full of trouble, full of evil intention. Yushi wants to kiss it off of his face.

-

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Riku says wistfully, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye, “where my Yushi comes to me because he’s sexually frustrated.”

“I’m also here,” Sion says unhelpfully, from where he’s playing a mobile game on his phone. “He came to both of us.”

Yushi regrets everything.

Knocking on Riku’s door was embarrassing enough. Because sure, their pack leaders’ nest is open to everyone, but as a beta, Yushi generally spends the least time in there. The pups are more in the habit of curling up with them, and Daeyoung will join them, on occasion, but just the knowledge that his hyungs regularly fuck in this room is enough to dissuade him from stepping one foot inside. 

But when worst comes to worst…

It would probably be less humiliating if Riku hadn’t insisted that Yushi sit in the middle of him and Sion, like he’s their pup (which he certainly is not). But Sion had whispered to him that Riku’s in that part of his cycle and it’ll benefit the whole pack if he just goes along with it.

So.

“I’m not sexually frustrated,” Yushi says, even though he is. “I’m just…”

He tries searching for an explanation that doesn’t make him sound (1) unbelievably pathetic or (2) desperately horny. He can’t come up with anything. He frowns.

“There’s nothing wrong with being sexually frustrated,” Riku says patiently. “You’re at the age, you know, where hormones run rampant.”

Yushi opens his mouth to remind him that not only is he twenty fucking years old, Riku is also less than a single year older than him, but Sion elbows him sharply in the side with the shake of his head. Yushi really should’ve waited until after Riku’s heat to come to his hyungs with this one. 

“I’m not hormonal,” Yushi says… even though he kind of is. “It’s just that Daeyoung is too shy to even touch me. Even though he uses me like a chew toy.”

“Didn’t need to know that,” Sion mutters under his breath. As if he wasn’t asking for this when he sagely tells him you can come to hyung with anything, Yushi-ah!

“Aww,” Riku clicks his tongue. “You poor thing.”

Yushi lets Riku pull him into his arms, brushing a hand through his hair, because he can admit that it’s nice to be doted on by the pack omega every now and again, even though Riku has the tendency to drive him insane on a good day. Sion always says that Yushi is the most clingy to Riku out of all of them, and whether or not that’s actually true is between him and god.

“It’s hard to be exposed to all of those hormones but not be touched, right?” Riku coos. “Especially with an alpha who’s as potent as Daeyoungie. And he’s so possessive…”

“More possessive than hyung,” Yushi agrees solemnly. 

“Yah,” Sion complains. 

“I don’t think he even realizes it, he doesn’t have good control over his instincts yet,” Riku ignores him. “And because you’re a beta, he can’t smell that you’re horny. So you have to tell him.”

Yushi frowns. Burrows his face into Riku’s shoulder. “But I don’t want to,” he says. “It’s embarrassing.”

Sion chuckles. “More embarrassing than this?”

He deserves it when both Yushi and Riku swat at him, whining out a betrayed jagi-yah, how could you, as Riku pushes him out of the nest. Stupid alphas. 

“Be supportive!” Riku scolds him. “Yushi-chan needs our help!”

“What help can you give him?” Sion asks, crawling back into the nest and dodging Riku kicking at him. “When we started sharing cycles, you were too embarrassed to kiss me unless I asked you to!”

“Because you were so hot!” Riku complains, red-faced. “How was I supposed to feel!”

“So maybe Daeyoung’s just nervous!” Sion says. He scoots in on Riku’s other side, ignoring it when Riku tries to elbow him back away. “He’s had a crush on Yushi since LaStart, how do you expect him to just be normal now that they’re dating?”

And… hold on. Yushi blinks.

Wait. What?

“He’s an alpha!” Riku argues. “He needs to take the reins-”

Sion laughs. “As if you’d ever let me take the reins-”

“Wait, hold on a second,” Yushi cuts them off. Never mind the fact that Sion has his chin hooked over Riku’s shoulder, snuggling him even though they’re literally in the middle of an argument. He also elects to ignore that they’re all spooning. “Daeyoung has liked me since when?”

“Since LaStart,” Riku says, like it’s a no-brainer. “Since 90’s Love, since-”

“90’s Love?” Yushi shrieks. “But he was a trainee for, like, three days-”

“Oh my god,” Sion grins into Riku’s neck. “You didn’t know, did you?”

Yushi stares at them both, who are looking back at him with little shitty smiles. Smug as all hell. Which isn’t fair - how could he have been dating Daeyoung for this long and not had known that his stupid alpha has liked him since before he ever even presented?

(Before he ever presented! How in the world!)

“I guess I never asked,” Yushi says slowly. Ignores the way Sion and Riku’s grins grow. “He never told me, so I just…”

“Aw, man, that’s cute,” Riku coos. “He’s just shy, huh? He probably didn’t want you to know because he’s embarrassed. But he’s been obsessed with you for years, so you have nothing to fret about.”

“When Daeyoung presented as an alpha, he said that he thought he’d be a beta,” Sion says. “He wanted you to like him, Yushi. He wanted to present himself in a way so you’d like him. He’s probably just nervous that he’s an alpha and he can’t control his instincts.”

Yushi doesn’t know, really, what to make of that.

Sure, Daeyoung is shy. That’s just a fact of life, really. But Yushi never thought he’d be so shy and nervous about being an alpha just because Yushi’s a beta. There’s never been anything to be scared about - Daeyoung isn’t rabid, or feral, or out of control. And maybe he’s just not the most consistent, yet, when it comes to his instincts. But Yushi never thought it was anything but cute, the way his puppy-like boyfriend latches onto him and scents him and rubs their wrists together like Yushi has a scent to imprint back onto him. Which he doesn’t. But it’s the thought that counts, right?

“You just have to take the reins,” Riku encourages him. “He’s nervous. He’s shy. And what other alpha would let you boss him around, really?” Riku’s grin is a little bit terrifying. “Trust me - it’s awesome.”

Yushi elects to not dwell on the way Sion’s face goes red as he curls around his mate, or the smell of smoldering espresso in the air. But he detaches himself from the two of them once he notices Sion nosing at Riku’s neck - ugh, gross - and gets out of the nest before he smells something he doesn’t want to smell.

“I guess you’re right,” Yushi concedes. “I’ll… um. I’ll try doing that. Thanks, hyung.”

He turns to go. Riku shouts after him you got this, Yushi-chan! 

“Can you lock the door behind you?” Sion asks in a low voice, edging on a growl. “Please?”

Yushi dry heaves at his tone alone and gets out of there as soon as he can, clicking the lock behind him. They’re so, so gross. The grossest in the world.

