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Hyunjin knew that it was a perfectly normal thing for him to be insecure- he’d read about it in the mental health pamphlets that their company psychiatrist gave him. Pamphlets for ‘late presentations, and all of the mental health struggles that come with it.’
Hyunjin was fine- or at least, he would be fine, after he got used to everything. All of the new scents, dynamics, and senses that grew in him ever since his first heat.
Presenting as an alpha or beta late was hard. Presenting as an omega, eight years after he should have- when they all assumed that he was a beta- was brutal.
Hyunjin sniffed at the inside of his wrist nervously, insecurely, but all he could pick up was the faint waft of laundry detergent from his clean sweater.
‘Your scent glands aren’t fully developed’ the pamphlet had said, ‘it will be hard for the omega to control their scent after a late presentation.’
Hyunjin felt naked out in a blizzard- how was he supposed to determine whether he was giving off too strong of a scent if he couldn’t even smell himself? The scent of his emotions could be overwhelming to the others, and they could easily read him like a book if he didn’t learn how to control his scent.
Meagerly, covering the scent glands in his neck by cupping his hands over them, Hyunjin knocked at the doorway to Felix’s room. He decided to spend the night with the others at their dorm, since the alphas decided to stay late and record once again.
Their managers had thought about switching their dorms up, upon Hyunjin’s presentation- but they all denied it. For the most part, they stayed together anyway since they only lived an elevator ride away from one another.
“Felix-ie?” Hyunjin knocked on the door once more to catch the other omega's attention, and Felix immediately shrugged his headphones off, twisting around in his gamer chair to look back at Hyunjin.
“Hyunjin-ah! Sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Felix dutifully ignored his game as the ‘you died’ screen flashed. “Is everything okay? Are you staying with us again tonight?”
“If… that’s okay?” Hyunjin asked, and Felix tossed his head back to laugh deeply. Fondly.
“It’s always okay, Hyunjin-ie. did you need something?” Felix sent a glance to his bedside clock, “is it time for dinner yet?”
“No, I think the takeout is still a couple of minutes away,” Hyunjin shuffled closer into Felix’s comfortable room. Blankets coated his bed, so much that the sheets could hardly be seen under the nest.
Felix’s nests were neater than Hyunjin’s own, though the pamphlet also said that nesting was instinctual based off of what he wanted. Maybe, his nests would grow more methodical with time when he wasn’t in the throes of heat.
Hyunjin came to a stop in front of Felix’s chair, and Felix reached a hand out pat him on the hip reassuringly. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Felix’s eyebrows scrunched together in concern, once he caught sight of the downtrodden look on Hyunjin’s face. His nostrils flared- like he could smell Hyunjin’s sorrow.
He could, Hyunjin reminded himself. Even if he hid his scent glands behind his hands.
“Jinnie? Why are you covering yourself like that?” Felix reached up to gently pry his hands away from his neck and encase his hands in his own. Hyunjin squeezed his hands back.
“I just.. what do I smell like?” He blurted out. “How did my scent change? I can’t- I can’t smell myself very well.”
“Oh!” Felix’s smile was soft, yet tinged with sadness. He pouted with sympathy, and then brought Hyunjin’s inner wrist close to his nose to sniff. The other omega's eyes fluttered shut when he nuzzled close, and Hyunjin instantly relaxed.
“Hmm,” Felix hummed in concentration once he got a good whiff, “I smell paints- the acrylic type, like the ones in your room- some flowers, and…” his eyes narrowed, “a faint undercut of peach.”
“Peach?” Hyunjin asked numbly, a bit disappointed when Felix pulled away from him.
“Yes, peach.”
“And… flowers? Like I’m some kind of flower shop?”
He must have smelled distressed, because Felix was quick to stand up from his rolling chair to press a hand to his shoulder. “It’s not bad, Hyunjinnie. I promise. It’s a pleasant scent!”
“Are…” Hyunjin bit his bottom lip, “are you sure?”