(And he can only hope and dream that one day, Daeyoung will be gross like that with him.)

-

Yushi makes a plan.

Given that they’re in the middle of album preparations, they don’t exactly have time to fool around, but Yushi can think about it - which he does. A lot. He keeps his eye on Daeyoung more often than he doesn’t, especially when Riku’s heat hits and the two hyungs are out for the week, leaving him and his alpha in charge of their unruly, but surprisingly docile maknaes. Yushi isn’t exactly substitute leader material, and neither is Daeyoung, so they and Sakuya leave most of the decision making up to Ryo. Who does so gladly.

They all are in agreement that Sion is never allowed to know just how shakily their group operates without him and Riku, especially to the point where they leave a pup in charge. But what their head alpha doesn’t know won’t kill him. 

Yushi bides his time into the start of their comeback, as they’re all stretched thin between the practice room and MuBank and program after program. He sticks to Daeyoung’s side even when he shouldn’t. Sion doesn’t raise any complaints about him being obvious, so Yushi maybe pushes the envelope of what could be seen as platonic on camera. When he’s sent out to go record challenges with other groups, he lets Daeyoung scent him before doing so. It sets his alpha at ease, yes, but it also gets him wanting more. And Yushi always pulls away right before Daeyoung can do anything other than nose at his scent gland.

The maknaes hate it. Riku thinks it’s hilarious, a put-out Daeyoung moping when Yushi skips off to go mingle with alphas from other groups. It’s what he gets.

It’s all a part of his plan.

Yushi knew, obviously, that his boyfriend was mildly obsessed with him. Of course. It’s not a hard thing to figure out. But now that he knows that Daeyoung’s little puppy crush on him has been going on since the first time they ever met, he’s going to exploit that obsession until he gets what he wants. Until it leads to more hand stuff, or maybe even a blow job (Yushi isn’t going to test his luck, so he’ll take whatever he can get). 

It’s a foolproof plan. Daeyoung’s alpha is needy enough to make it work. 

(He feels bad, sometimes, for exploiting his poor alpha’s instincts. But then he thinks about the fact that his alpha won’t even let him feel up his biceps, and that makes him feel less bad about it.)

So he kisses Daeyoung before he heads off to the gym, makes his protein shakes. Acts more doting, more like an omega, which is something that Daeyoung would never ask from him but is something that sets off his happy-alpha pheromones all the same. He lets his boyfriend scent him until he reeks before pulling away entirely, acting like he’s unbothered by Daeyoung’s teeth against his scent gland. He spends longer than necessary talking to idols from other groups, especially the alphas. Yushi doesn’t actually say anything to them, as he’s too socially anxious to make any friends, but he stands there as Sion converses with other idols - Daeyoung must take that as Yushi getting close with them, because he starts getting pouty whenever they head home for the day, and so Yushi knows that his plan is working, at least.

He’s so fucking easy.

A couple weeks go by like this, before Daeyoung’s next pre-rut is hitting. It’s more potent than usual. Yushi wakes up for a week straight to his boyfriend scenting him so thoroughly that it makes him a little dizzy, which is perhaps the consequences of his actions, but is ultimately not anything he’s complaining about, either. Daeyoung makes Yushi sit next to him at radio shows, growls when he leaves the waiting room, won’t let Yushi prepare his own ramyeon because his alpha, of course, wants to do all of the providing himself. Sion looks a little unnerved at their usually pliant Daeyoungie acting like a territorial freak, but they pivot by sending Sakuya out to do girl group dances instead, and Riku does a lot of damage control by keeping all of them covered in his orange blossom scent. It does little to hide the arousal, but it keeps their managers off their back, at least.

The nail in the coffin, funnily enough, happens by accident.

It’s a rare day when they’re back at the dorms before midnight, so Yushi is eager to hop right into bed and get a full night of sleep. He takes a quick shower before anyone can take the bathroom from him, strips down to his boxers, and wears one of Daeyoung’s scented hoodies before crawling into bed.

Mmm. Yeah. That’s nice.

He’s slowly starting to drift off to sleep when his boyfriend joins him, the door creaking open before it’s clicked shut and there’s a big, broody alpha slotting along his back. Yushi hums, half-asleep, as Daeyoung mouths at his scent gland. Nipping. Biting. Just the scent of Daeyoung’s pre-rut in the air is enough to get him rolling onto his stomach so his dumb needy alpha can get more. Anything he wants.

“Youngie,” Yushi mutters, reaching back to hold Daeyoung’s hand, which is clasped firmly on his waist. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“But you smell so good,” Daeyoung says, voice low. “You smell like me.”

His scent is more potent than it should be, and considering he’s been in pre-rut for a week already, there’s a chance that Yushi is playing with fire by letting this happen. After all, Daeyoung could be right on the fringes of it. He certainly smells like he is.

But what better time is there to get what he wants than when there’s a needy, possessive alpha in his bed? 

Yushi can’t but moan, just the tiniest bit, when Daeyoung scrapes his teeth over his scent gland. Threatening to mark. He breathes out, “good alpha.”

In turn, his alpha purrs. So low it could be a growl, Yushi’s not sure.

Okay, fuck. Fine. He may as well go for it now.

Yushi keeps his moves slow, calculated, as he rolls onto his back, pushing Daeyoung off of him. His alpha goes easily, expression a little confused, when Yushi climbs atop his lap. Pinning him down to the bed by the shoulders. Smiling when Daeyoung stares up at him with wide blown pupils. Looking hungry. All from a little scenting.

“Hi, little alpha,” Yushi grins. “You’re close to rut, aren’t you?”

Daeyoung looks a little unfocused, eyes glassy. “Yeah, hyung,” he breathes.

His scent is so damn strong, it’s a wonder how Riku hasn’t already broken in here to drag him to the heat room. Just the smell of his alpha’s arousal, his want, has Yushi chubbing up in his briefs. He rolls his hips down into Daeyoung’s.

“Wanna touch me?” Yushi asks. “Wanna let me make you feel good before your first knot, alpha?”

Daeyoung strains against his hold, but doesn’t push him off. His length is already growing against where Yushi is sitting in his lap. Obscenely big. So hard it’s stupid. So obedient. 

“Wanna touch you,” Daeyoung mutters. “Wanna make you feel good.”

“I bet you do, baby,” Yushi coos. “So be a good boy and let me kiss you.”

Daeyoung nods. Listening, obviously. So Yushi kisses him.

There’s more teeth than lips, this time around. Especially once Daeyoung gets a grip on his hips and ruts up against him. Yushi scolds him: “behave, alpha,” and Daeyoung whimpers as he lets Yushi lick into his mouth. Moaning into it when Yushi reaches down between them to take Daeyoung’s heavy length in his hand. 