“I promise,” Felix adamantly assured, and then tugged on Hyunjin’s arm to drag him in the direction of his nest. “C’mere. I want to take a nap-“ Felix interrupted his own sentence to yawn, “-a nap before the food arrives.”
Hyunjin fell asleep easily, despite having such a hard time sleeping the previous night, with his nose pressed against the other omega's wrist.
Returning to work was harder than Hyunjin had been expecting- but it was something that needed to be done. A necessary pain to get back to dancing and performing for the fans that he loved so much.
No longer sick from his presentation, he was eager to get back out and greet stay- even if he was put on limited activity.
He couldn’t participate in group choreography rehearsals quite yet, and even if he did show up, he was forced to sit on a stool and mark the moves. He couldn’t perform at full capacity, and in filming videos, he took breaks in between shoots when he normally wouldn't.
Filming their newest SKZ code was a long and tedious process, and no matter how much Hyunjin dragged them down by taking naps in between activities, the camera crew didn’t dare blame him, and the pack gave him somewhere comfortable to rest until it was time to record again.
“Are you sure you’re okay to go on?” Chan asked Hyunjin, just like he did before every single one of their promotional activities now. It made Hyunjin happy inside to know that his pack alpha cared- but he also yearned for things to go back to normal. He didn’t need to be coddled anymore.
“I’m fine, Chan Hyung.”
“Are you sure?” Chan insisted, giving Hyunjin a way out indiscreetly, “you can always stay back here.”
Hyunjin pressed a hand to Chan’s chest, as both an affirming pressure and a gentle nudge to scoot him back. They were in the dressing room and some of the stylists were starting to look. “I’m going, hyung. End of discussion, okay?”
Chan pouted like a kicked puppy, but seemed to accept Hyunjin’s resilience. “Okay. We go on in five, make sure you put these on.” The alpha passed over an indiscreet package to Hyunjin, and the omega already knew that they were without having to look. He had to wear them every time he left the dorms, nowadays.
The cardboard package creaked under Hyunjin’s hands as he trekked over to the floor length mirrors. The stylist gave him a comfortable sweater to wear, so he didn’t need to adjust his neckline or collar to soothe the scent patches over his scent glands.
Once applied to the skin, they were practically invisible to the human eye. Once, Hyunjin had panicked when he couldn’t find it, and Seungmin had to feel around his skin to peel it off before he could start crying.
Hyunjin wasn’t a fan of the scent blockers- but it was a part of his contract, if he wanted to hide his recent presentation from the fans. It could all be revealed at a later time, when the dust settled.
One by one, they walked onto the stage in age order as their fans cheered and clapped for them. The fan meeting venue was fairly small compared to their other ones, but Hyunjin liked it. It made the experience feel more personal.
At the front of their group, Chan carried Hyunjin’s stool across the stage before he gently set it down behind the omega and returned to his spot. “Step out!” He shouted, and the rest of their group responded in kind, sinking down into a greeting bow.
The booming applause was much too loud for Hyunjin’s sensitive ears, but he endured it as he stumbled back to sit down on his stool. The lights were too bright. The smells too much. It was Hyunjin’s first time back on the stage at a live event (that wasn’t recorded) and he almost considered walking right off to throw up in a toilet.
But then, Changbin patted his back reassuringly and everything was okay again.
He stayed sitting with a microphone to join in on his own parts when it came time to perform. The others skipped and danced along the stage to high five fans, and a few times, they even circled Hyunjin to teasingly hip bump him or pinch his cheeks. The fans loved the interaction.
It was the most fun that Hyunjin had in a very long time.
Eventually, tired and sweating- they stumbled to sit down on their own stools next to Hyunjin for the questionnaire section of the meet and greet. As fans lined up as a podium, notepads in hand with their questions, Hyunjin helped wipe the sweat from his members' brows, offering them water and sweat rags.
If he couldn’t dance, then he could at least help them cool down during the short time they got.
Hyunjin should have expected for the questions to be centered around him and his hiatus- though it got annoying when it was every other question.
“Hyunjin-ah,” one of the girls addressed him like they were long lost friends, even if Hyunjin had no idea who she was. “Why were you sitting during the fan meeting, are you okay?”
Hyunjin sighed for the umpteenth time and pressed the mic close to his face. He accidentally made a swallowing noise that sounded slightly like the chirping of a ferret. The fans ‘oooed’ like he was a zoo exhibit and pack mates laughed, glancing over fondly before he answered the question.
“I am okay, I promise! Just not in good conditions today.”
“Hyunjin-ah, your hiatus?”
“Hyunjin-ah, did the bullying allegations reemerge? I heard that’s why you went into hiding for a month after the newest album release.”
“Hyunjin-ah, I saw online that your heats and ruts all emerged at once, and this was why you were all gone. Why were you absent for longer than the others?”
Eventually- Chan had enough.
“Everyone should know that the reason for Hyunjin’s hiatus was…”
Hyunjin held his breath. Here it was.
“A sickness. He is still recovering from it. We would appreciate it if you no longer inquire about his time off. As for the online statements, you should only listen to what we officially state and no other rumors.”
Relieved, Hyunjin slumped against Jisung when the fans started to redirect their questions to the others. The other omega preened, and Hyunjin figured that the fan service was okay- considering how he ‘just got out of the hospital.’ According to the rumors online.
The next portion of the fan meeting included finally digging through the items on the back table that the staff and fans provided them. There were plenty of flowers with Hyunjin’s name and ‘get well soon.’ Hyunjin showed off a few trinkets and clothes to the fans that he thought were cool before he decided on his own outfit to wear.
The comfortable black cat onesie probably meant for him, because it was exactly his height. The tail hit his ankles anytime he moved, and the cat ears with the bows and bells jingled every time he tilted his head.
He posed for the cameras with the others and their outfits before he headed back to his stool when the music began to play once again.
Hyunjin couldn’t wipe the stupidly fond smile from his face, watching his pack perform. He was so tired that he clung to his members when it was time for them to stumble off of stage during their intermission.
By the time they returned to the break room, Hyunjin was about ready to collapse.
Unfortunately- he couldn’t, because everyone’s phone alarms began to ring simultaneously. Just like they did everyday around lunchtime. “It’s time for your medication,” Minho told him as the others all scrambled to shut off their alarms. They didn’t need to tell him twice.
Hyunjin plopped down onto the couch and burrowed into the large bag to find the orange pill bottles. His hands shook as he uncapped them and fished out three from separate bottles.
“Here- this is for you,” Jeongin handed him a water bottle, and Hyunjin thankfully took it to swallow down the pills. He reached up to ruffle Jeongin’s hair- but he quickly dodged out of his grasp with a “Hyung!” Of complaint.
Hyunjin giggled into his hand, though the laughs quickly died off when he caught sight of Seungmin opening the refrigerator in the corner of the room. He produced the familiar brown paper bag, taking out the syringe to load it with Hyunjin’s medication kept in a small vial. Hyunjin gulped when he passed it to Chan.
His least favorite part of the day.
“I know, I know you hate this,” Chan reasoned with Hyunjin like he was a cornered animal. Hyunjin just huffed and pulled his shirt up slightly to let Chan do his job.
“Are you sure that you’re okay to keep going for the rest of the meet and greet? It's your first day back. I'm sure that the fans would understand.” Felix asked, momentarily drawing Hyunjin’s attention away from the needle. Right as Chan pierced it into the skin of his lower tummy and began to push on the syringe. Hyunjin adamantly held eye contact with Felix and didn’t look down.
“No,” Hyunjin stubbornly denied, even if he practically shook with exasperation. Finally, Chan pulled away to toss the needle out, and Hyunjin relaxed. “I’m going back out.”
Felix sighed, “I tried.”
Hyunjin rolled his waistband back up and stood once it was time for them to go back out. As usual, Chan led the way down the winding hallways along with a stage manager who had a microphone. “We’ll go through these doors this time,” she said, and then held open the double doors for them.