“You’re wet already,” Yushi says, kind of distracted by the scent of Daeyoung’s need. “It must hurt, alpha, hmm?”

“Hurts without you,” Daeyoung pants. His mouth is kissed red, eyes blown wide. “Please, hyung, please-”

Fuck it. If he’s going to beg like that, Yushi’s going to go for exactly what he wants.

“I’m going to suck you off,” he announces, “and you’re going to cum in my mouth. If you knot, I’ll never touch you again.” He smiles sweetly down at his alpha. “Is that clear?”

He watches Daeyoung’s eyes widen. As he swallows. Nods. Breathing heavily out of his mouth. 

As he whimpers out: “Yes, hyung.”

What a good fucking alpha, so good that it’s criminal. Yushi grins as he sinks down to knees, sliding backwards until his face is level with the tent in Daeyoung’s sweats.

“Good boy,” he praises. And then he’s pulling Daeyoung’s pants down and taking him in his mouth. 

To be honest, Yushi has never done anything with an alpha before. Back when they were trainees, they were mostly unpresented, and even Sion, one of the only alphas, didn’t like the idea of anyone touching him once he started having cycles. Not that Yushi ever wanted to do anything with Sion, of all people, but it’s not like his choices were stellar to begin with. It’s been a good two years since he’s had anyone’s cock in his mouth, let alone his alpha boyfriend’s, which is just as big as you’d expect an alpha like Daeyoung’s to be.

Nothing he can’t handle, though. He’s going to make his alpha never want anyone else ever again.

Daeyoung moans as Yushi kisses down his length, a little teasing. He’s twisting his fingers into the sheets, not even touching. Good boy. Yushi would let him touch if he wasn’t on the edge of rut and therefore a little untrustworthy. He hums, suckling on the head, digging his fingers into Daeyoung’s hips to keep him still. The taste of his alpha is so good, so heady on his tongue. Yushi whines into the taste, pressing his face closer, wanting more.  

“Hyung,” Daeyoung breathes, voice wrecked. “Hyungie-“

Yushi moans, pressing in closer, taking him deeper, sinking slowly down until Daeyoung is whining, until he’s in Yushi’s throat and all Yushi can taste is alpha, alpha, alpha. His head is a little floaty, high on the potent scent of his mate, a little disoriented that he finally gets to taste Daeyoung after so long. After he’s wanted it for so long. 

Yushi can feel himself hard and aching, and quite frankly, couldn’t care less. He’s never been this keyed up in his life, so close to his alpha’s rut that he can taste it on him, as Daeyoung leaks down his throat and Yushi can only swallow him down, wanting even more. 

“Oh my god,” Daeyoung whines, as Yushi slurps him down with an obscene sound. “Oh my god, hyung, please, please, please-“

How many betas could have an alpha whining this desperately for them? This hard? This good?

Fuck. It’s so fucking good. 

Yushi moans as he takes Daeyoung down, and Daeyoung, in turn, wails. So sweet and well-mannered, not even touching, as Yushi swallows him whole. Yushi feels a little desperate to get him off, knowing that Riku could smell the arousal and come in at any second to drag his alpha away to the heat room. He’s desperate to taste his release, get Daeyoung moaning for it so that there’s no question over just who the alpha belongs to. 

Yushi pulls off of him. Kisses his slit, moaning as he tastes him. 

“You’re so good, alpha,” Yushi purrs. “You’re so, so good, aren’t you?”

Daeyoung covers his mouth with one hand, moaning pathetically as Yushi takes him in a spit-slick hand. Grip firm, steady, teasing. As Yushi grins at the way his hips tremble. God, he’s so good for it. He doesn’t do anything his hyung tells him not to do, isn’t doing anything besides taking it. 

“Answer me, baby,” Yushi coos. “Are you a good boy for hyung?”

Daeyoung squeezes his eyes shut. Clings onto the sheets. 

“I am,” he whimpers. “‘M good, hyung, please-”

Yushi, satisfied with his answer, takes him back in his mouth. 

Having an alpha as potent as Daeyoung trembling for him and begging for it is enough to get Yushi leaking along his own thigh. He can smell the spice of mint in the air, something he’s never smelled before in his life. He’s never even heard of an aroused beta having a scent. But his mint mixes with Daeyoung’s burning sandalwood, as his alpha whimpers in his hold, as Yushi takes him back into his throat and sucks him down until Daeyoung, muffled, begs please, please, hyung, please. I’ll be good, hyung, please, I’m so close, I’m so close-

Yushi moans as he takes him in, slurping him down. He wants his big alpha to come, wants to be filled up. He’s never wanted that before, either, but he wants it now. He wants to taste just how badly his boyfriend wants him, is desperate for him, shaking as Yushi holds his hips down and takes him until he’s breathing in the scent of his arousal and nothing else besides that. 

He can feel Daeyoung’s knot starting to form at the base of his cock, can feel the threat of it against his lips. But he knows his sweet alpha wouldn’t knot when hyung tells him not to. He knows his Daeyoung would never do anything besides listen. 

“Are you going to knot, baby?” Yushi pulls off to ask. He tugs on him, grip tight. “Are you going to knot, or can you hold it?”

“I can hold it,” Daeyoung swears, pleading. Begging, so sweet and sincere. “I won’t, hyung, I promise, I’ll be good, I’ll be good-“

“Know you will, alpha, my good boy,” Yushi coos. “C’mon. Come for hyung.”

He runs his tongue along Daeyoung’s slit and relishes in the broken moan his alpha lets out as his hips rut up, trying so, so hard to fuck something. Yushi doesn’t let him, just laps at the head of his cock, keeping him the tiniest bit warm. Daeyoung keens out a whine when Yushi leaves a sloppy kiss right against the tip. 

“Hyung,” he warbles. “I’m gonna- I think I’m gonna-“

Yushi moans around his length; taking him into his mouth. Slowly sinking back down so his alpha has something warm and wet and tight to come into. He digs his nails into Daeyoung’s hips. You better come right now. 

“Hyung,” Daeyoung moans. “Hyung- hyung, please-“

Yushu presses down on his knot with his fingers. Hard. Teases it out of him. 

“Holy shit,” Daeyoung cries. “Oh my god, fuck-“

He comes. 

It’s not an eruption like Yushi expects out of an alpha basically in rut, but it’s certainly more intense than blowing another beta. Daeyoung’s hips cant up just once as he comes down Yushi’s throat, who just moans as he takes him in even deeper. His knot doesn’t pop, the poor thing pulsing as Daeyoung whimpers through his orgasm. Whining when Yushi pulls off of him and fixes his pants so he’s tucked right back in. 