Rather than entering from backstage like they did at first, the crowd was barricaded off to allow a walkway to the stage. They usually did this- appeared from random entrances as a chance to get closer to the audience.
The screams as soon as the door opened were palpable throughout the entire conference center, and Hyunjin flinched as he hiked his shoulders up in a discreet method to cover his ears. It didn’t work. From behind, Jisung nudged him along once they started to walk and Hyunjin plastered a soft smile on his face. Fake. Molded from practice.
The shudder of cameras hurt his ears, and the resulting flashes felt as if his eyes were burning holes into his sockets.
Hyunjin, half blinded, stumbled in with the rest of his group and held his hand out to brush fingertips with the fans as he passed. Normally, he didn’t mind them touching him. Normally, he would move much closer to look each and every one of them in the eye- but their touch burned his nerves and he pulled away.
At least, he tried to.
A hand wrapped around his wrist, and refused to let go as it yanked him back harshly. Hyunjin yelped, and the momentum sent him tumbling forward.
A hand curled around the back of his neck to pull him impossibly closer, and Hyunjin’s mind was so dazed that he hardly registered the unfamiliar lips that tried to kiss his own harshly- only landing on the side of his face when he groaned in protest and turned his head.
A few gasps rippled through the crowd, and Hyunjin faintly heard shouting over the buzzing in his ears. His instincts kicked into overdrive, and the only thing that he could think of was ‘protect.’ He felt sick as he ducked his head downwards against their grip, frantically moving to wrench their hands off when the foreign fingers clawed at the sensitive scent glands of his neck.
Somewhere along the struggle, the scent patch must have fallen victim to the stranger's grip. Hyunjin whimpered and covered his sensitive neck. Finally- hands grabbed at him from all sides to pull him away. When the desperate fan tried to grab onto his collar, through his blurred vision, he could see Minho roughly slapping the girl's hand away to get into her face and yell.
Hyunjin had never seen his hyung so angry before.
His eyes flashed an eerie red color as a growl tore from his chest- but Hyunjin own mind clouded with so much panic that he couldn’t breathe and-
A hand cupped itself to cover his eyes.
“Shhh,” a soothing voice calmed him, “you don’t need to look. Don’t look.” And then- “hey- turn him around. Let security cover us.”
The world tilted and spun all around Hyunjin like he was on a wild carnival ride. The darkness behind his eyelids flashed with color, and he whimpered pathetically at the nausea that crawled up his throat at the feeling of pure wrongness.
“-jin, Hyunjin?”
“-hear me?”
“His… scent patch…”
“Security! Come…. Now!”
Suddenly, Hyunjin felt weightless, like he was suspended in the air. It wasn’t precarious, because the arms under him were sure and steady. The rush of background noises eventually faded away into nothing, and a door lock clicked in place.
The overwhelming smells returned back to something somewhat manageable, and Hyunjin’s eyelashes fluttered against the hand over his face once he finally regained his breath.
He could finally breathe again.
“Hyunjin-ah? Are you back with us?” The hand removed itself, and the light was so bright that it shrouded Felix, almost making him look like an angel for a split second as he glanced down worriedly at him.
Hyunjin licked his lips to rid it of the taste, and Felix dabbed at the right side of his lip with a napkin. When he pulled away, Hyunjin could see the red lipstick that stained it.
He felt sick all over again.
Hyunjin tried his best to form words, but all that came out was a high pitched sound, like a dog whimper. He tried to move, but the arms wrapped around his waist trapped him in place. Not suffocating- but a protective hold.
Their surroundings slowly faded back into focus. The hallway that they just came from, now swirling with security. The muffled shouts from the other side of the door. The few pack mates that surrounded him in a protective ring to block him from any cameras every time the door opened, and another guard exited.
And then Chan- their pack alpha- who refused to let go of Hyunjin with his chest practically glued to the omega's back. He growled and hissed at anyone who dared approach them, and when Hyunjin looked up at the alpha- his eyes were the same blood red color that Minho’s had been.
“Chan hyung, you need to calm down…” Jisung tried to nervously approach them, even if Chan snapped his teeth. “Ah-“
“Don’t-“ Hyunjin told them. His voice was small and unsteady, but they still heard him and backed off. “Don’t come closer, I’ll handle it. I’m okay. It’ll be okay.” That last part was more for Hyunjin than the other worried packages. He didn’t know where the others were- Jeongin, Minho, and Changbin…
“They’re with security, trying to get the girl under arrest. She fled, but Minho Hyung ran after to look for her,” Seungmin reported, and Hyunjin slowly nodded as his head wrapped around the situation.
How could a fan meeting go so wrong, so fast?
Hyunjin could feel Chan’s ragged breath and the reverberations of his growls from his chest. The older practically shook with unrestrained rage, the veins popping under his skin. At least, he wasn’t squeezing Hyunjin tight enough to hurt.
Hyunjin got flashbacks to when he first presented- the protective urge that washed over him when he trapped Chan close to his chest and refused to let him go. Now, it was reversed.
Hyunjin laughed a little bitterly and twisted around in Chan’s arms, practically on his lap, so that he could get a closer look at his face. The upturned lips and the flashing fangs. The dark eyes and the ruffled hair.
Chan pulled Hyunjin in by the small of the back even closer so that their chests could touch, and Hyunjin hummed sympathetically. “My poor alpha,” he weaved his hands through Chan’s mess of curls that were fading to light blonde now. “It’s okay, you didn’t let her get to me. I’m okay, I promise.”
Chan shifted a little, and Hyunjin could see the battle in his head as his eyes shifted over Hyunjin to scan him for injuries. Of course- there were none. Only the burning of a stranger's lingering touch. Hyunjin placed a hand on Chan’s cheekbone and rubbed circles with his thumb.
“It’s okay,” he reminded the alpha gently- over and over and over again until, finally, the red tinge in his eyes started to subside to reveal his natural dark pupils- albeit dilated.
A strangled growl mixed with a whimper pressed past Chan’s lips, and Hyunjin’s chest grew tight at the sound. He wanted to pull Chan so close that he was practically inside of his skin.
Ignoring the others circling them and the security running in and out of the hallway, Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Chan’s neck and pressed his face close to his neck. His scent gland- the one that was no longer covered- tinged a little in pain, but it was only secondary to the relief that Hyunjin felt when Chan pressed his nose up against it to gently nudge.
“I’m here, Alpha. I’m here.”
Hyunjin bared his neck, looking up at the ceiling and hoping to whatever god above that no one got a picture of this particularly private moment.
A low rumbling echo from Chan’s lips was the only response that he got as the alpha instinctively worked his way up and down Hyunjin’s neck, using his tongue, mouth, and teeth to replace the stranger's touch with his forest scent. Pine needles, wild berries, and a touch of coffee grounds.
The faint waft of roses and peaches intermingled.
Hyunjin’s body unconsciously moved for him, petting down the nape of Chan’s neck as he hummed under his breath and massaged tense muscles until his hyung was finally pliant in his arms.
“Chan hyung?” He asked, and when he opened his eyes once again, Chan was asleep in his embrace- slumped forward with his tongue against Hyunjin’s neck.
Hyunjin couldn’t help it. He stared down fondly, a bit amazed.
“You did it,” Jisung said, drawing Hyunjin from his stupor. He went red when he realized that the others had, in fact, been watching the entire time. The bustle in the conference room seemed to die down by now.
“I did what?” Hyunjin asked, feeling a bit stupid, and then it dawned on him.
“You controlled your own scent,” Seungmin spelled it out, “you used it to calm Chan hyung down.”
Hyunjin had just been doing whatever his natural instincts told him to. He wasn’t purposefully trying to manipulate his scent like the other times when he was alone in his room and wanted the practice. “Oh I… I did.”