“You’re so good,” Yushi coos, grinning and satisfied, as Daeyoung pulls him up into his arms and crushes him into a hug. “My alpha. Such a good alpha.”

Daeyoung whimpers into his shoulder, already growing hard again, as Yushi pets his hair. And then not even two minutes pass before Riku is letting himself through the door, slamming it open, looking frazzled. 

“Yah, why didn’t you tell me!” Riku scolds. “He’s basically already in rut! I can smell it from outside the apartment!”

Yushi shrugs, grinning. “Sorry, hyung.”

Daeyoung is more docile than usual, sated by his orgasm, as Riku takes him away. He pouts as Yushi hugs him goodbye, pleading eyes begging to stay, but he doesn’t cause a fuss. Maybe because Riku wraps one of Yushi’s hoodies around his neck, filling the whiny alpha’s nose with his scent. But he goes easily nonetheless. 

Yushi is still hard, even when the scent neutralizers turn on, even when Daeyoung’s rutting scent fades from his sheets. He whines into his pillow and takes himself into his hand. 

He’s going to do that again, no matter what it takes. 

-

This rut is a little bit different from normal. 

Daeyoung is way more keyed up than he usually is, according to both Ryo and Riku, begging for his beta mate. Begging hyung, please, want my hyung, please, make it better, it hurts. Yushi feels guilty that that was probably his own doing, but Riku tells him that he’s just more needy than usual. Not in any actual pain. A little hornier, maybe, but not in any pain. 

He still feels bad anyway. 

It gets to a point where on the second day, Riku seriously considers letting Yushi see him. He’s stopped by Sion reminding him that Daeyoung isn’t in the state of mind to agree to anything, even if it’s Yushi. They all can see Riku beside himself with letting one of his pack members be upset, especially while in rut, but there’s nothing they can do about it.

“Promise me,” Riku pulls him aside. “Promise me that you’ll talk to him when this is all over. You guys need each other.”

Yushi crumbles under the weight of Riku’s earnesty, of course, as any sane person would. He nods. 

“I will.”

(He does not.)

Daeyoung gets out of rut in a perfectly normal manner, so normal that they’re all unnerved. He sticks to Yushi like a leech, like he didn’t spend the past three days begging for him. He asks for pack cuddles on the couch. He scents everyone happily, spreading post-rut alpha pheromones everywhere with a simple mindedness that only an alpha fresh out of three days of knotting is capable of.

Yushi doesn’t know what to do about it.

Daeyoung doesn’t talk about what they got up to right before his rut hit, nor what happened during. Yushi even has to look up on Naver if alphas go through some kind of rut-induced-amnesia, but no, their memories should be perfectly intact. He obviously remembers what happened, but he’s not talking about it, and Yushi is at a loss for how to approach this. Or if he even should. It’s driving him insane.

Daeyoung is the same. A little less needy, but no less enthusiastic in his scenting. Yushi still wakes up to his alpha nipping at him on the nape, still goes to sleep tucked firmly to his boyfriend’s chest. It makes him wonder if maybe he dreamt the whole thing up, but then Riku frets over them all like a stressed dame the longer Yushi goes without saying anything, and it’s clear that all of this has been frighteningly real.

Yushi, for the most part, elects to not to think about it, much to the ire of their pack omega. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right? There’s a Japanese album coming up on the horizon, so he throws himself into recordings and practices and goes through each day in a state of only ever being half-awake. Him and Daeyoung manage to sneak in one (1) date at the Han on an off day, but besides that, they’re swamped for the unforeseen future. Which is fine. This is just the way life is. 

It’s another long day at practice when one of the managers drops off some chicken for them to glut on as a treat - none of them diet, exactly, but it’d be a stretch to say that they get all the nutrients they’re supposed to. The six of them sit in a circle in the middle of the practice room and pass each other chicken wings and take the rare opportunity to eat to their heart’s content. Yushi and the maknaes are particularly ravenous. Riku and Sion both coo at Sakuya’s cheeks being stuffed full.

“Stop it!” He swats Riku’s hand away. “You’re not my dame!”

Riku puts a hand to his chest, upset. “After I carried you for nine months? After I laid in labor waiting for you for twenty years?”

The dramatics quickly elevate into Sakuya threatening to call his actual mother to complain about his pack to Riku threatening to ground him, and Sion has to pull them apart by force once the chicken gets involved. 

(“This is why Ryo is my favorite,” Riku sniffles, and they all laugh at Sakuya’s genuinely offended expression.) 

 Yushi is happily munching away on his chicken, listening to his pack banter, when Daeyoung scoots closer to his side. Which isn’t weird, not really, but then he puts a hand on Yushi’s thigh, and ever so slightly, squeezes. 

Yushi pauses, mid-chew, to blink at him. Only to be met with puppy-wide eyes, a little pleading.

“What’s wrong?” Yushi asks him. 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Daeyoung says, although his face says he wants something. “I just wanted to hold you.”

Hmm. Okay, sure…

So Yushi goes back to his food, only to stiffen when Daeyoung presses in closer. Drags him flush against him. No one in the pack seems to notice, too focused on their food, but Yushi is a little… well. Caught off guard, for one, at his alpha’s antics. Sure, Daeyoung can sometimes be touchy, but never this much in front of the pack. Not on the thigh.  

Yushi turns to his alpha and raises an eyebrow. Daeyoung flushes.

“I was just wondering…” he whispers. “If maybe you’d want to…”

His hand squeezes again, and yeah, Yushi isn’t an idiot. He knows what this kind of thing means. But it’s so beyond out of left field that he kind of drops his chicken and sniffs the air and asks: “Are you in pre-rut?”

His voice is soft as it usually is. Not conveying any particular emotion, either. But Daeyoung’s face falls, his nose scrunching up.

“Why would I be in pre-rut?”

Yushi stares at him. “Because you only ever touch me when you're in pre-rut.”

Okay, maybe he could have worded that a little nicer, but it’s still true regardless. The only time Daeyoung is bold enough to make any sort of move on him is once his hormones start going haywire. Which Yushi is bitter about, sometimes, but it’s true. It is.

Daeyoung frowns. He almost looks hurt. “That’s not true.”

“It is, though,” Yushi insists. “You only like kissing me when you’re in your cycle, Daeng.”

This is the moment in which he realizes that the conversation has died down around them. Daeyoung must notice, too, because he retracts his hand.

“I don’t,” he says quietly. “That’s not-”

“Do you guys wanna take this outside?” Sion asks in faux-politeness. The maknaes, obviously, are looking at them in excitement. Thirsty for drama. Riku has concern etched all over his face, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

Yushi flushes red at all of the attention on him. 