Chan snored lightly against Hyunjin’s neck, growing heavy in his arms the more he slumped forward.
The sharp noose of protectiveness wrapped around Hyunjin’s neck loosened slightly, allowing him to breathe easier.
Just then-
“Hyunjin hyung!” Jeongin burst through the double doors, looking left and right before he spotted their little group on the ground. He trotted forward with Minho and Changbin on his tail. “Security got the girl and are pulling up the security footage to open up a case if you wanted to press charges-“
Hyunjin’s head spun with the new information, and Jeongin clamped his mouth shut.
“Are you okay?” Minho asked, eyes narrowed and worried. His iris had returned back to their normal color.
“I’m just fine,” Hyunjin answered weakly. His legs felt numb underneath him with the wire combined weight, and he didn’t think that he could stand on his own if he tried. The adrenaline had worn off by now, leaving him an exhausted husk of a person.
“Can we go home now?” He pulled his best begging face, even if he knew that there was no chance the others would deny him.
“Screw the fan meeting,” Changbin decided. “I called the manager. Let’s go.”
Chan sleepily grumbled against Hyunjin’s neck, and the ticklish sensation caused him to squirm. “Uhm, guys? A little help here?”
Getting back to their dorm was an exhausting ordeal- but they managed and all decided to huddle into the alphas dorm so that Chan could sleep soundly in his own bed. Perhaps, when it was all said and done- it was a good thing because in the end Chan finally got the sleep that he needed.
Of course, some fans were upset to learn that they were cutting their meet and greet short, but most were worried about Hyunjin. He didn’t even want to imagine the type of videos that circulated the internet, so Hyunjin shut his phone off the moment they returned.
His own limbs were heavy with exhaustion, but he couldn’t sleep- not quite yet. He already felt so behind in their work, he needed to learn the new choreography, he needed to practice the verses, he needed to-
“Hyunjin-ah, come here, please.” Minho bid, and Hyunjin looked up from the sheet music on his iPad to see Minho at the doorway of the kitchen. The rest of the pack milled about, doing their own things- all equally as restless with the situation.
They were waiting on the security team and company to call them back to establish a meeting to go over the ‘assault’ in detail- even if Hyunjin didn’t like to think of it as one. It felt like too big of a word to swallow just yet- and Jisung’s face looked grim as he scrolled through the Instagram feed on his phone. Great.
Hyunjin was not in the mood to go on another hiatus, if that was what this led to. It would only mess with his heart, wondering if he would come back.
“Do you need me?” Hyunjin asked the alpha as he padded over. Minho easily revealed a tube of ointment. Anti inflammatory- and something else, but Hyunjin didn’t have his contacts or glasses on, so it was a bit hard to read the label.
“Can I put this on?” Minho asked, “it’s for your scent gland. The one on your right side.”
“Hmm? Okay,” Hyunjin tugged the collar of his hoodie down- it rubbed against the scent glance uncomfortably- to give Minho access. If it were anyone else outside of his pack, then his instincts would be screaming at him not to let them near his neck, but as it was, Minho was gentle as he warmed the ointment between his fingers before slathering it over his swollen scent gland.
Hyunjin hissed a little, and Minho’s touch became a tad bit lighter. “Does it hurt? Where she grabbed your neck?”
“A little,” Hyunjin admitted. “But her nails didn’t break any skin. It’s all superficial.”
“Maybe we should have taken you to a doctor…”
“Minho Hyung,” Hyunjin chided when the alpha finally pulled away, capping the ointment. Hyunjin’s neck felt cold, but he didn’t dare rub at it and ruin Minho’s hard work. “It’s okay. It only stings a little. If it hurts worse tomorrow- then we can call one of the company medics. Okay?”
“Fine,” Minho agreed with a sigh. In the background, the smell of brownies wafted through the air as Felix opened the oven door. He was making Hyunjin’s favorite comfort food, he realized.
Before Minho could place the ointment back into their medicine compartment, Hyunjin grabbed his sleeve. “Minho hyung?”