“Sure, we can-”

“No, hyung, it’s fine,” Daeyoung says. He stands up, stretches. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s up with me. I’m just gonna get some fresh air.” He looks smaller than usual in his oversized sweater, fingers twisting in the fabric. He gestures over his shoulder at the door before backing away. “I’ll be back.”

They all watch him go, flabbergasted. Yushi especially. He has no idea what happened, nor what’s going on with his alpha. As Daeyoung walks out and the door slams shut behind him, they all turn to Yushi. 

“What’d you do, hyung?” Ryo asks. 

Yushi looks back at Riku, who has concern shining in his eyes. At Sion, who looks just as confused as they all feel.

Yushi looks down at his chicken. He doesn’t feel hungry anymore.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I really don’t.”

-

Something is really, really wrong. 

Practice goes fine, if not a bit stilted. Daeyoung opts to stay after to work on his moves, which isn’t unusual, but he doesn’t ask Yushi to stay with him, which is unusual. So Yushi goes to sleep alone. Wakes up alone. Daeyoung didn’t even cuddle with him in bed. 

He really wishes that he could handle this like a well adjusted person, but predictably, his mood plummets.

Because he’s a beta, scents don’t stick to him as easily, so without a whole night of scenting, he just… smells like himself. When was the last time he didn’t reek of clingy alpha? It bothers him so much that he puts on the sandalwood cologne Daeyoung gifted him during their courting, covering himself in it. Ryo audibly gags when he walks into the kitchen. Sion makes him take a shower and wash it off. So Yushi ends up scentless and alpha-less and upset.

Daeyoung comes out of his room right before they’re due to leave for a schedule and does little more than rub their wrists together in greeting. Yushi pulls away from him, huffing and puffing. How dare he! How dare his stupid alpha leave him alone and then try to scent him like it would make things any better!

(He ends up a little upset that he still smells like beta, and regrets pushing him away once they’re in the van.)

Yushi spends the day clinging onto Riku, who looks like he really wants to sit them down and have a Serious Talk™ but given that they’re in the middle of a photoshoot, all he can do is frown and cover Yushi in his scent and act all doting anyway. It’s in his nature to fret, and Yushi feels bad for exploiting that, but he kind of needs it. 

Daeyoung doesn’t even try to approach him again. Yushi feels himself getting more and more upset the longer the shoot goes on.

One of the concepts for this album has them working in duos based on their age, which means he and Daeyoung have to take photos together for the photobook. Yushi was excited about it when they were first told about it, weeks ago. Of course. Photos with his alpha! Great! But now he’s deeply angry about the way he and Daeyoung are styled to suit each other and the way the alpha leans against his shoulder like he has any right to do that.

It doesn’t help that he smells good. So, so good.

Yushi hates himself. 

He preens as the alpha presses in close, relishing in their proximity after a night apart. It’s embarrassing, the way he instinctively blushes when Daeyoung trains his eye on him, the vibe of the photoshoot making him look suave and maybe just a little bit sexy even though there was 0 intention on the designers’ end to make him sexy. Yushi just finds him sexy, ugh. So embarrassing. 

The second it’s over, Yushi retreats with red ears to Riku’s side, where he spends the rest of the day. 

The whole pack obviously knows that something’s up. They all saw yesterday’s fiasco, not to mention the fact that Yushi is horrible at hiding things to begin with. It’s so embarrassing to be seen like this by his pack, especially when Sion dotes on him in particular, the same way he’s always done when Yushi is upset. Feeding him first, tucking him into his side. Yushi tries not to be bitter that his best friend is more comforting than his boyfriend is. Over dinner, he sits between Sion and Riku and lets the older alpha pile sausage into his ramyeon.

“You need to talk to him, Yushi-ah,” Sion says in a low voice. “It’s not good for the pack. It’s not good for you.”

Yushi squirms under the pack alpha’s pressing gaze. “I know,” he says. “I know, but he’s just so…”

He searches for the word. Stubborn? No, that would be Yushi. Intense? Well, kind of. Insistent? Definitely, but not quite. He comes up with nothing. 

“He’s trying hard,” Sion says. “His instincts are probably driving him crazy. He’s scared of messing things up.”

“But it’s not fair to me,” Yushi whines. “He’s so hot and cold, sometimes, what was I supposed to think? He can’t even kiss me unless I force him to!”

Their voices are low, hushed, but are raising in volume. Riku presses in on his other side, soothing a hand down Yushi’s back.

“Easy,” he says. “Hyung, don’t rile him up.”

Sion purses his lips like he wants to say something, but thinks better of it. Yushi slumps into Sion’s shoulder. Pouting, just a little bit. 

“I know, Yushi-ah, it’s hard,” Sion says instead of whatever lecture he probably had planned, even though Sion’s lectures are effective just about never. “I’m sorry. You have to talk to him.”

Yushi frowns. Curls around Sion’s arm, pressing into his side and squeezing tight. “I don’t want to.”

Yushi knows that he’s being stubborn when he refuses to sleep in his own room that night. He knows it’s probably annoying to his hyungs. And yet Riku lets Yushi into the nest gladly, spooning him as Sion pitter-patters around the room. Restless alpha nerves come off of him in waves. Sion has always been especially bothered when Yushi is upset, ever since they were trainees. There’s a rap on the door. It’s Daeyoung, they can all tell by the pattern of his knock.

Sion goes out into the hallway to talk to him. Their voices are shushed, and no matter how hard Yushi strains to hear what they’re saying, he comes up with nothing. It’s only a few minutes before Sion slips back into the room. He smells like burning sandalwood. 

“Don’t tell me what he said,” Yushi says when Sion crawls into the nest. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Sion sighs, throwing an arm around Riku’s waist and pressing in close. But he doesn’t tell him anything at all.

Yushi is aware that maybe he’s overreacting to what was, ultimately, a small dispute, but Daeyoung should’ve known better to tick off his boyfriend who is known for holding grudges. He should’ve known better than to leave Yushi without his scent, without cuddling. He spends the next two nights in the nest again, only leaving when Sion’s pre-rut starts and he starts getting more testy about the idea of sharing his mate with another person. The two hyungs still scent Yushi up and down, but Sion is less willing to let Yushi stick to his omega like a leech, only stopping himself from growling when Riku drapes himself over his alpha’s lap and says an apologetic sorry, Yushi-chan.

Ugh. It’s not fair.  

He hates sleeping alone. After five months of Daeyoung pressed into his side, it feels like a crime to have to curl up in bed by himself. He doesn’t cry or anything, but he stares out of his window and tries not to dwell on how his pillow doesn’t smell like his alpha anymore. He manages to avoid Daeyoung to the best of his ability, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re in the same idol group as the person you’re trying to avoid. Five days after their fight (if you could even call it that), Daeyoung traps him in his room. 

“Hyung,” he says, poking his head through the door. Yushi doesn’t answer. “Hyung, can I come in?”

Yushi wants to tell him no, obviously, but he smells so good that it’s hard to not just let him in. So Yushi turns away with a huff, flopping over in bed, his back facing the door. 

“Do what you want,” he grumbles, but he very secretly preens in delight when Daeyoung comes in, shutting the door behind him, and pads over to the bed. There’s a dip in the mattress behind him. Yushi is ashamed by how much he aches to be touched.

Neither of them say anything for a long moment, before Daeyoung sighs. 

“Hyung,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

Yushi was under the impression that an apology would fix everything, especially since it’s been almost a week since he’s had his alpha scent him. But it only makes him feel bad, to hear the defeat in Daeyoung’s tone. But nevertheless…

“I know I shouldn’t have pushed you, or left you alone,” Daeyoung says. His voice is wobbly. “I know I was being immature when I slept by myself, I was just trying to cool off. I know I haven’t been a good alpha to you, or to anyone, and-”

Yushi turns around so fast he may as well have given himself whiplash. He stares up at his idiot boyfriend.

“Who said you weren’t a good alpha?”

Daeyoung stares back down at him. He looks shocked. His mouth opens, closes. Opens again.

“Um…” he says. “Well you’ve been avoiding me for four days, so…”

“That’s not because you’re a bad alpha,” Yushi huffs, ears turning pink because okay, maybe he should work on his stubbornness. “You’re an amazing alpha. I just… I don’t know. I got upset.” He avoids Daeyoung’s eyes. “It felt like you didn’t want me because I rejected your advances.”

It sounds a lot worse when he says it out loud, but it’s the truth. He curls into himself again. 

“Oh, god, no,” Daeyoung sounds horrified. “No, I was just embarrassed, because I thought that you didn’t want me coming onto you, or something, especially because you thought I was in pre-rut-”

And that, obviously, is a given. Considering the way their relationship has operated for the last five months and everything. “Well, yeah!” Yushi huffs. “You only ever kiss me when you’re in your cycle, what was I supposed to think!”

He knows he’s getting riled up, so he snaps his mouth shut and takes a deep breath in; out. Daeyoung may be an idiot alpha, but he didn’t do anything horrible. Unless you count being a little dumb to be horrible. 

(And so what if he’s an idiot alpha? He’s still Yushi’s.)

“It’s not that, hyung,” Daeyoung whispers. “I always want to kiss you. I just get nervous, and after what we did last time-” his face is bright red “-I wanted to do it again, and I wanted to ask you to spend my rut with me, but I didn’t know how.” He hangs his head. “I should’ve thought it through more, I’m sorry.”

Yushi blinks up at his boyfriend, flabbergasted. Because… wait. Hold on. 

“You want to spend your rut with me…?” He asks, voice an echo. “You want- you want me there?”

He’s not sure if he heard his boyfriend correctly or not. Shy, nervous Daeyoung wanting to spend his rut with Yushi is something he can hardly believe. Before a couple weeks ago, Yushi had never even gotten to suck his dick before. And it’s not like they’ve been acknowledging that, either!

Daeyoung bites his lip. He avoids his eyes. “It’s hard without you there,” he says. “Because of how much I want you.”

The admission is… well. Mind melting would be apt. Yushi feels himself go bright red as his big, broody alpha boyfriend bows his head to him and confesses that he wants Yushi with him for his rut. Not just his rut - all the time. All the time.

All this time, he couldn’t help but wonder if the attraction didn’t quite go both ways. Or if maybe Daeyoung was adverse to sex outside of his cycle. Which would be fine, obviously, but knowing that’s not the case… knowing that his alpha wants him back, just as badly…

“You want another blow job?” Yushi asks, unable to stop himself, and hates how he can feel himself getting excited by the idea. “Or- or we can just do hand stuff! Come here, kiss me-”

“Hyung!” Daeyoung whines, scandalized, as Yushi reaches for him. As Yushi sits up and crawls over to him, making his way into his lap. “You can’t just-”

Maybe Yushi is just barreling straight on ahead, but how in the world is he supposed to stop himself when his alpha is right there for the taking? Wanting him just as badly in return? Obviously he’s not going to waste a single second longer on his yearning. Not when he can just take his alpha for himself. 

“How could I ever spend your rut with you if you get this embarrassed?” Yushi asks. He straddles Daeyoung’s thighs. “Do you really want to kiss me, Daeyoungie? Or are you too much of a baby alpha?”

Daeyoung avoids his eyes, but he stops hanging his head. Rests his hands on Yushi’s hips, looking at the bed sheets. 

“I’m not a baby alpha,” he mutters. “I want to kiss you.”

Yushi grins. He can’t help it. He leans in to ghost over Daeyoung’s lips.

“Of course you do,” he says. And then Daeyoung kisses him. 

It’s like fireworks all over again, kind of, except this time Yushi is mostly just horny. He nips at Daeyoung’s lips, licks into his mouth. Moans when the alpha chubs up against him, grinds his hips down. It’s so fucking hot because it’s not just him doing the work this time, it’s his boyfriend eagerly rutting his hips up to meet him in equal measure, whining into his mouth, letting Yushi suck on his tongue and get him panting. The alpha growls out a groan when Yushi throws his arms around his neck and kisses him deeper, frots against him harder.

“Hyung,” he says. “If we don’t stop, my alpha is gonna get riled up.”

Yushi grins. “Get riled up for me, then, Daeng. Wanna see it.”

What follows is the sexiest clothed sex Yushi will ever experience, an agreement to spend Daeyoung’s next rut together, and a littering of alpha bite marks along his shoulders and neck. Sion is horrified, the next day, lecturing the baby alpha on self control and preserving idol image, Young-ah, seriously! Do you want to get scolded by everyone! Riku grins and gives Yushi a high five while their alphas aren’t looking. Totally worth it.

I want you all the time, hyung, Daeyoung had said into his nape when they drifted off to sleep that night. I promise. I just don’t want to lose control and have you think badly of me.

Yushi had smiled. Had nuzzled into his alpha’s embrace, feeling the most secure he’s ever felt in his life. If you think I can’t handle you when you lose control, Youngie, you don’t know anything about me.

Kim Daeyoung is a lucky guy. A beta like Tokuno Yushi can take on anything he wants to give him and more.