“Yes?”
“Your eyes,” Hyunjin pointed a finger to his own eye, “when that fan grabbed me, they went red. Just like Chan Hyungs did. I didn’t know that you could do that?”
Minho blinked in surprise, for once, not looking smug like he normally did. “I… I didn’t know I could, either.”
Red eyes and ‘true alpha voice’ were usually only traits reserved for the pack alpha. Was Hyunjin's presentation throwing the others off this bad, to give them new traits? Guilt consumed him like an expanding void.
“You look tired,” Minho pointed out. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
Hyunjin immediately protested, “but-“
“-But nothing,” Minho took Hyunjin by the shoulders to gently nudge him in the direction of his room. “We’ll order dinner in a couple of hours, and Felix-ie’s brownies will still be here for you when you wake up. I’ll come and personally wake you when we start to eat.”
Hyunjin’s eyes felt heavy, and he sleepily stumbled back onto the general direction of his room.
Even if he accidentally shuffled into the bed that Chan slumbered in- he fell asleep the moment his face hit the pillow.
The next time Hyunjin woke up, he was immediately greeted by pain. He groaned and shoved his face into the nearest pillow to block out the plethora of smells- all too much for his nose. The amalgamated scents of his pack should have been relaxing, but at times like this, it was too much.
Each thrum of his heartbeat sent a jolt of pain to his head, right between his eyes, like his skull was being split open.
Hot tears spilled down his face and he buried his nose even further into the sheets of whoever’s bed he’s fallen asleep on. Laundry detergent and lemons. Even the neutral smells burned his face.
He felt like he was on fire.
He didn’t realize that he was full blown crying, his groans increasing with every hammer of the pain, until a voice called tentatively from somewhere above. “Hyunjin-ah?”
Cool hands soothed through the messy tufts of Hyunjin’s hair- still black with faded red streaks- and the bed dipped under Felix’s weight as he sat down next to him. It had to be Felix- Hyunjin would recognize that deep voice even while delirious with pain.
He curled in on himself, sweating and shaking, and immediately whined when Felix tried to pull him up from the bed. Even his sweet scent was too much for him. Hyunjin felt the momentary need to throw up- but then Felix immediately backed off.
“You’re having another migraine,” he realized. “I’m sorry, Hyunjin-ie. My scent must be too much for you.”
Hyunjin hiccuped miserably when he finally blinked his eyes open. His vision was blurred, and he could only make out the distant figure of Felix as he retreated from the room. Chan’s room- because this didn’t feel like his own bed- and Hyunjin was sad to see him go.
He was even happier to see the owner of the room enter, only a few moments later. Hyunjin watched blearily as the alpha sprayed scent neutralizers into the room to sterilize the room before settling down on the bed where Felix previously sat.
Hyunjin reached out and clung to his hand. Chan rubbed his thumb over his knuckles on small circles as Hyunjin let his eyes drift shut. He could hear the shuffling of Chan putting a scent blocker on his pen neck, before he rubbed minty smelling paste above Hyunjin’s upper lip.
“That’s better?” Chan asked, and Hyunjin inhaled deeply before he nodded against the pillow. Everything smelled sterile now- like spearmint gum in the hospital room. Nothing too powerful. His head pounded slightly less.
Distantly, he thought bitterly, ‘this is what I get for presenting so late as an omega. Pain, and debilitating migraines.’ The better half of him countered- ‘now you can take a knot.’
Hyunjin would need to weigh the benefits and downfalls of the pain of scent headaches vs the pleasure of a knot in heat- but he decided to ponder on that later, when he wasn’t in sonic agony that he saw double.
Hyunjin closed his eyes and blindly reached up for Chan. He wanted him. The aloha gave him his hand and squeezed. “I’m here,” he assured. “We could go back to sleep- but I really want to get some sustenance in you before that. You haven’t eaten much today. Do you think you can do it for me?”