-

By the time Daeyoung’s next pre-rut hits, Yushi is beyond over-the-moon excited.

They have done… Things. Lots of Things. Mostly hand jobs, some frotting, and a blowie every now and again when Daeyoung doesn’t immediately come at the sight of his cock in Yushi’s mouth. Daeyoung has gotten remarkably good at following instructions - touching Yushi where he tells him to, holding back on his alpha instincts, being a good boy all around. It’s not that Yushi is training him in preparation for his rut, per se, except he totally is. 

Yushi and Riku prepare the heat room early, since it’ll be more than just Daeyoung and his fleshlight. Riku makes a rough approximation of a nest, stocks them up with food and water, and lets the two of them ride out the rest of Daeyoung’s pre-rut. Sion levels the usual warnings - don’t let him knot you, be careful with the marks, don’t mate, please, god. Yushi rolls his eyes and lets his alpha drag him into their new nest. There’s nothing to worry about. 

Yushi undresses the both of them as Daeyoung sweats out his normal fever, clinging onto Yushi like he’s scared his beta will be taken away from him. Rutting absentmindedly, panting like it hurts. He’s still getting used to his ruts, according to Riku. It’ll get easier over time. It’s still not so easy for Yushi to see his alpha in pain. 

“It’s coming, hyung,” Daeyoung whines into his shoulder. Yushi is in his lap, again, letting his alpha grind against his stomach, smearing his leaking cock around. “It’s- I wanna-”

“Hyung’s here,” Yushi soothes. He brushes through Daeyoung’s hair. “Such a good alpha, aren’t you? Want a knot to warm yourself up, baby?”

Daeyoung moans. It breaks into a growl as his shaking hips rut up once, and then twice. “Please,” he begs. “Please, hyung.”

“Good boy,” Yushi coos. “C’mon, touch yourself.”

They agreed beforehand that the less Yushi actually touched him, the better. Sitting in his lap is fine, but touching Daeyoung himself is asking for trouble; especially when his brain is foggy and hazy with rut. When it gets to a point where he wants to knot - needs to knot - Yushi should be able to put distance between them if it’s necessary. Not that it will be. But just in case. Sion is stationed outside the door for their first few rounds for this very reason. 

Daeyoung wraps a shaky hand around himself, letting out a low moan as he does so. Yushi coos at him, caressing him. Good boy, Youngie, you’re such a good alpha. His hips jump, trembling with the force of his want, as he rocks into his hand. Slick from his own leaking pre-cum. Yushi drags him into a kiss, letting his alpha moan into his mouth. 

“Hyung,” Daeyoung begs. “Hyung, it feels good.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Yushi smiles. He smooths his hands over Daeyoung’s shoulders. “Your poor little knot is just aching to pop, right, baby?”

“Oh, god, yeah,” Daeyoung groans. He throws his head back, mewling pathetically when Yushi kisses up his exposed neck. “Feels so good with you, love when you tell me what to do.”

“My alpha is so honest when he’s rutting,” Yushi comments, a little distracted by the loud squelch of Daeyoung fisting himself. It’s so fucking hot, the power he holds over such a potent alpha, the way Daeyoung listens to him without question. “I bet you’re just aching to be inside something, hm? Wanna fill hyung up?”

He’s playing with fire by asking that, especially with an alpha in rut, but Daeyoung is too good to go against his wishes. He makes a wounded noise before growling, hips bucking.

Daeyoung pleads: “Don’t- you can’t- don’t say that-”

“Maybe I’ll let you, one day,” Yushi muses. He’s not opposed to the idea, he just doesn’t want to take a fucking knot, thanks, it’d kill him. “You can spread me open, hm? Or I can spread you open?”

Daeyoung looks like he’s close. Veins popping out his skin, rocking his hips into his fist and moaning with the relief it brings him. “Whatever you want,” he whines. “Whatever you want, hyung, I’ll give it to you.”

Yushi can’t help his smile. Can’t help how fond he is of his alpha, who only cares about making Yushi feel good even in rut. Even as his teeth gnash for something to bite down on, he listens so damn well.  

He watches Daeyoung rock into his fist, panting, looking at Yushi with pleading eyes. Not asking to come with his words, but it’s written all over his face, as he mouths please, please, please.

He’s so close already, now that the rut is fully dawning down on him. Yushi takes pity on his poor alpha. 

“If you knot your fleshlight,” Yushi says, leaning in to kiss him on the jaw, “I’ll let you touch me. Let you eat me out, if you want, or-”

Daeyoung scrambles for the stupid toy sat next to them in the sheets. Yushi wishes they could go without it, but it’s necessary to milk a proper knot out of the alpha. He’s so eager that it’s kind of cute, kind of pathetic. Daeyoung groans as Yushi brings the fleshlight down on his cock, hips fucking up into it. 

He’s so terrible to his poor cock, so rough with it, and it’s kind of impressive to watch. How Daeyoung bullies himself into the fleshlight over and over again, stretching it out with his impending knot, groaning as he gets close. Starting to whine, beg, plead. 

“Can-” Daeyoung pants. “Hyung, can I-”

“Go ahead, Youngie,” Yushi kisses him on the cheek. “Be a good boy and give hyung a knot.”

It’s the first one of the day, so it’s vicious. Daeyoung growls as he fills up the fleshlight, knot popping and groaning when the cum is milked out of him. Yushi soothes him through it, cooing in his ear and letting his alpha nip at his lips, biting with a little more force than necessary. 

“Let me-” Daeyoung groans. “Let me touch you, please-”

It’s incredible how Daeyoung is in rut and yet he wants to make Yushi feel good. So fucking incredible. So Yushi arches himself up as he lays out on his back, spreading his thighs open wide.

“You can have a taste,” he says. “But nothing more than that.”

Daeyoung indulges eagerly. 

He marks up Yushi’s thighs, nipping at skin and sucking and leaving marks. Laps at him with his tongue once Yushi gets impatient and drags him in with a tug on his hair. It’s clear he’s never done this before, with how messy he is, not knowing whether to prod him open or to lick him until he’s glistening, but he makes up for inexperience with enthusiasm. Digging his face into Yushi’s hole, trying to eat him up, nipping as he groans into it. He fists his own cock, already wanting to knot again.

“Does this make you feel good, puppy?” Yushi asks through a moan as Daeyoung gets him more open; slowly, surely, insistently. He’s not like an omega, leaking slick, but Daeyoung is salivating enough to make him feel like he is. “You love getting hyung off?”

“Mmm,” Daeyoung whines. He presses in closer, panting when Yushi tugs on him. He whines again when Yushi clenches down on his tongue.