Hyunjin wanted to grumpily tell the alpha to fuck off- because he was so comfortable here and now- but the little ‘for me?’ Paired with the imagery of the puppy eyes that he no doubt shot at him made him fold after only a moment.
“Fine,” he grumbled.
When Chan left the room- ‘only for a moment,’ he had reassured, when Hyunjin held onto his hand like a lifeline- a sense of abandonment washed over him. He knew it was stupid, and that he shouldn’t feel that way when Chan was literally in the next room getting him food, but it was something that the stupid pamphlets said was normal.
A few months ago- this would have been the furthest from normal for beta Hyunjin. Even if ‘beta Hyunjin’ was a dead concept that no longer existed.
The lamplight was so bright that Hyunjin kept his eyes squeezed shut, even when Chan returned with a steaming bowl and two bottles- one of water, and one of a sports drink packed in electrolytes. Chan turned the lamp off, and Hyunjun was plunged into a blissful darkness once again.
“Thank you, hyung,” he mummered, and Chan ruffled his hair without tugging too hard to worsen his headache.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I stepped out for a few moments to make a phone call, and then Felix-ah came to get me…” Chan trailed off as he sat back down and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin to pull him up. Hyunjin’s head spun, and he leaned heavily on the alpha as Chan rested his weight back against the bed frame.
His head felt heavy, so he rested it on his broad shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Chan reassured as he moved over to grab the bowl and set it in his lap. Soup. Chicken noodle. “You can close your eyes and focus on just eating.”
“Mhm. Okay, Hyung.”
The sound of the spoon scraping the bottom of the bowl made Hyunjin flinch, but he obediently complied when Chan said “open.” He dropped his jaw and let him spoon the soup past his lips, washing it down with water- because the Gatorade was too sweet tasting for his tongue. All of his senses were on overdrive.
In the end, Hyunjin could only manage about half of the bowl. Not wanting to see the disappointment in Chan’s face, he turned away and pouted.
“It’s okay,” Chan set the bowl down, and then helped ease Hyunjin back down to the bed. “You did good. I’m so proud of you. Hyung is proud.”
Hyunjin preened at the contact when Chan cupped his face, planting a kiss onto his hot forehead. His skin felt like it was on fire, but Chan’s touch was cooling.
“Blanket?” Chan asked, but Hyunjin was sweltering, so he shook his head and immediately regretted the moment because it made him dizzy.
“Okay, that’s fine. How about this?”
Hyunjin was curled up on his side, so Chan had easy access to place a hand between his shoulder blades and massage his tense back. Hyunjin groaned, immediately melting into a puddle of liquid. He drooled into his pillow, half asleep by the time Chan wrung out his muscles like a rag.
When Hyunjin sensed Chan close up, he instinctively nosed at his scent gland- only to become frustrated when he couldn’t smell anything. Blank. Only sterile blankness. Chan gently pushed Hyunjin away. “I can’t take off the scent patch,” he reasoned, “it’ll only make your headache worse, baby.”
Hyunjin sniffled, a bit sat at being denied, but when he felt the tickle of Chan’s hair against his chin when the alpha playfully nipped at his collar bone, he laughed breathlessly. “You smell good,” Chan mummered, “I love your smell.”
Hyunjin stiffened in the alpha's arms. “You… you do?”
Like a flower shop. Like the paints he used frequently, and needed to open a window because they were overwhelming. Like peaches. Hyunjin didn’t even like peaches.
“Mhm,” Chan licked a long stripe up his neck, and Hyunjin shivered, clinging to his shirt. “Can I scent you to sleep? Please?”
“Yes Channie Hyung,” Hyunjin nodded adamantly, feeling floaty. The ache in his head became a distant thing. Even if Chan didn’t have any scent to rub off on Hyunjin and claim him, his movements were methodical and relaxing.
He kissed along the bottom of Hyunjin’s jaw, and then nuzzled his face as close to his neck as he possibly could. The rumble of a purr from Hyunjin mixed with the low soothing growls of Chan until Hyunjin drifted off to sleep with a heavy blanket of alpha on top of him.