“Look at you, touching yourself,” Yushi groans. There’s the slick sound of Daeyoung’s hand on his cock, his tongue slurping him up. “You’re hyung’s good boy, aren’t you? I’m all open for you and you’re not even gonna knot me, hmm?”

“No,” Daeyoung whines. He spreads Yushi wider with one hand, panting into his skin. “I only do what hyung tells me to do.”

God, how did Yushi get so lucky and end up with an alpha like this? Who doesn’t go mindless during rut, only gets more obedient?

“That’s right, you do,” Yushi coos. Moans when Daeyoung presses inside, insistent and eager. “God, you feel so good, alpha. You always fill me just right, always know just what to do to make hyung feel good.” He grits his teeth when Daeyoung nips at his skin again. “Behave, puppy.”

It’s not Daeyoung’s fault he wants Yushi covered in his marks, but he cowers anyway. “Sorry, hyung.”

“‘S okay,” Yushi breathes. “You’re hyung’s good boy, sweetheart, ‘s alright.”

Daeyoung ruts his hips down into the sheets of the nest as he eats Yushi out, moaning and growling and groaning all the while like he’s fucking something, even though all he has is his fist. It’s incredible how much his alpha is turned on from this alone, just from Yushi on his tongue. It makes Yushi want to give him more. The only thing that’s holding him back is knowing that his beta body has way more limitations on it than an omega’s - especially when faced with an alpha in rut. But he still yearns for more. 

(…One day, maybe. One day.)

Yushi brings a hand to his own cock to jerk himself off once Daeyoung’s tongue gets him open, filling him more than he thought was possible. It’s so good, the threat of a potent alpha fucking him open, even if it’s only with his mouth. He keens when Daeyoung marks him up, nipping and biting at his skin until Yushi bears the indents of his teeth. He moans when Daeyoung bites a mark right over the inside of his thigh, where the skin is the most delicate and tender. Fuck, how can something this animalistic be so hot? He whines into the feeling, fucking into his fist, keyed up and sensitive and wanting his alpha on him and in him now.

“Come here, alpha,” Yushi moans. “Come here and kiss me.”

Daeyoung is quick to listen, crawling up Yushi’s body to moan into his mouth. He’s meaner than he normally is, more aggressive, using more teeth than anything else. But it still feels so good, as Daeyoung takes both of them into his hand and grinds down, rocking his hips down against Yushi’s and getting him to whine. 

“Good puppy,” Yushi pants. “Holy shit, you’re so good-”

Their size difference is something Yushi never pays much attention to, except Daeyoung is so large as he looms over him, threatening and alpha-like. It gets Yushi’s blood boiling, to have control over an alpha as rabid as this, to have his alpha listen when Yushi tells him to kiss me harder, come on.

Daeyoung licks into his mouth, groaning and growling, so beyond far gone. Using Yushi as a toy to get off but still listening, still being good, being perfect, holy shit-

“Alpha,” Yushi whines, as Daeyoung fists their cocks together. “Alpha, feels so good-”

“Wanna make you feel good, hyungie,” Daeyoung pants. “Wanna- wanna make you come, wanna be good, wanna mark you so everyone knows you’re mine-”

“Always been yours, baby,” Yushi groans. Keens when Daeyoung brings his lips to his neck, sucking and leaving marks. “Always belonged to me, since LaStart, always was gonna be there for you, you were always my alpha-”

“‘M your alpha,” Daeyoung growls, voice broken. “I’m yours, I’m yours, I’m yours-”

“Yeah,” Yushi mewls. Daeyoung mouths at his scent gland, and he arches into it. “Yeah. come on, puppy, be a good boy, show me your knot-”

“Gonna come,” Daeyoung groans. “Gonna come and mark you, hyung, you’re mine-”

Yushi’s never had a rutting alpha come all over him, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. Daeyoung’s knot pulses in his hands as he spills, as Yushi grinds against him and comes himself, as he’s being scent marked for weeks with Daeyoung rubbing his cum into Yushi’s skin like it could brand him. As if he didn’t belong to him already. As if what they have isn’t already enough. 

He’ll bear the scent of his alpha for a month at the very minimum, after being marked so thoroughly. There’ll be no question who Yushi belongs to. 

He’s dazed, a little out of it, but Daeyoung is raring to go again. Nipping at his neck, growling, begging: please, hyung, want more, want you, I’ll be good, you’re mine and it’s making me so hard and I can’t control it-

Yushi huffs out a laugh. Brings a hand to the back of Daeyoung’s head to stroke his hair as his alpha uses him as a chew toy.

“So good, aren’t you,” Yushi hums. “My alpha.”

-

By the time Daeyoung’s rut is over, Yushi is properly worn out. His body wasn’t built to withstand the force of a cycle, so he feels like jelly, voice broken, as Daeyoung carries him back to his room and wipes him down. He’s covered in an amalgamation of fluid, mostly cum and spit. Daeyoung likes to bite and drool. Yushi’s not mad about it.

Sion holds off on his lectures for roughly twenty-four hours before he’s scolding them about all the bite marks. Yushi’s neck is beyond salvageable. They don’t have schedules for a few days, so he’s lucky, but Sion threatens to muzzle him if they keep that shit up. Which they will, absolutely, keep up. No matter what their pack alpha says.

Riku gives Yushi another high five as he puts soothing gel over the marks on his ass and thighs. Talk about an enabler. 

Daeyoung is more attentive after the rut, more prone to his alpha instincts, babying Yushi and fussing over him like Yushi isn’t older than him and also didn’t just spend the past three days being brought to orgasm after orgasm and quite frankly, having a great time. He swats at his alpha when he gets all broody over Yushi not needing his help, but his instincts calm down after a couple days and he apologizes for being overbearing. Yushi thinks all of it is cute. Always has.

Daeyoung still gets shy when they kiss, sometimes. Still goes red in the face when Yushi gets him off, nervous and embarrassed about how much he comes even though Yushi loves him like that, loves how good he is. He’s still timid about being an alpha who’s dating a beta, but he’s slowly getting better. The fact that Yushi has been fucking the anxiety out of him certainly helps.

Yushi has sometimes felt out of place being the only beta in their pack (so far) but he’s not complaining. He’s got an alpha who loves him, his hyungs who are insufferable but are still his best friends, and the pups who still pretend to gag every time Daeyoung kisses him on the cheek. Sure, maybe he isn’t a crazy strong alpha, or an incredibly doting omega, or one of the clingy pups, but honestly, it’s really not all that bad.

And when he wakes up, a month later, to his alpha humping his leg and Riku slamming the door open, pulling them to the heat room… well. He’s terribly excited to do it all over again.